Whop whop! So the update is finally here. Yay :) I hope you guys enjoy it. Do tell me any thoughts you have about anything ;)

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"Nana?" I called out as I threw my somewhat heavy backpack on the floor of our living room. Damien trailed in after me, his feet leaving watery footprints wherever he walked.

"I'm in the shop," I heard her muffled reply. There was a loud thud, followed by a few choice words. I giggled.

Damien snorted," And she tells us to mind our language."

"Come on, let's go see what she's up to," I said as I worked out a kink in my shoulder from the heavy weight of the bag.

Damien dumped his bag on the floor a few feet from mine and let out a loud sigh. "Why do we have so many books to carry," he moaned.

I shrugged my shoulders at him, "Beats me."

We followed her faint voice all the way to the shop where we found her perched on a tall ladder arranging her potion jars in systematic order. The floor was littered with open boxes with half their contents sprawled out around the ladder.

I took in a deep breath and smiled. The room had that musky, kind of woodsy yet fresh smell to it. The smell of her potions and herbs. It reminded me of home, of safety. I never knew I missed it so much, but I did.

Nana turned around and let out a gasp. "Dear God, what did you do?"

Damien shook his hair like a dog, flinging the water droplets everywhere.

I sent him a disgusted look and leaned away from him. Focusing on Nana, I said, "We had a water fight. Girls won, obviously."

I flicked my semi dry hair and preened as Nana applauded me.

"Girls didn't win," Damien griped. "You cheated."

I smirked at him. "Sure... whatever makes you happy, Damien."

Damien frowned but thankfully remained quiet. "I take it you had a fun day today?" Nana cut in.

"Yeah," we said simultaneously.

Today was definitely a better day at school than yesterday. I'd managed to avoid Luke the whole day and apparently Hunter wasn't in either, so I didn't need to face him and question him about the creepy yet beautiful drawing he'd made. I was kind of glad he wasn't in. I didn't know how to broach the subject. Hell, I didn't think I could even look him in the eyes ever again after those dreams.

The marking on my arm had yet to fade, so I'd worn a long sleeve top to cover it. I'd immediately regretted that decision; it had been barely midday and I'd started to feel the sweat pool underneath my armpits and on my back due to the sweltering heat.

Body sweat aside, with Damien and I timetabled for different lessons, for the first time since my 'accident' I had to face the music alone. This is what I looked like now, no point hiding it. At first, I was terrified but after meeting Katherine 'call me Kat or I will smother you in your sleep' I was more than grateful I had her around to guide me.

My lessons that day were a blast with her by my side. I'd come to realize that she wasn't part of any clique, choosing to stay on the fringe of society for reasons unbeknownst to me.

Somehow Kat made me feel like I did before the 'accident' and her spunky attitude and even spunkier style made me feel like I could take on the world. People still stared at my face like they'd never seen one before but it was starting to bother me less, especially when Kat would scream the most inane things at them and they'd look away. I'm guessing they refused to look at my cheek out of fear, but then again, so would I if a blue haired girl started screaming at me.

During lunchtime, I'd sat with her and a group of her friends who all seemed to welcome me with open arms.

I was incredibly suspicious of them, but their incessant chatter and somewhat petty conversations eased me. They seemed harmless and without a single malicious bone in their bodies.

By lesson four, I was more than content with how the day progressed. My lessons were, as expected, very boring but I found that I liked the mundane setting. By the end of the day, Damien and I decided a water fight was in order after the scorching heat had completely drenched us in sweat.

And water fight we did. Of course, with the absence of real water guns, we made our own makeshift ones by creating a small hole on the top of our water bottles. It worked just as well as any other gun, maybe better given the situation. Kat and a couple of other girls joined my team while Damien had a few guys on his. Fast forward a few of hours later and the boys relented, leaving the girls the victorious winners.

I blinked myself out of my reverie and directed my attention to the situation at hand.

"Nana, we're here," Damien said.

Nana let out an airy laugh, "I can see that, dear. Go take a shower and when you come down, I'll be ready for your lesson."

She placed two more bottles on the shelf and then climbed down till her feet touched solid ground.

Damien shot me a glower. "You can stop gloating now."

I smirked wider. "I'm not," I said innocently.

"Whatever," he huffed as he turned around to the main house.

I looked over my shoulder to ensure that he left, and then scampered over to my grandmother's side. "Did you find out what the marking on my arm was?" I asked her, anxious to find out what it her take on it was.

Her cheery smile darkened instantly, almost as though someone flipped a switch. She reached up and gripped my arm in a vice-like hold, pulling me closer until I was a hairbreadth away. "Do not bring that up again, do you understand," she hissed in my ear.

My mouth dropped open in shock. What was wrong with her? She said she was going to find out more about it and suddenly I'm the enemy!

"Nana..." I spluttered out in confusion, unable to formulate a coherent thought.

She tightened her grip on my arm until I thought it would turn black and rot off from lack of blood supply. "I said: do you understand," she repeated, digging her long nails into my skin for emphasis.

The heat flooded my face and I looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "Yes," I whispered, unable to say it any louder. I squirmed a little, hoping that my movement will help alleviate the pressure on my arm.

She just tightened her grip even more. I bit my lip to stop the whimper from exploding but a sound must have come out because Nana's normally soft amber eyes crinkled up in disgust as she sneered at me. "You're pathetic," she spat as she let go of my arm and shoved me in the direction of her shop.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes and my throat closed up. I was speechless; it was like Nana was abducted by aliens or something. Considering all the supernatural creatures out there, it could actually be a possibility. I shuddered at the thought.

I blinked back the tears and stumbled my way to Damien's room. Removing my shoes, I hopped into the bed and burrowed down, waiting for Damien to finish in the shower so I could have a turn.

It was weird. Nana was never this rude to either of us. Even when we were huge pains in her butt, she still smiled and acted like everything was good.

It left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't like it. I chose to ignore this odd behavior for now. Maybe the move into her dead daughter's house got to her?

Who was I kidding? Nana never acted like this. Now I just had to figure out what in the bleeding hell was going on.

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