Vincent Douglass Steele's Story

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

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

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



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

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

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

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.

With Vince not replying to him, Leo turned his attention back on the beautiful brunette who needed him most. He felt bad for snapping at her moments ago, when she had been feeling sick like this. Amy hadn't told him that she had been feeling sick, and he wished he hadn't acted that way towards her. At least she was drinking the glass of water that he had given it - it was something, at least to have back in her stomach, something to line it once again. Keeping a stomach completely empty after throwing up was one of the worst things, he had found, and water was one of the most refreshing things. His eyes were still filled with worry as he crouched down on the floor next to her, brushing a stray piece of hair back off of her clammy forehead. What had caused this illness of hers? She had been fine...

"No, I don't either." He repeated, his voice soft, mirroring the smile that Amy was putting onto her face. It did make him smile, knowing that even after being sick, she would do her best to look happy and smile in front of him. Leo practically jumped up from his position as Amy struggled to stand up, his arm coming to wrap around her waist, being careful not to put any pressure on her stomach. He didn't want her falling over, and would be by her side for as long as it took for her to regain stability once more. However, it didn't take her very long, and soon, the immortal male was letting her go, allowing her to move over to the sink. He followed her closely however, keeping a watchful eye on her. His worries still hadn't left his body, and his expression was a mixture of confusion and care. His Amy was never ill, and if she was, she would just heal herself upon learning about it, wouldn't she? There had to be something that had upset her stomach - something out of the ordinary.

The only thing out of the ordinary that had happened, was that the two of them had slept together for the first time the night before, but that couldn't have anything to do with it? Unless it was the strange sensation of it, put together with the lack of sleep? Yes, that had to have something to do with it - the lack of sleep! Leo soon realized that he was standing there like a gormless idiot, pondering over the reason why his girlfriend had been ill, with the stupidest look on his face. He stood up properly, moving to once again place his hand on her side.

"Do you think it could have been the lack of sleep? A disruption to your usual sleep pattern?" He asked her, his head cocking to the side like a puppy-dog. "Shit, I need to get ready... I'm sorry to rush you baby, I really am. But... we need to get ready for the assembly." He spoke softly, pressing his lips to her cheek, his eyes changing from serene worry, to alarming panic. "Do you want me to leave so you can shower? I'd rather not leave you on your own though."

Amy was a little confused at first, having hugged Chris. He seemed unsure of what to do. She frowned, drawing back to look up at him, bemused expression in place. He stepped back simultaneously, finally having said her name and she blinked up at him, waiting for everything to sink in on his side of things as well. As her old friend looked her over, she wondered briefly if maybe he blamed her for not taking to him at all after leaving Arcana, but the doubt fled as soon as he grinned and swept her into another hug. She couldn’t help the small giggle escaping her lips. She was just so happy to see him; it felt incredible, because just as she did, she realized how much she’d really missed him. How much he’d been missing in her life, and how amazing it could be now that he was back in it. She’d missed their friendship. “Haven’t changed one bit?” She teased, grinning, “now, I know that’s a lie.” Then she shook her head, still smiling brightly up at him. “As for how long I’m here, I don’t have an expiration date, so I’m thinking for as long as it makes me happy.” With that, she dared a glance at Leo, not able to keep her eyes off of him.

However, that short glance also meant she noticed the way he was practically glaring at Chris. What was up with that? He’d been perfectly polite and friendly minutes earlier. She shook out of it, smiling at Chris. “How about you? Oh, and I’m fine.” She laughed softly, “in fact, I’m great.” She squeezed him once more, resting her head against his shoulder briefly while she murmured her observation about his appearances. Then she let go of him, just having realized why Leo would be looking more or less murderous just then. He didn’t like her hugging Chris? Leo was jealous? Why? He didn’t glower at Vince when she hugged him, so how was Chris any different? She did feel her stomach fluttering a little in excitement, though, some unknown part of her loving his possessiveness. So… male. And so hers. Thinking about it, maybe she was slightly happy that Leo didn’t get close to other women. That meant there was no reason for her to be jealous, because she imagined she’d be just as bad as Leo.

When Chris replied to her comment, she laughed. “Yeah, with a pensioner discount too.” She bit back, teasing glint in her eyes. She’d deal with Leo and his issues later. Because they were completely unfounded and she did not like it… at all. Nope, not one bit. Okay, maybe it was a little hot. But then, lately it seemed she found everything about him hot. Lately? Year right. More like always. She cocked her head slightly when he told her he’d been through a lot, wondering what he was talking about. She smiled up at him. “We’ll catch up soon, okay? And you can tell me all about everything.” She turned slightly to look at Leo when Chris spoke to him, and when the man didn’t reply, Amy shook her head, sending Chris a soft smile. “I’ll help you out with the information bit later, honey. And the-“ She was interrupted when sound emanated from Chris’ phone, and gathered her hands in front of her, only nodding slightly when he made comments. Leo was going to be a pain to deal with, she could tell, so Chris accidentally breaking the rules, was going to be a slight issue. Oh, if he was going to take out that jealousy on Chris, he was getting a piece of her mind.

Once Chris has finished texting, Amy was about to say something when Leo interrupted and she inwardly sighed, already knowing this was not going to be a very friendly conversation anymore. And she was right. As Leo spoke, a very clear dismissal of Chris, Amy almost wanted to scowl right back at him, for his tone, and for his treatment of Chris in all. Way to make the new teacher feel welcome. She turned fully towards him, the look in her eyes clearly saying, “really, Leo? Really?” She crossed her arms over her middle, raising an eyebrow when Leo more or less ordered her to go with him. There was no question in it whatsoever, and it hadn’t even been directed at her. He was going to order her around now? She took a deep breath, calming herself so that Chris wouldn’t notice her irritation. Fortunately she had her back to him, which made things easier. She would apologize to him on behalf of Leo later, or make the proud Spartan do it himself. Just earlier they’d had a discussion, and now they were going to again? Amy sighed, rubbing her right temple with a couple of fingers before shaking her head. “Right, medicine,” she finally murmured, playing along.

She glanced behind her at Chris, giving him a soft, warm smile. “I’ll see you later, okay? I’ll come by your quarters.” Then, without another word, Amy took the lead, headed towards Leo’s office. It was among the few places that were sound proof and she felt like screaming at him tonight. Then she’d probably give over her body while taking his, because god help her, she was just as turned on as she was infuriated. Which only served to agitate her further. Why did she find his jealousy to damned arousing? She was only supposed to be angry with him at his way of handling it, not want to throw herself at him all the while. Infuriating man, she thought to herself as the sound of her heels echoed around the halls.