Hey everyone! Thanks for continuing to support this story. I'm doing my best with these chapters, and I hope you guys like them. This is another short chapter, but it's the last one. After this one, the chapters are a lot longer. Again, thanks for the support!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.

Regalia High

Chapter 7: Conflict

But what if he had? Would Ares come looking for him later? Just looking into his dark eyes convinced Gregor that he never wanted to be on Ares' bad side. He hoped nothing bad came from this.

Judging by the luck he had so far, though, Gregor gave up on that idea completely.

-O-

Practice that day went a lot easier than it had the day before. Gregor got to the track early this time, and he avoided the yells from Ripred. He wasn't ordered to run extra laps, but he pushed his body anyway.

He felt the familiar burn through his legs, the sting of his eyes as the sweat ran down his face, and the dryness of his throat as his body begged for water. His effort was actually praised by Ripred, though the comment was hidden in a sarcastic remark. Ripred almost never praised anyone. He was usually harsh in his criticisms and not easily impressed.

Gregor just nodded and walked away. He was actually surprised Ripred would compliment him, and he would have smiled, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Luxa was still in his thoughts, and he had given up trying to get her out. The worst part was that he knew they would never be friends.

The next day in school was just like the previous one. Luxa ignored him and he ignored her. She kept to herself during class and made no noise. In the classes with her own friends, Luxa didn't speak to them. She would answer when spoken to, but other than that, she remained quiet.

Although Gregor didn't talk to Henry, Luxa, or Ares, he would exchange a small smile with Aurora every time she glanced back. She sat in front of Luxa, and every time she turned to look at Gregor, Luxa would shoot her a glance. Aurora would quickly turn back around and she wouldn't turn again for a while.

Aurora wasn't the only one that would turn to Gregor. Ares would steal a glance every few minutes also. Gregor tried not to notice, but it was just too obvious. He guessed Ares didn't have much experience being subtle, which is why the whole school knew he had a thing for Aurora. The surprising thing was that Ares didn't seem mad or upset at all. Instead, he looked like he was…studying Gregor. It was the best word Gregor could think of that would fit the kind of look Ares was giving him.

During Ms. Solovet's class, Luxa was called up to the office, and she left the class quietly. Henry whispered something to Ares and they both laughed, earning them both a detention. When Ms. Solovet was walking away, Aurora turned to look at Gregor again. He looked over and saw that she was giving him a questioning look, raising an eyebrow and pointing at Luxa's desk. Gregor frowned and shook his head softly, causing her expression to turn sad. When she noticed that Ares was staring, she quickly turned back to face the front of the class. For the rest of the hour, Aurora didn't turn back to look at him.

-O-

Gregor was relieved when Friday finally came. One more day to go. He hoped that the weekend would help Luxa get over what happened. And maybe Ares too, for that matter. Perhaps they just needed a break from seeing him everyday.

At lunch that day, Larry got to the table with a huge smile on his face. The excitement was evident on his face, and he started talking before his friends could ask why.

"Guys! Guess what?" he asked.

"What?" responded Lizzie.

"Well, guess!"

"You found money on the ground?" she asked.

"You won the lottery," piped in Angelina.

"Ms. Solovet forgave you for not doing the homework?" added Gregor.

"No, no and unfortunately, no," said Larry. He smiled and waited a moment, letting the suspense build up. The others only waited, looking at him. When Larry couldn't hold his excitement any longer, he pumped his fist and said, "Dodgeball Tournament!"

"Dodgeball?" asked Lizzie.

"It's a game."

"I know what dodgeball is! Why are you so excited, though? Are you going to play in it?"

"Yes! I signed up on my way here. I saw the signs in the hallways and I ran to sign up as soon as I could. You should sign up too, Gregor!"

"I'm good," said Gregor. Running track was the only thing he liked doing. He went back to his pizza and listened to Larry tell the rest of them how awesome it would be.

Before lunch was over, Gregor heard a loud noise and turned to see a kid on the ground with a puddle of lemonade around him. A teacher walked over and started yelling at Henry, ordering him to go to the office. Apparently, the poor kid on the floor was another victim from Henry's group. Only now, it was Henry that did the tripping, and he was actually caught. Gregor only shook his head and turned back to his group. He was done worrying about them.

Larry spent the entire lunch talking about the dodgeball tournament, and the only thing that shut him up was the bell for class. Gregor starting walking back to his locker with Lizzie, talking about things she could do after school. She wanted to join some clubs, and Gregor knew she was smart enough to do more than one. He was trying to convince her to take it easy her first year when they heard something in the hall ahead of them.

Luxa was in the middle of a heated discussion with Gorger. From the distance Gregor was at, he couldn't tell what they were arguing about, but they were yelling back and forth. Luxa was staring at Gorger with cold eyes, and she stood in place. Gorger, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth and pointing his index finger at her, as if he were accusing her of something.

Gregor pushed his way past the crowds of people gathering around. When he was close enough, he saw that Ares and Aurora were with Luxa, but they were behind her, completely silent.

Gorger looked like he was about to launch at Luxa. His fists were clenched and his teeth were bared. He wasn't yelling anymore, and he was looking at Luxa with hatred. He glanced behind her and saw Aurora, and when he saw Ares, his fists unclenched. After considering his options, Gregor guessed that Gorger wanted to avoid a fight with Ares. No one had actually ever fought Ares, and it was uncertain whether he could fight or not, but no one wanted to risk finding out.

Gorger didn't look so ready to fight anymore. Instead, he gave Luxa a devilish grin. It was truly frightening, and somehow, he looked more threatening now that he did when he was ready to pounce. He took a few steps toward Luxa.

"Just remember, your highness. Your bodyguard won't always be around to defend you," he growled. Before anyone could react, Gorger brought his arm up and punched a dent into Luxa's locker. Luxa didn't flinch, and Gregor saw that it bothered Gorger somewhat that she was unmoved by what he had done. He didn't do anything else, though, and only turned around to walk away.

Luxa stood there staring after Gorger until he was out of sight. Then, she turned around and opened her locker. She acted like the dent wasn't there. She only grabbed her books and closed the door. Gregor made his way over to her and spoke softly.

"Are you alright?"

Luxa still had her back to him, but she froze at the sound of his voice. Gregor was expecting her to ignore him, but she turned towards him with a composed expression, showing no emotions at all.

"Whether I am alright or not is not your affair. You and I are not friends."

Gregor was speechless. He had no counter to that. He only stared blankly while she left with Aurora and Ares. Aurora turned to give him a sad look, and Ares only walked away silently.

He and Luxa hadn't talked in days. The two of them didn't get along. Since the year before, when they were freshmen, the only conversation that occurred between them was an argument.

Gregor and Luxa were far from friends. She was right. They were nothing. And Gregor had already accepted that.

So why did her words leave a knot in his stomach and a lump in his throat?

Things are getting a little heated here, aren't they? Luxa getting threatened, then giving Gregor the cold shoulder, something is soon gonna happen. I, personally, want to know what happens with Gorger. We all know he dies in the books, but how will that happen here, if at all? Whatever happens, I'm very eager to read more.

Question: What will happen with Gorger?

See you guys later,

-Tytonic