(Ash)

The next day came in a flash. The hype was too real, hours felt like minutes and minutes felt like seconds. I was awake before my alarm, thirty minutes earlier than usual. I couldn't hear anything downstairs in the kitchen, so I knew straight away my Mom was asleep. I looked at my weary, tired self in the mirror and ran a hand through my bedhead. 

"She'll be fine if I just skip breakfast, right?" I spoke to myself and began to get ready. Skipping breakfast would save five minutes and after waking up early, I decided to walk to L.A.P instead.

Getting ready, when you are as lazy me, isn't a problem at all. Within a few minutes, I was ready, creeping downstairs and leaving through the front door as quiet as a mouse. The spring sun was out, but there was a chill in the air. It was cold enough for a jacket, but that was about it. I looked at the sky and noticed some clouds rolling in ever so slowly from the south. Maybe rain?

"Hey, Ash!" I heard a voice and turned to my right, staring down the street at Serena. "You couldn't sleep too, huh?"

"Oh, hey Serena," I smiled and started walking towards her, she ran up to me and then turned around and we began walking towards the bus stop. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep much last night, so I decided to get up early and walk to school." 

"I was going to wait for the bus, but walking is fine with me," Serena looked at me out of the corner of her left eye and I did the same with my right, before looking away almost instantly.

"You don't have to walk with me you know," I told her. I was just speaking the truth, the bus would probably be a warmer option.

"But we can't have you walking on your lonesome, silly," Serena moved in front of me and put her finger on my nose, stopping me in my tracks. "So I am walking with you, okay?" 

"Sure," I replied, my attention on her finger. "You mind...moving your finger?" 

"Oops, sorry," Serena instantly turned back around and pointed her finger down the street instead. "Let's go!" 

So we continued on, down the street and past the usual bus stop. Most streets were quiet and nice and even with our excitement, we barely said a word to each other. I felt a little nervous, I didn't know what to say. I wonder if she felt the same, or was she just waiting for me to speak?

(Serena)

I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what to say. I was hoping Ash would say something to break the silence because things were getting awkward. It was really nice but awkward. We were centimetres apart, walking down the street. We still had quite a bit of walking to do, enough for the bus to probably pass us on the way.

"Are we going to be late?" Ash had a sudden thought, rushing into his pockets to get his phone out, shoving it in his own face to check the time. 

"We are definitely not going to be late, Ash," I couldn't help but laugh at him as he panicked. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah...sure," Ash calmed down and slid his phone away. His face clearly showed embarrassment, so I looked away and focused on the scenery. 

Bright colourful flowers in neat rows lined up against the streets, with trees hanging over the flowerbeds, benches surrounding the trees. Some people were sat down, drinking coffee and preparing for a hard day's work. Some upperclassmen from L.A.P were sat down, talking amongst themselves. 

"Oh, hey  guys," I heard Calem's voice and I looked straight ahead and sure enough, he was just walking out of the coffee shop, with a coffee in his hand. "Good morning to you both." 

"You walk too, huh?" I asked Calem, who shook his head. 

"Nope, I just get a coffee for my Dad every morning. He is kinda sick right now and this shop is his favourite. Besides, it's only a fifteen-minute walk." Calem scratched the back of his head and sighed. 

"Aw, that's so nice," I smiled and he shrugged like it was no effort at all. "See ya in class."

"Yeh, you too," Calem walked away and it was at that moment I realised Ash hadn't said a single word.

"You okay?" I asked Ash as we continued onwards.

"Yeah, I'm good," he replied quieter than before, did he have something against Calem? So soon? Thinking made me remember May and...Alain I think his name was. They already had some bad blood and May wasn't one to back down.

"Good," was all I decided to reply with. He didn't seem willing to talk so I wasn't willing to talk either. We were both too nervous to talk anyway, so walking in silence was the only option.

Some more time passed. Then more time. My legs were hurting slightly, but the school was in view, big buildings covered in glass on which the sun reflected, creating bright reflections across the school buildings. The bus we would have been on drove past at that moment, just in time. I knew the others were on it and I wondered what might have happened with May.

My question was answered pretty quickly.

"You want to mess with me?" Alain was face-to-face with May, nose-to-nose. Things seemed heated as they left the bus, stopping on the pavement to face off. 

"Huh? Are you trying to get with me?" May joked, taking Alain's words sexually. Her mouth was open slightly, no chocolate in sight shockingly. Alain got even angrier at her words, which made me wonder what she had said to him. 

I looked to my left and noticed Ash had gone. Where was he? I looked back at the argument happening in front of me as others piled out of the bus.

"Are you trying to annoy me you little bitch?" Alain raised a hand and went to slap May. That was when Ash appeared again.

He grabbed onto Alain's arm to stop him, everyone staring at them and the bus driver getting out of the bus with a look of pure anger and disgust. 

"Don't you dare touch her," Ash said with daggers in his eyes. I had never seen him look so violent. 

"What in Arceus's name is going on here?!" the bus driver stood between the two and broke it up. May was  cowering, hands over her head. She was very feisty but she didn't expect Alain to snap and take a hit at her, I could tell that she was scared. 

"It's okay, sir," Drew came walking up with a calm and collected face. 

"We don't condone fighting in this school and you kids know it. I'll let you off this time, but if anything happens on my bus again I will personally see the principal about it!" the bus driver had his moment and then stormed back into his seat, before driving the bus away. 

"Get off me," Alain snapped at Ash, shrugging him off. Then Alain stormed off too. 

"You okay, May?" Drew asked her, bringing her back to her feet in a normal stance.

"Never better," May lied through gritted teeth, with a little sigh at the end.

"Let's go, everyone is staring, including our friends," I said as I walked up.

"Why don't you take a picture? It will last longer," May shouted the joke at the crowd with rage.

Gary, in his infinite wisdom, actually took out his phone and took a picture. 

"Good idea May, you are so smart," Gary nodded like he was proud of himself.

"I will kill you," May frowned at Gary and then gestured at the rest of the gang behind him. "Come on guys, we are going inside."

"Now that's a good idea," Iris took her turn to nod, looking at Gary out of the corner of her eye.

"I thought the other one was better," Gary murmured, still not realising May wasn't being serious. 

We didn't say anything more and focused on getting inside, splitting off to our classrooms. Ash was sat to my left and May to my right. Gary was just behind Ash and Misty was to the right of him. I noticed May had sat down and instantly folded her arms across her chest, leaning into her chair. She wasn't eating and that was a problem. 

"You okay?" I wanted to make sure.

"Yep," May replied slowly, with emphasis on the 'p'. She wasn't okay.

"We'll talk about it later," I turned to the front of the class just in time.

"Good morning first years," Sycamore rushed to the front just like last time. "Let's begin for today, shall we?"

"Sir?" Gary had his hand up and everyone turned to him. Some people were quietly studying, I noticed. They were the ones that had the highest grades, it was clear as day. 

"Yes, Gary?" Sycamore smiled and stared right at Gary.

"Do we have mock tests so you can see what we are good at?" Gary asked and everyone turned their attention like hawks, simultaneously looking at Sycamore. 

"How did you know?" Sycamore raised an eyebrow and put a hand on the paper stacked on his desk.

"You ran in with a little more panic on your face than yesterday like you were going to mistime something, which seemed natural as any teacher would panic, but the papers on the front and the lack of any extra equipment or information on the board gave it away," Gary explained how. I didn't notice he even looked panic yesterday. Gary sure was good with piecing things together using his sight. I thought Cilan and Gary would make a good team. Cilan searches thoroughly through evidence and studies it hardcore while Gary surveys the scene and figures things out, notices things no one else can see. 

"Ah, well...yes you are correct," Sycamore seemed a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat and continued "We are going to be doing a mock test each day this week, for various subjects. To start off lightly, we only have math for today. Be sure to try your best!"

The tests were handed out and I could already sense the nervousness around me. Gary, Ash, May and Misty and even I was nervous. We spent the next hour in tense silence. By the end of it, my head was hurting like crazy. I could see Gary was half asleep, somehow he managed to get through it. 

"I'll give you a little break before we continue," Sycamore began collecting our papers. 

We all formed a small circle around my one of our desks and everyone took a deep sigh, in turn, clearly exhausted mentally from the test.

"Is that starting off lightly here?" Misty facepalmed and took another sigh, before placing her head on the table. 

"I hate tests..." Gary groaned and turned around. "Notice how they all instantly hit the books or start talking about the answers."

"While we moan and want to die, yeah," May joked, folding her arms across her chest. She still had anger in her eyes, I could see the flames flickering, waiting to explode and burst out into a fiery rage. 

"Gary, the only reason you hate tests is because you are the most forgetful person on Earth." Ash folded his arms after speaking. He seemed annoyed too, for some reason. I felt kind of bad like I needed to know what was wrong but somehow it felt like my fault. 

"I am also the greatest human on Earth, thank you very much, Ash," Gary raised an eyebrow and smirked. Misty scoffed and sighed once more in the background. 

After our small conversation, things resumed and the day went by. Lunch came and I knew it was the perfect time to talk to Ash. While we were walking to the cafeteria, I pulled on his sleeve and gestured for him to follow me. We went to a quiet area and sat down.

"I wanted to know what is wrong with you..." I said as we sat down, half-looking at the floor. I didn't want to see the expression on his face. He knew I must have felt bad because I felt his warm hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm actually fine. Just a little exhausted from the test and waking up early. Don't worry about me," was all he said. I knew Ash was lying, but he didn't say anything else. He got up, his hand trailing away from my shoulder. He went back inside and headed to the cafeteria.

All I could do was follow in silence and wonder.

"I think it is clear I already have an enemy," May was talking as I sat down. I took a quick look at Ash and then focused on May.

"No duh, what do you think he is? A friend of yours?" Iris replied with absolute sarcasm.

"Hmm, you never know, maybe they are both getting angry at each other because their lust is so strong," Dawn joked and let out a small giggle. "Maybe..."

"If you even carry on for five more seconds I will rip your tongue out," May stared daggers at Dawn, who couldn't stop smiling. 

"Hmm, okay then," Dawn winked at May and she giggled again, to herself this time.

"God, Dawn, stop teasing," I said but I mouthed 'I ship it' as a joke and she started laughing properly, bursting out loud. This gave us most of the attention, just like this morning and everyone noticed May with their eyes. 

"Ignore them. Eat," Cilan urged May and all of us too, taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"Who cares what they say or think, right?" Kenny said, taking a glance at Dawn. "Unless it is about your body, that might hit a nerve."

"Why do I feel like you are trying to tease me?" Dawn didn't even look at Kenny, she carried on eating without a care in the world. I guess pizza was too important.

"Looks like we have another fiery couple just waiting to get it on," Drew made this joke, waggling his eyebrows. Gary barked out a laugh.

"You guys alright?" Clemont arrived at our table and sat down. 

"We're doing fine, some annoying things going on but it is nothing we can't handle, what about you?" Ash replied almost instantly. I wondered if he was even listening to any of us. 

"Of course you are," Cilan chuckled to himself and took a sip of his drink. "I am fine. The test was pretty standard today."

"Standard for you," Misty groaned and then shot a hard look at Clemont. "Don't mention the damn test please."

"Let's talk about May's lust for Alain," Dawn raised both eyebrows and grinned at May, who shot up from her seat.

"That's it!" she took her second plate, that had a chocolate cake on it, off of the table and ran around to Dawn, who scrambled out of her seat and ran off towards the exit, May following behind like a crazed psychopath. 

"Guess she knows how I feel to chase her around all the time," Iris shrugged and carried on eating. "Nice lesson to be taught."

"Yeah, let's leave them to it, they'll get tired soon enough," Cilan agreed and we all continued eating. 

I thought about the conversations we were having. Some people were trying to keep positivity flowing, which possibly suggested they also knew something was up with some people. Others were acting normal. I bet Cilan knew everything inside out. He probably knew my feelings. I took a close look at him and he instantly locked onto my gaze, smiling. I also smiled and then quickly looked down at my plate.

After lunch, all was quiet. Dawn and May had calmed down. There were no run-ins with Alain and everyone was happy and excited. The bell rang to signal the end of the school day. The time for our activities to begin had finally arrived. 

The rest of the gang in my class and I got their first. It was too quiet along the corridor as we walked up to the room, May holding the key. Everything seemed fine, but there were uncertain bad vibes.

"Anyone else getting the sense that something has happened here?" Misty was the one to talk. 

"Uh-huh," I replied, looking at the two boys who were walking slowly behind. They weren't reacting in any way at all. I took a moment to look at May who hadn't spoken a word at all. 

"Screw this," she finally spoke and marched up to the door. Once the key was in and turned, she kicked it open with force and marched into the room. 

"What the hell, this isn't cool man!" Gary spoke first and everyone else, including me, didn't say a word.

The room was trashed. Paper was everywhere, books had been littered on the floor, tables had been turned over and chairs were in stacks around the room. My mind instantly fell on Alain but no one can be sure too soon.

"What happened here?" Cilan arrived with the others, immediately going into his favourite role as the detective. 

"We just came in and the room was trashed. I think it is Alain," May clenched her fists. "That son of a-"

"Calm down," Cilan spoke with a stern voice. That shut May up for the time being. "Firstly, we have to look at all the things that have happened, you can never be too sure with these things. Maybe a message has been left on one of the tables, or a signature in the wall. We have to scan every corner of the room.

Everyone agreed and so we did. We checked over everything. Every upside down table, all the paper on the floor, even along the carpet, crawling around searching for a clue. We spent a long time searching around the room.

(May) 

I was searching the drawers in the desk when I noticed a small bar of chocolate. I turned it over and there was a note attached to the back that said 'Meet me at your locker, May'. 

How did they think I would get the note? Should I tell anyone else? I didn't know what to do. I panicked. 

"Guys, I will be right back," I said as nonchalantly as possible, to try and not raise any suspicion. The one person that I made no eye contact with was Cilan. "Going to the restroom."

"Okay then," Cilan was the only one to reply while the others continued searching. 

I slipped out and immediately went down the stairs, heading to my locker. Once I got there, no one was around. It was quiet. I couldn't even hear the music clubs or the sports clubs. Suddenly, a weird sensation hit my body. 

"You think you can mess with Alain, make a mockery out of him?" the voice behind me was cruel and cold. His breath bounced off my neck in cold waves, sending weird chills down my spine. He was right next to my ear. "You know what happens to the failures of this school like you and your friends seem to be? Huh?"

I said nothing, not even knowing what to reply. 

"I asked a question so ANSWER IT!" the guy lost his cool and span me around. Within seconds he was pinning me up against my own locker, his stare as cold as ice, as murderous as a murderer's. He looked like pure evil. Satan himself. 

Anger took over my body. I wasn't about to let some jerk tell me what do to. I spat in his face and then threw my foot out, but he managed to dodge it while still holding me. Within a flash, his hand came right across my face and I felt the sting within seconds. The left side of my face felt numb, my ears began to ring violently. I didn't hear what he shouted but I suddenly heard the clicking of hills against the floor. 

"Put her down," the woman had a stern voice. Possibly a teacher?

He listened to her and put me down on the spot, taking a step back. My hair fell over my face, covering my eyesight completely. I tried to ignore the pain but it was almost impossible. Suddenly, the woman grabbed my hair and violently tugged it upwards, to get a look at my face. She stared for a moment before taking her glasses off, while I felt like my hair was about to be torn from my scalp. 

"Hmm..." she pulled a slight frown of disappointment. I looked at her face. Red eyes, short blue hair. She had the uniform on, which meant student and yet, something felt different about her. "My name is Miette if you don't know already. I mean, everybody else does around here. Anyway, I am Alain's girlfriend so if you so much as even speak to him again, I will make your life a misery." 

With that, she let go of my hair and wandered off down the corridor, the other guy following behind closely. Considering the school was for the most gifted students, many of them seemed very stuck-up and not so stereotypical. I let my hair fall back down across my face, thinking about what had just transpired, the pain in my cheek still only just bearable. 

"Guess that this was the club activities for the day," I said to myself jokingly, staring at the floor with my hair in my eyes.

Yeah.

What a first day for the club(!) 

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I spent a few days on this, sorry it is late.

Sorry again for it being extra late after being late (If that makes any sense whatsoever XD)

Feedback is appreciated!

Any corrections, point them out for me. I will find them during edits but ah well, this could make it easier XD

Hope you have a great day/night, wherever you are.

Next chapter may take some time to get up while I one, finish my other book and two, do other things with my life...idk

Ok bye!