"I don't want you near him," is what Nathaniel had told me. It bothered me during my first classes. Nathaniel sat behind me... What did he mean? Perhaps when I got the chance, I would ask him. Yeah, that would be fine. Right? Just to ask him what he meant by that.

What if Castiel turned into a rapist or something, and that's why! Or maybe he's just a troublemaker? That seems most likely, but... Ugh! I can't concentrate on this stupid math problem! I acted like I was working, really just thinking. I hardly realized the bell for lunch when it did come around. Rising, I saw Nathaniel leaving the room. I quickly gathered my things, watching as my neighbor left the table. Quickly, I headed out, ready to find him. No, of course that didn't happen.

"Oh, so it's true! You're back!" I was met beside the door by a blonde girl with a little too much makeup on. She had a rotten look, gold eyes laughing at me, hands on hips, and lips in a small smirk. Oh, I knew this look too well.

"Hi, Amber," I greeted boredly. "Do you mind if we talk another time? I would like to find somewhere to eat..." I started to walk past her, but she smacked her hand against the wall so her arm was at my face. "Is that a no?"

"I just wanted to greet you. It's been how long? Six years? Welcome back," She put her arm down, then grabbed my chin. "Since you've never been to this high school, I'll be nice and give you a few warnings, alrighty?" She held up a finger with every item she listed off. "First, stay in the crowd. Wouldn't it be awful if you stuck out in a bad way? Second, stay a distance from my brother. He isn't of any use to you, so stay back. Thirdly, stack back from Castiel. He doesn't like you, and never will. Got that?"

I moved my head to the side to get my chin from her tiny fingers. "Whatever. Good to see you're doing well. Goodbye, sayonara, ana de shinu iku, to sutekina tsuitachi o sugosu," I smiled at her as I spoke, glad I spoke a language she didn't know. I brushed past her, trying to find the room Nathaniel was in when I spotted him. I knocked on the door, hearing his voice call for me to come in.

"Nathaniel?" I asked, opening the door and sticking my head through. "May I talk to you for a moment?" I asked with a small smile.

He smiled back at me, sitting at the table. "Sure! Come on in. Please close the door," he requested, watching as I did so and walked to him. "You can sit down. I'm eating lunch in here today. Have you eaten?"

My growling stomach answered before I could. "Um... I didn't bring a lunch. I just wanted to talk to you?"

He stuck an apple in my face. "Here, you can have this. You get cranky when you're hungry, still?"

I blushed deeply, taking the apple and thanking him. After I took a bite, I looked at him. "Um... I saw Amber just now." He groaned painfully. "Oh, she wasn't my imagination?"

"Sorry, that reaction was rude. She isn't really a sweet little girl like she was when we were kids. She definitely changed. She is a brat, but mom and dad praise her." He sighed. "You had something to ask?" He looked at me, rubbing his temple a little.

I took another bite. "Earlier, when I was with Castiel, you took me away suddenly and just said for me not to get near him no matter what. Why's that?" I swallowed, then took another bite.

Nathaniel was silent for a moment, playing with his blue tie. It was then I noticed his clothes. A white dress shirt, blue tie, and khakis. Interesting.

"I just don't like him," he said finally. "He's annoying, never motivated to do anything, quiet... He hardly comes to school and smokes..."

"Sounds more like you have a crush than hating him," I teased, swallowing another bite of the apple.

"D-do not!" He stammered, looking right at me. He was blushing, obviously embarrassed. I stuck my tongue out at him, laughing happily.

"I'm teasing you! But, if I were someone else, that reaction might tell me otherwise," I winked, still giggling a little. Well, that was my answer. He didn't want me near someone he didn't like.

"So..." He cleared his throat, trying to move the conversation along. "Any friends yet?"

"Hm? No... The girl I sit next to in class, what was her name? Iris? She seems really nice. I might try to get to know her," I threw away the center of the apple, watching it being tossed into the trash. "Goal!" I laughed, feeling insanely happy.

"You don't seem as shy as before," Nathaniel noted. "When we were kids, you would cry in front of strangers. Unless they were making Amber cry... Why were so protective of her?"

I looked at him, almost caught off guard by the question. However, before I could reply, there was a knock and creak of the door. I stared wide-eyed at the little boy who stood there. Little, I meant in size. With a bowl cut brown hair and big wire glasses, I couldn't mistake him. "K-Ken...?" Oh no. God, please let this be a nightmare.

"Ellie!" He cried happily, rushing over and glomping me. I couldn't breathe. This wasn't happening. "*I came, I came! I'm still learning French, but I came! Isn't this great?!*"

Nathaniel rose from the chair, seeming unsure of whether to pull him off from me or to let me handle it. "Uh... What language is he-"

"Japanese. He must've followed me over, little twerp!" I elbowed him in the side, getting him to let go of me. "BAKA! Anata wa koko de nani o shite iru!"

"*I heard that you were moving, so I followed you! So that we can be together! I want to help you...*" He looked like he was going to cry. Ugh...!

"*U-uhm... Ken, why don't we talk about that later? I would like to finish the day for now, alright?*" I smiled kindly at him, hoping he would go away. I won when he gave me another hug, then skipped out of the room, singing some nonsense song.

"Oh, that was..." Nathaniel was looking through a file. "Oh, that explains quite a bit. Alright, then. Um... I need to go chase him down. He should have a translator with him, so I should go." He waved, going out of the room quickly.

I waved, standing up and getting my things. I couldn't help but blush. I stood up for her because I didn't want her to cry... I thought, answering the question that I would be far too embarrassed to tell. It was stupid. Especially now, with her like she is. Guess it would be useless to try to be nice to her. I was on my own, wasn't I? With only Nathaniel...

Notes: When Ellenora is talking to Amber, she is telling her "goodbye, go die in a hole, and have a nice day" to confuse her and get a little bit of anger out.

When she is talking to Ken in Japanese, she was asking him what he was doing there. Any other dialog with "**" is in Japanese, and only Ellenora is able to understand it, which leads to the confusion of other students. If the language is something other than Japanese, it will be noted beside the dialog, and will not go back to Japanese until that language is needed again.

Thank you google translate for the Japanese!