M I L E S

Going to school took a lot more effort this morning than it usually would. So when I exited the building after the dismissal bell finally rang, I was thrilled. Especially with all the stares and the nosy questions I had gotten from practically everyone. The news about Aria had spread like wildfire throughout the school. I bet even the whole city already knows about it.

"Dude, your mom has got to stop taking food from your neighbours. I swear that whole family is stoned. I bet even the dog is." Ryan tells Hunt just as we get into his car.

Hunter scoffs from the backseat. "I know! She is just so oblivious sometimes."

"Sometimes?" I scoff, setting my elbow on the armrest. "More like all the time."

"Well, it's not her fault you couldn't control yourself from eating those brownies." Hunt says.

"But those brownies looked so mouthwatering! It's like they were seducing me."

Ryan makes a left turn and snorts at me. "Hey, Hunt? Remember how clingy he was being with Aria that day? Man, that was-"

"-adorable!" Hunter finishes off, grinning from ear to ear.

"That wasn't what I was going to say, but sure. Adorable."

"What the hell are you talking about? Me and clingy? Adorable? Yeah, no." I frown.

"'Noooo, I want to stay with you.'"

"'But she's pretty!'"

"Shut up." I grumble. I really hope that's all I said. What if I had told Shortcake about my secret stash of junk food in my room? Maybe that would explain the disappearance of my potato chips from a week or two ago.

My two friends snicker and high five each other while I lean into the passenger seat and glare at them. After a good five minutes of them constantly teasing me, Ryan parks the car and I get out of the vehicle, flipping them both off as I stalk towards the entrance of the elementary school Hailey attends. Last night, I promised Joyce to pick Hails up from school and babysit afterwards, since she has a late shift for this entire week.

I find the little girl waiting with one of the teachers with a bunch of other kids. As soon as she spots me, her slight frown transforms into such a massive smile that it's contagious. She tugs at her teacher's jacket, but the lady just waves her off and doesn't even look at her. Hailey's frown returns, but only for a split second before she runs over to me and wraps her tiny arms around my legs. I crouch down so that I'm close to her height and grin, taking her mermaid themed backpack from her. "Hey there, princess."

Hailey squints. "I'm not a princess! I'm a warrior!"

That makes me grin wider. "Okay, okay, little warrior. How was school?"

She shrugs. "Um . . . it was bad."

"Bad? Why?"

"Everyone kept making fun of me." Her eyes begin to water, but I can tell she's trying to hold the tears back. She points to her face, where a jagged scar runs across from the middle of her forehead to her left cheekbone. "They laughed and said it makes me look like a weirdo."

Even when he said he wouldn't, I knew my brother would hurt Hailey. I knew she wouldn't be spared with just a few mere scratches. Although she claims she had gotten that huge gash from a tree branch while she tried to escape, it was clear to me that the object that sliced Hailey's skin was a knife of some sort. When I met with the detective who's working on the case, he had said the same thing. He also mentioned it wasn't a clean cut because Hailey had obviously been struggling. She denied all of this, of course. She was just too scared to open up-she still is-and I don't blame her. Now the scar looks like a lightning bolt, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

As much as I try to keep my expression from looking like I'm about to go on a killing spree, I'm sure I look just like Mom does whenever someone steals her food. Let me just say, that woman can be scary when she makes that face. The thought of Hails getting bullied makes my blood boil. Kids still bully others? When a tear finally manages to slip down Hailey's face, I wipe it away and pull her into a hug.

"Hey, being a weirdo isn't all that bad. I'm a weirdo, aren't I? Weirdos are cool. All those kids are just jealous they don't have an awesome mark on their faces. Did you know yours looks like a lightning bolt? I wish mine looked like that." I point to the tiny scar under my right eyebrow. I'm sure anyone who knows about my past also knows where I got it from. Or rather, who I got it from.

I really hope this doesn't encourage Hailey to go around and tell the other kids to get an 'awesome mark' like her's. God knows what they'll do . . .

Hailey sniffles and pulls away to look at me. "Really?"

I nod and take her hand, pulling her towards Ryan's car. Well, actually, it's more like she's dragging me because she's practically running like she is Barry Allen himself. After I buckle her seatbelt, I realize Hunt's taken my previous seat so I'm forced to sit at the back next to Hailey, where he sat before. What I don't see, though, was the banana on the seat until I sit down.

That's when both Hunter and Hailey erupt into a fit of laughter.

"Really, Hunt? Now my as-uh, butt is going to smell like crap." I quickly correct myself. I am not a good influence on kids.

Or anyone, really.

"Sorry, man. Everyone knows how much of an idiot you are, so how could I pass up the opportunity?" Hunter shrugs.

I glare at him while grabbing a bunch of tissues to wipe away the smushed banana. And I just bought these jeans too!

"Screw your butt. My car is ruined! That's it, from now on there will be no food allowed in-oh, Hailey, come on!" Ryan's eyes rest upon Hails, who's minding her own business and munching away at her crackers. She looks up from the little container and gives him a toothy grin, revealing the chewed up pieces of the crackers. Ryan cringes and turns back around, hitting his head on the middle of the steering wheel, causing the horn to blare.

Most of the drive to my house is silent except for Hunt's horrible singing voice as he tries to hit the high notes of whatever Ariana Grande song plays on the radio. It isn't pleasant. At all. Thankfully, our ears are spared because Ryan parks in the driveway. I usher everyone into the kitchen and rummage through the fridge. Mom wouldn't be here for another hour, so I sigh in defeat when I find nothing to feed my growling stomach.

"Can we go see Aria?" Hailey asks me.

"We were going there anyway, Hails. You really think Miles can stay away from her for so long?" Hunter wiggles his eyebrows, sending Hailey into another giggling fit. He then turns his gaze to Ryan, who's drumming his fingers on the countertop. "Yo, Ry, what do you think of Aries as their ship name?"

He only shrugs, while Hailey wrinkles her nose. "Ew! No way! Maria is way better."

"No, it's not." Hunt argues.

"Yes, it is." The seven year old argues back.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Hashtag Aries for life."

"Hashtag Maria for life." Hailey pauses. "Wait, what does 'hashtag' mean?"

"Something, " Hunt says.

Hailey makes a face. "Whatever, it must be something dumb. Maria is the best ship name."

Hunter pulls at his hair. "No, it really isn't! Oh my God, I'm debating over a ship name with a kid. For the last time, Aries is the better name!"

"You don't get it, you . . . egg! When they have a daughter, they can name her Maria! And her name will hold even more. . . um, what's that word my teacher uses all the time? Deported? No, imported? Important? Something like th-"

"Importance, Hails." I cut in and ruffle her hair.

She blushes. "Yeah, that word! Anyway, so her name will be their names smushed together!"

"That's nice and all, " Hunter grumbles, flicking an almond Ryan's way. "but Aries sounds cooler."

"No it doesn't!" Hailey huffs.

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn-Oh, crap. I fell right into that one."

Hailey grins in triumph. Smart kid. She then turns to me and places a hand on her hip. "So did we come here for nothing . . ?"

"Well, I was planning on eating lunch here, but obviously there isn't any food." I gesture to the empty fridge. "Tragic, I know. Just let me go grab a pack of Oreos for Lydia and then we'll get Burger King or soemthing."

"Ew, Burger King." Hunt fakes a gags.

Oh, no.

"What did you say?"

Here it comes.

Before Hunt even had a second to react, Ryan lunges. He tackles him to he ground and grabs a carton of expired milk, holding it over Hunt's head. His eyes widen in fear-hair is very important to him-and he lets out a very high pitched scream.

"Please, Ry! I'll buy you all the Pop-Tarts you want, just don't ruin my hair!"

In response, Ryan only presses Hunt's face to the floor and sits on his back, tilting the carton even more.

"Ow, dude! Get off of me, you hippo!" Hunt scowls, struggling against the weight of Ryan's body. I start to laugh, along with Hailey who's already doubled over on the ground with her curls covering most of her face.

"Not until you take back what you said about Burger King." Ryan shrugs.

"Never! I will never accept defeat!"

Ryan doesn't miss a beat and dumps the milk all over Hunt's head just as Mom walks through the door with multiple bags and a bored look.

Both my friends give her innocent smiles and say, "Lookin' good, Mrs. Prescott!"

With a roll of her eyes, Mom drops the heavy bags on the two of them. They groan and Ryan rolls off of Hunt and onto his back. I grin at Mom, but it is soon wiped away because she snatches the packet of Oreos from my grasp and begins to shove them in her mouth.

"Those were for Ly—"

"I'll save one or two." She says, handing one to Hailey. "Aren't you going to the hospital?"

"Yeah, but then . . . " I trail off, pointing to my two friends who are back to tackling each other.

"Ah," Mom leans against the fridge. "Well, I got off early today, so I'll go pick up some groceries. Please don't let your friends destroy the house. As much as I love them, I know they're total idiots and I don't want them breaking anything."

"Hey! We're not idiots!" Ryan and Hunt both say.

What's up with them saying the same thing, at the same time? Weird.

Wait . . .

What if they're possessed by the same demon? Oh my God, I need to call a priest and—

"Yes, you are." Mom cuts me off from my thoughts.

"No, we aren't!"

"You are!" Hailey jumps in.

"Liars! You're all liars!" Hunter frowns.

Yeah, I need to get out of here.

●●●

HAI!

I SORRY FOR DE LATE UPDATE, AGAIN. DIS CHAPTER IZ A FILLER, BUT YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH IT ANYWAYS. THE NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE MORE . . . EVENTFUL, I THINK. ALSO, I DUNNO WHAI I'M WRITING IN ALL CAPS BUT YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH THAT TOO. ALSO, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PROOFREAD THIS CHAPTER SO Y'ALL CAN POINT OUT ANY ERRORS FOR ME.

POOR HAILEY! ALL THOSE MEANIES ARE SO ARGHHHH... LETS JUST KILL EM ALL, YEAH?

OKAY I'M DONE. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT THO.

BAI!

❤ CHLOE

EDIT: LOL I FORGOT TO MENTION, SO EARLIER I ASKED ON MY MESSAGE BOARD FOR SHIP NAMES FOR ARIA AND MILES, AND I THINK THE MOST POPULAR ONES WERE MARIA AND ARIES, SO VOTE BETWEEN THE TWO HERE

NOW REALLY BAI