The Masked Crescente, a Fantasy story

Chapter One

Author's Note: Read the original submission here: http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3129368/1/The-Masked-Crescente

-Nyan

Chapter One

Darkness. Pitch black darkness, that coated the world in a remorseful blanket.
There was nothing in the world. Just darkness.

And a girl.

She ran as fast as her fragile legs could carry, tripping and slipping on the invisible ground. Her once gorgeous pink dress was spoiled, muddied and ripped. She lost one of her pink shoes somewhere along the way; not that she cared about that at the moment.
Worriedly, she kept looking back over her shoulder, as if expecting something - someone?

"It's...It's gone..." She muttered to herself, and stopped to catch her breath. She was trembling all over, and quickly collapsed on the ice-cold ground. She gritted her teeth, and tried not to yell. This...This was preposterous!

Ke-ke-ke

"What...who?'' The girl's eyes went wide, but she didn't have the time to stand up and run.

A dark shadow loomed over her, laughing like a dying crow. Its face was a white mask, with black holes where the eyes should have been.

Out of its black cloak emerged a green, wart covered hand. It reached towards the girl, who was frozen in fear. She could not take her eyes away from the empty black holes; and she would not scream.

I woke up with a jolt.
I was sweaty, and the remnants of the dream still lingered in front of my eyes. I shook the illusion away, and sat up. The nightmare was not a surprise; not anymore. That was the one dream I had for ever since I became this.
I still try to decide whether it is a scratched memory, or just a strong fragment of my imagination - and I will never know.

I slipped my now cold feet into the purple-bat slippers, and went to the bathroom. I glanced quickly at my pale face: my one red eye gleamed feverishly; my coal-black hair was a matted mess; and I was trembling all over.
"Ayane, control yourself." I whispered to myself, not wanting anyone in this cursed Academy to see my weakness. I cannot afford weaknesses anymore; they are just worthless distractions.
I needed to concentrate on living the present, and not dwelling on the past or the future. What has been, has been. What will be, will be. There's no point on spending my time on those painful subjects.

Even the empty black- holed eyes do not deserve my attention.
The only thing that does... is the present.

As I closed and locked the door of my dorm room, I heard loud footsteps running towards me. I rolled my eyes, and braced myself.

Someone pounced, and embraced me, their arms around my neck. " Morning, Aya!" The familiar, cheerful voice said.
I looked down to see a girl of my own age smiling back at me. She wore a turquoise, long jumper with a silver swan stitched on it, and tight blue jeans. I studied her azure eyes carefully, before sighing and smiling back forcefully.
"Good morning, Mika." I greeted her, and she let go of me. If looked at from a distance, Mika would have appeared to be a normal teenage girl - but she wasn't. Sticking out of her blonde-haired head were a pair of golden ears, and there was a hole in her jeans through which her tail poked through. She was a typical cat-girl, and even though normal humans would have freaked at the sight; everyone in this academy just ignored her. Here, all of us freaks have a place to stay, without the normal human beings staring at us.

But, all of us started of as one of those normal human beings.

"Aya, listen to me!" Mika pouted her cheeks, and I nodded apologetically. She rolled her eyes, but continued whatever she was talking about nevertheless. "Aya, guess what? I am in love!" She grinned, and started twirling around the hallway like a little girl who just received a new puppy.

"Again? Mika, you find a new love every day. Who is it this time?" I asked, something clearly the cat girl wasn't expecting - she stopped, and stared doubtfully at the ceiling.

"I... I don't know yet." She announced after about a minute, and stuck her tongue out at me. I simply shrugged, even though I was certain that Mika would have wanted me to laugh instead. Laughing; it is such a distraction.

At that moment, the bell for the first lesson rang.

Mika groaned, ''Uh, time for ' class."
" isn't that bad." I stated, but Mika just snorted.

"Well, whatever. C'mon Aya, let's go to class." She said, and began walking away - gracefully and swiftly. But, when she realised that I wasn't following her, she paused and looked back at me. "Come on, Aya, we don't have all day."

"Let's just take a short-cut." I motioned the other way, through the outside. It was cloudy today, but I honestly couldn't care less. Cloudy, sunny, rainy, what was the difference?

"Oh my God, Aya! The last time I took a short-cut with you, we were half-an-hour late!" Mika protested, and shook her head. "How is it even possible to be that late?"

"Okay, whatever you want. I'll just go alone then; I'll stretch my wings on the way." Experimentally, I stretched out my black, feathery, wings to full length, and Mika sighed.

Without another word, she walked off, probably scared that if she gets late, her popularity - even though she wasn't really popular at all- would go down.

Casually, I walked outside into the fresh air. I took a deep breath, taking it all in. I was standing at the edge of a grassy field, though most of the grass had died - too many people stomped and played over it-.
My wings stretched out to full length, and I began to flap them silently. Soon, I was up in the air, looking down on the ground, and the stones, and the pecking seagulls that scavenged for food on the ground. It was so clam, so peaceful, so -

"I believe that you should mind where you tread -" A velvety voice interrupted my thoughts, and a second later, something huge crashed into me. I sprawled to the ground, and winced as I felt my elbow collide with the hard ground.
Somebody cursed, and I heard footsteps coming my away. A shadow fell over me, like a light blanket.
Looking up, I saw the girl who was staring down at me worriedly.

''Hey, Lily...'' I murmured, and slowly stood up. Striped- Lily looked just like usual - with a black tie, striped black and white shirt, white skirt, and black tights with heavy boots. Her blue eyes sparkled anxiously, and her snow-white hair danced loosely in the ruthless wind.

"Ayane, Lily is so sorry about this." She apologised, and looked me over carefully, "Thy is not hurt?" I shook my head, and managed a slight smile. It always amused me how Lily spoke - apparently, she was born in the Medieval ages, but somehow time-warped to the modern day. A Russian Medieval former-Princess, how interesting. Though she clearly tried to learn modern English, she picked up some more Medieval phrases on the way.

"Um, Lily? What was that?" I asked, trying to find out about the thing that crashed into me. Lily silently pointed to a big paper swan - big enough to ride on - , which lay against a brick wall. I rolled my eyes, and raised an eyebrow.

Lily shrugged, "I wanted to ride it. I never thought that it would get so confused on windy days." Well, that was her logic. She totally didn't think that wind would make a paper swan stray off course did she? No, of course not. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Lily.
I snorted to myself.

"Ayane, is thy still angry at one?" Lily Mctovich cocked her head to one side, but did not wait for my answer. "Execution time!" She grinned at me, and took out an A3 piece of paper from her bag. So quickly her fingers began to move as she folded the paper, that I could only see blurs where her hands were supposed to be.
Ten seconds later, she held out her creation to show me. An axe... Oh! I should've known...!

My stomach twisted into millions of knots, and I felt sick. Horribly, very sick.
I waved the weird girl goodbye, but I still saw what happened.
Her white hair waving in the wind, and with a Cheshire grin on her face, Lily walked right up to the frightened paper swan. It turned to flee - or was that just the wind?-, but it was clear it was too late. When Lily gets an axe in her hands, one does not simply stop her.
Lily wheeled herself onto the swan, and sat on top of it; pinning it down. She raised her axe, and was just about to bring it down...

I spun around, and ran as fast as I could to class.
Another weakness... I gritted my teeth. That I could not afford. I shook my head sadly, and decided to get rid of it as fast as possible.

I looked through the tiny window in the door, wanting to determine my situation.
If the wooden clock on the wall was right, then I was only ten minutes late; however, this wicked, treacherous teacher would not forgive even that so easily. He is a torturer, and I still wondered how he was still a teacher here..

I opened the door quietly, and grimaced as it creaked slightly.

Every one of the students turned to face me, their curious pairs of eyes burning holes in my body.
The students were sitting cross-legged on pink and yellow mats, and held their books and pens on their lap. The teacher had a weird obsession with such things -

An idea struck me. I thought that I grinned, and quickly hid my expression. Happiness is another weakness.

I turned swiftly to face the old man of a teacher, showing no emotion. I raised my chin, and glared at him from under my eye-lashes.
(or more famously known as Mr. Flowerpants) looked at me, his expression solemn. His face was covered in hundreds of wrinkles, and he looked like the only person who could have proven the existence of dinosaurs.
He claimed to be a wizard, and joyfully held up the expected clothing stereotype - a long purple robe, a pointy hat, and wavy greying beard and hair. However, his clothing was covered in vivid flowers, which really did not make him appear like a strong, feared wizard. Actually, in the way he usually dressed, nobody would be surprised if he wore high-heels under his robe.

Mr. Flower frowned at me, and even more wrinkles became visible on his face. "Ayane Sound, " He said my name in such a way that made me want to stab him really badly (of course, if I really meant it, I could have asked Lily to do it for me.). "Why are you late?"

I pretended to be guilty, and looked at the wooden floor, shuffling my feet. "Um, Sir..." I mumbled, avoiding eye contact, "Um... I am so sorry that I am late, please forgive me."

sighed, and I saw him shake his head from the corner of my eye, "Sorry, Ayane. But that does not excuse your lateness to class." I straightened up, and turned to the class again. Mika was doing a weird motion; she seemed to use her finger as a knife or something, and she moved it across her throat back and forth. I rolled my eyes.
I whispered, just enough for the old man to hear, "But... I was so immersed in doing yoga, that I didn't even notice the bell ring..."

Satisfied, I saw the old man's face soften. "Oh, I see. Well, of course if you were doing yoga then it's okay. We can all get carried away sometimes..." I nodded, and I saw Mika do a thumbs-up at me. Quickly, I went to sit down on the pink mat next to the cat girl.

"Nice one, Aya." She smirked at me, and I shrugged.

cleared his throat, and began to speak. " My dear students, today I announce a competition." The old man had to stop talking, due to the rising volume of excited chatter from around the classroom. Mika grinned at me, clearly day-dreaming about some magnificent prize. It's not like I really cared, but I hoped that the competition won't require a lot of talking or roleplay. Those things were so stupid and ridiculous - why would you want to pretend to be someone else?

That is exactly what you are doing right now, Ayane. An Annoying voice chorused in my mind. I shook it away vigorously, and continued listening to the teacher who had finally got the chance to continue speaking again. "So, as I have said, there'll be a competition. You will work in pairs to produce a spell of magic, that would even leave the strongest of Mages in awe. The most efficient and astonishing spell's creators will receive a miraculous prize..."

Startling me, Mika jumped up and stood graciously, her lean tail flicking in nervous excitement. She forcefully grabbed my arm, and dragged me up to stand beside her, even though I tried to ignore her pulling. Still, I stood up, keeping my expression blank of any emotion. In reality, I was embarrassed about having to awkwardly stand in the midst of a full class. Meanwhile, Mika didn't seem at all bothered.

"Sir," She said, not letting her firm hold go of my hand. "I am going to pair with Aya!" She announced, and flipped her hair, like she always does to add some charm to her words - or appearance.

shook his head, "No. Clearly, most of you would choice people who you know are professionals, leaving others out. To make this competition more interesting and difficult, I have picked random partners for each of you."

"B-but, Sir!" Mika yelled, and stomped her foot on the pink mat in frustration. "You can't do that to me!" Yes, he can. I thought to myself, and it seemed that Mika realised it too. She dropped back down, and sat cross-legged on the mat, pouting her cheeks.

rolled his eyes, which made me agree that he should go to Halloween as himself this year. "Mika Milliana, you are with Harou Wave. You two may now go and choose a room to work on your project in." Mika gagged at the mention of the boy's name. I quickly glanced at him, and he was staring back at me. Oh, so it was this young were-wolf's eyes that kept burning holes in my back every lesson.

The guy had short cropped, brown hair and hazel eyes that stared at me regretfully. Clearly, he looked like he wanted to be paired up with me instead of the 'future-fashion-diva' that now picked up her bags and began strolling out of the classroom. Harou also wore red-framed glasses, and a deep red hoodie. He took his two bags from where the lay under the table - one of the bags held normal school equipment, but the other held hundreds of various video games and wireless consoled. Harou Wave was the school's very own video game nerd.

"Ayane Sound, " The old man's croaky voice interrupted my thoughts. " You shall be paired with Natsu Maxwell. You may go and choose your room for the project." I sighed, not pleased with the teacher's choice of my partner. As I was walking towards the door, I caught quick glances of the boy.
He was a vampire. And all vampires were handsome.
Except, that they looked quite ugly when asleep.

Natsu, being a nocturnal creature, spent most of the day half-asleep. And, he was extremely clumsy and annoying in this condition.
Usually, his shoulder-length golden hair, emerald green eyes, and his casual clothing style made him the most handsome guy in the whole school, who melted nearly every girl's heart with ease. However, due to the fact that he is most often asleep, his popularity fell vastly. It was obvious that no girl liked a vampire that pretty much sleep-walked all day long.

2: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Mika Milliana:

After glancing sideways at the forever distressed Ayane, I strode out of the room alongside the nerdy boy. I waved outstandingly at her, but she wasn't even paying attention to me anymore. Of course, one would usually get offended by such an act, but after knowing Ayane for such a long time I only shrugged it off.

With a sigh, the memory of our first meeting fluttered like a fluorescent ghost into my mind.

It was the official day of the Academy, at the time when there finally weren't any new students appearing - literally - at the school's gates. The teachers were all neatly assembled in a line, inspecting every single detail of every single student before them. They waved a hand to dismiss us to get on with our task, and nodding we dispersed throughout the school's fields.
Unlike in a normal school, some weirdo here chose that our classes will be decided randomly - by writing on pieces of paper the classes' number on it, putting it inside balls and hiding them around the school field, allowing the students to try and find one of the balls; open it and see what fate has decided for them.

However, I could not find even one. Which's quite weird, what with my better sight in dark places - like bushes or amid leaves for example- but I guess at that time I just hadn't got used to my new self quite yet.
I got frustrated, and felt tears sting my feline eyes; however, of course I couldn't cry. Cats don't cry. And neither do cat-girls. Instead, I began gulping back pained wails, which sent shudders to fly through my body every time I took a single breath.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Startled, I whipped around to face whatever just touched me. Before me stood a tall, lean girl with coal-black hair.. and a missing eye. Absently, she held out a bright red ball towards me, and I noticed her holding another one just like it in her other hand. That was when I first saw Ayane.

"Oh, thank you!" I exclaimed, taking the hold from the girl's hand, and smiling warmly at her. "My name's Mika," I bowed slightly, and then giggled. She wasn't smiling. I frowned. "Well, okay then. But, thank you for your kindness and I do hope that we'll be in the same class together!" At that point, I noticed that her one good eye glittered in what seemed to be joy, but otherwise her expression remained completely blank.

Awkwardly, I realised that Harou was impatiently holding the door to our room for me. I glanced at him apologetically, before storming inside.

The room smelt like foul chemicals mixed with vomit, and bird droppings. Clearly, didn't bother to try and reserve his students clean rooms. I took out some deodorant from my glittery bag and sprayed it everywhere.

Coughing, Harou stepped inside the room and shoved some of the items around, to make walking-space. He wrinkled his nose at the stench.

Batting my eyelashes, swaying my hips seductively, I advanced towards the unsuspecting guy. "Oh, Harou?" I sweetly called his name, and he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Do you not like the smell, or..."

The shocked boy never realised what I was doing, until I had my hand pressed on his chest, pushing him against the wall. I leaned against him, tracing the outline of his face with my fingertips, pressing my body against his. "...am I too good to resist?"

His face turned crimson red, as I stared into his dark eyes, and played with strands of his chestnut hair. Then, I whipped around and waved a hand to dismiss the whole event. "I was just kidding!"

From the corner of my eye, I saw him brushing sweat off his forehead and awkwardly pushing a few tables into random places. I smirked at him, "You know why I was just kidding with you?" He shook his head, avoiding my gaze. "...because I know that it'd be impossible to be better than Ayane to you."

Harou's face turned ruby red, and with a bit of glitter and no glasses, he would have actually looked like the gem itself. I grinned sheepishly at the thought. "How... how did you know? Does the whole school now? Does Ayane know?" Stammering, the boy questioned me, clearly against the whole idea.

Cleaning the dust off an old wooden chair in one swift swish of my tail, I casually replied. "That, my friend, is too many questions at once. But, I shall answer simply." I thought of how to phrase my answer for a moment, wanting to sound cool and sophisticated. "I just do, no, and no." Close enough.

Nodding, he folded his arms across his chest. "But, will you tell her?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No...of course not."

"Then, she'll never find out about your feelings." I pointed out, and could see him tense at the words. "You know what...?"

"What?" He muttered, kicking a random can out of the way with the tip of his trainer.

"What if... you confessed? With a note in her locker to meet up?" I suggested, my eyes lighting up in excitement. I may be a talented matchmaker if I tried, I was sure of it!

"She..won't come, though, is she?" He shrugged, unconvinced by my idea.

"I'll...I'll make her come!"

3: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Natsu Maxwell;

"No."

Though the words were simple, and nowhere near threatening, they broke the last piece of patience I had with her. Glaring at me with her one red eye, Ayane walked restlessly around the room.

She was not the brightest girl in the class for sure.

Even when I tried to deal with her, ask her for suggestions, make my own suggestions about the project, or just try to chat with her like with a normal human being... she just backed away from me, as far as she could, sending me dirty looks once in a while. I touched my fangs with my tongue, and noticed her shudder. Oh, so that was it!

She hated me because of whom I've become.

"Damn you!" I yelled at her, striding out of the dark room. I banged the wooden door behind me, almost sure that even the door cringed in fear at the blow. It was not my fault that I've become this accursed vampire of all things and beings!

Students and teachers alike were milling along the collider - from werewolves, to centaurs, pixies and other beings - minding their own business for once in their lifetimes, it seemed. Usually, if one bangs the door, drops a plate or makes too much noise, all heads will inevitably turns towards them; wanting to know every single sweet detail of the event so they could gossip about it later on.

Instead, their eyes were trained on something else. So, they weren't minding their own business after all. All stepped aside to make a pathway, like the person they were staring at was a Queen of some sort.

I craned my neck to get a look.

If I wouldn't have known better, I would've embraced her right then and there.

Long, flowing black hair that seemed to be soft waves of the dark blue sea when the sunlight hit them. Her eyes were the shade of toxic emerald, staring ahead in a menacing expression which probably was the reason people didn't dare get in her way. Her pale skin was like porcelain, fragile and delicate to the eyes. It looked as if her whole body would shatter into pieces if one laid a hand on her innocent look or poise. She wore a puffy-sleeved white button-up shirt, which glinted at her every move, along with a short red skirt and long black leather boots.
An ancient doll she appeared to be, crafted by the best of all doll makers.

Something golden on her caught my eye, and I noticed a ruby-eyes snake bracelet curled around her wrist. The snake's tongue rested around her index finger, and even though it may have been my eyes playing tricks - the flesh seemed to look even paler at that area, like the snake was actually squeezing the blood and life out of the finger. I shook my head, and the finger looked normal again. That was just my imagination..right?

All of a sudden, the girl's cold and menacing aura seemed to shatter as she stumbled over her own feet, her face frozen in horror. She closed her eyes, her arms reaching forwards... and she fell.

On me.

I felt my body hit the cold marble floor, and the girl's weight choking the breath out of my lungs. My head collided with the floor, and everything went black and starry for a moment.

When I finally got myself together, I could hear the gasps and clicks of cameras around us. Yup, we'll totally be the heart of the gossip this week. The girl...

The girl?

I just realised that she was still sprawled against me, and she slowly blinked her eyes open in surprise. Clearly, I cushioned her fall which she did not expect. Our eyes met for a few mere seconds, and she intently stared at me - and I stared back. Her green eyes were not menacing anymore, instead... they are afraid and full of grief.

I opened my mouth to ask the reasons, but she was already up and running off the way she had come. I stood up, rubbing my head and people began trying to talk to me. I shoved them all aside, and tried to get back to the room with the idiotic Ayane. But then, I noticed a silver book which I realised the weird girl was carrying in her arms before. I took a hold of it, and quickly stuffed into my bag; I'll give it back to her later.

Someone touched my shoulder, and I turned on them immediately. "What?!" However, I straight away regretted my words when I said them - It was only Oz. And he looked worried.

He had short black hair, and a white top-hat along with a matching suit. Usually, he would be wearing a hoodie, though he wasn't and I knew he wasn't happy about having to ditch his comfortable clothing choice. " Dude, what was up with that girl just now?"

Oh. So he was on about that, huh? I did not want to talk about the event, though the girl's surprised and scared face still haunted my mind. I shrugged, and frowned at his outfit. "Oh man, did Oza make you wear that?" Oza was his older sister, who was the one forcing them to change their names and trying to make outfit choices that she thought looked cute or cool on her brother. He nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, man. She says that for our Illusion Show tonight I got to live up to my name." He kicked something with his shoe, and murmured, " Though, I can't believe people aren't bored of our illusions yet.. though, I will put that one up, today!" He winked, and I grinned. Oz and Oza both had gained similar powers - The power of illusion. Oza could make it look like she turned into a beast or an object of some sort, and Oz can create objects and living beings alongside himself. Due to the entertainment it caused people, they started their own show. In that way, they would be able to do what was easy for them, and actually earn money for it.

"Get me a ticket!" I high-fived Oz, but the smile quickly faded.

"No, seriously Natsu. What was that about?"

"I don't know, dude. I don't know! She just tripped and fell on me, that's all!" I rubbed the back of my neck, and added, "Though, she did look pretty...umm... uh. I never saw her before, is she new?£

"Yeah, I know what you mean. And she is..." Oz whistled a tune, and then the bell for next lesson rang. "Anyway, good luck with the emo girl, the project, and life!" He waved awkwardly, and stalked off to his next class.

4: Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Chapter 4

Ayane;

I, while staring blankly at the wooden door that shook ferociously from the impact of the bang, kept sitting in the little corner of the room. Though that certain area of the room was home to more spiderwebs than anywhere else, I was not bothered by the fact; actually, I felt comfort in the whole prospect of the thought.

Silently I sat there, pondering over why Natsu stormed out of the room in such a ruthless manner. Though I have already realised the reason.

He noticed my cautious fear around his presence.
And he seemed to think that he was the reason I was so uncomfortable around vampires...

Back at the time when I was human, I had a very dear friend...

''Ayane, Ayane!'' A masculine voice called out to me, and I quickly rushed to fix my outfit and put the milkshake I was drinking back down on the table.

''Hey, David! You're early!'' I grinned from ear to ear - which I always used to do at the time, without any hesitation- and hugged the guy before he could have time to react. Today, David was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, along with matching trainers.

Even though it was an awfully scorching hot day outside. Unlike me who was wearing a bright yellow dress with golden suns and lush palm trees, David did not ever know how to dress correctly when it came to weather. He always seemed to conclude on wearing jeans and shirts.

''Yeah, yeah, I know...'' He sighed, and pushed away from my hug. I gave him a hurt look, but he shook it off and didn't react. ''Don't give me that look, Kit Kat, I came early, didn't I? I'm gonna give you a hug when I am supposed to come to you. '' He smirked, and I pouted my cheeks. David often called me Kit kat; when we first met all I had to eat in my lunch box at school was a bunch of Kit Kats. Luckily, he pitied me and gave me one of his Panini sandwiches to eat instead. Still, the name stuck.

''Why did you come early, anyway?'' I asked, suddenly feeling thirsty and taking a sip of my strawberry milkshake. ''It's not like you to not be right on time, Vamp.'' David also had a nickname from me; Vamp - short for vampire. That nickname came to me when he showed me all his vampire stuff in his house, and I decided that he was too obsessed with the things not to have the right to receive a nickname based on it. Anyway, it wouldn't have been fair if I was the only one with a nickname out of the two of us.

He looked me right in the eyes - as it was a time when I had no need for the horrible eyepatch of mine, and could clearly see with both of my eyes, and people never feared to gaze at them- and said, ''Ayane, I have something important to tell you.'' I took a deep breath, as he began searching through for something in his pocket.

I had the greatest of expectations, for maybe it was a ring? Though, it was clearly not that as the box for it would totally not be in the shape of a corpse - as that was what he took out of his pocket. I raised an eyebrow in a silent question, and he shook his head. He knew my expectation as well. And even though he tried to hide it, I still knew that he knew how I felt about him.

David opened the corpse, which was a box, however weird it looked like. He took out whatever was inside it, and turned his back to me. I only rolled my eyes, and waited. With a roar, he spun back to face me and grabbed me by the shoulders. I squeaked in protest, and laughed as I tried to shake him off. He opened his mouth, probably to show me what he put inside.

And yes, inside his mouth was the object from the corpse-box. A pair of vampire fangs.

I jumped back in surprise, and then began clapping and talking quickly and hysterically to David about it, asking him various questions and other unimportant stuff. The pair of fangs meant that David finally had been able to buy the vintage-legendary-Count Dracula outfit, which he wanted to own so very much this past year. I didn't know how or where he managed to get such a thing, with the little money he saved up, but it was clear he had it.

''Come on, show me it!''

The bell gave a shrieking annoucement that it was time for the next class, was the end of the free period - Which wasn't so free, as we still had assignments and work to do, which, though, Natsu and I managed to not even start today- and all students had to go to their dorm rooms for the so-called 'reflection'.

However, no matter how many times the teachers told the students to take reflection seriously, as it was a period of time to reflect upon our deeds of the good and bad, most people just found it as a truly free period to do stuff in the dorm rooms, and chat.

And so, I was not at all surprised to have opened the door of my dorm to find Mika sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed. Though I was sure I locked the door in the morning, the cat girl had somehow always managed to get inside without a struggle. When I often asked her about it, she just flipped the question away, never answering directly.

''Hey, Aya! Came for some girl talk?'' Mika smiled, and flipped her golden hair. Sighing, I dropped my leather bag on the floor, and came to sit beside the petite girl.

'' Mika, I came here because this is my dorm. And it is time for reflection. You go to your dorm for reflection. So you better go to your own dorm room for it as I've heard the teacher may start doing checks to see who is actually doing what they're supposed to, instead of messing around and sneaking into other people's rooms without invitation; like some kind of perverts.''

Mika, clearly flustered by my long speech, stood from the bed. But, she didn't leave. And, I realised too late, that I used to always say the stuff in my head ; not out loud to someone like I did just then. ''Aya...are you, um, feeling okay? Did the Natsu guy do something to you?'' She asked, worry shaking her usually bright and cheerful voice.

Now, all other girls would start tearing up and telling their best friend all about their problems, how they didn't want to act like they did, and talk about feelings. That, however, I would not ever do. Being so open is a weakness. And so, I replied, ''I'm fine.'' And laying down on the bed, turning away from Mika, I closed my eye and pretended to sleep.

A few minutes passed, and I heard Mika's timid steps getting quieter and quieter as she got further away from where I lay. Soon, I heard the door open and close.

It seemed I had fallen asleep after all, as when I opened my eye and glanced out through the window it was already getting darker outside. I am going to have to somehow come up with an excuse as to why I missed most of my lessons. If I don't get out of it, it will become another weakness of mine; not being able to fake something using words.

An image of Mika flashed through my mind. I hurt her, didn't I? That girl's full of so many weaknesses, especially emotional ones... I should go and apologise to her before she starts getting depressed. If she hasn't already.

Not even bothering to comb my messy black hair, I opened the door of my dorm flat, only to find that something got stuck underneath it. Not another stupid letter from that goth club, asking me to join, is it? For some reason, the Goth Club kept picking on me, thinking that I would make a great Goth with a few changes to my clothing style.

The last letter I had received from them read:

Our dearest Ayane Sound,

We have asked you many times to join our little, timid group, which we believe you would have fun and would enjoy your time in.

You would make a great member, due to the way you act and you look (with a few slight asterations to your clothing, which you would get professional tips on from our personal Goth-stylists), and we always greatly await the day you agree and join us.

We, Goths, as you know, favour blood, bats - and we know you have a special liking towards them, after seeing your slippers... and we are all in all in favour of anything Vampire or darkness related. Which, we are certain so are you.

We will always watch and wait for you to join us,

No matter what,

The Queen of the Goths,

Oza Yagami

The moment I had finished reading the letter, I scrunched it up, ripped it apart, and threw it out of the window. I do not favour vampires. Stalkers. Freaking stalkers. Both of them. How do they even know what my slippers look like? Stalkers. Pedophiles. Bags of weaknesses. And there is actually one vampire in this whole school. What, do they worship him or something? Pathetic.

However, this time, the letter was clearly not from the Goths. Instead of the black envelope, with fake blood and a dark stamp in the shape of a bat, this one was pink and with the following words;

To Aya Sound,

Anyone else other than her dare open it, and they will suffer! xx

Obviously, it was from Mika - she was the only one who called me Aya.

I picked up the letter from under the door, smoothed it out and opened the envelope. The letter wasn't long, but something about Mika's pointed writing meant that it wasn't a thank you letter - for those positive things, she always wrote more rounded. It always made me curious as to why was it that her writing changed depending on her mood or the topic she's writing about.

Ayane Sound,

I'm disappointed in you. Seriously, girl.
I always put up with all your stupidity, you know? And yet, like, you don't even have enough trust in me to tell me if something's bothering you.

Whatever. I know you keep to yourself. I'm not angry about today. So don't even bother coming over to apologise or whatever it is that you do.

But, you keep to yourself so much... do I even exist in your eyes? Or am I like those other people who you only look and give your attention to when you are forced to?

You know what, Miss Emo?

I hate you.

Never go near me again.
Go back to the Underworld and die.

I'll pretend I don't know you and so should you,

Mika Milliana.

P.S I'll only ever be friends with you if you get a boyfriend.

I sagged against the wall. Beginning to tremble, I quickly got back inside my dorm and locked the door. The letter was still in my hand.

Mika, the funny, cheerful, joyful Mika... hates me.
I knew I upset her, but... this much?

No.

Though, she said she wasn't angry about today. It was about something else.

No.

She said she wasn't angry. But she never said she wasn't depressed about it.

No.

No, she just hates me. She could have been hanging out with the popular people all this time we were friends. She never left my side before.

No.

Yes, she just wants to be with the popular girls. Maybe, maybe...

No.

Maybe, she got bored of this plain, boring, empty 16 year-old with an eye-patch and no sense of homour... or anything for that matter.

No.

But, she said that she'll be friends with me if I begin a relationship with a boy.

No.

But, why? Maybe, she's just doing it for my sake? Like she always has?

''Aya, did you have fun?'' Mika asked, smiling.

''Yeah, Mika, but... you gave me your one... why would you do that? I knew you wanted to go.'' I frowned at the girl.

''I'll get it one day. And even if I don't, atleast you had the chance to experience it.'' Mika shrugged, looking into the distance.

No, no, no, no, no, no...

Morning came.
The sun, forever bright and warm, shone down upon my bed. It was morning, and it was time for lessons.

I glanced at the clock on the desk, and noticed that I awoke about ten minutes later than usual. Mika will be worried about me, and probably bored having to wait outside my dorm...Mika? My gaze drifted to the letter on the other side of the desk. Oh. For a dear minute, I had hoped that yesterday was all a dream, and Mika would come bouncing inside, talking non-stop about how her day went concerning her daily-love, and why I was taking my time getting ready.

Nobody came inside. The wind from the opened window ruthlessly threw the letter on the floor.

It was like ten bullets were inside my body, opening even more invisible wounds within me, more than there has ever been before.

5: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Chapter 5;

Mika;

Clawing impatiently at the old, wrecked wooden desk that I sat on, I waited for the four-eyed were-wolf to finish reading the letter.

The letter I wrote for Ayane yesterday, after reflection.

Harou heaved a heavy sigh, and scrunched the copy of the letter up into a loose ball. ''It's pathetic.'' He announced, as I caught the ball and tried to smooth it out again. I knew it looked pathetic, but I also knew that Ayane would take it seriously ; after all, I never tried to prank her like that. Until now, at least. I hope I didn't hurt her too much... Just for this boy's happiness...

With an annoyed glare at the boy, for saying such a thing about my work, I said, '' Remember that I am probably Ayane's only friend and the only one who would have ever volunteered to help a four-eyed nerd like you ; especially as you are on the Quest to win her over. And so, don't insult me, and let's become good friends!'' I finished not really strongly, it seemed, as Harou burst out laughing at my speech.

''Mika...'' He tried to talk between trying to swallow down his laughter, ''You'll never sound threatening if you... finish talking with a ... 'let's become good friends!'''

Noticing that I wasn't even smiling anymore, he quickly straightened up. I could nearly hear his heartbeat, nearly like my own. I am helping a wolf, after all. A wolf who is trying to win over the heart of a huge black crow. And, I am a cat who is friends with that crow, and am helping a species that is my life-time enemy. Surely, this doesn't seem right? ''Wolf, let's get this straight.'' I glared at him and his weird expression at my quick change of mood. ''Could you ever see me as a threatening, nasty bitch?''

Frowning, Harou shook his head. ''Well, you already are a nasty bitch, I got to say, but threatening? That's just completely wrong!'' I had to silently admit to myself, that the boy had courage ; like a real canine, standing up to a meagre cat. It looked as if nature thrived even in this place - no matter how closed-in it was from the real world.

''I am not a dog.'' I murmured half-heartedly, losing any flicker of a wish to fight back that had possessed my being in the last minute or so. I preferred the flickers over the emptiness I felt right now. Damn Earth, and you look so far away...

Suddenly, I flopped down on the nearest chair like a puppet with cut strings. Without a single word, I rested my head on the lifeless desk, and turned towards the tiny window ; the only colourful thing in this bleak, old place that probably was slowly breaking apart as the seconds went by.

One day, if I complete this task correctly, I'll be the school's Best Matchmaker. People would come to me for their problems on relationships, not afraid to ask me for help. In my spare time, I could design clothes and accessories and people would buy them because there'd be a rumour going around that the Matchmaker and any objects she makes mean good luck and love... I would be on the newsletter, would have my own magazine with tips, tricks and stories of love that I helped to happen. I would go past a crowd of people, and they would all greet me and ask for a photo of me to put on the wall of their dorm room. I would rise from the ashes like a newborn phoenix, and would blind everyone in all my glory and knowledge. I would even be more wanted by guys than that Queen-Bee Demon Yuki Romanovich. She would die from envy.

I opened my eyes to see the four-eyed were-wolf staring at me, with a frown on his face. The sun was already nearly above the tree-tops, and I realised that my day-dreams had shifted into actual dreams. When Harou noticed that I was finally awake, he glanced out through the window. ''It is nearly time for our next lesson, and you never told me the rest of your plan.'' He said, matter of factly.

I stood up, and leaned into the boy. Embracing him, I began purring and meowing all sorts of things. ''Meow, release this cat from suffering. Meow, be my Master and I'll be your servant. I'll do anything you want, Meow.'' He just stood there stiffly, not resisting, or doing anything at all for that matter. I could feel myself not thinking over anything I was doing, or saying, or feeling - No, I could feel that what I was doing was not my will, but it was like in a dream, and I just didn't care and went with the flow. If anyone ever asked what being possessed felt like, I could tell them about it with ease. I leaned against his stiff body, and stayed like that, sometimes glancing up at him with my beady eyes; waiting for an order from Master.

The bell's steely song brought me back to my senses.

With all the force and power that wouldn't help me wake from my embarrassing trance a minute ago, I pushed Harou away. He hit the tables and chairs behind him, and nearly smashed his skull against the concrete wall.

I glared at him mercilessely for a split second, and then turned away. ''Why did you not resist or push me away?'' I asked, after I heard him stand, and begin to pace across the room.

''I don't understand you. One moment you're all...'' He didn't need to finish that sentence, for I knew what he wished to say. ''...and then, you smash me against the... the wall, even though I didn't do a thing to you!''

''Exactly. You could have pushed me away, instead of standing there like a marble statue, four-eyes.'' I sat down on the table-top, and hugged my knees to my chest, wrapping my golden tail around myself.

''Were you testing me or something? I swear, I was just so shocked by your sudden change of mood and I didn't have time to get myself together. I am loyal to Ayane, don't you doubt it - '' Harou was rushing, piling mountains of useless words and sentences, just to prove himself loyal to the one he loves. It was needless, I have to say, as I wasn't testing him. And that was why my face flushed crimson from the shameful aura coming off of me at the moment. I'll just tell him, then. It's not my fault anyway. When he'll know, he won't get the wrong idea about my actions anymore. Because, if I don't tell him, and something like this happens again... the bell may not wake me up...

''Look, it was not a test; I was not teasing you - I know you were going to ask about that; and it was not at my will.'' I said, and the wolf raised an eye-brow. I wondered if he could do that in his canine-form, as it would look hilarious. ''Well, when I wake up from sleep, I go into this weird trance. It is like my cat instincts wake up, and are smoothed and mixed with the seductive stereo-types that people thought up for cat girls... And you just saw with your own eyes what happened. Though, if a male isn't around when I wake, the trance does not happen.''

''Who possessed you? with some kind of secret perverted desires? You are such a joker, Milliana. '' Harou laughed, taking it all as a joke. It's not a joke, you idiot. With a frustrated sigh, I showed it all in the look I gave him, and the boy raised an eyebrow again. ''Oh. Okay. Ooookay... Not a joke. Okay. Wow. So, how long do you stay in it?''

Slightly satisfied that I made him realise the seriousness of what I was telling him, I answered the wolf's question, ''As long as the male showed no resistance, and loud noises don't wake me up. Inside, no matter how much I would disagree with my own actions in the trance, I would go on for... probably, forever if am not woken up. '' I hid my face in my arms, and mumbled, more to myself than anyone else, ''Pathetic, isn't it?"

''You can get raped, you know.'' Harou announced the obvious, something I always knew, and added, ''Is that why you never had a single boyfriend? You're afraid, aren't you?''

My body felt so hot from all the embarrassment, that I wouldn't have been at all surprised if it had burst into flames. How dare he ask something like this, so casually, so carelessly? How dare he ask about my private life, and my fears about the content of it?! I was on the edge of telling the dog; Screw it, get a life, I'll tell Ayane to never even look at you, I'll tell everyone I know of your stupidity, and you can die alone. Hopefully a bloody death, ripped apart by coyotes and lions knocks on your door. But, I was too set on completing my first Match-Maker task (without any bloody deaths or curses), and so I replied with a sly smile, ''I had more boyfriends that you have fingers, dog.'' ...If you chop all of your fingers off first, that is.

''Wow. And you looked so bright before we met.''

''Shut it, wolf. Blame yourself, for I have no reason to be nice to a smelly being like you. Dogs.'' I said, through gritted teeth. Truly, I now noticed that I wasn't as cheerful around this four-eyed nerd as with anyone else. Every fibre of my body knew that he was a dog, and that dogs didn't deserve the favour of cats. And they never will.

''The. Plan. Now. Maybe? '' He said it slowly, like someone would do to an old lady, who has some hearing or mental problems. I hissed at him, but showed nothing else of how I felt about his words.

''Exactly in two week's time it will be Valentine's day. Before, my plan was to make you put a note in Aya's locker and make her come to meet you; where you would have confessed. But no, that would have been too quick and sudden. No offence, but she hardly knows that you exist. Yesterday, after reflection, I bumped into Oza and she mentioned something about a show for couples that will happen on February fourteenth. You and Ayane shall go and take part in it together. From my P.S in the letter I wrote for her, she shouldn't kick about the idea too much. Just casually ask her, think of an excuse, I don't care what.''

''What. Why the excuse?'' Harou asked, his little doggy brains clearly not understanding enough.

''To make her feel sympathy towards you. If the excuse is somehow similar to the situation she's in, then she'll be too sympathetic to say no.''

Harou looked at his game console, which apparently also showed the time, and said, ''We should better hide ourselves; we are very late to our lesson, and if we don't want to get caught and punished, we should go and find a safe place until next lesson.''

''Naughty dog, skipping training is bad! Bad doggy!'' I said, and a grin spread across my face. I wasn't up for sitting behind a desk and listening to a teacher at the time, anyway.

6: Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Natsu Maxwell:

Silver cover, which was held together with the many pieces of paper by a coal black thread. The title read : 'Unbelievable! Mythical Snake Curses - Types and cures.'

That was the name of the book the girl dropped.
It was weird, and seemed unnecessary - why would she care about curses about snakes of all things? And it probably weren't real ones anyway.

I just sat, with the book placed on the wooden desk, in my first class of the day. Yesterday, I didn't want to look at the book (It would have felt like I was intruding on her personal life. After all, the book could have been about some awkward things.) however, today I didn't have a choice whether I wanted to look at it or not - for I had forgotten my reading book in my dorm, and it was too late to get it. The teacher would scold me if I didn't have it, and I honestly wouldn't have cared if it had happened some other day.

But, I had that one book in my bag.
Probably, I was just now using it as an excuse to have a chance to look at it.
After all, it wouldn't hurt.

But, why would she read such a thing? I thought, as I flipped through the countless pages of the book. It was all about snakes, snake species, snakes too poisonous to use for curses, rare snakes and difficult snake curses... a few cures for the victims of the curses... Is she a Snake lady or something?

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and waved something in front of my face. Instinctively, I grabbed at the paper, and scrunched it up in my hand without looking at it.

''Woah, man! Careful, you are going to rip them apart like this!'' Astounded, Oz opened my fist, and frowned at the crumpled pieces of paper.

I looked at him, and then back at the papers, confusion covering my face. ''Hey, Oz. What's this?'' I couldn't place what the turquoise pieces of paper were, and could not bother enough to read what they said. I glanced at the guy, his short black hair that covered a part of his one eye, and the piercing blue eyes of his. His appearance made him look cold and mysterious, but that was the complete opposite of the real Oz - though, sometimes in his Illusion Shows he acts like it.

The guy sighed, and brushed some random leaves off of his black top-hat. ''The tickets to my show tonight. You asked for them yesterday, man, but I couldn't find you... I got you two for tonight instead.'' He shrugged, then glanced at the silver book. ''What's this? Why are you reading stuff about snakes, man?'' Something dark with memories flickered in his face, but it disappeared too quickly for me to decipher its full meaning.

''Not mine. The new girl's.'' I pushed the book across the table, and even though I tried to look careless about it, I silently hoped it wouldn't fall on the floor. It didn't. I looked back at Oz from the book, and he seemed worried. Again.

''Natsu, are you OK?'' He asked, a frown curving his face once again. Oz was like a big brother to me, in a way even though he was only a year older than me; he was seventeen. Sighing, I noted all the times when he looked at me this way. Worried, nervous, his eyes scanning my face for any hint of hurt - whether it be physical or emotional. He was like an overly protective kind of brother - and, weirdly, I didn't mind it all. It was just the usual Oz, after all.

He was still staring at me, waiting patiently for my answer. I nodded, but didn't reply in any other way. I was thinking about the girl: her wavy ponytails, her icy gaze, and the weird book she carried. Her eyes... Her eyes were full of grief... of loss...of pain... What happened to her?

''Natsu.'' With that one silent word, oz broke my train of thoughts. ''You are going to rip the tickets apart if you continue fiddling with them like this dude.'' I raised an eyebrow, and then looked at my hands. I had twisted the tickets into spirals, without even realising it. Tickets? I realised something that I hadn't been paying attention to before. Two tickets. Not one. But two.

''Oz,'' I began, carefully eyeing the second ticket which wasn't meant to be. ''Why did you give me two tickets? I don't need two. You know that.''

He snorted, and rolled his eyes. ''You're the one who doesn't know it, man. You won't go alone - you'll go with the New Girl.'' He said it like it was the most obvious thing ever, like it was more obvious than the fact that there was such a thing on Earth called Gravity.

Shocked, I stood from my chair, knocking it over and probably damaging the table behind me. ''What do you mean, I'll go with the New Girl?!'' I yelled, not caring about everyone around us turning to look at me. ''What the fuck, Oz, I don't even know her! I am not going with her.''

''You think you have a choice?'' Oz laughed, a deep and confident laugh. He was right; I didn't have a choice. Always, always, no matter what, I done whatever Oz asked for. For some reason, I always felt like I owned him something - but why, I do not know. ''You'll go find her, you'll give her a ticket, you'll become her friend. After all, you two are the Hot Topic of Gossip this week - you should stick together for more... safety, man.'' Then, he eyed the silver book again. ''And, you should give her back her book.'' He sneered, and I could see that he would have ripped it up if he could have.

Nodding, I gave up and didn't object. Oz grinned, and sauntered off to his seat.
What's he planning?

***

''All turn to page two hundred and fifty seven!'' The smooth voice of Miss Sterling echoed across the small classroom. Nobody listened to her spoken instructions, and the students continued to neglectfully ignore the teacher's presence.
Alice Sterling was not respected by any of the students in the school.

Young (not even into her thirties, by the looks of it...), a brunette, her hair tied into a perfect bun, a tall and slim figure like a model's, and voice like velvet, and coal-black skin which made her look even more exotic and desirable. Everyone would have normally thought that having a teacher like that would make her extremely loved and respected; and that is exactly what would have happened in any other school. A normal school. Full of human beings.
But, the people here were mostly judged by their abilities and powers - even though many thought of their mutations and abilities as an unwanted twist to their life, some still liked to stop and behold the powers that their fellow students had received by mere chance. Alice, meanwhile, looked like a completely normal human female. No wings, no horns, no tails, no fur, no fangs, no fins, nothing to separate from the human population.
Of course, some people (like myself, for example) also did not show any signs of their in-humanity. However, we were all seen show off our abilities; I had the speed and the strength, Mr. Flower had his mighty wizardry powers with which he could kill with ease (shocking, I know. Who would have thought a Yoga freak like him could do that?)...

Nobody ever saw Miss Sterling's powers.
And so, she was mocked.

However, some still believed that she was hiding her powers under the crimson red scarf she always wore around her eyes. Maybe she could hypnotise anyone with her stare? Maybe she could turn whoever she looked at into a stone? Maybe her stare kills, quite literally? But, that was yet to be proven. Nobody had even seen her take off her scarf, nobody has ever seen her eyes or knew what colour they were, and nobody - not even the slyest - could get the other teachers to tell them the young teacher's powers. All the teachers, and Alice herself had ever replied to the question was that she was blind. She was blind, and without the scarf the sight of her ruined eyes would freak the students. It could have been the truth. It probably was the truth. But, who knew? Even if it was, the mystery of her unseen powers would not be solved.

She was a mystery. She was a puzzle. She was a riddle. She... could see us.
She was blind.
But, she could see us.

Blind, yet able to write and read and notice the smallest details of the classroom.
How?

''Oz Yagami,'' She motioned towards the shock stricken student, who was sitting on a table, surrounded by desperate fan-girls. ''Get off the table, and sit on your chair right now!'' Yeah, that was fucking scary coming from a Blind Lady. Oz obeyed. The fan-girls dispersed. Students calmed down, and sat in their seats, eyeing the teacher uneasily.

Yeah, just a normal History lesson.

***

The school bell screamed in joy at the hour of 11:00, and with a whoop or joy the students scattered across the hallways. It was already break-time.

Hoping to just mingle into the crowd and not be noticed, I began pushing between random groups of students and teachers alike. By accident, I elbowed a white-haired , blue eyed girl in the ribs; she squealed in pain. Quickly, I changed course and put distance between us.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Injuring a girl was not my style, and her squeal must have brought at least some attention of her friends. They would not take it easy on me. Yeah, I knew it would have sounded ridiculous if I said something like that to someone. Oh, hey! I am just going to run and hide so a bunch of pissed of girls wouldn't beat the crap out of me. It wasn't that stupid. Some of the girls in the school had bad-ass powers, and super speed doesn't really help a Vampire in those cases.

I ran inside an empty classroom, and closed the door behind me. Sighing, I sat on the nearest desk to me, and silently pondered if the girl had gotten hurt really badly or not. Vampire strength does not just leave a small bruise.

''Shit,'' I panted, the embarrassment from my cowardly actions taking over me. I leaned against the teacher's desk, and just stood there for a minute.

''Why do you look so tired?'' A female voice asked, and I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, and saw flowing black hair in bouncy ponytails, beautiful eyes and pale porcelain skin. The New Girl went right up to me, and stood beside me, trying to imitate my position.
Her eyelashes were long and lush, and her eyes the colour of neon toxic waste. A slight blue shimmer danced around the contours of her body, and I scowled.

''I just ran inside a classroom, that is why I look tired.'' I replied, not letting my gaze off the girl. She did not react.

''Well, why were you running anyway?'' She asked, flipping her hair a side.

''I am so not giving a shit about pretending that this is the New Girl, Oz.'' I hissed the name, and the girl glimmered, her image crackled and faded into nothingness. From around the corner, stepped out Oz with a apologetic expression on his face.

''Sorry, man.'' He muttered, and walked towards me, his hands in the pockets of his trousers. ''Just thought you might need some practise at talking with her.''

''Well, it more looked like practise for you to try and replicate someone so well that even the one with the keenest eye would not notice the glimmer. Am I right?'' I glared, and shook my head. Oz's illusions always had a slight blue outline around them, but it was hard to notice unless you looked especially for it.
He shrugged as a response, and nodded towards me. ''Never mind. Oh, and by the way, I already invited the New Girl for you.''

''Did you invite her as yourself or me?'' Though, I already could guess the answer: he obviously invited her using an illusion of me. Ouch. Wonder what he said.

''Trust me, dude. Have I ever failed you?'' Oz laughed, showing his white teeth. ''Farewell, I have to go and practise with Oza. She really is planning on going over the top with it today, that's for sure.'' And with an awkward wave of his hand, he strolled away again.

''But, I never asked you for advice on girls!'' I yelled after him, but my friend was already gone. Has he ever failed me? No, of course not. Of course he hasn't.

I loosened up a bit after that thought, and with a grunt decided to go and get some food.

Nothing bad would happen, would it?
Even if the girl ended up someone who I did not fancy, and if Oz was wrong in his choice, nothing serious could happen.
Right?
Whatever happened, it was not possible to make the situation of anyone in this school any worse, what with our weird lives.
Right?

It's not like because of Oz or me or her someone would die?
Right?

Though, I should not provoke life.
It can back-fire.
Or can it?