---

Jacob, like always, was sitting in front of his three screens. Typing away, joining numbers with images and tables. To an outsider, he might as well be practicing magic. In reality, though he was hard at work, even on the last day of the year. He was mostly working on his Economy class, as well as getting his portfolio ready for the upcoming fiscal year. Part of what convinced his father on letting him work on the Stock Market was the grown-up approach. Jacob kept it tight and professional. He even wrote his own reports. Mostly at school in the library if it was a slow day. So far he was rarely wrong when it came to a company. On his third screen, several news anchors were talking about various kinds of news. They were replays, sure. But Jacob could still reap some valuable bit of information from the subtitles. He had to, as some loud trap music was blasting in his ears. Muting the anchors.

He felt a few hard taps on his desk table and looked up, right into the eyes of his father. He dropped the headphones around his neck. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" Lucas asked. His father was dressed surprisingly fashionable. "Wow, dad, what are you planning tonight?" But Lucas just squinted back. "Don't try to change the subject. Did you hear me?" Groaning, Jacob dropped his head against his chair's headrest. "Okay, no."

"I asked 'what are your plans for tonight?'" Lucas repeated. Jacob knew his father wouldn't accept a 'nothing'. Still, he tried it. Lucas just shook his head and walked out of his room. Allowing Jacob to continue working. Until his dad walked back in with a piece of paper. "Didn't your friend's mom have a beach house at this exact location." Jacob didn't need to look at the paper to know what it was. A printed out version of the New Years Eve party of El Jefe. How his dad got his hands on it though, was a mystery. Still, he wasn't planning on going. "Yeah. But I think you got it mixed up. That's probably from last year." But Lucas just shook his head. "You're going."

Jacob jumped right up. "Wow, what? No, I'm not going!" His dad wasn't having it though. He just walked out, repeating himself. "You're going." Jacob ran after his dad, who went to his own room and had just punched in the code for his small safe. "Dad, dad there will be drinking." "I drank like a sinner back when I was your age, so what's the problem?" "And drugs! There will be so much drugs." "You're smart enough to know what to get into and what not." "Dad, dad! There will be... Dad people will be drunk and they be hot and bothered and-" "Good, then you can finally get some action." "Dad!" That last comment just left Jacob stunned. Most parents wouldn't say any of those words. In fact, most parents would have forbidden their kids from going to the party. Lucas pulled one of his guns from the safe, locked it again and turned around to face his son. "When I was your age I got drunk and into, frankly I got into a lot of fights. But now I've been happy for months, knowing you don't do that. But really, try to live a little. You're only eighteen for so long."

Jacob had to find a way to get out of the arrangement. Of course, his dad wouldn't be really mad if he didn't go. It would be disappointing though. Being put between a rock and a hard place, Jacob finally relented. "Fine, but I'm only leaving when it's eight." Jacob couldn't see it, but he knew his dad was smiling. He still went downstairs to say his dad farewell. "Well, I need to get going." Lucas said, observing himself once more in the mirror, dressed in his suit. "How do I look?" Jacob chuckled. "Damn dad, you're supposed to protect the ladies. Not seduce them." Jacob could only spot a faint grin in the mirror. But it was enough. A few minutes later and Lucas drove out in his BMW. Jacob just assumed he would be going out to some fancy private party, playing gatekeeper. He himself went upstairs to his room again. The report on The Green Company. It would be the center of his 2043 portfolio.


"Shit." Jacob was looking down at his phone buzzing. His dad as the caller ID. he let it ring for a few times, contemplating on just not picking up. Still, he pushed the green button. "Dad?" On the other side, there was an ear-deafening amount of noise. Jacob could barely hear his father practically yelling: "Jacob! Are you at the party yet?" He bit his teeth for a minute. "Not yet!" There was no point in lying to his dad. "Are you going?" The noise got a little better on the other side. Jacob assumed his dad walked into some other room. But really, where was he that there was so much noise? "I will... Just... Dad..." Jacob couldn't really come up with an excuse that wasn't 'I really don't want to.' "Listen, Jacob. Go. If you don't like it, just text me and go back home. No consequences." Jacob relented. "Fine. I'll go. But I am doing you the favor here." "Good boy." was the last Lucas said before hanging up.

Jacob kept looking down at the phone. He'd keep his word, but he wasn't looking forward to it. Still, he powered off his computer, grabbed his keys and wallet and just walked out of the house. El Jefe's beach house wasn't that far away. Maybe half an hour running. For a second he realized he wasn't really dressed for a party. He was wearing simple jeans and a shirt that was a bit too big for him, over which he had a baggy hoodie to keep him warm. Not that he actually needed in LA. Still, he liked the hoodie look. And so he went on his run through the night.


Jacob was getting near. He could hear the music pounding already. There were some obvious sweat stains on his back from the running. But he didn't care. He'd keep his promise, he'd go to the party but he was almost convinced he wouldn't be staying for long. In the distance though, he saw a figure walking away from the party. He stopped for a moment, trying to recognize her. She was very short and walked on bare feet. Though she was familiar. Still, were people already leaving? he ran up to the girl, getting in front of her as he asked: "Hey, are you really already leaving? Is the party that bad?"

---

Warning: There will be violence and implied underage drug abuse.

---

Disappointed in herself, not knowing how she’d explain her absence to her friends that is if they noticed she didn’t show up, Fawn walked further and further away from the party. A feeling of gloom drawing over her with every step, her mind so caught up within itself that she didn’t notice the person walking towards her in her field of vision until he was right in front of her.

Jumping slightly from the boy’s sudden appearance, she snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the boy. As she watched his lips finish moving, she realized that he had said something and she had missed it completely. Fawn stared at him with wide eyes, almost looking like a deer caught in headlights before her mind and her body reconnected and began moving together again. Holding out her finger as a sign for one second, the short girl pulled out her white board along with a marker and began to quickly write out something. After finishing she turned the board around to show the blonde boy in front of her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you said. Could you repeat it please?” As she held it waiting for him to read it, Fawn pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and kept her eyes focused on his face so when he did speak she could see his lips moving.

Jacob felt rather confused as the girl motioned him to wait for a second as she started writing on a whiteboard. He read it and felt even more confused. She must be mute and deaf. A painful combination. That also explained why she had jumped a little. So he repeated himself, slowly. So she'd be able to read his lips. "Is the party so bad that you're already leaving?" Though that looked a little less likely now. Maybe she just didn't want to go? What would a deaf girl do at a party?

His question brought a small smile to her face as she shook her head no while erasing her board. Quickly writing an answer again, although this time taking a bit longer to write everything as she had more to say. Once finished, she turned the board again so he could read it, “No, the party looked like a lot of fun. I just can’t go, I got my feet muddy walking here and it would be rude to go… besides I may not be cut out for partying as you could probably guess by now.” A timid, sheepish smile grew on her face as she looked at her feet shyly.

“And I’m sweating like a pig.” Jacob quickly rebutted. “I’m guessing you got an invitation, right?” He kept his speech slow, so the girl could read his lips. “Wouldn’t it be rude not to go? You can wash your feet in the sea but most of the party is outside on the beach anyway.” Jacob had been checking several people’s Snapchat stories and most of the pictures were from outside. “As for partying, who goes to a party to hear music? That’s just stupid. Everyone goes for the feel of it.” Well, most people probably went to a party for the music. Or the drone of the bass really. Though a little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone, would it? It was then that Jacob started to feel a little hypocritical. He didn’t want to go. Hell, he wanted to be at home doing god knows. If it wasn’t for his dad he wouldn’t be walking here, telling someone else they really should go. Though he mentally defended himself by just wanting everyone to have fun. And what’s more fun for most people than a party thrown by El Jefe? Then again, the girl wasn’t most people. “But if you really don’t want to go to the party, what else would you do?” He quickly followed up. He tried to sound as genuine as possible, hoping she could read into his body language.

Knowing he’d respond, Fawn looked up just in time to see him begin speaking. When he brought up washing her feet in the ocean her face became red in embarrassment as she hadn’t even thought about that. She had almost completely forgotten about the ocean in general, but it made sense that there would be one as it was a beach house. The boy then brought up the the point that no one went to the party for music but really for the feel of it. That’s not what it seemed like in the movies she had seen but then again, those were movies. Fawn would much rather trust this boy than her own conclusions based on the few movies she has seen.

It was his next question that threw her off a bit, what would Fawn do if she didn't go to the party. Go home and face her parents, no way, she knew they tried to get her attention as she left so she would be in huge trouble. Her few friends were at the party so she couldn’t go stay with them, especially since Henry was actually a big part of this party. The rest of them were definitely all there. So that basically meant she would probably just wander around and find a tree or bench to be her bed for the night once she got tired. While exploring was fun to the girl, the idea of the party was more appealing than sleeping outside tonight. Ignoring his question, not really wanting to tell him what she’d do if she didn’t go to the party she wrote a simple reply. “To the party it is.”

“Let’s go to the party!” Jacob said excited, being happy he could convince the girl. Maybe she could have some fun at last. Then a limo pat. A limo that could only be of one person. Hailey. But it was coming from the party. Which meant the car already dropped of the people. For a moment Jacob imagined Hailey at a party she wasn’t invited to. The images were rather hellish. Henry would be pissed. Would Damian even let them in? And where Hailey was, her HOT group was too. His mind first went to Trixie. Jacob didn’t know many names but everyone knew Trixie’s the fallout of her break up with Owen could be seen everywhere. And then there was Ophelia. Leader of the Candies. He made promises back in the day. Promises he intend to keep.

“Okay, no time to lose.” He suddenly said. Not really knowing or caring if the girl before him could read it on his lips or not. Duty called. He quickly picked up the tiny girl and threw her over his shoulder and started running. He held on tight to her so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable. But in his mind he needed to pick up the pace. God only knew what Hailey was going to do. In two minutes the two reached the beach house. Realizing he still had the girl over his shoulder he just rushed past the house straight for the beach. All the while pushing people aside and yelling: “Excuse me, coming through. Oh sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to push dirty feet into your shirt.” Eventually he reached the foreshore and put the girl down so only her feet were submerged. “Yeah… sorry about that. I don’t usually pick up girls-“ at all “-without asking their name first.”

Fawn saw his lips move, only able to pick up on the ‘no time’ from whatever he said before suddenly she was thrown over the boy’s shoulder. A squeal of shock and surprise left her lips, the first sound she had made in the interaction with this boy. To say being suddenly picked up and thrown over someone’s shoulders freaked her out would be an understatement but she stayed still knowing there was nothing she could do about it now.

After about two minutes he finally put her down and her feet were met with the cold water of the ocean, brining yet another squeal from her lips while also causing her to jump and almost fall over if she hadn’t quickly grabbed the boy’s arm to steady herself. Once steady, Fawn let go of his arm feeling her cheeks warm up slightly but she kept her eyes focused on his lips as they began to move. Still in shock from the whole ordeal she stayed silent for a minute before opening her mouth and speaking softly and slowly, stuttering a few times.“F-fa… F-fawn.” Her mind forgetting about her whiteboard for the time being as she told the boy her name.

Jacob was reaching out as she almost fell over. Though she caught his arm and seemed to pull herself up with that. He didn’t notice her cheeks getting red. It was a little too dark for that. But he did notice the silence. Followed by what he assumed was her name. “Fawn?” So she could talk. That was interesting. “That’s a nice name.” he offered with a genuine name. It was a nice name, if not a bit unusual. Naming your child after a baby deer didn’t seem like something most people do. Still, it had something sweet around it.

“Hey! You ruined my shirt.” Someone said behind Jacob, who turned around to face a certain fellow with very obvious mud stains on a white shirt.

“C'mon man, I didn’t mean to. C’mon, it’s New Year’s Eve. I’ll get you a drink.” Jacob offered peacefully.

“To hell with your drink, you even know how much this shirt costs!?” The boy’s eyes then fell on Fawn. “And you, what shit stained idiot has mud feet?”

Jacob took a stronger stance, getting in between the guy and Fawn. “Okay, you need to move on right now.” He spoke clear and strong. But the boy wasn’t having it.

“Yeah, what’s that eh? Did mommy sew that but forget to get you some shoes?” He was mocking Fawn now. Something Jacob wouldn’t stand for.

“Now I’m going to make you apologize.” He rebutted, while he balled his fists.

“Yeah, you and what army?” The boy pushed Jacob back as two of his mates took a step further. Jacob took a step backwards from the push, braced himself and with short burst tackled the guy into the sand. The two others immediately grabbed Jacob by the arms, trying to get him off their mate, who was getting headbutts now instead of fists.

Meanwhile, peering at the scene from beside the sizable bonfire he helped ignite so that the flame trailed high into the dusk sky, the infamous nonconformist, Lucky Cross, tossed the remaining pound of cannabis provided by that Bishop kid into the flames. Now the party can actually begin. The left side of his lip tugged upwards, creating a sinister smirk. With his free hand, he grabbed his phone and sent a swift text to Roz that simply said: Shoreline.

The burning embarrassment from the boy’s complement of her name was short lasted as the boy’s attention was drawn away causing him to turn around. Fawn looked to the boy he was talking to, looking to his lips. When he addressed her, fear surged through her body as he reminded her of her parents and she didn’t want what was the usual outcome in those situations to happen now. When the boy she had been with stepped in between her and the other boy Fawn couldn’t help but feel a mix of fear for the boy but also thankful for him being there as she wouldn’t know what to do in this situation otherwise.

Peeking out from behind the boy, Fawn looked to the lips of the angry boy just in time to see him mock her, regretting the decision she hugged her whiteboard to her chest looking down into the water she was still standing in. It was only when she noticed the boy disappear from her peripheral in front of her that she glanced back up to see the fighting. In shock at first, she froze, not knowing what to do, watching the scene playout in front of her. The whole time Fawn couldn’t help but think how this was all her fault, she should have just gone home then none of this would have happened.

Quickly wanting to try to do something despite every instinct screaming against her to run, she wrote out something on her board and went to one of the people holding onto the boy that had helped her, tapping on his arm. His head snapped in her direction and he looked to her board that read. “Please let him go. It wasn’t his fault.”

The boy laughed and looked at her, “What can you not speak you freak? Get back unless you want to join in with the fight.” He then ripped her whiteboard out of her hands throwing it into the water before pushing her back causing Fawn to stumble back and fall into the sand. The boy went back to helping his friends as Fawn laid on the ground watching, her body frozen in fear once again. A small part of her wondering why all the people watching weren’t doing anything to help.

Timing was everything. The more things escalated, the more it would grab people’s attention. Perfect chaos with an audience. First Owen exploding, now this? Tonight was too good. Let’s add to the mood. Lucky sent another text requesting an immediate change in song. When people think of this song, they will think of this fight.

Work it
Make it
Do it
Makes us

Sadistically, Lucky prowled through the crowd unnoticed, while more people gathered. He was taking his sweet time, knowing very well Jacob wasn’t in true danger. Those boys would be stupid for taking Damian away from his new… interest. Upset El Jefe? At a party he invited you to. After an eye was bruised, maybe a tooth was chipped, the anger will settle down and those imbeciles would walk away acting like they got a message across when really, they made a mistake the moment they pushed an innocent, little… deer to the ground. When they started a fight where the probabilities were against them. Sure, they had the notable advantage, three against one with all those around as bystanders, but they didn’t have the winning hand. You want to know why?
Because Lucky’s reputation precedes him.

Harder
Better
Faster
Stronger

Noticing that they were completely distracted, Lucky strolled out of the crowd and into the water grabbing the girl’s whiteboard. Drying it off with his shirt, he made his way to her. Everything else was background noise. Kneeling down, keenly looking at her, his sharp, hazel eyes softening when their gazes met, he handed her the board. With a smooth gesture, he put his finger to his lips so that the little deer kept quiet. She might question him later, but he didn’t mind. That only meant an opportunity for them to get closer.

More than
Hour
Our
Never

Every fighter had built up anger. It was how you used that rage that would determine your skill in a fight. The rugged boy controlled the chaos, the anger, and the environment, but most importantly, he knew exactly what he was getting into. Never blind. Always aware. That’s how Lucky fought.

Ever
After
Work is
Over

His face was unreadable. No fear. Their guards were down. Never let your guard down in a game. Coming behind the two that were still attempting to take the beast off of their friend, only a brutal fighter could smash his head repeatedly on someone else, Lucky cleared his throat, causing the two to turn their heads. The moment they did so, the Hound slammed their faces together, intentionally smashing their lips against one another.
Now the show can begin.

The reaction was priceless. Their hands covered their lips. One of them even bit the other’s accidentally causing blood to gush out. Hilarious. One of them did look at Lucky. His face lost color, as fast as he jumped into this fight. Lucky wasn’t necessarily a fair fighter. He wasn’t necessarily an honorable man either. But, he would give the people a show and help his fellow peers. All that mattered was the win. How you won was entirely up to the player. With his fist, that can now be seen wrapped in bandage, the mystery man gave one of the boys a single sniper shot in the head.

This caused the boy to ‘K.O’ on the ground (it helped that these kids were shitfaced) and the other guy yelled, “What the fuck, man?!” Letting go of Jacob, leaving the leader back in a one on one, the stranger charged at Lucky with reckless abandon, but this is where Lucky displayed his true skills. Not in strength, but in speed and agility. The opponent was heftier. Stronger. The objective wasn’t to outpower him.

When the brute was in striking range, nearly about to crash into Lucky, he went in for a grapple. What a stupid boy. Nonchalantly, the Hound sidestepped and as the subject ran passed him like a bull, Lucky made sure to use his right hook to get his opponent to lose balance. The next thing anyone knew, Lucky was on top of the guy making him eat the sand off the ground, “I could’ve gouged your eyes out, or even grab your balls, but this is far more entertaining, don’t you think?

The guy tapped on the ground, forfeiting. Too drunk to handle this situation. “Oh, you want to stop now?” There was actual whimpering. “I’ll stop. After you and your buddy ol’ pal apologize. I’d say the other dude too, but he’s kind of…” Lucky turned his head back to look at the unconscious teen on the ground, “Out of it. Must be all the alcohol. You know what I’m sayin’”

Pulling the guy’s head up, his grip on his hair agonizingly tight, Lucky snapped the fingers of his free hand for the prone boy to look straight ahead at the girl, still frozen from shock, “That wasn’t nice of you. Ruining her night like that.” Stopping his train of thought, he called back to the knight in this whole scenario, “Jacob, are you done playing around?”

Jacob was lifting up his victim by the collar. Blood poured from his nose onto his apparently very nice shirt. But Jacob couldn’t care less. Until he heard Lucky’s voice. Was he done? He didn’t feel done. He wanted more. But with the limp guy before him, he wouldn’t get it. No, no he had enough. He had to snap out of it. Spitting some blood out from his mouth into the sand beside he said: “Yeah… yeah I’m done with this guy.” He said, dropping his victim in the sand again. Letting him groan and squirm in the sand. He’d get up soon enough. He looked up at his apparent rescuer. ”Thanks for intervening. Though I could have handled them myself.” Well that wasn’t entirely true. But Jacob wasn’t about to admit he would lose the fight. It wasn’t about winning or losing anyway. Those guys would never stand up against him or the girl again. They stopped being easy prey now. He turned his gaze to Fawn, holding her board. "You okay?”

Panic was beginning to build within the small girl as the scene continued to play on, fear and her lack of ability to do anything to help the boy who had only helped her moments prior began to mix within her. But it all came to a halt when a new face entered her vision, a boy kneeling before her with her whiteboard. His hazel eyes softly gazing at her as he held a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet. This confused Fawn but she simply nodded softly staring at him with wide doe eyes, gently reaching out and taking her whiteboard from him and bringing it into her chest. This is how she watched the rest of the scene play out, hugging her whiteboard close to her with wide eyes.

The events that unfolded in front of her shocked the girl. The two boys were obviously strong and what they did was just something Fawn would never expect anyone to do. It was at a time like that though, she was a bit thankful for not being able to hear. Violence was never something the tiny girl enjoyed much, by now she’d gotten used to the sight of it and was thankful she couldn’t hear it. When all was said and done Fawn watched as the two boys conversed, not bothering to read their lips until the first one turned to her asking if she was okay. All Fawn could do was nod after a moment, before looking from him to the boy who had retrieved her whiteboard. Her gaze lingered as she was still curious as to why he told her to be quiet, but she quickly looked away and to her board where she began to write.

“I’m Sorry.” That’s all her board read as Fawn turned it to the two boys. She blamed herself as she was the one with the muddy feet and if it hadn’t been for that then none of this would have happened.

Aw shit. There would be no apology this fine night. One guy was knocked out, the other ran away, and then this one under him fell asleep. How unfortunate. Whatever. With no empathy, Lucky released the guy’s head and let it drop hard on the sand. Keeping some of his attention on the other two, but also examining his right hand, the bandage was turning crimson, Lucky groaned to himself. He opened his wounds. Getting off his body cushion, he shoved his hands in his pants pockets and watched the girl carefully, as he responded to Jacob, “Yeah, you had it under control, for sure.”

Rather than contemplate about why the girl was writing on the board or why she was still on the floor, or why she was blaming herself for a mess at a party, messes happen all the time, Lucky strided to her and offered his good hand. The one not bleeding. “You havin’ fun sitting there by yourself? Come on. The party ain’t all that bad.”

”No need to say sorry.” Jacob said to Fawn as he felt something hot under his nose. One touch told him his nose was bleeding. Tonight was definitely not going the way he wanted it to go. But he’d stay for now at least. With Hailey, Ophelia & Trixie at an elite party, anything was liable to happen. Though he would break his earlier promise. ”It’s Lucky right?”

“The one and only.”

” Listen I really need a drink.” Several drinks. ”So do me a favor and party a little with the girl, okay?” he then turned once more to Fawn. ”If this guy does something stupid, just come and find me, okay?” He sealed that sentence with a wink, after which he began pushing through the crowd that was acting as if they weren’t all spectators.

Looking up when a hand was offered to her, Fawn looked at him with wide brown eyes reading his lips. An ever so small smile made its way to her lips at what he said first, taking his hand as he helped her up. “T-t-tha-thank y-y-yo-you.” She softly stuttered out, not wanting to take the time to write out a thank you. She observed the interaction between the two guys, learning the name of the boy who had helped her up but still not the name of the original boy who had helped her. She watched as he winked at her causing her face to once again heat up as he left. Fawn glanced at the Lucky not knowing what to do now.

Ha. Like Lucky would listen to Jacob. ‘If this guy does anything stupid’. They were at a PARTY. Stupidity and poor decision making was a requirement. Maybe not like get your girlfriend pregnant stupid, but loosening up and having fun. “Relax.” He squeezed her hand and then with his bloody one he gestured at the crowd, “This is the one night most people drop the act and make friends with unlikely people. Parties have that allure.” The boy chuckled to himself. Events like this is what he looked forward to the most. “ I’d ask your name, but I’d rather earn it. Why don’t you, me, hit the dancefloor--” He paused for a second before finishing his proposal.

“But first…” Lucky let go of her hand and took out a small ziplock bag, “I think you need a helping hand. You see this.” He brought the bag closer to her, it had a couple of pills in it. “They’re happy pills. They’ll definitely do the trick, but are you willing to take the risk? Get lost with me tonight. I promise I’ll take care of you.” He gave her a charming and irresistible grin. To add to his appeal, he put a pinch of guilt in his motion, “Of course, I’m not going to force you, but it’s the least you could do. Your friend would’ve been pretty banged up by now.”

Fawn looked from the boy’s face to the bag of pills. She’s been around drugs her whole life, she knew that it wouldn’t be all that bad. Not if they were the type he was saying they were. But she wasn’t sure if that’s how she wanted to spend the party, although it would be a good way to forget about what just happened. It would do more than weed could at this point for her. The little deer was conflicted for the moment, but she soon made up her mind. Taking out her marker and writing her answer on her whiteboard before showing it to Lucky.

---

The early morning sun glared through the window, hitting Brynn’s face harshly and waking her from her slumber. Even before she opened her eyes, she knew that this room was not hers. The sheets didn’t smell like Armani Code Pour Femme, the room was way too bright, and most notably, there was an muscular arm snaked around her torso. The last thing she remembered was Sean picking the lock of a room in El Jefe’s house… was she still there? Brynn’s eyes fluttered open to find it wasn’t the same room as the one where they first...well, you know. I guess this must be Sean’s room…I’m at the Sterling’s she thought to herself gazing around at her surroundings. ... Selena is going to kill me. Brynn concluded, mentally preparing herself for the backlash. The details of how she got here were incredibly fuzzy, so she’d have to get Sean to fill in the missing pieces later.

Turning her head slowly, Brynn looked back at the sleeping blonde behind her. Sean looked so peaceful, so she tried her best not to let her movements wake him up. This was a fantastic opportunity to stare at him without him yelling at her for it. She admired his facial features and noted the large tattoo on the side of his neck. I’ll have to ask about that later... Deciding that she had stared at him long enough, she nestled back down into the covers, trying to close her eyes and go back to sleep, since she didn’t know when the boy would wake up. After all, she was confined to the bed until he did. The only issue was that a pounding headache was beginning to form. Brynn knew she shouldn’t have had that extra drink.

As the minutes ticked on, it seemed possible that Sean would never wake up. If it weren’t for the steady rising and falling of his chest, it would have been fair to think he had succumbed to something and tapped out. Forever. Eventually, though, his eyes creaked open.

He didn’t speak at first, instead he just looked down at the head resting on his chest. Oh yeah. I brought her home… Sean thought back to the night’s events: the food, the dancing, the fun at Damian’s, then leaving shortly afterward and coming back home for… more fun. A lot more fun. Enough that it was worth bringing her home, he decided. “Hey, Brynn…? Are you awake?” Probably not; she had been… pretty fucking trashed.

Hearing Sean’s morning rasp brought Brynn right out of her daze. Even better, he remembered her name. You’d be surprised by the number of guys who’d forgotten her name the morning after, the lack of respect evident in their breath. But Sean was clearly one of the good ones. Without opening her eyes, she responded. “Yeah, I’m alive… barely.” The tequila headache was beginning to become more evident, so Brynn tried her best not to let it show. Nothing kills the mood like a bad hangover.

Sean nodded, running one hand through her hair while his other reached down off the side of his bed. “You drank too much.” He said, and though his voice was still soft, still tired, it was undeniably reprimanding her. His hand came back up and placed on his chest, near her face, a bottle of Excedrin extra strength. “Chew two, give it ten minutes.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Brynn stated, enjoying the feeling of Sean’s fingers combing through her hair against her pounding head. It was both relaxing and comforting, two things that were quite necessary to nurse this hangover. It took her a second to realize what Sean had placed in front of her face, but after finally opening her eyes, she was face to bottle with the answers to her prayers. Taking the medication off of his chest, she followed his orders and took two of the pills. “I could seriously kiss you right about now.” She mumbled, resting her head back on his chest, closing her eyes once more to block out the light.

“Yes, you could. But, for some reason, you didn’t.” Sean sighed and closed his eyes as well, pulling her more snugly to him. She had been drunk last night, and he had been able to handle that. Bringing her to his house and allowing her to wake up in his arms, meant that he had to handle the hangover that came with her buzz. “I usually sleep like... many, many more hours than this, but when you’re ready, we can go downstairs. I’ll get you some pancakes, or… something. Hangover food. I don’t know.” He wasn’t perfect, okay?

Brynn smirked at his comment, and after opening her eyes just enough, let her lips find their way to Sean’s. She kissed him delicately and then retreated back to her prior position. “There, now I did.” A smile could be felt through the tone of her voice. The thought of food made her stomach churn, as well as did the likelihood of bumping into Selena, so she opted for the first option. “Let’s stay here for a little bit longer so you can fill me in on how much of a fool I made of myself.” The offer of food was sweet, not many guys did that for her, so she’d have to take him up on that after.

“You didn’t make a fool of yourself. I, uh, kissed Owen. To stop him from killing Marshall? At least, that’s what I felt was going to happen. Then we went inside and Marshall ran off to the bar to get smashed, and we went to get some food. It was delicious. You got a little more drunk, then we went and danced — I taught you how to ballroom dance, you did pretty good for your first time. I twirled you into my arms,” for emphasis, Sean twirled some of her hair around his finger, smiling down at her. “I kissed you, then I took you upstairs. We had sex, like once or twice at Damian’s and came back here and did it until you said ‘if we keep going, I’m gonna fall asleep during.’ So, I kissed you again. And we went to sleep. And, here we are. I think I covered everything?”

The brunette couldn’t help but laugh softly under her breath. “You forgot to mention you picked the lock so we could get into the room at the party, it was really hot.” She opened her eyes again to look up at Sean. “I remember everything up until round two at Damian’s. Sounds like I blacked out for the majority of the fun part of the evening.” Brynn pulled herself closer to Sean, if that was at all possible. “Maybe you can reenact what I missed?”


Their morning fun was about to be cut short before it could even occur, so it seemed. Selena Sterling, who was miraculously hangover free and perfectly glammed up for the day, stood outside of her brother’s door. There were only a few days before school started for the second semester of their junior year, and she had some adventures planned for her and her twin to go on in these remaining days. Sel knocked thrice on the wooden door frame. She always knocked three times in a row, with a distinct pattern, so there was no mistaking who it was, especially when it was followed with, “Seany~”

Brynn moved in towards Sean, their lips just about to touch, when the legitimate worst sound rang through the room. A knock on the door. Even worse was that the voice that followed belonged to none other than the person Brynn feared the most in this very moment. “Shit, it’s your sister, she’s gonna kill me if she finds me in here.” Brynn clung to the sheets that were wrapped around her body, gazing around the room for an escape plan.

Sean stared at Brynn as if she were crazy. No one would kill her, especially not his sister — that was foolish. Rather than help her find a way to escape, Sean instead turned his attention to the door. “It’s unlocked, Sel. Come in.”

“No, don’t say that!” Brynn knew it was too late for a viable hiding spot, so as the doorknob began to turn, she pulled the covers over her head, careful not to move a muscle. She was about to be murdered.

“Oh!” Selena exclaimed from the other side of the closed door. He was awake already… that was odd, at least for new Seany. He hadn’t woken up on the brighter side of noon since he had arrived back home. His sister took this as an overwhelming success of having brought him to the party last night. Maybe it was helping with his sudden and complete depression. She opened the door and walked in holding a mug of coffee. “You’re already up, that’s wonderful! I brought you coffee — three big spoons of sugar, whole milk, and some mocha syrup.” Selena said cheerfully, offering him the steaming mug, completely unaware of the other person in the room.

Sean listened to what Selena had to say, and paid no mind to Brynn hiding beneath the covers. He sat up and reached out for the steaming coffee cup. “I don’t know what mocha syrup is… but thanks. Yeah, I got up because I was waken up…” Sean shrugged his shoulders, drinking from the coffee…. which was delicious. All his life, he’d only had black, bitter, gross coffee, but it did what it needed to: wake up a bunch of groggy young men training to be soldiers. “Selena, this is awesome. Do we have more?”

Brynn tried her best to stay still, but with fear filling her entire body, it was hard to remain calm. Selena was standing mere inches away from her. When Sean moved to grab the coffee cup, the covers began to reveal her chocolate brown hair sticking to the sheets, so quicker than lightning, the girl grasped them and moved them out of sight. Hopefully no one noticed.

“Of course we have more, silly!” Selena said with a warm smile and turned to sit on the bed next to him. She continued talking while doing so. “I was thinking that you and I should go have breakfast at a diner. There’s this really great place called The Sunshine Diner, the pancakes are to die for. Maybe even better than mom’s, but shhh, don’t tell her that.” Sel’s genuine giggle was cut short when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Was that… brown hair… next to her brother? “Seany?” She asked, her eyes trained on the evidence that they were not here alone.

“Yes, Sparkles?” Sean asked simply, sipping at the drink some more. The mention of pancakes had peaked his interest, and he was growing tired of Brynn’s game — but he didn’t understand women. So he’d let them play, and then Brynn could pay for his food in return. It was the least she could do.

Selena stood up from the bed like she had sat in something gross. Really gross. Worse than seeing your brother naked with your gay friend next to you, gross. “Who is that?” She asked rather accusingly. “Why is there a girl in your bed? Is she hiding? Is she naked? Are you… were you?!”

“Because I brought her home. Yes, though I don’t know why. Not entirely, just topless. No, but we were about to until she dove under the covers. Tell me more about these pancakes.”

Doomsday had arrived. The world was about to end, and Brynn could hear the disgust in Sel’s voice. Well, it was fun while it lasted… bye Sean. As slow as she could manage, Brynn peeled the covers off of her face. “Hii~ Sel…” She nonchalantly greeted, an awkward expression plastered onto her face. “Fancy seeing you here…”

“Here?” Selena asked in a voice that almost sounded sweet, you know, like antifreeze… poison can be sweet. The blonde blinked rapidly at the familiar face in her brother’s bed, tilting her head and smiling, before purring out more barbed words. “You mean, here? In my home? Where you most definitely don’t belong?”. The crown princess gave the little candy a moment to speak, if she so wished. It would be her funeral.

“I’m just saying, but I brought her here. And it’s also my home. So she belongs.” Sean paused to sip from his coffee. “There are more important matters to discuss, including that of the aforementioned pancakes.” Women. Honestly.

“Oh yes, there are more important matters to discuss. Like getting you to the STD clinic, you might need a shot after riding the town bike.” Selena said harshly, very much unlike the girl that he used to know as his sister. It seems that both of them had changed since he left for school, and neither one of them seemed to have been changed for the better. She had her reasons, and she kept them hidden, just like the rest of their family did. The Sterlings were full of secrets. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that one of Ophelia’s tarts would jump at the chance of getting with my brother, none of you could keep your eyes off of him yesterday. I should be even less surprised that it’s you, isn’t that right, Brynn? Did you really think you could get away with hitting and quitting a Sterling?”

Sean listened to Selena’s rant, and chose to write it off to early morning grumpiness. He felt like pancakes would certainly brighten her mood, but he chose not to say that. Instead, he decided to point something out to her. After all, what she’d said was minorly incorrect. “There wasn’t any ‘hitting and quitting.’ There was a lot of hitting. Very little quitting.” Sean said, before sipping his coffee again.

Brynn couldn’t exactly hide from this situation. There were no covers she could pull over her face to escape from this one, and she couldn’t bury her face into Sean’s chest either; it’d just make everything worse. Her face turning bright red, she didn’t want to dig herself deeper into the hole she was currently sitting in. But little miss princess pants was making her mad. ”Honestly Sel, I think you’re just a little jealous that your brother rode BHHS’s communal bike before you did. I can’t help that he’s hotter than you...”

“Hmm…” Selena responded in a laugh that didn’t even receive any breath, it sounded more like a hum than anything. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what it is. We might be friends, but I’ll say this here and now, you better not treat him like the others. That wouldn’t really go over well.” Sel turned her attention to her brother once again, and smiled. Deep down, she did hope that this might be more than just an alcohol-fueled mistake for them. She touched his cheek warmly and spoke. “If it makes you smile, then I might be okay with it. That being said, this does not derail my plans for the day. Brynn can come, if she dresses herself.”

Sean took a deep breath at the realization that he understood women perhaps even less than he’d originally thought. His sister and Brynn had been at each other’s throats, but now they were playing buddy? Senseless mayhem. Pointless attacks on character. This would never fly at the Academy. But, he wasn’t there anymore. To ensure she didn’t say anything out of turn again, Sean put his hand on the back of Brynn’s head and guided her to his chest, before he spoke firmly to his sister. “Sel. I understand where you’re coming from, trying to… protect me. And I really appreciate it. But I have had a terrible, terrible month. It may just be a one time thing — I hope it isn’t. But with Brynn’s help I smiled a little. And it was nice. Please don’t be rude, because of that.” Sean paused to let Selena digest the words, before he moved onto the thing that mattered most. “Now, about those pancakes…”

Sel nodded at her brother’s words. Of course her twin would understand why she acted the way that she just had. Six years apart couldn’t sever the bond that they shared, even if it was the worst six years without him. But, of course, Brynn was there, so she wasn’t about to get emotional. “I… hope it isn’t either.” Selena responded and stood a little bit straighter as she did so. “Be downstairs in fifteen, we’ll take the Maserati.” She said before turning on Louboutin heel and heading out of the room.

Brynn couldn’t process what was happening fast enough. One second Sel was slut shaming her, and the next Sean was defending her? With her head rested on his chest, Brynn could feel his heart beating fast, and she felt hers beat at the same rate. This boy is something else. She thought to herself, bashfully staring down at the duvet. “I’m really sorry about that.” Brynn stated with a small laugh, trying to diffuse the tense situation that just took place.

Sean shook his head, leaning his head down slightly and giving Brynn a gentle kiss on the lips. “Please don’t be. I’ve had an awful month, year even. She’s worried about me, that’s all. Okay. You can wear one of my shirts, if you want. I don’t know what you actually have on hand to change into…”

Wyatt didn't want to go to school. He hated school. It was stupid and constricting and pointless and stupid. And pointless. There was always some teacher or shitty student waiting around to tell him how stupid he was, or how he needed to pay attention, or how he lacked motivation. If he'd stayed at A Double's last night, he probably would've just skipped and gone skating instead. But he'd stayed at home, cause the Dads demanded it, and so, skipping would be harder. They liked to drop him off right in front of the school, to make sure he went in. And once Wyatt went in, the teachers watched him like hawks watching mice. He wouldn't be able to leave if he tried.

This morning, he rolled out of bed, naked save for his boxers, and slowly shuffled into the bathroom, where he took a shower that was probably too short for anything to even be clean, not that Wyatt gave a fuck. He dressed himself in a baggy Disneyland sweater, and some jeans, old Converse and his antique watch. He looked straight out of 2017. He looked in the mirror and sighed. He wasn't excited in the slightest.

Downstairs, in the dining room, Jason Durand was seated, munching on a bowl of Lucky Charms, his long hair tied back into a bun. Wyatt came down and poured himself a bowl of Apple Jacks. "Is the Warden already at work," Wyatt asked, referring to his other father, Dr. Elton Durand. Jason looked up at his son, his "That Joke Was Good But Out of Line" face on. Wyatt. Your dad is only hard on you because he cares. He loves you very much," Jason said softly. Wyatt chuckled and took a bite of cereal. "Funny way of showing it." Jason didn't retort. He'd learned a long time ago that fighting with Wyatt never went well, and unlike Elton, he tried to keep from giving Wyatt fuel for the fire. He loved him, but he certainly made it difficult.

The rest of their breakfast passed in silence, as did the drive to school. Once they got up in front Jason turned to Wyatt and smiled. "Be good Wyatt. I love you. Have a good day," "Yeah, yeah," Wyatt said nonchalantly, getting out of the car and walking into the school, head down. He watched as Jason's car drove off, and he thought about making a run for it, but the campus rent-a-cop was watching him from the flagpole. He sighed. Guess I'm stuck here. Might as well take the edge off.

Being high at school wasn't abnormal for Wyatt. Hell, being high was routine for Wyatt. He knew the janitor's closet down the first hall was empty in the mornings, and had a vent that went right out side, so no one would suspect a thing. As kids shuffled between classes, he ducked into the dark closet and started rifling through his bag, until he felt a small ziploc. He pulled it out, but along with it came a bag of white powder, that fell to the ground. "Fuck," Wyatt muttered, bending down to snatch the bag up, before stowing it away. He sighed and began to pack the weed into a pipe, which he lit and blew, all into the vent.

Fifteen minutes later, Wyatt snuck out of the closet, smelling faintly of pot, and made his way to Winship's class, a smidge late, but Winship never cared much. She was a cool teacher, and she liked Wyatt. He strolled on in and over to where Quincy and A Double were seated with Raf and Rose. He grinned and sat next to A Double, slinging his arm around his shoulder. "Howdy friends, welcome back to this wonderful day at BHHS!" Wyatt crowed. Quincy gave him a quizzical look and then one of minor disappointment. "Wyatt? Are you high?" "As a kite, Qster. Cock a doodle doo!"

Cassie woke up, wrapped in blankets, and falling swiftly to the floor. The thud of her body hitting the ground was cushioned by her cocoon, thankfully. She blinked at the hardwood floor that she’d found herself staring at and groaned. Cassie had always been a restless sleeper, but it got bad when she was nervous. And this being the first day back, last night had not been easy on her nerves. She hated high school, like most kids. Unlike most kids, she had to pretend to be an entirely different person at high school. Well, maybe not so much unlike most kids.

Cassandra unraveled herself from the blankets and got up, padding to the shower, where she waited for the water to get, probably dangerously hot, scalding for sure to most people. Cassie didn’t mind it. She liked hot showers. She rinsed the night of restlessness from her skin and hair, and soon got out and dressed. For this day she picked tight fitting jeans, paired with an oversized sweater, and a knit scarf, along with some black leather boots. Still had to look good.

California wasn’t known for it’s winters, but that didn’t mean that the morning wasn’t cold. After the twenty minute drive to school Cassie hurried inside, arms wrapped around herself to keep warm, and very nearly bumped into a small, mousy girl. Cassie looked her over, and a quizzical look came over her face. ”Hey, you’re the girl who was talking to Marshall on New Years right? About the Candies? Eloise? Or Elizabeth?” Cassie asked, struggling to remember the younger girls name.

Her first official day at Beverly Hills had just started as Elodie jumped out of bed at six am. It was still dark outside but never the less, the young exchange student began her morning routine. Well, her slightly altered morning routine. She wanted to shine like a star today. After a quick bowl of cornflakes, she began her run on the treadmill. Nothing gave you quite the same gloss as a morning workout. After that, she just grabbed a quick shower and went to school. Her automatic car drove itself to school as Elodie checked her Instagram. There were so many pictures from the party. It kept a smile on her face. Even though it ended sooner than she liked. At least for her.

With the car parked she stepped out and walked up to the school. Even winters in California were hot! Elodie kept her eyes on her phone though, going through every new person’s social media, trying to get to know them better. So when the girl she didn’t know nearly ran into her she jumped a little.

“Oh yeah!” She answered enthusiastically when the girl brought up Marshall. “Yeah, I just read about the candies when I got here and-“ well she wouldn’t understand what that meant. “Sorry, I’m Elodie. And you are… wait you’re Cassandra!” The French girl nearly jumped again, only this time in excitement. “You’re a candy too, aren’t you!? You got your own clothing line! I’ve read all about you! I’ve been dying to meet you!”

Cassie couldn’t help but blush and giggle a bit. She forgot sometime’s how her and her friends came off to the outside world. Highschool’s weird Cassandra thought. ”Well, clothing line is a big word, but that’s the goal. I make my own clothes and I sell them. It’s a hobby more than anything,” Cassie said, grinning through her white lies.

Truly, her clothes were less of a hobby, and more of a lifeline. They kept her grounded, connected to who she was, and they kept her and her mom afloat at times too. When her mom’s paycheck wasn’t gonna come on time, Cassie was there, ready to help. All thanks to her “hobby.”

”And, yes, I’m a Candy, not that I really think of myself like that. Marshall said you wanted to hang out with us?” Cassie asked, smirking. Cassandra, as a rule, didn’t love new people, but this girl was endearing, and Cassie was bored. Not to mention, a new girl to play with might keep everyone from focusing on her and her white lies. Always playing the game, aren’t you Cassie?

“Oh yes! So much!” Elodie said as she took Cassandra by the arm as they kept walking forward. “I’ve read everything about you. Your mission! Your history! I love it! Even in Paris high schools, they don’t have that. And we call ourselves the city of love! But I forgot to ask Marshall so much.” Elodie just kept going on. Trying to showcase her unending enthusiasm. “But I’ve never found out how to join! Like, do you have to be invited? Because if so, I will do literally anything to get in. I love helping people find love! They called me cupid back home!” Well, that wasn’t true. She thought of herself as Cupid and some of her friends might have called her that as a one-time-thing. But still, she reckoned she was giving Cassandra a pitch talk. A few, little, innocent lives wouldn’t be that horrible, right?

Cassie grinned. This girl had moxie, that was for sure. ”Cupid huh? Well, with our help, maybe you can be more of an Aphrodite,” Cassie said with a wink, as they walked down the hall, Cassie leading them towards her locker. ”The Candies aren’t all sunshine and rainbows though. I mean, yeah, the girls are a great time, but being with them means being a part of everything. These clowns,” Cassie gestured to the meandering students, nerds and band geeks and goths, ”all have an opinion on you, or your sex life. It can be hard sometimes. You slip up and Jamie Callaghan is blasting your business in the Student Life section, saying ’The people deserve to know’, not to mention dealing with Hailey Green. Do you think you’ve got what it takes?”

“I.. don’t really have a sex life. So I’m guessing that’s a good thing here.” Elodie stated. Still, she grew a little red in her cheeks. She never really considered anyone’s sex life anyone else’s business. Oh, of course, she and her girlfriends talked about it. But it was never that much of a gossip subject. Or was it and did she just never notice? Next, to that, Elodie barely knew half the names Cassandra just summed up. Who was Jamie Callaghan and why was he so interested in making people know things? What business did he have in any else’s lives?

“I haven’t actually met Hailey, yet.” That was one person she had heard of. A close friend of Trixie. “But I’m sure I can take her!” she quickly tried to stand up tall again. In her mind, she played with the notion of becoming Aphrodite. Maybe deep down she always wanted to be like that. Irresistible. Oozing beauty with every step. Elodie just kept going where Cassandra led her. “But Hailey doesn’t lead the Candies, does she? That’s Ophelia. Tell me, what is she like?”

Cassie gave Elodie a look, a deep one, trying to peer through the layers that made her up. She saw a bit of herself in her, a young Cassie peeking through, ready to take on the world. Maybe this youngster would escape with that youthful optimism intact. ”First off, be careful who you say that around. Hailey isn’t one for challengers. Now, Ophelia. She’s maybe the one person I trust here. Well, her and the rest of the Candies. She’s always had my back. Once you get in with her, you’ve got a great friend,” Cassie said, reaching her locker, opening it up and reaching in to grab out her books.

”Who do you have for homeroom? Winship?”

Elodie felt a bit taken aback. Was the school really so filled with antagonizing people? She didn’t even know Hailey and she was already warned not to become a challenger. Not that she even thought she could be one. And Ophelia and the Candies being the only ones she trusted, made Elodie a bit frightened. Though it also made her want to be a Candy even more. Just to have a group of friends to be safe around. Still, maybe Cassandra was exaggerating a little?

“Yeah, I got Mrs. Winship.” Elodie answered a little less skippy. It was replaced with cautiousness: “So for who should, I look out? I’ve heard of someone named Owen but are there others?”

Cassie could tell she’d frightened the girl. That hadn’t been her intention, but it wasn’t shocking. Cassie probably could’ve sugar coated it a little bit, but the more this girl knew about this school, the better. ”Good, so do me and the rest of the girls,” Cassie replied with a grin. ”As for who you should watch out for, well Owen’s a good start. He’s Trixie’s ex, and a total douche canoe. Trevor Wells and Damian O’Connor are his best friends, the other two members of the Elite, but they’re mostly alright. Jamie is okay, but don’t trust him with anything you wouldn’t want the school to know, because he’s a gossip. Marshall is great, obvi, same goes for Brynn. She’s a bit of a skank, but I’m not one for slut shaming, so.” Cassie grinned at Elodie as they reached Winship’s class. ”Look Elodie, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I think you’re fun. You’re adorable, and we need adorable. So play your cards right, and you might be looking at a one way ticket to Candyland.”

With that said, Cassie led Elodie into Winship’s room, and sat down with the younger girl at the Candies’ table, grinning. ”Girls, this is Elodie.

Morning in the Callaghan house was rarely quiet. Between four kids and two adults, there wasn't anyplace to go where you wouldn't here someone getting ready for the day. On this Monday morning, Jamie was brushing his hair in the mirror, making sure he didn't go to school looking like a homeless man. He wasn't excited to go to school. He normally was rather neutral on the subject, but today he wasn't in the mood. He didn't want to go and talk about stupid Shakespeare or Pythagorean or the Couples to Watch at BHHS like Trevor Wells and Savannah Matthews, or Sean Sterling and Brynn Payne or Marshall Radley and Riley Wells.

Jamie would be lying if he said he hadn't contemplated running away, or staying and ruining Riley's life. But, he knew both those things were immature and foolish. So, he'd have to settle for moping in the shadow of his broken heart. That was easier and more cost effective anyway.

He'd thought about the situation at the party for most of the past five days, rarely even going out to do anything other than work on the paper and mope. He did go out with Selena, and talk about how Brynn was screwing her brother, a shocker to Selena and no one else. But he hadn't seen Marshall. Nope. And he wasn't mad about it. If Marshall and Rye wanted to make out in closets at parties that was their business. But Jamie wasn't going to deal with any of that bullshit. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the chaos that was the Callaghan house. The Twins shoved past him, shirtless and wielding Nerf guns, screaming like banshees. "Boys! I told you if you weren't dressed by the time I was out of the shower that there'd be no games after school," Jamie's mom scolded from her room.

Jamie shook his head and headed downstairs to the kitchen where Katie was biting into a PopTart, scrolling through her phone, tuned out of the war that was being waged upstairs. Katie looked up as Jamie began pouring himself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and smirked. "I read the Weekend Warrior's blog last night. Sounds like you had fun at the party. Is your boyfriend doing alright?" Katie teased. Jamie rolled his eyes at his sister's taunts. "First, everyone knows that the Weekend Warrior is a gossipy piece of trash. Second, Marshall Radley is not my boyfriend." "Boyfriend? Who's this boyfriend?" Dr. Henry Callaghan asked, waltzing into the kitchen. "No one has a boyfriend, Dad. Your children are painfully single," Jamie replied, beginning to eat his cereal. "Good, because neither of you need to be corrupted by the wiles of men," the patriarch said, grinning.

Once breakfast was done and goodbyes were said, Katie and Jamie piled into his car, and began the short drive to the high school, music playing softly over the stereo. Once parked, Katie got out, waving her thanks, and Jamie spent his last few minutes of freedom Snapchatting his streaks. He heard the bell ring from the parking lot and he begrudgingly headed inside and into Mrs. Winship's classroom, where he planted himself in the table furthest to the back and stuck his nose into his phone, hoping to avoid any awkward conversations for the day. He needed a good vent.

The streetlamps offered the occasional oasis of light in an otherwise completely dark morning. Jacob was running for almost half an hour now. Running into the light, then back into the invisible darkness and back into the light again. As if he only existed for the briefest of seconds before he vanished again. This early, there was nobody outside. Every time he went for an early morning run, Jacob rarely saw a car pass him. It was peaceful and quiet. But above all else, Jacob felt solitude. Even though he knew that behind every window he passed there were people sleeping. Behind every door was a family that would start living again in moments. Still, he pretended that for just now he was alone in a very empty world. He loved it. He loved the serene feeling he got as he passed iron wrought gates, carefully trimmed hedged and massive, columned mansions. In recent weeks, feeling at peace with himself became a commodity to Jacob.

After half an hour he reached home again. The first thing Jacob did was check his messages, his calls, his snapchat. Anything! Rather franticly he was swiping through everything. To no avail, Ceci hadn’t returned his call. She hadn’t texted. His friend didn’t even send a snap for five days straight now.

The one thing he loved about Ceci was that she was gone for all the time. There was no attachment, no strings, no traps. The distance was good. Through technology they could still talk day in, day out. She would tell him about those amazing places across the globe and he would tell her about the intriguing place that is Beverly Hills High School. But four days ago he send her a voicemail telling her about the party. Or rather what was going down. Trixie vanished. Hailey didn’t even go in. The only one who acted like herself was Ophelia. Though she got very, very drunk. Jacob feared for his friend’s friends.

With a heavy sigh he dropped the phone back on his bed. Nothing. Not even a text. Two days, he told himself. Two more days. After that he would go to the Lovelace mansion and ask if they know where she is. Two days. That’s what he told himself. That’s what he told himself two days ago. He didn’t fear Mrs. Lovelace. But there was something off with her. Ceci once told him that she couldn’t stand the name of his father. Which struck him as odd. He tried to ask his father about it, but he kept mute about it all.

He picked up the phone again. Still nothing. For a moment he wanted to call her. Again and again until she picked up. But no, no he had to respect the distance. He couldn’t grow strings now. Everything was perfect. Everything was fine as it was. He would imperil that. Still, he went to her messages. Maybe she had send one and he didn’t see it? No, she hadn’t send anything. Maybe he should send a message? His fingers inched closer to the virtual keyboard. But he stopped himself again. That was stupid, sending another message. This all was stupid. Yet his thumb inched closer to the phone icon. Was his subconsciousness telling him to call her? Whatever spell he was under, it vanished when his phone started vibrating in his hands.

Seven o’clock had passed. Jacob rushed down, grabbed his gym back and jumped in his car. The Club never opened later than seven am. So on seven he would be there. The ride was short but a treat. The suburbs were waking up. Lights drove out the dark. Clarity replaced hidden mystique. Reality took over from fantasy. A daily transition had begun. Amid of it, Jacob drove to the Combat Club.


His trainer taught him much. But something she learned from his father. One of them was the bow when he took off his shoes and made a small bow when stepping on the matting. It was a sign of respect. Not to a person. Not yet at least. It was respect for the work. For the training. For yourself. Then the work-out began. Not many people came in as early as seven. Almost entirely alone he went through the routine. Jumping, push-ups, squads, set ups. Then it was time for the punching bag.

When Jacob came in for the first time, he railed into the punching bag like a madman. Trying to hit as often and as hard as he could. Trying to distract himself from everything and let go of it all. Instead he held it all close and tight. He wasn’t releasing it, he was seething. Troy put him straight one morning. Even now, many months after that, he still felt grateful for the lesson. He was different now, even though he needed a few more lessons after that. Now he was taking his time and controlled his breathing. The music was sealing him off from the outside world now. Turning the exercise into a retreat from life. “We get…what we… deserve.” He sang along, but it was barely audible. His stance shifted. Jacob moved around the punching bag. Hitting another angle. “And way down we go.” But something was breaking his focus. Some thought was with him, even here, even now. A nagging feeling of worry stayed with him. Ceci. It wasn’t like her to vanish like that. “You let your feet run wild.” Three quick jabs. “Time has come as we all go down.” He moved to the music, hit with every beat. He would be dancing, if not for the punches he was throwing. “And way down we goooo.”


Jacob did not entirely hate Beverly Hills High School. He just came to that conclusion as he sat in his car, enjoying the music. He didn’t hate the cheerleaders practicing. He didn’t hate football practice. He didn’t hate most of his teachers. Sure, things could be better. Some classes were just straight boring. Others, like Spanish, felt impossible. But that wasn’t what bugged Jacob. What bugged him was Damian being captain when he wanted the position. Yet he knew he couldn’t go up against Damian to get it. Nor would Damian just hand it over on a silver platter. He hated the candies spreading stupid love gossip like it was an STD. Though deep down he knew it might also be jealousy. But that was high school. You win some, you lose some. For now he just had to carry on for another six months. With a little bit of luck he would make a handful of vital tackles this semester. Who knows, maybe could get lucky this year. With hope in his heart he went inside and took a seat in his home room class.

JJ needed to get away from the crowds and all the noise of the party. JJ always had trouble focusing when there was noise all around him. Some people found solace in the noise and debauchery of a party like this. JJ never liked these kinds of parties since they always made him feel like a fraud. Parties filled with rich kids made JJ feel like he was wearing a mask that didn’t quite fit him right. JJ honestly felt like an outsider at places like this. JJ never had made the attempt at truly talking to any of his fellow students. He had this image of pampered rich kids who were all by their very nature, snobs. In his mind, every one of his fellows were just miniature versions of his stepfather. They were all a self centered lot with their own little worlds and never had any issues. Outsiders like JJ, had to bite and claw their way just to get noticed at the school. JJ came to conclusion that Kids like that seemed to float over everything and that bothered JJ to no end. Talking to Matt had been the first time that he truly tried to get himself out there in the social world. He figured that “no man was an island “ and that meant that he needed to get himself out there no matter what.

JJ sauntered down the beach next to Matt keeping his eyes on him. JJ still didn’t know why Matt had agreed to go on this walk with him but he didn’t care why. He was just happy that Matt had not slapped him in the face for suggesting it. JJ took a sip from his beer as he kept quiet for a bit before he suddenly found the courage to speak.

“Awwready then! I’m sure glad you came out here with me, Matt. Pretty sure if I went out here alone I would have walked into the ocean by accident. I would get lost in a cardboard box by myself.” JJ joked as he ignored the party behind them. His whole focus was only on Matt. “ So when did you come back here. If I may be so bold to ask. I mean I have never seen you and I like to think I’ve got eyes like a hawk.” JJ asked trying to truly understand the other guy because there was something special about him. He just couldn’t place why he felt like that.

Matt listened to the boy in front of him quickly finishing the beer he was given. JJ could certainly talk quite a bit. Not that he minded, he himself was not much of a talker so if someone else could talk while he listened in a conversation. Although based on how his parents portrayed him to the public eye you would think he was some sort of conversationalist. Then again, the public saw him as a completely different person than he was. Something he had no say in and had to participate in spreading the lie.

Unfortunately, he would have to use the lie on the guy in front of him, who in so little time had some effect on Matt that made him not want to lie to him. Something he typically just shrugged off, but this time around he was having trouble shrugging it off. He had no option though, he wasn’t going to get sent back to the horror he escaped just for this guy he just met.

“Yeah, the beach sounds good. The party is a bit overwhelming.” Matt agreed as the two walked down towards the beach, the blonde getting another beer before they headed down. At JJ’s joke about getting lost, Matt chuckled slightly a small smile on his lips as he looked over to the boy, taking a drink of his second beer as he was asked about when he got back knowing his time to lie had arrived.

“Well…” Looking out towards the ocean he continued, “just over a year ago I left for a mission trip with my church. While there I also studied abroad to keep up on schoolwork. I just got back a few weeks ago so that’s why you haven’t seen me around. Chances are you may have seen my sister around but if you were lucky you didn’t meet her.” Matt decided to joke at the end; with a slight laugh he took another sip of his beer trying to drown his guilt for lying. A feeling he was still confused by.

JJ was chatty only with certain people. For some reason, Matt was on his list of people JJ could just babble with. Whenever JJ got nervous or worried about anything, his accent would suddenly get extremely thick and he would start talking in Texan talk. Most people would think that he was completely insane with the way he talked. Most people would have no idea what he was talking about but it always made him feel like he was bringing a little bit of Texas home with him. People back home used a whole different language than they did in Beverly Hills. Matt seemed to be different than the people he had met here and that seemed to loosen JJ’s tongue. It was either that or the beer he had just finished. He was not exactly wasted but he was feeling the buzz.

“ I never was much of the religious person. I know it’s odd for a good old boy not to be religious. A mission trip sounds nice. Ma is the more religious type. Goes to some church called Pulse or something. I have never been there but my mother wants me to go there with her. She says it will put me straight or something. I don’t need some religion to fix me.” JJ said as he looked out at the ocean when he suddenly had a crazy idea. He wanted to swim in the ocean even though he hated it. It had to be the beer talking and thinking for him. JJ looked over at Matt with a crazy look in his eyes. JJ usually was better at dealing with his booze but he was drinking on an empty stomach and that one beer seemed to be working it’s magic on him.

“ I want to go for a swim. Want to join me?” JJ asked as he undid his shirt. JJ just felt bold right now and stripping down in front of a complete stranger did not feel odd to him. JJ’s shirt came off and JJ threw it onto the sand with a soft slap of the fabric. JJ looked over at Matt asking him to go in with him. Regardless of Matt’s answer, JJ went running into the surf clearly not caring about his jeans getting wet. JJ ran into the surf with a yell as he dove under the surf. He stood out of the water and walked back towards Matt still without his shirt. “ That felt great. I needed that swim. “ JJ said like what he did was the most normal thing on the Earth. He used to do things like this with his friend Wally and for some reason Matt made him feel crazy. That spontaneity was new for JJ but he loved it. He was the kind of guy just to do things when he wanted it. He didn’t seem to mind the water on his bare torso.

The mention of Pulse along with JJ’s wording of his mother wanting the church to set him straight caused Matt to internally wince but he kept the emotions from showing on his face. He was having a good time for the first time in forever and wasn’t going to let his family’s church ruin it. He decided to not comment on anything regarding Pulse or religion; it was not a topic he wanted to get into. Instead Matt downed the rest of his beer.

After downing his beer, Matt was met with the sight of JJ stripping off his shirt. While it was not a sight he was expecting, he sure was not bothered by it although it did have his cheeks heating up from shock of the sight. When he was asked to join the boy in the water he decided to pass for the time being. Matt didn’t really feel like getting wet right now.

”You can go ahead. I think I will just stay here.” He watched as the boy dove under the water and when he stood up and began to walk back towards Matt, he felt his whole body just get a bit warmer. The water dripping on JJ’s bare torso with the moonlight reflecting off the water and his chest, yeah it was a sight Matt could get used to. Matt couldn’t help himself as he let his eyes trail down JJ’s body, his confidence boosted by the two beers he drank. He didn’t know what he would do with his decisions and confidence all being impaired and changed by the booze in his system.

JJ had not really touched his beer since he had taken it earlier. He had never been much of a beer drinker but it was the style of a place like this to be drinking till you dropped. He knew that he was a bit of a lightweight when it came his drinks. He could hold his own with most things but beer was one of the things that he was terrible with. His mind had told him to start swimming and, as usual, JJ obeyed the voice in his head. This was the same voice that told him to try bull riding without pads or anything to keep himself from breaking his neck. It was that voice that told him that he needed to go talk to Matt. The voice sometimes made him do extremely dumb or it made him do great things like this.

JJ sauntered down the beach with Matt with that same silly look on his face. JJ looked over at Matt just watching him for a second still ignoring the water going down his chest. “ That water felt great! It was so refreshing. Shame that I am the only shirtless one. It doesn’t seem quite fair. He teased as he looked back at the sand. He felt oddly jittery around Matt and he couldn’t explain why he felt so odd with him. JJ had talked to so many guys but none of them felt like he understood the other person. Matt made him feel like he could talk to him all night if he had to.

“So Matt, what brought you to the party? I know I only came here to get away from the King of Sobery.” JJ asked honestly curious as to why a guy like Matt was here. Matt just seemed like a candle in all of the chaos of the party. For the first time, he felt like he was at peace while talking to him. JJ still seemed not to care about his lack of a shirt. It was as if he was used to walking around shirtless with a guy he just met.

Everything else in the world seemed to disappear as Matt continued to stare at the attractive boy in front of him. He could see JJ’s lips moving but his words just weren’t reaching Matt’s ears. The rush of hormones mixed with all of Matt’s emotions and the fact he was definitely even more of a lightweight since before his ‘mission trip’, were making his thoughts go in directions he knew could get him in trouble. But at this moment he didn’t care, his mind and body wanted him to do only one thing, so that’s what he did.

Matt approached JJ with quick strides before putting a hand on the back of his head, pulling him in and connecting their lips. The kiss was short lived though as it snapped Matt back to reality within about ten seconds. He quickly released his hold on JJ and stepped back turning around. Running a hand through his hair he began to curse under his breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head before turning to look at JJ, quickly losing eye contact due to his discomfort.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I think I drank too much. That was never supposed to happen so let’s pretend it never did and pretend we never met. Okay? Good.” Matt quickly turned on his heel and made his way back towards the party. He was going to find Miriam and they were going to get the hell out of there.

JJ had been ready to just keep talking for hours with Matt because the voice kept telling him to do so. He didn’t know why he couldn’t look away from Matt despite the small voice in his head wondering why he couldn’t say no to Matt. His brain kept telling him to stay with Matt. JJ was just about to turn away when he heard shouting from the party. During the time that they had been walking through the beach, midnight was coming up. JJ’s mind instantly ran towards the idea of kissing Matt for midnight since he didn’t want to say he was alone on New Year’s Eve. JJ had this plan of being subtle about kissing him. He was going to pretend that he tripped before kissing Matt. Or he was going to pretend that he was drowning from his swim in the ocean. That did not seem possible as.

As he was planning his master plan, Matt seemed to be reading his mind. Before JJ had time to react, Matt was kissing him. Despite the short time, the kiss felt like it went on forever. He instantly reacted by returning the kiss as if his life depended on it. JJ was about wrap his arm around Matt to keep him there for longer. His brain wanted to hold Matt there all night and he wanted to keep him on this beach. Before he could try and get Matt’s shirt off, Matt had already run off. JJ’s mind was far to muddled to try and stop Matt from leaving despite his desires.

By the time JJ was capable of speaking, Matt had vanished into the crowd. JJ tried to look for him but the guy was gone. The Texan looked out at the ocean one last time and made a promise. “ I will never forget you… I am gonna find you again.” He promised as he turned to go back into the party. Joshua Stone always kept his promise and this one felt important. Matt felt like the kind of person that he could chase to the ends of the Earth if he had to. That kiss made this a walk to remember.