-ONE-

She stared at him in disbelief, she knew he wanted to play for him but she never thought Damien would go through with it. She twisted her hands in the blanket wrapped around her nervously, while her eyes stayed trained on the white sheets of paper. "I want to do this, I need to do this." His voice echoed through the hallway.

"I guess we could use a new adventure." She shrugged her shoulders, only to have him shake his head at her.

"I'm not asking you to leave as well. You have something good going on there." He stared at her with worried eyes.

She dismissed it with a smile. "Like you said to me, there are plenty of colleges who would take you and me."

"He won't like it."

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't. He can't let one and not the other." He raised a dark eyebrow at her in question. "I'm not telling you all my secrets." Smiling, she walked down the hall into her bedroom, letting her older brother deal with his plan.

She rolled over on her bed, and watched the clock tick a minute by, reading one thirty in the morning. She couldn't help the nerves that run through her body. Her father had said yes to her brother. The thought of something different sparked excited in her heart, but also fear of being an outsider. Once Damien had deliver the news of his new adventures, she grabbed the copied sheets from her desk draw and sent a silent thank you for letting Damien copy them before he got his signed.

Looking over at the top of her desk, the white sheets of paper seemed to shine in the dark bedroom. She couldn't wait til morning, when her father goes to work, he'll be leaving her with her mother, giving the perfect chance to get them sign and sealing her new fate.

Trying to settle her nerves, Kate searched for the iPod sitting on her bedside table, a sign escaped her mouth when her hands found the head phones. She untangled them in the dark before placing each bud into her ears and turning the iPod on, slipping away into the beat of the music.

The blast of the alarm frightened her, making her tangle in the cord of the headphones that had fallen out sometime during the night. She could already hear someone in the shower and the sounds of breakfast been made in the kitchen, no doubt her mother's doing. She signed, closing her eyes at the thought of another day at St Francis. They snapped open when she remembered the sheets of paper waiting on her desk.

Ripping the sheets from the bed, she happily got ready for a brand new day. She opened her wardrobe, only to stop short at the thought of something to wear. Clothes to impress? Clothes for comfort? Or the clothes of a lady? She knew without a second thought what her brother would be wearing, a suit including the tie to match. She had a desire to fit in but she didn't want to push her father by wearing something out standing or more importantly changing herself. She wasn't going to change her personality for anyone, and her father had somewhat accepted that.

Deciding to go half and half, she pulled out a white blouse and a pair of plain blue skinny jeans, along with a red scarf and her favourite pair of black flats. She twisted her fuzzy, shoulder length hair into a messy bun, letting a few pieces of black wavy strands to fall out. She put the tiniest amount of makeup on, a touch of lip gloss and some mascara before slipping her feet into the flats. She loosened the scarf around her neck before walking to her bedroom door, only to take a step back to pick up her one shoulder bag than looking at the hoodie and cardigan laying next to it. She pressed her lips together, debating comfort or proper. She quickly picked up the long cardigan and draped it on the bag hanging off her shoulder before walking down stairs into the kitchen.

The coffee machine was recently used and the smell of eggs and bacon made her stomach grumble. "Mmm... that smells delicious." She licked her lips and gave her mother a hug before grabbing the plate from the counter. She found the nearest chair and dug into the heavenly breakfast.

"Someone seems to be in a better mood." Her voice made Kate look up from her plate, she knew that voice. Her mother also knew something was about to happen. Kate watched her mother pour the coffee before moving to sit across from the table, sipping her coffee and looking over the edge at her.

Figuring it would be easier to give in than beat around the bush, Kate pulled the papers from her shoulder bag and placed them on the table in front of her mother. She watched her mother for a sign of emotion on her face but didn't come up with anything. "Please? May I?" She looked at her mother pleading, she didn't want to hear the one word she dreaded.

A sign left her mother's lips while she placed the cup on the table and looked across at her daughter. "You should be talking to your father." Kate nodded her head in understanding already knowing the answer, feeling the excitement of the day drain from her. "But..." She couldn't help the spark of hope from the single word coming from her mother's mouth. She watched the pen in the hand in front of her touched the paper and sign it. She couldn't believe it, she was now enrolled at Richmond.

The school seemed to loom over her, bringing back the fear she felt last night. She stood in the front yard area watching the students walk through the gates of the school, not one of them giving her a second glance. Maybe Richmond is going to be the same as . She shook the thought from her mind and walked towards the gates.

She didn't have an idea which direction room six was, on top of that she didn't even know where to start looking for her locker. The office lady had glance her way before roughly handing over a file with her new timetable, locker number, code, form and a few other bit n pieces before waving her from the office. The only thing she was missing was a map of the school which she doubted they had a copy anywhere. She couldn't help but wonder if Damien had the same troubles or if he made a friend of some sorts. She wished him luck, even though she had none to give with the situation she was standing in. "You look lost." She almost dropped the folder in her hand onto the floor at hearing the voice, she turned around to meet eyes with a white guy wearing a black hoodie.

"Ahhh...yeah. Do you think you have time to help out?" She could see the guy thinking the idea over, he finally shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

"I have nothing but time." He grabbed the sheet with her information on it, screening it over before walking in the opposite direction she was walking in. "Lyle." He held his hand out in greeting, she placed hers in his white one, making her caramel skin look darker.

"Kate." He looked at her a second too long before continuing their walk in the abandoned corridor.

"Locker 107...Ahh, your near Stone." She frowned at him in confused but followed his lead. He was slightly in front of her, giving her a chance to observe the view of his behind. It was hard to appreciate the full view of his ass with the baggy jeans, but she could tell he had a nice one none the less. "Where you from?"

"St. Francis." He looked over his broad shoulders at her with a raise eyebrow, scanning her over.

"Should have know." She frowned at him and tried to catch up with his long strides.

"What does that mean?" A small smile appeared on his face and she was tempted to wipe it off.

"You look it." He gave her another good scan before stopping in front of a locker - 107. She looked to the locker than his arrogant smile, he started walking away in the direction they had come from.

"You haven't told me where my class is." She yelled down the empty corridor.

He turned around, walking backwards. "Couple more steps and on your second right is room six." He smirked at her before walking down the stairs, disappearing from her view.

She shook her head at Lyle, taking a quick look at her code before placing the file in her bag. She played with the combination for awhile until it finally unlocked with a click. Placing her bag inside, she grabbed out her science books and closed the locker shut. She continued to make her journey down the corridor to find room six.

X:X:X:X:X:X

She was right, even though it was a new school, she was already being called the nerd for answering one question, or it might have been that her hand shot up faster than a bullet. She couldn't help her reaction, she loved the sense of new things to learn and new adventures to explore, and the first day of school gave her that satisfaction.

Right at the moment though, she disliked that side of her. She glanced around the cafe, her eyes landed on her brother sitting at a table alone. She stared at him, wishing she could have the strength to walk over to the same table. If she did, it would mean answering the buzzing questions from him about her classes which she didn't want to mention.

She was placing her lunch tray on the table in front of her brother before she could give much thought to the situation. They were both lonely and she couldn't help her mood dampen at the slight sag of Damien's shoulders. If she didn't know him, she would have thought he was fine, but that not being the case she knew him better than she did herself. "Start of your day as bad as mine?" She smiled at him, half joking around.

"Is it just me or does Richmond hate St. Francis?" He gave her the same tight smile back.

"Ahhh...So you've met the basketball team?"

"At least seven of them, don't know how I survived the attack." He joked around, we both knew he'd put them into their places at practice.

"I met one." He picked at his food before looking at her in question. "First person I spoke to, Name was Lyle." She knew he was a basketball player the second she turned around. When a sport like basketball runs in the family, you intended to pick up an ability for the sport.

"Which one is he?" Damien frowns in thought.

"The tall broad one with a black hoodie and baggy jeans." He stared at her.

"Do you know how many guys dress like that?"

"Oh right." She couldn't help the smile creep onto her face at her own stupidity. "His white?" She offered the information to only get a smile and a shake of her brother's head in amusement.

X:X:X:X:X:X

She burst through the school door to find the back of the school bus half way down the road, her ride home had already left. She checked her watch, following the faster hand with her eyes. She knew there was no escaping it. Taking the chance to walk home was running through her head, debating how long it would take to walk half way across the town before reaching her destination. Giving up on the maths, she dragged her feet towards the gym.

The sound of his voice echoed around the room, she couldn't mistake the voice even if she wanted to. She was greeted with a group of sweating guys in shorts, taking deep breaths like they'd just run a marathon, which she wouldn't put it past the coach. She walked as quietly as she could, not wanting to see his face yet. She looked over the guys and locked eyes with her brother, his cool confident manner became nervous at the sight of her, his hands running through his hair watching the space between coach and Kate disappear. She stood a meter behind coach, waiting for her presence to be recognised. His voice echoed until it finally stopped when he realised his team wasn't looking at him but behind him.

She felt her heart rate pick up as his body started to turn around, she took a calming breath for the nerves. To say his face looked slightly shocked was an understatement, that was until his eyebrows pushed together, making a frown at her. "Kate?" She knew that tone, confused and wanting an answer now.

"I need a lift home." She tried to make it sound innocent but he could see through her tricks, he was her father after all.

"You walked here from St. Francis?" She knew lying was out of the question. She looked at her brother for answer and got a nod for confidence, not that it helped.

"No." She didn't know what else to say. "No Sir." She cursed herself for forgetting 'Sir' before. He was always telling her about respect to others and herself. She could almost see his brain tricking, sewing the few bits of information together.

"You're at Richmond." He turned to her brother and raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you're still enrolled at St. Francis." She watched him close his eyes in a silent prayer.

"No Sir." She waited for the argument to start.

"Why?"

"It was a personal choice Sir." He turned too looked at her brother again.

"Those words sound familiar." She cursed herself again for using the words. She didn't excepted what she heard next though. "We'll talk about this at home, sit on the stands and don't whisper a word." He looked at her for a confirmation.

"Thank you Sir." She shifted her shoulder bag and walked over to the stands, thanking the guardian angel who was watching down on her.

She sat down on the stand and pulled her legs up under her, crossing them. Lifting her bag to the seat next to her, her eyes scanned the guys for her brother. Like the other players, they were running suicides. She caught eyes with someone but it wasn't her brother. The pair of brown eyes playfully scanned her over, though he seem to be having enough trouble with the suicides to be thinking in that frame of mind.

She rolled her eyes at the playboy and looked down at her science homework.

X:X:X:X:X:X

The car ride home was silent, disturbing how the radio was the only sound. She sat behind her father, not daring enough to look up in case they locked eyes in the rear-view mirror. She took small glances at her older brother, looking for some confidence to only found him staring straight ahead out the front widescreen. She hated the silent treatment.

She couldn't help but suck in a deep breath when they pulled up into the driveway. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and followed both the Carter men into the house. Her father went straight to the dining table and called for mother. Once she arrived we all took a seat at the table. I fiddled with my fingers under the table nervously waiting for him to start.

"Why did you make this choice?" She couldn't help but fidget hearing her father's calm voice at the situation. She didn't know how to answer him, knowing none of her reasons would be good enough for him. She heard him take in a deep breath through his nose. "You want to attend Richmond?" She nodded her head and looked up at him, showing him the truth. "You'll attend all your classes and I don't want one missed grade, do you understand?" She knew she could keep up with the school work and continue her good grades.

"Yes Sir." He stares at her for a few seconds before getting up. "Sir?" He looked at her questioning. Kate knew she probably shouldn't push his pressure points. "May I join the Drama group at Richmond?" She had been a part of the Drama group at St. Francis, it was one of her greatest passions. The stage, it was her source of life.

"You may as long as you keep your grades up." With another nod from her, he left the room, soon followed by her smiling mother. Damien sat opposite her, he leaned back in his chair.

"Well that went better than I could have wished for." He stood up and passed her, clapped her on the shoulder before heading upstairs. "You always were his weak spot." He whispered.