The weekend had ended. The sun shone through the drawn curtains. It was time for school now. Maya couldn't hide her smile as her alarm went off. She turned it off and climbed out of bed feverishly. She changed into jeans and a sweater, slipping a pair of sneakers on her feet before washing up and brushing her hair. She descended the stairs slowly, keeping a careful eye out for her parents. When she didn't see anybody, she began to run as quickly as she could towards the door but the second she reached the foot of the stairs, someone had taken her by the hair. She jerked backwards, startled.

"Where do you think you're going at this hour?" he growled.

"School," she said.

"Not today," he spat, "Get back to your room. I don't want to see your ugly face."

"You don't have to," she muttered, "I'm just going to walk towards the door. And then leave."

He tugged at her hair before turning her and slapping her. "What did I tell you about getting smart with me?"

"I apologize," she said, insincerely.

"Go to your room," he said, angrily pushing her away. She nodded, taking a few slow steps before dashing to the back door. She was out the door before he could catch up. She only stopped running once she reached the school. She put her hands on her knees, panting.

"What happened to you?"

Feeling alert, Maya was startled by Castiel's voice; so startled she jumped back and nearly hissed at him.

"Oh," she panted, "You scared me."

"I can tell," he chuckled, before studying her face. "Uh," he said, "What's that mark on your face?"

She touched the hot part of her face where her father had slapped her. It showed?

"Was it a fight?" he said, smirking, "Were you running from a fight?"

"You could say that," she sighed.

"You know, I'm a little disappointed in you," he said, still smirking, "I always pictured you as the kind of girl who would fight back, not runaway."

"I'm sorry," she said, sarcastically, "I just have a little trouble when it comes to fighting a forty-year-old man."

"A forty-year-old man?" he repeated, his smirk disappearing, "What the hell? What happened?"

"It's my dad," she said, "He's always telling me he doesn't want to see my ugly face, but no matter how much I try to avoid him, he's always looking for attempts to hit me for no reason."

"Abusive dad?" he said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but if things ever get too bad at your place, you could come stay with me."

She smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "Aw," she said, "See, Castiel? Being sweet isn't so hard!"

He blushed, looking away. "Shut it," he muttered.

She giggled. "But thanks," she said, "So when will I be able to meet your band?"

He sighed. "You're never going to let go of that, are you?" he muttered.

"Nope," she said, "Not until I meet them."

"Okay, fine," he said, "You can meet the band after school tonight. Don't bring anybody and don't tell anybody."

Maya nodded, intrigued. "Why?" she said, "Is it like… your girlfriend? Oh better yet, your boyfriend?"

He glared at her. "That's not funny," he muttered.

She giggled. "I thought it was pretty funny," she said, grinning.

"What's this talk of bands and boys with boyfriends?"

Maya recognized the voice almost instantaneously.

"Celeste?" she said, getting to her toes and peering over Castiel's shoulder.

"Oh, my," Celeste said, her hands behind her back as her gaze ran up and down Castiel's body as she skirted around him, "I like your hair."

Celeste had her cherry-crimson hair in a ponytail that still easily reached the small of her back. Her bangs were clean cut and swept across her forehead. Her eyes looked extra light blue in the sunlight. She was clad in a cropped black leather jacket and a band t-shirt, with little black jean shorts and fishnet stockings. She had another pair of black stilettos on her feet, making her taller than Maya by inches, but still shorter than Castiel.

"Hey," Maya said, grinning, "This is Castiel. Castiel, this is Celeste. She's new here."

Castiel didn't give much of a greeting but she managed to catch his gaze sweep Celeste over.

"Can I draw you sometime?" Celeste said to Castiel, "You could come over my house. Clothes aren't necessary, if you don't like to wear them. There's a tree outside my window, so the leaves are available for coverage."

Castiel wasn't amused. "Well, I can see why you get along with Maya," he said, "You're both freaks."

"Freak?" Celeste's expression suddenly turned so emotionless it was almost seductive, "You could call me that, if you want. I like being freaky. I thought guys liked that."

It took her a minute to realize the perverted notions in what Celeste had said, but when she did, Maya couldn't help but giggle. Castiel smirked, looking away.

"Do you still want to know about Amber?" Maya asked, "Nathaniel's not around, so I think it'd be okay if I told you."

"Oh, his sister?" she said, "Sure."

"If you spend too much time with her brother, she'll get really mad," Maya said, "That's why she hates me. She tricked me into dancing on a wooden floor while it was freshly waxed and I ended up spraining my ankle. She didn't even apologize."

"She seems like a jealous witch," Celeste said, "Just push her down. If she breaks a nail, she'll start crying."

Maya smiled. "That's the thing, though," she said, "I really would love to just hit her, but she's Nathaniel's sister. He'll get mad at me if I do."

"Speaking of the blonde guy," Celeste said, "Are you two dating yet?"

Maya blushed, looking away.

Celeste grinned. "You are!" she said, "I knew it would happen."

"You're dating mister president?" Castiel muttered, "Wow, I didn't know he was your type."

Still blushing, Maya avoided his gaze. "Well, you know," she said, "The more unlike you are compared to another person, the more likely you are to get closer to them."

"That's not true," he muttered, "He and I are nothing alike and I hate him."

"You hate him?" Celeste said, "I haven't talked to him much, but he's so adorable! How can you hate that face?"

"Because I'm not gay," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, that's boring," Celeste said.

"Your t-shirt," Castiel said, smirking, "You actually like that band?"

"I do," Celeste said, smiling, "I just hate mainstream music."

"See, Castiel," Maya said, grinning, "More girls like that kind of music than you thought."

"I like that," he said, "Maya, bring her with you tonight."

"Okay," she said, "But Orihime might feel left out."

He sighed. "So don't tell her," he said, "Don't tell anybody."

"Okay, I guess," she said.

"Wait, where are we going?" Celeste said.

"Castiel has a band that he wants to keep a secret," Maya said before shrugging.

"A band?" Celeste said before grinning, "I love bands! I hope there are gorgeous people there!" She bounced up and down, her hands balled into fists as if she would explode from excitement.

"Chill," Castiel said.

"How am I supposed to chill when there might be people just waiting to be drawn at this school?" Celeste said, feverishly.

"Hi Maya!" Ken's voice said from behind Maya. She sighed, rolling her eyes before turning. "I just wanted to say good luck with Amber before I leave, I heard she was giving you trouble."

"Before you leave?" she repeated.

"I'm going to military school," he said, blushing, "My father says I need to 'man up'."

"Oh, well that's kind of harsh," she said, "Good luck with that."

"Thanks!" he said, happily, as if just her being kind to him made him so happy, "Well, bye, Maya."

"Later," she said, waving before turning back to Castiel and Celeste. Celeste had a questioning look on her face, and Maya simply shrugged. The bell rung and on cue, everybody began heading inside. As she drew near the entrance, Maya's gaze spotted Nathaniel, leaning against the door frame. She skipped ahead, grinning as she approached him before pulling him into a comforting embrace, tucking her head under his chin. "Good morning," she said happily, gazing up at him, "Did you sleep well?"

"No," he admitted sheepishly, "I just kept thinking."

"Thinking about what?" she asked.

"Well, what do you think?" he said with a flirty tone of voice as he touched her cheek, "You, of course."

She giggled before getting to her toes and kissing him tenderly. She ignored the whispering of the students around her as she took his hands in hers.

"You're so cute," he said softly.

She felt herself blushing. "Not as cute as you," she teased, poking his stomach.

He smiled, his gaze lifting above her head. He rolled his eyes before sighing, putting his hand to his forehead.

"Oh, okay, gosh," she said, "You're not cute then."

"No," he chuckled, shaking his head, "It's not you. Look." He gestured behind her. Maya turned to see Celeste standing near the front door, facing Amber, with her arms crossed over her chest. Castiel stood a little bit away from her, smirking.

Maya sighed, taking one of Nathaniel's hands and weaving through the crowds towards them. As she drew closer, she found herself within earshot.

"So you think you're better than me?" Amber was spitting, clearly she was angry, "Is that why you're acting like that?"

"But I just got here," Celeste said with an accent, a dumb-founded look on her face, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Amber exclaimed, "I know exactly what you're doing!"

"What am I doing?" she said, tears welling in her eyes, her accent still heavy over her words, "Did I anger you somehow? Could I please make it up to you?"

"No!" Amber said, "Get lost, dog! That's how you can make it up to me, by moving back to where you came from."

Celeste put her hands on either side of her face, mumbling something in a different language before saying, "I'm sorry! You Americans are crazy! I didn't do anything!"

Frustrated, Amber's face was bright red as she mumbled something before stomping off. Her gaze found Maya, standing hand-in-hand with Nathaniel and she clenched her jaw.

"No," she hissed, "You two are not dating."

Maya gazed up at Nathaniel as he lifted her hand entwined with his, a smile on his face. "We are," he said, sheepishly, "Sorry, I guess."