Hullo, hope you like the chapter, thanks heaps to all the reviewers so far.

Disclaimer - sits here twiddling thumbs what? Are you people stupid or something? ME-NO-OWN, YOU-NO-TOUCHY!

Tee-hee

R&R

It was Monday and Ash was nowhere near ready for school. Myst's clean, ready-for-school state seemed to mock her as she ran through the small house looking for her duffel bag, Myst hovered after her from room to room.

"I know why you woke up late…!" Myst yelled in a singsong voice, prancing around the small, cluttered living room.

"Oh yeah? And why is that miss smarty pants???" Ash yelled irritably over her shoulder as she jammed her shoes on to her feet.

"You were dreaming of ly-san-derrrrrr!!!" Myst cheered happily.

Ash went a delicate shade of magenta and glared at Myst briefly before tearing at her hair with a plastic brush.

"Oh Lysander, I love you! Kiss me Lysander! Oh I can't sleep at night, come back to me!" Myst giggled, taunting Ash to the maximum level.

"Shut up!!!!!!" Ash yelled.

"Ok ok, geez, take it easy, we wouldn't want you looking stressed for Lysander now would we?" Myst chirruped, slipping from the room to check the clock and to make Ash's rubber ducky's fly across the room and collide with various object.

When Ash eventually found her duffel bag, brushed her hair, braided it, finished putting on her shoes and allocated a few books for the week the bus was just around the corner. Ash and Myst just made it before the art bus doors slammed shut.

"Bloody hell Ash, I've told you a million times! Get ready the night before school!" Myst lectured.

"Alright, I know."

"By the way your boyfriends staring at you." Myst added.

"WHERE!!!" Ash yelled, whirling around frantically at the idea of being watched, she tripped on her bag and grumbled about bus maintenance not being as it should.

A few students giggled, mostly silly little girls. Ash then re-gathered her composure and glared at the bus occupants, succeeding in shutting every silly little girl that had laughed up.

Myst and Ash then found seats behind Lysander and Tancred.

Myst and Tancred seemed to have found some peace between them and were talking about Paton's and Julia's recent engagement.

"You are completely mental." Lysander grinned, once the two were deep within their own conversation.

"Live with it." Ash hissed.

"It's actually kind of hot." Lysander commented mildly.

"Uh, really?" Ash said in confusion.

"For real" Lysander said mildly.

"Hmm. I see." Ash murmured.

"Do you?" Lysander contradicted.

"Must you be so insolent!?" Ash snapped

"You know you like me." he said sneakily.

"I suppose. I always have had a soft spot for losers." Ash combated.

"I always had a thing for desperate and obviously disturbed psychopaths."

"You have a thing for MANFRED!?!?!" Ash exclaimed

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Ever had a girlfriend before me?" Ash questioned mildly.

"In what context do you mean that?" Lysander queried.

"A circumstantial context."

"Not really."

"More evidence of your loser-ness." Ash laughed.

"So you don't want to get back together?" Lysander grinned, thinking that he had won.

"Sweetheart, there's always councilors to turn to if you feel that you aren't good enough for me." Ash grinned, seething with false sympathy.

"Seriously."

Ash glanced at him warily, "You know I like you."

"Just like?" Lysander questioned.

"I've known you for a couple weeks."

"Who decided that there was to be a time quota on love?" Lysander said enigmatically.

"I'm sixteen."

"So am I. Any more scandalous information?" he grinned sarcastically.

"What if this is too fast?"

"We can always go slower." Lysander said, leaning forward.

"We'll talk about this later."

"I'll look forward to it."

"I'm sure you will!" Ash accused.

"Meaning what exactly?" Lysander asked, brows raised.

"Shut up."

"But that would make you happy." Lysander pouted.

"..."

"Shut up." Ash said after a long pause.

O

Myst was surprised at how well her and Tancred could get on when they weren't trying to kill each other.

"I SO saw that engagement coming!" Myst grinned.

"That's because you're PSYCHIC!" Tancred exclaimed.

"And…?" Myst queried airily.

"Never mind. Hey, I was wondering… you and Tony… that was a total fluke right…?" Tancred asked uneasily.

"Hmm… that's one way of putting it, I guess that there is no real polite way of saying 'Tony is a loser' is there?" Myst mused.

"There is no polite way, but I know a number of OTHER, more impolite, techniques…"

"Don't start with me, Tancred Torrson." Myst warned.

"I'm not starting with you, I'm starting with Tony." Tancred countered.

"Right."

"I'm serious."

"Sure. You forget that I can read your mind, and if you think about you rubber ducky ONE more time I will give you a number of mental images so scarring that you will never be able to think of rubber ducky's again!" Myst threatened.

The, erm… charming… conversation was cut short by a scream from the back of the bus, Myst jumped up from her isle seat to investigate

Emma Tolly had fainted, she was sprawled across the seat and looked very unhealthy, her hair was pale and straw-like, her skin was deathly pale and she wasn't breathing.

Haha, CLIFFY!!!

Ooooohhh! Will Emma die?

Ash – I HOPE SO!!!!!

Myst – Sacrifice her!

Ash – Tie her to a pole and offer her to the gods!!!

Myst – Yell at the pole you tied her to! AND THE ROSEBUSHES!!!

Ash – DEATH TO THE BORG!!!

Myst & Author - …

Ash – What? It's a catchy line.

Right… Catchy.

Myst – Gotcha.

Ash – review! Resistance is futile!