As I watched Lukas walk away, I felt very concerned.

The first time I'd seen him in class, he's proven to be very skilled in magic, already perfecting his metamorphosis spell. It was a skill that had gotten me intrigued, and I'd kept an eye on him since.

That same day in History Class, the look in his eyes seemed... determined. But I saw a deep cold aura in it, something I knew couldn't be good.

I'd experienced this herself - and I didn't want the same thing to happen to him. He seemed like such a nice brother, always tagging along with his sister and cheering her up...

If it was anything like what happened to me, Lukas' life would be torn apart too quickly for him to react.

So I'd tried to be friendly towards him, gaining his trust... but I'd need more time. Every second that passed by was a wasted one.

Walking out of the cafeteria, I headed outside to the school grounds and sat against a tree, staring at my hand.

A faint glow of light was shining from it, as if begging to be released. Hearing footsteps nearby, I snuffed it out and made a black orb flicker from it instead. I couldn't let anyone know about my secret.

A Light Element came up to me and sat down beside me. I instantly knew who he was, with his gleaming dark eyes and blonde hair similar to my own.

"You can't keep it forever, Cynthia. The school will find out sooner or later, and you'll be thrown out like the rest. Dark Elements are already having a hard time as it is. What do you think they'll do when they find out you're a hybrid?" He said.

"I know what I'm doing Sam. You don't have to keep nagging me." I said, clenching my fists so that the orb disappeared. "I'm just taking things slower so it'll be harder for them to track."

I looked at him with a frown. "And also... because I saw someone who was like me."

Sam was frowning, just as concerned as I was.

"What...? He's a hybrid?" Sam asked. He was about to speak again but I cut him off.

"No, not a hybrid. Another Dark Element. With... something disturbing raging beneath his eyes." I looked at the grass. "He's going through something similar to us. Something less troubling, but certainly important."

"But, Cynthia, how can you tell just by looking at him? There needs to be more proof." He pressed. "If we're going to help him we need to get concrete facts-"

"It was definitely proof enough that he managed to use a metamorphosis spell perfectly in class. Someone who's not supposed to know a single thing about controlling his magic... and yet manages to execute the spell with no flaws whatsoever." I replied. "Nobody's that good unless they've had practice."

"So... you're saying he had parents like ours?"

"Not quite. I'm saying that something happened to his parents, or at least one of them. His sister is too happy to be blamed for her parents' illegal activity."

Sam smiled. "Always so sharp, aren't you?" He said.

"I have to be, after what happened. I'd be dumb if I wasn't." I said, putting a stray lock of hair back behind my ear.

A moment of silence broke through our conversation for a bit, before we spoke again.

"Do you need me to help you? You can't just do this by yourself, it's what got you into that mess." Sam said. I nodded.

"But the thing is, I only just talked to him once, after he caught me staring at him in class. He was trying to get away from me when we were talking together, too. He definitely feels uncomfortable in my presence. He thinks I'm creepy." I explained. "If I bring you along, he'll just be even more awkward and leave at the first opportunity."

"So you need to gain his trust first, and then I can come in. But he'll be with his sister a lot..." He pointed out. "And he'll be on a much bigger guard than before. I should know."

"True..." I said.

"What's his name?"

"Lukas. The only thing I could get out of him before he walked away."

"Okay then. You need anything else to get off your chest?" Sam asked, getting ready to stand up.

"No, nothing else." I said, watching him brushing off tiny blades of grass from his pants.

"Then I'd better get going. Call me if you need me."

And then he walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

He was right - sooner or later the teachers would find out I was a hybrid and kick me out of the school.

Which led me to a question I've been thinking about for a while... what exactly made hybrids so dangerous? Were they the reason other Elements couldn't fall in love together?

Regardless of the rule, however, my parents hadn't cared. They'd fallen in love and had Sam. Luckily he was a Light Element and not a hybrid, but eventually they had me. A hybrid. Having both Light and Dark powers.

Because my parents had to break the rules, I thought bitterly. How selfish they were.

But after saying those words I felt a little guilty and looked at my hands with a frown.

That girl... that girl who Lukas' sister... she reminded me of... how I used to be. Before I was shunned. Discarded. Left to take care of myself in the wilderness.

Sam had been against his parents doing that, so he'd rushed into the woods to take care of me.

We'd been living like that for years, before Sam had gotten a part-time job and rented an apartment for us to live in.

I didn't want to think about them any longer. Not anymore. I had a new life with Sam. Things would go well. We had a steady income. All I had to do was keep the secret safe, and things would be fine.

Despite my words, I felt like things wouldn't be fine.

                                                                                      +.*.+

While Lukas was talking to a blondie, I was searching for Candice through the crowd. After a while of walking around I finally spotted her.

She was a little ways away so I had to jog a bit to get there. A boy and girl were in my way though - I recognized them.

James and Chloe. From before. When Lukas created that barrier.

I took another route, not wanting to deal with them.

"Hey, wait up!" Chloe called. I grimaced but turned around with a fake smile.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying to hide my fear.

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened before in the hallway. It wasn't very nice." She said.

Wow... that fast? Okay then...

Wait how did they even get here before us?!

I mean, we were searching for Candice for a while...

"Oh, it's nothing really! Now anyway, if that's all you wanted to say, I should get going." I said, walking away. "Bye!"

I speed-walked away before they could utter another word.

I smiled for real this time as I neared Candice's table.

"Hey Candice! Mind if we sit with you?" I asked cheerily.

"U-um, sure!" Candice said, a little nervously. Huh, that strange... she's usually so calm and cool...

I didn't press on it though.

"Hey Lukas! Come sit with me and Candice!" I said, waving my hands after he walked away from a blonde girl.

He walked over and sat down, avoiding James and Chloe.

"So... I saw you chatting with that blonde girl. What's her name? Who is she?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

"She's a girl named Cynthia. She's very... unsettling." Lukas said.

I dropped my grin. That tone was too cold for anything but distrust. I knew him well enough to know that.

I put my smile back on and diverted the attention to Candice so the conversation could move away from the tension.

"Candice! What classes did you have before break? Anything exciting?" I asked.

"Um... actually, it's kinda complicated."

I was confused. How was it complicated? It was just the names of the classes she had and the things she learned in them. What happened to make things complicated? And why was she so nervous now?

"Wait, really? How?" I asked, curious. Then I stopped myself. "It's okay if you don't wanna say it though, we only just met yesterday."

"Um... Well, I... missed the classes because I slept in. Yeah." Candice said, gulping.

"Oh, okay. Hopefully you won't miss anymore classes!" I said. Candice smiled, but it looked a little strained.

It took years of close examining with Lukas to notice tiny things like that. So my smile grew a little pained too at the sight of her holding back.

Something wasn't right.

And from the way Lukas was glancing at her, he could tell too.

"Anyway! Let's compare our class schedules! Maybe we'll end up in a class together!" I exclaimed.

Candice handed me her class schedule, but not before examining it herself.

Apparently at the end of the day we both had Element Knowledge Class! Where we learn about type advantages and disadvantages, along with special moves and other amazing things!

"We have our last period together in Element Knowledge Class!" I said eagerly. "It's the only joint class! A joint class is a class with students of different elements together!"

"I'm sure she knows that already, Rachel." Lukas said.

"Yeah, I do, but it's nice to be reminded once in a while. I'm really looking forward to Element Knowledge now!" Candice said happily. My giddy smile grew wider.

"Yeah! I guess we'll be learning about type advantages and disadvantages and how to combat against them! Like with how Fire Elements can beat Ice Elements really easily! Now that I think about it, Fire Elements are strong against pretty much every Element except Water and Light..." I said, lost in thought.

For a second I thought Lukas shot a withering glare in Candice's direction, but when I looked again he was looking at me attentively. Probably just imagining it.

"Yeah, but Fire's hard to master." Candice said, looking at the floor.

"I'm sure you'll be able to master it in no time! You've got us to help you! We're friends!" I said, my smile returning. Candice smiled back at me.

"Speaking of mastering Elements, we should really practice spells together sometime. Maybe go grab some milkshakes at a cafe and then we can practice at Candice's? If she's okay with that." Lukas offered. "Our home situation is... complicated."

"U-Um, sure!" Candice said nervously. Maybe she's just not used to having friends over.

"Okay, so if we're doing that, what time do we meet up? And what cafe do we go to?" I asked.

"Ooh! I know this cafe near my house that sells really great drinks for a cheap price! We should go there!" Candice said excitedly.

"That's a great idea! Me and Lukas are free at four o'clock. We could meet up then!" I said.

"Then its settled. Now, we should get going to class, break is almost over." Lukas said, standing up.

As the bell rang, for the first time since I'd heard of school...

...I couldn't wait for it to be over.