"Belle where are you going?" Arrex interrogates

"Well since you assholes won't let me go, I'm sleeping over at Em's" I snap before grabbing my sweatshirt and stuffing it in my bag.

"Well what's in your bag" Ace adds skeptically. They knew me way to well, but I also knew them.

"Just stuff," I shrug before continuing my way to the front door

"Not so fast" Arrex says grabbing my bag

"Oh my god, fine you really what to look through it?" I question before dumping everything out "there. our favorite movies, microwaveable popcorn, my wallet, my slippers, running shorts, and my tampons." I say dumping everything down on the table.

"Happy now?"

"Fine Belle just go" Ace says

"Thanks dad" I roll my eyes before stuffing everything back in my bag before running out to Em's car

"Okay, so they thought something was up, good idea about the tampons thing, that shut them up" I tell her with a grin as we pull out of my driveway

"See told you" shd grins "I already have your outfit picked out"

"Em no dresses"

"Geez I know relax" she laughs "I pulled out my red and blue flannel with my ripped jean shorts shorts and my back doc martins"

"Oh good okay, I'll wear that" I laugh making her laugh in response.

Within minutes we were at her house and running upstairs to get dressed and ready.

"Okay here" Em says throwing the clothes at me

I change quick, but pause once I look in the mirror.

"Em these shorts are super short" I say

"Girl you look hot,"

"No, Em I hate my thighs, do you have anything else?" I ask

"Nope you're wearing those," she stated before walking into her bathroom "Belle you look amazing, you have an amazing body, so be confident!"

"Em I-I don't know" I follow her and star brushing my mess of hair, though it doesn't make much of a difference.

"I do, now let me do your makeup" she says making me laugh

"I'm not winning this am I?"

"No so just give up now"

"Fine" I sigh before sitting down in the chair

"just mascara" I tell her before she can get all of he rmakeup out

"deal" she nod before applying the mascara to my eyes

"Okay I'm done, are you almost ready?"

"Just need my shoes" she says before running into her closet and grabbing her black high tops

"Belle we look cute as hell"

"I still don't know about this Em, I don't usually wear stuff like this and my fuckin thunder thighs are on full display" I huff looking down at the shorts, now I'm not super conservative and I have no problem with girls who aren't, just personally, I didn't like wearing super short shots or skirts.

"Belle, I'm serious, stop talking bad about yourself, you are the most gorgeous girl I know, own it" she says seriously, which was insane because she was beautiful. She had the smooth blonde hair with big blue eyes. Not to mention she had the figure of a model.

"Em-"

"Own. it." she grins "now we are going to a party, our main mission is to steer clear of your brothers. I mean it shouldn't be that hard it's a huge party in the dark woods plus the amount of people, we can easily get away"

"Yeah," I nod

The chances of my brothers actually seeing us were low, the party was huge so it should be fun.

"Ready?" Em asks holding her arm out to me "We're taking Bockerman road so I wanna get there before sun down"

"Yeah that road creeps me the hell out" countless people have died on it. It's the one road in town where you can count on cops not being there, it's where all the drunk drivers drive after sun down. We all avoid that road at all costs after it gets dark.

"Me too, lets not worry about that though, let's go have fun"

-----

"Hey girls!" Nico yells as he runs over to us

"Hey Nic" I smile as I give him a hug

"I just saw the guys, they went that way" he say pointing to the right

"And we'll be going this way" I laugh and pointing to the left

"Let me guess, they don't know you're here?" He questions with a raised brow, looking down at both Em and I. He always had a soft spot for us so I knew there was no way he was making us leave.

"Nope, the didn't want me to come cause college guys and shit...So I came anyway, if you can just do me a quick solid and not tell any one of the guys we are here, that would be great" I smile sweetly at him making him rolls his eyes

"You are lucky I love you Kalanski's, I'm already covering for Colton too"

"Yeah I saw that coming" I say laughing. My little brother was more conniving than Em and I combined.

"Thank you so much Nic!" I say giving him one last hug

"Yeah, yeah, now go have fun" he laughs before we walk away

Em and I make our way through the crowds of people to the keg and fill up two red solo cups. After chugging our first cup we fill another and jump into the crowd. We slink around, dancing with different people, getting more and more drinks and just laughing.

Nico eventually lit the bonfire at midnight and we all found different things to throw into it, some girls even threw their shirts and pants in. The party seemed to last forever, but that just might've been the copious amounts of alcohol speaking.

"Hey pretty ladies" Two frat-looking guys say to Em and I

"Hi" we both say politely

"can we get you two some drinks"

"No thanks" I say bluntly with a smile "never take drinks from strangers"

"Well here, I'm Gabe and this is Brett"

"Nice to meet you" Em smiles "I'm Emma and this is Belle"

"Nice to meet you too" Gabe grins "Now can we get you a drink"

"Nope" Em grins "we are both taking a break from drinking for now"

"Fair enough, but if I can't get you a drink can I at least have a dance?" Gabe asks her

Em looks at me to ask for permission and I just nod with a smile. I knew she wouldn't do anything stupid, that just wasn't her.

"Go, I'm good here" I smils, she immediately hops up and skips into the crowd with Gabe.

Brett immediately takes her seat beside me.

"So why aren't you out there dancing?" He asks, taking a sip of his beer

"Taking a break, I've been out there all night"

"Yeah, I'm starting to tire out, Gabe though, he never stops, he would party all night if he could" Brett chuckles looking out at our friends.

"Same with Em" I nod

"So do you have a boyfriend?" He questions

Though I am slightly suprised by his bluntness, I shake my head with a smile

"How?" He sputters looking at me

"Well, just a small thing called brothers" I say making him chuckle

"Oh yeah, trust me I know, sisters were just as bad"

"yeah if anything I think they're worse, guys are just assholes who beat you up, but girls. we're bitches. We will tear down every inch of your self esteem, myself included if deserved" I snort. It comes natural for us honestly.

"Oh definitely" he laughs "So how many brothers do you have?"

"six. Four older, my twin and one younger. The oldest two are out of the house, but my twin older brothers are still there and my twin. It's them and then our four friends that are ultra protective."

"Are any of them here tonight?" He asks looking around

"Oh of course! All of them are, they're the golden boys of this town. I wouldn't be a party without them" I say looking around to see if I can spot any of them. Ace was the easiest to spot with the platinum blond hair, it obviously stuck out in a crowd.

"See the one with the platinum blond hair?" I ask Brett, pointing over to Ace who was across the way leaning against a tree, talking to some guys.

Brett follows my line of sight and instantly spots my brother, his eyes widening slightly.

"Thats one of the twins,"

"Well he looks like he would kick ass" Brett chuckles

"Nah he's the nice one the other one is the fighty one" I shrug taking my eyes off my brother who clearly didn't see me "so how many sisters do you have?

"four. Three older, one younger"

"They're protective?"

"super, the youger one even more so than the older ones" he says laughing "my younger sister is a little spitfire, shes kind of insane."

"How so?"

"Let's just say she's jumped off a roof because her one friends dared her to" he says, letting out a slight laugh

I immediately burst out in laughter causing Brett to give me a questioning look.

"So the funny thing about that" I start "I've done that too, just saying I would love to meet your sister"

He starts laughing at me and I join him

"Oh so you're another one that's fuckin crazy" he laughs

"I wouldn't say that, I just do whatever, I do my own thing" I say simply with a lazy grin "I mean I'm not stupid, I take school seriously, I get perfect grades and I'm a grade ahead of where I should be, but I also like my freedom." I shrug

"That's a nice way to go about things" he nods

"Yep" I nod

I look back at the fire and out of the corner of my eye, I see two people running towards me me, once I fully turn to see them, I notice it's Colton and Arya

"Belle!" Colton yells as he gets closer

"What's up?" I look up at him lazily already knowing what he's going to say.

"Arrex and Caleb saw us! Help us hide?" He begs

"Dude no! I'm not supposed to be here either!"

"Well then we both have to go, cause I think him and Caleb are coming this way" Arya says urgently looking around.

"Fine follow me" I tell them as I get up "I'll be back in a few," I turn and tell Brett who was now wearing an amused grin. He nods and I immediately start running after Colton.

"Okay you two stay here" I tell them once we get to a deserted part in the trees "Don't come out until I tell you to" I order and they nod in understanding

I walk back to the party and spot my brother and Caleb talking to Brett, I see him point the opposite direction and they both storm off.

"Okay you guys are good, just please be careful" I tell them before I walk back

"You too" Colton say before him and Arya run off to go join their friends. I swear, those two will be in their forties with spouses and they'll still be causing trouble together.

I walk back over to Brett and he's sitting there with a grin on his face

"Im guessing that's the younger brother and the other was the fighty one?" He asks

"Yep" I huff as I sit down beside him again

"you're actually nicer than you look" I say while staring at the fire

"Oh I'm glad" he chuckles "What do I look like?"

"A douchebag frat guy" I smirk

"Well I am a frat guy, but hopefully not a douchebag"

"I don't think so"

"Good" he nods "You aren't as bitchy as you look" I got that a lot, at this point I've accepted that I have an resting bitch face. I swear I'm a nice person, my face just doesn't look it unless I'm smiling.

"I'm glad" I mock what he says "What do I look like?"

"A bitchy highschool girl who's after older college guys, like that girl is over there" he says pointing over to a girl who was currently pushing her boobs up against a guy as she talks to him.

"Uh yeah no I'm not that desprate" I laugh "Though I am in high school, I'm not someone like that, plus I'm only sixteen so no college guys for me yet" I chuckle

"Wait I thought you were a senior" he raises a brow at me, taking a sip of his beer

"I am, though technically I'm supposed to be a junior, my twin, Beck, and I both skipped sixth grade so we can be with our older brothers and friends" We both got that a lot, we were always younger than who we typically hung out with.

"That makes sense" he nods "I'm supposed to be a senior but I did the same thing, I just turned eighteen yesterday"

"Well happy belated birthday! Is that why you came?"

"yeah, Gabe is trying to get me laid, but I think he got a little distracted" he laughs as he looks at his friend whose still dancing with Em.

"Well let's go! I'll be your wing woman, let's find you a girl" I stand up excitedly,I loved playing matchmaker, it was fun.

"Well- uh- actually I'm- I'm gay" he stutters quietly as he looks down to he ground

"Then let's find you a hot ass guy" I grin

holding my hand out

His head snaps up to me and a look of suprise crosses his face.

"Wait you don't care?" He questions, obviously confused. In yeehaw-ville Texas, his suprise is understandable, not very many people here were as accepting.

"Why would I? You love who you love, we are all just trying to find happiness with the person we love, the gender of said person shouldn't matter" I smile genuinely

"Well if only everyone saw it that way. I haven't been home or talked to my parents in a year, I've been living with Gabe and his family" he huffs , I sit back down next to him

"I've learned to accept and love everyone as long and they're a good person. I've seen the effects homophobic opinions have on people" I sigh.

"There needs to be more people like you in the world" he smiles

"Eh people just need to learn to not be dickheads and get their heads out of their asses, let people live their lives. Whoever doesn't accept you, then fuck 'em. You don't need them in your life anyway" I shrug making him smile

"I think we can be great friends" he grins throwing his arm over my shoulder.

"Me too" I laugh as I just lean into him

"Belle!" I hear a deep voice bark behind me, making me immediately jump away from Brett.

I turn to face my brothers plus Caleb and see the glares they are shooting at Brett right now. Obviously not liking the close proximity between us.

"Hey guys" I say uneasily

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Ace snaps, turning into the scary protectve Ace that usually only comes out when he's seriously pissed.

"And what are you wearing?" Arrex adds

"Oh come on, did you really think I was actually sleeping over at ems?" I deadpan

"She's not wrong guys" Beck grins at me

At least he understands.

"Honestly I could get used to the shorts" Caleb shrugs, a grin on his face before getting punched by all three of my brothers.

"You step away from our sister" Arrex orders while gesturing to Brett making me laugh

"Guys chill," I roll my eyes at him, Brett grins at me making me laugh even more than I already was. They were beyond dramatic, and seeing how unbothered Brett was by all of it was hilarious.

"Really dude it wasn't like that" Brett tells him

"Well then what was it, cause it looked like my baby sister was just hugging some frat guy" Ace growls

"Well yes I am a frat guy, I do not have a thing for her or any girl for that matter" he chuckles. "As gorgeous as she is, I don't swing that way" Brett says making me laugh. He seemed comfortable around me, and I think he found something like that with my brothers too even if they are currently being assholes.

All of my brothers faces immediately switch to suprise.

"God you are so stupid" I roll my eyes at both Arrex and Ace. They can be so impulsive sometimes.

I glance at Ace and see his face soften at Brett

"Well I'm Beck, the bitches twin" Beck smiles as he shakes Brett's hand

"I'm Ace" Ace smiles as he steps forward holding his hand out

"Brett" Brett grins as he shakes my brothers hands

"I'm Arrex"

"So he's the fighty one" Brett asks looking down at me

"The fighty one?" Arrex questions

"Yeah between you two, Ace is the nice one, you're the fighty one" I tell them making him laugh

"She was telling me all about you guys" Brett

smiles "You're her fun twin, you're the fighty one, and you are the level headed one" Brett says pointing to all of my brothers "And you're the brothers best friend"

"Belle how long have you been here?" Arrex questions

"Uh- since like nine-ish"

"Are you serious?! We are going home" he says as he grabs my hand

"Arrex can I stay please! Look I've been here for four hours and nothing has happened, I had a few drinks, I danced and I talked to Brett, I'm fine. I can very well take care of myself" I say defiantly jerking my hand away

"Arrex hold on, listen to her, she's been here already theres no point in taking her home now" Ace reasons obviously giving up on the matter.

Arrex just huffs and glares at Ace before looking back at me.

"Please Arrex" I beg "I'm already here, there's no point in going home now, for the rest of the night I'll be careful, I promise." I plead "besides, this is walking distance from the house, if you drop me off I'll probably just walk back here"

"Fine, but I need you to be careful. Please there's a lot of people here" Arrex says seriously before mumbling something about me being a stubborn bitch under his breath.

"I know, I know" I roll my eyes with a smile "thank you so much!" I say giving him a hug

"whatever" he mumbles returning the hug

"Well you get to stay and we both need refills so I'm going to get some drinks" Brett smiles at us

"Oh-uh I'll come with" Ace says slightly making me smirk

Brett gives me a questioning glance and I flick my eyes to Ace and nod slightly making his eyes go wide. He smiles and turns around to follow Ace, leaving me and Arrex.

"They would be a cute couple" Arrex grins As he, Beck and I all watch them walk away. We all just want to see eachother happy, especially Arrex, he's put his own happiness aside for the rest of us countless times.

"I know!" I jump up and down

"Hey wheres Brett?" Gabe comes over with Em by his side

"He just went to get drinks with my brother"

"Damn I still have to find him a guy" Gabe says before turning to Arrex "hey by any chance are you gay?"

We all start laughing at him and Arrex shakes his head.

"Eh oh well" he shrugs "Oh I'm Gabe by the way" he laughs as he sticks his hand out

"Arrex" he smiles and shakes Gabes hand

"Wait you're fine with Belle staying?" Em questions Arrex

"Yes" he sighs "just both of you please be careful" he says

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" She says before jumping into his arms, at first he was a little taken aback, but eventually hugs her while laughing

After they let go, Em grabs my hand and pulls me into the crowd

"Bye guys!" We both wave to Gabe and Arrex as we disappear

"LETS GET SHITFACED!" She yells as she hands me a shot glass

This was gonna be a fun night.