"You dipshit!" Nora yelled from beside me. She threw popcorn, trying to aim for the field, but it unfortunately landed on the crowd beneath us. The people below us glared at Nora as she continued to throw popcorn.

"Sorry," I mumbled to them, apologizing for Nora's behavior. Let's just say she was a very competitive person.

After yesterday at the library, we've been non stop talking in class, catching up with everything that's been going on in her life. I haven't told her much about mine, because I didn't want her to worry and I felt as though I should keep it to myself.

We've been sitting at the top of the bleachers at our school, cheering for Jace as we watched him play his first football game of the season. I sat in between Nora and Colton as Braxton sat on the other side of Nora. Karson sat in front of us, but he was at the concession stands, complaining that this game was "boring as fuck".

Braxton and Colton never brought up the events that happened a few nights ago. I just hoped that they forgot about it and wouldn't bring it up again. It was much easier to push everything away than to actually talk to them about it.

I brought Olivia with me since we couldn't find a babysitter in time. She met all the boys, even Karson, and she absolutely adored them. Right now, she was sitting on Colton's lap as he gently bounced her up and down with his legs. She giggled, twirling her hair around as her eyes glistened with joy.

"Nora, shut the fuck up," I hissed, poking her sides.

"The refs suck!" She yelled, standing on her feet as she flipped the refs off. One of the refs looked back and just shook his head at Nora. She wasn't happy that they made a shit call.

Braxton cleared his throat before tugging on her wrist. "Sit down you cocksucker."

She huffed, obeying as she slumped down on the uncomfortable metal seats. I lightly shook my head, a smile tugging on my lips in amusement.

I didn't know much about football so I didn't know what position my little brother played, all I knew was that he was number 18. I searched for him on the field, stopping when I spotted that familiar number. We all cheered for Jace as he ran onto the field. I looked at the scoreboard and it showed that we were up 28-14. The band next to the field would often play their instruments when we got a touchdown or field goal.

I heard loud footsteps climb the metal stairs and watched as Karson strode towards us. He held a red Gatorade in his right hand and a small bag of popcorn in the other. He sat down right in front of me, a row below us. He sat the drink down and raised the popcorn so Olivia could grab some.

She squealed in excitement as she grabbed the bag of popcorn from his hands and dug in, stuffing her face with buttered popcorn. I looked at Karson with a shocked look on my face, surprised that he was actually being generous. He just looked back at me with a sly smirk, no words shared between the two of us.

He looked away and grabbed his phone from his back pocket before turning around once more, facing me. He held out his phone and showed me a picture of a young girl who I recognized a few days ago. She resembled Karson in every way except for their eyes. The young girl wore the dress that we picked out when we went to the mall together.

I grabbed his phone and brightly smiled at the screen. She looked so happy. Her black hair was flowing messily in the air as the picture captured her twirling around in her dress. I looked back at Karson who was already staring at me with a genuine smile. I felt the breath get knocked out of me as I stared at his smile. I have never seen him wear a genuine smile in person, only in pictures with his sister.

His dimples were on display as his smile slowly faded. "She looks so pretty."

"She does. It was a good decision, so I'll have to give you that one," he said, returning back to his signature smirk. I gave his phone back, a permanent smile on my face as I thought of the young girls' bright smile. I'm glad she liked it.

"Is she still in town?" I hesitantly asked. He just shook his head in response as he quickly turned his body to face the field. I wonder who she lived with.

"What was that?!" I averted my eyes to look at Nora who was standing once again, cursing at the refs.

"Shut up, girl!" An older man turned around, scolding Nora. I slightly lowered my head, trying to keep myself from laughing. I was both amused and embarrassed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nora flip the old man off before scoffing as she sat down. I pat her shoulder, biting the inside of my cheek as I tried to keep my laugh inside. She swatted my hand away as she bitterly crossed her arms over each other.

"Bitch," she muttered under her breath. That was my breaking point. I couldn't hold it in any longer and I let the breathless laughs come out. I clutched my stomach as I laughed. She nudged my arm, glaring at me as I wiped my tears away. My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.

Colton patted my back as I started coughing, choking on air. I finally settled down and was greeted with a scoff coming next to me. "Cheer up, babe."

"I hate this game," she growled, staring straight ahead at the field.

~•~•~

I ran down the bleachers, heading towards the gate that separated us from the field. I watched as Jace ran over to us, helmet in his hands as his bright smile was on display. I held Olivia, but put her down so she could run to Jace.

She sprinted to him, jumping in his arms as he twirled her around. She put out her hand, waiting for Jace to give her a high-five. He connected his palm with hers and he walked over to me, carrying a giggling Olivia.

"You did so good!" I beamed, so proud of my little brother.

"Those refs sucked ass," he huffed, ruffling Liv's hair as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's what I've been saying!" Nora cut in, coming up behind me as she rested her chin on my shoulder.

The boys were behind us, also congratulating Jace on his first win. Braxton fist bumped my little brother as I smiled, watching them fall into conversation. Nora twirled me around, making my head spin.

My eyes took a little to focus on her in front of me. "Yes?"

"Can we get ice cream please," Nora pleaded like a child. She pouted her lip as her eyes widened, begging me to go out for ice cream.

I barked a laugh as I stared at the redhead in front of me. She was something else, but I loved her to death.

I patted my chin, pretending to think long and hard about it. "Fine, I guess."

She squealed and kissed my cheek. I made a disgusted face as I wiped away her slobber with the back of my hand. She giggled before walking by me to let my siblings and the boys know we were all going to get ice cream.

Everyone agreed, so Nora and my siblings piled into my car while the boys took their own cars. We agreed to meet at a local ice cream parlor two minutes away from our school.

We arrived shortly after, but it felt like we were driving for hours. Jace and Olivia wouldn't shut up in the back seat. Olivia was arguing about how he wasn't a good brother because he wouldn't dress up in her dresses anymore and he just argued back, saying he didn't want to. It was a continuous cycle, Olivia complaining and Jace feeding into her complaining.

"Do they ever shut up?" Nora quietly asked as we all stepped out of the car. They eventually settled down, but Olivia kept sneaking a few death glares in Jace's direction here and there.

"You should know the answer to that," I mumbled in response.

"You're right," she hummed in agreement. "They don't."

I snorted a laugh before interlocking our arms, letting my siblings walk in front of us. We walked into the ice cream shop, white walls surrounding us. It smelled like a mixture of chocolate and mint, it smelled delicious.

I saw three car headlights, blinding us as they shined through the windows. They had their music blaring, so it was obvious it was the boys. I rolled my eyes, surprised that they actually showed up.

Olivia and Jace ordered first, then Nora and I settled on the same flavor, birthday cake of course. We all squeezed into a large booth, making sure there was enough room for Karson, Braxton, and Colton. I watched as they ordered their ice cream before coming to sit with us.

I was on the outside of the booth with Olivia to my right, so I scooted over to let one of them sit here. I glared at the person who decided to sit next to me. His emerald eyes held a glint of amusement as my eyes shot daggers at his face.

Braxton slid in next to Nora who was also on the outside with Jace to her left. Colton ended up having to pull up a chair because we all couldn't fit. I watched as Braxton whispered something into Nora's ear, causing her face to heat up.

I raised my eyebrows when her gaze connected with mine, but she just shook her head with a small smile lingering on her lips. There is definitely something going on between them.

I quietly ate my ice cream, looking over to Liv who had ice cream smudged all over her rosy cheeks. How did she manage to do that? I will never understand.

I grabbed a napkin from the middle of the table, lightly wiping her face to get rid of the cold substance. She just giggled as she continued to devour her ice cream.

Everyone made small talk with each other, just enjoying everyone's company. Jace was conversing with Colton, while Braxton and Nora were whispering to each other. What the hell is going on between them? Wasn't she just crying over a boy not even 24 hours ago?

Olivia was too focused on her ice cream to talk to anyone. She stared at it like it was her lover. I made a weird face as I watched her lick her ice cream, a residue of slobber left on her hand and the cone. I almost gagged, watching my little sister devour the dessert messily.

Karson cleared his throat from beside me as he yawned. "This is so fun."

I glared at him, the sarcasm evident in his tone of voice. "You can leave, asshole. You have a car don't you?"

He just shrugged his shoulders. "What's the fun in leaving?"

I blinked at him, he made no sense. "Why did you have to sit next to me? We both know it's not going to end well."

"I like fucking with you," he told me nonchalantly. "Is that a problem?"

"Yes?" I stared at him, bewildered as I fully took in what he said. "If you're just here to fuck with me, then leave."

"No."

I groaned, not bothering to respond. This conversation was going nowhere. I just went back to silently eating my ice cream as I stared out the window. I occasionally overheard Nora laugh at something Braxton would say when I wasn't completely zoned out.

I felt something wet touch my cheek causing me to break from my thoughts as I whipped my head over to Karson. My cheek felt sticky as I looked down at his fingers to see ice cream covering them. I raised my hand to my cheek, wiping off the sticky residue. He dipped his fingers in his ice cream once more before smearing it against my arm.

I glared at him, anger coursing through my veins. I slapped his hand away before digging into my own dessert and smearing birthday cake flavored ice cream on his shirt.

"Bad mistake, princess," he smirked as he got up from the booth, calmly wiping his shirt with a napkin. He was oddly calm. I didn't like it.

Before I even had time to blink, I felt something sticky on my head. He just poured the rest of his ice cream over my head.

"You little shit!" I scrambled to get out of the booth, grabbing my ice cream as I got up, ignoring Nora and Colton's calls for us to sit down. I shut their voices out, just trying to pay attention to Olivia's laugh and Jace's encouragement as I chased after Karson.

He looked at me with wide eyes before sprinting out the front door. The people who worked there were yelling at us to stop making so much noise, but they didn't try to stop us. I didn't respond because I was too busy chasing after Karson, trying to keep the ice cream from melting in my hand. I shoved the door open after him and found him smugly leaning up against his car.

"You know, princess, I never took you as the type to like it rough," he evilly smirked as he crossed his broad arms over the other. "Or even messy."

"You're an ass," I told him as I slowly walked up to him. I held the ice cream behind my back so he wasn't able to see it. I stopped when I was merely inches away from his face.

"Why are you so close to me?" He questioned, disgust lacing between his words.

I didn't respond, I just gave him a sweet smile. I quickly brought my numb hand up from behind my back, the coldness of the ice cream not bothering me because my adrenaline was too high. I smeared my hand over his face, dragging it down his nose, lips, neck, and all the way down to his blue t-shirt.

I took a step back, shaking my hand to get the rest of the ice cream off. His face was covered with ice cream so he wasn't able to open his eyes. I barked a laugh, doubling over as I watched him slowly rub his eyes with the back of his hand so he could open his eyes. When I finally saw those emerald eyes staring back at me, I laughed even more.

His eyes were dangerously dark as he strode towards me. He grabbed my chin, roughly pulling it up so I could meet his eyes. I felt the anger radiate off his body, I loved pissing him off. His grip was tight, but it wasn't tight enough to hurt me, and he knew that.

I broke away from his grip and my feet immediately began running, pounding against the concrete. I tried running to the front door of the ice cream parlor where I saw Nora, Jace, Liv, Colton, and Braxton all staring at us through the window with amusement written over their faces. They had been watching the whole time, so they saw me drown Karson with ice cream.

Before I was able to reach the door, I felt someone grab at my waist, sharply pulling me back into their broad chest. I felt his hands tightly grasp my hips as he tried to keep me from running. I felt the warmth of his hands seep under my clothes, feeling it on my bare skin. I didn't like the effect he had on me.

"Get the fuck off of me," I struggled, elbowing him in the gut as I felt his grip loosen on my waist. He didn't budge, but it was enough to make him release me.

I tried making a run for it once again, but I slipped on damn melted ice cream left in the parking lot. I stumbled and managed to catch my balance, but it was too late, for Karson had already grabbed me once more. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back into his chest. I mouthed 'help' to Nora who was watching this go down, along with the others, but she just smiled and shook her head. I flipped her off.

My back rested against his muscular chest as I felt him lean his head next to my ear. He brushed the hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. I gulped, staring at Nora with wide eyes. My heart beat in my chest as he got closer, my pulse racing. Karson's face was almost touching mine as he leaned in further.

"That wasn't a good idea, princess," he whispered into my ear, his hold tightening. I let out a breath, trying to get out of his hold, but when I tried, he would just tighten his grip.

"Would you let go of me?" I harshly whispered. "It's weird, Ryder."

"Who cares?" He hissed, speaking his thoughts. "You know, Dakota, you really are an insufferable bitch."

I stomped on his foot, hard. He hissed in pain, finally letting me go. I turned around, my face heating up from rage. "Where did that come from?! And you're the one who smeared ice cream on me first!"

"I've been thinking a lot," he admitted, smirking as he watched my face contort in confusion. He ignored my ice cream comment. "The first time I met you, I thought you were a stuck up bitch. Now, as we've gotten closer, I've realized there's so much more to you than I thought."

I stared at him, the use of sarcasm evident as he dragged out the word closer. I didn't know where he was going with this. I crossed my arms, waiting for him to continue. Why did he decide to bring this up now?

"Just when I thought you couldn't get worse, you surprised me. Every little thing you do pisses me off. Every thing you do makes me want to rip my hair out," he growled, stepping in front of me as ice cream slowly dripped from his hair and onto his shirt.

"Keep talking," I challenged as my eyes narrowed at him.

"I can't stand you," he admitted, his eyes holding every ounce of hatred he could possibly have.

"Is that what you've been trying to tell me!?" I scoffed. "You've made it pretty damn obvious."

"I just want to get it through your naive mind that I fucking despise you," he growled, our chests almost touching.

"What did I ever do to you?" I pushed his chest, shoving him away from me. "You say you hate me, but I've done nothing! Nothing!"

"You'd be surprised," he snapped, his chest rapidly moving up and down.

"We're really going to argue in front of an ice cream place?" I shook my head, giving a shallow laugh.

He just gave me a blank stare.

"You want to know my first impression of you? When I first met you, I thought you were just a stuck up boy with daddy issues," I continued, pointing my finger at him. "All this time we've spent together made me realize that I was right all along."

"I have daddy issues?" He barked a humorless laugh. "Look who's talking. At least I have a dad, princess."

"Go fuck yourself, Ryder. I may not have a dad, but he loved me, he loved so much more than your dad ever will," I spat, fury pulsing through my veins.

"Don't speak about my father," he growled, obviously I hit a nerve. I just smirked.

"Look who has daddy issues now," I hissed. "Why did he threaten you, huh? Must've been a good reason, what did you possibly do?"

"None of your fucking business," he growled as his jaw ticked. I was so furious that I didn't care what words I threw at him.

"Looks like I hit a nerve, who would've thought you'd be such a pussy," I smirked, getting a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt a slight pang of guilt as I talked about his father I knew deep down he hated, possibly even more than me.

He almost pounced on me, his eyes darkening, but someone shoved him away just in time. "Jesus Christ you two."

Braxton pushed Karson away as Nora dragged me by my arm. Although we were separated, we never broke eye contact. His eyes shined with a glint of hatred as I returned the same look.

"It looked like you guys were about to have a fist fight," Nora whispered only for me to hear. I ripped my arm from her grasp, I didn't want to be touched, I was too angry and I didn't want to lash out on anyone else.

"I need to calm down," I struggled, my hands slightly shaking. "Give me a few minutes."

She hesitantly nodded her head before letting me walk away. I walked towards the shop, sitting against the side of the building. I rested my head against the brick, taking deep breaths as I tried to calm down. I felt my nails dig into the palm of my hands, blood drawing as I pushed down too hard.

I took a deep breath, I knew this was a bad idea. I've never hated someone as much as I do Karson. I mean, I hate my mother, but there's still a piece of me who loves her. How could I not?