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After that amazing night that had been Dominique's beach party, Audrey had spent every single second she could alongside her now-100% official boyfriend. When before Audrey would do the impossible to keep everything under wraps, now she was spamming all of her social media accounts with cutesy pictures of her and Troy. She wanted to let the world know she was his, and that she'd found that long sought-after happiness at his side. The way things were going, nothing could go wrong... Right?

The first day of school had been uneventful so far. She'd arrived early to make sure everything was clear and in order with her schedule, the Dance Team and have breakfast with Troy before heading off to class. The first three periods went by without anything interesting happening... That was, until Audrey was exiting her Creative Writing classroom and found Analise waiting for her outside.

"Audrey!" Anna called, putting on her happiest voice. Her voice cracked anyway, but she could only hope that Audrey didn't notice the tremour over the loud background chatter from the other students. Waiting until Audrey approached her, Analise smiled. "Ready for lunch?" She asked, gesturing towards the lunch hall.

"Ah... Aud? Before we have something to eat... I need to tell you something."

Audrey raised her eyebrows suspiciously at Anna. It wasn't like it was odd for Analise to be waiting for her outside her classroom for lunch, but she sensed something was different today. She didn't like the way her best friend was looking at her, or the way her voice had slightly quivered when she'd said that last sentence. Something was definitely up, and judging by Analise's nervousness, that something was not good.

"Sure, I'm ready for lunch. But what's going on?" Audrey asked in that intimidating, suspicious voice that only she could make. She crossed her arms out in front of her while keeping one haughty eyebrow up. Any other friend would make it easier for the other to confess anything to, but if these were bad news that would be affecting Audrey in some type of unexplained way, then she wasn't going to make it easy for anyone.

'Oh god she's doing the thing. Maybe this was a bad idea - I might have enough time to nudge in a joke before she gets too suspicious.' Anna thought, panic filling her up.

"Promise you won't get mad?" It was worth a shot. Anna may have been naive, but she wasn't stupid. Anna was either going to be killed for kissing Jackson, or she'd get Jackson killed. Or both.

But here's hoping to friendship, eh?

Audrey raised her eyebrows even higher, to a point not even she thought possible to reach. Whatever Anna had to tell her was definitely something Audrey didn't want to hear. "You know I can't promise anything, Anna. My temper can be easily swayed in one direction or the other. So, speak, my dear."

"I umm... I..." Inhaling sharply, Analise spoke in one breath; "JacksonandIkissedduringDomi'spartyandnowIthinkIhaveacrushonhim!"

Audrey gasped, her mouth forming a perfect O of surprise. Her head was spinning out of control as she tried her hardest to process what her best friend had confessed to her. Anna and Jackson? Kissing? At Domi's party? When the hell had that happened? How? Why?

After a few long minutes of shocked, stunned silence, Audrey cracked a little smile. "So you kissed Jax... He's quite good at that, isn't he? I don't blame you for getting a crush on the guy: handsome, athletic, sexy and just a great guy in general. He really is quite the catch. Go Anna!" Audrey finished with a chuckle, giving Anna a one-armed hug. "Kissing Jax is one thing, but as long as you didn't bang with him then the Girl Code has not been broken, and our friendship has not been harmed."

Anna wasn't sure whether she was dreaming or not. Audrey, smiling after being told that her best friend kissed her ex/other best friend? It was either a dream, or her new boyfriend was definitely rubbing off on her. Anna let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't incurring her wrath. At least, not yet. "N-no," her cheeks flushed at the thought of banging Jackson. She could barely wrap her mind about kissing him, but... the other thing? Too soon.

Tomato-faced, Anna continued to deny assure her friend. "I promise, we didn't do anything. It was a kiss, and then we watched the sunset together. Nothing else, okay!"

Audrey simply giggled at the way Anna's face got all red at the mention of them getting it on. Leave it to Analise to be all prudish about just the thought of such a thing. She knew in her heart Anna wouldn't betray her like that, so why get upset over things that hadn't happened? "You know, I'm actually jealous!" Audrey said in a mocking tone. "Jackson never took me to watch the sunset! I'll be having a few words with him about that!" she finished the statement with a laugh so Anna could tell she was joking. No harm done to any of the parties involved.

Anna laughed, partially awkwardly and partially with relief. 'As long as she doesn't kill him for it.' She thought. Things were looking up!

Troy wanted to be elsewhere. Anna annoyed the fuck out of him. And it wasn't REALLY her fault, she just happened to be far too nice for him. And too friendly. And too naive. And too blond, Troy didn't really like blonds anymore, not since the last one he'd been with. As the two girls talked, Troy couldn't help but stare at Anna. He hadn't wanted to comment, but he couldn't help himself now. "Oh my god, Anna, who the hell cares? You can do what you want, you're damn near a bloody adult, don't come apologizing for kissing someone. I never asked for this."

Audrey rolled her eyes at Troy and gave him a slap in the arm. "Troy, don't you have somewhere else to be or someone to beat up? I didn't force you to be here, you know. I love you, but there is really no need to follow me around like a pitbull, babe. Plus, you have no business telling Anna whether or not she should share with me that she kissed Jax. He is my ex-boyfriend, after all!"

"A-ah, it's f-fin--"

"Kissing?"

Audrey's head had nearly snapped and her brown locks had flown from her back when she turned in the direction of the sound of a familiar voice she detested incredibly. She had to admit that the girl had balls to prance around the halls and interrupt Audrey's conversation with her best friend, let alone stand at such a close distance from her knowing fully well she was Troy's new girlfriend now. She probably thought she was untouchable with that dumb butler of hers, but heaven knew Audrey didn't care about that. "Who the hell called you into this conversation, Blondie?" Audrey briskly asked Alyssa. "Didn't your parents teach you it was rude to barge into people's conversations, or were they gone for so long that they couldn't even afford to teach you those basic manners?"

Annnd, there was the blond that Troy didn't like. Alyssa Green. His ex girlfriend, sort of. And her ever present butler, Logan. Although, Troy was almost positive that he was the only person that called the man by his name; Lyss simply called him Butler. Fantastic. Troy sighed and looked over at the pair as they approached, making a face. "Lyssa, don't you have, like, servants to terrorize, or people to seduce?" He asked sarcastically and Alyssa scoffed as Butler rolled his eyes. Troy nodded to the man. "Logan."

"Troy." Butler said, returning the nod before Alyssa pulled her sunglasses off of her face and pointed at Analise, folding her arms.

"I'm just saying, she told me she was getting the d. How was it, anyway? Pretty dope I bet. I remember the first time I got fucked. And please, Anna, don't call it "getting the d" ever again. I dropped Winnie off at Geo's. Did you know there's a duck there? The fuck is up with that?"

If only for a moment, Audrey Hunstberg was left speechless. Analise hadn't just kissed her ex boyfriend: she'd banged with him. Just like she told him she hadn't. Anna had lied to her, and Jackson had bailed on her to have sex with her best friend. All of this done behind her back. Again, Audrey's head was spinning, but this time her ears were blocking off any other sound besides that high-pitched piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing sound of her neurons dying.

"YOU KNOW THE DUCK." Troy protested.

"....I do?"

'Oh god... I thought too soon.' Anna looked over her shoulder in horror. Alyssa was here. And it only meant one thing. Anna was boned. "N-no, Alyssa! Nothing happened! I just texted that to get you to stop texting me!" Anna explained, attempting damage control.

Troy and Butler quietly shared a look that said, very plainly "I never asked for this," as Alyssa looked at Anna and folded her arms, pouting slightly. "Why would you lie to me? Maybe if you responded to my texts in a timely manner, I wouldn't have to send so many!" She complained, blowing a raspberry.

"If someone doesn't respond after the hundredth text, it's probably a good indication that they're busy." Anna responded. "And I knew that if I responded with anything other than that, you would have spammed me with even more messages!"

"You might be busy, but it doesn't matter what you're doing, it can't be more important than me. Have you met me? I'm a queen. I only didn't continue because you're a virgin and I wanted you to enjoy getting railed by what's-his-face. I see now I made a mistake." Alyssa said before huffing and tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Audrey had stopped hearing everything that was going on around her from the moment she'd heard Alyssa say Anna had been getting Jackson's d. By the time she'd gathered her thoughts and decided what would be the best course of action, Alyssa had walked away. It had been a lucky call for her, though, because had Audrey heard the way she spoke to Anna, what she'd been saying or had spent another minute next to Audrey she would've gotten a slap at least.

Now, Audrey turned to Anna with one of the darkest scowls she'd ever had on her beautiful face. "You know, Anna, out of all the people who could have done this to me, you're the one I east expected to. And I'm sure you should know fully well by now I despise being lied to and being thought of as a fool. I thought we were friends, Analise, and friends don't lie to each other. How would you have liked it if you had an ex, and then out of nowhere I come up to you and tell you I kissed him and have a crush on him only to have someone else correct what I said by telling you we fucked instead?" Audrey gave Anna a few seconds to let that sink in. "I don't think we can be friends anymore, Arnette. But you sure have plenty of those, don't you? So it's not like I'll be missed or anything." she told her with a sarcastic laugh. "See you around, then."

Anna felt her heart breaking into a million pieces. This was definitely not the outcome she had in mind. Things were going well, damnit! Now she had not only lost her best friend to a misunderstanding, but she probably even lost another friend by being a complete douche. "Wait, Audrey- you're misunderstanding this situation-" Anna stepped forward, as if to block any exit route her (ex)best friend could have.

And with a broken heart unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, Audrey turned her back on her long-time best friend and walked away. When people often say that best friend break-ups are a million times harder and more hurtful than couple break-ups, they aren't lying. Though externally keeping a cold, stony-face, Audrey could feel as a big part of her was now void and empty. But what else could she do? Her best friend had pretty much betrayed her. It was best to part ways now before anything more serious could happen.

It seemed like her attempt at blocking the exit didn't work anyway, as Audrey simply brushed past her as if she didn't exist anymore. Anna felt her eyes sting, and she pressed the palm of her hand against her eye to stop any tears. This was definitely the worst day, ever. But Anna knew she wasn't going to let Audrey simply walk away like that. It was best to let her cool down, to get her own feelings back in place before attempting to get Audrey to listen to her again. And only once she was sure that Audrey knew the full story, she would back off and let Audrey choose whether she wants to remain friends or not. It hurt, but now it was time to play the waiting game.

And Anna hated waiting.

"Oooh, did I say the wrong thing? Whoops, I forgot to care..." Alyssa tsk'd-tsk'd and drummed her fingers on her side. She paused for a moment, and looked over at Butler, then back at Anna. Troy took a moment to process the situation, then gave Butler another respectful nod before he dipped off after his girlfriend. Alyssa scoffed again toward the departing Troy before turning her attention once more to Anna. "So, anyway, I was thinking I would just pick Winnie up from the pet sitter, and take him to the castle, to play with Turk. Turk's at the pet sitter as well, you see? I wasn't really sure about anything, but I figured 'Turk needs more friends, and what better place to get friends than a place with people just like you in it?' And then I thought it'd be easier if he already had a friend, and Turk only really has one other dog he likes, at least right now. And that's Winston. So naturally, I let myself into your house, and took him to Geo, since she's so highly recommended by you." Alyssa paused for a moment, and cleared her throat, seemingly oblivious to the touchy situation going on around her.

"Anyway, you're welcome to stop by whenever you want, lovely. I have something to attend to." She smiled, and blew Analise a kiss before departing, Butler walking behind her. As they walked away, Butler's almost stern words could be made out:

"It wasn't really your place to do th-" But he was quickly cut off by the queen of the world, who gave him a sharp reply:

"Buttle in silence, Butler. It suits you better."

With each step she took, Audrey kept a lookout for the man who was at fault for this whole mess. As soon as she laid eyes on him, Audrey sprinted at Jackson and gave him the hardest slap she could, mustering all of her anger and kick-boxing developed strength into the hit. She couldn't help the way her body was now quivering with rage. "You fucking asshole!" Audrey hissed at him. "You think you can just bail on me to go fuck my best friend behind my back and expect me to not find out?! And you left me alone with Alexandros, at that, knowing fully well what he did to me ahd what could've happened had he turned on the charm long enough! I know it wouldn't be Anna's idea to take a 'romantic walk along the beach' to butter things up for a night of banging, so I'm perfectly aware that you were the instigator of all of this. Well, the both of you have now officially lost me as a best friend. I hope you two find comfort next to each other."

If Audrey thought her heart couldn't break any further, she'd been wrong. Losing one best friend was hard enough, but two at the same time? It wasn't fair, and her tough-girl persona couldn't take it.

She turned to Troy with tears in her eyes. "Babe, I'll be taking the rest of the day off. Too much has happened today, and I know I won't be able to concentrate with the shit way I'm feeling right now. I'll just be holed up in my room crying my eyes out with a pint or two of Ben and Jerry's. Feel free to join me if you wish."

Troy nodded his agreement to Audrey, kissing her forehead lightly. "Okay. Anything you want, princess. I'll drive you there." He kissed her again before looking at Jackson and giving him a shrug and an apologetic look.

Jackson was having a good day. That was until he got hit, but it did start off perfectly. He woke up nice and early, worked out, showered, ate. All while texting Analise. They had started to talk to each other more often since the beach party. Since the kiss. That had been a great night for him. Extremely unusual, but just as great. At school, things seemed to be going his way too. School was easy, for once, and they were even serving his favorite french fries at lunch.

Back to getting hit though.

It wasn't the first time he got hit, for heavens sake, he boxed a lot. All too often he would end up in bed, face covered in blood, and slab of meat over his eye. It wasn't even the first time a girl had hit him. What caught him off guard though was that it was Audrey doing the hitting. She came out of nowhere and hit him with all the force she could muster. It didn't hurt much, he didn't stagger at all. Even Lily had hit harder than her. He was used to that sort of impact, but it was very surprising. And she made him drop his fries. The fucking fries.

Standing very still, this time muscles tensed, waiting for her to take another shot at him, Jackson listened as she quaked out angry line after line. Venom spilt from her mouth, most of it not even making any sense. Did she think Anna and him had fucked? And now Audrey was breaking off their 'best-friendship.' True, Jackson and Audrey had had a thing in the passed. But that was all that it was. A thing of the passed. After they had broken it off they had sort of become friends, but in truth Jackson didn't give a damn about the friendship he had with the girl he used to fuck. It wasn't healthy doing all the pretending that he actually cared.

"My reputation exceeds me. You actually think we..?" Jackson laughed at Audrey before turning serious, a deadpan look in his eyes. The dead look that turned his chocolate brown eyes as black as a sharks. "Even if we did you have no right interfering Audrey. It's none of your concern what I do in my spare time, and the same goes for Anna." He paused for a moment to let his next words sink in, "You're not the Queen." Jackson began to walk away dropping the now disappointing tray of fry-less food in the trash. He moved away from Audrey and her whipped boy-toy without a second glance.

As soon as Jackson was a few feet away the dead look in his eyes dropped. For a moment Jackson almost let himself go. He almost let his emotions get the better of him, and if he had he definitely would have said something he had regretted later. Now all he cared about was finding Anna. What if- he cut himself off before he could think of all the bad things Audrey could have done to her. She was too innocent for Audrey's rage. If Audrey had laid a finger on her...

Turning into the hallway, Jackson eyes locked onto Analise. She looked about ready to cry, hands pressed into her eyes, hoping to press the tears back in. Thankfully it didn't look like Audrey had touched her, but she was covering a large part of her face. Without a word he walked over to her and wrapped his long arms around her body pulling her in close to his big chest. He held her there, strongly, but gently, knowing that now was not a good time to say anything, hopefully the hug would help.

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The first three periods had gone by without anything interesting happening. Introductions, a rundown of what they'd be discussing throughout the school year, class rules... Just the usual first day of school shit. During each period, Sierra constantly checked her phone under her desk to see if there was a sign of an incoming text message, but there had been nothing so far. Joo had never texted back (even after her having spammed his phone constantly since her first message went unanswered), and neither had Alexandros. Add that to Shawn having said no to giving her the d after turning her on in the car, and you had a Sierra that was a lot bitchier than usual.

Her ever-present scowl was as deep as ever as she exited her third period classroom and trudged to the cafeteria. Sierra was pretty much in her worst mood possible now that she was hungry, and her whole body was craving a pizza or a burger to lift her spirits. But even though she felt shitty, there was a growing worry that something had happened to her beloved shorty. It was unusual of him to take longer than five minutes to reply to her, but even more unusual that he hadn't gotten back to her at all. She was preparing to start spamming him with calls when, low and behold, Hades came into sight again.

This time, Alexandros had subtly replied to Sierra's actions that morning by shooting her a knowing smirk and one of his signature killer looks before continuing on his way. All of the morning's irritating situations vanished on the spot as Sierra's body acted up again and gifted her with a flashback of the night of Dominique Saunders' party... The chilly ocean breeze on their naked skins, the delicious smell of the Sensational Rabbit they'd smoked, the warmth irradiating from their entwined bodies as they took each other to the highest pinnacles of Mount Olympus in the cold sand... Sierra was unable to hide the smile that crept up on her lips. Good God... She'd do anything to feel that great again; to have Alexandros make her feel that great again.

Now lost in thoughts of what she would do to Mossos if she got another chance with him, Sierra didn't notice the commotion that was happening in front of her until she felt herself being firmly gripped by the arm and pulled into the janitor's closet. There was only one person that would be capable of dragging her into said closet, and her suspicions were confirmed when her eyes fell on a familiar head of blond hair.

"Joo, what the fuck are you doing?" Sierra asker her best friend, letting out an inward sigh of relief while watching him lock the door and turn to her. His general aspect seemed to be in order judging from what she could see from the dim light shining through the crack of the door, but Joo was panting and hot in breath. "Where the hell have you been?! Why didn't you answer your phone? You've had me so fucking worried all damn morning!"

Instead of answering her demanding questions, Joo reached for her, running his fingers through her straight, black locks and placing a warm hand on her hip. Like it had happened with Alexandros earlier, Sierra's worries were dissipated the moment Joo's stunning brown eyes met with her green ones. His head moved in the direction of her ear, and she heard him softly whisper "Fuck, I need it Si." in it before giving her one of his signature Joo smiles. She felt his hands creeping up her back, his hot, minty breath switching from her ear onto her neck. Again, Sierra's whole body got covered in goosebumps, which only got more intense when Joo firmly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards him.

Sierra closed her eyes with a smirk of enjoyment. "You're really lucky I'm wearing a skirt," she muttered as Joo nibbled her ear, hands running down her back with light caresses while she ran her fingers through his strong back. "Makes the job a whole lot easier." Sierra had raised her leg, ready for a good time, when she heard Joo ask the question: "Do you have a spare shirt?".

Sierra's eyes snapped open, and she gave Joo a small shove. "Are you fucking playing me right now, midget?!" she snapped at him, half-joking, half-serious. "Here I am, getting all worked up and excited to have a little fun with my bestie since he's coming onto me so strongly after leaving me all thirsty while he was getting it on with a few Aussie chicks... And all he wants is to borrow my shirt!"

Their little argument was interrupted by a few soft knocks on the door. The pair of friends exchanged questioning looks, but it was Sierra who looked through the crack at the door to see who the hell was butting into their business.

"Ooooooh my God! It's Mossos!" Sierra whispered in a voice that was nearly excited. She turned to Joo with a gleeful smile. "Babe, we should totally prank the dude." She furrowed her brow in thought for a few long seconds before suddenly starting to moan loud enough for Alexandros to hear outside, but low enough so nobody else could hear. "Harder, Joo! Harder! That's it! Don't stop!" she called out with a mischievous smile plastered on her face. Sierra was trying her hardest not to laugh in between moans, but it was proving rather difficult since she was enjoying this so much. After a decent amount of time had gone past, she let out a high-pitched moan to mimick an orgasm before succumbing into a quiet fit of giggles in front of Joo.

By this point, Joo was very confused. Well, mostly sexually confused. His thoughts were a mix of "FUCK HER" and "WTF is going on?" He didn't know what to do. At one point, his friend was angry at him and then seconds later, she was pretending to have sex with him. After she collapsed in a fit of giggles, he scratched the back of his head. "Wait, did you just call me a midget? And did you just fake an orgasm? And hell no do I last that long, I go way longer!" He went into a little rant about everything and nothing at once, trying to calm the raging hard-on he had. Thankfully, his voice wasn't heard. Unthankfully, it was painfully obvious. And painful.

Sierra watched as Joo went on to throw a little hissy fit, which only caused her fit of giggles to intensify. It took her a few minutes to calm herself down, and when she did, she wrapped her arms around a sweaty Joo and gave him a long, deep kiss. "Chill out, Joo-bear," she told him sweetly, running her fingers through his short hair. "I know just how long you can last, and I've never faked an orgasm when I'm with you. Trust me, what I've just done has a logical explanation that I will be giving to you once we say hi to Mossos out there and head on over to the cafeteria."

Joo just grumbled, light blush on his cheeks. "I swear Si, I'll get you back one day." Getting the feeling that he was already losing this battle, he pointedly looked at the door, expecting a very angry whatever-the-fuck-his-name-is to come barging through the door.

Sierra just giggled and gave Joo another kiss, this one longer than the last one. "I'm sure you will, hun," she said while softly pinching his adorably pink cheeks. "You can get me back as soon as school's over for the day. We can settle this betweeen the sheets of your bed if you want. Now, let's get out of here and say something to our unwelcome guest. But before we make our grand exit..." She took a few steps away from Joo to take off the long-sleeved light blue denim shirt she'd been wearing as a sort of jacket and handed it to her best friend. "Here's the damn shirt you wanted so badly."

Joo stared at the little bundle of a shirt in his hands and thought back to what could've happened if he wasn't so damn idiotic. He facepalmed. 'I'm an idiot. I should've asked for a smaller shirt!' Grumbling at his so-called "idiocy', he begrudgingly put the shirt on.

Sierra watched Joo put the shirt on while giving little jumps of excitement.She loved to mess around with people, and why not the all-mighty Alexandros Mossos? He of all people needed to get a taste of his own medicine. "Damn, Joo, you fucking rock that shirt!" she complimented before asking, "Shall we?"

Giving Joo a mischievous wiggle of her eyebrows as he nodded excitedly, Sierra opened the closet door. Alexandros had been standing directly in front of it, shamelessly eavesdropping on them. She gave him a deep scowl (with a playful twinkle in her eyes he'd surely recognized) before bluntly saying: "Excuse me, Mossos, but couldn't you tell this one was taken?"

Looking at Sierra and whoever the Asian was, Alexandros tried not to be so obvious in his reasons. He didn't want to give it away, so he hid it with a smirk."It was?" Alexandros said. He took notice to the Asian guy wearing the denim shirt that Sierra was, and he would be deaf if - or completely unlike him - if he didn't catch all of those moans and suggestive rhetoric that Sierra was spewing from the other side of the door. And while it might have bothered him, Alexandros wasn't, like his actual intentions, going to let it show. [color=dodgerblue]"I figured you were inviting me to follow you."[/b][/color] Alexandros said, "unless you give that look to everyone." Alexandros finally looked to the Asian guy beside her. "And who might you be?" Alexandros inspected him top to bottom. He didn't seem like much.

Joo turned to Sierra with a blank look, bluntly pointing at Alex. "Who's this cunt?"

Alexandros looked at the Asian, amused at his bluntness. "This cunt is someone you should address to his face." Alexandros said calmly.

Joo tilted his head to one side and blinked. He formed his lips into a "O" and nodded. He stepped forward and jabbed a finger at his chest, looking at the guy's face. "Who are you? Tone back the snobbiness a bit, it's kinda annoying. Like a cunt." The bluntness was real but as always, he was oblivious. And very Aussie. Meanwhile, Sierra quietly watched the exchange with an amused smile.

"It's rude to ask someone their name after they asked yours," Alexandros said, smirking, "so, I'll ask again," Alexandros' tone getting a bit more stern, "who might you be?" he asked.

Scratching his head while tilting, Joo was confused. Why did he have this sudden urge to kick this man in the head. Inwardly shrugging, he extended his hand and put on one of his bright smiles. Name's Joo mate. How 'bout you?"

[color=dodgerblue][b]"Joo, huh?" Alexandros shook his hand, "wait, Joo? As in Joo Kyong-Park?" Alexandros asked, his grip tight with Joo's.

Sierra's smile was quickly wiped off from her face and replaced by a suspicious scowl. "Wait, where the fuck do you know him from?" she blurted out, crossing her arms in front of her chest and shifting her accusing stare from Joo to Alexandros.

"As it would seem, we have a mutual friend." Alexandros briefly said, eyes not moving away from Joo.

Sierra quickly turned her eyes onto Joo with a silent question. Explain. NOW.

Joo stared at the gripping man and then to Sierra. He gave her a serious look. "We fuck each other." His tone was in a monotone but he was trying to hold in the smile.

She let out one of her bright bursts of laughter, eyes nearly watering at her friend's comment. She noticed that Alexandros didn't look as amused, which only added to her enjoyment.

"Is that so?" Alexandros asked, the tight on the handshake suddenly getting tighter, almost to the point of possibly fracturing Joo's hand.

Joo kept staring at Sierra, winking a little in her direction, making sure Alex didn't see it. "Mhmm, doggy style all night long. His furry fetish is kinda weird." He kept the serious look on his face, not giving any reactions to the steel-gripped handshake. Sierra just let out a few giggles.

Alexandros simply smirked, somewhat ignoring Joo's furry fetish comment. "The only one here with a furry fetish, Mr. Park, is Miss Jameson here." he told Joo, looking at Sierra. "Isn't that right, Kitten?" Alexandros said, his ever-so successful, seductive smirk shot at Sierra.

Sierra's eyes widened in shock as she tried her hardest to control a bright red tint of embarrassment that was threatening to show up on her pale cheeks. Had Alexandros really just said that? Now? In front of Joo? At the same time, her body was begging her to gram Alexandros' by the front of his shirt and drag him inside the closet with her to change that smirk from seductive to one of a man who was getting the time of his life. Of course, being proud as always, Sierra brushed it off both her thoughts. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Mossos." she murmured, carelessly flipping a strand of her black hair away from her face.

Joo's eyes narrowed at Sierra. Thoughts raced through his head, images of... well, you could imagine what. He always knew that his BFF was sex-crazy and probably had other playmates on the side. He had never met one of them however and swore not to to feel angry when he met one because that wasn't like him. He was smiling, happy, laughing Joo, not that old one. But a rise of emotions went through him. Was it jealousy? Was he jealous of this dude for screwing his girl?

'My girl?!' Despite all of this going on in his head and the confusion at himself and the pair in front of him, he just put up another smile. Though this was a very different smile, something that only Sierra would recognised. A forced one. He would speak to her later. "I'm sure you don't Si!" He then turned to Alex with his fake smile.

"How do you know that, cunt?"

"Shall I tell him, Kitten? Or do you want to?" Both Alexandros and Joo looked to Sierra.

"Alex, there you are!" A familiar voice said, prompting Alexandros to turn around. There he saw that familar face of a frequent friend of his.

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Like Audrey Huntsberg had done a few minutes before unbeknownst to her, Sierra's head snapped in the direction of the unknown newcomer. She'd seen the blonde girl around before, but seeing as they didn't run in the same social circle, Sierra pretty much ignored her entire existance like she usually did with the high's school's 'it crowd'. Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to do. Maybe keeping light tabs on her 'VIP' classmates would've helped her in this situation.

"Vi, not a good time." Alexandros stressed to Viola that it really wasn't.

"Oh, where was that when I was trying to leave your ginormous house this morning? You were practically begging me to stay for another round." Viola said, rolling her eyes.

Sierra raised her eyebrows in a silent question at Alexandros, but what Joo did next stunned her even more than the fact that Mossos was acting all possesive with her even though they'd only been together the one time and after he'd clearly spent the past night having his fun with this chick standing a few steps away from her.

"Vi?!" Joo pushed Alex out of the way to see his other best friend. This was becoming too much. The situation was already tense and then Viola had to walk into it. He smiled anyways and gave her a deep hug. He would usually greet with a kiss but seeing that both his crushes were in the same room, he had to back off.

'My crushes?! I need to see a doctor.' He sighed inwardly. The shirtlessness was getting to him. It still didn't stop him from sporting a light blush as he looked between the two of them.

"Aww, Joo-Bear, are you alright? You don't look well." Viola said, a concerned tone in her voice for Joo.

"Joo-bear?! And just who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?!" Sierra spat at the girl, blinded by her anger. Confronting Sierra in her usual mood was usally bound to be trouble to anyone who was unused to her personality, but to confront her when she was angry was nearly lethal. One of her flaws had always been to fly off the handle without thinking stuff through at the smallest of things, and it had led her to countless trouble throughout the years.

"Careful now, you don't want to upset Joo-Bear." Viola smiled, "but out of courtesy to Joo here, I'm Viola Banks. And you arrre.. Viola left the floor open for her.

"I don't give a flying fuck about who I do or do not upset. And I could care less about your goddamn name, nor should you care about mine!"

"I apologize, then. I'm still getting used to American customs. I did not know it was the norm to spew obscenities at people you've barely met."



"Joo-bear?"

"Call him Joo-bear one more time and I swear I'll give you a deeper introduction to our American customs" Sierra answered without a second to spare, her hands balled into fists. Her sight was already clouded with a red tint, and if that Viola chick made just another teeny tiny comment...

"Again, I apologize. I would call him his other nickname, but I do believe it's not suitable for a place such as school."

Sierra had just raised her fist to smash Viola's face's into her skull when Joo stepped into the punch, taking it right into the face. He had taken punches before, having been beaten up as a kid. There was a quick flash of pain as his face slung back, blood spewing out of his nose. He grunted slightly before rebounding back, crimson liquid poured down his lips. He calmly placed a hand on each girls collar bone and pushed them away, hinting at Alex to back away. He looked at both girl's with disapproving looks. "Now, repeat what I just said before you two started getting into another verbal argument. And no bitching!"

"You know I can't say no to you, Joo-Bear" Viola said, agreeing to do whatever it was that she was doing.

Sierra had watched in horror as Joo had stepped in and taken the punch meant for Viola. Blood was now coming out of his nose, but he seemed completely oblivious to it as he pushed her away from Viola, looked at both of them with disapproving looks and lectured them. If Sierra had been mad before, it was nowhere near as how she felt now. Joo had taken a punch meant for another girl; defending her like she was the friend that had been with him since the moment he'd transferred into Beverly Hills High School. Seriously?!

Sierra violently shook Joo's arm from her collarbone, furious at her so-called friend. "Fuck you, Joo. You just go ahead and stay with this cunt while I bow out before I fucking murder somebody. And you know I'm capable of it." She had just turned her back on the scene when she heard the blonde say:

"I hope you have a good day," Viola said, smiling gently at the brunette.

That was it. Sierra turned around and lounged at Viola, acting every bit as crazy as one could get. She was tired of how she was talking to her man -both her men, for that matter-, tired of how shitty this day was turning out to be, tired of having been denied sex from both Joo and her stepfather before him, tired of how her mother always scolded her for not being like her older sister... All of her frustrations were put into beating up the blonde woman in front of her. She had only gotten as far as to pin her to the ground with her body and start to throw the first punch when Sierra was firmly pulled away from Viola.

[color=sienna]"That's enough, Miss Jameson! Come with me to the Principal's office."[/i] said a voice Sierra instantly recognized. She turned her head to find her own stepfather effortlessly dragging her away from the scene she'd been causing and into the principal's office. He closed the door behind him and gave Sierra a disapproving look. "Sierra, what the hell were you doing back there?" he demanded, making sure that the office was empty like he thought it would be. Seeing as Sierra was just sitting in her chair as if made of stone and he knew he wouldn't be getting a word out of her, Shawn continued. "Do you know that you could get assault charges pressed on you if that girl decides to? You have to stop pulling these kinds of stunts before you get yourself into some serious trouble, Si. You're lucky I was the one who found you instead of any other staff member, or worse: Mr. Anderson. What do you think happens now, hmmm?"

Sierra, whole body trembling with pent-up anger, turned to her stepfather with a dead look in her usually bright green eyes. "Shawn, take me home right now. I'm a danger to society right now, and you know it."

Shawn knew his stepdaughter was never one to back away from any situation, but she seemed so fragile and unstable at the moment that although he would've normally asked her to stay in school for the rest of the day, he simply took a deep breath, guided her outside of the school using the back door in Principal Anderson's office and drove her to the house they shared. Once there, Sierra walked up the steps and into her room, made sure to close and lock the door behind her, nuzzled herself between her warm, cozy bedsheets and closed her eyes. Sleep was always the best solution to even the worst of problems.

Joo was speechless. His mind was blank, as if his emotions were all vacuumed up. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this. He wasn't supposed to piss off his bestest friend. They were besties. Friends till the end. Fuckin' till they were droppin'. He was supposed to shrug this off as a "Sierra thing", like she was going to ignore it all and come back to hanging out. He had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. Blankness turned into anger. Contained rage, fists tight and expression blank. He shrugged the shirt he was given off of his shoulders and walked past the pair left with him with a small, almost silent good bye to Viola. He bundled it up and placed it in her locker, the combination being a number he knew very well. He dropped his two earrings into the shirt pocket and walked off to wherever his legs took him.

These earrings were supposed to be gifts for Sierra. He always gave her gifts at the start of the year, a mark of another year of a fantastic relationship. Engraved into the golden earrings were two words, one in his handwriting and one in hers. It read;
"LOVE YOU"

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Alyssa had walked off not too long after Audrey had, leaving Anna in the now empty corridor by herself. Anna was glad that Alyssa didn't seem mad about the situation, that she didn't have two less friends in one day. Though, it was hard to actually confirm anything about Alyssa just yet. The Queen may not appear angry, but it could possibly mean otherwise for Anna - she wasn't even sure what to believe any more. In all fairness, Anna had all the right to be mad at Alyssa for saying all that in front of Audrey. But Analise knew she couldn't really blame her for it - it had all been her fault for sending that text. She could have easily just turned off her phone, put it on silent, anything other than send her the lie.

And it was all her fault.

"I don't think we can be friends any more, Arnette. But you sure have plenty of those, don't you? So it's not like I'll be missed or anything. See you around, then." The sarcastic laugh still rang in Anna's ears as her mind replayed the whole fifteen minutes in painful detail. If Anna was any other sort of person, she would have been glad to lose Audrey's friendship - who would believe someone they disliked over their best friend!? - but this was Anna and she hated having anyone unhappy with her, let alone losing their friendship.

Anna pressed the heel of her palm deeper into her eyes, hoping that she'd stop the tears from falling. She still had the rest of the day to go through, and even though Anna felt like absolute rubbish, she knew that there was no way she would feel any better even if she went home early. Analise was sure that her make-up was definitely being smudged, possibly all over her cheeks due to the way she was pressing her hands into her eyes. It would be obvious to anyone around her that Anna was absolutely miserable, but Anna didn't care. For that one moment, she didn't want to care about what others thought.

For one single moment, she wanted to think about herself.

Anna was suddenly wrapped in a warm embrace, the action startling her enough to make her move her hands away from her face, ready to push away whoever it was. However, she knew who it was. Her heart knew it too, with the way it suddenly picked up speed. And it definitely was not because of shock. Jackson wordlessly held her, letting Anna to take comfort in him and his presence. She appreciated the silence, the simple act was enough to make her heart flutter. "She was my friend." Anna muttered, her already quiet voice muffled into Jackson's chest. It didn't matter whether he heard or not, Anna just wanted release. "I care about her and Domi the most, they're my best friends. I- I would rather--" She stopped herself, taking a deep breath in.

Jackson felt terrible for Anna. She was feeling so much more than him. When he had told Audrey to piss of it had been easy, even relieving. He didn't have a weight on his shoulders anymore. He was free. Most of the time it had felt like Audrey was more of a burden then a friend. But watching Anna, it was clear to him that she wasn't feeling very free. One of her best friends had just left her, without even giving a logical reason.

Jackson stayed where he was holding onto Anna. He would've loved to say something to her. To reply. To answer her. Anything to make her feel somewhat better. Something intelligent to make her laugh. Something to get her mind off of Audrey. Unfortunately Jackson wasn't like that. He couldn't comfort people like others could. The right words never seemed to find their place in his mouth. His approach was usually a more physical one. He just hoped Anna would be okay with his silence.

After a few moments Jackson slowly pulled away and looked at her with his soft brown eyes. "Do you like coffee?" Jackson knew of a great place down the street. It was a small coffee shop, attached to a book store. He never did much reading there, or drinking coffee, but it did have a nice relaxing feeling to it. It didn't look like Anna was going to get much more work done today, after everything that had happened and Jackson could really use a break from calculus class.

Anna nodded, silently as she stepped back once. She was grateful for Jackson's concern, and selfishly, she didn't ask about Audrey. Anna knew that Audrey would've most likely gone to Jackson after - possibly hurting the poor guy for a mistake she made. Pointing at his shirt, Anna meekly commented "sorry about the mascara on your shirt," she apologised. Even if she stayed back instead of going home, Analise was sure that there was no way she could guarantee that she wasn't going to break down into tears again during biology.

She turned, pointing in the direction of the exit. "Shall we?" In the same manner (maybe a bit more sadly) that Jackson had gestured towards the beach back during the party, Anna looked at him for the first time since he arrived.

Jackson looked down at his shirt after Anna pulled back. "Honestly, I think i like it better this way." The black mascara mixed in with the black ink on the white t-shirt, creating an interesting pattern. It almost looked like a panda...

Once again Jackson was filled with the desire to kiss her and make everything better. She seemed so sad, even when she referenced his phrase from that wonderful night on the beach. The night that had led to her losing her friend... That didn't really make it seem like such a good night in that perspective.

Shaking his head of the negative thoughts he grabbed Anna's hand and led her out of the school to his car. They drove off quickly, making good time. A few short minutes after they left the school, they were parking outside of a small coffee shop on the corner. The entire time he held onto her hand, only letting go when they got out of the car and entered the shop.

Anna almost let out a laugh as Jackson looked down at the new pattern on his shirt. "I'll get it dry cleaned for you," she said. It wasn't an offer, she was going to do it. She didn't even realise that she had repeated his phrase earlier - it was something that just slipped out, something natural, which Anna would probably only realise she had said after looking back on her memories later in life. The drive out of the high school was short, arriving only a short few minutes later. They entered the small, but quaint looking café, the inside barely filled with many people. Well, other than the odd business person scattered across the small room.

Since the line was short, the two could get their drinks almost immediately and find a place to sit. Anna chose a cosy corner, beside the window. Sinking down on the comfortable looking couch, Anna sighed as she slowly felt the tense feeling in her go away. She took a sip of her drink as she thought of what to say to Jackson. Was it right for her to even ask if he was okay? He looked like it, but he was probably better at keeping his emotions at check than she was. "So... how's your first date with a raccoon?" She asked, wincing at her words.

'Very smooth, Anna.'

Jackson took hold of his drink in both hands. It was pleasantly warm compared to the cool weather outside. Taking a small sip he shivered in happiness. He didn't usually allow himself to drink coffee, but when he did he relished every single sip. It wasn't the taste of the coffee that really drove him crazy, but the smell of it. It was such a pleasant smell that is just filled him up with warmness inside.

Sitting down next to Anna, he took a deep sip and leaned lightly into her. He laughed quietly. "Raccoon?" Tilting his head he pretended to examine her, like he wasn't taking every opportunity to stare at her beautiful face. Even with the messed up make up she was so pretty.

Her cheeks had reddened as he examined her face, barely suppressing the urge to turn away to avoid his scrutiny. The way he was looking at her, it reminded her of the beach kiss. They hadn't even talked about it since that day, mainly because of Anna taking that time to gain the courage to talk to Audrey about it first. She knew it wasn't fair to keep Jackson waiting, but she was scared. Hell, she's still scared. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Jackson began talking again.

"I think you look more like a panda personally. A mousey panda. Panda mouse." Grinning at her with a wide smile that reached his eyes he said, "That's it. You're my mousey panda. Jackson could barely contain the bubbling laughter in his chest, "And for the record, my first date with a panda is going wonderfully."

...What.

Anna stared at Jackson, her drink still in her hand and her mouth open - possibly in shock. Her, a panda? A mousey panda?! Okay, well, she could agree with the mousey bit, but panda? The raccoon was just a joke, she didn't want to be known as his (cue blush) mousey panda! It was the sort of nicknames couples gave each other (cue another blush)! Anna faltered for a moment, looking down at her lap - staring right into the eyes of her penguin designed purse - before speaking. "Well- you're a penguin then." She said, proud of herself as she turned to look at Jackson again. "Call me panda, and you'll forever be known as penguin."

Maybe a bit of Audrey did rub off on Anna. It was definitely not threatening, but hey, at least she tried!

Jackson's smile only grew wider as she tried to threaten him. She was so caught off guard by his statement, it only made the entire thing better. "Penguin, huh?" Leaning in close to her, he bit his lip and looked deeply into her eyes. Moving passed her, his mouth came next to her ear. Quietly, he spoke in almost a whisper.

"Panda."

'Yep, he's definitely going to get me killed early.' The girl thought as Jackson leaned close to her ear, whispering. There was absolutely no way that Jackson didn't know the effect he had on her. She was sure he could hear her heart racing in her chest, sitting so close to her. It was a miracle that she hadn't dramatically swooned on the spot as a result.

Shrugging as he pulled back Jackson smiled again. "I guess I'll be known as penguin now." Glancing down at himself he jokingly said, "I do make a rather ravishingly good looking penguin. Though don't expect me to start eating sushi."

Leaning back into the couch and looking back over at Anna with a content look on his face, "So... a penguin and a panda on a date in a coffee shop. We are fucking adorable. Definitely never going to forget this moment."

"You're really cocky for a penguin, aren't you?" She asked, pouting into her cup of hot chocolate as she turned away. It was as if her previous sad mood was gone, replaced by the more normal, albeit childish version of Analise Arnette. "Penguin and a panda on a date..." She repeated, the words looping in her mind like a tape on repeat. Once again, the over-thinker was back.

'Did he mean something by that? I did sort of start it off with the raccoon comment...' Taking a sip, she used the time to overthink. 'But he continued it, so maybe he's trying to hint at something?'

Agh, boys are so complicated.

"Sounds like the beginning of a joke, huh." Well, that was one way to test the waters. To see what he thought.

Jackson watched her as she pouted. She was even a cute pouter. How could you possible be cute at that? It was such a simple action. There wasn't anything to it. She managed to so effortlessly drive him crazy. And then how she kept bringing up them being on a date. All it did was bring up memories of their kiss on the beach.

Since that night they hadn't really had any time together. This was the first time since the beach that they had gotten to spend together, alone. His heart thudded with desire to brush her hair behind her ear, just like on the beach. The desire to lean forward and kiss her without a second thought.

The desire became too much for Jackson, he couldn't hold back any more. Kissing her was the only thought in his brain, it couldn't even come up with a reply. A hand softly brushed the hair behind her ear, just like he had imagined. So lightly his hand grazed her ear. Leaning in Jackson stared into her eyes, waiting. Waiting for the look that would let him know he could continue.

And Jackson didn't have to wait long for the look. Anna's heart skipped a beat as his hand brushed her ear, pushing her hair back just like he had done back on the beach. His actions were almost exactly the same as back then too: first holding her hand, then brushing her hair and finally the look. The look that simply melted Anna on the inside. The look that made Anna throw caution to the wind and just live.

She had already lost Audrey, what was the point continuing on in fear of her wrath? She already hated her, so Anna might as well just do what she wanted. And that she did. This time, Anna leaned in close to Jackson, slowly but firmly pressing her lips against his. She had her drink held tightly in one hand, gripping hard as her other went up to the arm that was grazing her ear. It didn't matter to her if people were watching any more, only Jackson mattered in that moment. Anna never realised when her eyes had fluttered closed, the feeling of her lips pressed against his was too important in that moment.

The world was all but forgotten as Jackson and Anna kissed. Even the amazing coffee that only moments ago had encaputred his attention. All he felt was pure happiness. He felt her hand on top of his and held on. With his eyes shut, everything felt more intense. The taste of her lips, the smell of her sweet perfume, and the soft feeling of her hand in his.

Letting go of her hand, Jackson cupped Anna's face and kissed her again. And again. And again. Jackson pulled back just enough to be able to laugh. He felt high from the experience, not that he would know what that would feel like. Pressing his forehead against hers he continued to laugh, painfully aware that he had just made out with one of the most awkward girls in front of a bunch of strangers in a coffee shop. Oh, who cared about them. All he cared about right now was Anna.

Wow.

It was a simple word, to describe an overwhelming situation. Don't get me wrong, she was happy - elated even - to be making out with her crush, even if it was in a public place. Anna felt Jackson press his forehead against hers, her own laughter joining his in their quiet corner of the café. She felt the exact same rush of feelings she had done the first time they'd kissed on the beach: the fear, the happiness, everything. But this time, Anna didn't want to succumb to her fear.

This time, Anna wanted to know what Jackson wanted. She wanted Jackson to know what she wanted. "W-wow." She huffed between her laughs, her hand reaching up to rest on his shoulder. She took a moment to relax, for both of them to return from their high, before swallowing her fear and asking the dreaded question.

"Jackson, what d-does this make us?" She asked. God, she hoped they were on the same page. "Are we..." the word 'dating' was left in the air, her throat closing before she could finish her question.

Jackson's forhead furrowed in mock serious thought. "What are we? Hmmm..." He concentrated hard about the question. "What are we..? King and Queen? No, no, no that's not it. Though we'd certainly make great ones. Eve and Adam? Closer, but still not it!" Scratching his head he shrugged at her. "I don't know... I guess boyfriend and girlfriend."

Grinning at Anna to let her know he was only joking, he leaned in again and kissed her, briefly this time. "Analise, will you go out with me?" Hopeful eyes watched her carefully. Waiting just like before he kissed her, for the answer.

A sigh of relief escaped Anna's lips, feeling as if an entire weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she listened to Jackson joke around. It felt good to finally know where she -- they -- stood in all of this. And to know that he wanted her too? She felt happy. Well, happy is an understatement - over the moon, was the correct term.

Analise saw Jackson's hopeful eyes, and she couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't malicious, but more from relief as Anna pressed her forehead against Jackson's. "God, that's the best thing I've heard all day... yes, of course-- yes," she punctuated each yes with a kiss: on his cheek, lips, anywhere really.

It was amazing how Jackson was able to bring her back from the dumps, from feeling miserable to feeling herself again - without even trying. The fall out with Audrey before suddenly felt as if it wasn't the biggest deal in the world, not like how Analise was making it out to be. That everything was actually going to be okay. Getting together with your crush was literally every teenaged girl's (and possibly some guy's) dream, and to see that Analise getting with Jackson? Simply perfect.

For now, nothing else mattered but the two of them.

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It had only been Jocelyn Thompson's first day as a Junior in Beverly Hills High School, and up to know she'd been witness to two arguments and a fight. On her way to the cafeteria, she'd encountered an argument between a snobby-looking brunette and a preppy-looking blonde. Standing close to the brunette was a guy that Josie could only assume was her boyfriend (the way he was staring at her... It made Josie's heart yearn for someone to look at her like that one day). Anyway, apparently the blonde had hooked up with the brunette's ex or something along those lines, and the brunette was not having it. Later, Josie was walking to get a seat on a cafeteria table when the furious brunette suddenly walked in and slapped the hell out of who Josie assumed was the ex: a handsome, muscular dude that looked like he could beat the shit out of the brunette if she'd been a guy. Wide-eyed and from afar, she'd watched them have a short but heated argument before the brunette walked away again with her boyfriend on her heels. To end this rather eventful lunch, Josie came across a crazy-looking rocker chick beating the shit out of a provocative-looking blonde over some cute Asian guy. 'Looks like it doesn't take much to set people off here on the West Coast...' Jocelyn thought as she watched these scenes from afar with wide, scared eyes. It was enough to scare the poor East Coast girl, and she took note that it was best to avoid trouble; confrontation was not something she was fond of.

After quietly finishing her food in a corner table in the cafeteria, Josie left and set out to find her English classroom. Having transferred from a small school, Josie was soon overwhelmed with the huge size of her new school and how everywhere she turned seemed to look exactly the same. Enough to say, she was lost, and her shy demeanor prevented her from asking help from any of the many students walking past her as if she wasn't there. Just as she was turning yet another hallway, the warning bell rang, and Josie was still as lost as when she had started. But it seemed the gods were looking out for her, because now that most of the students had dispersed into their respective classrooms, a lone male figure was standing right at the end of the hall. Alas, she'd found her guide! The savior that would send her down the right path once and for all!

Though Josie had two older brothers, a younger one and a father she was close with, that didn't mean she felt any more comfortable with approaching the opposite sex. If you asked her, though, she'd much rather approach a guy than a girl. She'd seen firsthand just how much more dangerous, mean and cruel girls could be.

With slightly trembling legs, Jocelyn walked up to the guy. He had his broad back towards her, so she softly tapped his shoulder to call his attention once she was close enough.

"Um, excuse me, sir. I'm really sorry to bother you, but, um, could you please point me out in the direction of the, um, Advanced English classroom? I'm new here, you see, and , um, I got lost in this mammoth of a school." Josie explained in a soft, shy voice. She had her warm brown eyes glued on the floor, clutching her books tightly against her chest, and was slightly shifting her feet nervously.

Still nothing back from Sierra. What was up with her? Surely she wasn’t away from her phone, right? Surely she was waiting, so surely she could have gotten back to him already. What was up? Alexandros wasn’t worried, but he felt like he needed to at least try to explain to her. There was a lot about what Viola told her—which wasn’t her place to say in the first place—that Sierra didn’t know. She didn’t know about the bad week, what may or may not have happened to Bianca Salazar, and pretty much everything in-between.

Walking towards the cafeteria, he heard the warning bell. “Already?” Alexandros sighed. Apparently he wasn’t going to get to eat lunch today. Maybe it wasn’t even worth going to class today. Alexandros wasn’t in the mood to sit through another couple of classes with the boring teachers talking about something that he could look up on his phone. “Yeah, not in the mood,” he decided, changing course towards the parking lot. Alexandros didn’t need to be at school anyway.

Just as he was about to take a right that would be a straight and narrow path to the parking lot, some girl approached him. Alexandros looked at her. Does she know who I am? She obviously didn’t. No one who was familiar with Alexandros’ reputation would willingly approach him, much less ask him where the Advanced English classroom was. He sighed again, but his eyes fell on the girl. She was kind of cute—well, if you like that innocent kind of look.

“New here, huh?” Alexandros said, stating the obvious. It wasn’t subtle that she wasn’t from around here, or even if she was, it definitely was her first day. No one who roams the halls of Beverly Hills High was that innocent, well, unless you were Analise Arnette. That girl, despite going here for as long as Alexandros has been, never lost her innocence. “I’ll just show you where it is, since it’s on my way.” Alexandros said, surprisingly not only talking to a girl that obviously wasn’t of at least upper-middle class, but willingly showing her around. Wasn’t that Analise’s job? God, Alexandros definitely was going through some kind of change, that’s for sure.

While he led her down the hall, taking a right, Alexandros occasionally glanced at her. “So, do you have a name?” Alexandros asked her.

Lil was in a bad mood. And late. The late thing wasn't all too unusual, but the mood thing was something new-ish. Ever since Tristan had up and ditched her at the party, a black cloud just seemed to hover over her head at all times. Everything went wrong after that night. Her feet were still sore, with cuts and bruises. Glaring down at the cursed blue-leather covered things attached to her feet, Lil stomped away from the cafeteria towards her class. After a few feet of stomping, she quickly stopped, realizing she was only making herself look like a fool and hurting herself. "Damn, fucking feet."

Walking through the hallway Lil's phone began to buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw the sender. Tristan. Of course it was Tristan. Not a word for days and suddenly, 'Hey I'm back!' Swiping on the phone's screen she pulled open the app and read the message. The fucking audacity of this guy. Hitting the phone's screen angrily she typed back a short curt message.



Shoving the phone back in her pocket, Lily turned down the path to her class. Most everyone had already made it to their classes by now. Not expecting anyone to be in front of her she picked up a little bit of speed. Tardy's were building up on her report, she could use one good day. Turning another corner Lil ran face first into a man standing next to a girl. Flying back after bouncing off of his chest, she landed hard on the ground, backpack flying. "FUCK!" Lily slammed her fist down on the ground. Her hand came back stinging, small cuts starting to bleed.

Standing up fast, Lily turned on the person she ran into. The person who so obviously was at fault here. Alexandros. Sly, smooth, drug dealing Alexandros. Adderall addict feeder Alexandros. Of course it was him. Angrily, Lily picked up her backpack, a little to fast so it swung around her body instead of hitting her shoulder. Shoving passed him, Lil hit him with her shoulder as she passed, clenching her injured fist to her body. "Watch it, fucking candy man." She was so angry, she didn't even acknowledge the innocent looking creature beside him.

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Since the party, Lakshya did nothing but work. It was nothing exciting, nor was there anything noteworthy, but Lakshya worked at the café to pass the time. Well, there were a few moments where he hung out with the high kid he met in the party - David "Davy" Powers - who was quite the parkour master. He was entertaining, to say the least, if not a bit reckless. Lucky and Davy were two very opposite individuals as far as Lucky knew. While Davy was free-spirited, Lucky was reserved, bound almost to rules. Davy liked to chill; Lucky preferred getting his work done. I would add more examples here, but to be fair, Lucky only met up with Davy during the past week like twice. Even so, Lucky still considered the high kid a friend - or a potential friend - someone he could enjoy free time with and possibly learn a thing or two from.

Shutting his locker, Lucky looked around the almost empty hallway. It was lunch, so most of the students were either in the canteen or in their usual hangout spots across the campus. Lucky was even lucky enough to witness (well, more like listen in on) a fight between two - maybe three girls around the corner, something about one of them screwing the other's ex and lying about it. It ended with tears, that's how much Lucky could tell. He was gone by the end of it anyway; to look for someone at least remotely familiar.

And someone familiar he found. In the form of the Queen herself; Dominique Saunders.

He heard a lot more about her that past few hours in school than he did during the party, so it was safe to say that Lucky was curious. She looked interested in him when they were at the party the previous week, but why him specifically? He was the new kid; he had no reputation. Shouldn't the post popular girls get with the popular guys anyway? Unless Lucky's reputation reputation precedes him and he never knew about it.

Approaching her, Lucky noticed the down mood she was in. "Well, looks like the queen has finally returned." He said, stepping up beside her. "Looks like you... had a blast." Well, he couldn't assume she was sad about the trip without knowing her, could he?

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Analise was over the moon. Sure, the day started off sucky, but being with Jackson was enough to change her mood almost instantly. He didn't even need to try, and that was what worried her. Was she already in too deep? Was there something she was missing?

The over thinker in Anna was going strong, the hot chocolate now cold in her hands. "I don't know if I ever thanked you but," Anna paused, pressing a kiss to Jackson's jawline again, "thank you for bringing me here. I feel better no--"

A light buzz filled the air, cutting Anna short. It reminded her a lot like the time at the beach: they would be having a moment until her phone would ruin it. 'I really need to start turning off my phone while I'm with him...'

Plz b @ school. Need 2 talk. :(

Domi was back?! Anna almost jumped out of her seat happily. After a week without any word from her, Anna was glad to see (or in this case, read) that Dominique was still around. But from the looks of her text, things didn't look as good as Anna had hoped. Did something happen in the Hamptons? Was Dominique hurt? Concern for her friend was enough for Anna to push away her current happiness (and hesitation to return back to school). Looking at Jackson, she asked; "Ah, Jackson? I need a ride back-- Dominique's here and she doesn't sound happy."

I'm on my way now! Just wait by your locker!

---

---

Joo stared. He had left the school and came here into the house, only to find it completely empty. It seems as though his uncle was currently trying to find as many bars as he could in the span of 24 hours. That's what the note said anyways. He calmly dropped his bag in his room and flopped unto his bed. That was ten minutes ago. He hasn't done anything since, bright eyes unblinkingly staring at the white, wooden ceiling. Thoughts raced in his head as he played the scene over and over again. 'It could've been better. It should've been better. What the fuck went wrong?' Every detail, from the prank in the closet to the fist landing solidly on his face to the screaming, angry form of Sierra. Everything had gone so fast, so sudden that he couldn't do anything. He sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and sighing.

He really wished that Sierra could've been better about it. She had gotten better since he had befriended her, a little nicer, a little more reserved. He thought she had enough control to not go ape shit. But no. She had to go ahead and throw that punch. "Damn it Si, why'd you have to do that?" He groaned, standing up and reaching for his phone. He scrolled through his contacts, stopping at the smiling face of his best friend. It was a picture shot on the beach, the sun setting in the background, making her glow in the photo. He sighed once more. He had to say something to her, to apologise.

He tried to call her but it seemed as though she wasn't picking up. Instead, he left a message. He started off with a nervous, shaking sigh "Sierra? It's Joo. I'm sorry Si. I'm so sorry. I-I want to apologise in person, please hear me out. Can you meet me in the park near my house, 10 o'clock? I want to say something. Hopefully I see you there Si." He ended the voice message. He wasn't even sure what to say, it was a just a flow of words that escaped from his mouth. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking that he was a god damn mess. 'One down, one more to go.'

Jackson smiled as Anna began to thank him for taking her out. His intentions were of course to make her feel better, but there may him been some slight motivation to get her alone behind his actions. Whatever his intentions had been, they had worked. Anna was happy, smiling, and she was also his girlfriend now. Girlfriend. At the thought of the word his smile grew slightly larger.

And then her phone rang. Jackson's head fell back and a moan escaped his mouth in mock exasperation. That phone was the bane of his existence. It hated when him and Anna were having a good time. Like the smallest cock block, every time they had a moment of peace it seemed to buzz.

"Ah, Jackson? I need a ride back-- Dominique's here and she doesn't sound happy."

Looking over at Anna, Jackson looked at her curiously. Dominique was back from her sudden vacation. He was wondering when the queen would reappear. It wasn't like her to just vanish, especially not during the first week. Still, it didn't mean he wanted to leave. He was happy here, and if they went back to school, Anna would have to leave his side. Letting out a deep breath, Jackson asked, "Do we have to? We could just... sit here. That sounds like fun! Sitting, doing nothing. Much better than seeing your friend that disappeared for a week." He planted a kiss on her lips, to emphasize his case.

Even as he asked, Jackson knew that she wouldn't agree to stay, even if she wanted too. Anna was too nice to say no to someone and this was her best friend. Besides, no one denied the almighty queen. Rolling his eyes, Jackson relented. "Okay, okay. Let's go then you stubborn panda. Wouldn't want to keep the queen waiting." Winking at her, he grabbed her hand and they walked out to his car.

Hopping into the vehicle, Jackson navigated through the streets back into the school parking lot. Pulling into his spot, he looked over at Anna. Not wanting to go back into school he asked, "Do you want me to go in with you? You know if Dominique called you, he probably asked for Audrey too..?" He left the question open. If she really wanted him to go in, he would in a heartbeat. In fact he'd love to be there to protect her from Audrey's rath. She was too shy and innocent to protect herself from someone so mean. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much.

---

Though Audrey had listened to Troy's offer of driving her home, the words didn't register with her for a while. For a moment, all Audrey could do was watch as an angry Jackson walked away from her after saying that what he or Anna did was none of her business, and how she wasn't the queen. That last part wasn't the hurtful part, but the first one stung. As their (now-former) best friend, of course what they did was her business! She had been their adviser, their support and the one who they told their stories to! All she wanted for them was for each of the two to be happy, just not with each other. There was a whole world of possibilities out there. Why did they have to settle for each other!?

Audrey, lower lip quivering as if she was on the verge of tears, finally registered with what her boyfriend had told her after a few minutes of tortured silence. She kissed Troy back and gave him a tight hug. "I would love that, baby," she told him, letting go of him but quickly holding his hand. "A pint of Ben and Jerry's and some of your cuddles sound like the thing I need the most right now." Audrey looked in the direction of the door. "Shall we, sweetie? I can't wait to be back home."

While the two were making their way to the parking lot, Audrey's phone vibrated. She gave a little tug at Troy's hand for him to stop, and once he did she rummaged through her bag and pulled out her phone.

"Oooooh, it's from Domi!" Audrey told Troy excitedly, unlocking her phone to read the message.



"Uh, oh... Things apparently didn't go so well at her trip..." Audrey whispered, staring at her phone. In the minute she'd just kept her eyes on the screen, another text from Domi came up, saying that she was meeting Anna by her locker and to be there. Audrey bit her lip in uncertainty. Seeing Anna was not something she wanted to do at the moment (in fact, she wanted to steer away from her ex-best friend as much as she could so her anger couldn't make her say hurtful things she would regret later). Then again, Dominique was now her only friend, and Audrey wanted at least that one friendship to survive. Plus, she wasn't far from Domi's locker. If she got there first, she could be in and out of the situation without even having to encounter Analise.

Having decided to do just that, Audrey typed up a quick reply to Domi.



Audrey hit send and turned to Troy. "Babe, apparently Domi needs me right now. She's waiting for me by her locker. I'll just drop by really quick before we head on out, okay, sweetie?"

Still holding Troy's hand, Audrey sprinted to Domi's locker and found her there with Lucky. She greeted the handsome foreigner and quickly turned to her best friend. She sighed with relief at having arrived earlier than Anna.

"Hey, Queenie!" she greeted her best friend, giving her a tight hug. "Did you have fun?" Audrey asked, and took a moment to give a quick look around their surroundings. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but you wanted to see me? I need to be outta here before ole' Miss Arnette gets here." Without waiting for Domi to ask, she added. "She's not someone I wanna see right now, after fucking with my ex Jackson at your party, and all that."

---

---

---

It was around three o' clock when the persistent vibration of her celphone finally nudged Sierra awake. The warmth and softness of her bedsheets had never felt so comforting, and she was quite annoyed that there was someone trying to rip her away from the safe haven that was her Dream Land. Sierra tried to open her eyes, but a pounding headache made her groan and close them shut again. This was the kind of headache she got after one of her rages... What had happened to her that caused her to feel like this?

Sierra didn't have to think too much to remember. The images were now flashing trough her closed eyes: Joo taking her to the closet, their prank on Mossos, Joo's and Alex's exchange, that blonde slut just randomly showing up and calling Joo by the pet name Sierra had given him, how the blonde had just pushed Sierra's buttons to her breaking point... And how she had to be pulled away from her before she could beat her up more than she had started to.

Gee, no wonder her hand was stinging a little.

It had been the first day of her last year of high school, but if things went along the same lines as today, then she knew just how her senior year would be: complete and utter shit.

After she finally willed herself to open her eyes, she picked up her celphone and checked the screen, only to roll her eyes at the notifications: a couple missed calls from Joo, a voice mail from him and a text message from Alexandros. Without even bothering to read or listen to any messages, Sierra threw her phone down on the bed in frustration with an angry growl. Did these two think that she would bother to even text any of them after the little stunt they had pulled? Were they really that oblivious? She knew Joo probably expected her to just brush it off and go back to being her usual self (yeah, her best friend could be that hopeful), but Mossos should've known better than that (he was very much like her in that aspect, after all). If anything, they each deserved a punch for having put her in this situation. Well, Joo had already gotten his, but Alexandros' pretty face deserved a bruise for being an entitled prick.

Well, time to see what these two had to say.

Sierra opened Alexandros' text message first, since going through the trouble of hearing a voicemail would only annoy her further. The words on the screen made her scoff.



Sierra rolled her eyes again (what's new?) and glared at her phone for a few seconds. Mossos wanted a chance to explain what, exactly? Was there even anything to discuss at all? She considered telling him to piss off for the longest time, but she was much too curious to hear what exuse the almighty Alexandros Mossos would tell her. And so, she took a deep breath and let her thumbs fly on the screen of her phone as they typed up an angry response.



Having hit the send button on the screen with a bit more force than needed (no wonder her phones didn't last long...), she proceeded to listen to whatever her Joo-Bear had to say.



Even as angry as she felt, the sadness in Joo's voice dissipated it and made her feel like shit. She had every right to be completely furious at him (it was still fresh in Sierra's mind how he'd stepped in to take a punch for that stupid chick), but there was always something about hearing or seeing Joo upset that really hit her hard. He lived life with that charming smile of his always plastered on even if stuff got in the way, against all odds. Since being his friend, Sierra's ice-cold heart had melted somewhat, she'd learned to appreciate the beauty of life and had started to believe that maybe her life didn't suck as much as she thought it did. But now there was this strange woman trying to take him away from her, and she'd be damned if she let that happen.

Letting out a frustrated groan at the thought of losing her Joo, Sierra decided to cave in and leave him a voice message on whatsapp. She wasn't feeling in the mood of listening to him to further feel bad, so this was the best approach. After finding his contact on the app, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach only intensified. It was a picture of them at the beach: he'd been giving her a piggyback ride, they both looked as if they were having the time of their life and the blue sea behind them made for a stunning photo. God... The intensity in which she felt for this man scared her.

Before giving things any more thought, Sierra pressed the record button. "You're damn right to be sorry, Joo. What the hell was all that about, anyway? You have a lot of explaining to do. I'll sure as hell will be there at 10." she said before sending the message. She wasn't going to let her true feelings show... At least not yet, anyway.

---

---

---

Josie heard the older guy sigh, and she further hid her head as her cheeks immediately reddened at the thought of having bothered him; being an annoyance or burden to people was always one of Josie's fears. Thankfully, it seemed that the guy wasn't as bothered by her presence as she thought, because he proceded to ask -or pretty much state- that she was new here in an inquiring voice.

Josie merely nodded, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. A row of small silver piercings with different designs made a little road in her earlobe.

“I’ll just show you where it is, since it’s on my way.”

"Thank you so much!" she replied, looking up at his chest (she still wasn't ready to look him at the face) and flashing him a small, shy smile before they both began their walk down the labyrinth of hallways that was Beverly Hills High School. She'd never thought she'd missed the small campus of her old private school back in New Jersey, but clearly she'd been wrong.

Throughout their walk and out of the corner of her eyes, Josie could feel the older guy glance at her occasionally, as did she whenever he was not looking. “So, do you have a name?” the guy finally asked her in a voice as smooth as velvet.

Josie nodded again, chancing a sideways glance at him. "Mhmm. I'm Jocelyn Thompson, but everyone calls me Josie," she replied in a soft, warm voice, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. "May I ask your name?"

The pair had just taken a corner after Josie had finished her question when a girl with hair redder than hers ran face first into her guide's chest, flew backwards and landed hard on the ground, backpack flying.

Josie's eyes flew open wide and she let out a surprised gasp. "Oh my God, are you okay?!" she asked the girl, quickly putting her books on the floor in case the girl needed some help. But, judging from how the stranger screamed the word "FUCK!" and violently slammed her fist down on the ground, Josie thought it was best to pick up her books and take a few steps closer to the man beside her to avoid getting hurt by the angry young woman in front of her.

The girl stood up quickly, picked up her backpack to swing it to her shoulder and hit the male's chest "Watch it, fucking candy man." she spat at the guy before angrily storming off without so much as a glance at Jocelyn.

Josie remained in shocked silence for a few seconds ('Yup, people here in the West Coast can be set off by the smallest of things...) before looking up at the man beside her. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you when she slammed her shoulder into you like that?" Josie asked him, genuine concern in her voice and face. Leave it to her to always be on the lookout for others. This was the first time she was fully looking into the guy's face, and she hadn't been wrong when assuming this guy was handsome. There was something about those stunning blue eyes that gave her a nagging feeling of familiarity, as if she'd seen them somewhere else before, but maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. When she realized she was staring at the guy, Josie blushed again and quickly moved her eyes back to the floor.

---

---

---

Well, wasn't this quite the turn of events? One moment the Queen looked fine, enough to reply to him with a familiar air of confidence - one he had seen back at the party when she was simply enjoying herself. And now? She looked almost ready to cry after revealing the exact reason behind the surprise trip her parents up and took her away for.

Rather than asking her about it, he instead opted to shrug and follow behind Dominique, his long strides catching up with her almost immediately. Lucky didn't know the Queen very well, it's not like he had any reason to ask what exactly happened - he didn't even know her that much. All he knew that she was upset, and the logical thing to (probably) do was to try and get her mind off of it.

...which is easier said than done. Remember when I mentioned that he didn't know her very well? What exactly could he even ask that would help her forget? Stopping by Dominique's locker, Lucky stood beside her with his shoulder leaning against the wall and his arms crossed.

"I don't mind keeping a pretty girl company--" Lucky didn't know whether he was simply unlucky or that the gods above simply wanted to test his patience. As soon as he had offered to keep the beautiful Queen company, in came --what he presumed-- was her friend. Or one of them anyway.

It was one of the voices in the hallway from earlier, so he could only assume that the second friend was probably the one that screwed with this girl's ex. Audete? Aurora? Aubrey? That last one sounded familiar, so he guessed that it was either that, or something close enough. All he could remember about the girl from the party last week was that she possibly had issues with Alexandros. And possibly others, going by the argument he overheard not long ago.

"Well, your friend is here so I think... I should leave?" It was posed as a question. If Dominique wanted him to stay, then so be it, but truthfully? He wanted to get as far away from the clichéd teen drama as he possibly could.

---

---

"Do we have to? We could just... sit here. That sounds like fun! Sitting, doing nothing. Much better than seeing your friend that disappeared for a week." Anna looked over at him, giving him the opportunity to steal a kiss from her - surprising her and making the top of her ears turn pink. God, she was whipped.

Standing up, she pushed her purse into her bag and slid out of the cozy booth, taking Jackson's hand in the process and leading her boyfriend - god, she'd never get over saying that! Aha! - out back towards his car. She waited for him to slide into his seat, before leaning over the console to give his cheek a grateful kiss. "Thank you for coming with me," She sighed, "you don't know how much I really appreciate it. I... I have a feeling Audrey will be there and I... I don't know what to do but I can't ignore Domi-"

Analise quietened down, breathing deeply to work on her panicked, racing heart. She would almost rather visit the doctor than to see Audrey so soon. The car eventually reached the school's parking lot, and Anna took Jackson's hand again as they both left the vehicle. Instead of rushing, the girl walked towards the Queen Bee's locker as slowly as she could, as if she were delaying the inevitable as much as possible.

It didn't matter anyway, by the time Anna and Jackson turned the corner towards Dominique's locker inside the hallway, Anna found Audrey tightly hugging onto Dominique.

"She's not someone I wanna see right now, after fucking with my ex Jackson at your party, and all that."

...yep. Anna could feel the regret piling in her stomach and she tightened her grip in Jackson's hand.

"If she says anything, please just let her say it. I don't want her to be even madder than she already is." Anna requested Jackson, giving him a small smile before finally approaching Dominique, Audrey, Troy and the new kid with a small faked smile. "Domi?" She asked softly, avoiding Audrey's gaze purposely. "Is everything okay? You sounded upset in your text." Anna was still holding onto Jackson's hand as support. It wasn't even something she consciously decided, it just happened.