AN: Hello! Sorry it took a while (again, maybe I should adopt an abbreviation for this?) Anyway, onwards!

Anonymous: Oooh, I had one of those stages too! And if you read nothing else by him, you really must read Neverwhere- it's brilliant.

Nah, it's not just you, I re-read it and you're right, I often do that, and I'll do my best to try not to again! Though I would like to say that I intended her words to be a mess- owing to her distress and the fact she often can't string sentences together when mildly panicked...

Glad you liked that, I love their chemistry in the show and wish we could see more, I'm glad you're getting a little of it here. Till next time! (oh, and watch the 'King's Speech', saw it this afternoon- it was brilliant! And I think you'll like Lionel...hehe)

zxcv: Haha, thanks- and don't worry, I mean I'm not planning on getting rid of him. Though I can't promise. Just in case. Haha, thanks again!

Blue Dragon: Yay! Now I feel special, and I absolutely know what you mean,and thanks- glad you liked it!

Word-Stringer: Fair enough, oh he IS and no, somehow I'm not sure Mer would bring someone like that back, but sadly those people exist without the aid of magic...at least we can poke some fun at them eh? Sorry it's annoying you! I'm afraid it's not going to end any time soon, BUT suspicion will of course start building. Hmm, he does have some- but I couldn't give him the life he's had and translate that to utter assurance in social situations so...You'll find out :D and good guess but no- Nimueh died before Freya came onto the scene, remember? And it was all under wraps anyway... Thanks again Words!

WARNING: SOME STRONG LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER.

Ok, so there's a disco coming up- Lancelot and Arthur are clashing over Gwen, whos been bombarded by requests from the male population of Pendragon college, though it goes without saying Morgana will have been too by people slightly more brave- and Merlin's about to make himself one of their number. Oooh, and don't forget! Kay's not sure if he wants to be good or bad, has a massive crush on Morgana and has beaten up Merlin twice, though the second time he gave up soon enough- though Merlin promised to tell her where he got the bruises.

Enjoy!

"Blimey Arthur, I've never seen you look less….heroic."

The boy in question gave Merlin a baleful glare; in the face of which his mocker simply laughed. "I'm serious, were you going for the miserable puppy look today- or did it just come naturally?"

"Merlin, both those allegations are utterly absurd."

"I'd have thought so too, but you proved me wrong- it must make you so proud Arty."

"Arty! Arty? Since when am I an Arty?"

Merlin snorted, "since you started looking so damn cute, awww, widdle Arty!" He reached out to ruffle Arthur's hair and the blonde shouted in annoyance, jumping out of the way and going to grab Merlin's arm- Merlin easily dodged and Arthur blinked, throwing a punch. Merlin bent back and launched a quick kick at his shins.

Momentarily distracted as they made their way back to Gaius' place, Arthur stared. "I thought you couldn't fight!"

Light blue eyes rolled in Merlin's pale face. "Arthur, of course I can fight- I've spent half of my life on the streets- I'd be dead otherwise."

"but-but when…with Will."

For a moment Merlin's expression darkened. "Two reasons- a) I needed to keep you distracted, there was no telling if I made it too difficult that some of you would go after Will, and b) I'd not eaten for days, I had no strength in me and hadn't had much sleep, my thoughts were messed up and I was looking for-"

"You were looking to get hurt- you were angry and you wanted someone to take it out on, but you couldn't bear that, so when there was an opportunity for someone else to take it out on you, you took it."

Surprised, Merlin shot Arthur a look from under his slightly overgrown black fringe. "Twisted eh?"

Pendragon shook his head. "Not really. We all have stupid thoughts sometimes- most of us just don't go through with them." He pursed his lips, surveying the looming trees around them as he considered the thought. "And then idiots like us take advantage of it."

"C'mon, that's more than I can take- you know I forgive you puppy, now stop doing the look."

"I am not a puppy!"

"Sure Arty, Sure."

"Merlin!" Merlin jumped out of the way as Arthur went to tackle him and nimbly grabbed a branch on one of the trees on the path, swinging himself up. Once he was about six feet off the ground he looked down with a chuckle.

"Really Arthur- what's up?"

"Who says anything's up? Or that I'd tell you even if hypothetically there was something wrong?"

"Oooh, hypothetically- that's a big word, I knew my presence was good for you."

Arthur growled and Merlin laughed and pointed. "See- puppy! You growled!"

"Do I sound like a puppy?" Arthur roared.

Merlin pursed his lips to hold back his grin and pretended to consider. "Yep- I'd say golden retriever."

Arthur threw his hands in the air and sat down with his back to the tree trunk, apparently having given up. "Fine then- act like a delusional lunatic."

Quietly Merlin made his way back down, almost making it to the branch just above Arthur's head. However, as he stepped down he slipped, falling onto the ground in front of the blonde in a graceless heap.

"Ha! Now that, Merlin, is why clumsy dolts like you should not attempt to fly."

Groaning and clutching his elbow, Merlin pulled himself up into a sitting position, dragging his ankle. "Gee Arthur, thanks for your concern. And you do know that a Merlin is a bird of prey."

Still chuckling, Arthur leaned back against the tree. "Alright, are you ok?"

Trying to stand and stumbling on the ankle he'd dragged, Merlin nodded and plastered a grin onto his face. "Yeah- fine."

For a moment a look of genuine concern flashed across Arthur's face as he examined the way Merlin held himself- the way he was carefully keeping all weight away from the ankle, and then he fell back into nonchalance.

Merlin slumped down next to him, laughing lightly. "You have to let me take a picture of that face." Arthur shot him a venomous glare and Merlin tutted. "Honestly Arthur, animosity doesn't become a puppy."

Quicker than Arthur would have thought possible, Merlin flipped out the phone Gaius had given him and took a picture, slipping it back into his trouser pocket. "Now, tell me what's wrong or I'm showing this to Morgana."

"You wouldn't."

"Really?" Arthur studied his friend's face for a moment and realized he most definitely would. With a grimace, Arthur smacked his head with his palm.

"Carefuly Arty, not sure how many brain cells you can afford to lose." Without looking, Arthur punched him in the arm.

"Shut up Merlin."

Instantly, his friend fell silent, though Arthur could feel his clear, clever gaze on his face, waiting. Finally, Arthur sighed.

"Lancelot…has asked Gwen to the disco."

Merlin sat up. "Did she say yes?"

"She said she'd think about it!" Arthur groaned, hitting his head back against his hands in despondent desperation.

"Sooo- he asked her, and she didn't say yes-right?"

"She said she'd think about it." The 'prince' growled in correction. Merlin rolled his eyes, a lopsided grin making it's way onto his face.

"Riiiight- she said she'd think about it, she didn't say yes- so what does that tell you?"

"She's going to say yes! Of course she is! He's- he's Lance for christ's sake! He's all charming and honest and tanned and good at sports!"

Merlin chuckled and Arthur fixed him with a fiery glare at odds with the miserable, chilly weather they were lingering in.

"Arty-" A swift punch made Merlin pull a face and clutch the area in mock agony. "Alright alright- Arthur- what it means is that she's hoping someone else might give her a better offer. We know it's not someone outside our group, it's not me, it's definitely not Gwaine, to be honest I hope it's not Morgana- so who does that leave?"

"Merlin- you can't possibly mean…"

The raven haired boy shrugged his sloping shoulders. "I never said it wasn't unbelievable- I mean look at you- you're arrogant, impetuous, pale as a corpse, irritable, possessive, emotionally repressed, secretly vulnerable…"

"Don't stop Merlin, please do go on- it's not like I need reassurance or anything."

Merlin snorted. "I could you know-" He broke off when yet another death glare was sent his way and sighed, raising his hands. "Just giving you a taste of your own medicine. Anyway, back to the point, I never said it was all that credible but it is logical, and you best take your chance while you can- you know Gwen, too modest for her own good."

Slightly cheered, Arthur quirked an eyebrow in incredulity, "so I'm a 'catch' am I?" A hint of smugness lurked inside his voice.

"No- she's intimidated, which means either you're an overweight grizzly inuit who likes his prey raw, or a killer whale with a bloated head."

"That's it!"

Merlin laughed as Arthur scrambled to his feet, chasing him down the path, and nearby on a thick leafy branch a closed bud burst into flower- unnoticed by the boys.

A woman, however, on the phone, with wavy brown hair and big friendly eyes, raised her eyebrows in surprise… before dismissing it and returning to her conversation.

X

"So, uh, what I was wonderin' was, uh, if you'll go- y'know, to the, ah, disco- with me, y'know?"

Hands on hips, chin up higher than a queen's, Morgana surveyed her latest suitor and smiled a wolfish grin. "You do realize that 'uh' and 'ah' don't equate to verbal punctuation; don't you?"

"Uh-"

"There you go again! Honestly Kay- someone like you? No chance." And there was a little more ice, a little more venom in those two words than was strictly necessary. Merlin had, after all, told her where the bruises had come from.

The boy himself gulped as Kay scurried back to his group of sniggering 'friends'. Sure, Merlin was fairly certain Morgana had been so horrid because of what Kay had done, but it didn't exactly make things any easier now…

Waiting until she'd wandered down the corridor a little further and was a good distance away from the others, Merlin pulled himself away from the wall and followed her, limping slightly from his fall the day before, steeling his nerves. At last he caught up and reached out, gently lacing his fingers round her forearm. She recognized the grip immediately and followed him to the side of the corridor without resisting, giving him a curious look when they stopped- eyes as fresh as clear summer lakes.

Merlin concentrated on their exact colour as he took a deep breath- he could already feel his cheeks flushing and his ears were hot. "Morgana, hi, how are you?"

Her eyebrows quirked. "I'm fine thankyou Merlin, you? You seem a little flushed- and your ankle, is it…?" She gently touched his arm and Merlin chuckled, looking at the vaulted ceiling in order to avoid his eyes gluing themselves to the floor.

Taking another breath to steel his nerves- which were more taut than violin strings, Merlin lowered his chin to meet Morgana's curious and somewhat amused gaze.

"Look, I was wondering. It doesn't necessarily have to mean anything to you, but, well, I'd appreciate it if you would please consider coming to the-the disco. With me. Unless someone else has given you a better offer- I mean-" He was rambling now, and rubbing the back of his neck, but Morgana was smiling- and it was a wide, girlish smile, and even as she opened her mouth, he knew she was going to say yes-

"Oh, so bin boy's more your type eh Morgana? You like him bashed up too? We could arrange that you know, as a favour to the Pendragons of course." Kay and his mob had trailed them down the corridor, and it was the former who spoke now.

In spite of herself, Morgana flushed red and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, nimbly stepping out of the line of sight of a portrait of Uther hung on the blank stone wall, as if she could feel his painted eyes on her back. Merlin scowled.

"Ignore them. It's alright if you don't want to- I understand-"

She looked at him, eyes beseeching, started to shake her head…Kay gripped her shoulder with a heavy hand whilst some of the others- boys she barely recognized, grabbed Merlin by his arms.

The boy shouted in indignation and savagely tried to yank himself out of their grip, stumbling a little on his ankle. "Get off." He managed to elbow one guy in the nose, looking faintly smug when his victim shouted in pain and surprise. The look was quickly rubbed off his face however when another launched a punch at his stomach, winding him.

Merlin coughed, doubling over, even as he grit his teeth and kicked another boy in the shins, making him howl as his friend's served yet more retribution. Morgana could see the situation going out of control and suddenly she raised her chin, her eyes freezing over.

"Stop this. Now."

She didn't shout. Didn't need to- there was enough power in her voice to command an army and all the boys fell still- save Merlin, who angrily shrugged off the others and stepped a little closer to Morgana, his limp slightly more pronounced.

"How about we talk about this later?" He checked his watch. "I've got somewhere to be."

He made to walk off and Morgana could see the others glaring at his back- two already on their way to follow him.

There was no other way.

At least, that was what she told herself later- when she didn't want to face the true cause. Her own weakness; cowardice.

"Don't wait for me."

Merlin paused, half turning, eyes darting warily over the other boys and shoving a slender hand into his pocket.

"Sorry?" Though he was cautious and angry with the boys, his tone remained gentle to her. Morgana did her best to keep her expression stony and impassive, though absently she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together.

His glance caught the movement and his eyebrows pulled together momentarily in a spasm of confusion. Shifting to put more weight on his uninjured foot, and hastily stumbling back as he realised how close Kay's friends had prowled, Merlin lifted his chin, half parted his lips to ask her what was wrong.

Morgana cut him off. "Look, I don't know what kind of freaky, desperate girls you've been hanging out with- Faedra was it?" He flinched and she took a deep breath. "Whatever, you have no chance with me. People of your…caliber don't deserve to breathe my air."

An oscar winning performance. Worthy of applause. Morgana's breathing came faster as all the walls came straight back up and flattened Merlin's expression and his gaze. He shrugged easily, but there was something dangerous about the movement- like a blanket drawn over a handful of broken glass.

"Fair enough, though Freya was neither freaky nor desperate." His voice cracked strangely over 'desperate' but Merlin's jaw was tight, and his free hand was tightly fisted.

Morgana wanted very badly to bite her lip, and her tongue, for that matter- instead she rolled her eyes. "Obviously- she left you, didn't she? Now go on bin boy, scurry off to class."

Merlin let out a soft, breathy laugh that was neither light nor cheerful and shook his head, mouth twisted into a wry grin. "See you Morgana- but, one more thing, about Freya- she didn't leave me."

"You left her? And you're saying that's not desperate?"

He shook his head again, once, in a firm, practical movement. "No- no, I didn't leave her. She died." And with that he spun on his heel and marched away. Or tried to- the effect was somewhat lessened by his pronounced limp.

Morgana was speechless- and the majority of her blood supply was lurking somewhere around her toes. Kay looked over to her and grinned a nasty, mocking grin that she saw right through to the injured pride beneath.

"Just a bin boy, she probably died of AIDS or HIV- you know these types."

Suddenly Morgana whirled, so fast a few of the boys around her leapt back, and slapped Kay sharply across the face. He shouted in surprise and one of his cronies lifted a fist, but Morgana settled into an easy crouch and raised her own.

"Just try me." She growled, once more wolfish as she all but snarled.

Kay waved a hand to stop his subordinate and Morgana tilted her head to the side with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Kay,dear, I'm glad you know what's good for you. Because-" She slapped him hard across the other side of the face, "there is no such thing-" she slapped him again as he stumbled backwards, " as 'types' of human being. Now piss off, tosser."

Whimpering a little, Kay backed up further, then turned and ran. His gang lingered, looking at Morgana in shock, and she proffered them a grin.

"Anyone else want to try their luck?"

Simultaneously they stepped back, then turned and ran after their leader. Morgana straightened, brushing down her skirt and patting her hair, looking up and down the corridor. In his oversized, outdated oil painting, Uther Pendragon glared down at her from above, as if reprimanding her for terrifying his pupils. Morgana stuck her tongue out at him before wandering down the corridor alone, with a mutter into the silence,

"Yeah, thought not."

Oooh, so she's not all bad, but Merlin isn't going to forgive her too easily. Will things be ok? Will Arthur get up the courage to ask Gwen? And who was it that saw the magic? And was she really all that unconcerned?

Ok, thanks for reading, please do comment- you're all lovely and you so often do and it's greatly appreciated, and hope you liked it!

Kat