“Well you can tell Aqua to jump off a cliff for all I care,” I said angrily.
“Sheesh Lily it was just an innocent question.”
“I don’t care, she’s a stupid bitch, and she’s not worth anyone’s time!”
“Hey that’s my line,” she said a little surprised at my choice of words.
“Well, whatever. Who cares anyway!”
I stomped off angrily, pushing people out of my way, most of which stared at me with dislike.
All day I endured similar rumors and accusations, and my temper stayed at murder point. Marella looked dangerous every time she happened to pass me in the hallways, and I was beginning to think it was only a matter of time before something happened. And by curfew, I found out what that something was.
I’d been walking to the boy’s dormitories to return a text book to Damian when she and her two friends appeared. Without so much as a word, they ran at me, held me down, and punched every bit of me they could reach. I couldn’t do anything to stop them, and Marella took advantage to attack my face as much as she could. But as fast as it had started it was over and I lay on the floor, blood dripping from my mouth and nose, and someone was yelling. The last thing I heard was someone saying my name before I slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter Ten

When I finally came to, the first thing I noticed was the strong smell of antiseptic, and that my eyes didn’t seem to want to open. I tried moving and immediately regretted it as pain shot through my body and I gave an involuntary moan.
“Oh good, she’s awake.”
“Hey Lily, can you hear us?”
“Don’t talk so loud, she probably has a headache, Liz.”
“Sorry,” I heard Liz whisper.
“Who did it?” I heard a boy’s voice ask.
“Isn’t it obvious Brendan?” Cleyra’s voice answered. “It was Marella. Just watch, I’m going to kick that sorry bitch’s ass.”
“Calm down a little, Clair. Besides, you’re not Lily’s only friend, we’ll pay Marella back for this,” Brendan said, sounding amused.
I felt someone lightly touch my hand.
“Lily, how do you feel?”
Finally, I opened my eyes to find that I was in the infirmary. As far as I could tell it was already dark, and grouped around the bed were Cleyra, Brendan, Elizabeth, and Travis, although I noticed that Travis kept a little farther away from the others. I hadn’t heard him say anything but as soon as I met his gaze his face broke into a relieved smile.
“Like I was run over by a truck,” I grimaced as Cleyra helped me sit up on the pillows.
“The nurse says you’ll be okay, but you’ve got a few bruises and some scratches,” Brendan explained.
“You can leave by tomorrow morning for class, but you have to stay overnight,” Liz added.
“Did Marella get caught?”
Everyone exchanged significant looks.
“Well… Travis was the one who found you, but when he told the head it was Marella, his history with her and their breakup came up, and the head decided to believe Marella. Sorry Lily,” Brendan said frowning.
I groaned.
“Son of a bitch,” Cleyra muttered.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked.
“Aqua is spreading gossip to get on Marella’s good side. It’s her revenge on Clair. Ayden is in detention, and Sapphire and Damian are working on their project. They wanted to let you know they hope you feel better, except for Aqua who was laughing her ass off like the traitor she is,” Liz said angrily.
“Forget Aqua,” Brandon said.
I felt someone stroke the side of my face and turned to see Travis had moved closer to the head of my bed. Cleyra gave him a somewhat dirty look, but Liz and Brendan seemed to be quite happy with his show of affection for me. Finally he broke the silence.
“You need your rest, Lily.”
“That’s true,” Brendan added. Everyone started to move chairs and gather their schoolbags.
“Feel better soon Lily,” Liz said as she, Cleyra, and Brendan hugged me goodbye.
“Thanks guys,” I said in a tired voice as they left out the infirmary door.
“See you in first period,” Cleyra said as she was walking out. “Oh, and if he isn’t out of here in five minutes he’ll be the one in the hospital bed,” she added pointing to Travis.
He chuckled lightly, kissed my head, got up and followed her out.
“Night Lily,” he said as he turned the lights off and closed the door behind him.

As promised, I was released from the infirmary first thing in the morning, and I had to rush down to my morning class. It was only after I saw people snickering behind their hands that I found out that I had a black eye to add to the gossip going around.
Aqua had turned full traitor and completely joined in Marella’s group. She was no longer talking to any of us, and told all of our secrets to increase the gossip. All of my friends were the laughingstock of the school, and no one was angrier than Cleyra and Jacob.
Every time someone made a joke about anyone in the group, Cleyra and Jacob would somehow get them back, whether it was through blackmail or straight-out violence. It was only when they were threatened with expulsion that they stopped attacking people walking to their classes.
It was a wonder we survived the constant humiliation, but survival was the one thing we understood best.
We seemed to band together closer, and were rarely seen alone anymore. All nine of us, Sapphire, Ayden, Brendan, Damian, Cleyra, Jacob, Travis, Elizabeth, and I, now spent every spare moment in the unused classroom, planning out ways to make it through the week. It was no more than a battle for survival now. A battle we planned to fight through to the end.
Time went by and still it seemed they would never let down. It came to be the end of April, and nothing had changed.
“Don’t these people ever get tired of spreading rumors?” Ayden asked sourly as she fought with her broken calculator.
We were, for once, in the library, for a change. We’d chosen a particularly large table and everyone in the group was seated around it, supposedly working on their homework. We’d become increasingly more sullen in the past month and a half, and there were obvious differences in our behavior and appearances. Cleyra had cut her hair short and spiked it up like a boy’s and had a permanently angry expression on her face. She’d gotten into the habit of wearing dark eyeliner most of the time, and was rarely in a good or joking mood anymore. Ayden and Elizabeth were often sullen and now wore black often, and their hair was grown out longer. Their pranks were a lot crueler now, and they’d been in serious trouble for them. Damian had become so defiant in class that he’d been suspended twice and was on the verge of being expelled. His hair had grown back in, but his personality was mostly silent and cynical now. Sapphire took being a social outcast the hardest. She was so used to being friendly that now she was always sad. She tried to hide the fact that she cried often, but we could always tell. She took to wearing a hooded sweater to cover her eyes most of the time. Jacob had more or less kept his attitude but had taken to wearing eyeliner like Cleyra, and spent most of his time planning out fights with her. Travis had not minded becoming an outcast; it was more the attitude of the group he had joined that changed him. He talked to no one but me, and he refused to go out on those late night dates anymore. He’d re-dyed his hair black, and let it grow so it covered part of his face. Brendan was more or less the same. He had refused to lose hope so easily and the only thing that seemed to really piss him off was Jacob and Cleyra’s friendship. As for me, I’d grown my hair out so long that now it was down past my waist. I was the one who coped with the “banishment” the most. Having been an outcast for most of my life, I knew how to deal with it, but depression still found a way into my life, and it was almost impossible for me to be happy. It was me who answered Ayden’s question.
“No, they never do. They’re just a bunch of idiots, ignore them.”
She looked at me with a strange look in her eyes. We all knew perfectly well we couldn’t ignore them.

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thats all i got now, but ill try and get it done soon. should be done in around a week or two. let me know wat u think and anything i should change

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oh it's good can't wait to see what happens next

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KSE For The Win!
If you were here in 07, then put this in this sig, because your a Veteran of WiiUsers!

dude wats up with that.....im emo now T_T WAH SO SAD!!! lol but i really do spike up my hair so ignoring that...lol its still an awesome story please do continue XD

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Beautiful in more ways than one
Responsible for her own actions
Endlessly fun to be friends with
Number one for everything she tries
Devilish in her temper
Awesome; just as much as Jarrett

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Ready to Brawl

Vote for WiiUsers Everyday. Vote for WiiUsers Everyday. Vote for WiiUsers Everyday.

thanx crash^^ and thats a good idea, i'll fix it up

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omg duuuude!!!!!! wth im like supposedly one of your best friends and yet i only come out like 5 times =/ .... but seriously i love this story its sooo pretty and like kool lol and yeah u got the hoodie thing going on wich is like soo true =p sooooo who is travis and btw is damian uriel? luv u laterz jen! ^.^lol
ohh and ill be checking in bcuz i really want to c wat happens next =p

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Elizabeth changed the subject.
“Anyone hear about that field trip in a few weeks?”
“Oh, that one for the freshmen? The one to that art gallery?” Brendan asked.
“Yeah, you guys are so lucky,” she said looking at Cleyra, Jacob, Travis, and me.
“Not even,” Cleyra said moodily.
“Hey we didn’t even have a field trip last year,” Sapphire said tonelessly. She never used much emotion anymore.
“So? Why the hell would I want to go out on a trip filled with a bunch of freaking idiots?” she said with such a murderous glare at Sapphire that everyone seemed to tense up.
“I heard it was mandatory,” Liz said cautiously.
“I don’t care,” Cleyra answered with a smirk that clearly meant she dared any teacher to try and force her to go.
Jacob smiled mischievously.
“If Clair doesn’t go, I won’t.”
“Of course you won’t,” I heard Brendan mutter under his breath in a sarcastic tone.
“I don’t know if I want to go,” I said quietly.
“You should,” Brendan said cheerfully.
“C’mon Lily, it’ll be nice to get out of the school for a while,” Damian said from the far end of the table.
“What do you think?” I asked Travis next to me.
He shrugged. Everyone already knew if I went he’d probably come along.
“So no one really wants to go?” Brendan asked half disappointed.
“I guess not,” Travis said out loud. We all stared at him. His voice sounded lifeless and scratchy from not being used for so long.
“Did he just speak?!” Elizabeth said in an excited tone that we hadn’t heard in weeks.
“No I think we imagined it,” Ayden said with incredulity in her voice.
Travis just shrugged and silently went back to work.
“Fine, I’ll go to the damn field trip,” I said giving in.
“Really?” Brandon said, smiling. He was obviously glad that I would be getting out of school and hopefully away from my problems.
“I’ll go with you,” Travis said in a murmur. No one else seemed to have heard. They didn’t need to. They knew that Travis wouldn’t leave my side for anything.
I glanced at Cleyra.
“So I guess…”
“Nope, there isn’t anything on Earth that could make me go,” she said closing her eyes defiantly and leaning back in her chair.

Apparently there was something on Earth that could make Cleyra go on the field trip. Her parents. It seemed our art teacher had figured Cleyra would refuse to go and contacted her parents. No one was really sure what happened after that but Cleyra was pissed. She was all set to go a week before the trip, and Jacob seemed happy to go after her. Any happiness that Brandon might have had disappeared as soon as he heard about this.
Despite myself I was looking forward to the trip. A full day outside the school grounds was just what I needed. I had never thought that school could be so stressful. I actually missed living on the streets.
But in truth I wasn’t altogether sure I could ever go back to living that way; in the few months I had lived as Lily Edwards I had become a different person, my instincts had dulled, I no longer had that overwhelming desire to survive by any means possible. Indeed, I had to learn to survive in the world of the rich and powerful now, and it was very different than those years alone on the streets…
Yes, a field trip was just what I needed to get my mind off the treacherous girls who stalked the halls of Celeste Academy.

Chapter Eleven

The day before the trip there was some sense of excitement in the unused classroom. Brandon and I were visibly more excited, but the rest of them were all glad to feel a general change in the atmosphere. It was almost party-like, almost.
Right before I went to bed, I packed a small backpack for the next day. I only put in a few things, a compact comb, a ribbon to pull my hair up in case I lost mine, a little money for emergencies, and my school ID. I was just about to put it away when the small dagger on my bedside table caught my attention. It wouldn’t hurt to take it as a precaution… right? I stared at the delicate thing for a few minutes and finally packed it in my skirt pocket along with the other things.

We had a few hours before the bus left the next morning, so the freshmen in our group grudgingly went to the front grounds to wait. Travis’s face was clear of any expression and Cleyra threw him a semi-dirty look. Even after two months she couldn’t take the sight of him anywhere near me. Especially when my moods tended to match his; I expect my face was just as blank as his. And sure enough she gave me the same look.
Waiting two hours for the bus with all the other freshmen was very boring. I had no idea how but I fell asleep on Travis’s shoulder and when I woke again everyone was already boarding. The crowd was large and I caught glimpses of people I knew, Marella and he group of giggling friends pushing everyone out of their way.
Purposely, Cleyra, Jacob, Travis and I stayed at the back of the line. We waited a while for the first bus to fill up and were almost to the front of the line when we heard Brendan shouting for us.
“What does he want?” Jacob asked angrily.
“Guys!”
We all turned to face him as he came up to us.
“Just wanted to wish you a good time.”
“Huh.” Cleyra said.
“’Kay then that’s all I guess,” he said somewhat embarrassed although I couldn’t imagine why. He began to walk away, and then stopped. He seemed to be debating something for a moment and then briskly walked back to us, blushing.
He spoke again, this time in a rush and avoiding Cleyra’s gaze.
“I-hope-you-have-a-great-time-and-I-just-want-you-to-know-I-love-you-Cleyra.”
Before Cleyra could do anything more than stare at him he abruptly kissed her full on the lips, smiled once, and ran off.
Everyone stared after him, mouths open.
“SON OF A BITCH!” Jacob shouted after he got out of his shock. “I’M GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD!”
“Calm down, Jacob,” Cleyra said in a dazed voice. I saw her touch her lips for a moment and it seemed like the old Cleyra was back.
“Hey, you kids get on the bus, we’re about to leave,” one of the teachers called to us.
“Coming!” I called. I glanced back at the others in time to see Jacob looking like he’d been slapped and Cleyra looking like the field trip was the most wonderful idea in the world.

“Ever been to an art gallery?” Travis said conversely as we made our way through the busy city streets. We were following the crowd of freshmen closely, careful to keep them in sight. Cleyra was somewhere ahead of us. She’d had an earsplitting fight with Jacob on the bus and they were no longer talking to each other. But she had never seemed happier, I noticed. Jacob had definitely been a worse influence than Cleyra herself.
“No never.”
“Really? I’ll show you around then. I’ve been here a few times,” he smiled. I beamed at him; his smile always made my heart skip a beat.
“I’ve never even been in this part of the city before,” I told him.
“No? Why?”
I shrugged.
“It’s the wealthy part of town. The police was always hanging around,” I said matter-of-factly.
He gave me a knowing glance and as if to change the subject, he stroked the back of my hand as we walked. I intertwined my fingers through his and he smiled at the touch. It brought the old cheerful Travis back for a while but soon the smile disappeared into his usual frown.
I sighed. It would take a miracle to bring back the sense of life into our group again.
I was so immersed in my thoughts I didn’t notice that I had let go of Travis’s hand. I walked behind the rest of the group without really paying attention until I saw Aqua come towards us.
She looked pretty as always, that much hadn’t changed. She had lost her carefree and innocent look though. It seemed a permanent smirk was etched across her face. It made me angry to see the small changes Marella had caused in our old friend. But she didn’t seem to notice our cold stares as she came to walk next to us.
“Hello,” she said in a carefree way.
We didn’t answer.
“Marella wants to make a bet.”
“So?” Travis answered sharply.
“She thinks that little miss flower here won’t be able to last in the streets alone for longer than an hour.”
I glared at her.
“So how about it? Maybe for a hundred dollars?”
“No.”
“A hundred-fifty.”
“I said no. Now go away.”
“I guess Marella was right,” she said starting to walk away. “You never were a thief; you were just some kid at the orphanage who got lucky when the Edwards found you.”
For some reason my anger snapped.
“Fine I’ll do the stupid bet.”
“No, don’t do it Lily,” Travis said worriedly as he took my hand again.
“I can take care of myself,” I snapped as I pulled my hand from his grasp. His eyes seemed hurt but he nodded to show he understood.
“Ok what do I have to do?”
Aqua smiled, but it wasn’t her old smile. It made shivers go down my spine.
“You have to stay out on the streets by yourself for more than an hour. Then you meet up with us at the art gallery.”
Seemed simple to me.
“Alright.”
I turned without looking at either of them and made my way down a side alley.

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It was a mistake, I thought as I ran down the street in terror, to have listened to her. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I listen to her? My heart pounded as darkness fell over the city.
It had been seven hours since I’d become lost in the unknown streets. At first it had seemed ok, I tried asking directions but people ignored me. I’d tried using the little money I had to call someone but I had no idea where I was.
And all that time I knew my instincts were no longer helpful.
I wasn’t able to survive like I used to anymore.
As I turned down a darker alley something began to bother me in the back of my mind. A strange feeling… like I was being watched. I looked behind me and saw a man following at a slow pace. At first it seemed like he was just walking by but when I turned again I saw him eye my expensive clothes and finger something in his belt. My heart stopped for a moment and I panicked. I increased my pace.
I looked for a crowd I might lose myself in, but it was late and the streets were almost deserted. I darted down a side alley and began to run. I thought I could hear footsteps behind me and instinctively I pulled the dagger from my skirt pocket. Just in case.
My mind was oddly silent and it only increased the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. I reached the end of the alley.
In front of me was that same man. He must’ve taken a shortcut to cut me off. I tried to scream as he advanced but my throat was dry and no sound came from my open mouth. Silently I backed off in pure terror, trying to decide what to do.
I saw the man stop and stare at something behind me. Suddenly I felt someone grasp my shoulder from behind. Instinct took over and I whirled around, stabbing the person behind me.
Dimly it seemed, I caught a flash of white hair, of a school emblem on a white shirt, of hazel eyes, wide and surprised.
Only when Travis fell on the ground did I understand. The red stain spread from the knifepoint in his heart and covered his shirt.
I fell to my knees, I couldn’t take it in.
“Lily…” he said as he gasped with pain.
It was as if I was the one dying. I screamed.
The man behind me ran as people ran outside to see who was screaming in the middle of the night.
“Travis! No, no, no, no, NO!”
In another world I heard someone else cry out in horror, heard voices as someone tried to contact the police.
“Someone’s been hurt!”
“Call an ambulance!”
“Quickly, someone help me lift him off the ground.”
I grasped his hand for need of comfort as the tears fell and I continued to say his name over and over again. He was still alive, but his breathing was becoming more and more labored.
“Lily,” he repeated.
“Travis, oh God, oh God!”
“It’s not your fault,” he said with trouble. “I was just trying to find you and protect you…” his voice withered away.
Someone was trying to lift him, but I couldn’t move. Tears were falling thick.
“It’s going to be ok, love…” he whispered.
“Travis,” I sobbed.
He grasped my hand tightly.
“I love you.”
And suddenly he was coughing violently and blood ran down his mouth.
I screamed again and tightened my hold.
“Someone get him on the stretcher!”
“Move girl, we need to get him in the ambulance!”
I felt someone push me out of the way; felt his hand slip out of mine; saw him being lifted into a stretcher; heard sirens nearby; and suddenly everything went dark. I fell to the ground as nearby his heartbeat slowed…

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