A/N: voila! Newest chapter! i hope it's long enough, i was sneezing and coughing while writing it. alright, enjoy!

Cross

Chapter 4

Cross dances were formal as far as dress and decorations went, but the music was loud, and most of the promiscuous dancers were on something. The group made their way over to some white-cloth covered tables at one end of the cafeteria. The DJ stood at the front on a makeshift stage in front of the heat-generating mass of students.

"Well, I didn't come here to sit around." Mariah said, golden orbs glinting as she looked to Ray. He smirked, standing.

"Let's go then." Mariah grinned, winked at the girls, and followed Ray onto the floor.

"I'm going to get a drink, anyone else thirsty?" Hillary asked.

"Nope."

"No thanks hun." they replied. She nodded and sauntered off to the refreshments table. Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake ended, and Iris, by the Goo Goo Dolls began to play. People on the floor paired off quickly, and soon the floor was filled with dancing couples and interspersed with lonely people who immediately made their way to the side. Hillary watched in amusement as Max dragged Marium onto the floor.

"Max no, I don't slow dance, I don't dance." she urged, giggling all the while.

"Come on, don't be a bad date." he countered, pulling on her arm. Marium sighed, giving up, and Max, not realising, gave her a final tug. Marium collided with his solid chest and they both laughed. Max placed his arms securely around her narrow waist, and she put hers around his neck. They began to sway rhythmically to the song.

"See, this isn't so bad." he whispered into her ear.

"I guess not."

"So, have you really never danced before?" Marium could hear the smirk in his voice. She pinched him lightly on the neck for it,

"Yes… I've been to clubs and dances before, but… dancing isn't really my thing."

"Plus, dancing intoxicated can't really be classified as dancing, more like flailing right? Ah!" he gasped, from the much harder pinch he received this time.

"Max do you think I'm a druggie or something?" Max chuckled.

"I'm just kidding. Don't be so sensitive." she grumbled incoherently under her breath, but sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. She was comforted from the feel of his warm hands drawing lazy circles on her lower back. She wasn't used to feeling comforted by anyone, but he was so solid and transparent, she felt like she could always rely on him. For the second time that week she was surprised by him.

"Marium?" She loved the way he said her name,

"Mhhmm?"

"Why did you ask me to the dance anyway?" Marium bit her lip, was that doubt she heard in his voice? She couldn't really blame him for feeling that way though. She pulled back slightly to look at him in the eye.

"Because I wanted to." she said firmly.

Hillary poured herself a glass of punch, moving slightly to some dance remix song that had begun to play.

"Hey beautiful." She turned to see Tala standing there like a god in black.

"Hey", she replied coldly, turning away. He persisted,

"What's with the frosty greeting?'" he asked, stepping in front of her. She didn't reply. "Look if you're talking about that pill I gave Larissa, believe me I had no idea she was going to try and poison someone with it." Hillary quirked a dark brow at him,

"Oh really?" He nodded solemnly.

"I swear." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Fine." He grinned,

"So, still going to a university of your parent's choice?" She nodded,

"Yup." he laughed lightly,

"I can't say I'm not surprised."

"And what?" she snapped," would you rather I choose a dead end career, get married young, and end up stuck somewhere in the suburbs before I turn thirty? Or end up a drug dealer like you?" she stared him down, fire in her eyes, but he didn't appear fazed. He shrugged,

"You've got me all wrong babe. I know the benefits of going to university. But I don't think your ability to succeed should be depend on how much money you have." She opened her mouth to reply but he quickly cut her off, " I'd like to stay and debate, but I turn back into a pumpkin at midnight." he quickly downed his drink, winked, and left.

Salima laughed, thanking the guy she'd been dancing with and quickly returned to the table to sit next to Tyson and Brooklyn.

"Who was that?" Tyson asked.

"You know Kane don't you?" she said. He shrugged and she nodded. Brooklyn glanced again at the clock on the wall: 7:51. He only had to wait nine more minutes. He thrummed his fingers on the table in impatience, then huffed, unable to wait, and left the cafeteria.

"Washroom." he called. Tyson glanced at Salima who only shrugged at their friend's strange behaviour.

"When you gotta go.." she said, laughing. He momentarily joined in.

"Yeah I guess so."

"So, enjoying the book?" she asked. He nodded,

"Finished." Salima gaped,

"What?"

"Yeah. Done. It was awesome." She wasn't sure what to say.

"Well.. I umm… wow…." he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yup. Guess I'm not everything you thought I was." she nodded, smiling,

"Guess not." He laughed at her expression then said,

"Wanna dance?" She gave him a half smile,

"Yeah, I really would."

All she could see was gold, all she could smell was him around her, all she could feel was his hands on her. The pair danced together, their bodies melding to become one. She'd lost count of how many songs had played, he was filling her senses. At last she felt completely out of breath, and at that moment Ray took her hand and they walked off the floor together towards the refreshments table.

"Well, that was…" she said breathlessly,

"Yeah.." he replied, equally so. He poured them each a drink which she gulped gratefully.

"Ray, I know I never told you but… thanks for all your help, and being there, you know when Larissa…." he smiled,

"Don't worry about it. I was really worried. Maybe it's better that I didn't find her after all." she shook her head, smiling,

"You shouldn't be so cocky mister. She's one tough gal." he scoffed,

"I think I could handle her."

"mmm… alright…" she said, sarcasm ebbing from her words. He gaped, protesting, but she quickly cut him off with a chaste kiss. When she tried to pull back he growled and pulled her closer. Their tongues danced briefly until they came up for air.

"Let's take this somewhere else." she whispered. He grinned, leading her out of the cafeteria through the back door. The time was 8:00.

Max and Marium passed Salima and Tyson as they left the dance floor. They glanced at each other, sitting down.

"Don't they make a nice pair." Marium murmured.

"Yeah." Marium sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. He ran his hands through her long silky hair.

"So… why were you kicked out of those private schools?" she laughed lightly,

"You're not going to let go of that are you?"

"I guess I'm just curious about you." she sighed,

"It's a long story."

"I'm not going anywhere. Unless of course I don't qualify like the other guys you told." Marium laughed, puzzling him.

"Max, I've never told anyone. I only said that in the moment because, well I wasn't really in my senses."

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry." She sat up, looking at him, her emerald eyes entrancing. "I promise I'll tell you alright? Just, not to tonight. Let's have a good time ok?" he nodded, smiling back.

"Alright."

Brooklyn could feel his heart pounding loudly in his chest.

"Mmm…Tala.." he gasped, fisting the other boy's shirt.

"Careful, that's real silk." the other replied slyly, biting his neck, then kissing over to his collar bone. Brooklyn ran his fingers through the silky red strands, then pulled on them as he received another bite. Tala chuckled as Brooklyn hissed. Their hips ground together rubbing in all the right places. Tala was teasing him, and Brooklyn knew it. None of the touches lasted long enough, just sufficient to leave him wanting more.

"Fuck you." Brooklyn growled. Tala laughed, making eye contact,

"Is that really what you want?" he asked, squeezing his behind. Brooklyn yelped and Tala swallowed it with another fierce kiss that stole his breath away. Their shirts were already nearly unbuttoned all the way, and their pants were feeling rather tight.

"I can't, stand it, please!" Brooklyn said breathlessly between kisses. Tala smirked, rubbing him through his pants. Brooklyn moaned loudly. His senses were filled to the brim, he felt like he was going to explode, but Tala wouldn't let him yet. Then suddenly the sound of the back door opening shook him from his steamy reverie, and the two turned just in time to see Mariah and Ray stumble through the door, lip's locked. When they realized they weren't alone the two looked over to see Brooklyn and Tala not far away, quickly arranging themselves.

"Shit." Tala mumbled under his breath, fixing his tie in place. Mariah and Ray were slightly perplexed and didn't have time to process what was going one until Tala was already gone.

"Hey." Mariah said after a few moments. Brooklyn nodded, acknowledging them, then quickly walked through the doors and back into the dance.

Mariah and Ray glanced at each other in confusion for a few moments, before laughing together.

"That was.. Unexpected." Ray admitted. Mariah nodded,

"Yeah." Ray shrugged,

"Umm, where were we?" she grinned as he pressed her against the brick wall, their mouths colliding.

Hillary sighed and quickly left the table where Brooklyn, Max, and Marium were sitting.

"Where you going?" Marium called,

"Just for a walk. I'll be alright." she replied. She quickly exited the cafeteria. She'd had a good time, danced with a bunch of cute guys, hung out with her friends, and yet… It wasn't all she'd hoped it'd be. Life was so strange, one minute you felt like you were on top of the world, the next, at the bottom of a cesspool called popularity. She was a popular girl at Cross, and she was never without a date anywhere. But what did any of that really mean? In the long run nobody really cared about that crap after high school. She's had it with all the materialism, with living life for the next high to come along. Couldn't she make life her own high? Couldn't she choose to live for more than all of this superficiality?

Her epiphany had brought her to the edge of the lake once more. She shivered a little in the crisp air.

"Cold?" she yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin at the cool voice behind her. She turned to see Kai standing there dressed in an expensive looking black suit. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." he said. She shook her head, closing her eyes to calm herself.

"No, no, that's ok. I just, didn't expect anyone else to be out here that's all." He nodded. "What are you doing out here?" she asked. He shrugged,

"I'm not really into the whole, dances thing." she nodded slowly,

"Oh alright."

"And you?" she smiled wryly,

"I'm suddenly finding myself not so into them either." he cocked his head to the side, not understanding, but she simply shook her head, 'Don't worry about it."

"Ok." he replied, staring into the water. The moon reflecting off the surface made his crimson eyes appear silver in the night. She shivered involuntarily again. Then suddenly felt his warm jacket around her shoulders. She would have protested, but it was too late, and he didn't seem at all bothered.

"Thanks." she said. He nodded in response, eyes fixed on the sky. They stood in silence for a few moments. The jacket smelt strongly of him, like cold winters by a warm fire in the evening, or a day out at sea. "I know I never told you," she said hesitantly, " but I'm sorry, about what happened to Cara. I know she was important to you." His eyes hardened for a brief second then changed quickly back to neutral so fast, Hillary wasn't sure if it had happened at all.

"That's ok. It's no one's fault." he replied nearly inaudibly. She nodded, though he couldn't see it. He sighed, then turned to her, "Besides, it's in the past now."

"Yeah, I suppose." she said sadly. His mouth turned up at the corners ever-so-slightly in n imitation of a smile.

"Don't worry about it alright." he said, squeezing her hand firmly then letting go. She smiled to herself.

"Alright." she whispered to the wind.

The next hour flew by like nothing for everyone. Soon the dance was over and they all languidly made their way back to their rooms. When at last Monday rolled around everyone was talking about all the tears and fights that had happened as a result of the dance, but were soon buzzing about the next Cross event.

Every year around mid-October Cross gave the students a week off as a mid-semester study break, though it was more like, mid-semester get trashed and have fun break. People usually went on vacation with their families, or stayed in their mansions throwing huge parties and so on. There were the few students who had to stay at Cross with nowhere to go, and here about all the fun they'd missed when their friends came back.

Marium was one such person, or so she thought. Her parents were both out of the country on business and didn't trust her at home alone for a week. She listened as Hillary talked about some of the many places she'd gone to over the break: Paris, Rome, Venice, you name it.

"Are you doing anything special Kai?" she asked, pretending she didn't care.

"Funny you should ask." he said, after finishing his bottle of water. "My grandfather is going to be gone for the week in Russia, so I have the whole place to myself. He told me to invite my friends over for the week, but I don't think I'll take him up on it."

"What?"

"Why not?" Ray and Tyson blurted before he could finish. Kai's eyes widened, looking at the two of them.

"Well I'm sorry for not consulting the two of you first." he said sarcastically. Ray glared, and Tyson laughed humourlessly,

"Look, your coldness, we're just thinking why not? Get to spend a whole week with us your pals!" Kai rolled his eyes,

"You're not doing a good job to convince me." Max laughed at Tyson's dismayed expression; Kai had talked to him earlier about it, they were all invited to spend the week, he'd even said the girls could come too if they wanted. He'd simply neglected to tell Ray and Tyson because he liked to annoy them.

A/N:Tadah!!! I hope you liked it. As you probably guessed the next chapter will be centered around thie rweek at Kai's. Please let me know if there's anything in particualr you'd like to see happend there, or even later on in the story(i.e. lemons between certain couples, scenes between anyone in particular etc.), you guys are why I'm writing, and I'm always open to new suggestions, so feel free. Please R&R!and special thanks to EtherealButerfly, Bleustray, darkphenoix23,MuLan12365, anas-belonging, suicidedalbeyblader,and my newest reviewer meeohmai. You guys are great, thanks for being so dedicated!