''can't you really choose between dark and milk chocolate?'' Abby asked, her mouth forming a pout.

''i told ya, sometimes you need it milky and sometimes you need the dark type, depending on the mood.'' i explained, stuffing my already stuffed mouth with another spoon of cereal. this is just Abby, to fill in a conversation she can start asking stupid questions and wait for us to actually answer.

''yeah yeah, but milk chocolate is better.'' Lucas said in a tone that held no discussions. i remember when the both of us used to sneak into the kitchen after making sure that mum and dad were asleep just to get some of the milk chocolates they used to hide from us. Logan being Logan, one day he saw us eating them and wasted no time in telling mum and dad the other day, even after giving him a portion as 'peace making' but the traitor sold us anyways.

''that's because you are a softy, but dark is always better.'' Logan teased him, throwing a piece of cracker at him, which Lucas caught easily in his mouth.

quickly finishing up my plate, i sprinted up to my room and got dressed as fast as flash, and in a matter of a minute i was down stairs all ready to go. we quickly said our good-byes and as usual got stuffed in the car like headless chickens. when will i be able to drive my own car one day? i really hope this day comes soon because judging by what's happening our group is getting bigger and bigger.

''what are you up to today?'' Lucas asked calmly while driving. i nudged Abby slightly from where i was sitting, and instantly her eyes widened in realization. dummy...

''actually, Emma and i have this homework assignment that requires the both of us, so we are gonna do that tonight.'' phew, at least now i can go with a clear mind.

''oh really? what subject?'' Lucas asked, looking at us from the rear mirror.

''English,'' ''History.'' we both said in the same time.

his brows formed a frown, and i found myself swallowing the hard limp in my throat. Abby looked at me from the corner of her eyes pleadingly, asking me to lie silently. damn.

''English History, you know the great British people?'' i asked, looking at his eyes seriously. he nodded, and shrugged softly, before focusing back on the road.

''that was a close one.'' Abby whispered, her eyes glittering with amusement. i slapped her shoulder playfully, and looked out of the window as the car became totally silent. that only until we heard Logan screaming.

''what the hell is wrong with you?'' Lucas asked, overly annoyed, as he lost a little bit of control on the car. just a little bit, a little teeny tiny bit. okay alright! we were about to die just now.

''i just got 11k likes on my latest TikTok, man!'' he shouted enthusiastically, as if that was something that will ease our annoyance away.

''take that TikTok and shove it up your annoying ass, Logan.'' Abby cursed, taking all of us by surprise, to which i ended up laughing, and Lucas to glare scolding her by his eyes. she shrugged simply, and looked out of the window as if nothing happened.

not long after that we were already in front of the school with Della and Carter both waiting for us at the entrance. somehow even from afar i could tell that Della was not in the mood. she was frowning while looking at the ground, she seemed to be deep in thoughts.

''Dells,'' i caressed her shoulder, ''you okay there?''

she slowly raised her eyes from the ground, her frown easing a bit, ''yeah yeah, just zoned out for a bit.'' i could see through her lie... there was something bothering her, but i nodded non the less not wanting to pressure her right now.

''let's go inside.'' Carter said, looking very excited for his own good. when did Carter become this happy to enter school? oh yes, since Nora joined the school. anyone with eyes could tell that my boo is finally liking some decent girl, and i am surely thankful.

''what got you excited like that?'' i winked, as we all together entered the doomed building.

''hello.'' Nora greeted us once we entered. i looked at Carter from the corner of my eyes, and saw him grinning like a maniac.

''hi, Nora.'' Logan winked at her, to which Carter quickly nudged his side painfully. ''hey there Ver-'' Logan continued, but was cut off by Veronica.

''girls! i was thinking about joining the cheer-leading team, what do you think?'' Veronica said, totally ignoring Logan. my insides bubbled with joy when i saw Logan's jaw tightening, afraid that it would explode any moment.

''that's so cool, but you have to go talk to Stella first, though.'' Abby commented.

''yeah she is the leader of the team, and can be pretty mean by experience.'' i added, earning a few snickers from around me.

''oh baby, you have no idea how good Veronica is with these kind of people.'' Nora said, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder.

we were about to move when suddenly the voice of our beloved English teacher boomed through the corridor, followed by a shout from the most amazing principle the Earth has came to know. the combination was not okay, and judging from history i caused problems with the both of them.

''Emma Green, do you mind a moment of your time, please?'' Mr.Reid asked, his eyes full of hate and pure evil. there you go...

''not only her, you all except the both of you.'' the principle joined the hating contest, pointing at Nora and Veronica to leave. they both gave us hopeful eyes and got lost into the crowd of people around us. that's gonna be a show for sure.

''first of all, what you wrote in the English exam is unforgivable. this act will not be tolerated miss Green.'' the principle warned me in a serious voice. damn you Logan!

''but sir, did you read the text?'' let's give the method a try, it surely won't worsen the situation more. the situation was already bad enough, and a girl can only try to save herself from being expelled.

''n-no, but that's aside from the point.'' he argued.

''well actually no, that was my point from the very start,'' i started, ''i had to draw your attention to what the quiz was about. the exam was totally inappropriate to students of our age, how can you give a text talking about the... t-the s-sex life of some guy to high school students? and i figured the one way to say that indirectly was to write something in the paper to clear it to you, though this was a bad method and i apologize, but the real problem from my point of view is coming from the teacher who was brave enough to include such thing in his exam.''

''wow...'' Lucas whispered, his eyes as wide as saucers.

''w-wha... is that true, Mr.Reid?'' the principle turned his face to the chubby creature behind him. the English teacher had his eyes wide, glaring at me with venom. i shrugged simply, taking a step back to my territory.

''n-not e-exactly sir, the text is one of the most hard texts out there and has a lot of meanings, good meanings.'' no, you are not gonna get out of it easily Mr.Reid.

''i remember the text talking about how he would spend his nights with her, and how her skin felt velvety that he would--'' i was cut off by the principle.

''is that true Mr.Reid?! how can you include such thing into the quiz? are you out of your mind?'' he shouted taking all of us by surprise.

''you are damn good.'' Carter whispered in my ears, making me raise my chin proudly. and that my friends requires a lot of practice combined with hard work, and a little bit of sweat.

''i will see you in my office after lunch break.'' the principle informed Mr.Reid warningly, turning his head to us, ''and you all dared to lie in my face about your deceased grandfather just to cover up for your mistake of being late.'' he shouted angrily.

''what? he died?!!'' Logan cried out loud, making the whole crowd laugh heartedly.

''stop the act you idiot, i talked with your parents out of good feelings to tell them stay strong, and their answer was that he died before you were even born!'' wow, he is angry.

''w-we--'' Abby was cut off by the principle.

''save your lies! you are going to get detention for two weeks starting tomorrow, and no discussions!'' with that said he stormed out of the corridor, followed by a fuming chubby creature.

''two weeks?!'' Carter screamed once they were out of our view. yeah two weeks is a long ass time.

''you kinda deserve it, though.'' Levi buzzed into our conversation with amusement drawn on his face. looking sorry, staring at Abby, who was blushing deeply looking at the ground.

''i agree.'' Lucas shook his head, his hands reaching out to rake his face.

''can this day get any better?'' Della mumbled under her breath.

soon after muttering, cursing, and hitting anything in our way, everyone started going to their classes. i had AP Calculus, so that meant that i will meet Noah before lunch break. i was walking to class, when suddenly i felt an arm circling itself around my waist, taking me by surprise that i actually nearly screamed.

''you're a jumpy little thing.'' Noah kissed my cheek quickly.

''Noah! are you out of your mind? leave me this instant!'' i whisper yelled, squirming, trying to get myself out of his grip.

''what is bothering my girlfriend?'' he winked.

''what girlfriend? i am no girlfriend.'' i frowned, what? he didn't ask me!

''oh of course you are one, yes you are a little out of control, but i lo- like you the way you are.'' he pinched my nose.

''no baby, you didn't ask me in the first place. up till this point you are my friend! ask me first and we will see then if i am a little out of control or not.'' i teased him, quickly hunching down to free my body. and just like that, i left him speechless and entered the class with a sense of victory.

xxx

''where is the freaking fries?'' i asked, clearly annoyed by the humourless stunt Logan pulled on me. what? did he think it will be funny to eat my fries? i will never be able to figure out why in hell is my brother always bothering me. this has been us from as long as i can remember, always hitting, teasing, annoying each other. i like it that way, because that's our thing, but sometimes it gets on my nerves, like why eat my fries?!

''sorry, they were so tempting.'' he apologized, not meaning it. i glared at him hard, and ended up punching him a little too hard in the stomach.

''calm down tiny Green.'' Lucas laughed, pushing me away from Logan.

''here, take mine.'' Carter offered, and without a second thought i nodded with a smile plastered on my face. he shook his head amusingly and scooped all the fries in my tray instead.

''look who do we have here!'' the annoying ass voice of Stella broke my eardrums. i closed my eyes in the preparation of trying not to kill her.

''dear God.'' Della mumbled from across the table.

''who is that?'' Veronica asked in a small whisper.

''oh that's Stella.'' i answered, to which she looked like she was about to laugh her ass out.

''what is wrong with her boobs?'' Nora whispered innocently, and i had to exert too much effort not to laugh.

''she is just rich and bored.'' Abby commented, earning a nod out of Nora and Veronica.

''i see you've been hanging around with them.'' Stella turned to Della. lately i have seen Stella picking on on Della a lot and i have no idea why, but unlike me Della seemed to always choose to ignore and keep quiet.

''oh is little Della annoyed? or perhaps sad?'' Stella pouted her lips, and patted her eyelashes together. i was about to interfere and stop her from being an ass-hole, but Lucas beat me to it.

''fuck off, Stella.'' he growled angrily, his fists clenching. oh boy...

''so you are her boyfriend?'' Stella pushed it enough.

''can't you understand that no one wants you here? you are a burden and we are fed up with your shit. leave us the hell alone!'' i shouted at her, taking her by surprise, judging from the way she flinched.

''leave it, Emma.'' Della patted my thigh gently, but i could see the tears forming in her eyes.

''no, we will not leave it. consider this the last time you ever coming near us, or there will be consequences.'' Abby threatened, backing me up. that's my girl!

Stella in return rolled her eyes at our threats, but eventually marched forward to join her minions. sighing, i looked over at Della, who was deep in thoughts, but even from my place i could see the tears brimming her eyes making me alert.

''what's wrong?'' Logan asked, probably noticing Della as well. it didn't take a second before Della broke out crying, shaking with sobs earning a few stares from around us. not wasting time, Lucas was already crouching in front her, taking her small figure into his embrace warmly, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

Carter looked at me with wide eyes as well as Logan as we took in what was happening in front of us. when Della finally regained herself, she looked at us with a broken look in her eyes that made me wanna go and take off Stella's hair one by one.

''why are you crying?'' i asked taking a step forward, my hand reaching out to caress her back ever so gently. she looked up to me, and hesitantly shifted her gaze to Lucas, who nodded at her reassuringly to go on.

''Stella is my sister.''

say what?

xxx

''you okay, babe?'' Noah asked, once he parked the motor-cycle in front of Granny's house.

''my mind is a little occupied with Della.'' i confessed, feeling bad all over again. the whole school after that incident came to know that both of them are sisters, and the rumor went on and on filling all the ears in the school. it was miserable, and even more miserable when Stella came to know about what happened. apparently she was trying to preserve her image in the school, afraid that Della would ruin it with her stupidity. stupid bitch...

''it's not your fault Stella is a bitch.'' Noah said, his hand reaching out to remove the hair from my face. i nodded my head slowly and got off the motor-cycle, all ready to meet Granny. at least something good happening in that horrible day.

we walked together to the door, hand in hand, and slowly Noah knocked on the door.

''my boy! how are you baby? i missed y--mwah!'' she kissed him aggressively on his cheek the moment she opened the door. ''my goodness, you brought Emma with you! what an amazing surprise!'' she engulfed me into a warm hug.

''you are surprisingly strong for your size.'' Noah teased her. she glared at him playfully and ushered us inside. once we set foot inside, a strong chocolate smell invaded my nostrils, making me realise how hungry i was.

''wow! it smells good in here.'' i smiled enthusiastically.

''oh yes dear, i was baking some chocolate chip cookies.'' she grinned, quickly excusing herself to the kitchen to bring us some.

''you happy?'' Noah asked, his arms reaching out for my waist as he pulled me closer to him. i nuzzled my head into his chest, finding warmth I've never experienced before. and i liked every bit of it.

''very.'' i kissed his cheek.

''sweet mercy! are you a couple now?!'' Granny caught us. my eyes went wide with embarrassment, and in a matter of a second i was out of his embrace. he chuckled slightly at my behavior, while Granny was shaking her head seemingly amused by what was happening before her.

''i called it, sweety. no need to be shy.'' she winked before taking the plate of cookies and entering the living room.

''she is cool.'' i laughed at her, and quickly Noah stole a kiss from my lips.

''hey!'' i slapped his chest.

''i don't want baby-making in my house, please!'' Granny called from inside, and i burst out laughing at her comment.

we slowly walked inside the living room to see the TV turned on the Kardashians, and i had to force myself into not laughing. this is the same show my mum and Abby's watch nearly everyday, and then they would pain us all day long about what happened to Kim or whoever person from the family. i always brought myself to think how people were okay letting their life turn into a show to the public to watch.

''hey! i sometimes need the drama, it gets boring.'' she defended herself, and in return i raised my hands in surrender.

''how are you doing, wifey?'' Noah wiggled his eyebrows teasingly, i had to suppress a smile. their relationship is the best, and anyone could tell how much they love each other, as they seemed pretty close.

''oh your wifey is great, let's see about your girlfriend here.''

''wait! i AM not his girlfriend, he didn't ask me yet.'' i argued stubbornly, and in return she gave me a thumps up.

''oh come on! you know you are, she is just spoiled.'' Noah explained in a serious tone.

''who is spoiled, Knights?'' i raised a brow. me? spoiled? as if! i am a girl that is equivalent to 100 puffy guys! actually all girls are, and i hate it when they criticize us into places of their own sick minds, aka public.

''oh not you, i was talking about my girlfriend.'' he turned his head to me. i looked over at Granny and saw her doing strange patterns with her hands, waiting for me to understand whatever she was meaning. i gave her a frown and she rolled her eyes at me AND my stupidity.

'' i can't understand!'' i confessed taking one of the cookies out of the tray and into my mouth.

''now i know you two suit each other.'' Noah laughed at her comment, ''even though, i still can't believe you actually like him after i told you about his pee pee problem.''

''oh don't worry about that i will make sure he doesn't wet himself.'' Noah's neck turned to me with wide, horrified eyes.

''i like her even more!'' she exclaimed throwing me another cookie.

''shut up both of you!'' Noah screamed, and i noticed the tip of his ear getting slightly red with embarrassment. isn't he a cute little pie? ''i am going to the bathroom.'' he ran away.

Granny sighed, ''he is a great guy.''

''i know.'' i smiled softly.

''and you are perfect for him,'' she rested her back on the chair, ''he didn't deserve what happened to him.'' w-what?

''what do you mean?'' i frowned.

''oh my old sneaky mouth. i shouldn't have said that, i am sorry--''

''no, no. what happened to him?'' i asked seriously. was he troubled in his childhood?

''don't spoil the mood, missy! let me get you some cheesecake i just made this morning!'' she chirped, getting up and into the bathroom.

''Emma, baby?'' Noah's voice shifted me back from my thoughts. ''you seemed off.''

i turned to him, ''n-no, no! it's nothing!'' i smiled, but my mind was else where.

xxx

''let me see the both of you more and more!'' she shouted, before giving us another wave, and then closing the door behind her ever so softly.