Disclaimer: We do not own Winx Club. Or Hairspray. Nor do we own Taylor Lautner. (Someone shoot me. -.-; Wait, wait! Do we own Peter Facinelli? O.O) Erm, no... (That royally sucks. -.-) I know. -Sigh.-
Okay, Sarah is not here with me this time, either. But I knew she'd say that (or at least something like it) about my Taylor Lautner obsession. And then she likes Peter, obviously. Lol.
Alrighty, we have the arrival of Musa in here, plus some characters to mix it all up. =D Like, boys who will make relationships difficult. One of them blatantly says who he likes, so you'll know the craziness there, and then the other, well, it's kinda obvious. So I'll leave that up to you guys to understand.
I think that's all I have to say for now. ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT I ACTUALLY UPDATED WHEN I SAID I WOULD~
OH, AND HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME. XDDDDDDDDD
Sorry, guys, I have problems.
Anywho, let the story continue~
Chapter ii: Because Lunchtime is Talk Time
"I'll see you at lunch," Skyler Johnson murmured to his girlfriend before he kissed her cheek and dropped his arm from her waist.
As per usual, Diaspro didn't say anything in response as he watched her go into her classroom.
"Dude, I don't see why you put up with that," Brandon's voice sighed, causing Sky to glance at his best friend curiously. "Come on, dude. She treats you like a... belonging. You could have practically any girl in this school, yet you stay with the one—"
"Who doesn't treat me like I'm some freakin' god. I've told you this before, but since you seem to be such a forgetful person, I'll tell you again: I want to be treated as an equal," the blonde scowled, his hands clenched into fists.
"You're not getting it from her, obviously. And you look for two completely different things in a relationship. I've heard of opposites attract, but this is crazy, and you know it. I know you're partially still with her because of the whole girl-swarming thing, but man, you could get that with anyone else," the brunette retorted.
"Things are perfectly fine the way they are! I'm sick of having this argument with you, Brandon. So let it go," Sky growled out between clenched teeth.
The warning bell knocked them out of their fight stances, and they headed to the gym in tense silence. The moment they entered, giggles hit their ears, only succeeding in making Sky's mood worse than it already was. But of course he couldn't show it; he had to keep his composure at least somewhat when all he really wanted to do was punch a wall.
A nudge from Brandon made him look to his left. "Red's in here," the brunette male stated with a grin.
"I know she is, dude. She's sat over there like an outcast since the beginning of the year," Sky answered, wondering what the hell Brandon noticed in this class if he didn't notice a girl sitting alone.
"Let's go sit with her," Brandon replied, already walking towards her.
"Brandon, I don't th—"
"Come on, dude," Brandon cut him off. "She might want some company." With a wink the brunette took off up the bleachers to where the redhead they'd officially met the afternoon before was seated. "Hey, Red, what's up?" the brunette asked as he sat down on the girl's right. Sky made his way up the bleachers at a slightly faster pace at the expression on the redhead's face. However, it changed as he got closer, and a smile slowly curved her small lips.
"Nothing, really... Where's—"
"Hey, Bloom. How're you doing?" Sky spoke as he stopped and seated himself on the bleachers one step below them.
"Mh, nevermind. I'm doing fine, I guess. Do you guys need help or something?" the redhead inquired, her turquoise eyes moving back and forth between the two boys.
"Nah. We're just visiting. Sitting with girls who, what was it you said? 'Want to get in our pants?' Yeah, not all those guys are fans of it, and you were sitting all by your lonesome..." Brandon trailed off.
"Right," Bloom answered with a nod. "And you randomly made this decision today? You know, after you found out I exist?"
The frankness caused Sky to wince.
"Man, gotta love that spitfire, hm? C'mon, Red, don't hold it against us," Brandon sighed, trying to flatter himself out of it.
"Hey, don't bring me into this, dude. I knew she was in the class. But she gives off a 'stay away from me or I'll kill you' vibe," Sky defended himself.
"See, Ken's got instincts," Bloom spoke with a nod.
"So do I," Brandon answered, winking.
"Want me to let you in on a secret?" Bloom asked, lowering her voice conspiratorially. Brandon nodded in response while a feeling of dread started dawning on Sky. This was not going to turn out well. "The girls who want to get in your pants?" the redhead continued, leaning towards Brandon. "I'm not one of them," she snapped, coming back to her upright position.
"Ouch, Red. That hurt," Brandon played, causing Bloom to roll her eyes.
"Alright, Blondie, don't just sit there and watch. You said I gave off vibes, and I do, so I'd appreciate it if you'd take Corny over here and go bother your loyal subjects or something," Bloom sighed in annoyance, her gaze shifting lazily to Sky's. For a second time, the blonde's mind refused to work as a grin slowly took over his features. Pissed or not, there was just something about her that caused him to feel oddly relaxed and... amused. Or maybe it was happy. There was really no telling, honestly. It was all weird.
"What?" The word knocked Sky from his analysis, and he noticed the girl was blushing.
"The fact that you think I can control him is amusing," Sky answered; technically, it wasn't a lie. It actually was quite funny that she thought he could order Brandon around.
"Your girlfriend does a decent job of it," the redhead muttered, and Sky bit down on his tongue to keep from snapping at her. That would not be a good way to start their friendship.
"Hey, Diaspro can be quite scary. She hates me as it is, and I'd like to keep my life, thank you," Brandon spoke in his own defense, his pride doing all the talking.
Bloom surprised them both by laughing. "Are you kidding? You think Diaspro's bad? You two have seen nothing compared to Stella, Flora, and me."
"Flora? The sweet little brunette?" Sky replied incredulously. "She couldn't harm a fly."
"Blondie, you haven't been friends with her for about ten years," Bloom pointed out, a grin planted on her face. Once again Sky found himself wanting to return the grin.
"True. But you haven't been with Diaspro for about two years now," Sky retorted, causing the redhead to scoff and roll her eyes.
"Please, all you have to do is say or do something inappropriate, and she'll melt on the spot. That was proven yesterday," Bloom threw back in response.
An uncharacteristic blush burned on Sky's face at the accusation, and he felt a bit embarrassed. He had an oddly strong urge to decline her words, but they were true.
"He can, but when he's not around, who's supposed to keep her from killing me by throwing me into a fire pit?" Brandon cut in.
"You are, Flirty," Bloom sighed, turning her gaze back to Sky's friend. "You're definitely stronger than she is, seeing as she obviously eats, like, a pack of crackers a day."
"Diaspro's not—" Sky tried to defend his girlfriend.
"Dude, do you even watch her anymore? You're supposed to have some carbs and calories in your diet. It's unhealthy to just eat salad with no dressing and specific kinds of crackers," Brandon cut his friend off.
Sky frowned at the brunette. "It's... but..." He stopped talking as a hand lightly touched his shoulder. He blinked over at Bloom, opening his mouth to speak again.
"She doesn't eat much at school. That's all I know. Watch her today," Bloom stated seriously, her turquoise eyes intense. His mouth suddenly dry and his mind blank again, all Sky could do was nod his head dumbly. Bloom's hand slipped from his shoulder and her gaze shifted up over his head, which was the only warning he received before Coach Codatorta started lecturing them about the day's activities.
Sky sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks as he made his way down the hallways and to the cafeteria for lunch. Bloom had completely ignored and avoided Brandon and him during the rest of their phys. ed. class. But what she and Brandon had said to him about Diaspro was going through his mind continuously. Had he really stopped actually caring so much he didn't notice anything about her that should've triggered an alarm bell?
"Sky! Damn it, dude, listen to me when I call your name!" a boy's voice snapped, causing the blonde to stop in his tracks and see who was calling for him. "About time," a black-haired male a few feet back growled.
"Sorry, Andrew. What do you need?" the blonde inquired.
"Musa said she needed to talk to you at lunch. I don't know why, but she wanted me to tell you," Andrew answered as the two continued heading to the cafeteria.
"She couldn't hunt me down herself?" Sky asked, quirking a brow at his black-haired friend.
"Dude, she's your cousin. How the hell would I know?" Andrew retorted.
"I thought you liked her," Sky answered, his brows furrowing.
"That's old news, man. Now it's that chick Flora," Andrew replied with a grin.
"Isn't she a bit... innocent for your tastes?" the blonde questioned, knowing how Andrew worked.
"Ain't nothing wrong with a bit of innocence," the black-haired boy answered, raising his eyebrows.
Sky thought about responding but thought better of it. Andrew needed to learn a thing or two, anyway.
The moment they entered the cafeteria, Sky looked around for Diaspro, spotting her almost immediately. "See you later, Andrew," the blonde called as he and his friend separated. The moment he reached his girlfriend his arm curled around her waist and he dropped a kiss on her neck. Diaspro leaned back into him, and he grinned at the others already seated. His grin dropped, however, when two normally occupied seats were open. "Hey, where are Brandon and Nicolas?"
"Being a disgrace and associating with losers. But whatever, they were only sitting with us because you requested their presence," Diaspro answered off-handedly.
Sky frowned at her words, feeling a bit like she'd just slapped him. Brandon and Nick were two of his closest friends because they kept the atmosphere light and tried to keep him in his comfort zone by treating him like they would everyone else. "Did they say who they were going to sit with?" the blonde sighed after a moment.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying much attention," Diaspro replied, though she didn't sound very sorry.
"I think he mentioned something about 'red' or maybe that was..." a green-haired boy (he'd dyed his hair, of course) trailed off. In Sky's opinion Laine wasn't very bright, but Diaspro's "friend" Chimera had started dating him recently, so he was, for the moment, what everyone deemed "popular." But for once Laine had given Sky information that had helped.
"Thanks, Laine. I'll be back in a minute," the blonde told them all before brushing a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek and stopping to murmur against her ear, "and I expect you to be waiting..." Let her think of it what she would.
With a sigh he released his hold on her and turned to survey the room for the people who would lead him to Brandon and Nicolas. If he was having a good day, Sky genuinely liked the layout of their cafeteria. It was separated in four parts: the kitchen, a teachers' and administrators' section, a section with vending machines, and a seating area for a majority of the students. But there were also tables for students interspersed at other points, and it generally helped to keep specific groups of people away from others so that no extremely violent fights broke out. Now, fights occurred, yes, but they were a lot more controlled here than at most public schools.
Of course now was the time he was really hating the setup. It made things more difficult for him to find his friends. Thus he took a deep breath and crossed to the other side of the cafeteria. Now he wasn't a coward of any sort, but some people at the school would quite possibly get a kick out of bloodying him up if the chance arose. And that's not to say he couldn't fight, but he was human, and people who lived on – or still did live on – the streets were not fun encounters when it came to fights.
All that aside, though, Sky continued his search and spotted the group almost immediately. Not many people had red locks like Bloom Peters, and not many redheads hung out with a blonde girl and a brunette girl. Plus, the moment he'd found her, he'd seen Brandon's familiar figure, along with Nick's dirty blonde locks. So he made a beeline for their table, ignoring the glares he received from some people as he did so.
"...surprised when I found out he was your brother. Oh, hey, dude," Brandon greeted, grinning at the blonde over the girls' heads.
The brunette girl – Flora – turned around partially and smiled warmly at him. "Hello, Sky. Brandon and Nicolas were just about to go back to your table so you weren't, well, they said... what was it exactly?" the girl faltered, turning to look at the two boys.
"I believe they said, so they 'cold be his lifesavers,'" Stella answered for them, grinning as she spared him a glance.
"Gee, guys, thanks," Sky snapped sarcastically.
"Aren't you supposed to be force-feeding someone right now?" Bloom teased as she glanced at the male over her shoulder.
The overall effect of such a simple gesture – hell, Stella had done the same thing a moment ago – was confusing and oddly overwhelming. Something in the way the redhead acted, though, caused Sky's heart to race, causing him to hear a slight pounding in his ears that matched his pulse. Since anything he would've said at the moment would've been completely unintelligible, Sky glanced at Brandon and Nicolas for help.
"Hey, now, Bloom, we don't see you three eating anything," Nick pointed out, a smile playing at his lips.
"We wait for the lines to go down. It'd be pointless to stand in the line for a long time when we can sit down and talk in the same amount of time," Flora replied, amusement in her voice.
"So you want to be lazy?" Brandon summed up.
"Is there a problem with resting the one chance you get?" Bloom shot back.
"Not really, but you know what they say about lazy people..." Brandon trailed off.
Stella gasped loudly, her eyes widening. "Are you calling us fat?" the blonde exclaimed.
"I know they aren't," a male voice snapped, causing the three boys to start while the girls smiled up at the newcomer.
"Hey, Riv," Bloom greeted the burgundy-haired male cheerfully as he sat down next to her.
"They bothering you?" the boy muttered, nodding his head in the direction of Sky and then his friends.
"Nah, not really," Bloom answered, receiving a nod as a response from the male.
"You know, now that he's spoken, I can see the family trait between you two," Brandon commented, causing Sky to furrow his brows in confusion. They were related?
"Thanks," Bloom replied sarcastically, "it's been my life-long dream to be told I act like my brother. No offense, Riv."
"None taken. I don't want people to say it, either," the male responded, shrugging his shoulders.
"There you are! You know, when someone tells you they need to speak with you, it normally means to go speak with them," a female's voice snapped, causing Sky to flinch. Ah, his cousin was so subtle. "And your girlfriend needs to watch what she says to me. She and I were gonna have a smack-down had Andrew not put a stop to it," the girl continued as Sky turned around to face the bluish-black-haired teen. Her hair was like her trademark: you were lucky if you never saw it in pigtails. Her purple eyes flashed in annoyance, letting Sky know he'd have to tread carefully.
"I'm sorry, Musa. I was going to, but I got pre-occupied, so I was going to talk to you a bit later," the blonde male explained, giving the girl a half-smile. "Really."
"Whatever," Musa snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "I should know by now that we have to make sacrifices, not you." With a sigh she paused, which caused Sky to open his mouth to defend himself. "Anyway," the teen cut him off, "my dad's going out of town for a week or two for some important show he's putting on, and he wanted me to talk with you and see if you guys had any guests coming so that I wasn't, as he calls it, intruding."
"Uhm, I'm quite sure we don't, but my mom's going to be at that meeting this afternoon, so—"
"Yeah, yeah, we can talk with her. Whatever. So, which unsuspecting girls are you three preying on this time?" Musa sighed uninterestedly, though a smirk teased her lips.
"We don't prey on girls, thank you. They willingly allow us to be in their company," Brandon answered, smiling as he spoke.
"I don't recall inviting you to sit with me during phys. ed. this morning, Sir Flirts-a-Lot, and I also know I didn't ask you to intrude at this lunch table," Bloom retorted, a sly smile curving her lips.
"What'd I tell you, dude?" the brunette boy asked Nicolas. "Spitfire."
"What good is a girl without it?" Nick inquired, winking at Bloom.
"Watch it, pal, or that damn eye will be too swollen to open, let alone wink," Riven growled suddenly, oddly earning some points from Sky. He'd felt a twinge of annoyance for some reason, though it more than likely had to do with the fact that Nicolas, though he never meant to, led girls on because he was just so friendly. Not flirty like Brandon, just friendly. He didn't exactly know how to discern between what was being friendly and what was crossing the line.
"Yo, I asked for some names. Stop flirting with 'em and give me things to call them by," Musa snapped in annoyance, causing Brandon, Nick, and even Riven to look up at her.
"Alright, uh, the blonde at the far end is Stella... Laris," Sky started, trying to recall their first and last names from the day before, "the brunette to the left of her is Flora... Drake, the redhead is Bloom Peters, and the boy is Riven Peters, her brother."
"Yeah, I figured his name out yesterday during the meeting," Musa replied, a touch of disdain in her voice. "Anyway, I'm Musa Rhythm, the blonde idiot's cousin."
Bloom was the first to react, her giggles muffled behind her hand, causing Musa to grin. Brandon and Nicolas both grinned then, and while Stella started giggling along with Bloom, Flora bit down on her lower lip, looking like she wanted to frown and smile at the same time as Riven smirked.
"I really don't find this humorous in any way, but I'm glad you're all amused at my expense," Sky muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, come on, Skyler," Musa sighed, her grin only widening as he narrowed his eyes. "You know, I wonder if it's because of the girly name why you look so girly."
A blush of embarrassment and anger painted his cheeks.
"That's really mean," came Flora's soft voice.
"Eh, he's used to it," Brandon waved it off.
"So?" the trio of girls asked at the same time, surprising everyone else, especially Sky.
"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," Flora continued.
"I think he's far from being hurt by something I say," Musa replied, causing Flora to stare at her.
"But it is embarrassing," the redhead answered this time. "Would you want someone to run around calling you something stupid like 'Miss Piggy' because of your pigtails?"
"That relates to the conversation in no way what-so-ever, Bloom," Stella spoke the thoughts of everyone but Flora.
"Yes, it does. I don't know about you, but I'd hate to be called Miss Piggy my whole life, even in high school. Especially in front of people I don't really know," Bloom explained.
Sky felt a smile start to quirk his lips, both from comprehension and late excitement from her defending him. The thought made him giddy, and that confused and scared him.
"And being a pretty boy is part of his appeal to most girls. He pulls it off with just the right touches of masculinity," Flora finished, making Sky think she was either poetic or a big romantic.
"Well. My cousin found girls who see more than just his face," Musa observed with a grin. "Cool."
"I think he's speechless," Nicolas added, making Sky realize he'd been silent the past minute or so.
"I was not. I just had nothing to interject with," the blonde answered, starting to feel embarrassed again.
"Of course you didn't," Brandon taunted with a grin, locking eyes with Sky before glancing at Bloom then back at the blonde, wagging his brows and making the blonde turn his head to hide the blush wanting to spread through his face.
What was with him? He hadn't blushed so much since he was in, like, kindergarten.
"Why would there have been? Flo and I are just awesome like that. We could make pirate ninjas look like losers," Bloom joked, winking at her brunette friend.
"Sky, you've been over here for most of lunch?" the condescending voice of Diaspro rang out, ruining the friendly atmosphere.
"Uhm... yeah," Sky answered the rhetorical question.
"You have got to be kidding me," the cream blonde muttered beneath her breath, but by the look on Bloom's and Stella's faces, everyone was capable of hearing her.
"Is there a problem with it, Bitch Barbie?" Stella snapped, and Sky winced; all hell was going to break loose. "Worried some Teresa's going to swoop in and steal your annoying Ken?" Stella continued, a smirk forming on her lips. Okay, her nickname for him was starting to bother him.
"As if," Diaspro scoffed. "He just doesn't have to associate with the peasants when he can associate with the nobles.
"Diaspro, stop. Th—"
"Hey, no one asked any of them to bother us," Bloom snapped, sufficiently cutting Sky off in more ways than just by interrupting him. She'd gone from defending him to attacking him in just a short minute?
"Oh, so they just stayed because you're so enthralling?" Diaspro inquired, laughing. "That's a riot."
"They're a helluva lot more entertaining than you," Nicolas retorted.
"Then you and Brandon can sit with them the rest of the year. You're not welcome at our table anymore," Diaspro retorted simply, shrugging.
"You can't go around doing that! We're the only people Sky actually likes to talk to there!" Brandon exclaimed heatedly, his hands curling into fists.
"I don't hear him jumping to your defense," Diaspro responded with a cat-like grin.
"Whatever. We don't want to sit there anyway," Nick stated with a firm shake of his head.
"Diaspro..." Sky mumbled, gaining everyone's attention. "That's not fair. You said so earlier that they were my friends so they could sit with us."
"That was before one of them felt he was allowed to insult me. Now let's go," the cream blonde ordered as she turned around and started back towards their lunch table.
"Bitch," Brandon hissed, slamming his fist onto the table. "Your girlfriend has officially become a fuckin' bitch," the male continued, looking up at Sky.
"Watch your tongue," the blonde growled in response, his eyes narrowing at his best friend. "I've had it with your remarks. Okay, you don't like her, but remember: I do."
"Then go make her eat something," Bloom spoke in place of Brandon, her tone oddly quiet. "Speaking of which, we can go through the line like lightning now," she continued, her tone louder and light as she stood up. "See you at four, Blondie." She flashed him a smile as she and the other two moved past him.
"What. The. Hell?" Sky sighed, massaging his temple.
"Ask my self that question daily," Riven agreed, and the other three boys laughed, the tension dispelling.
This one was longer than the other one. Not by much, but it was. I had more fun writing in Sky's view, personally. It was just... I'unno, entertaining? XD There's no telling why I liked it. But I did. So I hope you guys liked it as well. He will get more... boyish as this goes along. But it'll mainly be towards Bloom. And of course Diaspro will have to kind of reign him back in, which will suck to write, but the story has to have something for them, right? Right.
Now, I'm sure some people are like, "Uh, what the hell happened to Musa?" She left. And I didn't feel the need to address it because it'll be addressed in the next chapter. WHICH~ Tecna and Timmy come into. So the nerds are arriving. :D And it's in Musa's view next. So, there are your two not-so-much-spoilers.
I think that's it for now.
Oh, wait, that's a lie. I wanna know what you guys think about the whole Sky and Diaspro thing. Like, everyone's reactions to it, Sky's obliviousness and reasoning for dating her, Diaspro's odd behavior when it comes to him... That stuff. So, let me know? =D
Ah, one thing I forgot: if I don't get a chance to update this weekend, you won't see another chapter until, like, next weekend. I'm going on vacation next week so I most likely won't have a way to update. I can try, I suppose. But I cannot give any guarantees. ;)
See ya soon~
~-=+The Dynamic Duo+=-