"How was your night?" Her mother asked as Nycto walked into the lounge room with a smile plastered on her face.

"Wonderful..." Nycto mumbled, falling into a chair.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time, because you wont be going out for a while..." Her mother informed her with an annoyed voice.

"What?" Nycto asked, a little shocked.

"All you do is go out..." Her mother began a rant Nycto knew only too well.

"Mum, before friday I haven't been out in over a week! I'm young! I'm meant to go out..." Nycto defended herself.

"No, you're not. You need to concentrate on your studies." Her mother told her. "And you need a job too."

"Ugh..." Nycto groaned, feeling ill. She did good enough in school, she was in the top ten for everything... and as for a job... well, after fast food she needed a break.

"Don't groan at me!" Her mother's voice rose, as Nycto's happiness deflated...

~~~~

"I sure hope that Mitch guy is alright..." Attie mumbled distractedly.

"If you're worried about Mandi, I'm sure she's fine." Dave assured Atlantica as they headed for her home.

"Yeah well... it's not like I know him that well. He better drive safely..." Attie muttered.

"It'll be fine." Dave rolled his eyes. "Hey, you alive back there?" Dave called to Bob.

"Huh? Wha?" Bob mumbled, his mind elsewhere.

"Nevermind..."

~~~~

"Dinner was fun!" Christy piped up from the back of Scott's car.

"Yeah, the food was great." Clint agreed.

"Always thinking about food!" Christina teased him.

"Why not!" Clint replied, putting his arm around her shoulders. "We need food to live..." He pointed out.

"Or in Clint's case we need hair gel to live." Scott smirked, rounding Christina's corner.
Diana smirked, but gave Scott a look that said: don't push it. He grinned back cheekily, ignoring Clint's reply.

~~~~

"Are you okay?" Mitch asked Mandi as he pulled up into her driveway.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine..." She muttered, blushing slightly under his stare.

"Mandi?" He didn't believe anymore than she did.

"I just... have a lot to think about..." She shrugged, looking up at his concerned face. She felt her insides melt as he reached for her cheek.

"Well, if you want... maybe you could... I dunno, let me be around you when you think tomorrow?" He smiled nervously.

Her first instinct was to say 'no', her second was to invite him in. She went for her third reaction... "That could be arranged."

"Till tomorrow then." He grinned.

"Tomorrow."

~~~~

"No more running around with movie stars and tramps!" Her mother yelled, causing her father to hear and enter.

'Oh great...' Nycto groaned, well aware of what would happen now. Her dad wasn't nearly as kind as her mother. She knew she should shut up but she was too angry to stop herself now. "What the hell are you talking about!"

"Don't speak like that!" Mr. Cinley bellowed.

"I've been speaking to Mrs. Rivers and she tells me you two are running with the wrong crowd..."

"If you're referring to The Moffatts, they're MUSICIANS, not movie stars. And you better not be referring to any one of my friend with the tramp comment..." Nycto warned her mother in a dangerous voice.

"What kind of friends are you keeping!" Her father narrowed his eyes at her.

"Ones that care about me and make me happy!" SHe yelled angrily, her temper approaching its peak.

"They wont stick around for long! Not with your attitude. Nobody will stick with you, the way you are." Her father told her factually.

Nycto felt her lungs crushing and glared at him. She yelled something about actually liking her friends, as opposed to her parents, and stormed away to her room.

She closed the door and jammed it shut with a chair. Then she grabbed the nearest Incubus CD and pulled on her headphones.

Maybe her parents were right... her friends would leave her because she was so horrid. A slow, sinking feeling began to overtake her. She tried to fight it, but it was happening again. Nycto pulled out a notepad and started scribbling words absently on the page. Writing, music or exercise were the only things that distracted her at times like these. But their affect was decreasing as her pain grew. She couldn't fight this much longer...

There was a loud banging as her mother chipped her chair and forced the door open. Nycto just stared at her in shock.

"I've organised with Mrs. Rivers for you to go with Atlantica on an outing with the Cunningham boys." Her mother informed her, barely holding back her fury.

Nycto would have protested, but she was too surprised and agitated.

"Maybe mixing with different people will show you a different way to live and be."

With that, her mother gave her one more hard stare and left the room.

Nycto felt like she was going to throw up. She lay for a long time in silence on her bed, looking at the ceiling. Tracing the outline of the cherubs on her roof with her finger, Nycto wondered what it felt like to be lifted into heaven.

Thoughts of blades entered her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut, only to be assaulted with more images. She opened her eyes quickly and focussed back on the angels. Sitting up, Nycto pulled her book to her and wrote some more... she had to keep occupied.