"You look amazing."

Katie was staring at Sora with wide eyes. Sora was standing in front of her mirror scrutinizing her own reflection, unsure if she was making the right choice. "I don't know," Sora voiced her doubts.

Katie was sitting on Sora's bed dressed in a sleeveless button up shirt with a sparkly collar tucked inside a black high waisted skirt. Katie had arrived over an hour ago with one of her own dresses slung over her arm. She had come prepared to help Sora look her best.

Sora turned and twirled, eyeing Katie's dress that she was now wearing. She remembered it being longer and more comfortable looking on Katie. On Sora, the dress skimmed the middle of her things and was a touch too tight. It was a simple strapless dress with white and dark green horizontal stripes and a flouncy ruffle adorning the elastic bust line. A thin, grey leather belt clinched just beneath her chest.

"You look amazing," repeated Katie as she moved behind Sora, primping and pulling the dress into place. In the mirror, Katie's head barely reached Sora's shoulder. Sora took another long look in the mirror, still unsure of herself.

"What if something happens and we need to go all MacGyver at the party?" she asked, hoping she could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

"Oh come on. What could possibly go wrong?" Katie stared at her, eyebrows lifted.

"I don't know." Sora pulled the end of the dress, hoping that it would somehow stretch an inch or two. Truth was she did look great, but it was too much. She didn't want anyone to think she was trying too hard. Her classmates never saw her in dressed like this. Who am I kidding? She thought in surrender, I don't want Drake to think I am trying to impress him.

She shot Katie an apologetic look. "Can't do it, sorry." She took the dress off and tossed it on her bed. She walked to her closet and picked a dark grey sleeveless shirt that was almost as long as the dress she had just taken off. She pulled the shirt over her head, and then tossed her hair back. A bright yellow Nirvana smile logo adorned the front giving it just a splash of color.

Katie stalked into the closet and pulled out some dark skinny jeans and Sora's biker boots. "There you go," she said tossing them at her, while Sora just stood there in surprise. "If you are going to wear that shirt, the least you can do is bring the rocker look to the next level." She smiled smugly and sat back on the bed crossing her legs. Sora grinned and wriggled into the skinny jeans.

"Don't you want something more comfortable?" she asked eyeing Katie's shoes.

"Don't worry about me," Katie gave her a shrug as she sidled over to Sora with her makeup bag in hand. "I can run in ballet flats," she remarked. "Time for the makeup," she said. Sora decided to keep her mouth shut and let Katie work her magic. Her friend was right. She could totally rock this look.

After a few more minutes, they were both ready and waiting by the front door for Mo and Drake to show up. They both had their jackets on, a black leather one for Sora and a light blue cashmere one for Katie.

While they waited, Sora studied the face of her friend. "You look a little too happy," she commented eventually, carefully picking her words.

"Well, you know, I've never been to one of Ben's parties." She looked excited and a bit nervous, which made Sora smile. "Do you think we should have bought him a gift?"

"We are not even invited," Sora snorted, and then raised her eyebrows realizing the reason for Katie's excitement. "Don't even think about it. I don't even consider him a human being. You are too good for him," she stated firmly, and before Katie could reply the bell rang. Sora opened the door to find Drake and Mo on her front step. They were both wearing everyday clothes.

T-shirts and jeans, so original. Sora shook her head. "Aren't you a little bit underdressed?" she asked them, she hated the fact that she had spent a whole hour trying to figure out what to wear. Being a girl was great most of the time, but not when a party was involved. She had wasted over an hour just getting ready. And for what? Ben? She gave herself a mental eye roll.

Drake ran his eyes slowly over her, and as he did, Sora could feel her cheeks blushing with warmth. Suddenly she felt like she was back in Katie's too tight dress. She felt exposed.

Mo shrugged and took a step inside. "You both look great." Sora smiled at him. He had never complimented her looks. He somehow made it look like it was so trivial to comment on things like clothes. And then he kept on talking, "Good choices in case we need to MacGyver this thing."

Sora felt stupid for actually believing for a moment Mo would take the time to give her a compliment. She was also shocked by the fact she had just said the same thing a few minutes earlier.

He gave her an approving smile, and she couldn't help but feel proud. Then she scolded herself for seeking his approval. All the while, Drake was still staring at her.

Then Mo turned to Katie and pinned his eyes on her feet. He opened his mouth to say something but Sora cut him off. "We already covered that. She can run with ballet flats." He raised his hands in front of him in surrender.

"Come on. Let's go," Mo commanded herding the girls outside toward the black car.

Drake followed behind still mute. "You've got your mom's car?" Sora asked, surprised that she remembered the old car. Mo shot her a smile and unlocked the doors.

During the short ride over, the four of them rode in silence, still the atmosphere inside the car was heavy with the importance of the task ahead of them. Mo parked the car away from the rest of the cars, in case they needed to make a hasty exit. They all stared at the house that was almost alive with all the noise, lights and people. "What's the plan?" asked Sora from the back.

"You point them out, and I do the rest," stated Drake dryly.

"Well, I think we should have a plan," she insisted, but he was already getting out of the car. Mo followed close behind. Before she opened her own door, she turned to Katie who was sitting beside her. Her friend looked paler than ever, and Sora thought she was shivering. "Are you alright?" she asked worried as she placed a hand on Katie's fragile shoulder.

Katie shook her head vigorously, as if the sudden motion could snap her out of whatever terror she was experiencing. "I'm fine," she whispered, her words barely audible. She then slapped her face with both hands. Sora pulled back in surprise.

Katie turned to look at her. She seemed like her usual self. "Let's do this," she said and opened her door.

"He is not even a human being," Sora yelled at Katie's back and smiled to herself.

The two of them hurried over to join the boys. Sora noticed that Mo was talking quietly with Drake, it wasn't anything that should make her suspicious, but for some reason she felt like there was something more than casual conversation passing between them. There was nothing simple about Drake, and Mo always had a motive behind all his actions, which made her wonder why he was helping them. Before she could analyze it any further, she felt Katie's hand on her shoulder, and they both moved forward passing through the front door. The house was exactly as she remembered it from the last time she was here, one year ago, at Ben's last birthday party.

"It's a looney house," Drake said exactly what she was thinking and that made her smile. The place looked like a tornado had just whipped through it. Most of the furniture was moved against the walls, occupied by students and the occasional college guy, every horizontal surface was littered with empty plastic cups, spilled drinks and chips.

Sora thought that the place would actually look good if it wasn't a total mess. The furniture was expensive, there were some beautiful paintings on the walls and some fine decorative pieces.

"Split up," said Mo. It felt too much like an order but Sora kept her tongue in check. She grabbed Katie's hand and started moving through the crowd, while Mo and Drake headed in the opposite direction.

The two girls managed to reach the kitchen counter in one piece, and they actually found Jordan along the way, but he wasn't alone. The big gorilla guy was surrounded by a bunch of his old teammates, and they were playing a drinking game. Sora hoped he wouldn't notice her in his drunken haze but of course, he did.

"Sora Gate," he exclaimed a little bit louder than Sora would have liked causing almost everyone in the room to stare at her. Jordan moved closer to her and then eyed Katie, his stare not quite focusing on her. "And you brought your sidekick," he said swirling his cup in front of Katie's face.

Jordan had never been on Sora's favorite people list but she never felt like kicking him until then. "Stop acting like an ape, Kong, you are supposed to be a gorilla," she commented, her voice full of sarcasm drawing a few snickers from the crowd around them. Sora knew this new nickname would stick around for a while and she was glad. She grabbed the cup from his hand, spilling a bit of its clear contents on the floor.

"Bitch," Jordan spit out vehemently.

Sora tossed the cup in the nearest garbage bin, and then grabbed Jordan's huge arm. She was half expecting him to pull away, but he obediently followed her as she dragged him through the crowd and out of the kitchen.

"If you wanted to hook up all you needed to do was say so," she heard him say behind her, and a snort escaped her. As if!

"I see Drake," she heard Katie say from somewhere to her left. Sora turned to Katie, and followed where she was pointing. Sure enough, she saw Drake's dirty blond hair sticking out from the crowd. His back was toward them and his head was bowed as he leaned forward, possibly talking to someone.

Sora started towards him, dragging a drunken Jordan behind her, Katie tagging behind. "I think he is talking to someone," she heard Katie remark. She was thinking the same thing. She couldn't see him clearly through the crowd, but she was almost certain Drake was talking to a girl. They were standing near the open French doors that led to the back yard. Drake was still inside, but the girl had moved outside. Sora caught a glimpse of her long, bleached blond hair blowing in the cold wind.

And then it sank in. Drake was talking to Mia. As the realization washed over her, Sora felt her stomach clench in tight knots. She quickly pushed her way towards them. She tried to ignore the feeling that was sneaking up on her. It was an emotion that she didn't care to experience. Jealousy. Isn't this all part of the plan? Why am I acting so weird? She tried to calm herself, but then saw Drake leaning even closer to Mia, his head inching closer and closer to the other girl. Sora crept close enough so she could hear, leaving Jordan behind. She held her breath and didn't make a sound as she kept watch on the scene unfolding before her eyes.

Drake tilted his head to the side and closed the distance between him and Mia. Mia closed her eyes and put her gloved hands around his waist. When it happened Sora felt like she was going to throw up. She watched horrified as the two of them kissed right in front of her eyes. She was rooted to the spot, unable to move or even breathe.

"That is not part of the plan," she finally managed to mumble, her voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

"It's part of my plan." Mo materialized next to her, watching the scene in front of them with pure delight. He even wore a crooked smile. Sora looked at him with what she knew was plain shock written all over her features. "Look at her clothes." Mo didn't even bother to look Sora in the eye.

Sora didn't want to watch the two of them kiss anymore, but she was unable to turn away. She realized Mia was wearing a coat that covered nearly all of her exposed skin; her hands were sheathed in soft leather gloves. The only bare skin showing was her face and her cleavage that burst out of her low cut top. I still wish he would have gone for the boobs, she thought in defeat.

"Dude!" she heard Jordan exclaiming from behind her. He seemed delighted, too.

"And that's not all of it," Mo added a second later. "There's more to the plan."

"I don't understand," Sora murmured confused. She still couldn't tear her eyes away from Drake who was still kissing Mia. Don't they need to come up for air?

"Wait for it," said Mo. A few agonizing seconds passed and then he added, "Now."

Sora couldn't figure out what he was talking about, but then caught a glimpse of Ben walking straight toward the kissing couple, who had finally pulled apart. "You planned this?" Sora asked, but she wasn't really surprised, she should have guessed that Mo was planning something the second she saw him whispering to Drake. But she would have never guessed it would be something like this.

"Dude!" exclaimed Jordan once more.

Sora glared at him. "I think we've established that." She realized he also saw Ben veering toward Drake ready for a fight. Jordan tried to pull away from her grasp, but she managed to keep him under her control. It wouldn't be good if both guys jumped Drake.

Or would it? a voice whispered in her head. After the shock of seeing Drake kissing another girl, and more specifically Mia for that matter, she felt betrayed and furious and yes, a bit jealous. He was trying to kiss her only a few hours earlier, and now he was perfectly okay with sticking his tongue down another girl's throat.

She heard Jordan yelp in pain, and she noticed that she'd been inadvertently digging her nails into his arm. She let go of Jordan and took a step closer to Drake, who was now bracing for Ben's fury.

"Stay away from her!" Ben screamed. He shoved Drake aside from his official girlfriend with surprising speed and strength. He didn't notice Mia, who wore a smug smile on her beautiful face.

"She was a willing party," said Drake lifting his eyebrows mockingly which only made Ben even angrier. He snagged Drake's shirt with one hand and readied his other fist.

Sora was barely able to see what was happening in front of her. The crowd was clustering around them screaming 'Fight!' Jordan was planted right in front her, blocking her view. Her ears rang from the noise, her sight was blinded with rage. She didn't know why, but the blinding feeling was growing, and she struggled to maintain control.

She was angry over what she had just witnessed, but she wasn't out of control, yet. For a brief moment, she wondered if she was on the verge of having an actual stroke for once in her life. She fought to keep her control, and then suddenly she felt an alien, yet awkwardly familiar, feeling taking over her. Her nostrils flared and her eyes slammed shut. She desperately tried to control it but she knew it was all in vain, she could actually feel the warmth between her fingers notching up degrees by the second.

When she felt like she was about to explode, Sora did the only thing that she could think of that might give her some control over the power rushing through her veins. She screamed. It wasn't a normal scream. She felt it tear harshly through her throat, bringing tears to her eyes, but she didn't stop because she could actually feel it working. The blinding rage inside of her was starting to fade.

When she finally stopped, she was exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than to fall into her bed and sleep, until she realized there was complete silence surrounding her. Shyly, she opened her eyes and watched horrified as everyone in the room stared at her, some with fear, others with shock. Mo and Katie had abandoned her. They stood with everyone else staring at her. Sora had no idea how long she had screamed, it could have been a split second or ten minutes for all she knew.

The crowd was frozen, no one dared to speak. Sora wished she could just disappear, and then someone finally did speak.

"Dude, that was wicked." She never thought she would actually be glad to hear Jordan's voice, it felt like music to her ears. A few people started laughing and then everything went back to normal.

"Freak," yelled Mia, and Sora glared at her with a murderous look. "Where is Ben?" she heard the blonde girl asking her friends.

"I think he went outside," someone answered loud enough for Sora to hear.

Her friends hustled to her side. "Are you okay?" Katie asked, her hands hovering near Sora, unsure and hesitant to touch her. It was Mo who cupped her face in his hands and looked straight into her eyes repeating the same question.

Sora pulled away. "Yes," she replied annoyed. She watched as Drake strode towards them with blood on his lips. She was instantly worried about him but also felt a slight bit of satisfaction.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, trying not to smile.

He didn't look bothered by her tone. "It's him," he stated seriously.

"Ben?" shrieked all three of them together. Drake nodded.

"Come on," said Sora and headed for the exit. "He went outside."

As Sora jostled through the crowd as fast as she could, she wondered what had just happened. She'd been mad watching Drake kissing Mia, and then she wasn't just angry, she was furious. She had only felt that much rage on one other occasion in her life, right before the fire that burned down the Academy.

It was Ben , she realized then. It wasn't just my anger but Ben's, too. Somehow we managed to feel the same thing. She didn't know if she should feel happy for figuring it out. Should she be worried that she had, even for a brief moment, experienced the same feelings as Ben? "I guess I was right all along," she commented when Katie reached her. "He really isn't a human being."

Their group reached the boundary of the front yard, they paused, everyone's eyes scanning for any sign of Ben. "Where is he?" she wondered. Then, before anyone could answer her question, they all stared as Ben's car raced backwards out of the house's garage.

"Ben," she heard Mia screaming behind her, but of course, he didn't stop. Sora could still feel a bit of his rage inside of her. A few minutes earlier, he was distracted by her scream, which allowed Sora to gain control of her powers, and for him to walk away. But as he drove away, Sora knew if either of them felt angry again there was no stopping the fire inside of her.

Mo ran past her. "Come on!" he yelled over his shoulder. Katie and Drake followed him running towards the car.

"We are going after him?" asked Sora, worried about another encounter with Ben while she still felt his anger. If it was up to her, she would just run the other way, as far as away from him as possible.

But it wasn't.

"I can feel it, he is changing," yelled Drake. Sora jumped into the car that was already in motion before she could slam the door shut.