Aaaaaah I'm back! And to mark the start of my Christmas break, here is a new chapter. :3

I hope it doesn't disappoint~

"Her again?" I sighed as I lifted the mysterious box from my table. It was barely the size of my palm.

"Happy birthday, thank you for everything. From Ara." I silently read the neatly written words on the stationary attached to the package atop my desk. Upon entering the classroom, this was the first thing I saw propped on my tabletop. Before I could unwrap said box, my sides were suddenly grabbed.

"Oi Elsa, it's far too early for a Valentine's Day gift," Add, a friend of mine, joked from behind me. Wiggling out of his grasp, I eyed him a bemusedly. He chuckled and pointed at how the package was covered with scented orange paper. "Who are you sending that to?" the white-haired guy buried his right elbow onto my side. I groaned in dismay. Nosiness was something I did not like to experience at this time of the day.

"I'm the recipient," I replied shortly and pushed his prodding arm away.

"Really," Add took the box with a movement so quick. I didn't bother retrieve it back. He let out a muffled gasp when he saw the sender's name. Faint hints of laughter aside; he poked my side again. I placed my bag down and fixated myself on trying not to break his arm off. I hid my irritation from his actions by twirling my ballpen.

Remind me again why I'm friends with this guy?

"Weirdo."

"Freak-show!"

It still burned in my mind how people used to torment Add. Kids my age would call him names and verbal abuse was not uncommon for him. People made fun of how he was unnaturally short and how he had lavender-colored hair. Well, as if my hair's color wasn't strange enough. The awkward scar that ran from the below his eye to down his chin was subject to ostracizing and name-calling The two of us attended the same elementary school but I never batted an eye about his predicament. I hated wimps like him.

But what I hated more were people picking on wimps like him.

One day, Add was eating in peace at the schoolyard. Several boys and girls approached and towered above him. Sounds like a corny-child-getting-bullied-situation, right?

"Did your mom dye your hair?" an oriental black-haired boy teased and shoved Add.

"Oh wait, he doesn't have one!" countered a twin-tailed pinkette. She pulled on his white locks.

"Hey! I said we aren't to hurt him!" A tanned raven-haired boy stormed right in the scene. His golden eyes were full of rage. Still sounds cheesy of a story right?

Get this; he was the leader of their gang: Raven.

This guy lived the life of a thug as early as Bethma-knows-when. Raven had already beaten people twice his size, and his team was no joke as well. However, he lived with a policy of only dominating the strong and leaving the weak alone. He was furious at how his group was violating his principles.

Of course, it was hopeless, for even an 8-year old gang leader and a coward who couldn't harm a fly, to fend off against a group of ten hot-headed kids.

Fine, call it clichéd but I stepped in the fray. I felt like I had to. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment. Maybe I just wanted to be noticed.

Or maybe it was just my definition of justice.

I ran up to the oriental black-haired bully and rammed my knee against his jewels. In return, I was punched squarely in the face by the pink-haired girl mentioned earlier.

This came as a rude awakening for a certain lavender-haired boy.

A fight broke out, and I couldn't hide my wounds of victory from my father when I got home. Nothing serious really, just a few cuts and a black-eye. I wasn't a fist-fighter, but I did decent damage to my foes. A flurry of lectures was shot at me, and we were called by the school superintendent. The decision: I was expelled from school.

Correction, everyone involved was kicked out. Including Add.

I didn't really mind, considering I slugged the black-haired boy's shoulder bad. That was more than enough proof to have me get the boot, and I accepted the verdict. Come to think of it, I forgot his name. Well, he wasn't that good of a fighter since his name wasn't that memorable.

I stopped school indefinitely. Father ended up estranging himself from me and my brother by working full-time in the police force and on his political platform. I guess he just wanted to forget about my blunder. I went back to school when I turned 10. I've been studying in Velder Knights School since then.

Add tracked me down and started attending the same school as me. We were both 12 when we met again and we became close friends right away. How did that happened? I wish to question my 12-year-old-self. It was awkward at times but in totality, he's a guy who always has my back.

And it bites how he's now taller than me.

Soon enough, Raven enrolled in the same school that we were in, during my first year of senior high. Let's just say that we were the craziest trio of friends for the past two years.

Back to reality, I can see from my peripheral vision that Add was still inspecting the neatly-wrapped box. He then smirked knowingly and nudged even harder on my shoulder.

"Open it!" He coaxed.

"Later, the lecture will start soon," I countered monotonously – a tinge of impatience in my voice. Sometimes, he could be so wishy-washy about classes. I admit that he's a genius; acing every exam thrown at him. But to me, he acted immature for his IQ of 170. "Go back to your chair, Add."

"Come on, Elsa, it won't kill you to open it," he chided, still not moving from his spot.

"And suppose it does?" I retorted. "Knowing my past skirmish with her, I ended up with this," I combed away the red bangs that covered my gauzed temple. My lips twitched in annoyance as my friend pushed the box back onto my table. I picked up the box and sloppily slid it under my desk. What followed was him giving a light flick on my bandaged forehead. I flinched at the sudden touch, and sent a glare worth a thousand years of hell.

"Grumpy girl about her boo-boo," Add hit the bulls-eye, given the situation.

"If I said I was, will you get out of my sight?" I answered, facing away from him. "I already am," he called from his seat – the one exactly behind mine. Today, he was getting under my skin, and I disliked it when he acted that way. Maybe it was the weather that made me particularly more irritated than usual. I wouldn't know.

Or perhaps it had something to do with the Haan girl.

"Yeah it's gotta be about her. She's late. Being early was never in her book."

Tardy students are always the bane of the start of my day. As if to interrupt my thoughts, I heard the loud thumping of shoes from the corridor; a student was trying to beat the school bell. Not just any student, it's obviously her. I myself made a double-check that she wasn't on her seat: the desk to my right was unoccupied.

"Looks like I'll have my ears grilled again."

My palm met my face. Eve had admonished me several times already for Haan's tardiness. Keeping silent would be my only option – as if I don't do that ninety percent of the time – as she'd lecture me over someone else's mistakes. Of course, Ara Haan would vehemently apologize afterwards. I'd ignore them, obviously, since that was just another way of begging for something.

I stood and made my way to the door of the classroom. Waiting by the door jamb, I signaled to the teacher that I was taking the attendance. Professor Rena nodded and went back to writing on the chalkboard. Before the guilty student could run past the entrance, I grabbed them by the shoulder and pulled them in the room.

Not releasing my hold on the latecomer, I planned an ear-bleeding scolding for this girl. However, I was not able to say anything since this person spoke up first.

"Crazy bastard!" Raven roughly held my wrist. I considered shouting back, only to realize that Ara Haan did not have a voice that was sandpapered thoroughly.

"Raven?" I inquired, as he gave me a questioning look. He muttered incoherent lines, and rumpled his own hair in exasperation. "You… don't do that again," Raven gritted his teeth and shrugged out of my grasp. Everyone started giggling, and whispers filled the room. My feet were frozen to the ground. I stared dumbly at the open door of the classroom.

"Why do my cheeks feel like they're on fire?"

"Hmm, Miss Haan went to the comfort room a while ago," Ma'am Rena stopped writing and cleared her throat. "She should be coming-"

Just on cue, the girl in question graced our presence. She stumbled a bit upon entering. As if on instinct, she grabbed the nearest thing for support – which was my left hand. Regaining her balance, she smiled sheepishly at the class, as they had their undivided attention steered to us.

"Let go," I coldly growled. Though a bit shaken by my tone, her eyes soon met mine. I peered at her golden eyes, which I expected both fear and apology to be plastered on them. But instead of giving in to those emotions, she smiled and led us both to our respective seats. I reluctantly went along, hoping that everyone would just mind their own business.

Once I found myself cradled on my chair, I then came to a realization. I stared edgily at the wrapped orange box under my table.

"How else would she have placed this on my desk beforehand?"

Although I knew that I should be annoyed at her, I felt a pang of guilt for not thanking her for the gift.

A/N: These two should just get together and make this fic M-rated. :")

Well, expect more chapters to come. I'll be having more writing time because I have started to quit Elsword due to the unexplainable lag in the INT server. ; A ;