Chapter 5: Waking Up and Links

I get my wish, it seems like as soon as I fall asleep my alarm is going off and Dane is pulling the covers off of me. "Come now princess, time to wake up. You only have twenty minutes to get ready!"

I yawn and groan, "Come on Dane, five more minutes please?"

"No, now come on. Don't want to be late now would we?"

I groan as I sit up and put on my glasses, yawning once again, "Alright, I'm up. Now shoo, you royal pain in the butt."

Dane just smirks, "Whatever is needed to get you out of bed." Then he leaves, closing the door somehow behind him, leaving me yawning and grumbling.

I get out of bed and almost pick out an outfit before my eyes catch a flash of red and green and I groan. I'd forgotten about the uniforms. I grumble as I put mine on, not wanting to think about how cold I'll be as I wait for the bus. I gather up my stuff and walk out of my room, putting everything on the dining room table. I then go to check on Zac, to find him still asleep. I go over and shake him awake, "Zac! Come on, we've got ten minutes! Wake up!"

He sits straight up, "Crap! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

I just roll my eyes and leave him to get dressed, mumbling about how if he set his alarm clock he wouldn't have that problem. I'm struggling to get my coat on when he comes out to the living room, half-hopping as he tries to walk and get his shoes on at the same time. I throw his coat to him and then his backpack, gathering my stuff up as well.

I let Zac rush out first and then quickly look around for Dane. I can't find him so I leave, figuring he was probably already at the bus stop. I raise an eyebrow when I don't see any new faces once I reach it, and worry that he missed the bus all the way to school. I get to school and am walking to the door when I'm nearly tackled from behind, "What the...?"

I turn around and face a boy about my age, a couple inches taller then me with blue eyes and black hair that at first glance looks like it has green highlights in it or something. I decide to give this guy a chance, so I flash a smile "Can I help you?"

The guy smiles with a glint of mischief in his eyes; "You don't recognize me, do you?"

I raise an eyebrow, feeling the faintest tugging in the back of my mind that I should know this guy. (AN Ok, yeah, I'm thick, but give me a break, my brain doesn't wake up until about an hour into the school day lol.) I decide to play it safe so I say, "Gimme a hint."

The guy just chuckles, shaking his head, "You'll figure it out. I'm hanging around 'til you do."

I sigh, "Fine, whatever. But if you start stalking me at night, I'm calling the cops."

The guy apparently thinks this is the funniest thing he's ever heard, because he starts laughing his fool head off as we walk into the school. I immediately make a b-line in the lunchroom to the table where my friends and I always meet, my stalker close behind.

Teri walks in and over to the table too a few minutes later, smiling at the guy who'd taken up residence in the seat next to me, "So Deb, who's your new friend?"

I'm about to say that I have no clue but the guy pipes up, sticking out a hand for her to shake, "I'm her cousin from out of state. Just moved her over the weekend, took forever to find the place. Finally I had to give up and crash at Deb's, but now I'm all moved in and ready for school."

Teri nods, "Cool. I never knew that Deb had family out of state."

"Neither did I." I mutter, though no one seems to hear me.

Teri continues, "So, are you living here alone?"

My stalker nods, "Yeah, one day I just woke up and knew I needed to move, so I did."

All of this is sounding very familiar, just like this guy's voice, "Well," I say, seizing an opportunity I'd seen present itself, "don't just stand there. Introduce yourself 'cuz'." I then close my eyes to try and help myself concentrate so I can place his voice.

"Oh, of course, where are my manners? My name is Geny. Dane Geny."

My eyes pop open and I look him over again in shock. I have to keep myself quiet as Teri replies, "Right. Well, I'm Teri, and this is Ryan and Tassie." She says, motioning to each person. "Welcome to Warsaw. Hope you don't get bored easily."

Dane runs his hand through his hair and smiles, "Thanks, I just hope that I don't get lost. This school's a lot bigger then my old one."

I roll my eyes, "You won't get lost, almost all of your classes are with me. Just follow me and you'll be fine."

Dane nods, "Right. When do we need to be in class anyways? Don't want to be late to class on my first day."

I look at my watch and nearly swallow my tongue, "Shoot! Guys we gotta go now! We've got three minutes!" We quickly say good-bye to each other before hauling off, me dragging Dane behind me. I get to class in a record minute and a half, gasping for breath by the time we got to class. I walk to my teacher after I catch my breath, "Mrs. Heiden, this is my cousin Dane. He transferred over the weekend."

I then leave him to get settled and answer various questions to sit down, yawning in the process. Spanish 3 first thing in the morning is definitely not a good thing. When he's finally settled, Dane somehow manages to get it so he's sitting right beside me, smiling like anything. I wonder what the heck he's smiling about.

'Just trying to make your world a little brighter princess.'

My eyes snap from the chalkboard to Dane and I raise an eyebrow. He yawns and places his head on his hand and I almost think that it was my imagination going nuts on me when I see him lightly tap his forehead and lightly wink. I suddenly understand and tentatively try it out.

'You mean we can talk telepathically?'

He nods as if agreeing with the teacher but replies,

'Yes. Your mother thought it best if we were linked in case you ever got into trouble.'

'Ok, that makes sense, I guess. So, you seem to be understanding this pretty well. Spanish around back in the Silver Millenium or you just a quick study.'

Dane seems to wince before saying,

'Please princess, use proper English. Jargon is harsh on my mind's ear. I am a fast learner, so I borrowed your book while you were asleep the last couple of nights. Plus, this language has its roots in languages that were around in the Silver Millenium, so I already know the basic groundwork.'

I nod, shrugging a bit as well. It made sense, though it still felt strange, having a dragon bodyguard that no one knew about but me. Today would certainly be interesting.