The stars blinked as they watched him carefully, jealous of the way he shone.

Mae

This is just the beginning. Zay's words filled my head and consumed my train of thought as I walked out of the diner. What was just the beginning? I looked at Damien and began to worry. Was he in danger?

Of course, he's in danger. He's always in danger, I thought. I knew I was right. Being in a gang was like being a beacon for danger; danger would always follow him no matter where he went.

I looked at Damien, his jaw clenched and locked stiffly. His lips pressed together, lightly as he glared straight ahead. As if he saw me staring at him, he looked at me, and his anger vanished. He stopped, his arms were still around my waist so I stopped with him.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," Damien apologized softly, his eyes rounding, and filling with fear.

To be completely honest, in the diner he had terrified me. He removed his arm around my waist as he looked at me, seeing my reaction and took a step back. The longer I looked into his eyes, the more he stayed unmasked.

From what I read in his eyes, the person I saw in the diner wasn't him, at least not entirely. From what he told me, I figured he had to be Damien King, leader of the Serpents because of what that man in his past did to his family. He needed to be strong and brave so that the people around him would be safe. My heart thudded with sorrow at the fact that what Zay asked Damien might have felt true to him.

Damien probably felt like no matter what he did, the people he loved and cared for were always in danger because of him. He was at the center of a tornado and no matter where he turned, no matter where he looked, chaos and havoc encircled him, caging him in, and never allowing him to save the people he wanted.

He looked at me, worried about something, and I only had my knowledge of what he told me to allow me to connect the pieces together. The look he held was similar to the one he gave on the beach. He was worried I would see him in a different light; worried I wouldn't want to be near him.

"I would never hurt you, Mae," Damien whispered as he looked at me, looking intently into my eyes. "I would never lay a hand on you that way." His words were reassuring, and I had seen the way he was gentle with me, always walking on eggshells. I feared that that must have felt annoying to him. How long would it take him to realize I was a heavy burden to carry?

"What he asked you-" I started, but he stopped my words when he shook his head.

"I won't let anyone hurt you," he shook his head, coming closer, standing millimeters away from me, his heat radiating off of him, but that wasn't the question I was going to ask. But nonetheless, the question I had was answered. He had felt like what Zay said was the truth. Although what he had told me felt true, I wondered who was going to protect him.

Me. My subconscious said and I nodded, I would protect Damien if he was ever in danger. I knew he would protect me so I would do the same for him. Damien smiled as he saw my nod and came closer, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, shyly, and placed my head on his shoulder. I smiled, enjoying the feeling of his hug. Like before it had felt safe, warm, and comforting, but there was also an intense feeling of adrenaline. It was nerve-wracking to be this close to him.

"I like hugging you," he admitted, burrowing his head in my neck. His warmth, pressing against my skin. I smiled at what he admitted, enjoying the fact that he liked hugging me. I nodded as my smile grew. My heart beating fast in my chest, it was insane to be this shy in front of him.

"How romantic!" I heard Max say and I backed away, a huge smile on my face I couldn't contain.

"Mae and Damien sitting in a tree," Ryder started to sing, and I smiled as I shook my head.

"How kindergarten of you," I teased and Ryder smiled. He kept smiling as he looked at me but it wasn't a simple smile. This one was different from the way he always smiled at me. "What happened?" He shook his head, but his smile held a reason. I wanted to know why he was smiling at me like that. "What?" I asked again, wanting to know.

"I just never thought you would talk to me," Ryder shrugged his left shoulder. "We hung out with different people so it's kind of weird that we're friends now."

I hadn't really thought of it that way. I had never thought just how popular and well known Ryder and Bennett were, even Damien and Max now that they were in town.

I thought back to when Damien and Max weren't here and when it was just Ryder and Bennett. How different life was then.

I remember walking into my math class, taking my seat, and waiting for James to arrive from football P.E to our second period. My ribs were burning and aching from what Mitch had taught me the day before, at times I could hardly breathe.

I waited, anxiety flooding my system, feeling like waiting, and sitting by myself made me look like an idiot. I pulled out my folder and did work from another class. Might as well not waste free time, I thought.

Once I finished the assignment, I heard voices filling the class. I saw a Bennett Sol, walk into class. He walked and stopped a row ahead of mine. "Is this seat taken?" He asked a girl named Claire.

"No," she replied, a soft, timid tone in her voice as she shook her head. He smiled and sat down, sitting to my left corner. I had seen him around many times. He was friends with a boy named Ryder Lynch. Although, I had questioned many times why they were friends. To me, they were complete opposites.

Ryder was outgoing and talkative. He was loud and to him, girls were like food that he wanted to taste, and most of the time, he had. Any girl Ryder wanted, he would go after. And most couldn't resist or didn't want to. He was tall, good looking, and charming; everything about him made him attractive. Although he was in fact good looking, I had never found him attractive that way. It was probably because he was way too popular for me to even have a chance with that I never really thought about him that way.

Bennett, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was quiet and calm, could have passed as being shy as well. Although, he was funny like Ryder so maybe that's how they connected. Even their tastes in girls were different. Ryder liked the girls who were known and popular. Bennett, on the other hand, had a tendency to go after girls who were shy.

I heard someone clear their throat so I looked ahead of me. Bennett scratched the back of his head as he cleared his throat. "Did you do the homework?" He asked Claire.

Claire was a shy girl who was in the school's band. Most of the band kids at our school were outgoing and talkative, but she was quiet.

"Yeah," she nodded as she glanced at him then back down. He nodded stiffly and scratched the back of his head again. Was he nervous? Since I never spoke to anyone, most of my time I would people watch. Figure them out, read their body language, but I would always look away before they would look at me.

"Did you understand it 'cause I didn't really get it," he chuckled and she smiled.

"Kind of but some parts were a kind of confusing," she said and he nodded. His head started moving to his right so I looked away, afraid that Bennett might catch me looking at him. James walked in the door and looked at my seat, smiling as he saw me. I smiled and he rushed to his seat.

"I need the homework," he said, pulling his backpack off of his back and onto the desk.

"And here I thought you were smiling because you were happy to see me," I said, fighting a smile.

"Always," he smiled and sat down. "But I need the homework. Hand it over."

"I charge a fee," I teased and he smiled. "Why didn't you do it?" I didn't mind if he copied but after a while of him never doing his work, it sort of got annoying that I basically did his homework for him.

"Fine," he shook his head, slightly annoyed. "I don't need it." I felt guilty and like a bad friend so I gave it to him, but he ignored it, and I smiled at his pettiness.

"Stop, use it!" I told him, but he refused to look at me. He sighed and twirled one of his loose curls. He sighed loudly and I rolled my eyes. I placed my papers on top of his paper and he stopped writing.

"It's just hard," he admitted as he looked at me, looking deeply into my eyes so that I could understand. "It's hard juggling all of it. I have football practice and when I come home, I'm tired, but I have to feed Jenkins and Athena and make sure they do their homework. I have to teach them their homework as I work on mine. Most of the time, they don't understand theirs, so it takes longer and takes time away from my homework. By the time I put my brother and sister to sleep, I'm beat and I'd rather sleep, knowing I have practice in the morning and then after school too." He looked at me and I felt bad for him. "And I don't get it like you do. It's hard for me."

"I only get it because I have time to study," I told him but he shook his head.

"You get it because you're smart. You're a walking genius," he grumbled with a slight pout and I laughed, silently. "When I read something for English, it goes in one ear and out the other or I find myself having read half the page but got no recollection of what I just read and don't even get me started on math. It's like reading another language, dude."

"You get football. When I read your plays, it's in another language, dude," I signed and he smiled.

"That's the only thing I really understand and I'm good at it. No freshman makes it on the varsity team but when I was a freshman, I did. I work hard at football because I'm good at it. I'm good at it so it makes me want to try and play harder. But it's not like that for school," he shook his head, and the bell rang after he finished talking.

I shoved my homework toward him, but he ignored it again. I placed it on top of his but he didn't look at it. He pushed it aside and kept ignoring it as he looked at his worksheets. He took a deep breath and released it exaggeratedly.

"Take my homework," I signed, wanting to ease his stress.

"No, no, that's okay," he sighed sadly and shook his head. I smiled as I rolled my eyes, knowing he was only playing sad to guilt me, so I shoved my homework back toward him.

"Take the homework or I'll shove it down your throat," I threaten and he laughed.

"Shove it in my brain, maybe I'll understand it," he said and I smiled. He took the homework and started copying it down.

The door opened and in walked Bennett's best friend. Ryder walked in confidently, a sort of standoff-ish appearance. I noticed his cheekbone had been bruised and his lip was red and purplish. He took his seat in the row in front of me, on the other side of Bennett, but Ryder's face never faded Bennett. There had been rumors going around that Ryder was in a gang and a fighter, but I hadn't believed it enough to ask Razor or Billy.

There was a fight that past weekend but I never found out who the fighters were. Razor only had me go to the fights if I was able to learn something off of the fighters or if I was going to fight them soon.

I had a lingering question in my head as I watched Ryder in his seat. If the fight was Ryder and if he really was in a gang, what Gang? I knew all the members of the Black Scorpion and the Lions. The Reapers rarely came to the Southside. The Eastside and Westside had been protecting it for a couple of years now.

None of the guys would tell me why. Although I did almost kick Jose's ass in a practice fight and he was baffled and thought I should know, but Josh stopped him from telling me. There was only one area in LA that was neutral territory, and the Southside definitely wasn't it.

"Ryder, why don't you go to the nurse so she could check your face?" The teacher asked, concerned about his bruised face.

"Oh, no, miss. I'm just naturally this good looking," Ryder joked, leaning back into his chair, crossing his arms in the back of his head and the room chuckled.

"Besides, it's not his face that needs to be checked out, it's his eyes," Bennett teased and the class laughed. "Apparently, his brain too."

"Oh wow," Ryder said, feigning amusement. He put his thumb out, pushing it back and forth in front of Bennett. "Nice comeback."

"Yeah, I told your girl that too after some nice head. Nice, comeback. And every time she did," Bennett remarked and the class oohed. I smiled and James chuckled.

"Be careful, I'll fuck your mom and become your stepdad," Ryder joked and the whole class erupted with laughter.

"Alright, alright, alright," the teacher called out. "That's enough." She looked at Ryder and Bennett. They both put their hands up in the air, and she rolled her eyes at there attempt to play innocent.

She turned around to walk back to her desk and Bennett pushed Ryder's shoulder with a huge smile on his face, amused by Ryder's comment. Ryder laughed and I wasn't confused anymore why they were friends. They clicked well together, complemented each other as best friends.

The class passed quickly with silence from Bennett and Ryder. I packed my things and started walking toward the guys to the exit but stopped in my tracks when Ryder quickly stood in my way and grabbed his backpack off his desks and strapped it on.

"Ladies first," Bennett said. Ryder walked toward the door without paying attention to Bennett. "I was talking more to Ryder than you," Bennett smiled and I smiled too. He made a gentlemen gesture and motioned for me to go first. I lowered my head a bit with a smile as a thank you and he nodded.

I looked back at Ryder and Bennett, seeing them now in the present and smiled at how different things were. "Yeah, I guess things were a bit different back then," I said and he smiled with a slight nod.

"Back then, I could have betted my life that I would have been the last person on earth you would have talked to," Ryder said and I laughed. That was probably true.

"Yeah. You were..." I started and hesitated for a second to think of a word that sounded non-offensive but also true. "Different back then."

Bennett laughed, catching onto what I actually meant. "She means you were more annoying back then," Bennett said and everyone laughed.

"Not that much is different now," Max snorted and I smiled. Ryder, Max, and Bennett started bickering about who was the most annoying. The triplets chimed in as well but then ended up arguing against each other on who was more annoying.

"I'm the oldest so I can't be annoying," Deacon said, putting his hand on his chest, shaking his head, and excusing himself from being the most annoying.

"I'm the second oldest. That means I'm the best and not annoying," Declan said, and they both looked at Dylan with an accused expression.

"Not even. Everyone knows the second child is the one with anger issues," Dylan tried.

"And everyone knows the third child is the rotten brat," Declan snapped.

"Dude, no one even knows the middle child exists. It's only the oldest and the youngest parents care about," Dylan retorted.

"Dude, no parent cares for their third child, let's be real," Deacon said, and Dylan looked offended. "When I was little and I ate dirt-"

"Moron thing if you ask me," Declan snorted.

"Well, I'm not asking you. If I ate dirt, mom would take me to the doctor but when Dylan ate dirt, all she wondered was if she had to feed him lunch."

"You're stupid," Dylan said and Damien started laughing.

"All three of you were born around the same time. They raised you equally, stop," Damien said, using a stern voice but was secretly amused with their fighting.

"Okay, but I definitely got treated better," Dylan gloated with a proud smile.

"Yeah, 'cause you were a whiny brat that cried about everything," Declan scoffed.

"And what about you? Anytime I wanted a Happy Meal, both you tried copying me," Deacon said.

"Who doesn't want a happy meal?!" Declan and Dylan all but shouted. They were definitely something else.

Damien turned me to him, interlocking our hands and I smiled at the gesture, enjoying the way his big, warm hand felt in mine. It was definitely going to take some time to getting use to, maybe then the butterflies would go away.

"Back then," Damien started as he started walking me to my car. "Who would have been the first person you wanted to speak to?"

"Hmm," I hummed as I looked up in thought, squinting my eyes, and teasing him as if I really needed to think about it. He bumped his shoulder against mine and I laughed. I smiled brightly as I looked at him, a small smile playing on his lips as well. "That depends on who I would have met first."

"What do you mean?" He asked, slightly confused.

"You... or Dylan O'Brian of course," I teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Famous dude, right?" He raised his right eyebrow, his smile widening. I nodded and laughed. He looked at me, still smiling, but his smile started to grow and the sun lit up his eyes, showing the full extent of every pigment in his grey eyes. He looked at me with a sort of adoration, almost as if he was admiring me. I looked down, too shy to look at him with the way he was looking at me. "What?" He asked, amusement in his tone.

"Nothing," I mumbled, looking down with the slightest, shy smile on my face. Damn him and his effect on me.

"So tell me this," Damien started and I looked at him. "You know about gangs, kind of in one."

"Not kind of," I interrupted and he furrowed his eyebrows. "I was in one. Razors-or now Billy's."

"They branded you?" He asked and I nodded and he raised his eyebrows. "Wow, okay."

"Why?" I asked, seeing the look in his eyes, wanting to know what he was thinking.

"Wait, but you said was," he noticed, ignoring my question.

"Yeah, I got kicked out. A story for another day," I told him. He nodded, respecting my choice and boundaries which I greatly appreciated.

"So tell me this," he started back up again. "You were in a gang, learned how to fight like a beast and race like one too. You were known as the notorious King, never lost a match, and never turned one down either. Everyone feared you, respected you..."

"Yup," I said, slightly cringing because it felt like I was boasting and I hated that feeling.

"But I make you nervous?" he smiled and I looked away smiling once I realized what he was actually telling me. He figured it out, and I was basically doomed. "So the almighty King has a weakness."

I shook my head with a stupid grin on my face. He brought himself closer to me and him knowing that he made me nervous, only made me more nervous.

"I mean you're alright," I teased and he threw his head back a little as he laughed.

"Is that right?" He asked, bringing his hand up to my cheek, lightly grazing his fingertips across my cheek to the side of my neck. I closed my eyes, feeling the incredible tingles on my skin. It felt nice, made my heart race faster in the best way possible. Every time my heart thumped, it felt fuzzy. "Tell me, Mae."

"Anything," I whispered, almost inaudible.

"To kiss you," he whispered. His warm, scentless breath brushing against my face, and I wanted that; more than anything at that moment, I wanted him to kiss me.

"Ki-"

"Are you going to kiss her or not?" Ryder asked and I backed away once again, frustrated and angry with Ryder.

Damien backed up, glaring at Ryder, and Max smacked the back of his head. "Ow! You're an abusive friend!" Ryder frowned and walked away toward the two cars.

"Not like you don't deserve it," Max smiled, following Ryder, and Ryder made a mocking face a child makes toward their siblings toward Max.

"I'm glad we spent time together," Damien said and I nodded. I was really glad we had our talk. I knew we needed to have more talks and with time, they'll happen. "Are you going to school?"

"I don't know," I admitted as I felt sleepy. "I feel sick." I smiled and he shook his head with a smile of his own.

"You don't look sick!" Ryder shouted, but we both chose to ignore him.

"Well, if you do go to school, which I hope you do," he smiled. "And you don't see Ryder, just know he died!" He said the last part loud enough for Ryder and anyone nearby to hear.

"Okay," I said happily and faintly hear Ryder scoff. I hugged Damien and he kissed my forehead, making me feel warm inside. I grabbed the side of his face gently and brought it down a bit and kissed his forehead.

"Oh my god!" Max shouted, putting his hand over his heart. "How romantic!" Damien's face and ears got red, and I felt embarrassed that his friends were watching.

"See you later," I told him and walked to my car. I drove out of there as fast and steadily as I could and drove home with a giddy and happy feeling bubbling in my chest and threatening to explode. I drove fast to release some of the excess feelings, but it did nothing, and I kept smiling like an idiot.

I couldn't wait to tell Zach how I spoke. My cheeks burned from smiling so hard, and I tried to contain my smile but failed and ended up laughing. I pulled into my driveway and got off. I felt bummed that Zach wouldn't be here because he had practice in the morning.

I thought about going to school and telling him, but I wouldn't have enough time to get dressed and make it before school started. There were only thirty minutes and all the of the sand in my clothes made it feel like I needed a shower.

Unless I didn't go to my first period, I thought. Maybe. I walked toward my room and decided to decide after my shower. Putting my hand on my doorknob and twisting it to the right, I opened my door but a noise caught my attention.

I looked at Zach's room and my heart started thudding with fear. I walked towards his room and opened the door. Walking in and looking around, my mouth dropped.

"Zach?!" I asked and he jumped up. He looked around and started groaning.

"Crap! I snoozed it!" He shouted and started looking for his phone. After he checked the time, he huffed and sat down on the bed. I looked at him, waiting for him to rush up and get his things together, but he didn't. "Are you going to school?" He asked, looking over my clothes.

"I think I'm sick," I said and forced a noticeably not sick cough. He smiled and nodded.

"I think I am too," he smiled as he laid back down. "I need to sleep, bro. This whole football thing's draining the life out of me."

"I have news," I all but squealed. I knew he was tired but he was able to sleep after I told him. I couldn't contain my excitement any longer.

"Hmm," he hummed, wanting me to continue even though he was starting to fall back asleep.

"I spoke to Damien," I told him and saw his eyes open, but he stayed still.

"What?" He asked, still looking at the ceiling.

"I spoke to Damien," I repeated and he sat up.

"Like spoke, spoke?" He asked, cocking his head forward, surprised by what I said. I nodded, but he still couldn't believe me. "Like spoke with your-"

"Voice?" We both said at the same time and I nodded. "Yeah," I added. He raised his eyebrows, surprised, and shock about what I told him.

"So are you going to speak to everyone or..." he trailed off and I shrugged. I wasn't sure if I was entirely ready for that.

"Well, I already spoke to the rest of the guys," I added but this time a bit more timidly, and he nodded but his eyes were distracted.

"And James?" He asked, looking at me and the way he looked at me made me feel guilty. I hadn't considered James yet. I felt as if I had cheated with Damien on James. I felt like a terrible friend, but I did intend on speaking to James. "Are you not going to speak to him?" He asked a little overcritical and that upset me.

"If I don't want to, I don't have to," I said, stubbornly even though I did want and was going to talk to James.

"So Damien comes into town, gives you the time of day, something James has been doing while everyone else could care less about you, and you decided to talk to Damien first instead of our best friend?" Zach scoffed. "Real nice, Mae."

"I can talk to anybody I want!" I snapped, raising my voice. "Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"Because!" He snapped. "Do you know how long James has been-"

"Waiting for me to talk to him?" I interrupted him. "Yeah," I answered. There was a bit of shock in his eyes before it faded.

"Yeah, that," he brushed it off and got out of bed, walking to his restroom. I was confused but why he had said it like that, but I wasn't going to wait around in his room to ask him.

"Speaking of James, why didn't he and Brody pick you up?!" I asked, raising my voice over the sound the toilet flushing and the faucet running.

"I may have texted them that I found a ride," he said, sounding muffled, probably brushing his teeth. "I was sleepy."

"Go figures," I shook my head and laughed. I walked to my room and into my restroom to take a shower. The almost kiss from Damien crept back into my mind. And as if he knew I was thinking of him, he sent me a text.

Can't believe you ditched me. :( -D

I'm sick ;)

Ooh boo hoo :)) -D

I smiled at my phone and took off my clothes before getting into the shower. I played my music and let the hot water hit my back, relaxing and making me warm and even more sleepy. After doing my shower routine, the water started becoming too hot so I got out, and got dressed. I needed cold water so I went to the kitchen.

"You should call James," Zach said. I looked at the time and James would have been in his third period.

"You want me to talk to him for the first time over the phone?" I asked, squinting my eyes in disbelief.

He raised and dropped his shoulders quickly. I couldn't believe he was mad that I didn't talk to James first and now he wanted me to do it over the phone. What kind of idiot was he?!

"It's better than nothing," he shrugged again, and his shrug irritated me.

"I think you've been hit in the head several times too many," I gave an airy chuckle, and he gave me a mock laugh, coming to the other side of me and grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge. "What'd you tell your coach?" He shook his head and made an oops face.

"I didn't," he said and closed the fridge after I walked away. "Oou, I have an idea."

"What?" I asked, bored from staying home. I should have probably gone to school. It would have been more entertaining to see Damien than to be here bored with nothing to do. I already did my homework last night, and I wasn't entirely in the mood to read or watch a movie. Maybe sleep?

Damien was the one thing I had wanted to see. I pulled out my phone and went to message him.

"If you're texting anyone but James, I'm gonna kick you in your crotch," Zach threatened, and I scoffed humorously.

"Then I'll kick you in your balls," I retorted and then smiled. "Or ball." I corrected and his face went sour at the reminder that he only had one testicle.

"You know I'm insecure about that," he snapped and my smile faded. One of his scrotums never dropped and eventually shrunk. He had to get it removed but other than that he was perfectly healthy and could still have children as long as he desired them.

"It's perfectly normal," I said and he gave me an are-you-serious look. "Okay, maybe not normal, normal but not rare." I pointed at him and raised my eyebrows like I was right on the money with my choice of words. He shook his head still with a saddened look. I knew he wasn't faking it, and I felt guilty for bringing up his biggest insecurity. "How about I call James?"

"If you want," he mumbled and walked to the living room with a defeated look. I felt guilty. I went to my room and pulled out my burner phone and brought it back to the living room.

"What should I tell him?" I asked, sitting next to Zach. He looked at me and a small grin made its way on his face.

"Tell him to come over here. It's hella boring," he said. I dialed James' number on my burner phone, but I couldn't press the call button.

I was scared, nervous. This was different than talking to Damien. This was talking to one of my best friends. One I haven't spoken to in years. He's been by my side since we were kids. He was the one who introduced me to sign language and now I was finally going to speak to him.

"I'm nervous," I said and took a deep breath. Just press the call button, my subconscious said and with reflex-like fingers, my thumb automatically pressed the call button and the phone started ringing.

My heart was racing in my chest, I could hardly breathe. This was it. I was finally going to speak to James.

And it's over the phone.

I groaned internally at how unsatisfying that was. Was it right? Was there even a right way to do this? The phone continued to ring until it stopped but there was no answer. I called again but it was rejected immediately. I called again, angry that he was rejecting my call until I realized he probably thought it was a telemarketer or something else. The phone kept ringing until it didn't, and I was completely unsatisfied.

"Hello?" I heard an annoyed James answer on the other side of the phone and my heart started racing. I didn't think he would answer. I didn't know what to say.

"Hello," I said immediately so he wouldn't hang up. Hello? That's the best you could come up with?!

"Who's this?" He asked. I started waving my hand the air trying to come up with a nice name, and Zach looked at me with a confused face, having no idea why I struggling. I didn't want to just go with Barbra, how boring was that.

"Trixie," I answered and looked at Zach. He gave me a very confused face as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Trixie," James said, almost as if he was disappointed by the name. "Are you a stripper, Trixie?" He asked, and I chuckled.

"No, but I get that a lot," I said, continuing to lie. I didn't know what else to do. James was silent on the other end, and I didn't know what else to say. "I'm actually at Zach's house. We have a few friends over for a small party, come over."

I waited for James, but he was still quiet on the other end. "I'm sorry can you repeat that? I wasn't paying attention," he chuckled. Typical James. I smiled and repeated what I had told him. "Right now? As in ditch school?"

"Isn't it lunchtime?" I asked.

"If I go, does this mean I get to see the pretty face behind the beautiful voice?" He asked and I smiled, feeling shy for when he actually saw me even though he's seen me a thousand times before. I wondered if he would view me differently now that I spoke to him.

"And you're so sure I have a beautiful face?" I asked but immediately wanted to bang my head against the wall. I should have said something more confident. My chest cringed, and I wanted to die for when he actually found out it was me.

"Oh, yeah," James said with a certainty lacing his voice. "A voice like that probably makes all the boys fall in love."

"Yeah, yeah," I said as I laughed.

"Damn, and a beautiful laugh too? You're an all packaged deal huh?" He asked and I couldn't help but feel giddy. I was always glad I had James as a friend. He always made me happy.

"Are you flirting with me, James?" I asked, feeling incredibly happy. I found this all too amusing. He laughed, a laugh I knew all too well. I couldn't see him, but I knew he threw his head back and laughed. It had only made my smile grow.

"I'm on my way," James said, but he didn't hang up yet. I looked at the phone, wondering if he was going to hang up or not. "Hey."

"Huh?" I asked.

"What's Trixie short for?" He asked. I wasn't expecting him to ask that. My brain did a brain fart and I couldn't think of anything.

"Trix," I said and he laughed, again most likely throwing his head back and laughing a nice hard laugh, probably even squeezing his eyes shut too. I smiled at his laugh. It was always my favorite. It was light and carefree.

"Right," he said once he stopped laughing but I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll be there in a few."

I nodded and hung up the phone. I looked at Zach and he was still confused. "Trixie?" He asked, incredulously, squinting his eyes in confusion. "Trix? What the hell were you guys talking about?"

"He's coming over," I said. And as if I didn't already know, the reality set in. James was coming and I was going to speak to him in person. That was completely different than talking to him over the phone. I was nervous again. "I can't do it!"

"You already did," he said. I nodded but thoughts started swarming my head. What if he's on his way here to see Trixie, thinking maybe he was going to hook up with her and then he comes face to face with me, and he's disappointed?

Give yourself some credit. He's practically always begging you to speak to him, my subconscious reminded me. I ran to my room to put decent clothes on to cover the scars on my thighs that my short shorts didn't.

I pulled on my light grey yoga pants and kept my black t-shirt on. I kept stressing and overthinking but my mind went blank when I heard the front door close, indicating James had just walked through. I peeked out of my room and saw James' back toward me so I rushed toward Zach's room like I told him I would.

James was disappointed when he walked in and saw that no party was happening. He had asked for Trixie and Zach told him I was waiting in his room.

I heard two different footsteps coming, so I tiptoed ran to the restroom, and ducked by the door in front of the mirror so they wouldn't catch my reflection from the room.

"Bro," I heard James' voice say, sounding like it was facing away. I peeked out and saw his back facing me so I mustered up all the courage I had and stood up. I stood in between Zach's bed and the restroom, waiting for James to turn around. Zach looked at me and smiled.

"Is the face behind the voice as pretty as you thought?" I asked and smiled, nerves wreaking havoc in my body. James turned around, a huge smile appearing on his face.

"I freaking knew it was you!" He said, rushing to me and engulfing me in a bear hug. I hugged him back, thankful that he wasn't disappointed like I thought he'd be.

"How?" I asked and he hugged me tighter as I spoke again. He nuzzled his face in my neck, squeezing half the life out of me, but I enjoyed this kind of hug. It was comforting.

"Your laugh," he said, sounding muffled. "I'd know that laugh anywhere."

We hugged for a couple of minutes longer much to James' contentment and then pulled apart. He kept asking me questions, mainly so he could hear my voice, and I couldn't stop smiling that this was finally happening. I felt like I had evolved so much over the course of a few hours.

"Okay, enough questions, I'm hungry now," I told him after what had felt like two hundred questions and it had only been twenty minutes since he arrived.

We settled on going to the store to which James asked me many questions as well. He had me read off every snack so he could hear my voice.

"You're being dumb," Zach groaned, clearly annoyed that James kept pestering me to speak. "Mae, go mute again."

"Shut up," I laughed and threw the package of candy ropes at him to which he caught effortlessly with one hand while his eyes were on his candy bar, probably reading the amount of sugar in it.

"How can I not react this way? It's been so long," James said, scanning the aisle to find something else for me to read. He handed me a bag of chips so I read off the title and then the nutrition facts.

"If I wanted her to sound like a precessional nutritionist than I would hire one," Zach snapped and threw the candy bar at me. I laughed and threw it back at him.

"What made you start talking?" James asked and now Zach was fully immersed in our conversation.

"Yeah. What did spark the sudden urge to speak?" Zach asked, a smug, condescending tone ringing in his voice, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I looked at James and shrugged. "Oh come on, Mae. Do tell."

"I just... realized..." I started, but my brain was having a major brain fart and I couldn't think. So I can think of many scenarios when I'm in the shower, planning out how I can trash talk my brother and coming up with witty responses, but I couldn't find a simple lie to tell James?! "That it was time."

James didn't look convinced, and Zach looked about ready to tackle me to the ground. "Just like that?" James asked, unimpressed, raising his eyebrows. "After ten years, all of sudden you just felt like speaking?"

"Sounds odd," Zach pushed, and I wanted to shove the candy bar down his throat.

Be logical. He has every right to be annoyed at you. You chose some guy who just moved into town over your best friend that you knew since you were kids, my subconscious tried reasoning. Is that how they saw it?

"Kinda does," James nodded and if matters couldn't get any worse, my phone started ringing and when I went to check who the caller was, it was Damien. I looked at James but when I did, it was like his question didn't need an answer after all.

I saw the happiness that once filled his face, drain away and he knew the reason. He connected the pieces together. I didn't expect him to seem so gloomy, and it actually hurt to know he was sad because he wasn't the first person I spoke to.

"Right," James forced a chuckle, but it was nowhere near humorous. "You should answer. Since you missed school, he might think you're dead."

I wish I was, I thought before answering the phone. "Hey," I heard Damien over the phone, but James' phone rang, so I hung up on Damien when James groaned.

"Hey, coach," James answered, trying to sound happy but failed. He nodded and put the phone on speaker.

"If both of you don't show up to your last period that means you can't come to practice and if any of my players miss practice the week of a game, that means you can't play," their coach told them, clearly trying to keep a cool head as he spoke. "And I don't know about you, but I know the team and I would be very disappointed to lose both their captain and co-captain to irresponsibility when they're needed for Friday's game."

"I just wasn't feeling good today coach," Zach said.

"And you, James?" The coach asked. James looked at me and then back at his phone.

"I just uhh... I..." James stuttered, not knowing what to say, and I knew I had a part to play in why he couldn't think straight.

"Save your excuses. Arrive at your sixth period on time so you can make it to practice. Saves everyone's asses, alright?" Their coach said.

"Yes, sir," they both said, and the phone call ended. "We need to go back to the school," James added, a glum look clouding over his face.

I nodded and we put our stuff back and walked out. We went back to the car and I drove them to school. "I'll go home and pick up your gear," I told Zach and he nodded as he looked at James. Zach looked at me, and I knew he regretted pushing earlier. I dropped them off at school and went home to gather Zach's gear before dropping it back off at school.

Who knew speaking would have caused more problems. What a great day!