Hello! Now that we are a few chapters in, this will hopefully be the last slow chapter (ie, the last chapter that happens all within the first day of school) XD From now on I hope to have some faster paced and some slower paced chapters.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Homestuck

Chapter 5

The school day eventually finished with little more interaction with the boys she met, other than lunch, and Aradia rode the bus home by herself. Hm. I guess Sollux doesn't take the bus home. Aradia got off at her stop and rode the elevator up to the apartment. She was enthusiastically greeted by her aunt.

"Hello Aradia! How was your day? Were the other kids nice to you? Did you settle into the school okay?" Aradia smiled at the motherly gesture. She was glad someone was making an effort to make this place feel like home.

"It was fine. I found all my classes okay. Talked to a boy that I actually met yesterday. The teachers were nice. I'm going to go get coffee with my English teacher tomorrow after school if that's alright with you." Not wanting to explain the whole Sollux thing, she quickly turned around heading to her room.

Auntie Lynn grabbed her arm before she could avoid the inevitable conversation. "You met a boy? That's nice. How did you meet him yesterday?"

Aradia sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get out of telling her the whole truth. "Well, you know how I went walking yesterday evening?" Lynn nodded. "You might want to sit down." The two of them sat on the couch. "So, as I was turning around to go home, I ran into some guys from some gang called the Midnight Crew."

Lynn scowled. "I hate those guys. They're nothing but trouble. I'm sorry. I interrupted. Continue." She patted Aradia's thigh.

"Well, they grabbed me and tried to stuff me into their car when three guys showed up, a tall muscular one, a short freckly one, and the one that looked like their leader, wearing weird glasses. They all looked around my age, but they looked like they meant business. I don't remember the exchange between the two groups, but the tallest member of the three walked up to the man holding me and punched him, starting a fight. The one with the glasses yelled at me to run, so I did. Today, the short one and the leader rode on the same bus as me, the tall one, whose name is Equius, has a math class with me, and the leader, whose name is Sollux, has an off period with me. I talked more with Sollux and he explained the Midnight Crew to me." Aradia started tearing up remembering what had been told to her.

Lynn saw her crying and hugged her. "Oh honey that's terrible. I'm glad those boys were there to protect you, but why did they fight the Crew? Don't they know how dangerous those men are?"

The dark brunette looked up. "Sollux said he and the other two are a part of a gang called The Alternians. They are one of the few people who actually stand up to the Crew and try to put a stop to their actions. I am forever grateful that he… that they saved me that night." Her body began to shake with violent sobs. The two women sat in their small living room in silence apart from the sobs.

After some time, Lynn broke the silence. "Well, I'm glad you are okay. Now, how about some dinner? I made spaghetti. You like that don't you?" Aradia nodded. "Good then. Let's eat some food shall we?" The two stood up and dished themselves some pasta. "So, tell me about this teacher you want to hang out with tomorrow."

Aradia sat down in their nice dining chairs, which had seat cushions and were adorned in simple beading. "Her name is Ms. Maryam, and she's my English teacher. She noticed I wasn't very focused in class today and she asked if I was having any troubles. I told her I just needed time to adjust, and she invited me out for coffee to help me settle into Westwood."

"Oh that's wonderful dear!" Lynn exclaimed after finishing her mouthful of food. "You know when I was in school, I made friends with one or two teachers myself. It really helps when you are in trouble or just need someone to trust, especially in high school."

"Yeah. I'm pretty excited for it. It will be nice to be friends with a girl at this school too. I know she's older, and not a student, but still, it will be nice. I've only become sort of friends with three guys, and I use the term friends loosely." Aradia took another big mouthful of food, enjoying the red-sauced deliciousness.

The women sat then in silence for the remaining few minutes of their dinner. When they were done, Lynn picked up the plates. "I think I am going to go and read for the rest of the night. What are you going to do?"

"Um… probably do the bit of homework I have then draw or something. Thanks for dinner Auntie Lynn." Aradia stood up and hugged her Aunt, then proceeded to walk into her room, shutting the door. She pulled her small bit of homework out of her bag and sat on her bed with a pencil and clipboard. Her loose curls fell around her face as she looked down at her assignment. Immediately, her delicate hands swept across the page, writing beautiful cursive for every answer to every question. In no less than ten minutes she was finished, and her completed homework was exchanged for a sketchbook. Aradia flipped to a blank page and pondered what to draw. Her latest favorite had been to draw portraits of people she envisioned in her head. Her hand effortlessly began to lay out basic features of a human face. One with a semi-defined jaw and pointed chin. One with a medium sized nose and a smirk. Satisfied with the direction this was going, she continued, adding in more detail. The hair was messy and short, and she decided to skip the eyes and draw small oval glasses. Now for the color. She pulled out her small set of prismacolor colored pencils and began coloring. The skin, rather translucent, as if this character hasn't seen all that much sun. The lips having a slightly darker shade of pink, but not much. Moving to the hair, she opted for a dark brown, with some streaks of a lighter brown to give it definition. Finally, the glasses. Wait… Where have I seen this before… Oh no. I know who this is. Aradia grabbed two different colored pencils, shading in the two lenses, one blue and one red. She held up her work. Sollux. Why can't I get him out of my mind? He may have saved my life from a terrible fate, but why do I keep thinking about him? Aradia shook her head and set the drawing down on her bedside table. She decided to just give up and sleep. Not even bothering to change, she slipped her long brunette hair into a ponytail and pulled her covers over her. Oh mom, I hope you come get me soon. I have so many questions entering my life that I can't have answered. More answers means more attachments, and I know I'm not staying here long, right? Deciding not to dwell on those thoughts, she closed her eyes.

That's all for now! Sorry it's short-ish.

~Jane