School is starting up again, so posting will be slow, but it will be happening. I am determined to work on these and get them out here. So stay tuned and please be patient! Thank you!


"Again."

The voice was sharp and a little distorted as it issued the order. Serena felt a strong compulsion to follow it. Though she didn't want to, she did. She saw her arm lift up and glow blue before something across the room from her went flying. Though she felt empowered by being able to do so, she couldn't help but mourn something. Why is she doing this? What...was... her purpose?

Serena wakes up in a cold sweat, head pounding and scars tingling. She's hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few months, but there's nothing she can really do to make it better. Her dreams are like strange scenes pulled from movies her parents forbid her from watching until she's older. Next to her, Ty stirs from his deep sleep and pops up from beneath the blanket to nuzzle closer to her.

"I hate these dreams," she whispers to him, scooting further underneath the covers. His body radiates comforting warmth as she wraps her arms around him and curls her body around his smaller frame. He nuzzles his head on her chest and exhales, blowing warm air onto her neck. "I'm glad you're here."

OoOoOoO

Serena spits up some dirt and holds back tears as the boys above her snicker at her fallen body. She had been heading towards the inner courtyard at school when she had been shoved from behind. The grass was soft enough to lessen the blow, but, of course, there had been a dirt patch right below her. It sprayed up in her face as she smacked the ground.

The taste of gravel makes her stomach churn, and she has to reign in her anger. It flares up in her stomach like a roaring fire. She believes she can spit fire in this moment and wants to try so badly.

"You don't belong here. You and your family are just a disgrace to us here," one of the younger boys sneers at her.

Don't speak to them, ignore them. She chants this to herself as she gets up and dusts off her clothes. She spits dirt from her mouth and takes a breath before continuing her journey inside.

She doesn't make it far. A hand grabs her bag and jerks her backwards.

"Hey!" she shouts, whipping around and pulling herself away from the boy that grabbed her.

"What're you goin' to do about it?" he challenges her.

She knows this boy, what was his name? Owen? Brandon? No, it's Aiden. From a family that has been around here as long as her own. His trademark blonde hair is greased back, giving him a snobby look, and his sneer is worthy of an award. He's been bugging her since Lance left his side.

"Leave me alone," she growls at him before spinning around.

"Not so fast," he reaches out again. This time he shoves her forward, and she hits the ground again.

Serena's anger flares, and she feels the bubble of energy rising up within her. She relishes in the idea of sending Aiden flying across the courtyard. The fear that would be on his and the others' faces makes her consider it. But as she hits the ground, it squashes her anger. The fall is like a bucket of water, and the smoke is her anguish.

"That's enough!" a voice calls out.

Fighting back tears, Serena glances up to see Lance heading their way. His light brown eyes looking furious as he crosses the grass to her side. He's gentle when helping her up and dusting off her clothes. His grip is soothing on her wrist as he turns to the others.

"Don't touch Serena. If you do, I will let Mrs. Lockwood know that you cheated on her last test," Lance threatens him in a tight voice and then smirks at him. "And you thought her class was too easy."

"She's below us!" someone else bellows.

"Not from where I'm standing!" Lance shouts back. "Ganging up on one girl? Pushing her down and calling her names? Weak. Let's go, Rena."

Without another glance back, Lance takes her into the school all the way to a handwashing station. A metal structure sits in the middle of the entrances to the bathrooms. It's round with petals to activate a small stream of water around the top of the structure. It's for the younger kids to wash their hands before they eat their snacks and the big rush of classes going to the bathroom. On the walls are mirrors sitting low enough for the kids to look at themselves.

Serena sniffles as he grabs paper towels and dabs them in water. He cleans up her things as she cleans up her clothes and then her face.

"Don't worry about them," he mutters, brushing off the last bits of dirt from inside her bag. "They're not cool or anything."

"I-I know," Serena's voice cracks. Her hands can't stop shaking as she swipes at a dirt stain on her new shirt with vigor. It's long since set in and won't come out no matter how much water she uses. "I wanna go home."
"You can't!" Lance turns to her and crosses the small space between them. His hands come to rest on her shoulders, his light brown eyes holding hers. "You can't let them win. You're not alone."

"But Lance, look," she gestures to her shirt. "Now everyone will know, and they'll all laugh at me."

"No, they won't," he shakes his head and turns back towards his bag sitting next to hers. He rummages through it before tossing something red at her.

She catches it and holds it out. "Your sweater?"

"Yeah, wear it today. Then no one will know." Serena looks up at him, her dark blue eyes filling with tears once more. Lance holds up a finger. "No more tears. Now put the sweater on!"

She swipes at her tears and slips on the sweater. It droops on her smaller frame, but makes her look comfy and not out of the ordinary. Lance's smell drifts into her nose, filling it with a sweet, comforting scent. It instills confidence in her, he will be there to protect her even if he's not in the room. Just as promised.

"Thank you."

XxXxXxX

"Take one last deep breath," Rowan instructs Serena in a smooth tone.

In the depths of her mind, Serena clings to her mother's voice. She hates meditating and being sucked into the depths of her mind like this. There's no doubt that it helps her keep control. But every time, she gets sucked into the same emotions, the same feeling she had when she was away. It makes her sweaty, shaky, and sad.

Sad because most of all, it brings her back to the blank memories she cannot find. She feels empty, like there's a void in her mind.

She does as her mother says and inhales, filling her lungs and pushing out the same amount of air.

"How do you feel?" Rowan greets her daughter as she opens her eyes.

"Calm," Serena replies. But she's lying, she feels like she's been dragged through tar and mud. Her scars burn, and she can feel the blood pulsing through them. Her head is aching and she feels the faint sense that something was watching her meditate. She shifts on her pillow cushions, wishing they had picked a dimmer place to meditate aside from the sunroom. But her mother said it is best to be in a bright place where you feel warm and comfortable.

"What about your back?" Rowan tilts her head.

Serena lifts her shoulders, "The same."

"I'll go get a cool rag," her mother gets to her feet and scurries out of the room.

This leaves Serena to endure another never ending silence. Her heart beats in her ear, a moderate paced rhythm as if she were taking a light jog through town. Dressed in sweats and an oversized shirt of her father's, Serena pulls the back of the shirt up to expose the wounded flesh to the cool air. Shivers run down her back as the heated skin touches the outside air. She releases a contented sigh in the silence.

"Here you go," Rowan's voice swims through the warm air.

It's soon accompanied by the sudden cold touch of the rag she has brought back. Serena lets out a disgruntled noise as the cold is both comforting and irritating. Her mother half smiles and spreads the clean wash rag out over the upper half of her back. It brings soothing warmth and washes away the pain and nagging thoughts in her head.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby?"

"When am I going to be safe?"

"What do you mean?" Rowan moves the rag towards her lower back.

"I want to hang out with Clair and Lance without being scared," Serena admits, turning her head to gaze at her mother. "When am I going to be able to do that?"

Rowan stays silent for a moment. Her blue gray eyes focused on Serena's back as she works with the gentlest touches. Serena shivers at the cold now that her scars have calmed down and at the fragility of the conversation. Her mother releases a calming breath and moves to sit in front of Serena.

"You can't be scared of what you can do," she advises. "It can control you that way and you'll never be 'safe'. You have a great handle on your powers Serena. Back in that classroom, you were scared, and it happened unexpectedly. But now, you practice hard, and keep calm when you feel yourself losing control. You are safe."

"How can you be sure?" Serena challenges. The mere thought of hurting her new friends tears at her heart. She couldn't handle moving again, she wouldn't know what to do with herself at that point.

"It's been about a month and you haven't lost control," Rowan beams at her daughter. "You've been through a rollercoaster of emotions at school and nothing has happened. So the real question is, when are you ready to hang out with Lance and Clair outside of school?"

Serena's mouth opens to counter the question, but then pops it shut in consideration. She supposes her mother is right. At school, she has time to play with them at recess and do group projects with Clair in class. But aside from that, she never sees them. She only knows their school lives and personalities. Aside from that one day, she hasn't spent much time around them casually.

Would hanging out with them at home be that much of a difference? She doesn't know, but has enough confidence in her parents that it wouldn't be.

"I'm ready now."

XxXxXxX

"You don't look so good," Clair comments, putting away her notebook.

They have been dismissed for lunch and all the kids are scrambling to get to food. Serena yawns and shrugs her shoulders. "I didn't sleep well last night."

"What were you doing?" the blue haired girl responds.

"Just some bad dreams," Serena mumbles reaching over for her lunch box.

"About what?" Clair waits for her in front of her desk, clutching her own lunch box.

"I don't know," Serena answers. It's the truth.

"Hmm, maybe if you started writing down your dreams, you'll remember them better?" Clair suggests as the two match strides across the room.

"How can I write down nothing?" Serena retorts.

"It can't just be nothing, was it dark?"

"Yes."

"Then write that," she straightens her back, nodding once and sharp at Serena.

"That doesn't seem like it would help," Serena mutters under her breath, ducking her head and following the blue haired girl.

They round the corner on the way to the lunchroom only to stop when a tall figure stands in their way. Both glance up and Serena grins at her mother. Before moving, Serena used to be dismayed when her mother walked the school halls. Mostly because Rowan often corrected her teachers and that caused them to dislike her. Other times it was because she would be showered with affection in front of her old friends. Not that she was super close with any of them, they had common interests, but she always felt that receiving that affection would make things weird.

Now, she's overjoyed to see her mother. One of the few people who doesn't ignore her or downright disrespect her in this school.

"Hi, Mom," she greets.

"Hello, Rena. Hi, Clair," she waves at the other girl.

"Hello, Mrs. Lockwood," Clair salutes her.

"Heading to lunch?" Rowan tries not to grimace at the greeting. Since the beginning, Clair has insisted on greeting her like that. Whether it's because she's a teacher or not, they're not sure. But it seems that Clair likes Rowan and it could just be as simple as that.

"Yes," Serena raises a brow and the box in her hand.

"Ah, yes," Rowan chuckles. She then lifts her head to regard Clair. "I just talked with your parents, it seems that your family will be over for dinner later. Would you like to come over after school? Your parents will be busy at work and asked if we could watch you."

"Do I get a choice?" Clair grins. "I want to come over!"

Serena's heart leaps at the joy in Clair's voice, her heart leaps at the excitement she feels at having those two in her home.

"That's it then, I'll see you two later." Rowan beams as she turns back towards her own classroom.

As soon as she's gone, the two girls glance at each other and let out quiet squeals of excitement. Their footsteps rush through the halls as they make a mad dash to the lunchroom. The day can only get better from there.

OoOoOoO

"Your house is nice," Clair comments as the girls drop their bags off at the foot of Serena's bed.

"Thanks," Serena exhales, turning around to sit on her bed. "What does your house look like?"

"The same," she shrugs, taking a seat next to Serena. "My room is shaped different, though."

"Oh."

The silence settles in as Serena tries to figure out what to do. She doesn't do much on her own besides read and play with Ty. But she has to somehow incorporate Clair into her activities now. She has no idea what Clair likes to do on her own time. She should have figured this out a while ago.

"So, uh, what do you want to do?" Serena broaches the subject. Her fingers tap out a chaotic rhythm on her legs.

"Can we go outside?" Clair tilts her head.

Serena doesn't want to go outside, but at least it's a nice, warm day. "Sure."

Out in the warmth of their gated backyard, Serena finds little comfort being exposed to the town. Sure, they can't see her behind her house, but she has a strange feeling that she's being scrutinized by the neighbors. Their backyard is fenced in with short stone walls below black metal fencing. Being close to the mountains, the ground is uneven. This allows for Serena and her father to hold strategic water gun fights as well as practice battles for Ty as he trains with her father on a weekly basis.

"Whoa..." Clair whispers as Aaron's Salamence slumbers nearby.

His massive body is sprawled across a large dirt patch he probably dug up, his red wings are curled in, and his tail is wrapped around his round body. His head is hidden, tucked beneath his wings, making him look like a large, strange egg. Nearby, Aaron drags out a grill and waves to the two.

"Is this his?" Clair points at Salamence, then at Aaron.

"Yes, he's a big lug," Serena repeats the words her father does most often.

"Lug?"

"He's lazy."

Clair nods in understanding and approaches the large pokemon with caution. Her steps are noisy as she doesn't want to sneak up and startle it. The dragon could attack if she approached quietly enough. Salamence may be well trained by Aaron, but pure instinct is hard to break.

"Salamence, wake up," Aaron speaks the words, and the pokemon stirs from his sleep.

The two girls watch the pokemon spread his wings and lift his head to let out a tired yawn. A small spout of fire erupts from his mouth like a burp. He shakes his head and turns to his trainer. The two share a greeting before the dragon type turns his attention to the two young girls a few feet away. He greets Serena with a gentle growl in her direction. She grins back and gestures to her friend.

"My friend, Clair."

Salamence narrows his eyes and approaches the newcomer as if she were prey. Nostrils flared and wings tensed out behind him, Salamence lowers his large head to sniff at Clair. She giggles and allows the pokemon to inspect her, turning this way and that to help him familiarize with her. Serena watches with fascination. Most of her old friends were terrified of her father's choice in pokemon.

Many students are fearful of dragon types because they're still so new. Not many people have done research on them, and a few who have, died. Serena's been told it is because those people were not cautious and dove into something without thinking of basic precaution. Dragon types are dangerous, they're volatile and even after they've been trained, are known to resort to instincts to protect what is theirs.

However, once a dragon type has gained the trust of its trainer and is deemed worthy of it, they will never go back on an order.

Serena knows she can trust Salamence because he trusts her father so much. He would never put him in danger.

"My dad says it's rare to see a Salamence in Johto," Clair mutters holding out a hand to the pokemon. "Did your dad go somewhere?"

"He spent a lot of time traveling to far away regions," Serena answers.

Clair manages to pet Salamence's bumpy scales and utters a happy giggle about it. The pokemon rolls onto his side, allowing the two to scratch and rub his soft tummy. He purrs in content, his stomach warming up like a heating blanket. The two sprawl their bodies across his stomach, their heads pressed to his soft skin to hear his heartbeat. Salamence closes his wings around them and peeks his head inside.

Their giggles are heard as the pokemon sniffs their hair and flicks his tongue out at them. Aaron watches with a smile as Salamence spreads his wings in an alternating pattern pretending to hide them from him. The girls roll around in the grass, playing tag with each other and climbing all over Salamence.

Dirt flies, bits of grass wrenched from the ground as the two forget about the world and just play. Serena grins, watching as Clair acts out a scene from a book they read in class. The story about a knight that befriends the dragon instead of killing it. It's a twist on the book, but one the girls took to immediately. Serena joins in pretending to be a rival knight and the two try desperately to get Salamence to side with each other. In the end the two pick their own friendship over the lazy dragon's.

"Time to clean up, girls!" Aaron calls to them from the patio door.

"Race ya!" Clair shoves Serena over.

The brunette hits the ground with a light thump, she pauses before getting up and laughing. She chases after Clair, her face alight with happiness. A sudden wind sweeps her hair out of her face and along with it comes a touch of... something.

All her hearing disappears for a moment and Serena stops running to fall to her knees. The world goes to black for a quick second before her senses crash down on her like a wave. She takes a deep breath, her father's face filling her vision, his dark eyes deep with worry and his brows knit together. His hands are on her sides pulling her up into his strong grasp.

"I-I'm fine!" she breathes, pushing on his arms with a strong grip. "I-I got up too soon."

"Are you sure?" Aaron holds her close, his eyes roaming her face for a sign of injury.

She swallows a lump in her throat, another lie to add to the countless ones she's told her parents since her return. It has ruined her and in turn ruined her relationship between her and her parents. She desperately wants to tell them the thoughts dancing at the edge of her mind, the dreams she's been having, but that would mean therapy again. That would mean isolation. Gazing into her father's face, she nods. "I'm fine."

He holds her for a moment longer before finally releasing her and escorting the two inside.

Clair grabs Serena's hand as they head to the upstairs bathroom. Her blue eyes are large and shiny when Serena glances back at her. "Did I push you too hard?"

"No, it wasn't you," Serena tugs on Clair's arm, bumping their bodies together. "You're fine. I'm fine. We're fine."

The two giggle and wrestle into the bathroom.

Downstairs, Serena's heart clenches at the sound of grown up voices speaking amongst each other. She licks her lips and doesn't dare glance over the balcony to see who is down in the great room. Wesley, for sure, is down there, but she hasn't met Clair's parents nor Lance's mother. Would they like her? Do they know?

"Are you scared?" Clair questions from the top of the stairs. "They're my family and they will like you."

"I know, I just..." Serena bites her lip, but then smiles. "Okay. I'm ready."
Clair holds out her hand for her and Serena takes it with little hesitation. The two head downstairs, both dressed still in their dirty clothes but without a care in the world. At the bottom of the steps, Lance is the first to greet them. His lanky body towering over the two of them. He's dressed in regular blue jeans and a dark t shirt. His red hair has been brushed back to look neat and tidy. He grins at the two of them.

"Come meet my mom," he reaches for Serena, but she's jerked back by Clair.

"No. I was here first so she gets to meet my family first!" she dictates, dragging Serena past the frowning boy.

Serena shrugs at Lance but gives him a thumbs up to promise that she will meet his mother. Clair drags Serena past the Lockwoods and straight to a couple, her own parents.

"My turn," Lance stands behind the two, glaring at Clair.

"Yeah, yeah," Clair hands off Serena to him. He doesn't take her hand, but her wrist and pulls her to the kitchen where her mother is.

The delicious aroma of fresh cooked meat, vegetables and a dinner rolls splashes Serena in the face as the two enter the kitchen area. Past the round bar sits an island where the two women are talking. Serena's mother, dressed in slacks and a casual shirt, her long hair has been tied back into a ponytail. She makes her outfit look more appropriate for a work dinner party with the way she holds her head high and her shoulders back. Her mouth is set in a smile and she looks happy to Serena. Happier than she's been since they've moved in.

Talking with her is a woman with red hair falling like a waterfall to her mid back. She is beautiful to Serena, with a kind smile, a small nose and round, earthy eyes. She's dressed in a navy blue shirt and black pants. She is also enjoying their conversation and Serena watches this woman reach out to Rowan as if they were good friends.

"Mom. Meet Serena," Lance comes up to the two. He pulls Serena forward for his mother to see.

"Hello, Serena," she beams at her. Her voice is smooth, but strong as if ready to give a command at any moment.

Suddenly shy, Serena reaches out her hand and speaks in a small voice. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm Kaida," Kaida's hand envelopes hers in a warm grip. "You and Clair do a nice job keeping my son out of trouble."

Serena giggles at her wink. "Yeah, he's pretty bad."

"Am not!" he pouts, but it melts away at his mother's giggle and pat on the head.

"No. The three of you are good kids," she comments in a distant tone.

The back of Serena's mind begins to itch and she beats down the urge to look into her mind and see what she means. Sometimes people's thoughts attract her mind and make it too tempting to peek. So far, she's done good in keeping out, but with Kaida's tone of voice and how secretive the adults are being, the urge is strong.

Ding!

"Dinner's ready!" Rowan exclaims, pulling everyone from their conversations.

Serena and Lance rush to the dining room to grab a seat next to Clair. Their families join them, all of them laughing and talking about old memories. The golden glow from the lights above them and the hot food set in front of them envelops Serena in a kind of moment. She glances around the table, her chest feeling light and her worries a dull roar as these people smile at her, care about her and love her. For this moment, she feels like nothing can get to her and that she can overcome whatever is thrown at her.