Thank you to @EmosRGreat for the amazing cover!!

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"K.C. Brooks!" a loud voice called over the courtyard of the school and I cringed when hearing the voice.

"What?" I asked Marie, who was walking up to me with fast strides in her flowy, turquoise dress and white cardigan.

"What is this I hear about you going out on a date with Max?" she asked me, raising both off her eyebrows with a tight smile.

"Uh, what you hear is true?" I spoke, trying to answer her question.

"I didn't know you liked Max," she told me and let out a forced laugh.

It wasn't hard to tell that she didn't like the fact that I went out with Max. She obviously liked him and hated that it wasn't her he took out.

"Um, I don't know," I told her. "He's really nice and we had a good time."

Actually, I didn't like Max in any type of way romantically. Could we be friends someday? Maybe. But I would never want it to grow into something more. He just wasn't my type.

Right now I just wanted to etch Marie on, on how he didn't take her out. I know it was mean but I was really really starting to dislike her.

"Oh. Well, it sounds like you had a lot of fun," she spoke through her gritted teeth, the corners of her lips still forced up into a smile.

"We did."

"Great!" she exclaimed with faked happiness. "Okay then, I'll see you later!"

She gave me one last tight lipped smiled before spinning around and walking off with fast strides.

I watched with a surprised look as she walked over to some friends of hers. But just as much as I was surprised, I was also relieved. Usually, this is the time when she and I would walk to class together. But now that she was mad at me, I'm guessing I was free of her for a while.

I smiled to myself at how lucky my morning has been and started making my way to the building I had my first class in.

As I was walking to the entrance of the building I had to go in, the door opened and two Elite girls walked out.

Once they layed eyes on me, they began to speak in hushed whispers to each other, sneaking glances at me while walking past me.

I gave them a weird look but kept walking when I bumped into somebody.

My eyes widened when I recognised who it was. It was the girl that was with the other two guys trying to find me when I was with Hayden after the fight when I barely moved here. In her company was some Bandit guy that I didn't know.

I froze, not knowing if she recognised me.

She narrowed her eyes at me and smacked her gum. "Can you watch it, Elite!" she spat with a dirty look.

My jaw dropped and I met her glare.

"Excuse me? If you weren't standing in the middle of the hallway, maybe I wouldn't have run into you!" I shot back.

She raised an eyebrow and parted her lips in surprise as if she couldn't believe that I just spoke back to her like that.

"Hey! Watch what you say!" the guy standing behind her said to me.

My gaze switched to him and I narrowed my eyes at him. "I didn't know this concerned you."

"Listen here, you little brat. Just because you live on the Eastside doesn't mean that your Elite ass is allowed to talk to us like that," the girl shot.

"My Elite ass? Who the hell said I was an Elite?" I asked them, mad that they would just make assumptions like that.

"Well, you're obviously not a Bandit," the girl chuckled humorlessly as she eyed me up and down with distaste.

I looked down at my blue jeans and gray t-shirt, wondering what her problem was.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I argued and took a step towards her.

"You wanna find out?" she dared me and also took a step closer.

"Whoa! What's going on here?" another voice called that I immediately recognised.

Hayden walked up to us and pulled us away from each other, putting some distance between us.

"Back off Hayden," the girl said to him, glaring at him. "She's mine to deal with." Her gaze switched back to me.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "You wouldn't be able to."

She took an angry step towards me but Hayden put out his hand to keep her from walking any further.

"Alright, stop," Hayden told us. "Wayde, go," he said to the guy and nodded his head down the hallway.

Wayde nodded and walked off, leaving only Hayden, the girl and me.

"What the hell is going on?" Hayden asked us.

"Hayden, seriously. Get lost," I spoke and glared at him. "We can do this without you."

Hayden looked a little taken aback by my harsh words and I felt a little bad, but not enough to apologise.

I was still mad about about the fact that he wouldn't help me with the murder. I obviously wasn't some irresponsible kid that didn't have any common sense. And what pissed me off even more was that he acted like he never forbid me to help when we saw each other again.

And yes, maybe I was also frustrated about Marie and not getting any closer to what my dad was hiding and I was taking the anger out on him.

"Hayden! This bratty little Elite thinks she can just do anything she wants! Stop protecting her!" the girl exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes. "Incase you haven't noticed, she's not an Elite."

"I told you so," I said to her and smirked.

She gritted her teeth and growled at me, her eyes set into a glare.

"Josie, stop," Hayden warned.

"What is up with you?!" Josie exclaimed. "First you meet up with some mystery girl, then your totally secretive about anything we ask you and then you just protect this random girl....," her mouth dropped open and she stared at him as if realising something.

Oh no.

"This is the girl you met up with, isn't it?" she asked him and pointed at me. "She's the one that has you all secretive and AWOL."

Her eyes glinted with mischief and she smiled evilly.

"Joce, you can't tell anybody," Hayden spoke seriously.

"Why? Cause she's the same girl that went out with Max? The Elite's favorite boy?" she taunted.

I narrowed my eyes at her, liking her less and less by the second.

"Josie, this will not get out. Unless you want your little secret to spill too," he threatened.

"You wouldn't," Josie spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes gleaming with anger.

"You know I would," Hayden replied.

"Fine!" she spat. "But remember, if you talk, so will I!" she called before stomping down the empty hallway and slamming open a door at the other end to get outside.

"What the hell was that?! Why did you do that? What do you think you were doing?!" I yelled and turned to Hayden.

"What was I doing? You were about to get into a fight with a girl you don't even know," he argued.

"You fight all the time!"

"Because I know how to!"

"I could have handled it," I seethed.

I didn't let him reply as I sent him one last glare before walking down the hallway and to my class, wanting to get away from Hayden.

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I was sitting on top of a brick wall that went up to a little under my shoulders when I was standing next to it.

Since it was lunchtime, I was eating an apple when two Elite girls walked up to me. I looked down to them, waiting to see what they wanted.

"Are you K.C. Brooks?" one of the girls asked. She pushed up her glassed while waiting for my reply.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You went out with Max Davis, right?" the other girl said.

"Uh, yeah."

"How was it?" the first girl excitedly asked. "Was it everything you dreamed of? Was he totally sweet? I heard that every girl he ever went out with immediately fell for him."

They both looked up at me expectantly.

"It....uh....was good?" I replied, even though it sounded more like a question.

"Oh my god!" both girls squealed and jumped up and down. "That's so cute!"

I stared at them weirdly.

Why was everyone acting so crazy today? Or was it just me?

They were about to say something else when their gazes caught on something to their right and they gasped quietly.

I looked in the direction they were staring and saw Hayden walking our way, a scary frown on his face.

The girls quickly scampered away, not wanting to be anywhere near him.

"Hey, you scared away my friends," I scowled at him.

Of course they weren't really my friends but I was still mad at him for this morning. And last night.

"I'm sure you can discuss your guys's love for Max some other time," he fired back with no hint of amusement.

"What do you want?" I rudely asked him, just because he was also giving me attitude.

He walked up to me and dropped a folder into my lap before leaning against the wall right next to my dangling legs.

"Hold this," I said and pushed my half-eaten apple against Hayden's chest who grabbed it out of surprise.

I opened the folder and studied the paper laying inside.

It was a death certificate. From yesterday.

It was a guy in his mid-twenties. On the picture attached, you could see his head that had a tattoo crawling up the side of his face. Obviously not an Elite. The cause of death was being shot in the chest.

"What am I suppose to do with this?" I asked Hayden who was currently eating my apple. "Hey!" I exclaimed and tried to grab back my apple but he had already finished it.

"Look at the next paper," was all he said.

I took out the second paper and saw that it was another death certificate.

This one was of the guy that we had seen after he had gotten shot. The one who's ring was apparently stolen. What surprised me was that his cause of death was also getting shot.

But then why would the principal lie about why he died and say that he was drunk and hit his head?

"Where did you get this?" I asked Hayden who was lighting a cigarette.

"I stole it out of the principal's office."

"You what?!" I yelled and smacked the back of his head with the folder. "Do you ever think?"

"Yes. And ow!"

He took a drag of his cigarette and turned around, leaning his arms on top of the brick wall.

"What I want to know, is why they're covering it up. And why the other guy's death hasn't been announced," he said.

"I though you didn't want me to have anything to do with this," I questioned him and smirked.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, I was wrong. I need your help to figure it out," he said and rolled him eyes.

I smiled in satisfaction and closed the folder. "Good. That's all I wanted to hear."

"K.C.?" a voice called and Max suddenly came into view. "Hey, I was told you'd be here."

His friendly smile turned into a look of distaste when he saw Hayden standing next to me. Hayden watched him with the same expression, both of them having a sort of staring contest.

"What do you want, Davis?" Hayden was the first to speak.

"That doesn't concern you, Warren," Max replied with a scowl etched onto his face.

Hayden stood upright and dropped his cigarette on the ground, stomping on it to put it out and crossing his arms over his chest.

"How about you run along. You're not needed here," Hayden said in a cold voice.

I stayed quiet, not wanting to get involved.

I had a feeling this went deeper than just both of them wanting to talk to me.

"Or how about you just stop bothering K.C. and leave her alone. I'm sure she doesn't appreciate being harassed by you," Max fired back.

"Listen up you little fucker," Hayden exclaimed, getting mad. "Either you leave or I'm gonna have to knock some sense into you. And I'm sure you don't feel like losing another fight."

"You saying you wanna fight me?"

"No! No fighting," I cut in and jumped off of the wall to stand in the middle of the two. "There's no need to fight."

"What the hell do you think I'm saying?" Hayden said, ignoring me.

"Fine," Max seethed. "Tomorrow, 8pm at old construction sight."

"8pm? What? You gotta be in bed by 9?" Hayden smirked and I had to roll my lips into my mouth to hide my smile.

"Just thought you'd be busy robbing some store at night," Max shot back. "Then at 11."

"Can't wait," Hayden told him and smirked tauntingly.

Max shot him an angry glare before looking at me and sending a smile. After that he walked off, leaving Hayden and me behind.

"And you said I was acting stupid?" I asked him, referring to when he stopped Jocie and me from attacking each other.

"Relax," he said and rolled his eyes. "We do this once or twice a month. It's nothing new."

"You guys are both idiots."

Hayden shrugged and took back the folder that was still in my hands. He put it into my backpack as I watched him with a questioning look.

"I need you to keep this safe and hidden," he told me.

"Oh and if someone does find it, I get blamed," I scoffed.

"Just do it. Will you?"

I rolled my eyes but kept the folder in my backpack and slung it over my shoulder.

"What do you plan on doing now?" I asked him. "About the murders."

"I don't know. We can discuss it tonight though. Meet me at Charly's at 8. See you there, princess," he said and winked at me, walking off before I even had a chance to reply.

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Hello!! What do you guys think about Hayden and Max fighting once again? It seems like things are getting worse and worse between the two. And what is K.C. going to do?

Hope you guys liked the chapter! Remember to comment and vote!

Love you!

-Emili