"Ave, I want to go home," Sophia whined, laying her head on the cafeteria table.

"I agree. There is so much sleep that can't be slept while we are here." Seth longingly sighed.

"Seth, shut up." Drake chided, flicking Seth in the forehead.

Seth hissed before returning the favor. "You shut up Drake. And I thought you were the one who said to keep your hands to yourself."

"Well, you started it."

"No! You started it."

"Actually, I think Sophia started it."

"You know, now that I think about it..."

"Hey! Don't go pointing fingers at me!"

After a few more minutes of their bickering, my head just couldn't take it anymore.

"Why don't we all just shut up?!" I finally exploded, throwing my arms into the air. A few of the people sitting around us, turned around to give me a weird look, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I had to do something; my head was two seconds away from exploding.

Drake and Seth rose an eyebrow at me, while Sophia placed a gentle hand on my back.

"Is it that time of the month? Are you having lady problems?" Sophia whispered quietly, giving me a sympathetic look. I scowled at her and then turned away to take an angry bite out of my apple.

"More like annoying friend problems," I mumbled under my breath. Sophia still heard me because there was a swat delivered to my arm.

"You're supposed to be nice to me." Sophia huffed. Seth nodded in agreement, leaning over Sophia's shoulder.

"Yeah. No one likes a meanie." Seth chimed in. Drake smacked the back of Seth's head, and I couldn't help but smile at that. He deserved that and much more for the chair incident.

"Sophia, stop torturing Avery. She usually doesn't have to listen to so much at lunch. And Seth, stop encouraging Sophia. She doesn't need a cheerleader." Drake lectured. Drake was right, but that was a severe understatement. I've spent the last three years in the unpopular section of the already quiet library. Complete silence is my preference.

But when I tried to go to the library today, Sophia wouldn't have it. She dragged me into the cafeteria claiming that I needed to socialize with someone other than books. I went along with it, but as I assumed, I'd much rather be in the library.

"I don't know how you expect to get my brother with that personality. He's already boring enough." Seth complained, before giving out a light sigh. Drake rolled his eyes at Seth's dramatics, before going back to eating his food.

I looked over at Sophia to see her violently stabbing her salad. I watched her shove the food into her mouth with an unnecessary amount of force for a few bites before deciding to intervene.

I swiped her fork out of her hand, and she whipped around to glare at me. She tried to grab it back, but I pulled it out of her reach.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong instead of taking it out on the salad?" I suggested. Her glare softened and her gaze averted to the table.

"I just want to get this right." She whispered hesitantly.

I tilted my head, mentally urging for her to continue. She chewed on her bottom lip for a while, before taking another deep breath.

"I really want to be with you, so I don't want to chase you away. But here I am annoying you and getting you into trouble." She worried in a ramble.

I laid my hand on her knee, squeezing it so that she would look up at me.

"Sophia, it's me." I started, and her eyes were glazed over with confusion. "I'm not used to having a group of friends, so I'm adjusting. But I love it. I promise." I swore fervently.

"And there's nothing you could do to make me not want you. I promise." I said firmly.

Sophia's eyes still wavered with uncertainty, but eventually, her hand closed over mine. Our fingers intertwined underneath the table, making my skin crawl with heat.

I handed her fork back to her, and we finished our lunch in our blissful blanket of silence and warmth.

Δ

"So tell me more about you and Sophia. Are you guys dating?" Zach questioned, as he took his seat across from me at the dinner table.

I spit out the water I was drinking and proceeded to choke on the residual. Zach glared at me as he wiped the water from the table. I pounded my chest a few times to get my lungs under control.

"No." I choked still taking deep breaths. Zach rose an eyebrow at me, passing me a slice of pizza.

"And why is that? Is she out yet?" He asked, innocently enough.

It was really my fault that we weren't together yet. I was the one who kept putting off the conversation. Sophia has made herself very clear about what she wants, and that was terrifying for me. A dream was coming true so beautifully and maddeningly quickly.

It was breathtaking and jaw-dropping how easy we existed together. We merged into each other's spaces so seamlessly, anyone would think that we've been doing this forever. And I knew that it could only get better from there.

But there would be repercussions. The drama that would follow Sophia coming out was not something to look forward to. The threats that I'd get when people found out I was with her were the subject of my nightmares. It was painful how I couldn't just be with Sophia, but it was my reality.

"Why are you asking?" I redirected, not bothering to put all of that into words.

Zach swirled his drink around in its glass. "Because you deserve best."

I dropped my food on my plate, tensing up. "And does that look like Zach?" I asked cautiously.

"You're not some secret to be kept, Avery. You deserve someone who wants to show you to the world." Zach argued, gripping his cup in his hand.

A flash of anger ran through me. "I'm not going to let her do anything she's not ready to do. We're fine Zach!" I objected.

"But Avery-"

"No Zach!" I yelled. "I finally get to spend time with her. I don't care if I'm not with her. I'm happy."

I jumped out of my seat and stormed down the hallway. I started climbing the stairs, steam pouring out of my ears.

"Avery wait!" Zach yelled, halting my descent. His footsteps echoed the path of mine until there were fingertips on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "I didn't mean to make you upset. It's just that you've already given her so much of you. I don't want to see you go through this if she's not worth it."

I couldn't blame Zach for wanting to protect me; he's my brother. He's had to patch me up after fights, and he is visibly exhausted from it.

But I love Sophia. More than anything. And that's all that mattered to me.

"She's worth it," I affirmed before continuing the walk up to my room.

Δ

I got to school early the next day, so I didn't have to speak to Zach. Being in the same room with Zach is awkward for at least a day after a fight. Especially if he ends up winning.

I couldn't sleep last night because Zach's words kept running through my head. He made me realize that I needed to talk to Sophia about everything. We had to figure this out.

I leisurely switched my books out of my locker, taking advantage of the extra time we had. When I stuck my hand inside to grab another book, my locker was suddenly slammed shut on top of my fingers.

I cried out in agony, clutching my injured hand to my chest. My eyes screwed up in pain, and I staggered helplessly. I couldn't see him push me against the locker, but every inch of my body felt the cold metal harshly slam into my skin.

I groaned lowly as Chris gripped my chin roughly in his hand.

"Did you tell Sophia about this? Is that why she broke up with me." He hissed venomously into my ear.

He gave me no time to answer before a swift punch was driven into my stomach. I automatically went to keel over, but Chris kept my neck pressed into the lockers with his other hand.

"I didn't tell her anything." I gasped between his knuckles.

Chris wasn't very content with my answer because another fist dug into my side. I could only whimper a response as the white dots began to cloud my vision.

"Then why did she break up with me?!" He screamed, breaking up every word with a hard slap to my face. I didn't bother resisting, letting my head whip back and forth into the metal behind it.

My eyes were drooping, my body ready to give out, but then there was rustling that I couldn't find the source of. I took the opportunity to inhale large chunks of air as I struggled to maintain consciousness.

"You're going to find out why Sophia broke up with me. You know why?" Chris returned, miles calmer than he was a few moments ago.

I didn't have the energy to respond to him, vocally or physically, so I didn't. I pray that doesn't make him any angrier.

"Because if you don't," Chris paused, and then there was more rustling. Suddenly there was a sharp, cold metal pressed against my bare and exposed neck.

My breathing instantly stopped, and a river of tears began to stream down my cheeks. Every atom in my body wanted to thrash and scream for help. But the knife pressed against my skin kept me more still than a statue. All I could do was cry and pray.

"I will kill you and make sure that no one finds your body." He seethed breathily into my ear.

His words cut through my heart.

Then his knife cut through my skin.

There was a silent scream, presenting itself as a gasp, as I was dropped onto the ground. I struggled to wrap my hands around my bleeding thigh. Chris made it ten times harder by cruelly kicking me onto my back.

I didn't dare try and move again until I saw Chris disappear out of my view. By the time he was gone, there was a small pool of blood that my leg was swimming in. I was too weak to sit up from the hallway floor, so I brought my leg as close to my hands as possible to wrap them around the wound.

I could feel my body slowly going numb, my concentration fading. Is this how I would go? Lying on the floor of the building where I've been tormented and tortured? By the hands of the person who I hate the most?

"Dude coach worked us hard today." A voice echoed throughout the hallway. I know who that is. Why can't I remember who that is?

"Yeah I know, but he's just doing us a favor. Trying to make us into better players you know?" Another voice responded.

"Drake." I gasped weakly, turning my head towards the voice. I could see them walking down the hallway towards me, but I was tucked between two columns and the only thing really visible was my foot.

They'd reach the exit of the school before me if they didn't notice me.

"Drake. Seth." I called as loudly as I could, but it still wasn't enough to draw them towards me.

"Whatever dude, let's just hurry up and get out of here so we can get something to eat," Seth grumbled. They got closer and closer to the door, and panic flooded my body.

Right as Seth's hand reached the door, he glanced down the hallway where I was. He tilted his head and withdrew his hand before hesitantly walking in my direction.

"Seth where are you-" Drake started, but then his eyes fell on the lump that was my body.

The closer that Seth got, the more I could make out the horrified expression on his face. When he was finally only feet away from me, grief flew across his face.

"Avery?" He breathed, crouching down next to me.

I blinked up at him once, and then I finally let myself go.