A/N: Well, this is the sequel of Hell Froze Over. I hope that some of you will give it a chance. If any of you forgive me for doing what I did...

Iris POV. Still.

Well, Enjoy!

Oh, wait! Thanks Peachez 24, for the wonderful title!

Chapter 1

Life's Little Surprises

I sat, unpacking my clothes, on the dorm room floor, wondering what kind of person my roommate is. Hopefully not some peppy cheerleader type. I cannot deal with that. I hate cheerfulness sometimes... this is one of those times. And seeing as how these times are quite often, I don't think that it would be too wise to put me with one of those people. Or creatures really. They scare me sometimes. With their shiny, white smiles, that are always on their faces, even when they are pissed. I think they look rather demonic when they smile, but I don't think that any of the demons I know look like that, so maybe they are just plain devilish.

It is a rather small room, but I have nothing to really fill the space with anyway. I came here with some underwear, well, some other clothes too, and that's about it. My lap top sits lovingly on my bed, which was so nicely provided for me by the school. Along with a small dresser. How convenient.

I cast a curious glance at the door when I heard people approach it. Granted, I am not the social butterfly, and never have been, so I do not entertain at the idea of making friends. But I want to make sure that the person I will have to share a room with is a moderately decent person. By my standards. Considering the fact that I think many people to be moderately decent, I doubt that my roommate will fail my test.

A girl, who looked to be about six feet tall, walked in with a group of her friends. Oh God, I thought. It was like the attack of all the pink clothes in the world. Except for one of them. The tall one. She wore a green sweater and flared blue jeans. She looked kind of surprised to see me, but smiled warmly after she got over her initial shock. Well, I guess it is kind of shocking to find someone unpacking in your dorm room, staring at you for having oddly pink friends.

"You must be Iris. Hi, I'm Randilyn. It's nice to meet you." She outstreched her hand and I stood up and accepted the warm, friendly gesture. I must be like ten inches shorter than her. I feel like a little child. A lost little child who has no place of stability in the chaotic world. I gave a half smile and nodded in greeting to her friends, who all watched me blankly. All had the same bleach blond hair. Except for Randilyn, who had short brown hair. How could they be friends? I mean, the rest of them were mindless idiots who dressed and dyed their hair alike. I guess I shouldn't judge on appearance, though. I have blond hair myself. I really could not talk about someone with blond hair. That's like a pig eating bacon. Nice analogy, I thought to myself silently. "Oh, and these are some of my friends. Candace, Leah, and Kelli." They all spoke soft "hi"s and said that they would see Randilyn later. Obviously, I'm a little less than encouraging with my all black wardrobe. I suppose I frightened them away. I find that very thought hilarious. Me, scare someone? Nah.

"So, where are you from?" Randilyn asked, sitting down beside me on the floor. Bringing up the past already, it seems. No, not the past. I did not want to bond with this girl, I simply wanted to live with her. That way, I wouldn't have to go find an apartment that didn't cost an arm and a leg. However, where are you from is an easy question to lie about... but then you would be a liar, my brain silently chided. I will just answer truthfully it seems. My conscience won't let me be a mischievious little liar. Damn. What's the use in telling a lie, anyway? No one cares, I thought to myself. No one except for you.

"I'm from Bridgetown, a small town in Ohio. Needed a little excitement in my life, I guess," I stated, my voice monotonous sounding. That wasn't exactly intentional, but I didn't want too many questions raised about where I was from. I don't know why I'm being so touchy. This girl is probably just trying to make conversation. Oh, I could make conversation about her friends, they were like a walking conversation piece, but that would be out of place. And cruel. I had no right to talk about them like that anyway, as I have stated before. They had been wearing pink spandex though... which is scary...

"Really? So am I. I must have graduated a few years before you, obviously. How's Gaze?" I looked up, shocked at the question, to find the girl sitting before me eyeing me with a sly grin on her face. How did she know about Hell Froze Over? Most women don't. Unless they are dragged in there, by a demon, or if they work there. More importantly, most women don't know Gaze. He likes to keep to himself. That's why he has waitresses. To keep the customers away from himself. I pondered this fact, in silence, until she broke it apart.

"One waitress can identify another, Iris. I used to work there, if you're wondering how I know Gaze." That would have explained a lot, except... She couldn't have worked there, I have worked there forever and I've never seen her. That's been the past four years, if you add the number of years that I was in there with my sister, six, that's ten years. I looked over at her, one eyebrow raised in defiance.

"That's impossible. I've been around there for ten years. I would have known if someone worked there or not. You don't look familiar," I said, wondering vaguely if I spent as much time there as I thought I had. Maybe my grasp on the realities of the past have blurred over the years. Maybe I was only in there for an hour, not the whole day. The girl gave a small laugh at my comment and replied in a gentle tone, much gentler than my harsh one.

"Vampires hardly age at all. I only came to college about a year ago. I worked there twenty three years ago. With a girl named Aaelyn." I looked at her in a kind of 'out of all the people in the world' way and frowned slightly. Wow, she's a vampire too. Well, we have something in common then. Besides that, I'm not exactly sure. Her taste in friends is rather... interesting... I must say. I really am becoming vain. I think it's Chaos' blood. I blame it all on him. That fucker. On to a nicer, brighter subject...

Aaelyn was that old? She had been working there when my sister had been working... She had worked at Hell Froze Over longer than I had thought. I vaguely wondered if Randilyn knew Sparta. I hope not. Oh God, I am still possessive and he doesn't even exist to me anymore. How much more obsessive could I possibly get? It's in the past, I reminded myself, it's in the past. I guess that's how I keep my sanity. Keeping the past in it's place, while holding on to the present.

"What made you quit?" I asked without thinking. Damn it, I realized, she'll ask me that same question. What will I say to that one? Oh well, after my demon lover broke up with me and I was changed into a hybrid, I decided that I needed a change in my life. That would bring up a reaction, I believe. God, how can I be that stupid? How can I ask someone about their life and not expect them to ask about my own? I should have just kept to my own business. Folding my underwear, putting them into the small dresser on the wall across from my bed.

With a wistful smile, she replied, "Got tired of burning the innocents, I suppose. Time for a change." I nodded in understanding. It was time for a change for me too. I got tired of the pity from my co-workers and friends. Tired of the shadow Hestia cast on me, even when she is dead and buried. Tired of all of the memories in that wretched town. I sighed, wondering how long I will lament these memories. How long I will rot in my self pity.

"Anyway, my fellow member in the Sisterhood of Hell Froze Over, when do you start classes?" Randilyn asked, in her serene voice. No questions about my origins thank God. If there really is one out there. Relief cannot explain what I am feeling... Freedom more correctly describes it. I don't have to worry about people wanting to know my past here. People DON'T know my past. They can't give me pitying glances or hateful glares. They just give me... occasional neutral glances. I felt my mind wander back to the question Randilyn had asked, though I could have dwelled on the fact that no one knew about my secrets here for some time. I was just overjoyed at the thought of having secrets again.

"This Monday," I replied, my voice unenthused. I graduated about two days ago and now I have to start college classes in a week. Well, at least I have a week to live it up. Besides, it's no one's fault but my own that I have to do so. I could have used a break from school, but the sooner I learn a profession, the sooner I can get paid money for it. Right?

"That bites. I had like two months before semester started when I came here. I just laid around all day, doing nothing." She glanced at her watch and said, "Damn. I'm going to be late..." she trailed off, leaving me curious.

"For what?" I asked, my voice a little more enthused with my curiosity. She smiled and replied, "Date." She hastily grabbed her keys and said goodbye before she disappeared from the dorm room that we were to share. Perhaps it's not as bad as I thought it would be. No, it's actually quite nice. I have someone I can at least partially get along with. I better knock on wood. That could all very easily go wrong. And I don't want that happening. Of course, it probably will. Nothing stays good for very long in my life. Example A: Sparta and I started to be romantic and then he ran off. Example B: My life was perfectly fine and then Chaos came and threw it into a state of... chaos?

A/N: Well, there's the first chapter... Hope that you liked it so far...

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