Gifted Kids 1on1 (DO NOT POST HERE)

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

"Please....stop!" Lily yelled as she laughed hysterically. She watched Riku, with his horrible make over, walk down his invisible cat walk. He took the scarf and tied it around his neck. It made the look worse and Lily nearly choked on tears. Her throat hurt and her knees were weak. "No more!"

"Oh, the wonders of make-up!" Riku said laughing. "Well, let's head to class. I believe everyone has the same class. Let's not run into anymore trouble shall we?" He bowed to Lily and she finally stopped laughing so hard. She looked at her watch and it was indeed near the next class time. She looked around a bit worriedly. I was supposed to meet Arthur after class, but I guess maybe he meant at training.

Lily accepted his proposal and joined next to Riku as he began to walk away. "And...keep what I just did to the girl a secret okay?" Riku turned and did another sexy walk. Lily cocked a brow at the fabulously made-up boy. So that WAS you? What did you do?" But he ignored her question and continued on his way. "I think I'll go bug Zero now! Let's go see if anyone will recognize me!" He spoke the last few words in a high pitched voice that made Lily laugh again.

"You're not like your brother at all, are you?" she said, laughing still. It was true, they seemed nothing alike, on the surface at least. Lily smiled sadly. One side of her told her This is that b*****d's brother, he can't be trusted. While the other argued You shouldn't push the hatred of Nathan onto Riku, who hasn't even done anything, just because they look similar.

Lily sighed and rubbed her temple. "I think I'm going to have a headache." she mumbled.

[davidgrave]

The headmaster paced his office back and forth. This was a serious matter at hand indeed. He walked behind his desk and switched on his computer. A list of students popped up. He scrolled down and looked through the students. He took out a piece of paper and began checking names off. From the look of attendance, there hae already been disappearances. Not only that, but some were killed on school grounds. Now, Alisha. "Things are getting out of hand and we're just not powerful enough to fight back." He looked up when the door opened.



"Hey there. You called for me?" The lunchlady said.

"Yes. Kara, you need to keep an eye on everyone coming through the mess hall. All these disappearances aren't helping our situation. I need you to tell me anything suspicious. Students pass through the mess hall more than any other place in the school grounds. Has anything odd been happening?"

"Well, other than the outburst of Arthur and Zero, some hormone activated children, students being a little more violent towards each other..." Kara sighed. "There seems to be an increased tension going on. Would it be possible for the government to have an inside man?"

"It's very possible, but because our school is open for those with abilities, it's hard to pick who's who. Doing a background check isn't going to help either considering some of our students don't remember anything from their past. We'll have to just keep a lookout."

"Well, I'll do my best. Oh, Nathan. I've been asking around and doing some digging. There were only 5 students missing at the same time. Alisha, Lily, Razor, Nathan, and Zero. I had seen Arthur go back to his dorm after the mess hall mess. But, those specific 5 were all in the arena at that point of time. I'm not sure how much that helps, but if we could possibly talk to one of the students, maybe they would tell us something."

"Alisha is back at home, I think. Razor isn't the type to say anything. Nathan is the one who disappeared. So we either talk to Lily or Zero." The Headmaster rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Let's start with Zero. He's a headache."

"Understood."

[davidgrave]

Zero was dreaming another dark dream that he would soon forget. He rolled over and fell off the bed waking himself up. "Huh?" He looked at the clock beside his bed. "Hm...late again. Ah, might as well." Zero stood up and changed his clothes, not bothering to see the bloodstains on him. He was delirious when he was sleepy.

He reached the classrooms and found everyone already inside. He opened the door, knowing the teacher wouldn't even notice him, and sat on the chair in the back of the room. On the way there, he bumped into a girl with short white hair. The girl's make-up was badly put on and the lipstick did not match her at all. "Uh...sorry." Zero was about to turn away to the window when he froze and looked closer at the girl. "Riku?!"

"Hey there, cute thing! You might wanna hush it down. The teacher is trying to teach the class about pressure points," Riku said in a high pitched voice.

"Mr. Archrider...late again I see...and actually in class. Come here. Why don't you be the volunteer for the class today." Zero groaned. "You get to be the dummy, dummy. Now, Lily, please step forward and demonstrate what I had just explained about the neck area." Zero rubbed his forehead and walked up. He pulled his hoodie down, but the teacher forced the hoodie off of him. Now, he was just wearing his black baggy pants and his white shirt.

"I feel naked...can...can I have that back?" Zero asked.

"No. Now, come up here Lily. Destroy him!"

Riku looked at Lily and gave her a thumbs up.

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

Riku and Lily were at the arena before Lily even realized. They stood among other students as the coach spoke in his half-yelling voice. "I think he was a drill sargeant before he came here." Riku leaned over and whispered. Lily cracked a smile.

The coach today, was teaching about pressure points. The first one he demonstrated slowly on a random male student. He did something to the boy and the guy's knees gave out from under him, pain dominated the boy's face. "This is the simplest pressure point to memorize and execute. For now, I would like you all to get acquainted with it. Before we move onto more difficult..." The coach stopped mid sentence and pointed towards Lily. She swallowed hard. What now?

""Mr. Archrider...late again I see...and actually in class. Come here. Why don't you be the volunteer for the class today." Lily eard a groan from behind her and turned, only to face a very displeased Zero. Next to him, Riku looked to be frozen in place as he leaned toward Zero. The look on Riku's face made Lily giggle.

"Lily, please step forward and demonstrate what I had just explained about the neck area." Lily turned white as she whipped her head toward the coach. "Me?!? B-but...I don't know how!" The look on the coach's face left no room for argument though, and Lily followed Zero to the center.

Zero removed his hood, but the coach yanked the whole hoodie off of the boy. He stood there in his white shirt, looking kind of like a girl would look if she got caught without her shirt on, but the teacher refused to give back the hoodie and motioned for the demonstration to begin.

Lily gulped, but walked up to Zero. The teacher nodded to her, and from behind the teacher, she could see Riku giving her a thumbs up. She placed her hand on the back of his neck but her hand was shaky. "I don't think I can do this right. Wanna switch places with me?" She whispered to Zero.

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

Talia walked into the arena late. She joined the students at the center of the arena nad found herself standing next to a very ugly, female version of Riku. When he noticed her, she cocked her hear and raised a brow at him. He smiled and put his finger to his lip in a hush motion then pointed to the center of the gathering. There stood Lily and Zero. A very strange tension was building between them.

"What the hell is going on here?" She whispered to Riku. Suddenly Zero fell to the ground and Talia felt her heart jump.

[davidgrave]

Zero smiled at Lily as she held on to his neck. "Don't worry about it." Zero closed his eyes and suddenly fell down. He held his neck as he tried to stand up. Then he bolted out the door. "Neck hurts. Infirmary. See ya!" Zero was gone before the teacher could do anything to stop him.

"Damn it! Zero, I'm gonna tie you up in your chair next time!!!!! You won't escape me then!!!!" The teacher glared at Lily. "Well?" He looked around the class and found Talia in the room. "You! Partner up with Lily. Lily, show her what you've got!"

Zero ran and ran, but bumped into the lunchlady on the way. "Why, look here! Come on, we've got some talking to do."

"H-Hey! Wait..." Zero said as the lunchlady grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away. When he was finally set free, he was in the Headmaster's room. "Headmaster?"

"I need to ask you a few questions. When was the last time you sa Nathan Belmont?" Zero shrugged. "Zero...I need you to remember. I know you black out at times, but this is important."

"I really don't know." Zero looked away. He thought that Arthur might have killed him, but he couldn't do that to a friend.

"Well, when was the last time you saw Arthur?" This caught Zero's attention. "Don't know either? I suppose we'll have to ask his room mate then. Alright...head back to class. And I mean straight to class."

Of course, Zero didn't listen and headed towards the bar.

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

Talia and Lily exchanged glances. Zero had just escaped class, after giving Talia a good scare. She had thought Zero had been actually hurt. But the way he ran out of the arena told everyone that he was just fine and the fall jus a rouse. Talia had planned to go after him, but now the teacher had calledon her to replace Zero in the demonstration. "Do I have to?" She asked the coach. He glared at her. "Center. Now." She sighed and walked over to where Lily stood.

"Pressure points, they are simple win situations if you know where and how to strike them." He grabbed Lily's hand and placed it on Talia's neck. "Do you feel that? He ground Lily's fingers into Talia's skin and Talia winced. "That's the pressure point you're looking for. Now, go."

Lily looked at Talia apologetically but Talia just smiled. "For the sake of education..." she sarcastically remarked, and grinned. Lily smiled back then squeezed. Talia fell to her knees, letting out a small squeak. The girl didn't know enough to actually do it properly but that didn't stop it from hurting. Lily released her, jumping back. She looked worried so Talia flashed her a smile. Not bad for a first timer." Then she got to her feet again, rubbing the back of her neck. The teacher nodded and placed a rough hand on Talia's shoulder. "Ok, Talia. Your turn." He turned to address everyone in the room. "Everyone in pairs. I want you all to try this on your partner. First one, then the other. Stay in these pairs for the next lesson also!"

The students did as they were told and Talia could see that everyone avoided pairing with Riku. Talia couldn't help but grin at the hopeless boy. She turned her attention to Lily again. The girl was nervous but Talia laid her hand on her shoulder. "You ready? This will hurt but it only lasts a little bit." Lily nodded and Talia reached around the girl's back and took her neck in her hand. "Sorry about this."

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

Lily was glad that Talia was okay. The golden eye'd girl had even encouraged her not to be afraid of trying. She smiled as she rose to her feet "Not bad for a first timer," she said to Lily. The teacher instructed them both to exchange roles. Everyone around them also began to pair up and attempt the same thing they had just demonstrated.

Lily glanced around nervously as she watched people falling to the ground in agony, some even screamed in pain. I...don't like pain. She looked on nervously as Talia reached out to her. She closed her eyes, but the girl only placed a hand on her shoulder. Lily peeked through one eye to see the girl smiling at her encouragingly. "You ready? This will hurt but it only lasts a little bit." Her voice was soothing and sounded like honey. Talia reached around to Lily's neck. "Sorry about this."

Then she squeezed.

The pressure wasonly there for a second, then Talia released her. Still, it was an odd sensation. Lily felt like her body was on fire, yet numb at the same time. Her knees gave out and she fell. She could hear herself gasp. Talia caught her before she could fall all the way to the ground. "You're okay," she whispered. "Come on, get up. Rub it off." Talia helped her to her feet. The odd sensations disappeared and only a stinging feeling was left on the back of her neck. Lily rubbed the area to soothe it. Talia smiled.

"Thanks. All for the sake of education, right?" Lily grinned. "Knowledge hurts." Talia laughed and Lily joined in.

"Alright, first lesson is over. Second lesson..."

By the end of class they had all learned four pressure points and repeatedly practiced on one another. She walked out of class feeling a bit sick to the stomach and unstable with her steps. Just about everone looked the same as she did, except Riku for some reason. He looked as cheerful, energetic, and not to mention horribly painted, as he had been when they began class. Lily looked from Riku to Talia, who both somehow ended up walking alongside her. "Well, that was fun," she mumbled to break the silence between them all.

[davidgrave]

The Headmaster walked down towards the combat class when he caught sight of Lily. He sighed in relief that he didn't have to hunt her down everywhere. "Lily. May I speak with you please?" The Headmaster said nothing more to keep their information private. He also tried to smile as if nothing as absolutely wrong. The Headmaster led her outside the classrooms and into the administration building. At the top floor stayed his office, grand with an antique decor. He sat on his desk and first tried to offer the confused girl something to drink. Afterwards, he began. "Lily, this may seem a little odd, but one of our students is...well...missing. Nathan Belmont. I know that you and your friends as well as him were near each other in the arena at about the same time. Would you happen to know where he is or when you last saw him? Please, we need to know what's going on. Disappearances may lead the govenment this way, if not already. I'm trying to find a way to protect the students as much as I can, but I need help. Whatever information will not only save you and your friends, but possibly your family. The thing is...we don't know what all the government is capable of. If they decide to drag family into it, we would have a lot of problems and more people to be responsible over. Please...anything you know..." The Headmaster looked at her with pleading eyes. "Not only that, but...your roomate has also gone missing. We need to be sure he's safe and sound and hopefully just skipping class."

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

"Lily. May I speak with you please?" She heard him before she saw him. Straight ahead, the headmaster stood, smiling. Still, she couldn't forget the discomfort she felt when he had lead Alisha away earlier, and now he was summoning her next. Lily nodded, stepping away from the warmth that Talia's and Riku's presences oddly had given her. She walked alone behind the headmaster.

The headmaster's office was homely. Filled with antiques that weren't uncommon in many of the homes she had visited back home in the country. Many of the older folks really liked old wooden furniture and such. She took a seat where the headmaster invited her and he offered a drink, to which she replied no thanks. Once the pleasantries were done with, the business began.

"Lily, this may seem a little odd, but one of our students is...well...missing. Nathan Belmont." Hearing his name sent a fresh chill down her spine and she turned away, pretending to be distracted by something on his desk. "I know that you and your friends as well as him were near each other in the arena at about the same time. Would you happen to know where he is or when you last saw him?" Lily shrugged. "I haven't seen him in a while. No clue where he's been. I wasn't close to him." Naturally, Lily didn't want to speak about what had happened. She wanted to escape from the office and forget him completely.

"Please, we need to know what's going on. Disappearances may lead the government this way, if not already. I'm trying to find a way to protect the students as much as I can, but I need help. Whatever information will not only save you and your friends, but possibly your family." Lily snapped her eyes to the headmasters. What do you mean my family? What do they have to do with the government?!" Lily indeed did not like the government. She heard the stories about how they tracked, kidnapped, and sometimes even killed gifted people. She had even lived through it. Her own mother, had been taken away. Her father told her she had died, but she remembered everything from when it all happened...

The headmaster seemed to understand her train of thought, her dislike of the government. "The thing is...we don't know what all the government is capable of. If they decide to drag family into it, we would have a lot of problems and more people to be responsible over. Please...anything you know..." She stared into the headmaster's eyes, they pleaded for any help available. He was genuinely despirate for his students' sake. ""Not only that, but...your roommate has also gone missing. We need to be sure he's safe and sound and hopefully just skipping class."

Her eyes went wide and Lily shot up from her seat. "Arthur is missing?! Since when? He was wish me up until right after lunch. He...he took me to class..." Lily sat back down, thoughts of Arthur possibly missing and due to the government no less, swam through her head. She looked to the headmaster, still pleading for answers. He wanted to protect the students under him, and Lily wanted to protect her friends anad her family. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. This would not be easy to talk about. "I'll tell you what I know, personally."

Lily sat back and sighed heavily. "I've been told that Nathan is dead. I'm not sure if it's actually true, but I haven't seen him around since..." Lily's throat tightened. Come on, keep going she told herself. She cleared her throat and continued, fighting back the bout of emotions trying to break through in the form of tears. "Since day before yesterday..." Lily thought back to that day. Her anger and pain were audible in her voice as it shook while she spoke. "I haven't seen that b*****d since he tried to trap my friend and me in the virtual pods. He tried to do....things to us. We escaped the pods and ran away before he could find us again and bring his virtual fantasies to life." Lily caught herself glaring at the headmaster. He only stared back, shocked. "I don't think my friend's name has to be mentioned, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't interrogate her. She went through much worse than I did." She looked away and out of a window. The sun shone brightly and the day seemed so nice. It was the opposite of how she felt inside, having to raise the memories of Nathan and what happened to her and Alisha. "Just, leave her out of this, please?" She looked back at the headmaster, tears threatened to overflow and spill but she tried her hardest to contain both the tears and the pain in her voice.

[davidgrave]

The Headmaster's veins throbbed as Lily explained what had happened between her and Nathan. His fists tightened as she went on to say that her friend went through much worse. Sure, he was also a man, but he was a man because he had never forced anything like that on someone. "I'm sorry for that, Lily. I didn't think it was that serious. I suppose you wouldn't care, but do you know who killed him?"

"No..."

"I see. This is starting to fit in together little bit at a time. Say, how is your relationship with Arthur and Zero? You wouldn't happen to know why they had argued in the cafeteria. I know all about Zero, I practically raised that lazy dark shadow. But, I'm not too sure about Arthur. He is your roommate after all. I know it's just the first week of school." The Headmaster sat behind his desk and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. "Lily, what I'm about to tell you is highly confidential, but it may help that a student knows. I feel that I can trust you. Just with that explanation, I see that you're pretty good with secrets as you're keeping certain identities unrevealed. So, please...listen to what I say."

"The government may have placed a few of their members within this school. They tend to target those with strong powers. The first week of school and I've noticed a pattern. I have spoken with your combat teacher and he is in charge of drawing up a list of names. Those certain names have the potential to be extremely powerful. Those who we have believed to be taken, were on the top ranked list. Also, they are very emotional. I need you to be on our side to prevent all this to happen." The Headmaster looked straight in her eyes. "Arthur...is on that list, thought with the psychological interrogation, it showed he wasn't as emotional as the rest. That was a flag in their pattern." The Headmaster looked out his large window that showed him the school. The Headmaster pointed out the window where he showed he a black shadow zooming to the forest. "I really need to put a gate around that forest. He's going to give me an aneurism. But...imprisoning those who already feel imprisoned would go against my belief. Just like you. This is a school, not a prison. So, think about it. If you choose not to help me, I won't hold it against you." The Headmaster sincerely smiled at Lily. "You may go."

[xX Duskwhisper Xx]

Before closing the office door behind her, Lily turned back to the headmaster. She was afraid to know the answer to her last question, but needed to hear it. "Headmaster. Alisha isn't coming back, is she..."

The headmaster's eyes softened and he smiled sadly to Lily. "Alisha had to leave on family business. As of now, I have no word about her return." He glanced out of the window again, as if searching for an answer. "But...I would like to believe she will be back. I've been told that you two have gotten quite close. I'm sure she'll contact you when she gets some time." Lily smiled, but she didn't feel very reassured. "Thank you, headmaster." It was all she said before closing the door and leaving.

Lily walked out of the headmaster's office and made her way outside. She needed some air to think about the information just dumped on her. Alisha left, Arthur is missing, and now the government may be kidnapping students. Lily wondered if maybe she should go home, but even home wasn't safe. The government had come for her once before, but instead took her mother. She remembered her mother clutching her four year old self tightly. Lily escaped thanks to her mother, but she never saw her mother again after that. It wasn't even sure if she had lived or not.

Lily leaned against a tree, mentally exhausted. "I need to find Zero..." She remembered seeing a shadow heading towards the woods and headed the same way. Lily stared at the fence and wondered how to get past it. Under, she finally decided and forced the fence up with the help of tree roots. She slipped under and replaced the roots and fence as she went further into the woods outside of school property.

The farther she ventured, the darker the woods became. "This is impossible. How am I going to find him like this?" She began to turn back but tripped over something and fell. Thankfully, her fall was broken by something soft. When she took a better look, it was Zero. "Sorry!" She backed off of him and sat on her knees. "Zero, we need to talk." She wasn't even sure where to start...

[davidgrave]

Zero opened an eye to Lily . "I'm sleepy....talk later..." But of course, Lily wouldn't let him sleep. "Ah...fine. What? Where's your boyfriend?" Zero looked around and she was alone. "Wait...you're not supposed to be here. Students aren't allowed off school property..." Zero completely ignored the fact that he was still a student and he himself didn't have permission. "You're...."

"Alone..." a voice said. Zero's eyes glowed as he looked at Lily hungrily.

"You're...you're alone, Lily..." he said, an echo behind his voice. "That's dangerous...in the forest...there are things in the darkness that can get you..." Zero circled Lily. "But...you're strong...easily devoured..." Zero fell on his knee. "What?" He looked around and saw Lily like it was the first time. "When did you get here?" Zero stood up and looked around. "Come on, let's talk somewhere else. It's not safe here..."

Zero hopped on his bike and drove to Lily. "Let's go to my room." It was a quick ride to his room...

"So, what's going on?" Zero said sitting on his couch.

[davidgrave]

"He's not my boyfriend." Lily defended after Zero asked about Arthur. "But he's one of the reasons I need to ta-" Zero grinned wickedly and Lily suddenly didn't feel very safe. This is Zero though, he's my friend...

Lily started to get the chills as Zero began to circle her slowly. The look in his eyes wasn't very friendly and his voice sounded odd. He mumbled about her being strong, and being devoured. She felt like a sheep being toyed with by a hungry wolf. "Umm Zero?" He suddenly fell to his knee. When he looked up at her again, his eyes were normal, and a bit confused. "Lily?"

She wasn't sure what to think of what had happened, it was as if he had just woken up and noticed her for the first time, But then, who was it that spoke to me if it wasn't Zero? Her friend offered to talk in his room and Lily gladly agreed. She needed to talk to him urgently, but the woods and the darkness were making her uncomfortable.

Zero jumped onto his motorcycle and waited for her. She frowned at the back seat. "I've never ridden before." She climbed on behind Zero and placed her hands on his shoulders but Zero took her arms and placed them around his waist. "Hang on tight if you don't want to fall off." He said, then revved up and they made their own road through the woods back to school grounds.

As they neared the fence, Lily reached forward and raised the fence with roots and vines, just high enough to let them ride comfortably under, then replaced the fence again firmly, wrapping tree roots around each pole to secure them. "I could have taken care of that." She heard Zero say to her, not looking back. Lily grinned. "I know, I saw you earlier. I just...want to learn to utilize and push my gifts in different ways. It'll be....safer for me." I have to be able to defend myself, she thought. I can't rely on others to rescue me all the time.

One finally back in Zero's dorm, Lily looked towards Alisha's room sadly. She wondered if she would see her friend again. "Alisha is going to be gone indefinitely. I talked to the headmaster." Lily followed Zero into his bedroom and took a seat on his bed. "Arthur has gone missing, and so have other students. The headmaster said...it might be the government making a move on the school." She didn't look at Zero. she only stared at her clutched hands. "I came here thinking it would be a safe place, but I guess no place is truly safe..."

[davidgrave]

Zero cocked his eyebrow. "Arthur? Missing? Government?" Zero sighed. "Look, I don't think I'm the right person to tell all this to. But, you may be right about this place not being safe anymore." Zero closed the shades and looked back at Lily as she explained what the Headmaster just told her. "If there really are undercover government agents posing as students, then the only thing we could do is wait it out. It's not like we could just pick and choose what happens."

Zero couldn't say it. The look on Lily's eyes weakened him. No. He couldn't tell her. This place was never safe to begin with. It was supposed to be, but in reality, it just wasn't. It wouldn't be long before the government would reach them and take over using the kids however they want them.

"Since Alisha left, do you want to stay in her room until then or do I make you feel a little uncomfortable?" Zero shrugged his shoulders. "Just saying is all. Arthur is missing, meaning that they probably already have him." Zero sighed. He was never really good at this type of thing. It was obvious that Lily was scared, but what could Zero do? "Wanna go eat?"