ORIGINAL: SnowFire - 1

[batsutousai]

1

"Hey, squirt, ready to go?"

Edana rolled her eyes at her elder sister, Ally. "Yes," she replied, grabbing her schoolbag and sunglasses. She slipped the sunglasses on quickly, then hurried to join the other girl out on the sidewalk.

The two sisters walked almost peacefully to their high school. Ally was a senior while Edana was just starting her sophomore year. Their high school, Bradeby High was only ten minutes walking distance from their home, where they lived with their parents. As far as the people of the town were concerned, the Spellman family was as normal as they went.

What their fellow townspeople didn't know, was that the Spellman family was part of a group of humans who had somehow been changed back before written history. The Spellmans, and god know how many other families, developed a "magical" ability before their twentieth birthday. Ally's ability was being impossibly brilliant, their mother was able to create a weak light in the palm of her hand when it was dark, and their father had a close bond with earth, enabling him to move it any way he wanted.

As a child, Edana had always dreamt of what her ability might be. Her parents had always told her not to be upset if her ability never manifested, and it made sense that she might not have an ability – though at the time the idea had only made her cry – as she'd been born an albino, someone with no pigment in her skin or eyes, and it had made her weaker than her family.

But Edana couldn't accept that she wouldn't have an ability, not when everyone in her family had and ability, no matter how weak her mother's might be.

Edana's saving grace was her best friend, Seth Redmond, who had no abilities. When they'd been little kids, Seth had found out about her family's abilities and thought they were wonderful, but had hated that he didn't have one. He'd always commiserated with Edana's lack of ability, assuring her that she'd eventually have one, if only she was patient.

"Hey! Yuki!"

Edana turned at the sound of the nickname Seth had given her when he first fell in love with Japanese cartoons – called anime by the fans. "Hey," she replied as he caught up to her. She frowned when she saw the angry mark on his cheek. "Oh, Seth..."

Seth grinned and shrugged off her gentle touch. "I deserved it."

"You never deserve his anger," Ally snapped, glaring at the two sophomores. "Come on, before we're late."

The two younger teens fell into step with Ally and Edana turned back to her friend. "So, if you 'deserved' it, what did you do?"

Seth shrugged. "Found him sprawled out over the kitchen table this morning. Told him he stank and needed a bath. So he hit me. Told me not to mouth off to him."

"You know," Ally offered drily, "most kids would have learned to leave well enough alone after seven years."

"So?"

"Ally, leave it," Edana ordered, shaking her head. "But she has a point, Seth. I know you hate it when he gets drunk and spends all night out, but you shouldn't be antagonizing him in the mornings. Unless you want social services in there?" She eyed him curiously.

Seth grimaced. "Yeah, good point."

Ally had once pointed out to Seth, about five years back, that if social services ever got wind of how his parents neglected him, Seth was likely to get sent off to a foster home somewhere far away. Every once in a while, Edana would have to remind him why he shouldn't be antagonizing his father into hitting him.

As they reached the school, a group of boys stepped out, cracking their knuckles and grinning nastily. At the head of the group stood a boy with a brilliant yellow mohawk, which Edana still wasn't sure why the boy's mother let him do, seeing as how she was about as strict as they came.

"Oh, good morning, Sinclair," Ally said sweetly.

The boy at the lead grimaced at the name and glanced around Ally to find the distinctive white hair of her sister. "Morning, Edana." At those words, his gang moved out of the way, so the two sisters and Seth could pass.

"Good morning, Thunder," Edana replied, patting him gently on the cheek. "Out here to torment the other kids again?"

"Erm..."

"You know, Sinclair, you might as well tell the truth," Ally commented, eyeing him darkly. Ally had never approved of Sinclair's tendency to bully younger children, especially back when they'd been neighbors and he'd bullied a five-year-old Edana. After his family had moved down the road and Ally had beaten him up six or seven times for hurting her sister, Sinclair had sworn to never bother Edana again. Instead, he'd started treating her better than his own little sister.

Edana didn't much approve of Sinclair's beating on younger kids either, but she'd never done anything more than chastise him about it (which had always had better short-term results than Ally beating him up had).

Sinclair sighed and looked back at the curious Edana. "Maybe," he replied evasively.

Edana shook her head and tugged on the strap of her bookbag. "Thunder..."

"There's nothing else to do!" Sinclair tried, wincing and checking to make sure his gang hadn't heard him justifying himself to a sophomore. "I mean, not when Mom drives me over here an hour early every morning."

"You could try reading a book," Seth suggested cheerfully.

"Watch it, geek!"

"Thunder," Edana took his raised fist in one hand and gently made him lower it, "stop threatening Seth. And Seth, stop aggravating him!"

"Just trying to help," Seth mumbled, turning away.

Before Sinclair could say anything, the warning bell rang, making the three teens raise their heads in surprise.

"Crap! We're going to be late!" Seth said, grabbing Edana's hand and half dragging her behind him.

Behind them, Sinclair rounded up his own backpack and hurried to catch up with them, since his gang had already made their own way into the building. "Where's Ally?"

"Already inside, knowing her," Seth replied with a snort. "And you call me a geek."

"You are a geek, you crazy Egyptian."

"Oiy! I'm not Egyptian!"

Edana rolled her eyes at the old argument and tugged Seth's arm when he almost made a wrong turn. "See you at lunch, Thunder!" she called after the other boy.

"Have a good class, Edana!" Sinclair called back before disappearing into the mass of students that were hurrying to class.

Edana and Seth made it into their homeroom just before their teacher did and hurried to their seats in the back of the room, away from the windows. Once there, Edana cautiously took off her sunglasses and put them away. While all her teachers understood that her eyes were sensitive to the light, they asked her not to wear her sunglasses in the class, as it kept them from knowing whether or not she was paying attention. After a couple of meeting with her parents, it was agreed that they would make sure there was always a dark corner for her to sit in, and she would remove her sunglasses during class.

Once the late bell rang, the class fell silent for the school announcements, then stood to do the Pledge. When the loudspeakers cut off, their teacher, Miss Howe, took roll, then made sure they'd all had a good weekend.

Once the niceties were done with, Miss Howe had them pass forward their homework and got to lecturing about The Tempest, which they were working on that month, "What does Prospero hope to gain by separating the men on his brother's ship?"

"I really hated this play," Seth muttered to Edana, who elbowed him. "No, I mean it. It was so pointless."

"You say that about everything we read," Edana whispered back, acting like she was paying attention.

"Yeah? They pick stupid stuff at this school," Seth replied.

"And what were your thoughts on this play, Mr Redmond?" Miss Howe asked from the front of the room, drawing the two students from their quiet conversation. "Any better than Hamlet?"

Seth coughed. "Maybe a bit better than Hamlet, but just as hard to understand," he replied with a straight face.

Miss Howe shook her head at him. "How much did you read, then?"

Seth blinked. "All of it, of course."

The class broke out into giggles. Seth had never finished a book assigned for a class, and everyone knew it. Even Miss Howe was aware of his tendency and asked, "What did Prospero do with his staff?"

"Break and bury it," Seth replied easily, then smiled winningly when Miss Howe looked surprised. "I looked it up online."

Most of the class laughed while Miss Howe shook her head and Edana shoved her friend lightly. Seth proceeded to fall comically out of his chair and declared, "Miss Howe, Edana pushed me!"

"I'm sure you deserved it," Miss Howe replied, then went back to lecturing about the play.

Seth slipped back into his seat and grinned at Edana. The girl just shook her head at him helplessly.

-

Classes were never boring with Seth, and neither was lunch. Edana went to find a seat while her friend walked over to the lunch line to get himself some food. Edana always brought lunch, since her mother refused to let her or Ally eat cafeteria food.

Once she'd found a seat, Edana opened her brown bag and smiled at the note inside from her mother, something she'd been doing since Edana started kindergarten.

"Well, hello there, oh white one," a voice said from behind her.

Edana looked up to find one of Sinclair's gang members. "Hey, Jedi," she said. "Where's Thunder?"

Jed Iz, the boy, took an open seat and sat his tray down. "Kaplan kept him back for missing a lab last week."

Edana shook her head. "That boy..."

Jed laughed. "That's what he said you'd say. Wanted me to sit with you."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you know," Edana complained. "Just because I'm albino doesn't mean I'm helpless."

Jed shrugged. "Orders are orders, White."

"Yeah? So if he told you to jump off a bridge, you'd do it?" Seth asked, taking the seat on Edana's right.

"Seth..."

Jed eyed Seth like he was a bug on the bottom of his shoe, decided he wasn't worth it, and turned back to Edana. "How were your classes, then?"

Edana rolled her eyes. "Fine. You can tell Thunder all my teachers are continuing to treat me like a human being and I'm doing all my homework on time."

Jed chuckled, nodding. When Edana had first started high school, one of her teachers had thought there was something seriously wrong with her and went out of his way to insure she was well and wasn't over-working herself. She hadn't really minded the treatment, but when Sinclair got wind of someone treating her like she wasn't quite human, he blew his lid and went to have a word with the teacher. Parents and the principal had gotten involved before it was resolved and the teacher stopped treating her like she was fragile.

Since the incident, Edana always reassured Sinclair that everyone was treating her well and that none of her teachers were trying to get her admitted to a hospital or something equally ridiculous.

After that, the three of them ate their lunches and tossed their trash before loitering by the doorway to the cafeteria. As soon as the bell rang, they hurried off to their next classes, feeling all the better for a fuller stomach.

-

Their last class was study hall in the library with Mrs Anderson. Mrs Anderson didn't mind if they talked, as long as they did it quietly and didn't disturb anyone who was actually doing work.

Edana and Seth sat in a quiet corner and put their heads together. "What's up for tonight?" Seth asked.

"Mom's going to try and cook again."

Seth grimaced. "Hasn't she learned yet?" When Edana only grinned, he asked, "Right, what's she going to try and make, then?"

"Tuna noodle casserole."

"Ugh."

"That's what Ally said. You think your parents will do better?"

Seth snorted. His mom was never home, since she was a big-shot lawyer at a law firm downtown, and when his dad was home, he was drunk. Seth's dinner usually consisted of whatever the Spellmans were having, or whatever he could throw together at his home. However, because he needed to cook for himself so often, Seth was a better cook then Edana's mom.

"Not likely," Seth replied. "No one's gone shopping in a week, and the milk went bad three day ago."

Edana nodded in understanding. "So, wanna come over and try Mom's latest attempt?"

Seth sighed. "Poison or starvation? Equally appetizing."

"Oh, shush, you." Edana shoved him playfully. "You know Mom won't mind."

Seth grinned. "Yeah, I know. And I'll probably stay over until Mom gets back on Wednesday. S'ok with you?"

"You know it is." Edana shook her head in amusement. "Do we need to go by your house after school?"

"Nah. Got it all with me." Seth pulled over his bag while Edana laughed. "Let's see, one pair of pjs, check! Two changes of clothing, check! Ah, school books for the rest of the week, check! Toothbrush, check! Four DVDs of anime, check! And extra socks and unmentionables." He looked up and winked at her.

"You were planning this all morning," Edana accused.

"Guilty as charged, ma'am. Take me away." He held his hands out in front of him and put on a resigned face.

Edana shook her head at him again. "Right, then, what have you got? Anime, I mean."

"Well, since someone ordered me to never bring Dragonball again–"

"It's stupid."

"–I had to find something new to show you. Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne." He pulled out the first DVD and handed it over to Edana. "It's about a girl who steals possessed pieces of art. Well, technically, she purifies them, and that makes the art disappear. It's a bit of a shoujo, so I figured you'd like it."

"Hmm..." Edana turned the case over and looked it over. "Sounds okay. Sure, we can watch it." She pointed to the Japanese all over the back cover. "But, really, can't just find any anime that's been translated into English?"

"Dubs suck," Seth replied drily. "Anyway, it has been translated."

"Officially," Edana complained. "Legally, if you will."

Seth grinned and put the DVD box back in his bag. "Not as much fun that way."

Edana shook her head helplessly and pulled out the book she'd been reading. "Oh, fine. Now hush."

"Yeah, yeah." Seth pulled out a book of manga and relaxed against his chair with a smile.

-

Ally let out a sigh when they meet up outside the front doors. "Dinner, or sleepover?" she asked Seth.

Seth grinned. "Both."

Ally just sort of shook her head and turned to the lead the way back home. All of her friends had already graduated, but she'd never had any of them over as much as Edana had Seth over. Not that Ally minded, since Seth's case was a bit extreme. She was hardly going to begrudge the boy a place to stay where he wasn't beaten for laughing.

The walk was mostly filled with Seth telling the two Spellmans about an anime he'd recently watched. Something about robots and panty shots. Ally didn't really care, and Edana only paid attention to humor him sometimes.

The talk fell silent when they saw a moving truck parked outside one of the small houses that lined their trip from school. The three students traded curious looks, then hurried over to see if they could catch sight of whoever was moving in.

They peeked over the fence the last occupant had put in when his neighbor's kids kept running all over his perfect lawn. Standing in the doorway was a boy with sharp features and spiked red hair. He was directing some movers in the care of a bed frame.

"Awesome," Seth whispered. "He looks like he's in our year, Yuki."

"He's kinda cute," Ally said.

Edana shook her head at the two of them. "They must have just gotten here. Should we go say hi?"

"No!" Seth and Ally hissed quickly, ducking down behind the fence and pulling Edana down with them.

"Why not?"

Ally and Seth blinked at each other. Why not indeed?

Edana huffed and stood up. "Well, I'm going to say hello. Loonies." She walked around to the driveway and waved at the boy in the doorway, who was watching her suspiciously. "Hello! I'm Edana Spellman."

The boy's eyes narrowed when Ally and Seth hurried to join the pale girl, smiling nervously. He hopped down off the stoop and walked towards them. "Phoenix," he said with a hint of a British accent, stopping about two feet from the group of students. "Phoenix Vito."

"Aw, man. Even his name is cool," Seth complained. When Phoenix looked surprised, Seth grinned and held out a hand, which the other boy didn't take. "Seth Redmond. I live... oh, over that way somewhere. Doesn't really matter," he finished, gesturing in the general direction of the school, which his house was a block away from.

"Ally Spellman," Ally said, ruffling Edana's white hair. "Edana and I live a few doors down. We were just coming back from school and thought we'd say hi."

Phoenix seemed to relax at that a bit. "Yeah? What's the school like?"

"Your average, boring American high school," Seth replied, sniffing. "What grade are you?"

"And where are you from?" Ally added hopefully.

Phoenix blinked. "Ah, I'm originally from Ipswich, in England, but Mum moved here to America about ten years ago, because my birth father was going a bit nutters, and my grandfather's from here. But we lived just outside Albany in New York. Dad got a job at the elementary school here, so we moved. And, yeah, I'm in... tenth. Sophomore."

"Excellent!" Seth crowed.

Edana smiled at the confused look on the other boy's face. "Seth and I are in your year. Ally's a senior."

Phoenix smiled. "Well, at least I'll already know someone at school, yeah? S'better than I can usually say."

"Red!" a male voice came from inside the house. A man with short brown hair and a cheerful smile poked his head out the front door. "Ah, there you are. New friends?"

Phoenix grimaced. "Sort of. They go to the high school and live around here. He's my dad," he explained to the other kids.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Vito," Edana said.

The man shook his head. "Haven, actually. Red's the only Vito here. But, please, call me John. Only my students call me 'Mr Haven', and I dare say you all are a bit too old to be my students."

"First grade teacher," Phoenix explained in a whisper. "He likes them young." He waggled his eyebrows.

Ally covered her mouth in horror while Edana giggled faintly. Seth just grinned widely and slung an arm around Phoenix's shoulders. "Oh, I like you."

John chuckled at the group. "Well, I'd offer you three something to snack on, but I'm afraid the kitchen's a bit of a mess. "Lia, Red's mother, isn't supposed to be here until the weekend, and she's the one with a love affair with kitchen appliances."

"Well, now we know where your sense of humor comes from," Ally commented to Phoenix.

Phoenix just gave her an open mouth smile.

"Well, sorry to break up the party," John said gently, "but I need to borrow Red for a bit. Unless you want me arranging your room for you?"

Phoenix's eyes widened in horror. "No! Uhm," he smiled nervously at the other three teens. "Sorry to run, then, but you know how it is?"

"Oooh, yeah," Seth agreed, nodding with a great deal of knowledge.

"Go on," Edana said, making shooing motions with her hands. "Want us to drop by on our way to school tomorrow?"

Phoenix shook his head. "No, but thanks. Dad's taking me in to get everything sorted. "I'll see you at the school, though. Yeah?"

"Definitely," Edana agreed while Seth nodded eagerly.

"Right. Tomorrow, then! Cheers!" Phoenix called, then hurried to follow John back into the house.

"He's so cute..." Ally said with a sigh.

"Ally, you have a boyfriend," Edana said drily.

"But he's so far away," Ally half-whined as they started back toward the Spellman house.

"Doesn't she talk with him every night with her webcam?" Seth whispered.

"Yup."

"And doesn't he visit every other week?"

"Yup."

"Hey, Ally?" Seth asked, looking confused.

"Yeah?"

"Doesn't Axel live, like, an hour west?"

"Seth?" Ally replied sweetly.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up before I punch your face in."

Edana giggled and opened the front door to their house. "Mom! You home yet?"

When no one answered, the three teens shrugged and headed to their favorite places to spend time after school: Ally to her room, Edana and Seth to the living room so they could watch cartoons.

Chapters:
One ||| Two ||| Three
Four ||| Five ||| Six
Summary & Character Info
Incomplete
.

Comments

[jamafanta.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! What a fun beginning. Very intriguing premise; you've made all the characters unique and interesting WITHOUT making it obvious where the story's going. I like Thunder! I know it's a wee bit of a cliche but I LOVE the bad-boy-protector dynamic. Hey, it's a cliche because it's true!

Your fanfiction has always had such original takes on established characters, I'm really looking forward to what you do entirely in your own backyard.

Thanks!