Chapter 1: A New Beginning pt. 1

A sharp intake of oxygen sounded through the pitch-black bedroom as a pale-skinned Brit sat up in bed with a start. She threw on the bedroom light in an instant, filling the void with bright artificial light. Her raven-colored hair stuck to her forehead with heavy perspiration; The collar of her shirt was in a similar state of wetness, sticking to her chest like adhesive.

The girl dropped her head in her hands.

"Fuck... get a grip on yourself, Paige," she whispered to herself, trying to get her pulse to slow down. Having nightmares was nothing new at this point, so it really shouldn't shock her all that much anymore.

Paige's hands searched the bedspread until they came upon the fuzzy torso of her dream warrior. Paige's stuffed teddy watched over her through the night to keep her safe from bad dreams or otherwise. She hugged the tattered toy to her chest; She felt the safest when she could feel its fur.

Paige inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. She repeated the process again and again until her heartbeat steadied and she no longer thought the shadows from the hall were predators waiting for her to let her guard down. She never would; Having seen the things she had, Paige knew she'd never truly be at ease with anything.

The soft snores of her host family helped aid in soothing Paige's frightened nerves. Hearing that the lovely people she was staying with were more than ok in their beds told Paige that her imagination was the only enemy here.

Clutching her bear close to her chest, Paige clicked off the light and tried to settle back into bed. She pulled out her phone and opened her music player. Keeping the volume low so she didn't wake the others, the troubled young girl turned on her favorite song that her mother used to sing to her as a child: "Blackbird" by The Beatles. Hearing the familiar guitar chords and lyrics of Lennon and McCartney brought a wave of relief over Paige's mind.

As the soothing melody played, Paige gradually drifted off into a deep slumber once again.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Paige dragged herself out of bed. Her head was still ringing from waking up too early and her blood pressure shooting through the roof didn't help the case. Still, she had to pretend today was going to be a somewhat normal day if she wanted things to revert to the normality it used to be.

Paige wanted a shower. Something about the welcoming sensation of warm water running down her sleep-deprived body brought a tired smirk to Paige's lips.

Paige's current goal was momentarily interrupted by the bathroom door suddenly opening and a head of fiery orange hair nearly running her over.

"Oh, sorry lass," Becky, Paige's best friend of three years was the culprit of almost ruining Paige's morning.

Becky was the same age as Paige. They met during their freshman year of high school back in England before they both moved to America. Becky and Paige were nearly polar opposites in personalities and looks (especially with Paige's raven black hair and Becky's brighter than the sun orange hair), but their love for soccer and trashy reality TV shows brought them together.

Becky, her hair still damp from a recent shower, kept a towel wrapped around her torso. Paige took a step back to allow Becky to exit the bathroom into the hallway.

"I left hot water for you," Becky told her friend. "I was too nervous to sleep. That's why I was up early."

Paige breathed a shaky sigh. "First time back at school since..."

Becky dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Yeah." The Irish woman stated simply, her own worry showing through her quick reply.

Paige spoke up. "You should speak Gaelic all day to freak the lot out."

Becky managed a faint smile.

"I really should," she agreed.

Paige snuck past her friend into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. The family that took in Becky and Paige had a "no locked doors" policy, but were pretty lenient when it came to the newest girls they housed. Paige didn't do it to piss anybody off; She just wanted the extra sense of security when she was at her most vulnerable.

Paige peeled off her sweaty pajamas. She discarded the clothes in the laundry hamper. To her left were the sink and a mirror that took up most of the wall.

Paige frowned at her reflection. She was in decent shape and had a six-pack to show off to whoever was interested, but the tiny red lines that covered the ride side of her ribs made her more self conscious than she already was. Paige didn't do that to herself... it had happened back home before she moved to the US.

Paige nodded at herself in the mirror. She finally made her feet move and she turned the water on. She adjusted the temperature until it was just right, then stepped in and pulled the curtain close to hopefully relax a little on this stressful day.

Paige gradually made her way downstairs. Upon Paige's arrival to the dining room, Becky looked up and smiled at her friend. Paige cocked an eyebrow at the spread of delicacies apparently made out for them: pancakes, bacon, eggs, fresh fruit, and several types of juices and even coffee.

Paige shook her head.

"No-"

"I know," Becky stated with a sigh.

From the kitchen came the only suspect Paige would figure had something to do with the breakfast spread. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, the matriarch of the family that took her in, bounded into the room with a cheery grin and a bowl full of hashbrowns. If her bright smile wasn't already painful to look at, her all-black pantsuit further emphasized that when this woman had a plan, she was going to do it and God help whoever tried to stop her.

"Good morning, girls," Stephanie greeted both Paige and Becky. "I thought you two could use a healthy breakfast before your first day back to school."

Paige sighed. "Mrs McMahon-"

Stephanie lifted her hand. "Paige. Please just call me Stephanie. You've lived with us all summer. You don't need to address me like that."

Paige nodded and tried again.

The Brit began again. "Right, Stephanie. Thank you so much for taking us in, but this looks like it took ages."

Stephanie nodded her head. "It did. The bacon was a bitch, but I wanted you guys to only worry about school today. It's your senior year and you need to make that big push and finally get out in the world."

Becky spoke up. "Or until we turn eighteen and defect from the house."

Paige saw Stephanie's smile immediately fade from her face. Becky and Paige, when they arrived to the US, were put into the foster care system. Since the duo was older and had a troubled past, not a lot of people wanted to take them in. In fact, Stephanie and her husband were the only people to show any interest in Becky and Paige. The girls ultimately decided to stay with Stephanie until they turned eighteen. That day still wasn't for quite some time, but Paige and Becky knew Stephanie dreaded that day heavily. For what reason, neither girl really knew.

"Yes, or when you turn eighteen," Stephanie said in a much less cheerful tone. "But that's not for a very long time. Until then, eat your shit and put a smile on your face."

Paige and Becky both did manage a smirk. Stephanie came off as a corporate hard ass because of how she dressed and spoke to people. But she was actually human like everyone else at the core.

"Whoa," Hunter, Stephanie's husband, arrived into the dining room from the other end of the house. "What's all this?"

"The girls," Stephanie said, pointing a stern index finger at her husband. "Not for you."

Hunter furrowed his brow. "But you know I love scrambled eggs."

Finally, the third high school-aged girl living under the roof made her presence known. Alexa, Stephanie and Hunter's biological daughter, skipped into the dining room from the stairs. Her silk-like blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her sundress fluttered as she hopped past the last step of the staircase.

"Wow," Alexa chirped. "That's a lot of animal products."

Stephanie chuckled. "I made you vegan bacon too, sweetie."

Alexa smiled nervously. "Sugar-free lemonade too?"

Stephanie nodded and kissed her daughter on the top of her head.

As if taking in two foreign teen girls after a traumatic event wasn't complicated enough for Hunter and Stephanie, Alexa had just started gaining weight back from a recent scary battle with anorexia. Paige and Becky hadn't been there for the worst of it, but they still encouraged Alexa in her journey back to normality. In a way, the three of them were all the same when it came to wanting a regular life, but Paige and Becky's past were far different from Alexa's.

"I'll drop you guys off," Hunter told the room.

"Dad!" Alexa exclaimed.

"What? I have to be there," Hunter explained. "First day of the school year. I have to meet with the staff. I don't want to, but I'm required to."

Hunter was the superintendent of the school district. Stephanie was a therapist and, ironically enough, was assigned to Paige and Becky when they went through the foster system. Hunter was thankfully laid back for a man in his position and Stephanie never brought up what was spoken about in her office while everyone was home.

"Come on! Dig in!" Stephanie encouraged the three girls. "Senior year. Last time you'll have to deal with high school for the rest of your lives."

Paige reluctantly joined the table with a sigh, sitting beside her best friend. Becky was poking at a stack of pancakes with her fork. The two young ladies shared a look, then a shrug, then tried to stomach some food before being sent on their way.

Titan City High School in inner-Stamford was just what anybody would expect out of a high school in rural America. It was founded in 1962 by the McMahon family. The same McMahon family Stephanie was part of. In fact, her grandfather was the one who originally funded the opening of the school.

Hunter parked his brand new Ford Escape in his own designated spot in the faculty parking lot. Alexa eagerly jumped from the passenger seat to head into the colossal brick building. Becky and Paige were less than willing to get out of the car just yet.

Paige slid her hand inside Becky's firm grip. The two girls shared a worried look, both seemingly thinking the same thing about their new school.

"You both have our numbers," Hunter spoke, looking at Paige and Becky through the rearview mirror. "Steph and I are just a call away. I can't tell you how proud I am of you two for just getting in the car."

Becky offered a tight smile. Paige wanted to show gratitude too, but she couldn't find it within herself to show that on the surface.

"Thanks fer everythin'," Becky said, giving Paige's hand a squeeze as she talked. "Really. You helped us out more than you know."

Hunter nodded. "Good. Then let's get in there and kick some ass, huh?"

Paige and Becky slid out of the car. Alexa was waiting for them a few yards ahead on the school's front lawn. Hunter bid the girls a farewell and headed inside the school with a powerful authoritative stride.

Living in the same house as the superintendent of the school district meant a lot of early mornings during the year. Class wouldn't start for another hour and a half. Alexa offered to show Becky and Paige how to get breakfast from the lunch line. Unsurprisingly, they were three of the very few people scattered throughout the cafeteria.

The three girls had already eaten a hefty breakfast at home, but Alexa bought a flavored water bottle to show Becky and Paige how to purchase food whenever they needed to. Alexa showed her school ID to the cafeteria worker. The worker handed Alexa the card back with a soft smile and the tiny blonde led her two adoptive sisters deeper into the bright white room.

Paige and Becky took a seat on the same side of the table opposite of Alexa. Just as Alexa set her backpack down, she was lifted into the air from behind. Alexa squealed in delight, but Paige and Becky exchanged an eye roll.

Dean, Alexa's boyfriend, set the giggling blonde back on the floor. Alexa stepped up on her side of the bench to meet her lover at eye level and offer him a sweet kiss to the lips.

"Good morning to you too," Dean said with a tired smirk.

"Thanks, baby," Alexa turned to Becky and Paige. "You remember Paige and Becky, right? My mom and dad took them in before the summer."

Dean nodded. "Good to see you guys again. I think you were both hiding in your rooms whenever I was over."

Becky and Paige both shrugged but didn't audibly say anything. Dean sat on the bench, then pulled Alexa into his lap. Alexa whispered something in her boyfriend's ear, which prompted Dean to chuckle and slide a hand up Alexa's dress on her inner thigh.

"Babe, chill," Alexa said, pushing Dean's hand away. "My dad is here, remember?"

Dean cringed. "Oh, God. We can't let him know we're dating."

Alexa lowered her voice. "Ok, but you know he'd have a fit if he saw us together this early."

Dean nodded. "I know. A hug before History Four is, like, fourth base for him."

Alexa swatted her boyfriend on the chest.

"Very funny," Alexa said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be right back, ok? Blood sugar and all that 'good stuff'."

Dean let out a low whistle as Alexa sauntered away from the table. Alexa flashed him a smile over her shoulder and headed for the bathrooms.

Dean turned back to Becky and Paige.

"Did she eat today?" Dean asked.

Becky nodded. "Yeah. I think some turkey bacon and lemonade."

Dean sighed. "Good. Good... shit, I'm happy. You guys weren't around last year, but shit got really bad. Like... I don't wanna get into it."

Becky and Paige had learned over the summer that Dean didn't like to listen to any kind of authority. Paige had found that out first hand when she caught Dean sneaking into the house in the middle of the night with a Taco Bell bag. Becky had also woken up multiple times throughout the summer whenever Dean's beaten up pickup parked across the street suddenly backfired and she thought the world was ending. That being said, even though Dean wore leather jackets and didn't get along with Hunter, Becky and Paige could tell Dean's intentions were the best they could be when it came to Alexa's wellbeing.

"How are you guys?" Dean asked Becky and Paige.

Dean didn't know a lot about Becky and Paige's past. For all he knew, Becky and Paige were two wayward souls the McMahon-Helmsley regime took in to give a chance at a brighter future. Alexa promised both of her foster sisters that she wouldn't say a word to Dean until they were comfortable enough around him to tell Dean themselves.

Becky shrugged. "We haven't really been in a school since last fall."

"Not as crazy as it seems on TV," Dean said with a chuckle. "I know FOX News says American schools are prone to gun violence and heroin deals. But I'm more into slinging dope these days."

Paige and Becky stared blankly at Dean as the boy awkwardly chuckled to himself.

"Guys, I'm kidding," Dean explained. "I-I work in the back of Fort Zerox."

Becky nodded slowly. "Right."

Alexa thankfully returned shortly after that. She returned to her perch on Dean's lap and kissed him on the cheek. Becky furrowed her brow when Dean's right hand slid from Alexa's hip to her stomach and Alexa held her hand over Dean's before sliding it back to her hip. Becky looked at Paige to see if she too saw it, but Paige was staring at the table.

"What class do you guys have first?" Alexa asked Paige and Becky.

"History Four," Becky said.

"Oh, awesome," Alexa showed Becky and Paige her schedule via her phone. "I have it first. Dean too. We can show you where to go."

"What about after?" Paige asked, a slight hint of panic in her voice.

"You can text me," Alexa offered. "If you guys get lost or don't know what to do. We have lunch together after fifth period, ok?"

Becky looked at her friend again. Paige was nodding her head in agreement, but it was clear she was either confused or horrified about what was being explained to her.

Alexa led her two friends into a rowdy sounding classroom. The light chatter of students finding their friends around the room was a little soothing in a strange kind of way. The teacher, a middle-aged woman with her hair neatly sitting atop her head, was chatting with two male students. Alexa took a spot towards the back at a long table. Dean took the liberty of sitting next to his girlfriend. Becky and Paige shrugged their shoulders and opted to sit at the table directly in front of Alexa and Dean.

The bell that signaled the start of the period rang. Paige and Becky both nearly jumped from their seats, but managed to keep things on the down-low to save themselves from being embarrassed on their first day.

Paige leaned in her seat, making herself closer to Becky. Becky did the same, closing the small gap between herself and her best friend.

"How do you like it so far?" Becky asked in a hushed voice.

"Quite terrible, actually," Paige said, causing a slight giggle to come from Becky.

"I didn't know they made shorts that short," Becky commented, subtly gesturing to a girl seated in front of them.

The girl, who must've overheard Becky, turned in her seat. Paige and Becky could tell the blonde was about to give them an ear full for their conversation, but her face suddenly turned from annoyed to soft when she noticed Becky. The slender blonde flashed the redhead a bright smile before turning back around in her seat.

Paige rolled her eyes, figuring her friend was swooning over the small showing of politeness from the attractive woman. Sure enough, Paige caught Becky staring a hole in the back of the blonde's head.

"So much for just getting through this school year, huh?" Paige whispered to her friend.

Becky blinked. "I am, Paige. Promise."

Paige rolled her eyes. As if their situation wasn't already tricky, the last thing Paige wanted for Becky was to lose focus and get caught up with a girl. Paige had noticed a few nice looking gentlemen around too but it's not like she was going around making googly eyes at them.

To be fair, across the aisle was a boy with his head resting in his arms. Paige had noticed him when she first sat down but didn't pay him any attention. The teacher made her way back to the row Paige was in. The teacher knelt beside the boy and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. The boy snapped awake, gradually sitting up as he pulled the hood on his sweatshirt off.

"Aleister," the teacher addressed the boy. "I know you're tired, and you know I would let you sleep if I could let you, but you need to stay awake, ok?"

The boy, Aleister apparently, nodded his head. As the teacher walked away, Aleister turned his head to catch Paige staring at him. Paige turned her gaze away, not wanting to seem any ruder than she probably already looked.

The teacher stood at the front of the class and cleared her throat, bringing the attention of most of her students.

"Welcome to your senior year," the woman announced with a slight smirk. "Last year you'll have to deal with this bullshit before you can leave as you please. Congratulations."

A small wave of laughter went over the classroom. Becky chuckled to herself, noting how odd American schools already were with cursing teachers. Paige hadn't really heard the older woman, as she was back examining the boy seated across the aisle from her.

"My name is Miss James," the teacher continued. "History is a fascination to me. I loved learning about it when I was your age-"

"A million years ago?" A boy in the front row cut in, bringing in a roar of laughter after his words registered.

Miss James feigned laughter with an eye roll. "I'll see you after class, Mr Ryder."

Mr Ryder slouched in his seat as more laughter sounded around him. With the interruption seemingly defused, Miss James turned towards the whiteboard to begin the class.

Paige's gaze was still on this Aleister boy. His looks wasn't what fascinated him, but the unbelievably well-done artwork covering his hands and neck raised her curiosity. The fact that a boy, one her age even, had tattoos confused Paige a little. She herself had a few, but she required parental permission for her small hand designs. Having full-body ink done, which she assumed Aleister had was strange to Paige.

A sudden loud bang nearly caused Paige and Becky to jump from their skin. A quick "sorry" came from the back of the room as a chubby boy scooped up a textbook from the floor after it had apparently fallen from his desk. Becky quickly shrugged off the alarming sound without another thought, but she immediately looked to her best friend.

Just as Becky feared, Paige was slowly starting to hyperventilate. Paige's grip around her bookbag tightened, causing her knuckles to turn white.

"Ma'am?" Becky spoke up, raising her hand. "May we be excused?"

Miss James turned away from the whiteboard.

"I appreciate your formalness but that's not necessary." Miss James replied.

Upon noticing the worried look on Becky's face, and the fearful look in her deskmate's, Miss James didn't say anything else and simply nodded. Becky, momentarily appreciating the immediate understanding from her teacher, helped Paige to her feet then quickly escorted her from the bewildered class.

Paige's head violently jerked forward as a river of bile escaped her stomach and coated the inside of the linoleum sink. Becky was quick to follow her best friend into the women's room. With Paige trying to get her bearings back, Becky stood beside her with Paige's raven locks held behind her head in case she got sick again.

Paige connected her gaze with the terrified girl in the mirror. For a moment, Paige didn't know who she was. Her heart rate increased as the fear crept over her like a cold hand gripping her heart, but it all but faded completely when she realized it was only herself looking back at her.

"Ya scare me, lass," Becky spoke quietly to her friend, addressing her lightly so she didn't upset her further.

Paige shook her head, eyes damp with tears as she wiped her bottom lip with the heel of her right hand.

"This was such a bad fucking idea," Paige muttered, trying with all her might to even out her breathing. "Why-why did we even try going back to school? What the fuck are we trying to prove?"

"That we don't have to live in fear," Becky replied in an instant. "That we can overcome what happened to us."

This wasn't the first time Becky had this conversation with Paige since they left behind their old lives. Paige woke up a lot in the middle of the night calling for her parents or screaming for help. Becky was always the first one to her best friend's bedroom. Sometimes Hunter, Stephanie or Alexa would soon follow but more often than not it was just Becky to hold Paige until she was calm enough to sleep again.

"I had the dream again," Paige sputtered through her tears. "I-I fucking saw everything. The screams. The-the looks on their faces. The-the-the..."

Becky pulled Paige in for a tight embrace just as the Brit burst into tears again. Behind the two girls, their adoptive sister hurriedly entered the bathroom.

"Paige, what's wrong?" Alexa asked, her face showing as much worry as she felt inside.

"The fucking usual," Paige bitterly spat.

Becky offered a soft peck to Paige's cheek and held onto her tighter. Paige clung to Becky for dear life as if the redhead would disappear into thin air if she let go.

The bathroom door burst open again.

"Hey," Dean addressed the three women as he ventured into the room.

Alexa cocked an eyebrow.

"Babe, what are you doing?" The tiny blonde asked.

"Came to check on you three," Dean responded.

Alexa put her hands on her hips in a silent lecture.

"How did you leave without the hall pass?" She demanded to know.

Dean shrugged. "Got up and walked out when Miss James wasn't looking."

Alexa rolled her eyes, which made Dean lift his hands at his side in question. Next to them, Paige was starting to pull back from Becky's hug. Becky instinctively dug through Paige's book bag. Paige laughed a teary chuckle when Becky removed Paige's trusty teddy bear from within her bag and handed it over.

"Ah, ol' Alex," Dean said. "Bravest of the brave. Strongest of the strong."

Paige gave Becky the slightest of smiles.

"Thanks," Paige spoke quietly.

Becky nodded, then gave Paige another comforting hug. This time Alexa and Dean shortly joined in to comfort the troubled girl.

"It's only the first day," Alexa pointed out, making her sisters giggle.

"That's true," Becky said. "The worst hasn't happened yet."

On the other side of town, a young blonde Junior by the name of Taynara was running late. VERY late. The reason for her tardiness was the smart mouth boy redressing himself at the foot of Taya's bed.

Taynara sighed heavily. "We are going to be late, Tony."

Tony scoffed. "Who cares? It's only the first day and the same shit gets said every year."

Taya rolled her eyes. She was practically at her wits end with her boyfriend, but the way he physically took care of himself kept her from breaking things off with him. Then again, the way Tony addressed himself as a "premiere athlete" made Taya want to scream and run. But, again, Tony was amazing to look at.

"The less clothes, the better," Taya reminded herself in her mind.

Tony tossed Taya her top. Taya quickly clothed herself and tiptoed to the top of the stairs. Chances were her parents had left for work already, but she wasn't going to risk getting caught from over-trusting her assumptions.

Taya crept down the stairs. The doorway led to the living room of her family's home. Taya didn't spot anyone right away. Thinking the coast was clear, Taya signaled to Tony to follow her. Taya took two steps to leave through the kitchen, but her heart skipped a beat when she realized someone was standing with their back to her in the kitchen. Taya shoved Tony away from the archway into the other room to make sure he wasn't spotted.

"Hola papá," Taya addressed her father in a language he would better understand. "Lo siento, no estoy en la escuela. No me sentía bien y necesitaba dormir un poco más."

Taya's father didn't respond. Finding that a bit odd, but not too out of the ordinary to halt her from leaving, Taya turned to the hall closet to fetch her jacket.

In the span of a few seconds, several events took place too quickly for either Tony or Taya to comprehend: Taya opened the closet for her jacket. As soon as the door opened, a limp body fell at Taya's feet. Taya screamed at the top of her lungs, recognizing her father before he even hit the floor. Then the man who was standing with his back to Taya spun on his heels and charged her. Tony burst into the room in time to catch a stiff elbow to the jaw from the stranger. Taya turned to run for the back door of the house, but her silky blonde hair was yanked back and stained red when a steel blade ripped across her neck. Tony regained his composure but then took the same steel blade between the ribs. The stranger kept on Tony and gave him two more quick jabs to the chest with the knife. With Tony curled up in a ball on the living room floor, Taya desperately held her hand against her neck while slowly crawling for the landline that had been toppled over during the melee. Just as she felt the phone under her fingertips, the stranger's boot effortlessly kicked the receiver across the room.

As the light faded from her eyes, Taya watched her attacker wipe his blade clean with a washrag before casually leaving through the back door.

Had it been any other day, Becky and Paige could retire to their bedrooms and sleep of the trauma already suffered today. But, as things apparently were, school was more important at the moment.

Lunchtime had finally arrived. Paige and Becky leaned on each during the first half of their day. Nothing else happened after Paige's episode during first period. Thankfully, Becky kept things together as well.

Alexa chatted with Dean while the two of them, along with Becky and Paige, waited for their turn in the lunch line. Paige and Becky shared a horrified look when they saw the food options displayed before them. Deciding a greasy slice of cardboard and ketchup claiming to be pizza was the best option, Becky and Paige each handed their student ID's to the lunch lady before following Alexa and Dean to a center table towards the back of the cafeteria.

A flash of dark hair as nightly as Paige's nearly knocked poor Alexa out of her seat when an equally tiny girl threw her arms around the blonde and sat nearly in her lap.

"My Lexa!" Nikki Cross, Alexa's best friend since practically forever, exclaimed with glee and a few kisses to the cheek that brought a curious look from Dean.

Alexa giggled. "Yes, hi! Down girl! Sit!"

Nikki took her own seat beside her best friend.

"Hello!" Nikki greeted Becky and Paige.

Becky and Paige both gave a polite greeting. They saw a lot of Nikki over the summer, but Becky and Paige hardly knew anything about the girl. They knew Nikki was from Scotland and moved to the States when she was very young. Nikki and Alexa apparently met sometime early in elementary school and clicked right away, but Becky and Paige weren't sure how early on it was.

Next to join the fray was Roman and Seth, two friends of Dean, and Roman's girlfriend, Bayley. Dean slapped hands with each of his buddies while Bayley made the rounds and hugged everyone at the table, including Paige and Becky. With the little they knew about Nikki, Becky and Paige knew even less about Roman and Seth. The girls knew they played football with Dean and were also seniors, but they were very rarely ever at Alexa's house. When it came to Bayley, Paige and Becky knew she was a hugger because... well, that's all Bayley really was: a naive, bubbly hugger that was in her junior year of high school.

"So what'd you learn at school today?" Dean spoke to everyone at the table in a sarcastic tone.

"Coach Angle made class run laps while we studied film," Seth replied. "Call me crazy, but I think that might be illegal."

Roman just shrugged his shoulders and wrapped a muscular arm around his girl, who was chatting with Nikki and Alexa.

Becky and Paige attempted to stomach the horror on their styrofoam plates. As unappealing as it all looked, it seemed better than going the rest of the day hungry. Paige was more prone to anxiety attacks if she didn't eat and Becky could be more irritable if she didn't get food.

"Taya didn't come to school today?" Alexa asked the group after learning of the girl's absence from Nikki.

"Explains why I could focus in Gov," Dean muttered.

Alexa elbowed her boyfriend.

"Seriously," she said. "That's really weird. She's always on time."

"Tony wasn't in Lit Comp either," Seth mentioned. "Took Mr Poffo, like, twenty minutes to figure it out. I kinda thought somethin' was up when no one was flexing every ten goddamn minutes."

Dean stood from the table and lifted the hem of his shirt.

"I got an ab for every day of the week," Dean said in an exaggerated deep voice, clearly imitating the absent Tony. "One, two, seven, triangle, uh, niner..."

The brief wave of laughter was quickly broken up with the arrival of a group of girls. The one supposedly leading the pack was a dark-skinned girl with dark blue hair. Paige always thought her streaks of purple and blue were a statement, but this girl was on a totally different level.

"Lookin' good, Ambrose," the blue-haired girl said. "Thought I had to get on my knees for that kind of show."

The shot was clearly directed more at Alexa, as half the table looked at the blonde after the words were spoken. Judging by the look on Alexa's face, she understood exactly what the other girl was implying.

"What do you want, Sasha?" Alexa asked, very clearly upset.

Sasha smirked. "Just wanted to watch Dean show off his abs. It's been a minute since I got to see the whole... package."

Alexa got to her feet, but Dean held her back and sat her down before anything could escalate further. Sasha blew Dean a kiss before sauntering away from the table with her group of followers walking behind her.

"Babe-"

Alexa cut Dean off. "Of all people to hook up with when we were on a break, why did it have to be her?"

"So how are you guys?" Seth said to Becky and Paige, taking some attention off Alexa and Dean.

Becky looked at Paige. Aside from Paige's episode earlier in the day, not a lot really happened. They'd gotten familiar with the layout of the school a little and finally managed to open their lockers so they didn't have to carry around their bags all day. Other than that, nothing really noteworthy occurred.

"Same shit, different day," Becky spoke up.

Seth laughed, not at all expecting that kind of humor from Becky. Paige hadn't noticed Becky's attempt at humor. She was too focused on the boy she'd seen earlier in the day making his way through the lunchline.

Aleister, after retrieving his ID from the lunch lady, turned to walk to his seat but collided with the boy Paige remembered being called Mr Ryder. Ryder laughed at Aleister and the fresh pizza stain on his shirt. Aleister, for his part, dropped the rest of his styrofoam plate on the floor and stormed off, ignoring the cafeteria worker's order to clean up the mess.

"What do you guys have after lunch?" Alexa asked her adoptive, seemingly no longer upset with Dean.

"Have ta meet with the headteacher," Becky stated, bringing Paige's focus back to the table.

Alexa giggled. "Principal. It's called a 'principal' here."

Becky shrugged. "Sure. Principal."

"Y'all know where to go?" Seth asked.

Becky nodded. "Office near the front. Shouldn't be that hard to figure out."

"Text me if you need anything," Alexa said. "Mr McMahon is really cool. IF you keep out of trouble."

Dean nodded. "That's a big 'if'."

Paige and Becky shared another look. Paige shrugged, while Becky managed a smile and nudged her friend with her elbow.