Drake Mauri Quellen's Story

Drake’s teasing took the edge off of the way she felt, of that Lulu was certain. “I like you all sick and green,” he told her. She half expected him to lean down and pinch her nose. As he eased her back to earth, the blond stared down at the ground. When the tip of her boot hit the ground it seemed too soon. She settled her weight back onto her feet every so cautiously, finding herself holding onto his shoulders tightly for support. “Too tightly I think,” she chided herself, looking up into his eyes as he had his arms looped around her hips still to keep her steady. She swallowed away the butterflies rising in her stomach, smiling weakly as she relinquished her grip on him, her hands sliding along the straps of her meager duffel bag instead.

Drake took the courtesy of opening the door. Lulu had been afraid that it would be locked. She knew the number of her residence but certainly had no keys for it. It opened with a quick swing, the hinges barely squealing. She was surprised at the sheer size of the dorm, a bed immediately gracing her eyes. Alli’s half of the room was well organized and girly, made homey. Hers was stripped bare, the walls plain. She would have to change that.

Setting her bag down at the foot of the bed, Lulu walked slowly with Drake’s assistance into the ensuite bathroom. This was a pleasant surprise as well. Modern fixtures greeted her, as did the smell of lemon bathroom cleaner. She didn’t know who she had to thank for being greeted with such an orderly room – Alli or a housekeeper. Either way, it was pleasant and the state of it was a lot better than the men’s washroom by the auditorium.

Lulu turned to him, biting her lower lip again. She didn’t know what to say or how to proceed. The shower was finally before her and she wanted nothing but to just jump in the tub fully clothed and let it rain on her. Drake stepped forward. She didn’t know what to expect. She found herself holding her breath as his hand swept past her cheek to loop another strand of her hair behind her ear. His smile made her lean for the sink to support herself. Here she was, quite literally swooning in front of him now.

“I’ve got somewhere I need to be, love, but I’ll come back to check on you afterwards, alright?” he told her. Lulu bit her tongue to hide the betrayed sense she was feeling. “Of course,” she whispered, the words low and forced. She looked away from him immediately, feeling her fingers shake and grow clammy. “Besides, you don’t really want me to help you out here,” he added. The side of his lip pulled slyly. She couldn’t stand the mischevious side anymore. “Of course I do!” she wanted to say, only she found herself nodding in agreement with his words instead.

“I might not be able to keep my hands to myself,” he said. She didn’t know if this was to her benefit or a reassurance. “I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself,” she thought glumly. As he moved away from her, pulling back a cupboard door to find her a towel, his eyes glancing over the shower, Lulu stared at her hands. She pulled at her fingers to preoccupy herself. She really couldn’t look at him now. “I am such a fool.”

“There, you should be alright for now. And get some sleep afterwards, okay? I’ll bring food when I come back,” he reassured her, setting a towel on the toilet before he stepped towards her again. Lulu made no move to lean closer or further away from him. She remained as she was, feeling his arms envelope her easily in another quick hug. As best as she could manage the blond looped her left hand around her back while the other was wrapped around her stomach. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear, leaning up on her toes and allowing her words to brush over him as his had earlier. Though it wasn’t as seductive, she hoped it was something. Without thinking she moved and kissed his cheek quickly, much in the same way a person would in France to a departing friend or relative. She didn’t know why she did it. It certainly felt nice.

When she pulled away, he did the same. “And don’t worry about Erin. I’ll take care of it,” he guaranteed her. The words made her weak smile flatten immediately. Lulu had lived across the hall from Drake long enough to know exactly what he meant by taking care of the she-hulk. He was going to let her take her rage out on him and reap the benefit of her rather primal instincts. He was going to get fucked and love it by a much prettier girl than herself who was more powerful and connected and capable. She felt slapped. Backing into the sink, she clutched the cabinet and lowered her head to the floor, licking and biting her lips to keep herself collected while he was still there. He left without another word and when the bedroom door closed behind him, Lulu felt comfortable enough to sink to her knees.

For a few minutes she sat there, dazed and unsure of just what to do. She couldn’t stop him. Drake could do whatever the hell he wanted. But it bothered her to know what he was going to do. She couldn’t prevent it and she sure as hell didn’t like it. He had had her singing in the halls, swooning, keening and practically grinding against him. He’d smiled all the way through it, enjoying that she was finally coming to him. And then he left her, sallow and tired in her room, telling her to sleep and that eh would come back. “Like hell he will,” she muttered to herself.

As the wave of self deprecation passed, Lulu grew frustrated. She moved to stand only her knees buckled the first time. Angrily, she clutched the edge of the sink and heaved herself onto her weak legs to take off her shoes. She didn’t bother to undress, she just turned the tap of the shower onto full cold and stepped inside.

As she let the water rain on her like sheets of ice Lulu was brought back to awareness. Each blast of water was like a cold slap to the face, making her skin burn in a way that Drake’s words had made her feel. As she sat, letting it pour over her, she had to wonder what he thought of her and just why on earth she had let herself be played. And played like a violin to his cello, so smoothly and wonderfully.

The blonde was in a peculiar mood as she walked along the hallways, pondering her situation with Jay. Again, they’d had sex. Hot, passionate sex. The kind she’d only ever had with him. But though her body melted for him, and her heart was doing backflips every time she was with him, her mind was still holding back. She sighed, shaking her head as she reached her room, the red suitcase at her heels. If that door was locked, she was going to blow it apart. Because though Cor had just had amazing sex, her mood was far from good. In fact, she had no idea how to define it. All she knew was that she was going to take it out on someone. Yep, that definitely always helped her mood. Hell, she was probably going to fuck around like a whore tonight just to show Jay that she wasn’t his. Not that she didn’t want to be – she just didn’t want him to know it. Gods, when did her life become so fucking complicated? She reached out a hand, testing the doorknob and finding it unlocked. She took a deep breath, almost disappointed that she didn’t get to break something.

And what was with Erin not texting her back about that damned assembly of Marinos’? As she pondered this, she dragged her suitcase inside and took a look around her, her gaze flickering around the room. It was pretty obvious which side belonged to her, so that was always something… she supposed. And well, the room wasn’t the worst she’d ever stayed in, so long as Lauryn didn’t prove a total pain. She pushed the door closed with her heel, moving to sit at the edge of the stripped bed. Running a hand through her curly mane, Cor frowned slightly. It wasn’t like Erin not to text when she promised to, and that had her wondering what was going on. Was she okay? Hell, of course she was. Erin was a tough girl. Satisfied with that short deduction, she drew out her iPhone, texting Addie…

Which do-gooder did’ya get, babe? ;)

She left it at that, sending more or less identical ones to Bells and Jade. She didn’t give enough of a fuck to go check herself. Besides, she wanted her girlfriends’ takes on their new roommates. She had a feeling not all of them would be too pleased, and she was more than willing to help out in that department. Which now had her wondering if any of them had attended the assembly. She had a feeling interesting information had been given out. Ah well, she’d nag Drake later if it became a problem. Guy had a brain like a sponge, and he would’ve taken notice of everything. Because that was her brother. Growing restless, she changed into this, deciding to see if she could go find something to better her mood. Despite popular belief, Cor didn’t exactly enjoy being in a bad mood. In fact, sometimes she’d rather go back to before she’d even met Jay again, go back to the girl she’d been then. She hated the way he was fucking with her mind and emotions.

Hitting the halls, Cor soon spotted a darkhaired male exiting the teacers’ wing. He looked young. And hot. Like, tall, dark and handsome hot. She gave him an observant once over. New teacher? Or a boyfriend to one of the female teachers? Only one way to find out, Cor, she thought to herself, soon finding herself following this guy. Keeping quiet was a talent of hers, and she proudly discovered that he didn’t notice her at all. Probably because ever since she’d discovered sound was carried by air, she’d been practicing making herself soundless. Or, more so, manipulating sound to go in the opposite direction of the person she was following, or sneaking up on. What did people have powers for, if not to find new ways of using them at all times? She endeavoured to get most possible out of her powers. Once they reached the forest, Cor rolled her eyes. Forest in heels? Sure, why not. She grudgingly noted to herself. She considered briefly to just turn around and leave the guy alone, but decided against it in the end.

Cor didn’t pay much attention to the others in the forest, mostly because she considered them all more or less beneath her notice. When he stopped to tie his shoe laces way out of sight from the others, Cor let a smirk pass over her lips, tilting her head to watch his bottom. Not bad. She quietly moved closer, before deciding to lean her back against a tree a little behind and off to the side from him. Then a thought crossed her mind. Time to say hello, baby, she mused, a devilish, sexy grin coming onto her face as she let the wind rustle around in the leaves behind him. When he turned around immediately, battle position at the ready, she chuckled. “Just the wind, love. Nothing all that scary about it. Yet.” Oh, she had a feeling this was going to be fun. “In fact, now that I think about it, it’s been a while since it was last scary.” She pursed her lips, her eyes travelling over him. He seemed sort of familiar, now that she had him in perfect view. Not that she let it be seen on her face.

Leo thought he had won. He had thought he was going to get out of this without having to deal with any anger from his girlfriend. By the way that she was wrapping herself around him, welcoming his lips, and grasping a hold of his hair, how could he think any different? The immortal male was almost beginning to forget that Amy had been angry with him in the first place, and his trail of thought was moving just onto her; about taking her, right here in his office, proving to her again that she was his. Everything that he could think of was her - Amy Roerig filled his mind, his heart, and every single one of his senses with thoughts of her. Her touch, her scent, her love... it clouded his mind, much to his enjoyment.

However, that enjoyment was short lived, by the atmosphere in the room suddenly taking a turn for the worst. Amy suddenly snapped, pushing him away from her, unraveling herself quickly from his body. Leonardo just looked at her, his expression filled with confusion and worry; one moment ago, she had been begging for him, wanting him, panting his name, and now, she was pushing him away, and had started shouting at him. He was just... confused. He hadn't felt things like this before, had never experienced them before - and now, this was his first experience with the girlfriend angry at jealousy. Yeah, he definitely didn't want to be here again. Amy looked almost scary, her expression full of anger, her eyes baring deep into his own. She had even swore! Leo's eyes widened as that "damn" came out of her lips; Amy never swore. Ever. Oh dear, he had truly annoyed her this time.

"Amy, I'm sorry." Leo's voice was calm and cool as he tried to reason with the angry brunette woman in front of him, taking a step back from her. He didn't want to be within arms reach of her, in case she decided to lash out at him in a moment of blind fury. "I didn't mean to, I just didn't like you being so close to another man like that. I've never had a woman for my own, Amy. I've never been able to look at a girl, and call her mine. In a thousand years, feeling this for the first time has made me a little possessive, I see that. Please, please don't be angry at me, baby." Leo was almost pleading with the woman, taking a small step back towards her, with his arms outstretched. He wanted her back in his arms again, but this time, he wasn't going to force it. He was going to wait for her to come to him.

---

Erin could feel her anger rising with every passing second, her hands beginning to shake more and more, that horrible red haze beginning to cloud over her eyes; when she was in this sort of mood, she was barely human, that primal, feral side of her taking over. She was more like a hungry rabid dog, than a girl once her powers truly took over. Sometimes, it got so bad, that she didn't even remember what had happened when she had been taken over; it was as if she was being taken over by a different force, a different being. Something pushed back that human side of her and in it's place set down a primal being, who's only thoughts are based around blood and fear. Not feeling fear, but creating it. She was a scary being, once her powers took over - more scary that a pissed off Corentine, it had been said before. Which was why the girl had ran away from it all, run outside to her secluded place in the forest; somewhere she wouldn't be able to harm anyone.

The blonde just couldn't believe how Keirol had just pushed her off like that, brushed her off as if she really was just some strange girl in the corridors that he had never met, spoken to, or even seen before. Not the girl that laid in his bed most nights, curled up with him, laying there contently without any sort of physical activity on her mind. Not the girl that he had trusted enough to have given her his most precious possession, to keep close to her heart, always. Her hand came up to clasp the sword dangling around her neck, the pendant that her "boyfriend" had given her as a gift a few nights prior. She tried to go back to that moment, to how happy she had felt when Keirol had placed the pendant around her neck, telling her that he loved her, but she could no longer feel the happiness. No, now all Erin could feel was rage, when she looked at his face. The face that held those eyes that had recently looked straight through her, as if she hadn't been there at all.

There was a rustling behind her, a noise the girl tried to ignore. Probably a bird or a rabbit or something. She thought to herself, shaking her head, trying to bring herself out of that moment, and to put her mind in a quiet, more peaceful place. However, then, a voice resounded around her, shattering her silence; a deep, seductive voice that almost made a shiver run through the blonde's body. That's no rabbit. Erin took in a few deep breaths as she felt herself growing more and more vicious, that primal side of her wanting to take her over, to take full control of her body. It had been ages since she had been this angry, and Erin was slightly cautious of even Drake being around her right now. Usually, Drake Quellen was the boy that she was run to when she was feeling angry, to stop herself from getting this close to the edge, but he was rather late this time at finding her, and she was almost too close to the edge of sanity to be able to stop herself from turning. It was already beginning to happen; her shaking was almost uncontrollable, her breathing ragged.

Erin whipped around after a few seconds, her change almost complete. The rage inside her was almost at the point of explosion; her body shaking with anger. The blonde's eyes were now black, black with hate, and anger, and rage, and murderous intent towards the man that had hurt her like this, and to anyone that decided to get in her way. She was almost at complete strength, holding herself onto sanity as long as possible, grasping onto that tiniest bit of humanity that she muster. "Drake..." She breathed, her voice strained, and shaky. She hated feeling this close to slipping, this close to falling out of her own consciousness, and into the mind of the beast. Drake would help her; he had to.

He just had to.

Suddenly, Erin threw her head back, her inside battle growing harder and harder, allowing the beast within to come out for a moment, her eyes flashing red, signifying that she was no longer in control of her own body. She felt herself snarl in the direction of the man who had come along to find her, before a sadistic grin flickered across her lips. "Oh look, Drake. Come along to stop me, have you? To "calm me down?" Please, you think you can stop me, you puny, impudent little fool. Unlike her, I'd rather not --" Erin's head once again was thrown backwards and her eyes changed back, flashing red again briefly, again showing a change in control over the body of the blonde girl. Erin's primal part was growing stronger, beginning to take over. She hated asking for help, especially from someone so cruel and sarcastic about everything, but Drake was the one person that Erin was able to trust to help her, to save her, when she was in this sort of state.

"Help me."

---

Well, that conversation with Beth and Spencer had gone, oh so well, in Jackson's eyes. That was a bit of an overstatement. After he had mentioned there being a party that night, there had been a silence. And it hadn't been one of those nice, comfortable silences that he enjoyed. No, it had been a horrible, awkward silence between the three of them. Jackson had stood there with his hands in his pockets for about a minute with no reply from the blonde girl that he had been in a relationship with, or his new science-infatuated roommate, before he had decided that there wasn't going to be a conversation between the three of them anytime soon. So, he had quickly excused himself, telling them to "think about it," before walking off, quickly.

The Irish man hadn't known what to do, and had spent the best part of half an hour walking around the gardens of the school. He had been hoping to spot at least one of his friends; maybe McKenna, Ashy or Julie around somewhere, but to no such luck. He hadn't seen anyone; it was like the grounds of the school was a cemetery. Maybe it was because all of the Arcana students were helping their new Noctrem roommates settle into their new quarters, making them feel all at home and what not. Jackson wondered if he should have gone back inside and spoken to Spencer, offered to help him up to their new shared room and help him settle in. But, seeing how their last conversation had gone, the man had decided against it.

Now, Jackson was walking through the hallways of the school, slowly making his way back to his bedroom. He had decided that waiting there for Spencer to come up would be a better idea than trying to engage the man in conversation again, and had changed his direction from that of the forest on the outskirts of the school, to the dorms on the inside. However, as he made his way along the hallway, an open door caught his eye. "Mhm, strange." He murmured to himself, his Irish accent thick through his voice. There had been conversations about a week prior, Arcana students joking about never leaving their doors open any more, because of the thieving and untrustworthy ways of the Noctrem students, so this ajar door was something that he hadn't expected to see.

As Jack peered around the corner of the door, to determine who's room it was, he noticed a bag on the floor, one he had seen many times whilst he had been growing up. Lulu and him had always used to go out on trips to the woods in the small town they once lived in, and they would take a picnic and all the essentials needed to eat, and have a day out, like a ball, and a frisbee and what ever else you'd want, in that bag. "Lu?" He called out as he made his way into the room, looking around. He could hear the shower on in the bathroom, but even through the walls, it was still possible to hear people calling on the outside. Many a time, the male had been spoken to whilst he had been in the shower, from one of his friends on the outside in his bedroom, so, it worried him a little that Lulu hadn't replied to him. He knocked on the door of the bathroom, once again calling out her name, hoping for a reply. After a minute of not getting one, he opened the door, slowly, making sure that she was decent before going inside properly.

The sight before him shocked him, and Jack moved quickly over to her side, taking her hand. "Lulu? You're like ice.... why are you showering in cold water? You'll freeze if you've been in here too long. Here. Please?" He held up a towel that had been conveniently placed close enough to the shower, so that she would be able to step out of the shower, and he could wrap it around her.

Ashy had to blink and take a moment to comprende what Ben had just said. Damm his ability to speak for long periods without breathing. It wasn't really good for anything except making her brain work at double speed! Well yours isn't only good for refilling peoples water bottles and getting people wet Ashy thought to herself, smiling at the thought. She had come to the conclusion that she was going to win no great battles with the power that had been 'god given.' But it was a neat little party trick and something she hoped to use for the good of the world. That was, once she'd refined to do so.

'Oh i'm fine.' She told the Auburn haired male across from her, ' Well, I am now..' She added quietly, staring down at the floor. The thought was being a house captain becoming less scary, but scary all the same. She quickly reflected back on the assembly and remembered that Ben was always a house captain, at least she wouldn't be totally on her own. There was Ben and....Drake... Oh Jesus
'How are you?' She asked Ben brightly, before he could ask her any sort of question. Ashy hated questions, besides she was never going to be able to explain all the emotions running through her right now. Not in a million years.

Ashy looked back at Ben, he seemed happy to see her there was no denying that and she felt the same way. But she just...couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something from her. She could tell by the way the males smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Something was up, and Ashy wanted to know what.

Before she could question Ben further however, the pair were joined by the arrival of Zac. Ashy didn't know why, but she always felt it slightly awkward when the two of them collided. This was completely absurd considering that the two of them were on 'level pegging' as it were. weren't they? The confusion of Ashy's feeling for Ben threatened to cause her to go into a day dream, she pushed that issue to the back of her mind. Not here. Not now.

Ashy rolled her eyes as Zac approched them, 'What part of 'wait here' did you not understand?' She said, smiling at Zac slightly. 'I was coming back!' She said in mock exasperation, nudging the male slightly.

Leo was one big question mark almost like he hadn’t expected her to stay angry with him. But she couldn’t let him think he’d get away with things by kissing and touching her, although she’d been so close to forgetting about it all, too wrapped up in his heat and passion. His possessiveness. On some level, the fact that he’d so obviously thought he was getting away with this one, angered her so much more. Did he think her that weak? Because if he did, he had another thing coming, that was certain. Amy had been a doormat for the majority of her life, and only life with the army had finally toughened her up, making her realize that she couldn’t just let people walk all over her. Life was simply too short. Besides, if she hadn’t learned to stand up for herself, she would’ve been written off as the gullible nurse, and those young army boys were simply not very nice once they found out they could mess with someone without consequence.

So, she supposed now it was a sort of complex for her. She couldn’t stand feeling weak and gullible, feeling like she was deterring; going back to her teenage self. She narrowed her eyes at Leo when his eyes widened at her swearing. Yes, I’m angry! She inwardly screamed, but she gritted her teeth instead of letting it out. He was looking so regretful and soft with her now. Then he apologized, taking a step away from her. The latter satisfied her a little. At least he had finally realized that she was really angry with him. Although, she supposed maybe she was overreacting just a tad, but she’d refused to be turned on, so that had only added to the fiery whirlwind of passion in her. With his next words, her anger started ebbing, however, throwing itself off of her. She just loved him so much, it was hard to stay angry with him when he was so humbly apologizing, more or less begging for her forgiveness. Leo, her proud, stoic Spartan, was begging her to step into his embrace once more, and it was as heady as anything.

Another proof of his love for her. Her heart fluttered and she sighed, letting her gaze sink to the floor, finally giving up on the anger which had already disintegrated completely. After a little while, the brunette took a deep breath, peering up at his puppy-dog eyes, and immediately felt herself melting for him once more. Just typical. But she couldn’t muster any resistance this time. Her anger was gone, no longer fuelling her resolve. “Leo, you should know I’m yours.” She said softly before moving closer to him, letting her arms dance up his arms to meet at his neck, looking up at him. “Your Amy.” She then said, her lips finding his briefly. “But I’m not angry with you because you were jealous. I was angry with your treatment of Chris. He did nothing wrong, and for the record, neither did I. It was a hug, we’ve only ever been friends – never more, and you need to accept that you’re stuck with me, okay? I am never going to meet a man who will steal my heart as thoroughly as you have. Ever.” With that, Amy cast a soft, warm smile up at the headmaster.

With only short thought, she decided he might need to hear what she’d known for a long time, but hadn’t told him. Besides, right now, with her heart all warm and fuzzy from his words and his possessiveness, it felt like a good time. It felt right somehow. She hugged him close, burying her face against the side of his face, before she moved her head back to look him in the eyes. “I love you, Leo,” she finally said, her voice so filled with love, it was almost overflowing.

---

Drake’s only reaction when Erin turned around, eyes black, body shivering, was a raised eyebrow. He assessed her quietly, his mind already going over his options of how to deal with her. After all, Drake had dealt Erin and her rages for years now, it was almost instinctual. When she breathed his name, however, her tone of voice made him frown inconspicuously. It’d been a while since she’d last been really scared of herself, and it made him wonder what had gotten her riled up this badly, but he knew asking her would only make things worse right now, and she was already on the edge. He could tell as much. Her eyes were silently beseeching him to help her, and like the good, unselfish man he was, of course he decided to do exactly that. He was about to move towards her when her head whipped back, her eyes going red. He stood still, watching her quietly. The beast inside her had taken over. It was like a completely different woman when that happened, so he wasn’t all that surprised by the words being shot at him.

Instead of fear, Drake felt sort of amused, shooting the now red-eyed girl a smirk, his attitude clearly saying, “whatever, bitch, you haven’t even seen half of what I can do.” But he stayed quiet, waiting to see if Erin would be coming back soon, or if she was completely lost. When the blonde he knew finally came back into her own eyes, Drake was already moving, his course of action decided even before she asked him for help. Which in itself was incredibly unusual. Erin never asked him to help her. She just sort of… took it. That alone told him how desperate she was, even if her eyes weren’t screaming it too. He gave her only a nod, reaching her quickly. Once he did, he began pulling on his powers. Shadows enveloped them both, the forest providing him plenty of material to play with. Darkness blocked out all else but the two of them. Then, holding her gaze, quietly telling her that he’d take care of her, a band of shadow whirled itself around her hands, tying them together behind her back. “Now,” he murmured seductively, his eyes glinting, “how about we make things a bit more interesting?”

Shadows began moving in front of her eyes, spreading out in thick, almost solid material to cover her eyes almost like a mask. Only then, did his hands move. One hand began slowly trailing its way up her side from her hip, while the other moved to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, his body heat sliding over her almost like a calming blanket. He leaned his head in by her ear, his hot breath dancing over her sensitive skin as he whispered to her. “Relax, let your body grow soft, Erin…” He moved to languidly trail kisses up her neck. He kept his movements nice and slow, heated and intense, but gentle. When she was this far out, he figured he needed to reel her back in a bit before moving to the more steam-releasing part of the process. He knew that’s what she’d need ultimately. This was simply step one. “Don’t worry about letting go,” he murmured to her before the hand trailing up her body met her breast, slowly dancing over it. “I can handle it…”

He didn’t let the hand wander much, however, before it began trailing down her back from between her shoulder blades, lethargically and studiously brushing over the side of her spine. Drake knew precisely which parts of the female anatomy would provide the most sensuality, even with clothes on. He let a sly smile take over his lips, even knowing Erin couldn’t see him. His lips kept trailing slow, seductive kisses in all the right places, his breath dancing over her skin in between.

The shower felt like ice, a welcome change to the fever she’d experienced in the men’s washroom. The water was highly pressurized. As it beat down on her she felt as if a hundred small daggers prodded at her skin through her clothes. Where she was exposed felt worse. It drove her to attention, breaking past the nausea and vertigo. She snapped awake, her frustration only adding to the degree of clarity that was coming back to her mind. The longer she sat, the more she felt like she could focus on what had just happened with Drake, what she felt and what she wanted to do about it.

She didn’t doubt that her emotions were heavily in play. The power hangover had exposed what she felt. It was undeniably real to her that she felt something for Drake, despite the fact that he was likely the worst guy for her. The idea that he was currently fucking Erin Hawthorne – wherever she may be, and Lulu didn’t doubt it was happening - severely bothered her. Whenever Erin was storming around in a rage, most often she came in a hurry down the halls to Drake’s room demanding him (she’d heard it all too often, and the screams of orgasm often followed). It made her skin crawl to think that he was with her, smiling that same sly smile he’d given her in the hallway only his hands were obviously much busier and less preoccupied with holding up the girl in his arms. And worst, he would enjoy it. What guy wouldn't?

“How could you be so stupid?” she said to herself. How on earth did she appeal to him? She felt for him but it seemed so obvious to her that he felt nothing in return. Drake had been the guy who’d lived across from her for years. He knew her well and had always been the first to tease her in a playful manner. Lulu knew she was a source of his amusement. He’d always joked that she may one day feel something for him, that his presence was addicting. In truth it was but she’d always denied it to him. Today was the first time she’d ever tried to flirt back. And she’d done a shit job of it. Not that she blamed him for leaving. But leaving for Erin? He could have at least not told her about that. Now it was in her head, what they were doing, how it would sound. She wondered what it would be like to be Erin, to be so strong and beautiful. She was like Corentine; she got what she wanted when she wanted it, whether by force, coercion or just because she was who she was. She was so able. And Lulu was stuck, finding herself defending those who’re getting bullied and finding herself in the crossfire of the ‘fabulous five.’ She had a sassy mouth and no appreciation for any of those girls who got what they wanted no matter the cost.

Unlike the heroes of comic books, she was far from a celebrity or icon. If anything she was ostracized and outcast because she was literally a magnet for trouble. Drake always told her that she brought it on herself. She couldn’t seem to help it though. She didn’t like to see a bully pick on a less powerful kid. She didn't like it when others walked over the little less well off. She’d been that kid for years and nearly died half a hundred times. She knew pain. She knew suffering. She was better for it but certainly not stronger. Her powers were good but they weren’t something that would win you a battle of epic proportions. To be honest Lulu felt like her personality didn’t match her abilities. She had a habit of picking fights she couldn’t win because of her situation. That didn’t stop her. She was starting to think that maybe it should. But Grey would love it if she stopped, even post mortem. Her older brother, her personal tormentor for years, would just adore it if she gave up. Giving him that satisfaction wasn’t right. And he’d been much stronger than the fabulous five combined. And she’d killed him.

Images of Grey filled her mind, namely the day she’d cursed him. That fateful birthday party, the balloon, the choking and explosive pain in her body from his psionic blasts. He’d made her feel pain, like her nerves were being cauterized and shredded internally. He’d made the pressure in her head build that day to such a degree that her temples had actually swollen. He’d wanted her to her die and she’d finally wanted him to die. When she finally got the chance, her entire body seemed to just explode with rage. She hated every fiber of his evil being and she wanted him to know her pain, to never feel lucky, to never get what he wanted ever again. She wanted him to die and he did, eaten alive and slowly killed by a mountain lion after two weeks of torture as his life fell apart. After all the horror she wished it had gone on longer.

How sick was she?

I'm not sick, just broken.

Lulu’s thoughts were brought back to reality. Close to twenty minutes had passed when she opened her eyes and heard a knock on the doorframe leading to the bathroom. She was leaning along the wall of the shower, the water still beating down on her. Lulu looked at her hands to find them pruny and so pale she was virtually blue. She tightened her fingers into a fist before looking up as a shadow filled the doorway. Jackson, of all people, emerged. At the sight of her his eyes widened in shock, making her shift in her seat and move to turn the water off. Did she really look that bad? Her clothing clung to her skin, making it hard to shift her position. As her hand was midair Jack moved to catch it, his hand warm able to move the skin around on hers like she was part zombie.

"Lulu? You're like ice.... why are you showering in cold water? You'll freeze if you've been in here too long,” he gushed, his words flowing like a ramble. She winced, shrugging as best she could in sopping wet clothes. “It just feels good when I feel like this,” she told him, feeling like she had to explain something about why she was sitting there. Slowly she stood, finding her legs a hell of a lot sturdier than before though her jeans seemed so slick and tight to her skin she felt she might rip them.

“Here. Please?" Jack asked, moving to grab the towel Drake had set on the toilet for her and opening it so that she might be able to step out into it. Gripping the wall of the shower, she wrung out her shirt and hair as best she could before stepping out and letting him wrap the thick cotton fabric around her. She clutched the ends with her hands and felt her lips tremble with how cold she suddenly felt. “Let me change,” she smiled weakly, looking up at him and bringing the towel to her chin. “Just stay in here. No need to see anything you don’t want to,” she chirped, moving out of the bathroom and closing Jack inside it while she moved toward her duffel bag on the floor and tore through it for a fresh outfit.

Once dressed, she bound her wet clothes up in the towel and opened the door to the bathroom, looking in to find her good friend still looking worried as ever. “Did you pace a million times through here or what? I’m alive, just cold. Thankfully I don’t feel like the gum on someone’s shoe, though definitely a little trodden on,” she said lightly, moving to hang the wet town and her clothes up to dry before moving to the bedroom again to sit on her bed.

“Drake helped me here then he tore off for a quick fuck, that I don’t doubt,” she shrugged, pushing back a handful of lose hair strands that had made their way back into her face. She wasn't hiding the hurt she felt. Of all people, Jackson was probably the only one to understand. To preoccupy her hands and keep moving, Lulu tucked her long blond hair over her left shoulder, combed it with her fingers, and began to braid it.

“You look like you saw Beth or something,” she commented, looking at his rather pale pallor and still wide eyes. It concerned her to see him this way. It reminded her of how he'd looked when his father and Holly had died. He'd slipped just like she was slipping right then and there and that was not something she wanted for one of her only friends.

Leonardo felt himself relax almost instantly, the second that Amy stepped forward, and wrapped herself into his arms. They had only been together for little over a week, but he hated himself for making her so angry; having her happy again, having her hugging him and touching him again was just elating. His world was so wrapped up with Amy now; his emotions were linked to her happiness, and having her happy... well, that made him happy too. When Amy's arms snaked up his own, coming to wrap around his neck, he moved to wrap his own arms around her waist, bringing her body as close to his as was possible. He just wanted to repeat his apology over and over again, to prove to her that he really was sorry for how he had behaved. He was already planning to apologize to Christopher as soon as he came upon the male again, and he was sure that would make Amy happier as well.

Leo listened to Amy's explanation of why she was angry; that it wasn't his jealousy that had upset her most, but it had been the way that he had treated her old friend. He smiled softly back down at his girlfriend as she looked up at him, and he brushed a stray strand of hair off of her face, his hand lingering upon her cheek for a moment as he did so. He couldn't really explain to her how he was feeling; that he just hadn't liked to see another man with his arms wrapped around his girlfriend, especially a man that he didn't know all too well. "I'll apologize to him, I promise." He whispered softly down to her, kissing her forehead to seal his promise. Guilt was plaguing at the male's chest, especially towards Christopher, and he would make sure that he fulfilled his promise, going to the male's room later on that day and apologizing to him profusely. He wouldn't be able to fully explain why he had acted so brashly towards the new male teacher, as that would reveal his and Amy's little secret, but he'd work something out.

However, then, Amy was burying her head into his chest, and three little words escaped her mouth. Three little words that Leo hadn't heard since he was living with his family in Sparta. Three words that he never expected anyone to say to him.

This was going to make it harder. Harder for the both of them. Leo knew that he loved her. He had loved her since that moment that he had accepted her as a teacher into his school, and she had been in his eye-line ever since. But now, saying it... The male's eyes widened as she spoke, and his arms slacked a little around her waist, however not fully letting go. It had been a week. Yes, it had been an amazing week, but it was only a week. If he said the words back to her, the immortal male was condemning her to a life of living with him, never aging, never dying, whilst she grew older, and weaker. If he spoke those words back to her, then he would have to sit there and watch her wither away in front of him, and have to live forever after without her, wandering alone with a broken heart. Was he to do that? Could he do that to her?

"Amy, I...." He started, shaking his head softly. He couldn't do that to her. He didn't want her to live a life like that; hating him as he never aged, whilst she did.

"I love you too."

Leo's heart won the battle over his brain, repeating the words back to her, before placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

What was he doing?

---

Erin's primal side didn't like Drake. She had never liked Drake. Drake liked to stop her from coming from full power; usually by tying her up some way, stopping her from moving her arms, legs, and body. However, soon, she was pushed to the back of the consciousness, and Erin took over her own body once more. Then, Drake was in front of her, his shadows surrounding them, pushing everything else out of their space, focusing on just the two of them. Then, her hands were being bound behind her back, shadows pulling her wrists tightly together at her back. Erin was growing too tired to fight her inner demon any more, it was growing stronger and stronger every second and she was growing more and more scared.

The blonde was doing well, holding onto her sanity, her human consciousness, and she had Drake to thank for that. The male was already calming her down with his seductive words, but suddenly, shadows were clouding her eyes. The girl panicked for a moment, her inner beast rising to burst out through her worry, but then, Drake's hands were on her hip, his lips at her ear, and her inner demon instantly sank back down into her dark hole in Erin's mind. Holding onto her humanity was the key to her staying... un-beastly, and the one thing that every human had in common was their want, and their need, for physical contact, and intimacy - one thing Drake Quellen was extremely good at.

Erin's head lolled to the side as Drake trailed his lips up her neck, his hand slowly trailing it's way up her body, to stop at her breast. She was able to feel his lips against her skin turning into a smirk, a seductive smile that she knew all too well. Her body was already beginning to react to him, her shaking beginning to decrease, her mind starting to focus on his movements, his breath, his voice. A soft moan escaped her lips as his kisses reached the most sensitive part of her neck, just underneath her earlobe, and she ached her body, straining for contact against his. Something about Drake's movements kept her human. No-one else had ever been able to; just Drake. There was something about him that connected with Erin's human side, keeping her sane, and calm, and horny as hell.

"Drake...." She breathed to him, her voice still shaky and breathless, although a little clearer now than it had been five minutes ago. She leaned her head forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder as he continued to kiss her, kissing the small bit of skin that she could reach just by his collarbone. By that little touch, Drake would be able to feel that she was calming down, that she was staying human for the time being, and that she wanted him. "Make it go away, Drake..." Erin whispered against his neck, her lips dancing upon his skin as she spoke, "please... make it stop..."

---

Once Jackson had gotten Lulu out of the freezing shower, she made her way out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. She needed her privacy, and he respected that, but the minutes passed so slowly. He wondered if she was okay, pacing the floor of the bathroom for her to call him back into her main bedroom. When the door opened of the bathroom, the male almost jumped out of his skin - he had been deep in thought, pacing backwards and forwards. Finding Lulu like that had shaken him up a little - she looked a lot worse than she had done earlier, and he felt terrible about her being alone. He had thought that he had seen Drake follow her, someone he knew wouldn't have left someone as close to his heart as Lulu alone in a state like this, so maybe he had just imagined the boy following her.

He followed her out of the bathroom into the bedroom, and sat down on the bed next to her. "Don't let me find you like that again, Lu." Jack shook his head softly, his Irish accent thick through his voice as the worry become more and more evident. He watched her expert fingers moving through her hair, pulling it around, creating a braid. He listened to her voice too, telling him that she hadn't been alone that day, and had been with Drake. But, the guy had gotten distracted, and had run off to, as Lulu put it, have a "quick fuck." Jackson moved closer to the girl, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer towards his body. She was still cold, slightly shaking. At least by having her so close to him, he could keep her warm. "Don't worry about that prick." Jack shook his head, his hand rubbing her shoulder gently. It was rare that a swear word escaped the lips of the reserved Irish man, but by leaving Lulu in such a state like that, Drake had annoyed him. He was going to have to speak to him about this later.

Jack hadn't realized that he was pale, so when Lulu told him that he looked like he had seen Beth, he frowned a little. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." His voice was quiet as he answered her, his mind flicking back to happier times, when he was with Beth, and Holly, and when everything was good. "She completely ignored me. Not even as much as a look. I'm not going to try and more, you know? I'm just going to leave it. If she wants to talk to me, that's fine, but I'm not going to make an effort again." He sighed, looking down at the pretty blonde in his arms.

"I've decided something." The male suddenly came out with after a few minutes of silence between the two of them. "Let's hold a party tonight. You can help me organize it and whatever. There's no point the two of us sitting here moping about Drake and Beth and whatever. Wanna get drunk?"

Cor smirked at Chris’ comment to her words. “Do you, now?” She mused aloud, slowly approaching him. She was already in a better mood. Hell, this was free therapy. Thinking over her options, Cor wondered at which route to take with this one. She could scare him, she could maim him, or she could be nice and merely make him a little uneasy with her. She liked telling people from the beginning, that she was not one to be messed with. She had gotten Marinos off of her back, and Montgomery, well… she knew she was his favourite. All the others were dealt with easily enough. She wasn’t worried in the slightest, because they knew her well enough not to mess with her. She was not above doing to teachers what she did to students who crossed her. Cor liked power, she likes abusing her power, and she was going to make sure everyone knew it in advance. Once he introduced himself, Cor found herself cocking an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping over him once more. Well, he sure did look like a PE teacher. Yum on a stick, anyone?

Something, however, in his eyes caught her attention. He looked almost wary, like she was about to discover something he didn’t want her to. Ah well, that was his deal. She was not about to dig around. She wasn’t into that stuff. It was Amber and Drake’s deal. She was more direct by far. He interest was a bit more… palpable than someone’s past.

With his following question regarding her having ideas for a club, she flashed him a sexy, daring little smile. Was he flirting with her? “Why, Mr. PE teacher, I do believe nicknames like these could lead a girl to think you were flirting.” She said, her voice smooth and teasing, her eyes running over his body once more, clearly telling him she wouldn’t mind if he was. Mostly because, if he wasn’t flirting, he was being patronizing, and well, if the latter was the case, he wasn’t going to be a teacher here for long, which would be too bad. One couldn’t have enough man-candy. She reached him then, stopping only a meter from him, casting another gorgeous smile his way; one full of promises. Problem was, it did not tell of which kind of intentions were behind it; only that there was more than just a smile to be considered. That’s when he asked her another question, and she laughed softly. “Moi?” She started, feigned innocence in her tone. Her tone went back to its flirty, more normal ways when she continued.

“Straight to the point.” She grinned, walking close to lean in and whisper by his ear, “I like that.” Once she leaned back, she tapped her lower lip pensively with her right index finger, watching him. “Name’s Corentine Quellen, gorgeous, but you can call me Cor.” With that, the blonde smiled another alluring smile, purring, “don’t tell me they didn’t warn you in advance.” So far, she had to admit she actually liked the guy. Although, she was certain that wouldn’t last for long. He was probably one of Leo’s old goodie-goodies. Didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun until then, though. Besides, it was not like she was tied to anyone. Jay was being a jerk. A hot, irresistible jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. She didn’t like how he’d changed since he’d been at Noctrem. She had wanted to find her former boyfriend in there, and part of him was definitely present, but… he was different. It could only be expected, sure, but that didn’t mean she liked accepting it. Didn’t mean she accepted it at all, in fact.

---

Amy instinctively leaned into Leo’s touch as his hand brushed her cheek, her eyelids fluttering closed. His hand was warm and soft, yet callused from his time as a Spartan warrior, and it called to her, calming her mind, spreading that same warmth through her body. For some reason, even the softest and gentlest contact between them, was enough to make her respond to him. He was calming her down so very expertly, but he couldn’t make the heat in the pit of her stomach go away; the heat that wanted something very different from a gentle caress. She ignored it, hoping it would go away. She didn’t want to cheapen the moment, so instead, the young brunette enjoyed the presence of her Leo alone. Her eyes slid open as he promised her he would apologize, and she couldn’t stop a little smile from coming onto her face. “Thank you,” she said quietly, loving him all the more. There was nothing sexier than a man who could admit to being wrong, and for Leo to apologize to the man he had just been so jealous of? She leaned up and kissed his lips in a warm, but brief kiss, telling him she forgave him completely.

After Amy had spoken those three words; words she had waited to tell him, she could feel Leo stiffen right before his arms loosened their hold on her, and his silence was like a dagger to her heart. She bit her lower lip, clenching him closer so that he wouldn’t be able to see the fear and worry in her eyes. Too soon, Amy. He’s not going to say it back. Idiot, it’s only been a week. Do you really think he could possibly love you like you do him? Honestly. He could have any woman. Why on earth would he ever promise himself to you like that? Doubts ran through her, her heart interpreting his silence in its own way, completely drowning out anything her mind would have had to say. He was so quiet, and she hated his arms had slackened around her, almost like she had completely shocked him. What was he thinking? Was he wondering how to go easy on her? She closed her eyes, her heart pounding rapidly. She couldn’t remember ever being this scared before. The thought of losing Leo was the most petrifying one she’d ever had.

Then he began talking, and her breath caught in her throat. She awaited his answer pensively, her arms hugging her Leo close. If she was going to lose him, she at least wanted him close and in her arms one last time. Gods, Amy, what the hell do you do this to yourself for, huh? She bit harder on her lip when he paused, her head spinning. He’s not going to say it back. She didn’t even realize how hard she was biting, until she tasted blood. But she didn’t care. She couldn’t make herself care, not even a little. Then he continued, words meeting her ears, without registering. She heard him, but she was unable to understand him. She was certain he had just broken up with him, and for a second there, she was close to crying. Until it hit her; what his words had meant and she finally took a deep, relieved breath, letting go of her bleeding lip. A sob rocked her body, her body coming out of a state of shock. Her head was swimming, her heartbeat slowly going back to a pace considered normal.

Her relief, however, was short-lived, because something else forced its way through her fog in her mind. He had hesitated, and though she didn’t know what, something was in his voice. She took another deep breath, finally relaxing her grip on him so that she could tilt her head up to look at his face, his eyes, the set of his lips. He wasn’t happy. She’d thought it’d make him smile. Instead, he looked so troubled, almost sad. She moved a hand up to cup his cheek, worry eating at her heart. “Baby, what’s wrong?” She said quietly, her voice soft and careful, violet eyes slightly widened. “What’s on your mind?” She didn’t like seeing him like this. Wasn’t telling each other “I love you” supposed to be a good kind of event? Was she missing something here? The young teacher searched the face of her boss and boyfriend, quietly looking for clues as to what was going on in his mind. She then sighed, her hand falling from his face. Her gaze fell to his shoulder, avoiding his eyes. “I thought...” she whispered then, before interrupting herself, “no… nevermind.”

---

When Erin breathed his name, Drake chuckled softly, biting down on the lobe of her ear. “Mhmm?” He murmured in response, telling her he was listening. He could tell he was getting her back; that controlling her dark side was getting easier already. Her body was relaxing, the trembling slowly subsiding. So he kissed her neck, just below her ear; a place he knew Erin, and most women in general, was very sensitive. The moan greeting him, brought another smirk onto his lips. The hand on her back moved to rest on her hip, effectively wrapping his arm around her. He pulled her close just as her body ached for his. That was the thing about Erin; he didn’t need to figure out what she wanted, because her responsive body told him all he needed to know. Of course, one needed to know how to interpret her sometimes, but after such a long time, he liked to think of himself as an expert in how to please the pretty blonde. That was the thing about Drake. He was a selfish bastard, but with sex, he more than anything enjoyed bringing his partner pleasure. A lot less selfish than most other men.

When Erin leaned in to kiss his collarbone, Drake let his gaze sweep over her. He knew what it meant. They’d developed a quiet language after a while of this, and it made it a lot easier to calm her down. With her next whispers, the young man began backing Erin up against a tree, disintegrating the bind on her hands only to reposition her hands above her. Then the shadows clamped back down, restraining her once more. Drake might know how to handle himself, but Erin’s strength was not something to just be messed with, and she could get a couple of swings in before he’d have the time to react, so he remained calm, but careful. Maybe that was what set him apart; most men would be scared of her in this state. Drake felt no such thing; never had, and he thought maybe she responded to that. That maybe his calmness swept over her too.

“Not a problem,” he murmured in her ear, his voice deep and seductive. His body was pressing against hers, his hands slowly dancing down her arms which were above her head. His mouth kept busy too, continuing its task at her neck and ear, teasing, nibbling, kissing – adding little flicks of his tongue once in a while. The he meticulously but languidly undressed her, his movements slow and measured in every way. He let his fingers brush naked skin once in a while, teasing her with his touch; not lingering enough to relieve her of the pressure in any way. Instead, he kept right on building. Once he had her body completely bared before him, Drake really got to work.

---

Drake had taken his time with Erin, so once they were finished going about their business, over an hour had passed. Once they had both found release, he picked up his shirt and drew up his jeans. Only once his t-shirt was in place, did he slowly let the shadows release the blonde. He watched her quietly, his eyes studying her. She was still naked; he hadn’t bothered dressing her, mostly because he enjoyed watching women putting on clothes after sex, just as much as he enjoyed watching them taking it off before then. He wondered how she was doing; he couldn’t remember the last time she had been this far gone, and he had to admit he was curious what had tossed her over the edge like that. He had protected her back from scratching against the bark by making a soft cover of shadows between them, almost like a blanket covering the harsh wood. He had surprised himself a little by being thoughtful like that. Ah well, this was a fucked up day in general. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, considering what had happened with Lulu too.

Fuck, Lulu. Once again, a wave of worry hit him. Was she okay? She had looked alright when he left her, and he'd made sure she had everything she needed. On that note, he began wondering what food to bring her. Something warm and soothing. Soup? Yeah, that sounded about right. He supposed.

Jackson’s concern remained and Lulu couldn’t help but feel bad for making her friend worry. She knew he had more than enough on his plate, especially since the mother of his deceased child was now attending his school. She remembered how shocked and hurt he’d been when Beth had first arrived. Lulu hadn’t been at Arcana to help him initially – Noctrem had still been standing after all. She couldn’t stand to imagine what might be going on in his mind, seeing her and being reminded of quite literally everything that he was in many ways trying to put behind him.

"Don't let me find you like that again, Lu,” Jackson told her. The presence of his accent made her aware of the full force of his worry. She leaned her shoulder his into his neck as he sat down beside her. Across from them she could see the two of them in a mirror hung beside her bed. The sight was a little sorry looking. Lulu looked virtually blue in places, her skin still incredibly pale. Paired with that were her dark eyes and exhausted disposition. Her body was starting to ache and feel heavy. She couldn’t deny that the mattress she was sitting on was practically calling out to her. Sitting beside her, Jackson looked only slightly better. He had a tired look to him, paired with worry lines and a concerned frown. She didn’t like that she had made him upset.

“Drake helped me here then he tore off for a quick fuck, that I don’t doubt,” she shrugged, sitting upright to braid her wet hair. The fact that Jackson was watching her was not lost on her. "Don't worry about that prick,” Jack assured her. His words stung a little. She could have rebutted his remark but she chose not to. Drake had indeed pulled a douche move in leaving her for Erin. But in the same breath, he had helped her all the way from the men’s washroom floor to her room, something she doubted he would do for most anyone else. She was caught between loathing him for leaving her for sex and appreciating the help he had given.

“You look like you saw Beth or something,” she commented then, feeling it best to change the subject. Jack’s weak smile immediately turned into a frown. Even mentioning her name was difficult some days. She tried to make him less sensitive to it by bringing it up. At that moment she almost regretted it but her suspicions were confirmed when he answered.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did," he admitted. Lulu leaned back again him, bringing her right hand to rub his knee in consolation. "She completely ignored me. Not even as much as a look. I'm not going to try and more, you know? I'm just going to leave it. If she wants to talk to me, that's fine, but I'm not going to make an effort again."

“Well,” Lulu said, exhaling deeply as Jack sighed to himself. She looked at him directly then, leaning forward on the bed to look him in the eyes. “She doesn’t know what an excellent and loving man she’s missing out on,” she smiled, her eyes lowering to the floor momentarily as a shiver tore through her. Quiet seemed to fall between them. Lulu reached for the edge of the blanket behind her, pulling it so that she could wrap it around her shoulders. Because Jackson was sitting on the bed, it half covered him as she pulled the corners over her shoulders. As she settled, she watched him think. She was always amused to watch him while he processed. It seemed like you could see the gears turning.

"I've decided something!" Jackson announced, looking at her with a wry smile. Lulu leaned back so that she could square her shoulders to her friend and look at him directly. “What’s that dear sir?” she asked, speaking a mixed Irish and British accent. No matter how hard she tried, Lulu couldn’t sound like him.

"Let's hold a party tonight. You can help me organize it and whatever. There's no point the two of us sitting here moping about Drake and Beth and whatever. Wanna get drunk?" he asked. Lulu could see the mischievous glimmer behind his eyes. There was no doubt that Jackson was one of the best hosts. His parties had more than enough backing behind them. Lulu had been to enough of them to know that he had a way of getting what he wanted and throwing bashes that left people talking for months and asking when the next one would be. The prospect was both exciting and daunting, if only because her body was still reeling in it’s current state.

“I do need a drink,” she admitted, before moving to untuck one of her hands from the quilt. “But I desperately need to sleep. Corentine Quellen made it impossible for me to bear being in my hotel room these past few weeks. Now that my room is not sabotaged or vandalized, at least just yet, I’d like to sleep a little. If you don’t mind.”

She hoped he didn’t. Not that she would be opposed to him napping there with her. It wasn’t like they hadn’t before.

In the back of her mind, also, was Drake's suggestion that she needed to sleep. She knew she had to. The throbbing in her head and the ache in her body to just lie back was overwhelming. Her eyes were heavy and she could feel herself slumping forward with exhaustion. "Can I nap while you plan? You'll have to commandeer a room I'll bet, and woo the cafeteria ladies into providing food, organize a beer run. All that stuff you do so well," she asked, looking at him as she shivered slightly and stifled a yawn with a blanket covered hand.

No sooner had she finished talking than she did flop back on the back, rolling onto her side with the blankets at her chin. Her feet hung slightly off the edge of the bed but her knees were bent and Lulu found herself nearly in the fetal position. "Just a quick snooze, I promise," she murmured. With her head on the mattress, it was all the incentive she needed. She closed her eyes and felt at ease.

Leonardo didn't know that Amy had registered his slacking, or his pausing at his words. In fact, he had been too wrapped up in his own little world of thoughts for him to really look at her face or focus on her bodily movements and posture. It was only when he heard a sob hitting his ears that he looked down at her, pulling away slightly so that he was able to see her face properly. Slowly, when Amy lifted her face up to look at his, he realized that something was wrong. It was then that he realized that he had upset her, or at least something had. But he was sure that it had been him, and his pausing before saying that he loved her back. Then, it began to dawn on him, how bad it must have sounded. Him pausing before repeating back to her the three most important words in the world.

Leo leaned his head softly into her hand when she placed it on his cheek, turning his head to the left, placing a soft peck on the gentle skin of her palm. Even her hand smelled good, she was so beautiful, so caring, and he had hurt her by not repeating the words to her the way she would have liked him too. Her eyes were so wide, and she looked so confused with him, worried even. He felt guilty, instantly. "Nothing, baby." He whispered softly down to her, bending down to press his lips to her forehead. Again, the guilt poured through the man, and he bit down on his lip, his own lovely grey eyes looking down into her violets.

He couldn't lie to her like that. There was no way that he wanted to, and no way that he was going to. "Okay, well.... maybe... something." He spoke quietly, before listening to her own words beginning to fail her as well. The immortal male's eyebrows came together on his forehead as he frowned, and he tilted his head to the side, looking down at her. "Amy, talk to me... please. What did you think? I can probably guess what you thought, but don't think that." He spoke softly, shaking his head. "Please. I just.... I love you with all of my heart, Amy, I do. I've loved you since I laid eyes on you as a new teacher here, but... do you really want to love... me?" He closed his eyes, hanging his head down. This wasn't coming out right. Nothing was sounding as it should. He was confused, and wasn't really sure what he was saying; but it wasn't what he was trying to say.

"Talk to me, Amy. Please."

---

Erin truly regained her consciousness once she was on the forest floor, sitting there naked. Her... activities in the forest there with Drake had calmed her down, her bonds however only recently been removed. She hadn't been able to touch him whilst they had been having sex, but she was sure that he didn't like it. He liked having control over everything when they were being intimate, to the point of where she was sure he didn't like anyone touching him or taking any sort of control over him. That was why she was usually bound when they were together, even when she was calm enough to act upon her own accord. The blanket on the bark of the tree however had been something different. She had never experienced... a slightly caring side of Drake, unless you counted the fact that he cared enough to help her when she was that close to loosing it. Something was different about him today.

As the blonde sat there, her back against the tree, which was much less comfortable without the shadow blanket, Erin looked up at him, watching him get dressed, his clothes covering his, lets face if, beautiful body. Suddenly, her eyes welled with tears, the though of Keirol coming back into her mind, the man that had put her in this position in the first place. Tears was something Erin never did. The last time she had cried, she had probably been a young child, who had fallen over and scraped her knee. Ever since her power had developed, she hadn't cried. Ever. It was just too weakening, and she was already weak enough, not being able to control a part of herself. "Drake?" She asked through a shaky, breathless voice. As she spoke, she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, as if her position somehow protected her, making her feel less exposed and open.

Erin rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes, a deep sigh emitting from her mouth. "Do you think anyone can love me? Or is this really all I have in life? Just sex in the forest with someone who doesn't give a crap about me unless I'm turning into some sort of beast?" Slowly, a tear slipped down from her and rolled down her cheek, hitting her bare stomach when it fell off.

Nothing. The word rang out, such a ridiculously obvious lie she could barely stop herself from laughing hysterically. What wasn’t he telling her? His eyes flashed with a glint of guilt, and she looked up at him silently, hoping with all of her heart that he was going to talk to her. Just earlier this day, she had told him that a relationship between the two of them couldn’t work without communication; that you couldn’t just shut an issue down and pretend it wasn’t there anymore, just because you didn’t want it to be. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when the next set of words came tumbling out. She didn’t think she could handle any more problems today. This was all getting to be too much in one day. First arguing about their relationship, then Leo’s reaction to jealousy, and now this. This was supposed to have made everything better, not complicate them further; certainly not cause yet another issue for them to work through.

She began speaking, but she couldn’t get her tongue to form the words she wanted it to; couldn’t make herself say it, because saying it out loud made it more plausible; made it real. Her gaze had sunk to his shoulder now, avoiding the gray depths of his beautiful eyes. She just couldn’t look into his eyes right now, she couldn’t see that doubt mixing with guilt in his eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to breathe past the lump in her throat, but it was becoming harder. She didn’t like the way he was hesitating all the time, like what he was really thinking was going to hurt, and he was wondering how to smash her heart gently. She could feel her body starting to panic, and she was desperately trying to hold on to her dignity. The sound of his voice made her jump, her heartbeat picking up once more. This was it. This was the end of their relationship. He hadn’t meant it when he’d told her he loved her. He was pushing her away. Again. She had wanted too much from him too soon and now she was paying the prize. She felt sick, just like she had that morning.

Don’t think what? she thought, calming down a little. Some rational part of her brain was forcing its way into her thoughts, guiding her through this. What did he believe she had been thinking? Whatever he thought, he was probably right. She’d gone through a lot of possible panic-options. Currently she was forcing herself to calm down, rationalizing the way she often did, but her entire body stiffened once he told her he loved her… with all of his heart. Her lips fell apart and she slowly moved her gaze back to his face, trying to absorb everything he was saying. Oh, her poor, damaged Leo. She shook her head, blinking several times as though still not quite comprehending what he was telling her. ”Do you really want to love… me?” What did that mean? So many emotions were going through her, she had trouble discerning the meaning behind the words, and the nausea rolling through her was getting worse. She knew he was trying to tell her something, and it didn’t look like he was going to figure out how to tell her himself.

She sighed softly once he hung his head, her mind being rushed by impression. He… didn’t think she should love him? What, did he… did he not think himself worthy of love? Did he not think he needed that happiness? Was he trying to protect her from growing old alone, or himself from watching it? Maybe both? She couldn’t stop a soft, caring smile from taking over her features. “Oh, Leo…” she said softly, both her hands moving up to cup his face. She gently guiding his face up so that she could look into his eyes. She herself, was trying to get over the whirlwind that was her emotions, but right now she needed to inform her man that he wasn’t getting rid of her, especially not now that she knew without a doubt, that he loved her. “What are these silly thoughts going through your head?” She shook her head, warm and gentle smile still on her lips. “Baby, whether the words are spoken or not does not matter. Even if I didn’t tell you, I still love you. Still want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything else in my life.”

With that, Amy let her arms slide around his neck, her lips finding his cheek briefly. “Are you trying to tell me you shouldn’t have love in your life simply because you’re immortal?” She shook her head, her violet eyes capturing his mercilessly. “Leonardo Marinos, I love you. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t, just to spare myself or you pain in the future. You know why?” Her smile brightened just a touch as she looked at him, a determined look in her eyes, “Because I can assure you, we’ll make the time we have now worth it. Love isn’t painless, my darling. Not for anyone. And before you say anything, I can put your mind at ease, because I am not about to let you go through eternity without love.” She leaned in, smiling up at him. “Any objections?” Just as she finished the last word, she felt bile rise in the throat once more, and her eyes widened. “I need to…” she began, not able to finish the sentence. She clamped a hand over her mind to keep from vomiting on the floor. Instead, she ran as fast as she could into the small toilet attached to Leo’s office.

In a movement, the petite brunette was on her knees, head over the toilet. She gripped the sides of the toilet to keep herself steady as her puny breakfast left her stomach. Her body was shaking with every new round, and she had no idea what the hell was going on. Her hair was getting in the way too; she hadn’t had the time to get it out of the way. Gods, she was cramping so badly. It was just like it had been this morning, if not worse. What was wrong with her?

---

Drake had expected Erin to get up and dress herself once they had finished, him releasing her, but nope. Instead, the blonde had kept sitting there in a pile of leaves, her back leaning on the rough bark of the tree he had just fucked her against. And then, believe it or not, she had actually started crying. Drake was rarely surprised, being an expert on the behavior of others, but this was downright damned baffling. What the hell was going on today? He was caring, Lulu was a wreak, and hell, Erin was crying. Erin. Both his eyebrows shot up of their own accord, which in itself wasn’t something that happened a lot. But this… well this had just thrown him completely off his game. Hell, he had no idea how to get by without his game! He was so used to not just being him, that he supposed he’d lost himself along the way, so right now he was just lost. Drake, gather yourself, man. What the hell is this? He shook his head sharply, regaining his usual façade once more.

Okay so, what did one do with a crying girl? Did he even give enough of a shit to do anything at all? Hell, maybe he should just… call his sister or something? Cor’d take of it, right? He put his hands in his pockets, his eyes void of emotions as his mind breezed over his options and what he actually wanted to do with them. Hell, with his level of sappiness today he might just lift her up and ride off with her on a white horse headed for la la land. Before he had reached a conclusion, Erin shakily uttered his name and he cocked his head to the side slightly. What did she want with him? Erin was one of the few people who actually knew how much of an unfeeling dick he was, so she couldn’t possibly be expecting comfort… right? He might just laugh if she did, and that was cruel, even for him. He didn’t like being cruel, it made him feel sick and dirty. Like he was becoming too much like his mother and sister; something he strived never to do.

Well, this certain is a day of surprises, Drake thought after Erin had spoken to him. What was with all the touchy-feely stuff? He thought maybe he was starting to hit his limit, feeling gradually more and more uncomfortable. And seeing Lulu wouldn’t help. Her puppy dog eyes were practically begging him to proclaim deep and undying love for her and then ride off into the sunset with her. Which… was never going to happen. He might care about the girl to some extent, but if she wanted white knight and castles, she would have to look elsewhere. Maybe he should just stay away from people for the remainder of the day. He felt like a rubber band being stretched. He was going to snap sooner or later. Probably sooner. He sighed, his curiosity getting the best of him once more. Curiosity killed the Drake, he mused to himself, thinking it would probably be true some day. He moved to squat opposite her, watching her thoughtfully.

“Seems to me like you’ve already got people loving you, Erin,” he began, his voice soft and caring. Of course, it was a total act, but Drake was an excellent actor. Not even his sister, who had known him most of his life, could see through it. “You sound like you’re doomed to be alone forever, and you’re not. You just haven’t found the guy who’s going to calm your temper and handle your heart with care.” Drake shrugged, giving her a little smile, a smile one would wear when feeling sad but trying to cheer someone up. He then sighed, sinking down to sit properly in front of her. “Erin, what happened? This isn’t like you.”

Throughout Mr Marino's welcome speech, Jess mentally shook her head at the beautiful, but apparently very intellectual man in front of her. She still maintained her belief that this was the biggest mistake since Michael Jackson decided to get a nose job. He honestly expected this whole operation to run smoothly? To be fair to the man, there had been many friendships formed; Jess didn't particularly mind any of the people from Arcana. However, not everyone had the same feeling. Jess's eyes wondered across the room to Drake. He was every inch the bad boy and he knew it. He also had a fan club, mainly compromised of women. Jessica found hilarious. Who could want such an annoying man?! Drake was the worst person to around when she was annoyed, the brunette had learnt this very quickly. She had lived with boys her entire live and yet none of them were as annoying as Drake.

Drake wasn't the reason Mr Marino's ought to be scared, however, Jess though sadly. It was Cor. She was the oncoming storm. Wherever she was, trouble was not far behind. Now, the headmaster of the school was letting her in...Poor man. She felt sorry for him, she did.

The brunette then found out that her house captain was Ben. She didn't mind him too much, they had a good time when there was a party on. But, Ben was a child at heart and therefore was also a wind up merchant. Oh well, as long as the brunette kept her head down, then she wouldn't really need to speak to him.

When the assembly had finished, Jess let out a sigh 'This is where th-' She started as she turned to where Mckenna had been sitting, before quickly realizing she wasn't there. Well that was nice. Where the fuck had she gone?! The excitement of seeing her best friend disappearing as quickly as the students from the hall, Jess stood up and quickly mingled in the crowd, not wanting to be left like alone in the hall. The girl was angry that her best friend had left her like that. Without warning. Maybe she's upset a voice at the back of her head said, you should go see her. No. She wouldn't, Mckenna knew that she could talk to her about anything, so why run away like that?

To distract herself, Jess decided she needed food. It took her a little longer than usual because...well she'd only just moved in. She was still in awe of this place. It was so big and so grand! Nothing like Noctrem, or at least, what she remembered of it.

Quickly grabbing a bowl of tomato soup, from the cantine, the brunette sat down, dipping her bread roll in the soup and taking a bite.

As Amy placed both of her hands on the side of his face, Leo instantly realized that he wasn't upsetting her any more. No, she was the one taking control now, the one who was going to make him feel better, changing the whole dynamic around from usual. Looking into her eyes took him a few moments, having to bring up the courage from the pit of his stomach to actually be able to do so. After hesitating on his declaration of his love for her, Leo still felt bad, and the guilt in his mind still hadn't completely disappeared yet. The smile that graced her lips however mirrored on his own lips, and soon, he was smiling back down at her, listening to her words, settling his mind and his heart easily.

Leo slowly wrapped his own arms around Amy's waist when her arms came up to settle around his neck, a soft sigh escaping his lips. He wasn't really sure what to say as he stood there holding her, and just let his eyes slide closed when she pressed her lips to his cheek in a soft, comforting peck. On her words, he opened his eyes again, letting his chocolate browns gaze into her beautiful violet orbs. "Maybe." He sighed, before once again letting her take over the conversation. Her words soothed him, made him feel better almost instantly. "No objections, my dear." He whispered softly, his lips against her ear as she leaned into him. Slowly, the male tilted his head to the side, leaning in to press his lips to hers, when she bolted in the opposite direction.

Quickly following her, Leo dashed into the bathroom. This was beginning to worry him now, the fact that his beloved girlfriend kept being ill. She was never usually unwell at all. In fact, she was never unwell - her gift was healing, for Christ's sake. There was something wrong here, something he wanted to get fixed, and soon. However, who was he to ask? The one person he would usually go to for help about someone being sick was the exact person who was being sick now. He knelt down beside her and pulled her hair back, moving it out of the way of her face. Leo didn't care about seeing her in a state like this; in fact, he was glad that he was around to hold her hair, rub her back, and things like that. He liked helping.

"Amy, this is scaring me." Leo spoke softly, his other hand rubbing her back gently. "You're never sick, baby. Can we go to the doctors or something? Please?"

---

Erin knew that she was treading on thin ice trying to get some sort of comfort out of Drake, but there wasn't really anyone else that she could talk to. Her very best friend was probably wrapped up in the arms of a guy that she hated but love at the same time, so she wasn't the best person to talk to about relationship problems, her other "groupies" were just as unstable in their relationships, using guys only for their time, money and penis, and her family, well, she didn't even talk to them. Drake was... the one person in the entire planet right now that she felt she had some connection with, despite how distorted and twisted that relationship was. She knew Drake was probably one of the most uncaring, vindictive and blunt people in the entire school, but yet, she wanted to talk to him.

When she felt movement in front of her, the naked blonde lifted up her head from her knees, looking at Drake. She scoffed at his first few words, about having people around her already that loved her. Yeah, right. Her family had disowned her years ago, her "boyfriend" had just forgotten that she existed, her best friend Corentine had just dumped her for romantic times with her beau, and she had just had sex in the forest with someone who only liked her for her body and her sexual organ, not even for her conversation. His voice was completely fake anyway, that she knew, so his words were even less comforting that she had even imagined. "That guy doesn't exist." She sighed, resting her chin back onto her knees again, letting her eyes close to stop any more of those stupid tears from escaping.

She was surprised however when Drake actually sank to the floor in front of her, and showed the tiniest bit of compassion towards her, asking her what was wrong. Her mouth opened and closed itself a few times, looking a little like a goldfish who had been plucked out of it's bowl. Now that was surprised. Actual care coming from Drake Quellen, despite how small that ounce of care was, about something other than his dick, or alcohol? "What happened? Oh, nothing. Just my boyfriend told me he loved me and then decided to completely ignore me, looking through me as if I was some fucking inanimate object that meant nothing to him, before walking away and leaving me alone, furious and extremely upset. My best friend five minutes before this chucked me out of the bedroom half way through our conversation so that she could get her own jollies, and the only person I have is... you."

Erin shifted herself forward ever so slightly so that she could grab her dress, pulling it over her head quickly so that she could have some sort of cover over her naked-self. At the moment, she didn't care about the fact she wasn't wearing any underwear; she just wanted something to cover her body. The girl then twisted so that she was sitting next to Drake instead of opposite him, her position much more comfortable now she wasn't leaning against the bark of the tree. Slowly, her head fell onto the shoulder of the man that she had just fucked, and she sighed once more, closing her eyes. "You don't want to know any of this, Drake. Why... why even stick around anyway? You probably have somewhere to be, right? Weren't you with Lulu before... this happened? Can't keep her waiting."

Jack couldn't bring himself to wake up Lulu. She looked so sick, yet so peaceful, curled up there under her blanket, her head snuggled into her pillow. She had literally fallen asleep before he had any time to reply to her, and he didn't want to disturb her by telling her that he was going to leave. So, he slowly raised himself up from the bed, making sure not to make a sound. He tiptoed around to the side of the bed, pulling gently on the corner of the blanket covering his friend properly, making sure it was draped over her bare side. Very gently, he brushed a stray strand of blonde hair from her face, reveling at her beauty. Why did he have such strange feelings for her? Lulu was his best female friend, the one girl that he trusted more than any other person, and she was totally infatuated with his other friend. He sighed, before moving back, making his way over to the door, and closing it quietly behind him.

It was a horrible position that he was in; having Lulu talk to him about her feelings for Drake, and having his own feelings for her? He was unnoticed in Lulu's eyes in a romantic sense, he knew that, but she was just always playing on his mind, always there. He knew that he'd never grow in her heart beyond being her friend, but some part of him would always keep wishing. There was no other girl that came close to her place in his heart. He obviously still had some sort of feelings for Beth, after what had happened between them in the past, but there was no way that she came close to Lulu in his heart. The male rubbed his hand across his face as he walked through the hallway, a sigh escaping his lips. He hated this. He needed something to take his mind off of Lulu, off of the feelings for her that had arisen once again upon seeing her.

So, party it was. He quickly pulled out his phone and sent a mass text out to everyone in the school, telling them that there was going to be a party tonight. Which meant, however, that he needed to organize everything. He changed his direction from walking nowhere to heading for the cafeteria, to talk to the Chef there about making a couple of buffet plates for tonight. She was a good friend of his, because he held so many parties, and always invited her and gave her free drinks, so she was always eager to help him out. However, on his way there, Jackson came across a girl leaning against the wall, sitting on the floor. He wasn't really close to Jessica Coleman, in fact, he couldn't really remember when he had spoken to her, but she looked upset, in a way.

"Hey, Jess?" Jackson cautiously walked towards the brunette on the floor, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Are you okay?"

When the new teacher informed her that flirting wasn’t „his thing“, she pouted theatrically, her eyes widening as she looked up at him. However, it soon turned into a grin with his next words. She could tell she was making him uneasy, which wasn’t all that surprising. She knew her entire demeanor had an air to it that made people uncomfortable. It was much like she was a predator and her prey instinctively knew it. Not that she minded. In fact, it was quite enjoyable. “I like to think so,” she mused aloud, “but then again, I’m sure Marinos just… forgot.” She smirked then, giving him another once over. He wasn’t going to get out of this forest just yet. She had much more she needed to discuss with this new teacher, and it very much involved his previous patronizing of her. See, as it turned out, him telling her he wasn’t flirting, meant he was being condescending, and Cor really didn’t like that. In fact, she had tortured people for less.

With his next words about her school, her principal and about the annual sports tournament, Cor raised an eyebrow, her eyes assessing the handsome teacher before her. She let them wander from the rise and fall of his chest, to the pulse in his neck she knew just how to burst, stopping once her gaze fell on his facial features. His eyes had a new glint in them, he was standing a little taller, and his smile had just that touch of provocative teasing. She tilted her head slightly to the side, watching him silently, almost eerily so, her eyes intense and appraising. Her other eyebrow was cocked as well once he folded his arms across his chest, until a predatory smile grazed her lips. Oh, this one wanted to play, did he? Well, she couldn’t say she hated the cocky attitude, and Cor did quite like a bit of a challenge. Mostly because she always won in the end. That was the way of the world. What this blonde wanted, she got. Whether she had to procure it herself or not, and right now she very much wanted to show this guy who he was messing with.

“Ideally, yes he is. This pesky little fire, however, landed me in this dump,” she finally told him, her voice easy yet menacing at the same time, her eyes alight with amusement and purpose. “And I do believe using your powers in the tournament is considering wrong,” she taunted, putting a mocking tone on the word “wrong”. “At least, I assume that’s what you did. I mean, there must be a reason you’re a PE teacher, hm?” Her voice remained almost too soft; a tone that would give anyone chills to hear from Cor. Her lips curved into a wry smile next before her eyes glimmered for only the slightest of a second, a forceful wind slamming him into a nearby tree, hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs. For now, Cor had decided not to maim him too badly. Oh, she could easily show him how painful going up against her could be, what with internal bleeding, suffocation, blisters and the works. Cor had spent a lot of time figuring out every little way to use her powers, and she meant business with them. She wasn’t big on mercy.

“Too bad that’s not going to help you against air manipulation. You were right to feel uncomfortable around me at first, love. Don’t. Ever. Patronize me. Again.“ Her eyes had a dangerous, sadistic glint in them now, as she finally let him see the real her; dropping the act entirely. Really, that was the only thing that had bothered her so far, oh, and the fact that he’d gone to Arcana. But she liked his cockyness, the competitiveness; she just didn’t like him thinking of her as a kid. She was 18 years old and pretty freaking rocking in PC class. Hell, even as a kid, anyone who ever patronized her in any way, was dealt with.

---

Erin’s negative view on the world right now, sort of surprised Drake. Her saying that there wasn’t a guy perfect for her out there was stupid. “Sure he does,” he said, not really sure whether he believed it himself. He couldn’t exactly be said to be a romantic, and he didn’t really care whether Erin found someone or not, so why was he even saying this shit? In spite of himself, he continued, sitting down in front of her, asking her what was wrong. He personally wrote it off as curiosity; pure, selfish curiosity, but a tiny part of him had grown to maybe not be completely indifferent towards her. Maybe that was what happened when he spent so much time with a person. However, he didn’t much care for the way she sometimes saw through him. No one besides her could do it, and even though she was alone in that club, he didn’t like its existence in itself. Another side effect to them spending so much time together. What the hell were even pros, here? Sex? Yeah. Great sex. To Drake, that kind of made it worth it. To a certain extent, in any case.

He cocked his head to the side a little once Erin let loose with what had gotten her so far out. He listened attentively until his sister was mentioned and he couldn’t help chuckling a little. He wasn’t trying to be mean, really, but since Erin knew Cor so well, he couldn’t help finding it amusing that Cor being Cor, had bothered her. “Erin, c’mon. You can’t possibly be upset with Cor for being herself. She’s always been, and will always be, a selfish bitch.” He shrugged, watching her a little while she put on her dress. “You shouldn’t take that personally.” He smiled a little, not entirely sure what to say about the topic of Keirol – which had never been mentioned to him before. He had figured that out on his own. Not like it wasn’t obvious with the way they had been staring at each other like little lovebirds, though. His eyes followed her as she moved around, now sitting next to him, and he instinctively put an arm around her. He figured she might need it, and hey, wasn’t that the whole point of his and Erin’s relationship? He got sex, and she got anger management. He figured this was part of it this time.

Even if he wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. In fact, Drake was secretly feeling very out of his comfort zone. He should have been long gone by now, so her question to him made sense. He glanced down at the blonde hair now half draped over his shoulder and shrugged, wondering at the answer himself. This was just a fucking weird day. That’s all the explanation he had. “Nah. She should be sleeping by now,” he simply said instead, thoughtful. Would he have to rethink himself completely? Caring about Lulu was one thing; he had felt something weird for her for a while now, but this – whatever it was – with Erin, was just too fucking weird. There had to be a limit somewhere, right? Hell if he knew. He sighed wearily. “Not like I give a shit, anyway. It’s just a part of my getting to fuck her; easy enough considering her feelings for me. I only need to blow at the flames a little.” He said almost matter-of-factly. Of course, he knew he was lying. Deep down he knew it, but he was kind of trying to convince himself of what he was saying, as much as he wanted to convince Erin. Even he knew it was a half-hearted attempt, though.

It was pleasant to sleep soundly for once. Several weeks in the hotel had been unbearable, especially the past few. Corentine had somehow mangled the air conditioning unit in Lulu’s room. The first time she’d asked for the concierge to fix it but to no avail would it work. It wasn’t so much that the unit was broken but more that I seemed like Cor simply made the stupid thing blow hot air. She’d boiled, laying dazed in her bed sweating for nights on end. With curfew in place and strictly so, she hadn’t been allowed to leave her room or stay anywhere else. Luckily she’d been roomed by herself and no other poor girl had had to suffer with her. It had felt literally like she’d been in hell and now she was in a bed, in Arcana, cool and asleep. It was bliss and the moment she relaxed into the down comforter and memory foam mattress, her entire body just seemed to let go – even with her power hangover.

Lulu didn’t have time to think about Jackson though admittedly she felt bad for falling asleep on him in the middle of their conversation. As she fell into slumber, she was initially immobile but the dreams started on their own.

* * *

There were balloons everywhere. Lulu knew that she had personally blown up and taped forty of them around the kitchen, living room and porch of the small three bedroom house. It was her 12th birthday after all and she had friends to impress. Plus, who didn’t love a good party? And who didn’t love to decorate? They were all over, pink and white and purple, her favorite colors. She didn’t have money from her allowance for helium so she’d made do with tape and dollar store balloons. The effect was heart warming to her however. It finally felt like her birthday as so many past years it hadn’t. She’d celebrated it on her own, receiving a card from her parents with some small sum of cash to spend. It was nothing compared to her brother Grey’s birthday parties that took up entire convention halls with their elaborate décor. He was the favored child and Lulu knew that it was because of his powers. For a sixteen year old, four years her senior, he was more powerful than their father. He scared her – he always had. She had bruises on her back still from the last time he’d gotten angry, pinning her down while he exacted a psionic blast on her to such an extent that her nose had started bleeding and her ears had popped. He was horrible and her parents didn’t see it. But that didn’t matter. Today was her day and Grey was away at a friend’s house for the weekend.

Her parents were out getting groceries in town. Clinton Washington was more rural than city. With only 984 residents, there was only two grocery stores to frequent and Lulu knew that her parents favored one over the other on a Sunday as Mack’s received fresh produce while Mary-Lou’s didn’t. She didn’t know when they were going to be back but her friends were going to come within an hour.

Lulu found herself standing on a stool in the kitchen. She’d always been short. She was icing the cake she’d baked for herself – a Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake Mix. The frosting was Betty Crocker and everything had been on sale. Sal the cashier had been kind enough to give her a deal. He seemed to know the other side of Grey and thus what Lulu dealt with. He was a nice guy, eighteen years old. He’d given her his employee discount which on top of the sale had made the cake ingredients only a few dollars. She couldn’t help but smile as she used a spatula to cover the sides of the cake, turning the plate she’d set it on as she went, humming Britney Spears as she went. That song was so catchy.

The door opened and she heard it but paid it no mind at first. When she didn’t hear anyone speaking – as her parents so often babbled – she paused to turn. Immediately she dropped her spatula as her eyes connected with her brother. Grey stood at nearly six feet, his dusty blond hair cut well. He was dressed in a charcoal fitted dress shirt and dark boot cut jeans. He was the epidomy of a teenaged ken doll only his steely eyes were seething as he took in the kitchen. He was home early.

“What’s this?” he asked, his eyes narrowing on Lulu.

“It’s my birthday,” Lulu explained, her body shrinking back into the table.

“You don’t deserve a birthday,” Grey snarled. He stepped towards her and she couldn’t help but gasp, closing her eyes before looking at the floor to see that his shoes were slick with rain water – when wasn’t it raining in Washington. Slip, please slip, she thought. Sometimes when she wished for things to happen to him, they luckily did. And right then and there as Grey stepped forward, his foot skidded and his knee shot out. His body tumbled forward and immediately Lulu tried to run.

She stumbled off the stool, clawing for the door frame to heave herself into the next room. If she could get to the basement then she could lock the door from the inside and he’d never get to her. When her parents came home he’d have to leave her alone. He never pulled a stunt in front of them.

“You little rat!” he yelled. He was so athletic that it took next to nothing for him to correct himself. He ran after her, his legs carrying him right up to her in two strides. Lulu felt his hand grab her hair and immediately she turned rigid. Her thick blond pony tail was in his hand and torn back towards him. She was forced to follow, crying out in pain. “Grey please, please. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,” she begged. Lulu felt the tears cold, her cheeks growing hot and flushed as he tossed her into the kitchen wall, pinning her to it with his hands which engulfed her shoulders. He stared down at her and as she closed her eyes and winced, she couldn’t avoid the blast of energy he sent through her mind, causing her head to feel like it was expanding with pressure. The blood rushed to her head with his psionic blast. Her heart rushed in her ears. The blood came from her nose almost immediately. He was so strong because of his rage.

“You are nothing, you stupid human. You’re powerless and weak like a rat. You’re useless!” he shouted, slamming her into the wall several times that one of the balloons she had taped to the wall tumbled from it. She cried hysterically in his hands, her mouth wide open as she gasped for air. Her body wanted to explode and it was all because of him. She hated him with every fiber of her being. He did this to her day after day, making her life more like hell than the heaven he lived. He got everything he wanted and he didn’t have to lift a finger. He was mommy and daddy’s prodigy, so powerful and taught that he was above humanity – he was better in his mind, a god if there ever was one on Earth. But Lulu knew he was rotten to the very core.

“I’m going to kill you,” he announced, his nostrils flaring. Those words made her eyes open wide. “Happy Birthday!”

Then suddenly it was on her face – the pink balloon that had fallen. The latex blocked her nose and mouth. She bit down on it right away as she began to suffocate and it popped loudly. Grey stepped back startled and Lulu gasped for air desperately. But her throat felt funny and she choked and coughed, her body still struggling for air. She’d swallowed a shred of latex and she could feel it in her throat, blocking her airway. Her face started to turn blue and she fell to the floor, clawing at her throat with her fingers. Grey stepped back, a wild grin on his features. A psychotic look took over his eyes and he laughed at her as she went down on her hands and knees, her head feeling light. She heard the kitchen door open but she was so focused on herself and the numb sensation coming over her body as she struggled for air. She moved quickly, opening her mouth and shoving her fingers down the back of her tongue. Her gag reflex triggered and she heaved, the latex shifting and suddenly as she puked onto the floor she could breath.

“Greyson! What’s going on?” she heard her mother say. Grey was facing them but as Lulu groveled for air, he turned to stare at her vehemently. “Lulu, my God,” her father yelled as he stepped inside, concern lacing his features. He stepped towards his daughter to held her stand, wiping her hair out of her eyes and looking into her colorless features. Both parents turned to look at Grey wide eyed. They had seen more than he thought, heard more that they wanted to know. And Lulu stood there hating him, anger boiling up inside her. Lulu’s mother looked at Grey, concern lacing her features. Lulu could almost read her mind – she was dismayed but worried that her son might be affected by nearly seeing his sister die. There was little focus on Lulu then and it made her seething. He got everything and he had just tried to murder her in their own house.

“I hate you!” she shouted. She stepped forward weakly, her entire body trembling with rage. It was all she could think about, how much she wanted him to suffer, to feel the shit hand she’d been given in life and to wallow in it. Grey looked at her and was suddenly startled. She didn’t know if he felt afflicted but she felt something leave her then. It was like all of her anger fused into some energetic will that she suddenly thrust upon him. She snapped her fingers then and Grey suddenly stepped back, falling away from her.

* * *

She awoke with a start. Lulu sat upright in her bed, swallowing back the memory and finding that her hands were shaking. It wasn’t that she was cold – though a chill definitely rested within her – but the emotion was present. And she could tell that she needed food. Her eyes darted to a clock on Alli’s side of the room. It had been a few hours. While it wasn’t long enough it was only the afternoon. The last thing she needed was to sleep all day and find herself unable to sleep that night.

As she searched for the source of why she’d woken, she felt her phone buzz with a notification. She picked it up off the bed where she’d left it and scrolled through, opening the unread message:

TO: Lu <3

You're invited to the Start of the Year Party!

Where: The Grounds of the Academy
Time: Starting at 7:00 PM, ending at any time
Dress: Smart, but comfortable

There will be snacks and drink, but bring your own if you like something in particular!

P.S - You looked adorable sleeping so I left, hope you didn't mind. Couldn't bring myself to wake you <3

FROM: Jack <3

She was quick to type a reply, her fingers shakily working through the cold to text her best friend.

TO: Jackson

Just awake. Didn’t I tell you to leave and get ready for this shindig? Save me something Irish and strong. Going to need some warming up and something to take my mind of my shit luck. Let me know if I can help you with anything.

Thank you for letting me sleep BTW and for knocking some sense into me.

FROM: Lulu xxxooo

Tossing her phone onto the bed beside her, she sighed and flopped back into the mattress and mass of blankets that had become entangled around her. As if on cue her stomach growled. She wondered if Drake had enjoyed his escapades with Erin. It had been quite awhile. She couldn't help but dwell on what he was doing, wondering if they were still at it. The more she thought, the more she felt upset. More than anything, the more Drake rested on her mind the more aware she was of the fact that she was very alone.

Leo could only nod when Amy said to him that she was going to check herself over. He had to admit that she was a little intrigued as to how her power actually worked on herself, as he had never seen her use it in that sense before. He had only ever seen her use her power on students, or on himself - seeing as he was so accident prone as of late. He sat there quietly as he watched her power arise from her, and the concentration on her face grew as she moved her hand downwards over her body. The male practically held his breath as he watched his brunette girlfriend's lips fall open, and the way she dropped her power in shock. He hoped it wasn't bad. Wished it wasn't bad. Wished more than anything in the universe that it wasn't bad, and that his Amy was going to be okay.

"What? What's wrong, Amy?" Leo's voice was merely a whisper as he looked into his beautiful Amy's eyes, his chocolate browns looking into her stunning violet orbs. He was confused as to what she was saying, about a doctor not being able to help them at all, that she was confused herself as to what was causing her sickness. He shook his head softly, signalling to her that he didn't really understand what she was saying; how could she not have been able to find what was wrong with her? That was her power, wasn't it? To be able to heal, and detect sickness in a person? So what could be affecting her if it wasn't medical? Could it be supernatural? A supernatural illness? Is that why a doctor couldn't be around to help? Now he was getting worried, working himself up.

However, the next words out of Amy's mouth turned his life upside down.

The immortal male practically froze in his position as Amy's words registered in his mind. She was pregnant. She was... carrying his child? No, that couldn't be possible. They had made love for the first time the night before - there was no way that this could happen. It shouldn't be possible. He was immortal, never changing - there should be no way that his... reproductive organs were even in working order, if they were frozen too, like the rest of his body. He didn't blink. He barely breathed. Frozen in fear, and shock, and panic. His eyes stared through hers, not registering that he was even looking at her. It was as if he was comatose, not there in mind, only in body. His mind was somewhere else, stuck in a panic. A baby? There was no way that he could look after a baby? He was barely getting used to the idea of a committed relationship with Amy, and now there was going to be a baby thrown in? He couldn't do that. He had never been good with babies. Ever. Babies and Leo just didn't mix. They usually cried when they were around him, threw up on him, peed on him - they didn't like him. The same thought was going around and around in Leo's mind, his eyes still vacantly staring forward, not moving, not speaking;

I can't do this....

---

Erin was surprised by the way that Drake had wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but she wasn't going to push it away; in fact, it was oddly comforting, having someone that knew her actually listening to her for once. She knew that Drake was probably the worst person to talk to about the things that were upsetting her or angering her, seeing as he was a dickhead, and a player, but there really was no-one else that she felt closer to than him. Sure, she had Cor - her best friend and all, but the girl was a bitch; everyone knew that, including Erin - she was never around when she was needed, and like Drake had agreed anyway, she was selfish. The whole point of being best friends with someone was that you'd have someone to talk to, but that person just wasn't Cor.

"Yeah, I know she is." The blonde girl sighed, letting her eyes slide close. She was actually quite comfortable, relaxing there on Drake's shoulder. He had taken all of that anger out of her, all of the upset, and thrown it away wherever he usually did. Sex with him was for some reason, the only way she was able to calm down - sex with others hadn't worked, as she had tried to move herself away from his attachment once, but she had just ended up killing the guy, and going back to Drake crying, and with blood on her hands. She knew that she shouldn't trust him; Drake Quellen and trust were two things that you should never put together, but she just couldn't help it. She did trust him; she trusted him with her life, her power, her sanity, and her body. And now she was trusting him with her thoughts. Erin Hawthorne was travelling down a dangerous road, and she knew it, but she just couldn't stop. She .... liked him.

However, soon, the girl was smiling again softly, looking up at the male who was half-heartedly trying to convince her that all he wanted out of Lulu was a good fuck. "Drake honey, one - you care more about her than just getting into her pants. You can lie to most people, but surprisingly, not to me." This was what caused her to smile softly, shifting a little in her position so that her head was still resting on him, but so that she was able to see him easier. "And two - do you really think that she's going to be a good fuck? She's so.... awkward and.... annoying." The playful smirk on Erin's lips indicated that she was already feeling a little better. "She won't be as good as me, anyway." The smirk changed into a sultry grin, one that the blonde reserved for the male with whom she was sitting with, and she moved her head softly to press her lips to one of the sensitive spots on his neck, her teeth nipping the skin of his collarbone ever so slightly. The change in her tone had to make Drake feel a little more comfortable; he looked like he was feeling extremely out of his comfort zone and wanted to bolt.

Then, her phone buzzed, and she moved from her oh-so-comfortable position, moving to retrieve her phone from in her jacket pocket. "Ah, a party tonight; hosted by your buddy. Hey, with a few drinks in her, you never know - your plan may come to fruition tonight." The blonde joked to the male, that playful grin back on her lips once more.

---

Jackson wasn't really sure why the girl was sitting in the hallway, and he was half-thinking of letting her be, and walking away, to go and sort out the rest of the things on his to-do list for the party tonight. But something about Jessica's position made the gentleman inside him wonder why she was there, and looking upset, and he came to the conclusion that he couldn't leave her in such a position alone. That he would have to stay with her until he was sure that she was okay, before moving on and carrying on with the rest of his day. He hadn't really spoken to Jessica before; he wasn't even sure what her power was. He believed it was something to do with her eyes, but powers didn't really bother him. He didn't care about being around Erin and her rage, and he didn't care about being around the girl who could take life with a touch. He saw through the powers, to the person inside - that was who mattered to him.

Jack nodded as she spoke, agreeing to her bad day statement. He was about to reply to her when she asked about Lulu - ah, yes. One of the small amounts of people who had the ability to make his day good or bad in a couple of words. An exasperated sigh escaped the male's lips as he leaned against the wall opposite her, crossing his arms over his chest. Jack looked down at her as he spoke, registering her. "She's all right, I suppose." His Irish drawl was completely obvious now, more than it usually was due to the amount of stress from the day. "She's sleeping right now - overworked her powers yesterday." He felt a little uncomfortable talking about his friend to someone that he didn't really know, but Jess seemed like a nice enough girl, and he would have felt bad if he hadn't answered her genuine sounding question.

However, before he could ask her more about her strange position on the floor, Morgan bounded up to them, happy as a bunny. He liked Morgan, treated her as a little sister of sorts. She wasn't really the sort of person that he usually associated himself with; hyperactive, a little dim-witted, but there was something about her that was so accessible, something that he wanted to protect. When her mood crashed in front of him, his eyebrows came together at the top of his forehead, confusion and a little bit of worry taking over his expression. It was then that Jess' words registered in his mind; that she was dragging him along to her's and Morgan's room, to talk. Really? Had she ever met him before? Or at least heard about him? He wasn't one for talking. There was something about talking he didn't like. But there was something in Jess' eyes that told Jack he was going to pay the price if he didn't go along with them; and seeing as he didn't know her power, that was a risk he wasn't going to take.

"Sure." He spoke, his voice slightly mumbled as he pushed himself away from the wall. The male tensed up ever so slightly when Jess came closer to him, and whispered in his ear about him being closer to Mo that she was. It wasn't as if there was something wrong with her; he just wasn't all that keen on people being that close to him when he didn't know them well enough. "I'm coming along. I'll do my best, okay?" Jackson forced a smile onto his lips as he looked down at the girl who was pressed against him. She was actually quite beautiful, he realized as he looked at her; her bright eyes, her curly, soft looking hair... He was then being pointed in the direction of the bedroom, and he grinned as he started to talk. "Okay, I'll cheer her up for you, okay beautiful?"

Before he carried on walking, Jackson quickly whipped out his phone, having felt it vibrate in his pocket. A soft smile appeared on his lips as he saw who the text was from, and a tapped back a response before dropping the phone back into it's previous position, and walking on.

To: Lu<3

I know, but I still felt bad leaving you alone in that state. That being said, you probably would have killed me for sitting there watching you sleep, wouldn't you? ;D

I'll be alright doing it on my own. Besides, I need you to rest up if you're going to have any fun tonight. You, me, and a bottle of JD sound good?

That's what I'm here for - sense-knocking.

At the moment, being dragged into a dorm room by Jess and Mo for "talking". Kill me now?

REST!

From: Your Jack<3

Cor remained silent as the teacher in front of her spoke, and spoke, and then spoke some more. Gods, he really liked listening to himself, didn’t he? But then, she supposed all teachers did in one way or another. Then thing was, this guy was surprising her. A lot. He was actually standing up to her, which she supposed was due to the anger and hate she could see in his eyes, and hear in his voice, and she wasn’t sure whether she was more impressed or pissed off by it. Fact of the matter was, this guy had no clue what was good for him, and it made her wonder if he was too stupid or too prideful to back down. Looking at him, though, she soon realized that his pride made him foolish. So typically male of him. He knew he could do nothing to defend himself against her, yet he continued digging his own grave. Unbelievable. The fact that he was also full of shit, was not lost on her. Had he ever listened in history class? Every successful leader ruled with fear. And it had always worked for her, too. He had no clue what the hell he was on about, this guy. And he thought he could teach her shit?

Like, oh, say, respect. Because she had so much reason to respect him, did she? She smiled wryly, looking him over. Her eyes were cold, promising retribution from his words. She cocked her eyebrows when he spoke to her about him having some kind of influence on her future. It was as ridiculous as it was astounding. See, this was why she taught people not to mess with her from the beginning; so that they didn’t get themselves into trouble with her unknowingly, but it seemed this new teacher had need of a more extensive lesson. Which really wasn’t a problem. At all. She crossed her arms casually, watching him still, eyes eerily piercing. Then he actually began walking away. He actually turned his back on her. Silly thing to do. Very silly. Turning your back on Corentine Quellen bordered on suicide, especially considering his previous words. She frowned slightly as he spoke again. Her mind had just started going over how to punish his foolishness, but was given pause when he turned towards her with a grin on his face. He had no idea how much pain he was about to experience.

Eyes narrowing immediately, Cor lashed out, strong wind tossing Chris 10 meters deeper into the forest, hitting several trees hard on her way, earning him both scrapes and bruises. Until he was finally pinned against a big, broad tree, the wind once more knocked completely out of him. Core quietly, slowly stalked towards him, her eyes dead set on him. Blades of wind began lashing at his skin; arms, chest, stomach, thighs, causing blood to ooze, and pain to set in. All the while, Cor walked calmly, eyes still narrowed on him. This was only the beginning. She continued cutting him up. The cuts weren’t deep, but there were many of them, and would feel much like lashes of a whip. What really managed to irritate her, was the fact that this gave her no satisfaction. Instead, she found herself thinking of Jay, wanting to be touching him instead. Sure, she had come out here pissed at him, but now she just wanted back in his arms, instead of wasting her time torturing his fuck. Besides, she also needed to text Erin, and figure out why the girl hadn’t texted her yet. It was a tad worrisome.

“Listen up, because I’m only going to say this once,” she told him, voice hard and unbending as steel, finally stopping the constant wind-whipping. She squatted down before him. She knew he was in a whole lot of pain right now, but she didn’t care. Didn’t even enjoy it, in fact. Actually, she only felt indifferent. Bordering on bored. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not your typical student. You want my respect, you earn it, baby, and just then, all you did was convince me that you’re either incredibly stupid, a masochist, or some idiot with a death wish. Neither of these options inspire a lot of respect in me, you see.” She looked him over, assessing the damage. It would have to do for now. “Now, I could easily spend hours torturing you. In fact, I’d usually enjoy it quite a bit, but I have better things to do today, so I guess you’ve lucked out.” With that, the blonde got up, tilting her head slightly, cold eyes studying his face. “I can assure you that won’t be the case next time.”

Corentine took a few steps back before smirking. “Oh, and don’t bleed too much on the forest floor - it attracts so very many insects.”

---

Well, at least he’d got her smiling. That was all the positive stuff Drake could come up with presently. Why? Because Erin was totally calling his bluff, and he hated it. He felt annoyingly much like the joke was on him for once, and it was a disgusting feeling. How did other people live with it on a daily basis? This was the first time Drake had experienced it, and it was awful. Not that that was going to stop him from doing it to others in the future. Especially since they hardly ever registered how he was merely using them for his own entertainment. It was a part of Drake few people knew existed, really. Erin was one of them. Generally, Erin knew him a lot better than most people, and the thing was, he thought they were both closer to each other than either of them wanted to be. Because due to Erin knowing him, she also knew precisely how stupid getting involved with him, not to say trusting him, was. She knew how much of a cold, indifferent, calculating, selfish bastard he really was. Well, that was how he normally was. Every day but this day. This day was a piece of shit.

He smiled wryly as she moved and his gaze caught on her once more. Blond hair, blue eyes, smooth, light skin. He didn’t say anything in reply to her former words, because she was right, and he didn’t need to tell her that. She already knew. When she compared herself and Lulu, Drake laughed, feeling a lot better immediately. Erin had changed the air of the conversation, which was quite relieving. They were back to the more flirtatious tone again. A place he felt comfortable with any woman. He was about to reply when her lips were suddenly on his skin, and he raised an eyebrow, smiling wryly. “That’s not a fair comparison,” he teased, moving a hand up her thigh, while he pulled her closer with the arm around her, “you’ve got experience with what I like.” Her teeth then nipped his skin and he chuckled, his voice deep and masculine. All sex and seduction. “Like that,” he commented. “It’s an unfair advantage, Erin.” His voice was husky and teasing, a heady mixture very defining of the male. He was about to move them both down to lie on the forest floor, planning on a second round, when her phone buzzed and she moved.

He could feel his own buzzing too and pulled it out, checking the text just as Erin spoke. He felt a wry smile come onto his lips. For some reason, his and Jack’s nicknames to each other were still oddly amusing to Drake. They were so gay, it was ridiculous. “Jackie-boy” and “Drakey-poo”. Yeah, not really what any of them introduced themselves by, but during this past month, the two of them had actually grown surprisingly close. Well, as close as two somewhat distanced guys could get in a month. He smirked at Erin, putting his phone back in his pocket before he gripped her ankles and pulled her over to him, not saying a words until he leaning over her, his torso hoisted above her, kept up by the hands he had on each side of her head as he had forced her onto her back. “I’m offended you think I need to resort to cheap tricks,” he teased, his mouth moving down to nibble on her earlobe and the sensitive skin on her neck. “C’mon,” he murmured huskily into her ear, his warm breath dancing over the soft skin, “I’m better than that.”

---

At first, when Leo froze, Amy bit her lower lip, nervous but not all that scared. It was only natural for him to be surprised. Hell, she had been just a moment ago. In fact, she had yet to get over the shock, and she felt an extreme need to call her mother. Problem was, she hadn’t even told her mother about herself and Leo, not wanting answer the avalanche of following questions, so if she was to talk about pregnancy, she’d have to throw her mum not one, but two bombs. And she didn’t know if any of them could handle that. Especially not considered how Leo was staring right through her, his eyes vacant, like there was no one home. His body was empty of Leo, and she didn’t like it. Shock was normal, she supposed, and she could deal with that, but this was new. She had never seen her Leo like this. Ever. And it was honestly starting to worry her. Why wasn’t he saying anything? He wasn’t even moving. No, he was just sitting there, an empty carcass, eyes void of anything.

She looked at him, her eyes wide and scared. This wasn’t normal, was it? What was he doing? What did this mean? Was he panicking? Oh gods, please don’t let him be panicking. The young nurse had no idea what to do right now. She was pretty out of it herself, so how was she supposed to calm Leo down? Amy didn’t even realize how her breathing pattern was speeding up, her heart pumping faster. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Calm yourself, Amy. Do what you’re best at. Focus on something else. Focus on calming Leo. Focus on getting him back. She slowly forced herself to breathe slowly, willing her heart to slow down, adrenaline leaving her body again. Gods, this had been one eventful day, hadn’t it? She wondered how the baby was responding to her stress levels. The baby. She wondered if she’d be able to tell if it was male or female soon. This pregnancy was weird, so it was hard to know anything, really. Gods, what was she even thinking? Could she keep it? She interrupted that line of thought immediately, reminding herself that she needed to stay calm.

Amy took another deep breath, steeling herself before she opened her eyes, looking up at her statue of a boyfriend. “Leo,” she said quietly, carefully. “Please say something.” She scooted closer, warily and oh so gently taking his hand in both of hers, her fingers daintily caressing the back of it. Her violet eyes were wide, still showing the worry coursing through her. What was she going to do here? “Please?” She then begged him, voice choked with unshed tears of panic and worry for him. “I know it’s weird… and… and none of it makes sense, but I can’t do this alone.” Her one hand was then gently placed on his cheek, hoping that the touch would calm him the way it usually did. “Baby, come back to me.” Her voice was soft and low, but her eyes were focused intently on his, vigilantly watching for any sign of life. She didn’t like his eyes to dead. They were usually so filled with light. Usually, they were filled with Leo. With his warmth and love for her. She didn’t recognize this, and like all other humans, Amy feared the unknown. This was unchartered territory in every way. For both of them.

She loved him more than anything, and she was going to be with him no matter what, but she didn’t know what she’d do if he asked her to remove the baby. Would he do that? She hoped not. Yet, at the same time, she couldn’t force him to watch his child grow old and die before him. She didn’t want him going through that. In her mind, there was no question that Leo would be a wonderful father, so that was in no way even a subject. The only thing worrying here were the repercussions in the future. She hadn’t even wondered if she herself wanted a baby. Her mind hadn’t had the time to think of that.

There wasn’t even a tick of a clock pervading the room. Lulu’s eyes once again scanned the walls. Her roommate was tidy, a good sign at least. She had seen the double rooms at Noctrem and been mystified not only by the sheer amount of mess but the smell. She liked a clean and orderly space so long as she was free to live in it. There had been enough stories about the germaphobes and clean freaks. She hoped that Ali would be somewhere in between. When finals and tests and midterms rolled around, the last thing she wanted was to be harassed about a pile of dirty clothes and the huge amount of paper and books that tended to become strewn around everywhere.

Lulu sighed, her shoulders slacking. She had to admit that her bed was comfortable, a nice change from the hard mattress she’d had in the hotel or even in Noctrem. It was bigger too. To that extent she stretched her toes, flexing her feet and rolling over onto her side. As she closed her eyes, her cellphone vibrated again next to her. Grunting, she slapped her hand out for it, bringing it up to her face while trying to keep her shoulders covered by the duvet.

Text: To: Lu<3

I know, but I still felt bad leaving you alone in that state. That being said, you probably would have killed me for sitting there watching you sleep, wouldn't you? ;D

I'll be alright doing it on my own. Besides, I need you to rest up if you're going to have any fun tonight. You, me, and a bottle of JD sound good?

That's what I'm here for - sense-knocking.

At the moment, being dragged into a dorm room by Jess and Mo for "talking". Kill me now?

REST!

From: Your Jack<3

She raised an eyebrow at the screen, snorting her surprise. Since when did Jessica and Morgan have a thing for Jackson? She wasn’t extremely familiar with the two girls but that said, she had never known them to be close to Jack. He’d certainly never said anything. She was quick to reply.

She was halfway through her response when the door to the room slid open. It appeared that in Jack’s efforts to slip out quietly he hadn’t actually shut it properly. As it swiveled she heard a slight knock on the doorframe. Her heart leapt into her throat immediately. Lulu sat upright, running a hand through her hair and shifting in the bed to arch her back. “Come in?” she said aloud, questioning what she was doing. She had spent the past few hours completely hating herself for liking Drake, for falling into his trap. And here she was completely brushing that aside. He was back.

And then he wasn’t.
Now that disappointment was consuming.

The door swung open and Jaysin Dennis of all people stepped in, his stride confident as his eyes immediately landed on her. As he closed the door behind him, she shifted the comforter immediately, pulling her covers up over her chest, even though she was fully dressed. She leaned forward and brought her knees up to her chest. She quickly finished her text and sent it, her eyes only momentarily darting from Jay to the screen of her phone.

“I’m assuming it’s fine that I come in,” he announced, chuckling lightly to himself as she nodded, letting her fingers slide across the keyboard of her blackberry and sending her response as quick as she could.

To: Jack
Most men would be praising the heavens – locked in a room with two women? Sounds like you might be in for a threesome.

PS. Jaysin Dennis just walked into my room. Don’t think I’ll be sleeping.
From: Lulu xxoo

As he sat down on the chair by her desk, Lulu found herself eye level with him. He was directly across from her and she couldn’t deny that he was incredibly sexy. As he pushed his hand through his hair, she found herself wrapping her arms around her knees. She turned her head to face him, tilting it slightly. She knew that he had gone to Noctrem. She had met him shortly after she’d arrived and found him incredibly intimidating. He’d been in control of his power, able to make clones of himself at an alarming rate. And they were nothing like the clones from movies. They were solid copies of himself, more than capable of doing…whatever. Right then she still felt…defensive. She didn’t really know him. And he had quite an attitude. And then he’d left for some reason or other – she wasn’t sure. It was no surprise that he was now at Arcana really – he had powers and he needed to go to school. Seeing him around the school had been a minor surprise when all the Noctrem students had first arrived for classes. Now he was just there.

“It’s been too long,” Jay told her, breaking her thoughts on him. Lulu swallowed as he cleared his throat, biting her lower lip. She really wasn’t sure what to say. He was still so….attractive. But he wasn’t like Drake. He didn’t have that brooding stare. He was blond as well, lacking in that dark charm. He looked more like a prince charming than the guy she’d come to fall for.

“How have you been, Miss Allen?” he asked her, his lips pulling into a warm smile. But it wasn’t Drake’s smirk. Lulu could only weakly return the gesture. “You are much prettier than I remember, so what is a girl like you doing all alone?"

“I got sexiled,” she blurted out, her eyes shifting to look at the floor as she laughed at herself and shifted so that she could lean into her headboard and the wall. “I had a major power hangover this morning from pushing my powers. And I made the mistake of using them again this morning to help some kid. Broke a guy’s nose with a door but got really sick. Was carried back here by Drake and left because,” and here she paused in her rant to lift her hands to make air quotes, “Erin needed him.”

She looked at Jay, shaking her head at herself. “Jack dropped by but I fell asleep so he left to plan a party only apparently he’s now cornered in a room with Morgan and Jessica.”

She paused and wrapped her arms around her chest, looking at him, licking her lips and wondering about him. Jay was kind of like a mystery to her. He had few friends but she had seen him once or twice around Cor. And if you hung around Corentine and weren’t subsequently on the floor, you were kind of her friend. But talking to him was surprisingly easy.

“So that was my morning, and how I got here alone,” she told him matter of factly. “Now why on earth are you here?”



Katia was quick to walk up to the secretary. No students seemed to be bothering the woman. She leaned over the counter, expecting a quick reply only the woman stared straight into her computer screen.

"Excuse me," she asked then, leaned back and tapping her nails absently on the counter. The blond turned to stare at her with narrowed eyes. It only took an instant for her to look at Katia with such a glance before the brunette turned seething. Her eyes narrowed and her smile dropped into a frown. She looked sternly at her. It was a look she had long perfected. With it came a forceful and intimidating air. She watched the woman shrink back into her seat. "Can I help you?" the secretary asked shortly, her words clipped as she tried to remain composed. "I'm looking for Leonardo Marinos. I'm the new hire, or one of them," Katia replied. The blond looked down at her notes before responding. "He's in his office but I believe he's not alone."

"Was that so hard?" Katia snapped, standing upright and shaking her head as she walked away, her stride forceful and emphasizing the click of her heeled boots. She straightened her outfit as she approached his office, knowing where it was. She'd been there before of course. She knocked on the door, finding it closed. She could hear the hum of voices beyond. "Leo, it's Katia," she announced, leaning into the wall and putting a hand on her hip with a sigh.

Leo couldn't move. His mind wasn't where his body was right now; it was somewhere far, far away, thinking of cribs, and diapers, and crying babies covered in sick. He couldn't be a father. There was no way that he could be a father. How could he watch his son or daughter slowly grow up, become an adult, and then wither away into nothing? He couldn't fathom seeing that happen to his beloved Amy, let alone something that they created together; his own flesh and blood. He wouldn't be able to do that - stick around to see his girlfriend and child die. This is why he had avoided getting involved properly with a woman throughout his long life; he hadn't wanted... well, this to happen. Anything like this. What sort of person would be able to do that anyway? Who could stand there, never aging, and watch their family slowly age and die, whilst they stayed young, pristine and healthy forever?

He barely noticed when Amy shifted closer to him, his eyes still staring into the same place they had been before, still vacant and empty of all signs of life in there. However, her voice penetrated his mind, somehow, and he began to walk away from the horror that was his future. The male began to remember where he was, and his eyes slowly started to brighten up with colour, as well as his cheeks. The pale man was slowly becoming Leo once again, and it was Amy's voice that had brought him back. The soft skin of her hands were on his hand, caressing it softly, and then one was on his cheek. Leo moved his gaze to settle on Amy, his weak eyes looking into her beautiful violets. "A-Amy..." His voice stammered as he pressed his cheek into her palm, taking solace in her touch. "You're not alone..." He whispered, sincerity taking over his tone.

Before he could speak to her more about their situation however, Leo was interrupted by a banging on his office door, a noise that mad the jittery man almost jump out of his skin in fright. Then, Katia's voice entered his ears and he looked towards the door of his office, before then back at Amy. "New em-employee." He spoke, his voice becoming less shaky, but still shaky enough to be noticed. He took in a deep breath before standing up, offering his hand out to Amy. "Come with me?" He asked her, his voice a gentle plead. Now that he knew what was wrong with his beloved, he didn't want anything to happen to that - and if that meant he kept her by his side at all times, then so be it. He didn't want to let her out of his sight in her... condition.

When both were standing, and Leo had made sure that he looked presentable and professional enough, he made his way over to the office door, unlocking it and opening it in one moment. "Katia, hello." He smiled, instantly putting on that professional facade that he had perfected so well over the years. "You got here safely then? Good. May I introduce you to our Philosophy teacher, and School Nurse, Amy Roerig. Amy, this is the new female P.E teacher, Katia Hunt. She's an old friend of mine."

---

The physical change in Drake was enough to show Erin that she had made him feel more comfortable, taking him out of the deep conversation that they had been having, and replacing it with flirtatious remarks and gestures; to be fair, the blonde girl too felt more comfortable around Drake when they were like this; she felt a little awkward talking to him about how she felt deep down, wondering if he was going to turn around and laugh at her at any moment, or just push her away for trying to get it off of her chest. This, was easier. Much easier. This, she knew how to do with him. His laugh made the girl relax, feeling better around a comfortable Drake; tense Drake was a little worrying.

Erin felt her skin shudder with arousal at the feeling of Drake's hand on her thigh, moving towards the most private part of herself. Her lips stayed against his neck, moving delicately, barely brushing against his skin. He would be able to feel the smirk playing on her lips come to out properly when he spoke about her knowing things about him that others did not. His voice was pure lust as he spoke, another one of the many things about Drakethrean Quellen that drove the petite blonde girl insane with desire. "Unfair?" She smiled, once again using her teeth to graze against the sensitive skin by his collarbone. She was about to comment on her extreme knowledge of his anatomy when her phone buzzed, and she moved out of his embrace, to collect her phone and read through the text, her invitation to Jack's party that night.

Before the blonde could once again get comfortable on the shoulder of her "friend", she was pulled towards him by her ankles, a small squeal escaping her lips, surprise taking over her body for a brief moment. She hadn't expected that. Erin was soon laying down on her back, the handsome male hovering over her body, her hands pinned either side of her head. Her body was once again yearning for him, wanting him - as stupid as that was. She knew he was bad news, and that their relationship was one purely physical and unemotional, but she couldn't stop herself from wanting him. Her breath grew labored as his mouth moved across her neck, her jaw, her earlobe, before his husky voice was whispering into her ear. "You're right; I know you better than that, Drake." She grinned through her struggling breaths. "All you need is your smooth words and your wandering hands and you make a girl go crazy."