"No, no, no, no, a million times, no!" Auntie said emphatically, hitting her hand against the table to emphasize her point further.

"I'm already dressed, Auntie. My ankle feels fine," I said between my bites of omelet, finding her mini tantrum adorable.

"I don't care! The doctor said to rest for 72 hours. 72 hours means three days, Opal. You are not going to school today!" Auntie declared furiously but I blinked my eyes up at her pleadingly.

"But Auntie I already missed Friday because of the race, I don't want to get behind in my classes."

"You are the smartest kid I know, Opal. You can stand to miss one more day," Auntie said, folding her arms.

"Please, Auntie? I promise I'll be super extra careful." Auntie sighed and placed a hand on her hip.

"Why do you want to go so badly?"

"I don't want to spend all day in front of the TV and I don't have any books to read," I admitted with a small pout. That was only a partial truth though.

Ever since I had gone to the hospital I had been plagued with terrible nightmares of me reliving all of my worst memories. If I was alone all day then I would probably fall asleep and I just wanted to keep myself distracted as much as possible.

"I can just take today off work," Auntie said stubbornly and I frowned slightly. As much as I would love that, I couldn't allow myself to be that selfish.

"No, Auntie, you can't. You're working on a big project," I said sadly.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek and looked away; I could tell that she knew I was right but didn't want to admit it. Finally, she looked at me and held up a finger.

"On one condition. I am going to drive you to school and pick you up."

"But you've been working late because of your project," I pointed out.

"I can take a break around 3:30, you'd only have to wait around half an hour for me."

"But you never drive to work; you said it's cheaper to take the subway."

"I don't care. That's my condition." I sighed, but nodded, grateful that she was allowing me to go. "Good. Oh... Opal are you sure? You could hurt yourself even more if you don't rest enough."

"I'm sure, Auntie. I'll be fine, I promise."

She nodded unhappily but

"Be careful, okay?" Auntie ordered with a worried frown as she helped me out of the car and shut the door behind me.

I smiled and gave her a thumbs up before position myself better on my crutches. We exchanged a gentle hug and I watched from the sidewalk as she got back in her car.

"Have a good day at work," I called to her and waved as she drove away.

She had dropped me off earlier than usual so I could make it to class on time with crutches. I hadn't been able to bring myself to tell her that I could walk as quickly with crutches as my normal walk. I scaled the wide stairs leading up to the school easily and was surprised to see the hallway almost empty. I looked at my clock and chuckled. I had almost twenty minutes until school started. I made my way to my locker and loaded my backpack with all of my morning class textbooks since I didn't want to have to battle the crowd to get back to my locker until lunch.

Once I was all loaded up I looked at the stairs. These indoor stairs were a lot narrower than I was used to, but I shouldered my now heavy backpack and purposefully went towards them. At the bottom of the stairs, I examined them closely, placing one of my crutches on them to see how narrow they really were.

When I was satisfied that I wouldn't have any trouble, I began carefully walking up the stairs; first placing my crutches on the step and then pulling myself up after them. Once I made it more than halfway up the flight I set my crutches down on the next step and they skidded to the side as if there was oil on the step. I flailed, trying to catch my crutches, but they both clattered onto the stairs. Desperately I tried to remain upright, but then my backpack slowly began to drag me back.

Auntie's going to kill me, I thought, closing my eyes and preparing for pain. Instead, I felt myself fall against something solid and arms wrapped around my stomach and shoulders. I looked up in alarm to see who had caught me and black-tipped hair tickled my nose as Lysander held me tightly in his arms. As his arm brushed against my bruised rib I bit my tongue to keep from whimpering.

"Lysander... what are you doing here?" I asked awkwardly as he continued to hold me.

Suddenly he bent and scooped me up into his arms. I couldn't help but notice how different it felt from when Nathaniel and Castiel had carried me. Nathaniel had been gentle and comforting like he wished he could take away my pain. Castiel had been strong and unyielding as if acting like a shield against the world. Now Lysander's arms felt protective and absolute like this was the most natural thing for him to be doing... But it was NOT natural for me.

"L-Lysander! I can walk..." 

He didn't reply as he carried me swiftly down the stairs and deposited me on the ground next to the banister. I held onto it to steady myself and Lysander pointed a finger at me,

"Stay," he commanded.

A memory of when Castiel had said the exact same thing to me flashed through my mind and I nodded mutely before he glided back up the stairs to get my crutches. Once he had gathered them he came back and handed them to me then folded his arms. His beautiful eyes, which were usually so calm and observant, were hard with an emotion I couldn't quite identify and it made me feel like I had done something wrong.

"What do you think you were doing?" he asked with a hard edge to his voice that I'd never heard before.

"Going to class," I answered quietly, looking up at him through my bangs.

Has Lysander always been so tall? I wondered to myself.

Lysander shook his head and motioned for me to follow him. I blinked, not moving until he turned and beckoned for me again. Slowly I began to follow him as he led me back to the main hallway.

"Injured students at Sweet Amoris are granted a key to the elevator and they are allowed to ride it up and down the stairs until crutches are no longer needed. Injured students also are permitted to leave five minutes before class ends so they don't have to navigate the crowds and potentially slip and fall in the hallway," Lysander explained without looking at me.

I bit my lip and concentrated on where to place my crutches. Is Lysander angry with me? Had I offended him? I followed him into the principal's office and Principal Shermansky looked up from her computer screen.

"Opal! What are you doing here? I have a doctor's note excusing you from today."

Lysander turned to me with a surprised look and I shrugged.

"I didn't want to miss out on any classes. I'm fine, really," I said reassuringly and she shrugged.

"Well, alright then."

"Opal is in need of an elevator key," Lysander said and I looked up at him in shock.

He called me Opal; I must have done something really, really bad.

"Oh, of course! So what did the doctor say?" she asked, rummaging through one of her drawers.

"I almost tore one of the ligaments in my ankle and bruised my rib. Nothing serious."

"That's not serious?" the principal asked in surprise and I smiled indulgently. She handed me the key, but Lysander snatched it before I had time to.

"Thank you, Principal. Come."

Lysander placed a hand on my shoulder and I allowed him to guide me out of the office and back into the hall where he stopped me in front of the elevator doors. They were opposite the library and I was surprised I'd never noticed them before. Lysander twisted the key in a lock embedded in the wall and the doors opened with a ding. He turned to me and waved his hand, indicating that I go in first. Once we were both in the elevator he pushed a button and we started going up.

"I'm sorry, Lysander," I said miserably and he looked down at me.

"Please be careful, Kate. You shouldn't push yourself."

My head snapped up to face him. "You called me Kate!" I said happily and Lysander blinked.

"Well, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"You called me Opal in front of the Principal. I thought you were mad at me."

The doors dinged before opening. Lysander's face relaxed into his ghostly smile and I sighed in relief.

"I didn't want to confuse her. You will always be Kate to me," he said softly and I grinned happily.

He walked with me into Government class and helped me get my backpack off before taking the seat next to me. The bell rang and students slowly wandered in until Alexy burst in, glancing around wildly until his eyes fell on me.

"Opal!" he cried, dashing over and taking my hands. "I heard all about it! Are you okay? Did you really break your ankle?"

He dropped to his knees to see my wrapped ankle. I laughed and he looked up at me with wide eyes.

"I'm fine, Alexy. It's just a bad sprain; I'll be good as new in a week."

Armin walked in as I explained and he stopped in front of my desk, looking at me thoughtfully.

"You know if you had the super legs boost from..."

"This isn't a video game, Armin. Opal is really hurt!" Alexy exclaimed and I laughed.

"Hey, Armin, now that I'm not supposed to move around a lot maybe you can teach me about your videogames."

Armin's blue eyes glimmered with excitement and he nodded eagerly. "Sure thing!"

"Well then I get to come over and hang out with Yuki," Alexy said excitedly and I nodded distractedly.

"You know where she lives?" Lysander asked calmly, but I thought I saw him raise one eyebrow.

"Yah. Opal's aunt is going to introduce me to a stylist when I graduate," Alexy said excitedly.

Lysander opened his mouth to reply when Nathaniel came in and our eyes immediately connected.

"Opal? What are you doing here? You have a doctor's note."

"I'm fine, Nathaniel," I said as he walked over and hovered near my chair, glancing between the twins, my ankle, then my face with an extremely worried expression.

"Are you sure? A torn ligament could be serious if you don't let it heal properly," Nathaniel said with a serious frown.

"It didn't tear all the way through. It doesn't even hurt that bad," I said reassuringly.

Having him hover over me like this was reminding me of the last few moments when I had been conscious and had been leaning against him while he stroked my knee comfortingly. I could feel my cheeks heating up at the memory, but luckily my thoughts were interrupted before I could get too lost in my head.

"It wouldn't have happened if Prez had been watching you better."

I looked up into Castiel's steel grey eyes. Alexy and Armin left to take their seats, leaving Castiel standing in front of me.

"It wasn't..."

"What are you doing at school?" he asked seriously and I blinked.

"It's not that bad..." I said quietly and he smirked, tapping his knuckles against my forehead.

"Stop trying to be tough; that's my job." I blinked up at his smirk which seemed to be hiding a genuine smile.

The bell rang again and both Castiel and Nathaniel took their usual seats next to and behind me. As the period went on I realized that my ankle was starting to pulse, but I ignored it. Five minutes before the period ended Lysander reached over and started putting my things back into my backpack. Mr. Schiess continued explaining the differences between autocracy, democracy, and oligarchy while Lysander slipped my backpack over his shoulder and offered me his hand. I took it hesitantly and allowed him to help me up.

I could feel the stares of everyone in the room as I hobbled out with Lysander. When he opened the door for me I couldn't help but look back and I saw that both Nathaniel and Castiel were looking in my direction with extremely strange yet matching expressions. Lysander waved me through the door though so I had to turn away before I could make sense of their expressions.

"You didn't have to walk me out, Lysander," I mumbled awkwardly and he smiled.

"You and I both know that you wouldn't have left early if I hadn't." I blushed and looked away, inwardly admitting that he was right. "Make sure you leave early from the rest of your classes, okay?"

Lysander waited with me and even walked into my College Statistics class to help me get situated; I had to practically order him to leave for his own class. The morning passed by slowly as my ankle began to throb more and more. By the time AP Psychology was over I was starting to think I hadn't made a good decision coming to school today. This time I waited until the bell rang and watched as all of the other students left the classroom. Exhaustion gripped me and I leaned my elbows against my desk and placed my head into my hands, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands.

"Sato, how are you holding up?" Glancing up, I saw Dajan who was giving me a worried look. I forced myself to smile and ignore my ankle as best as I could.

"Just peachy. How are you?"

"I'm good. Do you need anything? Want me to give you a piggyback ride?"

"I'm okay," I said with a sigh. "I think I might go to the nurse's office and lay down for a bit though."

"You're not going to eat?" he asked.

"Not very hungry," I muttered.

My stomach was in knots from the pain in my ankle and ribs and I doubted I'd even be able to stomach the smell of food right now.

"Amber isn't bothering you, is she?" he asked and I could hear a dangerous tone in his voice. I shook my head, slowly moving around in my chair to face him better.

"No, I hardly ever see her," I explained and he nodded stiffly. "Umm, what did you do to her after Nathaniel took me home?"

"I drove her home and told her if she ever bothered you again then I would destroy her purse." A surprised laugh escaped me which caused a spasm through my ribs. I blinked quickly, masking my pain as Dajan grinned wickedly. "You have no idea how materialistic that girl is. It was the only thing I could threaten that I knew she cared about."

I shook my head and chuckled. "You didn't have to threaten her, Dajan. I can handle her."

"I'm your bodyguard, that's my job. And I kind of failed last night; I'm sorry, Opal."

Dajan looked away and I saw a look of shame pass across his handsome features. I reached out and gently laid my hand on his arm. He looked down at me and I smiled.

"You are a wonderful bodyguard, Dajan. Thank you." He gave me a small smile and I reached out to bring my crutches over to my side.

"I'm going to go, but I'll see you tomorrow."

"No way," Dajan said with a frown.

I watched silently, not having the energy to argue as he reached out and took my backpack in one of his hands. Dajan shouldered my backpack that was filled with three different textbooks and two notebooks like it was filled with feathers and he extended a dark hand out to me. I regarded his offered hand tiredly, wondering if I even had the energy to move.

"Sato?" he asked, looking at me with concern.

I attempted to smile at him before slipping my pale hand into his and allowing him to guide me up into a standing position. He then reached down to hand me my crutches.

I followed Dajan out of AP Psychology and back to my locker where he helped me switch out my morning textbooks for my afternoon material, which thankfully was much lighter. He glanced down at me and I again tried to smile and ignore my throbbing ankle. With a tsk, Dajan knelt down in front of me in the same position that Nathaniel had just a few days ago.

"Dajan..." I whimpered, but he just backed up so that his back bumped against my right leg.

Why are all of the guys around me so stubborn? I wondered, but honestly, I was too tired to argue anymore.

With a sigh, I leaned my crutches against the locker and put my hands on Dajan's shoulders, grateful that he had chosen to wear a normal T-shirt today instead of his usual basketball jersey. Bending my right knee I leaned against Dajan's long back and wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. He stood up gently, sweeping my feet from the ground and I was glad that I had worn a loose skirt since it still covered my upper legs even with me on his back. Glancing down I blinked, looking around at the world from Dajan's perspective, and realized just how far from the ground I was.

"You're sure you don't want anything to eat, Sato?" Dajan asked, tilting his head back to glance at me over his shoulder. I shook my head and leaned forward until my forehead was resting between the base of his neck and his shoulder.

"I just want to lie down," I said honestly.

"You got it, Sato. I'll come back for your crutches, okay?" Dajan said and I nodded against his shoulder in quiet acceptance.

Dajan walked carefully through the mostly empty hallways with me on his back and I kept my forehead pressed gently against his shoulder with my eyes closed so that I wouldn't see if anyone gave us strange looks. Sooner than I had anticipated Dajan came to a halt, easing one arm out from under my right leg so that he could open the door to the nurse's office. 

He walked in confidently and walked over to a bed, turning around and gently sitting us both down on it. I immediately released my grip on Dajan's shoulders and pulled away. Dajan stood up, turning around to face me with concern evident in his eyes.

"You sure you don't want to go home, Sato?" he asked kindly and I shook my head turning slightly and reaching down to help lift my left ankle up and began slowly undoing the wrapping. "I'll go get your crutches," Dajan said and I nodded silently.

Once the last roll of the bandage came off and I saw how swollen my ankle had gotten just through the morning I winced.

"Oh well," I muttered to myself as I re-wrapped it tightly.

Dajan came back with my crutches shortly after and I insisted he go eat while assuring him I'd be fine by myself, but he made sure to place a couple of pillows underneath my foot before he finally did as I asked. I laid back and fought sleep until the bell signaling the end of lunch hour rang out. Groaning, I pulled myself up and winced as my ribs twinged. Swinging my feet gently off the bed I placed the pillows back in their proper spot and then made my way slowly to AP Bio.

"Hey, Opal. Are you okay?" I looked up at Nathaniel and nodded, attempting to smile.

"Nathaniel, do you have some colored pencils I could borrow? I forgot mine at home," Melody said as she took the seat next to Nathaniel.

"Here," Nathaniel said shortly, handing her his package before turning back and focusing on me.

"You're really pale, Opal. Are you sure you're okay?" Nathaniel asked as he peered into my face with obvious concern. I flinched back slightly at how close he was and heard Melody letting out a tsking sound.

"No woman wants to hear that they look bad, Nathaniel," Melody commented with a disapproving look.

Nathaniel's eyes widened as he looked between Melody and me and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he tried to explain he hadn't meant it that way. I looked over at Melody in mild surprise though, surprised that she had, in a weird way, stood up for me. Melody peeked at me from the side of her eye and I saw her eyes slide down to my ankle.

"Sorry I was rude the other night," Melody said quietly. I blinked in shock at her even more unexpected apology and I felt a real smile actually lift up the corners of my lips.

"It's okay," I said sincerely, and then looked up at Nathaniel who looked incredibly flustered. "And I wasn't offended, Nathaniel. My ankle hurts more than I was expecting, but I can make it to the end of the day."

"You're sure?" Nathaniel asked and I nodded tiredly. He finally took his seat and I glanced past him to look at Melody, who had turned her attention to her book.

I left early from class, refusing Nathaniel's offered help since I didn't want to have to make small talk, and rode the elevator up to my economics class. When the bell rang I waited for the stream of students to leave before hobbling in and taking my seat, setting my crutches and backpack on the ground beside me.

"Opal, sweetie!" Rosalya burst into the room and knelt next to my desk. I smiled down at her as she reached up and stroked my cheek. "Oh dear, you look so pale! See, this is why I told you not to go to that awful place. Nothing good comes from getting dirty!"

I forced myself to giggle even though it made my ribs protest.

"It wasn't the forest's fault; it was my own clumsiness," I explained and she continued to stroke my cheek.

"You poor, brave girl. Is it very painful?"

I shook my head automatically. Even if I was hurting, Rosalya didn't need to know that.

"How are you doing, Kate?" I looked up into Lysander's calm gaze and smiled tiredly.

How many times am I going to have to answer that question? I wondered to myself glumly.

"I'm fine, Lysander."

"Rosalya, didn't you say that when a girl says she's 'fine' that she's anything but?"

Rosalya nodded energetically and I ducked my head, feeling my cheeks warm up. Why did Lysander have to see through me so easily?

"Would you like me to take you to the nurse's office?" Lysander asked and I shook my head, smiling tiredly up at him.

"I'm fi... okay," I said, quickly switching my word choice.

His eyes clouded but he sat down, and I was grateful that he didn't push. At the end of the period, he once again stood up and helped me leave the room. He waited until I seated myself in Advanced Watercolors before leaving for his own class.

"Opal!" I looked up to see Violette looking down at me with tear-filled eyes. "Oh, Opal, are you alright?" she asked quietly and I had to blink to keep my own tears from coming.

"Yah, Violette. Don't worry about me. I'll be right as rain in no time."

"Do you want to prop your leg up on a chair?" Kim asked, coming up behind Violette. I opened my mouth to refuse, but then I stopped and thought it over.

"That actually might be nice," I admitted and Kim quickly snagged a chair, placing it beside me. I lifted my throbbing ankle and laid it carefully on the chair while sitting sideways.

"Gnarly," Kim commented, taking the seat next to me. I chuckled dryly, ignoring the pain in my ribs. Mr. Faraize came into the room just as the bell rang to start the class.

"Welcome to class everyone! I hope you have the image from the orienteering race fresh in your mind because today we are leaping into our first project." Mr. Faraize handed out pieces of paper and small black boxes. "Everyone take a paper and a package of watercolor pencils. Before diving into true watercolor painting I wish to see your skills with sketching."

Mr. Faraize explained quickly how to use a watercolor pencil and then set us loose as he wandered around the class, commenting and helping people as he went. I gently started drawing the outline of the squirrel I had seen. When the bell finally rang, I sighed in relief.

"I'll put your things away for you, Opal," Violette said, gathering my picture and pencils.

"Do you need a ride home?" Kim asked and I shook my head, slowly moving my sore ankle off the chair.

"My aunt is going to pick me up."

"Cool. Do you need help with anything?"

I smiled and once again shook my head, pulling my backpack on.

"I'm good. Thank you though, Kim." She smiled broadly before following Violette to the front of the class.

I walked out of the classroom and headed for the entrance. I didn't have any homework today and I didn't want to be around people while I waited for Auntie. Without even realizing it, I found myself in the garden. I couldn't go into the greenhouse because of the uneven footing but it was warm and comforting being amidst all the green.

I hobbled over to a large tree and leaned against its trunk, letting out a long sigh. My ankle was burning with pain and my ribs were making breathing painful. I pulled out my cell phone and held it in my hands but a heavy drowsiness fell over me and against my best efforts I soon had fallen into a deep, troubled sleep.