"It's so adorable," Alec proclaimed as Kaelin and I piled into the back seat of his car after school; this task was relatively difficult, given I had to slide the crutches along the seats and hop my way in. "Watching the youth of today study tirelessly to educate themselves. I can only hope that your elders, such as myself, can build a world fit for such intelligent young minds to thrive in."

Alec was situated behind the wheel of his tiny Volkswagon Beetle. Because he was so tall, the sight of his massive body folded into the tiny car was highly amusing. My older sister Olivia was in the passenger seat, sipping daintily on a McDonald's Chocolate Thickshake. Alec and Liv were like a fun uncle and auntie duo; like Kaelin and I, those two had been attached at the hip since birth. Those two spent half their life in the Beetle, despite its size. Liv had a brand-new Mercedes—one she bought after the crash had totalled her BMW—but for some reason Alec's barely functioning, yet admittedly cute, Bebe the Beetle was their ride.

Kaelin flicked his ear. "You graduated four months ago."

"Ah, young grasshopper. You'd be surprised at the wisdom this cruel world imparts upon impressionable new adults such as myself. I've seen and learned things you can't even imagine," he said.

I grinned. "Alec, I have it on good authority that you've done nothing with your four months of freedom but video games and shoeys."

Liv shrugged. "Life before and after a shoey is not the same."

Alec nodded in agreement. "Shoeys open your eyes, grasshoppers, it's a whole new world."

Kaelin's older brother had inherited the classic insanity that their branch of the Montez family was famous for. Kaelin's vagueness hadn't been passed on, but the complete inability to filter his thoughts, a penchant for overtalking and hoarding tendencies made them an entertaining pair.

"Oh, hey Harry," said Alec, as the boot clicked open and the final member of the set clambered into the car. Harry didn't share many of the classic Montez traits. He was the black sheep of the family, in a way, if rational thought and common sense made you odd these days. He had been the single most irritating person alive until last year, but when Kaelin and her brothers had visited our cousin Elena in her country town of Casserine, apparently Harry had resolved whatever intense personal crisis had made me want to hit him with chair.

Harry's voice was muffled by the seats dividing the back of the car and the boot. "Hey, guys." Because he was the youngest, annoying or not, he naturally had the least individual rights. Hence, he was relegated to sitting in the highly illegal spot in the boot next to Alec's golf clubs and smelly football uniform.

"Where's Austin?" Liv asked. My younger brother Austin was rarely home; he was the kind of kid who was involved in every club, every sport, every group of friends. He was the teacher's golden child, even if he was an irritating little turd. After Liv and I, (and my cousins Elena, Alec, Kaelin and Harry) I think every teacher breathed a collective sigh of relief to have a balanced, attentive Montez child.

"Oh, I saw him at recess," I said. "He's staying after school to do some catch up work."

Liv snorted. "Nerd."

Kaelin nodded in agreement, as if she didn't read a couple hundred books a year.

"Does that mean I can come sit in an actual seat?" Harry asked hopefully from the back.

"No," said Alec immediately.

"Why not?"

"You might start thinking you have rights or something. I don't know. It's character building," Alec said.

Harry sounded grumpy. "You just want to turn around a few corners really fast and send me flying, right?"

"Yes," Alec replied cheerfully as he pulled out of the car park. His speed was in the realm of barely legal, and I heard a faint clunck as Harry was thrown across the boot.

Liv laughed.

The feeling of the car moving beneath me made me panic, just a little. It reminded me of the thrust of the vehicle as the second car slammed into us; the grind of gears as my leg was crushed. Liv was laughing with Alec, light and breezy; she didn't seem to mind. But, then again, she'd walked out unscathed.

I pulled my hair out of its school-hours braid, letting the dark curls fall over my shoulders. It was a routine; when I escaped school each day, I let my hair escape too. I leaned back against the leather seat and sighed. After Prendler's class, I was ready to revoke anything I'd ever saif about wanting to return to school.

Liv slurped loudly on her drink, so I snatched it out of her hand and took a long sip.

"Oi!" Liv protested, and she yanked at my hair while I laughed and drained half of it. Kaelin plucked it out of my hand with a cheeky grin and dragged on the straw twice. Liv couldn't reach her hair, so she settled for a sharp glare.

Alec had rolled down all the windows, so the warm March breeze mingled with the smell of the ocean. Autumn was my favourite season. Afternoons like this were my favourite. I couldn't help but smile. This is what I'd missed during my bedridden recovery. Hot days and road trips and the familiar pain of having my hair pulled by my bitchy sister.

"So, wait, why were you guys so late to the car?" Alec said.

"Lena was arguing with Prendler for half an hour," said Kaelin. "Unhappy with her partner."

"Oh, yeah, by the way Liv," I said, tapping her shoulder. "Jace is coming over this afternoon."

Alec, as usual, blasted One Direction from the speakers as we drove. Because he was physically incapable of staying quiet, he alternated between screaming the lyrics and yelling over the music about the intricacies of his life, down to the solidity of the shit he'd taken an hour ago. He blatantly refused to turn down the music; apparently a chorus of "what did you say?" was preferable to listening to Niall at a soothing volume.

Despite the crashing music, the number of times a bug-eyed Liv repeated, "Oh, I'm sorry, what?" was kind of excessive.

"Jace. Our place. This afternoon."

"Jace..." She looked confused.

"Hartley."

"Jace Hartley?"

"Yes, Jace Hartley is coming over to our place this afternoon," I repeated.

Liv glanced at Alec. He shrugged. She looked back at me. "Jace Hartley?" she said again.

"That's the one," I said. "Daria is going to drop him off after footy training."

Liv paused the music. Alec protested loudly, but Liv slapped his hand away before he could turn it on again. She looked at me seriously, her eyes boring into mine. "Lena, you're going to be nice, aren't you?"

I laughed. "No."

"That poor boy," Liv said sadly. "He's always been so lovely. One of the nicest guys in your year at school, not that there's much competition. He's so pretty, as well. You have got to stop torturing the guy."

"Then she'd have to admit she's into him," said Kaelin absently, her head buried over her phone as she dispelled a chocolate block on Candy Crash.

"Oh, not this again!" I complained.

Liv and Alec gasped in unison. "Do tell me more, Aeya," Alec prompted his sister, winking at me through the rear-view mirror.

Kaelin looked up, as if surprised they were asking. "What? I thought everyone knew."

"Knew what?" asked Liv.

"Oh. Lena wants to bang Jace," said Kaelin. "You know, they have angry sparks. They're constantly on the verge of a hate-fuelled hook up. She just doesn't want to admit she'd go there."

"No, she just doesn't have any interest in going there," I said hotly. "He'd probably give me an STI."

Kaelin rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because Jace is known for being such a manwhore. Dating McKenna loyally and monogamously and that single Seven Minutes in Heaven with Rebecca Lever is just... no, you're right. He should be tested daily. He's a danger to the community with his whorish ways; he's going to infect us all."

"He also hooked up with Marianna Holbrook," I added. "And that new girl Jess."

Kaelin grinned slyly. "Oh, I apologise for not keeping an itemized and dated record of Jace's exploits."

Liv cackled in the front seat.

I ignored her. "Okay, fine. Can you blame the female population for being unwilling to go out with Hartley?"

"Yes," said Kaelin, Liv and Alec in unison.

I slumped back in my seat, defeated. Everyone else had always loved Hartley. I didn't understand it, personally. I suppose Satan had always been charming, and Hartley was using that to entice my loved ones over to the side of evil. Hartley's boy-next-door demeanour could fool even the cleverest of people, apparently. Liv was usually a good judge of character.

"Well, maybe you would change your mind if you saw him in Grade Two. He shat himself," I said.

Alec pulled off into our street, the large Toorak houses looming on either side of us. The streets were lined with stunning European trees, green and red leaves serving as a canopy above us. I loved this area, as pretentious and ostentatious as it might be. Alec pulled in front of Chambermore, our house, and cut off the engine. As soon as he pulled the keys out of the ignition, I felt lighter.

"From what I recall," Liv said. "That was because you put a huntsman in his shoe."

I smiled at the pretty arch of our front door, framed by tall white pillars. Jace was going to regret ever stepping foot on the polished marble floors of Chambermore.

"Yeah? Well, I'm thinking about an encore."

A/N: I love writing chapters like this :). Even if nothing technically happens, it's just so fun. My cousins are some of my favourite people ever, so these dynamics are just the bestest.