Part two will come later. I promise its better than this one.

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Valeriana lied sprawled on the green grass that covered the Celestial Twelve's training ground. She looked up at the blue sky that was almost the same shade as her eyes. Her gaze followed the white clumps that floated past above her.

"What are you doing out here?" a familiar voice asked.

She sat up, her annoyance triggered, just like those times Corvan was around.

"Can you leave me alone? And try not to ruin my mood just for once?" she asked she turned to face him.

That statement did little to anger Corvan ―as surprising as that sounded. The truth, he was getting tired of always arguing with her. It took most of his energy than when he was training. He looked at her with a solemn expression and sat on grass a few inches away from her.

"I'm not even trying to," he said. That seemed to set Val off even more. She ignored him and lied back down on her side. They stayed there in silence with Valeriana's back towards him.

"I came to remind you that the Academy's foundation day ball is two days from now," he said. He was about to get up when Val's words stopped him.

"I'm not going," she said. Corvan's famous frown came, but before he could utter a word, the fifth ranker beat him to it.

"I know, I know...I'm part of the twelve so I should be there to set a good example to the others and...blah, blah, blah," she said, "Well, I don't care. I'm not going."

"And why ever not?" Corvan said his voice annoyed and full of curiousness.

Val kept her silence. He sighed and shook his head. He was taken aback when Val turned around to face him. She sat up, with her eyes darting from him and back to the ground. He noticed that her cheeks were tinted a bit of red. To the young lord, she was oddly adorable. He was quick to rid that thought off his mind before it could linger further.

"I'm aware that each student has to participate, but I can't dance," she whispered. But that was only one of the reasons. She wanted to avoid the possibility of getting stuck with Corvan for an entire duration of the ball. The thought didn't sit well with her. It set butterflies fluttering in her tummy (ugh...guys...please no one comments on this part, back to story)

Corvan managed to hear it and his brows rose to his hairline.

"You were a surprisingly good dancer during the Ember Festival in the juvenile arena," he muttered. It could pass as a compliment, so he was stunned when she yelled.

"That was not dancing!" she yelled at his face, "You were throwing me around like a rag doll, and I had no idea what we were doing all throughout."

"You still have to come though, a part of the Twelve or not. You'll be with me," he said, after recovering from his initial shock. His scowl returned, but it was light.

Val raised a brow at him.

"We're engaged. And if word reaches my parents that we weren't together at the ball, it would arouse suspicion," he said. If he was to be honest though, he just wanted to be in her company. He questioned his entire being why he even wanted to be with somebody who argues with him a lot.

Val almost dropped her jaw. Almost dropped, if she didn't used it to speak.

"The whole academy would know!" she yelled as she stood to yell at him.

"And I could very much care less," Corvan said, with a stone face.

The butterflies in her stomach, that she was starting to dread, fluttered wildly. Her blush came back on, a shade darker than before. She was brought back to reality when the Arlandian lord stood and looked down at her.

Taking her by surprise, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the Circle's dorm.

"Where are we going?" she asked. She mentally slapped her forehead. She expected him to say, "Inside, where else" and then call her by one of those degrading nicknames they gave each other. So she was really surprised with what left his mouth instead.

"To teach you how to dance," he said. It would have actually made her mood better, if he didn't add his next words. "I can't have you stepping on my feet and embarrass the both of us."

She rolled her eyes at him, as they arrived back inside. A few of the Twelve, specifically the twins, Tamara, Rowe, and Charles, looked their way as they passed the lobby. Their brows rose in question when they saw Corvan holding Val's hand, or wrist rather, while they ascended the stairs, and out of their sights.

Zevlin turned to his sister with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Want to know what they're doing?" he whispered. Genevieve shared the same glint in her eyes, as she eagerly nodded at him. They were about to leave when a pair of hands each grabbed the back of their collars.

They both turned their heads dramatically slow to who was holding them back. They spotted Tamara who had an unreadable look on her face.

"And where are you two headed?" she asked, "Be honest."

The twins gulped and it was Zevlin who spoke.

"To see what Corvan and Val are doing?" it came out more of a question though. Silence reigned in the lobby, as Rowe and Charles watched from their seats.

Tamara broke into a grin and released the two from her hold.

"Without inviting me?" she said. The twins glanced at each other before they grabbed each of Tamara's arms and tugged her along as they ran for the steps like their lives depended on it.

Rowe choked on his laughter, while Charles shook his head in disagreement at the three's actions.

"Lord Rowe?" The fourth ranker questioned as the Aetherian Lord stood and headed for the stairs. The second ranker glanced back at him and shrugged, obviously suppressing a grin. When he was out of sight, Charles sighed and shook his head.

"Larkov! They don't seem to understand the meaning of privacy," he said. But right after that statement, he soon found himself racing after them.

From the stairs, he caught sight of them on the floor Val's room was at. As he got closer, he was surprised to find Elfre, Raziel, Brindon, Keelan, and Aneeka in front of Val's room along with the other four that he followed up here.

"Unbelievable...." He trailed off. He also meant that for himself when he finally realized why he went after them.

They were all huddled in front of the room, with their ears pressed on the large doors, well, except for Brindon. He just stood there watching them with glassy eyes. Once he stopped walking, a deafening silence filled the entire floor.

He moved closer to the door and strained his ears to listen with what was happening on the other side.

"Aww...that hurt!" he heard Val yell and heard her groan in pain.

"Of course it would, stupid witch," he heard Corvan say after he grunted. "You wanted this."

"No I didn't," Val said. "You're the one who dragged me up here, while I was minding my business outside!"

"Loosen up. This will take longer if you're tense," the first ranker said.

If Charles wasn't curious as to what the two were up to before, he was now. He had the urge to pull back one of his fellow rankers to take his/her place and press his ear on the door. He held himself back though.

"I think we should just leave them alone," Zevlin whispered with an unrecognizable look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I think we should," Keelan said as he nodded with vigor.

"Shhh...." Tamara silenced as she pushed her ear closer to the door if possible. They were surprised when they heard a series of footsteps, a loud thud, and groans of pain.

Tamara couldn't hold herself back and pushed the door open. The ones who were unable to keep their balance fell to the floor, landing on top of one another in a heap. They sucked in their groans as they saw the scene in front of them.

Val was on the floor with Corvan on top of her, their hair messier than a bird's nest, and their legs tangled together. And to anyone who would probably pass by and see, their position looked a bit...intimate.

The both of them were too much in shock to even untangle themselves.

"Bye!" Tamara yelled and ran off.

That seemed to snap the other rankers from their shock as they stood. Some of them ran away, leaving Genevieve, Charles, Rowe and Brindon behind. The ninth ranker stood their shaking, before she bowed deeply. "We're so sorry," she said and ran off.

Rowe chuckled and walked away, with Charles falling into step with him. Brindon stood there and stared at the fifth and first ranker. He stepped forward and grabbed the handles of the doors and pulled them closed.

"Enjoy," he said, before the door was fully shut.

Val pushed Corvan off as both of their faces turned beet red from embarrassment.

"Get out of my room!" Val shrieked at him. Probably still affected from what happened, Corvan jerked to his feet and fled out the room.