"And it is just a pleasure, an absolute pleasure, to meet both you! Thank you so much for attending our little school." A woman, shorter, rounder than Percy had imagined her to be, exclaimed at them warmly, taking both of their hands and shaking them gingerly before releasing them, much to the youth's relief, discreetly rubbing his palm of the excess sweat that clung to his hand after she'd let them go, most of which was from her hand.

However, he didn't express his distaste at all, clapping his palms together as a show of good will as he smiled, giving her a hearty nod.

"On behalf of the Blackwood family, I want to say were are just as, if not more, honored for you having us here, Principal Ishiyama. Honestly, my brother and I appreciate just how..." Casting a quick look over to the window full of students, each pointing and gawking at them like circus apes, he'd like to think of it as, he turned back, never faltering in his clean, kindly display despite the annoyance that ran thick under his skin.

"...accommodating and welcoming you all have been." Percy finished, watching as the clerk behind the desk almost seemed to distracted by them to even register them properly, a task that they'd been attempting to finish for the last ten minutes now.

Yet another thing to irritate him.

"Oh, no, no! You can just call me Emi! Yes, yes, just Emi for you two!" The woman exclaimed, giving them a forced chuckle that made Percy's skin crawl.

He hated her types, or rather, all of their types. The sort that just...fall the fuck apart whenever someone famous comes into the room. It made him sick, seeing them practically shed their skin to get even a word with them, to look upon them for a second, and that was enough to make their day.

It sickened him to no end.

Though, beside him, Alex seemed to take in his stricken appearance, and leaned against the counter, lips pressed into an eased grin, though a sharp, candid look played behind his eyes.

"Sure, Emi. Though, say..." The teen pondered, looking back at the same crowd just outside of the office, his placid grin never fading.

"You think that lot's going to follow us the whole day? I love an audience, sure, but..." Taking another look at his brother, he didn't appear to think on it particularly long before speaking again.

"...you think you could have the crowd let up a bit? Can't say having so many onlookers is good for our education, especially when we send the big guys home, don't you think?" Alex expressed curtly, politely, and almost immediately, Ishiyama blanched, a red blush rushing to her face as she considered the students outside, appearing almost as if she hadn't even noticed them between their presence.

"Oh, yes! Of course! There will be no following you fine boys around and making you two uncomfortable. In fact..." The woman rushed off towards the door of the main office, and with a great shout, began corraling the students away from the glass panes, the redness of her face almost amusing enough to make up for the pestering of the students.

Almost.

"Out! OUT! Get to class, all of you! They aren't monkeys in a zoo, now move along!" Ishiyama ordered sternly over the crowd's chatter, and slowly but surely, a sense of calm fell over the office as the hoard began to disperse, and immediately, Percy at least felt...a little less agitated. Perhaps not particularly pleased that it had happened at all, but now he could relax a bit, looking over to his brother who said nothing in response, merely nodding before the two turned their attention back to a sweatier and slightly more unkempt Ishiyama that stumbled back into the office, the exertion of the activity forcing her to catch her breath.

"Now...now that should be better. I...I am sorry about that, they...they don't usually act like that - " At her words, Alex spoke first, shrugging calmly, lips pursed in a charismatic smile.

"It's nothing, Emi. Honestly, you can't help it if they get...excited, can you? No harm in a little fanfare and all." The teen expressed, and Percy nodded, though his heart wasn't into it.

A little fanfare?

That was how Alex was describing it?

Having a group a rabid students fuss over them as if they were gods wasn't what he'd call 'fanfare'.

Regardless, the clerk, her mousy eyes only occasionally peering over the ledge of the office desk, spoke, and not soon enough, announcing that that they were finally ready to start school.

"Good, good. Now, , if you could just give them their schedules, these two can be on their way." Ishiyama requested, and the woman nodded her head quickly, searching nervously through the, admittedly, disorganized stacks of papers and files upon her equally disorganized desk. However, after a few moments of searching...and then a few more moments of searching later, she turned up empty-handed.

" , Maam..I...I don't think their schedules are here. I...maybe they weren't printed? B-but...I could have sworn that I got them from - " At her words, the hearty, kind grin that Ishiyama had all but plastered to her round features faltered just a bit. As the clerk seemed to shrink in her seat, realizing her, or perhaps even someone else's, mistake, she was silenced immediately. However, Ishiyama, remembering who she was in the presence of, didn't allow the smile to leave her cheeks, the round, stately woman turning to face the middle-aged woman in her midst.

"Ah...what do you mean 'not printed'? I thought I told you to have those ready last Monday, . You didn't print them?" She asked, the carefully moderated strain of her voice, and the added occasional glance and forth from the twins to the scattered woman beside...Percy couldn't help but feel only slightly more annoyed that, for all of the theatrics and whimsy involved in their arrival, they couldn't even be bothered to have all of their items prepared?

'Perhaps if they'd spent half they effort they had being excited on actually being professional...maybe this wouldn't be happening...' The teen couldn't help but think, though looking to Newsberry, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for her. Having a boss like Ishiyama, and having her act just as apish as the students outside of the window must have been exhausting on a regular day. With that thought in mind, Percy had an idea, turning away from Ishiyama and to the clerk directly, the woman hardly believing that she was being spoken to by him.

"Well, , do you know where were could get another? We could go to get them, Alex and I. We don't mind." He offered calmly, though his heart leapt at the idea of getting away from Ishiyama.

He couldn't say he was very fond of her.

However, at the notion of them leaving her presence, or even doing anything menial like that...the principal wasn't having it!

"No, no, no! I will not have our esteemed guests stoop so low as to do the jobs that we pay our staff to do!" Shooting a sharp glare at , the discussion seemed all but over, but Percy wasn't ready to let up.

To be frank, he was over this entire process; all he wanted to do was get to class and be out of the company of Ishiyama, and he'd even go as far and get his own things if it meant that he could. However, Alex seemed a little less enthusiastic about going out of his way to retrieve them, glancing flatly at Percy for a breath and saying nothing besides a furrowed brow and a faltering smile.

Not that that concerned him too much at the moment.

"Oh, but I insist! It really wouldn't be any trouble at all, and besides, I'd hate for us to be late for homeroom on our first day, isn't that right, Alex?" The teen expressed kindly, giving Alex a pressing look that the other didn't miss. Stifling a small sigh, Alex stood up, nodding slowly, almost hesitantly, but nodded nonetheless.

"Sure. We'll get them. That'll be no problem at all." Alex stated, if begrudgingly, though you likely wouldn't have noticed it if you weren't attentive enough, and Percy almost rolled his eyes at his displeasure.

He was so dramatic.

Torn, Ishiyama spared a quick glance to the clock, and knowing that there was no other way around it (not unless she wanted to make them late for class), she relented, straightening her suit, fixing her hair, and, composing herself, she returned to form, just like that.

"Well, at the very least, we can escort you there. To the guidance office; and I will, right after we sort a few more things out." She responded, and at the offer, Percy inwardly sighed.

What he would give to be out of the company of the principal, but he reminded himself that it would only be a little while, then he can try to settle into what would soon become his every day.

For now, he simply had to tolerate her yapping.

For now.

- (Same time, Elsewhere) -

Knocking at the door, Dash wasn't sure he knew who to expect to come. He'd spent the last few moments or so trying to regroup, a subtle sense of embarrassment filling him at the thought that he'd let someone he barely knew get him so…out of it.

'Come on, get your shit together. Let's just focus on getting the schedule, and get to wherever the hell homeroom is.' The teen said within his mind, taking a soft, slow breath before rapping at the wooden panel again, waiting patiently for someone to answer.

He didn't want time to think or ponder about before…about . He already felt…wary enough around older people in general…but his feeling, this…fear, felt like enough to throw him off his game.

So it was better to just ignore it.

He could never guess where his mind would go with that.

He didn't want to think about any of it.

But he wouldn't have to ponder on it, not when, just then, the door opened, and meeting him there was a small woman, nearly half his height and donned in grey that cut her figure in the darkly lit room behind her. A head of sandy, blonde hair, set in an impossibly tight bun, framed amber eyes, staring back at his own. Dash was taken aback, struggling to find the words to say since he was caught a bit off guard. However, he wouldn't need to, since she smiled mildly, speaking first before he could.

"Ah, it's a bit early for a visit to the guidance counselor, isn't it? First day blues?" The woman remarked, giving him a quiet look that gave him room to answer. Dash chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he prepared to answer her.

"Oh, n-no, just.." The teen started, hesitant to tell her.

Should he just…say it? It was bad enough that he even had to ask, so should he just…get it over with?

'I don't want to waste her time…but I can't exactly avoid it…might as well get it over with.' He thought, sighing under his breath before continuing.

"…I don't have my, uh, schedule. My…classes. I, uh…forgot it…" He said, chuckling in a bid to diffuse the tension in his chest as she looked at him…silently.

Strangely…silently, and this silence only fueled his discomfort.

It always made him nervous, scared even…asking anyone for…anything. It just…never went well, or rather, he was…always taught that you shouldn't. Not unless he had something to give, something to return to someone when he did.

Good boys didn't do that…not unless he had no choice.

And the woman seemed to feel largely the same.

"Oh…and why don't you have your schedule, hmm? You know you're supposed to have it…right?" She inquired coyly, her tone, her words, slithering crudely under his skin. Dash laughed, though it felt less like a smile on his lips, but more like a grimace, unsure of how to answer her.

She wasn't wrong, he knew that…which is why it felt even more awkward to hear her say that, coupled with the fact that he didn't exactly have a rebuttal.

What excuse could he give exactly?

"Ah…yeah. I guess I just let it slip my mind; that's my bad. But…think I could have one anyway? I would hate to be late to class and - " Dash wouldn't get to finish, a sudden queasiness filling him.

'W-what…what's wrong with me? Why do I feel so sick -' Dash's thoughts were interrupted but the guidance counselor cutting in herself, a sultry grin never leaving her lips even as his own discomfort grew.

"What makes you think you're entitled to have one, hmm? You're going to have to ask a bit nicer than that? That's the best you could do?" She uttered under the noise of the hall, just quiet enough for him to hear.

Dash was still.

He…was he being too demanding?

He hadn't meant to be, he just…he intend to act like that. How was he already messing up with someone that he'd only just met?!

"No! I mean…I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to -" Again, Dash would meet her voice overpowering his own, an occurrence that made him a bit more reluctant to speak.

He was…confused, even more since she was laughing, a shrill, humorless sound that gave him pause even when she stopped.

"Oh, I'm just kidding with you, honey. Don't be so serious! Come in, come in! Don't be shy!" She exclaimed, moving away from the door to allow him entry and walking further in and looking over her shoulder as if expecting him to follow.

Dash didn't follow.

Wasn't he just in trouble?

Wasn't he -

"Well? What are you waiting for? Come in! I always love getting early visits from my future charges. Don't be a stranger." She pushed harder, but it wasn't forceful, almost soothing, even with the resting nausea in his gut, which didn't ease even as he followed suit, joining her in the dimly lit office. It was dark, a shallow space bearing just about every sort of motivational poster one might find on the market. From shelves of knick-knacks, stress toys, and all sorts of gadgets and the like, the room felt crowded and tinier than it probably really was.

It was…claustrophobic.

But the tightness of the office didn't seem to bother the guidance counselor too much, with the woman taking a seat at her, comparatively, clean and empty desk, a strange juxtaposition to the clutter around them. Stepping behind her and standing awkwardly near the solid surface of her workspace, the teen tried to avert his eyes from her as she typed away on her computer, a tense silence following her invitation into her office. He didn't want to seem as though he was staring at her, much less now that he couldn't help it, the uncomfortable reminder of his own forgetfulness writhing sullenly at the forefront of his mind.

Especially since he was focusing pretty intensely on the effort of trying to ignore the vague nausea that seemed to persist no matter how much time passed, which, by Dash's own admission, couldn't have been any more than a minute or so...but it felt like so much longer. After a bit, the woman peered over to him, that same still, humorless smile plastered to her lips as she leaned on her hands and spoke.

"You know, it's a bit of a hassle, searching for your file on the first day, you know that, right? I just hope you're glad that I was nice enough to look for it, Michael." She uttered smoothly, calmly, and Dash nodded slowly, feeling himself shrink at the sound of it.

His name.

His...other name.

He...hated it, hearing it, knowing what it was.

Being called that made him...sick.

Completely and utterly sick.

"H-how...how did you know my name - " The counselor rolled her eyes, giving the teen a dull look that made him feel even smaller.

"It was in your file? How else would I know it, dearie? But I'm serious, you know? You really ought to be more responsible about these things. There isn't an excuse to be lazy on the first day, is there? Imagine if I hadn't been here to do all of this...I'd hate to be the one that has to look stupid on their first day, isn't that right?" The woman didn't stop smiling, even when her eyes cut through Dash, and frankly, the teen didn't disagree. He...would have looked rather stupid if it hadn't been for the fact that she was here, willing and able to help him when he couldn't even help himself.

Much more when he didn't even deserve her help.

A sickly sort of loathing for himself budded in the spaces underneath his skin before he jumped at the sound of the printer coming to life, a sliver of light from the small screen upon the contraption doing little to divide the dark corners of the room.

Stupid.

That was how he would have looked, or more...how he had to have looked when he first came to her...empty-handed on the first day no less.

Typical for him, he couldn't help but think.

When it finished printing, Dash wasn't sure what to do; whether he should get it or she would, he didn't know. But when she didn't move from her seat, and her smile began to fade, if just a bit at the edges of her glossy, red lips, the teen got the impression that somehow he'd done something wrong.

As always.

"Well? You are going to get them, aren't you? I don't have to tell you how to do that simple thing, do I?" She urged, though the friendly cadence in her voice had slithered off her tongue with a prickly tone, spurring the teen into action where his body had once been rooted to the ground with inaction.

"N-no, sorry, I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to...I mean...nevermind...sorry." He voiced softly, padding hesitantly over to the printer near the curtained window of the room, and with a careful movement of his hand, the paper was in his firm grasp. He gave it a swift once over, noting his classes and the like before a cleared throat tore his gaze from the pale sheet, and to the woman's glaring eyes, framed, again, with a kindly smile that betrayed her embittered words.

"What? You never learned matters, dearie? Aren't you supposed to say 'thank you'? I didn't know you would struggle this much with the concept, Michael." She spat, though the sickeningly sweet tone of her voice betrayed none of her vitriol. But it didn't matter if it did; Dash received the message loud and clear as his dull eyes widened with embarrassment at the inquiry, the notion that he'd forgotten something so simple.

How could he be this negligent?

He should have known better.

"Oh, t-thank you, Ms...Ms...uh..." Dash could have screamed as his mind couldn't spawn a name.

Again, and again, and again, and again.

Over, and over, and over, and over, and over.

He just couldn't, for the life of him, just do one...single...thing...right.

How could he not know her name? How could he not even bother to ask?!

'Stupid, stupid, stupid - ' He began to berate himself, but her voice, just as it always did, cut through his thoughts, like a silent knife that knew just where to pierce as he paused, giving her space to answer.

"Livingston. , dearie. Just so we can be on more...personal terms. No hard feelings. I know you can't help the way you are." Livingston answered calmly, returning to her doting smile even as Dash's heart sank at her comment.

So even she believed something was wrong with him? He...didn't know exactly what she meant by that, but...something in her words was enough to eat any resemblance of pride he might have had, fragile as it was.

'Some is wrong with you, you know?'

'Even she can see that.'

'Not right...you're not right.'

'Wrong with you, wrong with you...'

The voices squealed with interest, a collection of inquiries, of stray thoughts and words that ate at him, but before long, the teen wouldn't have too much time to ponder on it, a swift knock at the door pulling him from his musing.

He'd have plenty of time to consider it later.

For now, the teen looked up, sullen, hazy eyes widening at the sight of the very twins he'd disparaged not so long ago, and to him, they looked the same, both Alex and Percy themselves giving him and the room a once over before Livingston came to a stand from her seat, seemingly forgetting all about Dash as she welcomed the two to her office before noticing that Ishiyama, and Newsberry, too, was accompanying them.

Her mood all but shifted at the sight of them.

"Ah! And what can I do to help you guys? What a lovely treat, having you two stop by, and so early, too!" Livingston gave her greeting in a sing-song voice, a cadence that struck Dash off-guard. Why was she so...open all of a sudden? When it had been just the two of them...no. He must have just been overthinking it; he had made her go through the trouble of getting him a new schedule when he should have had his to begin with.

It was his own fault that she was probably upset with him -

'No, definitely upset.'

'Like always.'

'She likes them more, look at her.'

'They're laughing at you. They know you were in trouble.'

'You should be embarrassed - '

Dash shook his head as he heard Livingston call to him, her tone shorter, less patient, as if a switch had been flipped when she spoke to him exclusively, but unless you knew what to listen for, the difference in her voice would have been impossible to notice.

"Don't you have a class to get to, dearie?" The woman asked, giving him an odd sort of look that mirrored the others' confusion at his continued presence as they came into the office as well. Things were beginning to feel a bit tight, and without much more prompting, the teen nodding quickly, chuckling in an effort to diffuse the humiliation that rose deeply in his cheeks.

"Yeah! I was just...nevermind, see ya later, ." Dash exclaimed as he made a bee-line for the door, hardly passing a glance to the twins, principal, or clerk in a bid to stave what little embarrassment he had left to spare himself from, turning out into the emptying halls of the school and towards his homeroom, which from what his schedule said, was Falluca, and to be honest, he couldn't have been happier to just start over.

Things were not going how he'd hoped they would.

Not that it was anyone else's fault but his own.

'Just need to make it to homeroom. This day has been absolutely shit so far...just...take a breath. I can still save this...just..need to clear my head, and get to class. Easy...right?' Dash pondered, hoping that this would be the case. Between Bellworth and Livingston, and just...the morning in general, Dash wasn't sure how much more anxiety and general bullshit he could take...and it was only the first day.

Not that he had anyone but himself to blame for the clusterfuck of a day he'd been having so far.

Sighing, he passed a few more stragglers in the hall, students jumping from his path in a bid to stay out of his way as he neared his destination, though the teen mostly ignored them, too focused on his task to really give them a hard time.

Things should even out once classes could start and he could talk to his friends. Anything to distract him from his own thoughts.

Things would be just fine.

- (Elsewhere...) -

"Thank you for stopping by! It was so lovely meeting you two. Have a fantastic day, alright?" Livingston chimed gleefully, cupping her hands like a doll over her skirt as she waved the twins, principal, and clerk from the room, the two teens nodding back earnestly at her words as she followed them to the door.

"Thanks; we'll try." They echoed in unison, and just like that, the door was shut behind them, leaving the youthful woman alone with her thoughts that had, as soon as the wooden panel had been shut, began to race. There was an immediate sense of euphoria as shivers of ecstasy rose at the back of her neck as the woman reached into her shirt and pulled free a small, unassuming necklace...save for the glowing bead of light at the end that rested quietly, but noticeably, in her open palm. Inhaling, the woman sighed deeply, and all the same, just like that, her skin tightened, almost glowing as fluorescent youth poured from her skin.

She was rejuvenated.

"My goodness! That was amazing...the amount of abject misery from the boy was...was...damn it, I don't even have the words for it!" The woman beamed, though she was quick to quiet her voice as she didn't want anyone to wonder what it was that she was yelling for.

After all, this was a celebration all her own.

Stretching, she didn't waste time seating herself at her desk once more, considering the still open file of Dash on her computer, eying it hungrily as she smiled to herself.

"I think I've just found my first favorite student."