The lunchroom was heaving; the lunch block wasn't split into two, which meant the whole of the student body converged in the cafeteria at once. Despite the overcrowded room and lack of empty tables, Alex and Véronique were sitting at a table of their own under a cloud of contempt and superiority. It had everyone, even the light faeries ̶ which love a good fight and would cook up ways to cause one if they saw an opportunity ̶ keeping their distance.

Véronique shrill laugh echoed over the lunchtime din. She hung on to Alex's arm marking her territory.

Julia picked at her food as she stared at Alex. When she realised that she'd just spent half the lunch hour with her eyes glued on him her face twisted into a sour scowl. Before she looked away, his gaze met hers. The edges of his lips turned up in a smug smile and he arched an eyebrow at her. Caught out Julia blushed, yet she still couldn't look away.

Ren snapped his fingers in her face. "Would you stop staring at him? I know he's drop dead gorgeous for a broody fang-boy. But you keep it up and you're gonna make me jealous."

Julia blinked a few times before she looked Ren. He knew exactly what to say to get her to come back to Earth. "Ha! Come on, I wasn't staring and besides I'm not even your type."

Kuro's golden eyes, the telltale sign he was an inugami, glowed with excitement as he laughed. His body was a powerhouse of muscle which flexed as he wrapped his beefy arm around Ella pulling her closer to him. "Jules, no point trying to deny it, you're totally drooling." He handed her a napkin. "And you might want to use this to mop up that puddle you're leaving on the table."

Julia slapped Kuro's hand away. "Shut up. It is so not like that."

Julia's heart throbbed as she watched the loving couple. She rubbed her chest trying to dispel the ache from the hole that was always there. Over the years Julia had mastered the art of ignoring the hollow ache so it only lingered in the back of her mind.

Yet looking at how Ella's slender body fit perfectly into the crook of his arm. How her mocha skin complemented his warm beige skin, as if made for each other. It made the ache burn knowing they were a perfect match, and she had to look away from them. Unfortunately, her eyes drifted back to Alex.

"Really, Jules, cause from where I'm sitting you look like some kind of lovesick puppy," Ren voice dripped with sarcasm. "Besides you're pissing off his She Devil." He whacked Julia on the shoulder bringing her attention back to the table.

"Can you believe those two?" Abby said, as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. "It's bad enough that they're here but you should've heard her in Advance Combat class."

Abby was Ella's exact copy being her identical twin. The only way to tell them apart was their hair and eyes. Abby's irises were the normal burgundy-red, which most shape-shifters had. Ella's on the other hand, was a beautiful shade of oxide-red and complimented her hazel hair that she always kept pixie short. Unlike Abby who kept her hazel locks long.

Kuro chuckled and his shaggy dark chestnut hair fell over his eyes. Ella reached up brushing it to one side as he said, "If Mrs Villalobos wasn't there I swear Grace and the other light fae would've strung Véronique up and tried to burn her."

"You should've seen the She Devil's grand entrance," Ren chimed in. "Personally, I couldn't have done it better. I mean if you're going tomake an entrance you might as well go for broke."

"Flamboyance and ostentatious is more your style, Ren, not catty. We know you want everyone to adore you," Ella said with a wink.

Ren flicked his hand up in the air making a meal out of it. "Darling, of course I would've. But you've got to admit as far as grand entrances go hers was good. Everyone knows her name, and that's no small feat in this school."

Abby bumped Julia's shoulder. "Jules, would you peel your eyes away from him already?"

"Now you've done it," Ren said. He partially sparkled, bouncing up and down in his seat. "The She Beast is coming over and by the looks of it she's ready for another fight."

Véronique stalked over to their table glaring at Julia the whole time. If looks could kill, Julia would've been long dead. "The stench of half-breeds, moon-mongrel, sprite, and hag is making my eyes water from all the way over at my table." She slammed her hands down on the table, leaning over Julia with a deadly leer. "Stop staring at Alex. He's with me and a half-breed freak like you would never interest him." She stood up and looked down her sharp nose at Julia. "If I catch you trying to flirt with him again I will-"

Ren jumped up, whipped out a silver blade hidden in his boot and held it to her throat. "Come on. What will you do?"

A vicious hatred blazed in Ren's eyes. It made Julia's stomach flutter trying to anticipateVéronique next move and how bad the fallout would be. Julia knew Ren would never let anyone hurt her, and she trusted him with her life. But she also knew he had a side to him, which he kept hidden, that was pitch black and volatile and it scared the hell out of her on the rare occasions it bubbled to the surface.

Ren had always been by Julia's side and they'd been friends forever. It didn't matter that he was as old as time and had already gone through childhood and adolescence before. He had chosen to go through it all over again with Julia. On her first day of kindergarten, she was upset because Ren was too old to go. When he showed up at her front door the same age as her, she was over the moon. Julia didn't care that he was using magic to change his age. All that mattered was he had been there for her and she knew he always would be.

Véronique yelped as the byzantium metal touched her skin. Everyone at the table heard the sizzling of her flesh. Julia caught Alex smiling as if he was enjoying the show not bothering to help Véronique out. Then his attention shifted to Julia and his gaze cut right to her very core.

Véronique shrieked, "You filthy, nasty Tink! I will make you pay!"

A snicker that erupted from Ren's mouth, Julia knew he was revelling in the chaos of the moment and itching for round three of their fight. "That'll be the day. Now you blood sucking leech, why don't you slither back over to your master. It looks like he's enjoying the show." Ren pointed at Alex with his chin. "Oh, and if you ever try to lay a hand on Jules, I will improve that pretty face of yours with this." He raised the blade, so it was right in between her eyes.

Véronique hissed at Julia, "Stay the hell away from him, freak." Before she retreated, with her shoulders back and head held high, trying to look like she was unaffected and owned the world.

Julia punched Ren on the arm when he sat back down. "Ren, what the hell are you doing with an anti-dark fae knife? You know if the teachers catch you, you'll be expelled."

"I like to be prepared for any eventuality," Ren said in a nonchalant manner brushing her concern off. "Besides the teachers hate her as much as we do so I doubt they would expel me."

Kuro leaned over giving Ren a high five. "Yeah, they'd give you a freaking medal."

Ella shook her head and looked at Julia with sympathy. "Ren, I think we can safely say you just made an enemy for both you and Julia."

"Good, the tick deserved it. No one messes with my girl." Ren wrapped his arm around Julia's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

If he wasn't like a brother to her, Julia would've fallen head over heels in love with him years ago. As it was, she knew that no matter what happened he would always be a part of her life until her dying breath. A small part of her wished that Ren was the person who filled the gaping hole in her heart, knowing it would make her life so much easier, now that it seemed to get more complicated by the minute.

Julia shook her head and looked over at the table where Alex and Véronique were sitting. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strangely familiar about Alex, and that whatever it was, was hanging just out of her reach. The harder she tried to grab at it, the further away it slipped.

The feeling was so frustrating that it made her want to scream. Instead, she picked up her tray and walked over to the bins with the rest of the group, not listening to them making plans for the weekend. She took one last look over her shoulder at Alex before she walked out of the cafeteria.

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Hi all thanks for sticking with the story. Looks like we have a Queen Bee thankfully Julia has Ren to watch her back. Wonder what will happen between the two girls. You'll just have to keep reading to find out what's going there.