~Quinley~

My breathing was hard and, for once, I was glad I was mute. That way, even though I thought I was loud, it just looked like I was silently dying in the corner. 

Hooray. Score for me.

I glanced around the halls for the C-Tiers I had outrun and sighed with relief when they weren't there. I had a test later today that I had studied hard for, there was no way I was going to miss that class after so much work towards it, I wasn't wasting those long hours I stayed up last night.

I almost walked out of the little dead-end corner I had been hiding in, I quickly noticed the future King and Queen walk right in front of me.

Zoë Zohar and Tai Nouren, two of Cycrest's finest douchebags.  

I dove back into my corner and waited for them to walk down the stairs, although annoyingly, they decided to stop right in front of them.

Typically, I'd just barge past whoever was standing in front of me, whether is was the King or a cripple, I didn't care.

But I had a test, as you may already know, so I stuffed my pride down a little just to save me from whatever the hell they might have done. Shoving past them would get me to class no faster if they decided to pick on me, like every other student here.

Stereotypical? Yes. What they would do? Also yes.

I peeked around the corner, trying to think if there was another way to get to class on time. I really didn't need to be late.

No, this was the only way I was getting to class on time.

"Did you do the algebra homework?" Zoë asked, leaning against the rails of the stairs. Tai slapped his forehead and sighed. I almost roll my eyes, of course they didn't, being the next king and queen, they don't need to worry about punishments like the rest of us.

"No, I forgot. I got caught up with the essay yesterday." Zoë laughed and gave him a playful shove. I stayed silent, hoping they wouldn't notice me.

"Well, I mean, you could always skip the class. Skip class equals skip public embarrassment." She said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. 

"You kidding? Mr. Macklemara would kill me! Ugh, I hate him." 

"Haha, sucks for you!" Zoë giggled, and they finally started to move. I almost sighed with relief, thank god I wasn't going to be late now.

"Ugh, well, I'm screwed over." Tai murmured. They turned the corner and I stepped out, sighing. Thank god they finally left.

CRASH.

Here we go again.

I whipped my head around towards the sound, only to find Tai groaning as Zoë laughed in her lion form. He had scratches all over him, and he couldn't stand.

"There dumbass," she bit her lip against the smirk, "now you have an excuse."

~Atlas~

I sighed as I walked back into the infirmary, rolling my eyes at the thought that Tai had gotten mauled by Zohar from behind.

If there was a Nobel award for stupidity, it would be Tai every time. No discussion.

I pulled open a curtain that separated his compartment from the others, and there he was, playing a game on his phone. Idiot.

He looked up at me and grinned, showing off two holes in his smile where he had to get teeth pulled. I rolled my eyes at his grin, of course he's still smiling.

"Attie! You won't believe what happened!" I rolled my eyes at the use of my nickname and heard a comical Game Over noise as he put his phone down. 

"I told you to stop calling me that, didn't I?" I shot back, rubbing my temples. 

"Yeah, but I know you're just kidding around. By the way, how good do I look in bandages?" He posed with a duck face on, although I saw through him to the small grimace of pain. 

"Stunning." I deadpanned. He laughed it off and stretched out his arm.

"So, are you here to get me out or to make fun of me? Because knowing you, the latter is more likely." He asked, pushing his blanket down. His school uniform had blood on it, although I wasn't sure whether it had come from him falling or from earlier when he fought a freshman, who thought 'he was all that and a box of chocolates'. Tai's words not mine.

"Yeah yeah," I sighed, waving my hand dismissively, "I'll get you out. I just want to talk to you about something." Tai snapped his attention back to me and raised one eyebrow, a cheeky gesture. He was one of the only people in the entire school my presence didn't affect. It was in some ways nice to feel like he wasn't my friend out of fear, that it's a genuine friendship.

It was one of those strange phenomenon's where you wonder why I haven't put him in his place yet.

And to that I say,

Mind your business.

"What did you wanna talk about?" He asked. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms.

"As you may know, one of the responsibilities of the King is to maintain order in the school." He gave an exaggerated yawn before I continued, although that was his typical response to anything related to learning, responsibilities, or food he doesn't like (such as ketchup chips for an unknown reason. I mean, why would anyone dislike ketchup chips?) "But recently, there has been someone who seems to defy every expectation of her rank." Tai raised his eyebrows.

"That's weird. What do you mean?" He became somewhat serious after I mentioned somebody stepping out of line, that was promising because after he became King, he needed to be responsible.

"Well, for example, I haven't seen or found a recorded case of her using her ability. And when someone instigates a fight with her, she won't back down, and yet she also won't fight back. It's just a strange situation all around." I finished with a sigh. Tai looked down and started playing with his blanket.

"That, that sounds unlike anything I've ever heard before." He looked off into the distance as if trying to think about another occurrence like this, "But that also sounds like something really dangerous to the school." 

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" I mean, I knew it was bizarre and something that should be corrected as soon as possible, but a school-wide danger?

I doubted this girl could be a danger if she tried.

"Okay, think about this for a second." He raised one finger, "we've all grown up knowing the more powerful you are, the more respect you get. It's a simple and easy to follow rule because people naturally drift to where they belong. But if somebody doesn't back down after being challenged, regardless of their rank, they'll cause a disruption." I gesture for him to elaborate, "Let's say she gets ten people to do the same thing. Now, every time those ten people get challenged, they don't back down and get hurt in the process. Chaos will be everywhere because if some of the stronger ones fight back, those who think they are strong enough will also fight back and get hurt in the process. It'll be a bloodbath!" Tai sighed, finishing his little speech.

"Do you think one person can have such an astronomical effect?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise. 

"I don't doubt it, and if you do, you'll find yourself watching our school turn into a free-for-all battle where even you won't be able to make a difference." He warns. I grip my chin.

Until now, I'd been somewhat amused by this interesting stranger. But Tai, albeit a moron, was never wrong in his instincts. 

Maybe I need to sort this out head on.

~Quinley~

I looked down at the floor as I walked, heading towards the girl's washroom. It wasn't a far distance away, but there were specific people I was watching for.

That invisible girl had seemed to take a strange interest in me.

I finally reached it and sighed, pressing my hands on the cyan door. I had gotten maybe three hours of sleep last night, and the effects were now deciding to be present. I shoved open the door...

...holy hell.

What happened here?

Glass sprayed along the bathroom floor and a broken phone was sitting in the middle. Had someone had a meltdown?

A meltdown, eh?

My vision went spotty and I stumbled into the washroom, feeling dizzy.

I fell down on the glass and stared at the pieces.

The glass was caked in blood.

No...

The man got out and started yelling.

There was no way...

I look up and start screaming.

I haven't had one of these for months!

She's staring at me, trying to smile.

I did everything right.

"Don't be afraid..."

So why was this happening?!

"MOM!"