So umm, yeah, I guess I had a lot more ideas for this chapter than I did the last. Thanks again for those who reviewed the last chapter:

fieryhairredmaiden92

Edwardlvr4ever

Starlinc

Thanks again!

Disclaimer: It's painfully obvious I don't own because P.C. and Kristin Cast could top over me any day!!! They're so awesome, lub you guys!!

Chapter 2

Today, I officially started as High Priestess of the House of Night. I had recently purchased a new outfit (insisted by the Twins.) I wore a white plaid three-quarter length blouse and a black high-waist skirt, along with these sweet black wedges I found. Now that I actually thought about it, I really liked my haircut, but it was sadly growing back except for my bangs. My hair was now down to my shoulders. I heard a knock on the door about ten seconds later. The good thing about having a peep hole in the door was so that I could see who was at the door, and wouldn't have to answer it if I didn't want to.

"Who is it?" I asked, putting on my little white ring that had "Peace" on the inside.

"It's us." Shaunee said, through the door, "Are you ready for your first day?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, is it really that hard to be in charge of a whole school, teach an equestrian class, and have to deal with my psycho ex?" I asked, sounding like an out of control teleprompter.

"What do you mean?" Erin asked, as we sat down on the sofa next to my desk. It's weird, I got to call it my desk. Hehehe.

"Last night, Erik tried to have sex with me after he escorted me back to my loft." I told them, after Shaunee closed the door.

"No way, honest to blog?" Shaunee questioned, almost laughing.

"Yes. He wants me back, and yet we're supposed to be just friends." I said, sighing.

"Well, Zoey, honey, maybe he doesn't want to be just friends. It's obvious that despite the fact that you cheated on him, he wants you back." Erin replied, moving my side bang from my left eye.

"Yeah, maybe in his head, he wants to screw you so bad." Shaunee added, trying to shed light on the situation. Okay, I was getting twisted images.

"Thanks, Twin. What a way to make her first day special." Erin commented, glaring at her.

"Sorry. Just trying to crush the depression." Shaunee apologized, feeling kind of stupid.

"Thank you guys for helping me. Now, don't you two have classes to teach?" I asked, laughing.

"Yes ma'am." They groaned together, leaving my office.

"Mind if I come in?" Erik asked, peeking his head through the door, only making his beautiful blue eyes visible.

"Do you need something? I thought you had a class to teach?" I asked him, not making the sarcasm visible, but he was smart enough to know.

"I am. They're just reading act two of Romeo and Juliet, since I told them I need to make copies of something." Erik said, closing the door behind him. I hope he wasn't getting any ideas, I had a baseball bat underneath my desk and wasn't afraid to use it.

"Like I said before, do you need anything?" I asked again.

"I just wanted to ummm....wish you good luck on your first day." Erik muttered, blushing a tinge of red.

"Well, that's really sweet. Thank you." I replied, still holding my bat behind my back, "Now, I believe you have some copies to make."

"Yes, I do." He smiled, as I shut the door to my office.

I felt really bad for shutting him out, but he just didn't understand. When I said that I wanted to start out being friends, I meant it. I didn't mean pretend to be friends in front of people and then secretly let him nail me everytime I got a chance.

"I can't do that to him again, Nala. I can't go through hurting him again." I told her, as she yawned, "So much for being a good listener."

Well, the only thing on my schedule today was.......nothing. This week, I had to perform a Full Moon Ritual. That lingered through my mind. Who was going to be my consort? I already knew the gang had my back on this. After typing on my laptop, my cell phone started vibrating.

"This is Zoey." I said, sweetly.

"Hey, it's Aphrodite." She said, as I almost dropped dead.

"Umm, hi. What's up?" I asked, realizing I hadn't seen her in years either.

"I'm coming back to the House of Night, that's what. Neferet wants me to be the Ritual and Spells teacher." Aphrodite replied, sounding non-enthusiastic. When the gang found out about this, they'd feel the same way.

"Well, I have to go. You know how it is. Being an High Priestess is no joke." I told her, as she hung up rather quickly, "The gang is going to be super pissed about this, Nala."

I took out my phone and text messaged Erik. It wasn't on my own free will, it was strictly business.

Hey, I need you to get everyone down here. I have some interesting news.

~Z

After waiting about five minutes or so, I heard a knock on the door, "Come in."

"You wanted to see us." Damien said, as everyone filed into my office. I still can't believe I have my own office.

"Well, I'm going to make this simple. Aphrodite the ho is coming back." I told them, bracing myself for the reaction.

"Awww, Zoey-," Shaunee whined, waiting for Erin to finish.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Erin asked, as her eyes grew wide, "Have you lost every piece of your mind?"

"I didn't ask for her to come back. I guess before Neferet resigned, she asked Aphrodite to come back, just like she asked me to take her place." I admitted, plainly, "It's really out of my hands!"

"Geez, this is worse than the time I panced Erik in the hallway." Shaunee mumbled, plainly.

"Okay, that was embarassing, especially wearing Family Guy boxers." Erik blushed, sighing. Hahaha, I wish I were there to see that.

"That was funny though, Twin." Erin commented, quietly.

"I heard that." Erik said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Anyway, back to the Aphrodite topic." Damien interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"I think you guys are blowing this way out of proportion. She's not that bad once you get to know her. Plus, she did help us with the war." I reminded them, trying to point out the positives. Their looks at me still didn't change.

"I know her, and I don't have to mention the parts she got to know with me." Erik pointed out, looking like she just violated him. I just waved him off. I already knew about how Aphrodite and him had a relationship before I got to the House of Night. The first day I got here, I saw her in the hall giving Erik a blow job. I still shuddered at the thought this very day.

"Plus, did we mention she's a hag from hell?" Erin questioned, still pointing out the evil in Aphrodite.

"The bitch is back. Home sweet home." A voice chirped, causing everyone to turn to the door. It was Aphrodite and her normal bitch self. She was wearing some pretty expensive sunglasses (which I admit were pretty killer), a black button up dress with white pin stripes, and stilettos that had to have been at least 5 inches. Indeed, the bitch was definitely back.

"Great, Nyx had to bring the whore back." Shaunee said, as she and Erin both rolled their eyes.

"Like I've said before. Die Dorkamese Twins." Aphrodite said, popping her gum in her mouth. On the side I noticed Erik looked like he wish he could die already.

"So ummm, yeah, I have a lot of High Priestess stuff to do, so could you guys kind of.....ya know," I stammered, as they clearly got the message.

"Fine. See you at lunch, Z. Oh and just to let you know, bitch. Don't start no shit, won't be no shit, aight?" I heard Shaunee question, directing her statement to Aphrodite, "I maybe polite on the outside, but everybody else know I will beat the hell out of you."

"Save the ghetto stuff for someone who cares. Later!" Aphrodite replied, leaving.

"Oh hell to the no....," Shaunee mumbled, as Erik grabbed her by her arms.

"No, don't even bother taking those earrings out." Erik told her, directing out the door with Erin, Damien, and Jack, who I noticed hadn't say anything during the whole conversation. My friends were so hilarious.

After about two hours of sitting in my office, I went back to my loft to change into some comfortable clothing. I'd remember that the Twins bought me some stuff from the Pink shopping store that's part of Victoria's Secret. The called it my "High Priestess" gifts as if it were a baby shower. I changed into a really comfortable white Pink hoodie with some grey sweatpants, and a white and grey fashion scarf. I admit, I looked a little cute but not to the point where I was conceited. After I slid into my beige potato shoes, I headed down to the field house. I noticed that these last few hours, I'd been acting really paranoid. Ever since yesterday when Erik escorted me back to my loft, I'd jump everytime I heard what was close to a step. After a couple of seconds, I caught up with Nala sitting in a window on the way to the field house.

"I mean, it can't be that bad right, Nala? I'm just walking to the field house, no unexpected visitors are coming. It's just you and me." I told her, starting to twitch. Never in my life had I felt so nervous. Just as I feared, something from the shadows had grabbed me by my waist and my mouth, while Nala jumped out of my arms hissing and growling.

"Mhmmmmm mmmmmm," I whined, struggling and kicking every which way.

"Sshh, it's just me." Erik's deep, but very sexy voice whispered, making me want to melt in his arms. No, I wasn't going to fall for these little tricks. I can't hurt him again, and I won't hurt him again. I already witnessed and felt what that was like, and I was determined never to break his heart like I did five years ago.

"Do you mind? I have a class to teach and you grabbing me isn't helping." I nearly yelled, feeling really shocked and frustrated.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see you." Erik smiled, holding me closer to his body. I could feel the warmth of his body against mine as he held my waist. I hadn't noticed that a little bit of my mid drift was revealing and his hands were in the exact places it was showing.

"Well, it was nice seeing you." I mumbled, trying to leave but he wouldn't let me again, "Erik, you're not letting me go....."

"It's because I don't want to let you go. I don't want to lose you again, Zoey." Erik whispered, resting his forehead on my left shoulder.

"Erik, I can't do this right now. I need to go. How about we talk later, k?" I blurted, not realizing what I said. Crap.

"All right, I'll see you at lunch." He said, smiling before he walked away. If I didn't hurry in the next few minutes, I'd be late to my own class.

After literally jogging myself tired, I made it to my first class that I'd get to teach. I always wondered how Lenobia was doing. I knew that from what I heard from the gang, she went back to her home to continue raising her horses.

"Hello, welcome to Intro to Equestrians," I said, as everyone gathered near the stables, "I'm Zoey Redbird, and I'll be instructing you on everything about horses. The first thing to know about horses is that it takes a lot of hard work, responsibility, and dedication."

As I rambled on about the basics, I thought of my first day with this class. It was the day Lenobia introduced me to Persephone.

"Now, your first task is to clean out the stalls. There are pick forks for you to clean up the maneur and muckboots for you to cover up your pants. I'll be back in forty minutes to inspect your stalls. You may begin." I explained, as every kid started heading to get supplies. As I watched everyone start working and what not, I went into the stalls to brush Persephone, the mare that I'd been taking care of since I came to the House of Night.

As I began to groom her, I started to think about what's been going down (as Shaunee would put it). Honestly, I wasn't sure what was happening. I thought about it by putting it in some sort of order.

1. Erik definitely wanted to get back with me. As happy as that sounds, I happen to think partially otherwise. Yes, it's been five years but you know, that type of thing doesn't just disappear. I have to live with that burden for the rest of my life. Yeah, the gang and I would laugh about it when we got older when we remember how ridiculous it sounds. I honestly think that he's trying to cover up how he really feels about it. I think I'm just adding fuel to the fire because I keep telling him the honest truth, and that type of stuff hurts.

2. The pressure of being High Priestess of the entire school was getting a hold of me. I mean really, I had about the lowest leadership skills know to man. I get so nervous when I'm faced with a huge challenge. I know that I can trust Nyx to help me, but I know she would probably want me to figure it out for myself.

After patting Persephone affectionately, I went back to inspecting stalls. I have to admit, some stalls were actually pretty good. I mean, there were few kids who's stalls were close to finish, but the got lost along the way. The first day is always a little rough, but I thought they could possibly be very good equestrians.

Naturally, it was time for lunch. I felt a little uneasy about this whole situation. I mean, the entire school staff would be there. A partial percentage I knew. Also, I still wasn't too comfortable with the whole drinking blood with the wine thing. I mean, I did it so I wouldn't die or anything but, it still made me a little nauseous. I know adult vampyres are supposed to be used to it, but I wasn't normal.

"Hey, Z! We saved you a spot!" Damien said, waving at me. I tried to be positive, but it wasn't working.

"How's your first day going?" Stevie Rae asked, as I sat in one of the fancy chairs. It sure was good to be a teacher/High Priestess.

"Eh, it's not bad. It's just weird being twenty-one and teaching, ya know?" I said, smiling.

"Yeah, tell me about it. It's really not easy being twenty-two either." Erin added, sipping her wine.

"You don't have to tell me twice, Twin." Shaunee sighed, digging into her pasta salad.

"Are you okay, Zoey? You look really tense and nervous." Damien told me, worriedly. I guess he picked up on it too.

"Nervous? Oh no, I'm not nervous." I lied, feeling sweat come down the side of my forehead. I was going to die from a heart attack if I kept this up.

"Zoey, if you're not nervous, then why is your fork bending?" Stevie Rae questioned, staring wide-eyed at my fork. She was right, it was slightly bending.

"I don't know, maybe I've gained the affinity for strength." I tried to laugh, obviously not swaying the others to do the same.

"Z, we know nervous when we see it and you look like someone bitch slapped you." Shaunee said, looking at my hair.

"Yeah, what's wrong, Zoey?" Jack asked, sweetly.

"That's what's wrong." I muttered, nodding in Erik's direction. He was heading straight for our table. Oh hell hell hell! What do I do?

"Hey, guys, can I borrow Z for a minute?" Erik asked, as I mouthed 'Do something' to Stevie Rae.

"Oh, sorry, Erik, Zoey doesn't feel really well." Stevie Rae told him, I started fake groaning.

"I think I ate something that made me sick." I fake groaned, holding my stomache, "I'm sorry, Erik."

"It's okay. I'll catch up with you guys later." Erik said, heading over to the salad bar.

"Come on, let's look like you're actually sick." Stevie Rae whispered, pretending to help me back to my loft, "Why did you sneak away from him this time?"

"I didn't want to talk to him about us." I replied, as we snuck back into my loft and sat in the main room, "Stevie Rae, I think he wants to get back together."

"That's great!" Stevie Rae chirped, showing her cute little dimples.

"I know it is, but I'm not sure if I want to." I whispered, sadly.

"Well, why?" She asked, sounding confused.

"I'm afraid of myself. I'm scared that I might cheat on him again." I replied, trying to hold back my tears.

"Zoey, you have to understand, y'all were young back then. I really think that you both can work things out." Stevie Rae told me, holding my hand, "If things don't work out, I promise I'll be here for you."

"Promise?" I asked, sadly.

"Promise." She said, hugging me.

"Well, what do I do now? Lunch is over in.....," I stopped, looking around for a clock. I really needed a watch.

"You have sometime, now go get him." Stevie Rae said, playfully pushing me.

"Okay, I'm going." I told her, walking towards the door. As I hurried to the cafeteria, I saw a couple making out rapidly instead of being in class. That brought back memories I didn't want to revisit.

"Oh, hey, Z." Damien said, as I ran into him and the Twins, "You look better."

"Have you seen Erik?" I asked him, "And that whole sick thing was fake."

"Ahem, you owe me twenty." Shaunee told him, holding out her hand.

"Here." He mumbled, handing her twenty bucks from his wallet, "Anyway, yeah we did, honey, he's still in the staff dining hall."

"Thanks." I said, rushing back to the dining hall. Once I got there, Erik was just on his way out.

"Oh, hey, you're better." Erik greeted, happily.

"Come on, I promised you I'd talk, so let's." I interrupted, as we started walking back to the field house.

"Well, I really just wanted to tell you that.......well.....I don't know how to say this exactly but," He stammered, blushing.

"You wanted to get back together, right?" I questioned him, stopping near the courtyard on the way.

"Well, I- yes. I do." He replied, quietly, "I can't explain how crazy I am about you, Z. I still love you."

I slightly blushed a faint red, "I'm really flattered that you still feel that way. I just wanted to tell you that, I'd been avoiding talking to you because I was scared of myself. I mean, I know everything between us happened five years ago but, to this day that still hurts me so bad and....,"

Before I could finish my sentence, he leaned in and kissed me. It wasn't as rough as it had been when he escorted me back to my loft the other day. It was soft and meaningful. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. I noticed he was a lot muscular than when we were younger. After a while, he started sliding his hands up my hoodie and caressed his soft hands along my back. I still enjoyed how nicely we both fit together.

"You haven't changed a bit." I smiled, still letting him hold me.

"I forgive you, Zoey, but I still don't trust you that much." Erik said, rubbing my back.

"So you still want to get back together?" I asked him, just to clarify his actions.

"Yes." He told me, gripping me closer to him.

"Awww, look at our little Zoey," Damien said, pretending to tear up.

"She's growing up-" Shaunee added, pretending to wipe tears from her.

"So fast." Erin finished, sniffing.

"Hey, I don't invade on your relationships!" I whined, gapping at them. They all just laughed at me.

"I don't have anything hide between Cole and I. I don't even have to mention details for you guys to know what we do." Shaunee pointed out, as everyone just stared at her.

"Trust me, they're not lying." Erik mumbled, rolling his eyes, "We went to the movies to see Saw five and they would not stop making out. I mean, they were more scary than the movie."

"That is not true. He was just jealous he wasn't getting any." Shaunee said, causing Erik to gasp at her.

"Hey, that was a cheap shot. You know what happened too." Erik replied, holding me.

"Yeah, that really was." I added, playfully shoving Shaunee.

"What are you staring at now, Damien?" Erin asked, getting irritated by Damien's trance of staring at Erik, "For the last fucking time dude-"

"Wrong.....team!" Shaunee yelled, slapping Damien in the arm.

"Ow. That really hurt. Sorry bitches." Damien muttered, as the Twins gapsed at his last two words.

"Come guys, before you forget we don't actually attend this school and become late for your own jobs." I reminded them, as they all mumbled 'Yes, ma'am' and 'She just wants to do Erik'.

"You are such a cute little High Priestess when you're all bossy." Erik told me, walking me back to the field house.

"Trust me, if this was a turn on, you'd know." I sighed, walking back to the field house.

Finally the freaking school night/day was over. It was really tiring, plus being a High Priestess get's a little twisted in with everything else. Before dinner, I stopped by the Priestess loft and lied down on my huge bed. I still enjoyed the cashmere and fleece blankets and how they smelled like lavender. A few seconds later, Nala jumped right on my stomache.

"Ow, that hurt." I said, stroking her back, "This was the most tiring day ever."

"I bet it was." A voice added, making me jump right off my bed. I hated when people snuck up on me, it made me look like such a klutz.

"Come on, Erik, you really have got to stop doing that." I told him, as he helped me off the floor.

"I'm sorry. It is still a little funny though." He replied, giggling.

"It's not funny when I keep falling on the ground." I mumbled, lying back on my bed.

"Again, sorry." Erik said, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Hey, this weekend the Twins and Damien wanted to have another movie marathon or whatever. You up for it?" I asked him, rubbing his arm.

"Yeah, sure. Just as long as Shaunee and Cole aren't making out." Erik answered, shivering, "That still haunts me to this day."

"Trust me, there've been a lot of things that we've done that are pretty freaky." I told him, as he walked me down to dinner. This was honestly the best I've ever felt for as long as we've been apart. I guess I was starting appreciate being with him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the nerd couple." Aphrodite said, appearing from the staff dining hall, "Have fun."

"To this day, she still has issues." I told Erik, sighing.

"Somethings never change." He added, opening the door for me.

"Hey guys," Erin said, as I looked towards the booth that was closest to the doors.

"I see you ran into Ms. Illegal Blonde." Shaunee muttered, causing Erik to almost crack up.

"That's a good one. I should have thought of that." Erik replied, putting his arm around my waist.

"Come on, guys, can't you be nice to her for once?" I asked, rolling my eyes, "She's really not that bad."

"The hell she's not." Stevie Rae mumbled, stubbornly, "It's hard being friends with a skunkbag whore who used you as a.....,"

"Honey, you have to let that go." Damien interrupted, patting her shoulder. I knew what he was talking about. When I first came to the House of Night, Aphrodite had used unpopular kids as so called 'refridgerators' for her rituals when she was the leader of the Dark Daughters and Sons.

"I can't let that go. She's so mean." Stevie Rae said, sadly.

"Don't feel bad. She has that effect on everyone." Erik replied, trying to cheer her up. That was another thing I liked about Erik. Besides being good at drama, poetry, and singing, he was super nice person in general. Gosh, I love him!

"Yeah, exactly why we hate that bitch." Shaunee added, smirking.

"Z, the bottom line is that even if we did try to be friends with her, it wouldn't change her slutty personality." Erin finished, trying to be nice.

"Eh, what's the point of trying to convince you guys? She'll always be a slutty bitch." I said, ending the conversation about Aphrodite the Ho.

"Hey, Damien, you gonna eat that burrito?" Shaunee asked, staring at Damien's plate.

"Wow, you really must be ravenous." Damien replied, sliding his plate towards her.

"That means starving." Stevie Rae added, sweetly.

"I don't understand why you guys don't like these burritos. They're effing good." Shaunee said, in between bites of her burrito.

"I'm so tired. Teaching teenagers is as stressful as grown ups say it is." Erin mumbled, as everyone muttered in agreement.

"Trust me, there's this girl in my 3rd period who is an exact clone of Aphrodite. It makes me want to punch her in the face." Shaunee babbled, almost spitting pieces of chewed up tortilla in my face.

"I would've killed her when she was sleep, Twin." Erin replied, shaking her head.

"I had that idea but I thought it was too harsh." Shaunee told her, finishing her burrito.

"Trust me, when it's someone just like Aphrodite, nothing is too harsh." I told them, as everyone started laughing.

"Zoey! Thank Goddess you're still here!" Aphrodite yelled, catching her breath.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, as everyone sat up in their seats.

"I had a vision that Loren Blake is still alive and he's coming back to the House of Night." She replied, still catching her breath. I could have sworn my body already started to freeze up.

I'm sorry, I couldn't help but add a little more drama to the mix!!! I just had to add Loren (even though I totally dislike him.) Until next time........R&R.