"And that is why you should avoid capes when you make your design."

I sketched down notes as I listened to Mr. Smeez give a lecture about do's and don'ts of deciding on your costume.

I had to make sure to get to class early, so I could sit as far away as possible from you-know-who. So far, it wasn't working. He was sitting by the window, I was sitting by the door. He would stare at me and wave cheerily when I looked over, or make some sexual innuendo; both were getting on my nerves.

When the bell rang, I slid my notes into my bag and hurried out of the class room. I was probably the first one to exit.

I was small and fast, and it worked for me.

I made it to my locker, one that was slightly off to itself beside the courtyard exit. I put in my combination and swung open the blue metal. The compartment was still fairly empty, just a couple books filling the space.

"Trying to avoid me?"

I let out a harsh sigh and tossed my bag inside.

"No. You're so sweet and nice! How could I ever?", I cheered, closing my locker and turning around. Lash stood there, closely, with a small smile.

"I knew you'd come around."
"Please," I scoffed, trying to push past him but failing. He stood like a brick wall, while I stumbled back.
"Just because you beat me in Save the Citizen, doesn't mean you're stronger," he smirked, cascading his brown eyes into my blue ones. For some reason, I grew nervous, so I quickly looked to the ground. "I guess I'll just have to pay you back sometime."

When I glanced back up, he was gone. Just me standing by myself, looking flustered as hell.

I cleared my throat, before making my way to the cafeteria.

Once I had gotten my food, I found Leila and Warren sitting at our original lunch table.

"Hey, guys," I smiled, setting my tray down and myself as well.
"Hey, Kim," they both said in unison.
"Where's Will?"
"Oh, he got detention for accidentally breaking the water fountain," Leila nodded, whilst pursing her lips, "I guess he still doesn't understand he has super strength."
"Guess not," I replied, biting down on a piece of buttered bread.

Suddenly, Zach came up and sat next to me, Magenta on my other side. That's when Leila and Warren went back to their conversation, as she would sometimes giggle and he would smile.

How cute.

...

The rest of the day, I somehow managed to stay away from Lash. The only time I actually saw him was during Save the Citizen, but even then he didn't talk to me. He was too wrapped up in trying to beat the two poor freshman he and Speed picked. Even after that, he left me alone.

...

"So, I heard you broke a water fountain today," I giggled, walking next to Will down the sidewalk. We lived just a couple houses down from each other, Leila too. But she had to go to Paper Lantern since her shift started early.
"Now- I didn't mean too. I just might have accidentally pressed the button too hard and ripped it off of the wall," he replied, but couldn't help but chuckle at the end of his sentence.
"Oh, good job, mate! Only your second day as a sophomore and you're already damaging school property."
"Again- it was an accident!"
"I'm sure it was."

We reached Will's house first.

We both walked up his driveway and carelessly entered his home. His parents weren't present, they were out defeating some insane super villain robot thing in town.

Sometimes, I would stop by his house and he would make me dinner. Also, I had left my bag in his living room from last nights study session, so I had to go in and get it.

"Do you want.. chicken pasta or meat balls?", Will asked, scanning through his freezer and pulling out two microwaveable dinners.
"Pasta, please."

He unwrapped the food and tossed it in the microwave, turning it on. He then leaned against the counter as I picked up my bag from his couch and walked back to where he stood.

"So, how you liking Sky High?"
"It's cool. I thought the classes would be funner though."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"How are you and Leila?", I questioned, but quickly regretting it. Even though it wasn't confirmed that Leila had a thing for Warren, I didn't want to be the fuse starter.
"We're pretty good. She has a job and so do I, so we're not constantly up each other's asses," he joked.
"You got a job?"
"Yeah, I'm a cashier at Walmart."
"Wow, awesome job, dude."
"Shut up!", he laughed, "I just need this so I can get a car. Walking everywhere isn't as fun as it used to be."
"You're just getting lazy."
"Maybe I am!"

The timer on the microwave went off, signaling it was time to take out the food. Will pulled it out quickly and set it on the table, before handing me a fork.

"Thanks."

I instantly began to dig in, since I hadn't eaten anything since lunch.

"So, why'd you ask about me and Leila?", Will said, leaning on the counter in front of me as I struggled not to choke on the pasta.
"I don't know. Just wondering," I slurred with a full mouth.

...

The rest of the week was pretty good. Lash left me alone, I succeeded at getting an A on my first science quiz, and I also made some more friends. It was now Saturday, and me, Leila, and Magenta decided on having a slumber party. The event was being held at my place since my mom was staying late at work.

"So, what movie do you wanna watch? Horror, romance, or comedy?", I asked, going through the tv armoire.
"Horror!", they both called out in unison.

I nodded and pulled out The Conjuring, since that was basically the only scary movie I had. I popped it in the DVD player, before falling back onto the couch.

Leila sat on the cushion next to me, sitting indian style as she painted her nails. Magenta rested on her stomach in the floor while chowing down on a bowl of popcorn.

It wasn't even an hour in until we were all covering our eyes and hiding under the blankets. Shrieks and squeals filled the room, along with a dim lighting from my shitty lamps.

"Turn it off!", Leila cried, covering her face with a pillow.

I fumbled with the remote to turn off the television, but succeeded quickly. Just silence ran through the air now.

"We should've watched a comedy," Magenta whispered after a while.
"I agree."

I shakily stood up and hesitated to cross the living room. Slowly, I walked to the light switch and went to turn on the overhead.

Suddenly, the lights went off.

Leila instantly began screaming, as Magenta tried to calm her down.

"Kim! What happened?"
"I don't know! The power just went off!", I sobbed, running back to the couch and hopping onto a cushion.
"Oh my god!", Leila said flustered.
"Calm down! It's probably just power outage or something."
"Probably?"

We three sat snuggling in the darkness for about five minutes, whilst we tried to fix our irregular breathing and damp cheeks.

"Did you hear that?", Magenta whispered.
"No, what-"

That's when I heard footsteps coming from downstairs.

Leila cried harder into her pillow, trying to muffle her sounds.

"Ok, I'm really freaking out," the purple haired girl whimpered.

I grabbed both of their arms and pulled them off of the couch, tugging them to my room.

"Guys, just be really quiet."

I stood in the doorway, peering out into the black corridor.

I could hear faint footsteps walking around in the room below us, the kitchen. They would stop, but then move to a different area.

I quickly closed my door and moved over to the window.

"What are you doing?", Leila asked worriedly.
"You can't jump off of the roof! You'll break a leg!"
"What else are we supposed to do? Something is walking around down there and it's getting closer to the stairs."

The moonlight shined in through the pained glass, so I could see their expressions: frantic and scared.

"Maybe we should," Magenta whispered.
"Isn't there, like, another way out that doesn't involve breaking a limb?"
"No-"

The footsteps were now making their way up the stairs.

"I'm going." Magenta hurried to the window and pushed open the frame. She stepped out onto the shingled roof and skidded her way down to the gutters.
"Be careful!", Leila called out.

I chewed on my lip and held my arms, trying to keep them from shaking. I wasn't one to get easily scared, but this was crazy.

I watched as Magenta crawled her way over to the edge of the roof, and slowly transformed into a guinea pig. She was edging down the gutter so she wouldn't plummet to the ground and break her face.

Once she was down, Leila hopped onto the roof and didn't hesitate to grow a tree and climb onto it.

"Come on! I'll bring you down with me!", she urged.

I went to step out, but something grabbed my shoulders and yanked me back.

I instantly began screaming at the top of my lungs and frantically kicking and punching whatever I could. Something kept tugging me back, until I was rested upon a wall.

Tears streamed down my face as I hugged my knees. It was some sort of comforting thing that relaxed me somehow.

Something kept pulling on my hair and tugging on my clothes, until I heard Leila jump back into the window.

"Kim!"

Suddenly, something grabbed her and took her out of the room, almost too fast to even see.

"Leave us alone!", I cried, sobbing even harder.

That's when I heard some sort of evil, arrogant laughter. Then the lights turned on. Then Leila and Magenta were escorted back into my room, still looking panicked. Then my eyes focused and my tears dried. Then I spotted those brown eyes and devilish smirk. Then I wasn't scared anymore, I was angry.

"Told you I'd pay you back."

...

Hey guys! So, I really appreciate the feedback you've been giving me. It helps me fix my writing! Anyways, I'm going to try and update again before the first of January, but if I don't, I'm sorry!

- Hannah -