Ariana stood at the steps of the main building of Beacon Hills High on the first day back of school, her heart constricting slightly in her chest as she looked upwards, taking in the sight of the big Beacon Hills High sign, the small cracks running along the edges where the plaque met the deep red bricks, a reminder of how nothing could truly stay perfect forever. Time always passed and things changed, whether you wanted it to or not. She had told herself not to get emotional today, but it was harder than she'd expected. This was the first time she'd be walking into a new year of school without Violet and Garrett by her side.

The little trio of orphans had made a pact, always crossing the entrance on the first day back together. It was a little symbolic ritual, showing their strength as a little trio. They would stand there, hand in hand, promising to get through another year of school together. They would stare up at the building that held so many possibilities of a future unseen. They would stand there, promising to get through the hardships, the foster system struggles, the chaos that the world threw at them.

They had stood together, through it all.

But now Ariana stood alone, her arms wrapped around her small frame, feeling the absence of her friends more than ever. No more small shared moments with Garrett as they climbed off the school bus, his hands always ready to tug on her backpack when she got lost in the crowd of students. No more chances to watch Violet fighting with her locker, the lock combination always just out of her mind's reach. They were gone, and as much as Ariana had done her best to push the feeling of grief aside, it was particularly heavy in her heart today.

As the rest of the students stumbled past her, Ariana remained alone.

Before she could let the unshed tears spill over her cheeks though, she felt someone nudging her. Turning as she pulled her best fake smile on, Ariana let out a breath as she found Mason standing beside her, a soft expression in his eyes.

"Hey," he said simply, reaching a hand out to her. Ariana unclenched her hand out of the tense fist it had curled into, allowing Mason to grab onto it with a firm squeeze. The moment of gentle contact let the tension in Ariana's heart ease a little, letting out a shuddering breath.

"Hi," Ariana said back once her breath had steadied, a small smile slipping up her lips.

Mason studied her for a second, his eyes crinkling at the sides as he tilted his head slightly. "I figured you'd be here. First day back. You know what…I miss them too."

That couldn't be easy for Mason to admit. He'd spent so long feeling bitter over the lies, over the betrayal and the cruelty of The Orphans. Still, they'd all been friends and Ariana knew he missed their company almost as much as she did. He'd discovered Violet and Garrett's true professions in the aftermath of their deaths, although he was blissfully unaware of Ariana's involvement.

Ariana heaved in a breath, squeezing his hand back as she nodded. "Yeah…It sucks. I…I don't know. I keep thinking they'll magically appear again."

"Like it's just one of Garrett's dumb pranks?" Mason suggested, his mouth twisted to one side in a wry smile.

Ariana nodded again, her head bobbing up and down as she willed the tears to disappear before she made a scene in the middle of the school yard.

Mason squeezed her hand again, tugging her a little closer to him in comfort. "I know. As crazy it is…I mean I know they weren't really good people considering what they did. But still…They were our friends. So we'd better give this year hell for them then," he said softly.

Not trusting herself to speak without bursting into tears, Ariana tugged back on Mason's hand, offering a grateful smile as she let him lead her into the main corridor, winding between the crowds of students as he created an easy path for her to follow.

Part of Ariana's heart still stung though, but it wasn't just the grief. It was the knowledge that Mason still believed Garrett and Violet had been evil, that their actions were barely forgivable. How would he ever react if he found out she'd been just as involved as them? That her hands were just as stained with blood as Garrett's? That her poison had caused as many, if not more deaths than Violet's necklace? Mason could never know, of course. Ariana knew that. But still, the guilt of hearing his words still stung, knowing the facade she had to maintain for him. Lying to Mason had been easy when she had Garrett and Violet to help her, to help feed the lies. She wasn't sure how long she could keep up the act with them gone.

But she didn't really have a choice. So instead, she pushed the truth down and let Mason lead her through the crowds, just as Violet used to, all while wondering just how much longer she could keep her worlds separate.

Genevieve had to admit, things would've been much easier if she went to Devenford right now. Bouncing out of Kathryn's jeep, she gave a quick wave to Lori, eyes swiftly avoiding Brett's gaze. Although it would mean going to school with Brett and seeing him everywhere, at least she wouldn't feel like she was being inconvenient, causing Kathryn to take a detour to Beacon Hills High on the way to drop the others to school. But at least this way she was only stuck in the car with Brett for ten minutes. Although that was still plenty of time for Lori to make several loud and painful comments about how nice the weather was outside as she attempted to make small talk between Genevieve and Brett while they both pointedly ignored each other.

"Just wait for one of us here after school, okay?" Kathryn called out, ignoring the awkward tension as if it hadn't existed for the entire car ride to school. "Don't go running off anywhere!"

Genevieve nodded as she swung the door shut, scrunching her nose up as she caught Kathryn's eye. "I'll be standing in this exact spot! I won't move!" she quipped lightly, just catching Brett's stifled snort in the back seat before he recomposed himself and resumed his stoic expression again.

"Well maybe move to your classroom but then come right back here," Kathryn shot back teasingly as she geared the car up again, flicking the indicator on before pulling back out onto the road, leaving Genevieve standing alone, watching as the car disappeared into the busy morning traffic.

Genevieve stood still for a moment, alone, before a rush of students jostled past her, moving her backwards towards the school's main building and away from the sight of Brett in the back of the jeep, his eyes lingering on her through the back window.

The walk through the hallways seemed long today as Genevieve made her way through all of the students, everyone shouting out in excitement as they were reunited with friends. Seniors pushed their way through the crowds, confidence and glee radiating off many of them at the thought of how close they were to the finish line, while a herd of freshmen moved slowly, eyes all wide in fear and anticipation of what was to come.

Genevieve spotted a few familiar faces as she navigated her way towards her locker, eyes lighting up as she caught sight of Corey and his boyfriend Lucas tucked against Corey's locker. She went to turn towards them, ready to be reunited with her closest friends, when she noticed the dark look in Lucas's expression. His brows were furrowed in irritation as he snapped at Corey who moved half a step away, stumbling into his locker before straightening up to argue back. Genevieve couldn't make out what they were fighting about but it seemed tense enough to avoid for now. Instead, she swerved back onto her familiar course, narrowly avoiding a pack of lacrosse boys rushing past her.

"Genny?"

Genevieve whirled her head around to the side, letting out a string of apologies to a older girl passing by who was met with a mouthful of her red hair. By the time Genevieve had recovered, she looked up to see Ariana at her open locker biting back a smirk. "Remind me to chop off my hair soon," Genevieve remarked with a huff as she scooted across to lean against the locker beside Ariana, reaching around to tug her hair into a messy ponytail.

"Hi to you too," Ariana said in response, rolling her eyes as she resumed unpacking her backpack, swiftly slotting her textbooks and notebooks into their assigned spots in her locker. Ariana's locker was so organised that it made Genevieve's look like the aftermath of one of Ariana's earthquakes, loose papers and pencils always tumbling out unexpectedly. "So you survived this morning?"

Genevieve frowned as she folded her arms across her chest. "The full moon ended last night," she said slowly, cocking her head to one side in confusion as she stared back at Ariana.

Ariana let out a little huff, shaking her head. "No, I mean the car ride, duh. You survived first ride to school with Brett? Without a panic attack or wolfing out on each other?"

"Oh." Genevieve inhaled slowly, her arms tightening their grip around her body. "Um, yeah. It was fine. I mean it's awkward but we're fine. Well I'm not super fine but we're not trying to kill each other." Her eyes widened for a moment at the realisation of what she'd just said. "I mean, um…"

"At least you're not Liam and I," Ariana clarified with a giggle. "I get it." At least Ariana seemed to have a bit of a sense of humour about her situation with her boyfriend although Genevieve was still getting her head around it. Liam and Ariana seemed steady for now, but they'd had a rocky start, both trying to murder each other at least once. Genevieve and Brett had also had a rocky start but at least their relationship foundations hadn't involved assassination attempts, she supposed.

"I just mean it's fine for now. And I'll get over it," Genevieve said after a moment, delicately avoiding speaking the real truth, that getting over him was another issue entirely.

"I still don't even get why you broke up in the first place," Ariana mused as she continued to sort through her books in her locker, rifling through until she pulled out her History textbook with a tiny whoop of relief.

Genevieve shrugged, her shoulders tensing up near her ears for a moment longer than necessary. "It just wasn't working out. It's like he just wanted some girl to save and protect and I wanted more than that. I didn't want to be some broken girl for him to fix."

Ariana nodded slowly. "But did he say that? Or did you assume and end it without letting him fully explain himself?"

Genevieve pursed her lips in thought as she reluctantly let her mind wander back to their last argument. "I mean we talked about it…kind of. I guess it was more shouting, actually," she amended, trying not to let her mind relive their final argument.

"Right. Well all I'm saying is that based on your friendship with me and knowing your track record, maybe it's worth checking in and hearing his perspective. I can tell you miss being with him," Ariana said wisely, although Genevieve had no idea when her closest friend had become such a relationship expert. Ariana's relationship with Liam may have been stable now but Genevieve was sure she'd witness an argument by the end of the week. Still, it was possible that she had a point, as much as it pained Genevieve to admit it.

"Hm," was all Genevieve said back, brow slightly furrowed as she followed Ariana towards their history classroom, heading straight to her usual seat near the middle, just as she had done every day in freshman year, leaving Ariana to head to her own usual spot near Liam before Ariana could throw in another piece of advice.

Ariana pursed her lips in amusement as she watched Genevieve hurry to her seat, so eager to avoid the topic of Brett that she nearly collided with another student, Ursula Donati, swerving out of the way at the last minute before Ursula could make a snide remark. Thank goodness for Genevieve's quick wolf reflexes because Ariana definitely didn't feel up to handling the wrath of Ursula this early in the morning.

As Ariana moved into the classroom, she came to a sharp halt at her usual desk, frowning as she took in the girl already sitting in her seat, long dark hair hanging down across the her face. Beside her, Liam was staring straight ahead with an odd expression on his face, a mixture of irritation and concern on his face while Mason sniggered on his other side.

"Um…" Ariana finally managed to get out, hugging her books a little tighter to her chest as she stared.

Liam's head snapped up at her voice, his eyes widening a little as he glanced between her and the dark haired girl sitting in Ariana's seat. "Ari! Uh…Um…" Liam stammered, his eyes dropping back to the other girl. Something about the way he was looking at the girl made Ariana's stomach coil slightly. It wasn't the same way he looked at Ariana, but it was something. There was a different sense of familiarity. History. Well that was ironic given their current class.

"What do you want now?" The girl was glaring at Liam now, hostility clear in her tone. Feeling Ariana's presence, the girl glanced upwards, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What?"

"Nothing…You're just in my seat," Ariana said back, raising an eyebrow as she nodded to the seat the girl was currently occupying.

"What, is there assigned seating here or something?" The girl asked, raising a snarky eyebrow up at Ariana. There was a vague sense of tension building now as the two girls stared at each other, both unwilling to budge.

"Yes actually," Ariana retorted. "I assigned myself this seat last year so you need to move. And who are you?"

"This is Hayden," Liam interrupted, his eyes crinkling slightly. "Um, we went to Devonford together," he added hastily as an explanation. Ariana narrowed her eyes slightly at Liam, doubt sinking into her body a little as she took in the way his eyes lingered on the new girl. There was something odd about Liam's expression, a sense of shared history sitting between him and the new girl that made Ariana feel like she was out of place suddenly. Like she didn't belong as she hovered awkwardly between the two of them.

"Alright class, let's get started, Miss Petrakis, take a seat please."

Ariana's head shot up to where Mr Yukimura was giving her a firm look from the front of the classroom, interrupting the insecure thoughts suddenly whirling around her mind. Letting out a small huff, Ariana marched towards the last spare seat a few rows behind Liam, ignoring the uncertain crease in Mason's eyebrow right now as he glanced back at her. Liam seemed to be totally focused on Hayden though, leaning sideways to whisper something to her. Hayden seemed unimpressed, only throwing him a glare before giving Mr Yukimura her full attention.

But as Ariana sunk into her seat, eyes still flickering between Liam and Hayden, she couldn't help the feeling of unease settling in. As she got herself settled, notebook out and stationary carefully placed on the desk, Ariana couldn't help the unconscious twitch, her hand flicking out in a small gesture before she could catch herself. It was small, but it was enough to send a small gust of wind across the room, pushing Hayden's pens to the ground as the classroom door slammed shut with a bang.

Ariana tensed, letting a small exhale slip from her lips as she glanced around the room. No one else seemed particularly disturbed apart from Hayden who cursed as she bent down to collect her stationary from the floor. Liam was watching her, his brow furrowed slightly but he seemed too lost in thought to connect the event to Ariana. Apparently not even her powers could distract him from Hayden, a fact that irritated Ariana more than she wanted to admit.

Towards the front of the room, Genevieve was glancing back at Ariana, concern flickering over her face. They locked eyes for a moment, Genevieve raising a brow in question before Ariana quickly shook her head back, brushing off the incident before her own mind could start digging into what had just happened. She hadn't even intended to create that small gust of wind. It was just as if another part of her mind had broken through for a brief moment, taking control while she was stuck, helpless.

The rest of the class seemed to drag on as Ariana spent the entire period alternating between glaring at the new girl and Liam. Hayden seemed to be ignoring Liam for the most part, keeping her head down as she hurried to copy down all of Mr Yukimura's illegible writing off the board, but it wasn't Hayden that Ariana was worried about. It was Liam and the way his gaze kept getting pulled back to Hayden, no matter how pointedly Hayden seemed to be brushing him off.

Ariana tried to catch Liam after class but something seemed to have him shaken and he bolted from the classroom almost the second the bell began to ring, barely looking back at her. He didn't even bother to wait for her to walk out together like they usually did.

"Right…" Ariana huffed, hovering at Liam's seat as she clutched her books a little tighter to her chest, her eyes following Hayden as the new girl marched out of the room only a moment after, her expression stormy.

"Hey, you okay?" Genevieve asked softly as she sidled up beside Ariana a, giving her a mild fright as she appeared. "Just breathe, yeah?"

Ariana pursed her lips, letting Genevieve lead her out the door and down the hallway. "I'm fine," she said simply.

Genevieve gave a small hum of disagreement as they walked, hugging her books to her chest. "If you say so," was all she said, kind enough not to push the issue.

Ariana had to admit, as unsettled as she felt right now, she was relieved to have Genevieve on her side after so many years of distance between them. Some would say they'd repaired friendship awfully quickly but Ariana maintained that after what had gone down in Mexico, discovering just how connected they were, it was impossible not to be close again.

"So did you get any closer last night?" Genevieve asked as she walked beside Ariana, nudging her shoulder gently. "To finding Siobhan, I mean," she clarified when Ariana frowned back at her.

"Nope," Ariana huffed, scrunching up her nose as she let her mind wander back to the night before, deliberately avoiding the memory of her disturbing hospital hallucination. "I read a few things about dark druids which might relate to the Donas but nothing new. Nothing helpful." Her frustration rang clear in her tone as she pursed her lips. "I just feel like I'm missing something. Or overlooking something. And Siobhan has literally vanished apparently."

Genevieve was quiet for a moment, gathering her thoughts for a moment. She hesitated before finally opening her mouth, clearly already anticipating Ariana's answer but pushing forward anyway. "Maybe…Maybe we should ask Lucas if he knows-"

"I'm not asking Lucas," Ariana cut her off swiftly. "First of all I haven't heard from him since Mexico and secondly I don't want to hear from him."

Genevieve let out a small sigh, nodding. "I know. I'm mad too. But I still have questions and I know you do too. And he did say he was trying to help us. Maybe he helped Siobhan disappear?"

It was a possible explanation and Ariana knew it was worth looking into, but she couldn't help the cloud of betrayal fogging up her vision again as she thought back to the last time she'd seen Lucas. Seeing him in the rubble of her earthquake, knowing how much he'd hidden from them, knowing how many secrets he'd kept and the chaos it had caused them all. It was too much for her to bear just yet.

"Plus, he's a druid," Genevieve added gently as the two of them came to a halt at her locker, "Maybe he can help you…with your control." She was tactful at least, even as she treaded on unstable ground.

"I have Deaton to help me already. And anyway, I have control," Ariana defended herself even though she could feel herself lying through her teeth right now. "But I told you, I'm fine." The gust of wind in class had been a one off, surely. Just like the hallucination at the hospital. She was fine. The darkness nudging at her veins was just stress, surely. Hopefully.

"Hey losers," a loud abrasive voice interrupted them and Ariana let out a slow hiss of breath as she turned on her toes to face Kennedy Carter, Siobhan's lackey and apparently the new Queen Bee in Siobhan's absence. She stood across from the girls, long blonde hair cascading across her shoulders as she readjusted the headband on her head, like a queen adjusting her crown.

"Kennedy, always so great to see you," Ariana said bluntly, pulling a false smile onto her lips as she tilted her head slightly, keeping her gaze steady on the older girl. "On the hunt for new blood to torture?"

"No, you'll do just fine," Kennedy smirked as she slowly sauntered towards the two of them, one eyebrow arched as she studied them almost like they were her prey. "Heard your boyfriend has eyes for someone else already and it's barely second period," she said slowly, her tone dripping with cruelty as she watched Ariana, waiting for any sign of weakness. "It must suck to realise you're never enough. First your parents didn't want you and now you can't even keep a boyfriend."

"Liam and I are fine actually. I don't know what you're talking about," Ariana said calmly, ignoring the tiny shiver running down her spine at Kennedy's spiteful words. Genevieve seemed to sense it though, moving to brush her shoulder lightly against her in an attempt to ground her. "I guess you shouldn't listen to everything your minions tell you," Ariana continued, making a mental note to have some words with Ursula Donati next time she ran into her. If she wanted to pass Chemistry with Ariana's notes again she was going to have to cut out the gossip.

Kennedy was unfazed, cocking her head to one side as she watched Ariana. "If that's what you believe, good for you. Your funeral," she said with another smirk, her eyes glistening with a hint of amusement as if she got some sick pleasure from digging into Ariana's wounds. Clearly bored with their interaction, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, pushing past Ariana and letting her shoulder knock Ariana back half a step, not bothering to look back as she disappeared around the corner.

"I hate her. So much." Ariana glared after Kennedy, clenching her fists.

Genevieve inhaled deeply, nodding her head furiously as she turned back to her locker to pull out her Chemistry books. "She's actually making me miss Siobhan. At least Siobhan was usually too busy ogling the lacrosse team to be a bitch to us," she said, a smile quirking itself up her lip.

"More motivation to find Siobhan then," Ariana mused as she turned back to face Genevieve, her eyes drifting down the corridor until she spotted the new girl, Hayden, standing at her locker amongst the swarm of students still roaming the halls. She seemed so normal, blending in with the other students as if she'd always been there, as if she'd always belonged.

Ariana couldn't help the tension in her body as she watched Hayden, Kennedy's words replaying in her mind again. The way Liam had looked at Hayden had thrown Ariana off more than she realised, the familiar way his eyes had gazed after the new girl. Something had changed in the air the moment Hayden arrived and Ariana wasn't entirely sure that it was a good change.

It had been hard enough accepting change earlier in the morning, walking across the school yard without The Orphans, realising that something had shifted in the air, but seeing Hayden's face just made it even clearer. Things were different now and Ariana suddenly had a bad feeling that it was only going to get worse.

A/N: Hello lovely readers I'm so sorry about the gap between updates! Life got a little too hectic and I needed to step back for a bit but my muse for Ari never really leaves me so here we are with another little chapter to keep you all going. I know we didn't get a lot of action in this chapter but trust me we're building up to some good drama ahead, and we got to meet a few newish faces! Please let me know any thoughts/feelings/theories you had while reading! Reviews really do help motivate me and I love hearing your thoughts! Thanks again for reading and I'll hopefully have another chapter up for you soon!