Summary: Hestia Warner has always felt like she didn't belong, between finding out she was adopted to the pure craziness that has surrounded her for years. When several new students transfer to her school in the sleepy town of Widowsvale halfway through her Senior year, she is intrigued by them and the mystery surrounding them. With the return of something she thought she had put behind her, she's about to find out that not everything is as it seems. Especially, concerning a mysterious boy that makes her feel things she thought herself incapable of feeling. But, seeking the truth behind all of it is a lot harder than it seems, especially when darkness is around every corner and she's not as safe as she thought she was. A rewriting of True Heritage.

I don't own Winx Club

Chapter 4

Killing the engine of her car, Hestia braced her hands against the steering wheel, as she blearily watched other students mosey past, some entering the schools in clusters while others were separate from the crowd slowly trickling into the school. The morning light was pale, drowsy even, and the gray sky above made her want to curl back up in bed and sleep the day away. Or maybe, that was just Mondays being Mondays. Yawning, she reached into the backseat – after unbuckling her seatbelt – and tugged her bag across the center console before slinging it over one shoulder.

She counted to ten inside her head, before opening the car door, yanking the key out of the ignition at the same time, and immediately feeling the coolness of January air against her face. Tucking her hands into her pockets to keep them warm, she pressed the lock button on her key twice – the car beeping to signal that it was locked – before heading into the school. Normally, she would meet up with Tracy, Ally, and Jess in the old stairwell, but she was in no mood to do so – besides, she probably wasn't that welcome there due to her argument with both Tracy and Ally.

It sucked, she mused, fighting with her friends, but they could hardly be considered friends anymore. Tracy had changed, her personality flipping a switch in the warm summer months. And Ally was always trying to control her life – part of it was looking out for her, she knew that – and they had always bumped heads on the topic in the past.

"Hey!" Rory jogged over, abandoning both Lyrica and Lea as both girls stared for a minute before continuing the trek into school. Rory seemed chipper, obviously a morning person – or it could be the coffee cup she was currently holding – and Hestia felt her lips twitch into a smile.

Hestia adjusted the strap of her bookbag. "Morning." She greeted, yawning again.

Rory eyed her with amusement. "Not a morning person, I take it."

"Nope." Hestia said, popping the p. "Although, it's Monday, so that just makes it worse." She eyed Rory's coffee cup enviously. Even though, Morgan and Bree had drove to school together – Bree staying the night last night and having her own car – and normally, she would pick up coffee without her little sister in the car, but today she had gotten a late start. Not so much due to sleeping in – she had hardly been able to get much sleep last night – but just her body being unwilling to move until at least fifteen minutes after she normally woke up.

Rory hummed in agreement. "I feel that. It's taken like five cups of coffee for me to be this awake." She shook her cup for emphasis before taking a sip.

"Lucky." Hestia dragged the word out. "My parents hardly ever let me drink coffee in the morning – I always have to sneak it. So, are you not normally a morning person, then?" She asked as they hurried into the building, the heat from the hallway only slightly warmer than the outside – both due to a poor heating system and the fact that the doors were being held open causing the cold air to rush in and the hot air to rush out. She tugged her hands out of her pockets, pulling her phone with her.

Rory shook her head. "Nope. Not really. It's just the caffeine." She answered.

Hestia chuckled a little. "Hey. I've been meaning to ask. How did your contact get into my phone? I don't remember trading numbers on Saturday." She had thought of the question after she had already gone home yesterday. They had spent a long time at the café, before Hestia introduced them to Antiques and Things – the boys liked it, especially Carter, although Rory wasn't as interested in anything but the old clothing – and from there she dragged them around town, leaving their car at their apartment when they went by it.

Rory shrugged. "Oh. I got ahold of your phone on the drive to Taco Bell and added my contact. Your password was really easy to figure out, by the way." She said.

"Note to self; change password." Hestia muttered. Devices like her laptop and tablet were far more protected, but when it came to her phone, she had gotten lazy due to there not being much coding and hacking she could do on the device without draining the battery extensively. "Welp, this is my stop. See you at lunch." They separated as Hestia headed into her first period.

She frowned a little but manage to smooth out her expression as she dropped her stuff into her assigned seat. Cassidy had been her seat partner for the better part of the year, but the girl had been absent from school since they had gotten back from Christmas break. She wasn't close to the brunette – they didn't have the same friend group since Cassidy was a cheerleader – but it was rather odd that the girl had been absent for so long. "You worried about something, princess?" Brandon sat down beside her, dropping his bag in between their seats.

Hestia shrugged, "I'm just curious as to why you're still my seat partner." She blurted out, "It's just, Cassidy has sat here since before you got here and it's a little weird that she's just gone."

"Oh." Brandon said, looking lost in thought, before he smirked. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, princess." He slid one chocolate eye closed into a wink. "I had fun this weekend, by the way. Aside from the make-over," He shivered at the mention of it, a disgruntled expression on his face and Hestia snorted, "it was fun. We should do it again sometime."

The undertone to his face made her freeze a little, was he still flirting with her? Was he trying to sound like that or was it just in her head? Guys didn't flirt with her, they just weren't interested like that and here's a guy that's attractive and flirting with her. Normally, she'd think he'd go for girls like Bree or Cassidy or Tracy or, hell, even Jessica – even though the girl had a boyfriend.

It must just be in her head. He wasn't actually serious.

Hestia rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Sure. Maybe." She mentally facepalmed, way to sound lame, Warner, at herself. She sighed in relief – although she was going to pretend it was exasperation and exhaustion – when the teacher started to go over the warm-up, tugging out her school-issued laptop and following his directions. Normally, she would have already completed the assignment, but her mind was floating elsewhere.

Pressing her pointer finger against the silver button for the intercom by the school poolside entrance, she glanced at the camera. The back doors of the school where she entered in the morning were normally locked and the school had yet to get an intercom there, so it would be pure luck if she managed to get in through that entrance. A muffled voice answered, before the red light turned green and she heard the door unlock. Hestia pushed the door open before pushing the second door – the school had two doors they had to cross before getting inside, leaving a mudroom type room at the center of the outside and the inside.

She adjusted the strap of her bookbag, before checking the time on her phone. Her lock screen was the standard screensaver – she had changed it once-upon-a-time, but a glitch on her phone switched it back when her phone overheated and had a glitchy shut down – and she briefly dragged the notification bar down, scrolling through the notifications from her phone. There were a few emails – well, not a few, colleges sent emails basically every day and she just kind of let them sit there, no entirely sure what to even do with them – and a notification from Subway Surfers reminding her of some deal or the other.

Snapchat. Instagram. More emails. Missed phone calls from telemarketers.

Nothing from Ally. Although, her supposed best friend had stopped by her house when she wasn't there and talked to her parents. A small twinge of anger curled at the base of her spine, she knew that Ally was practically family, but there was a line.

When they were angry at each other – no matter how big or small the fight – it was just code for them not to go to each other's parents because it was like ratting each other out and seeded distrust.

Hestia sighed, picking up the pace towards the English classroom they were being allotted to use for their school newspaper meeting. They made it a point to review and post sign up sheets towards the end of every marking period. Some members participated in seasonal sports, meaning that they could be part of the school newspaper only a few times of the year, leaving it as a revolving door. The door to the classroom was open, light spilling out from the room and only half of the lights in the English hallway were even on, the janitor on another hallway listening to Punk rock music.

"There you are." Beth waved her over, leaning against the orange-hued wooden door, arms folded over her chest. She tilted her head in the direction of the inside of the room and Hestia followed the gesture. "We've got a few more faces rejoining and one of the transfer students…what's her name?...Lea…Lahna," Beth waved the matter off, "whatever her name is…she's joining up as well."

Hestia glanced inside the room, the room was divided evenly in half, teacher's desk against the wall to the left of the door while there was an aisle at the center of the room in between the desk and the smartboard. A few members were spread out at the desks, some chairs being entirely claimed by bookbags while the tables were claimed by laptops and white printer paper. "Leanna Shields." She supplied the name. "Where's Jeremy? Is he not joining up this marking period?"

Beth shook her head. "I ran into him on the way out. He's in drama club and extremely involved this year – more so than last year – so he's out." She informed her. "We'll be getting started soon, just waiting for any stragglers."

Hestia nodded in understanding, spotting Ally and Jess seated around Ally's distant cousin Farrah. Farrah had pale skin, not a trace of freckles on her face contrary to her cousin, but they had the same wine-red hair and build. Although Farrah's eyes were a caramel brown. In spite of her warm appearance, there was something that Hestia found strange about her. Her instincts just warned her away from Farrah as if the girl wronged her in a past life.

Ally glanced up, the smile freezing on her face as they locked eyes before Hestia turned back to Beth.

"So – from first impressions – how many of the twenty or so that we have will actually stick around?" Hestia asked, folding her arms across her chest. She moved out of the way for a student to pass – a freshman, if her posture was any indication – before taking up a position leaning against the doorframe on the inside of the room. She had a fleeting memory of the last time she had been in here, when she had had the class her sophomore year, but the memory was faded at the corners and the style of the room had changed bit by bit with that teacher's departure from the staff.

Beth scanned the faces. "Well, including a few that joined up this time last year, I'd say we have at least twelve." She answered. "Hey, have you talked to the transfer student? Do you think she's got any talent for it?"

Hestia glanced over at Leanna, who was being suckered into a conversation with another junior that Hestia briefly recognized the face of but couldn't put a name to. "I think so. I talked with her when we ran into each Saturday. She said that she's been writing fictional stories since middle school. It's more than I can say for some of the people in this room who are really looking for a way to pass the time until their practice starts." She pointed out.

"True." Beth's lips quirked into a smile. "She seems a little shy, though."

Hestia shrugged, "I wouldn't say shy, mainly quiet. It means she's good at listening."

It wasn't as though the school newspaper was really hard to get into, they had their fair share of people who were mainly looking to add one extracurricular to their college resume, but there were people that they could tell took it seriously and those were the ones who were given actual positions to put on said college resume. Beth nodded her agreement, before the president of the school newspaper clapped her hands together, calling all attention to her and Hestia headed to the seat next to Lea.

She plopped down, resolutely ignoring the fact that Ally was staring a hole into the side of her face. "Hey Hestia." Lea whispered.

"Hey." Hestia returned the whispered greeting before they both quieted for Beth to start the meeting. The teacher was absent, although they would all just say he was in the bathroom if anyone asked and had trusted them enough to not break anything to loan the room out without adult supervision. He didn't treat them like elementary-grade people, rather like young adults that didn't need to be watched in a room.

Beth launched into the roles of some of the members of the school newspaper and those members and the people who were already part of it – like Hestia – zoned out on the introductory speech she had clearly practiced. They tried to take it as seriously as possible, when most students passed off the school newspaper as a joke and a few didn't even know of its existence, because it was practice for the real world.

Even though, Hestia didn't fancy a journalism job for herself, it was nice to have the practice under her belt. She was more interested with what she could do with her technology and devices, which left her talents to not scoping out the stories, but rather setting up the style of the articles so that they were at least appealing. The new faces, however, would have to scope out new stories – hopefully with the right practices, this was a newspaper, not a tabloid. They wanted to share information, but not to the extent of violating someone's privacy.

Hestia glanced around as Beth's speech tapered off and she made her rounds of meeting up with the new faces. It was obvious who was actually taking it seriously and who saw it as nothing more than a joke and she mentally tallied the results.

Contrary to Beth's initial estimate, they only had eight likely candidates.

"Wow." Leanna said after the speech was over and before Beth made her way to them. "You guys really take this seriously."

Hestia quirked an eyebrow in response.

Lea waved her hands back and forth emphatically. "N-Not that it's a bad thing. It's amazing that you all are trying to be serious about this. I don't mean to say that it's not something to be serious about. It's just," She glanced around, her entire face going several shades of red, "some of the people here don't seem to care all that much about it and well, I hadn't even been sure you had a club until you told me. You'd think there'd be a lot more attention on it with how…realistic you try to make it." Lea rambled, flailing a little.

Amused, Hestia smiled. "If it was up to us, we'd have it be a year-long thing and not have introductory meetings four times a school year, but not a lot of people care too much about it and we're just trying to have as many people involved as possible so the school doesn't shut us down. They don't particularly care about it, either. Hence why we don't have t-shirts or sweaters or anything like that." Hestia shrugged.

"Oh." Lea said. She fidgeted a little, a flash drive sliding in between her hands. "Then, I guess it doesn't matter about my fictional story writing, does it?"

Hestia shook her head. "Hey. You've got some experience in the writing field. And, if you rely on a lot of imagery, then you should be good to go. A good story makes the reader able to visualize it, that goes for both fictional and nonfictional." She said. "Sure, the style is a little different, first and second person can be considered a little odd for nonfictional newspaper-type writing." She provided an example of the difference in style.

Beth suddenly appeared. "So, you're Leanna. It's nice to finally put a face to the name I've been hearing around school." She sat down at the desk in front of Leanna, turned around so that she could rest her arms on the back of the chair.

Lea nodded. "Yeah. That's me." She gave a nervous chuckle.

"You know, there's got to be a pretty interesting story about why you moved to good ole Widowsvale midway through your junior year." Beth cast a critical eye over her, before suddenly grinning. "It's not something you have to share if you don't want to, but expect some of the other newbies to poke their noses in. Of course, we'd never want to violate your privacy like that, so we won't be allowing those stories to be published, but it's just a warning." She shrugged.

Lea sighed a little. "Thanks for the heads up." She deflated.

Beth and Hestia shared a glance. "Hey. Don't worry. I can tell you're serious about this kid, and that's more than I can say for some people," She narrowed her eyes at the group close to the door, obviously looking to leave the meeting once practice started up, "so don't worry about it. You'll do fine with finding a beginning story. I just need your information so Hestia, here, can send you the information detailing what's being asked." Beth jabbed a thumb at Hestia.

"Seriously? I've been volunteered for that, again?"

Beth smirked. "Well, you are the school newspaper's resident tech expert."

Hestia glowered, "I didn't think that would mean I'd be responsible for the group chat or emails." She said. They tended to do both, based on the majority vote. On one hand, emails were very easy to lose, especially if random emails from random contacts get tossed in spam. But, group chats could be exceedingly annoying, even if some were told that responding was unnecessary.

"You really should've." Beth turned her attention back to Lea. "So, email or text?"

Lea wrote down her name and phone number on the sheet that Beth was holding onto. "Text would probably be better. I'm not the best with checking my emails."

Beth nodded in understanding. "You and me, both, sister." She stood up, before moving onto the next new face.

"So, if you're going to be sending out the messages, why is she going around asking for the information?" Leanna wondered aloud.

Hestia gave her a sideways smile. "Because she's a lot more sociable than I am." She answered. She slid her gaze to the clock. "Well, now that you've listened to the introductory speech and dropped off your information…you're free to go."

Lea blinked. "Really? That's it." She sounded surprised.

"Yup." Hestia popped the p. "The only really long meetings are when we're going over what stories to publish – the school newspaper is a weekly thing, by the way – and making sure they're printing out correctly. But that doesn't really require you, specifically."

"Oh." Lea said. "So, when do you all normally meet up?"

"Mondays and Thursdays. Mondays are the meetings where we cover what articles might need further research and assign jobs for the week – they're not entirely important since all info is sent out through either email or text. Thursdays are the meetings where we go through all of our stories, decide which ones are going on the newspaper and which ones need more work, finalize the style, and print them out – they're extra long and you're only required for a little bit of them according to what your job for the week is." Hestia informed her.

Lea nodded, looking like she was mentally storing the information. "Thanks for telling me." She shouldered her bookbag. "Are you going to be required to stay long?" She asked, biting her lip.

Hestia glanced over at the group. "Well, I have to get the list from Beth. But no. Not really. Why?" She asked, turning her gaze back to Lea.

"Well, I thought the meeting might run later so I told my brother a later time." Lea explained. "I think he's bugging Carter at work and it'll probably take him a little bit longer to get here. So, that's like twenty minutes of waiting." She sighed, her voice exasperated and fond at the same time. "I've also been meaning to make another stop at Antiques and Things." Lea offered up that tidbit of information.

Hestia grinned. "You know, you didn't have to bribe me what the mention of that store. I was going to give you a ride, anyways. I know how annoying it can be to have to rely on others for transportation." She did, maybe not in the same context as Lea since she was the older sibling, but she had relied on her parents to the same extent before and it had sucked. It made her feel like a burden and she loathed the feeling.

Lea looked relieved. "Thanks." She said, typing out a quick message to her brother to tell him that he wasn't need anymore and that she already had a ride.

"Welcome." Hestia said warmly. "So, I'll meet you at the car. Just get it started and you can pick the music." She tossed Lea her keys, fully trusting her. "Do you know what spot I'm in?"

Lea smiled. "I know the general location and what your car looks like." She answered. "I'm sure, I won't have a problem finding it."

Hestia nodded. "Ok." Lea nodded back before leaving, wrapping Hestia's lanyard around her wrist, mindful of the large car key. She glanced around the room, noting how it was slowly clearing out, leaving behind the people who were already part of the school newspaper. "Hey. Beth. I'm going to head out." She walked over to the president, holding a hand out expectantly for the paper.

"Oh. Ok." Beth didn't question it, handing over the paper. Hestia skimmed the list, making a mental note to try and send everything out before eight tonight. It wouldn't take long to compose the email and text, she could just copy and paste from previous information send outs, it was just the matter of getting the numbers and emails right. "See you, Thursday."

Hestia was about to leave, but Ally caught up to her at the door, her grip on her sleeve and Hestia twitched a little. "Hey. Can we talk?" Ally asked, her eyes filled with desperation. Farrah was lingering nearby, stuck in a conversation with another member – Tyler, Hestia placed a name to his face – but her caramel gaze was on them.

Jerking her wrist free from Ally, she turned on her heel and went to the opposite end of the hallway. From the doors, she could see the other school across the street and the large expanse of the barren front yard. Pale light shone on the outside world, the sun trapped behind layers of thick clouds that looked about ready to douse the world in precipitation. She could hear Ally following her, footsteps even and almost soundless. "It's not like you'd give me much of a choice, Alison."

Ally winced. "What'd I do to deserve the full first name treatment?" She asked jokingly.

Hestia folded her arms across her chest. "Well, let's see. You tried to control what other friends I made." She raised one finger. "You made me feel like I was a freakshow for something outside of my control." Another finger was raised. "And you went to my parents while I wasn't home, and I don't even want to know what you told them." The third and final finger she was going to raise was raised. "Is there anything I'm forgetting, Alison?" She asked.

"I didn't tell them anything that bad!" Ally protested, shrinking a little. "I just told them that I was worried about you because you haven't spoken to me and-"

Hestia cut her off. "You haven't spoken to me, either." She reminded her.

Ally lowered her head. "You're right. And I know we made that vow to leave our parents and families out of it when we fight, but…come on Tia, your episodes are returning. Of course, I'm going to be worried and try to help you." She said, her arms flailing out to her sides wildly.

Hestia mulled over her words. Ally had a point, it was a perfectly natural reaction to be worried, but it didn't mean that the manipulation tactic she had approached the situation with had been right. She had basically claimed that Hestia was untrustworthy, and that hurt. "I get it." Hestia said, "And, I can forgive you for it, but let me make something very clear. I need to approach Alice and David about this on my own terms. You can't just go to them and tell them for me. That's not ok with me."

Ally looked like she wanted to fight it, but she eventually relented with a sigh. "Fine. I'll let you go to them on your own." She said. "On one condition, you have to tell me how long it has been going on for and how bad it's getting. Honestly."

Hestia sighed. "I will." She said. "There's another thing. I don't like that you tried to control who I make friends with. You're my best friend, Als. But, I'm allowed to have friends outside of you." Hestia held a hand up when Ally opened her mouth to say something. "As of the moment, they haven't given me a reason to distrust them. They have secrets, yes, and the whole situation surrounding them coming here is weird, but they're decent people. I click with them really well and I think that if you gave them a chance, you'd like them too."

Ally pursed her lips. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I'm asking. I'm not going to force you to be friends with someone you don't want to be friends with."

"Thanks." Ally half-smiled. "So, are you going to go hang out with that Lea chick?"

Hestia nodded. "Yeah. We're going to Antiques and Things. You're welcome to join us." She offered. Although, she wasn't sure she could vouch for Lea, but it seemed to be the right thing to do to invite Ally along.

Ally's lips twitched. "Maybe some other time." She said, before turning and they both fell into step in the hallway. The air between them was slightly awkward, the remnants of the fight clinging to them like a second layer of skin, but it was slowly being peeled off. "See you tomorrow, Tia. I'll bring the coffee." Ally said, before they parted ways – Ally heading back into the English classroom and Hestia heading to the back exit.

She felt a little bad about making Lea wait so long in the car, but she could figure that the golden-haired girl – her hair was a mix of brown and blonde that gave it a dark gold sheen – would have turned on the heat to block out the cooling temperature of the outside.

Hestia tucked her hands into her pockets the minute she stepped outside, preserving their warmth. For a moment she was reminded of the summer months, when – no matter if the air conditioner were on full blast – she would get heat flashes, starting at the center of her palms and working their way out in tingling patches. Blinking away the memory, she hurried across the empty bus lot and towards the student lot. Lea was on her phone in the passenger seat, the car on and faint music pounding from it.

"Hey. Sorry it took so long." She checked her pocket suddenly, before remembering she had folded up the piece of paper Beth had given her and stored it in the breast pocket of her coat for safekeeping. "So, you ready to go?" Hestia turned to Lea.

Lea turned her phone screen off, smiling. "Yeah. Sure." She answered.

Hestia frowned, detecting the slight lie. "Is everything ok?" She asked.

"Of course." Lea nodded, the fact that she was biting her lip giving her away. "I just have a lot on my mind. Family stuff and all." Her eyes flicked down to her phone, changing Hestia's earlier assumption that she had been reading a book on it.

Hestia nodded in understanding. "Oh. I get it." After a beat, she put the car in drive, grateful that the person who parked in front of her had already left, and pulled through carefully -aware that people tended to speed through the parking lot when there were less people around. "Do you want to talk about it? Or drown it out with music? I'm game for both." Hestia kept her eyes on the road, her lips twitching into a half-smile.

Lea glanced at her thoughtfully. "I just…have a lot of pressure put on me. My parents are really respected…in Gardenia…and there's a lot of pressure for me to be perfect for them. Not just by them, but also by the people around them. It gets a little annoying sometimes, when everything I do is criticized so thoroughly." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not really supposed to go into any specifics, though." Lea winced.

Hestia shrugged. "So, just a lot of pressure." She summarized. "I get that. I'm under a lot of pressure from my parents, too. Though, probably not in the same way as you are. But they've always expected a lot from me. I'm the oldest. I have to set the standard for Morgan, which is hard." She didn't really understand why Lea wasn't supposed to go into specifics and mentally decided that she definitely had a bone to pick with these parents of theirs that decided to send them out – alone – to the middle of nowhere.

If she ever met them, she might just completely demolish all of their devices with several bugs and glitches because she wasn't really good at throwing punches.

"Alright. Enough of that." Hestia tried to come up with something that would move the topic to something lighter. She side-eyed Lea as she entered the main road, finally leaving the slow speeds of the school behind. "Did anyone tell you about our attempts yesterday to take Carter to court for attempted bunny murder?" She asked.

Lea snorted, "Wait, what? Seriously? That's hilarious." She laughed. "His mom used to have a pet bunny when she was our age, so it makes it a lot funnier." Lea explained, which caused Hestia to burst into laughter, she had to take one hand off the wheel to wipe the tears of mirth from her eyes.

"I didn't know that part." Hestia pouted. "They should have told me."

They were both grinning, the heaviness from earlier completely depleted. "I wonder how she would have reacted to his standing trial for those charges." Lea wondered aloud, still sounding like she was barely keeping her amusement at bay.

"She probably would have questioned what truly happened to her precious bunny." Hestia said. "You know, if Carter and the bunny were alive at the same time. We might actually catch Carter for first degree bunny murder and attempted bunny murder."

Lea paused thoughtfully. "Poor Percy and Isabella – they're his little siblings – they would be absolutely crushed if it turned out that the big brother they idolized is actually a mass bunny murderer." She said.

A sudden voice from Lea's phone almost made Hestia pull over, but she recovered quickly. "Uh, sis?" Brandon's voice called from the phone. "I think you might have accidently called me." He said, sounding like he was barely withholding laughter.

Hestia and Lea shared a look as Lea let out an eep and hung up, "Sorry." She said in a squeaky voice. They were silent for all of two seconds, before they continued laughing, this time laughing at what Hestia could assume was Brandon's face at the running joke.

By the time Hestia had sent out all of the information from the school newspaper, it was just a little past eight – she didn't meet her self-made deadline, but oh well – and her eyes were drooping. Exhaustion, from the past few nights of very little sleep and from all of the activities of the day almost made her topple over off her desk chair. She steadied herself by bracing her hands against the table, having the mind to at least shut her laptop and plug it in, but she knew she would only be able to come up with useless information if she even touched her homework.

It hadn't built up too badly, she could spend one night without doing it. Last night, she had stayed up late going ahead in homework in a vain attempt to avoid a long period of sleep. She still had the nightmares like clockwork and woke up with only a few hours of sleep. It wasn't healthy, she knew that, and it hadn't been part of the episodes when she relapsed a few years ago.

Which was why she had kept it from Ally during their hour-long phone call. Ally had called a few minutes after dinner, and Hestia had clung to the excuse of heading up to bed early so she could chat with her best friend. They had originally talked about the information that Hestia had to send out, which had taken all of ten minutes, before they finally talked about the elephant in the room. Hestia had divulged that she had only had a few episodes, keeping the car episode to herself because, though she trusted Ally explicably, there was no way Ally wouldn't immediately go to her parents about it.

Then, she would be carted off to a mental facility and forced into a cage.

Ok, maybe calling it a cage was a bit melodramatic, but she didn't like it. She hated it there.

Maybe, it wasn't right to keep such a thing a secret from Ally, because they were trying to rebuild that trust in their friendship when it had been rattled, but she had her reasons. They might be selfish, but they were her reasons. It fell under the same category of reasons she didn't tell the transfer students about her being adopted, in spite of the opportunity presenting itself several times. She liked them, but it took a while for her to build enough trust in people to divulge personal information like that.

And, whether she wanted to admit it or not, she didn't really trust Ally at the moment.

They were best friends, but her faith in their friendship had been rattled to the point where they stopped talking for several days. As much as she'd love for this phase to just be over with, it wasn't.

Hestia sighed, soothing away the migraine building in her skull. She got up from the desk and made her way to the bathroom, flicking on the light. She checked the pill bottle, knowing that even if she wanted to keep it a secret forever, she couldn't keep it a secret that she would need to up her prescription and more pills. Her parents would wonder why she had gone through the bottle so fast, when it was supposed to last for another month or so, and she couldn't very well realistically hide it from them.

She could lie and say that half the bottle fell in the trash. But that wasn't very realistic, and they would see through it in a second.

Hestia shook out a tablet onto her palm, and stared at it for a second, before glancing at her reflection. The mark on her face from the other day still hadn't healed, and she had covertly bought make-up on her way home yesterday so she could stop stealing it from her sister. It was still as vibrant and fresh as it had been when she woke up with it and she frowned, contemplative.

She didn't even know what it was from and it might be a permanent fixture on her face.

Fingers fisting around the tablet, she allowed herself a moment of justified anger, before washing it away and unclenching her hand. She popped it in her mouth and swallowed it down with tap water. Hestia gagged a little once the pill moved past her throat, even if she had been forced to do it for years, didn't mean she liked it. She eyed her reflection for a moment longer, before turning off the light and heading back to her dim-lit room.

Hestia splayed out on the bed, burying her face in her pillow and wondering what kind of dreams she might have tonight. She turned towards the door and frowned a little thoughtfully, her mind going to the antique store. She had still been writing in the therapist-issued journal, but she kept the hallucinations and episodes a secret in the new journal she had tucked underneath her mattress until she could find a more secure location.

It was a Wiccan store, maybe they might have something that could ward off nightmares. Not, that Hestia had ever truly believed in all of the magical stuff. Despite her issues, she still had a logical mind that there was a scientific explanation behind everything. Her issues could be explained away scientifically, in spite of how real they felt. And the idea of magic was a bit to fantastical, it wasn't real, at least, not to her.

She sighed, flipping over to stare at the ceiling. Maybe, she mused sleepily, she could get a dreamcatcher from the store. It might not do anything and would be very hard to explain away to her parents, but it might do something.

And doing something – other than going to the parents, because that was a last resort – was better than doing nothing.

Resting the back of her head against the brick wall, Hestia tilted her head upwards to peer at the sky. The sun was currently being blotted out by a particularly rough section of murky cloud, and while there were patches of blue in the sky, they were few and far in between and the heat from the sun was practically non-existent. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing here, this wasn't her normal spot – more so left to people who wanted to drown out their sorrows by any means necessary – but she still found herself leaning against the brick wall of a seedy gas station with her arms crossed.

Hestia pressed the bottom of her boot against the wall, aiming for nonchalance – even though she knew that if anyone were looking close enough, they would see her pulse racing at her neck.

Maybe, she mused to herself, it wasn't the wisest idea to head over to a known location of Ryder – he was an old friend of hers that had stumbled on a bad path come high school – but she didn't have much of a choice. Her pill bottle was running low and unless she wanted to get caught in a lie with her parents, she would have to have Ryder fill it off-the-record. She knew that he wouldn't tell anyone, just as she didn't tell anyone his hideout in spite of the fact that she could.

"I've got to admit. I didn't expect to see you, Cherie." A voice drawled from her left and she tilted her head to peer at him.

Ryder had changed from her memories of him as a fresh-faced ninth grader when they started high school. He didn't have the braces or the glasses anymore. And his wardrobe had went from being almost too neat to being darker and loose on his frame. His hands were in the pockets of his baggy jeans, although she could see the inky tattoo peeking out from his wrist from the sleeve he had inked on.

He eyed her for a second, his hazel eyes curious and the tendrils of black hair falling messily over his head. The leather jacket paired with the eyebrow piercing and the lip piercing shaped him into someone that Hestia hardly recognized from the sweet boy who had asked for her permission to kiss her.

Hestia shrugged. "Yet, I expected you to be."

Ryder smirked. "Of course. This is, after all, my spot. Everyone knows that." He leaned towards her, a cigarette tube behind one ear. "So, why are you here, Cherie?"

"I-"

He held up a hand, "No, wait. Don't tell me. You're here to beg me to come back to school again, aren't you, Cherie? I would have thought you would have given up on that cause a long time ago." Ryder sounded distinctly annoyed.

A scowl crossed her features before she could stop it or stifle her reaction. Initially, when she found out that he was getting involved in drugs and violence, she had come here in the hopes of getting him back to the Ryder she knew. It hadn't been her wisest idea, showing up when he was surrounded by a new crowd of friends, and he had mercilessly broken her heart and tore apart their friendship before tossing it at her feet like it meant nothing.

Hestia had wanted to hate him so badly after that. But, he was her first kiss and first boyfriend, so the tender spot that she would always hate would always be reserved for him. Although, she knew better than to welcome him back when he decided that this lifestyle wasn't worth the pain.

"Oh. That ship has sailed." Hestia snorted derisively. "I know better than to get in between you and your…hobby." She chose the word carefully. She knew and understood why some people needed to unwind after being given a shitty hand. Ryder's parents weren't role model worthy people. His father a drunk. His mother an addict. It made for horrible Thanksgivings, according to him.

Ryder nodded, unfazed. "So, then, why are you here?" He smirked suddenly. "Don't tell me the sanctimonious Hestia has fallen from grace?"

Hestia picked herself up off the wall. "You could say that." She toyed with the pill bottle in her pocket. She could turn away and leave. Ryder hardly showed up to school and would probably drop out before interims, which was saddening considering he had been top of his class. But it just proved how far people could fall. "I need you to fill this up for me, off-the-record." Hestia decided, pulling the bottle from her pocket.

Ryder took it from her hands, shaking it a little, causing the remaining pills inside to rattle around. "Prescribed medication. Hmm. Not really my thing." Ryder lowered the label from his face and handed it back to her.

"Can you do it or not?" Hestia asked impatiently.

Ryder nodded. "Course I can." He answered, "But, why do you need it?"

Hestia glowered at him. "That's not really your concern." She clenched her jaw, but wisely kept any further commentary from leaving her mouth. Ryder was an egotistical jerk and insulting him would not make him help her and whether she liked it or not, she did need him to do this for her.

"Maybe not." Ryder conceded after a minute. "It's going to cost you. I don't give out pills for free, Cherie."

"I figured as much." Hestia nodded. "I'll scrub any trace of evidence of you from the drug investigations." It was illegal, she knew that, and if she got caught – which she wouldn't because she hadn't started understanding the language of computers yesterday – it could spell a lot more trouble than if she had just gone to her parents first. But, going to them meant that Ryder would be arrested in a few months and she would be locked away in a white cage.

She had no intentions of spending her senior year in any cage.

Ryder appraised her, looking interested and Hestia tugged out an old laptop. She opened the files that police had on him, which was minimal enough that she could erase it along with a few others with little suspicion of anything other than a glitch in their system. "Here's what they have on you. You do me this favor and I'll get rid of it." Hestia showed him the screen.

"Funny. I didn't think you'd try to keep me out of jail. What happened to trying for rehab? Or better yet, submitting the evidence I know you have on me to the police?" Ryder narrowed his eyes at her.

Hestia rolled her eyes. "If you're in jail than I can't get what I need from you." She answered in a duh tone. She softened slightly. "I'm over trying to convince you to do the right thing. You've lost that chance with me a long time ago when you pissed on our friendship, set it on fire, tied a stone to it, and then dropped it to the bottom of the ocean. You broke that, not me. Not anyone else, you. And maybe, in a few months they won't find you because of what I erased, but in a few years. Well, who knows?"

Ryder eyed her with a mix of emotions in his eyes, before he exhaled through his nose. "Fine. I'll do this once, for free. Cherie." He said.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Hestia contemplated his expression. "Why? I just told you that you're going to end up in jail in a few years." She tried to see if he was lying to her, but there was sincerity amidst the darkness that contoured his features.

"You won't." Ryder shrugged. "My hands are stained, Cherie. There's nothing in this entire world that's going to amend that. I'm not going to be responsible for when you stain yours." He said.

"You don't think getting pills off you is going to change that?" Hestia asked disbelievingly.

Ryder shook his head. "No. It won't. I'm the only other person – other than your family and Alison – that knows about the hallucinations, Cherie. Did you think I wouldn't recognize the medication?" He inquired.

Hestia swallowed roughly. "Then why did you ask why I need it."

Ryder shrugged. "I was curious, if you will." He waved a hand dismissively. "Besides, I do owe you."

"For what?"

"Breaking our friendship." Ryder sighed, holding out an expectant hand for the bottle and making a few notes in his yellow notepad when Hestia gave it to him hesitantly. She hadn't been expecting that, hadn't expected him to feel any hint of remorse for what he had done to her, to them. It wasn't just their friendship, he had broken, either, it was her heart. And, she knew, by the look in his eyes, that he knew the same thing. "Come by tomorrow, same time, Cherie. And, I'll have the pills ready for you." He said, giving the bottle bag.

Hestia nodded, tucking the bottle into her pocket. Her heart thudded inside her chest, breath escaping her in tufts of white air. A chill had settled over the world, the sun dipping below the horizon, and she could see the streetlamps flickering on, bugs swirling around it. She had never understood why they felt the need to throw themselves against the glass of the lamps to get closer to the light, maybe it was like the story of a man who had flown too close to the sun so that his wings melted.

She turned to leave, but Ryder caught her arm. "Are you sure about this, Cherie?" He bent to whisper in her ear.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. I am." She stalked off to her car after ripping her arm from his grasp, aware of the way his eyes followed her as she got into her car and turned the engine on. She had had the foresight to get gas before going to the spot that she knew Ryder would lurk around in, so she felt a twinge of satisfaction when she saw that the meter indicated her tank was full.

Mom and Dad would probably be curious as to why she took so long at the gas station, but she could just chalk it up to her getting distracted by coding or something. It was a perfectly plausible excuse.

Briefly, she wondered when she became such a liar. Hiding things from people who cared about her. From the people who chose her and chose to welcome her into their lives. It wasn't something she was accustomed to doing and maybe that was why Ryder offered her an out. He knew her, even after all of these years, and he knew that she struggled when it came to doing something that wasn't completely right. Maybe, it was why he didn't let her erase the evidence of him, because he knew that she would be a wreck internally if she did that.

She sighed, tugging the pill bottle out of her pocket and eyeing it contemplatively. Her fingers tightened around it, she couldn't go back to that place. She was finally getting to a place where she was ok, and she couldn't go back to the one area that ripped apart everything that glued her into one piece.

Tossing the bottle in her bag on the passenger seat, Hestia braced her hands on the steering wheel. She checked the rearview mirror, before allowing her eyes to flick to Ryder, who was eyeing her with his posture relaxed against the brick wall, looking intimidating and tall. She met his gaze for a second, before focusing on driving away. Her hands were tight around the wheel, shoulders tensing instinctively in a way that was uncomfortable and a bitter reminder that she could definitely use a massage.

She could also use a full night of sleep, but that – obviously – wasn't happening.

Flakes of snow clung to her eyelashes, cold against the skin underneath her eyes when she blinked up at the sky. She could feel the cold seeping through the material of the t-shirt and shorts she had fallen asleep in, her legs already stiff and cold. Hestia scrambled for purchase on the ground, trying desperately to lift herself, even though there was a weight crushing her chest inwards, making it difficult to breathe.

Although, the snow swirling downwards at a pace that was almost leisurely was a stark contrast to the heaviness around her.

Her skin prickled, the hairs standing on edge as something dug into her chest and then there was fire. So, so much fire. It blazed upwards, like a beacon of light shot from her chest. She could feel the snow packing her into the Earth melting, leaving behind icy water that was slowly heating around her.

Briefly, she wondered if once the snow melted it would drown her. Pack over her and freeze once more, leaving her in a solid block of ice with no heat and nothing to survive with.

She could feel the heat traveling from her body, in her hands and at her chest, which was slowly being crushed with the flames. The skin was cracking and blistering away to reveal the raw flesh underneath. Fire sizzled and popped everywhere, sparks dancing across her vision in a way that was almost magical. Not, almost. It was magical. The way the snow melted to reveal the softness of grass underneath, not dead grass, but green, vibrant grass as if the snow had preserved it somehow over killing it.

A part of Hestia wanted to freak out. Wanted to stop the onslaught of pain from the fire, because it burned her skin, but she could feel the pressure inside her chest, inside her throat, easing.

Like, all she needed to do was just let it all out. Let the fire that had built up for so long free, unleash it on the world. It was a scary idea, but she couldn't entirely bring herself to care enough to stop.

Hestia felt her eyes slide closed, before the pressure – that had been lessening – tripled its original amount and her eyes shot open. She wheezed, trapped and unable to get air into her lungs and could feel pain along her shoulder blades, like the skin was being ripped apart. She would have cried out, but her voice was lost, unable to fill her lungs with the air she needed to survive.

Her hands lifted weakly to her chest, trying to find some way to alleviate the pain. Although, when she looked down there was blood cloaking her chest, oozing from a wound that she couldn't see.

When she looked up, her eyes widened as she saw rows of sharp teeth in a face that was almost inhumane. But, in spite of the inhuman proportions of the face, it had eyes. Eyes that were a caramel in color, the caramel color she distrusted the most.

A name was at the tip of her tongue, before the creature lashed out and instead of the name, all that came out was screams as it ripped something from her. Ripped something from her very being and she was buried underneath blocks of snow, freezing and cold.

Tumbling off her bed, Hestia briefly struggled to free herself from the comforter – although it didn't seem to offer much comfort in spite of its name – and twisted back and forth as she landed harshly on her right knee. She winced once she managed to free herself enough to turn on her lamp, dousing the room in an orange glow, and peered down at herself. Her hair clung to her forehead with sweat, a bead of it rolling down her face and she made a face in disgust at herself as she wiped the sweat off with her hands.

Already, she could feel the nightmare – vivid dream? – seeping away from her memories, leaving in its wake a tide of discomfort and edginess.

Sighing to herself, she pushed herself off the floor and sat down at the edge of her bed, peering down with a frown at the bruise purpling the skin of her knee. She hadn't tumbled off the bed in a long time, somehow managing to catch herself just before she did in previous dreams, but she had probably slept entirely too close to the edge. Briefly, she could recall doing so before she let sleep claim her.

Hestia buried her face in her hands, already feeling sleepy enough to go back to sleep, but her mind was too frayed and awake for her to go back to sleep.

It was a war between her mind and body. A war she hated because her mind always won. And she needed sleep. More sleep than what she was getting from the meager hours of nightmares she already had. She could guess that she only got one-hour total of nothingness, before everything else crept in and that wasn't nearly enough time for it to be proper and recharge her body.

She ran her fingers through her hair, working out the tangles and knots that formed from the constant twisting. Her hair had always been a bit on the frizzy and curly side, at a younger age, she had wondered where the type of hair she had came from. The answer back then had always been a distant relative. But now, she could guess that her hair either came from her mother or her father.

It was a strange idea.

Was it her birth mother who had the frizzy, unkempt curly hair? Was it her mother that was strawberry blonde? Or was her birth mother a redhead? Was it her birth father that had the strawberry blonde or red hair? Or, was his hair blonde?

Hestia sighed, disliking the train of thought her mind had traveled down. While she would love to know where her looks came from. Where she came from. At the same time, she didn't want to know. She didn't want to know the people who could abandon her. She didn't want to know the people who took one look at their child, someone they were supposed to love, and didn't want her.

While, she had her issues – putting it mildly there, hallucinations and episodes were no fun – she also knew that parents were supposed to love their children.

Although, she supposed it didn't always work out that way.

She was just an example of a situation where the parents didn't love her enough to keep her – much less drop her off in front of an orphanage rather than a fire station.

Maybe, it was fear that drove her into not wanting to meet them. She could. She could hack into any server – given enough time – and she could find them if she really wanted to. She had a million questions, starting with why they didn't want her, but she didn't think she would be able to hear the answers to those questions. Besides, she had Alice and David and Morgan, and they had been the family for her. They were her family, even if it wasn't formed with blood and similar appearances.

"Hey, sweetheart? What are you doing up so late?" Mom nudged the door open. She was wearing a simple lilac-colored robe and plaid pajamas underneath it. Her eyes were blearily taking in the room, although there was a tinge of alertness there that was slowly evening out of her expression.

Hestia shook her head to clear it. "Oh. Sorry. I just had a weird dream and needed a minute before going back to sleep." It was a half-truth. She omitted the fact that she had no intentions of going back to sleep, rather staring at the ceiling of her room – and, coincidentally, the ceiling fan – until it was time for her to get ready for the day. Which was after Morgan had claimed the shower first for her morning routine.

Mom nodded in understanding and Hestia briefly loathed herself for lying to her. For taking advantage of her adoptive parent's trust and faith in her because she didn't want to go back to the institute. She almost confessed to it all. The episodes. The nightmares. The fact that she had gone to Ryder on Wednesday for him to stock up her pills and told her parents she took the scenic route home from her meeting with the school newspaper on Thursday or last night, rather.

But, taking one look at Mom, she knew that she just couldn't. There was some inner voice telling her that she couldn't do it, not yet. Like, there was ever a proper time to admit something like this to someone.

Not yet. Just wait a little longer.

"Of course." Mom sat down next to her on the bed, plucking up the comforter from where Hestia had left it on the floor and wrapping it around Hestia's shoulders. Even though, she wasn't cold, she leaned into the embrace Alice offered her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hestia slowly shook her head, stifling a yawn as she rested her head against Mom's shoulder. "Not really. There isn't much to tell, I can't really remember much of it anyways." She frowned slightly at that, she couldn't remember much of the dream. Just, the fear and the need to survive, which – in her opinion – was worse than knowing what happened. Not knowing just left her to her imagination and there wasn't much she could piece together from the dreams.

Mom hummed slightly. "Alright, then. Although, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She asked, her voice coloring with worry.

Plastering a reassuring smile on her face, Hestia lifted her head from Mom's shoulder to look at the worried frown her Mom had perfected over the years. "I know, Mom." Her heart panged slightly, and she felt an emptiness drag at her throat, making it ache slightly.

It was telltale sign that she was about to cry. Although, from her Mom's expression, she couldn't tell that. She pressed a kiss to the top of Hestia's head. "Alright, now. Get some sleep. You still have school in the morning." Her look turned slightly reprimanding as Hestia laid down and Mom tucked the blanket around her shoulder, pressing another kiss to the top of her head before turning off the lamp. "Good night, sweetheart."

"Night, Mom." Hestia whispered back as Alice opened and closed the door once again. She buried her face against her pillow, tears silently sliding down her cheeks as she heard Mom's quiet footsteps down the hallway after a few minutes of the woman listening at her door.

"Well, aren't you looking gorgeous this morning?" Brandon winked at her as she settled her things at the desk beside him. Hestia shot him her most dry, unimpressed look, before rolling her eyes obviously and tugging her laptop from her bag. She knew that most people were far less irritable since it was Friday, which signified that that the weekend was starting soon. Mainly, those people would go out and have fun with friends and there would be the occasional high school party complete with beer and mixed drinks in Red solo cups. Sometimes, she heard about some getting invited to college parties, where there was far more of the same thing mixed with other drugs.

Although, she steered away from those crowds. Knowing that parties of any kind weren't her scene.

She also knew that her being irritable was brought on by her exhaustion since she was still lacking sleep. Her conversation with Mom the night before had just made her even more tired and left her with slightly red eyes from crying for almost an hour after the woman left her room to go back to sleep. The conversation just made her feel even more cruddy and like a failure, which left a sour taste in her mouth because she was trying.

Clearly, she wasn't doing so good at the whole trying thing.

Hestia sighed at the thought process, deciding it was too early for her brain to be overthinking every gesture and motion and word. Brandon, somehow, always seemed to catch the most of her ire, though, but it never deterred him from making flirtatious comments or winking and smirking at her like he knew something she didn't. A part of her, didn't like that she treated him as she did, because it wasn't entirely fair to him, but then he'd make some sort of comment and she'd ignore that voice in favor of snarking a reply.

He snapped his fingers in her face and Hestia blinked at him before glaring. "Did you just snap your fingers at me?" Hestia inquired testily.

Brandon smirked a little. "Yup." He popped the p. "Seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, this morning." He lifted an eyebrow at her.

She sighed a little. "Try the floor." She muttered and his other eyebrow raised as well. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. It just slipped out. Blame it on my lack of filter and attention span this morning." Hestia waved a hand dismissively.

"Hey. I get it. Everyone has bad dreams once in a while." Brandon leaned forward. "If you need some help on that front, I can offer some advice."

Hestia snorted derisively. "Yeah, right. Is this another one of your attempts to get in my pants?" She inquired.

Brandon rolled his eyes. "Not this time, princess. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Right. Like, yours isn't in the gutter every other minute."

"Ah. But I'm not a princess." He wagged a finger in front of her face, and she glowered. "Ok, fine, probably not the best thing to do to a pissed off person. Well, a pissed off Hestia, you've got your own version of that. What I was going to suggest, before you so rudely cut me off, was that you use some hot tea. Rory's got this amazing stuff that her Mom makes all the time that knocks us all out without even giving us dreams." Brandon said, crossing his arms.

Hestia eyed him contemplatively. "Are you offering me tea?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. You've been moody all week." Brandon pointed out. "A guy can only take so much passive-aggressiveness." He flattened a hand to his chest melodramatically and Hestia rolled her eyes at him but offered a half smile.

"I would apologize. But you kind of deserve it."

"Shh. That's the nightmares talking. Don't worry, the tea will purge you."

Hestia laughed. "Ok. Stop it, you weirdo." She shoved him away from her when he moved closer as if he were going to hug her and stroke her hair. A shiver traced down her spine at the mental image of him doing that, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was a good shiver or a bad shiver. She also wasn't entirely sure what kind of a shiver she wanted it to be.

Brandon pouted. "Be nice. I'm giving you tea."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Brandon nodded seriously, although there was amusement in his expression. He seemed entirely self-satisfied and Hestia briefly contemplated him, before turning back to the board when he winked with an exasperated expression. Somehow, the playboy had managed to get her to smile and laugh and respond to his obvious joking. Maybe, she mused to herself, he wasn't as bad as she initially thought he was.

But she still wasn't going to fully trust him.

Only a little bit. Hestia still had to have her guard up, because she had lowered it before, with Ryder, and he had hurt her pretty badly. A free bottle of pills wasn't going to take away the ache he left in her chest.

Thank you all for reading and I'm so sorry for the wait. I have the next two chapters mostly written, I just need to proofread them or add some details to them. I hope you are enjoying the story so far and please review so I can know what needs fixing or critiquing. Thanks again.