Chapter 2: School

A/N: BIIIG THANKS to everyone who recommended a pairing! So far it's either Lysander or Castiel, but keep the suggestions coming! I reeeeaaallly appreciate it! =D

A lot of Nathaniel and Kentin in this chapter. Enjoy!

School


Lilly's POV

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I groaned. 'Time to get moving...' Dressing, I threw a random ensemble together. Back flats, black pants, and a teal hoodie over a lilac t-shirt. A generic outfit.

After brushing my hair, I headed downstairs on tip-toes. Aunt Suki probably wouldn't get home for another couple hours and Father was definitely still sleeping. I headed towards the kitchen to make breakfast for myself and Father. There was no way Father would feed himself, and Aunt Suki was stressed out enough without having to feed Father when she came home. Opening the fridge, I bit my lip. 'I forgot to buy groceries yesterday... no eggs or milk. Low on cream, low on bacon.' Mentally berating myself, I pulled out some bread and the rest of the bacon and began to make coffee to go with it.

When everything was done, I put the toast and bacon in the microwave for Father, and half of the coffee in a thermos. Stuffing my bacon in my mouth I grabbed by backpack to check my school supplies. 'Pencils, notebooks, wallet, phone, melodica and music... I'm missing something but what is it?' I grabbed her toast and went upstairs to check her room a final time. 'Aha! My music stand! Don't want to come home after school for this!' I thought triumphantly, clutching her stand. After all, if I was going to all the trouble of bringing the melodica to practice, forgetting the stand would be a bummer. Heading back downstairs, I drank my coffee quickly and rushed out the door. I lived about 2.5 miles from school, and we didn't have money to waste on a bus ticket. And besides, walking was healthy!

oOoOoOoOoOo

I arrived at school half an hour early with the purpose of getting my paperwork in order. The principal was out front of the school to greet the students.

"Hello!" she said, smiling warmly. "You must be Lilly correct?" I nodded mutely, pulling my sleeve nervously. "Well dear, welcome to Sweet Amoris! Sometime today, would you mind settling your transfer with Nathaniel, the student president? He should be in the Student Council Room."

"Ah, yes I could do that..."

"Fantastic! Have a wonderful day!"

"T-Thank you, you too." Biding farewell to the principal, I headed over to the student council room. After knocking on the door, I heard a voice tell me to come in. Pushing open the door I saw a blonde boy sitting at the desk.

"May I help you?"

"Ah, um, yes, I was told to get my paperwork settled with Nathaniel?"

"I'm Nathaniel, nice to meet you!" he said with a quick smile. "And your name?" he replied going over to the filing cabinets.

"Lilly Carlson..."

"So your the new student? Okay, I don't see your paperwork here, you should get that sorted out quickly." It took a second for me to comprehend that sentence.

"Eh? But I was sure I turned it in..." 'No, I have to have turned it in! I don't usually mess up stuff this important...'

"Hmm, we ARE having some organizational problems, the paperwork might have gotten mixed in with someone else's. I'll take a look," he said, grinning sheepishly.

"Thank you..."

"Think nothing of it! Oh by the way, you'll also need $25 for the enrollment fee and a photo ID by the end of the week," he said, his business attitude retuning.

"Oh, I can get that... but about the paperwork, I can just fill it out again if you can't find it! I'm sure you have other things to do, and it's possible I forgot to turn it in..." The blonde smiled again in response.

"Naw, it's fine. We're probably less organized than you, and I'd feel bad if we made you fill it out again."

"Oh... if you're sure... Let me know if there's anything I need to do. I'll be going to class now, bye Nathaniel," I said, a kind smile dusting my face and waving a little as I turned to go.

"See you around!" he replied, returning the smile.

Exiting the room, I headed off to my first class, english. When I entered the room, there was only one other person already there. To my surprise, it was:

"Ken?" Hearing his name, the boy in question lifted his head from his book and grinned broadly. I smiled, his brown bowl cut and foggy glasses were exactly the same from when I last saw him a month ago.

"Lilly! I'm so glad you're here! I convinced my dad to let me come to Sweet Amoris too!" I frowned at that.

"I'm glad you could come here, but you really shouldn't have... If you were worried about me, I'll be fine..."

"Haha, I guess that was part of the reason..." he said, shrugging his shoulders, "but this is what friends are for right? Do you want to look around the school together during lunch?"

"Mhm! That sounds nice!" I said, smiling with my head tilted slightly, glad that Ken was still Ken.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The rest of my morning classes were uneventful, and fairly dull. When Mother had told me about the dreadful "busy work" of regular school, she hadn't been exaggerating. Lunch time had come around and I was putting some of my newly-acquired textbooks in my locker when I saw Ken.

"Hey Lilly!"

"Hi Ken, how was your day?"

"Mmm, it was good. But c'mon! I found a nice place to sit!" And just like that, he grabbed my hand and pulled me along. His antics made me smile. He pulled me into a small courtyard. A path ran down the middle, and several trees provided some shade. Other student sat underneath some of the trees and against the walls.

"Here, we can sit on the steps here," Ken said, motioning for me to sit. I obliged him, and went through my backpack to get my lunch. But... it's not there. My head falls 'So that's what I was missing this morning...'

"Are you okay?" I sigh and straighten up, flashing him a smile.

"Yep! Everything's fine! I seem to have forgotten my lunch though..." I said, mumbling the last bit.

"Oh, sorry about that, do you want some cookies?"

"Oh no, I'm okay, I have more time to work on my history assignment now," I replied as cheerfully as I could, digging through my backpack.

We sat in a bit of an awkward silence. Me scribbling on my paper, and Ken chewing thoughtfully.

"Hey Lilly..."

"Hm?" I look up from my writing.

"Do you still play melodica nowadays?" I smile fondly, remembering how much Ken used to watch me and Mother play. If he ever caught a street concert, (which was often, I'm almost positive he stalked me) he'd sit for hours listening, occasionally talking with Father.

"Mhm, I've been keeping it up. Want me to play?"

"Yes please!" he said clapping his hands together. I took out my melodica, which was still in my backpack, and stood a few feet away.

I suppose no matter what happens I'll still love performing. I become... different on stage. More confident, more outgoing.

"I'll play Vivaldi's Spring." I put the mouthpiece to my lips and play a single "A" to test out the acoustics. Several students look up from their food. After a slight pause, I launch into the piece. Of course it's an orchestra piece, so I can't play all of the parts, but I still play the bass and main melody. As I play I forget all my troubles, my mistakes. All I know, is that very moment and nothing more.

Kentin's POV

Gosh, she really looks beautiful when she plays. It's probably my favorite part about watching her. She always seems so Happy when she plays. Although, it seems more like she's at peace than happy. Before, her eyes would be lit up with excitement, sparkle with mirth. Now, her eyes are closed, and she's perfectly relaxed, listening to her own music. She's not happy, but she's not tense and worried like moments ago. It suits her better.

I smile watching her play. A bird lands in a tree, and chirps to her. As if in response, the music changes and Lilly chirps back through her melodica. It really is 'Spring.'

Lilly's POV

As I finish the last note, I gently pull the melodica from my lips, and bow to a wildly clapping Ken.

"Wow! I still have no idea how you do that!" he nearly shouts.

"Thanks!" I sit back down on the steps to put away my melodica, and look up to see the reactions on some of the students. A redhead in a black coat with a red shirt along with a silver haired boy look at me with a curious expression. It's not so much the wow and awe that Ken and some of the other students wear on their face, but a sort of a grudging approval. 'Probably musicians of some sort...'

I hear a slow clapping behind me. Standing up and turning, I see Nathaniel smiling.

"Nice job! The window to the council room was open."

"Um, thanks," I say, averting my eyes.

"I just came by to say that your registration couldn't be completed." My heart practically burst from shock. Words tumbled out of my mouth before I could think.

"I-it c-couldn't? What do you mean? I can fill out the form again if I need to! Did the credit transfer not work? I thought that might be a probl-"

"Whoa, whoa! Hold your horses!" He gave me another friendly smile, but I failed to see what was pleasant about my current situation. "It was only a joke!"

Oh.

Oops.

"Oh... It was? Sorry about overreacting like that... I've just been super stressed an-"

"I probably shouldn't have pulled that," he replied cutting me off again. He was scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Next time I'll joke about something leas plausible perhaps?"

"Ah... that would be appreciated."

"Well anyway, we found your paperwork, and everything will be set once you turn in the photo ID and enrollment fee." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Thank you, I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"Not at all! By the way, I hope you keep playing out here, it gives a nice refreshing atmosphere to the student council room!" he replied, smiling as he turned to go. I smiled at my feet. Maybe I should try and lighten up a bit more.

"Well I'm glad they found your forms! Why didn't you tell me they were having trouble? I would have helped..."

Ken blabbed on and on through lunch with me throwing in a couple comments here and there as I resumed my history homework. As I listened to Ken talk, I smiled inwardly. I could get used to this. Even with all the chaos, it was... a refreshing change.

A/N: WOW that turned out longer then I thought... Well next chapter will see Lysander/Castiel action (as well as Amber). Let me know what you think/recommendations! I'll be happy to hear them ^_^ Next update most likely within a week, so until then,

~Satsuki