"Wake up Harveyyyy!" I yell, repeating the daily tradition of awakening him from his slumber before school. The door flings opens as he stumbles past me to the staircase, some form of a 'morninguh' leaving his lips. "There's eggs on toast on the island" I call after him as he heads towards the kitchen. I sit down next to him as he begins stuffing his face, waving his hand in a pseudo-thank you.

"Humuphumphumphump" Harvey blurts out, the inaudible sentence unable to be distinguished through his chomping and chewing - a piece of egg flying out onto the counter - much to my disgust. I reply with a grossed out face, making him giggle slightly as I nudge my plate away from me in disgust, suddenly losing my appetite.

"I said, Andre says you're the shit lol. And I didn't know you and Boon got in a fight...and you won...when were you gonna tell me this revelation? My brother's changing right before my eyes - they grow up so fast." He feigns while placing his hand over his heart.

"Oh yeah, we're lab partners...Um, yeah we just ya'know were just talking and then punch punch, pow pow, and then he was knocked out on the ground. Yeah." My brother laughs before putting his fist bump into the air. Great, now everyone thinks I'm a bully.

**********

"There he is, the big guy himself." Andre calls out as I walk into Physics, meeting me with a fist bump - is it a compulsory requirement that all guys have to bump fists? High fives are a lot softer and more pleasant.

"Sup." I nod and make my way to my seat, seeing another surprise test awaiting me. I groan and roll my eyes as we both laugh and start 50 minutes of silent hell. This time instead of playing tic tac toe, we play hangman. Halfway through H _ _ N A the bell rings, bringing our game to an end. We pack up and hand our test towards the front of the class before exiting out of physics, leaving the gates of science hell.

"Come on let's get some lunch, I'm starvingggggg." Andre says. Shocked, I follow after him towards to the dining hall. I rarely eat in here; not only this year, but any year - only migrating here if the clouds decide to cry. Andre's saunter divides the hallway, his effortless charm enough to split the crowds of people, me following in his wake - slightly enjoying not being constantly bumped into by everyone.

We enter into the flooded hall, Andre seamlessly navigating through the crowds to the lunch line - handing me a tray as he starts scooping some macaroni and cheese onto his plate. My food wobbles slightly as I ladle it onto my place - I feel as though it's moving slightly, almost like a slug - yummy.

"Ayyyyyye!" Harvey calls out as me and Andre make our way to the table, pulling us both into a simultaneous bro hug. Casey sits beside him, flashing me a wink before fist pumping both of us.

"My little brother, actually in the dining hall, actually in school...it's a bloody miracle." He laughs, causing the table to erupt in laughter. It's true, I nearly got kicked out of school for my 30% attendance. I was almost free until my mother stormed into the office and defended me, demanding I stay for the betterment of my future. The good times when she was actually around.

"...Yeah, that sounds like a good idea aye Danté?" Harvey says pulling me out of my day-dreaming and sad reminiscing - bringing my mind back to the table.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Casey and Andre were just talking about all of us going bowling tonight...surely...I mean it's not like you have anything to do lol. And then like maybe watch a movie or something after it" I ponder the offer for a second, scanning my mind for the latest movies that've just been released - hopefully they like horrors.

"Ugh yeah, I guess I could destroy you guys in a game of bowling tonight." We all begin laughing again. Casey winks at me from across the table, sending my chest into a flutter. He bites his lip subtly, casting us into a silent isolation - his green orbs as enticing as ever. It's like time freezes whenever our eyes connect; yet, he probably has no idea about the effect that he has on me. How he sends me into a stuttering mess, that is only able to manage a 2-sentence long conversation with him. Our gaze is shattered by a squeal across the dining hall.

"Babyyyyyy!" A tanned oranged-hair girl emerges from the crowd, aviator glasses pulled up to reveal strong brown orbs, draining the confidence from the room and absorbing it into her own strong, demeanour. The table silences as she hops around, my brother elbowing Casey with a grin on his face. That's her. That's Annabelle. I can tell. She gives off an Annabelle vibe. She wraps her arms around Casey which pulls his gaze away from me as they connect, both with their eyes and their lips. My brother and his friends cheer and woof whistle, while Andre pretends to cover his eyes.

Their lips disconnect and our eyes re-connect; a different gaze this time: unreadable.

"Um...I just remembered...I can't um...I actually hate bowling...I can't come tonight...and the movie sounds cool but...I'm going home now; bye..." I stand up abruptly, bringing the attention to me as I push my tray away.

"Woweeee - my little brother going home early whatta surprise...and I can't believe you're bailing on bowling lameeee...and you NEVER pass up a movie." My brother laughs. Casey goes to say something, but nothing leaves his mouth, he closes his lips and re-directs his gaze towards Annabelle. I just shrug and plaster a fake grin, and a subtle chuckle before walking off.

"Text me when you get home pleaseeee." Harvey calls after me. What a dork.

**********

The door closes behind Harvey as he heads out the door after whining and begging for hours for me to come to bowling - to no avail. The only ones I really know there are Harvey, Andre and kind-of-Casey; but kind-of-casey has a kind-of-girlfriend so he's out, and Andre and Harvey are friends with all the other athletes.

Instead of going out to bowling, I decide to be with my best friend in the world: Kimmy Schmidt. 3 seasons in and we're still going strong. I flick on the living room T.V., sink into my cotton duvet, and let the ginger-haired woman dance across my screen.

**********

The door slams open, interrupting Titus and Kimmy's duet - revealing an annoyed Harvey. I turn on my phone and check the time. . He was only gone for an hour and a half...must've been a fast game and a short movie.

"Hey, how was the game and the movie?" He slumps down on the couch and starts groaning loudly, interrupting my Netflix duet.

"Oi you are so lucky you didn't come...we didn't even end up going to the movies because Casey and his girl had a fucking fight mid-game...and then he got in a real fight...like ugh what the fuck. We ended up getting kicked out though which was pretty funny though lol." He chuckles and buries his hand in the popcorn bowl - my popcorn bowl.

"Oh...um...what did they fight about? Must've been pretty bad." I re-direct the conversation back to Casey.

"I don't know...but they were both hella pissed off...anyways this movie's gay I'm going to bed. Night." I wince at the use of gay. Maybe he means like happy? Because they are happy. Yeah that's it. The couch dips as Harvey pushes himself up and makes his way back to the room.

"Night" I mumble between mouthfuls of popcorn. My phone vibrates on the table, dragging my gaze away from the T.V. I reach out and grasp the illuminating phone screen in my hand.

Hi. It's Casey. Can we talk?

How the fuck did Casey get my number, and why is he messaging me!?

A/N

Took me like 10 episodes of Glee to write this chapter because I kept getting distracted by the three way love triangle between Finn, Rachael and Quinn.

Anyways, I hope you guys have a good day/afternoon/night and wish blessings upon you all!

- YOP