A/n: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, it sounds dorky but I never thought it would be this much fun to upload a story. Anyway, on to the first official chapter, read and review please! And for one last note, I'd just like to let everyone know that I used the descriptions for the entrance hall and the uniforms out of the book, so I give full credit to the book for that, but the rest of the chapter is my own.
The last fire will rise
Behind those eyes
Black house will rock
Blind boys don't lie
"The Sisters Of Mercy - Cry Little Sister"
Caine had been right about one thing, Coates was an impressive thing. Impressive but intimidating. The huge front gates were made of filigreed wrought iron, the academy motto, Ad aqusta per angusta, was on two gold-tinged plaques that came together when the gates were closed.
Isabell watched in awe while the heavy iron gate swung open in a great arch. The driver pulled through the gates, and they drove another quarter of a mile before they reached the main building of Coates Academy.
It somewhat looked like a normal school, if you ignored the fact that it was huge and much more extravagant than most regular schools. The building its self was constructed from dark, red bricks. There were also tall, arching windows that gave view into the meticulously decorated classrooms. But the one thing that demanded her overall attention was Caine, he simply radiated arrogant confidence. His usual dark hair had grown shaggy, and despite the confidence he oozed, his dark eyes shown with genuine anxiety towards her arrival.
There was a very beautiful, long-haired, and dark-eyed girl standing leisurely at his side. The expression she wore wasn't exactly friendly but she seemed approachable enough. She wore a pleated black skirt, matching knee-high socks, a light red blazer with a large crest sewn over the heart, and a red, black, and gold striped tie. Caine wore black slacks, a white shirt, and the same blazer and tie as the girl. Oh joy, she thought, we have to wear uniforms here.
As soon as the car pulled up to a stop by the bottom of stairs, Isabell scrambled out of the back of the car. Sprinting the few short steps between them, she flung herself into Caine's arms. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she buried her face into his shoulder and inhaled the familiar sent of home.
"Oh, Caine! You don't know how much I missed you!" She squealed into the scratchy material of his blazer, and upon closer examination she noted that the crest featured ornate letters "C" and "A" in gold thread, shadowed by a background that showed a golden eagle and a mountain lion. A sigh escaped her lips as she felt his arms wrap and tighten around her waist, effectively eliminating any remaining distance between them.
"I missed you too, baby girl." He whispered, and she smiled at the familiar nickname. He had first called her baby girl when she was born, and the name had stuck ever since. The girl behind them burst into a sudden fit of laughter.
"Oh my God! Who would have thought that the oh so fearless leader would have a soft spot. Maybe you are just some harmless teddy bear after all, Caine." She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. Isabell felt a tremor run down her spine, this girl would regret ever talking to Caine like that. He wasn't someone you could just tease and get away with, but to her surprise, he wasn't tearing out of her arms to go teach that insolent girl a lesson. It was quite the opposite.
Chuckling softly, Caine slowly detached himself from Isabell, keeping her hand in his. He turned them to face the mean girl, guiding Isabell towards her. The most shocking thing was that he was staring at her almost...lovingly.
"Its true. Diana, this my sister, Isabell," He said smoothly and smiled directly at Diana whose arrogant expression slipped for just a moment,"She's my only other soft spot." He finished softly, and for a brief moment, Isabell felt as if she were intruding on some kind of private moment between the two of them. But before things got even more awkward, Diana broke the spell and pulled her gaze away from Caine and back to Isabell.
"Well, I guess its finally nice to put a face to the name. Caine wouldn't stop blabbing about you since you told him you were coming." She said easily and held out her hand with a knowing smirk, "I'm Diana, as you already know."
"I'm Isabell, its nice to meet you, Diana." She said politely and reached her hand out to shake hers, but before she could grasp Diana's hand, Caine had gently slapped it away. His dark eyes met Diana's, a cold message seemed to pass between them.
"Don't touch her, Diana." Caine ordered, cutting her off when she opened her mouth for a snarky reply,"No. I don't want to know hers, so don't touch her." Caine turned his back to the two girls, the matter closed.
"Come on, baby girl. We'll take you to the office and get you all set up." He said and held the entry door open for them. Isabell brushed past him with a small frown, this was just like Caine too. He just had to ruin their special reunion with secrets.
Inside was a grand hallway, it was three stories high and dominated by a massive chandelier. On her left was twin staircases that led to the landing on the second then up to the third floor. There were several kids of various ages scattered through the hall, all of them wore the same uniforms as Diana and Caine, and all of them stopped to stare as the trio stepped inside.
Caine led through a wide door to the right of the staircase and into the poorly decorated office. Once they were inside, Caine immediately stepped up to the front desk and began to speak in hurried, hushed tones to the plump woman that sat behind the desk.
There were two lush armchairs on either side of the office door, an assortment of various fake plants stuck in the corners of the room, and a smaller version of the massive chandelier that hung in the hallway was stuck above on the ceiling.
"Here, Diana will show you to your room and you can change into these before dinner," Isabell jumped as Caine suddenly appeared in front of her, holding two new sets of her school uniform with a grin plastered to his face.
"I even pulled some strings so that you'd be able to share a room with Diana." He explained, pushing the starchy fabric into her arms. No one said a word and the tension soon became palpable in the air as both Caine and Isabell turned to look at Diana.
"What?"
A/n: So? I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Review please, and tell me what you thought of it! I'm sorry if it seemed a little short to you, it definitely seemed that way to me, but this was where I originally wanted to end it... Its not my fault if I couldn't stretch it out longer, so anyway, review please!