Black Dagger Brotherhood-Lover What?

*After class*

"Amy, you can't be wandering off during class." Phury scolded.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know why I wasn't paying attention, because I usually do." she mumbled, looking at the ground. Hailey was standing at the end of the hall, waiting just out of earshot.

Phury gave a little sigh. "This was your first class and the first time you've gotten in trouble so I'm just talking to you this time. Next time, though, will be a detention, then a week detention, and then a talk with Wrath. Got it?" Amy nodded. "Good. You can go."

Amy started walking away, but stopped as Phury placed a large hand on her shoulder. "Yes, sir?"

"I don't want to be hard on you. Or Hailey. But you're up against a bunch of males and you need to prove to them that you can be just as good as them. They think females are weak and don't belong in this field. Payne and Xhex are the first examples that that's not true. Tehmper is an in-class example, showing the males that it's not true. I have a feeling that Hailey will be too." He paused.

"And you have a feeling I won't be?"

Phury heaved a big sigh. "I'm not saying that. You can't tell how someone will be while they're a pre-trans. But it just means you have to work extra hard to keep up with those that are good as pre-trans."

"I understand, sir. Can I go now? I need to get ready for Last Meal."

"Yeah. Sure. See you tomorrow in class." He let go of her shoulder and she slowly walked over to Hailey.

"Hey. How'd it go?" she greeted, placing a piece of paper in her pocket. Amy was able to see, however, that it was a phone number, most likely Tehmper's. Had she been fast enough to even find out if the female was straight or not?

"Fine." she shrugged in response to Hailey's question. They walked into the mansion and Amy headed for the stairs.

"Hey. Where're you going?"

"Bed." Amy answered shortly, not even looking back.

"What about Last Meal?!" Hailey called up.

"Not hungry!" Amy turned the corner to the hallway where her room was and ran smack into a large solid body. "Oh! Sorry." she said as she stumbled back. She almost fell back but two large hands wrapped around her upper arms and steadied her.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." said a deep voice. She looked up and saw Quinn smirking down at her.

She took a step back as Quinn let her go. "Sorry. I was just heading to my room." She went to step around him but he moved in her way.

"You're not gonna eat?" She shook her head, looking straight-forward at his muscled stomach, because she knew that if she looked at his mismatched eyes, she wouldn't be too sure what would happen. "That's not healthy for a pre-trans. You need to keep up those calories for training."

She shrugged and tried to step around again. "I really don't care right now. Can you please let me by?" He was quiet long enough that she looked up at him. She couldn't tell what he was thinking because his face was impassive and she wasn't any good at reading eyes.

"Which room was your's again?" he asked. She found herself a little hypnotized by his mis-colored eyes and answering his question.

"Th-the last one on the right." she stuttered. He smirked and stepped aside.

"See ya later, shorty." he joked. She frowned as he walked away and she headed to her room.

Once she closed the door, she felt absolutely exhausted; all of her depression pouring on her. Her mind was overwhelmed with negative thoughts and her body was filled with an onslaught of emotion. She stumbled into the bathroom, shedding clothing on the way. She left the light off but the door open and started the shower, making sure the water was hot. Once it was set, she got in and sat on the floor, the water pouring over her as dry sobs wracked her small body. Then came the tears and gasps, and when that was over, came the numbness and cold. She was shivering no matter how hot the water was. After that came the anger, the anger at herself for being weak and a crybaby. She raised one small fist and was about to bring it down on her arm when a sharp knock came on the bedroom door.

She quickly got up, turned the water off, and pulled on a towel. "Who is it?" she called.

"It's Quinn." came the answer. She made sure her towel was secure and then opened the door, expecting only Quinn to enter but instead got a push cart first. She closed the door after him and watched as he uncovered a bunch of domed plates, each filled with a little bit of different foods. Most likely this was what they were eating downstairs right now.

"What are you doing, Quinn?" she asked. "I told Hailey I wasn't hungry. She didn't have to send you with food."

"She didn't send me. I came myself." he answered. "And I'm not going 'til you eat." He sat in the chair that was at the empty desk, crossing his arms defiantly.

She stared at him, then the food. "Why?" she blurted out.

" 'Cuz I'm nice, that's why. Now eat."

Amy stood in her spot, her braid dripping water onto the carpet, her body only covered by a towel. She was here by herself and Quinn was being nice and bringing her food, probably figuring out she didn't want to be around a bunch of people at that time. She felt her eyes tearing up, and one hand went to her upper arm and the nails dug into the skin, making half-moon marks that would later be angry red welts, trying to get the wave of emotion out through pain.

"Hey hey hey. What are you doing?" Quinn asked, moving forward and taking her hand away from her arm. He saw her crying and pulled her close to his chest. "Hey now. No reason to be crying. Everything's fine."

"No! Everything's not fine!" she cried into his shirt. Quinn moved back and sat on the bed, pulling her into his lap, letting her curl up. After a minute she stopped and looked up at him. "Why are you doing this, Quinn? You don't seem like the type to deal with the ugly sides of females."

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm trying to be a bit more of a male." he mumbled.

"But you already are a male. So what do you mean?" Quinn thought she looked kinda cute with that confused look on her face.

"I meant what we call a 'male of worth'. A male of worth can be a warrior, but he's also sensitive to females, especially his shellan, when he gets one. He takes care of others before himself. And there's more that's automatic, a male doesn't need to be told what to do, he just knows."

"Oh...Mmk." Amy mumbled, leaning her head on his chest. Quinn chuckled as her stomach let out a little rumble.

"Now how 'bout we get some food in you, huh?"

She sighed, not moving. "I barely have the energy to lift my head." she murmured. "I can't eat right now."

He shifted her around and used one hand and arm to support her, and the other to pull the food closer. "Then how 'bout I feed you?"

She squirmed a little, trying to sit up. "You don't have to do that, Quinn. I'll just eat later."

"Uh-uh. You're eating now, so relax. It's nothing."

She heaved a big sigh as she watched him move the food around. "Fine. You got any meat on one of those plates?"

He smiled, flashing some long canines. "A carnivore, huh? Yeah, Fritz cooked up a nice juicy steak, done medium rare." Her stomach let out a louder rumble and they both laughed. "I take that as a yes." They shifted around until Amy was leaning against his chest and he was able to cut the food with both hands.

"Thank you...Quinn. " she said in the silence. "No one's done something like this for me. I'm.....I'm usually alone right after a break-down." A fork with a piece of steak on it showed up in her face and she gladly ate it, chewing on the flavored meat.

"Don't mention it. It's no big deal." he replied as she chewed. He paused as he felt a small hand on his cheek, turning his head toward her.

"It's a big deal to me." she said quietly, looking right in his eyes. "Don't underestimate the impact you have on someone, no matter how small the gesture." They sat there for a minute, just looking at each other, Quinn turning over her words, and Amy taking in his features, trying to create a mental picture.

The serious moment was broken as her stomach let out more sounds and he chuckled, having another piece of steak ready. She smiled before eating, relaxing and enjoying his company.

_________________________________________

Hailey sat toward the end of the long dining table, looking around at everyone. At first, she had an uneasy feeling and she knew it was because of Amy. She could feel the tiniest of emotions and she knew Amy was having a breakdown. She wasn't worried about going to her room and finding her hanging from the shower head though. No matter how low she got, she wasn't suicidal. Actually, Amy was the one who worried about Hailey for that. A couple minutes after she saw Quinn leave with a cart of food, the emotions that were being filtered were lessened until they were completely gone. Maybe Quinn was with her, and making her feel better. Good.

"So Hailey," Xhex spoke up to her, "How was your first day of training?"

Hailey shrugged. "It was okay. Wasn't too bad."

"Just wait until tomorrow, when Xhex and I are teaching the class." Payne smirked.

"Can't wait." Hailey smiled, and some of the males chuckled in approval.

"Where's Quinn?" John signed, and everyone looked around like they just noticed he wasn't there.

"I saw him go out the door with a bunch of food a few minutes ago." Hailey answered and everyone looked at her. "I think he's with Amy. She wasn't hungry but I think he was taking her the food anyway."

John and Blaylock looked at each other uncertainly. "Quinn isn't exactly Mr.Sensitivity with females." Blay said to her. "And Amy's kinda cute. You might not want to leave her with him."

"What do you mean?" Hailey asked, setting down her fork, about to run up to Amy's room.

"He won't force himself on her!" he added quickly. "I'm just saying that he's kind of a player and it isn't too hard for him to get a female."

Hailey relaxed a little but started paying more attention to what emotions she was getting from Amy. All she felt was numbness, content, and exhaustion. If Quinn had been doing anything, she would either be getting fear or pleasure, depending on what was happening.

She saw Vishous frown and look at her a little strangely. "What?" she asked.

"How are you able to feel Amy's emotions?" he asked straight out.

Hailey tensed up. "How the hell do you know that?!" she exclaimed.

"I can read minds." he said nonchalantly. "Now answer my question."

Hailey squirmed as everyone looked at her again. "Well... years ago, Amy and I...did a little kinda stupid thing that kids do, and became blood sisters. Then a few years ago, we made a blood pact. Since then, we've been a bit more connected. I can sense her strong emotions and she can sense most of mine. Also, we can get the barest gist of each others thoughts when we're together, but not from long distance."

"So can you tell what she's feeling right now?" Marissa asked.

Hailey closed her eyes. "She's really tired and kinda numb, probably just from everything that's been going on. And...she's kinda happy. I can't feel the reasons behind the feelings, just what feelings they are." she explained.

Rhage spoke up. "And you said she can feel your's, right? So if one of you got hurt in battle, say a deep cut, the other would feel it?" Hailey nodded. "That won't be good then, to have both of you fighting at the same time."

"I agree." Wrath said. "We'll definitely have to remember that. Now, let's get back to eating!"