Heya, so I'm kind of new to writing and it would be much appreciated if you could leave a supportive message or just not openly hate on this? All constructive criticism is cool though and much appreciated.

Disclaimer... I am in no way Lynette Noni. I WISH

Chapter 1

"Stirling, James," Karter's voice echoed around the arena. "Stop messing around and get on with it. We don't have all day"

Alex swept her gaze around the arena, both Brendan and Sebastian were walking back towards the side of the arena, exhausted and dripping with sweat. Brendan was sporting several grazes and cuts but he seemed in less pain than Sebastian who was clutching at his left arm that was bent back at a strange angle. Alex herself had several injuries including a gash down her left side where Nick's sword had caught her just before she had disarmed him.

Declan and Kaiden were still engaged in a fight on one side of the arena, sweat cascading down their foreheads, their eyes narrowed in concentration. They were visibly exhausted, their reflexes slower that normal and Declan's left side was unguarded. As Kaiden lunged forward Alex realised she wasn't the only one to have noticed that. Declan recoiled in pain as the blade sliced through his shoulder.

"Do you yield?" Kaiden's voice was weary as he held his weapon at the throat of his opponent.

"I yield," Declan pushed the blade away from his throat as he examined his shoulder. "Nice one Kaid, really deep."

Even though he was clearly in pain Alex could still hear the humour in his tone. Kaiden on the other hand looked genuinely concerned.

"I didn't mean…" he trailed off as Declan thumped him on the back.

"It's ok Kaid, really, you did what you had to do and now, we're free to leave" Declan gestured over at the exit, his eyes full of laughter at Kaiden's excessive concern.

"Not so fast," Karter moved his body between them at the exit that symbolised a much needed, refreshing shower and a warm meal. "None of you are leaving before you promise me that you'll be heading straight to the Med Ward to let Fletcher check you all over - especially you Stirling." Although Karter's words were light (or as light as they could be coming from the detached Combat teacher) Alex could tell he was serious. They were never all sent to the Med Ward unless Karter was actually concerned about the multiple wounds they'd sustained that lesson; that or he wanted them in shape enough for Friday when he'd beat the crap out of them all over again. Knowing his unrelenting training methods, Alex suspected the latter.

Fletcher was waiting for them as they traipsed through the Med Ward doors. "Well if it isn't my favourite Combat class," he sighed noticing the deep cuts decorating both Alex and Declan. He hurried off into the depths of the Med Ward to return a couple of minutes later carrying a couple of tubs of healing salve, a few pale green vials of pain reliever and some vials of the orange regenevator.

"Apply this on any cuts or grazes, I mean ANY, and then you are free to leave," he reprimanded as he tossed a tub of the healing ointment to Nick and Brendan. Once he was satisfied that they were fit to leave he turned his attention to Sebastian. One regenevator and a vial of pain reliever later Sebastian too was ready to abandon the med ward in time for dinner.

He glanced over his shoulder on the way out "See you all on Friday and good luck," he called out to them with a smirk,"You'll need it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Declan muttered with a grimace as Fletcher poked at his shoulder.

Fletcher tutted in disapproval, "That's quite some cut you've got Declan. I'm going to have to keep you here for a little while to make sure this is healing properly before I let you go off to dinner."

Kaiden looked a little sheepish at this proclamation and muttered something about staying to keep Declan company.

Fletcher shook his head in amusement. "The least you could do is help me out around here Kaiden, as I presume it's your fault that Declan's shoulder looks like it's gone through a cheese grater."

Alex couldn't quite make out what Kaiden mumbled in reply through the sigh that Fletcher directed at her.

"Alex, Alex, Alex, what are we going to do with you?" Fletcher looked her up and down, his eyes resting on the large gash on her side.

"I told you to stay away from here for a couple of weeks you know. It's a pleasure having you around but you have largest file in here by far and I'd prefer not to have that expand to an entire filing cabinet." He reached for her ever growing file and flicked through it his eyes resting on the most recent page.

"You were here this morning," Fletcher's incredulous tone earned chuckles from both Declan and Kaiden. "Look - 10.03 : Arrived with a twisted ankle, claims to have run into a tree during Delta PE in the Ezera Forest. 10.17 : Released with promises not to return for at least 8 hours."

"You mean to tell me she's already visited today" Declan gasped through the tears of laughter rolling down his face, "Because she ran into a tree." Kaiden too was trying but failing to hide his amusement.

"It's not funny," Alex mumbled, "It was either that or an electric shock from Finn's zappy stick" She shuddered at the thought. Although she hadn't been able to walk properly she'd still had to endure the rest of PE alongside her classmates and tolerate Bear and Jordan's giggling as they'd half dragged, half carried her down to the Med Ward after class.

"That's beside the point," Fletcher scolded. "You promised I wouldn't see you again for another 8 hours and as it stands, it's been 6."

Alex perched on the side of one of the cots, giving Fletcher one her best sorry expressions as she rolled up the hem of her T-shirt.

The breath Fletcher took in was a little too large for Alex's liking. Kaiden too had stopped laughing.

"Alex," Fletcher exhaled, "You would make my job so much easier if you managed to win once in a while."

"She did." Kaiden shook his head in disbelief as he reached out to grab the healing ointment.

With another shake of his head Fletcher left to fetch what Alex suspected was a stronger dose of pain relief. As Kaiden knelt down beside the bed to apply the salve his gaze locked with hers and she found herself lost in the depth of his startling blue eyes.

Declan cleared his throat, jolting Alex to her senses. When she got up the nerve to glance at Kaiden he looked as calm as always with only a slight glint in his eyes and his fingers clutching at the still closed healing ointment that allowed her believe that she hadn't imagined the entire thing.

Fletcher chose that moment to stride back into the room, his face tense, carrying Alex's long awaited vial of pain reliever and another vial full of a purple liquid Alex had never seen before. It was bubbling slightly and she could see the steam rising from the surface. After quickly looking Declan over, he handed him the bubbling purple liquid with an instruction to drink it slowly and then go straight to his dorm.

As Fletcher turned to address Alex, she noticed several strange singe marks on the back of his lab coat. Pushing that to the back of her mind she tried to focus on what Fletcher was saying.

"… urgent patient come in who needs my current attention so I'm going to need to leave Kaiden in charge of sorting you out, at least for tonight," Fletcher smiled at her. "I don't expect to see you until Saturday at the earliest so no surprise injuries - keep that in mind Alex."

Handing Kaiden the pain relief, Fletcher gracefully hurried out of the Med Ward before Alex could reply, the double doors swinging shut behind him.

Trying to look anywhere but at Kaiden, she turned her attention to Declan. As he downed the last of the purple liquid he raised his eyes to survey the scene in front of him. There was amusement in his eyes as he stared at Kaiden. They seemed to be having a silent debate of which Kaiden was winning.

Accepting defeat, Declan stood up and smiled at Alex, "See you tomorrow in SAS, Queenie. Kaid I'll see you back in our dorm." He backed out of the Med Ward, flashing a final suggestive look at Kaiden before letting the doors slam back into their frames.

"How is it that you always manage to escape Combat relatively unscathed?" Alex grumbled, accepting the hand Kaiden offered to help her to her feet. The vanilla scent of the healing salve filled the room as Kaiden smiled, his fingers at her waist covering them both in the creamy ointment.

"Practise Alex, practise." He chuckled at her expression, his own eyes full of laughter. "I believe in you."

Alex wasn't sure whether she felt awkward that it was just her Kaiden or just happy that she was able to spend more time getting to know him. Taking a small step backwards, her foot caught on the frame of the bed and she felt herself tumbling backwards. Before she could hit the mattress she felt strong arms around her, lifting her up and back to her feet.

Realising that the arms holding her belonged to Kaiden, Alex felt her cheeks heating up. She was suddenly aware of how close they were to each other; his arms wrapped around her, her hair falling over his shoulders, their legs intertwined as he held them up.

"Hey," he whispered. "It's ok, I've got you."

Alex felt herself blush even more than she already was if that was even possible. "Kaiden," she whispered. Not trusting herself to speak or move any further she wrapped her arms around his torso, folding herself into the comfort of Kaiden's embrace. There was something about the gentle but firm way he held her that made her feel like the most precious thing he'd ever held. He lowered his head towards her and softly pressed his lips against her forehead. Alex felt her breath catch and wondered how he could act so natural when her insides were fluttering.

"I'm here for you Alex," Kaiden pulled her closer, if that was even possible. "And I always will be."

By the time they untangled themselves from around each other the sky was filling with stars and they'd missed dinner but Alex didn't care. She couldn't help but keep the smile on her face as she walked back towards the dorms with Kaiden. Their fingered were tangled together and she could feel the warmth radiating from him. Walking in silence with anyone else would have been awkward, embarrassing even, but with Kaiden it was perfect. As they reached the dorm building, Alex begrudgingly withdrew her fingers to at least try and not attract attention from the other students.

Walking through the building, Alex realised her attempts at remaining unnoticed were futile. Heads turned, following the pair of them through the Rec Room and by the time Alex had neared the bottom of the staircase she was more than certain that the rumours would spread like wildfire. Shying away from all the gazes directed at her (or more specifically her and Kaiden), she muttered goodnight to Kaiden and started up the stairs, determined not to look back.

"Alex?" She felt her resolve crumbling and colour rushing into her cheeks. Reaching the top of the stairs she hesitantly snuck a glance over her shoulder to see Kaiden smirking up at her. "Sweet dreams."

*** Thank you so much for reading all of that. I might continue this if it goes well so yay? hope you enjoyed xx