No Longer Alone

by LuxUmbra2012

Well, me and Matt are gonna break up the next chapter into two parts. Here's part one of Chapter 6. by the way, a shoutout to AlphaScorpio for giving me the inspiration for the structure of the story. By the way, considering how it might advance, possible rating jump.

2. Chapter 2

Vanessa

Fate or free will. You believe in one or the other, and I believe in fate. Why is this? Well, there are many factors to this. You cannot "free will" yourself to be born into a wealthy family (like me), you can't "free will" yourself to have a father with a position of power (like me), and you certainly can't "free will" yourself into having a certain charisma that can make or break (in the most literal sense of the word) people (again, like me). Such is fate, and I know what my fate is. My fate is to rule. Anyone who questions that fate will pay dearly for their insolence. You may think that I can only talk the talk, but I don't make idle threats, as most people who know me can tell you. Also, those same people will tell you that I am well on my way to my fate. You don't know who I am? I suppose you wouldn't considering that most people don't live in Toronto. My name is Vanessa Richardson, and you'd better remember that when I become queen.

You may be wondering why a sweet, seventeen year old wolf would talk like this. Well, it all started with a cat, a cat named Leo Leonardo the Third. God I hate him. He's always showing me up in school, even after all that I've put him through. I have to admit, the guy's got resolve that's for sure. You see, way back in the third grade we had this test, can't remember what it was for, but it was a pretty hard test I can tell you that. To make a long story short, I got a 99, he got 100. You may think that this is a stupid reason for torturing someone, but there's more to it than that. After leaving for home that day, I met a man. He wore a black suit that gave him a mysterious look, had unruly and wild brown hair, and even though the sun was shining brightly, I still couldn't see his face, as if though the shadows didn't want me to see it, only the stubby goatee that hung from his chin.

At first, I was apprehensive about him, after all I was told not to talk to strangers, and I still was at the impressionable age of seven. Yet, I was drawn to him somehow, as if I needed to listen to him. We talked for a while and when we finished our discussion he introduced himself as J.E., but he had a pseudonym that other people called him by: Thomason Goodchild. The day I met him was the fated day that changed my life forever.

When I went that direction the next day he was there again, ready to talk to me. Yet today was different. Yesterday was only small talk, such as how was your day, the weather, you know, the basic stuff. Today however, he asked me whether or not I knew about fate. I'm pretty sure that I looked at him weird at that moment. I knew what fate was, but at the time I thought that it was a stupid thing to think about and that it was free will that governed our lives. When I told him this I could see a small smile form as he shook his head. I still remember what he told me, "Vanessa you silly little girl. You really think that there is such a thing as free will?"

I nodded my head and said, "Yes. Don't you?"

He laughed a very condescending laugh at this and said, "Let me ask you something, girl. Do you think that it was by free will that you entered this world?"

I nodded again, "Yeah. Mommy and Daddy said that they wanted me and I was born."

J.E., stroked his goatee, "That may be, but what if your birth was an accident? What if they didn't really want to have you and they never told you to spare your feelings? Does that sound like free will to you Vanessa?"

At the time, I really didn't know what he meant by the whole "accident" thing, but something about his words rang true to me. Yes, what if, somehow, I was born accidentally? That couldn't have been free will if I was born without my parents' say so. Although I wasn't entirely convinced about this whole, "fate", thing, so I just went back to the small talk that day and went on my way back home and learned the true meaning of fate.

I was unsuspecting of what would happen when I opened the door. I could tell you what I was expecting however; my mother waiting for me at the door. You couldn't have asked for a better mother, she was one of those women that had a smile on her face and place for you in her heart. What I went on though was entirely different than what I thought would happen. When I opened the door and into my house, mom wasn't there. This was uncommon, but not enough so that I would be alarmed. That was when I heard a sob from the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of something dropping. I went into the kitchen and saw my father crying and the thing that fell was the phone. He looked surprised to see me, and even more saddened as well. It was then I learned one of the most, if not the most horrible pieces of news in my life: There was a car accident and my mother was involved. My only solace to this was that when she was crushed by the oil rig that ran into her, her death was instantaneous.

The day after that I was back at school, trying to get my mind off my mother by working hard. Yet, nothing could clear my head; every little thing reminded me of my mother in some way. I was still stewing in my emotions while walking back home. On my way, I saw J.E. again, still looking at me from behind the shadows that obscured his face. I walked past him, hoping that he would ignore me, but I was stopped when I heard him say, "Hey, kid? You alright? You seem kind of blue."

I sighed. I needed someone to tell this to, even if it was this strange and shifty man, but still, I needed to tell somebody besides dad, and he did speak with me before. So I told him everything that happened yesterday when I got home. When I finished, J.E. seemed empathetic, "Poor kid. I'm sorry to hear that." he shrugged, "Although, such is fate."

I raised my eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

His lips curled slightly, "Well, yesterday, you told me you didn't believe in fate, now it has punished you by killing your mother."

"That makes no sense!" I objected, "The person who was driving the truck got drunk on his own!"

He wagged his finger at me. "Ah, yet you don't consider the possibilities. Maybe a friend of his gave him the drink and he decided to drink and drive. Maybe your mother dropped something, and when she wasn't paying attention, she forgot to stop at a light and hit the truck. Fate determines what happens to someone, and in order to teach you a lesson about fate, your mother was fated to die."

In some weird, twisted, morbid way, I started to believe him. What he said made sense to me. He then asked, "Out of curiosity, do you know anything about the person that was driving the truck?"

I nodded, "A little. When I asked Daddy why the man was drinking he told me that the driver was down on his luck. He told me that most people who drink are people who lived bad lives."

He stroked his goatee in thought, "Yes, what your father said was true. Although he did leave out a tiny detail."

"What?"

"Well, he didn't mention anything about how a lot of those kinds of people kill."

"They do?" I asked.

He nodded, "Indeed. They feel that since they have horrible lives that they should make others' lives as miserable as possible. Especially the failed genius type."

"What do you mean? Don't smart people live good lives?"

He shrugged, "They do... if their fate says so."

I processed all of this and repeated it to him, "So, smart people who have bad lives will kill people?"

He smiled, "Such a bright girl."

Something in my brain clicked at that moment, "Wait a second, I know a smart guy who seems to have a bad life."

He gasped while covering his mouth with his hand. It sounded slightly fake, "You do? How unfortunate..."

I stood there for a minute. It made no sense. He seemed like an okay enough person. How could he possibly kill someone? This man seemed to have all the answers, so I asked, "J.E., the guy I know, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would kill someone."

"Let me guess, he's quiet, never hurt a fly, but most importantly, he is a very smart kid."

I nodded, slightly disbelieving, "Yeah, how did you know?"

He waved his hand, "They all seem like that. I've seen a lot of them in my time."

Suddenly, I became slightly afraid. I knew a potential psychopath who could kill at any moment. I then asked J.E. "Isn't there a way to make it so they don't kill?"

He shook his head, "Unfortunately no. Their fate is set. They will kill, whether they want to or not. And the boy you claim to be harmless… his future, his fate, his destiny, is to kill. He is meant to destroy. I can see it all now, standing over a pile of bodies, a demonic grin on his face, laughing maniacally as he destroys all that we innocents hold dear with his own hands. I've seen it too many times. Do you truly believe that he will remain harmless? His fate is set. There is no way to prevent this."

I left J.E. that day with a heavy heart and feeling the world on my shoulders. I was feeling confused, sad, but mostly, I felt anger. I felt malice. I felt sheer, absolute, hatred. At who, you may ask? The guy I told you about earlier, Leo Leonardo the Third. He was going to kill someone, maybe someone I knew. I was feeling so much hatred that it felt that he was the one who killed my mom.

When I went to school the next day, my hatred took form. Under the pretense of him getting a better score on the last test, I started to torment a certain gray cat in any way possible. I figured that if I couldn't stop him from killing that I might as well make his already hard life harder. Yet he was the beginning. I started to notice others. Other outcasts that seemed to live hard lives. So I expanded from Leo to the others as well. Some joined my cause, but I never told them the real reason I did what I did; preemptive revenge.

I didn't see J.E. for about a month after I started my little campaign. When he asked me what I had been up to, I told him everything that I had done since I saw him last. When I finished he smiled and said, "You've been a busy little bee, haven't you? In fact, you've set the path to your fate rather well."

I looked at him questioningly and that was all he needed to continue, "I have a bit of a gift. I can see people's fates."

I gaped at him, "You can?"

He nodded, "Yes, I can. For example, see that jogger over there?"

I looked behind him and I saw the jogger he was talking about, "Well, in about forty seconds he's going to run into someone else, who is an attorney, and they'll both fall onto the street and nearly get run over by a car. In the car is a parole officer, who will arrest the jogger for skipping bale."

When he finished talking, I looked back to the jogger, who was running across the street. A man with a briefcase was walking across also, but he was looking at his watch and didn't see the man coming toward him. They both knock into each other at the middle of the intersection, and fall to the ground. When they hit the ground, a car came along and barely stopped before running them over. Another man stepped out of the car to see if the two people he almost ran over were okay, before the officer recognized the jogger and arrested him. Admittedly, I was slightly skeptic before, but now I was convinced. I begged him to tell me what my fate was, and this is what he told me, "Vanessa, your fate is to stop all the killing that the people you have been bullying will cause. You will stop it all, by becoming the mayor of this city. Better yet, by becoming its queen."

Queen Vanessa Richardson. Yes, I liked the sound of that. Succeeding my father? I liked the sound of that as well. Ever since that day, I dedicated myself to weeding out all those who will cause trouble in the future. If I was to rule, I had to make an impression on all those whose fates would lead them to kill. Right now, I'm only able to make them submit, but when I rule, they will be the first to leave my society. They will leave it through a body bag.

So you see? I only paint myself as a heartless bitch, but in reality, I'm doing it for the good of society. I don't want to see anyone's mother killed on my watch or anyone lose someone precious to them. Mom, wherever you are, I hope you're proud of me, because I will create a utopia. A place where no pain, suffering, and prejudice will exist, but I must remove those who threaten this, and Leo is one of them. Then and only then will there be a true paradise, and with J.E. behind me and supporting me, there's no possible limit to what I can do. Of course, who's to say that he'll be useful when I ascend to power?

Leo

I woke up with a gasp. I sat up in my bed, holding my forehead and feeling the sweat that had accumulated there. Taking a heavy breath, I hang my legs over the side of my bed and just sit there a moment, thinking. It was that dream again. That same dream that I've been having for God knows how long. I get a pit in my stomach just thinking about it; the screams, the blood, the absolute feeling of helplessness...

I shake my head of those thoughts and get off my bed, heading for the adjacent bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror, and I look like an absolute mess. Hair and fur sticking out at odd angles, bags under my eyes, and not to mention the glossy sheen of sweat on my forehead all added to my normally disheveled appearance. Deciding to at least make myself look slightly presentable, I take a shower. The hot water eased my tension from that dream, and helped to get my mind off of things.

When I finished I got dressed and left my bedroom and into the hall. Looking to the left, I saw the door that led to the room where my innocence ended (Wow. That sounded unbelievably stupid.). I know what you might be thinking, "Why haven't they moved out of the house where an overly traumatic event for a little boy occurred?" Well, my Uncle Scott refuses to move out. He said that it would help me through my trauma. All I can say to that is what he said is totally false.

I stare at that door, a pit in my stomach forming as I do so. The door had been sealed shut in attempt to keep the memories in the memories from leaking out. Not by Scott as you might expect, but by me when I was old enough to use a hammer without breaking a bone. I pulled my attention away from the door and walk down the stairs into the foyer and take a left to the kitchen. Scott was there, sipping a mug of coffee while reading a newspaper that was headlined, "Pantsman Saves the Day Again!" with a picture of said hero on the front page.

"You'd think they'd put more worthwhile things in the papers." I thought to myself bitterly as I sat down at my spot at the table where some breakfast sat. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against the guy, he does great things, he really does. In fact, if it wasn't for the guy, that psychotic Dr. Von Kruglor would've destroyed the city ages ago. But he's a news hog, plain and simple. He's definitely been in the papers more times than I can count, detracting from what's really important, like real life matters. But this city has always been so calm, aside from the hero and villain duking it out every now and then.

We eat our breakfast in silence, but this is actually pretty usual for us. After my parents died, we just stopped connecting like we used to do. We just grew distant, me with my struggling in school, and him with looking for work. Thanks to Vanessa's lie, most of the papers that ran his comic dropped it, not wanting to be associated with a 'pedophile'. In fact, the paper he was reading right now was one of the few that still ran it. Scott calls it a 'one man boycott'. I call it stubbornness.

After I put my plate at the counter, Scott finally spoke, saying, "Did it happen again?"

I didn't turn around; I just answered irritably, "You know the answer."

He laughed a little, despite my terse response, "I guess you're right. I was just holding out the hope you had a good night's sleep for once."

I turn around to face him and smiled slightly. He was showing concern for me, and all I did in return was act like an ass. I try and make up for it and say, "Thanks for actually caring enough to ask me though. Lord knows I don't get enough of that at school."

His face lost some of its mirth, but he did his best not to look too serious. He knew about my situation at school for some time now, but he can't exactly do much of anything about it. Being a registered sex offender didn't exactly score points with the school board, so I was on my own ever since that happened. All I had was his shoulder to cry on, and even that was barely ever around. He's always out looking for work ever since his comic stopped printing.

The short exchange was the only conversation we had that morning. After Scott finished with his coffee, he went upstairs to get ready for his job hunting. When he left, I grabbed my backpack and took a deep breath before walking outside my house and into the brisk Toronto air. I couldn't place it, but somehow, I actually felt like things might be different today. Probably just the cold air talking.

Toronto's School for Gifted Youths (the school I go to), was all the way in downtown Toronto. It's only a couple of miles away, but I get up so early from my nightmares that being on time isn't usually a problem. Although, even if I do get up this early every day, that didn't stop Vanessa from trying to hunt me down and make me late. Usually I just bore through it, narrowly escaping every now and then. Yet, today was different. When the buildings started getting taller, I started to get ideas. Ideas that could possibly work. I see a drain nearby, perfect for climbing up.

Using a mixture of my innate talents and second hand knowledge from Assassin's Creed, I grabbed the pipe, climbed up the pipe and onto the top of the building. I smirk to myself, knowing that Vanessa and her cronies couldn't possibly find me up here. I turn to the next building, which was about the same height as the one I was on, and jump to the next roof, my innate abilities going at it again. This cat thing is so awesome right now.

As I jumped from building to building, I wonder why I never did this before, and why I would even think of doing this in the first place. I guess that feeling I got this morning was kinda right, things are going pretty different than usual. Maybe I'll actually have some luck and find someone who doesn't listen to Vanessa. Nah, that's being too hopeful.

After a while of roof-leaping, I see the school. Getting to the closest building to the school, I find another drain and slide down; although I had to do those tasks painstakingly slow so no one could hear me. When I got to the ground, I was about to walk up to the schools front entrance when I heard a familiar voice say, "Well, I couldn't find Leo today, but I suppose you'll make an okay enough substitute."

"Crap.", I mumble to myself. I hide in a nearby clump of bushes. I could only hear snippets of the conversation where I was from, but the gist of what was going on was that Vanessa had cornered someone and was about to beat them because she couldn't find me. I hope that whoever she's doing this to doesn't get hurt too much. That pain was meant for me after all. After a minute or so, I climb out of the bushes and into a nearby window, just as the first period bell was about to ring. I sigh in relief. I didn't have a first period, so I had about an hour until I had to deal with Vanessa.

During this time, I just wander around the halls, thinking of nothing in particular. Helps to relieve stress. It doesn't cure it, but it does its job well enough. I check a nearby clock and I see that first period is about to end. I turn a corner in the direction of my Calculus class, when out of nowhere, I run into something, more specifically someone, who was running at full tilt, knocking me and the other person over. My first thought was that this person was Vanessa, but I shove that thought away, realizing that Vanessa would never be caught dead outside a classroom on a school day. That and the air around this person didn't seem to radiate seething hatred and a cocky attitude.

DJ

I close the door behind me and breathe in the crisp air before making my way to school. Not exactly the greatest kind in the world, since downtown is close to my home, and the city is still reeling from that damn Kruglor's most recent attack, (involving a giant mech fight), but hell, considering that I'm still breathing, then that's good enough for me.

As I walk down to the sidewalk from my porch, I notice that it's still slightly dark out. My first thought was that this was a good thing, because I would be able to hide easier from the crowds who hurled insults at me nearly every day, but then I remembered that most of said people are animals with heightened night vision, so it didn't matter much. Insert 'I am a dumbass' sign.

I sighed and walk down the sidewalk toward Toronto's School for Gifted Youths, one of the most prestigious schools in the city, hell, maybe even the province. Despite this though, it was really only a public school that had a good reputation and a rather pretentious name. They don't even have a screening or anything; they just let any Joe Schmoe inside. How else could an average guy like me get in? Yeah, I'll openly admit it, I'm not that smart, but if you had to take at least three different kinds of pills a day, then we'll talk.

The only thing I really am good at though, is computers. Just plop me in front of one of those things and I'll install, block, erase, hack, or virus crash anything you'd like. I don't know why though, it just seems that all the circuitry and coding makes automatic sense to me. It doesn't matter much though; I don't really get to use my talent all that much. After all, there's only one computer where I live and Grandpa Max would be royally pissed if anything happened to it.

I chuckle at that thought. You may think that might be weird, but if you knew my Grandpa, you'd be singing a different tune. Put simply, the man just can't stay mad for more than ten seconds. No seriously, I counted. For example, one time I told him that I broke one of his plates and I tried to hide it.

He then explodes and says things like "What the Hell were you thinking?", or, "That plate cost me at least thirty bucks, and now it's all gone!" Then after that initial explosion, he gets all apologetic and says sorry like there's no tomorrow. Then I tell him it's alright and we make up and everything is right with the world again. Honestly, it's a little weak of him to just not punish me, but I guess it goes to show how much of a good person he is. You'd think some of that kindness would pass on to mom...

No. She's not your mother. She disowned you the day the cops took her.

I shake my head of these thoughts and found myself three quarters of the way to school. Odd, usually one of Vanessa's cronies would be around here to either beat me or throw words at me. Must be preoccupied with something. I mentally shrug and was about to walk inside when I was forcefully shoved to the side and into a wall. Looking to see who it was, I was unsurprised to see it was Vanessa Richardson herself, steroid infused boyfriend Jason York at her side. Looking into their eyes I could sense a sort of disappointment, as well as bloodlust. She looked me over as if she were sizing me up.

Whatever she was looking for she found. She came closer as she said, "Well, I couldn't find Leo today, but I suppose you'll make an okay enough substitute."

I would've scoffed disbelievingly if I didn't expect what she said. Only one way out of this, and that was to use my other talent. Playing on her mind to lessen what could happen to me. "Couldn't find Leo huh? That sucks."

She snorted, "Damn straight. Why? Do you know where he is?"

I shook my head, "No. Although, he might be inside. Why not go check?"

She scoffed, "And leave you here without punishment? That's a laugh."

"Yeah, but what if you missed Leo because you were here beating me? That would be a shame wouldn't it?"

She paused, "You know what? I hate to say this but you're right. If the puke did come here and I missed him, that would be an awful shame."

I smiled to myself, thinking that I got away scot-free even if Leo got the shitty end of the stick (sorry, every man for himself right?), but then she said, "That's why I'm going inside to look for him while Jason here takes care of you.", she turned to the tiger, "You don't mind do you?"

He smiled down at her in an ironically tender sort of way as he said, "Don't worry; this guy will be totally unrecognizable by the time I'm done with him."

She smiled back, "Thanks, I'll owe you one later."

I groaned inwardly at the connotation. I didn't take a rocket scientist to tell you Vanessa was a 73 out of 10 on the slut and perversity scale, but nobody, not even her boyfriend could see that.

As she went out of my sight, Jason turned to me and said, "Okay, now here's how it's going to be. I need to save my energy to help out Vanessa if she finds the waste of space, and I highly doubt you want to be beaten to a bloody pulp, so let's make an agreement. I punch you in the face a few times and I'll leave you be, got it?"

I was confused. Lifting a bushy brow, I spoke, "Wait a second, you relish in being the sadistic bastard you are, why are you... I don't know if sparing me is the right word, but it comes pretty damn close for you."

He chuckled darkly, "Don't get me wrong, I love beating the shit out of kids like you every day. My beef's with Leo though, you haven't done anything to me, yet, and since Vanessa ain't lookin', I figured I'd let you off easy."

I sighed. At least my manipulation got me the lesser of two evils. The thought of running came to mind in that instant, but then I remembered that this guy was the captain of the football team. There was also the chance that I would run into Vanessa, who thinks that I'm getting my ass whooped right now. Guess I don't have much of a choice. Giving in, I said, "Alright, make it quick."

He pulled back his fist, "I intend to."

I braced myself. True to his word, Jason did make it quick, although he made no attempt to soften his blows. Guess I should've expected as much.

Blood was flowing freely from my nose as I stood back up. As I did, Jason left and went inside the school. Thanking my lucky stars, I heard a rustling from some bushes. Looking in the sound's direction, I saw a gray cat in blue clothes emerging from said bushes before diving through the open hallway window. Leo. Guess he wasn't inside after all. Just hope that Vanessa or Jason find him, for his sake... Shit, my face hurts.

Aeris Morning

"AERIS! VINCENT! WAKE UP! IT'S TIME FOR YOUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!"

I shot awake the moment I heard dad call for the two of us. Man, I will never get over his militaristic way of calling for us, but I can't exactly blame him for enlisting a few years before he met my mother and retired after 10 years. In any case, I angrily got out of bed, only to be greeted by the sheer cold of the whole second floor of the house. "Dammit, dad." You turned the heat off again, didn't you?" I muttered as I slightly shivered in place.

I walked to the large mirror I personally placed on my wall and looked at myself. Good Lord, I'm a wreck. My long hair was a complete and total jumble, making me look like some anime character. The rest of me wasn't so bad, it was just the way I looked whenever I woke up: Disheveled fur, messed up pajamas, and sleep in my eyes. It was 6:00 A.M. as my alarm clock read, and today would be the first day for me to start over. I felt a little nervous, but of course who wouldn't be, after all I'm going to be repainting the image I once had into something new and something I can be proud of. I swore that'd I do this right and that's what I will do. Before I could delve any further into my thoughts, the door to my room flew open and I immediately felt a small paw grasp my own. I turned around and looked down to see the shining yellow eyes of my 7 year old little brother, Vincent 'Red' Cole.

He beamed brightly at me, obviously showing his eagerness of a new day and a new chance, "Come on, big sis! Get ready cause I wanna go to the new school! My Xbox Live friend, Francis, goes to school here in Toronto!"

How could I forget about that? I knew that Vincent had a friend he would play Gears of War 1 (I banned him from playing 2 or 3 until he beat 1 to avoid giving him spoilers) and other games with on Xbox Live, using his account, named Francis Dwight. It was obvious that Francis was a kid and around my brother's age since I heard the two speak via Live Chat, so hopefully they could get along well. That reminded me of two players who can match my skills in video games, mainly CoD, who lived here in the city. It made me wonder if I could find out who they were. I was again interrupted from my thoughts as Vincent started shaking my left arm up and down rapidly, trying to get my attention. "Come on, Aeris! Go take a shower so we can eat and go!"

I knelt to face my brother eye to eye. "That eager to go to school, huh, Vince?"

"Yuh-huh!"He responded, shaking his head up and down like a rag doll. I smirked while Vincent went wide-eyed in shock. He knew what I was gonna do next and before he even had the chance; I grabbed him and started rubbing my knuckles on the top of his head, while he struggled vainly to escape, laughing all the while.

"Rush me, will ya?" I said as I continued temple burning him, while he shouted, "I'm sorry, big sis!"

I let him go and told him, "It takes time for a girl to get ready so go on ahead, Vince, but eat all of the bacon and I will get you!"

He nodded rapidly again, hugged me tightly, and ran off. Mom sounded shortly after he ran off, telling her son how nice of him to come for breakfast as the smell of mom's cooking wafted in the air through my open door. Before I could reach the handle, my father stepped in front of the door and stopped me from closing it. A grand and tall red furred cat stood there, raising an imaginative eyebrow at me as he gazed at me with blue eyes. "Morning, Aeris." He spoke.

"Oh, hey dad." I responded to him.

"Ready for your first day?", He knew what had happened to me during the course of last year, especially after I came home, absolutely furious with those self-absorbed jack-holes and upset at myself for, well, various reasons but mainly because I feel guilty since I knew I could've saved Will… In any case, I shook that thought out of my head. "No! I won't do that again! Never! I swear it… that I won't stand by like I did with Will." I thought to myself before facing my father and responding that I was ready for this new chance. A ghost of a smile crept on his face as he ruffled my already frizzled hair and said, "Your brother's right. Go fix yourself up and come on down for breakfast. Hurry up, because Vince has to be there at 7:30 for an introduction to class."

"Okay, dad. I'll be there ASAP."

"That's my girl. Now go on. Get yourself ready." Dad left after that and I shut the door behind him.

The hot water was quite the warm welcome, especially after the cold air earlier, so I took a little time to enjoy myself as I allowed the steaming water to cascade down my body. That's all I have to say here… Get out, now.

Now I was ready. After fixing my messed up hair, letting it free-fall down nearly to my waist again, and straightening my earlier look, I looked at myself. I would definitely be ready for this brand new day. I stood proud in my usual attire, which consisted of blue jeans, and a dark pink shirt. Since I finished the major exams back at Ottawa, there were no problems with my transfer here. Everything was in order and now… It was time for a new day and a second chance to redeem the mistakes of the past.

I walked out of my room, shut the door and run down the short flight of stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen where the rest of my family was. Vincent was chowing down on some French toast mom was still prepping on the stove, along with some eggs and grits. Dad ran downstairs behind me, spun around me, and wrapped his arms around my mother, having the usual suave look. I rolled my eyes, because I knew that he was, yet again, pulling another romance moment out of his infamous bag of tricks. God, I hope that doesn't happen to me when I get older, because that move is so damn cheesy. Grabbing a paper plate (we aren't poor. It's just freaking annoying to wash dishes over and over again.), and scooped some finished eggs, grits, bacon, and a few slices of toast then sat down at the table and began hastily eating beside my brother, who too was chowing down at a very rapid pace.

75 minutes pass and then dad calls for me and my brother to go to the car so he can drop us off. Both of us shot up from the couch, my silver watch reading 7:15. Vince's introductions would start in a few minutes so we would have to be quick. Normally, I would've driven but since this is a new town and all that crap, dad would show us around really quick before it would be okay to let me drive around the place.

The city isn't that bad looking. Sure, the coming winter will probably make it seem gray and lifeless, but still, it's going to be my new home, may as well look at the positives. Driving by a lot of people who looked to be about my age, I wondered about who my friends here might be. I knew I wouldn't make the same mistake as before and hang out with the so-called, "popular kids", but what about everyone else? My only real interests were video games and violent vampire/werewolf stuff, like Underworld (although secretly... I like Twilight...). Video games were my best bet, unless I wanted to wind up friends with some Edward fanatics, but how many gamer girls could there even be in this school? I know that the guys would be all over me, but for all the wrong reasons. This might be harder than I thought.

After my dad dropped off Vincent, the car became uncomfortably silent, something common considering that nearly every second he's spouting some sort of nonsense. It was about a minute after we left Vincent's new school that my dad started talking, "Hey sweetheart, you okay? You seem a little quiet."

I sigh. I didn't really like how dad usually got up into my business, but right now I needed someone to talk to, "Yeah, just a bit nervous is all. You know how it is, moving to a new place and everything."

He knew that wasn't the real reason why I was worried, but he went along with it, "Well, don't worry. I'm sure that whoever you become friends with will be enjoyable people. Just don't-"

I roll my eyes, knowing EXACTLY how the next sentence would go, "Yeah, I know, 'Just don't make friends with any boys because they will only be friends with you to get into your pants', I heard this speech before dad."

He chuckled, "Just checking to see if you remembered."

My mood started to brighten, "How could I not? You've been drilling that into my head ever since I actually understood what 'getting into your pants' actually meant."

He nodded, "True, although I think you're being a little unfair. After all, I'm just trying to take care of you."

"There's a fine line between 'taking care of me', and, 'completely obsessing over my well-being', dad." I informed him.

This line of discussion carried on all the way over to my new school, and when we pulled in, my fears were slightly abated. Saying goodbye to my dad as I got out of the car, I drank in the sight of my new school, my brand new opportunity. At first glance, it seemed pretty bland, but then again, when was a more prestigious high school gussied up like one of those massive churches that have Christian bands and celebrities show up? In any case, I didn't see it like some other person would. I saw this as my second chance at everything I was affiliated for in the past, Jody, the popular girls, Will... for his sake I'd do this right. Already, other students started their approach here, some others standing in front of the gates, others doing their business, etc. "Hey-hey-hey... What do we have here? Hey, guys, lookie here! Fresh meat! Sweater meat included!" Already, I knew that this second shot at things was going to be difficult, but some pervert already throwing a lewd comment my way? No wonder Dad kept telling me to avoid guys. There's probably not even a decent one amongst these pervs...

This school was on a block schedule and first period (which I didn't have) was still going on, giving me some time to get situated before school really started for me. Right now I needed to find out where the hell this calculus class was, or else I'd be making a rather piss poor impression on the teacher there. Of course the school didn't think to make a map when I got my schedule, because that would be too easy for me.

15 minutes til' class time. Okay, now I'm starting to get a little panicky. Class is about to start and I have absolutely no fucking clue as to where all my classes are, let alone the one I'm supposed to be at. I start running down the halls, looking at each of the door numbers, hoping to whatever god that might be listening at this point would be kind enough as to switch all the rooms around so that the one I was looking for would be right in front of me, when I hit something, or rather someone, knocking the both of us onto the ground.

Aeris Meeting Leo

"Dammit, that hurt." I thought. I heard feet shuffling next to me as I regained my senses after being knocked down. Getting to my feet, I saw a gray-furred cat boy standing next to me, tilting his head sideways like a confused child as he looked at me with emerald green eyes. It was awkward to say the least as I said to him, "Hey, you alright?"

This caused him to snap out of his mini-trance and say, "Sorry, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going." before walking past me.

At this point, I needed help and I needed it badly. A thought crossed my mind. Maybe he could help. As he walked away, I stopped him by shouting, "Could you help me? It's my first day here and I don't know where the fuck I need to go."

For a while, there was silence. He didn't answer me; he just had his back to me. Truthfully, I was pissed at this guy now. All I asked for was some help, and then this guy just stands there, his back turned to me no less. Shaking my head and groaning, I decided to continue my futile search for class before he shouted back, "Hey, wait up! I'll help out."

I turned around, thankful that he was actually going to help me, and said, "Thank you so much."

He made a dismissive gesture as he walked toward me, attempting to be modest, and "It's alright. I'm Leo by the way."

I smiled at him, "I'm Aeris."

Another silence. It wasn't awkward, but it did feel slightly uncomfortable. Leo broke the silence, "Um, can I see your schedule?

I nodded and handed him the slip of paper. After looking at it for a while, he said, "Follow me."

I did as I was told and he led me back the exact same way I came from, occasionally pointing out one of the classrooms I would be going to. Classrooms that I had passed several times. Insert 'I am a dumbass' sign here. Although, this wasn't the half of it. The biggest middle finger of all was when he showed me where my last class was. It was the door where I started my search. I absolutely lost it at this point, "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me! I was right fucking there! How much of an idiot can I fucking be!"

Leo attempted to calm me down, "Hey, it's okay. A lot of people here get lost on their first day. It really doesn't help that they arrange the classes the way they do."

"Yeah, why do they that anyway?" I asked, curious why the school didn't put similar class numbers together.

"Well," He began to explain. "On my first day here, they said it was arranged this way because they didn't want the students to just push their mental boundaries, but their physical ones as well. Their logic is that if you can push through getting from class to class, it shows that you have a will to succeed."

I looked at him as if what he said was completely idiotic, but that was only because it was. I then said, "Wow. That is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard."

Leo chuckled, "I agree. If anything, it makes you hate school even more than usual."

I laughed slightly at his small joke. Finally, a guy that seemed to think with the right head for once. Score one for me. Although, he didn't really seem to be the gamer type. If anything, he looked more like the local punk, what with all the scars and bruises on his face, even though many of them were mostly healed. Although, he definitely doesn't act like how he looks, that much I can tell. If he did, I definitely would've done my father proud. "Hey, thanks again for giving me this mini tour, if you didn't I'd be dead for sure."

He shrugged, "Meh, it's alright. It was the right thing to do."

I was about to ask him if he could tell me a few things that I should know about when I noticed on a nearby clock that it was only three minutes until the warning bell. I knew where I had to go now, so I didn't panic, but I hastily said, "Sorry, I have to go. I have to make a good first impression after all."

He nodded, "I understand. You'd better hurry up if you want to get there before the bell. See ya there."

I smiled at him before I literally turned tail and ran to my first class. So far, so good.

Leo's Stand

I could only watch as the girl, Aeris, walked off to the calculus class I showed to her while standing stock still, not even moving a single muscle within my very frame. I grew curious and my thoughts wandered to a possibility I long considered dead. Could I possibly get to be friends with her? What force on this planet was compelling me to think such thoughts when I buried that possibility years ago? But that girl, she made me feel different. Why? What exactly about her even caught my attention? "She looks like my mother…"

Could that be it? Maybe I should try talking to her again. Yeah, I should. She hasn't met Vanessa or Jason yet, I can tell that much about her. Maybe she could be my first true friend. Could she? My body was telling me to follow her and take the chance. I didn't want to, knowing the very huge likelihood of Vanessa steering her away from me like she does to all new students here, every one of them taking arms alongside her in the hunt for Toronto's resident monster, i.e. me. But there it was, my heart telling me, "Go…"

The bell rang, signifying the start of the school's 5 minute warning, but I didn't care. I was trying to fight against my heart, that one damn thing I decided not to listen to in years. But it was a losing battle from the start as my mind flooded with possibilities. Losing the war, I began my trek to calculus class with Mr. Melton in order to speak to her again, hoping for a 'hello' in the least when I heard the sounds of other students coming. Eventually, one spotted me despite my best efforts not to be seen and shouted, "I found him! He's outside class!"

"Shit!" I thought before breaking into a sprint to escape the quickly gathering crowd of followers, all of them possessing killer glares in their eyes. Some intercepted me as I neared the west hall, running north as they charged at me. Hopping to the side, I ran across the wall to evade them, some trying to grab me, others trying to attack me with fists and claws. Smirking as the others called me a freak for running on the wall, something I considered normal since I had done it in the past, even if only for a brief moment (which at this time was more than enough to evade my pursuers.). I shot by some random students who quickly broke into chase mode after realizing it was me they saw, along with the now huge crowd. I made a sharp turn to the west corridor, where my class (and hers) was at the end of the very long hallway, but I bumped straight into someone again, but this time, it wasn't someone who possessed this gentle aura, it was the nightmare I had known ever since I was a child: Vanessa Richardson.

It was painfully obvious it was her as she recovered to her feet. I would've recovered even faster than her and took off before she even knew it was me but I was too stunned by the fact that she was waiting for me, planning a trap, and the fact that I didn't even care because of that girl. She was standing above me, that snow white wolf with white eyes, wearing that damn skimpy clothing again. God, she looks so fucking slutty in those clothes, but all of these damn spineless idiots say she looks so gorgeous and sexy in that, especially the posse of girls behind her. Fucking cowards.

Vanessa smirked evilly as the others began to circle me, some congratulating Vanessa for catching me again, while others were goading her to fight me right her and now. Even though she was a monster in every sense of the word, I was still a gentleman, no matter what happens, so I refused to fight back against her, yet her boyfriend was a different story. But right now, I had her to worry about. "So… caught again freak? You really are a stupid dumbass for falling for the same trick again. Also, you ruined my perfectly good looks with your disgusting form, so now you are going to have to pay for it."

Truthfully, I could easily evade them all, so long as Jason or his group wasn't present, but something inside me, my heart, told me to stay, to stand up against her. "What the Hell am I thinking?" I thought to myself. I knew full well what happened last time I tried to stand up to her. Last time I did, I was limping home with multiple injuries from her, Jason, and his group after they were through with me. I, again, fought against my mind, trying to choose the lesser of two evils, but again, I lost and stood on my two feet, letting my tail softly hit the floor behind me, while those behind me took a few steps back while keeping the circle intact. They didn't want me to escape, and that's why they were trying so hard to keep it intact, all of them on baited breath, ready to cheer the true monster onwards to attack me. But, I didn't care about them, or the extreme danger I was in. I just didn't. I could only think of what could possibly be my only chance at being friends with someone who was smart enough to just pass by Vanessa's threats, but I guess the fact that she makes good on them would frighten them. Ruling with fear… What a coward. She looked at me oddly before saying, "What, you aren't even going to try and run?" Her grin suddenly came back, "Well, I suppose you just made my job easier then."

She immediately came at me with her right fist pulled back. I knew what was coming, but I refused to flinch, to duck, or even attempt to defend myself. Although, that didn't stop it from hurting any less when I hit the floor with a broken nose. All around me I could hear everyone cheering for Vanessa, shouting insults at me. At this point Vanessa would usually stand over me and basically tell me to give up on life. Not today.

The cheering stopped when I started to stand back up, and when I looked in Vanessa's direction, everyone behind her had wide eyes. Vanessa however, was nearly unreadable, her squinted eyes betraying how much she absolutely hated me. When I stood at my full height, I wiped the blood away from my face and smirked. It surprised me was that I wasn't even terrified about my own blood on my arm. Ignoring that for now, I once again decided to infuriate her. I don't know why but seeing her angry and hot-blooded was quite the entertaining show, despite the fact that I was getting my ass kicked. In a tone that matched my expression, I said, "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

Nearly everyone gasped. In all the years that Vanessa had been torturing me, I never once even tried to fight back (well, not in front of this big a crowd anyway). Vanessa knew this, and she knew her credibility was on the line if she didn't suppress this right away. If it was even possible, her eyes narrowed even more as she said, "What did you just say?"

I scoffed, liking the feeling that insulting her was giving me, "Oh, what, do I have to spell it out for you Van-ass-a? Well, you see that punch you threw at me felt so nice that I just couldn't help but ask for another. I mean, I know that you give me at least one every single day, but if you could be so kind as to give me another right now, I'd appreciate it."

What the fuck am I saying! That was pretty much an invitation for her to hit me again! I'm acting like a total idiot! But at the same time, I can't help but feel like this was how things were meant to be, me being an idiot and saying stupid things I mean.

Anyway, getting back to the real world, what I saw in Vanessa's eyes when I looked into them was pure and deadly malice. I think that after I said the Van-ass-a thing the rest of my words fell on deaf ears. The rest of my thoughts were drowned out when she shouted a cry of rage so loud that it would even put a banshee to shame. She ran at me with fists clenched, teeth bared, and lips snarling. Time seemed to pause, like Vanessa was using the VATS system from Fallout 3 to decide where to hit me. Then, I felt a sudden pain from my crotch, where she thought that she could do the most damage. And the count goes up to 785.

As I fell to the floor, the cheers coming back uncertainly, none of the others expecting what would happen next after a few moments earlier. While on the floor, Vanessa stood over me, looking at me like I was some sort of trash that should be thrown away. She then said, "Now, what do you say?"

I knew that it was "I'm sorry" she was going for, but instead I let the idiot side of me take over again and said, "Do you like touching me there? Because I say that you have a pathological desire to be very close to my dick. I mean, why the hell did you punch it when you could've kicked it? Ha, I can almost picture Freud doing pelvic thrusts inside your head."

Simultaneous gasps came from the crowd, some of the other students whispering stuff along the lines of, "Did he really just say that?" I knew that half of the people surrounding us didn't even know who Freud was, but I knew that Vanessa knew who Freud was, and what I said set her off again. She was about to raise her heel to stomp it on my chest, and since she was wearing heels, that was going to really hurt like hell, when I was literally saved by the bell. She lowered her foot back down to the floor and said with a voice filled with an indescribable hatred, "Don't you dare think that this is over. Somehow you grew a backbone, and I'm going to find out how. And when I do, I will break you to pieces."

She turned to the crowd, "C'mon, morning beating's done. We'd better get to class."

No matter what had happened between me and Vanessa, it didn't mean that the others stopped listening to her. They all filed away, every now and then I heard a voice say something like, "What the hell just happened?", or, "Did he really just stand up to her?", and other such statements that showed me how surprised they were at my small stand against Vanessa.

With a slightly pained grunt I got up and walked over to the Calculus class. If you're wondering how I could possibly stand up after an attack like that, all I can say to that is that I'm a fast healer.

As I put my hand on the knob of the door, my mind wandered over to the girl I met earlier before that whole fiasco started. The girl who could probably be my one ticket to happiness, no matter how temporary. The girl that somehow reminded me of my mother. Aeris. I needed to know more about her. Something was telling me that my very sanity depended on it. The bell rang just as I managed to slip into class. Everyone else had obviously managed to get inside before I did, and I was lucky enough to grab the door as one of Vanessa's posse members attempted to slam it on my face, which here was a free ticket to detention, much to said girl's (Sallie Downs, a cockatoo) fury. Vanessa's posse always made it their goal to soften me up, until their ringleader got to me, by any means necessary. I smiled as I saw the girls give a slight glare, and that Sallie was mouthing words to me. Even though she was silent, I could easily tell what she was saying. "You are so dead, you abomination. Vanessa won't let you get away with this."

Rolling my eyes and quickly flipping the bird (yes, I know the irony), I smirked while she raised her eyebrows in shock, along with others who caught my little display of rebellion. Taking my seat in the midst of the room, everyone, save a kid named DJ, as was usual, moved in their seats slightly every now and then to get away from me, I noticed the seat behind me was empty (my position was the rightmost lane of the class desks and the 2nd furthest back). Shortly after, the teacher, old man Melton, as I used to call him when he taught junior high, walked inside with that new girl again following behind him. Everyone immediately stopped whatever they were doing and looked forward to see the new student. Some of the guys had curious looks on their faces. Hell, this high school may be for gifted and intelligent students, but somehow, all the dumbasses and sick fucks managed to get in these halls so of course it was no surprise when I scoffed at their sick looks. Immediate responses of, "Shut up, dammit!" or "You'd do that too, if you could ever get it up after what Vanessa did to you, ass." sounded in my direction.

Back to more important matters, I sat calmly as Mr. Melton introduced us to the new student, who I already had the luck to meet first before anyone. She had a confident look about her furred face as she carried her book in her arms, folded to her stomach. After informing the class that a new student was joining us, the teacher told her to take the empty seat behind me, in the south-eastern most side of the room. I was in front of that seat while DJ, the other loner besides me, sat to the left of it. Many students suppressed their groans, but I was happy inside because I would be close to her. I silently thanked Jeffrey, the red male cardinal student who sat behind me earlier this year, for getting expelled for throwing a sharp object (i.e. pocket knife. Hit me in the back near the base of my tail. He was a huge Vanessa supporter, mainly because of his idiotic crush on her) at me once in class, per Vanessa's orders of course.

Back to reality, she walked by as the teacher turned to the board to begin his teachings, until one of the perverted guys, a brown furred punk dog named Lupin, pinched her rear as she walked by him, granting a small 'Eep' of surprise and shock from her. I felt disgusted immediately at him as he grinned broadly and high-fived one of his buddies sitting next to him, something instinctual telling me to rise and strike him. Fortunately, I didn't have to because only a second later, Aeris turned around suddenly, and with a look of pure fury, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, bitch slapped him, and nearly broke the hand that touched her by bending it the opposite way, all in an instant. I looked at Mr. Melton and was surprised by his reaction. He smiled at the girl's violent display and muttered something only I could hear, "Well, that's what you get punk."

Afterward, she threatened to finish the job if he so much as breathed a word to anyone about what had happened just there and then, and the next time he touches her would be the instant she would… castrate him in public. Nodding rapidly to avoid any more pain, Aeris let Lupin go and strode to the back. She stopped for a moment after she saw my face and had a look of complete shock. Fortunately, the others were so afraid of her after her display of strength, they paid attention to Melton's lecture more than Aeris now. "Definitely like my mother…" I thought, sadly remembering her last stand that Christmas Day. The same fiery will and gentle nature… Granted, I would have to take care not to infuriate her, otherwise I could easily wind up like Lupin.

As she passed me, Aeris asked me softly, "What happened to you? You look terrible! Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me. Thanks for asking though. I'll heal by the end of the day." I whispered back so I would catch no one's attention, which thankfully worked. She raised an imaginative eyebrow in curiosity of my response concerning my healing. She walked by me and took her seat behind me and next to DJ, who I noticed raising an eyebrow as well. As the class went on, she whispered to me, asking about the curriculum of the school, rules, standards, and thanked me every time I responded calmly to her. I felt at peace nearby her, which was a first. "It's a slim chance, but I think I can do it..." I thought. "Maybe... She could be my friend... this strange-colored angel..."

Holy crap, it has been a while, but I'm back, guys. Enjoy. I'm outta here. Ja'ne.

Good God, this took way too fucking long. Oh, well it's all done now, so I guess it's alright. By the way, isn't there something you want to say Lux? Something about being grounded?

Yes, father Matt. Yeah, I had my ass handed to me through a series of unfortunate events; the end result is me being removed from computers for 2 months. But I'm back. And even though I was gone for that time, I was able to keep the speech up with Matt so we can make the chapters faster. Sorry for the wait. Also, 61% of this chapter goes to Matt since he remained faithful to this little project despite his other stuff. Thank you Mat, you are a trooper. Again, this is LuxUmbra2012 and MadManMatt64 both saying, "JA'NE!"