Monday morning rolls around again much too quickly. Homecoming is this Thursday and everyone is buzzing with excitement. Our homecoming is being held quite late this year, on the 29th of October, when it usually happens earlier in the month. Halloween is really close now as well and everyone's excited about that. Liam is throwing a Halloween party this Saturday at his house. We also have Monday off for some big teacher meeting or something. Very good timing if you ask me.

Although I have a free period this morning, I still decide to go to school at the normal time to study in the library for a test I have later today. When I finally find a free parking space, I swing in and turn my car off, the music cutting off abruptly. Stepping out of my car, I pull up my black jeans to meet the bottom of the blue shirt I'm wearing.

I walk into school and start down the hall, immediately spotting Reece, Liam and Mark with Amanda at her locker. I guess Anna must be busy or something. I quickly walk over to them, catching Amanda's eye. She gasps dramatically when she sees my shirt. "That's my top!"

I furrow my brows and look down at my shirt in confusion before looking back up at her. "It is?"

"I lent it to you last month, remember?" She frowns as she stares at the shirt, "Why does it look so much better on you than me?"

I laugh, "Well if I remember correctly, you still haven't given me back my pink shirt."

"What pink shirt?"

"The off the shoulder one with the floral pattern? It's ruched and-"

"Oh! That one!" Amanda laughs sheepishly, "Yeah, I kind of forgot that was yours."

I smirk, "So we're even?"

With huff she nods, turning back to her locker, "Yeah, that's fair."

I grin, finally setting my attention on the three boys who have been in their own conversation since I arrived. "Hello, boys."

They turn their eyes to me simultaneously, smiles on each of their faces.

"Blondie! How was your weekend?" Liam asks, pulling me into a hug.

"It was fine. I spent most of it studying for the Calc test we have sixth period." I tell him as he lets me go from the hug.

I watch his eyes widen, "We have a Calc test?" His eyes turn to Reece and I follow his gaze. "Did you know about that?"

Reece shakes his head, "Not a fúcking clue."

I sigh, "You boys are hopeless. I'm planning to study in the library during my free first period if you want some help, Reece?"

He immediately nods, flashing me a dimpled smile, "Thanks, Sunshine."

"If I skip Home-ec, can you help me as well, Blondie?" Liam pouts, staring at me with puppy-dog eyes that I could never say no to.

"Of course, Liam."

"Did you hear about the new student coming today?" Amanda asks, turning to me.

I shake my head, "No, I had no idea we're getting a new student."

"Well, apparently she's a returning student, actually. I heard she left halfway through last year and now she's coming back."

"Weird. Why would she leave only to come back not even a year later?"

"I don't know, maybe-" Amanda cuts herself off with a gasp when her gaze lands on something behind me, "That must be her."

I turn around and look towards the entrance of the school. I immediately spot the girl she's talking about.

She's tall with pin-straight, long, dark hair that flows behind her. As she walks closer, I see that her eyes are dark brown and she has long eyelashes. Her makeup is done to perfection with a sharp wing of eyeliner and defined brows. With high cheekbones, a sharp jawline and small nose, she is the definition of what almost every girl aspires to look like. Her plump lips are painted a deep red that matches her long, claw-like nails almost perfectly. She's wearing a lace up bodysuit under a pair of leather pants.

How is she not freezing to death?

I jump when Reece suddenly slams Amanda's locker door closed and I quickly turn to look at him. One look at his face and I know that he's furious. He has his eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and lips set into a scowl. His hands clench tightly into fists as he starts walking towards the new girl.

She stops when he stands in front of her and I'm surprised to find she isn't affected by his glare. She just smirks and looks up at him. "Did you miss me?"

My mouth falls open in shock. If it's even possible, Reece's fists clench tighter. The hall has now gone silent as everyone stares at the two of them.

Liam leans over to me and whispers, "Maybe you should go calm him down, Blondie."

I kind of agree with him, but I also don't really know what he's angry about. I don't want to interrupt anything too personal. But I also don't want him to punch someone.

So, I take in a deep breath and summon up all my courage to take a step forward. After the first step, it's much easier to continue, and I walk right up to him. I stop and gently lay a hand on his back.

He immediately tenses at the contact and turns to look at me, eyes still glaring. When he sees me, he relaxes, but only a little. His fists are still clenched, and his lips are set into a firm line.

I take another step towards him and lift my hand up to his face. "It's okay, Reece, I'm here," I whisper gently and look into his eyes. I see his gaze soften and I know it's working, so I continue. "Everything is okay, just breathe."

He takes a deep breath in and then lets it out slowly and I smile. "That's it," I murmur, stroking my thumb across his cheek.

"Sunshine," He whispers softly, bright turquoise eyes staring into my own.

"How sweet," A voice interrupts in an overly sweet tone.

Reece's fists clench harder and his face hardens. I gently place my hand over his own and murmur, "I'm not going anywhere, it's okay. I'm here."

Reece turns back to the beautiful girl. When I go to move my hand away from his, he quickly grabs it and holds it firmly in his own. I smile to myself and give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"What are you doing back here, Arden?" Reece asks, practically spitting out her name.

She laughs humorlessly, "You didn't really think you'd gotten rid of me, did you?"

"I was hoping so." Reece says, rolling his eyes.

Arden's gaze turns to me and she raises an eyebrow, smirking, "You've downgraded, I see."

"Listen here, you bítch-" Amanda cuts in abruptly, stepping up to my side, "-that's my best friend you're talking about. I suggest you choose your next words very carefully."

Arden laughs, "What are you going to do to me?"

"It's not about what she's going to do. It's about what I'll do. And I think you know well enough not to mess with me." Reece says harshly, glare set on her.

Arden's eyes widen a little, but she still smirks, "You care for her, do you?" She switches her gaze to me, "I'd run away now. Between his anger issues and his little sister's insecurity, you'll-"

"Alright," I cut her off abruptly, anger boiling inside my veins, "I don't care what you say about me, really. But don't you ever talk about my friends that way."

"You're friends with the little whore?" She asks.

I glare at her, quick to take a few steps forward. She's a good few inches taller than me, but I don't let it stop me. "What did you just call her?"

Her red lips pull back into a malicious grin and she leans closer to me, "I said Anna's a slút-" I'm gently pushed to the side before Reece grabs Arden and pushes her against the lockers. She doesn't seem affected by it and just smiles at him. "You did always like pushing me against walls-"

"Shut the fúck up," He seethes, "Before I snap."

She pouts dramatically, "But I'm having so much fun."

Reece moves away from her and punches the lockers beside her head. She flinches a little, but her smirk never drops. "I'm going to tell you one last time," Reece leans closer, "Never mess with my family."

He steps away from her and storms out of the main school entrance. I quickly follow after him, opening the doors and hurrying outside. I see him heading towards his car and jog up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He immediately whips around to face me, glaring. When he sees me though, he delates, losing all malice.

"Sorry, Sunshine." He murmurs, taking a step closer.

"Hey, it's alright," I whisper, stepping towards him slowly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shakes his head, "Not right now. Later. I- I need y- uh, can you just... stay?" He looks up at me, vulnerability clear in his eyes.

"Of course." I speak softly, not hesitating for a second. I may have lots of questions, but I'm not about to just leave him here when he clearly needs me. I'll never leave him.

~

Once Reece and I make it to his bedroom, we step inside and he shuts the door behind us. Silently, I sit down on his desk chair while he sits on the edge of his bed, facing me. It seems Reece doesn't like the distance between us as he quickly reaches out to grab the bottom of the chair, pulling me forward. I roll towards him easily on the wheels of the chair, squealing quietly at the sudden movement. Reece only flashes me a dimpled smile as the chair comes to a stop right in front of him, almost between his legs.

He lets out a soft sigh, "Where do I even start?"

"The beginning would probably be best," I reply, biting back a grin.

He chuckles softly and nods, "You're probably right." He clears his throat before beginning, "Well, I guess I should start at the beginning of Junior year. That's the year we got two new students in our grade, Tyler and Arden. Tyler became my friend and Arden... she got close to me too. Eventually, we started dating and everything was good for a while. She had a bit of a 'bad girl' rep, so she wasn't really phased by my own reputation around school.

"Turns out she wasn't a great influence on me. She's the one who got me to start smoking. Influenced me to skip class and talk back to teachers, stupid shít really. But I kept getting detention after detention, and my parents hated it.

"On the night of the party that Tyler and Anna... slept together, I was at the party too. I wasn't going to go because I was training at the gym, but I went anyway. Arden had said that she wasn't going, and I didn't question it. I walked in and was there for a little while before I saw her. Arden was at the party. I found her making out with Tyler."

My mouth falls open a little at this, but I don't say anything.

"Not only was she cheating on me, but Tyler was also cheating on Anna and I was beyond angry. I broke up with her on the spot and demanded to know where Anna was. Tyler said that she'd gone home with a friend. So I left." He shakes his head, "I shouldn't have believed him. I should have gone looking for her myself. But I didn't and he'd lied. She was there. After I left, he took her virginity and I wasn't even there to help her during the aftermath. I'm just glad that Liam was.

"We walked into school on Monday and that was when Anna saw them in the hallway. Tyler was making out with Arden right in front of us. That just made me angry and Anna upset. So I punched him... A lot." He sighs, "Anyway, they got together for a while before she moved away. I think it was something to do with her dad's job, but I didn't really expect her to come back. I was kind of hoping she wouldn't."

When he finishes speaking, I lean forward and hook my arms around his neck in a hug. He hesitates a second but quickly recovers and brings his arms around my waist.

"I didn't think I could hate someone as much as I hate Tyler, but I think they might be in a tie." I murmur into his neck as I run a hand through his hair.

He lets out a breathy laugh and holds me against him tighter, "Definitely at the top of the list of everyone I hate."

~

"George?"

"Nope."

"Mason?"

"Nope."

"Come on!" I exclaim in exasperation, "At least tell me what letter it starts with!"

"It starts with A," Reece tells me as we continue walking through the school hallway.

"Okay, A... Anthony?"

"Nope."

"Andrew?"

"Nuh uh."

"Aaron? Asher? Adam?" I ask thinking of as many names as possible.

Reece just laughs, "No, no and no."

"Alex?" I ask, feeling hopeful about my guess.

"Getting closer," He murmurs, eyes twinkling as we approach our Chemistry class. It's only first period, but it already feels like I've been here forever.

My eyes widen, "Really? Is it... Oh my God! Is it Alexander!?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner," He says through a chuckle, opening the classroom door and gesturing for me to step inside first.

I hum in thought, "Reece Alexander Carter. It..." I trail off when I see what is awaiting us in the class.

Arden and Tyler sucking each other's faces in front of everyone.

"It what, Sunshine?" Reece asks, completely ignoring the couple and walking right past them, towards his seat.

I quickly follow after him, setting my bag down beside my chair. I once again find myself rethinking what I'm wearing, how I'd done my hair, my makeup... basically everything when I see how beautiful she is. Her clothes hug her in all the right places and her hair is pin straight once again.

I mean, what I'm wearing isn't exactly the most gorgeous outfit in the world, but it keeps me warm.

"Reece-" I start but am quickly cut off.

"I'm fine," His tone is snappy and instantly I quieten down.

He sighs softly and turns his body so that he can face me better. "I'm sorry, Sunshine," He whispers gently, reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I really am fine though."

I turn my body towards his as well and move closer so that our knees almost touch. I lift one hand up to brush it through his hair, subsequently causing his head to raise as well. "It's okay, Reece. I understand."

He closes his eyes and lets me run my hand through his dark hair. We stayed that way for a moment before the teacher walks into the room and we are forced to move apart and start paying attention to the lesson.

~

"Do you think I should go for the nude color? Ooh and one nail with glitter fade and one with full glitter?" I ask, showing Amanda and Anna.

They both looked over before voicing their thoughts, "Definitely do that." "That would look really nice."

I nodded, "I thought so."

It's now Wednesday afternoon and the Homecoming dance is tomorrow night. Amanda, Anna, and I are at the mall getting our nails done for the occasion now.

"Do you think I should do gold or black tips?" Amanda asks.

"What kind of gold is it?" Anna asks in reply.

"Like really shiny and reflective," Amanda shows us the color she's talking about.

Anna nods, "That would look gorgeous."

"Yeah, I think so too," I add before telling the lady in front of me which color I want.

"I think I'm going to go with 'nude' instead of 'bare' with the gold stripes." Anna tells us.

I smile, "I told you! It's a little pinker which I think will match your dress better."

For the next half hour or so, the ladies at the nail salon worked away at our fingernails, shaping them, and painting them gorgeous colors. Anna, Amanda, and I talk with them as they did so. It's really nice having a little bit of girl time. Even though almost every week we have a 'girls' night'.

Once our nails are finished, we thank the women and pay before we all pile into my car and head in the direction of the Carter household. The boys are all over there now and we decided earlier that we'd have a movie night tonight.

We walk inside and head towards the kitchen where we find the three boys busy preparing snacks. I smile and open my mouth to greet them but I'm quickly stopped by my phone ringing in my back pocket.

I frown and dig it out, seeing 'Mom' on the screen. I answer the call and hold the device up to my ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Sweetie."

"Hey, Mom, what's up?" I ask, leaning back against the kitchen counter. Amanda motions that they are going to go to the living room, and I nod, holding up one finger to signal that I'd only be a minute.

"Do you know where Bels is at the moment? She's not answering her phone."

I furrow my brows, "No, I don't, she's-"

I'm cut off when I notice Max walking into the room. With Bella right behind him. "Hey, Reece, we're going to walk over to Bella's house now, okay?"

Reece nods as he pours some popcorn into a bowl, "Okay, be careful and text me when you get there."

"She's right here, actually," I say into the phone, "Her and Max are going back home now."

"Oh! Okay, that's alright, love. I thought she might be with you, but I just wanted to check."

I nod and Bels gives me a small hug and mouths 'goodbye'. I kiss the top of her head quickly and whisper a short goodbye before verbally answering my mother. "Yeah, no, she's okay. Her and Max should be there shortly."

"Alright, are you at the Carter's?"

I nod and start pacing, "Yeah, Anna, Amanda and I have just come back from getting our nails done."

"Oh, that's good. What color did you get?" Mom asks and I can't help but smile. I always love having girly conversations with her.

"It's a nude color with a couple glitter accent nails," I tell her, tracing Reece's steps with my eyes as he goes around the kitchen, preparing our snacks. I spot the bowl of popcorn and walk over, taking a piece and popping it into my mouth.

"You'll have to show me when you get home. Are you staying the night there, or...?" She trails off questioningly.