Mia couldn't think. All she could process for the rest of the night was the email she had gotten from her mother. Mia didn't sleep the whole night but that wasn't much of a change.

She looked around her room. It was nothing like the one in Seattle. This one was so small while her room back there

When morning came around, Mia's head was still spinning. Does she really love me? Mia wondered. Or is she just trying to use me? What could she use me for, though? Mia couldn't make sense of anything.

She was starting to get a headache when her dad walked in. Does he know she contacted me? Deciding to play it safe, she tried to smile.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Just thinking," she responded hesitantly.

"About?" he prompted.

"I don't know," she lied. "Everything?"

"Well, once you're done thinking about 'everything' you need to get ready for school," he reminded her.

Mia groaned just thinking about going back to school. "Do I have to go?" she asked. No matter how much she wanted to learn, she'd rather avoid all the stares from her classmates.

"Yep." At least he was happy. She sighed, knowing there was no way to get out of it.

"Fine," she agreed, sitting up in her bed slowly. The soft sheets and blankets grazed her skin which ached at the movement. She ignored it and continued to sit up as straight as she could.

Once her dad had left the room, Mia started making herself move. Pushing herself to the limit, she crawled out of the bed and changed herself. The pain of changing was unbearable but it was better than the embarrassment of asking for help. At least I get crutches in a week, she thought, her positivity draining from her like a leak in a dam.

She had changed into a simple outfit of ripped blue jeans and a simple white crop-top, she moved on to her hair. She combed it and put in a few bobby pins to make it look cuter. Although she hadn't noticed it for a while, Mia's hair had been cut. Short. Most of it had already been burnt off but they needed to cut off the singed parts as well, leaving her with a pixie cut. She didn't mind much.

Sure, she loved having long hair but it was hard to work with during training and battles and it wasn't like a haircut was the end of the world.

Mia decided against makeup. It would do little to cover the scratches she had gotten from the wolf and would end up irritating the burns.

What was that wolf? she wondered. It was some sort of monster, obviously. But where did it come from?

Mia looked over at the clock on her bedside table and almost jumped when she saw that she only had five minutes left to get ready. Mia was almost always punctual and the few times she wasn't was normally due to someone else so seeing that it was 6:40 shocked her.

Mia grabbed her large backpack and filled it with everything she would need before calling for her dad. He came in quickly and helped her down the stairs where she promptly got in her wheelchair just as the doorbell rang. Tori rushed down the stairs, slinging her beautiful dark green backpack over her small shoulder. She rushed to the door and opened it. Mia saw Blake smile at her after saying a quick hello to Tori. Mia blushed as he continued staring at her. Mia rode the rest of the way in her boxy wheelchair, groaning when it creaked.

"Let's go," Tori suggested with her same happy grin plastered on her adorable face.

"Yeah, if we leave any later, we won't make it on time," Mia agreed, starting out of the house. Blake and Tori followed and Mia got into the car quickly, not asking for help. She just couldn't bear it. Her pride couldn't bear it.

Blake grabbed her wheelchair, something she simply didn't have the ability to do on her own and put it in the back.

Mia found herself examining the car. It was small and it wasn't exactly new, but it was a good, most likely expensive, and a well taken care of car. The seats were nice leather and it wasn't too hot. Not only that, but it smelled like mint. It smelled like Blake.

Seconds later, Blake sat down in the seat next to her's. He started up the engine before rolling out of the driveway.

Tori chatted endlessly as they made their way to the freeway. The sounds of traffic grew louder as the number of cars near them increased. Soon, Mia was able to tune out her sister's words and focus on the honking, braking, and rumbling engines in the distance. She watched as the city passed by, building after building.

She tried to think of other things but her mind kept taking her back to the email. Would she go and see her mom? But what if she was just walking into a trap?

As she thought, she failed to realize that they had already arrived at the school. Blake called her name, so she answered, but she still couldn't quite comprehend anything.

She opened the sleek car door and almost stood before she remembered her injuries. She waited in her seat until Blake came around with the wheelchair. She sat down and rolled over to the large wooden door, taking the ramp on the side.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Blake looking at her. He seemed worried but at the moment, she had bigger problems. She walked inside the large building and seemed to shrink in her seat.

Every time she walked in, it seemed to get more intimidating. The wide hallways were packed with loud, obnoxious kids as the bright fluorescents blinded Mia. Paired with the smell of chemicals wafting in from one of the science labs, she could feel a headache forming in the back of her head. It was all too much.

Pounding footsteps. Whispers between her classmates. The stares glaring down at her from every direction. The smell. The heat.

Mia could feel her breathing go rigid and her body stiffen. She almost shut her eyes but memories of the other day caused her to rethink that action.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped, causing an ache across her body. She turned and saw Blake staring down at her.

"You okay?" he asked. "You've been acting weird all morning."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied, her voice coming out sharp.

"Hey, you can talk to me," he promised.

Could she? She considered it for a moment before deciding against it. This was something she needed to figure out on her own.

"I know," she told him. "But there's nothing to talk about. I really am fine."

"Okay, I'm not in the mood to argue but I haven't forgotten."

"Just like I haven't forgotten about whatever it is you were thinking about while we were at the hospital." She felt smug when she saw his cheeks blush a light pink.

"That was nothing," he argued although his voice was two octaves higher, an obvious show of his lies. To add more effect, he scoffed as if that would make her believe him more. It did the opposite.

"We should probably get to class," she stated. "I'll see you at lunch."

"See you." Blake waved goodbye before they both turned in different directions.I

***

The first half of the day had passed without any insane incidents which Mia was fine with. She still got stares. Apparently, everyone was interested in the burn victim in a wheelchair. She seriously did not understand why it was such a big deal.

Ignoring everything, she rolled into the cafeteria. She tried to ignore the fact that it was hopelessly overwhelming with all of the tables and the endless chatter of loud students. It hadn't been this intimidating before, right?

Whether it was or it wasn't, nothing changed the fact that the headache she'd been dealing with increased ten-fold as she felt her hands start to sweat. Her heart was pounding as people stared at her like she was just there for their entertainment. She had given in to everything all day but she didn't want to give in anymore.

She couldn't do anything super crazy because of obvious reasons but she could hold her head high. She could show them that they didn't control them. It seemed weak but it was the best she could do with her head spinning the way it was.

While she was walking across the cafeteria, she saw a Starbucks cup. Her mind felt the need to stress her out even more and brought up a reminder that she had a choice to make.

Her confidence gone and her body shaking, she closed the distance between her and the table her friends were sitting at.

Blake moved a chair when he saw her and she rolled into the empty spot. Bella was talking about some show she was watching or something but Mia couldn't focus. I have to go, she decided. I'll just be careful and it's not like she could do anything if we're in public anyway.

She had thought that making a decision would stop the dizziness but she was very wrong. The world spun around her until she had no other option but to close her eyes.

She heard voices around her but they were only echoes. A hand held firmly onto her shoulder but she ignored it. Then it started. Just like every single time she closed her eyes, the visions appeared.

The monster came closer, allowing Mia to get a better look at it but she didn't want to see it any closer. In the corner of her eye, she saw a lamp post fall and tried to focus on that but it only made everything worse.

The lamp post fell on an innocent lady and it was her fault. She saw her trying to push off the burning lamp post and struggle for breath and screaming in pain before, only moments later, her body went limp.

She forced herself to look away and focused yet again on the monster coming closer to her. That's when she saw it. She only saw a glimpse but there was no mistaking the glint of light it produced.

Mia had seen a gem. Not just any gem, though. She saw the exact same gem she had seen on the wolf.

Blake was shaking her forcefully and she opened her eyes to find herself in the cafeteria. She gasped for breath, not realizing she hadn't been breathing until just that moment.

All of her friends had their eyes on her. Not only them, though. Everyone in the entire school, it seemed, had their eyes on her.

"Breath," Blake suggested. "In and out." He seemed to know what he was doing. I guess he has done it a lot, Mia thought. She tried to do as he said, but it was hard with so many people staring at them. "Don't focus on them. It's just you and me. Look at me." She did as told, looking straight into his beautiful eyes. She focused on his face and felt her breathing calm automatically. His hand rested on her waist as it had been when he guided her to look at him.

Mia knew that if she stayed there, she would break down again. She looked at Blake who seemed to understand. "We're gonna go. I'll see you guys later," he told them, already scooting out of the chair.

Mia unparked her wheelchair and rolled out of the cafeteria quickly with Blake beside her.

She didn't know where they were going but as long as it got her away from her staring classmates, at least for a little while, she really didn't care.

Her mind was still buzzing with a million questions but one thing was clear.

Those attacks were connected and Mia needed to find out how.