Nora slapped my shoulder repeatedly, breaking me away from my thoughts as she smiled like an idiot.

I glared at her. "Would you stop that? It's annoying as hell."

"I don't care! Look over there, the three new hot guys are walking through the cafeteria!" She squealed in excitement. Once again, I rolled my eyes, not being able to comprehend how someone can obsess over three new guys. It's really weird and kind of creepy in my opinion.

But I still glanced over my shoulder, because I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little curious about what they looked like.

I noticed a guy with dirty blonde hair and green eyes, winking at every girl he made eye contact with. He's wearing a simple t-shirt with jeans and has a nose piercing on his left nostril. He also has a sharp jawline, with very little stubble covering his features. He's also very attractive, just like Karson.

The other guy has dark hair with the sides of his head slightly shaved. He's also wearing a t-shirt and jeans, making the tattoos on his arms very noticeable. Once again, he is also very hot.

Karson stood in the middle of both of them, walking towards the back of the cafeteria, searching for an empty table. I noticed some girls pushing out their chest, trying to get their attention. I scoffed in disgust as I watched Blondie wink at them. All three of them sat down at a table near the back where no one else was seated.

I turned back around to see Nora and some other girls still staring at them from afar, hoping to get noticed by at least one of them.

"Why is everyone fan-girling over them? I mean yeah, they're hot, but I would be creeped out if I saw so many people staring at me like that," I shivered at the thought. "And by the way, I ran into one of them, and he was an ass."

"You what?!" Nora screeched, making people turn their heads to stare at us, once again.

I rolled my eyes for the 15th time today. "I accidentally ran into the one with black hair, Karson, and he was a total jerk to me. He also grabbed my arm with the gash on it. I know it was an accident, but it still fucking hurt."

Her eyes softened a bit as she frowned. Nora is the only person who knew what was going on at home. She knew about my mother, what she does, and how she left her youngest children in the hands of her oldest. She's the only person I trusted, and I know she would never tell anyone.

"I'm sorry babe," she whispered, rubbing my back in comfort.

"It's okay, really. You know I'm used to it," I replied with a sad smile.

She opened her mouth to reply, but someone came running through the cafeteria doors, interrupting her. The student said there was a fight between a senior and sophomore in the halls.

My whole body tensed up and I felt my heart immediately drop to the pit of my stomach. Just thinking about how the sophomore could be Jace made my anxiety spike up. I got up from my seat, dragging Nora with me.

I got to the scene of the fight, already noticing the students gathering around them in a circle. I pushed my way through, leaving Nora behind, to see who was fighting.

Looking at the sight in front of me made my blood run cold. I froze in shock, watching my little brother get hit repeatedly by our star quarterback, Brody.

My feet felt like they were glued to the floor and I literally couldn't move no matter how hard I tried. Seconds later, I was finally able to gain my composure and realized I needed to do something fast.

"Stop! Please! You're hurting him," I yelled, tears threatening to fall down my face as I watched the senior catch his breath. I took this chance to look underneath him and saw my brother with a black eye and blood gushing down his face.

Adrenaline was now coursing through my veins as I jumped in to try and pull Brody off of Jace. I knew this is a stupid idea, but no one was doing anything, and Jace is my little brother for Gods sake! I tried to pull his arms back as I yelled at him to stop. Where are the damn teachers?

He turned around, facing me as he ripped his arm from my grip. He's fuming with rage as he glared at me, his eyes darkening.

"Don't fucking touch me," he growled, throwing me hard up against the lockers. I hit the metal and my body immediately slammed onto the ground. I whimpered in pain, slowly lifting my head up as my body lay sprawled out on the floor. I looked around to see the crowd of students gone, not wanting to get in trouble or involved in this situation. I scoffed in disbelief, wondering how they could leave my brother and I here alone with this psychotic asshole.

I looked up at Brody as I watched his hand clench into a fist, before slowly winding his arm back. I closed my eyes and put my arms up to shield my face, preparing for the blow.

I slowly opened my eyes a few seconds later, after not feeling the force of a hit. I put my arms down, my jaw dropping as I saw Karson pulling Brody away from me.

"If you even think about laying one hand on them again, I will personally drive to your house and shove my fist so far down your throat that you feel it coming out of your asshole. Got it?" Karson growled, his eyes darkening as he clenched his fists in rage.

I looked around and noticed Karson's two other friends standing next him, looking just as pissed. Karson threatened Brody, saying if he didn't confess to what he just did, then he'll make sure that he regrets ever being born. Brody threw me a glare, but eventually cooperated as we watched him walk down the hall and enter the principal's office.

I looked over at Jace, noticing how bad of shape he's in. He had a black eye, bloody nose, and I could see the bruises already forming on his face. I didn't even want to imagine the damage hiding under his clothes.

I went over to him. "I'm so sorry this happened Jace." I whispered, carefully running my fingers over his purple and blue jaw. I bit my lower lip as I felt the tears threatening to fall down my cheeks as.

"I don't look too bad, do I?" He slightly chuckled, wincing in the process. "Even though it hurts like hell, at least I'll look like a badass."

I heard small laughter behind me, totally forgetting the three guys that helped us.

The only thing Brody was able to do to me was throw me against the lockers, so I wasn't in excruciating pain. Thank God he didn't accidentally touch the wound on my arm, or else this would've ended much worse for me.

I wiped my tears away as I tried to lift Jace off the ground, but he was too damn heavy. "Ugh, you fatass."

I heard blondie chuckle behind me as he offered to help get Jace up.

"Thank you," I said, facing their direction.

"Don't mention it."

"I mean, thank you for, uh, getting Brody to back off and helping Jace, it really means a lot to me," I gave them a genuine smile, looking over at the three boys.

They all smiled back, except for Karson, who was staring at the ground with a clenched fist by his side.

"Well, if you didn't already know, my name's Braxton," Blondie said with a smirk before pointing to the guy with tattoos. "And this dumbass is Colton."

"I saw you and Karson in the hall earlier this morning, so I know you guys are already besties," Braxton smirked. I looked over at Colton who was laughing beside him. He quickly covered it with a cough when he noticed Karson's harsh glare.

"No way in hell," I snapped as I glared at Braxton. I completely ignored the scoff coming from Karson's direction.

"Anyway, my name is Dakota and that's my little brother Jace," I stated, trying to change the subject as I pointed to my little brother who was leaning on Colton for support. "I'm gonna bring Jace to the nurse, but again, thank you."

"Anytime, I'm just glad we got that shithead away from you before he did anything worse. Are you sure you're okay?" Colton asked, his eyes swimming with concern as he looked me up and down to check for any injuries. Why was he so worried about me? He should be asking if Jace was okay, not me.

"Yeah I'm okay, I didn't get hurt," I lied with a small smile, ignoring Karson's intense gaze on me, knowing he didn't fully believe me. Thankfully, he didn't say anything as he averted his gaze and blankly stared at the floor.

"We'll see you around Dakota," Braxton replied, sending a wink my way.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips. As I helped Jace walk towards the nurses office, I glanced behind my shoulder as I watched the three new guys walk away.

"What a great way to start off my senior year," I mumbled under my breath, sarcasm dripping from every letter. Hopefully this year would get better, because I definitely did not need anymore chaos in my life.

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