Author's note: Thank you for the reviews you've given me. They are really appreciated. I hope you enjoy this update. Things will be stepping up! Please leave me your thoughts in the reviews.

Chapter 17

"Oh, hey, Darien," Killian greeted him. "You're here early."

Darien turned from the counter where he was grabbing his early morning coffee and came face to face with his new friend from physics class.

"Hi, Killian," he smiled. "I'm always here at seven a.m. It's the perfect shot I need after my run. How are you?"

"I'm good, good," he nodded. "A morning run. What time do you wake for that?"

"5:30," Darien replied.

Killian pulled a face.

"You're crazy," Killian said wryly. "I'm an early bird myself but I'm not sure I could wake early just to go for a run. I'd rather hit the gym in the afternoon then go for a bear claw."

Darien laughed, as Killian reached over for his americano.

"Thanks," he nodded to the barista, then he turned to Darien. "So, what's going on today?"

"I'm helping a student out with their studies in the afternoon," Darien told him. "But I don't have anything going on in the morning. I was thinking about finishing off that physics assignment we have due in on Friday."

"Oh, I need to do that," Killian mused, smacking his hand to his forehead. "I've got it with me now actually, as I had the intention of doing it. I guess if you want to get together, it will force me to do it."

"Oh sure," Darien agreed. "My apartment is just round the corner. Let me grab my books and I'll meet you at the library. I need to be back at my place my one, but it shouldn't take us all morning."

"Great," Killian nodded. "I'll see you there and grab a table."

They walked out together and parted ways as Killian made his way to the library. He walked into the building and immediately felt the effects of the atmosphere in the library, his brain already settling into study mode. He walked past the physics section then doubled back and found what he wanted, after recalling a recommended book from his professor. He continued making his way through the library heading for the study rooms. He glanced into one and immediately noticed Mina sat with two friends, one of which he recognised as Neal's date. He found the next room was empty and walked in, plonking his bag on the floor. He reached in and brought out his books, bottle of water and pastry he bought at the café. He sighed, then got up, and approached the next study room. He knocked gently and the girls looked up. He walked in with a tentative smile aimed at Mina.

"Hi, Mina, ladies," he greeted them.

"Killian, hi," Mina responded. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having a tea party," he replied sarcastically, then followed up with, "I'm here to work on an assignment with a friend."

"That's early," Mina commented.

"I could say the same for you," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well my mother dragged me out of bed early this morning," Mina grumbled. "She said she didn't want me to disappoint her in yet another test."

Amy and Lita looked at each other in amusement. It was no secret that Mina didn't like her mother.

"Mina," Lita coughed, "do you want to introduce us?"

"Oh sure," Mina shrugged. "Killian, meet my friends Amy and Lita. Amy, Lita, meet Killian."

"Hi," the girls greeted him in unison.

"Nice to meet you," Amy smiled.

"You're welcome to join us with your friend," Lita invited, then grimaced when she felt Mina's foot collide with her shin.

"Thank you, but I'll decline," Killian replied. "We'll just be studying for our physics class and I don't want to interrupt your studies. We'll be in the study room next door."

"Hey," Darien called.

Killian looked up to see Darien approaching him. Darien glanced into the study room Killian was facing.

"Oh, hi girls," Darien waved. "I didn't expect to see you here so early."

"Yeah, mom…," Mina started.

"Skip it!" Lita interrupted, putting her hand on Mina's.

"Oh, Killian," Amy asked, continuing when he turned back to face her, "how's Jackson… after his accident?"

"He seems to be doing okay," Killian nodded. "A little bruised, but otherwise, he's fine. Thanks for asking after him. I'll tell him."

"Of course," Amy smiled.

"See you, guys," Darien said, holding his hand up to them as he followed Killian out to their study room. "I love the mornings. There's not many people around."

"Yeah, it made it really easy to bag a room for study," Killian agreed.

Darien put his books down on the table and took a gulp of coffee from his takeout cup.

"More coffee?"

"Keeps my brain ticking," Darien chuckled.

Meanwhile in the room next door, Mina's head was on the table.

"Seriously, why did you do that for?" Mina complained.

"I think the correct question is why did you kick me in the shin?" Lita exclaimed.

"What?" Mina said defensively. "I don't want Killian in earshot while we study so he'll know how stupid I am when it comes to maths!"

"Mina, you're not stupid," Amy chided patiently.

"Well, you needn't have kicked me like that," Lita responded, turning back to her paper.

"It got rid of him," Mina replied in a small voice, picking up her pencil to resume studying.

"Raye, let me!" Chad suggested, releasing her grip on the broom. "You should be taking it easy."

"I'm fine, Chad," Raye insisted.

"You have an arm in a sling, stitches in your side and grazes and bruising," Chad pointed out. "Please, take it easy."

"Chad, we're going to have a problem if you keep treating me like I'm made of glass," Raye muttered.

"You worry me…" Chad started, scrambling for the words, "us, me and Grandpa."

He blushed, shifting on his feet. Raye stared at him in surprise.

"I'm fine, Chad," she reassured him. "If you can clear away the boxes with the talismans, charms and amulets for sale, that would be helpful."

"Of course," he agreed, continuing to sweep up outside the front of the temple which Raye had been attempting to do before he intervened. "Raye," he said, pausing his sweeping momentarily, "can I possibly cook dinner for you later?"

Raye whipped her head round to gawk at him, then she was conscious of a third party stood at the top of the stairs. She looked back to find Jackson stood there, flicking his eyes between the two of them. Then, disregarding Chad, he approached her, and the bruising that adorned his skin was more than obvious as he came closer, despite the large shades he had over his eyes that hid the heavy bruise across his cheekbone.

"Raye, hi," Jackson greeted her. "How are you?"

"Oh, Jackson," she winced at the injuries evident on his skin.

"It's nothing," he said, waving it off. "I'm a little sore but it's nothing that won't heal."

"Excuse me," Chad muttered, scurrying off towards the stall out the front of the temple where they sold talismans and the like.

"How are you feeling?" Jackson asked, his eyes resting on her swollen cheek where the grazing was still raw and angry on her skin.

"A little sore," she smiled wryly, "a little tired. But it could be worse."

"You know, I don't even remember what happened," he admitted.

"I heard you did have a concussion," she pointed out.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. This is when things got a little complicated. The lying. It was one of the hardest things about being a sailor scout.

"I got hit by a car," she lied. "I was trying to get a cat out of the way of an oncoming car, and I wasn't quite fast enough. It was fine. I was taken straight to the hospital and they patched me up."

"How odd," he contemplated. "I was told I was involved in a car accident. Was I the cat?"

She peered at him uncertainly seeing the amusement on his face. He was teasing her.

"You sure were, Smudge," she smiled. "So, are you going to be in school?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "Besides the bruising, I'm otherwise in good health. Surely you're not going?"

"Grandpa doesn't want me to," she shrugged, wincing as the movement caused some pain up her arm. "But I'm fine and I see no reason to stay at home. I've got Chad running around trying to do all of my chores as well as his own, which is driving me mad, so I think it'd be better if I were at school."

"I was just wondering if you'd be open to coming out with me on Monday?" he asked.

"Seriously?" she speculated, staring at him uncertainly. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to ask you out, we're both feeling rubbish and it might cheer us up," he replied.

"Fair enough," she nodded, then shot him a brilliant smile. "Sure."

"Great," he responded. "I'll swing by at six on Monday."

"Sounds good," she replied.

She watched him turn and descend the stairs from the temple, unaware that Chad was watching her. He'd heard their conversation and couldn't hold back the sigh pass his lips and the sadness well up in his stomach. He decided against asking her to spend time with him this evening.

A pillow whacked Serena round the back of her head, jolting her awake. She looked around bewildered and then realised that she had been drifting off after Darien had left her to solve some maths problems in his absence while he was cooking in the kitchen. She peered up to find Darien's reproving face glaring down at her with an eyebrow raised and the pillow in his hand.

"Oh, Darien, what was that for?" she protested, rubbing the back of her head.

"Stop whining, Meatball Head," he countered. When she made to answer her mouth, he wagged his finger in front of her. "Ah, ah. You are absolutely a Meatball Head. I told you to answer these problems while I was making us lunch. You've done," he peered over her shoulder, "one question and attempted the second. There's three more I wanted you to do before lunch was ready."

"Hey," she retorted. "Once upon a time, I wouldn't have even bothered opening my book."

"Small victories," he said tartly. "Don't fall asleep while I finish up in the kitchen."

He turned to make his way back to his kitchen, when he suddenly stumbled when he felt a pillow collide with the back of his head. He straightened himself and turned in shock to see Serena giggling on the floor in a fit of laughter. He scooped the pillow up off of the floor and threw it back at her so that it collided off her stomach and flew over the other side of her. She sat up, gaping at him.

"This means war," she declared, reaching up to grab the pillow, but she wasn't fast enough as Darien had already grabbed another pillow from his sofa and launched it at her. It hit her square in the face when she turned back to him, causing her to fall backwards flat on her back. She rested on her elbows, glaring at him. "That wasn't cool."

"You started it," he reasoned.

"You hit me in the head with a pillow first!" she argued.

"And you fell asleep," he smirked.

She gasped, her mouth hanging open. She then pressed her lips together, picked up both pillows and hurled them at Darien. He ducked as one flew over his head but the other one got him right in his abdomen.

"That's it," he exclaimed.

Serena's eyes widened and she leaped up with a squeal. She ran out of the room, hearing him chase after her as she sprinted through each room. Suddenly, a pillow was plummeting through the air towards her and she saw Darien in front of her. She swivelled on her heel and dashed back the way she'd come. She looked behind her and saw Darien had disappeared. She rounded the corner then felt the air get knocked out of her as she felt a pair of arms wind round her middle, temporarily lifting her feet from the ground.

"I win," he grinned.

She turned to look at him and was taken aback by how close his face was to hers. She blushed, feeling her heart beating in her ears. She swallowed.

"I guess you did," she conceded.

He set her down on the floor and she pushed him away.

"Next time, you won't be so lucky," she promised, striding across the room, and plonking herself down in front of her open book.

"I look forward to it," he laughed, passing her, and entering the kitchen again.

He turned the stove right down, leaving the heat to keep the tomato soup warm as he brought the cheese toasties off the grill and popped them onto plates, cutting them into triangles. He reached for two bowls and ladled the soup carefully into each bowl, setting them down onto two trays to carry them in on. He rested his hands against his kitchen sides, thinking about his meatball head sat in the next room. It was weird to think how spending more time with her had softened him towards her. He couldn't think of anyone else that he would actively be so silly with. She was the only person who could make him act so childish. He sighed, shaking his head. He opened his drawer and brought out some cutlery in case she wanted them, though he strongly suspected that besides a spoon, she wouldn't. He swept up both trays in his hands expertly, thanks to training as a waiter at a high-end hotel, and joined Serena. She looked up and grinned.

"Amazing," she cried, moving her books out of the way so that he could set down the trays on the table. "This smells incredible."

He smiled at her enthusiasm, taking everything off the trays and putting them out of the way.

"The tomato soup is made from scratch," he told her. "Don't worry. There's no carrots in it." His eyes twinkled at her as peered at him with a mouthful of toastie. "Try dipping the cheese toastie into the soup. It tastes even better."

She swallowed and did as he suggested. She chewed and a smile spread across her face.

"You're right!" she nodded eagerly. "How have I never tried this?"

"You haven't had lunch with me," he chuckled. "So, how are you feeling about this test tomorrow?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I think I'm understanding more."

"Do you feel like you can pass?" he asked.

"I hope so," she admitted.

"Come on, Serena," he said sympathetically, the use of her name causing her eyes to meet his, "we still have the afternoon. We can focus on the things that you need just a little more of a push with and then work on things that I feel you could understand if we worked on them. It might be that you have a different way of studying."

"Okay," she sighed.

"Do you want some motivation?" he prompted, with a smile in his voice.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I have strawberry cheesecake for later," he grinned.

"That'll do it," she nodded, happily taking another bite of toastie dipped in tomato soup.

"Don't tell Andrew, but the cakes in that café are better than in the Fruits Crown Parlour," Mina stated. "I could have pigged out on all of the desserts in the display case."

"I have to agree with you there," Lita laughed. "It's probably a good thing that Amy has got a training session ready for us."

"Did she say when we're going to train?" Mina asked, strolling alongside Lita down the sidewalk.

"Erm, yeah," Lita recalled, "she said sometime this week after school."

"It's a shame we couldn't do it this evening," Mina replied.

"I know," Lita nodded, "but she's thinking of Raye. Raye doesn't want to be excluded just because her arm is in a sling."

"Honestly, it would be best for Raye to rest," Lita sighed. "Hey, do you want to go in here?"

She gestured to the music store and Mina nodded. They entered and grinned. Immediately, Mina led the way to the back of the store where new music was displayed, and they started to peruse the music.

"I love it here," Mina announced. "I've been wanting to find new music for a while. I've been asked to come back to Déjà Brew."

"Oh, that's awesome," Lita congratulated her. "That's great news."

"Yeah, I love it there" Mina nodded, flicking through albums. She picked out four albums with a grin and took a pair of earphones from a turntable stand.

"You're in a happy mood," Lita observed.

"Sure am," Mina agreed. "Homework is done, we've done a lot of study in preparation for the test tomorrow and I have music and new clothes." She paid for her goods at the till and followed Lita out of the store. "And it's a gorgeous day. What's there not to be happy about?"

"That's a fair point," Lita nodded. "Do you mind if we go into the sports store? I need to grab more sportswear specifically for basketball."

"Yeah, sure," Mina obliged, following her into the desired store.

They looked around and Mina told her she was going to head to the shoes to find some trainers for volleyball. Lita left her to it while she reached the women's section and found three pairs of shorts, two new tops and a hoody. She was staring intently at a pair of leggings, debating if they were going to be the tragic see-through leggings which will inevitably develop holes in the seams or if the cheap price were too good to be true and they would actually last her for some time. That's when a shadow fell over her. She looked up into the dark blue eyes of Neal.

"Hey," he said. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Oh, hi," she replied. "I think I should be the one saying fancy meeting you here. I'm sure pink looks great on you." She raised her eyebrow in amusement as he shrugged.

"I'll have you know that I can pull off any colour," he replied. "I saw you here as I came in with Killian. We're looking for some tennis rackets. Are you here alone?"

"No, I'm here with my friend, Mina," Lita replied. "So… tennis?"

"Yeah, it's a great game," he answered. "Hey, Mina's into sport, right?"

"She sure is," Lita nodded. "You work at the volleyball centre, right?"

"I sure do," he returned. "You both should join us for a match."

"I don't really play tennis," she admitted.

"No worries," he said, shaking his head. "We have spares."

"Sure, sounds fun," Lita smiled, turning back to the leggings.

"The key is a long shirt," he said.

She frowned, confusion passing her face.

"The leggings," he nodded at them, "buy them and try them and if you find they're as transparent as a window, just throw on a long shirt. No one will be none the wiser."

"See this a lot at the volleyball centre, do you?" she laughed.

"You wouldn't be surprised," he replied drily.

Mina appeared at their side, her eyes flicking between them.

"Hey, Neal!" she waved happily, a shoebox under her arm. "Have you got what you wanted?"

"Yep," Lita nodded, throwing the leggings over her arm. "Let's pay. The guys have invited us to join them for a tennis match."

"Oh, cool," Mina replied. "I'm up for that."

"Awesome," Neal grinned. "I'll meet you guys outside and grab Killian. It's getting late anyway, so we could grab some coffee or something."

"Sounds good," the girls chimed.

Later in the evening, the girls found themselves in the park with the guys, a take-out hot chocolate in their hands, and a decaf for Neal and Killian. It was odd, they mused, being out in the early evening as the sun was saying goodbye to the day. It almost felt a little intimate.

"So, how about Monday?" Neal asked the group. "Tennis match?"

"Monday's good with us," Lita replied, looking at Mina who nodded in agreement.

"Our maths test will be over so I'm up for a little tension release," Mina grinned.

"So, the study session at the library worked out then?" Killian asked.

"Well, the hope is I don't crash and burn," Mina said, laughing it off.

"That bad?" Killian wondered, taking a drink of his decaf.

"No, not at –" Mina started to replied, stopping as Neal made the oddest noise.

They turned around and saw him lying on the ground. Killian knelt down to check on him, then something threw him aside, knocking him against a tree. The girls looked at each other, startled. Mina ran over towards Neal, then something tripped her up and she fell to the ground, unable to stop herself with her hands, and she landed on her face with a crash.

"Mina!" Lita cried.

Then a looming, shadowy silhouette stepped forward out onto the pathway, and Lita felt a chill go through her body as its attention turned to her.