Another book I decided to delete until I decide what I'm truly going to do with it. To help unclutter everything as well, it'll be on here until I'm able to go through it and decide if I'll keep it or not.

Arick MacTenier is totally into the new girl at the Academy of Night.

He's a vampire fledgling trying to find his own way, and when that new girl comes from Scotland, he's immidiately attracted to the little spit-fire. But the new girl has got trouble following her, and when they actually start to become a couple, it heads their way.

Will they be able to fight the battle and survive? Will they get the chance to have their own happily ever after?

Chapter 1

God, she is so hot.

Arick thought that as he watched Mabh, the girl he currently had a bad crush on, walk across the lunchroom.

He had notice that she never really sat with others, just took a table and claimed it as her own - and only hers. Mabh seemed to like being by her self a lot, even if that meant being alone all the time. But she was a quiet girl, only speaking when spoken to.

That was the usual for kids at The Academy though.

Arick stabbed his fork into his pasta, twirling the noodles around the fork as he thought. Being a vampire fledgling was, to say in the least, a pain in the neck. No one ever knows who was going to die from the Change, or if you would make it to vampire adulthood. The Change killed, usually silently, making the kids always be aware that they could be next, keeping them on their toes looking for signs of dying in other kids.

"Well, geez, what are you thinking about so intensely? Your noodles look like strips of fat," Alec, the only person Arick usually hung out with, said. "Have you seen the new transfer?"

Arick glanced up at Alec as his friend dropped his tray on the table, and his butt onto the chair. "Nah. They don't look like strips of fat, not yet anyways. And yeah, I saw her. She's not from around here, or anywhere in the U.S." Alec grinned at that.

"With that accent? Of course not! I think maybe the Scottish highlands. She has a little bit of an attitude. Fiery." Arick shook his head, laughing.

Alec was a really funny guy, always trying to make jokes to lighten a dark mood. He was also a total ladies man. His friend was a little different from other guys. Alec's unnatural red eyes and black hair gave him an evil, bad boy look that the girls fell in love with. It didn't help that the guy was totally ripped with muscles either. However, Alec didn't seem to notice any of the girls staring at him. Arick believed it was because his friend was hung up on a human girl.

But that was just his speculation since Alec hadn't dated anyone since he was marked and came to the Academy.

Arick watched as Sitka, the other new kid, walk towards their table, and turned to Alec with a frown. Alec knew Arick didn't like meeting new people, and rarely ever-paid attention to the newer kids. Arick was a loner: he didn't get along well with others, and he liked to be left alone.

"Hello." Sitka carefully sets his tray on the table and sits in the chair. "I'm Sitka, and you must be Arick. Alec said to watch out for your attitude."

Arick narrows his eyes at Alec, but nods to Sitka. When Sitka holds his hand out to Arick to shake, Arick glares at his hand until he pulls it away.

Alec punches Arick's arm, then turns to Sitka. "Sorry about that," Alec sends a glance towards Arick. "He's not as friendly as he looks. But I'm sure one of these time he will warm up to you and you guys will be good friends. Just gotta give him, like, two months."

Arick rolls his head at the attempt of a joke. He pulls his headphones over his ears, turns his iPod on, and gets up with his tray to dump it.

Alec could fend for himself with the new kid.

After dumping his tray, Arick slowly walked back to his dorm room, hands in his pockets, music blaring, and a certain girl with black hair on his mind.

It was like he couldn't stop thinking about her, and it was about to really get on his nerves. She was distracting him, pulling his focus away from getting the hell out of here. All he wanted was to run from the Academy and head to a deserted place to call his own.

He thought of that, his own silent home in a desert, as he laid his head on his pillow and let his eyes close.

The alarm was obnoxious, filling the room with a high-pitched screeching that hurt Arick's ears.

He slapped the alarm off, and then rolled over to eye it blearily.

"Sh*t!"

Arick was late again! He'd slept in to eight o' five! With the thought of the detention he would be getting, he jumped out of bed, pulling clothes on quickly.

Arick stopped, quickly grabbed his iPod and headphones before taking off out of the room. He almost ran into two other guys who were going up the stairs, but he didn't really care so he kept going. He reaches the classroom and groaned in despair as he realized it was already in session. Looks like it was time for yet another detention for being late.

The school should just have people who would wake up those who have trouble getting up on their own. It would've made everything easier on students and teachers. Arick slipped quietly into the room, trying to avoid catching Mrs. Kuon's eye. He was almost to his seat when he felt her eyes on his back, watching him trying to sneak in.

Arick stopped and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned around to look at her sheepishly. She had an eyebrow raised and her lips were pursed in disappointment.

"Arick, you're late," Mrs. Kuan said. "Again. That will be two weeks worth of detention."

Two weeks?! Arick thought irritatedly. He frowned at her and turned to go to his seat. "Whatever."

Mrs. Kuon's lips thinned into a line. "Now that will be two weeks, in the morning and afternoon. Alright, now, back to the subject on hand. Polynomials are..."

Arick tuned her out, not paying attention now that he was pissed off. Two weeks worth of detention was going to suck worse than anything else. And he probably had to start it tonight after school, or early tomorrow morning. He wasn't looking forward to that. Arick was going to have to steal someone else's alarm clock for the night so that he would actually get up to do the detention, or he was going to end up getting up late again.

The day then went by fast, with Arick paying little attention in most of his classes.

When the bell rung and he left his last class, he headed towards the detention room, sulking with his shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets.

When he opened the door, he was surprised at who was in there.The teacher watching over them was one of his usual teachers, but the other student in the room was a shock. She was sulking in her chair, slumped down in it and glaring at the teacher. Arick felt his heart thump quickly and he slowly sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room. He pulled his headphones out and put them on, turning his music up. He just couldn't believe it.

How did Mabh, the new girl, already get a detention?

Chapter 2

Mabh stared unseeingly at the wall, pissed off that she had been given detention. Who the heck got detention for going to the bathroom? WITH permission?!

The old fart needed hearing aids and a brain surgery so he could remember things better.

She had heard the other kid walk in. He had paused for a moment before sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. Not sure what to think about that, she glanced at the kid.

He was interesting. She'd seen him looking at her in the cafeteria, his wildly green eyes sparkling with embarrassment before he turned away. He looked almost too old for the Academy. But she knew looks could be deceiving.

Now he was very pointedly ignoring her. Mabh felt the side of her mouth lift in a half smile as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. He wasn't all that bad looking, was actually kind of...hot, but the air around him felt angry and sort of tired. He seemed to be holding things bottled up inside him, making the air around him feel heavy and horrid too. But Mabh knew he wasn't the only one who did that - in fact, she did also.

She wondered what his name is.

The detention teacher opened the book in front of him and then looked at the two in his room. "Arick. I'd say welcome, but I see you to often. Now, Miss. .. Mabh O'Conaill, welcome. I hope this will be the only time I'll see you."

She smiled kindly at him, but was I internally laughing at him. He was going to get just as tired seeing her as he was of Arick.

Arick.

Now she knew the boys name. It seemed to suit him, she supposed. It was a masculine, strong name that fit his muscular frame.

"Arick, I suppose since you're here for - what? The next two weeks? - I will be having you use this as a period to tutor a student in need of it. For being such a smart guy, you make stupid decisions and get in trouble a lot."

Mabh raised her eyebrows in surprise. The poor guy was in here for two weeks? What kind of teacher would do that? Or...what did he do? She glances at him, curiousity a burning hole in her gut.

Arick glared at the teacher then stared out the window, longing for his freedom. So what if he was smart? He wasn't going to go to college, he was going to find work after high school and leave his home behind. The heck he was helping to tutor a student. He didnt care about that - he just wanted out.

He sighed and laid his head on his folded arms, glancing once at Mabh before ignoring her. Not the right first impression he wanted to give her, but oh well. At least he finally found out her name.

"So what did ye do tah get in here, Arick?"

Her voice surprised him so much that he actually looked at her. Arick also instantly liked the way she said his name. In her soft Scottish voice, it seemed to just roll off her tongue. Then he realized that she had asked him a question. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and also as the teacher looked at him.

Arick looked away. "Late tah class," he muttered.

He was so mad about that too. So what if he had trouble getting up in the evening? Its not like he actually did it on purpose. He set the alarm clock, but then he had crushed it with his fist - again. Arick supposed that he should put the clock on the other side of the room so that he would have to wake up some to get up and turn it off.

"Ye are here fer two weeks because ye were late?" Mabh scoffed, causing Arick to look at her. "Tis nah right."

Arick was shocked for a moment then nodded in agreement. "True. She doesn't like me very much." He chose to hide his accent, not wanting to let her know.

Mabh tilted her head and nodded. "Tis nah great."

Arick let the side of his mouth lift in a small half smile. She was cute, tilting her head like that. He cleared his throat and stared out the window once again, not wanting to be caught staring at her.

The rest of the detention went like that. Both students were quiet, Mabh working on some homework she had before she also stares out a window. Arick didn't give two cents about his homework, so it wasn't even on him, and he stared out the window for some time before lying his head down again and falling asleep until the teacher yelled at him.

"Alright, I suppose that's your time for today." The teacher stood, closing the book he had been reading. "I will see you tomorrow Mr. Arick and I hope you have a nice welcome here Miss. Mabh."

Arick quickly stood and hurried from the room, feeling as though he was being chased by the desire to get to know Mabh. But he wouldn't. He would stay far from that girl.

He couldn't let himself fall for her.

Chapter 3

Arick sighed as he sat the desk, finishing his homework in two minutes flat. He was bored out of his mind and wanted to go look around the gardens, but he was still in trouble. Going and staying out past curfew was going to get him more then a couple weeks of detention.

He threw his pencil down and slammed the huge literature book closed.

Who the heck cared about the rules? Not him.

Arick settled his headphones over his ears and stood as he started playing his music. He opened his window, on the second floor, and jumped to the ground. He landed with knees bent slightly then started walking to the gardens. If he got caught, he got caught. Arick wasn't about to hole up in his room to stay in the good graces of teachers. He was going to reach and grab ahold of any freedom he could get.

As soon as he stepped into the moonlit gardens, he was awestruck.

Yeah, he didn't usually come to the gardens at all, but he was sure the girl dancing in the moonlight didn't come here a lot either. Arick decided he didn't want to bother the girl, so he found a bench under a nearby tree and sat on it. He discreetly watched her as she spun in the center of the flowers, moonlight making her appear to glow. But the moonlight also made it so he couldn't see the girls face.

Arick kept watching, entranced by the beautiful dance. It was sort of like one of the sets from the movie, Swan Lake. The girl was so graceful, moving from poses, fast or slow, easily. She was almost likea river flowing, graceful and swift, calm and gentle.

He decided after watching for a while, that he was going to leave the girl in peace. She probably came out to the gardens to dance where no one would see. Arick started to feel as though he had invaded her privacy. So he left the gardens as quietly as he had gone to it, sneaking through the shadows.

But though he had left her, Arick would not forget.

~The Following Day~

Arick grabbed his bow off the wall, where he had put it, and the sheath full of arrows from his desk. Today, he had a parkour class, but he would take his bow to the range where they were to wait for their teacher and practice for a bit. Hopefully, no one else would be there when he got there, since he wanted to get the best spot to hit all the targets.

As he left the dorm building, Arick saw the High Priestess in training, Jayde, walking around in a pair of red leather pants, a black tank top and black army like boots. He shook his head as she turned a corner out of his sight. Jayde was a gorgeous girl so he didn't understand her need to wear leather and black. But even though that leather looked good, Arick still couldn't stop himself from thinking of Mabh. Right then, Arick wondered what she would look like in leather.

Arick shook his head angrily, not wanting to of her anymore than he already did.

He took off to the range, trying to get there quickly to have time to practice. But it didn't seem like he'd gotten there in time because a girl and boy stood there, talking.

~A little bit earlier~

Mabh had removed her outer jacket and the tattoos on her arms were revealed. She usually kept them covered with her jacket, but decided that if humans wouldn't see her crescent moon tattoo then they would see her other ones. She threw her jacket to the ground, and started stretching to loosen her muscles. She finished, and bends her head back to take in the sky. She closes her eyes, and breathes in deep. Mabh hears footsteps behind her and she lunges into action. She grabs the bow off her back, and an arrow from her quiver, and has the string pulled back all before she opens her eyes to see who it is. Alec holds up his hands.

"Woah." he smirks, "Easy there."

Mabh growls, and releases the tension on the bow, "Donna sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," he lowers his hand, "Nice tattoos."

Mabh looks at him from the corner of her eyes to see if he's telling the truth. She shrugs, and goes back to unstringing her bow.

"What are they?"

Mabh sighs, and turns to face him, "The biggest one is a Chinese dragon. The others compliment it."

He nodded, "Cool."

She crocked an eyebrow at him.

"How old were you when you got them?"

She paused, "I was twelve," she finally said.

"Really?" Mabh nodded and Alec whistled, impressed. "That must have been painful."

"It was. Tis considered brave. Most donna get a tattoo until they are 14." She looked at him, "We all get tattoos."

"Who is 'we'?"

"My family. When they think we are going to be vampyres. We get them tae separate us from the human members of our family."

"Wait. You're Mabh O' Conaill aren't you?"

"I am."

"Woah. What are you doing here?"

"Transfer."

"For what?"

"I willna speak of it. Too many memories."

Arick then walks onto the range, headphones and hood over his head. His bow is in his hands and his sling of arrows over his shoulder. He barely glances at the other two as he leans against the outer wall of the school. But he had noticed how they had been close and talking, though Mabh had had an air of hurt around her.

Mabh briefly glances at Arick but notices at lot about him. The slump of him shoulders as he tries to block out the world and the way his eyes shift to catch the tiniest of details. Mabh probably knows a great deal more about the boy than anybody else at the House of Night, now that she thinks about it. She turns her attention back to Alec and he smiles at her.

He glances around, notices the slight tenseness in Mabh's body and the relaxed and flirty way Alec was with Mabh. He hunches his shoulders a little more and turns up his music. He knew he wasn't going to be the only guy who liked Mabh, and he didn't have any claim on her at all. But he still wanted her to be his and didn't like seeing other flirts with her.

Mabh could clearly hear Arick's music from about 15 feet away. She could tell that the song was "Burn It To The Ground" by Nickleback. A little too American for her tastes but a good song nonetheless. And she was starting to think she was paying a little bit too much attention to the boy.

Arick pulls out his iPod and starts flipping through songs until he starts listening to "In The End" by Linkin Park and he starts babying his arrow by rubbing it with a soft cloth and oil. It was better than watching Mabh and whoever that guy was.

Mabh glanced at Arick once more out of the corner of her eyes and almost smiled when she saw him 'babying 'one of his arrows. Alec paused in his question and Mabh knew she should probably say something in retaliation but she couldn't find the care enough to do so. She was actually starting to get slightly annoyed.

"When is the teacher going to get here? Unless we are just supposed to leave without him." She says it impatiently as she glances towards the walkway into the courtyard.

Arick walks away from the wall and puts a couple arrows in his bow, lifts it up, goes into his stance, then pulls the string back. When he lets it go, an arrow went behind Mabh, between Mabh and Alec, and behind Alec. They all hit the targets that were standing behind them and Arick puts his bow down as the both jump.

"I say we just do whatever we want." He smirks a little, feeling a little devilish.

Mabh recoiled from where the arrows landed and grabbed her own bow and an arrow. She drew back and caught the edge of Arick hood, pulling it from his head. "If it's a challenge yer asking for, its a challenge you shall get."

Arick glares at her and pulls the arrow out of his hood and puts it back on his head. How dare she do that to his hoody? He hadn't hurt her! But she'd get away with it, since he liked her. And because she was a girl.

"Not a challenge, just something to do when bored out of my mind and there is no teacher here to stop what I'm doing." He throws the arrow across the floor to her, and it rolls to stop at Mabh's feet.

Mabh smirks. "You have no idea what yer dealing wit boyo." She picked up her arrow. "An Irish lad all alone in the Americas. Whatever are ye going tae do?"

Anger flashes in his eyes and he draws his bow, and catches her arrow, making it fly from her hand. "I'm going tae do whateva I can to keep goin."

How the heck did she know he was Irish?! He'd only spoken to her once in his own accent! And then he hadn't spoken again to her without checking his accent!

"That might be the case but what if something stops you on the way." Mabh slips her dirk from its sheath and throws it, catching Arick's hood again, the blade sinking into the wall behind him. His hood was ripped off and flows to the ground. She didn't understand what they were doing, throwing weapons at each other, but it was quite fun. It seemed to be helping both of them relieve some anger and stress. Maybe showing each other that they liked the other.

Arick's whole body tenses, his eyes flashing anger and turning darker. His hand not around his bow fists and he glares at Mabh. "That... t'was nah necessary..." He lifts up his bow, readys an arrow and then sends the arrow through her bow.

Mabh glances down at her now shattered bow and snarled. She could feel her anger turning into fury and her temper getting out of hand. She felt her inner fire burning from within, fighting until it got it. All those days training were now wasted. Her fire shot forth, creating a circle of flame around herself and knocking Alec back.

Arick glares at her as he stumbles a little, tense and unhappy. His eyes flash at her, a red tint to them. He puts his headphones down around his neck, and picks up his damaged hood. Why the hell would a person ruin a perfectly good hoodie?

"You donna touch my bow!" She roared at him and barely managed to control her fire before it incinerated him. But she somehow managed to pull it back somewhat to where it only flared out towards him.

He jumps away from the licking flames and growls at her. "Then donna touch my hood!!!" He throws the ruined hood into the fire, then turns away to walk back to his room

Mabh growls then closes her eyes and tries to calm herself. After about five minutes, the flames disappear and all that is left is the ashes of Arick's ruined hood. She was feeling slightly sorry, but not enough to be really guilty about what she did. He had started it, after all.

Alec places a hand on her shoulder and thankfully she doesn't throw him away. "Are you alright, Mabh?"

She nodded, her eyes still closed. "He just really pissed me off." she growled, opening her eyes and looking at Alec. Which made no sense to her. Usually she was able to keep her head on such things.

Arick goes to his room, quickly changing his hoodie for a new jacket with a hood and pulls the hood up around his head again. He throws the ruined one away, and then returns to the field, walking past Mabh and Alec to grab his arrows from the targets. He puts the arrows into the sling over his shoulder and walks back to his spot against the wall.

Mabh growls as he passes her, but otherwise ignores him.

Alec puts a comforting hand on her shoulder and she can't help but lean into it. He leans in close to whisper in her ear. "Don't let him get to you."

Arick sets his bow behind his leg, and snarls at Mabh. But then ignores her. He couldn't stand watching the two flirt or comfort each other. He mutters to himself, "The f*cking teacher needs to get here."

"I couldn't help but over hear this whole affair and thought I might join you." Bastet, the High Priestess stepped out of the shadows. She was dressed modestly in a pair of low cut jeans and a tank top. She wasn't an old looking woman. In fact, she looked like she was in her early twenties still. Arick thought she was a great High Priestess. "I shall be your Parkour teacher for this semester until we can find a suitable replacement for my sister."

Alec was speechless at the announcement but Mabh became defiant.

"Are you sure you can keep up?"

Arick looks on with interest, and smirks when Mabh defies Bastet. He slowly goes over to the group, standing apart from them.

Bastet smiled. "Watch and learn young one."

Lady Marissa comes running their way, her long hair in a braid over her shoulder. "I'm not late am I? I tried to hurry." Marissa says as she stops by the group to catch her breath.

Mabh glares at Arick but ignores him as best as she can.

Bastet smiles at Marissa. "You are not late everyone else is just early."

Marissa smiles. "Well, that's good then! My attendance is still perfect. So...What are we doing today?"

Arick tilts his head to the side and just smirks. "Probably something that would ruin your perfect nails."

Mabh smirked then frowned. Alec held back a chuckle while Bastet frowned at Arick. She then turned to all of the students. "We'll be exploring the city. Finding the best places to perform tricks. Those of you that think you can are welcome to try."

Marissa glares at Arick, then turns her attention to Bastet. Arick grins when Bastet looks at him, not regretting what he said.

"So... We can jump off of buildings?" Marissa asks.

"If you feel that you can, you may." Bastet smiled at Marissa.

Marissa smiles. "Great!"

Arick snorts, but doesn't say anything. He turns his music up louder and tugs on his hood.

Bastet turns to Arick. "I know you can hear me, but if you be so kind as to turn your music completely off, I would be grateful."

Mabh smirked and Alec sneered at him

Arick stares impassively at Bastet, Mabh and Alec. He shrugs and puts his hands in his pocket. The music shuts off and he puts his headphones around his neck.

"Thank you." Bastet then smiles at the rest of the class. "Well. What are we waiting for?"

With that, all the students race of into the city at their own pace, others more excited than some.

Arick just sits on a bench and turns his music up really loud. Marissa runs around town, running up the walls of buildings then doing backflips off of them.

Mabh uses her arrows, sticking them in between bricks in the walls to house herself up to the roofs of buildings to to jump from rooftop to rooftop.

Alec watches Mabh, transfixed by her speed and agility.

Bastet watches each student, unseen.

Arick decides to do something, so he stands up, goes a little ways from the bench, runs, jumps and does cartwheels across the back of the bench. Marissa literally jumps off the top of a building.

Mabh uses a metal bar that stretches between two buildings to do an acribatical move and jumps off to land on the streets again.

Alec uses the same bar to rocket off the buildings.

Bastet watches the two of then and realizes that they would work well together as a team.

Arick takes his headphones off, sets them and his iPod in his arrow sling, put them on the bench with his bow, and runs towards a building. He runs up the wall, does a turn backflip onto the back of the bench and does handsprings off of it, then runs towards where Mabh and Alec are and grabs the bar, swinging around it a couple of times, then lets go, does front flips, turns and rolls to the ground. Marissa has given up, (fall from the roof twisted her ankle) and is now sitting on the sidewalk, watching the other three.

Mabh rolls her eyes. She runs, jumps up and uses the bar to launch herself into the air. On the way down, she grabs the bar and swings back around, relaunching herself into the air. She gestures to Alec who leans off the side of the building and holds out a hand. He catches her and pulls her onto the roof. In the process he falls from the building and grabs the bar. Using it he swings around a few times and flips off. Landing on both feet, knees bent so he's in a crouch.

Arick watches in amusement, then runs back up to the bar and grabs it, swinging himself around it a lot then launching himself into the air. He spins, catches the bar, launches again, does a few flips, catches the bar, and uses one hand to grab Mabh's hand, swing her up into the air, fall to the ground, then catch Mabh and set her on her feet. He grins and walks away, pulling his hood up.

Mabh bristled, angry with herself and the butterflies in her stomach. She whirled around when she felt a hand on her shoulder but it was just Alec.

"Woah! Calm down, Mabh or you might lash out again." He held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender.

She growled. "He's such a...grrrr!" She growled again. "I donna even have words for him."

Arick picks his stuff up from the bench and walks over to Bastet.

"Is it alright if I head back?" He smiles sweetly at her.

Marissa limps over to Bastet and nods in agreement. "I need to go see the nurse, I think." She blushes. "I thought I would be alright after jumping off of the building instead of hurt."

Bastet smiled at Marissa. "You may go Marissa."

Arick started to walk away with Marissa but Bastet stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. She leaned into whisper in his ear. "Don't underestimate the feeling hate." She straightened once more. "You may go now, Arick."

Arick gives Bastet a questioning look, his face confused. But he just nods and turns back away. He puts his headphones on, his music roaring, puts his hands in his pocket and walks away.

Bastet smiled knowingly and turns back to watch Alec and Mabh.

"Alec, how bout we do a backflip off the bar and land on each other's shoulders?" Mabh lifts an eyebrow, wondering if he'll accept the challenge.

He smiles. "Let's do this."

Arick climbs into a tree near the school, but where he could still watch them Parkour. He crosses his arms across his chest, and watches them do tricks.

Mabh stops really quickly and writes something on a scrap of paper. She takes her dirk out of its sheath and stabs the paper onto it. With a flick of her wrist, it's heading towards the tree where Arick is being a creeper.

She then resumes her trick with Alec as if nothing happened.

He moves out of the way of the dirk, ducking below it as it goes over his head and imbeds itself into the tree.

Arick sits back up and grabs it. He pulls the paper from it and sends the dirk back to Mabh, throwing it so it goes past her and into the wall next to the bar they're swinging on. He opens the paper and reads it.

Mabh retrieves her dirk and grins. He won't be able to read what she said unless he was a fluent Gaelic speaker.

Arick looks at it in confusion, wondering what the hell it says. He pulls out his iPhone and starts google translating it.

Mabh glances over at him and sees the confused look he has and then him pulling out his iPhone.

He quickly has it translated and he laughs. "Why are you sitting there watching us? Shouldn't you be in your room, listening to music, and moping?" Arick catches Mabh's eye, and grins at her. Then he writes on the back of the paper, puts it on an arrow, and sends it to Mabh. It lands in the wall next to her.

Mabh retrieves it and puts it in her pocket without looking. She has no way to get his arrow back to him. She catches Alec's hands and pulls him up onto the building next to her. "My turn." She grins and falls back off the building, twisting in midair so she can grab the bar.

Alec glances at the arrow sticking out of the wall and looks at it, confused.

Arick watches with amusement and grins as they do their tricks. He glances at the arrow and shrugs; he'll get it later.

Mabh decides to send his arrow back to him next time she gets onto the roof of the building. Alec hauls her up and he starts to do some tricks. Mabh makes her way over to the arrow. She slips her dirk out and stabs it through the center of the arrow. On the tip of her dirk, she places the paper and reads it: "Who said I was watching you guys? Maybe I was checking out Bastet. By the way, nice a**." After reading it, smiling at how weird he was, she quickly writes her response. She takes the arrow out of the wall and throws her dirk, with the arrow stabbed onto it, back to Arick. It sinks into the wood near his head.

He winces when it thunks into the tree right next to his ear. Arick grabs it and throws the dirk back to her. He opens the note and reads it. "If you aren't watching me, then why do you think I have a cute butt?"

Mabh smirks and slips her dirk back into its sheath once more. She glanced over at Arick and saw that he was reading her note.

Sitka shows up and sees Mabh staring into at tree. He looks closer and sees that it's Arick, who happens to be reading a note. He glances back and forth between Mabh and Arick for a while before heading towards Alec and Mabh.

Alec sees his friend coming closer and drops from the bar. "What's up, man? I didn't know you took Parkour."

Sitka shook his head. "I don't. I need Mabh. Her phone has been ringing since she gave it to me and it's her brother."

Mabh, hearing her name jumps from the building, grabs the bar and does a backflip off it, landing in a crouch. "Conrad is calling? Did you talk to him?"

He shook his head. "No, but he left a message saying it was important."

"Do you have my phone?" She asked.

Sitka pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to her.

Mabh redialed her brother and then started speaking in rapid Gaelic. She hung up not long after, paler than usual. "I need to go. Rodrick is in trouble."

Alec looked confused. "Who's Rodrick?"

"A human I saved who became a fledgling."

Arick stares at Mabh, smirks at her, and shakes his head. Then he watches with interest the whole comotion that goes on when Sitka walks up. After watching for a bit, he jumps down from the tree and walks over to them. Arick hears the last sentence and pales just slightly. But then he grins and says, "Was he your boyfriend? I didn't know that was possible."

Mabh glances at Arick and if you look close enough, you can see a slight blush coloring her otherwise pale skin. "I guess you could call him that." Mabh eyes Sitka again and then turns to Bastet as she walks up. "My brother has informed me that he will be dropping off one of his old charges and hopes he can stay for an extended period of time."

Bastet smiles. "Any friend of the mighty Conrad O'Canill is welcome here. Roderick will be welcome."

Mabh bows her head slightly in thanks.

Arick looks closely, sees the slight blush, and grins. He puts his hands in his pockets and gets ready to leave. "Well. It's going to be interesting meeting him then."

He grins and leaves, shooting a wink at Mabh over his shoulder as he passes her. But when he turns back to the front, he frowns and fists his hands. She had feelings for this Rodrick guy, and he was her boyfriend. But what kind of feelings? How close were they since it had probably been a while since they had seen each other?

Did he have any chance of winning her heart?

Chapter 4

Conrad steps off the boat with Roderick following closely behind. Roderick lifts his face up to the sun and breaths softly in relief at being on land again.

"I haven't been here since before I was Marked," Roderick says, shedding his outer coat, reveling his tattoo of a dragon peeking out of his T-shirt collar.

"I know what you mean." Conrad smiles as his eyes drift and find the one girl he's been looking forward to seeing. "Here are our bags, and look who's waiting by them."

Roderick follows with his eyes to where Conrad is looking and sees Mabh leaning against Conrad's and his bags. He runs towards her, and when she catches sight of him, her face brightens. She meets him with open arms.

Surprising her, Roderick plants a gentle kiss on her lips. Mabh blushes and turns away, glancing over at the person behind her, Arick.

Arick shifts uncomfortably, watching their interaction. Jealousy bloomed in his chest and he looked away, his whole body tensing up. Knew liking her was a bad idea. She already has a man! He shoves his hands in his pockets and quietly clears his throat.

Mabh pulls away and lets her arms fall to her side. Roderick glances between Arick and Mabh, sensing some type of bond between the two, and cocks his head at her slightly.

Conrad steps forward and captures his sister in a bear hug, pressing his face against her shoulder. He nearly squeezes the life out of her before letting her place her feet on the ground. She laughs. "How was tae boat ride, guys?"

Roderick grimaces. "I've never been fond of boats." He has no Scottish accent, being born an American and not having picked up an accent even though he had been in Scotland for years.

Conrad slaps him on the back. "Come on now. T'wasn't all that bad."

Roderick shakes his head and stage whispers to Mabh. "It was though."

Mabh's brother glances over at Arick. "So, Mabh, are ye ever gonna introduce us to this boyo over here?"

She blushes. "Arick, this is my brother Conrad and this is Roderick. Conrad is the one who Marked both of us, only about four years apart." She turns to her brother and 'friend', "Guys, this is Arick. He's from Ireland."

He had watched as Mabh pulled away from Roderick, then as the siblings hugged. He realizes that they were close, and he frowned a little when he thinks of how long it's been since the two have seen each other. He smirks slightly, however, when he realizes that Roderick doesn't like boats. He remains tense and silent through most of the introductions.

Arick nods to them after Mabh introduces him. "Nice tae meet you both." He puts his hand out to them, his accent there, but hidden also to give the impression he'd been in America for a while. "I've heard much of you."

Mabh rolls her eyes at Arick, sensing his tenseness and unwillingness to talk to her brother and Roderick. "Will you excuse us for one second?" Without waiting for a reply, Mabh drags Arick away until they are lost in the crowd. "Ok, spill it. What's wrong?"

Conrad and Roderick exchange a glance and then shrug. Conrad keeps his eye on his sister and the boy as they stop in the middle of the crowd a few feet away.

Arick shrugs his arm out of her hold, walks a little bit away, pushing his hand through his hair. He didn't really understand what was wrong with him either, just that he knew he didn't like it when the guy had kissed her. Even though Arick didn't even really know the guy, he already felt a deep hatred for Roderick. He drops his hand then stuffs it in his pocket again. He turns back to Mabh and gives her an arrogant grin, trying to act like nothing was wrong, and shrugs. "Nothings wrong, Mabh. Just... One of those days I guess."

Mabh raises any eyebrow and shakes her head, deciding to not push him any further and make him angry. "Whatever ye say, Arick."

Without waiting for him, Mabh heads back towards her brother and 'friend'.

Arick waits until her attention is on the other two, then scowls at the ground. He thinks about her supposed just 'friend', trying to push away his rising jealousy and anger, then walks back even more tense. Now he was looking for a fight, a way to get the anger to go away. But he kept himself level. He helps pick up the bags, staying quiet as he moves towards the car.

Mabh kept glancing over at Arick, knowing that something is wrong but not knowing what. She frowned a little, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thought of all the possible things that he could possibly be upset about. But she comes up empty, unsure of what it could be.

Arick starts piling their luggage into the trunk, and then on top of the car when the truck was full, securing it with a cable cord. He pulls the door open for Mabh, silently looking at her.

"Thank you." Mabh gets in the front as Conrad and Roderick sit in the back.

Arick closes the door, gets the keys from his pocket, and gets in the driver seat. He starts up the car, pulls out and into the traffic. He looks up into the rearview mirror, a glint in his eyes, and he says, "Roderick, is the car better than da boat?"

Roderick glares at Arick. "Im fine." He then glares out the window.

Mabh smacks Arick on the arm and glares at him as well.

Arick chuckles quietly, not able to hold in his laughter. Though it had been childish, he felt a tiny bit of satisfaction knowing he had made Roderick upset. He smirks at Mabh, then turns his attention to the road.

She shook her head at him and stared out the window for the rest of the trip to the House of Night.

He pulls into the parking lot, nodding at the guard at the gates, and then parks as close to the school as he can possibly get. He gets out and starts getting the bags out of the trunk, setting them down on the ground behind him. Zero comes out of the school to help, having been told to watch to be able to help, and picks up some of the bags.

Conrad, Roderick, and Mabh get out of the car at the same time. Conrad put an arm around Mann's shoulders and hugged her to his side. "Sista," Mabh turned to him. "The Council banished Roderick here. He got in trouble for keeping in contact with you. That is also why I am here."

Mabh stared at her brother in shock, a slight fear churning her stomach. "You've been banished?"

Conrad nodded, sliding a soothing hand over her hair. "Roderick tried to take full blame but the Council knew he wouldn't have been able to do it on his own."

Arick keeps his ears open, listening to the conversation. He keeps his expression blank as he unties the cable cord and starts moving the rest of the luggage to the ground.

Zero walks up to them, coming back after putting suitcases on the staircase, and holds out his hand, unknowing of anything that had transpired between them. "I'm Zero. Arick's and Mabh's friend."

Conrad shook his hand first. "Conrad, Mabh's brother."

Roderick shook Zero's hand next. "Roderick." He glanced at Arick, his eyes hardening slightly, before saying, "Her boyfriend."

Arick's whole body tenses, and the muscles in his jaw twitch. He turns his head away, grabs suitcases and turns to walk up to the House. His hands tighten around the bags and he walks quickly away. Arick pauses only for a moment to pull his headphones on, turn his music up loud, and pull his hood up around his ears. Too good to be true. Knew it was too good to be true.

Zero shakes Conrad's, then Roderick's. He blinks in surprise at what Roderick says, then picks up two more of the many, like twenty, bags. He clears his throat. "Well, uh, it's nice to meet you both."

Conrad nodded but didn't say anything. Mabh blushed slightly and sees Arick stop a moment to put his headphones in. She runs to catch up with him and puts a hand on his shoulder. He stops walking, though his body is still tense under her hand. "Arick?" Mabh pauses, and realizes he can't hear her. She sighs and shakes her head, dropping her hand back to her side.

Arick grits his teeth and pulls his headphones out of his ears, but keeps his head turned away with his hood up so he wouldn't get angrier at the sight of Roderick smirking at him. "What?" he asks quietly, trying to control his temper.

"What's wrong?" She cuts him off as he starts to protest. "And donna say 'nothing' else I'll put ye on yer arse right now. I know something is bothering you. Now tell me."

Arick turns and scowls at her, knowing she would do it to. He thinks about what he could possibly say to her, but eventually knows he can't say it – he had to show her. He drops the bags in his hands, grabs her shoulders, pulls her to him, and kisses her gently before pulling away and staring at her. He quickly turns back away, puts his headphones in, grabs the luggage, and hurries up into the House.

Mabh is stunned, her mind blanking the moment his lips had touched her, and so were the three boys behind her. Roderick is the first to react, walking up to Mabh and turning her around, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he shakes her gently. "Why did he do that?"

Mabh looks at him without really looking at him. "I haven't the faintest of ideas." She mumbles and pulls away, looking at the ground.

~

Arick enters the House and leaves the bags by the front doors, uncarrying as he drops them roughly. He runs to his room and locks the door, then sliding down it and sitting with his forehead against his knees.

Bastet walks out and pulls Mabh aside to speak with her. Mabh nods her head at whatever Bastet said, then turns and walks into the House. Bastet turns to the boys. "Boys, I am Bastet, the High Priestess of this House of Night. Follow me, I shall give you a tour."

Inside, Mabh was wandering around, thinking of Arick and Roderick and the kisses each had given her. Without thinking, she found herself in front of Arick's door. She raised her hand and knocked.

Arick tenses, feeling the vibrations of the knock against his back, not sure if he wanted to open it. Then he gets up, takes a deep breath and unlocks it. When he opens the door, his eyes widen slightly at seeing Mabh, surprised she'd followed him, and a slight pink blush appears on his pale cheeks.

Mabh blushes too when she sees Arick, folding her hands together in front of her as she looks up at him. "Can I come in?"

Arick clears his throat, and nods hesitantly. He backs up from the door and lets Mabh in. He closes the door, puts his hands in his pockets and shifts on his feet. "Uhhm...."

Mabh keeps her back to him and hugs herself. There were so many questions she now wanted to ask him... "How long?" She whispers loud enough for him to hear but no one else.

Arick winces slightly and pushes his hair out of his face, knowing she would be curious. He wondered if she would get upset at him for not telling her. "Too long... " he mutters.

Mabh whirls around and stares at him, anger rising in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? Before Conrad, and Roderick came here?" Mabh takes a step closer. "Why?"

Arick takes a deep breath, looks away and stares at the wall. "How was I suppose to tell you? Pull you aside and say, 'Hey Mabh, I like you, will you go out with me?' You probably would've slapped me!" He looks at her, sadness in his eyes. "I didn't know how to tell you, so I didn't... And then.. Then he was kissing you, both of you were acting so easily with each other. Then," he scowls, his anger building again, "Roderick said you were his girlfriend."

Mabh looks away. "Roderick and I have known each other for years, we're comfortable with each other." She paused, trying to find the right words. "I'll admit, when I left I liked him, but things can change. Out here, away from all that I've ever known, I have to learn to trust again, with complete strangers, who know nothing of why I was banished here and donna care." She looked at him. "Then I met this stubborn Irish lad who destroyed my bow, and managed to make me like him." She took another step closer. "Arick, you push me sometimes and that scares me, it causes my fire to lash out in fear, but I think that I need to learn better control if I'm going to be around you more often."

Arick stares at her, speechless. He turns away and runs his hand through his hair, making it messier. "Y-you like me too? ...I push you?" He turns to look at her. "How do I push you? Like this? Getting close when you don't want someone close?" He walks towards her, and she walks backward til she's against the wall. He stands in front of her, almost touching, but not. A small smile lingers around his mouth. "What's the point in having control? Wild is so much better."

Mabh smiled slightly. "No I mean push me as in breaking my bow, Arick." She places her palms on his chest. "When you have an affinity for something that can kill, even accidentally, control is good." She looks up at him. "Of course I like you, what's not to like?"

Arick smiles a little bit back. "I can make you a new bow..." He places his hands hesitantly over hers, and tilts his head to the side. "An affinity...for killing?? There's also a lot of good that you can do with your affinity. And...there's a lot to not like..."

Mabh shook her head. "I have plenty others, I'm just giving you crap. And there's a lot to like." She smiles again then loses it as she continues. "Fire, fire can kill."

Arick strokes her cheek. "Fire can kill, but... It's not hard to control it if you let it out a little bit more. Letting it out when you're just angry causes it too flare more."

Mabh blushes lightly. "When Nyx gave me the affinty, I was already threatened with Trial and my best friend and I had just fought. I knew that it would get me Exiled and I was right." She whispered.

Arick frowns. "You were exiled for being gifted with an affinity for fire?"

Mabh shakes her head. "No. I was to be on Trial because I found Roderick, a human then, in the woods with one of my old arrows sticking from his back." She frowns. "I was accused of shooting him. When I went to visit him in the Infirmary to ask him how he got here, I was attacked by a Guardian, whom I promptly put on his arse." She smiles from the memory then frowns again. "As I was escaping, my friend, being used by a Professor, attacked me. We fought, he won, then we talked and he refused to hurt me again." Mabh sighs and closes her eyes. "The next day he was found dead in the woods with one of my arrows in his heart. I was Exiled without Trial." A single tear escapes her eyes as she thinks about it, seeing the body of her friend in her mind and reliving the moment over again.

Arick stares, shocked, but then he wipes her tear away and hugs her. "We'll figure this out. Apparently somebody wanted you gone."

Mabh growled slightly at the memory, pushing it back. "I know who wanted me gone, but it's a little hard to go against a Professor that excels in keeping things secret and blaming others." She smiles wryly. "Not to mention she is the High Priestess." Mabh pulls away slightly. "And donna worry about it. Conrad and I have a plan, but the less people that know, the better." She looks up at Arick. "So you like me, huh?" She raises an eyebrow.

Arick's cheeks pinken lightly again and he rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah...I like you... "

Mabh smiles. "Well that's good, cause I guess I like you too."

Arick smiles shyly and hugs her. "That's really good too."

Mabh smiles and wraps her arms around his waist, hugging him back.

Arick chuckles, smiling wryly. "I never thought I'd be able to hug you..."

"Haha, I let my friends hug me." She smiled up at him. "But since you're more than that..." She trailed off, blushing slightly.

Arick blushes and pulls away a little bit. "I've never seen you hug friends... Your brother yes, but not really any friends."

Mabh shrugged. "Conrad is a friend, but he is also my brother." She smiled shyly, letting herself speak the words she wanted to say. "I like you, Arick. More than a friend."

Arick rolls his eyes. "He's your brother more though." He chuckles softly. "I like you too...way more than a friend..."

She laughed. "He's been both my brother and my friend for the past 5 years. Before that we were mortal enemies." She smiled.

Arick grins. "Well... Sibling rivalry has to happen sometime while growing up." he looks around the room and sighs. "Do you wanna go get something to eat in the cafeteria?"

Mabh shrugged. "Sure." She let her arms drop from around Arick's waist and she stepped back. She headed towards the door and opened it, pausing to look over her shoulder at Arick. "Coming?" She raised an eyebrow.

Arick chuckles and follows her. "Yeah, I'm coming." He lets her go through the door first, then closes the door behind them. He pulls his hood up, then hesitates a second, and grabs her hand. "Come on."

Chapter 5

Mabh blushes a little and then they're headed towards the cafeteria.

Bastes opens the doors to the cafeteria. She turns to the boys behind her and sweeps her hand out. "This is the cafeteria. Now I'm sure you're both hungry, so help yourselves." With that, Bastet walks back out the doors and leaves.

Conrad turns to Roderick and shrugs. The layout of this House of Night was fairly simple compaired to the one on the Isle of Man. They helped themselves to some food and found a booth to sit in.

Arick lets go of her hand to get food and walks to the same booth as Roderick and Conrad. He watches Roderick wearily.

Roderick glances at their joined hands when they walk in then glares at Arick. He stands and dumps his food. On his way out, Mabh stops him. "Roderick, please, let me explain." She pleads with him.

"Tell me one thing, Mabh." He glares at her and then points to Arick. "Was this going on when you let me kiss you and called you mine?"

Mabh shakes her head. "No." Her eyes flick over to Arick.

"So it happened after he kissed you?" He asked.

Mabh looked back at Roderick and nodded.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Then leave me be." He removed her hand from his arm and stalked out of the cafeteria.

Arick watches the conversation, and winces at Mabh's hurt face. He looks away at his plate and pushes his food around. When Mabh sits, he says quietly, only for her to hear, "I'm sorry...I know you were close."

Mabh shakes her head. She grips Arick's hand in hers and interlaces their fingers. "It's fine. I knew I would have to tell him eventually I just didn't think it would hurt this much."

Conrad stares at them then chuckles, shaking his head.

Mabh looks up at her brother, confused.

He sees her looking and he smiles at her. "You go from having no friends and barely a boyfriend in Scotland and then here in America you have a few friends, a boyfriend, and an ex-boyfriend."

"Your point is?" She raises an eyebrow.

"That America is your home and you belong here." Conrad turned serious.

Arick squeezes her hand back and rubs his thumb over the back of her hand. "True.. But still." He turns to Conrad. "She was forced into having friendships. Some of the girls here are a little forceful."

Conrad laughs. "I see that." He winks at Arick hen gets up with his tray. "I'll leave you two love birds alone." With that he walks away chuckling to himself.

Mabh blushes. "I'm going to get something to eat. I'll be right back."

Arick blushes lightly and nods at Mabh, letting go of her hand so she could get up. "Alright you get something."

Mabh gets in line and gets some food. She heads back to their table when out of no where, her tray goes flying. Luckily, all the food misses her. When Mabh glances up, she sees Lulu walking past her with her group of friends, laughing.

Arick stands up and scowls at Lulu and her friends. He walks over to Mabh and touches her arm. "They're jerks. Ignore them." He bends and picks up her tray.

Mabh growls at the girls' retreating backs then kneels down to help Arick pick up the tray and food. She then walks over to th

Arick goes with her, then walks over to the line, and gets her another tray. "Come, you have to eat."

Mabh rolls her eyes but follows him anyway. Once in line, she takes her tray from him and gets her food, again.

Arick shoves his hands in his pockets and walks with her, quietly lending her support. "Should probably sit outside or something," he mutters as Lulu and her group pass them. He stares at her, and Lulu starts walking away quickly.

Mabh nods as she turns around and sees Lulu. "Want to grab your lunch?" Gesturing to where Arick had been sitting.

Arick watches Lulu to make sure she leaves the cafeteria, then nods. "Yeah." He goes and grabs his try of food and goes back to Mabh. "Lead the way, oh mighty one."

Mabh rolls her eyes and laughed at him. She leads the way outside and finds a tree to sit under.

Arick grins and follows her. He pulls his hood up, sits down and starts to eat.

Mabh sits next to him and eats her food.

Arick quickly finishes and looks around. He sighs and moves around so that he's laying down on the ground, looking up at the sky. "Why is Lulu like that with you? I've only seen her do that with you."

Mabh shrugs and finishes her food, laying back next to Arick. "I dont know. Maybe because of where I come from, but honestly I have no idea."

Arick scowls. "But I'm from a different place, which is basically the same as where you are from! She doesn't do anything to me." He sits up on his elbow, looking down at her. "That is nah right."

"Donna fash. I can handle her." Mabh waves her hand dismissively, trying to end the discussion.

Arick scowls but lies back down against the grass and looks up at the sky. He puffs out a breath. "Is still nah right," he mutters angrily.

Mabh lays on her stomach next to Arick and looks at him, smiling a little. "Aye, tis no', but tis no' a big problem."

Arick looks at her and raises a brow. "Maybe nah to you, but it can be to others."

He hesitates a moment then strokes a hand over her hair, smiling at the softness of it. He knew her hair would be like silk to the touch.

Mabh smiles then frowns at him. "I can handle myself, Arick."

Arick chuckles and put his arms behind his head, trying not to freak her out by petting her hair. "I know that, Mabh. You're very good at taking care of yourself."

Mabh smirks, feeling a little disappointed at the loss of his touch. "Good. At least you know." She scoots closer a bit and rests her head on Arick's chest.

Arick smiles and moves one arm to wrap it around her. "Yes, I know."

Mabh laughes. "Like I said, good."

Arick chuckles and strokes a hand down her back. "Good? I suppose. I guess that means ye will nah kick my arse for nah knowing."

Mabh smiles and wraps her arm around his waist, moving so that she was laying against his side comfortably. "You guess right."

Arick laughs, smiling happily at her. "I'm glad I guessed that right." He wraps his arm back around her and hugs her, wanting to keep her with him forever. "I'm glad.. That you know...that.. yeah..." He blushes lightly and looks away. "I'm glad you like me back," he whispers.

Mabh smiles and puts her hand on his cheek, making him look at her. She almost chuckled at his look of confusion and frustration. Sometimes guys really didn't know how to express their feelings, and it seemed like Arick had a harder time than others.

"I'm glad too." She then presses a light kiss to his lips.

Arick kisses her lightly back, and strokes a hand down her back. "That's definitely good thing."

Mabh smiles and rests her head on Arick's chest, just content to be with him. He sighs softly, happy that the sun was shining and that Mabh was with him. He kept his arm around her as they continued to lay on the grass, just as she kept hers around him. After a while, he closed his eyes and let himself relax, maybe the first time he'd every truly relaxed since he'd gotten to the Academy of Night.

She sighed softly, moving a little to get to a better spot, and he lightly rubbed her back. They both soon fell asleep, warmed by the sun and from each other as they napped on the grass underneath a tree.

----- Meanwhile: Across Campus -----

Roderick was pacing about angrily on the sidewalk outside of the boys' dorms. He was raking his fingers through his hair and muttering under his breath. Conrad sighed softly as he slowed to walk with his friend. The guy needed a little breather before Conrad said anything, so for a bit he just walked with Roderick until the guy had stopped muttering and was pacing slower.

Conrad put a hand on Roderick's shoulder, stopping his movement. "Look boyo. She has a new life here, new friends. She doesn't need for the past to be brought up just yet. Let's wait for her to get settled with us here, and then we can tell her."

Roderick bares his teeth in a snarl when Conrad says she has 'new friends'. "She needs to know Conrad. Matthias is her best friend. If he's back, then she needs to know."

Melody, the High Priestess in training, had been walking by when her curiosity had been piqued by the angry, pacing boy and had just started watching him when the other boy had come up. They had walked together for a bit in silence before the new boy had spoken aloud and stopped Roderick. Curious of what they were talking about Melody snuck up on them listening to the conversation. When the boy was done talking, she creeped up behind Conrad, and whispered "Boo!" in his ear.

Conrad grabs her wrist and brings her in front of him, trapping her by wrapping his arms around her and capturing her wrists in his grip.

"What is this?" he snarls in her ear.

Roderick glares at Melody then at Conrad. "She's the High Priestess in training and she just heard everything we said. We can't let her go; she might tell Mabh."

Melody gasps and tugs at her wrists, getting so angry her eyes flash fire at the boys. "Hell yeah I'd tell Mabh! THIS GUY YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOUNDS DANGEROUS TO HER!!!!" She sinks her nails into Conrad's hands, making him bleed a little. "Whoever the hell Matthias is, she apparently needs to know about him."

Conrad grimaces and tightens his hold. "You donna understand, lass. Matthias 'as come back. He is a red fledgling and if he tells the Council who really killed him, Mabh, Roderick, and I could all have the chance to go home. Mabh would never be allowed back if she did go back though. She would never see Arick, you, or anyone else from this House of Night again."

Roderick smirks happily, rejoicing in that thought, and Conrad glared at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Melody again. She was trying to get away, struggling against his hold.

Melody glares at him, tugs once more against his hold on her wrists. "What if he refuses to tell the Council who really killed him? What if he LIES!?!?!!?!!!! Then you'd be doomed! If you told Mabh, maybe she could find him and ask him, well.... terrorize him into telling the Council the truth." She turns on Roderick. "And you, you jealous prick, can you for once, stop!!! Mabh might've had feelings for you at one time, but she and Arick are a good couple."

Conrad smirks as she whirled on him then on Roderick. She was a fiery little one. "Matthias is her best friend and he would never lie for Toxaris. And I have spoken to him, just after he came back. He knows who killed him and will tell the truth. He wants Toxaris punished as much as we do."

Roderick's smirk turned into a snarl when Melody had yelled him. The moment Conrad went on about Matthias and Toxaris, he scoffed softly then whirled around, stalking away.

Melody scowls at Conrad still. "Then why not tell her he's here? Or whatever...." She turns to smirk at Roderick's departing back, detesting the guy. Then turns her scowl back to Conrad. "Maybe we should just get Matthias to the Council ASAP! That'd be better then sitting around whispering about what you were going to do, that is such a stupid idea." Melody tugs against his hold again, trying to get released. "Will you let me go now?"

Conrad chuckles. "Matthias is under watch of the Council. He can't leave the Isle and Mabh isn't allowed back there at the moment, unless she has a death wish." He pauses. "I suppose I could. If only you promise you won't run off to Mabh or knee me in the nuts or something."

Melody sighs. "Well... Mabh doesn't have a death wish that I know of." She smirks evilly at him. "I can keep no promises. Except that I won't run off to Mabh."

Conrad chuckled. "I figured as much. Mabh would go to the Isle as soon as she learned that Matthias was alive." He paused. "Now, I promise to let you go, if you promise not to harm me or tell Mabh anything."

Melody nods in agreement, then glares at Conrad in retribution. "I can only promise that I won't tell Mabh. Future vengeance may be a possible outcome even if I promise not to harm you. I can't always control my eviler urges."

Conrad chuckles then whispers in her ear. "You are fiery one and I like that." He then slowly lets go of her.

Chapter 6

Melody snorts and scowls at him as she moves away. Then she smiles coyly and flips her hair behind her shoulder. "You would be the one guy who would like it. But it's not like you're going to get it."

Conrad smirks. "Donna flatter yerself lassie. I donna go for those younger than 20." He winks again, shoves his hands in his pockets, turns and leaves Melody standing there.

Melody's eyes flash angrily at his departing back, and she sends a push of air at him, shoving him lightly to make him stumble. Then she smiles happily and starts on her own merry way.

Conrad glares over his shoulder then watches for a bit as she walks away. When he turns back around, he shakes his head and sighs.

__________ Days Later __________

Arick and Mabh met up at the firing range, both planning on practicing their shooting for a while.

"No! You donna do that!" Mabh yells in outrage as Arick carelessly flings his bow on the ground then sits next to it. "You hav' tah take care of it, Arick."

He smiles at her and picks his bow back up, setting it in his lap. "It's gone through worst, trust me."

She sighs and rolls her eyes then lifts her bow and shoots an arrow. The arrow goes straight through the target into the back leg of the stand. Mabh nods in satisfaction and sits next to a gaping Arick.

"How in the world did you do that?" He gets up and goes to the target, looking it over. "That's like five inches thick and you just went through it like it was pudding!"

"Just the way you hit the target and how you position the arrow." She smiles at him.

He smirks and shakes his head. He walks back to her, putting his bow on the ground again then kneels in front of her. "That is way more than positioning."

"I was taught by masters," she shrugs and grins. "Just a little technique I learned if I was attacked."

He rolls his eyes and starts tickling her sides, grinning as she squirmed beneath him. She squealed with laughter then got up and started running away. Arick laughs, gets up and chases after her. He catches up with her, wraps his arms around her, and swings them around in circles. Mabh smiles happily then kisses Arick.

Unknown to them, Conrad watched and he realized that Melody had been right. Mabh loved Arick. At the same moment, Melody starts walking by the firing range, and grins at the happy couple. She decides to take a picture of Mabh and Arick to show Conrad later, as proof of them loving each other. If he wouldn't believe her, then he would have to believe the proof.

Conrad sighs and decides it's time to tell her. He steps out of the shadows and Mabh notices him. She pulls out of the kiss, blushing.

Arick had kissed her back, and turned to look at Conrad when Mabh pulled away. Arick wraps a reassuring arm around Mabh's waist and hugs her close. He grins as Conrad walks over to them. "You didn't see anything."

"Mabh, I think it's time to tell you what has been happening on the Isle." Conrad starts.

Melody blinks in surprise as Conrad steps out of the shadows, and realizes her fun was ruined. She wouldn't be able to tease Conrad about not knowing about his sister and Arick.

Mabh cocks her head to the side, curious.

Melody sneaks into the shadows, getting closer to listen but doing so quietly and carefully. Was Conrad really about to tell Mabh what he'd been talking about with the other guy?

Arick frowns. "Something on the Isle?" He looks between the brother and sister. "Should I leave?"

Conrad shakes his head in response to Arick's question. "You need tah be here for this."

Mabh looks at her brother, worried. "Conrad, what's going on?"

He sighs. "Matthias is back, as a red fledgling."

Melody blinks, surprised that Conrad actually told his sister.

Arick tilts his head, confused. "Who's Matthias?" He turns to look at Mabh, questions on the tip of his tongue.

But Mabh's face had turned ashen, and her hands were shaking. "He is, no, WAS my best friend. He was killed, or so I thought, by a man whom is loved by all but Matthias and I it seemed."

Conrad frowned, taken aback by her reaction to the news. He had expected yelling, maybe a bit of excitement that her friend was alive. Not fear. "He is back Mabh. He wants to testify against Toxaris."

Mabh's smile was small, and trembled at the edges. "That means you guys can go home."

Her brother's expression turned serious. "You would be able to go home as well."

Melody's jaw dropped at the news, and she almost sucked in a loud breath. But she covered her mouth with her hand. But... Mabh couldn't leave! Not when Arick needed her!

Arick tightened his arm around her waist in comfort as she trembled then slowly let go of her at the thought of her leaving to go back to the Isles. He swallowed hard. Then tried a small smile. "You could go where you'd be really happy, Mabh.... You could get your...life...back."

Mabh gaped at her brother then turned around to look at Arick, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "You ARE my life, and I'm not going anywhere without you. I love you." Mabh then kissed him soundly on the lips, not caring that her brother was right there.

Arick hugged her tight to him, kissing her back, then pressing his face against her neck. "I love you too. You're my life..." he whispers, just loud enough for her ears alone.

Conrad smiles slightly. "Mabh," She turns to him. "I was hoping ye would stay. I just didna know how ye would react." He sighed. "Roderick wants tah go back and I honestly donna care if I am allowed there or not."

Arick keeps his arm around Mabh, and scowls. "Well, Roderick can go where ever he wants to. But... Maybe you staying here would be good... Cause you know, Mabh's here and she's your sister..."

Mabh smiled and Conrad shook his head. "I have always been a traveler. I need to move from place to place otherwise I could go crazy."

A slow smile appeared on Melody's face, happy that the couple would be staying together and then slowly started to back away. However, she stops right before she's away from the conversation, and looks back at Conrad, a little shocked at his words. "Well...damn..."she whispers.

Arick shrugs. "Whatever, man, as long as you come back to see her. Without you she'd go crazy."

Conrad nodded. "I will. She's the only family I care for." He catches a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye, and he turns his head for a better look, seeing Melody standing in the shadows.

Arick smiles. "Good." He squeezes his arm around Mabh, leaning his head against hers.

Melody watches the couple for a few seconds more, smiling, then slips around the corner.

Conrad nodded. "I'll leave you two alone then." Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and jogged casually in the direction Melody had taken.

Melody hurries back to her dorm room, not hearing Conrad's soft jogging footsteps.

Conrad catches up to Jayden and taps her on the shoulder.

Melody turns around quickly, and shock crosses her face. "Uh.... Yes?"

He smirks at her, laughter in his eyes. "Eavesdropping on my conversation again?"

She scowls at him. "No. I was there first. I was trying to get a picture to show how close Arick and Mabh are."

He rolled his eyes and continues to smirk. "I know. As you have probably already heard, Mabh knows Matthias is alive."

She crosses her arms angrily across her chest and glares at him. "Yes. I know. I also know she's going to stay here, with Arick."

He frowns and nods. "Then that also means you know I'm leaving soon?"

Melody looks away, a myraid of emotions crossing her face. "Yeah, I know.

Conrad nodded. "I'm leaving for Spain on Monday."

She looks back at him, shocked out of her mind. "Oh. Wow. That's so soon." She tightens her arms around her. "Why Spain though?"

Conrad nods. "I'm going to Spain so I can be close to Matthias and help him when I can. Also," he smiles sadly. "Spain is beautiful in he summer."

Melody tilts her head to the side. "I wouldn't know that. Well, have a good trip...." She nods at him, then turns away and starts quickly walking away.

Conrad calls out. "I'll bring you back something. If you want."

Melody stops, and turns to him, a weary expression on her face. "Why would you do that? I'm nothing special to you. Spend your money on your family."

Conrad shrugs. "I just thought it would be nice."

Melody tilts her head. "It would be..." She nods at him, then turns away.

Conrad nods then turns and walks away.