"Sometimes, I wish I had what you guys had," Nora frowned as we walked shoulder to shoulder in the crowded hallway.

"What?" I almost stuttered as my eyes connected with hers.

"You and Karson always argue, yet the sexual tension between you guys is fucking insane," she sighed as she threw her arms up in exaggeration.

"Did someone put something in your drink? I'm worried about you," I asked as I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She swatted my hand away, glaring at me as she flung her hair over her shoulder. "You're just blind."

I gaped at her, my nostrils flaring as I looked at her like she had two heads. "We don't like each other, Nora. No sexual tension, just arguments. You sound like Braxton."

"You guys don't like each other my ass," she snorted as she shook her head in disagreement.

I narrowed my eyes at her as I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from arguing with her. I glanced to my left and saw Nora's arm shoot out, grabbing my arm to stop me from running into a girl who stood in front of us with her hands on her hips. I abruptly came to a stop as the blonde looked me up and down.

She wore a skin tight dress that fit her perfectly. She had blonde hair that flowed down the middle of her back with striking green eyes. She scoffed as she met my eyes. I raised my eyebrow as I stared at the girl in front of me.

Nora looked confused as she hugged herself, her arms circling around her waist. "Yes?"

"You," she pointed at me as my eyes shot up in surprise. "I don't want you near Karson. We have something really special going on and I don't like the way he touched you in the cafeteria."

Nora snorted beside me as I pressed my lips together in a thin line. "Something special going on?"

"Yes!" She squealed in rage, her squeaky voice making me flinch as it echoed off the lockers.

"You know he probably fucks a new girl everyday, right?" I dragged out the last word as I blankly stared at her. I was bored with this conversation already.

"I'm special! We fucked more than once," she hissed as her heel connected loudly with the tile below her.

"Okay? Fuck him some more? I don't understand why you're talking to me," I deadpanned as her eyes bore into mine.

"Stay the fuck away from him!" She screeched as she stepped forward. "He's mine."

"Have him," I snorted as I looked down at my wrist, pretending to look at the time. I wasn't wearing a watch but I knew she was wasting a shit ton of my time. And of course it's because of Karson. Even when I'm away from him, he somehow always gets brought up in every conversation.

She was absolutely fuming and I could've sworn I saw smoke steaming out of her ears. I didn't understand why she was so mad. I told her she could have him, so what was her fucking problem?

She crossed her arms over her chest immaturely, copying Nora as she glared at my best friend. I ignored this bitch and nudged Nora, hinting at her to walk away. Thankfully, she got the message and began to walk around Karson's fuck buddy.

I rolled my eyes before following Nora, slightly grabbing her wrist so I could catch up to her. My body almost froze when I felt a small hand roughly grab my shirt. Blonde Bitch roughly pulled my shirt back, making my grip on Nora loosen as I stumbled back.

I tightly grabbed her arm from behind me and ripped her arm away. I was fuming as my breathing got heavier. "Don't fucking touch me."

"What the fuck is going on?" I heard a rough voice come from behind me. I almost sighed in relief when I heard Karson's booming voice, followed by a few whispers around the hallway.

I slightly turned my head to the right and watched as the three boys strode to Blonde Bitch and I. I could feel my body shaking from anger as my hand clenched at my sides.

"Hi Karson," Blonde Bitch almost whispered in a seductive voice as she batted her eyelashes. I scoffed in disgust as she innocently swayed back and forth.

Karson completely ignored her and turned to face me. "What is going on?"

"Blonde Bitch over here," I responded as I ignored the small gasp coming from her red lips. "Comes up to me and tells me to stay away from you because you're hers."

I heard Braxton snicker from behind me as Karson's harsh glare shut him up. Karson stood next to me, our arms almost touching as his head hung low to reach the small girl's gaze. Karson's voice was calm as he spoke in a low voice. "Now what made you think I'm yours?"

"Well when we-"

"See, that's problem number one," Karson growled, interrupting her as she shrunk back into the floor. "What we did doesn't fucking matter. Just because we fucked doesn't mean anything, got it?"

The girl flinched from his tone of voice as tears began to well up in her eyes. She bit her lip as she swirled her platinum blonde between her thin fingers. She stood still as her eyes nervously darted around the hallway.

"Problem number two is you fucking with Dakota," he snarled as my eyes went huge. He was defending me? "If I see you accusing her of getting in the way between our relationship that never fucking existed in the first place, I'll go around and tell everyone about your weird little fucking kink."

She almost dropped down to her knees, so close to begging him not to tell anyone. I raised my eyebrow in curiosity as I tried to guess what her weird kink was. Piss? Feet? Being tickled? I almost laughed to myself as the piss kink crossed my mind.

"Karson," she warned, her small figure shaking as her eyes held a glint of defeat. "D-don't, please."

"Then don't talk to her and don't fucking touch her again," he growled, his eyes viciously dark.

She nodded her head, scared to meet his eyes as she scrambled away. Her heels pounded against the tile as she practically ran away in fear. We all stood there, speechless, until the clicking of her heels faded down the hallway.

I turned on my heel, Nora close to me as I stared at Karson. His eyes were hung low, his fists clenching at his sides as he met my gaze. His eyes moved back and forth, spending an equal amount of time on each eye, staring at my dilated pupils.

"So you're sticking up for me now, huh Ryder?" I smirked, trying to hide the sheer panic that danced around through my insides. My pulse was pounding in my ears, making it hard to focus on any sound around me.

"What's with you and calling me by my last name?" He grunted, ignoring my question as Colton and Braxton stood on either side of him.

I shrugged my shoulders, not really knowing the answer myself. "You're changing the subject, Ryder."

His eyes were a darker shade of green, similar to the green hue of the forest in spring. His eyes looked of every tree that stretched across the acre wide forest. They were so dark, so violent and unmerciful.

As he blinked, every ounce of emotion disappeared as he blankly stared at me. His face gave away no emotion, his lips tightly pressed together and his jaw unhinged.

"Did she try to hurt you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he expected an honest answer. I shrugged my shoulders, not entirely sure what her intentions were.

"All she did was grab my shirt. It just startled me," I shrugged once again as Nora gave me a disapproving look.

"She was going to," Nora frowned, her voice only loud enough for me to hear it. I glanced down at my shoes as I shook my head. Even if she tried, I knew I wouldn't be bad.

"Are you sure?" He asked uncertainly, studying my body language as I shifted my balance on my right foot.

I sighed. "Yes I'm sure."

Colton patted Karson's shoulder, whispering something into his ear as Karson gave a firm nod. Braxton cocked his head slightly to the left as he saluted me a goodbye. I smiled, saluting him back as he turned to study Nora.

He bowed down as if Nora was the queen. She giggled at his gesture before she stood tall, pretending to be the queen. He stood up straight, a small smile grazing his lips as Nora nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

I fought back a smile as I watched my two friends get nervous around each other. How cute.

"We need to get to class," Colton pointed out as he tugged on Karson's tattooed arm. Karson looked at me one more time, almost like he was warning me before the three of them walked away.

The halls only had a few students wandering around, leaving Nora and I standing awkwardly next to each other. She abruptly turned to look at me with a huge smile on her face. "See what I mean?!"

"Not this again," I sighed, rubbing my forehead as she jumped up and down in excitement.

"The way he stood up for you!" She squealed, clapping her hands together as she closed her eyes to let her imagination wander. "God, I wish!"

"Bitch, if you don't shut up, I'll smack the shit out of you," I hissed, shooing her away with my hands as she walked backwards.

"Mark my word," she continued, backing up into the empty hallway ahead of us. "You guys will get together, get married, and have little children. Holy shit, y'all's children will be so beautiful!"

I groaned, flipping her off as she started naming off different 'ship' names for Karson and I. I knew she would never let me live this down.

"Darson or Kakota?" She pondered, mumbling to herself as she tried to decide which one was better. "I think Darson."

"I'm going to fucking kill you," I muttered under my breath as she linked arms with me. She dragged me to our next class, even though we would be 10 minutes late walking in.

"Remember what I told you?" She asked, tightening our linked arms as she pulled me closer to her. "I told you that I couldn't wait for you to find the guy that makes you happy."

"Go on," I hissed, my hands gesturing for her to continue.

"I think his name starts with a K," she joked, laughing to herself as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

I glared at her, not expecting anything less to come out of her mouth. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, bending over to catch her breath.

"Haha, very funny," I deadpanned, itching my cheek discreetly with my middle finger. She slapped my back as she continued to take short breaths in between her laughs. I huffed, her hand making a loud thud as it connected with my back.

"I love you, Dakota," she finally mustered enough air to get those words out. She breathed in between each word as tears rolled down her face. Why was this so fucking funny to her?

"Feelings are not mutual," I muttered under my breath, sincerity dripping from every letter. We both knew deep down I was joking, because I could never hate this redhead son of a bitch.

I flicked my wrist in the air, blowing a piece of hair out of my face as I walked away from her. I heard grunts of annoyance as I felt the heat of her gaze on my back.

I ignored her eyes on the back of my neck as I flipped her off without sparing a glance.

"You fucker, wait for me!" She shouted, stumbling as I heard her footsteps pound against the cream colored tile.

I lightly shook my head to myself as I purposely picked up the pace, just to push my best friends buttons a little bit. She was a handful, but I love her so damn much.

~•~•~

"Cross multiply," I told Jace as I pointed to his math worksheet. Jace and I sat at our dining table as I tried to help him with his math homework.

He gripped his hair in frustration as his nostrils flared. "I don't understand."

"Okay, then I'll teach it again," I calmly told him so he wouldn't get upset with himself. He was hard on himself, just like how I was, so I knew not to get frustrated with him because he would just get more angry with himself.

I pointed to the algebra problem and explained step by step on how to solve it. As I explained each step, he followed along as he worked out the problem on another sheet of paper. He would occasionally nod his head as he was finally able to grasp the information.

"Yes!" Jace threw his pencil against the table as he sighed in relief. He finished the last question on his worksheet, his body slumping back into his seat as a slight smile grazed his lips. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime, little brother," I smiled as I got out of the chair, stretching my legs as he put his completed worksheet in his backpack.

I heard Olivia's small footsteps pounding against the floor as she ran to me. Her small chest rose up and down, trying to catch her breath as her blonde curls flew in every direction. I could tell she was trying to control herself from jumping up and down.

I bit back my smile as I stared into her blue eyes. Her eyes were just like mine, similar to the crashing waves that broke near the coastline. Deep as the ocean, with crystal blue water as it spread miles and miles long.

"Yes?"

"I found Ken!" She squealed as she twirled around in circles. I glanced over to Jace who looked completely baffled as he stopped midair to stare at our baby sister.

"You found ken?" I echoed as she properly faced me.

"I couldn't find him, but he was under the couch!" She wore a huge smile as she held on tightly to the doll that was wrapped around her small fingers.

"I'm so happy for you, Liv!" I beamed enthusiastically as my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

"Yay," Jace said in a straight voice. I glared at him, giving him a hard look. He just shrugged his shoulders, obviously not caring about the doll Olivia had just found.

Before I could get out another word, Olivia went sprinting back into the living room.

"Alright then."

Jace chuckled as I slightly shook my head. I stood up, stretching out my legs from sitting down so long. I went to push in the chair when I heard the doorbell ring. My body went rigid as I shot my head up to meet Jace's frightened gaze. I bit the inside of my cheek as I walked to the door. What if it was our mother? Or even Jason?

I turned the lock on the top, stopping when I heard a click. I also unlocked the lock on the door knob and slowly turned it. I opened the door, my eyes adjusting to the sun that was setting on the horizon.

I shielded my eyes with my hand as one broad body stepped in front of the sun to block the bright rays. I blinked as I stared at Karson and Braxton in front of me. I looked at the two who calmly had their hands stuffed in their pockets.

I felt Jace's presence behind me as he slightly leaned over me to see who was at the door. I brought my eyes up to meet Karson's gaze, but his eyes were already traveling down my body, taking in my appearance. I wore an oversized t-shirt with plaid pajama pants.

"Hi," I chirped as I crossed my arms underneath my chest.

"Hey," Karson replied, only staring at me.

"Barf," Braxton fake gagged as he pushed Karson away from him. Karson didn't budge.

"What are you two doing here?" I gently asked. "Where is Colton?"

"Colton is...visiting someone," Braxton hesitated, not sounding quite convincing. "We came so we could hang out, duh."

"Of course," I rolled my eyes. "Because that's what friends do, hang out. I guess I forgot."

I hid back my smile as Braxton scoffed, obviously not getting my sarcasm. He pushed past Jace and I as he stood in the middle of the foyer, slowly spinning as he took in his surroundings.

I looked at Karson, slightly nodding my head as I hinted for him it was okay to come inside. He slowly trudged his way inside my house, stopping behind Braxton who was still spinning.

I closed the door behind me as Jace leaned against the wall with an amused look passing across his face.

"You're a fucking moron," Karson cursed under his breath as Braxton finally stopped looking around our house.

Braxton ignored Karson's comment and turned to look at me. "Your house is very nice."

"Thank you," I smiled, feeling somewhat self conscious, hoping they couldn't smell the remaining smell of cigarette smoke that flowed throughout the house.

The two walked further into the house as they both stopped by the entry of the living room. Braxton slightly laughed as he watched Olivia play with her new found Ken doll. When she heard them, she immediately got up and jumped into Braxton's arms.

He grunted as he quickly caught her, tickling her sides as her curly hair flew everywhere. Her breathless giggles filled the air as he plopped down on the couch with her still cradled in his arms.

Karson slightly shook his head in amusement as he went to sit down next to his best friend. Jace and I also sat on the longest couch, my body seated only inches away from Karson as Jace roughly slammed his body in the little space next to me.

I grabbed the remote off the coffee table as I put on a Disney movie, ignoring the boy's groans in protest. Oliva was thrilled when I put on her favorite Disney movie, Princess and The Frog.

"This is what I imagine hanging out with friends is like," I sarcastically smirked as I twisted my head to glance at Braxton.

He huffed, trying to flip me off, but Olivia was two squirmy. I barked a laugh as I rested my head against the back of the couch. Jace roughly grabbed the remote and changed the channel to an 80s movie. I wasn't mad with this decision.

As I stared at the tv that showed five teens who were stuck in detention, I felt someone's gaze on the side of my face. I slightly tilted my head to connect my gaze with Karson's. We were sitting with almost no distance separating us. Our legs were touching, but neither of us decided to move an inch.

His lips were pressed tightly in a line as my breath was lodged in my throat. Our faces were only inches away, so I was able to stare at his beautiful features. The freckles that scattered across his cheeks and his nose that fit him so perfectly. He looked absolutely gorgeous.

He took notice of me not so discreetly checking him out, causing his jaw to tick as he wore his breathtaking smile. My heart hammered in my chest as I stared at his dimples that were finally noticeable.

"Why are you staring at me like that, princess?" He asked, his smile fading as he replaced it with his signature smirk. I released the breath I was holding, not sure why his smile had such an affect on me.

"Like what?" I asked, slightly shaking my head as I broke out of my weird daze.

"Like you want to fuck me," he whispered only loud enough for me to hear. I slightly gasped as I blankly stared at him.

"Piss off," I whispered back, my eyes narrowing into slits as his eyes lit up with amusement. He slightly chuckled, his adam's apple bobbing up and down as he looked forward to the tv.

"Do you hear that?" Jace whisper-yelled to me as I turned my head to look at him. I slightly frowned, shaking my head as I wasn't able to hear whatever he was hearing.

"Hear what?"

"It sounds like mom's car," he trembled, his eyes wide as he glanced at the front door.

My body stiffened as my ears strained, trying to hear what he was talking about. I suppressed a shiver as my hands felt clammy. I heard a car lock as someone slammed the car door just outside of our house.

My head jerked to my little brother who was breathing heavily. "Fuck."

The boys that sat next to us noticed we were acting unusual as Braxton's concerned gaze met mine. "Are you two okay?"