Glitter Isn't Always Pretty

By: LadyNightSky

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed :) Three for the first chapter…aw, I was hoping for more. Not to sound bratty or anything. Anyway, to the fic.

Once again, this is AU/OoC, and the events of the Second Season have been jumbled up.

Chapter Two: Disasters

September 9, 2006

Dear Di,

Today was a complete disaster.

I repeat, a COMPLETE DISASTER.

We have a new teacher. His name is Avalon. He's a brilliant professor. Unfortunately, he also happens to attract drooling girls. You should've seen lunchtime. Wherever he went, there were at least five girls trailing along after him, starry eyed. It was a bit pathetic, really. Worst of all were my friends.

Half the time, all of them ( except Tecna and I ) were the ones following Avalon. And even though Tec resisted the urge to follow the prof around, she sat next to me not even listening to the questions I was asking her, her eyes following the professor's chiseled chin across the quad.

At least I got the electives I wanted, Intermediate Potions with Professor Laurelle and Magical Botany with Professor Faunreckle. Avalon's leading some kind of advanced workshop that deals with magical heritage.

It requires a recommendation from Ms. Faragonda, which Bloom has already gone after aggressively, Stella and Tecna not far behind. At least Musa was trying to exert some self control. She actually waited a few hours after the class instead of ambushing the Headmistress immediately.

I guess I'm the only sane Winx girl left. I wonder what their boyfriends will think of their new obsession with Avalon. I can't imagine that they'll be too happy.

This morning, before breakfast, I went to Faragonda's office about a glitch in my schedule, and noticed a guy slipping out her door. He had hair as long as mine, black, in a ponytail down his back. He was dressed a little oddly, in a style straight out of the last era, his clothes hanging off of his somewhat gangly and tall frame.

I could tell he was an artist, he had a perpetually dreamy air around him, and charcoal smudges adorned his fingers. His sharp, angular features reminded me vaguely of someone I couldn't quite place.

He glanced at me briefly, stiffened, and stalked off down the hall, suddenly and obviously angry. Bemused, I rapped on Faragonda's door. At her invitation, I went into the office. She was seated at her desk, and glanced at me through her spectacles.

"Yes Flora?" she'd asked. I questioned her about the artist, but she avoided the queries, skillfully dodging the barbs.

Defeated, I'd reverted to my original plan, and had reported my defective schedule. I'm determined to find out about him though, and why he reminds me so much of…someone.

Ah, I got to go. It's time for the unveiling of the new Red Fountain.

Flora.

Same Day

Dear Di,

His name is Helia.

He was sitting with Sky, Brandon, Timmy, and Riven, on the bleachers in the new stadium, sketching a dove. Apparently, he's Saladin's grandson, which is why he looks so familiar. I was forced to sit next to him throughout the ceremony, as the other Winx girls were seated next to their respective boyfriends, giggling and flirting and wishing them luck in their various events.

We didn't talk the entire time. I sensed that he was angry and uneasy at my presence. I wonder why. I mean, I haven't even seen him before this morning, much less known him enough to wrong him. I sneaked a few glances at his sketch.

He's actually quite a good artist. The doves looked incredibly realistic. I knew better however, then to compliment him.

Anyway, onto the INCREDIBLY unusual stuff, yes, something happened that was even worse than a complete stranger hating me right off the bat.

A monster.

Literally. Halfway through our ceremony, a humongous monster crashed through the newly rebuilt gates ( ouch, what a waste of money ), and started attacking random people. Codatorta immediately started yelling for people to evacuate in an orderly fashion, which, of course, didn't happen. Everyone panicked and started crushing towards the exits.

I mean, really, people, half of you possess magic and the other half possess muscles and swords, and yet you leave the monster to my friends and me? That can not be good for the reputation of both of our schools as places of bravery and honor.

That's what I thought a lot later. At the time, I was too busy Winxing and flying up to Faragonda in the balcony to think so rationally. The other girls met me there.

From that height, I could see the state of mass hysteria the crowd seemed to be in, and the monster in the midst of all the people. Codatorta and our Red Fountain guys were trying to hold the monster in one place so it wouldn't crush anyone, but their swords and ropes were sustaining too much damage.

I glanced frantically at Faragonda for some type of instruction, mimicking what the Winx were already doing. She was talking rapidly to Griffin, then looked at us. She told us to fly down, and use our magic to create strong ropes to tie the monster up, then contact as many Red Fountain teams as we could.

We did as told, then contacted the Red Fountain archery team, who shot arrows at the monster. The arrows bounced off harmlessly.

That was when it started to look bad. Not that it wasn't bad before, but this was the point where it really looked horrible.

Bloom collapsed. Just like, KABOOM fainted. Her ropes disintegrated, and without her help, the monster broke through the rest of our defenses. It rampaged around. And then my world went black.

I found out from the Winx later that the monster had spit some kind of poisoned saliva on my face, and I had tried to rub it off frantically while the monster had opened its jaws, ready to snap me out of the air.

Then, out of the blue, a set of bright yellow ropes had flown out of the air and around the monster, securing it for a moment. I'd fallen to the ground, and Tecna had carried me to safety and had used a cleansing spell to clean off my face.

That's all I remember.

The Winx girls said that Helia had been the one to secure the monster, saving my life.

They were very angry with him, for he'd secured it just long enough to save me but not to help them.

I can't help but wonder why someone who seems to hate me so deeply would save my life.

The monster was defeated in the end, and we all returned to Alfea, exhausted.

I should probably thank Helia, but that would sound so weird.

"Hey Helia, I just wanted to thank you for saving my life, but why do you hate me? And why do you wear clothes that were in fashion nearly two hundred years ago? Like, no offense or anything but…"

He'd probably have a restraining order put on me.

God, the girls are all complaining about their destroyed evening and how they'd kill whoever had sent the monster.

They seem to suspect nothing, not even Tecna, who usually tallies up all suspects.

But I think I know better. It may have been a hallucination, but for one brief moment, as Tecna was dragging me to safety, I saw the same sharp, cold blue eyes, filled with cruel mirth, that I had stared into for the first time nearly a year before.

I think I saw Icy.

Flora