I felt like a ghost everywhere I went. Harvey was ignoring me the best he could considering we lived together.

Most of his friends at school were even ignoring me as I went through my day.

I didn't sit with his table anymore, but I didn't miss the occasional glance that I got in the lunch hall from them as I sat by myself.

Ivy hasn't spoke to me yet. She can sense that something has happened and it puts an annoying smile on her face every time she sees me.

I still walk with a hobble, despite my leg healing up. Fours days of limping around was really taking its toll on me.

The worst part out of all of this was that Leo was also avoiding me.

He dodged practice last night so I just did some floor work with Miss Lacey. I'd barely seen him in school either.

The final lesson of the day was Science and I was lucky enough to have this class without any of Harvey's friends in it. Or Ivy, or even Leo.

I needed to focus my attention on school more since I knew I had been slipping in certain subjects. Everything that had been happening recently was fucking me over more than I actually realised.

Miss Williams' sweet voice from the front of the class brought my mind to the lesson before me. She was one of those teachers that everyone loved. Young enough to understand kids and old enough to still be professional towards students.

That and she was a damn good Science teacher.

She managed to make every lesson she did interesting and engaging to every student, even the troublemakers listened to her.

Chemistry was the topic we had been on for the past few weeks so we continued with chemical reactions from last lesson. Luckily all of the learning was on worksheets that we had to do on our own so I had no problem with getting on with it.

The rest of the lesson flew by and just as I finishing the last page of the worksheet, the bell rang and the room sprung to life. Miss Williams sang goodbyes to the kids leaving the room to which practically all of them returned.

Like normal, I was the last to leave the room so I didn't get caught up in the mass of students all piling towards the exits.

Remembering I left some of my homework in my locker, I diverted my course from the exit to the other side of the building.

Upon opening it, a piece of paper flew gracefully to the ground and landed on the floor by my feet. That definitely wasn't in there before.

After I shoved my homework into my bag and slung it over my shoulder, I picked up the piece of paper and read the writing that was on it.

"Eli,

I'm sorry for being a no-show. Shits just been really crazy right now and I need to stay away from you and your brother. I can explain myself but I can't be seen talking to you. I need to see you though. Meet me at the swings at 9 tonight.

Leo.

P.s. I miss those kisses"

I was wondering how long it would take for Leo to make contact with me. I had a feeling he wanted too, and this letter proves he's struggling with the separation between us, just like I was.

I stuffed the letter into my jeans pocket and started making my way home. Harvey didn't wait for me anymore to give me a lift home and I didn't blame him.

I didn't mind it, the walking gave me time to clear my head and relax.

Music pulsed into my ears and I had to resist the urge to hum the Paramore song out loud. For once the weather was actually sunny so the walk was more pleasant.

As I finally found myself home, I could hear the music blaring from the front room from a couple houses down.

Great, here we go again with the rebellious Harvey. The one who didn't care that the bass from his music was shaking through the house. The one who didn't care when he and his friends wrecked the place and expected me to clean it up.

It was not going to be fun living with him during the current situation. I have a feeling he's going to be like this until the competition is over and Leo isn't part of our lives anymore.

As quietly as I could, I made sure I got into the house undetected so I wouldn't have to deal with Harvey or his friends.

The usual suspects were crowded in the front room. Hunter was being the loudest out of all of them and I suspected he was slightly intoxicated judging by his rowdiness and the amount of beer bottles that cluttered the floor around him.

When I made it to my room, I noticed straight away that Loki had already been shut in here. At least Harvey was still being nice enough to me to respect my cat.

I still had 5 hours until I had to meet Leo so I took my time with my homework and relaxed with a shower before I even considered getting dressed again.

My headphones had become my best friends as they managed to block out enough of my brothers noise that I could focus on my work.

When 8:30 rolled around, I finally started getting dressed. I didn't want to make too much of an effort as I didn't really know what Leo was going to say.

My vanity got the better of me though, making me face myself in my floor-length mirror and applying a small amount of make up. Nothing major that you could notice, but enough to give myself a small confidence boost.

I dressed myself in my black ripped jeans and a ripped up over-sized grey jumper. Leaving my long hair flowing down my back, I didn't bother with doing anything to it and grabbed my keys.

Just as I went to open my bedroom door, I realised that if my brother saw me leaving, he would question me and not let me out.

Turning back around, I faced my window.

And now is the time I thank my parents for having us live in a bungalow. The drop from the window was a fair distance and landing on my leg caused pain to shoot through it.

As I fell however, my elbow knocked the window and made it shut behind me. Whats worse? You can't open it from the outside and I'm too short to open it myself.

Well shit.

I put the problem to the back of my mind and started making my way towards the park that seemed like the usual spot for Leo and I.

We always ended up being there with each other so I guess it was only fitting that he asked to meet me there.

Well, here goes nothing.