Virgo stormed outside the bakery. The sun had dipped below the horizon, casting shadows on the dark alley next door. That was exactly where Virgo went.

He whipped out his phone and immediately called for an ambulance. Once that was done, he spun around to face Taurus who was staring at him like a hawk staring at his prey.

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Virgo said, in a cooler, calmer voice than before. “I know you’re out to ruin my life.”

“I’m glad that you understand…makes this simple,” Taurus replied with a cheeky smile.

Virgo’s eyes narrowed. “But what you don’t know,” he continued, “is that I’m going to ruin yours.”

Taurus laughed at this. “Many people have said the same thing, y’know? They’ve always failed.” He tapped his head. “My brain is like a database. It stores everything about everyone and never shuts down.”

“Fortunately, mine is similar,” Virgo said coldly. “I don’t like to brag, but my folks consider me a prodigy. I have ultimately the same intellectual resources as you do. So things won’t go the way you want them to.”

Taurus shivered with pleasure. This was more exciting than he’d dreamed of.

“Are you threatening me?”

“You could call it a threat, yes,” Virgo said with lowered brows. “Or a declaration of war. A war of mind games.”

“Oh?”

Virgo turned his back to Taurus and stared into the darkness of the alley. “I know your motive. You want to see me in distress. You love it when I’m distressed. And I can’t say I’ll be able to avoid showing emotions in the future.”

Taurus smirked. “You’re quite the observer.”

“But.” Virgo spun back around and extended a finger to Taurus. “Stop dragging innocent people into this mess.”

Taurus’s smirk dropped. “Are you in a position to be making demands? After all, you slapped me. I could easily argue that you’re the menace here. It’s not like anyone will object.”

He took a step towards Virgo. Virgo backed up a little.

“If you want me to play along in your little sadistic entertainment, I have every right to make a demand,” Virgo said. “So, from now on, stop harassing the people at school. Stop harassing my boss. And don’t even think about harassing other bystanders to get information about me and my family.”

Taurus tapped his chin dramatically as if thinking the proposition over. After about 30 seconds, he flashed his pearly whites in a toothy grin.

“No.”

“No?!” Virgo felt anger rising within him, bubbling up to his dormant crust. “Then I’ll—”

“ You’ll do what?” Taurus suddenly shoved Virgo against the back wall of the alley. Virgo’s head slammed into the brick and he cried out in pain. Before he had time to push back, Taurus’s hands came flying and slammed next to Virgo head, locking him in on both sides. Taurus grinned down at him.

“What can you do? You claim to have the same resources as me, but do you really? You don’t know a thing about me, but I know much about you. My people are everywhere. Even if I haven’t determined your home address yet, I know your class schedule. I know where you work. I know who you’re acquainted with. I have power over your entire life, and I’m going to make sure it all comes crumbling down. And you’ll just be sitting there on the sidelines, helplessly watching as I blow everything you’ve ever known to pieces.”

Virgo opened his mouth to retort, then closed it. He hated to admit it, but Taurus’s claim was…somewhat true. He might have the intelligence advantage, but overall, he’d bitten off more than he could chew. He’d been deluding himself of the fact out of foolish determination.

“I can—”

“You can what?” Taurus leaned in closer. “You’re nothing. You’re absolute scum. You’re lower than scum.” He felt a stirring in his pants, both at Virgo’s furious reaction to his degrading words and the closeness between them. It was just like the kiss from earlier in the day. “You’re powerless when it comes to me. You’re weak. You can’t even protect your dear boss.”

As if on cue, sirens from the incoming ambulance sounded in the distance. It was close.

Virgo clenched his fists and attempted to punch Taurus, but Taurus saw it coming and jabbed his knee into Virgo’s abdomen before his fist could connect. Virgo coughed up saliva and doubled over, clutching his wound. Taurus giggled, pleasurable goosebumps popping up on his skin.

The ambulance rounded the corner and pulled to a stop in front of the bakery. Virgo could only watch as medics rushed in, calling out for the injured patient. After a minute, he saw them carefully bringing Bethany out. They were trying to get her into a stretcher but she was shaking them off, insisting she could walk. The medics ended up aiding her as she climbed into the back of the ambulance and laid down. Virgo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as the vehicle sped off to the hospital.

“Huh,” Taurus remarked. “Looks like that old hag will make it. It’s a shame. She’s useless now.”

Virgo gritted his teeth and held his stomach, staring icily up at Taurus. It was at times like this that he wished he were taller than the smug-looking man. Then Taurus wouldn’t be able to stare down at him so condescendingly.

“Get off me.”

“Is our talk done already? Have you lost the will to fight?” Taurus couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. He’d wanted to torture Virgo verbally some more and see those dark eyes, full of anger and frustration, the frustration that Taurus was speaking the truth, boring into his.

“I said get the fuck off.” Virgo managed to slip under Taurus’s arms and move so he was standing beside Taurus. Taurus examined him closely. Virgo was breathing heavily and he was trembling. His cheeks were flushed.

Taurus grinned.

“The fuck are you smiling at, bastard?!” Virgo’s level-headedness was fluctuating as his emotions resurfaced. How dare he. How dare this evil being treat him and others like this.

So what if he has more people on his side? Virgo thought bitterly. This isn’t over. I have to remember that this is a war of mind games. And I will come out victorious. He wasn’t going to let Taurus’s words shake him up more than they already had. He’d figure out something. He’d figure out a way to bring Taurus to his knees. Then it would be his turn to stare down at him, condescendingly.

Virgo thought of Cancer and Capricorn. He thought of Bethany and his parents. They were all about to become victims of Taurus’s scheming if he let Taurus go. He needed to get ahead somehow. And he needed to act now.

But how could he get Taurus to be caught off-guard? The man had nothing but wins in their war, and Virgo’s losing streak was increasing.

Then Virgo remembered the kiss. Earlier in the day, Taurus had kissed him in front of everyone and it had shaken Virgo up immensely. He’d started crying and fled from the scene like an idiot.

What would happen if he did it to Taurus?

Knowing the freak, he’ll probably enjoy it, Virgo thought. But…it would show him that I’m not giving up—that the fire in my heart burns brighter than ever.

He stared into Taurus’s eyes with an expression that he hoped was neutral. Taurus seemed confused but was still grinning annoyingly.

It’s now or never, Virgo thought and stepped forward.

“Oh? Did you put your big-boy pants on again?” Taurus chuckled. “Or are you going to turn tail? It would be the smartest thing for you to do. You have no chance of—”

But before he could even finish his rant, Virgo fisted Taurus’s collar and pulled him in. Their lips clashed in one fluid movement. Taurus’s eyes widened…and before he could react, Virgo pulled back and threw him against the alley wall. Hard. It was a similar fashion to Taurus’s earlier action.

Taurus’s body collided with the wall and he grunted as he fell over onto his knees. He was so stunned, he wasn’t saying anything…which worked out perfectly for Virgo. He didn’t want talking to ruin this critical moment.

With his first genuine smile of their nightly interaction, Virgo turned on his heels and marched off, his figure quickly fading into the shadows of twilight. All Taurus could do was sit there, watching helplessly, as the person he’d sworn to wreck disappeared into the night.

Finally, he got to his feet and brushed off his hoodie.

Well, Taurus thought, gently tracing his lips, which were still tingling from Virgo’s warmth.

Game on.