"You really don't hate anyone? I thought you'd have some enemies, I guess I was wrong." Raphael said. He was actually glad that there would be no more pranks for the day. Apparently angering one person was more than enough for Leila. "The roof?" he repeated and smirked. "I'm pretty sure anyone can see the roof. I guess it can be pretty cool, I bet you've flown to it various times haven't you?" Raphael asked her. He had never been to the roof, he never knew how to get to it and assumed it was well guarded. "How exactly are you getting us both up there?" he asked as he looked at her and then looked around, glad to see that no one was in the halls still.

Myriam was busy writing down a few questions on her notebook. The teacher had asked them to read a short story in the text book and then answer the questions following the story. In total, she had fourteen questions to write and answer one by one. Sounded simple enough. Myriam made sure to write her name and the date before reading the question as she wrote it then would go back to the story if she forgot the answer. She wondered how Luke and Leila were doing, hopefully they were having a good day.

Leila grinned. "Sure, anyone could go to the roof, but... well, you'll see." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall, as quick as she could, her long black hair trailing behind her. They had to go through the boys dorms, to the girls, and all the way to the rarely used back stairwell. The door groaned as she opened it, she ushered him quickly, not wanting them to get caught. Without waiting for him she ran up the stairs, rushing up the several flights, excited to show him the little haven she had made.

She was panting by the time she was to the top. She stood on her tip toes, reaching for the key she had hidden along the top molding of the door. With key in hand she unlocked the door and pushed it open, the sunlight streaming in. Going to the far corner of the building, she pulled a tarp off of a small pile, revealing a seating area, several large thick rugs spread out and pillows on top of them. She often came here at night to look at the stars, or the clouds, or just... whenever she needed a moment to herself. She flopped down on the pillows, the pile of them comfy and large and she sunk in. "Mmm. This is perfect..." She murmured to herself, hoping Raphael would enjoy it as much as she did. If it was a repeat of her fiasco with Myriam she might just cry.

Raphael was silent as he ran with her off to the stairwell she was talking about. When they arrived, he was quick to follow after her. She started running up the stairs and he ran off after her. He hated running up and down stairs, it was always dangerous but he didn't want to get left behind. No not today, he was having too much fun right now. He was glad that no one had followed them yet, and wondered if anyone had seen them yet. Would they get in trouble tomorrow?

He panted for breath when he reached the top of the stairs and slowly followed Leila into the building. It looked abandoned and dusty but he supposed that's what made it cool in her eyes. There was no way anyone knew about this trail to get to the roof. "Woah..." he whispered, shielding his eyes from the sudden light that filled the room. "Soo this is where you like to hide away in?" Raphael asked and walked around the room. So today, he had figured out two places where she liked to hide in. Now he knew where to find her if he needed to talk to her. Though he didn't want to bother. "This is so cool..!" he said and laughed happily.

Leila grinned and rolled around in the pillows, enjoying the warm, fresh air. A sparrow flew over to the ledge, cooing at her. Rolling onto her stomach, she looked up, clicking her tongue at the bird, who flew to her outstretched finger. "This is Magnolia." She said, looking back at Raphael with a smile. He might think it weird she had a lot of animal friends, ones she named and visited often. The bird nuzzled against her cheek before flying away to rest on the ledge, looking out over the fields below.

Leila sighed and shifted onto her back, leaving room for Raphael to join her if he pleased, she patted the pillows beside her, an open invitation. She watched the clouds overhead, pointing up at them. "It looks like a rabbit..." She could pick shapes out of clouds all day, anything to avoid going back to classes, learning things she'd never need to know. Why did she need to know which wars were thought, or how to spell silly words, or the proper format for an essay? No, she wanted to wander the world, to travel, to see everything she could and draw whatever she felt like. Math, science, none of that mattered, or would ever matter. Luke hated when she told him that, when she avoided classes, threatened to leave the school once she was 18 and legally could. She stayed for him.

Raphael did find it a little odd that she was friends with animals, but he guessed it was normal considering the type of school they were in. He watched the bird interact with her before flying away to perch on something. Almost as if it understood she had company over already. "Magnolia is a nice name. Isn't that the name of a flower?" he asked as he approached her and accepted her invitation.

Raphael plopped down on the pillows and looked up at the sky. His eyes scanned the clouds for the rabbit she was talking about. "Oh I see it. Yes it does." he said with a nod. "Do you ever stare at clouds long enough to see them actually move?" he asked. "They move so slowly. Most people never notice it, but if you stare at a cloud long enough you'll notice just how slowly it moves around." Raphael explained. It sounded boring, but he loved watching the clouds move. It was always relaxing to him somehow.

"Yes, Magnolia after the flower, she often brings me one when they bloom." Leila sighed, content for the moment. At least Raphael didn't seem annoyed or upset with her dragging him up here. She felt like she could stay up here all day, talking about nothing, watching the clouds go by...

"I spend hours up here... I love to watch them move, and change..." She murmured, stifling a yawn. Last night she had been out late, visiting her faeries. She needed that time alone, to get over her disappointment at her adventure with Myriam. At least Luke seemed to be getting along with her, which had been the plan all along. He needed friends, other than his stuffy roommate Sven.

Magnolia circled the sky overhead, Leila watched each movement, considering going up there to fly with her. If only she could... But she hadn't eaten yet today, she would probably not last long in any form other than her own. Besides, Raphael didn't look like he could fly, and she'd hate to abandon him after how kind he had been to her, considering they met just a short time ago. "Oh! Look, that one looks like a dragon..." She scooted closer to Raphael, her head just touching his, so when she pointed up he could see the direction and follow it.

Raphael looked at her as she spoke, "Yeah, it must be nice to get away from the world huh?" he asked and looked back up at the sky. "The only way I can get away is when I go invisible and hide away somewhere. Most of the time I'm working on art in the empty classroom. Other times...well I'm somewhere else. I can't tell you or else I wouldn't exactly be hiding then would I?" he commented. His pale eyes stared with wonder at the clouds as they slowly drifted across the sky. "Just like flavorless cotton candy." Raphael said to himself.

"A dragon?" Raphael quickly followed the direction she was pointing in and chuckled. "Oh wow that does look like a dragon!" he said and laughed. "Oh look! That's a horse over there." Raphael said and pointed it out for her. "Do you see it?" he asked her and looked at her. This was nice, just being able to be here instead of in class. Besides, Leila was a much lovelier work of art than anything he had ever seen or could ever make. She was a lot more interesting and fun.

"Can't tell me?" Leila pouted, trying to hide a smile. "Yet I showed you two of my secret places today..." Not that she cared, she had many places, some she had showed no one, not even Luke. Ones she planned to never show any one. Though she did wonder if Raphael would enjoy her faeries... yet the whole thing with Myriam left her fearful of it, she wasn't ready for that amount of disappointment again.

Leila grinned as she looked up, following the direction of his finger. "Oh, you're right... it does look like a horse." She giggled, enjoying herself far more than she expected she would today. More than she had in awhile, actually. When she turned to look at him, she noticed him staring at her, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Quickly she turned her head back, watching in silence for a moment as the clouds continued to move above them. "Oh, and now look... it's as if the horse has wings..." She pointed out, pointing back at the fluffy shapes in the sky. She would be okay if this never ended, Luke didn't like looking at the clouds, he always claimed he couldn't see the shapes, that they just looked like blobs, and the other girls, the ones she called friends, were far too busy to look at the sky. It was times like these she remembered how different she was, why some people called her weird behind her back, then they thought she wasn't listening.

"Well I guess I can tell you, it's not like you'd find me anyway." Raphael started. "If I'm not working on some form of art, I'm up in trees enjoying my lunch. There is one tree in particular where you can always find me." he said. The only tree he loved to hang out at was the petrified tree of stone. He had never seen it before. Raphael was just wandering the school's woods when he ran into it. He had no idea it was even there or why it was made of stone, who could have made it?

Raphael chuckled, having seen her blush. He didn't think he'd have that effect on her, and maybe he didn't. Maybe she was just embarrassed from being stared at. It's rude to stare so stop it! he scolded himself mentally and focused on the sky for a long while. Just watching the clouds like this relaxed him almost to the point of getting sleepy. "Oh yeah, that's really cool how those clouds sort of merged into one." Raphael commented.

He climbed trees? Perhaps he also had explored the woods. Did he know about the secret pond and her faeries? Probably not, she had never seen him there, never noticed signs that anyone aside from her had been there. Perhaps one day she could show him... "What kind of art do you do? I like to draw and paint, mostly..." The walls of her room that were not covered with travel posters and pictures torn from magazine held various drawings and paintings she had done. Quite a few of them were of her pond, or friends, or mystical places she saw only in her dreams. Few people saw those, because they were always being worked on, something new to add.

Leila couldn't stifle the yawn, covering her mouth with the back of her hand to hide it. She often fell asleep here on the pile of pillows, missing class and not waking up until the sun began to set and the air grew chilly. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes for a moment, listening to everything around them. Was that the bell ringing? Probably to signal the next class beginning. She didn't have another class, but she wondered if Raphael did. She should tell him about the bell? It would be selfish not to, but she was enjoying his company, even if they were mostly silent at this point. It was nice to just be around someone, other than Luke, and not trying to hold a conversation, or do something to entertain them. That was why most of her 'friends' stuck around, she was entertaining, bubbly, and always willing to do anything, which grew tiresome at times. Perhaps all she needed was this, to spend the day up here, hidden away, relaxing, something she didn't even often do at her pond. The faeries always kept her quite busy when she visited.

Raphael lay there, watching the clouds and zoning out for the most part. He wished he could do this all the time, but he knew he couldn't. Her voice brought him back. "Art?" he repeated, not sure what she had asked. "Yes I like art. Umm...I just draw and then I make whatever I draw. I work with clay, slowly starting to work with stone but that's difficult." he explained, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. "What sort of stuff do you draw and paint?" he asked, watching as a cloud that looked like a face moved across the sky. "I'd love to see your work someday, if you'd show me of course." Raphael commented quietly.

She had fallen silent which concerned him. Looking over at her he noticed her eyes were closed and for a moment, Raphael believed she had fallen to sleep. He didn't blame her. It was just so relaxing up here, he wished he could sleep up here all the time instead of his boring room. He turned his attention back to the sky, his finger tracing the shapes that he could see. He had heard the bell, but he didn't have another class. He had Music class tomorrow though, and he didn't want to miss out on that one at all.

It was a long moment before Leila answered him, not even bothering to open her eyes. "Mostly the world around me... Sometimes people, sometimes animals..." She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't good, she knew she was, she was proud of how she could capture things, could translate them into art, and knew people were honest in their approval of her work. The only disappointment to her was that reality wasn't as pretty as her drawings and paintings, not so bright, so colourful, so airy. Lately, she had done all of her paintings at sunset, the pinks, oranges, and purples being her favourite colours to work with. "I will show you mine, if you promise to show me yours."She was surprised she hadn't noticed before, someone who seemed so... similar, who liked the peace and quiet, yet to have fun, who enjoyed art...

"How have I not noticed you before?" She murmured, more to herself than anything. Surely he wasn't invisible all the time, and with his interest in art classes, they must have overlapped before. Then again, she couldn't really name anyone in her art classes, seeing as they were the only classes she actually focused in. She tried to hide another yawn, but her efforts instead caused her to hiccup, which made her giggle, which in turn brought on another. It only served to make her laugh more, which was interrupted only by another hiccup. "Sorry." She managed, covering her mouth to hide the laughter.

Raphael smiled and nodded, "Sounds like you're a talented artist. I'll show you mine after you show me yours, it's a deal." he agreed. He didn't think he'd get to today, but he could tomorrow after music class. Maybe during lunch. He'd just have to figure out where they would meet up. It was nice to find someone who liked art just like him. Although anyone in that art class practically liked art, he just never really spoke to any of them before. He was actually surprised he was even talking to Leila. Why did he start talking to her anyway? She was a lovely face...and she seemed like a nice girl. She was not afraid of him, that's probably why he started to talk to her. She didn't get scared or get mad at him. She welcomed him, and was happy to see him which was not the reaction he was expecting.

"You just never bothered looking for me." Raphael teased. He could hear her fighting back yawns and he guessed she was getting really tired. "If you're sleepy I can go so that you can get some sleep. You sound rather sleepy." Raphael pointed out honestly. He didn't want her to lose sleep because of him. He was sure that her brother would not be too happy if he found out she wasn't getting proper sleep.

Another yawn escaped her and she rubbed her eyes, willing herself awake. "The fresh air just makes me sleepy." Leila said, sitting up and shaking her head. Did he want to go, or was he really concerned about her? She wouldn't blame him, not too many people wanted to spend the day looking at clouds. Climbing off the pillows she stood and smoothed out her dress, "I'll be okay." With that she grinned and walked around the pile of pillows to the edge of the building. She looked out over the field, and int the forest. From here she could see the tall trees that surrounded the pond, they were taller, probably some of the first to grow. Should she point it out to Raphael? Not yet, but perhaps she could gauge his interest? It would keep him talking and let her know if it was safe...

She let herself fall back onto the pillows, her head falling near Raphael's side. She tilted her head to look at him, grinning. "Do you believe in faeries?" Might as well just start weird, that way at least she wouldn't be too sad if she scared him off.

Raphael had to believe what she was saying. She wouldn't lie to him. "If you say so, but if you want to go to sleep just tell me and I'm gone. I wouldn't want to keep you up too late, wouldn't want you getting in trouble." he said, looking at her as she smoothed out her dress. "You know...you have an interesting clothing choice." he said to her and chuckled. His pale eyes looked back up at the sky, he could still see shapes there but he had to shield his eyes to really focus in on them. He could hear her walking and his eyes automatically followed her as he lay there on the pillows. She seemed distracted and Raphael wondered what she was thinking about at that moment. He was about to speak when he saw her making her way back.

Raphael blinked, her question was one he didn't expect to be asked. "Fairies?" he repeated. "Well I've never actually seen one before but I assume that they're real. I mean, everything is real. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist." Raphael explained.

Leila smiled and looked back to the sky, it wasn't a bad answer, he at least believed, so wasn't that what really mattered? Perhaps one day, if he was willing to hang out with her again after today, she would show him the faeries. He might also appreciate the homes she had made for them. It took her a long time to carve the globes, and hang them up. Unless he thought it was weird. Would he think it was weird? Probably, Luke did. He didn't believe she could communicate with the faeries.

She would have to revisit that plan later. "Everyone thinks I dress weird..." She murmured, thinking back on his comment from earlier. It was true, she dressed weird by modern standards, at least here. She just liked the frilly dresses, and the fluffy, and lace... Did Raphael think it was weird? She had other clothes, perhaps she should dress like the other girls... She didn't really know, she didn't have many friends that were male, even pretty ones like him. The thought made her giggle, he hadn't seemed all that pleased when she had called him pretty, but it was true. Hell, he was probably prettier than she was.

"I didn't say weird, I said interesting." Raphael pointed out. "That cloud there looks like a duck." he said quietly, pointing up at the sky. She dressed different from other girls and she wondered why. Did she just prefer this kind of clothing? Or maybe the regular clothes looked bad on her? Perhaps she was insecure so she dressed this way to stand out even though she felt she didn't? He wasn't going to ask her why she dressed the way she did, that would be rude of him. Extremely rude. he thought to himself. She giggled, why did she giggle? Did he do something? Did he just looked weird? Raphael instinctively touched his arm again and then glanced at her.

"What's so funny?" he asked and smiled softly at her. Thinking back to clothes, he didn't really dress like other guys either. Why didn't he? Raphael didn't even know, it just sorta happened. Maybe that was the case with Leila? He looked down at what he was wearing, pretty loose fitting clothes. Sometimes he liked to wear tight clothing but for the most part he avoided tight clothing, he didn't want to attract attention.

She followed his finger upwards, looking at the shape the clouds formed. It did look like a duck, she supposed... maybe a swan? The clouds changed so quickly sometimes she wasn't sure what she was seeing. Not that it mattered. She had reached out to show him something when a butterfly came by, landing on her finger for a moment. Before she could bring it closer for a look, it fluttered away when he asked her a question. She strained her neck to look at him.

Leila paused for a moment, he had asked why she giggled. Did she dare tell him? It wasn't often she held back anything... Surely he couldn't get mad, right? "Well, we were on the subject of clothes, and well..." All she did was shrug, unsure of herself at the moment, which was rare. "I was giggling I guess because I was thinking about how pretty you were, and how you were much prettier than me..." This caused her to cover her mouth, holding back a giggle, while at the same time worried that she shouldn't have said that. It didn't bother her at all, but perhaps he really didn't like being called pretty, even if she thought it to be true. It wasn't meant as an insult, not by her anyways... She wasn't much one to care about how someone looked, considering how strange her and Luke looked, who was she to say much? Of course compared to some at the school, they looked relatively normal.

He was pretty? Prettier than her? Was she being serious?! "You think I'm prettier....than you?!" Raphael asked, a look of shock on his face. He was never called pretty by anyone, his mother called him 'A lovely dear'. Never pretty...but had she meant to say pretty in her own words? Raphael frowned at the memory of his mother. Now SHE was pretty. No, she was a beauty. "I'm not pretty...and I sure as hell am not prettier than you Leila." he said softly and managed to smile kindly at her. "Look in the mirror, you are not ugly at all okay? And you are much prettier than me, even though I don't consider myself pretty." Raphael said with a chuckle.

Maybe he would wear his tight clothing tomorrow...or maybe he'd just throw on something oversized and loose fitting if he felt lazy again. Did Leila think of herself as ugly? Had she not been called pretty before? Well then, he'd have to change that now wouldn't he? Wouldn't that scare her off though? It would probably be weird to call someone pretty if you had just met them. Although...well she was doing it to him so he was pretty sure it was okay if he started doing the same to her. Right?

Leila laughed, "I never said I didn't think I was pretty, I have no reason to believe otherwise." Well, okay, that sounded a little bad. "I mean to say, I know I'm pretty enough, but you..." She shrugged, not sure how exactly to explain herself. "I suppose what I mean to say, is that you're very... Oh, I don't know how to explain it. It isn't a bad thing, not to me anyways..." She was muddling this all up, she was sure. It was hard to explain her thoughts, and she wasn't even sure why she admitted it to him. Most boys probably did not enjoy being called pretty, or cute, or any such thing. Was he the same? She could call him what? Manly? No, he would know she was lying. Hmph. She wasn't very good at compliments, was she? At least not when it came to looks, especially for males. At least he didn't seem angry at her, except maybe when he thought she felt she wasn't pretty. She wasn't vain, by any means, but she knew she was pretty, at least to a point, if only she had.... blossomed, like the other girls when they got older. She wouldn't complain about a few more curves.

The whole conversation had her laughing more. When she was able to control herself, she rolled onto her stomach, propping her head up on her hands and looking at him. "If I've insulted you, I'm sorry. But you have to admit, you're pretty for a boy."

Raphael listened to her and watched her, his focus no longer on the clouds in the sky. It was clear to him that Leila was having trouble explaining herself. Something he didn't think was possible since she seemed so...talkative. Was that the word he was searching for? She was just really social, so he didn't think she'd ever be at a loss of what to say or how to say it. At least she did think of herself as pretty, that was something he wouldn't have to worry about now. "I'm pretty for a boy.." he repeated and looked up at the sky. "I've always been confused for a girl. Well, only when my back is to that person.." Raphael said quietly. "I guess I got my looks from my mom." he said with a smile. "She didn't call me pretty, but I guess that's what she was trying to say all that time." He continued.

Maybe he was supposed to be a pretty boy. Maybe his father had been a pretty boy growing up as well. Which meant that maybe, just maybe, Raphael would look 'manly' once he got older. What if he didn't though? What if he was stuck as pretty boy? "Yeah, I guess I am a pretty boy." he said softly and looked at Leila.

Leila giggled at his admission. "I don't see anything wrong with being pretty, even if you're a boy..." She patted his hand reassuringly, letting him know that it didn't bother her, at least. Had people really mistaken him for a girl? She could almost see it, but he didn't sound like a girl, didn't act like a girl... She shrugged, it didn't matter too much what other people thought she supposed. Some people thought she was annoying, but it didn't change how she acted.

A flock of birds flew overhead, she watched them until they disappeared. It must be nice to fly for so long! She was never able to do so, she never had the energy to stay in that form for long, not if she flew, anyways. No matter how many sweets she ate, or how much food she forced down, she couldn't go very far. Did Raphael have limits to his powers like she did? Could he only stay invisible for so long before his body forced him back to normal?

"What was your mother like?" She blurted out the question before she could stop herself. Surely now she was getting too personal, but she was curious. She didn't much remember her parents, they died when her and Luke were young, and the relatives they shuffled between never really were good replacements. He had brought her up, so maybe he didn't mind talking about it.

Well at least she was okay with him being a pretty boy. This relaxed him a little bit. Upon hearing her question, Raphael sat up and hugged his knees to his chest. "My mother..." Raphael started and smiled as he pictured her face. He wondered how she was doing wherever she might be now. What cloud was she on? Was she watching him? Was his father up there with her? Were they happy? "My mother was a saint." Raphael said. "She was very kind and she was always happy and smiling. Even after my father left her she was still smiling. I'm not sure if she was faking it or if she was really happy. I never asked, but I don't remember her crying. I was the one crying most likely and she was the one cheering me up." he explained, the smile still on his face.

"I never did understand why that happened. She was a beautiful woman, my mother. Full of grace. I wish I had a photo of her but I don't. I didn't have time to exactly pack and come here, I just ran and ran and found this place. I only have clothes because the headmaster of the school took me clothes shopping a week before school actually started." Raphael concluded.

Leila sighed and lay down on her back, looking at the sky. She let him talk, she was surprised to hear him reveal so much about his mother, considering she was rarely willing to talk about her parents. Of course it seemed much worse, at least she always had Luke, they were there for each other. They also happened to have their families money, which didn't hurt things either.

"She sounds like a very lovely lady..." It was a lame thing to say, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. She tried to picture her mother but struggled, she knew she looked a lot like her, she remembered seeing the picture of her parents at their wedding, thinking it nearly looked like her and Luke, but she couldn't remember much detail. Why had his father left? Even she knew to hold her tongue, not daring to ask something so personal. She reached over and rested her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked something so personal." She hated that she had reminded him of something like that, though she was glad at least he had found this place. "Are you happy here?" She asked after a moment, maybe he wasn't glad he found this place, but since he had nowhere else, he just made do.

Raphael nodded, "She really was." he said softly. Most of the art he had was of his mother, or representations of his mother. Yes he was very close to his mother. He was close to his father but his father obviously wasn't close to them like he thought he was. Maybe he should draw a family portrait while he could still remember what his father looked like. "No...but it's okay. I understand you were curious and I don't mind talking about her." Raphael answered with a warm smile. It was a sad topic but he didn't mind talking about it. Was he happy here? Well he didn't know. He didn't hate it but he was...lonely was the word. "I don't hate it here. I...I was afraid of going back outside.

Afraid that they might be there looking for me too after taking her. So it was either stay here or risk my life and run towards a sanctuary, wherever that might be. I know what you're thinking. 'Why not just turn invisible?' well, because I still can be heard and therefore followed." Raphael explained. I'm not sure I'm happy...but I mean it's been three years now that I've been here. I've just accepted the fact that this place is the only home and family I have at this point. I'm not upset though either. I'm more...grateful that I'm here or thankful." Raphael answered.