Erin Hawthorne's Story

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.

The alarm clock next to his bed, beeping in his ear, awoke the male who had been fast asleep. Both him and Amy had fallen asleep on top of the covers after their conversation the previous night, and they hadn't woken up until now. Yesterday had been an extremely trying day for the two of them; Amy had announced that she was pregnant, she was already getting a bump, they were arguing more and more, and everything was collapsing slowly when it came to his school. Students were leaving every where, and more and more seemed to be joining from nowhere. It was confusing, to say the least, having extra students and loosing some, and Leo was loosing track of who was a member of his school, and who no longer was no. He pressed the button on top of the clock to stop the insistent beeping, and he gently shifted in the bed, turning to look at his beautiful girlfriend.

Amy's bump seemed to have grown again over night; the life in there seemed to be growing at an alarming rate, and the immortal Spartan was still quietly panicking about what they were going to do about it. How long was it actually going to be before they had a child? How long before he had to admit to the Headmaster of Noctrem that he had gone against his rules? How long did they have to get everything sorted before they could even think about raising a child in this environment. Amy couldn't even go to see a normal doctor with her pregnancy, as it obviously was a supernatural one; he was terrified about her health. Surely this wasn't going to be good for her. Everything seemed to be going too fast for the male, and he just didn't like it.

"Amy?" Leo sighed softly, the hand attached to the arm that she had fallen asleep on gently stroking her shoulder. His body was aching, that was for sure, since he had slept in such an awkward position, but he wasn't going to complain. Waking up to Amy was one of his favourite things that he had ever experienced, and a little bit of aches and pains wasn't going to destroy that happy feeling of his. "Babe, we have to get up." He pressed his lips softly against her cheek, before nuzzling her gently. "We actually have to teach children today."

---

Blonde hair stuck up from all ends underneath the duvet, and a groan emitted from the body that was curled up underneath. Erin wasn't sure if her roommate Loralei was in the room or not, but she sure as hell didn't want to deal with her general perkiness right now. She was extremely hung over, felt very sick, and she just didn't want to move. Her head was pounding as she dared to poke her head out from underneath the covers, but it went straight back under again. The brightness of the room had literally destroyed her eyes, and she instantly decided then and there that she wasn't going to be getting out of bed at any time soon. Who really cared about classes today? There was probably nothing good that was going to be taught on the first day - why should she even bother?

As she lay there, Erin was alerted to the soft vibrations that buzzed on her bedside cabinet, and she reached out a shaky hand from the covers to pull her phone underneath her safe haven. The brightness of the screen caused her to squint in pain, and she quickly turned the brightness of the screen down, until it was at it's lowest. Yes, that was definitely more comfortable to look at; it wasn't as if she was looking directly into the sun any more. A message from Cor was on her screen, along with a couple of missed calls last night from her friends, probably drunken calls asking where she was, or just them calling to tell her that they loved her. She opened the message from her best friend, her eyes skimming over the blunt words that stared her in the face. Blunt words from Corentine Quellen were never good, and she groaned as she realized it had to have something to do with Jay.

To: Cor<3

Okay. You may have to give me a few days to recover from last night. Seriously, I would rather be in hell than feel like this.

From: Erin xo

Erin tapped a response back on her touch screen, before dropping the phone next to her. She was probably in hell with her best friend, if Cor had seen her sitting next to her boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, or whatever he was right now, but she just didn't want to deal with it. All she wanted to do was stay curled up in bed and sleep, for about a month. Yes, that sounded good. A month of sleep. Maybe by then, she may have withered away to nothing, forgotten about whatever stupid feelings she had for a certain brother of her best friend, and this hang-over may have vanished.

But that was a long shot.

---

The previous nights events were playing through Jackson's head in a dream; the frank admittance of his feelings towards Lulu, her running off to be with Drake, and him taking solace in a beautiful brunette that seemed to smile whenever she was around him. Jackson definitely wasn't the sort of person to have a one-night hook up, and he wasn't the sort of person to drink excessively either, but that night... he felt as if he had needed it. The want to be drink his sorrows away, and then be close with someone had just been overwhelming, to the point where he had actually acted upon those wants; a rare feat when it came to the usually gentlemanly Irish man.

Slowly, the male turned over in his bed, a bare leg brushing against his as he moved. His eyes slowly opened, taking his time with them as the sunlight streaming through the slightly open curtains was almost blinding. His head wasn't as bad as he had expected it to be that morning, but it was still aching if he moved it. Something else was aching too actually, although he couldn't put his finger on it. Jack decided that he was going to have to wake up Jess, to gently shake her awake, or something. He didn't know how to wake up a naked, sleeping girl that you practically just met and slept with, so he was probably going to go about it the easiest way, with just a hand on the shoulder, and a shake.

As he went to move however, Jackson felt himself stuck. He couldn't move. He soon pinpointed where that ache had been coming from, and he dropped his head back onto the pillow as he heard the gentle rattle of a chain. A chain? He exhaled a loud sigh when he looked up towards the ceiling, between his raised arms. Somehow, last night, Jess had handcuffed him to his headboard. He pulled gently on the restraints, feeling the metal of the hand-cuffs press into his skin, causing a discomfort in his wrist. Okay, this definitely wasn't good. Jack looked to the left, noticing a shape in the other bed, and the hair of Drake poking out of the duvet. He wasn't sure what had happened between his friend and Lulu last night, but he wasn't going to ask, because he didn't want to know. Besides, he was going to have enough to talk about if Drake woke up before Jess did, and found him in this.... predicament.

"Jess." Jackson breathed, his lips practically brushing against her ear, as he shifted as close as he could towards her, without rattling the chain that kept him restrained to the bed. "Please wake up." His voice was a hushed whisper, trying to be as quiet as possible, keeping Drake asleep. "I seem to be handcuffed to the bed, Jessica." The last he had remembered, Jessica had been messing around in one of the drawers of his bedside cabinet, and he was sure that was where the handcuffs had to have come from - even though they weren't his. So, she had to have been the one that had the key.

Right?

“And I want to fuck you.” Max said in reply to her words and she laughed, actually laughed, in spite of everything she was feeling. “Why am I not surprised?” She teased dryly, but she shut up, lips falling apart when he moved on top of her, those expert lips of his traveling down her neck. The blonde took a deep breath, knowing Max was merely teasing her; he had just added a “but I have a class to teach”-clause so she knew neither of them had the time to take what they wanted from each other… again. So she had to refrain from pulling him back when he pulled back. Instead she pouted at him theatrically; however it turned into a devilish little smirk almost instantly. “You, Max Henderson, are such a tease.” She told him, her voice a playful warning, telling him she’d get him back for it. In response, he told her he’d see her at 10:30. Her hands had moved to his back of their own accord by then, her legs parting to greet him, in spite of how much her brain knew it wasn’t going to go further. Fucking classes.

She tilted her head a little, looking at him with slight surprise in her eyes when he kissed her cheek. She could see the same emotion mirrored in his as he paused, looking at her. Strange. This whole thing was so… unlike Max. Ever since she’d broken down in front of him last night, things had sort of begun changing between them. Then he’d asked her to spend the night, and now this? She cleared her throat just as he rolled out of bed, and she moved her arms from him in the same moment. She wouldn’t be able to just look at Max and think “nice lay” anymore, but she didn’t know what this was changing into. Cor could easily tell there were no actual romantic feelings between the two. It was simple, raw attraction, just like always, but… something was different. She shook it off when Max reached out his hand for her, that sexy smirk adorning his handsome features. Was it even legal to be so sinfully mouthwatering? Hah. What did she care anyway?

“Hmm… well you do reek of sweat and pussy,” she said, a slight grin on her lips as she got out of bed, standing up. She looked at him then, slowly stretching her body, hands clasped and in the air, a slight moan escaping her when things just… fell into all the right places after the long night, eyes closing ever so briefly. She’d probably had two hours of sleep… maximum, but she was surprisingly alert. Then, grinning at him, she ignored his hand very purposefully and wandered into the bathroom, spotting her cell on the counter. Oh, right, she should probably check it. Ignoring Max for a bit, she picked it up, noticing a couple of texts and a missed call. Text from Erin, probably in reply to hers from the night before. Cor still wasn’t sure about what to do about the whole mess, but Erin deserved the chance to explain herself… maybe. Cor rolled her shoulders, sighing, the good mood from just before, fading away. She opened the text regardless.

A wry, humorless smile was the only outward reaction Cor gave to the contents. In reply, she typed up, ”Yeah? Well… waiting’s not going to cut it. I’ll see you soon.” She knew when Erin felt like she did, she cut school, not giving much of a shit, but Cor wanted this solved. As in now. Or… as soon as possible. And if Erin didn’t show for classes, Cor would be entering her room soon enough. First she had to shower with her new English teacher though and then head back to her room for clean clothes. Hmm. Interesting morning. She replied to her other texts, ignoring the missed phonecall and put the cell down on the counter again, turning to look at Max. “So, since we can’t fuck, let’s talk…” she said, trying for a sort of playful indifference, hiding her emotions behind her usual wall again. Right… finding another focus. She stepped into the shower with him, hands flat on his chest. She grinned, a teasing glint in her eye. “What’s with you and our little hottie of a Noctrem history teacher, hm? And don’t shoot me some bullshit, there have been weird looks between the two of you and I’m curious.”

---

Chase had already enjoyed a refreshing morning jog, doing it partly out of habit, partly out of curiosity. He had only just arrived at the school the night before and him and his sister had spent the evening getting settled in, trying to ignore the music from something that seemed to be a party. Chase hadn’t really wanted to go down and get drunk; he wanted to make a good first impression both with students and teachers, and he couldn’t do that if he had a hangover on his first official day. After all, this was not just his first day in a new school; it was his first day in school… since he was 8. He had been homeschooled almost his entire life, only having been in regular school a couple of years way, way back. This was all very new. Having a roommate who was gay was also going to take some getting used to. Chase was from a rather conservative home, having been raised by his grandparents, and his grandfather had not really been the biggest fan of anything that demanded a more alternative way of seeing things.

Needless to say, the subject of homosexuality had very rarely even been breached. Chase didn’t think his grandparents minded, but he was pretty sure they weren’t too keen on it either. In any case, Chase wasn’t against Skylar being gay, but he sort of would have preferred if he weren’t. That would have made things a lot less awkward. Now, how did he know Sky was gay? Well, currently Chase was standing in the bathroom, brushing his teeth after a quick shower, only a towel hanging loosely around his hips, and he hadn’t missed the fact that there had been two male figures in the bed next to his when he woke up, not that he had any clue which one was his actual roommate. He’d figure that out… sometime. Hearing voices from the bedroom, however, Chase raised both eyebrows, toothbrush still between his lips as he peeked inside, a naked, very embarrassed looking guy scrambling around, obviously flustered.

He inwardly snorted when the guy still on the bed went “you’re naked”, and the redness on the face of the younger one deepened to a crimson. He shook his head then, going back into the bathroom. He wasn’t really into peeking, and it seemed tomato-face was about to leave either way. This was all a little overwhelming if he had to be honest. And what the hell kind of subject was Herbology, anyway? That sounded like something straight out of a harry potter book. Chase didn’t really see the point in such a subject. He was pretty sure herbs weren’t going to help him control time. He finished brushing his teeth, leaving the toothbrush on the side of the sink. That’s when he heard the door closing and as a result, Chase dared back inside the bedroom, rubbing his neck, looking at Sky. “So… you’re Skylar?” Really, Chase wanted to get dressed now. He didn’t feel quite comfortable this naked in front of a gay guy. There was just something uncomfortable about it, however stupid that sounded. “I’m Chase,” he quickly added, feeling like he was being very impolite. But how was one supposed to handle a situation like this one?! He was in way over his head here.

He cast a half-smile in the direction of the Pyro, wondering what to really do with himself, so instead of standing there like an idiot, he moved to find clothes in his closet, which he had managed to stock last night. Getting out black boxers, dark blue jeans, a white v-neck t-shirt and black socks, he felt confident enough about his wardrobe. Now he just needed to… uh… put it on. Great. He couldn’t do that with Skylar watching!

When she had heard another female voice in the room, Jessica's head had snapped up. The site that greated her was a shocking one. It turns out that whoever shared a room with Jackson hadn't left party alone either. Lulu Allen was staring back at the brunette, looking bewildered and confused. Jess's eyes darted back to Jackson; he looked exactly how she felt. This was awkward. She had barely spoken to anyone who was in this room before and here she was, standing half naked in front of both them. This was definity a bad morning for Jessica Coleman.

'Jessica, please, find those god-dammed keys' She heard the frantic tone of Jackson's voice, but she had no sympathy for it. What did he think he was doing over here, writing a novel? 'I'm trying' she snapped, picking up one of his shoe from the floor and launching it in his direction. She understood his embarrassment; they were in the same boat. However, that was no excuse to treat her the way he was.. It took two to tango. He would do well to remember that.

Then, the male person beside Lulu stirred and she heard a voice that she recognized. Oh hell. She watched as Drake Quellen arose from the bed wearing... little more than she was. She stood up, her lips suddenly becoming a thin line on her face as she stared at the male in front of her. It made sense really, Drake was a self-confessed womanizer; the whole of Noctrem would think he was ill if he hadn't managed to pull someone last night. She watched as the male made a comment to Jackson, still handcuffed to the bed and then turned to her. She watched his eyes move up and down her briefly, 'Enjoying the view are we, Mr Quellen?' She asked acidly, not enjoying the way she was being observed like a piece of meat at market. She shifted a little as he brushed past her, lifting up his pile of clothes to reveal the blessed keys. What a complete prick. Then again, she didn't expect anyone in the room was surprised. 'And next time, don't be such a prick to your room mate, there's a good man' She replied to his comment, before striding across the room to collect her things. It was then that her eyes were caught on Jackson.

As she looked down at the man she had spent the night with, the brunette didn't have a clue what to say. She was pissed at him for treating her the way he had, but then again, she hadn't treated him amazingly well either. Plus, maybe Jackson mood was acceptable under the circumstances; she knew that Jackson was close to Lulu. To see someone violate your best friend like that? That would destroy anyone... She felt awful about what had happened. She almost wanted to say sorry to him, but reisisted, he had been willing. Simple as that. She stood up, grabbing her clothes from the night before. Then, she walked out of the boys room; running at a rate of knots back to her room.

She burst into her room, banging the door agianist the wall as she entered. She hadn't noticed a sleeping Mo in her room and frankly at this moment she didn't care. She was flustered, embarrassed and she felt like she crawling up in a ball and dying. Instead. she put her clothes in the laundry basket and strode to the bathroom, still dressed in Jackson's shirt. The brunette stared at herself in the mirror. She looked a mess, her hair falling out of the neat bun she had put it in last night and her eyes showing signs of tiredness. The brunette picked up a hair brush and started to sort out the mess last night had created. Well, the physical mess at least. That's when she noticed it. Right on her neck. A lovebite. Fantastic. Sighing, the girl exited the bathroom, not having time to shower, she stood in front of the wardrobe; deciding what to wear, preparing for the day ahead.



Ashleigh had been having the best sleep she had expierence in a long time; she always felt safer when someone was sleeping in her room with her. Besides Cor, that was. She had been slightly worried, when she had bought Zac back, that Cor was going to burst in and instantly judge her for having a male in their room. Not that she was in the best position to judge, mind you.

The two of them had been doing nothing untoward anyway, they had been watching films until what felt like the early hours of the morning, although Ashy didn't have much of a clue how the last one had ended. She must have fallen asleep. The blonde was then aware of a hand on her shoulder shaking her gently. She opened her eyes and gave a small smile, 'Mmm, good morning.' She said,looking up at the male she had shared a bed with. It sounded odd when she had said it like that, but that's how things were and it didn't feel odd for any of them.

Ashy was then aware Zac saying that he needed to go and get ready; why so soon? Something was wrong she could tell. She went to stop the male from leaving her room, but was the power of speech wasn't entirely with her this morning. She would ask him later how he was; though of course he'd say he was fine. She still hated the fact he hid his feelings from him, yet she told him everything. What was so bad that he couldn't tell her? Maybe she needed to talk to Mo and find out. She didn't want to go behind his back..but if he wasn't going to honest then so be it.

The blonde also felt the need to talk to Erin this morning at some point. She knew was going to be an impossible task with the girl probably being hungover and Cor being around, but she needed to check that she was ok, that she wasn't about to throw herself off a building generally.

Sighing, Ashy got out of bed, showered and got dressed quickly; she needed answers and she needed them now.

When Jackson’s first reaction was to laugh in the most patronizing of ways, Drake merely looked at him, face showing not a single emotion. It sounded bitter and angry. Well fine, if he was going to be a dick about it, there wasn’t much more Drake could do, now was there? The guy would come around. Maybe. Likewise, Drake merely observed Jackson as he spoke, the Irish drawl much stronger due to his apparent irritation. “That’s what I’m saying,” he said calmly even as Jackson looked as though he wanted to rip his head off. Well, living with him was certainly going to be fun in the future, wasn’t it? Lovely.

And finally they then got to the bottom of why the guy was really so fucking pissed. It wasn’t that Drake didn’t get why Jackson would be upset, because he was fairly certain he wouldn’t be singing and dancing if the roles had been reversed, but he’d at least be able to grasp the fact that there was no reason to ruin a friendship over a girl. That much was up to Jackson, because Drake wasn’t going to be forced to choose. That simply wasn’t how things should work. Where the two of them went from here was more or less up to Jackson.

Drake didn’t speak a single word for a very long time as he listened, looking at Jackson with that unexpressive mien. He sat himself on the bed once he’d finished, a slight sigh escaping him as he wondered what he should do. Jackson and Drake hadn’t taken long to develop a friendship when the Noctrem students firs joined the Arcana ones. Honestly it had only been a matter of time. After all, Jackson hosted most of the parties here, and Drake was a rather active participant in any party. Plus, he had always been the resident booze-supplier at Noctrem whether he’d wanted to be or not.

It was actually a real friendship on Drake’s side of things as well, which was rare, and so Drake honestly wasn’t too fond of this situation. It was a fucking mess, was what it was. He would hurt either Jackson or Lulu no matter what he did, and he’d come to genuinely care for both of them. The difference was that if he chose to be with Lulu, only Jackson would have to deal with hurting, but if he dumped Lulu, they’d both be miserable. Lulu would want to be with Drake, and Jackson would want to be with Lulu. No one was happy. Not even Drake.

Apparently Jackson needed time to himself right now though, so Drake was going to give it to him, and hopefully things would clear up later. Hell, one could hope right? He stood then, picking up the key from the nightstand to unlock the guy whom he would’ve called his best friend only a day before. Now he didn’t know where they stood. Fucking feelings. Sometimes they were a real bloody bother. “Yeah well, you can’t blame me forever either,” he finally said as he leaned in over Jackson, about to unlock the first handcuff when the ground started rumbling. He straightened, frowning as he looked around. It only took a second for the trembling to move into full scale earthquake, and as it did, Drake flew into motion.

“We’ve gotta get out of here,” he rushed out as he hastily unlocked the first cuff, but before he was able to move to the next, an especially violent quake had him stumbling a step back and as he did, a piece of ceiling began twisting itself free. Drake looked up, mumbling “shit” as it hit Jackson’s still locked hand. He rushed over, carefully unlocking the now broken hand. “You okay?” He asked on a rush, but he didn’t get more out as he was about to straighten before another piece of ceiling fell, landing smack on his back. He yelled out a curse, resting his hands on the bed for a second as he drew in a deep breath, trying to force his body to move. Awesome. Just… perfect. They needed to get out of there. He needed to get out. He needed to make sure Cor was okay. And Lulu.

He closed his eyes briefly before forcefully straightening himself, clenching his teeth in an attempt to ignore the pain. “C’mon,” he forced out at Jackson before he ran, his back aching painfully with every step. It didn’t matter. First they needed to get outside.

Once Drake was out, expecting Jackson to be behind him since he had heard no cries of pain behind him, his head whipped around, searching for any of the people he actually gave a damn about. Spotting Lulu, he let out a sigh of relieve as he rushed over. She looked as stunned as he felt, btu he barely had time to register. He needed to find… Cor… and Erin… and fucking hell. Why were they not out here? Drake pressed his lips to Lulu’s briefly, cupping her cheek as he looked into her eyes only to rush out “You have no idea how happy I am to see that you’re okay.”

He didn’t even know what came over him. Adrenaline perhaps. In any case, he ran back towards the school then, towards the rooms. First one he came by was Erin’s, but where was Cor then? Hell, why was he even worrying? They were big girls and… his line of thought froze instantly as he took in the state of Erin’s room. This school was breaking apart and Erin was fucking unconscious. He rushed over to check her breathing. Okay, she was alive and he didn't have time to dwell. He drew in a deep breath as he called on every shadow in his relative proximity. Fortunately there were enough for what he intended.

The shadows shaped into a human-like shape, arms and legs functioning perfectly. It was soft, yet firm, so it’d work. He mentally ordered it to carry Erin out. The shadows couldn’t get hurt, yet it could protect. It was perfect. The man-like shadow moved quickly as Drake briefly nodded, rushing through the school then in search of his younger sister, yet she was nowhere in sight and… wait. She couldn’t still be with Max, could she? Cor never spent the night with guys who weren’t Jay. But then, there was a first time for everything, right? There was only one issue. The fucking door to the teachers’ wing was locked.

He drew in a deep breath as he reached it, looking around him for any shadows he could possibly use. It took barely a second for him to decide that they were no good, and so, narrowing his eyes at the wood, he stepped back and directed a firm kick right at its center. It cracked and he kicked again… and again… and again, until it was torn enough for him to get through. Then he looked around. He most likely lived in the room on whose door it said “Max Henderson”, and so Drake knocked on it furiously. “Max! Cor!” He shouted, hoping for some kind of reply. Some sign of life.

Leo was in panic mode. He was terrified for the lives of his students, for the people he cared about, for his girlfriend and their unborn child that was growing at a rapid rate. He was suddenly aware of every small thing that could happen, that could take that away from him, and he wasn't going to let that happen. Nothing was going to take away his girlfriend, or his child, or the school, and the students that he loved. On the other side of the room, Leo felt like he was on the other side of the planet to Amy, and as soon as he pressed that button, he was on his way back over to her side. But she wasn't where he had left her. Of course, she had tried to move. Even though it could cause her harm, she had moved.

As Leo moved across to Amy, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Her crawling along the floor on all fours. The crack of the bookcase coming away from the wall. The books falling onto his girlfriend, followed closely by the bookcase itself. A sound resonating like a strained cry filled the room, the sound of his own voice screaming out for his girlfriend. He couldn't do anything to stop it - he was too far away, and no matter how quickly he moved, the bookcase fell straight onto his girlfriends bulging stomach. Leo's heart stopped in his chest and his eyes widened as he saw Amy panic.

He was right by her side in a flash, searching her face for something, anything to explain to him about what she had just experienced. "Amy..." He whispered softly, trying to get through to her, although it seemed futile. She was thrashing around, crying, screaming. No. No. No. Over and over again. Quickly, the Spartan moved over to the bookcase, using all of the strength in his arms, as well as the adrenaline streaming through his body, to shove the heavy wooden piece of furniture off of his girlfriend's legs.

The shaking was continuing on, the damage already done to the school, and the small family that Leo was supposed to be a part of getting worse with every moment. The sheer look of shock, hurt and panic in Amy's eyes worried him to the core, and he didn't want to know what had made her react like that. He couldn't know.

But he already did.

Leo wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and lifted her up, holding her bridal style. He cradled her close to his body as he carried her out of the bedroom, the door having swung open in the chaos. He was going to carry her outside, and everything was going to be okay. Everything would be okay if he just got her outside.

He didn't even realize the lone tear that was sliding down his face as he carried her through the rattling building, ignoring the other frantic running and screaming of everyone going past him. He couldn't be the headmaster in that moment, a leader, or a friend; he was a broken man, carrying his broken girlfriend.

---

With eyes still cloudy, Erin started to rouse from consciousness. She felt that she was being moved, heard muffled sounds of screaming and terror. What the hell was going on? She couldn't open her eyes, they were still feeling really heavy, making her tired. Then, she was suddenly aware of a serious pain shooting from her ribs, one that made her cry out softly in her dazed state in pain. The pain didn't stop as she was carried outside, and was placed softly onto the ground.

A cold sensation ran through her bare legs as she felt them touch the grass, and she was oddly aware of a rumbling beneath her. She couldn't place where she was, and knew that she needed the use of her eyes to be able to fully understand what in the hell was happening. Someone, the blonde forced herself to open up her eyes, albeit slowly, and it took her a moment to adjust to the bright surroundings outside. She was still in her short-shorts and tiny strappy top that she had fallen asleep in the night before, although she could see that they were no longer as white as they had been before - they were dusty.. and covered in red... blood?

Erin tried to sit up and instantly regretted it, the pain in her ribs causing her to softly moan as she fell back down onto the ground. Instead, the blonde twisted her head slowly, and looked up at the saviour that had saved her from god knows what. What she saw above her surprised her however; a black shadow, manipulated into the shape of a man. Shadows in the shape of people? That was a Drake move... what?

"What happened?" She whispered softly to herself, still confused about the screaming and chaos that she could hear around her.

---

Jackson turned his head away from Drake as the male decided to leave him alone, locked in the vulnerable position. He sighed softly, closing his eyes and dropping his head back, deciding that he was going to try and get a little more rest, before he tried to sort thing out again, with both Drake and Lulu now. Oh, and Jess. However, that was all to come. For now, he just wanted some sleep, and to get rid of the headache that was plaguing him right now.

However, that idea came to an abrupt end when he felt the room starting to shake, his eyes darting around. Panic entered his heart as quickly as the annoyance vanished, and in a second, Drake was back at his side, unlocking the cuffs from the bed, freeing him from his binds. Before he was released fully through, a loud cracking sound filled his ears, and he looked up to see a ceiling tile dislodging itself from his roof. He turned his head sharply, shielding his eyes and face as the tile fell down, shattering into thousands of pieces after crashing onto his wrist. A sickening snap echoed around the room as the shard fell, and Jack quickly felt a searing pain emanating from his wrist.

"Holy fuck." Jack hissed, cradling his now broken wrist to his chest when Drake had finally finished uncuffing him from the headboard. His breath was labored as he shakily stood up, moving through the collapsing room to find his jeans. He somehow pulled them on, using his one good hand to drag them upwards over his legs, ignoring the fact that he didn't have any pants on , or that Drake may have seen something when he moved out of the bed. He didn't pause to ask his friend if he was okay, knowing that if he wasn't, then he wouldn't have been moving at such a quick pace.

Jackson stumbled shirtless out of the building, following the movements of his friend through the debris, his hand still clutched to his chest. When they were outside, out into the safe zone, he quickly looked around, spotting the same person as Drake had. Her blonde hair stood out in the crowds of people, the smile on her face when she saw that both of th--- or Drake, rather, had escaped from the shaking building. She probably didn't even care about him any more, after what he had done to her last night, said to her. He dropped his head back and exhaled as he walked through the crowds of people looking for their loved ones, his eyes looking up at the sky.

His head snapped back down however when he heard Lulu's voice about the chaos, shouting. His eyes quickly pinpointed her again, seeing that she was holding onto Drake's arm, trying to stop him from running back inside. It didn't work though, and soon he was disappearing back into the dangerous building. Jack sighed softly and decided to make his way over to her, one hand mussing it's way through his hair, the other against his bare chest.

Standing next to her, Jackson could already feel the tension building, and he regretted walking over their already. But, he knew that Lulu needed someone right now, and he was supposed to be her friend.

"He'll be okay, you know."

---

Being pushed up against the wall of the shower was hot, from any point of view. But when it was Corentine Quellen who was doing the pushing, it made it all that little bit better. Max's smirk adorned his face again as he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her moist, naked body close to his. He was about to reply to her sarcastic remark about "niceties", but was stopped when she pressed her lips against his in a passionate lock. His hand moved up her back, knotting itself in her blonde curls, using it to crush his lips against hers with more pressure. He barely remembered that she didn't like kissing, and had only done it with that dick who had caused her to collapse in a heap on his floor- he was too caught up in the moment.

Their moment was ruined though when the ground below their feet started to shudder, and he pulled his face away from hers, looking around at his bathroom with a confused expression. It registered in his mind what was happening as Corentine's voice hit his ears, and he nodded along to her words as she told him what they were going to do. When Corentine's hand touched the shower handle however, and the sound of glass shattering filled the air. Max quickly maneuvered their position, pulling the blonde behind him and shielded her with his own body as the glass collapsed around them, slicing through his body as if it was meat at a butcher's shop. It stung, but it didn't matter. He had stopped it from happening to Corentine.

"Out. Now." He breathed as he grabbed her hand, linking his fingers with hers, not caring how much she hated the feeling of it, or didn't want him to. He wanted to her out of this death trap of glass right now. Max Henderson wasn't one for caring about anyone, but Corentine Quellen was different. He just didn't want to see her hurt. He pulled her into the bedroom, throwing a t-shirt from his floor over to her to pull over her self before wrapping a towel around his own waist, the only covering he was bothering to have before they left the room.

Max paused for a moment, feeling all of the terrified feelings of all of the students running through his head, their anger, their pain, their hurt, their suffering. The pressure building in his brain almost made him want to cry and he brought his hand up to his head, clutching at his hair, just trying to stop it. Or at least dull it. It wasn't stopping, there was no relief..

A loud voice shouting through the door alerted him to Drake's present outside, and he called back to the teenager. "In here, Quellen," his voice strained with the pain from his head. The cuts on his skin were bleeding, leaving small trails of blood trickling down his skin, added to the water that had already been on his body. He grabbed the blonde by the hand once again and pulled her towards the door once she was dressed, flinging it open, revealing her brother.

"She's safe." He called over the roar of the earthquake. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

Max didn't want to run out into the crowd of students outside, full of pain, but there was nowhere else safe to go.

And Corentine needed to be safe.

Still so confused, the poor headmaster of Arcana carried his girlfriend through the debris that littered the hallways of his school, holding her as close to his body as humanly possible. He barely registered the fact that Chris seemed to appear in front of him out of thin air, and he could only blink in his direction as he was there one minute, and then rushing off in another direction the next. Leo was sure that he mentioned something about a scream, but he was in too much of a daze to really understand what he was on about, let alone realize the fact that someone had been screaming. There was so much noise in that moment in time, noise that didn't seem to be subsiding along with the shuddering of the earth that was finally beginning to cease, that he couldn't pin point any one sound.

Only Amy's voice. Amy's sobs. Her anguish, and sadness. Over what, he was still unsure.

Within another minute, they were outside, standing among the injured students and teachers that were crying, screaming, worrying about their friends and family, on their phones to worried parents. Leo continued to hold Amy to his chest, his arms around her back, resting on her hip, the other holding her up underneath her legs. Somewhere inside, he knew what she was upset over, what had caused her to loose touch with herself so much, but he didn't want to acknowledge it himself. If he did.... Leo wasn't sure what would happen if he did, even thinking about such a horrible thing happening was tearing him up inside. But then, softly, Amy's voice hit his ears, telling him. Her voice stammered over the final word, the word that the male had been dreading to hear.

"G-Gone?" He repeated, his own voice shaking over the very word that was causing his heart to break inside. His head slowly tilted down to look at his girlfriend as she trembled in his arms, his eyes bearing into hers. He shook his head lightly, having only just gotten used to, and happy about, the idea of the two of them having a child, and now that had been taken away from him. This horrific event had taken the most one of the most precious things in the world to him away, and broken the other's heart. Tears welled in his eyes as he placed Amy down on the floor, following her almost instantaneously, sinking to his knees.

"No..." Leo breathed, a single tear slipping from his eye, trickling it's way down his cheek. This couldn't be happening. Not... not now. Not when he was only just growing to be happy with his life. Everything had been going fantastically. His heart felt like it was shattering into a thousand pieces as he gazed down at the small bump that was his girlfriend's stomach, his head still shaking in denial. This wasn't true. It couldn't be true.

Suddenly, a huge cracking from above made Leo whip his head upwards, and he stared in shock and horror as one of the iron poles sticking up from on top of the school fell down, towards his head, spire first....

Then everything went black, death over coming him.

---

Erin didn't want to move. She didn't even want to breath, to be fair, her chest was hurting that much. She could barely opened her eyes, and her entire body was aching, blood and dirt covering her clothes. The shaking on the ground was subsiding, the earthquake that she was just realizing had happened was finishing, thank god. From what she could see from her position, the school was a wreck, ninety-nine percent of the student body was injured, and everyone was panicking about everyone else around them. Somehow, the blonde was able to shift herself around, a small whimper escaping her lips as she did so, looking around for someone, anyone that she cared about. Corentine wasn't in sight... neither was Addy, or Drake.. Wait...

As she thought about her friends, two of them came hurdling out of the school. Cor instantly branched off, out of her eye sight, but she watched as Drake collapsed to the floor, holding himself up shakily on his elbows and forearms. It didn't seem like much of a distance for her to get to him, and Erin set her mind to somehow, getting her way over to him. He had saved her... gone to her room and fished her out of whatever situation she had been in to end up like this and unconscious, so it was only right of her to go over and check to see if he was okay.

With a scream of pain that she tried to bite away, by chewing down on her bottom lip, Erin dragged her broken body up onto all fours, having to pause for a moment even then, shocked by the amount of pain that was radiating from her chest area. After a minute of deep breathing, the blonde took another intake before setting off, moving her limbs very slowly, bringing herself to tears almost by the bone shattering pain in her chest. It took her longer than she had thought to get to Drake, and it felt like she had been pulling herself along the grass for hours - her legs and arms were grass stained, adding to the mess that she was.

Once she got to him, Erin collapsed back onto her back, bringing her hand up slowly to wipe away one of the tears that had fallen from her eyes, slowly in-taking another breath, another thing that caused her more pain. She was sure that she had broken something there, most likely a rib or two.

"D-Drake... are you... okay?" She whispered, her voice shaky and completely out of breath, her eyes gazing up to the clouds. She couldn't even shift herself properly to look at him; all of her energy had been spent making her way over. "Your collapsed.... worr--worrying... me."

---

It felt like the silence between them had run on for ages, before Jackson heard Lulu mutter about her thinking that he hated her. A small smile pricked at the corner of his lips as he thought about how he could never hate over, as he thought about how happy she made him, and the fact that he always smiled when he was around her. He was about to answer her as well, to tell her that, when they were suddenly interrupted by Mo. He paused for a moment as he saw the non-smile on her face, an uncommon thing to see with Morgan, and he wrapped his only good arm around her when she hugged him. He was rather confused as to what was going on, until her telepathy whispered only one word into his mind. Goodbye... He took the note from her hand and whispered a small goodbye back to her as she walked away. Well, there went his only other female friend.

However, his mind was soon torn from Morgan's departure as Lulu threw her arms around his neck, causing a small gasp to slip from the Irish male's mouth, as his broken wrist was crushed against his chest. Somehow, he maneuvered it into a more comfortable position, if that was even possible, letting it hang from his side. Jack's other arm snaked it's way around her waist, holding her closer to him, listening to every word she was whispering to him. He felt bad for reacting the way he did, by the way that she spoke, and he knew that he just needed to apologize to her. And he also knew that he had to let her go for this, no matter how much it may hurt him to see her with Drake.

"Lu..." He whispered back softly, his head nuzzling into her hair gently, savouring this moment of being close to her, something he didn't expect to be happening again for such a long time, after their argument the night before. "I love you so god-damn much, and I hope you never forget that, okay?" Jackson pulled back, although only just so that he could look into her eyes, showing her the smile that appeared on his handsome, yet dust covered face. "And you know I could never hate you. I never have, and I never will. Even if you do go off and date Drake. I'll.... I'll be here. Always, for you." Moving his head back to it's original place next to her ear, Jack pressed a soft kiss to her temple, before whispering in her ear again,

"Always, and forever."

As he looked down, Jackson noticed a small piece of ripped clothing that had been torn and tied over her arm, blood starting to seep through. Burying his head back into her shoulder once more, the Irish man let his eyes slip closed and he focused on the stinging sensation coming from her arm, taking the pain away from her, and into his own body. What was a little more pain to add to his concoction, anyway? Better Lulu be happier and in less pain than him.

---

All Max could focus on was getting Corentine out of that death trap of a school, whilst the earthquake was still going on. He wasn't answering any of her questions, which was probably going to earn him a good shouting at when everything was over, and he didn't even care that all he was wearing was a towel, as he dragged her out of the school. Running through the corridors was painful, glass and shards of concrete and plaster were cutting at his feet with every step, but the pain was nothing compared to the explosion that was going on inside his mind. The horror, pain and panic of everyone in the school was overpowering him, and it almost made him stumble a few times as he tried to get them both out of the school.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of running through the hallways, Corentine having to save them once from a huge piece of ceiling that would have crushed them all to death if it had fallen, the three of them, Max, Corentine and Drake all ended up outside; but that just made his headache even worse. Worse than worse, actually. He was barely able to feel Corentine's hands as they set themselves on his arms, and his vision was blurry as he tried to make out her face. He soon gave up on that however and just nodded at her suggestion to go into the woods.

A bloody mess, covered only in a towel, Max ran towards the blurred forest, making it only a little way in before he collapsed against a tree. He was far enough from any student that they would be able to see him, but he could still feel every little cut on their body, all the pain of the dying students and teachers, and the world was closing in quickly on him. Within seconds, his head lolled to the side as he slipped out of consciousness, the pain in his mind too severe to bear.

Lulu felt him lean his head into hers. It seemed like such a mundane thing, but it meant the world to her. If he hated her as much as she suspected he did, then Jackson wouldn’t have given into her hug, he would have remained stiff as a board.

"Lu..." he whispered lowly. It was enough to make her throat jump and tighten with tears. Jackson was the only true friend she had had since she was little. If she lost him, then Lulu would lose any remnants she had of a normal life. Her parents hated her and her brother tried to kill her after years of torture. There was no such thing as family for her. If she had one she counted it as Jackson and his parents.

"I love you so god-damn much, and I hope you never forget that, okay?" he told her. "Okay," she murmured, repeating him for almost no reason. Lulu stared into his eyes, her lips trembling with relief, joy and so much more. His eyes were so warm in that moment, so kind and so him. It was the sight she needed to see in this chaotic environment. He was more relaxing to her than a bucket of puppies. "And you know I could never hate you. I never have, and I never will. Even if you do go off and date Drake. I'll.... I'll be here. Always, for you," he reassured her. Jackson moved back to hug her and Lulu heard herself moan happily. She was to a degree beyond words as he kissed her forehead and pressed his chin into her shoulder. "Always, and forever," Jackson added. “I’ll hold you to that you know, I always will,” Lulu told him.

Stepping away from him she sighed, smiled, but the carnage surrounding them was gripping, more than enough to make her choke on her breath as soon as she stepped out of her bubble with Jackson. Sweeping her eyes across the injured, she felt worried for all of them. Lulu was no healer, she couldn’t run and assist any and all who needed it. She looked at Jackson again, watching him lean his head onto her shoulder while she kept an arm around him. He closed his eyes and she suddenly felt the sharp sting of her slashed arm tingle and disappear. “Jackson,” she remanded him, but she couldn’t bring herself to make him stop. Without the pain clouding her thoughts she could see things even more clearly. And suddenly Drake emerged from the school again, collapsing onto his hands and knees not far from them. “Oh my God,” Lulu breathed. His sister Corentine stumbled after him, a teacher with her. What was his name again?

“He’s not okay Jack,” she commented, looking at her friend with dread before she rushed over to him, but not before Erin of all people crawled over to him on the grass with her own hands and knees. The blond she-hulk, the very same who had always been…rather negative towards her, collapsed and rolled onto her back in tears. Lulu didn’t know why she was watching the exchange. She heard everything as she came up to the man who had rescued her from her own drunken stupor last night.

Lulu placed her hands on his shoulders. “Drake,” she said worriedly. All the while she looked over at Erin, the poor girl’s voice shaking so severely that it was perhaps more worrisome. Where was Amy? Where was the school nurse who could heal any and every injury that came her way? Where was any person capable of helping? This was a school filled with supernatural students with powers and none of them could help? Were they just…all meant to do harm? Had her blast…whatever it had been…done anything at all? Or was it negative, like with Grey, and she had doomed them all. Her mind grew frantic.

“Drake, say something,” she pleaded, looking around her for Jackson, for anyone capable of doing…anything.




Katia held her breath as Chris moved to pick her up, his arm sliding under her back first before he grabbed her legs. She watched him bend her knees but she could barely feel his touch against her skin, a fact that made her swallow back growing fear and panic. Arching her back as he picked her up. Her spine cracked and she groaned, blinking rapidly as Chris lifted her off the couch entirely. She watched him and then she shifted her arms around his neck. "I've got you," he reassured her. “I’m good. It’s okay. The sound is good,” Katia swallowed, feeling some sort of release in her back, like a pressure had been lifted off her, reassuring him in turn as Chris began to make his way out of the office. Katia glanced around them both, her eyes widening at the amount of upturned furniture. Filing cabinets had opened and tipped over as well, sending paper virtually everywhere.

He seemed to hurry but she didn’t care. Katia didn’t feel the need to speak. She bowed her head into his chest and relished in the security she felt in this man’s arms. When they emerged from the school onto the outside grounds, Katia sighed in relief. “You’re a real life superman Chris,” she commented. It was the closest thing to a thank you he was going to get as he set her down and he started coughing, dirt and dust coating their faces and clothes.

"You know what I'm like. I'm going back in. I've got to get the students out," he told her. “Chris, you need to—“ she started, only for him to start coughing hoarsely again. “Dios, you need to stop. Please, you need to be looked after.” That didn’t stop him. "Don't make yourself any worse. Help is probably on it's way as we speak," Chris told her. “Help you need too!” she rebutted as he rose to stand. He left then, walking away. Had she any energy Katia would have puppeted his body back over to the injured group and forced him to stay where he was, but she couldn’t even if she tried. Before she could blink twice he was back in the school. The dance teacher laid back on the grass, her head hitting the ground with a thud. Her temples pounded, but she felt pins and needles in her legs as her circulation started to return beyond her hips.

Grief was a terrible thing. Pain, mind-numbing, all-consuming pain coursing through her very soul, and as she finally got the words out, telling Leo what had happened… what had happened to the little life they had created together. Getting out, however, hurt even more. It made the fact so much more true, like now it was indubitably, and definitely real. She couldn’t pretend it wasn’t, she couldn’t try to push it away, because now she was forced to face it. She could see her sorrow mirrored on her boyfriend’s face, his eyes being filled by that same sadness, grief and denial she’d felt just before. She still couldn’t really… think about it as though it was entirely real. Maybe when the foetus actually… came out.

Right now she still had that small bump on her stomach that she’d grown so attached to. But still, the look on Leo’s face made everything so much worse. She could practically hear his heart shattering at the news and it only served to further worsen her own state. She couldn’t even think anything, could barely sense anything beyond the man carrying her through the school. The man whose heart she had just broken, carrying a woman whose heart was just as broken… with a dead baby in her stomach. A dead baby. Dead. That same word kept circulating through her mind, filling up everything, taking up every space, until she felt like someone was practically screaming it through her head.

She leaned in close to her boyfriend, burying her face in his shirt as she heard him breathe word “no”, as though he couldn’t say any more than that, and Amy herself, well she was soundless, but every tear kept trailing down her chin, as though there was no end to. Just when she thought she had no more tears to cry, another came, and it started all over, the shaking in her body intensifying the entire experience. The rumbling of the school, the debris every… none of that mattered. Not the shaking ground, not the shattered rooms they passed through. None of it was even slightly noticeable. Only her little family, dead baby and everything.

She was placed on the floor suddenly, Leo following as he sunk to his knees. She only moved in close and put her arms around, seeking solace for both of them, trying to make everything better, even though nothing could. Nothing ever would. Not really. It couldn’t possibly. How would they ever get past this, the two of them? Could they? Some couples could… managed getting over losing a child, but… she and Leo hadn’t been together all that long, and it was all just too very, very overwhelming. And breathing hadn’t exactly down easily. It still felt as though a stone was nestled in the core of her heart, making ever single beat so very strained.

A loud sound soon claimed her attention however and she pulled away to look around, her face swollen and red from all her tears. As she finally looked up, however, all she had time to react to was the spray of red, thick blood hitting her face, her upper body. Her eyes widened and a shocked scream escaped her the second she caught sight of the man she loved. “No!!” She explained as he fell to his side, metal pole poking out of his head. “Leo!” She then screamed at him, trying to get him to react, even though… even though part of her knew he wouldn’t, she didn’t stop. Her screams rang through the broken school and she desperately crawled over to him, instantly pulling the pole out of his head, the giant hole in his head forcing new tears from her eyes.

“Come back, Leo… please come back,” she brokenly begged him, leaning over him without a single regard towards the blood. She dragged him into her lap, her hands cupping his misshaped face. “Come back to me,” she then whispered as she leaned down, rocking him back and forth, “please…” He had to… he couldn’t not come back, right? He was immortal. He couldn’t die. He couldn’t. No… no… he simply couldn’t. He couldn’t leave her like this, not here, not now, not ever. She loved him too much. He had to come back. She shakily drew in a breath, trying to gather herself at least a little among all the chaos hitting her. Her baby dying… Leo dying… the blood, the shaking, the broken school. Nothing was as it should be. Nothing made any sense!
 

---

---

When Jake put an arm around her, pulling her into a hug, Cor just leaned into his, savouring this little moment of normalcy among the crazy and the chaos. Jake provided a short, but blessed little break, a bubble for her to pretend to be in for a little while. She smiled wryly when he spoke of gossip, however. “Dude, Noctrem moved to Arcana. Gossip’s heavy around these parts. There’s way too much to cover right now, but I hooked up with Jay again… and then everything went to hell, so now I’m screwing our English teacher.” She shrugged and looked around briefly, taking in everything. Erin was slowly making her way over to Drake, who was coughing violently. It made Cor wish she’d actually bothered to learn how to help others than herself with her power, but there was nothing she could do for her brother right now.

Then he drew back and she slipped out of his embrace, her gaze going in the direction of the forest. She couldn’t see max, so that was good right? Unless he hadn’t gotten far enough away. She had to check up on him soon. She just… needed to speak with Jake, and then Erin; they needed to figure things out. Then she was dragging Max further into the forest if necessary. She didn’t know where this new care for him had come from. Perhaps someplace in between him being considerate and helpful last night, to him making her life a priority just now. Still, though, she wasn’t romantically interested in the guy, but she was starting to regard him as a friend.

Jake drew back her attention when he spoke up again, however, asking her what had happened. She turned and noticed him looking at the blood on her. She couldn’t help a wry smile as he added that he wanted details, and that he hadn’t been around civilized beings in a long while. She knew Jake’d never been a fan of blood. Not his own, and not that of others. She snorted, amused at his comparing the judge to a baboon. “Oh, you poor thing,” she drawled then, grinning at him, “I’m surprised you didn’t find yourself at home,” she then teased, before briefly adding, “oh, and what happened? I was in the shower, shower-glass shattered, sliced me up a bit. Hit Max worse though.” At that, she glanced back at the forrest. Seriously, why did she worry this much about the guy?

When he then asked about Noctrem, she just laughed and nodded. “Yeah, you know us Noctremers. Never quiet moment. But nah, no one knows who burned down the school, and if we ever do, he’s got fucking hell to pay.” She smiled wryly then, “They’re forcing us to live with fucking Arcana brats, you know. Split up Erin and I real good. And Marinos? Complete idiot, if you ask me. Oh, and Drake’s getting it on with little Lulu.” As she added the last bit, she wiggled her eyebrows, her tone dry and a little bitter. “Yeah, that’s happening…” she glanced back at her brother with that, noticing that Lulu had approached as well. She made a face, before looking back at Jake, “apparently brother Quellen decided to have feelings for a girl… and then her, of all the hot chicks around here.”

A wry smile danced across her lips at that before she added, “sometimes I wonder if he’s doing it just to get on my bad side. You know how he enjoys anything that bothers me. Ah well, mum’s going to hate her “let’s help out those less fortunate and all hold hands”-attitude, so I’m good. It won’t last long.”
 

---

---

Drake didn’t even notice anything until Erin’s voice caught his ears. He was swimming in pain, his eyes watering as he tried to breathe in between coughs, and the pain in his back making it hard to not just fall onto the ground, which he knew would only making breathing that much more difficult. Still, though, he knew he wasn’t that terribly off in this situation. At least he was alive, which was more than he could say some of the students and teachers he’d seen inside the school; people half-buried by pieces of walls and ceiling, or furniture. He shook off the memories of the blood and death inside the school, and instead focused on conquering the pain, and on clearing his air ways enough to breathe properly.

Erin’s words, however, dragged him out of his own world, and he laughed drily, breathlessly. “I don’t think…” he trailed, coughing violently before he could continue, “anyone’s really okay right now.” With that, he turned his head slightly to watch her. “Glad to see you awake though…” he then told her in between coughs, the words themselves wheezy and jagged. She probably knew it’d been him to get her out of the school then. As long as she didn’t grow all clingy about it, it was all good. Erin was great for a fuck or two, and she was Cor’s best friend, but that didn’t mean he felt much of anything towards her. Okay, so it was enough to get her out of a collapsing building, but… that was beside the point.

Drake could tell Erin was far from okay as well, but at least she was awake and alive, so that was something. The rest could be dealt with in due time, much like his back. Which really fucking hurt like a bitch. Before Drake had managed to get his bearing though, Lulu was there. He felt her hands on his shoulders, and he choked out a weak, short laugh. She sounded so worried he didn’t even know how to react. Mostly because he didn’t know where the two of them even stood, so that made a situation like this more than a little difficult. When she urged him to say something, he coughed, trying to laugh again, but stopped when pain tore through him, and he winced instead, sucking in a deep breath of air.

At least he could breathe better now. Air didn’t have to force its way through three tons of debris and dust anymore, and it made the whole situation just a little more manageable. So when Lulu urged him to say something, he let himself roll onto his back so he could look up at her, smiling through the pain consuming him right now. How the hell had he ignored this for so long? It was practically killing him. Instead of taking it too seriously, however, he merely said, “come down here and give me a kiss, gorgeous…” With that, he shot one of his typically charming smiles her way. It helped to straighten his back some, so that was improvement in a way, wasn’t it? Yeah, he’d just consider it improvement anyway, and then… see a doctor, or Miss Roerig… or something.

He figured the school nurse would be plenty busy with more serious issues, however. Like Erin, who looked she was in much more pain then he was. He couldn’t focus on that right now though. Until things calmed, he needed to keep his cool and ignore the pain in his back. It became difficult, however, as he reached out a hand to let his thumb trace across Lulu’s cheekbone, because pain decided to shoot through him just then, and he winced. In a way, this earthquake… the life-or-death situation they found themselves in… made him appreciate her so much more. He couldn’t explain it, but just looking at her made everything better. How, he had no clue, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was about. Right now he was just… going with it.

Drake shifted and Lulu saw the veins in his neck straining with pain as he rolled from his hands and knees onto his back. He looked winded from such a small action and Lulu sucked in a deep breath for him. As he looked up at her, he saw the dust on his face. Immediately the blond was on her knees, dragging her sweaty hand through the dirty to clear it away. There was dirt on his eyelashes and eyebrows, it coated his hair. It was everywhere. While it relatively shielded his face from her, he was still so clearly the man she adored. Seeing him hurt, it wrenched her as much as it had to see Jackson standing beside her. Lulu felt her lip tremble and she swept a hand from his hairline to his chin, peeling away a layer of the grit that coated him.

“Come down here and give me a kiss, gorgeous…” Drake demanded, his humor adding a slight glint to his eyes. Lulu giggled and her concerned frown melted into a smile. She swept a hand through his hair before she knelt down and kissed his nose. “All better?” she teased him. Lulu didn’t give him a chance to reply before she kissed his lips boldly, drawing his lower lip into her mouth with her teeth playfully before she gave him what she wanted.

It didn’t matter to her that Erin was laying, ailing, next to him on the grass. If anything, it was vindictive justice for the blond. Drake wanted to kiss her in the midst of this mess, and not the she hulk. The girl who had been one to make her life miserable since she had arrived at Noctrem now had to suffer watching a guy she hooked up with often kissing one of the most hated individuals at the school while she languished in pain. It seemed poetic to her, but she didn’t dwell on it right then and there. It didn’t even dawn on her. No. Lulu was conscientious of the fact that Erin was there, but then she ignored the blond completely. She didn’t want to be vindictive. She had other things on her mind than the fact that one of the people who had worked with Corentine to make her life a living hell was dying beside her.

There was the fact that Jackson was watching. That sent a chill up her spine. Lulu knew this wasn’t what he wanted to see. And they had just made up. She didn’t know what he was thinking, whether he would turn away from her again. It was concerning but she put that aside to.

Because truth be told, as she kissed Drake, she was concerned with pumping the man full of adrenaline, to keep him going. Whether she got the endorphins flowing by turning him on, or scaring the daylights out of him, she knew she had to because if he was high on that, then maybe what he was feeling would ebb, and the strain on his body would ease, and he would be more comfortable.

When she pulled away to breathe, Lulu bent her forehead to his, feeling her own body reacting to the kiss. Her thighs were clenched tightly, her fingers shaking to a degree. She felt the heat of his touch linger on her lips which only made her smile wider. Even though they were where they were, and he was on the ground in pain while her own blood was soaking through her shirt tied to her arm, she was breathless. How long had she been waiting to do that? Not that she remembered if they had done anything of this sort last night. But for now, this felt like a pretty damn hot and memorable first kiss.

"You're scaring me Drake Quellen," Lulu whispered. He was doing something to her. In the midst of the chaos, all of the desperation she was feeling seemed to disappear.

Katherine was injured. That much she had known the second she regained consciousness. And it hurt like hell. She had felt the sharp pain in both her side and her leg. She had reached the assumption that something had clearly fractured or torn in her leg. She remembered reaching a hand down to her side and pulling it away, seeing dark crimson staining it. The sharp shard of broken glass laying only a few metres away with one edge splattered with blood. It didn't take a damned rocket scientist to figure out how she'd cut herself.

She had managed to get herself into a standing position, although somewhat tentatively. Her head hurt like nothing else. She'd figured that the pain there was caused by whatever had knocked her out. Whether that be some random stone or a nasty thump against the wall. Her entire body was sore and just hurt. She'd never actually experienced an earthquake. Back home, in her native Ireland, such things were very rare. She was lucky she had been in other situations similar. Where she was in pain and confused. If she hadn't, she would've assumed that she would be panicking by then. She took a few steps. Her leg screamed in protest, but she ignored it. To give in to pain would be to contradict herself. Katherine Riley Shea never gave up. Actually, that was a stupid thing to even think. Of course she'd given up before. Plenty of times, in fact. But never when she needed to just keep pushing on.

She knew she had been pale, and wasn't sure if she was thankful that she had found no one on her way. She didn't take kindly to her incredibly weakened state, and was already about to collapse on herself. But she had to make it outside. If not to get out of the area in which she could be easily taken down by an afterquake, but to find someone.

Her mind had been racing as she moved at a snail's pace. Where the hell was everyone? Who's okay? Are they okay? Is Jack okay? She had almost shut her thoughts down at the last comment. She'd never really wanted to like him that way. It had just sort of... happened. And she wasn't actually very keen of trying to shut those feelings away because she enjoyed it far more whenever they were just hanging around. She actually enjoyed having her little crush. Kate would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that her lungs felt like they were burning. Which, all things considered, was a very cruel irony at the time.



Katherine brought her mind back to the present. And the present wasn't pretty. She was in pain, about to collapse, and she wasn't sure whether to jump for joy or feel sympathy at the sight of Jackson watching the girl he loved, his best friend, kiss a guy that Kate herself had slept with multiple times. She hesitated for a moment. Would he really want to keep her company now? Did she want to go to him now? The entire situation itself seemed volatile. And delicate. But then again, she was already limping and had a nasty laceration in her side so what did she have to lose? It wasn't like she was afraid of Jack rejecting her presence then. Naturally she was angry at Lulu. The witch always seemed to make her feel that way.

She shuffled forward until she was only a few metres behind Jack, the grass muffling the disfigured sound of her feet. She could see other people around outside. Apparently most of them had gotten the bright idea to get out of the godforsaken school.

"Jack, are you alright?" It was a stupid question but she'd already asked it. She mentally facepalmed as her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Her eyes wandered to Erin, laying in the grass. Next to Lulu and Drake, who had both clearly disregarded the presence of the blonde girl. Forgetting Jack's place in front of her, Kate's eyes seemed to burn with the spike of hatred she felt. She would have thrown out an insult but felt that if she moment she opened her mouth that Lulu would burn. So the other girl could control luck? She'd need more than she could get if she wanted to escape the sheer hatred that Katherine felt in that moment.

The darkness was welcoming. Everything was so much clearer in the darkness. Leo had nothing to worry about when he was here, nothing to make him sad, or angry, or embarrassed, worried or happy. Everything was so much easier and nothing here could hurt him. It was just dark, silent - nothing happened, or moved or spoke to him. No pain, no suffering - everything was nothing here. That was the best thing to describe it. Everything was nothing. Nothing was this place. And it was perfect. But Leo knew that he couldn't stay there, no matter how much he wanted to in that moment. A voice slowly started nagging in the back of his mind, and a pain started to erupt from his head. He was beginning to rouse, to come back to life from his world of darkness. An aching in his chest reminded him that he had been sad when he had died, and it didn't take long for him to remember what had been wrong. His baby...

Leo's eyes fluttered open as the whole in his head started to close up - the way his wounds did when he died and came back to life. It was blurry at first as his eyes adjusted to the light of the world, and soon, Amy's tear and blood stained face came into focus. "Amy..." He whispered, reaching his hand upwards and cupping her cheek. "I'm here..."

---

Erin just smiled weakly when Drake replied to her, keeping her eyes closed as she laid there collapsed on the floor. She summoned up the strength in her arm to move it out to the side, wincing as she did so. She gently placed her hand on top of Drake's upper arm, patting it a couple of times. She was too tired to speak, and it really hurt her chest when she tried to do so, but she hoped that he would understand that it was her way of thanking him for getting her out of the building. She knew it was him; no-one else was able to generate shadow men, and it made her happy inside, thinking that he had taken a little time out of whatever he had been doing, to come into her room and rescue her from whatever situation that she had been in.

As soon as another voice hit her ears however, the blonde let her hand slide from his arm, letting it hit the floor palm face down. Lulu irritated her, even in such a state like this, and Erin was just not in the mood to tolerate someone that irritated her in that moment. In fact, all she actually wanted to do was sleep. She didn't pay attention to anything that was being said by the people next to her, ignoring the sloppy kissing noises that came from their direction. Instead, she just took a few deep breaths and relaxed, feeling that unconcious darkness inside trying to take her over again.

Erin was happy to let it.

---

Having Lulu confirm that they would always be friends made Jack smile; he knew that somewhere deep down that he would never loose her properly from his life, despite how many unfriendly words were traded between the both of them. Of course, it would be awkward for the both of them to be around each other, knowing the feelings that he had and the ones that she didn't have for him, but they would make it work. They were so close, and knew so much about each other, that there wasn't anyway the two of them could ever truly loose touch or dislike each other. "You can - I'll be true to my word." He smiled, before hugging her again. As Lu told him off for taking away the pain, all he could do was to pull away and look into her eyes with a grin on his face. "Did you really think I was going to allow you to stand there, in pain?" He spoke softly.

It was then that her attention was quickly taken away by Drake emerging from the school and falling into his knees, followed by Corentine and Mr Henderson. He followed his best friend over to the male, another friend and watched as she started to fret over Drake's condition, looking back at him for some sort of help. "I won't be able to help... I can only dull the pain of minor things, Lu... if I could, I would. I mean, I can try but I'm not sure how much of it I could take away, if any..." He rambled, waving his good hand around softy as he spoke. All Jackson wanted to do was make his best friend happy, and if that meant adding some extra pain onto his day, then so be it. He would try and use his gift, if Lulu wanted him to.

As the two of them on the floor started to kiss however, the male turned away. As much as Jack loved Lulu and cared about Drake, and wanted them to be happy, he didn't want to see the acting so .... couply. Not yet, anyway. He couldn't deal with it so soon. It seemed the blonde on the floor opposite felt the same way too, laying there on the floor with her eyes closed, breathing softly. The Irishman thought about going over there and speaking to her, but another person caught his attention first.

His relationship with Kate was a strange one; not because he disliked her, or anything like that - it was because of her power. Jackson was terrified of fire. Ninety-nine percent of everyone in the school knew that fact, and Kate power was fire-breathing. But, he just couldn't bring himself to hate her and stay away from her, like he did with Sky. In fact, he kept finding himself oddly drawn to her. Jackson didn't like seeing the state that she was in, and he turned around to face her fully when she was standing behind him. "Kate, " The shirtless man began, checking her body over a couple of time, to see her injuries, "you don't look too good. I ... I can help, if you like? Only a little, but still.." He asked softly, brushing off her question about him being okay. He was fine - Kate, on the other hand, didn't look in the best shape.

Kate couldn't take her eyes off the almost disgusting sight before her. Never in her life had she actually seen such blatant disregard for a person's life. Never had she seen said disregard be displayed literally feet away from the person in question. Selfishness was the word that was paramount in Kate's mind, as it seemed that Lulu had other things on her mind besides the dying girl. Even she was worrying more about others than herself. Thinking about the statuses of her friends. Even as her head spun and it became hard to breathe, Kate didn't give so much as a damn for her own well-being. It was a different feeling for her. She was always looking out for herself, wasn't she? Rule number one. Always look out for number one. Except, in that moment, she was not number one. No one was. There were only priorities that demanded attention and things that could be dealt with later. And burning Lulu alive was quickly beginning to creep up on Kate's priority list. Kate didn't move. She couldn't. Paralyzed not by fear but by anger.

"Kate,"

Hearing her name being called by Jackson, Kate snapped out of her crimson-tinted trance. She looked to Jackson, watching his eyes flicker over her body in a concerned manner. Funny. Only now did he decide to give her body the light of day. Only when the girl he loved was off making out with a guy in the grass a few metres from him. She felt a sharp stab of anger in her chest but held it down. Of all people, she did not want to lose Jackson to her own emotions. Him, or Cor, or Erin. She didn't quite know what their relationship was. She just felt this strong and suffocating attraction to him but for what? He was her friend as far as he was concerned. Meanwhile she was off with a ridiculous teenage-hormone induced crush.

"You don't look too good. I ... I can help, if you like? Only a little, but still.."

He didn't answer. She, on the other hand, had plenty to say. What could she say? That she was currently in the process of deciding how best to barbeque his best friend? But no, that wasn't the question he had asked.

"I.. I could use a little help," She choked out as the previous fury dissipated. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern as they flickered between her friend lying on the ground and Jackson. She didn't realize how difficult it would actually be to talk, even if only to spit out a few words. She took another step forward and her entire body screamed in protest, blood from the laceration on her hip showing no sign of stopping any time soon. If she ever found that piece of glass again she would chuck it at a wall. She managed a small smile in Jackson's direction to show him that she was okay emotionally, if anything. Don't even know if he would care, she thought disdainfully. She shoved the thought away. She couldn't think like that. Made her sound too... weak. And Kate Shea did not do weak under any circumstances. Though in that second, giving in to the pain she felt seemed like a really good idea. Almost did, as her legs wobbled slightly and threatened to collapse under her, mere feet from Jackson. She didn't want to break down. Wouldn't. But her body was betraying her."Stupid question to ask, Jackson. Help Erin first. I-... I can wait."

---

Jake made Cor laugh, the sound pearling and soft. “Won’t expect a thing, huh?” She said, smiling wryly now. “Somehow I doubt that.” She glanced back at the pair of them briefly. “Drake knows us too well.” At that, she grinned, reaching up to nuzzle his hair in a playful gesture, the way an older sister would do to a brother. Then again, Jake was used to it by now. Cor had no clue how their relationship had become what it was. It just had, she supposed. In its own odd, natural way somehow. It was strange really, considering Cor wasn’t big on letting people in like that. Jake had just sort of snuck up on her.

Soon, however, the mood seemed to change. Jake’s eyes became distant, his concentration and mental capabilities undoubtedly busy elsewhere. Cor frowned slightly, watching him. Jake only looked that way when he was using his powers, and when the subsequently grinned to himself, she let her gaze roam their surroundings, her eyes widening when she spotted Erin on the ground next to Drake and Lulu who’d already started their mini marathon of nauseating kisses. A rush of anger ran through the blonde then and she pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched them, eyes cutting from Erin to the pair , constantly switching, trying to evaluate how badly off Erin was, how much help she needed.

Cor might be angry with Erin, but the other blonde was still her best friend. If only for a couple of hours longer, depending on whatever explanation she could come up with. She had been about to head over there when Jake spoke, drawing her attention momentarily. “Jake, you fucking idiot!” she exclaimed, frustrated, “you’ll be blocking the central completely! Do you think the Academy is the only place hit by the earthquake? Children could be dying somewhere!” For a second, too overcome by everything that was going on, Cor’s walls of complete selfishness broke. This place could handle itself. They’d live… most of them, and the place wasn’t too badly off; Cor could tell that much. As long as that fucking nurse made it out alive, they’d be fine.

She sighed deeply, eyes back to Erin once more. Concern hit her hard in the gut and as she witnessed Lulu cooing over Drake, She clenching her teeth. Cor’s legs took her only a few steps before she flung out an arm, still walking as a powerful wind picked up. It flew directly at Lulu, hitting her in the back, and tossing her a few meters away from Drake. “Fucking bitch!” She hissed angrily, glaring at Drake as if to dare him to say a word against her. This was the first time Cor had been physical with Lulu and she couldn’t care less what the other girl would do in return. She was too busy running to Erin’s side. Cor sunk to her knees beside Erin, looking her over quickly before she leaned in, caressing her cheek. “Erin? Erin?” She asked softly. When that earned her no response, she slapped her best friend across the cheek and shouted “Wake the fuck up, bitch! Don’t you dare die! You hear me?!”

---

---

 

---

Drake merely cast Lulu a wry smile when she gave him a meak kiss on the tip of his nose. That wasn’t entirely what he’d had in mind, if he had to be honest, and if he hadn’t been more or less paralyzed by pain, he would’ve pulled her in and taken what he wanted himself. He didn’t particularly enjoy this compromised position but he’d deal; he always did, right? Even if he was going to have back problems for the rest of his life. Shit, he really didn’t want that.

His thought process was cut off when Lulu bent in and let his lips touch hers. He sighed, closing his eyes as he focused on the feeling of her lips on his, the way she tasted, the temperature of her warm, full lips, the wetness of her tongue as his own darted out, poking and prodding at her lips until he was allowed to enter. He didn’t fully start anything. His tongue rather explored and gave hers teasing little licks, than actually fought to gain any kind of control. It was a nice distraction from the pain, if nothing else, even if he itched to wrap his arms around her and draw her in close, deepening the kiss. He knew, however, that his body would scream at such a movement, so he remained still.

When she drew back to breathe, he opened his eyes, breathing deeply, painfully so, as he watched her, dark brown eyes seemingly exploring her face, taking in everything from the sexy dimples when she smiled at him, to the glint of happiness in her eyes, and she soft flush in her cheeks from slight arousal. He smiled himself as he watched her. His back was still aching and he knew he had to stay still, but being with Lulu this way still made him a little happy. In spite of everything, they were both still here.

In that moment Drake made a decision. He was going to enjoy Lulu all that he could. He wasn’t going to draw it out anymore. He liked her. He did, he knew it well enough, and almost dying today had made him realize he didn’t want to let this chance slip through his fingers. It felt good; he’d just realized that much, and if something felt good, you were supposed to take a chance on it, right? Even if he was probably going to end up hurting her, he was selfish enough not to care right now.

He merely smiled at her when she spoke, and he shook his head. “Lu, I…” he began, but was cut off when she suddenly disappeared. He tensed, clenching his teeth at the pain as he slowly lifted himself, groaning. He looked around, raised halfway. His eyes widened at the sight of his sister and his words made him glare right back at her. Until he realized what had pissed her off, spotting Erin. He drew in a deep breath, groaning at the pain at the same time. He couldn’t do anything about either girl now. Not Erin, not Cor, not Lulu. His gaze cut to Jack and he sighed, not even knowing where the two of them were at this point, but somehow content to know he’d found some distraction in Kate. Especially now that he hadn’t even realized that the other man had probably witnessed the girl he loved kissing another of his best friends. He closed his eyes momentarily before looking past him, turning his head to try to catch sight of Lulu, to make sure she was okay. Cor hadn’t exactly been gentle.

---

---

 

---

Amy’s heart was in her throat, breathing past it seemingly impossible, yet somehow manageable. She stared at Leo, wide-eyed, nervously waiting torturously long for him to open his eyes, for him to come back to her. She had no tears left to cry, and the gory image of her boyfriend’s massacred head didn’t even touch her at this point. She just wanted him back. She’d drawn him into her lap, his head cradled in her arms as she looked at him rocking him obsessively, almost like she wouldn’t be able to stop, even if she wanted to. The movements were continuous, constant and in a steady, but fast rhythm.

Every breath seemed to hitch with a miserable hiccup, her one hand cupping Leo’s cheek. “Please, Leo… please…” she whispered softly, bending her head down to stare at his chest instead of his broken face. That was when she heard it. Amy blinked several times, certain it couldn’t be… but it could, right? He was immortal, so of course he’d come back and… she looked up a little to see him. His bloodshot eyes were looking at her, his wound in his head slowly closing. “Leo…” she whispered on a breath, her voice wary, as though she didn’t dare believe her own eyes, fearing that this might all just be a trick her mind had decided to play on her as a defense against the extensive trauma she’d experience today.

Then he reached up, his hand cupping her cheek, and the feeling of his fingers against her skin, brought a relieved smile onto her face as she began laughing softly with happiness, bending her upper body to allow herself to hug him tightly, still rocking their bodies. “You’re here,” she repeated his statement happily, for a moment forgetting about the baby, until she tensed. Amy straightened immediately, eyes wide as she stared at Leo. Then pain shot through her, and she screamed, letting go of him as she fell onto her back, her cries ringing out in the school which had begun to subside in its shaking.

Her hands went to the bump on her stomach, clenching the fabric of her clothing over it. Tears burned in her eyes once more, trailing down her cheek with the pain. Her body thrashed wildly, her back arched. Pain was all she knew, and it rode her violently like a mare, her body reacting without her mind. It was burning, prickling, stinging, and completely piercing through her entire body. It was like acid racing through her veins, she’d never experienced anything like it.

Part of her expected him to throw her off. To yell at her. For him to roll over and coddle Erin next to him, not that he very well could handle the physicality of such an action. But he didn’t. Instead, Drake kissed her back, his tongue teasing her. She leaned over him, keeping his face in her hands, not wanting him to move, but to just feel the adrenaline surge of passion. As she stared down at him, mumbling the only thing she could manage. He was driving her mental and yet at the very same time, grounding her and preventing her from panicking more than she was. The focus on her arm was gone. She looked down at him, watching his lips spread into a sly smile. There was just enough of himself in it that she sighed in relief, shifting to tuck her hand over her shoulder. Lulu turned slightly to the side, her eyes sweeping across the grass to see the only thing she could to her left. Corentine. Lulu’s eyes widened and she felt the violent gust of wind catch her before she saw the girl’s hand swish through the air. Before she could do anything really, she was suddenly flying, up in the air and with a hard push she was thrown off to the side, landing on her slashed hand. “Fuck,” she cussed, trying to roll to make the landing more graceful. It wasn’t. Instead she heard a crunch as her body landed on top of her bleeding and t-shirt wrapped wrist. Shock ripped through her as she felt all the air in her lungs escape her.

“Fucking bitch!” Corentine hissed. Lulu winced, rolling onto her back and gasping. The blond brought her hand to her lap, feeling her lips spasm and twitch with pain. It took her one quick look at her hand to know it was broken. She couldn’t bare to move her fingers. “Leave it to Cor to hurt more people than help them during an earthquake,” Lulu mused aloud, squeezing her eyes shut and groaning. Turning her head back toward her friends, she swallowed back tears. Drake wasn’t about to move toward her. He wasn’t exactly the type to defend her from his sister. And then there was Cor herself, on her knees screaming at Erin, coddling her passed out friend.

And then there was Jackson. Standing next to Kate, holding her, likely using his powers on the brunette. The girl was practically a stranger to her, but the death glare that was coming her way from her didn’t make things any better. Two girls who wanted her very much underneath the rubble dead were now hounding the men she loved. And she couldn’t move and she couldn’t do anything to stop them. They were stronger than her. They would kill her right then and there and blame it on the earthquake and get away with it if she dared get up and talk back to them. It felt just like when she was little, when her brother would torment her and everyone else would watch. No one was going to be rushing to help her. That’s just the way things always had been and likely always would be. She had nothing left in terms of gusto but there was something deep inside her that seemed to break. Her last bit of empathy for the two of them maybe. She hated both of those girls for hating her. Over nothing. For just picking on someone because they could. She would kill them when she had the chance. She’d love to see it. As she closed her eyes and felt her eyes finally tear, she could just see the twisted look of shock and agony on Corentine’s face if she drove a knife through her chest, ripping at her nonexistent heart like it was nothing.