For the purpose of this story, I've changed most characters' eye colors and had fun playing around with their personalities. Please enjoy!
CHAPTER ONE
Her luggage bumped ungracefully over the cobblestone path in a way that made her want to scream at the heavily packed suitcase for its troublesome behavior. But she realized quickly enough that being caught talking to inanimate objects wouldn't make a very good first impression and she kept her childish complaints to herself.
Not like they won't hate me anyways, Maka thought bitterly, scowling at the two wheels on her single luggage as they got caught on another uneven stone. She sighed and tugged roughly on the handle again. It jerked up so quickly that she could barely maintain her balance when it ran over the back of her heel. Pressing her lips together, she suppressed a whimper and was completely glad that she had decided to wear her thick boots before flying into New York instead of the flip flops that were so comfortable on her feet back at her last home in Florida.
She hated moving. Having had to switch schools almost every year for the past fifteen years—and three-quarters, she always liked to remind herself—of her very busy life, Maka was sick of transferring across the country every time her dad found a new job.
Dad. Mom. She wanted to cry because she knew how different this move would be from any other, because this time—for the first time—her parents weren't going to be with her. They were never going to be with her ever again. She may have hated moving, but Maka knew that if it meant having her parents back at her side, she'd trade in her pass to a permanent residence any day.
"Keep it together, Albarn," she mumbled to herself, as she dragged her wheeled suitcase over another high planted rock. "No one is going to see you cry, not here, not anywhere." Dad always said I looked better when I was smiling.
Bump. CRASH.
Brushing off the back of her jeans and pulling on the handle of her suitcase again after tripping, Maka thought, What kind of crazy people use cobblestone nowadays anyway?
Finally, after the limo dropped her off at the front gate, the doorman clarified her ID, and she trudged up the ridiculously long road to the main house, Maka found herself standing in front of a grand, wooden door with a knocker in the shape of a star she thought she would only ever see in movies.
To be honest, she thought this place was way too luxurious to be true. With its tall, wrought-iron gates and fancy fountain in front, it seemed more like a house the president of the United States would live in than a group home for special kids with no place else to go.
Special. That's what her social worker had told her when the limo came to pick her up that morning—even before then, when the owner of this huge house had called to offer her a place in their confinement just after the funeral. They called it the Star house. It made Maka want to roll her eyes.
Without another thought, she ignored the knocker and rapped her knuckles on the wood twice.
It flung open.
Oh God. She paled and looked down as soon as she saw the large group waiting behind the door, letting her thick brown hair act as a shield. Many kids around her age, older and younger, were gathered around the large, Victorian-styled room with their gazes locked onto the prey which had just walked in.
A kind hand came down on her shoulder but Maka still refused to make eye contact with any of the watching residents.
"Hi," the girl by her arm greeted her. "My name's Tsubaki. You're Maka, right?"
"Nooo," another female voice drawled from the balcony that overlooked the entire room on the second floor, her voice dripping with sarcasm. There was the sound of shifting and a small, unrecognizable giggle from overhead. "She's someone else who just happens to be arriving on the same day we're only supposed to have one new kid. Seriously, Tsu, it's obvious who she is."
Tsubaki shot the girl a look. "I'm just making sure, Kim. You don't have to be so rude about it."
"It's my specialty," Kim returned, and though Maka didn't look up, she knew that the girl flipped her hair.
Instead of answering that, Tsubaki ignored her and smiled kindly at Maka. "Do you want me to show you to your room? I'm sure you'd probably want to put all your stuff away."
"Sure." She said it as though nothing was bothering her, but couldn't be sure if anyone bought it.
On her way out, she heard a voice whisper loudly, "How could she possibly fit all her stuff in one suitcase? My jeans alone would take up that much!"
At least they don't seem to know what happened, Maka thought with mock enthusiasm as she followed Tsubaki up the dark paneled staircases, picking up her apparently small case by its handle. They passed several other rooms and turned around so many corners that she was positive she would get lost if she ever tried to find the way herself. If she ever thought the house looked big on the outside, it was a freaking maze on the in.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to how big this place is after a while," Tsubaki said with a laugh, as if reading her thoughts. Maka looked up in puzzlement, but the girl was still walking ahead, her long black hair whipping behind her. "I was the same way when I first arrived," she explained.
"Oh," she breathed. "Thanks."
"Don't worry about it." Tsubaki turned another corner and stopped in front of a simple door at the end of the hallway. "Here we are! Your new room."
Maka trailed slightly behind her as she stepped through the polished doorway and gasped in surprise. The whole opposite wall was a window with thick, blue curtains pushed aside to reveal a beautiful view over the backyard. Since she came in through the gate and had to constantly watch her feet so she wouldn't fall on the uneven stones, she hadn't noticed that the mansion was directly in front of a forest.
"Wow!" Her stuff was automatically forgotten as she rushed up the glass with a bright smile and looked over the beautiful view.
"I'm glad you like it," Tsubaki laughed as she plopped down on the edge of the queen-sized bed, which had sheets to match the curtains and more decorative pillows to count. "When we heard you were coming, I picked out a room for you that looked over the back, just like mine. I was secretly hoping you wouldn't be an indoor girl like the others." She smiled. "I'm glad you're not."
For the first time since she arrived, Maka lifted her gaze to meet at eye level and her breath caught when she did. Tsubaki's straight hair was tied in a high ponytail, so black it almost reflected blue in the natural sunlight that poured through the large window. But even though she was probably about the prettiest girl Maka had ever seen, that wasn't the reason she turned away.
"Your eyes…"
She could feel Tsubaki stop. "You really don't know, do you?" she asked softly.
"Know what?" Maka forced herself to look up again.
Tsubaki shook her head. "Nothing. I know that my eyes are a strange color, but you'll soon realize that almost everyone in this house has them too. But despite what you hear, they aren't contacts."
"I know." She bit her lip. "I… My mom's eyes were the same color. Purple. Almost like amethyst, she used to say, and I knew they weren't contacts." Her mom did have colored contacts before, but they were brown. Just a natural brown, like Maka's own. She studied Tsubaki's wide eyes and saw the exact same shade her mother had. It made her throat tighten but she kept her will strong and tears contained, the promise she had made before she arrived repeating itself in her head.
"I'm so sorry about your parents, Maka."
She had heard that phrase uttered so many times in the past week, saw so much pity in people's eyes whenever they looked at her. But for some reason, she could tell that Tsubaki only held sympathy in her tone. She was truly sorry, so that was why Maka found it safe to say, "It's all right."
-x-
Almost an hour later, Maka and Tsubaki were rushing down the stairs at the sound of a bell ringing. The duo had gotten all of her things unpacked (though there wasn't really much to put away) and had a bit of time to get acquainted. It was easy to like Tsubaki—she was kind and understanding, and seemed to know what it felt like to be new in this so-called foster home.
Tsubaki had explained that it was the dinner bell. When the chefs—yes, it took a while for Maka to get used to the fact that they had servants of all sorts—were finished cooking, they would ring the bell for the meal. Everyone ate around one large table.
Everyone. Maka shivered at the thought of having all eyes on her once again, but reassured herself with the thought that she wouldn't be alone this time. Still, when all eyes in the grand room turned to her as soon as she walked through the door, it took all she had to keep her from running away.
Tsubaki made a small noise under her breath that sounded half like she was clearing her throat. But whatever it was, most of the heads turned back to whatever they had doing before they walked in. Most, but not all.
"Thanks," Maka whispered again for probably the millionth time, but Tsubaki just smiled back and led them to a few empty seats near the end of the table.
"Tsu!" a girl with blond hair squealed as soon as they reached a few unoccupied seats. Then she turned her vibrant green eyes onto Maka, who fought the urge to squint. They seemed to have swirls of darker and lighter green in them, but it was hard to tell. "Maka, am I right? Welcome to the Star house!"
Maka almost stepped back when the strange green-eyed girl hugged her. Instead, she shot Tsubaki a questioning look.
Laughing, Tsubaki dropped down into an empty chair and as soon as she was released, gestured for Maka to take the seat beside her. "That's Patty. She's very… affectionate?"
The girl—Patty—wacked Tsubaki on the arm, but she was grinning. "Hey, don't scare the new girl away from me! You may have been chosen to watch out for her by Az, but that doesn't mean it's fair to keep her away from everyone else." She turned to Maka. "Azazel is the owner of this place."
"A very, very hot owner," another girl piped up with a wicked grin. "I'm Patty's twin sister, Elizabeth." Her pale periwinkle eyes seemed to be as calculating and calm as her posture was arrogant. "Call me Liz."
"Will do," Maka said with a mock salute. The other three snickered.
"It's really nice to have you here," Patty told her with a sincerity she couldn't help but trust. "We don't get very many new people here as often, and especially if they're around our age."
Maka had worked hard to pretend that she wasn't uncomfortable or shy around these people all day, but their kindness seemed to make the confidence in her voice stand out naturally; surprisingly. "How old are you, anyways?"
"The three of us are in the same grade as you, actually," Tsubaki said, turning in her chair to smile at her. "Juniors."
"Really?" It was pretty hard to believe—they seemed so much more mature than she was.
"Yup," Patty replied. "Well, except for the fact that we're already sixteen."
Maka noticed the exchanged knowing looks that passed between them and knew she was missing something. Probably an inside joke. It's not like she didn't expect there to be some kind of secret communication between the twenty kids who lived in the mansion, so she decided to dismiss it.
"That's what sucks about being born in December and skipping the cutoff date," she said conversationally. "You're the youngest in the group."
"I think you're lucky," Liz asserted with a longing sigh. "What I wouldn't give to have my youth back."
"You're only a few months older than I am," Maka reminded her.
"But I was born in January! Practically a year! And in that year, nothing is ever the same." She let out another dramatic sigh.
Maka laughed. "Okay then, Miss Congeniality."
Liz grinned. "Touché."
A loud bang erupted from the far side of the table, and Maka's head whipped around to stare. Two older girls caught her gaze and grinned, waving their perfectly manicured fingers at her. Maka was thinking to wave back when a bright spark formed at the tips of their fingers, glittering bright pink. For a moment she thought it was some weird, trick of the light, but the taller girl jerked her wrist and the word 'HEY' was spelled out in the same sparkling light. Maka's eyes widened as the two girls giggled, turning to face her friends again when Patty cleared her throat.
"So, excited for school tomorrow?" Patty inquired, leaning across the table.
"School?" Maka echoed, then understanding hit her. "Ugh, I forgot. I'm going to a new school tomorrow—just great. New city, new house, new kids, and now I'm starting mid-semester too. Where is it anyway?"
"Shibusen Prep. It's located a couple miles west from our beau-tiful home, and you'll love it, I promise." Patty tapped a finger on her lips. "Then again, if you don't know how to do university math in eleventh grade, then you're most likely screwed."
"That's reassuring," Maka said sarcastically.
Tsubaki gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Shibusen's curriculum is just a little more challenging than most, but otherwise, we have fun. And you're lucky you arrived only two weeks into September—I remember Liz and Patty came in late April two years ago—barely had time to catch up before finals."
Pulling her knees up so they were cross-legged on the leather cushioned chair, Liz let out a sound that sounded half like sighing and half like snorting as she rolled her pale eyes. "It was absolute torture. I've never been one to study hard, and it took more than my fair share of all-nighters to not fail calculus. In grade nine. They had grade nine calculus."
"I thought you were supposed to learn that in grade twelve," Maka imputed warily. Liz gave her a look that could only be translated to you are.
"But at Shibusen," Patty mimicked, "we 'excel in our academics and exceed all expectations.'"
"She's quoting page three of the student handbook," Tsubaki explained. "And one of our very many school quotes."
"You guys make it sound like a laboring prison," Maka observed.
The three girls grinned. "It is."
Maka tried not to think about how horrible the first day of school could possibly go. It was true that she had been the new kid probably more times than anyone else, but she still wasn't exactly used to all the attention. Luckily, she hadn't encountered a single school that had rabid popular girls that picked on the newbies—although there was a large helping of girls who thought they were popular. But then again, it might've also had to do with the fact that she had always tried to keep a low profile.
Her mom was constantly worried that moving so much was butting into her social life, no matter how many times Maka assured her otherwise. Truth was, fitting in never was a particular goal of hers. She just wanted to get in and get out with as little attention as possible.
It wasn't like she didn't have any school friends, because she did. They just weren't exactly the type who stuck around. Maka was more of the quiet type and didn't like the gossiping sleepovers and loud parties. Some might peg her as somewhat of a lonely girl, but she didn't mind. She'd rather curl up with a book at home than party 'til dawn any day.
That reminded her—she would need to take a trip to the bookstore soon. Every single collectible from her old collection was already long gone. Only ashes remained.
She sighed.
"Oh, lookie here! The new girl's making friends!" Out of all four girls, only one turned at the sound of the male voice. Now that she thought about it, Maka hadn't seen a single boy in the entire house ever since she arrived (well, not like she'd really been looking, but still). This one was the first.
As soon as Patty heard the obviously familiar laugh, she rolled her eyes and checked her nails like she was annoyed. "What do you want, Hiro?"
The boy grinned and was suddenly right behind them. The bright chandelier than hung overhead seemed to bring out the bright spots in his dark, honey-colored eyes. "Just wanted to say hi," he said, leaning against the back of Maka's chair in a way she had seen countless times on TV. "How's your first day?"
She shrugged and turned away, abruptly bored. "Fine."
"Kitten means 'fine until you got here,'" Patty hinted, which caused Maka to curve a brow at the nickname and Hiro to put a hand over his heart in mock-hurt.
"That's not very nice, Patty!"
Liz didn't even spare him a glance as she said nonchalantly, "Just go away, Hiro. We don't feel like tolerating you today."
"Hey, hey," Maka said automatically, putting her hands up as if to ease the tension out of the air. She wasn't a fan of fights, and this was quickly moving out of her comfort zone. "No need to be mean."
"See? The new girl wants me here!"
Her eyes narrowed at his boast. "I didn't say that either."
Tsubaki waved her arm at the boy whose playful attitude had just turned annoying. "Hiro, just give her a day, alright? It's just time for her to get to know the girls."
"Whatever." He shrugged and as quickly as he came, he was gone.
Maka observed the girls in front of her with a questioning look. "What was that about? Is there something about him I'm just not getting?"
"Lots." Patty's face turned into a small frown as she turned to watch the boy who was now on the other side of the room, talking to a bunch of girls. "Hiro's not just your average guy—he's a total ass and we just don't like him."
"What she means is," Liz put in quickly, "he's not someone that's good to be involved with. Trust us on this, Maka. He's not all he claims to be."
Maka shrugged and looked over her shoulder at the rest of the room's habitants. Including herself, she counted exactly twenty teens around the long table, the oldest no more than nineteen, and the youngest no smaller than thirteen. Only four she had seen were male. All of the older ones had irises of colors that she had probably never seen before, and she couldn't help but feel like Plain Jane with her own dark brown orbs.
Kim was sitting on the end of the table next to a girl with eyes so yellow they reminded her of a cat. Suddenly, as if feeling her gaze, Kim's head snapped up and met with hers. Maka could see for the first time that the girl's eyes were a deep reflective black unlike anything she'd ever seen before, and they seemed to brim with an irate confidence as she mouthed 'loser' and turned away. Maka frowned and looked back to give her waiting friends their answer.
"I don't think it's fair to judge someone just by what other people say," she said decidedly. "I'll see for myself, if that's okay."
Tsubaki smiled. "That's perfect."
"Quiet!" a voice boomed from the head of the table and all heads swirled immediately to stare at the boy who had commanded their attention. Maka blinked as soon as she saw him—he definitely hadn't been there before when she did a room scan. He reminded her of those perfect storybook princes. Perfect hair, golden eyes with a deep intensity that was almost alluring, and a posture that spelled out that he knew exactly what he was doing.
From the other side of the table, Kim rolled her red eyes. "What is it, Kid? We should wait for Az before we start dinner."
"Azazel isn't going to be able to be here today," Kid responded calmly. "He told me to send you the message to eat without him."
Kim was suddenly on her feet and a look of incredulity was plastered across her face. "But why would he tell you?" she protested. "You are by far not his favorite, and if anything, he should've come to me."
"Like he'd put our safety in the hands of you," Hiro snorted. "Seriously, Kim, even Az won't condemn us under your jurisdiction. I would've thought he'd go to Tsu first, if anything."
Her expression was scathing. "And what exactly do you know?"
"More than—"
"Kid!" Tsubaki cut in.
Kid nodded at Tsubaki before running his golden eyes over the room in one swift movement. His tone was soft yet commanding in a way a natural born leader would provide as he said, "Azazel has his reasons, and we obey. Just eat and I'm sure you'll have enough time to question him later."
Maka was sure she would've missed it if she had blinked, but she hadn't, so the brief flash that came with Kim's furious exit out of the room still rang in the back of her eyelids. The cat-eyed girl pouted at Kid before running after her friend. Nobody else moved.
"Um, what's for dinner?" Maka asked the girls beside her as casually as she could manage.
Tsubaki was the first to tear her eyes away from the door. "Steak today, I think," she said thoughtfully. "Our chef is an absolutely amazing cook, and he never fails to keep my stomach satisfied."
"I second that," Liz put in.
"Sid is the best," Patty agreed dreamily which earned a snort from somewhere around the room. "His chicken burgers are absolutely to die for."
"Oh, but, um," Maka interjected, almost embarrassedly, "I'm a vegetarian."
If there was anyone who wasn't watching her before, now she was sure all eyes were looking at the same prey. Perfect, she thought sardonically. Now I'm even more of a freak show elephant like Dumbo. There could've been at least one other vegetarian in the house, but of course I'm the only pickle.
"Wait a second, you're a veggie-eater?" one girl asked, wrinkling her nose.
Even Hiro was looking at her like she was an alien. "Seriously? How can you stand not eating meat at all? What kind of person can do that?"
"Hey, it's not a crime or anything," Maka muttered with mild annoyance. Have they really never seen a person who didn't eat the same things they did?
"I think it's great," Kid said. Though she should've been grateful to the boy who took all the attention off of her, Maka couldn't help her head snapping up to stare at Kid with as much incredulity as everyone else.
"You do?"
Kid merely smiled back. "Of course. I've always wanted to try abstaining from meat, but I've never had the self-control to stay away from any of Sid's meals. It's a lot harder than it looks like."
"Tell me about it," she said with a roll of her eyes. She remembered her father attempting to adjust his diet to fit hers once, and failing miserably after only five hours—the apparently long amount of time away from his favorite foods caused the man to go on an all out binge on burgers just after. Maka almost laughed at the memory.
Then she remembered that her father along with all the crazy moments they shared together was gone and she found herself holding back tears instead of a laugh.
Tsubaki seemed to notice she was recalling past events because she put her hand reassuringly on Maka's shoulder. Maka smiled weakly in return.
"I'll go check with Sid to add some meat-free entrées to the menu," Kid attested, already out of his chair and heading to the door that connected the grand room to the kitchen.
"No!" Maka shook her head and ignored the already familiar stares she earned from her outburst. "It's okay," she told him. "I don't want him to have to cook just for me. Everyone's probably already hungry, and it's not fair if I delay dinner any longer."
"It's—" Kid started, but Maka cut him off.
"Don't worry about it; I'm totally fine." She edged towards the door, ducking under Tsubaki's hand. "I ate before I came anyways. My stomach's still full."
He seemed to ponder it before he sighed, "Well, I guess if you're not hungry, we can't force you to eat. But I promise we'll have something prepared for you tomorrow—"
"Thanks!" she quipped and slid quickly out of the room. She tried to keep her feet light against the hardwood floors, but also being in a hurry, it wasn't exactly successful. Maka pushed the worried looks the girls had given her out of her head as she rushed past more doors. She hoped she could come up with a reason for running out so fast before they came to check on her later. Truthfully, she wasn't sure herself why she was so eager to leave. All she knew was that she had to get out of there.
Oh great. Maka stopped looked around, realizing she had no idea where her room was. Frowning slightly at her feet for carrying her in the wrong direction, she started to backtrack on her trail, trusting her gut that this somewhat recognizable hall wasn't the right one.
"She's different."
Maka froze at the sound of the familiar voice that came from through the door to her right. She stayed absolutely still and prayed to God that she wouldn't be heard.
"I can tell, Jacqueline," Kim's voice continued to say. "Her energy is different. Her control. Her levels. And she's obviously strong, if Az chose her."
"Az has been wrong before," an abnormally high voice tried to soothe.
"No," she snapped, "he hasn't. He's chosen unwilling participants before, but never anyone who was less than noteworthy."
"Kim, just try to think this through. She's not the only new girl. Why do you think she's any more special than anyone else? She doesn't even know!"
Maka's eyes widened and she scanned the hallway for anyone else. It was empty. She held her breath and lifted her foot to take a step.
"I know she's about as clueless as a brat," Kim said and Maka silently scowled. It was obvious they were talking about her, but they didn't have to be so rude about it. She took another step. "—but maybe that could work to her advantage too. I mean—"
With a few more strides, Maka was around the corner and bolted into a light run. She didn't care if anyone heard her anymore; she just wanted to go back to her room and pretend she hadn't heard a thing.
She hated eavesdroppers.
A floor below her, she could hear a loud conversations taking place followed by the sound of a boom and a crash. Maka tried not to think about what it was as she threaded through the maze with only a faint path drawn in her mind. All the doors looked way too much alike.
"What do you mean we can't—!" There was another deep grumble below her and she heard a chorus of "shut up" from the dining room, but Maka barely registered why the house seemed to shake as she rushed into the surprisingly comforting design of her new bedroom.
Burying her head deep into her pillow, Maka wondered how the heck she got herself involved in such a mess.