Lauryn Vierra Chase's Story

Cor had woken up with a minor headache. Just a tiny one. After yesterday she’d needed alcohol and she might have stolen some of Drake’s – the good stuff, of course. And so… now she was being punished. Served her right, she supposed. Things were just… one big mess. Right now she was on the bus with the others, dressed in this. After her shower at the motel she’d grabbed a shower before Drake had even woken from his slumber; she’d been sharing a room with him. Not because they couldn’t have had separate rooms, but because after the fire, Cor had sort of needed to be around someone with a level head, and who was more levelheaded than Drake in emotional situations? After getting ready, for once straightening her hair and all, Cor had grabbed her two suitcases and gone to fetch Erin. Together they’d gone to the bus waiting for them as every other morning. Except this one was bigger. Big enough to fit all of their baggage. Right now it was 7:30 AM and she was half asleep with her head on Erin’s shoulder. Her best friend was of course seated beside her and Cor wouldn’t have it any other way. Well… maybe except… if, you know… Jay could… oh no, no no no. No thinking about Jay. Off limits.

The young blonde’s eyes snapped open the second the bus stopped and it was announced over the speakers that they had arrived. She got up, rolling her shoulder before she took Erin’s hand. “C’mon, Blondie.” She said, “we need to go have lots of fun in our amazing new home.” She laced her tone with feigned eagerness, overdoing it so much that even people who didn’t know her would recognize it as deliberately fake. Honestly she wasn’t really pleased in the least, but she didn’t want to go back to Harrogate either. So there was that. Besides, all of her friends were here, and she supposed Jay’s presence at Arcana made things bearable. Somewhat. She didn’t let go of Erin’s hand until the girl was out of her seat and then Cor walked out of the bus, taking her luggage from the driver who was in the process of getting all of their belongings out of the bus for them. She waited for Erin to get hers before she moved again, this time heading for the Academy. A place she’d been many times over the last month; a place where she’d more or less had to deal with a lot of shit she hadn’t had to before. Punishment for instance. Cain always let her get away with most of her shit. Marinos didn’t. Or… at least he didn’t used to, until she’d caught him and Roerig in a preeetty compromising situation about a week ago. Now she had free reign for 4 months. Not bad.

She didn’t really pay much attention to the other students. She didn’t care much. She was more focused on who she’d have to live with. She had no idea, but she couldn’t imagine Marinos pairing her up with any of his precious little angel babies, for instance. So they were probably rooming with someone from their own schools. It didn’t make sense not to do it like that. Cor entered the reception are, glancing at Erin. “Something tells me we’re going to regret this in the end, you know.” She shook her head and looked around her. She knew there would be a list hanging here somewhere with rooms and room-numbers and all that bullshit. Ah, there it was, off to the side. Both her suitcases rolled behind her as she made her way over, looking over the list. Her eyes widened slowly. “Uh… Erin, I think you need to see this,” she said, indicating the list. “They’ve mixed us. What kind of bullshit it that? I swear, sometimes they’re just too fucking stupid.” She wasn’t angry, or annoyed, because she’d been lucky enough with L. She was alright with rooming with L. Better than most others. Then she frowned. “Loralei?” She repeated off of the list, shooting Erin a look. “You’re rooming with gypsy girl? Fuck.” Her expression went from pity of her best friend to amusement when she spotted two other names. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, already laughing. “Jay and Sky? That’s just a disaster waiting to happen.” And it really was. Jay had already said that he wanted to beat up every guy she’d ever slept with, and she knew Sky hated Jay in turn. That room was going to be a war-zone.

---

The dream was beautiful; beautiful and peaceful. Just… Leo and her alone in the most beautiful meadow filled with violet flowers, the sun setting in the horizon. She couldn’t remember what they were doing there or how they’d ended up in this place. Only the happiness and tranquility of that perfect moment, until the tress on the far side began moving, becoming students and fellow teachers, walking towards them. That’s when Leo let go and pushed her away, immediately resuming his professional eyes. The ones that didn’t belong to her Leo. Eyes that shut everyone safe for a select few, out of his heart. That’s when he said her name, his soft, masculine voice emanating, but it felt weird… like it didn’t belong in a dream, then her eyes fluttered open at the contact of his lips, the soft static and the touch jolting her awake. She smiled sleepily against his lips as he whispered. She was glad he’d woken her up before her dream turned into even more of a nightmare.

She kissed him softly once more before letting his lips move away even just a little, “mmmmorning” she murmured, stretching with a soft purr before smiling more properly as the memories of their night together resurfaced and then turned around to make him lay on his back, leaning over him. She let her hands rest on his chest as she raised herself a little, not caring one bit that she was completely naked. Then, as she looked him over, she tsk’ed and shook her head, “you haven’t slept all night, have you?” She hadn’t slept much herself. Honestly she’d only had maybe two or three hours of sleep at this point, if she was lucky. They’d had sex for the first time. Not first time in the virginal sense, but she’d been holding back since that night where Cor had found them; her lying on her desk, Leo’s head and fingers between her legs. That had just been… very unfortunate, to say the least. And extremely embarrassing. She’d also just been a little insecure. How could anyone measure up in the bedroom toa guy who had been having sex for the last odd 2500 years? He hadn’t seemed unsatisfied, though, so she was feeling quite relieved.

Amy leaned down to kiss Leo’s perfect lips before smiling softly and a tad thoughtfully at him, then biting down on her lip as the smile disappeared, her dream coming back to her and she sighed, unsure of how Leo was going to react now. They hadn’t really talked about their relationship’s status as such, but after the dream, Amy was feeling even more certain that they needed to let the cat out of the bag as such. She knew he didn’t want to, but she didn’t want to be stuck in a secret relationship for whoever knew how long. “Baby?” She began, kissing his jaw softly before looking up at him again, her violet eyes worried; worried about his reaction and how this was going to go down. She was ready to take an argument if that was what they needed, “when are we going to tell people? I mean… we can’t keep this a secret forever… right? And… people are going to find out anyway. It’s just a matter of time.”

Kali Rickerson

Kali sat there, smiling when Kenna said she could stay. She fiddled with her hair as she sat there and noticed Kenna shudder when the girl answered her question about the roommates "Dear, God. When I found out my who my roommate was I almost passed out with fear. It's Jade, y'know Jade Locke? How bout you?"

Kali shook her head “Yeah I know who Jade is….if she causes problems you can always come chill in my room. Oh and guess what I just did…I pretty much tripped and face planted right by Drake when I was running…I don’t know what it is about him that gets to me” she sighed a little then continued to answer Kenna’s question “I don’t know who my roommate is, I just hope its no one that is a party animal..but most of them are. But eh I will have to check who it is soon, I have to take a shower soon I just got done my run and I am sort of sweaty” she laughed and leaned back against her arms on the grass. She loved it outside and wished she could be outside all the time.

"Hey are you, okay?" Kali looked up when she heard Lil’s voice and smiled to her “Hey Lil hows it going?” she then looked to Kenna when the girl started talking again.
"We're just talking about our roommates. I can't believe they're mixing us in with the Noctrem students... That's going to be a devastating disaster and a half... I like using my room to study, not to be a empty trash can for beer bottles and other things. I just would hate to see the poor chick rooming with that Cor girl... Goodness..."

Kali still couldn’t believe the mix up of noctrem and Arcana students..where they wanting this to turn into world war three? “Lets just say this year is going to be interesting…and I have a feeling we are going to see more fights here then we ever had here. I don’t mind the Noctrem students…yeah they are bitchy and party animals but all we can really do is go with the flow. And for the bitch squad I just stay out of their path. This is how things are going to be now. We just let them do their thing and we do ours. Anyways….” she then noticed Kenna get a text and that reminded her she still needed to find L and Eden. While Kenna was texting she decided to quickly send both of them a text.

Pulling out her phone she quickly typed out a text to L:

L! Wake up! Where are ya girl! N and A students are rooming together.

After she sent that text she quickly wrote another though this time to Eden:

Hey you. Where are you? Are you awake?

After she was done texting her two friends she looked up to Kenna and saw the thoughtful look in her face “what are you thinking Kenna?” and just as she asked she heard the girl answer her "Maybe we could talk to Mr. Marinos about the rooming arrangements, ya? He'll understand all the issues that goes along with us rooming with the Noctrem students... Right?"

“Erm maybe though not so sure…I mean this is Mr. Marinos where talking about…he musta did this for a reason or something. What that reason is I don’t freaken have a clue…but it better be a good one.”

Cor smirked when Jay called out from his room. He was probably in the shower, the idiot. She glanced at Erin and was just about to say something when she caught sight of a guy heading their way, looking at them like they were somewhere they weren’t supposed to be. She recognized him as someone Jay hung around with a lot, but she couldn’t remember ever being told his name. So when he greeted her with hers, she raised both eyebrows, looking him over thoughtfully. He was a handsome one – actually, he was hot as hell. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who had a knack for making hot friends. She gestured towards her best friend. “That’s Erin. Who the hell are you?” Her voice held a harsh edge. She didn’t like it when people knew her without her knowing them. There was something creepy about it, and she honestly couldn’t say she was a fan. She felt like he was holding the cards and she despised it, especially as he then invited them into Jay’s room. Who the fuck was this guy?

She moved to lean against the doorframe casually, watching the guy with an assessing, cold look in her eyes. It was pretty much how she regarded any new person she met, and probably why she had so few friends. Or maybe that was because she disliked more people than she liked, but hey, now that she thought of it, maybe it was because she was such a bitch to people. Hm, yeah, the latter was probably the major reason here, and she couldn’t honestly say that she gave much of a shit. If they couldn’t handle the flames, they simply shouldn’t start the fire. Or… wait, was that not more appropriate for Sky? Probably. She mulled it over. Why hadn’t she ever thought of this before? One could say that Cor’s thoughts weren’t really on Killian, even though her eyes looked like she was staring him down intently. She didn’t really care. As long as he wasn’t going to get in the way, he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

When he commented on her and Jay, however, Cor was brought back down to earth and she frowned, narrowing her eyes at the guy in front of her. “Does he now?” she said thoughtfully and a bit coldly, obviously not taking it in a very positive fashion. Apparently he was closer to Jay than she’d thought which merely made her wonder why she hadn’t been introduced to him yet. Obviously it was also bullshit. The only one Jay was going steady with was his girlfriend, Kate, and though Cor hated that fact, she dealt with it… for the time being. She was starting to feel herself giving in, though, because letting go and opening herself up to Jay completely would maybe result in his eyes staying on her. The way he looked everywhere else was worrying her. She knew she held his heart, just like he held hers, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fuck around like she did. He’d told her he was doing it to make her jealous, but could she really trust that? She didn’t feel like she could trust him, and she’d told him that. Everything was just such a fucking mess.

Her eyes soon fell on Jay exiting his bathroom, fortunately dressed, as he told her to ignore Killian. She smirked at him. “’The Bastard’”, she began, “isn’t easy to ignore when he talks about things he shouldn’t know shit about.” She raised an eyebrow at him, but grinned when he greeted her with a kiss. The proximity made it possible for her to make out what was written on his forehead, and she couldn’t help laughing, “morning, ‘pussy’,” she teased him, letting her fingers dance over the word. “Hey, I’m glad you didn’t come down,” she then added, a naughty glint in her eyes, “gave me an excuse to come up here instead.” With that she snaked her arms around his neck. Hey, if he was going to kiss her in front of the others, she sure as hell wasn’t going to hide anything either. She started laughing again when he asked about roommates, “oh, love, you are not going to be happy.” She told him, still laughing a little as she spoke. She then cast him a mischievous smirk after calming down a little. “They’re mixing us. Arcanas with Noctrems. I’m with Lauryn, Erin’s with Loralei, and you…”

She paused, pursing her lips in thought as she looked up at him. She couldn’t help it. Drawing it out made it so much better, “you are going to need to reign in your temper in a second...” She leaned up to let her mouth dance over his neck and ear, nibbling and placing tiny kisses to get him in a good mood before she whispered in his ear, amusement in her voice, “you get to room with Sky.”

---

Drake laughed at Lora’s comment about him shrinking and shook his head at her. “Maybe we should start measuring height every day, just to be sure and all.” He countered playfully, “I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t start shrinking just yet.” He chuckled, pulling her closer. He couldn’t help it; she felt good in his arms and her body was a perfect fit for his. So, he liked his girls petite, was there anything wrong with that? He just wanted to whisk her away and do naughty things to her. The thing was, Drake could see the thoughts mirrored in her eyes, which made it even harder to resist. But… he had to. He’d promised himself that nothing of the sort would go down between them, so nothing would, and that was that. Besides… Erin did have a point, he was no good for any girl. Of course, if you wanted pleasure in the bedroom, he’d never had any complaints, but if things went beyond that, he was probably the coldest bastard you’d ever meet. He didn’t turn the girls who fell for him down. He played with them, and he didn’t give two fucks. They were entertainment to him, and nothing more. Sure, they didn’t know that, but whatever.

"So what room are you in? I'm in nine. Rooming with...Erin Hawthorne? I think that’s her name. I only just glanced at the list. The crowd was sort of suffocating me." Lora then said, and Drake grinned down at her. “Erin?” he chuckled, “that’s Cor’s best friend, so you’re probably going to have to get used to her presence soon.” Then, thinking a little, Drake’s smile grew, “she’s cool, though you probably shouldn’t piss her off. She’s a bit of a wild one.” Then he finally let go of her – mostly because he wanted to do so much more to her body than hug it, and he wasn’t going to, so letting go was the best option. “I’m with the speedster in room 2.” He then told her, his voice more or less indifferent. He didn’t really care. Colby was an alright guy. A little too out there sometimes, but hey, he was sure the guy wasn’t as bad as some of the others and the sexuality bit didn’t bother him either. He’d grown pretty used to that stuff after rooming with Theo’s ex Scott. He’d known about their relationship pretty much from the get-go. It was hard hiding things from your roommate. Especially if your roommate was as perceptive as Drake.

At her next words, Drake looked her over, smiling wryly before glancing at the clock on the wall. “Well, you could always show me where room 2 is,” he told her, smiling down at her before picking his huge duffel bag up from where he’d dropped it to hug Lora, “I’m getting sick of carrying this monster around,” added as an explanation, referring to his bag. “Then we can always sneak off,” he said with a playful glint in his eyes, “we still have a couple of hours until the assembly starts. I guess we’ll have to go to that. I’m not too keen on getting more detentions right now.” He flashed her a crooked grin. “I think I’ve had plenty lately.” He began walking towards the stairs, knowing that Lora would keep up, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say our headmaster doesn’t like me.” Then he chuckled. He was perfectly aware that Leonardo Marinos was far from his biggest fan. Probably because Drake spent a lot of time trying to get inside the guy’s head. He was making progress if he said so himself, especially since he’d noticed a change in the guy about a week ago. The same kind of change he’d noticed in the school nurse. And Drake, well… he didn’t believe in coincidences.

Kali Rickerson

As Kali was sitting there she ran her hands through the grass and looked at the other two girls. She was lost in thought about her past, thinking of the only two people that she considered them her parents. She then started thinking about what she could do for her next crazy stunt. Her conversation with L the other day got her thinking. They talked about climbing to the roof of the school, which may be a possibility, she definitely needed to converse with L about this, she was thinking L musta slept in or misplaced her phone somewhere because L usually was right by her side most of the time, they had been inseparable since the day the met and became very close friends.

She felt her phone buzz but then got distracted because she heard someone coming closer “Hey girls” Kali looked behind her and saw Julie and smiled “hey you whats up?” she asked the girl. The looked down to her phone remembering she got a text:

Hey Kali. Overslept lol. Nothing unusual. Mary and I are going to see the roommate list. Wonder who I'll get.... Talk to ya soon J

Kali laughed to herself and texted back to Eden:

Ok sounds good. Can you see who I got for a roommate, I have yet to check, I went for my morning run and then ran into Kenna.

After she sent the text she heard Kenna pipe up "Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Maybe they'll be out partying so much they wont' even notice who their roommates are.... Hopefully.. If anything happens though, I won't be afraid to try to talk to him..." Kali nodded in agreement “That is true, some of them aren’t as bad as lets say ‘the fearsome five’ but this is still our school…. We shouldn‘t let that change just because they will be staying here for a bit…hopefully not too long…” as she was about to continue she heard her ringtone for Eden go off “sorry its Eden…excuse me for a few minutes” she then got up and just stepped a few feet away and answered her phone.

Before she could even get a hello in she heard Eden go off "Heeeeeeey Kali. Where are you? I'm being to lazy to look around.. “Hey Eden…you should know whenever looking for me I most likely will be outside but I guess I can help you out…I am out back of the school, come find me. Oh did you get my last text? If your still near the list can you take a look at who my roommate is? I haven’t been over that way yet to take a look. Who did you get?” she was smiling as she talked to Eden, something about him always made her happy and she always enjoyed his company. She wasn’t one that had many guys that where close friends but Eden somehow made his way in to her life.

---

Bells Dorson

As Bells was waiting for Ms.Wright to talk she felt her phone go off, she took it out of her pocket and looked down, she noticed it was from Benz. She grinned to herself and opened the messaged though she was still focused on Ms. Wright in a way

On my way to get a bite to eat. Om Nom Nom. Maybe even find my roomie on the way. No way in hell we're going to that dumb assembly right?

Bells chuckled, she loved Benz but only in a friendly way, she couldn’t see him any other way then that, her fingers touched the buttons on her iphone, quickly typing back:

fuck the assembly. I don’t want to listen to Marinos voice if I don’t need too. I will meet you in the cafeteria, I have yet to get my morning coffee >< but I am talking to Ms.Wright at the moment. C ya soon

As she sent the text she heard Ms. Wright “I imagine most of us are thinking the exact same thing.If everything goes the way I think they will, things will turn out for the best. For their sake, I hope they accept the fact that things are going to be quite different around here from now on. Oh, and I’m assuming you’ll be passing up this charming assembly?”

Bells grinned just a little as she noticed Ms.Wright look right into her eyes near the end “Well lets just say they will have a few choices to make while we are here. One, they are going to go through hell while we are here. Or two, they will join us and know what its like to have a good time” she smirked a bit then thought for a few minutes before she continued to answer Ms.Wright’s last question.

Ever since the first time she got sent to Ms.Wright’s office she knew that she could not lie to the teacher, but for some reason she really didn’t feel the need to lie. She was not a fan of most teachers just because they really thought she was a trouble maker, that she was lazy with her school work, and she can be really cruel. But for Ms.Wright’s class she actually did pay attention and did the work, she found Ms.Wright’s class interesting “Yup I am definitely not in the mood to spend my morning listening to someone that really dislikes me. I plan on doing something fun, not sure what that will be yet. Since there is no classes today I surely am going to take that to my advantage. I am not going to change my way of things just because we are staying in this school. I will be the same Bells everyone knows and loves or to most of the angel students here, hate. And maybe if I am lucky I will get sent you but most likely be sent to Mr. M because they did mention detention. I feel like that is going to be my new home while I am here” she let out a laugh then looked down to her phone to find out what time it was, knowing she would need to go meet Benz soon.

Kali shrugged when Eden said “Uhh..Sorry Kali. I have no clue.” “Well I guess I will meet her soon enough, I wonder if she likes to do any reckless things” she smiled when Eden said he would sit next to her. As Eden’s arm went around she smiled, it felt like just a natural thing to Kali and she usually didn’t allow anyone else to do this but Eden was her closes guy friend she had at Arcana, Eden know almost everything about her…except for a lot of her past. No one knew about that though maybe someday she would tell Eden.

She looked behind her to see Mary and Adina, she gave them a smile especially when Adina started singing. Then saw Mary talking to Kenna, she smiled to Kenna then looked forward as she walked on. As they finally made it into the school she heard the announcement from Mr. Marino "All students to the Great Hall please, assembly beings in five minutes. A reminder than any absentees will result in punishment." She looked to Eden “well good timing for us, I wonder why this assembly is so important. I guess it could be about the Noctrem students, most likely because of them but they have been here like a month already and we have not had an assembly since they been here. Now thinking about it we haven’t had an assembly in a long time” she said as they walked to the great hall where the assembly was being held. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing, it was her running outfit and she didn’t have time to change before hand but she really didn’t care. She knew probably all the Noctrem students where dressed nicely in one way or another but it didn’t matter to her.

As she walked with Eden into the hall she tried to look for L but didn’t see her “I wonder where L is hiding…” she said as she looked around to see who else was there. She saw Izzy and Ellie over to the side and wave to the two of them “hey guys” she then moved her way down the walkway and moved in to one of the rows of seats now taking Eden’s hands in hers to pull him along the seats. Once she was in the middle of the row she sat down and looked up to Eden and smiled. She then looked to the front and saw Mr. Marinos and Ms. Roerig. She hasn’t had to go to Ms. Roerig in like a week, which is a record for her, she just hasn’t gotten into anything that would get herself ‘extremely’ hurt. She leaned back against the seat comfortably and started randomly playing with some of her hair as she sat there.

Between the heavy, synthesized beat and at that particular line of Gotye's making, all five-feet-eight of Lauryn slid into well-rehearsed motion; a solitary figure dancing --as she had been for several hours now-- in Arcana's studio, choreographing the finish to a routine that she'd worked on for a few days. It had seemed like something that she had to do: to lose herself in what she knew best one last time, before having to deal with the sweeping tide of change that came with a whole new school of supernaturals. She wasn't stalling, really, but this was her way of coping whenever the world decided to be a troll ('Come on, roommates? We're practically asking for it.'). So, with a gut feeling saying none the wiser, Lauryn had paved her way down from her room at six in the morning; fully prepared to block out the rest of the world as she usually would, every so often. And this was where she stayed, past Mr. Marinos' first announcement when it blared above the booming cadence that was Somebody I Used To Love, dubstep remixed (where she almost tripped at the landing of a spin in surprise). Yeah, they didn't get assemblies often, although it probably was called for.


She'd wondered, once, how many people from both Arcana and Noctrem that this particular song applied --or would soon apply-- to. It wasn't hard to see all the drama that festered from just one month of sharing classes, much due to the fact that they were all incredibly wired hormonal teenagers. Both the lingering glances and growing animosity between kids seemed to be disasters just waiting to happen, and some relationships --herself included-- no doubt would make a spiderweb look simple. It was times like these that Lauryn appreciated how she was one of the few that wasn't exactly interested in anyone at the moment, and it was.. 'freeing, from the way I can see other people now.' Or more like indifferent, for lack of a better word. But the next year would be pretty damn entertaining, potential havoc and landmines or no. And who was she kidding? Bunking with a group of people who didn't give a shit about rules was beyond refreshing. (Although Lauryn probably wouldn't go for it so much if she were actually at the tail-end of anyone's wrath. But that's luck for you.)


As soon as Lauryn executed the last of her routine perfectly, in what was now the final run-through of it, a wide, brilliant smile stretched across her face; the way that only success ever caused. That, and how she literally bounced around a quarter of the dance studio, (because it's freaking gigantic) fist-pumping the air and unabashedly shouting a resounding "YES!" every few seconds for a little while; thankfully unheard behind a closed, sound-proofed door. But alas, L's celebratory happy dance was cut short right at that moment; when a familiar, albeit slightly annoyed voice dunked a figurative tub of ice-cold water over her head. And she froze. "All students to the Great Hall please, assembly beings in five minutes. A reminder than any absentees will result in punishment." 'Well, shit. Why do I keep forgetting that dancing gives me a horrible sense of time?'

It took no less than fifteen seconds for her to grab everything (which is basically just her phone/iPod, her set of keys, and a bottle of water) and run out of the studio in something short of an annoyed huff, speed-walking to the Great Hall from the second floor; weaving whatever masses while checking her phone and messages. Just to note, for anyone who might have seen Lauryn here --that she probably ignored for being preoccupied--, this kid was wearing a loose T-shirt, plus a pair of sweats; fresh from a morning of exercise. It was all relatively normal for those who knew her so, well, that's that. 'And... yep. Kali's texted. Noctrem and Arcana are rooming? I've joked about it, sure, but how did Marinos actually let this go?' And here, as convenient as it sounds, was where Lauryn just happened to pass the roommate list; and what she saw there.. she was actually okay with, unlike what the vast majority of students would've been. 'I'll probably have to find Cor later, to give her a key. But the Hall first.'

So, instead, she typed a quick text back to Kali as she made her way to the assembly:

I was dancing, no worries. Just saw the roomie list, I'm with Cor. We're cool, but fingers crossed I don't walk in on anything, y'know? How 'bout you?

It didn't take long, then, to make it to the assembly; thankfully before it started. And, from there to scanning the room and upon seeing Mo, Zac, and Alli, Lauryn grabbed a quick seat beside the last; giving them a wave and a smile as she settled down. 'Better to leave conversation for later, looks like the assembly's about to start..'

Morgan Janssen

"That will be all, everyone. Thank you." As Mr. Marinos finished and the students began to swarm out of the hall, Morgan grinned. She got to her feet. She was in the same house as Zac and she had a free day today. She was already trying to decide what to do. Alli would probably be in the dance studio showing off her gymnastic routine and Zac would probably be chilling with some music. She could always just chill out in her room with a good book and her iPod, but it was such a lovely day. It was a day to be outside, not to be trapped in her room.

She grinned as she decided exactly what she was going to do. She made her way up to her room and grabbed Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, her slightly better pair of headphones and shoved her phone in her pocket. Her iPod went in the opposite pocket and her headphones went around her neck. She made her way downstairs and went out into the glorious sunshine. She chose a spot by the tennis courts. It was warm, in direct sunlight and out of the way. She slid her headphones over her head and plugged the other end into her iPod. She pressed play and opened her book.
As Katniss and the rebels battled against the corrupt Capitol, Mo's mind was not on the fictional country of Panem. It was on her reality. At first she smiled. Her and Zac were both in Deakins. They had all their classes together. She had a cool roommate. There hadn't been any major fights yet, and the weather was gorgeous.

But then the darker side of things began to take over. Her dad had a new girlfriend. He still wasn't fully over Mo's mother, and he tended to go for girls like her. Mo missed her mother sometimes, when she didn't understand something or when nothing was going right for her. But she didn't want to replace her. Her mother was one of a kind, and none of her father's girlfriends could replace her. If Mo had to telepathically drive the woman insane, she would. If she wanted a step-mum, she had to be different. Preferably a nurse. Or, admittedly, a teacher.

Her thoughts gradually slightened in subject. She began to wonder when the next party would be held. They were usually fun, even for someone who didn't drink. Except for last time, but someone had spiked her drink once or twice. And then she had only been tipsy, not absolutely shit-faced. Some of the Noctrem students would probably drink all of the alcohol in San Francisco and the surrounding area between them. And then they would still complain that they hadn't had enough to drink.

But watching them the morning after would probably be hilarious. If they even appeared.


Zac stretched and dragged himself to his feet. He was in the same house as Mo, which was great. They would most likely be pairing up on projects if they were given the choice. And they didn't seem to have anyone too bad in their house, which was always a good thing. As he left the hall, he heard various students discussing a party. One of Jackson Murphy's, no doubt. They were usually fairly enjoyable. Mo, Alli and him stayed away from alcohol, and were able to remember every detail of the night before.

Well, most of the time. Last time, someone had kept slipping vodka into Mo's drink. She claimed she had only gotten tipsy, but Zac could vividly remember her with her arm slung around Colby, standing on a table singing her heart out. She had gotten a little more than tipsy, but she handled the hangover fairly well. Probably with three cups of coffee and a blueberry muffin before she even went to class. She had seemed unusually alert, admittedly. She was rarely that awake heading into History.

Mo headed upstairs, probably to grab some reading material to chill out in the sun. Zac had been planning on practising indoors, but one look at the glorious weather outside changed his mind. He instead grabbed his guitar from his room and shoved a few picks in his pocket.

The front lawn was covered in cigarette butts already, so he decided against it. The forest seemed the best choice. He grasped the neck of the guitar and held it in front of him to prevent smashing it against any trees.

It was a wonder his guitar had lasted this long, if he was honest. He had brought it when he was fourteen. It had been hauled to Arcana and back every year since, without a case, and had even called down the stairs once or twice. Okay, it was four times, but the last time didn't even count because his foster dad had caught it a few steps from the bottom. He'd changed all of the strings twice, and the bass string had been changed three times. It had cost him a fair bit, but he had gotten so much enjoyment out of it.

He found a secluded spot just inside the forest. Although he'd be screwed if there was a fire. The fire starter could be at Arcana right now, and if they decided to burn down Arcana, the fire could very easily spread to the forest. And as much as his guitar meant to him, if the forest was set alight, he was abandoning his guitar and getting the hell out of there.

His hand began to strum of it's own accord, and his fingers formed chords on the frets. He wasn't sure what song he was playing, but it sounded good.



Alli was ecstatic. She was in Ardley with Lauryn! She grinned at the girl beside her as she stood up. "Come on, let's go up to the dance studio!" She said, worming her way through the crowds. Lauryn probably wouldn't be able to keep up with her, because Alli was able to worm her way through people and around people. She stood on a chair and waved at Lauryn, before heading upstairs to the dance studio. When she arrived, she zipped off her hoodie and started a few warm-up stretches. She then made a running start and flipped across the floor. She landed in a handstand and somersaulted to her feet. She grinned and found a balance beam. Why dancers would need it, she had no clue. Unless Mr Marinos had intended it for gymnastic use. She dragged it out into the middle of the floor before clambered ungracefully onto it and standing upright. She took a few steps and went into a handstand. She turned three hundred and sixty degrees and walked on her hands to the end of the beam. Her arms shook but her balance remained strong. One advantage of her power meant it was extremely difficult for her to fall off and hit herself on the hard floor.

She flipped to her feet and dismounted as her phone vibrated in her hoodie pocket. She pulled it out. It was a text from her mother, and she opened it.

Allison, dear. There's a gymnastics competition being held next Saturday. It seems to be within your skill level, and it's only an hour away. Are you going to complete?

Alli resisted the temptation to throw the phone out of the window. Her mother insisted on calling her Allison. And every time there was a gymnastics competition, she received a text or a phone call about it.

Mom, I'll have to clear it with Mr Marinos first. Talk to you later.

She shoved her phone back into her pocket and scrambled back onto the beam. She flipped and somersaulted, trying to work off her anger. And when that didn't work, she returned to the floor. She'd completely forgotten about Lauryn. She turned on the music, and began to perform to that. Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know began playing. It was a good song to perform to, lively without being too fast.

She was angry at her mother for pushing her. Her dexterity meant she could have taken up almost any sport. She would have loved to have taken up archery. But once her mother had saw that she had an aptitude for gymnastics, she hadn't been allowed take part in any other sport. It was gymnastics. There wasn't even an option of nothing. And every single time there was a competition, she was pushed to compete. If she didn't, it was, "Why aren't you competing? Are you injured? Why don't you want to compete?" If it was an Olympic trial, sure, she'd compete. But this was a small competition, probably full of novices. She didn't want to crush them before they even began.

She threw herself across the floor with increasing intensity. Her ankle began to complain, but she launched into a handstand. The blood rushing to her brain made it much harder to think.



Today began like any other day. Chris dragged himself out of bed and had a shower. He got dressed in his trademark outfit. Chris was always a snappy dresser. But possibly even more so today. Because today he was starting a new job in his old school, Arcana Academy. It was Chris's first real job. He had done a bit of modelling, but that hadn't worked out. Mainly because he kept being assaulted by teenage girls screaming his name.

He ate a decent breakfast of fruit, toast orange juice and a yogurt. He remembered the food at Arcana being good, but he really wasn't in the mood to eat in a canteen full of students. He washed the plate and put it away. His brother opened the door. "Oi, Chris!" He called. "Sup bro!" Chris replied. "I still can't believe you're letting me stay in your house for free!" Chris stood up and clapped his brother on his shoulder. "Yeah, but if I get broken into, you're paying the damages. Better go." Chris grabbed his suitcases and his car keys. He threw them into the back seat of his little red convertible and slammed the door. His brother was standing at the front door. "I can't believe your car has survived five years of mistreatment." He commented. Chris laughed and patted the car. "Yeah, it's pretty sturdy. Mind my house. It's the only one I've got, and if anything goes wrong, you're buying me another." His brother laughed. "Like you can't afford another one. See you... When will you be back?" Chris shrugged. "You'll know when I walk in."

He climbed into his car and started it up. He let down the hood as he drove out the gate. It was a gorgeous Californian day. The way to Arcana was imbedded in Chris's mind, and the car almost found it's way there by itself. Before he knew it, his red convertible was driving up the drive.

He found the rest of the teacher's cars and parked his. He let up the hood and decided to leave his cases until he had met with Mr Marin- No, Leo. He had to remember to call him Leo now. That was the weirdest part of having supernatural powers. Your headmaster wouldn't change the whole way through school, and when you went back to be a teacher, he'd still be exactly the same.

He went into the reception. It had been modernised a little in the five years he had been at college. He walked nervously up to the receptionist. She had changed as well. Jesus, was he even at the right school?

"Um, hey. I'm Chris Russell, I'm the new PE teacher here. Leo told me to meet him when I arrived." The receptionist nodded. "Take a seat. He'll be down shortly." Chris took a seat across from the receptionist. Students were coming and going, and, frankly, he felt a little uncomfortable.

During the assembly, Amy let her eyes roam the grand hall, observing the students, trying to get an impression of the overall opinion on this entire ordeal. Leo had spent a lot of time in his office this past week, sorting everything out, which meant they hadn’t seen each other as much as she would have like, since spending several hours in your boss’ office at a time might call on some unwanted attention. She was quite aware that some already had their suspicions, which made the matter of publicity even more urgent. Better to tell people themselves, than to have rumours spreading, and considering the students they had just let in, it was probably going to happen sooner rather than later. With that thought, Amy’s gaze went from Amber, to Drake, to Theo… people from Noctrem she could imagine finding out about her and Leo. Sure, she didn’t think Theo was a bad kid, but she dreamt about Leo a lot of the time, although she supposed the most he could grasp from that, would be her infatuation with the gorgeous headmaster. Then again, who said Theo even had an interest in watching her or anyone’s dreams?

She instantly stored away those thoughts and her gaze moved on, now resting on the house captains being announced in turn. Her heart ached for poor Ashleigh, who was going to have a very tough time being captain in her house. She could almost see the poor girl turning paler by the second. She obviously hadn’t missed the fact that she had several of the most troublesome kids to deal with; Corentine Quellen, Erin Hawthorne, and Addison Lawler. Sure, they weren’t all bad people, but they were definitely more… wild, than average. To her knowledge, Sky and Scott weren’t the quietest of guys either, but she couldn’t recall them causing any severe troubles. However, that much could change. Then came Ben as captain of Causton , and well, Amy couldn’t really see that lasting long. He wasn’t exactly the most school-invested kind. Then came Bethany, and Amy felt a soft, unnoticeable sigh emit from her lips. That girl had to figure out herself and feel comfortable with that, able to take responsibility for her own life before she could start taking charge of anything else.

When Leo drew out Drake’s name for captain of Tyms, Amy’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze landing on said male. He looked more or less completely indifferent. Thinking about it, maybe Leo should have just decided on captains to make sure no disasters were chosen. The way it looked to her now, none of the captains were ideal. Her eyes hopped back to Leo, noticing his rigidity, the way his shoulders were shrugged back tensely, his usual smile abandoned in favour of an edgy line, his features drawn tight. Watching him, she felt glad they’d somewhat resolved their argument from earlier, because she couldn’t even imagine how he’d be feeling if he’d had problems with her to top off the day. What had she been thinking, even starting the argument this morning? She knew, yes, the dream, but she still felt like mentally kicking herself. She wondered what he was s nervous about, though. Her Leo was usually such a confident man, although she suspected a situation like this one would bring anyone to the edge.

Later, occupied by watching the throng of students and teachers leave the assembly, and especially seeing Lulu rush from the hall, Amy didn’t even notice the fact that Leo had turned towards her, or even sat beside her, so when he spoke, she almost jumped, her head snapping around, eyes wide in surprise before she registered the voice, followed by her eyes finding the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on. Her lips curved into a smile filled with warmth at his question, and especially in reply to the vibrant smile he was casting her way. “Well, you definitely need to unwind some,” she said teasingly, a glint in her eye telling her precisely how she’d like to do that, before continuing, “but yes, you di-“ Before she could finish the sentence, Leo was cursing, the abrupt speed of his movements almost making her head spin. She blinked a couple of times, finally closing her mouth when he began explaining. Ah, yes, the new teacher. She remembered Leo talking a bit about a new teacher. He hadn’t told her much, and she hadn’t really asked. More pressing, Noctrem-related matters had been more important at the time.

“Ah,” she merely said in understanding before he was talking again. Leo hated being late, especially when others were depending on him, she knew that, so this wasn’t exactly helping him unwind, which she greatly disliked. Why hadn’t he told her he planned on getting Chris before the assembly? She would’ve reminded him, or at least gone to get the new teacher herself. When Leo extended a hand, inviting her to come with him, Amy bit her lip delicately, peering up at him through her dark lashes. “Yeah, sure,” she said, before eyeing his hand thoughtfully. Would it hurt her more to take it only to let it go moments later, or to not take it at all? Why did he have to do that? It’s not like she couldn’t get out of a chair herself. She sighed softly, taking his hand, feeling that same, familiar electricity, however, the sensation was brief due to the fact that Leo let go the second she was on her feet and she clenched her hand, savouring the brief contact, trying to quench the longing surging through her; the urge to hold him, kiss him, to run her hands through his hair. To see love and lust for her mixing in the gray pools that were his eyes, like last night.

When he began speed walking, Amy had to half run to keep up, but sensing his urgency, she didn’t complain like she most likely would’ve at another time. After all, it’s not like he didn’t know she had much shorter legs than he. And she did fall slightly behind, only catching up with him to hear the words, “-I’m late,” and those following. She took a deep breath to steady herself, curiously moving to the side so that she was no longer hidden behind Leo, and thereby able to see the new teacher. She took in all his features, her head cocking to the side slightly in thought. He looked familiar. Only when Leo finished speaking, did her eyes widen with realization. “Chris?” she breathed in disbelief, gaping at him. “That Chris?!” She blinked several times, then shooting an accusatory look Leo’s way, she almost squealed, “why didn’t you tell me?!” With that, a massive smile took over her features and she turned her gaze on her old friend again, the impulse to hug him causing her to rush forward and wrap her arms around him, somehow feeling like that alone would make him real.

She hadn’t seen Chris since leaving Arcana all those years ago, although they’d been pretty good friends. They just hadn’t kept in touch, truthfully, maybe because she’d, you know, gone to war and all, so she had only kept contact to her closest family. Thinking about it, their current lack of communication was probably her fault, but damn, was it good to see him again. “You look old,” she murmured playfully. She remembered teasing him about how much older than her he looked, despite the fact that she was actually the oldest of the two.

---

Drake almost chuckled at the blush coming onto Lulu’s cheeks, wondering in which direction her mind was taking her. Something told him it probably wasn’t entirely child-friendly, and the urge to tease her about it became nearly overwhelming. She was just so… susceptible, not that most women weren’t, but Lulu in particular could be very fun to play with, he realized. Why hadn’t he ever thought about that before? Well, if was definitely changing now. He wanted to see that red in her cheeks a lot more and he was going to strive to get it, because what Drake wanted, he procured for himself, and if there was one thing he could do, it was charm a woman out of her panties. But did he want to do that to Lulu? He mused it over. Why the hell did he ever give a shit? Normally he wouldn’t have given it a second thought, because it would be entertaining, but now he found himself wondering if she would be hurt when he left her after sleeping with her, considering if maybe he would be going too far. After all, she was a friend, one the few he actually had. Inwardly, Drake’s mind battled itself, but outwardly he maintained is usual, easy stance. It was something he’d taught himself to do quite well.

Soon, Lulu was rubbing her eyes as if trying to clear them, commenting on his slightly reprimanding words. A wry smile pulled at his lips, “ yes, that much it obvious,” he said teasingly. Yep, he was back. He wasn’t really worried anymore. She’d be fine, but… he still didn’t understand this odd need to help and take care of her. Shrugging it off, he guided the blonde on his arm out of the men’s toilets. When he noticed the three guys giving Lulu looks, he merely raised an eyebrow in their direction, as if saying, “got a problem? Take it up with me.” Drake might not be the violent type, or the kind of guy to go headfirst into trouble as such, but he wasn’t one you wanted to mess with, and his entire demeanor screamed as much when he wanted it to, which he did in this case. He relaxed a little once the guys scurried off; obviously deciding whatever they thought of Lulu wasn’t worth any actual trouble over. When Lulu spoke, Drake’s eyes found her once more and another sly smile came onto his face. “Showers, eh?” He teased, his eyes glinting with wicked thoughts. Then he just chuckled, shaking his head. “In your bathroom,” he then finally told her.

They both grew quiet then, Drake taking care to be entirely sure she wasn’t going to stumble and hit the floor with her nose while he could do anything to stop it. After all, the floors didn’t deserve that kind of violence, right? Oh, who am I kidding? He asked himself, inwardly sighing, I don’t actually want her to stumble. But again, that made him wonder why, because there was always at least slight entertainment in people falling over their own feet. And sure, he realized Lulu means something to him, but did that mean he had to go all protective super hero? Damn it, that really usually wasn’t his style. He’d begun growing irritated with himself when Lulu spoke again, and he completely disregarded earlier thought, a devious smirk curving his lips. “Help?” He murmured, his voice deep and seductive in itself as he looked down at her. “Could be arranged.” He deliberately let his eyes roam her body. How was he supposed to try and have morals when she kept tempting him like this? Women.

Her next words made him chuckle, wicked, dark brown eyes once more giving her body their undivided attention. He easily held on to her as she half stumbled, not even stopping in his track. He had a good hold on her, and she wouldn’t be hitting the floor. All she had to do was regain her balance, and as she did, her next words following, he grinned sinfully at her, his eyes intense, his entire demeanor completely in flirt-mode. Drake pulled them both to a stop only to skillfully turn them around and gently press her slight body up against the wall, both his arms winding around her waist now, so that his heat was completely enveloping her, even as his body trapped hers between it and the wall. He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he murmured seductively, “now, what’s the fun in keeping our clothes on?” Of course, it wasn’t like Drake was actually going to have sex with her. Obviously, she wasn’t in a state capable of satisfying him properly anyways, but playing with her right now was extremely entertaining for some reason.

If he was going to fuck Lulu, it was going to be done right, and not in some stupid situation like this when she could barely walk by herself. Not that he was going to fuck her at all… right? Yep. Friend. He’d sort of told himself not to fuck the few people he considered friends, but in that case, he really needed to stop befriending hot girls who wanted him, because it was making his life damned complicated. Again, it wasn’t like Drake couldn’t resist and keep his dick in his pants, but he was starting to think he’d really rather not. Hell, maybe that was just because he hadn’t had sex in a while. What had it been? Two? Three? Weeks. Keeping your sex-life alive when he were rooming with Cor in some motel, proved to be harder than you’d think. Thinking about it, he felt pretty sure last time had been with Erin, because Cor actually left when it was her. He suspected it had something to do with the fact that Cor knew what kind of role Drake played in her best friend’s life.

Maybe he should exert some kind of revenge on his sister. Manipulation was a gift of his, and he could definitely use Jay in some way, but then… would using Jay be a bit too cruel? He and Cor didn’t really try to make each other miserable. Sure, they bickered like cat and dog, and they most definitely had a lot of differences, but they were still family and in some incredibly fucked up way, they did care about each other. Despite the fact that living with her had been hell. Good luck to Lauryn, was all he could say.