School for the Cursed

Note: School for the Cursed is a forumfic I was writing until the forums went into read only mode. Sign ups are currently closed, but once they open up again, I'll let anyone who's interested in adding a character know! Characters can be found here.

Updates come at random.

## ~Prologue~

It was a windy night, so when a door slowly creaked open, those who were still awake paid little heed to it, nor did they think to pay attention to the footsteps that soon followed. Except for one particularly curious girl.

Indigo looked up from the book she was studying, shivering at the sound. She stood up, picking up the candle she had been reading by in the process. Frightened but curious, she opened the door to her room, taking one last glance back at her sleeping roommates before taking a step out into the long, midnight black hallway.

Closing the door, Indigo began to realize just how little light her candle gave off. It just barely illuminated the cobblestone walls beside her and a bit of the floor below. She took a slow step forward, causing the flame to shake almost as much as she was, but she took a deep breath and continued on, this time calmer and a bit more confident.

Without warning, she heard the old yet polished wood floor squeak below her as she stepped upon a loose floorboard. She gasped and bit her lip, trying not to shriek once she had dropped her source of light on her bare foot, and the metallic candle stand rung out clearly when it bounced off her foot and into the floor. The wind seemed to howl louder as everything fell silent. Even the footsteps melted away into the eerie pause, and Indigo felt a sudden rush of adrenaline.

*Go back!* Indigo's mind screamed in a fit of panic. *Back! Hurry!* She wasn't quite so sure why her thoughts had a sense of urgency about them, but she hurriedly picked up her thankfully still lit candle from the floor and turned around. But instead of her hand brushing the handle to her door, the bumped into something that made her stumble back a couple of steps and drop her candle, which this time flickered out immediately.

A single scream was lost to the hungry wind.

## ~Chapter One~

***}{Fallon}{***

Fallon stood at the last bus stop in the city-- or should I say the first bus stop outside the city-- holding several bags full of clothes and other precious belongings. She wasn't the only one standing next to the rusting, once green bench, but she wasn't about to start a conversation with anyone either. So she just stayed where she was and watched the coming and going cars race by, occasionally getting hit by the dust or small rocks the tires threw. Finally, someone tapped her shoulder, and her almond-shaped eyes turned to look at them.

“Hello!” a shorter girl with hazel looking eyes greeted with a small wave and a grin. Her thick blond hair was woven into a single French braid that fell over her left shoulder. “I'm Faith! Who are you?”

“I'm Fallon He--”

Faith gasped, cutting her off. “You have really pretty eyes! Why is that one silver?”

Fallon took a minute to respond, surprised by the sudden complement. “It's, uh, part of my curse,” she explained. She wasn't exactly sure why the silver eye was part of her curse, but she did know that that eye could only see in black and white. While in her cursed dragon form though, the eye could see energy sources in color.

“Really? You're cursed too? Is this going to be your first year at school too?” Gasping again, her eyes lit up. “What if we became roommates? Wouldn't that be fun!”

“This isn't my first year. It'll be my second. My parents just wanted me to come back for the summer.”

Faith looked up, slightly disappointed. When she opened her mouth to reply, a girl with red hair that faded into blonde stepped up from behind and put a hand on Faith's shoulder. “You shouldn't wander off like that. There's a lot of new people going to school today, and I don't want to accidentally lose you.”

Fallon couldn't disagree with what the older girl had said. She was actually a bit shocked to see all these new faces, though a couple of them did seem familiar. One of them was the girl in front of her who probably Faith's sister, judging by the way the two looked alike.

Before Fallon could ask for a name, the redhead looked up and gave a small smile and slight nod before walking off with Faith. Moments later, two old school buses parked in front of the pathetic little station to take the cursed children to their destination of the place with no other name than simply school. Fallon didn't say another word until her all to familiar structure came into view.

**}{•}{**

The school could be seen just as the sun sank behind it, creating the eye-catching silhouette of a castle with four mighty towers. But as Fallon gazed at it, she couldn't shake the feeling that the castle was actually a fortress, and not one to keep people out, but to keep people in. She tried pushing the thought out of her head as the buses headed under the tall arc that was part of a gate.

Soon enough, the two buses slowed to a stop in the circular courtyard and opened their doors so people could get off. Fallon stood up, waiting for a few people to go before her before stepping off onto the cobblestone below, her luggage in hand.

Walking towards the opened entrance, Fallon thought she caught sight of Faith conversing with some girls that looked to be her age and tried waving. When Faith didn't seem to notice, she frowned and stepped inside, heading immediately to the dorms.

The dorms, if she remembered correctly, were located on the west side of the school and were usually assigned at random, so until she reached the door that led to the girl's tower, she had no idea which room she would be in this time. Posted on that entrance was a printed list, so after finding her name, which was Fallon Heartsong, she quickly memorized the room number of 303.

Since last year she had a room on the first floor, she had a little difficulty finding the stairwell, but once finding it, she began climbing the stairs without hesitation, making a mental note to herself about where they were.

Climbing the spiraling wooden staircase proved to be more challenging then she had expected or remembered. For the first couple of times her foot had landed on a creaky board, she winced. By the time she had reached the third floor, she was almost certain that all the loose stairs would drive her crazy before the end of the year. After reaching the top, Fallon paused briefly to both catch her breath and take a look around.

To her left was a series of identical pine doors, each with a golden metal plate that had the room number etched into it, and to her right was a cobblestone wall that, in some places, was decorated with a the breathtaking picture of a cityscape.

Fallon found herself gawking at the picture directly to her left, and she began to wonder *why* she was cursed. Why did she had to leave her home for for nearly an entire year just because there were times she would turn into a rampaging dragon that wanted to destroy everything in sight? Hearing herself think that actually answered her last question, so she pushed the topic aside and began looking for her dorm.

Quickly finding from 303, she gave a swift rap on the door and waited for a second. When nobody answered, she assumed that she was the first one there, and thus headed in.

No matter how many times Fallon had seen the room-- every dorm was identical -- it always reminded her of a hotel, and that only reminded her of when she used to travel with her parents. Smiling faintly, she set her bags down on the twin bed, flipped on the light switch, and turned to observe the layout of the room.

Across from her newly claimed bed was a bunk bed without a ladder. Neither bunk had been chosen quite yet. She spotted three sliding doors in total: two behind the bunk bed and one behind her own that slid into the wall. She assumed that they marked the closets, so she lifted her small red suitcase and set it inside, leaving her duffle bag where it was. Turning back around after closing the door, she noticed a desk placed pressed up against the wall and directly under a rose art window with the design of a setting sun. Upon the wooden desk was placed a lamp, and a chair that appear to have a cushion was seated just in front of it.

The sound of footsteps and quiet chattering that soon grew louder was carried to Fallon's ears, so she spun her heal and returned to the long and oddly circular hall of here sure enough more students holding luggage appeared. She overheard a couple of girls mention food which instantly reminded her all about the dinner that was supposed to be going on right about now. Feeling her stomach rumble, she made her way around be forms and noticed one of them, the red haired girl from earlier, enter the room Fallon had just left

Once reaching the bottom of the already tedious stairs, Fallon felt someone bump into her from behind, causing her to gasp slightly. She turned to look at them. Her annoyed expression softened once realizing it was an apologetic Faith.

“Sorry, I tripped,” she quickly explained.

“It's fine. Are you heading to the cafeteria now?”

Faith nodded, and a look of excitement was plastered across her face as she began walking next to Fallon. “Yep! Falcon said I could go ahead. I'm really hungry, and she said that there's a bazillion different kinds of food there!”

Fallon laughed, pulling her long black hair back into a ponytail. “Well, I wouldn't say there's *that* much food there, but there is a lot. Also, who's Falcon?”

“Oh, she's my older sister. She says that you, Astra and her all had the same room for this year.”

Fallon nodded, recognizing the name of the brown hair girl who had been in a couple of her classes last year. “Does Falcon know who I am?”

“Yes! I told her all about you in the bus.”

“But you hardly know me.”

Giggling, Faith responded, “I know, that's why we didn't talk about you for long.”

Fallon chuckled along. “So th--”

“Hey, Ocean! Wait up!” Faith greeted another girl with short brown hair a little ahead of them in the hall. “I'll see you later, Fallon! Bye!” She ran to catch up with her, and bits and pieces of their conversation floated back to Fallon, who frowned.

*Guess I'll be eating alone*, she thought, shrugging slightly. So far, she hadn't been able to spot of her friends, Shadow and Vamporizer, and due to how large the cafeteria was, she wasn't sure if she would be able to find them for a while yet.

Before Fallon had reached the cafeteria, she had noticed two people, one boy with jet black hair and a girl with strawberry blonde hair that seemed to be following him, heading away from it, the boy with a determined look and the girl appearing very concentrated. She would've followed them or asked what they were going to do, but just then she began to feel something that only happened at random.

Searing pair erupted throughout all her body, and she began to feel wings that wanted to fly. Doubling over in pain, she placed one hand on the cold wall for support. She noticed the boy glare at the girl after realizing she was following him, but they both ducked into the nearest room. Fallon couldn't blame them for hiding. In only a matter of seconds, she would become a colossal winged beast that wanted to do nothing else but destroy.

## ~Chapter Two~

***}{Julius}{***

Julius took a brief look around once inside the random-- and apparently dark--  classroom before turning around and glaring at the girl who followed him. He recognized her in a heartbeat.

“Rune. I should've known. Now tell me, why were you following me?” he growled. If it was one person Julius couldn't stand, it was the girl with the strawberry blond hair and heterochromic eyes in front of him.

“Look, *I* didn't want to see your face either, but this is *actually* important.”

Julius sighed. “Fine. But make it quick.”

Rune opened her mouth to answer when a scream split the air. Several more followed, along with one deep roar and several crashes that sounded from nearby. Julius gasped and stood there, frozen in fear while he spotted Rune pale and dive behind a desk. A few seconds later, Julius, though hesitant, joined her.

“Let me guess,” he sneered. “This is all just some big joke to get back at me for switching all your normal pens with ones with white ink and then putting all your notebooks in a place where you haven't found them.”

“Wait, what!? No! Julius, this isn't a joke this time!” Rune explained, glancing back at the door before turning to look back at him, her heterocromic eyes fearful. “I think it might be the Beast!”

Julius stared at her, confused before breaking out into a mocking bout of laughter. “Yo-you actually believe that story? That's absolutely ridiculous! And here I was, thinking that you were smart enough not to believe in that fluff!”

“I'm being serious,” Rune hissed, wincing when she heard another roar. “If you're not, then I honestly wouldn't mind if you stepped outside and get eaten by that thing.”

Glaring at her, Julius stood up and strode over to the door, positive that this was just another way of Rune getting her revenge. His hand paused over the dull handle, and he realized he was holding his breath. As he let the air out, he opened the door, shocked to see that Rune was right.

Just outside was a black dragon with silver scale that lined its eyes, neck, and tail. It gave a might bellow before swerving its head to look at Julius, growling.

In that moment, Julius's eyes locked with the dragon’s, and he gasped. *That isn't the Beast!* he realized. *That's Fallon Heartsong!!* Suddenly, the dragon's head snapped forward, causing Julius to scream and slam the door shut. Panting, he turned to look back at Rune, who was now standing.

“That wasn't a beast,” he said slowly. “That's Fallon Heartsong; the girl cursed to randomly change into a destructive dragon.”

“What?! You're kidding me!”

“Ha ha, very funny. Bet you feel so happy you got me to scream. You'll pay for this,” he growled.

Rune rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Honestly, I'm honored you this this was all me, but I'm telling you, it wasn't!”

“Well then, who *else* would have conveniently followed me into a room, claiming they had something important to tell me just so they could trap me in here when there's a rampaging dragon outside, and probably do all this just to get back at me for exacting my revenge?”

Rune could answer that question. As far as she could tell, she was his only rival.

“Aha! So it was you!” Julius exclaimed when she didn't reply. “*You’re*  the one who made Fallon go full on destructive dragon mode!”

“Are you *hearing* yourself right now? You just claimed that Fallon was the girl cursed to *randomly* turn it on a dragon! How could *I* have put her up to this!? Besides, I haven't seen her all summer!”

“Well...obviously you figured out there was a pattern to her curse!”

Rune groaned, beginning to pace the floor when she laughed bitterly. “Oh ho ho! I get it! *You* figured out there was pattern and put her in to this because you already knew what and when I was going to tell you! This is all just a big joke *you're* playing on *me*! It all makes sense now!”

Julius narrowed his eyes, starting to growl as he felt his anger rise higher than it had before. “Oh *really*? Well you must feel *so* clever that yo--” The door handle rattled, snagging the attention of the two students. Seconds later, another black haired boy and a black haired girl charged into the room, nearly slamming the door behind them.

“Who are you?” Julius, Rune and the other boy asked. Julius and Rune exchanged an annoyed look.

“Paradox,” the boy greeted, flipping on the light switch to the room. Julius had to squint his eyes as they adjusted to the light. After a moment, he was able to get a better look at the two newcomers.

Like Julius, Paradox had messy black hair, but Paradox had an electric blue streak through his. His eyes were two different colors: one was a deep red and the other an electric blue. He wore a short sleeved gray shirt and black sports pants.

The girl also had black hair, but she had narrow brown eyes. She wore a black shirt and a pair of bright red pants. “I'm Lisa,” she introduced while moving a chair up against the door so that the top was under the handle. She seemed to be favoring an arm as she did so.

“Well I'm Rune,” Rune answered, sitting down on a desk.

“And I'm Julius,”  he greeted finally, crossing his arms.

“Nice to meet you guys!” Paradox grinned. “Are you trying to escape the dragon too? It's been destroying a ton of stuff and Lisa and I just barely were able to find this room.”

“Yes,” Julius answered before Rune could say anything. “And hopefully we won't have to stay in here for much longer.”

“Agreed,” Paradox replied with a slight laugh, taking an orange out from his pocket. “We're missing out on dinner, and boy, am I hungry.”

An amused smile grew across Julius's face, but it didn't last for long. He heard a scream, and turned to look at Rune, who evidently was the one to shriek, and followed her gaze, his jaw dropping. “Guys! Get out, now!”

Fallon/the dragon had begun clawing its way through the stone wall, creating a hole large enough for someone to climb through. Bits of rock came flying the group's way, and they began to run for the door. But before anybody could make it out, a powerful and whip like tail entered through the hole and slammed everybody up against the wall with a sickening crack.

## ~Chapter Three~

***}{Imagine}{***

Imagine drifted awake slowly, his head pounding as he turned over into his stomach, burying his face in soft white fabric. He could hear footsteps, quiet chattering, and...was that sobbing?

Confused and curious he rolled back over inside, moaning slightly out of pain that exploded in his chest. He gasped, but soon grew accustomed to the pain that came every time he took a deep breath in. One adjusted, he began to look around.

To Imagine's left, a boy was still sleeping, and he was right there was a white curtain. It occurred to him then that he must be in the best known part of school: the clinic. Moments later, he realized the crying was coming from behind the curtain.

“Hey, are you ok?” Imagine asked softly, watching the curtain. No answer came, so he continued. “Did something happen?”

“No, I'm not ok,” someone replied between sobs, though they seemed to slow after answering.

“Well, why not?”

“You don't want to know.”

Though Imagine wanted to know what exactly he apparently didn't want to know, he didn't press for answers. “I'm Imagine. Who are you?”

“Fallon,” she said quietly, almost as though hesitating to answer his question.

“Nice to meet you, Fallon! What grade are you in?”

“Tenth.”

Imagine was mildly surprised to hear that Fallon, this girl he hadn't ever heard of before, was in the same grade as him. “I'm in tenth too! Do you think we'll have any classes together?”

“Maybe.”

Imagine sighed when he didn't quite know what to say next, but he winced to the sharp pain coming from his rib cage. Fallon must have heard him because she asked what was wrong.

“I think I must have broken a rib or something from last night, but I don't really know. Nobody has come to explain anything yet.”

“Oh,” Fallon said, then falling silent.

“Yeah, there was this huge dragon…,” he trailed off, shaking his head “I have no idea who they were, but I already feel bad for them, especially if they didn't mean to do it and it was a part of their curse and they didn't mean to hurt me, or anybody else in here. See, my curse is that I hurt, actually, try to destroy is a better word, anyone who hurt my friends or I.”

Fallon gasped.

“I know, it's sort of a weird curse, bu--”

“You can't hurt the dragon though, right? Because you don't actually know who the dragon is?”

Imagine stopped, bus jaw open as he tried to think of an answer to her question. “That's...a good point. Maybe. But if I figured out who it was, then I think my curse would work. Why? Did the dragon hurt you?”

“Kind of.”

Imagine frowned. “What happened? Uh, if you don't mind me asking.”

“Imagine Hope!” somebody had shouted before Fallon could say anything. Imagine froze, and turned to look for the owner of the voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the boy next to him stir, looking annoyed as he glared down the hall.

A plump woman was walking down the hall, her expression both kind and somehow fierce. “You lay back down this instant! You broke three ribs and got yourself a nasty concussion! I want to see you resting!”

Nodding, Imagine put his head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, not daring to disagree with the school nurse, Miss Nealson. “Sorry, Miss Nealson.”

She sighed, looking down at him from the side of his bed, a few strands of her blond hair falling loose from her bun. “It's all right. I just want you out of here as fast as possible. There's a surprising amount of students here who need to be fixed up from last night's incident. If you can't fall asleep, that's fine, but promise me you'll stay in your bed.”

“I promise.”

Miss Nealson smiled. “Good. I'll come check on you again later.”

After she left, the boy who had just woken up spoke. “I'm guessing you're Imagine?”

Imagine nodded, chuckling slightly. “Yep, that's me,” he answered, turning his head in his pillow so he could look at the boy. “Who are you?”

“Julius,” he replied, moving his head so his gray eyes could see him. “What happened to you last night?”

“I was in the cafeteria, eating dinner when I heard a scream, so I turned to see what it was. By the time I stood up, people were running, trying to escape. I saw a wall collapse, and I saw someone get their leg trapped under a large part of the wall. I decided to go help them, but there was a fire and this lunch table…” Imagine shivered and he began to wonder what happened to the trapped person. *I hope they're ok.*

“Sounds like you're lucky to have made it out. Anyway, you haven't happened to see anybody named Paradox, Lisa or Rune around here, have you?”

“No, sorry. Why?”

“Did you say Paradox?” Fallon inquired from behind her curtain.

“Yeah,” Julius answered. “Have you seen him?”

“He’s in the bed next to me."

“Can you ask him if he's ok? Or if he's seen Lisa or Rune?”

“Sure,” Fallon said, and a few seconds later, she returned with his answer. “He says he feels ok, but he broke an arm and a few ribs. He also says he hasn't seen Rune or Lisa since last night, but he *can* tell you a bit about their condition.”

“And?” Julius asked impatiently. “Are they ok?”

“One second.”

“Who's Rune? And Paradox? Or what about Lisa?” Imagine whispered.

“They were the last people I saw before being slammed into a wall and bring knocked unconscious.”

“Paradox says Rune didn't look very well,” Falling told Julius. “He says he got all of you out of the room, and that she looked the worst. Lisa seemed to be in the best condition.”

Julius frowned. “Ok. Well tell him thank you.”

Silence fell when no one in the small group knew what to do or say. Miss Nealson came by to check on all of them later, and eventually, Imagine felt his eyelids grow heavy. Closing his eyes, he soon fell asleep.

**}{•}{**

Imagine woke again late in the afternoon. Miss Nealson had given him the okay to leave, so without a second thought, he left the terribly overcrowded and yet large school hospital. *You'd think for a school full of cursed and unstable kids they'd have a bigger infirmary*, he thought as he walked.

Although his head, chest and multiple bruises he had found were bugging him, Imagine soon made it back to his dorm. It was mildly surprising to see somebody lying on the top of the bunk bed and another boy sitting at the desk, drawing. Having heard Imagine stride in, the boy on the bed sat up, allowing for Imagine to have a better look at him.

The boy was wearing a black hoodie that seemed to make his already light skin paler. He looked to be tall and had dirty blonde hair that seemed to cover one of his eyes. His icy blue eyes followed Imagine for a moment before looking back up at the ceiling.

The other boy, who had spiked brown hair and was wearing a dragon tee, turned around, making some blond highlights noticeable when the light reflected off then. Smiling, he stood up and walked over to Imagine, offering him a hand in greeting.

“Hello!” he began, his light blue eyes with flecks of amber glittering with delight. “I'm Tiger! Travis is the one if the top bunk. Speaking of bunks, we gave you the bottom one. I hope you don't mind.”

“Nice to meet you, Tiger! I'm Imagine,” he replied, shaking his hand. “Bottom bunk sounds fine. I wanted it anyway.”

“That's good! I'm really sorry about Fallon attacking you last night. I hope you get better soon. Oh, somebody dropped by earlier with your backs, so don't worry about those. We put them in the closet.”

“Thanks! That's good to hear!” It took a moment for Imagine to realize who Tiger said attacked him, but when he did, he was utterly shocked, and felt both betrayed, confused and sorry. “Wait, did you say *Fallon?!”*

## ~Chapter Four~

***}{Vamporizer}{***

Vamporizer was glad to have Fallon back. Though she really only need to stay in the school's clinic for a day, she stayed for two, and he couldn't exactly blame her. Had he been in her shoes, he would have stayed an extra day, probably to get over the event emotionally and to avoid all the stares and whispers.

Vamporizer, Fallon, and Shadowed were all sitting together at the single’s bar in the cafeteria, eating their food in silence until Fallon spoke up.

“Do you know anybody named Imagine?” she asked, setting down her sandwich with her as she turned to look at her two friends.

“Who?” Shadowed, a slim girl with rainbow colored wings and red hair, asked, clearly confused. “Are you asking me if I have an imagination or something?”

“No, he's a boy,” Fallon clarified, shaking her head slightly.

“Imagine Hope?” Vamporizer inquired, the image of a black haired boy with green eyes popping into his head. “Yeah, I think I've seen him around.”

“Really? Have you seen him anywhere?”

Vamp shook his head. “Not recently. We shared a dorm last year, but that's about all I've got. He went home over the summer, so I haven't seen him since about May.” At this response, he noticed Fallon frown.

“Ok. Well, thanks.”

“Why were you asking?” Shadowed implored.

The faintest blush appeared on Fallon's face. “He talked to me while in infirmary, and I wanted to talk to him again. He seems nice.”

“Did he not know what you did?” Shadowed asked, taking a sip of water.

“I don't *think* he did. But with all these rumors, he probably does know by now. That's why I wanted to talk to him again,” she answered, a frown appearing on her face.

“And you *really* think he'll want to talk to you again?” Vamp said, his tone dry.

“He might. He seems to have a curse similar to ours,” Fallon observed.

Vamporizer shivered at the mention of his well hated curse. Every night, he would change into a creature that seemed to be half bat. Like Fallon's curse, he would become destructive. But instead of remembering everything like Fallon did, he can only recall bits and pieces of what happened and most of which Vamporizer felt like were the most terrifying parts. Fortunately, he was able to fly out windows all of last year, so he didn't harm any of his roommates while they were sleeping. “And how exactly is his cursed similar to ours?”

“He told me that he tries to destroy people who hurt him or his friends,” Fallon explained. She sighed, shaking her head as he frown deepened. “Nevermind. Maybe I shouldn't talk to him.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, which seemed to make Fallon more upset.

“Maybe just don't talk to him unless he talks to you?” Shadowed suggested.

“Yeah, I guess,” Fallon sighed, playing with her food. “And I still need to find Faith and talk to her. I hope she's all right. I mean, I don't remember seeing her as I…you know, but that doesn't mean I didn't accidentally hurt or scare her…”

Fallon continued talking, but Vamporizer wasn't listening. He had sort of zoned out as he took a bite of his school pizza. But it wasn't the taste of the food that put him in the sort of trance, nor was it his curse beginning to take action. It was a girl.

She is in the other side of the large food court, and she seemed to be running from something. I was she ran she had managed to snatch an apple, a bag of chips, and one of those sandwiches the school makes. Vamporizer frowned and blinked once. Then she was gone.

He looked around quickly to see if anyone else had noticed, but it didn't look like anyone did. Shrugging slightly, he returned to his meal with the girl on his mind for the rest of the day.

***}{Time}{***

Time was taking notes during math class when he sneezed, resulting in him accidentally triggering his curse and taking him to another time. He sat there in his desk for a moment, squinting in the dark and observing his surroundings before concluding that he had traveled back to time when a) it was night and b) before the invention of the computer, for the teacher's desk did not have one.

Slowly, Time stood up, but before he could make it anywhere, he heard footsteps. He paused, not wanting to catch the attention of the owner of the feet. After all, they just might be affected by their curse right now, which means just about anything could happen. So he waited. Then there was a scream.

Time jumped back, surprised, and almost hit another desk with his head. He paused for a moment, taking in deep breaths before standing up again and coming to realize he was back in his math period. Some kids gave him judging looks as he sat back down the seat.

Time tried to pay attention to the rest of class, but he failed. All he could think about was the night he was taken back to, and who, or what, the scream belonged to.

***}{Rune}{***

Rune lay in the bed that was surrounded by white curtains and was given to her by the school hospital, unable to sleep. Her whole body ached and she was alone with nothing to do. Memories of what happened two nights ago flashed into her head almost constantly until an idea began to form in her head.

*What if the dragon* hadn't *attacked that night because she didn't need to be destructive?* *What if curses didn't* actually *require downside? What if...what if we could... change things?*

## ~Chapter Five~

***}{Travis}{***

Travis took a seat next to his roommates, Tiger and Imagine, as he silently ate his both of cereal. He was fine just sitting there when a girl, who looked pretty beat up since she wore several bandages, almost as though she had just come out from the hospital, stepped onto the table Travis was sitting at. He looked up, slightly surprised to see her clapping loudly once or twice to get people's attention. *What does she think she's doing?*

“Can I have your attention please?” she asked, looking a little nervous. Most people had quieted down, but a couple were still talking quietly. The girl cleared her throat before continuing.

“I have something important to say. I...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. “I don't think any of us are actually cursed. I think that our curses aren't real.” She spoke quickly, like she was afraid.

Travis's eyes widened with shock, and people started to protest. One such person, a boy with a name tag that read Ishmael, stood up, exclaiming, “What are you talking about?! No matter how many times anyone tried saying anyone's name, even my own, I can't remember it! How could I *not* be cursed?”

“Well, yes, but if you let me finish--”

“And I can't help it when metallic objects appear in my pockets,” another boy with a crisp English accent and half his head shaved observed. “Actually, it's quite useful.”

“I know, bu--”

“Stop filling us with false hope!” Vamporizer yelled. “We'll always just be the disgrace of society! People will always be terrified of what we are! We’ll always be hated -- monsters!”

“What!? No! Just listen!”

“Rune, just stop!” Julius told her, a confused and mildly concerned look on his face. “What *happened* to you?"

“Nothing! I'm fine!” she answered, her voice sounding exasperated.

“No. No, if you *were* fine, you would be *trying* to prank me back after I got someone to put worms in your bed! It's been a *week* since you were out of the hospital, and you have been acting everything *but* normal!” A few people agreed, either nodding their heads or muttering something to their neighbors. Soon there were many people talking, and the voices begin to overlap.

Rune looked completely embarrassed and ready to scream, but she hopped off the table, about to storm away when Travis suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm. “Do you really think we might not be cursed? That we just might be normal?”

She froze as she looked back at Travis, realizing who he was. *She's heard the rumors*, Travis thought to himself. Finally, she nodded. “Meet me in the library after school.”

Travis nodded, letting go of her arm and feeling happier than he had been in a long time. *Her eyes...*

**}{•}{**

The school day felt incredibly long, but fortunately, Travis had enough patience to wait it out. When the bell rang to end the day, he headed over to the library, pulling his hood over his head.

As soon as he had reached the library, Travis spotted Rune sitting at one of the long tables, reading. He walked over to the table and set his backpack down on the floor as he sat down, causing for her to look up at him.

“You actually came?”

“Let's just say don't want to deal with my curse anymore,” Travis replied, trying his best not to let any of the memories surface. His hand instinctively reached up to his neck, where a locket was hanging. *I have to try to be better.*

“I, uh, already know what your curse is, so let's skip to the point. Try to form some ice in your hand, and tell yourself that they only one giving your curse a downside is you.”

Travis noticed the unsure and nervous look on her face and frowned. “Are you sure?”

She bit her lip. “I think you're the only one who listened to me, so I need you to try. I just need to know if I'm even a little bit right.”

*This had better work.* Opening his palm, he pictured a of ball of ice. the two of them sat there staring intently at his hand. Finally, Travis felt his hand grow cold. “Something's happening! My hand it feels co--”

The next thing Travis could remember was him holding his hands around a terrified Rune's neck while the rest of the room was well below freezing and covered with fresh ice and snow.

***}{Faith}{***

“Have either of you heard the Legend of Indigo?” Shadowed asked, sitting up on her bed.

Faith gasped, trying to keep in squeal as she sat on the floor next to Ocean. A battery powered lantern was on the floor in front of them. They've been using it to tell ghost stories, and after Shadowed had offered to tell one, the excitement heightened.

“No! Tell us, tell us! *Pleeeaaassse?”* Faith begged.

Shadowed smirked and used a dial on the lantern to dim the light before she began.

“Indigo was just like you and I; another student here, and cursed. But she kept hearing things, like footsteps behind her when she was alone or the squeaking of a door opening. Whenever she tried to tell people, they just told her it was nothing, but she refused to believe that. After three years here with the sounds, she gave up, and assumed it was just part of her imagination. But she was wrong.

“Late one night, she heard the footsteps again. She was studying late so she decided to look out in the hall in case it was one of her roommates sleepwalking again.

“Indigo stepped out into the Hall, a candle in hand. But she didn't find a roommate in the hall, oh no. It was The Beast. The Beast opened its mouth wide and eat her whole. She was never heard from again.

“Indigo was just the beginning of The Beast's meal and he's still hungry today. If you ever hear footsteps behind you, don't turn around. Just run, and maybe I'll make it out alive.”

Ocean and Faith clapped, grins on their excited faces.

“That was great, Shadowed! Tell us another!” Faith said.

Shadowed didn't reply. She was pale and her jaw was hanging as she stared at someone behind Ocean and Faith. Ocean, thinking it was The Beast, screamed, and covered her head with a blanket. Faith, however, turned around.

There was a cloaked figure behind them, wearing all black. Faith paled, about to run away when the figure put a gloved hand out. In their hand was a letter.

“Faith, I need you to give this to Time Conquest. He'll know what to do,” they told her as she took the letter with a frightened nod.

“Um, ok,” she whispered. In that instant, the figure was gone.

## ~Chapter Six~

***}{Time}{***

Time stared down at the letter a girl had handed to him. *What does she mean, ‘a strange person give it to me?!' This note is in* my *handwriting!* “Well, um, thank you, uh…”

“Faith!” she finished for him with a grin. “And no problem!” Before Time could say anything else, she had run off, leaving him confused. Having nothing else to do, he sat down on one of the several benches outside the school and tore open the envelope.

It was a Saturday morning and one of the last things Time expected was for fourteen-year-old girl to hand him a letter that he now realized was from himself. His *future* self.

*Dear Time*, the letter began in dark blue ink.

*I need you to prompt Rune to keep trying. She can't quit. Keep an eye out for the book entitled The Wish of Trapped Soul. Lastly, remember this date: 28th August 2029.*

Time's eyes widened. *That's ten years from now! Why do I need to remember* that? Frowning, he stood up, shoving both the letter and his hands in the pockets of his dark blue trench coat as he headed back indoors.

*So somehow I time traveled, knowing that I would appear that this last night. But how did I know that? It makes no sense. Unless-- no, that's not possible.*

*Is it?*

***}{Rune}{***

Rune opened her eyes, surprised to find that she was nowhere else but the school's hospital. Again. Her head hurt, and she soon remembered the ice shard held by Travis cutting deep into her arm. She gasped, instantly turning to look at her bandaged arm, and in the process spotting Travis. Startled, she bolted upright, both breathless and terrified.

Travis, who, up until that moment had his head buried in his hands, looked up. A wave of relief appeared to wash over him. “I...I'm sorry,” he barely whispered. “I really am.”

Rune just sat there, silent as she recalled Travis lunging at her and grabbing her neck, his eyes glassy until a few moments before she blacked out from lack of breath.

Travis seemed to clear his throat uncomfortably, snagging Rune's attention. He just looked into her eyes with his, and Rune noticed how his seemed to be filled with joy and pain. Finally, he stood up about to leave, and Rune just watched him, feeling confused and slightly embarrassed.

**}{•}{**

Rune was released with a few warnings from Miss Nealson in time for dinner, but, after complete embarrassment from the day before, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to go to back down to the cafeteria. Especially since she didn't want to see  Travis. A visit from Time in the hall, however, changed her mind.

“You can't give up on him or your theory,” he said, walking up behind her. Rune jumped when she heard Time's voice and turned around to look at him.

“Huh?” she asked. “What are you even talking about?”

“About us not really being cursed. You've got to keep trying with Travis.”

“Haven't you heard what happened? Trying again might *actually* get me killed!”

“I know, but you *need* to keep trying. Please! I'm not sure why yet, but apparently it's important for you to do.”

Rune closed her eyes and sighed. *Well, I* do *want to test my theory... I'm probably going to regret this, aren't I?* “Fine. But you're coming to. Bring someone else as well.”

Time grinned. “Will do. When should we meet up?”

“Tomorrow at two in the library. Please don't be late.”

Time nodded and walked on ahead of her, leaving her alone the rest of the way to dinner. Rune had gotten her meal and ate it in the far corner of the cafeteria, ignoring anyone who had been nice enough to offer her a seat.

**}{•}{**

As Rune walked into the library, she spotted Travis, who she had reluctantly told to meet up in the library, Time, and a tall girl with brown hair in two French braids. She also had a pair of wings, which Rune assumed were part of her curse. Rune gave a nervous wave to all of them before joining them at the table. “Hey.”

Time gave Rune a slight nod in approval before introducing the girl. “This is Astra,” he began. “She has a more minor curse, so that's why I brought her.”

Rune gave a huge mental sigh of relief. *Thank goodness! I don't have to worry about dying so much now that there's more people here!* “Nice to meet you, Astra. So, what's your curse?”

“My, uh, my, wings make me afraid of heights,” she explained.

Rune couldn't help but smile at the irony of her curse. “Well that's ironic. Anyway, do you mind if we start with you?” *Her curse seems to be the most harmless one here.*

She shook her head. “No, I don't mind.”

“Great,” Rune observed, giving herself a minute to think before continuing on. “Answer me this: are you afraid of falling from a high place, or soaring above the clouds, with absolutely no way to fall?”

“Both,” Astra replied slowly.

Rune slightly frowned. *This is going to be harder than I had anticipated*. Noticing Time flipping through random pages of several books before putting them all back on the shelf, she paused. “Uh, Time, what book are you looking for? I'm only doing this because you said that for some reason, I needed to do this,” she announced.

Time looked up, placing the book he was currently holding back on the shelf while Travis was looking a little disappointed. “Huh? Oh, sorry,” he said, sitting back down. “Ignore me.”

Rune looked back at Astra, who was suddenly looking nervous. “I'm not actually going to fly, am I?” she asked.

Beginning to have second thoughts, Rune shook her head. “No, no you won't. In fact, why don't we just be done for today?”

Time's head snapped up from a paper he was reading, a worried look on his face. “But we'll meet again, right?”

“Fine,” Rune huffed. “But next time, be prepared to work on your curse.”

Time nodded, standing up and leaving the library. Astra tailed closely behind him, which left Rune and Travis alone. Rune was about to exit as well, since being around Travis, especially being alone around Travis, now made her anxious. “I'll, uh, see you later,” she mumbled.

“Huh? Oh, oh, okay. Actually, wait. Can I talk to you? Maybe?”

Very reluctant, Rune sat the edge of a cushion chair a few feet away from Travis, ready to run if the need arrived.

“Why are you so sure about this? What did you mean by, ‘I'm only doing this because you said that for some reason, I needed to do this?’ Do you really think I could become almost normal?” he began as soon as she had sat down.

At that moment, Rune realized she would be there for a while, so she slowly sunk back into the chair as she tried to answer his questions.

***}{Boop}{***

Boop wasn't able to sleep, so she just stared up at the ceiling above her. *It's oddly peaceful, this late at night. Is it always like this?*

Suddenly, the rafters above her moaned and dropped dust onto the floor beside her. Boop shivered slightly, and pulled her blanket closer to her head. *It's probably just your imagination,* she figured. However, her own thoughts didn't seem to comfort her, and it didn't help when she heard something call out her name.

“Boooooppp…” the deep and faint sound said. “Boooooooooppppp…”

Boop begin breathing heavily as she wrapped herself into tiny ball under the blanket. Footsteps were now clearly heard, and something continued to call for her.

“Boooppp…”

She heard the door open, along with the pounding sound of nearby footsteps and heavy breath. *I'm going to die!*

Screaming, Boop called upon her curse, causing her to sink through the bed she was in. But that meant one thing: she wouldn't know where she was going to appear.

## ~Chapter Seven~

***}{Imagine}{***

Imagine has been avoiding Fallon. It wasn't that he was afraid of her. It was that he was afraid *for* her. He didn't exactly want to know what would happen with this curse while she was around. But he *did* want to see her, for he enjoyed talking to her and considered them friends already.

Imagine would actually have gone to the thing Rune was doing in the library, but he didn't want to arrive and find Fallon there. So instead, he decided to ask Travis what happened at every meeting; however, after the first meeting, Travis didn't return back to the dorm until late, and the next morning, he assumed Travis and already left. Fortunately, after the second meeting, Imagine was able to get some answers. It helped that Travis seemed to be happier than normal.

“So who was there?” Imagine asked from the desk in his dorm room. Tiger had a tendency to hog the desk, but at the moment, he was doing a “project,” or he called it.

“Just me, Rune, Time and a girl named Astra, I believe,” Travis answered from his regular spot on the top bunk.

“Oh? How long are the meetings normally?”

“Not long.”

“Then why did you get back so late the other day?”

“I...don't really want to talk about it.”

A frown tugged at Imagine's lips, but he respected his roommate's wishes. “Why did it take so long today, then?”

“I talked to Rune after. Why?”

“And?” Imagine asked expectantly, completely ignoring Travis's question.

“And...what?”

“And what happened? Why did you talk to her?”

“No reason.”

“You sure?”

“Yes,” Travis seemed to say a bit too quickly, definitely sounding annoyed.

Imagine gasped, putting the pieces together. “You *like* her!”

“Wh-what?! I...uh, no!”

Laughing, Imagine continued. “You *really* like her!”

“And...and you like that Fallon girl!”

Imagine's face went red hot. “Maybe…”

Travis dropped the entire conversation at that. Imagine didn't mind though. He was too busy scheming on the paper in front of him. *Maybe I* will *go to this next meeting…*

***}{Boop}{***

Just last night, Boop had used her curse to escape something in the dark, which resulted in her appearing in a strange room similar to her dorm, but there was only one bed. Papers were littered everywhere, and a somehow lit torch was the only way to see. There was a faint outline of a shuttered window to Boop's left. A few feet away from where she had appeared was a series of stairs leading down to a place where she couldn't quite see.

Boop took a couple of shaky breaths before standing up. She was relieved to know that she wasn't at the bottom of some ocean or trapped in a musty mine, but at the same time, she was still terrified. “Where am I?” she muttered to herself. She took deep breaths in as she tried to calm down, and eventually she decided to descend the stairs with the torch in hand.

It turned out that there were more stairs than she would've guessed, and that they fell in almost a spiral pattern. The narrow stone steps had cold stone walls pressed closely on either side. Boop shuffled downward for a couple of minutes before coming upon a door without a handle.

Reaching the door, Boop grip the torch tighter and pushed it open just a crack to see what was out there. Nothing. As she pushed the door open wider, Boop stepped through it, making sure to keep the torch in front of her in case something were to lunge at her. Walking, she soon came to realize that the hall she was in looked familiar. Too familiar. *Wait a second...this is* my *hall!*

A door slammed. Boop whirled around just in time to see the door she passed swing back, fitting perfectly into the wall and creating the illusion that it was never there to begin with. We shiver went down her spine but she turn back around slowly, thankfully soon finding her room again.

“I'm telling you, that's exactly what happened!” Boop exclaimed. She had just told her roommate, Meia, a girl with green eyes that had cat-like pupils and long black hair that faded into red, what had happened.

“But *I'm* telling *you* that that can't be right! We're on the highest level of dorm rooms,” she argued back, looking up from the book she was supposed to be annotating.

Boop nodded. “I know. That's why it keeps bugging me.”

***}{Paradox}{***

Paradox had been exploring the library with his friend Atom, a boy three years older than him with messy brown hair that stopped at about his shoulders. The two were trying to find a book that sounded interesting. Hopefully, said undiscovered book would help Atom feel more relaxed. He had a tendency to be very antsy.

Paradox was on the second floor of the library, drumming his fingers along the spines of several books while reading their titles to himself. *The Wonders of Pigs, A Friendly Wind, Purple Chimpanzee… None of these sound interesting. Oh? The Wish of a Trapped Soul? Huh. Wonder what that's about.*

“Hey, Atom, I think I found a book you might find interesting to read!” Paradox exclaimed, reaching his hand out to grab it. However, as soon as his fingers brushed the hard spine of the black book, he crumpled to the floor.

## ~Chapter Eight~

***}{Atom}{***

Word spread lightning fast about Atom's friend, Paradox. Just last night, Paradox had fallen onto the ground, screaming like a madman as he wrestled with the floor. Atom had found him and tried bringing him to the infirmary, but as soon as he had reached down to help, Paradox seemed to be alright. He even refused a visit to the infirmary, which seemed odd to Atom. This only made him feel more guilty and worrisome.

It was the next day in science class, and Atom had noticed Paradox was acting anything but normal. He was often muttering things under his breath that did make sense, such as “Third door to the left, take away one. Count the stones in the perimeter and then five to the left, then turn around. The sky is colored Indigo.” It made Atom's anxiety worse, but he was glad for the chance to work with Paradox and Astra in a “lab.”

They were working with physics and motion, so they were playing with a Newton's Cradle. It wasn't really a lab or so Astra figured. She kept saying this was more of a hands-on experience to help them better understand the Law of Conservation of Energy. To Atom, it sounded like she had just explained what a lab was, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead if arguing, he lifted one of the metal spheres on a string and let it drop, trying not to imagine him accidentally breaking the cradle because he left it gain too much momentum.

“Paradox, how are you feeling?” Atom finally asked, his voice thick with worry. “You don't seem to be yourself.”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Paradox assured, eyeing the spheres swinging back and forth.

“Are you sure?” Atom pressed, internally yelling at himself. *He's keeping something from me! What did you do, Atom!?*

“Yes.”

“What about you, Astra?” Atom inquired quietly.

Somehow, Astra, who had her nose stuck in a book, head his voice and looked up. “Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine,” she answered, her head bobbing up and down once.

“Good, good,” he replied, nodding. He began nervously fiddling with a pen that had made its way into his hand. “Are you two sure?”

“Yes,” Paradox snapped, turning his attention away from the lab as he glared at Atom with cold eyes. Atom was very tempted to yell back, but at the same time, he didn't want to lose a friendship, and so he just felt miserable.

Astra looked up again, smiling this time. “Yes, I'm sure. But thanks for asking.”

Atom fought a growing blush as he looked back at her, and quickly diverted his attention to the Newton's Cradle. As he did so, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused Paradox to act so strangely. His thoughts, however, were cut short by a fearful cry.

Heart racing, Atom turned to see Paradox screaming and pointing at the empty doorway as he stumbled backwards across the room, never taking his eyes off the entrance. “Get out! L-leave me alone!” he shrieked.

Atom, once again, was beginning to panic, but was determined to help his pal. “B-but there's nothing there!”

The teacher, Mr. Kavon, stood up from his desk and tried to drag Paradox off to who-knows-where. “Young man, there is nothing there, so unless you wish to holler in the principal's office, I suggest you stop now!” When Paradox failed to stop, Mr. Kavon lunged, trying to grab him; however, Paradox fell to the tile floor after barely missing Mr. Kavon's arms and accidentally hitting the teacher in the jaw with his foot.

Desperation in his eyes, Paradox glanced at Atom. “Help me or leave! It's going to get you if you don't leave soon!”

Atom was terrified out if his mind, concerned twice as much, and utterly confused. Out of the corner if his eye, Atom noticed several students leaving, panicked looks plastered to their faces.

“You,” Mr. Kavon said, rubbing his jaw as he turned to look at Atom and Astra. “And you. Get him out of here and take him to the infirmary. Now. And class is dismissed.” Any students left in the room soon left.

Nodding, Atom and Astra helped Paradox stand up. Astra winced as she bumped into a glass vial, causing it to shatter onto the floor. As soon as it fell, Paradox seemed to calm down, and he allowed his two lab partners lead him out of the class.

“It's gone,” Paradox muttered as they walked. “It's just disappeared. It was coming for me and then it stopped. Then it left.”

Atom bit his lip, praying his friend would turn out alright. The three of them reached the infirmary in only a few minutes, but when Astra asked Miss Nealson why it could've happened, she shook her head and told Astra she had no idea. Sighing, Atom and Astra left Paradox in a bed to hopefully heal while they wandered off to lunch.

***}{Julius}{***

Julius knew something was up. Last year wasn't anything like this. Sure, sometimes kids’ curses would take over and things would go haywire, but this year…something wasn't right. He couldn't quite place his finger on why just yet, but he wasn't about to give up anytime soon.

*Let's see...first there was that Fallon attack, then about a quarter of the school was hospitalized, Rune isn't acting normal, then Boop almost died, assuming what she says about the other night is true is true, and now Paradox is acting odd too. Someone's got to be responsible for this, right? There's no way this could just be some coincidence.*

Julius frowned as he ate his sub sandwich, deep in thought. A pain just below his shoulders however, pulled him from his thoughts, and he realized that his curse was about to take action. Just as he did so, he began to heard someone singing loudly and yet with perfect pitch and a sweet voice.

***}{Tiger}{***

Tiger turned to look at his tall pal with blond hair swept to one side, a section of which was dyed a flame red. “Tracey, my friend, I think we might just win the science fair this year.”

Tracey nodded, laughing slightly as he looked down at the sketch Tiger had drawn. “This could change everything. That is, assuming it'll work.”

“Of course it will work!” Tiger announced, grateful that Mr. Kavon had been letting them use his classroom the past couple of weeks during lunch. He too looked back down at the drawing. “It *has* to. Maybe then we won't be hated.”

## ~Chapter Nine~

***}{Falcon}{***

Falcon couldn't hold it in anymore. She wanted to sing. It had been so long since she was able to hum a cheerful melody or pipe out a heartbreaking tune. People never let her express herself through song because of her curse, but she refused to let that stop her. Before she realized what she was doing, she opened her mouth, closed her eyes, and just let the words fall out in a peaceful, alluring song.

At first it was only audible to those sitting next to her, but they paused mid-conversation to listen in. Falcon began growing more confident with each word, so she sang louder and louder until just about everyone in the cafeteria could hear her. It felt so nice and comforting to Falcon. That is, until she realized what she was singing, at which point she clamped her mouth tightly closed. Her eyes shot open to look around.

*Please, please, please don't let my curse take action,* she silently pleaded, covering up her up her worried look with a forced smile as people cheered and complimented her. Falcon spotted Faith clapping too, but when they made eye contact, she stopped, and her smile morphed into a concerned frown. Mouthing the words “one second,” Falcon began heading over to her sister.

Are only a couple steps away from her sister, someone crashed on the floor behind Falcon, and she froze. *Nononononono, not my curse! I have no idea what the lyrics meant! I just found them in an old book in the library!*

“Argh, sorry about that,” a voice said from behind Falcon. She turned around slowly, relieved to see it was just a boy with bright red wings and the name of Julius. He was trying to fight his feathery wings, but to join avail. “Stupid curse,” she heard him mutter.

Chuckling nervously, Falcon resumed her walk over to Faith. “Yeah, stupid curses,” she agreed.

“What were you singing?!” Faith whispered urgently as Falcon, who stole one last nervous glance at Julius, sat down.

“I really don't know. I found the lyrics in a book in the library,” Falcon explained, biting her lip.

“In a book?! What was its title? Falcon, you just sang abou--”

“I...I know. And, it didn't have a title,” Falcon recalled. If she remembered correctly, the book had a brown leather cover and yellowed pages. If at any point there was a title, it must have worn off.

“Did it at least have an author?”

“No. And I think most of the pages were blank.”

***}{Paradox}{***

Paradox knew there was something wrong with him, but he didn't know if anyone could help.

Images kept flashing in and out of his mind, and he couldn't help but scream every time he saw one. The images were terrifying. Especially the one where he kept seeing a girl.

She had red hair, and her back was always facing him. Each time the image appeared on his head, she was always wearing a white nightgown and she held a candle in one hand, seeing as it was dark. The “dream,” as Paradox liked to refer to it to, always ended with her turning to face him right after he had reached her. Then she would scream, and Paradox always found himself panting, sweating, or even muttering things that didn't make any sense to him.

Although he could tell Atom and a few of his other friends such as Lisa were concerned, Paradox didn't want to tell them. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but he really didn't want them to worry about something neither he nor they could control. Of course, be was starting to wonder about how much longer he could keep his lies up.

After about a short stay in the school infirmary, Miss Nealson decided to let him go to the next period. Feeling a little more relaxed, Paradox left and headed to his next subject, only to be confronted by Lisa.

“Ok, what's going on?” she asked, jumping in front of him. Her black hair bounced as she moved. Paradox yelped in surprise.

“N-nothing! I'm fine!” he lied, panicking inwardly.

Lisa's eyebrow arched in disbelief. “Oh? Then how do you explain what happened in science?”

“I--wait, who told you about that?”

She shrugged. “Atom told me, and word spreads fast around here. I would have figured out soon enough anyway. Besides we're worried about you. *I'm* worried about you.” For the briefest moment, her eyes shone with affection, and then they resumed their harsh glare.

Paradox his face heat up, and he turned his head away with the clearing of his throat. “I-I should get to class.”

“You will,” she promised. “*After* you give me an answer.”

Laughing nervously, Paradox slowly backed up until his back was pressed up against a wall. Lisa followed him and placed her hands on either side of the wall, trapping him. She met his eyes with a cold glare. “Seriously, what's going on?”

“I…” Paradox began, his eyes darting around. Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes. “Fine. I'd didn't want to say it like this, but my mom... She was sick with an unknown disease the last time I saw her, and I haven't been able to write to her or any of my family yet this year. And it's making me really worried.”

Lisa's hands return to her side, and a rare expression of pity appeared on her face. “Oh. I'm sorry. I just... Just... Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

Nodding, Paradox watched as she flashed him in apologetic smile and walked off. Paradox sighed and scurried over to his next class trying just shrug off the guilt of lying to Lisa.

***}{Ishmael}{***

Ishmael was turning a corner when he heard an unearthly scream. The sudden sound made him jump and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He didn't bother to find out what exactly had made the sound, seeing as he figured it might've been part of a curse, but when he had told his friends about it later that day, they all told him that there wasn't any sound. Slowly, he began to wonder what exaclty could've screamed.

## ~Chapter Ten~

***}{Faith}{***

It was two days after Falcon has sung, and so far as Faith could tell, nothing had happened. That could only mean two things: for once, nothing was going to happen, or chaos was slowly forming in the clouds, waiting to rain down.

Normally, Faith would've dismissed the fact that there was no reaction to Falcon's curse by day one, but for some reason, Faith couldn't stop thinking about it. And she knew why.

Five days ago, or, three days before Falcon had sung, an upcoming school dance was announced to celebrate the 113 year anniversary of the founding of the school. Usually, Faith wouldn't be able to stop talking about it, but something kept telling get something would happen, and she believed it was because of her sister's singing. However, the voice in the back of her head wasn't the part that bugged her most about the dance. Instead, it was the timing.

The dance was scheduled to start in about an hour, and it thoroughly annoyed Faith that the teachers could not have announced it earlier in the school year.

*Sure, this year has been... busy,* she thought to herself as she slipped on her dress. *But couldn't they at least have managed to tell us just a little sooner?* Shaking her head, she stepped in front of the bathroom mirror to take a look.

Her thick blond hair was down, but she had decided to give it a few extra curls. They bounced cheerily a she gave a half spin, making her knee-length dress twirl.

The bright blue fabric made Faith's warm green eyes pop, and the light pink and soft orange flowers looked as though they were just beginning to cascade down her shoulders. Smiling, she flattened the slight poof before stepping back into the main part of her dorm.

“Oh, good, you're out!” Ocean exclaimed, dashing past Faith with her dress and shoes in hand. She stopped for a moment to look back at her roommate and smiled. “You look great, Faith!” Not waiting any longer, she stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door.

“Thank you!” Faith called back, then turning to her closet go fund the shoes she wanted.

“Tell me if I miss anything important,” Faith heard Shadowed's voice say from behind her. “And by important, I don't mean anything fluffy. Just let me know if, for example, someone were to flip over a table because someone broke up with them.”

“Ok,” Faith agreed, sitting down in the desk's chair to put in get ankle-high, heeled brown boots. “You're not going?”

Shadowed shrugged from her spot of leaning against a wall. “I don't have a reason to go, plus I can't stand dances “

“Oh,” Faith said, quickly tying up the laces on her shoes. “Well, sleep well then.”

Shadowed didn't answer, seeing as she had found interest in looking at her nails. Frowning, Faith tugged at the three-quarter sleeves if her attire.

Almost as though she had sensed a lack of excitement, Ocean stepped out into the open, grinning from ear to ear.

Ocean worry a gray blue Maxi dress that reached her ankles. The white flats she had been talking shout for the last few days were indeed on her feet. Her brown hair was kept down. Mascara was the only makeup Ocean was wearing.

“You look amazing, Ocean!” Faith announced, standing up and clapping excitedly. “Tonight's going to be great!” *I hope,* she added to herself.

“I know!” Ocean replied, glancing over at the digital clock in the desk. “Oh! We should go now!”

Faith too glanced over at the clock and saw its bright red numbers read 6:50. “Oh yeah! Let's go!”

After telling Shadowed goodbye, they charged out the door and make their way to the gym.

***}{Travis}{***

It was only about twenty minutes into the dance and Travis was beginning to wonder what exactly he was doing here. That is, until he spotted Rune.

She was halfway across the gym, reading something from a spiral notebook. Her hair was waved, and she wore a dark green dress with thick shoulder straps. Travis felt his face heat up, and he quickly looked away. *Should I? No, I almost killed her. She would never say yes. But, she* has *been talking to me.*

“Are you planning in asking her to dance?” Imagine, dressed in a dark blue suit, inquired, suddenly appearing next time Travis. “Rune, I mean.” Travis nearly jumped when he heard Imagine, and struggled to find a response.

Imagine grinned, though his smile faltered when he turned to look at someone who had caught his attention. Travis followed his gaze, then spotting Julius, who was wearing a black suit and a red bowtie, heading over to Rune.

“Well if you're going to ask her, you'd better do it now. I think Julius ask her, plus, the first slow dance starts soon,” Imagine advised, craning his neck as he searched for someone. As if on cue, slow music began to play. “I've got to find someone. I'll see you later.” Imagine left, leaving Travis to make a decision.

Blowing out a puff of air, Travis fixed his tie and stood a little straighter before striding over to Rune. *I can't believe I'm doing this…*

As he walked, he side glanced over st Julius, grateful to notice how his own stride was longer than the other's. Reaching Rune first, he looked down at her and cleared his throat. He gave her s second to look up before beginning. “Erm, would you... there's a slow dance soon and I… Will you dance with me?”

Rune's face went bright red, and it took her an agonizingly long moment to answer. “O-oh! Um, yeah, sure.”

Travis felt a wave of relief crash over him. “R-really?”

She nodded, looking away slightly. “Y-yeah. I'd like to dance with you.”

Holding back a blush, he gabbed her hand and led the dance floor. Travis slowed to a stop and turned back to face Rune, placing his hands in her hips as she put hers on his shoulders. Soon, they were dancing.

***}{Fallon}{***

Fallon was both elated and terrified when Imagine asked her to dance; however, she agreed and they were both now swaying in awkward silence on the dance floor. Fallon kept her eyes on her arms, which she now found very interesting, until Imaging spoke up.

“Um, Fallon, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out sometime? You don't have to say yes,” he added hurriedly.

Startled, Fallon blinked a couple times. “Su--”

Out of nowhere appeared a red headed girl dressed in a letter jacket, purple shirt and black pants. She put a hand on both on their shoulders, panting. “I...I need your...your help. Come with me and I'll explain, but I don't have much time.”

## ~Chapter Eleven~

***}{Travis}{***

If it wasn't for Rune's curiosity, Travis probably wouldn't have stopped dancing with her to follow the new girl who claimed to need their help.

They followed her outside the gym, where she told them to wait. Travis stifled a sigh and looked down at Rune, waiting to say something about their dance. *I just don't know how to bring it up.*

Just when Travis opened his mouth to talk, Rune, looking down, spoke up. “Hey, uh, thanks for the dance. It was nice.”

Travis felt his face go hot. “Th-thank *you* for dancing with me,” he muttered.

Before anything else could happen, Travis and Rune heard footsteps, and looked up to see Imagine, Fallon, and the girl coming to join them. Travis's eyes slightly widened when he saw Imagine's smug looking expression. He quickly turned his attention back to the redheaded girl, who had stopped and was now looking at her watch. She glanced back up at the group, sighing.

“Alright, I'm going to try to make this go as quickly as I can. I don't have much time to explain, so expect more visits. My name is Indigo, and Have been stuck in this school for about a century now.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Travis could see Rune stiffen. *This is probably all just a joke. Maybe Julius is trying to get back at Rune again? Or does Rune not like me and want to prank me already? No, maybe this us revenge for almost killing her!* He glanced down at Rune before looking back up at the other girl.

“How are we supposed to know you're not lying?” Travis asked this “Indigo.”

She bit her lip. “You can't. You're just going to have to trust me.”

Travis didn't buy it. I'm sure. He didn't realize he took a step closer to Rune.

“...I believe you,” Rune admitted softly. Both Travis and Indigo looked at her, surprised.

“You do?” Indigo asked hopefully.

Rune nodded.

“I believe you too,” Imagine agreed.

Indigo sighed. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. I just need yo--” She was cut off by a loud growl that made her pale. “I have to go. Stay safe!”

Travis watched her run, and began wondering if it was her curse that started to make the ground shake a little. He shook his head and reached for Rune's hand. “Come on, let's go finish that dance.”

She nodded, accepting his hand and walking back with him. Travis heard footsteps coming from behind and turned his head slightly to see Imagine and Fallon following them back.

***}{Ishmael}{***

Ishmael looked down at his glass of fruit punch in his hand. He frowned slightly. *The music may be loud, but should it really be making this many ripples? And this sound sounds a lot like weird growling and wailing.* He slightly scoffed to himself. *Kids these days.*

*Maybe it* is *growling and wailing*, his brain argued back. His eyes widened. Is *it the dragon girl again?*

Actually, if Ishmael looked up. He would've realized it was something much worse.

***}{Time}{***

Something told Time not to attend the dance. He didn't necessarily mind not going, but as he wandered the halls with his hands stuffed in his coat's pockets, bored, he found his feet leading him down the to gym. With his mind preoccupied about the note, he didn't fully realize where he was going until after he got there.

He paused in the doorway of the gym and leaned back against it, watching every ofy inside having a good time. He half smiled until something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head to look at it, the color in his face drained away. “What the?”

Hovering right in front of a boy Time recognized as Ishmael was a ghost.