Hey guys. I didn't greet you at the beginning of my first chapter, so here. If you paid attention to the username, you know I am moonstruckgirl. Iamabotticelli has given me the privilege of continuing her awesome story What We Are. I hope I can fill her shoes. Please tell me what you think of my version. Good or bad, I can take it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 24: Heath

Zoey POV

After the meeting ended, I wiped away the newest tears and followed my friends and the red fledglings to the "kitchen" where the snacks were.

"So we have p.b. and j., bologna, and processed American cheese slices." Jack said the "processed American cheese slices" part like he was reluctantly offering us worms and mud. "And my personal gourmet Top Chef concoction: mayonnaise, peanut butter, and lettuce on wheat bread."

"Okay, Jack. Nasty," Shaunee said.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Erin said.

"Gay white boy is weird," Kramisha said, snagging one of the bologna and cheese sandwiches.

Jack looked mortally offended. "I think they're good, and you guys should try things before you disrespect them."

"I'll try one of them," said Shannoncompton sweetly.

"Thanks." Jack grinned and handed her a sandwich wrapped in a paper towel.

There was the rustling of a lot of paper as all of us crowded into the kitchen, grabbed sandwiches, and passed bags of chips around. I was surprised to see the amount of food and chips and brown pop (yea for brown pop!). It made a weird, surreal mixture with the bottles of wine and bags of blood that were being shared. I leaned against the far wall with Aphrodite, munching quietly on Doritos and drinking Dr. Pepper. For a second, with the normal sounds of kids eating and talking, it was easy to imagine that we were just in a kind of ratty building at the House of Night and forget that we were in a tunnel under the city and that all of our lives were in the process of never being the same. For a second, we were nothing but a group of kids, some friends, some not, and we were just hanging out together.

Somehow, our cats and Duchess all managed to get in on the "party" too, because Nala soon wrapped herself on my shoulders and yelled at me right in my ear. Duchess went to Jack, wagging her tail and waiting for food, making her look even cuter. It made me smile, a real smile, one that had Aphrodite leaning over and giving me a quick kiss. That made me smile even more.

"Aw, don't stop," Johnny B said, giving us a puppy dog look. "That was really hot."

We all erupted into laughter; it felt good to really laugh. We started chatting easily until I remembered something else. I smacked my palm to my forehead (lightly, cuz boy does it hurt). "I have to call Sister Mary Angela and check on how Grandma's doing."

"There's no signal down here," Dallas said.

Dread filled me. I really didn't want to go upstairs again. I wanted hide down here for the rest of my life. But I had to know if they were okay. Aphrodite put her arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple.

"We'll go with you, Zoey. You won't be alone," she said, and then glared at our friends.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Damien said. "We'll be right there with you, Z." The others nodded vigorously.

We started down the tunnels, everyone but Stevie Rae and the red fledglings, who had been sent to tell the professors where we were going. It wasn't long before Shekinah and Dragon were walking behind us quietly, topping off what felt like a funeral entourage.

Once we got out of the tunnels, my eyes instantly scanned the dark building for signs of danger. My nostrils flared as I sniffed the air (wait, what?), but I couldn't smell anything off. So I pulled out my phone and dialed.

"Oh, Zoey! I'm so glad you called," said Sister Mary Angela.

"Sister, are you okay? Is Grandma?"

"She's fine… all fine. We're…" She was definitely breaking up.

"Sister, I can't hear you very well. Where are you? Is Grandma conscious?"

"Grand… is conscious. We're under the abbey, but…" There was static and then suddenly I could hear her clearly. "Are you influencing the weather, Zoey?"

"Me? No! What about Grandma? Are you safe in the abbey basement?"

"…fine. Not to worry, we…"

And the line went dead.

"Hell! This connection sucks!" I paced a short path of frustration while I tried to call her back. "Hell!"

"What did she say?" Aphrodite asked, touching my less bruised cheek soothingly.

"Not much, 'cause I lost the connection and can't get it back. But I did manage to hear her say that she's okay and Grandma's okay. I think she's finally conscious."

"That's really good news! Don't worry; everything's going to be fine. The nuns have your grandma safe underground, right?"

I nodded, fighting back stupid tears of frustration and fear. I completely trusted Sister Mary Angela, so if she said Grandma was okay, then I believed her. "It's hard not knowing what's going on out there." I jerked my thumb at the outside world.

Aphrodite hugged me. "We'll get through this. Nyx is at work here, remember? Just look at those pretty new tattoos on your palms. They're proof that you're in her favor. Yeah, our group is small, but we're strong and we know we're on the right side." I nodded, more to myself, and she kissed my forehead gently.

"Well, let's just get back inside now," I said. They all nodded and we started moving when…

"Hey, is that you, Zo?"

I spun around in shock to find Heath coming through the door and walking towards us. Dragon leapt into action immediately, standing in front of us with Shekinah next to him, eyeing Heath like his worst enemy. Heath of course, didn't recognize that they might kill him if he came any closer, so I broke free from the group and started towards him. "Just hold off, guys." I said, mainly to Shekinah and Dragon. I turned back to Heath. "Heath, what are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you, Zo," he said, jogging to us. "With all this batshit crazy weather and the gang violence going down, I needed to make sure you were okay." When he reached us and could see us better, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Fucking hell, Zoey, what happened?" He reached out a hand to touch my face, but I stepped away. I wasn't ready to deal with his touch, with most people's touches. He looked hurt, but it gave way to anger. "Who did it? I'll beat the shit out of 'em. Tell me who it was, Zo?" He looked at Dragon. "Was it you? I swear to god, vamp, if it was, I'll stake you." He started advancing, but I pushed him back hastily.

"No, no!" I said quickly, getting between them. "It wasn't Dragon, Heath, so lay off the macho."

He un-puffed himself, but didn't look any calmer. "Who did it, Zoey? Tell me," he said quietly, pleadingly. How was I supposed to tell him?

Not so luckily, I never got the chance because a Raven Mocker burst through the window.