Chapter Four

By: Sokai

Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara/Amandella.

Note: Cheese-n-crow! This story's already fifteen pages long, says O.O. (OpenOffice), with 8,597 words (which is nothing compared to the usual amount of words I write on average for my stories LoL), and I haven't even begun to dive deep into the plot. LoL But, I'm not honestly SO surprised -- it IS me we're talking about here, Miss "Is-So-In-Love-With-Words/Writing." LoL But, hey! YOU guys reading it aren't complaining, so there we go!

Anyway, I MUST warn all those who'll read this chapter: it contains a fair amount of mature content and implications that isn't REALLY at risk of betraying the story's current T rating -- however, I thought I would still give you all the head's up (besides, I don't plan on doing something like that in later chapters -- writing crap like I did in this one, that is. I generally don't in my stories, really).

This chapter was created/written in March 2006.

"See you later, Mom; Dad! Love you, guys!" called out an overly exuberant Hay Lin to her smiling parents, Chen and Joan Lin, as she quickly ran through the front entrance of their family restaurant, the Silver Dragon.

The relatively, newly turned sixteen year old jauntily skipped down the street as she made her way to the bus stop for her school (the newly converted Sheffield Institute, a private school now primarily reserved for students ages fifteen to eighteen), happily beginning to whistle a silly song her deceased and beloved grandmother, Yan Lin, had taught her when she was a little girl.

She knew how juvenile she looked and felt for doing both things at the moment, however this was the first time in a very long while that she had absolute reason to be truly happy. Today would be the first in several consecutive months that she and her former fellow Guardians of the Veil were all going to hang out together.

Well, all of them save the bold blonde and eldest of the quintet, Cornelia Hale, as she had moved to downtown Heatherfield nearly two years ago. So, Hay Lin would just have to settle for the remaining three Guardians to hang with, excluding herself.

Hay Lin's broad grin began to dissipate the more she reflected upon her friends.

Friends.

As if she could even still refer to them as such. Ever since the five of them had managed to successfully seal every last open, pore-like veil that had all leaked dangerous entry into this world from the world of Metamoor two years before, it was as though they had also sealed away their tight bond and friendship in the process.

She remembered Cornelia's rare display of "weak" emotion as her angry sobs echoed through the telephone, during the girls' collected telephone call the very night they had all gotten done celebrating their well deserved victory over the forces of evil.

The petite young Asian and the others had the regrettable displeasure of listening to the blonde reveal the news that they would no longer be "W.I.T.C.H.," but merely "W.I.T.H.," due to her parents divorcing one another and her being forced to move away with her mother.

The news had come as far more than a shock, to say the least, that the moment they had all at last found a reprieve from their seemingly eternal struggle against evil and caught a break, this unfortunate turn of events had to blindside them.

It was so ironic to Hay Lin, she recalled thinking, that with all of their collective powers, they could repair the trust and faith of a once broken city and nation, but could do nothing to repair a broken marriage for the sake of their friend's happy home life.

As heartbreaking as it had been to see one of their teammates and best friends leave, Hay Lin had managed to at least take comfort in knowing that she still had the rest of her friends, as they still had her . . . that is, so she thought.

Not long after Cornelia's infelicitous uprooting did everything else begin to change within the remaining Guardians's once tight clique. At first it was little things, Hay Lin had noticed: a few missed planned movie dates or general outings; a minor decrease in the usual flood of e-mails or phone calls; as well as the occasional desire to eat lunch elsewhere with a few other friends instead.

While it had been irregular, it certainly hadn't been anything the generally optimistic young teenager couldn't handle. After all, she did have her own friends and life, and so she could completely understand the infrequent desire to break out of the traditional routine and wander away from it for a bit.

However, after those random occurrences had become more and more frequent to the point of barely seeing one another (perhaps only once a week, to maybe even once a month despite attending the same school), it did more than fluster Hay Lin. It down right confounded her. They were always supposed to be the "Three Musketeers, plus two," as her best friend, Irma Lair, used to joke, and now they basically were mere faces in a crowd to one another.

I don't even think I can still call Irma my "best friend" anymore at this point, thought Hay Lin sadly, by then ceasing in both her skipping and whistling, her good mood rapidly leaving her.

It was true. The naturally humorous and well liked brunette really wasn't much of a friend, period, let alone her best one as she'd always been since kindergarten. Ever since her father and police detective, Tom Lair, had tragically been fatally wounded during a routine drug bust a year ago next month, Irma had been anything but jocose.

Anyone who had known her well were aware of how extremely close Irma had been to her sometimes strict, but always lovable father, and so the moment her family had learned of the news that fateful morning, it was almost as though her world as she had once known it had shattered.

And Hay Lin had always known that while she did, for the most part, love her, Irma had honestly never really gotten along with her stepmother, Anna. So the prospect of now having to deal with her as her primary parental unit would not be a pleasant thing, as it had now been proven over the years. For the more her stepmother tried to reprimand the vivacious young woman for breaking any of the house rules, the more Irma would simply rebel, causing more chaos and grief for the Lair family.

Hay Lin, as she had been her best friend and confident at one time, had honestly tried to speak to Irma on more than one occasion, and let her know that she was still there for her, in addition to informing her that the path she was heading down wasn't the best one; however, those pleas had, by that point, fallen upon deaf ears.

And now that puberty had finally been kind to her and rewarded her with the voluptuous body that she'd so often enjoyed while in her Guardian form, Irma had taken full advantage of it with the men, using it in any manner she could to get what she wanted . . .

That thought alone both saddened and sickened the still very prude Hay Lin to think, knowing that her once close friend had missed her father so strongly, that she honestly felt the only way to drown out the pain was to float around from guy to guy, in addition to consume the alcohol Hay Lin would frequently catch her in possession of while on campus.

All in all, however, by comparison, the two remaining Guardians were not as bad as Irma preferred to be, it seemed. The formerly timid and shy Taranee Cook had at last broken out of her shell and became more outspoken and confident, almost emulating Cornelia in a way, if not replacing her entirely.

Hay Lin supposed that out of the five of them, having become a Guardian of the Veil had quite possibly been the best thing to have happened to the young African American girl, as it had taught her to bring out all of her awe-inspiring attributes into her regular life that she'd only seemed able to display while in her alter-ego's guise. She was still just as smart and dedicated to her studies as she'd been when she was fourteen (taking on more than quite a few extracurricular activities and Advanced Placement classes, that, as a result, would earn her a secured spot in early graduation by the end of next year), and still had a close relationship with her family and especially her brother, Peter. She'd even managed to get over her nerves about her massive crush, Nigel Ashcroft, and had boldly taken the initiative and asked him out on a date shortly after Cornelia had moved (something her parents were not pleased about at first, given the young man's former "criminal record").

Now, two years year, the two were a strong, hot item, still going strong and immensely popular, with fellow, "still-going-strong-and-immensely-popular" couples as their general hang out posse.

Hay Lin found that she more so envied than missed Taranee, to be honest, for everything had just seemed to fall into place for her, and so easily. She honestly surmised that everything could have fallen into place for her back when she was ten years old, if she'd wanted, had she merely gotten over her fears and apprehensions a lot sooner.

Still, despite her "new life," Taranee would still occasionally hang out with Hay Lin or instant message her while on line to check up on things -- even if, most of the time it also meant hanging out with Nigel, or being made to wait for a reply, as Taranee almost never went anywhere without him, by the same token did she talk about anything besides him.

And then there was their latter leader and ex-new girl in town, Will Vandom. Or, was it Wilhelmina, as she ironically preferred to be called lately, Hay Lin had heard. She'd conjectured that that reverse petition primarily had to do with her overwhelming maturity and desire to grow up already, and perhaps seem a lot older than she really was. Not that Hay Lin could blame her -- despite being older in age, she herself was still waiting for normal body parts to completely arrive. Apparently her Guardian self had been misleading on things to come, for Hay Lin was just as scrawny and relatively flat chested as she'd been when she was thirteen. Had it not been for her drastic hair cut and slight height growth, she would honestly look the same.

Wilhelmina, on the other hand, could have honestly given both Taranee and Irma -- especially Irma -- a run for their money where looks as well as popularity where concerned, as she had grown older into an astounding, old fashioned resembling beauty. Still preferring to keep her flaming red hair the same length as it had been during her youth, the bob no longer had that chaotic, messy theme to it. In fact, its shimmering, glossy sheen only served to further compliment her looks, as it gracefully curved around her flawless visage, and natural cheekbones.

Her Guardian alter-ego certainly hadn't betrayed her in its allusions of things to come later on, that was for certain; if anything, it hadn't done her much justice, Hay Lin honestly thought. Tall, well toned and slender, the great confidence Wilhelmina had earned as leader of the five of them had remained with her, as well as her kindness and good judgment.

Of them all, Hay Lin felt that nothing had really changed much about the once shy young girl, save her home life. Her erstwhile single mother, Susan Vandom, had gotten married to her longtime boyfriend and the girls' former history teacher, Mr. Dean Collins that past summer, to which she'd promptly relinquished her ex-husband's last name and immediately took on her new one's, while Wilhelmina decidedly hyphenated hers.

Hay Lin remembered Wilhelmina telling her in passing of how while she was truly happy for her more than ecstatic mother, it was still taking quite some getting used to to find her old teacher, now stepfather's dirty socks or t-shirts lying aimlessly around their now shared loft.

If her new home setting wasn't keeping her too distracted or occupied, Wilhelmina still partook in swimming, quite often the one to singlehandedly lead their school's swim team to victory every season. And if that wasn't keeping her busy enough, trying to keep the frequent phone calls or e-mails of random guys asking her out on dates solved that problem, a pass time Hay Lin would now gladly take up, herself.

However, after having had a pretty rocky and unstable relationship with her long time crush and former garage-now-big-time-musician, Matt Olsen for several months, Wilhelmina had decided to take a dating sabbatical and focus more upon her studies and other life responsibilities in the meantime.

In all righteousness, it was still to Wilhelmina did Hay Lin go to for solace whenever all of her other friends were busy or did not understand. True, the closeness between them had obviously depleted significantly throughout the years, however the "follow-the-leader" and "look-out-for-your-teammates" relationship still remained between them.

Finally, as for herself, Hay Lin's life was pretty much the same as it been two years ago, with the exception that now she no longer was a superhero saving the world every other day of the week, was older, and in high school with a learning permit to utilize when and if one of her parents had felt up to risking their lives to let their daughter break out onto the road.

She still had an immense passion for her art, self expression and life itself, although honestly lately life had slowly begun to lose its natural pizazz. She wasn't as popular as Wilhelmina or Taranee, or attracted as many men to herself like bees to honey the way Irma could with her natural, womanly wiles; however, Hay Lin candidly felt that, negating her regrettable fall out with the other Guardians, she was doing all right and right where she needed to be at this point in her young life.

Still . . . it isn't enough, she thought morosely to herself as the bus stop at last came into view up ahead.

I miss Cornelia. I miss Irma. I miss all of them! I'm tired of being just "H," instead of the kick ass "W.I.T.C.H." we used to be. I mean, I'd easily make the time for all of them -- even Cornelia, if she bothered to e-mail anymore -- if they would just do the same for me . . . I miss sharing secrets and power tricks with one another that no one else knew about . . .

Hay Lin suddenly stopped in her place, despite the bus could now be seen gradually making its way up the hill in the distance. Come to think of it, when was the last time that she had used her powers?

Even though her innate control over Air had always seemed to be magnified whenever she'd been in her Guardian state, the young Asian woman still could always utilize those abilities whenever she so felt like, although to a lesser degree. However, lately, that gift had debauched, although it was a recent affair . . .

Or, has it been for a while now that it's been that way, but she'd just been so preoccupied with worrying about losing her former friends to honestly notice? She couldn't oddly recall, as it's been the first time she'd bothered to truly reflect upon the matter . . .

"Maybe I should bring it up to the others at lunch when we finally get together," she said to herself thoughtfully, at the same moment the bus was mere seconds away from reaching the designated bus stop.

"But, first, I'd better catch the bus, or else I won't be able to bring anything up!"

YYYYYYYY

Lunchtime had taken ages, it seemed, to at last arrive, however the very moment the bell had rung, signaling the end of yet another tremendously boring Economics class, Hay Lin immediately scrambled out of her seat and was one of the first people to race out of the room.

Despite the somewhat rocky morning of avoiding eye contact with a few seniors who'd anointed themselves campus bullies (who definitely made, Hay Lin thought, the old Sheffield's former tough-guy, Uriah Dunn, look like a court jester by comparison), in addition to dodging the usual verbal bullet of the cheer leading squad's daily insults to the smaller girl's taste in exotic fashion and apparel, Hay Lin's previously dour mood completely vanished by that point -- including her sad reflections upon the considerable change between the past and now.

Making her way outside into the already crowded courtyard, where other fellow students were scattered about, gaily gossiping about last weekend's great party and how to top it for this weekend, Hay Lin immediately spotted Wilhelmina seated underneath the big oak tree they had all agree to meet under, an array of different colored textbooks and open notebooks scattered around her.

Hay Lin smiled broadly, more so in surprise than anything else, that at least one of her former friends had actually shown up.

Let's just hope the rest of them do, as well, she thought with great hope, even though the majority of her being knew that there was a great possibility that one, if not both of the remaining two might decide to bail out on the meeting.

"Hey, Will! Er, I mean, Wilhelmina! I'm glad you made it!" she said, rushing forward to greet the crimson haired beauty. Hay Lin watched with her almond shaped brown eyes as the taller girl continued to feverishly write inside of one of her notebooks for a few more moments, before slowly gazing up at her with a thoughtful stare.

It's funny how her eyes always seemed to appear more red than brown to me, Hay Lin inwardly giggled, as her mind briefly traveled back to the past and how she'd honestly thought they had been when she'd first met her.

Wilhelmina smiled softly at her as she blindly moved aside some of her books so that she could take a seat.

"Hey, Hay Lin. It was a close call making it here, in all actuality, and I almost had to cancel on you. I'd forgotten that I had planned on staying in for lunch to get in some extra tutoring time with Professor Lomax for my Calculus homework, before you asked to eat together the other day," she explained, closing her notebooks.

"But, then I figured, I could always just study some more on my own during my free period before this one, as you saw me doing just now, and e-mail him some problems I'm having trouble with later tonight when I get home."

Hay Lin could only stare and lightly smile at the Caucasian girl a moment before responding. Things truly weren't the same anymore, as fourteen year old "Will" would have rather she get an unnecessary and painful root canal before willingly do math homework during her free time. However, sixteen year old Wilhelmina was not only now excelling in mathematics as well as she always had in science, but if she was not seeking out tutorial assistance, she was quite often sought out to bestow it.

Truly, that saying is wrong: the more things change, the more they most certainly do not stay the same . . . At least, not in our case, thought Hay Lin, before verbally offering,

"Well, that's good to hear! I'd hate to be the reason you might have fallen behind on your schoolwork. Maybe some time, if you're not too busy, you could offer me a few pointers on how to stay awake in my Calculus class," she commented, smiling generously at the older girl, who, to Hay Lin's relief, returned the gesture with a warm simper of her own.

"If I honestly have the time, sure thing, Hay Lin. So . . ." she suddenly trailed off, awkwardly tapping her slim fingers onto her folded up legs while gazing down at them, and Hay Lin bit her lip as she rapidly tried to think of what to say next. It'd been so long since the two had honestly had a chance to say more than two words to one another, that apparently words between them had been effectively lost.

Looking down at her still unopened brown paper bag lunch she'd brought from home to save time on having to wait on line to purchase her meal and lose out on crucial bonding time with her friends, Hay Lin's bright eyes shifted over to Wilhelmina's discarded granola bar wrapper and half empty bottle of water near her side.

"Sooo . . . I see that you've already eaten your . . . snack?" she curiously asked, offering up the inquiry as a new conversation starter she'd hope would last until Taranee and Irma arrived, despite its obvious two second answer it only needed.

Sure enough, Wilhelmina gazed at the wrapper and her bottled water a moment before looking back up at Hay Lin and nodded, smiling lightly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Like I said, I have a free period before this one, and I guess I just got a bit hungry while studying . . . I hope you don't mind . . ."

Hay Lin immediately shook her currently bright red tinted head, the single, small ponytail that she now traditionally kept her hair in wagging lightly back and forth against her skinny neck. It was at that moment she realized how much like twins she and the natural red head resembled, or at least were simply similar in appearance.

In addition to making it into high school and learning the ways of the road, Hay Lin had also learned of the many different hair dyes currently in existence, and made it a point to actively dabble in as many various shades on a weekly basis as she possibly could -- a new hobby that earned her ridicule from the cheer leading squad all the more, and honestly unnerved her parents to no end (not to mention the primary reason she'd decided to cut her long, pigtailed hair, as the overexposure to a multitude of hair dye and chemicals had resulted in some of it naturally falling out).

None of that honestly bothered Hay Lin, as it was simply another outlet for her to express her creative side.

"Don't worry about it, Wilhelmina -- honest. I was just too excited to meet you guys today, that I almost completely forgot my lunch at home, altogether. Besides, I'm not really all that hungry, anyway," she assured, setting her bagged lunch aside for added emphasis.

Once again, the horrible silence claimed the two at one time close friends, as the minutes ticked on while they avidly awaited the other two remaining girls' arrival. Finally, Taranee could be seen coming around the gated corner and back onto campus.

Apparently, she'd decided to purchase her food from off campus instead, as carried within her hands was a medium sized submarine sandwich wrapped inside a white paper packaging, while also placed inside a clear, elongated plastic bag with the words "Subway" written in bright yellow letters and bold green shadowing for visual effect.

And apparently she also needed to bring along her "dessert," as well, thought Hay Lin with slight annoyance, as both she and Wilhelmina watched the tall African American woman approach with her "never-leaves-her-side" boyfriend, Nigel.

"I guess this means we're also having lunch with Nigel, as well," said Wilhelmina in thoughtful observance, verbalizing what Hay Lin had been more or less thinking. She nodded back in response as Taranee and Nigel stopped inches away from their spot and smiled.

"Sorry we're late, Hay Lin, but Nigie-kins had a monster craving for a sub sandwich, 'and the ones in the cafeteria just don't cut it,' he tells me all the time," said the beaming mocha skinned teenager, turning her head to plant a tender kiss upon her boyfriend's cheek.

"Well, it's the truth, Baby-cakes: Subway is by far, the greatest maker of sub sandwiches -- at least in my opinion," opinionated a faintly blushing Nigel, as he wrapped a strong arm around Taranee's slim waist with one hand and played with her now medium length, wavy onyx tresses with the other, having long since been freed from the multitude of different colored beaded accessories. Her broad, oval shaped glasses had at last been discarded, as well, and replaced with gray colored, non-corrective contact lens, making her exotic beauty that more appealing to intake.

Even Nigel had undergone his own social transformation, having effectively shed his former unsure demeanor and gawky preteen physique, and blossomed into a dashing, muscular young star quarterback of Sheffield's football team. In fact, the only two things that remained that could connect him to his past self was his obvious, continued attraction to Taranee, in addition to his long, typically disheveled brown hair that was usually now kept in a tight, mini ponytail more often than not.

Both Hay Lin and Wilhelmina forced as polite of smiles as they could muster at the, excusing the expression, diabetic-sweet display of affection between the two lovebirds.

If I didn't want to have lunch with Taranee so much -- with or without Nigel, although preferably without -- I think I would vomit in their precious Subway bag from disgust and call it a day, she thought flatly to herself while her struggled simper continued to shine upon her face, knowing without a doubt that Wilhelmina was currently thinking along the same lines.

It was true, while neither women had anything against their coupling, it could at times be more so obnoxious than cute to always see them together on campus or in passing on the street, holding hands and making goo-goo faces at one another -- in addition to the nauseating pet names they'd adopted for one another.

"I hope you guys don't mind my crashing your little pow-wow, though. It's just that I can honestly never stand to be away from this pretty lady for too long," Hay Lin heard Nigel add as she left her thoughts and watched him and Taranee take a seat across from Wilhelmina and herself.

". . . Not at all! The more, the merrier, I always say," weakly assured Wilhelmina as casually as she could, gingerly eyeballing the only male present slide his sandwich from out of the plastic bag and quickly begin to unwrap its paper covering.

Sure, of course now I can't honestly bring up my lack in "Wind Power" anymore, now that he's here, realized Hay Lin silently, she too watching Nigel already devouring his meal like a starving dog.

Football players . . .

"So . . . Where's Irma? I actually thought I'd be the last to arrive," commented Taranee, while taking a napkin she'd brought with her and used it to wipe away a rather large glob of mayonnaise away from her boyfriend's muscular and faintly whiskered chin.

Resisting the urge to wrinkle her nose in disdain as she watched the morbidly "cute" display, Hay Lin shrugged lightly.

"Uh . . . S . . . She said she'd come, so I really hope that she does . . ." she replied, looking away from the couple and over their heads to try to spot her former best friend.

"If she doesn't, she's probably busy out back behind the school, smoking yet another joint, or making out with some random stranger she barely knows -- not that that obstacle has ever stopped her before, from what I've heard," contributed Nigel nonchalantly in between bites, apparently forgetting for a moment, it seemed, of how close all three women present used to be with the woman in question.

Hay Lin, however, seemed to be the only one affected by what had been said, as Taranee merely continued to help clean the sloppy boy's face clear of food residue, while Wilhelmina strategically played with a few blades of grass to her side.

She couldn't believe it. Had that suggestive comment been uttered about Irma -- about any of them -- in the past, all five of them, and not just one, would have collectively descended down upon the perpetrator and given them the beating of their life. Now, however, they seemed to prefer to look the other way if not join in on the insults, themselves, Hay Lin surmised.

But the truth of the matter was, no matter how much this drastic change in behavior bothered her, Hay Lin was just as guilty as the rest of them, as she no longer bothered to try defending the active brunette's good name (what was left of it, anyhow) to those who would rush at the chance to sully it.

Irma Lair, in Hay Lin's eyes as well as everyone else's, it seemed, was a lost cause.

"Talking about me, are you? And with such praise, too, I see! I wasn't aware that jocks could utter more than just grunts that their cavemen-like brains can only allow."

Looking behind her in surprise, Hay Lin's almond shaped brown eyes sadly gazed into the no longer shiny sea-blue gems that were Irma's. Usually, she'd come to school dressed in more than revealing clothing (that effectively earned her surprised stares from the students, in addition to habitual threats of expulsion by the administration), with her still chin length honey brown hair arranged in a certain fashion.

Today was no exception, as her natural, bountifully curved body was partially concealed by a too-tight-to-effectively-breath-in bright red tank top with a lewd comment scrawled across and decorating the front, and her black pair of more than short shorts snugly hugged her small and appealing buttocks.

Obviously drunk, she wobbly made her way around the great oak tree and carelessly dropped herself next to Hay Lin, leaning all of her weight onto her as she wrapped an arm around her.

"Did you miss me, Hayyyy Lin? If so, you gotta kiss me! Y'know, because of that saying: 'miss me, miss me, now you gotta kiss me.' I don't make the rules, I just enforce 'em -- y'know, kinda like how my Dad did before he got blown away . . ." she slurred, grinning lopsidedly at each now uncomfortable looking person.

As sad as it was for Hay Lin to believe Nigel's assumption of what Irma might have been engaging in that had made her the last to arrive, apparently he had been right -- at least about one of them. Because on closer inspection, Irma's upturned hair had partially come undone, in addition to her shorts's button and zipper that still remained open, and the carefully applied makeup she'd strategically put on every morning was now mysteriously smeared a bit off to one side.

While neither Hay Lin nor Wilhelmina could muster any sort of response to Irma's outrageous comment to something they all knew still wounded her greatly inside, Taranee, on the other hand, was now livid.

"Hey! Just because you'd prefer to continue to let your mind and body rot away, rather than focus on getting a better education or doing something positive with your otherwise pathetic life, doesn't give you the right to lay it into my boyfriend like that, Irma!" she said heatedly, surprising no one save Hay Lin and perhaps Nigel, who obviously wasn't privy to his girlfriend's fiery side quite often. Whether or not Wilhelmina had reacted, it was unsure, for she had by that point, carefully reached out and cracked open one of her textbooks to hide behind.

Since it was obvious that she wasn't about to begin to try to keep the peace, Hay Lin had no choice but to assume that role, as she had quite often had to in the old days whenever Irma and Cornelia would go at it.

But, it's obvious that Taranee is now Irma's new Cornelia, it seems, she thought sadly as she cleared her throat, about to interject.

However, she was too slow, for Irma had already begun to stand from her spot, although with great difficulty.

"I don't think I have to worry about 'laying it into' your precious boyfriend, Taranee, as I'm pretty sure some of his fellow teammates on the football team already do that enough as it is," she countered with her own obscene implication, which caused Nigel to immediately gaze up at her (although, Hay Lin was quite confident, deplorably, that it was merely due to Irma's mention of the word "football").

Seeing red by this point, Taranee instantly rose from her spot as well, roughly yanking a still eating Nigel to his feet.

"That's it! I've suddenly lost my appetite! Hay Lin, I'm sorry, but I'll just e-mail or instant message you later. Will -- Wilhelmina -- whatever! It was nice seeing you again. Don't forget to get rid of the trash before you go," she said with emphasis, obviously referring to Irma more so than the forgotten granola bar wrapper.

Hay Lin could only watch helplessly as a heated Taranee stormed off with a perplexed Nigel trailing slightly behind her, and to her utter dismay, Wilhelmina rising from her own place as well.

"Uh . . . I-I think I'd better use the remaining lunch period to see if I can't catch Professor Lomax in the faculty lounge or something . . . See you guys later," she said weakly, quickly gathering up her belongings and walking briskly in the same direction her own former best friend had gone.

"And then there were two, eh? Just like old times . . . If you want, I can take you out back behind the school and show you a few tricks I've picked up along the way," said Irma softly and seductively as she hovered over Hay Lin, making the tiny girl's insides churn in extreme discomfort at the other girl's obvious flirtation.

"Um . . . no thanks, Irma. I . . . I actually just remembered that I forgot to hand in my English assignment to Professor Jenkins, so . . . I'm just gonna go do that now . . . 'Bye," she lied, scrambling to her feet and leaving the intoxicated and slightly incoherent girl behind.

Hay Lin realized that it was a poor excuse, and felt tremendously guilty for also bailing on her friend in her time of need (despite the lack of closeness they still harbored), but what could she do? She didn't have Cornelia's assertiveness, Taranee's know-how, or Wilhelmina's resilient leadership skills at her beck and call to effectively set things right between everyone. All that she had at her disposal was her never ending, daydreaming imagination, boxes of magic markers and bottles of different colored paint back home, as well as her multitude of hair dye products. And she didn't have to be a genius to know that that just wasn't going to cut it in any attempts to get her friends back.

Maybe Cornelia might have an idea, she thought with faint optimism as she headed back inside the school building. I'll give her a call some time tonight.

Because at this point, it was either try her very best to reset the tight bond that had once existed between herself and her friends, or continue to sink deeper into the depression she had long since been reveling in for months now but tried her best to mask and deny.

One last hope . . .

-- End of Chapter Four

(A.N. Sweet JEEPUS, was this chapter extremely depressing, ill-humored and just plain . . . WRONG. LoL Going into this thing, I'd wanted to make it slightly depressing as you, the reader, learned of the other Guardians's fate, however I DIDN'T plan on taking it as far as I had – ESPECIALLY with Irma. Can't wait to see the many, MANY flames I'll undoubtedly receive from Irma fans once they've finished reading this. DO know, though, that I like Irma, as well, as I do everyone else, and think she's very funny, blah blah. But I thought to myself: "Well, I'm always reading other W.I.T.C.H. stories with the author showcasing that." Good move, cuz that's how/what she is: funny. But then I also thought: "Well, why don't I push the envelope a tick and go in reverse with that?" And . . . SOMEhow, it ended up turning into what you just read: a sex/drug/alcohol addicted, depressed and self-loathing chick on a rampage. Oops . . . LoL And SINCE I've been getting so many messages from fans of my writing to make Irma a lesbian or bi-sexual or something, since a lot of people on this site, I've noticed, are convinced that she either already is or will be when she's older, there you go. My finally giving in to your avid demands, and writing in that pretty obvious allusion that she is, at LEAST, bi, if nothing more. OR, bi-curious, who knows? I don't honestly care, cuz I doubt I'll do more with that later on, sorry! LoL

But, yeah. There it was, a very surprising, heart-jolting/breaking chapter four. I like writing humorous stories generally speaking, with "regular" drama riddled in, but this is pretty much a first where I've written MASSIVE drama. But, after reading other W.I.T.C.H. stories on here that only focus on the romance and "ha-ha"-ness of the girls' lives and whatnot – which is already pretty much focused in the REAL stories, ANYhow, I thought why NOT shake things up a bit? I'm 22, and not 12, anymore, so I suppose learning that I see that life isn't as rose-colored as our parents led us to believe when we were younger just influenced this. LoL Don't like it, don't read it. LoL

But yeah. Will's no longer Will, but Wilhelmina, miss more mature and organized/committed individual about everything else EXCEPT her social life -- which is kind of how the old Will used to be. And I just went with "Wilhelmina" instead for no specific reason except I just like her name. LoL Irma's a crazy, losing-her-mind hoochie, basically. LoL Sorry, again, Irma fans! Taranee's like a black version of how Cornelia used to be now, I guess. Meh. LoL We already know how Cornelia turned out, so yeah. And Hay Lin's in massive denial and falling apart at the seams. LoL Amandella's right: What IS this world coming to? LoL Find out in chapter five, and all my other future chapters of this increasingly depressing story! LoL)