It was all so loud.

Cerise looked out over the streets of Book End, taking in the dark alleyways and the shiny storefronts. People milled about below her going about their normal evening lives, completely unaware of her presence. Did they know how loud they were? Did the know how much noise they made when Cerise could actually hear them?

Even after three years of possessing the wolf miraculous, Cerise could not get used to the noise. Carmine had explained to her multiple times that the wolf miraculous heightened her senses to be equal to a wolf's. She could smell more than an ordinary human, and see in the dark, but it was the noise that always awed Cerise. Even with her hearing aides in, the world around Cerise seemed muffled in comparison to what she could hear as Lupa.

"What is it you're always telling me? That's right, that I should pay more attention to my surroundings. Hypocrite."

Cerise smiled as a blue figure dropped out of the air beside her. "I knew that you were there, Pea," she said, turning to face her partner.

Sir Peacock was dressed in his usual blue and green hero costume with an elegant masquerade mask covering his eyes and cheekbones, his blonde hair slicked back in it's customary style. Cerise found it slightly amusing that the flashier of the two of them was the guy, though it only took talking to Pea to figure out why.

Cerise's partner had been stopping crime for several months before Cerise made her first appearance. He'd taught her the ropes of hero work. She would have died pretty quickly if he hadn't been around to catch her when she plummeted off of buildings. It was a bit strange that people considered her the leader of the group, especially since she'd be no one without Sir Peacock.

"How has your day been?" Pea asked, taking a seat next to her and crossing his legs.

"Same old, same old." Cerise shrugged. Sir Peacock had been trying to get her to tell him about her personal life since they'd met. Carmine had told her to keep her identity secret, and Cerise agreed with him. "You?"

"It's the last day of summer, Lupa," Peacock said, "You bet I enjoyed every moment of it. Though seeing you makes it even better."

Cerise rolled her eyes. "We see each other every day."

Peacock shrugged. "Doesn't mean that I can't enjoy seeing you." He stood up and offered her a hand, which Cerise accepted. "You ready to patrol?"

"I've been ready. You're the one that's late." Without waiting for an answer Cerise took off running, knowing that her partner wasn't far behind.

It seemed that even criminals didn't want to be out the night before school started. After two hours of patrolling, Cerise stopped running and sat down on the rooftop. A second later, Sir Peacock dove down to join her.

"We should probably head home," Cerise said as Sir Peacock took a seat next to her.

"We probably should," Peacock agreed, but made no move to leave. "Are you ready for school to start?" Pea asked after a moment.

Cerise shrugged. "I guess." She knew that Pea had more questions, he always had more questions. Before he could ask them, Cerise stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said. With a smile and a wave she jumped off the rooftop, landing expertly on the balls her feet, and disappeared into the night, her cloak camouflaging her so that no one could see her if she didn't want them to.

Cerise snuck in the back door of the pizzeria and transformed. She looked down at her pajamas with a sigh as Carmine floated up to her eye level. Back to being plain old, boring, deaf Cerise. The kwami floated to the pantry and pulled out a slice of pizza. Cerise rolled her eyes and ascended to her attic room. It was a good thing that her parents' owned and operated a pizzeria, otherwise she'd have to explain to her parents why she ordered so much pizza.

With a groan, Cerise flopped down on her bed as her cell phone flashed on her bedside table. She picked it up, and read the message squinting.

From: DC

Saw you out with P. U 2 r sooooo cute 2gether.

Cerise let out a laugh. Ever since Darling had discovered her secret four months previously, she'd been trying to convince her to go out with Pea. Cerise supposed she was doing it in an attempt to get Cerise off of her current crush and Darling's older brother, Daring Charming.

She had met Daring before she met Darling, and had not known that the two of them were siblings. If she had, she supposed that her crush on Daring would've never formed. Cerise didn't usually crush on her friends' brothers, but with her best friend it had happened anyway.

Daring Charming was everything that the son of a divorced billionaire businessman and a lawyer should be. He was polite, and well spoken, but he was also brave, and a little bit sad. Cerise knew that he never so much as glanced her way, and he probably never would, but that didn't stop her from having a crush on him.

Cerise's fingers moved over her phone as she texted her response.

That's not happening. We r just friends.

A second later her phone flashed again.

Doesn't look like you r JUST FRIENDS 2 me. C u school.

C u. Cerise set her phone down and rolled over onto her stomach. Tomorrow was the first day of school. Tomorrow would set a precedent for the nine months to follow. Cerise pushed all thoughts of worry aside. She would deal with them tomorrow. She closed her eyes. Five minutes later, she was asleep.

Daring awoke to the sound of pounding on his bedroom door. "I'm coming," Daring muttered, sliding out of bed. He glanced at P Hawk, who was sleeping on a pillow right beside his bed, and shook his head. Stupid kwami with his need for beauty sleep.

Daring opened the door and was instantly met by bright blue eyes and a mass of curly blonde hair. "What do you want?" he asked his younger sister by ten months, Darling.

Darling smiled. "Nice to see you, too. You do know that school starts in," she glanced at a non-existent watch on her wrist, "oh, about fifteen minutes."

"Cool," Daring said, shutting the door in his sister's face.

"Love ya too. Don't be late, or Dad will kill you." Darling said from the other side, and Daring smiled.

Darling had been the one to have suffered the most from the divorce. Dr. Charming had assumed full custody of Daring, while Mrs. Charming had gotten full custody of his little brother, Dexter. The lawyer and doctor had proceeded to fight over Darling for hours. In the end they had split custody over her. Daring knew that his sister hated it, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Daring stared at himself in the mirror as he got dressed. P Hawk was the only thing that had gotten him through the divorce. Daring had started hero work a year before the papers were even signed, but the arguments had been just as bad then. The cold silence that filled the house was terrifying. Daring did everything he could to get out.

Then, one day, a box had appeared by his bed containing a small, golden bracelet and his kwami, P Hawk. P had explained to him that he had been chosen to become a hero, a guardian of Book End. The kwami had granted him the power to heal any wound, no matter how great. It was a great power, one that Daring had used every night, when he went out to patrol.

Four months after receiving his miraculous, Daring met Lupa, when she literally fell into him. She apologized profusely, explaining to him that the noise was all too foreign to her ears. Daring supposed that with the wolf miraculous, her hearing was heightened far beyond what it normally was. He offered to teach the new hero the ropes, and somewhere along the line he had fallen in love with her.

He didn't even know who she was, and he was in love with her. If only Darling could hear that. He didn't doubt for a second that she'd laugh herself silly. Hunter probably would too.

Another knock sounded at his door, and Daring opened it yet again to find his sister standing before him. "Can I help you?"

"I was just making sure that you were ready," Darling said. She shoved his varsity jacket at him. "I promised Dad that you wouldn't be late on the first day of school."

"I'm not always late," Daring protested.

"And water isn't wet," Darling said, "Not, come on. I promised Cerise that I'd meet her in five minutes."

Daring nodded. Darling's best friend, Cerise, was the one that had helped her through the divorce and the hell that followed. The athletic, deaf girl was the school's fastest runner and track champion. Her and Darling were like peas and carrots(to quote Daring's favorite movie).

"We literally live across the street from school."

"Yet you're always late."

Daring sighed. "I'll come. Just let me get something." Daring closed the door once more, and scooped up his sleeping kwami. There would be no waking P Hawk up for several hours. Daring dropped him in his pocket and headed out the door.

"Come on, Ramona," Cerise begged, pounding on the bathroom door. It was a rule that the Badwolf-Hood sisters walked to school together on the first day. The rest of the school year Ramona was allowed to avoid Cerise like she was the plague, but their parents insisted that they act like siblings on the first day of school.

"I'll be out in a minute!" Ramona shouted.

Cerise groaned and stormed downstairs. Her parents were waiting in the pizzeria kitchen with two brown pizza boxes. Another of her parents traditions was to send them with a full pizza to eat for lunch and share with their friends. At least this year they acknowledged that Ramona and Cerise had different friends and would never eat with each other.

"She said that she'll be down in a minute," Cerise said as her parents shared a look. Cerise knew that look. It was the Ramona-is-being-difficult-and-did-you-see-her-clothes-there-is-no-way- you-are-leaving-the-house-dressed-like-that-young-lady look. Cerise wondered what her sister was in trouble for now.

The door opened with a ping. "We're not open yet!" her dad shouted.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm not planning on eating pizza for breakfast." Cerise whirled around as her best friend entered the kitchen.

Her mom smiled. "You haven't been here in awhile, Darling. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Badwolf-Hood," Darling said, "I promised Cerise that we'd walk to school together." Darling grabbed her arm, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we should probably be going."

Cerise bid her parents farewell, kissing both of them, and grabbing the pizza box. "Have I ever told you that your last name sounds like a fairy tale?" Darling asked.

"I think you have," Cerise said, "How was vacation with your mom?"

"Okay," Darling said, "Were you waiting for your sister?"

"Yeah."

"Then, it's a good thing that I showed up when I did," Darling said, "Otherwise you'd've been stuck there for the rest of the day."

"Why?"

"I saw Ramona sneak out of the bathroom window," Darling explained.

Cerise groaned. Ramona was two years younger than her, a sophomore at the age of fifteen, and she was going through what her parents wanted to call 'a phase'. Cerise wasn't so sure, but what did she know about being a normal teenager? When she was Ramona's age, she was running around the streets of Book End saving people with Pea.

"What kind of pizza did your parents make?" Darling asked as they approached the school.

"I think it's steak," Cerise said, smelling the pizza, which was still warm, though it wouldn't be by the time that lunch rolled around. Oh, well. Cold pizza was still good pizza. She felt Carmine shift in her pocket as he caught a whiff of it. She'd have to slip him some later.

"I love your parents," Darling said.

"Cerise! Darling!" A tall girl with black hair streaked with purple waved at them from the front steps, where she was sitting with three other girls.

"Hey Raven," Cerise said as they came o a stop next to them. She took in the other three members of their group. Maddie Hatter, who had dyed her hair every color under the sun over the summer, was sitting next to C. A. Cupid and Cedar Wood.

"How was your summer?"

"Good."

"Did you guys do anything?" Raven asked.

"I went to France," Darling said. Cupid sighed wistfully causing Darling to laugh.

"I stayed at home," Cerise said, "Helped out at the restaurant."

"Did you see Lupa when she stopped the robbers at the pizzeria?" Cedar asked excitedly. Cerise shook her head. The girl had asked her this question when she first heard of the attack. Cedar's face fell.

"My parents did give her a pizza, though," Cerise said. She had no idea if her parents had figured out that she was Lupa, but she had somehow ended up with a box of her favorite steak pizza to share with Pea. He had enjoyed it.

Cerise fell silent as her friends began talking about their summers. Darling had gone on two separate vacations, one to France and one to New Zealand. Cedar spent the summer working in her father's art shop. Cupid fell in love at summer camp, but it was not to be. And Raven had gone galavanting across California with her dad for a month. Cerise wondered what her friends would say if she told them that she had spent the summer saving lives. They probably wouldn't believe her.

"Oh, hey Daring!" Cerise was dragged out of her thought's by Raven's loud voice and evil grin. Cerise turned around to find Daring Charming standing on the steps just a few feet away from her, his hair fixed perfectly and smile shining. She felt a blush creep onto her cheeks as Darling elbowed her.

Cerise glanced at her best friend to find that she was staring daggers at Raven. Right. Raven knew about Cerise's crush and was doing everything in her power to get her to talk to Daring. Darling, on the other hand, was doing everything in her power to get Cerise together with Peacock. Cerise shook her head, her gaze returning to Daring.

"Hey Raven," he said.

"Where's Hunter?" Darling asked her brother.

Daring shrugged. "Probably hanging out with Ashlynn. I should probably go find him." Despite her wishing otherwise, Cerise's face fell as he walked away. Yeah, right. Like Daring Charming would ever be interested in someone like her.

"Nice going, Darling," Raven said, "Now he's never going to talk to Cerise."

He was never going to talk to me in the first place, Cerise thought to herself. As Raven and Darling began arguing, Cerise met Cupid's eyes as the other girl started to sign.

Are you okay?

Cerise nodded. After all, it wasn't like any of this was new. Daring Charming never paid any attention to her, and he never would.

Do you need the Love Doctor's help?

Cerise shook her head frantically. Cupid was great, but she did not want her help in her life's romantic endeavors. She had enough issues already.

Daring pushed through the doors of math, taking a seat in the exact middle of the class. It was possibly the only time that he would ever arrive to class early for the course of the year. Being Sir Peacock took its toll on his academic life. There was a reason that he wasn't in advanced classes, despite being entirely capable.

But being a hero was worth it. The rush of saving someone and the smile that Lupa would send his way made it all worth it. He glanced around the class as people began to file in. How was Lupa's first day of school going? What classes was she taking?

"Hey man." Daring was torn out of his thoughts as his best friend(other than Lupa) took a seat next to him. Hunter Huntsman was around six foot five inches, with half of his tan head shaved and the other half unusually long.

"Hey yourself," Daring responded as Hunter took the seat to his left, "How was break?"

"Same old, same old," Hunter said, "Helped my dad out at the shop, and hung out with my girlfriend. You?"

"It was fine," Daring said, "I went to Paris."

"Did you meet anyone there?" Hunter asked.

"No."

Hunter laughed. "Of course not. How could I forget? You're in love with the protector of Book End."

"Keep your voice down." Daring glared at Hunter.

"It's not as if it's embarrassing," Hunter said, "Hell, I'd be in love with her if I didn't have Ashlynn."

Daring didn't know how to respond to that. He wasn't embarrassed by his crush on Lupa, but it was different with them. Daring actually knew Lupa. He had fought beside her for almost three years. He didn't know a single person in school who could say the same. The might have had crushes on Lupa, but they weren't head over heels in love with her-not like Daring was.

"Hey Cerise," Hunter said as Cerise Badwolf-Hood slid into the seat in front of him. Hunter and Cerise were childhood friends. Their parents were best friends, so Hunter had spent a good portion of his childhood at the girl's house. "How was your summer?"

"You know how it was," Cerise said, "You came to the pizzeria practically every day."

"What can I say?" Hunter shrugged. "It's good pizza. Speaking of which, did you bring some for lunch today?"

"Steak," Cerise said.

"My favorite." Hunter smiled. "Do you mind if we join you?"

Cerise's eyes flicked over to Daring, lingering on him for a moment. "Um...I guess...If you guys want to."

"We'd love to," Hunter said.

"Just don't bring too many people."

"We won't," Hunter promised. The conversation ended as Darling slid into seat next to Cerise, and the two of them started chatting. "You should eat lunch with us," Hunter said.

"I'm not sure," Daring said, his eyes lingering on the girl in front of him, "I'm not really friends with her. Not like you are."

"Then you have to eat lunch with us. You're my best guy friend, and she's my best girl friend. You'll get along great with each other. Trust me."

"Okay," Daring agreed. He glanced at Cerise, who was busy listening to something that his sister had said. She seemed nice. Darling would probably kill him for eating lunch with them.

Lunch was split up into two sections-A and B-each of them lasting an hour long. The students were split up depending on what their fourth period class was. Luckily, Darling and Cerise shared the same fourth period class so they also shared the same lunch period. The rest of their friends were not so lucky. Raven, Maddie, Cupid, and Darling's twin brother, Dexter, all had B lunch.

Never to fear, though, because Cerise had invited Hunter, Ashlynn, and Daring to join them. Why had she done that? Hunter was one of her oldest friends, but he also knew of her crush on Daring. Knowing him, he'd try to set them up. She would just have to rely on Ashlynn to make sure that Hunter didn't go to crazy. Plus, she knew that Darling would do everything in her power to stop it.

The girls met up at a metal table located in the corner of the courtyard. Until the weather turned cold, this would be their eating spot for the year.

"Hey guys," Hunter said. He took the seat on the other side of Cerise, Ashlynn took the one next to him, and Daring took the one next to her, right across from Cerise.

Cerise didn't miss the glare that Darling shot his way. She kicked her friend under the table. Darling in turn glared at her. Cerise elected to ignore her and flipped the pizza box open. "Tada!" she said with a flourish of her arms, "The critically acclaimed Big Badwolf steak pizza."

"I love you," Hunter said, taking a slice from the box.

Beside him, Ashlynn rolled her eyes and flashed an apologetic smile to Cerise. "I'm vegetarian," she said.

"I'll make sure to bring a vegetarian pizza next time," Cerise said.

"This is really good pizza," Daring said, taking a slice for himself.

Darling's eyes narrowed at her brother. "When have you ever had Big Badwolf pizza?"

"Over the summer," Daring responded nonchalantly. "Sometime after it was saved by Lupa."

"Don't forget Sir Peacock," Cerise said.

"Of course," Daring seemed surprised that Cerise would mention Sir Peacock, "I was just..Lupa is very important to the protection of Book End."

Cerise didn't know why, but Daring praising her was rubbing her the wrong way. Sure, Lupa was great, but she'd be nothing without Pea. Pea was one of her best friends. They might not have known much about each other's civilian identities, but they understood one another. Pea was special.

"Lupa would be nothing without Sir Peacock," Cerise declared. She could feel Darling grinning next to her.

"I disagree," Daring said, "Lupa has the abilities of stealth and speed, which are needed for fighting."

"Sir Peacock has the ability to heal people," Cerise said, "That is infinitely more valuable than both stealth and speed."

"Lupa-"

"Both of them are great heroes," Hunter interrupted.

"I agree," Ashlynn said.

All four people turned to face Darling, who picked at her pizza. "What?" she asked, "You want my opinion?"

"Yes," Daring said.

"I don't think it really matters," Darling said, "After all, they're a couple." She grinned evilly as Cerise choked on her water.

"I don't think that they're a couple," Cerise coughed out.

"How do you know that?" Daring challenged.

Cerise faced the boy who she'd had a crush on for a long time. "I just…" She couldn't exactly explain how she knew that Lupa and Sir Peacock without giving away that she was Lupa. "I don't think that they are." Daring simply shrugged. Cerise frowned. Suddenly, she wasn't liking Daring Charming as much.

I hope that you enjoyed part one. I'm going to try to keep this one under 10,000 words.

Meg