Leonardo Marinos's Story

The sunlight was streaming in through the open curtains of Leonardo's bedroom, the rays dancing across the skin of both himself, and the beautiful, bare woman next to him. He had been awake for some time now on this Monday morning, his hand delicately moving through Amy's long brown locks, watching her sleep so peacefully beside him. The male hadn't had a good night sleep - the anticipation of the next day keeping him up throughout most of the night. Today was the day that the Noctrem students were finally coming into the school, moving in, to live and study in the same place as his beloved Arcana students. Obviously, the thought had worried him, mixing both good and bad student in his school, but that was what he had to do - he couldn't just leave the Noctrem students in that motel.

A soft sigh escaped the male's lips as he laid there, still aimlessly running his fingers through Amy's hair, soothing himself. Without the beautiful young brunette next to him, Leo had no idea how he would be feeling right now. The sweet girl had kept him sane, kept him calm throughout the transition, and after last night, had relaxed him completely. He was so lucky to have her in his life as more than just a friend any more, than he had taken that extra step forward, and had claimed her as his own. Their last week together had been incredible; holding her in his arms, kissing her, making love to her. They had decided to keep their relationship secret, if only just for now. Leo had created rules three hundred years ago, stating that employees shouldn't be dating, and yet, here he was, breaking his own rules. If Cain ever found out... he shook his head slightly, grimacing at the idea of his "enemy" finding out that he was breaking his rules. One person already knew about it, Corentine Quellen, and that was as many people as he wanted involved.

Leo turned his head to the side, looking at his clock as he lay there. The time was 7:00 AM, the time he usually got up to get himself ready for work. Slowly, the male who had been leaning up on his elbow, bent his head down, placing a delicate kiss on the lips of his stunning girlfriend. "Amy..." He whispered softly, his lips still brushing against hers as he spoke, "you need to wake up, baby."

---

Emily Marks, a receptionist who had worked in the main office for a number of years, had been entrusted with the task of putting up the roommate list. At 7:00 AM on the dot, she had left her station, the piece of paper in her hand, and she had pinned the list to the wall, just past the main entrance to the school. An error had occurred that she had been unaware until yesterday, and by then, it had been too late to change. The Noctrem students were going to be roomed with an Arcana student, someone to help them settle in, an error that Leo hadn't liked one little bit. In fact, he had fired the head receptionist, Hannah, giving Emily a promotion in the process. Any moment now, the students from the Noctrem School would be entering Arcana Academy, no longer seeing it as just a place of study, but now, also their new home. Upon the list, is the roommate pairings, and a map of the entire school.

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.”

Noctrem’s former headmaster was about as keen on early mornings as most of his students. Less so, perhaps. If he hadn’t been billeting himself at the same motel as the kids, there wouldn’t have been a shot in Hell of him getting aboard the coach bus he’d hired to transport them to Arcana. He’d probably have still been in his apartment, asleep, if that were the case. He would have liked to have slept through the entire day, if he could have. Maybe the entire year. Maybe the rest of his life. Cain, he reminded himself, We’ve been over this. What you’re describing is basically suicide.

He had been in rare form for the days leading up to the move. Yes, on a rational, adult level he understood that this was a good thing. That in the most technical sense, Leo was doing him a solid allowing his misfits and miscreants to take up semi-permanent (Oh Gods he hoped it was only semi-permanent) residence at his ostentatious school. Until Noctrem was rebuilt, it was a much better option than any of the others that they’d manage to come up with, even if it was slowly withering his soul away. He hated the idea of owing Leonardo Marinos anything other than a beatdown that was hundreds of years behind schedule. He was repulsed by not having utter control over the school, never mind his classroom.

He’d taken the front, rightmost seat of the bus. A pair of dark aviators hid his bloodshot eyes from the students as they clambered aboard, and he was sipping often from a metallic thermos of… let’s call it coffee. It was at least half coffee, so, that would work. His cheeks were lined with salt-and-pepper stubble, and his hair was getting long. Too long. He needed to get it cut, he noted, as he ran a hand through it. When the bus finally rolled to a stop in front of Arcana, he rose solemnly and turned to address his students.

The pause that he waited was significant enough that they might have been expecting some sort of big speech, if they weren’t all aware of his undying hatred for big speeches. Instead, he took a gulp from his “coffee” and, with his sunglasses still in place, nodded. ”Give ‘em Hell, kids. It’s your school now too.” He swung around and slunk off the bus, lighting a cigarette the instant he crossed the threshold. Many of the students would be able to get ahead of him, since he was walking slowly and chainsmoking. He left a breadcrumb trail of three crumpled cigarette butts to lead the slower ones to the entrance doors, having used the first to light the second and the second to light the third. Reeking of smoke, he made his way in, not bothering to remove his sunglasses once he was inside.

He saw a few kids already gathered around the list and ambled up himself, perverse curiosity drawing him to see what sort of arrangements Leo’s lackwits had made. When he laid eyes on it, he did finally remove his glasses, just to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. He let out a bark of laughter. ”Oh, this is fucking priceless.” His morning grumpiness and general surliness had been replaced by a Christmas morning grin. He dragged out his phone, stabbing his finger at the screen and starting a text message, only using one hand (which isn’t to say he was good at it- nope, it was laughably clumsy). He then used the option to attach a picture that Jade had shown him just after showing him how to download stupid games, and took several seconds to snap a photo that had the list legibly in frame. He hit send.

A second or so later, Leonardo Marinos would receive the following text message:

u r such a tool.
<Insert Picture of List Here>

Looking extremely self-satisfied, Cain stowed his phone, laughing again in his harsh, guttural way. He took another long gulp of his spiked coffee, not to give him strength this time, but in celebration. This, he decided, might actually be interesting. Give ‘em Hell indeed. Smirking, he sauntered off to find some breakfast.

---

”Wouldn’t it be like… totally awesome if we end up roommates? I mean, like, how cool would that be, haha?”

Colby grinned toothily over at Landon as they made their way down the hallway. The speedster brimmed over with excitement even on the most everyday sort of day, but this was something special. Something big. Nothing so big had happened since the Noctrem kids showed up in the first place after their school burned down. He’d always been an early riser (at least, if he hadn’t partied the night before), and was already bright-eyed and alert, ready to carpe the diem.

He’d turned up at his best buddies room as planned, dressed in a pair of clean jeans and a pristine white polo shirt, and simply let himself in. Modesty was fairly pointless between the two of them, so he’d dragged the covers off of Landon and chattered away a mile a minute while the other boy got ready. He’d speculated wildly about who they might have wound up rooming with. As far as they knew, Arcana students would be boarding together, and so he’d been crossing his fingers in hopes of landing Landon as his roomie. Easier quickies aside, he couldn’t imagine anyone else at the school he would rather have shared space with. They got along so well that there wouldn’t be any problems.

”I guess Izzy wouldn’t be so bad either,” he proclaimed with a wicked grin. Colby also harbored a secret, stupid little hope that, somehow, a clerical error or shortage of beds would result in him sharing a room with their headmaster. He’d related as much to Landon, in his room, and easily dodged the pillow that his friend had chucked at his face. ”I’d totally dig rooming with Izzy. Haha, Izzy is so cute.” Colby’s thoughts often tended to emerge from his mouth in a rapid stream-of-consciousness.

”I just hope it isn’t Jaysin. He’d probably like, pin me down and strangle me in my sleep.” Judging by the way Colby’s eyes glazed over, he was very likely imagining a few of Jaysin pinning him down and doing something else entirely. He shook his head, so quickly that it seemed a flesh-and-hair colored blur, then delved into his pocket for one of his high-protein breakfast bars. He usually put down about three of them every morning in addition to breakfast in order to keep his infernally fast metabolism sated. On his lazy days he ended up burning through 10,000 calories; most days, it was more in the vicinity of 15,000.

He bit into the bar, still walking along with Landon, who was no doubt fighting to get a word in edgewise, like always. Colby eyed Cain Montgomery suspiciously as the man headed past them, chewing his energy bar laboriously. When they were about thirty feet away, though, with Noctrem students flocking around the announcement, he grinned a chocolate stained smile at Landon and then… vanished. It seemed that way at least. If it weren’t for the gust that kicked up behind him, he might as well have. He was only gone for about two seconds. He blurred into the midst of the Noctrem kids, scanned the list until he found his name, frowned, took another bite of his breakfast bar, and then blurred back over to Landon to resume their walk at a more normal pace.

”Who the fuck is Drakethrean?” He asked, his brow knit up in not-at-all unfamiliar confusion. ”Did we get a new kid? I wonder if he’s hot, haha.” How the Hell was he supposed to remember a weird-ass name like that? He’d practically already forgotten it. He’d also forgotten, in typical self-absorbed fashion, to see who Landon was rooming with. Of course, he knew who Drake was. If the stupid paper had just said that, he would only have been confused by the fact that he was from Noctrem. Not recognizing his full name only compounded his lack of comprehension.

As he and Landon closed in on the group of students, he began looking for Sky. He finished unwrapping his energy bar and then ate it at super-speed, chewing and swallowing so quickly that the thing basically disappeared. He ran his tongue along his teeth in similar fashion to clean them off, then turned a bright smile on Landon. ”I’m not all like, chocolate mouth, right?” He glanced away, seeking out his best friend from Noctrem once more. His hair was very recognizable; the best hair in the school, really, so Colby looked for that. Colby had been jealous of Sky’s hair since day one. Even the most rigorous styling products didn’t hold up to moving at just shy of 400 M.P.H., so Colby was forced to wear his own hair short. Such a drag.

McKenna had woke up at four am and had taken a long walk through the woods. She resided outside the school, listening to nature as it awoke from its peaceful night slumber. But something else gets in the way of her enjoying natures sounds when she hears a bus screech and she sighs, the Noctrem students had arrived... A pit grew in McKenna's stomach and she began to feel extremely nervous. She didn't feel like being bullied, or pushed around... The Noctrem students scared her. Especially the girl students. They were like Mean Girls, on steroids... McKenna folds up her notebook, placing it in her bag and heading towards the cafeteria, she needed some food in her stomach. But something stopped her, the roommate listing. Some of the Noctrem, and also Arcana students had already begun to find their roommates, some pleased, others weren't.

"Do I dare look at it?" She asks herself, and bustles her way towards the front with Excuse me, Pardon me...

Her heart drops when she sees the name in bold print next to hers:

Room Five: McKenna Marinos and Jade Locke.

Oh dear... McKenna's eyes widen with terror and she backs up a bit, walking quickly to the cafeteria. Swinging open the cafeteria doors she begins to pile her plate with food -- for McKenna was a bit of a stress eater.

Four pancakes, three sausage links, a muffin, a bowl of fruit, and a cup of tea.

McKenna took her food outside and sat outside underneath a tree. She begins to eat and sighs, she pulls out the picture from the back of her notebook -- it was paper clipped to the very back page -- and unfolds it, the corners were slightly torn, the creases were worn in. She traced her mothers face with her finger, and then stared at the man, happily smiling, arms wrapped around her and she feels her smile fade a bit.

But she had almost no doubts in her mind that it was him... Her father... Maybe Aunt Lily had sent her here for that particular reason. She shakes her head, placing the picture down on her sketch pad and took a sip of her tea.

Maybe she should just keep this a secret for now... Everyone in Arcana was talking about it though, for the most part... Or at least had put some thought into it. She couldn't do that today though...Maybe later... Maybe never...

---

Addi was lost in thought when arms snaked around her waist and Drake's voice made its way to her conscious.

"Mornin' gorgeous," She heard him chuckle and she gives a small smirk, not even turning.

"Well, good morning to you, Drake."

"Nervous?" He asks, his warm breath dances across her neck and she got a little bit of chills, but she shook her head anyway.

Nervous? Of course she wasn't.... Okay, maybe a little. But the crush was juvenile. She knew he was just only curious, never consider dating her to say the least. She'd wanted Drake in her bed since sophomore year... Of course, her and Cor had already become close friends and had a few heavy petting scandals, so having heavy relations with both of the Quellen siblings might be a bit strange.

Without warning, Drake then snatched the cigarette from her, and took a long drag, claiming that since she drank his booze, he had the right to smoke her cigarettes. She chuckles softly, shaking her head, a few pieces of hair falling in her face. She plucks the cigarette from his hands as he took the second drag.

"Didn't mama ever tell you smoking was bad for your health?" She asks, her eyes floating to the side as she turns her head a slight bit towards his, a smirk flickers onto her lips. With a small wiggle of her hips she unlatches herself from Drake's grip and smiles at him with a small wink.

"I'll see ya around, Quellen." She grabs her luggage and flicks the butt of her cigarette then proceeds to walk inside to check the roommate schedule.

She clicks her tongue out of annoyance, "What is this bullshit?" She asks, "They're mixing us with those..." She shakes her head, not even finishing her sentence.

Ellie Carson.

The girl who could read minds. Fuck that... She lets out a sigh, she needed food, and coffee before she could possibly take on the day with all of Leo's brainwashed Goodies.

Working on Jade now.

Leo couldn't stop himself from smiling as the beautiful woman next to him rose up from underneath the duvet, baring her naked body to him without a care. "Good morning." He spoke, letting himself being pushed back down onto the bed, Amy leaning over the top of him. He couldn't say that he disliked the view in front of him, and for a brief moment, the male felt himself being taken back to the night before, where the woman had been practically in this position, her breasts bare and bouncing, the first time they had made love... He was however quickly brought back into the present, when the stunning woman spoke to him, asking him about sleep. "Not true. I slept a little last night, just... not as much as I probably should have." He smiled gently, bringing up his left hand to delicately brush away a strand of hair that was falling in front of her face. He had never been so happy before, never been in a position like this where he had cared about someone so much that he let them sleep next to him in his bed. Amy was the first woman that he had loved in two and a half thousand years, and he couldn't be happier about that fact.

He let his hand cup her cheek softly as she kissed him, smiling against her lips. Every little touch between them sparked electricity into the males hands, his lips, his heart. However, then, he watched her smile disappear, and he instantly knew that something was wrong. Something that she was going to tell him, and something that he was not going to like. Leo shifted slightly in the bed, raising himself up so that his head was resting against the headboard, her lips working on his jaw. He, however, didn't enjoy it as much as he should have. Instead, he was a little worried as to what Amy was going to say, and he could see that same feeling mimicked in her own eyes.

Yup, he didn't like what she had to say at all. The male closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as she began to speak about their relationship again. She just didn't understand; she didn't get his need to abide by all rules, and especially his own. How would he look in front of Cain, in front of everyone, when they found out that he was breaking his own rules. Leo shook his head, moving out of his position from underneath her, exiting the bed. "Really Amy?" He asked her, an exasperated tone taking over his voice. "You want to do this right now? After an amazing night, and before one of the most stressful days of my life in millenniums? Really?" He took up his mobile phone from the side, angrily pressing in the buttons, his fingers missing the keys every now and again. He really wasn't the most techno-savvy person in the world, and it took him a moment to find the send button, sending his text back to Cain.

You sir, are a grammatically challenged braggard. Yes, I know about the mistake, and I don't like it any more than you do.

Leo put his phone down on the side, and moved over to the main telephone in his room, the one that if when he pressed in a number of buttons, he was able to speak over the tannoys around the school. [u]"All students, please note that there is an assembly being held at ten o'clock in the main hall. Non-attendance will result in an immediate detention, and a loss of free periods."[/s] Then, he slammed the phone back down into it's holder, turning back to face Amy. "Look, we've got to get ready. We'll talk about this later." He sighed, before making his way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

---

[font=georgia]Erin had woken up with a bright smile on her face, unlike most of the other Noctrem students that morning. She was happy that they were leaving that god-damned motel, and moving into the Arcana Academy, a place they had been going to study for the past month or so anyway. She had no feelings about the "life long battle" or whatever that was supposed to be going on between the two academies, she didn't care about it at all. In fact, she had no qualms with any of the Arcana kids, minus ones that had offended her since her schooling life there had begun - she disliked more of the Noctrem students than those from Arcana. There was one thing on the girl's mind that morning, one thing that had the smile stuck on her face for all the world to see - and that was Keirol Rancora. The one boy who had ever wriggled his way into her heart, settling himself there for the rest of time.

As she stood there, looking into the mirror, the girl took in her appearance. The one thing that caught her eye however, was the glistening sword necklace around her neck - the one that Keirol had given her a few days prior. Her hand came up to aimlessly play with the pendant, turning it around in her fingers. The smile on her face was that of a girl in love, her eyes glazing over slightly as she went back in time to that moment on the hill. A sigh escaped her lips as she day-dreamed, still turning the locket over in her fingers. Then, a banging on her door broke her out of the trance, the girl snapping her head up quickly.

The quick movement had jolted Erin out of her daze, and into the reality of pain. Her head was throbbing as she walked towards the door, rubbing at her temple softly to try and rid herself of the drink-induced headache. Of course, Cor had been the one who had gotten her drunk, the one who had literally forced her to down her brother's bottle of vodka, despite the fact she despised the drink. She took in a few deep breaths before opening the door, before the whirlwind began. Cor had been there to shift her into gear, and within in the minute, the two girls were downstairs, shoving their bags into the bus and sitting down next to each other.

The bus journey to Arcana Academy had been another blur for Erin, letting her head loll softly on top of Cor's, slipping in and out of sleep. The headache was progressively getting worse, and somewhere deep down, she felt like slapping her best friend for forcing her to letting her drink so much. Soon, the bus was pulling to a stop, and the two girls were exiting, hand in hand, being one of the first to collect their bags. No-one really messed with Cor, and Erin was guilty due to association. She chuckled at the sarcasm in Cor's voice as they walked into the school, taking in a deep breath. She moved away from her blonde best friend, her eyes glancing over at the crowds of people beginning to swarm the reception. She was hoping to see Keirol, to pick him out of the crowd, but he didn't seem to be there. She spotted the speedy guy coming in to check the board, Colby, she believed his name was, and she witnessed the sickening sitaution between Drake and Addison. The girl physically grimaced as she looked upon the scene, before Cor's voice again hit her ears. Addi deserves so much better. She thought to herself, before turning around to see what had gotten her friend so het up.

There was a defnite reason, all right. As Erin's eyes scanned the list of roommates in front of her, her expression turned quizical, before turning angry. She wasn't "angry angry", but she was definitely irritated. "What the fuck?" She repeated Cor's words, her mouth hanging open slightly as she realized that the two schools had been mixed. "We're not rooming together? Well, this just turns everything on it's fucking head, doesn't it?" She sighed loudly. When she found her name, and saw that she was rooming with Loralei Evans, the gypsy girl, she shrugged. "I don't mind. It's better than say... rooming with darling little Lulu or sickly sweet Ashleigh." Erin forced a laugh, but it soon turned to a real one when she saw who Jay was rooming with. "Oh, c'mon, it's not that bad." She put her arm around her friend's shoulders, sarcasm lacing every word that escaped her lips. "Come on, they may even... become friends?" Then, the girl burst out laughing, turning to apologize to her friend "Oh, I'm sorry Cor. That's just... oh, that's going to make your life fun." She grinned.

"So," Erin spoke, the grin once again evident on her face, turning to face Cor, "what shall we do until this stupid assembly?"

---

Tears fell softly onto the bed as Jackson stood there, holding his precious baby daughter in his hands. She was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen, the one thing that shined so brightly in his life. Holly Millicent Murphy, a little girl with a head of soft brunette locks, and the most beautiful blue eyes in the entirety of the world, inherited from her mother. Jack slowly looked up, looking over at his girlfriend, smiling with largest smile ever at her. She looked so weak, so tired, but so beautiful. He moved over to sit next to her, holding Holly in one arm, and wrapping his other around Beth. The two of them looked down at the life they had created, their smiles never falling from their faces.

However, the scene soon changed. The room turned dark, and Jackson snapped his head up, the smile falling from his face, wondering what was going on. He wasn't in the hospital any more, he was in Beth's bedroom, still in that same position, his arm wrapped around Beth, however, Holly was in her arms this time. Tears were falling down his face, but he couldn't move his lips to ask her what was wrong. He knew something bad was going to happen, something terrible, but he just couldn't think as to what it could be. Then, his daughter stopped moving. She turned a horrible shade of grey, loosing all colour in her skin, but Jackson couldn't move. All he could hear was Beth screaming, tears falling down his own face landing on his daughter's pale face. They were then in a car, him holding Holly. She was cold, and she wasn't moving; all Jack wanted to do was to touch his daughter properly, to hold her close, hug her and kiss her, but he just couldn't move. He couldn't do anything as they arrived at the hospital, and Holly was taken out of his arms. The same word was then repeated over and over again, resounding in the male's ears.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead!

Jack's eyes snapped open, and he flung up in his bed. His breath was hard and ragged, his heart pounding at a thousand miles an hour. He hadn't had a dream about Holly and Beth for a number of months, and it took him a moment to realize why his past was coming back to haunt him once again. Beth Phillips was now a student here, or had been for the past month - and he hadn't noticed. He had only wondered about her being a student at Arcana when he had heard her name floating around in the corridors. He couldn't believe that she was here, coming back into his life, in such a place as his school. It wasn't as if he didn't want her here... well, that might not be in the case. He didn't want his ex girlfriend, and the mother of his dead child here... but there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it, was there?

He spent a maximum of ten minutes in the shower, letting the warm water wash away all of the sweat and worries from his dream. It didn't take him long to get dressed or ready either, wearing this plain, yet smart outfit, smelling like his favourite cologne, his hair styled in his usual damp mess. He wasn't much of a conformer, but he had decided to go down to the reception hall anyways this morning, to look at the roommate list that had been posted up. Just after he had left his room, he received a text. Pulling out his iPhone, Jack checked his messages, smiling as he saw Lulu's name appearing. The male made his way down to the reception hall, instantly spotting the blonde that had been his best friend through the hardest times in his life.

Instead of going to check his new roommate, he made a beeline for Lulu, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, a bright smile on his face as he pressed his lips to her hair, a soft, friendly peck. "I'm here." He grinned, moving so that he was now standing in front of her, pulling her into a proper hug this time[u]. "It's great to see you again, Lu."

Scott Martin Andrews

“Room 6” Scott kept repeating to himself, he had almost forgot his own room number.

There was a map at the entrance, but Scott didn’t pay interest to the map, but the scrap of paper that resulted on who he would be living with. Because of his terrible memory, he found himself walking around the school looking for the dorms. There were so many places that Scott felt tempted to go too. There was a gym-room, which Scott would probably spend half of his free-time in. They had there own swimming pool, which he had to admit looked really cool. He made his way to the second floor, and without even having to consider, he knew immediately that the dorms were here. He followed the numbers until he reached 6. Beside his room were 5 and 7, and if he could recall, Corentine was in room 7. Scott stood still, imagining him late at night, making his way to her room so that they could do there “daily routine.” Scott shook his head and entered his room laughing. It was better then he had expected.

There were two large queen bed’s that sat beside each other. There was two thick mirrors that hovered above each bed. Scott as himself, started to flex his muscles at his reflection. One bed was already occupied with stuff, such as books and clothes and he already knew that was Izzy’s. There was a closet that was big enough to live in and a washroom that was amazing. Scott moved his bed closer to the window. He begins to recklessly scattering his things almost everywhere maybe just to piss of Izzy but Scott wanted to go and eat, he was starving. The speakers began to buzz and a teacher begins to speak. An assembly at 10? Scott turned toward the clock and It was already 8:30. He wanted to fit in a good hour of working out before the assembly. Scott left the rest of his things on his bed and opens up his phone because he had received a message.

He mumbled her name under his breath.

Did you just ignore me Mr. Andrews? ;) I’m in room 17, come find me! I’ve missed you!
-Freyxo

For a moment Scott’s heart had dropped. Stupid, Why didn’t you make your move? He kept telling himself. You should have made your way over to her when you had the chance. Scott frowned, his mind still continued to torment him. He replied as fast as he could. He was going to kiss her, it was time for him to profess his love for Freya either way.

I‘ll be heading your way
-Scotty

Room 17 was all the way at the end of the hall, and it looked like no one was here except for Scott himself so he made his way down to the first floor where everyone was. Everyone was still outside, crowding the small piece of paper that hangs on the entrance. Frey was still outside too, she was chatting with Ashleigh, who is probably her room-mate. Scott moved closer and closer to both of them but then finally something took over. He grabbed Freya by the waist, spinning her around. Without even the consideration that both of them were talking, Scott didn’t care, he wanted to kiss Frey and he did so. Without hesitation, Scott kisses Frey. He carefully pushes her strangling blond streaks of hair behind her ear and presses his lips on top of hers once more, his face still an itch away from hers.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for such a long time” He says in a low whisper. As awkward as it is, Ash was still right there. Scott took a step back but still held onto Frey’s hand.
“Right so I’m going to let you guy’s go back to what you were doing, I’ll see you both at the assembly.” He lets go of her hand and shoots out a playful smirk and quickly runs off back inside.

Lulu had thought herself to be one of the first in the reception hall but within minutes the place was swarming with students. Standing slightly aside, she slid her hoodie from her head, her blond hair frizzing slightly on top. Unzipping it, she revealed her outfit. She moved to smooth her hair, watching people from the corner of the room. Corentine and Erin were reading the list of roommates, with Erin cursing and rolling her eyes at the fact that they weren’t together. It didn’t please her either that she would not longer be in a single room as she had been in Noctrem, not entirely about privacy but more so about what she would likely bring with her and thus upon Alli.

The blond student was so focused on other people, she didn’t hear her friend approach her from behind. The moment Jack’s hands wrapped around her waist she tensed, her shoulders tucking into her neck and her hands immediately flying to grab his. Her toes curled in her shoes until she felt his gentle peck on the crown of her hair. "I'm here!" Jack announced. Lulu couldn’t help but smile. Her long time best friend moved to hug her properly, which of course she did. "It's great to see you again, Lu," he told her. Lulu looked at him in the eyes, seeing the tired quality to his face.

“You look as tired as I do!” she commented, rubbing a thumb on his chin while she pursed her lips. “We’ll be insomniacs together!”

As she moved, watching another girl crash into Drake – he really was a magnet for those kinds of people wasn’t he – Arcana’s headmaster suddenly made an announcement via the PA. “All students, please note that there is an assembly being held at ten o'clock in the main hall. Non-attendance will result in an immediate detention, and a loss of free periods.”

“Is it me or does he sound a little peeved?” Lulu wondered aloud, her eyebrows momentarily creasing before she shrugged away her concern. So long as Leo was agreeable when she dropped in on his office hours, she wouldn’t pick away at him. He was old and irritated, concerned with Cain – as he had expressed to her before. Lulu’s eyes wandered back over to her mentor momentarily to see him smirking at his phone. Lingering cigarette smoke made the air thick around him. She didn’t care for that part of him but he was one of the only teachers capable of really pushing her to excel, to push her powers. Unfortunately she wondered if he noticed how hungover she looked from it, their session yesterday having run rather late. Lulu could feel the heaviness in her shoulders and a tired quality to her eyes. No doubt they were bloodshot. Her head spun when she turned around too quickly to try and locate where the main hall was or where she had to go to get there. Lulu reached out to grab Jack’s shoulder. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Power hangover. Some caffeine may help,” she explained, knowing he would understand.

Jessica was glad that Morgan had returned the hug; they had only known each other for a month, but Morgan was friendly to her and she seemed like a good laugh, even if she was from Arcana. Jess suspected she was going to get on very well with the Noctrem lot simply because she enjoyed a good party.

She was also glad that Morgan was almost as excited as she was about them becoming room mates. She didn't seem the slightest bit nervous, which was a good thing. A pang of worry hit Jess as Morgan led them to her room What if I'm mean to her when I'm angry? Jess decided she'd try not to be, at all costs. Even if it meant going to find Drake or one of the wind merchants around here. She couldn't hurt the friends she'd made here. At least not intentionally.

Morgan's room had the distinct 'lived in' feel that made Jess smile. She was glad that Morgan wasn't an OCD type. That would have driven her insane. 'I believe we're going to get along just fine dear.' She told her new roomie, as she plonked her stuff down on th- her bed. The room itself was plain but also quite light and airy. To match the students Jess thought comically, smiling at the thought. She was awestruck by the idea she now had a double bed o herself. It was almost a god send after spending so long in that crappy motel.

She saw Morgan smile at her phone as it buzzed with a message, and send a reply back. Jess wondered briefly who it was from. A crush perhaps? But she didn't dwell on it too long. Morgan would tell her in time, she assumed as she began to unpack her things.
Her attention was immediately brought crashing back down to earth when Morgan starting asking about her crushes, and was sat there expectantly waiting for an answer, promising gossip from Ali if she told her. The look of shock that had just entered the young woman face quickly turned into a small smile of disbelief.

'Oh Mo, can I call you that?' She asked quizzically before continuing ' You're so eager for information!' She sighed in mock exasperation before smiling again. 'I wouldn't say I have crushes, just... people I'm really close to.' She smiled wickedly as she put her socks in one of the draws and looked back at Mo. She studied the girl for a second. Her smile was there and she seemed eager... but there was something in her eyes that didn't seem quite right...she didn't seem totally happy.

Mr Marino's voice came over the speakers, making Jess jump out of her skin a little. Apparently there was going to be an assembly. Well that was going to go extremely well. Jess sighed exasperately 'Marino's really does think this is going to work, huh?' She stated to her room mate whilst hanging her clothes up in the closet next to her bed, 'Silly man.' She added.

Jess's mind wandered to Mckenna, her best friend. She hadn't seen her in the reception hall on the arrival. Jess was pretty sure that she would have known about it if Mckenna was around. She'd have been defiantly wrestled to the floor by now. She quickly whipped out her phone, holding it in one hand whilst absent mindedly holiding her tooth brush in other and sent her a quick text.

Hey smellybum! Was pretty disappointed that I didn't get glomped on my way into the school! :p Hope you're okay! Assembly's at ten, I'll see you there? Jess xx

Smiling at the thought of getting a reply from her best friend; Jess headed for the bathroom to put her tooth brush down.



Ashy waited expectantly in the reception area for Freya to arrive. She didn't have anything bad to say about the pairing she decided, Freya was nice enough and Ashy could have done a whole lot worse.

Finally, Freya's blonde hair bobbed over the crowd. Ashy stood back. She decided that she would wait for Freya to come to her, so as to seem too eager to the girl from Noctrem. She saw that Freya was on her phone, Properly making arrangements Ashy thought to herself. She wasn't surprised. The Noctrem lot where known partiers and it wouldn't be a total shock if they wreaked some havoc on the first night that they stayed here.

Ashy smiled as Freya told her it was good to see her. The girl had a way with conversation, Ashy had to give her that.
'it's good to see you too fre-' She started before Scott appeared out of nowhere and kissed Freya square on the lips. Well this was awkward. Ashy scanned the room to see who else had arrived. Is he here yet? She thought to herself, thinking about Ben. The only guy in the entire world that she was happy to listen to for hours and hours on end. She enjoyed his singing and she most certainly enjoyed his quirky side. She gave a small smile at the thought.

Ashy's train of thought was quickly interrupted by Scott breaking his kiss from Freya and addressing the two of them. 'Erm... see you later Scott' She said quietly, shuffling her feet awkwardly and feeling significantly like a third wheel. Suddenly, Ashy felt arms being snaked around her and heard Zac's excited voice coming from behind her. She turned around to face him, a mock disgruntled look on her face.

'You know it's very rude to butt into a conversation' She said, smiling at him before turning back to Freya. 'Zac, you remember Freya? we're roomates now' She told one the other closest guys her life, before he quickly told her he had to go and rushed off. Leaving Ashy smiling stupidly after him, he made her laugh in a way only a few people had, it was quite refreshing.

She turned back to Freya 'Sorry about him, he's a lunatic... especially when he's with me' She said shyly, before continuing, 'So um, assembly's soon, did you want to show to your room now or later?'

As soon as Leo shook his head, Amy knew this was going to be an argument instead of a quiet conversation. Every relationship had its ups and downs, right? And as she constantly had to remind herself; the best things in life always took a ton of work. Leo was the best things that had ever happened to her, but also the most difficult, so she most definitely experienced that saying in person as it was. When he got out of bed, however, she blinked a couple of times moving into sitting cross-legged, pulling the covers up around her; without his warmth, the room was getting a little chilly. His tone bothered her a little, honestly. She knew he had a point, and if it hadn’t been for the dream, Amy wouldn’t have done this now, but it was a fundamental worry to her; that the secret would drive a wedge between them. She hated that she couldn’t show how much she loved him, even just with a look, when others were around. She’d been hiding her feelings for him, for the last many years, and she hated having to hide them still now that they were actually together.

His tone, however, was one you’d take with a difficult child, and though Amy was much, much younger than Leo, she was no child, and she’d be damned if she’d let him talk to her like she was. “Yes, tha-“ she began replying to his exasperated words, but she paused, her mouth falling open when he picked up his phone and began typing. Was he texting? Seriously? While she was trying to talk to him? She was so shocked, she didn’t even know how to react right now. She blinked several times, taking in the sight. That was just not okay. Not even a little. Where the hell did he get off texting when she was talking to him? That was not only inconsiderate, but also completely disrespectful. Hell, it wasn’t like Leo at all. Then again, they’d never really argued before, and she could tell that was where this was headed. Especially since she was growing extremely aggravated with him.

She merely watched as Leo, letting anger slip through his voice, went to make a public announcement. Now, that she could understand. The texting, however, not so much. Mostly because she felt certain – due to Leo’s irritated reacted – it’d been Cain gloating about the room-situation. She could just see a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he pressed send. That man. She winced in slight shock when Leo slammed the phone back down. Truthfully he scared her a little when he was angry, but she wasn’t going to let that hold her back. She was just as angry, so he could pack that shit away, is what he could! She narrowed her eyes when he turned back only to practically dismiss her, and went into his bathroom, actually shutting the door on her. Her lips fell apart again. Who was this man?! Ugh, so damned moody! But no. No way. Not with her. He didn’t get to shut her out. Amy scooted out of bed, grabbing a short silk robe from her overnight bag practically living in Leo’s bedroom. He’d offered her some closet-space, but she hadn’t yet wanted to push herself in too much. Mostly because Leo was so… well, new to relationships and she didn’t want to over-do it this early.

She quickly slipped on the robe, tying it around her slight form and stalked right into the bathroom, irritation drawn clearly on the face, her eyes slightly narrowed. She slammed the door behind her. “You know what, Leonardo Marinos?” She snapped, “I have taken a lot of shit in my life. You should know that. And I’ll be damned if I’m taking any from you!” She stepped over to him, crossing her arms under her breasts as she glared at him. “Firstly,” she began, “don’t you ever dare talk to me like I’m some difficult child, ever again. If you’d asked, I would have told you why I felt the need to bring this up today, but you didn’t. Nope, you resorted to this.” She spread her arms, indicating the situation they were in. “Secondly, sir, next time I talk to you, there will be no texting. It’s inconsiderate and completely disrespectful. You listen, because that’s what you do in a relationship. You communicate and listen to each other. If you don’t, things fall apart, and I refuse to let you slip away because you’re a stubborn old man.”

Amy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It didn’t work, though, so she continued, getting it all out. “I don’t care how stressed or worried you are about the day to come – I assume that’s the only reason you reacted so poorly – I do not, and will never, tolerate you treating me like this. I deserve better, and you know it.” She shook her head, sighing as she finally fell down from her anger-high, now just feeling sort of hurt as she looked at him. “The way I see it, the only reason you want to keep us a secret, is because of your pride.” Her eyes dropped to the ground, her arms hanging limply as her sides, with the thought. It was so true, wasn’t it? And she couldn’t help but think; is his pride more important to him than me?

Noctrem’s ex-headmaster was still looking delightedly smug when his phone vibrated. He finished off the last of his Irish coffee as he pulled the device from his pocket and toggled to his messages. Reading Leo’s reply, he snorted and began composing as he walked toward the cafeteria.

It’s “braggart”, you anachronistic ponce.

He slid his phone away, suspecting there would be no further texts from their illustrious headmaster that morning. He was frankly amazed that Leo had given him his phone number in the first place. It took all the fun out of getting his hands on it unconventionally and then prank-calling him, sadly.

He headed into the cafeteria fully intending to breeze in and out before there was a chance of his getting caught up in any trifling conversations. He grabbed a large blueberry muffin, an orange, and after surveying his options for a few more seconds, several pieces of bacon wrapped in some napkins. He wasn’t staying in the large eating area; that would have been like an invitation for people to intrude on his rare good mood and ruin it with their tedious comings and goings. Juggling the food items that he’d selected so far a bit, he managed to twist the top of his travel mug off. He refilled it, leaving about two ounces unaccounted for, and didn’t bother adding cream or sugar.

The orange went into one of his pockets, along with the bacon. The muffin seemed like it might explode into crumbs with the slightest provocation, so he wasn’t taking any chances. He beat a hasty retreat, quick-stepping out of the caf and then turning to head toward the classroom he made use of for Power Control. He was still very sore that Leo hadn’t managed to provide him with his own office, and as such was completely boycotting the “teacher’s workroom”, which might as well have had cubicles and Scott Adams cartoons to complete its utter lack of charm.

If he passed by any students on his escape, he had a perfectly crafted scowl at the ready for derailing any attempts at socialization. He needed solitude, so that he could think. The implications of the students being mixed were staggering. He had to wonder if Leo really had known about the list. If he had, why hadn’t he done anything to change it? It would have taken Cain all of ten seconds to correct the error. Did the immortal actually want the kids mixed? He had to, at least subconsciously. Otherwise he would have been unable to rationalize leaving it as it was. He apparently had time to exchange snarky texts, so he obviously had time to hand-write out a bunch of pairs of brats.

He shifted his coffee into the crook of his arm and fumbled in his non-food-carrying pocket for his keys. He kept the classroom locked for a variety of reasons, not least of which was the bottle of Maker’s Mark that he kept in his desk. He wouldn’t have put it past the little bastards to steal it, but really, half of them could have gotten into a locked room and a locked desk anyway. Oh well. As long as it was still there, he wouldn’t have to launch an inquisition.

He kept the lights off, preferring dimness, and used his hidden bottle of booze to top off his coffee before securing it in the drawer once more. He laid out his breakfast on the large desk, unwrapping the bacon and chewing on a piece as he pulled open yet another drawer. This one contained weeks and weeks worth of trash tabloid and celebrity magazines, and after rifling through them, he selected a copy of Life & Style.

Leaning back in his seat, he kicked his feet up on the desk. His pant legs rode up a little bit, exposing the clunky looking monitoring device that was affixed with some sort of space-age strapping to his left ankle. Eyeing the blinking green light on it crossly, he shifted so that his food was in reach and flipped open to a random page in the trashy magazine. He’d alternate between bits of this or that and sips of coffee, saving the messy orange for last, and read about Katy Perry and John Mayer. An announcement from Leo about an assembly intruded on his not-so-guilty pleasure, and he sighed, eyeing the clock on the wall.

---

He’s not new, just drop the ‘ethrean’.

Landon’s explanation helped not at all. It really only made matters worse. The exact spelling of the name he’d seen next to his had already slipped away from him, and he had to wonder, briefly, if Landon had gone nerd on him and started speaking in some kind of weird Middle Earth language. Drop the ethrean, drop the ethrean. He repeated the phrase over and over in his mind.

The riddle went unsolved. Landon had taken it upon himself to fix up Colby’s lips, wiping at the corner of the speedster’s mouth with a saliva-wet thumb. Colby didn’t mind at all. Landon’s saliva was very familiar to him, and he secretly enjoyed the way his ex-boyfriend/bestie was always looking out for him, motherly or otherwise. He wound up blinking when Landon just wandered off toward the list. Only then did it occur to him that he could have checked to see who was rooming with Lando, or Sky. Oh well, he’d figure it out eventually. Landon’s just abandoning him didn’t bother him; he’d actually been doing that more and more lately, but nothing had changed when they did hang out, so he wasn’t worried. Whenever he asked Landon where he’d gone off to, the response was always running, which… whatever, really. Just because he didn’t have any secrets didn’t mean his friends weren’t entitled to them.

Speaking of Sky, there he was. He was looking for… oh, him! Their eyes would wind up meeting, and there was another blast of displaced air as he sped on over to the shorter boy, wearing a big dopey grin as he came to a halt. He held his hands out, a silent offer to help the pyrokinetic sex-pot with his luggage. About, oh, a second or so later he just dove into conversation.

”Did you see who you’re staying with yet? I’m so totally bummed it’s not me, but like, at least we’re in the same place now, haha. I think my roommate is like, an elf or something. Drakka-whatever. Seriously, it’s like… something out of the Lord of the Rings, haha.” It should be noted that Colby didn’t really have an “inside voice”, and that Drake might very well have heard Redline’s assessment of his name if he happened to be passing by or within, say, twenty feet? Sky would, of course, have difficulty getting even a syllable in until Colby was finished. ”Hopefully neither of us get stuck with prudes. Drake-whatever- OH! DRAKE! Wait. He’s from Noctrem. Why am I roomed with someone from Noctrem? Ugh, his sister is such a bitch-skank. Well, he’s hot at least.” He started looking around for the shadow-manipulator. ”I bet-“

Sky would never find out what Colby would have bet. The announcement came over the loudspeaker. Mr. Marinos’ voice never failed to captivate Colby, and he fell silent (which almost never happened) to listen to the message. News of a mandatory assembly completely disrupted his frenetic train of thought. His idol and crush sounded pissed. Maybe the roommate thing was some kind of mistake, and they’d straighten it out at the assembly? That gave him a little hope for scoring a more preferred roomie, but when his mind went back to the living arrangements, he renewed his verbal assault on Sky.

”We should get you settled in and stuff, haha. Maybe there’ll be time to head back to my room.” His eyebrows waggled; Sky probably already knew what heading to Colby’s room meant, but the eyebrow waggling would erase any doubts. His gaze panned over the students who were buzzing around the roommate list and he spotted Landon again, standing all by himself, like he was waiting for a bus or something. ”Dude!” he called, but then stopped. What if Sky and Landon were roommates? He was somewhat aware of some hints of jealousy, mostly from Sky, regarding the two of them. For some reason, he got a really weird, bad feeling in his chest when he considered the two of them sharing living arrangements. They were both so different, but he cared about each of them way more than he was capable of expressing with his limited vocabulary and discomfort when it came to emotions.

It would all work out, he decided. It always did. They were both just friends anyway. Nothing to worry about, right? Besides, Sky had no right to be jealous. He was having sex with like, one out of every five girls in the school, it seemed like. Colby’s nose scrunched up as he thought of that. He’d grossed himself out. Shaking his head, he realized he’d kind of just been standing there not saying anything and blinked, trying to catch up with whatever Sky had started saying to him.

---

He heard quick-moving footsteps behind him and tensed; it was only Zac, false alarm. He arched a skeptical eyebrow at the other boy when he laughed and made light of the enormous duffel bag. It really was heavy. The strap of it was cutting very painfully into his shoulder, and he had brief thoughts of tossing it to him. The duffel, nearly as tall as he was and packed with everything that Theo owned, probably would have slammed Zac into the wall. That urge passed pretty quickly; instead he just shrugged, and nodded once they reached their room.

Of course, upon entering, he realized that it was actually Zac’s room. He was just a going to be taking up the extra bed. His eyes fell on the stand of drums and some arcane muscle in his left cheek, an inch or so below his eye, began to twitch. Perhaps Zac was not the best roommate after all. There were very few things that Theo could tolerate less than amateur musicians, and his understanding of that particular subculture was that drummers were the worst of the lot. His lips pressed together into an extremely thin smile as his eyes neatly quartered off the room, inspecting every inch of it. The muscle-spasm stopped a few seconds after it started, when the announcement about the assembly came on and he dutifully listened to it. He respected Marinos, the teacher, not the girl, and was curious enough about what the convocation would entail that his facial tic died away. When it was over and Zac said his piece, Theo said a single word: ”Thanks”.

He’d let Zac decide what precisely he was thanking him for. It could ostensibly be showing him to the room (which he could have found on his own). Or it could have been accepting him into the room (which he actually had no choice about). It could even have been for clearance to do what he wanted (Zac would not have liked what he wanted to do very much at all). Theo wasn’t really thanking him for anything. He was possessed of no gratitude whatsoever, at least in his current situation, but it seemed like the socially appropriate thing to say. He liked Zac well enough, but that had been when they’d only shared a few classes. Being thrust into living together would no doubt change things, but it would be better if they could get along. It wouldn’t be easy, but Theo actually did want them to have an amicable relationship, if only because anything else would probably have involved even more effort on his part.

”See you later,” he added as an afterthought when Zac took off to eat. He would, after all. It was inevitable. He’d see this boy every single day for the rest of his time at Arcana. He definitely needed to work a little harder at not disliking him as much as the drums made him want to.

He heaved his duffel onto the newer looking of the two beds, which he presumed was his. He’d contemplated heaving it into the drum kit instead, but… that would have been very noisy and troublesome, however satisfying. Rubbing at his shoulder, he moved to close and lock the door, and then settled his backpack down on the desk that was opposite his bed. He returned to the duffel bag and fought to unzip it. He’d brought all his cunning and organizational skills to bear on fitting every single article of clothing, book, and other miscellaneous item that he owned into the thing, and it was just a solid, tubular mass after being hung off his shoulder for the walk. He tugged and jerked until he’d finally managed to get the duffel open. He proceeded to somewhat solemnly pull out the neatly folded shirts, pants, and shorts, spreading them out in tidy piles on the mattress in order to decide how best to store them. Some wound up in drawers, others on hangers. It didn’t take very long, mostly because he’d managed to maintain some semblance of order with his insanely methodical packing process.

Socks and boxers wound up in his top drawer, the former balled into pairs and the latter neatly folded in half. Unlike many teenage boys, Theo did not own a single pair of comically printed underwear. His were all solid colors and extremely unflattering. He only had two extra pairs of shoes, some rundown sneakers and a pair of nice shoes that Scott had bought him for his last birthday that he’d never actually had occasion to wear. Those went on the floor of the closet.

Next came electronics. He settled his laptop on the desk and plugged in his power strip, then went about connecting a few wires. Beside that was the most expensive thing he’d ever actually bought himself: a 22 inch flat screen monitor, which he used for watching movies. He connected the single cable that would allow the video feed to transmit to the larger, high definition screen, and then set up the pair of decent-but-unremarkable speakers he’d obtained for the same purpose. Last of all were his clunky, noise-cancelling headphones. He was going to really value that descriptor by the end of the week, he realized.

He booted up the computer, his fingers flashing over the keys with terrifying speed to check his email and start up a few torrents. Hatchet 2, The Cabin in the Woods[i], and [i]Martha Marcy May Marlene. He liked having options, and by the end of the day, he suspected he’d very much need to unwind with some horror. His thoughts strayed briefly to Jade, to Drake, to Jaysin. Maybe if he was feeling sociable he’d see if one or more of them wanted to join him. Or maybe he could bond with Zac over a scary movie. They could argue about the schlockiness of Hatchet 2 easily enough, or the meta-horror-comedy elements of The Cabin in the Woods. Maybe that would be the key to their successful cohabitation: arguing. He did enjoy taking Zac on in Philosophy.

Once his downloads were underway he finished up. There were his school books and supplies, which found their ways to shelves or drawers respectively. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, the book he was slowly working his way through when he didn’t just feel like dreaming, ended up on his night stand, along with his very basic alarm clock and the charger for his phone. He plugged both in, checked his phone in order to set the blinking red 12:00 12:00 12:00 of the alarm clock to the current time. After that, there was nothing more to do than roll up the empty duffel bag and stow it in the closet.

He didn’t have any truly personal effects. Some of the content of his laptop’s hardrive might qualify, but that was as close as he came. No posters, no knick-knacks or tchotchkes, no photographs framed or otherwise. If it weren’t for his desk and school books, Zac might have wandered in later and thought Theo had decided to move into a broom closet instead. There was absolutely nothing he owned that would give any insight into who he was save for the single pair of shoes that he’d probably never wear. Even then, the meaning behind them would probably be lost on anyone who thought to question their existence. Everything else was utilitarian in nature, things that he used every day.

Unpacking hadn’t taken him very long at all. He hazarded a glance toward the locked door of the room. Did he want to go get breakfast too? Trying to recall the last time he’d eaten proved as useless as ever. His naps and dreaming made time blur together, and so he resorted to patting his flat stomach to see how angry it seemed with him. Mildly, it turned out. He forged a quick plan: light breakfast, running, a quick shower, and then the assembly. He pulled open the drawer he’d assigned his athletic wear too and briskly changed into a pair of meshy black shorts and a white tanktop, which he pulled his t-shirt back over. He trod to the closet, switching out his school sneakers for his running sneakers, and stooped to lace them up tight. He gave one last look around the room, then headed out.

Sighing, he unlocked the door and made his way into the hall, then toward the cafeteria.

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.”

If I add more Propanoic acid to my pills, maybe possibly they might be stronger Spencer mumbled to himself. His headache was only getting worse and his body was getting used to the pills that he made. He needed to sleep, and for a long time. He was still looking for Jackson, but he gave up. He'll find his room by himself. After how, he already memorized the map. From the corner of his eye, he saw Alli being carried by Morgan and Zac. Maybe she that controlling of her body as most of think.. As Spencer thought that, he felt a sting of disappointment. As if his expectations of her were high. That's not very likely, He thought, I never expect too much of someone, only myself.. With that thought he tried to get her out of his head, and there were enough topics for that to happen easily. Such as, finding his room, setting up his lab, science, world domination and so forth.

Sparky! Spencer yelled. The little robot scurried to his master's side as fast as his little wheels could carry him. Take my things to room twelve. Now. he told the little thing. The robot just stood there. Spencer raised an eye as if saying "What?". Then the little robot took as a little robotic hand and held it out, as if asking for a tip. Alright, alright, remind me to reprogram you without any sass. he said as he threw a half-dollar coin. Sparky caught it and quickly went to put Spencer's luggage in his room. Spencer sighed, why must he always have a stupid glitch with his inventions. This morning it was the alarm clock, now Sparky. Well they weren't glitches, he actually programmed them like that. Spencer just always regrets it later.

All students, please note that there is an assembly being held at ten o'clock in the main hall. Non-attendance will result in an immediate detention, and a loss of free periods., thundered all over the school. Spencer groaned. There goes the only chance he had of getting rid of his headache by sleeping. Maybe he should just skip the assembly to sleep, then he would have detention to sleep some more. The thought was getting better and better, but he will mull it over some more. He started to walk, maybe find a nice spot to take a nap or something, when he felt a thud against his chest.

He looked down and was about to get angry at the idiot who wasn't looking were they where going until he saw that it was Bethany. He could never mouth off a lady, his mama taught him better. Especially since it was Bethany. Spencer was about to offer her his hand as help, but she already got up. My apologies, Spencer, I didn't mean to bump into you. I just was being idiotic and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. she said. Spencer was a bit stunned you could say. She already knew what he was thinking without even being a mind reader. Then Bethany quickly added, Pleasant to see you again, Mr.Jerem.. Good Morning Ma'am. How are you? Spencer politely said to her. They were absolute moments when he adored this girl and that made him very angry. So Spencer was trying to be as neutral and polite as possible, but even that wasn't normal for him. There was something different in the way he spoke to her, although he doubted she noticed. Something caring, maybe even soft.

Leo wasn't entirely sure why he had gotten so angry with Amy's comment, but he just was. He couldn't believe that it had been one of the first things out of her mouth since waking up - did she want to start an argument up so soon after rising? Did she instantly want to piss him off, to make him angry so early in the morning? The male was all ready extremely stressed out, angered from the text from Cain, and worried about his students, and now on top of that, he had to deal with an irritated girlfriend, who wanted their relationship to go public? She knew he didn't like talking about it, and she thought now would be the best time? The immortal gently ran his hand through his hair, a long sigh escaping his lips. He knew he wouldn't have long on his own, to calm himself down, and he was sure that she was going to be in the bathroom any moment now.

And he was right.

Within a minute, Amy was barging through the bathroom door, the male having to quickly jump out of the way to avoid being smacked in the face by the door's momentum. Okay, she was pissed. Her short little dressing gown was moving with every one of her movements, showing off her beautiful skin; however, Leo's mind wasn't on that any more. His eyes flitted there, yes, but his main focus was on her face, returning her angry glare. The slam of the door resounded around the apartment, echoing down the hall, most likely. He moved as she spoke, grabbing a towel from his towel rack, wrapping it around his bare waist, keeping his own private area covered. His arms then moved to mimic her own movements, raising his chin up slightly, authoritatively. Soon, she was coming to the end of her rant, and his arms fell down to his sides, sighing in regret.

"I'm sorry, baby." He spoke quietly, moving forward to gently entwine his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand lightly when he had done so. "I didn't mean to react so badly. I just... I don't know what to even think right now, okay?" With his other hand, he delicately lifted her head up by her chin, bringing her gaze back to his. "You do deserve better, I know you do, and I hope you can forgive me for snapping." Leo brought his head down to her height, pressing his lips to her forehead in a soft kiss. "I know you want to make our relationship public, but with everything going on right now, I just... I can't see it going down well. It's nothing to do with pride, but more to do with... teaching. If I break my own rules, how will the other teachers, and students see it? I know it's not the best reason for holding back but... it's my reason." He shook her head softly, pulling her slowly into his arms, holding her close to his chest, his hand resting on the back of her head now.

As he held her there, a soft smile came onto his face, and he moved his head back ever so slightly, looking into her eyes with a playful glint appearing in them. "Did you call me a stubborn old man?"

---

Posting for Jackson/(Ellie if needed) tomorrow :D

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.

Elijah stopped walking and he looked around the school grounds. His greyish-blue eyes took in with contentment, every detail he can come across. It was still dark but he didn’t care that he actually had to squint a little in order to see things clearer. He loved taking walks every morning. He would start the trek from his room going towards the school grounds and then normally continuing the rest on the forest nearby, somewhat walking aimlessly until he get tired. Sometimes he even met with Ashy especially when he would wake later than usual.

Today was different though. Despite all his preparations the past few days, Elijah was still edgy with this particular day. Mr. Marinos had informed them beforehand that they needed to share rooms with other students. Due to a misfortunate incident where Noctrem Academy had been set to fire, Mr. Montgomery along with his students was forced to take temporary refuge in Arcana. They had been staying here for the past months; at least until their school was rebuilt again- that was what he had gathered from others, and he was still not that comfortable with the current situation. What had happened to Noctrem Academy was very saddening. Nobody knew who the perpetrator was. But according to the gossips floating around the campus it was during the middle of the night when someone had started fire on the said campus. This fire had caused the death of a teacher and two of the students. It was devastating. No matter how many disturbing things he had heard about the school’s reputation, Elijah would not dare wish ill to anyone else. He hoped that they would be able to rebuild the school and find the suspect as soon as they could.

Because of the increase in numbers, both in students and faculty members, he figured that Arcana Academy was bound to be busier. Which was why he found himself taking his routinely walk earlier than what was usual. He remembered cleaning every corners of his room until he finally decided that it was acceptable enough for the arrival of his roommate-to-be. Elijah was not a slob or anything near of sorts but he had spent the last few days cleaning his room. In between attending classes and teaching at the nearest orphanage; he had boxed some of extra stuffs, changed both the bed sheets and the curtains, and rearranged his small collections of neatly stacked books on the corner. Elijah didn’t know who his roommate would be but he actually was not that selective. Though he only figured that his roommate might not appreciate a messy room and because of this he had decided to clean the already organized room. Yes, organized because it was rare that he stay at his quarters during the day after all. He could either found at library or at the forest when he is at the school grounds and he mostly visited the nearby orphanage every chance that he could get.

He loved teaching there and having the knowledge that he was helping the children gave him great joy. Speaking of the orphanage, it had been days since he last visited and Ms. Katherine had asked him to share a lesson for the older children there. He was thinking that it was time to teach them the basics about self-defense. Elijah was not your next-guy martial arts specialist or all around buffed up man but he knew self-defense and he always tried to share his knowledge to others if he could. Sure, with today’s advanced technology and the existence of special abilities such like his, this idea would sound laughable but the Irish-bred lad didn’t really care for society’s standards. He knew that learning these things would be helpful, especially in dire cases. Not a moment later, he then thought it would be best to ask Mr. Vincent for an advice. The older man was someone he usually confided in for situations such as these and though he commonly would try to be less of a bother to others, he decided that for the sake of the next sharing he might as well ask help.

It was minutes after when the sun had fully risen that he finally noticed the time. Sparing his wristwatch a glance, he was surprised to see that it was already past 7. The list for the roommates would probably posted by this time. He might as well go now. He didn’t know where Izzy or Elle was but they were typically together during these stuffs and he planned on looking for them once he saw the list. Elijah then walked out the forest and into the familiar path towards the receptionist area. He noticed familiar faces and smiled at those who looked in his direction. He only stopped when he reached the board for the rooming list and started looking for his name. Room Eight: Elijah Claymore and Benjamin Hershkovitz

…Oh, Ben.

He blankly stared at the paper in front and it took him a moment’s deliberation before he stepped out of the way and stayed on the side. He didn’t knew that Mr. Marinos would pair them with the students from Noctrem… it was more logical to assume that they would be rooming with the Arcana ones. To be frank this would be a little awkward. He didn’t know Benjamin. He was loud and talkative that was as far as he knew and Elijah was never the one to judge that deeply. Would they get along? Thankfully, he wasn’t always around so maybe Benjamin would not be that bothered with his presence. He hoped that he wouldn’t inconvenience the boy in any other way or form. The last thing that he wanted was someone to hate him for being troublesome. Looking around, he searched for his new roommate. He already had a duplicate for the room’s key. He was planning to give it to him and show him the room.



'Goodbye, stupid motel and all the stupid people supposedly working in it!’

As he rode in a quickly moving ambulance, complete with emergency alarm blaring above, Eriol watched the scene outside the window with a faint degree of amusement. He recalled the latest and preferably the last prank he would ever do on the three-star motel that he just left. The said cheap motel had been his- along with the other students’ house for the past month ever since Noctrem Academy was burned down. Because of his utter annoyance with the poor and improper service conducted at the establishment, he and Ben had been pestering the motel personnel with several perfectly laid out pranks. Both he and his best pranking buddy had spread mayhem and mischief on the said place every chance that they possibly could.

The motel was nothing. It was a poor excuse of an area where weary and currently homeless people like him could not find any semblance of comfort. The service was cheap: some of the air conditioners and showers were broken, and even the decorations of the said place looked bleak. The personnel were all incompetent and even the manager was wimpy and undoubtedly an asshole more than anything else. It was because of his recent experiences that he found himself invariably murdering over and over in his mind whoever had schemed and unfortunately succeeded to burn Noctrem. He really wished that they would find the bastard who caused all of this sooner than they could… Or else he might get insane with the continuing absurdity happening around him. He was not a little bit concerned with the deaths caused by the fire but he’d be damned if he would never get to know who dared to burn the only thing he could call his humble abode into ashes. If only he knew how to travel back to the past this time around, Eriol Adelart would surely do his best to discover whoever the suspect was without a heartbeat’s hesitation. As he got lost in his musings, he could not help but think of several scenarios he would do to the suspect once given the chance. The conclusion? All of which were never less pass borderline mildly sadistic in nature.

That fire had been the source of all the misery and discomfort that he was currently experiencing. If it weren’t for that bastard he would not be here, riding in this blasted ambulance making his way towards the stupid school that idiotic Marinos manages. Instead of basking himself in the privacy of his own quarters, Eriol would be forced to share with others. It was stupid and unless his roommate was Ben, he was very determined to cause havoc to the unlucky one who would dare share room with him. ‘Let them dare pair me up with that moronic Theodore and they would see how fascinating my ability matched with my personality would certainly be.’ He darkly thought, waiting with impatience as he watched out for the shadows of the familiar gates of Arcana Academy on the passing sidewalks.

Speaking of that blasted school; after fifteen minutes or so he was finally able to see it from his position at the van. Eriol focused all of his attention and willpower on concentrating hard to activate his ability until he was able to stop time-just like he planned. He watched with nonchalance as things moved in slow motion before totally stopping as he felt the full effect of his power taking over everything. During this, all existing objects were stagnant: the swaying of the leaves ceased mid-air, the wheels almost comically stopped and every movement was frozen in time much like those usual happenings at every poorly-executed and yet bizarre time travelling movies people could come across.

This was not strange for the sixteen-year old boy though. Ever since he had been enrolled to Noctrem, he had grown used to several sights that would make normal human gape and goggle-eyed. Telekinetic and air-manipulating girls? These were only several of the other abilities that could be found at the said Academy. Noctrem Academy was specially designed to teach and hone teenagers like him, in order to use their power the best that they could for the greater bad. In fact, undeniably such was also the reason for the existence of Arcana Academy. A school contrary to his Alma Mater; Leonardo Marinos had decided to teach his little angels to use their abilities for good. Imagine how boring was that? Using your space and time manipulating skills to help those other worthless humans? For what? Few alms and praises of recognition which would fall dead to the masses' ears once you so as much try to make one measly mistake? Eriol Locke was not an idiot and he would never be foolish enough to live in the same ideals Leonardo wanted to instill. It was laughable and petty. Truly idealistic and he knew full well that if he was older than he was right now, he would have demanded that phony to retire and be thrown off his office. Off with his unbecoming brigades.

After glancing at the bus on the side, he grabbed hold of his large backpack-the only thing he had, and opened the back door of the van. The ambulance had served its purpose and that was to take him to the academy. He didn’t have the enthusiasm to conduct another prank and so he decided that calling 911 and asking to be delivered in a nonexistent emergency accident was rather enough to satisfy his daily craving of sadistic/mischievous exercises.

He had actually missed the bus. He had spent most of his evenings making arrangements and several phone calls to different department stores and repair services as a gift to subtly help the three-star motel improve their business. He used the name of the owner—something that took him a day of stalking and ordered for decorations, maintenance and help to his heart’s content. He had actually been anticipating the rapidly ballooning expenses that were sure to be billed to the administration. That would be a joy! The prank was executed as his sign of vengeance for the torment he had experienced while living at the place and he slept the night excited for the day that was to come.

The next day after his thorough planning however, he regretfully woke up late—later than the allotted time which caused him to miss the bus that was supposed to take them to Arcana. Forced to commute and left with no other option to contact Cain or Ms. Wright, Eriol had then decided look for his own mode of transportation except the use of his ability. He decided that there’s no novelty in travelling the usual way he normally did. It was because of this where his ingenious idea of calling for emergency ambulance in excuse of cardiac arrest came forth. And after that the rest was history, here he was walking towards the school grounds where he noticed other students loitering around the academy from the corner of his eyes.

Everything was still suspended in space and he concentrated on keeping up with this at least until he reached the roommates listing. He had no mood for company and he would rather get settled first before functioning as he normally did: Charming and impeccable to fellow students. Arcana Academy was undeniably a new territory. While they had been studying here for the past month or so, it would be a thoughtless move for Eriol to be not wary and less calculating of his actions.

Donned in his mask of indifference, he walked passing by Sky and gaped incredulously at the list that he saw. Room Ten: Landon Hirst and Eriol Adelart Who the hell was Landon Hirst? He didn't know any Noctrem student by that name and so it was logical to think he is from Arcana. But heck, he wasn't familiar with a student by that name. Was he one of those idiots he tend to avoid? Eriol shook his head and walked several paces away from the receptionist area and stood at the first shaded tree he could come across. He let go of his control over his ability and busied himself with recalling the face associated with the name. After few minutes of futilely trying he then decided to go to the room himself. He was bound to remember the person and he would rather look less like an idiot waiting on their damned room instead of staying here acting every inch like he was lost. Which he was not apparently, mind you. Besides as he heard the recent announcement where Leo had already informed them via PA for an assembly later, he might as well make himself presentable.

'Passed the large tree and down into the rabbit hole,'

The way Leo raised his chin a bit, an arrogant display, Amy felt her anger increase. Who the hell did he think he was?! He might be her boss in all technicality on the job, but right now she was with her boyfriend – not her boss – and he held no authority over her in their relationship. Not even a little. His attitude fueled the rest of her rant as she kept glaring at him. When she finished and dropped her gaze, however, feeling hurt, she could almost feel the air in the room around them calming down, like the mood had changed. By the time Leo apologized, his fingers intertwining with hers, Amy had calmed herself down a bit. The feeling of his skin on hers again, made her feel a little better. She peered up at him when he gently lifted her head, love in her eyes along with faint traces of irritation and sadness. She smiled at him when he told her he knew she deserved better and asked for her forgiveness. She had her Leo back, it seemed. She had been worried this was going to get very intense before it got better.

She closed her eyes with a soft sigh when his lips touched her forehead. With his next words though, her smile faltered and she opened her eyes to look up at him. How was she ever going to get through to him? It wasn’t that she didn’t understand his reason, because she did. The others, especially the students, would think it wasn’t all that bad breaking the rules, and Leo was so very attached to those rules. But… she still just… she couldn’t make herself accept it. She’d tried this past week, but part of her kept rejecting the very idea. She loved him so much she’d do anything to stay with him, but the secret only made her feel even more like a student having an improper relationship with the teacher. Maybe that was because he’d been her teacher only 5-6 years ago, or maybe it was because of the very substantial age difference between them. She didn’t know, but she didn’t like it. It felt like being with Leo was wrong, but it wasn’t. It felt so right. Especially after last night. Being with him like that had been… gods, she felt like their souls had joined, like they were meant to be together.

She felt sick, suspecting that he would never be okay with the two of them going public with their relationship. Sick and sad. Then her drew her into his arms and Amy took a deep breath, enjoying the heat and scent of the man she loved as her arms came up to wrap around his torso, hugging him close. Her stomach was churning and she felt bile starting to rise, like she needed to throw up. It was so sudden, Amy took a deep breath once more, trying to calm her abdomen. She didn’t want to ruin the moment by throwing up. “I know,” she whispered in reply to his previous words. She wasn’t agreeing with him, and she didn’t let him think this discussion was over, but right now she just didn’t have the energy to keep going for some reason. Maybe because she’d had so little sleep. Leo had been completely insatiable after the first time they’d made love, and she honestly couldn’t remember how many orgasms she’d had. It had been entirely heavenly and… magical, almost.

Then Leo drew his head back a little, and Amy moved to look up at him, but the simple movement made her feel even more sick, bile rising. Her head moved a little forward as she tried to force it away and she tried to focus on Leo, but she knew she was on edge. His comment made her laugh softly, which was like opening a window, and so Amy quickly pulled out of Leo’s arms and ran to the toilet where she kneeled and began returning her dinner from last night, which as it was, did not look, nor smell, as good as it had when she’d made it for her and Leo. She managed to move her hair out of the way as she convulsed, placing her hands on the toilet seat to keep steady. She no longer cared about her hair. She could wash it afterward. What had caused this, she didn’t know. It didn’t feel like food poisoning.

He was alone in a massive steel fortress, the clouds dark and stormy as he surveyed the world around him. The entire landscape was bleak and desolate, fires raged around the fortress as demons of rage, lust, envy, and greed; as well as spirits of valor, justice, tolerance, truth...they all beat at the steel walls, trying to claw their way in. Vincent knew exactly where he was too, this was his mind, and he stood upon the battlements of the fortress that protected it. At times, the young man hated his power, because he didn't know true rest like others did. His mind was always active, always alert to the emotions and dreams of others, that attempted to invade his mind, seeking to drive him to the point of raving. He just glared balefully at all the emotions at his walls before forcing himself to wake up.

As the man rose from his dreaming, Vincent merely looked out the window and sighed to himself. He knew that today was the day that the Noctrem students would be coming to live with the Arcana students, and tensions would be running wild along with the emotions that went with it. So, he got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. Stepping into the hot water, he sighed outloud this time as he felt the raging emotions through the school. He felt them battering at his walls, trying to get in, but with a simple pulse of his power, they were driven back into silence once again. As he rinsed off, the young man stumbled and fell as he felt rage and anger so powerfully close to him. He knew those emotions...they belonged to Amy and Leo. I wonder what happened between them...or was there relationship issues? Vincent mused to himself before stepping out and hurridly drying off and changing into his usual gray suit with a red tie.

After moving from his bedroom, the young man grabbed some bagels and jam from his kitchenette before walking out his door and locking it. The empath was hit with a new wave of emotions as he noticed the Noctrem students already within the grounds, and probably seeing the room assignments. Vincent shuddered before collecting himself and moving on, forcing his way deeper into the emotional maelstrom. Eating as he walked, the man stopped in front of Leo's room before knocking loudly. "Leo? Are you in there?"



After walking back in through his window, the young man surveyed his single room before grinning to himself and stretching. Oh, how Keirol just loved to excercise in the training grounds. He suspected that he'd need to repair the place after accidently blowing part of the wall apart with a punch. "Oh well, the Old Man will tell me to do it later anyway." Shrugging to himself the young man quickly stripped off his clothing and walked into the shower to get the sweat and grim off of his body.

As he stood there, feeling the water run off his body, the young man merely smiled slightly to himself as he thought back on the month he'd spent before today, with the Noctrem blonde that encompassed his thoughts. As he got lost in thought, he couldn't help but think back to the day where he offically obtained a girlfriend, where Erin Hawthorne and he became a couple. That evening on the hillside was one of his most cherished memories, and he couldn't wait to meet her again. "Wait...isn't today the day where the Noctrem students come to live with us?" He asked himself aloud before grinning and hurridly drying off before throwing on a pair of jeans with sneakers and a button-up shirt and leaving his room. Using his key to enter the teacher's living quarters, he blinked at Mr. Steele at Leo's door before snagging one of his bagels and yelling inside the room. "Hey Old Man! Up and at it! We got work to do today!" Nodding to Vincent the young man left the teacher's section once more.

As he walked the halls, Keirol noticed the students milling about aimlessly, but he couldn't really care less. His attention was on trying to find two blondes. Once he walked further down the hallways, he found the two outside Jay's door. I wonder what they're doing here. He simply mused before leaning on the wall and looking into the room. "Erin, Cor. Good to see you two." He stated conversationally giving them both a smile. He knew what Cor thought of him, being an Arcana student and essentially Leo's son, but he actually liked hanging around her. The bitchy blonde had a way of spicing up life. He then winked at Erin and faced her completely. "How was your trip over?" He just looked at Jay and nodded to him in hello but he shot Killian a small glare.

“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." Kali took a quick break from her train of thought and picked up her phone, "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." Kali added.

McKenna turned to Lilly, hoping that she might support her idea of talking to Mr. Marinos, but as soon as Lil opened her mouth to speak, she could tell by her tone that she wasn't too keen on the idea herself.

"I think Mr. Marino is a very understanding guy, but I'm sorry McKenna I don't think he would change a student's roommate because then other students would want to do the same thing if they didn't like who they got paired up with."

Both of the girls disagreed and McKenna frowned slightly, but then took it into consideration and nodded. Mr. Marinos did this for some sort of reason, and whatever reason it was, it had to be a good one. Or at least a decent one.

"Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," She shrugs, "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..." She adds to the end of her statement firmly, not being one to tolerate those who would threaten her. The "Fearsome Five" were the ones she had to watch out for though, but the fact she was rooming with one, it was bound she'd have to face them eventually. Which caused a small pit in her stomach to slowly grow. Her and Jess could probably just get away for a bit in the library or something for the most part, and Jess was rooming with Morgan, so McKenna was sure it was ok if she hung with them.

"Hey girls!" a third voice rang out as Julie came and sat next to the girls.

Now, McKenna knew that Julie wasn't too big of a fan of her, yet she smiled and waved anyway. McKenna made it a point to not have enemies, she didn't mind if people didn't like her, as long as they weren't digging her grave, she was quite alright with anyone.

"Morning, Julie." She says with a small smile and takes a sip of her tea, "You look pretty today." She adds the compliment, not to suck up, but just to simply be nice.

McKenna was anything but a suck up, she just liked complimenting people.

"So, what do you think this assemblies about? Lil, you're sitting with me right?" Julie asks and McKenna shrugs.

"Probably just going over ground rules and expectations. Whether the Noctrem students follow or not, that's a different story." Kenna chuckles a bit, finishing off her pancakes and she begins on her sausage links.