Oh my word! Is it really all done? Oh, by miracle of miracles, it is! It only took me four whole months to write, lol! Well my lovelies, here is the frequently asked for Sang's pov! Hopefully it is up to your amazing standards! Only one more chapter to go. :D PS, CL owns EVERYTHING!

There's Something About Sang 2.0

For the first time in what seemed like ages, I woke up this morning completely dream free. No zombies, no fiery dragons, no being chased. No fear, no desperation. Just blissful, peaceful dark and I awoke with a sense that today was going to be magical. It took me only moments to realize that it was extremely early and a quick glance at my clock confirmed my suspicions with glaring red numbers. 4:15, the numbers like beacons in the dark of my bedroom, but I knew I would not be able to fall back to sleep. I was too wired, too energized to relax and so with a little bounce, I jumped out of bed and decided to take an extra long bath.

I poured in the bubble bath gel that Gabriel had just bought me last week that I had not yet had a chance to use. Soft floral tones wafted up in the rich steam as the tub slowly filled up. Usually I only filled the tub up just enough and took as quick a bath as possible as to not keep the boys waiting but I had plenty of time on my hands that I was not used to. I soaked in the hot water for a good half hour at least, my fingers all wrinkled by the time I was finished. I attempted to take some of Gabriel's exhaustive lessons on what sweaters went with which skirts, went with which shoes and so on and so forth with my outfit that day. I carefully selected out a long sweater dress that was comprised of magenta and black stripes with a cute zipper at the bottom left side, pairing it with dark gray leggings and black boots.

I also attempted to give myself a different hairstyle, but after several failed attempts, I just left it down in a wavy sheet. Gabriel might complain, but oh well, the other boys never seemed to mind how my hair was. By the time I made it down into the kitchen, it was about 5:30 and I decided to make up a homemade breakfast sandwich. The boys were almost obsessive about making me eat something these days and I knew that they would be thrilled that I was taking the initiative today. Frying up a single egg and toasting an English muffin, I hummed to myself quietly as I cut a slice of Gruyere to top the whole thing. Just as the egg was finishing up, I quickly grabbed some pre-cooked bacon and assembled the sandwich on the grill, flipping it back and forth a few times to fully melt the cheese.

After each side had crisped up to a golden brown, I placed my completed sandwich on a small plate and twirled around to dig around in the fridge for a Starbucks frappe. Popping off the top, I took a sip of the delicious drink and feeling giddy, slid on my stockings into the living room. Catching myself at the last second from tumbling to the floor with a breathless giggle, I stabilized the sandwich briefly before taking a flying leap to land on the couch with a bounce. Saving the sandwich at the last second once more, I helplessly dissolved into a giggle fit.

After a few minutes, I settled down enough to start on my breakfast, eating slowly. Despite my best efforts, I was finished in only 15 minutes, so I found myself staring at the clock on the wall, willing it to speed up. It currently read 6:05, meaning I had at least another 30 minutes to waste before Kota would be by to pick me up for school. Feeling too energized to just sit there, I pop up quickly, putting my finger to my lip distractedly. I found myself bored and waiting for Kota in my current restless state seemed torturous. Without really thinking about it, I bit down on my finger a little too hard. The brief jolt of pain brought me back to the present. Looking at my now reddening finger, I had a moment of inspiration on how to kill some time.

Running upstairs, I quickly snatched up the boots I had selected earlier, my bookbag, and my cell before making my way downstairs. Swiping across the screen, I selected Kota's icon and shot him a quick message so he wouldn't worry.

You: Going to sneak over and surprise Nathan. Shhh!

I had just exited my house and made it onto the trail that led to Nathan's when I felt my phone go off. Pulling it out of my bra, I quickly read his reply.

Kota: Mum's the word. Just don't give him a heart attack, okay? I'll be by at the usual time.

Giggling to myself, I picked up my pace to a jog and made my way into Nathan's back yard in a few short minutes. Sneaking around the pool as quickly as I could, I pressed myself up against the back his house. Feeling rather sly, I slid my way to the large windows that looked into Nathan's bedroom. Thankfully, his thick curtains were pulled open so I could take a peek into his room clearly. I quickly deduced that he was not within the room, the lights under his bathroom door revealing his current position. Intent on surprising him still, I quickly ran around to the front and using my keys, let myself in.

Stripping off my boots, knowing they would be too loud and give me away, I slunk down the hallway. Nathan's bedroom door was wide open and I cautiously approached. The sound of running water coming from the closed bathroom door emboldened my resolve and I softly began making my way into the room. Suppressing hysterical giggles and feeling very mischievous, I crept my way across the room, fully intending on popping open the door and giving Nathan a small scare.

What I wasn't expecting was to suddenly feel a shock of wet on my foot. Looking down, I realized that I had stepped into an unknown substance that was oddly warm and slightly sticky. Stepping back with my other foot, I found myself in more of the sticky goo. An audible gasp had my head snapping up to find Nathan standing in the doorway, hair damp and a gobsmacked look across his face. As I watched, his cheeks flooded with brilliant scarlet. Feeling suddenly bad for surprising him, for he looked exhausted, I decided to let him know why I was in his room suddenly as I gingerly stepped outside of the small, wet puddle.

"Good morning, Honey, I was trying to sneak up on you and surprise you before school. I accidentally stepped in...whatever that was. Did you spill something?"

Nathan closed his eyes briefly and seemed to sigh for some reason before he shot me a crooked grin. "Um, yeah Peanut. I was half asleep this morning and I accidentally dumped some of my hair gel on the floor. I was actually just about to clean it up."

Holding up the towel that he had in explanation, I stepped out of the way as he stumbled forward and quickly swiped up the puddle I just stepped out of. Remembering my previous frustration I had had this morning at my inability to do anything new with my hair, I had a sudden stroke of genius. Before Nathan could toss the dirtied towel into his clothing hamper, I darted around him and made sure to get a good handful of the hair gel.

"Peanut, um, I mean, honey, what are you doing. You don't want that stuff baby, let's just wash that off your hand, okay?"

Feeling a defiant streak pop up, I darted under his outstretched hand, and made my way to the open bathroom door. I was already rubbing the hair gel between my hands, and as soon as I got in sight of the mirror, began to meticulously spread it evenly through my hair like Gabriel had shown me. Once it was evenly distributed, I began to play with my hair, moving it this way and that until it fell just the way I wanted it too. Liking the strong hold and quick drying time, I asked Nathan what the name of the hair gel was, making a mental note to ask Gabriel to get me some later.

"Es-escencia del Jengibre."

Before I could make a comment on the strangled nature of Nathan's response, I heard a honk from outside the house, indicating Kota's arrival. Knowing we had to head out quickly, I fussed with my hair a few seconds more before twirling around to face Nathan more fully.

"So? How do I look, Honey? I think I like it!"

Nathan's cheeks still burned a bright red and he looked distracted as he murmured out a compliment. Figuring that Nathan might have had a hard mission last night, I just laughed off his odd behavior and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down the hallway. Nathan followed after me complacently, unusually quiet. However, before I could open the back door, he stepped around me suddenly and opened the door for me. Pouting a little, I slid into the backseat and turned my focus to Kota instead as Nathan climbed into the front.

"Good morning Kota! Sorry we took so long!"

"Good morning Sang, Nathan. Don't worry about it, we'll just have to hope we can find a parking spot."

Smiling in response, I caught Kota's emerald gaze in the mirror. After a second, he appeared to give me an assessing glance and I could see curiosity fill his eyes.

"Sang, honey, what's up with your hair?"

Excited that Kota noticed that I had tried something different this morning and hoping he liked it, I felt myself smile wide before rushing to answer his question. "Honey spilled his hair gel this morning and I decided to use some so it wouldn't go to waste. Does it look bad?"

"No, not bad, just really different. Nathan?"

Turning my attention back to Nathan, I noticed that his cheeks were burning scarlet once more and he seemed to be ignoring Kota and I. As Kota began the trek to school, slowly, Nathan finally turned to acknowledge Kota and I was soon lost because they began that whole silent communication thing they did so well. Knowing I had no hope of keeping up when they did that, I turned my attention out the window, enjoying the sun on my face. What I wasn't expecting was to suddenly be jerked forward as Kota broke suddenly. My seat belt caught across my chest and pushed the air out of my lungs in a slightly painful rush.

It took a few moments to get my breath back before I began to fretfully ask Kota if he was okay. My questioning died off as I caught sight of Kota's pale face, a mixture of horror and disbelief painted across it. Seeing the normally calm and collected leader reduced to such an expression shook me to my very core. More of that silent communication was happening between the two in the front but I was way past too concerned to care.

"Kota! What's wrong, are you hurt?!"

Kota seemed to snap to attention at my panicked inquiry, gave me a mumbled reassurance and then turned his face forward. His shoulders were rigid, his back ram-rod straight, and his knuckles were quickly turning white with how tightly he was gripping the steering wheel as he started forward once again. I turned my attention to Nathan in hope's of getting an answer, but Nathan was resolutely starting forward as well, his cheeks bright spots of red in a pallid face. Realizing I wasn't going to get any answers from either boy, I could only assume it was something to do with Nathan's mission for the Academy.

Settling back, I tried to ignore the tense silence that had somehow descended over the car. The entire ride to school and the subsequent search for parking was frankly painful. It was honestly a relief to wave goodbye to them both as I slipped into homeroom with mere seconds to spare. Catching sight of North and Luke in our typical spots, I decided to shake off the bizarre twist the morning had taken and sent them a large smile as they greeted me.

Luke gave me a quick assessing glance, his mouth twisted into a bemused smile and his eyes twinkling. "Hey, honey bunches, what's up with the new hair-do?"

Ecstatic to get not one, but two of the guys to notice my first attempt at doing something different with my hair and filled with a sense of intense pride, I perked up to answer. "Do you like it? I did it myself! I used some of Nathan's hair gel this morning because he had spilled it on the floor and I didn't want to waste any."

"Well, it looks different, but not too bad, I guess," Luke replied, his face mildly agreeable and his grin crooked. Trying to decipher his expression to see if he really liked it or not, North leaned in suddenly and caught my attention, a question burning behind his midnight eyes.

"Sang baby, it looks fine. You kind of used a little too much, but it's okay. Now what was the name of the hair gel of his?"

Thrown for a loop briefly, I struggled to recall the name that Nathan had told me. "Um, it was Escencia del Jen…jen, something. I can't quite remember."

North's face scrunched up a little in confusion and he got a distant look in his eyes that I had come to associate with him recalling some information. After a moment, his brows furrowed and suspicion entered his face. Eyes wary and the hint of a scowl pulling at his lips, he focused back on me.

"Sang baby, was it Essencia del Jengibre?"

Recognizing the name instantly, I beamed at North for reminding me while nodding my head at him. What I wasn't expecting was for North's face to turn nearly purple as he began glaring above me with the blackest look I had ever seen from North. His entire body seized up in a second, his face set in a fierce glower and his dark eyes seemed to burn with an unnatural light. His frame was practically vibrating, he was so tense, and his hands were clenching sporadically on the desk. What was wrong? Was it something I said?

Sharing a glance with Luke, seeing my apprehension mirrored perfectly in his face, I tried to get North's attention with Luke chiming in right after me.. "North? North, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Dude, what the hell man? Take a chill pill. You look like you're about to burst a blood vessel."

Getting no response, I was about to try again when I was interrupted by the familiar voice of our homeroom teacher.

"Miss Sorenson, Mr. Taylor, am I boring you with my lecture?" Looking up, I was embarrassed to find him staring down at us with an expectant look while the rest of the class looked on. Feeling my cheek burning, I pretended to listen to the lesson going on, but I honestly couldn't focus properly. The rest of the hour was spent sharing confused glances with Luke and staring at North's back, willing him to look back at me so I can see if he was alright. What was going on with the boys today? First Nathan and Kota, now North?

At the sound of the bell signaling the end of homeroom, I began to gather up my notebook and pens. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I looked up to see a now calm and collected looking North. His eyes looked apologetic and he was now relaxed, so whatever had been bothering seemed to have been let go.

"Sang baby, I'm fine now. I was mad about something and I didn't want to snap at you, okay?"

"If your sure…?"

I was immensely relieved to see North in a much better mood and so much more like himself. Seeing the brotherhood between Luke and North warmed my heart, and seeing Luke in a protective role was frankly adorable. I know that Luke is technically older then North by several months, he rarely reflected that fact in his day to day actions. Sending North off with a smile and a wave, I linked hands with Luke and let him lead me down the crowded halls.

I always disliked this particular trek of the day because it forced Luke and I to go through the main corridor of the school. With how packed it quickly became, it would have been nearly impossible for me to get through of it were not for Luke guiding me along. He had quickly shifted from holding my hand to putting his arm around my shoulder and with subtle shifts seemed to float us through the chaos effortlessly.

Suddenly Luke was pushed rather forcefully into my side and I felt his skull collide with mine non-too-gently. Stunned at the unexpected shove, I started falling helplessly to the side but was quickly saved by Luke's deceptively strong arms. By the time I had recovered, it was to find Luke staring at his hand is complete horror. I had never seen a look like this before on Luke's lovely features and I instantly panicked.

Before I could ask Luke what was wrong, he quickly grasped my wrist and forcefully pulled me to the nearest water fountain. Hip-checking the guy currently using said water fountain, Luke forced his way to the front and began frantically scrubbing his hand in the small stream of water. It only made me more freaked out when he completely ignored the black glare he received for his actions and my concerned pleas.

"Luke! What's going on? You're starting to worry me!"

"It's nothing Sugar plum, just got something gross on my face and hand. Do me a favor though, okay? Never use that drinking fountain ever again, you'll catch some disease."

And just like that, Luke was back to normal. I almost felt dizzy with how quickly he switched from full on frantic freak out to completely calm as I nodded back at him distractedly. My confusion skyrocketed as he pulled out a small bottle of antibacterial gel and squeezed a generous dollop on his palm before rigorously rubbing it between his hand. Stranger still, he started wiping at his right cheek rigorously as well. He then delicately grabbed my hands, deposited a small amount and I distractedly rubbed it in as he began pulling me forward once more.

Looking back at the drinking fountain briefly in bewilderment, I decided to shrug off Luke's bizarre behavior. It was quickly becoming a trend and as long as the boys were truly okay, then I would just let it go for now. Besides, it didn't seem like any of them were inclined to sharing whatever was bothering them with me anyway.

After Luke got us through the main crush of the crowd, we made pretty decent time to English. We actually slipped in the door with minutes to spare and I was happy to see both Kota and Gabriel there before us. Gabriel released an audible sigh as we entered and he briefly focused on Luke, confusion showing easily on his face. Maybe Gabriel could figure out what was going with him and help him out some. Then Gabriel focused on me, a wide grin on his face, that promptly froze and fell in spectacular fashion. Then his mouth dropped open in blatant shock and he brought his hands up to tug at his hair in outright horror, absolute abhorrence crystal clear on his face as his brilliant eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"Trouble, oh my fucking God! What the hell happened to your hair? What the fuck is in your hair? Oh, hell no!"

I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me instantly. Gabriel hated my hair, absolutely loathed it! It would be impossible to mistake the disgust in his eyes. I had felt so proud of myself this morning, but now I felt like a complete and utter failure as Gabriel continued to rant as he was want to do when he was passionate about something. I struggled to not cry, but my eyes were burning suspiciously and I had to bite my lip because it was starting to wobble.

"Oh…does it look that bad? I used some of Nathan's hair gel this morning. I thought I had done okay…."

At my question, Gabriel froze mid-rant and starred at me in growing fear, which I didn't quite understand. Why was he upset now? "Oy, Trouble, did I say it's bad? No, it's just really different from what I'm used to! It's okay, I swear! I'm sorry, you know how I am, right? I put my foot in my mouth all the time, no please Trouble, don't cry!"

Not entirely sure what to believe and feeling a little raw emotionally and embarrassed to boot, I allowed Gabriel to calm me down. Maybe he didn't hate it quite as much as I thought? Deciding not to doubt Gabriel's intentions, I just made a silent promise to myself to never try something with my hair unless Gabriel was with me. It would just save us all a lot of hassle in the future I decided.

As Ms. Johnson started out the classroom by introducing our assignment for the hour and had us split up into groups, I was happy to focus onto the problems instead of worry about all the strange behaviors of the boys. I was just finishing off the answer to one of my problems when Luke interrupted my focus with an odd question.

"Hey Sang, have you ever seen Something About Mary?"

Not expecting the question and a little bemused at where the question came from, I shook my head a little and gave Luke an intrigued grin. "No, I haven't Luke, what's it about?"

Luke's face lit up in a bright, giddy smile that I didn't quite understand but filled me with relief. He seemed more then a little okay now and whatever had obviously bothered him before was no longer doing so now. "Well, honey bunches, it's a really funny comedy. It's a little twisted, but I think you'd just LOVE it. It has one scene in particular that I always get a kick out of. We should watch it next time we hang out. I think Nathan will really be on board too, it's one of his favorite's."

Still a little bemused by why Luke chose this time to bring up this topic, I made a mental note to ask Nathan about watching it for our next movie night. I mean, if he really liked the movie, then I would love to give it a try too. A loud snap to the side had me swinging around to look at Gabriel. I have heard the term explosive rage before, but it wasn't until that moment that I actually understood the term. Gabriel's fists were tightly clenched, his pencil practically disintegrating under the pressure and his face turned a violent shade of puce. The tendons in his neck and arms were in stark relief with how rigidly he was sitting, veins popping up the longer he sat there.

The sheer anger on his normally playful face was incredibly jarring and I went from bemused to terrified in.5 seconds flat! Leaning forward urgently, I gently placed a hand on his taut arms to attempt to get his attention.

"Gabriel! Are you okay? What's wrong, are you hurt?!"

Gabriel turned his wild eyed gaze to lock on mine and the sheer volume of the conflicting emotions in it was staggering. He opened his mouth to answer, I presumed, when he suddenly relaxed completely in a confounding instant. Completely thrown for a loop at the massive mood swings I was experiencing today, I found myself more then just confused but even a little bit frustrated. Something was obviously going on and no one was telling me what. Gabriel cleared his throat suddenly, a tight smile on his face, and glanced back down at his assignment.

"Yeah, Trouble, no worries. Just, uh, just stubbed my f- I mean, stupid toe and it really hurt. Don't mind me! Now what did you say for questions three?"

Feeling incredibly unsure and reluctant to let it go, I turned to glance at Kota and Luke. Kota wasn't looking at me and Luke only grinned wider before giving me a wink. Letting loose a sigh, I decided to focus back on our assignment and read off the answer I had looked up. Occasionally I'd sneak glances at all three of the boys as we worked, but they all seemed relatively alright at the moment. This day was just turning out to be a truly bizarre one.

After the class period ended, both Kota and Gabriel went off to their next periods and I waited with Luke for North to come. It only took a minute or two, but it soon became pretty obvious when North was close. Students fell away from his path like it was a coordinated move and my stomach dropped as soon as I caught sight of his face. It was obvious to see that he was enraged once more, his face set in a fierce scowl and his frame vibrating with barely contained rage.

Luke gave a little whistle at my side and when I glanced his way, it was to see him with a massive smirk. North gave me a grunt when I quietly greeted him and then he was turning to glare at Luke. A rabid silent conversation went on over my head between the two that started and ended before I could even attempt to interpret it. Luke gave a rich chuckle in blatant amusement and North socked him in the arm before he lightly grabbed my wrist and started pulling me to third period. Looking at Luke over my shoulder, a question clear on my face, he just shrugged his shoulder with a brilliant smile and a wave.

Waving lamely back, I followed behind North silently. I kept quiet the whole walk because North was obviously in a bad mood and it was honestly becoming rather exhausting dealing with everyone's bi-polar moods today. Obviously, no one was feeling inclined to let me know what was going on and it was definitely starting to frustrate me. If I didn't know what was wrong, how could I help the boys?

At some point, North ended up pulling me gently in front of him when a group of guys started getting rowdy and using his hands on my shoulder, continued directing me through the crowd. Catching sight of our classroom door, I felt a rush of relief. However, some big guy pumped hard into North right before we got in and knocked him to the floor. Before I could call out, North shooed me into the room with a firm command as he popped up right away. He turned to address the guy who had slammed into him but they had managed to fade into the major crowd. Turning back around, he saw me still standing there and pointed to our room with a snapped finger.

Feeling a little annoyed and just too tired to deal with this anymore, I turned around and walked into the room. Nathan was sitting in our usual area, looking nervous and a little wan. Feeling concerned, I started heading over to make sure he wasn't feeling sick. Before I had made it even two steps, however, North practically charged past me and socked a rapidly standing Nathan in the arm. I winced at the sound, a meaty thud that had me cringing in sympathetic pain.

"Escencia del Jengibre? Really, Nathan? What the fuck is wrong with you? I swear I am so tempted to fucking strangle you right now, you have no idea how close I am."

Feeling my confusion and frustration peak at how mean North was being to Nathan and more then a little hurt at everyone's obvious dislike over my attempt at doing my hair, I pulled on North's arm.

"North, why are you so angry? It's just hair gel. If you don't like my hair like this, I won't do it again. Is it really that bad? Luke and Gabriel didn't seem to be very happy with it either."

North sputtered instantly at me as I glared lightly at him. In a matter of seconds I watched his face go from full on scowl to an odd mixture of shock and confusion with a streak of out of place guilt. He mutter some excuse that I didn't quite catch because I was distracted by a loud thud behind me. North and I turned back to Nathan to find him face down on his desk, the back of his neck and ear a dangerously dark burgundy.

Unfortunately, our geometry teacher chose that moment to breeze into the room, so I was unable to ask Nathan about what was wrong. As the teacher started going into the lesson, I compulsively started taking notes, but I found my mind drifting to the boy in front and the boy behind me. Something was going on right now with a majority of the boys and I had yet to be able to figure out what it was. Admittedly, it could have something to do with the Academy, which may be why nobody was telling me anything. I decided to ask Mr. Blackbourne during our hour together next period.

Nathan gave me a pitiful wave as North lead me to the music room that I met with

Mr. Blackbourne. Instead of just dropping me off like normal, North pushed open the door rather forcibly. Mr. Blackbourne had been leaning over a table, looking like he was concentrating over something, but he turned around quickly at North's dramatic entrance.

"Mr. Taylor wh-...?" Mr. Blackbourne's bewildered voice petered out as he seemed to catch sight of me. Within seconds, I noticed his gaze seemed to snap to my hair, as was quickly becoming a trend today. Feeling desperate to have someone tell me if my attempt at doing my hair was horrifically bad or not, I found myself asking Mr. Blackbourne his opinion. If there is one person who would be honest no matter what, it was him.

"Mr. Blackbourne...? Do you like my hair? I used some hair gel this morning to try something new with it, but I don't think the others really like it very much."

Feeling really vulnerable and more then a little afraid, I locked onto his piercing eyes, willing myself to decipher the contents of the quicksilver depths. Looking a little curious, he gave my hair an assessing glance before looking back into my eyes.

"Miss Sorenson, your hair looks...unique. It is different from what I am used to, to be sure, but I wouldn't worry yourself over it. It looks very nicely done for your first time."

At his millimeter smile and sincere eyes, I felt the biggest rush of relief and gave him a bright smile in gratitude of his honesty. If Mr. Blackbourne said my hair was okay, then there was no way it was as bad as I had been fearing. With how bizarre all the boys had been acting and North's apparent anger at Nathan over letting me use his hair gel, I had begun fearing that my hair was somehow the cause of all the weird behavior today. Now that I thought about it, I felt really silly. Mr. Blackbourne picked up a small curl and appeared to analyze it for a moment before he froze up.

It was just the barest of difference in his stance, but I looked up to his face in growing dread. The other times one of the boys stiffened up like this was when they started acting worryingly odd. I was confused and happy to find no anger, horror, or any other sign of upset on his perfect face. In fact, he looked completely normal so I must have imagined any disturbance.

"Miss Sorenson, could you excuse Mr. Taylor and I for a moment? When I get back, we will attempt to get back on track for our violin lessons. If you look on that table over there, there are a number of different songs that we can start with. I will be back momentarily."

Relieved that Mr. Blackbourne was going to talk with North and hopefully sort out whatever he was so angry about, I decided to look over the sheet music presented there and looked for a piece that would be fun to try. I was really excited to get back into violin lessons, to be honest, and had managed to finalize my choices down to either Spring by Vivaldi or Bach's Minuet in G. As I glanced between the two of them, I heard the door open behind me, signaling Mr. Blackbourne's return.

Turning to face him, I was shocked to see a small smirk on his face and blatant humor in his gray eyes, which quickly melted back into his perfect mask once more. I was sure I was gaping at him like a fool, but all he did was ask me which music I was interested in starting. Dumbly, I showed his the two I was stuck on and after a moments deliberation, we settled on Bach. Mr. Blackbourne made a good argument against Vivaldi for now, saying I would enjoy it better once I've developed my skills a little more.

We has just started going over the first 4 scores into the song when the door was rudely opened once more. Only this time, neither Mr. Blackbourne nor I were happy with the new interloper. Mr. Blackbourne stepped in front of me deliberately, a look of barely masked disdain spreading across his face as he crossed his arms and lifted a sculpted brow.

"Principal Hendricks, is there a reason why you are bursting into the middle of my lesson with a student, mind I point out, for the nth time? Could this not wait until passing period?"

I shivered at the level of icey contempt in Mr. Blackbourne's voice and Hendricks instantly bristled at the accusation.

"Come off it, Blackbourne! I know something is up with your team of miscreants and I demand to know what is going on! I have it on good authority that no less than five of your boys have been either absent or severally tardy to their classes today and multiple students have reported them acting out in bizarre ways. I refuse to allow any funny business going on in my school under my own nose, dammit! Whatever those deviants are planning, you would do well to strap a tight leash on them Blackbourne, because if they put so much as one toe out of line, one toe! -it will be on your head."

By the end of his little tirade, he was practically screaming at Mr. Blackbourne and his face had twisted into a vicious sneer. Mr. Blackbourne, for his part, looked completely unfazed by Hendricks demands and was now looking at Mr. Hendrick's in open distaste.

"Would you like me to muzzle them as well?" Mr. Blackbourne drawled, condescension and mockery dripping from every word.

In fascination, I had stepped out from behind Mr. Blackbourne to better see the whole transaction, but quickly regretted my decision when Hendricks zeroed in on my position. His eye's were frenzied looking and his mouth was twisted into a snarl as he narrowed his eyes on me. Feeling my mouth dry up instantly, I heard the wood of my violin creak under my grip as I held on for dear life. His anger quickly melted into blatant confusion and he squinted at me for a second before addressing me. What came out of his mouth took me by surprise, however.

"What is up with your hair, Sorenson? It looks utterly ridiculous!"

At Hendricks barked insult, I felt my trepidation melt away and my ire suddenly rise up. Straightening myself up a bit, I politely answered him, keeping my voice cool and calm.

"I used some hair gel to style it this morning. I'm terribly sorry you don't like it Mr. Hendricks, but I was trying something new."

Hendricks frowned at my response but before he could say anything further, Mr. Blackbourne interrupted him smoothly as he stepped in front of my once more. "As fascinating as discussing female student's hairstyle choices is, we are wasting perfectly good class time. If there is nothing else Mr. Hendricks, we should be getting back to our lesson."

Hendricks seemed to remember his own irritation at Mr. Blackbourne and pointed a meaty finger in his direction. "Remember, Blackbourne! One toe out of line and it will be hell to pay!"

"Messaged received, crystal clear."

Hendricks proceeded to spin around after one final vitriolic glare and stomp out the room, making sure to slam it loudly in his wake. The force was so strong, it knocked the clock off the wall, which proceeded to shatter into hundreds of pieces of glass, metal, and plastic. The silence that settled over the room was louder then I could ever imagine. Mr. Blackbourne and I just stared at the mess Mr. Hendricks left behind for a minute or two.

Releasing a large sigh, Mr. Blackbourne ran his hands through his hair roughly before resting them at the base of his skull. Glancing at me, he seemed to appraise my well being for a moment before standing up straight once again.

"I hate to say this Miss Sorenson, but I have a feeling we won't be going violin lessons for a while longer. I'm going to call a janitor to clean this mess up, so you might want to put your instrument and music away. We only have another ten minutes to the next passing period, so I'm going to send you off to your next period early with a pass."

Nodding in understanding, I rushed to pack up and took the pass from Mr. Blackbourne without any comment. He shooed me off with a word of encouragement and without the crush of most of the students, I was able to make it to my history class much earlier then my normal time. Slipping into the door, I was happy to see that Victor was already in the classroom, drumming out a melody on his desk.

Catching sight of Victor's beaming smile, relief and happiness crystal clear in his handsome face, I felt myself instantly rejuvenated. At least one of the boys seemed to be in a good mood and acting like himself. Returning his smile with a huge sense of comfort., I waved happily at him.

"Hey Victor, how are you today?"

"I'm good, Princess, glad to see you made it safely this morning. Going for fashionably late today?"

Giggling a little at Victor's teasing I was about to tease him back when North swept into the room after me. His bad mood hung around him like a black cloud and I felt my stomach drop back down again. I had been hoping that talking with Mr. Blackbourne would have calmed him down some, but apparently I was wrong. Unable to hold my suspicions in any longer, I poked at my lip in helpless concern.

"North? Are you still angry? Is it the hair? I can change it if you want."

At my question, North glanced at me before he clenched his eyes shut and relaxed in a moment with a big sigh. By the time he had opened his eyes once more, his gaze was soft and apologetic. "Sang Baby, I swear it's not you, okay? I just encountered some idiots in the hallway earlier and Silas is getting on my nerves. I'm just having a bad day, so just ignore me being such an ass."

He said it so sincerely I was immediately pacified and more then a little relieved. I had been so worried that I had somehow been the reason for everyone's bizarre behavior, but there was no way that North was being anything but one hundred percent honest with me at the moment. Shooting him a shaky grin, I quickly relaxed when he grinned back. Within moments, the conversation turned to small talk about our plans for the upcoming weekend.

Mr. Morris started the class off with curt instructions for an in class project which covered our last history chapter about Ibn Battuta and the spread of Islam. North, Victor, and I put our desks together and divided up our questions to make the assignment go quickly. I had finished the first two questions and was just about to start the last one when I heard Victor's breathing begin to speed up. Curious, I looked up at him, only to find his head was hanging down and he appeared to be struggling to breathe a bit. Instantly scared, I tugged on his sleeves and began demanding to know what was wrong.

It was only after North nailed him fairly firmly on the arm that he jerked his head up. I was frightened to find his face a pasty white, his fire eyes dilated to their max extent. North leaned in and locked eyes with him while I tightened my grip on his sleeve.

"You okay there, Victor?" North's voice was concerned and impassioned as he shared some silent communication with Victor.

Victor didn't answer North's question and started zoning out once more, his breath hitching painfully loud in his chest. The next thing I knew, North was up and dragging Victor behind him at a rapid pace. Mr. Morris didn't try to stop us from leaving, but North firmly commanded me to stay in the room. Feeling like pulling my hair out but knowing better than to disobey North when he sounded like that, I hesitantly sat back down at my desk. I fretted and stared at the door the rest of the period, willing them both to show up soon, but it wasn't until the very end as the bell went off that they reappeared.

I instantly turned my focus to Victor and was immensely happy and relieved to see that, while he was still pale, he was breathing alright and smiling. Giving him a big hug, I pestered him and North with questions all the way to lunch. Victor claimed that he had a concert coming up and that his father was putting extra pressure on him lately and it all caught up with him unexpectedly in history. Knowing how horrid his father could be and how much he hated those concerts, I told him I understood and that if he ever needed to talk about it, I was here.

By the time we got to the others, it was to find almost everyone else there. The only one missing was Nathan, but I was sure he would show up soon. The first thing that happened before I sat down was to get a large hug from Silas, who was grinning so widely, he looked relatively insane. The Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland vaguely came to mind as I smiled at him in bemusement.

"Ah, aggele mou, you look absolutely adorable today. And I simply adore what you have done with your hair! It is a marvel indeed."

Both ecstatic and flattered by Silas' compliment of my hair, the second one I had gotten all day, I beamed back at him and gave him a second hug. I felt his chuckles vibrate through his chest and then Luke and Gabe started going back and forth about something that I quickly lost track over. Overall, I was happy to see most of the guys acting in much better moods. Suddenly, all conversation halted and when I looked up, I was surprised to see a red face Nathan marching grimly towards us as if we were a firing squad or something.

Confused by Nathan's behavior the most, I sent him a small smile and a wave, which he returned with a mumbled hello. I was quickly overrun, however, by a gleeful sounding Luke.

"Hey Nathan, how's it cumming along today?"

Nathan's cheeks started purpling once more and before he could even hope to answer, Silas was chiming in as well.

"Yeah, Nathan, how's it cumming along, I heard you made quite the mess this morning and aggele mou was nice enough to help you clean it up. You shouldn't waste hair gel like that, so wasteful."

I thought Silas was being silly for chiding Nathan over something as random as hair gel. It wasn't like he spilled that much and it had taken seconds to clean up. Honestly, I hadn't even really helped out that much. I had merely gotten curious and took some to experiment with. However, at the question, Nathan's face turned a violent, electric red and he started spluttering helplessly. I spent the next minute trying to see what was wrong with Nathan, but he only shrugged off my concern. Feeling my frustration starting to to rise once more, I was distracted by Gabriel suddenly addressing me.

"Hey, Trouble, next time you want to style your hair, just ask me, okay? Nathan's..."product" isn't really good quality, trust me."

Trusting Gabriel's hair product know-how implicitly, I nodded in understanding. "Okay, Meanie. Can I use yours next time?"

Suddenly, all the boys were coughing, seemingly choking on their various lunches. Feeling my level of confusion rising skyrocket, I looked around at all the boys desperately trying to clear their airways. Luke recovered first and leaned forward, giving me a sweet but mischievous smile and a wink as he said, "Sang, sugar plum, you can use my "product" anytime."

North quickly punched Luke on his shoulder, which only served to make Luke grin wider as he waggled his eyebrows in a funny look. The rest of the boys laughed, but I was getting a feeling that I was missing something big at this point, especially since Nathan was studiously ignoring the others and eating his food almost aggressively. Occasionally he would look at the doors leading back into the building with wistful longing and while I may not understand everything, I realized the others were teasing Nathan about something.

"So Sang, honey bunches, how much of a mess WAS there on the floor, would you say exactly?"

Luke's unexpected question snapped me out of my thoughts and I answered him honestly, relaying my previous thoughts about there not being that much of a mess. I was completely lost when the boys started hooting with laughter, Silas and Luke with practical tears in their eyes. The rest of the lunch passed in a similar fashion and I just felt myself getting more and more confused and more and more pained for Nathan.

At the sound of the bell signaling the end of lunch, Nathan practically launched himself up and without looking at anyone, mumbled a goodbye before running into the building. Luke gave a low whistle at his sudden departure and turned to face his best friend.

"Gabriel, I do believe Nathan has forgotten about us! I am hurt, really. I mean, cum on, how could he forget that we have next period together?"

"Oh fucking hell, Luke, I can't imagine why he would do that!? What a fucking dick! I mean, he even left his fucking junk just lying everywhere. Someone needs to fucking clean up his shit. And this time, it's not going into Trouble's fucking hair."

Not understanding Gabriel or Luke's comments, I just stared at them in blatant perplexity. Silas took one look at my expression and apparently found it hilarious, because he started howling laughing once more while some of the others broke out into chuckles. A gentle tug on my shoulder drew my attention to see Victor, who signaled that we should go. More then ready to leave the others and their annoyingly confusing behavior behind, I followed after Victor without a seconds hesitation.

Victor remained quiet as we navigated our way to Japanese, which was perfectly fine with me at this point. I was honestly feeling fatigued from all these emotional roller-coasters and I was getting ready for the day to be over. Stepping into the class, I was greeted instantly with Dr. Green's cheery yellow shirt with a plum colored tie. The color combination looked very fetching combined with his sandy blond hair and green eyes and I instantly found myself smiling brightly to him while I wished him a good afternoon in Japanese. He responded in kind with a small bow and a warm hello and I started making my way to my seat, Victor right behind me.

Relaxing into an easy and enjoyable lesson and worksheet surrounding Hanami, the Japanese cherry blossom viewing festival was just what I needed after how the rest of the day had gone. Victor and I traded teasing jokes and easy flowing conversation as more color appeared to infuse his pale cheeks and he slowly unwound from his previous panic attack. Victor had just finished correcting and explaining a grammatical error I had made when Dr. Green's warm and exuberant voice pooped up from behind me.

"So, how's it coming along guys? Do you have any questions?"Looking up into his dancing green eyes, I felt like I was being included in a private joke somehow, they were so merry. Giggling a little, I shot him a large grin before answering his question.

"We're doing just fine Dr. Green. This assignment isn't too bad really and Victor helped me understand what I was having problems with."

"Yeah Doc, we're doing just fine. Thanks, anyways." Victor chimed in seconds after me, his tone sounding rather short and almost dismissive of the man, which took me by surprise and seemed to amuse Dr. Green. Putting on a ridiculously over exaggerated pout, Dr. Green leaned into Victor and batted his eyelashes at him in a silly way.

"Viiiiicccctow, why do you have to be so wude?! Hewe I was, just twying to help and you awe being so wude!"

Instantly bursting into a fit of giggles at Dr. Green's ridiculous antics and feeling lighter then I had felt all day since this morning, I looked up at him for more. I could see from the twinkle in his eye that whatever was coming out of his mouth next would have me gasping for breath from my laughter, but before he could say it, his attention was derailed by something. He lightly grabbed my chin and raised it up, despite Victor's insistent hissed protest, as he leaned in closely to look at my hair. And looked, and looked some more. Taking in Dr. Green's face, I couldn't quite place the expression I found there, but I wouldn't say it was necessarily a happy one.

Within moments, he was engaging in an intense silent conversation with Victor and their expressions were changing so rapidly, I couldn't even pretend to follow. Feeling already a little dizzy trying to keep up with the two in their silent dual of words, Dr. Green abruptly spun around and without a single word to anyone, strode right out the door.

My query of 'Dr. Green?'went unanswered and all I could do was turn around to stare at Victor in complete confounded puzzlement. Victor just gave me a grimace and went back to the assignment. Realizing I was getting nothing further out of the boy who was now studiously ignoring my silent demands, I decided to turn back to my assignment with a large groan. Victor only gave me one sympathetic shrug of the shoulder at the sound, still refusing to meet my eyes.

After ten minutes and it being obvious to the others that Dr. Green was not coming back, most of the class packed up and left with a cheer. Victor and I finished the assignment with fifteen minutes left to the period, but we spent it with me silently glaring at the door, willing Dr. Green to come back, or at Victor, who stared at the floor. Feeling my temper rise as the bell rang, I stood up and stomped to the door, Victor trailing behind me with a pained look on my face.

I silently fumed the whole way to the gym locker room, but by that point, I had relented some and turned to face Victor. He was looking a little apprehensive at me and I felt my anger dissipate completely.

"Sorry for being mean Victor, I know you can't tell me some things. Can you just tell me if Dr. Green is okay at least?"

Seeing Victor sigh in obvious relief and send me a watery smile made me feel a sharp stab of guilt, but he nodded at my question. "Yes Princess, the Doc is perfectly safe. He just had an...issue pop up that he wasn't prepared for and he didn't want to lose his control in a class full of students."

Seeing the logic in that and knowing how important it was for Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green to keep up appearances, I smiled at Victor and thanked him with a hug before he had to head off for his last period of the day. Personally just wishing for this whole day to be over, I quickly got dressed and went to sit down with the girls. Catching sight of Gabriel and Nathan, I sent them both a wave, which was heartily and wanly returned respectively. Mrs. French quickly explained the various circuits in place for the class period and promptly paired us up.

I was relieved to be paired with Karen, who was relatively pleasant company and not terribly chatty. We talked about small things ever so often, but for the most part, she liked to exercise in quiet, as did I. Karen and I had just finished up the medicine ball circuit when she suddenly leaned in and stared at my hair intently. Used to this behavior from the others, I still found myself tensing up a bit at her close proximity. Suddenly she jerked her head back and with thinly veiled disgust and confusion, she promptly dropped a physical, mental, and emotional bomb on me that would shake me to my very foundations.

"You do realize you have some guy's semen in your hair don't you?"

I was so instantly shocked by her blunt and straight forward question that it felt like my brain had blanked out for a second. As if I couldn't help myself, I lightly touched my now very stiff hair in my dazed state, only to jerk my hand away in growing horror. But this couldn't be right! Karen was merely confused, she had to be. I had hair gel in my hair, Nathan's hair ge...At the thought of Nathan, my mind whited out once more and suddenly I had to know.

Reluctantly, with my cheeks burning and my face a mask of hopeful denial I sought out Nathan and Gabriel's location, finding them within seconds. Locking onto Nathan's face, I felt the wind knocked out of my chest as the mixture of mortification, guilt, apology, and despair sealed my fate. Whipping back around, no longer able to look at either of the boys, I found Karen staring at me in something like appalled pity.

"Oh shit. You really didn't know did you? I'm so sorry, Sang, I didn't mean to burst your bubble."

Feeling strangely numb and disconnected with reality at the moment, I jerkily nodded at Karen's heartfelt apology, but it didn't matter, not really. My day had just imploded on me and I had no idea on how I was supposed to feel or act. Deciding to embrace my stupefied daze and power through the rest of the class period, I ignored any attempt on Karen's part to talk. The second the last bell of the day went on, I was sprinting my way into the locker room. Feeling myself beginning to shake like a leaf in the wind, I decided to forgo showering and changing because suddenly I needed to get out of here and fast!

Running out of the locker room and ignoring everyone around me, I hit Victor's icon and he picked up within seconds. I wasn't fully cognizant of what exactly I babbled to him but it was enough to get him to understand that I wanted him to drive me home, immediately. Victor was out of breath from running so fast by the time he met me at his car and he took one glance at me and paled to the color of milk in an instant. I realized how bad I must have looked with my wild, frenzied pacing, crazy eyes, and blank expression. Without saying another word, he opened the door for me and then sprinted to the drivers side.

I quickly fazed him out as more and more aspects of this whole entire fiasco of a day started making painful sense. Nathan's embarrassment all day, Kota's morning freakout mid-drive, North's black anger, Luke's need for antibacterial gel and shark-like grin all day, Gabe's almost meltdown, Mr. Blackbourne's carefully neutral face, Victor's complete meltdown, lunch, Silas' "love" of my hairstyle, Dr. Green's abrupt exit, and so much more. Every joke, every smirk, every crack directed at Nathan stood out in horrific detail.

It wasn't until I felt the car stop and shut off completelt that I managed to clear myself momentarily of my whirling thoughts. Realizing that we were now parked in my drive way and that both of us were staring forward as if scared to look at the other, I felt the anxious need to get out of the car suddenly. Opening the door, I paused before I stood up as I turned to Victor finally and asked the question that had been burning in the back of my mind.

"Did you know?"

Victor winced before giving a curt nod. Suspecting as much, I pushed forward for one more. "Did everyone else know?"

Flinching one more time, Victor's nod was slower, but just as damning in my opinion. Having my suspicions confirmed and my rising panic fighting at the edges of my mind, I stepped out of the car.

"Sang...!"

"Victor, I just really want to be alone right now, okay? Please tell the others that. I'll talk to you tomorrow after...well, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Seeing him wince a final time as I slammed car door shut, he gave me a small nod before he backed out of my drive way. Not looking back, I ran into the house and shut the door behind me. Standing in the entry way of my empty house, I felt equal parts embarrassed, horrified, angry, and agitated. I dropped my bag on the ground, careless of where it landed as I begun stripping my clothes as I raced to the upstairs bathroom. I started the bath and without waiting for it to fill, I jumped in and dunked my head under the icy spray. Hysterical little sobs were bursting out and I blindly reached for the shampoo. Squirting a huge dollop onto my hands, I began frantically scrubbing my hair as I finally released the full torrent of my feelings at the moment. I screamed so loud, I was amazed the boys didn't come busting into the doorway. Shampoo dribbled into my eyes and I teared up in both physical and emotional pain.

Dunking suddenly underwater, I held my breath as I rigorously ran my hands through my hair. Coming up for air, I noticed small clumps that I had missed the first times and that set off a truly neurotic episode in which I shampooed my hair then desperately rinsed it off, only to start again. I must have washed my hair at least a dozen times before I calmed down. Just laying in the icey, soapy water, I felt my sanity slowly returning to me. Feeling violent tremors wracking my frame, I slowly sat up and pulled the plug in the tub to let the water empty out.

Absently, I watched the water swirl down the drain and began to collect my thoughts. Another series of shivers derailed my thoughts and I re-plugged the tub and set the water to a delicious heat. At first, my frozen body felt only a painful burn, but as I slowly thawed out, I started to relish the warmth and my mind cleared. A strange calm overcame me and I began working out my jumbled thoughts over the matter.

I realize now that somehow, Nathan's, well, THAT, had gotten on his floor. I, in my childish attempt to surprise him this morning, had stepped into it. I remembered now that Nathan had tried his hardest to stop me from using it in my hair, but I had been stubborn. I could only assume that as the day progressed, everyone figured out what was in my hair and had decided to rag on Nathan for his part in all this.

Not one person decided to tell me. Not one. Suddenly, I realized that was truly what had me the most upset out of everything. Every one of the boys had figured out what happened and not a single one of them showed me the courtesy of telling me the truth. Not even Mr. Blackbourne. Fighting back a second wave of tears at the sting of betrayal and deep well of hurt I felt at this realization, I stood up abruptly and began aggressively toweling myself off. Wrapping myself in a second towel, I marched into my room and feeling suddenly enraged, I began to pace. Feeling a little childish, I began throwing and kicking my pillows and blankets around, seething against the boys for keeping their silence.

In my little tantrum fit, my foot unexpectedly hit a hard object and the sting of pain had me hopping around on one foot feeling miserable. Having recovered myself after a few moments, I lifted one of the blankets I had thrown to reveal one of Nathan's DVD binders. I remember he had left it behind after our last movie night so I could check out some of the movies on my own if I wanted. Suddenly remembering one of Luke's earlier comments, I began to sift through the titles inside as I got dressed into my fluffiest pair of pajamas.

It took me a full twenty-five minutes before I found the one I was looking for and with careful fingers, pulled out the little disc. Bringing it downstairs, I popped it into the DVD player gingerly. Sitting on the couch with my knees up to my chest, I skipped through the previews until the title menu for There's Something About Mary came up. Feeling only a moments hesitation, I pressed play then snuggled down into my couch.

What followed was an intense two straight hours of insane shenanigans. Some of the content was over my head, but I understood most of it and when it got to the "hair gel" scene, I immediately saw the similarities to my situation with Nathan. By the end, the silly Ted Stroehmann got his Mary, the girl of his dreams and the guitarist got shot accidentally by Magda's boyfriend. The whole movie was so ridiculous that I found myself giggling helplessly throughout the whole thing. It had also ironically helped me come to terms with Nathan's lie this morning.

I honestly understood where he was coming from and could only imagine how embarrassing this whole day must have been for him. I could only imagine it was like mine, times one hundred. Now the others on the other hand were an entirely different matter altogether. While they obviously had no hand in this mornings fiasco, they all actively denied telling me the truth of the matter, some of them multiple times. To make matters worse, they had played off of poor Nathan's unfortunate circumstances and mercilessly teased him.

I knew that come tomorrow, I would have to address everyone in regards to this mortifying day, but I first wanted to talk to Mr. Blackbourne about how I felt. Out of all of the boys, I trusted him to be the most up front with me about everything and it had honestly hurt me deeply that he had not. Before I made any assumptions or behaved poorly, I wanted to hear his explanation in person. Only then could I address the rest calmly.

Pleased with my decision, I shut off the tv and went upstairs to my room. Pulling my phone out and plugging it in to the charger, I shot off a quick text and settled down for the night. Sleep came quickly and as I faded away, my cell phone screen's lit up brightly, clear for all to read.

Me: We need to talk about today.

The screen faded to black after a moment, only to light back up with a short message in return.

Mr. Blackbourne: Indeed we do. I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow morning.

One last time that night, the screen fell to black, and if it weren't for the night-vision scope on the camera in her room, nine fretful boys would not be able to see the small smile on their whole worlds face as she dreamed of painful zipper accidents, aggressive dogs, and hair standing impossibly straight up.