Chapter 10: (August 8)

Riley stepped onto the dining platform, cheers surrounding her. The occasional wolf whistle could be heard, and she shifted uncomfortably in her shoes. Daniela took a microphone from a stand and started talking into it, laughing, and making jokes. Riley, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention at all to the crowd. Another persons's presence could be felt there, and she saw him in front of her.

"Will. Are you close?" she asked.

"I am. I'm here, at the party. I like your hair," he added jokingly, inspecting the white and blue mess that was Daniela's experiment. Will stepped away, and the vision melted. His presence still lingered, however. Riley turned and saw him- the real him- leaning against the wall, smiling up at her. She grinned, and urged him to step up and share the stage. He held up his hands and waved off the proposition, but some voices in the crowd yelled his name loudly.

"Yeah, Will! Get up there, man!"

Will was practically pushed onto the stage, and stood next to Riley. The feeling of the crowd as well as Will's emotions made the connection so strong that Riley felt faint. Sensing this, Will inconspicuously held her hand, hiding their grasp behind her billowing dress. The gust of sudden wind came from the opening of the back door behind them, and Kala could be seen returning from the garden. She stopped in confusion, and looked around. Lito was already on the platform with Daniela, noticing the sudden tension among them. Other kids were dancing or eating, but many were waiting for the "big speech." Amanita and her other friends pulled Nomi near the stage, who felt extremely embarrassed at the attention. Capheus and Sun moved near the platform as well. Wolfgang also returned just in time. He stood a little ways away from Kala, who tried to avoid his gaze.

Daniela looked around, distracted by the sudden movement, but resumed her bubbly personality and addressed the crowd, "Ok, anyways! Haha. So, I just wanted to say a happy birthday to my friend, Riley. I'm super glad all of you came, and it was awesome meeting a ton of new people!"

She handed the microphone to Riley, who took it, grateful to end the night quickly. "Hello everyone. Thank you for coming and wishing me a happy eighteenth birthday. It was a lot of fun, and I made a lot of… new friends." She bit her lip and gave a small smile as the crowd clapped and whistled, many of them singing an off key happy birthday song. They all cheered one last time, and finally started to trickle out of the room. Some of them left the House. Others walked to their rooms, exhausted.

Daniela waited until the last of the students had left to turn on Riley and the other seven.

"What was that? Who are these random people, Riley?"

Riley, who wasn't very good at lying, tried to come up with an answer as Lito stepped in smoothly, shushing her with a wave of his hand.

"Dani, relax…there's no problem, is there?"

Daniela shrugged and replied tiredly, "Whatever. You guys just disrupted the end of the party. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave Riley one last hug, and stepped around the strewn cups and confetti she'd have to clean up the next day.

Riley waited until she heard Daniela reach the top of the stairs to look at the others. "Okay, I'm just as confused as her. Are all of you...?"

Will looked around the room quickly. "Not here. We need to be careful, remember? Third floor." He pointed to the stairs Daniela had just used on the opposite side of the large room, and the group slowly moved in the direction, all except Wolfgang. Kala stopped as she felt his reluctance, and turned around to face him.

"Are you coming?" she asked quietly.

Wolfgang looked at her steadily, wondering if this was really what he wanted to do. To learn about the rest of "them." He nodded, and watched her catch up with the others. Stepping into the entrance hall, he found Felix leaning against the open door. A cool breeze could be felt, and the dampness from the coming rain was nearly tangible. Felix slapped him on the back and grinned. "Hey… happy birthday. Again. Fun party, eh? Let's go, then." He stepped outside the door, waiting.

Wolfgang shook his head. "I forgot something. Meet with you later, alright?"

Felix smiled mischievously, whispering, "Oh, okay. I'm sure you forgot something." He winked comically and left, wrapping himself in his jacket to fight off the wind.

/

Riley looked around the large attic before signaling to the others that it was all right to sneak in. There were a few rooms up here as well, but, for the most part, she knew they were empty.

"I hope that your prefect doesn't find us up here," Kala breathed, as she waited for the others to move up into the space.

They all sat on the ground. Though it was very clean- you could practically see your reflection in the wooden floorboards- there was an air of abandonment surrounding the place. It reminded Sun very much of the attic in House 3.

"So…" Will started off, looking at the group, "I guess we all know each other. Sort of."

Kala's phone rang at that moment, and she quickly opened her purse to answer.

"Hello?" She stood and held up a finger to the others, moving back down the stairs. She passed Wolfgang, who watched her carefully as they both paused on the steps.

"Kala, are you there? I'm just making sure you're all right. I lost you after the party." Rajan's voice over the phone could be heard in the silence.

Wolfgang set his jaw and moved past her, leaving her alone in the dark staircase.

"Yes, Rajan, I'm still here. I'm going to help clean up, and then I'll walk home. Okay? See you on Monday." She ended the call and walked back to the group. They were all talking about the woman that they had seen the day they'd all fainted.

Kala sat down- as far away from Wolfgang as possible- and spoke. "Her name was Ms. Alvira. She was my teacher."

Nomi nodded in assent. "I had her too," she stated.

Will's gaze turned to surprise as he saw something behind Kala move. It was Irsa, slowly stepping towards him.

Riley touched his shoulder softly, worried by the expression on his face. "Will, what is it? What's wrong?"

"It's the woman I spoke to you about the other night. Wait for a little bit, okay? I need to talk to her."

Will visited Irsa, once again in her small dining room area. She waved her hand to the chair, indicating that he should sit.

"Well, I wondered when there would be more time to talk. Half the time you're either sleeping and studying, or out at a party."

"How did you know? Oh… right. You can 'see inside' my mind."

Irsa ignored him and moved around her kitchen. "Will, I have to teach you more about being a sensate. It's not just seeing someone who's not actually there. You can link with each other and use each other's knowledge and skills. It's an extremely powerful bond. A warning, however, before you get any more involved with that girl in your head: be careful of romances in your cluster. It is a vain and pathological thing. Avoid it. Do you understand?" She came to sit on his opposite side, slowly mixing her tea with a small, silver spoon.

"But I've already met the others in my cluster."

Irsa stopped and looked at him, interested in this bit of news. "Do you mean physically? In real space and time, you've all met?"

The boy nodded quickly.

"A cluster, all at one school. How very unlikely. Are you sure you're feeling well?"

"I'm fine… it was a bit overwhelming at first, but I feel okay. Why?"

Irsa looked at him, long and hard. Finally, she answered, "Well, you're all awfully young for being reborn. But since you are teenagers… I suppose you would have an easier time to adapt to the change." Taking her tea out and cleaning up in the kitchen, she called over to him. "One last thing, Will. Tell those friends of yours to be careful! Don't stay all together in public. In the meantime, I will try to find out more about whoever rebirthed you. Do you have a name?"

Will enunciated his words carefully, trying to pronounce the name as best he could. "Alvira."

He closed his eyes and felt the connection faint away. Opening them, he saw the others staring, wondering what it was that had happened.

"Will." Riley was shaking his shoulder, trying to get him to talk.

"It was the same woman." He gazed around at the anxious faces, his own emotions mixing with theirs. "She said to be careful, to avoid being together all the time. Apparently, our…cluster can link with each other, to use each other's knowledge."

Sun breathed in slowly and then exhaled, calming the members of her group. It was her own experiment based on what Will had said, and it worked. Feeling a little more at peace, they all got up and walked down the stairs. Riley and Nomi, being residents of House 1, waved goodbye to the others, locking the door behind them as quietly as possible. Will and Lito walked away from the group, and Capheus happily headed next door. Wolfgang followed him, ignoring everyone else.

Kala sighed in dismay, shaking her head as the boys all left. She moved towards Sun, and together they walked to their House.

"You like him a lot," Sun stated.

Kala realized she'd never actually heard the girl speak before. She sighed again and took out a small key from her purse. Slowly unlocking the door, she whispered, "I'm not sure about anything anymore." Trying for a more upbeat tone, she stepped inside and smiled. "But, happy birthday, right? It won't be an easy one to forget."

Sun laughed, a short but nice sound in the quiet entryway. "I suppose it is funny. Eighteen, eight teens."

*End of Part 2*

A/N: Wow, can't believe we reached Chapter 10 already! Thank you for all the constructive reviews so far, they have been very helpful. I hope all of you have a super nice day. Next chapter coming on the 21 of July.

~C.o.D