Girls like you
Love fun, yeah me too
What I want when I come through
I need a girl like you

The sound of the door slamming woke me up with a start, along with sound of muffled yelling.

I sighed and checked the time. It was seven minutes before I had to wake up, and because of my stupid parents fighting again, I lost that seven minute sleep.

My eyes trailed over at the tapestry Zachary and I did that hung on my ceiling, admiring the bright, yellow sunflowers when a knock broke me out of my trance.

"Come in," I yelled out lazily.

Karl opened my door, two cups of coffee in both of his hands. After closing the door behind him, he placed my coffee on my bed side table and sat on my bean bag, sipping on his.

He stared at my messy rug by his feet in disgust. "I don't know why you keep that, it's ugly."

I shrugged, sitting up again to look at the mistake Zachary and I did. "It brings back good memories."

"Maybe I'll just give you a new rug for Christmas. It's only a few weeks away."

"And I'll give you a new attitude, because you're in dire need of one," I retorted.

He rolled his eyes and sipped on his coffee again, scrolling through his phone. I stared at my baby brother for a while, studying the bags under his eyes and tear stains on his cheeks.

Since Grams passed away, which was a month ago, Mom and Dad had been fighting. Mom hadn't been going out of her room, let alone working, and Dad had been taking overtimes to keep us fed. Dad tried to be understanding, but as time passed by, he only grew tired. When Dad asked Mom if she'd go to work, she shunned him out and exploded on him, so Dad exploded on her too.

Their fights had been taking a toll on us too. They fought at night, when they thought we were asleep. Little did they know their scream fest woke us up at night. Even though Karl was fourteen years old, he snuck up to my room on those days and slept with me and when he didn't, he'd spend the whole morning in my room, just like what he was doing now.

"Would you stop staring at me?" he demanded, shaking me out of my thoughts. "You're being creepy."

"You're creepy," I tutted, sipping my coffee. "I'm not the one looking at almost naked models through my Instagram feed."

His cheeks flushed as he exited the app immediately. "Shut up," he muttered, standing up. "I'm getting ready."

I chuckled as he stomped away from my room, shaking my head. I wished he wouldn't grow up. I liked the way he was now despite me acting like he was annoying all the time.

After getting ready for school and ignoring the tantrums my parents were throwing, Karl and I headed to Ryder's G-Wagen, who was already outside our house waiting for us.

"Karl, my man," he greeted my little brother with a fist bump before kissing me on the cheek. "Sweetheart."

Since Brett was in town and all, he was the one who drove Selena to school. Ryder had been driving Karl and I to school since then, saying that he wanted to keep an eye on me, so he ditched his two-seaters and drove us with this G-Wagen.

Needless to say, I was a bit flattered by that.

"Can I drive this time?" Karl asked hopefully, just like he did everyday.

Ryder looked at him through the rearview mirror before speeding off. "Not today, little man."

He pouted but stayed contented in the backseat of Ryder's expensive car, taking pictures of himself in it.

I shook my head at him.

"So, the Holiday break is near," Ryder brought up, giving me a side glance. "Any plans?"

I thought about my fighting parents and shook my head. "Nope, I'm just staying home."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Really? You talked about going to Singapore last time."

I crinkled my nose. We were planning to, well, until a series of unfortunate things happened. "It got cancelled," I sighed, looking out at the windows.

Christmas used to be so much fun, and I used to be so excited for it. Usually, we'd go out of country with the whole family, but now that Grams was gone, I didn't know what we'd do. According to my cousin Scott, Aunt Vanessa was also not up for much these days, but at least she and Uncle Mason weren't fighting.

Now, I didn't know what to look forward to.

Ryder seemed to notice the mood change because he put up a wide grin, indicating an idea.

"Hey, I have an idea!" he exclaimed.

I smirked. Knew it.

"Why don't you come with me to Minnesota? My parents said I could invite anyone I want to, Zach's coming too! Besides, it's snowing there. Wouldn't it be exciting to have snow se—"

"Don't finish that sentence," I warned, earning a snicker from Karl and a sheepish smile from him. "But I don't know, I don't wanna leave my family."

"Don't worry about it, you'll be home before Christmas day itself," he assured. "I know Christmas eve sex is not as exciting as when it's the day itself, but I'm sure it will still be great. I mean, I'm the best, you know?"

I gagged. "I'd rather spend Christmas by myself."

"Don't play hard to get, sweetheart," he said smugly, flexing his arms as he drove. "I know you want me."

"Pass," I waved dismissively.

He shook his head at me in amusement, his blonde hair bouncing with him. "Joking aside though, you should really go."

I inhaled sharply.

"You should, Kath," my brother spoke up from the backseat. "You deserve a happy holiday."

"But—"

"No buts," he cut off before I could say anything. "I can head over to Selena's, they prepare a grand feast there for the holidays. I can even stock fish in Brett's shoes or something for you. Just go and have fun in the snow, I'll be fine."

I could honestly tear up. When did my evil baby brother turn into such an understanding man?

"Besides, I'll be home alone without anyone stealing the wifi and the food."

I growled at him. "You just ruined the moment."

He shrugged, a playful grin on his face.

"Fine, I'll go," I finalized. Ryder's face lit up as he opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "And no, Ryder, I'm not going to have sex with you."

He gasped. "Where did that infidelity come from, young lady? I was just gonna say how excited I was to have you there. Shame on you."

Ryder burst out laughing as I rolled my eyes, punching him in the shoulder playfully. He laughed with my brother as I stared outside the window with a smile.

Well, there's something to look forward to.

*~*~*~*~*

"Did you hear about the latest tea?" Zoe brought up just as she sat on our cafeteria table.

Jade barely looked up from her book while I gave her an acknowledging grunt and continued to eat.

She pounded on the table, surprising Jade and I. "Would you guys give me attention?" she demanded.

Jade and I both sighed. "Fine."

She smiled in contentment. "So hear this. Apparently, Logan Peters was found drunk in the streets last night, completely naked except for his boxers."

I might have sputtered out my food. "What?"

Zoe shot me a look of disgust but continued talking. "Yeah, apparently, he was ready to do his new girl named Ashley when she realized he was drunk again. She threw him out of her house without his clothes, and some kid found him, took pictures of him, and posted it on Twitter. Here."

She shoved her phone in front of us, showing a picture of Nico and her. She had on Nico's beanie as she smiled widely on the camera, with Nico staring at her like she was the only reason of his happiness. His head was on his shoulder, and they looked super cute that it only made me feel bitter.

Nevertheless, I was happy for her.

"Aw!" Jade gushed. "You guys look so cute!"

"I know, right?" I squealed. "How are you guys anyway?"

"Huh?" she said in confusion, grabbing her phone from us. She blushed when she realized she showed us the wrong picture, but there was an evident glow in her face. "Oh, wrong pic, sorry. We're good though."

She gave her phone back to us, now showing the right photo. Truth be told, he was naked, aside from his Deathly Hallows themed boxers. His face was flushed from the alcohol and his eyes were closed because of the flash. Ashley was in the background mid-scream, with her mouth opened wide.

I heard a tray fall behind me, so I turned around to see that Logan dropped his tray and ran off after seeing his picture. Zoe widened her eyes in surprise, Jade gulped, and I stood up to run after him.

It wasn't easy to catch up with him, but I finally did. I clutched on his wrist and pulled him back, putting him to a halt. Before saying anything, I bent on my knees and caught my breath.

A month without training had a bad effect on me.

"You okay?" he asked even though it was obvious he didn't want to, but he was just too nice not to. He pushed his glasses up as he waited for my response.

"Yeah," I faltered. I slowed down my breathing before finally having a steady breath. "I'm fine. You?"

"Ecstatic."

"Okay, drop the sarcasm," I chided. "I know you're not. I can smell the alcohol off of you."

People passed by us, snickering at Logan. He looked down and shook his wrist off my grip, turning red. He remained silent as I pursed my lips at the people who laughed and pointed at him.

Right on time, Ryder walked by. I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards me.

"Woah, sweetheart, didn't know you want me that bad," he crowed jokingly with a smirk. It vanished once he saw Logan beside me. "Hello, Golden Boy. Nice nudes."

Logan turned redder. He made a move to leave, but I pulled him back to me.

I glared at Ryder. "Not now. I need a favor."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Tell them not to talk about this crap anymore."

Logan's head shot up while Ryder shot me an are-you-crazy look.

"And why the hell would I do that? Do it yourself," he scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Because they'd listen to you," I pleaded, throwing on my best please-listen-to-me-I'm-cute look. "They won't listen to the high school slut. You're their king, please do something about this."

His face softened at me mentioning my reputation before sighing, "Fine. But only because you said so, I hardly care about this weasel."

He whipped out his phone and typed out something as Logan and I stared at him. "Done," he said after a few seconds in a bored tone.

Suddenly, no one was looking at us, especially Logan, anymore. I whipped out my phone and checked Twitter, only to see that the photo was gone. I smiled and threw my arms around Ryder.

"Thank you," I murmured.

He hugged me back and sighed. "At least you thanked me. That weasel couldn't even do that."

With furrowed eyebrows, I let go of Ryder to see that Logan was long gone. I didn't have time to give it much of a thought because right then, my phone rang.

"Kaden?" I voiced out in confusion.

"Kath," he breathed out, anxiousness dripping from his tone. "I need your help."

"What happened?"

"I got arrested."

*~*~*~*~*

"Is that really necessary?" I asked Ryder, looking at the black and blue Bugatti Chiron parked in front of my house.

"It's a six-hour drive from San Fran to LA. With this baby, we can get there in three hours." Ryder said proudly, patting his car.

Apparently, Kaden got arrested from beating someone up to pulp, but in his defense, that someone was bothering some underage girl. Mom, A.K.A. me, had to bail him out with a fine. After the phone call, I filled Ryder in and he offered to come with me Los Angeles, since my brother studied at UCLA. We had to go home first though, for I had to get Kaden's extra money in his room and some props. When I went down, Ryder was already with this shiny car, his G-Wagen long gone.

"Yeah, along with police trailing after us because of going over the speed limit," I retorted. "I know your Bugatti Chiron is fast, but do we really need something so flashy?"

"Sweetheart, even without the car, I'm flashy myself," he jested cockily, flexing yet again. "And it's new. I want to use it."

"Fine," I sighed, finally admiring his car. I ran a hand over it. "I do want to ride in this car. I heard it's the second fastest."

He whistled lowly. "You know your cars."

"Of course," I grinned proudly. That grin was wiped down when I remembered a similar comment from a certain brown haired boy with glasses from long ago.

It was hard to admit, but yes, I missed Logan Peters. I missed how we sang in the morning as we went to school, him teaching me more about cars—just hanging out with him in general.

I mentally slapped myself as my mind delved deeper into my memories of him. No, I scolded myself. You can't miss him. You broke his heart, stick with that.

"Can I drive it?" I asked in a small voice, hoping he'd allow it. "I've never driven a car like this before."

To my surprise, he threw the keys at me. "Be my guest."

I squealed and jumped around in happiness, earning a chuckle from Ryder. I unlocked the car and stepping into the driver's seat, inhaling the new car scent. I rubbed my hand across the wheel, feeling its leather. I gawked at all of the buttons and gears, admiring its beauty.

Ryder slid on to the passenger's seat, an amused smile on his face. "What can I do for you to look at me the same way you look at my car?"

"Nothing," I marveled, still admiring his car.

"Oh yeah? What if I bought you one?" he challenged.

I jammed the key in and started the car, hearing its roaring engine. I could moan. "Debatable."

He raised an eyebrow. Before he could comment though, I raced to the streets, feeling the speed of the car. I burst out laughing, happy that I was driving one of my dream cars.

I heard the snap of the camera, making me glance at Ryder, who was holding one.

"Hey!" I protested, covering my face with my hair as I turned back to the road.

"What?" he chuckled, leaning into me and tucking the hair behind my ear. "You looked so happy, I had to take a picture. You're not happy lately."

I frowned at his blunt response, remembering everything that happened.

"No, bring back that smile!" he panicked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Come on, tell me something that makes you happy."

I smiled half-heartedly at his attempt. "Well, I'm happy you allowed me to ride this baby. Zachary won't even let me drive his motorcycle even when he was drunk."

He snorted. "He loves that thing so much, he won't even let me drive it. Besides, even if you crashed and burned this one, I can easily buy another one."

Damn rich people and their money.

We chattered for a few hours when I realized that something was wrong.

The car wasn't going as fast as it used to.

"Ryder," I began, trying to speed up but inevitably failing. "Is it just me or are we going slower?"

"Trust me, we are definitely going slow. If we were going fast, I would've made out with you already."

"I'm not talking about us, there's not even an us!" I growled. "I'm talking about your car, dumbass."

"Ouch, sweetheart," he feigned an offended tone. "But seriously, maybe you're just a slow driver."

Just then, a grumbling sound echoed inside the car, slowing us down more.

"Oh yeah, because I'm really all about slowness," I snapped. Ryder opened his mouth to say something what I presumed to be dirty again, but I cut him off. "You try driving."

I pulled up at the side of the road. As Ryder got out to switch seats with me, I moved over to the passenger seat and studied our surroundings. We seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, since there was nothing but dry grass and plants, and I swear I just saw a tumbleweed passing by us.

I checked my phone as Ryder started the car again to see that it was dead. I opened his glove compartment to check if he had a cord or something, but to my surprise, there was freaking bra.

"I thought this car was new," I chided, crinkling my nose in disgust. Ryder glanced at the pink, lacy bra and smiled sheepishly before throwing it outside.

"I just got it yesterday," he tried explaining. "And I took it out for a spin."

"Oh you took it out for a spin alright," I muttered under my breath, glowering at the forlorn bra he threw outside.

I heard the start of the engine, only for it to end as quickly as it began. Ryder cursed in frustration before going outside. He popped open the hood of a car, inspecting what was wrong.

I gawked at him as he tried fixing it, noticing the way his blonde hair falls on his face and how his eyes turn more gold under the setting sun. I frantically looked down on my phone when he looked up at me, trying to cool down the blush that was heading to my cheeks.

After closing the hood, he motioned for me to come outside, so I did.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

He sighed. "The fuel filter was nearly clogged, so it wasn't able to flow fuel as fast as we are using it. The filter ran dry and that caused the engine to die. I don't even know how it's clogged since it's new."

I furrowed my eyebrows and opened the hood, studying the fuel filter.

"It looks like someone poured coffee in it," I observed. I put my nose near it and recoiled. "Yup, that's definitely coffee. Mixed with fuel."

"I don't understand," he knit his brows together. "Why would there be coffee in there—oh."

I raised an eyebrow. "That oh has something to do with the bra, doesn't it?"

He nodded solemnly. "After having s—a good time, Tiffany started telling me about introducing me to her parents, you know, the getting serious stuff. I then replied that I didn't want anything serious and she understood. I should've known there was something suspicious with her calmness. I mean, I was used to screaming ladies, so when she asked me to go back inside the cafe store to get her another coffee, I didn't suspect anything."

I shook my head at him in disappointment. "And she must've filled your filter with her coffee. I got to say, she's crazy, but also a bit of a genius. If I wasn't stuck in this situation with you, I would've sent her a trophy and laughed at you."

He glared at me. "Well, too bad. We're in this together, and I don't know how to get this fixed."

I groaned. "We're three hours away from home, we ended up in this empty place, my phone's dead, and we have a broken car. Our luck is just fabulous, don't you think?"

Ryder frowned at his phone. "Mine's dead too."

I wanted to cry.

"Look, I'm going to walk around and look for a place, and you can stay here and relax," Ryder offered with guilt twinged in his tone.

I glanced around the deserted area and felt shivers down my spine. "Better idea, I'll just come with you so you don't have to go back and forth."

"You aren't scared, are you?" he smirked as he closed the hood and locked his car.

"What, no!" I denied, making his smirk widen. "You know what, whatever. I'm leaving you here if you keep up with that attitude."

I began walking away, stuffing my hands in the pocket of my jacket. Ryder howled with laughter before joining me in my fast walk.

Fortunately, Ryder remained quiet as we ventured out in the middle of nowhere. I felt like Courage the Cowardly Dog—every time I heard a noise, I jumped in surprise or let out a squeak. Sure, I was fearless when