Kings Bridge Academy for Boys was exactly how I expected an all boys private school to be. It was something straight out of a movie or book, polished dark wood floors so clean you could see your face in them, cream wallpaper and ornate chandeliers dangling from the ceilings. There was a constant maze of corridors and doors leading off in every direction as if someone had designed the place especially to confuse and lose people in. Usually I was very geographically aware, however, after two minutes following the unusual trio through the corridors of Kings Bridge I had absolutely no clue where I was.

Mitchell, Nico and Sawyer on the other hand navigated the twists and turns of the place with ease. They barely seemed to hesitate or even think before they all turned down a corridor in unison. It was easy to tell that they'd been friends for a while, they moved as one person, each part of them rolling together into one well oiled machine.

"So," Mitch was the first to break the silence, they'd all been eyeing me curiously but it was the clear leader of the group who prompted the conversation, "where are you from?"

"Vegas," I replied shortly, Nico's eyes widened, Mitch looked vaguely impressed while Sawyer only regarded me with his constantly ticking and whirring eyes.

"How good are you at cards?" Nico asked with a smirk, I stared back equally as confident, holding my ground.

"The best," I grinned arrogantly, I'd only ever lost to one person. My mom. She'd been the best, but she wasn't around to be the best any longer.

"We'll see about that Vegas," Nico winked with a cocky grin plastered on his face, "I play a mean game of cards."

"You'll regret saying that when I whoop your ass," I returned with an arrogant tilt of my head as I played with a strand of hair that hung by my face.

Nico opened his mouth to retort back but Mitch cut him off as the three of them swung round another corner and I doubled back to follow. Mitch pushed open the wide wooden door we were in front of.

"This is the dorm section, it takes up all the west wing of the school," Mitch informed as he leant back on the door forcing it open.

"She doesn't need a geography lesson, professor," Nico rolled his eyes empathetically at me but received a dark scowl from Mitch.

"It's fine," I shrugged casually as I tried to absorb the little corridor we'd entered with a line of ten doors running up each side and a single door at the end next to a staircase leading up.

"This is the freshman floor," Mitch was already marching towards the staircase leaving me no time to properly absorb my surroundings.

Some doors were flung open wide revealing rooms that I was going past too quickly to snoop into. Some doors had huge band posters on them or boys names carved into the wood. "And that is your dads room," Mitch pointed at the door at the end of the corridor where sure as hell there was a gold plaque reading;

Mr K Schmitt

Housemaster

"Please say I'm not staying with him," I begged sarcastically but the reality was not sarcastic at all. If I had to stay with my dad on a floor with a load of freshmen I was going to jump in the swimming pool on campus and not resurface. The worst part is that I'm not even joking.

"I don't think so," Mitch hesitated, his hand already reaching for the staircase, I let out an almost audible sigh of relief, "Schmitt's old room on the seniors floor room was cleared a couple of days ago, I presume that's for you."

"Better," I smiled weakly, still not quite relieved nor happy about my new accommodation situation.

I'd lived most of my life out of a suitcase moving from whichever hotel we could afford to the next. I'd always shared a room with my mom, me and her comfortably fitting in a double bed, me hogging all the duvet while she curled up in the tiny blanket she always brought from place to place. I didn't want to sleep alone but I didn't want anyone else, I wanted her.

"You coming Vegas?" I hadn't realised the trio had started up the stairs without me as I'd zoned out into memories of mom again.

"Sure," I bounded up the stairs to catch up with them. Even with me taking the stairs two at a time it was still difficult to keep up with Mitchell's powerful strife that covered four steps in one with no effort.

"Sophomore floor," Mitch didn't even pause as we flew past another corridor with the ten lines of identical doors down each side of the corridor. I caught sight of a couple of boys lounging about and at the sound of Mitch's voice they glanced up. A couple did a double take after seeing me, I wondered if they'd ever seen a girl in this part of the school before.

"Let me guess," I cut in before Mitchell could start his grand announcement of the second floor, I made my voice as deep as it would go which was nothing compared to Mitch's gravelly bass, but I attempted to imitate his pompous tone, "junior floor."

Mitchell slammed to halt, as did Nico and Sawyer simultaneously causing me to crash straight in Sawyer and press my face straight into his back. Great, that was my second collision in an hour, I was really outdoing myself.

"You're a sassy one," Mitch waggled his finger at me before I could apologise to Sawyer, Mitch seemingly oblivious to our crash.

"Round of applause," I clapped my hands together slowly with a sarcastic eye roll, "now tell me something that takes brains to work out."

Nico let out a low whistle as he began cracking up in laughter, he doubled over pointing at Mitch's dumbfounded expression. Mitch opened his mouth but closed it again like a fish.

"Fucking brilliant," Nico slapped his leg in appreciation, "she told you Mitch."

"Yeah," Mitch didn't even seem annoyed about it, just surprised, "she did."

Sawyer was regarding me with an appreciative smile now, one it looked like he was trying to hide but couldn't help letting escape. I instantly felt a sense of honour that I'd made him smile. He hadn't spoken the entire walk here so to get some kind of a reaction out of him felt like a huge achievement.

"So tell me smart ass, which floor comes next?" I tested Mitch with a flirty smile as I raised my eyebrows expectantly.

"You've got all the answers, Cara Collins, why don't you tell me?" Mitch's gaze didn't waver from mine, he could stand his ground I'd give him that and he met my eyes with a confident and collected look.

"Call me Einstein but I'd guess the senior floor," I teased lightly, "don't be afraid to correct me if I'm wrong."

"Congratulations, welcome to the senior floor, Cara Collins," Mitchell couldn't help but smirk as he led the troupe of us up to the fourth and final floor identical to the three below.

Cream walls, matching wood floor and twenty one doors, ten on each side and one at the far end, and two dainty black chandeliers swinging from the ceiling.

"Your room," Sawyer spoke up for the first time as he pointed straight down the corridor to the door at the end. I glanced up at him, surprised that he'd finally spoken.

He had a very solemn and considered tone to his voice like he'd been deciding on the right word to use until he'd finally come up with the perfect sentence. Each word he spoke, even if it was a simple one carried a great amount of weight, as if he were explaining something vitally important.

"I want to speak to the twins," a frustrated shout erupted from one of the rooms, a boy stormed out of a room on the far left. He was running his hand through his hair in exasperation and his face looked a mixture between wanting to punch something and pure desperation. He spun on his heel with a murderous vigour and returned to his room.

"Maybe now's not a ...," Mitchell began, starting to turn back towards the stairs when the dark haired and now fuming boy exploded back out of his room.

"How dare you," he bellowed down the phone, "they're my brothers, I want to see them and you're going to let me or else I won't hesitate to tell."

The boy who looked like something straight out of a Calvin Klein campaign with mussed black hair, knife sharp cheekbones and a rugged vibe halted in front of the door opposite his room. He paused for a moment to listen to whoever was speaking on the other end of the phone but whatever they said only seemed to infuriate him more.

"I'd make make them fucking believe me, you bastard," he roared down the phone, "I don't care what you say I'm seeing them." With that he furiously slammed his phone straight onto the floor but the smash of the phone on the wood floor didn't seem to help much as the next thing I knew he threw a punch at the wall with a deep growl. I couldn't stop myself from gasping.

"Grey, don't," Mitchell raced towards him, but it looked like between the boys fist and the centuries old brick wall, the wall had won this battle.

"Shit," Grey, Mitch had called him, clutched his hand only becoming more enraged.

"Calm down Grey, hitting stuff isn't going to help anything," Mitch tried but Grey only shrugged out of his reach.

"It sure feels like it," Grey tugged his hand through his hair again messing up his bed head more. He glanced up and saw me for the first time.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he took me in, his eyes roaming up and down me.

"Grey this is Cara," Mitch introduced cautiously, like he was afraid of Grey's reaction. Mitchell was so strong both in physicality and personality that I couldn't imagine him being scared of anyone. Someone Mitch seemed afraid of certainly wasn't someone I wanted to associate myself with.

"Look Mitch I don't have the energy to meet your thing of the week," Grey wasn't harsh or cruel in his words, just defeated. He didn't even care.

"Grey," Mitch reprimanded and opened his mouth to carry on but I wasn't going sit around and let someone else defend me.

"Did you just call me a thing?" I demanded my anger already heating up my face.

"If the shoe fits," Grey studied me, he looked slightly embarrassed about what he'd said but was by no means apologetic.

"Maybe I don't want to meet a walking talking bulldozer," I snapped furiously, "so next time you want to punch something you should aim for yourself first. That way you'll at least be helping someone."

A stunned silence ensued, Mitch's mouth was hanging open slightly, Nico looked halfway between laughing and gasping, Sawyers face was deathly serious as he observed silently.

"You know nothing," Grey strode several steps towards me, his giant legs on his lean gangly body making it easy for him to reach me quicker than I would like.

"I know you're a violent, aggressive, sexist asshole so I think I'm okay not knowing any more about you," I shrugged simply. I kept my head up so I could meet his eye directly even though there was a foot height difference between us.

"Who the fuck are you to tell me who I am?" Grey hissed, his quiet voice was even more terrifying than his shouting.

"I'm the girl you just called a thing and saw you punch a wall," I pulled myself as tall as I could and tilted my chin up proudly just as mom had taught me to, "so I may be quick to call it but not without evidence."

"Who the hell is this?" Grey directed the comment to Sawyer, that surprised me for a moment. I had presumed Mitch wood be the one they asked questions as he was the obvious leader.

"I can answer for myself thank you very much," I sapped before Sawyer could answer for me, "I'm Cara Collins and I'm not Mitchell's thing I'm the new resident on your floor."

"Cara," oh great. I thought this couldn't get any worse until I heard my dads voice just behind me. I spun on my heel to see another mutinous face.

Why was everyone here so damn angry?

"I'm out," Grey cursed under his breath before shoving past me and my dad to head down the stairs. As he not so gently pushed me out the way I could almost feel the burn of his skin against mine. Scolding hot with rage.

I stared after him, stunned. I didn't know who this Grey boy was but I sure as hell didn't want him anywhere near me.