About You Now

Found Family

The Christmas Holidays were approaching. The staff around the school had taken care to decorate the halls and each classroom to mirror the festive spirit. Trees had been placed in the stairwells and the main entrance near the reception. Bows and tinsel decorated the normally boring school halls, and Christmas lights lined each window. Baubles and bells hung from the staircases, and the odd bit of mistletoe could be found hanging in random doorways and arches around the school. Christmas songs played over the school intercom as if to brighten the last week of school up a little more.

There were no circular lessons that weak, just holiday-themed activities. The catering classrooms had been opened to students to learn to make Christmas treats, cookies, cakes, and mince pies. The art floor had plenty of activities going on, from Christmas card-making to handmade decorations. The English floor had writing events, and the music room had its own competitions going—anything from singing competitions to songwriting ones. Most of the staff oversaw the activities, while others prepared for the little Christmas market Stephanie had arranged, and the winter dance at the end of the week would double as the student's Christmas party.

Triple H had recruited the Darklings to help set up the NXT hall for the dance, whereas Vikki had taken the rest of the Mix-n-match group to help set up the market in the other school sports hall and quad. All had been willing to help, with a few jokes being shared between the group, helping Vikki and Summer set up a video call with the Darklings on the opposite side of the school. The Darklings themselves did the tasks assigned to them in pairs. Rhea going off with Dom, Aleister and Cross, Finn and JD, and, finally, Echo and Damian. Between them, they managed to decorate the hall with glittery decorations, snow-themed items, and lots of tinsel, baubles, and other decorations delivered in boxes.

"Never did get the answer to that question," voiced Aleister, picking glitter from his hair as the group of Darklings made their way to the art floor via the back staircase. The door to the outside had been opened to allow six form students to come and go without running into the chaos other students created.

"I dread to ask what the question was," called Rhea, her voice sounding loud in the abandoned stairwell to the point anyone could hear her words no matter what floor they were on. Her playful dread only grew upon witnessing Aleister's mischievous grin appear. However, a smile threatened to paint itself on her lips to hear Echo humming a random Christmas song, her ongoing war with the mistletoe seemingly forgotten for now, at least until the next unannounced battle.

"If Seth was in a threesome now," casually responded the Dutch teen, hearing the chuckles to his question as Cross merely rolled her eyes and continued up the stairs. Her reaction suggested it was a question that truly did seem to bug the teen known as the Devil. "What? Even the blind can see the tension between our dear Architect and The Lass Kicker. Add that to the whole thing with our Demon being up in the air ... Ow!"

"Oof, there was malice behind that one," commented Finn, cringing slightly at the sound of Echo's hand colliding with the back of Aleister's head. Damian also cringed to the side, as did JD and Dominik. Rhea, on the other hand, smirked slightly as Cross carried on as if nothing had taken place. "Still a touchy subject?" asked the Irish teen, suspecting although the midnight-haired girl was more open and accepting now, she still had yet to face all the pain, hurt, and feelings of betrayal she'd been suppressing. She'd still yet to talk things over with Seth rather than leaving things in limbo.

"I feel sorry for Serenity and any other idiot who brings it up," stated JD, a grin appearing on his lips as Echo rubbed the back of Aleister's head before continuing to hum Christmas songs, a silent apology between the pair, followed by Aleister all but chasing both Echo and Rhea up the rest of the stairs, with the stash of glitter he'd kept hold of. Laughter soon rang out as Cross sprinkled the four remaining boys with the multicolored glitter she had, having to jump to get Damian properly. She seemingly turned into a giggling Christmas fairy as she did so before disappearing up the stairs.