Mornings were strange. I hated them just as much as I loved them. They were beginnings, they offered a clean slate, but from the first breath awake to the next, you would remember that you still carried something with you from the days that had passed. No one got a clean start. Ever.

"Dylan!" Mom's voice carried from downstairs, loud and clear. Fuck, it's Monday.

I groaned and dragged myself out of bed, crawling on the floor towards the bathroom, stopping halfway to sleep some more. I decided that this wouldn't be happening. It couldn't be happening.

"DYLAN, get up from the floor!"

Damn, she knew me too well.

I made another effort and sat up, scrunching my face as I rubbed my eyes from sleep. There really was no turning back from this. There was only so much I could do to avoid the terrible, inevitable, first school day in a new town. I whined some more before standing up to pad off into the bathroom. I knew I should take a cold shower to wake up, but I didn't want to punish myself further. I stood there for a while, contemplating my life before daring to step into the falling water. After a last hesitant step, I shuddered contentedly. There was nothing better than a scalding shower to relieve any form of misery.

Finally awake and dressed in the best casual clothes I had, I walked down the stairs and saw the familiar sight of my baby-sis munching on breakfast at the bar. I never understood how she could eat in the mornings. For me it just wasn't an option. The sight of food was enough to make me slightly nauseous.

"Good morning Dylan, I'm glad you managed to drag yourself down here in time. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression the first day, right?" Mom said, looking at me with a little bit of laughter in her eyes. One never knew with that woman, though. She loved to tease but then all of a sudden she could turn real serious and glare at you with the scariest look, ever, before winking. I loved her to bits.

"I made you a sandwich, so wipe off the grumpy face before you get to school. Otherwise, I'll doubt you'll get any friends today."

"Ha Ha," I deadpanned.

"Attitude Dylan, what have I told you," Mom scolded, and then she did what she always did: she smiled. She couldn't hold a scold, she just wasn't the type.

"I'm guessing I'll have to take this little brat too?" I turned to look pointedly at my sister. Lily responded with a sly grin.

"Dylan." Mom raised her eyebrow in warning, saying 'Don't you dare!'.

"Fine, sorry sis."

I rolled my eyes when I saw Lily's satisfied smirk. That little devil definitely knew how to play, nice or otherwise.

"Ah, don't worry dear brother," she replied, flipping a lock of blond hair over her shoulder. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister, but I'm supposed to taunt her-it's a part of my job description.

I looked up at the oversized clock on the wall behind Lily. Its sole purpose was to keep me from being late, but it usually failed to do its job properly. Now it was reminding me again: We were going to be late if Lily didn't get her gear together real quick.

"Ready Lil?" I asked while I packed my breakfast and lunch into a box that seemed a little too small for the task.

"Sure, let's go!" She dashed from her chair, apparently eager to meet the new kids on the block. I didn't share her enthusiasm.

—-

"Nervous?" I asked Lily as we parked the car outside school. The enthusiasm had passed. I could see her twitch a little where she sat, huddling in the seat while twiddling with the belt. This was her second year in high school, but her first day here. We didn't know a soul, apart from each other, and it wasn't likely that we would hang out. It was my senior year after all-and she's Lily, my baby-sis with too much sass.

"Nope," she answered, but I could hear the strain in her voice. She wasn't okay, but that was as it should be. She had to suffer at least a little bit, otherwise it wouldn't be as fun for me.

"Don't worry. Even if I don't like you there's always some fools who will." I received a glare and a smack on my arm. Feigning hurt, I said, "Let's get to registration."

Her glare turned into a smile. Nothing could be as reassuring as her big brother giving her a daily dose of normality. I even went as far as to ruffle her hair, which earned me a cute pout. I couldn't help but laugh a little, triggering her some more.

"Remember our deal? I don't know you, and you don't know me."

"Sure, sis."

"What did I tell you just now? Oh God, you have the memory of a goldfish." She flipped her hair and opened the door, slamming it dramatically as she got out.

The school looked like any other American high school. A large block of red bricks sitting on a green lawn, seemingly full of students who smiled even though they knew they were walking straight into hell. Yellow busses clogged the street and the parking lot was cramped with cars that had seen their best days years ago. I figured the school would be like our last one, but hopefully things were slightly different. I felt bad for Lily and Mom, having to move across half the state for my sake. It was all my fault. I should have known better.

Lily, although saying mere seconds ago that she didn't want to be seen with me, pulled at my arm. We went inside, passing through a throng of students that stared at us quite openly. I put on a bright smile and refused to look down. I wasn't here to cower down under peer-pressure. I was here to get friends and have a blast, but most importantly, I was here to get away from a certain person.

A perky young woman looked up at us from the registration desk. Far too perky. Her smile widened when she saw us, and I groaned silently at the display.

"Welcome, you're Dylan and Lily O'Connor, aren't you, my dears."

She looked expectantly at us, waiting for a reply even if it was obvious that she was right about her conclusion. It wasn't a huge school, nor a huge town. Most probably everyone knew of our arrival, already. We exchanged a knowing look between us, brother and sister, hating the display of fake smiles and meaningless affection.

"Yes we are, Ma'am," I answered, knowing that Lil wouldn't talk to the woman unless necessary. The little brat actually was a brat from time to time. My short reply earned another fake smile.

"Very good, here are your schedules and information sheets. Have fun."

I forced a smile in return, turned my back on her and walked out from the cramped room. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to spend too much time in there in the near future.

"Oh GOD, who was that?" my sister exclaimed when we closed the door behind us.

"Well, it's not that often someone calls me dear" I replied.

"No wonder, all those piercings and tattoos kinda ruins it for you."

I chuckled softly, knowing that my sister wanted to have a couple of them herself. Too bad mom wouldn't let her.

"See you later, sis." I gave her a wave, knowing that it would get on her nerves.

"What did I tell you? Don't call me that, capishe?" she glared playfully and turned on her heels, swaying her hips as she went.

—-

After running around through what must have been half the school, I found my locker and a surprise. It was a pink note for a party the same night, just an address and the word 'Party tonight' with a smiley attached. Here it goes. At least I'd get a chance to meet some people. I wondered who was stupid enough to have a party the first day of school and to announce it by putting notes into all the lockers. It was a recipe for disaster. I threw it back into the locker and took out my schedule. It would be an interesting day finding my way around this place. The schedule seemed to be written in code rather than normal letters. I had no idea what any of it meant.

"Hi, are you Dylan?"

I turned around and met a pair of golden brown eyes attached to a pretty face. I smiled, pulling out my winner one and saw her lose her direction for a second.

"Oh, you're drop-dead gorgeous!" she said, completely out of the blue.

"Oh, you're straightforward!" I answered.

She laughed, and it was totally contagious.

"Damn, you're not on my play field right?" she asked.

"Observant" I was rather impressed that she picked that up so fast. Normally, people would wait until I told them or said something about how another guy was attractive before they dared to make their conclusion.

"Yes, I believe I might be." I raked a hand through my hair and gave her another crooked smile. Perhaps this wouldn't be too bad, after all.

She laughed softly and stretched out a hand. "I'm Tyra. I'm supposed to show you around."

"Cool," I said, shaking her hand.

She really was quite pretty. Her long black hair curled nicely down her back, and she had an open face brightened by honest eyes. I liked her already.

"What's your first class?" she asked, peering down at my schedule.

"Honestly, I have no idea." I gave her the paper and leaned back against the locker.

"A for algebra. C209 for the room," she noted. "We're in the same then. We should go, Mr. Parker isn't in the best of moods on Monday mornings."

"Noted, I'll try to be nice."

"I'm sure you will, bad boy," she replied, skipping ahead toward the stairs, only looking back once to see if I was following.

—-

The classroom was full of students when we arrived, and a man in his early thirties sat at the desk, shooting us both a disapproving glare. He paused when he saw me, taking in my appearance and judged me-like I knew he would. I gave him a crooked grin, ignoring his tight-up response and sat down next to Tyra. More often than not, my clothes and the visible lip piercing got me on the teachers' bad side from the get go.

I heard murmurs break out, and they grew exponentially until Mr. Parker stood up and raised an eyebrow. The class ceased with their gossip right away. It was almost like magic. Perhaps I would like this teacher after all. I liked class rooms to be silent. There was plenty of time to talk outside of class, and if I had to be here, I might as well learn. It would kill me if years of torture didn't actually lead to something worthwhile.

As the pointless lesson ended, Tyra took my hand-as if that was completely normal-and dragged me out from class.

"Come on, I'll show you around," she said and proceeded to lead me through the corridors. "So, when did you move here?"

"A few weeks ago. Haven't had time to see much of town, though." I had been too busy helping Mom with the house, and I had needed some time alone and away from people. I finally felt recharged and ready for socializing.

Tyra smiled again, showing off her dimples. "Then I'll have to show you where the good places are, but not tonight. Did you get the invitation?"

"Yeah, someone had slipped a note into my locker."

"Good, want me to pick you up?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Thank heavens they told me to introduce you to school, you're fun, already."

I just gave her another lopsided grin in response. I felt the same about her. She was a blast of fresh air, and I silently thanked Mom for getting me away from Chester High. I'd been reluctant at first, not thinking that it was that bad, but when she found out the extent of what happened, I didn't have a choice.

We walked around for a bit until we ended up in the cafeteria. It was filled with people sitting on tables and chairs, probably catching up on their summer stories. I received a few stares, some glares and quite a number of giggles as I walked past. Girls were so awkward sometimes. Tyra told me where all the factions usually sat. She pointed towards a table in the middle, mumbling "jocks and cheerleaders" with a disgusted expression all over her face. She pointed again and I saw a group of emo-kids: lanky and tainted in black. Then she headed towards one of the tables in the back with a new kind of determination in her steps. A couple of guys and girls waved and smiled as we got closer.

"Hi guys, this is Dylan. Be nice to him." she said and waved me forward.

"Hi," I said, feeling relaxed. This was definitely my crowd. They gave off a familiar aura, and it wasn't so much the clothes as the genuine smiles.

"This is Sarah, Mike, Russo and Charlotte," Tyra said, and they all waved when their names came up. They all seemed like normal, easy-going people, very much like Tyra.

"You guys know each other from before, or are you really quick?" Sarah asked, her blue eyes sparkling. She looked pointedly at our entwined hands.

"Oh, no he's gay," Tyra replied, and the others smiled some more, taking the news without even one smile faltering. That was another hurdle falling down without difficulty.

"ASSHOLE!" someone shrieked behind us, followed by a loud smack that seemed to echo across the room. I turned around just in time to see a blond girl stalking away, her face red with anger. The room went completely silent as heads turned from the girl to the guy who stood in the center. The guy didn't seem to care although a red hand colored his left cheek. I couldn't help but stare at him. He looked to be made out of stone, eyes cold and calculating, his expression unwavering. He was hot, extremely hot.

Tyra squeezed my hand. "That's Zach. I would stay away if I were you," she said, seeing right through me.