Heres the next chapter hope you enjoy!
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Devan sat in his bed one afternoon from school feeling exhausted and confused. It had been days since the truth came out about being Collins Key's sibling and it did no benefit for him. Annabelle and Nathan seemed to both get the message that he was vulnerable and they could pick on him whenever they wanted, and thats what they've been doing. In the hallway, the auditorium, anywhere they could. No one seemed to stop them or they would do it at the right time when the teacher wasn't looking.

He was distancing himself from his friends too. He no longer sat at the lunch table, now his spot was in the hall next to a trash can. Mare tried talking to him a few times but it never lifted his spirits. Everyone hated him, she hated him. The worst thing he could've done was linger the fib as much as he did, and now Stella wants nothing to do with him. He made countless attempts to apologize, but it was no use. She will never talk to him again..and its all his fault.

{Earlier that day}

Devan let his bookbag weigh down on his shoulders as he made his way through the halls that morning. As he did, he felt all eyes follow him, judging eyes. They penetrated his skin and left scars on his wounded soul. Everyone had the right to feel this way towards him, he was a lier—a fake. But it didn't mean those whispers and angry looks wouldn't hurt him.

He sighed and pulled on the straps on the heavy backpack tighter. Soon, the dreaded moment came as he walked into the men's bathroom to hide, Nate and his crew were there. As if things couldn't get worse, the boys made eye contact with him and gave a mischievous grin. Devan tried to avoid them but a tight grip of a hand held the boy in his place. It was Nathan, "Where do you think you're going, shrimp?" Unable to answer, he looked down once the rest of the gang huddled around him. Oh gosh, just leave me alone, Devan thought miserably.

Two of the boys pulled his bookbag off him while one held Dev down on the wall. As the others went through his bag, Nathan just grinned, "You asked for this, shrimpy. Mess with my girl, you mess with me." Devan wasn't about to argue that Stella wasn't Nate's, then again..he was already feeling so vulnerable. Nathan shrugged his arms, "I'm gonna be nice and let you decide, swirly or wedgie?" The bullies laughed, causing the younger one to feel like crawling into a hole and never coming out. At that moment, Devan wanted nothing more than anything to just disappear.

{Time Skip}

"Okay class, let's pair up with your partners and practice the dismal scene," Mrs. Kline announced at practice that afternoon. Devan didn't want to be there, no one wanted him. He glanced around him and saw Stella standing on the other side of the room, clearly avoiding his existence. Who would blame her? She trusted Devan and he betrayed her.

"Mr. Key and Miss. Green, may I talk to you two on stage?" Hearing their names, the two without a word walked up the wooden stairs and up on the middle of the stage. Devan continued to sneak a look at Stella, she had her arms crossed and stared down at her feet. Mrs. Kline spoke to them from below, "I have been getting such a weird vibe from the both of you lately. You two have had such great chemistry in practice and now..I'm just not feeling it anymore."

The response was silence as the air fell flat around them. The teacher went on, "For this scene, I really need you both to get out of this weird slump and become one person. When you dance, feel each other move with the music, breathe in tune, dance in sink. Become one." Devan and Stella faintly nodded and slowly made their way towards their spot, center stage.

Bringing their heads up, both pairs of eyes met. It was a hardened stare, a broken connection. Stella's usual smile was invisible. She didn't speak a word, taking a few steps toward her partner. Devan knew she would dance with him, but only because she was devoted to the performance, not for him. The young woman reached her hand toward him and rested her hand on his shoulder, he taking her other hand. They waited for the music to start, awkwardly standing there in their starting positions.

Then it began, the song "Say Something" playing in the background. Stella and Devan began to dance to their routine with the other pairs around them, but something was off. They couldn't get into the song, as the first lyrics played, "Say something, I'm giving up on you". Devan had his hand across the girl's waist as they moved to the slow song. Stella dipped and spinned, however it was slower than normal. Mrs. Kline called, "Stella, keep your eyes on Devan, become one with him."

Because she had to obey, she tilted her ocean blue eyes into his crystal ones. That whole time, she held the gaze as she sank into Devan's body, putting two times more effort than before. Dev kept it up as well, then clearly seeing the tears swelling in Stella's eyes. He made her do that, it was all his fault.

"Say something I'm giving up in you,

I'll be the one, if you want me to,

Anywhere I would've followed you,

Say something I'm giving up on you,

Say something."

Just say something Stella, Devan pleaded in his brain. The song came to a halt, a dark shadow hanging over the ginger girl's face as she held her chin low towards Devan. They held that pose, their hands touching, heartbeats going to a different tempo. Devan saw Stella sniffle, teardrops escaping her eyes down her cheeks. After a moment, Stella shakily pulled out of his grasp, and escaped towards backstage, her whimpers louder than before. Devan's stomach churned as he stood defeatedly, swallowing his own tears. This was his fault..

{Present time}

He felt ill just thinking about it. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, let alone talk to anyone. What he did he'll never be able to change, he wished he could change...

"Devan," someone called from the other side of his door, "wanna hang out downstairs?" It was Collins trying to get him out of his room again. The young boy continued to slump his head into his pillow, "No thanks.." It was silent for a moment till the voice from the hall spoke, "Can I come in?" Devan thought for a moment and answers with a sigh, "Fine.."

The pit in his stomach grew lighter when he saw Collins's sympathetic expression walking into the room. After these few horrible days of pain, it felt reassuring to know someone right now had his back. "How are you feeling, bro?" Devan sighed, shaking his head solemnly, "I feel like I wanna just die," his hands felt tense and shaken as he began to open up to his best friend, "You were right, Collins. Heck, I should've listened to you in the beginning. I lost all my friends, Nathan's tormenting me even more, and Stella burst into tears during practice today—because of me. I really messed up."

The older brother felt horrible for Devan, he hated to see the young one struggling this bad. Collins came over and stroked Devan's back softly, "Things will get better, Dev. It may not look so great right now and things probably won't be the same as it was, but I know it'll be okay." The brother nodded, pushing back his weak feelings. He wanted to cry so bad. Wow, you really are weak, his negativity swaying against him. It sawed into him, slicing any bit of hope he had. He lied to everyone, for what cost? It costed him everything in the end.

"Devan..?" Collins asked again as he watched Devan's presence leave the moment. The younger one shook out of his thoughts and clenched his fists tighter, "Nothing will be the same.. I shouldn't have lied, now Stella knows I'm a joke." The elder of the two gaped his jaw, "You are not a joke. Don't ever say that, Dev. You're such a talented guy and all you did was tell a fib and it went out of control."

"Yeah, and now Stella hates me," the boy stated heartbrokenly. Collins furrowed his eyebrows in thought once again, "..Maybe you should finally tell the truth." Devan looked up at his brother in confusion, "What do you mean? I already told her I'm your brother.."

"What I mean is, in your own way, just tell Stella how you really feel about her and how much your guys's relationship means to you." Devan let what Collins say sink in. Tell her how he felt? "How could I do that? She won't even talk to me!" Collins shrugged with a blunt response, "I guess you have to use what you know and get creative."

Get creative... Ideas began to form in his head and the fog of confusion began to part. It was a long shot, but this might work, Devan thought, I hope.

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Whoopy! Update yall! Sorry its been so long, I haven't felt any inspiration lately and now I am!

Ooh snap Devan has an idea! Will it work? Any guesses what he might do next? Please share your thoughts and lemme know how your enjoying this! Love you all!😊💗