Even after she'd gone, after her silhouette had faded away into the night, Brandon stood outside and watched. He watched the last place he'd seen her, watched in case she came back. He still felt her touch on his skin, mainly his face from how much it had burnt. He could still smell her perfume, see her face when he closed his eyes. Sighing, Brandon folded his arms across his chest, as the late night air slowly turned chilly. But he didn't know if he could face going inside. The guys were just so immature, and they weren't showing any signs of getting better, particularly Sky and Riven. Oh well. Some things never change...

Finally, when goose bumps were pricking the skin along his arms, he decided to return to the room. The warmth hit him suddenly and blissfully as he stepped further into the room, closing the door behind himself.

"Stella's gone then?" Riven asked innocently, though he couldn't disguise the smirk that crept across his face, as hard as he tried.

"She left." Brandon nodded. "So, anyone else want to contribute to this discussion, or is it alright if we drop it and move on?"

"Oh no, we can contribute if you want..." Sky offered.

Giving him a withering look Brandon declined his act of generosity. "Never mind, I definitely want to drop it and move on."

"But I have loads to add-"

"We are dropping it!" Brandon interrupted loudly. "Thank you."

Sky and Riven laughed, but he ignored them as best he could and stretched out on his bed, hands behind his head. Gazing up at the ceiling, the ball popped into his head again. He'd just have to deal with the fact they weren't going. He'd had his fair share of moments with Stella. The thought of more training tomorrow, in a class full of wolf whistles and whooping at every little bit of gossip, made him feel ever so slightly sick. The thought of staying behind to shovel manure for the rest of the night made him feel completely sick. His life was really beginning to look up.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Landing on her balcony, Stella quickly powered down and ran inside. She hastily shut the doors and went to see if anyone had noticed her absence. Anyone like Griselda for example. She was just about to burst into the main room, when she heard a raised voice from the other side.

"I won't ask you girls again. You can't cover up forever. Where is Stella?"

There was no mistaking that voice. Griselda. The old bat clearly had realised she was missing. But...the Winx wouldn't tell, would they?

"When I find out where she is, all of you will be in serious trouble. Sneaking out late at night, again!" Griselda yelled. "Just who does she think she is? Anything could happen. You girls aren't doing any favours for yourselves by keeping quiet. Or Stella!"

She was really in for it when Griselda got a hold of her. Stella knew she had seriously pushed it this time. And she couldn't get kicked out...not again. Her father would kill her.

"Well?" The impatience in her voice was clearly audible. "Where is she?"

"Well..." Bloom started.

"We don't know exactly where she is..." Musa tried.

Griselda sighed irritably. "You either know or you don't, simple as that."

"But we don't know if we're right. We just know where we think she went." Aisha pointed out.

Stella couldn't believe her ears. Were they really just about to rat her out? It was bad enough that she'd disappeared again. But last time, she managed to get out of it (unless you count the part about being grounded and having detentions) without Griselda knowing about Brandon. If the girls told Griselda, her secret would be out, and the situation would be made a billion times worse if Griselda knew she'd been out twice, at night, with a boy. It would surely reach her father, who be even more furious that his daughter, Princess of Solaria, was sneaking out to spend time with a boy. He would say that anyone that low is unworthy for her. He'd break them up. But Brandon wasn't like that. It's not like they actually did anything. They just talked...and kissed, but nothing else!

"I don't care whether you are unsure or not, just tell me." Griselda snapped.

Now it was Flora's turn to pipe up. Sweet Flora, who Stella thought she could trust with anything. "We think...we think that she left to go and-"

"I can't believe you were totally about to rat me out!" Stella shrieked, barging into the room. She no longer cared about Griselda, at least she could tell the right 'truth.' At least this way she could do the explaining, and keep her secret a secret. "After everything, you guys weren't gonna cover for me!"

"Well you should never have left, princess!" Musa groaned. "We can't always ruin our own lives to save your sorry ass."

"Musa!" Flora whined. "Let's not start another argument..."

"So, Stella." Griselda interrupted. "Where exactly were you? And why is it so important that your friends here were to 'cover' for you? I hope you realise that now, because they were in on it and aided you in your little escapade," She shot a meaningful glare at the Winx girls, "they too will be joining you in your new punishment, whatever that may be."

"And this is why I'm never helping you again." Musa grumbled. "Always dragged into something, me. Always!"

"Musa!" Snapped Griselda. "All of your friends are in the exact same shoes as you, so quit complaining and deal with the fact that you have broken the rules, and there are consequences!"

Stella smiled innocently at her friends, all of whom had faces like thunder, except perhaps for Flora, who looked more terrified at being in trouble. She needed to get used to that, being one of Stella's best friends.

"So...what is our punishment, exactly?" Stella asked sweetly.

"You'll know as soon as you tell me where you've been all night." Griselda said sternly. "And you'd better hope I believe what you tell me."

"Well, basically..."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Thankful of the silence and the break from all of her so called friends screaming in her face, Stella sank onto her bed and sighed. After giving Griselda a long winded explanation of how after feeling 'stressed and under pressure to keep out of trouble' and 'angry and irritated after her most recent repercussions' she had taken a lonely night flight to clear her head and calm down. She also mentioned that she had asked her best friends and room mates to make sure that this healing process was undisturbed so as it could have a full effect on her. Yeah, maybe she should have left them out of it. Dragging them deeper into the hole she was digging for herself wasn't the best idea she ever had. Her high hopes that Griselda would believe her heart wrenching tale hadn't exactly paid off. Needless to say she wasn't taken seriously. Griselda had left them all with the reassuring news that she would be reporting back to Ms Faragonda and together they would arrange a suitable punishment for all of them. She'd made that part very clear. Obviously none of her friends had been all that pleased, especially Musa. She'd screamed and shouted in Stella's face, putting on a full out 'Stella Tantrum' and not even Flora had tried to stop her. She was probably too busy going into a nervous melt down because of the terror awaiting her in her upcoming punishment. Shortly after Griselda left, she too shut herself away in her room. Flora was a very quiet, shy girl, who always tried to do the right thing, and hated being in the middle of arguments, violence or any little scrapes she found herself in. She'd evacuated herself from the noisy dorm at lighting speed. After Stella had had enough of Musa's abuse, she finally stormed away to her bedroom, leaving the girls to argue amongst themselves. They were sure to be talking about her, even now, but she didn't care anymore. She'd ruined her school life. Again. And this time, she'd probably ruined the rest of her life too. Her mind drifted to her strict teacher and housemistress, standing in the headmistress' office and sternly discussing her future. She longed to know what they were saying, what kind of torture she was going to become a victim of in the near future. At least it couldn't be any worse than cleaning out dragon pens day in, day out, could it?

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

She groaned internally. Could she really be bothered for more of this? She didn't think so, but she guessed she just had to get it over with...

"What do you want?" She snapped. She never said she was going to get it over with happily.

"Stella, open the door." Bloom's voice said from the other side.

"Open it yourself." She sighed, stretching herself out on the bed hastily, trying to look as casual as possible as quickly as possible.

"Stella..." Bloom sighed, stepping inside and perching herself at the bottom of the bed. "What have you done now?"

"Oh, I dunno, you tell me." She huffed. "You've already told me enough times I'm sure, but I don't think it's quite sunk in yet."

"Stel..." Bloom started. "We're not mad at you."

She spoke as if to a child.

"Sure seemed that way." Stella replied.

"Yeah well, it's just that none of us want to be in trouble. You don't either. We're all feeling annoyed and fed up. The little things are getting to us. But really, what's the worst Griselda can throw at us?"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"WHAT?!" Stella and the Winx screeched collectively.

"You heard me." Griselda nodded. "Every single drop. Confiscated. No more until further notice."

"But that's not fair!" Musa cried. "All we did was cover for her! We don't need a punishment that bad!"

"Actually both me and Ms Faragonda think otherwise." Griselda argued. "Now, Professor Palladium will be paying you a visit to take it from you, and when we feel the time is right, it shall be returned to you. Good day girls."

And with that she left.

Stella gawped at the door, which had been firmly (verging violently) shut behind the stroppy housemistress. How had this happened? Surely for telling a little lie about her whereabouts the previous night, she didn't deserve a punishment of such huge proportions. Confiscated until further notice? That could last forever! Bubbling over with anger, Stella was literally about to scream and kick the nearest thing to her, when Griselda's head popped back around the door.

"Oh, and Stella, before you freak out completely, I would love it if you could compose yourself enough to come down and see Ms Faragonda in 10 minutes. Precisely." She instructed with false sincerity.

Then she disappeared again, the stunned silence allowing them all to hear her heels clopping away down the corridors of Alfea.

The so far good morning had definitely took a turn for the worse. The Winx had managed to sort out their...issues, last night, and were ready for a couple detentions and maybe a spot of community service. Nothing could have prepared them for this. After Stella went to bed with a clear head and no worries, prepared for the next day and the hardships it would bring, the morning that arrived was not welcome. She awoke to find that Griselda was apparently on her way right then, and had to get ready super fast. She only had 20 minutes to make sure she was looking perfect as usual. 20 minutes! That was the first bad thing. And from there it just went downhill. Yes they got more detentions, but so much more as well. It was too much to take in. Stella staggered backward and fell down into one of the armchairs. She looked up at the faces of her friends, and saw a perfect reflection in their eyes. All were in shock. It was going to be tough. No...none of it? How would they survive? They'd never had a punishment like this before! They didn't need one now! Just for last night? It was a bit extreme, wasn't it?

"No magic?" Stella gasped in despair.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

THE PREVIOUS DAY

Codatorta dismissed his class, and watched them leave the arena, talking non stop. He heard Brandon's name pop up a few times, but he wasn't there to hear them. Brandon had run off as quickly as possible, and was the first one out of the arena. Codatorta knew that he had already set his punishment, but he also knew that he wasn't finished. It had happened. When they went to the same branch of schools...they were sure to meet. That meeting had blossomed into something else. And that wasn't good. Sighing, Codatorta began to make his way towards the main school building, thinking about what he was going to say. He didn't agree with it, but he had to do it. If they could do it for themselves, it would be less painful than if they were forced. His instructions were clear. As soon as there was any sign, he had to report it immediately, so appropriate action could take place. Everyone seemed to know of the complications, except them. On the top floor of the school, there was a long corridor with a grand door at the end. He approached the door and paused, hand in the air, poised to knock. He looked at the gold plaque on the door.

Professor Saladin
Headmaster

Shaking his head to clear his doubts, Codatorta knocked harshly on the door.

"Come in." Saladin said from inside.

Opening the door Codatorta stepped inside, and looked at his employer and friend with a stern stare. He shook his head in defeat and turned away to close the door. He kept his palm pressed against it, and leant heavily on the glass pane. Head hung, he sighed deeply.

"The time has come?" Saladin asked, his voice equally as heavy.

"Does it really have to be this way?" Codatorta argued.

He'd kept his mouth shut long enough. Now it was finally time to take action. He didn't believe they were doing the right thing, and he never had.

"Codatorta, I told you what the plan was a long time ago." Saladin spoke calmly, looking Codatorta square in the eye. "I asked you did you believe I had made the right choice, if you could see another way."

Codatorta looked away again. Saladin was right, he'd had the choice. He'd just been too scared to make it. How he regretted his decision now.

"You said you couldn't see it. We agreed that as soon as we knew, we would figure out a plan, figure out the best way to do it. We agreed there was no other way."

"I know, I know." He groaned, rocking backwards and forwards on his feet, head in hand. "But...but I lied. I couldn't see another way to do what you wanted, but I did see another plan. Leave them be!"

"You know as much as I do that that's not possible. I don't like it either, Brandon is one of the best students at this school, and has done so much already." Saladin reasoned. "I don't want to hurt him, but sadly, I must. I want to do it as kindly as possible though, which is why somehow, we must set them up to end it for themselves."

"How can you hurt someone kindly?" Codatorta asked. "It makes no sense."

"Tough love, my friend. Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind."

Saladin was wise. Sometimes Codatorta wondered if he was too wise for his own good. It made some sense, he guessed, but he still didn't agree.

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"I'm sorry, Professor, I really am." He interrupted. "But I have already thought about this over and over again. I have tried to think up another solution, but there isn't one. This is our only option. Or of course, we wait for their fathers to find out, and cause them even more pain."

Nodding his head, Codatorta stared down at his feet, and waited for Saladin to speak again.

"So how do you know now?"

"Brandon was out all last night. He came in about half way through my lesson this afternoon. He forgot his uniform, and his friends made sure everyone knew where he was last night."

"And?" Saladin pressed.

Codatorta looked up at him and shook his head.

"Stella?"

"Yes." He sighed. "He was out all night with her. What other reason would he be with her for?"

"Yes, I see."

"So what do you propose we do now?" He asked.

"I really don't know. First things first, we must make sure Faragonda knows. This is a two sided problem, and will need a two sided solution."

"Shall I let her know?"

"I think you should." Saladin said.

Nodding again, Codatorta turned to leave. Saladin called him back, just before he disappeared through the door.

"Codatorta? I really am sorry. Truly. I wish there could be another way, but alas, we are where we are."

Codatorta smiled sadly, then left Saladin and prepared a ship to Alfea.