Lucas rolled over, burying his face into my chest, his arm flying over my naked waist and his leg resting on top of mine. His eyes were shut and his thick, brown lashes created a shadow on his cheeks. The sun peeked through the thin curtain covering the window, illuminating our room with the morning's natural light.

I chuckled lightly and wrapped my arm around the sleeping boy. His fluffy brown hair was a complete mess and tickled the bottom of my chin. I softly brushed my hands through his hair, giving him a little massage.

A small groan escaped his lips as he pulled me even closer, "What time is it?"

"Only 10:30," I replied quietly.

"Hmm," he mumbled. "How long have you been up?"

"Since 6 o'clock."

Lucas snapped his head up, sending my arm flying off of him as he moved into a sitting position, the blanket sliding off of his torso, "What? You've been up for four and a half hours!? What have you been doing?"

"Well, I watched you sleep a bit, and then I went on my phone," I explained. "Looks like Charlotte's location hasn't changed, I texted her to see if she was okay, but I'm not sure she'll check it."

"If she's still at home that's fine, I think," Lucas quirked his mouth to the side and nodded his head.

"Maybe, I don't know," I sighed. "I told her not to take her phone out in case my dad takes her somewhere, but there's a chance one of her parents found her phone. There's also a chance that my dad won't take her anywhere and just keep her at their house. I won't really be able to tell if anything's up until tomorrow when she is supposed to go to school."

Lucas bit his lip, deep in thought, "There's only so much you can do. I can also text Carter if you want?"

"Carter?" I asked.

"Yeah, that cop from yesterday. Remember? The one with black hair, kinda skinny."

"Oh, right. Sure, that'd be great," I gave him a small, appreciative smile, but then something suddenly caught my eyes, "Oh shit."

"What?" Lucas furrowed his brows in confusion.

I carefully reached my hand out, brushing it over his neck, "There's a bruise, sorry..."

"Oh," Lucas' hand flew to his neck, rubbing the sides. "It doesn't hurt, it's fine," he reassured me.

"But there's a mark," I exclaimed, guilt written all over my face.

"They'll fade. Plus, last night was fun."

"We'll have to think of some other things too because I don't really like seeing you all banged up," I frowned, grabbing his wrists and inspecting the small bruises from the handcuffs.

"It's fine, seriously," Lucas whined as I pouted my lips.

I huffed, "Okay..."

Lucas removed his hands from my grasp and reached for his phone, probably texting that detective. I got up from the bed and grabbed some pajamas, slipping the black shorts over my underwear and a white Tokyo Ghoul tank top over my head.

I walked up to the long mirror on our closet door and did a once-over, scanning myself from head to toe. I fixed my hair a bit, combing my fingers through the front, my eyes then trailing down my arms and legs. There was no longer a reason to cover my scars in public... in a way it feels liberating.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a carton of eggs, setting them on the counter next to the stove and grabbing a non-stick pan from the bottom cabinet.

"Lucas," I shouted, "Do you want some eggs?"

"Sure," I heard his voice call back.

"How many?"

"Three is good," I heard a drawer close from the other room.

"Scrambled?" I asked.

"Yeah. Can you put cheese or something in it?"

"Okay," I replied, cracking six eggs and mixing them in a bowl.

I went back to the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk, pouring a small amount of the white liquid in. Once the eggs were in the pan, I used a spatula to stir it a bit before adding some shredded cheese. The chunky protein was lacking something, so I placed a hefty amount of spinach in the pan, watching the greens shrink from the heat.

I scooped the yellow spinach scrambled eggs into two bowls, setting them onto the table, also placing two cups of water down as Lucas emerged from the bedroom. He was wearing a tee-shirt and a pair of light grey sweatpants that accentuated his package. My eyes lingered on his lower half as he slowly seated himself, wincing as his butt touched the seat while simultaneously placing a hand on his lower back to support himself.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah," he grunted, grabbing the fork I set down for him.

I quirked an eyebrow up, not believing him.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Fine. My back is sore from last night and my ass is sensitive because you kept... slapping it," he mumbled the last part, shoveling food into his mouth.

I laughed, a smirk etched on my face, "You mean spanking."

His wide eyes darted up, a slight blush covering his cheeks, "The fuck are you talking about?"

"Come one, Lucas. Don't deny it. It was straight-up spanking. And you liked it," I teased him.

Lucas scrunched his nose up, disapproving of the vocabulary, "Just eat your food."

I gave him a smug look as I returned to eating my eggs. Once we were both finished, I grabbed our plates, quickly rinsing them and then putting them in the dishwasher. Lucas stood up from the table, downing the rest of his water and placing it upside down next to mine on the top row.

I turned to look at him, taking in his next-to-perfect side profile. While he wasn't paying attention I quickly leaned in and gave his cheek a big, wet smooch.

"Eww!" Lucas brought his hand up to his face, wiping his cheek and then rubbing it on my shoulder as I laughed, trying to avoid his hand. I kept walking backward, further and further until the back of my legs hit the edge of the table.

I was giggling as Lucas smothered his hands all over me," S-stop!" I sputtered, his motions now turning to tickle my sides.

His fingers crawled up to my neck and I had my head craned to the side, pinching his hand in between my face and shoulder in an attempt to make it stop.

We were both smiling like idiots.

He finally yanked his hand out and moved to my lower back, searching for ticklish areas. His arms then grabbed my sides, hoisting me onto the table, Lucas setting himself between my legs and attaching his lips to my neck.

"That tickles," I laughed.

He just hummed against my neck in response, his teeth lightly grazing my skin and causing me to gasp. My hands gripped the back of his shirt as I pulled him closer. His lips traveled to my throat and he harshly sucked on my adams apple. I tilted my head up to give him more room as soft moans left my mouth. My hands unclasped his shirt and began to travel downward until they reached his but.

I gave him a hard squeeze which had him moving his head from mine and yelping, "Ow!"

I bit my lips, making them disappear as I tried to hold back my laugh, "My bad."

The doorbell had us both turning out attention. I stayed on the table as Lucas opened the door, "Oh, hey, Carter," Lucas nodded his head and then opened the door wider, allowing the man to come inside.

He stood in front of the entrance as his eyes narrowed in on Lucas' neck, "Oh my god, what happened to your neck? Were you assaulted? You should have called me. Oh shit, your wrists too!?" Carter spit out his sentences quickly, his eyebrows downturned in worry.

Lucas coughed awkwardly, "W-what? No, it was nothing like that," he waved his hands in front of him, trying to emphasize his point.

Carter took a step closer and examined the bruise more closely, taking his wrist and examining it, "The bruise on your neck has the same pattern as strangulation victims and the area for the marks on your wrist are in the places someone would have bruising if they were handcuffed!"

"Well," I started, a calm expression on my face. "You're not wrong..."

Lucas turned his head to glare at me, "Shut up."

"What?" Carter looked between Lucas and me with a confused face.

I jumped off the table and patted Carter on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it." I led the three of us into the living room. Lucas and I sat in the middle while Carter plopped himself down into a bean bag after dragging it into the middle of the room. He pulled out a computer from his red backpack, placing it on his lap and opening it up.

I rested my hand on Lucas' upper thigh, our legs and sides tightly pressed together.

"So, Lucas sent me a text. Something about your sister. For me to officially investigate the subject or get a warrant I need direct testimony, so if you just explain the situation now I can check it out and see if she's safe," Carter told me.

So I explained in detail why I thought my sister was in danger. I kept it short and to the point, not wanting to waste his time.

"Okay," the dark-haired man sighed, closing his computer and packing his things up. He stood up to leave, "Lucas, are you sure you're okay? You're not in any trouble or anything, right? Because if you are you can call me-" Lucas cut him off.

"I'm really okay," Lucas said, exasperated. He was probably annoyed by the sheer amount he had been asked that question today.

I glared at Carter. Why was he so worried? "Why are you so concerned?" I asked with a heated look in my eyes.

"Hmm?" Carter raised his eyebrows in confusion, caught off guard by my harsh tone.

"You're not hitting on him, are you?" I asked with a pointed look, my eyes becoming cold.

Carter visibly flinched, "W-what? No, I-"

"Because he's taken," I bore my eyes into Carter while wrapping a protective arm around Lucas' shoulder.

He eyed the two of us, realization quickly hitting him "That's really not it! For starters, isn't Lucas underage? I wouldn't go for someone that isn't 18. And I'm not interested in him at all."

I set my jaw.

Carter rubbed the back of his head, "I think you're misunderstanding something here. I'm not into your boyfriend, I'm straight. It's just that he reminds me of my younger brother. They look pretty similar and they talk in the same way. I just wanted to make sure he was okay..."

Lucas snickered, "Thanks, Carter. But I can take care of myself pretty well, you said you watched Mad Dog so I'm sure you're aware."

"Right, yeah. I knew that... But then why? Did it happen while you were looking for Kai's dad?" It was reassuring to know that he wasn't into guys, but he seems a little daft to be a detective.

"I don't think you really want to know," I laughed.

"Why wouldn't I-" Carter took note of the smirk on my face, "Oh... Oh, I see. Gotcha."

He turned to walk toward the door, "Well... Uhm, text me if you need anything. I will almost always pick up if you call," and with that, he was out the door.

"That was kind of funny," Lucas smiled.

"Seems like a nice guy," I commented.

"If I did have an older brother, I'd like to think he'd be something like that," he leaned back into the couch, putting his legs up on the footrest and placing his hands behind his head. His elbows were sticking out and almost hit me in the face.

"Y'know," I started, "you can try to befriend him."

My suggestion caused Lucas to snort, "Befriend him? Yes, because a 20-year-old would love to be friends with a high schooler," Lucas' voice was dripping with sarcasm.

I leaned my head against the back of the couch, turning my face to look at Lucas, "You're not a typical high schooler though."

He looked away from me, seemingly staring at nothing, "Making friends hasn't exactly worked out for me in the past..."

"You'll never know if you don't try though. He sees you like a little brother so who knows, maybe he'll take you under his wing."

"I guess I could try," he sighed.

The doorbell then rang again. I glanced at Lucas before walking to the door, "Happy belated birthday!!" Zay, Sarah, and Jack all shouted at the same time.

A big smile engulfed my face and I chuckled, "Thanks!"

I brought them to the living room and Sarah took the seat Carter had been in, both Zay and Jack sat on the side of the couch that was parallel to the kitchen.

"Sup, Lucas," Zay waved. Lucas gave him an upward nod.

They all had gifts in their hands and set them somewhere near my feet as I took my spot next to my boyfriend.

"Oh my god, Lucas!" Sarah's eyes were filled with surprise, the inner part of her strawberry blonde eyebrows raising up. She jumped out of her seat and took Lucas' face in her hands, throwing his head to the side to get a better look at his neck.

"Is it just me or is this totally deja vu?" I whispered to Lucas.

"And your wrists too!? Did-did Kai's dad do this?" Her voice trembled as her hands shook.

"This is worse than deja vu," Lucas said for everyone to hear.

"It wasn't my dad," I sighed, rubbing my temples.

Zay snorted next to me, quickly covering his mouth with his hand, "Sorry." He couldn't contain his laughter, "Sarah, you see that mark above the big bruise? and the one below it?"

"Yeah?" She still had Lucas' face cupped in her small palms.

"You know what those are, right?" Jack snickered.

Sarah's eyes went back to inspecting Lucas, now paying more attention to his jaw before quickly shoving his face away and getting up, "What the fuck! Those are just hickeys!" She huffed, her black skirt bouncing as she flew back into the beanbag.

Jack and Zay burst into laughter while Lucas and I rolled our eyes having already experienced this today.

"Yo, Kai. You're a lot kinkier than I had you pinned for!" Zay had tears pricking his eyes.

"Hey! Don't put this on me, Lucas is the kinky one!" I shouted back.

"Don't lie, you liked it too," Lucas pointed at me teasingly.

"But I did it for you!" I argued back.

"It was your birthday not mine, you were secretly looking forward to it, weren't you?" Lucas had a smug look on his face and I let out an exasperated laugh.

"Wait, I thought Kai was the bottom," Jack was looking between the two of us, very confused.

"Why would you think that?" Sarah asked him.

"Because of the hemorrhoid crea-" he slowly closed his mouth before he finished the sentence.

Zay and Sarah's heads snapped toward me as Lucas choked back a laugh, "The what!?" They both yelled.

I sighed, "Relationships aren't so black and white that only one person can top and one person can bottom. Jack, are you really going to tell me you've never let a girl ride on top?"

"No, I have," He confirmed with a proud smirk.

"It's not like you have to stick to just one position. Sure some people have preferences as a top or bottom, but that doesn't mean they have to strictly stick to it. Sex is fluid, you can do and try whatever you want as long as your partner's cool with it," I lectured.

"Well said," Sarah approved. "It's like that with me too. When I'm with a guy I like to top, but with girls, I prefer letting them take the lead."

"When you say you like to top guys..." Zay trailed off, implying that it was a question.

"Pegging. I like to peg guys," Sarah smiled back at him innocently. "Although I can take dick too."

Zay choked on nothing, taken aback.

"What?" Sarah asked him, enjoying his discomfort. "We were talking about sex and kinks, I simply shared mine to take the heat off of our dear friends over there," she kindly smiled at Lucas and I, slightly bowing her head.

"Thanks," Lucas chuckled.

Zay slowly nodded his head, "Right, anyway, that's a fucking nasty bruise, it's not going to fade by tomorrow. Are you going to try and hide it at school?"

"I could wear a turtleneck, but it's supposed to be hot as shit tomorrow so that's a no..."

"You could borrow some of my makeup, "Sarah suggested.

"You're literally white as a sheet, it won't match my neck," Lucas shot her down.

"I guess I'll just have to deal with it then," Lucas brushed it off nonchalantly.

"So, are you going to open the presents?" Jack asked.

"Right, yeah," I grabbed the red bag closest to the kitchen.

"That's from me," Jack spoke. "It's nothing too special."

I pulled the white tissue paper off the top and threw it on the floor, unveiling a small box with a pair of red AirPods.

"Thanks, man," I smiled, genuinely happy with the gift. "I've been using regular earbuds and they're kinda a pain in the ass."

"Open mine next!" Zay chirped.

He handed me a large box covered in blue gift wrap and a bow on top. I quickly read his card, giving him a quick thanks before I not so gracefully ripped the wrapping paper.

I took the top off the box and the room went silent. I could hear Jack snickering in the corner.

I sifted through the contents, "Is this a... bondage kit?"

"Hold up, hold up," Zay held his hands, "In my defense, I bought this as a joke, I thought it'd be funny! How was I supposed to know you two were actually into this shit..." He muttered the last part to himself.

"Thanks," Lucas butted in, taking the box from my hands, putting the lid back on, and setting it next to him. "We'll use it well."

At least he was confident.

"You're ridiculous," Sarah laughed at Zay.

"It's a win-win, isn't it!" He laughed back. "It was meant to be a funny joke, but this works too."

"Anyway," Sarah rolled her eyes. "Here, Lucas. This is for you," she handed him a small wrapped box.

"Why are you giving him something? It was my birthday," I asked as I watched Lucas rip off the tape.

"You know the saying, happy wife happy life?" she asked. "Well, happy partner happy life."

I watched as Lucas pulled out a black phone case with an adorable green dinosaur and a little pink heart.

Sarah then handed me a box of the same shape, "And for you too."

Mine was a dark blue phone case with a lighter blue dino and a small heart.

"Couple cases," I had an endearing smile on my face. Lucas was already in the process of changing his.

"This is fucking adorable," Lucas' eyes crinkled in happiness.