“No.”

“I won’t go.”

“Yes,” Her malevolent gaze silenced the young girl. “You will.”

Aroaw sighed. Her mother was forcing her to go to some school in Los Angelos. Not that she was against the location, but shouldn’t it be Aroaw’s decision whether or not she wants to waste money and time on getting some certificate?

Again, she sighed. Her mother wouldn’t approve of this complaining. But really, shouldn’t she get to choose her life? Aroaw already didn’t get to choose a lot of things... such as when she could leave the house (only on cold or cloudy days), what she could eat (nothing hot), and who she could be friends with (her mother didn’t like most kids). Actually, that was a plus side of moving across the entire country from her mother. Aroaw could choose who she wanted to be around.

But still. She didn’t want to sit in front of a desk and listen to teachers drone all day. Aroaw had heard from her sister that was all school was: boring homework and equally boring teachers. Aroaw had been homeschooled. The only teacher she’d ever known was her mother, who was as unexciting as Kyla’s.

Where is it again? Third street, right? Yes, thats what the map says... Aroaw was seventeen. Old enough to drive, but not quite experienced at it yet. But her mother had just stuck her on a plane, flown her over here, and bought her a car for when she got to L.A., even though Aroaw still couldn’t remember what most of the road signs mean and how to parallel park. Somehow, her mother could manage to be the most controlling and annoying person ever, yet not care enough to teach her how to drive properly.

Aroaw parked in a free lot and got out of her car. Driving around in circles wasn’t working, so she’d have to rely on her own two feet to get her there.

Gray Sky Prep was the name of it, if Aroaw remembered correctly. Her lifht blond hair swished in the wind as she walked along the sidewalk with her head down. She’d been taught her whole life to not be noticed in any way, so Aroaw was used to hiding as much as she could. Head down, avert eye contact, and she be fi-

Crash.

“Hey! Watch it!” Aroaw landed on her back on the ground. A tall man was standing over her. He looked about her age, but something in his eyes said he had been through more than a seventeen year old should have. She knew that look because she saw it every time she looked in the mirror...

Aroaw was thrown out of her daze when the stranger practically growled at her. “Watch where you’re going!” He said. His eyes were a light brown, like Kylas.

Aroaw wasn’t going to take that from a stranger. He ran into her too, so it wasn’t just her fault. “Why don’t you take your own advice?” She said, and got to her feet. Aroaw had a bit of temper problem... but so did this guy, apparently.

“Don’t you know who I am, girl? Don’t you know about respect?” His eyes flashed with anger. Aroaw realized he was much taller than her, and it probably wasn’t wise to pick a fight. But no way was she gonna let him get away with this.

“Listen up. I don’t know and I don’t care who you are. You can’t talk about respect when you just shoved a girl to the ground because she got in your way.” He took a step closer to her, a hand slightly raised.

“You’re about to know who I am, and you’re gonna regret...” he trailed off, closing his eyes. His hand lowered again, and he took a deep breath. “Whatever. I don’t have time for this.” And then he pushed passed her and left.

Aroaw stood in shock. What a nice guy. Well, she didn’t have time for it either, so ha.

Then she realized she was going in the same direction as him. It would look weird if she was following him... but Aroaw didn’t care what he thought anyway. She crossed the street to the other sidewalk and continued towards her new school.

When she finally arrived at the big gates, she was a bit tired. She hadn’t realized how far from her car she would be walking. Oh well, at least she could rest in her dorm now.

The dorms consisted of three people per house. Aroaw didn’t know who her housemates were. All she knew is that she was in house 3, room C. All her stuff would be delivered by today.

She looked at her wristwatch. 4:56 P.M. Shed better hurry to get moved in and ready for tomorrow, when school started.

After doing circles again for what seemed like hours, she finally had the sense to ask someone for help. Aroaw tapped on the shoulder of the guy in front of her. He turned around, a kind smile on his face. “Hello there. May I help you?”

Aroaw was shocked by his face. It had bright red eyes set in a kind face, with fiery orange hair and a smooth jawline. “O-oh... uh, yeah, please. I’m looking for House 3. I’m new here, I just got into L.A. this morning. I have no idea where anything is... ” She was embarrassed of her stuttering and stammering. She shouldn’t have bothered someone this nice.

“Oh, hey! That’s my house. I can show you the way, I was just going there myself.” He smiled again.

Great. Her first impression on one of her housemates, and she screwed it up with her blabbering. Oh well, he seemed like the type to see the good in people...

“So, what’s your name?” She was startled out of thought by his voice.

“O-oh, I’m Aroaw. You?”

“That’s a unique name. I like it.” He did his perfect smile again. “I’m Elio. Nice to meet you, Aroaw.”

“Nice to meet you too, Elio.” They shook hands.

It was nearly 7:00 when they reached the dorm. They knocked, since neither one had a key yet. “Do you know our third housemate?” Aroaw asked.

“Yes, I’ve met him. We’re close friends, actually. I have to warn you, he has quite the temper... and don’t take anything he says too personally today, alright? Slv can be a handful, but once you get to know him, I’m sure youll li...” He trailed off, seeing Aroaws intense glare at the person who had apparently opened the door. It was Slv, and he had an equally angry look on his face.

“You.” Elio’s friend said.

“Why are you in my house?” Aroaw, asked, taking a step towards Slv with a glare on her face.

“Your house? This is mine. And his.” He pointed to Elio.

“Wait, are you the third housemate?” She asked, looking outraged.

“What happened between you two...?” Elio tried to ask, but the other two were already arguing again.

“Nice job, Sherlock. You figured it out.” Slv said sarcastically.

“Just great.” Aroaw said, then pushed past him and headed strait for the room at the end of the hallway.

Inside, Aroaw found her boxes of stuff.

She began to unpack. First, she set up her bed. It took a little work, but she figured it out. Next, Aroaw arranged her clothes in the closet. By the time she was finished, it was 8:47. Pretty late, she thought. And she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Should she risk going into the kitchen and possibly seeing Slv?

Eh, it’d be worth it for a good sandwich right now. Besides, I’ll have to get used to him at some point.

Carefully and quietly, she opened her bedroom door. Her room was at the end of a hallway. To the right was a bathroom and Elio’s room. To the left was Slv’s. Directly outside the hallway was the kitchen and living room.

Aroaw left her room and went to where the hallway met the main room. It was dark, except for the light from the moon coming through the windows.

Ah, no ones even awake. This’ll be easy then.

She crept to the fridge and took out some cheese, then went to the small pantry and got the bread. She had just finished and was about to take a bite when Aroaw heard a creak from the floor.

“Hey, Elio. What are you do- Oh. It’s you.” Slv was standing a couple steps behind her.

“Leave me alone. Can’t you see I’m eating?” Aroaw took a bite and purposely turned her back on him.

She froze when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, no need to be so harsh. I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean to break out like that, but sometimes I just get really mad and can’t help it...” Aroaw turned, awestruck, and saw sincerity on his face.

“I’m sorry, where did Slv go? I believe he was just right here, being rude and mean...” she said

“I said I was sorry... please believe me.”

She shrugged his hand off her shoulder. “Whatever. Like I said, leave me alone.” Aroaw knew she shouldn’t be so harsh.

Slv turned to leave. He walked back to the hallway and started to go, but Aroaw stopped him. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have yelled either.” She called from her spot at the table.

She couldn’t see it, but he smiled. “Goodnight, Aroaw.”

Slv woke to the sound of voices. He had forgotten he shared the house with two others until they started making so much noise.

He exited his room and walked to near the entrance to the hall was. For a moment, he hesitated. Finally, he decided eavesdropping couldn’t hurt that much...

Aroaw was laughing. “Yeah, sure. No way is he sweet. We must be talking about different Slvs.”

“No, really! We’ve been best friends since fifth grade! I know him, he’s really a sweetheart once you get to know him. Please, just give him another chance. You did say he apologized last night...”

“Well, he only did it because he apparently has a good reputation to keep up. By the way, is he some long lost prince or something? When we first... met... he said “Dont you know who I am?”. What did he mean by that?”

“Oh... well, let’s just say Slv has a big ego, but an even bigger bank account.”

“Oh, so he has a couple hundred thousand dollars. Big deal.” Slv wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard a bit of sadness in her voice.

“Add a couple more zeros-”

“Hey.” Slv walked in, intent on ending their talk of him.

“Slvie! How’d you sleep? Are you excited for school? Will you walk there with me?” Elio was smiling that giant grin.

Aroaw looked indifferent to the fact he was here. Well, he felt the same about her presence. “Something wrong, Aloe?” Slv said, a smirk on his face.

“Aroaw. And no, nothings wrong. Oh, except your face... and your clothes... and just you in general.” She smirked back.

Slv scoffed and took a step towards her. “You’d better watch what you’re say-“

“Hey, hey. Let’s calm down! It’s our first day of school! Oh, I have to go, sorry. Early algebra class. Don’t kill each other...” And with that, Elio abbanded Aroaw.

They stood glaring in silence for a long time. “I thought you were sorry about how you acted.” Aroaw shot.

“I thought you were too.”

“Whatever. I have to go.” Aroaw turned and walked to the door. She opened it.

“You’re going in those?” Slv asked.

Oh. She was still in her night clothes. “Sh-shut up.” Aroaw quickly shuffled to her room and slammed the door. Slv smirked again.

When she got back, Slv was gone. “Thank god I don’t have to deal with him anymore...”

Okay, first class is... English. Great.

Her nerves were building up, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her very first time at a real school with real teachers and classmates... it seemed a little daunting now.

“I can do this.” She said as she stepped out the door with her backpack on. “I am not afraid.” Aroaw walked to the class blocks, repeating this to herself along the way. She reached the English class and took a seat in the back. “I am gonna be fine. Yeah, everything’s gonna be great...”

“Thanks for the pep talk.” Aroaw was startled by the person sitting next to her. It was a girl, a little older than Aroaw by her looks. She had dark brown hair and green eyes. “Really helped.”

“Oh. Yeah...” she was embarrassed someone had heard her.

“Hey, don’t be nervous, alright? You’ll be fine, just like you said. I’m Venna.”

“Oh, I’m Aroaw. Nice to meet you, and thanks. This is my first time at a real school...” she said, and smiled at the other girl.

“Nice to meet you too. Hope you have a great first day.”

Then class began. It rushed by in a blur, since her and Venna were talking the whole time.

“See ya later, Aroaw. You have my number if you need anything.” Venna smiled, and was lost in the crowd.

“See ya...” Aroaw was sad to see her go.

Her next two classes also passed quickly. She didn’t see Venna in either of them, but that was fine. She talked to plenty of other people.

Aroaw didn’t understand why her mother had always separated her from other kids. Well, she knew the reason... but no one had found out about it yet, so what was the big deal? Just because she was different (which her mother reminded her every day) didn’t mean she couldn’t live a normal life. Right?

Lunch was next. It was a forty minute period where students could go wherever they pleased, on or off campus, as long as they got back in time for the next class.

“Hey! Aroaw!” She turned around at the sound of her name. Elio was standing in the doors to the cafeteria, waving her over.

When she reached him, he gave her a hug. An actually real hug. He was surprisingly... warm, despite the winter air. Aroaw never got hot. But she couldn’t be around hot things, or be in the sun for too long, since... well, she just couldn’t.

“How’s your day been so far? Do you like Gray Sky?” Elio had pulled her down onto a chair and sat next to her. His smile was contagious, and Aroaw found herself having a good time with him again.

“It’s been great. I really like it here. So much different than homeschool...”

“You were homeschooled? Me too! My parents were really protective... they didn’t like me going out much.”

“Same here. My mom was really strict about who I hung out with, or where I went. It’s nice to have a change.”

“Yeah.”

It was silent for a moment, while both of them thought.

Then, at the same time...

“They did it for good reason though.”

“But they did it for good reason.”

Elio and Aroaw stared at each other for a moment. This was a phrase Aroaw and had thought only her mother said. Apparently she was wrong.

“Heh...”

“What was your parents reason?”

“What was your parents reason?”

“We have to stop doing that!” Elio said, and laughed a nervous laugh.

“Oh... uh, you first.” Aroaw said, eager to get the attention away from her.

“Oh, I just have a... condition... so I can’t be around cold things, or, um, water. My parents just wanted to protect me, so they kept me home. Your turn now.”

“Um, I can’t be in the sun too much, so my mom kept me away from other kids because they, uh, might judge me. Yeah.”

They stared for another moment. Something was up, both of them knew.

Then someone bumped into Aroaw from behind. She fell forward, straight into Elio. He caught her just in time. “Th-thanks.” Aroaw said, then sat back up and turned around to face the person who pushed her and teach them a lesson. But Elio was saying something. “Y-your... arms...”

Oh no... is it happening? This is what mom warned me about... Yes, it was happening. Three little veins in her arms had turned bright blue. Bluer than they should be.

“Yours too!” Aroaw shouted, then quickly covered her mouth, knowing that she should be quieter.

Elio had dark red veins.

“You’re like me.”

“You’re like me.”