Chapter 18: Bell Of The Ball

The next morning, Serena called Virgil and told him she had accidentally fallen asleep at Hotstreak's place and that she would see him at school, Ms. Seilia's threat, completely forgotten... Hotstreak refused to let her out of his sight at what she remembered from before and even enrolled back in school, even though he was nearly twnty years old... He demanded to have every class Serena did, and was given senior work to work on during classes... Being a bang baby had it's perks, because most people steered clear of him and didn't question his motives... Virgil, and Ritchie had a funny feeling something was up, but decided that it would be best not to mess with him... The whole day went by slowly has Hotstreak escorted Serena to each class, acting as her body guard, acting suspicious of every student that looked her way...

For some odd reason, his heart was telling him to treat everyone as a potential threat, no one could be trusted, just in case that evil woman was able to manipulate others to do what she wanted. Zoisite smirked as she caught sight of her prey and followed them with a feline grace...

' Oh... So the princess has a new prince does she?! Queen Beryl will be pleased when I tell her my discovery... She'll have fun playing with him the way she did Darien...' Zoisite thought smirking.

Hotstreak was no fool, thanks to his fire powers, he could sense every heat signature of every living thing close to him... And since there were no other students in the hallway, it was easy for him to sense someone following them... Tightening his hold on Serena's arm, Hotstreak turned and quickly guided her behind him protectively, before grabbing the stalker by thier throat and holding them up in the air roughly, drawing attention from the teachers in the nearby classrooms...

" I don't know who the hell you are... Or what you want, but I don't appreciate you stalking us!" Hotstreak snarled, noticing the wicked glint in her eye, " What the hell? You!"

" It's nice to see you too, handsome..." Zoisite crooned, " Thank you oh so much for the information you gave about that strange gas... It would have been perfect if she hadn't interfered!"

" Just what the hell are you?! Why would you want to turn people like that?!" Hotstreak asked angrily.

" Power..." Zoisite hissed, her eyes glinting, " Farewell..."

And just like that, the creepy woman vanished right out of Hotstreak's hand, leaving him and Serena both feeling chilled by her presence... Virgil and Ritchie saw the whole thing and quickly ran over to the two in concern.

" Who the heck was that?!" Ritchie exclaimed, " A bang baby?!"

" No..." Hotstreak said seriously, " She's not a bang baby and she's definitely not human... She something much more sinister... She works for someone who wants to hurt Serena..."

" Why would anyone want to hurt Serena?!" Virgil exclaimed angrily.

" I don't know... She remembered something from her past yesterday... Something that makes me sick to my stomach just to think about it..." Hotstreak said.

" What?" Virgil asked.

" A woman who hates Serena made her choose between seeing her friends and her boyfriend murdered, or giving up her life in exchange for thiers... She chose to die in order to save them, and that evil woman somehow got Serena's boyfriend to stab her!" Hotstreak said angrily, " We need all the help we can get to ensure her safety... That woman was also responsible for the gas epidemic too..."

" Damn..." Virgil swore, " This is serious..."

" Tell me about it..." Hotstreak said worriedly...

The three friends walked protectively with Serena as they walked to the next class... About halfway through the class, however, there was a knock on the door...

" Come in. " Mr. McGill said in a bored baritone.

A young woman dressed in a very expensive looking cream colored skirt suit strode into the room and stopped in front of Serena.

" Mr. Alva instructed me to hand deliver this to you and has ordered me to inform you that Alva Industries is holding a ball in your honor... It's his way of expressing his gratitude for your agreeing to help him... It will be a black tie occasion, so please..." The woman said snottily, " Do inform the friends you invite to dress accordingly... It will be one week from today..."

After Serena took the envelope offered to her, the woman quickly strode back out the door... Serena stared at the envelope in her hand before opening and pulling out a check from Alva Industries... Looking at the huge sum the check was written out for, Serena nearly fainted! It was a check for $500,000! Serena quickly stuffed it I to her white leather purse and decided it was best to show her friends later... A few classes later and school was over. As the bell rang, releasing the students for the day, Serena hurriedly rushed out of the room, followed closely by Hotstreak, Virgil and Ritchie.

" Hey! Slow down Serena!" Virgil said exhausted, " Where's the fire?!"

" I just figured it'd be best if not everyone knew what was in that envelope..." Serena said a bit nervously.

" What was it?" Hotstreak asked.

Instead of answering, Serena pulled him to a nearby alley as Virgil and Ritchie followed and handed the envelope to Hotstreak. Of course Virgil and Ritchie both had to see too, so when they saw what it was and how much it was for all of they're jaws dropped...

" Dang Serena! What are you going to do with it?!" Virgil asked in shock.

" I'm going to give it back... I can't except that much money for something I don't even know if I can do..." Serena said seriously, her mind made up...

Seeing as they had no other alternatives, Hotstreak, Virgil and Ritchie led her across town where Alva industries stood. The foreboding structure stood tall against the midday sky as the four youths walked up and rang the bell for intrence.