Chapter 4

A young girl, perhaps no more then four years old, sat on the floor of an extremely pink bedroom. She looked up when the door opened, her blue-gray eyes wide, and her light brown-blonde hair falling over her face.

A young boy entered. Actually, his head entered, and he looked around, and nodded when he saw her.

"Oh, hello." He said. "Do you know where Willow is?"

"Bathroom." She replied quietly, and she was obviously shy at seeing him.

Apparently realizing this, he stepped inside and walked over to her and smiling, held out his hand.

"I'm Andrew. You must be Willow's new friend. What's your name?"

"Em." The girl replied, holding out her hand to shake his. "You're Willow's brother?"

Andrew smiled and puffed his chest out.

"I'm her older brother." He corrected her. "I'm seven."

"Oh." She said, nodding. And looked back down at the doll that she had been dressing.

Em didn't understand why she felt so shy. Granted, she was normally that way, but usually not with people who were nice to her. Glancing up briefly, she was surprised to see that he had sat down next to her, and was currently playing with the GI Joe that his sister had kidnapped from him long ago, and hadn't gotten around to returning. She took the opportunity to look him over.

While Willow looked quite a bit like her, with light brown hair and large green eyes, her brother was quite different. He had dark brown hair that fell over his dark brown eyes. When she thought about it, she supposed that he was quite handsome for a boy of his years. Could that be the reason she felt shy around him?

Just then, Willow returned and saw her brother and new friend and grinned.

"Hey Andy. What are you doing with my friend?" She teased.

He looked up and smiled back.

"Nothing'."

Still grinning, Willow came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, attempting to drag the much larger boy out of the room.

"She's my friend! You can't have her! You go play with that new friend of yours with the stupid name."

"Speed!" Andy protested. "His name is Speed, and it is not stupid! Now let me go you crazy girl!"

Willow let go and fell laughing to the floor beside him.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters, Em?" She asked.

"No." The other girl replied, shaking her head. "I wish I did, but I don't think I ever will."

"Well," Said Andy, trying to be helpful. "Willy is three years younger then me, and you're what, about that age?"

"I'm almost five."

"There you have it. You may have a new brother yet!"

"Why a brother? Why not a sister?" Asked Willow, glaring.

"Of course, a sister is possible."

"I don't think so."

The two siblings looked up at Em, who was now looking down sadly.

"Why not?" Willow asked.

"Because my Mommy doesn't like my Daddy."

Andy gave Willow a wide-eyed look. Who ever heard of a mother who didn't like the daddy?

"Are you sure?" Andy asked tentatively, and Em nodded sadly.

"She likes someone else."

The Bakers looked at each other again, and wordlessly decided that now would be a good time to drop the discussion.

Willow and Ann had always been best friends after that, and even though Andy was used to being the center of his sister's attention, he felt no jealousy towards the girl, mostly because he had his own best friend now, but also because there never was jealousy between the two siblings. Andy worshipped his little sister, no one ever knew why, but it just seemed to be in his nature to protect the little child. Willow adored her older brother. He was everything that she wanted to be. Strong, smart, and when his powers activated when he was eleven, she decided that that was exactly what she wanted to be. Fate had other ideas.

Ann had begun exhibiting signs of being an elemental the year after they had met, and even though their family had only just moved there, Ann and Willow's parents knew the others secret identities, and so whenever Ann learned something new, she would show it to her friends. When they were ten, Willow started to realize her own powers, and they were impressive. She learned that if she concentrated hard enough, she could hear other people's thoughts, sometimes she could even sense their feelings. At first it was difficult, her having to concentrate so hard that sometimes she came out of it with a raging headache. But soon it became more and more easy, until finally she would hear people's thoughts no matter what. Her mind became a jumble of thoughts and feelings that weren't her own.

It was around the same time that Ann began to try and experiment more with her own abilities. One day, she was at school, and she tried to freeze the swimming pool on a dare from Andy. She ended up freezing every drop of moisture in the room.

It was then that both families decided that it was time to send the two girls to the school in England. The two were overjoyed to learn that they were going to go in this adventure together. Ann always remembered the last time she saw Andy before she left. He was standing on the runway where her fathers helicopter was kept. As they lifted off, he lifted a hand and waved to them, and they both waved back.

That was the last time that Andy ever saw his sister alive.

When they were having their powers tested, one girl came up visibly swaggering. Ann knew immediately that this was a bad thing. Her own pride had led her to taking that dare which she now realized she had always known was too much for her. When the girl raised her hands, her body lit up like a beacon. Smirking, she focused that light into a beam that shot across the room and punched a hole through a metal wall that had been set up for this purpose. That was when everything went horribly wrong. Suddenly, hundreds of lasers began shooting everywhere. Anyone who had any ability to do so tried to protect the girls around them, but Ann could only stand helplessly as a laser shot out, and went right through Willow. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Ann didn't go home for the funeral, but Andy came there. The day after his sister was buried, he took the first available flight to England. When they first saw each other, all they could do is stare at each other. For hours all they could do was sit in her room and watch the flames in her fireplace. Finally, Andy slammed his fist down on a table and shouted,

"I hate them!"

Ann looked up in surprise.

"Who Andy?" She asked.

"These kids who think they're so great! The new kids who think they can do anything."

Ann looked back to the fire, her arms crossed over her stomach, her eyes mournful.

"I should have done something." She whispered.

"You couldn't have done anything. Anything you would have done would have just gotten you…"

Andy stared at her, the horrible truth suddenly dawning on him.

"God Em. She's gone. And you could be dead now too."

"I should be." She said hoarsely.

Andy scowled and marched over to her and grabbed her shoulders. He forced her too look at him.

"Don't ever say that! It's not your fault she's dead." His anger faded, and he looked at her almost tenderly. "If I lost you too, I don't know what I would do."

The girl raised her chin, pulling all of her remaining bits of strength together, and a fair bit of Andrew's.

"I know I couldn't do anything then, but there is something we could do now."

The next morning, they found the light-controlling girl with both of her arms and legs broken, in her room, which had been locked from the inside. Ann and Andy never talked about it again.

It was that same year that she first really got to know Speed. Throughout her friendship with Willow, Speed had always been there, but she had avoided him as much as possible. Something about the cocky boy scared the bashful girl right out of her socks. Once she had gotten older and had grown out of her fear, she had been so used to avoiding him that she hadn't really seen any reason to break the habit.

On one of Lash's many visits to her school, he had brought his best friend with him. When he had seen her, Speed had grinned.

"So, you're the girl that Lash is always flying halfway around the world to see. You're a scrawny one aren't you?"

Lash, as he was called now by the terrified, over-confident freshmen, glared at his friend and elbowed him. But Speed was having too much fun.

"You are cute though. I guess I can understand the fixation well enough, with the Big-Bambi-Eyes and all. I suppose with that said, I will give you my blessing whole-heartedly whenever you decide to get married."

Ann's eyes went even wider then usual, and she blushed profusely.

"Um… well… you see… we're not…" She stammered, making Speed grin even wider.

"Oh, you mean you're not going out? In that case, Lash," He turned to his friend, "May I have you're permission to…" But Lash cut him off.

"No." He said bluntly, and prepared to murder his best friend for embarrassing his timid friend so badly that she probably wouldn't even look at another guy for the rest of her life.

Speed shrugged, finally noticing how uncomfortable they both were.

"Hey, sorry. I'm Speed by the way." He held out his hand for her to shake, and she pulled herself together long enough to give him a brief clasp and to say, "Ann."

"Raggedy Ann and Andy!" He exclaimed, quite pleased with his own wit.

"Which is why you will never, ever tell anyone my real name at school." Lash said, now pulling Speed away from Ann, and back toward the helicopter.

"Oh! Looks like I'll be heading back early. Goodbye, Ann! I'll miss youuuuuu!"

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Ann's fist shot out from under the covers and slammed her fist down on her alarm clock, effectively silencing it, but she hit it a few more times for good measure. With a sigh she dragged herself out of bed and stumbled downstairs to her bathroom, which was connected to her sitting room.

Quick shower – Ten minutes

Getting dressed – Five minutes

Actually waking up and realizing who was going to be at your school when you got there – A half an hour, followed by another half hour of curling up in the corner of your bedroom in the fetal position.

She sighed. She knew she had to go eventually, but she really wanted to put it off for as long as possible. Her parents had already left for a doctor appointment, so they couldn't really tell to get her but in gear. Under any other circumstances she would have told herself the same thing, but every time she thought of Warren, and what he must have thought, what he still must be thinking, she got a knot in her stomach.

There was a soft tapping above her head, and she looked up to see another tall young man standing over her, looking down with barely veiled boredom. His skin was pale, almost white, and his hair was a blue-tinted-white. His eyes were pale blue, and he wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Hello, kitten." He said.

"Oh, hi Sven." She replied sheepishly, and he rolled his eyes at the nickname.

"I know that it's your right to name all of us, but I really wish you wouldn't call me that."

"What would you rather I call you? Poseidon?"

"I would rather you call me Water, or even Ice if it meant no longer having to be called," He grimaced, "Sven." He squared his shoulders. "But that isn't why I'm here now is it? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere, Missy?"

"I really, really don't want to go there today." She said, giving him her best woe-is-me look. Sven was unmoved. They probably all sent him there because he was the only one who was never moved by her big gray-blue eyes.

"Now kitten." He scolded fondly. "How are you going to get any better if you keep being ruled by your fear?"

Ann hung her head sheepishly.

"No, sir. I guess I'll go."

"Good girl." He said, patting her on the head. "Off you go."

"Will Ann Cromwell please report to Principal Powers?"

Ann looked up at the intercom and frowned. What could she have done? She hadn't frozen any swimming pools, or tied any bathroom doors shut with grape vines. When she got there, she knocked once and entered when she heard the principal's voice.

"Ma'am?" She asked as she entered.

"Ah, hello Ann. Please, have a seat." Powers waved a hand at the chairs in front of her, and Ann sat down, now more apprehensive then before.

"I wanted to have the chance to talk to you personally."

"Isn't there some law where I have to have a guardian present?" Ann asked innocently, and Powers laughed.

"Oh no. This isn't an interrogation. I just wanted to go over some things with you. Is that alright?"

Ann nodded, so the older woman continued.

"Now, your previous school sent over your records, and I must say they are very impressive. Aside from the occasional prank, you were an exemplary student."

Ann smiled, relieved. But that smile quickly faded at what she said next.

"These records also include your grades over the four years that you were there."

"Ah." Ann said, suddenly realizing what the principal really wanted to talk to her about.

"I have to say, first of all, that your grades in Art, Drama, and History are exemplary, all A's. But then I noticed that while everything else was quite acceptable, your grades in Science and Math are… well… quite appalling. I see that your average in both of these classes is a C-."

"I see." Ann cleared her throat nervously. "Well, I do realize that I have to work on that. But I really have improved since I first stared school. I was even worse then."

"I know that. But you must admit that while progress is evident, it has been slow." She held up a hand to keep her from saying anything. "Which is why I have decided to assign you tutors to help you in these subjects. For science, our best available student is…"

"Oh! Let me guess!" Ann said, a profound sense of foreboding coming over her. "Speed." Powers raised her eyebrows.

"How did you know?"

"Let's just say we are aware of each others existence. He was always the best person I've ever known when it came to science."

"Aha. For math, I felt that there was one person who is not only does extremely well in that class but might also be able to help you with your… other problem."

Ann's face fell, and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. It couldn't be.

"Warren Peace is a pyrokinetic, some of the teachers seem to think that if you spend some time with someone who can control fire, it might be able to help you with your own control." There she stopped, and seemed to wait expectantly for an answer. Ann took a deep breath.

"Principal Powers, do you believe in fate?"

"I… I don't know." She replied, taken aback.

"I do. I also believe that it is out to get me." She held up a hand when Powers started to talk. "No, don't say anything. I learned long ago to look for the good in every situation. I may not see any right now, but I'm sure there is one. God would not be so cruel. Now, if you would excuse me, I have to go pass out in the hallway."

With that, she got up, walked out, and managed to make it outside and under a tree before slumping to the ground.

When she had finally gotten herself together, she got up and went to search out Speed. She found him at his locker with Lash, who looked up when he saw her and his eyes lit up.

"Hey!"

Speed turned around, and smirked when he saw her.

"Hello, grasshopper."

"I guess Principal Powers filled you in on the situation." Ann said, and Speed nodded.

"Indeed, grasshopper. My place or yours?"

Ann couldn't possibly miss the innuendo in his voice, and she chose to ignore it.

"I guess I'll come over to your place tomorrow. How's that?"

"Excellent. Four o'clock?"

Ann nodded.

"I'll be there." With that she scurried away as fast as she could without looking like she was running. She had never quite gotten over what he had said to her all those years ago when she had been eleven. It had embarrassed her beyond belief to think, first, that anyone would think that she and Lash were a couple, and second, that anyone would find her attractive enough to want to go out with. The years had apparently not dampened that sentiment in him, and Ann could only hope that he would stick to the agenda when it came to tutoring her.

Despite her worries about Speed, it was nothing compared to her worries about her other tutor. She went through her classes numbly, not really wanting them to end, but they did, one after the other, until she heard the dreaded lunch bell ring.

Entering the cafeteria, she saw that Will and co. were still gone, and that again, Warren's was the only available table. It was no less difficult this time to walk over to him then the other. Before it had been much simpler, they didn't even know each other except for their relative connections with Will and Layla. But now, they not only had the tutorship between them, but also her slip-up about his, or more specifically, his father's eyes.