"PE is the worst," Diane scrunched her nose as she pulled on her socks. It was the double period allotted for PE - Diane's least favorite period - and her dismay was more than evident of that.
As usual the brunette had her hair in matching pigtails, a hairstyle fitting the subject. She begrudgingly wore the school's navy PE kit and paired it with simple black sneakers and white socks.
"Come on, Diane, it's not all bad," I say jokingly, rolling my eyes. I nudge her teasingly with a small smile. "There's some fun behind the mindless ball throwing and barging."
Like Diane, I was more or less changed and ready for the double period of physical torture. My PE kit had been thrown on, my hair tied into pigtails to match Diane and my normal flats were replaced with sneakers.
Right now, I was just making sure I didn't forget anything before heading to the actual lesson. Stuff like my water bottle or making sure my bra straps weren't visible. I doubt the teacher would let us go back inside if we did. From what I've heard the coach isn't too nice.
"I guess," Diane sighed dramatically, stretching as she stood up from her seat on the bench, "But that's what a lot of people say before their first day here."
"Ooh, it's her first day?" A random girl asked. She easily stripped to her underwear and pulled on her shorts.
"Yeah," Diane nodded and the girl shot me a sympathetic smile. She had bright green hair and almond-shaped blue eyes. Her oddly shaded hair was tied into a curly ponytail with a pink scrunchie securing it.
"Well, good luck with that," She spoke before winking and dropping her voice to a whisper, "But if you need to get out of anything, just say that Deldry wanted you to grab something for her."
"And why would I say that?" I tilt my head in confusion as I look at the girl, presumably Deldry.
"Just consider it a free pass," She shrugged simply. She grinned as she tucked in her shirt. "I have a way with men and often I get what I want without having to do anything...undesirable."
"Thanks, but she's fine without the offer Deldry," Diane spoke quickly as she grabbed me by the shoulders. She then began to push me away. "She doesn't want to become a part of your slut parade."
"It's not a slut parade!" The green haired girl insisted, frowning as she watched me disappear. Her cheeks flared with indignation. "It's a cheer squad!"
"Tell that to your leotards and lingerie!" Diane responded simply before guiding me to the bleachers.
It wasn't until we took a seat on the back row that she released me and let out a puffy sigh. She had a frown on her face as Deldry walked in, a smug look on her features as she took a seat and began to file her nails.
Unlike most, Deldry looked comfortable in the reluctant and mopey atmosphere of the hall. Like she knew she wouldn't have to do a single piece of work. Most students were cursing and watching for the coach. Many of them were anxiously jiggling legs or fiddling with things, whispering between each other as they watched the main entrance. They all seemed to be paranoid of the coach.
Were they really that scary?
"What was that about?" I raise a brow, turning to face a scowling Diane.
"PE lesson 101," Diane growled as she looked at the wall. She had her arms folded. "Never take a freebie from Deldry Skies. She's more or less notorious for being the school whore. She has all of the male teachers wrapped around her finger. Not to mention the students."
"She does?" I say in a mixture of shock and amazement. How could one sixteen year old have several men obey her? Unless -
"Yes, she's a Holy Knight," Diane breathed airily before laughing, "But you could say her gift isn't exactly holy."
"Definitely not," I join her laughter as my sister and Arthur approach us.
"It's been a while, Ellie," Veronica smirked as she sat beside me. A hand gently ruffled my hair, carefully minding the site of my recent injury. "You gave me quite the scare this weekend."
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to!" I squeak out, my voice already shrinking and face already warm.
I'd completely forgotten about Veronica seeing the incident that occurred two days ago. In fact I have to admit I haven't seen much of my sister nor Arthur. Both have been in different classes or busy with clubs and royal matters. I only bumped into them every now and then. But when they did it was often to help me or because I'd injured myself. Never in a lesson or to just catch up.
I should amend that.
"It's ok, I'm only teasing," Veronica chuckled at my red face. She then grinned once more, wide and toothy. "Although...I'm shocked you didn't tell me about having a boyfriend."
"What?" I pale as I glance over to Diane.
She simply smiled innocently, trying to suppress a giggle as she focused once more on listening to Arthur. More students began to enter the room.
"I know you heard me," Veronica continued shrugging before turning to me in mock hurt. "But seriously Ellie, you didn't think to tell me! I'm your older sis, I'm meant to beat up the bastards when they mess up!"
I blink at my sister's words, shocked that she wasn't having an outburst about who I was supposedly 'dating'. I thought with how explosive my sister can be that she would be yelling at me nonstop about how I was reckless and naive; but instead she was talking about protecting me and making sure no-one wronged me in any way. Instead of being angry, Veronica actually seemed happy.
I couldn't help but feel the beginnings of a smile or perhaps a giggle at the thought. Veronica happy? Now that was a pretty rare thing.
But why would she be happy about this?
"Um...Veronica?" I speak quietly and she stops her rant. Sharp eyes fix onto me and she gives me a nod, her attention set on me and only me. "You're actually fine with me dating Meliodas? No issues or - "
"Nah, I'm pretty sure I'm cool with it. He seems like an ok guy," Veronica grinned as she suddenly wrapped me into a tight bear-hug. "But tell me if he does anything wrong, ok? No matter how small. I don't like seeing you get hurt."
"Captain would never hurt Elizabeth!" Diane huffed, glaring at my sister. Firm and offended, her face actually flushed red with emotion. "Accusing him of such things is just wrong."
"What? Ellie's my younger sister I've gotta look out for her," Veronica shrugged nonchalantly, grimacing. It wasn't long before she grew a wide grin, nudging me. "Plus - "
"Ok, kids ten laps around the hall now!" A harsh whistle blow screeched in my ears.
Groans filled the room as everyone trailed into a flock and began to run around the hall in what I believe was a warm up. Veronica, Arthur and I trailed behind with Diane not too far ahead. She was talking to Ban and King, leaving me to catch up with my sibling.
"Who knew the Coach was such an asshole," Veronica muttered as we passed the bleachers for a third time. She showed no signs of tiring, but her disdain was clear. "Does he really have nothing better to do than yell at kids all day?"
"Veronica!" Both Arthur and myself blushed at her profanity. I wasn't one who favoured in using such words - well, unless I was really peeved or something; but even then it never came to mind. But Veronica always seemed to welcome the idea of cursing. It was what added to her brash and intimidating demeanor I guess.
"What? It's true," My sister shrugged, rolling her eyes. Glaring, her oak eyes settled on the coach's form. "He really is an asshole."
"But you shouldn't call people such things," I say in a scolding manner similar to a parent as I pout. "You know father wouldn't approve."
"It could also result in something bad happening to you in return," Arthur recited wisely, before frowning, "Well, I think that's what Merlin told me when I called her something unjust."
"I bet she turned you into a toad or something," I suppress a giggle, as a faint red covers the tips of his ears.
"Yeah, she turned me into a cat," He shivered, his mind elsewhere. "Then she left me outside when it started to rain. It was terrible! I was out there for hours scratching at her door. But she let me in soon after."
"Sounds like Merlin to do such a thing," Veronica sniffed, smirking. "She's always interested in experimenting and finding out the truth to things."
We all seemed to nod in agreement as the Coach blew his whistle and gathered us all onto the bleachers. By now many of the students were sweaty and panting messes, some of them clearly not knowing what a shower was. The stench of body odour was rank. However Diane had fortunately known the best place to go. She herded the three of us, as well as Ban and King, into a corner. She said it was the best spot and she knew from experience.
"Ok, today we're gonna play dodgeball," The coach scanned the class, repeatedly throwing and catching a ball. His eyes critically skimmed over each student, as if he were wondering whether to throw at us. "So you'll split into two teams chosen by two captains."
At this, I spotted two people slip in: Elaine and Meliodas. The two blondes appeared to nod at each other, before going to their respective area. Elaine went to the far side with the other fairies and Meliodas joined us in Diane's corner. However they were caught halfway.
"You two are late!" The coach's voice was harsh, causing Elaine to freeze and Meliodas to simply pause. "Any pink slips or such?"
"I was helping Ms Gerheade in the gardens," Elaine spoke hurriedly, her voice squeaking a timid like a mouse. She appeared to shrink under the pressure of the coach's stare, her childlike innocence fading as it was replaced with apprehension.
"I'll check with Gerheade later," The teacher sighed as he turned to Meliodas. A glare replaced his slither of sympathy for Elaine. "And what's your excuse this week, Meliodas?"
"Vice Principal Drefus," The reply seemed to be enough because the coach nodded.
What was Meliodas doing in the Vice Principal's office? Did something happen again or did he and Ban do something stupid? But if they did Ban wouldn't have been here on time...
My mind reeling with thoughts, I glanced over to the Sins who looked just as clueless as I was. They all seemed to hold the same confusion in their expressions as they looked at their Captain, silent conversations being held. I guess they didn't know either.
After passing the coach's scrutiny, Meliodas and Elaine turned to find their places on the bleachers. They took a few steps before the coach clearing his throat stopped them.
"Well, since you two are late," He seemed to smirk as he looked at the two. The ball was thrown and caught once more. "You can be this week's captains. We're playing dodgeball."
Both appeared to want to protest, but instead just walked up front, standing on either side of the coach.
"To make it even you have to mix the teams up," The coach glanced at the two. He then scanned the bleachers. "So Elaine choose a boy and then choose a girl and so forth. Vice versa for Meliodas."
"Oh ok..." Elaine nodded, gulping a little as she scanned over the sea of faces in our class. She then closed her eyes and let the name out softly. "Ban."
The taller male smirked triumphantly, already flexing a bicep, as he proudly stepped towards the front. He easily made himself at home, standing behind Elaine, and taunting King behind the coach's back.
But even with King to bother, Ban still glanced over to Meliodas with a teasing sparkle in his eyes.
"Well Cap'n, I guess we're enemies this time," Ban smirked, his canines catching the lighting of the hall.
"Aww but I was looking forward to having you on my team," Meliodas mocked a look of disappointment.
"Don't miss me too much or I might have to fake an injury," Ban laughed as the two ignored the death glare of the coach.
"We have a time schedule and if you run over it all of you will miss lunch," The teacher growled at the two. "I'm pretty sure your classmates wouldn't like that."
Ban and Meliodas rolled their eyes saying something under their breath before the blonde actually did as the teacher instructed.
"Well, if Elaine's got Ban I'm gonna take Elizabeth," Meliodas smiled knowingly.
"Elizabeth!" Diane stood up outraged. For the second time today, her face flooded with red, her pigtails swishing vigorously. "Captain you're on a suicide mission if you have her against Ban!"
"Oh well, I've already said it," Meliodas shrugged simply, that crooked grin of his in place. "So you joining the team, Elizabeth?"
All traces of his previous state last night were gone. Like his tears, the problem seemed to have dried up. Disappeared. But I knew he was hiding it below the surface. Something was off in the grins and smiles he gave today. They didn't seem to reach to his eyes to give them that warm glimmer of life they usually have. They didn't seem as natural.
They seemed forced.
"Hopefully we're on the same team," I squeeze Diane's shoulder lightly and she nods.
I then get up and stand behind the blonde and both team captains begin to assemble their teams.
O.o.O.o.O
Diane's P.O.V
"Elizabeth we're on different teams!" I wail as I stand in a totally different line from my best friend.
It wasn't fair! The one thing I asked for was to be on the same team as Elizabeth, but of course my luck had run dry today. Figures.
PE always sucks.
"I know, but try to think of it differently. I'm sure you'll be fine," Like every time she felt guilty, Elizabeth shot me an apologetic smile, her silver hair spilling over her shoulder in their pigtails.
Naturally I had insisted, and of course she looked adorable in them!
But Elizabeth looked different to everyone else in the PE kit and not because she was a newbie or had new hairstyle. It wasn't just now either; she always stood out somehow - even in the bland, boring uniform we have to wear for classes.
Elizabeth was always so graceful and kind, making anyone want her on their team. She was always willing to help, always willing to be polite and always willing to do the right thing. If anything, Elizabeth was almost angelic in behaviour and appearance. I could even imagine wings sprouting from her back right now. White and feathery and -
Ok Diane stop thinking of your friend as a goddess. They don't come to places like Liones, they have the Celestial schools for that. Nice, fancy private schools.
But I can't help but wonder. It would explain some of the weird things Elizabeth always says. Like how she's known Captain for hundreds of years.
I glance over at Elizabeth and she's distracted, talking to Arthur. A bright smile and energetic nod tell me that she was enjoying herself a little. That was good.
But there is definitely something angelic about her. Maybe she is a goddess!
"Diane!"
"Yeah?" I blink, my thoughts cut to a halt as Ban rolls his eyes and he gestures to Elaine.
"Elaine was just wondering about adding King to the team," Ban explained as he gestured to King. "But do you think it's fair for Cap'n?"
My eyes lazily glanced at King and he seemed to be occupying himself. He lay upon Chastiefol, sneaking a quick nap before the intense task of PE. However he suddenly looked our way, his eyes wide and alert like a deer caught in headlights.
A blush brewed on King's face as he caught my gaze and I gave him a small smile and wave back. I found it adorable how King went into a spluttering mess around me. It was something that showed I was special to him, even if it was involuntary.
"Since when did you care about fair, Ban?" I roll my eyes, scoffing as I fold my arms. "I say we add King. I'm sure Captain's got this handled."
"If you say so," Ban mumbled before nudging Elaine and telling her the reply.
Soon King was on our team, floating towards us with a mopey look. The sort of look he has when he has to fight without magic.
"What's wrong, King?" I raise a brow, frowning at his mopey appearance.
"Chastiefol got confiscated," He mumbled as he floated beside me. His arms loosely wrapped around his frame, exactly like how he hugged Chastiefol. "Apparently having it during PE is cheating."
"Aww King," I wrap him a hug, attempting to mimic his special pillow. "Don't worry I'm sure you can still use your magic to play dodgeball!"
"Y-you think so?" He asked his face red, but slightly less red than it usually would be. I think he's finally getting used to PDA.
"Yeah! You could do something like bumblebee with the balls," I smile and an idea comes to mind. "Yeah, you should totally do that King! We'd destroy the other team."
"Ok I'll give it a shot," He smiled slightly.
"That's the spirit!" I beam as I look over to Elizabeth.
Maybe she was right when she said sports didn't suck.
O.o.O.o.O
Elizabeth's (normal) P.O.V
"We're on the same team!" Veronica grinned knowingly as she glanced at the team captain. Her eyes were filled with the same look she gave me when she caught me doing something. "This was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Well, Meliodas did choose his team," Arthur playfully rolled his eyes at my sister. "Plus Elaine took Diane and she was the next strongest female."
He was awarded a punch in the arm from Veronica for that. She then sniffed as she fixed her socks and got into a running stance, hand on the wall.
"Let's see what you think about 'next strongest' after this match," She smiled as she focused on the balls lined in the middle of the court.
Since I had a head injury, it was decided I would stay behind to catch or try to get anyone out without being too close to where it got 'messy' as Meliodas quoted.
Apparently during dodgeball, things got pretty wild here. In fact the coach reserved it for newbies because of how rough it gets in the middle of the court. Last time anyone played, a student got sent to hospital with a severe concussion and possibly a few broken ribs, as well as a punctured lung.
Long story short, dodgeball was reserved for special occasions and new students in Liones Academy. It was too dangerous to have as a permanent part of the curriculum.
"Just be careful," I say as I think about the tales students had told me just before heading onto the court.
"I'll be fine Ellie," Veronica winked before turning to Arthur. "You better look after my sister for me. Not to mention Meliodas. He'll go nuts if she gets injured."
Arthur seemed to pale at her words but quickly recollected himself. He gave a determined smile, giving a firm thumbs up.
I could only sigh in response.
"Don't scare Arthur, Veronica," I shake my head as I look at the now fretting boy. He was shaking a little, and jumped when I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll make sure none of them kill you if I get injured."
"We'll just plot it behind your back," I heard Meliodas speak from a few people down. He and Veronica shared identical smiles.
"You know your boyfriend isn't actually too bad," My sister smirked as she looked at me, "Good job at picking him, Ellie."
I just groaned, embarrassment blooming on my face. "At this rate you two are going to have a murder pact behind my back. Or a blacklist for anyone who hurt me or anything."
"Don't give them ideas," Arthur frowned and the whistle blew.
That's when hell broke loose.
It was like a battlefield, figuratively and literally. The fastest people on each team claimed a ball from the middle of the court, and were soon attacking the opposition. People were ducking, dodging, throwing the odd ball they caught or picked up and tried not to get hit by the balls zooming in the air at top speeds.
In simple terms, dodgeball was chaos surrounding me at all sides.
I ran to the other end of the half my team occupied, Arthur following like a loyal puppy. Out of nowhere a ball whistled through the air, causing me to quickly jump to the side, losing my balance and face-planting solidly to the ground.
I groaned. Now my face and my head hurt. Not to mention my senses were all over the place trying to figure out how to survive this death match.
"Are you ok?" Arthur asked as he helped me up. He easily hoisted my weight up, seeming relived when I easily smile.
"Yep," I reply, dusting myself off and brushing aside the light throbbing in my head. It was nothing. My powers could make it fade if it got any worse.
"Look out!"
Arthur and I split apart at the last second, all ball hitting the wall behind us with a violent smack. My eyes widened at the sound before I shook my head and picked up the ball. I then passed it to Arthur.
"You'll have a better aim," I explain as he looks at me, confused. I then point to my head, emphasizing upon back of it . "Head injury remember."
He nodded and took the ball, aiming towards the opposition.
"Any specific targets?" He asked, glancing at me over his shoulder.
"Not really," I shrug and he throws the ball. It ends it ends up hitting another student in the face, making them drop their ball.
The rest of the first round went that way. Arthur and I stuck to the back of the court, him throwing any balls I caught or found, while I dodged and ducked for my life. Meanwhile, most of our team went right into the middle of it, where things got extremely rough.
I can't deny that some of the balls Ban threw sounded extremely painful on the receiving end. It had to be at least twice that I saw someone fall from a ball to the face or stomach. The sound wasn't too satisfying either.
But all because Ban was a good player to have, didn't mean we didn't have good players either. Veronica was (un)surprisingly good. She put up quite a fight and was still in the middle of it, getting a few people out alongside Meliodas.
However now the swarm of students in the middle of the court were all thinning out. Quite a few had ended up on the bleachers and were watching as the game progressed. This allowed me to see some of the faces on the other team.
Some of them were faces I knew, but quite a few were new yet somehow familiar. Especially a pair of students who stuck together. It was a girl with wild blonde hair and guy with brown hair and a mustache. I don't know why, but something about them did seem familiar. Like I knew them at some point in my life...
Suddenly Arthur had pushed me aside, narrowly missing the ball that was hurtling towards me. As expected, it connected with the wall with a large smack.
"You seemed to zone out back there," Arthur spoke as he helped me up. He looked in the direction of the pair. "Do you know those two?"
"No, but I feel like I do," I say as I look at them.
They both looked back, dark eyes and smirks meeting me. My heart stopped from the realisation. I knew who they were. I even negotiated with them years ago. They were -
"Derieri and Monspeet..." I say as a ball connects with my face.
Why do I always get injured when I see a Commandment?