A/N Hey! Well…I hope I get more reviews on this on and let's see oh yea…sorry about the last one I may replace it with something more adequate since it sucked…lol! My decision to write was rather spontaneous really! So I hope you enjoy this one more! And you will meet the Daughters officially in the next one! Whoo-hoo! And thanks so much to the Demon Goddess! PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks…

By lunchtime I was exhausted but thoroughly excited. I had gone through four periods of torture, but found out one thing that meant the world to me.

I was ahead of all my classes.

When I first came to LA, I dreaded school; anticipating the worst. I thought I would spend the rest of the school year cooped up in my room and library, catching up with lessons, since I had arrived so late in the school year; April, to be exact. The idea of being ahead, even by the slightest, never occurred to me.

I trudged out of the classroom after everyone had already deserted the room, and into the sultry day. The sun glared down, and the temperature seemed to rise by fifty degrees due to my black ensemble and my northern blood. Seventy-degree weather was hot enough for me, let alone a scorching ninety degrees.

The wind blew gently, but did nothing to cool my feverish skin.

I looked around, searching for a place to sit, trying to ignore the heat. I spotted my brother sitting in the cool grass chatting with some of his easily made friends. I wouldn't dare to bother him.

I sighed and wondered briefly if I was going to be forced to sit alone. Hot, salty tears pressed into the corners of my eyes. I didn't want to sit alone and be an outcast again.

I swallowed, blinking a few times, and began making my way out into the lawn. People looked at me, curiosity alight in their eyes. My gaze swept the grounds; I caught my brother's gaze and held it. His pale blue eyes looked sympathetic for once, understanding my dilemma. He started to call me over when someone else yelled out my name.

My head snapped in the direction of the voice, and I found myself staring at a girl with dark brown hair and blonde highlights. She smiled widely and waved me over to her.

I smiled back; relieved I didn't have to be my brother's charity case for the year. I inspected the girl, nodding approvingly at her garb. She wore a simple black cotton dress with cap sleeves, bright neon green fishnets, and black combat boots. Two other girls and three guys surrounded her all outfitted in the same style of clothing.

"Hey," I said warmly as I came up to her.

"Hey yourself. Take a seat." She patted the ground next to her, and looked up at me expectantly.

I complied, and settled myself on the grass next to her, not bothering to take my messenger bag off my shoulders. Beside me a guy with an Avenged Sevenfold shirt swaddling his torso stared at me, intently munching on his curly fries.

I extended my hand to her. "I'm Delaney, but I guess you already knew that."

"Yep; you sit next to me in AP math and AP history," she responded, taking a plastic bag full of chips out of a brown, unmarked paper bag.

"Oh," I uttered, drawing a blank. I didn't know her name.

She laughed, seeming to sense my situation.

"Sorry, I'm Heather." She pointed to herself.

"And these are my friends Courtney, Addy, Andrew, Billy, and Ceth. Guys, this is Delaney. She's new; from Ohio."

They all smiled and greeted me in unison.

I smiled broadly, grateful for her taking the initiative to introduce me.

"Thanks for inviting me over. As you can see, I didn't really have anyone else." I prayed I didn't sound pathetic; I didn't want my newfound friends thinking of me as a loser, or worse; a beggar.

"Hey, no problem. You look too cool to pass up," Heather complimented me, shoving a salted chip in her mouth.

"Thanks, but I can't look that interesting. What do I have, an aura?" I joked, gazing around the lopsided circled they had created.

"Yeah, you do. I can feel it all the way over here. I could probably cook hot dogs with it," Ceth the Avenged Sevenfold Guy grinned, looking into my eyes.

I blushed.

Damn my blushing and me.

"Ceth's the joker in our group," Heather explained, laughing. She picked another chip out of her bag, and popped it into the recesses her mouth.

"Yep, that's me. Never forget it either," Ceth whispered in my ear, his lips brushing against my flesh. He leaned back and propped himself on his elbows, still staring at me.

"Don't you have a lunch?" a smooth, soft voice asked me. I looked in the direction of the voice, noticing Addy. She wore a black denim skirt with studs lining the bottom, and a green silk button up shirt.

"What do you think, baby?" A boy with spiked, black hair adorned blue tips questioned Addy, nipping her neck.

Addy giggled, but pushed him away. "She's supposed to not answer you, dimwit," she said, looking at me, her slanted, deep brown eyes apologetic. "Sorry, Billy can get like that."

I grinned. "It's okay."

Heather leaned over and whispered in my ear. "They're a couple. You'll see them do that a lot along with Courtney and Andrew."

"Oh," I expressed, glancing at Courtney and Andrew who were talking to each other, oblivious of the outside world. Andrew caught me staring at them, and I peered away quickly; not wanting to impose. I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye.

"What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?" I asked, looking her in her light brown eyes, almost an amber color.

She laughed. "I broke up with my ex over a week ago, and I say good riddance. I'm single and loving it. What about you?"

I snorted. "Nope, no way."

"What, don't like guys?" Mischief danced in her eyes and she chuckled at her own joke.

This time it was my turn to laugh. "I absolutely adore guys. I meant no way; here. I just moved here a couple of days ago, practically."

"Really, I thought it was longer. I mean you seem well adjusted. Why did you move anyway?"

My eyes widened, the black of my pupil expanding at her comment.

I looked well adjusted? No freaking way.

I shook my head, rousing myself out of my shocked state, and I glanced around the circle before I answered. No one besides Ceth seemed to be taking interest in our conversation. The couples talked amongst themselves; Addy and Billy seeming to attempt to suck each other's face off.

"My mom. She's an artist. She paints and sells landscapes for a living. Evidently, she couldn't find enough interesting landscapes in Canton, or not enough people to buy them. I'm not sure which," I announced, remembering the horrific evening when my world crashed and burned, the night I'd been told we were moving to dreaded Los Angeles.

She and Ceth looked at me intently, hanging onto my every word. I felt my stomach flutter; nobody had every paid this much attention to me before. I felt a shimmer of calm and reassurance in their presence, and didn't want our lunch break to end. I silently prayed for the seconds to tick slowly, and the minutes to crawl by.

"What about your dad?" Ceth inquired, scooting closer to me.

I blushed again.

Damn, I thought.

"My mom and dad got divorced over six years ago," I replied, bringing the emptiness of not having my father in my life to the surface.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

I smiled at their sympathy. I felt extremely comfortable with them, almost like I had known them my whole life. Like they were a part of me I had always been missing, just never knowing it until I found them.

"It's okay, it was no big deal," I continued, toning down the hurt I actually felt from the divorce.

'Three of my brothers live with him, and he's a president of Bank of America. He makes boat loads of money and sends lots of it to Mom to help support me and my brother," I gushed, confiding in them something I had never told anyone before, and this was only my first day with them. I wondered what them could squeeze out of me within a month.

"Who are your brothers?" Ceth looked around the school grounds as if searching for them.

"Well, the ones with my father names are Colton, Alec, and Erik. Colton is in high school; a year older than me. Alec and Erik are in college. They're twins."

Heather grinned. "Ooh, college guys! I'm so going to have to meet your family, Delaney!"

I laughed at her remark. "Yeah, you can. I'll make sure to call you the next time they're in town."

Her grin widened, showing all of her teeth, and I noticed she had braces.

"Yes, I will finally date a college guy!"

I bit my lip to keep me from laughing further.

But it was like trying to stop breathing. The dam broke and I giggled.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Alec is married and Erik is engaged."

Her face fell, and I felt bad for informing her. Just as I was about to apologize, her face lit back up, a spark in her eye.

"You still have two more brothers, though! What about the one here?"

I hesitated.

"Not the one here. No offense to him, but he's a jerk."

Ceth looked at me, surprised.

"Wait, is his name Richie?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Yeah, he is. How did you know?"

Ceth scowled.

"I heard about him. Plus, he's new with the same last name as you, so just put two and two together."

"Oh," I looked over at Heather and she appeared to be deep in thought.

"What?" I questioned her, curious to know what was on her mind.

"It's just you're so different from him and, well, I kinda," she trailed of blushing horribly.

I smiled knowingly. Not many girls could resist my brother.

"Just don't get in too deep," I warned her, nudging her in the ribs.

She giggled. "Thanks for he warning."

"Well then, I have done my good deed for the day."

Ceth gawked at us as if we had suddenly sprouted two heads and our bodies had turned green.

We looked at him together, then laughed, out voices in unison.

Abruptly, a bell sounded, silencing our laughter and snubbing our fun like water on fire. Heather sighed, and crumpled her lunch bag, tossing it into a nearby trash container. She lifted herself off the ground, and stood, brushing off her dress.

I followed suit and adjusted my messenger bag since it had become askew when I sat.

Heather looked at me.

"So, what's your next class?"

"AP Art," I replied, automatically having mesmerized my whole schedule.

"That's cool. I have that next too," Ceth piped up from beside me.

I smiled. "Well, then maybe you could lead me there Mr.…." I trailed off, hoping he'd tell me his last name.

"Rankin. Ceth Rankin," he answered my implied question. He offered me his arm, and I graciously accepted, it giggling as his bare skin touched my own.

He grinned down at me, and began walking off toward the bleak buildings. He hollered a good-bye to his friends, and I waved a farewell to Heather.