• Chapter Three: Adjusting •

One Week Later

"Tum-Tum! Get out of the bathroom! You've been in there forever!" Ember yelled through the door while knocking continuously.

Jessica and Samuel Sr. were already dressed and downstairs waiting on the rest of the family to join them for breakfast. Colt and Rocky were in their room packing their backpacks.

It had been a week since she moved in with the Douglas' and they were all still adjusting. The only adjustment that was still in progress was sharing the bathroom with three other people. Rocky was always the first to wake up and shower, ready to seize the day. Colt showered next and then Tum-Tum. She had figured out their schedule to see where she could fit into it. She thought it was going as well as it could be considering the fact that she just moved in, but Tum-Tum was taking his sweet time this morning.

Ember knocked again noisily, "Tummmm-Tummmm! I have to shower and wash my hair!"

Colt came out of their room at the sound of the continuous commotion. He laughed at her growing frustration. "Is he in there again?"

Ember glared at him and gestured to the door, "No, I'm just knocking on the door and yelling his name just for the hell of it."

Colt smirked at her sassiness. "Well, hopefully he hurries for you. Because you're right. You do need to wash your hair. Looks like a bird created a nest for its family in there."

Ember playfully kicked at him and Colt grabbed her foot and held it in the air. Luckily, Ember had mastered the art of balance.

"You should really watch what you're doing, Em. You can't just go around kicking people. They might have quick reflexes and be able to do this instead," Colt said as he started to wiggle her foot making her lose balance.

She started laughing at the gesture and tried to get herself free, but the attempt was in vain. She lost balance and toppled right on top of Colt, knocking him to the ground. Ember and Colt immediately starting laughing at each other when they hit the floor, but then realized just how close they were. She was laying on top of him, her face inches from his. Their laughter ceased and they stared at each other.

'Wow... her eyes are really blue... like an ocean blue..' Colt thought to himself as he stared in her eyes.

Their moment was soon interrupted though by Rocky coming out of the bedroom. Rocky stopped mid-stride and stared at them, his mouth agape. Ember and Colt scrambled to get to their feet.

"Uhhh, what's going on here?" Rocky asked them.

Ember laughed, "It was stupid really. Colt insulted my hair and I went to kick at him and lost my balance."

Rocky looked her over for a second and then looked at his brother. "Well, I'm glad to see the two of you haven't killed each other yet. Where's Tum?"

Ember groaned, "He's in the bathroom!"

Just as she went to knock again, the door opened and Tum-Tum stepped out. "Sheesh, woman! Can't a man have some privacy around here? You came knocking like the police and ruined my me-time."

"Your me-time? Why do you need more time being a spaz when you're one all day already?" Colt teased and Ember laughed.

"Bigger spaz," Tum-Tum challenged back, just like when they were younger.

"Alright boys, I'll be 10 minutes." Ember stated as she closed the door.

Ember quickly showered, got dressed, and headed downstairs to join the family for breakfast. Tum-Tum was currently stuffing his face full of eggs and bacon. "How was the shower?" He asked with his mouth full.

"Cold thanks to you, twerp!" Ember teased, ruffling his hair.

Jessica handed her a plate of food. "Sam and I were talking about this issue last night, Ember. It isn't fair for you to share the bathroom with three boys. A girl needs her own space. So, we're going to take half of your closet and turn it into a private bathroom for you," Jessica told her while handing her a glass of orange juice as well.

"Oh no, it's no trouble at all. Please don't go through the trouble of doing that for me. You two have already done so much for me," Ember rambled.

But Jessica held her hand up to stop the rambling. "It's no trouble, dear. We're happy to do this for you. I have always wanted a daughter, but was blessed with three boys instead. You're like a daughter to me and my daughter needs her own space." Jessica grinned at her.

Ember's eyes teared up slightly and she walked over to hug Jessica. "Thank you, Jessica. Seriously. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Jessica hugged her back and smiled. Ember finished her breakfast rather quickly, looking at the clock and seeing the time. Jessica handed out their lunches. "You guys better go, you don't want to be late. See you after school. Love you!"

"Love you!" All four of them yelled back in unison while walking out the door.

They arrived at school rather quickly and immediately scrambled out of the car to head into the building. Tum-Tum walked off on his own heading to his first class. Rocky walked beside Ember, his backpack on his left shoulder. "I have history first period, so I'd better go. The class is on the second floor and I don't want to be late."

Ember smiled in return and told him she would see him later. She then looked to Colt, "Wanna head to chemistry together?"

"Well since we're both headed in the same direction, we might as well," Colt said sarcastically and then smirked at her.

Ember pushed him softly and kept walking, shaking her head and smiling. She had no idea what had gotten into Colt in the last week, but she was enjoying his company now. He was no longer cold or harsh. He still teased her, of course, but nothing she couldn't handle. She actually enjoyed spending time with him.

"Settle down class," Mrs. Amanda Sonnier yelled over the classroom.

Colt and Ember ran into the classroom right as the tardy bell rang.

"Well well, Mr. Douglas, Miss Sinclair, I'm glad you could finally join us. Now take a seat." Mrs. Sonnier stated.

Colt and Ember found their seats in the back and sat their backpacks down.

"Alright class, if I could have your attention. We have a new student that will be joining us. His name is Corey Lancaster and he moved here all the way from Texas. Would you like to say something to the class?" Mrs. Sonnier asked the new student.

"No." The boy gruffly answered and took a seat before another word was spoken. Ember and Colt shared a similar look and then directed their attention back to the front of the classroom. Ember noticed that Corey was a good looking guy. He had short brown hair, tanned skin, and dark brown eyes. He looked muscular too, from what she could tell.

"Alright class, we will be picking our lab partners today. These partners will be temporary, so don't get too comfortable. Once this project is completed, we will pick new partners," Mrs. Sonnier explained and began walking around letting everyone draw names out of her plastic bucket.

Ember reached into the bucket and picked a small piece of paper randomly. She pulled it out and unfolded it to see 'Corey Lancaster' written on it.

"Great," Ember muttered under her breath. She then looked at Colt to see who he had ended up with.

He flashed the paper to her and she saw 'Lauren Richardson' written on it. He shrugged and closed the piece of paper inside his book. Ember frowned. Lauren Richardson was one of the most popular girls in school and she had every boy eating out of the palm of her hand. She was rich and absolutely beautiful with her long brown hair and deep green eyes.

'Surely Colt wouldn't want someone like that, would he? Wait.. why do I even care?' Ember thought to herself.

"Who did you end up with?" Colt asked her and she flashed her paper to him. His eyes narrowed and he looked over to where Corey was sitting. Ember half-smiled and shrugged her shoulders at him. She then got up to sit beside Corey.

"Hey," Ember said looking at the brown eyed boy in front of her.

The boy didn't say anything in return, although he did look at her. She sat down beside him. "I'm Ember."

"Ember? That's a pretty interesting name," the boy finally spoke.

Ember smiled. "It's my ninja name. It was given to me because of my wild, fiery nature. My real name is Brooke."

"Fiery and a ninja? Deadly combination," Corey said and smiled at her.

"Sure is! So don't mess with me," Ember replied and stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

Colt was watching the interaction between the two and he didn't like the feeling it was giving him. It felt like his stomach was in knots, something he'd never really felt before.

"So, like, what do you want to do as far as this project goes? Are we gonna, like, have to meet up after school?" Lauren asked Colt.

Colt didn't hear her, he was too focused on Ember and Corey. Lauren huffed. She wasn't used to guys ignoring her or not giving her any attention. She followed his eyes and saw where he was looking.

'He's looking at her? How pathetic,' Lauren thought to herself.

"Jeffrey," Lauren whined. This caught Colt's attention.

"It's Colt," he corrected her and then looked back over to Ember.

"Well, Colt, I was talking to you regarding our project. Why don't you stop staring at Amber over there and focus?" Lauren replied in a snarky tone.

Colt sighed and looked at Lauren. "Number one, I'm not staring. Number two, her name is Ember. And number three, I couldn't care less about this project. But since it's being forced upon us, yes, I guess let's meet after school."

"Your house?" Lauren asked.

"Sure, whatever." Colt said, his voice void of enthusiasm.

"Okay, well can I have your number? To keep in touch for the project?" Lauren asked as she handed her cellphone over to him.

Colt rolled his eyes and entered his number into the phone. The bell rang and he handed the phone back to Lauren. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He looked over to see Ember laughing and talking to Corey as they were walking out of the classroom together.

Ember and Corey had stopped a few feet away from the door, standing near the wall deep in conversation. Ember laughed again at something Corey had said. Before Colt knew what he was doing, he approached the pair.

"Let's , Ember," Colt demanded.

Ember looked at him in surprise. "Who do you think you're talking to, Colt?"

"Is this your boyfriend?" Corey asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Colt retorted and then turned back to Ember once more. "Let's ."

Ember crossed her arms and stared him down. She then turned to Corey, "No, he's not my boyfriend. Before last week, we were barely friends."

Colt was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered. "That's true. Up until last week, I couldn't stand you."

He then looked to Corey and said, "Good luck, dude. You're gonna need it."

Colt walked away, immediately wanting to kick himself for the way he had acted. He didn't know why he had such a problem with her talking to Corey in the first place. He didn't know why he had walked up to them and demanded that she leave. He was embarrassed that she hadn't and strangest of all, he was embarrassed that she denied him being her boyfriend. Which was crazy, right? He wasn't her boyfriend in any sense of the word.

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The final bell rang dismissing the entire school and soon, the parking lot was flooded with students. The four ninjas met at Rocky's car and each got into their seats. Ember stared daggers into the back of Colt's head and Tum-Tum took notice immediately. Rocky started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot, headed home.

"You okay?" Tum-Tum asked.

"Just peachy," Ember replied not taking her eyes off the back of Colt's head.

Colt was quiet as well. Rocky looked over to his brother and then looked in the rearview mirror at Ember.

"Does someone want to tell me what's going on? I thought everything was fine between the two of you." Rocky sighed.

Colt snorted and that was when Ember finally had enough of his sarcastic attitude.

"We were fine. Until Jeffrey here had to act like a complete asshole earlier today. I was talking to my new lab partner out in the hallway and Colt walked over and demanded that I leave with him."

Rocky was about to respond, but was quickly interrupted by Colt, who was now turned around in his seat to face Ember.

"You don't know that guy at all and you were laughing at everything he was saying like some stupid school girl with a crush," Colt replied. "You were basically throwing yourself at him. I was just doing you a and saving you from the embarrassment."

"Are you serious? Saving me from what embarrassment? Do you actually think it's impossible for a guy to be interested in me?" Ember asked with a slight hurt expression on her face.

"That's not what I meant—," Colt began, but was interrupted by Ember.

"That is exactly what you meant, Colt. Save it. We were never friends, so there's really no need to try to lie to make me feel better now." Ember replied, hugging her backpack to her chest.

Colt turned back in his seat defeated. He glanced over at Rocky and caught his eye. Rocky shook his head at his brother, disappointment clearly etched all over his face. Colt sighed and sank back into his seat and stayed silent for the rest of the drive.

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Dinner was unusually quiet. Jessica noticed this immediately and asked if there was something going on. Everyone assured her it was nothing, although she didn't believe them. While Ember assisted Jessica in clearing the table, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Tum-Tum yelled as he ran for the door.

Tum-Tum returned a few minutes later with Lauren Richardson trailing in behind him. "Colt, she's here for you."

Ember looked over and saw Lauren Richardson standing next to Tum-Tum, her brown hair perfectly curled and framing her face. Ember felt her stomach turn itself into a knot as she watched Colt approach Lauren. Lauren looked at Colt like he was a prize to be won, she could tell that Lauren liked him and girls like Lauren always got what they wanted.

Colt walked up to Lauren and smiled at her. "Hey Lauren, you ready to get started?"

Lauren returned his smile and the knot in Ember's stomach twisted even tighter. "I'd love to."

Colt looked back at Ember and then back to Lauren. Without a second glance at Ember, he led Lauren out of the room. "Let's go to the living room. We should have some privacy in there."

Ember felt her blood get hot at that last statement. Privacy? Privacy for what exactly? He didn't even like Lauren, why was he doing this?