Kitty woke up early the next morning in her own bed. She wished she hadn't. A pounding pain, both from her ribs, and her head was making her dizzy. She reached for the little pill bottle on her bedside table, swallowed two dry, and waited a little until she felt it abate.
Slowly, she sat up, wincing, and shuffled for her shower, stripping and letting cold water soothe her head further. But her ribs still ached – even more so at the cold. She sighed, but decided to accept her early wake up, as it gave her time to get dressed, which was useful, considering her struggle to move.
She knew if she asked her parents, she could stay home, but she didn't think she could stand another day of bed rest. Two had been more than enough for her. Her eyes flickered to the forest visible behind the glass, and she shivered as those strange images rose to the forefront of her mind, unbidden. She was on the verge of panic again, but she shook her head.
"No. Calm down, Kitty. It was just your imagination. Besides, the wolves weren't that bad, were they? That big black one made sure you were okay." She smiled to herself, picturing Mr. Wolf, as large as her imagination had made him. She looked out into the trees again, and her eyes widened as a large dark shape moved quickly past, obscuring the beach for a second. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. "See? Nothing. Now you're just being silly."
Kitty watched patiently as Topher bounced ahead of her in the hallway, before realizing she was still lagging behind. He turned around, a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, Kit-Kat." He reached her side, and looped her arm with his, being careful not to brush her side.
Kitty smiled at him tiredly. "It's fine, Toph. We have English first." Sudden realization filled her, and she hunched down slightly. "What if Paul's there?" she asked in a tiny voice.
Topher scowled. "Just sit next to me. I don't care what Jameson says – I don't want you near him."
"Don't worry, Toph. I don't want to be near him either." She smiled suddenly. "We can just say the doctor said you have to look after me." Topher grinned wickedly.
"Amazing! Great plan, Kit-Kat."
Mr. Jameson eyed the two siblings as they walked in together, small cruel smile growing on his face. "Ah. Miss Faye. I'm so glad to see that you have in fact survived your ordeal. Do not assume this excuses you from the reading – I still expect the summary. You too, Mr. Faye."
Topher's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Are you serious, sir?!" he stepped forward, and gestured at Kitty. "She's been in hospital all weekend, and you expect her to have done the reading?"
Kitty brushed his arm in comfort. "It's fine, Toph." She directed her speech to Mr. Jameson, smiling her most winning smile at him. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't actually do the reading, but if it's okay with you, I can do it tonight?" she asked hopefully. Jameson regarded her.
"No. It's not 'okay.'" He mimicked her voice slightly. "Detention – for both of you – unless you have in fact done the reading, Mr. Faye?" His beady eyes focussed on the sheet of paper in Topher's left hand. Scowling, Topher shoved a piece of paper with his summary on it at him. "Excellent. Miss Faye, I'll see you straight after school." There was a low growl from behind them all, and Kitty turned, locking eyes with an irate looking Paul. She gulped at the murderous look in his eyes, and turned away quickly. "Did you have something to say, Mr. Lahote?" Jameson asked, pursing his lips.
Kitty peeked from behind Topher, and watched as Paul shuddered slightly, looking at Jameson furiously. "Yes." He ground out. Jameson raised an eyebrow, waiting. The whole class was looking at Paul, expectantly – almost as if expecting him to shout at Kitty again. Jared was half out of his chair, a worried look on his face. "Fuck you and your stupid summary." Paul said finally, smirking defiantly. Jameson's mouth fell open.
"Detention! Detention for you Mr. Lahote. I'll see you after school as well." Jameson said shrilly. Topher barked a surprised laugh, as did half of the class. Jared relaxed back into his seat, and Kitty just watched Paul wide eyed. He met her gaze, and winked at her. Kitty frowned instantly, and ducked her head. "Take your seats!" Kitty looked at Topher desperately, seeing that there were no desks with two seats. Topher bit his lip thoughtfully, and as Jameson turned to write something on the board, he slid quickly into the seat next to Paul, and nodded Kitty towards the seat next to Jared.
Both Paul and Jared were wearing identical confused expressions, but Kitty ignored them, and slid in quietly next to Jared. She was almost as uneasy with Jared, as he was almost as big as Paul, and she knew that they hung out together now. But she also knew that Kim and Jared had been going out, so she relaxed a little. She trusted Kim's judgement.
"Hey there." Kitty jumped at Jared's loud voice, wincing as it made her head pang. He was looking at her curiously, scanning her intently.
"Um, hi." She said quietly, so that she didn't draw Jameson's attention, and to avoid irritating her headache. He frowned at something past her, before his eyes slid to hers again.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, voice low and quieter than his initial start. Kitty looked at him again, frowning slightly. "You know – after Saturday?"
Kitty's eyebrows quirked in confusion. "How did you know that it was Saturday?" Jared looked panicked for a moment, but she sighed. "Did Kim tell you?"
Jared breathed a relieved sigh, looking behind her for a second. "Oh. Yeah, yeah, she did." He raised his eyebrows, "So how are you feeling, then?" his eyes darted past her, and she turned to see what he was looking at. She swallowed nervously, as she caught the heated gaze Paul was searing her with. She looked away quickly and smiled nervously at Jared.
"I'm, um, I'm alright. Just a bit sore walking around. And loud noises are not good right now." She said softly. That was also part of the reason she was relaxing. Compared to the majority of people in the corridors, his voice was low and quiet, not aggravating her headache.
Jared nodded, smiling brightly, and she flushed at the sudden flash of perfect teeth, and genuine happiness. "That's great to hear. We're – uh, I mean, I'm glad that you're feeling better than before." Kitty felt herself smile back slightly.
"Miss Faye! Mr Cameron! Face the front and pay attention or you'll be in for double detention!" Kitty winced as Jameson's loud high-pitched voice made her head pound. Jared smiled sympathetically.
Kitty could feel Paul's burning gaze through the whole double period, and although she wanted to turn and look at him for some reason – she resisted, knowing he was probably just staring daggers and plotting... something.