A/N: So, here we are, our second chapter~! I'm not really sure how long exactly is a chapter supposed to be. (Is 5,309 words too long? Halp) Used to be 6592; now 1/2

This chapter is dedicated to a walk through shadows for the first review~! The past lives won't show up until a few more chapters, so hang on until then. xD

Reflections, We Are the In Crowd

I think I've seen you before.

Another time, another face

Whoever opened the door

Never had the time to waste.

•~•

Luna

I felt the dampness of a cool, soaked tissue wiping my face. It was kinda gross though, so I pulled away. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was surrounded by tall, gray walls. I was in the girls' room somehow. How did I get in here? I looked up to see that Tina was holding the napkin while Alice and Lovina watched over her shoulders with worried expressions. Their eyes widened upon seeing my eyes, but Tina's relief shone through their shock.

"Luna! Thank goodness! Are you alright? What happened?" she asks me in concern. I closed my eyes, not willing to answer. The reality was too painful.

Him, with her.

"Did you skip breakfast again?" Alices questioned me. I had, but that wasn't the cause of my anguish. Lovina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I want a reason why we had to drag your sorry ass here, passing out in the cafeteria!"

I didn't want to tell them. It hurt so much inside. But, they did deserve an explanation. So, with my eyes still closed, I told them what happened.

Least to say, their reaction was exactly what I had expected.

"She did what?!" Lovina screeched. She rolled up her sleeves and headed towards the exit, Alice right behind her. "When I get my hands on that bitch I'm going to-!" They bumped shoulders and stopped to glare at the other.

"Woah there!" Tina got up to grab their shoulders. "Calm down, girls!"

"No!" Lovina snarled, "I refuse to calm down!"

To my surprise, Alice nods in agreement. Normally, they don't get along, because something happened in their past I think, but they're together in this situation. "She's right! Do you not see what that tea bag has done to our Luna?!"

"Of course I do!" My cousin unexpectedly snaps back, her normally cheerful lavender eyes flashing. "But as much as I want to go beat the living shit out of her, we have to face the facts. We can't just go and accuse her of stealing Luna's soulmate."

"That's because it's never been done before!" The angry Italian retaliated.

"That's true . . ." Alice admits. "I've seen Bella's eyes. They were a bright green. I doubt that contacts are able to produce that vivid of a color."

Lovina lets out a frustrated growl. "Then what are we supposed to do?!"

We sat in silence for a while, her question echoing off the walls. Finally, Tina spoke up. "Well, we could confront Bella and get her to explain herself."

That sounded reasonable, but before we could agree on that plan, the door opened. We turned to see the girl herself walk in the restroom.

Four angry pairs of colored eyes greeted her, each with its own unique death glare.

"You," Lovina hissed, taking a step toward our intruder. "Who do you think you are, taking Luna's soulmate like that!"

Welp, there goes our plan. But to our surprise, Bella only smirks. "What do you mean?" she asks ever-so-innocently. "He's my soulmate."

Lovina turns so red from anger, it's almost too bad that Antonio isn't here to see. Before she could explode, Alice cuts in. "No, he's not! Luna already told us everything. By all rights, they belong together!"

"That's right!" Tina finally gives in to her rage. "How'd you manage to convince him that he was yours?!"

"Well," she continued, still smirking smugly, and leaned against the towel-dispenser, "I guess I should tell you since Luna did give us a lovely fainting performance earlier-" Bella snickered while I clenched my hands "-and there's nothing you can do about it."

"You little-!" Lovina lunges at her, but Alice catches her in time and holds her back. She settles for narrowing her fierce amber eyes at Bella.

"Go on. Tell us."

•~•

To paint pictures over windows

That don't satisfy our taste.

It's so convenient to lose the truth

When it's laughing in your face.

•~•

Bella

I had been excited that day. After wandering around the mall for a few hours, I managed to find my soulmate. He worked at a newly opened cafe that my friends had recommended it to me. Little did I know that I was going to find him there!

We spent a few hours together, learning about each other. Unfortunately, he didn't attend my school, but didn't matter to me. then I had to leave when the cafe got busy during rush hour, but we made plans to meet up the next day.

I rushed back to my school, hoping to brag to someone about my soulmate. I decided to shove my news in Luna's face, since I knew she hadn't found her soulmate yet. That, and because she and her annoying group, Siren's Voice, had defeated my team of cheerleaders in last year's Talent Show. Besides, I knew she stayed after school every day. It was the perfect set-up.

Walking outside the music building, I planned out what to say:

Me: Hey Luna! Guess what~?

Luna: What?

Me: *Casually pulling off my sunglasses* I found my soulmate!

Luna: Really? *insanely jealous* Who is it?

Me: Oh, he doesn't go here. You'll meet him later~

Luna: So it'll be a long-distance relationship? Wow, lucky you.

. . . Wait. No, that isn't how our conversation's supposed to go! I gritted my teeth in frustration. I was still trying to figure out what to say when I noticed a boy walking up and stopping in front of the music building's entrance. He was actually pretty good-looking, with his blond spiked hair, tall figure and gray eyes, but not as handsome as my soulmate.

What? Just because I found my soulmate it doesn't mean I can't appreciate the looks of another guy.

He looked like a lost puppy, actually frowning at the map in his hands. I was about to walk over to introduce myself and help him out, when Luna came rushing out the doors and knocked him down to the ground. It would have been a hilarious moment had I not witnessed the moment when they looked at each other. His eyes changed to the blue of the sky while Luna's were hidden by her sunglasses.

Oh, shoot. They were soulmates. There goes my plans . . . I no longer have bragging rights.

Or so I thought, when Luna just got up and ran like hell away. The guy watched her go with a mixture of awe and surprise, without trying to follow. Did they not realize what just happened to them? He looked like he had no clue that she was his other half.

But that gave me an idea. If Luna hadn't claimed him as her soulmate, then I would. That way, he wouldn't be confused about his eye color, and I wouldn't be alone at school. Even though many kids at school had soulmates at other schools, I didn't want to be one of them. Besides, there was no way for my real soulmate to find out; he did attend a different school after all. This time, my plan was fool-proof.

So, I followed him as soon as he got up, and waited for the best moment to crash into him. (The rest, you already know.)

•~•

Destiny is overrated

So I think I'll write my own.

I don't believe it's complicated

So I think I'll stay at home.

•~•

When Bella finished her story, everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"So, what you're saying is . . ." Alice said slowly, " . . . that you're taking advantage of the situation just because you didn't want to be alone."

"Something like that," She smirked.

"Why you!" This time, Alice goes for her, but Lovina holds her back. "Let me get at her!" she yelled.

Bella openly cackled at her struggles. "But what can you do? The whole school already thinks he's my soulmate." She makes a show out of looking at her phone. "Oh, no! Look at the time. The bell's going to ring soon, and he's waiting for me outside." Throwing the last words at me as a taunt, she goes out the door just as the bell rings.

Lovina finally lets go of Alice, who glares and rubs her arms. "That hurt, you twat!" Tina sighs and gets another paper towel. She drenches it with water from the sink before handing it to me. "Here. Wash your face and we'll go to class, okay?"

I blink and reach for my face, surprised to feel tears falling from my eyes. Accepting her offering, I stagger over to the mirror and cleaned up the best I could. As I redid my makeup, I thought about what Bella had told us.

I couldn't believe that she held a grudge against us—well, me—over a silly talent show. We hadn't even taken it seriously, performing however we wanted. It just happened to win the most votes. But I guess it meant a lot to her, enough for her to claim my other half.

When I was done, slipping on my sunglasses to complete the look, we headed to our next class, English. Luckily, it was close-by, or else we would've been late. As we walked, they thought of ways to get back at Bella. Tina suggested we egg her car. Alice wanted to vandalize her locker. Lovina came up with stealing her cheer-uniform and ruining it by shredding it to pieces.

With their ideas, each getting more crazy and impossible than the last, I started to feel better. Just a bit. My problem still loomed over me like an oncoming storm.

How was I supposed to get my soulmate back?

We turned at the corner to Room 69, where Mrs. Elizabeta waited for us at the entrance. "Good-afternoon, ladies~!"

"Hey, Mrs. E!" They greeted her. I stayed silent and headed to my desk right away so I could put my head down. Normally I enjoyed this class, watching our teacher rant about books, literature, movies and her ships, but I just wanted to be alone right now. Hopefully, we weren't doing anything important today . . .

Unfortunately, fate had it in for me, for no sooner did I put my head down did she exclaim in a loud voice, "Oh, hello there! Are you new here?"

"Yes, I am, ma'am," a deep yet familiar voice answered her. It couldn't be, could it? But it sounded a lot like . . . Oh, no . . . Not him! Not now! I silently hoped that he was just lost and asking for directions. "This is Mrs. Edelstein-Héderváry's English Literature class, right?"

"Yes, this is~" she trilled. Oh, god. Why? "Come inside and introduce yourself to the class!"

I jerked my head up just in time to see him walk in the class. Yup, destiny just loved to mess with me. I'd recognize that spiky blond hair, blinding white smile, but most importantly, those glorious blue eyes anywhere.

"Hey guys!" He greeted the class. "My name's Matthias Kohler. I just transferred here from—"

"Oh, I think I recognize that accent!" Our beloved English teacher interrupted him excitedly. "You wouldn't happen to be from Denmark, would you?"

"Ja!" He smiled at her, a little taken back from her enthusiasm, I think. Well, he'd better get used to it. She was always this upbeat, everyday, no matter what.

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Elizabeta clapped her hands. "For it so happens that our next unit takes place in Denmark!"

"Ah," Alice spoke up with a knowing glint in her emerald eyes, "It wouldn't happen to be what I think it is, would it, Mrs. E?"

She grinned at Alice as she walked back to her desk. "Yes, as it so happens, Ms. Kirkland, it is!" Dramatically pulling a book from a drawer, our teacher proclaimed, "Class, this month we'll be working with Hamlet!"

The whole class groaned in unison half-heartedly, seeing as we really didn't have a choice, save for Alice's triumphant smirk and my soulmate, no, Matthias' comment, "That sounds like fun!" Maybe because we were going to be talking about his homeland.

"It is!" Mrs. Elizabeta agreed, beaming at him. Then she let out an embarrassed laugh once she realized he was still standing in front of the class. "But first, we need to have you seated!" As her eyes scanned the room in search of where to put him, I slouched in my seat. There was an empty seat next to me, a cliché of all clichés, but it belonged to Hercules, who probably was still asleep in the cafeteria.

There was no way he was going to sit next me to of all people—

"Why don't you sit next to Luna! She can help you get to speed with the rest of us. Luna, please raise your hand~"

. . . well, screw it. It's official.

I hate fate.

•~•

I followed the leader

Now I just follow myself.

Destiny is overrated

So I think I'll write my own.

•~•

Matthias

Hey, what do you know? My first day here wasn't too bad! Everyone was really nice, and I recognized some of my old classmates. They let me sit with them at lunch and Bella helped me find my English class.

I wasn't sure about this class though, since I've heard tons of stuff from my new classmates. They said she was crazy, nosy and hyper, but I think she's okay. After all, we were kinda going to learn about Denmark!

Wait . . . Luna? Wasn't that the name of Tina's cousin? I looked around for her hand expectantly; I was finally going to meet her!

To my surprise, when I spotted her hand, I recognized the girl attached to it. It was that girl who ran into me yesterday, dark shades and all! She wasn't looking at me though, preferring the view out the window with her hand in the air. I wonder if she remembered me. We didn't have any classes together earlier. Was she embarrassed about what happened yesterday?

I made my over to my new seat and pulled out my chair. It made a loud, awkward screeching noise, which made her flinch, bringing her hand down. I turned to my new classmate and smiled. Maybe she was just shy?

"So, you're Luna?"

Slowly, she turned to face the front and nodded, finally acknowledging me. "That's a pretty nice name," I continued, not bothered by her silence. It kinda reminded me of the many conversations I had with Berwald before. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Sure," she finally responded, flatly. She still didn't look at me. Well, that was a letdown. Tina was right; she really didn't like people. We sat in awkward silence for a while, until our teacher came around and handed us our books. Luna opened it right away and started to flip through the pages.

I didn't know what to say, so I shoved my hands into my pockets. My hands felt something cool and thin. Pulling it out, I saw it was the cross clip I found yesterday. Oh, right. I should ask her. Sneaking a glance, I saw that she was still absorbed in the book. Well, here goes nothing. I held it out and asked:

"Is this yours?"

She hadn't expected me to talk to her, because she flinched again. Turning slowly, she let out a small noise of surprise when she saw what I was holding.

"It is." Luna turned to look at me at last. I couldn't tell what her expression was with her sunglasses. "How'd you find it?" Her voice was careful and accusing.

"Well," I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck with my free hand, "It caught my eye after our collision yesterday." She nodded once, accepting my explanation. I held it out to her. "Here."

She reached for it, but I couldn't help but flinch when her cool fingers lightly grazed mine. She quickly snatched it and turned away, fixing it back on her hair. We sat in silence again. She looked better with the clip back on. It caught the light and gleamed brightly.

" . . . Thank you."

I blinked in surprise, not expecting that. "You're welcome!" I managed to reply, trying to suppress a smile. At least she didn't seem to be that bad.

•~•

I know I've been here before

But I can't find, the time or place.

If we stay in the past

There'll be no future left to waste.

•~•

We sat in adequate silence looking through our books until our English teacher clapped her hands again. "Alright, class! That should be enough time for you to look through the story. It's time to assign roles~ Remember, you can volunteer or nominate a classmate! Who would like to read for Hamlet?"

To everyone's surprise, Matthias is the first to raise his hand. "I do!" he called out excitedly. Everyone stared at him in shock and amusement while Mrs. E smiled at him happily. "I like your enthusiasm!" she cheered as she wrote his name on the board. She turned back to the class expectantly. "Does anyone want to challenge Matthias for the role?"

The room was silent. As the main character, Hamlet had the most lines in the book, and no one wanted to memorize that many lines. The memories of our last Shakespeare unit, Romeo and Juliet, still scarred us all.

"Okay then, who wants to play Ophelia?" Mrs. E asked the classroom.

Once again, only silence answered. Since it was known by now that Matthias had a cheerleader soulmate, no one wanted to risk the wrath of the cheer-squad.

Finally, Alice raised her hand. "Oh? Are you volunteering, Ms. Kirkland?" Mrs. E asked her hopefully. Unfortunately, Alice shook her head. "No, I'm not. But I know someone who can." I didn't see the mischevious look in her eyes. "I nominate Luna!"

. . . What?

I shot a glare at her, but she only smirked back at me. No, I couldn't! Raising my hand again, I tried to refuse the role, but it was too late.

"That's a wonderful idea, Alice!" Our teacher chirped in agreement, already writing my name on the board.

Great, just great. Now I was stuck with him for a month. I put my head back down, letting out a quiet sigh. Matthias didn't seem to notice my suffering, saying cheerfully, "I looking forward to working with you!"

His smile blew me away. I tried my best to not look at him.

Didn't he know that Hamlet was a tragedy?