DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mighty Med or any of its characters. I only own my original characters of Mara Short/Noctura and my original villain character, and their backstories.

Enjoy the story!

~Mara's POV~

Today felt like it was going to be a weird day. Not because it started weird (though it had) but because Kaz was daydreaming a lot today. Probably of Mighty Med or some famous actress he liked. Though...he never daydreamed about those before. He mainly daydreamed about having superpowers someday.

Keep dreaming, hon. Keep dreaming.

"Whoever came up with exclamation points, is a genius!" Oliver retorted, making me look at him from my locker. His was opened while he was also reading a comic book. "Otherwise, superheroes would be like "don't panic. I-I'll save you"." He said that last bit with no enthusiasm, which made me giggle in response.

"Look," Kaz finally spoke, a dreaminess to his voice. Oh...just great...I know who he was thinking about now. "There's Stephanie." Yep. I knew it.

"Oh, please! She may be pretty, but she's very shallow," I retorted, pulling out my sketchbook for art class.

"Yeah!" He paused. "She's exactly my type!" I scoffed as I shook my head.

It hurts to know that the boy I have a huge crush on likes a different girl. He always had a thing for Stephanie and to be honest...I think he could like someone better. (Yes! I'm referring to me!) But I can't keep holding my breath, waiting for him to notice. I have to move on.

Though I don't think I can.

"You know what," Kaz began, shaking me out of my stupor. "I'm going to ask her to the school carnival tonight."

"What?!" Oliver yelled, shutting his locker door. "She's the most popular girl in school! You have no shot with her."

"I second that notion!" I exclaimed with a hand raised. I saw Kaz give me a look like he was hurt that I didn't support him in this. And I would always get this look because I was NEVER going to support him in going out with Stephanie.

"Yes, I do!" He retorted. "We shared a moment today! She leaned over and said "Is that you that smells like that" and I said "no, it's not me. It's something I stepped in"." I rolled my eyes.

"Well," Oliver began, making me glare at him though it was to the back of his head, "I know you've had a crush on her forever. So go for it. I'll be right by your side." I stared saddened at Oliver's words.

"Thanks, buddy."

"Capturing every painful and humiliating moment on video," Oliver pulled out his phone, hitting record. I giggled, feeling better.

I sometimes forgot when Oliver was being serious or just joking.

"And...action!" Oliver said, backing up to stand by me. I just smirked as I watched Kaz walk up to Stephanie. I was clenching my sketchbook hard, trying to ignore the painful ache in my stomach.

"Uh, Stephanie?" Kaz began, getting Stephanie's attention. "Hi! Uh, I was wondering if you were going to the school carnival tonight."

"Of course I'm going," Stephanie answered.

"Uh...maybe we could go together," Kaz seemed so nervous...and I was loving every moment of this. Especially since Stephanie started laughing. Okay, I know this sounds bad for a friend to say about another friend. But you would be feeling like this too if you were in my shoes! So, shush!

"You are so funny!" Stephanie said. "For a second there, I thought you were seriously asking ME out on a date."

"Of course it was a joke!" Kaz said, trying to bring this home. "Why would I ask you out on a date?! I already have a girlfriend." I cocked my head, hoping he saw the look on my face. Sadly, he didn't.

"Really? What's her, like, name?" Stephanie asked. She had stopped laughing at this point and seemed to be taking him a bit serious now. Oh, boy. Oliver eventually moved over and placed Kaz closer to Stephanie, still filming might I add.

"Sorry, just want to keep you both in the shot," He said, making Stephanie play with her hair.

"Oh, good grief," I said. "I'm not staying here to see this any longer. I'm heading to class. See you two later." I then left, wiping a single tear off my cheek without anyone knowing.

I know he was only saying he had a girlfriend to get Stephanie jealous, but if you ask me, I think he should just drop her like a hot potato and let me in. I've been waiting ever since he gave me these bat earrings. I've been waiting since I noticed how his eyes would light up when he smiled, and how this spark would come to life when he looked at me.

How I wish I had a mom I could talk to about this! Yes, Bridget was legally my mom, but she was my adopted mom and she was always so busy with work. She didn't pay much mind to me or Oliver. So I was stuck figuring this out on my own.

After a moment of walking, I made it to art class. I don't know what random name Kaz said to Stephanie, but I don't care.

"Good morning, Mara!" Miss Delanie spoke up from her desk, making me look at her with a grin.

"Morning, Miss Delanie," I said.

"Why the long face?" I sat in my seat as I set my sketchbook in front of me.

"Boy trouble," I returned, leaning forward in my seat. "The boy I like seems to have a crush on a different girl."

"I see," Miss Delanie spoke, her sparkling smile fading into pursed lips. "Well, have you told this boy how you feel?"

"Oh, God no," I returned. "He's my best friend, as well as the best friend to my adopted brother. If I tell him how I feel and he doesn't feel the same way, then it would ruin our friendship."

"Honey," Miss Delanie stood up, her blond curls bouncing as she walked over. She sat in front of me and leaned forward as well. "If you don't tell the people you care about how you feel, then by the time you're ready to tell them...it'll be too late. You can't wait around forever."

"But what if it ruins everything we've been through already?" I asked, scared to even think of admitting this to Kaz.

"I assure you, it won't," Miss Delanie said. "I see how you look at Kaz, and how he looks at you. There's mutual chemistry there, and I for one would like to see you two work it out." I grinned at her, feeling fulfilled.

"Thanks," I said. "It's so easy to talk to you."

"I'm glad I could help," She said. "By the way, did you say you were adopted?"

"Yeah, I'm not blood-related to Oliver," I returned. "And his mom isn't around much for me to talk to her about this stuff."

"I take it you wish you had your birth mom?"

"More than ever," I sighed.

"Well, I'm sure the hospital would have your birth records. Why not go find out who your birth parents are?" She mentioned, making me think about this. I was born with superpowers, so chances are I was born in Mighty Med, not a normal hospital.

"I don't know if Bridget would like that very much," I sighed.

"Don't let others determine your fate, Mara," Miss Delanie said. "Determine your own fate."

"Thanks...again," I said with a giggle.

"Anytime, dear," Miss Delanie said, a smile on her face. "Anytime."

~Kaz's POV~

Well, that could have been better. Talking to Stephanie, asking her out, and then making up the lie that I had a girlfriend was not my best moment. And now I had to find a girl who would be willing to play my pretend girlfriend named Connie Valentine so I wouldn't look like a complete loser to Stephanie.

And to top it off, I think I disappointed Mara. I like her, I really do. But chances are, a pretty girl like her would never go for a guy like me. She's a superhero and I'm a normo. That's that.

"Come on, stupid bread! Toast! Toast!" Skylar yelled while holding a piece of bread.

"Hey, Skylar," Oliver spoke. "Still no heat vision?"

"No!" Skylar yelled. "I'm so sick of being in this hospital! I'm bouncing off the walls here!" I perked up, thinking of a plan. "Literally. I tried using my powers to run through them, and I kept bouncing off."

This might work. Skylar wanted out of this place for a moment, just to get a change of scenery, and no one in the normo world knew that superheroes existed.

"Hey, why don't you hang out with us?" I asked, pushing Oliver behind me. "There's this carnival at our school, you should totally come." I think Oliver knew what I was up to, and to be frank, I didn't care at this point.

"I don't know," Skylar said. "I never spent any time in the Normo World. I mean, I just fly in from my planet, save humanity, and fly out. At most, I'll stop for a soft pretzel." I gave a look for a brief moment, before shaking it off. "I won't fit in at your school, just like I don't fit in, in the superhero world anymore."

"Come on! It's just what you need!" I exclaimed. "For you and your best interests! Having nothing to do with me or-or my best interests at all!"

"I could use a break from Mighty Med," She said, thinking it over.

"Kaz, can I talk to you in private?" Oliver asked as we walked away from Skylar. "Kaz, this is a bad idea."

"What? Why?" I asked. "I need a fake girlfriend and Skylar wants to get out of here, it's perfect!"

"Look, she's just lost her powers and she's already feeling vulnerable and out of place."

"You will not defeat me!" Skylar yelled at the bread before throwing it away. And by throwing it away, I mean throwing it across the room.

"Although she could use a change of scenery," Oliver said, before caving. "Fine."

"Skylar," I called as I walked back up to her. "You are coming with us."

"Good, because any place is better than this," Skylar said relieved. "Except the Lava Pits of Kelnar. The lines there are so long."

"But you'll need an alter ego so no one knows you're the real Skylar Storm," I said.

"I'll just use the most popular girl's name from my planet," She said. "Aiyee-eeki-eeki-waa."

"Or you could just use...Connie Valentine," I said, a little weirded out by that "name" she just said.

"Okay, but it doesn't roll off the tongue like Aiyee-eeki-eeki-waa," Skylar said a bit disappointed.

"I'm just curious. What's the second most popular name on your planet?" Oliver asked.

"Emily."

~Horace's POV~

My brain was preoccupied at the moment as I stared at files. Though none of the information on them was making sense to me. How did I not see it the moment I first saw Mara in Mighty Med? How did I not see my late wife in her eyes, or in her smile? How did I not notice that she was my long-lost daughter?

"Doctor?" I looked up at the nurse beside me, seeing the worry on her face. "Are you okay? You've been out of it for a while now."

"I'm fine, Dee," I said with a reassuring grin. "Just haven't been getting much sleep lately." She nodded, readjusting her black eye mask, and went on with her day. Something about that woman...she seemed familiar.

Though I didn't have much time to contemplate this as the sound of monitors beeping got my attention. I looked over to our unconscious superhero and saw he was waking up.

"Titanio's coming to!" I yelled, rushing from around the counter with other doctors and nurses. Alan showed up as well.

"This man needs help stat!" He said. "Get me an APB, and ten CCs of ABCs! TBPG! BRB! TMI! LOL!"

"Alan, I told you, you are not cut out to be a doctor," I said, enjoying the saddened look on his face. I know that sounds harsh, but he's an annoying kid. He ended up walking to the foot of the bed while I spoke to Titanio.

"Titanio, you suffered a concussion facing the Black Falcon," I said. "Fortunately, the nero link to your armored ecto-suit seems to be intact. But you have a case of amnesia."

"I can fix him," Alan said, rushing up to me. "I can jog his memory by smacking him with a frying pan."

"You can't smack someone with a frying pan!" I yelled. "Without years of medical training."

"I really can't remember much of anything," Titanio said as Alan walked back to the foot of the bed. "Why am I wearing a suit?" The superhero then looked at his hand. "I wonder what this blue button does." He then pressed it, having a beam of light hit Alan.

"Well, at least we figured out what that blue button does," I said. "It has the power to silence my nephew." Alan stood back up after a while as Titanio looked back at his hand.

"I wonder what this blue button does," He said, pressing the button again and hitting Alan once more.

"Short-term memory, delightfully, impaired," I said, writing this down on Titanio's chart.

"Hey, Horace?" I looked over, seeing Mara standing by the doorway. She was wearing this cute navy blue sundress with a pair of black flats. Her black hair was still up in their low-riding pigtails. "Can I ask you something?"

"Oh, sure, dear!" I returned, handing off Titanio to a different doctor. "What can I help you with?"

"I, um...I was just wondering," She seemed nervous. Trust me, I was, too. But after a while, she took a deep breath and grinned at me. "I was just wondering if I could ever look through the files for my birth parents." I froze. She was looking for her birth parents. She was looking for me.

"Oh, is your adopted mother okay with this? I asked.

"She doesn't know I'm looking," She answered. "And she doesn't know that superheroes exist. I figured since I was born with powers, I should have superhero parents, right?"

"That's right," I said. "But there is also a chance that your parents could have been Normos and you were just born different from them." What was I doing? I knew that wasn't the case! She was born to Rose and Horace Diaz, two super-powered people. Why would I even say something like that?

"I don't believe that, Horace," Mara said, making me stare at her. She was smiling now. "I believe that my parents had powers. It's the only explanation as to how I got mine. Well, unless my parents were Normos and had an incident like Spark and her mom." I chuckled at that mention.

"I see your point," I returned. "You're always welcomed to look. Just, don't neglect your doctor duties and superhero heroics."

"I don't plan on it," She said, giggling. "Thanks, Horace. For everything." She then smiled as she grabbed her denim jean jacket and phone, and then left. I watched as she went out the secret door, pulling her jacket over her arms.

Why didn't I just tell her the truth?

~Mara's POV~

I walked into the carnival, texting on my phone when I bumped into someone. I spun to apologize...but I froze. Long red hair...black eyes.

Blood.

"I-I'm sorry, sir," I said. "I didn't see you there."

"Watch where you're going next time," He said before walking off towards...the art room?

"Now, why would you need to go see Miss Delanie?" I spoke, pocketing my phone. I was about to head over there when I heard Stephanie.

"So, Kaz! You made it!" She said, making me turn around to see what was going on for just a split second. Stephanie was indeed talking to Kaz with a girl near him. "Introduce me." I watched, arms crossed as Kaz spit out some apple slices. I snorted out of instinct, despite my best efforts to stay quiet.

"Uh, Stephanie, this is Connie," Kaz introduced, as the girl took Stephanie's hand and gazed into her eyes. Okay...weird much?

"Let's be friends!" She demanded.

Wait...why was Skylar at our school?

"Uh, yeah, she's very intense," Kaz stated. "I like them that way."

All I could do was sigh at this interaction. But now was not the time to dwell on my feelings for Kaz. I had to find out why Blood, one of the goons I fought at the bank, was here. Chances are his partner was here as well.

"I want to tell Kaz how I feel," I said, taking a deep breath. "But being a superhero is more important." I raced down the hall and turned a corner, finding the art room quickly. The door was slit open as I pressed my back to the wall. I peered inside.

"Please," Miss Delanie spoke. "I've done everything she asked of me!"

"Well, she wants more," Blade said. I knew he was here.

"What more could she want?!"

"Have you heard of that new superhero?" Blood said. "The one calling herself, Noctura?" I silently gasped. Why were they talking about me?

"What about her?" Miss Delanie asked.

"She's foiled The Queen's plans to take over the world," Blade responded.

"She only stopped you guys from committing a felony!" Miss Delanie declared, clearly angry with any of this. Maybe even furious.

"Not just that," Blood said. "I got a good look at her when I first met her." I watched him point to Miss Delanie. "She-"

"She looks nothing like me!" Miss Delanie yelled, stopping Blood in his sentence. "What do you want from me?"

Blood dropped his hand, scoffing at Miss Delanie's outburst. "Keep an eye out," He said. "You'll never know when Noctura will show her face. Her WHOLE face. And when she does...you let us know." And with that, Blood and Blade were gone, the smoke cloud swirling around them.

I continued to watch as Miss Delanie fell to her knees, crying as she clutched something to her chest. It was a necklace. She was holding it tightly as the chain was around her neck.

"Oh, honey," She said through sobs. "I'm so sorry."

"Miss Delanie?" I spoke up, getting her attention as she quickly wiped away her tears and stood up. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," She said with a quiver in her voice. I was able to get a better look at the necklace. It was a heart-shaped locket with the letters R+H in the center, silver in color. "Shouldn't you be at the carnival right now?"

I would have asked more questions, starting with why she was talking to Blade and Blood and who this "Queen" was. But something told me to back off.

"Yeah," I answered sorrowfully. "I just heard crying and thought I'd come to see what was wrong." Miss Delanie grinned with a hand to her heart.

"That was very sweet of you, dear," She said. "But I'm fine. You go have fun with your friends."

I grinned back, nodding as I left with a pit in my stomach. What was going on with Miss Delanie?

OOO

I walked back into the carnival, keeping my eyes out for Blade or Blood. I couldn't let them hurt my friends. Especially Kaz.

I looked around for a moment, getting ready to race to my locker to change into my Noctura outfit just in case, when I noticed the stage in the far back of the gym. A sign was placed on the side by the steps to get on it, with the words 'Performing tonight: Mara Short'.

"Crap," I sighed. "I forgot about that."

"I have to help my friend, Connie!" I looked over, seeing Oliver trapped in one of those magic-cage-boxes with swords around him. The heck is going on here?

"Isn't there an emergency exit in here? Or, on a separate note, a bathroom?"

"I am sure THIS button will release you," Gus said. Okay...now I get it what happened.

"You were sure about the other button, and it released SWORDS," Oliver exclaimed. I rolled my eyes as I walked over to them. I crossed my arms, seeing Oliver look at me like he wanted help, but in the end he just caved. "You know what, who cares? Just push it."

Gus pressed the button on the box and the swords retracted. Oliver smiled. "Oh! Oh, good!" And then the ceiling starting to slowly come down.

"I hate magic." I gave him a look, which he just brushed off. "You know what I mean!" He said as he started to crouch to stay away from the ceiling.

I sighed in defeat as I looked over to see Kaz talking to Stephanie, which made me look around. Where was Skylar? I sighed again as I went to go talk to Kaz about this, when I heard someone flipping and kicking. I turned to a booth...and there was Skylar, being stared at by everyone at the carnival. I watched as one of the football players raced away from the girl, obviously, not wanting to feel the sting of Skylar's amazing acrobatics.

"Oh, boy," I said as I raced over, seeing Kaz doing the same with Stephanie.

"What-what-what did I miss?!" He asked with wonder.

"I saved him," Skylar said. "Why is everyone so upset?"

"Look at the sign," Stephanie said, making me look as well. 'Douse Principal Krauss'. Again...oh boy. "They're just raising money for the football team," The blond added, making everyone around laugh while Kaz just stood there with his hands in his pockets. Is he that dense right now?

I stared at him for a moment, waiting to see if he'd start comforting Skylar like a good friend would, but sadly he never did. He just let Skylar race away out of embarrassment. I gave Kaz a look like he made a mistake before I raced after my friend.

~Oliver's POV~

"I will now close the curtain," Gus began I watched the whole thing with Skylar play-out...before Gus closed the curtains like he said he would. "And when I say the magic words...something will happen!"

I crouched further down, trying to keep myself from getting squished. This is not how I wanted to have my life end. Once I was employed by Mighty Med, I thought a supervillain would kill me...not Gus!

"And now, the magic words," Gus began again, as I tried to get away from the falling roof, "Please and thank you." I rolled my eyes before I fell out of a secret door in the back of box and onto my back. Great! I was free! Now I had to go comfort Skylar.

OOO

I ran every direction I could think of to find Skylar, but hadn't come up with anything. I would have called out her name but...you get where I'm coming from.

"Ollie," I turned around, seeing Mara by the entrance as she gestured for me. I raced over and ran through the doorway with her, seeing Skylar sitting on the stairs.

"There you are, Skylar. Is everything okay?" I asked, rushing up to her.

"No," Skylar said. "You said you'd be there for me! And I just embarrassed myself in front of your entire school!"

"I'm so sorry. I tried," I stated. "But I-I was trapped in a box with-with swords and-and rabbits and-and Gus was wearing rhinestones-" I saw Mara shake her head in response to my explanation. She had to have seen it all, right? "It was horrible!"

"Calm down," Skylar said, standing up and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"Not, it's not. I said I'd have your back and I didn't," I continued. "I'm a terrible friend." I walked around Skylar and sat on the stairs myself, the girl in question following suit.

"It's all right. You have nothing to worry about," She said. "I'm here for you."

"I was supposed to be here for you," I countered. "To help you."

"But you are helping me," Skylar said.

"I'm sorry, what?" I heard Mara say.

"How?" I asked, basically reading my adopted-sister's mind.

"By needing my help," Skylar said. "That's my purpose in life: to help others. And this is the first time since I lost my powers that I actually felt...useful." I grinned, happy to hear that she was feeling better now. "Thank you...for being so helpless." I scoffed as I felt her kiss my cheek.

"Aww," I heard Mara say, making me look up at her with a look that could only explain to her what I meant. She got the hint thankfully (Kaz would have never gotten it). "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a performance to prepare for...and a Kaz to knock upside the head." She then left the area, making me scoff with amusement.

"Yeah, well, uh, helpless is kinda my thing," I said, immediately regretting those choice of words.

~Kaz's POV~

"I'm so conflicted," I said, playing into Stephanie's want for me now. I don't condone cheating, I hate it. But if it landed me a pretty girl, so what!

Even if it was Mara.

"I want to go out with you. But if I do, no other guy will ever live up to me."

"No? Okay, never mind," Stephanie said, making me stop her in attempt to keep her around longer.

"But-but if I don't," I began, "I will have to live with knowing that I deprived you of...this." I gestured to my face as I put on a charming smirk.

Mara came closer, smirking as well. She leaned in as we went to...wait...Mara?! I stepped back quickly as Gus came rushing in. Blond hair greeted me instead of Mara's black hair.

Stephanie...that's right...that's who I was trying to get with. Mara wouldn't go out with a guy like me.

I then was jolted forward as I felt someone smack the back of my head while walking by. "OW!"

"That's for neglecting a friend," Mara said as she walked over to the stage. Huh...I didn't notice that sign until just now. How was that possible?

"Do I have some juicy Gussup!" Gus said, making me look at him. "Gussup. That's Gossip from Gus."

"Not now, Gus," I said, annoyed that he interrupted us. Though...I think I interrupted it by moving back after picturing Mara in Stephanie's place.

"I just saw some girl kiss Oliver!" Gus said, making me look over to see Oliver and Skylar walk back in together. Wait...where was Mara?

"Connie?! Way to go, Oliver!"

"Seriously?" Stephanie began, "What kind of man let's another guy hit on his girlfriend?"

Crap...forgot about the lie.

"Uh, not this man!" I exclaimed. "In fact, I'm gonna walk over there right now and, uh-" Before I could think of something, Gus started chanting fight over and over, which got the rest of the crowd to chant it as well. I was annoyed as I looked over at Mara, seeing her distracted with her set list. I didn't even know she sang. I always thought she wrote stories and posted them on her website or other places, like Wattpad.

And she was a shy girl. Why did she agree to this?

Questions aside, I shook my head and walked up to Oliver.

"There you are!" Oliver said. "H-h-how-"

"Hey, man!" I exclaimed, stopping him in his tracks. "What do you think you're doing with her?!"

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked.

"Stephanie thinks you're hitting on my girlfriend. Just go with it!" I said quietly, hoping Gus and Stephanie didn't hear that. Oh...and Skylar. Definitely didn't want Skylar to hear that.

"Oh! What's that you said?! Don't hurt you?! Ho Ho! It's about to get real up in this carnival!"

"Fine. You wanna fight?" Oliver said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Yeah," I confirmed, staying in character before Oliver launched himself at me and tackled me. "Oh, no!" I exclaimed as he started to tussle and fight on the ground. "Too real! Too real!"

"How could you ditch Skylar?" Oliver asked as I felt a pair of hands pull me apart from Oliver. I looked over to see that it was Mara, while the other was Skylar.

"Stop it!" Skylar said. "You two can't fight!"

"I agree!" Mara exclaimed in return.

"No, seriously. Who punches like this?" She demonstrated what we did, which made me look at Mara, hoping she retracted that statement.

"My statement stays," She said, making me raise my hands in defeat.

"Oh, I can't believe you need your girlfriend to save you," I heard Stephanie say behind me. Oh, crap.

"Your girlfriend?" Skylar asked. "You told her that I was your girlfriend?"

"Really, dude?" Mara asked. "Why?"

"So you lied about having a girlfriend?" Stephanie asked. "I can't believe that I almost considered going out with you...and then eventually dumping you on your birthday."

"Oh, honey," Mara began, turning over to her with a dangerous smirk. "You'd forget his birthday so much that you'd need divorce papers to dump him."

"Whatever! You two weirdos deserve each other."

"Hey, you know what?" Mara began as she pushed Stephanie away gently. "Sky-Connie..." She stopped herself...nice. I guess her ultra-good-hearing paid off here. "...may be a little strange, but at least she's a good person. And a good friend. You're just a shallow, spoiled princess."

"Excuse me!? i'm the most-!"

"Don't play that card on me, honey. I don't care how popular you are or how rich your daddy is. You can take that nonsense and shove it somewhere else." Mara crossed her arms over her chest, staring dangerously at Stephanie. Whoa...when did this side of her come out?

After a moment, Stephanie just scoffed as she walked away from us, making me watch her leave. I have to admit...the way Mara handled that...it showed that she was slowly coming out of her shell. She was starting to bloom into a beautiful rose...and not because she smelled like roses.

"So, do you like money and bunnies?! Because I have pockets full of both of them!" Gus called out before racing after her.

~Mara's POV~

"Skylar," Kaz began, "I'm sorry I lied to you. I never should have used you like that."

"No, you shouldn't have," Oliver said as he crossed his arms.

"So I'm guessing after today you want nothing to do with Normos?" I asked, saddened by the thought.

"Actually, I'm thinking about coming to school here," Skylar answered, making me perk up with excitement.

"Really?" Oliver asked with a widened and surprised eye.

"Yeah! I live for danger and drama...and what's more dangerous and dramatic than high school?" Skylar explained, making me giggle in response. "Besides, where else can you go that has a carnival every day?" I grinned nervously as she walked away from us.

"Should we tell her it's not like this everyday?" I asked.

"Eh, she wants to know what it's like to be a Normo," Oliver said. "Lesson number one: disappointment." Kaz nodded in understanding before looking over at me.

"Say, the way you stood up to Stephanie was...very impressive."

"Ah, it was nothing," I said with a wave of hand.

"It is to us," Oliver said. "You're always so shy and mousy. Where did Hulk Mara come from?"

"I guess you could say that was more Noctura than Mara," She smirked with a wink before the sound of the microphone caught our attention.

"Students," Miss Delaney began, "it is with greatest pride that we welcome the newest lead soloist in Glee Club, performing a piece she picked out herself, please welcome...Mara Short!"

"What?! No way!" Oliver exclaimed, making me twirl my hair a bit before walking up onto the stage. I took a deep breath as I took the microphone from Miss Delanie and my eyes were set on Kaz. It was like he was the only one in the room...and I could be myself with him.

(SONG: "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" - Taylor Swift) [Shortened]

MARA: Friday night beneath the stars/In a field behind your yard/You and I are painting pictures in the sky/Sometimes we don't say a thing/Just listen to the crickets sing/Everything I need is right here by my side/And I know everything about you/I don't wanna live without you./I'm only up when you're not down/Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground/It's like no matter what I do./Well, you drive me crazy half the time/The other half I'm only trying/To let you know that what I feel is true/And I'm only me when I'm with you

I watched as everyone got into the song, dancing and moving to the beat. But my eyes were on Kaz, who was just smiling up at me.

MARA: When I'm with anybody else/It's so hard to be myself/And only you can tell./I'm only up when you're not down/Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground/It's like no matter what I do/Well, you drive me crazy half the time/The other half I'm only trying/To let you know that what I feel is true/And I'm only me/who I want to be/well, I'm only me when I'm with you./With you!/Ohohoh-yeah.

(End of the song)

As everyone cheered, one voice stood out: Kaz. My mind wandered to a moment of him coming up on stage and confessing his feelings for me. My heart ached to see that right now. After all, the song was for him.

But this was no movie. This was reality. And Kaz just kept cheering in the crowd, louder than Oliver or Skylar or anyone for that matter. So, I just smiled, happy that he enjoyed the performance, happy that everyone liked it. I just wished that what I had hoped came to pass.

Hey! Sorry for the late update. Got busy. I know, that's my go-to excuse, but it's the truth.

Now, I just want to warn you that I'm skipping the 'Sm'oliver's Travels' episode...mainly because I don't like that one. And I'm also working on an original episode for this story. I have no idea what it'll be called yet or what it'll be about, but I'm hoping to get some ideas soon.

Anyway, thanks for reading, God bless, and remember: don't just write a story, paint a picture.

Au Revoir!