[IC] Miraculous America

[Rockin Strings]

Eddie grumbled as he left the principle's office. "It wasn't Rouge-Bat." he sighed. "It was Talon. I saw him. Even the news people interviewed him." he turned towards the girls, sighing. "Please tell me I'm not crazy." He didn't care about the other guy and practically ignored his presence as the five of them walked to the cafeteria.

Once there, they were greeted by the janitor. "Principle Luong put me in charge of your detention. I understand you girls ended up in the hospital. If you feel strange, tell me so I can take you to the nurse's office. Cleaning supplies are in the far closet. I want this place spotless. Understand? Get to work."

Eddie sighed as he opened the closet and looked at what they could use. He grabbed a rag and a bottle for himself and a second of each for the other boy. "You made the mess on the table. You're helping me clean them all. Don't argue, it's not worth your time."

[Tenma Tendo]

Although it was her first offence, it felt really odd being talked to the principle in such a way. Bella's never really disappointed someone before, at least she doesn't think she has. And hearing it be said in front of four other people didn't make it any better. She really wished her maid just took both Alex and her home, but it looks like she would be stuck cleaning for a while. Not to mention getting her parents here would be next to impossible, but she'd have to figure something out...they wouldn't be too mad right? Internally making a vow to never disappoint anyone ever again, Bella stepped out with the other students. Of course she caught what Eddie was saying, but since she lost consciousness, she couldn't remember anything that happened after Rouge-Bat's appearance. But from what she's seen of him, Bella was positive that Talon made more sense then Rouge-Bat.
"Y-You're not crazy...I believe you." She murmured in response before looking to the others. to see what they had to say.

Soon or later, the group of five made their way to the cafeteria, only to be greeted by the janitor going over what they'd be doing for the next hour or so.
"U-Um, would it b-be alright if I took care of the dishes?" Bella offered sweetly before giving a slight bow and hopping off towards the kitchen. It was for the best too. Moving around with her head injury wouldn't be good and less interaction would be the best for Bella's own sanity...

[Polaris North]

Alex wasn't looking forward to when they were dropped off in school and immediately sent to the principal's office. She got a text from Jess that she was going to wait for her but she didn't know when she'd get out of being lectured by the principal. She patiently waited and listened to the lecture, not allowing the stares on them bother her. Really, she didn't mind that there were people staring at them. Though she wasn't sure how the others felt about that.

Brian was there too, a school delinquent. But really, he was one of her friends. They practically grew up together since they always had classes together since they were in grade school. Their meeting was an odd one and something they don't actually talk about all that much. But he was one of her first friends and despite them growing up extremely different, they kept in touch.

When they were dismissed, she didn't go just yet. She looked at the principal and gave him a respectful smile. "For the record, sir, I didn't go with them. Thought I should take a break." Alex said. "No disrespect of course, sir." Alex was no honor student, but she had been clean up to this point. And she's been a hardworking student. It wouldn't really be a surprise that she ran away for the first time to get rid of something bothering her. With that, Alex bowed her head at the principal and then followed the group.

Brian hung back from the group and then slung his arm around Alex. "So, straight laced Alex finally broke." He said with a grin before reaching over to pinch her cheek but she swatted his hand away and rolled her eyes.

"Expect that this will be the last time..." Alex trailed off before scratching her cheek. "I hope." She then mumbled the last words but Brian didn't really seem to mind as he went over to place both hands at the back of his head and leisurely walked to the cafeteria.

"Least I won't spend detention alone this time." Brian said with a light chuckle.

Alex then looked at him with a serious face. "What did you graffiti this time?"

Brian just gave her a smirk and Alex knew they had their work cut out for them this time.

"You're my friend Brian, but I seriously worry about your track record..."

When they arrived at the kitchen, their janitor was the one who greeted them. Alright, their job was simple and it really wasn't much of a punishment considering the fact that Alex has volunteered at some point to do this before. She waved at Bella when she said she was going to clean the plates and Alex took a mop and the bucket filled with water. She started on the far side, away from the others because she didn't want to be bothering them as she swept.

Then again, she'd need to sweep again when they stepped on the wet floor. Ah whatever.

Brian looked at Eddie and shrugged. "Yeah, whatever man." He then took a rag and a bottle and began cleaning as well.

[Dusty]

Following in step with the others Tonya stared pointedly at the back of everyone’s heads. This was no coincidence, not in a million years. Only Brian Braouts the Principal office regular was the odd man out, with the older Alex being Furitta and the blue haired Bella being Usagi. Tonya kept quiet for now, not wanting to give everyone’s secret away to Brian. Surely the others had figured things out as well, all of them having vanished simultaneously, ending up at the same hospital and being charged for the same offense. She’d even seen Eddie there, and he’d seen Ossar. The temptation to say something burned at the tip of Tonya’s tongue as the janitor passed out supplies and instructions and the group separated into their differing choirs.

“I’ll, start in the kitchen, with Bella.” Tonya said, excusing herself from the others. She followed the other girl into the kitchen where an ominous pile of greasy pots and sticky pans were stacked high above their heads. Groaning Tonya broke off from her fellow classmate, angling for the large walk-in refrigerator at the far end of the kitchen. “That’s a lot, it’ll take us the better half of the year to clean all of that. Hey, I’ll be back in a second Bella, I just need to grab, - um, yeah.” Cracking open the large fridge door Tonya checked around to ensure no adults were watching, especially not the janitor. Reassured the coast was clear she sneaked out a small personal carton of milk, turning her back on Bella as she folded the carton open. She wasn’t sure all this secrecy was necessary, in the likely event that Bella knew exactly what she was up to, but Ossar’s words still sat heavy in her mind. The way he’d rebuked Eddie for coming back and discovering her secret identity, instead of leaving well enough alone. The tiny serpent Kwami slithered from her sleeve, with barely the energy to move let alone fly. He gave Tonya a grateful nod before sliding into the open carton, assumedly to drink his fill.

Poor guy was exhausted. Tonya thought, as she set the carton containing Ossar on the counter a fair distance away and returned to help Bella with the dishes. Setting to work on a particularly nasty pan Tonya became engrossed in her task, fighting the temptation to burst out that she knew who Bella was. Instead she tried a more tactful approach, glancing slyly over the sink. She’d never known her well, they were in different classes after all, but she knew her name, and that she was well off at the very least. “Strange isn’t it.” She started, pretending to focus on a sticky bit of cold macaroni that refused to come loose. “Almost intentional you could say that the four of us all ended up at Luna’s Lounge today, during school hours. And were affected by the gas. I don’t want to speculate, but I think we both know the how, and the why…. Right?”

[Rockin Strings]

Eddie was mostly silent as he scrubbed the tables with Brian. He looked over at Alex with a sigh. With a glance at the janitor, he slid his phone from his pocket to send a text to Tonya. How's your kwami feeling? Despite the venomous tone, he looked exhausted. I know Beek was. I suspect the other girls are Usagi and Furitta. I'll try to talk to the older girl since you're already in the kitchen with the Frasier girl. If it's that hard to figure out, then idk what I'll do. He kept the janitor in his peripheral as he typed out the text and was able to finish before he was noticed. He didn't think Brian had noticed but hadn't been paying attention to him. He glanced over at Alex as he began working his way towards her slowly. "Isn't it strange all 3 of you went to the hospital for the same reason?" he asked once he was close enough. "A bit suspicious if you ask me. I think we both know where this is headed."

[Tenma Tendo]

Bella unintentionally flinched when she heard that Tonya would join her in the kitchen. Unsure of how to react to the statement, the girl simply stood stock still until the other got close and awkwardly turned to walk beside her. Thankfully, Bella caught a quick glimpse of Alex's wave and returned it accordingly, it managing to relax her, but only a little bit.

Even before entering the kitchen, it was clear to see that they would be in there for a while. With the dishes piled up on top of each other, they had to be almost twice her size! The electric blue girl allowed her jaw to slacken slightly before directing her gaze back to Tonya, who was heading into the walk-in refrigerator. Even with her head injury, Bella obviously knew what was going on; four students just so happened to be at the scene of the crime at the same time and with no reasonable explanation, or at least one that wouldn't blow their cover, as to why kinda made it obvious. Without a response, the younger girl let the other do her thing and give her the privacy she probably wanted, grabbing a few of the more dirty plates and let them soak in some soapy water that was graciously prepared for them before hand. As she was doing so, her attention was immediately pulled to the faint rustling coming from her dress pocket. Thank goodness she thought ahead and placed some carrot pieces inside of her pocket beforehand in case Hoppi needed an impromptu snack. Too bad she couldn't comfort and congratulate the little Kwami for all her hard work quite yet either...

Just the thought of Hoppi seem to get Bella down, as even Tonya's reappearance beside her didn't cause her to straighten. She halfheartedly washed a ladle for five minutes, her crestfallen expression growing worse as she let the thoughts on her mind drag her down. All she could think about is how upset and disappointed Hoppi would be when she got better and realized that her, and probably the other's cover had been blown. The only thing Hoppi had asked of her, she just had to screw up...

As Tonya began to speak after a not so brief moment of silence, Bella flinched and looked up at her with wide, doe-like eyes.
"H-Huh..?" It had been the first audible response she'd given Tonya, and while she was expecting the other to be looking at her, she was instead engrossed with the pot she was washing. It made it seem less like she was trying to accuse or get any information out of her, which of course made Bella relax. Unfortunately most of that went out the window as the other girl continued, mentioning exactly what Bella was dreading to hear. Without any real warning, Bella's eyes filled with tears, overflowing in a matter of seconds. Biting her lip to suppress her wails, the blue haired girl looked down and remained like that, her restrained sobs wracking her entire body and forcing her into an uncontrollable tremble. If her reaction to the question wasn't enough of an answer then she wouldn't know what else would be. "...W-We broke the r-rules..." She whimpered as she tried to wipe away her tears, only for new ones to quickly replace them. "W-We aren't suppose to know about each other...o-our identities or suppose to be s-secret, but...b-but..." Bella broke into a fit of coughs, her shaky breath getting caught in her throat in the process. "H-Hoppi's gonna be so d-disappointed...will they leave n-now that w-we know? A-Are we not g-gonna be s-superheroes anymore?" She questioned as she brought her head up, revealing similar bloodshot and puffy eyes Tonya was sporting earlier, and a red face in desperate need of oxygen. Bella was panicking, she didn't know what to do, and she was scared. All she wants is for Hoppi to stay with her, but how can she assure that if the one secret that tied them together was let out in the open?

[Polaris North]

Alex didn't want to make the connection. She had no wish to know the other heroes' identities nor did she wish for them to know about hers. It's called a secret identity for a reason. It was to protect themselves and their loved ones. That was the whole point of it. But now that her mind was unoccupied by the lecture and talking with Brian, her mind was thinking that these three younger students were his fellow heroes. And she didn't like the idea one bit. Not because of their age, that was a whole other thing entirely, but because now that she knew, she was going to be expected to mix her superhero life with her personal life and she didn't want that. Poyzz was getting a hint of her agitation and prodded her under her jacket to which she responded to patting the area above her jacket's inner pocket.

The young boy made his way to her slowly, without the janitor noticing. Or at least, the janitor didn't care about it. She turned to him when he began speaking. "Yeah, I know. You're going to say that we're the heroes who haven't even debuted in the eyes of the media yet. All aisde from you that is." She whispered back in a low voice. It lacked the panic or excitement one would feel upon figuring out who was who. She stopped sweeping for a second and looked down then back at the young boy. What a coincidence, to be in the same school as everyone else. Surely, Rogue Bat was not one of them.

"Even if that is the case, we should talk about this at a more private location." She warned him. It was obvious what she was thinking. Rogue Bat must have eyes and ears everywhere. And even if he didn't, then someone else might overhear them. She wasn't going to risk that. She needed someplace else, other than the cafeteria of this school. "Gather the others and find me later after we're done with this. We can discuss this later." Better than here when the janitor is looking at them. She caught his eyes and she went back to work.

[Dusty]

“I…” Tonya’s voice trailed away. She’d never been a delinquent like Brian Braouts, in the sense that she underwent indictable deeds for the mere sake of being rebellious, but over the years she’d known her share of punishments, and even a few spankings from her father. Tonya learned to never let the instances bother her too much, and just allow it all boil over and evaporate on the wind. Sure it hurt at the moment. Tonya rubbed at her own bloodshot eyes in remembrance of the difficult car ride back to school, and winced at the thought of confronting her father again that evening. Chances were she’d shed a few more tears before this catastrophe was resolved. However in the meantime something had to be done to help Bella. Awkwardly Tonya stepped closer to the other girl, gingerly placing a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t think so, at least I don’t think they can.” Tonya said in her most comforting voice. It cracked a little, but she managed a little smile. She pulled the question-mark miraculous out from under her shirt, bouncing the tiny charm in her palm. “See, since we have these they’re bound to us. And they would never leave us, look how good of a team we are. Helping each other out, and beating up those last two villains, stopping Rouge-Bat, twice. They’ll be able to forgive, one, big, mistake… Surely.”

[Rockin Strings]

"Alright." he nodded as he continued to the next table. He scrubbed hard, often having to go back over a table Brian did just to make it look perfect. At one point, he went over to Brian and tried to tell him he needed to work harder at making the tables look perfect. He didn't like Brian's reply and chose not to say anything.

After an hour in detention, the janitor clapped his hands loudly. "Time,s up!" he yelled both to the cafeteria and the kitchen. "Put everything up. Tomorrow we will be scrubbing the lockers. We'll meet by the front doors right after school."

Eddie waited by the door after Brian and the janitor left. He motioned for each of the girls to stay behind with him as he pulled Beek from his hood. "Now should be a good a time as any."

[Tenma Tendo]

Bella couldn't help but flinch at the physical contact, pressing her clasped hands closer to her chest. Although she didn't look at Tonya, her eyes quickly gravitated to the question mark shaped charm in her hand. It reminded her of her own Miraculous pin, which she looked down sadly at, the pin itself entirely drained of color. If what Tonya was saying is in fact true, and that something like this could slide without any repercussions, maybe she didn't have to worry about losing her friend, or this power she had been trusted with. But even with that thought in mind, the guilt continued to course through her veins.

"...Th-That doesn't excuse the f-fact that we broke our promise to our K-Kwami." She choked out as she shook her head slightly, the tears slowly beginning to fade away. "It shouldn't even take f-four people to be able to do stop s-someone f-from wrecking havoc..." We're so pathetic... While Tonya's words were reassuring and calmed the now sour girl down quite a lot, she couldn't let it go, even if she wanted to. She was never the type of person to go against her word, so something like this really hit her hard.

Instead of speaking up any further, Bella instead pushed away, and turned back to kitchen sink filled to the brim with water, slowly getting back to the job laid out in front of her. Her posture remained closed off, and it was clear as day that Bella wasn't in the mood to talk anymore and instead just get through the detention so that she could go home.

She remained in this state until she heard it was time for them to go, and that they would be tackling the lockers the next day. She mentally reminded herself to keep her skates on so that she could move around faster when the time came.
"I-I'm sorry, I hope your time with me wasn't too bad b-because of how I acted..." She mumbled, lowering her head as if she was bowing before walking out with the other girl. Once she reached the cafeteria area, Bella immediately scurried over to Alex with a saddened smile. She hoped her face didn't reflect the breakdown she had earlier, but she couldn't tell. Instead she just focused on the other. "A-Are you ready t--" Before she could even finish asking Alex if she was ready to leave, the blue haired girl's eyes moved to Eddie, who pulled out a Kwami from his hood. If this had been any other situation, Bella might have been surprised, but instead, a feeling of pure dread washed over her as she clutched the side of her dress tightly, her knuckles turning white in the process. He...he wasn't expecting them to just reveal their Kwamis was he? Tears formed in the girl's already puffy eyes as she shook her head with a horrified expression. She wanted to go home...

[Polaris North]

Alex had made quick work of the floor and went to wiping the surface of counter. She's seen this thing dirtied one too many times to brush it off anymore. Though, she did wish for time to go by slowly. She dreaded having to meet up with the others. She still didn't think it was a good idea to keep their identities out in the open like that - even if it was just between themselves. Alex could list out entire reasons as to why this was such a horrible idea. That Barristris did a number on them - and she was pretty loathe to admit that.

When they were given the 'go' signal to leave and that they would be cleaning lockers tomorrow, Alex gravitated to Brian. She honestly didn't want him to leave yet, if anything, so that she'd be able to get out of this meeting even if she was the one to tell him that they should group up later. "Something the matter Alex?" Brian couldn't help but ask, seeing the distress in her face. Only a few people could read her as easily, and Brian was one of them.

"No. Nothing, just... uh, you go home first." Alex finally said.

"Alright. Take care going home alright." Brian said as he patted Alex's head and then left. "See you tomorrow at detenion! I can't wait until Jess talks to me about this!" He followed up with a light chuckle.

Alex then took in a deep breath to calm herself as she waved goodbye to the male. Once she was calm enough, she headed over to the young boy who was waiting for them. Bella had gone to her, asking her whether she was ready to go home or not, but cut herself off when she saw Eddie who was taking out his kwami. Her heart began to race. But she said nothing and waited for the other one to come. Once she was there, Alex would be the first one to speak up.

"I know you guys are ecstatic that you found out who the heroes are. Who your teammates are. But I seriously doubt that this is a good idea." She started before crossing her arms. "There is a reason why there are secret identities. To protect those who are close to us. Even if it's just us here and we all promise never to tell anyone about our secret identities, don't you think Rogue Bat will still find a way to work around this?" Alex continued. If she figured out how those akumas work correctly, then any one of them was susceptible to being put under Rogue Bat's control. They are still human after all. And once Rogue Bat orders one of them to find the others and take their Miraculous, then they'd be able to do so even without seeking them out for their Miraculous forms.

"I'm sorry, but this shouldn't have happened in the first place. I wanted to keep my personal life and my hero life as separate as possible." She admitted, now moving to put her hands inside her pockets. There it was, her number one reason for not wanting to know their secret identities.

[Dusty]

“None of us are pathetic, and you certainly aren’t.” Tonya argued, almost defensively. “We’ve only been at it for two days, stands to reason we aren’t professionals yet. You’ll see. We’ll get better. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyhow, us learning each other’s identities I mean…” Despite Tonya’s protests to the contrary Bella still seemed upset and shrugged her off. They worked together in abject silence from that point on, up to their elbows in greasy water and sticky pans. A few times Tonya glanced over at Bella, hoping to strike up a conversation again to little avail. She felt a little hurt, her own day hadn’t been too great either, they were all hurting, but Bella could’ve at least acknowledged the attempt at openness. Tonya decided not to stress on the issue, though she would’ve welcomed some remedy to the awkward silence. Sighing Tonya fixated on her work, trying not to think about her reception once she got home. Ossar being angry was the least of her worries.

When their time ended Tonya slushed some of the overflow into the sink with her wet towel and went to retrieve Ossar and the now empty milk carton. Behind her Bella uttered a heartfelt apology for the way she acted, but before Tonya could say a word she rushed out of the kitchen joining the others outside. “There’s nothing to apologize for…” Tonya trailed off, a confused, hurt look on her face. She’d hoped they could’ve cheered each other up working together, instead it was like Tonya’s presence had made things worse.

“I’m such an idiot, always messing up like this.” She grumbled to herself, sliding Ossar’s sleeping form onto her hand and depositing him at the base of her neck, where her hair hid him from prying eyes. “I hope she’s not mad at me.” First it’d been Eddie, their argument on the school steps earlier that morning. It made sense now why’d he’d been so interested in what she thought of Talon. Surely he still resented the way she’d yelled at him in front of everyone, Tonya winced just thinking about it. And now Bella was upset at her, and Tonya wasn’t even sure why, or if she really even was. Maybe this was just how Bella coped with her feelings. Her mind absorbed in these thoughts Tonya barely acknowledged the others, until Eddie showed the girls his kwami and Bella began crying.

“That’s what they wanted us to do.” Tonya said in agreement with Alex, the older girl made good sense, and clearly held strong reservations at the thought of all of them knowing each other’s identities. “But whatever they wanted was then and there, and the cat is clearly out of the bag here and now. We have to live with it, whether we wanted to or not. I suppose we should agree only to talk about it – if at all in secret, and secure places.”

After a minute, Tonya waited until the other girls had gotten a fair distance off, hesitating at her locker door. Seizing her chance she stepped forward, tapping Eddie on the shoulder. “Hey, Ed, can I speak with you for a minute.”

[Rockin Strings]

After listening to each of the girls' statements, Eddie turned to let Beek speak. "I want to see all my old friends again. Since you all have detention again tomorrow, you can drop us off under the stairs. Sound like a plan?" The girls started walking again, which made the eagle Kwami sad as he thought they were ignoring him. He slid back into the boy's hood to sleep as Eddie began heading to his locker.

Eddie stood at his locker, putting everything in his backpack when Tonya tapped on his shoulder. "Yeah?" he asked, glancing at her. "How's your Kwami? He looked exhausted when he was yelling at me. Then again, so did you." He closed his locker as he turned to face her. His face betrayed the sadness and rage he felt towards himself. He tried his best to help everyone but it looked like all the girls were mad at him and their Kwami were all overexerted. He blamed Rouge-Bat but it looked like everyone else was blaming him.

[Tenma Tendo]

Bella remained quiet during the entirety of their little conversation, her eyes practically glued to the ground. She never looked up, nor did she physically acknowledge their words. If she was on anyone's side then it would probably Alex's. They were meant to keep their identities secret, but with them knowing who each other are, it would lead to them being more open to the enemy if they could also make the connection. However, Tonya's point was also true in that they couldn't do anything about it now and just ad to bare the secret together.

Naturally being the type of person to keep everything to herself, getting use to something like this would be strenuous at the very least. Eddie's Kwami mentioned the idea of having all the Kwami meet up with each other, but Bella didn't want to speak on behalf of Hoppi, especially when she couldn't speak for herself, so she simple kept quiet, waiting for everyone to disperse before leaving herself. She quickly hurried to her locker, putting on her elbow and knee pads as well as her in line skates, before grabbing her bag and skating down the halls towards the upperclassmen lockers. What Alex had to say earlier did make Bella reluctant to see her with the knowledge they had, but she couldn't just leave the older girl behind at school.

Upon finding the dark haired girl, Bella slowed down her pace so that she wouldn't run over her. She patiently waited to let the other finished what she had to do before making her way towards the school's front entrance. She was silent at first, but after a bit of thinking, she finally decided to speak up.
"U-Um, Alex? If y-you'd like, I can keep my distance away from you at school? I-I mean, you said you w-want to keep your personal and h-hero life a s-secret, y-yes? So...i-if that's what you want, I don't mind..." She began to trail off, fumbling over words as she wasn't quite sure how to explain it.

[Polaris North]

Alex couldn't help but smile when the other girl agreed with her. At least they had some sense about being lured into a trap like this. But she was right. They had no choice now but to merely go with it. "That works fine with me. Let's exchange numbers tomorrow, that way we'll be able to talk about the location and time." She said also in agreement along with a nod. Alex couldn't help but sigh and think what her friends would say once they found out that she would hang around underclassmen who she hasn't even met prior to today.

Poyzz suddenly burst through her jacket faster than she could catch him. "See 'ya there Beek!" The Miraculous gave him finger guns as Alex rolled her eyes as she grabbed the Ferret Miraculous. "What? Everyone knows now so there's no harm right?" He pointed out as he wriggled out of her hand with ease. He then placed himself on her shoulder.

"Yeah alright. I'll drop him off before detention!" Alex turned back to tell Eddie before he and Tonya began to talk.

She then looked at Bella who had caught up to her. "That's... not what I meant..." She said, rubbing the back of her head. She could hear Poyzz snicker from beside her ear and she patted her jacket and the Miraculous entered. "We could be friends. It's fine. I just don't want us talking about hero stuff all too much. We can hang out, don't worry."

Alex wasn't one for making friends. Usually, other people would intiate that. So right now, she was not in her element. "If you don't mind talking with our local gossip Jess and our local delinquent Brian, then it should be fine." Her group of friends wasn't exactly your run-of-the-mill group who had things in common. Practically the only thing they had in common was that they grew up as classmates and you wouldn't even say that any single one of them is an outcast. Many people don't see why they actually grouped together, but it kept the nosey people away. Most of the time.

[Dusty]

Reaching back Tonya brushed the sleeping serpent’s head gently, feeling the tiny forked tongue flicker out, brushing against her finger. “He’s fine, exhausted, but we all are. I’ll make sure to leave him at the stairs tomorrow so they can catch up again. Like your kwami asked. It must’ve been really lonely not having any friends to talk to, for all those years. The more I think about it, the more I realize how awful it’d be not to have any friends, or even have them angry at me. Especially over something trivial, well, not trivial but small. A mistake! They’re probably such great friends that they could forgive each other for a little mistake, they’d understand the one at fault didn’t mean it like how it sounded…” Realizing she was rambling Tonya stopped stammering taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts into complete coherent sentences. She didn’t want to mess this one up like she did with Bella. Unlike the other girls Eddie had somehow managed to stay mostly positive throughout the ordeal. Out of the four of them he seemed to have handled the previous few hours the best. Whether that was because he hadn't ended up unconscious in the hospital or something else entirely she didn't know. Now however, it was clear that something was troubling him, and Tonya couldn’t help but feel it was her fault.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I yelled at you in front of everyone at school, and how I got mad at you back at the Lounge, and for Ossar’s, uh my kwami's rebuke. You were just trying to see what I thought about Talon – you, and help out and make sure I was okay. I wasn’t being helpful, blind and all. And, I was just hoping you’d forgive me and that we could still be friends. I know Alex doesn’t want to, but I was thinking we could. Like before… You know. That’s what I was trying to say.” It felt better just saying it straight out Tonya recognized, but she still turned her face away, embarrassed, and uncertain as to what his response would be.

[Rockin Strings]

Eddie smiled as he reached to hug her. "I was mainly trying to push your buttons to see your reactions. If you hadn't stomped away, I probably would have told you. With everything that happened, though, I'm not surprised you three ended up in the hospital. I was hoping we could all talk one day about a couple ideas I had." He looked her in the eyes before blushing and turning away. "Do you remember what all I said to your little snake before you got sent to the hospital?" her blushed more as he asked.

Beek climbed out of the hood with a silent giggle. Despite his much he wanted to sleep, he couldn't help but be curious if they would end up kissing. He was mainly watching Tonya's face as he had heard enough of Eddie's ramblings about the pettiest girl in school.

[Tenma Tendo]

Bella looked up cautiously when Alex claimed that her words weren't exactly what she herself thought they were.
"I-It's not?" She questioned as she skated forwards a bit before turning around to face the other girl. She made sure not to jostle Hoppi too much in her pocket, but judging by the slight rustling, she didn't do a very good job at it. "Really? We can be friends? For real?" She questioned, and for once not stumbling over her words. The timidness in her posture and on her face slowly began to fade and was replaced with a much more calmer and comfortable girl. "Thank you, I would really...l-like being friends."

Having relationships with other people had always been a very touchy subject for Bella. She never knew how to act, nor if she was doing he right thing that came with the relationship in question. Sure she had 'friends', but she never really talked to them outside of class or anything like that. But Alex, and maybe even the others at this point, was a little different. Maybe it was because they woke up in the same hospital room, but Bella just felt calmer around the dark haired upperclassmen. Maybe they could really become good friends...

At the mention of others, Bella visible tense and turned to face forward on her skates, covering her heated face in the process. Of course she knew about Jess and Brian despite never interacting with them, but suddenly being put in a position to get to know them?! Once she collected her bearings, she turned back to Alex, her expression lighting up a bit.
"I-I can be friends with them too? That's okay? W-Would they even like me? A-Aren't they all upperclassmen like you?" Bella questioned curiously before placing a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I-I'm asking too many questions...w-we should go, i-it'll be a long day t-tomorrow..." She smiled faintly as she slowed down her pace, moving beside Alex instead.

Although learning each other's secret, Bella was a rather glad that she was able to make some friends out it.

[Polaris North]

Alex was used to awkwardness. People who want to talk to Jess, especially males who want to go out with her, tend to be painfully awkward or painfully egotistical. She could even say that she got used to seeing and hearing people stumble over their words just because Jess was within the vicinity. However, hearing it come from a younger girl because she couldn't believe the fact that she could be friends with her... it wasn't exactly the same. Alex felt seriously out of her element.

"I don't mind questions, don't worry." She reassured the girl with a dismissive wave of her hand. She then gave her another reassuring smile. "Yeah, they're in my year. But they won't mind having a new friend. I should know, Jess has loads of 'em." She said with a light laugh. It certainly was sincere. While she can only assure Jess' side of things as she wasn't sure how Brian reacted to younger friends, especially one who had such a jump in age like Bella, she was rather sure that he'll come around. Despite how he is usually, he doesn't actually actively seek fights. Not with them around to control him at least.

Alex began to play with her wristwatch as they walked. She certainly didn't notice the different pace they were going on and Bella actually slowed down to match her walking pace. "We can help you with schoolwork too..." She then looked down, eyebrows creased. "Well, you are a star student so maybe you wouldn't need it?" She mused to herself. The three of them weren't exactly your straight A students, so maybe they wouldn't be that much help despite being years above her.

[Dusty]

Relief and happiness at Eddie’s lighthearted reassurances brought a warm glow back to Tonya’s heart and she returned the friendly embrace before stepping away, slinging her backpack onto her shoulders. The atmosphere felt better somehow, as if this one reinforcement made the day just good enough to be happy. Sure there was her detention for the next week, and her father’s unbearable disappointment, and a relationship to try and amend with Bella, but Tonya was grateful for at least this breakthrough. A rustle on Eddie’s shoulder drew her gaze and she watched as the tiny eagle kwami climbed out of hiding, perching himself in plain view. His beedy black eyes stared back at her adamantly, as if he expected something to happen. Tonya winked, giving the bird a slight smile.

“I don’t remember all too well.” She admitted, returning her attention back to Eddie, the smile fading ever so slightly. “Everything’s kind of fuzzy from then, as if was weeks ago, even though it was only a few hours back. Strange, probably because I was still a bit loopy from that gas.” She shrugged, taking another step away and looking back over her shoulder. Her father was waiting at home, and it was probably best not to keep him that way for too much longer. “I better get going.” She explained, walking with Eddie out of the school doors. The stairs were abandoned now, with only the janitor remaining inside the school to lock up for the evening. Long shadows left the concrete steps shaded, casting a mysterious air in the late afternoon. Peaceful and quiet, nothing like the noisy bustle where she'd yelled hours before. “I do remember something though,” she paused feeling and looking nervous but excited and anxious, all at the same time. “You called me cute, that time back at the mall. I thought you were just Talon then. Remember? Right after you helped me escape Mr. Johnson. And then when I was blinded back at the Lounge, you helped me get out, and stuck by me no matter what. I guess, that shows you’ve always really cared...”

Knowing she could only act once, and at that moment Tonya took a chance. There on the steps of the school, unsure of what she was doing or why Tonya stepped in close to Eddie, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Her face flushing red at the unprecedented act, she hurried away from him, looking back only to wave and call out. “See you tomorrow Ed.” Before running down the street back to her home and father.