Eventually Mikaela did find a seat, after being instructed to 'just sit wherever'. The teacher was definitely kind of a deadbeat- a well meaning deadbeat who asked if Mikaela was feeling alright, but a deadbeat never the less. She didn't care, though. The less structure the better. She ended up sitting behind Svea.

Apparently this school still had homeroom every day. Mikaela couldn't remember that last time that she had ever heard of a school that still had homeroom daily (hers just barely saw each other every few months), and the new routine proved that the little town was even more cut off than she had initially thought. The teacher even knew everyone's name- well, except for hers. But soon, soon she would. They always seemed to learn her name quickly.

After role was taken, Mikaela tapped Svea on the shoulder and then held up her schedule once the other girl turned around, regretfully having to halt her conversation with Tiina.

"Hej- ah, do you know where any of these places are?" She asked, gesturing to her schedule. The school wasn't very big at all, but it was old and had confusing hallways. Knowing her luck she'd end up exactly opposite of where she needed to be.

Svea nodded. "Been comin' here a long time. Ah can help ya, 'n almost anyone here'll be fine with givin' directions. Lemme see what ya' have next."

Mikaela gave her the schedule, and Svea nodded as she read through it. "Ah have math next too. Ya' can walk with Tiina 'n ah. We'll figure out the rest when we get there."

The Danish girl nodded and thanked her, then sat through an uneventful ten minutes before they got up and started their trek to the next class. Tiina was babbling on about something they watched on TV last night, which Svea occasionally 'mm-'-ed or nodded to, and Mikaela was mentally noting landmarks in the school. She wasn't really sure how long Svea would keep her around- it almost seemed like it may be possible for them to be friends, but for some reason it felt so wrong having Tiina there. She got the impression that Svea thought she was after her girlfriend, which she wasn't. It was like people here thought she was without standards or something, which admittedly was quite annoying.

After a not too long walk (but still confusing as hell) Svea waved her into a room. Almost all heads turned towards her, some curious and some simply roused from their half-sleep on the desks. This teacher seemed far more put together than the last, and already had Mikaela's seat chosen.

"Dear, Julchen is a little- well…" The teacher trailed off, rocking on her heels a little as she searched for a delicate way to describe the self-proclaimed "Prussian" girl.

"Awesome!" A voice called from the back of the room. Mikaela turned to see a girl with almost silvery hair and plenty of cartilage piercings grinning wide at her. She radiated some freakish mix of charisma and narcissism, but hell she looked like she'd be a lot of fun to be around. She couldn't help but grin back- she seemed to be the most 'awesome' person she had seen so far.

"Difficult." The woman decided on. "So if you need your seat changed, by all means let me know. It was just the only one available and-,"

"It's cool," Mikaela said with a smile, "I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

Julchen let out a woot and Mikaela made her way back, taking a seat next to the silverette and earning a high-five.

"You can just call me Gil if you want. Everyone else does. And what should the awesome me refer to you as?" Julchen asked, eyes sparkling with something that they never quite lacked.

Mikaela, though wondering where Gil came from, just shrugged it off. "My name's Mikaela Densen, Mikaela or Mik is fine." She said. No one had ever really called her Mik before because it never really caught on at her old school, but she did like the name and this girl almost made her feel obligated to give some sort of nick-name.

"Alrighty Mik." She grinned.

It was only a few more seconds before the bell rang. Most students got their materials out, pencils and paper and calculators, and Julchen was no exception. Mikaela followed her lead, pulling out a blank notebook and opening up to the first page. Her pencil scratched against the shit-grade paper as she copied a formula down, and then a few examples after. It wasn't long before the lesson seemed repetitive, and after about three examples the Dane felt a nudge to her leg. Looking to the sensation she realized it was Julchen's foot.

"This lady'll go on for hours if you let her. Really, the lesson is basically done by now."

Mikaela nodded. "So… what do you do now?" She asked.

"Eh, well usually I contemplate ways to use my awesomeness, but seeing as you're here we should talk. Lady never bothers trying to keep me engrossed much anymore." She grinned.

"Why's that?" Mikaela asked, tilting her head.

"One, I'm awesome. Two, I'm passing this class still so she can't use the 'you're doing poorly' excuse. And three, she knows she loves me." The Prussian chuckled.

Mikaela nodded again, and Julchen yawned and stretched back in her chair before sitting back up properly. "So. You're new here. How much do you know?"

"Ah… Anya doesn't like people looking at Matilda and Svea's with Tiina?" Mikaela asked.

"Holy shit ANYA was your welcoming committee? That woman is fucking insane!" Julchen whisper-yelled. Her reddish eyes were wide and almost a little nervous. Mikaela looked around, and after determining that Svea and Tiina were too far up the rows to hear her she spoke.

"Well, I met Svea first but then she and Tiina got all touchy feely so I was kinda on my own…" Mikaela explained, with a shrug.

"Pfft, those two are always touchy feely. And shit, I am so sorry you had to see that maniac. Seriously, she gives me the fucking creeps. I swear to god I lose four eyelashes every time she gets too close." The Prussian shuddered. Deciding not to think too hard on the eyelash comment, Mikaela let herself ask another question.

"So um… I guess you and her don't get along."

"Anya doesn't get along with anyone except for Matilda, Eliisabet, Raiva and Tori, and that's because Tori's too scared to tell her to leave them alone, and Matilda…well, Mattie has some problems with herself. I think she seriously likes the lunatic- totally un-awesome."

"What kind of problems?" The Dane pressed, intrigued.

"You know, bad self-image and self-worth and all that shit. Probably hangs around Anya for the attention. She might be kinky too- like a masochist and stuff. I don't really know, people say she is. But Amelia usually decks anyone who makes Mattie uncomfortable so no one really gets to ask her how much is true."

"So she and Amelia are friends." Mikaela tried to confirm.

"Well yeah, but that's because they're sisters. Twins, actually- well, almost. They're a little different."

"I could see that." The Danish girl smiled. Those two didn't seem anything alike when she had seen them. They definitely didn't act it, anyway.

"Yeah- most people don't even guess that they're related until they're told. Kind of funny, actually." Julchen chuckled. "Anyway… hm, what else is awesome?..."

While Julchen contemplated her next topic, Mikaela let her eyes wander around the room. There was nothing too terribly interesting going on. Some kids near her were half-heartedly flicking a paper foot-ball, and a gum-chewing girl was scribbling away at a note in sparkly pink gel-pen, and plenty of students were still scribbling notes down. Deciding there was nothing really worth looking at; she turned her head to the window and saw Tiina tracing something on her arm with her fingertips. It looked as though she was just barely ghosting the skin she traced, and Mikaela almost mistook the darkened scrapes for shadows until she moved onto the next arm and traced again, same pattern, same scrapes that didn't fade like a shadow would have once her hand moved away.

Cutter? She had to be. Mikaela had seen kids at her old school try and hide it, and in a sick sort of way she couldn't help but laugh at the way their eyes skittered across the room as though they were a squirrel in the middle of the road. Dumb-shits should know that the best way to hide was to act absolutely natural. No one would catch you if you acted normal. After continuing to watch the sort of ritual, she realized that the cuts were strangely placed. Fuck they almost looked curvy- was she an artist or something, too?

"Hey." Mikaela started, voice hushed, "Is Tiina… um…"

Julchen looked up and over to the Finnish girl as though it weren't a sight to see at first, but after remembering Mikaela was watching she swallowed awkwardly. "Well… I'm kind of not supposed to talk about that."

"Why not?" Mikaela asked, not angry but curious. It looked pretty straight forward to her.

"Well… there was a lot of stuff that led up to that. It's really, really a long story, and only people in our… ah. I've never had to explain this before. We kind of have a really awesome group, and only people in the awesome group really know the whole story. I mean, the school vaguely knows, and if you asked around and stuff I'm sure that you'd be able to figure something out… but really, there's a lot to it." She fumbled.

"What, did she try to kill herself?" Mikaela asked, trying to help Julchen along.

"Well, kind of- ah, not really. Not her- well technically… fuck. How long do you plan on being here?"

"A while. The old man won't move again at least 'till I'm out of the house, the wife likes the place too much."

Julchen nodded. "Well, here's the deal- since you're kind of awesome and stuff, and you'll probably be hanging around a while, I'll tell you sometime. It just can't be here, or now. But eventually, I'll find time to tell you- okay?"

Grateful, Mikaela smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Yeah," Julchen said, lowering her voice again. "We all talk about it. Just cause we're not supposed to doesn't mean we don't, but you have to be careful what you say, who you say it to and where you say it… it's still kind of a touchy subject."

Mikaela nodded in understanding, and the lack of words allowed Julchen to change the subject.

"Oh! I need to introduce you to the bad touch trio."

"The what?"

"My two most awesome friends in the world!" Julchen defined, as though it were common knowledge. "Marianna and Anicia. We've been friends since we were like, two or something crazy awesome like that. Anyway, they'd think you were awesome too, therefore you should meet them."

Mikaela laughed slightly. "Well, thank you. I'll look forward to it."

More time passed, and eventually the teacher stopped class to talk about homework. Mikaela was nudged again by Julchen, who was packing her stuff back into her back, and the Dane took the cue to start getting ready for next period. The bell rang only one second later.

The next two periods flew by pretty quickly. Julchen ended up introducing her to Liesel, who helped her get to her next few classes because she didn't see the Prussian again until after lunch. Liesel was considerably more serious than Julchen, and she told Mikaela more about school policies, events, and other such things. While it wasn't as interesting as the things Julchen told her, she did appreciate not having to read through that rule book she had been given earlier. Besides, she was pretty sure the German girl meant well, even if she was kind of uptight. Her girlfriend, klutzy and silly but also pretty and good-intentioned, seemed to balance her out.

It was Liesel who helped Mikaela get to the cafeteria, and Svea promptly thanked her upon their arrival. It occurred to her then that the Swede seemed to hold some position of authority in the group that Julchen described earlier. It would probably be in her best interest to at least try to stay friends with her; getting ahead was never a bad thing. She seemed considerably more approachable than she had this morning, minus the glare, so she decided she'd make an effort. Svea had Tiina to her right and gave the seat on her left to Mikaela, who gratefully accepted.

"Everyone," The Swedish girl started once they were all seated. "This is Mikaela. She's new. Could all'a ya' introduce yerselves if ya' haven't already?"

Julchen spoke first. "Mik, this," she pointed to a girl with brown-blonde hair tied into a loose, curly bun. "is Marianna. And she," The Prussian pointed to a girl with short, brown hair and a great smile "is Anicia. They were the ones I was telling you about."

Mikaela grinned and gave a hello, and Marianna smiled and waggled her fingers.

"Bonjour mon amie. Je suis Marianna, et elle est Jeanne, mon amour~." She smiled. Her voice had a slur and a lilt to it, and it was almost seductive. Jeanne spoke next. "She said that she is Marianna, and I am Joan-"

"And that she is my love! You mustn't forget that." Marianna cried melodramatically, clasping her heart, and earning smile from Jeanne.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mikaela." She half laughed. After Mikaela returned the greeting Anicia took a turn talking.

"¡Bienvenidos amiga! It's great to meet you." Anicia said. She turned to a girl next to her with longer brown hair and a curl that just wouldn't stay in her headband bouncing as she ate her lunch. "Mariaaaaaa, say hi!" The Spaniard whined.

"Mpph eaphing." The girl tried quietly, mouth full.

"Say hi Lovi! Come on, she's our new friend." She smiled.

At that, Maria swallowed, pouting at the taller girl. "Bastard. You know I hate it when you call me that!" She whined.

"But it's cute! Now come on, say ¡hola!" Anicia prompted again.

"You have one fucked up version of 'cute'." She said to Anicia, but then turned to Mikaela. "My name's Maria. Nice to meet you." She offered.

"Nice to meet you too." Mikaela responded. She looked so much like Liesel's girlfriend (whose name she had already forgotten) that she almost wanted to ask if they were related. Maria read her mind.

"Before you ask or try not to ask, yes Felicia and I are related." She confirmed.

"Ah, thanks." She said, grinning sheepishly. So that was her name.

"Ve, and she's the best sister ever!" Felicia sang, happily eating spaghetti that she had packed in a Tupperware container with a plastic fork. Maria scowled, but a smile shone in her eyes.

"Hey, don't we have like, three pairs of sisters here?" Amelia asked, trying to remember.

"Four if you count the little monster." Alice said, rubbing her temples.

"Alice, Paige isn't that bad. And I don't really know if Mikaela will get to meet her but hey, she can count as one." Amelia smiled.

"Who's Paige?" Mikaela asked.

"Oh, she's Alice's little sister." Amelia explained. "And my baby sister is Mattie!"

"Amelia, I'm not that much younger than you." Matilda sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be heard as usual. Anya hugged her shoulders gently.

"You're definitely smarter." She half-cooed, earning a soft smile from Matilda.

"Commie, get your hands off of my sister!" Amelia yelled across the table. Mikaela jumped, and Julchen gave her a (horrified) and meaningful look as though to confirm her earlier speculations about the two.

"Nyet. I can hug my friend, da?" Anya smiled. Amelia was fuming.

"I swear to god if you don't let go of her right now I will go over there and-"

"Amelia." Svea cut in firmly. "We don't need any fightin' here."

Pouting, Amelia slumped back down in her seat and Alice tried to console her to the best of her ability. Tori, hating to see her two friends at odds, tried to change the subject by moving the introductions along.

"Hello Mikaela. My name's Tori and this is Felicyta." She introduced, gesturing to the blonde girl that was hiding behind her shoulder. The blonde mumbled something, and Tori nodded a little.

"Felicyta wanted me to tell you she likes ponies." She added.

Mikaela nodded. "Nice to meet you Tori, Felicyta." She responded. It was kind of strange to her to see the girl hiding there but communicating anyway. Sure, she had seen a couple of strange things so far, but that one was downright confusing. She never saw this at her old school- at least things were interesting here.

Eliisabet and Raiva simply said hi again, and the next girl up had fallen asleep on the table. Her cheek was pressed against the surface and her hair stood up and curled a little towards the top of her head. A loose jacket was draped over her shoulders, and the girl next to her seemed to be considering waking her. Deciding against it, she faced Mikaela and bowed slightly.

"I apologize. Hera-san has a tendency of falling asleep at very inopportune moments. My name is Keiko, and her name is Heraclea. It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl said softly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you too." She greeted, smiling.

"Did everyone get a chance to speak?" Svea asked. "Did we miss anyone?"

Mikaela let her eyes roam the table, trying to make out any faces that she may have missed, when suddenly something caught her eye. Not at her table, but in the corner of the room, was possibly the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.

As cliché as it may have sounded, that was the only way Mikaela could think of to describe her. Her face was flawless, pale and smooth and porcelain and her lips looked as stark a contrast as blood against snow. Her hair was a rich golden colour that brushed her collar bones whenever she so much as breathed, and her thin, delicate fingers ghosted over the surface of the pages of the book that she was reading. Her pretty, navy blue and sailor-esque dress made her look like a perfect little doll, and Mikaela had to fight the urge to walk over and touch her to see if she was warm and real and not some statuette. She was, simply put, gorgeous.

"Her." Mikaela said. "We missed her."

Svea looked in the direction of where Mikaela was looking, Julchen's gaze following with hers. Svea raised an eyebrow (the most expression she had seen out of the Swede all day) and Julchen almost choked on her drink.

"Do you want to die! That's Nora Bondevik." Julchen explained.

"She's gorgeous…" Mikaela murmured.

"And bitter as fuck." Julchen added. "Seriously, she fucking hates everyone. Felicia couldn't even make the ice-bitch warm up and Felicia's the nicest person here." It was true. Once in vain, the Italian spent a few weeks trying to get the Norwegian girl to hang out with them, trailing her in the hallway and even going so far as to make her pasta. Still, though Nora was gentler to her than she may have been to some others, she shut Felicia out after about a week.

"But she looks so… soft." Mikaela said, eyes still fixed on the girl.

"Pfft. She's sharp as a knife and faster than a fucking bullet. She'll probably rip your face off if you get too close."

"I heard one day, someone tried to ask her for the homework, and she clocked them for walking too close to her!" Tiina nodded, more re-telling the strange rumour to herself than anyone else. Svea, not about to chastise her beloved, simply pulled her into her arms and cradled her. Once the girl relaxed against her Svea shook her head and mouthed no, causing Mikaela to laugh a little.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was true." Julchen piped up. "Really Mik- we tried to make friends with her-,"

"And we still are." Svea cut in. "Haven' given up yet."

"But she just shuts everyone down. Seriously, if you wanna get laid she is not the girl to go to. There are easier one's out there."

"I'm not looking for mindless sex." Mikaela insisted. "I just… want to know her, you know? She looks interesting."

"She's interesting alright." Julchen mumbled, and the Marianna spoke.

"Mik, mon amie, Julchen is just bitter because mademoiselle Nora didn't believe in her 'awesomeness'." The French woman laughed. It was a full, flowing laugh, and it sounded more like music than anything. "But really, pursuing her is like Dante's ante-inferno. You'd be forever chasing her, and never quite laying a hand on her for all of the pain it caused you. Ah, such a complicated ceremony courting is! I am a lucky woman to have found a love so pure!" Marianna cried again. She seemed to have a penchant for drama.

"Hey, it's not my fault the chick doesn't know awesome when she sees it!" Julchen defended. "Anyway, look Mik- if you wanna try and get through to her I'm not stopping you. We're out of ideas right now anyway. I'm just saying you won't get anything out of it except for some good party stories." At that, the Prussian stopped for a moment. "Actually, that's not that bad to gain. But seriously, that's all." She added.

Mikaela just shrugged. "It's worth a try." She insisted. "Besides- what if all she needs is some Danish charm?" She added with a grin.

"Maybe it's her kink." Julchen laughed. Liesel glared at her from across the table.

"Don't make fun of someone's sexual needs!" She scolded, and Julchen laughed harder. Oh, the time she had found her sister's porn collection… that had been an interesting day.

Mikaela stood up, and Svea raised a brow. "Whatcha doin'?" She questioned. Tiina didn't even look up from the cuddle session.

"I'm going to introduce myself." Mikaela announced, and Julchen perked up.

"This'll be good." She grinned.

Mikaela grinned back and waved before she started walking, and Julchen yelled out to her. "YOU CAN DO IT MIK!" She cheered, and Anicia and Marianna clapped. Svea sighed and rubbed her temples, wondering how in hell these situations took form. Tiina looked up at her with a questioning gaze and Svea pointed to Mikaela, which made the Finn turn to watch the other with curiosity.

Mikaela continued to walk, feeling her new friends' eyes on her back. Surely this would be an experience. At her old school she made friends with lots of people- rejects, cheerleaders, nerds- and she figured that she'd be able to handle this girl. She hadn't yet met anyone who she hadn't managed to wrap around her finger yet, and she didn't plan on that streak ending anytime soon. When she finally found herself standing right next to Nora, she did the next logical thing: sat down next to her and leaned in close.

"Hej." She greeted, smiling.

"Fuck off."

Nora hadn't even looked up from her book, and her voice sounded almost sleepy if it weren't for the venom behind it. Mikaela cocked a brow, shifting a little but not moving.

"Having a bad day?" She asked.

"As of now, yes." The Norwegian responded.

"Aww, why babe?" She half cooed, grinning. That earned a death glare from Nora, who slammed her book shut.

"Because there's this idiot that's tryin' to talk to me." The pretty girl clipped, gathering the book in her arms.

Mikaela laughed. "You're cute. Now come on, what's to lose from talking?"

"Don't call me that, idiot. And maybe sanity, the peace and quiet that was here before you got here- take your pick." The Norwegian said, standing.

"Woah babe, what's the rush?"The Dane asked, standing up as well. "Where are we going?"

"If you honestly expected me to tell you, you're stupider than I thought." She said, rolling her sapphire blue eyes. Mikaela thought they sparkled beautifully, and coupled with her pouting, glossy lips she looked like a model. A very pissy model. Her thoughts were interrupted when the other started talking again "And look- I know they told you 'bout me. Don't even bother acting like I don't know you're their new scout."

"Hej, hej, I don't know what any of this scout shit is." She insisted, earning another eyeroll from Nora. "I just wanted to say hi. Look, my name's Mikaela. And now we're friends." She grinned.

"I'm calling you 'idiot'. And no we're not." Nora said, looking fairly stoic and maybe a little annoyed. Inside though, she was somewhat perplexed.

"Okay. Then I'm calling you 'babe', and now we're best friends." Mikaela laughed, walking towards her and cupping her chin so that their eyes met. "Okay?"

Nora's cheeks flushed and she could feel her face burned, and before the other could do anything more she smacked her in the face with the book, successfully knocking her back a few feet.

"Idiot." She mumbled while turning quickly and storming out of the cafeteria. The others watched her go, still amazed from Mikaela having touched her. No one ever got that close before. It was, truly, a brave or suicidal move. Mikaela rubbed her then reddened cheek and whistled, grin not off of her face. She laughed to herself and made her way back to the table, taking a seat again. She sat silent for a moment, and all eyes turned to her.

"Ve, are you okay?" Felicia asked, concerned.

"You alright there Mik?..." Julchen tried. "We're still cool you know…"

"Mikaela, you 'kay?" Svea pressed, wondering how in hell to handle this. Was she hurt? Embarrassed? Fuck that was a bad idea, sending her over there on day one. To her surprise Mikaela sat up straight after a moment and smiled at her, nodding.

"I'd say that went well." She announced, her eyes sparkling as everyone waited for the verdict. "I think she likes me."

Author's Note: How long has it been, guys? Forever? I apologize for that, I really do. I missed being here D:

So, I decided since life continues to interrupt my writing, I'm trying to type a little everyday to see if maybe I'll actually get things up more often. This is proof that so far, it has helped a little. This chapter has gotten the plot going I hope, and now Norway is officially here! :D I can finally call this a real DenNor :3

Anyway, I feel since I'm posting this blurb under this sentence on "Choke" I should post it here too:

The shortened version is I take concrit because it means a lot to me that you guys care enough to help me improve, and I LOVE reviews (which goes without saying). But I really don't like wangsting (example of wangsting: WHY IS SVEA TALKING? SWEDEN DOESN'T TALK OMGWTFBBQ! [by the way, yes she/he does: her/his hobby is debate]. So please guys, no wangst here!

So, comments are loved more than rainbow unicorns~. That's a lot of love, guys. Please leave one?