an ending, the beginning {closed... maybe?}

The faint, faint sound of what Eliza was pretty sure was Fleetwood Mac drummed under the roar of the car. She had turned the radio down during her last attempt at negotiating about an hour back, she and her mother had sat in the following silence since then. Eliza, with her arms crossed, her feet leaving prints on the front window (which she knew her mother hated) as she did everything in her power to silently let her aggression be known. And her mother, completely unsympathetic to her turmoil. A passing sign brought to her attention that they were close, which meant her chance for escape was quickly dwindling.

"Mom, please. I can't do this. Let's go home." Her voice was soft and begging, but there was an underlying power to it, a last ditch effort to change her mother's mind before she was shipped off for good.

"Now Eliza," Her mother began, and Eliza instantly knew it was a lost cause. "I know that change can be scary, and that this is going to all be very new for you, but you’re not changing my mind this time. You need to learn how to control your power - "

"I can control my power perfectly fine." Eliza mumbled under her breath, realizing too late that this was a mistake. Her mother looked over, narrowing her eyes. Ears like a hawk.

"You know what? You're right. What you need to learn is how to not use it. How to live without it for once. I'm sick of being manipulated, Lif. I'm sick of you manipulating everyone! Do you know what I’ve been through these last few months? You got a man fired! Or have you not seen the news? Because it was all over it for weeks! Who knows how many people you have wrapped around your fingers - and what you've been doing - "

"Mom I told you, it wasn't like that - "

"So I'm out of options, Eliza. This place? This is it. If this doesn't help you… then I don't know what else to do.”

Silence filled the car, matching tears flowed between the pair. Her mother shut off the car, and Eliza realized they’d finally made it. The school loomed in front of her, large and ominous. Neither of them made any move to get out. She stared ahead at the school, sinking in defeat.

A few months ago, Eliza had been on top of the world. Head cheerleader, queen bee, her Instagram had more followers than anyone else at her school (perhaps her proudest accomplishment), and all as a sophomore. And finally, finally first in her class. Was she the smartest? The most deserving? Technically speaking, no. Had she used a little bit of... persuasion to get there? Sure, but that didn't mean it wasn't hard work in its own right. The number of people she’d had to talk into writing her papers, the teachers she’d had to constantly convince to bump her grades? She’d been working nonstop to get to the top, and in her mind, she deserved to be there.

But it all had to come crashing down eventually. Not everyone was convinced by Eliza’s perfect persona, it seemed.

An anonymous tip - an alleged affair with her teacher, and in one fell swoop, his career and her old life were history. They never found any solid proof, and they never would. Still, nobody could explain her sudden jump in grades, and why he seemed to be so wrapped around her finger - which was ridiculous, because after all, who wasn’t? Still, the scandal ruined her reputation, and finally woke her mother up to the years of manipulation.

Eliza had never wanted to go to Beata. She loved the life that she had, a life which she could shape to be whatever she wanted. Ignorance was her weapon, and at Beata, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get away with anything fun. Humans were so much easier to trick, after all. Still, she was slowly realizing that she had no choice. There was no getting out of this, so she had to make the most of it. Or whatever. She didn’t need her old school, her old life. She had the power to make wherever she went her’s. And that’s what she planned on doing.

With new fire and without a word, she stepped out of the car and began grabbing her bags. “Lif, let me help you - “

”No, mom. You want to send me off, I’ll show you I can do just fine on my own!” Still, she didn’t realize how much she had actually brought - did she really need this much shit? Her mother sighed in annoyance, but she was used to her child’s dramatics, and watched as she struggled to gather all of her belongings in a clumsy performance.

“I’m sorry, Liffey. I think this will be good for you. I really do.” With that, her mother gave her one last look before driving off. Eliza wouldn’t meet her eye, but watched until the car disappeared in the distance, her bravado quickly fading. She turned towards the school, realizing she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She turned, and began her intimidating trek through the gates, clearly struggling to carry all of her bags. Every few feet, she'd have to adjust the bags, or one would fall, until she gave up and threw everything down in a defeated huff. Tears began blurring her vision, and - Okay. So maybe she wasn't cut out for being alone after all.

Shit.

Beata Academy had beautiful grounds to sightsee and walk around, even as bitter jealousy chipped away at him. Like most of the city, he knew just about every corner; his walls with him and his trusted girl had taken him just about anywhere. They left no stone unturned.

But they couldn't stay for long. Roman often stuck out like a sore thumb; lack of uniform, lack of weapon, lack of gift... Just him and his dog, totally stuck on the outside.

He always tried to keep to himself, talking to others often lead to trouble, but he hustled over all the same once he spotted a new girl struggling. "H-Hey! Let me help you!" His gaze drifted over her many, many bags. He hardly had even seen her face yet.

Eliza had been too busy wallowing in self pity to notice anyone else around at first. She looked up, momentarily looking very caught off guard before pulling herself together, wiping any tears away before they could fall and giving a small, thankful smile. A genuine one, which was rare. She knew what she probably looked like, a girl stranded in a sea of baggage. (And if that wasn't a metaphor for her life, what was?) She let her moment of weakness go, because that just wasn't really her thing, and assessed the situation.

Sure, she had just talked up the fact that she didn't need anyone to help her, but getting people to do things for her was like, her whole thing. And he had offered on his own, so it was coming straight from the heart, completely free from her intervention. How could she refuse? "Oh my God, you're a literal knight in shining armor. Thank you so much!" As she spoke, she handed the boy several bags (the majority of them, actually) leaving him no chance to change his mind or run. Honestly, guys were so easy. She never really had to put in any work to persuade them to help her. Half the time they just offered, like this sap.

The young man beamed up, a little more than he should have. A knight in shining armor? That was a first. He couldn't say that he didn't like it. "Hey, no problem! Let me just - " Roman caught one bag of hers, then two, three, another small fourth one - God, there were more than he thought. No wonder she was struggling! He wasn't about to let himself look bad now though. He was devoted, puffing out his chest and heaving all the bags he could. No weakness.

Yuki stared on in confusion.

"So, hey - where are we going with these?" He muffled over some bag. "You're new right?"

Eliza for the first time noticed the dog trailing behind the boy. He seemed unphased by its presence so she could only assume it was his. She looked down at one of the two bags she had left in her hands, this one with a mesh front, where she could just make out her cat peacefully dozing away, unaffected by her struggles. Figures.

She had already began walking confidently before she realized she actually didn't know where she was going. She faltered a few steps in front of Roman, unaware of the fact that he'd have to skid to a stop to not hit her. "Huh. She turned, a helpless kind of smile on her face as she shrugged. "I'm actually not sure where I'm going, now that you mention it. But! I'm sure we can figure it out together. It'll be a little adventure." She turned forward again, trekking on. He spoke again, and with it reminded her of her situation, dimming her overly sunny mood a bit. "Yeah, I'm new. Don't remind me." She laughed. It didn't reach her eyes.