Vlad, Joss, and I barely made it inside the school before being swarmed by a crowd of kids. We quickly found Henry.

"Hey," he whispered, "It's a good thing you can't get killed by crosses, Vlad."

We looked around. The halls and ceiling were faintly illustrated with medieval depictions of Catholic symbolism, and crosses lined the walls. I could imagine saints with shimmering halos, disciples with scrolls, and, to my amusement, angels with flowing robes and prodigious wings among the pictures. Even so, the paint was peeling in many places, making the scene more depressing than magnificent.

"I should hope not," I smirked, pulling a slender Crucifix from around the chain on my neck. "I wear this all the time."

Vlad raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were Catholic."

I shrugged. "My mom was, and I keep it for her sake. I guess we all have our own ways of honoring the dead."

He grew pensive just as Joss turned around. "Did you just say your mom died?"

"Yeah; so did my dad and my brother."

"I'm so sorry," he murmured sincerely, "My little sister died, too. She was only five."

My mouth popped open. "Joss, I had no idea…"

"Well, this is a great way to start off the year," Henry muttered as we were ushered into the auditorium by our principal. I agreed with Henry; everything seemed equally unpleasant.

After a boring assembly about how we would all fail this year if we didn't get ourselves organized, I trudged to my locker. It was about as far away from all my classes as you could get, since I had applied late in the summer and there weren't any freshmen lockers left. The upperclassmen shot me looks of disapproval as I unlocked the metal door. It was as if I were trespassing on enemy territory.

Other than Vlad nearly falling asleep, first hour English was uneventful, setting the stage for the rest of the day and possibly the whole year, which was a horrible disappointment. I've always heard that high school would be the best years of my life. I guess I was raised by masochists.

By the time lunch rolled around I could barely keep my eyes open. I sat down with Henry, Vlad, and Joss, and Henry's older brother, Greg, came to mess with us for a while.

"Hey guys," he said, "Don't worry; I told everyone to lay off. I'm the only one who can shove you guys into lockers."

Henry rolled his eyes. "You're too kind."

I realized soon after that I should probably get some new friends. There was no way I could stomach four years surrounded by teenage-male conversations.

"Whoa," Henry breathed as Melissa Hart passed by, "Someone's been drinking their milk." Joss and Vlad stared after her, too, though trying to be inconspicuous about it. All I could do was crank the music and try not to gag.

I snored through the last few classes, and practically sprinted to the door at the final bell. However, I was stopped by Bill and Tom, who were harassing Vlad again. This time, they attempted to shove him into a locker. Bill saw me and handed my friend to Tom, who proceeded to "finish the job".

"You just keep coming back, don't you?" Bill said flirtatiously. I cringed.

"Yeah," Tom muttered, still holding Vlad against a locker, "Like a bad lunch that you just can't keep down." A muffled "Gross" came from Vlad.

I placed my hands on my hips. "What's it gonna take for you two to stay away from my friend?"

Bill grinned. "You could keep me company tonight."

I raised my leg as if to kick him again when I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. I turned around. Joss.

"You two didn't forget our little talk, did you?" His voice was calm, but there was a ferocious glint in his eyes. My heart picked up a little.

"Step aside," Bill warned, "This freshman is about to enter the organ donor program."

But before Bill could say anything further, Joss grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back, pinning the jerk against a locker.

"Listen to me," he said menacingly, "Do that to Vlad one more time and I'll break your arms, got it? And if you so much as touch-no, look at Elvira," he pushed Bill harder, "You'll have a lot more than that to worry about." He let the jerks go.

M eyes practically popped out of my skull. "Wow, that was awesome, Joss. Thank you."

"Yeah, man. That was great," Vlad agreed, a bit awkwardly.

Joss shrugged, though obviously pleased. "It was nothing."

"It was everything," I assured him, a little too dotingly. He gave me a warm smile.

"So," Vlad broke in, "Want to hang at my place?"

I sighed. "I really can't. Have to help Aunt Kendra at her store."

"That's too bad. Want a walk home?"

"Nah, I'm sure I can manage." I noticed that Joss actually seemed disappointed at that, so as I walked away I turned back and added. "But it was nice to meet you, Joss." A grinned stretched across his handsome face.

And it matched the one on mine.

I haven't updated for a while…so sorry about that! I hope this makes up for it. And of course, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! You have no idea how cheesily happy they make me

And speaking of that….If you're looking for a story to read, please check out sairiotana's (I hope I'm spelling that right!) story, For His Safety, For My Love. Please send her your love and reviews!

And of course, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for reading!