[color=39b54a]Michael[/color]- 5:15 A.M.

The first waking thought Michael had was that Katie must have had a nightmare because she was curled next to him.  He didn’t have the energy to shove her out of bed so he just turned over and tried to go back to sleep.  But her knees knocked against his and he opened his eyes to give her a talking to (and ask her if she was okay and if she’d like some hot chocolate or something) because it wasn’t even light out yet.  Even if she smelled better than usual.

But he was met with clear, mischievous eyes and a mess of red hair and constellations of freckles.  Michael tried to jerk away, but ended up flailing sleepily a bit—he didn’t know if it was because of her shushing or that clinging fatigue that kept him from crying out in his complete shock.  He was fully aware that without Arthur’s ability coursing through him, he would’ve gone tumbling off the side of the bed in an instant.

After a few moments of his heart beating in his throat, remembering the course of events that led him to this particularly awkward moment (laughing with her and watching blue-white energy surround a tea cup in wonder), he narrowed his eyes.  It was more in confusion than irritation or outright anger allowing him to sort of blink and force the ‘OHGODPANICELLIEISINYOURBEDPANICWHATDOIDO?’ down.  And despite his best efforts to sound either suave or normal, his voice cracked as he hissed, “What the hell, are you—“

And then his roommate—who he’d not yet met—spoke and he turned around slowly.  The other boy was sitting on his bed, staring at the two friends.

[color=39b54a]“Um…good morning—Josh, is it?” [/color] 

He was going to have a heart attack at fifteen.  It must be some sort of record. They’d write something nice about him in the paper.  Probably about his dancing and his chivalry and Merlin would mutter about how he should have had a family before dying to pass on the bloodline and go on to her next hippie thing.  

Michael turned back around to Elizabeth.  He felt like a startled stoat, caught between a fox and a hunter.  Or something.  What ate stoats, anyway?  Because this was a rule broken.  On the first night.  They’d be in so much trouble.  His mother would write him a very sternly worded letter.  Ellie would be judged by pretty much everyone, probably, unless the girls in his dance class had completely overstated how their entire gender is treated.  And it all lay on what his roommate would do.

He was going to give her a pleading look, make her fix it because he didn’t know what to do, but she’d sat up while he was facing Josh and the panic that had been building in him left in a rush of laughter.

[color=39b54a]“Elli your—your hair!”[/color]  

It was basically a bush, at this point, matted and sticking up and going in the wrong direction.  He was used to seeing hair like this—sisters—but he wasn’t expecting it at before-dawn in the morning from his childhood friend who had apparently slept in the same bed as him.  

He poked it while ignoring the look on her face.  [color=39b54a]“Oh, I missed this.”[/color]

Michael then turned to Josh, finally relaxed, [color=39b54a]“Um, so, Josh.  Sorry about all this.  We’re childhood friends and we had a kinda late night.  I think.  There was tea involved, so it got kind of muddled there at the end.  She’ll be out of your hair,”[/color] he snickered, looking at her matted hair again, [color=39b54a]“in a minute.”[/color]

But he made a note in the back of his mind to make sure the kid didn’t start snitching.

[color=39b54a]“Ellie, you gotta get out of here before a teacher comes and banishes us or something. I’ll be look out, yeah?”[/color]  He opened the door (remember it wasn’t not-curfew yet, but he hardly thought teachers cared about the early part) and stood outside.  [color=39b54a]“All clear.  See you at breakfast?”[/color]

Just as she darted out of the room and he slipped back in, he smiled and said, [color=39b54a]"Good luck with your hair!"[/color] But then Josh got his attention and motioned towards his cheek.  Michael wiped at it own and his fingers came away with color.  He’d had to wear it enough for recitals to know exactly what the substance on his fingers was.

He couldn’t help the heat that spread to his cheeks as he sat/fell onto his bed and buried his head in his hands.

[color=39b54a]“What is going on?”[/color] he muttered underneath his breath.  

But then he remembered how much possible trouble they could be in and he looked at Josh and tried to look serious.  [color=39b54a]“Listen, mate, I’m sure you’re a fantastic sort of guy and we’ll be great friends by the end of the year.  But if you get Ellie in trouble over something as simple as this, it’s going to be a very difficult year for you and it’ll be the year I learn how to make someone’s life a living hell.  You understand?”[/color]

After his threat, he grinned and started getting ready.  He gathered a towel and his shower supplies and went down the hall to the bathroom.  Michael took as long as he liked, letting himself think in private.

Not only did he have whatever was going on to deal with, but there was Elizabeth—the same girl who dragged him everywhere and taught him how to get into trouble.  The one who forced him to read and told him more about his lineage than he actually wanted to know once he told her about the whole thing.  The one who’d told him about her own lineage in return, without his asking.

And there was Northwood itself.   

But back to his childhood friend.  Who had just crawled into bed with him, apparently—like when they were kids.  As if they were [i]still[/i] kids.  Like it was nothing.

 And kissed his cheek.   And looked adorable when waking up with bed head. And all sleepy eyed and oh, God, she really was a girl.  Like an actual girl with pretty eyes and not the wild-thing covered in mud, holding a library book reverently because she’d [i]saved[/i].  Like he knew but now he really [i]knew[/i].

The only thing he could recall thinking after realizing this, walking down to breakfast, was that there was no way he was going to survive the school year.