Naia's POV

When Monday finally rolled around, I dreaded going to school. Part of me would punch Olivia in the face again so I'd be suspended again but I knew better than that.

Though it was a good plan.

"Don't forget," Gabby reminded me as we approached the front gates.

I stopped and turned around to face her and Matt, a smile on my face. "Let me guess? Walk to the firehouse after school?" I asked, still smiling.

Matt chuckled, "You got it Munchkin."

"Have a good day, stay out of trouble," Gabby told me, giving me my usual morning hug. When she let go, Matt ruffled my hair, making me scowl at him.

"No punching anyone in the face," Matt joked and my scowl turned into a grin.

I laughed, "I promise."

Giving them a quick wave, I then turned around and headed inside the building.

I could hear the whispers as I walked down the halls towards my locker. I knew people were talking about me. About how I had punched Olivia in the face. How I was suspended. Doing my best to ignore them, I unlocked my locker and shoved my backpack in it before scrolling my finger down the schedule I had taped to the locker door, trying to figure out what I had first today.

"Hey,"

I looked up to see Nate awkwardly standing there. He had all his stuff ready for the day and was waiting for me.

"Hey," I smiled at him before resuming getting myself ready for today. When I had gathered all my textbooks together, I turned around to face Nate.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I should have listened to you, you were right," I apologized. "This whole thing could have been avoided."

Nate grinned, "I won't say I wasn't right but I mean, that was a pretty good punch. Olivia had it coming."

I shook my head but chuckled. "Yeah, well, she's not worth the two-day suspension."

"You sure?" Nate joked and I laughed.

"Did I miss anything important?" I asked, changing the subject. "I got a ton of homework but any pop quizzes or anything like that?"

Nate shook his head, "No, thank god."

I laughed, "Yeah, I do not feel like writing a quiz today."

Nate raised an eyebrow, "When do you feel like writing a quiz?"

"Never,"

"There's our girl!" Herrmann greeted me as usual as I walked into the firehouse.

"Did you punch anybody today?" Shay asked me.

I shook my head, "No, not today." I went over to an empty spot at the table and plopped my backpack down. As I pulled out all of my homework, a pink flyer fell out and onto the floor. Since Shay was walking by, she picked it up and read it out loud.

"Valentine's Day Dance. Wednesday, February 14, at 7:00 PM in Hill Crest's gymnasium," Shay read and then winked at me. "Who are you going with?"

I snorted, "I don't even plan on going."

"What!" Stella exclaimed, "You have to go!"

"Um, well, no actually, it's not mandatory," I answered, confused why Stella would think the Valentine's Day Dance was a must go.

Shay laughed and handed me the flyer, "What Stella means is that you're twelve and that you should go."

"What do those two things have to do with each other?" I asked Shay as I stuffed the pink paper into my backpack.

"Oooh, what about that Nate guy?" Sylvie questioned.

I looked over at Sylvie, "What about him?"

"Go to the dance with him!" Shay said as if it was obvious.

I shook my head, "No, no, no, he's my friend. Notice the emphasis on the word friend."

"That better be what he is," Matt joked. As he walked by, he gave me one of his signature noogies and I sighed.

"I promise we're just friends. You guys take everything the wrong way," I said and looked down at the homework I had to get done. "On a different note, can we talk about how useless long division is?"

Jane's lifeless body laid on my lap, red blood everywhere. On her head, on my hands, on my jacket, on my pants.

"You good there Naia?" Stella asked. I was sitting at the round table at the back but was just staring at the wall.

Stella's voice quickly snapped me back into reality, "Huh? Yeah, of course."

"You sure?" Stella asked, sitting down in the chair next to me. "You don't look so good."

I laughed awkwardly, "Yeah I'm okay. Just caught a wave. Homework makes you tired."

Stella nodded. "I get that. Hey, why don't you wash up and lay down? I mean, it's almost 8:30, that's late enough to go to sleep."

"I think I'll do just that," I chuckled and got up. "Thanks, Stella."

"No problem, kiddo."

I got up and washed up for bed just like I usually did at the firehouse. I wasn't tired, to be honest. The last thing I wanted to do was sleep. When I was done, I went back to the common room and snuggled up on the couch with one of the blankets wrapped around me.

At some point, Gabby came over and sat down next to me.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, throwing an arm around my shoulder.

I sighed and leaned against her, taking in the comforting smell. "Yeah? What would make you ask that?"

"Kidd told me to keep an eye on you," Gabby explained, "She didn't have to tell me though."

I nodded, "I know. You're always worried about me."

"For good reasons," Gabby defended and I laughed.

"Yeah," I replied, agreeing.

Gabby smiled and planted a kiss on the top of my head. "So," She mumbled into my hair, "You wanna tell me what's up?"

I shook my head, "No, not today."

Gabby didn't say anything. Instead, she adjusted the blanket around me and I cuddled closer towards her warm body.

"That's alright," She told me, stroking my hair, "Whenever you're ready, I'll be here."