YOU sat under the tree and briefly reflected on how the rest of that summer after you had met Noctis, had gone by very fast. For the remainder of it had been filled with all four of you playing together almost everyday in the park. It was the best summer of your life. Each day you looked forward to spending time at the park playing with your new found friends. You didn't think anything could break up the friendships that you had with them. But little did you know about the changes that were in stored for the prince, and for you.

For all was great in your world until you found out that your special friend was actually Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum and that his dad was none other than King Regis, who ruled over all of Lucis. It had caught you completely by surprise when you found out. Your dad was that one who found out when he was reading the newspaper one morning. He recognized Noctis' picture on the front page under the heading that read the he was to start attending the same elementary school that you attended.

At first you had been excited about having him in your class. But then your dad explained that he would more than likely not be able to speak to you in school since you were just a commoner. You didn't understand what he had meant at first until you saw how the other students acted around him. All of the other girls wanted to be his friend just because he was the Prince. Not because he was a really caring person that you had gotten to know while playing with him at the park all summer.

The other problem was that you couldn't seem to get anywhere near him in school to talk to him because all of the people that were always around him. He had a constant body guard that wouldn't let anyone near him in class unless they had 'certain' connections, which didn't seem to include you. And they all seemed to keep him at a distance from anyone who didn't have a privileged life. Even the teachers at first were a little put out by the the guards' presence. It was like he was being paraded around like some type of prize that the school got for having the prince attend their classes.

Even the trips to the park seemed to have stopped for him as well. You would go and wait for what seemed like hours. But he never showed up again. The whole situation had made you start to hide from him as he would walk by you in the school hallways.

Did I do something wrong? Is he mad at me? Is my dad is right? Will he never talk to me again? You had thought to yourself over and over again with you coming no closer to the answers then the last time you asked those questions.

This made your final year in elementary school very depressing for you. You never did seem to make any other friends. Every time you tried, you would end up losing them the minute that you mentioned that you use to play with Noctis at the park. They would call you a liar and then would never speak to you again. No one seemed to believe that you were once friends with thee Prince of Lucis. Then once everyone thought that you were a liar, no one wanted to talk to you. All it did to you was remind you over and over again of what you had lost, once school started. Your special friend was no more. This hurt you more than anything.

You dropped your gaze from the trees as you remembered how lonely last school year had been. All you could do during that time, was pour everything you had into school work as you buried your head in homework and textbooks. Your parents were very proud of you last year. It was the first year that you had had all straight A's and had made the honor Roll for the whole year. In fact your grades were so good that you had been able to enroll in the more advanced classes starting this year.

There was still the concern regarding your social activities though. For you parents were a little concerned that you never wanted to go to the park anymore. Then there was that fact that no one came by to ask for you to come out to play. They would ask you if you were alright. But you couldn't bring yourself to tell them the truth. You hated to admit that your dad had been right about Noctis.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Some kid shouted from the open field.

It jarred you out of thoughts. You quickly looked around to see who had broken you out of your troubling thoughts. That's when you saw three friends crouched over a fourth who was on the ground grabbing his knee. One of them was talking and trying to help out the one that was hurt. While the other two sat there waiting to see if they could assist.

Those are true friends. You thought to yourself as a tear ran down your check.

More were threaten to come as your eyes started to water as the pain of being alone started to creep back into you. You shook your head and wiped away the tear from your face.

It was silly of me to think that he would show up after all of this time. You though. I guess there really is no way of going back to the way it was.

Today was the last day of summer. You would be starting middle school tomorrow. This would be in a new school for you and it would be a chance to start over. For you wouldn't have to see him in the hallways anymore since he was a year behind you. You would have at least one year to get Noctis and his brothers out of your head before he would follow.

Although you weren't even sure if he was going to be attending that middle school or not. But you figured that you would worry about that when the time came. For now, you would concentrate on making a new start. And that started with your first trip back to the park in over a year. You had still silently hoped that you would see Noctis walk out from the treeline. But it seemed like that was just a thing of the past.

"(Y/N)!" You heard your dad call.

"Over here dad!" You shouted back as you got up and started to gather up you things.

Little did you know that at that moment you were being watched from the treeline as you got up to meet up with your dad. They made no movement to come towards you. Instead they just watched at a distance as you walked off to head home.

"I'm so sorry (y/n)." Said an old familiar voice.

"I never meant to hurt you." He said as he stood there in the shadows beside one of the trees so that no one could see him.

Or so he thought.

"It's better this way Noct." Said a smooth accented voice from behind him.

Noctis could feel the heat of his anger start to rise up in him as he turned around to face his retainer.

"How can you even say that?" He almost shouted. "She was your friend too. And we turned our backs on her!"

"We didn't have a choice." Ignis stated as he met his gaze. "It was too dangerous to continue to keep meeting outside of the Citadel gates."

"Too dangerous for who?" He shouted as his anger was increasing.

"No one even knew who we were. We played here all summer without a single person saying a thing. And let's not forget the fact that she was the only one who ever let me be myself for once. She was a friend to me when no one else would even look at me. And this is how we're supposed to treat her? We ignore her and turn our backs on her? That may be how you treat your friends. But that's not how I want to treat mine." Noctis said before he dropped his eyes as he scanned the ground for some means of escape.

"You know what." He said as he looked up and stared Ignis straight in the eye.

"We're done here.  And I'm done with you." He spat in Ignis' face as he pushed past him as he headed back to the Citadel.

"Noctis, wait." Ignis started as he turned his gaze towards the sky.

"I don't want to hear it Ignis!" Noctis shouted back as he walked back into the tunnel and was gone.

Ignis just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he bowed his head and slowly opened his eyes. He knew that the choice had been his to tell King Regis about the secret rendezvouses that had been going on all summer. It wasn't a choice that had been easy for him to make. He knew that there would be some consequences for mentioning this to the king. But as an advisor and a royal retainer, he was almost forced to say something. Even though there wasn't a minute that had gone by that he didn't think that perhaps he shouldn't have said anything.

But there had been an increasing threat from Niflheim as they had been attacking the other kingdoms around the world. Who was to say that they weren't next. When he opened his eyes back up, he glanced in your direction. But the only thing that he saw was you and your dad as you disappeared around the wall that led out of the park.

Maybe there's a way that he could fix this. He thought to himself. But how?

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

The next day started like any other school day. The only difference was that it was the first day of middle school. You were nervous, but excited at the sametime. You thought about some of the people that you might meet at the school that day.

You had a very busy schedule that year, so you were going to have a chance to meet a lot of people. Who knows, maybe you will make a new friend this year. Which made you smile as you got up, took your shower, and put on your school uniform. After you finished putting on your shoes, you looked at yourself in the mirror to make sure that you looked alright.

Your white button-up shirt was nicely tucked into your blue pleated skirt. Your red bowknot necktie was straight and your dry cleaned jacket was hung on the back of your chair. You had put your hair up in a ponytail and had on your favorite (f/c) hair tie. You had put on just enough makeup to cover up the two pimples that seemed to have popped up overnight. Then with one last smile, you grabbed your coat and backpack, and headed to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"Are you sure that you don't want us to drop you off dear?" Your mom asked as she handed you a bowl for your favorite cereal.

"Seriously mom. I'll be fine. If I need you, I'll call." You stated for what seemed to be the hundredth time. "I'll be fine. It's not like I have to changes buses or anything. It's the same one from last year, just at a different time. "

"Okay." She said reluctantly as she placed her hand over yours as a means of comforting you. "As long as you're sure."

"I'm positive mom." You smiled back as you pulled your hand away so that you could finish fixing your breakfast.

"Alright." She stated as she grabbed her purse and keys so that she could head to work. "Don't forget to lock up when you leave. And do you homework as soon as you come home."

"I know mom. I got it." You said as you started eating your cereal.

"Love you!" She shouted from the front door.

"Love you too." You shouted back as you continued to eat.

After eating, you washed the dishes, put on your coat, grabbed your backpack, then locked the front door before heading to the bus stop.

This year is going to be different. You thought to yourself as you smiled more to yourself than anyone else as you waited for the bus. I'll make sure of that.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

The bus ride over was uneventful and boring. Which would have made it a nice ride, if your nerves weren't shot as the bus approached your new school. The building was a lot taller than the elementary school that you had attended last year. The front was two-stories tall and seemed to tower over you as you stepped out of the bus and headed for the front door.

You can do this (y/n). Just remember how the school is laid out and we should be fine. You told yourself.

Your grade had done a walk through just before the end of last year so that it wouldn't be as confusing on your first day. But they never did mention just how many people would be walking through the door at the sametime and how crowded it would be. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry and just kept bumping into you as you tried to navigate your way through the over crowded hallways. You had your schedule in your hand so that you could have an easier way of referencing your homeroom. But it seemed that every time you tried to look at it, someone would push and almost knock you down. You were forced to be pushed through the halls by the crowd with no way of knowing if you were even going in the right direction.

Finally the crowd started to dissipate as students were heading into the classrooms. Quickly you looked at your schedule again to see the classroom number.

"Oh look, it's a stinky sixth grader." You heard a girl say from behind you.

"You're in the wrong hallway kid. Why don't you turn around and get back to the stinky nursery." She said as she approached you with her two friends.

She had blue eyes, long curly blonde hair and she wore the same uniform as you. But, her's seemed to be a lot tighter in the bust area then yours. The only thing loose on her was her jacket that was open in front so that you could see her slim curves under her shirt. Her two friends had on the same uniforms and strolled up with their hands on their hips. They stopped just behind her and gave you half smiles and they titled their hips to one side. You had never seen them before and was now wishing that you weren't looking at them now.

"I'm sooo sorry." You stumbled.

"I must have gotten turned around." You said as you looked at your schedule again.

"I'm just looking for room 108." You said as you glanced back up at her.

"Sure, we'll show you where it is." The lead girl stated as she gave a curled smile.

"It's right this way." She stated as she started to direct you further down the hallway.

"Now Gwendolyn. You know that sixth graders aren't supposed to be in this hallway." You heard someone with a familiar accented voice say from behind you, which made you stopped in your tracks.

Where have I heard that voice before? You thought as you slowly turned your head to watch as the new arrival walked past you and stopped in between you and the girl that was just talking.

"We were just going to take her back to her hallway Iggy." Gwendolyn said with a sexy voice as she grabbed Ignis' tie and started running it through her fingers.

Your eyes were wide as you recognized Ignis Scientia, Noctis' brother. You didn't know that he went to this school. He looked very different as he stood there dressed up in the school uniform. He had on a light blue button up shirt, blue and white striped tie, navy blue suit coat, and gray slacks.

He looked like the perfect student from the pressed creases in his pants and high polish of his shoes, to his perfectly combed hair. This couldn't be the same person that you had played with in the park who he wore pull over shirts and jean shorts. The very sight of him made you heart rate start to increase and your hands start to shake.

"How considerate of you. But I think that I'll show her myself, thank you." Ignis stated as he pulled his tie away from her.

"Besides, you might want to get going before your late for your first class." He stated as he pushed his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose with his left index finger.

"Sure. Whatever you say Iggy pooh." Gwendolyn said as she flipped her hair at him as she turned away from him and started walking back down the hallway towards the classrooms.

Her two friends turned on their heels and followed her as they continued down the hallway.

Ignis watched them walk a good distance away before he turned his attention back to you. But to his surprise, you had already turned the opposite direction and had heading back the way you came at a slight jog. Once you reached the end of the hallway you rounded the corner and leaning up against it so that you could look back to make sure that he wasn't following you.

No no no no no no no. He can't be attending this school. And of all schools, why this one? You thought to yourself as you looked up at the ceiling while your heart was racing. I can't do this again. Wasn't last year enough suffering for me. I can't do this again.

You squeezed your eyes shut as if in pain, before opening them back up. You glanced back around the corner to see if he was still there. You held your breath as you watched him glance around as if trying to figure out what just happened. But then he turned away and started walking the opposite way down the hall as he headed for class. You released your breath as he disappeared around the corner.

You had completely forgotten that Ignis was only two grades ahead of you.

How could I have forget that? You quietly cursed at yourself.

This is going to complicate matters. But perhaps if I avoid him, there won't be a chance for him to recognizing me. Then there won't be a chance of repeating last year. I don't think that he got a good look at me so I might still be in the clear. I just have to be careful and keep my head down. You thought to yourself as you took a deep breath to help calm down your heart rate and gain back some of your confidence.

After that, you pulled out your schedule once again you headed to class.  Only this time you were heading to the right room.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the morning you were able to avoid Ignis. Which was easy since you didn't see him anywhere in the hallways. Perhaps this wasn't going to be too bad. As long as you avoided the 8th grade hallways you should be fine. Which was simple to you since you had no intention of venturing down that hallway anytime soon. Not as long as Gwendolyn and her friends were there.

Lunch had finally arrived and you had just found a place in the open courtyard where you could eat your lunch in peace. You set your tray down on a table that sat close to a tree near the edge of the courtyard then you sat down and started to eat you lunch. You had hoped that the food would be better here than what you had been eating at the elementary school. But much to your dismay, it was the same swill that you had had to endure for the last 6 years.

You tried to eat the macaroni and cheese with the plastic fork that they had had out. Which was not an easy task since the cheese always seemed to stick to plastic forks like cement. You stared at the cheesie clump that now seemed permanently glued to your fork with dismay.

I wasn't that hungry anyway. You thought as you sighed and put the fork down and pushed the tray away from you.

Then you reached into your bag and pulled out your book to read. You were at a really good part in the book and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.

"So she can read." You heard someone say as they walked up towards your table.

"That means she must be a nerd." She said as you looked up to see Gwendolyn and her friends approaching the table.

Great. Here we go again. You thought as you immediately regretted not sitting on the grass in the corner somewhere.

"No." Gwendolyn said as she stopped in front of the table with her arms crossed in front of her. "Nerds are smart enough to know that they shouldn't sit at our table."

Your heart rate started to increase.

This isn't good. My first day and it's starting already. You thought with dread.

"My apologies." You said as you started to gather up your things. "Let me just move somewhere else."

"Your not getting off that easy you twitt." Gwendolyn said. "You made me look bad in front of Ignis. I don't like to look bad in front of him."

By this time the whole area went quite and everyone was staring at you. You gulped as you glanced around for a means of escape. Some people started to move away for fear of getting involved. Gwen then walked around and stood beside you

"What is this anyway? Library time?" She said as she took your book out of your hand and threw it behind her.

"No." She paused as she grabbed a handful of macaroni and cheese.

"I think it's makeup time." She said as she briefly held the cheese glob in her hand before quickly and forcibly smashing it right in your face.

You felt the sticky cheese being squished into you eyelids and over your nose as she forcibly pushed it and you over your seat. You felt your body fly back and your legs smack the table as you were sent flying to the ground. The force of your legs hitting the table with your knees, was enough to cause the table to slightly lift off the ground before it came back down hard.

Then you smacked your back hard on the ground as your body slammed onto the hard concrete. And your head followed as it slammed on the part of the concrete that jetted out from the rest of the cement. You could see stars in front of your eyes, you could also feel a bit of pain starting to come from the back of your head. The noise from the table as it landed hard back down on the ground was enough to alert the teachers to the commotion. One of them came walking over to see what had happened.

"Is there an issue here ladys?" The teacher asked a she approached the scene.

"Not at all Mrs. Pierson." Gwendolyn quickly said as she spun around and gave the teacher a fake smile.

"This girl just fell off of her seat. That's all." She said as she stepped in front of you to block the teacher's view as you tried to get up.

The macaroni and cheese was so sticky that you had to scrape it off your face with your hand and fling it onto the ground as you rolled over to one side.

Well this is a fine mess. You thought to yourself.

I'm cover in macaroni n' cheese and now I'm on the ground in a heap with everyone staring at me. You thought as tears started to well up.

Then suddenly all of the eyes staring at you became too much. You quickly grabbed your backpack and took off running out of the courtyard as tears streamed from your eyes.

I can't do this again. You thought as you rushed into the girls bathroom.

You slammed the door behind you and leaned up against it as tears rushed from your eyes. You put your hands on your face and cried as you slid down the door.

What did I do wrong? Why am I being punished like this? You thought to yourself as you sat there crying for a few minutes.

After a while, you calmed back down. You slowly stood back up and went over to the last sink to try and clean up. You washed the macaroni and cheese off of your face and you were drying off your face with a paper towel when someone came into the bathroom.

"There you are." Came a women's voice.

You looked over and saw a teacher standing there with a concerned look on her face. "Are you ok? You rushed out of there so fast I couldn't tell."

You looked away from her and finished drying off your face.

"I'm fine." You told her as you dropped your gaze and the paper towel in the trash. "Like she said. I just fell off of my chair."

"I would still like you to go to the nurse and be checked out." She said as she put her hand on your shoulder.

Oh great. First day of middle school and I'm in a fight AND I have to go to the nurse. You thought to yourself.

Can this day get any worse? You closed your eyes and leaned on the sink.

"I appreciate your concern. But I'm fine." You said as you started to open your eyes.

But as you did, the room started to spin and your could feel your legs give out from under you as everything went black.

****Authors Note*****

This is based on a similar personal life experience, and it shows some of the real world experiences that kids face as they go through the troubles that are within our schools. I hope that this doesn't trigger anyone's personal life in a bad way. It's in here to tell you that there are others like you and that we understand what you are going through and that we support you. Don't give up and don't let them win.

Sorry to get all serious on you there for a minute. But I do hope that you're enjoying the story and I hope that you will continue reading it as the story continues to unfold.

Thanks for reading. :)
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