Twisting the Stars

By: Firefly

Chapter 3 – Spinning on a Whim

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AN: All right peoples, the votes are in! Apparently, all of you thought Lizzy should high-tail it out of there! Though I love the suggested by Alison, so I'm also putting that in motion. Thanks for the reviews! Hope to keep you all interested!

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"I.. I.. I can't.." Lizzy breathed hard, moving a step closer, even as fear pulled at her every fiber. She had to know if that boy was all right! What if he was hut? What if.."

"Lizzy lets go!" Gordo suddenly grabbed her hand and began to pull her alongside him and Miranda who were now moving as fast as humanly possible down the street. Driven by adrenaline alone, they couldn't stop running, didn't want to stop.. until finally they all reached Lizzy's home.

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After the police had come and gone, them having driven Gordo and Miranda back home, Lizzy found herself frozen on the couch, still somewhat certain that all that had happened was only some kind of dream. The small prick on her neck from the knife had been treated immediately. Luckily, it was not infected or worse. While Jo held onto her daughter, her arms pulling her close as if to never let her go again, Lain, whom had arrived home just an hour earlier, was already making a storm in the living room.

"Baka yarou! Tamae no onore!" She always found herself cursing in Japanese when irritated. She didn't exactly know the language, just a few words and phrases.. added to almost every curse they could muster. Had Jo known the language, her face would have been red in anger..

Twisting around, Lain crossed her arms over her chest. "I swear to God they'll find that jerk-off! If I have to go hunting for him myself-"

"No!" Jo jumped to her feet, her voice hauled with both fear and anger. "You will do no such thing! That man is is.. well he's a terrible man!" Jo was yelling now, laying her frustrations on her niece. "The police WILL handle it, I don't want you going out!" Twisting around, she faced Lizzy. "I don't want you ever going out, ever again.."

Lain arched an eyebrow. She knew that most of what she said was out of fear for the moment. She would calm down later.. but right now, by the look of Lizzy's state, she herself was too afraid to argue, and instead just nodded. She didn't care about her aunt's words. She would round up the gang if she had to, and man.. they could sure make a lot of noise when they wanted to. This would not be the end of it.

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The next morning everything ran with routine, though with less enthusiasm than usual. Lizzy was unusually silent, brooding really. She was offered the day off of school, but she didn't take it. It would be better to get out of the house, go to school with her friends.. maybe that would help her calm down some. Surprisingly, she didn't have any nightmares that night. She slept fairly well to tell the truth. She wasn't really sure why..

When she arrived at school, she was greeted by her two best friends, who were also at the time unusually quiet. Just a simple, almost meaningless "Hey" from the both of them as greetings, and then for a long while everything got silent. That was.. until he walked their way. (didn't think I would leave him out, did ya? ^_~ Thanx for the suggestions, Alison, piper, and Vals)

It was the same boy that had helped the three out last night. He didn't look injured or dead. Lizzy's eyes went wide, and so did Miranda's and Gordo's when they saw him. Sure, most of him was hidden in the shadows, but they saw enough to pinpoint him out. He was.. hot. No, he was beyond hot. He made Ethan Craft look like Tudgeman for crying out loud! He was pretty well-built for his age, his strange hair and those icy blue eyes making him seem both mysterious and desiring.

Apparently, Kate and her posse noticed this two, and went over to introduce themselves. However, fate was not on their side either as the boy was suddenly jumped from behind, Lain's cries ringing loud throughout the halls. "HAAAAARUUUUUUUU!!!!!!"

Figures that they would know each other, Lizzy almost pouted, before her feet began to move fast. Gordo and Miranda were right on her heels, and before she knew what she was doing she blurted out, a little too loudly, "Thank you for saving my life!!"

The halls went silent, and all eyes turned to them. In fact, some had already heard of the Lizzy and her friend's late-night fight, and the fact that this guy..

"It was you who helped her out?" Lain inquired, pulling herself up higher on his back, her face twisting around to his side as she looked at his eyes.

"Yes.. that was me." Even when not under pressure, his voice sounded so deep, so.. sexy was the word?

"YOU IDIOT!" Lain smacked him on the back of his head, letting go to drop on her own feet. He wasn't tall, really, merely an inch higher than Lain, if that. "Don't even invite me to the fight! Noooo, big tough man had to show up all alone! Forget to call his lil buddy for all the fun!"

Fun? Lizzy was about to scream. What part of that was fun!!

The boy gave Lain a quizzical look, muttering something about trying to use telepathy next time, before he turned back to Lizzy and the others. One could appreciate his eyes from afar, but to look in them as Lizzy was now.. you could get so lost in those eyes. They were so deep, almost like eternal pools of darkness, everything hidden in shadow. Lizzy found herself.. entranced. "You don't need to thank me, I wouldn't be much of a person if I just walked away when I could have helped." So modest too.

Apparently, Miranda was having the same thoughts on the guy, a somewhat messy smile on her face. "I.. m-m-m-my Miranda is name." Miranda stated, causing a confused look from Gordo.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot!" Lain said with a smirk. "Haru, this is my cousin Lizzy, and her friends Miranda and Gordo. All, Haru."

"Hi, how ya doin?" Gordo greeted in a normal fashion.

"Uh.. yeah.. h-hi.." Lizzy managed. That and her last statement was all she really could say. How could this be Lain's friend? He was so.. so..

"Nice to meet you," he stated, and was suddenly grabbed and pulled away by Lain. "Come on, come on!" she hollered, "I'll be nice and show you around, even if you were a pain and didn't invite me to the brawl!"

Lizzy and Miranda were frozen.

Gordo rolled his eyes.

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Surprisingly enough, though neither Lizzy or Miranda were going to complain about it, the boy known as Haru shared their first class, History. As usual their teacher Mr. Pineclean (aren't I so creative?) took no notice of any new students, carrying on that day with what they had started the last, even though it was only their second day in school.

".. and that brings me to the Revolution in Japan which forged the way for the Meji era," Mr. Pineclean stated with a grunt. (can anyone tell I'm into Japanese stuff?) "This is what opened up inspiration to the west, allowing them access and knowledge to things like trains, guns, and other various sorts. Now, I want you all to do a group project on this, that will in doubt lead to a presentation, say.. two weeks from now."

Lizzy's eyes widened, and she looked to both Miranda and Gordo who seemed to have shared her thoughts. Two weeks? On top of all the homework the other classes were sure to give, they didn't have time for a whole project! Well, at least they could choose the topic and the style in which they could present it.. but then, wouldn't that be even MORE work? Just trying to think up an idea..

Apparently, the class agreed with them, as small groans rang out through the walls. However, Mr. Pineclean wouldn't have their grunts and protests, and instead continued on. "This being the beginning of the year, we'll see how well you do when I don't assign you partners. You can all group up in three!"

Lizzy jumped up just as she said that, ready to join up as usual with Gordo and Miranda, but then.. there was Haru. He was so deep, so mysterious.. she wanted to know him better. She wanted this project with him.. but then, could she leave out Gordo and Miranda? They would understand, right? I mean, they would have all kinds of projects together in the future!

At that point, she felt torn.

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AN: Hey peeps, sorry for the shorter section, just running out of ideas! Ok, well maybe not one. Heh, I could see Haru becoming a little factor in this one, muwa ha ha ha. Is he a good match for Lizzy? But then, there's Gordo? Or maybe this won't be a romance at all! How will things turn out? It's all up to you! I set em' up, you knock em' down!

Ok, so now there's that little conflict. Who will Lizzy do the project with?

1. Haru

2. Gordo and Miranda

You decide!!!

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