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I was able to go back to sleep after I woke up at 4:36. At 6:30, I woke up since I had school today and that's my usual time to wake up. I put on my clothes for the day. My outfit consisted of jeans, black and white converse, and a black hoodie with the words 'NOT TODAY' in white. My hoodie basically explains how I feel, I rather not be bothered but whatever. I sound like an angsty teen. There's a knock on my door.

"Iris, may I come in?" Ms. Sullivan asks from the other side of the door. "Yes, you may." I reply, my voice still a bit raspy from crying. She slowly turns the door knob and enters the room silently. "How are you feeling?" She asks. I shrug a bit. "Meh...I could be better." I say truthfully. Ms. Sullivan nods. "I understand. If you want to stay home, that's fine." She offers, smiling slightly. I think about it. "As much as I would love to stay, I think I'll go to school, I'll be fine. My friend is already worrying too much about me, I don't want her to worry even more." I tell her. "Alright, but if you want to be picked up during the day, here's my number." Ms. Sullivan says, handing me a paper with her number on it. I take it gratefully. "Thank you." I say. She nods and leaves the room.

I read over the number before putting it in my back pocket. My phone goes off in its charger, signaling another text. From Kayla, I believe. I walk over to my phone to see 53 missed calls and 89 messages from Kayla. I chuckle and take my phone out of the charger. Going through my messages, it's mostly about Kayla asking if I'm okay, if I need a ride to school, or where I moved to. I reply with, 'I'm fine, don't worry about me. Today I'm walking, sorry. I'll see you at school, okay? Ttyl💖'. With that, I leave my room with my book bag and walk downstairs to the front door. I don't need breakfast today.

From the front door, I see Oliver lying down on the couch in the living room. Ruby and Ms.Sullivan just left for work and school. "I'm gonna walk to school, so um..see you later, I guess?" I say, still kinda confused on how this is supposed to work. Usually, my dad is already at work and I'm alone in the mornings. Oliver suddenly scrambles to his feet and off the couch. "Wait! I can drive, we're going to the same place anyway." Oliver offers. "Well..yeah, but-" Oliver cuts me off, "But, nothing. Come on Iris, let me drive you. Besides, school starts in like twenty minutes and the walk from here to there is long. You'll end up being late." Oliver argues.

I realize he's right and sigh. "Alright fine, you win. Lets go then." I say reluctantly, rolling my eyes a bit. I kinda feel bad that I'm acting this way, but I'm honestly not in the mood today. Isn't that understandable? Oliver nods and grabs his book bag.

We both head out the door and I follow Oliver, he leads me to a black SUV. "Huh..." I mumble. Oliver must've heard me because he looks over at me. "What?" He asks. "I was expecting a motorcycle, but this is good too." I say and get in the passengers side. Not gonna lie, I think the SUV fits him better than a motorcycle. He just seemed like the type to own one.

I hear Oliver chuckle outside and then he gets in the car, drivers side obviously. "And why exactly were you expecting a motorcycle? Did you want to wrap your arms around this Sullivan goodness?" He gestures to his body, "Oh no, don't tell me you're disappointed?" Oliver asks sarcastically, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face.

I snort. "You wish, marshmallow." I reply, smirking a bit and looking out the window to hide an obvious blush. Oliver chuckles again, turns on the car engine, and sets off towards the school.

************************************

After a long and silent car ride, we stop in the schools parking lot. I reach for the door handle - "Iris," Oliver calls my name, catching my attention, I look over at him. He looks a bit nervous...and ashamed? "I..um, just don't tell anyone we live together either. My reputation means a lot to me. No one, even Adam and the guys, don't know how I act at home. So please." Oliver says, tensed up and avoiding eye contact. I stare at him in disbelief. "And just when I thought you were different..." I mumble and get out the car, running off to my homeroom. In the distance, there's the sound of a car horn being honked as if someone was hitting their head on it constantly.

***********************************

I enter the cafeteria and go to Kayla and I's usual table. I feel eyes on the back of my head. When I turn around, I see Addison glaring at me from the other side of the cafeteria. I roll my eyes, not in the mood, and point to my hoodie. She scoffs and stands up to walk over to a different table in the cafeteria. As I'm turning around back to my table, I meet with another pair of, dull yet familiar, hazel eyes. Oliver. The events of earlier flood my mind and I look away quickly.

I sigh. Wouldn't it just be better if I lived by myself? Or, at least with someone else? Oliver and I don't get along very well, we're not too compatible. "IRISSS!" A familiar voice yelled. As soon as I turn my head to see who it is, I'm tackled to the ground by Kayla. I should've seen it coming. "Oww..." I mumble and rub my head when Kayla gets off. "Oh..sorry..." Kayla apologizes, helping me off the floor and onto the seat again.

"It's alright." I respond, sighing as I rub my head a bit more. Kayla takes a seat across from me. "I'm still so sorry about not coming, I feel bad. My family is just.." She stops when I chuckle softly, "Kayla, I already told you, it's fine. Don't worry, it's not your fault, so don't beat yourself up about it." I tell her with a small smile. Kayla smiles back and walks over to me for a hug. We don't let go for awhile.

Kayla and I tend to do this. When words aren't enough to explain how we're feeling, we hug it out. When we're going through some problems, we hug each other for as long as we need. It works.

"Just leave me alone!" We hear a voice suddenly yell, causing us to break the hug. Everyone, including us, turns to see what was going on. It's Oliver and Addison. Ugh, here we go again. Addison flirts with Oliver on a daily basis, it's really annoying because she does it while we eat. Like, at least take it away from here or don't do it at all! "Why don't you run along to Chad and talk to him? I don't want to hear your bs." Oliver says, annoyed. Addison looks shocked that he said that to her, usually Oliver doesn't complain most of the time, and she walks out of the cafeteria with a 'hmph'. Everyone continues to stare at Oliver, trying to figure out what happened, although it was obvious. Oliver sends everyone a threatening glare and we all look away immediately.

"He finally snapped." Kayla snickers. I nod. "Finally. I can't believe he even put up with her that long." I add, shaking my head at all the times she's flirted with him. "Just watch, she's gonna go tell Chad." Kayla says. I snicker at the thought.

Chad is Addison's boyfriend. Yeah, it's honestly disgusting that she flirts with Oliver too. Apparently, Addison only dates Chad because he's captain of the football team, and she wanted to make Oliver jealous. But, Oliver doesn't even give her a second thought. I don't blame him. Addison is probably one of the worst girls you could ever date. She's a stuck up, arrogant, snobby, brat who thinks she's better than everyone. Worst thing is, Chad doesn't even know she flirts with Oliver. People have tried to tell him, but one, he doesn't believe it(denial~), and two, he thinks they're jealous of their relationship. Honestly though, what relationship? It's all based on lies.

Kayla and I begin to eat our lunch and do our homework at the side, making small talk. "Do we have English homework?" Kayla asks since she hasn't had that period yet. I shake my head. "There was a sub, he let us do whatever." I say, glancing up at her as I continue writing out my answers for math. "Any Spanish?" I ask since I haven't been to that period yet, not glancing up. "Yeah, but it's easy. It's based on the lesson we learned the other day." Kayla says, pulling out a calculator from her bag because we're too lazy for all this work.

Throughout the cafeteria, the sound of someone being roughly pushed against the wall is heard. Did I just hear a crack? Everyone in the lunch room looks over to see a pissed off Chad, holding a bored Oliver against the wall by his hoodie. Kayla and I glance at each other before going over there to help Oliver. We only step in when it gets really serious.

Yeah, it's weird. Me? Helping out Oliver? My bully. We all(Oliver, Kayla, Adam, Lucas, Ross, and I) have some weird friendship. Oliver will still sometimes treat me like crap, but because he's my best friend's boyfriend's best friend, I will sometimes help him out. It's the same thing for him and the rest of them. We call it a truce.

As we're running over, so does the whole cafeteria. Soon enough, the whole cafeteria is crowded around the two, making it seem like an arena. Some people are recording and others are chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" repeatedly. When Oliver and Chad fight, it's like World War 3, they will go at each other's throats. Sometimes literally. It's like the fight of the century and it's all people will be talking about for weeks.

"Why were you flirting with my girlfriend?!" Chad exclaims, looking as if he's ready to throw the first punch. Oliver doesn't look phased by this and only rolls his eyes, even more annoyed than before. "No matter how much you or anyone payed me, I would never flirt with her. Yeah, she's that bad." Oliver tells him, looking him dead in the eye. Kayla and I snort, earning a glare from Addison, but we don't pay attention to her.

Chad growls. Oh, so that's who Addison gets it from. I thought she was raised by bears or something. Chad slams Oliver into the wall again, but harder this time. Oliver looks as if he's going to wince, but he doesn't. I look over at Kayla, she shakes her head a bit. Surprisingly, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Oliver then fights back, using his free hands, he's able to land a punch on Chad's jaw. Twice. And I was wrong.. Chad drops Oliver as he groans and goes to feel his jaw. Then, Chad spits out blood. Everyone gasps. Oliver, what the hell is wrong with you?!

"Now you're dead!" Chad exclaims grinning, although he's furious. Chad charges at Oliver and is able to tackle him to the ground, he lands multiple punches on Oliver. I see in the back that Lucas, Adam, and Ross are trying to get through the crowd to help Oliver, but no ones moving aside. Oliver and Chad keep rolling around on the floor, landing as many punches they can at one another. Once in a while, they'll go to head butt the other or even choke the other.

Kayla and I both run over to trying to pry Oliver off of Chad or the other way around. No use. Two of Chad's friends grab each of us and hold us back. Two of Chad's other friends grab hold of Oliver's arms so Chad can punch him in the gut, or rib, or anywhere really. Oliver is completely vulnerable to Chad's punches.

"Let go of us!" Kayla exclaims as we struggle to get out of their grips. They pull us both closer to them, my face flushes. This is the closest I've ever been to a boy. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I push those feelings aside and step on the boy's foot with everything I got. He yelps and lets go of me, I take this chance to try and help Oliver again. Before I could even make it over to him, I'm pulled back by the same guy. He looks pissed, veins almost bulging from his forehead, and mumbling incoherent things. Crap..

"Alright, calm down there, Chewbacca. Why don't you let me and my friend go?" I try to ask him to let go of us. He grunts. "Oh I'm so sorry, I mean, Mr. Gorilla sir. Would you mind letting us go? I'm trying to ask nicely here." I ask again. His other friend, that's holding Kayla, sniggers. Most likely from the nicknames, or the fact that I'm trying to push him away by asking nicely. I don't know, but we're gonna go with the first one so I don't feel insecure about my jokes.

Adam, Lucas, and Ross finally get through the crowd. Adam runs over to Kayla and me, while Lucas and Ross go to help Oliver. Adam, since he's not happy about them touching Kayla, punches both guys in the face, that were holding Kayla and I back, a few times. He's such a good boyfriend to her. Ladies, go find yourself a man like him, that's my advice to you all. The crowd of people sigh, disappointed that the fight ended without a winner.

Out of all the times Chad and Oliver have fought, no one has ever won. Neither of them give in to the other, even when they know they'll lose. Oliver could've lost today, he wouldn't be happy. Like Oliver said, he cares for his reputation...he doesn't want anything in the way of it. Including me.

Kayla, Adam, and I run over to Oliver, he looks badly injured. A black eye, bruises and cuts everywhere, his hair is all disheveled which you immediately know he fought, he might've even broke something. Oliver even has to sit down right now, his legs actually gave out from under him. Looking around the lunch room, Chad and Addison are talking in a different corner of the cafeteria. Chad got the better part of this fight, he only made it out with minimal bruises.

"Oliver, do you want me to help you to the nurses office? She'll let you rest there for a while and make sure nothing is too serious." I offer, knowing that he is not okay. He looks so beaten up, you'd think he was beaten by a gang of people, not one person. "Aw, nerd is worried for me. Don't worry, I'll be fine, it takes more than a few punches to bring me down." Oliver replies, grinning weakly.

We make eye contact that seems hard to break, but I turn away and walk back to my table, fidgeting with my sleeves. He's really going acting that way, huh.

************************************

"Bye Kayla, I'll call you later!" I call out to Kayla. "Talk to you later, Iris!" Kayla shouts back out he window as she begins driving out of the school lot.

I'm about to turn around when I hear her car honk twice. They're stopped at a red light by the lot as someone rolls down their window, Adam then leans half of his body out the window. "See you tomorrow, Iris!" Adam shouts grinning. I laugh as Kayla pulls him back in the car when the light turns green. Adam is known for doing stuff like that. If you asked him to stand on the hood of a moving car, he would. That's why Kayla is so worried for him, she just doesn't show it too much because she thinks she's clingy.

Someone clears their throat behind me. I turn around and see Oliver. He looks worse than last time, how is that possible? More bruises seemed to have form, or they just look worse. "Ready to go?" He asks me. I nod and walk over o the passengers seat of the car. Oliver walks to the drivers side, gets in, and starts the car. I stare out the window as we drive away from the school. It's uncomfortably silent.

I decide to break the silence. I sigh. "You're an idiot." I say suddenly. "Um, excuse me?" Oliver says, confused. "Why would you provoke Chad like that?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" I ask, looking over at him.

He tenses when I say the last part and glances over at me. "No. Look, I was only telling him the truth." Oliver tells me. "Oh yeah? Well, now you have a black eye!" I exclaim, pointing to his injured eye. He smacks my hand away, which surprisingly hurt a bit. Damn, he's strong. "I said I'm fine, didn't I?" He repeats as if I didn't get the message. I understood clearly, but if he doesn't want me to talk about it anymore then I won't. I sigh again and stare out the window, watching the people and places go by.

It doesn't take long to get to their house. Once we get inside, I place my book bag down quickly and run to the bathroom where I know there's a small first aid kit. Then I get an ice pack from the kitchen and walk back out to the living room. Oliver is looking at me, an eyebrow raised, confused on what I'm doing.

"Sit." I command Oliver, gesturing to the three seater couch in the living room. "What?" He says, still so confused. "Sit." I repeat, gesturing to the couch. He then sighs. "I already told you-" I cut him off, "I don't care what you told me, I told you to sit." I say again.

Jeez, I can be very bossy sometimes. Well, rarely. Only if you're denying help from me or someone else. It happens sometimes.

Oliver gives in with a sigh of defeat and sits on one side of the couch, looking towards the stairs as if he'll magically teleport to his room. I sit down next to him and tilt his head towards me, he sighs. I put the ice pack over his black eye and take his hand to hold it there. "So, what happened before anyway? All I know is that it has to do with Addison." I ask him for the full story, as I put some Neosporin on his cuts and band aids on the really bad ones.

"Addison wouldn't stop flirting with me again. This time, she invited me to a 'party' but it's obvious she just wanted me to come over and-" I cut him off with my eyes wide, "Alright, I get it!" I exclaim. "My innocent ears don't need to hear this." I add.

He chuckles then groans softly from the pain. "You don't seem all too innocent." He says. I raise an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, seeming a bit offended. He shakes his head, grinning a bit. "Nothin.." Oliver mumbles innocently. I let it go, knowing he won't tell me, but I still think about it.

A few minutes later, I finish treating his wounds and cuts. I was going to feel his ribs to see if anything was wrong but I was too nervous and awkward for that. "Maybe you should ask someone else to check if you broke anything, alright? I'm not a doctor." I say and go to put the first aid kit away, letting him have the ice pack for his eye.

Once I put the kit away, I'm about to walk upstairs when - "Iris." Oliver says aloud. My first name. Again. I look back at him, kinda surprised. "Thank you." He says, avoiding eye contact. That's the first time he's ever thanked me for anything. "No problem." I reply, eyeing Oliver for a while before walking up to my room with my book bag.

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Heyo! I'm finally on break! YESSS! I would've updated on Friday but I'm going to be staying with my aunt and uncle then, so I won't be on wattpad too much. Also, should I start writing fanfics? I have so many ideas for different types of them, but I wanted to ask you for your opinions. Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter please like, comment, and leave feedback. Thanks! Bye bye💖

-FT

P.S: THANKS FOR 400 READS! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!