Imagine that you were a vampire. Now, in all common knowledge, vampires don't exist, right? Say they did. And just like in every single legend under the flaming ball of fire we call the sun, they drink blood. Since this is the source of... life, or whatever you would call it, they don't need to eat regular food. Now say this vampire was in a regular school with regular people, and had to do everything to look normal. Absolutely nothing could give them away. So they were forced to sit in a mess hall full of people, who smelled a hell of a lot more tempting than the food did, even though the food was perfectly fine, and looked good, and was safe to eat. Every single stinking day.

Well, put all of that together and you could pretty much guess what Alex was feeling right now. His friends were all on some sort of a vacation that Derek's mother had planned, and he'd been invited along, but he'd declined because he really couldn't afford to let his grades drop anymore than they were, else he would get kicked out of the school and be given a one-way ticket back to hell. So he'd sucked up all the temptation to trade boring hours of schoolwork to a week away with his friends, and sentenced himself to stay here. Oh joy. So now he was sitting alone at their table in the crowded mess hall, an uneaten tray of food in front of him, boredly tracing letters that someone had carved in the desk. It was one of those love messages where people carve the initials of the one they love in the desk, and then carve a heart around it. He'd figured this out after the fourth time he'd run his finger around it.

He wore a loose-fitting Silverstein shirt over regular black jeans held up by a studded belt. And his Converse. Nothing special, and he wore no sweater because he was using his power to keep the temperature in the air surrounding him warm. If anyone were to step within five feet of him, they'd pick up immediatly that he was a fire student. If they didn't already know due to his status. And he knew from experiance that a lot of people paid no attention to the leaders of the other elements, just their own.

This was their place. This table from the start of their grade nine year, had always been the one that they laid claims upon. And Alex had been welcomed back like a hero when he'd gotten out of jail, right here at this table. So sitting at it alone felt very empty and unreal. He was usually cold and anti-social, revelling in the lonliness instead of hating it, but right now he actually kind of missed his friends. Derek, the laid-back guy who could still be an asshole if you pushed him, Jeremy, the one that thought more than he spoke, and Ian, the goofy one that always liked to impress someone with a good laugh. They made great company, now that he thought about it. They didn't know his secret, but he had a feeling that even if they did, the four of them would remain friends. They'd always been fairly close, ever since they'd met.

And since they were known to most as some of the cruelest kids in the school, attacking people for no reason, or simply when they were bored, people usually avoided them and the table itself as much as possible. He hadn't expected anyone to come close, let alone smile and sit down in front of him, so it took him a few seconds to register that in his brain. He blinked slowly, as if coming out of a daydream, and nodded to her in greeting. He couldn't really tell what element she was in, but she seemed to like purple. And purple was winds color, wasn't it? Some people seemed to reflect the color of their element, for odd reasons. Alex just happened to like red, and black of course.

"Uh, hey. I'm Alex. And you are?"

"Lucy Mae," he repeated with a nod, mentally pinning the name to the face should they ever cross paths again. He was good at remembering names, he had a good, photographic memory, but it was best to make note, just in case. She was quite pretty, he also noted, but seeing as he already had a girl toward whom he sold his affections, she hadn't a single chance. Not like he thought she found him attractive. He was well aware that she probably didn't. He was just conversing with himself internally, like always. A bad habit that had not yet faded into the background.

"Yes, I'm a fire student," he agreed with a nod. Just as he'd suspected, she didn't recognize him as the leader of the element. Good. He didn't need more people caring that he was in the position of power amongst his element. Plus, the fact that he led such a vicious, bloodthirsty, battle-hungry group of students made quite a few people fear him. This, he liked. But she was a wind student, and wind students were alright with him. As long as they weren't earth or water, he could make an effort to get along with them. An effort.

Wow, wasn't she confident in her questioning? "Friends are all on vacation. Why aren't you sitting with yours?" Might as well fire back the question, even if it wasn't in a rude tone.

Alex almost smiled when he overheard what she said, it would have been hard for him to miss anything really, what with his sharp ears. But his lips did nothing more than twitch, because he wasn't much of a smiling person unless he was around someone he couldn't be without, like a best friend, a brother... Migoto. It was still getting to him that he liked her so much and yet it seemed almost impossible for them to be together. Stupid karma. Stupid elements. Stupid, stupid forbidden things. He was sure they weren't the first, and they wouldn't be the last, but what if people found out, and then shunned them? It would be hard to lead an element full of kids that hated you.

"You're new, then?" he guessed, his dark brows inching up by the slightest amount. He'd certainly never met her before, and she hadn't even looked familiar to him, so she must be... or she was very good at blending into the background. And given the color choice of her current clothing... well he was pretty sure that he would have noticed her walking down the hallway had they ever crossed paths before.

It wouldn't be noticable to the human eye, but at her questions and comments, all directed toward his lack of friends on the current date, his shoulders tensed a little. Just a tiny, miniscule amount that would only be noticable to vampire or werewolf eyes. And so far the only vampire he knew in existance at the Academy other than himself was Tristan, a thunder student. Alex's tone was carefully kept calm as he replied. "I never said I wasn't invited, did I? I happen to be staying so that I don't fail my classes because I've skipped quite a bit. At least I have friends." Alright, so maybe that was hitting below the belt, but hey, she'd asked for it.