Drake Mauri Quellen's Story

'That's still no way to treat a woman Drake; she's supposed to your friend, more than that.' She tried to be stern with, she did. Frankly, the man was asshole and he knew it. Ashleigh Fox had never put with men like that, she'd lost contact with half of her family because of it. So why was she still talking to Drake? Why did she feel the anger inside her ebbing away with his gaze... Hell, how did he do that?! Then, there was this whole new persona that he'd put on; like he was sorry for what had just happened. Ashy felt her heart melt as she stared into the males eyes; this wasn't an act, it couldn't be. Drake Quellen was genuinely sorry.

I won't do anything you wouldn't want me to.. The words spun around the blonde's head at a thousand miles an hour. This was an incredible dark place in Ashy's thoughts... a place she had seldom ever been to. There she was..in the middle of a public place, thinking about the two of them... being close, being intimate. It caused butterflies in Ashy's stomach to even think about it. Realizing that she had been in a daze for a few seconds, the blonde blinked several times before, taking a sip of her drink, not that it would have any effect on her, of course. 'Drake Quellen, what are you doing to me?' She asked him, quietly. A blush creeping across her face, this time her eyes never left his. She didn't want to be seen as weak by him, not anymore. She'd had enough.

After a while, however, his gaze become too much for the blonde. She gave a small smile and looked down at her feet momenterily before looking back at Drake. 'I shoul probably go and check on Erin,' She told the male, 'after all, she is my responsibility now..at least academically.' She gave a wry smile. 'I'm her and your sisters house captain, wish me luck?' She laughed softly. Then the blonde did something completely out of turn. She took the male's from his hand, and got a small sip. It was bitter and horrid, but she was determind not to show Drake that, although she was pretty sure he could tell. 'You were right, if I don't drink it; you will and that will be a very bad move for us all.' Grabbing her drink from the bar, she smiled at the male. ' I'll see you around Drake' She managed to say, before quickly walking away before she made a mess of the situation.

Shaking all over, Ashy walked in the direction she had watched Erin walk earlier in the night, out of the tent completely. Once she was out of the tent completely, she stopped in her tracks. She needed time to process what had just happened. She had just been with Drake; Hot, Sexy, Man whore Drake. Then she'd seen a side...no two sides that she hadn't seen before. One, that she had hated and the other... it had disconcerted her some. Then, she'd taken a sip of his whiskey, why?! Because she he'd had enough feeling weak in his prescense. Ashleigh ran her free hand through her hair in disbelief, still shocked at herself. She took a few deep breathes before concerntrating on the reason she'd walked away from Drake; Erin.

She focused on her half empty glass of orange juice and filled it up using her power. She would offer it to Erin, she knew that it wasn't as effective as water, but she wasn't going back to the bar now... Frankly, any soft drink was better than what the other female had been drinking so far tonight.

After a while, Ashy located Erin sitting outside, bottle in her hand, looking throughly upset and broken. 'Erin,' She said tentatively, 'M-may I join you?'

Rebecca’s day had been a tad too weird for her liking. Generally all this moving around and insecurity was getting to her, nerves standing on end. She didn’t like it. The assembly earlier had been informal, and a tad worrying as well. As a woman who had been enrolled at first Arcana, then Noctrem, Rebecca had decent knowledge of the school differences, and she could just tell that this whole roommates-mess would be going south way too soon. Leo would’ve been better off changing them, but she supposed time was an issue too. She sighed, steadying the human sized punching ball she had been taking her frustrations out on, hugging it calmly. She’d gone down to the gym after the pop music from the student party going on had come to give her a headache. She wasn’t in a bad mood per se, but she was rather distracted and maybe a tad too pensive. She wasn’t the most social of people so instead of seeking out company, the female teacher had found her way down to her new favorite companion; the punching bag situated in the school gym. The only time she’d really ever find people to be around was Friday evenings.

Why Fridays? Well, those were the days Donny would leave her at her aunt’s to stay the night. Said aunt would always be passed out on the couch, and since she had been old enough to stop herself from being lonely on Fridays, she always had. Just one of the many twitches her brain did due to her past. She watched the red punching bag for a little while, before taking a few steps back, her body falling into that familiar stance; feet positioned about shoulder-width apart, left foot in front of the other, and her hands up near the sides of her face. Then, movements quick and practiced, Rebecca began a series; jab cross, stomp kick, jab cross, roundhouse kick, spinning back kick, jab cross… and so forth. The blonde kept right on going, her ponytail swinging wildly with every move. The teacher’s outfit was starting to absorb the sweat caused by her kickboxing moves and she had already removed the jacket. It wasn’t even a complicated series, but Rebecca recognized that she was a bit out of practice.

That was the thing with kickboxing; it wasn’t something you just did. You had to keep in perfect shape to keep up, and during their stay in the motel, Rebecca’s options had been rather limited. She had taken a run every morning, but she hadn’t been able to get near a decent punching bag, and she small ones boxers usually used would not do for kickboxing. Getting back at it felt amazing. Finally, after another ten minutes of constant jabs and kicks, the blonde, breathing heavily now, stopped, steadying the bag once more, a satisfied grin on her face, her body shining with sweat. “That’ll have to do for tonight,” she mused aloud, patting the punching bag before moving to pick up her jacket and sports bag. Then she padded into the dressing room, quickly washing herself down before throwing on her bikini. She put her hair back up in its ponytail, picked up her things and made her way down to the indoor swimming pool; the one intended for academic usage. Mostly because that was the better one when it came to actual swimming instead of playing around.

Rebecca dropped her things by one of the chairs before taking a swan dive into the pool, her body soon moving in its usual swimming pattern, switching between butterfly, crawl, and backstroke. By now she was so used to her preferred form of exercise that her body had begun remembering the movements by itself, which meant her brain was completely relaxed as her legs and arms brought her back and forth between each far end of the pool. In the morning she figured her mind might finally be ready to do some actual work. Which would be an advantage considering the party going on. If she knew her students, and she did, she was going to have a lot of managing to do. Steven wasn’t going to be happy with her sending so many students his way, but hey, he could take that up with Leo or at least someone who actually cared.

---

Drake merely took a sip of his whiskey before nodding slightly, his eyes capturing hers, when Ashy began talking, almost starting to lecture her. He didn’t say anything, but really he thought it amusing that the girl considering him and Erin more than friends. They were less than friends. That was the thing. She was a chick he fucked. Why did everyone think that meant he considered the girl a friend? Was that how it worked for everyone, because it didn’t seem that way to Drake. Then again, some were probably lying about the “friends” part. Hell, a lot of people did folks they didn’t even know. Was it then so wrong of him to fuck a girl he knew, but didn’t necessarily care about? Drake didn’t personally think so, but then again, his morality was oftentimes a tad fucked up. Anyway, Ashy trailed of easily enough, the outrage ebbing from her pretty eyes. Ah, sweet success. Sometimes people were a bit too predictable though. Especially little wallflowers like Ashleigh Fox. So easily manipulated by people who had even the slightest idea of what to do. This was child’s play to the male.

Slowly the look in her eyes changed, however, into something Drake recognized quite well. He couldn’t stop a seductive smirk from playing at his lips in response. So when Ashy asked him what he was doing to her, Drake chuckled easily, watching the familiar blush creep across her face. “Well,” he began, voice a seductive, dark purr, “that depends what you’re thinking of.” With that, he let his eyes do a tour of her body, just for effect, his smile growing once he reached her eyes again. At this point, the blonde dropped her gaze and Drake took the time to take a sip of his whiskey, feeling it glide its way down like silk. When the blonde looked back up, Drake smiled wryly. It was just too funny. She was going to check on Erin was she? Because Erin was her responsibility? That was bloody hilarious. “Well, you do need it,” Drake teased when Ashy asked him to wish her luck on handling his sister and Erin, especially if the two were going to be at odds now. Suddenly Drake felt happy to be in a different House.

Drake’s eyes had turned to watching the scene between Lulu and Jackson when he felt someone take his drink from his hand. Eyebrows raised, he turned his gaze to the thief; Ashy. Who… was actually taking a sip, probably mostly as a demonstrative gesture, because she sure didn’t look like she was enjoying it… considering the minimal sip she had taken. So when she commented, he laughed. He had to say the move surprised him a little, which only made it funnier. Of course on top of the fact that she looked like a stubborn child trying to take a stand with a parent because she wasn’t getting her way and wanted to be more “grown up”. “If that’s your point,” he countered easily, teasing her again, “you should probably drink the whole thing.” She quickly made her excuses after that and hurried away from him, more or less running off. He laughed again, not able to help himself. It was simply too precious. He watched her walk for a little bit before remembering Lulu and Jackson. The two had seemed quite tense for a bit there. Lulu looking uncomfortable, Jackson looking miserable. Now Lulu was leaving McKenna.

What the hell? Was everyone going to be miserable messes today? His sister, Erin, Jackson and Lulu, and he’d briefly noted Zac storming off, leaving a very drunk Mo. Well, Max was managing his sister, apparently, Ashy was going to try and deal with Erin, he could tell Alli was with Mo, but that was it. Jackson was off to himself and probably wanted to stay that way right now, and Lulu… well… he let his dark eyes follow her, and quickly gathered she was heading upstairs… with both Jack D and his rum. Someone wanted to get pissed, huh? She wasn’t getting drunk alone, he soon decided. He actually wanted her company back, and he was growing curious as to what had just happened. The male took his time drinking the rest of his whiskey, also giving Lulu the time to calm herself down a bit. Once he finished his drink a while later, Drake put a bit of money on the counter; tips for the bartender, but kept the glass as he followed Lulu’s path to the living quarters. He was counting on her being in her own room, which… probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do when you were drunk, considering how the place had splinters everywhere.

As he made his way to Lulu and Alli’s room, he thought things over. What did he even want with Lulu? With a bit of alcohol comfortably coursing through his blood, he felt his mind clearing somewhat. He knew he wanted Lulu’s company, he knew he wanted to treat her well make sure she didn’t get herself hurt. He also knew that he wanted to kiss her. Badly. Concluding on this, he gathered he was probably pretty into the girl. They were strange emotions that he wasn’t used to, but part of him liked the way it made him feel when he was with Lulu. He ran a hand through his hair just as he turned a corner, making Lulu visible. What was she doing on the floor outside her room? As he got closer yet, his pace picking up, he noticed her crying and surprisingly… it sent a stabbing jolt through his heart. Though that feeling too, was new, Drake knew what it meant; seeing Lulu like this wasn’t something he ever wanted to again. She had his rum practically glued to her lips too.

Instead of saying something though, Drake gently pried the alcohol from her hands when he reached her. He put the bottle and his glass down a little bit away from them and squatted down in front of her before he moved his hands up to brush the blonde hair out of her now moist face. “Lulu, what the hell are you doing?” He asked her, worry shining in his voice, his dark eyes taking on a considerable glint of concern too. He didn’t even care to cover it up; he just wanted the girl in front of him to feel better. Seeing her like this was also hurting him. He had no idea how to deal with any of this, but he was all she had right now, so he’d try. He was a piss poor excuse for a comfort, though, that much he knew, but maybe Lulu’s feeling for him would at least help him a little here. He moved both his thumbs up to wipe away her tears, looking into her eyes. “What happened?” The whole thing was disconcerting, because he had literally never cared when he had seen others crying. Never. Suddenly, just because it was Lulu, his heart was supposed to hurt with every beat?

If this was all there was to caring, why would anyone want it? Were people really slaves to their emotions this way?

Rum. It wasn’t enough. One mouthful and her throat felt like it was on fire and she had to stop. Instead of the numbness she anticipated from this feeling of just utter shock, she only felt more struck by Jackson’s words. He loved her. But how? Why…when? How long? Had he seen her looking at Drake all night? Had she been that obvious?

How had she not given him her full attention tonight? Jackson had always captivated her. But if she was being honest with herself, he hadn’t for awhile, especially the past year when Lulu’s midnight chats with Drake had become a nightly occurrence. She had loved Jack but she didn’t now which just seemed cruel. Jack's saying I love you only had her mind drifting elsewhere, and painfully so. All she could think about was the guy who had her attention that moment, the very same guy that Jack didn’t like her for liking. Drake. The one who was destined to hurt her or use her so everyone said.

One sip, that’s all she'd had. On top of the cup of Jack Daniels and Pepsi, she felt like she had too little alcohol in her system. The blond turned idly to pick up the bottle of rum again, bringing it to her lips and trying to push herself to down it. If she blacked out then maybe she wouldn’t feel this.

Then suddenly the bottle was being pried out of her fingers and she opened her eyes, which she hadn’t noticed she had closed. Startled by Drake’s proximity, Lulu slammed her body into the wall, the back of her head doing so with a loud thud. She winced and blinked rapidly, her left hand idly trying to reclaim the rum but it was beyond her reach and he was right in front of her. Lulu stared at him, her eyes wide and red with her tears. Her lips stopped trembling as he reached and swept a stray lock of hair from her face.

“Lulu, what the hell are you doing?” Drake asked her. “Do you know how many times I’ve been asked that today?” she replied, raising her eyebrows with a snort of laughter at herself and the situation she was in. Lulu was pleasantly surprised. The more she looked at him, the more concern seemed to show on his face. Lulu smiled weakly as he moved to use his thumb to push away any remaining tears from her cheeks. That was unexpected. That was so very…not the Drake she’d just seen talking to Erin or Ashleigh. Here was the guy who had spent nearly every night talking to her through insomnia, sharing music while they exchanged taunts and teases.

“What happened?” he asked her gently. With him so close, to there, she had almost forgotten. “I loved Jack for such a long time. From the stupid playground crush to a kind of consuming desire. It was years, living like that. Then he was with Beth and he moved. So I moved on...” she started, only stopping to inhale shakily. Lulu sensed that her words were making little sense so she was blunt when she continued. “My best friend just told me he loved me and all I can think about is you.”

Lulu felt her breath quickening. Without even thinking her hands moved to clench onto the loose fabric of his shirt in fists. She needed something to hold onto in that moment because the tension, the desire she felt, was so consuming it was nearly overwhelming. Lulu had never outright told him that she liked him, only teasing him and dropping lines like she had all day, alluding to sex and him helping her shower. It was all implicit. But here, now, she had just said it and she truly had no idea of how he would take it.

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Katia liked that she had him amused. It was nice to watch his smile widen into a full fledged grin. Chris reminded her a little of a Cheshire cat but she couldn’t yet tell if he was the riddling or amusing type.

"Shall we show them what dancing really is? You name the style. I've probably seen it done somewhere. You see, my power is muscle memory. Anything I see, I can do. It takes the phrase 'monkey see, monkey do' to the max,” Chris asked her. She titled her head at that explanation. Few people were so up front about their powers and Katia would be kidding herself if she said she was used to that. She smiled and nodded her head, watching as he moved to stand up. Excitement pulled at his features, the prospect enticing. He was taller than her but just enough and well built, she could see. Katia didn’t doubt that he would be an interesting dance partner. The true question was whether or not he had rhythm and fluid mobility.

Katia sat and watched him as he approached the dance floor, her feet still crossed and her left hand still swirling the red wine in her glass. When he started to run towards the crowd of students she raised an eyebrow in curiosity. When he launched himself into a double backflip her hand stopped moving and her eyes narrowed. “Touché,” she murmured, her smirk becoming a full smile as she set the glass of wine down beside her chair and moved to stand. Slowly she watched him extend his hand to her. Katia removed her coat, stepping onto the dance area. She stepped towards him in a tango step, her body rigid and her fingers taught and flexed as she approached him, touching a hand to his shoulder before dropping a finger to his chest to push him back, her body strutting.

“You’re lucky Mr. Russell,” she smiled, lifting her chin and beckoning him, her eyes locking onto his face and her focus on his movements. “Because I don’t even need to show you first. My power is that I can manipulate people’s bodies, like a puppet master if you will.”

She shifting her fingers then to show him, her mind recalling the movements of her former dance partner. Katia had him step towards her and she circled him while watching his feet, exhaling deeply as she imagined him moving like Maxim used to. If he allowed her to, she would guide him through the first few steps. If he didn’t, then she was at his whim to follow as a partner would, after all he was the man and he was supposed to lead.

Note: Inspirational routine.

Leo wasn't sure what his girlfriend was thinking at the moment, but the immortal teacher definitely wasn't the better man that she thought him to be. At this precise moment in time, he wanted to go and kill Chris, put all of his Spartan training into action and take it out on the one man who had made him feel jealousy for the first time in his life, and the man who had put his beloved Amy in such a state. However, he knew he couldn't tell her that right now. He obviously wasn't going to do it; he would never hurt someone again after how many people he had killed in the past, but he just didn't want to tell her how he was feeling - it would upset her, definitely, and she would get stressed out about him instead of the person she had to worry about, which was herself. So, the male stayed quiet, keeping his feelings wrapped up inside, carrying her quietly into the bedroom.

The immortal male felt a small smile twitch at the corner of his lips when Amy nodded, telling him that she wouldn't push herself this far, promising him. "Thank you." He whispered to her softly, bringing her soft, porcelain knuckles up to his lips and kissing them gently. He felt like he had to be so careful with her, barely touching her - she looked as if she was about to break at any minutes, and she was just so pale; she looked like a ghostly version of her usual self, and Leo just didn't like it. It terrified him, and even though he was doing his best to hide from her how scared he was about her condition, he was sure that she had picked up on how he was feeling. Amy had always been good at that; reading him. She had always been the one person he didn't mind reading him.

He didn't speak when Amy spoke to him, explaining that it would take time for her to get used to her powers being weaker, at least for a while. But, then, she turned the conversation onto him, worrying about him. "Oh no, you don't." He smiled, squeezing her hand lightly, playfully. "I'm not going to leave your side, at least for a little while, Amy. Once your asleep, I'll make myself a quick sandwich or something. Please, don't worry about me. If you had seen how long I've had to go without food in the past, you'd realize that a few hours is fine for me." Leo let go of her hand then, and slowly made his way around the other side of the bed, his side. He laid down on the bed as gently and slowly as possible, as not to jolt his girlfriend around. He then opened up his arms, letting Amy get herself comfortable. "You were right; cuddling is amazing." He sighed, a smile on his lips once more - genuine, this time. He pressed his lips softly to her forehead, and slowly, very slowly, his hand moved. Hesitantly, the immortal Leo moved his hand from his side and laid it gently on his girlfriend's stomach.

---

Erin sighed.

Her bottle was nearly empty - just like everything else around her. Her heart, her mind, the entire gazebo that she was sitting in tonight. There was literally no-one around that she could talk to now. She had briefly thought about going to find Jade, her second best friend, but she hadn't seen any sign of the girl that night, and if she was here, Addison would be with her - one person she really didn't want to talk to any more. The girl was uncomfortable, cold, and just feeling rather down, at the moment. She pulled her leather jacket closer around her shoulders, and pulled up her legs underneath her, keeping them warm with her own body heat.

Then, there was movement near her, and for a brief moment, the girl thought that maybe, just maybe, someone had actually come to apologize to her. But, then, a cute, soft, shaky little voice hit her ears and she turned her head to look across at Ashy. Ashleigh Fox wanted to come and sit with her? The girl who had just seen her be utterly humiliated in front of everyone? However, the girl wasn't one for pushing away any company right now, and she just nodded once, gesturing to the seats all around her. "There's no-one else here." She sighed, letting her eyes gaze across the large gazebo. "As soon as I came in, everyone left. They're all petrified of me, you know. But, I'm not the crazy Hulk girl that everyone thinks I am. I have control. Well, at least some. And it only happens when I'm really angry anyway." A problem with Erin drinking was that she did ramble, but right now, she didn't care. Anyone being there to talk to was better than her drinking and pining the night away alone, at least in her eyes.

"So," the blonde sighed, shifting properly in her seat so that she was looking at the girl that she had never really spoken to before, a girl that she had once laughed at because of her aversion to alcohol and sexual activities, but someone who at the moment, she was really beginning to envy. She wanted Ashy's life; one that wasn't so complicated and dark, a life that wasn't filled with heartbreak, and trysts in the woods with handsome men who had control over shadows, and one that wasn't so alone, and filled with people that hated her. The girl twisted the lid off of her drink once more and placed it on the table in front of her; she wasn't going to be replacing it any time soon. She wanted the rest of this expensive drink in her system, and she wasn't really going to stop until it was empty. After another long sip of the drink, which was now almost empty, she carried on with the sentence that she had started minutes ago.

"What happened to Mister Happy, eh? Couldn't take five minutes out of his busy schedule to come and apologize for his fucking actions? Wasn't like I expected him to anyway; I'm much lower down on his list of "things that he cares about" than most people think. I'm nothing to him other than a worthless girl who he can get a fuck out of, am I?"

---

Yeah, Max wasn't stupid. He was a terrible drunkard, and an emotionless bastard, but he wasn't stupid. Whatever was going on between Corentine and Jaysin was clearly affecting the girl in front of him more than she was truly letting on; not that he expected her to be all open and chatty with him about her personal problems, but she had to know that it was futile hiding things like this from him. So, what the male had had in his head for the night's plan was quickly changing, to something he would rather not be doing. He wasn't too impressed with the situation - he didn't like being the one to sort things out that weren't his problem to begin with, but he wasn't that much of a dick to leave her in a state like this.

Standing behind her, Max finished creating his new plan, his lips against her ear, inticing her towards him. He knew that Corentine needed some sort of release right now, and she wanted to use him sexually for that. Usually, the guy wouldn't care about how she was feeling inside and would take her body the same way that she was taking his, but tonight he just felt different. He knew that if something happened between the two of them that night, he would regret it as it would probably destroy her emotionally. He couldn't have that on his shoulders; no fucking way. So, he was going to have to get emotionally invested in this situation. Brilliant.

Soon, the gorgeous blonde was pushing him towards the stairs which would take them both to his bedroom, her hand on his chest, directing him. The male kept up his pretense, a flirtatious smirk situation on his lips, and he made his way to her side, wrapping his arm around, his fingers dancing on the base of her spine, just above her ass, touching the bare skin showing through her form-fitting dress. No words were spoken between the two of them as he led her, this time, towards the teachers quarters, the sound of their breathing and their shoes on the linoleum floor the only noise breaking the silence. It didn't take long for the two of them to reach the door which adjoined the two sections of quarters together, teacher and student, and he took a brief look around to check for other teachers before pulling out his key and opening the door.

Within a minute, Max was opening the door to his own room, closing it behind the blonde when he was sure that she was inside comfortably. Then, he dropped his arm from around her waist, and stood by his door, looking at her. How was this going to go down, he wondered? Probably not well, that was for sure. She was going to hate him for prying into her life, but the man felt oddly worried about her right now. She definitely wasn't herself. "Corentine," he breathed, his voice quiet and gentle, a tone of voice that he usually used when he was speaking to someone in his office, "what's wrong?"

As Cor and Max made their way towards the teachers’ quarters, the blonde knew something odd was up with him. Sure, his smile was the same, and his hand on the small of her back was a teasing touch much like those he would often deliver in public, but still… something was just not quite right about the way he moved. He didn’t move like someone who was about to have a great fuck. She couldn’t quite figure out what was on his mind, and that was just typical Max. Her alcohol affected brain, however, soon discarded the observations. She was drunk, hurting and paranoid. It was Max. Of course he wanted sex. He always wanted sex. It’d be downright creepy if he didn’t. So she kept right on letting the handsome teacher lead the way, her body his to move. She stayed quiet, and fortunately so did he. It wasn’t like this was anything new for the two, and Cor really wasn’t in the mood for further conversation. She’d had enough of that. She was sick of talking. Talking was what had landed her here in the first place. If she had just stuck to her original plan and fucked Jay without it getting emotional, none of this would have happened.

She was sick of acting too, so her smile had disappeared, leaving her eyes cold and empty, yet with that broken hint of sadness that was threatening to swallow her up if she didn’t force it off of her very soon. Hence her current activities. When Max locked both of them into first the teachers’ quarters, then what she assumed was his room, she just followed like a good little puppy, which in itself was so unlike her. She felt like a zombie, just following Max. She hoped with all of her heart that something physical would bring her back. However, as she looked around the room, noting how nice the place actually was, Max spoke. First, her name, and she turned as if on cue, about to walk towards him too when he asked her ”what’s wrong?” The young blonde almost stopped breathing in shock for a moment there, but soon collected herself, her eyes suddenly glaring at Max. Her hair began swaying softly as her powers picked up of their own accord. This was not supposed to happen. Max wasn’t supposed to give a shit about her feelings or anything really besides her body. She was a bitch for a god damn reason! She had the friends she needed for talking.

What she needed right now was not talking, it was recovering, and knew one sure way of doing it. Talking wasn’t one of them, and it pissed her off that he was just messing up everything. What? He thought he could get her up here and then have a little heart to heart because he just cared about her so much and wanted to help her feel better? What mostly pissed her off was the way it made her feel; sad and on the god damn edge. If Corentine had been swaying before, she was falling now and she could feel tears pressing on, the unnatural indoors wind picking up even more, whipping around the room, knocking things off of shelves. There was no stopping it now. “You know what, Max? If I’d wanted the god damn counselor, I would have come during fucking office hours!” She sneered, the first tear falling. She took one step forward before simply stopping, the wind disappearing as her eyes ran over with tears, her heart aching unbearably. The wall she thought she had built so securely was crumbling at her feet, and the blonde couldn’t breathe through the lump in her throat threatening to suffocate her. She heaved as tears fell uncontrollably, trailing down her cheeks like they hadn’t in so long.

He entire body was trembling and she felt weak in the knees, so weak she almost fell onto the floor, her hands hammering onto the wood as she cried, her body trembling, and she couldn’t stop. So instead, Cor let it all out, her head falling forward, shoulders hunched as her arms supported her upper body, nails digging into the floor. “Fucking… asshole” she managed to choke out, her heart hurting like never before. Her words were intended both for Jay and Max. This hurt so much more than last time, and she couldn’t make it stop. She needed… she just needed to stop. She needed Jay. She needed him more than anything, and he was somewhere, probably busy with Esme. As the thought hit, another round of crying did too, and it all started over, her throat sore and thick with sorrow already. How could she still keep going? If she was lucky, she’d faint from her inability to breathe through the hurt. At least that would make it stop for a while. All she could feel was loss, and she was miserable; all she could think of was Jay and how impossible it all was. How much he didn’t want to be with just her. Yet her heart was screaming for him to fill out the big, black hole he had left in it.

“He’s breaking me,” she said through the tears, the lump in her throat and the utter miserable situation she found herself in. Hell, she didn’t even know why she was saying anything to Max. He was one of the worst functioning people she knew, yet he was to handle her problems? It would have made her laugh if she wasn’t so busy crying her eyes out, tears dripping from her cheeks onto the floor.

---

Drake watched Lulu attentively, looking into her eyes, secretly making sure they weren’t completely glazed over, but she was still lucid. Fortunately. Since when did Lulu even drink like this? Apparently she did when she was upset, and she began answering his brain instinctively started to puzzle the pieces together, figuring out head from tail in her explanation as to what was going on. He had more or less ignored her previous words, mostly because he didn’t have anything to say in this moment. Hell, he had enough troubles figuring out what to do without her little comments. Usually he loved them, but right now she was frustrating him. On top of that, he was now learning that Lulu had once been in love with Jack. Well, that added entirely new depth to their friendship, didn’t it? Because Drake could tell Jack had a thing for Lulu now. Had he always had one? No, Lulu soon answered without knowing it, when she told him about a Beth and a move.

So Lulu had been in love with an unknowing Jack, who had found someone else and moved away. As a result, Lulu had gotten over him, and what then? How was that upsetting? Unless… no… it couldn’t be. Jack wouldn’t just come out and tell her, would he? He frowned slightly as he watched the blonde wiggling her way into his heart. She had trailed off, as if knowing she wasn’t actually explaining what was wrong to him, but Drake had a pretty good idea as it was. Still, when she came out and said it, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then she added ”all I can think about is you.” A sentence that made Drake look at her more closely, his dark eyes gazing into hers for what felt like forever. How did anyone respond to that? Sure, he knew Lulu had feeling for him – that wasn’t what surprised him. Was startled the dark male was the fact that she had come right out and said it for once. This changed the game. His issue right now was the fact that she appeared to be upset about it.

To Drake it seemed that Lulu was eating herself up with guilt about not reciprocating Jack’s feelings, which was just stupid. It wasn’t like she could help who she fell for. If he’d gotten to choose, he wouldn’t have fallen for anyone, but he was completely helpless, and so was Lulu. Your heart never really listened to reason. Hell, if it did, he was sure Lulu wouldn’t be in love with him. She was bright enough to know that he was bad news, yet she remained interested. Drake sighed, but that was all he got to say before her hands were clenching his shirt and he raised an eyebrow, one hand brushing gently through her hair, his eyes slightly mystified, but also still a little worried. Most of all though, they were showing something so unusual to the male; care. Part of him wanted to laugh at Lulu, despite how cruel it was, but that was that little part of him still not recognizing the fact that he didn’t want to play with her feelings. Not really.

Instead, Drake wanted to show her that he cared. He couldn’t say it yet, he knew that much, but he knew how to show it. So Drake moved his hands to Lulu’s hips, gently pulling her up with him, before he smoothly moved them around her, his arms wrapping effectively around her, both to keep her up, but also just to hold her close. Then, his dark eyes fixed on her bright ones, Drake pressed Lulu softly up against the wall. Only then did he move his head, lips grazing her ear, hot breath dancing over her sensitive skin as he whispered, “you need to stop torturing yourself over things you can’t help anyway.”It wasn’t much comfort, but he personally thought it was a pretty good advice. With that, he finally brought his lips down to meet Lulu’s, his arms tightening around her. It was a soft kiss, much unlike those he had previously given. Not that Drake kissed a lot. For instance, he had never kissed Erin. Yet Drake knew in his gut that this was better. The tingle the simple contact sent through him told him as much. It was like their bodies themselves had been waiting for precisely this.

---

Amy knew instantly that it wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t going to let her turn the subject onto him. More so, she wasn’t going to get him to take care of himself rather than watch her as if she was about to fall over and die. So, she was a little tired, and a tad too weak, but she wasn’t dying… probably. No. She wasn’t. She was just pregnant with the child of two individuals who both had powers and it just happened to live off of her powers too. To be honest, after saying it out loud to Leo, she had felt a pang of fear herself. What exactly was she carrying? She had no idea, except it was of course a baby. All she knew was that, and the fact that this wasn’t natural. So many maybes and insecurities. Questions she needed answered, and she could only hope that her mum was able to help, because honestly her grams would have been the ultimate help here. Instead the one woman she knew had the same powers as her, was dead and forever out of reach. Suddenly she missed the woman all over again.

When he squeezed her hand and spoke, she sighed anyway though, just to let him know she wasn’t too happy with him just brushing it off like that. She let him talk then, listening, but not really paying much attention. Her ability to concentrate was waning ever so slowly, slipping out of her grasp just like her remaining energy. “You’re being silly, Leo. I’m not dying here… I’m just a little worn down… and pregnant.” She cast him a little, weak smile as his hand left hers, knowing he wasn’t about to go into the kitchen no matter what she said right now. Silly, protective, worrying man. She could tell he wasn’t nearly as calm and collected as he let on and she wasn’t all that surprised; Leo tended to panic when it came to her. Even when they’d just been friends, he’d be overly worrying whenever she wasn’t feeling too happy a day. He’d be the first person to ask her if everything was okay. She loved him for it, but right now it really wasn’t all that healthy. She was only relieved he hadn’t freaked out completely yet, but she knew he was only holding it together for her benefit. She forced herself to turn in the bed when she felt him moving into it, and laughed softly at the utterly slow and careful pace.

“You’re acting like I’m made of fragile glass.” She commented, somehow mustering up the energy to add a playful touch to her voice as she smiled, her lips bending just enough to give off the shadow of one anyway. She paused for a minute as Leo positioned his arms for her to cuddle into. Part of her didn’t want to, because he hadn’t eaten anything all day, and he needed to, but she couldn’t quite resist temptation and stubbornly spent the majority of her energy moving into a comfortable position, cuddling close, her lips falling into a relaxed smile effortlessly, her body able to relax completely once more. The smile grew slightly when Leo commented on the cuddling. “Of course I’m right,” she murmured quietly, closing her eyes, remembering the sight of Leo’s genuine smile. It was one of the best sights she knew, and it was great falling asleep to. Her head rested on his arm, her body curled into his. Then his lips were on her forehead, and the female was almost asleep when Leo’s hand finally reached its destination, coming to rest on her stomach. Her eyes fluttered open then and she looked up at him hazily, that soft, weak smile back on her face almost by itself.

Her stomach already had a small bump; she’d noticed it earlier when she had been sitting on the floor, but hadn’t paid it much mind. Now, however, Leo was turning her attention towards. The hand resting on the bed just beside her stomach made its way up to rest on Leo’s as she looked up at him. “I know it’s fast,” she said quietly then, her voice not much more than a whisper.

Lulu found herself choking on air, her cheeks still hot from her tears and her eyes burning from crying. She swallowed and held her breath as Drake’s hands moved to her hips. The blond was seated with her legs straight out on the floor. If she stood quickly, her skirt would no doubt fly up in front of him. The thought of that happening made her nervous, her skin hot the moment his hands touched her, settling on her sides. As he stood, Lulu followed his motions and surprisingly she found herself gracefully on her own two feet. Her hands still clung to his shirt, not sure if she should touch him despite how much she wanted to. He still hadn’t said anything. I told him that I like him, outright, and here he is just…being himself.

Then he hugged her, his arms tightening around her back and pulling her close to him. Lulu inhaled sharply and looked up at him, confused, swallowing but finding herself unable to speak. It just like this morning, him looking down on her while Lulu stared right back at him only this time she was of sound mind, one hundred percent lucid, albeit a little tipsy but if anything the rum had done nothing more give her the courage she needed to just tell him what she felt.

Slowly, Drake pushed her back up against the wall. Lulu tensed, biting her lower lip in uncertainty as Drake leaned in. Without even thinking she tilted her head slightly, his lips settling just over her left ear. The moment he spoke and his warm breath ran over the underside of her jaw she felt her skin erupt in gooseflesh, her left side feeling tickled as she felt entirely sensitive to his every word.

“You need to stop torturing yourself over things you can’t help anyway,” Drake told her. Lulu swallowed nodded, about the only thing she could manage. As he moved back she parted her lips to speak but her throat catch as he moved in, his nose brushing hers slightly before he tilted his head and his lips gently pressed against hers.

All at once her body was in shock. Her hands released his shirt, moving immediately to run up his sides. She kissed him back, parting her lips slightly, pushing back every so slightly. Her body temperature seemed to jump as did her heart rate which ran wild in her ears. When it finally ended it seemed like an hour when it had only been a minute or less and she looked up at him, doe eyed and incredibly flushed. Her body was drowning in their chemistry, with her endorphins making her feel slightly dizzy but in a good way. Happiness was the only thing on her mind; Drake made her feel so good.

“I never thought that would happen,” Lulu breathed, looking up at him with as honest an expression that she could muster. “I was upset…” she started to explain, wondering if it was the right moment to. She did it anyways, feeling like she needed to get it out there before they proceeded. Without a doubt she was calmer, though her stomach seemed to erupt in butterflies with so much as a glance from Drake. “Jack seemed upset with himself for what he felt. And Everyone keeps telling me that you’ll just break me and that I shouldn’t go there with you, that you’ll use me….” Lulu trailed, wondering if he would be irritated with her talking so much. It wasn’t that she wanted to, it just felt like it needed to be said.

“I don’t believe that,” she added, blinking twice and tightening her grip on his sides. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for that kiss,” the blond smirked with a short laugh at herself.

Ashleigh had to admit she was one of the people that had been scared of Erin, but that wasn't because of the blondes power, it was because of her reputation. She was part of the fearsome five, a cult that Corentine was also part of. Ashy knew that the girls were friends..or had been up until this point. Why wasn't Cor here with Erin? The blonde briefly remembered seeing her room mate the bar with Mr Henderson, an...odd pairing to say the least. If the two were close, which was the impression that was given out, why wasn't Cor consoling this mess that was Erin Hawthorne

Ashleigh's thoughts then turned to the situation in front of her. Why she was actually here? She had said about four words to Erin in month the Noctrem students had been at Arcana, two of which had been 'Hello' and 'goodbye.' She had been worried about the girl sitting next to her when the incident with Drake had happened, that much had been certain. But, to follow this girl? Espiecally when she wasn't exactly stable. Ashy just put it down to Maternal habits. However, there may have been more to that. Erin didn't seem to melt in Drake's presence, she was able to hold her own. For that, Ashy admired the drunk blonde sitting next to her. But after what Drake had told her earlier about Erin needing him to calm down... she still needed him. This was all so confusing for the innocent blonde.

'From what I've seen, Drake doesn't seem like the kind to Apoligse...'Ashy spoke quietly, she didn't want to appear to know Drake more than Erin did, but only to console the blonde... a little. Ashleigh sighed, thinking about the scene with Drake earlier. 'How does he do that, Erin?' She blurted out, 'With one look, he makes me feel like a nervous wreck. You know what the worst part is?' She looked over at the blonde, 'He knows's the effect he has on me. It feels like he controls my every thought.' She sighed again before adding, 'I hate it.' Ashleigh wasn't exactly sure why she had just ranted at the drunken Erin, maybe because she hoped that the blonde would understand, would....help? The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her chair, 'I'm sorry... I didn't mean to rant at you, here' She offered the blonde the glass of orange juice 'I brought you this, I figured that it might help you cheer up a little. I'd have got you water but I couldn't go back over there' She gave a small smile as she placed the glass down at Erin's feet, remembering taking Drake's whiskey and his flippant comment at the end of their conversation, she heard his laugh, but choose to ignore, taking the action for what it was; a victory.



Jessica had been sitting at the table with Killian for a while, when her phone buzzed in her bag. She pulled it out and read Greg's text with a smile. Damm right he was late, the party had been in full swing for a while now. The thought that her male best friend was on his way caused a stupid grin to fall across Jess's face. She had missed some, even though they'd only spend...not even a day apart, she just loved spending time with him, time with gregory was always special.

In the meantime, the brunette had been watching the scene unfolding not to far from her with Jackson and Lulu. She was an avid people watcher, always had been. That, coupled with the fact she was intrigued by Jackson had caused Jessica to glued to scene in front of her. Jackson loved Lulu, even a moron could have worked that out, he was being so... gentlemanly to her. Jessica wished she had someone like that in her life.

Her thought process was then cut sort by the arrival of Greg; She had been so focused on Jackson that she hadn't noticed the male walk into the tent and buy a drink, which made her feel terrorible, What was it about Jackson?

'Shameful' The brunette replied in a voice of mock horror, 'Kiss thy toes or else I shall never forever you.' She gave the boy a dazzling smile as he handed her a drink, and sat down next to her. 'It's good to see you.' She said quietly, 'it's been far too long.'

Sipping her drink, the blonde then turned her attention back to the Jackson situation, by this point, Mckenna has joined the fray. What she was she doing there? Jess didn't even know that she was friends with either of the pair. She then watched as Jack walked away from the situation, followed swiftly by Lulu. Uh-oh. What had happened, had it been something to with Mckenna. Convinced, in her slightly tipsy state, that it was her best friend that had caused Jackson's upset mood, Jessica sighed. '....and the shit's just hit the fan' She spoke quietly, before standing up, 'Gentleman, will you excuse me?' She bent over and gave Greg a kiss on the cheek, 'I'll catch you later. Text me in the morning?' She asked before walking in the direction that Jackson was headed. Jessica wasn't entirely why she was following the Irishman, or why she had just left her best friend to do it. But she knew that if the situation had been caused by Mckenna, which she know for sure, she wanted to fix for it. For her best friends sake That's why she was doing it, for Mickey, right?

She eventually found Jackson a little way outside of the party tent, completely alone. 'Jack,' She gave a small smile when she got closer to him. He did look very handsome tonight. He had, quiet rightly, made the effort to look presentable tonight. ' You really know how to make a girl work don't you? Do you know how hard it is to walk in these heels?!' She complained before giving the male a small sigh. 'Are you alright? Did Mickey say something to you?' She asked, concern etching her face.

As Drake pulled his lips back from Lulu’s after a kiss so filled with electric chemistry is almost seemed magical, his dark gaze slowly searched her face, going from the lips, whose softness he had just experienced, to the cheeks that helped create her beautiful smile, before finally coming to rest at her eyes, looking into those wide, sparkling orbs of dark amber. She was flushed, the soft skin on her cheeks touched by a high red. Her body was warm, her heart beating fast against his chest, and the male took in every impression, reveling in the sensation that was Lulu Allen. His lips were still just slightly parted as he breathed, his eyes and demeanor intense. He had wanted to kiss Lulu so badly for so long, but had refrained because he had been adamant in his denial of the feelings he had for her. After today all of that had fallen to the ground, and though Drake seemed confident as ever, he had trouble finding out which leg to stand on. He has on new, uneven ground and he felt like he was fumbling his way through the dark, which was really quite ironic when you thought about his power.

Then the blonde before him began speaking and he found himself listening intently as ever, his lips finally finding each other again, despite the fact that they would much rather be finding Lulu’s. Right now, however, Drake could tell Lulu had something she needed to get out, so he remained quiet, keeping his lips to himself, merely watching her. Her first sentence earned her a short laugh from Drake. He hadn’t really thought it’d happen either, and the fact that it had was as confusing as it was relieving. It did present new issues, like the fact that he had no clue where to go from here. He didn’t want to hurt Lulu, he knew that much. After seeing her crying just now he knew with certainty that he would do anything to avoid seeing it again. But he didn’t know if he could give her what she probably wanted; a relationship. Part of him wanted to because being with Lulu made him feel good, yet another part of him feared he just wasn’t cut out for a relationship. He worried that he would become more like a caged animal than anything else; that he would change drastically. And he happened to like himself.

The fact was, however, as Lulu spoke of people having told her that he would only break her, he couldn’t even disagree, because he knew he was bad for her. He was disturbingly aware of the fact that he was going to hurt her one way or another, and though Drake was a very selfish individual, he wasn’t sure he could make himself be that way with Lulu. He wasn’t sure he could just gain what he wanted from her, knowing that he would end up hurting her. She would be better off with someone like Jack. The problem with that was only that he didn’t particularly want to see Lulu with someone else. At the same time he wanted her happy, however. Fuck. He was so bloody messed up. He just looked at her as she paused, however, wanting to tell her the truth; that he didn’t want to do that to her. But he couldn’t yet, because part of him kept screaming that he would end up doing it anyway. Instead he just tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer before sighing, his forehead coming down to rest on hers. He didn’t do anything besides that, mostly because he could tell she still wasn’t finished.

His lips pulled up slightly when she told him she didn’t believe in the warnings she had been given. It wasn’t a particularly happy smile. In fact, it appeared more… sad. “Lulu…” he began, his voice low and hesitant, but she interrupted, commenting on having waited for their kiss. It made him chuckle just a little before pulling his head back, shaking it. “I think I have a pretty good idea,” he said playfully, moving one hand up to brush through her hair, moving in to kiss her briefly, not able to stop himself. He craved the contact. Another kiss followed their second one before he moved his head away from hers again. “Look, Lulu…” he then started, feeling like she might have said all she needed to now. His eyes were on hers; wanting her complete attention as he spoke, voice soft yet firm. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He brushed his thumb over her left cheekbone, smiling vaguely, “and I’m not going to lie to you; Jackson would by far be the better choice. He’s a good guy and he deserves a girl like you.” As he spoke, Drake realized he was being completely truthful. It also dawned on him just how… unlike himself… he was acting. He was being selfless.

On top of that, saying these things actually hurt, because he was purposefully pushing the one girl he had ever really fallen for, into the arms of another guy. Why? Because he wanted her to be happy. And Jackson was one among the few people he considered friends. Someone he knew would treat Lulu well. Still, however, he didn’t want to make the choice for her. It was her life, and if she wanted to take a chance on him, he wasn’t going to stop her. He just wanted to inform her of the odds first, so he continued… “I’m not a good guy, Lulu. In fact, the girls who fall for me end up hurt and miserable 100% of the time and up until now I haven’t given a crap about any of them.” He sighed before smiling an ironic, wry smile. The hand which had previously caressed her cheek, moved down to the side of her neck, tenderly cupping her jaw. “You deserve better than that, and I think you know it.”

“It’s also why I’m even telling you this; I want you to really consider whether you want to chance that heartbreak, because I am going to hurt you. Even if it will never be purposefully.” It was eerie how easy he found it to be blunt and honest with Lulu, considering how manipulative and calculating he usually was. But by now he was at least a little used to it. The blonde just did something to him and he had no control over it whatsoever.

She couldn’t even say why she was speaking, letting what felt like a floodgate of words open up. When she finished, Lulu felt ridiculous. Drake had finally kissed her, he was finally touching her deliberately, with the intention of holding her and not holding her up. And here she was ruining a moment by gushing about drama and half a dozen people telling her that she deserved better. But what is better for me than him? Who makes me feel this way?

“Lulu…” Drake sighed. She ignored him, laughing at herself when she confessed how long she had been waiting for this moment. Her mind started spinning. His tone was wrong. The seductive side of him was absent and he looked at her with a serious stare, concern still paramount. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for that kiss.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” he teased, and momentarily brought her closer, sliding his hand through her hair. Lulu moved her head with his hand, leaning in as his lips brushed hers a second time and a third. Her body felt like it was blistering with heat. The more he kissed her, the more she felt the tension growing in her body to push for more than his gentle kisses. That she couldn’t deny. They had chemistry, a chemistry that beat Jackson for miles though she was sorry to admit it. Her best friend had always been close, never afraid to wrap an arm around her waist or kiss her on her cheek. Jackson’s touch, however, didn’t rile her up in this way, didn’t make her feel like she had electricity coursing through her skin and of course those other desires were there too with Drake.

“Look, Lulu…” he broke contact to say. Lulu looked up and into his face, her hands sliding up and down the length of his sides, her fingers flexing as they traced his abdomen through his shirt. “I don’t want to hurt you,” Drake stated, his hands moving to cup the side of her face. Again she found herself leaning into his palm. I know you wouldn't, she thought to herself. Lulu was too into the moment to manage speaking. "You're one of the few people in my life who never would intentionally." “And I’m not going to lie to you; Jackson would by far be the better choice. He’s a good guy and he deserves a girl like you.”

Her eyes narrowed then and she looked up at him, feeling the sensuality stayed momentarily. Why is he saying this? she wondered, feeling her throat suddenly swelling with dread. He still kept speaking.

“I’m not a good guy, Lulu. In fact, the girls who fall for me end up hurt and miserable 100% of the time and up until now I haven’t given a crap about any of them,” Drake continued. Lulu bit down on her tongue first before chewing on her lower lip. She was aware of all this but coming from him, hearing him admit to his own reputation, it felt like she was learning something entirely new. So he didn’t care about Erin? Or Ashleigh for that matter? It had her tense in his hands. She blinked twice but still kept her eyes locked on him. How couldn’t she? He had his hand on her chin and face, almost forcing her to look at him. And the idea of dominance…well it only made her feel more into the moment. Except for what he was saying. It was like he was pushing her away after finally making the move.

“You deserve better than that, and I think you know it. It’s also why I’m even telling you this; I want you to really consider whether you want to chance that heartbreak, because I am going to hurt you. Even if it will never be purposefully,” Drake concluded.

“You know I can manipulate probability right?” she smirked to break the serious quality of the moment. Lulu couldn’t say why she was replying this way. Here Drake was being honest, stating his faults and laying his history out in the open. Here he was telling her that he was going to hurt her given his track record. Every girl he had been with had ended up in shambles, sneaking out of his room with their after sex hair, more often than not leaving a trail of clothing or something behind. Lulu had seen and heard it all but for some reason, that didn’t matter. Something was holding her there in that moment. Lulu didn’t pull away from him. Instead she sidled up against him. Drake was incredibly sobering but she couldn’t deny that what she had drank had her lowering her boundaries. Quite intentionally she let her eyes fall to the floor to his feet while her hands ran up from his hips to his arms, sliding up to his shoulders where she gripped him tightly. She flicked her eyes up quickly then, staring at him defiantly.

“I guess what I’m saying is that I appreciate your honesty,” she smiled. “But I don’t care. You’re not going to push me away now.”

Lulu let her left and drift from his shoulder, drifting down his chest where her index finger traced circles over his pectorals before sidling down his torso to playfully tug at his belt. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel something. I know what I feel. And Jack, as much as I love him, he has never made me feel like this.”

She leaned in to him again, allowing her face to drift so close that had she moved any closer her nose would have touched his. “I want this, no matter the odds, no matter the history,” she whispered, the conclusion defiant. When she admitted it, Lulu was surprised. She didn’t sound needy. She just sounded adamant.

“What about you?” She asked. Lulu felt like she was done with talking. All she wanted was his contact, his touch. She could see it happening in her mind, her hopping up into his arms and letting her kiss her, and really kiss her, against that wall. She craved him and she didn't know what she would do if he walked away.

Drake had noticed every little change on Lulu’s face, the way she began chewing on her lowerlip, how the look in her eyes sobered just a little. Nothing was missed as Drake explained himself to Lulu, wanting her to understand what she was walking into before she did. Because he would never be an easy guy to deal with. In fact, Drake had a feeling he just wasn’t a relationship guy. The one time he had been in a relationship previously had been with a former friend of Cor’s, a girl who Drake had taken an immediate interest in. Gen just had something about her, and though he now knew he hadn’t really been in love with her, her personality and general indifference had just been so easy to relate to. The two hadn’t had what you’d call a normal relationship. Drake had still been fucking Erin on the side, something Gen was very aware of, and she had been fine with it at first. Then things had gone downhill, because Gen had started developing actual feelings towards him, and with it jealousy had followed.

That jealousy let her to become pretty vengeful, trying her very best to make Erin’s life a living hell. To be honest Drake had thought it rather amusing. Cor, however, hadn’t been big on Gen messing with her best friend, so she took a stand. And when Cor took a stand, people got hurt. To put things simply, Gen left Noctrem in a hurry. That was the end of Drake’s only former relationship. And he felt very certain that Lulu wouldn’t be all that fine with Drake still helping Erin out once in a while, which would be an issue. Drake had noticed jealous looks from Lulu already, so things were going to be difficult for a while, he imagined. Soon, Lulu was replying to his words, and for a second, Drake just looked at her, not quite clear on what had just happened, until the blonde smirked. His immediate reaction was to snort at her, half chuckling. Part of him was glad she had so easily discarded his warning, yet he also knew it didn’t bode well for any of them. She should care about the fact that she’d get hurt like all the others, yet he couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that she was so willing to jump right into things with him.

Then her arms were moving, effectively shutting Drake up. He had been about to say… something… but instead found himself curious as to where her hands were going to wander. So he stood still, watching her as she dropped her gaze. Tiny sparks of electricity followed the path of her fingers, making his skin tingle just a little. Her hands then stopped and her eyes shot back up, looking at him with rare determination. What was she trying to do here? Drake met her gaze easily, dark brown on sparkling amber, the intense connection making his breathing slow. His body was responding from the simplistic touch and the way her eyes were telling him what she wanted. It was disturbing how easily she seemed to convince his body to change tactics. How did she do that when no one else could? Drake had always been able to control himself and his sexual urges, yet Lulu rendered his years of practice completely laughable. He smiled wryly at her next words, her telling him that she wasn’t going to let him push her away. Stubborn woman. He moved himself closer to the wall, effectively pushing Lulu closer to both him and the wall, bringing them closer than they had ever been.

He pulled back slightly when her left hand began dancing down his chest, however, her finger tracing patterns. He raised an eyebrow, feeling oddly mystified by her actions. How drunk was she right now? “Am I not?” He teased as her finger moved further down his chest and he felt excitement building at what might happen between the two, “hmm.” He chuckled when she finally reached his belt, teasing him by merely tugging at it. That wasn’t exactly what he wanted her to do. Mind out of the gutter, Drake, he scolded himself, still surprised at how easily Lulu had him fighting for control. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel something. I know what I feel. And Jack, as much as I love him, he has never made me feel like this.” She then said, looking up at him and Drake found himself smirking at her. “Well, I am feeling rather turned on right now, if that counts,” he murmured playfully, his voice easily falling into a deep, husky tone. It came so easily to him. He wanted her, and he was going to have her. It just might not be tonight. He wanted her sober their first time. Sex was always better when you were sober.

Besides, he wanted her to remember, and be completely willing. He wanted her to do it because she wanted to, and not because her inhibitions were being nullified by alcohol. So when she leaned in, whispering to him, finally asking him a question, Drake smiled smoothly, his eyes intense and seductive as ever, and leaned in closer, his head tipping to the side just a little, nose brushing against hers as he brought his lips closer to hers, stopping merely a couple of millimeters before touch. Only then did he speak, his voice a husky and dark whisper, “I think it’s very tempting to take advantage of your drunk state of mind right now.” He chuckled, gently taking the hand she had on his belt, moving it down for her to feel precisely how tempting he found it. He then let go, kissing her forehead before stepping back, both his hands moving up to cup her face. His mind was going over all the things he wanted to do to her, picturing her moans as he pleasured her naked body, but somehow Drake managed to pull back from her.

He could have her tomorrow. Now wasn’t the time. “But let’s save that for another time, eh?” He continued and smiled wryly at her then, moving his head back in to take her lips, his claiming her soft ones as their own, taking control as was Drake’s preferred way of doing things. He was drinking in her feel, her heat and her scent. Right now Drake was high on her, as if she was his own personal drug. It was better than telling her how he felt, because he couldn’t do that. He hardly knew it himself, so he couldn’t even start to describe it in words. Actions weighed heavier anyway and they felt much better to the dark male.

Addi turned a few times as they continued to walk, making sure Aldous was still following her. They ventured deeper into the woods, darting through trees, and stepping through the brush. Eventually, the girl took off her shoes and began to hold those. As she turned around to check for the umpteenth time, she hopped around, facing Aldous, walking backwards for a moment.

A look of discomfort lingered on Aldous's face and he clears his throat a bit, "Lawler, if you need something to get high on, you know you just need to ask and pay, right?"

"I guess," She shrugs, continues to walk backwards, her movements becoming fluid, almost feline-like. She could feel her more primal instincts begin to tick, but she suppresses them and she shrugs, "But, since you offered, what do you have?"

She tilts her head to the side, stopping for a moment next to a willow, and she listens for a moment, her blue eyes floating towards the sound of water. A smile flickers onto Addison's face, it was a sly one though, a secretive one.

"Come, Mr. Montague." She fakes an extremely convincing British accent, tugging at his jacket and she strips off her leather jacket, slinging it over her shoulder and she comes to a clearing where a pond resided. The moonlight became fractured on the still pond and a small breeze bustles through. A willow tree dips over the pond, almost shading it from the rest of the world and Addison smiles a bit turning back towards Aldous.

Raising an eyebrow, she continues to play the game, "Alright, we can match," She pulls out the rest of her weed, and a few acid strips, "What do YOU have?" The brunette's head tips to the side a bit, her lips parting slightly into a smile. She stares at him for a moment and her heart jumped a little... He was... Cute... She never realized how captivating his eyes were. He wasn't like Drake, or Jaysin... He was more aloof...

Addison felt a strange attraction towards him, not the kind of primal attraction she normally felt, but that stupid kind of curiosity... The kind that made her want to get to know him, like the back of her hand....

Or maybe he just had secrets that she wanted to uncover....

She had known Aldous for quite a while, and yet their conversations had always been short, to the point. No real depth to them.... If the girl didn't know any better, she would say that she had a crush on Aldous...But Addison was a fickle girl, and she wasn't about to simply tie herself down to someone who wanted a simple, strictly professional, dealer, druggie relationship...

If that was even considered a professional relationship. The girl smirks at the fact, laughing a bit.

But who was to say what he wanted? Maybe he secretly wanted to get to know her too?

Now I'm just getting my head in the damn clouds... She thinks to herself with a sigh. No way was that going to happen, no fucking way....

“Well, I am feeling rather turned on right now, if that counts,” Drake replied, his voice sensual and low. Lulu was pleased to here it as he sounded more like himself. The reply made her smile widen, her lips pulling at her dimples to such a degree that she found her cheeks hurting. He always had that affect on her, making her smile so wildly and constantly. Few people could pull her out of her habitual frown and here, Drake had been doing it all day and now her face was straining from it. That didn’t stop her, especially as he moved in,

“I think it’s very tempting to take advantage of your drunk state of mind right now,” Drake admitted, moving her left hand from where her thumb was hooked on his belt to guide it south. Lulu jerked slightly, her hand tensing at what he allowed her to feel. Her mouth immediately went dry and she blushed so fiercely that her cheeks felt like they were on fire. He was so close to her, his lips skated over hers while he spoke. Lulu gasped and held her breath until he moved, kissing her forehead before holding her face in his hands. Lulu looked up at him, her eyes still wide. She was literally panting in his arms and her hands moved up his sides to his arms where she gripped his forearms, squeezing the muscles as if she needed to confirm his strength. Lulu stared at him, her eyes locked on his. “I’m not that drunk,” she whispered, her words barely managing to slip out of her lips.

“But let’s save that for another time, eh?” Drake taunted. The idea of waiting only made her knees grow weak. She groaned slightly in disappointment - now that was the rum talking. Lulu pursed her lips and nodded twice regardless, her arms growing shaky. Fortunately Drake pushed her back up against the wall, his head bowing to hers. Lulu’s arms moved from his forearms to his shoulders, gripping them tightly as she hopped slightly off the ground so that she was eye level with him. As Drake pinned her to the wall, she was able to wrap her left leg around the back of his thighs for support. As he kissed her, he was far more authoritative than before. The gentleness subsided and quicker than she would have expected, Drake was pushing past her lips with his tongue. Lulu obliged, but of course with his efforts she pushed back with her own.

After a minute, Lulu moved to wrap her right leg around his waist. With a slight jump she had her legs twisted around his hips, and her left hand gripped the back of his neck while her right moved through his hair. When she broke for air she inhaled sharply, finding herself gasping. A slight moan came from her, soft and just enough to let him know that he had done right.

To be on the receiving end of Drake’s affection was almost inconceivable. Her entire life had been spent lying low, thinking that she would never have this. Grey had always taken the liberty of telling her that she would die alone and miserable. Sure she had been kissed, groped, touched but it was never like this. She had never wanted someone to make a move on her this way. She had never felt the intensity of true chemistry. Never like this.

For a year now she had been watching girls melt in Drake’s arms, wondering if he was really that good, wondering if she would enjoy it. But it wasn’t just that she wanted him, to have a quick fuck with him. It had become more over time, over the teases and the taunts, the semi-judging looks when he would emerge the morning after one of his escapades. She liked him. And now, to have it, to have him respond to her and say that he too liked her, it was nearly unthinkable. Sure he had his history. Sure she’d had three people tell her in one day that he was the worst thing for her but for some reason that didn’t matter. Perhaps she was being too much of a girl, thinking that this time it would be different with him, that she was different to him. It didn’t matter to her overall, because to deny her body this experience seemed beyond cruel.

Lulu broke the kiss to breath a second time, panting no differently than she would had she just sprinted five hundred meters. “I can’t stay in my room,” she laughed, raising her eyebrows and taking the time to lick her lips. She could feel them puckered and swollen from his aggressive kiss but it was a good feeling. She half wondered if he was going to leave her with hickies like some of the other girls she’d seen leave his room. “And I don’t think we can stay here and not get caught,” Lulu added, her voice jubilant. Her smile emerged with her words now too. She was just so happy. It was her indirect way, truly, of asking if she could go back to his room with him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris had an incredibly pliable body. His will completely slackened and he was completely within her control. Katia smirked at his initial surprise and she felt the pull of his mind against her control. It was often a shock when she started manipulating someone else’s body but shortly after she explained what she was doing, he was thrilled. It was a response she didn’t get often and it only made her smile widen as she kicked her left leg out in tango flick around his ankle, her right arm extended to his chest.

"Wow. This really is something, isn't it?" Chris grinned, his body moving the way she wanted him to, circling her before taking her left hand in his, his right gripping her waist – and she ensured he didn’t let it slide down any further.. "Looks like you'll only have to show me this once,” he winked. It was surprising to her to find that after a minute or two of pulling him through the routine, he started to lead. His limbs mimicked her moves with precision and he danced around her with the intensity the tango demanded. She smiled, her eyes narrowed on his as he moved her into a sweep, taking the opportunity to lean into her ear.

"We're certainly getting a lot of attention,” he whispered. Katia laughed openly, her eyes sweeping beyond Chris’ defined face to the circle of students nursing red beer cups and drinks, staring at them. Some were awed, some looked envious. A handful of boys were peeved, it seemed, as they clung to partners in front of them, swallowing their demise. Katia and Chris had definitely shown them up. He pulled up her and they continued to tango, his leg flicking around hers almost better than Maxim. His posture and carriage was proper and his footwork flawless.

"They can learn a lot from us," Chris told her as he swung her around a second time and she found her back to his chest after the spin, his arms locked around her chest. Katia leaned into him, smiling, feeling his strength and ability. Few partners could keep up with her. "Assuming they're not too drunk,” he added. “Yes,” Katia panted. “Though I believe they’ll forget this by the morning for the most part.”

As they finished, Katia found herself standing alone as Chris moved to cart wheel on a diagonal The students parted and many of the girls applauded. Katia’s left hand immediately moved to support her lower back. Now that they had concluded she could feel her injury flaring up. Her smile faltered and she grunted, holding her breath to try and relieve some of the strain she was starting to feel. Chris quickly came back to her. "Just a preview of what I can teach you," Katia smiled and broadcast to the students.

"We really should dance together more often,” Chris replied, beaming. Katia winced and bit down on her lower lip as she tried to step forward only to feel her back jerk and her nerves fire, sending a shooting pain down her back and into her legs. Momentarily she had felt so free and here again she felt like a prisoner in her own body due to her injury. She moved through the students with Chris slowly, her legs carrying her without limping but she felt even more strained if she moved quickly. “I wish,” she murmured, swallowing as she made her way back into her chair. When she sat, she squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced through the pain. Immediately she moved to reclaim her glass of wine, drinking half of it in one sip.

“When you virtually break you back, your body doesn’t let you do the things you love,” she commented before moving on to explain her pain. “I fractured a disk in my spine three weeks ago. But who am I to deny a dance with a man so handsome as you?”

Drake had managed to keep his hands on Lulu’s back, knowing that letting them wander would be testing his own control unbelievably, and though Drake was an arrogant male, he had no illusions about being able to deny Lulu if it really came down to it. The blonde was already pushing him more than anyone ever had before. Drake reveled in control, he liked being in charge sexually, and he hated not being able to manipulate the responds of his own body. Yet, for some reason, part of him just wanted to stop fighting for it, and see where chance landed him. It wasn’t what he did though. Well, until Lulu wrapped both of her legs around his waist, causing him to grow even harder, feeling her core against him as she jumped up, her hands moving to reposition themselves. He immediately pressed her even closer to the wall, one hand trailing down her back until he reached her bottom, caressing it, moving under the short skirt he had picked out for her, something he was very grateful of now.

Drake’s other hand took the liberty of moving upwards, dancing up her side, fingers teasing her breast with little touches. He was so caught up in her, in their contact and the kiss that he hardly paid attention to anything else, so when she broke the kiss, panting for air, a soft moan escaping her, he groaned in response, nibbling on her neck. “Fuck, Lulu,” he almost growled in frustration, breathing heavily against the sensitive skin he had just teased with his lips and teeth. He was going to lose it and he couldn’t do that. However, she resumed the kiss before he got to thinking more thoroughly about it, before he could stop himself from going any further with her. When it came to sex, Drake knew he reached a certain level of douche, and he was rough with his girls. He didn’t hit them or anything; he wasn’t into that, but he did enough to demonstrate who was in control. His girls liked it, but then, Drake had a pretty specific type when it came to that shit, and Lulu wasn’t it. He wasn’t sure she’d be too happy about him leaving her with bruises.

Fuck… why did he even care? This was supposed to be simple, like with Erin. He knew what she liked and she knew what he liked, which made things simple. He knew she liked him rough, but then, maybe it would be a bit different with Lulu. After all, this time feelings were involved too, and he had heard people talking about sex with feelings being deep and emotional rather than rough and detached. Ah hell, who was he kidding? Lulu either liked it or she didn’t. In truth, it would probably be better for her if she didn’t, because the more time they spent together, the more hurt she was going to get in the end, and safe from leaving her now, there was nothing he could do about it. She was 19 years old, though, and he wasn’t about to start making choices for her. Besides, once she was sober in the morning, she would probably change her mind.

Why did that thought send a shot of pain through his heart?

When Lulu broke their kiss a second time, panting, Drake couldn’t help chuckling a little, feeling a little out of breath himself. Both his hands had been rather adventurous, he had to admit, exploring her body. He couldn’t help it. “I gathered as much,” Drake merely commented when Lulu told him she couldn’t stay in her room. His voice was playful; his tone light, even though his lower region told her he was anything but relaxed. He knew precisely where she was going with her words, and he was already 10 steps ahead of her. The male had already decided not to let her stay in her room. Splinters everywhere, and her drunk? Not a good idea. Then, however, she licked her swollen lips, and Drake felt a smirk come onto his lips, hi dark eyes tracing the path of her tongue. He wanted her, which meant that he constantly had to remind himself that she was off limits tonight. When she continued, he found himself laughing again, both his hands wandering up her body to grab her sides before moving back to give her room. Then he gently guided her down from himself, placing a little kiss on her forehead, a cocky grin on his face.

“I think you might be right about that,” he teased, “but then…” Drake paused, pulling the girl closer, his hands on her hips, “what’s so bad about that?” He flashed her a wry smile before chuckling, hands moving down her body and bellow her bottom, pulling her up then, wrapping her legs around his waist once more, yet in a slightly less heated way. Then he kissed her briefly, “c’mon then, blondie.” He taunted, keeping his arms under her backside to keep her up, and to keep his hands from wandering more interesting places. “You and I have things to do.” Holding her like that, Drake began walking towards his and Jackson’s room. Of course the fact that Jackson would be ending up there too, had crossed Drake’s mind, and as much as he didn’t wish to hurt Jack, the guy was going to have to get used to him and Lulu being around each other if she didn’t change her mind once sober. Besides, he had to say he’d rather hurt Jack than leave Lulu in the mess of a room his sister had created. On the way, he bent down to pick up his rum from the floor, a hand moving to Lulu’s back momentarily to steady her.

Then, bottle in one hand, Lulu bouncing on the other arm, Drake made his way to his new room.

McKenna meanders upstairs checking her phone every few minutes, wondering if Jackson was really mad or not. As she walked down past the boys dorms, she sees Drake and Lulu a bit further down, making their way into Drake's room. McKenna gasps a bit, Lulu...Drake... But..Jackson?

She stops for a moment, leaning against the cold wall. She watches the light from the room dim as the door closes and she shakes her head, the drinks she had at the party were making her a little dizzy... With a hesitant change of pace she makes her way towards her dorm and she fumbles with the key for a moment and she opened it.

I saw...Nothing.. the thought runs through her head as she flicked off her shoes, and she face plants onto her bed, her pink cushions giving out with a puff as her weight hits the bed.

"Who am I kidding? They're going to fuck," She flops over on her back, her hand shading her eyes from her bedside lamp, "Lulu and DRAKE are going to have sexual intercourse... And...Jesus... Poor Jackson..." She says, as if she were having a conversation with the ceiling.

She looks up at it for an answer, as if it were going to spit back out an answer. But, no such luck. She sits up, her hair falling in loose curls around her face and she looks to the right, Do I tell Jackson? She shakes her head, looking down at her hands, It's not really my place, to be honest.... But he has a right to know...

McKenna flops back onto her pillow, her hair fanning out on the pillow, her eyes sealing shut. Decisions, decisions. The girl was never very good at making the right decisions in social situations, it pained her to even think about it.

"I'm such an awkward person..." She mumbles with her eyes shut.

Her eyes open up a bit, to see if Jade was in the room -- thankfully, she wasn't. McKenna had a weird way of coping with drama and such, she would normally start talking to herself to try and calm her down.

Maybe she was making too big a deal of it, after all, it wasn't even her place. She wasn't supposed to see that... But it would break Jackson's heart if he found out... No, she had to let the three figure it out themselves. McKenna rolls over to face her bedside table and she opens the drawer, pulling out a small leather bound journal. She unwraps the leather cord and opens the journal and starts reading it.

June 23rd, 2000


Kenna ran a hand through her hair and she goes and sits by the window, clutching the journal. Her eyes wandered downward towards the stragglers of Jackson's party, the laughter and music could still be heard. She sighed, and opened the journal and started to write.

---

Addison watches his gaze flicker back to business, and he pulls out a stash of his own. One flask had flaming red pills, an extreme hallucinogen. Addison knew those pills anywhere, a smirk flickers onto her lips and she smiles.

“You know what? It's my first night in the academy. This one's on me.” She shakes her head for a moment then gives a half enthusiastic nod, she normally didn't like just simply taking from people. It felt wrong to her, but, the offer hung in the air between them and she didn't really want to let that chance go.

He lays down the two bottles on the wide log, then turns towards her, walking closer, Addison's breath shortens as his hands meander down her waist and into her pockets, a chill flies up her spine. The brunette's lips part, locking eyes for a moment, as he delicately pulls the cigarettes out of her pocket. She takes out her own cigarettes and lights one up, putting the mini baby blue lighter back in her bra. She puts her sad little drug stash away back into her jacket pocket and throwing that down next to the bottles.

Propping the cigarette between her lips, she inhales, then exhales, picking the bottle with the vibrant red pills. She turns around, popping open the small flask with the vibrant red pills in it. She smiled quietly, handing him one as well, taking another drag of her cigarette and blowing the smoke out slowly. She looks at the lake, placing the pill under her tongue.

After a few minutes ticked by, she could feel it melting away slowly and she closed her eyes for a moment, her head tilting back a bit, feeling the cool breeze tickle her cheeks. There was a beautiful feeling, as if she were weightless. The brunette turns back towards Aldous with a smile.

She begins to wonder what to do, and she remembers the lake... Skinny dipping? She smirks.

"Well, go on," She urges him, and she takes a long drag of her cigarette, the menthol taste dancing in her mouth and she French inhales the smoke back into her lungs then blows it out slowly.

Her hair falls over her face a bit as winds blew through the trees. Curious blue eyes flicker up towards Aldous and she gives a flirty smile, and she begins to undo her belt and slides off her skinny jeans. She takes off her v-neck shirt and she throws her clothes on the log near the pills. She swallows the rest of the pill and takes a dive into the lake, submerging herself for as long as she could. The cold water seeps fast into her hair, her entire body being enveloped in the water. Opening her eyes for a moment, she looks towards the surface, the moonlight beaming through the crystal water. Her eyes close for a moment, as she waits for her lungs to give out before she went back up.

This is where she wished she could half shift... Some of the teachers had tried to teach her, but it was much harder for her to learn. The girl begins to swim up, breaking the surface, and she treads water for a moment, then floats onto her back and relaxes for a moment.

"You have got to try this, it's wonderful." The cold water making her shiver a bit, but the red little pill was kicking in and she could barely feel a thing. Like nothing bad in the world could happen.

Lulu felt him pull her away from him momentarily, sliding her legs back down to the floor. The blond gripped Drake’s shoulders tightly, knowing for certain if he pulled away she would be a pool of hormones on the floor. Her knees felt like gelatin and her insides were roiling with every touch. When Drake’s hands traced left a trail of fire. Her skin was rippling and she felt weak as he grew more adventurous.

“I think you might be right about that,” he teased and Lulu going only inhale and nod, her eyes glancing momentarily back towards the gaping doorway of her and Alli Jackson’s room. Even from the hall it looked like a disaster. But his reply, she knew, came with her response about being caught. The prospect made her feel all the more anxious to leave the open surroundings of the hallway. The last thing they needed was a rumor…then again Lulu had been the subject of much gossip before. But for it to actually be true! Well. That would be hard to defend and she didn’t know what criticism she would face from Cor or even any of Drake’s old flames. Would she be beaten into the ground for this?

But again, did she care? No. All she cared about at that moment was Drake and how his hands were again locked on her hips and how she wanted them elsewhere.

“But then…what’s so bad about that?” Drake asked her with a smirk. Lulu opened her mouth to reply only to find herself breathless as Drake pulled her up into his arms again. Lulu smiled, her arms looping themselves around his neck. She clung to him as he leaned over to collect the same bottle of rum he had gifted her not an hour before. “I’m practically on a hitlist you know,” she commented only to find her chances of talking further quashed by the fact that Drake leaned over and kissed her fiercely and she was once again engulfed by him. When he pulled away, she was once again breathless, panting and clinging to him to keep herself upright.

“C’mon then, blondie,” he joked. “You and I have things to do.”

Lulu giggled, bowing her forehead to his shoulder and feeling the laugh ripple through her body. With the alcohol in her system it felt so easy to let go and his humor was so tantalizing. Still, her laugh was not longer than normal, or louder for that point. But she was able to laugh and do it lightheartedly, something only a few people were capable of – namely Drake since the very beginning.

Of course, as she bobbed in his arms and they headed down the hallway, Lulu looked behind Drake. She moved to kiss his cheek only to see in the corner of her eye a person emerge at the end of the hall. Lulu’s smile dropped momentarily as she locked eyes with a blond girl. Given the distance it was hard to make out who she was but the pattern of her shirt and outfit told her right away that it was McKenna. Lulu bit her tongue, shifting in Drake’s arms and clenching her legs tighter to him.

They moved through the halls quickly and the motion of it had her feeling slightly woozy in mere seconds. Drake seemed to be moving too fast for her liking. At a sharp turn int he hallway Lulu came to the realization that Drake’s roommate was none other than Jackson. The shock of that sentiment - how had she forgotten that fact? - caused Lulu's hands to slip in her hold of Drake's shoulders entirely. She felt herself fall back from his grip for a second, the effect like a rapid but not quite fall. Given that Drake held her she fall straight to the ground but it proved to her that she was losing some grip of her inhibitions.

“Okay,” she admitted. “Apparently I’ve had more to drink than I thought but you’re incredibly sobering.” With her next thought she snorted and moved to rub her eyes and blush. “Are you putting a tie or something on the door like you always used to?”

ooc: || Katia's post will be added shortly.

Despite how awkward he was feeling about his entire situation with Amy, Leonardo was actually feeling quite relaxed, laying here on the bed with her, his hand resting delicately on her stomach which was already beginning to support a small bump. She was right; this was going to go extremely fast. Her... situation wasn't going to be hideable for long, and they really needed to have a serious conversation about what they were going to do about it. He looked into her eyes as she turned to gaze at him, smiling down softly at her. "It is." He sighed softly, feeling Amy's hand move to rest gently on top of his. He was so confused about the situation that the two of them had been thrust into. He didn't understand what he was supposed to do, or feel right now, and he was completely out of his comfort zone.

It had been little over a week since that night in his office where their feelings for each other had come out onto the surface, and now, there was a pregnancy, and jealousy, and Leo was completely at a loss. Everything was different now, that there was a child involved, that the two of them had created a life together. Leo hadn't even been sure that he was able to father a child, due to his entire body having stopped changing or aging. But, now, his theories that he couldn't have a child had been disproved, hadn't they? His hand stayed on her stomach as he silently laid there, drifting off into his own little world of thoughts and day dreams. What was he going to be like as a father anyway? The immortal headmaster had never imagined himself as a father, throwing up a little baby into the air, smiling as he played with it, rocking it to sleep in his arms. His entire life had consisted of war, death, and doing whatever the hell he wanted to whenever he wanted to - and now everything was going to change.

"Amy..." Leo sighed, coming out of his little reverie to return her gaze, his voice little more than a whisper as he spoke, "What are we going to do? This is... so confusing, so different... I have no freaking idea what's going on, and it's terrifying me." The Spartan had always been a proud man; that was the way that he had been raised, never to admit defeat, worry or weakness. But he felt differently around Amy, and telling her everything that he was feeling was slowly becoming normality to him. She would listen to him and not judge him. Ever. That was just one of the many things that he loved about his beautiful Amy Roerig.

---

It would have been obvious to the drunkest person in the room that poor little Ashy was uncomfortable sitting around her, but Erin really wasn't in the mood to comment on that at the moment. Instead, she was rather happy with the woman's company, and almost found it cute that she was sweet enough to care about her own stupid well-being. Ashy seemed to be an extremely caring person with a maternal instinct that rivaled the lioness, and the blonde was slightly curious as to why she was wasting her time and talents on a girl like her; someone who had bullied her along side Cor for the past month and a bit. She wasn't as bad as her bitch of a best friend when it came to bullying, but she had always stuck by her side and laughed along with her jibes and jokes; it almost made her feel bad that she had been mean to someone as cute as Ashy here.

Erin snorted softly when Ashy said that Drake didn't seem like the sort of person who liked apologizing. Of course he wasn't, any idiot could see that. He was a dickhead, the biggest prick in the entire universe, but yet, he still had a pull over her heart strings. She hated it, the way that his smile made her knees melt ever so slightly, the way that his hands on her body made her never want to be with another man again. She looked up from the bottle she was gazing into when Ashy spoke again, this time about how Drake made her melt, how he made her feel like she wasn't in control over her own body, that he was her puppet master. "That's because he has a gift, Ash." She sighed, looking down at the drink that the cute little blonde had placed by her feet. Awh, cute. "He has a way to make every girl that looks into his eyes melt into his arms, fall into his trap where he keeps them. I've been there for years, so you can believe me."

The blonde moved to take the drink, putting her bottle down in the place that the orange juice had been sitting. She then took a sip of the refreshing juice, the sweet taste replacing that of the stale whiskey in her mouth. "Drake takes pride in the way that he can control women, and the way that none of them can get back into his mind in return." She sighed, putting the juice back down on to the floor. "I care about him more than I fucking should, and it makes me feel weak, and pathetic. I know he's never even going to see me as a friend, let alone someone he can actually trust, and all he sees is my body and my sex drive."

"I hate it too."

---

To: McKenna

Don't worry about it, McKenna. I needed to excuse myself from the conversation anyway. Don't worry your pretty little head about anything. x

From: Jack (:

Of course, McKenna had interrupted the conversation between himself and Lulu, but Jackson was almost glad that she had done it. He had wanted to get out of the conversation, and excusing himself in that way had seemed like the best way to do so without seeming rude or insensitive. Well, he had already been insensitive, in the way that he had told Lulu his feelings for her, but with alcohol coursing through his system, Jackson Murphy just became more and more brutally honest. It hadn't seemed like the best moment for him to tell her that, or in the best way, but he couldn't deal with her eyes gazing at Drake any more in the middle of their conversations; how she would always talk to him about how Drake made her feel, and then cuddle him and tell him that he was a great friend...

His mind went back to a time in the past, where he was walking through the woods with Lulu, back in the small town where they both had lived at one point, about a year after they had met and become friends. Everything was perfect that day, it was the middle of summer, they had both gone out into the woods and sat in a glade that they had discovered, and had shared a picnic. It really had been one of the best times that Jackson had ever had in his life, they were smiling, and joking, and holding each other as friends did. But whilst they were sitting there in the woods, Jackson felt the way he felt about Lulu change right there and then; the way that he saw her changed that day when a stream of sunlight came through the trees, illuminating her beautiful face as if she was some sort of angel, fallen from the sky, being bathed in light. He had brushed away a strand of her hair then, moving it out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear, letting the light move onto her cheek. She looked absolutely beautiful; the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen.

But that was how far their relationship was going to go. After tucking her hair behind her ear, Jackson thought about leaning in to kiss her, to tell her how beautiful she looked, and then pressing his lips against hers, sealing his words with his actions. But he didn't. He couldn't do that to her. Jackson had never stayed in one place more than three years, which meant that he only had about one and a half left before his family would move on to another town, another army base, and another life. He cared too much about Lulu to do that to her, to show her how much he cared about her, and then to only have a limited time with her before it was all taken away. He had done that before, in a previous town, and it had broken the girl that he had left. He didn't want to see Lulu upset; that would break him. So instead, he created a plan. A plan to keep their relationship the way it was, to get rid of the small look of affection in Lulu's eyes that he had reflected in his own, to keep their feelings for each other at bay. He started dating another girl that they were friends with; Beth. Hopefully, seeing him with another girl would stop Lulu from ever developing anything more than a small crush for him. It was harsh on both of them, but he just didn't want to ever see her upset.

Jackson snapped his head up as he heard a pair of heels making their way over to him, and a soft voice hit his ears. He just looked up at her as she spoke, a sarcastic comment about making a girl walk in heels too big for her hitting his ears. Really, Jackson wasn't in the mood for sarcastic comments or complaining women, and he was again going to make his excuse and leave, heading for his bedroom. However, Jessica saved the conversation by asking him if McKenna had caused his upset. "Oh no, she's lovely. She didn't do anything. I've already text her." The usually suave and collected male tipsily held up his hand and showed her his phone, which was still open at the text he had sent McKenna. "See? All sorted. I actually ruined that conversation myself, you see. I told Lulu something I shouldn't have, and then she ran away."

Slowly, the Irish male downed the rest of his drink, and then stood up, a little wobbly on his legs. Usually, he never drank so much, but tonight... well, the alcohol had just kept on coming. He had drunk at least three more glasses of whiskey since his conversation with Lulu, and he was now beginning to feel as if he had hit his limit. Well, he had already gone past his limit, but he was determined to stop now. "I'm going to head back to my room, I think. Please, enjoy the rest of this... shindig, or... hootenanny..."

---

Bad move! Bad move! Abort mission!

Max almost shit himself when the air in his room grew colder and started to whirl around. He was definitely never going to ask Corentine Quellen about her feelings again, that was for sure. He was regretting it already; things were flying off of his shelves, a china ornament shattering into pieces on his floor, the books on his reading shelf falling off one by one. That was almost enough to get him angry - some of those were fucking first editions, hundreds of years old. He could feel the wall in Corentine's mind begin to shatter, brick by brick, and his own mind became overwhelmed with a crazy sense of anger, before that was instantly replaced with a crushing sense of hurt, pain and sadness. He had never felt emotions so strong before, especially from such a reserved person as Miss Quellen. He couldn't believe this was how she was f
eeling inside, how upset she was with whatever had happened between her and Jay. It almost made him want to care.

The first step towards him that she took made the English teacher take a step backwards, his back now pressed against the door that he had only just closed, his hand on the door knob. He was ready to run; he had been at the hands of Corentine's fury before, and he would be bat shit crazy to stand there and take it again. Corentine Quellen now had tears freely running down her cheeks, a sight that Max had never thought that he would see; he hadn't even been sure that she had human feelings at one point, but the scene in front of him was almost surreal. Within seconds, she was on her knees, collapsed into a sea of sadness, crying her eyes out. Max felt extremely uncomfortable now, but if there was something that he could do, he felt as if he had to do it. He had been the one to push that final button to make her crumble like this, and he felt as if he had to be the one to calm her down, if only a little.

The teacher was thinking the same thing as she was at this point, that he was probably the worst person in the world to even be thinking of helping her in this situation; he couldn't even help himself. But, slowly, he took a couple of steps towards the crying female, being cautious. He knew that Corentine was a volatile young woman, and he made his footsteps a little heavier, so that she would know he was coming towards her. Again, with a slow pace, he came down to her level, resting on the balls of his feet in front of her. "Erm..." was the first word out of his mouth, wondering what the hell he was supposed to say to her. He noticed on the floor that a box of tissues had been blown off of his shelf, and he reached over to take them, before placing them in front of her. "Corentine.... if he's really causing you this much pain, fuck him. I'm definitely not the best person to be giving you advice here, and I'm not even sure what went down between the two of you, but if a guy lets someone that he cares about get into this sort of state, he doesn't deserve to keep his bollocks. You care about him, I can see that, but... he doesn't deserve you."

A small smile crossed Ashleigh Fox's face when she saw Erin take a sip of the orange juice that she had just placed at the blonde's feet. At least things could only get more sober from now on. Ashy had an aversion to alcohol. She never stopped people drinking it; she had just choosen a while back that she wouldn't touch it. In her experience, alcohol only lead to bad things. The blonde mess that was sitting beside her for example. This was standard form of practice at parties for Ashy; looking after the drunkards when they couldn't look after themselves. It had often been a running joke between Zac, Mo and herself that sobering people up was the reason she had her power. To her friends credit, however, it only ever been Zac that had needed sobering up and that had only ever been once or twice in the several years the two of them had been attending Arcana. Ashy's thoughts wondered to her best friend. Where was he? He had seemed angry earlier.. She knew that he didn't like many people, espiecally her, seeing him like that. However, instead of protecting her, he was actually causing the blonde more distress. She was so worried about him.

To distract herself, Ashy turned back to Erin. She had been talking Drake, describing everything that she had felt when she was around that man. Erin felt it to. The words hit the innocent girl like a train. Just maybe, Erin could help her get out of this cycle of feeling completely helpless? Ashy sighed. That hope was false. If he made a girl as physically and, usually, emontionally strong as Erin feel this way, then what hope was there of either of them getting out Drake Quellen's clutchs.

There was a brief silence whilst Ashy choose her words, careful not to upset the blonde sitting beside her too much. Truth be told, Ashy was still a little afraid, but she wasn't willing to let this show. ' Erin,' She began, looking straight into the blonde's drunken eyes, 'you deserve so much better than him,' She said quietly,' You might not think that's true but I do. You see, the thing about being someone like me, you're able to sit and watch people. You can see who they really are.' She gave Erin a small smile. great now she's going to think you're a creepy A voice in her head said. Ashy looked back in her lap. She had made a fool of herself, she knew it. Now Erin was going to laugh at her for what she had said, well she may as well get her whole point across before the ridicule started. 'I guess what i'm trying to say is, if he want's to flaunt around with other women and can't see how you feel about him, then he doesn't need your time or attention.' This last statement made Ashy even nervous. She'd actually just advised Erin to walk away from Drake, why had she done that? Life was definitely going to go downhill from now onwards.

So, Erin and Ashy were in the same boat. Well, Erin's situation was much more in depth and complicated with Drake, but the feelings felt by both of the blonde girls were almost parallel. It worried the blonde a little bit, that her feelings were as easily manipulated as the feelings of cute little Ashy, but she couldn't let that fact bother her. If it continued to stick in her mind, then she would soon come to see herself as weak and fragile, and as small to the world as Ashy was, something the girl couldn't fathom - that idea was horrifying. So, instead, she picked up the orange juice again and took another sip, seeing the please on Ashy's face when she took the first one. She liked making someone happy for once. It felt like she was actually accomplishing something. Yes, she had made Keirol happy for a while, but he had left her out to dry as easily as Drake left her after they had sex with each other. So, giving a small sense of happiness and accomplishment to Ashy, made the girl happy herself.

There was a slight hesitation in Ashy's voice as she turned to face Erin, looking her straight in the eyes. This girl had guts, that was something; it made Erin almost smile with how hard Ashy was trying to hide the fact she was wary of the feminine Hulk in front of her, to show that she wasn't afraid, and actually wanted to help her, and make her feel better in a way. Her words were soothing, actually, when they came out and hit Erin in the ears, and she was slowly turning around in her seat, facing the girl straight on. Her eyebrows furrowed together at the top of her head in an expression of confusion when Ashy said something about being able to watch people (slightly creepy, she thought), but she continued to listen on anyway. She had a point; Drake was the sort of person to not realize something right in front of his face. She knew about his strange little crush on Lulu, and she was sure that he was going to go through with it, and end up breaking her heart into a thousand little pieces.

Slowly, Erin started to nod, her drunken eyes focusing in on the caring blonde in front of her who was taking time out of her evening to make someone like her feel better. "You know what, Ashy, you're right. Drake is a dickhead, with extra dick. He's probably gone off with Lulu right now, and is kissing her, and making her believe that she will get some sort of relationship out of him, and she won't get anything but a broken heart. He's going to hurt her, and he knows it already, but he's still going for it. Better her, than me. Actually, better her, than us, Ash! What do you say? Screw Drake, screw his cock, and screw any other guys who want to fuck with our hearts." A smile actually appeared on Erin's face as she looked towards Ashy, and held up her glass of orange in a toasting position.

Suddenly, the two of them were no longer alone, and Sky was intruding on their conversation, drunkenly walking into the gazebo and falling over practically. Erin's eyes widened as she watched the male play around with a ball of fire, something probably quite dangerous in the state he was in, lucky they were sitting with the water manipulator, and then change the ball into different shapes, a heart settling in front of her. A smile again came across her face as she blew out the fire heart. "And you know I love you back Sky. However, I'm not going to stay around you as I'm holding a very flammable, very expensive bottle of whiskey that I am not risking." Erin slowly brought herself up off of the seat and before walking away, she placed her hand on the shoulder of Ashy, her new friend, perhaps. "Thanks." She smiled softly down at her, before then walking off. She didn't think she was going to be staying much longer at this party. In fact, she didn't want to stay any longer at all. There was no-one to talk to now, and she just had to find Jay and return his drink, before she would be gone.

---

Jackson liked Jessica. There was nothing fake about her, nothing there to see underneath everything else - she was just herself. It was nice and refreshing, to have someone actually look at him when she spoke to him, instead of looking off and trying to find the man that she was fantasizing about. Jack had seen Lulu run off when he had walked away, and he had quickly seen Drake follow her out of the room, and probably off to wherever she had run to. Again, with Drake. This made the male sigh, and look back up at the beautiful brunette in front of him. This was no time to be worrying about how his best friend and the love of his life was probably being violated now by a guy who was going to end up shattering her heart into a thousand tiny pieces. No, this was a time to be courteous, and smile, and let this lovely young lady help him drunkenly stumble back to his bedroom.

She had quickly caught up with him when he had turned to walk away, something which brought a smile to his face. Lulu would have probably just have said good night and walked off to find Drake in any normal circumstance. "Yes, Jessica. Hootenanny. In definition, a colloquial drinking party full of hoot with just a little bit of nanny." Jack explained to her when she was next to him once again, a smile on his face as he spoke. Then, her hand was on his shoulder, and he looked down at her with a confused expression. What was she doing? However, his mental question was soon answered when a pair of heels were thrust in his direction, and he caught the straps of both on his index finger. Right, he was carrying shoes now, was he?

Jackson wasn't the sort for being a shoe carrier. In fact, he was just the sort of person who wouldn't be a shoe carrier. But, in this moment in time, he really couldn't care less about what people thought about him. The one person that he did care about what she thought about him was up in the rooms somewhere with another man, and probably thought of him as a dickhead right now. "You've shrunk." Jack pulled himself out of his little reviere about Lulu, something which was happening an awful lot at the moment, and looked back down at the brunette. "You're carrying me home?" A small laugh came out of his mouth when Jess told him this, but he didn't complain. In fact, he wrapped his own hand around hers when she linked her fingers with his and pulled him in the direction of the dorm rooms, leading him in the direction of him bedroom.

"I'm rather good at getting myself back to my room in such a state, thank you very much. I'm Irish, you know. However, I'm not going to oo--opp--oppose the company right now. Thank you, Jess."

---

Max wasn't really sure if he was being smart or stupid right now, with trying to comfort a volatile, upset, and angry Corentine Quellen, but he felt as if he had to do something. If he didn't, he would have been a shit guidance counselor, and a shit... friend? Acquaintence? Fuck buddy? Yeah, that's the one he would go for, fuck buddy. If your fuck buddy couldn't cheer you up, who could, eh? So, he had made his move, sitting there now in front of one of the scariest girls in the entire school in her weakest moment and most fragile state, trying to make her feel even the slightest bit better with herself, and her entire situation. He saw the fury in her eyes when he had first moved towards her, and had almost backed out of his plan, and he had also seen her eyes follow his hand when he had reached over by the tissues - watching his every move, wasn't she?

Then, Corentine started to speak, and Max copied her movements of sitting flat down on his bottom instead of squatting there on his heels, rather uncomfortably. His words couldn't have been that much of a comfort to her, he knew that much - he was useless when it came to helping people, and thinking of someone other than himself for once, but it seemed to have taken her mind off of the fact that she was so upset. By the words that she was saying, it seemed that she was more focused on the hilarious fact that he was trying to help her, seeing as he had the emotional range of a wet sponge, than what had upset her in the first place.

"Of course I don't prefer this to getting laid; you know me. I love having my hands all over you... touching you... feeling you.... being inside you... but I can't have a drunken girl collapsed on my floor in tears. Looks bad, you know." A smile appeared on Max's face as he looked towards her, catching her gaze with his own drunken grey's. "You don't deserve this shit, Corentine. Yes, you're a bitch who deserves a lot of things, but having a guy treat you like this, to push you this far... it's unacceptable. And you'd be surprised, I do give a shit. You're... nice to me, understand me in a way, accept me the way I am, and don't try to change me. Just like I do you. We know what we want from each other, and that's it. So, yes, I do... kinda', care about you in my own stupid way." Max's smile on his face had faltered as he spoke, but he wanted to make her feel better.

In response to Max’s first words, Cor only snorted in dry amusement, shaking her head slightly. On that note, the blonde wiped her cheeks again, managing to get rid of some of the running mascara – it only served to remind her of the breakdown she’d just had. Currently, the girl was pulling herself together somehow, and by some miracle, Max was actually… helpful. In some fucked up way, however weird that was. Usually she did everything in her power to be alone when showing actual emotions, and she was still angry with Max for inadvertently taking that choice away from her, but she could focus on him instead of herself, and she did appreciate the fact that she could avoid wallowing too much in self pity. It kind of made her feel guilty for freaking out like that. If she hadn’t started crying, he would probably be dead right now, and he most likely knew he’d been close to seriously getting hurt here. She just… couldn’t quite figure out why he chose to spend time helping her.

“Quite the risk to take. I could’ve killed you.” She stated it like a fact, but her voice held a sliver of wonderment, as if she couldn’t believe he’d taken the steps he had. Max knew her well enough to know she was not big on sharing. He also knew she had quite the temper, and that she despised weakness. Her greenish eyes found his bright blue ones then, and as they looked at each other, Max elaborated “You don't deserve this shit, Corentine. Yes, you're a bitch who deserves a lot of things, but having a guy treat you like this, to push you this far... it's unacceptable.” The words made a wry, sarcastic smile pull at her lips. Mostly because she thought it funny coming from a guy who enjoyed making girls fall for him, just to use them and then discard them. It was a part of Max she liked, because he preferred the innocent ones for his little game, and she couldn’t help but love the way it taught them not to be naïve little idiots. Right now, however, for a brief moment, she almost felt bad for what they went through. Hell, she almost felt bad for the way Drake was going to hurt Lulu. Almost, but not quite.

When Max subsequently confessed to caring about her, Cor tilted her head slightly, watching him appraisingly. She had this feeling he wasn’t being entirely truthful, and yet, the way his smile had faded away, the way she could tell he was forcing himself to tell her this… it somehow convinced her he was being honest with her. She knew Max wasn’t the type to talk about feelings of any sort either, yet he was telling her this. Why? Just to make her feel better? Well, it did sort of work, she had to admit. After all this with Jay, and now Erin and Addie, it felt good to know someone at least gave a shit. Oh, she knew Jay loved her, but she wasn’t the only girl on that list, and with Addie, that bitch was going to regret her move on Jay. Erin, however, Cor was going to figure things out with. She was going to take the time to figure out what the hell was going on between them today. She owed Erin that much. Sort of. In the end, Cor just sighed, casting a look in the direction of what she assumed was the bathroom door.

“You’re right,” she started then, getting up from the floor, “but I’m still going to make you scream if you ever say a word of this to anyone.” The last part had a slightly playful twist, but she knew the teacher would be very aware that it wasn’t actually a joke. Without another word, she moved to the wanted door, discovering it was in fact the bathroom. She closed it behind her, taking a few minutes to remove mascara from her face. Then she looked herself in the mirror, thinking. She was done talking, but she didn’t want to be alone either, and she sure as hell wasn’t going back to the party right now. Instead she took out her phone, and looking at the text from Erin she still hadn’t replied to, Corentine texted her back,

To: Erin <3

We need to talk tomorrow.

From: Cor

Then, putting the phone next to the bathroom sink, Cor took off her shoes and went back inside, her eyes seeking out Max instantly. “Now, could we get to the good part of this evening, or should we bond some more?” This time, her voice was purposefully playful. Crying had actually helped get out some of all her pent up emotions, and tugging the rest away had become a lot easier. Her wall was building itself back up, thankfully, and this time, though Cor was far from okay in any way, the wall didn’t feel like it was about to crumble. Well, that would last until she saw Jay again, she new, so she decided to enjoy it for as long as it lasted. All she knew was that she wasn’t going to take him back this time. She couldn’t. They couldn’t keep going like they had. Corentine had been happier without Jay, and that wasn’t the way love was supposed to be. It wasn’t the way it had been before he moved from Noctrem. She wanted the old Jay back, and finally the blonde was coming to realize it wasn’t possible. She had been chasing a memory, and she couldn’t do it anymore. She just couldn’t.

A correlation was slowly forming in Jessica's head; the longer she spoke to Jackson, the more relaxed he seemed to be becoming. It was clear that he was using their conversation to distract himself from.. something. Whatever had caused him to walk away from Lulu and Mckenna and then walk away from her. Unlike the other two girls though, Jessica hadn't left him alone. This struck her as odd, she barely spoken to Jackson before today and now she was carrying him home. He was drunk, she reasoned, he needed the company to stop himself hurting himself. That had to be the reason... right?

The brunette gave Jack a look when he made reference to the fact she had gotten smaller, 'I'm fun sized, don't you forget it' She told the Irishman, pointing a mocking finger in his face, 'besides, I could take you on any day.' She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, before bursting out into fits of giggles. The alcohol she had cosumed tonight had definitely taken it's toll on her. She was never this confrontational, at least not in a crazy-cat-lady way. She'd never hurt anyone, least of all the beautiful Irish man walking besides her. Jessica's laughter escalated when Jackson tried to justify him being able to walk home alone with the idea that he was Irish, ' Honey. there's a reason brands have to write Ireland in brackets after their logos, to remind you what country you're in.' She smiled up at Jack. He was extremely handsome, she couldn't deny that and he had such beautiful eyes; wise eyes.

When Jack thanked her for walking with him, Jessica tore her eyes from his face and smiled, 'That's quite alright, I was going to go soon anyway. Everyone seems to have left or be leaving. Doesn't surprise me really, there's far too many slut and man whores in this place and i'm just talking about the Noctrem people.' She gave a small smile as she spoke. Jessica had never really counted herself as a Noctrem student, she had never really fitted into that crowd. Then again, with her past, she knew that Mr Marino's would never have accepted her. The brunette's face fell slightly as she remembered the scene; a man attacking her and then ending up on the floor, his eyes having been burnt out; dead. The brunette blinked and shook herself, looking back up the male walking beside her, 'besides, I wasn't having you walk home alone after the episode I saw earlier and especially not after speaking to you...' She trailed off, hesitating before asking her next question, 'Jackson, how does a beautiful man like you end up walking away from a party looking so...broken? What happened?'



Ashy could feel fear of Erin melting away as she spoke; despite the fact the blonde sitting next to her was a lot stronger than she was, it seemed that Drake did have the same effect on two of them, in a sense. Erin had been right with what she first had said though... if didn't have the time of day for a strong willed girl like her than what the hell was he was going to do to her. If he even paid her any attention again, that was. She had heard what Drake had said about Lulu, did she feel the same way about him as the two girls did? Drake obviously had a fan club. tte

She smiled when Erin took another sip of the orange juice, and then toasted it, saying that neither of them should have to deal with prick men. 'We both deserve better than that' She said quietly. Ashy was one of these people that saw the best in everyone, most of all people that allowed time to get to know to her (even if, like Erin, they were extremely drunk.) Erin might have been a complete bitch to her in the past, but eh, Ashy didn't think that this entirely her fault. She hung round with the Ice queen a lot, so she was probably influenced a little by that. Although, Ashy would never count on that and she most certainly wouldn't say that to Erin's face.

It was then that Ashleigh's thoughts were interrupted by a kiss on the cheek. How odd. She turned to see Sky and she smiled. Sky was a bad influence on her and she knew it. But he made her laugh, which was a lot more than certain other bad influences did. Sky didn't make her feel nervous or worthless like Drake did. So that to be a plus side. 'Sky, you're drunk,' She pointed out, as the male started to ramble about how much of a hot mess he was. He then sat down between the two blondes and flicked up his lighter. Was it really safe for him to be using his power when under the influence? The blonde shuffled away from slightly. As it happened it was perfectly safe, he sculpted a fish, which made the blonde smile, 'you are so cute.' She told Sky, nudging a little. She then watched as the two drunkards had a disjoined but nevertheless funny convesation before Erin got up, thanked Ashy and walked away. 'You're welcome' The blonde said quietly. She didn't know whether she needed to follow her or not, deciding it was best not to, in case the two of them bumped into Cor, Erin's best friend, yes that would be a bad move.

Ashy's thought's turned to her own best friend. Where was Zac? He had headed off in the direction of the forest quite a while ago and so far she hadn't seen him return. She was worried, so worried.

Quickly, the blonde stood up, 'Sky, I'm sorry but I need to find Zack we both know he'd hate me to be here alone with you...' She said quietly, before turning on her heal and heading for the woods. The absence of any light in the woods made an eerie and scary place to be, there was a slight part of Ashy that regretted coming here, she pushed it to the back of her mind, she had to find her friend, 'Zac' She called out, quickening her pace to almost a ran. She called out several times more, tree branches hitting her face as she did so. Finally, she heard something; something that disturbed her greatly, the sound of a man sobbing. Was that Zac? The strongest man that she knew? She followed the sound until eventually she found it's source. Her worst fears were confirmed, it was Zack, curled up in a ball, crying in pain. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off, telling her she couldn't help. The blonde then sat on the forest floor and pulled the male into her lap 'It's ok Zac it's me' She said soothingly.