White Thorn | On Hold

Friends and Enemies

"Oy, Arya!" A hand pounded against her bedroom door at a god-forsaken hour in the morning. "Get your lazy butt out of bed already!"

Feet slapped against the cold floor, the door nearly wrenched off its hinges as a very annoyed Arya yanked it open. "You'd better have a damn good reason for waking me up on a Saturday morning!" Green eyes twinkled as Jake Harker, one of her self-appointed big brothers, stood outside her room.

"Chill, Ari." He grinned. "I was just coming to see if you wanted to come and help me mess with Felipe..."

"At three am in the morning?" Her face deadpanned. "On the weekend?"

Jake shrugged. "The early bird gets the worm."

"Says the guy who likes to delay everything for as long as possible..."

"Come on, Ari." He pouted. "Flynn's been kidnapping you every day! I've barely even got to see you at lunch lately..." His gaze narrowed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end. "Besides... I feel like we're being watched..."

"Who by?" Arya glanced around the empty corridor.

"The so-called Ultimate Queen of this school."

"We have an Ultimate Queen?" Arya mumbled, yanking some clothes on behind the cover of her door. "Since when?"

"If you'd actually spoken to me in the last few weeks you'd know exactly who I'm talking about." Jake said. "She's the one person who you do not want to annoy. Like ever."

"Sounds like fun."

Jake's hand chopped down on her head once she'd reappeared, the other hand finding its way onto her shoulder as he steered her swiftly down the completely empty corridor. "She's one of the Four Underground Kings, like Lydia and me... and apparently she's taken a bit of an interest in you for some reason..."

"Huh?"

"I've got no idea why, though... according to Lyd she had her eye on you even before you ended up with the same necklace as her..."

"So, she's the other one with the red necklace..." One hand went to her chin. "Interesting..."

"Flynn obviously hasn't told you, since he doesn't want you joining up with her." Jake laughed. "I dread to think of the outcome of that..."

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing, Ari." He grinned, patting her on the head. "Nothing at all."

"Whatever." She grumbled, brushing the sleepy dust out of her eyes. "Wait. Where are we even going?!" Arya glanced around at the unfamiliar corridors she'd blindly been following Jake through.

"To annoy Felipe." He said. "Duh."

"Oh." Arya blinked. "Who's he again?"

"That guy who tried to stab you in your first Defence class..."

"Oh yeah." She nodded. "Another of the Underworld Kings, right?"

"Yep." He nodded.

"So we're basically going to have a massive gang fight?"

"Precisely."

"I really should've worn different clothes..." Arya grumbled, her shoulders sinking as she stared down at the frilly black dress she was wearing.

"You'll be fine as long as you can run."

"I thought we were fighting them..."

"Yep, and then we'll be running away from the Black Division."

Arya stopped in the middle of the hallway, her tired brain processing that little titbit of information. "Well, have fun with that." She said, swiftly spinning on her heel, walking back the way they'd just come.

"Ari!" Jake grumbled, grabbing her by the arm. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Yeah, because spending the day in a cold, uncomfortable cell sounds very entertaining."

"Pretty please?"

"Gah." Her shoulders sunk. "Fine."

Jake grinned. "Let's go!"

And with that said, the blonde dragged her away, still completely oblivious to the two sets of eyes boring into their backs.

"You should go and say hi." The small black-haired girl said, popping yet another lollipop into her mouth, her green eyes glancing over at her companion as they stood on the support beams high above the tall corridor. "She's the one you've been waiting for, after all. The only one who can fill her place."

Brown eyes narrowed, tawny beige arms folding across the silky material of her black ruched dress. "I won't be the one to bring her into our world." She sighed. "Lil wanted her kept out of this life, and I'll keep it that way for as long as possible."

"At the rate things are going, she'll get dragged in sooner rather than later..."

"And your point is?" She queried, one brow arching. "What do you want from me, Wren...?"

"Nothing." She smiled. "Absolutely nothing."

"Why are you even interested in Arya Cross? Surely you have other students to be worrying about..."

"Thanks for reminding me." Wren said, vanishing in a puff of black smoke, leaving the other girl to watch Arya Cross and her companion in silence.