A/N: Eep! Two months too many! Sorry for not updating quicker but there's this hellhole I have to attend, this school. Apparently the government requires us to go to this...school, for educational training and learning crap like how Phillip I married a crazy lady and his son, Phillip II married his own aunt/cousin. And do I really care about determinants? Hell freaking no! *achem* Please ignore me. It's just that I've murdered multiple forests here with all the paper I'm using up to write up all this crap that I'll forget once it's all over with.

            Okay, also, I guess it was pretty stupid of me to put my characters in a sort of private school and having different classes since most private schools have all their students of the same grade in one class, all taking the same courses at the same times. But bear with me, let's just say my make-up school is special, eh?

            Hehe. I was on a sugar-hype one time and me and my friend were just being stupid when we realized just how alike school was to Azkaban from the Harry Potter series (none of which I own, sadly). Azkaban's like this prison where this horrible creatures called Dementors suck the joy of life out of you. Hmm...Azkaban...prison...school...dementors...teachers...I'm seeing a pattern here. For anyone rolling their eyes at my ridiculous antics, gimme a break.

My heart goes out to that poor Cubs fan sucker. Oh well, we of Florida salute (and pray for) you! Holy crud! Marlins have just won against the Cubs! (it's like 11:32 pm) Go Marlins. Whoop whoop! (ignore me and read)

Meus Amor et Mea Culpa: My Love and My Mistake

Heart to Heart

            "You look like shit." Zachary smirked as he barely ducked the hand aiming for his head. She growled sarcastically,

            "Thank you, Master of the Obvious."

            He laughed and stepped aside, leaning against the fence wall as Serena began trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Some of the humor left his jade green orbs as he took in her slightly slumping posture and the somber bags beneath the bloodshot and dulled eyes. He quirked an eyebrow in concern. "You okay, Bombshell?"

            Serena brought her hand away from her face and looked over at him with glazed eyes that gradually zapped back to life, as if she had just noticed his presence. After an airy 'Hunh?' she smiled slightly.

            "Do I look that bad?" She asked hesitatingly. Zachary snorted.

            "Bombshell, the wet sewer rat I encountered in the school cafeteria two years ago is starting to look like a supermodel compared to your disheveled state of appearance." He said arrogantly, smiling. "And that rat was dead."

            "Lucky rat." Serena murmured half-offhandedly.

            The two looked at each other for a moment then burst out laughing.

            "So what happened to you?" He asked as they started walking. Serena let out a sigh and, closing her eyes, shook her head slowly. When she did open them, they glistened with held back tears.

            "I'd rather not talk about it." She said softly, waving her hand dismissively. Zachary nodded, being sensitive enough to not ask questions. He swung his satchel over one shoulder and went on walking until a thought struck him.

            "Hey, doesn't your uncle bring you to school?" Serena glanced at him and nodded before looking back to where she was headed.

            "Actually, he offered to bring me to school." She said. Zachary frowned.

            "So why didn't you take it?" Serena smiled at his question.

            "I thought it would be rude to leave you waiting for me. Plus," She added, sweat dropping. "He's used to getting up early and I'm- well, uh, not."

            Zachary chuckled. "I take it you're not an early bird."

            Serena rolled her eyes. "That would be an understatement."

            Zachary smiled and nodded understandingly and the two walked on in comfortable silence. That is, until...

            "So exactly how much did you overhear yesterday?" Zachary face-faulted and his eyes swirled at the sudden and unexpected question. He looked up at Serena who stood above him with a semi-amused expression on her face. She giggled and bent over at his prone figure. Serena winked and held up two fingers in the V position, smiling widely. "Just 'cause I may be slightly air headed, doesn't mean that I miss discreet details cause some redhead pissed the fuck out of me."

            Zachary laughed, getting back up to his feet, dusting himself off. "So you did see me?" He asked skeptically. Serena nodded.

            "'Course, what you were doing stand by the girl's bathroom totally escapes me." She said offhandedly as a tinge of red reached the young man's cheeks. He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

            "I was trying to escape some of Beryl's groupies." He said with a hint of exhaustion and irritation in his voice. "I turned the corner right when the snakes stampeded by."

            Serena made a slight grimace that Zachary noted.

            "What?" She sighed as he stopped and looked at her inquiringly. "What's with the gloom?"

            Serena bit the inside of her cheek before saying, "It's just that..." She sighed. "Why do you put up with them?" She blurted out, causing him to quirk an eyebrow in surprise. She sighed, stopping to explain. "Anyone with two eyes, an average I.Q. level, and no delusional mind frame can see you detest them. Granted, I'm sure you enjoy the attention of artificially altered bimbos," She rolled her eyes as he suddenly grinned widely. Elbowing him, "But obviously you're not too fond of their...schmaltzy shows of affection."

            Zachary burst out laughing. "'Schmaltzy'? 'Affection'? Is that they're calling it now?"

            Serena slapped his arm, pouting. "You know what I mean!" She snapped. Zachary continued to laugh and Serena glared at him, fists propped upon her hips. She sniffed, annoyed. "Fine, be that way."

            Zachary made a gasp out of his laughter and reached out for her arm. "No..." He said in between gasps of laughter. "Wait...hang on...Haha..."

            Serena rolled her eyes as he fell into laughter again. "Boys." She muttered. Zachary grinned, straightening.

            "Sorry." He said apologetically, eyes brightened with mirth. "It's just the way you put it." He laughed. "Describing the bimbo brigade so eloquently when they're anything but."

            Serena couldn't suppress the grin. "You know, the others used the same term for those girls."

            "Who do you think started the trend?" He retorted. Serena laughed disbelievingly.

            "So back to the first question." Serena said, wiping away a laughing tear. She straightened as they walked on. "How much did you hear as you hid outside the girl's bathroom?"

            Zachary grinned widely. He had actually hoped that she would not be so quick to remember his slight, though purely accidental, intrusion of privacy. "Not much gets by you does it?"

            Serena shook her head proudly. "Nope!"

            Chuckling, he said, "I heard enough standing outside that bathroom to burn a memo to never piss you off into my brain."

            Serena laughed, her lilting sounds brightening the air about them. She smiled thoughtfully. "You know, I've never had this sort of trouble with redheads before."

            Zachary raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

            Serena nodded. "Yup. In fact, my two best friends back in Japan were both redheads."

            "Serious?" Serena had to giggle at the incredulous tone of his voice.

            "Completely."

            Zachary nodded, taking in the information as an attentive look fixed over his eyes. He glanced at the girl walking by his side and tilted his head, studying her. Serena noticed this and blinked.

            "What?"

            "You weren't here last year." It wasn't a question. Serena looked slightly a taken back by the statement but faced forward and nodded. Zachary went on. "Your uncle's from whose side of the family?"

            "My mother's." She replied. A clouded look passed over her face. "She and Uncle Artemis were very close when they were younger. I guess they drifted over some time."

            "So why'd you move here?" He prodded. He, like many at the school, he had discovered, were intrigued by this beautiful young woman that held a relation with one of their teachers. However, he was truly surprised and concerned at the dark shadow that slowly overcame her fairy-like features.

            "My dad died." Her voice was barely a whisper, tinged with sadness and anger. Why her tone held the latter emotion, Zachary did not know. But he was too occupied with apologizing for his intrusion on her privacy to take much notice. However, Serena smiled softly, waving her hand dismissively. "It's okay really." She nodded assuredly. "I know I'll never get over losing him, seeing as how he was a very big part of my life when he was alive. But I can't let one traumatic experience stop me from moving on. Know what I mean?"

            She looked over at Zachary and caught sight of a reminiscing look on his face. He walked in silence for a while and Serena waited patiently before he asked in a strangely, strangled voice,

            "But how do you move on?"

            Serena stared at him, surprised, not by the question, but the immense sorrow behind it. Zachary looked so forlorn and her heart went out to him. She tugged thoughtfully at one of the pigtails she had braided her hair into that morning. Unbidden, she wondered who or what Zachary had lost.

            "Well," She began unsurely. "I suppose it depends on the situation you're put in. In mine..." Her voice trailed off and Zachary once more caught sight of the dark look Serena donned when she thought no one was looking. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes as if forcing some memory out of her conscious. When she opened them, she gave a shaky laugh and answered,

            "I found something." She said cryptically, smiling at him. "I found something that made me realize that life does go on; that there is so much to live for on this world that you just can't shut yourself out of it, thinking to yourself that the days are finished and life is done with or completely denying everything and basically detatching yourself from reality." Her smile had grown, shining almost as brightly as the sun that was shining down on them. She reached out and touched Zachary lightly on the shoulder, flashing him that hopeful and understanding smile and he haphazardly wondered just what that smile held back before those lips parted and said to him, "And I hope that you find whatever it is to help you move on with your life."

            He stopped where he was, rather stunned by her show of kindness and somehwat abashed that she was able to see deeper and further into his words and emotions. Somewhere in the reccesses of his mind, he was able to process a rather humming reverberation and it took him a few more seconds to figure out that they had reached the school. He then felt a small arm loop through his and looked down at the blonde at his side questioningly. She was still smiling.

            "What're you so jolly about?" She smirked.

            "You didn't catch your first, second, and third periods on the first day of school because you were 'late'." She stated, placing a bit of sarcastic emphasis on late. This caused a rather goofy grin to spill onto the tall young man's face. Serena rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I'm here to escort you to your History class."

            Zachary scoffed. "For one thing, how do you know what my second period is and secondly, don't you have your own class to get to?

            Serena rolled her eyes, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Chicos son muy estupidos." (1)

            It took a while for the lightbulb to go off in Zachary's head and Serena smiled widely, leading him towards the gates of the school.

            "And here I thought you were one of the smarties."

            Zachary feigned hurt and Serena laughed. The two walked, arm in arm towards their History class.

            However, a pair of very pissed off violet eyes was presently glaring daggers at the girl who was currently laughing and carrying light conversation with her 'boyfriend', Zachy. Her blood-red nails were about to cut into her palm with the fists she was creating and fantasizing hurting that girl with. However, she felt a slight sting on her wrist and and bit back a growl sullenly. She cradled that wrist in her other hand as she had done yesterday in the bathroom when that psycho chick had walked out. It was bruising like crazy before lunch was even out. Today, the swelling had gone down somewhat but there was still a good-sized purple mark from where Serena had applied pressure to, draining the area of blood. She continued to scowl that their retreating backs, infuriated before a hand twisted over her shoulder. Startled, she turned to meet the gaze of the guy half of the girls in the school would give their right arm and left pinky for.

            "D-Dion!" Beryl mentally kicked herself. 'Calm down girl. This is just the most popular guy at the school. Chill out. You never know what he could do for your reputation.' Beryl suddenly turned aloof as she grinned coyly at the older teen before her. "Hey there."

            Dion smiled lazily and Beryl could've melted in his arms right then and there. He was so hot. His light, wine-colored bore into her lilac ones.

            "How're you doing, Beryl?"

            'Oh my GOD! He just said my name!'

            "Um..good." She said cooly. "You?"

            He shrugged, carelessly brushing aside a stray strand of white, slightly violet tinted hair. His eyes flicked over to the retreating couple that Beryl had been previously scowling at. A strange emotion filled up his eyes as he asked uncaringly (a little too uncaringly, Beryl would think later),

            "Who's the chick with your man?" Beryl lost all traces of euphoria since Dion came over to her and all feelings of resentment and anger towards the petite woman came rushing back.

            "She's some girl." Beryl said, growling lowly and not realizing it. She gave Dion a pointed look. "But don't even try it, Dion."

            Dion grinned up at her like a Cheshire cat, eyes twinkling iwth mischief.

            "Why Beryl, what do you mean?"

            Beryl rolled her eyes, moving away from his reach and into the mass of students heading to their second period classes. She grimaced slightly as she realized that buffoon Lita would be in her Chemistry class. She focused at the topic at hand and gave Dion an exasperated look as she backed away,

            "Don't try any crap on her, Crystaal," She said warningly to the cheerful disposition. "She's Cartier's niece."

            Beryl walked away satisfied as the grin dropped and the eyes dulled at the additional piece of information.

            Dion glared at the redhead's back. He would've done it with her a long time ago if the bitch wasn't annoyingly attached to that Zachary what's-his-face.

            Whatever.

            Dion Crystaal then moved away to go to his own class, a scheme cooking within the regions of his baleful mind.

~*chickay*~

(1) Boys are so stupid.

Short, yes, I know. Dissappointing, somewhat. But I'm trying to shake off my writer's block lately. Being in an English class that resembles my third grade Creative Writing sessions tends to turn my brain to shapeless mush. Anways, pretty please review. It really does make a person feel great knowing ya'll are out there cheering and loving this. So Review and read my other new fic, The Guardians uder my penname Dream Kiss. You won't be disappointed. Slightly confused, yes. But not disappointed…when I actually shape up and finish up the next chapters. Oh well. Read and Review people!