I stare at his openly ashamed face as he looks away from me. "You're- You're sister? But she's... well I could say cruel, but certainly less, um, mature, than you are." My voice is still a bit uneven, but stronger.

He seems to blush in a less shameful manner at that, though he still looks guilty. "I'm really sorry. Let me at least reimburse you for what she took and I'll go with you to get another ID. I'll make sure the principal won't get after you about it being a bit late too. It's the least I can do." He looks at me pleadingly as though I was a jury deciding his fate.

I resist the urge to lay my hand on his cheek to comfort him and settle for awkwardly placing my hand on his shoulder like he has to me. "It's not your fault. You don't owe me anything. Even if it was your sister, it's not. Your. Fault. Okay? You had nothing to do with this." I offer him an encouraging smile and drop my hand back to my side. That was weird. I don't think I've ever done that.

He looks away again and rubs a hand over his face. "I used to be really mean to her. When we were little." He sighs looking guiltier than ever. "If she's bullying people it probably is my fault. I'm really sorry. Please. I insist, let me make it up to you."

Awe. "Alright. Okay. But you were just a kid and you've obviously-" I notice the time on the clock behind him and gasp. "NO! I have to go! Sorry I have to-" I pull him towards me and kiss him on the cheek like I would my mother. I gasp. "Sorry!"I say covering my mouth and blushing furiously when I realize what I did."I didn't- I don't- Didn't mean- I'm so sorry. I have-" I'm not making any sense as I back away towards the door. He looks just as shocked as me. "I have to go! I'm late!" I yell as I run through the door.

I can't believe I just did that. I touch my lips as I leave the school and glance behind me with confusion. I can't believe I just did that. As I am not paying attention I run into something.

"Whoa now! Watch where you're goin' would ya!" A half amused half irritated person chuckled at me.

I look up to see that wine haired guy again. My heart starts beating too fast again and I feel my body getting tense. "You again? Listen, I'm in a hurry. So if you could...?" I motion with my hands for him to step aside.

He crosses his arms and smirks at me. "You're the one that walked into me remember?"

I cross my arms with a huff. What does he want? If he even so much as..."Are you following me? Or is it your favourite pastime to make people uncomfortable?"

He laughs. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" He raises a brow at me.

I look him over again, really studying him this time. I inspect his eyes looking for a tell. He looks away uncomfortably and starts shifting his weight. His hair covered most of his face, but a blush was still visible. I fight back a humoured smile realising the cocky jerk isn't as tough and careless as he makes himself seem. "No. I'm good. But I'm late so excuse me...?" I trail off in a way to ask his name without doing so directly.

He seems shocked by my answer and looks back at me again before putting his mask back on with a smirk. "Castiel."

"I imagine I'll run into you again sometime, Castiel. Good bye." I smile at him with a curt wave before walking past him stiffly, uncertainty still niggling at the back of my mind.

"Hey! Wait! You didn't give me your name!" He shouts after me. I merely turn to walk backwards long enough to give him a sassy smile. No, no I didn't.

I walk to the clothing store as quickly as possible and apologize profusely for being late as soon as I spot the manager who is on his way out. He looks at me horrified for some reason. His eyes wide and mouth agape. He walks towards me like he's afraid to get close with his arms open.

"Shh. Shh. There, there. It's alright."

I stop my tirade of apologies and furrow my brows at him in confusion.

"It's alright dear. What happened to you?" His age speckled skin crinkled in concern.

"Huh? OH! I- it's a long story, but I'm fine now I think." I smile at him convincingly.

"You've got a cut on your lip and a bump on your brow and you've obviously been crying. I mean no offence young lady, but you look awful. Let's get you cleaned up and we'll talk about it, okay?" He gently scoots me to the back of the store and has me sit in one of the chairs in the staff room. He dampens a wet paper towel and hands it to me as he takes up a seat across from me. "Now tell me, what happened to land you in this state?"

I explain what happened in vague terms avoiding any unnecessary details and keeping it as short as possible. I notice he can tell I'm only telling half the story, but he lets it go and changes the subject. He instructs me kindly to get tidied up before he shows me the ropes and introduces me to the rest of the staff.

I step into the small washroom and peer into the tiny square mirror. I groan. No wonder he treated me like a wounded stray. I can only imagine what I looked like earlier... I would probably feel guilty too if I had a sibling make someone look like this. I touch my lips again remembering that I kissed Nathaniel. I still can't believe I did that. It was...soft. I duck my head and smile with embarrassed pleasure. Looking in the mirror again I wonder why...What was his name? Caseal? Why he didn't comment on my...state.

I get rid of the tear tracks, and pat my hair down. I don't have any make up with me so this tired but tidy look will have to do. I take a deep breath to relax and leave the washroom to go meet the staff.