The Halloween Party

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira examined herself in the little cracked mirror on the wall in the hall outside her dorms. She felt a little strange- and more than a little stupid. Her pixie costume was icy blue, and her long thin wings sparkled strangely on her back. Her ballet-like shoes twinkled too, and her eyes were smeared with blue, shimmering eyeshadow. It was truly amazing- she had successfully morphed a Christmas decoration.
"You look lovely, Kira," Ellie said sweetly, barging in Kira's way and fixed her crooked witch's hat. "Very cute."
"Aren't I meant to be scary?" Kira muttered in an unamused tone.

ooc: Macy just hijacked the computer. RUN AWAY!!

Later...

Jack barged down the hall, ducking his head as he ran towards them. "Okay, guys! I'm treading dangerous waters here- I'm not meant to be in this part of the dorms!"
"As long as you don't go into one of them, you're fine," Ellie said happily, applying a final lick of dark lipstick.
He stopped, staring at Kira for a few seconds. "Um... let me guess... the sugar plum fairy."
"Close enough," Ellie said cheerfully. "Now... what am I?"
"A witch?"
"Excellent!" she giggled, clapping her hands excitedly. "And you're a... a..."
"A puck victim," Jack said darkly, pointing out the plastic puck apparently lodged in his skull. "Killed me straight. Sad night for all."
"Lovely," Ellie said brightly in an unamused tone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooc: MACY!!! She is responsible for every bloomin' in an unamused tone...

Anyway...

She turned to Kira, who still looked a little put out. "Don't worry. You're fine."
"Where's Lee?"
"He's going with Madeleine," replied Kira glumly.
"Argh," Jack groaned. "Everyone has a date. Everyone."
"Me and Brian are hardly going on a date..." Ellie laughed.
Kira exchanged a smirk with Jack.
"Fine, we'll be on a date together, alright, Kira?" Jack laughed, extending his hand.
She laughed, taking it. "If you say so..."
Her hand was very nearly crushed in his; but it didn't matter much. Feeling very much like a pixie- well, she was tiny in comparison to Jack- she let herself be led down to the Common Room.
The Academics (and Jude) had really outdone themselves! Bookshelves empty and cobwebbed crisscrossed in an irregular pattern around a sort of sitting/dance area. The Common Room had been magically enhanced to make it all seem bigger, and metal bats hung from dark shadows; their eyes gleaming in the flickering multi-coloured candlelight. Kira smiled as she noticed Macy's beautiful ice sculptures littering the shelves; and many things were sparkling with a coating of icy frost. The Ice Queen herself was visible from across the room- her pointed crown glimmering about everyone elses' heads.
"Cool place," grinned Jack, tugging Kira forward.
"It's meant to be scary."
He laughed. "Halloween's never scary. Just cheesy, cheap and overloaded with sugar."
"Fair point," Kira grinned. "To an unscary Halloween."
"Drinks first," Jack said, pulling her across the room. "Then we can have a toast."

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Okay, so this wasn't the best start to Hallowe'een night. Seeing as Madeleine had been comatose for the last week, she'd been in desperate need of a costume.
And when Olivia had offered to help out and conjure her up one (like with the formal dress), Madeleine had actually been grateful.
However, she'd forgotten Olivia's liking for ... slightly revealing clothes.
Hence why Olivia was now dead.
Okay, well, she was still alive. But Madeleine had hit her slightly harder than she realised, and Olivia was now sporting a brilliantly pansy purple bruise on her arm. Luckily it matched her costume. But unfortunately, Olivia had won the argument, and Madeleine had to wear the outfit.
"You look great," Olivia said, deftly applying some liquid eyeliner to Madeleine's eyes.
"No, I don't. It looks awful," Madeleine grumbled, her eyes closed.
"There's gratitude for you," said Olivia brightly. "Don't worry, I know that I'll get a thank you at some stage."
Madeleine's eyes rolled under her closed lids. "Sorry. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to conjure this up, but shouldn't you have asked me first?"
"You said you wanted to be a cat!"
"Olivia, they said to keep it decent..."
"It is decent," she said stubbornly. "Open your eyes."
Madeleine's eyelids fluttered open. "Just about, but it really pushes the limit..."
"Oh, who cares? There's no teachers here anyway. And you won't mind once you actually look in the mirror."
Once upon a time, Madeleine had actually admired Olivia's sunniness and optimism, but now it was really, really getting on her nerves.
Olivia handed her a hairband with black cat ears on it, and Madeleine wearily slid it onto her head. Olivia's original plan had been for Madeleine to shapeshift cat ears onto her head (!), but with Madeleine's limited powers, she'd "just have to make do".
It had been like this with the heels, too. There was no way that Madeleine, who could only just about walk at this point, could manage the killer black stiletto heels that Olivia had produced.
Shaking her head back, Madeleine looked nervously at Olivia. "I look awful."
Olivia shook her head. "No, you don't, you look really hot."
Madeleine frowned. "I what?!"
"Go look in the mirror," Olivia replied, standing up and helping pull Madeleine up.
Batting her arm away, Madeleine took a tentative step towards the mirror, and finding her balance, walked over to it.
Okay, so, Olivia was right. The black catsuit, though far too low, actually did suit her. The Amy Winehouse-esque eyeliner really opened up her eyes. So she had to admit... the whole thing looked pretty badass.
But did the thing have to be so bloody low?!
She tugged it up self-conciously. "Olivia..."
"Oh, stop complaining," she answered serenely.
There was a knock on the door to the dorm, and Madeleine knew immediately that it was Lee. She'd been having a little trouble with stairs and her weak legs, and so she'd pre-arranged with Lee that he'd come up so that he could let her lean against him going down the stairs.
Unfortunately, the timing of her release from hospital meant that Levi would have to be dumped tonight, but it couldn't be helped.
She walked towards the door, before leaning against it. "Lee?" she called. "Okay, when I come out, please don't laugh. Olivia got hold of me..."

[Kira & Lee Norris]

There was something a little ominous about this night.
It was nothing to do with the fact it was Halloween- that was just a pretty awesome coincidence. Except Halloween always got it wrong. People weren't really scared of ghouls and goblins- the 'supernatural' was pretty real. For goodness' sake- they attended Orchid Hill! They had 'supernatural' powers. Lee himself currently had big black wings naturally growing out of his shoulder blades.
So he'd panicked slightly when it became apparent he needed a costume. He sort of had an idea of what he was doing- he'd just no idea whether or not he could pull it off. As a conjurer, he'd basically been able to come up with whatever he liked... except... he'd wanted to use his wings for something. Kira was going to help- she had wings too tonight, after all, but they hadn't really spoken much since Madeleine woke up.
Since Madeleine had been in the coma.
Since before the battle...
So whatever. Lee was meant to be a type of demon. He wasn't particularly sure what type- his wings didn't exactly scream Desert Dwellers or Sea Sweepers- but he reflected later that he could just say he was sort of... demon/human combo gone wrong. Hence why he looked human, but his wings were very... unhuman.
Then Jude had called him 'Dragon Boy'. Ugh.
So Lee was dressed simply enough. He'd ripped holes in the back of a leather jacket he'd conjured out of mid-air, and wore a simple, plain T-shirt underneath it. His trousers were dark, and blended nicely enough with his dark jacket, and he'd just stuck on some boots to complete the effect. He didn't exactly look overly... creative when he peered in the mirror- but at least his wings looked good. And surprisingly enough, he'd been able to pull off this leather jacket. Mike and Brian were insultingly impressed.
This night felt like a first time for everything...
Tonight, for one thing, Mike and Lydia had gotten together. Mike had asked Lydia to the Halloween party because he'd felt so bad about blowing her off the other day after her getting dumped. They were going on a 'date', he supposed, but he reckoned it would just end up him and her having a bit of craic as mates. Brian, on the other hand, was taking Ellie, and although she wasn't aware of this fact, Brian had confided in Mike and Lee that he was incredibly excited about it. Apparently, he'd liked Ellie for ages.
Who knew?
Kira and Jack would probably pair off- Jack had been talking loudly about it as he'd entered their dorm, because he knew Kira didn't have a date because her boyfriend was down in Cardsdale, so they could keep each other company. Lee, of course, was going on his first date with Madeleine in a long, long time- and she was breaking up with Levi tonight.
Jude and Ailith were going together too! Lee found himself strangely excited by that- probably because of whenever Jude had come to visit him. Jude had seemed sort of... embarrassed by it. And he'd never seen Jude embarrassed about anything before. Lee reckoned that Jude must really like Ailith, otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted like that.
But there were some... less cheerful things to be dealt with.
He had to talk to Kira tonight. He'd sworn to himself that he would. He couldn't stand her cold distant stare- nor her absolute refusal to make conversation with him. Not only that, but Bethany had sent another letter back, which Lee hadn't gotten the chance to read yet, but he was really nervous of.
But for now, it was time to pick up Madeleine.

* * *

As the door flew open, Lee heard Madeleine's plaintive voice calling him.
"Lee? Okay, when I come out, please don't laugh. Olivia got hold of me..."
"Olivia?" laughed Lee. "Your friend? Why is that a bad...?"
Oh.
Oh.
OH.
"Oh," he mumbled, his eyes immediately flickering towards the ceiling.
It would be an understatement to say he hadn't been expecting that. Rimmed with deftly and skillfully with make-up, Madeleine's big blue eyes stood out beautifully against the rich creamy colour of her skin. Two cat ears perched prettily on top of her thick dark curls, and her lips looked bigger and fuller than he'd ever seen them before. But that wasn't what'd made him blush.
Madeleine was wearing a catsuit. A catsuit which clung to every single bloody gorgeous curve of her body. Her legs were so smooth and shapely... and her waist and hips blended together in such a strange, graceful slope... and god. Why was it so lowcut? He could see... well... he could see...
"You look lovely," he muttered, still determinedly staring at the ceiling. "Really, really... great."
Olivia appeared around the door behind Madeleine. He flashed a nervous grin at her.
"Um... thanks, Olivia."
"You're very welcome," she smiled serenely, pushing Madeleine forward.
He caught her and and his breath as she clung to him dependantly. He gulped, trying to steady his terrible nerves.
Yep. This was gonna be one heck of a night.

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine struggled upright, aiming a number of pretty interesting curses at Olivia under her breath, before smiling sheepishly at Lee and pulling away from his grip slightly. "I know, it's really awful.I'm going to kill her."
"You already bruised me," Olivia called back serenely as she sailed down the hall.
Madeleine smiled grimly. "Yeah, I did, but... ugh."
This was so embarrassing. It was like Lee didn't know where to look, so he kept his eyes resolutely on the ceiling.
Biting back the funny comment that she knew Jude would have spat out in a second, Madeleine focused on his outfit. "I love the jacket. And are those actually yours?"
The wings that she had seen from a distance had sprouted from Lee's back again, and up close, they were even more impressive. Black and leathery, with horns and spikes protuding from them, they were possibly the most hardcore things Madeleine had ever seen.
"Hell's Angels just took on a whole new meaning," she laughed, twisting around him to look at them. "They are really awesome."

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Lee flapped them proudly as Madeleine looked at them. It was funny- him and Madeleine actually kind of matched because of the whole leather thing. Of course, she looked a heck of a lot better in leather than he did, but still. Lee wondered vaguely whether he'd have to half-carry her around all night.
He knew he wouldn't mind.
"The place looks good," he said happily, leading Madeleine across the room as they dodged in and out of the gathering crowd (or rather, the crowd dodged him- his wings were really big!) and headed towards the seating area.
Jude had told him that the Academics had outdone themselves, but it'd really been a bit of an understatement. Frankly, he was surprised they'd managed to pull this together in such a short space of time. He was really, really impressed.
Carefully looking at Madeleine's face (he would not let his eyes drift, dammit!) he smiled.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go track down some of the others."
He could already see Macy across the room. It really helped that she was so tall.

[Macy Deltine]

Macy fixed her crown of ice on her hair, and walked into the common room. Huh, it looked better when it was dark. She saw all of the hard work that the Academics (and Jude) had put in, and she was rather pleased with it. She noticed one of her ice sculptures was starting to melt, and she went over to it, touched it, making it refreeze and harden. She turned around and smiled. People seemed to be having a good time...that was good. She smiled at a group of Academics who waved at her, and walked over to the table in the middle that was laid out with lots of food. She picked up a ghost-shaped marshmallow, and popped it into her mouth.
She gazed over the room, looking at all the costumes. Her eyes stopped of Madeleine who had just gotten out of the hospital wing, and was wearing a...different outfit. Didn't the notice say to wear decent clothes? Macy laughed inward, and continued to look around the room. Everything looked like it was going well.
Just then, she felt an electrical shock go down her back. She jumped and turned round to find a green-haired vampire, laughing hysterically.
"Augh, Steve, you know I hate that!" Steve had recently found that Macy didn't like him given her a mild electric shock, so he'd shock her at any chance he had.
"Hi, Macy, did you decorate this place? It's really nice, you know, I've never been to a real halloween party, here I made this for you." He said quickly, holding out a piece of paper. Macy had gotten better at putting his words together when he spoke quickly. She took the paper he was holding, and turned it over. There was a picture of her, done in water colours, looking over her shoulder, smiling. The shape of her face wasn't exact, but it was really good.
"My goodness, Steve, this is so nice!" She jump-hugged him, which made his hair turn blue for a second, but returned back to it's normal green.
"Thanks, I drew you a couple of times, and I think this was the best one." He said, smiling.
"Aw, it's brilliant. Do you want anything to eat?" she said, gesturing to the table.
"No, it's fine, I'll get something later." He said, walking over to one of the sofas that had been pulled over to the side, to make room for the dance floor. She followed him, and sat down beside him, folding up the picture and putting it in her pocket. Steve had been acting strange lately, after coming back from the battle. He would spend his time in his room, painting, apparently, one of his roommates told her. He wasn't eating much at the dinner times, which was strange, as he would usually stuff his face. It was obvious he was dropping in weight.
Macy sighed, and took out the picture again, to look at it. She was more happy to have it, than you would think. She looked up at the dancers, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. She was relieved that people were actually dancing, as she was scared that they would tell her that the party was awful, and walk out. Hopefully the night would stay like this, with people enjoying themselves.

[Tamika Dombrovski]

Tamika zipped up her knee high boots and adjusted the tricorder. She glanced at herself in the mirror, mainly at the bottom of the mini dress AKA the shortest thing known to man. She turned from the mirror and sniffed the air. "Oh dear... Everyone's going to be high for about a week with the amount of hair spray I used!" She said to herself. Tamika opened the door and slowly made her way out of her dorm room in to the common room. Slowly because as she was walking she attempting to put more slides in her hair whilst making sure her costume didn't rise too high up. As she placed the last slide for the time being in her hair, she looked up to see the common room completely transformed. "Wow..." She whispered, the Academics had done a rad job. Tamika looked around to see if Will was about, or Madeleine. It'd be pretty sucky for her if she didn't have anyone to talk to...
She began to feel nervous like she had done on her first day. She only knew a couple of people and had just dyed her hair, she wasn't all that sure if it suited her, especially since her hair had grown quite a bit. She had sat staring at the box of bleach and dye for a good hour or two before deciding to do it. "Out with the old, in with the new," she had told herself. Plus, she looked even more like Nurse Chapel with the blonde. She tucked her fringe behind her ear and made her way further in to the room, looking for somewhere to stand. She noticed that near one of the walls was a large punch bowl.
"Yes! Punch bowl!" She thought, "Perfect place to stand and blend in..."
She walked over and poured a glass, sighing and wishing she had picked to be Alex from A Clockwork Orange or something...

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

As Madeleine hobbled (there really was no better word) across the room, leaning on Lee's arm and muttering apologies the whole way, she spotted Tamika, with a new blonde hairstyle, standing beside the punchbowl, looking slightly lonely.
"Hey, Tamika!" called Madeleine, wincing slightly as she put weight on the leg that she'd recieved the shot to.
Lee led her over. She felt so terribly weak - it was possibly the weirdest feeling ever. Nurse Gornray assured her that she'd be back up to full strength within the week, but Madeleine wasn't so sure. She could walk, just about, but she was having to lean on Lee's arm.
"Love the hair," Madeleine said, once she reached Tamika, before turning to Lee. "You go and find Kira, I'll be fine for a bit."
Once he'd gone, she turned back to Tamika. "You haven't seen Levi Ryder anywhere? Tall, dark hair, really white teeth?"
It was the first thing people noticed about Levi. His teeth.

[Tamika Dombrovski]

Tamika was feeling odd, she was beginning to think that the hairspray really was making her high. She had been hallucinating, had seen Anton looking glumly at the group, but of course that wasn't possible, he had been buried, right? A call of 'Hey Tamika!' had brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Madeleine hobbling over, leaning on... Lee? She couldn't recall his name.
"Love the hair," Madeliene commented, as she reached where Tamika stood, before saying something to Lee.
"Thanks, I was a bit concious of it," she smiled, "Ehm, I think I saw him for a second but he walked away somewhere, sorry..."
Tamika took a sip of her punch, "So how's the... Health? Any better?"

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"Hi, Kira."
She didn't look up for a couple of seconds, catching her breath as she realised who was talking to her. She pretended to be immersed in the playful argument that Jack, Brian and Ellie were having, but she sort of knew she wasn't doing a very good job.
"Kira?"
His voice was by her ear now. She couldn't ignore him any longer.
"Lee," she returned, straightening up and smoothing her silvery skirt. "Something you need?"
Lee pressed his lips together, glancing at their friends. Nobody seemed to have noticed their conversation, except perhaps Jude, who glanced their way as Lee took Kira's arm and led her across the room and into the complicated maze of book shelves. Kira let herself be taken away in silence, and she didn't need to question his motives for bringing her over here. They both knew exactly what this was about.
Turning to her in the darkened shadows, Kira felt them flicker all around her, a ripple of whispers slithering towards her in the dark.
"I can't see you," she mumbled, then made a low whispering noise Lee barely caught. The shadows scattered, and they were both left in a pool of light; a spotlight in the blackness.
Lee sighed. "Kira..."
"This must be awkward for you," she said softly. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. But you can't blame me."
"Kira, I don't-"
"No, shh for a second, okay? Just be quiet; hear me out."
Lee looked like he wanted to say something more, but shut his mouth and nodded. He was willing to listen. Good.
She inhaled deeply, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Lee, I hate Madeleine. I hate her- I hate what she does to you and how you let her do it. When you two were together the first time around, I really thought you two would make it. I did. I tried to help you, remember? I gave you guys your chance to be great. But she blew it. Lee- she dumped you!"
He cleared his throat. "And I rebounded off Chloe. Not good. Kira, I'm aware of the details."
She pulled a face. "Okay, so we'll cut it short. When she dumped you, you pretty much died. When she nearly died, you caved in on yourself. And she wakes up and suddenly she's all over you again! She has you eating out of her hand- but she's using you."
"How?"
"Like a safety net," she muttered darkly. "Like... like she knows she's got you, and she knows Levi's not sticking around. So she sticks with you because she knows... Lee, don't look at me like that!"
"Madeleine's not like that," he said- his voice suprisingly confident.
Kira blinked. "You don't know that."
"So if I don't- how do you?"
"Lee, look, whatever she thinks, or whyever she's going out with you... don't you think it's a bit unhealthy?"
He frowned. "What d'you mean?"
"She's got you dangling on a thread!" Kira cried, a little desperately. "You're up when she's up- down when she's down- it's like an addiction. And when she's away from you- you're not yourself. When you're with her you're not yourself."
"So..."
"So basically," she concluded fiercely. "Madeleine's bad for you. Whatever the case- she's bad for you, Lee, and you've given her the power to rip you apart. You've gotta get out of that relationship before... before..."
"Before what?"
"Something bad happens. Like... before you get in too deep."
Something inscrutable flitted over Lee's face. "Before I fall in love?"
"Yes!" Kira cried weakly, relieved he'd cottoned on. "That!"
"Kira... I am in love with her."
There was a sudden short, terrible silence. Kira felt herself sway slightly on the spot, and her fists finally unfurled. She tried to speak, but her tongue seemed to have swollen unnaturally. Her mouth was dry- and she couldn't for the life of her process what he'd just told her.
Lee's eyes had clouded over- he looked strangely distant. Dreamy. Like they were. Dreamers. Stupid, stupid dreamers. He saw Madeleine through a smokey dream screen. Was that it?
Was that it?
"No," she answered herself. "No, that's not it."
"It is it," Lee replied, his eyes snapping back to her, misinterpreting her words. "Now, Kira, you have to listen."
Kira nodded numbly.
Lee sighed. "Kira; I love you. You know that. But... I love Madeleine too. And I'm sure as hell not giving either of you up. You're my cousin- but you're more than that. You're like my sister. Madeleine's... Madeleine's..."
"Something else."
He laughed. "Madeleine's my girlfriend. You two... you mean a lot, okay? Like I said, I'm not giving either of you up. Think what you like about Madeleine- I'm not going to force you to change your opinions. Just... tolerate her, okay?"
"But-"
"Please, Kira? Not for her. For me."
Kira pulled a face, clicking her tongue. She didn't want to argue. Well, she did. But she didn't. She wasn't going to do that to Lee. She wasn't going...
"Okay."
"Thanks a million, Kira," he smiled briefly, and gave her a quick hug. "Really. I mean that."
"Mmm-hmm," Kira mumbled, gritting her teeth in what she hoped look like a genuine grin.
Quickly, she made the same whispering noise, and the shadows shifted back into place. Lee stepped away from her into the blackness, and although she couldn't see him, she knew he was relieved. It must've been pretty scary for him to come and talk to her like that.
"So..." Kira said, falsely bright. "Has she dumped the lovely Levi Ryder yet?"
He laughed. "Hasn't got a chance. Levi didn't visit her while she was in the coma."
"Quite an achievement that," she grinned, nudging him. "Beating Levi Ryder. Brian will hold you in his highest regard from now on."
"Definitely," laughed Lee.
"Prick deserves it," Kira decided darkly. "D'you know while Madeleine was still in the coma, he tried coming on to me? Ugh."
Lee seemed to freeze into silence. Kira stared blindly at him for a few moments, realising the impact of her words a little too late.
"Lee?"
"He... he did... that prick."
"Stronger words may be necessary," Kira sighed, taking Lee's arm and leading him back into the main area of the party. "But it's fine. It doesn't matter."
Lee didn't answer. Kira couldn't say she really expected him too.

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

"Better," Madeleine said, leaning against the table surreptitiously as she poured a glass of punch. "In a much better mood than I was before the whole thing, anyway. Cheating death really gives you an optimism boost, I gue..."
Her words tailed off into nothingness as she spotted Levi, dressed in sleek black from head to toe across the room.
She set down her glass of punch. "Sorry, Tamika, I have to go and... do something. I'll be back soon, okay?"
Limping forwards, she made her way through the aisles of books by clutching on to the shelves and several helpful people.
"Levi!" she called, wincing. Her legs didn't hurt from the shot - that had been healed - but they were tired. After spending a week battling death in a hospital bed, Madeleine was devoid of much strength, in both her body and her powers.
Another thing that people would use in their malicious rumours. Yes, as usual in a school full of teenagers, the rumour mill had already started to work - most of them saying things to the effect that Madeleine was using Lee. A lot of people couldn't understand why she had chosen Lee over the 'brave, handsome' Levi.
She wished people would just open their eyes.
Levi the vampire half-turned towards her, a smile lighting up his face, his white teeth glinting at her. Wow, a vampire was a pretty apt thing for him to go as... "Madeleine! I didn't know you were out of hospital!"
Well, he wouldn't.
She smiled weakly at him, testing her weight on her right foot. "Yeah, I got out this morning."
He looked her up and down, grinning. "Nice outfit."
"It was Olivia," she said, in a low growl.
He chuckled. "Should have guessed."
Madeleine glanced around at the crowds of people in costumes milling about. "Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"
The smallest of frowns marred his handsome face for a second, before his face cleared and he smiled winningly at her. "Sure."
He offered her his arm to lean on, which she took gratefully (her legs really were starting to hurt her now), and helped her over to a couple of armchairs in the corner of the room within the amber glow of the firelight.
"Everything okay?" he asked, helping her down into a chair. "What's up?"
Madeleine sank down into the armchair. "We need to talk."
He frowned. "Is everything okay?"
"Well... no. No, it's not. It's not okay."
He kept silent, regarding her with his hazel eyes.
"I nearly died," Madeleine said, shaking back her curls and staring at the floor. "In fact - I did die. And for the last week, I've been trying to fight it."
She looked and stared him straight in the eye. "I know that we weren't really that serious, but Levi, I'd have hoped that you would have showed up and stayed with me, or talked to me, or something. You... you promised me stability - that's not stability. I'm not stupid," she said, her gaze unfaltering. "I know that neither of us went into this relationship for the right reasons, and, well... I think it's time that we ended out. Maybe we can stay friends, or whatever, because you were there for me when I needed it, and I really do appreciate it. But you're not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for the guy who'll stick with me no matter what; the guy that will hold my hand when I'm in a coma. That's not you."
She took a breath, watching him carefully for a response.
His expression was disbelieving. "So... okay, let me get the gist of this... you're dumping me for the Norris nerd?"
"Don't call him that," she snarled, starting to fire up. "To be honest, Levi, I should have ended it long ago."
He shook his head, leaning back in his chair, laughing - but Madeleine could tell that he was insulted. "You're insane, girl!"
Madeleine's lips curved into a pitying smile. "No, I'm not. Brushing with death knocked a lot of sense into me. Like I said, you're not who I'm looking for. Life's too short to waste it."
He shook his head. "I still can't wrap my head around this. You're leaving me for him? I mean, no offence to the guy, but come on... look at him."
It was lucky for him that Madeleine hadn't regained her strength, or she'd have punched him for that.
"How dare you," she snarled, her eyes a mixture of revulsion, anger and pity. "You know, Levi, I'm starting to feel sorry for you. You really do think that you're better than everybody, don't you? But let me tell you something - the better man sticks to his word. The better man does not go around chatting up his girlfriend's friends when said girlfriend is dying. You're not even half the guy that that "nerd" is. I'm sorry, but it's over."
It was so over.
And it felt like a huge weight had been lifted. She was free. Free to do whatever she wanted.
Free to be with whoever she wanted.
Levi stood up, disgusted before walking off without a word.
Almost.
He half-turned. "You know, you're right. This wouldn't have worked out. They were right about you, weren't they? You really are nothing but a cheap little wh*re."
Oh no... he didn't.
Forgetting about her lack of strength, Madeleine stood up abruptly and made a move towards Levi -
But someone got there first.

[Tamika Dombrovski]

((I know someone else was meant to your post Laura, but I had this in a word document and wanted to post it because I'll probably forget in the morning due to freaking out over a haircut... So, sorry if it interferes or owt guys...))

After Madeleine had walked off to speak to Levi, Tamika once again stood watching 'Anton'. The clothes on his body appeared bloody, and his skin had dirt on it. Like he was on the battlefield but more... Attached. He was still standing there, just watching the group, occasionally just reaching out to an old friend, but they only jumped thinking someone was trying to scare them. "Why am I seeing him...?" She thought, searching her mind for answers. To take her mind off it, she decided to go on a Will hunt.
"Ooohhh Wiilllll!" She called, knocking on Wills door. She couldn't hear anything so went in. "Now Will, I know for fact it is not like you to pass up a party! C'mon, I need someone to talk to or people are going to think I'm just some random person app..." Anton appeared again, watching over Wills bed where she lay under the duvet, with a small smile on his face, he then looked round at Tamika. "Help me..." He said.
Tamika shook her head, "Wow, zoned there! As I was saying, people are going to think I'm just some random person appearing because I have nothing else to do!"
Tamikas attention was drawn back to Anton. "Tamika, please, let me talk to her."
"Mika, you ok?" Will asked, poking her head out of the duvet when Mika went oddly quiet.
"Uhm... Yeah, now get up and get changed!"
Tamika turned and left the room, back in the common room she saw more people. Well, obviously she'd see people, but she was seeing more people who had died during battle. She began feeling slightly scared. It reminded her of when she had been about 9, and had been visiting her grandfathers grave when she began seeing a lot of people who weren't actually there. She called on her aunt for help.
"Aunt Joselie... I'm seeing dead people..." She shreiked to her aunt.
"Ah, I knew this day would come, young Tamika."
"Well then you could have warned me!"
"Tamika, don't sound so angry, you should be grateful to have such a gift!"
"Gift? You mean, this is my 3rd gift?"
"Precisely! You're what's known as a psychic medium, hon."
Tamika was speechless. She had always known she was interested in that sort of thing but... Geez, this was a bit much.
"I have information for you Tamika, you must learn what to do to really understand your gift and use it to its full power. I'll send you some books in the mail, now go enjoy your school party!"
Tamika stood for a few more minutes in shock when Will came out of the dorm room dressed a cowgirl.
"Zoning again, Mika?"
"Will... I can see dead people..."

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Lee didn't have any of Jude's powers- those enhanced senses he'd often thought would be quite useful. After all, that way it should be pretty definite that he'd never ever have to get glasses- dinnertime would be a pretty eye-opening experience- and boy oh boy, Madeleine's hair would smell all the better for it. But there were some things...
Some things he didn't need to taste, touch, smell- or hear.
As Lee crossed the room with Kira, his mind was reeling. He'd never been so completely and utterly disgusted by anyone in his entire life. Levi Ryder- Madeleine's so-called 'boyfriend' had been hitting on someone else while she lay on her deathbed? Not only that, but that someone else had been his cousin?
He shook himself fiercely, but he couldn't quite get the feeling of Levi out his head; those friggin' white teeth gleaming evilly at him through the black swirling cloud unfurling about his mind. Nightmare visions long repressed jumped out at him...
Levi and Madeleine.
Madeleine and Levi.
And now, a new one to haunt him- Levi and Kira.
"There's Madeleine over there..." came Kira's soft voice somewhere to his right. "With Levi."
Lee jumped, looking up in surprise to see Madeleine and Levi talking. He moved closer, jostling with the crowds, and heard their conversation loud and clear...
Madeleine smiled almost kindly at Levi. She was saying something. Lee pushed forward a little more, straining his ears. "... I said, you're not who I'm looking for. Life's too short to waste it."
Lee's heart jumped. They weren't... they couldn't be...? Now?
Levi shook his head, a distasteful frown on his face. "I still can't wrap my head around this. You're leaving me for him? I mean, no offence to the guy, but come on... look at him."
Lee felt his breath catch. The black cloud was back, swirling faster and faster around him. He barely heard Madeleine's next words...
"... know, Levi, I'm starting to feel sorry for you. You really do think that you're better than everybody, don't you? But let me tell you something - the better man sticks to his word. The better man does not go around chatting up his girlfriend's friends when said girlfriend is dying. You're not even half the guy that that "nerd" is. I'm sorry, but it's over."
But it's over. It's over, Lee. Don't worry about it anymore. IT'S OVER.
But of course it wasn't over. This was Levi. That arrogant, pompous, puffed up prick of a Levi. It was fortunate his name was an anagram of the word 'evil'. Levi was Levi. And Levi just had to get in the last word...
"You know, you're right. This wouldn't have worked out. They were right about you, weren't they? You really are nothing but a cheap little wh*re."
Lee let out a low growl of rage, and suddenly he found that he thrown himself through the last of the crowds, launched himself at Levi- and his fist connected with Levi's jaw.
Apparently, Levi had been no more expecting this attack than Lee. Before either knew what was happening, there was a resonating crack as the brawling pair hit the floor, and blood was pouring from Levi's mouth. His eyes flashed as he turned on his attacker, but the black clouds were still there- rushing and screaming for Levi's total annihilation.
Suddenly, two massive arms had closed around Lee, and lifted him off the bleeding Levi, setting him squarely on his feet. Lee swayed slightly, panting as he met Levi's cold, hazel eyes from the floor.
"Good job, mate," grinned Jack from behind him. "Seriously- wow."
Lee smiled viciously at the broken, humilated boy lying on the ground. "You," he breathed, "have had that coming for a hell of a long time."

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

The attack came so swiftly that if you blinked, you'd miss it.
Luckily, Madeleine didn't blink.
As soon as the last word had left Levi's mouth, Lee launched forward from nowhere, his fist slamming into Levi's jaw. Then, both Levi and Lee were brawling on the ground, curses and scarlet streaming from Levi's mouth.
And crowds were starting to gather. Bloodlust clearly wasn't something just in the Warriors - they all loved a fight.
Especially when the opponents happened to be the two most talked about guys of the moment.
Repressing the words about to come out of her mouth and the memories of several interesting bareknuckle fights, Madeleine spotted Jack and caught his eye. He stepped forward and pulled Lee off of Levi, with surprisingly little effort, muttering something to him.
As Madeleine limped forward over to him, Lee was smiling spitefully down at Levi. ""You have had that coming for a hell of a long time."
Levi struggled up from the floor, leaving patches of blood on the floor to stain the carpet crimson. He muttered something unintelligible but obviously malicious in intent, before spitting a mixture of saliva and blood towards Lee's feet, glaring coldly at Madeleine, and stalking off, throwing the door open and letting it slam behind him.
Jack clapped Lee on the back, saying something that Madeleine didn't quite catch as she limped over towards them. Thankfully, people were trickling away, obviously realising that there wasn't anything to see. "You just punched out Ryder," she said, only realising then how impressed she was. "That's ... wow."

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude had always known that it would be an interesting night. But gosh, he hadn't been expecting that. As Levi stalked past him, nose held high in the air, Jude coughed and stuck out his foot. Levi stumbled slightly, threw Jude a vicious look, and practically ran out of the room. Jude grinned triumphantly to himself, and shook his head.
Wow, Ailith had chosen the wrong party to be late for.
She was late, wasn't she? That's why she wasn't here yet. And not everybody had arrived yet. This party promised to last for the whole night and beyond. It was crowded, warm and the music was beginning to get peoples' blood pumping. Hell, there'd already been a fist fight! Nobody in their right minds would miss this.
Unless he was their date.
Okay, stop it! He was mad at himself for getting worked up like this. It's just... he'd never done this before. He'd never... gone on a date. Had he been too sudden with Ailith? Had he scared her off? The look on Tameron's face if she found out some girl had stood him up...
Nobody had stood anyone up.
Ignoring the nerves that were beginning to jangle through his system, he hurried forward to push through the crowd of admirers that were all circling Lee and yelling out cries of congratulations. Punching his way through, Jude cut in the way of Maddox and clapped Lee on the back.
That back would be raw red by tomorrow morning with the amount of people thwacking it.
"Y'all did me proud, young Lee," Jude smiled, wiping a mock tear from his eye. "Real proud- and wow, Maddox!"
He hadn't seen Madeleine tonight, and he had to admit he was shocked. Her catsuit was just so... low.
"Gee, Maddox, you clean up good," he laughed at her.
"I can give you a taste of what Levi just got if you like," Lee said threateningly, slipping between Jude and Madeleine and wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist, supporting her.