Some time passed uneventfully.

Eric was beginning to forget about Rhiannon's existence. She had stopped appearing in front of him and she was never around wherever Guinevere was in a complicated situation.

'She must have given up.' He had thought to himself briefly before moving on with his life.

Unfortunately, the resolution of one irritation merely heralded the arrival of the next one. By the time he caught whispers of unpleasant rumours about himself, his reputation had already taken a bad hit.

"Me? A playboy? A flirt? A SEX MANIAC? What the fuck?" His voice raised each time he repeated what was being passed around. There were even rumours of him being an abuser behind closed doors. "I can't believe they're blaming me for how helpless Gwen is!" Eric slammed his hands down on the table in front of him.

Guinevere winced under his bluster. She peeked up at him, wondering what she could do to calm him down. He was in no state to discuss anything. He could not even sit himself down.

"We're in the discussion room but we're still within the library." Lucifer's voice behind her provided Guinevere some comfort. "The walls are thin. You keep this up, you confirm the rumours."

"Then what do you expect me to do?" Eric hissed. "Sit here quietly like a good boy?"

"Yes."

"You-"

"Eric, you know Lucifer's only trying to help you..." Guinevere squeezed Eric's hand in hers.

"A little too late, isn't it?" Eric said through gritted teeth. "And you, what were you thinking?"

Lucifer's brows drew close together.

"I told you that you didn't need to do anything. Why must you make matters worse? If you just STAYED helpless-" A heavy punch cut Eric off and split his lips. His body crashed onto the floor. When Eric looked back up, his anger melted away under Lucifer's wide open eyes that seemed to glow with anger for a split second.

"Calmed down?" Lucifer's tone was cool, betraying nothing of the fire within him.

Eric gulped in reflex, accidentally swallowing the blood pooled in his mouth. He pulled a face from the metallic flavour but still nodded in response to Lucifer's question. "I'm fine. I'm fine now."

Lucifer straightened his blazer and went back to his spot, leaning against the wall by the door, with his arms crossed.

Eric stayed on the ground, tenderly touching the wound inside his mouth with his tongue. Damn, Lucifer had not held back.

"What're you waiting for? Return to your seat so we can have a proper civilised discussion."

Guinevere quickly got up to help Eric to his seat.

Her actions caused a twinge in Lucifer's heart. He looked away and sighed inwardly. This was one thing he could not do anything about.

"What should we do now?" Guinevere's soft voice broke the silence.

"We?" Eric frowned. His tone was slightly threatening.

The sharp squeak of the chair being dragged across the floor broke the tension, drawing Eric's gaze back onto Lucifer who settled down in the seat across him.

"What's wrong with that?"

"...I just think that it's not a very wise decision, is it?" Eric said carefully. "The last time she tried to clarify things, the rumours only got worse. It's Gwen. No one believes her because she's known to cover up for people, good or bad."

Guinevere bit her bottom lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She balled her hands into fists on her lap. Was she really this useless? Was this how everyone saw her?

"...But she doesn't hand out with the bad ones, does she?"

Guinevere's downcast eyes shot up to look at Lucifer. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"...That's true." Eric pondered deeply. How could he make use of this to clear his name?

Lucifer sighed. "Rumours are easily settled, IF the targets cooperate."

"...I'm cooperating now, am I not?"

Guinevere nodded resolutely. "How can I help?"

"Eric, trust Gwen more. Gwen, just keep doing whatever you deem right. Both of you don't need to go out of your way to do anything more. Leave it to me. I'll settle this."

"...Got it. Just... Give me some time to calm down. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

Lucifer glanced at Guinevere.

Guinevere cast her eyes down and smiled sadly. "Okay."

"...That's reasonable." Lucifer then called off the meeting.

Not long after, new rumours surfaced. This time, it was about Guinevere.

News about what went down in the discussion room travelled fast. Guinevere's increased contact with Lucifer and distance from Eric fueled the flames of the gossip, earning her the ire of Lucifer's silent fans and secret admirers.

Guinevere cried over the terms she had been called increasingly often. She thought that her previous reputation was bad enough but it was worse now. Now, she was known as a slut who only knew how to charm and seduce boys into giving her things she needs. Her new reputation led to more sexual harassments, which made her stick closer to Lucifer's side, continuing the violent cycle.

"Haven't you rested enough!" Lucifer blasted at Eric through the phone despite Guinevere's wish to let Eric be.

Eric stared in shock at the updates that Lucifer had emailed him.

"Stop being a coward! Get your ass up and back to school! If you can't do it for yourself, do it for Gwen, god damn it!"

Meanwhile, Rhiannon was happily humming to herself in her room while she prepared for bed. Temporarily avoiding Eric and Guinevere proved to be worth it.

'Sometimes I got to back up to go forward.'

Now, everything was perfect. A while more, and the two thorns in her side would be gone!

'All I had to do was spin a little story with some truth, a dash of lies, and a little suggestion. How wonderful!'

The speed at which people changed their opinions from one extreme to the other had impressed and scared Rhiannon, but she took comfort in how it was all in her favour.

Aster passed by Rhiannon's room with an empty cup in her hand. She stretched her back that was stiff from sitting for so long. She sighed. She still had a long night ahead of her. Then, Rhiannon's humming travelled to her ears, perking her up.

Rhiannon was practically skipping around her room while she went around doing whatever.

Lucifer's dark expression from earlier in the day surfaced to the forefront of Aster's mind. '...Oh no. Please let me be wrong.' She hated to rain on Rhiannon's parade but she had to confirm her suspicions.

Knocks on the door drew Rhiannon's attention to it. "Big sis! What's up?" Rhiannon bounded to her.

"Nothing much."

Rhiannon looked down at Aster's empty cup and her expression fell a little. "Working late into the night again? Why're you still working so hard when Mum and Dad told you to take a break from everything?"

Aster laughed weakly. "I've gotten so used to it, it feels wrong if I don't do it. Anyway, you seem really happy. Is there something up?"

"Hm? No? It's nothing. It's just that times are good now, isn't it?"

"...It doesn't have anything to do with Eric and Guinevere, does it?"

Rhiannon froze then her bright smile slowly dropped. "That's not fair, big sis... You're supposed to leave the topic alone when I say things like that..." Erica pouted.

"Sorry, I can't help it. I love my baby sister to bits, you see."

"...Fine. Yes, it's related to them. I'm happy to see them getting ruined."

"...That's all there is to it?"

"...Why can't you just leave this be?"

"Call me paranoid."

"Pessimist."

"Same thing."

"...Argh. It's especially satisfying because I was the one behind it all. But all I did was spark a little something, okay! Everything else ran by itself. It's totally fine."

Aster looked apologetic and stroked Rhiannon's head. It looked a little weird because Rhiannon was significantly taller, but none of them felt that way. "Erica, your plan is perfect, you did everything perfectly."

"Then, what's the matter? You don't sound happy for me."

"..." Aster sighed and took back her hand. "I really hate to tell you this... But it's still too early to say that you've won this round."

"Why!" Rhiannon's eyes were large and reddening.

Aster sighed again. "It's Lucifer..."

"What's he got to do with anything? Nothing happened so far, and I did so little, he can't possibly make me the sole culprit, can he?"

Aster shook her head. "As long as he is involved, you won't be able to bring them down. Those three are meant to flourish in this school. They'll win, hands down. If you want to ruin them, please, just wait until we have all graduated. Maybe when the world expands, there'll be stronger parties coming into play, our connections might change, THEN the story would change. You have to be patient."

Rhiannon frowned deeply. "Why're they meant to flourish? What story are you talking about? Why are you saying things that I don't understand?"

A still silence hung in the air.

Suddenly, Rhiannon's phone rang loudly, making them both jump in shock.

Rhiannon checked her phone and frowned when she did not recognise the number. Not long after she rejected the call, a notification sounded, informing her that she received a text message.

"I could ignore it when it's Eric since he brought it upon himself. Your mistake was touching Guinevere. It's time to settle the score. For the incident in the canteen too."

Aster noticed the colour draining from Rhiannon's face. What could have spooked her so badly? She snatched the phone from Rhiannon's hands without asking.

Rhiannon continued to stand frozen in shock. "How... Why... But I barely did anything..." Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her, bringing her attention to the little person in front of her. "Big sis..."

"I'll take over from here. You don't have to worry."

"But... How...? Actually, no. You can't get involved. I don't want you to get hurt because of me again. I'm the one who created this mess. I'll clean it up myself."

Aster leaned back, firmly grasping Rhiannon's arms, and looked dead into her eyes. "I may not be much. I may not have any strengths. But can you let me be your older sister? Will you trust me?"

Rhiannon's face broke into a sorry sight. "How can you say it like that..." Tears trickled down her face. "I can't possibly say no... Why're you always doing this to me..."

Aster hugged Rhiannon tightly again. "Because I love you. I refuse to let anything happen to you, or to anyone in our family."

Rhiannon broke down in her arms. "Big sis... You're so unfair... Please... Please just don't get yourself hurt again... Please... I won't be able to take it..."

Aster stroked Rhiannon's back. "I'll be fine."