Time is even crueller than death.

Aubrey stood at the entrance in shock as she gazed at his blonde hair and shocking blue eyes that looked like it was made of delicate glass.

"I'm Michael Corentin." He said smiling,"You must be the new girl?"

Aubrey managed to nod.

The boy smiled at ease,"You better come in. The storms here get pretty bad."

Aubrey wordlessly walked in the hall which was empty by now.

The voices had hushed down and she couldn't hear a thing which just confirmed that there was more to the boy who stood in front of her.

"So you're probably looking for the office?" He asked flicking his hair off his face.

He always did that to annoy her.

Aubrey took a startled step back.

Where the hell had that come from?

"Y-Yeah." She said and then cleared her throat when she realised how ridiculous she sounded,"I mean yes, the office."

"Right this way." He said,"I'm student body president so it would be my job showing you around anyway."

The hallway was almost empty with a handful of children quickly grabbing whatever they could find from their lockers and rushing to class.

"So the storms here get pretty bad huh?" Aubrey asked completely out of topic but she was bursting with questions and she had to find a way to ask them without him thinking she was a crazy person.

Do you know I've seen you in my dreams summoning storms?

All the voices in my head stopped when you came do you know why?

Do you know about the other boy?

Is he here too?

"They get bad." He agreed with a small smile,"Really bad."

Before Aubrey could figure out if his words had a double meaning he stopped in front of her and said,"Here we go the main office."

She gave a grateful smile and started to walk forward when he called out,"I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name."

"Oh." She said shyly,"Aubrey. Aubrey Valdis."

The name has an instant effect on him and his mask of cool breaks into one of shock.

But his cool is back almost instantly,"Well it was nice to meet you Aubrey Valdis."

_________

Aubrey wasn't proud to admit it but she was in a daze all day and it was because of Michael.

She had never thought of herself as the flimsy type who would fall in love with a boy on first sight and keep day dreaming about him.

But there she was replaying the grin he gave her that lit up his blue eyes and-

Break the curse.

She sat up a little straighter. She hadn't heard the voices all morning since her encounter with Michael but this one was loud and clear and it tore through all of her dazed thoughts about Michael.

It was the other boy she was almost sure of it now, the deep tone that reverberated with a rich vibe that gave it such a royal feel.

Royal, huh, a funny way to describe a voice.

"Miss Valdis?" Mr Thorne called out from the front of the class,"Did you have a question or a doubt?"

As if in sync almost everyone turned around to look at her. It had been happening since morning in each and every class she went. She could make out what they were thinking by the

Oh look at the new girl as she turns red with embarassment.

Oh it's biology what's the fun in doing practicals when you can disect the new girl.

Finally something interesting happening in the present, history is boring anyway.

"N-No."

"Okay then back to the point."

Thank god, the last thing she wanted to do was be quized on history. What had made her take this dumb subject anyway?

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hated history, she always had and had almost never opted for the subject. She would always pick, art or drama over it but this school for some odd reason gave her the choice between world history and art.

The last time Aubrey had held a brush it had been after her parents death when she had dyed her hair black. After that she had thrown away all her art supplies and her paintings away. 

While her aunt strayed away from Aubrey as much as possible, her grandmother was the complete opposite.

Her grandmother didn't believe in god that was one of the things that had been drilled into her head and that Aubrey shouldn't either. Instead she believed in the untold version, the archangels. 

Every day whenever Aubrey did something, anything really, from eating, to sleeping later than usual her grandmother would be ready with another one of her angel tales.

Aubrey looked longingly at the window on the far corner of the class. She had wanted the seat next to it but the girl behind her had told her that it was strictly reserved for Declan, whoever the hell that was.Aubrey was tempted to sit there anyway screw high school hiearchy but she knew better than to shake the ladder so she promptly took her place at the back of the class. Now she was regretting it because more than half the period had passed and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Miss Blaze, I'm honored that you could come to class."Mr Thorne called out,"Please enlighten us as to why you've decided to grace us with your presence forty five minutes late?"

Aubrey looked up at the girl who stood at the door. She had long choclate brown hair that matched perfectly with her brown eyes. Her skin was just a few shades lighter than her hair and she had the kind of look that gave her a regal look.

Again that word, regal, royal. She had for some reason used it to describe Micheal too although he couldn't have looked more different than the girl who stood in front of the class but yet there was something undeniably similar about the two of them which Aubrey just couldn't put her finger on.

The girl shrugged a bit,"So that I could grace all of you with my presence for the next fifteen minutes."

Everyone in class snickered.

Mr Thorne went beetroot red as he gazed at her but then sighed in defeat,"Just sit down Miss Blaze."

Aubrey was surprised at this she was almost sure that he would eat her alive but none of the others looked even mildly interested as if this happened on a regular basis.

The girl made her way down the aisle and suddenly her eye caught Aubrey's a very distinct look of shock passed through her face as she stared at Aubrey.

A look of confusion clouded her face as if she recognized Aubrey but in the end she shrugged and just sat down.

____________________

If Aubrey had to hear one more pick up line she would probably just go and jump off the mountain. 

Aubrey knew she looked unusual with her dark blue eyes and features that couldn't quite be classified to any particular race. She'd been told that multiple times but she'd never really bothered. While in her previous school this had made people ostracise her, here in Spade it had just added to the attention she was receiving. Her hair used to be a pretty hazel brown, not quite brown but not quite blonde either once upon a time but now it was dark black and tied into a choppy pony tail. 

She knew the attention would fade away soon enough because it was only a matter of time before she got labelled as the emo loner. To be honest Aubrey couldn't have cared less about her reputation. Being friends with girls and popular among boys had never been a prerogative for her anyway.

And yet all she could think about was Michael.

Even when she tried to think of something else he just flited back into her mind almost forcefuly.
She tried to avert her attention by gazing to the pretty flower that bloomed on the potted plant near her seat.

She touched the flower feeling the soft petals on her fingers.

"Hi."

Aubrey looked up to see the same girl from history stretching out her hand in front of her,"Hi I'm Gabby Blaze. Actually Gabriel Blaze but please don't call me that."

Aubrey took it almost immediately and smiled which surprisngly came naturally to her, usually she had to plaster one of those really fake ones on her face.

"I'm Aubrey Valdis."

She smiled,"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Aubrey was actually taken back by her offer but managed to give her a nod.

"So you're from New York?"

Aubrey looked at Gabby quizzically as far as she could recall Gabby was nowhere near when Aubrey had to go up and do her introduction.

As if reading her mind,"It's a small school word gets around fast."

"Oh. I didn't k-"

Before Aubrey can finish another girl appears in front of her she's got long muddy brown hair that reached past her waist and her eyes were a startling green, almost too bright.

Aubrey didn't have to guess that she was probably the queen bee of the grade. Every school had one and the girl in front of her looked just the part with her expertly done make up and a statsque figure.

What she was doing in front of Aubrey's tiny table in the corner was something that Aubrey couldn't understand and apparently neither could Gabby who had raised a challenging eyebrow at the new arrival.

"You're Aubrey, correct?"

Although her voice is polite her underlying tone is anything but. It's sharp but at the same time almost curiously scared.

Earth and Fire don't mix.

Touch one,you burn.

Touch the other and you'll be buried.

Aubrey was actually shocked to hear the voice after such a long period of silence.

"Y-Yes I'm Aubrey." She nodded bewildered at all the attention she was getting. She had purposely gone for the incognito look but yet everyone in the cafeteria had turned at least twice towards the three girls.

"Gabby." The girl acknowledged with a tight nod of her head, which indicated that the two of them were not exactly friends.

Gabby's lips are pursed into a thin line, clearly the feeling was mutual,"Sarah."

Sarah's gaze was back at Aubrey now much more at ease,"I'm sorry to interrupt this little gathering but I just wanted to welcome to Spade High. I apologise for all the staring but it's quite rare that we get a newbie around here."

Aubrey had the strangest feeling that this girl was trying to provoke her in someway all though Aubrey couldn't say why.

"Thank you?" Aubrey asked.

"You're welcome." She said and then looked past her,"The poor flower."

Aubrey turned confused staring at the plant behind her. The flower that had been blooming a brilliant white and pink just a few minutes ago had turned into a moulted brown yellow colour.

What the-

Aubrey turned back at Sarah and Gabby who were looking at her rather expectantly.

Aubrey met their face with utter confusion as well as the whirlwind of confusion that was going on in her mind.

She would have said something had it not been for this sudden burst of static in her head.

He's here!
He's here!
Run!
Run!
The prophecy must be fulfilled.
He will break it!

The emotion that followed was a wave of terror followed by a wave of longing and expectancy. Aubrey felt dizzy with the flurry of emotions that buzzed into her head.

Across the cafeteria a dark head stood above all tunnelling her vision. But then it blurred as another onslaught of voices started.

For a second she thought she would pass out with the sheer force of it but just like that her vision cleared and she was clutching her chair tightly looking straight at Michael who stared at her concerned.

"Are quite all right?" His voice brought Aubrey completely back and she turned a hideous shade of scarlet as she felt the eyes of Gabby and Sarah fall on her.

Michael smiled as she gave a nod,"I came her to give you company but I was rather unsure if you wanted it."

The way Michael spoke was formal under usual circumstances Aubrey would have probably laughed at his face but there was something about Michael that could make just about anything look good.

At the back of her mind Aubrey thought that she had seen someone or something and was tempted to look behind Michael in an attempt to find what had caused that sudden wave.

But her gaze wouldn't leave Michael it was drawn to him like a magnet.

Sarah gave an impatient grit of her teeth and Gabby sighed along with Michael.

"I do." Aubrey replied her tone surprisingly cool,"It would be nice to make another friend."

Aubrey's mind buzzed. Where did that come from?

It would be nice to make another friend?

Had she been replaced by some sort of alien? Aubrey was never one to talk like that.

But still Michael grinned as if those words were some sort secret they had shared many times over.

"Michael you wouldn't have seen Declan anywhere have you?" Sarah asked smirk.

Something darker passed through Michael's eyes that made Aubrey shiver.

She would have just thought that it was her imagination but she realised that it had actually become colder.

Sarah smiled triumphantly,"Never mind. I think I just saw him leaving."

She then looked behind Aubrey and gave her a small wink,"That's a pretty flower."

Aubrey turned around almost instantly to see the potted plant behind her and the flower on it was once again blooming, bursting with white and pink and didn't even have a tinge of brown in sight.