3 Boys will be Boys

The Great Hall is where all the students eat all their meals and socialize somewhere other than classes. Athena Quinn was making her way to dinner; as she turned the corner, the big wooden doors of the Great Hall burst open with exuberant force. A tall shadowy figure ran out, releasing a bluish-purple mist like a hazy fog into the long hallway. The shadowy figure is in what looked like a blue and green, Silverstorm uniform, tugging the hood from the jacket they were wearing over their face as if to hide their identity. Athena, witnessing this bizarre event, stopped short in her tracks. She ducked behind the curtains covering one of the giant windows lining the hallway as they rushed past her. Even as prefect, Athena had learned early on at this school to avoid Silverstorms due to their terrible reputation, especially the upperclassman. Athena was the first fourth year to make it into the prefects in history. Her parents died when she was young, so she is a full-time resident of Beacon Academy, which allowed her to get ahead in her studies. She had coppery blonde hair that would reflect the dime lights hanging in the hallways like rays of sunlight. She had fair skin with mesmerizing green eyes that held so much kindness and love. However, she was a spitfire; if you messed with her or her friends, you were going to be sorry. From what she could tell, this Silverstorm looked about her age, probably a fourth or fifth year. Athena assumed this Silverstorm was most likely in a few of her classes. The mysterious figure dashed by one of the lamps on the wall, allowing Athena to get a glimpse of his face before he disappeared down long the dimly lit hallway. Athena chuckled to herself. Jackson Whittemore. She then realized why he was trying to hide his face - boils and blisters covered his face and his skin resembled that of the blue gremlin that lives in the forest.

A chorus of laughter rang through the hallway from a group of boys hiding in the corner.

"Did you see his face? It was so blue and disfigured!?" one laughed meanly.

"Ebony gave it to him this time," another agreed enthusiastically.

"He deserved it," the first one exclaimed proudly. Athena slowly made her way toward the boisterous group of boys, being as silent as possible, so they could not hear her coming. After hearing enough of these ill-mannered boys go on and on, she stepped out into view and cleared her throat, making them jump so high they almost managed to jump out of their skin.

"Jeez, Quinn." Tucker's look of surprise quickly morphed into a sheepish smirk, his black eyes running up and down Athena's body appreciatively, which was not unusual. Tucker Winston also a fourth year and a massive flirt that has probably slept through half their class by now. He never misses a chance to flirt with any girl that will talk to him. He had long hair for a guy and seldom ran a brush through it, an athletic build from playing football for Beacon Academy, and lightly tanned skin.

"Hello, boys," she said coolly, taking the time to shoot an appraising stare at each of the boys. Tucker was leaning against the wall with an almost rehearsed casualness. A look of superiority on his face as he crossed his arms. He met Athena's green eyes with his equally sharp black ones while Jason Marks hid behind him in the shadows, nervously chewing his lip. Jason Marks is Tucker's right-hand man, a silent partner in crime. They are on the football team together and look quite similar in build. However, Jason is always very well groomed in comparison to Tucker. His medium-length brown hair always combed perfectly, and his soft brown eyes were always full of energy.

Isaac Grayson, the only one of these self-christened groups that call themselves 'The Troublemakers', was the only one she can stand to talk to. He has a smooth British accent that she could listen to for hours. He stood just behind and to the left of Tucker. The dark circles under his eyes stood out prominently on his pale skin, though his crystal blue eyes still held their same friendliness if you could see them through his dirty blonde hair that always fell over his eyes.

"Hey, Athena," He greeted her, a strained smile formed on his lips. He did that a lot: he faked a smile so everyone would think he was okay even though he hardly ever slept and was in a perpetual state of grouchiness. He did it so nobody would worry about him, though Athena still did.

"Hi, Isaac." a genuine smile appearing on her face. Empathy was both a blessing and a curse, and Athena had a lot of it. She returned her gaze to Tucker, and his absurdly long brown hair in a tangled mess, probably a result of football practice that afternoon… probably. He looked at her with a charming smile.

"Why aren't you guys at dinner?" she inquired, eyebrows raised delicately. "I thought teenage boys never stopped eating." The trio shifted uncomfortably, looking to each other for ideas.

"Lost me… wand, yeah my wand is missing," Jason finally blurted out, looking at the other boys, who had surprised looks on their faces. "Yeah, we thought some Silverstorm might have taken it and hid it somewhere over here, so… we came looking for it." He shrugged. "Guess it's not here." He tugged on Tucker's sleeve as a sign to follow him. Jason took a step forward to leave, only to be blocked by Athena. "You do realize your wand is sticking out of your sock, don't you?" A smile quickly formed on Athena's face as she took in their reactions.

"I … crap." Jason glanced down to see his wand sticking out of the top of his Nike tube sock, flinching as Tucker flicked his ear in exasperation.

"Well … uh … honestly, Quinn. Can't a group of friends simply take a nice walk around the school without being interrogated?" Tucker feigned innocence, widening his eyes and pouting like a child.

"A group of friends, sure," she responded, shrugging. "But last time I checked, there were four of you in this little group." Her eyes scanned over each of their faces. "Striker … Maverick … Moose … but no Ebony?" She cocked her head to the side mockingly.

'The Troublemakers' all have the irritating code names they insist you call them—Tucker Winston aka. Striker a nickname derived from his football career. Isaac Grayson, aka. Maverick got his name solely from his personality; he is very independent and a little unorthodox sometimes. Jason Marks, aka. Moose also got his nickname from football. He has a solid build and is very prideful and protective of his friends. Beckett Kramer aka. Ebony is a very mysterious, intelligent, dark person. Not many people call them by these names, mostly themselves hoping it will catch on.

"Where ever could he be?" questioned Athena. The boys looked to each other once more for a quick answer before Tucker's voice cut short the other two's uncertain mumbles.

"Library," he said brightly. "Studying, you know. He's very intellectual like that."

"Or..." suggested Athena, "...he's right behind me with that ridiculously ugly invisibility cloak of his." Tucker's eyes widened to the point that it looked like they were going to pop out of his head in surprise, involuntarily looking over Athena's head at the supposedly empty hallway behind her. "W-what invisibility cloak?" he managed to say, swallowing hard at the unimpressed look on her face.

"I think she means this one, Striker." The cheerful voice echoed around the space as Beckett Kramer appeared out of thin air, holding up that ugly piece of cloth with a grin. It is a hideous blue-green color with a flower pattern. He got the invisibility cloak from his father before he died, and now he never goes anywhere without it, whether it be to cause problems or just to remind him of his father. Athena didn't turn around, instead, raising an eyebrow at Tucker's stammered attempts to find a way to explain what just happened.

"Don't worry, Striker, she found out about the clock a few nights ago." Beckett joined the huddled group, elbowing Athena in the side jokingly as he slowly passed her, earning a vicious look from her emerald eyes. His smile dropped before quickly returning in a matter of seconds.

"I fell asleep in the common room. Studying." Athena said, looking at Tucker pointedly.

"I was on my way out to see coach about practice," Beckett continued, "when I tripped over Quinn's unbelievably large pile of books and unfortunately woke her up in the process."

"And I found it a bit odd that half of his leg was missing, so he had to tell me." Athena finished.

Tucker shot a look that could kill at Beckett. "Why didn't you just lie, idiot?" Tucker demanded in exasperation. Beckett let out a snort of laughter, eyeing the petite redhead who was glowering at him and his best friend.

"Because I don't have a death wish," Beckett said matter-of-factly. "Seriously, dude, what kind of moron would even try to pull one over on the smartest witch in this place?" Athena looked at him in disbelief. He winked at her flirtatiously, grinning at the blush that appeared on her perfect skin as she glared at the floor.

"Besides. She would never turn us in, would you, Quinn?" his usual chocolate brown eyes holding an intense seriousness behind his glasses, even though he still had a cocky smile on his face. Athena shook her head slightly, "I couldn't care less about what you do. Just don't annoy me with the stupid thing, and we won't have a problem." She looked at each of them in the eye directly.

"She's still a prefect, Ebony," groaned Tucker. "You can't say that she won't turn us in because she might not have a choice one day." He met Athena's eyes. "Am I wrong?" he says, crossing his arms matter-of-factly. "Yes." Athena's shoulders square, and her chin came up, daring him to question her. "You are wrong. When I say something, I mean it, and when I make a promise, I keep it even if that means having to lie for you idiots." Athena said. Issac let out a small laugh, earning a nasty glare from Tucker.

"I trust her," said Beckett quietly. His eyes have a warm glow in the dim lighting as he looks down at her, his irises glowing a warm amber. Athena's body tensed at the simple sentence, the implication giving her these weird goosebumps she can't explain. Beckett turned toward Tucker, who rolled his eyes at his overly confident friend. "The your stupid or insane," Tucker shot back snarkily. "In case you hadn't noticed, you two-" he made a gesture between Athena and Beckett, "-aren't friends."

"Very true," replied Athena sharply. "But, the Silverstorms' has been tormenting me for years, and I prefer you over them any day. So if this cloak is what you use to give them a little retribution, I'm all for it. Hell, I will even help you." She looked at Tucker coldly. "Prefect or not."

Isaac, who had been silently observing the situation with a smug smile, let out a low murmur. "Merlin. It does paint a beautiful picture. Can you imagine?" His eyes lit up with sudden excitement. "Two of the best minds in our year, if not the school, plotting together." He gestured to Beckett and Athena enthusiastically. "And just think, she has an entirely different social scene to us, Potions club, study groups… and prefects can get into so many rooms that we can't. It would-"

"Hold on there, Grayson," Athena interrupted.

"I'm not saying I want to … be one of you. I'm saying that I'm willing to help occasionally. If I ever need to." she shrugged. "Seems like you were doing fine without me."

"Good," said Tucker. "You wouldn't make a good 'Troublemaker' anyways. You're too… pure." He flashed a suggestive smirk at her. "That said, I have a feeling you wouldn't be too hard to corrupt."

"Wow, thanks, Winston. I'll be sure to keep that in mind in case I lose every shred of self-respect I possess." Her eyes reflected the light from the flickering bulb on the wall as she glared at him. Isaac swallowed a snort of laughter at Tucker's dumbstruck state, creating a noise that sounded like a cross between a sneeze and a hiccup. Tucker shot him a look, his usual sulky-angry-misunderstood-dark-knight attitude returning with force.

"Well, uh, great talking to you, Athena. We're going to go... " Isaac slipped past her into the hallway, distancing himself from Tucker. "Hold it," Athena ordered as the other three tried to leave. She turned to Beckett, her eyebrows raised, and her bottom lip was falling into a natural pout that caused highly inappropriate thoughts to race through his head. "What did you do to Whittemore?"

Beckett smirked at her cute little 'Prefect' voice. She watched him warily as he put his hand on the wall behind her to lean in, his eyes flickering dangerously as he took in her flushed reaction. "Wouldn't you like to know," he said quietly? Athena fidgeted as his eyes moved to her lips. Beckett chuckled. "Later, Quinn." Athena glared at him as he pushed off the wall effortlessly, driving with an irritating natural grace. He flashed her an amused grin before turning away, he and the other boys making their way down the hallway and into the Great Hall.

Athena was left standing in the corner, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. A frown still on her face, trying to figure out why her heart was beating so fast.