"He's cute." Grace yawned, leaning against Otto.

"Hey, that's my man you're talking about." Geoff said, slapping her leg lightly. "Yeah and that's my...wait what makes him cuter than me?" Otto asked with a pout.

"You're the cutest bae but he is still cute. Nowhere near as cute as you though." She said hurriedly. "And I'm not stealing you're man, I'm just stating a fact." She said, addressing Geoff.

The taller sighed and nodded. "He is cute but he thinks it's her." He spat out the word as if it were poisoned. "Awsten thinks she's his angel but she's not. I am."

"Why don't you tell him then?" Otto suggested as he ran his fingers through Grace's feathery locks.

Geoff's mouth dropped open and he shook his head violently. "Are you fucking dumb? I can never do that!" The mere thought was enough to almost send him into a panic attack.

Yes he could act all cocky and tough at times but when it came to cute guys that he knew for a fact didn't love him back, it practically killed him.

Otto could seen the shock in his friends eyes. He pushed himself away from the tree stump, causing Grace to slip off his lap. He leant forward and gently held Geoff's wrist, running his fingers over the dark mark.

"Simply meant to be." Otto read. "It's a beautiful quote for beautiful minds."

For some strange reason, his friends words were like a knife to the heart to Geoff. His mind wasn't beautiful. It was fucked up and a dark, scary place. It wasn't somewhere you wanted to be in.

"It's too late. He thinks I hate him. I've lost every chance I ever had." Geoff felt warm droplets land in his skin, running down the tanned flesh. He hasn't even noticed he had been crying until violent sobs wracked his body.

Arms wrapped around his shaking body; he relaxed into their warm and comforting embrace. A hand stroked his hair soothingly.

"Geoff sweetheart calm down. Everything will be ok." Grace spoke softly and started to tell Geoff what was going to happen. She knew from experience that when he was feeling down and hating himself, the best thing was to tell him step by step what to do. It gave him something to focus on.

"Ok so we're gonna stand up. Otto and I will stay with you as we walk into the building and to your next class. Can you tell me what it is?" She asked gently. Otto opened his mouth to answer but Grace held up a hand, cutting him off. She wanted to see if Geoff was calm enough to answer first.

Otto closed his mouth as Geoff told her. "Music." Geoff sobbed, crying harder as he realised he would have to face Awsten again.

Grace looked over Geoff's head to her boyfriend. A silent conversation passed between them, spoken through eye contact and and facial expressions alone. Otto sighed heavily and nodded, giving in. He didn't want to fight with Grace.

She smirked and loosened her grip on the tall boy, his sobs becoming quieter and less. After a few more tears shed, Grace and Otto encouraged Geoff to stand up and reluctantly walk inside.

Their footsteps and the occasional sniffle were the only noises heard in the desolate hallway. Everyone else had made their way to class and the loud noises reverberated around the empty walls.

With a soft kiss for Otto and a gentle hug for Geoff, Grace scampered off to class. Hand in hand Otto pushed open the door, Geoff following close behind. Luckily for them their teacher was ill and the substitute was half asleep behind the desk.

Everyone else had already migrated to their own groups which left Awsten on his own in the middle of the class. The scene reminded Geoff of an island with Awsten being land and the tirade of students as the waves.

A bubble of laughter almost escaped his lips but the worry and anxiety in the pit of his stomach dragged it back down. How could one person cause this much pain to Geoff? Awsten had wormed his way into the brunette's brain since they met and refused to leave.

"Goddamn you Awsten Knight." Geoff muttered, tightening his grip on Otto's hand. Otto winced but kept quiet, he knew Geoff was stressed. He felt the same way when he met Grace. Grace took his breath away from the moment he set eyes on her. She had captured his heart.

"Gee, calm down and go talk to him. I will be right behind you, I promise. You will need to talk to him about certain elements. You can't ignore him forever." Whispered Otto as they edged closer to the boy in the middle of the room.

Though Geoff knew he was right he refused to acknowledge it. Instead he nodded once and walked slightly faster, still clutching his friends hand.

Awsten looked up from the guitar he had been strumming for around about ten minutes after spotting two pairs of shoes appear on the floor below him.

"Can I help you?" He asked coldly, choosing to stare at the wall behind the two brunettes. The taller of the three crouched down until he was at the perfect height to force Awsten into eye contact.

Unfortunately for Geoff, Awsten closed his eyes. "Asshole." He heard Geoff mutter. Beside him, the blue boy heard Otto snigger. "Just leave him dude and pick a guitar. We can warm up together."

Parting his fingers slightly, Awsten peeped through the gaps. He saw Geoff look up at Otto and shake his head. "Nah, you go warm up. Awsten and I need to talk about writing chords and shit."

"Ok, if that's what you want." Otto sighed and turned around, heading towards a lone drum kit in the corner.

Awsten lowered his hand once Geoff had, shakily, stood up and walked over to the guitar lined wall.

Most people in his class had gone for the acoustics so he was free to pick whichever electric he wanted. Except there was one problem. Someone had his favourite.

And that someone went by the name of Awsten Knight.

A little pissed off, Geoff grabbed one that had minimal blood and wasn't covered in unidentifiable stains before heading back over to Awsten.

The brunette pulled up a chair and plonked his ass down in it in front of the blue haired boy. Awsten didn't look at him. Instead he was focused rather intensely on the instrument in his skinny arms.

"Ahem." Geoff said loudly. No response. "I said ahem." He repeated.

"Oh I thought you were going through some kind of religious ritual and finishing a prayer." The younger boy spoke, still not looking up.

Rolling his eyes, Geoff held out an empty hand and thrusted his opposite hand out. In his right hand was the guitar and his left hand was waiting patiently to receive the stringed instrument from Awsten.

It was then that Awsten chose to look up. He glanced at both of Geoff's outstretched hands and sighed. "What do you want?"

"That's my guitar. I would like it back please." The brunette said, remembering his manners and that he wanted Awsten to like him and not hate him.

"Um did you pay for it?" Awsten queried, one eyebrow raised. "Not exactly." Geoff said slowly.

"Then you can't have it." Awsten said with a shrug. Anger boiled in Geoff's stomach like an overflowing pot. He snapped. "Fucking look at me!" He yelled. Startled, Awsten had no other option than to make eye contact with the incredibly scary -and potentially violent- boy.

Heterochromic eyes started into crystal blues. Both marks glowed turquoise. Awsten didn't notice his but Geoff's caught his eyes.

He averted his gaze down to the arm with the empty palm. Geoff lowered his right hand, letting the guitar gently connect with the floor.

"It's pretty." Awsten breathed. "It's so blue. Just like your eyes. And green like half of mine." His calloused fingers skimmed over the still glowing mark; his dual toned irises were full of wonder.

"Who is it?" Awsten asked curiously, still examining the symbol. It hadn't clicked yet. Geoff felt his heart crack even more, a couple of spidery lines zigzagged across the veined arterie.

"Look down." The brunette whispered softly. Confused, Awsten glanced down at his own wrist. His own glowing wrist. His own glowing blue and emerald wrist.

The guitar slipped from his grasp. The penny dropped. His eyes flickered up to Geoff's calm gaze.

"No. Not you. Why you? I fucking hate you!"

Can y'all tell yet that my favourite word to use is reverberate? I swear I try and fit it in either every chapter or book lmao xox