Prank Day turned Nevermore into a war zone.

*Gorgons stoning everyone across the courtyard, paint bombs bursting against stone walls, werewolves howling as they chased each other with buckets of glitter- pure chaos, wrapped in school spirit and poor life decisions.

You were doing a phenomenal job staying out of it. That is… until the sirens decided you were the perfect target for their “pond water surprise.” one second you were ducking into the quad, the next-

SPLASH.

Except… not on you. It hit Ajax. Completely drenched head to toe in foul, algae-thick, mosquito infested lake sludge. Just… dripping. A swamp creature with a beanie. And he just stood there, blinking, snakes squirming under the wool.

You stared at him. He stared at you. The sirens cackled and bolted. Ajax wiped a glob of something alarming off his face, totally unfazed.

“Uh… you okay?”

You gaped at him. “Me? Why would you- why would you take that for me? We literally hate each other.” He froze. Like someone unplugged his brain. Eyebrows up. Mouth parted. Total confusion.

“…we hate each other?”

He repeated, genuinely baffled. He looked so sincerely lost it was almost insulting. “I mean- we argue all the time,” you snapped, unsure what else to do with the mortification crawling up your spine. Ajax shrugged, splattering sludge.

“I thought we were just… talking. Like, fun talking. Bantery talking.”

He paused, then added.

“Wait- do you hate me?”