"Come on, Nyx," Morgan's voice whined through the phone. I winced at the way her voice sounded higher pitched than normal due to the static. "You've barely had any fun in the past few months. Come out with us tonight and you won't regret it."

I resisted the urge to wave my hand as if waving off an annoying gnat, because that's exactly what Morgan felt like in the moment. As much as I loved her and enjoyed spending time with her, since Wednesday she had been bothering me about going out with everyone to the town pub. When she had first mentioned it, I was baffled. We were all under age, there was no way that we could go to a pub, but Jase had patiently explained to me that they were friends with the owner and they liked to have an outing there every once and awhile, mostly when one of them needed to let loose. I was the someone who needed to let loose.

"I don't know," I grumbled quietly, pressing the phone between my face and my shoulder as I opened the cabinet, searching for a book of crackers to nibble on. "I was kind of hoping to stay in tonight and work on some homework."

"Nyx." Morgan's voice was flat, unamused. "It's the weekend, you can do your homework on Sunday. Please just come out with us. If you don't enjoy yourself, I'm sure one of the boys would be more than willing to take you home."

I wanted to slam my head against the counter. It seemed like the more that I fought it, the more persistent Morgan got. For as long as I had known her, which hadn't been very long at all, I'd known that she was rather persuasive and I was typically the one she was trying to persuade into doing something. I was beginning to wonder if it was some sort of supernatural power she had, because she was all too good at it. I shut the cabinet door and rest my head forehead again, letting out a shaky breath.

"Okay," I whispered into the phone. "I'll go out with you guys tonight. But if I decide I want to leave, I'm out of there, okay?"

"Yes! Okay! Perfect!" Morgan exclaimed, clearly pleased that she had talked me into going out. "I'll see you tonight, babe. If you need any help deciding what to wear, text me and I'll be happy to help."

With that, Morgan hung up, leaving the dial tone to ring in my ears. I set my phone down, my hands shaky. I inhaled deeply, hoping that maybe if I could control my anger I could control mu anger towards myself. No such luck. Something inside me snapped, and I lashed out, my fist colliding with the wood cabinet. I backed away after feeling the sharp sting in my hand; angry wasn't my MO, it had always been Xander.

Xander, the athlete with the bad temper; Nyx the popular artist; Carson, the adorable baby. That's how it had been up until I fucked everything up by going insane.

Despite the fact I was bleeding, I shoved my hand through my hair, pushing it away from my eyes. It was beginning to grow past my shoulders, resulting in my bangs constantly falling into my face. I made a face, catching my reflection in the mirror. I tore open the drawer next to the sink and grinned at the sight of the scissors. I'd only cut my hair myself one time and it had resulted in a choppy bob that everyone pretended to love. I couldn't care less about how my hair would suffer, I was growing old of my hair obscuring my vision.

Without much thought to what I was doing, I padded to the bathroom and locked it behind me. I brought the blades up to where my hair rested beneath my shoulder then snip! I watched the locks drift into the sink then continued until locks just barely tickled my shoulders. With that party I ran my fingers through my bangs then pushed them to either side, revealing my obsidian eyes. For an irrational decision, my hair didn't look half bad. I beamed, pleased with how my hair had turned out, then cleaned up my mess.

Since I didn't have much time left until Jase, Mik, and Landon would be eagerly dragging me out of the house, I came to the decision it would be best to get ready. I started towards the bathroom door when I caught sight of my busted knuckles in the mirror. I huffed out an impatient sigh and rooted through the cabinet until I found a box of band aids. I eyed it up then merely rolled my eyes and ran my fist under the faucet, wincing at the slight sting.

With that taken care of, I pranced through the hall, to my room. I slid into the first outfit I could think off: a sheer black long sleeved top and ripped black jeans. I ruffled my hair, pouting slightly, trying to decide if I should do something with it.

"Hey, Nyx, I was-" Landon stopped mid-sentence and I looked up, flashing a smile at him. "You cut your hair! It looks... it looks really nice."

I turned to face him, completely, twirling a lock of my hair around my pointer finger. "Thank you. It was kind of a whim of the moment thing. But I'm glad I did it."

"If it makes you happy, then I'm glad you did it too." The way he said that simple sentence had shivers running down my spine. I wound my arms around my waist, hugging myself tight.

"Thanks," my voice was softer than I meant it to be, but I pushed on. "Did you come in here for a reason? Need help with something?"

"Oh yeah," he said, as if suddenly realizing that he had stopped by my room for something. "I was wondering if you'd seen Mik. Isaiah's losing his mind, trying to find him."

I frowned. "No, I haven't. Is he okay? Did something happen?"

Landon shook his head fast, a little too fast. "No no no. He's okay. Sometimes he just likes time by himself but Isaiah is always worrying. Thank you anyways. I can't wait to have fun with you tonight."

After that, he quickly exited my room, shutting the door behind him. The frown on my face remained and I sunk onto the bed, my high from cutting my hair disintegrating. How much longer was I going to be treated like an outsider?

***

Oliver's Pub was almost on the outskirts of town and the parking lot was overflowing, undoubtedly because it was a Saturday night. I recognized a few faces from school and that fact alone had my heart racing. The only people I had really interacted with so far was the guys, Morgan, Paisley, and Kaleia. The sight of kids from our school had me cowering away, leaning against the SUV. Paisley noticed my sudden attempt at hiding and rolled her eyes, looping her arm through mine.

"Did I tell you," she said, leading me towards the door with a big grin on her face. She wasn't watching where she was going, her eyes pinned on my face as if I was the most important thing in the world currently. "That you look really beautiful tonight?"

I blinked several times, shocked by her kind words, but also thankful for the hidden distraction in the compliment. I pulled her into a side hug, squeezing my eyes shut to prevent tears from forming. I had never had a friends like Paisley and Morgan and while we hadn't been friends for that long, I was certain I never wanted to lose them.

"Pretty girl!"

I turned around, searching for who had called out to me. My lips lifted into a smile when I met eyes with Mik's. I wasn't sure where he had been or when the others had found him, but I was pleased that he had decided to come along with us. I opened my arms wide, daring him to come give me a hug.

"Bring it in, cutie!" I called over to him. His eyes lit up, accepting the dare I had presented him. Even with Landon and Isaiah shouting at him that 'he better not if he ever wanted to have children' he raced at me and threw himself into my arms. I let out a loud laugh, stumbling backwards into Paisley who caught me by the shoulders, holding me up as I hugged Mik tightly. Out of all the boys, I got along with him the best and was looking forward to spend the night with him.

I stuck my tongue out at Isaiah over my shoulder, keeping an arm around Mik as we entered the pub. The pub was crowded but not so much so that I was bumping into someone every time I moved. I glanced around, searching for a place for us to make home base, but before I could find a spot, a hand had landed on my arm. The owner of the hand, Isaiah, lead me towards a big booth in the back corner. When we finally reached it, Morgan slid her ass across the table and sat in the far corner, earning her a glare from Cassius. She pretended to ignore it, helping Paisley wiggle out of her jacket.

I leaned against the wood part of the booth, crossing my arms and scanning the area. "What first?"

"We dance!" Paisley cried enthusiastically. She grabbed me and Morgan's hands, pulling us towards where most people were clustered together to dance. The boys called after us, but we all ignored them, giggling. Part of me knew I should have listened to them, but I couldn't recall the last time I had a night of fun with girl friends and I was going to soak up every moment of it.

It took me less than 30 seconds to get into the music. As soon as I got a feel for the beat, I was moving my body along with it. I laughed as I watched Paisley pretend to grind on Morgan. I threw my arms above my head, moving my hips and getting lost in the music. Before everything had gone to shit I used to love going to concerts or clubs just to get lost in the music and dance to it. I wasn't sure how long we had been on the dance floor, when Jase had been sent to gather us so we could knock back a few drinks.

I found myself in Morgan's lap at the booth, which didn't seem to bother her, Paisley, or I. It was pretty clear to all three of us that I wasn't interested in either girl romantically and vice versa, we'd just grown comfortable enough that I could sit in her lap to preserve room. Paisley had opted to sit in Jase's lap, her head leaning against my shoulder.

"Let's play Never Have I Ever," I shouted to be heard of the music. We'd had a couple shots already but at the moment were nursing beers and water to make sure we didn't get wasted. N one disputed the idea which I'd come to learn meant they were in agreement. "I'll start." I crossed my eyes as I searched my mind for something then grinned. "Never have I ever kissed a girl!"

"Ah, fuck you!" Morgan exclaimed, her laughter vibrating through her. I giggled, watching as everyone at the table but me took a swig of their beer.

"Little shit!" Isaiah called over to me.

"To think that we all liked you," Jase joked, shooting me a playful grin. I stuck my tongue out but then dissolved into laughter, resting my head against the back of the booth.

"I'll go now," Landon offered, though there was a spark of mischief in his eyes. "Never have I ever gotten detention."

Mik and Isaiah simultaneously reached over to punch him, while the rest of us groaned and took a drink. All eyes were on me as I swallowed and I smirked, shrugging slightly. I might have been well behaved around them, but it didn't mean I always had been.

"Our baby girl has a dark side," Paisley teased me. I blew her a kiss then nudged Jase in the side, urging him to go next. He swatted at my arm and I snapped my teeth at him, miming a bite. We both dissolved into laughter and the small part of me that was still sober was wondering why I was being so bold with the boys, but I brushed it off, having too much fun to truly care.

"Never have I ever crashed a car." Jase stared directly at Mik and Cassius as he said this, causing my eyebrows to shoot up.

"Motherfucker." Cassius grumbled and my eyes widened at the fact that he had sworn so openly. I was certain I had heard him swear a few times before, but never that loudly. Maybe he would loosen up some with booze in his system.

A finger jabbed at my ribs and I let out a squeak before bursting into giggles from the way it tickled. I batted the hand away, shooting Landon a dirty look who laughed and shrugged, feigning innocence. Morgan's arm around my waist tightened and she smacked Landon's arm with her free hand.

"Hands off the baby," she crooned, resting her chin on my shoulder. I felt fuzzy and warm from the amount of affection I was receiving, and even though my cheeks hurt, I didn't want to stop smiling.

We played a few more rounds of Never Have I Ever, resulting in all of us having a pretty good buzz (except for Isaiah and Cassius, apparently the only responsible ones among us). With liquid courage roaring through my veins, I gripped Jase and Mik's hands, dragging them onto the dance floor with me. I pressed my body against Mik who's face instantly turned bright red, moving my hips and winding my arms around his neck. I laughed, pressing my face into his chest as we danced.

As Jase tugged me away from Mik, towards him, obviously having decided it was his turn, I froze catching sight of something out of the corner of my eye. A leering face, glowing yellow eyes, horns, and talons. I momentarily forgot how to breathe, lights flashing in my eyes, voices and music overwhelming me as I kept my eyes focused on the demonic face that was sneering at me. I stumbled backwards, my hand fluttering over my heart as it began to pound.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." I muttered over and over, directing it towards Jase. His eyebrows furrowed together and he reached out for me, probably trying to grab onto me and make sure I was okay, but I was afraid if he touched me I would break. I turned away, pushing through the crowd to get to the door. Once I reached the doors, I threw my fully body weight at them, tumbling out into the dark and cool night.

I landed on my knees, scraping them against the concrete of the parking lot. I pressed my forehead against the ground, struggling to remember my breathing counts to calm down again. I pulled myself to my feet and tried to move out of the way of the door, hearing footsteps coming up behind me. Before I could shuffle over to the bench that was against the wall, a hand wrapped around my elbow and I let out a small yelp, swinging,

Another hand caught my fist and I dragged my eyes up, meeting stormy grey-blue orbs. Cassius' mouth was drawn down into a frown and his eyebrows were pulled together, expressing the concern he was feeling for me in the moment.

"I saw you fly out of there like a bat out of hell," he muttered, releasing my fist. I let my arm drop down next to my side limply. My entire body felt numb and my shoulders slumped forward slightly. "What happened, Nyx?"

I didn't want to talk about it and certainly not with Cassius, the one boy who I had yet to grasp some sort of understanding about him. I wrapped my arms around myself, ducking my head down to hide the tears that I was certain were glassing over my eyes. "Will you take me home?'

There was silence for a moment then arms went around me. "Okay," he said, his voice soft. "Let's get you home."

The drive home paralleled my drive home from the diner with Jase; it was silent and I spent the entirety of it staring out the window, watching the lines on the road. I was nearly asleep when I felt the gravel crunch underneath the car. When the car came to a stop, neither Cassius or I made a move to get out. I knew he was waiting for me to explain, and I was sure I wouldn't want to, but there was a sliver of something in my chest urging me to open my mouth and tell him about it.

I refused to look at him as I opened my mouth, tears overflowing. "I'm sure you won't understand," I said, wrapping my arms around myself so tight that it was almost effecting my breathing. "But I see things, and that's why they deemed me crazy. I haven't seen anything in so long, but tonight, on the dance floor, I did. It was leering at me, as if it was mocking me or something and I don't know. I just thought I was finally normal but then this happened and I'm scared and I hate it."

"Nyx." My name came out as a whisper, but there was so much emotion in it that I my eyes met his. My breath left me in a gasp. Just by looking at him I could see: he was hurting for me, but also longing for me. "Please listen to me when I say, none of us think you're crazy. We think you're lovely and we all want to be there for you, if you'd just let us. Let us in."

"You have to let me in too," I choked out, though I was unconsciously moving closer to him. He was moving closer too, though neither of us seemed to care. "I want to be let in. I want to be one of you."

"You are one of us, Nyx." There was such conviction in his voice that I shivered, reaching out to trace his lips. He caught my hand and pressed it against his chest, his eyes scanning over my face then landing on my lips. "We care about you. I care about you. I know I haven't exactly shown it but I've been afraid you wouldn't like me-"

"Shut up," I demanded in a whispered.

He did exactly that, cupping my face and slamming his lips against mine. I pressed against him, barely feeling my seat belt trying to restrain me. I ran my hands up his chest and then around his neck, my fingers tangling in the hair at the base of his head. His hands gripped my hips as if trying to pull me closer; I nipped at his bottom lip, evoking a groan from him. I reached back to unbuckle myself, and swung my legs over until I was in his lap.

Our lips clashed together, fighting for dominance a few minutes longer, until we both had to surface for air. We pulled away and he brought my face close, peppering kisses all over my face. A voice in the back of my head screamed at me, wondering what I was doing, but I brushed it away. I knew deep down I was experiencing emotions for the boys and I didn't want to fight it any longer, not if it felt like this. Cassius pecked at my lips then brushed his lips against my nose.

"Sleep in my room with me tonight, okay?" he whispered, brushing hair away from my face. "I can't stand the idea of you having nightmares and having no one to comfort you."

"Okay." I agreed then pressed my lips to his again.

a/n: uhhhh I'm super nervous about this chapter but I'm also really hoping you guys enjoy it. If anyone disses on the face it's Cassius she kisses I might fight because he's my baby he just hasn't had his time to shine yet, but he will. Let me know what you think and tell me how many of you are getting bad vibes and feel like bad stuff is lurking ahead.

xoxo,

ry.