Chapter Two

Earth, Stupid!

Tag jumped up, gasping for breath. "OH GODS!" She yelled, opening her eyes and clutching the fabric over her chest.

There was a startled silence around her.

Blinking, Tag actually bothered to discover where she was, and shocked, she stared at the scene in front of her.

She was in some strange, bizarre world, where an elderly woman was standing (wearing the weirdest clothes) in front of a large black wall, staring at her. Around her was a collection of people her age, who happened to be staring at her as well.

"Tag! What have I told you about sleeping in class?!" The elderly woman snapped, advancing towards Tag, who took a step backwards, stumbling over a odd bulky cloth thing, which felt like it was filled with bricks.

The people around her all laughed, save for the woman, who continued to advance angrily. "You could at least have the respect to not SCREAM when you wake up!" she snapped, making her way until she was facing Tag. "Well?!"

"I... uh...I..." For the first time in her life, Tag found that she couldn't think of anything to say. She had thousands of questions... where was she? Who were all of these people? Why was she wearing strange clothes? But nothing seemed to be able to transfer from her brain to her mouth.

"WHAT?!" The elderly woman screamed, not caring that she was spitting over Tag.

"I... I'm...err...sorry!" Tag gasped, tripping over another one of the strange cloth bags.

Everyone else burst into laughter, and Tag sat up indignantly, glaring. "Don't laugh at me!" She snapped, jumping to her feet. She glared at the nearest person, and discovered, to her horror, that it was Aerseth. "YOU!"

"Miss Teagan. Please control yourself!" The elderly woman said, apparently returning into a normal mood. "Why in the world are you yelling at Seth?"

"His name isn't SETH!" Tag screeched, pointing at Aerseth.

"Excuse me..." Aerseth stood up quickly, and placed a hand on Tag's shoulder. "I don't think Tag's well... Could I take her to the nurse's office?"

"Of course, Seth. You're excused for now, Tag, but really, don't sleep in class!" the woman said sternly, smiling at Aerseth, but frowning at Tag.

"Come on..." Aerseth lead Tag out of the abnormal room, and into a long, strangely lit hallway. "What do you think your DOING?!" He demanded, twirling her around. "Seriously!"

Tag took in a deep breath, and looked up at Aerseth. "Where... in the seven hells... are we?"

Aerseth gave her a strange look. "Earth, stupid."

"Earth?" Tag stared at him, scandalized. "Wha-?"

Aerseth sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "What's wrong with you? You seriously aren't sick, are you?"

"Of course not!" Tag snapped. "Let go of me!"

"Tag..." Aerseth let go of her, and frowned down at her, his hands in the pockets of his strange dark blue pants. "Are you on something?"

"Huh?" Tag glanced down at the ground, and then up at Aerseth. "What?"

"Are you taking drugs?" He asked, blinking sternly at her.

"Drugs? Of course not! Why?" Tag wondered.

"You're acting weird, that's all." Aerseth shrugged, and turned away slightly. "You know, if you keep this up, I'm going to break up with you."

"What?!" By now, Tag was COMPLETELY lost. What in the world was he TALKING about?!

"I'm sorry!" Instantly, he grabbed her hands in his own, and stared down at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, Tag... I was just joking..." He abruptly drew her into a crushing hug, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"EH?!" Tag pushed away from him, and stared up at him, scandalized. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"Hey, no yelling in the halls."

Both Tag and Aerseth turned around, shocked.

"You!" They both snapped.

"Me." The boy ran a hand through his dark hair and looked at the two of them. "I like your hair that way, Tagaerth, dear."

"Get lost," Aerseth snapped.

"What he said," Tag muttered, frowning at the newcomer. All though, really, anyone was better than this new, weird Aerseth.

"I can't. I was... confiscated to the hallway for... shouting in class," the other boy said, grinning dashingly. "What about you, darling?"

"Don't talk to my girlfriend like that!" Aerseth growled.

"GIRLFRIEND?!" Tag jumped away from Aerseth, and stumbled backwards. "You CREEP!"

"I'm not a creep!" Aerseth complained, scandalized. "I'm gorgeous!"

Tag couldn't help herself. She began laughing hysterically, and was forced to cover her mouth with both hands, trying to suppress herself.

"Shh!" The boy clasped his own hand over Tag's, and smiled sweetly down at her. "I was put out here in punishment, dear. One must not be loud in a place of torture."

"Get your hands OFF her!" Aerseth snarled.

"SHUT UP!" They both yelled back.

"Oops!" The other boy grinned cheerfully. "No yelling in the halls!"

Tag turned towards him, disgruntled. "Please tell me how you EVER became an evil overlord."

"Actually, I'm the Lord of Darkness-" he began, only to have Aerseth interrupt them again.

"Common Tag," he said, holding out a hand. "You're obviously sick. Hanging around with Zaykan will just make your fever worse."

"Is that a challenge?" Zaykan asked, looking suddenly like the Lord of Darkness he was rumored to be. "Stand back, Tagaerth, I'll take this weakling on!"

"Get lost," she muttered, pushing past him. "Alright, Aerseth. Take me to the nurse. I feel ill.. I suppose."
"It's Seth..." he said, protectively holding onto her arm and leading her away. "You should know that, Tag..."

"You weakling! Running away from the fight, aren't you now?!" Zaykan yelled.

"FINE!" Aerseth yelled over his shoulder, leering. "Annoying freak."

"What happened?" Tag asked, allowing herself to be dragged along by the changed Aerseth.

"What do you mean?" He wondered. "You were sleeping in class, and then woke up and started yelling."

"Before that... back at the inn," Tag snapped, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Seriously, you have to remember!"

Aerseth stopped. "An inn? What the heck?!"

Tag sighed loudly. This wasn't working. Anyway, why did Aerseth have to forget, and not Zaykan? "You can't remember anything?" She asked, staring up at him.

He sighed too. "Tag, I think you were dreaming. Trust me, there was no inn, and you were just sleeping in class. Do you have a fever?" He reached up to touch her forehead, and Tag stumbled backwards, shocked. Surely he should know that was a personal attack on a person's magic. little brat!

"Don't TOUCH me!" she shrieked, causing a door nearby to open, and a portly woman to stick her head out.

"Teagan! Darling, why are you yelling?" The woman asked, staring at the two of them.

Tag was half tempted to scream 'rape!' but she stopped herself, and flopped against Aerseth. "I'm not well. I need to go... er... home, immediately."

"I should say so!" Aerseth muttered, pushing her off him. "Crazy girl!"

"And to top it off," Tag gasped, falling towards the woman and clinging onto her arms, deciding to dramatize this as much as possible, "My boyfriend HATES me!"

"I don't hate you!" Aerseth instantly said, stepping forward.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Tag screeched, really having too much fun. She glanced at the woman, and realized that the idiot was actually falling for all this!

"Oh dear... Teagan darling..." The woman patted her back reassuringly, and then scowled up at Aerseth. "She's ill, you silly boy! Come on, Teagan, let's call your mom..."

"My mom?" Tag's mother had never really been around in her life, and anyway, she had died two years ago...

"Yes! She'll be unhappy to have to leave work, but she's such a dear, I'm sure she'll understand... Seth, go back to class and pick up Teagan's backpack, alright?"

Aerseth didn't seem to like this idea. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then sighed. "Could I have a pass please?"

"Of course. Come in, come in, Teagan!" The woman said, pulling Tag into the ugly room which she had come out of. "Here, I'll take your temperature. Is Seth really going to break up with you?"

"Break up..." Tag paused, thinking. Did she mean leave her? "Yeah. He said... he said..." she took in a fake, shaky breath, wishing, not for the first time, that her drama worked on Prince Jakian... "He HATES me!"

"Hush... hush... it'll be alright." the chubby woman patted Tag's hand reassuringly, and held up a strange, thin... glass...thing... "here, darling. Open up."

"What?!" Tag stared at the woman. "what?!"

"Open your mouth, silly! Alright... under your tongue..." The woman placed the tubey glassy thing under Tag's tongue, in seriously, the most uncomfortable spot imaginable.

"Hey!" Tag spit it out, catching it in her hands. "Uhhck!"

"Now Teagan..." The woman said, shaking her head and smiling. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen..." Tag didn't see where this conversation was going. "Look, I need to get back home. I'm not supposed to be here- really- I'm not."

The woman only laughed loudly. "You silly thing! Come on, Teagan, open up that mouth of yours!"

"It's NOT Teagan!" Tag snapped, holding up the tube as threateningly as possible. "Anyway, what in the seven hells IS this thing?"

"Darling, aren't you Christian?" The woman asked, kindly taking the tube from Tag and not so kindly sticking it back in her mouth. "Now, keep it there! I'm going to go call your mother. Should I get your brother?"

"I have a brother?" Tag asked, only, with that dumb tube it was more like, "Eh aave ah bwablagh!?"

"What was that? No- don't take out the thermometer, Teagan!"

Tag didn't even bother to correct the woman. Obviously, she was some sort of incompetent... sort of like the idiot that Aerseth, who had had a good beginning, was turning out to be.

"Humph!" Crossing her arms, Tag glared at the woman as she did some odd Rite... it involved poking buttons on a strange machine, then picking up an even stranger machine, and holding it to her ear.

"Hello? Mrs. McKamey? This is Molly Fields... the school nurse... yes, Teagan isn't feeling very well... I think that she has a fever..." She paused, talking into the odd machine, smiling and nodding, and then said, "should I get Mark as well? Yes, alright..." She placed the machine back where she had picked it up from, and turned, beaming at Tag. "There! You're mother will be here to pick you up shortly! I'm going to call Mark to the office as well, alright?"

"Who's Mark?" Tag wondered, pulling the tube out of her mouth.

"Your little brother, of course!" the woman... Molly Fields, Tag reminded herself, said, chidingly. "Silly little girl... Oops! I completely forgot to give Seth a pass! I hope he doesn't get in trouble!"

"Don't worry," Tag muttered, leaning back, "he's a favorite."

Wait... where had THAT come from?!