Hello there. My name is Aurania Caroline Worthington. Does my last name sound familiar to you? That may or may not be because my family has a very long and famous history with scaring. Like the Sullivans (another famous family), scaring runs in our blood. My older brother is Johnny Worthington. I'm fifteen years old and already at college. I live on campus at MU with my brother. He's technically my legal guardian, since our mom died when I was born, and our dad disappeared about a year ago.

Theoretically, I wasn't supposed to start college for another year because my dad wanted me to be able to rest before jumping head first into college stuff, even though I already practically lived on campus. My family has always been very good friends with Abigail Hardscrabble and her family. She was able to pull some strings to allow me to be able to stay at the ROR fraternity house when my dad wasn't able to come home or when he was on a trip or something, also because it was easier for my brother to keep an eye on me. He's a senior this year and has always been pretty protective. He's acted like a second dad since my birth, even more so than my real dad.

My dad disappeared about a year ago (long story), and Johnny decided that it would be easier to watch me if I lived on campus here with him full time, even though that's practically what I already did any ways. I have my own room in the fraternity house and all the guys living here know me.

But I haven't even gotten to the most important part! You see, I'm the rarest type of monster that you can have; I'm a shape-shifter. This means that I can switch species, hair color, eye color, and pretty much anything else I want to, merely on a whim. Why is this so important you ask?

Because my favorite form is that of a human and you wouldn't believe how freaked out monsters get when they see me for the first time. The knowledge of me, who I am, and what I can do, is unspoken knowledge amongst all the students and teachers at MU. Well, almost all the students. Johnny usually waits until he knows the new freshmen a little more before telling them about me, much less introducing me.

So, that's my life in a nutshell: an extremely smart monster/girl, who looks like a human, with an annoying, over-protective biological brother, and living in a house of less protective (but still just as annoying) "adopted" brothers.

You may call me Aura.

Aura's POV**

Today is the first day of school; new freshmen, new sophomores, new juniors, and new seniors. My brother's now a senior and I'm hoping that that'll keep him busy enough so that he doesn't have enough time to watch me every second of the day, like he usually does even when I'm just visiting.

I sit at the open window of my room, lost in thought, my short caramel brown hair rustling in the breeze. I'm wearing all black again, as always. It's my favorite "color." (Actually, it's a shade… bet you didn't know that.)

My window overlooks the main courtyard and I see numerous new freshmen heading to Scaring 101 with Professor Knight. Even though I'm a freshman, I have class later in the day, with the senior Scaring majors. Drat my brother. He rearranged my schedule so that I would be in his class. It's not that I'm not smart enough to be there, in fact, if anything, it's the opposite; I'm smarter than a lot of the seniors. It's just that my brother likes to control my life.

I slide off the sill and close the window. Grabbing my backpack, I decide to do something that could possibly endanger my life; I head to Scaring 101, with the other freshmen. I slide down the rail of the staircase and jump off to dodge Chet, the giant crab. He's actually a big airhead. Didn't even notice I had my back pack. Good thing too, otherwise he would have told Johnny and my journey would be over.

I run across the courtyard, not noticing (not caring about?) the stares directed at me by other monsters hanging around. They know who I am of course (or at least the sophomores and up), and most of the older ones have even seen me on occasion, but it's still a shock, I guess, to see a human girl; a teenager, actually, seeing as how I'm fifteen.

I quietly open the doors to the classroom. Not many students are there yet, and Professor Knight is at the front, sitting at his desk, reading a book and making some notations on a piece of paper. I approach him, this time definitely ignoring the stares, and clear my throat.

He looks up at me in annoyance, then surprise.

"Aura, what are you doing here? I don't have you on my schedule until later today."

I nod. "Yeah, I know. But I was wondering if it would be possible for me to be able to hang around for first period. You know, in the back, just to watch."

Professor Knight nods in understanding. "Trying to get away from your brother's observant eyes?"

"Yep."

He sighs. "Sure, you can hang around, but if your brother has a problem with it, he'll have to take it up with you. I had no part in this." He closes his book and stands.

I smile widely at him and make my way to the other side of the classroom and climb to the top row. I take a seat with a good view. Nobody really sits on this side anyway.

I watch with interest as the classroom fills and Professor Knight starts talking.

"Welcome to Scaring 101. I am Professor Knight. Now I'm sure all of you were the scariest monster in you town. Well, bad news! You're in my town now, and I do not scare easily-" he breaks off as the window slams open. Abby flies in. I watch with amusement as she does the same thing she does every year. Scaring the freshmen, and telling them that she only wants to make great students greater, not mediocre students less mediocre, yadda yadda yadda. She ends with telling them about the exam at the end of the year. The exam that everyone stresses over.

After she's left, Professor Knight asks who can tell him the properties of an effective roar. A hand goes up in the front. I frown and strain my neck to see. He stands up. It is a small green dude who looks like a beach ball with one large eye in the middle of his head.

"There are actually five; this includes the roar's resonance, the duration of the roar and-"

A bright light fills the room as the door slams open, revealing a blue giant with purple polka dots. He roars. I raise my eyebrows, almost impressed. I listen to him as he 'explains' himself.

"…I heard someone say "roar", so I just kind of went for it."

Professor Knight echoes my thoughts. "Impressive. And you are…?"

"Name's Jimmy Sullivan."

"Sullivan? Like Bill Sullivan?"

"He's my dad."

Shocked murmurs fly around the room.

"I should have known. I expect big things from you this year."

"Well, you won't be disappointed." The Sullivan says with a smirk.

I can tell by looking at him that he's as arrogant as they come. The little green monster with one eye raises his hand hesitantly, "Sh-should I continue?"

"No, Mr. Sullivan's covered it."

I watch as his face falls. I like this one.

Professor Knight continues by telling the class to open to chapter one. I observe quietly as the Sullivan asks for a pencil, props his feet, up and proceeds to pick at his teeth with the pencil, using it like a toothpick. I shiver in disgust; poor pencil. I hope to stay far away from him.

**Eight hours later**

Tonight is the Fraternity and Sorority Party. It's a big night and the ROR fraternity house is usually pretty packed. I've avoided Johnny and his group of friends all day, sitting on the other side of the classroom in Scaring class. He watched me suspiciously in class, though, and stayed after to talk with Prof. Knight.

It's nearly five o'clock now. I know the rules: I'm to stay in my room from seven until the rest of the monsters leave, I'm not allowed to join any fraternity, at all, and I have to be in bed by ten thirty. Ugh. I decide to spend my last couple hours of freedom until tomorrow morning wisely: at the library. I walk slowly to the main building, trying to make time last longer; maybe I can show up later than seven to the house and say I just lost track of time. Yeah, right. Johnny would never buy that excuse.

I weave amongst the book aisles to find the books I was looking for. Aha! There they are.

Humans.

You see, humans have always fascinated me. Part of it because of the way I am. You may think that I think about 'human girl' as being my favorite form, but in truth, as an infant, the only one who ever saw my true form was mom, and only for a few seconds. After that I turned into a human child. The doctor freaked out when she came back in the room to see my mom holding a human child. Mom didn't even notice; she though that I was beautiful and she loved me. She died the next day, and at first the doctors blamed me because they linked human, with toxic.

Later they found out that she had been sick for a long time and the only reason she hadn't died before hand was because her body seemed to know that she had to deliver the child, me, and after that, she just kind of let go.

Throughout my childhood, numerous psychiatrists tried to get me to show them what my true form was, but I would only change into something weird, like a snake or a falcon, and then change back into a human.

I just felt more natural as a human than as anything else.

Johnny took to me very quickly, though, and we actually used to be kind of close. Until something happened; that something, being that I started school.

Anyways, back to life. I pick up three new books and make my way over to the table. This section is in a sort of concealed alcove of the library and nobody ever comes here; except me. I sigh and immerse myself in the book.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, someone is shaking me awake. I wake up and look around blinking in confusion. I see Chet.

"Aura, your brother said to get you back now. It's just after six forty-five."

I nod and yawn. Then stop. Do I dare?

"Chet, you can go on ahead. I've got to put these books back real quick and then return the ones in my bag," I gesture to my book bag. Apparently I do dare. How daring of me.

Chet doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." He scuttles off.

I smile. Then, leaving my books on the table, I grab my bag and run out of the library. I head towards the courtyard; risky move, as my brother might be out, but it'll be worth it. Besides, my brother can't ban me from the college parties this year, because this year, I'm actually in college.

The courtyard is already filling up with people. It's September, so the sun is already starting to set just a little. I decide I need to drop my book bag off. I go up to the back door and open it quietly. I step in hesitantly as I hear my brother's voice speaking to Chet.

"…and you left her there? By herself? Without making sure she actually got back here?"

I can't hear Chet's answer as I run up the stair case that is facing me, as quietly as I can and enter my room.

One thing you should know is that we (we, as in the Worthingtons) are a very wealthy family and Johnny, surprisingly, spared no expense when he let me decorate the room that I would stay in at MU while dad was on trips and stuff.

My room is on the larger side, with a black, ebony-wood vanity, and a large bed. The bed has tons of blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and more blankets, and more pillows. I love my bed, and pillows, and blankets, as you could probably tell. I have a window ledge that I like to sit on that has pillows and cushions on it. My floor has pillows scattered across the floor; they're all over, along with books and black clothes. My walls are royal blue, with silver/grayish baseboards, and black velvet drapes over the large, oval window.

I walk across the soft carpet of my room and take off my bag and set it on my bed. I then grab my black jacket to pull on as I kick off my black and purple tennis shoes and slip on some black ballet flats; more comfortable.

Pulling my hair out of its ponytail, I walk over to my ebony wood vanity to look in my mirror, run my fingers through my hair and put one of my white diamond-encrusted headbands on. If there is one thing that I can't resist, it's things that sparkle, especially diamonds, even if they are fake.

I'm finally satisfied with my hair and creep out of my room on light feet. Down the stairs I go and out the door again. When the door finally shuts silently, I let out a breath I didn't know that I was holding and I lean against the door in relief. I check my watch. Nearly seven fifteen. I run around the side of the house and am met with the sight of a lot of people milling around the courtyard. I walk forward slowly, keeping to the shadows. Imagine how much panic there would be if the new freshmen, the ones who didn't know me, saw me, a human. One word: chaos.

I see a pig running across the lawn with the Sullivan right behind it. Behind Sullivan is the small green dude with the one eye. He stops and seems to be calculating something. He then picks up a football and hurls it at a line of bikes. They topple over, knocking over a trashcan that the pig runs right into, turning it upright. The green guy pumps his fist before running over to the trashcan, reaching in, and pulling an old MU hat out of the pig's mouth, which he now holds. Sullivan comes up behind him and pick up the green guy holding the pig.

"Fear Tech's mascot! The new ROR!"

Monsters start chanting MU and I roll my eyes as the leaders of JFK and OH start fighting over who saw him first, when a voice startles me.

"I'll take it from here."

My brother.

"Johnny Worthington, president of ROR."

"James P. Sullivan."

Chet starts freaking out, Johnny tells him to calm down, and then starts extolling Sullivan again.

"Any freshman with the guts to pull off a stunt like that has got 'future scarer' written all over him."

I see Sullivan just soaking it all in. This is not helping his ego; I can see it from here. The little green dude (boy, I need to find out what his name is) looks indignant at Sullivan's being let into ROR and his being overlooked, probably again.

"I am a Scare student." He says as I tune back in.

Sullivan looks uncomfortable. "I mean Scare students who actually, you know, have a chance."

My eyes flash but then widen in fear as Johnny catches my eye. I see surprise flash in them, but only for a moment. He nods his head in the direction of the house, and I mouth 'no' to him. His eyes narrow, then he turns to his friend Javier, saying something softly to him. Javier looks at me and nods. As Sullivan is led up into the fraternity house, Javier walks over to me. I quickly head for the house. Javier scares me; with his claws and red eyes.

I hide behind a bush and hold my breath as I envision myself as a small serpent. When I open my eyes, I am low to the ground, covered in scales, and have no arms or legs. I slither up the door post and inside to rest on top of the door frame. It's crazy in here and way too loud. I crawl up to the ceiling and move quietly across until I reach the banister which I climb up until I arrive at the second floor, which is slightly less crazy than downstairs. I inch along the baseboards until I get to my room. Not needing to open my door at all, I just slither right under the door and then change back into a human in the safety of my room.

I yawn. It has been a very long day; first I went to class, then to another class, had lunch (kind of; I didn't eat anything), then back to class, another class after that, then to the library, then here, then out again, and on top of all that, trying to actively avoid Johnny all day.

I look at my clock. Eight. After taking off my shoes, jacket, headband, and watch, I grab a book out of my bag, dump the rest on the floor and settle down in the dark on my bed to read it. I do so, and finish it in two hours. Then I settle under my covers, not bothering to change my clothes, and try to fall asleep as fast as I can, for I know that Johnny will want to talk to me, but will not wake me up of I'm already asleep to do so.

Luck is with me, and I am asleep within the next fifteen minutes

The next morning I open my eyes to see Johnny standing over me. I gasp and sit up quickly, breathing hard.

"J-Johnny, you scared me."

He crosses his arms.

"Aura, we need to talk. Look, I'm willing to overlook the fact that you went behind my back and joined the freshmen course of Scaring 101, in a class room full of students who've never seen you before, but then you snuck off last night after tricking Chet into leaving you alone when you specifically know that I do not allow you to go to these late parties anyway."

"Johnny, stop it. Scolding me won't help anything. Besides, I watch the new freshmen every year, and this year you have no right to ban me from coming to the parties because this year I'm actually a college student!"

"I have every right and you know it! As your legal guardian I have not only the right, but the responsibility. I'm reasonable, and I always let you join the end of year party, once everybody knows about you."

"Sure, because that's real reasonable; letting me come to one party a year."

"I do the best I can Aura! But I am not the problem here; you are! Ever since dad left-"

"Don't make it sound he just left of his own free will, just because you hold a grudge against him for leaving you stuck with me!" I cut him off, yet he continues as if I didn't speak.

"Ever since dad went missing you have been acting out, and ignoring me and I don't always have the time to deal with you right now, Aura!"

"Do you want to know why that is, Johnny? It's because you don't want to have time to deal with me! You don't want to have time to be a good brother!"

I jump up out of bed and run down the stairs, pushing past Chet and Javier as they stumble down stairs still tired.

"Aurania! Get back here!"

I ignore him and walk right out the front door, running across the lawn, running too fast for people to really see who I am, what I am. I run into a forest-y area that borders right along the back lawn. I run to my creek and collapse by the stream there; then I allow myself to let go of the tears that have been lurking at the edges of my eyes.

This is going to be a long year.

Over the next month, I avoid my brother more than I ever have in the past. He notices and tries to talk to me a few separate times, but surprisingly, I'm always able to escape him.

I also learn that he green dude's name is Michael Wisowski, or Mike for short. He's a hard worker, but is always being put down by the other monsters because, as much as I hate to say it, he's just not scary. But that doesn't make me silently root for him any less than I already do when he gets the highest grades in class, almost the school (except for me, of course), and Prof. Knight extolls him for being the only one to correctly answer a tough question out of the entire class.

Sullivan, though, I'm happy to see, is not doing well. He seems to be learning the hard way, that everything in life takes hard work, and that just because he's a Sullivan, does not mean that he can slack off and expect others do all the work for him. He can't just show up when he wants to and do whatever he wants to. It's a very slow process though.

The first semester finals are tomorrow and I really do hope that Mike does well. By now all the students on campus have learned about me, through either personal experience involving a whole lot of terror (Even Abby finds me a little frightening. Heck, I would be frightening to a human with the way I favor the color black and slink around in the dark.), or through rumors or/and stories.

I know I'll pass. I just will. It's the way of things. That, and Johnny would murder me if I failed.

I lay on my bed, contemplating my life, like I do sometimes. I wonder about many things, but mainly one thing in particular: If I had to have an older brother, than why did I have to get stuck with Johnny?

I close my eyes and drift away to darkness.

The next morning, I wake up to a very loud house. Oh yeah, Finals today. I slide out of bed and get ready.

This time, not caring who sees me, I walk right down the stairs, not bothering to bring my back pack, because I certainly won't need it. I don't have Finals first period anyway. I have them with the seniors.

I slow down once I get to the fountain, running my hand in its water and shiver, as it's quite cold. Pulling my jacket closer around me as wind whips by, I walk to the Scaring school. As I get closer to the classroom, I frown, my ears picking up a shrill sound coming from inside. I open the door, turn to my left, and see Johnny and his group of friends sitting right next to me. Johnny looks at me with little surprise. Then his eyes widen.

"Get down!"

I whirl around and feel Johnny push my head down. The screaming hasn't stopped, and it gets louder as something whizzes by my head. I push Johnny's hand off and stand up to see a scream can come sliding to a halt in front of a startled-looking Mike and Sullivan.

I feel my mouth drop open, realizing what has happened. That was Abby's scream can.

She slams down behind them, folding her wings. She straightens, then glides forward on her many legs. She leans down to pick up the broken scream can. She holds it aloft as she moves into the light.

My brain is still not functioning properly; I do not quite comprehend what Abby says in regards to Mike and Sullivan's apology.

I barely notice when she decides to test them right then and there where they're standing.

However, some small part of my sub consciousness must still root for Mike.

I cross my fingers as she tells Mike the information. He answers with the correct scare, but Abby cuts him off before he even starts to demonstrate it. I bristle.

She moves on to Sully, and he roars right in her face before she's even done.

"I was not finished Mr. Sullivan."

"I don't need to know any of that stuff."

"That 'stuff' would have informed you that this particular child was afraid of snakes, so a roar would not make him scream, it would make him cry, alerting his parents, exposing the monster world, destroying life as we know it and of course we can't have that so I'm afraid I cannot recommend that you continue in the Scaring Program, good day."

"But, I'm a Sullivan." Sullivan seems very unable to comprehend that he has been kicked out of the Scaring Program.

"Well then, I'm sure your family will be very disappointed."

Johnny grabs my arm and we leave the classroom, heading outside, Johnny dragging me along with him.

We exit the room just as Abby explains to Mike that he's just not scary. I pull my arm out of Johnny's grasp. I look at him, in too much shock to remember that I'm angry at him right now.

"What happened?"

"Sullivan and Wisowski were fooling around and knocked Abby's Scream Can off its pedestal. You pretty much saw the rest. Looks like Sullivan will have to get used to not being a ROR anymore."

I roll my eyes. "Never liked him anyways; he won't be missed." I turn and walk down the steps of the building. "I'll see you later in class. I gotta run and grab my bag from the house. See you later." I hop off the last step and take off running towards the ROR fraternity house.

My Finals, needless to say, run extremely smoothly. I get top score, as always.

Christmas break goes by too quickly, for me at least. One exciting thing though, is that the Scare Games are coming up in a matter of days. Too bad Johnny has forbidden me from joining. He won't even let me be on ROR's team. I've decided that the first chance I get, I'm running away.

Actually, that would be a really good plan, except for the fact that I wouldn't get ten feet before Johnny caught me and dragged me back and then grounded me for the rest of my life. Other than that, it's a great plan.

Mike and Sullivan have gone into Scream Can design with Mr. Brandywine. I nearly winced when I learned this; Mr. Brandywine is the absolute most boring teacher on campus and Scream Can Design Class with him is the worst choice anyone could possibly make for their future.

From what I hear, Sullivan has been shadowing Mike, blaming him for what happened to Abby's Scream Can.

Today is signup closure for the Scare Games. The courtyard is always filled with people for this event, to see who will be competing in the Games.

I'm sitting up in my tree, watching with amusement as the different teams try to show off to each other. I yawn, trying to convince myself that I am completely disinterested. The truth is, you wouldn't believe how badly I want to be down there, on a team. No team would accept me though. Even the freshmen seem to have been filled in on how you should never go against Johnny where his sister is concerned.

Mike is nowhere to be seen, and come to think of it, neither is Sullivan.

Esther announces that they're closing down signups. I hear Mike's voice.

"Wait!"

I turn in my tree to look at him. He is standing on top of a car. I look down at him frowning, and then nearly fall out of my tree when I realize what he is planning on doing: he wants to join the Scare Games with the fraternity Oozma Kappa, which, technically, is not really even a fraternity.

Mike seems to think that it's a great plan, especially when he makes a deal with Abby: If they win, she has to let them back into the Scaring Program. Unfortunately, if they lose, then they have to leave MU.

Mike seems pretty happy, until they tell him that there has to be seven players per team. Apparently the two-headed guy counts as one.

He starts calling desperately for someone to join his team. He spots another freshman, his roommate I think, named Randall Boggs. My eyes widen and I sit up straight when I see that he is wearing a ROR jacket. Since when is he one of us?! I was not informed of this.

Meanwhile Sullivan has joined Mike's team. They only need one more. A small smile appears on my face.

I hop down from my tree. I walk forward to stand in front of the car.

"They've got seven players. Can we please proceed now?" I say loudly.

Esther's mouth hangs open for a moment, and I hear Johnny say my full name. My smile grows a little wider.

Esther looks at me a little bit, as if wondering if she should risk her life by letting me join the Games. I silently plead to her with my eyes. Esther's always been pretty nice to me; I mean we both love the color black and prefer sarcasm and rain to happiness and sunshine.

Finally, she nods to me.

I can't believe it! I'm in the Scare Games!

Now to avoid my brother for the rest of my life; shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean, I'll be living with Oozma Kappa now, and not with him. I close my eyes for a moment to let thought seep in; I savor the sweet taste of freedom.

I turn around to look at Mike and Sullivan. Mike just stares at me while Sullivan looks almost suspicious. I nod to them and then walk back to the house; I need to get back before Johnny does so I can grab my stuff and be out of there before he gets a chance to come after me. Once behind the house (you may have noticed by now that I almost never use the front door) I turn into a falcon. A falcon is a hunting bird that is quite common in the human world and one the fastest creatures in either of our worlds. I swoop in and up the stairs, breezing past my door and rustling the pictures on my wall as I land on my bed and change back to human. Grabbing a bag I throw a few changes of clothes, my main pillow, my small quilt, and some books into it. I close it and pick it up to sling it over my shoulder. I hear some laughing down stairs and then Johnny's voice.

"I'll be right back. I need to have a word with my sister."

I close my eyes and think. My eyes fly open and I close my door. I throw open my window, launch out my bag and jump. I've actually been practicing this for a while. I switch forms in midair, back to a falcon, extending my wings I glide down slowly, then changing back quickly to human, to roll on the ground in a somersault, scoop up my bag, and take off running. I run around the side of the house and creep along the side, keeping close to the edge. Then I run to the dorm rooms where I know Mike will be.

I stop at the front.

"Excuse me, where is Michael Wisowski's room?"

"Oh, hey Aura! Let's see… Down the hall on the right, number 319."

"Thanks!" I dodge past people in the hall as I scan the numbers. I mutter the numbers under my breath, "311, 313, 315, 315, yes! 319." I knock on the door.

"Come in!" I hear from inside.

I open the door and step in.

Mike stands by the bookshelf, taking books down and tossing them in a trunk that sits on a bare bed. He stops when he sees who it is.

"Oh, hi, um, actually, I didn't get your name."

"Call me Aura."

"Look, I wanted to thank you for joining our team. I've heard about you and your brother."

I shrug. "Meh, it was nothing. Look, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to the Oozma Kappa fraternity house. I'm kind of on the run from my brother at the moment and I need to get out of here quickly."

"Sure, I have the address here and I'm about to head on over. We can go together."

I smile, "That'd be great. Thanks Mike."

By the time we leave, I've learned that Mike himself doesn't even really know Oozma Kappa. His joining the fraternity was a last ditch attempt at getting into the Scare Program.

We set out a few minutes later, walking quickly off campus to a house a few blocks away. As we walk up to the house, we meet Sullivan walking up from the other side. My nose crinkles a bit in disdain.

He looks at the address on the paper. "This is a fraternity house?"

The door opens. It's the old purple guy with the tentacles.

"Hey there, team mateys! Come on aboard!"

We enter. The two headed yellow thing and the pink dude with one horn are in the living room.

The pink dude announces, "We call this room Party Central."

The yellow thing explains between its two heads. "Technically we haven't actually had a party here yet, but when we do, we'll be ready." They hit a button on a remote they're holding. A panel on the ceiling drops open. A disco ball crashes to the floor.

Mike and Sullivan look at each other. I roll my eyes.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," the old guy invites us to come over and sit down. Mike sits on one side of the couch awkwardly while I sit on the other side, completely at home in the male atmosphere. I'm used to the non-thinking and common sense-less ways of men.

The old guy leaves the room to go make hot cocoa apparently. Sullivan starts looking around, and even I have to admit that this house does look a little bit too, um, like an old person's house. There are dishes displayed in the cupboard behind us and paintings on the walls and doilies under the lamps on the end tables.

Sullivan fingers one of the teacups hanging behind me.

The old guy reenters the room.

"Hot cocoa train coming through; next stop: You!" He stops in front of Mike and Mike takes a mug. I shake my head to decline.

Sullivan sits down while everyone finishes introductions. We have Don Carlton ("Mature" student), Scott Squibbles (Squishy), Terry (with a "y"), Terri (with an "i"), and Art (New Age Philosophy Major). None of them have anything scary-like in their personalities at all, except for Art. That guy's scariness factor comes from the fact that he's pretty much insane, and I'm not yet sure if it's contagious or not.

From what I can tell, the others are pretty excited to have Sullivan on their team. They seem comfortable around Mike, though at the moment, he's acting like a control freak; a bit OCD if you ask me. He seems to think that he's going to win the whole thing by himself.

And me… well, they haven't screamed and run away yet, so I assume we're all good.

Terri and Terry lead me up to my room, while Don gives Mike and Sullivan a tour. I guess no one felt comfortable sleeping with a girl in their room because I get stuck sleeping in Squibbles' mother's sewing room. She insists that I call her Sherry. Fine by me. As long as she can make waffles, I'm all for this giant sleepover.

I get settled in. Because I didn't have too much time, I wasn't able to grab a whole lot from my room before I headed out. I immediately rearrange the small couch, laying my pillow at the head and spreading out a quilt over it. I set my bag on the floor and kick it under. I'll give this much to Sherry; she sure knows how to make a room cozy. Fading sunlight brightens the room and gives it an orangeish tint. A few unfinished projects sit in a sewing basket by Sherry's table, which holds her sewing machine, sewing basket, and a small shelf with a multitude of spools of colored thread. A pincushion holds thirty or so pins that shine next to the machine.

The couch, which I've officially claimed as my bed, is covered in a light green, linen/cotton-like fabric that is extremely soft to the touch. Lucky me. I like soft things.

Sherry knocks softly and enters. I turn to her, curious.

"I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Now I'm confused. What would she be thanking me for?

"For volunteering to join the scare games with the team. I've heard about you and your brother."

"Seems like everyone has," I mutter.

"I think it's good that you're able to experience this. Everyone needs a little freedom at least once in their life."

"Thank you. For letting me stay here."

"You're welcome. Now, shall we see what the boys are up to?"

"Sure," I say as I follow her down the stairs. What greets us is… indescribable. But I'll try my best anyway because it's so incredibly darn funny.

Sullivan and Mike sit on the couch (which has no cushions; take note of this) with dropped jaws. Not from wonder, no, more likely it was from… mortification. Yes, mortification. That's a good word for it.

Don is, uh, dancing? I think that's what he's trying to do. It looks more like he's being strangled by an octopus while tap dancing in a swimming pool filled with Jell-O, and all this while having a caffeine-induced seizure. Dude, lay off the coffee.

Art is in dream land. Not sleeping, mind you, just… in dreamland. The disco ball from earlier has been glued back together and hung from the ceiling with duct tape. Literally, they made a rope out of duct tape and attached the disco ball to the end of it.

The couch cushions (told ya) are piled in the middle of the room. Squishy is on top of the mess in pajamas, doing a puzzle. Terri and Terry are nowhere to be seen and music blares from the stereo.

"Wow," I say, and that's pretty much all I'm capable of at the moment.

The next morning I wake early. Not on my own accord, but because of the ringing coming from my bag. My phone.

I reach my hand in, glance at the caller ID, and groan. I answer it and, frankly, I don't sound very happy when I ground out the words, "MphwhatdoyouwantJohnny? I'm tired."

"Where are you, Aura?"

"Where do you think? I belong to a fraternity now."

"A fraternity that I never said you could join. With all guys."

"ROR is practically all guys and you had no problem there."

"That's because I could keep an eye on you when you were here. So get your stuff and you'd better be back here by the end of the day. I mean it, Aura."

"Or what? I have a life now, Johnny. And what I want to do in my life doesn't always line up with what you want me to do in my life. You're going to have to learn to live with it. Now, I'm going back to bed and turning my phone off, so don't bother trying to calling me again."

"Aurania Caroline, if you hang up, I swear-"

I press 'end call' and then the power button. I drop my phone in my bag, lay back down, and close my eyes, hoping to catch at least a few more minutes of sleep before-

Mike bursts into my room with a big smile on his face, like he didn't just wake up a very dangerous monster too early in the morning for comfort.

"Up and at 'em, Aura! We got a big day ahead of us! Training and whatnot to get done!"

I yawn and mumble, "What about our other classes?"

"Already taken care of. I stopped by the front desk and learned that I was able to rearrange a few classes to make time for more training for you and myself."

"What about the rest of the team?"

"Aura, look, the way I see it, you and I are the only monsters on this team with any potential to win. We're going to have to carry the team."

"And you're reasoning for this revelation?"

"I've got the know-how and you're the only one on this team that's actually still in the Scaring Program. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Look, Mike, I don't know-"

"Come on! Please just run a few laps with me?"

I sighed, "Fine. Give me a minute to get dressed, okay?"

"Sure thing!"

"Well, someone's sure optimistic…" I mutter after he's gone, digging in my bag to see what I grabbed. I throw on a pair of black, flowing shorts and a black T-shirt with dark blue swirls on it.

I run a few fingers through my hair and step out of the room to see Mike waiting for me.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

We exit the house quietly, seeing as how early it is.

We start jogging, and I get the feel that Mike has no idea where to go. I take the lead.

"Follow me," I say.

We jog down the small hill and I stop at the edge of the foresty area.

"Why'd you stop?" Mike asks, confused.

"You want a workout?" I ask him.

He nodded.

"Okay, then, this is the place to do it. Try to keep up, if you can," I smile and take off running, not too fast, but just enough to give him a challenge as I hop over logs and rocks and small puddles, ducking under branches and whipping past ivy. I laugh loudly to see his effort to keep up with me.

Finally, after about half an hour, I stop and collapse at the edge of the tree line, and Mike does the same, huffing and panting like he'll never catch his breath. I laugh again.

"That was great, Aura."

"Thanks."

"But you don't even seem to be out of breath!"

"Yeah, I, uh, I've had practice."

"Outrunning your brother?"

"Something like that."

Johnny's POV**

I watch in silence, hidden, as my sister laughs out loud. Something she hasn't done in front of me for years.

I can feel my fur bristle slightly, though for the most part I'm able to keep it under control.

Why is she doing this? I only try to do what's best for her. She just doesn't seem to get that. That she had the audacity to join them is beyond my comprehension of her mind. And trust me, I've had to work hard to gain what comprehension I do have of her mind.

This is about more than me wanting to keep an eye on her. She is in a house full of older guys that I have not personally acquainted myself with and threatened, like I have done with everyone at ROR, including Sullivan, though I'm not sure his memory is up to par with my expectations.

Javier accused me of being jealous, and yes, I'll admit to that (to myself, at least), but then he went on to ask if this had anything to do with the fact that it could ruin my reputation. I didn't answer him. But… it got me thinking.

What could it do to my reputation? What could it do to our family's reputation?

"What could they do to her?" I murmur quietly.

They don't hear me.

I walk silently away.

Aura's POV**

It's later now, and I'm in my last class of the day. Apparently, Mike was able to shift some classes, and because we're competing, they let him do it (there's also the fact that he swiped my Student ID and told them that I had given him permission).He was able to do this to all my classes except Scaring. With the seniors. Including my brother. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Johnny had something to do with that…

Just a hunch.

And guess what Johnny did after Scaring was over?

He cornered me and demanded that I give him my phone. I've apparently "lost my privileges" of having a cell phone because I hung up on him earlier (it's one of his "major rules;" I'm to never ignore calls from him, and never hang up on him). Surprisingly, it was Sullivan who came to my rescue. Here's a recap for all of you who are going "whhaaattt?" right about now:

"… Give it to me, Aura."

"I don't have it with me, Johnny. I left it at the house."

He stepped closer, "Aura-" but was cut off by Sullivan.

"Hey, Aurania, right?" Sullivan said, jogging up.

"Yeah." I wasn't feeling too confident about my chances at this point. Until Johnny stepped back and Sullivan took the chance to pull me forward and in front of him as we started walking away. I could hear Johnny growl behind us, but knew that he wouldn't lower himself to attacking Sullivan in public.

I, for one, was speechless for a few moments.

"Thank you," I said, when I'd finally found my voice, "But, why'd you help me?"

"You looked like you needed it. Besides, we're team mates now. I figure you and I need to stick together, since we've got the best chance of winning this."

I close my eyes, knowing he can't see my face. Not again.

"Sullivan-"

"Sulley."

"What?"

"Call me Sulley. All my friends back home did."

"All right then, Sulley, don't you think that we, as a team, should work together?"

"Why would we do that?"

I roll my eyes. It's going to take a disaster to show them what they need to do.

Okay, so unlike all my other stories, this is going to actually follow the movie. And also unlike all my other stories, this one is almost finished! YAY! You shouldn't have to wait too long for an update this time!

Also, HUGE shout out to MammonDaughter, my very first BetaReader!

Please Review!

Love,

TMG4899