Chapter One

Hello Again

Three girls sat in the already too crowded dorm room. They were engaged deep in a conversation that consisted of Lindsay trying to persuade the other girls that a trip to the market was right up their street.

Heather was sat on her bed, contemplating over the question. Lindsay was sitting beside her, pulling the best puppy dog eyes she could manage. Courtney was sitting at her desk. She wasn't bothered with Lindsay's constant whining that she never did anything fun. This was no exception. Courtney had her nose buried in a textbook for one of her many classes at Tracker Academy. The past eleven months hadn't changed Courtney out of her studying habits, but it had changed her out of many other ones. For instance, she rarely wore her own clothes any more. Ever since she realized that to blend in at the Academy she decided to dress more like a Tracker. The shabby red t-shirt and army green shorts were now an everyday part of her wardrobe. On the other side of things, Courtney was still her usual bossy self.

"It'll be fun," Lindsay whined, begging the two girls to come with her. Lindsay wasn't a Tracker, but she wasn't being hunted by them either, which gave her access to the Academy. Legend told that mermaid's once helped Tracker's catch a rare creature and ever since they had cut a deal to never hurt each other's kind. Courtney had learnt that pretty quick during her time at the Academy.

Courtney heaved a sigh. Lindsay smiled hopefully. The brunette swiveled her chair around to face her roommate and friend. She stared between the two of them, waiting for someone to say something. The three girls had been close friends ever since Courtney had joined the Academy. She didn't really have any friends, if you didn't count baby-faced Izzabelle or Alan, who drooled over any woman that would look at him.

"I'm up for it," Courtney smiled. The other two followed suit.

"You two go without me, I've got things to do," Heather said, getting up from her bed and grabbing at her laundry pile. Heather didn't actually do her own laundry, she had one of the younger students do it for her- that was actually how Courtney had met Izzabelle.

Courtney bit her lip, turning to face her textbook. "Maybe I should stay and do some more work." The Asian girl dropped her laundry basket and slammed the textbook shut.

"All you do is work, go have fun." Heather didn't give advice. Heather gave orders. Though she wasn't wrong. Ever since Courtney had started at the Tracker Academy she had thrown herself head first into her work. At first it was a way to distract herself from her old life and make sure she secured a place at the Academy. Eleven months later and it had just become a way of life for Courtney.

"Come on," Lindsay cried, grabbing at Courtney's hand and half dragging her out the door. Heather rolled her eyes and watched as the two headed down the corridor towards the exit.

"Are you coming or not?" Taylor shouted up the staircase. Her cousin was purposely doing this, she just knew it. He knew the street market closed in four hours and was determined to let her spend as little time there as possible.

"I'm coming, chill out," Duncan yelled back. Taylor rolled her eyes. Geoff grinned at his best friend as he came down the stairs, dragging his feet as he came.

"Don't be sulky," the blonde boy teased.

Duncan let out a groan. "Endless hours of watching girls trying on clothes and carrying their bags as they shop for more; how could I be so sulky?" Duncan replied sarcastically, adding his own eye roll to the end as he skipped the last step. He was purposely not using his vampire speed just to annoy his cousin further. Taylor was giving him angry eyes from the kitchen doorway.

"Come one," Ellie whined from beside her brother. "Or all the good clothes will be gone.

"And what a shame that will be."

"We know!" Bridgette cried. "So let's go!"

The girls had planned a day at the street market in the center of Growlen. It came around every few months and they were always excited to attend. They usually dragged their respective boyfriends along and this year Taylor was forcing her cousin. Everyone needed someone to carry their bags, after all.

The small group exited Scarlatina through the main gates, walking to the nearest bus stop where they caught the 36B to the Growlen Center. It was a mass of stores and malls with a large grassy area in the middle where the street market had set itself up between the cobbled pathways.

The closer they got the market the more suspicious Ellie became. She sniffed the air and caught a large whiff of something that wasn't unexpected. "There's Tracker's here." She whispered.

"We're in the city, of course there'll be Tracker's." Leah replied as she approached the group. She had arrived early to the street market. The half-breed flipped her long red hair over one shoulder and started walking back towards the street market.

Trent slung his arm around Ellie's shoulder, pulling her closer for a sisterly hug. Leah wasn't always the nicest of people. The werewolf sniffed the air too and did note the amount of Tracker's that were around- there usually weren't so many at Growlen Center at once- but one scent stuck out to him more than others.

"Can you smell that?" Trent whispered to Ellie. "I'd recognize that scent anywhere."

Ellie sniffed the air again before scrunching up her face. "Should I?" She asked. Trent looked at her for a moment, but she obviously didn't know what he was talking about. He dropped his arm back to his side and shook his head; maybe he was mistaken.

"I guess not."

The group continued walking, looking through stalls, grabbing all the bargains. At least the girls were having fun. The boys found themselves at an outdoor cafe, watching the shopping bags while the girls dashed off to a nearby accessories stall with a massive 'SALE' sign stuck all around.

Bridgette ran her hand over a wooden display case, noticing a pair of turquoise earrings that she knew would match one of the new dresses she'd already bought. She stuck her hand out to grab them, but another girl went for them at the same time.

"Oh, sorry," the two girls said at the same time, each pulling their hand back from the earrings. Bridgette looked up to apologize again but squealed in delight instead, "Lindsay!" The two blondes pulled each other in for a friendly hug as the other girls started to crowd around.

"Oh my gosh, BRENDA!" Lindsay cried, tightening the hug. Bridgette didn't even care that Lindsay had gotten her name wrong, she was just happy to see her old friend again. Bridgette knew Lindsay from elementary school. The two had managed to keep each others secrets (the one where Bridgette's a fairy and Lindsay's a mermaid) for a long time- mainly from Courtney. Lindsay was originally from Growlen, but not from Scarlatina. Lindsay's parents were from Indicenta, a neighboring town, and after the Tracker's had invaded Muskoka, they had moved back there- even though Mermaid's weren't being hunted.

"Linds, what do you think of-" Courtney stopped herself mid-sentence as she turned to face her friend. She saw who Lindsay was talking to and halted in her steps.

"Well, this is bad," Lindsay said, instantly noticing the tension that clouded the market tent.

"Bad doesn't describe it," Courtney commented. Her eyes didn't leave the group of girls she knew all too well and her chest started to feel a if it was collapsing in on itself.

"Come on, girls," Leah butted in. "We don't need to shop where these sort of bitches do." The vicious redhead turned to leave with Taylor and Ellie following closely behind.

Courtney wanted to run in the opposite direction at the sound of her cousin's harsh words, but she also knew it was just Leah being Leah. 'She just doesn't understand,' Courtney mumbled internally.

"It was nice seeing you again, Lindsay." Bridgette said though her eyes never left her ex-best friend. "Bye." She turned to follow the other girls with Gwen walking quickly behind, shaking her head as they went.

Courtney's chest didn't feel any better.

"She's working with you-know-who!" Lindsay explained to he group. They had requested her presence in Scarlatina when they formed an emergency meeting.

"VOLDEMORT?!" Taylor screamed, jumping to her feet, half-scared half-excited. Everyone stopped to stare at her.

"Really, Taylor, Voldemort?" Trent said, looking up at the Vampire. Taylor lowered herself back into her seat. She was just upset that she hadn't seen the day coming. There had been no warning vision about Courtney like she thought there would have been in this situation.

"Continue," she whispered, nodding her head at Lindsay.

"She's working with Heather," the blonde mermaid went onto explain further- mainly for Taylor's benefit. "They're roommates and partners. I'm trying to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't do something silly, but," Lindsay shrugged the end of her sentence away. The group gave a collective sigh. It had been almost a year since Courtney had left, but she had been weighing on their minds the whole time.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gwen asked. She figured that Lindsay would have come running to them with this sort of information, anyone with half a brain would have- then again, it was Lindsay. But this information was a lot more important that some people would think.

"I didn't think you guys would understand," Lindsay admitted sheepishly with an embarrassed shrug of her shoulders.

"It's okay," Bridgette smiled, wrapping her arm around Lindsay's shoulder's. "We're not mad, just a little upset."

"Duncan's upset," Leah piped up; she always had to get her two cents worth. Leah didn't see the point of the emergency meeting, she wasn't very interested in Courtney and her new life. "That's why he's not here. He knew we'd be discussing her."

By the time the clock in the grand hall chimed midnight everyone at the Tracker Academy was sound asleep. Well, almost everyone.

Deep inside the castle turned school, a young girl was out of bed, but not of her own accord. Courtney was being dragged along the deserted hallways, kicking and muffled screaming as she went. The kidnapper found a side door exit and pulled Courtney along before releasing her.

"DUNCAN HUDSON! KEEP YOUR DEAD, COLD, VAMPIRE HANDS OFF OF ME!" Duncan placed his hand back over her mouth. She instantly started screaming into the palm of his hand.

"You may want to keep quiet, Princess," he spoke directly into her ear. "If you don't shut up we'll both get caught." Courtney shot one last insult into the palm of his hand before shutting up. The consequences of being out of bed past curfew were horrific, and Duncan-being a vampire-could run faster than the speed of light, so he wouldn't get caught with her.

Once he was sure she wouldn't scream anymore, he let his hand drop to his side, wiping Courtney's spit into her pants. She glared at him as he did so.

"What are you doing here?" She asked while brushing down her clothes. Being dragged through multiple dusty hallways was not good for cleanliness.

"I needed to see you," he whispered. "Alone." There was something in his voice, a soft hitch that would have gone undetected by anyone who didn't know Duncan as well as Courtney did. And his eyes, the way Courtney found him looking at her, she recognized the look. It was the way he had always looked at her, with adoration and love. Something she had always craved from him.

"Why do y-" The Tracker was shut up by Duncan pressing his lips against her's. Courtney froze on the spot, but didn't push Duncan away. He didn't want to let her go, grasping her tensed arms in his hand, drawing her nearer. This was the kiss they had both been waiting almost a year for.

"That's why." Duncan would have been breathless if he had been human, but the smile on his face sucked all of Courtney's breath away. "I haven't been able to get out out of my mind." While they had been at the street market, Duncan had spotted Courtney with Lindsay. He hadn't said anything to his friends. He had been blown away by the change in her over the past eleven months since they had been together. She had turned into a straight-edged Tracker, but he had always been expecting that. That didn't, however, stop his brain from conjuring up the plan to sneak onto the Tracker grounds in the middle of the night. He knew it was risky, they had security everywhere, but it was the only way he was going to be able to get Courtney alone.

Without a second thought, she pulled him back down for a second kiss. It was more desperate, more fiery and power-hungry than the first one. They needed each other. They had always needed each other.

"If we get caught I am so dead," Courtney gasped.

"Then don't get caught," the vampire whispered, pulling Courtney in for another kiss. And another. And another. And another. They never ran out of love when it came to each other, and they had enough of it stored up from such a long time apart.

They kissed for a long time before Courtney finally came to her senses. She pushed Duncan away from her and stared deep into his eyes. She knew it wasn't right for her to be doing this. She was a Tracker, he was a vampire. She was supposed to be hunting him not making-out with him. It was all starting to sound too much like a bad rom-com to Courtney.

"This is wrong," she told him.

Duncan ran his finger down her cheek and she didn't pull away. "What's wrong?"

"This is!" Courtney yelled, but quickly covered her own mouth when she realized. She lowered her voice, "Me and you Duncan; we can't be together."

Duncan-not being able to take a hint-slid closer to Courtney. Wrapping his strong arms around her he whispered, "Making out doesn't mean we're together."

The Tracker pushed him away. She knew where she stood in her studies and her life, she knew this would never work out between them. "Duncan," Courtney sighed. "I love you too much to be with you." Tears were now starting to form. All Duncan could do was shake his head. Everything he thought he knew about Courtney was wrong.

"You have chosen the worst possible life."

"My life is great," she snapped back. "Why would I want to change that?" Duncan continued to shake his head as the tears started to slowly flow down Courtney's cheeks. She really did love him, but because she loved him she knew she had to push away and out of her life.

Duncan was slowly grasping at the fact that the girl he thought he loved did not want him in her life. He watched as she wiped her cheeks dry. For almost seventeen years Courtney had been in Duncan's life every minute of everyday. He knew where she was and what she was doing and who she was with, it was like clockwork to him. The past eleven months had him thrown out of sync with his life. Duncan found himself lost without someone to watch all the time (Kaly had deny his request to be Princess Arianna's full time bodyguard). He thought he'd had a shot at getting the old way of life back on track, but he was finally starting to see that Courtney was too fond of her new life.

"Fine, if that's the way it has to be-"

"-And it does-"

"-I won't bother coming back again." The vampire looked to he floor and kicked a pebble, scoffing at himself before looking back up at Courtney. "This is all my fault. I never should have told you about this place."

"Don't blame yourself."

"You're only here because you're scared to go to high school," Duncan accused. Courtney didn't bat an eyelash. She was starting shiver in the midnight air, but she didn't care. It froze the tears that wanted to flow right out of her sockets.

"I wasn't scared of going to high school," she calmly replied. "I was scared of people judging me because I couldn't use my-" She stopped and looked around before lowering her voice even further. "Because I couldn't use my powers." Courtney stared down at Duncan's shoes, almost ashamed of herself for being so stupid about it all. She wasn't going to admit to Duncan that she wished she'd chosen differently, Courtney had accepted that this was her life a long time ago.

"No one would treat you differently," Duncan told her with urgency in his voice. "Drop out, move back to Scarlatina." All he wanted for his Princess to return to the castle she belonged to.

"They would now!" She whisper-hissed at him. Everyone in Scarlatina knew who she was and what she had done. If she was a celebrity before she was something new entirely now.

"Why can't you just admit it? You were wrong."

"It's hard to admit something that's not true." Courtney looked over her shoulder to the door that led back into the Academy. It was suddenly very difficult to be around each other.

Duncan wanted to stay with Courtney for as long she would let him, so he changed the subject. "Did you know your dad moved back to Canada?"

"I heard rumors."

"Courtney, come back." The subject change didn't last very long. "The past year I've missed you so much, I just want you back in my life. For good."

Courtney stared up at her ex-boyfriend, running her hand down the side of his face and trying to memorize every feature. She leaned up and gave him a soft peck on the lips. "Goodbye, Duncan." She turned and walked back into the castle.

Courtney found herself looking for a quiet place to study. Heather had some guy in their room and the library was overly crowded this time of year with summer exams coming up. Though, for once, studying wasn't on Courtney's mind. All she wanted to do was clear her head of everything that had happened the day before. And just when she thought it was going to be impossible, it was confirmed to be.

"Thinking about what to do?" Geoff asked, jogging to catch up to Courtney. Courtney knew if there one person in Scarlatina that wouldn't hate her it was Geoff. "Talk to me about it."

"Duncan's right," Courtney sighed. "The only reason I joined the Academy was because I was scared of going high school." She shook her head at her own foolishness.

Geoff gave Courtney's shoulder a nudge with his own. "You can always come back to Scarlatina." Courtney almost laughed at his foolishness.

"I can't," she replied. "I wish I could, but I can't." She thought Geoff of all people would understand the predicament she was in.

The two kept walking in silence for a few more minutes until they reached the cafe. Courtney gave a half-smile and Geoff laid his hand on her shoulder. "There's always a spot in the pack if you change your mind." He matched Courtney's expression before turning around and heading back in the same direction they had come from.

The young Tracker entered the cafe and ordered her coffee at the counter. While she was waiting, she was was pounced on by a more unexpected person.

"You'll never be your mother," Leah snarled at her cousin. Courtney raised her eyebrow. She wasn't going to to sink to Leah's level. She didn't want to make a scene in the middle of the cafe- being the Tracker of the two she knew it would be blamed on her when the rules stated that Tracker's weren't allowed to hunt inside any of the city center's inside Growlen, it was a criminal offence.

"I don't want to be my mother," Courtney calmly replied.

"Then why are you making the same mistakes she did?" Leah stalked away, leaving Courtney was a cluttered mind once again. The thought had never occurred to her before; was she really turning into her mother? But she shook her head of the ridiculous thought. Her mother had been a ruthless Tracker, no love or devotion for her own family. Courtney knew that had to be the reason her father had never mentioned her. She had been so set in her ways- Courtney refused to turn into that. She wasn't a cold blooded killer.

As she turned to take a seat in the cafe she found the remainder of her female friends crowded around two round tables, watching her every move. Bridgette calmly tapped her hand on the empty seat beside her. Courtney hesitated at first. These people had once been her friends, but things had changed greatly in the past year of her life.

None the less, Courtney sat down.

"We're you're friends," Bridgette said, taking Courtney's hand in her own. The brunette snatched it away from her ex-best friend. She wasn't falling for it.

"Correction," she replied a little too harshly. "You said you didn't want to be my friends." Courtney thought back to when Taylor and Bridgette had showed up at her house in Scarlatina before she had left for the Academy.

"Fine," the blonde whispered, struggling to stop the ears from dripping down her face. "It looks like we're not friends anymore." Courtney looked at her best friend in shock. She hadn't been expecting Bridgette to be so harsh about her decision, but quickly collected herself.

"If that's the way it has to be." Taylor was't happy with that response.

"No! You're meant to say 'but I still want to be friends' and then we'll say 'then don't go' and then you'll say 'fine, I'll stay'."

"Well, if you don't want to be my friend then don't. I have lots of packing to do." Bridgette left the house without a goodbye.

"We didn't mean it," Taylor practically yelled. It wasn't that she was all that interested in getting Courtney back in her life, if anything she sided with Leah in all of this. But she knew how upset Duncan had been over the past eleven months, and since he 'fessed up about meeting up with Courtney the night before he had been even more down in the dumps than usual. Though details hadn't been shared, something had gone down.

"Its too late now," Courtney got to her feet to leave, but a thought came to her- her friends were never going to give up on this delusional daydream. So she turned back to face them all and raised her voice. "You know what? I have had it up to here," Courtney raised a hand well above her head, "with you lot! I'm not coming back, will all just get it into your heads. I. Cannot. Leave. The. Academy!" She was staring each of them down as she spoke, hoping they would get it into their heads once and for all. "I made a promise to myself that I would never turn any one of you in." Courtney's words were barely above a whisper now. "Please don't make me go back on that promise."

"You know it's the right thing to do," Gwen pipped up as if she hadn't heard a word of it. Courtney turned to glare at her and said the only thing that came to mind, "You know I'm friends with Heather." Gwen and Heather's history was worse than what Courtney's was with the bitchy Asian girl.

"If she was really your friend would she try to kill you?" Gwen didn't bat and eyelash as she referred back to when Heather had once pushed Courtney off a cliff for no reason but to end her life.

The rest of the girls bit their tongues. Not even Leah was going to disrupt this argument.

"Gwen-" Courtney sighed, almost defeated. "Just-Just shut up..." She took a look at all of her supposed friends once again. "Does anyone actually want me back?

"It would kill me if I weren't already dead," Leah admitted, sitting on a chair to the right of Courtney. She really didn't care much for her cousin.

"My point exactly. I'm going before I'm late for class." Courtney left before anyone could cause any more damage.

A/N: Hello again ^_^
...See what I did there? hahaha! I'm so funny XD
Anyways, here's to the start of the second Going's On story! I'm totally pumped, what about you?
Okay, okay...CONFESSION TIME! I have not finished writing this one yet :( I was totally planning on having it finished before I started uploadnig it...Buuuuut stupid life got in the way! And my natural laziness...BUT I WILL HAVE IT FINISHED! I only have a chapter and a half left to write, so it's not all bad! Weekly updates as usual XD
I was listening to Guessing by Against The Current while writing the Duncan and Courtney scene and OMSG! It was perfect *_* Go listen to it and tell me otherwise!
Thanks for reading, please review (:
Love, ChloeRhiannonX