Will's POV

He was seated in the tiny nurse's office, a freezing ice pack covering the upper section of his beautiful face. The nurse had assured him multiple times that the slap did not, in fact, disfigure his face but he was sure that it would leave a nasty bruise. What she didn't know was that red head's slap was much more painful than your average slap. Will had planted his legs to not fall over from the force and had waited a while for his cheek to heal before heading to the nurse. If she had witnessed his original injury, she might have thought he had a horrible encounter with a baseball bat instead of a mere slap.

The sharp coldness of the ice pack really didn't help with the pain, it just added. At least he would miss five minutes or so of algebra. The other boys had gone without him, the nurse had demanded that unless you were injured or need something, you could not wait in or outside of the office.

A latex glove reached forward, retrieving their watery and lukewarm ice pack from Will. "Your free to leave now, unless you are experiencing any other discomforts?"

He nodded a grateful thanks, pushing up from the chair. Will let his hand roam over his cheek, wincing as his finger pressed a sore spot. When he found her, he would give her a piece of his mind.

James' POV

He was currently watching an amusing show of David's attempt of filling in for Will. David was debating with a teacher who had given them all detention because some boys had stolen the test sheet while she had left the room to grab a snack from the nearby vending machine. David was winning, to the embarrassment of the teacher. "According to the 1949 Geneva Convention: No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. This applies to all of us who didn't do anything, as students are civilians, and therefore considers a protected person. Your punishment breaks the fourth Geneva Convention!"

The teacher replied with a mumbled and pulled out her phone. There was a silence as everyone listened to the clicks of the on screen keyboard and awaited her answer. There was a sad shake of her head and she sat behind her desk to seemingly rethink her life.

A loud cheer from Enzo was followed by a round of hearty applause around the room and David answered it with a proud bow. "No detention for us!"

James tilted his head in curiosity. Gideon turned to him, "David played Will's part pretty well."

"That was like a lion being schooled by a yoyo to roar!" David blurted which was followed by an awkward silence from everyone.

"And...nevermind," Gideon said with a sigh.

James threw back his head and let himself laugh.

Vanessa's POV

Marissa had found about the whole slapping ordeal and had blabbed her mouth out to the principal. Vanessa had been called to the office shortly after and was given a lecture before she was suspended for the rest of the day. She had assignments in her bag to complete at home from all the classes she would never get to and a couple notes and due dates. Vanessa was walking home, the less her mother knew about it, the better. She didn't need the kind of additional stress, especially considering what she had been through and what was yet to come.

Her hand tightened around the strap of her backpack, it was better to think less before having to work on a stack of schoolwork. The anxiety was already getting to her. Leaves were drifting aimlessly around her and she felt herself drop into a fox form unconsciously. She was already deep enough into the forest, no one would see her.

Vanessa's tail, sleek and shiny from some surprisingly luxurious shampoo from Will, Gabriel, David, Enzo, and James' shared home, swept over the unevenly layered beds of leaves. Her tiny paws trudged through the piles of reds, oranges, and browns in silence, feeling crisp corners all around. Wind blew around her, stirring leaves and along with it, her mind. Thoughts came and went, but one wouldn't leave, it sat stubbornly, pushing back other thoughts until there was nothing but itself.

What are you going to do?