diamond //sweet pea//

//seven//

It had always been evident to the students of Southside High that if a serpent claimed someone as their own, they were as untouchable as a serpent themselves. So it was made very clear that Dallas Wiley was deemed untouchable, thanks to the arm snaked around her waist as she entered the halls of South Side High.

Of course whispers and gossip began to race through the walls of the school. The new girl had been claimed. Claimed by the leader of the young generation of serpents. It didn't take long for the news to travel even beyond the high school, and into the House of the Dead. It didn't take long for Malachai to find out where his sister had been all weekend. Despite Dallas knowing that her brother would find out, she wasn't worried. She had no reason to be.

"So this is what you were...doing all weekend?" a tiny pink haired girl asked, approaching the pair. Sweets rolled his eyes at the girl, but Dallas couldn't miss the smile he tried to hide.

"Toni, this is Dallas," he explained. She cocked her jaw and raised an eyebrow, but she extended a hand none the less.

"Toni Topaz," she introduced. Dallas took the outstretched hand and hoped it signified peace.

"Dallas Wiley," the blonde returned with a warm smile. Toni's dark eyes traveled up to meet Sweet Pea's. A knowing look crossed her face.

"Hope we'll be seeing more of you-," she paused and narrowed her eyes, "-both of you." She waved her hand and flipped around, disappearing down the hallway, mixing in with the sea of black and gray. Dallas pulled out of Sweet Pea's grip and turned to face him. She grabbed his hands and turned her head upwards.

"What did she mean by that?" Dallas asked, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Sweets cocked his jaw and tilted his head.

"Nothing, you don't need to be worried about it," he muttered brushing the back of his hand on Dallas's cheek. She jerked away knowing he was hiding something from her.

"I would have just thought that you'd tell me things. Now that we're together ya know?" Dallas shot back, disappointment dripping from her voice.

"When you're ready to tell me what you're hiding, I'll spill," Sweet Pea argued, his tone lowered to avoid the eavesdropping ears that were itching for a drama fix. Dallas took a step back, a twinge of pain in her chest.

"That's different," she mumbled, her fingers tucking her hair behind her ear. Her knees shook and her voice got caught in her throat.

"Is it though?" he hissed yanking his hands away from hers.

"Sweets," she whimpered, all the bliss of the weekend fading before her eyes. He shook his head and pushed past her. "Where are you going?" she called after him, impatientness bubbling up inside her. He turned back to face her, walking backward and shrugged his shoulders.

"Call me when you can get over this," he yelled, dozens of eyes craning to watch the pair argue.

Dallas huffed and took in her surroundings. She was angry and hurt and couldn't figure out why he was acting like she was unreasonable for wanting to keep a traumatic time a secret. "Had enough?" she cried out causing a few people to snicker, and causing others to stare in awe of the sudden outburst.

Dallas hiked off to her first class of the day and despite wanting to learn, couldn't focus on anything the teacher was desperately trying to teach. The pencil dragged across the paper, drawing absurd lines and little doodles. She could hear talk of the periodic table and knew she'd need the information for her lab tomorrow but nothing was registering.

Her day dragged on painfully slow. Classes felt hours long and she had spent lunch by herself, her stubbornness not allowing her to go see her boyfriend. The day finally came to a close with the ring of a bell. She trotted out the doors and found Sweet Pea waiting for her at his bike. She had stupidly allowed him to take her to school.