To my friend Chance for his inputs on the matter

To my friend Angela for our story from which I drew inspiration from

To Ryan for helping out in a problematic time

To the teachers at Royal Valley High School,

especially my band teacher John Nottingham, for his 6 years, and my history teacher Kenny Holthaus, for his fun class days

    I was walking down the hallway. It was my first day of high school and I was really nervous, so I kept to myself. My short white hair bobbed up and down on the sides of my head as I walked through the hallways alone, with my white eyes hardly ever leaving the direction of the floor. I was walking through a group of girls, who judging by the way they looked, I assumed they were the "popular cheerleaders." I noticed that their conversation started to dwindle as I drew nearer to them and it stopped entirely as I walked right through the group because they were taking up the entire width of the hallway. One of them grabbed my shoulders.

    "Hey, that wasn't cool what you just did," she said. She had short red hair and gold eyes. She spoke with a soft Italian accent.

    "Oh...I-I'm s-so sorry!" I said as I wanted to just be away from them. I have a British accent, by the way.

    "Well, Freshie," she said calling me the slang term for freshman, "here, 'sorry' don't cut it." Before I knew it, I was shoved into the boy's locker room wearing nothing but my underwear. The boys looked at me and laughed, whistled, and jeered. I became red-faced and I screamed as I tried to open the door but the mean girls had locked the door behind me, so I beat on the door trying to get it open, to no avail. I ran to the corner and tried to make myself as small as possible, just wishing I would disappear. I was crying until I felt something land on my face. It was a towel that a boy had offered me. He smiled and looked away as I stood up and wrapped myself up in the towel.

    "You can look now," I huffed with indifference.

    "Sorry about that," he said with a British accent as well. He had red-orange eyes and red colored hair. "My name is Aaron. Aaron Aston." He offered his hand for me to shake.

    "M-my name's Lotus," I said nervously. Great name right?

    "Nice to meet you Lotus, now come on, let's go get you your proper school uniform back." I blushed as he took my hand and walked me out of the locker room. 

    Lotus and I walked out of the locker room. The group of girls were standing near by, laughing.

    "Hey!" I said to them. They stopped laughing and they looked at me.

    "Oh look," the red haired leader teased in a mean tone, "Freshie's got herself a boyfriend." She's Concettina Countach, a Senior this year. She's been head of the cheer clique since she was first a cheerleader back in her seventh grade year.

    "He's not my boyfriend!" Lotus yelled at them.

    "Come on, Concettina," I said to the red head, "give Lotus her uniform back."

    "Come on, Aaron," Concettina almost whined, "I know you found it funny too." She then started giggling to herself. Oh, my giddy Aunt, I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry, my name 's Aaron Aston and I'm 16 and I am a sophomore here at Carlyle high.

    "No," I said and she stopped and gasped.

    "What!?"

    "I did not find this funny," I enunciated. She growled and stamped her foot.

    "Why not?!"

    "Because what you did was mean," I said as I picked up Lotus' uniform from off the ground and I handed it to her and she ran to the girl's locker room to redress, "and I do not like mean people." Another cheer leader, a girl with long dirty blond hair and light green eyes with black glasses, stepped forward up to me.

    "Oh, come now, Aaron," she said in a seductive way as she leaned against me, "you know me. I would never be mean to anybody." I just blushed slightly and stepped back away from her. That's Marissa Maserati. She has a total crush on me, but because she's always mean to other people, I always refuse her.

    "You were laughing too, Marissa." She gasped dramatically as if she had been accused of committing a crime.

    "I most certainly did not!"

    "Yes you did," Lotus said as she came walking over wearing her wrinkled uniform.

    "I wasn't talking to you, you stupid emo!" Lotus stopped and gasped. She whimpered sadly and looked away, her eyes watering. I took her arm. She just needs to get away from the cheer clique.

    "Come on, Lotus, let's go somewhere else." I stared at the group. "I will be reporting this," I said that even though it meant my possible destruction.

    "Go ahead," Concettina said evilly with a glow in her eyes. I ignored her as Lotus and I walked away.

    Marissa

    I wanted to say something to Aaron... but I was afraid. I clenched my fists as I tried to muster up the courage.

    â€‹"Aaron!" I yelled. "Aaron, don't report anything, you'll only make it worse for yourself!" I gasped and covered my mouth as I realized what I had done. Concettina looked at me.

    â€‹"Aiding the enemy?" she asked me. I whimpered as I quickly shook my head with my hands still over my mouth. The other girls closed in around me. I raised my arms up and I was only able to block the first few punches they threw at me. Some blows were so hard, I started to fall onto the ground. After what seemed like forever, the blows stopped landing. I opened my eyes and I barely saw Concettina standing over me. My vision was failing. I could feel nothing but pain. Pain all over. Then she raised her foot. Right as her foot hit my face, I blacked out.

    Lotus

    Aaron was walking me down the hallway. Gosh, I think I remember him. Back in 5th grade, he was in 6th grade. He's always been a handsome boy, and I have always been the unpopular emo girl who nobody dared talk to. And here he is, holding my hand! I'm blushing. Oh my God, I think I love him. You think I should tell him? I don't know if I should tell him or not. Oh, I hate feeling conflicted!

    "Are you alright?" he asked me.

    "Yes..." I said, "I'm fine."

    "I'm really sorry about them. They always do something like that to new students."

    "Why doesn't someone do something about it then?"

    "Well, see, before, someone did speak up." His tone suggests something bad.

    "Well... that's good then... right?"

    "They put him in the hospital for speaking out against them. He was in a coma for three weeks."

    "Oh, I'm sorry," I said. Aaron sighed.

    "No one's spoke up against them since."

    "Can I ask how long ago that was?" He hesitated before answering.

    "It was early last year. I haven't seen him since then."

    "I'm so sorry." He sighed and he checked his watch.

    "Come on, we need to get to class." We walked to our first class of the day, math class. Oh, joy. Math sucks.

    Aaron

    As I'm sitting there in math class, I'm not caring about what the heck the teacher is talking about. All I'm thinking about is Lotus. I can't stop thinking about her. I think I'm in love with her.

    "Now by taking the variable x and squaring it you can-" the math teacher was interrupted by the sounds of hectic voices traveling down the hallway. Another student stood up and looked out the door. "Sit down," the teacher said. He sat down.

    "What's going on?" I heard someone else ask.

    "I don't know," the boy said. "Something about one of the cheerleaders being beaten in the gym." I then remembered. Someone was yelling at me to tell me not to report anything. I recognized the voice as Marissa's. Did this beating involve her? Like me, the rest of the day passed overflowing with questions about what had happened. I met up with Lotus at the end of the day. I noticed that she was wearing a cheerleader's uniform.

    Lotus

    "So how'd you get the uniform?" Aaron asked me.

    "Because Marissa was beaten, they needed a replacement. I was the only one who didn't refuse the offer. They even asked some boys, and they all refused," I told him, not believing the sound of my own voice. I just said yes, without hesitation or question.

    "Wow."

    "Yeah."

    "Wait, so you willingly took up the offer?"

    "Not really. But I hope that this can help me become friends with the other cheerleaders." He looked at me in a very unsure way.

    "Uh... I don't know..." I gasp as I see a face I didn't want to see. It was Concettina. I whimper and hide behind Aaron. "What do you want, Concettina?" I hear Aaron ask her. I heard her sigh.

    "Aaron, leave us," I heard her say. I closed my eyes in fear. It sounded like she walked away and I open my eyes and suddenly she's standing in front of me. I scream and fall back.

    "W-w-what d-do y-you w-w-want?" I ask with my voice full of fear. She grabs my collar and she shoves me against the wall. I whimper and my eyes begin to water. I think I'm going to cry, and I do.

    "Sh," she says in a soft manner that for some reason seems almost motherly. She lets go of my collar and she pulls me close in front of her. She is a few inches taller than I am. "Shush, darling," she continues and she slowly puts her hand over my mouth. She then strokes my hair. This is starting to feel like one of those weird hostage situations. "Now you should know what happens when you're against us. Let's hope that doesn't happen to you. But, now that you are one of us, you have to listen to me. You can... think of me as your mother." What? â€‹"Think of me as your mother. You have no other family. You were left alone at an orphanage and I have adopted you." This is weird. "You answer to me now," she said still whispering and stroking my hair. She stopped stroking my hair and her hand left my face, She then turned me around to face her. Now this will seem really weird, but, when I looked up at her, I felt as if she actually was my mother. My eyes began to water again and I started to cry and I hugged her. "There's no need to cry, darling. I will always be here," she said in her motherly tone again. I slowly stopped crying.

    "Okay, Mum," I found myself saying through my tears. She slowly pushed me away from her and she knelt down slightly to look me in the eyes.

    "I will always be here for you," she said as she put her hand on my heart. She then kissed both my cheeks and she walked away. I watched her walk away and for some strange reason... she seemed legit. Like she was my mother. This was all too weird so I just walked the other way and I found myself walking next to Aaron.

    "Hey," he said. His voice made me snap back to reality.

    "Hm? What?" I asked.

    "What happened?" I did my best to try to remember, but for some reason, I forgot what had happened. Even though I was only away for 5 minutes.

    "I... I don't remember."

    Aaron

    "What happened to you?" I asked as Lotus seemed to have forgotten everything.

    "I don't remember," she said.

    "Whatever happened, I'm sure it wasn't good." I looked at her and I could tell that she was trying her best to remember what had happened.

    "I'm trying to remember, but... I can't," she said sadly. I decided that I should try to cheer her up.

    "Come on," I said, walking her across the street. "I know a really cool place."

    "What kind of place?"

    "Just this little diner."

    "Why are you taking me to a diner?" I stopped where we were and I looked her in the eyes.

    "Because they make the best ice cream and I think that you could use some."

    â€‹"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "I don't know..." she said as she looked toward the ground.

    "Come on!" I said with a smile. "It will cheer you up." She was still staring toward the ground, I almost didn't see the smile that was forming on her face.

    "Okay," she said. My hand found hers and we walked down the street and we turned the corner. I walked right into the diner with her following. We sat down at the booth in the corner by the window, which was my favourite spot. Just then, a familiar figure stopped at our table.

    "Hi, Aaron!" she said with a cheerful smile.

    "Hey, Carrie," I said. Carrie Cadillac was a few years older than I was and she graduated from Carlyle last year. She wanted to go into college, but she liked the town so much, she decided to stay. "Can you get Lotus and I a small ice cream sundae?"

    "Aw, what happened?" she asked, as a small sundae was my usual order for when I was sad.

    "People being mean to Lotus," I said pointing to the girl sitting across from me.

    "Aw," Carrie said as she gave Lotus a friendly hug, "I'm sorry, dear."

    "Thanks," Lotus said blushing slightly.

    "I'll get them to you a few," Carrie said with her friendly perkiness returning. After a few minutes, she came over to the table carrying two small ice cream sundaes in small bowls. "Here you guys go!" she smiled.

    "Thanks Carrie," I said. "You're the greatest."

    "Thank you," Lotus said a bit shyly.

    "No problem!" she smiled and she walked back to the kitchen. I took a few bites and I noticed that Lotus wasn't eating any.

    "Come on, Lotus, eat. It'll make you feel better." I looked at her. She blushed slightly and gave me a soft defiant groan as she looked away to avoid eye contact. "Please," I begged.

    "Fine," she muttered under her breath. She lifted her spoon and she slowly put a tiny amount of ice cream on it. She took her spoon back and she took a small bite of ice cream. Her eyes widened and I smiled.

    "Holy shit, this is delicious," she said.

    "I told you." She then dived into it and the sundae was gone in moments. "Feel better?" I asked. She smiled and nodded at me.

    Lotus

    Aaron was walking me home. It was really nice of him. Should I ask him in for tea?

    "Thanks again for the sundae," I said. "It was good."

    "I'm glad it helped," he said to me with a smile. I blushed and smiled back, averting his gaze. We continued to walk down the road until I saw my house.

    "That's it," I said. We walked up to the front gate. My house isn't a small house, I mean you know, it's decent. I live with my Mum and Dad and I have a younger brother. I also have a pet cat. Her name is Sparkles. It may seem childish, but she's been my best friend for many years now. As we walked up to the front porch, my Dad came home. He parked his car relatively haphazardly. I instantly new what that meant. "Oh no," I said.

    "What?" Aaron asked as I watched as my father stepped out of his car, his hair ruffled slightly and his clothes not in their usual crispness. He walked up to the porch with a small stumble.

    "Hello, Daddy," I said, which I instantly regretted.

    "Zip it!" he yelled at me. He actually yelled at me. His reddened eyes came upon Aaron. "Who the hell is this?"

    "My name is Aaron Aston," Aaron said with his hand extended forward politely. My father slapped it away. Just then, the front door opened and my mother stepped out onto the porch.

    "What is going on?" she asked, and I filled her in. She then tried to calm my drunk father down. Yes, he's drunk. I sigh. Yeah, he's just one of those types.

    "Get inside," Dad said. My Mum sighed and she stepped inside. He then looked at Aaron. "Get away from my family," he said lowly with menace. Aaron slowly backed away to the side walk and he started to run toward his house.

    "Aaron, wait!" I called after him. I took a step and suddenly I felt my fathers hands wrap around my neck.

    "You think you can bring a boy home? Without my permission?" he growled at me as he lifted me off the ground and held me close to his face. I could smell vodka. "Do you realize what you have done? Do you know what he's going to do to you?!" His voice was rising and his grip was tightening. "Do you know how stupid you are?!" My vision started to fade. I started to pass out. I barely saw what happened next.

    "Gerald, put Lotus down!" I heard my mother yell and my father opened his hands and I fell onto the porch and I rolled off the steps and onto the grass. How? I don't know. I just did, so don't ask. Anyway, my eyes fell upon the scene unfolding on my front porch. "You're killing our own daughter!" I saw my father slap my Mum. He slapped Mum. I felt rage, but I was too weak to do anything.

    "I am punishing her!" I heard him yell. I could feel my power slowly returning. I was able to prop myself up on my shoulders and with a dazed and confused look, I saw my Mum screaming at him, with a red mark on her cheek. I looked behind me... I saw Aaron coming back with a police officer. I turned back toward my Mum.

    "You hurt my daughter!" she yelled.

    "Your daughter?!" my father asked.

    "Yes," Mum said calmly with tears on her face. "My daughter."

    "Why do you say that?!"

    "Because she is no longer your daughter. Stay away from my family!" My... father? I don't know. I guess... the man gasped and he stormed back toward his car where the police officer caught him. I then felt someone hold my shoulders. I looked up and I saw Aaron's concerned face.

    "A... Aaron?" I asked barely above a whisper. I then lost all my energy and I fell back and passed out.

    Lotus

   My eyes opened slowly. I saw nothing but white light. I heard the steady beeping of a heart monitor. I moved my head to the side and I saw machines that I would normally see in a hospital, so obviously I was in a hospital. I heard the beeping rate increase slightly as I sat up slowly. I looked around the room. I saw Aaron hunched over in a chair by my bed. I'm guessing he's asleep. I sighed silently and my heart rate steadied. I looked back at Aaron and he was looking up at me. I gave him a small smile. He smiled back, stood up, and stepped over to me.

    "How ya feelin'?" he asked me.

    "I'm fine," I said. Then, I realized something. How did I get here in the first place? I felt a bit lightheaded. "What... happened?" I asked him.

    "You father came home drunk and he was angry with you for some reason and he nearly strangled you. The doctor said it was good when your Mum stopped him when she did."

    "W... Why?"

    "Because had he been choking you any longer, he could've killed you." I gasped when he said that. I felt my heart turn cold and nonexistent.

    "B-but Daddy... he... wouldn't. He would never..." I started to cry.

    "I'm sorry, but he did... and... your Mum wants a divorce." I was still crying and Aaron carefully hugged me. I cried into his shoulder."I'm sorry." I brought my face away from him and I sniffled.

    "Don't be," I said, my voice broken. "It wasn't your fault." I wiped my eyes and sniffled.

    "Don't cry," Aaron whispered softly. "Everything will be fine."

    "I-it will?" I asked him, my voice still cracked.

    "Yes," he said with confident affirmation as he looked me directly in the eyes. "Because you will always have me."

    "What do you mean?" I asked, my broken voice steadily fixing itself. He leaned in close, blushing slightly, his eyes half-closed.

    "I love you," he whispered into my ear. I blushed and shied away from him and I looked away from him as I did my best to hide the small smile on my face. I noticed that I was twiddling my fingers around each other. "What?" he asked. I sighed confidently as the redness disappeared from my face and I looked back at him and I pulled him close. I had to be honest with him.

    "I love you too," I whispered in his ear. We then kissed each other on the lips.

    Aaron

    We kissed each other on the lips. I was standing by her bedside while she was sitting on the bed.

    "Aww," I heard someone say. We both looked over and it was Lotus's Mum. Lotus and I looked at each other and we separated quickly and her Mum laughed. "There's no need to hide your love," she said with a warm smile as she walked over to us. "It's okay. I don't mind."

    "You... you don't mind that we're in love?" Lotus asked her Mum.

    "No... not at all." She stroked her daughter's hair. "I'm actually happy for you."

    "You are?" Lotus asked and her Mum nodded. "Just don't kiss in front of your little brother. You know how he is." Just then a little boy who I assumed to be her little brother stepped up.

    "Hey Lotus, is it true Dad choked you?"

    "Leave me alone," she said to him.

    "Aw, come on."

    "Get out of here!" she yelled at him and her brother left the room laughing mischievously.

    "Lotus, don't be so hard on him," her Mum said.

    "I'm sorry, Mum," she said and her mother walked out of the room, leaving just Lotus and I.

    "Annoying little brothers," I said. "Who needs em?"

    "I know, right?" she asked. We looked at each other and we kissed again. I heard a camera shutter. I looked over and saw her little brother holding a camera with a grin on his face. I walked over to him and I yanked the camera from his hands.

    "Hey!" he yelled.

    "Get out of here, you little shit," I said and he ran out of the room laughing again. I shut the door behind him. I looked back at Lotus and she was looking at me. "Sorry I called him that," I said.

    "No," she said as she shook her head. "It's alright. I call him that all the time." She smiled and I smiled back. The door opened and a doctor walked in.

    "Well, Ms. Elise, you should be fine. You can leave when you are ready. Your mother has checked you out already," he said.

    "Okay," Lotus said and the doctor disconnected Lotus from the machines. I helped Lotus stand. She was a little wobbly and she struggled to stand.

    "Careful, it'll be a while before you're able to walk," the doctor said. "You had a major lack of oxygen to your brain. Your motor skills haven't finished coming back yet, so you may have to wait a little while."

    "That's okay," I said and I swooped Lotus off of her feet. She was surprised at first, then she smiled lovingly and put her hands around my neck. "I can carry her."

    "Just don't drop me," she whispered.

    "Never, love," I whispered back. She rubbed her head against my arm and she sighed contently. I think she then fell into a peaceful sleep, with the loving smile on her face. I carried her to her Mum's car and I gently sit her in the seat. I sit down next to her and she leans on my shoulder. She looks up at me and she kisses me then falls back asleep. I heard her brother make a disgusted groan as her Mum drove out of the parking lot.

    "You know, when you're my age, you may not mind so much," I said to him. Her Mum laughed.

    "Yeah, yeah, whatever nerd."

    "Blake, be nice," his mother said.

    "Well he is."

    "Blake!"

    "What?!" he whined

    "It's alright, Ms. Elise," I said.

    "Oh, Aaron please, call me Zephyra."

    "Oh, that's a nice name." I was polite, but honestly I was very surprised to hear of a name like that.

    "Thanks." We continued on in silence. I was looking at Lotus the majority of the way home. As she lay on my lap, I stroked her hair. It was silky smooth and soft as well. I smiled to myself and Lotus smiled as well, as she enjoyed a nice dream. She said something in her sleep and I wasn't sure what it was but it sounded like something about loving me.

    "What?" I whispered to her.

    "I... love you... Aaron..." she said in her sleep.

    "I do too," I whispered to her and she smiled.

    "...yay..."

    Lotus

    Aaron carried me inside the house and he lay me on the couch. He then lay a blanket over me. It was my favourite blanket because it was soft and thick, so it kept me warm. He leaned in and he kissed me on the forehead. I then fell asleep.

     I opened my eyes. I was dreaming. I love dreams. You can do anything. I dreamt of an ice cream sundae and it appeared right in front of me. I took it and I ate it.

    "Mm, this is so tasty," I said, my voice echoing. My dream was undefined so it was nothing but echo-y fog. I dreamed of the beach. The fog disappeared and I was standing on the soft, warm ocean-side sand. I wiggled my toes through the sand. I looked down and I realized that i didn't dream of me wearing any clothes. I dreamed of my comfy clothes. A white t-shirt and skirt. They appeared on me. I breathed a sigh of relief. I then dreamed of someone. I turned around as they appeared. It was Aaron. I ran to him and I jumped into his arms. I have to dream everything he does so that's where the hard work comes in, by the way. I jumped into his arms and he spun me around in circles. We laughed as we did so. We then fell onto the sand. I looked into his eyes. He looked into mine.

    "I love you," he said.

    â€‹Aaron

    I was sitting by the couch where I laid Lotus.

    "I love you..." I heard her say in her sleep. I looked at her and laughed softly. I gently placed my forehead on hers. I then fell asleep and thought of Lotus. When you do this with your love, some believe that you can enter each other's dreams. It's just a superstition, but heck, honestly, I just wanted to find out.

    Lotus

    I was skipping with Aaron along the sand. Suddenly he stopped.

    "Aaron, what is it?" I asked him. I dreamed of his response only it didn't come. Strange. Suddenly, he walked over to me. I wasn't in control. "Aaron?"

    "Yep, that's me!" he said with a smile.

    "Wait, how are you in my dream?"

    â€‹"It's a long story, but it's a thing only lovers can do."

    â€‹"Oh."

    â€‹"I know, it's great. We can enter each other's dreams."

    "Can we really?"

    "Uh, I think we have. We are both in the same dream."

    "Wow, that's so amazing." We had a lot of fun, especially when Aaron dreamed of the speed boat that we rode out on the water. He was even able to get the salty sea air just right. It was fun until he beached it... on the beach. We could've easily dreamed of another one, but I wanted something, shall we say, a little bigger. So we ended up on a yacht. We had so much fun. Until we had to wake up.

    Aaron

    I opened my eyes. I was lying next to Lotus in a bedroom. Wait... in a bedroom? I looked around. The room seemed weird, because I didn't recognize it.

   "Where the hell am I?" I asked. My voice sounded a bit deeper. I looked at myself. I looked older. I got out of the bed and I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I looked like I was twenty-five. I had facial hair and was more muscular. "What the..." I then heard a noise. It was Lotus. She rolled over to look at me.

    "Come back to bed, dear," she said sleepily. What? What was she saying? I looked at my hands. I saw a ring on my finger that I had never seen before. It was a wedding ring. "Come on," she continued, "I don't want you waking the kids." Wait a minute. Kids?! Is this some kind of vision? A dream... or a nightmare? Okay, okay. Slow down Aaron, and think this through. Apparently, we're older, we're married, and we have kids now. This can't be real. This can't be real. I was bringing her home from the hospital just earlier. This can't be real. This can't be real. I'm going insane now. This. Can't. Be. Real!

    I sat up with a scream. I breathed heavily. I was in a bed... next to Lotus. I heard her move and she propped herself up and looked at me.

    "Aaron, are you okay?" she asked. I was still breathing heavily, trying to catch my breath. She sat up and she hugged me. "Did you have a nightmare?"

    "I... I don't... I don't know," I said honestly. She looked at me with concern.

    "Well... come on, we need to get to school."

    Lotus

    Aaron and I were both up. I walked to the bathroom to dress into my school uniform while Aaron changed in my room. Afterward we walked downstairs for breakfast. I smelled the sweet smell of maple syrup. I gasped and hurried to the kitchen. Mum was busy washing some dishes while there was a steaming hot stack of pancakes on the table.

    "Mum... you made pancakes," I said.

    "Yes I did," she said with a smile.

    "But... why?" Mum never made pancakes on a school morning.

    "Because you brought a boy home. I am so happy! I knew I just had to make something special for you and your future husband." I blushed really hard when she said that.

    "Mum! You're embarrassing me!"

    "Why there he is now," she said as Aaron walked into the kitchen. I forgot that I was blushing.

    "You okay?" Aaron asked me.

    "Nothing!" I said quickly and my Mum laughed. I groaned.

    "I'm just embarrassing her, apparently," Mum said with a loving smirk.

    "Oh," Aaron said with a laugh.

    "Aaron!" I said to him. Come on, not you too.

    "Come on," he said. "Live a little."

    "Only if it doesn't embarrass me." I sniffled. Aaron sat down and he started to pull some pancakes off the stack. I snapped over to the table next to him. "Hey! Don't take all of them!" I said as I grabbed for some. Aaron poured syrup over the stack on his plate. I did the same as Blake came into the kitchen.

    "Holy crap!" he yelled when he saw the pancakes.

    "Blake, don't say that," Mum scolded.

    "Sorry, but we're eating pancakes!?"

    "They are. You're having your cereal."

    "Aw!" he pouted. "Why can't I have some?!"

    "Because she made them for us," Aaron said and Blake scowled at him.

    "Oh, you're still here?"

    "Oh, you're still a jerk?" I couldn't help laughing. Mum was laughing too.

    "First 'shit' now 'jerk' what other bad words do you know?" he asked Aaron, leaning toward him with his elbows on the table. 

    "Blake!" Mum shouted at him. "Do not say that word!" she briskly walked over and she popped him on the mouth before he could do anything.

    "What!? He said it." He pointed at Aaron. Mum looked at him.

    "I don't know what he's talking about," Aaron said. I laughed on the inside.

    "Well... alright."

    "Mom!" Blake said. "You can't believe him!"

    "Blake Elise, ENOUGH!" Mum shouted in her stern parent tone. Blake tensed up. "Go to your room." Blake ran for his life. Mum then sighed. "You two better get to school."

    "Alright," Aaron said as he put his plate by the sink. He then grabbed his bag which was on the couch.

    "Hold on a minute," I said as I put my plate on top of Aarons. I ran upstairs for my bag. I then ran back down the stairs and I met Aaron at the front door.

    "Have a good day," Mum called from the kitchen.

    "Bye, Mum," I said and Aaron and I held hands as we walked to school.

    â€‹Concettina

    â€‹I was in the lockerroom, changing into my cheer outfit. I was thinking about what to practice today. I was then done changing so I packed my duffle bag in the locker that I embroidled to mark as mine. It was the largest locker available, so naturally, I knew I had to have it as mine for my entire time at this derpy school. I walked out of the lockerroom and toward the classroom hallway. I was here early so there was no one here, but I heard the sound of someone shuffling down the hall. Oh, why was I here early? I'm head cheerleader, so I have to. Duh. Now, shut up. I was in the hall and I saw someone. It was Marissa. I walked up to her. She looked almost good as new. You know, because I heard that she was badly beaten somewhere in the inner city.

    "Marissa... you're back," I said. She looked at me angrily. "What is it?"

    "Don't BS me like that," she said. "You know full-well what you did to me." Apparently, I lost my grip on her.

    "You can't help him," I said to her.

    "I love him!"

    "But he loves someone else."

    "So what?! I can get rid of her!"

    "No you will not!" I scolded her and I could tell my grip of her was coming back. "She's your replacement until you fully recover. Now, if you complain about this to me, again, I will have you off. Understand?" She nodded quickly. "Good."

    Aaron

    We walked down the road toward the school in silence. We didn't really talk, we just enjoyed each other's company.

    â€‹"I'm really glad that you're my boyfriend," Lotus said out of nowhere.

    "You are?" I asked her with fake surprise.

    "Yeah. Before... I liked being alone. Now... I can't imagine life with out you." She sighed happily and she leaned on me as we walked. We continued down the road when I saw a Ferrari parked on the side of the road.

    "Cool," I said.

    "What?" Lotus asked and I pointed at the rosso corsa 458. "Oh, the car."

    "Yeah. A Ferrari 458."

    "Is it fast?" I looked at her. "What?"

    "Do you know anything about cars?"

    "Not really. But I can tell you're a car guy."

    "I am." We had stopped walking and then a boy about my age was walking toward it from the house the Ferrari was parked in front of.

    "I see you like my car," he said. He had wavy red hair that matched his car. His eyes were a golden color and he wore a green undershirt covered by a white t-shirt and he wore a red jacket. And he was familiar.

    "Fernando? You drive a Ferrari?" I asked him. Fernando Ferrari was a friend who was in my grade.

    "Sometimes," he said as he walked with us. "That's actually my Dad's. His is better than mine."

    "But you actually have a Ferrari?"

    "Yeah. A Mondial."

    "Ah, that is a shit Ferrari."

    "I know. Who's this?" He was asking about Lotus.

    "This is Lotus," I said.

    "Hi," she said shyly.

    "I've never seen you before," Fernando said.

    "This is her first year here," I said.

    "Oh. Why are you holding hands?"

    "Are you freaking serious? We're in a relationship."

    "Oh. I get it. Yeah, and I'm the third wheel," he said angrily and he walked ahead of us. Maybe I should have mentioned that Fernando and I have been friends for our entire lives and he has always been single whereas I have been a bit of a ladies man. But my heart goes to only one, and that's Lotus.

    Lotus

    We walked into the school. It was high school so you can only imagine what this place must be like. Just any ordinary high school. I saw the cheerleaders in their usual hangout spot, which I regretted because I and one of them made eye contact and then Concettina came over to Aaron and I.

    "Aaron, I need to borrow her," she said to him.

    "When can I expect her back?" Aaron asked. This pissed me off.

    "Hey!" I shouted. "I'm not a thing! I'm a person!" Both Aaron and Concettina took a step back from me. I took a deep breath. "What do you want, Concettina?"

    "I need to talk to you," she said. She grabbed my arm and she pulled me away from Aaron. She forced me over to the group.

    "What?" I asked her.

    "Marissa's back, but she hasn't fully recovered from her injury," she said and I then saw Marissa standing behind her. She looked almost better, but she had a cast on her right arm and left leg. She still also had a few quite noticeable bruises. "You will be her replacement until she fully recovers. Got that?" I nodded. "Now make sure you are at practice everyday on time." I nodded again. I then noticed that Marissa was looking at me with hatred.

    "What time?" I asked.

    "After school. Till 6."

    "6?" I asked with disbelief.

    "Do not sass me!" Concettina said.

    "I'm sorry!" I whimpered. I waited for her to slap me or something, but thankfully she didn't. God, she can be so demanding.

    Concettina

    After school. I was in the gym, waiting for the others to join me. I looked at the clock on the wall.

    "What the hell could be holding them up?" I asked myself angrily. I started to pace back and forth. "Great. Another long practice I guess." I said as I wrote some things down in the team notebook, which was mine and no one else's. I huffed angrily and I walked into the locker room. I walked right into the middle of a fight.

    "Stay the hell away from Aaron!" Marissa yelled at Lotus. "He's mine!"

    "What?"

    "Don't bullshit me! I love him! Besides, you're just an unpopular emo. What the hell would you know about love!?"

    "Uh..." she said unsurely.

    "Say it!"

    "Hey! He loves me! Get over it. He loves me and I love him back so get over it," Lotus said. Marissa growled. "Bitch." Marissa gasped.

    "Why you little..." I decided it was time I do something.

    "HEY!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Everyone stopped and looked at me. "Come on, we have practice to get to." Everyone hurried out. "Not you two," I said as I grabbed Lotus and Marissa. I sat them down and I had them face me. "I will not tolerate this. If this is going to become a daily thing for you two, then both of you might as well turn in your uniforms, right now!" I watched them cringe. I sighed after giving them my death stare for a few moments. "Now help me on this. What can I do, to keep you two from fighting?" They gave me no answer. "Fine," I huffed. "Both of you will run laps..." I paused. "...around the track."

    Lotus

    Marissa and I gasped.

    "What the hell?" Marissa yelled. "I can hardly walk let alone run!"

    "Zip it!" Concettina yelled. "Who makes the rules around here?"

    "Y... you do."

    "And who enforces those rules?" she asked looking at me.

    "You do," I said, my voice quivering.

    "That's right. Now, you both go run. All practice."

    "You can't do this to me," Marissa cried. "I can't do that!" Concettina grabbed Marissa, her hand wrapping over her mouth. She lifted her close to her.

    Marissa

    I was filled with fear. Where the hell does she get all this strength? She had her hand over my mouth so I couldn't say anything.

    "I can do this to you," she said menacingly to me. "And I will. Now, go run laps. Unless you want to end up on the bottom end of my foot again. I shook my head desperately and I cried form underneath her hand. "Oh, you don't? Well then, I'd go run, because I might be following." She shoved me onto the ground. I took a few deep breaths. Lotus was already on her way over to the track. I struggled to stand. I grabbed for my crutch, but Concettina had kicked it away from me. "Let's go!" she yelled at my struggling face. "Outside now!" I screamed in pain as I started to hobble toward the door. I took step after painful step. I cried as I sort of ran. She was able to keep up as she walked beside me. "Come on you worthless waste of time!" she yelled at me.

    "Shut up!" I cried as I quickened my pace the best I could. Now she had to jog to keep up.

    "There you go! Come on, faster!"

    "Dammit!" I yelled as I started to run. I had to ignore the searing pain with each step.

    Concettina

    I stopped and watched Marissa run awkwardly down the track.

    "If I find out you stopped, you'll regret it!" I yelled at them as they ran by. I then walked back into the gym.

    Aaron

    I was waiting for Lotus. It was after 6 pm. Their practice usually ended around 5:30, so I was a bit concerned. I was sitting in my car, an Aston Martin, because hey, I'm rich. I guess I should have told you before. Anyway, I was waiting for Lotus and I then saw her walking toward me. I climbed out and I walked over to her.

    "Hey," I said. She looked at me, her skin covered with a film of sweat which gave her a bad glossy look. "You practice much?"

    "Concettina made me run around the track, all practice," she said in a tired, angry tone.

    "Why?"

    "Because Marissa and I got into a fight." Some punishment.

    "Over what?" I asked. She stopped and looked up at me.

    "We got into a fight... over..."

    "Over what?" I asked again.

    "Over who was better."

    "Oh," I said and she sighed. "Better at what?" I asked and she gasped.

    "Uh... better at doing... backflips."

    "Oh. I bet you're better." I said with a smile.

    "Th-thanks," she said looking away.

    "Come on, I'll drive you home," I said walking her to my car. She stopped and looked at it.

    "Are... are you rich?" she asked me.

    "Uh, yeah," I said.

    "That is so amazing. I have a rich boyfriend."

    "Well, you don't have to go that far," I said blushing mildly. We climbed into my car and I drove away from the school. We went down the road and I parked my car in front of her house. I climbed out.

    Lotus

    I climbed out of Aaron's car and after I pulled my duffel bag from the trunk I saw a car in the driveway that I didn't recognize. I mean you know, I knew what it was, it was a Ford Mustang, it's just that I didn't know whose it was. Aaron and I walked inside. I heard voices coming from the kitchen.

    "Mum?" I asked, forgetting I was tired as hell, so I barely made a sound.

    "Zephyra?" Aaron called.

    "Oh, they're here," I heard my Mum say from the kitchen. I threw myself onto the couch, because I was so damn tired. I moved to allow Aaron to sit down. He sat down on the other end of the couch. I looked at him longingly. I moved and I leaned against him, placing my head on his chest. I heard some people walking into the living room. I looked up as Mum sat down on the other couch. She was with another man. She was already dating. She rebounded quickly. I wonder how Blake is taking this. I sat up to be polite.

    "Lotus, Aaron," my Mum said, "this is my boyfriend Sean Dannel. He works down at the power plant."

    "Hello there," Aaron said shaking the mans hand.

    "Hello to you," Sean said back. He looked at me and I was so nervous that I gave him a meek wave.

    "Hi," I said shyly. I gave him a small smile as I looked toward the floor.

    "Lotus, is something wrong?" my Mum asked.

    "Sorry," I said. "I'm just really tired."

    "Too tired to join us for dinner?"

    "Maybe..."

    Aaron

    "Aww," Zephyra said. "My daughter's too tired."

    "She had a hard first practice," I said. "Right?" I asked her and Lotus nodded slowly.

    "The first is always the hardest," Sean said. "I can relate." I looked at Lotus and it seemed that she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

    "You're really are tired, aren't you baby?" her Mum asked her.

    "Mm-hm," she said tiredly with a slow nod.

    "Then, Aaron, you should help her to bed." I nodded and Lotus stood up slowly. I took a hold of her shoulders.

    "Come on babe," I said. "Let's get you to bed." I walked her up the stairs and down the hall to her bed room. I shut the door behind us. Lotus walked over to her bed. "Will you be alright?" I asked her. Her eyes half opened.

    "Wait, I can't sleep in my uniform," she said tiredly.

    "Well, what do you want me to do?"

    "Help me into my comfy clothes." I blushed as I knew what this meant.

    "You want me to help you...?" I asked and she nodded.

    "What?" she asked. "Can't handle it?" She gave me a tired smirk.

    "No, no. I can."

    "Then help me," she said as she was sliding her cheer skirt off. "Come on, if we're going to be boyfriend and girlfriend you might as well get used to it." She smirked seductively at me, but her eyes still showed the tiredness. I slowly pulled her cheer jacket off as she slipped out of her bottoms. I set her jacket on the floor and she slid her top off. I blushed as I looked at her. She was in her underwear, but she looked really beautiful against the late afternoon light. "Come on," she said as she grabbed my tie and pulled me close. I think she was purring.

    "What are your comfy clothes?" I asked her red-faced. This is getting way beyond what our relationship should be. She pointed to a white fabric pile in the corner. It was a crumpled t-shirt and skirt. I helped her slide the shirt on and she slowly put the skirt on. They were made of a real thin material so you could see right through them. She leaned in close.

    "Thanks," she said. She stepped over to the bed and she lay down. I then tucked her in and she smiled. I kissed her on the forehead and I left the room silently. I closed the door behind me.

    Fernando

    I walk into the school and I get my science book from my locker. I have a biology test later today. I know, it sucks. I throw my bag over my shoulder and I open up my notebook to review notes. I walk into the science lab looking over the top of my notebook so I don't walk into anybody. Then my eyes fall upon her. Concettina Countach. The head cheerleader. She is so hot. I blush as I stare at her. She turns her head and we meet eyes. I want to say something but I can't find the words.

    Concettina

    I see the guy starin' at me. He is being so creepy! He's starin' at me like I catch a lot of guys doing.

    "Do you want something?" I ask him.

    Fernando

    Holy shit, she talked to me. Quick, do something, dammit!

    "Uh, nothing, sorry," I say quickly and I hurry to the back of the classroom. I sit down and I stare intently at my notebook. Then I realize what I just did. God dammit! I messed up! I hate myself for doing that now. I groan and I drop my head on the table top. As class starts and the day goes by, I do my best to avoid her for now. Until I man up and talk to her. I find her in front of the school just as the day ended. I take a deep breath and I walk up to her.

    "Hey," I said keeping my voice level.

    "Hey," she said slightly unsure. "Uh, your name's... Fernando, right?"

    "Y-yeah," I said. "Uhm... do you want to go out sometime?" I ask, blushing as I rub the back of my neck.

    "Like on a date?"

    "Y-yeah, like on a date." Please say yes.

    I do my best to remain out of sight. I'm standing behind this tree and wait- what did he say? Did he just ask Concettina out? Well... crap.

    Aaron

    I wait as Lotus come out from the gym doors. I take her hand.

    "How'd practice go?" I ask her.

    "It went fine," she said.

    "No fights?"

    "Nope."

    "That's good."

    "Yeah..." She seemed down.

    "What's wrong?"

    "Marissa is still mean to me."

    "Aw. I'm so sorry." I stop and give her a hug and she hugs me back.

    "Aaron... you're so nice."

    "Well, I try to be. Anyway look," I say to her as we stop hugging and I scratch the back of my head. "If Marissa bothers you again, tell Principal Benz. And I'll make sure that she doesn't bother you again."

    "Aaron..." Lotus said with a teary smile.

    Ooh, well, colour me intrigued. What goes on around the corner? Hmm, I could do something with this. I walk off laughing to myself.

    The next day, Lotus and I are walking to school. We get to school and as Lotus packs her cheer stuff in her gym locker, I notice that someone is in the swimming pool. Yeah, the school has one. I see that it's Marissa. I walk down there and I see her climb out of the pool. She stops and blinks at me.

    Marissa

    I blink as I try to see who it is. I am so blind without my glasses. I then see it's Aaron. He makes me so mad. I grit my teeth and cross my arms.

    "Hey Marissa, I see you're-" he starts but I interrupt.

    "I hate you!" I yell at him with my eyes shut. I hear my yell echo around the area.

    "Why?" he asks. I burst into angry tears and walk briskly away as I cry.

    Aaron

    I watched her walk away crying, not sure what I did. I feel someone grab my arm. It's Lotus, she's smiling at me. I give her a smile back and we walk out of the pool area and into class. After the lesson, I whisper a question to her.

    "Hey, Lotus, um do you know why Marissa hates me so much?"

    "Oh," she said. She looks away and sighs. She then pulls me close. "Because she loves you," she said.

    "Really?" I ask looking at her and she nods then she looks away again. "It wasn't about backflips, was it?"

    "What?" she asks confused.

    "You and her had a fight. It was about me, wasn't it?" I asked. She looked regretful.

    "Y-yeah. I'm sorry."

    Marissa

    So, it's later in the day and I'm minding my own business, when I see a familiar face walk up to me.

    "What do you want, Enzo?" I ask him. Enzo Bugatti is the richest kid in school. Probably the whole world, and no one likes him.

    "I just happened to hear the rumor that you love someone," he said in his easy-going voice.

    "So?! I hate him!"

    "You hate your love, now, why is that?"

    "Because he loves someone else!" I cried. I sighed sadly. Suddenly, I see him grab my glasses off of my face. "Hey! Stop it Enzo! Give me my glasses back!" I begin to cry because he's being so mean to me.

    "Aw, poor Marissa," he said mockingly as he put them on his face. I tried to grab them back but he held me back. "Hear me out," he said.

    "What?" I asked with a sniffle.

    "I know how to get Lotus away from Aaron, and then he will be all yours. I have a foolproof plan." He could've just said that in the first place.

    "Alright... I'm listening..." I smirked.

    Concettina

    I was walking down the hall with Aurora. She's the second best cheerleader, so I have her at my right. We were walking down the hall going over cheer plans when I hear the voice of Enzo Bugatti.

    "... After Marissa does her part of the plan, she'll be in Aaron's arms in no time, and Lotus will be nothing more than a painful memory." He was standing among his closest friends who laughed with him.

    "Oh no," I heard Aurora say. "Enzo's plotting again. Do you think we should tell the Principal?" She looked at me as walked by them. I wasn't sure if we should or not, because even I don't trust Enzo. "Concettina?" I came back to reality.

    "What? Oh... I think we should stay away from him. I'll have to talk to Marissa about this later."

    Lotus

    At practice. I was working on backflips. Because, apparently, I'm lighter than Marissa, I'm easier to hold up when we cheer at games so they hold me up by my feet and I do a backflip onto the ground behind them. It's actually really fun, the audience loves it. The others are beginning to appreciate me. It's so great, making new friends. After doing a few flips I see Concettina come into the gym.

    "Good," she says in a tone that's slightly nicer than usual. "You're getting better."

    "Thanks," I said in spite of myself. She gave me a pat on the back. I looked at her and smiled. She actually smiled back.

    "Now keep going," she said. I nodded with a little more confidence and I continued.

    Concettina

    I was walking around looking for Marissa. I didn't see her anywhere in the gym so I'll ask Aurora.

    "Do you know where Marissa's at?" I asked her.

    "I think she's still in the locker room," Aurora said.

    "Alright, thanks," I said. I walked in and she was there. "Why aren't you practicing?" I asked. I startled her and she then tried to hide something behind her as she turned around hastily at me.

    "I-I'm sorry!" she said. I crossed my arms and leaned on one foot.

    "Whatch'ya got there?" I asked.

    "Nothing!"

    "Marissa..."

    "It's nothing, I swear!" I stared at her for a moment.

    "Alright then, come on." She hesitated. "Aren't you coming?"

    "Uh..." She looked toward the floor.

    "Marissa..." I took a step toward her.

    "I told you it's nothing!" She stepped back.

    "It most obviously is something."

    "No it's not!"

    "Yes it is. Show me what you're holding!"

    "It's no-" she stepped back too far she she fell over the bench. She threw her arms up and a piece of paper went flying into the air. I grabbed the paper with one hand and I caught her arm with my other, stopping her from hitting the concrete floor. I looked at the paper. It was a drawing, more specifically, a sketch. Of Aaron.

    "Why do you have a sketch of Aaron?" I asked her. I looked at her in the eyes. She didn't look at me. "Fine. You either answer, or you're off." She still didn't answer. "Alright then. I'll be telling Aaron about this," I said with a laugh. I let go of her arm and she hit the ground with a groan. I folded the sketch and I slipped it into my pocket.

    Marissa

   I remember the talk I had with Enzo earlier. His plan was that I give some spiked food to Lotus. It may seem weird but he said it was foolproof. But because he's Enzo, he's always right. In my hand, I hold a box of Pocky sticks. It's just chocolate covered biscuit sticks. Except, these have been laced with something that Enzo's made in chem class. I almost want to see what happens when Lotus eats one. Ha ha ha! As practice goes by I seek out my target. Finally, practice comes to an end. I see Lotus sink down to the floor out of breath. I feign the same problem and I sit behind her. She looks at me.

    "Oh, M-Marissa," she said.

    "Hi, Lotus!" I say with a fake smile. "Boy, practice was a killer today."

    "Y-yeah... I guess." I hold the box of Pocky. I hold the box toward her.

    "Here, Lotus I wanted to say I'm sorry for being so mean to you." I watched she reached for it. That's right, take the Pocky, I dare you.

    Lotus

    "Uh, M-Marissa... why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" I asked her. Something is messed up here. She hates my guts. This seems almost faked, so I'm hesitating on this Pocky stuff. I don't even know what it is.

    Concettina

    I was in the library doing some...last-minute research for a project. I'm a procrastinator okay? Anyway, when I was there, I saw Aaron. I gasped as I remembered what I overheard in the hallway earlier. I then walked briskly yet quietly over to him.

    "Aaron," I said.

    "Oh, Concettina. What do you want?" he asked me.

    "I... I overheard something... in the hall earlier," I pulled on some of my hair nervously, "a-and I think that you sh-should know that..." He brought his finger to my lip silencing me. I blushed slightly.

    "Concettina. What is it?" I sighed shakily as I feared I would lose my- I mean, our star backflipper. I sighed and I leaned in close to him.

    "Enzo's planning on having Lotus killed." His eyes went wide.

    "Are you sure?" I nodded, with a tear in my eye.

    Aaron

    Oh, shit. I ran out of the library to the gym. The cheerleaders were just finishing up their practice. I saw Lotus sitting by Marissa. I walked over to them.

    "Lotus," I said. Lotus looked up at me gasped and she stood up and hugged me. "Hey," I said with a smile. Lotus looked at me and she buried her face in my chest. "Is something wrong?" I asked her. She then looked back up at me.

    "Marissa's scaring me," she said quietly.

    "What do you mean?"

    "She's suddenly too nice to me." I looked at Marissa. She stood up and looked at me. Her face read agitation, her eyes showed sadness. I grabbed the box of Pocky out of her hand. I saw Concettina come in out of the corner of my eye.

    "Hey," she said.

    "What is this?" I ask Marissa.

    "Are you a dumbass? It's just Pocky."

    "Just Pocky? Or poisoned Pocky?" I asked as I tore open the box. I pulled a stick out and I broke it. Between the biscuit and chocolate, there was a thin stain line. I showed Lotus and Concettina.

    "Lacing food?" she asked Marissa. "That. Is. IT!" she yelled at her. Marissa took a few steps back but Concettina was on her in an instant. "I do not want to see you here again. You will turn your cheer uniform in, right now!"

    "What are you gonna do about it bitch?" Marissa yelled back. Concettina wrapped her hand around Marissa's mouth. Man, this got bad fast.

    "Call me that again. I dare you." Marissa whimpered from under her hand. Concettina leaned in close to her. "I thought so. Uniform. NOW." I looked around. There was no one here but me, Lotus, Concettina and her. Marissa threw her uniform off. and she shoved them at Concettina. She then walked to the locker room for her clothes. I then looked at Concettina who looked at the crumpled cheer uniform. She was sad. I wondered why. I walked over to her.

    "Concettina... what's wrong?" I asked her. She looked up at me, her yellow eyes covered with tears. She looked back at the outfit and she closed her eyes. Her shoulders started to shake as she began to cry silently. I had to hug her. She never did explain why she was sad that day.

    "Aaron... please... leave," she said between shakes. I placed my hand on her shoulder.

    "If you want to talk... I'll be here for you," I said.

    "Th-thanks..." I took Lotus by the arm and we left her there.

    Lotus

    Aaron and I walked home. I was still in shock at what Marissa did. She seriously tried to poison me? She hates me that much, that she would try to poison me? If not kill me? What the hell. We walked through the front gate and up to the door. Aaron opened the door and I ran inside.

    "Mum?" I called.

    "What is it?" she asked from the kitchen. I ran to the kitchen and right into her. I threw my arms around her and I cried into her. "Aw, baby, what is it?"

    Aaron

    I walked into the kitchen.

    "Lotus, what happened?" Zephyra asked.

    "Someone tried to poison her," I said. Zephyra looked at me, her eyes wide with shock.

    "W-what?"

    "Someone tried to trick her into eating poisoned food."

    "Oh, my God!"

    "I know who it is, and they will be punished." Zephyra was too busy holding her daughter.

    "There, there, baby, you're safe now." Zephyra was stroking Lotus's hair. "It's okay, it's okay." Lotus was crying.

    "What's going on?" Sean asked as he walked into the kitchen.

    "Somebody is threatening Lotus," Zephyra said to him. 

    "Oh my God," he said as he walked over to them and he hugged them. "I'm so sorry, Lotus" After a few moments, Sean stood up and looked at me. "Do you know-?" I nodded answering his question. Principal Benz is not going to be very happy tomorrow.

    Aaron

    Lotus and I walked into the school office. I was surprised to see Principal Benz already expecting us.

    "Good, you're here," she said with her normal edgy tone. "My office, now."

    "Yes, ma'am," Lotus and I said monotonously and we followed her into her office and saw Marissa already there. I can only imagine what's going to happen now. We sat down in separate, uncomfortable chairs in front of her large oaken desk while she resided in a massive, luxurious, matching throne with the finest of leather cushioning. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. She sat down and wrote a few things down in a large notebook as we sat in silence. After a painstakingly long few moments, she put her pen down and she looked at us from over her glasses. That was not a good sign.

    "Now tell me," she said in an unusually calm manner. "What exactly happened?" She put pauses between the words. Her eyes snapped over to Marissa. I saw her cringe. Her mouth opened slightly as if she was going to say something. "Well?!" Benz snapped.

    "I t-tried to poison Lotus!" Marissa said quickly. I saw surprise in Benz's eyes, however, her stern expression remained rather unchanged.

    "You what?"

    "I tried to poison her."

    "Alright," she said wring down more notes. "Enlighten me." Marissa went on to explain the entire story. She didn't mention the fact that this got her kicked off the cheerleading squad. "Hm. I see." I then saw Concettina walk in. "Sit," Benz told her. Benz relayed Marissa's story to Concettina.

    "I could not have that," Concettina explained. "So as of yesterday, Marissa is off."

    "I see. Marissa, I need to talk with you privately, the rest of you can get to class." Lotus, Concettina and I stood to leave. "But," we paused. "If I need to call you back, be prepared."

    "Yes, ma'am," we said and we left. By the time we left the office area and in the hallway, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

    "I hate going in there," Concettina muttered.

    "Don't we all?" Lotus asked.

    "Amen to that," I said.

    Marissa

    We sat in silence. I was so scared. I just wanted to disappear!

    "Now, how did you make the poisoned Pocky?" Benz asked me.

    "I don't know," I muttered, not daring to look away, on the pain of death, probably.

    "What?"

    "I said I don't know." She stood up from her desk. She brought her fist down onto the desktop. It made me cringe so hard, I might have stopped my own heart beating.

    "Where did you make the poisoned food?!" she yelled at me. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

    "Enzo!" I cried.

    "What?"

    "Enzo made it in his chemistry class!" I began to cry. That's how bad she is.

    "Mr. Bugatti?" she asked.

    "Y-yes ma'am," I cried, my shoulders shaking.

    "Damn," she hissed through her teeth. "Excuse my language." she said a second later. She walked to the window and she stared outside.

    Principal Benz

    Enzo Bugatti? Seriously? Dammit. But... laws are laws. And I have to let the legal system run through. I sighed.

    "Stay here," I said to Ms. Maserati. I walked to the chemistry classroom.

    "Principal Benz, what can I do for you?" Richard asked me.

    "Is Enzo Bugatti here?" I asked. I saw him stand up toward the back. I stared at him. "My office, now." He takes his things and he briskly walks toward me. I let him pass and I walk behind him to my office. He sits down in the chair.

    "Can I ask what this is about?" he asks.

    "NO!" I snap. Careful, careful, Zandra, keep a level voice. I sigh. "You may not."

    "Hm, alright," he shrugs. I clench my teeth. I cannot lay a finger on him, else I lose my job. I absolutely hate rich students, because they become too powerful. Like I said, laws are laws, and he planned on poisoning Ms. Elise. I sit back down after I shut my door.

    "How powerful, was this poison, you made, Mr. Bugatti?" I ask.

    "How powerful?" he asks indifferently. "I put enough shit in that Pocky to kill her 7 times." I sigh. Yes, attempted murder. He must be charged with this. He's been arrested before, but he always seems to pay his way out of it.

    "Well then I guess, you leave me no other choice. You know the law."

    "Yeah, yeah, I know." I call for the resource officer.

    "You two will serve detention for the rest of the year." Then officer Jon walked in. "These two attempted to poison a student. Powerful enough to apparently kill her seven times."

    "Alright," he said as he grabbed their shoulders. He looked at Mr. Bugatti. "You again?" He looked at Ms. Maserati. "Come on, you're better than this. Well then, you two will just have to come with me." He walked them out, reading them their rights.

    Concettina

    Later that day. I was still sort of petrified from what happened this morning. I shook it off as practice began. Lotus has perfected the group's back flip routine, which is really great. I am proud of her. I saw Aaron sitting in the stands. If he wishes to stay he can, I guess. I think... I think we're friends now. Oh, God. I wonder if we really are friends- and holy shit, stop! I stopped walking. I had found myself walking toward him. I really want to ask him if we are friends. I guess... screw it.

    Aaron

    I see Concettina walking up to me as I watch them practice. She is blushing slightly. Hm, I wonder why.

    "Hi, Aaron," she said a little shyly.

    "What do you want, Concettina?" I ask in a friendly way. She sits next to me and she pulls on her hair in a nervous way.

    "Uh... uhm... A-Aaron?"

    "Yeah?" I drag out the 'y' a little. She looks down a little, avoiding my eyes.

    "Uh... are we... friends?"

    "Yeah, of course," I say with a smile. I was a bit confused though. "Why do you ask?"

    "I- uh, I just wanted to make sure." She still avoided my eye contact.

    "Well, we are, okay? There's no reason to be scared of it. I'm a nice guy."

    "Yeah, I know." She sort of looked at me and she gave me a small smile. "Thanks." She stood up and she walked off. I watched her walk off and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I saw Fernando.

    "Hey," I said.

    "Hey," he said back. "I heard that Marissa and Enzo were actually arrested for attempted murder." That was a shock.

    "Seriously?!"

    "You haven't heard?"

    "No."

    "Well they were. I'm sure that Enzo will be able to just be able to pay his way out of the trial though."

    "Yeah."

    "Who'd they try to kill?"

    "Lotus. They tried to get her to eat some poisoned Pocky or something."

    "Pocky?"

    "Yeah."

    "That's some good stuff."

    "I know."

    "Hey, isn't Lotus your girlfriend?"

    "Yeah."

    "Bet you were scared as hell."

    "She and I both were."

    "I would imagine so."

    Lotus

    Later after practice, Aaron walked me to his car and he drove me home. We walked into the house. Mum was waiting for us with Sean.

    "I have good news," she said in a sing-song manner.

    "Which is...?" I was almost scared to ask, but I was smiling as I did so, because I was also intrigued.

    "Sean and I are getting married." Aaron and I paused. "Aren't you happy?"

    "Y-yeah I am," I said. "It's just... you know..."

    "It seems a bit sudden?" Sean asked. I looked at him. I was happy for them, but I guess he was right and I nodded.

    Aaron

    "They're getting married?" I asked Lotus the next day.

    "Yeah," she nodded. She seemed a little unsure as she didn't look at me.

    "Aren't you happy for them?"

    "Yeah I am... but you know... it's just a little, sudden." I placed my hand on her shoulder.

    "I understand. I really do."

    "You do?"

    "Yeah." She looked up at me with a happy smile and she hugged me.

    "Thanks." I let her hold me for a moment.

    "Come on," I said as I held her hand, "we need to get to class." We walked down the hallway together to our first class together: math. Ugh, I hate math. Anyway, as our day passed and we went to class after class until the final bell rang and Lotus had to go to practice. As she began to practice her cheer routine, I sat down in the stands in the gym and I worked on my math assignment a little bit. I wasn't really aware of what was around me, and I was shocked when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and I was staring straight into the eyes of Principal Benz. I yelped and I fell back. I'm guessing I surprised her a bit too.

    "I'm sorry, Mr. Aston," I heard her say as she helped me stand up.

    "It's alright," I said a little absentmindedly as I brushed my shirt. I stop and I looked back up at her. "What do you want, ma'am?" She sat down next to me.

    "Enzo paid his way through his trial. He'll be back by the end of the week," she said. Her voice not filled with iron like it usually is, which was strange. She didn't meet my eyes which was very strange. Having possibly the hardest principal in the world being nervous and right in front of me... alright, what's wrong in the world? Eh, but I guess I'm profiling so I stop thinking about all of this.

    "What about Marissa?" I ask. Ms. Benz sighed.

    "After what I can imagine to be the longest case of groveling, he paid her way out as well, but I imagine she owes him a lot." She sighed again. I swallow my pride.

    "And how does this bother you?" I dare to ask. She looks at me. Her dark eyes shining with what I think is fear. She almost appears like a scared child.

    "My job is on the line, Mr. Aston, and I can't go to the school board for guidance, else I might as well pack up and leave now."

    "Um, and you tell me this... why, exactly?"

    "Because I hear about how you always help out other students with their problems. How you are so nice and you treat everyone as an equal."

    "Well, yeah I do that." Then it hits me. "Wait, you want me t-to...?" I almost don't need to ask and she nods. She looks away and she rests her head on her hands. "So what do you want me to do?" She lifted her head and looked back at me. She grabs my wrists and she leans toward me slightly.

    "Aaron... I need your help. You have to help me keep my job." She looked at me pleadingly. I had to help. What, you think I can't? What else do you want me to do, just let her get fired?

    "Ms. Benz, I'll help in any way I can." A small, yet warm smile formed on her face.

    "Thank you," she said. "It means so much to me."

    Principal Benz

    I sigh. Mr. Aston said he'd help. I owe him a lot. "I'll find some way to make this up to you," I said to him. I stand an bow to him and I walk away. Hm, it's been God knows how long since I've done that. I sigh silently as I walk to my car. All I can think about is Enzo, what he can do, and what I would have to do if I lost my job. Wait, no. I am not going to think like that. I sigh to control myself. "Don't think like that, Zandra," I tell myself. I drive home in silence as I focus on what's important: my family. I have two daughters, so no two days are exactly alike. I smile as I find myself thinking about them. Oh, they are everything to me. Korra, the youngest at 5, and Mercedes at 17. Mercedes is enrolled at the very school I work at. Korra will start next year at Carlyle Elementary. I arrive home, still thinking about them. I walk into our house and I feel relieved just to be home. I hear Korra's fussing and Mercedes walks into the living room where I have sit down on the couch. "Thanks for picking Korra up from daycare," I say to her.

    "Sure," she says without looking at me. I sigh as all of the stress form today sinks in.

    "Mercedes," I say in my motherly parental tone. She stops walking and she looks at me with a slight hint of concern.

    "What, Mom?"

    "Could you... please not, act like that? I've had a lot of stress lately and-" I was interrupted by Korra as she had for some reason began to cry in the other room. "Could you go check on her?" Mercedes sighed and walked off. I stand and I walk to my room so I can get out of this suit. I change into something a little more comfortable, a simple t-shirt and shorts, and I walk to the kitchen and I brew some herbal tea. I sit back down with the cup on the couch. I sip the sweet Heaven and I lean back and relax. I can hear Mercedes in the other room doing her best to keep Korra calm. I sigh. I then feel sad as for some reason, I think about my late husband. I feel my eyes becoming wet with tears so I close them to hold the tears back. If only Karl were here, he'd know what to do. He would be able to help me. I feel a tear fall down my cheek. Little did I know that it landed in my tea.

    "Mom?" A voice. It was Mercedes. I look at her. "Are you alright?" I'm guessing she knows I'm sad. She sits down next to me and I try to wipe the tears from my eyes.

    "Sorry. I was just thinking... about your father," I try to keep a level voice. I set my tea down on the coffee table.

    "Mom, it's okay to cry."

    "I know." She wraps her arms over me. I sigh again. I don't want to lose my job. It's all I have to provide for them, Mercedes who is doing her best to help keep us home, and poor Korra, she'll never know her father. I have to do what I can to keep my job. For now, I think it's best if I avoid Enzo. Because I know he might come back with a vengeance. Having inconvenienced him with his trial, and knowing how much he hates having things interrupt his life, he'll be mad at me somehow. I'll have to be really careful around him. My thoughts are interrupted by Korra walking over to Mercedes and I.

    "Why is Mommy sad?" she asked in her tiny, young voice. I smiled as I looked at her. I picked her up and held her in my arms.

    "Mommy missed you today," I said. Korra snuggled up in my arms, Mercedes leaned on me. We felt like a true family. Even though he may be gone, I feel like he's still here.

    Fernando

    I'm minding my own business and suddenly I see Concettina talking to someone else. I walk over to them.

    "Hi, Concettina," I say. She and the other guy look at me. It's Fred Fiat. Great.

    "Oh, hi, Fernando," she says and Fred scowls at me.

    "Get out of here," he says and she shoves me into the lockers and I loose my balance and fall onto the ground. "Come on, beautiful, let's go." I watch as Concettina backs away from him. "Hey, don't be like that," he says sweetly. "I'll take you to a really nice I-talian place uptown."

    "No, I have other plans."

    "Oh, and they are?"

    "Fernando and I are going to a Greek place downtown."

    "Bull shit," he walks away. Concettina is death staring his direction. Then she steps over to me. I'm still on the ground. She grabs my arm and she helps me up. Oh, man. I blush.

    "Th-thanks," I say. We walk outside to a place where there's nobody. She stops walking and she lets go of me and she sighs as she straightens her hair, as if it were all an act. "Did you mean it?"

    "What?" she looks at me.

    "Did you mean what you said about the Greek food and-"

    "Oh," she figured. She then looked at me. I blush a little bit more and she giggles. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

    "Oh, alright. I don't like Greek food." She continues looking at me. She walks over to me.

    "Oh, well, bye, Fernando." She kisses me. She actually kissed me... on the lips! Hot damn!

    Concettina

    I kiss him, not thinking. Oh... my... God. I love him. I can feel my face being very red. "Fernando... I... I... I love... you." Oh, you are just so ruggedly handsome. I then remember giggling a second ago. I haven't done that in years.

    "I don't know what to say," he says. I can't help it and I giggle again. "You're cute when you laugh." I stop.

    "I... I am?" I become red faced so much. Sure I've been hit on, but that's the first time a guy's called me cute. I give a small smile and look away. "Well... if you don't like Greek food..." I look at him. "My parents own a really upscale place on Main Street, downtown. We should go... sometime"

    "Saturday?" he asks. Saturday would work, because I'll need all day to get ready.

    "Saturday... for dinner."

    "Will 8 work?"

    "8 will be fine." We walk back inside to go to our first class. After the school day ends we meet up outside the gym. "Saturday at 8?"

    "Saturday at 8," he says and he starts to walk away.

    "Oh, wait!" I call just remembering. He stops and looks back.

    "Yeah?" I walk to him.

    "Wear something nice."

    "Oh, okay then."

    "Like really, really nice."

    "Oh, alright then. I think I can get something."

    "Good," I smile. My face reddens again and I kiss him. I hurry back inside.

    Enzo

    I'm walking down the hallway, being a badass, cause I am. I'm freaking rich and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it so get out of my face. Anyway, I'm pissed as hell, cause Principal Benz had me arrested. And Marissa was annoying as hell, but I got us both through the trial, especially since my dad helped. He pulled some strings, but we made it out. Suddenly as I walk around the corner, Benz is standing there. She staring at me.

    "Welcome back, Mr. Bugatti," she says like she's surprised to see me back.

    "Yeah, what of it?" I ask.

    "I'm glad to see you weren't charged."

    "Yeah, whatever."

    "What about Ms. Maserati?"

    "Yeah, she's back too. Why do you care?"

    "I'm just looking out for my students."

    "Hey, I ain't your kid." I walk away, leaving her there. Then I see Marissa. She runs up to me.

    "Hey," she says.

    "What do you want?" I ask her. She's really nervous and she doesn't look me in the eyes.

    "I-I, I just wanted to say... thank you for, helping m-me out."

    "Yeah. You owe me."

    "I-I know..."

    Marissa

    I know I owe him a lot, but I'm still rattled from the trial and that day a week ago where the cheer group beat me. I'm still on crutches, and nobody ever signed my cast on my arm, cuz here, no one helps a victim of the cheer squad. No one gives a damn about me. Not even my family, especially now, cuz they had to endure the trial. But I'll be honest with you, I really regret doing what I did to Lotus. Honestly, with all my heart, I really do. Maybe if I apologize to Lotus, she'll forgive me. I hope she does, because a little forgiveness would be great right now. I walk away from Enzo and I try to find Lotus.

    Aaron

    I'm walking with Lotus to the lunch room. I don't know what lunch we'll be having but I'm sure it'll be pretty disgusting. School food, ya know? I hate it. Either way, I sit down with Lotus and I look at her. She looks at me and she smiles. I smile back. Then Fernando comes over.

    "Hey," he says, out of breath.

    "Dude, what's the problem?" I ask him.

    "I need your help," he pants.

    "Alright. What is it?"

    "I have a date with Concettina this Saturday at 8 and-" Whoa, wait! What?

    "Whoa, wait, what?" I interrupt.

    "We have a date Saturday night."

    "How did you get her to say yes?" Lotus asked.

    "Because Freddy beat me up and I guess she felt bad for me."

    "You let Freddy Fiat beat you up?" I ask him.

    "I tired to stop him."

    "Dude, come on. Freddy's a jerk. You can't let him do that to you."

    "Wait, Saturday, is tomorrow," Lotus said.

    "I know," Fernando said. "We'll be at the upscale restaurant that her parents own and I have something nice to wear, but I don't know how to... you know?"

    "Oh, I know," I said. "You need to know what to do on a date."

    "Yeah!" Fernando said. "Exactly. So what do I do?" I filled him in on everything that I did on a date and of course, Lotus was happy to help out. That's how our lunch hour passed.

    Lotus

    Later that day, after practice, I had this idea for Saturday and I wanted to talk to Concettina about it. I found her writing notes in her cheer notebook.

    "Hey," I said to her and she looked up.

    "Oh, Lotus, my favourite backflipper, what do you want?"

    "I heard that you and Fernando are going out tomorrow night."

    "Y-You did?"

    "Yeah. He told Aaron and Aaron told me."

    "He did?"

    "Well, he came up to Aaron and I at lunch and he asked Aaron for help."

    "What kind of help?"

    "Well, see, the thing is... he doesn't know how to date, properly."

    "Oh, I know what you mean."

    "And I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so I was wondering if maybe... you two and Aaron and I could double-date?" She looked me in the eyes.

    "Do you have something really nice to wear?"

    "Yeah. Aaron and I do."

    "That's great," she smiled. She then leaned in close. "I uh... I don't know how to date either." This was very surprising. So I told her everything on what to do on a proper date. "Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me." She gives me a hug.

    "I'll call you before Aaron picks you up."

    Lotus

    Aaron and I leave the gym and I see Marissa standing there.

    "Hey," I say. She looks really sad and remorseful.

    "Lotus... can you forgive me? For everything I've done?" This is...

    "Yeah," I find myself saying. I step over to her and I look her in the eyes. "I forgive you." I give her a hug and she starts to cry.

    "Thank you, Lotus," she says, her voice broken. After a while she asks me: "Would you consider me a friend?"

    "Of course," I say. Even my worst enemy can become my friend if I just give them the chance. That's how I grew up. Aaron then takes my hand.

    "Come on," he says. I look back at Marissa. She begins to sad again. Babe, wait.

    "Hey," I ask her and she looks back up at me. "You need a ride home?" She nods. "Come on Aaron, let's take her home." She looks at Aaron.

    Aaron

    I guess if Lotus can forgive her I can as well. "Sure," I say with a friendly smile. We all walk to my car. Lotus squeezes into the back seat and I help Marissa down into the seat. "You good?" I ask and she nods.

    "Yes, thanks," she says. I drive her to her house and I help her out of the car. I wave good-bye as she walks up to her front door and inside her house. Now, all that's left to do is to get ready for tomorrow night.

    Aaron

    It's Saturday night. I'm looking at myself in the mirror and I'm straightening my tie. I look good in a tuxedo. I'm not at all nervous that I'm double-dating with Fernando and Concettina, just a little apprehensive that the place we're going to is so high-class. I practice my basic knowledge and skills on how to act like a high-class person. I don't think they're snobs, just "arrogantly refined," I would say. I pick up my phone and I call Lotus.

    "Hey," I say.

    "Hi," she says on the other end.

    "I'm ready."

    "Well, I'm not, give me 10 maybe 15 more minutes."

    "Alright." I put my phone in my pocket and I walk out of my house to my Dad's car, an Aston Martin Rapide. He was nice enough to let me borrow it for the night. I get in the car and I drive toward Lotus's house. I arrive there about 10 minutes later and I park outside. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Lotus is calling me.

    "Hey," I say.

    "Are you here?"

    "Look out your window." I look up and I see her appear in the window.

    "Good. Meet me at the door." She hangs up and I hang up as well. I put my phone away as I climb out of the car and I walk up to the front door. A moment later, I see Lotus appear at the door. She is wearing a white dress that fits over her body making her look very beautiful.

    "Wow, you look nice," I say.

    "Have fun, dear!" I hear Zephyra call from inside.

    "I will, Mum!" Lotus calls back inside. She shuts the door.

    "Oh, my God," she says, "Aaron you look so handsome."

    "Thanks," I say. I offer my hand to walk her to the car. I open the door for her and she sits down in a way to not ruin her dress. "You good?" I ask and she nods. I then carefully shut the door. I walk around to the other side and I climb back into the car. I drive off toward Fernando's house. "You nervous?" I ask Lotus.

    "Not really," she says. "Why are you?" she laughs.

    "A bit."

    "But we've dated before."

    "It's not that. Just a bit nervous about the upscaleness of the place we're going to. You remember where it is?"

    "Yeah, it's at the top of the Countach building downtown."

    "Great, thanks," I smile. Then we arrive at Fernando's house. "Wait here." She smiles and nods. I walk up to his front door. I ring the door bell. He answers a minute later.

    "Hey," he says. "Man you look good."

    "Thanks," I say. "You ready?"

    "Just about," he says as he adjusts his tie. "How do I look?"

    "You look good. Now I have something for you." I've been holding this behind my back for the entire time now. I give it to him. He looks at me weird. I guess knowing him, he would, because what I'm holding is a bouquet of flowers.

    "For me?" he asks.

    "Yeah," I say. "To give to Concettina."

    "Oh," he says.

    "Yeah, sorry if.."

    "Yeah, yeah." Whew, glad we got that out of the way. I walk him to my car and after I let him in, I drive off toward the big house where Concettina lives.

    Concettina

    I'm looking at myself in the mirror. Oh, I hope Fernando likes the way I look. I ask Aurora, yeah she helped me out with what to do and everything. Also she'll watch over my house while my parents overlook the private tower they own, which is also where the restaurant is at, the top floor. My parents have us a reserved section of the place and to my surprise, they were really delighted that I had finally asked someone out. Well, you know, he asked me out and I said yes. But either way, they approved which was a good start.

    "You look great," Aurora said. "Give me a little twirl." I give her a little twirl. "O-M-G, he will just love you!"

    "You think so?"

    "I know so. By the way, Aaron called earlier and said that he'll be picking you up when he get's here."

    "That's really nice of him." She then dropped her enthusiastic smile. She knew I was nervous.

    "No need to be nervous. Just be yourself." Yeah, just be myself. That's what they all say.

    Fernando

    â€‹Aaron parks his car on the circle drive just outside Concettina's house. Damn, that thing is huge, she must have at least 30 servants take care of it. I actually don't know if she even has servants, but yeah, it's a pretty big place. And the place we're going to, is the resteraunt on the top floor of the building her parents own. I'm pretty sure that they're the richest family in the entire city.

    "Fernando," Aaron says.

    "What?" I ask.

    "I will wait here, you will go up to the door, knock, wait for her and when she comes out: comment on the way her dress looks, very, very nicely, and give her the flowers. Then walk her back to the car. Got it?"

    "Yeah." I got it. I take a few deep breaths and I walk up to the large door. Before I can use the knocker to knock the door opens. It's Aurora, from school.

    "Oh, hi, Aurora," I say with a smile.

    "Hey, Fernando," she smiles back.

    "Is Concettina ready?"

    "Yes," I hear her say from inside. "Let him in." Aurora opens the door more to let me inside. I see Concettina walking down the large stairs. Holy shit. She looks so beautiful. Her red hair pristinely covers half of her face, and the black dress she is wearing is so elegant, it's just, wow. She looks so pretty.

    "Wow," I say. "Concettina... you look... beautiful." I was afraid my voice would crack, thank God it didn't.

    "You think so?" she asks.

    "Y-yeah. Why don't you dress like this everyday?" That was kinda stupid. She blushes and looks away, smiling. "I got some flowers for you." I give her the bouquet.

    "Oh, they're wonderful," she says. "Thank you."

    "You're welcome." I offer her my hand and I walk her to the car. Aaron helps her sit down in the back seat and I sit down next to her. I look back at her house and I could see Aurora waving, then the light from inside disappeared as she shut the door. Aaron climbs back into the driver seat and he drives back out of the driveway.

    Lotus

    We're driving toward Countach Tower. A few minutes later we arrive at the lobby of the tower. We walk in and marvel at everything, except Concettina obviously.

    "Mom and Dad have changed a few things," she says looking around. We walk to the elevator. She presses the button for the top floor. 90. Really upscale. Heh heh. Upscale on the top floor, get it? The elevator starts to ascend and after a few floors, we can see out at the night skyline. Aaron marvels at the Fairground Pier. You can guess what that is. All of the lights and unfortunately for Fernando, all of the heights as well. I don't think he likes heights. Soon the elevator reaches the top. We walk out of the elevator car, except Fernando. "Fernando, what's wrong?" Concettina asks.

    "I... I don't like heights," he says. Told ya. Then a couple, who I can only assume is Concettina's parents come over.

    "Hello Mother, hello Father," she says.

    "Welcome," they say.

    "We're so glad you got here with out many problems," her father says. Then all of the windows tint over and we can't see out of them. Now Fernando seems to look a little better. They lead us over to a table they had saved especially for us. We all sit down.

    "These are great chairs," Aaron says. I laugh to myself. He's really enjoying this. The chef then walks out.

    "Welcome all," he says in a legit Italian accent. "Concettina, I have prepped your favourite."

    "You don't mean...?" she asked with the raising hope showing in her eyes.

    "Yes. Chicken parmesan sided with my famous homemade Alfredo lasagna, covered in shavings of parmesan."

    "Yes. You guys should try it. It's like tasting a piece of Heaven."

    "Aright, I'll give it a try," I say.

    "Sure," Fernando agrees.

    "I'm game," Aaron says.

    "I guess we'll all have a plate of that," Concettina says to the chef.

    "Excellent choice," he winks and he walks back to the kitchen and then Concettina's Mum comes back out with some waters.

    "Here are some waters for you. If you want to try some other drinks feel free to have a look at our drinks menu," she gives Aaron a small leather book. Aaron skims through it.

    "Cool, you make your own sodas?" he asks Concettina.

    "The chefs do. They are really good at it."

    "That's awesome. I may want to try a glass of that homemade cream soda. Hey, I like it."

    "Aaron, let me see that," I say wanting to know if they make any herbal teas. He hands me the small book and I flip through it. A-ha. They do make home-brewed herbal teas. I'll have to get a cup of that.

    Aaron

    The chef later brings out all of the food. Concettina was right.

    "Man Concettina you were right, this does look good," I said as the chef put Concettina's plate in front of here.

    "Trust me, Aaron it gets better. You just have to..." she picked up some of the lasagna, "...start eating." She took a bite. "Sweet Heaven."

    "Aye!" Lotus agreed. I guess she like talking like an Irish person. But that's okay. I do the same thing, only with Scotland. "This is astounding. Oh, can I get some herbal tea, please?" she asked the chef.

    "I will have that right out to you in a minute. Anything else?"

    "A glass of that homemade cream soda?" I ask.

    "Excellent choice, Aaron," he learned my name. This chef is a really nice guy. And this double-date was a really good idea.

    "I'm glad we're doing this," I say.

    "Yeah," Fernando agreed. "This double-date was an excellent idea."

    "That's just what I was thinking," Concettina added with a smile. "Oh, and Lotus?"

    "Hm?" Lotus asked.

    "Any uneasiness between us in the past... I'm sorry for it all. Especially now, and after all we've been through."

    "Hey," Lotus said with a friendly smile, "All is forgiven."

    "Thanks." Then the chef brought out my cream soda and Lotus's tea.

    "Thank you, sir," I say.

    "You're sweet," Lotus said to the chef.

    "Thank you," he said. "If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask." He walked back to the kitchen. We all continued to enjoy our Italian Heaven.

    "Wow, Concettina, I can see why this dish is your favourite," Fernando said. After we all, sadly, ate the last bites of Heaven, we all just sat back in the chairs.

    "That was great," I said.

    "Aye," Lotus agreed.

    "I loved it," Fernando said. "But not as much as I love you," he said to Concettina. She blushed and giggled. Then Concettina and Fernando started to kiss. Then they really Frenched it and they fell onto the ground. Oh, okay, I think Lotus and I should leave. I take Lotus by the arm and we leave, leaving the two new lovebirds on the floor, totally making out. As the elevator descends, tonight, Nando, Fernando's nickname I gave him, he really hates it but whatevs. Nando, tonight you become a man. I raise a metaphorical glass to him. I walk with Lotus to the car. She climbs in the back and she falls onto the seat, fast asleep. I laugh softly to myself. I climb upfront and I drive her home.

    Lotus

    I open my eyes slowly. I sit up and yawn as I stretch. I am in my room. Oh! That's right. Last night, I almost forgot about the double-date last night. It was probably the best thing I have ever done with any of my friends... granted, I only have a few friends. Since I am a Freshman, and no one likes a person like me. Well, anyway, I realize that I am still wearing my white dress so I should really take it off and get it cleaned. I take it off and I threw on a t-shirt and shorts. I put my dress in the laundry room and I run down the stairs for breakfast.

    "I see someone's up," I recognize Aaron's voice. Yay, he's here! I walk into the kitchen and I see him sitting at the table. "Morning," he smiles at me. I smile back.

    "Morning, Aaron," I say. "What's for breakfast?"

    "Your Mum made some chocolate chip pancakes." I gasp. No... way.

    "Really?" I ask. He hands me a plate with some pancakes on it. The small dots spread over the sea of tan confirms my suspicions. "Yay!" These are my favourite breakfast food, ever! I put the plate down on the table and I spread some butter over my pancakes and I drown them in syrup. I then run to the fridge to pour me a glass of chocolate milk.

    "Hey, easy there," Aaron says with a laugh. I cut into my stack and I take a bite. I stop. They taste a bit different. Different then my Mum's. I look at them on my plate. Aaron sees me doing this. "Hey are they that bad? I made them myself." I reach up and kiss him.

    "These are so good!" I say say. "I love you!"

    "Thanks," he blushes. He then makes himself a stack of a few.

    "These are even better than Mum's!" Half of mine are gone already.

    "What's better than mine?" I hear Mum ask as she walks into the kitchen.

    "Aaron's pancakes. They are so good!" I should probably calm down, but I just can't. Sorry, heh heh.

    "Well then, you better marry him before he finds another girl," Mum says. Was she freaking serious? I stop and my faces turns redder than Fernandos Ferrari.

    "Mum!" I yell. "Don't embarrass me like that!" I hate it when she does that! But... she is right though. Even though I'm only 15 and Aaron's 16, she's right. Face it, she is right. I love Aaron so much. I can't deny it. I sigh.

    "What's wrong?" Aaron asks me. I look at him.

    "Mum's right," I say.

    "What, that you should marry me?"

    "Yeah."

    "Well, I'm thinking the same thing. I have been for a while now."

    "Y-you have?"

    "Yeah. Face it, it's destined to happen. We're soul mates. We were meant for each other." He kisses me on the lips.

    "Aw, I wish you were 18, baby," Mum said. "Then you could get married now."

    Aaron

    After our breakfast we walk to school. Lotus and I pass by Fernando's house. I see Fernando and Concettina coming out of the house. I stop and Lotus and I wait. They join us on the sidewalk.

    "Hey," I say. Concettina nods acknowledgement.

    "Hey," Fernando says.

    "You okay, dude?" I ask.

    "Just fine."

    "Alright." We continue in a short silence.

    "Don't expect a hard practice today, Lotus," Concettina says.

    "Why?" Lotus asked her.

    "I don't feel like having a hard practice today."

    "Oh, alright." This was strange, even for her. Concettina was never like this. I guess now that she has a boyfriend to satisfy everyday, I guess it would really change her. She's not the total dictator she used to be. Weirdly, I almost miss it. What, I do. Guess I'm just not used to such a change. Anyway, we finally get to the school. Concettina and Lotus stop by the locker room. Fernando and I keep walking.

    "So..." I pry with a smirk, "What's she like?"

    "What?" he asks dumbfounded.

    "Concettina. What's she like?"

    "Oh, you know... she's great," he blushed, really uncomfortable with this. I laughed to myself. I love making Nando feel this way. "Would you just shut up?!" he walks off.

    "Later, Nando!" I laugh. As I leave the gym, someone bumps into me, my math book falling onto the floor. It was a girl I had never noticed before. She had reddish hair and freckles. Her eyes a shade of pink. "Oh, I'm sorry," I say.

    "Sorry," she says back in a soft voice. She bends down to pick my book up.

    "No, no," I stop her, "I got it." I pick my book up. "So what's your name?" I ask. Hey, I have never seen her before. I wonder if she's new here.

    "Uh... N-Natsuki Suzuki," she says shyly. "I-I'm a Freshman." She avoids looking at me directly. I wonder why?

    "Are you new here?"

    "No. I've been since day 1."

    "Oh. I was just wondering, because I have never seen you before." Her eyes start to look sad.

    "Well... I'm used to that. No one ever notices me." I put my hand on her shoulder.

    "My name is Aaron Aston." Her face lights up a bit.

    "Oh. We have a couple classes together."

    "We do?" She nods. "Which ones?"

    "Algebra and Biology."

    "Huh. I didn't know that." You idiot. "Sorry, if that offended you any."

    "It's okay. Like I said, I'm used to that kind of thing." She sighs sadly and she walks off. Poor girl.

    Natsuki

    Hi. I'm Natsuki. Uh, I'm 15. I go here at Carlyle and uh... y-yeah. So uh, I'm here in the library, reading my Anime, cuz I like Anime... a lot. Oh, someone else is in here now. I'll just go back to being invisible. I want to see who it is though. I glance over down between the shelves of books. I gasp. It's Kyoya Toyota. He is so dreamy. Gosh, Kyoya's really cute. I wonder if he'll see me at all... oh, what's the point? He's just like everyone else. He'll never see me. I sigh sadly, putting my head down on my arms. It's hopeless. He'll never see me. I start to cry. Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder.

    "Hey, are you okay?" it sounded like a boy. I look up and my heart stops. It's Kyoya. I gasp and I stand up.

    "Uh... um..."

    "You alright?" he asks. I want to say it but I can't. I... I... I run off. I run outside. I run to the tree by the track and I start to climb up it. I am good at climbing trees. I climb to the branch that will hold me. I cry again. I messed up and I hate myself for doing it. God, I'm so stupid! "Hey!" Kyoya's voice again. I stop crying and I look down... which I'm sorta regretting. "Y-you ran off and left your stuff in the library." My Anime! I forgot I left my Anime. I hop down from limb to limb. Then I land, mostly gracefully, on the ground. I hold my hands out and he gives me my Anime. "Are you feeling okay?" he asks me.

    "I am feeling... a little better," I force myself.

    "Good," he smiles. So handsome!

    "Now that... now that you're here." Argh! Stupid!

    "What?"

    "I'm sorry!" I cry.

    "Are... are you in love... with me?" he asks. I nod. He blushes and looks away. "I'm sorry, but... I don't even know your name."

    "Natsuki Suzuki! We have Algebra together!" Please Kyoya, say you love me.

    "Natsuki... I'm sorry, but... I don't think that I'm ready for that yet." He broke my heart. "I don't know what to say." I start to cry.

    "You could say you're sorry."

    "For what?"

    "For breaking my heart."

    "Natsuki... I'm sorry. But we can always be friends." I stop crying.

    "We can?"

    "Of course. I'm just not ready for dating, quite yet, but we can be best friends." Still, he is handsome.

    "Okay." I hug him. He hugs me back. I sigh happily.

    Kyoya

    Hello there, my name is Kyoya Toyota. I'm 15 and a half years old. I'm a Freshman here at Carlyle High School. It's been a few weeks since day 1 of school this year. It's pretty good so far. I have a new friend, this girl Natsuki. She loves me, which is... you know.... awesome, I'm sure, but see, the thing is, I'm just not ready to date anybody yet. I want to focus on my grades and get to college. So anyway I walk with her on our way to our first class. Algebra. God, I hate math class. It comes easy to me but I hate doing it. The bell rings and we take our seats. I never knew that Natsuki sat only a few chairs away from me. It's amazing when you meet new people. Then the teacher asks to see our homework. Wait, my homework? I grab my textbook and I open to the page where my homework was. I stare at my paper in disbelief. I haven't done the last three problems! Dammit! I grab my pencil and before the teacher can start collecting the assignment from everyone, I hear a usual noise.

    "Kern, I need help!" Yep, It was Marissa Maserati. She always asks for help everyday, about the same time.

    "What is it?" Mr. Kern asks her, in the usual fashion.

    "I need help on number 12."

    "Number 12?! That's an easy one." It was an easy one. x minus 4 over 12x squared plus 7. As he goes over the problem with her I rush the last problems I had yet to do. I was going to do them in the library, but I met Natsuki instead. By now, Mr. Kern is done going over number 12 with Marissa and he collecting work. Whew, glad she asked for help. I know, that was a bit mean. Sorry, Marissa.

    "Didn't finish your work again, Jared?" Kern asks. I look over. Yep, Kern is once again, collecting a blank sheet of lined paper from Jared Fisker. He's too busy playing videogames. Whenever he has time, Jared is always playing some kind of game.

    "No, Sir," Jared says.

    "What's the reason this time?"

    "Some griefers blew up my house in Minecraft."

    "Yeah, yeah, same here," Kern said sarcastically.

    "It sucks right?" Jared asked not noticing the sarcasm. Someone laughed.

    "That was sarcastic," he said. It was Aaron Aston. Knowing him, he would say that.

    Kenji

    Yo, what up? I'm Kenji Nismo. I'm the star basketball player of Carlyle. Have been for two years now, always will be. Anyways, Math class sucks, so I'm looking forward to getting out of Kerns room. So boring! After a long day in the math class. I move to my next class. History or something or other. I really don't care about old crap. I don't care for school at all, really. I just care about basketball. How can I just care about basketball, you ask? Well... I guess I care about my girl, Hotaru... so long as she does what I ask. I do like my metal though too. You know, metal? As in heavy metal? Rock music, yes. I love that. Hotaru and I we rock the school with our metal. I'm doing the massive riffs while she covers me with bass. You can come next time we play, just don't do anything stupid. People say rock is dead, but the hell with what they say. Screw em'. I bring it back.

    Finally, class is over and I can go to lunch. I walk over to Hotarus desk.

    "Come on," I say. I garb her arm, surprising her. She fights me. She is really doing this to me?

    "Come on, let go of me! Just let go of me!" she yells. God, will she ever shut up? "You're such a jerk!" After a couple moments, she gives up and she does as she's supposed to. About time. I sit down at our lunch table.

    Hotaru

    Hey. I'm Hotaru Nissan. That jerk of a boyfriend I have is Kenji. I assume you've met him already? He treats me like shit, but I can't really do much about it. I like him and I like it when we rock together, but then he thinks he owns me. That I'm just a thing to him. My family knows that I love him, but that was back when we were 9 years old. Kenji was a good kid. Then he grew up and became a real jackass. I can't run out on him, because it would disgrace my family. Hey, that's just how we were raised. It would make me look like a fool, for leaving him. I go to his house and he acts like a true gentleman, same when he comes to my house. But when none of our parents are anywhere, he's a total ass. I hate him, so much! I need some help to figure this out. Could you help me?

    "Come on," Kenji grabs my arm again. He walks us away. I resist the urge to fight him, and I just follow him and cry. Please, you have to help me get away from him.

    Jory

    Howdy. I'm Jory Dodge. I'm 17. Now hold up, I'm watching this fight between Lance and Cher.

    "Why are you angry with me?" Lance asks.

    "Hey, It's not my fault you think you're better than me," Cher says. Man, this is gettin' good!

    "Last time I checked, my grades were better than yours!"

    "Lance Ford, grades are not the only thing in the world."

    "At least my name's not Cher Chevrolet!"

    "Your arguments don't even make any sense."

    "Women don't make any since!" Oh, shoot. He pulled that on her? Get yer phone out for this un'.

    "You are so sexist, Lance! I'm going to report you!" she starts to walk off. He runs up and grabs her arm. She swing her other arm around and she hits his face. He falls back with a yell. Then Benz comes in.

    "What is going on here?!" she demands. Everyone quickly disperses, 'cept me. I guess I have to tell her what happened. I walk over to Lance and I help him up.

    "Shoot, buddy, your bleedin' like a stuck pig," I say. Well he is, I think Cher scratched him good.

    "Take him to the nurse, Mr. Dodge," Benz tells me. I watch as she marches Cher to her office. I walk Lance to the nurse.

    "Y'all right buddy?" I ask.

    "Jesus, what the hell happened?" he asks. She must've hit him good, knocked the sense right outta him. We get to the nurses office. After the nurse takes him, I step out for a smoke. My Dad does it, so why can't I? Been doing it since I was fourteen. The bell rings. Well, I gotta get to class. See ya.

    Ken

    Hey there. I'm Ken Impreza. I'm 18 years old and I really like the color blue. Especially with gold accents. Anyway, hey, hi. So, this is my life. I am very good at sprint running so I'm a track athlete. Uh, I don't know how many other students you've been with, but I know that there's a lot of crap wrong with this school. Well, I'll be the first to say, that I am not like those crummy people. I am a nice guy. Oh, and just between you and me... that girl, Aurora Audi, she is so good-looking. Don't tell her I said that, 'kay? Oh, hey there's Daniel Chrysler, let's go talk to him.

    "Hey, hey, Danny boy," I say. I put my arm over his shoulder.

    "Ken Impreza?" he asks indifferently. "What do you want?" Man, he's such a downer.

    "Come on, Dan, don't be such a downer. People would like you if you just talk to them." Man, this guy, am I right?

    "Would you just leave me alone, please?" I leave him. Hey, he asked so I'll leave him alone.

    "Hey, sorry, buddy," I say. I walk off another direction. I'm trying to think of something else we can go and do, but I'm not sure. But hey, I'm sure that you have someone else you need to talk to so I'll let you go. Nice meeting you though. I hope we can talk again sometime.

    Jared

    I'm Jared Fisker, now get away from me, you're messing me up. Come on, come on! Dammit! Yes, yes. No! Argh! No lives?! Fine. What do you want? I'm Jared. I like games. Someone bumped into me, knocking my Nintendo DS onto the ground. I look up and it's a cheer girl.

    "Hey! Watch what you're doing!" I yell at her.

    "I'm sorry!" she yells back.

    "You made me drop my DS!"

    "I'm sorry okay?!" She runs off.

    "Yeah you better go!"

    Sabrina

    I run to the locker room. I am out of breath. I don't want to be late to practice. Anyway, hello! I'm Sabrina Citroen! I'm 16 and I'm a Sophomore here at CHS. Can we be friends? I love meeting new people! Oh, you're wondering how I got on the cheer squad? Well, Concettina just came up to me one day and asked me. And I said yes. Hey, I'm peppy, and I have a lot of school spirit. She even said that as long as I did good out there, I would make a great addition to the team. Oh there she is now.

    "Sorry, I'm a moment late, some guy was being a jerk to me," I say.

    "Get out there and make up what you can," Concettina tells me.

    "Alright," I say. I guess this is where we part for now, Bye!

    Aaron

    It's the end of practice. I walk with Lotus to her house. I'm at her house a lot, because I just live with my dad, and he's hardly ever home. So I spend the majority of my time over at her place with her Mum. Oh yeah, Zephyra and Sean are getting married come around Christmas, so I can't wait for winter break. We walk inside.

    "Hey," Zephyra says from the kitchen.

    "Hello, Zephyra," I say.

    "Hi, Mum," Lotus says.

    "There's my little couple," Zephyra says lovingly. Lotus blushes really hard and she crosses her arms. I think it's cute when she does that.

    "Mum, I told you to stop doing that to me!" Lotus says.

    "Well then hurry up and turn 18 so you can get married."

    "MUM!" I cant hold back laughter. "Come on, Aaron, not you too."

    "I'm sorry, Lotus," I say with a laugh. I give her a reassuring hug to show her that I'm being honest. She buries her face in my chest.

    "Aaron I love you so much," she says.

    "I do too," I say. Really romantic moment happening here right now. I honestly can't wait for the future. Lotus and I both know that we will be spending it together, forever. Nothing will ever separate us. After our moment here, we eat dinner and go to bed, so there's nothing we do that's at all interesting.

    The next day.

    Lance

    Hello. My name is Lance Ford, of course if you saw the fight I had with Cher yesterday, than you know who I am. I'm not usually that mean, like I was being, it's just that, I guess I sort of just blew up. I really regret being mean to Cher. She didn't deserve it. But afterward, she was sent to Mrs. Benz' office. I don't know what happened to her, but I bet she's pretty shaken up, like people usually are after they survive her office. Agh! Sorry, my face just hurts. You saw that fight, didn't you? Yeah, she got me good. My face needed stitches. I still have this patch over my left eye. The doctor said that I will never look the same again. I may be disfigured, but I'm fine with that. It's just my face! Why am I angry? That Aaron Aston has a better complexion than I! Huh, no wonder he has a girlfriend and I don't. And with his scar, I may never have a girl. Oh, well, I guess that's what happens when you try to copy someone else's looks. Sorry about yelling at you earlier. Still, at least that other kid helped me out. I think that's him over there.

    "Hey," I say.

    "Howdy, buddy," he says. "How you carryin' on?" Yep, that country kid.

    "Fine. Thanks for helping me yesterday."

    "No problem, buddy." He pats my back. "She got you pretty good, huh?"

    "Yep."

    "Well, hope yer face ain't too messed up," he walks down the hall. I hope Cher can forgive me, because I forgave her. I didn't press charges like my parents wanted me to. If I can do that to forgive her, then hopefully she'll feel the same way.

    Aurora

    Hi there! I'm Aurora Audi. I'm sure we've met before, you just haven't gotten to know me. Well, you know I'm part of the cheer squad, I'm at Concettinas right hand. So, what that means, is that I'm her personal assistant. I am the same age as her, and we're both Seniors here. We've been friends for more than five years. It was back in seventh grade. We were assigned a project over something, and we were partnered. At first, she was like, very shy and so was I, I mean, we've never worked together before on anything so it was a different experience. So anyway, I was like: "Hi, I'm Aurora!" and she was like-

    "Aurora," someone says. Speaking of Concettina, there she is now.

    "What is it Concettina?" I ask. Yep she's here right now.

    "I want these plans copied," she says as she hands me a stack of papers.

    "Yes, ma'am!" I say with my enthusiasm. Just helping a friend. The copy machine should be over here in the office. I turn it on and I place the papers on the machine to get the copies. So Anyway, she was like: "Hi, I'm Concettina," and I was like: "Your name is cool," and she was like: "Thanks." Am I rambling? Oh, I hope I'm not too talkative. Oh, the copies are done. Better get these back to Concettina right away. I walk briskly to the gym. I give Concettina the originals and the copies.

    "Thanks Aurora," she says.

    "You're welcome!" I say. I hope you see that I am a nice girl and I hope we can talk again sometime. Oh, wait, before you go, you talked with Ken right? Ken Impreza? You have? Great! Oh, he is such a handsome man! I swoon just thinking about him. I bet he likes me. If he does, I want to wait for him to ask me out. Cuz it's weird when the girl asks the guy out... or at least, I think so. What about you? What do you think about that? Anyway, I have Algebra class to get to, so nice to meet you finally! I hope we can talk again!

    Donata

    Ciao! Chiamami Pagani! Sono una ragazza! Sono diciassette anni! Il mio nome e cogome Donata Pagani! Siamo amici, no? Siamo? Sí! Mi piaci! I miei capelli sono blu! Mi piace cosí. I miei occhi sono verde chiaro. Non é vero abbastanza? Mi piaci amico mio. Sono molto contento! Mi dispiace, sono cosí stordita, heh heh heh.

    "Excuse me," qualcuno dice. Li guardo. É un regazzo. Ha i capelli viola, e lui é molto alto. I suoi occhi il colore oro. "Could you help me?" Non capsico.

    "Cosa?" chiedo.

    "Do... do you speak English?" Scuoto la testa. "You don't?"

    "Donata doesn't speak English, Mr. Lincoln," qualcuno dice. E 'il preside Benz. "She only knows her native Italian."

    "Oh, she doesn't?" lui chiede.

    "No. Now, what did you need?"

    "Oh, just help on some research."

    "Well, I'm sorry, but she can't help you. You'll just have to find someone else."

    "Alright, thanks Mrs. Benz." Lei si allontana. Mi guarda. "É stato un piacere conoscerti." Ansimo. Parla Italiano! "Se hai bisogno di aiuto con l'inglese, saró felice di insegnare."

    "Oh, va bene," arrossisco. É molto carino.

    "Vuoi uscire qualche volta?"

    "Sí. Mi piacerebbe," sorrido. Bene, spero di parlare con voi. Arrivederci!

    Alexis

    Hey. I'm Alexis. I'm 17 and I'm a Junior at Carlyle. As you can probably tell, my hair is a light shade of purple. I wear white mostly, just like my suit and trench coat that I'm wearing right now. I like the color white. I'm not quite sure why, but I do. Wait a minute, whose- oh, great. Enzo's coming this way. What's he doing here? He's usually skipping school. Either that, or he's never where he should be. Always bribing the teachers into letting him do whatever he wants.

    "Hey, Alexis," he says in his sly tone. He's such a snake it makes me shiver. God! I hate feeling cold!

    "What do you want?" I ask as I rub my arms together, trying to warm myself up.

    "You cold?" he asks. I sigh shakily, as I'm shivering.

    "Do I look cold to you?"

    "Yes you do. Why are you cold? It's great in here." Sure he says that, with his ridiculous outfit. I know for an absolute fact that he's hated by everyone, but I hate him the most. He tried asking me to prom last year. Can you believe that? He did. I turned him down and he's always had this weird obsession for revenge on me. I hate him. He takes a step toward me. I growl and step away from him. He steps again and I back away. He does it again. I can't take him any more.

    "What do you want, Enzo?!" I yell.

    "Just wanted to say hello. You don't have to hate me so much." He says it with the lying smirk of a snake. He does this kind of crap to me to get back at me, because he knows that what he does bothers me. I run away from him down the hall the other way. I run to the bathroom and I run some hot water. I soak my hands in the hot water for a few moments. After they're nice and warm I dry them and I hug myself. My hands feel so warm. I really hate the cold. For some reason, the cold... it haunts me. Why does it you ask? Well, it's not a memory I like to revisit but, when I was seven, I was taken from my house. Some guy kidnapped me. I'm a decently rich person with a widely known family name, so he took the opportunity to have an advantage of me and my childish ignorance. I fought him and I was able to get away from him, only to find myself lost in the cold world. I nearly froze to death, had it not been for that one nice person who recognized me. He took me to the hospital where my worried parents came to get me. I was happy to be home, but, I'm still haunted by my experience. And you know, the guy who kidnapped me... he's still out there, somewhere. Sometimes I wonder... if he'll try again someday. I don't want to think like that, though. Oh, and one more thing: only me and my family know about my past. No one here know just how bad of an early life I've really had, if you do me the favour of not telling anyone? You promise you won't tell anyone? Great! You know, you make me feel happy and warm.

    After a few minutes of warming myself up, I leave the bathroom. I look around, keeping a watchful eye out for Enzo. I don't want him making feel cold again. I briskly make my way down the hall. So far so good, the hallway is empty. Not a soul in sight. I hurry to my English class. We have a lot of time between classes, I don't know if you know that yet, but if you haven't figured it out yet, we have about 15 minutes between classes. Each class is about an hour and forty minutes. We have only three classes a day with a block schedule. So we get all of our credits we need to graduate, not that a lot of people really care about graduating. Personally, I do care about graduating. I walk into Mr. Allen's classroom. He's my English teacher. He's young, in his mid-twenties. Mildly handsome, I will say, so it's a little surprising to learn that he's still single.

    "Alexis," he says in his smooth voice, not being at all mean about it, "You're late." I like Mr. Allen. He understands me. He knows that I hate being cold, and my first year here, the second day he had me, he brought a really warm blanket for me for days that I felt cold. I know that a lot of other students like him as well, because he's really laid-back, he's never mean, he's very lenient with people, he gives us a lot of free time, and especially since he never, and I truly mean, never, gives out homework.

    "I'm sorry, Mr. Allen," I say with a bow, "I had some trouble in the hall."

    "Oh?" he inquired, "and what kind of trouble was this?"

    "Enzo was being mean to me." I shiver slightly at the thought. I walk to my desk and sit down, trying to cuddle myself to retain as much heat as possible.

    "I'm very sorry to hear that. Enzo is a problem child, I will say that, if you don't agree, class?" He was answered with a few collective yes's. "Now, why don't we get our books out and we continue with our read, shall we?" he asks as he walks by my desk and he puts his blanket over my shoulders. I smile as I feel the warmth. I open my copy of Shakespeares' Julius Caesar. I love reading Shakespeare, and not for the reason you think. It's because Mr. Allen almost always reads and he really plays the part. Now we're getting to the good part. "E tu, Brute?" he reads in a dramatic dying voice, "Then fall Caesar!" he collapses onto his knees then onto the ground. The class gives a collective laugh. I giggle myself as he stands up to read the next part. Well, I'll be here. I enjoyed our time together.

    Lance

    Actually, could you come back later? I'm still in the hospital from what Cher did to me. Maybe you should go talk to her. I'll talk to you next time, maybe when I find out just how bad she got me, alright? I'll come to you then. See ya.

    Cher

    Oh, hello. I didn't know you were there. My name? My name is Cher Chevrolet. I'm a Junior here at Carlyle High School. Oh, my fight with Lance? You saw that? Oh, I am so sorry you had to see me like that, see, uh, I'm usually not like that. It's just that, oh, Lance made me so mad! But, oh, I felt my hand feel weird when I hit him. I think I might've scratched him. Lance, I'm so sorry! But, God, he can be such an idiot at times. This is really conflicting me. Could you come back later, please? Maybe when I'm not feeling so conflicted? Besides, I'm in the middle of a math test. Come back some other time, okay? Thanks, you're a dear!

    Beata

    Oh, why hello there. My name is Beata Maru Wagner. I'm a foreign exchange student from Berlin. I'm 17 and I'm part of the Junior class apparently. The American school system is so strange. I can see why back home it's different. Anyway, the only reason why I'm here in America is that my mother died when I was a mere girl and my father disowned me. You wish to know why, do you? Well, I'm not perfectly comfortable with saying why he did that.It may have been a couple of years ago, but... well, I guess if you must know. It's the fact that even though I'm girl, I'm attracted to other girls. The Americans have a term for this, but I cannot remember what it is off the top of my head. But I do not let this get in the way of my school work. I am strong and independent, much like this very country that has accepted me.

    "Hey, Bea," someone says behind me. I turn around to see who addressed me. It is a friend of mine: John Jaguar.

    "Hello, John," I say. "Did you need something?"

    "Nah, just wanted to see if you wanted to go out or something," he says nonchalantly and I laugh.

    "John, you know I'm not attracted to boys, right?"

    "You're still like that?" he asks in disbelief. "Heh, I bet you're just playing hard to get."

    "No, I'm being honest."

    "No. I know exactly what you're doing. You just say that so you don't have to go out with me."

    "No, I say that because I've been attracted to other girls since I was 13."

    "Oh, so now it's an age thing?"

    "What's an age thing?"

    "You being a lesbian!" That's the term I was looking for earlier.

    "So what if I am? Besides, I'm not looking for a sexual partner, I'm just attracted by girls, that's all." I don't know why, but he's getting angry at me.

    "Admit it, you just don't want to go out with me!" he yells at my face, which makes me sad. I start to cry, as I don't like being yelled at. I mean who does? I don't like John anymore. I run to the nearest bathroom and I hide in the last stall and I sit there and cry. I quiet myself after a few moments when I hear someone come in. How strong and independent do I look now? But if you're just going to sit there and laugh at me, then on that basis, I hate you too! But, if you are one of the very few, who I know exist, that will accept me for who I am, then in that case, I love you... you know, as a friend. I wipe my eyes and I walk out of he stall, forgetting that there's another girl standing there at the sink.

    â€‹"Ciao!" I hear them say. I gasp silently as I recognize that Italian. It's Donota Pagani. I look at her. She's looking at me with a friendly smile. I do my best to hide my sadness, to no avail. So I begin to brake down again in front of her and I can feel her hug me. Does she love me? Is she like me? "Everything es all right," he says in a still-learning-English way. I almost forgot. She was in the same foreign exchange program I am in, only I don't have to learn English. She is, and she's getting pretty decent at it. I decide to ask her my question that's been bugging me for the past few moment.

    "Donata, do you love me?" I ask. She stops hugging me and she looks at me, with a small hint of surprise. It takes her a moment to comprehend. Then she laughs.

    "No. I am a girl. You are acting silly!" she says with a smile. "You are a girl, and I am a girl. We can not love each other. We can be friends, no?" I guess she doesn't understand the type of person I am. She does look really nice though. I guess I'm lost in thought now. "We can be friends, no?" she asks again, shaking my shoulders slightly.

    "Y-Yes," I say in spite of myself. "Why not?" I laugh awkwardly.

    "Bene!"

    Aaron

    So the day went by as normal and I'm watching the cheer practice. Lotus is really good. Concettina said that Lotus was her number one this year. That makes me so proud of her, and I'm sure that Concettina and Lotus are proud as well. So, I'm sitting back, watching her do her backflips, when this little girl walks up to me.

    "Are you Aaron Aston?" she asks in a young British accent.

    "Yes, I am," I say. "Why do you ask?"

    "My name is Cassandra. Cassandra Caterham, I'm Lotus' little cousin." This comes as a shock. I raise an eyebrow.

    "You are?" I ask.

    "Y-yeah. I-I am, honest!" Somehow, in this series of surprises, I don't see Lotus come up here.

    "Hey, Cass!" I hear Lotus say.

    "Lotus!" the girl squeals happily. She runs to Lotus and Lotus picks her up and places her on her shoulder. Wow, she has gotten strong! They laugh and Lotus puts the girl back on the ground.

    "So Cass, what brings you here?" Lotus asks.

    "Mommy and Daddy wanted me to come stay at your place for a while."

    "Oh, okay! Did you meet my boyfriend Aaron?" Cass looks at me.

    "Yeah, only he doesn't believe that we're related," Cass says with a twinge of sadness. Lotus gasps and she glares at me with a dirty look. It actually makes her look really cute- whoa, I have no idea where that came from! But in case you haven't noticed yet, she is growing her hair a little longer.

    "What?" I ask holding my hands up in defeat, "I didn't think she was your cousin!" Lotus sighs.

    "Aaron..." she trails, shaking her head.

    "What?" I ask.

    "Nothing," she says with a parental tone. "Just don't be so judgmental." Where did this side of her come from? I stare at her and she giggles. "What's the matter Aaron, cat got your tongue?"

    "No. Just... nostalgia." Lotus burst into laughter. Please tell me what I did wrong...

    Cassandra

    Hey-o! I'm Cass Caterham! I'm not a student at Carlyle like big cuz Lotus, but I will be in a couple years. I'm only 13, so yeah. Anyway, since Aaron was too dumbstruck to describe me, I have brown hair, and my favourite color is British Racing Green! Go Britain! Sorry! I just like to party! I guess you can call me a tomboy, I mean Lotus does, so I guess you can too! Hey, Lotus says I look like one, with my short, boyish hair and all. Anyway, we're heading to Lotus' house. Come with us! You know, if you want to. Ooh, I can't wait to make cousin Blake mad! Ha ha ha! He'll do a flip when he sees me! I can tease him all I want cuz I'm older than him, too! I see Lotus is ready to go.

    "Come on, Cass," she says as she takes my hand. We walk to Aaron's car. His car is cool, I guess. But I like Daddy's car the most. That R500 whatever-he-calls-it. It's really fast! You should try it! I'll bet if you ask Daddy really nicely he might take you for a drive. Or you could get a job like adults do, and go buy your own.

    Hikaru

   Kon'nichiwa! That means 'hello' in Japanese! I'm Hikaru Mitsubishi. The only reason as to why you may have not seen me before is because I'm always out running. I run every day. To school, home, to work even. I like to be out running. In fact, I run so much, that as soon as our cross-country coach heard about me running all of the time, he said that he wanted me to be part of the team. I said yes, obviously, and I like the respect from everyone, since I'm now like the best girl in CC, ever. During the winter, when it's so cold up here, I always go driving. I like driving, especially like one of those Finnish rally drivers. You know what they say in Europe: "If you want to win, hire a Fin." It's true, Finland is so stuck up about driving. It takes like three years, I think, to get a drivers license. As soon as you can see over the steering wheel and you can touch the pedals, you get out driving. My pen-pal Senja, yes our school still does that, anyway, she says that she drives these cars in these amateur racing events held on these small Finnish Rally-Cross stages. She says it's really fun. So I do some research on it and I try it. It's great. Then Ken Impreza sees me driving like that in my Lancer Evo 10. So, knowing Impreza, he has to get out and do it too. He goes out in his Subaru Impreza, and he gets it so naturally! It makes me so mad! Oh, jeez, there he is now... coming over toward me. Great...

    "Hey, Hikaru," he says with a grin. I don't know why he can be such a cheery guy. Nevertheless, I glare at him and I'm not smiling.

    "What do you want, Ken?"

    "I saw you driving last week." Big whoop.

    "Yeah, what of it?"

    "Hey, I just wanted to say, you're really good." Just wait for it.

    "Thanks," I blush and look away. Wait a minute, why did I do that?

    "But I'm still better at sprints then you are." Yep, there it is. The bragging. And he says he's nice. I decide to break him.

    "You know Ken, you won't have any friends if you keep bragging like that." He backs away from me, holding his hands up like he's surrendering.

    "Hey, I'm not bragging, it's true. Check my records."

    "Records have nothing to do with this!" I don't like Ken. He's giving me a headache, and I need to study for a biology test later, so I walk away from him.

    "See you on the roads!" he calls cheerfully down the hall after me. I blush again, still no idea why, and I growl to myself. God, he makes me pissed. I walk down the hall and suddenly, someone clamps their hand over my mouth and I'm pulled into the girls' bathroom. Then I see it's Hotaru.

    "H-Hotaru!?" I ask, my voice muffled.

    "Sh!" she says harshly. She looks around and she lets go of me.

    "What was that for?!" Why am I whispering!?

    "I'm hiding from Kenji," she tells me. Why are we whispering?!

    "Why are we whispering?!"

    "I don't know!" I wave my hand and I ask her in a more normal voice.

    "Why are you hiding from Kenji?"

    "Because, he's a complete asshole."

    "I know. But what do you need me for?"

    "I need your help."

    "You need my help?"

    "Yes." I look back outside the bathroom. I see that freshman girl, Natsuki Suzuki. As she walks by, I grab her the same way Hotaru grabbed me, my hand over her mouth and I yank her into the bathroom. After we're back inside I let go of her and I lock the door.

    "What you do that for?!" Natsuki asks.

    "Shush!" Hotaru tells her. I turn around and face them.

    "We're hiding," I tell Natsuki.

    "Hiding f-from who?"she asks, concerned. "What do want with me? I'm just a Freshman!"

    Natsuki

    I'm scared out of my mind. I know these girls. They're older than I am and I think they want to beat me up or something. Then, the one who grabbed me puts her hand on my shoulder.

    "We're not going to hurt you," she tells me. Well, that's slightly... reassuring.

    "W-What do you want with me?" I ask.

    "I'm Hikaru. My friend Hotaru needs our help." Oh, now I recognize her. She's Hikaru Mitsubishi.

    "My help?"

    "Yes," Hotaru says looking at me.

    "What do you want me to do?"

    "Just hold on. My boyfriend Kenji is a total asshole. You know who he is?" Kenji Nismo? Oh, please, everyone knows him. So I nod. "I need help to get away from him. Our families don't want me to break up with Kenji. So that's the problem."

    "Why don't you just tell them?" I ask in a bit on a smart-alec way.

    "Because every time I'm at his house he acts like just the perfect little angel. It sickens me. I need help to prove that he's a total ass to me. And he treats me like total shit." Wow, this is going to be a bit of a challenge, and probably one of the biggest adventures of my entire life... maybe.

    Kenji

    Hey, you seen Hotaru around here? I can't find her anywhere. You haven't seen her around at all? Oh, you haven't? Thanks anyway, I guess.

    Aaron

    Alright, so after I have to take this Algebra test, I go to History class, which is alright. It's fun when the teacher makes fun of the trouble makers in the class. You should really go there sometime. Then, I have English class. Oh my God, I love English class. You know why? Yep, because of Mr. Allen. He's the best teacher like ever! But after his class the day is up and Lotus has practice. Hope she's ready for the game on Saturday. Oh, you haven't heard? We have a football game Saturday night. Now, when I say say 'football' what I really mean is soccer. Yeah, we have a team for that. Carlyle has the best soccer team in the nation. The team captain, Rick Rover, is the best soccer dude in the world, probably. Hey, there he is now. I walk over to him.

    "Hey Rick," I say.

    "S'up, Aaron?" he asks.

    "You ready for the game Saturday?"

    "No," he says all down. This is not good.

    "What's wrong, man?"

    "We can't play because with Lance out from his fight with Cher, and Fernando won't come because all he seems to care about now is Concettina."

    "So the teams down two players."

    "Yep."

    "Hey!" I hear the voice of an approaching Ken. "You need people for the soccer team?"

    "Yeah," Rick says.

    "I'll join."

    "You will?" Rick and I ask.

    "Sure. Take me to the practice field."

    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Rick asks, his team captain voice showing itself.

    "Absolutely," Ken smiles as he stands his ground. Rick smiles back and he leads Ken to the soccer field. Knowing Rick Land Rover, don't ask about his middle name, his parents are weird people, knowing him, and knowing Kens athletic abilities, I think Rick has himself a star player. This game is going to get interesting.

    Rick

    Down on the field, I already have Ken running drills. He was right, he really is good. He's quick, he's fast, and not to mention, he has this intimidation factor about him. I can't really explain it, but there's something about him that underneath his gleefulness, there's a monster waiting to come alive within him.

    "Run it again!" I command. I'm still down a player though. But who to ask. Looking around, I see someone walking along the edge of the field. "Keep going!" I say and I walk over to him. This guy looks likes a good player. "Hey," I say to him.

    "Hey," he says back to me, in a- Oh, my God, she's a girl. I'm sorry, I couldn't tell from back there. God, I feel like a dumbass.

    "Uh, yeah, what is your name?"

    "Hikaru Mitsubishi," she says.

    "Hey, Hikaru. I've just never met you before." Stupid, get to the point.

    "Oh, okay," she says. "Well, I'm me... I guess." She laughs awkwardly.

    "I'm just going to be honest with you, I thought you were a guy."

    "Whoa, wait! What?"

    "I'm sorry. It's just that if you were a guy, I was going to ask you to join the soccer team. We're still down a player."

    "Why would you think I'm a guy?"

    "Sorry, I just couldn't tell."

    "Wait, the Carlyle team, for the league?"

    "Yeah."

    "You know that's open to have both genders on the same team, right? It's in the High School League rules."

    "It is?" Surprising news. When was this?

    "Yeah. You didn't know that?"

    "No. All I've ever seen is teams with all guys. I thought there was a separate girls' league."

    "Nope," she smiles awkwardly, "It's all-in-one." I take a deep breath.

    "Alright. I'm sorry. I had...two moments of stupidity, I guess. Now, back to formalities, I would like you to join the team." She looks over my shoulder.

    "Is that Ken Impreza?"

    "Yeah."

    "Then count me out. Sorry." She starts to walk away.

    "Wait!" I call after her and I run to her. "If you join, and if can make more goals then Ken, you can have your name in the record book."

    Hikaru

    My name in the record books, huh? I remember what Ken told me, how his sprint times were always better than mine, but if I join the soccer team, and score more goals than him... I find myself laughing.

    "What's so funny?" he asks.

    "Nothing, sorry," I say to stop myself. "Sure. I'll join the team."

    "Great." He walks me to the soccer field. It is a bit awkward being the first girl on the soccer team, but if more guys leave, who knows? Anyway, Rick, as I learn, the team captain, he introduces me to the current team. Sure Ken's happy about it. Anyway, now that I get some practice, I'm looking forward to Saturday.

    Aaron

    It's Saturday. I'm sitting in the stands as the voice of out Vice-Principal Sharpe comes over the speakers.

   "Hello and welcome to Carlyle Stadium," Sharpe says, "Tonight, Carlyle plays against Nottingham High School. We should be in for a great game tonight folks." I watch as the Carlyle team, wearing the orange-white-black uniforms. Then comes Nottingham on the other side of the field with their red-on-black uniforms. Sharpe is right. This should be a great game. The ref, Principal Benz to be specific, she walks out to the center circle where Rick and Nottinghams team captain face off. She drops the ball in the middle and Rick moves so quickly that Carlyle gets the ball first.

    "Yes!" I say into the cheering crowd. The cheerleaders are doing their routine. As it turns out, they weren't required to come, but Concettina has them at every single Carlyle game. Nottingham has no cheer squad, so they're over there looking a bit ridiculous.

    "Rover has the ball, passes it to Impreza, passes it back to Rover, back to Impreza who sinks the goal," another announcer says over the speakers. They must have hired him, because he's fast enough to say exactly what's happening.

    "Goal!" the Carlyle audience dragged out. Just like any other soccer or football game. The cheerleaders do their goal routine where they lift Lotus up to the top of their three-leveled pyramid and she does her double backflip onto the ground. She pulls it off perfectly. She has gotten really good at doing that, and she does that every time we score a goal.

    "Nottingham kicks it back toward the Carlyle goal, oh, it's intercepted by Mitsubishi who kicks to Rover, back to Mitsubishi, to Rover, to- stolen by Impreza who kicks it into the goal!"

    Hikaru

    I watch as Ken celebrates his second goal of the game. Nottingham has it. Now I run the other way. God, Ken.

    Aaron

    I hurry back to my seat carrying my soda that I ran and bought.

    "Rover takes the ball back from Nottingham, passes to- oh, intercepted by Nottingham who takes a large kick and it passes Carlyle goalie Chrysler makes the goal." The cheering on Nottinghams side was wild. I guess they were just glad that they wouldn't lose with zero points. "Nottingham kicks the ball back into play and right into the control of Carlyle with Mitsubishi leading the ball toward the goal. She passes to Rover, who passes it back." I watch as she goes for it. "She takes the kick and sinks the goal."

    Hikaru

    "GOOOOOAL!"I can't help myself with the audience. I finally made a goal. Ha, take that, Impreza. I look at him and he just smiles. Argh, he still has two and I only have one. I need to make another goal

    Aaron

    So she finally made a goal. I'll bet come Halftime, she'll have a little talk with Ken. I laugh, thinking about it. Nottingham calls a timeout. I watch as the cheerleaders relax a bit. I watch as Lotus steps over to the base of the stands.

    "So how's your first game?" I ask her.

    "I'm nervous," she admits, blushing.

    "Don't be nervous," I tell her. I reach down into the cooler I have with me and I hand her a Gatorade. The white, cherry frost kind, her favourite.

    "Thanks," she says.

    "Timeout's nearly done," I hear Concettina say. Lotus walks back to her position and I blow her a kiss and she does the same. The game continues on through the night.

    "Alright, we'll take fifteen minutes for halftime," the announcer says. Lotus walks back over to the base of the stands.

    "You doing okay?" I ask her.

    "Yep," she says with a smile. "I'm doing awesome!"

    "She is," Aurora says walking by, "What would we do without her?" I smile and I toss a Fruit Punch Gatorade toward her. "Thanks." I'm pretty much the cheer squads catering. I hand out Gatorades to them. I recall the score; we're winning with 9 while Nottingham has 2.

    "Hey," I ask Lotus, "who's the girl on our team?"

    "Uh, I think they said her name's Hikaru Mitsubishi."

    "I can tell that she and Ken have a bit of a rivalry."

    "Oh, they do," Lotus says with a laugh. Concettina comes over to us.

    "Lemon-lime," she says. I hand her a Gatorade that's bright green. She opens it and takes a few gulps. "Thanks," she says and she walks off.

    "Man, she's really in the zone, ain't she?" I ask.

    "Yeah, she always is on game days."

    Rick

    I'm here in the locker room with the team. Hikaru just waits at the door.

    "Now," I address the team, "We are winning by seven. Do not get cocky. We still have 45 minutes left in the game."

    "What about overtime?" Ken asks.

    "I said don't get cocky. However, I do not think that we need to worry about overtime. We are winning by seven. By the end of the game, our lead should be doubled." I check my watch. Yeah, we should get back out there. "We need to get back out there, and we are going to win this game." The team stands up, filled up with confidence. I hold Ken back, though.

    "What is it?" he asks. I hold Hikaru back as well.

    "What is it, Rick?" she asks.

    "I know you two have a little competition between yourselves. Ken, the reason why I did not pull you out when you stole the ball from her, is because I want you two to have this little contest, just don't let it go to your heads."

    "Why do you want us to do it?" Hikaru asks me.

    "Competition leads to greater effort." We walk back out to the field.

    Aaron

    I watch as Benz starts the next half. We have the 9 to 2 lead.

    "Carlyle takes the ball," the announcer starts, "Rover passes it to Impreza, back to Rover and into the goal." Cheers and backflips. We continue to pull ahead until Nottingham calls another timeout. I refresh a couple cheerleaders with new Gatorades, and they get back out there. By this time we have the lead with eleven points. Nottingham still only has two. Later, it happened. About 12 minutes remaining in the game. We had the lead of sixteen to three.

    "Rover passes the ball to Mitsubishi, passes it back, and- oh, no!" the announcer said. I watch as Rick goes for the kick to make another goal when a player from Nottingham comes in to try to kick his kick back only to end up kicking the ball right up and it hits Rick right in the face, then their bodies collide with each other knocking one another to the ground. Benz calls for an immediate stop. By this moment, Rick is on the ground, his hand on his face. "Rover apparently taking a ball to the face," the announcer says.

    Hikaru

    I watch, hoping to god that Rick is alright. I'm not sure why, but I'm almost crying. I'm fighting to hold back tears. Maybe it's the sound of Rick groaning in pain. It hurts me to know that he's injured, and badly by the looks of it. His nose might be broken. I see Benz call for the medic who have to help Rick off the field. We still have twelve minutes. Our team captain is out with what I later learned to be a broken nose and cheekbone. I can't let this emotionally get to me. I have to stay focused for the remaining portion of the game. But as the game continues it must have gotten not just to me, but the whole team. We're losing our lead. Nottinghams up to six goals now.

    Aaron

    Nottingham's up to six points.

    "GOOOAL!" Make that seven. One more and they'll be halfway behind us. But by the time they make their tenth point and we have only made another one to bring us up to seventeen, the buzzer rings and the game ends. It was a hollow victory though. And it sure as heck felt like one as well. Rick might be out for the season. That thought definitely makes the team worry. He's not just the captain, but the best player we have. I guess we'll just have to wait and see just how bad his injury really is. Later I find out that his nose is broken with his right cheekbone. Oh, crap. He's out for the season with a broken face. This is not good.

    Aaron

    I'm glad we won the game on Saturday. Today is Monday. I'm walking with Lotus to school.

    "How is Rick doing?" Lotus asks me. I sigh.

    "He's doing fine. He had to have surgery on his face though. They had to like, bolt his cheekbone back together," I say to her. Yeah, it was horrible.

    "Aw, I hope he recovers well," she said.

    "I do too." Everyone wishes for Rick to get better. His parents were furious. His father wanted to see that kid from Nottingham in prison. They did have to settle a bit of a dispute in court, but the kid got off the hook, even though he was sorry for the accident. But yeah, Rick was out for the season, and he would probably never play again. But that leaves our team in a state of worry, though. How can we play without our star captain? There's a rumor going around that says that before Rick went to surgery, he elected Ken as the new team captain, but it's only a rumor so know one knows for sure. Lotus and I walk up the front steps to the school. We walk inside and we head for the gym. I wait outside the locker room while Lotus drops her stuff off. She comes back out and we head to our first class.

    "I hope you all got your homework done," Mr. Kern said.

    "Come on, Kern-dog, we won our first game, so we should get out of it," Marissa begged, because she probably hadn't finished her work. She is looking a lot better since, what happened on the first day. She said she'd fully recovered.

    "You'd think, but no."

    "Come on," she whined.

    "No."

    "Then could you at least help me on number 34?" I look at my paper. Number 34? Wait, I finished my paper. Anyway, while he's helping her, I'm glancing around the room. I see Lotus a few chairs over, I see Natsuki on the other side of the room. Wait, who's that kid she's staring at? Oh, Kyoya Toyota, that one Freshman. Then there's Jared, the gamer. I thought that Fernando was in here, but I remembered that he has Biology first class. We have History class together. Then I have Biology. Tomorrow I will have Computer class, Gym, and English. Now when I say computer class I mean, what ever we have that the teacher has in store for us, whether it's coding, or using Photoshop. She also sometimes teaches us some audio and video stuff. It's a pretty decent class.

    Lotus

    After we get through Math class, Aaron and I go to History class. I really like how the teacher put us side-by-side. It's great.

    "Today we will cover the Cold War," the teacher says. "Now does anyone know why this war was so different?"

    "It wasn't actually a war with any fighting," Aaron says out of nowhere. He's so smart!

    "Very good, Mr. Aston. Now the Cold War was fought between the USSR and the United States..." he goes on. I'm not much of a history person, as you might have guessed. But I am glad that my schedule matches Aarons on our A-days. I'm not much of a fan of block-scheduling either. But I guess that everyone's entitled to their own opinions. I know that Fernando is usually in here though. He does have 2A History. I wonder why he's not here. Halfway through 2A is our lunch period. which is why we only have three classes a day, although they are pretty long. At lunch I see that Aaron is bothered by something.

    "Aaron, what's wrong?" I ask him.

    "I don't see Concettina or Fernando," he says to me.

    "Yeah, I was wondering that too." I didn't know about Concettina not being here. Now that I look around, I don't see Aurora either. Where the bloody hell is everybody?

    Aaron

    I decide to check at the office. Lotus comes with me and that's when we learn that Principal Benz isn't here either. Why are so many people gone? Then I see someone walk into the office. It's Mercedes Benz, the principals daughter.

    "Hey, Mercedes," I say. She looks at me.

    "Oh, hi Aaron," she says back with a small smile. Something doesn't seem right about her though.

    "Is there something wrong?" I ask and she sighs.

    "Mom's at the police station." This was never good.

    "Why?"

    "Because people are missing."

    "You're telling me," I say which I sort of regret.

    "No, I mean, some kids are actually missing. Concettina and Freddy haven't been seen since after the game Saturday." Oh dear.

    "What about Fernando?" Lotus asks.

    "He's at the station too. He was the last person to see her. Freddy just hasn't shown up." As she finished her sentence, the door opens and Freddy Fiat walks in.

    "Mr. Fiat, where have you been?" the vice-principal Sharpe asks. I didn't even see him there.

    "Sorry," Fred says, "I'm just shocked that Concettina would be missing."

    "That's no reason as to why you skip school."

    "Check the handbook," Fred says. "It says that, should something serious happen and said event emotionally compromises a students' ability to learn, said student(s) can take a day off." Sharpe hesitates.

    "Fine. Get your work if you want to and go home. But be back, tomorrow."

    "I will sir," he says all sad and crap. Knowing Freddy, he's hiding something.

    Lotus

    It's terrible that Concettina is missing. As we found out later, Fernando is at the police station as well, because he was the last one to see her and he must be giving the police the information that they want and etcetera stuff like that. What will the cheer squad do now? I guess that there must be some sort of system that Concettina and Aurora have set up in case that Concettina is gone, or in this terrible case, missing. I hope she's found soon. My guess is proven correct later at practice.

    "Alright," Aurora addresses us in the locker room, "Since Concettina is not here, I'll be in charge until she is found. We will just continue our regular drills to 5:30, daily. Now let's not let this get to us and cause this to mess up our practice." We headed out to practice only to have it start raining on us halfway through it, so we hastily move into the gym. We continue our drills, until 5:30. Now, it's really storming. When practice is done, Aaron holds up an umbrella and we walk to his car. Halfway to his car, I slip on the wet pavement.

    "Ah!" I yelp out as I fall onto the hard concrete. I scrape my arms. "Ow!"

    "Hey, you alright?" Aaron asks me and he puts the umbrella down and he helps me up. The umbrella blows away in the wind. "Oh, no." He ignores the lost umbrella and he focuses on helping me. I stand up and I shiver, wincing as I touch my scrapes. Aaron quickly takes off his coat and he wraps it around me. I blush and smile.

    "Thanks," I say sheepishly.

    "Anything, for you my dear," he says over the storm. I look at him and I realize that any longer and he'll catch a cold.

    "Come on, let's go home." We walk to his car and he sneezes. "Aaron," I say to him, realizing that he's sick. "Let me drive." He sneezes again and he nods in agreement. I climb into the driver seat, careful because of my wet and dirty clothes.

    "Don't worry about the seats," Aaron says in a sick voice, "I'll clean them later." He sneezes again. He really has a cold. He gets sick really quickly.

    "Aw, baby, you've caught a cold," I say. "Mum will know what to do." I drive the car to my house. Aarons car is really nice. I carefully park the car in front of my house and I help him inside after I throw my duffel bag over my shoulder. I shut the door behind me. "Mum?" I call out. She comes down the stairs.

    "What is it, Lotus?" she asks. She gasps when she sees us. I'm wet and filthy with scraped arms and Aaron's sick as dog. "Lotus, clean up and bandage your arms." I nod and dash up the stairs to the bathroom.

    Aaron

    "Aaron, I'll take care of you," Zephyra says. I feel like crap. She pulls off my wet clothes and she throws a blanket over me. "I'll have these in the laundry and you lay down." Like I need to be told twice. I lay down on the couch and wrap the blanket tight around me. Zephyra comes back and she has a large t-shirt and she hands it to me. I throw it on. "Just wear this for a while." I nod. Then, Cassandra, Lotus' cousin, walks into the room. She looks at me curiously.

    "I'm sick, and I feel like crap," I tell her. She giggles.

    "You look like crap, too."

    "Cass, if he needs something, give it to him!" I hear Zandra call from somewhere else in the house. She looks toward the voice then back at me.

    "You have any tissues?" I ask. She smiles and nods and she runs to the kitchen for a tissue box. She comes back and she hands it to me. Then she walks up the stairs.

    Cassandra

    I walk up the stairs. I guess Lotus was right. Aaron is nice if you just get to know him. I walk by the bathroom, so I peek in at Lotus.

    "Hey you doin' okay?" I ask my big cousin. She's looking at the bad scrapes she has on her arms.

    "Yeah. You want to help me get a bandage on here?" she asks. I walk in and I get a big bandage from the cabinet. I open it and Lotus is trying to see the cut she wants me to cover up.

    "Wow, you could really use my help with that," I say with a laugh. She laughs too. She holds her arm up and I place the bandage on the cut. I pat it down. "That good?" I ask and I step back. She bends her arm to make sure it sticks on.

    "Yep. How's Aaron?"

    "He's fine. He's downstairs on the couch."

    "Okay. I'll see him-" she interrupted by the doorbell.

    "Cass get that!" I barely hear Aunt Zephyra yell. I sigh and I head back down the stairs. Lotus follows. I open the door. It's some girl. She has blue hair and green eyes. She looks about Lotus' age.

    "Hey, Donata," I hear Lotus say from behind me, so I decide to walk back inside.

    Lotus

    What's Donata doing here?

    "What are you doing here?" I ask.

    "My car has ee flat tire," she says in her still learning English. She points back out into the rain. I see a beautiful car with a flat. It's her... I forget what's called, but it's some weird name that starts with an 'H' I think.

    "Do you know how to fix it?" I ask a bit slowly, just to make sure she understands. She shakes her head sadly.

    "No." I decide to invite her inside, before she catches a cold, too. She steps in and stretches. She looks around a bit. "You have ee nice house."

    "Thank you." She looks at Aaron. Aw, he fell asleep.

    "Es he sick?" she asks. I nod.

    "Yeah, Aaron's sick. He has a cold."

    "That es too bad."

    "If he weren't sick he could help. Aaron knows how to change a tire."

    "Quanto male," she says sadly.

    "Do you have anyone you could call?" She shakes her head again. Then Mum comes back.

    "Lotus who's this?" she asks.

    "Mum, this is Donata Pagani. She's a foreign exchange student from Italy." Mum smiles.

    "Ciao!" Mum says. Pagani gasps.

    "Darla Italia?"

    "Si!" Oh yeah, I forgot Mum knows Italian. They continue on having some conversation in Italian. Mum never really taught me, so I have no idea what they're saying."

    Concettina

    I'm awoken by the thunder. The next thing I realize, is that I have no idea where the hell I am. I look around, which helps me in absolutely no way because the room is pitch black and I cannot tell if there is anything else in the room. That's when I try to move. Oh, dear God, no. My wrists are cuffed. My ankles are too. I'm chained up, lying on a bed. There is a blanket over me, I feel it. But I also feel that I'm lying naked underneath it. Oh, shit, no! This is one of my worst fears! Being kidnapped, and tied up... and maybe raped. I try to remember what happened. I was leaving the soccer game Saturday. I was walking to my car. Then I remember.

    "Hey," I heard. It was Freddy.

    "What do you want, Freddy?" I asked him.

    "I just wanted to see you." He walked around me. "You look nice."

    "Save me your flattery."

    "You do!" he rebelled.

    "I don't care about anything you say."

    "You know you want me."

    "Nope. I'm Fernandos. He's my boyfriend, and don't you forget it." He walked back behind me. I haven't moved.

    "Too late," he said, "I forgot already." That's when he clamped his hand over my mouth, and somehow, I passed out. Wait a minute, did he really just chloroform me? That bastard! I struggle against the chains, only to make them feel tighter. Dammit! Lightning fills the room momentarily as it comes in through a small window at the top of a wall. I see someone standing there. It must be Freddy. More lightning and I see his face. Yes, it's Freddy.

    "What do you want, Freddy?" I ask, my voice broken with fear and dehydration, yet I'm relieved that he didn't gag me.

    "I love you Concettina," he said, like he was almost upset with what he had done.

    "Bull shit, you can love me all you want, but I will never love you. EVER!" There's a pause in the air.

    "Are you thirsty?" he asks. What the hell?

    "What?"

    "Are you thirsty? You sound like you could use a glass of water." A soft light turns on. I can see around the room. It's a concrete room. I'm on a crappy bed and there's a small table by the bed. He places a glass of water on the table. I look at it. It's a crystal glass with clear liquid in it, but something didn't seem right. "Drink," he urges me. I slowly sit up slightly. My wrists may be cuffed, but the are in front of me. I do my best to hold the blanked over me and I reach for the glass. I look at it closer and I hold it in front of my chest. I look at him. His expression unchanged. I am thirsty as hell, though. I look back at the glass. I very slowly take a sip of the cool source of life. That's when I see him grin. Shit! I stop drinking, only it was too late. I drop the glass and it shatters on the floor. I fall back onto the bed. He drugged it. I am unable to do anything, I'm even starting to lose awareness... and that's when he raped me. Then, the world turns black.

    I wake up. I have no idea how long it's been. I see light coming in through the tiny window. I look at myself. I'm wearing a dress. How the hell did Freddy put this on me? That's when I notice something else. I can feel a fabric strip around my face and around my mouth. Freddy gagged me. But why? I watch as the door on the other side of the room opens. Freddy walks in.

    "Hello," he says in a way that makes me want to kill him. I stare at him with rage. "Aw, baby, don't give me that look." He rubs my cheek with the back of his hand.

    "Mmph," I groan and I try to move away from him, only to hear the sound of several rattling chains. God, he went all Fifty Shades of Grey on me. What the hell is wrong with him?

    "Baby, don't move away from me." That only makes me move more. "Don't do that, baby," he warns. I only move even more. I hate this son of a bitch. I just hate him! "That's it!" he spat. He climbs on top of me, forcing my already chained body down even farther. He then hit me. He slapped me. I know what it feels like to be hated, but I have never been physically hit before. My cheek is stinging. He stares into my eyes, which are wet with tears, and he slaps me really hard on the other cheek. I groan into the gag on impact. He hit me so hard. I watch as he draws his hand back. It's covered with blood. Jesus Christ! That's when he got off of me. "You are lucky that I don't want to damage your pretty face." He walks out the door. It slams with a loud bang. Tied up and gagged in his basement, I just start to cry. Wishing and praying for help.

    Principal Benz

    I knock on the door. With police officers behind me. I know what's been going on. Fred Fiat has Ms. Countach. The door opens. It's Mr. Fiat.

    "Oh, Principal Benz, w-what are you doing here?" he asks, as if my visit is a surprise. I force the door open and I step inside. "Whoa, what are doing?!" My hand finds its way around his neck.

    "I know you have her!" I tell him. "Now, where is she?!"

    "I don't have her!" he says. I have officers searching the house right now.

    "Here!" I hear one of them yell. I let go of the boy and I shove Fiat at one of the officers.

    "Arrest him!" I tell him. I walk to the basement where I find a metal door. I force it open and I run into the room. She's lying on a mattress chained up. I take the gag of of her mouth.

    "Principal Benz," she says with a weak cough.

    "Just hold on, Ms. Countach, I'll get you out of here." I see the massive wound on her cheek. She needs to get out of here and get some rest.

    Concettina

    After an intense few moments, I'm standing in my old clothes as I get felling back into my limbs. Then I'm taken to the hospital where a doctor fixes my face. After all through the legal system, which was intense and boring, I'm finally home, thanks to Mrs. Benz and my parents. Freddy will be in prison for a while, and Enzo is not going to bail him out. After all of the news, Benz says I don't have to go to school for the rest of the week. But there is one place I go to for solace: Aaron's place. I knock on the door.

    Aaron

    Lotus is upstairs in the shower. I'm at my house for the first time in a while, since my Dad is away on a work trip. I hear the knock on the door. I walk to the door and I open it.

    "Hey, Concettina," I say with a friendly smile.

    "Hi Aaron. Can I come in?" she asks. She looks as if she's about to burst out crying. I open the door and she throws herself into my arms. She bursts out in tears. I close the door and I hug her. I let her cry for a few moments. She calms down after a while. I walk her to the couch. "What's wrong, Concettina?" Hey, I had to say something.

    "Aaron," she said, her cheeks stained with tears, "I'm scared."

    "Scared of what?"

    "Freddy," she sniffs.

    "Freddy's in prison. He'll never hurt you again."

    "You haven't heard?!" she asked, offended.

    "What?" I'm confused.

    "He pleaded insanity! They let him out!"

    "What?!"

    "Yeah." Her lip starts to tremble. "I'm afraid he'll come after me again."

    "Hey, hey, don't cry," I tell her. Another reason as to why I'm so popular with the ladies. I hate seeing girls cry, so when I do, I have to do everything I can to help them. Concettina is trying to hold back her tears. I wrap a blanket over her. Some of her trembling stops. I guess she just needs to feel secure. I call Fernando and I ask him to come over. He comes over quickly and he sits down by her. Concettina leans on his shoulder. Now she's really calmed down.

    "I feel so safe with you," she says to him.

    "I'm sorry Fred did what he did to you," Nando tells her assuringly, "And, I'll make sure that if he even comes within a hundred feet of you, I'll kill him."

    "Thanks, Nando," she whispers. Then Lotus comes down, dressed in a blouse and short skirt. Her longish hair combed back.

    "Hey, what's going on?" she asks.

    "Concettina just needed some assurance," I tell her.

    "Aw, Aaron, you're so nice."

    Aaron

    So, it's been about two months since school started. There's been a lot of stuff happening recently, both good and bad. Now, Mrs. Benz has called for a total reform on school attitude. She's sent out an e-mail to everybody with the new school policies. A lot of other students hate the new rules, but for the majority of us, we all know that these new rules will be helpful. It will clean up this school. A total reform will get this guttery school off the ground and hopefully one of the best public schools in the country. Benz even had an all-school assembly to announce these new rules. But that was yesterday, and so far, these changes are seeming to work.

    "So Aaron, do you think these new rules are working?" Lotus asks me as we walk to math class.

    "Yeah," I tell her. "Everyone seems to be in a better mood even." Lotus wraps her arm around mine. She smiles at me, and I smile back.

    Lotus

    I'm glad about the new rules. It seems to really help this school. I'm glad the school admin has come up with new rules. Now, onto math, the worst class of the day. Ugh, I hate Algebra! I hate it, I just hate it!

    Kenji

    I'm really mad, can you tell? I don't know how or when, but my Hotaru has told my parents that I treat her like crap. I do not! Now, she's off with some other guy and I'm the jerk left single, apparently. So, I'm pretty mad. These rules made her tell my parents about me, and I'm pissed.

    Hotaru

    Hey, there! I'm so glad that I got Hikaru and Natsuki to help me out. I told Kenjis parents about how he really treats me, and, thank God, they saw reason. My life is much happier now! Yay!

    Marissa

    Oh, we haven't talked in a while. Hi. Yeah, everybody seems to be in a better mood today. Maybe it's these new rules. But anyway, since they started this tutoring thing, I've been going to Kern-dogs room for help and he really helps me understand everything. Yay, I am so flapping happy! I am in a way better mood since like, forever! I even changed my hair style, you like it? You do? O-M-G, I love you! Oh, I wish i could just hug you! But I gotta go, so peace!

    Concettina

    I have forgotten the past. I'm still haunted by Freddy however, so I'm still scared of him. But, now, Fernando stays by my side nearly all the time, which is so nice of him, because I feel so safe with him. But, I'm still the head cheerleader, and we need to get ready for the next game on Friday night. So make sure you're there. I'll see you there. But right now, I need to focus on this Biology work. So come back later at practice today, and be there on time.

    Natsuki

    Hey. I'm glad you're here. I'm sitting here in Algebra class daydreaming about Kyoya. What? I don't care if he's not interested in me, he's just so flippin' handsome! I don't really like math class, like everybody else, I'm sure. But at least I get it done. But, that's weird. Marissa isn't asking for any help.

    "I understand, Kern!" she says happily. Oh, I bet she's taking the class tutoring before school in the mornings. It must really work. Hm, I wonder what Kyoya's thinking?

    Kyoya

    I'm glad to see that Marissa is not asking for help, because she has taken advantage of the tutoring sessions. That's really nice of the school administration to start off October with a district-wide reform. It has really helped the school, and I estimate that the number of students who will graduate this year has doubled, and that just goes to show exactly how bad this school was. In just under three months, the school has gone from "normal" to one of the best in the state. It makes me happy. They've even added a foreign language class starting next semester. They will give the opportunity for students wishing to enroll in that class at the end of this semester.

    "Kyoya, your paper?" Mr. Kern asks me. Oh, shoot, I was so busy talking to you I forgot about my assignment. I hand him my paper. Now to stay focused, I'm going to ask that you go and talk with someone else. Sorry, but I want to get a good grade. Come back after school if you want to though. I'll be here.

    Jared

    I'm shaking all over. I'm suffering from game-withdrawl. These stupid new rules! They say no handheld gaming devices. Now I can't play my DS. Darn it! Augh! I need a game to play! This is so boring! I need a game to play!

    Aaron

    Today is tenth of October. It's been one quarter of the school year. Only three quarters to go. Anyway, recently with the new rules, this school has slowly been becoming a better place. I like it like that. It's nice to see the school becoming a better place. Now if only the world could undergo similar changes. I mean that's all we want, right? For the world to be a better place. But, enough about that, Lotus and I have to study for an upcoming English test. We finished reading Julius Caesar and now we have to we have to take the test over it. I hate taking tests, but Mr. Allen makes easy for us. Another reason why I like him. He's like the greatest teacher ever. He even lets Lotus and I sit next to each other. Lotus and I walk into Mr. Allens room. Our English class is the last one so it's the smallest. He lets us sit anywhere, whether it's in a desk or not. I sit on a cushion in the corner of the room. Lotus sits near me. I take out my Algebra book and he comes by and he hands me my test paper. He walks around, handing out the test papers to me, Lotus, Kyoya, Natsuki, Marissa, Fernando and Alexis Lexus. They're all in the class because we are the class. Just us seven. It's nice. I work on my test. Ha, these are easy questions. I finish my test, which was just 25 multiple choice questions, and I place it on his desk. I sit back down and I glance up at the clock. Man, we still have an hour and 15 minutes left. I lean back on the cushion and I relax. It's nice and quiet. I like it when it's quiet. Then I feel someone lean on me. I open my eyes and I see it's Lotus. She looks at me and smiles. I smile back. This reminds me of the time we first met. I brought her home and she slept next to me, just like now, only her hair was a bit more tomboyish. Now it's a bit longer.

    "I love you, Aaron," she whispers.

    "I love you too, Lotus," I whisper back. I stroke her hair. I see Alexis sit a few feet away, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She looks over after she opens her laptop. Our eyes meet and we exchange a smile. She then starts to type away on her computer. Hm, I wonder what she's doing? I'm not being creepy, but I'm just mildly curious.

    Alexis

    Hello there. It's me again. I finished my test of over Julius Caesar and I sign into my laptop. It's mine, not a school assigned one, but my own personal laptop. Mr. Allen lets me use it. It's nice. So, you want to know what I do? Well, I like to write. Mainly fan-fiction. I like a lot of things, TV, movies, pretty much everything. I write a lot of fan-fiction. Right now, I'm working on a Minecraft fan-fiction. I know, it may seem a bit nerdy, but I happen to know that many people like Minecraft. I have played it a couple times, but I really don't get it. Anyway, I'm writing a little story that was inspired by this picture that a friend of mine made a while ago. It's about this character Herobrine, which is sort of the enemy of Steve, and one day he finds a baby girl left on his door step. He adopts her and he teaches her to be like him. It's a really great story. It's nearly halfway done, but I'll be sure to read it to you when I finish it. I really like it so far. But I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't say much about it. I feel someone tap my shoulder. I look over and It's Aaron Aston. I smile at him.

    "What are you working on?" he whispers in a curious voice.

    "Writing," I whisper back.

    "What about?"

    "A Minecraft story."

    "Cool." Really? He thinks it's cool? "Can I read it when you're done?" Wow, he really is nice as everyone says. I nod.

    "Sure." I smile at him and I see that Lotus has fallen asleep on the floor, her head resting on the cushion. Aaron moves next to me. Wait, what's want?

    "Your name's Alexis, right?"

    "Yeah," I nod. I hold the blanket just a little bit tighter and I then continue writing.

    "Tell me about yourself." He's acting a bit strange, if you could call it that. What's gotten into Aaron? He's usually not like this.

    "Why? I thought you were dating Lotus."

    "I am, it's just that I don't talk to you much." Oh, okay. I sigh deeply and I close my laptop. I close my eyes and I hug the blanket. I take a deep breath and I tell him my story.

    Aaron

    Alexis tells me her story. She goes on about how she was kidnapped when she was 7. How she escaped and how she made it back to her parents. I can see why she hates the cold so much now. Having to sleep by the road overnight in the wintery mountains. It must have been hell. I will never look at Alexis the same way again. Like my Dad once said, 'You never know a person just by looking at them. You have to get their story.' I know that the Lexus family is a decently rich family, but I didn't think that would make Alexis a kidnapping target. She did seem upset about how that the man was never found.

    "They never found him," she said. She shivered and she hugged the blanket tight over her body. I decide to give her a friendly hug to help warm her up. She sighs contently. "Thanks, Aaron. You're really nice." I smile at her one last time and I move back to Lotus. In her sleep, she moves and she sits back against me. She smiles as her hand finds mine.

    "Aaron..." she whispers in her sleep. "I... love you."

    Lotus

    I'm enjoying a nice dream when it's broken by a smooth voice.

    "Alright, all of the tests are in." It's Mr. Allen. I groan and I sit up and rub my eyes. "Now we still have just under an hour, you can work on something or talk quietly." He sits down at his desk. I blink as my eyes adjust. "Sorry, Lotus, did I wake you?" he asks me. I nod a couple times as I rub my eyes a bit more. I stand up and stretch. I finish with a yawn. Man, I am going to have so much energy for practice today. I see Fernando come over and he talks with Aaron about a few things. Probably about cars or something. I see that Alexis is writing on her laptop like she usually does. Kyoya's working on other work and Natsuki is staring at him. I bet she's in love with him. Yeah, knowing the look on her face, she's definitely in love with him. Marissa's looking all down and sad with her head on her arms. I decide that while Aaron's busy talking about horsepower and 5-liter V10's, I'll see if I can help her. I sit down by her.

    "Hi, Lotus," she says. She does sound sad. She's usually talkative all the time.

    "Marissa, what's the matter?" I ask. She glances longingly toward Aaron and she sighs. She raises her head slightly.

    "I want a boyfriend," she says so only I can hear. Hm, I'm not really sure how I can help her with this. Then I hear a little musical tone. It's Marissas phone. Yeah, Mr. Allen lets us use our phones, too. She pulls it out of her bag and she looks at it. She reads her text message. "Ew, no," she says and she puts it away.

    "What was that?" I ask.

    "Freddy texted me," she said. Aaron and Fernando stop talking and look over.

    "What about Freddy?" Aaron asks.

    "He texted me," Marissa tells him, leaning back in her chair.

    "What'd he say?" Fernando asks sitting down in the adjacent desk.

    "He asked me on a date."

    "Really?" Marissa looks at him and she nods.

    "But after hearing what Freddy did to Concettina, I do not want to do it."

    "Of course you don't," Aaron says. "No girl who heard about him would ever want to willingly go through that." I hear another tone. It's different, and it came from Alexis' computer.

    "What is it?" I ask her.

    "An e-mail," she says. She reads the screen and her eyes widen in horror, "from Freddy."

    "Oh, what is it this time?"

    "Now he's asking me out on a date."

    "You can't be serious." Alexis stands up and she shows us her screen. I skim through the words. She's right. Marissa gasps in horror. Another tone. I look over and I see Natsuki looking at her phone.

    "I'm running to the office, I'll be back in a minute," Mr. Allen says and he leaves the room. I walk over to her.

    "Freddy asked me out, too!" she says. Now, Kyoya has stopped working and he's standing up. He takes her phone and he looks at it.

    "He did," he says. Oh my God, is Freddy going to ask all of the girls at Carlyle until someone says yes? I gasp in horrid realization. Then, my own phone vibrates in my pocket. I slowly pull it out and I turn it on. A new text. I open the messaging. It's from Concettina. Oh, thank god! I sigh deeply.

    "Just Concettina with the practice plans today," I tell everyone. There's a collective sigh of relief. My phone vibrates again and I look. Shit! It's Freddy! He asked me out too. I drop my phone with a yelp of fear.

    "Was it Freddy that time?" Marissa asks. I slowly nod once, breathing heavily. The text read: 'Hey, Lotus! Do you want to go out Saturday night, maybe?' My hand is over my heart. I can feel it beating rapidly. I'm still trying to catch my breath as Aaron picks up my phone. He looks at it to make sure it's not broken and he hands it back to me. I put it in my pocket and I throw my arms around him. Why does this whole thing about Freddy scare me so much? I don't know.

    Hikaru

    I'm out in the soccer field practicing drills for the next game.

    "Keep going!" Rick yells. Yeah, he's here. He coaches us, more or less, but he doesn't do any physical playing anymore because he's out of the season with his broken face. I know, it sucks and worst of all, he made Ken team captain. After an intense and tiring practice, I check my phone. An unread text. I click it. It's a message from Freddy Fiat. Wait, how'd he get my number? He's asking me on a date? Ew, no! Not after what he did to Concettina, I mean who wants to go through that? That's just wrong, and in his case, illegal. But I heard that he pleaded insanity and he's out now. That son of a bitch. I better watch my back when I go running. But, heh, it ain't like he could keep up.

    Beata

    Have I gotten a message from Fred Fiat? Yes I have. He sent me an e-mail asking me on a date. But, since you are my friend and you know me, I turned him down. But then I heard that a lot of girls are getting messages from him asking them out. No one's said yes yet but I'm sure that no one will.

    Donata

    Ciao! Or should I say: Hello! How es my English? I am having a lot of practice and learning sessions. I am getting better by thee day. Wait a minute, I have a text message.

    "Hey, Donata," I hear someone say. I look up and I see a boy. Okay, now I am scared. He es Freddy Fiat. He raped Concettina Countach. I do not want him to rape me. I am scared and mad. I give him my mad face.

    "What do you want, Freddy?" I ask him.

    "You want to go out this Saturday?" he asks me. I shake my head.

    "No!" I say to him.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Please, leave me alone."

    "I'll leave as soon as you answer my question." He puts his hand on my shoulder. I push him away from me.

    "No!"

    "Come on, Donata. Give me a chance."

    "You had your chance."

    "Oh really? And, when was that?"

    "I am sorry. Wrong words. I meant, was that I would have said yes if you did not rape Concettina."

    "Oh, please."

    "No. Now, Leave me alone." I turn around and walk away.

    Freddy

    Son of a bitch. She is going to regret walking away from me. But, I have to wait until she is off of school property. She walks out to the parking lot and she heads for her car. She gets in and she drives home. I don't have a car, not any more. But no matter. I know where all the chicks live. All the girls in the school. I know them all. Especially the pretty ones. I follow her home. She climbs out of her car and heads for her house.

    "Hey, beautiful!" I call out. She looks back and she gets angry. God, her angry eyes are hot as hell!

    "What are you doing?!" she demands.

    "Nothin'" I say holdin' my hands up.

    "Leave me alone." She turns and she walks away. I growl in anger. Damn. Not this time.

    "You bitch," I say. I grab her hair and I yank it back, forcing her onto the ground. She screams in pain. Oh, how I love seeing pretties in pain. I got over her. "You are going to regret doin' that, sexy."

    "No!" she yells and she punches me in the face. She's never fought me before, or fought at all before so her punch is weak. I then throw my own on her. She groans with every hit. After I give her the lesson she deserves I bring my fist back. It's bloody. Dammit! I lost control again. Now she's just a bloody, dying bitch. I get off of her and she coughs up blood. Her beaten face being washed clean with her tears.

    "Idiota," I say in Italian. Suddenly, someone throws their arms around my neck.

    Lenox

    Hey. I'm Lenox Lincoln. But right now, I'll save the introduction for later. I have my arms around his scrawny little neck. I pick him up, a full foot and a half off the ground. I look at him in the eyes.

    "You think you can take advantage of her like that?" I ask him, my voice is filled with rage right now, but I say it calm as ever.

   "Shut up," Fiat says. I let go of him with one hand as I am perfectly capable of holding him with the other and I turn and I throw him. He flies a good five maybe ten feet. Looks like I knocked him out for a bit. I bend down by Donata.

    "Donata, are you alright?" I ask her. She groans and her eyes move to look at me.

    "Who... who...are... you?" she asks. She's hurt bad. I need to get her to the hospital. I gingerly pick her up and I carry her to my car. A Lincoln Zephyr. I drive her to the hospital and I carry her inside. I see Denise, the usual clerk. She starts with her usual greeting.

    "Hello and welcome to- Dear, God!" she yells out. Some other doctors come rushing over.

    "She needs some serious help," I simply say. I lay her down on a stretcher and and they wheel her off to get her fixed up. I step back outside to make a phone call. It rings for a moment.

    "Hello?" a voice says.

    "Mrs. Benz," I say. I always call her to report a legal problem that would possibly involve the school.

    "Mr. Lincoln?" she asks.

    "Yes, Ma'am. Fred Fiat needs to be arrested again." I start to walk back toward where I left him on the ground. Luckily, he's still out. Good thing no one stopped.

    "But Mr. Lincoln, he pleaded insanity. It won't work."

    "No. He savagely beat up Donata Pagani."

    "He did?"

    "Yes, ma'am. I dropped her off at Mercy on fourth street."

    "Got it. I'll contact her parents."

    "I'll have the police pick Fred up." And with that I hang up and dial the police. I fill the dispatcher in and she has a squad car sent out. The officer arrives a minute later, which is a bit quicker than usual. Oh, it's officer Jon Calvert, our school resource officer.

    "What's up?" he asks me.

    "Fred Fiat here has viciously beaten Donata Pagani. She's at Mercy on fourth." I fill him in with the rest of the details. By now, Fred's come to and Officer Jon has him in the back of his car.

    "You did the right thing, man," he says. "We've had another call about the same beating."

    "Really?"

    "Yep," someone says. I look over and I see Aurora Audi.

    "Aurora," Jon says. "Thanks for the call."

    "Hello, Miss," I say. She doesn't mind any.

    "Hey Lenox, and you're welcome Jonny. It just hurt me to see him beat her up like that."

    "It's a good thing you were driving by," Jon says. "Well, I better take him in. And don't you kids worry, he won't plead insanity out of this one." With a final nod, he walks to his patrol car and he drives off to the station. Aurora looks at me.

    "Where did you say you took her?"

    "I drove Donata to Mercy."

    "Which-" Oh, darn, forgot to specify.

    "The one on fourth," I tell her. "Sorry about that."

    "It's okay." She gives me a hug, which I don't mind none, and she heads out. Oh, and before I forget, I am Lenox Lincoln. I have dark purple hair. I like it like that. I am also very tall. I stand a whole six-foot-ten. I am also a Junior at Carlyle High School and I am 17 years old. Well, I better head out myself. It was a sure pleasure to meet you.

    Lotus

    After practice, Aaron drives me to the house. I walk upstairs to take a shower. It's a bit longer than usual, because all I can think about is Freddy. I don't like the fact that he's been trying to get a girl to say yes. I don't think that anyone would. I'm lost in thought and before I realize it, there's a harsh knock on the bathroom door.

    "Lotus! Hurry up!" Cass screams. I gasp and realize that I had just been standing there, letting the water flow over me. I shut off the water and I step out to dry myself off. After I throw my underwear on and a shirt and shorts on, I walk out of the bathroom. Cass shoves her way past and she slams the door. Sheesh, she must've really needed it. I walk to my room to brush my hair. I sigh.

    "Something the matter?" I hear Aaron ask. He's suddenly behind me.

    "No," I say softly, "I was just... thinking about Freddy is all." I pick up my brush, and instead of using it to brush my hair, I just toy with it.

    "I can see that this bothers you." He puts a warm hand on my shoulder.

    "You think?"

    "Sorry. I know he bothers you. He bothers a lot of girls. He's just like that."

    "An insane stalker?"

    "Yeah," he says with a sigh. I'm still toying with my brush. Aaron takes it and he slowly brushes my hair, and he's really good at it too. I look at him questioningly.

    "I have a little cousin. Whenever I visit, she would ask me to brush her hair all the time," he says with a small smile. I laugh softly.

    "Aaron," I say.

    "Yes?" he asks.

    "If... would..." I struggle to find the words as I hesitate on asking him this question I have.

    "Lotus what is it?"

    "Would you protect me from Freddy?" He's done brushing. He puts the brush on the countertop and he looks at me in the eyes.

    "With my life."

    "Wow..." I breath, "you would really do that? You would protect me... with your life?"

    "Aye," he said with a nod. I smile and I begin to cry tears of pure joy. Gosh, Aaron is just so... just so nice. He wraps his arms around me in a loving hug. I don't even notice Mum coming in.

    "Aw," she says. "now I just know that you two will be married." This time, I don't blush. Because I know that she's right. Mum is right. Aaron and I are destined to be together...forever.

    Aaron

    A few more weeks pass before I know it. I wake up. I sit up and yawn as I stretch my arms out. I look at the bed next to me. Lotus is still asleep. My Dad is away on another trip. He called me and said that he'd be gone for a few weeks. It hurt me. I know he's away a lot, but usually, he'd be away for a few days or the week end. But now, he wouldn't be home until about November 20th. He left yesterday. But at least he'll be home for Thanksgiving. I don't know if I told you before, but my mother died when I was four. I'll save the story for another time. Then it hits me. Today is October 30. Sunday. I put on a shirt and I walk downstairs to the kitchen. Blake is sitting at the table, eating cereal. Cass is sitting across from him, with a bowl of oatmeal.

    "Morning, Zephyra," I say. She looks at me and she smiles.

    "Morning, Aaron," she says. "Is Lotus up yet?"

    "No, she's still asleep."

    "I can't wait for tomorrow," I hear Blake say as I'm searching for a glass for some milk.

    "Oh, and why is that?" Zephyra asks him.

    "Cuz tomorrow is Halloween," he says with a devilish grin. "I'm gonna get loads of candy."

    "Well then," I say to him, "you better have a good costume."

    "Oh, I will," he vows. He finishes his breakfast and he runs up the stairs. I hear someone walking down the stairs. I look over and I see Lotus.

    "Hey," I say sweetly.

    "Morning," she yawns. She walks over to me and she hugs me. I pour her a glass of juice and she takes it. "Thanks, babe," she says. She sits down at the table with her glass. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaims. "Mum, tomorrow's-"

    "I know," Zephyra says, sitting down with her plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee.

    "We have a costume contest at the school." Oh yeah, we do, don't we?

    "Oh, I almost forgot about that," I said. I sit down with some toast and milk.

    "And I had the perfect idea," Lotus says excitedly.

    "And what's that?" Zephyra asked.

    "Aaron and I could go as husband and wife!" Ooh. Zephyra gasps.

    "That's a great idea!" she agrees. "I can run down to the store and pick up some outfits."

    "Yeah!" Lotus says. "What do you think, Aaron?" she asks me. I stop sipping my milk and I look at her. "What, do not like it?" she asks sadly.

    "No, no!" I say. "I love it." I give her a kiss.

    "Yay!" Lotus exclaims and she hugs me tight. Zephyra finishes her coffee.

    "I'll run to the party store and I'll get you some costumes," she says. I nod.

    Lotus

    Later that day, Mum comes back with our outfits.

    "Hello!" she says when she walks in the house. "I have your outfits." I hear her voice and I run downstairs to her. Aaron follows. He's not as excited as I am. But I know that he loves the idea of us going to together as a couple. He's just acting all cool about it.

    "Cool," Aaron says and he takes the bag containing a fake tuxedo. It looks the part, but it's made of a cheap fabric. He takes it to the bathroom to try it on. Mum hands me the bag containing my "wedding dress" and I look at it. It's cheap fabric, but the details are just like a real wedding dress. I take it up to my room. I open the bag and I pull the folded dress out. It unfurls in my hands. Oh, it may be just a costume, but it's really beautiful. Cass comes into my room.

    "Shut the door," I ask her. She shuts it.

    "Why?"

    "Oh, I want to surprise Aaron," I tell her.

    "Ah," she says, catching my drift. I put on my thin t-shirt and my skirt to wear underneath it. Then I slip the dress on. I gasp as it fits me perfectly. I have to thank Mum a lot for this. And who says that high schoolers are too old to enjoy Halloween? I have Cass zip up the back and she gets on her knees on my bed to put the veil on. She fixes it and she gets it placed perfectly. She sits back.

    "Let me see," she says. I give her a twirl. She gasps. "Lotus, you look great!"

    "Thanks," I say. I look at myself in the mirror. Oh, if only I were old enough to really get married. Then I hear a knock on my door. It's Mum.

    "Aaron's waiting downstairs," she says. Then she looks at me and she tears up. "Oh, Baby, you look beautiful." She wipes the tears from her eyes.

    "Careful, Mum," I say. "Save your tears for the real wedding."

    "I'm sorry," she says, her voice broken.

    "Aw, Mummy," I say. I give her a hug. "Come on, take me to Aaron." She wipes her eyes one more time and she opens the door. Cass picks up the end part of the dress and she follows me down the stairs.

    Aaron

    I'm looking at myself in the hallway mirror adjusting my tie.

    "Aaron," I hear Lotus call. I turn and look. She's coming down the stairs. I gasp. She looks just like she's getting married. I whistle. She walks over to me.

    "Lotus, you look beautiful," I say. She blushes.

    "Thanks," she says shyly. I hug her and I sigh.

    "Ready for tomorrow?" I ask her. She nods.

    Tomorrow.

    Lotus and I wake up and I go downstairs to eat breakfast. Lotus joins me a moment later. We eat our breakfast and we head back upstairs. I dress in the bathroom and she dresses in her room. We join back downstairs. Zephyra cries happy tears again.

    "Mum..." Lotus says.

    "I'm sorry," Zephyra says. "I'm just so happy."

    "It's only Halloween, remember, Aunt Zeph," Cass says. Zephyra nods and she sighs.

    "I'll drive you guys to school," she says.

    "Why?" I ask.

    "Because I want you two to make a grand entrance."

    "Oh," I say. Duh. Lotus giggles. We walk to her minivan. Cass carrying the end of the dress. Blake walked ahead of us and he opened the door for us. He steps back and he motions inside. Good job, Blake. You've done something right for once. Zephyra climbs into the driver seat and I help Lotus into the van. Cass helps her get the dress all the way into the van and she squeezes into the back seat with Blake. Lotus and I sit in the middle. Zephyra presses the button to automatically close the door. She then starts the van she drives to the school.

    Aaron

    We pull up in front of the school. We're a bit early, but then that's a good thing. We can really make an entrance. The school has some jack-o-lanterns sitting outside the doors. This is still only Halloween, remember. A few minutes later, all of the kids who drove here are coming up to the front. I decide that that's when Lotus and I should make our entrance. I open the door and I see Mrs. Benz prop the front doors open. As, she looks over, I help Lotus out of the van. I take her hand and we walk across the road to the front. I see that some of the kids in their outfits are looking at us. We sure showed them up. But their outfits are pretty good too. Mrs. Benz, who's wearing a good looking festive outfit, with spooky colours and accessories, smiles at us as we walk through the doors, hand in hand. Other students join us inside the school commons and they talk about what they came to school as. Then I see Fernando. He's dressed as soccer player from the Monaco team.

    "Hey, Fernando!" I call him over. He walks over to me. Then I see the girl dressed as a cop with him and holy shit, that's Concettina! I almost didn't recognize her.

    "Hey, Fernando," I say to him. I nod to Concettina. "Didn't recognize you at first, Concettina."

    "Really?" she asked.

    "Oh yeah. I couldn't even tell it was you." I give her a smile.

    "Yeah," Lotus agrees. "Concettina, that really suits you." Concettina giggles and her cheeks turn as red as Fernandos hair.

    "Thanks," she says. "Lotus, you look nice."

    "Thanks, Concettina," she says.

    "You two newlyweds?"

    "Yeah," I tell her.

    "They will be," Fernando jokes. I playfully punch his shoulder and laugh.

    "Knock it off man," I tell him. I see some guy wearing a Steve head walk by. Steve is the guy from Minecraft, an knowing that black and neon green jacket, that was Jared. I look around and I see that the majority of the students are dressed up. I remember a week ago that Mrs. Benz offered to let the entire student body do this today as a reward for following the new rules and I can see that everyone is reveling with the reward. It's great. Ken is wearing a rally racer outfit. As it turned out later, Hikaru did the same thing, so there was a bit of tension between them. It was almost funny if you think about it. The rest of the time however, Ken was too busy staring at Aurora in her nurse outfit. Oh, I know what that means.

    "Ken," I say walking over to him.

    "What?" he asks, not looking at me.

    "I see you staring at Aurora," I say with a laugh.

    "Yeah."

    "You know, if you want to ask her out, just go over there and ask her. Who knows? Maybe, she's waiting for you to ask her." Ken gasped. He look at me.

    "You're right, man!" He lets go of my collar and he brushes his hair back with his hand. Then he walks over to her. I see Aurora get all happy and she nods several times. "Yes!" I hear Ken say triumphantly. I laugh and I walk back to Lotus who was talking to Natsuki. She's dressed as an Anime character.

    "Hey, Natsuki," I say. She looks at me and she smiles.

    "Hi," she says.

    "Who are you dressed as?"

    "Lust. From Full Metal Alchemist."

    "Oh, that's cool," I say. I have no idea what that is, but she does look great.

    "Thanks. I like what you and Lotus have done."

    "Thanks," Lotus says.

    "You're welcome," she says with a smile. That's when she comes in. I look over and I see Donata come into the commons. I heard that she was viciously beaten by Freddy a few weeks back. She's dressed in all black. A creepy looking dress.

    "I'll be back," I promise Lotus. Before I go though, she gives me a quick kiss. I walk over to Donata.

    "Hey Donata," I say with a wave. She looks up at me. Her nice green eyes are covered with sadness.

    "Ciao, Aaron," she says sadly. My friendliness leaves to wait for another time.

    "What's wrong?" I ask her.

    "I am sad," she says. She sits down at the nearest table and I sit next to her. She wipes tears from her eyes.

    "I can tell you are sad," I say. "But, can I ask why?" She cries a couple times.

    "I... hurt." Little did I know that Lotus walked over and sat down.

    "I know. I heard that Freddy beat you up a few weeks ago." She cries a few more times.

    "I know. But... I... still hurt." Oh, now I know what she means. I look over and I see Lotus. Her expression telling me not to mind her, and to care for Donata.

    "You still feel the pain?" She slowly nods once. I hug her and she blushes. "Hey, I understand." Lotus hugs her.

    â€‹"Donata, we're here for you," she said. Donata looked at Lotus, who gave her a warm and caring smile, and then at me. I put my hand on her shoulder. She then started to cry. "Aw," Lotus said. "It's okay, it's okay."

    "It's okay. Let it out," I said soothingly.

    "I...h-hate...pain," Donata said tearfully. I stroked her hair, and that seemed to help. Slowly, she calmed down.

    "It's okay, Donata, we'll always be here for you," Lotus says. Donata wiped the tears from her eyes and she gave us a small smile.

    "Grazie," she said softly.

    Lotus

    It's nice to help out other people. I can see why Aaron does that. It's made him very popular. After Donata calms down, she decides to hang with Aaron and I.

    "You two are married, no?" she asks us.

    "No, not really," Aaron explains. He explains to her that we are just dressed like this for this holiday.

    "I know about today," she says with a laugh. "I did not think that you and Lotus were really in love."

    "Well we are," he says. Ain't that the truth?

    "So you will marry?" she asks.

    "Yeah, when we are old enough," I tell her.

    "I am happy for you," she says with a smile. It's better than seeing her sad. By now, the majority of the student body is here.

    "Can I have all attention?" Mrs. Benz asks over the PA system. "Before classes start today I would like to say a few words."

    Principal Benz

    I'm saying some few words to the students before class begins. "I am very glad to see that the majority of you are enjoying the holiday. The costume contest will be held during the final period today," I say. I can just hear a few cheers. "Also I have decided that there will be no assignments today." Immeasurable cheers this time. I wait for the students to simmer down a bit. "Also for those participating in the Trick-or-Trunk tonight, make sure that you are in the parking lot by 5:30. Thank you." I hang up the phone. I'm glad that the students followed the rules so I have allowed them to enjoy this day. If you haven't noticed, even I am partaking in the festivities. I have dressed for the occasion. Ha, and the students think that I'm always scary. I find myself laughing. Oh, they have no idea just how scary I can be. Before I leave my office, my door opens.

    "Mom?" It's Mercedes.

    "What is it?" I ask.

    "Is it true that we don't have any work today?"

    "Yes. It's true." She hugs me.

    "Thanks." I hug her back.

    "You're welcome." The bell rings. "You better get to class."

    "Okay. Bye Mom," she opens the door. I want to say one last thing.

    "Wait," I say.

    "What?" she looks back at me. I give her my motherly smile.

    "Have fun today."

   "Okay. Bye, Mom!" she hurries off to her first class. Oh, she makes me so proud. I sit back down at my desk and I continue my work. You know, I have a reputation for being "the meanest principal in the world," but I don't see why the students would think that. Why would they think that? I find myself leaning back in my chair as I contemplate with this latest thought. I'm not a mean person, but I guess you could say that... I have to enforce my authority. But I'm not mean. Do I seem like a mean person to you? My computer beeps as I receive the attendance charts from the teachers. Incredible, nearly all of the students are here. I know Mr. Fiat is gone, because he was arrested for violently attacking Ms. Pagani. Mr. Bugatti isn't here. Typical. Other than that, everyone is here. I decide that  have done enough work, but before I leave, I take a piece of paper with a schedule on it. A new student will be arriving sometime later today, so I'll be prepared for when she shows up later. I walk to Richards classroom. Richard Hank, our Biology and sciences teacher. I open the door and I step inside. He's in the middle of a lecture.

    "Now, does anyone know how one becomes a werewolf?" he asks. Ha, I guess the teachers, since I have spoken against any assignments and homework for today, are just having a bit of fun. I give him a quick smile and I stand in the back and observe.

    Fernando

    How to become a werewolf? That I have no idea. Some girl in the front raises her hand. It's that Alexis girl. She's wearing a Mrs. Clause outfit. Ha, for a girl who hates the cold, she sure can be ironic.

    "Yes, Alexis?" Mr. Hank asks. She stands up.

    "Well sir," she says, "according to a book I read, you are either born a werewolf if either or both of your parents are one, or if you are bitten by one."

    "Very good," Mr. Hank says and she sits down. "Now even in the worlds of fantasy and legend, we can see that there are laws of nature that dictate the words of myth."

    "What about the headless-horseman?" some dude asks from the back.

    "Raise your hand please before you speak. But he is merely a legend. A dark tale." Concettina raises her hand. "Yes, Countach?"

    "What about Vampires?" she asks. Mr. Hank laughs.

    "Do not even get me started on vampires if we just talked about werewolves," he says. I laugh and so do a few other students. "But good question. Now, knowing todays popular culture, let me ask you this: which is better? Vampires or werewolves?"

    "If you would like sir," Concettina says, "I have a book you could read."

    "No thank you Ms. Countach. I am not interested in hearing the preposterous adventures of Edward, Jacob, and Bella." The whole class gets into an uproar of laughter. Concettina was laughing as well. She pulled a great joke there, but Mr Hanks punch line was brilliant. The class calms down after a few moments.

    "Now Richard," Mrs. Benz says, "I wouldn't call their adventures 'preposterous.'" She says it in a joking manner.

    "Well then, how would you describe it?"

    "I would probably go with a more sophisticated word like maybe, 'idiotic'?" The class explodes with laughter. Yeah, we all hate Twilight.

    Aaron

    I am loving today. We are sitting here in Algebra and we aren't doing anything! It's great! If anything, it's just Lotus and I making out in front of the class. Before you start laughing, let me tell you that was an exaggeration. Lotus and I kissed once, and Mr. Kern was like: "Save it for when you are actually married!" So we are sitting here, totally just wanting to kiss and Kern won't let us. But, right now, Natsuki is just trying to get Kyoya to confess his love for her.

    "Are you sure you don't love me?" she asks him.

    "Natsuki," Kyoya says, "I told you before. You are a great friend to have, but I am not interested in dating right now. If you want though, we can go to the same college together and we can date afterward. How's that?" Now, I'm sorry, but Kyoya, that is just lame.

    "Can we talk about something else, other than boyfriends and dating?" Kern asks.

    "Nope!" Marissa kids with a taunting laugh. I laugh too. Jared is sitting in his desk, probably thinking about Minecraft or Call of Duty or something. After class ends, Lotus and I have Biology, which is boring because all we talk about is sort of the biology of mystical and supernatural creatures. Good thing we had lunch in the middle of that. Lunch was great for once. That chicken leg, mm, tasty. So after we that, we head to English, which with Mr. Allen, is a party. He plays music, gives us a few pieces of candy, and he lets us do what ever we want really. The majority of the time, we just played 'Apples to Apples'.

    "Okay, so the card is 'Magical'," Marissa reads. She is the judge for this round. I look at my five cards. Love with a friend, trampolines, trailer parks, Vladimir Putin, and Leaf Soto. He's that author I think. I've always wanted to meet him. Anyway, I place 'Love with a friend' face down and I draw another card. Oh look, Apples to Apples. Ha ha! By now, everyone's put a card down. "Okay," Marissa says. "So, we have: Love with a friend, aww, we have hobos," we all laugh. "We have Harry Potter, ooh, we have Boston Marathon, and Angelina Jolie." We laugh again. Marissa sorts through the cards. She gets rid of hobos and Boston Marathon. She then tosses out Angelina Jolie. "Hm, Love, or Harry Potter? Which one..." she trails off. She sighs. "Love it is," she says.

    "Yes!" I say.

    "Aw!" I hear Lotus cry. I look at her and I kiss her.

    "Is love more magical now?" I ask. She blushes and nods. We all then burst out laughing. Even Mr. Allen.

    "Why are you dressed like that?" Marissa asks him.

    "I am dressed like a character from the next book we are going to read," he says. I look at him. That red shirt, the jeans, he does not look familiar. But it must be a modern book.

    "What are we reading?" Alexis asks.

    "We are going to read Powers: The Soto Story." Lotus gasps.

    "That's that book written by Leaf Soto!"

    "It is," he says.

    "I wonder if he knows Aaron Soto?" Alexis asked aloud.

    "Who's that?" Marissa asks.

    "Just, a guy I know."

    "Huh."

    "Ooh! I can't wait to start reading that on Wednesday!" Lotus said enthusiastically. Then the PA switches on.

    "Attention everybody," the voice of Mrs. Benz says, "It is now time for the Carlyle costume contest in the gym. All students and teachers can make their way down there now." The PA goes off.

    "You heard the lady," Mr. Allen said. We all head off toward the gym. I give Lotus one last kiss of good luck.

    Lotus

    We walk out of the classroom and toward the gym. I'm holding Aarons hand. Oh, I hope we win. We all congregate in the gym bleachers they set out on one side. I sit by Aaron. I sigh nervously. Then I feel Aaron squeeze my hand. I look at him.

    "It's okay," he says nicely. "No need to be nervous." I sigh again.

    "Okay," I say softly. Mrs. Benz walks out to the center of the gym.

    "Alright," she says into the microphone, "How are we all doing today?" The students cheer. "Alright. We are ready to start our costume contest. Now we have some different categories. We have prizes for each class, for "scariest," "funniest," "most original," and, we have a special award for "cutest couple," for those of you who are together," she said wryly and some of the students went "Ooh." I blush and I look at Aaron. He smiles and I move closer to him. Then I move the veil back in front of me. Really have to sell the look, you know? Mr. Allen, Mr. Kern, and Mrs. Benz are the judges. I look around and I see a lot of great outfits. For my first year here, it looks like I have some fierce competition. But I have a feeling that Aaron and I are going to win the cutest couple award. I don't see anyone else who's dressed up similar to us. "Okay, if I could have the Seniors come down," Mrs. Benz says. I see the seniors walk down to the gym floor. I see Concettina among them. That outfit really does suit her. She may win. After they march around a bit and the judges take a few notes. "Alright Seniors, you can take your seats." The chatter picks up as they make their way to their seats. The Juniors go next. Then the Sophomores, which means that Aaron has to leave me. I sadly groan as his hand leaves mine. I sigh to cut back my tears. Why does him leaving make me so sad? Then Benz calls for the Freshmen. I sigh and I walk onto the gym floor. I walk in the line of the Freshmen alone. A minute later Benz says we can take our seats. I sit next to Aaron and I wrap my arms around him. Then, starting with the Seniors, she announces the winners. Concettina won most original. I knew it. The prizes are a box of candy of your choice. She chose a box of cinnamon candies, the spicy kind. The other two are people I don't know. Then Juniors. Donata wins scariest, as she had pained her face to match her scary looking dress. She chooses a box of chocolates. Then comes the Sophomores. Ha, I didn't expect Jared to win, he's just wearing a Steve head. Then the Freshmen. Natsuki wins the award for most original for the Freshmen class. She gets a box of gummy worms. I look at Aaron. He smiles at me. "Now," Benz continues. "I am pleased to announce the award for cutest couple." She looks at her paper. "Aaron Aston and Lotus Elise." Cheers. I look at Aaron and he offers his hand. I take it and we walk up to receive our award. A candy bouquet. Aw, how lovely. Then, as the students and teachers are still cheering and applauding, Aaron puts the bouquet on the floor, and he moves my veil and he kisses me on the lips... in front of the whole school. I don't even care about what everyone else is saying and doing. I just stand there and we kiss. I later found out that Mum showed up in the gym just before we were given our award. Aaron draws back. I look at him, a loving smile on my face. I take the bouquet and the bell rings, marking the end of the school day. Some of the students run out to wait for the buses, others are taking out their phones and taking pictures. A lot of people want to take pictures of Aaron and I. Naturally, he lets them.

    "Come on," Natsuki says pointing her phone at us, "gives us a kiss!" she says and some others agree. I look at Aaron and he looks back at me. Then I shrug and I plant my lips on his. Some kids whistle as they take pictures. Then Mum comes over to us as most of the kids begin to leave.

    "There's my little couple," she says and she hugs me. "Aw, you look great."

    "Thanks, Mum," I say.

    "Just wait until Prom," she says. I look downward.

    "It's a Junior and Senior Prom," Aaron says.

    "Aw!" Mum complains. Then Concettina comes by.

    "Hey," she says to me.

    "Hey," I say back. She reaches into her pocket and she pulls out a couple pieces of paper. She hands them to me and she walks off with a smile. I look at the papers in my hand.

    "Wait, are those-?" Aaron asks. I look at them and I gasp. They're prom tickets. I give them to Mum and I throw my arms around Aaron and he picks me up. Wow, he is strong.

    "Yay!" I say. I am so happy!

    Aaron

    I walk Lotus to the van. We are laughing and having a good time. In the distance there's the sound of sirens through the breeze. But, I don't think much of it. I help her in and I sit down while she holds the candy bouquet.

    "Is that your prize?" I hear Blake ask from the back.

    "Yep!" Lotus says.

    "Cool," Cass says. I look at Lotus.

    "We won the "cutest couple" award," I say. Then I kiss Lotus.

    "Bleech!" Blake says.

    "Aw!" Cass says. Zephyra laughs. Blake continues groaning, making sick noises.

    "Would you knock it off?" I say. I hear Cass punch him in the shoulder.

    "Ow," Blake says. Lotus laughs silently and she points to the back seat. I laugh silently as well. I would fit in well with this family.

    "Quiet!" I hear Zephyra say and she turns up the radio.

    "-and the firefighters are down at the Levee Power Station fighting the sudden blaze, which is in danger of causing a possible explosion..." the announcer says. Zephyra gasps.

    "Dear God, no!" she says and she speeds home. Oh, shit, yeah. Sean works there. I hope he's alright. We arrive at the house and Zephyra heads inside immediately and she makes way for the house phone. She dials Seans number as we walk into the house in silence.

    "Mu-" Lotus begins to ask.

    "Sh!" Zephyra says. She gasps and drops the phone. I can just barely hear the tone that meant no connection. My eyes widen as I stare at the phone. Zephyra begins to cry. I pick up the phone and I redial. I hear nothing but the same tone. That means only one thing.

    "What's going on?" Blake asks. I put my hand on the kids shoulder.

    "Sean's dead!" Zephyra cried. Then, this guilty look crosses the kids face.

    "I'm sorry, Mom," he says. He steps over to her and he hugs her. Cass, Lotus and I do the same.

    The funeral was held a week later. Lotus, Cass, Blake, Zephyra, and I were the last ones to leave. We walked back to the van to get out of the rain. Zephyra was still by the freshly covered grave. She stood there crying. Before she catches a cold, I walk back out there holding an umbrella. I hold it over her. She glances at me.

    "Thanks," she mutters. I nod in acknowledgment. We stand there another few minutes. "What am I going to do, Aaron?" she asks softly.

    "I don't-" I'm interrupted by my cell phone vibrating. What a weird time. She takes the umbrella and I answer my phone. It's Dad.

    "Dad?" I ask.

    "Son," he says. His voice sounds like just like mine, only his is deeper, obviously. "I heard that your girlfriends mothers, uh, Zephyras fiancé died?"

    "Yeah."

    "Tell her I'm sorry." I take the phone away from my ear and I cover the speaker.

    "My Dad is sorry about Sean," I tell Zephyra. She takes my phone and I take the umbrella back.

    "Mr. Aston?" she asks.

    "Zephyra, please, call me Zephyr." Yeah, that's my Dads name.

    "Zephyr... thank you."

    "You're welcome. Tell my son that something happened at work and that I'll be home soon."

    "Okay." She hangs up and she gives me my phone back. "Something happened at his work and your father will be home soon."

    "Okay," I say. I wonder what he means by that. Zephyra sniffles and wipes her eyes. I take her hand and we walk back to the van. She drives us home and when we get inside, we change out of our black clothes. Zephyra sits down on the couch, still very sad. I think that we should just giver her some space. I walk back upstairs to Lotus' room. I call Dad.

    "Son?" he asks.

    "Dad, tell me. What happened at work?" I hear him sigh.

    "I've been layed-off. I'll be coming home a bit earlier than expected, but I'll be bringing back my last paycheck." Oh damn. What will we do no- actually, wait hold that thought.

    "I'm sorry Dad. Call me when you get to the airport. I'll come and get you."

    "Alright, thanks."

    "What happened?" Lotus asks me. She wraps her arm around me and she looks at me with a look of concern. I sigh.

    "My Dad's been layed-off."

    "Aw." She hugs me. "What will you do now?"

    "I don't know what we'll do now."

    "What about your Mum?" she asked. Then she realized that she had never met my Mum. "I'd love to meet her. Where is your Mum, Aaron?" She looks up at me. I sit on her bed.

    "My Mum died when I was four." Lotus gasps quietly.

    "Oh. I'm so sorry."

    "It's okay." I look up at her. "I did have this idea though."

    "What re you talking about?" she asks me. She sits next to me and she seems to read my thoughts. "Uh... I don't know, Aaron," she says unsurely.

    "Come on, my dad and your mum. Think about it."

    "But then we'd be half-siblings. It'd be too weird." I take her soft hands.

    "But when we get married, I'm going to be part of this family anyway. Besides, do you really want her to meet another guy and he already has kids? I mean, what if they're complete assholes?"

    "Yeah but... I still don't know." She lays back and she dozes off. I sigh and I next to her, my arm over her. Then I doze off.

    A few days later, I have to pick up my dad from the airport. It's in the middle of a class day and my dad has a lot of stuff so I ask to bring Lotus. Lotus rides with me in my Dads car as we go to pick him up. We arrive and Dad is waiting with a few big suitcases. He pretty much packs an office every time he went on a business trip. I park the car and open the trunk.

    "Hey Dad," I say.

    "Hello son," he says. I guess you could say that I look a lot like him, with my reddish brown hair and matching eyes. Because we do look a lot alike. He and I pack the first case in the car. Lotus packs the second. "You must be Lotus," he says looking at her.

    "Yes, sir," she says with a small smile.

    "And you are dating?"

    "Yes, sir," Lotus and I say. Dad laughs.

    "Well, as long as it's alright with her parents," he says.

    "I only have a mum," Lotus says.

    "Oh," Dad says. "That's right. I forgot. I'm sorry." Lotus sighs.

    "It''s okay." Then we pack the last one.

    "Well," Dad says, putting a warm hand on her shoulder, "I'd love to meet her." I look at Lotus and she shrugs. Well, no going back now.

    Lotus

    It's nice to finally meet Mr. Aston. He seems like a nice guy. But like Aaron and I figured, if his dad marries Mum, then that would make us half-siblings, which would make our marriage awkward. It'd be too weird. So, Aaron's driving his dad to his house and by the time we get back to our neighborhood, school's out for the day. We drop his things off in his house. Aaron has a really nice house. This is the first time I've seen it. It's bigger than mine. When he says that he's decently rich, my Aaron does not lie. But he claims that he's the "poorest rich" family. I'm not sure what that means but his dad says that he's just being modest. I like that in him. After he's done putting all of his things back, we heads back to his car.

    "I would love to meet your family, Lotus," his dad says to me.

    "O-okay," I say shyly. We go to my house. I open the door. "Mum?" I ask. Mum's still in a sad state from Seans death. She looks up and she sees Aarons Dad.

    "Hello, Zephyra," he says.

    "Zephyr?" Mum asks. Wait, that's his name? It's interesting, but it's way to similar to Mums name. Just imagine the wedding invites: "You are invited to the wedding of Zephyr and Zephyra." It sounds nice, but there's another thing, and I just can't get my finger on it. Mum stands up and she shakes his hand slowly. "It's nice to meet you."

    "Same here," he says. He has a warm smile, but no matter how nice he tries to be, Mum just can't be cheered up. She invites him to the kitchen where she has made some tea. I sneak in and help myself to a cup of it. I sit down with Aaron on the couch while Mum and Zephyr talk in the kitchen. I sip my tea.

    "Something bothering you?" Aaron asks me.

    "I don't know," I say softly. I sigh, and I can hear them talking in the kitchen.

    "So," Zephyr asks, "how close are Lotus and Aaron? He told me that he met a girl and I'm proud of him, but how close are they?"

    "Oh," Mum says sounding like she has happy tears, but I'm not sure, "oh, they're pretty close. They have gone out on a couple dates, but nothing to outrageous."

    "That's alright. It's fine."

    "But I can tell that they are just destined to be married."

    "I know," Zephyr says with a bit of a laugh, "he told me, but I didn't think that they were that close."

    "Well, they are. Oh, you should have seem them on Halloween. The school had a costume contest, and they went as a married couple."

    "Oh did they?" he laughs.

    "Yeah," I hear Mum laugh a bit. That's the first time she laughed since before Sean died. "They won a candy bouquet for cutest couple."

    "Aw, that's sweet."

    "I know," Mum sighs. Then there's a bit of a pause. "What am I to do, Zephyr?"

    "What?"

    "I work at Mercy hospital as a nurse, 18 hours a day, and I have to be here to take care of my son and niece."

    "Sounds stressful."

    "It is. It barely sees us through."

    "And I've been layed off. Now I need a job."

    "Well... I don't know how to help with that." I walk to the kitchen to refill my cup of tea. I gasp silently. Mum is sitting on the chair Zephyr sitting next to her. She's leaning on him. The last time she did that was when Sean was here with her. I walk back to the couch.

    "Come on, Aaron," I say quietly.

    "What?" he asks.

    "Let's go upstairs." He follows me to my room.

    "What's wrong?" he asks.

    "I think Mum's in love with your dad."

    "Oh," he says.

    "And I don't think that there's anything we can do that will change that." I set my tea on my dresser and I sit on my bed. I pat the blanket net to me, offering Aaron to come over and sit. He smiles and he sits down next to me and he puts his arm over my shoulder. I sigh and Aaron strokes my hair. I smile and I cuddle him.

    Aaron

    Lotus moves close to me and she rubs her head on my chest. She sighs contently.

    "I love you Aaron," she softly says lovingly.

    "I love you too, Lotus," I say. She pushes me back until we lay on the bed. Lotus lays on top of me. She looks at me, with an intrigued expression.

    "Aaron... your eyes," she says so softly, I almost can't hear.

    "What about em?" I ask carefully.

    "They're so... pretty," she says. She crawls closer. "So deep..." I almost didn't see Zephyra come in. Lotus looks over and she throws herself off of me. I sit up.

    "Sorry," Lotus says.

    "It's okay," Zephyra says. She puts a small box by the lamp. "Zephyr is taking me on a date, tonight."

    "That's great, Mum," Lotus says. Zephyra laughs quietly.

    "Blake and Cass are over his friends house."

    "Okay, Zephyra," I say. Before she leaves, she lowers the lights. Then I know what's in the box, without looking at it.

    "You kids have fun." With that, she shuts the door.

    Lotus

    I look at Aaron. He opens the box by the lamp that Mum put there. I know what it is, and I have a feeling that Aaron knows what it is too. She wants us to get married so we might as well get used to this.

    "What is it?" I pry with a smirk.

    "You know what it is," he says.

    "I have a pretty good idea," I say.

    "Is it hot in here?" he asks. He slips his black jacket off. I smirk. I close the shades. I walk back to the bed and I press Aaron back down.

    "Oh," he says. He raises his eyebrows. I smirk at him.

    "Get used to it, babe," I say.

    "O-okay," he says. I am on top of him. I look into his eyes, they're so pretty. I place my head on his chest. I listen to his heartbeat. It's nice and slow.

    "I like your heartbeat," I say. Okay, that was a bit stupid, but it really was nice.

    "Thanks," he said. I look into his eyes and I begin to purr.

    Aaron

    She's purring. Like a cat. It makes her look really cute.

    "Aw, you're purring," I say.

    "Turns you on, huh?" she asks. Oh yeah.

    "Yeah," I say with a little laugh. She purrs a bit harder. She reaches up and she kisses my neck. She pushes herself up. Looking me in the eye, she begins to take her shirt off. This is suddenly serious. I sit up a bit.

    "Help me undo my bra, babe?" she asks. I laugh.

    "Sure," I say. She turns around and as I undo it, she slides her skirt off. She lays down on the bad and she covers herself with a thin silk sheet. I slide my shoes off and my shirt. I climb over her slowly, and we kiss. She then slides my pants off. And that's when I ignore everything I forget about school, about Sean, about everybody else. I forget about my problems, all of them. I slide my shirt off. Lotus looks at me.

    "I love you Aaron," she says, "So much."

    "I love you too, babe," I tell her. We kiss again.

    Lotus

    We kiss. I have forgotten about everything and everyone. Everyone except Aaron. I love him, and no one else. I run my fingers through his hair. It's so soft, and smooth. Then, I spread my legs apart and I feel him inside me. The explosion of feelings. The pleasure. I can't help but moaning softly. I kiss Aaron again. Oh, if only we could do this forever! I wrap my arms around his neck and I pull his head close.

    "I love you, baby," I whisper.

    "I love you too," he whispers back. I smile.

    "Just let me know when you feel a little tired." I took health class back in eight grade. I know how this works. After another minute, I feel him leave me. I moan again. That was... indescribable.

    Aaron

    I sigh and I lay down next to her. Wow. That's all I can say. I look at her and she smiles.

    "You're good at this," she says.

    "Thanks," I say and she giggles.

    "You're really good. You're really gentle."

    "I am?"

    "Yeah." She sighs contently again and she turns to face me, with an arm over me. She snuggles close to me, and her breathing quiets. She fell asleep. I quietly get up and I put my pants back on, and I turn the lights off. I walk back to the  and I sleep next to Lotus. She moves her arm back over me and she smiles. God, I love her.

    Lotus

    I open my eyes. I look and I see Aaron. He's still asleep. Aw, he's so cute. I get up and I realize that I'm still naked, so I throw my shirt and skirt on. Great, they're wrinkled. I look at the clock and it's only 7:46 in the morning. No one else is up. Oh yeah, Mum and Zephyr went on a date, and Blake and Cass were at that friend of Blakes house. Mum must have brought them home. I pour make me a cup of coffee and I walk back upstairs to my room. Aaron is still asleep. Boy, he must really be tired. I must have taken a toll on him. I laugh silently. I hear him moan and he rolls over. I look at him. He looks like he's dreaming. It doesn't appear to be a nightmare.

    "Lotus..." he mutters in his sleep. I set my coffee down and I climb back in bed with him.

    "What is it, my Aaron?" I whisper to him.

    "...marry me...Lotus..." he says in his sleep. Aw, he's dreaming of him proposing to me.

    "Yes," I whisper to him. I see him smile. I smile back and I pet his ruffled hair. It's still so soft. I get back up and I drink some more of my coffee. Then, I hear the bed creak as he gets up. I watch him in the mirror. He's up and he stretches. I never knew he looked so handsome shirtless. Ooh, can't wait for the Summer, now. Us down on the beach. Oh, the joys of Summer. I laugh as I remember that I always dreamed of seeing hot guys on the beach. I mean, what girl wouldn't dream of hot guys on the beach? I watch as he puts on his shirt and he turns around and sees me. He smiles.

    "Good morning, babe," I say. He laughs and he wraps his arms around me and he puts his head on my shoulder.

    "Morning, love," he says and he kisses me on the cheek. We both giggle. Oh, if only it were like this every morning. Damn it all! I didn't get coffee for him! I leave his arms and I quickly and quietly pour another cup. I turn around and I see him there.

    "Oh, Aaron," I say. "I... here," I give him the coffee. I blush and laugh nervously. Aaron smiles and he walks out to the back porch. I simply watch as he sits down in a chair. Wait, I'm just standing here?! I walk to the back porch and I sit next to him. The dawn air smells fresh and the temperature is just right. Oh, how I wish every morning was just like this. It would make my life a whole lot better. After a few minutes, Mum comes out and she sits down with us.

    "Did you guys have fun last night?" she asks us with a wink.

    "If you could call it that," Aaron says jokingly.

    "Mum," I say. I can feel my face getting hot.

    "Baby, I'm just happy for you," she says and she hugs me.

    "I know," I say, defeated. I take another sip of my coffee and Aaron goes inside for another cup. Mum leans in close to me.

    "So? How was he?" Whoa, stop! I spit my coffee in surprise.

    "Mum!" I rage at her, my face very red.

    "Aw, come on, baby. You can tell me. At least I let you."

    "Yeah, but I am not comfortable with talking to my own mum about my sex life." Huh. I guess I have that kind of life now.

    "Hey," she says and she hugs me. Thank God, Aaron's back out here. Sheesh, Mum can be so embarrassing. "Aaron, your father is such a man," she said. "Such a rugged and handsome man."

    "Thanks?" he says.

    "And rich too," she adds with a laugh.

    "Yeah, but he needs a new job," Aaron says.

    "Yes, I do," I hear him say as he comes out and he sits by Mum.

    "But, Dad, what will you do?"

    "Son, I do not know."

    "Oh, did I tell you guys that Zephyr and I are planning on marriage?" Mum asks. Aw, they are getting married. At first, I do have a few concerns, okay? But then, I realize that I can't imagine my family without Aaron. 

    Aaron

    It's a wonderful Saturday morning. The weather is nice, the temperature just right, with low humidity. The early dark blue sky, it's colour reminds me of Donatas hair. She usually has her hair in that colour, a dark navy blue. It's quite warm for a mid-November morning. I'm sitting here, with Lotus, Zephyra, and Dad, who just joined us. He sits down with his cup of coffee. With him and Zephyra getting married, yes, Dad's that good, ha-ha. I guess I get my charm from him. Zephyra has decided to keep the Christmas time wedding date, but they'll have to work really hard to get all of the preparations done. Zephyra even checked the courthouse to see if she could get a marriage license for Lotus and I. Of course, we are underage. But Lotus only has to wait for two years until she is 17 to get married. By then, she'll be a Junior and I'll be a Senior. It would be weird though, see us as students still, but we're married. Zephyra must have died of happiness the day Lotus brought me to her house. Her father wasn't happy though. Ah, memories.

    "Aaron?" Lotus asks. I look at her. She looking at me weird.

    "Sorry. Just thinking about memories," I tell her and I lean back in the chair.

    "What kind of memories?"

    "Just memories of when we first met."

    "Aw," she says happily.

    "Yep, back in the gold old days..." Fond memories, don't you agree? We continue to sip our coffee as morning rolls on. By the time we decided that we've had enough coffee, we walk inside to prepare for the day, not that we planning on much. Zephyra fed Blake and Cass breakfast while Dad flipped through the newspaper. By the time that they are done with their breakfast, Lotus and I are sitting on the front porch swing. I'm leaning back in the swing and Lotus is leaning on me. It's a brilliant day for November. The news said that it was supposed to get up to 73 degrees today. It's nice. Then Zephyra comes out on the porch and Lotus sighs sadly.

    "Mum, I'm bored," she says.

    "Well," Zephyra says, "no use in sitting around on a nice day like today." I think for a moment.

    "You're right," I say to her. Lotus raises her head to meet my eyes, questioningly.

    "Come on, it's a nice day," Zephyra says and Lotus looks back at her. "Go out and have fun. Do what ever you want. Just, stay safe... and legal."

    "Okay, Mum," Lotus says with a smile appearing on her face. Lotus gets up and she runs inside. I stand up and follow. By the time I get to the base of the stairs, Lotus is already coming down. She grabbed her handbag. "Okay, I'm ready," she says with a grin. I offer my hand and she takes it. Then she stands on her tiptoes and she kisses me on the cheek. Then we head out. "Bye Mum!" she says.

    "Have fun!" Zephyra says back with a wave.

    "Son," Dad adds.

    "Yes, sir?" I ask.

    "Be back by 11 p.m." He smiles after a momentary pause.

    "We will," I laugh. We that, we walk out the door, hand-in-hand. "So," I ask when we get to the corner of the block, "Whadaya wanna do?"

    "I don't know," Lotus says with a happy shrug, "everything?" There's a lot to do in this neighborhood, so we have a lot of options. We walk by the park and I hear a noise that makes me stop. I pause and look around. "What is it, babe?"

    "Engines. Two cylinders, about 20 maybe 30 horsepower."

    "What?"

    "Go-karts."

    "Oh." And with that, we walk toward the sound of my kind of fun.

    Lotus

    Aaron takes my arm and we walk toward the sound of go-karts. He must like them. I remember I tried go-kart racing one, back when I was little, and it was pretty fun. It's been so long though, so I'm a bit nervous. We walk up to the track and Aaron gets in line.

    "You coming?" he asks me.

    "Y-Yeah," I say nervously and I slowly step toward him. I see a sign that says: "$1 for 1 driver." It reads "$2.50 for driver and passenger."

    "What's wrong?" he asks.

    "I've done this before," I say quickly, so he knows, "it's just that I haven't done this in a while so I'm a bit nervous." I blush as other guys around us give me funny looks. Aaron steps up to the guy running the track.

    "We're riding together," he says pointing at me.

    "That'll be two fifty," the man says with a small smile. Aaron gladly pays. I follow him to a red cart. It's bigger than the others. Aaron climbs in and he offers to help me sit. I take his hand and I slide into the tight space. The engine is making the whole thing vibrate. I buckle the seat belt and tighten it.

    "You still nervous?" Aaron asks over the sounds of multiple idling engines.

    "Yeah," I say. The man at the main controls reads off a few rules and the cars in front of us move off onto the track. Aaron presses the gas and the cart moves off. I grip the bar in front of me. Aaron doesn't drive as fast as the others do... at first. Slowly, all of the fun finds it's way back. "Faster," I tell him. We speed up and we continue at this faster speed for a bit. "Fast as possible!" I yell. Aaron weaves through the other people. A few other guys and a girl who looks familiar. I barely saw her though, so I'm not entirely sure. Then there's the guy at the front. He's wearing a helmet, like a full racing helmet. Wow, he must really enjoy this. He quickly glances back every so often and he keeps moving in front of us. Then I see Aarons face get determined. This shit just got real. Aaron presses the gas and the brake to drift around the corner and he nearly passes the guy. I can see that he's wearing an orange jacket. We're neck and neck by the time we go past the start line and the stoplights turn yellow. Final lap. Aaron presses his foot hard down and we slowly pass the guy. Then there's the final turn and The carts slow to pull into the station. We're in front of him. We won! As I undo my seat belt, Aaron is already out of the cart. He offers me his hand and I step out and hug him. Then he and I look at the other guy. He takes his helmet off. I gasp. I know I've seen him before. His orange jacket, those pretty green eyes, that wavy blonde hair. Then the girl comes up.

    "Nice racing," the guy says to Aaron.

    "Thanks," Aaron says. I watch as the girl comes over to the guy. She has a tanner skin with beautiful black eyes and dark brownish-black hair. I know I've seen her before too! They kiss and walk away. We then leave so the other people can get in their karts. We walk away and leave the track behind us. I gasp as I realize who those people were.

    "Now I remember!"

    "Remember what?" Aaron asks with a laugh. I grab his collar and I pull him close.

    "That was Soto!" I say excitedly and Aaron gasps.

    "It was," Aaron says, snapping his fingers. "I knew I had seem him somewhere!"

    "Than that girl with him, that was... oh, what's her name?"

    "Angela," Aaron says.

    "Yeah, that's them." I look around the park, hoping to catch a glimpse of them again. "Soto and Angela..." We then continue to walk back down the path through the park. Soto is only my favourite YouTube animator like ever! His Anime art is brilliant, and his videos are totally worth watching. Also he and Angela are so perfect for each other, just like me and Aaron. As we walk through the park, I still look around a bit every now and then, still hoping to see them again. My hope dwindles as I don't see them and I sigh. But then I just let it go.

    "I'm a bit hot," Aaron says, "are you?"

    "Yeah," I agree, fanning myself. We walk to an ice cream store. Aaron gets a big bowl full of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and gummy bears. I get a bowl full of vanilla with some sprinkles. I take a spoonful of the sweet relief. "Ah, nice and cool." Aaron and I are so busy enjoying our frozen treat that we almost don't hear the lady back at the register.

    "Welcome, Soto." I cough on a bit of ice cream and I look. I gasp and I drop my spoon into the bowl. It's Soto and Angela... here! I look back at Aaron. He's looking behind me and at them, as are the other couple people here. Angela is blushing slightly at all of the attention.

    "Let's go sit down," I hear her say.

    "Alright," Soto agrees with his trademark accent. He's American 100% but he likes the U.K. so he gave himself a slight British accent. He walks over and he sits next to...us! Can you believe that?! I'm sitting right next to Soto himself! Oh, I have so many things I want to say to him, but...oh, it's Leaf bloody Soto! What could I say?!

    Aaron

    Leaf Soto and Angela are sitting by us. Whoa, we are so lucky! I see Lotus, looking away and biting at her lip. Her face contorted in thought, and maybe anger. She looks as if she's going to explode.

    "Hey, kid," Soto says to me.

    "Y-Yeah, what?" I ask, very nervous.

    "I want a rematch," Soto says with determination.

    "Oh, o-okay."

    "Hey. No need to be so nervous."

    "S-sorry."

    "OhmygodSotoihavesomanyquestions!" Lotus explodes, surprising all of us, even her, maybe.

    "Whoa, careful," Soto says. Lotus is catching her breath.

    "S...sorry," she says softly. "I... I just... had...some...questions that...I wanted to ask."

    "Alright," he says. "Ask away." Lotus takes a deep breath and under the table, I hold her hand, to help calm her down and she gives me a small smile.

    "Like what inspires you to make your videos?" Lotus asks with a more levelheaded tone.

    "Music."

    "Oh, cool." Then theres a bit of an uncomfortable pause.

    "Any others?"

    "Uh... nope," Lotus says blushing with a nervous laugh, "I guess I forgot them."

    "Alright then. Meet back at the track later." He points at me. "You and me. Alone." Oh, shit! This is gonna be good! I stand up and I shake his hand.

    "I can give you 4," I say. That's in a few hours still, so we can have some time to do more fun stuff, just Lotus and I. Maybe with Soto and Angela. By now, we are all done with our ice cream.

    "Would you care to enjoy the day with us?" Lotus offers.

    "No thanks," Soto says. "Angie and I are going to have our own fun day today, right babe?" he asks Angela. Angela blushes and giggles softly.

    "Yes," she says.

    "But before you go," Lotus says digging through her handbag. She pulls out her camera. "Mind if we get a picture with you?"

    "Not at all," Soto says. "Is that alright with you Angie?" Angela, still blushing, nods. Lotus holds the camera out in front of us and we all get together. Then she presses the button, taking the picture.

    "Yes," she says, looking at the picture. "Thank you so much." Without hesitating, she hugs Soto. Angela looks at her. Her tan face very red. "Sorry," Lotus says. Angela wraps her arms around Soto tightly, glaring at Lotus.

    "He's mine," she says softly.

    "I'm sorry," Lotus said holding her arms up. "I just got... super happy..."

    "Come on, Angie," Soto says, "Don't be mean." Angela let go of him.

    "Sorry," Angela mutters.

    "Let's go," Soto says. Angela sighs happily and she wraps her arms around his and they leave together. Lotus and I do the same, only we walk away in the other direction.

    "I didn't love him, I just got super excited, ya know," Lotus says as we walk.

    "I know," I tell her, "you just have to exercise a bit of self-control."

    "I'm sorry, it was Leaf Soto!"

    "Yeah, I know. I was nervous too."

    "I can see why Angela loves him though."

    "Yeah, me too." We pause and continue to walk.

    "You're not actually going to race him again are you?"

    "Lotus, I am a man of my word."

    "Oh," she says. I decide to take her to the mall to cheer her up. Lotus runs from store to store looking at all of the wondrous clothes. Girls, am I right? The time flies by in the mall. Then I tell Lotus that we have to go back to the park to have my rematch with Soto. Lotus carries her bags and I climb into a kart to race against Soto. We are right next to each other. Soto had paid the man for 10 private laps. Lotus sets her things down. "Good luck, Aaron!" she yells so I can hear. I give her a thumbs up, just like a NASCAR driver. I look over and I see Angela. standing a few feet away from Lotus. She looks like she's praying. For Soto. I look at Soto.  can see the determination in his eyes. The stoplights go green. We zoom off with a rev. Soto shoots ahead. He stays there for half of the race. By the time we get to lap 7, I have caught up... finally. Only 3 laps left. Soto drifts his cart, which is against the rules, but hey, I do it too. Then, on the last lap, Soto drifts, only to have his cart flip once, shit! I brake and swerve only I hit the cart activating small airbags in the steering wheels.

    "Aaron!" Lotus and Angela scream. Oh yeah, I forgot. Sotos real name is Aaron, like me. The guy running the thing and Lotus and Angela come running over.

    "Damn..." I hear Soto mutter.

    "Are you alright?" the man asks.

    "I'm fine," Soto says.

    "What about you?" he asks me.

    "I'm alright," I say slowly. I climb out of the car. Lotus runs up and hugs me.

    "Are you okay?" she asks, crying.

    "I'm fine," I tell her honestly. She looks at me and she squeezes her eyes shut in a growl of rage.

    "You dumbass!" she yells, punching my chest. "I hate it when you make me worry about you!" She stops hitting me and she cries into my chest.

    "Don't ever do that again!" I hear Angela say tearfully.

    "I'm fine, Angie, really," Soto says. I can hear her crying.

    "I was worried sick about you!"

    "Angie, I'm sorry."

    "I can't imagine my life without you, babe," she cries. "I just can't." By now, the guy has moved the karts and inspected them for any damage. He moves them to the shed at the other end of the track and before he sends us off, he urges us to stop by a hospital to be safe. Soto and Angela walk away, with her still crying. Lotus and I do the same. We decide to call it a day and by about 10:55, we arrive back home.

    Principal Benz

    I'm here in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner. It's about 9 p.m. and Korra is still up. She's out in the living room with Mercedes. I wash the plate I'm holding and I set it on the drying rack. I'm going to send them to bed here soon. As I wash plate after plate, I can feel myself getting tired. It is late after all. I wipe my forehead and I press on. Oh, it's hard being a single mother...and principal of a high school. Oh, hectic life. I finally finish the dishes and I walk upstairs. I open the hallway closet where I take off and hang the apron I wearing. I take off my gloves and I put them in the closet as well. I shut the door and I walk off to the bathroom. I undo my bun and I let my long hair fall down. I comb my fingers through it and I sigh. I am so tired. Then I hear a loud noise, like someone forced the back door open. I hear Korra scream. I gasp. I can hear a group of people running around.

    "Mo-" I hear Mercedes but she's cut off. Oh, God dammit, no! I rush down the stairs and before I can comprehend anything, my hands are forced behind me. I feel a burn as ropes force my writs together behind me. I see a person wearing a black mask come in front of me quickly. He forces a black strip of fabric between my lips and he ties it tight around the back of my head, gagging me. Then, he kicks the back of my knees, forcing me onto the ground. And all of this happens in the time span of about 3 to 4 seconds. I'm hurt and weary, and when I open my eyes, they focus on Korra and Mercedes, tied up in a similar manner to me. My eyes widen in horror. How dare these people tie up my children! Mercedes is trying to hold back tears, to look brave, oh my dear Mercedes. Korra is trying to make her way behind her. Of all of the people who live on this road, why is it our house that these people invade?! I'm breathing hard. Another masked person is tying a rope around me, keeping my arms at my sides. Then, the one who I assume is the leader, he steps over to me.

    "I want you to stay quiet," he says softly to me. Shit, what the hell is going on here?! "Can you stay quiet?" I quickly nod my head several times, trying to hold back my own tears. He pulls the gag off my mouth, it hangs loosely around my neck. I take a few breaths of air, but I can't calm down.

    "What do you want?" I ask, having no control. I then shut my mouth, afraid he might kill me, or my kids.

    "I said quiet," he repeats. I have no recollection of ever hearing his voice before.

    "I'm sorry," I say shakily, in spite of myself. The man puts the gag back in my mouth. He grabs my chin and he forces me to look into his eyes, which is all of his face that I can see.

    "Calm... down," he says. This is beginning to appear like one of those weird hostage situations and it appears to all be a prescripted act. I try to calm myself down, and eventually I do. My shaky breaths are starting to become more level now. "There we go," he says. He forces my chin up again. "Now, I am going to tell you what to say, and you are going to say it," he says slowly to make sure I get all of the words. "You got that?" I nod a few times. He takes the gag off again and I take a few breaths. He sits down in front of me. "Ask us why we're here."

    "Why... are you here?" I ask, my voice broken with sadness.

    "I cannot tell you much," he replies. What the Hell? Then why ask me to say that if you can't tell me you bastard?! "We are here because we were sent."

    "Who the hell sent you, you bast-" he puts the gag back on. I am just somewhat relieved that he did that. I don't want to use any foul language around Korra. This latest rage earns me a slap on the cheek. Not a hard, violent one, just hard enough to keep me quiet.

    "I told you to stay quiet." He reaches into his pocket and he pulls out a gun. I do my best to stay calm as my heart rate doubles and my unsteady breathing triples. I watch in horror as he slowly points it at Mercedes, and she begins to cry. How dare this asshole point a gun at my daughter?! "Now can you stay quiet? If not, then... well, as you can see..." I nod my head several times. With his other hand, he takes my gag off, for hopefully, the final time. I breath unevenly, as I look at Mercedes. Oh, my dear daughter, please don't give up hope. Mommy's doing her best to get us through this. I find a couple more tears falling from my own eyes. "You know, Mrs. Benz," he says. What the Hell?! This guy knows who I am?! "Your daughter... Mercedes..." Mercedes looks up at her name. "She'll be worth a lot on the slave market." My and Mercedes' eyes widen in horror. If this son of a bitch thinks he can sell my daughter as a sex slave, then this bastard is going to get what's coming to him. I scowl in complete rage. "But luckily for you," he says, and he strokes my daughters cheek. Mercedes groans and tries to move away from him. "We are not here to sell you or your daughters." You dare sell Korra?! That's it, when I get out of here you're dead! "As I have said before, we are here because we are sent here." What the Hell is up with these people?! I begin to cry again.

    "P...Please," I beg, "please... I... I'll pay you...I'll give you what ever you want! But please... leave my kids alone..."

    "Zandra... we are not here for your kids," he says and he gags me. He looks me in the eyes. "We were sent here."  He backs away from me and through tear covered, unfocused eyes, I watch in dismay as he uses the bottom of the handle of the gun to hit Mercedes and Korra on the head, rendering them unconscious. I growl furiously at him through the gag, only to be cut off, as I feel the gun hit me too.

    Mercedes

    My eyes shoot open. Shit, that's right. Mom, Korra and I are still tied up and gagged in our living room. It's looks like I'm the first one to wake up. I squirm to try to get this painful rope off of me, to no avail. Dammit! I push my face along the floor until I get the gag off my mouth.

    "Mom?" I say with a cough. God, I'm so dehydrated. She doesn't respond. "Mom?!" Either she's still out, or... she's dead. My eyes tear over at the thought. No! I shake them away. No! I find the strength to get on my knees. I look back at Korra, she's still out, but at least I can tell that she's breathing. Oh, thank God! I manage to get my to the kitchen. They didn't do it to Mom, but they took Korra and I and they tied our ankles together. By bracing myself against the wall I push myself up until I can knock the phone off of the receiver. It falls to the ground and so do I. I use my nose to press the buttons. I then hear it ring. Aaron, please be there.

    Aaron

    I'm asleep next to Lotus at her house. Lotus and I are awaken by the sound of my phone vibrating. I pick it up and I hit the answer button.

    "Hello?" I ask in a tone that suggests that it's rude and weird to call this early in the morning.

    "Aaron?" It's Mercedes.

    "Yeah," I say.

    "Oh, thank, GOD!" she says relieved. "You have to get to my house with the police!"

    "Why?" I ask. Lotus rubs her eyes and I look tiredly at her.

    "Because, some guys broke in last night!" Suddenly, I'm very awake.

    "Call the police and tell them to meet me at Mercedes' house," I tell Lotus, who's suddenly awake as well.

    "Why?" she asks, and we're already getting dressed.

    "Break-in," I tell her and she dials her phone. I run out to my car and I speed off toward the Benz household.

    "You still there?" Mercedes asks

    "Yeah," I say.

    "I think the back door's unlocked," she says.

    "Come outside."

    "I can't."

    "Why?"

    "Cuz, I'm tied up! They tied us up!"

    "Then... how are you calling-?"

    "No time, just get here and untie us!" I arrive and I run to the back. Sure enough, the patio door's been forced open. I run inside. I see Mercedes, Mrs. Benz, and Korra, all on the floor. "Aaron!" Mercedes says. I bend down and I untie the ropes. I hear Mrs. Benz groan. "Get Mom," she says and she sets to work on her bound ankles. Mrs. Benz looks up at me. I take the gag off of her mouth.

    "Mr... Aston?" she asks slowly. She appears to be dazed. I untie her and when she's free, she hugs me, and cries. She cries for what seemed like forever.

    "It's okay," I say soothingly. I see Mercedes untie her little sister. Then I hear the sirens outside. The police must be here. Mercedes opens the door and police officers come into the house. Others are outside, securing the scene. They interview the Benz family and me. I had to assure them that I was called for help, and not the one tying them up and hitting them. It all goes by and then I see Lotus and Dad come in, only to have them shoved back outside by officers. That's when I see the note. "Resign." it simply read. What the Hell? I look at the paper closely. I see a black crest at the bottom. The black falcon crest of the Enzo Palacio Reale Hotel. Enzo. Enzo Bugatti!

    "Mrs. Benz!" I call. She comes over with an officer. I show her the note. She gasps and she draws her hand over her mouth in shock. The officer takes the paper as evidence.

    "It's Enzo Bugatti!" I tell him. "He's behind this!" I have to convince the officer to believe me, and eventually, he does. But of course, he would just pay his way out of the trial. But not this time. Benz has the case sent to the Supreme court in D.C. There's no way that Enzo can bribe his way out of the U.S government. After a long and boring hearing in the local court and a long and boring court case held in D.C. which takes up a good month, we head home on December 23. Enzo was found guilty of having the men break in like that. They were charged too. Hopefully, we can leave all of this behind us. But Dad and Zephyra are supposed to be get married in two days. Mrs. Benz had to go to therapy for a few days to get over the traumatic experience, it was that bad. But, within her, I saw, the inferno that was her hatred for Enzo. An inferno, that would never be put out.

    Zephyra and Dad decide to postpone their wedding until June. They think that with , Enzo finally gone, we can slowly get back to the way things were. Now, I'm sorry if you think that all of this went by so quickly, but be honest, would you rather I told you the whole story, or just sum it up with the important stuff? That's what I thought.

    Lotus

    All is nearly forgotten. So much has happened this year. I think that a good Christmas is what Carlyle could use. You know, to make Carlyle seem like a good place. I'm sitting next to Aaron. We're all at the house. Then Mum says something.

    "I know," she says, "Zephyr, how would you feel if we moved in with you?"

    "What?" Zephyr asks Mum.

    "Have you found a job yet?"

    "I've been around, but no one's hiring."

    "I know. Since we're getting married, why don't we move into your big house, and I'll sell this one."

    "So you'll sell your house just so you can move into my big house?"

    "Oh, no... I'm sorry." Aw, I think Mum had a greed moment. She looks ashamed now. "I'm sorry."

    "It's okay. But do you want to sell this one, or mine?"

    "You'd sell yours?"

    "Of course. But I did leave it to Aaron in my will." Zephyr looks at Aaron.

    "You did?" Aaron asks.

    "Yeah. So technically, it's your choice, son."

    "Aaron?" I ask him, putting my hands over his. I don't care what he decides, it's his choice.

    "Actually, Dad," he says, "I was thinking that we hold onto it, but we move in here. I'll leave it to a charity."

    "That's a fine decision, son," Zephyr says, patting Aarons shoulder. Aw, Aaron is so nice. Today is the 24th. Tomorrow is Christmas. But we have already done our shopping and there are wrapped boxes under the tree. Aaron even got something for Blake and Cass. Oh yeah, Aunt Serena is coming for Cass tomorrow also. Great, now I feel all sad again. Then I feel Aaron squeeze my hand and I look up at him. A tear must have fell from my eye because I can feel a wet spot on my cheek. Aaron takes his finger and he slowly wipes the tear away for me. Aw... he's just so nice. No wonder I love him so much. I lean on him and I sigh happily. Now I have a happy moment. Yay. 

    Tomorrow. Yay! It's Christmas! Who doesn't love Christmas? I feel someone stroking my cheek. I groan and I open my eyes. I see Aaron, looking back at me, a warm smile on his face. I smile back.

    "Morning, love," he says.

    "Morning," I say softly.

    "It's Christmas morning." I gasp. Yay! Before I can run downstairs, let alone get up, Aaron gets up and he picks me up. I wrap my arms around his neck and I pull myself close to him. I sigh happily again. I love him...so much. He carries me down the hall and down the stairs. I see that Mum and Zephyr are up, and Blake and Cass are eager to rip through the wrapping paper to see what they had got. Aaron sits me gently on the couch. He goes to the kitchen to get me and him a cup of coffee. He hands me my mug.

    "Thanks," I say softly.

    "You're welcome," he says and I smile and take a sip. Mum lets Cass and Blake pick out a gift and they tear through the paper. I laugh. The last thing Blake needs is a NERF gun. Cass gets a bottle of lotion that Mum picked out.

    "I love the smell," she says and I smile. Then Aunt Serena comes into the room.

    "Hello, all!" she says. She came late last night, with a few gifts of course. She makes herself coffee, and she sits by Mum. "So this is the man who you've fallen in love with," she says, "it's lovely to meet you," she shakes Zephyrs hand.

    "Like wise," he says.

    "And dear Lotus, how nice of you that you also have a special man in your life." Oh, Aunt S.! I blush and she laughs. She shakes Aarons hand. "Who and how are you dear?"

    "I'm Aaron Aston," Aaron says, "and I'm fine. It's a pleasure to meet you."

    "It's lovely to meet you too, dear." She turns back toward Zephyr. "You and him look so much alike."

    "Well, he is my son," Zephyr says with a smile. Auntie S. gasps.

    "Oh, how wonderful! Now our family is truly connected!" Yeah, that's my Aunt Serena. She acts so sappy around family, but when she's alone, she's calm and collected. It's a bit weird. Blake and Cass open some more gifts, including something that Aaron got each of them. Cass gasps.

    "Aaron... you bought me a necklace?!" It's a silver chain with a dark green emerald gem on it.

    "Yep," Aaron says, "That's the closest they had to British racing green." She hugs him.

    "Aw, thanks so much!" Aaron hugs her back.

    "You're very welcome."

    "You tap into my bank account, son?" Zephyr asks.

    "Only a little," Aaron admits and his dad laughs. Blake opens his gift from Aaron. It's a die-cast scale model of a car, still in-box.

    "Ah, that's a 1:24 scale Bugatti Veyron Supersport. Very, very rare and expensive that is."

    "Wow, cool," Blake says.

    "Yep. You may want to leave that in the box."

    "Why?"

    "Well, ever heard of collecting?"

    "Well, yeah, but-"

    "Trust me, when you're older, you'll understand."

    "Alright," Blake says with an understanding grin. "By the way, how much was this?"

    "Well, back when I bought it, it was $24.95. But now, those particular models are worth about two to three fifty."

    "What?"

    "Give or take, about $300."

    "Wow, that's a lot."

    "Yep, and by the time you're my age it may be worth even more than that." Blake looks at it from all angles.

    "Wow."

    "Pride of my own personal collection those are."

    "Wait, you have more?"

    "Another two still but I figured, eh, why not let you maybe start your own collection?"

    "Thanks." Blake carefully places the car by his pile of stuff that he's been getting. Aaron is so nice, giving my little brother that. I'll do my best to have him make sure it's in top condition, for Aaron. I look at him.

    "So, what'd you get me?" I pry sweetly.

    "You my dear, I got you something, very, very special." I gasp and I wonder what it could be. There's so many things I hope it is! "But, wait until last." Aw!

    "Aw," I pout.

    "Unless you don't want it." No! I want it! I want it!

    "I'm sorry!" I say quickly. Aaron smirks, and I push him playfully, trying to contain the sudden anger in me. "Aaron don't do that!" I say blushing. He laughs. Now I'm embarrassed and all. I bite my lip in angry shame.

    "Come on, lighten up," he says. I blush more and I have to hide the small smile on my face. Later, it turns out that Aaron also got Mum and Serena a necklace as well. Aw, he is so bloody nice! He got his dad a new suit and tie. "For your upcoming job interviews. Gotta look nice, ya know?"

    "I know, son," his dad says with a smile. That reminds me, I got something special for Aaron as well, don't tell him. Cass, Blake and I get a few more things from Mum and Serena. Mum must have told Serena about Aaron because Aunt S. got him a really nice shirt.

    "Try it on," I say to him Aaron slips the dressy shirt on and I gasp.

    "Oh, it's looks beautiful on you!" Aunt S. says.

    "Thanks," he mutters, blushing slightly.

    "You are so wearing that on our next date," I tell him. He slips it off and he lays it neatly on the couch. Oh, I can't wait to see what Aaron got me.

    Aaron

    So far, this Christmas is going good. I can't wait to show Lotus what I bought her. I just know she'll love it. By about 9, all of the gifts are open and all of the trash is picked up and Serena and Zephyra make breakfast. It's pancakes with sausage and eggs. After we enjoy breakfast, we enjoy the day. I save the gift for Lotus at the end of the day. By about 8:30 we are all gathered in the living room. There's a fire going in the fireplace, keeping all of us toasty. I'm sitting on the couch and Lotus comes over, dressed in her thin shirt and skirt. She sits down.

    "So," she asks, "whatch'ya get me?" I laugh softly. I pull out the small wrapped box from my pocket. I hand it to her, with everyone watching. She removes the thin pink wrapping paper that was around it. She, Zephyra, and Serena gasp as they see that it's a ring box. Lotus opens it slowly and she gasps again. Yeah, I bought her a ring. "Aaron..." she says, her eyes becoming wet with happy tears, "...it's beautiful. Thanks."

    "If you like it, look closely at it," I tell her. She looks at it from all sides.

    "I don't-" she says and she stops dead.

    Lotus

    I stop. My heart stops. The whole world seems to stop. By holding it from one side, and because it's dark inside, with only the fire for light, I see the firelight shine through little diamonds in the side. Looking closer, I see it spells out some words. I finally see the message and I put my other hand over my heart. I feel all warm inside, and I know, that this moment will be in my memories for my entire life.

    "There's a message here," I say.

    "So what does it say?" Mum asks me. Oh, I can't believe that Aaron would go to such lengths just to do this.

    "It says: 'Will you marry me Lotus?'," I say. I think I'm going to cry.

    "Aw!" Mum says lovingly. She hugs Aaron and I. I look at him. He's just acting all cool about it. I hug him and I do start crying.

    "Yes," I whisper to him. Mum, Zephyr, and Aunt Serena clap. Cass does too, and Blake, well, he does his thing. Later, when Mum says it's bedtime, Aaron and I sleep back in my room, like we always do. His Dad stays with Mum and Aunt Serena on the couch and Cass slept on the floor in Blakes room. I'm lying there, still looking at the ring Aaron got me.

    "You like it, that much?" he asks with a light laugh. I nod.

    "Aaron, this was the best Christmas ever," I say softly. I put the ring back in its box, and I close it. I look at the box for a moment and then I turn around and Look into Aarons eyes. He smiles, and I smile back. With my arm over him, we fall asleep.

    Aaron

    I wake up. I look up and I see Lotus laying on me, her head resting on my chest.

    "Hi," she says.

    "Good morning," I say. I reach up and stroke her hair and she purrs.

    "Come on," I hear Zephyra call from downstairs, "you guys don't want to be late for school!" Shoot, that's right, yesterday was the last day of Christmas break. We have to get to school. Lotus gets off me and before I climb out of bed, she kisses me. Then I get up and we get dressed for school. We're in such a rush that we leave a bit earlier than usual and we end up getting to school before Mrs. Benz.

    "Oh," she says when she sees us standing by the door, dressed in our winter clothes. It's also snowing a bit as well. "I didn't expect to see you two here early."

    "Sorry," Lotus laughs nervously.

    "Well, no use in standing out in the cold," Mrs. Benz says with a light chuckle. She grabs her keys and she unlocks the door. We step in and Lotus and I take off our heavy coats. Mine's a red one and Lotus has a white fur coat, and so does Alexis as I see her run inside, before Mrs. Benz can even get the door shut. I'll bet she was surprised a bit to see her run by. Just a white blur coming by, camouflaged by the snowy winter.

    "Brr," she shivers. "I hate the cold." Before I hang my coat in my locker I decide to put it over her shoulders. She looks up at me and I smile. "Thanks," she says quietly. Mrs. Benz walks to her office where she hangs up her coat. She shivers a bit too and she walks down to the maintenance room. She comes back a moment later.

    "There," she says with a sigh, "now that I turned the heat up, it should be a bit nicer in here." She's still holding her arms around her tightly though.

    "Thanks, Mrs. Benz."

    "You're welcome, Ms. Lexus." Lotus is waiting for me and Alexis gives me my coat back. I hang it up in my locker. "Ms. Elise," Mrs. Benz says, "that is a beautiful ring."

    â€‹"Thanks, Mrs. Benz," Lotus says as I change my textbooks. "Aaron gave it to me."

    "That was nice of him." I look back and I see her wink at me. I take Lotus by the hand and we walk off. We sit down at a table in the commons area. We still have a while before school starts, so Lotus sleeps on my shoulder. I see Alexis sit nearby, typing away on her laptop.

    "I'm writing a story about you guys," she says quietly.

    "Thanks," I say, "That's really cool of you." Lotus and I make it through the day.

    Lotus

    Cheer practice. I had a lot of comments about my ring. I said that it's just a pretty ring, and not a proposal message.

    "Nice ring, Lotus," I hear Concettina say.

    "Thanks," I tell her in the locker room. We're the only ones here.

    "Did Aaron buy that for you?"

    "Yeah. He's such a sweet man." I tell her the truth about the ring. She gasps.

    "So... he proposed to you?"

    "Yeah, in a way. It's such a nice way."

    "I'm happy for you," she says, "but, we can't get married until we're older."

    "Aw... I know how you feel."

    "You do?"

    "Yeah. Fernando and I... we're probably destined to be together forever too."

    "How is it working out between you two?"

    "It's going good."

    "Yeah. Hey, did you hear that Enzo was arrested?"

    "Yeah. And what happened to Mrs. Benz."

    "I know, right? That must have been horrible."

    "Yeah... it reminded me f what Freddy did to me..."

    "I'm sorry I brought it up."

    "It's okay. Come on, we can't let bad memories get us down," she says building confidence. I agree.

    "Yeah. Let's get to practice."

    Aaron

    During practice, Natsuki comes over and she sits next to me.

    "Hey Aaron," she says, "can you help me on the Algebra assignment?"

    "Sure," I say. I look at her paper. "See, you have to factor the x-squared out of this half."

    "Oh, I get it now," she says and she quickly erases a few things and scribbles down the right answer. "What about this one?"

    "Oh, you forgot to carry the extra y across."

    "Oh, yeah." More scribbling. "Thanks." Then there's a bit of a pause between us. "Aaron?"

    "Yeah?"

    "How did you and Lotus... ya know... fall in love?" I'm shocked. No one's ever asked this, let alone Lotus herself. I sigh.

    "Well, it all started back in 6th grade. Lotus was a 5th grader. I saw her, and the way she was teased. All of the kids picked on her because of her white hair and eyes. I didn't like seeing that. When they took us outside, she sat on the grass away from everyone else. I always thought that she was the most prettiest girl that I had ever seen. I wanted so much to tell her, but I never could work up the courage to do so."

    "Were you new back in 5th grade?"

    "Sort of. I've been in Carlyle all my life, but I've always been homeschooled. So I didn't go to school until 5th grade."

    "Oh."

    "Yeah..." Suddenly, I hear someone cry out.

    "Oh, no!" Natsuki says. I look over and I gasp. I see Lotus on the ground. I jump up and I hurry down to the gym floor.

    "What happened?" I ask.

    "Just... slipped," Lotus grimaced. She looked to be in severe pain, her arm bent at a weird angle. Concettina helped her up, and Lotus fell back onto her knees.

    "Lotus, you're hurt," I say. "What happened?"

    "She fell off the top of the pyramid," Aurora says.

    "I'm fine!" Lotus snaps. She then rubs her arm. "Ow," she says quietly. I walk over and I pick her up.

    "I'm taking you home."

    "Fine," she mutters tearfully. I carry her to my car and I drive us home. I carry Lotus through the door.

    "What happened?" Zephyra gasped.

    "She "slipped," I tell her.

    "Oh, my poor baby," she says as she helps me set her on the couch, while Blake closes the door.

    "I'm fine, Mum, really," Lotus says. Then Dad comes in.

    "That looks like a dislocated shoulder."

    "It is," Zephyra says. "Maybe I can pop it back in." She took a firm grip on her arm.

    "No, Mum wait-" Zephyra pushed her arm back with a loud pop. "OWW!" She hissed and groaned. She couldn't fight tears.

    "There, I think I got it. Lotus, take it easy for a couple days."

    "Okay," Lotus says crying. I gingerly hugged her and her crying slowly subsided. "Take me to bed," she says. I slowly pick her up and I carry her to bed. I gently lay her down on her bed. Then I turn to leave, but Lotus grabs my arm with her other arm. "Stay with me," she begs. I smile and I slide on the bed next to her. I see that she's still fighting tears. I gingerly stroke her cheek.

    "It's okay, it's okay," I say softly. Lotus smiles.

    "Thanks babe." Then she looks sad again. "Can you cheer me up?" she asks sadly, giving me puppy dog eyes.

    "I don't know," I say slyly.

    "Please?" she dragged out.

    "Lotus, Aaron, We're going shopping, do you need anything?" I hear Zephyra call form downstairs.

    "No!" I say.

    "Do we have any pain meds?" Lotus calls.

    "No," I hear Dad say after a moment. "But we'll get some for you Lotus."

    "Thanks!" We wait until we hear the door shut and the van pull out of the drive way. Then I kiss Lotus. She grabs my tie and she pulls me close to her with her good arm. I throw the sheet over us.

    Lotus

    Aaron manages to cheer me up. He sighs and he lays down next to me.

    "Aw, I love you babe," I say softly. He does me so gently, and it's just so nice. He's so good at it. Oh, I love him so much.

    "I love you too, babe," he says. We move to kiss, but then I hear the front door slam.

    "You awake, dear?" I hear Mum call up.

    "Shit," Aaron and I say and we jump up to redress. I throw on my shirt, only to feel the pain in my shoulder, and I barely manage to get my skirt on. Aaron throws his jeans and shirt on. We climb back in the bed, pretending to sleep. Mum comes into the room. I sleepily look up and rub my eyes. "Mum?" I ask drowsily.

    "Here, baby, I got you some medicine," she gives me a teaspoon full of some bitter, cherry-flavoured liquid. That's some nasty stuff. I groan at the taste. "I'm sorry baby, it's the only stuff they had." I make a tired groan and I pretend to fall back asleep. Mum kisses me and Aaron on the forehead. "Night," she says softly, and she closes the door. All I can dream about is Aaron. I'm sure all he can dream about is me.

    Kyoya

    I'm staying up late, to study. Then I hear a tap on my window. I jump at the noise, but I be careful not to wake up Mom and Dad. I scurry over to the window and I push it open. It's Natsuki.

    "Hi," she says quietly, and she throws her arms around me.

    "What are you doing here?!" I whisper harshly.

    "I climbed up here." Yeah, I should have explained, my bedroom window is one the second story of our house.

    "I can see that, but what are you doing here?!"

    "Kyoya... I'm sorry... but I'm just so crazy about you- I love you!" This reminds me too much about Rebecca Wheeler. The girl who fell in love with me back when I was in 8th grade. I rejected her and she destroyed her life with drugs and alcohol. And she's only my age! But I don't want this to happen to Natsuki. So I fill her in. "You rejected her and she's like that now?"

    "Yeah," I say guiltily.

    "All because you said no?"

    "Yeah... and I don't want you to do the same thing."

    "Kyoya... I would never."

    "Can you promise me that? Even if I say no to you?"

    "You still don't love me?"

    "Natsuki! I'm busy with my grades. But you're still my best friend." I hear my door knob turning. "Hide!" I say quickly. She disappears and my door opens. It's my mother, Jessica Toyota. She has long blond hair, where I get my hair colour from. She wears glasses, and her eyes are a cool blue colour.

    "Kyoya," she asks, "What are you doing up?"

    "Sorry Mom," I say, "I was up studying, and... I guess I just needed some fresh air."

    "Well... come on, get to bed. You have school tomorrow." I want to talk to her about my problem, but somehow, the question never leaves my mouth. She leaves and she shuts the door. I turn back outside.

    "She's gone," I say. Natsuki comes back.

    "Whew," she says, wiping her forehead. "I should probably head home."

    "Yeah," I agree. She turns to climb back down. "Wait!" I say. She comes back and... I don't know what came over me but... I take her and I kiss her on the cheek. It was quick, but I kissed her. She blushes and she touches the spot where I kissed her softly. I sort of smile. "Night."

    "...night," she says, still dumbfounded at what I just did. Then she leaves, and she quietly climbs down. But after I kissed her, I feel a bit better, like something was lifted off of me. I gasp silently as I realize what it is.

    "I love her," I tell myself.

    Natsuki

    He kissed me... Kyoya... kissed me... I'm still blushing when I come home. I climb back into my bedroom through my open window and when I noiselessly close it, my lamp flicks on. I gasp and my hair stands on end. I daren't look.

    "Where have you been?" a stern voice asks. I turn slowly and I face my mother.

    "Mom... I was out... for some fresh air," I say nervously.

    "Don't lie to me."

    "I'm not lying!" I plead. I try to keep myself from crying, cuz I know I'm in trouble.

    "Do you know what your punishment is if I find out you're lying?" I nod. "Good. Now get to bed." I climb back into bed and I pull the covers over me. Mother shuts my lamp off and stands to leave. "You will be punished for leaving... tomorrow." Then she shuts my door. I sob quietly, knowing there's going to be hell to pay tomorrow.

    Aaron

    Lotus and I make it through the day and Lotus has to explain to Concettina that she can't practice for a couple days.

    "Well, you better hurry up and recover," I hear her scold Lotus. She sounds like a mother.

    "My Mum says I can probably practice again by next Monday." Today is Thursday. Concettina sighs with mild anger.

    "No later," she says sternly. "I need you for the game next Saturday."

    "Yes, ma'am," Lotus says. God, Concettina is just like a mother. I drive Lotus and I home and Zephyra and Dad prep dinner. Then, in the middle of dinner my cell phone rings. It's Carrie Cadillac. I haven't talked with her in a while.

    "Hey, Carrie," I say cheerfully.

    "Hey, Aaron?" she asks.

    "Yeah?" Oh dear, what's wrong now?

    "Um, who is it that lives in 417 Baker street?"

    "Oh, that's Natsuki's house."

    "Yeah. About her, she's a Freshman, right?"

    "Yeah, brownish hair, pink coloured eyes." I get weird looks, so I leave the room.

    "Yeah, you may want to head over there."

    "Oh, dear God, what happened?"

    "I was driving by, and I think she might be in some kind of trouble." My eyes widen.

    "Stay there. I'll be there soon."

    "Okay." I hang up and I head out.

    "I'll be back," I say to them.

    "Hurry back, babe!" I hear Lotus call. "I'll save your dinner!"

    "Thanks, babe." I walk out the door, and I drive down to Baker street. I see Carrie in her car. I walk over to it and I climb in. "What's the problem?"

    Natsuki

    I'm crying.

    "Zip it," Mom commands me as she tightens the rope around me. She's tying me to my bed. Yeah, she's abusive to me sometimes. She tied my arms to my sides and she took the other end and tied it to the barred headboard on my bed. I can still walk, but not very far.

    "Why are you doing this?" I ask sadly.

    "Do you want me to tie something over that loud mouth of yours?!" she yells at me.

    "No ma'am," I say quietly.

    "Good." With that, she leaves my room and she locks my door. She had my door locked from the outside. Does she really have to do that, I mean it's not like I'm going anywhere, since she's tied me to my own bed!

    "Damn bitch," I swear quietly, tears falling down my cheeks. Then someone knocks on my window. It's Aaron! I walk the few feet I can. I mouth for him to help me.

    Aaron

    Natsuki is tied up in her room. What kind of parents does she even have?! I find a good grip on the windows and I'm able to push it up a ways. Natsuki gets on the floor and she uses her legs to push it up more. Just enough to get most of my head through.

    "Hey," I whisper with a smile. I pull out and I push back through on my back, so I can push the window up with my arms. Then I hear her door open. Her mother walks in, staring wide-eyed at me opening the window. "Hello, Mrs. Suzuki," I say a bit nervously.

    Natsuki

    Shit! It's Mom.

    "Oh... there will be punishment for this," Mom says with a devilish grin.

    "Aaron, get outta here!" I say and he pushes himself out of the window. "Call the- mmph!" Mom put her hand over my mouth. I watch in dismay as Aaron runs off. Mom then slams my window shut. She slams a metal bar in the grooves and I gasp, knowing that window will never open again. Mom then looks at me. I'm so scared. "I'm sorry!" I say quickly. Mom slaps me, shutting me up.

    "You lost your chance for sorry!" she yells in my hurting face. She shoves me onto my bed. I try to fight back, but she then sit on me, crushing me as I feel her tying my ankles together. Then she gets off of me and I take a few deep breaths. I cough a couple times. Mom closes the curtains. I'm on my bed, still trying to catch my breath. "You will have severe consequences," she vows. I growl. It's time I do a damn thing about this. I spit in her face. Mom wipes it off after a pause. "You little bitch," she growls. She slaps me. I spit in her face again. "That's it!" she yells. She throws me down and she storms out of the room.

    "That's right you better run!" I yell. Mom then storms back in.

    "I'm not running," she says evilly. She pulls a roll of duct tape from behind her back, and my heart stops. She tackles me down and takes the roll and she pulls a length out and she bites the piece off. I can't fight back. I spit in her face one last time and with a growl of rage, she slaps the piece of tape on my mouth. "There," she says with satisfaction as she gets off of me, "that oughtta shut you up."

    "Mmm!" I yell as I fight the ropes. That damn bitch! Tying up your own daughter! What the Hell?!

    "Stop it!" she yells and she kicks me in the ribs, knocking me out. I only hope that Aaron called the police.

    Kyoya

    Natsuki isn't here at school today. I wonder why? She could be sick or something. We have a bit of time left of Algebra class.

    "Aaron," I whisper.

    "What's up?" he asks.

    "Do you know why Natsuki isn't here today?"

    "She isn't here?"

    "No. I haven't seen her since last night."

    "Shoot, she must still be at home." He fills me in on what happened to her yesterday, and my eyes widen in horror.

    "That's child abuse! We have to do something!" Then the bell rings.

    "Meet me at my house," Aaron says. "at 6."

    "I'll be there."

    Later, at 6, I meet Aaron at his house.

    "So, how are we going to do this?" I ask him. Then I see a police car pull up. It's Officer Jon.

    "With him," Aaron says. "We can't have this."

    "No we won't," Jon says. I climb into Aarons car with him and with Jon leading, we go to Natsukis house. I head over to her window. Dammit, the curtains are closed. Jon knocks on the front door. Natsukis mother answers it.

    "Can I help you, officer?" she asks sweetly.

    "Ma'am, I have reason to believe that you have been abusing your daughter," Jon says. She laughs.

    "Whatever do you mean?"

    "Ma'am, I have sources that have claimed that you have kept your daughter-"

    "Stay away from my family!" she suddenly yells and she slams the door shut, only it doesn't shut, because Aaron caught the door.

    "Let her go!" Aaron demands. Jon pushes his way into the house, his gun drawn.

    "Go get her," he says to Aaron and I. He takes care of her mom while Aaron and I run to Natsukis room. I stop in the kitchen for a knife.

    Aaron

    I run into Natsukis room. I unlock the door and she turns at me. She's still tied up with the rope, her ankles also bound and there's tape over her mouth.

    "Mmph!" she cries out. I rip the tape off of her mouth and I let her breath. "Aaron," she cries happily. Kyoya comes in and he cuts through the ropes. When Natsuki is free she wraps her arms around me. She's crying. "Thank you so much." Kyoya cuts through the ropes holding her ankles together.

    "It's okay, it's okay," I say, "You're free. You're free."

    "Thank you... so much." She lets go of me and she looks at Kyoya. He gives her a small smile. She grabs his shoulders and she kisses him. He's surprised at first, but then he kisses her back. Kyoya you dog! Then Jon comes in.

    "You okay?" he asks her.

    "I'm... I'm fine."

    "You're not hurt? Not feeling any pains?"

    "Just... just some cramps," she says with a sniffle.

    "It's okay, your mother won't hurt you ever again." He gives her a hug.

    "What's going to happen to her?"

    "She is going to face trial for abusing you."

    "And... what about... what about me?"

    "Well, you'll either stay here with your father, or you'll be moved to stay with any other relatives."

    "I don't have a father." I suddenly feel bad for her.

    "Any other relatives?"

    "I don't know. I... I've never known any relatives."

    "Well," Jon says with hesitation, "then the only other option is to send you to a girls home until you're adopted." Natsuki looks as if she's going to cry. Kyoya puts his hand on her shoulder.

    "I'm sure she has relatives somewhere," he says, and she looks up at him, "but until then, she can stay with me."

    "I'll allow that," Jon says with a bit of a smirk. Natsuki looks at Kyoya hopefully.

    "I don't have much to bring with me," she says.

    "That's okay," Kyoya says, "We can get you some things."

    "Thanks..."

    "Come on," I say, breaking up the lovebirds, "let's get out of here."

    Natsuki

    Kyoya takes me to his house. The only things I was able to pack was the few toiletries my mother let me use and my clothes. I only had a weeks worth. He and I walk into the house. It looks like a house that some scholars would live in. There's a lot of books on bookshelves. There is a couch with coffee table and a TV, but it doesn't look like any electronic entertainment is used around here much.

    "Kyoya," a woman says coming into the room, "you're home late." She looks like him, only her hair is long, and she wears glasses. Her eyes are a pretty dark blue. "Who's this?"

    "Mom," Kyoya says, "this is Natsuki Suzuki. She's a friend of mine."

    "Hello, Mrs. Toyota," I say shyly. She gives me a small smile. My cheeks are red with shyness.

    "Explain the purpose for your suitcase," she says. I open my mouth to say something, but Kyoya stops me.

    "Mom," he says, "Natsuki has been abused at home." His mother looks sad.

    "Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that."

    "Thanks," I mutter. She hugs me.

    "Would it be okay if she stays here until Officer Jon can contact her relatives?"

    "That would be alright with me, but you may want to talk about it with your father," she says.

    "Th-thank you," I say. I hear my stomach growl a bit.

    "Are you hungry, Natsuki?" his mother asks.

    "Yeah," I say with a small smile myself.

    "Kyoya, move her things into your room. Natsuki, I'll prepare a special dinner for you," she says with a smile. For some reason, I feel like I'm truly at home. Kyoya takes my bag upstairs. I hug his mother. "Oh," she exclaims and she hugs me back.

    "Thank you so much, Mrs. Toyota," I say. I can feel a happy tear fall down my cheek.

    "Please, call me Kyuki," she says. That's a nice name. She leads me into the kitchen. and I hear the front door open.

    "Welcome home, Dad," I hear Kyoya says.

   "Oh, Takashi, get in here, we have a guest," Kyuki says. The man, Kyoyas father, comes into the kitchen. He has darker blond hair, and dark, rusty red eyes. Aw, I guess that's where Kyoya gets his handsome looks from.

    "Who's this?" he asks with a smile.

    "I'm Natsuki Suzuki," I introduce myself.

    "Natsuki, it's lovely to meet you." He shakes my hand.

    "Likewise."

    "What brings you here?"

    "She was abused at home, so she'll be staying with us for a few days until her relatives come," Kyuki says.

    "Aw, I'm so sorry to hear that," he says.

    "Thanks," I mutter. He bends down and he puts his hand on my shoulder. He looks me in the eyes.

    "You can stay here for as long as you need," he says.

    "Thank you," I say.

    "Well, Natsuki, what would you like?" Kyuki asks. I totally forgot I was starving!

    "Hm," I said thoughtfully, "well... I do like pizza."

    "I can make a pizza then," Kyuki says.

    "Can you make one with sushi on it?"

    "Are you kidding?" Kyoya asks me with a big grin. "Dad was the finest sushi chef in Carlyle!"

    "Was, mind you," Takashi says with a laugh. I giggle.

    "Sushi pizza, then!" Kyuki says. Sounds good. Feel free to stick around if you want some.

    Aaron

    I head back to Lotus' house. Man, I forgot to bring her home, because I headed straight for Natsukis house. Damn, she'll be pissed as hell.

    "I'm back," I say to everyone. Suddenly, Lotus is all up in my face, with rage burning in her eyes. She looks as if she's been crying.

    "Where have you been?!" She demanded. "I had to walk home, alone!"

    "I was helping Natsuki!" I say to calm her down. She hesitated a moment.

    "Explain yourself, right now!"

    "I was saving her from her abusive mother."

    "What?"

    "Look," Zephyra said turning up the TV.

    "...and a local mother has been arrested for have been abusing her daughter for the past few months now. She will be serving 7 years behind bars..."

    "See?" I asked her. Lotus blushes with guilt.

    "Sorry, I yelled babe," she muttered.

    "It's alright. I guess I should have told you first."

    "Yeah, you should have."

    "I'm sorry." There's a bit of a pause as we stand there and hug each other.

    "Anybody, care for dessert, then?" Zephyra asks.

    Later, I'm sitting on the couch, Lotus is leaning on me.

    "Don't ever leave me behind again," she says softly.

    "Lotus, I said I was sorry."

    "I know, babe... it's just that... when you left without saying anything... I thought you...you..." she begins to cry. I feel bad for making her cry, and I stroke her hair.

    "You thought I hated you? Forgot you?"

    "Yeah," she says. She wipes her eyes and sniffles.

    "Lotus... I will never ever leave you behind. Never again."

    "Never ever?"

    "Never, babe."

    "Aaron...I love you."

    "Yeah, I love you too." She kisses my neck softly. We're silent for a few moments.

    "You owe me," she says.

    "I know," I say. I pet her and she purrs.

    "Come on, not now," Zephyra says.

    "Aw," Lotus pouts quietly. She sighs downheartedly.

    "Maybe tomorrow," she says with a wink and she walks upstairs. I look down at Lotus and I smirk lovingly.

    "Can you wait for tomorrow?" I ask her. She looks up at me and she sighs hopefully.

    "Sure, babe," she says and she kisses me.

    Tomorrow. Today is Friday. Zephyra and Dad are going out on another date tonight, and Blake is going to spend the night at his friends house again. I stay and wait for Lotus again. After she's done, she runs up to me and she jumps into my arms, and I spun her around.

    "Babe! You waited!" she says happily.

    "I said I would never leave you behind," I say with a warm smile. I kiss her cheek and I walk her to my car. She climbs in and we drive home. I see the van in the driveway. Dad and Zephyra must be out. Blake was gone as well. Lotus and I take off our shoes and we leave them by the door. I walk to the kitchen for a glass of water while Lotus walks upstairs. I take off my jacket and I hang it over a chair in the dining room.

    Lotus

    I walk up to my room. I see a box on my bed. Huh? I walk over to my bed and I see that there's a note from Mum. 'Have fun, Lotus.' She wrote out a wink face. I blush with delight. Oh, Mum, what have you left us this time? I open the box. I raise my eyebrows. It's cat ears. Then I remember Aaron did say that when I purred, he liked it. Ooh, this might be fun. I put the ears on my head and, looking at myself in the mirror, I adjust them on the top of my head perfectly. I giggle slyly. I'm still in my cheer outfit, but I won't get it dirty.

    "Hey, babe... get up here!" I call seductively.

    "Oh, what did Zephyra leave us now?" he asked wryly. I giggle as I imagine the surprise on his face. Oh, Aaron is going to just love this. I'll act just like a cat! I've seen some other girls do it, so how hard can it be? He opens the door, and, with my arms in front of me, my wrists at an angle, like a cat and I get in his face.

    "Meow," I say. He laughs.

    "That's great." Come on, Aaron stop acting so cool about it. "Just... wow."

    "Meow!" I drag out in a complaining tone. He hugs me, his arms around my shoulders. He pets me.

    "Aw, I'm sorry, babe."

    "Mew." Yeah, you are sorry, babe. I get out of his hug and I rub my head against his chest, purring as I do so.

    "Aw, you know I love it when you purr."

    "Meow," I say softly. I'll only purr for you babe. I move onto the bed and I begin to slide my uniform off. I purr. Aaron gets next to me. He kisses me and I kiss him. Me make out and I slide his clothes off.

    "I love you, baby," he whispers softly.

    "Mew," I whisper. I love you too, Aaron! I lean back into the soft pillows. I spread my legs and I feel him come into me. "Mew, meow!" I exclaim. I love this so much, babe! Oh, he feels so good! I lay there and purr.

    "Just think... when we get married," he said softly, "we'll do this every night."

    "Meow!" Oh babe, I can't wait! Then I feel the rush of intense pleasure. "Meow!" Then he leaves me. He lays down next to me. I look at him and I curl up next to him.

    "I must say Lotus, your Mum certainly knows how to give us a good time," Aaron whispers. I sigh happily, if a little tired.

    "Mew," I say softly, as if in my sleep. Every night... ooh, I can't wait! But I sort of think that Aaron's holding back. I wanna see him really do me. I wonder what he'll be like. Hm, maybe tomorrow I can find out.

    Aaron

    I wake up. I'm in bed with Lotus. Oh yeah, we had fun last night. She's still curled up in a ball, like a cat. She even seems to be mewing softly still. I get up and dress. After I go downstairs for coffee, I come up and Lotus is still asleep. I slowly take the cat ears off of her and I set them on her dresser. I stroke her cheek and she yawns. She opens her eyes.

    "Meow," she says. Lotus, that's cute and all, but you can stop now.

    "That's cute and all, but you can stop babe."

    "Aw," she pouts softly. "But I loved being your kitty."

    "Don't worry, love, you'll still be my kitty. Wait later tonight. I heard Dad saying that they'll be going out on another date."

    "Ooh. Can't wait for tonight then."

    "Yeah... we'll just have to make it through the day."

    "Babe?" she asks.

    "Yeah?"

    "I know that you can be more." She starts to dress herself.

    "What?"

    "I know you like to act all cool when we have fun, but I want to see the real you." I sigh.

    "Lotus..."

    "Please? I want to see the real you."

    "I am the real me."

    "But, surely there must be something that drives you crazy." Don't even bother asking about it. I will never tell. Maybe not even her.

    "I'm sorry. But I'm what you get."

    "But..."

    "Fine. There might be one thing, but you're just going to have to figure it out."

    "Aw! I hate figuring out stuff."

    "Well then, I guess you won't have me then."

    "No!" she pleaded, "I'll figure it out!"

    "Well alright then." We eat breakfast and Zephyra says that they'll leave for their date at 4. But before that, Zephyra does some shopping. Lotus and I come back after a quick trip to the mall to find another box on her bed. Oh, deary me, just what did she get us this time? I walk back up into her room only have Lotus jump out of the shadows. She looks more like a cat. She has some make-up on, and she's wearing a fuzzy black outfit. It's a cat-like dress. It even has a tail. Good grief. Zephyra approves of this? What about the black collar around her neck? Man, she must really want us to get married. She left a note saying that this was as fun as she'll get.

    Lotus

    "Meow, meow, meow," I say seductively. Come get me baby, I know you're lovin' this. I make a small cat scratch motion with my "paw."

    "Wow," he says with a laugh, "this is insane."

    "Meow!" I complain. Babe, come on! He turns to leave. No! I jump in front of him and land on all-fours. I hiss at him, just like an angry kitty.

    "Okay, whoa," he says. He backs up.

    "Meow," I say with satisfaction. That's right babe. I crawl around in front of him, backing him toward the bed. He falls onto the bed, and somehow, I pounce onto him, but I don't hurt him. I wouldn't want to hurt him. Never! I slowly crawl toward him, purring.

    "Lotus, stop." I hiss and I scratch at him. No, babe. Come on, don't be like this. He grabs my collar and he pulls me close. "Lotus, enough." But... babe... He lets go of me and he lightly pushes me to the other end of the bed. He sits up and stares at me. I just sit on the other end, looking back at him. My shoulders start to shake and I begin to cry, but I make a cats yowling noise. "Lotus, please." I continue yowling. "Lotus..." Babe... you're hurting me. You're rejecting me. "Fine," he says. He takes my shoulders and he hugs me. My yowling slowly subsides.

    "Mew...mew," I say sadly. Don't ever do this again babe. We begin to make out and I slide his clothes off. Fun.

    Aaron

    I sigh and lay next to her. She's curled up in a ball, purring in her sleep. I know she's a human, and she loves doing this, so I know that it works out. I'll be honest, she does look cute as a cat. I think that we'll be just fine when we get our own place. Hm, maybe I just might keep my house, just for Lotus and I.

    Aaron

    I walk Lotus to school. It's now close to February. Just a few months to go, then we're out of school! Yes! Lotus and I are going to spend so much of our summer together. Oh, I can't wait. These days in the second semester, at about this time to about mid-April, it's boring but then the days start to go by faster and faster until it's May already. So I drive Lotus home because the day's over already. The next thing I know, I'm waking up with Lotus on this beautiful May morning.

    "Morning, babe," she says with a yawn. Her long hair looks very good on her. I get up and stretch. "Oh, I slept so good last night."

   "As did I," I say with a smile. We walk down to breakfast after we dress and afterward we head off to school. Today is the last day for the Seniors. Concettina will still be at cheer practice I'm sure though. Yeah, the sad end of the year. Saying good-bye to some of the greatest Seniors who have spent 4 years here. No matter how bad school may seem, you really make some great friends for life here. By the time the day finally ends, at cheer practice, with Fernando with me, we watch as they don't really practice, as the last game will be tomorrow. Instead, the girls give gifts to Concettina. Marissa is back among them.

    "Wow, everyone," Concettina says blushing, "thanks. You've all been great." Aurora presents her with a bouquet of flowers.

    "You're always welcome to come back and teach us," Aurora says to her. Concettina takes the bouquet and she wipes her eyes.

    "Thanks," she says, her voice cracked with emotion. They hug each other.

    "I am honored to have been your best friend."

    "Me too." I see Lotus motion for us to come over. Nando and I walk over to them. Concettina throws her arms around Nando.

    "It was fun, Fernando," she whispers.

    "Yeah," he agrees. Oh, so they did get together.

    "But don't worry. I will wait for you."

    "Yeah... thanks." They kiss.I know that I'm may have to promise Lotus the same thing. But college? If we're going to get married out of High School, what would we do about college? Ah, I'm sure we'll figure it out. Lotus and I kiss. Later, we go home. We still have some finals to take next week, but right now, we enjoy the end of the year.

    "I can' wait until next year," Lotus says.

    "Me too. I wonder what new freshman will show up?" I say.

    "Who knows?" Lotus says with a friendly smile, "Maybe we might make some new friends."

    "Yeah, we might." I begin to picture what school would look like next year. All of the new people. It'll be great. But first, Lotus and I have to have some Summer fun. Next year, is going to be an adventure. I can't wait for it, and I hope to see you there with us. Later.

    "And I present the Carlyle High School Class of 2015!" Mrs. Benz says into the microphone. The Seniors are officially graduated. Now, all we have to do, is take pictures and exchange numbers if we haven't, and then with a couple of not-so-final good-byes, we all head home. So, next year, what will it bring? On my way out, I stop by the bathroom. On my way outside, Mrs. Benz calls me into her office.

    "Can't wait for next year," she says.

    "I can't wait either ma'am," I say. She hugs me.

    "Glad you'll be staying with us, Aaron. After all of your help to all of the students and me, I'm glad that you'll be coming back."

    "I am too." She absentmindedly moves a paper on her desk. My eyes drift toward it. It's a list of students who will be here next year. I see some interesting names. Caroline LeBlanc, Tetra Tramontana, Leon Seat, Saleen Fleur, Stanford Cherokee, Vanessa Wagner, Zack DeLorean, Raven McLaren, and a Siff Spyker. And these are just some of the Freshman. Mrs. Benz smirks at me.

    "Ready to make some new friends?"

    "Yeah. I'll always be there to help them." I smile and she laughs.

    "Oh, what would Carlyle do with out you?"

    Principal Benz

   I look at the list of all of the students who will be coming. Caroline LeBlanc, Tetra Tramontana, Leon Seat, Saleen Fleur, Stanford Cherokee, Vanessa Wagner, Zack DeLorean, Raven McLaren, Siff Spyker, twins Alpha and Romeo Touring, Aaren Ascari, Angela Acura, Blake Bentley, Devyn Dacia, Mickael De Tomaso, Jack Hennessey, Kennedy Kia, Hy-ya-to Hyundai, Katja Koenigsegg, Lexia Lancia, Miami Mini, Akira Mazda, Angel Porsche, Bela Romana Skoda, Scarlette Scion, Neil Smart, Nicholas Tesla, Adam Vauxhall, Marcus Marcos, Alyx Royce, and Flannery Rolls. They are just half of the kids coming next year. I find myself laughing. Oh, I just can't wait to see what kind of adventures will go on next year. It makes me look back on just what happened this year. What with Enzo, Mr. Fiat, and Concettina, but... next year? Who knows? That's why my father once said: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is the future, and today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." Well, Father... you are right. Yesterday and all of the days before, were the good old days. Tomorrow and next year are the future, and today, is such an amazing gift. I remember the beginning of this year as if it were yesterday. I flip through the class albums since my first year here. All of those students, who walked through these doors, they all walked out a different person, and it makes me so happy that I helped them get to where they are today. Then it hits me. Next year will be my tenth year here. I smile and I close the album and I put it back in the desk drawer. I walk out of my office, stopping only to look at my one picture of me and Karl. Our wedding photo. I wipe the tear on my cheek. I shut the door and I lock it behind me. I sigh and I walk out of the front doors, them locking behind me. The memories of all of the kids echoing through the halls. My memories of all of the students echoing throughout me. You have no idea what it's like. Nine years worth of fond memories within me. Nine years worth of dreams... students' dreams. I stare at the building, knowing what truly wanders its halls. Memories... and they will remain in these halls... forever. Oh, the stories the school could tell.