Hello my lovelies! Once more, no I haven't abandoned "A New Generation"...I've just got a severe case of writer's block again. And this story seems to be my fall back for that ailment now! Also September happened, which means I'm back at work after what seemed to be the fastest summer holidays ever. Such fun!

Anyway, I'm playing around with some ideas for this story, so I may make it longer than I originally intended. We'll see.

Any characters you recognise belong to Tamora Pierce.

p.s. updated this chapter a little...the error gremlins had snuck into the computer again.

2

Checking her reflection in the mirror for the tenth time, Kelly mentally berated herself.

It's just dinner down the pub. No one cares what you look like. Besides, you live in tracksuit bottoms and hoodies at work, anything you wear otherwise is going to be an improvement!

She wouldn't admit to herself the real reason why she wanted to look nice. She knew Neil would make some sort of comment about it, as he always did whenever Dom joined them on a night out.

Running a brush through her chin length hair, Kelly sighed, pulling her fringe so it lay flatter on her forehead. The haircut had been a mistake; she had not really been paying attention when the hairdresser asked her what she wanted, instead thinking about lesson plans and marking. The next thing she knew, most of her straight mousy brown hair had been on the floor.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. Kelly put the hair brush down and put on a slick of clear lip-gloss. Stepping back from the mirror, she considered the overall effect of her best blue jeans and the floral patterned shirt.

It'll do, Kelly thought, wrinkling her nose. She slid her feet into a pair of ballet pumps (she never wore heels – she was nearly six-foot as it was) just as her mobile phone beeped to signal a text message.

It was Neil. "Outside."

Grabbing her bag and jacket on the way, Kelly trotted down the stairs of her first-floor flat and opened the front door to an unwelcome sight.

Oh no…

Kelly had been expecting Neil's car, but was confronted instead with Dom's old red Mini. At the tiny passenger window, she saw Neil himself; face pressed against the glass, grinning widely at her.

She knew his game. Neil was going to say he had to go early or something, leaving Kelly to get a lift home with Dom on her own in the hope that magic would ensue. Kelly had other ideas. Her secret crush on Dom was going to stay precisely that. A crush. And a secret. Kelly wasn't good at flirting. Any attempts always ended with hideous embarrassment on her part and sometimes on the other person's as well.

Embarrassment was something else Kelly wasn't good at.

I'm going to kill him, she thought to herself. Not only is his hair-brained matchmaking scheme going to end badly, the three of us are going to look like some sort of child's joke all piling out of this car. I'm not even sure how we're all going to fit in.

As if to prove her point, Neil opened the door and unfolded himself, joint by joint.

"My Lady," he said, giving a flourishing bow. Kelly rolled her eyes. "As a true gentleman, I will even let you have the front seat."

It took about five minutes for Neil to pull forward the passenger seat and crawl gamely into the back. It took another five minutes for Kelly to pleat herself into the front seat, shift the chair as fair forward as it would go to accommodate Neil's stupidly long legs and manage to put her seatbelt on without kneeing herself in the chin.

Finally settled, she turned to the driver. "Hi Dom!"

He smiled at her, making her heart speed up. "Hey Kellsbells." That nickname, from anyone else, would have made her cringe. From Dom, it made her grin like a silly schoolgirl. "I take it Meathead here didn't warn you about the Mini situation. Apparently his car's not starting."

"It does that sometimes," came Neil's slightly muffled voice from the back. Kelly caught a glimpse of his smug expression in the mirror and fought to keep the scowl from her face. "Can we go please? I think the blood's being cut off to all my limbs."

"Well, at least it doesn't need to make its way to your brain," retorted Dom, shifting the tiny car into gear and pulling away.

Thankfully the drive to the pub was only short. Kelly gripped the handle above the door with white knuckles as the Mini bumped and clattered its way along the road.

"Dom…I don't mean to offend…but why have you got this car?"

He winced; although whether it was from the question or the grinding noise the car made as he shifted up a gear, Kelly couldn't tell. "I inherited it from my older brother. He decided he needed a newer model, and I just needed a car so…" He glanced at her, eyebrow raised. "What's wrong with a Mini anyway? They're classic cars! Haven't you ever seen The Italian Job?"

"No," admitted Kelly, grimacing as they went over a speed bump and the top of her head hit the roof. "And I'm not disputing that Minis are very nice cars generally speaking. But not when they're this old and rattly. And not when you're over six-foot tall and have equally tall friends and relatives."

"Point taken."

Kelly craned her head to look back at Neil. "So where's Yuki tonight?"

There were a couple of grunts as Neil shifted position before answering, "My darling fiancé decided that she couldn't bear a night sitting with a group of teachers talking nothing but shop and panicking about OFSTED. So she's staying home to Skype her mother in Japan about wedding stuff. Because that's so much more fun!"

Kelly smiled. She always allowed herself to feel a little smug whenever Neil spoke about his relationship. She had been the one to introduce Neil to Yuki – a childhood friend from the few years she'd lived in Japan when her father had been transferred there with his job. Yuki had come to stay with Kelly a few years before, to improve her English with a view to becoming a translator, met Neil…and had never left. The wedding was in a mere four months.

"Here we are children," commented Dom, as he brought the Mini to a screeching halt. The car park of the Green Knight was fuller than Kelly had ever seen it before.

"Everyone's got the same idea as you two, by the looks of it," said Dom. "Hang on a tick; I'll give you a hand out."

Dom exited the car with the ease of much practise. Trotting round to the passenger side, he opened to door and offered Kelly a hand. "Fair maiden, if it please you."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but grinned nonetheless, allowing him to bodily haul her out of the miniscule car. As she tried to lever herself out without braining herself on the doorframe, Kelly lost her balance and fell against Dom.

"Whoops! Are you all right?"

Later, Kelly would admit to herself she lingered there a little too long; when she finally stepped back from his embrace, her cheeks felt extremely warm. She kept her eyes on the ground.

"Kelly?"

Tearing her eyes away from Dom's Converse trainers, Kelly met his blue eyes with her hazel ones. "I'm fine." It came out too softly. She cleared her throat. "I'm fine, thanks. Sorry."

He gave her a slightly confused smile and Kelly felt her heart speed up. The moment was ruined seconds later when a cross voice came from the car, "Oi! Is anyone actually going to let me out?"

Dom stuck his tongue out at her and moved her gently to the side so he could help his errant cousin. Kelly watched him for a moment, before realising she was essentially staring at his bum in his extremely well fitting jeans.

God, what's wrong with me? She suddenly felt hot and flustered. Turning away to compose herself, Kelly trained her gaze at the field that lay in darkness behind the pub.

She frowned and squinted. In the distance a large fortification lay. From the battlements, flags fluttered gently in a breeze that Kelly couldn't feel. That same non-existent breeze seemed to bring to her the smells of stables and mud.

"Hey, Dolly Daydream! Come on, there's a pint with my name on it in there," said Neil from behind her. Dom was already walking towards the pub.

Kelly half turned. "Neil, look over there. Can you see…" she turned back and let the question trail away. There was nothing there but the twinkling of lights from the motorway in the distance and the empty field.

"What?" Neil looked over her shoulder.

Kelly realised her mouth was hanging open, shut it and then shook her head. "I think I'm actually going mad. Come on, perhaps I need a drink after all." She gave him a stern look now Dom was out of earshot. "Oh…and I'm going to kill you by the way."

He didn't look bothered by this statement in the slightest – in fact he seemed as pleased as punch with himself. "Look at the bright side, Mindelan. At least it's taken your mind off school!"