"What." was all she could think as she plunged into the cold river water. The force of the water against her as she was pulled at abnormal speeds by Luke, if that really was his name, forced her eyes shut. Everything she thought she knew about the boy could be wrong. After all, Luke did just transform into a part-human, part-fish, thing? Like, how is that even possible!

She will admit, she probably wasn't as surprised as she should have been, after all, she did spend practically her entire childhood (other than the time spent making music and learning instruments) daydreaming about supernatural things. She just didn't actually think she would actually see one! She started feeling dizzy as she ran out of air. Actually, she was surprised she hadn't already done so. Just as she felt she was about to pass out, they came to a stop. The last thing she felt was gentle hands cradling her bruised body as they lifted her out of the water.

"You're gonna be ok, Kayla. You're gonna be ok."

Darkness.

*Break*

Kayla woke up to the smell of cooking fish. A soft mmming sound came from her. She opened her eyes and looked around, trying to identify where such a delicious smell could be coming from, and found Luke, now in his original form, roasting 2 fish over a fire.

"Oh good! You're awake! I'm making some food." He quickly became shy again, "That is if you want any from me after, well, you know…" His cheeks quickly reddened.

She was about to tell him to come to his senses when she got thinking, should she take food from him? He was so nice to her today, and he did save her life, but he was some sort of fish thing. "What am I thinking! Who am I to judge!" A soft rumbling from her stomach quickly made up her mind. "No, it's fine. I'll take some…"

He handed her one and quickly dug into his own, appearing to be trying to eat as much as he could in each bite. Seeming to have realized what he was doing, he stopped eating, and his cheeks reddened once again.

"You won't- you won't tell anyone, will you. About me I mean."

Readjusting herself on the tree she had been leaned up against, she stared at him. "Was he crazy!? If I told someone, he would probably end up as some sort of science experiment or something!" "No," she stated simply. A look of utter relief spread across her friends face. Taking in her surroundings, she realized where she was. This area was not too far from the trail she took from school to the Forsook every day.

She looked at Luke for a second, now taking in everything that had happened. She noticed large bruises across his arms. "How could anyone do that to him!" She would not let him go back there. The image of an old crumbling house and an abusive father was still burned into her brain. "Hey, we have an extra bed at my friends and my hangout not too far from here. I'm guessing you don't want to go back to your place, so, if you wanted to, you could stay there instead." She casually suggested.

For a moment he seemed taken aback, but a moment more and, as usual, he was stammering, this time about how he would normally just sleep outside when he couldn't bring himself to face his adoptive father again.

"What! No way am I letting you stay out here when there is a free bed at the Forsook for you to stay at. Luke, you are following me whether you like it or not!"

"Ok." He cooperated. Though nothing was said, they both recognised that the fire that was roaring just meer seconds ago was no more.

*Break*

Marc and Elise's conversation halted. Outside the forsook, Marc grabbed a stick.

"What's wrong?" His girlfriend asked. A finger to his lip was the only response she got. They both heard voices coming from inside.

Opening the door, ready to hit whatever intruders lurked in their hangout, he found his tree limb surrounded by a ball of water.

*Break*

Arriving at the Forsook, Luke's home for the night, Kayla quickly showed him the different rooms. There was the main room, much like what a living room would act as, some smaller rooms that looked like they used to be offices, a bathroom, and a storage room that was only slightly smaller than the main room. The used-to-be offices now held a mattress in each, as well as any other decorations the occupants had either brought from home or found in the storage. Luke placed his jacket on the bed in the unused guest "bedroom" and walked back into the main room, where he and his crush idly chatted. Why Devland had attacked her so was a mystery to the both of them. Yes, he was late because he had been chatting to Kayla, but that was harsher behaviour than usual, and they were talking about Devland! In the end, they just chalked it up to Devland being the drunkard that he most obviously was.

In a sudden shift of movements, the door had flung open and Marc had come crashing through, a large stick in hand. In an instant, he was up on his feet, a water container had broken, and the water was divided into two orbs, one surrounding the stick (which was just about to swing towards Kayla) and the other floating in his hand.

Marc looked around, eyes resting on him. "Wha- Luke?!"

Luke was holding a defensive stance, eyes glowing bright blue when a soft hand rested on his shoulder. "Luke…" was all she said. His stance dropped and the water splashed to the ground.

*Break*

Luke hurriedly left the room, knowing him it was to get a mop, leaving Kayla alone with her surprised friends. She shifted from foot to foot, head down, occasionally glancing up at her friends flabbergasted faces. "So, ur, surprise?"

"Explain!" Marc either exclaimed or demanded. Right now they could very well mean the same thing. Elise just stood there nonplussed.

"Ur-" At that moment, Luke rushed into the room, mop in hand. He quickly started mopping up the mess, all the while everyone stared at him. "I think it might be best if he did the explaining."

*Break*

Elise stared longingly at Marc. Her only thought, "Maybe he would treat me kindly." But no, she was with William. If he ever caught her talking to him again, they would both be doomed. They had learned that lesson the first time around. It was a year ago when Marc was smaller, weaker. It was just a conversation, a quick, "Hi, I'm Elise," and a quick, "Hi, I'm Marc," back, but that's all it took. It sent William on his reign of terror, Marc being his greatest victim. From that day on, they-

"Elise!" William interrupted her thoughts. "Who are you looking at? Marc! Ok, let me get something straight," He grabbed the sides of her shoulders and shoved her so she faced him. "You. Are. MINE! That means no looking at other guys, and most certainly no talking to them. You learned that lesson last time, didn't you?" Elise gave a silent nod.

This was what she had dealt with every day for the past year and a half. Talking to a guy other than William was completely out of bounds. Heck, she had been lucky to have been allowed to stay friends with Kayla, and she was, well, a she!

But social interactions weren't the only thing that William restricted. With him, she was constantly being critiqued. With him, she was always doing something wrong. She was always "not skinny enough" or "not pretty enough". Her dance was always "too sloppy" or she was being "too emotional". Honestly, it was exhausting.

She was reflecting on all this as she walked through the woods (her only escape) when she heard what sounded like crying coming from the nearby river. When she walked closer to see who it was, just about the last thing she expected was to find a boy her age. He looked skinny and frail though, and he was wearing clothing that was most certainly not originally his.

*Break*

It all came flooding back to Elise as she saw the boy she had comforted seemingly controlling the water.

He later went through what had happened in the day. Surprisingly he'd only had the ability to move water for a couple of hours. Apparently, it was instinctual.

She remembered that day again. How a once-nonexistent breeze whipped through her hair as he explained why he was crying. How she felt so much sadness for the boy and anger at his father. But, she never saw him again. She hadn't even gotten his name! Never was she able to tell anyone (though it was unlikely anyone would listen to her even if she did). What if, no it was impossible. But what if, what if that wind wasn't random. What if she was like him?