Happy October everyone!

Here I am with the next chapter! I'm pretty sleepy right now, so, I'll keep this AN short.

There's not much in the way of warnings for this chapter except for foul language and situations. Other than that, it should be smooth sailing.

Alright, read on and I'll see you at the bottom.

Monday Morning

Kyle opened his eyes and glanced at the digital alarm clock. It was way too early for him to be up…or it would be if this wasn't the first day of school. Groaning, he tried to stretch out but a moment later, he realized that he was currently pinned down by a soft body.

He grinned down at his slumbering mate. She'd taken a shower the night before and she smelled really good. The coconut shampoo and conditioner she used permeated her hair and to him it was a pleasant fragrance. It was currently braided back to prevent tangling and her purple pajama top had ridden up a little bit, providing just a hint of skin on skin contact against his bare chest.

That was something he loved; from the time he hit his teens, he'd always went to bed without a shirt on. When he and Autumn started sharing a bed just after his attack, he'd taken to wearing a tank top in order to maintain a sense of propriety and to appease her parents. Now that they were both 16, he'd once again happily discarded the tank top and slept topless again.

Autumn, on the other hand, still maintained some decorum and though she wore the spaghetti strap pajama top and soft cotton shorts, she also wore her soft sports bra underneath. That was probably a good thing, if he were honest. The temptation to touch her and probably feast on her body was already difficult to resist. If she were to come to bed without that thin layer of clothing, it would drive him mad with lust…and keeping his manly parts in check was already a challenge…especially right now. He could already feel himself pitching a tent at those thoughts. He blew out a breath and looked at the digital clock again. It was 6AM and time for them to get up. Their crew had made plans to get breakfast before homeroom and since their first class was at 8 they had about two hours to…

"I can just hear those gears in your head turning." Autumn said in an amused voice as she stirred from her sleep.

Kyle smiled down at her as she shifted against him, just brushing against his crotch.

She smiled back at him. "I guess I should go get dressed. You definitely need a few moments alone."

He grinned at her sheepishly. "Side effects of sleeping with my beautiful mate. I can't do a thing to prevent it at this point."

She shifted again and sat up slowly. "Yeah, no kidding. Anyway, I'm gonna go get dressed. See you downstairs."

He nodded and got up, heading for the bathroom to get a handle on his situation.

45 Minutes later

Autumn stood in front of the mirror as she zipped up the side of her skirt. It was made from soft black leather and she wore her black top with the wings on the back. Along with that, she wore black leggings underneath and knee-high boots of the same color. About thirty minutes prior, Sapphire had stood behind her as she sat at her vanity and helped her apply the makeup she'd bought at the mall. Unlike the makeup from her sweet 16, which was very sweet and innocent looking, this palate was edgier and really brought out her eyes. The only thing that she didn't do was the wings on her eyeliner; Sapphire had done that for her and she'd done an amazing job.

"Wow, sweetie!" Tanya said with a grin as she stood in the doorway. "You look so grown up!"

Autumn looked up in the mirror as she smoothed her skirt.

"Hey mom, I didn't know you'd be back today."

Tanya walked into her room and she gave her daughter a once over. "I love the new theme. It's nice to see the dragon girl coming out to play again."

Autumn gave her mother a confused look. "Dragon girl?"

Tanya nodded. "Yep. You were pretty young back then, but you loved anything to do with dragons and that included the Halloween Costume you just had to wear your first time trick or treating. I think you were about 4 or 5, but you had the wings and the cute little black boots. The theme of your nursery was dragons…or at least your half of the nursery. The other half was a mashup of bears and monkeys. It was a strange looking room."

"Tell me you got pictures." Autumn said with a grin.

"You bet we did." Adam added as he walked in. "They're mixed in with those infamous bathtub pictures that you teenagers cringe at. We made sure to get enough of them for blackmailing later."

"Not that we need them." He added a moment later. "You kids turned out to pretty well behaved."

He paused and copied his wife, giving his baby girl a glance. "She's right. You look very grown up." Blowing out a breath, he reached into back pocket and pulled out his wallet. From that, he pulled out a shiny black card and held it up.

"I know that as your mate, Kyle will probably take care of breakfast and lunch. But just in case, here's a prepaid Visa card. I put a hundred bucks on here…just don't go crazy with it."

Autumn grinned and turned around. "Thanks Dad. I promise to behave myself."

He kissed her forehead. "I know you will, my Dragonet." He walked over to the back of the chair and picked up the leather jacket and held it out for her. "But you better finish up and get down there. Your crew is downstairs waiting for you."

After receiving hugs from her parents, she checked her makeup one last time and headed down the stairs.

Kyle was all grins when he saw her descend the stairs. She felt his eyes on her and she loved it. She grinned at him as she stepped off the final stair and walked towards him. He automatically folded her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Alright, Lovebirds, break it up." Ranook said with a smirk. "We need to get going if we want to get breakfast."

"Hold on a second." Tanya said as she pulled out her camera phone. "We need a group photo."

When group photos were over, they all grabbed their backpacks and walked out the door. Outside in front of the house were two vehicles. One was The Moonracer, which they'd all seen the night before, and next to it was a 1998 Jeep Wrangler with its soft top down. It's black exterior shone in the early morning sun and the headlights gleamed.

"Who does this belong to?" Kyle asked with an arched eyebrow.

"She's mine." Rannook answered with pride. "Dad had this car for years and he passed her down to me. I've been working on updating her and she's finally ready. She's got a new sound system and speakers and all new wheels. Oh and I named her Lady Croft."

"What happened to all of us riding in the The Moonracer?" Lief asked, sounding disappointed.

"Not for me, thanks. I'm not going to get any chicks riding around in a VW bus."

Lief gave him a weird look, but then shook his head and walked towards his car. "Alright, suit yourself; let's get going."

"Katsume, want to ride with me? It'll be a lot more fun in the jeep." Ranook said looking at the newest member of their crew.

Katsume looked at the Jeep and then at the Volkswagen. Finally, he looked at his friends.

"Do I really have to choose?"

"Hey, it's okay." Kyle said. "Ride with 'Nook if you want to. We're still a crew no matter what."

Katsume nodded and then got into the passenger side of the jeep. Minutes later, they were off to IHOP.

"So, are we ready to do this?" Autumn asked. She looked at her mate who was looking stressed out. His nostrils flared and his eyes were wide.

"Hey, we're all going to be with you." Leif added. "We've got you, There's not a single class today that one of us won't be with you for."

Kyle only nodded, though he didn't stop shaking. Autumn bit her lip and then looked at the others. "Guys, can you give us a little space?"

When they were alone, Autumn drew her boyfriend in close. "You're my mate, Kyle. I'll destroy anyone who messes with what's mine."

Kyle nodded again before taking a deep breath. Hearing the words of his mate, he took a deep breath and stood straighter.

"Good. Now kiss me…"

"When the kiss ended, Autumn stepped back. "Okay, so let's do this. It's almost time for homeroom." Taking his hand in hers, she lifted her pack onto her shoulder and together they joined their friends. As a group, with Ranook in the front and Katsume bringing up the rear with the couples in the middle, they walked through the double doors.

The hallway was bustling with students talking in their cliques, the more serious students were quietly storing their belongings in their lockers and preparing for their first day of school.

Thankfully, their lockers were close to each other, and it didn't take long for them to put their belongings away and get out the basics they would need for class.

So far, so good.

The backpacks were stored, and the lockers were secure.

Taking up a loose formation again, they began the first day of class.

Mrs. Pauline's class was much like one would expect at any average high school. As they walked in the room, everyone got really quiet. Uncomfortably quiet.

Kyle hated the quiet; Autumn however took charge of things and led them to a pair of empty seats and sat down pointedly ignoring the stares. Kyle immediately followed her example. He focused on his girlfriend and let everything happen around him.

Leif and Sapphire were used to the stares, so they just simply took up seats in the classroom where they could keep an eye on their friends.

Katsume stood in the doorway, putting on a brave face. He walked confidently into the room and took up a desk next to a pretty girl. A moment later, he recognized her to be the same girl from the mall. He grinned at her as he sat down and pulled out his notebook.

She grinned back and quickly looked away.

Soon the homeroom bell rang and the teacher walked in. Miss Pauline was a very pretty woman in her thirties with long blonde hair that she pulled back with jeweled butterfly clip. She wore a pale lavender blouse with a pair of loose fitting jeans and a pair of strappy sandals.

To the naked eye she looked very professional and put together with perfect makeup, but Katsume, with his artist eyes could see some discoloration beneath the concealer. It didn't quite blend together…

"Good morning class and welcome to the new school year! I'm Miss Pauline and for the rest of the year, I'll be your homeroom and lit teacher. This year we have a new student joining us. Katsume Shen, would you please introduce yourself to the class?"

Katsume groaned and took a deep breath before he walked to the front of the class. He hated this part.

He shoved his hands in the front of his black hoodie and walked up to the front of the class. "Hi, I'm Katsume Shen and I just moved here from LA with my new guardian. I'm an artist."

"So, you're a street rat?" Said a haughty looking girl in the front seat.

Katsume flinched at the nickname.

"That's uncalled for." Ranook said with an angry tone of voice.

Katsume looked up at his friends who looked ready to jump to his defense. He flashed a smile at them.

"Actually, I prefer the term Diamond in the rough, and hey, that just means I have a chance at finding my princess Jasmine."

"Oh puleeze. Not even a chance."

Ranook looked about ready to jump up from his seat.

Katsume snorted. "Don't even worry about it. You're not even on my radar."

"Hey wait, aren't you that dude that helped find that handicap dog a home?" asked the pretty girl he'd smiled at earlier. "I think I saw you being interviewed on the net."

Katsume nodded. "Yeah, we both got really lucky. I was really happy when she got adopted."

"That's wonderful, Mr. Shen, you may be seated now. Since this is the first day, we don't really have much to keep us busy, so just do whatever you want to as long as it's quiet and you stay in your seat."

The Cafeteria

It was lunch time for the teenagers and they were all happy that none of the new teachers had assigned homework. The day had been a breeze so far.

"Here ya go." Kyle said setting the tray on the table. Lunch is served, my lady."

Autumn grinned up at him as he kissed her forehead.

Awe, how sweet. The whore of Angel Grove finally settled on one guy. It's about time! I never thought she'd let Nick out of her bed."

Autumn spun around to see who had spoken. In Front of her was that same bitch from the mall.

"Jezebel."

"The one and only. I'm the queen bee around here and you're the fugly slut of Angel Grove."

Autumn got up and gave the queen bee a cold look. "Please Bitch. Why would I ever want Nina's sloppy seconds? I'm in a solid committed relationship with Kyle and I'll never want to be with anyone else. The only slut here, is you."

Jezebel scowled and attempted to slap her down, but Autumn was ready and caught her wrist. "Really, you should just go back to your manwhore. You're a pathetic bully and not really worth my time."

She shoved Jezebel hard and stood with her arms crossed in fronts of her chest. When Jezebel was gone, she exhaled harshly and returned to her seat. Kyle immediately folded her into his chest. "You okay Corazon?"

Autumn sighed softly and leaned against his chest. "Yeah, I'm good. Just give me a second."

Breathe with me, Corazon." He whispered softly in her ear. After a second, she did and within a few minutes, she was calm again and she sat up frowning at her fries.

"Well crap, they're cold now."

Kyle chuckled and kissed her neck. "It's fine, my Lady Dragon, I'll go get some more."

She nodded and then looked up at him. "Can we go eat somewhere else? Like outside?"

"Hey, we both have room in the vehicles." Leif said, "And the VW has a built in table."

Needless to say, the rest of their lunch period was spent out of doors.

They were now in their last class of the day, American History, when their teacher spoke up. Mr. Husker was a gentle giant that towered over everyone. He was just over six feet tall and had an impressive yet trimmed beard. He was covered in tattoos that were easily visible under his white button-down shirt. A bold and colorful tribute to his country and the US Army were visible on both forearms. Though they weren't prominently displayed, Kyle could see the metal chain that no doubt held dog tags.

"Could I have everyone's attention." He said in a gruff voice.

When he saw that all eyes were on him, he continued. "Now that I have your attention, I'm to lead you all to the gym. We've got a first day assembly in about twenty minutes and attendance is mandatory. Once the assembly is over, you are all free to leave. Tomorrow, the real work starts!"

The moment that they approached the gym that was located right next to the locker rooms, she sensed her boyfriend's anxiety. His hands were trembling and she didn't need to glance at him to know his eyes were wide.

As they approached the gym, she didn't go in like the other students. Instead, she led him out the door that led to the soccer field and to the bleachers. Once there, they sat on the lowest level and she waited out his panic.

"What can I do to banish this fear?"

Kyle opened his eyes again and looked over at her. "I don't know, Corazon. I can't stop the panic, it comes at me all on its own!"

"I wonder if completing the bond would help…"

Kyle shook his head. "No. Not yet. Even if I was ready to complete it, where could we go? I'm not about to cash in your card under our parent's roof and your first time should not be in the back of the car. You're my mate and you deserve better than that."

Autumn gave him an exasperated look. "Don't I get a say in this too?"

Kyle gave her a long look. "Please Corazon, don't fight me on this! I'm trying to do what's best for you."

Autumn felt her temper rising to the surface. "By letting yourself suffer? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Kyle looked up at her sharply. Completely shocked by her sudden use of profanity.

"We're one Kyle DeSantos! Do you think I couldn't feel your panic at the mention of that blasted gym? I may not be a full blooded Ninjetti but I can still feel bits of your emotions." Autumn got up and walked away, just a little bit and strove to find her calm center. She loved her mate, but he could be such a bonehead at times!

Kyle blew out a breath and cursed himself inwardly. She wasn't kidding! He could feel her emotions too; she was seriously aggravated with him. As a full blooded descendant, his connection to her was stronger. If he had to describe it, he would say that his connection to her was like listening to an iPod with really cheap earphones. He knew what song was playing, but the sound quality sucked.

He really hated that feeling!

After taking a minute to calm himself, he got up and walked over to his girlfriend who was leaning against the rail.

He didn't try to touch her, but instead stood next to her. Blowing out a breath he spoke. "I'm sorry Corazon. It was a sexist thing to say, and I forgot to take your opinion into account."

She looked at him. "I understand that you don't want to complete the bond at the manor, but what if doing so opens the way to counteract your anxiety. Like being able to somehow push calm across our link and prevent a full blown panic attack?"

Kyle nodded. "That does have merit, but if we've already got soul fusion, then shouldn't we be able to achieve that kind of thing without completing the bond?"

Autumn sighed. "I don't know. That kind of thing wasn't exactly in the handbook

Kyle nodded with a smirk. "Your sarcasm is adorable."

"Feel better now?" She retorted.

"Yeah." He paused and took a deep breath. "I doubt that we'll be able to hold off on completing the bond until this school year is done, not with the both of us being under the gun. I'd be really surprised if they have some kind of crap planned to try and destroy us."

Autumn nodded. "Yeah, they're not going to leave us alone after attacking us at the mall; that would be really anticlimactic." She paused and looked at her mate. "I think we should, as a couple, try and come up with some temporary shelter that we can set up away from the manor while still remaining on the property. "

"We're not doing it in a pup tent." Kyle said looking at her.

"Duh, of course not." Autumn deadpanned. "Something a little more private and sound proof."

"And with a real bed." Kyle added. "I want this to be good for you…for us."

They were face to face now…and looking into each other's eyes. Kyle's eyes asked for her permission and she gave it.

The leaned into each other and kissed slowly.

Conner stood off to the side watching them and letting them have their moment. He'd followed them at a distance and witnessed the whole thing. When they kissed, he turned his back, giving them some privacy.

When the moment was over, he turned to see both kids looking at him.

Conner, what are you doing here?" Kyle blurted out.

Their older friend turned back around and raised a brow at them. "Hey, be glad it's me and not your teacher. Mr. Husker was on his way out here until I headed him off." The teens watched as their mentor came closer to them.

"To answer your question, I'm the new assistant coach for the soccer team. It's a temporary position for now, while the other guy is on paternity leave." He smirked at their shocked faces. "Hey, if that neo-nazi bastard can get a job here, so can I. The only difference is that I did this legally. Your principle contacted me about two weeks ago, asking if I wouldn't mind filling in until the other guy is back." He grinned at him. "I figured that with a baby on the way, I could use the extra money."

Kyle and Autumn had so many questions!

Connor noticed and held up his hands. "I'll let you in on everything later. For now, we need to get back to the gym before Mr. Husker really starts to wonder where you went. I promise that I'll be close by."

That softly spoken promise felt suddenly reassuring as they were led back to the gym.

Kyle was fidgety the whole time as his anxiety returned. Autumn held his hand the entire time and leaned into him just enough to help him relax; it worked beautifully.

The moment they were done, Autumn got him out of there as fast as she could. ved as he reached the VW bus.

Neither of them really remembered much of what was said during the rally, but they were pretty sure their friends would fill them in once they left this blasted place.

Kyle was never so relieved as when Leif and Sapphire appeared. Neither of them said anything as the engine turned over and the bus left the parking lot.

It was a hell of a first day.

So, what do you all think of the first day of school? Feel free to leave me your thoughts in the reviews!

Next up, more surprises that night with some familiar faces!