Oh, Maddie!" Beca gushed as she came into the room. I was still drowsy but she didn't care. She threw her bag on the table and jumped on my bed. I couldn't help the grunt that escaped me. "Drew told me what happened at dinner. Are you okay?"
I sighed sleepily and rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"
"Seven forty-five. Oh, honey, are you okay?"
"Not really. My face hurts and I feel like I have snot running down my face."
"No, sweetie. That's blood."
My hand flew to my nose, slapping it unintentionally. When I pulled it away, it was stained red. I turned to look over my shoulder. My pillow and some portions of my sheets were stained with blood. I whined unhappily and got up. My father had bought these for me before I moved to the school.
Beca helped me get up and get to the bathroom. I stripped off my clothes and got in the shower. The hot water made my face hurt worse so I scrubbed off as quickly as I could without irritating it too much. When I stepped out, I saw the clothes Beca had placed on the sink for me. I dressed and walked into the room.
My sheets were in a pile by the door as Beca and Drew put fresh ones on the bed. There was a knock at the door. Since I wasn't doing anything, I opened the door to find Darren with his hands in his pockets. He was out of his uniform and in a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. He looked at me for a few moments, assessing my face. That only made me more self-conscious so I turned away.
"No, look at me." He took my face gently in his hands and looked it over. I couldn't help but watch his face as he ran his thumbs over the stitches. "It's still a little swollen. I think it should be fine with a little care." He smiled a little, then dropped his hands.
"Did you talk to the headmaster?" Drew asked. He tucked the end of my comforter under the mattress then stood back to survey his work.
I realized a few seconds too late that he wasn't talking to me. Darren answered. "Yeah, he said he'd take care of it."
"I wish you hadn't done that," I said. I sank down in my desk chair as the grogginess took over.
"Why not?" Beca squealed, causing me to wince in pain as the sound reverberated in my head.
"Beca, chill." Darren scolded.
"Sorry. But seriously, Maddie. She kicked you in the face because you're not afraid of her and you're friends with Darren."
"About that," I turned to look at the man in question. "Why does she not like you?"
"Dare's been on her shit list since he turned her down freshman year," Drew explained. He leaned against the wall with an amused look. He shrugged when Darren looked at him. "It's better to get it out now."
Darren sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess you're right." He turned to look at me once again. "Casey was dating my cousin when we came to Union. When we got here, she dumped him to go after me. I had no intention to be her rebound guy so I turned her down. Well, also my cousin threatened to throttle me if I went out with her. He said she was only after one thing from him. So she got mad at me and started a feud that hasn't ended. When freshmen come in, she tries to get them on her side."
"So why is she mad at me?" I asked, touching my face gingerly.
"You hang out with us. She hates other girls being around Darren, even Beca. Once you stand up to her, she'll back down," Drew said as he scratched his head.
"What about Bianca?"
"She bounces from clique to clique, and she's a member of the Roses of Union."
I was curious now. I had heard that term before. "What is that exactly?"
"It's a club that only select girls are asked to join. Bianca was asked as soon as we got here freshman year. She says there are many things they get to do that the rest of us normal students can't. If they have boyfriends, the guys are automatically members of the brother club the Round Table. The Round Table isn't as bad as the Roses because the Rounds are all jocks. Some are nice though. It's weird," Beca explained. She obviously didn't care that she wasn't chosen so I didn't either.
I was silent for a moment. There was something about Casey that was familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. Something was familiar about everyone that I had met but I had no clue what it was all about. It was really disheartening. I usually prided myself on how well I could read people but this entire thing had me thrown for a loop.
I looked at Darren. This was King Arthur. One of the greatest kings of legends of old was standing before me. I had always imagined Arthur to be handsome but never like this. Blond hair and blue eyes made him look like a normal American (I don't know what that means but it works) but his dark skin made him look exotic. Beca didn't have his skin color so it made me wonder if there was something more about them.
Without realizing it, I yawned and rubbed my eye, wincing as I accidently pulled the stitches under it.
"Be careful," Darren scolded. I looked up at him. He'd been doing that a lot lately, to me and to Beca. "You could easily pull them out."
"Sorry," I mumbled.
"Do you want to sleep?" Beca asked. "I can always go down to the common room and do my paper."
I shook my head. "No, I'm just hungry." After I said it, I realized it was definitely true. I hadn't eaten since lunch.
Her face lit up. "Well, let's go."
"Sit down," Darren and Drew ordered simultaneously.
"But!"
"You have to finish your paper. You said Pierce laid into you because you hadn't started. Well, now's the time to start," Darren said. See what I mean? They are always bickering.
"Come on, Maddie. We'll go get something to eat," Drew said. He didn't wait for an answer as he placed my boots before me then draped my coat around me. After I shoved my feet into the warm shoes, he ushered me out the door and sighed after he closed it behind him. "Better stay away for a bit. Darren's angry and when he gets angry, it's best not to argue."
"Why is he so angry?" I asked as we descended the stairs to the main entrance. I felt it rolling off him when he came into the room but in my confused state I had no clue what was going on.
Drew glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Seriously? You don't know?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be asking."
"True, true." He opened the main door and shuttered at the blast of cold air. Sighing, he said, "Darren's angry because you were attacked by Casey. Normally he knows what that psycho's thinking but today he messed up. He left you alone knowing Casey was in that room for the same class."
"Is he psychic or something?"
"No, not necessarily. He just has that innate sense that something's going to happen. Today that feeling came a little too late. When we got there, you were bleeding."
"Is that why he's popular?"
"No. He's popular because he's a Starland, a jock, and he protects the lesser students. He's down to earth basically. Casey's popular because people are scared of her. Beca, Darren and I aren't afraid of her so we stick together."
If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were all knights. Well, Darren was King Arthur so that must mean Beca, Bianca, and Drew were involved in some way. It was only obvious because of the way they stayed near each other.
I now had a new mission. I was going to find out how these people were all interconnected. They had to be. My gut told me they were and I always followed my gut, even if it got me into trouble.
After I had eaten in a quiet cafeteria, Drew dropped me off at the dorm and returned to his, all the while rambling about some soccer game that was coming on TV soon. I shook my head and went up the stairs to my room.
When I opened the door, I stopped to stare at Darren as he moved about the space. He was mumbling something about Beca being a slob and how she should really learn to clean up after herself. I didn't move, instead taking time to watch him as he moved.
He was sleek and tall, elegance coming off him even as he moved. When he lifted a box to shove it in the closet, his muscles bulged to ease the strain. He was just a good looking guy that I couldn't help but watch and drool over. I'm a typical girl so I could do it.
A few moments later, he stopped, his breath heaving from his lungs. He brought a hand up to ruffle his sweaty hair. With that movement, his shirt rode up, giving me a good look at his waist line. There was something that caught my eye. I walked forward and hiked his shirt up so I could see.
"Maddie?" he asked in shock. He obviously thought he was alone in the room. He tried to snatch his shirt from my hand, but I batted it away with a forceful swat.
"What is that?" I asked. I looked intently at it. It was interesting and very rare, a dark splotch right on his abdomen.
"It's my birthmark."
"It looks like a horse."
"That's because it is a horse. Beca has one as well. All the Starlands have horse shaped birthmarks. It's not unusual for us." He looked at me over his shoulder. "What's yours?"
I looked up at him. "It's a moon burst."
He frowned. "What's that?"
"It's on my shoulder. You can look at it if you want."
I turned my back to him and shed my coat. Ever so gently he pushed the neckline of my shirt over so he could look. His breath hitched for a moment and that confused me. When he traced the outline of it, heat flooded from his finger to my shoulder. It felt weird yet it was soothing at the same time.
"That's neat," he whispered huskily. Something in his voice told me he had seen it before.
As I turned around, I had no idea what was going on. His cheeks were tinged pink and he had to look away. What was going on with him? He had never acted like this before. I frowned.
"I'm going to go," he muttered.
"Wait!" Before I knew what had happened, I was holding onto his arm. He looked down at me in surprise. I let go and stepped back, completely shocked and embarrassed at what I'd just done. "Don't go yet."
"Why?"
I fumbled for words then remembered the dream. "Last night I had a crazy dream. Whenever that would happen back home, my dad would sit with me until I fell asleep again. It's, I don't know, a comfort thing."
He looked skeptical at first. Then his face softened and he nodded. I turned my back on him as I tried to hide my happiness and crawled in my bed. Once the covers were pulled securely around me, he laid on top of them facing me. I smiled happily then yawned. When I opened my eyes, he was smiling at me. I thought for a moment he was going to kiss me, but instead he took my hand and held it securely in his.
I don't know how much time passed from the moment I laid down to the moment I fell asleep but my dream was different.
Darren. No, Darren as Arthur was walking to a… well, some place. I could see him from where I was watching, there but not really. He had the same smile on his face that I saw before I fell asleep.
"Arthur!" someone called. He turned and I watched as a girl came running towards him. Even though her face was obscured in shadow, I knew who it was.
She ran so fast she flew into his arms, knocking the breath out of him. "How'd your hunt go?"
"Rather well," he replied.
"Guess what? We get to move to the palace soon! Merlin said your uncle finally has it clean."
"That's great, Camelot. You should feel right at home."
"I'm always at home when I'm with you and Merlin."
Arthur smiled. "You have been with him since you were seven. It only seems natural that you would."
The girl, who I now knew was Camelot, smiled.
The images started to swirl as I came out of the dream. I didn't know what was going on in my dreams or in reality.
As I lay there in between sleep and awareness, I felt something warm against my forehead.
Later I realized Darren had kissed me and left with two simple words that held a different connotation all together.
"Please remember."