"What is he doing here?" I ignored the blatant dislike in Greg's voice, my attention too busy fixated on the smiling Plu.

Sadly, I did not have a retort, nor a smart-ass answer to that one, mostly because I was wondering the same thing. Immediately, after my body had quickly gotten over the initial shock, my brain put two and two together, solving the problem, though not creating a solution.

"He.. must of followed me.." I supplied lamely.

"I would've never guessed." Greg sneered sarcastically. I suddenly whorled on him, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude, lay off." I said, my tone flat. "He probably got lonely home alone and followed. I should've locked the door anyway."

Greg glanced away, finding the cemented sidewalk much more interesting, choosing not to comment. Plu scooted a little closer to me and I patted his head with a sigh. "I guess I should walk you back."

"We have no time." Greg interrupted. "Besides, he'll just find a way to get out again anyway."

"What're you saying?" My eyes flickered to his form, which was leaning heavily against his bike. He shrugged. "Just leave him." He answered. "Let someone else find him."

I blinked, take aback by the possibility. "Uhm.." I spluttered. "No.. he's my responsibility." Besides, I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of someone else taking care of him. I must find his rightful owner, not some stranger that will probably abuse him-

Wait. When did I get so protective of him?

Eh, it must be that 'finders keepers' syndrome I've always had.

Greg narrowed his eyes at me, and I avoided his penetrating stare. If eyes made sounds, I would've been able to hear the ringing of his eyes rolling. I sighed. "And I will not entrust a stranger to find him." I finished firmly. "How bout... we'll take him to ...school?"

"What." I cringed at his tone. "Are you insane? He can't even speak!"

"Well, he can be a foreign exchange student! Anyhow, it'll be easier! That way there would be no chance of my mother finding him unattended!"

"It'll be easier if you let him live with me!"

"Not really. This way I'll get to keep an eye on him.." I muttered a little awkwardly.

"You're so damn stubborn." He glared.

"And so're you." I glared as well. We stared at each other for awhile, eyes narrowed with deep scowls. Eventually, a snicker escaped my lips and my tough facade dropped, a smirk cracked at his lips and we ultimately ended up trying hard to wipe the smiles off of our faces.

"I'm being serious Greg!" I said, the sharpness to my voice leaving. He sighed, reluctantly resigning with one last glare. "...Fine, whatever."

On impulse I wrapped my arms around him and grinned. "And this is why I love you!" I laughed.

Releasing my grip, I stared forward, continuing my way to school, not taking notice of the feral growl bubbling in Plu's throat, or the blood that decided to reside under the skin of Greg's face.

xxx

We made it to school, on time, surprisingly. My mood had dampened upon realizing I would have to go through another day of this brain-numbing place I personally call Hell.

I'm pretty positive that if I died and went to Hell, Lucifer himself would assign me to an eternity of mathematics and chemistry.

Dude, I'd rather be poked with pitchforks by demented demons, or read horrible smuts with flowery inclination embedded into the shit- I-I mean manuscript.

Huh, who said that?

Not me, I'll tell you.

Don't look at me like that! I don't read smut!

Haha.. ha...ha.

Okay, I do. But that's only when I'm bored! I swear!

Anyhow, I set foot into the building with Plu following closely behind. Sometime on the way there, Greg reluctantly let Plu borrow a pair of his soccer cleats, which unfortunately were two sizes larger than Plu's feet. Therefore Plu was occasionally tripping over his own feet. Suspiciously, Greg had a grin the entire time until I decided I was going to support the poor fella, that grin quickly faded into a scowl. I held Plu's hand the whole journey with a smirk at Greg's disgruntled expression.

Really, I didn't understand Greg's complex dislike for Plu, but it sure was fun to piss him off.

Trailing back to the main subject, both Plu and I were in the office, currently registering him into school here. It was short notice, but since the secretary there actually liked me, she did her magical wonders and created a schedule for Plu, which conveniently were almost all my classes except for the last, which was fortunately with Greg. Greg, himself, was currently locking his bike to a railing outside of school saying something about meeting us later. I smiled my praise to the secretary and she returned it.

"Thanks miss," I said.

"No problem!" She beamed cheerfully. For a 40-something old woman, she always seemed to be a bright ball of energy most days. I continued to hold Plu's hand, silently deciding to reach my locker. When we arrived, I saw someone I least expected, blocking my locker.

"Jeremy?" I blinked. The mid-height teen grinned at me. I blinked again.

"Hey!" He smiled. "I was wondering if you had a pencil I could use! We have a test and I forgot my pencil case at home, haha! You know our math teacher, Mr. Bradley, right? He-"

Ah, here, my friends, is Jeremy Wandler. The guy Greg thoroughly disliked. Not that I blamed him. Jeremy just didn't have an off-button. Him and I were complete opposites, yet he always made an effort to converse with me. He was nice, and real friendly, as well as cute, but I just felt like I had an itch when he talked, and it'll only go away if he left.

He just made me uncomfortable at times.

Really uncomfortable.

But he was still cute.

He was about 5 inches taller than me and half a head shorter than Greg. He had bright, lively hazel eyes and deep auburn hair that always seemed to have a natural curl. He had dimples and a nice friggin ass smile. He always had a baseball cap on, which was twisted backwards, a tuft of hair always peaking out of the belt back. A lot of girls liked him. And I mean a lot. I used to have a bit of a crush on him awhile back, but then he started talking to me and I was immediately turned off.

He just talked.

And talked.

And talked.

It was cute at first, but then it just got to the point where I started tuning him out. Unfortunately, he only talked more.

Anyway, I fished into my pocket, searching for a pencil. Finding a spare, I tossed it to him. He finally shut up and smiled. "Thank you, Pen-Pen!"

Also, he called me Pen-Pen.

Not Penny, or Penelope, but Pen-Pen. It was awkward at first, but I generally got used to it. I guess he thought the nickname was cute, so I left it be. Greg also shared my mutual dislike for the name, often chiding Jeremy with a glare whenever he used the name in front of him.

Not like it was a problem. Jeremy and I were merely acquaintances, only briefly conversing in classes or smiling a hello when passing each other down the halls. He was almost my age, turning the official one six in early October this year.

Jeremy smiled and I found myself returning it. I heard a murmured grunt, and turned to glance at Plu, who was watching cautiously, his red eyes focused on Jeremy. Said teen must have finally took notice of Plu, because he suddenly smiled and waved.

"Who's your friend?"

"Oh," I started. "His name's Plu. But, he doesn't speak English.. He's a foreign exchange student."

"Oh! Cool!" Jeremy grinned. "Where's he from?"

"Uhm.." Shit. "Uh.." Shit, shit, shit! Think Penny, think! "Jewelu...salvia..mish.." Jeremy blinked in confusion, and I immediately regretted the impulsive slur of my words.

"What? I've never heard of that."

"Oh, uhm." I blinked as well. "It's really, really small, you wouldn't even see it on a map! Seriously. It's somewhere near.. Antarctica.. Yeah, that sounds right." I muttered to myself.

"Wow!" He smiled in awe. "Welcome to America, Plu! I am Jeremy. Je-re-my." He placed a hand to his chest. "You like America? A-me-ri-ca?" He made unnecessary gestures around himself.

Christ Jeremy, he isn't retarded.

Plu stared at him with a blank expression. As soon as his hand was close enough, Plu's jaw immediately fastened over his palm, biting hard into his flesh. Jeremy shrieked, his eyes going wide and the girlish sound stabbed the air like a bolt of lightning, the sound making me jump.

"PLU!" I yelled in shock. "Stop that!" The hound stared at me with curious eyes, his fangs digging mercilessly into Jeremy's skin, oozing blood from the wounds. The vividly red liquid started to drip to the floor and I panicked. "Let him go Plu!" I glared. His jaw unhinged around Jeremy's hand and he stared at me with sorrowful eyes. I ignored the look and turned to my friend.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jeremy was cradling his injured hand to his chest, perspiration sliding down his forehead.

"Don't tell me.. that's how they greet people... in Jewelusalviamish.." I sighed, my hand uncomfortably rubbing at the back of my neck.

"Whoa." A new voice entered the scene. "What happened?" I glanced back to see Greg staring at us in surprise.

"Plu.. um.. bit Jeremy.." I explained awkwardly, the sentence sounding weird even to myself.

"Really?" I am ashamed to say that there was hope in his voice. "No way."

I shot a glare in my best friend's direction, which he thoroughly ignored. Plu blinked innocently when Greg patted his head. "I'm starting to like you."

Turning to Jeremy, the brunette sighed and sent me a small smile. "I'm going to the infirmary.. See you in class Pen-Pen." I gave him a guilty look.

"I'll walk you!" I quickly offered. He shook his head.

"No, no, you need to show Plu around, right?" I bit the inside of my cheek. "Sorry 'bout your hand Jeremy.."

"It's okay, it woke me up anyway! Haha!" He laughed good-naturedly. I chuckled and I felt two pairs of eyes on me. "Alright. I'll see you in class then." He nodded in agreement and turned to leave.

I had first period with him, if you were wondering.

Wait..

"I was wondering if you had a pencil I could use! We have a test and I forgot my pencil case at home, haha! You know our math teacher, Mr. Bradley, right? He-"

DAMMIT I HAVE A TEST!

Ah well, I'll just wing it.

I turned to Plu and frowned. "Bad Plu! Don't just bite people!"

"Yeah, kick them too!" Greg added with a nod. I glared and my hand made harsh contact with his bicep. He jolted and hissed, rubbing his sore arm. I sent him a glare, but finally sighed. I turned towards Plu once more, taking notice of the red stains coating his lips. I gritted my teeth and pulled at my sleeve, bunching it up in my palm and using my wrist to wipe the blood away from his mouth. Plu tilted his head at me and I shook my head.

"Crazy dog." I muttered under my breath.


Pluto blinked when he realized his master had left. He looked around as a means to escape and find her, to protect her as a loyal pet should. That, and because he wanted to indulge in her scent all day long. His eyes trained on a large window that was half way open. He pushed it open and stepped outside. He entered the balcony, looking around. Without a moments hesitation, he jumped from the balcony, smiling when he located her scent. He landed on the ground, ignoring some bystanders gaping expressions. He raised his nose in the air and sniffed. She wasn't far. He also picked up the hint of that boy's scent mingled between.

He raced to his master, trailing comfortably behind her when he found her. Eventually she noticed, and ultimately let him tag along to wherever they were currently heading. They entered a building that stunk of young humans, all ranging around his master's age. After conversing with a strange woman behind a desk, both he and his master made it to metal doors that lined against almost every wall. They both stopped when a young human boy stood in front a specific metal door. Plu watched him. His scent was odd. It was different from the other humans, and it was definitely different from his master's.

It was not alluring like his master's, nor did it recoil him like most of the sinners occupying the vacancy.

In a way, it was similar to Angela. A rotten divinity that threw him on edge.