"That would be great." The words came as a whisper, for Liz saw Marc heading towards her. Something about the guy seriously creeped her out. "Let's go." She pulled Isabel by the arm and started to quicken her pace away from Marc, whose footsteps thudded behind them. Isabel quickly got the signal, and matched her stride with Liz's. They were ten feet away from the doors when Liz felt a hand on her shoulder and a voice in her ear.

"Liz, I need to talk to you," Marc's voice said. Liz turned around slowly.

"What about, Marc?" Her voice was low, breathy. Marc lifted his eyebrows.

"Alone." One word. One syllable. A thousand different meanings. Isabel held tightly Liz's arm, daring Marc to go ahead with his plan.

"Iz, it's okay." Liz gently pulled her arm out of Isabel's grasp and walked up to Marc. "I'll be right back. Wait for me," she called over her shoulder as Marc hurried her to an empty classroom. Once there, she set her books on an empty desk and crossed her arms over her chest. "You've got five minutes." He didn't waste any time.

"Liz, why are you afraid of me?" His admission surprised her. She squinted her eyes, trying to make sense of his question.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. This afternoon you walked away, like you were scared or something. Then every time I tried to talk to you today, you ran away. And just now, you and Isabel ignored me. What's going on? I didn't do anything to you." He sounded hurt, and his eyes reflected his pain. Yet Liz still regarded him carefully, afraid it was all a ploy.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" She asked him softly, measuring her words.

"Gee, I don't know, Liz. You tell me." It was a sarcastic remark. Liz felt anger build up in her chest.

"Marc, you're new here. You have no idea how I act or how I am. For all you know, today was a normal, every day thing. You have no right to pass judgment on me, someone you just met. I don't know what your problem is, but you need to get your story straight before you start making accusations." Her eyes flashed and she turned on her heel, picking up her books before proceeding to the door.

"Where are you going?" Marc asked, confusion and anger creeping into his voice.

"Your five minutes are up," she replied stiffly, walking out the door. Isabel met her halfway, indicating that she felt something was wrong.

"I heard yelling," she explained.

"There's nothing to worry about Isabel. He's just a jerk, who gets his pleasure in a twisted way," Liz assured her. She left it at that as they walked into the bright sunlight.

Liz could see Max sitting in the jeep, one hand on the steering wheel, the other in his jacket pocket as he waited for Isabel. Upon looking again, Liz saw that he was not alone. A very attractive blonde was standing next to him, smiling and batting her eyelashes furiously. "I guess Max is pretty popular with the girls now," Liz remarked, slowing her pace.

"Nah. She's just new, so she doesn't know the rules yet," Isabel assured her, pulling her arm to make her hurry. Liz couldn't mistake the look of relief on Max's face when Isabel walked up, and seeing it gave Liz some sort of sick pleasure. At least he's not throwing himself at every girl, she thought.

Liz walked a little behind Isabel, unsure of what to do. She didn't want to seem to eager, but she wanted to get this girl away from Max. She took in a deep breath and walked faster, making the few steps between herself and the car much quicker. "Hey Liz," Max said in a soft voice, looking intently at her.

"Hey," she breathed, quickly getting into the back seat. The girl still stood by Max's window, looking on the scene with curiosity. Isabel saw this.

"Max, can we go? I told Liz we'd give her a ride home, but I have a lot of homework I have to do, so we need to get home." Max regarded her curiously.

"Since when do you do homework?" Isabel sighed impatiently.

"Since you made the stupidest mistake of your life," she replied sweetly, reaching over and pushing the car into gear.

Liz knew what mistake she was referring to. Isabel and Alex were still friends, Maria and Michael had some competition thing going, but at least they were speaking to each other, and she and Max carefully avoided each other. Is this what our relationship has come to?

Marc watched the scene, carefully concealed by the school's main building. He watched as Liz climbed into the car with the guy he had seen earlier, as the girl Liz was with shoved the car into gear, as the other girl walked away. A smile played at the girl's ruby lips; a demonic smile that Marc knew had many meanings. She met him in his hiding place, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Well?" He looked at her expectantly.

"It's time." Her voice was strong and sure. He nodded and grabbed her hand, connecting her to him. She passed her knowledge, her power, her evilness through their hands until it rushed into his body. She drew back, gasping for breath, her body completely different. Gone were the vibrant blue eyes and shiny blonde hair. In its place were dull hazel eyes and limp hair. He looked upon her with disgust, his own blue eyes shimmering. "You know what to do," she told him before turning on her heel and walking away, a trace of the girl she once was invading her steps. He nodded to her back.