Sorry it's taken me so long on this chapter; I've been working on my new stories, and I haven't found enough time. Plus, I have a sick obsession of watching Kimblee making things explode. And people. Hehehe, I'm such a psycho.

Chapter 12: Appearance of the Forbidden Marking

"You..."

"Did..."

"WHAT?"

Um, I think this situation is pretty self-explanitory.

"Uh, sorry?"

"You're sorry?" Meg screamed at her friend. "Why'd you do that? You're way too young to do that!"

"I know, I know!" Kay whined, her hands on her head. "I'm sorry; I'm an idiot, and there's no way to fix it!"

"Got that right," Elly said. "What, you wanna become one of those girls at school who become sex-obsessed and finally get pregnant?"

"He used protection."

"Doesn't matter, Kay. Still, I have a question: what was it like?"

"Elly!" Meg snapped.

"Let Elly talk," Cris told her. "I wanna know what she thought of her first time, too." A smirk started to form on her face.

"What is there to tell?" Kay asked.

"We need details, Kay!"

"I don't wanna talk about it. The only thing I can tell you is what they say is one-hundred-percent right: the first time does kinda hurt."

"How much?"

"Well, actually, it was more like tons of pressure on your lower body. I don't know..."

"You fatty...fat, fat, anorexic person!" Meg yelled in Kay's face.

"What? You're gonna end up doing it, too!"

"Yeah, if I ever want kids! Not to prove love that might be there forever!"

That had done it; that comment left Kay completely dumbstruck. She knew her friend was telling the truth. She had now screwed up her life. And there was no way to fix it.

"Meg, cool it," Cris said. "So, Kay, are you still in pain? It can kinda last awhile. Trust me; I know from experience."

"You, too, Crissy? Oh, damnit!"

"Meg, shut up. And yes, except the pain moved to the inside of my thigh; I can feel my pulse through it."

"...Maybe you should see the doctor. School's almost over anyway."

"Yeah, I'll have Russ bring me; he comes and checks on us everyday anyway."

"He's like your father, isn't he?" Elly asked.

"Somewhat. And Noodle's like my sister, 2D's my older brother, and Muds is my crazy Satanic uncle who reminds me too much like my real one." She laughed.

"Your uncle's Satanic?"

"No, but he's a bit of a lunatic, 'cept Muds is worse."

"And, you hang out with him, why?"

" 'Cuz he's the fuckin' omega-hot bassist of Gorillaz, my favorite band of all time. DUH!"

2:43 PM.

Kay now sat on her bed, dangling her legs over the side, swinging rhem casually and waiting for her friends to return home. Al had gone out, too, so now, she was left alone, like all those other times. When her parents were still alive.

She remembered it all; she would spend an hour talking with her friends until her little brother came home from middle school, then they would wait another hour-and-a-half for their mother to arrive. Her brother always welcomed her with open arms and a great story to tell about what had happened that day at school but Kay was a different case; she barely ever wanted to talk with her parents, seeing as how they were infamous for only getting her more and more upset, even if the issue was ordinary. SHe never wanted to talk with them...

She heard her stomach growl, and looked down at it with an almost silent laugh. She then stood up and made her way to the kitchen to get something to eat. One hand on her waist as she strolled into the linoleum-floored room, taking a quick glance left and right, pondering over what to satisfy her hunger with. Finally, she decided and made her way to open the refrigerator and pull something out, but stopped and dropped to her knees the minute her fingertips touched the door.

She looked down at herself. The pain inside her thigh was becoming worse, the beat of her heart now pulsating through her eardrums. "What the hell...!" She struggled to get up, leaning against the wall for support. She needed to get to the bathroom and find out what was happening.

Reaching the hallway, she was surprised to discover that she was still able to walk without any difficulty at all. The ache was starting to move up, very slowly. She then made her way into the bathroom, collasping again to the floor.

(Author's Note: Now, this next part may seem a bit awkward, but trust me, you'll see what's wrong.) "I knew I never should've done this," she hissed. Her hands grasped her leather belt and undid it. "What the hell did he do to me?" Her fingers began to slip, and her eyes squeezed shut due to the pain, but she concentrated and felt herself finally pull her pants down to her knees. She then struggled to get her eyes open, and finally looked down.

"Ohh, what a day," Al yawned as he stepped out of Kay's mother's old car and closed the door. He wasn't exactly old enough to drive yet, but that didn't matter to him; Kay had let him take that car anyway. He was surprised to find out that he actually looked almost seventeen to his friends. He couldn't wait until he was sixteen though, so he could take the driver's exam, pass it with flying colors, and be free to drive without worrying about being caught and convicted of underage possesion and use of a vehicle.

He laughed at how long and funny that case sounded. If he was brought to court, if the judge repeated that, he was sure to crack up. He found everything to be way too funny.

Then, his smile faded, the second he heard her scream.

"Kayla!" He sprinted to the front door, opened it as quick as he could and looked around. He looked down the stairs - nope, she wasn't there - then in the kitchen - she didn't look like she was in there either. He hopped up the stairs, skipping two with each jump, and looked down the hallway, listening for any clue to where his girlfriend was.

Then, he heard her. Harsh panting and weak whimpering. The sound was coming from the bathroom. Without another moment, he made his way down the hall and peered into the small room, looked down to where she was sitting.

Her attention was completely drawn to something, a marking that looked branded on her inner thigh. A tattoo? No. It looked too familiar; a strange triangle formation, surrounded by a dragon that looked...as if it was about to devour its own tail. Where had he seen that marking before?

Then, he remembered it all...

"Kayla," he said, kneeling down to her level, "what is that?"

"It's...the Oroborus," she whimpered. "But...where did it come from?"

"I don't know...wait! You mean you haven't seen that marking until today?"

"No..." Kay tried her hardest to avoid eye contact with Al.

"Hold still." His hand reached forward, and slightly touched the marking. Kay just hissed in pain.

"Please, don't touch me." She pulled herself away from Al's touch. "This had to have come from you; I don't know where else it could've come from." She looked up with an expression composed of confusion, and hatred. "What did you do to me, you bastard?"

"K...Kayla, I would never-"

"You liar! Tell me what you did to me, before it's too late!"

"...Kay..."

"What?"

"Your eyes...they've changed."

"What!"

"Look in the mirror..."

Kay stood, hoisting herself up as fast as she could, and turned to look in the mirror. She gasped. Her eyes were no longer the dark brown that she was familiar with; they shone in an almost-light amethyst color for a few seconds, then changed back to normal.

"What the...how the hell is this happening to me?" She quickly ran to her parents' old room and reached for the phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Crystal," she said. "She might be able to help."

Finally, on the other end of the line, a voice was heard. "Hello?"

"Cris?"

"Yeah, who's this? Kayla?"

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need your help!"

"What's wrong; you sound really scared."

"I am!"

"But, why? What's the matter?"

"I think...I'm a Homunculus."

"...What? But, Kay, there're only seven."

"Then, why is the Oroborus mark on my leg?"

Cris gasped. "What...? Please, please tell me you're joking, Kayla."

"I'm not. I just found it a few minutes ago. That was the source of my pains today at school. So, can you help?"

"I don't know...how could this be possible? How the fuck could this be real? You better be telling the truth, Hamilton!"

"Shut up, Cris, I am! But, please, don't tell Ed."

"The phone's on speaker. He's in a state of shock right now; that's why you haven't heard his voice."

"Oh, God...Ed?"

"I heard you, Kayla," Ed uttered. "We'll call you back." There was suddenly a click noise, and the line went completely dead. Kay only sighed and placed the phone back on the receiver.

"So, what did they say?" Al asked.

"Nothing really, Al. I think we're on our own for this one..."