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Tommy gazes dreamily out of the window, across the sport's field towards the open road. He wishes he was there, rather than in Geometry class. He spent his summer persuading his dad to persuade his mom that he was mature enough for a motorbike and somehow it worked. Following the purchase, he spent every available moment out on the road relishing the freedom. He misses that feeling now.

"Hey, Pickles!" A voice sneers from across the room.

Tommy sighs and turns his head slightly towards the group of jocks who are sat at the back of the room. They're all laughing, notably except for Phil DeVille who's scowling madly at him. Tommy swallows and frowns back.

"See something you like?" One of the boys, Damien chortles and jerks his thumb to the out field where a class of senior girls are running drill exercises.

"Shut up." Phil growls and slugs Damien on the arm.

Damien scowls back at him and throws his arms out, "Dude! Chill out, he's not looking at your sister. Look at him, he's a greaser! Plus he's got that weirdo girlfriend…Kitty Finster."

"Kimi." Phil corrects in a low tone and then shakes his head, "Never mind."

Tommy watches as the football players' attention span fails them and they move onto other prey. Phil though keeps snatching glances at Tommy and it makes him wonder if Phil knows he and Kimi aren't actually dating; they're just friends. He wonders if Phil would care at all either way. He wonders what Phil would think, what he'd do, if he knew that Tommy really does stare after Lil at any opportunity.

He doesn't think that the twins particularly talk to one another or like each other much anymore and to Tommy, that's even sadder than the fact that he doesn't speak to either of them. Phil and Lil were a partnership; a pair. They seemed, despite all the bickering, to be halves of a whole, now they just seem broken. He rarely sees them smile, at least not properly. They hide it well, playing the game of popularity, but Tommy knows them better than that.

Tommy turns away from Phil and back out of the window. This time though he's not looking at the road, he's looking at the girls. One girl. Not much manages to distract him away from dreams of escaping, but she does. Beautiful, mysterious, lost Lil. He could daydream about her all day.

Out on the field, Lily runs, pushing on harder and faster as she leads the group of girls around the field. She's the captain of the cheerleaders, so she's expected to maintain to a good level of fitness, but she knows that her athleticism surpasses everyone's expectations. She's easily the fastest girl in the senior class, and therefore, probably the quickest in the school, thanks to her Mom. The gym coach is constantly asking her to run track but her cheerleading coach refuses to let her in case she gets injured. She likes running, it clears her head. But it's uncool for girls to run track, not that Lily knows why. She wonders who determines the 'cool scale'. What makes cheerleading more reputable than athletic achievement? Why is having a boyfriend more important than anything else when you're in high school? What makes her popular and Kimi a loser?

She doesn't know the answers to the questions. She probably doesn't want to know. It would make her feel ashamed, most likely. Even more than she does so now. Lily shakes the thoughts from her head as she crosses the line and jogs to a stop, panting heavily. The coach is beside her in a second with a water bottle extended in her hand.

"DeVille, that was your quickest yet." Coach Morris shakes her head, "You planning on going to college?"

Lily almost snorts, she doesn't know. Of course her Mom's breathing down her and Phil's necks about colleges. Mostly Betty's looked up the best schools for football in the country, for her beloved captain, but to her credit, she's also left prospectuses on Lily's bed too. If there's one thing Betty DeVille is all for, it's gender equality. If her son's going to college, so is her daughter.

"Yes, probably." Lily answers the coach. They've got some time to talk, her lead was so large.

"Athletic merits would look great on your transcripts." Morris says, none too subtly.

Lily chews on her lip. She wonders whether her Mom would be proud of her if she was State Track Champion. But then she wonders what her friends would say. In the back of her mind she hears Angelica's voice telling her that she's Cheer Captain and that's a title that means she more or less runs the school and can do whatever she likes. Lily's not sure though.

She smiles tightly, "I'll check my schedules."

The coach grins and turns her attention to the girls that are lagging. Lily knows she enjoys goading the slow runners almost as much as she enjoys winning. Lily rolls her eyes and retreats to the changing room.

She's joined quickly by her fellow cheerleaders and then the slower stragglers, red cheeked and gasping. Lily changes speedily and sits on the bench, stretching her legs out in an action that's become habit by now.

Her squad are restless, she thinks, they must be because they're extra catty today. It's probably due to the fact that they've had the whole summer without their regular prey to pick on. Lily wonders where the less popular members of the student body spend their summer. She doesn't recall seeing them at the mall or at the beach or the bowling alley…or anywhere really. No wonder her girls are itching to laugh at someone; they've only had each other to gossip about all summer.

As a few of the girls walk in, the cheerleaders throw jibes at them, masked by weak bouts of coughing.

"Beak nose."

"Elephant."

"Beetroot."

"Thunder Thighs."

Lily pinches the bridge of her nose and throws her head back. She doesn't know why her mind's working so hard today but she could do well without. It makes her crave the party where she can have a drink, dance a little and just forget.

"Oh my God!" One of the cheerleaders exclaims through a choking laugh. "It's the vampire!"

Lily lifts her head out of interest, knowing that they're talking about Kimi. The girls around her all cackle as they touch up their make-up.

"Hey, Finster!" Lorraine Lucas calls, "You coming to Damien's party tonight?"

Kimi ignores her, as expected.

"Oh wait," Lorraine sneers a grin, "No losers allowed; you'd probably drink our blood though, right?"

The girls laugh again and turn to Lily. She's their ringleader, even though she's sure she doesn't instigate these attacks. They need her approval though.

She sighs but feels her reputation on her shoulders, "She's probably not allowed out if it's a full moon; she'll take on her true form. We'd die from the shock of how hideous she looks."

Lily turns away but not quick enough to miss the hurt across Kimi's features. Lily feels shame cover her features. Kimi was her friend, she grew up around her, she knows her parents for goodness sake!

She's sure this feeling is worse than it would be if she joined the track team.

Kimi thrashes her tray down at the lunch table, causing Tommy and Dil to look up with surprise. Usually Kimi's placid and carefree.

"Angry vibe, Kim." Dil notes and then dips his fry into the strawberry sauce of his dessert.

Kimi and Tommy are so used to Dil's habits by now that they don't even react.

"So would you be if the whole locker room had laughed at you and called you a murderous vampire." Kimi grumbles and then wonders why she let the cheerleaders get under her skin.

Dil arches his brow, "Are you kidding? That's mad-cool. You know what would be better? If you really were a vampire and you killed them all! Cheerleader apocalypse!"

The two seniors watch as Dil's eyes go wide and he pulls his notebook from his rucksack and begins scribbling furiously. They know they've lost him completely when he starts muttering under his breath about zombies, limbs and cheerleader victims.

Tommy turns to Kimi sympathetically, "It was Lil, right?"

Kimi stabs her chicken with her fork and rolls her eyes, "Yes, it was the Princess. So you can quit daydreaming about why she was carrying that photo around with her. It certainly wasn't sentiment."

"Vampires are kind of cool right now." Tommy points out lazily. He knows it's not that Kimi was called a vampire; it's the fact that Lil said it.

Kimi laughs, "Not in this high school hierarchy. God, I can't wait for the day she falls from that pedestal."

"You don't mean that." Tommy chastises.

"I do, Tommy." Kimi blinks away the ridiculous tears in her eyes, "I really, really do."