Ava pushed through the doors into the cafeteria, instantly bombarded by too many sounds and smells to be comfortable. With a grimace, she hunted down her packmates, sliding into a seat across from Abigail when she found them, letting her backpack fall to the floor beside her uselessly.

Ava waited for Abigail to notice her arrival, but the blonde’s eyes stayed glued to her phone. Ava reached over to steal a french fry off her tray, disappointed when she still didn’t get a reaction. Finally, Ava settled for waving a hand in front of Abigail’s face. Her friend blinked, then broke into a smile.

“Hey, didn’t see you there,” Abigail said, stating the obvious. “How was class?” Ava made a face and broke into a smile.

“Can I go home yet?” Ava asked bitterly. “Homeroom was the worst.”

“Oh yeah, what happened? You said you’d explain later,” Abigail reminded her.

“Just some asshole talking shit about Inhumans,” Ava said, stealing another fry. “Called me a freak and a monster, asked if I’d ever killed anyone. The usual.” Abigail frowned at her flippant tone.

“You didn’t get into a fight, did you?” She asked suspiciously, eyes swimming with concern.

“Saints, I wish,” Ava sighed. Even after all the time she’d spent away from shifter society, she’d never stopped believing in their saints, never stopped imagining her namesake watching over her. It was a child’s hope, but the only one she could never let go of.

“Then what happened?”

“Some guys stood up and basically told him to go fuck himself. He got more pissed, and the teacher sent him away. The end,” Ava finished with a flourish of her hands. “What had you so distracted when I got here?”

“I was texting the girl I got partnered with,” Abigail gushed. “She’s super sweet, and she’s going to eat lunch with us. She’s bringing her brother too, since apparently he isn’t social enough for her liking,” Abigail added with a pointed look at Ava, that the shifter ignored.

“What’s her name?” Ava asked, pushing thoughts of her own mentor aside.

“Diana,” Abigail told her, beaming. “Oh, here they come now.” Abigail waved excitedly at someone behind Ava.

Diana arrived first, sliding into the seat beside Abigail and smiling at Ava, displaying perfect white teeth. Her emerald eyes were bright with excitement, and the freckles on her face were like clusters of stars. Ava couldn’t help but be a little envious of her flame colored hair. The Alvarado family was just full of beautiful people, despite none of them looking alike.

“Hey,” Diana said cheerily. “I’m Diana. You must be Ava. It’s great to meet you,” she added. Ava nodded in response, not smiling, but not altogether unwelcoming. That changed when Diana’s brother sat down beside Ava, and jade eyes met gold.

“This is my brother, Ry,” Diana introduced. “He’s a senior, like you guys. He’s a mentor, too. Ry, who were you partnered with?” He just nodded at Ava in response, who scowled back at him.

“Oh, wow, that’s great,” Diana said, still smiling. “So what do you think of our school so far Ava?”

“I could do without some of the people,” Ava said frankly. “I guess it isn’t the worst place I’ve been. Does feel a bit like a prison, though.” Diana laughed at that, a light, airy sound that made the whole room feel a little brighter. Ava could see why Abigail liked her so much; she had an infectious joy that not even Ava could fight.

“Hopefully it gets better,” Diana said. “It’s really not all bad,” she promised. Ava nodded, distracted by a body bumping into her right side.

She looked over to find the twins shoving each other, Blake pushing Isaac into her. Ava smiled a bit and grabbed Isaac’s shoulder, pushing him back into his brother.

“Hey, watch it,” Ava said lightly. “I’m eating here.”

“No you’re not,” Isaac objected, gesturing to the empty spot on the table in front of her. “And don’t push me.” Ava smirked and ruffled his hair instead, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to hold him in place.

“Not the hair,” Isaac whined. “I spent all morning on this. And why just me? Blake was fucking around too.”

“Watch the fucking language,” Ava admonished, grinning. “ So how’s the first day going?”

“My mentor seems really cool,” Blake said. “He’s captain of the boxing club, and he likes my favorite band. He’s a little loud, but that’s cool I guess.”

“That’s great,” Ava told him with a grin. “And what about you Isaac?” she asked, releasing him.

Isaac glowered at her for a moment, running a hand through his hair roughly. “Mine’s nice, I guess. She likes to read. And when someone said something about us she told them off, so that was cool of her.”

“What did they say?” Ava asked, frowning. The twins exchanged a look and shook their heads at her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Blake said. “Our mentors stood up for us. You don’t have to kick anyone’s ass today,” he added with a smile. Ava frowned, but let it go, mainly because Abigail was calling her name.

“What’s up?” Ava asked, turning back to face the others. Abigail was studying her schedule, Diana looking over her shoulder.

“What do you have next?” Abigail asked, not looking up at her.

“Advanced photography,” Ava responded, glancing over at Ry when she felt him tense slightly beside her. He was studiously not meeting her gaze, so she looked back to Abigail. “You?”

“Looks like government. Diana?” The redhead’s consulted her own schedule, smoothed out on the table in front of her.

“English,” she said, tucking the paper into her pocket. “What about you Ry?”

“Art four,” he responded, looking like he was debating saying something else. He hesitated only a moment before saying it. “It’s in the same classroom as photography, since they’re both pretty small. I can show you how to get there, if you want.”

“I know how to get there,” Ave snapped. Abigail kicked her under the table, hard, but she didn’t regret it. She didn’t like the feeling that he was trying to help her.

“Good for you. I’ll still walk with you,” he informed her before standing to dump his tray, Diana close behind. Ava waited till they were a fairly good distance away before slamming her fist on the table.

“Asshole,” she snarled, earning an admonishing look from Abigail. “Who does he think he is?”

“Your fucking peer mentor,” Abigail snapped, blue eyes flashing with irritation. It was pretty hard to piss Abigail off, but Ava had apparently succeeded. “God, what the hell’s your problem Ava?”

“I don’t like him,” Ava said, scowling. “I don’t need his help. I can handle myself.”

“That’s not the point, damn it. Anyone with eyes can see you can take care of yourself. He’s supposed to be someone you can talk to, and a friendly face. God knows we could use some of those,” she added bitterly.

“Not ‘we,’” Ava said quietly. Abigail froze, eyes like glaciers boring into Ava.

“What was that?” Now Ava had really done it. But she still didn’t back down.

“You aren’t Inhuman, Abby. They don’t hate you like they hate us,” Ava explained. “They don’t judge you like they do us.” Abigail’s ice melted to raging fire, fury written in every line of her face.

“I know how it feel to be judged, Ava,” she snarled in Ava’s face. “You don’t have the monopoly on shitty lives.” Ava winced, realizing she’d gone too far.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said quietly. “You’re right, I’m being a bitch. I’m just-” she stopped, unable to force the words out. Ava shook her head and met Abigail’s gaze again. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” Abigail’s face softened, and she reached out to clasp Ava’s hand in hers.

“It’s okay, I get it. This isn’t easy on you. Just try to go a little bit easier on Ry, alright? He’s just trying to be nice.” Ava grimaced a bit, but nodded.

“But if he tries small talk I’m kicking his ass,” Ava said, smiling. Abigail laughed.

“You have my permission,” she said. “Now hurry up and get to class, he’s waiting on you.” Ava groaned, but still stood and made her way over to where Ry was waiting.

“Lead the way,” she said, voice monotone. He smiled a bit at her, obviously pleased she’d decided to accept his help. She fought back the urge to claw his face off. This is going to be a long year, she thought as she followed him to their class.