Chapter Text
I rolled over in my nice, comfy, warm bed. Not! I hated this cold, lumpy mattress. I know my aunt took me in "out of the kindness of her heart", but she didn't even think to actually get a bed for me – I'm sleeping on a pullout couch until she can redecorate enough to give me my own bedroom. Finally, I looked up at the clock to see that it was only a little past 6 in the morning. I still had an hour left to sleep if I wanted, but I didn't really. I rolled off the couch and then took a shower. By the time my aunt was up, I had already changed into my new school outfit: a violet sweater, blue jeans, and blue ballet-flats. Ugh, I hate my mom's fashion choices sometimes.
As I was pouring cereal into a bowl, my aunt sat across the table from me and looked straight into my eyes. On a normal day, I had the same bright blue eyes she did, but I had recently started wearing colored contacts that matched my dyed pink hair. Just one of many reasons why my parents had sent me to live in this small town with a public school rather than at home with a private – my old school had a very strict dress code, and hair dye was one of the things not allowed. I tuned back into what my aunt was saying. "Your mom says this is your last chance, Chlo. Any misbehavior, any trouble at this school, and she says she's sending you to military school. If you don't want that, you'll need to be on your best behavior. Okay?"
I nodded, and she smiled. "There's a good girl." She ruffled my hair – not so easy to do anymore since my hair was grown out almost to my waist – and looked at the clock. "Oh, crap! You're gonna be late!" She grabbed her car keys from the kitchen table and my backpack from the ground, tossing it to me. "I'll drive you to school! Grab a granola bar or something, and come on!" I quickly grabbed a granola bar from the fridge and ran out to my aunt's car.
About ten minutes later, we were right in front of the school. My aunt called out, "Make good choices, and try to make some friends!" out the car window as she pulled away from the curb. I responded with a one-finger salute over my shoulder and then looked at my new school, also known as Hell on Earth.
A redheaded boy leaning against one of the railings of the front steps and smoking smirked at me, then started walking over. I sized him up as he walked towards me – red hair, obviously dyed; cold, gray eyes; red band T-shirt from one of my favorite bands; black leather jacket. Seemed like your standard punk. Fortunately, I knew how to deal with his type. I smirked back and twirled a few strands of hair around my forefinger.
The boy looked rather impressed, despite my horrible outfit. "Hey, new girl. What's your name?"
I stopped twirling for a second. "Chloe. And yours?"
"Castiel." Castiel looked at me for a moment and said, "I've never seen you around before, and most kids don't just transfer in the middle of the semester. What's your story?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Trouble at my old school. A few too many detentions led to a few too many suspensions, which led to an expulsion."
Now I was definitely not imagining Castiel's expression – he was definitely impressed. "Well, this year just got a whole lot more interesting." He looked up for a moment. "Ah, shit. Listen, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
I looked confused, then whirled around as a voice came from behind me. "Young lady, we have very strict rules about hair color here. If it is not back to a more natural color by tomorrow, you will face disciplinary action." The old lady who was speaking to me frowned. "Welcome to Sweet Amoris High School, young lady. Your aunt and your parents have told me all about you; I'm afraid your previous record speaks for itself. Follow me, please." She held open the door, and I followed her inside, sparing a glance over my shoulder at Castiel. I winked at him over my shoulder, then followed the lady, who I'm guessing was the principal, down a series of hallways. "I hope you soon get used to your new school, Miss Mitchells. I suggest you go see Nathaniel, the student body president, to ensure that your application file is complete. At this point, it should be in the student council room." She stopped outside one of the doors in the main hallway. "Here we are."
I pushed on the door. There were several students in there, but the only one that truly drew my eye was a blue-eyed blond in a dress shirt. Seriously, this guy just screams student-body president. Deciding to play coy, I walked up to his room and, playing up my innocence, asked, "Hey, have you seen a Nathaniel around?" I even batted my eyes flirtatiously. Just because Castiel was basically a walking sex god didn't mean he had to have all my attention all the time.
The boy, who I knew must be Nathaniel, blushed a bright red. To his credit, though, he didn't stammer at all as he said, "I'm Nathaniel. Did you need something?"
I leaned forward a bit on the table in front of him, putting my cleavage on slightly further display. "The principal asked me to come here to see you for my application file."
Nathaniel barely even looked up from the papers he was now shuffling in front of him. Man, was he gay or something? This trick always worked on guys at home… He looked up and smiled at me. "Oh, you're the new girl. Of course, I'll look for it." He turned around and shuffled through a filing cabinet, finally pulling out a file with my name on it. He opened it and looked through it for a moment, finally looking at me with a somewhat confused look on his face. "Mmm … you're still missing a few things. You'll need another identification photo, a $25 application fee, and, most importantly, you seem to have forgotten to fill out one page of the application – the one that requires your parents' signature. You'll need all of that if you want to enroll here…"
I looked at him, my mouth agape. How could my aunt have been so irresponsible? She was supposed to fill out all my registration stuff weeks ago! I blushed and kept up my innocent act. "Um, I did it all myself. Are you sure?" No point in telling the truth, that I had nothing to do with it…
Nathaniel shrugged slightly. "Well, I'll check that your form didn't slip into another file, then. That happens sometimes… You just worry about getting the money and the picture – I think they'll take your picture at the school store down the street." He looked up at me after a minute, seeming confused at my continued presence. "If that's all, it's good to see a serious new student come here." He flashed me another smile – it was hard to believe his teeth were so white.
I smiled back at him, then walked back out into the courtyard – no sign of Castiel, or any of the other kids. The school day must have started already… Presumably I didn't have to go to class or anything while getting registered. About a quarter-mile down the street, I found my destination, and ten minutes later I was walking out of the store with a new photo ID. I then walked back to the school and walked back into the student council room.
Nathaniel looked up as I walked in, a serious look in his eyes. "Oh, Chloe, I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry, but ultimately your registration here cannot be finalized."
What. The. Fuck?! "What? Why? What have I done wrong?" I giggled nervously.
Nathaniel started cracking up, then started laughing. "You should see your face!" By now, he was practically crying, he was laughing so hard. "It was just a joke, silly!"
My cheeks burning, I laughed sarcastically. "You scared me!"
Nathaniel chuckled, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."
Before he could say another word, I stormed out of the room and almost ran into a really short brunet with glasses. The boy looked up at me, surprised, and then smiled brightly. "Chloe!" He hugged me around the waist. "Hey, are you okay?"
I looked down at him. Now that I really was looking at him, I recognized him – his name was Ken, and he had gone to my old school… What was he doing here? "It's fine. And you? Why are you here?"
Ken nodded, bouncing slightly on his toes. "Yes, thank you! I'm awfully glad that my school transfer has been accepted! I really wanted to be in the same school as you!"
… Just peachy. Someone who knew my entire past, here in my new school. I fought the urge to face-palm as I played nice with the little dweeb. "Really? That's … nice. You've completely finished your transfer, then?"
Ken nodded again. "Yeah, they don't ask too many questions, so it was really quick. I hope people in my class are nice!"
Even though Ken was annoying as hell, he was genuinely a sweet kid. Hard to believe he was the same age as me, though – I was easily a foot taller than him. "There's no reason for them not to be nice…"
Ken smiled. "You're right! I must be positive. See you later, Chlo!" He bounded down the hall.
I walked back into the student council room to check on my registration. Nathaniel looked up and asked, "So how are you doing with your forms? I haven't had time to check if your registration form's hanging around. Maybe you could come around later?"
I leaned forward onto the table in front of him, resting my elbows on it. "You don't talk that much about paperwork… You still stuck?"
Nathaniel looked kind of embarrassed now. "Well, the administration has nothing 'specially fun. I guess I should make an effort, anyways."
I made a small noise of amusement. "Come on, I'm sure you can be fun when you want to be."
Nathaniel smiled. "You're right. I'll make an effort next time. I'll see you later, I guess…"
Noting the clear dismissal, I walked around the school for about an hour, avoiding teachers and the principal. I did see a cute boy with silvery-white hair and mismatched eyes, but he looked pretty busy, scribbling in his notebook. I also met a few girls – there was a blonde girl who looked a lot like Nathaniel that I didn't like at all, and a few pretty nice girls, like Iris, and some more whose names I forgot almost immediately. Remembering what I was supposed to do, I then returned to the student council room to confront Nathaniel. "You didn't tell me if you had found my file or not…"
Nathaniel looked up from the paper he had been looking at, blinking at me in apparent confusion. Then he snapped out of it, blushing. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was mixed in with other papers. I put it aside." He grabbed a paper from the stack in front of him and handed it to me. "Here it is. Good luck!"
I nodded and walked out the door. I went back to the main office. The principal smiled as she looked up from the computer. "Ah, miss, did you finish your registration?"
I nodded, holding out the file. "Yes, here's my file."
The principal looked at the file and frowned. "I won't allow the papers to stay loose like that. At the very least, find a paper clip to keep the papers together, and then come back here to see me."
I rolled my eyes and walked into a nearby, empty classroom. Seeing a paper clip loose on one of the desks, I snatched it and walked back into the hallway. What I saw next was certainly not what I had been expecting…
My aunt looked at me, smiling. What the hell was she wearing? She looked like a fairy or something. "Yoohoo, dearie! I finally found you!" She hugged me tightly, still smiling.
I stiffened slightly at the contact and pulled away as quickly as I could. "Auntie? But what are you doing here? And dressed like that?"
"I'm your godmother, so I must be a good fairy!" She actually laughed at that. "Here, take this gift; it will help you in your quest for love!" She handed me $25. "Love, this is beautiful love!" she sang, skipping down the hallway.
I blinked several times, trying to clear the image from my mind, before calling after her, "I-in my quest for what?! But what – " By now, she was too far away to hear me anyway. I turned around to start heading to the office again when I almost walked straight into the principal.
The principal, still frowning slightly, looked at the paper clip I was still carrying. "Please give me that." I handed her the paper clip, and she smiled. I swear, this woman is completely bipolar! "Now you have everything here. You are officially enrolled at Sweet Amoris! This is the end of the school day, so you can go home. See you soon."
I nodded and started walking away. Suddenly remembering what was at stake if I was rude, I called over my shoulder, "Goodbye, ma'am."
I continued walking down the hallway until I heard footsteps running up behind me. I turned slowly to see Nathaniel jogging towards me. While still about 20 yards away, he called out, "Chloe, wait!" When he reached me, he smiled. "I didn't have the time to give you a tour of the school, but I can at least show you the library, if you want."
I smiled back. "Okay!" We went to the library and looked around. As he was pulling out a book to show me, I took out my cellphone and took a picture of him – so cute, if a little nerdy…