Theodore McCaffrey's Story

"Oof!"

Morgan sat upright. She had been dreaming about performing onstage in front of millions of people when she had been woken abruptly by the floor. Her alarm clock showed 06:59. She stood up and yawned. She dragged herself into the shower and began to wonder who her roommate would be. Hopefully not one of the bitches from Noctrem. She refused to room with one of them. And she refused to leave her room. So if her roommate had to sleep on the roof, so be it. She shut off the water. A beeping sound could be heard coming from her room. She wrapped herself in a towel and ran out to see what it was. Her alarm was chirping happily. She still wasn't sure how to turn it off, so she simply slapped it a few times until it stopped beeping. She then went to her closet and assembled an outfit.. She pulled it on and went to her mirror. Her fingers played over the various pots and items on her dressing table before resting on her eyeliner and mascara. She lined her eyes and put on a coat of mascara. She looked around her room. One side of it, the side she hadn't lived in, was neat and tidy, untouched since the first day of term. But her side was a mess. She briefly considered cleaning it up. She instead decided just to leave all the clothes into the laundry basket. It made her room look considerably tidier, and she grinned. Job done.

She dragged a brush through her hair before leaving the room and heading downstairs. Various students were heading down, mainly to see who their roommate would be. The first Noctrem students had arrived and were checking out their roommates. Morgan resisted the temptation to run and instead chose to walk over to the listing. Her eyes scanned down the list until they found her name. She grinned. She was rooming with Jess Coleman, one of the nicer Noctrem girls. She checked out some of the other listings. Zac was rooming with Theodore McCaffery. The debates would be flying in that room anyway.

She waited outside for Jess and watched as the Noctrem students approached. Some she smiled at, others she glared at. The Noctrem students had only been at Arcana for a month, but it had been ample time to develop friendships and to become enemies, even among the teachers. Personally, she didn't have anything against the Noctrem teachers. They were only doing their job, after all. The school they taught at shouldn't matter, but it did for some students. They had the impression that all Arcana students were good, sweet little angels that never stayed up past their bedtime. But Morgan had been at a party a few nights ago, and... Well, the Noctrem students would soon be cured of that assumption. Morgan's drink had been spiked, and she had gotten a little tipsy. She had been giggling at every single little thing somebody said. But that was minor compared to some people. At least she had been able to walk to bed and had been able to attend first class the next morning.

Zac Barnes

The drum solo from Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" filled the room. Zac was immediately awake and alert. Mo had bought him that alarm clock for his last birthday as a joke, but it was actually pretty effective. Zac swung his legs out of bed and ran his hands through his hair as he yawned. He stood up and went into the bathroom. He showered and went back into the main room. As he came out of the bathroom, the door slammed behind him, caught by a breeze from the open window.

"Give me the stuff, Jon!" "I told you already, I don't have it!" "GIVE ME THE FUCKING STUFF!"

Zac walked in at possibly the worst moment. The man who was shouting at his father grinned at him. "Hello, Zac." He grabbed his arm and slammed the door behind him. He dragged him over and pointed a gun at his head. "Give me the stuff." He said quietly. His father just stared in horror. Zac had only been eleven and was frightened out of his wits. The man flung Zac to the ground and kicked him. Still pointing the gun at him, he turned once again to Jonathan Barnes. "Give me the stuff, now." His father managed to stutter out, "I don't have all of it." The man kicked Zac again, in the stomach this time. "Well, go get some more. Don't worry, I'll watch Zac."

Zac crashed back to reality. He was on his knees, clutching his head in his hands. He blinked away the tears and rubbed his stomach. It was haunted with the memory of the pain of being kicked in the stomach. He stumbled to his feet and washed his face in the bathroom. He went back into the bedroom, feeling as though this was the dream and his flashback was his reality. He went to his wardrobe and pulled out the first outfit his hands fell on. When he was dressed, he went over to his drum kit. He was about to smash into it, but he put down his sticks. He instead picked up a pick and picked a few chords on his guitar. His fingers slid up and down the frets, and his hand picked out a sad, melancholy tune. He was so scared, even though he knew it was over. He was away from all that, and he had made sure to erase himself from the memories of all of those who could hurt him. But there was always, always that chance.

He put down his guitar and made his way downstairs. He had better find out who he was going to room with. He managed to peer over the heads of everyone who was crowded around the poster. Mo had managed to weasel her way up the front. She looked pretty pleased with whoever she was rooming with. Zac scanned the list. Zac Barnes and Theodore McCaffery... Excellent. Theodore kept himself to himself, but loved to debate. He was Zac's ideal roommate, if he was brutally honest. Zac spied Mo making her way outside, probably to wait for whoever she was rooming with. He darted away from the crowd and came up beside her. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows at his grin. He looked at her and grinned even wider. He heard her voice say, "You only grin that wide if something good happens after a flashback." But her lips stayed still. "Mo, you have no idea." He thought back at her. Her lips raised a little.



Alli bolted upright a second before her alarm went off. She smiled smugly and jumped out of bed, landing perfectly. She went into the bathroom and showered, before pausing to choose her outfit. She grinned at the sound of students downstairs. More arrivals, more people to study. People would be milling around, and she intended on watching them and seeing if she could gauge their reactions. She opened the door and ran along the corridor. She couldn't resist doing a handstand at the top of the stairs.

She ran lightly downstairs and watched the variety of people as they went up and studied the list. Zac Barnes. He was closed up and obviously upset about something when he came down, but that quickly disappeared when he read the list. Spencer, the smartest guy in the school, was filled with disproval for his roommate. She winked at him and smiled, before focusing back on the crowd. Colby Haskins was disappointed that he didn't get who he wanted to room with. She played with her necklace as she watched. The foul smell of tobacco smoke stank up the reception. Alli grimaced and made her way outside. The smell of tobacco was still present, but it wasn't as noticable. She went over to Mo and Zac. "Who are you rooming with?" Zac asked. "Oh! I forgot to check!" She said, blushing a little. She went back inside. She couldn't see over anyone's heads, so she ducked and weaved her way through so she could. She was rooming with...Lulu Allen. She shrugged. There were worse people she could room with. She went back outside to Mo and Zac. Mo looked at her. "Lulu Allen." She said. Mo nodded. Zac was grinning at something, but he wouldn't reveal why.

"Ugh. I have to get away from here. You guys coming?" She asked, heading towards the forest. Mo and Zac followed her, watching the crowd of Noctrem students. When she could no longer smell the foul stench of cigarettes, she sat down on the ground and done a few stretches. When she had warmed up, she began doing handstands and somersaults. Mo and Zac watched, fascinated. This brought her right back to her days of competing. Her jeans and hoodie became a leotard. Her hair went up into a bun.

The music was barely audible over the crowd's cheers. They then went silent. She took a running start and flipped in midair, and landed in a tumble. She struck her pose before going into a handstand, which developed into a flip. She twisted, tumbled, and dazzled the crowd. She was about to go into a perfect finish when-

"OW!" Her foot caught on a root, but her dexterity meant she didn't fall over. Mo and Zac ran over to her. "Alli! Are you okay?" Mo said. "I don't know... I caught my foot on a root. I think it's just twisted, but it's damn painful." She said. Mo and Zac shared a look, and picked her up. No matter how much she protested, they insisted on carrying her in. But, thankfully, they didn't bring her to the nurse's office. Instead, they brought her upstairs and put her on a couch. "That was completely uncalled for." She grumbled. "If Spencer saw me, I will kill you." She muttered. Mo grinned. "What was that?" She forced herself to grin back. "Nothing."

Scott Martin Andrews

I believe it’s been two months? Two months since the school fire. I was sleeping in my room when the fire began. I smelt the scent of burning amber and I knew something was not right. Rumor has it that it was a trespasser that came to our school and had sent Noctrem burning. Other students believe it was the kids from Arcana. If it was one of them then there would probably be some fanatical war between both schools. I can’t really recall our schools ever being nice to each other really. We've been up at each others throats perhaps since both schools were built. We‘re complete polar opposites. Think of everyone in Arcana Academy as the good kids. They want to do good things with there powers, then there is us, that take hold of the title as the bad kids. Everyone here either likes to cause destruction, or likes to inflict pain, I’m neither. I can tell your right now, there’s some ruthless types of personalities over in this school and that only strive for dominance.

Now your probably wondering, “why aren’t you in Arcana then?”
Well because of my power and possibly because of my attitude. I can manipulate electricity. I could kill you if I wanted to. I killed my own mom, something that haunts me every second I live. Something I have never told anyone, not even my foster-parents. There’s a huge emotional link that is connected to my ability. So if I get mad or I’m in some sort of pain your either on the floor knocked out cold or on the verge of death. I cause major ruin, and I’m some what shamed of it. Sometimes I almost feel that I’m destined to fight bad guys or something but I can’t help but think I am the bad guy, the villain. I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself.

The moment the bus had stopped Scott went into a trance. He was staring at Arcana like it was a castle and it truly looked like one. It felt like he was looking at Noctrem again, he was home. Even though that sounds cliché, It was true. Scott grabbed onto his bags and watched each of the students leave the bus. Scott knew there was someone missing, he notices that there's someone all the way on the back of the bus. It was Theodore, someone that Scott didn't fully know.

Wake up, were here!" Scott doesn't go for the rude awakening but just goes for a lighter tactic and waits for him to wake up. After multiple times of calling his name, Theo's eyes snap open and it almost startles Scott. From the intensity of his eyes Scott only wonders what he was dreaming about.
"Were here, we arrived in Arcana." Scott gives a friendly smirk and before Theodore can say anything Scott makes his way to the exit.

As soon as Scott jumped out of the bus he knew his first priority is to find the list. The list which will determine who he is rooming with. He looks side to side, and finds that everyone seems to be crowding around at the entrance. He knows everyone here, he’s legitimately known by all the girls, for certain reasons. He moves closer to the list and scrolls down to try and find his name. I’m with Izaiah Dorson, the guy that can walk through walls. He's alright , they would certainly get along because of the fact that both of them enjoy sports. He couldn’t help himself but actually think about Izaiah’s cousin, Isabella Dorson.

Both Scott and Bella would see each other at parties and they would enrol into a good old make out session. Scott couldn’t help but smile like a fool but he began to think about all the other girls he had a romantic interest with. There was him and Cor, who he had slept with a good amount of times. They have this friends with benefits thing still going on and in Scott’s opinion, it's fucking delightful. There was a giant variety of girls and really, Scott can't help himself. There is one girl though, that he has major feelings for. A girl that he utterly loves and feels for the most, Freya Mason. There she was, for a moment she hadn't noticed him but as she looked towards his direction he had turned around and made his way into the school.

He found him at the lake.

The lake was a memory, a piece of his childhood untainted by pain. It had been a few hours from his house by car, a fixture of his summers. He always got to bring a friend, and he and that friend would swim and splash while one of his parents looked on, monitoring him to ensure that he didn’t simply fall asleep and drown. Whenever he needed a lake, it was the first lake that came to mind. Spreading its silvery looking waters and the copses of pine and birch that surrounded it was surprisingly easy for a geographic feature so large. Sometimes when he added geography, it was more akin to airbrushing a background, but with the lake… it always seemed more real.

Scott was sitting on a small dock made almost entirely out of driftwood. He was wearing a bathing suit, relaxing. His bare feet dangled in the water, scissoring gently, but his attention was cast upward, where the endless eggshell blue sky stretched into an imposing bank of angry-looking clouds.

It didn’t even take a thought for Theo to change into a bathing suit as well, baggy and modest, black with thin white stripes spaced a few inches apart. There was no rippling, no melting, no morphing. One instant he’d been wearing cargo pants and a t-shirt, the next trunks and a different t-shirt, more appropriate for the warm summer day that either he or Scott had conjured. He could never be sure which anymore. Scott seemed to have just as much control of their surroundings as he did, these days. It was almost like he was learning, the same way he had in life. Just seeing Theo do it meant that he could do it too.

“It looks like there’s a storm coming.” Scott spoke without looking back at him. The dead boy raised his hand, flicked his wrist. A stone, small and flat, which hadn’t been there before went arcing at the water, hitting once and then skipping nearly a dozen times before its momentum and spin petered out and it sank.

Theo dropped down to sit beside him, leaned into him. Scott didn’t pull away. He never had. He never did. “That’s a bit ominous, don’t you think?” Theo asked it teasingly, and in unison they gave Scott’s trademark reply to the question. “It’s your dream.”

Theo looked skyward as well. The clouds were a dirty looking gray sheet slowly being drawn toward them… only it wasn’t slow, it only seemed that way. They were so distant that he shouldn’t have been able to perceive their movement at all. He was distracted when he felt familiar fingers brush the skin of his back, his stomach. Scott was pulling his shirt off. Either of them could simply have willed him to be shirtless, but where was the fun in that. “C’mon,” Scott said, hopping to his feet once he’d exposed Theo’s pale torso. “Let’s swim before it starts.”

Smiling, Theo nodded and stood as well. He bent his knees, as if preparing to cannonball into the lake, but then sidestepped behind Scott and tried to shove him in. Almost as always, Scott was too fast. He slid one leg back and twisted, grabbing one of Theo’s arms and jerking him forward so that he tripped over Scott’s other leg. Rather than let him fall though, Scott kept hold of his wrist and swung about, digging in his heels. Theo wound up hanging backwards, laughing, the soles of his feet on the very edge of the dock, waiting for Scott to let go. He looked up at the boy he loved as he raised his free hand to give him a defiant middle finger. He frowned though as the world around him seemed to ripple, to shake. That was when Scott let go, and Theo fell.

---

Reality intruded on his dream of the lake. Theo’s eyes did snap open, and in the hypnopompic aftermath of the other Scott’s wake-up call, he felt more annoyed than intense. It died away though, the vivid dreamscape giving way to the Arcana-bound bus that he had boarded… he glanced at his watch… not so long ago. He’d been one of the first on it, and now he’d be one of the last to disembark. He could have played with the dreamtime a bit, but he didn’t want to leave himself too disoriented.

Even if the other Scott had lingered, Theo wouldn’t have said anything. He stared, watching him go, then did a quick assessment of the others left aboard. No one, it seemed. He eased himself to his feet and made his way down the aisle between the rows of seats. Soon enough he was outside, grabbing the single large duffel bag that housed all of his personal effects, which mostly consisted of clothes, and not very many of those compared to the wardrobes most of his peers sported. He was in dark brown cargo shorts today, and a gray ringer tee that he’d intentionally bought a size too large in order to hide the lean muscle he’d been packing onto his frame. He’d always had strong legs, well-shaped calves, so he didn’t mind wearing the shorts quite so much. They were baggy as well, and fell to just below his knees.

Making a show of having some difficulty with the massive blue duffel bag, he swung it over the opposite shoulder of his backpack and “staggered” toward the school. He didn’t do anything more than nod to the few lingering outside, if there were any. He didn’t really care. His eyes were unfocused as he trudged deliberately into Arcana and frowned at the cluster of bodies massed around the list. Maybe he should have tried to get to it first.

Something seemed… strange. He overheard bits and pieces of conversations. When he spotted Jessica hugging Morgan, asking her to show her to their room, it clicked.

They weren’t being boarded with other Noctrem students.

They were being put with Arcana students.

He’d been mildly worried about this whole process. There were a few Noctrem boys who he would have preferred not to room with, and a smaller few more who he knew without a doubt would have proven disastrous to pair him with.

If he’d been mildly worried before, he was now on the verge of anxiety. He’d never been lucky, not once in his entire life, and he was fully expecting the same ill-luck now. I’m going to end up with him, he thought, his teeth practically grinding themselves flat as he let his eyes search out the dreaded potential roommate in question.

Relief hit him like a ten pound sledge-hammer. Landon wasn’t bee-lining him. He seemed to be waiting for something. That meant the worst possible scenario hadn’t come to pass. He would have done anything and everything in his power to get his room changed, if things had shaken out that way. Drawing a steadying breath, he dropped his bag heavily and waited for the crowd to thin a bit more before he moved forward to investigate the list. He didn’t find his name until nearly the bottom. Zac Barnes and Theodore McCaffrey. And nobody he hated too much was anywhere near him. In fact, the two people he wanted to be as distant from as possible were in the same room.

“There goes my luck for this year,” he intoned blandly, simply thinking aloud. He couldn’t have asked for a better roommate. Really, as he thought about it, Zac was the best roommate he could have been given from the pool of male Arcana students. For the first time in weeks, Theo actually looked… well, not happy, but not detached or miserable, either. He returned to his bag and lifted it with an entirely theatrical grunt, throwing out a hand to steady himself against the wall. He probably should have gone to speak with Zac, but that would have brought him past Landon, and near Colby. It was far too early to deal with either of them. He knew the way anyway. Zac could catch up with him. Without another word, the oneirokinetic teen headed off toward the dorms, to the room numbered eighteen, specifically. His progress would be slow, thanks to the show he was putting on with his duffel, but hopefully he’d manage to escape unscathed in the excitement and confusion, neither of which he felt himself.

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.

Morgan Janssen

Morgan's arms were still sore from carrying Alli in. That girl wasn't big. In fact, she was short and built like a stick. But she was surprisingly heavy. She seemed to be better now, anyway. "I'd better go down and see if Jess is in yet." Mo said, standing up. Alli stood up. "I'm fine now, I'm coming too." She insisted. Mo shrugged. Zac grinned. She made her way downstairs and went to stand in a spot where she was sure Jess could see her. It appeared to be a good choice of spot, because moments later, Jess made her way over. Mo hugged her. "Wow, I can't believe we're roomies! Come on! It's room Eleven." She waved goodbye to Alli and Zac and shot upstairs. She made her way down the corridor, stopping in front of her room. She had to start thinking of it as their room. Their room. She opened the door and sat on her bed. "Welcome to Room Eleven! The bathroom's over there. You can have the desk that's relatively tidy. I'm a bit of a slob, so I'm hoping you don't have much of a problem with untidiness." She said to Jess. Her phone vibrated on her desk. She crossed the room and picked it up.

Hey sweetie. Good luck with your new roommate. If it's someone you don't like, tell Mr Marinos that I'll pay for any damages. Dad. x

She grinned and crossed back over to her bed. Her dad was definitely the person who knew her best. Her mom had understood her pretty well, until the shooting. But her dad had always, always known when she was sad, even if she looked positively ecstatic. He always texted her in full sentences. He despised poor grammar, a characteristic he had passed onto Mo.

Hey Dad. It's okay, you can put the chequebook away. I'm rooming with Jess Coleman, someone I actually like! Thanks for the good wishes anyway. Arcana should remain standing for another few days. Mo. xx

She left her phone down on the bed, still smiling. "Okay, Jess, so spill. Roomies have to share everything. Any crushes? Teachers included." She said, grinning at the other girl. "I don't have anything to tell you, but Alli let something slip earlier. So, come on. I'll tell you." She sat cross-legged on the bed and played with her hands.

Her mind, however, wasn't on the tidbits that she was hopefully about to get from Jess. It was on her eight-year old self. She could remember sitting on the stairs, watching her parents argue.

"Well, who is it then?" "I've told you before, Karen, I'm not having an affair!" "You're late home from work every single evening!" "Because I'm working overtime! You want Mo to be happy, don't you?" "Don't you dare bring Mo into this." "Well, she's the reason I wouldn't have an affair! You know I love her too much! I would never leave her!" "No, you'd take her with you!" She covered her ears and flew upstairs to bed. Other kids only had to worry about their scraped knees. She had to worry about her parents splitting up.

Mo snapped back to the present. Her grin was still fixed in place, but she felt like she was about to burst into tears. She was always like this coming up to the anniversary of her mother's death. It was almost ten years now, but Mo still missed her terribly.

She was glad when the announcement came on, because it took the focus away from her. She quickly rubbed her eyes and hoped her eyeliner didn't run.



Zac watched as Mo flew up the stairs to her room, tailed by Jess. That girl was insane sometimes. The smell of cigarettes was foul. He looked around for Theo. He appeared to making his way up to the room. Zac searched the reception until he found who he was looking for. He went up behind her and grabbed Ashy in a hug from behind. "Hey, Ashy. Found out who your roomie is yet?" He said, releasing her. "I'm rooming wtih Theo. I'd like to apologise in advance. We could very well be debating until all hours." He said. "Right, I'd better go up." He grinned at her, before heading upstairs.

Him and Ashy had bonded the very first day they had met. They knew practically everything about each other. Except... Zac had never told Ashy about his past. He was worried she would worry unneccesarily, and he done enough of that for both of them. He had just told her he was in a foster home because both of his parents had been killed in a car accident. In reality, his father had been killed when a rookie police officer had been a bit too trigger happy in a hostage situation, and his mother was off the radar. He hated his mother. She had left them when he was four, and had never come back. Not even when his father had started his... Little business. Not even when his father had been killed. Not even when Zac had been taken into a foster home.

Zac caught up with Theo along the corridor leading to the dorms. He laughed at the show he was putting on with his blue duffel bag. "Ah, come on now. We both know that's not that heavy." He said, grinning at him. "Here we go. Room Eighteen." He said, throwing the door wide open. "Mind the drums. And if you find any picks lying around, they're probably mine." He listened to the announcement. "Right. You can do what you want, I'm going to get something to eat. I'm bloody starving. And I won't be able to make everyone forget if my stomach rumbles during assembly."

As he was heading downstairs, he tried not to think about the hell that awaited him in the next few days. At least he didn't have roommate problems to add to that list. But it was a rough time for Mo. He would have even more of Skylar to handle. He would have to avoid the mind-reader even more at this point. Morgan didn't want anybody to know about what time of year it was for her, because she didn't want to be smothered in sympathy. The Noctrem students would make fun of her, saying she should get over it. He completely trusted Ellie not to spill, but the Noctrem students could be slimy little bastards. And he just wanted Morgan to be relatively happy. She hadn't told anybody about him, so he wouldn't tell anybody about her.

Alli Jackson

Alli listened carefully to the announcement. Her ankle still ached, but not as much. She looked around and spotted Lulu. She was about to go over, but then somebody else caught her eye. Scott Andrews.

No way. No freaking way. He went to Noctrem?! Oh my God, he's here!" Before they had went their seperate ways, they had been inseperable. There was nothing romantic between them, but they had been best friends. He had came to her when he needed support, and she had went to him when she was completely pissed at her parents. She had told him she was going to Arcana. He had told her the name of his school. It hadn't stood out to her at the time, but now she remembered it as Noctrem. A look of pure elation appeared on her face. "Scott! Scott Andrews!" Before she knew it, her ankle was forgotten and she was flying across the room for a hug. She wrapped her arms around them. He had definitely grown taller in the three years they had been apart.

"I cannot believe you're here! I thought you were going to school abroad or something. Come on! Let's go catch up over breakfast!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the cafeteria. "Who are you rooming with? I can't believe they put us with Noctrem students. I'm with Lulu Allen. She's not bad. She's certainly better than Corentine or somebody. Can I ask, does 'Fuck up' make any sense to you? Because she has no problem with saying that to me." She was so excited. She could not wait to tell Lauryn about this.

She saw Zac sitting at a table in the cafeteria. She grinned at him and dragged Scott over to the table. "Zac Zac Zac!" She said. "Guess what?" He looked mildly stunned. "Scott's here! Me and Scott used to be best friends, but then he went to Noctrem and I came to Arcana, but now he's here!" He grinned. "I'm guessing you're excited about that." He said, looking at Scott. "Yeah! Yeah, I am." She sat down. "Who are you rooming with?" She asked Zac, finally taking her attention away from Scott. She hoped with all her being that he'd say Scott, but she was disappointed. "Theo McCaffery." He said, grinning even wider. "Oh. Oh well. If you have nightmares, you'll know who to blame." She said, trying to hide her disappointment. Zac laughed. She guessed it was at her.

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.

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,'

Amy hated throwing up. It was the most disgusting, repulsive thing ever, and she couldn’t even breathe as the little bit she’d had to eat the day before kept forcing its way up and into the toilet she was bent over, blocking out airways. Soon, she could feel Leo’s hand gently gathering her hair, his other hand caressing her back and she felt herself growing thankful once more that this man loved her, even as she sat there, fighting to breathe while the lumpy, yellow substance forced its way up. Maybe this was a delayed allergic reaction to the red wine from last night? She was grasping at straws though, because she knew her body would’ve reacted sooner if that had been the case. The thing was, however, that others possibilities didn’t fit with this random pattern either. Tears began streaming from her eyes in frustration at her inability to breathe. When it finally stopped, Amy fell down onto her bum, heaving for air as she took some toilet paper and wiped her mouth, throwing it into the toilet afterwards.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Leo moving from her, filling a glass with water and she closed her eyes, trying to calm her body from the shock it had just experienced. Normally if a student had come to her with similar issues, she would’ve asked about sex, protection and the likes, because it would be one of the first signs of pregnancy. But with her, that simply couldn’t be the case. She’d only had sex last night, and before that, she hadn’t had sex in something like half a year or so. Besides, she was on the pill, not that it was a certain guarantee of anything, but still. The mere fact that she sexually couldn’t be suffering from morning sickness already, completely erased that possibility, so what was it? Then she heard Leo’s voice and her eyes fluttered open to see him. She smiled weakly at him as she took the glass, shaking a little. She would calm down in a bit, but right now her body was still adjusting. “Thanks,” she said hoarsely before taking a big gulp of the water, closing her eyes as it soothed her aching throat and made her breathing much smoother.

Her eyes followed him as he poked his head out the bathroom door and she wondered who was knocking. Probably either Vince or Keirol. If it was important, Leo would merely take care of it. She wasn’t helpless after all. She could handle herself and she didn’t want him forsaking his Academy merely because she couldn’t keep her dinner down for some odd reason. Her ears perked when she heard Vince’s voice, wondering what he wanted. She frowned slightly as she thought it over. He’d probably felt the emotional explosion between her and Leo. She sighed, shaking her head a little. She’d have to talk to him about that. What if they’d still been arguing? All in all, she didn’t want Vince coming by every time Leo and she had a blow-out, because she knew there would be more to come. Fine that he hadn’t tuned it out; he couldn’t help his powers any more than she or Leo could theirs, but he didn’t have to act on it. She knew he’d be understanding enough and respect her wishes on this. She couldn’t remember Vince ever being difficult in that department, which was why she loved him. As a friend, of course. Never more.

She smiled softly when Leo returned to her and she took another sip of the water, looking up at him through a veil of dark, thick eye lashes. “It’s fine,” she said, still smiling that soft smile of hers, “I’m fine. Really… I don’t know what just happened.” Truthfully, she did feel much better already, even though she had a terrible taste in her mouth, and probably even worse breath. Yuck. “Just need to brush my teeth.” She struggled to her feet again, quickly regaining her balance as she stood and went to the sink. She felt weak. Not only tired, but weak. Was she coming down with something? That was weird. She was literally never ill. Ever. Her magic provided some kind of shield, she supposed, supporting her immune defenses. She shook her head a little, trying to calm it as she took her toothbrush, adding toothpaste before she began brushing her teeth, getting rid of the vile remnants of her dinner. She’d actually puked in front of Leo. That when it hit her. This was downright embarrassing. What came next? Peeing with the door open? Gods. She shivered at the thought. What was he thinking? She glanced at him with toothbrush in her mouth, gauging his reaction for the first time since her ghastly display.

---

Drake laughed at Lor’s comment. Ah, this girl. He loved how she always played right along with his bullshitting. Not a lot of people had the wits to. Granted, he was good so it was understandable, but he always like a good game with an opponent who actually proved a challenge. “We could,” he said thoughtfully, grinning down at her. “But I think it would qualify as damaging school property so Scary Marinos might give us a talking to.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and chuckled. He knew how close Lora felt to Leonardo Marinos, which was funny because the guy hated Drake. In truth, maybe that made Lora all the more appealing. It was just entertaining. In reality, Marinos had a stick lodged up his ass and Drake couldn’t help wonder what would happen if someone pulled it out. Ah hell, he had so many tongues up there it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference. Thinking of that, wasn’t Colby one of them? The thought made Drake smile. Maybe rooming with Colbs might end up pretty entertaining after all. As it was, however, he was considering how they’d swing things because the way he saw it, they were both pretty sexual guys. In different ways. Very different ways, thank you.

Drake snorted in amusement at Lora comparing gypsies to Erin, “no, I mean… that’s her power. Erin goes all Hulk when she’s pissed, and she’s got a bit of a temper.” He smiled secretively at how much that benefited him in reality. Then he laughed a little. “So yeah, I don’t think you can quite compare it, sweetheart.” Soon, she was commenting on his roommate and Drake smiled casually. “Nah, I’m good, really. It’s fine.” He didn’t mention how he was starting to consider the entertaining aspects of rooming with Colby. Honestly Drake rarely voiced his actual thoughts. He never lied either; he just withheld certain information he didn’t see fit to share. Not that people noticed. They were too caught up in his smiles and the fact that he always seemed so carefree and casual in everything he did. So they didn’t even notice. The same way they very rarely noticed that he didn’t actually give a shit about them.

He could easily narrow down the people he himself considered friends to one degree or another; Cor, Lora, Lulu, Jackson. Now, why was his sister on the list? Well, he sometimes disliked his sister to an extreme degree, but he knew she cared about him, just like he did her. They never showed it, but they did. Jackson had a stick up his ass, but Drake considered him a friend nonetheless. Maybe because Jackson was the kind of guy Drake knew he would be able to count on in a sticky situation and honestly they’d grown to become pretty good friends this last month. Lulu spoke for herself; she was Lulu, and the same could be said for Lora who he’d known for years. So yeah, considering how many people thought themselves his friends, he didn’t really return the feeling a lot. Of course, Jaysin would’ve probably been on the list years back, but then he’d fucked Cor completely up by leaving and ignoring her existence, and now things were just fucking bungled. Theo’s ex, Scott would’ve been included too, but he was dead, so… yeah.

When Lora commented on him being Lazy, Drake merely smirked at her. “You say that like it’s something new,” he countered. Of course, Drake wasn’t usually lazy. Not really. He was the kind of guy who’d get up at 5 am in the morning just to get a good work-out before school, and he wasn’t being lazy right now either. He just frankly wanted to get the whole room-introduction thing over with so he could move on with his life. With her next comment, Drake laughed, ruffling up her hair just to show how easily he could reach. “What kind of gypsy are you, forgetting your magnifying glass? Really, Lor. What would your mother say?” He said playfully, feigning outrage at the fact, before grinning down at her. “Besides, I thought we’d already settled that you need to stop dreaming about being taller than me.”

“Strict?” Drake repeated her words about Leo thoughtfully, almost tasting the word before laughing. “That’s an understatement. He’s such a rule-rider, it’s almost embarrassing. He’s going to have his work cut out for him now that all these idiots from Noctrem are moving in, though. My sister and her bitches are going to be hell to deal with while they get settled in, for instance. Now, they’ll need to establish their little social order for real, and it’s going to cause trouble because those chicks want to be on top.” He shook his head, smiling wryly before giving her a half-concerned look, “better stay out of their way for the next couple of weeks, love.” It was a rare show of affection from Drake. Mostly because it was genuine; not faked in any way. He actually was worried about Lor now that she was staying with Erin, and he knew Cor didn’t like his little gypsy friend. Never had. He didn’t want her getting hit in the crossfire, so to speak. Not that he didn’t know she could handle herself, but compared to some of these girls, Lora’s control of her magic was shady at best.

He thought about putting in his earbuds and playing some music. The room he shared with Zac was one of the last dormitories, and that meant he’d have to pass almost every single room on his way to the cafeteria. Having his earbuds in wouldn’t preclude anyone trying to converse with him entirely. He’d learned that the hard way. It would help, maybe. A slight frown tugged at his lips as he wondered why he was feeling so misanthropic today. Well, moreso than usual, anyway. Even he had to admit that the impulse to wreck Zac’s drums and how terse he’d been were somewhat over the top. Was it just the move? He’d gotten used to having his own motel room and the freedom that it entailed. Or was it something more, something that he wasn’t fully conscious of?

Speaking of Zac, he spotted the boy heading in the opposite direction of him. Feeling ever-so-guilty for how he’d behaved before, Theo lifted a hand in greeting and managed to reorder his thoughtfully frowning lips into a smile. When he heard the sound of Zac on his drums soon thereafter, he found himself very glad that he’d decided to eat rather than read or catch a nap. Ear plugs, he decided. That would be his concession, his act of kindness. He’d just invest in some ear plugs, and Zac could practice with a brass band for all he cared.

As he passed Room Sixteen, he heard Jaysin’s voice, and slowed down just slightly. There were other people in the room- Erin and the strange boy from Arcana, Keirol. He heard the voice of Corentine Quellen afterward and abruptly picked his pace back up. His dislike of Cor outstripped his fondness for Jaysin by whole orders of magnitudes. He didn’t feel like enduring her presence, and the room already seemed quite crowded anyway.

He kept walking. Spotting Amber heading into her room, he tensed slightly, and then let out a captive breath when she just slipped in without seeing him. He’d been avoiding her for… well, a while now. When she saw him, her eyes tended to spark with interest, and her body language suggested that she was going to approach and engage, and he really didn’t want to allow that to happen. He had a sneaking suspicion about what she wanted, and he had far too many secrets to be comfortable letting that girl get close.

He tensed yet again when, closer to the atrium where the list had been posted, he spotted Colby, Landon, and Sky. Just walking by the three of them made him feel very much like he imagined fairly attractive women felt when they walked past a construction site. He was waiting for a cat-call, a proposition, some comment on his arms or his shirt or whatever detail of his appearance that they might bring up today. He wasn’t being entirely fair. Sky wasn’t nearly so bad as Landon, and Landon wasn’t anywhere near as aggravating as the speedster. He nodded awkwardly at the trio. Well, mostly at Landon. Landon, who’d managed to stumble onto one of his secrets. He’d sworn he wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t mention it. Theo believed that he’d stay quiet, but he worried about the price. He knew the other boy was interested in him, probably even more so after their encounter the week before. How long would it be before it occurred to Landon that his knowledge would give him leverage over the object of his affection?

Perhaps there was an upshot to having a memory-meddler as a roommate. He’d have to broach the subject with Zac cagily. He might have been from Arcana, but he had no qualms misusing his powers for the sake of schoolwork. Getting him to purge Landon’s mind of what he’d learned… well, he’d have to think about it. That would only mean he was indebted to Zac instead of Landon. He might be better off with the latter.

He glanced around at those still near the list, hoping to spot one of the few faces he considered actually friendly. Someone he wouldn’t mind talking to. His mind was busier than usual. That tended to indicate that he needed to get something out of his system. Oh well. Seeing no one promising, he soldiered on to the cafeteria. Maybe there would be someone there. Or maybe he’d just have to wait for his run to blow off steam.

Theo often forgot to eat, but when he did eat, he did it right. He got himself a tray and upon it gathered the following: one bowl of whole-grain cereal with two percent milk, two scrambled eggs and two thick slices of ham, a glass of orange juice, wheat toast, and a small pre-packaged fruit and yogurt and granola bowl that actually looked really good. Carrying his food to a vacant table, he sat down and got to work, eating little bits of this and that, diminishing each aspect of his meal proportionately, except for the yogurt medley, which he saved for lonesome last.

After a minute or two of persisting solitude, he slipped his earbuds in and started some music. Move Along by the All-American Rejects started up from his randomized playlist.

---

Colby grinned when Sky cracked his knuckles; it was a very different grin from the goofy standard he made of his mouth most of the time. It wasn’t so much the way his lips were curved that was different, but the competitive cast to his eyes. One might almost think that he wanted Jaysin to start something with Sky when he was there. He blinked when Sky seemingly held off on saying something when Landon arrived, but that was quickly forgotten because… Landon arrived, and the conversation sped on.

He burst into laughter when his buddy mentioned a sock-on-the-doorknob code for him and Drake. Was it really that funny? Probably not to most people. To Colby it was though. Putting a sock on a doorknob made him think of putting a condom on a carrot, like people did in sex-ed classes, and for some reason, thinking about that never failed to make him guffaw. ”Haha, totally,” he said once he’d calmed down. ”I’m going to have to buy a ton of socks, haha.” Apparently it didn’t occur to him to designate a single sock for that purpose.

He listened to the other two, nodding along as Sky put in his two cents on Eriol and Landon agreed to help back Sky up if need be. Maybe he’d been worried about nothing before. Sky and Landon were getting along just fine. Really, Landon was being his usually awesome self and joining the cavalry. He decided that things were totally copacetic (this was the most sophisticated word in Colby’s vocabulary, though the precise connotation escaped him) and moved on, flourishing another grin. ”Jaysin is a total babe though. Haha, he’s going to like, be sooooooo obsessed with you not seeing him naked.” He turned his grin on Sky as he said it. ”It’s kind of hilarious how mad he gets when I hit on him. It’s like, ‘dude, chill out, it doesn’t make you gay if a gay guy hits on you,’ right? He should be, like, flattered, haha.”

He started off behind Landon, still carrying the Party Box. ”So what do you guys think the assembly is about?” That actually hadn’t slipped through the holes in his mental colander. ”Sounds like it’s a pretty big deal, right? Maybe us being put with Noctrem kids was like, some computer mix-up or whatever, and we’re gonna get our real room assignments, haha.” He blinked, and then gave Sky a nudge with his arm. ”No offense dude, haha. I just wish you were with me. That would have been so awesome.” His eyes glazed a bit, and he imagined what it would have been like had he and Sky been put together. Awesome was certainly one way to put it. The other ways to put it warrant censorship.

He gave Theo McCaffrey a once over as the moody boy passed them, then looked over to Landon a few seconds later. ”Didn’t he like, totally shoot you down too? Soooooo glad I didn’t get stuck with him. I think I might have like, died of frustration or whatever, haha. Hopefully whoever he’s with can like, cheer him up some.” He looked over at Sky then, whipping his head quickly. ”Was he like, ever happy? Or did he always look like he was having a mug shot taken, haha?”

Amber was finally finished with putting her stuff away. She kneeled down, sliding a small jewelry box (containing some of Amber's favorite things) under her bed when she heard the room's door open and close. She stood up and turned around to smile at the head of blonde hair that entered their room. A polite smile rested on Amber's lips as she listened to the other girl greet her and welcome her to the academy. 'She seems nice.' Amber thought. "Thanks Hayley." She said, still smiling. "The school seems really nice. It's a nice change of scenery, especially coming from that motel." She pretended to shiver and grinned at the girl.

Amber stared at the girl for a moment, assessing all the little things about her. 'Light blue eyes. Curly blonde hair. Fair hair, not dirty blonde. Slim build, not many curves. Heart shaped lips. Tiny nose...' Every second that passed, more and more details were added to Amber's mental list. The Noctrem student kept smiling at the Arcana, then spoke. "You know, we haven't spoken at all since I've been going here." Her emerald eyes lit up as she spoke. "I hope we get to change that. We'll have a lot of time to talk now that we're roomies." Her friendliness seemed sincere enough, but most would be rather unsettled by the way Amber spoke. So...formal for a girl of her age.

She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm going to get some breakfast, but I'll see you at Mr. M's assembly." She walked toward the door and past Hayley, placing her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I look forward to getting to know you." She said, smiling again, before she left the room and went into the hallways.

Amber walked down the hallways, ignoring all the action going around her and thinking to herself. She made a mental list of potential allies at the school. Now was a time to recruit. People were confused by what was going on and vastly different personalities were clashing. It was a perfect storm for gossip and rumors to bloom. Amber's buissness could flourish, but she just needed the right people to help her add fuel to the fire. Ellie was an obvious choice. Her gift would give Amber a huge advantage. No one would be able to hide anything from them. Then, after Ellie, there was Theo. Theo, Theo, Theo. He had been avoiding her for a while and Amber had an idea of why. He knew that she wanted his help, but for some reason, he didn't seem eager to join her. Next was Freya. That girl had so much potential to cause trouble. Nothing was in more demand on the Gossip Market than some juicy hook ups and romance. Amber wondered if the girl could make a straight guy fall for another guy. That would be an entertaining project.

The girl grabbed a tray, placeing some toast, a waffle, some bacon, and nice, bright red apple on it. She turned to look for a place to sit and- Oh! Was that Theo over there? Amber's lips curled into a devilish smile as she strutted over to his table, her heels clicking and clacking against the cafeteria's shiney wood floor. She sat down across from Theo, puting up her hand and daintily waved at him in greeting.

'Headphones.' was the first thing she observed as she took her seat. She gave Theo a polite smile, setting her bag down in the seat next to her. She reached into it, taking out the Black Book and a red pen. She flipped through the pages until she came upon a blank page. She scribbled something down on the paper, ripped it from the book and laid it down in front of the boy.
It read,

Let's talk

Amber took one of her knives out of her bag and held it in her left hand, apple in her right. She watched Theo as she cut a sliver of the fruit off, and ate it off the blade. She smiled at Theo as she chewed (with her mouth closed, of course) her bright green eyes gleaming as she thought of his potential in the buissness. 'We could do great things.' she thought.



Sky shook his head in amusement as he listened to the two best friends in front of him. It somewhat reminded him of his own relationship with his good friend Curio. 'Where is Curio?' Sky thought, but his attention was taken by the new information Colby has just dropped. Jay doesn't feel comfortable with guys hitting on him? An evil smile came to the pyro's lips as the wheels started turning in his head. "Oh poor guy." He started, smirking. "I'm going to make his life Hell." Sky started on a mental list of things to buy to make his new roomie super uncomfortable. He was going to need a bunch of gay dirty magazines, some Twilight posters (the ones with Taylor Lautner), and few other things that escaped Sky's mind. 'Note to self.' Sky thought. 'Turn any and all coversations with Jay sexual and hit on him whenever possible.' "Oh God, could you imagine what Jay would do if we all came onto him at once?" Sky broke out laughing, just imagining how Jay's face would look. "That'd be great."

Colby has gone onto a new subject (like he usually did) and nudged Sky's arm, making the pyro laugh. "None taken. And I really wish I'd got you too. That'd be fun." God, would it be fun. Sky's grades would probably suffer, but he'd still get a workout everyday. Sky bit his lower lip as he though about it but he stopped when he saw Theo. The kid confused him a little. He was never consistant with Sky. Sometimes he looked really pissed off at him, other times he look amused.

Sky shrugged at Colbs question. "I guess. Honestly, he was picked on pretty bad when he first came to Noctrem. Lots of kids thought his power was useless." The pyro thought if he'd ever seen Theo happy. "Oh wait! There was a point were he didn't seem like he wanted to kill everyone!" A grin formed on Sky's mouth when he remembered. "It was when, I think, he was dating..." His smile fell. "Scott." Scott was the only student to die in the Noctrem fire. The thought of what Theo must've been going through crushed Sky. He knew what it was like to lose someone close to you before it was their time. His own mother, drowned by her dead husband's brother.

He shook it off and continued the conversation. "So yeah, I guess he was happy for a little. I feel really bad about what happened to Scott. Maybe I could've helped." Sky's stomach growled loudly and he looked down at it. "Woah." He said laughing. "Just a second." He went in front of Colby and carefully took off the top of the Party Box, revealing several large bottles of whiskey and tequila, a few boxes of condoms (of assorted colors and flavors), a couple of firecrackers, and lastly, a large bag of candy.

Sky took out a green lollipop and popped it into his mouth before looking at the other boys. "Do you guys want any candy? I know it's the morning and everything, but just so you can eat something before breakfast?"

As usually happened, Theo wound up fairly pleased that no one had bothered to intrude on his solitary breakfast. It was a loop he went through frequently. If he didn’t socialize, he was just giving ammunition to anyone who wanted to abuse him, like so many had back at Noctrem. It also gave the soft-hearted kinds reason to worry about him. Then word would get around, teachers would hear it, and he’d find himself summoned to Mr. Steele’s office for some a one-on-one pandering session. Becoming a student of dreams had granted him a rather acute but instinctual grasp of psychology. Actual psychologists bored him to tears, but the things that went on in people’s heads- well, some people’s heads- were quite fascinating.

And so he’d work himself up to forcing some interaction, even when he wasn’t particularly in the mood. It was easier when people he liked were around. He could just piggy back on them, stand at the edge of whatever conversation was happening and nod, throw in some commentary, try to get off a witticism. Those friends tended to have better friends than him, though, so they weren’t always around. He was forced to resort to everyone else when that happened, in which case he’d strike up some banter about this homework or that essay, smile unconvincingly and nod if anything personal came up, and then wander off, his societal obligation discharged, his ruse of mental wellness intact.

Theo McCaffrey had Googled the word “sociopathy” quite a few times in his life.

Other times, like this morning, he just put himself out there. Usually no one bothered him, but still, he wasn’t hiding in his room eating breakfast. He was out in the open, perfectly accessible. He’d moved on to his fruit and yogurt and granola treat by the time Amber joined him. He wound up blinking when the very next track ended up being by the same artist. The songs, all of them downloaded illegally, tended to wind up in alphabetical order, but even randomized, they’d occasionally play as if they were simply going down the line. Dirty Little Secret came on far too appropriately when the shape-shifter sat down across from him and offered a royal sort of wave. He was midway through lifting his spoon to his mouth when she did, and paused in that action, frowning, before he dropped the spoon disdainfully back into the little plastic container.

His body language was immediately defensive. His posture, always good, became perfect. His eyes never left her, at least not until she began writing something then tore off a message. He inspected it (though really, he just glanced at it; it was only two words and he was a pretty smart guy), then regarded her again. Maybe she didn’t mean anything by the way she ate her apple, but she was a conniver. Theo knew that. He doubted that anything she did didn’t have some meaning to it, and the act of cutting up a defenseless apple and then eating it off the blade was… at least vaguely threatening. He sighed inwardly and killed his music, then tugged each earplug out, right and then left. Wrapping the cord around his phone, he pressed his lips together and decided on a course of action.

He quickly ruled out playing dumb. She knew he was avoiding her. She probably knew why, too. After that he crossed just telling her to get lost off the list. She could be very annoying. It was much better to have her want something from him than want him ruined. He had very little social currency, and no doubt that Amber could bankrupt him in that regard if she wanted. No. What he needed to do was take the initiative. Keep her off-balance. If this really was the prelude to the proposition he was expecting, she’d deal with him on his terms or not at all.

”You probably should have approached me as someone else, if we have anything meaningful to talk about.” The smile he affected probably would have passed for polite enough. He was trying, at least. He’d have gotten at least a B- for the effort, if there were some sort of stupid smiling class. Given the way that most of the Arcana students seemed to class, they might very well have had a stupid smiling class that they’d disbanded before Noctrem had burned down.

He lifted his spoon again, not actually pulling it up. Instead he just swirled it around some, mixing the ingredients of the parfait together more thoroughly and looking down into it as he continued. ”Or is this just a social call? Because we’ve always been such good friends.” He was a little proud of himself. He’d never actually tried to sound particularly bitchy before. He knew he could be absolutely awful when he wanted to, and that most people couldn’t decide if he was more boring or off-putting, but bitchiness was a little novel to him. He felt like he’d done a pretty good job of it. It required a much more cheerful brand of sarcasm than he was used to dishing out, and the corners of his mouth had even turned up slightly on the word such.

He was finally satisfied with the thoroughness of his mixing job, and pulled the spoon out. He slid it into his mouth, letting the sweetness linger before he crunched into the granola. It was a pretty stark contrast to her apple-eating, even if it was just as deliberate. It was… pretty much the exact opposite of how he would normally have eaten it. He didn’t rush through food, but he seldom made such a show of it. He was a little curious how much attention she’d been paying him. How many times had she been someone else, someone he didn’t have reason to suspect, and simply watched him go about his routine? If she’d gotten a baseline for it, his current mode of behavior definitely wouldn’t match it.

Let’s see what you’re made of, Amber. If I’m going to have anything to do with your little enterprise, it will only be when I’m completely sure you’re up to it. He looked somewhat bemused as he thought that, pulling the now-clean spoon from his mouth and dipping it back into the treat.

Landon laughed along, making Jay uncomfortable would definitely be hilarious. Though he'd never said much to Jay himself, Colby had got himself in trouble enough times with his offhand 'compliments' for Landon to know he was far from interested. Overwhelming the boy with flattery from the three of them could at least make for some interesting extra curricular battle practice.

“I wouldn't mind having these assignments changed. I'm not exactly keen to the idea of waking up to some scene from the Parent Trap every morning and I'm sure Eriol wouldn't like the idea of being quarantined to some small section of the room all night.” He wasn't exactly a huge fan of pranks or surprises really, the two kind of go hand in hand. With Eriol's power Landon doubt he could really do much to stop them, so a new roommate would probably be an ideal outcome of the assembly.

Theo's presence in the hall made him forget completely about Eriol and the assembly. He looked grim, no surprises there, but otherwise he was as sexy as ever. Landon didn't say anything, no wolf whistles or comments on his appearance. The baggy clothes hid the body that was capable of so much more than what he presented to the majority of the school, a weak little dreamer hardly strong enough to carry a duffel bag up to his room. Landon had seen just how capable Theo was, but had promised to keep his athleticism a secret, though he could hardly see why it was such a big deal. He smiled and nodded back as Theo wordlessly walked passed the trio. He hadn't tried talking to the Noctrem student since their last meeting in the library, he was still trying to figure out how to work around Theo's advice: “Your time would be better spent going after someone else.”

Landon wasn't sure what made that so impossible. It could have been the pursuit that made Theo so irresistible, he was something that he couldn't simply have, it was a challenge. It could also be that the kid was so damn mysterious; hardly talking to anyone, hiding his exercise routine. There was nothing about him that was easy to understand, to win over, nothing. However, for all the times he'd been stand offish and rude, there were a few instances where he genuinely seemed like a nice guy who was shrouded in all of his own sadness and secrets, or whatever.

Colby's question, caught him off guard, “Yeah, a few times, actually.” or that's what he would have liked to say if Colby hadn't said everything so quickly. He instead settled for a nod but listened carefully to what Sky said. It seemed that Theo was only happy when dating, Scott? Obviously not Scott Andrews and with the few other things Skylar said Landon gathered he meant the Scott that had died in the fire. The guilt hit pretty hard. For the past few weeks, he'd been hitting on and bugging Theo and the whole reason he was so sad all the time was because his boyfriend was burnt alive. He felt like such an ass. Landon was visibly distraught over what he'd just learned as he quietly accepted the lollipop to suck on while he thought the whole thing over, including what he'd say as an apology.

Amber smiled cheerfully as she observed Theo. 'Posture: Rigid, suggesting the subject is uncomfortable or defensive. Eyes focused on his target: Me. Perfect.' She watched him tug his headphones out of his ears, cutting another sliver off her apple, but she waited before eating it. The boy obviously didn't seem to happy to be talking to the shape-shifter, but after several years of doing what she does, Amber had adjusted to the way people acted towards her. Being successful had a price and her's was giving up the trust of most of the school. A fair price in her eyes.

She crossed her legs as Theo smiled- Well, attempted to smile, at her. She pushed her raven colored hair behind her shoulder, chuckling at his comment. "Who would you rather me have come to you as?" She asked, her emerald eyes suddenly fading and changing color until they were their natual blue-green. Her soft lips rested in a smirk as he stirred his parfait, her eyes suddenly gleaming with interest as a snarky comment came from the dream manipulator. 'Alittle play before buissness?' She thought. 'I'm game.'

Amb ever-so-slightly raised an eyebrow as the boy ate his food in a very dramatic way. It seemed Theo was in a mood to scratch back, something that Amber wasn't expecting, though her face wouldn't show as much. She just kept her smile, then eating the apple off her knife just as she did before. She assessed the new situation in her head, trying to find the right way to counter his strange approach. He usually wasn't so bitchy. This could complicate her plans to a certain extent. She was going to simply put her offer out on the table, for him to accept or reject it, but if he wanted to have a battle of wills, Amber would be more than happy to comply.

She took her knife to her apple, but instead of cutting it like she had previously did, the girl ran it down the apple's side, slowly skinning the red exterior from the white underneath. She repeated this as she looked at Theo and opened her mouth to speak. "Well, there are no reasons for us not to be friends." Another strand of apple skin fell onto Amber's tray. "But then again, you don't seem to fond of having company, do you?" She sped up the process, soon ending up with a completely skinned apple. She was smiling at Theo, though even if she wasn't, her eyes gleamed with a certain amusment. She brought the throwing knife up to her lips, licking the fruit's juice clean from it's blade.

She picked up the apple by the stem, but as she did, the features on her face quickly changed, taking on a more masculine appearance. Her shoulders broadened, she grew in height, her hair shortened and turned a light brown. Her clothes seemed to change as well, until they became a red T shirt with a black coat, black shorts, and sneakers. She took a bite of the apple, now fully in the guise of Landon Hirst.

She smirked, putting the apple down on the tray. It was most likely a strange sight, seeing the boy with his legs crossed in such a feminine way. Actually, everything she did in his guise seemed more feminine. From the way she set down the apple, to the way she was now girlishly twirling a finger in her hair. "You know, Theo, it's obvious that this boy has a thing for you." As she spoke, Amber's voice deepened, until it was undistinguishable from Landon's. She winked at the boy. "But I'm guessing you already know that." Truthfully, Landon was her second choice of people to confront Theo as. Scott, Theo's dead lover was her first, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. It was too low a blow, even for Amber. And she didn't think that Theo would react to well to seeing Amber disrepecting his deseased boyfriend.

She examined her nails for a moment, before switching her attention back to the boy in front of her. "So, Theo. I'm sure you know why I came to talk to you." She set her now manish hands on the table, tapping her fingers against the surface. "But, I'll respect it if you don't want to talk buissness yet. I'll wait as long as you want." She gave him another wink, before picking up a strip of bacon and crunching down on it.

The speedster listened to both his friends- occasionally opening his mouth, like he was about to butt in, but when he couldn’t quite do so, he fell silent and listened again. Obviously they were all in agreement about the roommate thing. Not that he really minded Drake, just… well, someone he could beat off in front of would have been dandy. He made a mental note (or tried, anyway; making a mental note was a bit like trying to pin something to glass for Colby’s always-racing mind) to broach that subject with his new roomie if he got the chance. It would segue nicely from them sorting out the sock system, or whatever method they used to make sure that one didn’t walk in on the other screwing. Not that Colby really cared. As far as he was concerned, Drake could grab some popcorn and watch or, even better, join in. Some sneaky sexy sort of thoughts dragged his attention away from the better part of Sky’s explanation on why Theo was such a head-case without much resistance. He blinked away images of Drake crawling into his bed naked and tried to get back into the flow of chatter.

”Oh yeah! I remember hearing about that. That sucks so hard. I guess I’d get kind of emo too if one of you guys died.” Colby was always the very picture of compassion. He thought about possibly trying to make friends with the solitary boy, but… well, he’d tried that. Sort of. He’d been shot down just as hard as Landon, if not harder, and even as dense as he could be, Colby was well aware of Theo’s dislike of him. It kind of pissed him off, occasionally, but rather than dwell on that he chose to give him his space and think about what he looked like without clothes on occasionally.

He gladly delved his hand into the bag of candy, rummaging and then pulling out an Atomic Fireball and a yellow lollipop. He unwrapped the former in a blur and popped it in his mouth, hollowing his cheeks as he sucked. He probably would have noticed that Landon had gotten angsty looking if it weren’t for Scott (Andrews) passing by. He rolled his eyes at the nickname that the buff boy employed for him, which was somewhat hypocritical given the level of cheesiness he was known to rise to. It was all in good fun though. He was quickly grinning at Scott and soon thereafter undressing him with his eyes.

”Scotty with the body, what’s up hottie?” See? Cheesiness. Unlike a lot of straight guys, Scott didn’t have a problem with Colby’s perpetual level of interest in getting in his pants. Actually, he sort of seemed to enjoy it. The attention, if not the idea behind it. Colby had high hopes, though, of one day convincing Scott to switch teams, however briefly. He often forgot that Scott and Landon were not fans of one another. Now was one such moment. He laughed aloud when Scott snagged a condom. ”Pretty sure he has some extra-small ones in there somewhere, bro,” he teased. It was sort of like reverse-psychology. It had worked on “straight” guys in the past, preying on the classic male size insecurity to get a glimpse of what was hidden in their boxer shorts. His nose wrinkled up when the boy made reference to Cor, or more specifically, the fact that he and Sky had both banged her. That was something he hated thinking about. Showers were mandatory for Sky before fooling around with Colby- unless he could smell soap on the boy’s skin, he refused to so much as kiss him until he’d witnessed him getting cleaned off. He appreciated the fact that Scott had Sky’s back too, even if the reason for it completely grossed him out.

As Scott headed off, he remembered that he had candy in his mouth and started sucking on it again. The first thing he noticed was the way he was working over his green lollipop. He frowned though as his eyes wandered away from Landon’s mouth. He failed to make quite a few connections, instead deciding that Landon was upset because he’d hit on Scott. He leaned over, wrapping the other boy in a half-hug, affectionate if incomplete. ”Dude, cheer up. You’re totally my favorite, you know that, haha.” He pulled away, and regarded Sky.

”Man, this candy is just making me even hungrier.” He would have patted his stomach, were he not still holding the party box.

---

His eyes slid to her fingers, the knife, the interplay of the edge of the blade with the waxy skin of the apple. He had plenty of experience with knives, in his dreams more than anywhere else. That little trump card was one of the many things that he was worried about Amber ferreting out. He could do anything he wanted in his dreams once he had a working knowledge of it, and he could do it for a very long time if he stretched out the time dilation relative to the real world as much as possible. By keeping his body in peak shape and practicing in secret in the real world, he could, after a fashion, translate that dream-time expertise into very real capability. Watching her play with her food, he made a mental note about her capability with small, edged weapons and moved on.

There are no reasons for us not to be friends.

He could think of a dozen off the top of his head, the first of which was her use of a double-negative. The grammatical sin was minor though, compared to, say, the potential of her getting him committed to full time psychiatric care. Theo was fully cognizant of what would happen if anyone ever found out about his time with Scott in his dreams. The careful act he’d put in place to fool them into thinking he was finally coping would be destroyed, and he’d have earned himself a one-way ticket to group therapy and finger-painting his feelings. His composure was slowly eroding. He’d tried to react not at all to the blatant intimidation tactic, but when she licked the knife, the corners of his eyes crinkled in a slight show of disdain. Elegance would have been far more effective for dealing with Theo…

… and then she transformed. He recognized who she’d chosen when she was only half-way through, and immediately his mind began racing.

Landon had talked. He’d told her. She’d probably disguised herself as Haskins and blew it out of him. Why else would she choose that particular shape? He was cursing himself for letting Landon catch him free-running, cursing Amber for being a manipulative bitch, and cursing Landon for probably-accidentally divulging what he’d sworn to keep quiet. In a fit of paranoia, he sketched out hundreds of scenarios, some of which involved Landon telling Amber to get back at him for denying his advances, others which related to her using guile to work it out of him.

Amber had chosen well, because in Theo’s eyes, she would see fear, a sort of shining glint of brief panic. It was only a few seconds before he’d finished freaking out, but that particular damage was done. She had to know she’d hit a nerve. Theo had lost whatever advantage he’d been hoping to gain entirely.

He calmed down slightly when she spoke again and felt like an idiot. Landon hadn’t said anything. She’d just picked up on his attraction and thought she might be able to use it against him. Dumb luck, on her part. If Landon hadn’t been the keeper of one of his secrets, turning into him would have been about as effective as turning into Justin Bieber (whose songs Theo could not name a single one of). He went from anxiety to bristling in an instant, again angry largely at himself. This is what happens. Things start to fall apart.

It was a very good thing that she’d elected not to become Scott. Theo would have killed her, or tried. His mind was rational enough that he wouldn’t be reduced to sobbing at the sight of him. He saw him all the time, when he was asleep. He’d have recognized it for what it was: a cheap ploy to manipulate him. And he would have been furious, enough so to embrace expulsion, jail-time, whatever, in order to end her.

He needed to explain his reaction to her transforming into Landon. Or maybe he didn’t? If she was assuming that he spazzed because he liked Landon, so be it. He’d reinforce that. Let her believe that, and think she had some hold over him. He slowly looked down into his empty parfait cup, trying to look as sheepish as possible. That was how people looked when people exposed their crushes, right? Sheepish?

”We can talk,” he said quietly, trying to layer his voice with some embarrassment. ”But not here. Tonight. I’ll come to you.” His power was perfect for clandestine meetings… and he’d be in control. Truly in control. He should have thought of that from the start. Finally, he looked up at her, trying to make his gaze pleading. ”Can you change back, please? I don’t want that you were… him… getting back to… him.”

S

Amber slightly raised an eyebrow as she watched Theo react to her new form. There was a look in his eyes that she was used to seeing. They were filled with panic and fright. Amber could practically see the wheels turning in the young man's head. 'Strange' she thought. 'What would he have to fear?' He didn't have much of a reputation to uphold, so what could Amber do to him? He seemed like a man who liked his privacy, but Amber hadn't picked him out to be one to have secrets.

The fear in his eyes passed, the emotion being replaced by anger. But anger at who? Had Amber said something? Did something? What was going on in his head? The curiousity started to claw at Amber's stomach, but she just sat there in Landon's form, watching Theo silently. Amber's thoughts were racing as she started to think of all the possible secrets the boy in front of her could have. Had he and Landon been secretly dating? Had they shared a bed? Did Landon know something about Theo? Did Theo know something about Landon?

She listened to him speak, a pleasant smile coming to her lips. Amber had spent her whole childhood being trained to improvise lies on a moments notice. She could spot bad acting from a mile away. The feigned embarrassment, the sham puppy eyes.'What an amateur.' There was something going on with Theo and Landon and she had the urge to find out what. 'Calm down Amber.' she thought to herself. 'If you're going to try and work with this boy, you're going to have to earn his trust. Leave it alone. Let the man have his secrets.'

Amber obeyed his request and gave up Landon's guise, shifting back into her original form. Her jaw slighly clenched as his other request hit her. In all her thoughts, she hadn't thought about his suggestion of a dream meeting at first. The thought of the boy having complete control wasn't very appealing to the shapeshifter, but it'd have to do. If she had to prove her trustworthiness to Theo, so be it.

Amber nodded and gave him a polite smile, slightly tilting her head. "Alright. I look forward to meeting with you tonight, Mr. McCaffrey." She slightly chuckled at the use of his last name. It fit him, but at the same time, it didn't, if that made any sense. "I'll be in bed by 9:00." she informed him before taking another bite of her bacon strip. She heard Leo's voice over the intercom and she let out a frustrated sigh, looking at her tray of food. "What a waste." she said simply, slinging her purse over her shoulder and standing up. She took out her phone from her purse, bringing up the picture of the list of rooms and tapping the screen to zoom in.

"Just in case I need to reach you in the waking world." she explained as she read looked for the boy's name. "Room Eighteen." She looked down to Theo, smiling at him. "Oh, you're with Zac. He's just a doll isn't he?" Amber picked up her knife and dropped it into her bag and picked up her food tray. She winked at the boy. "See you tonight." She said sweetly, before strutting off to a trashcan, dumping her untouched food into the garbage.

She smiled as she walked to the Great Hall. She had high expectations for this school. Very high indeed.



Eden chewed on his lip, trying to put a face to Kali's roommate. "Uhh...Sorry Kali. I have no clue." Adina danced behind him and Mary as they began to follow Kali. "Oh yeah, I'll sit next to you Kali." He took a few steps to follow her and Mckenna. He playfully put his arm around Kali as he walked by her side. Of course, if it was anyone else, Eden wouldn't have dared done anything like that, but it wasn't anyone else. It was Kali, one of his dearest friends.

The two angels smiled as they looked at the two, romantic thoughts obviously running through their heads. Mary walked towards Mckenna with a warm (As warm as a statue could be) smile. "Hello dear." She greeted, her stone features creating a sweet image. She bent over, picking up the picture that fell to her feet. She didn't look at it as she handed it back to the girl. "You dropped this." She stated, smiling as Adina was heard singing to herself in the backround.

"You don't know you're beautiful!" She sang, dancing behind the group. "That's what makes you beautiful!"

(Sorry it's so short! :O)



A soft smile came to Sky's face when he heard Colby say that he'd be sad if he lost either him or Landon. It made Sky think alittle bit and for a moment, he compared their situation to that movie Savages that he'd seen the other day. The main characters had some weird love triangle-sort thing going on. Colby was Blake Lively and Sky and Landon were those two sexy guys that shared her. It was practically the same thing. Well, except that they were all guys. And that it was less serious between all of them. And that him and Landon weren't best friends. And that they weren't being chased by the Mexican Cartel. That reminded Sky that he had to call his aunt later.

Scott walked by the trio and Sky's thoughts went out the window as he looked the hunky teen up and down. He put his lips together and did a cat call for Sky, biting his lower lip and letting out a laugh as Scott grabbed a condom out of the Party Box. He cocked a brow when he heard Colby's strange comment about Scott needing an extra small condom. Was that part of Colby's plan to get Scott to switch teams?

He switched attention back to Scott when he mentioned Sky rooming with Jay. He smiled and nodded to Scott. Sky appreciated that Scott had his back and honestly, he had his too. And if he wanted Sky to cover any other part of his body, the pyro would be willing to make that sacrifice.

Sky wet his lips and yelled after Scott. "If you need anyone to test the flavor of that rubber, I'm your man!" He started laughing again and made his way over to his room's door. "Alright, let's get settled in." He thought aloud, turning the doorknob. Well, he tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. "Shit. Fucking Jay." Sky cursed. He resisted the temptation to kick the door down as he turned to the other two boys.

"Well, I guess we can go eat some-" He was cut off by Mr. Marino's voice over the intercom, announcing the assemble was happening in 5 minutes. "Or I guess we can't." He let out a frusturated sigh. "Sorry." He apoligized. His first day at Arcana wasn't off to a great start. He was locked out of his room, his roommate was an asshole, and he was hungry.

He dropped his bag and walked over to Colby, opening the Party Box again and pulling out one of the bottles of tequila. He opened the bottle and took a fast sip, tossing his head back and not even giving the liquid the chance to touch his tougue on it's way down his throat. He wiped his mouth and shook his head. He felt a little more relaxed, but- "Just one more." He said, repeating the process.

He smiled, closing the bottle and putting it pack into the box. "I feeeeel great. Let's got to that assembly gentlemen." The pyro's lips curled into a relaxed smile as he felt the alchohol working it's magic.

The dreamer nodded in a faint show of sympathy when she bemoaned Marinos’ announcement. He had no illusions that the assembly was going to be uninteresting. Much though he did have respect for their immortal headmaster… well, the man had problems connecting with relatively normal people like them. That was his opinion, at least. He felt that way himself often. The things he cared about barely lined up with the interests of his peers, and when they did, it was only in the loosest sense. His penchant for horror cinema was the closest thing, and it was still very different from the appreciation that others had for it. He didn’t scare, he didn’t spook, and he certainly wasn’t squeamish (about anything besides fire-related injuries)- to him, it was more like research. No, inspiration was a better word for it. People knew the rules of horror movies. If he abided by those rules in the nightmares he engineered, they’d seem that much more dreamlike and therefore plausible.

He nodded again, this time when she confirmed their appointment. His brow furrowed slightly when she consulted her phone and then produced his room number and roommate. The information was public domain, of course. It was the fact that she’d thought to check, and that she’d announced it, that were somewhat troubling. He didn’t say anything, letting the dip of his chin suffice. They were heading the same way, but he waited a few moments, idly toying with the spoon and musing over the implications of this little run-in. When sufficient time had passed he packed up his things and rose smoothly to his feet. He bussed the empty cartons and trim remains of his breakfast to a garbage can and then set off for the auditorium.

---

He’d chosen to sit in the far back corner. He was still dressed for a run that he fully intended to go on as soon as the information spewing was over with. He relaxed back in his seat, kicking his feet up against the one in front of him, and waited. His eyes strayed a bit, here and there, but he didn’t bother with trying to interact with anyone. There wouldn’t be time, and he didn’t want to enter into any entanglements that might prevent him from escaping to his solitary exertions when all was said and done.

His eyebrows both lifted a half inch or so when Marinos described the house structure and competitions. Several thoughts jockeyed for primacy in terms of being processed, and the Hogwarts comparison ended up making it to the front of the line. Maybe this was a somewhat misguided effort for him to connect with them? To tap into a bit of popular culture? It was plausible. The next consideration was that he’d have another group of people to keep track of. A roommate was bad enough. He listened carefully as Leo went down the list. When Causton House was rattled off, he stopped listening and evaluated the classmates that he’d been saddled with. The psychic and the lust-inspirer would be annoying if only for their powers. Being in proximity to Amber… well, he’d have to see what to make of that after tonight. The others were by and large neutral in his estimation, and Elijah was someone who he actually favored the company of, slightly. It could be much worse, he finally decided. When they were dismissed, he made use of his strategic positioning to be one of the first ones out and into the hallway. As he walked, he got his phone ready and tucked his earbuds in so that he’d be ready, once he made his way out the front of the school, to break into his pre-run stretching.

He went quickly and methodically through the same series of stretches he always did, a process designed to loosen and limber up most of the major muscles in his body and particularly his legs. He’d be stuck there, doing that, for another few moments, but then he’d be off.

---

Colby brightened considerably when Landon seemed to cheer back up. He blinked and then laughed when he realized that Jay had locked the door (which took a few seconds, during which he stared at Sky, then the door, then back at Sky before the other boy explained). His laughter cut out when he figured out the most likely reason that the door was locked, though. Ew.

For just about the first time ever, he’d been a little dismayed to hear the dulcet tones of Leonardo Marinos. That meant he’d have to wait for breakfast, and he was already starving. He watched, blinking, as Sky took his double shot of tequila, straight from the bottle. Colby was no stranger to boozing it up, but 9 AM was a little early for him. He just grinned and shook his head, snagging the candy out of the Party Box and then setting it down beside Sky’s bag. ”I’m totally eating all your candy, bro,” he told Sky, still grinning. The idea of a tipsy Sky was very appealing. With food forestalled, his mind had wandered to other interesting things they might get up to after… or maybe during… the assembly.

---

Colby had taken the middle spot, smack between Sky and Landon. He was leaning against the former, his head nestled on Sky’s shoulder, and he’d kicked up his right leg to rest on Landon’s thigh. The sound of a wrapper being rapidly shucked occasionally came from where they were sitting- by the end of the assembly there’d be dozens of little pieces of plastic stuck in the now-half-empty bag of candy. He let his left hand swing down to rest on Sky’s leg, quite comfortable in spite of the strange way he was sprawled out across his best friends.

He shifted to sit up and actually pay attention when the dreamy Battle instructor started reading off who would be in houses with whom. The information exited his brain just as quickly as it entered; he was really just listening for his own name, trying to figure out who he’d be with. He perked up a bit at a few names (if anyone were paying attention, it would be the names of the guys he had or wanted to have sex with), but gave up by the end Causton house. His mind just wasn’t meant for this kind of exercise. Surely there’d be a list for him to snag at some point. When his name did finally come he’d gotten distracted by using his fingers to create a facsimile of the feeling of an eggshell being cracked on Sky’s knee, having slouched back to lean against him once more.

When Landon sort of loomed over him he reacted with awkward surprise. He’d been in a zone of sorts, just enjoying the feel of his fingers on Sky’s pants, and the sudden appearance of his other friend in the frame of his vision startled him. Landon just seemed to want Sky’s attention, though, so Colby poked Sky in the ribs and jerked a thumb Landon’s way, just to make sure that the message got through.

---

Cain had snuck into the light-booth just before the presentation began. He dropped himself down into the swivel chair behind the sound board and contemplated, briefly, the enjoyment he would derive from messing around with the controls while Leo spoke. Very little enjoyment, he decided. It would be a petty distraction, at best, and it would call attention to his presence.

He wasn’t privy to many of the goings on in Arcana, which bothered him quite a bit. He snorted when the man went on to describe a set-up for the student body straight out of J.K. Rowlings’ educational philosophy. If he was going to rip off teen fiction to run his school, why couldn’t he have picked The Hunger Games? That would have been vastly more interesting, and Cain could have supplied a list of twenty four students he would have enjoyed seeing fight to the death in less than thirty seconds. Assigning or detracting points from students did sound somewhat enjoyable, though. He only hoped Leo didn’t expect him to provide reasoning with his tallies. There were quite a few students who he planned on docking just for the way they dressed.

When the assembly was at its end, he lingered in the booth, swaying back and forth on the chair and waiting for the place to clear out. He had an inkling that Leo had decided on such harsh punitive measures for non-attendance simply to keep him busy for several hours each day, and the weekend. He intended to make it clear that matters of widespread and time-consuming detention assignations should be cleared by him prior to being implemented. He was the Detention Master, after all. Of course, the list of students he’d be babysitting for the rest of the week was mostly a rogue gallery of his favorites, so Leo’s plans had thoroughly backfired on all counts. Like usual.

Scott Martin Andrews

Frey’s hand laid gently on Scott’s shoulder as her fingertips made there way up his face. She slowly moved in for a kiss and Scott only did the same. There lips met and for a brief moment Scott was in bliss. As she slowly pulled back Scott wrapped his hand around hers.

“Scott…” She began
“I don’t know what I’m feeling right now, it’s like a rollercoaster of emotions going on inside me, but I do know that I have never felt for someone, the way I have felt about you and if you’re willing to be patient with me, In time I will say it back.”
Scott began to process what she just said. She was confused, that was understandable and everything she said was what Scott was feeling as well. A lot of emotions, that’s it. Idiot Scott told himself. You keep on making reckless moves, telling her you love her yet, you don’t even know how it feels to love someone.

No, but my feelings towards Frey, there feelings I can't describe, that’s love and I’m sure of it. Proving his self-conscious wrong, Scott was warped back into reality. The only thing he could really do now was what she told him to do, wait.

“Right” Scott said.
“I’ll wait for you. I’m just glad I can kiss you more often.” Scott chuckled and moved in to get one more kiss, treating it like it was the last. His hands firm on her waist, his lips on top of hers. He lingered just to pull her down on this bed, to turn this more then just a make-out session, but he paid his respect to what still remained of this platonic relationship. Just wait, when Frey says those three magical words, this non-physical relationship will be gone and you can make your way past first base.

Scott shot Frey a flirtatious look and pulled himself back before doing anything else.
“As you know I have detention because I missed out on the assembly.” Scratching his head, Scott couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. “I’m going to go and catch breakfast” as Scott made his way to the door he turns around towards Frey and gives her a blinding look. An expression that screams out what his true feeling were towards her. “I really do love you Frey, I hope you know that.” His expression returned to normal, into a playful grin and he was already gone before she could say anything else.

Afternoon detention, he was aware of it. It was always like that, even in Noctrem. Scott was sitting alone in the cafeteria chewing on a soft bagel. He jugged down a whole litre of water in a mil-second and began to eat everything that was available in the cafeteria. He stared outside, great weather. Weather, quick thoughts swimmed through his head. Loralei, I wonder where she was. She was the girl that could control the weather, what a cool power Scott thought. She was cute too, Scott laughed to himself and finished his food. The weather was extremely nice, and he was still in the mood to work-out. Maybe a nice run? It was officially a plan.

Scott ran up to his dorm and changed into his training shorts and only in his training shorts. He was shameless, he was aware of his great physique why not show it off a bit? Only wearing his training shorts Scott made his way back downstairs. A group of girls squealed with joy at the sight of Scott shirtless and Scott could only laugh. The girls were on there feet, almost like they were going to join in on his jog or jump on him. On his way outside he saw Theo, who looked like he was preparing to run himself. Scott turned on his mp3 and his I-pod shuffled through a list of a thousand. Scott took off into a jog. It almost looked as if he was sprinting but if you asked him it was only him jogging. He began to fade with the trees and only to follow, were the group of girls.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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