(A/N: If you are rejoining the story from where you left off, I've decided to elaborate on the week of D-Hall & detention. There were some edits to the previous chapter, so you might want to reread it. Also, I am so sorry for being gone. I've been trying to figure out where to take this, and I realized the reason I hit such a major writer's block was because the part I was trying to fix wasn't where the problem was! So now, I finally give you the next chapter! Also, I already have the next few chapters written so I can update while working on the rest of the story! :D)

"Hey, Rachel! Wait up!"
I stopped mid-step. Great. Not even first period and another headache was rushing my way. This one just happened to look like a lanky blonde boy with bright blue eyes, a lazy smile, and a band tee.
"What do you want, Gar," I crossed my arms.
"Hey, why do you get to use a nickname, but I can't-you know what, never mind. Forget I said that. Um, I, uh, I actually wanted to apologize. I mean, I wanted to yesterday after detention, but you sort of ran off right after, and for a book worm you've gotta lotta speed, so I didn't get to say I'm sorry. So that's what I'm doing. I'm saying sorry. I'm sorry."
"Um," I blinked. "It's okay?"
He let out a deep breath.
"Really?" His eyes sparkled. "Thank you, Rae-chel. Rachel."
He lunged forward like he wanted to hug me, only to come to an awkward stop and patted my shoulder. He stood up as straight as possible and laughed uncomfortably. The two of us fell into sync as we walked the remainder of the way to class.
"Sure," I said, forcing a half smile. "I…I'm sorry, too."
Garfield cocked his head to the side.
"Why are you sorry? I was the one who was bugging you and-"
"You were just concerned," I lowered my eyes. "I'm not used to-um. I…I shouldn't have let my illness get the better of me."
As we reached the doors, he looked directly in my eyes, and for an instant it felt like he was peering directly into my soul, singling out all my insecurities and hanging them in the air between us. He took a step closer to me, his mouth opened but no words came out. He bit his lower lip and tore his gaze from mine.
"We'll call it even, then," he finally said. "Hey, wait for me here after class, okay?" Before I could answer he darted toward the door across the hall. Guess I would have no choice but to wait up on him later. I swear, if he makes me late to History, he would be history.

When I entered the band hall, I was shocked to see Terra was there. I took my spot at second chair and waited for the director to instruct the freshmen over the rules of taking the chair test. Basically, I was able to tune him out for a good fifteen minutes before my section was called into the office.
Terra gave me the once over as she walked out of the office after executing a flawless musical routine.
"Why do you even bother with that thing, anyway? It's not like you could ever beat me," she smirked then added, "Taking Garfield will be as easy as taking first chair."
The bitter words storming my mind threatened to burst forth. I was prepared to verbally thrash, maybe even physically harm, her for all the horrors she had put me through since freshman year. Lucky for her, the band director called on me in.
"What piece do you have prepared for us today, Ms. Roth?" Ms. Rouge asked. "It looks like…Minuet by Boccher-"
"Actually, if it is alright with you, I would like to change the song."
Ms. Rouge paused for a minute before nodding, "What do you have in mind?"
"Vivaldi's Allegro Concerto for Flautino in C Major."
"Do you have the music?"
"No. I will be playing from memory."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Very well, Ms. Roth. You may begin when you are ready."
I took a deep breath. From the very first note, I imagined battling Terra. All of her insulting words, all her pranks, every little sneer. The music bounced, flowed, channeled every spark of energy within me. This was a way for me to expose my frustrations without hurting anyone. The notes were perfectly executed, but the song became my own. There was no possible way she could take this away from me. The final note wafted through the air accompanied by awed silence.
"That was…incredible. I don't believe we will have to wait to see who earned first chair this year," she smiled-the first smile I had ever seen on her face in all four years of High School.
I thanked her before exiting out of the office. The minute I entered the band hall, I was met by shocked faces. Some had their mouths agape, some sat wide-eyed. The audience suddenly became animated with applause. A full blush engulfed my face, but I was still not entirely satisfied. I smiled politely at them before making a quick stop by Terra's chair. The look of confusion warmed my heart as I leaned close to her ear.
"You are going to have to try a hell of a lot harder if you are even going to entertain the idea of taking what is mine."
I smirked as I stood and confidently walked away from her and toward Kori. The minute I sat down I heaved a sigh of relief.
"That was remarkable, Rachel!" Kori beamed before making a sour face. "What did you say to that Glorbag?"
"I am tired of her thinking she could have whatever she wants. I basically told her I wasn't giving up without a fight this time."
Kori tilted her head slightly, a sly smile playing on her lips, as she asked, "This was not just about the chair, was it?"
"Of course it was!" I said, but I quickly looked down at my hands to avoid her knowing eyes. I huffed, "Can we talk about something else?"
This apparently amused her to an even greater extent, but she pressed no further and offered a new topic.
"Oh! Joyous news. I will be doing the 'hanging out' with Richard after detention today."
"Really?" I half smiled, "That's great, Kori-"
"Pfft. I wouldn't waste your time with that trash." A deep, husky voice joined our conversation. I cringed slightly after seeing who it belonged to.
"What makes this any of your business, Xavier?"
"My cousin, my business," he cooed as he stepped out of the shadows. Richard and Xavier were both taken in by their uncle when they lost their parents. For Richard, however he was more like a dad than his uncle. Xavier on the other hand…
Rumor had it that Richard had to watch his parents' death unfold before his very eyes, but the bullies say Xavier was actually the one to did it. Personally, I saw too much sadness in his eyes to believe he could intentionally hurt anyone, though his defense mechanisms sure did make him off to be a complete asshole to everyone. And coming from me, that's saying something.
That certainly doesn't stop his adoring fans from attempting to make romantic advances at him. Honestly, I couldn't blame them. He was a different kind of sexy. The brooding type the girls want to save or else be his one special person that he treats with love and respect while being a jerk to everyone else in the world. Despite the sorrow, there was intensity in his eyes like he was ready to take on the world. The 'x' scar above his eye just added to the mystery. And he had certainly mastered the smolder, a technique he was using right this minute on innocent little Kori.
"You could do so much better than him, Princess," he sauntered around her, stroking her chin as he did so.
Kori, completely flustered by this mannerisms, merely blushed and pressed her lips together.
The chiming bell disrupted their interaction.
"Until next time, Gorgeous," he winked before vanishing into the crowd.
"Um, Rachel…That was…odd, yes?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "Don't worry about it too much. Xavier is basically harmless."
"Does that not mean he could still potentially be harmful?"
"I suppose so. I honestly don't have a lot of experience with the guy. He moved in with Richard and his uncle this time last year. All I know for sure is he is a phenomenal saxophone player."
"Who is?" Garfield snuck up behind us.
The two of us turned about face to see a mangy looking Garfield running paint covered fingers through his hair in attempts to remove the paint from his hair. As a result smudges of green tinted the blonde even more so. My mind raced back to the green elf in my daydream…
"Oh, um, don't worry about it, Gar," I floundered when I realized I had not spoken in the two minutes I was staring at him.
The sound of a cymbal crashing to the ground made all of us nearly jump out of our skin.
"I shall see if my assistance is needed," Kori piped up before leaving the two of us alone.
I watched her disappear into the band hall before giving Garfield my full attention. I bit my cheek to keep my emotions in check while my eyes scanned a little disgruntled and very disheveled version of the young man I saw this morning. His now green hair was even more of a tousled mess and his clothes looked as though it were an art project itself. Shades of blue-violet and green speckled his dark jeans and was smeared on his face.
"What happened to you?" I asked as we started walking towards our next class.
"Adonis happened," he growled.
"Wait, what?" I paused mid-step.
"There's this new sub in art. That jerk tore apart my work in front of everyone!"
"I…I'm sorry, Gar."
I placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked down at me. He placed his hand over mine on his shoulder. I flinched slightly at his touch. A flicker of sadness flashed across his gentle blue eyes. We stayed with his hand over mine for a couple of seconds, my face warming with each moment.
"Enough about me, how about you?"
We started walking again.
"I got first chair in band."
"SWEET!"
"No. Not sweet. Now I'll have to perform solos."
"That's not a good thing?"
"No. Not in the slightest."
"Seems like both of us are having a rough day," he sighed.
Our steps synchronized as we fell into a silent beat. We were about to stop in front of the door to my history class when I reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Follow me," I commanded before dragging him in the opposite direction.
"But," he stammered, "isn't your class that way?" "Don't worry about it," I replied, quickly darting around people and opened lockers.
Garfield gripped my hand tighter as more students made their way to outrun the tardy bell and threatened to separate us in their hurry. I swiftly tugged him into a narrow hidden hallway which led to a secret stairway.
We had reached the top if the stairwell with no complications, yet my pulse raced in my throat. I had never shared my secret placed with anyone, let alone skipped a class before. Now to do both of those things-with Garfield of all people…I didn't think it was possible to blush more than I already had, but fate showed me otherwise.
"What's this-?"
I swiftly inserted the key and nudged it open to reveal a small rooftop garden. Well, it was more like the early stages of a garden. There were small plots placed here and there with budding flowers on either side of a simple white bench. A couple of hanging pots flourished with geranium at the entryway.
"Woah! This place is awesome. Did you do this?"
"It's still in need of a lot of TLC, but I've been working with the librarians to get this garden started…"
The tardy bell rang.
"Most days I'll come up here during lunch, but with detention I haven't been able to tend to the garden as often as usual. It's not much, but it's…peaceful."
Garfield's eyes softened as he stared at me.
"What's that look for?"
"What look?"
"I don't know how to explain it."
"Try." He stepped closer to me.
"Well," I took a step back. "It makes you look even more like an idiot, if that helps."
"Hey," he huffed, "that's not very nice."
He stepped once more towards me.
"Sometimes the truth hurts," I smirked as I leaned against the railing of the rooftop.
"True…"
Our conversation faltered. As if by some magnetic force, my eyes followed as his tongue swept across his lower lip. I felt warmth wash over me, different than before.
"Um, Rae?" Garfield stretched his arm behind him and laughed, something I noticed he did often when he was nervous or uncomfortable in a certain situation. "Watcha lookin' at?"
He leaned down to match my height and smirked seductively. Wait. Seductively? I heard a small cracking sound, indistinct yet profound enough to pull me out of my trance.
"You really are an idiot," I rolled my eyes and went to pick up the watering can nearby and distributed it's contents onto the plants.
I knew he was still watching me, but I shoved aside the emotions he emitted. There were too many to assign names to. Confusion, curiosity, frustration, and that last one, something I had never felt.
"Well," he sat down on the bench. "I guess I'll just, um, get to doing my homework or something…"
Our conversation pretty much faltered after that, not that I was complaining. It was like every single time I felt like I could be a normal girl, these weird abilities remind me to keep my distance from people. I sighed. There's no point in trying to focus on things I cannot change.
Instead I took in the beauty of this small garden. I really hadn't realized how much I missed this place. During the summer I came up here daily and stayed as long as I pleased. I read a grand total of 34 books of all lengths and genres in this place. Those were the days…

"Well, look who decided to show up to class," Victor teased the minute I walked through the door.
I rolled my eyes and I set my backpack down at my assigned seat which happened to be right in front of him.
"You didn't miss anything big, though," he continued. "You can take a photo of my notes to copy later."
He handed me a couple of pages of notes. I blinked back my astonishment long enough to take it from his hands. His handwriting was surprisingly neat and his notes shockingly detailed. I quickly took a photo of it then handed them back.
"Thank you, Victor," I curtly nodded. "I appreciate it."
"Anything for a friend," He grinned.
"Can everyone please head to your assigned seats," the teacher interrupted. "But don't get to comfy. I'm about to split you into groups of two. It's the third day of classes, which means we finally get to start working on labs. Once you get in your pair head to the back of the room."
The instructor went over some lame lab project that was designed to get us to know our lab partners. Something about how we should know our partner if we were going to be working the rest of the year with each other, blah blah blah. It was completely inept, but at least it would be considered a free day. I was paired with Victor. I'm not entirely sure if that would be a good or a bad thing just yet, but as we sat together in comfortable silence waiting for more instructions to come, I began to feel more at ease.
But of course…
"Mind telling me why you skipped History, anyway?" Victor asked.
"No reason," I rushed. Tilting my head down toward our handout, I suggested, "We should probably just stick to the script."
I mentally cursed myself for letting my emotions run so freely these days. This is all so new to me. Gaining friends was not part of the plan.
"You don't always gotta be so on guard, Rachel," Victor said in a hushed tone. "Everyone needs someone on their team sometimes. I respect your privacy, so you don't gotta share anything with me if you don't want to."
Was he reading my mind? I got a shiver down my spine. It's uncanny how he seemed to speak to the thoughts just going through my mind. It's only been three days. How could I have let myself become so transparent.
He chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What's so funny?" I snapped.
"Nothing, nothing," he laughed again. "You're just a lot like how Richard, that's all."
I shrugged. "It's not a bad thing, don't get me wrong," Victor said. "I can tell it's gonna take some time for you to trust me, is all. If you ask me y'all are pretty smart."
"You don't find it weird?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Course not."
A newfound admiration for Victor washed over me. He seemed perfectly content knowing nothing about me, yet somehow he knew more about me than I was willing to admit. Looks like he could analyze more than just robots.
"Maybe we should get started on the questions," I smiled.
"Sure," he nodded.
"And Victor?"
"Yea?"
"Thank you."

I'm not abandoning this story ever, so you can be certain it's going to be finished!
This time I made sure to have chapters ready, so goal is a new chapter every week until it is,
and I am so sorry it took so long. I have an exact plan of action now, though!
I am looking forward to your feedback!

Tune in next week for the next chapter :)

=^.^=