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There's 206 bones in the human skeleton, according to good ol' Google.

The problem is trying to draw those bones.

Of course I could suffer through it alone if I wanted to. I could've. But the girl next door was standing with her friend, and was it really a crime if I wanted to get to know her? I've committed plenty before and that seems harmless.

I get into my car, which I just got back last night when my mom gave it back to me. I was letting her use it for a few days but got into an argument with her about where she was going with it, so she said she'd give it back to me and she'd just call a taxi to leave. She's going to drop Ruby off at my house to spend the night tonight, because once again, she's "going out." Also, when we were arguing, I forced her to fire the babysitter because I'm going to watch her from now on. She's my sister, after all.

This is after Iris comes over, of course.

I'm actually waiting by the outside of the school to offer her a ride when Julian is laughing with some other jocks, chuckling while he runs over towards me. He runs his fingers through his short brown hair. "Why're you still here? Usually you're gone by now."

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Oh. For Iris?" He smirks.

"Yeah, big deal."

"Chill out, man. I broke up with Sammy, just thought I'll tell you, but I gotta go now..."

"Alright, later."

With a dismissive wave, Julian jogs back over to the group he was with. A few more seconds go by before I see a familiar, messy brown bun with a hoodie.

"Princess," I call to get her attention, and even though it isn't that loud, I know that she still hears me. She stops, turning around slowly with a glare.

"What do you want?" she snaps.

"Don't you want a ride? We're going to the same place."

She crosses her arms, trying to keep a tough stance but I can see that she's considering the idea. "No. I'll manage."

"Are you sure about that?"

She sighs, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly before nodding hesitantly. "Fine," she agrees slowly, "but why?"

"Because I'm simply a nice person," I scoff.

"I wouldn't believe that in a million years."

"How evil do you think I am? I'm not that thoughtful either, Princess. Don't overestimate me. Let's go."

"Don't boss me around, okay?"

"Just get in the d*mn car or walk, stop the bickering." After she gives me a look, I put up my hands as if to surrender. "Your rules, not mine."

"Whatever."

"Someone's desperate to get the last word in."

"Moving on!"

"Right."

✾

"Alright, so... this is where you live?" Iris asks slowly, standing at the doorway and eying it up and down.

"Yeah... Are you a vampire or something? Do you need to be invited in? Or is it something else? You weren't like this last time."

"What? No, I'm not a vampire! Why would you—"

"It was a joke, first off. Second off, why won't you come in?"

"I just... I'm on a mission as a secret spy and I'm scanning your house to store in my brain for later."

"Alright, well, we're just here to do school work, so it doesn't matter." I smirk. "Unless, of course, you'd like to do anything else?"

"No, get your mind out of the gutter!" She stomps into the house with a frown settled upon her light pink lips. "Anyway, it's not rocket science. There's two-hundred six bones in the human skeleton, but you could pass this easy class by only drawing half."

"How would you know?"

"I got one-hundred percent and I left out about thirty of them, that was my sophomore year. The teacher doesn't notice, he just glances at it and assigns a random grade by the quality and basic proportions."

"Oh...?"

"It's definitely not anything worth losing sleep over. Here's a couple tips for that class: First, sketch a few more lines than there actually is. Second, fluff up your essays with extra terms because apparently that's extra credit material. Third, glance in a textbook sometimes. And last but definitely not least, he likes to give you A's for effort. At least pretend you're trying."

"Thanks for the help. Anyway, now I figured we could draw the skeleton on here. Let me get it." I grab a lineless piece of paper from Ruby's craft box under my bed before coming back and giving it to Iris.

Her eyes scan it while she purses her lips. She then shakes her head. "That's too small for an entire skeleton."

"Shrink the skeleton and it'll fit just fine. Not too hard, is it?"

She gives me a flat look, showing me the paper and setting it down on the table again. "Let me lay this out for you, alright? I'm taking time out of my day to come to your house and help you with your class. I can decide what's good enough for the assignment, okay?"

"I asked you for help, Princess, get off your high horse. I could do this by myself if I really wanted to. Sure it wouldn't be as good, but I'm passing the class and that's all I need."

"You're one to talk. Constantly bragging about your good looks? That's just because you know, deep down, you have insecurities you don't want to face. We all do. But at least I have the courage to face mine instead of bury them."

"Okay, let's get a different piece of paper then. We'll go to the store and you can tell me what works best."

"Good."

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Chasing