You get a nice long chapter for being so patient and also because I couldn't split it up, it was just too juicy!

As per my new tradition, I will reply to every comment posted within the next 48 hrs, can't wait to see what you guys think!

|| Chapter 27 ||

"Okay, I have one," Olivia raises a hand, shoving a couple chips in her mouth. "I spy with my little eye something...beginning with 'C'."

Charlotte looks around the hallway, assessing every object around us.

"Chandelier," I answer, glimpsing a piece of the chandelier in the foyer.

Olivia huffs loudly, "God dammit." She leans forward and hisses loudly, she glares at Charlotte, "That is the last time you talk me into a wax."

"What are you doing?" A voice startles us from the stairs and the three of us look over at our mother. Olivia, Charlotte and I are sitting in the hallway by our bedrooms waiting for Sebastian to finish his shower. He's only been in there for four minutes so we have at least another fifteen to go.

My camera is set up on my tripod at the end of the hallway and Olivia has her phone angled perfectly for any candid shots. Charlotte is sitting cross-legged, stealing chips every now and then while I lie flat on my back with my feet on the wall.

Olivia slowly shoves a couple chips into her mouth, lowering her feet from where they were resting against the wall. "Um."

A shuffle comes from the stairs and Maddie walks into view and she's digging through a tote bag on her shoulder, "Tess I really don't get why you hid this stuff in the garage, it's literally trash..." Maddie's head snaps up at the subtle cough I gave along with the 'cut-throat' motion to get her to stop talking.

My mother folds her arms across her chest staring us down, "Well?"

I entwine my fingers and place my hands in my lap giving her a calm and casual look, "I would like to speak to my lawyer."

She raises an eyebrow before turning on her heel and yelling down the stairs, "Peter, come here please love."

Charlotte chokes on a cough and Olivia sits up a little straighter. Maddie stares wide-eyed at me, silently asking what she should do with the bag in her hands. Heavy footsteps reach the staircase and my mother looks back at us with a smug smile on her face.

My father's steps slow once he's in our sights. He tilts his head with a questioning glance in my mothers direction but she just gestures to us, "Your daughters are planning something and Tessa's requested her lawyer be present, so I called you."

His lips quirk in a smile but he crosses his arms over his chest, "Explain." One glance towards Sebastian's closed door and the sound of running water tells me I have time.

Olivia leans closer, "Just use the word allegedly a lot, it helps."

I'm still lying on the floor when I look up at my dad, "I would like to explore the options of possible punishments if I am wrongly accused of a crime that is currently being committed."

He narrows his eyes trying to piece together what's happening, "How current of a crime are we talking?"

The house goes silent when Sebastian turns off the shower. I tilt my head, "Like right now current."

He seems to catch on slowly that it involves Sebastian. "Broken bones?"

"No."

"Alterations to the body?"

"Technically."

"Permanent scarring?"

"Physical or mental?"

He raises an eyebrow, "Does that fact matter?" There's a bit of shuffling coming through Sebastian's bedroom door.

My lips purse in thought, "Depending on how the victim views it, yes."

He makes a humming sound, thinking to himself, "I would say two weeks grounding."

I bite my bottom lip, staring at the ceiling. "What if said crime offers entertainment for everyone except the victim."

My mother scrunches her face in confusion while everyone else just watches the back and forth between my father and I. "How entertaining?"

I can't fight the smirk on my face, "Depends if he shampooed and conditioned."

"How about I yell at you in front of him and we call it a day?" He asks holding his and out to shake mine.

My hand grips his firmly and I give him my sweetest smile, "Deal, a pleasure doing business with you."

Since my dad is occupied, Maddie slowly opens my door and throws the bag inside, shutting it again quietly. My mother looks at me, "I don't understand your mind and I don't think I ever want to."

Maddie comes to sit down next to Charlotte and grabs a chocolate bar from our small pile of snacks for the show. Our parents just stare down at us, confusion written across their faces at our behavior. "Is that Milk Duds?" My mother spies the candy box and takes a seat next to us, stretching out her legs and ripping into the box.

The bedroom door opens and Sebastian walks out of his bedroom with a casual smile on his face. My jaw drops and everyone is silent. "NO!"

Sebastian grins striking a pose, "I know I look good right." He gives an exaggerated pout.

My mother tilts her head, staring at the green mixed with his black hair, "Huh." I take a deep breath, gritting my teeth.

Maddie folds her arms over her chest, "I mean, it actually looks good."

Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, winking at Olivia. Olivia snaps a picture, biting her lip.

I push myself to my feet wanting to punch a wall right now at how badly this backfired. Sebastian walks over to me and pats my head, "Thanks sis, it looks great." I slap his hand away and stomp to my bedroom in a childish tantrum. I leave the door open with my hand on the doorknob.

"Well that was anticlimactic," My father says. He holds out a hand to help my mother stand up but all he gets in a handful candy instead that she shoved in his hand. She stands up by herself with her won handful of candy and they walk down the stairs together.

"The hair is really doing it for me right now," Olivia says with an innocent smile on her face still sitting on the floor.

Charlotte grabs Maddie's shoulders and steers her towards the staircase, "Okay! We're heading in this direction away from the impure thoughts." Maddie throws her head back and laughs loudly.

I just slam my door shut and huff loudly. This is the first time a prank on Sebastian has actually gone in his favor and the smug smile on his face pisses me off even more.

|| ✨ ||

Three days later the crowd at the gym is insane. The guy that Drew is going against is some really popular fighter which is probably the reason that the parking lot is overflowing at this point. It took us twenty minutes to find a parking spot.

Drew had arrived a few hours ago with a few of the guys to keep him company. Isaac is standing at the automatic doors with one hand in his pocket and the other scrolling on his phone. Jesse is standing a few feet away, talking to two girls with his casual swagger.

Charlotte parks our mothers SUV that she let us borrow since we've packed a lot of people in it. I'm out of the car before she turns off the engine, still irritated with the whole hair dye incident. Sebastian hasn't stopped taking pictures of himself and Olivia has practically been dry humping him since we got in the car to start with.

People are streaming towards the doors, excited and energetic about tonight's fight. A man by the doors is taking bets from some of the attendees and I find myself rolling my eyes. Food trucks are lined up in the fire line, crowded with people trying to get a couple snacks. Girls in tight dresses and short skirts are lined up in front of the gym, trying to get that perfect selfie. I subconsciously looked down at my own outfit of a t-shirt paired with a random pair of shorts that I'm not entirely convinced are mine.

A noise from the parking lot captures Isaac's attention. He catches my eye, a smirk playing on his face at my 'pleasant' facial expression. Sebastian strutting behind me a big smile on his face doesn't help my mood. Isaac slowly saunters closer, "Looks like it backfired from that delightful face I'm staring at."

I bare my teeth at him, my eyes narrowing. Isaac just winks, throwing his arms around my head, pulling me into his chest for a hug.

"Damn Seb, that hair is fire man!" Jesse's voice shouts from where he's standing, saying something to the two girls before heading over to us.

Isaac leans his head near mine, a small smile playing on his face, "Now I know why you didn't send me pictures."

I bite my lip and stare at nothing in particular. "I know right, Tess did it." Sebastian walks past patting my head and I slap his hand away from me with a scowl.

"Hey Tess, if you still don't know what you want to do with your life, hairdressing is always an option," Jesse says, marveling at the green tint in Sebastian's black hair. "Really makes your eyes pop," Jesse places a hand under his chin.

Sebastian claps his hands pointing at Jesse, "That's what I said!"

Isaac throws an arm around my shoulder, steering me towards the front doors, "C'mon, we should get to our seats." I release a breath of relief and Isaac chuckles, looking over his shoulder calling to the others to follow along. "Addison, don't you look gorgeous!"

Addison, who was just sitting behind the reception desk, her nose in a book looks up at us with a bright smile. She stands and twirls around in her sweatpants and tank top, "Thank you Isaac, I really put the effort into this outfit," her sarcasm is obvious.

Isaac winks, "And it shows."

She doesn't move from inside the circular desk. "You're not coming to watch the fight?" I ask, tilting my head towards the loud chatter downstairs near the fighting ring.

Addison shakes her head and plops back into her seat, "Nope, gotta hold down the fort."

"We'll give you a play-by-play when it's over," Isaac smiles, pushing me closer to the steps.

She scrunches her nose in distaste, "Don't bother, I'm not a huge fan of the willingly beating each other up kinda stuff."

Isaac nods his head, "Duly noted." Isaac waves to her as we descend the stairs, my family only walking through the doors now.

"Addison! Look at my hair!" Sebastian's loud proclamation reaches us from the bottom of the steps and I grit my teeth.

Isaac laughs once he gets a glance at my facial expression, "You are really hung up on his hair, huh?"

A few people wave to me and I nod my head in return, "You don't understand, I've never failed at a prank before, this is new territory for me and I can't physically handle it when he gloats like that."

Isaac places his hands on my shoulders and pushes me through the scattered groups of people, "He's your brother Tess."

I whirl around to face him, "Exactly! His rage fuels me and seeing him actually happy," I say the word like I've just eaten something rotten, "it's just not how our dynamic works. We torture each other, it's how we express our love." Isaac laughs and turns me around guiding me to our seats.

Alyssa and Kendall are already sitting down talking to Brianna. She looks up at us and her smile slowly fades. Isaac quite literally shoves me into the chair next to her and I accidentally bump into her shoulder.

"Remember what I said," she mutters in my ear, pretending to look over her shoulder at someone in the crowd. When I don't reply she says, "I'm here if you need help."

I barely look in her direction as I hiss, "I don't need your help."

My siblings come up to us and take the reserved seats behind me. Charlotte squeezes my shoulder gently before sitting next to Olivia and Sebastian. Jesse takes his seat next to Isaac.

"Tess!" A voice shouts over the crowd. My lungs skip a breath at the sudden plunging reality of what may happen tonight. "Tess!" My friends around me have started looking for the person screaming my name but I keep my head facing the ring. "Tess, I've been calling your name." Drew is now standing in front of me, Mateo and Benji coming from behind him.

I try to play casual and look up at him with a smile, ignoring my pounding chest. Is it hot in here?

Drew's smile is bright as he leans down to hug me tightly. I awkwardly pat his back that is covered by Courtney's black robe. "Hey, can I talk to you in the back room quick?" My eyes widen a fraction at his question and what it could possibly mean.

I open my mouth to speak but a girl from a few rows back shouts for Drew and him being the nice guy he is, he moves towards her to say hello after signaling one second to me. My head whips over to Brianna, my face showing the inner panic I'm fighting, "You said after the fight."

She looks completely lost lifting her hands in front of her placatingly, "He told me after, I swear."

I grit my teeth, "Yeah well he's changed his mind."

Isaac finds this time to stick his head in our conversation. "What's going on, you look terrified, if that's even an emotion you're capable of possessing," he chuckles at his own joke.

I glare at him my nostrils flaring slightly, "Funny." I'm staring at Drew's back when he turns back around heading in our general direction. "Don't let me go."

Isaac raises an eyebrow in confusion, "What?"

I grip his hand tightly and hiss, "Don't let me go."

Drew jumps in front us his balled up adrenaline showcasing in the way he shifts from one foot to another. "Tess, can we talk?"

Isaac stands up suddenly and I'm about to start cursing at him for ditching me when he grabs my hand and hauls me to my feet, "Sorry Drew, Tess already promised me she would help me with... food."

Drew gives Isaac a weird look. "Food?"

"Yeah we were just going to grab some food from the food trucks for everyone and I don't have enough hands," Isaac's smile is easy going. He throws an arm around my shoulder.

"Thank fuck, I'm starving," Jesse throws his hands up, looking over at us, "Two tacos and if they throw that green shit on it, throw it back at them."

I tilt my head, "You mean lettuce?"

"You heard the man, no lettuce, let's go," Isaac announces, rushing us past Drew with a quick good luck over my shoulder as we race up the stairs.

We walk far enough away until he can't see us before stopping to lean against the wall. I face Isaac and fold my arms over my chest, "Food?"

He throws his arms out wide, "I don't see you coming up with anything better!"

"What are you two doing?" A voice startles us making me jump closer to Isaac. Addison's still behind her desk but her attention is fixed on us with an amused smile on her lips.

Isaac gives her a wink, "We're hiding."

"From?" She tilts her head inquisitively.

"A declaration of love," he shrugs, walking over to her desk, leaning his arms against it.

She lets out a little gasp, putting one hand over her mouth, "Scandalous."

"I'm telling you Addie, you're missing out on all the juicy gossip sitting behind this desk all night," He leans closer to her with a wicked smile.

Addison grins back, "That's what you're here for Isaac, my tea spiller." She rests her elbow on the desk and places her head on her hand.

Isaac stands up and bows mockingly, "An honor." Addison giggles rolling her eyes.

I ignore them and take one step closer to the railing that looks over the gym and partially where the fighting ring is. "He's gone."

Slapping the desk, Isaac looks over to me and nods his head, "Well, as lovely as this conversation was my dear Addison, we have to go watch some blood being shed," he pouts, holding out a hand for her.

She laughs, grabbing his hand squeezing it and letting go, "I'm counting down the hours until I can see your face again."

Isaac leans his head back and laughs loudly, saluting her before linking his arm with mine and moving us back tot he steps. I wave to Addison and she smiles in response, still giggling.

We get back to our seats obviously empty handed and Jesse is the first to notice, "Where are my tacos?" He gestures to our empty hands with a small pout.

"Get your own damn tacos," I tell him and sit down roughly next to Brianna who gives me a pitying look.

|| ✨ ||

A collective wince is seen throughout the crowd as Drew's opponent gets a direct hit to his face. He falls to the mat, throwing his arms up in front of his face to block to oncoming offense from his opponent.

"What the hell is happening?" Jesse shouts to us over the roar of the crowd. I run a hand through my hair, pulling at some strands. "Kick his ass Drew!"

His opponent turns away from Drew but kicks out his back leg straight into Drew's chest. The air is knocked from him and he falls flat on his back. Isaac places his hands in front of my eyes to stop me from witnessing Drew get his ass handed to him but I shove his hands to the side.

His opponent gets him in a hold, readying himself for Drew's tap-out before he loses consciousness. I'm gripping Isaac's arm so hard my nails are biting into his skin no doubt leaving red marks. The look of fury on Drew's face gives me enough hope when he manages to twist his body and kick his opponent in the face.

A good majority of the crowd screams in his favor as he quickly gets to his feet while his opponent is disorientated. Drew throws out a combination of punches, effectively pushing his opponent into a corner. The sweat is dripping from his hair and into his face but it doesn't stop him from kicking the crap out of the guy in front of him.

The cheering gets louder and Drew throws out a final maneuver managing to distract his opponent for just long enough to get him into a hold. Drew grits his teeth, angling his head away from his opponents reaching hands and holds him there. His opponent's flailing starts becoming sloppy, his eyes slowly drooping when the referee calls it and Drew immediately lets go, checking on his opponent to make sure he's okay.

Everyone around us jumps and screams in victory. The referee holds up one of Drew's wrapped hands, turning to face the crowd.

People start exiting the gym quickly, riding on the high of victory and possibility of winning large sums of money thanks to Drew. A few kids from school wave at me and I find myself offering them a nod of recognition, earning a few shocked expressions from them.

My family went on ahead, claiming they were too tired for celebratory dinner. I used that to my advantage and told them that Drew would take me home so that we can finally have this discussion privately.

Isaac wraps an arm around my shoulder. "You sure you don't want some moral support?" He tilts his head examining my face.

Brianna had convinced everyone to go to this party happening at Amy Dixon's house and told them that Drew and I would meet them there later.

I give him a grim smile, "I'll be fine, it needs to happen now." I look over at a freshly showered Drew shaking hands with the owner of the gym, Carl as they talk animatedly about something. "I'll be fine," I repeat for his reassurance or mine, I'm not entirely sure.

"Well if anyone can handle shutting down emotions, it's you," he laughs, squeezing my shoulder before letting go. "Call me if you need to." He gives me a mock salute and starts heading for the stairs.

He's almost at the top of the steps when I call his name. He turns and flashes me a questioning glance. "Thank you. For everything."

He just smiles giving me a wink in return, "Thank you for accepting me as your friend."

"Anytime." He waves one last time before he reaches