Today was the day.

The start of Hell.

Also known as school.

Don't get me wrong, I like school- the lesson part of it anyway. But at break, the students bestowed upon me the honour of becoming their punching bag. I know, so amazing.

Fortunately, I won't be going back there. Unfortunately, I will be going to the same school as my brothers: Will, Oscar, Julian, Brandon and Daimen. This is going to be fun.

Anyway, today, I woke up to the sun gently caressing my face, the window was open, but it wasn't too cold and my brothers were patiently waiting for me downstairs.

Did that really happen?

If you guessed no, then you're learning.

I awoke to the sun blaring full force on my face. The window was open and a wicked wind swept in, chilling me to the bone. Julian was outside my room, banging metal pots together and yelling at the top of his voice.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed- I'm not a morning person, "OR I WILL TAKE THOSE POTS AND SHOVE THEM-"

"Oh good!" Julian smiled brightly, cutting off my violent rant, "you're awake. Get ready quickly and come downstairs for breakfast. Today is the first day of school!" It should be illegal to be so cheery in the mornings.

Grumbling profanities under my breath, I hailed myself out of bed and went to take a shower. My bruises were healing up- they were almost gone- but the internal scars will always remain. I traced the words carved on my abdomen and breathed deeply. John would always haunt me. Elise would always haunt me. There's no escape.

Shaking myself out of those dark thoughts, I quickly took a shower and got changed into a black shirt and blue hoodie and light blue jeans. I put on some white trainers, grabbed my phone and made my way downstairs.

"Morning!" I called and quickly ate my breakfast of cereal.

I got a chorus of replies- even Daimen greeted me- and Elijah said goodbye and for the boys to look after me.

We piled into Daimen's car and went to school. The boys chatted animatedly and I tried to blend into the background.

At one point, we stopped by a red Traffic-light

"How much time until we reach?" I asked.

"About 5 mins, why?" Daimen replied.

"Great," I unbuckled my seatbelt and exited the car, "I'll explain later at lunch." And then I walked away. I ignored the boys shouting behind me and used Google Maps to locate the school. Due to my past experiences with school, I really wanted to get through this one with as little drama as possible. I remember, when I was little, people would always want to be my friends the second they knew who my family was. It was really annoying and I couldn't tell who I could trust.

Anyway, I walked to the school and made my way to the Main Office, guided by the helpful signs. I went to the receptionist and said, "Hello, I'm new here. My name is Iris Wilks."

The kindly receptionist typed it into her computer and frowned, "sorry, there is no Iris Wilks here."

"Oh, sorry!" I exclaimed; I'd become so used to using Elise's maiden name, I forgot my family must've change it, "I mean Iris West-Brown."

The smile faltered, "you're the West-Brown's sister?"

I nodded, I was used to this behaviour. However, she looked more afraid rather than awed. The lady hurriedly gave me my schedule, books and locker combination and quickly told me the way to class. I thanked her and made my way to my lockers.

However, on my way, I saw a large crowd gathered around two smaller groups of people. Fortunately, I was able to slip past. But, the two groups were blocking the way to the classrooms. One of them were wearing leather jackets and had tattoos and wore all black. The second group wore suits and had their hair neatly combed and wore smug expressions.

"Why were you on our turf last week?" Leather Jacket leader snarled. His black hair was messy and green eyes flashed dangerously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Suit Leader replied. He had blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

"Oh really?" Leather Jacket leader sneered. Based on their conversation, I deduced that they were two gangs. I rolled my eyes, couldn't they have their argument elsewhere?

Normally, I'd have sat back and enjoyed the show. However, I really didn't want to be late on the first day- I liked to be punctual.

"Excuse me." I mumbled, shoving past the large group of students that had gathered. Unfortunately, Leather Jacket and Suit Leader were standing right in front of my classroom.

"Excuse me, can I just go to my classroom please?" I asked them both, pointing to the door.

They looked at me like I'd grown a second head. Someone tried to pull me back in the crowd, but I shook them off and looked expectantly at the leaders.

"Girl, do you know who we are?" Leather Jackets leader asked.

"No, and I don't really care either," I shrugged.

"Well," Suit leader said patronisingly, "we are very important people who can make your pathetic little life come crashing down. Don't mess with us, girlie."

I couldn't help it. I began laughing. Hard. I doubled over, unable to prevent the giggles escaping my mouth. The two boys looked taken aback- they probably expected me to looked afraid or something. When I recovered, I looked up and smiled, "thank you for the best laugh I've had in years. Now, if you don't mind, could you just let me pass?" It wasn't a request.

Leather Jacket leader stood right in front of me- probably trying to look intimidating. I looked into his green eyes without fear. Why should I be scared? I've been shot, beaten, bullied and almost killed. A guy with a too high opinion of himself wasn't going to change that.

"We are powerful people here," he said quietly, "you don't want to mess with us. We can do anything we want and no one will stop us, not even the police. Got it?" he grinned.

"Okay, first of all," I started, "take a step back and have a mint, your breath stinks," snickers broke out amongst both groups and Leather Jacket Guy backed away with a scowl on his face, "second of all, you don't want to mess with me. I don't care who you are or what you can do. If you even try 'to make my pathetic life crash down' you will fail and I will show you pain worse than you've ever experienced. So, leave the hallways and have your battle elsewhere before I get really angry, because trust me, you don't want to see that," I glared at the two of them. I heard someone applaud quickly and chuckled.

"How dare you speak to us that way!" One idiotic guy in Suits Leader's group shouted, "you little-"

"I dare you to finish that sentence," I looked and saw Oscar and my other brothers glowering at the boy. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under.

"Hey little sis!" Brandon waved at me.

I chucked slightly, "hi Brandon."

"You're their sister?" Idiotic guy stammered and paled when I nodded.

"Yep," Oscar said cheerfully, "and mess with her, we'll hurt you in painful and imaginative ways." I rolled my eyes but felt a warm feeling at their overprotectiveness.

I noticed the crowd, "can I help someone?" I said loudly and they quickly left.

"You okay?" Will asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I grinned, "just two idiots with huge egos."

I looked at said boys and they left, but not before glaring at me and shooting each other a 'this isn't over' look.

I sighed. So much for a 'drama free' year.