There was a moment of silence as the teacher looked up from her desk, making eye contact with Alyssa. But a moment later, her face broke into a smile, and Alyssa relaxed (if that was even possible) at the friendly gesture. She took a hesitant step forward, shyly glancing at the chatting class before going back to her. "I'm-" "-Alyssa, I know. Welcome to Delbrook Academy. You'll be sitting between Connor and Maria, in that empty seat there. Make sure that you aren't late again." She nodded, blue eyes wide, relieved that she was off the hook. She hoped that Dylan, too, would be so lucky.

However, her stomach sank when she saw that she was right at the front of the class. Oh dear. At least this was only homeroom, right? She felt awkward, just about breaking into their conversation, but it had to be done. One hand in a fist at her side, she quietly took her seat amongst the others. Glancing at Maria, and then to Connor, she smiled lightly. Her heart beat in her chest like a runaway train. You could never tell if people liked you, if they were judging you, if they wanted to put you down. The least she could do was try to make a good impression. "Hi," she just about squeaked at them, cheeks flushing at the sound. Well, that wasn't what she would call a good start.

@LostDestiny @Ozerath

---

"Yeah. There's a massive party going down in New Orleans. Not too big of a drive, if y'all wanna come along. I'll drive. I'm going regardless."

Fuck yes. That's more like it. Roxy's eyes sparkled at the news and her lips pulled up in an almost-excited smile. At the back of her mind, however, she was worrying about who would tuck little Tom in. She would text her father, yes, then he could get off from work early. With this thought still swimming in her mind, she nodded in response to Riley's question. Of course Harley would go. There was no way they'd miss out on all of the fun. Opening her mouth to confirm that Harley would most likely be up for it, Roxy heard her name being mentioned on her left. Another invite. Jesus.

"Sure. I'm wicked at football." Winking at Andreas, she immediately regretted her earlier face. She made no effort to apologise, however, and turned back to her previous conversation. Just in time to catch the Colton guy staring at Harley. Raising an eyebrow, Roxy recalled that the two had some dating history, but that was a while ago now. If she wasn't so determined to be good today, she would have made a comment on the guy's longing gaze, but instead she kept her mouth shut and turned her attention to the party.

It had been a while since she'd properly been out, and she was dying for some excitement. In fact, she fully expected to get in with someone this time - seeing as everyone else seemed to be all loved up. Her gaze scanned the room, picking out any potentials. That Quinten guy seemed good looking, but he was deep in conversation with another girl; there was Bruno, of course, but he was a little too nice for her liking; his brother Dominik, in her opinion, was better looking - however he pretty much made it clear he didn't like her from the beginning. What about that Sarah girl? She seemed bubbly and carefree, and nice-looking, but she was probably straight. Enough with the thirstiness. Roxy scolded herself before she could go through the whole class, instead directing her curiosity towards the scene unfolding nearby.

A boy that looked about six seemed to be struggling to breathe, by the looks of things - and the fact that everyone was watching didn't seem to be helping either. Her eyes glided over the guy he was addressing yet held no particular interest towards him. Instead, she rested her chin in her hands and attempted to meet the gaze of Harley, who she knew would be interested in this party.

---

---

The bell had already rang by the time Aaliyah had walked through the Delbrook Academy school doors. Glancing down at her cell phone, she saw that it was already fifteen minutes past seven. Here she was, on her very first day of tenth grade, and she was late. If it hadn't been for Tamera, he new foster mother, insisting that she drove her to her first day of school, she would have been right on time. Tamera drove extremely slow that morning, so Aaliyah made a mental note to take the bus the next week instead.

Since she was already late, Aaliyah saw no reason to rush. She took her sweet time walking around the school, and by the time she'd found the main office, a substantial amount of time had gone by. Nevertheless, she was excused by one of the administrators after he'd given her a class schedule. "It's your first day," he'd said, "I completely understand. Welcome to Delbrook, and I hope you have a wonderful first day." Aaliyah smiled sweetly and nodded, but rolled her eyes as soon as he turned his back.

"'Have a wonderful first day,'" she said mockingly as she left the office, "yeah, right."

Looking down at her schedule as she wandered the halls, Aaliyah saw that she had Mrs. Wiley for homeroom. As she made her way towards the room, she took a look at the rest of the papers that the administrator had given her: a school calendar, papers for her parent or guardian to sign, etc. Flipping through one of the sheets, she saw that just a couple of days before, there was a carnival. "Maybe I should've come earlier," she muttered to herself with a smirk. Two days earlier, instead of attending school, she'd been moving her things into her new home, and the day after she was being enrolled. Tamera had even taken her to the mall to get a few new outfits for school, so maybe she wouldn't be as bad as her previous homes. She'd told her twin brother all about it over the phone as soon as they got back, making sure that he wasn't too worried about her.

When she finally reached the classroom, Aaliyah poked her head in for a second, taking a quick look around, before entering. The students were seated, some on their phones, some playing games, and some having conversations about what they were planning to do over the weekend. The woman that she assumed to be Mrs. Wiley was sitting at her desk, typing on her computer. Walking up to her desk, Aaliyah placed the excused tardy pass on the woman's desk and sighed. "New student," she said with a shrug, "where do I sit?"

Bruno definitely noticed the accent in the girl's voice more as she thanked him for telling her about the American school system. Bruno had never heard a Puerto Rican accent before, but now he had heard it, he thought it was pretty damn attractive. Fiorella probably wondered where his own accent was from. Croatian is a pretty odd accent, like most slavic accents. Most people didn't really understand them too well. Most people thought they were Russian or Polish or something like that.

Fiorella extended out a hand for Bruno to shake, and told him her full name. Her accent definitely was strongest in the way she pronounced her name. Bruno blushed a tiny bit and then replied.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bruno Žurančić, but you can call me, well, Bruno. I don't really have any nicknames.

When he was shaking Fiorella's hand, he heard the word party from across the room. He would definitely enquire about that. He finished shaking Fiorella's hand and said a quick goodbye before getting up and going over to Colton and Roxy. "If there's a party going on then I'm in. The only problem is I don't have a ride"

@Dirty Pretty Lies @Filthy Mudblood @A Tattooed Girl



Stupid, stupid, stupid! He should have easily seen that Davina was asking him to go to the game with her. Now he missed the one damn chance he had to do something with her that would probably come around in a while. Even though he hated American football, he could have put it at the back of his mind if he spent some time with Davina. He heard the word party being mentioned and saw his brother quickly rush over to enquire. That would be a nice quiet night in, hopefully. But Davina was still standing in front of him. Maybe he could take a huge risk. A massive, huge plunge.

"If you're not going to the football game, maybe we can do something, else?"

His voice was visibly nervous and he blushed a little as he spoke.

_{@Oliver@Midnight Howl@Filthy Mudblood}

It was almost like Tae's face had dropped at the mention of beer, he caught the look and laughed, quietly but there was no malice in his voice, it was friendly - he knew, different strokes for different folks. "What's wrong?" He asked, teasing in jest, "Never had a drink?" His tone wasn't hushed enough to seem suspicious, but definitely out of earshot for just about anybody else in the class. His face had a quizzical look, "It's not like you have to." He was sincere, he understood the weight of peer pressure and anxiety. As far as he was concerned it was something that everybody went through in their own social circles, or so he'd read online.

Andreas began to seem lost in his thoughts for a moment, his gaze pinned across the room as he tried to remember where he'd seen it, as well as a few other thoughts beginning to stampede around.

"Sure, I'm wicked at football" Roxy's voice brought him out of his own little world, he nodded in response, and smiled, she'd turned too quickly for him to reply and just as she did so Sarah also voiced how she'd be interested.

"We won't be playing the whole time." He assured her.
-

Having had kicked the leg of the guy's desk, but no movement, Harley figured the poor kid was dead asleep. With his head in his folded arms on the desk, Harley felt it best to leave him alone for today. They'd make it a point to bug them at a later time. Harley had overheard the talk of a party for the last few minutes but had been lost in thought and attempting to make a new friend to care. With their attention freed up, they sat up straight in their chair and turned the opposite way to face the real conversation going on. It didn't take Harley to find their friend Roxy staring them down, smirking as they raised an eyebrow at the girl. Harley cocked their head slightly to the side, almost like a dog when hearing the word 'walk'. It was almost as exciting for Harley to hear the word 'party'.

"You shouldn't have to ask," Harley replied to Roxy's unasked question with a devilish grin. Their eyes scanned over to Riley who they winked at, knowing all too well how this night was going to go down. They'd wreak havok on the town and not have a care in the world. It wasn't their town, so why tread lightly? Go big or go home, right?! Harley's gaze then fell on Colton who had been staring at Riley in that moment. Their gaze only lingered on their ex for a short time before turning back to Roxy. Quickly unlocking their phone, they typed out a message to her.

тнιnĸ colтon wιll acтυally ѕтay ѕoвer, тonιgнт? тнιnĸ we мay need тo rope ѕoмe poor ѕoυl ιn тo oυr lιттle advenтυre ιғ we wanт тo мaĸe ιт нoмe ιn one pιece. doυвт colтon wιll acтυally вe dd.

---

---

Momentarily, Davina's attention was peaked when a couple of new students walked into the room. She watched carefully as the first was given her seat over by Quinten, and the next she knew would probably be the girl who'd been assigned to the seat in front of Davina. At the classroom door, she could also spot a boy standing there as if waiting for an invitation to join the rest of the class but gave him no further attention. Davina turned back to Dominik, her eyes widening at his response. 'Did he just..?' She swallowed nervously and bit her lower lip. "Oh! Um.. well, I don't really have anything planned for the night except help Quinn babysit his boy, tonight." Seemed to be a bit too personal. Davina shook her head and blushed. "What do you have in mind?" This was it. The fact that it was happening was making it hard for Davina to breathe. It was then that the bell rang out, signaling all students to begin heading to their first official class of the day. It was almost saddening to her. She knew that Dom and herself didn't have the same class for their first period. Before Davina could really think it through, she snagged a pen from her pocket and took Dom's hand, scribbling her number on his hand. "Text me about it, 'kay?" With that, she grabbed her bag and quickly headed out the door to her next class.

---

---

---

"Don't forget to do your homework, guys! Don't fall behind." Mrs. Wiley called out to them as the lot rushed towards their first period of the day, some sluggishly following the rest. The day was long but it was fruitful, depending on who you ask. There'd been a fight down in the quad over the last slice of pizza being sold at lunch, some Junior got busted with a gram of weed in his backpack in the last class of the day, and of course the football team and their cheerleaders had to bring out a rally at lunch time to attempt getting the rest of the school as hyped up about the night's game as they were. The game itself would start at 7 o'clock sharp that night. Those in attendance would be in for a great game. The game was going to be against their rival school, and Delbrook had lost to them for quite a number of years before. It was time for a change, and the team was bound and determined to make it happen.

The rest of Toby's day was rough, but uneventful. He managed to get through the whole class schedule without a serious attack, but he was still coughing and wheezing by the time he left to walk home. It dawned on him that he had absolutely nothing to do for the entire weekend. That was disheartening, to say the least. It wasn't like he'd expected to be really popular or anything, but he always hated having to stay at home with his drunk aunt.

Speaking of which, when he got back to his apartment and rang the doorbell, nobody came to the door. His dad was still at work he knew, and his aunt was probably passed out on the couch as usual, but usually his mother was there to get the door. Most kids had keys to let themselves in, but Toby had lost his a while ago and they couldn't afford to cut him a new one.

He sighed heavily, walking back outside and deciding to pace around the neighborhood for a few hours before his dad came home. Maybe he'd take a walk down to one of the nicer parts of town... his neighborhood was a slum, after all. It probably wasn't even that safe to be walking around there, especially as someone who looked like a ten year old kid. He bit into his lower lip, leaving the apartment building and walking down Chevalle street, his hands in the pockets of his old ripped jeans.

@Apoalo

After Toby had been excused to go to the restroom he sighed. He didn't really know what else to say. He simply place the inhaler back in Landon's hand and walked back to his desk.

The rest of his school day went by pretty smooth. Most of his classes had been the same as Maria's so he spent most of the day following her around and by the end of the last class he was pooped. He met Maria in the hallway to explain his plans to her and then headed toward his locker to grab the things he needed for the weekend and wondered off to find Landon, whom he had lost earlier in the day.

---

Maria glanced over at Quinten who had offered to help her with the music. She shrugged. I am just having trouble with this part. It is too bland, and I am trying to spice it up, got any ideas?" She pointed to the middle of the sheet where she was supposed to hold a B flat for two measures in a decrescendo. (Sorry I am gunna jump ahead now, you don't need to reply to this @A Tattooed Girl).

She spent the rest of homeroom with her music occasionally asking for advice from Quinten. It was a sad excuse for a conversation but it was the best she could muster at the moment. After homeroom she went through her classes on autopilot, barely paying attention and really only tuning in for a couple, important sounding parts of each of her classes. After meeting with Marco briefly she headed to find Dylon, who she was sure was picking the twins up.

---

The day was pretty uneventful for Tyrone. Not many people even bothered to speak to him and when they did his seeming lack of interest made them stop fairly quickly. He didn't care much. Instead he shrugged it off deciding the only people he needed as friends were the people in his ballet class after school. When classes ended he packed up his stuff and headed to his motorcycle that he rode to school this morning. Shoving his stuff in his saddle bag and putting on his helmet he decided he had enough time before class to head to a park that wasn't far from the apartment complex he lived in. He would just have to make sure not to get jumped or get his bike stolen. It was right on the edge of the ghetto/slum, but the park was usually devoid of people which gave him some time to do a little pre training before going to class. Mostly balance training but he occasionally danced around when bored.

---

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After the teacher showed her to her seat, Aaliyah spent the rest of the period to herself, doodling on the desk and humming quietly. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly, she tried her best to pay attention in class and, unsurprisingly, didn't socialize with her classmates. When lunch time came around, Aaliyah bought a slice of pepperoni pizza and chocolate milk with the money that her foster mother gave her before dropping her off at school. Fortunately, she'd been one of the first to get to the lunch room, so by the time the fight broke out, she'd already finished eating. She sat with a bunch of Seniors who, for the most part, ignored her. One of the girls had tried to include her in the group conversation, but gave up trying after being shut down by Aaliyah's uninteresting two-worded answers. Upon hearing about the football game, Aaliyah made a mental note to ask Tamera for a few dollars so that she could attend.

When the final bell finally rang, Aaliyah gathered her things and slowly made her way to the nearest exit. Tamera, thankfully, would be at work until later on in the afternoon, so she would not be giving her a ride home. Taking a quick look around, Aaliyah saw multiple buses, all being packed with kids. After putting in one of her earbuds and turning the music up to its maximum volume, she turned in the opposite direction and began to walk. Tamera's house wasn't all that far from school.

"Dad. Want cacka. Peez!" The small boy stood at Quinten's side tugging at his pant leg with one hand, the other pointing up at the pantry. Quinten shook his head with a small smirk and gently leaned down, picking his young son up off the ground and into his arms.

"Only because you asked so nicely, I will let you have some crackers. Not too many, though. We're going to eat soon, okay?" The boy's piercing blue eyes never left his father's, nodding with a tiny sheepish grin in response, to which he covered shyly. Quinten pulled the pantry door open, fetching out the box of animal crackers to take a small handful from it before placing the box back where it came. With Phoenix on his hip, the animal crackers in the same hand as his son, Quinten pulled the tray off the kid's seat and sat him in it to let Phoenix eat his crackers in peace. From outside, Quinten could just barely make out the sound of a door shutting before Seamus began barking at the stranger, unbeknownst to the dog that it was only Quinn's mom getting home from work.

"Oh hush, Seamus! It's just me. You big ol' baddie," Quinn's mother chimed as she shut the door behind her, carrying a grip load of bags in each arm. Groceries.

"Ma! Why didn't you text or call me? I'd have helped." Quinten frowned at his mother, feeling bad for not having had the chance to help her lug the bags in. A simple, dismissive wave of her hand and Quinten rolled his eyes. She was always a do-it-yourself kind of person, and there was no helping her when she had her mind set.

"I knew you had the boy, so I didn't want you to have to bug Davina to watch him so you c-"

"Ya know, you could always just ask her for help. She's very capable of carrying in a few groceries, ma," Quinten interrupted with a slight smirk plastered on his face. His mother didn't seem to find it as humorous as he did.

"She's been through a lot. I just think it's best to leave her be. She needs this time to do her own thing. She's been looking after everyone else but herself the last couple years. Davina deserves a break." As much as Quinten tried not to think about it, upon Davina's own request, she did have it pretty hard over the last few years and he guessed his mother was right. Thinking no more on the matter, he turned back to Phoenix and noticed the boy was done with his crackers. He chuckled softly at the 'Um, hello?!' look on his son's face before helping him out of his highchair booster seat. Phoenix seemed to take off as soon as his bare feet hit the wood flooring, going off after Seamus and his puppy, Bagheera.

"So what's for dinner?" Busy with putting groceries away, Quinn's mom didn't bother to look back at him but the tone of her voice told Quinten she was joking. Although, on some level, she was probably hoping that he'd planned something out already.

"Isn't that a woman's job, Jennifer?" he teased his mother. A swift glare from over her shoulder caused him to burst out into a little laugh.

"Actually, I ordered some pizza.. if that's not too big of a deal. I got Davina her plain ol' spinach and chicken pizza, while we've got our mushroom and pepperoni pizza." Her lack of objection assured him that it was a good plan, she was probably just in her usual mode of winding down from work. She tends to be a pretty quiet person but after work, she was as silent as they come. Thinking about work started Quinten on a whole new train of thought. Now that it was the weekend, he'd be the one to be working rather than his mother. They never worked the same days. She maintained weekdays while Quinten only worked weekends due to school, with the occasional day off to spend with his son. Luckily for him, he'd get to spend Saturday with Phoenix and then only have a morning with him before dropping him back off with his boy's mother before work. Oh the joys of early parenthood.

---

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---

Juliette flopped back on her bed. She glanced at the clock next to her bed, it was after school now, she reckoned. Curse waking up way past her alarm (and by that she meant sleeping in for about 5 hours...oops). She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. She checks her texts

Hey, Juliette, girl you gotta go to the party and the game today, pretty please?
-Message from "Utterly awesome friend"

She gives a small smile and fires back a response, saying an okay. Juliette walks over to the radio in the corner of her bedroom, turning it to her favourite contemporary music channel and starts dancing. She lets herself free as she dances around her room, bending her body this way and that, being completely carried away to the music. When the songs stop and the news announcer starts blaring out the news she heads towards her closet, picking out a few things for the party and game later on tonight. Not showing up to school today didn't mean she had to be a party pooper did it? Juliette picked out a loose fitting white t shirt with quite a lot of paint splatters on it and a pair of ripped jeans. She added a small black fedora to it and placed her favourite pair of brown leather boots next to the outfit. She also grabbed some black shades, just in case she needed that sense of mysteriousness and uniqueness. With a satisfied smile she grabs her IPod and runs out of the house into the street, time for some more dancing in the sunset before the party. She turns on her IPod, plugs in her bluetooth earphones and lets herself go to the music once again.

---

---

The McKinnons had been back in Delbrook for half an hour. Apparently, that was all it took for Jacob and Caleb to become locked in a bitter wrestling match, one that was currently being won by Jacob. Caleb, pinned to the living room floor by his brother was shouting his refusal to back down. "I'm not taking it back Jake! Your hair looks stupid!" In Jake's defense, his hair was no different than it ever was. In Caleb's defense, Jake had started it.

Finally, the twins' mom came into the living room and broke up the fight, a slight smirk on her face. "Why don't you guys go to the game tonight? See all of your friends again?" she asked, grinning. The twins grumbled their responses and went their separate ways. The McKinnons had been off on a family camping trip all summer, which had meant being in very close proximity to each other for almost three months. The twins were sick of each other.

Up in his room, Caleb lay on his bed, phone in hand. First, he shot off a text to Quinn.



With that done, Caleb unpacked his camera and began going through the pictures. Most of them were of him and Jake, or just his brother. There were a few his brother had taken of him, though not many. The summer had been an exhausting one, trekking across the country in a small RV. He was glad to be back home.

Meanwhile, Jake was in his room prepping for whatever plans he was sure to have. Almost as an afterthought, he texted Colton, just to make sure something was going down tonight.

---

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---

Landon frowned a little as Toby refused the inhaler and honestly he had a few at home anyway so even if he had never gotten this one back it wouldn't have been a big deal and would have saved the smaller boy a lot of distress. But you couldn't make anyone do something they didn't want and as Toby stood and went to the restroom he just sent a pained look to Marco and shrugged. He had heard Quinten's proposition of the nurse and wondered if all the attention made Toby want to disappear. As Marco stood up and replaced his inhaler into his hand he smiled at the redhead and returned to his seat giving a final sigh before trying to figure out what was going on with the rest of the class. From what he could hear apparently there was a big party happening afterward and Landon considered going but honestly he would rather just go back to his house and hang-out with Marco to decompress. Being the Quarterback netted a lot of stress to perform and after a game, win or lose it was nice to just relax. Until the next practice that is.

When homeroom was over and the bell rang Landon said goodbye to Marco and headed to math class. It was a shame that there schedules differed so much, Landon having promised his Aunt and Uncle that he would spend his Sophomore and Junior year in the Advanced Placement classes to get his grades up. The constant lecture of the combination of good grades and great athletic ability equaling scholarship opportunities. The issue was that he was probably going to have to give up a few sports this year in order to breathe and have time for himself. Figuring out which ones to give up would be a challenge, his thoughts were occupied with that and his class assignments all day until of course the rally which was after lunch. Landon followed by the other Captains as they started jumping around and getting themselves pumped up, which wasn't hard since they as a team had been working hard to dominate their opposition, the rival school that had beat the school for five years in a row. Landon was determined it wouldn't happen with him behind the line.

After the rally, Landon spent the rest of school staring at the clock and looking forward to hanging out with Marco until he had to get ready for the game. As such as soon as the final bell rang Landon was up out of his chair and sprinting out to his locker, grabbing his stuff and then scouring the school for the redheaded Marco who he found near his locker. He tried to walk up nonchalantly but his goofy smile on his face spoke more than words. "Marco! Yo, man!" He said coming up and leaning on the locker beside Marco's.

---

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---

---

Riley focused his attention on Toby as Landon, Marco, and Quinten all were trying to calm him down and watched with interest as the smaller boy declined the inhaler and went to the bathroom. How strange, he supposed if he was really sick though he would've accepted the inhaler so that hopefully meant Toby? Or whatever his name is was going to be ok. He shrugged and returned his attention to Colton and Roxy, catching a wink from Harley who he chuckled at and then smiled goofily at Roxy who got invited to do something with Andreas, and he giggled wondering if she'd be up for -anything- tomorrow after the party that night. He heard Bruno at that point and smirked at him and shrugged, "better call Uber then eh?" He chuckled and then shot a look to Colton, "got enough room for another or do you think we'd be over capacity?" He figured if anything he, Harley, and Roxy could all cram into the backseat if needed. He saw Harley texting from his peripheral vision and figured she was texting either him or Roxy and he looked down at his phone to make sure it wasn't him. When it didn't go off he shrugged and let out a big yawn, his stomach still a bit stressed as he thought about the game later that night. At least he'd have his friends cheering for him.

The rest of the day passed actually very quickly and he was kept pretty busy with classwork. Most of it he skipped over, especially the Math though some of it was a nice distraction from his nerves that kept getting worse and worse. During the Rally, Riley stood closer to Colton and the other receivers while Landon and the others got everyone pumped up. He had to admit that in the moment it was easy to lose himself and by the end he was smiling brightly and determined to do well later on. After school he went straight to the Football field while sending a group text to Harley and Roxy.

"Hey guys, went to the field. I'll be in the bleachers if you head down. Practice won't be very heavy since we have a game tonight."

At Riley's smug sounding remark, Bruno said a mildly annoyed sounding thanks, and then walked back to his seat. If he wanted to go to this party, maybe he'd have to call Uber, but Bruno really did not want to do that. The party probably wouldn't be that good anyway right? Would it be any different to any other parties he had been to, apart from the fact it was a state over? Probably not. But Bruno did quite fancy going, so he would consider his options a little later. He put on his headphones and put on some music to pass the time until they had to go to class.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Some boring classes (maths), some fun and interesting classes (chemistry). Not a lot really stood out as interesting. The thought of the party lingered in Bruno's mind. Maybe it would be a good place to meet some new friends, or maybe meet someone to be more than a friend. Thoughts raced through the Croatian's mind as the day drew to a close, the bell went, and everyone gladly left the school. Bruno knew there was an American football match on, pretty soon, so he decided to head over there. He still didn't really get the sport all that well, but it was pretty fun to watch and to cheer on.

Bruno arrived at the bleachers, deep into his music library. The only person who seemed to be here was Riley. He did a small grimace before venturing up onto the seats and sitting down, a good bit away from Riley.

@Apoalo



Dominik blushed as Davina grabbed his arm and wrote her number on it, before the bell went, signalling the end of homeroom. Dominik left the room, an excited, but nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Where should he suggest? He didn't want to come on too weird and romantic, otherwise she might start feeling weird, and leave or something. It had to be somewhere pretty but still nice and calm and not over the top. As he was walking to his first class, his mind was pretty blank in terms of suggestions.

The idea came to him while sitting through a boring biology lesson. The park. The city park was quite pretty, he had been there a few times before. It was no Krka National Park, but it was a nice little place. He whipped out his phone, making sure that the teacher couldn't see him, and texted Davina the suggestion. He quickly put his phone back in his pocket as the teacher came around to inspect everyone's work.

So that's where he was heading, the park. Hoping that Davina would also be there. No doubt his brother was at the American football game. He really was not a huge fan of the sport. Then again, he wasn't really a fan of any sport. Dominik still had no idea how he was so different to his twin brother. At least Bruno could respect that he wasn't a big talker, unlike some other people at Delbrook.

@A Tattooed Girl

нey вro, вacĸ ғroм vacaтιon. anyтнιng ғυn нappenιng тonιgнт?

Colton smiled, chuckling a bit that his friend had to ask about any plans for the night. Shaking his head, he sent out a quick text to his friend.

ѕenт тo: jaĸe

yoυ already ĸnow, мan. yoυ coмιng ғor тнe gaмe? ιғ noт, ι coυld ѕwιng вy and pιcĸ yoυ υp aғтer. тнe gang ιѕ coмιng along. oғ coυrѕe yoυ geт ѕнoтgυn, тнoυgн. тнey can all ѕιт ιn тнe вacĸ нaнa

A close friend of Colton's allowed him to stash his dogs at their house for the night, knowing full well that he wouldn't be back till the next morning to pick them back up. Both Colton and his friend knew he could potentially be hammered off his ass by the night's end. Sabrina would be real disappointed in him if she knew, but he didn't tell her of the party he'd be attending that night. He would play it off that he was going to bed early, being too tired from the game. Cat didn't much care for partying, and wished Colton would see how much of a waste of time it was. At least, that's what she thought about it. Colton, on the other hand, loved to party. Especially drink. It was the only thing besides Sabrina that kept his 'inner demons' away at night.. although having Cat to talk to just didn't seem to be enough, these days. It'd been a while since he'd gone out to party, and hard, at that. Which he had every intention of doing tonight.

Colton waved farewell to his friend, pulling himself up into his truck and quickly driving off towards school. With the windows rolled down, the sounds of the town were a bit too distracting for him. Tuning his ancient radio, he finally found a station he could agree with. Don't Mind by Kent Jones began to play, forcing a smile on Colton's face as he bobbed his head to the beat and sang along to it. Pulling up to a stop, Colton stopped and stayed stopped when he caught a glimpse of someone walking.. well, dancing down the street. It brought a whole new kind of smile to Colton's face, almost bashful in a way. The girl just happened to be his long-time friend since childhood, Juliette. 'Dance off!' he thought to himself. Colton flashed a goofy grin as he blindly reached over and turned his music up a bit louder, dancing along in a dorky way to the song as he looked over at the brunette girl.

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Harley sighed heavily, looking at themselves in the mirror as they tugged the jacket over their thin shoulders. The air tonight had a bit of a bite to it, but it wouldn't be too bad. It'd especially warm up once up in the bleachers surrounded by so many warm bodies. Just as Harley went to pull out their phone to check the time, the device vibrated in their pocket. "Ooh, people love me?" Harley joked with themselves, feeling too alone to do anything but. Taking their phone from their pockets, Harley clicked the screen to life. Riley. Of course it was. Harley smiled and typed out a response text.

ѕenт тo:

υм, ι never leғт ѕcнool. ι'll вe rιgнт тнere. wonder ιғ coacн woυld leт мe play

Swinging their bag up onto their shoulder, Harley exited the women's bathroom from the west wing and made their way towards the field. The outer halls of the school grounds were scattered with people, some Harley knew and some they didn't know. They scanned the area to see if they could find Roxy, but couldn't and shrugged it off. Maybe Roxy was busy taking care of her baby brother. As much of a pain as Roxy could be, sometimes, Harley had a lot of respect for that girl for taking care of her brother so well. Practically like a mom. Well, the way their mom should be taking care of her and him. Harley let the thoughts fade away as they entered through the middle of the bleachers from the backside, standing there at the foot of them turned to face the half empty/filled seats. It was then that they spotted Riley, smirking as they started on their way over, calling out, "Ry!"

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Davina clutched at her lightweight sweater, nervously looking at herself in the mirror as she anxiously, and unnecessarily 'fixed' her hair with her free hand. Tucking a stray group of hairs behind her ear, she stood there judging every inch of herself before a voice rang out from upstairs. Her Aunt Jenny. With a soft sigh, frowning at herself as she turned to flip off the light switch and walk upstairs to join everyone else. First thing Davina saw as she entered the first floor of the home was Phoenix running clumsily after his puppy who stumbled after Seamus who seemed to be trying to escape the two creatures chasing him. Almost on cue, suddenly Vixie was at Davina's feet, brushing her thin foxy frame against her owner's leg with a soft little laugh. Davina half-smiled, talking to her pet fox softly, "You have to stay here. You know I'd take you if I could, but I don't think everyone is ready to see a cute little fox walking down the street. I think the neighborhood dogs would get jealous. None of them could compare."

She chuckled softly at the fox who seemed to be turning her charm bar up as high as she could crank it, hoping her owner would break and bring her along instead of leaving her alone again for the day. Davina held the poor girl back while she closed the baby gate to the stairs behind her, leaving her pet behind, even though if the fox tried she could easily clear the gate in one small leap. Davina was so busy saying bye to Vixie that she nearly ran straight into her aunt. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry, Jenny." She held up her hand with a slight grin on her face. It was a smile Davina had not seen her Aunt have before, and it almost had her scared. Why was she smiling like that? Like she kno-

"So, I hear you have a date tonight?" Mrs. Rumancek asked outright. Davina's face flushed bright red and from behind her aunt, Quinten ducked his head and disappeared into the kitchen from where he came. If eyes could kill, he would have been reduced to a pile of ash by now. Davina turned her gaze back up to her aunt's as a chill ran down her spine, figuring there was no point in trying to lie since Quinten had to go and blab his mouth. "Well, technically it's not a date. Yes, I do like him, but um.. we're just friends. Didn't get to hang out over the summer, so we're trying to make up for it.." She bit down on the inside of her bottom lip, looking up at her aunt with a sort of 'puppy dog' stare as if pleading her not to keep her indoors like a dog. What came next was honestly a shock.

"Quinn! Come here." Without hesitation, he followed his mother's instructions and came to stand right at her side. "Yes, master?" Mrs. Rumancek tilted her head and stared at him through her brows, as a silent warning, but it immediately softened. "Do me a favor.. drive your cousin to meet up with this... Dominik.. is it? Be sure she gets there safe, kay? It's the least you could do for her since you ratted her out." She raised a single brow at him and then walked off to tend to her grandson. Quinten stood there sheepishly grinning at his cousin, holding both hands up at his sides as if surrendering. "It honestly slipped. I'm sorry." A swift punch to his upper arm made him laugh but he still meant his apology, and hoped she believed him. It had been an accident. Quinn grabbed his jeep keys from off the counter and pulled out his phone when his notification tone went off. Caleb. The smile Quinten got at the sight of his best friend's name on the phone screen spread from one ear to the other. He quickly sent out a text before running out the front door to catch up with Davina who seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Davina, too, sent out her own text as she hopped into the shotgun seat of the jeep.

ѕenт тo: caleв

noт υnleѕѕ yoυ wanт тo go. ѕeeмѕ lιĸe everyone ιѕ. ι'м aвoυт тo drop dav oғғ aт тнe parĸ wιтн doмιnιĸ. goт anyтнιng planned, вro?

ѕenт тo: doмιnιĸ♥

нey doм. ι'м on мy way тo тнe parĸ, вe тнere ѕoon. -davツ

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@A Tattooed Girl

Juliette was so involved in her dancing that when she heard the screech of tires as a car parked nearby and a few notes from the radio she paid it no heed. Her body moved along with the music as she travelled down the pavement. A pause in the music as it came to stop at it's rewind made her look to the side. There was someone dancing along to his own music, dorky moves at their finest. Colton. She tapped at her IPod to stop it and unplugged her earphones.
"Hey."She says, stopping next to him (or more specifically his car)
"And by the way, you won the dance contest, those were the cutest moves I've ever saw." Juliette smiles at Colton. They used to be in a lot of each other's classes but never really talked that much. He was one of her friends and was nice enough, plus the undeniable fact that he was quite hot. Both in a bad boy and a unique, dorkyish way.

Colton smirked at Juliette as she walked up, complimenting his moves which, had he not been able to keep his cool would have caused him to blush. "Well ain't you just a sweetheart. Where ya' headin, Darlin? Going to the game, tonight, I presume?"
Without really meaning to, Colton took a real look at her starting from her eyes all the way on down to her shoes and back up again to return to her eyes. Juliette was, and had always been a girl he'd liked. Both personality and looks were in her favor. Somehow God had blessed that girl with the best of both worlds, and Colton, in that moment, had wished he was single for once. He swallowed hard, shaking away his impure thoughts. What would Cat say, had she known what he was thinking? A part of Colton tortured him for thinking the things he did, but the other half knew all-too-well how Cat would react. Their relationship had been hanging by a thread for months, and she'd hold no hesitation in breaking up with him right then and there.

Juliette blushed as she saw Colton looking her up and down and mentally checked her appearance in her head. Her hair should be fine, right? She reached up a hand to pat her head and take out the rubber band holding the bun together so her wavy hair came tumbling down. Better. "What a western gentleman, Colton. But yes, I'm going to the game as well as the party. I suppose you are, too?"

She leaned against the truck, coolly. God, he was so cute. She'd never really had a long time boyfriend and this little harmless crush was weirding her out. I mean sure, she had one or two back then but they weren't as handsome and they just went out to awkward lunch and dinner dates while Juliette tried to salvage the date. She had given up a bit after that. After all, if she couldn't find real love what was the use of faking all of these relationships for just that tiny bit in her poetry, her writing or her music? She snapped out of the thoughts and smiled at Colton, waiting for his answer.

Colton laughed at her gentleman comment and shrugged his shoulders. "Guess it comes with being a Texan." His expression suddenly dropped when she asked if he was going to the party afterward. "Well, uhh.. I am the one who started the talk 'bout it, so, I'd only hope so!" he laughed, a bit nervously. Tilting his head, he patted the side of his truck and asked, "Would you like a lift? It's getting quite dark and it's a bit cold out. Be rude of me not to ask." Colton bit down on the inside of his cheek hard. Was he pushing this too far? ... no. It's just a lift to the game. Potentially another to the party afterward. Harmless! Colton saw Juliette's grin and couldn't help but flash one back at her in return.

Juliette was dazzled by his grin for a second but just winked at him instead. "Well, the party is a nice time to bust some moves..." She says a bit shyly. When was she ever shy? 'I must be out of my mind,' Juliette thought to herself before leaning a bit further in the open window to see his eyes better. She had a weakness for grey eyes. She brightened up with his suggestion and replied happily, "Especially rude for you not to ask." She teased before nodding a yes and holding up her finger "Let me get dressed, first. Wait here, western gentleman."

Juliette rushed up to her room, rummaging in her closet for something to wear before deciding on a knitted white dress and her boots. She slid on a golden charm bracelet and heart locket then bent over her vanity, adding a streak of eyeliner and some lip gloss. That should do the trick. She flashed a sweet smile at herself in the mirror and rushed off down the steps, grabbing her brown messenger bag and cardigan before rushing out of the door to meet Colton.

Colton raised an eyebrow at her raised finger that was practically shoved into his face, looking back at her about to say something before she ran off into her house. He simply rolled his eyes and chuckled, pulling off to the side and out of the way of the stop sign so that the impatient person behind him could pass. Sliding his truck into park, slouching in his seat just a bit as he sat and waited for Juliette to get ready. He hoped she'd somewhat hurry, as he was already semi-late to practice, but he wouldn't tell her that. He'd hear it from Coach later, though. For sure he'd have to do some push-ups or laps around the track. Maybe some laps up and down the bleachers on Monday. Dead-Man's Mile. Eh, whatever. For now, it wasn't going to bother Colton. The station Colton was listening to before was stuck on commercials for what seemed to be forever, causing Colton to let out a heavy sigh before changing it over to the Rock station he loved to listen to from time to time. The song Renegade by Styx played, already halfway through the song. Getting lost in his music, Colton began to sing along and play the air drums, and even air guitar to the song, banging and swaying his head all the while.

"Oh mama I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law. Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don't have very long! ... The jig is up, the news is out, they've finally found me! The Renegade who had it made.. retrieved for a bounty. Never more to go astray. This'll be the end today, of the wanted man. The WANTED MAAAAAAAAAN!" He continued to bang his head to the beat, tapping on his steering wheel as the song came down to a close.

Juliette slowed in her steps when she saw Colton playing air guitar, drums and banging his head to a rock song. 'Styx, nice taste,' she thought silently before making her way again over to the car window. "Hey, I'm here...sorry for the wait." She shifted in her boots, suddenly feeling self-conscious of her outfit Snap out of it! What are you? A girl who cares what others think about her? A girl who follows the stereotypes she so hates? she frowns at herself before straightening up and resting a hand in her messenger bag, She'd packed all the necessities: Her wallet, a couple of candies, her sketchbook and pencil (Just in case the party gave her any song-writing ideas are anything.) liquid eyeliner, lipgloss and a couple of CDs with her songs burned into them. She wanted a small spin at the DJ booth. Judge the songs by the audience's reactions to them. She's done it many times, but it really was a good way to try them out. She gestured towards the truck "Should I get in?"

Colton shook his head, waving a dismissing hand to her as he turned his music down. "It's totally cool. No worries." He offered a simple smile to her, checking the time on the dash of his truck. 'Shit..' he thought to himself before turning back to Juliette. "Yeah, I think it'd be best. Gotta get going. They can't start without me." Colton laughed nervously and shrugged, adding, "Well, I mean, they can, I just.. ya know, would like to be there to play, and not get benched for being late." Colton half-smiled in a sort of apology, hoping he didn't sound like he was trying to rush her, which wasn't completely his intention but at the same time it was. He hated being late to anything, especially practice and games. Football was his life, practically.

Juliette walked over to the other side of the truck and hopped in as quick as she could . She instantly dug out her notepad and pencil. She could hear the faint sounds of Colton's music and hummed an overlay tune to herself. That would make a marvelous mashup, actually. She shaded in the music notes, carefully as she kept on humming the notes. Pretty soon she started writing the lyrics. The silence in the car was a bit unbearable to her. There was no inspiration drawn from it and as much as she appreciated it from time to time sometimes it was simply just too boring. "So...tell me more about yourself, Colton." The name rolled off her tongue as if she'd spoken it her whole life. She sneaked a glance at him. He was mysterious all right, sure everyone was in their own way, people who had something in them that was secret to everyone else but Colton...well...he intrigued her. He had something different in him, at least much more different than his teammates. And Juliette wanted to know more.

While Juliette ran around to the passenger side and jumped in, Colton pulled his phone out and sent a quick text to Riley.

нey мan. мιgнт вe a lιттle laтe тo pracтιce. нad тo pιcĸ ѕoмeone υp. waѕn'т eхacтly planned. тell coacн ι'll вe тнere aѕ ѕoon aѕ ι can!

As soon as Juliette was able to get buckled in, Colton dropped his phone into the cup holder and released his truck from park to drive off towards the school. As they drove, Colton could just barely hear the music playing on the radio but the air between the two seated in the truck was more awkward silence than it was music. When Juliette spoke up first, Colton let out a mental sigh of relief. He was bad at small talk and wasn't usually one to speak first unless spoken to. Growing up in a military family as a child, you pick up a thing or two. Juliette's question threw him off-guard, however. That was another thing Colton hated besides small talk, was being put on the spot. Specifically about himself.

A chill ran down Colton's spine as he nervously spoke up to answer her question, "Well, umm.. like, the simple shit, or the gnitty-gritty kind of stuff? Cause if you're looking more for the last one, we might have to save that conversation for another time, Darlin'." As he came to a stop at a light just down the road from the school, Colton glanced over at her from the corner of his eye and gave her a half-hearted smile. There was, indeed, a lot about Colton's past that he wasn't too sure he was ready to share with her yet. Just thinking about it forced him, out of habit, to pull his scarred left hand from the steering wheel and tuck it down between his thigh and the truck door.

Juliette looked at Colton once more before giving a small sigh. That boy was completely closed up. "Simple shit," she replied plainly. She knew Colton would never get down to the nitty gritty stuff. He was already secretive and closed up. "But really what I mean is...Just talk. Please." Juliette flashes a smile and laughs "I hate awkward silences. I hope me exposing that this is an awkward silence wouldn't lead to another one." She tries to lighten the mood a bit seeing that Colton was being so tense. She changed some of the words of her lyrics, mumbling and hummng under her breath as she waited for Colton's answer.

She noticed him taking his hand off the steering wheel and she followed the movements with her keen eye. She had the sudden impulse to reach out and grab the hand. What was even wrong with it?[ She restrained herself, though, and settled back in her seat, fiddling with her pencil.

Colton was glad for the light turning green, pulling up into the parking lot near the football field. "I-It's all good. I guess for starters, I'm technically homeless." He turns on her as he pulls the truck into a spot, putting it into park and tugging the key from the slot. Colton raised a soft eyebrow at her, staring her down with his grey eyes, a neutral expression on his face. "I own three dogs. They're at my friend's house for the night so I don't have to worry about them come time for the party. They're all pit bulls. I used to breed them with my cousins but had to stop once I got 'settled in' with the new adopted family. Their son who is my age doesn't like me and used to pick on me constantly. I told them they could keep the check coming in and I'd just stay away, but they help me out every month when the check comes."

Reaching into the small space behind his seat, he pulls out his shoulder pads and jersey, looking back up at Juliette. "No one knows about the whole homeless, living-out-of-my-truck thing.. so if you would," he motions back and forth between the two of them, "Please, keep it between us, love." Colton gave her a small half-smile, his eyes almost pleading.

"Of course I will keep it between us, but really, if you ever need someplace to stay...my mom makes the 'awesomest' pancakes and my brother will have you in stitches laughing. Oh and three dogs! Pitbulls! I'm going to come right on over to wherever you keep them and hug the living life out of them, I'm sure they are pretty cute. But fun aside. Come to visit me, kay? I'm serious." She casts him a serious glance, at his worried half smile and couldn't help melting a bit inside. She picks up all her stuff and was about to get out of the car when she leans across the middle bit between them and kisses his cheek, wiping off the lipgloss after, giving him a last sweet smile and walking out of the car to where the field was. She settles down on one of the bleachers and sits down, flicking through her CDs to check that they were still there. As she looked at the milling crowds she thought silently to herself. 'Colton sure is one hell of a mystery, I'll uncover it, earn a bit of love as well, which is an added bonus to my writing, something I've always dreamed of. That's my plan.' Juliette crosses her legs and stares out to the field, determinedly.

Colton smiled at her offer and eagerness to meet his furkids, tilting his head at her in a playful way when she became serious, nodding in agreement. "Alright. Alright." Although Colton agreed, he didn't know how much of it was truth, figuring her parents wouldn't be too happy with a boy trying to come live with her. Boyfriend or not. The thought alone caused Colton to turn a soft shade of red, more so when she leaned over and kissed his cheek before hopping down from the truck. Colton would deny it if you asked, but he was sure to watch her go. He smirked to himself, reaching over to smack the passenger door lock down before jumping out of the truck himself, doing the same with his side.

Once Colton got his truck locked up and his belongings together, he slung his duffle bag over his shoulder with his gear in left hand as he ran as fast as he could to the field. Coach would most likely be mad with him and reprimand him later for being late, but Colton didn't really mind. Anything Coach might make him do wouldn't be hard, not with the way Colton was constantly running and working out, anyway. As Colton made it to the field, he dropped his bag, quickly slipped on his cleats and slid his shoulder pads on, waving over to Riley with an apologetic smirk.

Marco was in the process of closing his locker when Landon walked up to him. The other boy's words startled him a bit, having been in another world entirely. He jumped a little and turned as he finished closing the locker accidentally closing the corner of his jacket in the locker when he did. "Hey there Landon." He said, looking at the boy trying to cover up the fact that he was totally stuck to his locker at the moment. He leaned against it nonchalantly to try to hide said fact. He returned his friend's goofy grin though his cheeks were a little flushed, knowing he would have to inform Landon that he and clumsily attached himself to his locker. "Nice job at the rally dude. I, of course, will be rooting for you." His goofy grin remained and he stayed in his spot, refusing to move until he had to. In which case he would either skillfully pull his jacket out or make it seem as though he forgot something so he could play it cool.

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Landon grinned as he watched Marco jump, it seemed his red headed crush spent a lot of time in his own heard which Landon was perfectly fine with. He tried had turned to say hello to some random passer-by when Marco got his jacket got stuck in the locker and therefore missed the opportunity to mess with him. "So, what's up Marco? Have a good rest of your day?" He blushed a small bit at the mention of the rally and noticed the hint of redness on Marco's own cheeks, did this mean he liked him as well? He had no idea really but Landon's father had a saying which was 'Don't let the fear of failing keep you from playing the game.' A pang of sadness hit him as he remembered his father but it passed quickly as he had to respond less he look like a complete retard. "Oh yea? I hope so, I felt kind of silly being up there and jumping around, but once the rest of the students started in it wasn't so bad." He then realized that Marco had said he would be rooting for him and that was enough to start his heartbeat again, Marco would be in the stands rooting for -him-. "Well, shall we head to the Library? I got about 45 minutes before practice starts." He started walking down the hall turning to see if Marco was following him or not.

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Riley looked up from his phone while on the bleachers when he saw someone climbing them and was going to impressed that Harley had gotten there so quickly but it was only Bruno. Riley gave him a small wave but saw the earbuds and took the hint that the Croatian probably wanted to be left alone to his music. It was a rather nice day out after all so a lot of people would probably come out to the bleachers to do their homework before grabbing some food and watching the game later. He got a little nervous as he thought about the game and let his eyes trail over the football field until he heard his phone buzz and he glanced down at it to see the return message from Harley. He smiled and leaned back, his butt falling to the lower rung of bleachers and his feet going over the higher portion, his head rested on his hoodie and he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of nature.

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Caleb grinned to see a text back from Quinn, but before he could reply, his brother barged in, smirk on his face. "What do you want Jake?" he asked, glaring at his brother. He had a thing about knocking, one that Jake definitely didn't, and it was a source of great animosity between the twins. Granted, most things were, but that's besides the point. Jake, grinning wide, cocked his head.

"You really should be nicer to me Brother," Jake said, waltzing into Caleb's room and closing the door behind him. Taking a seat in Caleb's desk chair, he swiveled around, smirking. Caleb, rolling his eyes, preceded to ask what the hell his brother wanted, not taken with the games Jake liked to play. The two were certainly more different than night and day. The fact that they managed to live together in the same house was a feat.

"Colton, Harley, Riley and I are going to a party after the game. And you get to come!" Jake announced, earning a quick response from Caleb. "No." Jake had been prepared for that, and thus he was not deterred. "No isn't an option Caleb. Come on, it'll be fun. Your first party, you can let loose, meet some cute girl. You can bring Quinn even," Jake offered. Caleb, wasn't convinced, but Jake refused to let it go. Finally, after fifteen minutes of convincing, Caleb conceded. "If Quinn want's to go, I'll go, I guess." Jake clapped him on the back and smiled, before letting him know that they'd be leaving for the game soon. Caleb reluctantly texted Quinn once his brother had left.