When I get home from school later that afternoon, I hang up my coat before heading straight upstairs to my bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Charlie questions, and I stop midway up the steps to turn around and answer him.

"Yep," is my short reply, but he doesn't seem to buy it because he sighs, turning the lock on the front door before setting his bag down on the bench by the door.

I continue to walk up, and I hear my brother's footsteps following after me.

"You can't be mad at him for talking to other girls. It's not like he's your boyfriend or anything. Besides, he was just speaking to her. It's not like he was making our with her in front of you," he says, crossing his arms across his chest and raising an eyebrow at me.

He didn't even have to say Bryce's name for me to know exactly who he's talking about, and I quickly realize that Bryce is apparently always at the top of my brain's list of priorities.

I continue to walk up the stairs which makes Charlie laugh out loud, and he continues to follow me, asking, "What? Do you want him to be your boyfriend? Because I'm sure he would be down. Have you noticed the way he looks at you?"

My heart flutters at that thought.

The idea of Bryce looking at me like I'm someone special gives me butterflies in my stomach.

I immediately push down those inner thoughts though, remembering that Bryce and I can't have a conversation about anything that isn't purely platonic between us without yelling at one another.

"We're just friends," I say quietly, reaching the landing to the hallway and walking straight for my room.

I push open the door, and just as I'm about to step inside, I notice that Charlie is still eagerly waiting to see how I'm going to say as more of a response.

"Trust me, he doesn't feel that way," I reply softly, recalling the way he got frustrated with me for being so uptight and for taking everything so personally.

"And besides," I add, "he doesn't look at me in anyway that's special."

Charlie snorts, and I hear the sound of his footsteps now heading down the stairs. He must sense me watching because before he turns and walks into the living room he spins around to look at me again.

"Don't be ridiculous. He looks at you as if you mean everything to him. I mean, he's always a total asshole, but whenever you're not around he's even worse. When you're there with him he's so much nicer and more relaxed. Maybe you should just give him a chance," he tells me, and I huff.

He's too optimistic if he thinks Bryce could actually be open about his feelings. I'm still in complete shock that he talked to me about his parents after his fight.

I'm still totally in awe about how both him and Mateo got out of that whole situation with merely a warning. I guess they both probably figured they were messing up their reputations, and it wouldn't look good to colleges if they got in serious trouble. Perhaps the principal let it go because they forgave each other and promised it wouldn't happen again or something like that.

"I don't want a high school boyfriend anyway," I call down to him, and I hear him laughing as he walks away, probably heading to turn on the television and ignore all the homework he surely has piled up.

"Sure you don't," he calls back to me.

I step into my room, slamming the door shut after me for dramatic affect.

Heading straight for my bed, I promptly curl up under the covers, burying my face into one of the pillows.

Even just considering how bad Bryce seemed to have hurt me even though nothing serious happened between us is terrifying to me, as now it's painful to imagine how bad the heartache could be if we spent a lot of time together.

A knock on the door breaks me from this messy train of thought, and I shoot up in bed.

"Come in!" I call out, and the door opens to reveal Charlie standing there with his phone in one hand.

"Damn, are you having an emotional breakdown in here?" he asks me, inviting himself in and taking a seat at my desk chair.

I throw one of the throw pillows at him and when he catches it he just tosses it back onto the bed.

"You're so irritating. And nosy," I comment, tying my hair up in a bun using the spare hair elastic on my wrist.

"So are you," he fires back, and I give him a cold stare in response.

He spins around once in the chair, and when he's facing me again he says, "Mom and Dad aren't going to be home for dinner so I'm ordering pizza. I know you hate it so you can fend for yourself," he tells me, and I tug my phone out of my pocket.

On the home screen there's a text from our dad with the same information, and when I look up to Charlie, he's already nearly out of the room.

I call after him, saying, "Gee, you're so helpful!" which makes him laugh.

He's nice enough to shut the door on his way out, and now knowing that my evening is totally open, I decide to call Jordan to see if he wants to come over.

I have to wait a few seconds for him to pick up the phone, but when he does I put him on speaker, instantly hearing his animated voice.

"Hey Lex! What's up?" he chimes, and I smile a little.

"Do you want to come over and watch a movie or something? I'm bored," I ask him, picking up a nail file off my bedside table.

I begin to file down my thumb nail as I wait for a response, and I hear the sound of a door opening and closing before I hear Jordan's voice again.

"Yeah sure. I'll be there in a few minutes," he tells me. I grin, happy that I'll have a distraction for the evening, before saying, "Alright. See you."

I then hang up the phone, laying back in the bed for a moment. I scroll through Instagram mindlessly for awhile, only seeing the faces of people I don't really know for the majority of my time.

I stop at a post from Bryce, him kissing a girl with jet black hair on the cheek. She looks like a model, with catlike eyes and a tight black dress, and it's an unwelcome reminder that this is the type of girl that he's interested in.

The girl has a small diamond piercing directly above her top lip, and it suits her angular face well. Her eyes are so dark that they almost appear black, just like her hair and dress, but there's a soft shimmer of green that I notice after awhile.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings from downstairs, and though I find it funny how Jordan managed to get here so quickly, I still leave my room to head downstairs and answer the door.

To my surprise, Charlie is also headed for the door, and I halt in my tracks when I see him.

"It's just Jordan," I tell him as he unlocks the door, and he turns around to face me.

"No it's not. Did you invite him too?" he questions, and I cock my head to the side.

Invite him 'too'? I wonder, but my thoughts are answered as soon as Charlie opens the door.

Bryce steps into the house, wearing a light grey T-shirt and black jeans.

"Hey," he says to Charlie before taking off his shoes. When he sees my shoes lined up neatly there's a sudden small smile on his face, and he straightens his sneakers out as well.

My heart is beating so fast right now, but I really don't want to make eye contact with him and end up ruining the moment.

But of course, he suddenly looks up at me, and when our eyes lock I had to instantly look away.

"Hey, Blossom," he says quietly, and I give him a curt nod before walking past the pair of boys, straight for the living room.

I feel a hand on my forearm and for some reason I expected it to be Bryce.

It would be a lie to say that I wasn't disappointed when instead I turn around to find that Charlie stopped me instead.

"Are you mad at me?" he asks, his voice painfully quiet, and I shake my head at him.

Just because I'm not too fond of Bryce at the moment doesn't mean that him and my brother aren't still close friends, and it would be rude of me to get upset over them spending time together.

Charlie gives me a grateful smile, before gesturing for Bryce to follow him past me and into the living area. Bryce silently walks by me, not even looking up, and something inside of me suddenly turns angry, and I get the strong urge to let out all my frustration at Bryce.

Just before the words can leave my mouth, there's another knock on the door but I don't even have to answer because Jordan walks right into the house.

"Hey," he nods to me, shrugging his jacket off before hanging it up on one the hooks by the door.

I give him a small wave, laughing a little to myself at how casually he always strolls into my home.

Bryce was just about to turn the corner into the kitchen but when he hears Jordan he halts, turning around and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why are you here?" he questions, and Jordan gives him an innocent smile, taking my hand and dragging me in Bryce's direction.

We end up walking straight past Bryce and Jordan drags me over to the couch, collapsing backwards onto one of the cushions.

"I could ask you the same thing," he says, now talking to Bryce, who leans back against one of the walls.

My brother is pouring a drink from the fridge, and when he turns back to the rest of us he takes a sip, walking over to join Bryce.

"He's my friend, and this is my house, so he's allowed to be here," I answer, and Bryce's eyes widen at me in amusement.

"You're in a mood today, I see," he dares to comment, and I'm even more mad at him than I was before.

He seems to think it's okay to ignore me all afternoon, but then is totally fine with joking around after he shows up to my house after school.

"I'm in a 'mood'? You're the one who's been acting super strange all day," I counter, and the way he seems to be enjoying this is really confusing.

Jordan decides to jump in, adding, "I agree with Lex. You're being really weird."

I give him a thankful smile, taking a seat on the sofa beside him, watching as my brother shakes his head at all of us as if he thinks we're being ridiculous. He decides to sit down on one of the chairs in the room, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

"I feel like I need some popcorn or something," he says, and Bryce looks at him for a moment before turning back to Jordan and I.

"I vomited twice before school this morning and I slept with my contacts in last night which dried my eyes out. Not to mention that I have a massive headache and would rather just stay at home but my dad keeps lecturing me about having to be 'friendly' so here I am," he says in a clipped tone, and I gape at him.

Picking up the television remote and switching the screen on, I then turn back to Bryce.

"What? It's not my fault you were dumb enough to get drunk on a school night," I scold, and he laughs out loud.

It's not really a friendly laugh. It's on the verge of a cackle, and it's a harsh sound that isn't exactly nice to hear.

Jordan and Charlie both look totally confused as they watch the scene play out in front of them, and what Bryce says next just confuses them even more.

"I wouldn't have gotten drunk if you didn't give me a reason to," he says coldly, crossing his arms, and I stand up from the couch in anger.

"Woah," Jordan breathes, gently tugging on my arm and pulling me back down to a seating position. I glare at him but what he did was probably smart because I was almost certainly about to lash out at Bryce.

"There are ways to deal with your problems other than substance abuse, Bryce! Besides, weren't you the one who told me to stop making a big deal out of everything?" I spit, and he let's out one of those unsettling bouts of laughter once again.

"Because it was just a kiss, Blossom! I don't give a shit about that. I'm just pissed at myself for making you so upset," he says, and by the end of his speech his words are suddenly softer, both in the way he said them and his choice of dialogue.

My heart is beating fast as what he said attempts to sink in, and all that my mind is making of it is that he cares about me. He felt bad about hurting me like that.

But when I look up to meet his eyes again, I realize the hand still lingering on my arm, which reminds me that there are another two people in this room.

"You two kissed?" Jordan asks, totally incredulous. I carefully turn to him, my eyes wide.

"See! I knew they like each other," I hear Charlie day, and now it's his turn to receive my death glare.

"It isn't like that!" I say to my brother before turning back to Bryce whose eyes are blazing.

"For starters, it wasn't just one kiss; it was two. And since when do you care about my feelings? You certainly didn't last night, or this morning. I mean, really? You couldn't stop your petty behaviour long enough to drive me to school like usual," I continue.

Bryce has a smug smile on his face as he drums

his fingertips along the front of his thigh.

"You need to take a breather. This whole situation is getting out of hand," he says, and I'm using every ounce of self-respect I have left within me to not lunge across the room at him.

When all we do for a few silent seconds is stare at each other with harsh glares, Charlie stands up from his seat, announcing, "I think we're going to head upstairs," he says, linking his arm through Bryce's before dragging him out of the room and up the stairs.

Bryce doesn't even fight against it, and they both end up disappearing from my view in a matter of seconds.

"What the hell was that about? You and Punkass are in love now or something?" Jordan asks me, and I bury my face in my hands, shaking my head at him.

"Actually, I think he might hate me. Anyway, our first kiss was on my thirteenth birthday and we kissed again on my seventeenth. No big deal," I explain.

I let out a soft sigh, resting my head against Jordan's shoulder.

"I'm not here to judge, but I personally don't make out with people I just consider my 'friends'," he says, smiling at his own joke.

I grin back at him, saying, "Yeah I know. It was a stupid mistake and it won't happen again."

Jordan pats me on the back, chuckling at my response. "Honestly, I don't believe you," he tells me, and I have to pucker my lips as I sit on all my racing thoughts.

"You're so reassuring," I say sarcastically, and Jordan pinches my cheek.

I bat his hand away, shifting back to the other side of the sofa. I tuck my legs underneath myself, my head falling back against the plush armrest.

"I'm just being honest. And I've now realized that you probably only called me over here because you need a friend to distract you from thinking about him," Jordan says, picking up the remote from where I left it and pressing a few buttons that end up bringing him to Netflix.

He selects my profile, scrolling through all the recommended movies before beginning to talk to me again.

"There's no way you can keep avoiding him. You two have three of your four classes together and also share the same friend group, so I mean . . ." he trails off, and I groan at how true that is.

"Don't remind me," I huff. "I just want to hop on the next flight to New York City and get myself the hell out of this city."

Jordan flashes me a sympathetic smile, before he ends up finding a film that seems to greatly spark his interest. It appears to be a horror movie, and there are very few things that I hate more than horror movies. Considering the fact that I just dragged Jordan into a bunch of my personal issues, I reason against arguing with him over his choice.

Long story short, after about fifteen minutes into the movie, I'm scared out of my right mind.

Jordan finds the whole thing extremely hilarious, and bursts out laughing whenever I bury my face into the pile of pillows in my lap that I've been clutching for dear life. It's incredibly hard to believe people actually enjoy scaring themselves like this, not to mention how graphic the gore is.

As promised, Charlie ended up ordering pizza, and once it arrived, Jordan ditched me to head for the kitchen to go and eat with him and Bryce.

I'm really not hungry after watching someone's head graphically get sliced open so I stay in the living room by myself. I end up curling up under a blanket, sitting there quietly as the movie continues to play until I feel the weight from someone sitting down on the opposite side of the sofa.

When I look up, I fully expect to see Jordan sitting there again. In his place I find Bryce, drinking from a bottle of orange energy drink.

"The orange stuff is nasty," he comments, screwing the cap back onto the bottle before he sets it down on the table.

I quirk an eyebrow up at him and he turns to me, letting our eyes lock for a second. The moment is long enough for me to catch the hint of sadness there, but I ignore it, following his eyes back to the television screen.

He watches the movie closely for a few moments, not even flinching at any of the blood and guts.

"Huh. They really don't hold back with the effects, do they?" he asks me, and I shake my head a him.

He seems to notice how much I'm disliking this because I feel his fingertips graze against my arm suddenly.

"Do you want to watch something else?" he asks me sincerely, and I nod quickly at him. We both reach for the remote at the same time, but he beats me to it, exiting off of the movie.

Jordan and Charlie come walking into the room, and when they see Bryce and I seated on the same couch it seems to catch them by surprise.

They glance at each other momentarily before they both sit down on the other sofa.

When Jordan's eyes land on the television screen, his comment is, "Boo. What happened to the movie?"

Bryce turns to him, thinking for a moment before tossing the remote at him. Jordan barely catches it, and when he nearly fumbles, which would have left it to fall to the floor, he glares at Bryce

"Put something else on," Bryce demands blandly, and Jordan rolls his eyes.

Bryce takes this opportunity to grab my attention, leaning in and poking my gently in the arm.

When I turn to him I can feel my heart rate quickening, and when Bryce tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear it just makes it worse.

"I'd really like to stop arguing with you, so perhaps we should try and stop spending so much time alone together. It might help us out a little bit, he suggests, and though his tone is semi-convincing, something in his eyes is screaming that he doesn't really agree with what he saying.

But when I think about how attached I am to him already after four weeks compared to how much deeper the feelings could get in another month or so, I decide that he has a reasonable idea.

"Yeah. We could do that," I offer, and I see blatant regret in his eyes. It almost encourages me to say more, but I don't.

When he turns back to the television screen, staring straight ahead, I really doubt that he'll break that promise he seems to have made to himself.

Maybe the next little while will be back to the boring cycle I used to be stuck in ever since Bryce left.