The next day, Sora was exhausted. Seconds dragged by like hours in her classes. Sora could hardly keep her eyes open, let alone pay attention to everything around her. She was even oblivious to Drake's tense stares. She didn't even have the energy to begin to contemplate his intentions.

At last, it was lunchtime. Sora smiled, relieved that she could finally rest her tired mind, fill her belly and perhaps catch a quick nap.

She rose slowly from her seat and made her way to the door, only to find Drake blocking her way. Her smile faltered as adrenaline surged through her. For the first time all day, she felt alert.

She stopped to face him. There were no other students to save her this time. "What?" she asked, surprising herself by the sharp tone of her voice. She really wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. The usual feelings of terror and the urge to flee vanished. Anger surged through her as she planted her feet firmly and stared him down.

Drake was a little bit taken aback by her attitude, but he composed himself quickly, and flashed her a confident grin. "I need to talk to you," he said with a dead serious tone.

Sora shrugged, flipped her hair, and continued to meet his piercing gaze without showing the slightest sign of fear. She was looking straight into his black eyes without hesitation. "Well, too bad, because I'm in no mood to talk." She shoved past him. "Especially to you," she said and briskly walked away.

Drake's mouth popped open in surprise at her unexpected boldness, and he didn't even try to stop her from leaving.

Sora rounded the corner and drew in a sharp breath. She was relieved that Drake hadn't pursued her, because even though she put up a bold front, inside she was still a little scared, but she was proud that she had held her ground. Maybe a restless Sora is better than a restful one, she thought with a smile on her face. That will teach him!

With her new found confidence, she strode into the cafeteria and cut to the front of the line to stand next to Katie, ignoring the snide comments of her classmates in the process.

"Hello," she smiled to her friend once she was in front of her.

Katie smiled back. "You know, one of these days someone is going to kick your ass for moving past them in the line."

Sora raised her eyebrows surprised by the use of the word 'ass'. Katie was never one to use any inappropriate language, no matter what. "I think I am a bad influence," Sora murmured more to herself, but Katie heard her anyway and responded with a grin and a playful shove.

Once they finished eating, the girls decided to spend the last few minutes of their break sitting on the bleachers. Sora immediately slumped down once they reached the first seat. Her fatigue had returned. Katie seated herself in front of Sora and eyed her warily.

"You seem exhausted. Didn't you get a good night's sleep?"

"More like didn't get any sleep at all," she said as her eyes fluttered shut and her head dropped back.

A soft breeze whisked over Sora's skin, and she felt the warmth of the sun kissing her hands and face. It was pure bliss. Suddenly, a cloud blotted out the sun, and the warm wind vanished. Sora's eyes flew open to assess the change. She noted that Katie had turned away and was steadily watching the three students approaching them.

As the trio drew near, recognition hit Sora, and she immediately regretted her decision to come to the bleachers. Mia was heading straight toward them, and she wasn't alone, as usual Ben and Jordan were at her side. Even though they were a ways out, and their facial features were not apparent, Sora could easily recognize Mia's long, bleached blonde hair. Jordan's massive bulk and facial hair were easy to discern too. The nickname Sora had given him a long time ago was Donkey Kong, and it was certainly fitting.

Sora rose from her seat to stand next to Katie, bracing herself for whatever was coming. Her three former teammates halted right in front of them. Mia crossed her arms under her breasts and glared down at them. Even though Sora was a head taller, Mia managed to appear as if she was always looking down on everyone.

"So, what do we have here?" questioned Mia with a vicious sneer on her perfectly pink glossed lips.

Usually, Sora would have just ignored her and slinked away, but she felt her adrenaline spike again, just as it had with Drake, and she remained in place. Sora liked this powerful new feeling. She took a confident step closer to Mia, stopping just inches from her face.

"I was thinking the exact same thing," she said, meeting Mia's gaze straight on and raising her eyebrows provocatively.

Mia's confidence wavered for a moment, and she looked scared, but it was fleetingly, quickly she returned Sora's penetrating glare. She knew she had nothing to be afraid of with Ben and Jordan there to back her up. As if to prove that, Jordan barreled between them, shoving Sora back.

Even though it was a small push for him, Sora already felt a bruise forming where he'd touched her. She was relieved that it wasn't more violent, because she had witnessed him doing a lot worse. Sora felt Katie's firm, steady hand on her back. "Don't touch her," Katie screamed in a shrill voice much higher than normal. Katie wasn't one to scream, especially at someone like Jordan. Sora could see Katie's anger bubbling up, and her eyes glittered with fierceness. In that moment, Katie was blinded by fury. Sora thought, go girl, as she watched her normally timid friend face down the huge bully.

Jordan's menacing stature cast a long shadow over Katie's tiny silhouette. Sora was ready to step in, but someone beat her to it. Ben was suddenly there placing a firm grip on Jordan's shoulder, pulling him back. Jordan didn't complain, he obediently retreated, like the good donkey that he was. Now Ben was taking charge.

He walked up closer to Katie and smoothly laid a hand on her shoulder. He stared down at Katie with his deep blue eyes, and Sora cursed. Katie's resolve faltered once she returned his gaze. She had a crush on Ben that she'd harbored since middle school, even if she never discussed it with Sora, it was very apparent, and Ben seemed in on her secret as well.

He smiled, and Katie's cheeks flamed red. "Crap," Sora muttered under her breath. This was not helping.

"I am sorry. I hope you are not hurt. Jordan can be a little... thick at times."

What on earth? Sora felt her jaw drop open. This was not happening. She expected him to make fun of her friend or even worse, but she didn't see that one coming. He was actually apologizing.

Katie seemed to have lost her voice, and Sora was sure she was squealing on the inside. Maybe I was wrong about him, Sora thought, watching him remove his hand from Katie and approach her.

"And you," he started and looked at his shoes as if for inspiration.

Is he going to apologize to me? For real?

Ben's eyes darkened and he returned to his cold, mean and calculating demeanor. He brushed his fingers between his dark hair, and spoke to Sora, "You need to keep your dog on a tighter leash."

Sora's jaw dropped open once again, and her eyes widened. Jerk, she screamed in her head. He had already started walking away, but she wasn't going to let him leave like that.

"You are unbelievable!" she screamed and darted after him. He didn't stop, but both Mia and Jordan did. They blocked her way, and she was forced to halt, but she wasn't done talking. "Come back here, you jerk."

"Shut up!" It was Mia who screamed this time. Sora diverted her attention to the bleached blonde in front of her, and noticed she was breathing hard and her face was a shocking red, even under all that makeup. She recognized Mia's apparent fluster as jealousy. Ben was torturing her. Every time he approached another girl, Mia would get angry. And he always did those things to Sora. No wonder Mia has severe jealousy issues, Sora commented in her mind.

"You shut up!" Sora screamed back and it felt good. She was ready to attack her. If only Jordan wasn't there.

"Both of you get a hold of yourself," Ben cut off their fighting, even though he was already a few paces ahead. Mia obeyed and turned to leave but not before shooting Katie a scornful look.

Once the trio from hell had retreated, Sora turned her attention back to Katie, who remained rooted to the same spot. "Are you okay?" she asked as she rubbed the spot on her chest where Jordan had pushed her. That is going to leave a bruise.

Katie looked up. Her face crumpled in hurt, but thankfully there were no tears. Sora hugged her friend without knowing what to say. Sometimes a hug was better than any amount of words, and this was one of those times.

Katie finally hugged her back, after what seemed like an eon. They both sat back down on the bleachers. Katie just stared after the retreating Ben.

"Thanks for standing up for me. I know how scary Jordan can be," Sora said glancing at the field. "It was pretty funny actually seeing you scream at him." She felt her friend peering at her but didn't turn to face her. "You have to snap out of whatever spell Ben's got you under. He is not worth your time," she kept on talking as Katie gasped beside her. "He is not worthy of you. You think I don't notice how you look at him?" She smiled, and then finally dared to peek at her friend. Katie was embarrassed, her cheeks flushed pink again, and her clear blue eyes were wider than ever.

"He is a jerk," Sora declared and patted Katie's back once. Katie just nodded. "And more importantly, he is a man whore," she said the last word higher than she intended, but hearing Katie's laugh beside her made her glad she did.

"He is a man whore, isn't he?" Katie choked out between giggles. Sora couldn't help but laugh, too. They kept on laughing until the sound of the bell ringing brought them back to reality.

***

Sora was more than relieved when the school day neared its end. She could finally get out and run and give her troubles to the wind. Exercise was the one thing she could count on to clear her head. She quickly gathered her bag, and made ready to dart to the door once the bell rang. She wanted to be the first one out of the classroom, so no one could stop her. So he couldn't stop her.

She ran down the stairs but came to an abrupt stop once she saw Mia talking to a girl at the bottom of the staircase. She looked more carefully and realized Mia was speaking to Katie. She flew down the stairs once she heard Katie raising her voice.

Katie was yelling at Mia. "It's not my fault that your boyfriend is messing with you," she heard her say.

Go girl, she thought, again, and grinned.

"Messing with me?" Mia sputtered, looking like she was about to explode. "You think your BFF is so much better than everyone else?"

Big mistake, Barbie. Sora knew Mia's words would only make Katie even angrier. The last of Katie's calm, sweet demeanor slipped away once Mia began bad mouthing her best friend.

Katie started to say something, but Mia cut her off, a mean grin snarled across her face. "You think she's so honest and perfect, that she is telling you everything, but has she told you about the fire?"

"No!" Sora couldn't stop the scream escaping her mouth.

Both Mia and Katie turned to look at her; one with a satisfied smirk, the other with teary eyes. Sora was ready to rip Mia's head off her shoulders, but seeing her best friend's pitiful stare, made her pause.

"Go ahead. Ask her. Let's see what she has to say," Mia said, flipping her head at Sora as she walked away.

Katie just stared at Sora, her pain clearly scrawled across her face. Sora finally found the power to move her feet, and she tentatively took a step toward Katie, but before she could say anything, Katie turned her back and fled.

Away from the school and away from her.