May I Acquaintance You, Now? [Gemma, Preston]

[Zane Evans]

The morning bell had rung, and Zane was already inside the classroom with his text and notebook open, and his pens and highlighters neatly organized in the right hand corner of his desk, just above his notes. His mates never understood why he organized them as so, or why he was this way, but they appeared to have just accepted it, and understood that he was simply an organisation freak. Maybe that was so, as it always did bug him when he noticed their books slumped onto their table like a pile of accounting records that no one was interested in reading, and his pens scattered across the table as if it was a burden to select any of them to use. Then there was the bag dumped on the floor, almost daring someone to trip on.

History was the subject he was undergoing on this fine morning, which just happened to be one of his favourite subjects. Last year, medieval history was so complex, yet at the same time interesting and entirely consistent with the learning modules. Often people wondered what was wrong with him for smiling so much as he read the text to himself as they either pretended to read, or browsed through their phone at abosolutely nothing. It wasn't his fault he liked knowing about the past and recognizing the relevance to the society of today. And this year would be no different, as they would be studying the Cold War, which was a learning orgasam in itself...Well maybe thats something he just shouldn't say too loud around the wrong people. His friends had learned to deal with and accept his quirkiness, but he didn't want to test the boundaries with anybody else.

Opening his text and his notebook, he gazed up at the empty room, wondering how long it would be until the storm of students rushed through the wooden door and slumped themselves in their area of the room. None of the people he hung around with were in this class, unfortunately, though it was kind of a good thing in a way as he'd be able to get more work done and not be forced to laugh as they threw a paperball at someone's head. That wasn't his ideal way of spending a class, and did make it rather difficult to concentrate from time to time. Lucky for him already reading the book and always being three chapters ahead of the class in coursework. They didn't seem to complain either, as they'd be on duty to copy from him as soon as they got to class. That was the only time they'd remain so concentrated on doing their work...Or well, copying his work and pretending that makes up for it.

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[Gemma Bennett]

rolling out of bed, gemma was hoping that today was going to be better than her last. she'd only been at this school a week and she was doing her best to make it durable. when she moved to miami and started at this school, she realized why she actually bothered with school in the first place. back in new york, she actually wanted to go. she had friends, and there was always cheerleading, and on her first day at this school, she had noticed that all of these things were missing. she tried to solve it though, she joined the cheerleading squad at this school, and she was trying to make friends to her best ability, but as her mother claimed 'that was just something that would take time'. her mother said a lot of things though, a few that gemma would vouch for.. others she would rather just not bother with. according to her mother this whole move was because they needed a 'new start', but gemma hadn't thought so. she wasn't even sure her mother would think that they needed a new start if she realized that gemma was the slayer, not that gemma was willing to actually own up and tell her. it didn't take her long to get ready, picking out an outfit out of the few clothes that she'd gotten around to unpacking. not bothering with breakfast she grabbed her purse and made the small walk to school, she didn't live far from it, so the walk didn't take long. she didn't show up much earlier than the first bell, mainly because before the first bell everyone just sort of stood around and talked to their friends, and currently, gemma didn't really have any of those. it was on her way to her locker when she was attacked by the guidance counselor who claimed he wanted to 'talk to her about her well being' and asked her to follow him to his office. gemma had complied and that was why she was late to first period.

she had to spend the first twenty or so minutes in the guidance office, discussing how she was fitting in and how she thought her classes were, with the guidance counselor. of course, gemma simply made everything seem a bit better than they already were, going along with the things he were saying. her classes were 'great', and she was fitting in 'quite well', things could 'only get better from here on out'. once the counselor finally gave her a pass to her class, and she quickly made her getaway, only stopping at her locker to grab her history book and a notebook, on her way to her first period class, which happened to be history. as she opened the door to the class, and saw the teacher at the front talking to the class, she silently wished herself to be invisible. she'd always hated interrupting a class, everyone always turned around and looked right at you, which was fine if you knew people in the class, but here in miami it was like looking at a sea of... well, unknowns. making her way to the front of the classroom she handed the pass over to the teacher, before making her way to the open seat in the back.

upon sitting down, she quickly settled herself in, opened her book, and realized she hadn't grabbed a pen from her locker. sighing, she pulled her purse onto her desk and rummaged through it for a pen, and when she didn't find one she zipped it back up and pushed it towards the edge of the desk. leaning over in her seat to the guy in the seat next to her, her voice carried, "do you by any chance happen to have a pen i could borrow?" pausing and then bitterly adding on, "my purse seems to have eaten all of mine," with a quick glare to the purse as if it was supposed to hold the magical ability to just fill with a pen whenever she needed one. sitting back upright in her chair, she glanced back over at the guy, hoping for a yes, because if not she wasn't sure she was willing to ask anyone else. if he didn't have a pen, she was just going to have to prick herself and write in her blood or something. well, no, maybe not that, she wasn't that drastic, she'd probably just sit there and not copy down notes or whatever it was they were doing at all. which was fine with her, less work, right?

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HEY THERE, ZANE AND PRESTON, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN HISTORY CLASS, AND GEMMA'S DRESSED TO THE NINES IN THIS. THIS POST IS FINISHED AT 771 WORDS. THE BANNER CREDIT GOES TO SYDKNEE SAYS OF CAUTION. OH, ONE LAST THING HOPE THIS REPLY DOESN'T COMPLETELY SUCK.

[Zane Evans]

Too concentrated on his textbook, he barely noticed that the class was rather full now. He finally looked up from the book, noticing some familar faces from past years. Some made me smile softly to himself, others made him cringe. Why were they here? He had nothing against people choosing this subject if they actually enjoyed it or wanted to learn...But it seemed like a lot of them just chose it for the hell of it, and would be bludging for the entire semester. He sighed softly to himself, noticing that no one was going out of their way to deliver a friendly smile or gaze, even a comment towards him. Looks like it was another year of being the reserved guy...Not even being friends with a football had helped his reputation it appeared.

'Open your text to chapter 1 on page 4. By now you should've all revised for this class and know the answers to the questions I'll be asking you all today.' The teacher glanced around the room, and even Zane could notice the half-asleep students who were more interested in smooching the table than learning history. Before the teacher could continue, a girl entered the door. He hadn't seen her around before, therefore assumed she was new. It was a new year afterall, and newbies were bound to pop up from time to time. He smiled softly as she came and sat next to him. Yay he had a friend! Oh wait, they were just sitting next to him. However it wasn't long before she had asked him for a pen. Almost startled that she was making conversation with him, he looked at her with a smile. "Oh...Pen, of course. Here you are." He handed her the pen, relieved it wasn't going to some kind of awkward conversation. He was more than happy to give her a pen, after all he wasn't one to never come prepared. He always had backup pens for when the pens either ended or decided to leak all over his notes. And that had unfortunately occured before.

He looked at the girl next to him and delivered another friendly smile, before being interrupted by the teacher. 'Now, can anyone tell me who the two major countries involved with the cold war were?' Zane's hand jolted up instantly, and the teacher nodded approval towards the boy. "USA and the USSR, also known today as Russia." 'Very good,' the teacher answered in reply to Zane's answer. He knew this stuff like the back of his hand, though judging by the faces of most of the students, they...Well, didn't. But he was positive they were happy that he was answering the questions to save them having to.

He had wondered where Preston had gotten to. He was usually late, which proved no different today, however he was still one to be concerned. He couldn't keep doing everything for Preston, not that he minded, but he needed to learn the content himself as well. And not turning up to classes...Well, not really content-learning. However on the downside if Preston was here, he would've most likely just been lusting over the new girl for the entire class, or whispering things in his ear about her, causing a distraction. He enjoyed Preston's company, however at times he could be a little overbearing.

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[Preston James]

Preston was running late for school once more, it was the morning after a full moon and he had awoken clear on the other side of Miami. That was rather bad for he was running late and quite naked really. He had to steal some clothing so that he would not get arrested for going nude. He then had to slowly make his way home from their on foot as he had no cash.

He though did move faster than a typical human would, he had increased stamina and speed due to the fact that he was not human, that he was a werewolf and he used that in an attempt to get himself home and dressed.

After a little while he finally made his way home and snuck successfully into his home and got dressed. He grabbed his IPOD as well. As he was well known for it, he had found that it helped him keep his cool and he absolutely loved music. He also had gotten dressed in regular clothing, a nice pair of jeans and a button up shirt, not tucked in and the sleeves rolled up and he grabbed his messenger bag. He looked the part that he showed the world. A football star, quarterback, and captain. A sports guru and one of the most popular students in the school. Made him feel normal when he knew he had such a monster inside of him.

As soon as he was dressed he headed out the door with his bag in tow and headed for the school, it was not long before he arrived but it was already halfway through one of his classes, he was late, and he knew it. He took out an earbud from his ear and started to take in the scents and sounds trying to find out where the principle and his minions were. He did not want to get caught. He sensed that the nearest one was way past his class and he cautiously headed their.

He soon arrived at the class and noticed that the teachers back was turned and he smiled a bit inwardly. He was happy to see that and he slowly edged the door open. Once he was in the room he realized that his friend Zane was not sitting that far away and he also noticed that he was sitting across from a really hot girl.

To be truthful, Preston was quite impressed that his geeky friend, Zane could land such a catch. He slide into a seat beside Zane and smiled slightly as he spoke. Dude, help a brother out, I am late again, what are we doing.

He then paused knowing it was now that he needed to introduce himself the the girl or he would be verging on rude, he extended a hand to her. By the way, my name is Preston

He could not sense that she was a slayer, with most supernatural species there was a difference that his supernatural senses could pick up but slayers and witches were to human for him to sense. So she was just average to him. At least until she proved differently.

[Gemma Bennett]

gemma had never been one for history, but the class was a required course. if it wasn't a required credit for history, she probably wouldn't have even bothered with it. if she didn't have to, chances were, she wouldn't have bothered with very many classes. she wasn't that into history or science, and she was downright atrocious at math. she pretty much figured that if you could speak the language, you would be good at english, though she was proven wrong with that thought at quite the young age. she was pretty sure she didn't fit in school wise, sure, some of her classes were entertaining, but it wasn't due to the content. it was the people, or the way things went down, but it was never the everlasting agony of actually being in class and being told what to do, especially being told what to do, she'd never been one for listening, which is what she often found herself in trouble for. she was already at school now, and she figured ditching this early was probably a habit she shouldn't get into, so she decided that suffering was her best choice. of course, she could always tell the teacher that she'd left something in the guidance office to leave, but currently the principal and her guidance counselor were keeping close tabs on her 'wanting to make sure she fit in', whatever. it was best just to stay put, and now that she'd gotten a pen from the kid next to her she could actually distract herself by taking notes, because that just sounded so damn thrilling.

pulling her feet up onto her seat, crossing them, she placed her elbows on the desk and quickly placed her chin in her hands. was the teacher going to quiz them on the 'facts of the cold war' all day? she wasn't completely sure, but something told her that this was something they were supposed to learn in class, not something they should all know already. it wasn't like she was there for the cold war or anything, and to be honest, gemma wasn't really sure why she even had to take this class. all the things they learned about had happened ages ago, and if history did 'repeat' itself she could just find out about it in the future, and gain her own experience and her own opinion from it. you couldn't gain your own opinion or experience from something you're merely told about, something you never went through or lived through on your own. history class just seemed a tad bit pointless to gemma, though the kid she borrowed a pen from seemed to enjoy the class, as did a few other kids, constantly answering the questions the teacher sent at them. gemma had never really been one of those kids, she was either sitting there zoning out, or talking to someone else, actually paying attention to the material wasn't something she'd ever managed to participate in.

she was almost completely zoned in on a spot on the chalkboard in front when the door opened again. it was quieter this time, and gemma almost missed the fact that someone else had entered the room until she noticed someone walking up the aisle, probably looking for a seat. he took one not from far from herself, and started talking to the guy gemma had managed to snag a pen from. he sounded like any other kid who managed to be late for class, not knowing what was going on, needing to figure it out before the teacher realized he hadn't been there all along, it wasn't anything new or fascinating. it was a few seconds later when the newer arrival turned to introduce himself to gemma, apparently his name was preston. "gemma," she replied, almost adding on the fact that she was new but not bothering. these kids had probably been going to school together for years, she figured it was easy enough to figure out who was new, there was no need to going pointing herself out to everyone. and he probably already figured her to be new, seeing as he was introducing himself to her, it wouldn't make sense to go on about the obvious.

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HEY THERE, ZANE AND PRESTON, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN HISTORY CLASS, AND GEMMA'S DRESSED TO THE NINES IN THIS. THIS POST IS FINISHED AT 705 WORDS. THE BANNER CREDIT GOES TO SYDKNEE SAYS OF CAUTION. OH, ONE LAST THING HOPE THIS REPLY DOESN'T COMPLETELY SUCK.

[Zane Evans]

He didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated when Preston walked in, half way through the class. He sighed to himself softly, before smiling as the boy sat down next to him. For starters, he had interrupted the class...At a time which Zane was really getting to enjoy. Preston being late wasn't really an new thing to occur, and therefore he basically knew how to handle the situation. "Hey Preston.." He replied softly, trying to focus on the teacher's lecture, and remain undistracting at the same time. He passed Preston a copy of the notes the teacher had passed around. "His the notes of what we've done so far. But you know it would help if you bothered to read them. They really are helpful." He knew Preston wouldn't read them, but he had to try, it was his duty as a friend.

"If you wanna come over tonight, we could go through the notes or something? You'll be 'I know history' in no time!" He did really want to help Preston succeed, but it was hard from time to time. He needed to want to achieve, not go on what Zane wanted from him. More than anything, he didn't wish to see his friend fail and be forced to repeat. He wanted to graduate school with Preston as well.

He noticed that Preston was introducing himself to Gemma, and he felt like a facepalm. "I'm Zane." He stated, just to get it in there, with a slight smile. This girl seemed like the type who would talk to Preston, but not want the time of day for him. He had to admit, in the short time Preston was in the room he had already got the name of the girl, and had a more interesting conversation than his. Wait, was giving a pen even a conversation? Preston had skill, there was no denying that. Sometimes he wished he was more like Preston...Everything just seemed so much easier.

Because of their conversation, Zane was slightly obvlious to the fact that the class was over. He felt so bad for being distracted, but at the same time knew it was bound to happen with Preston chatting away next to him. He placed all of his pens and textbooks neatly into his bag, knowing full well that he'd be stuck in the middle of Preston flirting with the new girl. He smiled towards her once again, trying to redirect the conversation away from such occurances. "How good was the class? I know because its your first one your probably a little confused, but it was so interesting. I can't wait to go home and read up some more about it. See Preston, we'll have crackers, chocolate and of course soda, while revising. Its so awesome." He knew Preston wasn't going to enjoy studying, but he did and he did at least try and make it fun for him, though it probably didn't work.

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[Preston James]

"If you wanna come over tonight, we could go through the notes or something? You'll be 'I know history' in no time!"

Preston just vaguely heard what his friend had to say, his brain was on other what he thought was more important things, the new girl, she was hot, no other word could cover it just right, she was hot and he knew it. He was going to to see what progress he could make with the girl. He knew that he was good looking, charming and the most popular guy in school, he just had to hope that she was not one of the rebel girls. For he knew that he could open a lot of doors if she would just be open to him as a person.

Zane then introduced himself. He was not surprised at that, Zane was never all that strong in a social situation. Hence the importance of having a friend like Preston. They needed each other and the fact that they knew each other as long as the they could possibly remember kind of helped a bit. They were old friends, some of the other populars could not understand why Preston would hang out with Zane but they just did not understand the importance and bond that the boys had, it was friendship, possible brotherhood.

Then Zane said, "How good was the class? I know because its your first one your probably a little confused, but it was so interesting. I can't wait to go home and read up some more about it. See Preston, we'll have crackers, chocolate and of course soda, while revising. Its so awesome."

Preston's head sagged a bit, he would say something like that, it was not a good intro to the new girl. He had just declared nerd to the girl, which he knew was a turn off for many girls. Not all but many.

Sure Zane, whatever works. He knew that he was going to need Zane's help, Preston was smart but unfocused and Zane helped out with that, allowing it to absorb into the wolfy mind of the werewolf. He then turned to Gemma. So gemma, where did you move from, is it nice there, and can I offer you a tour of our wonderful school

He was already trying to make a move in a none threating sense. He did not want her defenses to go up, he wanted to be on the inside of them when they went up, for he knew that other guys would be trying to get her but he also knew once they say that she was with him they would back off knowing it was a lost cause.

[Gemma Bennett]

glancing at the clock it was obvious that the class was coming to an end. finally. gemma felt like she'd been in there forever, but then again classes were really only thirty to forty or so minutes, so it wasn't forever, it just felt that way. maybe if she was a bit more into school she would have felt better about being there, but seeing as gemma wasn't really one for school, her classes always felt longer than they were, and it was often hard to concentrate or stay awake during the ones that bored her to death. once the class was dismissed, she carelessly placed the notes in her folder, shut her notebook, and stood up. she'd almost put the pen in her hand into her purse before realizing it wasn't hers and handing it back to zane, "thanks, you're a life saver," she exaggerated, a small smile hinting at her lips. she was feeling slightly better now that the class was over, she wasn't sure what she had next but it had to be better than history. she never really understood why they had to learn history anyway, she'd once asked a teacher and he'd told her it was because history repeated itself. and in reply, all gemma could say was that if history repeated itself why couldn't she learn it then? she didn't see why she had to learn it anyway with the amount of movies out there on all the things they learned in class. if they just watched those movies instead of actually bothering with the reading, notes, or tests then gemma was sure she'd like the class much more, she was rather positive that she wasn't the only one who felt that way. there were better things to learn than just history, or at least that's what gemma thought. clearly zane thought differently, because as he was packing up his things he made a comment about how interesting the class was. "oh, it was great," gemma lied, rather unconvincingly, though she hoped he wouldn't catch on. if history was his favorite class, she certainly didn't want to offend him. besides the principal and guidance counselor, zane was the first person she'd met at this school and she didn't want to start off by just being offensive and rude.

placing her purse over one of her shoulders, and then scooping up her things into her arms, she gave the room a final look before turning back to the two boys she'd met during class. upon first getting up today she was positive it wasn't going to go well for her first day, sure the classes were boring, but she'd managed to sign up for cheer and meet two people, that was a good start, right? gemma figured so, at least, and if things got worse from here on, she'd simply lie to her mother about how well her day had gone. gemma had more important things to do with her life anyway, it was hard to be a sixteen year old girl, a good daughter, a smart student, and a steady slayer all at once. of course, most times she tended to put being a sixteen year old girl ahead of all the others, when she really ought to be putting other things, like her slayer life ahead of fitting into the norm in miami. but still, that didn't currently mattered. she was currently at school, and while she was here she figured socializing and getting to classes on time, seemed top priority for a new kid. if all of her classes were as boring as the one she'd just sat through, though, she wasn't sure she'd really make it.

the attack of questions from preston was a bit unexpected, but maybe that came with the territory of being the new kid? everyone wanted to know you, right? she wasn't sure, she'd never really been a new kid before, she'd lived in one place all her life until now. "new york city," she replied, almost having just said 'the city' but she figured since she was in florida now he probably wouldn't assume she meant nyc all the way up north. she figured she was currently quite a long ways from home, or what she'd considered home for so long... miami was home now, or it was supposed to be anyway. it'd take a while before she actually thought of it that way. "i thought it was nice," gemma said, shrugging, as she moved out of the way of some kids who were making their way towards the door and then started to slowly follow them. "and i suppose you could if you'd like, i know i'd appreciate it," she hadn't really gotten much of a tour, she'd simply been giving a map of the school and the guidance counselor figured she'd make due with that. gemma wasn't so sure that was going to work out, seeing as she wasn't really good with maps, and if preston was offering to give her a tour of the school she saw no reason to just turn it down.

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HEY THERE, ZANE AND PRESTON, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN HISTORY CLASS, AND GEMMA'S DRESSED TO THE NINES IN THIS. THIS POST IS FINISHED AT 851 WORDS. THE BANNER CREDIT GOES TO SYDKNEE SAYS OF CAUTION. OH, ONE LAST THING HOPE THIS REPLY DOESN'T COMPLETELY SUCK.

[Zane Evans]

Even he could tell that Preston didn't seem too interested in their 'study session,' but he was trying to do his friend well by helping him pass. He knew more than anything that Preston wouldn't want to repeat the year. And even Zane himself didn't know how he would do without Preston asking for the answers to questions constantly and things like that. Oddly enough, he took those things for granted, and even thought he might miss it if Preston repeated. Zane was already enough of a loner, he didn't need to further that feeling. Preston was his best friend, and in many ways was the only friend he had. But nethertheless, he was happy to be friends with Preston, even if he was one of his only friends, and close ones at that. Although he appeared goofy to him at times, he did enjoy his company more than Preston probably believed.

And Preston was already at it with the questions, bombarding the poor girl. He imagined she was still nervous and just trying to settle in, though in many ways she probably did feel at ease in having people talk with her and being friendly. Preston was usually good at making people feel at home, even if his real motive was trying to get with them. He was harmless though, so Zane never worried. Even looking at the young girl, she appeared like she was the popular type, based on her beautiful appearence. Though her personality was what had confused him, as she was nothing like a Paige 1.1, instead she seemed slightly reserved and rather nice. In other words, Gemma appeared like someone Zane would enjoy having as his friend. Maybe having Preston bombard her with questions paid off in the end, as he might make a close friend out of it. Yay him! And in Preston's mind, he was probably thinking of some other things he could be with Gemma.

He smiled as she agreed to a tour. They were all in a standing posistion, and he thought it would probably make sense if they went out of the classroom, considering they were the only ones in there for about a minute now. "Hey Preston are you going for training, or are you gonna grab a bite, or something?" He looked at Gemma with a smile, trying to make himself less non-talkative. "You should join us Gemma. I hope you brought your own lunch though because the food here is...Well you don't wanna try it." His friendly smile was still present on his face, as he began walking towards the door slowly, hoping they would soon follow.

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