Hey, I'm back! Two new stories after each other! Aren't you lucky?

Just gotta answer some reviews (yes, would you believe, I'm starting to answer them!) and then we can all get straight to the story!

TheSixthGatekeeper: God, you don't know how happy it makes me to see someone getting so excited over my work! AHH! Ahem. Sorry 'bout that. I really hated doing that to Pedro, but for some sick reason I just imagine him being picked on in school. And Scott… well, hopefully he'll be okay after this… Anyway, glad you liked it.

zeus: Thanks for the suggestion. It's actually sparked an idea!

Now, ladies and gentlemen, for the moment you've all been waiting for… Oh, crap I forgot the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Power of Five, cause the people in the law department said I can't own it if my name isn't Anthony Horowitz. Meanies.

And now, after that really long author's note, on with the story!

'Scott! Scott, wait!'

Jamie had no idea what had just happened. He had glanced at his brother, who seemed like he was panicking, and then watched as he sprinted out the door. He had no idea why Scott would run off like that – what was up?

He followed him outside, where he immediately lost track. Where would Scott go? He usually hid away in their shared room when he had these moments (which thankfully wasn't that often) but Jamie had no idea where he would run to now.

'Scott!'

This was scary. He knew that nothing would go wrong, but he felt like he'd lost Scott all over again.

'Scott! Where are you?'

He passed a circle of trees and something told him to check there. They were huge pine trees, half-dead from the poison that they had been taking in through their roots for so long. Jamie was slightly surprised that they weren't fully dead. He was surprised they were there at all.

He pushed through the branches and swatted at some flies that flew out from the trees. He came to the centre. Scott was sitting on the grass, his knees pulled to his chest. He was mumbling to himself.

'Scott?' Jamie said quietly, walking a little closer to him.

Scott looked up. 'Jamie.' He seemed confused. He sometimes got like this. Jamie knew what to do though.

'Yeah, it's me. I'm not gonna hurt you.' Jamie was struck at how scared his brother looked.

'Why is that woman here?' Scott asked softly.

'She's our teacher.'

'She's a psychiatrist.'

Jamie frowned. 'And?'

Scott became angry. 'They sent her here because of me. They think I need help because of what happened in Silent Creek.'

Jamie sat on the grass beside him. 'Maybe it wouldn't hurt.'

'I don't need help!' he yelled. 'I'm not crazy!'

'They never said you were.'

'They sure act like it. Pedro always has this look, Scarlett avoids me, Matt hates me and even you're careful around me!' Scott moaned and buried his head in his hands. 'I'm not crazy.' He mumbled.

Jamie looked at him for a minute and then nervously wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Scott flinched slightly, but didn't pull away.

'Maybe… if you talked about it to someone…' Jamie began. 'I think that's why they sent her here. The psychiatrist. You're not talking about it to anyone and, I guess that's not good.'

'I'm not talking to her about it.'

'You don't have to. You can talk to someone else.'

'Like who?'

Jamie glanced at him. 'You can talk to me, if you want.'

Scott shrugged. 'Maybe.' He didn't seem that hopeful.

Jamie sighed. He had been talking to Holly about this before, and she reckoned that Scott might be in shock after all that had happened. Jamie was beginning to wonder if that was true. He had been getting better, happier even, but the psychiatrist had shown up and he panicked. He needed someone he knew well, not a qualified stranger.

There was a long silence and Jamie didn't know if it was awkward or peaceful. Probably neither. He couldn't tell anymore really. Everything between him and Scott had been messed up. They were only starting to pick up the pieces.

'I don't know how much more of this I can take.' Scott whispered.

Jamie didn't know either.

It was a shock to Scarlett, after the amount of time that she had spent fighting, to be in school again. It was so normal.

The first class had been Maths. Pedro had clearly struggled with the numbers and the equations, but most of the class had. In fact, Scarlett believed that she might have been the only one who understood.

Now they were in English and she was sitting beside Matt. He hadn't seemed that interested in Maths, though he tried his best. Now however, he was close to falling asleep. She nudged him and he jumped. He glanced at her irritably.

'Listen,' she hissed, 'you'll get in trouble if you don't.'

Matt rolled his eyes, but he did begin to listen.

'In English, you will learn to speak correctly and how to answer questions in a professional and intelligent way. This is important if you want to do well in your exams.'

Matt mumbled a curse under his breath. Scarlett elbowed him and he glared at her.

'Problem, Adams? Freeman?' the teacher asked, looking down at them over her golden-framed glasses.

'No, miss,' Scarlett said, smiling. Her smile had gotten her out of trouble before, and it did it again. The teacher continued with the class.

At break, Scarlett grabbed Matt's sleeve and dragged him into an empty corridor. She glared at him. 'You could get us in detention before the first day is over! What's wrong with you?'

Matt sighed. 'I didn't get much sleep last night.'

Scarlett raised her eyebrows. 'Yeah? That's your excuse?'

'I have nightmares!' he exclaimed. 'I can't stop them and believe me, I've tried!'

She looked at him, confused. 'Nightmares?'

He nodded. 'I got assessed the other day. I have PTSD.'

'What?'

'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,' he sighed. 'Doctor reckons that we all have it, but Scott and I got the worst of it.'

She bit her lip. 'What are they about? The nightmares?'

'Oblivion.'

She sighed. 'I guessed as much.'

Matt bit the inside of his cheek and rubbed his arm. Scarlett was worried about him. Maybe it was because he was a friend, or maybe because he had saved her, but she couldn't help thinking that it might be something more.

She moved a little closer to him. 'D-do you think you'll need therapy?'

He shrugged, looking at his feet. 'Who knows? I might end up in the loony bin.' He laughed a little at his pitiful attempt of a joke.

Scarlett smiled and shook her head. 'I doubt it somehow.'

He glanced at her, half-smiling. Scarlett rarely saw him smile genuinely. He was always too serious. It was nice to see him lighten up a bit. He actually looked cute when he smiled.

Stop it. You can't think like that. He's your friend.

He leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. There was a small grin on his face. 'You seem awfully worried about me.'

Scarlett went pink and shrugged. She wasn't sure if she liked the look in his eyes. 'I'm allowed to worry, aren't I? It's a free country.'

He laughed quietly. 'Guess so.'

She smiled. 'Look, try not to fall asleep in class, okay? I won't always be there to save you.'

He nodded. 'Yes, ma'am.'

She laughed, smacking his arm lightly. The bell rang and they headed back to class.

'What in the world…?' Nathalie trailed off, staring at the door the twins had just ran out. She looked utterly confused. Holly sighed, looking troubled. Miss Griffin looked like she was sucking on a lemon.

Richard appeared in his usual combination of jeans and a crumpled shirt. His hair was sticking up at the back and he had a cup of tea in his hand. He stared warily at Miss Griffin.

'What's going on?' he asked Nathalie. She filled him in on the incident with the twins. Holly stayed silent, frowning.

Richard nodded slowly, glancing every now and again at Miss Griffin.

Nathalie sighed. 'This is Miss Griffin. The teacher.' She turned to the said teacher. 'This is Richard Cole.'

'Oh,' Richard smiled and held out his hand. 'Nice to meet you.'

Miss Griffin shook his hand and squinted at him. Richard squirmed slightly under her gaze. He glanced at Nathalie, who was sniggering. He sighed.

They heard the door open. The twins walked in, Jamie's arm around Scott's shoulders. Jamie gave Richard a meaningful look.

'Excuse me,' Richard said softly. He beckoned to the twins and they walked into the sitting room. The twins sat on the couch.

'What's up?'

Jamie sighed. 'We know she's a psychiatrist.'

Richard looked at them. 'How d'you figure that out?'

'Never mind that,' Scott said irritably. 'Who brought her here?'

Richard settled on the coffee table. 'Look, they didn't tell me or Matt, Scarlett and Pedro anything. They told us the same thing they told you.'

Scott looked angry. Jamie looked at him. Richard could tell they were talking telepathically. Eventually, Scott calmed down.

Richard stood, smiling slightly. 'Ready to start school?'

Jamie glanced at Scott. They both nodded in unison.

'Alright. Let's go.'

Hope you enjoyed! Please review!

See ya,

CG xx