The morning came around and no one was in the mood to say anything. Jace and I didn't even talk on the drive to school. His jaw was clenched and he just stared out the window the entire time.

He practically ran out of my car when we reached the school, leaving without saying a word. I didn't know what happened, but when our mother left, the atmosphere between us completely shifted.

I sighed as I walked through the school doors. I was so exhausted. I didn't get any sleep last night so my eyes felt heavy and my under eye bags were darker than usual.

I trudged to my first period class and sat down, immediately resting my head on the desk.

I felt my eyes shut as I let sleep take over.

The peacefulness only lasted for a few minutes before I felt something hit the back of head. I groaned, the one time I was able to get some rest, some fucker ruins it.

I lifted my head up, squinting my eyes because the light was so bright. I looked around my area and noticed a crumpled up piece of paper on the ground. I huffed and picked it up, slowly unraveling it.

Wake up princess, your snoring is distracting me.
P.S. drool isn't a good look on you.

I glared at the paper and mumbled a few curse words under my breath.

I crumbled the piece of paper and turned around to see Karson already looking at me with a smirk plastered on his face. I gave him an intense glare as he pointed to his chin, trying to tell me I had something on face.

I went to touch my face and gasped when I felt drool on the corner of my mouth. I quickly wiped it away before narrowing my eyes at him. He just smirked before looking back at the teacher.

The day just started and I already wanted it to end. I was not in the mood to deal with anyone's bullshit today, especially not his.

•~•~•~

"I failed my math test again," Nora huffed as she stuffed her face with chocolate cake. We were at lunch and she's been complaining about how she failed her math test when she genuinely thought it was going to be the easiest test this year.

She was wrong.

"Aw keep your head up, I bet there is someone out there who did worse than you," I tried to reassure her, but failed miserably. I'm not very good with words.

She glared at me before devouring the last piece of her chocolate cake. "And now my cake is gone?! Today is the worst fucking day ever," she huffed as she slumped down in her chair.

I shook my head as I patted her back in reassurance. She slapped my hand away before narrowing her eyes at me. I looked at her with wide eyes and put both my hands up in surrender.

"Calm your tits," I chuckled as I threw a fry at her head. She caught it in the air and shoved it in her mouth aggressively. We blankly stared at each other before bursting into laughter when we were no longer able to keep a straight face.

"What's so funny?"

I turned around to see who the voice belonged to and was surprised to see the three boys standing there with their hands stuffed in their pockets. I could feel everyone's eyes on us, probably wondering why the new "bad boys" are standing by us. I looked back at the boys and gave them a blank expression, I was too tired to deal with them.

I secretly looked at each boy and noticed they are all dressed in a basic tee and dark washed jeans. My eyes lingered on Karson a little longer than the other two. He was wearing a leather jacket, making him standout from the group. As much as I hate how big his ego was, I really hate admitting how attractive he was.

Karsons brown hair was disheveled against his forehead as his emerald eyes gazed into my own. His jaw was constantly clenched, as if he's always mad at something, or even someone. His beautiful emerald eyes held no emotion as he stared directly at me.

It's a shame such an attractive person is gone to waste for someone who has such a shitty personality.

I noticed him smirk as his voice broke me out of my trance. "Is princess checking me out?"

"In your dreams Ryder," I rolled my eyes before shoving a fry into my mouth, trying to act as if I totally wasn't just checking him out.

"You are the last person I ever want to see in my dreams. Don't think so highly of yourself now," he scoffed. He wore a blank expression, his green eyes holding no emotion as he stared back at me. I shifted uncomfortably as he continued to stare into my eyes. It felt as if he was trying to figure out what I'm hiding, trying to find any emotion surfacing on my face.

The one thing we have in common is that we both know how to hide our emotions, I can see it in his eyes. I'm a very observant person and I can tell when someone says the wrong thing to him, his eyes will turn a darker green, and his eyes will glaze over. He also has a little twitch in his eyebrow when someone pisses him off. It's surprisingly easy to read him, from his body language to his eyes.

I'm the first to break my gaze away from Karson. I gave Colton a bored expression, not bothering to respond.

Karson and I obviously didn't get along very well. I've talked to the guys a few times but Karson and I have never clicked. There was always something we disagreed with and we end up arguing every time we talk. I really didn't have anything against him the first time we met until he opened his mouth. That's when it all went downhill.

Over the past few days, I think it's safe to say that I've gotten closer with Colton and Braxton. Although I was a little unsure whether it was a good idea to befriend them or not, Nora eventually convinced me I had nothing to worry about. I can't really say the same about Karson though, because we bicker every time we try and have a civil conversation. It always ends with one of us being pissed at the other.

Braxton was already seated at our lunch table, comfortably sitting next to Nora. I watched as he blew a straw wrapper off his straw and shot towards her direction. It hit her in the cheek and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You little shit."

He barked a laugh as they started play fighting. I smirked as I watched the two in front of me, the sexual tension suffocating the cafeteria.

I turned around to face Colton. "Mind if I sit here?"

"No, go ahead," I said, forcing a smile onto my face.

Karson was still standing beside the table, refusing to sit down.

"Why the fuck are you sitting with them? You told me you were just going to ask for math answers," Karson hissed. Why was he always in such a bad mood? It's like he always has a stick shoved up his ass and he can never get it out.

Braxton and Colton shared a look before bursting into laughter. Braxton was clenching his stomach as Colton was wiping his fake tears away.

I stared at the two with a confused look, wondering what was so funny. Nora caught my gaze and her eyebrows furrowed together, just as confused as I was. After their laughing fit, they went back to normal and acted like nothing even happened. I looked at them with shock written all over my face, but didn't bother to ask them what that was all about.

"Oh come on man, they're our friends now, just sit down," Braxton said as he patted the seat next to him.

"No thanks, I'm not sitting with that insufferable bitch. I'm just going to go outside for a quick smoke," Karson grunted before breaking away from the group.

"Go fuck yourself, Ryder," I growled.

Insufferable bitch? Oh I'll show him an insufferable bitch.

He didn't bother turning around, he just flipped me off with his back faced towards us as he walked away. I was about to get up to show him how much of an insufferable bitch I can be, but Nora stopped me and gave me a don't even think about it look. She narrowed her eyes and I huffed before sitting back down. She gave me a sweet smile as I rolled my eyes in return.

"He smokes?" Nora asked, trying to change the subject. Do we have to keep talking about him? I'd rather dunk my ears in bleach.

Braxton choked out a small cough before hesitating. "Yeah, he's been smoking for a few months now."

I looked up and still saw Karson walking away as he searched for a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He finally turned the corner, leaving the cafeteria, and I was no longer able to see his retreating figure.

I looked back over to Braxton and he seemed to be in a deep thought as I watched his jaw clench and unclench. His eyes grew a shade darker, burning with anger.

"Snap out of it man," Colton muttered as he snapped his fingers in front of Braxtons face to break him away from his thoughts.

Braxton just shook his head. "I'm sorry, It just pisses me off when Karson smokes. We've all been through some rough shit together and the only way Karson knows how to cope is by smoking. We've tried to get him to quit but it's no use."

His eyes no longer held anger, just a look of sadness and defeat. Whatever they went through must have taken a huge toll on these boys, especially Karson.

"He wasn't always this angry. He has his moments, but he's not one to open up and show how he feels. He did that once and it completely destroyed him. Karson doesn't know how to control himself anymore," Braxton added, he grit his teeth as he took a deep breath. "He gave up on trying to please people a long time ago. It's like he flipped a switch, one day he was a happy teenager, and the next he was a raging asshole who didn't give a fuck about anything."

I wondered what happened to all of them in the past, but I didn't want to ask because I knew they wouldn't be comfortable talking about it. I wouldn't either if someone asked why I took care of my two younger siblings.

"How do you do it?" Nora asked once again.

"What do you mean?"

"How can you deal with him? He's a dick to everyone, even y'all," she huffed as she briefly glanced in my direction.

The two boys shared a look before continuing. "We've seen him at his lowest point and we know he doesn't mean half the shit he says. He just uses anger as a way to cover up how he truly feels. Yeah he's an ass, but deep down, he's just a vulnerable little shit who doesn't know how to deal with his emotions. Trust me, he's tried to push us away more times than I can count, but we just stayed where we were and helped him get through whatever shit he was going through."

Nora's mouth was agape as I just listened to the two boys talk, taking all the information in. I understand Karson has been through some shit, but haven't we all? There's no need to take it out on other people. Maybe I'm just blinded by the hatred I have for him, but I really don't understand why he has to be a dick.

Braxton cleared his throat and clapped his hands together. "Well, that's enough sad talk for today," he stated, trying to make the atmosphere feel less awkward. "Now what I've been wondering is what type of positions do you girls like in bed? I need some tips."

I raised my eyebrow and crossed my arms in front of me as I watched a sly smirk crawl onto Braxton's face. I tilted my head to the side and let Nora do all the talking.

"Well, we like doggy but it makes our-," she explained, but I just blocked out their conversation and thought back to what Braxton said. Some real shit must have gone down before they moved here. I've heard rumors about them, but I don't bother paying attention to them. Why believe something you heard from a random person when you can hear what really happened from the person itself?

I broke my gaze away from the table and looked up to see Jace seated with his football friends. He was laughing at a joke one of his friends made as he patted him on the back. I think he felt my gaze on him because not even a few seconds later, his gaze connected with mine. His smile immediately faltered when he looked at me and he quickly broke eye contact to give his whole attention back to his friends.

His smile returned when he continued to talk to his teammates. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, what's wrong with Jace? I blankly stared at my friends in front of me, pretending to listen to what they are saying. In reality, I'm paying zero attention to them, because my mind is on my brother, wondering what the fuck happened between us.

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Hello my loves!!

How is everyone doing??

I'm not too happy with how this chapter turned out but what do y'all think of it?? Did you like it?

School ends SO soon and I'm so excited!!
I love you all so much and thank you for all the support!

-Lauren <3