WARNING: HOMOPHOBIC LANGUAGE

"So, it looks like we'll be here longer than we thought." Stevie Rae said into the phone, her back against the door of Aphrodite's room.

It was 7:00 P.M and Stevie Rae and Aphrodite were getting ready for school—oddly enough. Stevie Rae was telling Elliott what was going on and checking in with him.

"How much longer?" Elliott asked, his voice scratchy and faded. Reception down in the tunnels wasn't the best.

"Not sure, maybe the whole day. But we'll be back before sunrise. Promise. We just have to wait for Zoey to leave the infirmary and then we'll be gone." She fiddled with her earring, hoping she sounded sure and positive.

She didn't feel safe here, everything was different and strange. This wasn't the school she remembered—even though it hadn't been that great to begin with.

"Okay." Elliott said.

"How are things with you? Any issues?"

"No, everything's been smooth sailing. Everyone's just been keeping to themselves for the most part."

"What about Heath? Is he okay? No one has tried anything?"

"He's fine. Him and Johnny B. are talking about sports."

"Figures." Stevie Rae smiled, "And the others?"

"We're all good, Stevie Rae. Nothing to worry about." Elliott said.

"Good. I knew I could count on you to keep things in line."

"Yeah," He sighed, sounding timid, "Stevie Rae, why did you pick me to be in charge? Why not someone else? Like Venus or Dallas?"

"Because I trust you—not that I don't trust everyone; but I knew you'd be a good fit. You're calm and levelheaded, you're what they need right now. Something to distract them from the chaos above, you know?" She explained.

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's a good thing." Elliott murmured. Stevie Rae could picture him shuffling his feet.

"It's a great thing, Elliott. Believe it." She told him assuredly.

"Sure. See you when you get back." He said, brushing aside her words.

"Alright. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do."

Stevie Rae hung up and put the phone in her back pocket.

The door to the bathroom opened and Aphrodite stepped out; she was dressed in a black sweater and fitted, dark washed jeans.

"Everything okay?" She asked as she picked up her metallic gold purse from the bed.

"Yeah, everyone's safe and laying low." Stevie Rae answered as she opened the door of the room.

"Good." Aphrodite walked over to her, her eyes taking in Stevie Rae, "You look great, by the way."

Stevie Rae smiled, "Thanks, black on denim is a smart combo." She ran her hand down the jeans Aphrodite had lent her.

"Of course it is." She rolled her eyes, the eyeliner made the color of them stand out more.

Stevie Rae chuckled and led Aphrodite out of the room and into the hallway; it was empty, everyone still in their rooms or downstairs.

Aphrodite slipped her hand into Stevie Rae's, "Do you—do you think we should . . . ya' know . . . ? Tell people about us?" She looked a little nervous, her lips pursed tightly.

Stevie Rae swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, she took small, slow steps toward the stairs at the end of the hall. Trying to think of a response to Aphrodite's question.

Should they tell their friends about their relationship? That it wasn't just an imprint linking them together, but actual feelings.

She knew everyone would be shocked—whether because they never would've thought Stevie Rae and Aphrodite would like each other; or because they were girls. Maybe both.

Truth was, Stevie Rae and Aphrodite had done this before; way back when Stevie Rae was just starting out here. It had taken some time—a lot of it actually—but soon feelings had come.

It'd been weird and scary; but also fun and wonderful. For both of them. They had stumbled around their feelings together, never sure how to be honest about them.

Stevie Rae had known she was different, ever since she was ten years old. Always knew that she wasn't like her friends from school, who talked about boys and kissing them. It had never suited her, she guessed. Boys. She didn't get that feeling that she usually got when she saw a pretty girl. That heart racing, skin prickling, world spinning feeling.

And it had scared her, so much so that she'd go into a panic if she even thought about it for too long. She'd be afraid that someone would find out and laugh at her. Call her weird or unnatural for liking girls.

She had hid her sexuality till she was thirteen, when a girl named Mary had kissed her behind the bookstore. It had been beautiful. The kiss had made Stevie Rae feel like she was floating, like she could feel that way forever. In that moment she had felt peaceful, like she could get used to her feelings. That she didn't have to be afraid of them.

But that had ended when a neighbor of Stevie Rae's had seen them and had exploded. The woman had yelled and waved her arms, her face going red and nostrils flaring. She'd marched up to Stevie Rae, wrenched her from Mary's hold on her hand, and dragged her back home. Saying things like: "What do you think you're doing?" "Kissing another girl, that's disgusting!" "How dare you bring that shame on your family? On yourself!" "You're sick! Sick! You need help!"

Stevie Rae had held back the tears, too scared to let them fall. Too horrified to say anything at all.

Her neighbor had brought her back to her house and had shouted for Stevie Rae's mother to come out. When Mrs. Johnson did the neighbor went off. Hollering about how Stevie Rae needed to see the pastor right away. That she needed to be taught the ways of the Bible. That what she had done had been disrespectful to herself, her family, and God.

Mrs. Johnson had calmly told the neighbor to leave, that she could take it from here, and had led Stevie inside. Once in her room Stevie had burst into tears and started blubbering out an apology. She'd said she hadn't meant to kiss Mary; that she'd just been curious to see what it'd be like. She said she'd never do it again and that she was sorry for bringing shame to their family.

But Mrs. Johnson hadn't said a word, just hugged Stevie Rae tight and let her cry on her shoulder. When she had calmed down her mother looked her in the eye and said: "Don't be ashamed, honey. I'm not. I'm proud of you. You're finding out who you are. And you've just found another piece today. It's okay to like girls. It's normal. It's natural. I love you, Stevie Rae Johnson. No matter what."

Her mother had been her rock after that; always making sure no one hurt Stevie Rae just for being herself.

Now, years later, Stevie Rae didn't hide who she was. She embraced it. But that didn't mean her friends knew; they had never asked her. Stevie Rae and Aphrodite had ended things before she met Damien and the Twins. So they had never seen her with another girl before.

But now, they would. Maybe.

"Um," Stevie Rae murmured now, her eyes on her feet, "I—I mean if you want to." She looked up at Aphrodite.

"Only if you want to." She said.

"I just—with everything going on . . . ."

"Right, it may not be the best time to say anything."

"Yeah, so—so maybe we should . . . ."

"Wait."

"Yeah, wait. Till things calmed down."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Both girls let out sighs, their shoulders slumping.

Silence fell as they walked down the stairs, still holding hands.

"Wait." Aphrodite said, stopping a few steps away from the ground.

"What?" Stevie Rae looked up at her, she was one step down from Aphrodite.

"I'm not stalling telling anyone because I'm embarrassed of you." She explained.

"Oh?" Stevie Rae lifted an eyebrow.

"Because I'm not!" She said quickly, eyes wide, "I'd—I'd never be! I love you. It's just I'm . . . I'm nervous. I've never . . . ." She trailed off, her free hand shaking.

"You've never come out to anyone." Stevie Rae finished, her voice soft.

"Yeah." Aphrodite sniffed, her eyes misty, "I—I don't know how I'd do it. What if people hate me—more than they already do?"

Stevie Rae took Aphrodite's other hand, holding it tightly, "They could never hate you, Aphrodite. Not for that. I mean, they're pretty accepting." She shrugged lightly.

"I know but Damien and Jack are nice. I'm not."

Stevie Rae rolled her eyes teasingly, "You are nice, just not publicly."

Aphrodite scoffed but a small smile lit up her face, "Shut it. I just—just don't know how to tell people."

"You don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to. It's none of their business. But you shouldn't hide it either. We shouldn't hide it. We should be proud to be who we are. Not scared." Stevie Rae said, her voice calm and honest, "Hiding a part of you isn't good. So, we should be open. And if people have an issue with it then who cares. It's not our problem."

Aphrodite nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek, "Okay, you're right. I'll try."

Stevie Rae wiped the tear from Aphrodite's cheek, "Good."

Aphrodite smiled and kissed Stevie Rae's forehead, "Ready to face the madness?"

"Let's do it."

They walked into the common area to see girls eating and quietly talking. An odd, relaxed air hung over the place; everyone was keeping to themselves and smiling. Weird.

"Why is everyone so . . . quiet?" Aphrodite whispered as she and Stevie Rae walked over to the kitchen.

"Don't know." Stevie Rae answered as she got out two bowls from the cupboard.

They filled their bowls with cereal and walked over to where the Twins sat, they were whispering and giving people confused looks.

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Stevie Rae asked as she took a seat on one of the bar stools.

"No idea." Shaunee shrugged as she watched Tanya Burr whisper into Kelly Baker's ear. Both girls laughed and nodded.

"Everyone's just sitting there, all smiley and mellow. It's so weird." Erin wrinkled her nose, "Usually girls are being loud and watching TV before going to class. But this is just . . . bizarre."

"Do you think it has something to do with Kalona?" Aphrodite asked after swallowing a mouthful of Special K.

The Twins gave her a confused look, like they hadn't expected her to say anything. Actually, they looked a little confused to see her sitting with them.

"Not to be rude—" Shaunee started.

"Which means, we'd rather be." Erin added coolly.

"—but why are you sitting with us? Matter of fact, why were you and Stevie Rae walking down here together?" Shaunee raised an eyebrow, her lips pursed.

"We ran into each other in the hallway, Thing One." Aphrodite said, her tone lofty, "What'd you expect?"

"We thought you had snuck into Stevie Rae's bed and slept with her." Erin shot back, a smirk on her face.

Shaunee grinned at her, "Yeah, after all you are imprinted with her." She let out a giggle.

Stevie Rae saw Aphrodite's face go a little pale, her jaw clenched, eyes narrowed into slits. She looked ready to slap the Twins silly.

"You two are perverted," Aphrodite said, "you know that right?"

"Takes one to know one." Erin crossed her arms looking haughty.

"Yeah, but at least we aren't dyke-y perverts." Shaunee giggled.

Stevie Rae felt a twinge go through her stomach, she knew the Twins could be mean and crass but that was too far.

"Guys," Stevie Rae warned, "stop it."

"What?" the Twins asked, giving her confused looks.

"You're being rude. Just shut up or leave." Her voice was firm, eyes never leaving their faces.

Erin sighed while Shaunee rolled her dark eyes, "You are no fun, Stevie Rae." Erin huffed.

"Making fun of people isn't what I'd call fun." She ignored the Twins' glare, "Let's act like mature people and get back to the topic at hand."

"Whatever." They rolled their eyes, clearly pissed.

Stevie Rae looked at Aphrodite who was pushing her cereal around in her bowl, looking a little off.

She slipped her hand into Aphrodite's, they were under the table, and threaded her fingers through hers. She looked to see Aphrodite smiling into her bowl.

"So, Kalona defiantly has something to do with everyone acting strange." Stevie Rae said, "He could have everyone under his control, though I don't know how he'd be able to do it?"

"Maybe he can compel people, like you and the other red fledglings." Erin suggested.

"Maybe. But that would take a while to do, the school is big."

"Or he got into people's dreams," Shaunee put in, "I heard Morgan Freely talking about it before you came down here. Apparently Kalona slips into people's heads and controls them that way."

"Mind control through dreams; that seems logical." Stevie Rae nodded, keeping that filed away for later.

"Ugh, you sound like Damien." Shaunee scoffed.

"And that was not a compliment." Erin added.

Stevie Rae rolled her eyes, ignoring them, "Where is Damien? Have you talked to him yet?"

"I texted him when I got up." Erin answered, "He said he was going to get something to eat and then walk over here."

Stevie Rae nodded, "Okay, good. Let's try to stick close today."

"Bet Aphrodykie will enjoy that." Erin murmured.

Shaunee giggled into her glass of juice.

"Has anyone talked to Zoey?" Aphrodite asked, her eyes on the table.

"No." Shaunee said, her smile gone and voice somber, "Do you think she's okay?"

"I don't trust Kalona and Neferet not to do anything bad to her." Erin fiddled with her necklace, "What if she's, like, hurt?"

"I'm sure she's fine." Stevie Rae said, her tone reassuring, "Darius is there, he wouldn't let anything bad happen. And besides, Z has power that could kill, she can handle herself."

"She's right," Shaunee agreed, "our Z is tough. She can kick some serious ass."

"I'll go down there after first hour and check in with Darius." Stevie Rae said as she got up from her chair, bowl in hand.

"Want me to come with you?" Aphrodite asked, standing from her chair as well. Her hand slipped from Stevie Rae's before anyone could see.

"No, it's fine. I can check by myself." Stevie Rae assured.

"You sure?" Erin asked, her expression weary, "What if Neferet tries something? Or Kalona?" She didn't even make a joke about Aphrodite tagging along.

"I doubt they'd pay any attention to me." Stevie Rae shrugged, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." She turned from them to put her bowl in the kitchen.

She hoped she was right on that; if something went wrong she'd be screwed.

Stevie Rae pushed opened the doors to the infirmary, thinking back to first hour.

It had been weird, her classmates hadn't acted like their normal selves at all. Usually when class began everyone was chatting and being obnoxious; but today they had been quiet and well behaved.

Their History professor, Professor Willow, had acted like a robot. Smiling throughout the whole class period; speaking softly and slowly. She had taught her regular lesson plan, but it had felt strange. Like Stevie Rae was in a parallel universe and couldn't escape.

Another strange change was the amount of Raven Mockers there were; they walked around the school like mutated hall monitors. They even followed people to class, just to stand in the back of the room and watch them. It had sent a shiver down Stevie Rae's back when one of them had stared at her. Those red, human eyes in that bird face.

She hadn't seen one Erebus Warrior either, the Raven Mockers must've taken their positions.

Stevie Rae stopped in the hallway when she saw that the door to Zoey's room was open.

Her pulse picked up, she made her way over to the door and looked inside the room.

Blood spotted the floor from the threshold to the middle of the room. A surgical knife lay beside a small pool of blood.

Stevie Rae held her breath, the blood smelled like rotten eggs. She tried not to gag as she made her way into the room. She saw that a bed was stripped of its sheet and the pillow was on the ground.

What happened? Did Zoey get in a fight with Kalona? Did she hurt one of his sons? That had to be where the blood came from, and the smell. Fledgling blood didn't smell that horrid.

Turning from the bed Stevie Rae saw that there was a pile of bloody rags in the sink. She walked over to the counter that was across from the bed. Peering in she saw blood-stained cloths. She gritted her teeth as the sweet, salty scent hit her face.

Calm down, she told herself firmly, you don't want that.

She took in a sharp breath, tilting her face away from the sink, before turning back again.

She saw a bottle of rubbing alcohol beside the sink and a bottle of liquid adhesive.

What happened here?

Pulling out her phone Stevie Rae went to Zoey's number, hoping she'd have an answer.

The line rang four times before Zoey answered.

"Stevie Rae," She said, her voice much better than yesterday.

"Z are you alright? I came to check on Darius and the room you were in is a mess? What happened?" Her eyes looked around the room, making sure she hadn't missed anything else.

Zoey let out a tired sigh, "Oh, that. Don't worry, me and Darius are fine. Kalona and his gross bird boy got pissed because I told them to back off. And then Stark came and tried to shoot Darius with an arrow and everything just got all crazy."

"What?" Stevie Rae gasped, "What'd they do? Why did Stark show up?" Her head spun with confusion.

"Don't worry, everything's okay, I promise." Zoey assured, her voice flippant, "I took care of it."

"But there's blood!" She couldn't keep the shock out of her voice, how could Zoey be so 'whatever' about this?

"It's not mine, I swear. It's the Raven Mocker's—Rephaim, I think he's called. It's his—or it's I should say." Z answered.

"What about the blood in the sink? And the rubbing alcohol?"

"That was for Darius, he got knifed but I fixed him up—even though I'm nowhere near as good as a nurse." She could almost see Z rolling her eyes.

"What about Stark? Where is he?" Her voice was thin, panic slid down her back.

Stark being set loose on campus, where there were a bunch of innocent people around, didn't seem like a good thing. What if he hurt someone? Or killed them?

"I told him to leave, to try to fight against the Darkness inside of him." Zoey sounded sincere, like she cared.

"And?" Stevie Rae prompted, wanting to skip the theatrics.

"I think he tried, Stevie Rae. I honestly think he tried to fight the monster inside of him." Her voice was hopeful.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think Stark tried to change sides, just for a second. I think there's some of that guy I knew left inside of him."

Stevie Rae rubbed her forehead, "Zoey, I'm happy you're optimistic, but do you really think that's true? I mean, you didn't even really know him before. What if he isn't what he seems?"

From what Z and the others had said about him, Stark seemed like a cocky, self-centered, guy. Why would Zoey want to save him? She didn't see a difference from before he died and after.

"Stevie Rae, I know who he is." Zoey's voice was firm, certain that what she was saying was true, "And it's not what Neferet brought back to life. We—we had this connection before. Like I already knew him before I really knew him. Does that make sense?"

Stevie Rae furrowed eye eyebrows, "I guess. But even if that's true I don't think he feels that way. He's different, Z, you must know that. And sometimes different can't be changed."

"Not this time," Zoey said stubbornly, "I know who he is, Stevie Rae. I'll prove it. He's good, I gotta believe that."

Stevie Rae clenched her jaw, she knew she couldn't reason with Zoey. She was stubborn and there was no fighting with her once she set her mind to something. No matter how idiotic and naïve it sounded.

"Okay, fine, do what you got to do. But just be careful, you don't know what you're getting yourself into." She cautioned.

"That's the thing, Stevie Rae," Zoey said, "I do. And I'll take whatever risk comes with it."

"Just be safe."

"I will."

"And be quick, we need to get out of here by sunrise." She warned.

"I know, I don't like it here, it's scary. Did you see all the Raven Mockers?"

"Yeah, I did. One followed me to class and stood in the back the whole time." Stevie Rae walked across the room and opened the door, "It's like they're the warriors now." She made her way down the hall and out of the infirmary.

"This is so messed up." Zoey groaned, "We gotta fix this."

"We will, where are you now? I'll meet you there." She paused at the main building's doors. The lobby was empty, even the secretary was gone from her desk.

"Me and Darius just left his room, meet us in the girls' dorm. I'll call Damien and Aphrodite to be there." Zoey explained.

"Okay, I'll call the Twins." Stevie Rae walked out of the building and in the direction of the dorms.

"Good luck, see you." Zoey said.

"You too." Stevie Rae nodded and hung up.

"Okay, so what do we know so far?" Zoey asked once everyone was settled in her and Stevie Rae's dorm room.

Stevie Rae sat beside Zoey on her bed, Aphrodite sat across from them on Stevie Rae's old one. Damien and the Twins sat on the floor and Darius leaned against the wall that was next to the bathroom.

Nala was curled up on a pillow, sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to the danger that lurked outside these four walls.

"We know that Kalona is controlling people through their dreams." Stevie Rae said, "That's why everyone isn't themselves. He's got every fledgling and vampyer under his thumb."

"And him and Neferet are planning on taking over the Vampyer High Council." Zoey added, "They talked about it when they thought I was still asleep."

"What does that mean though?" Damien asked, he had a notebook in his lap, taking down notes of their meeting, "Is he actually going to try to take control of them?"

"Yes, I think he is. Or most likely Neferet is but he's just her way to do it."

"How so?"

"Kalona is a fallen angel, all powerful and all knowing—"

"Well, not all knowing. No one's that knowledgeable."

"—you know what I mean. Anyway, he's also totally gorgeous and can make anyone do whatever he wants. So he's the perfect weapon against them." Zoey's shoulders fell, her eyes falling to the ground, "Against us."

"But what do they plan to do if they get control?" Darius asked, his forehead wrinkled in thought, "The Council doesn't allow men to be on it."

"I don't think that matters," Zoey sighed, "I have a feeling the Council will be long gone if Kalona and Neferet are in charge."

"Like dead?" Damien asked, his face pale with fear, hands clutching his notebook.

"Maybe," She said softly, "but only if we let that happen. Which we can't."

"If they do get control of the Council, what will they do?" Stevie Rae asked, "Enslave every vampyer and fledgling? Wipe us out, what?"

"Way to be morbid." Erin murmured.

"I'm just saying, what are they going to do with all that power and authority? I doubt they're just going to keep watch over this place." She gestured toward the room.

"I don't know what they're planning, but we have to stop them before they do anything." Zoey ordered, "So, what other changes have been made here?"

"Well," Aphrodite started, "there are Raven Mockers walking around like they own the place."

"Yeah, there were two in my Art class." Shaunee said, wrinkling her nose.

"And in my theater class." Damien said, scribbling in his notebook.

"They're like bodyguards or something." Stevie Rae added, "Keeping an eye on us in case we try to run off."

"Well, great!" Aphrodite exclaimed, throwing her hands up and letting them fall against her thighs, "How the hell are we supposed to get out of here then?"

"I'll think of something." Zoey sighed, looking like she had a headache.

Stevie Rae took her hand, "Hey, you're not alone in this. We're right here with you." She said softly, "Together we can make this work."

"You sound like a Disney movie." Aphrodite said, her voice had a tender edge to it.

"She's right." Zoey said with a smile, "Together we can find a way out of this." She squeezed Stevie's hand, "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

Stevie Rae grinned, "Same here."

"Okay, please, just please, with the PG mushiness!" Shaunee groaned.

"I may barf, Twin. This is far too sweet for my cold heart." Erin gagged into her hand.

"But they are right," Damien said, "We have to stick together. It's the only way to make it through."

"So," Zoey said, "let's find a way out of here and then we'll go from there."

"Sounds like a plan." Stevie Rae nodded.

Hopefully this plan wouldn't cost them.

A/N: How will the Nerd Herd escape the House of Night without being seen? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you guys so much for reading, it means a lot to me to know people like my writing :) Please leave a review, I love hearing from you xx