It's Complicated

Chapter 5

A/N

So, this is chapter five, and Jordan may be acting a bit weird, so just ignore that. But yeah. I just wanna point out now that my stories are mostly dialogue based, so if you want detail, I'm not your person. Anyway,

Enjoy!

"Nice gloves." I jumped and turned around, coming face to face with Bear. "They have the weirdest clothes in the wardrobes here." I picked up one of the dresses sceptically.

"Not your evening best, I suppose?" I cracked. He grinned and shook his head.

"Nah. I thought I'd save that one for you."

I dropped the dress and took a seat on my bunk. "So. I can tell you're a clean freak," I commented to break the silence.

Bear chuckled. "What gave me away?" He gestured to the piles of clothes and general mess of the dorm. "And it's only been a day since I got back. That's gotta be some kind of record."

"I'm impressed," I said, whistling. "So do classes start up tomorrow?"

"Yep. Just wait 'til you meet Finn and Karter. You're gonna regret ever coming here."

"They can't be that bad," I replied cockily, trying to hide my smirk.

Bear gave me an apprehensive look. "If you're still saying that tomorrow, you're officially a psychopath."

"Hey, psychoticness's my specialty," I protested.

"If you say so."

Antonio and I hadn't really looked over our timetables yet in all the drama and confusion. We'd swapped them so we could break the sad news to each other, and I was eyeballing his in shock. I wasn't really expecting mine to change, but you never know.

"Beta Chemistry, Epsilon ES, Epsilon Archery, Epsilon PE, Delta Combat. Dude," I said in awe.

"So, what's the highest level?" Antonio asked casually.

"Um, Epsilon," I replied absentmindedly, scanning his schedule again to make sure I was reading right. The Beta was the only slightly normal class on that sheet.

"You sure 'bout that, bro? 'Cause, um, well. I don't think I'm that great at anything, and um. You'd better look for yourself." I took my timetable from him, and my jaw dropped.

"What the hell was Marselle thinking?"

Gamma Chemistry. That hadn't changed, at least. But my other classes? Well.

"Epsilon PE, Archery and Combat? And Delta ES? What?"

Antonio watched me nervously. "So, we're in nearly all the top classes?" I dropped my head into my hands.

"We're screwed, dude. Absolutely screwed."

I slammed my palm on Marselle's desk. "What the hell is up with these timetables?" He glanced up at me in amusement. Why was he smirking? He wasn't the one who had to face both Finn and Karter's wrath in the toughest classes weekly. To hell with that, daily, even!

"I believe," he began slowly, probably enjoying my painful torture. "That since you are Claimed, you have higher aptitudes for your physical classes. I'm guessing the reason you're only Epsilon for three out of four of your physical classes is so your fellow students don't get too suspicious." I just stared at him.

"Because they won't be suspicious of us having three Epsilon classes, right? And one Delta!" I exclaimed. He raised his eyebrows.

"Gamma Chemistry isn't particularly intimidating, is it?" I threw my hands in the air and groaned. He gave me a slightly (only slightly. Slightly) empathetic glance, and added, "if it makes you feel any better, you've got Antonio in most of your Epsilon subjects. And for Combat, you've got Alex."

"Who doesn't know who I am," I muttered bitterly.

"You'll be fine. Aven didn't say you'd die, so I think you have to get back to him in one piece. That's a guarantee, at least."

Did he just-

Did he just try and mock me? I'd like to see him last a day in Finn's class. But there was no changing it; I was in big trouble.

I mean, come on. Finn and Karter's top classes, in one day? That's practically a death sentence.

I relayed the following to Antonio, who moaned and flopped back onto his bunk. "Why? Why did I agree to come to your school? I'm pretty sure it was even my idea! What kind of i***t am I?"

I just stared. "You don't actually want me answering that, right?"

I took his middle finger as a no.

"So, what classes are you guys in?" Alex asked at breakfast tomorrow. I just groaned, and Antonio let his head fall to the table. "That bad, huh?" Wordlessly, I handed over our schedules, being careful not to let my makeup smudge. Yes, I'd put makeup over my scar so no one'd see it. No judging. After twenty seconds of looking at them, Alex stared at us with wide eyes.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"What? What've you got?" Dix and Bear crowded around the pieces of paper, and then turned disbelieving gazes to us. "Oh, damn. You're gonna die."

"You said that awfully happily," Antonio noted at Dix. She shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm feeling pretty good today. In the happy mood." Alex and Bear gave her weird glances which she seemed determined to ignore.

"I feel like I just missed something significant," Antonio said.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "You know the word 'significant'? Aw, proud of you, man!"

"Oh, shut it."

"What do you have first?" Bear asked. I looked down and felt like crying.

"Oh no." At everyone's quizzical glances, I sighed. "I don't even wanna say it. Just...look."

"Oh my god. I didn't even know he had an Epsilon class," Bear said in surprise. Neither did I, man. He didn't exactly seem like the type to take on apprentices. I pitied those poor souls.

"I can't believe anyone made the cut," Alex added.

"I wonder what torture methods he's gonna use on you," Dix put in. I shot her a look. "What? Just being honest."

Antonio and I began the long walk to the PE field. I was mentally preparing myself for the pain that was sure to come, and tried to steel myself. Neither of us said anything until we were as close as we could go without anyone else seeing us.

"When I die, you can't have my virtual reality screen," I whispered.

"I didn't think I would. You're weirdly protective over that thing," he whispered back.

"Aven let me have something other than that dumb knife. No wonder I'm protective about it."

We trudged over to the three other students, who were all fully stretched.

"We should probably do that," Antonio noted.

I gave him a no duh look. "Yeah." We kind of avoided the other students, mainly because they all looked old (er than us) and scary. Halfway through warm up, though, one of them came and introduced herself.

"Hey, I'm Renske and welcome to your imminent doom!" She said with sarcastic cheer. I gave an unenthusiastic 'yay', while Antonio nodded seriously.

"Can't wait," he deadpanned. The girl grinned over at her classmates.

"Yo, these two might actually be decent. Get your butts over here and introduce yourselves!" I decided I liked her.

The two older boys jogged over. The black-haired guy spoke first. "Congrats on making it into hell. You don't get used to it."

"Well that's reassuring," I muttered. Renske heard me and grinned widely.

"Stop complaining, Jet. It's not that bad," the second red-head boy put in.

The one who I guess was Jet scowled. "How the hell are you so happy when we've got PE in the morning?" Valid question. He fixed his eyes on me sceptically. Uh oh. "This is your first year at Akarnae, right? How'd you get into this class?" I shrugged and decided to keep my mouth shut about my other high level classes. Didn't need these guys thinking I was a freak on the first lesson. No siree.

"Hey, if I had a choice, I would've chosen like Alpha or something."

"You're actually strong, though! And fit! I couldn't even walk here without getting tired. I'm destined to fail this class," Antonio whined, placing his head on his knees. I patted his hair reassuringly.

"And the best part is, you can't move classes, so you're failing for the rest of the year!" I said perkily.

"So not helping."

"HEY!" I closed my eyes, then looked at Renske. She nodded grimly. "LET'S GO GO GO, TEN LAPS, THEN WE'LL TEST YOUR SWIMMING SKILLS. HURRY UP!" The other three took off immediately, and I yanked Antonio to his feet before sprinting after them. Slacking in this class was not high on my to do list. And trust me, I did actually have one of those.

"Oh, crap, we're falling behind!" I yelled in Antonio's ear, and I knew we wouldn't be able to catch up.

Unless...

"We're gonna have to use our...abilities!" I shouted at him. Before you ask why the heck I'm shouting, the wind was really loud, okay? Especially when you're running.

"What? Are you crazy? We don't even...are you crazy?" He repeated loudly. My grim expression must've been enough answer.

"We're gonna fail this class otherwise," I told him. He sighed, before closing his eyes.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," he muttered under his breath. "You're on, Sparky." Then he started full on sprinting.

"Oh, no, you don't!" I closed my eyes, focused on embracing my Meyarin side, and picked up my pace.

We caught up to the others. And then overtook them. I think we were so afraid of Finn coming after us with his new torture weapon - which, FYI, looked way more vicious than his last one - and we just decided to leg it. Once we'd half lapped them, I slowed down.

"Don't wanna be too good." So we ran the whole ten laps and finished a full minute ahead of our classmates, who were eyeing us weirdly.

"How'd you do that?" Red head asked.

Jet nodded, eyes narrowed. "Pretty good for two newbies." Renske shut them up.

"Hey, they're both better than you two, so shut it."

"Thank you, Renske," Finn said before turning to me and Antonio. "Whatever that was, keep it up." Maybe being part Meyarin was a good thing, in some aspects. Minus the whole 'obeying Aven's every whim' part of it. Which kinda sucked.

"I hope you've been practising your swimming," Finn grinned and rubbed his hands together like some evil genius. Why was he allowed to teach? I mean really, who made that executive decision? "I've got a leisurely drill set up for you."

Turns out, 'leisurely drill' actually translated into 'freaking ten kilometre race'.

Of course, I hadn't brought togs, and neither had Antonio, so he had to swim in his yoga pants while I was stuck in my bulky shorts. This was really not going well.

I peeled off my shirt (which was practically soaked with sweat, even though I wasn't that tired), and threw it on the ground in disgust. Making sure my pockets were empty, I stepped up to the edge of the water cautiously. A rough shove nearly made me lose my balance, but I recovered and spun around to face Jet.

"Listen, I get that you're new and wanna impress everyone, but you're not the top of the school, so quit acting like it." Anyone else would've shrugged it off. But since the whole 'being above everyone else' charade hit a little close to home with my parents, I pushed him back. I was slightly taller than him, so it wasn't hard. Lifting one eyebrow, I folded my arms. Time to show him not to mess with the Sparky!

Okay, I just totally killed my vibe.

"No, you freaking listen, pal. I bet I've been through more in my life than you ever will in yours. I bet I could fight you right now. Why? Because I bet you're not in Epsilon Combat." I let that sink in before turning around again. "Or Epsilon Archery. Maybe I'll just happen to let an arrow loose in your direction. And man, being Epsilon, I must have pretty good aim." I winked at him, and gestured to where his red headed friend was waiting. "I think you're friend's waiting for you. I'd suggest you head off before you embarrass yourself anymore. Yeah?" He scowled and opened his mouth before deciding against it and storming away.

"Making enemies on your first day, Oli? You're gonna be sooo popular," Antonio drawled. I grinned at him.

"Yep, that's me. Total socialite."

"The fact your parents actually are socialites makes that so much more ironic."

I stared at him dully. "No duh, 'Varez. That's why I said it."

I turned and jumped into the water. And damn it was cold. Renske turned to me from where she was treading water.

"Taking on Jet already, huh? Dumb move."

I shrugged. "Hey, he started it."

"You're not seven. Don't try pull that 'it was him, not me!' crap." She pitched her voice higher when she was quoting me, and I frowned.

"I don't sound like that," I protested.

"Sure. He's not actually that bad. You just have to...earn his respect." I jumped when I felt something wrap around my leg.

"Really." She grinned.

"Truly."

I gave her a doubtful look. "So, beating him in the run didn't work?"

"Beating him at his own game? No, it didn't really impress him. Annoy, maybe."

"Well, that's great." I realized that none of the others actually seemed to be overly tired. The only strain I was feeling was from trying to use too much of my Meyarin powers. But it wasn't like I was exhausted or anything. I bet I just jinxed myself.

"I don't know your name."

I arched an eyebrow at her and tried to kick the...whatever it was off of my knee. "Do you need to know my name?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I like to know the names of the people I'm going to beat." Oh no she didn't! I was so not going to let her beat me now.

"Oli Jones. And you're on," I replied, trying to ignore the suspiciously squishy mud at the bottom of the lake (I'm talking sewer level squishy here, folks).

"Well, Jones, I'm at least a year older than you, and I've been in this class for three years. You've been here for one day. What makes you think you can win?" She challenged. Good point.

"You might be surprised." No, she wouldn't. I was gonna lose this majorly and be totally embarrassed afterwards. Ah, well.

"On your marks, get-GO!" I wasn't prepared for the call, but apparently the other three had anticipated that. I exchanged a glance with Antonio before I dived under the water.

And nearly choked on a plant.

So maybe I over-exaggerate a lot of stuff so it's more interesting to read, or just because I'm just a dramatic i***t. But I was not kidding when the plant nearly choked me. Honest. I stood up, sinking to my knees in the stupid mud, and pulled the thing out of my throat. I recognized the plant in horror and turned to face Finn, who was lounging boredly on the bank.

"Hey, I just swallowed this stuff, and I'm pretty sure it's poisonous!" I called up to him. He looked at me in disgust before laying back down. What kind of teacher lets their students get poisoned, I ask you? What kind of dumb teacher?

When I didn't move, and Renske and Jet were nearly back at my end, he glanced back up at me.

"Why're you still here, Jones? GET MOVING!" I knew he wouldn't budge, so I just sucked it up and started swimming. By this point, even Antonio was in front of me, and I was feeling particularly embarrassed when I felt something catch on the waist of my shorts. What the hell? I turned back to see Finn standing up, wielding a...fishing rod? I tried to unhook the catch from myself, but it didn't work. Crap. A second later, I felt a jolt from the hook.

"Finn, wha-agh," My yell turned into a grunt as a shock of pain washed over me. What was he doing?

"GET MOVING, OR I'LL DO IT AGAIN!" That was enough motivation for me, so I started swimming as fast as I could towards the other end of the lake. I was already exhausted when I was halfway there, but Finn had really upgraded his tech. Stupid Finn.

Needless to say, I finished last.

I also finished a full ten minutes after everyone else, so when I climbed out of the lake and collapsed in a heap on the grass, the whole Alpha class were watching me and trying not to laugh. I told them they were lucky they weren't in Epsilon, and they stopped laughing after that. It also meant I was fifteen minutes late to my next class. But what I had failed to notice before PE was that my next class was Combat.

Who the hell designed my timetable?

So I rocked up to the Arena late, still dripping from PE since I hadn't had time to change, and I'd forgotten my shirt on the field where some poor Alpha shmuck was being forced to dispose of it. The rest of the class was already there, and they all watched me as I walked in.

"Oh, great," I muttered, then plastered a smile on my face and strutted in like I owned the place because, please, I'm Jordan Sparker. Or Oli Jones. Take your pick.

"Mr Jones. You're late," Karter said, eyeing my appearance with distaste.

"Yeah," I answered absentmindedly, scanning the rest of the class. There were six of them. Alex, Kaiden, Declan. Nick, Sebastian, Brendan. This was gonna be great.

"And why are you late, exactly?" I snapped my attention back to Karter and gestured to myself.

"I just had PE, dude. Did you expect me to be early?" He kept up his blank look. "Epsilon PE, too. I got a mouthful of some poisonous thing or other, and he didn't let me go to the Med-Ward..." I trailed off as I realized that yeah, I'd swallowed something poisonous. Oh, crap.

"And you didn't go to the Med-Ward after you'd finished?" Karter pressed. I threw my hands up.

"Who's idea was it to give me PE and Combat in a row?" I muttered quietly. I heard a few laughs, and flashed Karter my best smile. "In all due respect, sir, the electric fishing line made me forget about that pretty quick. Plus, I've been feeling weird all morning. Maybe I should go-"

"No," he cut me off. "You decided to come, so you'll participate." I felt my jaw drop.

"But, sir-"

"Not my problem. Pair up!" I just stared in disbelief. "Go on, Jones." I turned towards the others, who were starting to pair up. Alex came over to me.

"I don't know what's up with you, but you can explain while we duel," she said. I nodded, and followed her over to the weapons shed. I was pretty familiar with swords, and I'd seen Alex fight, so I was pretty sure I wouldn't be sliced in half.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you; too bad," she added sweetly, smiling. I grinned and threw my sword in the air, catching it by the hilt.

"Bring it," I said, popping an eyebrow at her awed expression. She thrust her blade towards my neck, which I easily deflected it and countered with a random stab. I wasn't really with it.

"Why are you in so many Epsilon classes?" She asked, parrying my blade away.

"Hell if I know. I just wish I wasn't."

"I so relate to that. But you're in three Epsilon's, right?"

"Plus one Delta. I'm cursed," I replied, jabbing my sword at her again.

She narrowly dodged it. "Are you even paying attention? That could've killed me!"

"But it didn't," I countered, and kept attacking. I figured I didn't have the energy to defend all of her hits, so being on constant offense was my only option. But then she closed her eyes. I pulled back from my attack and stared at her, confused.

"What are you doing? Why are you-?" Her blade suddenly came at me, and I had to jump back to avoid being impaled. She kept fighting, even better than she had before, but her eyes were still closed. What-?

"Are you gonna fight me?" She challenged. I centred my blade, and narrowed my eyes. Okay, she had a trick up her sleeve. But I still had one up mine. I channelled my Meyarin blood again, and countered all of her blows before kicking at her ankle. It was so quick she couldn't block it, and she fell to the ground. I placed my knee on her chest, and held my sword right under her throat.

"Give up?" I asked quietly, my face right near hers.

Her eyes rolled. "Well I can't really say no, can I?"

"What was that?" I asked loudly.

"Yes, I give up. Now get off me, you're dripping." I noticed that my shorts were still soaked and quickly stood up.

"Oops. Sorry," I said, grinning.

"I feel like you don't feel very apologetic," she said dryly. I shrugged

"What can I say? Now I wo-" I was taken off guard when she pounced, knocking me over and pointing her blade right at my chest. "Wha-?"

"Karter didn't say we were finished," she grinned victoriously. "So I win."

"Hey, hey, watch the blade," I said mildly as I saw a cut on my stomach. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, crap. I'm so sorry, I didn't-" Grabbing my sword, I flicked it upwards, causing Alex to lose her hold on her own sword. As she bent down to grab it, I darted behind her and wrapped one arm around her neck, the other one holding my blade steady against her throat yet again.

"You were saying?" I smirked.

"Oh, shut up." This time I waited for Karter's approval before helping her up. As we were walking, my vision started going black at the edges.

"What-" My throat choked up, and I remembered the plant. The stupid plant. I dropped to my knees, gasping for breath. I really hoped Marselle was right about me not being able to die before I got back to Aven, because right now, my chances weren't looking so good.