Nola POV

"You never know who could be sitting next to you today, off their meds, never diagnosed, with murderous thoughts and fantasies...don't ever take that for granted."

She was already teaching the class and it was the second day.

Her professor knew about her plight with TA, hell, everyone did, it was all over the news. He asked her before class if it was okay to discuss in her forensic science class and she jumped at the opportunity to help others.

Her classmates' hands went up to ask questions. She was not ready to answer some of the detailed questions they wanted, only discussing the analysis of psychopaths.

"No personal questions, thank you." A few hands went down, but a few kept their hands up. She pointed to a dark-haired Asian girl. "Yes?"

"So you actually were near this person, knew him well, and never saw any signs?"

"Unfortunately, I never spent real time with him. I can't say I knew him at all. I knew what everyone else did, he was a member of Fact Iz. My sister married one of the members. I was away in St. Louis in college up until..."

It had not been released what happened with Tennille and she was not going to put it out there. That's when she was aware that TA was not a sane person. Seeing the look on his face when she saw him beaten and bruised by her sisters, she would never forget. Pure evil.

If she had been around him more, before that, would she have known? Icee grew up with him. Kitty got to know him well. Tennille hung out with him many times. None of them knew he was capable of the things he had done.

"I was around him maybe twice. My sister's birthday party and her wedding. I probably said two words to him each time. Had I known him better, would I have known?" She paused to let it sink in. She was no more special than anyone else, and that was why she was in this class. "No. There is nothing you can see in a person's eyes. Nothing they say. As many serial killers that we have had, do you think it would have been that long a spree if we could see it in their eyes?"

"That's why we are here right, learn patterns and behaviors. Be wary and find the signs. And then, truly, no one can be an expert in this."

She answered a few more questions, all tame. It helped her as much as it helped her classmates. She was not afraid to talk about it...but she would never discuss specifics or anything about her sisters. It was their story to tell, not hers.

After class, lots of her classmates asked to have her in their study groups. She could not join them all, so she did not join any. She was already ahead of all of them, they would only slow her down. She knew she needed to build a friend group, but maybe just hang out and have lunch with them.

She talked with a few as they walked out of class, but they were treating her like a celebrity, and that is not the type of friend she wanted.

She said her goodbyes and then headed through campus to where her car was parked. She had two more classes for the day. She was on overload with classes, taking twenty credits this semester and taking two graduate-level classes online. Those were the ones she would go home and sit in front of her computer screen and try not to doze off.

Her forensics class was on one side of campus and she was parked on the other side near the library. Gave her a chance to clear her head and walk around what she thought was a beautiful campus.

Smaller than Washington University and a lot less diverse. It was mostly white students, with a nice amount of Blacks, but still small. There were very few other minorities but what they had they were all close.

She did not feel like she belonged, not yet anyway. It was still the first week of class. She knew the campus well because she had been there many times, from high school to going to visit the twins when they both lived on campus. She did not want to stay on campus and waste that money when she had a whole house to herself.

As she passed by the library she felt as if someone was watching her. Just a feeling she was aware of like the air changed. She already had her keys in her hand when she arrived at her car. She fingered the switchblade first but then thought against it and went for her mace.

She was a few steps from her car when she suddenly turned, sprayed the mace at the tall figure standing too close to her, then did a roundhouse kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground.

It happened so fast she did not have time to think. She looked down at the guy that was following her.

"Why the hell are you following me?" she screamed at the guy as he wiped wildly at his face and coughed and spit.

"I'm dying!" he sputtered out.

"I have worse coming for you if you don't tell me who the fuck you are!"

He sputtered and coughed and spit out some more. She took a look over him. Tall, athletic build, dressed in baggy jeans, and a red t-shirt, with his large briefcase-style bag, tossed to the ground and spilled. There was a laptop, several notebooks and pins, and his Forensics book. She picked it up and looked it over, it was the same as hers and she knew there was only one class this semester

He was in her class?

She looked him over again, remembering him suddenly.

"What do you want?"

"M-my name's Ronan. Ronan Wright, I'm in class with you and I...I was trying to catch up with you." He held his chest where she kicked him in pain. She might have broken some of his ribs.

"Why? Why did you need to follow me?"

"I wasn't." He caught his breath but still sat there on the ground. "Shit, I thought I was dying there."

She held in a smile. It wasn't funny that she almost maimed the poor guy, but he should have known better.

"I heard about you...you Kelly sisters and shit, I believe it now."

"Sorry," she said, offering him a hand to help him up. He seemed innocent enough. "After what I've been through, I take no chances. And you should know better to sneak up on me after what I just discussed with you in class."

"I know, I know." He gathered his things and she handed him his book. "Nola Kelly you are a beast."

"How about you just call me Nola, and I just call you Ronan."

Tone used to call her by for full name, she did not need to have those memories in her head.

"Right," he said, standing at his full height in front of her.

Cute, she thought, but she was not interested in dating anyone.

"I'm sorry I scared you."

"Oh, you didn't scare me. I'm sorry I almost took you out. If I could carry my piece with me, you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

"Oh shit!" He held up his hands. "Now how can a guy get to know you if you want to bust a cap in them for just trying to ask for your number?"

"Don't," she said, but could not help smiling. It was always nice when a hot guy noticed her. She did not think she was as pretty as her sisters, more of a plain jane, but she was becoming more confident in herself.

"So how can a brother get to know you better? Go on a date?"

"Not interested," she said and hit the unlock for her car. "But maybe I'll see you later in class."

"But-"

"You really want to argue with me?"

He held up his hands again and backed away.

Ugh! Why did he have to be so cute? She definitely was not ready to date, but if she was, Ronan Wright was on top of the list.

A/N: Already Nola is meeting a new guy. Let's just see.