***picture of Daymien****

Damien's P.O.V.

I woke up this morning in an amazing mood. I got dressed and brushed my teeth and went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Mornings are the worse time of day so I try and get through them as quick as possible.

"You got a girlfriend butthead?," my 14-year-old sister, Destany, said.

"No ugly, I don't. Good morning to you, too."

"Be nice you two, but she does have a point. I can tell you actually put effort into getting dressed. It took you a whole 20 minutes that's a new record," my mom said as she walked in and kissed me on the cheek.  

I grumbled, "Goodbye everyone. I'm going to school before anyone else tries to pry into my life."

I turned away from them smiling. No, I did not have a girlfriend but I would soon. The minute I saw her I knew that she was meant for me but I could tell she didn't know yet. I tried my best to make it look like it wasn't bugging me but that obviously didn't work.

I went outside and began the short walk to school. My dad had us move a few blocks away from school so I wouldn't have to come home super late after practice. He only mentioned safety to make my mom feel better about moving, but in all honesty, he doesn't care. He never really cared about how I felt about things all he cared about was that I got an extra run in after practice. I didn't completely mind because it allowed me to wake up late and still get there on time.

When I arrived at the front of the school I looked up to admire the thorny garden ahead of me. I always enjoy the mischievous madness that it emitted from each throne. Finally, coming out of my daze I saw my best friend, Tommy.

"Aye, Tommy wassup."

Tommy and I have been best friends since we could walk. We met in a small daycare and enjoyed beating the crap out of each other. the teachers thought we hated each other but in reality, we just liked the competition. Our mothers forced us to spend a whole day together without fighting and we found out that we actually had a lot in common.

I was surprised to see him at school early because he's more of a 'this is the second period? I thought it was first' type of guy.

"Hey, man, what's up with you? You actually got dressed," he said laughing.

"Shut up. All I did was put clothes on, it's no big deal. Why are you awake?," I groaned just as she walked by.

He smirked, "I heard there was a new girl and she's fine as hell!"

I could slowly feel a growl growing in my chest as he made more comments about Jay's beautiful body but they completely stopped when we heard her sweet voice.

"Hey Daymien," she said when she saw me.

"Hey Jay, what are you doing here so early?"

"I was getting informed about all the in school and out of school event," she said looking like she just remembered something.

I laughed, "Let me guess. Jenny was your informant?"

"Yup, that girl can TALK. I'll see you later, though, I'm late for volleyball practice," she said and walked away.

After she walked away I wanted to bring her back to talk more but that would just be pathetic. It was her second day, there was no way she would be able to know what's going on between us. I wanted to pull her into my arms and have her stay there for eternity. I felt my feet start to guide me in her direction but I decided it would be safer to shoot hoops on this side of campus instead.

Jay's P.O.V.

I am totally gonna kill Jenny and Kambrea. They all said how fun volleyball was going to be and that I would love it since Blackwell has their own "special" way of coaching. I found out that the "special" way they do volleyball is by basically trying to kill the players. I can already feel my muscles aching with each step I took. I made my way over to the principal's office for the special meeting that we are supposed to have. I remembered everything they showed me on my little tour yesterday and  for the first time in my life, I found it without getting lost. I walked up to the door and opened it slowly due to my nervousness.

"Hello, Miss Bloom. How is your day going?" The principle, Mr. Blackwell, asked.

"Painful, but good. Thanks for asking," I said, wincing as I sat down.

"Ah, I'm guessing you tried out for volleyball," I nodded. "Well I'll make this as quick as possible and you can have a free period for third."

"I looked over the papers that you turned in and found them very interesting. You may find this meeting out of the ordinary but it is only protocol to find out your needs. Depending on your answers, I will ask a few follow-up questions and then give a statement. We will begin now. When did you get that necklace?"

The mood in the room was somehow tranquil even though my brain felt like it was odd, "My father gave it to me when I was born and I've never taken it off. "

"How did you get your middle name?" he continued.

"I have no clue. My parents just said I was special as special as a rose."

"What do you think about this school?" he had begun to write something down on a piece of paper.

 "Uh, well it's perfect. I love all my classes but some are a bit boring and the food is amazing!"

At this, he chuckled slightly but continued the seemingly unmeaningful interrogation, "Only a few questions left Miss Bloom. Thoroughly describe the teacher that stood out to you the most and don't leave anything out no matter how absurd."

"That would have to be  Mr. C . He has exotic green eyes that reminded me of a cat, spiked jet black hair that looked like it was glued that way by sparkly gel, he had two earrings on one of his ears and a nose ring, all three complementing his eyes, but I only noticed after taking a second glance. He had these really cool tattoos that um..........well, I got a bit distracted by them because they seemed to glow or shimmer, I guess. Then after I noticed the tattoos all of a sudden it was like there were whispers in my head, that's all I remember about him. Come to think of it after I looked at the tattoos he was shiny all over."

I couldn't believe I just said that! I didn't even want to believe it myself but I felt so calm around him and it just poured out of me.

For the first time in the entire meeting, I felt a shift in the atmosphere like....something changed. He looked up from his writing and said, "This is my final question. What did you see when you first came to the school?"

I look at him a bit weird but proceeded nonetheless "The main building looked like an old Victorian mansion. The garden out there was beautiful with all types of flowers, in the center of the walkway was an assortment of roses of all different colors and a fully bloomed red rose in the center. I've never seen anything like it except for this one time on a vacation to Italy when I was 5."

After I said that his whole demeanor change. It seemed like he was hiding his emotions all of a sudden, "Thank you for your corporation. Before you have your free period I would like you to go visit Mr.C, he will have the period free after the bell. You may take your leave.

I walked out of his room in a daze. Why was he asking me all those weird questions? None of them went together or made any sense at all. I sat down under my willow tree, I claimed it yesterday don't worry there wasn't any pee involved, took out my sketch pad and began to draw. I had lost track of time but I knew it had been a while. I felt a weird presence like someone was watching me. I got up to look around just as the bell began to ring. I decided not to worry about it and headed to Mr. C's class.

Anonymous P.O.V.

"Sir everything is in place. The girl is at the school but is oblivious to her power. Should I advance now?"

"No," the person on the phone said. "Let her obtain her power first then we will take her. A mere mortal is no use to us, she must at least know about it."

"Alright, sir. I will move in at lunch to get close to her and I will report back," I said as I hung up the phone.

Everything was set. Now all I had to do was get her to trust me and everything would be perfect.

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Thank you for reading. So I have completely edited this chapter and I was wondering: Does it flow well? I always worry about not making my dialogue or reactions feel natural.

Chey❤️