It's Thursday, 2 more days till the weekend.

I drag myself out of bed; 6:45am. I change into a pair of jean shorts and a red crop top with white Adidas shoes. I straighten my hair and spray it with hair spray, brushing through it with my hands to make sure it's not frizzy.

I walk downstairs and into the living room. I see Payton and Liam sitting on the sofa and Zed; sitting on the chair near the TV, using his phone. I smile as Payton looks up at me.

"Good morning" Payton greets me

"Morning" I reply

Zed doesn't look at me, he simply gets up and walks out. Doesn't even acknowledge me like a normal human being would. Payton and Liam both watch him leave with confusion and pitty in their eyes.

"Your still not talking to each other?" Liam sighs

I shake my head

"What happened?" Payton asks

"It's nothing" I lower my voice, "when are we leaving for school?" I change the subject

"We are leaving in 2 minutes, your staying here" Payton informs me

"I'm not staying in this stupid house any longer!" I snap

"You'll have to talk to Max" Liam claims

I nod, turning around and walking out of the room. I head upstairs; towards Max's office. His office door is slightly open which means someone's in there. I knock on the door once and wait for a reply or an acceptable answer to come in.

"I'm in here" I hear Max's voice echo from the room

I walk into his office but freeze when I see Zed standing opposite Max on opposite ends of the desk. My eyes lock with Zed's for a split second before we both look at Max.

"Maddie, just on time" Max smiles

"What?" I raise an eyebrow

"Me and Zed were just talking about you" Max says

"What were you talking about?" I ask

"Zed thinks it's a good idea if we homeschool you" Max talks for Zed

"WHAT!" I raise my voice, "no way, your not doing this to me! I want to go to school, I need to go to school like a normal person" I protest

"She's not ready to go back" Zed talks to Max

"Let's see what everyone else has to say" Max suggest

"Yeah! Do that!" I agree

"BOYS!" Max shouts

All the boys come running into Max's office within seconds. Zack has wet hair, Liam and Payton look normal while Cole has a bowl of cereal in his hands. Zed huffs loud enough for me to hear the annoyance in his tone. Does he really hate me? Max stands up and looks at everyone.

"Who thinks Maddie should be homeschooled?" Max ask's everyone

Zed raises his hand but everyone else stands still. Max nods with understanding of what everyone else is thinking. He then clears his throat while Zed lowers his hand.

"Who thinks Maddie should go back to school?" Max ask's

Liam, Zack, Cole, Payton and I raise our hands in agreement. Max nods again. Zed looks at everyone with anger, his fists clench at his sides.

"Do you really feel good, letting her go back to school knowing Chase and his gang are going to be there!" Zed states

"Max, Ill stay with Hazel the whole day" I try to persuade him

"Max, Hazel can't protect Maddie" Zed states

"Max, Hazel is safer than some stranger" I claim

"Max, Maddie is safer in the house than at school" Zed continues

"I'm not staying in this house any longer" I shout

"She can't go back to school" Zed shouts over me

"Yes I can" I shout again

"No you can't" Zed shouts back

"I can take care of myself" I snap

Something seems to click in Zed because he actually looks at me, his eyes wide. He looked hurt by my words, the same expression from our last conversation. I realise that while me and Zed were arguing at each other through Max, everyone had been watching. Everyone seemed to disappear for a moment because all I could see was Zed moving closer towards me. He looks down at me and I look up into his eyes.

"Never, and I mean NEVER, think you can take on the world alone... because you can't" Zed speaks up

Zed takes one last look into my eyes and then walks out of Max's office. World around me becomes less of a blur and I see max and the boys again. Cole and Zack look a little confused, Liam is clueless, Payton seems suspicious and Max is just lost.

"Why does Zed hate you?" Cole ask's

"What did you do?" Zack questions

"I've never seen him so upset" Liam adds

I ignore all the questions and comments, I turn to look at Max. I want him to say something, Anything. But he stands in place like a lost puppy. My thoughts get the best of me and i think back to the night I was wondering around L.A streets, the night Zed came to pick me up. I said the same thing to him, 'I can take care of myself'.

"Maddie" Max snaps me out of my thoughts

"Yeah?" I reply

"Are you coming to school or not?" Max ask's a little too harshly

"Yeah I'm coming with you" I faintly smile

When we walk downstairs, Zed is gone. He's always gone when I'm around, I really miss him! But he doesn't miss me.