Jax splashed some water in his face trying to fix his hair but deciding it's wild unruly waves were going to land where they land. Heading back towards the door he froze hearing the banging of the front door of the shop being banged open, two louder voices making themselves known. Gulping he peeked through the door glad to see Zak instead. "What's going on?" He whispered worriedly looking back towards the front of the cafe where the masked frat boys began to harass other customers in the store.

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"the frat boys are trying to scare the kids and people of the town so that they go back to the campus or something im not sure babe i didnt really stick around and ask them questions silly" he said as he walked around the back book shelves with him looking for a door so they could leave quickly " i think there should be a back door here somewhere we can take it and rush back to the campus before the frat boys find us and scare us. We just need to hurry before they surround us and we get caught" he said as he held jax's hand so he felt safe and comfortable

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zero has spawned//
zero noticed those frat boys "HEY!" he shouted, walking over to them, "only customers are allowed over here. buy something, or get. out." he growled, a german accent peeking through his voice, looking down at them angrily, he grabbed one of their shoulders, towering over him, he spoke again "get. out." he muttered

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Jax nodded and kept quiet as he followed him, staying low and out of sight, squeezing Zak's hand extra tight. "Over there!" He whispered pointing to a dingy back exit door. Heading out it lead them into the dark back alleyway full of the dumpsters of the establishments. A flickering old streetlamp above one of the dumpsters being the only source of light back here. The screams of other students echoed through the main street and from various shops sending a shiver down his spine. How was this creepier than the haunted university?! He thought turning towards the direction of the exit of the alleyway, back towards campus.
"Hey! Over there!" a deep voice suddenly said from the other side of the alleyway and the charge of footsteps came running after them.
He squeezed Zak's hand extra hard and took off running back towards campus, his heart beating out of his chest. He hadn't even had a chance to think of it, he simply caught the flight of flight or fight.

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(( double post for announcement of another time skip to help us get further into the plot. sorry for length. Plot. *edited to space out paragraphs a little more so it's hopefully easier to read.))

After the first week of classes, there'd already been a known 10 students expulsed from the university. After that it really settled down, and classes resumed as normal. It seemed the Greek leaders had to really lay down the line with some of their new rush members and it reflected everywhere you went, it felt like there was always an upper classmen looking out for the freshmen. It was hard to say whether they were there to help, just keep people out of trouble. Weeks passed with boring tests and quizzes, but mid-terms was coming up on the horizon. Which also meant Hell Week was upon them. Banners, posters, flyers all covered campus and the dorms announcing it's arrival. Large posters with the weekly schedule of events; small things people could catch in the cafeteria or in the quad, win some free swag. All leading up to the big event that Friday evening once all midterms are finished. A small faire will be set up with some carnival games, food and fun. Ending the night with fireworks. But everyone knew the real event was the greek houses all joining together for a seance underneath the bell tower. Supposedly right where the bodies were discovered.

Jax had done some digging into more of the history of the woman and the professor all those years ago after Zak and him came across a well hidden boarded up part of the tunnels. They discovered what almost looked like a hand dug tunnel leading right up to what used to be the dorms for the women when the university was originally built. It didn't take long for him to become pals with the head librarian and got a peek at some original old documents getting more concrete information.

The young woman's name was Elizabeth Manson studying what was simply noted as 'womens craft', which he learned was tapestry making, or modern day fashion he supposes. The professor was Bernard Campbell a head professor almost acting as a modern day dean (though the role was more complex) and he taught many classes and was a respected member of the society. His wife Evelyn did study at the university as well, which raised plenty of red flags. She had studied under him, they wed her senior year, had a child and appeared to remain married for 5 years before the sorted affair with Elizabeth began. Nobody on campus acted like they had any idea until the suicide note nailed to the door of the belltower was discovered. Long after their bodies one chilly late fall morning. The rumors at least rang true according to the letter's contents; Dr.Campbell's wife discovered the affair and before leaving him, told the University, secured their child, and left the heirloom wedding ring behind. With nothing left, he tried to reason with Elizabeth that if she'd go forward and tell them it was all a lie he could try and keep his life together. Her refusal made him snap and he trapped her up there with him, he didn't have a plan, but her desperation made her attempt to escape and she slipped falling to her death. Out of his grief he wrote the letter in the tower and leapt after her, knowing his life was officially over.

Jax still wasn't too sure of that, this man didn't sound stable and men back in the day were able to get away with so much already. What did he do to her that made him then take his own life? Did she fall? Was she pushed? Jax was so lost in his thoughts he kept re-reading the same page of his textbook at the study session with his BF in the library.

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Zak came back to the table with a stack of books he found about the history of the bell tower and its blueprints "hey baby boy hows the reading going? find anything of interest for us to go explore?" he said smiling softly as he brought out the blueprints and the books laying them out to various pages. He sat down and started to read them finding out that there wasnt a lock on the door at that time so Elizabeth could've easily left if she wanted to so she mustve been trapped some other way or she was pushed by Dr. Campbell "Babe look at this it says that there never was a lock on the door so how could she be locked in the room if there wasnt a lock unless Dr. Campell forced her to stay some other way or told her something that made her freeze in fear or guilt"

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Hearing the stack of books drop onto he table Jax looked up coming out of his thoughts looking at Zak. "Erm- not yet." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose where his glasses rest. Standing he looked over the blueprint seeing the old details nodding agreeing with his love's theory. "How bizarre..." he pondered, "There's something wrong here. I can feel it. We should go up there." His finger grazing the tower for any secret passages of sorts, maybe the tunnels. How was Dr. Campbell allowed on campus grounds after being informed about his affairs, at the very least why wasn't Elizabeth protected somewhere? Did she go on her own accord and things went wrong?

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"how will we get to the tower if the frat guys are constantly patrolling it getting ready for the seance babe? We have to use the tunnels if we want any chance of seeing the inside of the tower but I don't think there are any openings in or around the tower but I'll double check" he said smiling as he cracked his knuckles and neck before sitting down and reading scanning every word so any sort of second meaning or code like every third word. He held up the blueprints to the light when he saw the missing piece right in front of him. A secret passage just below the tower that stretched out toward the dorm that they lived in. "Look babe do you see what I'm seeing? I swear there's a passage there or is that just my eyes playing tricks with me"

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Jax groaned nearly forgetting about this week's festivities in their research. Right they'd be all over the place, but likely not in it, that's where they needed. Hearing Zak he leaned in looking at the passage he saw. "That's got to be it! It leads right to our dorm!" He beamed turning around kissing him. "Good find babe!"
A shush of a stressed out table of others studying for midterms nearby shot at him. "-sorry!-" he whispered back. Taking a photo of the diagram and having Zak hold it up so he could get a picture of the secret tunnel on his phone to use as reference he delicately rolled it back up, sliding it into its protective tube, to be returned to the section in the back of the library, typically reserved for staff.

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"we should probably go investigate that tunnel tonight when everyone else is off to sleep. It will probably have loads of fake tunnels that are dead ends too so we have to be careful not to get lost while exploring" he said smiling softly as he walked to the back of the library with Jax where he held his hand and kissed his cheek softly as he returned the tube back to its rightful spot on the shelf. "What time is the first activity tonight so we avoid it and not get caught outside our dorms unattended?" He said as he followed Jax out of the library and into the cold crisp air of the outdoors

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Jax nodded along agreeing with his boyfriend. On their way out he stopped at one of the posters, "it's Monday right? Erm... Looks like trivia night in the cafeteria. Maybe the quad will be cleared out." He said hopefully heading back towards their dorms. "Same things we took into the tunnels last time?" He asked cuddling closer escaping a chilly breeze in the air. He still had most of the stuff together in Zak's closet from last time.

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"yes sir ofc ill bring some extra flashlights and some glowsticks so we can throw them down dead-end paths or place them on the path so we can find our way back out of the tunnels" he said smiling softly as he wrapped his arms around Jax and picked him up before walking back to the dorm where he sat Jax down on the bed and grabbed some of his clothes from the sleep over they had last night. "would you rather i just move in with you babe so i dont have to keep walking back and forth from my room and mine?" he said teasing jax and tickled his belly

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Jax smiled nodding at the preparedness of them both, they had a mission plan. Giggling at being lifted he snuggled into him deeper being carried back in. Being flopped down on the bed he grabbed one of the plushies snuggling it into his chest, blushing at the thought of him moving in, even if he was joking. Giggling and playfully pushing him off he beamed up at him, "It wouldn't be the worst idea~" He said shyly hiding his face behind the plush he was holding still. He'd already noticed his room had absorbed both their scents by the amount of time they spend in there together. It was comforting, and felt more like home than anywhere else.

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"sounds like a plan then ill start moving my things over this week while we are not exploring the tunnels and playing CSI" he said giggling softly as he laid with Jax and kept tickling him and kissing his belly as they relaxed getting ready for that night's events to unfold. He picked up the stuffed animal to see Jax's blushed face as he kissed his lips teasing him "so what shall we do while we wait baby boy i cant wait to move in with you later this week" he said smiling softly as he looked into jax's eyes

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He beamed in excitement, giggling being tickled squirming from him. His face bright red as he gazed up into his eyes his heart pumping in his ears, barely hearing him. "I can't wait~" he cooed then cleared his voice embarrassed by how flustered he felt. He'd never gotten to move in with a significant other before, this felt huge, and right. Without thinking, he leaned up he gave him a long, sweet, a little sloppy of a kiss. Dropping the plushie he reached up pulling Zak closer around his shoulders.

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