Author's note: Thank you Inu-midoriko for all your help, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed the first chapter. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. If you would like to read up on which works are in progress and on future updates, please check out my website's blog. I will reply to all comments you post.

Feeling better now that she had washed the dye from her hair, Arianna sat on the couch and braided her honey-brown hair into a thick tail. She was wearing a white top that left her back bare with matching pants. Behind thick black glasses, her eyes looked bloodshot. One eye was blue, and the other a dark green, which explained why she'd been wearing contacts all day. Hearing someone knock politely on the balcony door, she smiled slightly. "It's open!" Arianna called.

Batman opened the door once he heard her call out to him. He silently shut it and looked around the apartment before coming over to her. "Quite the place you've got."

She shrugged one shoulder. "It's enough for now. No one would think of looking for me here, and nobody asks questions as long as the rent is paid." Arianna's lips tightened as she finished braiding her hair.

"Since you put it that way..." he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "McGinnis told me you're a relative of his and to keep an eye on you."

"How long did the two of you argue about it?" She asked, opening the medical kit sitting next to her to tend to her feet. Taking off her shoes, she slipped off the sock of her right foot and began to unwind the bloody bandage from around it.

"We didn't. I cautioned him, as did Mr. Wayne but I agreed to it. I pass by here often anyway so it's not like I'm going out of my way to check up on you," he said and frowned at the blood. "Shouldn't you see a doctor about that?"

Arianna just looked at him for a long moment before returning her attention back to her foot. "It looks worse than it really is." Taking a packet from the box, she tore it open and used the wipe to clean the bottom of her foot. She didn't seem at all bothered by the blood.

"It might get infected. What did you do to it?"

"I didn't have my braces on, and the shoes are too big without them. Not to mention that I had to go a lap on the track this morning..." Arianna hissed sharply, eyeing her foot. "Damn..."

"Do you have any gauze?"

"Yeah, but I need to treat it first. Never thought I'd be grateful for being a klutz..." She turned her head and rummaged in her kit. "I'm running low on the acid crap... shoot." Holding her foot in place with her right hand, she eyed the half-full bottle she held in her hand.

"I'll let McGinnis know you need more. In any case, I see you're fine. Oh, by the way, Bruce Wayne's letting you use his house near the school. Your cousin wanted me to let you know."

"He's fussing over me; it must be a guilty conscience." She ripped another wipe packet open and her face turned white when she splashed some of the contents on her foot before rubbing it in, ignoring the way her foot jerked or the way her sleek white wings seemed to explode from her back in a silent involuntary reaction to the pain.

"She has beautiful wings." Bruce told Terry though the intercom, unheard by the girl on the couch.

'They're alright. Don't encourage it. The last thing I need is my boss complimenting my cousin on her momentary stupidity.' he muttered back, low enough so she wouldn't hear. "You shouldn't go to school with feet like that. How do you expect them to heal if you're giving them no time to heal?"

"I don't have a choice, I'll have to risk flying home and sweeping the place. Damn... this wasn't in my plans for tonight." She hissed in pain and gripped her foot tighter to finish medicating her foot. "How much blood did I loose today...?" Arianna murmured absently to herself.

Batman leaned off the wall at that. "If you don't want to be found out, you're not going to use your wings." he stated firmly. "As for your foot, you need medical assistance. I don't care how much you scream and punch, I'm getting someone to look at your foot." 'Hey Mr. Wayne, can you stitch/heal a bleeding foot?'

"It doesn't look cut. It looks like the skin has been rubbed off the bottom of her feet. She should keep it well wrapped and medicated, and she shouldn't be running laps on the track either..." Bruce said calmly.

'How about you come down here and tell her that? She'd listen to you considering you're lending her one of your homes.'

"You're the one who stuck my tail in the fire; she's your cousin, so you deal with it." Bruce replied calmly. It was at times like this that Bruce loved pulling rank on Terry!

Batman sighed. 'Fine. I'll deal with it.'

Arianna finished with her feet and had slipped on a pair of soft but warm looking slippers while he wasn't paying attention. "I won't be long batman." She said, cupping her wings slightly for balance as she walked slowly to the sliding glass door.

"Hey, I said no flying. You're doing nothing but screaming for attention like that." he said and embraced her from behind. It wasn't hard to keep her still as he was a lot bigger than she was.

The girl froze. "I'll be careful batman, but I need to go home one more time before those dumb police gut my house." She sighed. "There are things I need to get before they do." Her wings felt soft against him. "I know it sounds really petty, but I just want to go back to my home territory… and I don't want the police mucking around with and possibly ruining my work!"

He stayed silent for a moment. "You have an hour." Batman released her and gave her a serious look. "I'm serious. One hour and that's all or I'm telling McGinnis you were out flying."

She nodded and turned back to the couch, recklessly spilling the contents of both her school bag and her duffel bag, not caring about the mess as she made her way to the back door and slid it open. Only now could batman see the slight trickle of blood that ran down her back under both wing joints,

"You bleed far too much." he grumbled.

Shifting her grip on both bags, she climbed the fire escape to the very top and jumped, or more accurately, plummeted off the side of the building. She opened her wings and soared away.

"Now that is scary..." Bruce murmured. "Does she have any fear in her at all?"

"Who knows?" he shrugged and soared away just as Arianna had but he went in the opposite direction.

"I take it you'll be back in an hour?" He asked. "She doesn't seem the type to scare easily."

"That's the plan." he replied.

"Do you think she'll listen to you?"

"Me or Terry?'

"Both of you." Bruce grinned unseen.

"She's got a mind of her own. If she wants to listen to me she will. Other than that I can only pretend I have authority over her."

"I think you both know you have none. This will be very interesting..." Bruce chuckled. "She sounds worse than you will ever be."

"Who's side are you on?" he asked defensively.

"I'm just saying that you'd better keep an eye on her, her middle name should be trouble Terry."

An hour later, Arianna landed on her balcony again. She was breathing hard with the effort of flying while carrying such a heavy load, one of which was a gift basket. Brushing the tears away with her shoulder, she opened the door and limped inside.

"Glad to see that you can listen." said Batman from the shadows of the room.

"I almost didn't, since I almost had to make two trips." She cupped her wings and tossed the two stuffed bags on her couch, but placed the gift basket on the ugly counter with an almost affectionate smile.

"You're lucky you did." he remarked. "Try to get some sleep. It's going to be a long day for you tomorrow."

"I will later." Arianna answered calmly, making her way over to the fridge and opening it.

"I don't understand girls." he sighed and walked over to her stuff. "Did you grab everything you need?"

Taking out a half-eaten vegetable beef pie, she put it on the counter and turned back to get a plate. "I saved everything that I could save given the time limit... It was too late to salvage much of my mom's things, and the pets were gone, but I did what I could."

"And you didn't leave a trace behind?"

In answer, Arianna looked up from the slice of pie she was cutting for dinner and glared at him. "I'm not molting yet batman." The tone she used was a warning that an apology had better be forthcoming.

"I'm just making sure." he replied. "You can never be too careful."

"Those who know me won't betray me." A smile hovered on her lips as she plucked an apple from the basket. "They haven't forgotten me in my own territory."

"Who's they?"

"The ones I have helped and tried to protect."

"I see." was all he said. He wasn't going to pry into her life anymore. After all, this was only their first encounter. "Well I better get going. Enjoy the rest of your night Miss Arianna." he said and jumped out the window. He took off as soon as he opened his arms for his wings to come out.

"Have a peaceful night batman. Perhaps someday I'll take you into my territory." She answered calmly, punching a button on the microwave. Seeing he was gone, she smiled to herself and returned to her own concerns.

In the batcave, Bruce rested his head on his hands. "That was very interesting." He stated calmly.

"If you say so," he said passively, taking off his hood.

"Still, I'll know more once I see her mood swings. She might not be as violent as the others who were spliced, but that talk of 'territory' disturbed me a little." Bruce frowned. "What do you think?"

"I didn't like it either. If she wanted, she could turn psycho with that attitude." Terry shook his head. "In any case, she needs our help."

The next day, even though Arianna had to be in great pain, she walked more confidently. The support of her braces really seemed to help. Blinking against the itch of her contacts, she shuffled her way out of the school to find a place to eat her lunch, giving the popular kids a wide berth to stay out of the way. Seeing Dana and her friends glaring at her, Arianna sighed inwardly and just pretended to ignore them as she made her way outside.

Lunch came fast for Terry. Many things had been on his mind, making each class go by faster than he thought it would. He dropped off his books, grabbed his new ones as well as his lunch, and made his way outside to meet his cousin. When he saw Arianna he grinned at her. They didn't interact much in the car that morning. Terry was never a morning person and Arianna was too tired from last night's escapade to keep up a conversation. "Hey." he greeted her.

"Hi Terry. How's your day so far? You and Dana make up yet?" She asked, taking a bite of her pie.

"It's alright. No, she's still raving mad at me." he sighed. "Sometimes having to keep secrets is a real pain."

"Did you get all your homework done?" Arianna asked after she swallowed.

"I got most of it completed. It wasn't a lot. I was far too tired." he confessed. He winced when he brushed his bruised arm against the table.

"I got mine done." She smiled. "It helps that most of the classes I'm taking are ones I've already taken."

Terry grinned at her. "That's good. How's the sewing coming along?"

"My projects are doing great. What did our friend say about me?"

"He said you're nice, lovely wings but he cautions you not to fly out too often. Maybe when the searches have stopped it'll be safer. All in all, he won't mind checking in on you from time to time. What about you? What do you think of the Bat?"

"I think that he was polite, and a little bossy. He might be a steady partner, I haven't decided yet." She took another bite.

Terry gave her a sharp look. "Partner? For what exactly?" he asked.

"He and I do pretty much the same thing, we just go at it a different way. He's the teeth and claws; I'm the caring one who makes sure they have food and/or clothes."

Terry frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? People or animals?"

"He fights the bad guys; I take care of the people."

"I see. So while he goes after the ones that have done wrong, you help the ones the bad guys have wronged?"

"More or less, yeah, you have the right idea. Though to be honest, I doubt he knows what I'm doing. He gets the spotlight, I work more quietly." She smiled. "Some of the children I visit seem to have made up their own mythology about us." Suddenly looking thoughtful, she put down her meal. "You could say I both prevent people from becoming bad guys as well as clean up the messes left behind when the fight is over."

"Really? That's pretty cool. Though I'm kinda interested to hear what kind of myths they have for you and Batman."

"The younger ones say batman secretly married an angel and is working hard to earn his own wings. The older ones just hope batman stays out of my way, and keep warning me to be careful. The adults just give me worried looks and warn me not to trust him completely." She laughed softly and picked at her food. "The boys are the funnier ones. They fuss over me when I visit."

Terry grinned. "Seems you've got us all fussing over you." he teased. "Hey, you like ice cream?"

"Yes I do, marble is my favorite. What about you?"

"Chocolate. Wanna get some after school? Mr. Wayne didn't say I had to be at his place tonight so I think I have time before he changes his mind."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind." She smiled at Terry. "Thanks for cheering me up."

"No problem. I hope that later tonight I can make amends with Dana though. Maybe I could take her to a movie or something," he added as an afterthought.

"Umm... Terry?" She pointed where Dana was sitting with a group of guys. "Maybe let things cool a bit more?"

Terry looked over and his eyes hardened. His eyes hardened because he felt angry and hurt all at the same time. He stood; ready to knock out the guys for sitting too close to his girl.

"No Terry, don't do it. You're playing right into her hands." Arianna advised. "I might have never played the dating game myself, but I still know the rules."

"If I can't punch out those losers then I have to have a little talk with Dana." He muttered darkly.

"Later. Now sit back down before she notices!" There was an equally angry tone in her voice. "If you don't she'll have already won."

Terry growled and balled his hands into tight fists. She was doing it to make him jealous. He knew this and yet he still wanted to yell at her, punch those guys faces in but he also knew Arianna was right. Taking a deep breath, he sat back down. "On second thought, I'll take you to a movie instead."

"Weren't you going to take me to my new place today?" Arianna asked innocently. "Why not pick up a movie and make it a date?" She took one of his hands, so that it wasn't a fist and squeezed it gently. "I don't mind Terry. Besides, my feet are still a mess, though my braces help."

Terry nodded. "I forgot about your feet. Sorry. Alright, I'll take you to your place, hook up a TV and we'll watch a movie. Got any in mind?" he asked, relaxing a little.

She looked thoughtful, and then shook her head. "No, I haven't heard of any good ones lately." Smiling at Terry, she nodded in approval as he relaxed. "I'd still like to go out for ice cream though."

"Good. Ice cream is exactly what we need." he said and chuckled.

"Have you been to the flea market lately? I'd like to look into getting a booth and selling some of my work to earn some credits on the weekends." Arianna continued, acting as though she didn't notice Dana's death glare. "I know my Mother wouldn't have liked it, but I don't think I have any other options right now."

"No I haven't been but if you want, we can go over there after ice cream. Though, why do you need credits?"

Arianna narrowed her eyes before she answered in a tight voice. "Because if I tried to go to the bank I might as well print a bullseye on my forehead for police target practice Terry."

"You don't need credits right now," said Terry, scrunching up his nose. "But if you really want to then I guess we'll try it."

"Terry, in case you haven't noticed, I can't exactly afford to skip meals." The tone in her voice now could have frozen blood.

Terry rolled his eyes. "I wasn't suggesting you do." he honestly couldn't understand why girls had mood swings the way they did. "I am your cousin you know. I can give you whatever you need, or at least let me help you out in the financial area. Don't forget, I do work for a billionaire."

"And won't your mother wonder exactly what you are doing with all those credits that you could be using to help her pay the rent or the bills?" Arianna pointed out, in no way appeased by his attitude.

"My mom doesn't care what I do with it as long as a certain amount goes into my bank account. As for rent, she's handling that fine. If she needs help, she knows to ask me. Trust me; my financial issues are barely issues at all. You need more help than I do."

Thinking about this for a moment, she nodded slowly. "Okay, but if at any point you feel that your account is being watched..."

"I know I know, stop giving you my money." he grinned at her. "Why are you running track?" he asked once he looked over at the students on the field running. It was a question that he pondered but never remembered to ask until now. "You can barely walk let alone jog a track."

Arianna flinched. "I take it our friend tattled on me?"

Terry grinned. "Yeah, we share a few things with each other. Your well being happens to be one of them." he confessed but grinned to himself.

"I'm not a track runner; it's supposed to be a gym class. I never had to take gym at my other school; I took a heath class instead. Fortunately I think the teacher has taken pity on me... though being knocked down by your darker twin didn't help any..."

Terry frowned. "What darker twin?" he asked completely dumbfounded.

"The star runner... I don't know his name, but he looks exactly like you. He doesn't like me though and knocked me down yesterday on the track because I was too slow." Thinking a moment, she shook her head. "No, his hair was longer I think, but I'm not sure. I was rather busy counting the spots at the time."

The older of the two frowned. "What guy is this? Are you sure he knocked you down on purpose?"

"Chaos... I think that was his name." She looked at Terry. "I know the difference between an accident and the act of the king bully Terrence." The use of his full name meant Terry was really testing her temper.

"Chaos?!" the anger in Terry's eyes was evident. "He's in one of my classes. He doesn't speak much, in fact I've only ever heard him talk once and that was to retort to what the teacher said of him. Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "Why give him the satisfaction of knowing he hurt me? It would only encourage him."

Terry sighed. "Because it would appease me?" As Terry looked up, he saw Chaos himself walking to the vending machine to get a beverage. Terry stood, about to confront the slightly taller male about his bullying of Arianna.

"Terry no! Please don't blow my cover!" Arianna said, making as though to stand herself to stop him, hissing in pain when her crutch banged her foot.

"I won't blow your cover. I'll just talk to him." he said but didn't move just in case it really made Arianna angry.

"And just what were you planning to say Terry?" She asked between pants. "You can't pick a fight with him over something you didn't personally see him do!"

"I'm not going to say anything that will reveal you." he strode over to the teen who had just picked the drink he wanted. As he walked over Terry dug into his pocket, thankful he had spare change for a drink so that when Chaos turned around; Terry was right there, giving him a cold stare. "Hey."

Chaos didn't smile or respond at first. "Hey."

"I'll advise you not to pick on anyone anymore. The principle wouldn't be too happy to see the top student in grade 12 chemistry is a bully. And who knows, maybe it'll make him mad enough to put it on your permanent record." he took a step closer to the machine, thus getting closer to Chaos. He put the money in and selected a drink. "Eventually it'll lead to suspension."

Chaos only stared at Terry, wondering what he was talking about until his line of vision made contact with the small dark brunette haired cripple. She didn't sit right with him. He didn't know why but something about her seemed off and it got to him. He glanced back at Terry before replying. "You're not the only one with connections McGinnis." was the only thing he said before walking passed Terry to get back into the school. He didn't look at Arianna as he passed her table either.

Terry waited a moment before he bent and picked up his drink. He didn't really want it so he looked around for anyone that looked thirsty and sure enough he found a grade nine who had just finished out running a pack of bullies. "Here, looks like you could use it."

"Thanks." the blond haired boy smiled up at Terry and took it from him. The taller male nodded and turned back to the table, already hearing Arianna's stinging words of rage even before he got to the table.

Arianna sat down so fast; Terry knew it couldn't be an act. Her legs also began to jerk up and down in a muscle spasm despite her efforts to control it. "Well," she snarled though clenched teeth, "I hope you had nothing better to do for the rest of the week."

"It'll get him off your back for a while."

"You didn't see the look on his face Terry." She ground her teeth together and pressed down harder on her knees.

"No I didn't, but I felt his anger. Count on me and our friend being everywhere you are after classes and at home."

Arianna looked relieved, and her legs finally stopped shaking. "Thank you." She smiled at Terry softly. "Call me paranoid, but I don't like Chaos at all." The bell rang and she swore under her breath and packed the rest of her uneaten lunch away. Seeing Dana still glaring at her, she winked at Terry with a brown eye. "Put on a show?"" She asked as she reached for her crutches.

Terry looked over at Dana, looked back at Arianna, and grinned. "Alright." he helped her get into her crutches and before she was able to move, he hugged her. "Well, sort of a show. Cousins are allowed to hug you know." With that, he kissed her forehead and put an arm around her shoulder to steady her but to anyone else it looked as if he was interested in her. He didn't have to look to know that Dana was absolutely pissed with him. 'Two can play at your game Dana.' was the only thing he thought before he led Arianna back into the school.

"I won't tell if you don't." Arianna said with a mischievous smile. "Besides, I'm not really your cousin anyway." Sadness passed in front of her eyes. "Did you know I had a serious crush on you when we were kids?"

At first, Terry didn't know how to respond, but then he smiled at her. "But I was such a jerk back then."

She flashed him a glance. "A jerk." Arianna agreed. "But a hot looking one nonetheless." The brunette gave a breathless laugh. "Even I had dreams once Terry."

"Did you now?" he chuckled. "And what do you mean 'was'? I'm not hot anymore?"

"Oh, your still hot, but as of now romance is something I can't afford. And you are out of my league, I know that now."

Terry raised an eyebrow. "Not out of your league, just not your type. I have a hard time already trying to find time for myself let alone a girlfriend and I think that's part of why Dana's so mad with me. I wouldn't want to do that to you and besides, the rest of the world and our family won't really see eye to eye with us if they found out we were dating."

"I don't have any family Terry, not anymore... besides..." She shook her head. "Never mind, I guess it doesn't matter now anyway. We still on for moving and ice cream later?"

Terry nodded. "Yep. You may not have family, but I do." he quickly changed the subject so she wouldn't get upset anymore. "What flavor do you like best?"

"You have a short term memory Terry. Marble. It's chocolate and vanilla mixed together." Arianna replied. "You'll be late."

"Oh, right." He tightened his embrace. "Sorry. Do you have all the books you need for your next class?" he said, ignoring the fact he'd be late for class if he stuck around any longer.

"I think so." Suddenly her body tensed in fear; having seen Chaos go into her classroom. "Mother Earth and Father Sky, he scares me..." She muttered. Shaking her head, Arianna leaned into his an embrace to return his hug without freeing her arms. "I'll see you after school."

"Okay. Tell me if he bothers you." he said and gave Chaos a warning glare.

"Will do." Arianna replied. She walked into the classroom and took the seat closest to the door. Ignoring everyone else opening their laptops, the brown-haired woman took out an old-fashioned notebook and pencil from her shoulder bag.

"Ah Chaos, good of you to join us. This is your first day here?" asked the teacher. When the tall young man nodded, the teacher smiled. "Have a seat right next to Angel over there." he said and once Chaos took a seat, he proceeded to speak. "Now class, get comfortable with the person you're sitting beside because from now on, that person is your partner for everything. Studying for tests, exams and projects." he knew it was cruel to some students but that was how he liked it. It got everyone to get to know each other if they weren't already friends and it helped improve the students average. He'd been doing it for twenty five years and wasn't about to change the way he taught.

Chaos tensed as he realized his partner would be Angel, the girl he absolutely loathed. He wasn't even sure why he loathed her but something about her presence, the very thought of her made him both angry and fascinated at the same time.

Arianna's face went white and she swallowed hard. "May the sky protect me..." She murmured in prayer as she scooted her chair and her school supplies closer to the door. Clearly, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. When he sat down, the brunette addressed him with lips white with terror. "I'll pull my weight, just worry about your side of the deal."

Chaos had no expression as he looked at her. "Don't worry about my end." he knew he scared her, which probably could be the result of his tormenting her the other day. It would have unnerved him if she had no reaction to it. "We'll figure something out when the time comes for when we have to work on projects and study." he put his books on his desk perhaps a little too harshly, next to his laptop.

Ignoring him, Arianna opened her notebook and began to write, slowly relaxing as she forgot he was there. As the class went on, it was becoming clear that she didn't have a laptop to type her notes in. Handwriting her notes currently provided enough of a challenge, leaving her no room to worry about Chaos in the slightest. At one point, however, she glared at him. "Will you please stop crowding me?" Arianna asked, looking pointedly at the way he spread his things over the table. "You keep bumping into me, and it's rather difficult to take notes."

In answer, Chaos slowly turned to glare at her. "If it's a bother to you then move it." This girl only succeeded in annoying him. Why couldn't she just be quiet? he thought to himself. It didn't help that he could smell the shampoo in her hair thought it was the most inviting smell he'd encountered. He felt a pair of eyes on him and glanced back to see a boy with red hair smirking at him. He then preceded to hand him a note when the teacher wasn't looking. Rolling his eyes but taking the note anyways, Chaos opened it and read its contents. 'Looks like you need some help getting with the lady.' Chaos sneered in disgust and scribbled back, 'I don't need help getting with her because I don't want her.'

The jock behind him chuckled when he read what the teen in front of him wrote. 'Then you won't mind if I have a night with her.'

'Do what you want.'

'I'm Nash. Remember that.' Chaos didn't reply back after that one. He couldn't care less about this guy's name and writing back would only infer that he wanted to be friends. Chaos Blaze didn't need or want friends. He tossed the note in the trash and glanced over at Angel who had taken him up on his offer to slide over a couple of his books to offer her more writing space.

Her head was bowed over her notebook, and if she saw the exchange going on, she said nothing of it. Instead, she appeared to be reading her textbook with interest, writing down bits and pieces to flesh out her notes a little bit more. Her handwriting was a neat print that was easy to read. Frowning suddenly, she reached over and moved his laptop slightly so that she could read the screen. "You are a very good note-taker." Arianna commented softly, fixing an error on her copy. "The teacher's handwriting is very messy."

Chaos blinked, slightly surprised she had mustered up the courage to move his work and then comment on it. "Thank you." it was a strange thing to come from his mouth considering the tough exterior he had set up for himself with her. "If you need to switch let me know." by this time he had started typing again, refusing to look at her when he was being remotely nice to her.

"Thank you, but I like knowing that I can get out easily. I don't like being in a confined space." She looked up and glanced around the windowless room. "That and there are too many people in the room..."

"And don't look now but you have someone staring holes into you." he muttered, eyes still on the screen of his laptop to make it appear that he had gone back to work.

Startled, she broke her pencil and fished for another one, looking for the person. Seeing the redhead in the seat behind Chaos, Arianna raised her eyebrow in question. 'What?' Her face asked.

Nash shrugged, but then held up one finger. He scribbled something down on a note and handed it to her. 'Hey, you're Angel right? You look as if you could use a friend. Well, more friends other than Terry and Chaos here.'

She opened the paper and wrote underneath his. 'Yes, I'm new. Terry was being nice to me earlier. And Chaos... well, I'm stuck with him even if I don't like it.' Handing the paper back over her shoulder, she made another note on the board.

When are you free?' he asked and winked to one of his buddies.

The brunette frowned in thought, giving this matter serious attention. 'I'm not sure... I'm going to be busy all week.' She wrote back.

'We'll make time then. What are you doing tonight?'

'Terry and I are hanging out, he's driving me home.' Still frowning, she added, 'I thought you had a girlfriend'. Something wasn't right, but Arianna couldn't put her finger on it.

'No, we broke up the other day. Besides, why can't I have a female friend to hang out with as well as a girlfriend?'

'True enough, but I can be boring.' She warned.

'No problem, I'm sure we can find something interesting to talk about.'

'May I have a day or two to check my schedule?' She wrote. 'That way, things don't 'pop up' unexpectedly on my end.'

'Sure. Do whatever you need to. Don't forget to let me know when you're free.' To avoid getting into trouble, Nash smiled up at the teacher when he passed by, giving him a look of innocence.

Chaos had been reading the notes when Angel's head was down, writing back. He looked over at Nash and then back at the girl beside him. Nash seemed like the kind of guy that would purposely lead on a girl like Angel and then break her heart for shits and giggles. For some reason it didn't settle right with him. He got an angry feeling, almost territorial.

'I'm Angel Fairchild.' She wrote. 'You never told me your name.'

'I'm Nelson, Nelson Nash. A lot of people call me Nash but I'd like it if you called me Nelson.'

Arianna turned her head and smiled warmly at Nelson, then tucked the paper they were writing on away so that she could refocus on her notes.

Chaos frowned at his screen, not missing the exchange between Nelson and Angel.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Nelson was one of the first people out but before he left he grinned at Arianna.

Without knowing why, Chaos just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "For the record, Nash isn't the guy you think he is." he muttered and saved his work. He put the laptop away with his books and turned to the girl he now sat beside. The girl he was having mixed feelings about and it was driving him crazy.

"I intend to do a background check on him, that's why I asked for his name. Terry knows the ground here better than I do." She replied as she packed up. "I'll give you my number later." Suddenly she beamed at the doorway and waved; making the smile that she'd given Nelson seem cold in comparison. "Hey Terry."

Chaos didn't return the smile, he just stared after her until the teacher asked if he was okay. He didn't answer the teacher either, just got up and left the class.

"Hey, how was class?" said Terry once he saw Arianna.

"It was interesting... Chaos is going to be my partner in this class... and some guy tried to hit on me. Nelson Nash. Do you know him Terry?" Arianna slung her bag on her shoulder and stood with a wince.

The name had Terry's head whipping around. "Don't trust him, whatever you do. He's a playboy. And a jerk at that. He may come off as nice but his only true love is his car and sex."

Her eyes went wide, and she swallowed. "Okay… you lost me Terry. If he wanted… that… kind of thing why would he pick me out?" She asked as she went though the door that the other held open for her. "Nelson didn't seem to want that from me, I think… Did you want to see the conversation?"

"I'm not sure. He might think you're one of those girls that looks like she has low self esteem so he'd bring it up just to crush it. I know you don't have a low self esteem, but he doesn't know that. And yes, I would like to see the conversation please."

She stopped and turned slightly so that her bag was in his reach "Blue folder, left hand side, and third paper back." Arianna said calmly, her light brown eyes scanning the hall in case Nelson or Chaos popped up again.

The older teen did as instructed and scanned it's contents. "Arianna, he's playing you. He never speaks to anyone that way."

The smaller girl cocked her head, hearing a warning tone in his voice that usually meant trouble. "No Terry, you aren't going to turn him into hallway pie or street pizza." She sighed. "Thank you for the warning."

"If he bothers you, let me know. I won't tolerate him harassing you." Terry handed the note back and led the way to the exit.

"I'm more worried about Chaos, Nelson doesn't concern me now that you've told me what I needed to know Terry."

"Chaos? I don't think he'll do anything to you. Not while I'm around anyway. Besides, he can't get away with anything with the other students and teachers watching."

She shot him a glare. "Terry," Arianna said patiently. "I'm STUCK with him until the term ends."

"Yeah, and I really don't think he's going to start throwing punches in the middle of class."

Seeing that he didn't understand, the brunette shook her head. "Terry, what do you and your partner do when you two have to work together on something?"

"Divide the work and either work on it individually, stay after school or go to one another's home to work on it. Why?"

"Use your head Terry. If he comes over to my place, my secret isn't going to STAY a secret very long, not to mention he's a guy..." She left it hanging and waited for the light bulb in his brain to turn on

Terry raised an eyebrow. "Then you do everything in your power to ensure you either stay at school or divide the work."

"We're talking about Chaos here Terry, and he gives me the creeps! He kept staring at me whenever he thought I wasn't looking." She sighed again. "Never mind, let's get that ice cream."

Terry only sighed and opened the door for her to get in. "If you like I'll be there too." He rounded to the other side and started the car. "Marble and chocolate ice cream here we come." he took off down the road, neglecting to see the pair of dark blue eyes that watched them leave the school grounds.