~x~ Chapter 44 ~x~

Damn Drew and his versatility.

He wasn't kidding when he said that he could multitask. One minute we'd be going through our assigned work, the next he'd so casually drop in another personal question when none of the others were listening. He could definitely multitask better than I could. I was no good at focusing on two completely unrelated things at the same time but he made it seem easy the way he skipped from one thing to another. Thankfully, I wasn't so engrossed in my work that I accidentally answered any questions I shouldn't have.

As the other girls became more relaxed around the quartet, we didn't manage to finish our work by the time dinner came up. We were still only just over halfway through since we still had today's assignments to deal with. Not to mention the dozens of distractions we had by going completely off topic and joking around.

While we all headed to the dining hall together, leaving our books neatly in the library on our reserved table, I couldn't help observe the new friends I had around me. Being around them was different to when I was out in the human world, which was to be expected considering we were all vampires, but the feel about it was just slightly different. It was nice to be able to connect with people so quickly and to feel so comfortable around them even though I was hiding such a big secret. I decided not to worry about how they'd react anymore and just focused on being comfortable.

Dinner was… Well it was just dinner, until I remembered that I was due to serve my 'punishment' at the elementary school and instead of going alone, I dragged the Dragomir twins with me. A strange sense of security settled over me with them around. I wasn't sure why that was, especially when I knew that I could take care of myself just fine. I decided not to dwell on it and amusingly enough, I actually had to prevent the twins from running away. They were so nervous about having to face Trace that they looked really uncomfortable and somewhat menacing as a result.

"You know, guys. If you go in looking like that, you're not just going to scare little Trace away but all the other kids." I warned them. "Get rid of that scowl right now."

"We're not scowling," they chanted.

"You really are." I told them flatly. "Don't argue, just do it. Relax. Trace won't run unless you give him a reason to."

"He hates us."

"He doesn't." I stated firmly. "He thinks you hate him. It's a vicious cycle, a very horrible one for the three of you."

"He doesn't hate us?"

"Kids don't tend to really hate because they don't know enough to be able to sustain that strong of an emotion. You two have serious trust issues." I grumbled. "Though, since you are royals, that's understandable."

They both stared at me for a lengthy moment. "How do you understand so much? Are you really not some wise old lady?"

"Do I look like an old lady to you?"

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Sure, but are you going to let distrust come between you and the world? Trusting no on but each other?"

"We're very cautious."

"No doubt with good reason, so am I. But that doesn't mean I keep everyone away from me so stop being ridiculous."

"We're not being ridiculous."

"You are." I told them, pausing to choose my words right. "Trust in Trace and his behaviour. He's family and only just a kid. You'll repair things in no time, but only if you try." I let them think about it for a moment before continuing. "So, are we going to step forward and do this or are you guys going to be stuck in the same place for the rest of your life?"

Jacks and Quinn took a deep breath, looked at each other, before taking my hands. "It's all or nothing." Jacks grumbled.

"It isn't." I told him softly. "It's only the first step."

"But it will get better." Quinn murmured, finally getting it.

"Yes it will. Trace is a lovely kid. When he sees that you two aren't scary and menacing, he'll love you."

"Let's hope so."

"Your dad won't mind him joining us, right?"

"Not at all." Quinn shook his head.

"Of course he won't." Jacks scoffed. "If anything, he'd be delighted that Trace isn't avoiding us."

The two tensed when we entered the block and I gave both of them a gentle encouraging nudge. They were even worse when we got to the common room where I knew Trace would be. Ali was there as well and I gave him a grin.

"Yo, Guardian Castile." I greeted with a playful salute.

"Here again?" he retorted, feigning surprise.

"Detention, remember?"

"For your insane break out."

"Kylie!" Trace cheered when he heard my voice and appeared from another room. He was on his way running towards me but stopped abruptly when he saw his bothers.

"Hey, Trace." I called back to him with a reassuring tone. He eyed them warily as he slowly made his way towards me. I crouched down and tugged him for a tight hug, snuggling my face into the crook of his neck. "I've missed you."

He giggled and pushed my face away to give a soft kiss on my cheek. He wrapped his arms around my neck and glanced at his brothers in a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

The twins hesitated for a moment, simply staring back at the kid before Quinn finally spoke, breaking the ice. "Are you having fun, Trace?"

Instead of replying to their question, Trace seemed to take a different route and changed the direction of the conversation completely. "Can you marry Kylie?" he chirped. "That way, she can be my sister! I want Kylie to be my sister."

The room fell silent and I nearly dropped Trace from shock but the twins caught him and the four of us were caught in a strange type of hug.

"Well…" Jacks drawled playfully, glancing down at me.

"We could." Quinn finished.

"Oh hush. We're too young to be considering marriage and I've only known you two for a week."

"A week and a day and we spent a weekend together." Jacks pointed out smartly.

"So that accounts for a month at least." Quinn teased.

"Please, Kylie." Trace pleaded innocently. "I want to see you all the time."

"Trace, I'll be around for a long time and I don't have to marry your brothers just to see you. Haven't I been coming to see you every day already?" I told him placatingly before speaking with a more playful and teasing voice. "Besides, are you sure you want me to marry your scary and mean brothers?"

Trace glanced up at the duo before a pensive expression settled. "Hm… they don't look very mean and scary."

"They don't, do they?" I chirped.

"Are you stronger than them?" he asked innocently.

"Well…" I trailed off. "I suppose you could say that. I bet you could take them on, Trace."

He gave a shy but fervent shake of his head and snuggled against me. "I couldn't," he mumbled.

"I have an idea, why don't we ask them to show us a few magic tricks?" I suggested, glancing over at Ali for permission.

"Only if we're outside. They'll kill me if we break anything." Ali told me sternly. I shot him a glance, wondering when he started to care about breaking things. Before, he would rarely ever care about damage costs since I used to be the voice of reason back then. "Guardian Belikov is really strict about these things. If something breaks on my watch, more often than not, she'll deduct it from my pay check," Ali explained in response to my stare.

My mouth formed an 'o' shape of understanding. "I see… Well, if anything needs mending and it's my fault, I'll reimburse you."

"Since when does a girl pay for a guy?" Jacks scoffed indignantly, stepping out of our strange hug. "It's not right."

"Since said girl is richer by a mile, Jacks." I retorted bluntly. "Who are you? Some renaissance gentleman?"

"Romance is lost on you?" Quinn commented with surprise as he pulled away to stare at me.

I smacked him and pouted. "It isn't, if you must know. I just don't like people paying for me unless I earned it. Take Jenson and Maxwell for example. We compromised that every time they ask for my help with training, they have to buy me stationary."

"Of all the things to ask for, why stationary?" Jacks grimaced in distaste.

"Because I love it. Most of my money is spent on books, music, food and stationary. I call it by 'bribe quartet'."

"Bribe quartet?" the twins teased. "It's a good name."

"How often do you get bribed for you to have a name for it?" Ali asked incredulously.

"It happens." I shrugged, keeping my answer brief to preserve my secret of being a singer. The number of times my manager bribed me to do a campaign, advert or photoshoot was innumerable and I'd only been in the business for a year, and just barely.

"So, how do you calculate?"

"Kylie…" Trace whined. "Magic tricks."

"Ah, of course." I laughed and kissed his cheek. "Shall we go outside?"

"Just fifteen minutes." Ali interjected. "I don't want the kids catching the morning chill."

"Yes, Guardian Castile." I saluted before putting Trace down. I wasn't accustomed to carrying a child for long periods of time and my arms were beginning to ache. "Let's go!"

I was just as excited to see this as the kids were. It'd been so long since I'd seen real magic tricks and I was curious to know what kind of combinations the twins could do if any at all. If I remembered rightly, they were water and earth, with Trace as fire. Ali snuck up behind me and gave me a discreet kiss on the top of my head when no one was looking.

"Hey," he murmured.

"Yo." I grinned in response to his greeting.

"How are you feeling?"

"Worked out." I scoffed. "The quartet is helping with our work, but if anything, they're making our pace slower since we all get distracted far too easily. But it's fun so it's worth it."

"Quartet?"

"The four royal guys."

"You gave them a name?"

"Why not? Everyone else calls them the royal prodigies."

"That's because they are."

"Well they're a quartet as well so what's wrong with the name?"

Ali paused, trying to come up with an answer but managed nothing. "I see you haven't broken your habit of giving things weird names?"

"Nope, most definitely not. It's too much fun to give it up."

"You know it's going to get you into trouble one of these days."

"I'll apologise when it happens but it depends on if the situation calls for it. If they deserve it, I'm not apologising."

"You and your big mouth."

"You were worse."

"I was not."

"Yes you were." I told him bluntly. "You used to call all the royals 'greedy and pretentious bastards' and all the teachers were the 'devil's spawn' if I recall rightly."

Ali blanched and glanced away in defeat. "Your memory is too good."

"Only for things that matter."

"Those things didn't matter."

"Of course they did. You're in those memories and that makes them matter." He glanced down at me with another one of his intense stares again and I blinked up at him innocently. "What?"

"You say the most amazing things sometimes."

"I say amazing things all the time." I corrected proudly. "Sometimes it just takes other people a little while to understand the value of the things I say."

"You may have a point there."

"Don't I usually?"

"You really have developed a smart tongue."

"In many ways, dearest Alster." I grinned cheekily and winked.

"Hey, Kai! You're not being told off or something, are you?" Jacks called to me from a few yards away when he noticed that I was at the back of the group with Ali.

"Don't be ridiculous." I called back. "I haven't done anything, yet."

"There's no yet." Ali scoffed. "No causing havoc tonight, at least rest a little before you do anything crazy again."

"You're no fun." I pouted before dashing over to where the kids formed a large circle around the twins in the courtyard.

"I'm going to need a bucket of water." Quinn commented.

"There's a pipe and hose a few steps behind you." Ali told him, pointing into the darkness.

Quinn squinted and tried to see it but it was too dark. I watched with a warm smile as Trace headed over and conjured a small fireball so that Quinn could see it. Quinn smiled gratefully at Trace and I saw the small kid's eyes widen in surprise. As soon as Quinn turned the tap a little so that water began to trickle, Trace ran towards me and jumped into my arms.

"He smiled at me!" he beamed with delight.

"They love you Trace." I told him simply. "No doubt about that."

"I love them more."

"You should tell them that." I told him softly. "But first, let's watch their magic show."

We focused back on the twins and watched as strange figures appeared. Some were made of water, others were made of soil and rocks. Quinn and Jacks told an interesting story about how two different types of creatures with different strengths joined forces to fight a common enemy. I had a feeling that they were actually trying to subtly refer to Moroi and dhampirs working together but I saved the question for when the story was over. Individually, the two sides were strong, but together they were even stronger and could do so much more.

When it was finished, the kids erupted into cheers and surrounded the two of them, asking how they did that. Trace was the first to reach them, having jumped out of my arms as soon as it was over. I lingered around the back and stood beside Ali to watch the twins being swarmed by the kids. It was an amusing sight to say the least since they had no idea how to react. Before the kids started climbing over them, Ali clapped his hands together and said that everyone had to head back inside to get ready for bed.

The collective groan from the crowd of kids made me laugh and I smacked Ali's shoulder gently. "Good luck."

"You're not staying to help?" he asked, eyes widening in surprise.

"My time's up and I still have work due in tomorrow. I do not want Brooks breathing down my neck about the lack of completed work for his class."

"He still has it in for you?"

"He's a little better but as a teacher he's still as strict as ever." I scoffed.

"Jacks, Quinn, I'm going to head back to the library. You coming along or do you want to stay back and help Castile put the kids to bed?" I suggested, gesturing at Trace in particular with my eyes.

The two glanced at each other for a moment and got the hint. Wide smiles crossed their faces and Jacks picked a giggling Trace up into his arms. The trio approached me and I was surprised when all three kissed me. The twins kissed my cheek and Trace managed to kiss my nose. I had no idea how they managed such a thing, but they did and I blushed in response.

"You three are impossible!" I complained. "Trace, don't take after your brothers too much."

"They're the best." Trace declared proudly, snuggling against Jacks.

Happiness gleamed in the twin's eyes and I smiled softly at them. "Just keep at it." I told them. "See you tomorrow, Castile."

"And the same to you, Valentine." Ali nodded curtly in acknowledgement and I dashed off back to the library.

I found the other five of my friends huddled over the books at the same table as before and couldn't help but laugh at the intense concentration that was plastered on the three girls' faces. "Is the work really that hard?" I commented as I walked up to them.

"Speak for yourself." Els scoffed. "You're the one who was complaining about maths almost all night long yesterday."

"Hey, maths is boring and pointless." I said defensively.

"How did it go?" Dan cut in.

"Very well, I should say." I smiled in delight. "They're currently helping Castile to put the kids to bed, mainly Trace, of course. Trace proudly declared his love for his brothers too."

"What on earth did you do?" Roxy glanced at me in surprise.

I shrugged in response, a silly grin on my face. "Nothing. I just proved to Trace that those two aren't scary and that they love him. They gave a magic show and whoosh Trace's fear of their power vanished."

"Just like that?"

"Kids are easy to work with if you know how. It helped that Trace didn't actually hate the two. Trace was just scared and thought that they hated him. It was a silly cycle but now that the misunderstandings are cleared, it should be easier on the three of them."

"So did the twins invite Trace to dinner?" Drew asked.

I blinked at him for a moment before I smacked my forehead. "I didn't mention it. Maybe they'd remember as they tuck Trace into bed."

"Knowing those two, probably not." Drew scoffed. "Knowing them, they'll probably be too happy to remember anything."

"So we should expect goofy grins?"

"Most definitely."

"Kai." Els interjected.

"Yep?"

"Work."

I squealed as I suddenly remembered about the mountain of work I still had to do and scrambled over to the seat where my books were by the window. The others simply sighed in exasperation and we all managed to get bogged down in our work, at least, until the twins arrived three quarters of an hour later.

"Kai!" they chimed and a heartbeat later I found myself being suffocated. They were muttering 'thank you' over and over and I struggled to breathe.

"Guys…" I wheezed. "Can't… breathe…"

They loosened their grip instantly and sat down on either side of me. "Really, thank you."

"No problem." I told them simply. "So, it went well after I left?"

"Trace has been so lonely… Has he always cried when he slept?" Quinn asked, concern heavy in his voice.

"I'm not sure, but he was definitely crying both times I visited him." I nodded, remembering the last week I spent visiting Trace.

"We've been so stupid." Jacks grumbled.

"Glad you finally see it." Drew scoffed, smacking the both of them. "Took you guys long enough."

"What matters is that the misunderstanding has finally been cleared." Dan told them. "So, did you ask him about dinner?"

The twins stared at Dan before they both groaned and sagged in their seats. "No, we forgot." Jacks shook his head.

"We were so happy about being able to talk to Trace so normally without him flinching away from us that we completely forgot about it."

"What did I tell you?" Drew smirked victoriously. "Told you they'd forget."

"Alright, Mister Wise Guy." I scoffed. "We've got plenty of time to ask him. If you ask either Belikov or Castile, I'm sure they'd let you two see Trace whenever you want."

"You think so?" they chimed.

"Yeah. Belikov might be strict, but she loves the kids and Castile is an understanding person so he'd allow it."

"You sure do know them well." Drew commented, discreet suspicion in his tones but I could see it in his eyes.

"I can read people relatively well." I responded, giving nothing away. "Seriously, if you guys distract me anymore, I'll never get this work done and I don't want Brooks on my back!"

"Sorry," they murmured.

Thankfully, we still had two hours until our curfew to be back at the dorms and distractions were kept to a minimal. I somehow managed to finished all the work and catch up with the stuff I had left over from the weekend and by the time I finished, I was completely knackered, not physically but mentally.

"That was painful." I grumbled as my forehead slammed onto the table.

"It wasn't that bad." Ingrid teased.

"You guys had extra time."

"Well, there is that."

Slowly, we packed stacked our books and tidied up the table before leaving the library.

"See you guys at breakfast." Dan managed to say before promptly giving a yawn.

"Good night." I nodded in agreement. "Let's hope you don't get attacked tomorrow morning."

"Try not to break another alarm clock." Drew retorted.

"I have to use my phone tomorrow until I get a new one. I won't dare to break my phone. My manager would probably have a heart attack."

"Have you got anything new coming up?" Roxy's eyes sparkled with interest.

I laughed and shook my head. "You'll just have to wait along with the rest of the world."

"Kai!" she whined.

"Nope, I'm not disclosing anything." I grinned cheekily. "Though I'm willing to compromise. If the lovely quartet here is willing to tell us where we're going, I might tell you something."

"That's not fair, Kai." Dan groaned.

"Sure it is. An eye for an eye."

"We're not allowed to say anything," the twins chimed.

"Our parents explicitly said that we had to keep it a secret." Drew explained.

"I don't want to face any of their wraths." Dan shuddered. "They're terrifying when they gang up."

"Can you at least tell us whether it's an album or a single?" Els urged.

I thought about it for a moment and pursed my lips. "The only thing I'm saying is it's released by Risqué rather than Vampire Guardians."

"Thank you, Kai!" The three girls cheered and hugged me.

"Is there going to be a music video?" Jacks asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea." I shrugged. "I leave that kind of decision to my manager."

"We'd better go otherwise we're all going to miss the curfew." Drew pointed out, glancing at his watch.

"Shit, there's only two minutes!" Quinn cursed. "See you guys tomorrow."

The eight of us split and we dashed back to our respective dorms. We managed to make it back just as Joe was closing the door and gasped for breath once we made it past the door.

"Just on time." Joe chuckled. "Valentine, a word?"

"I haven't done anything, honest." I replied automatically, making the other three girls laugh.

"See you tomorrow, Kai. Hopefully your phone won't be in shambles." Roxy giggled.

"I wouldn't dare throw my phone." I scoffed. "Good night guys."

Joe waited until the three girls had headed up the stairs before dragging me into the empty common room. He sat me down on the sofa and sat beside me.

"Okay, little sky. What's the deal between you and Cooper?"