Pat 2! Thank you for your time to read, I really hope y'all like it, If you do please vote and comment!

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Todays playlist:

Way Less Sad by ARJ

Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheel

Politik by Coldplay

Come As You Are By Nirvana

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Dad started work at the university where he taught history the Monday we got here, but Mom doesn't start her job, a victim advocate, until our first day of school, so she played homemaker, something my mom was never good at. She was ready to jump back into work by the next week, and left the house before dawn, leaving me to walk my brothers to their bus. Because of being five years older and entering my second year of high school, I caught a bus that was scheduled to arrive after theirs left.

I have spent an excessive amount of time on what my mom would describe as off black, naturally curly hair, straightening it, followed by curling them into ringlets. I did my makeup, removed it, proceeding to reapply, attempting to make it match my deep bronze skin. Where both my brothers took after my mother's light skin and sandy hair, I took after my father. He used to call me his Aztec princess when I was a little girl.

"Thea, mom didn't make pancakes, she always makes us pancakes on the first day of school." Arron moans for the fourth time since we left the house, ten minutes later than I had wanted to. We must take a path through the woods to reach the bus stop, as using the main road would require twice as much time to reach our destination. Mom made us practice our short walk several times before she was confident we wouldn't wander off into the woods. I strongly believe she had researched terrifying stories about the simplicity of getting lost in the thick, forested wilderness.

"Honestly? That's not my problem." I try to remain quiet; I don't need to be the center of attention on my first day. A few other kids, all ranging in age, turned to us as we walked up to the bus stop. I was a little taken aback at the number of kids that live in the middle of the woods, but I let it go immediately.

"I'm hungry." Aaron throws his head back.

"Well, so am I, and I'm not bitching about it." We halt at the edge of the group of kids, I know vaguely that some sets of eyes remain on us.

"Mom said if you said bitching again, she was going to ground you." Caleb sneers with I'm-going-to-tell-her tone.

"You said it too." I tap the back of his head with my hand.

"Damn." He kicks the ground as their bus pulls up.

"Here you go." I pull out the granola bar I was planning for my breakfast. "Share it, don't be jerks. Now get going."

They jump on the bus, when the doors close, and the bus rumbles off, I heard someone chuckling behind me. With minimal interest in getting to know my new classmates right from the start, I pull out my earbuds, plugging them into my phone, blasting music. I stand away from the rest of the kids, taking in the bundle of high schoolers who all somehow live near me, even though my community has no kids. With one sweep across the others waiting, I spot a girl talking on her phone, a guy with both nostrils pierced, and one with a jacket on despite the heat, his hood covering his face in shadow, and two others that completely disregard me. It comes to me, remembering from my first night here, I try to track down the guy I had seen, but I didn't get enough of a glimpse to recognize him. I turn my head in the direction where the guy with the hood up was, his face was looking up at me for a second, but back down to the ground as if he is caught, was that him? When my bus pulls up nearly ten minutes late, I am the last one to hop on. I notice my mistake as soon as I glance down the aisle. Other kids from previous stops were crowded in, leaving almost every seat taken, and the unoccupied seats had a backpack on vacant spots.

"You need to find a seat." The bus driver grumbles, closing the door.

I walk down the center trying my best not to make eye contact, but trying to display my need for a seat, no one bites. My only hope seems to be the bench at the back, to squeeze in and hope for a brief ride. Just as I am about to walk past the guy in the hoodie, he slyly slides his backpack off the seat, revealing an open invitation for me to sit down. I'm not sure if it is on purpose, but I take the opportunity, mumbling a thanks as I plug in my earbuds back in. Dad had to update our plan so we could roam in this middle of nowhere town, so as we begin to move, I scroll through my phone. The guy next to me slips his hand in his backpack, pulling something out. He fumbles it, and I briefly contemplate taking a peek at what exactly it was when he carelessly drops an open toaster treat in my lap. I glance down at it foolishly, then at him as he sinks his teeth into the one in the pack.

I pull out my earbud. "Do I look like a desk?"

His eyes were unmistakably a dull shade of blue, devoid of any green undertones. "Your stomach growled."

"Excuse me?"

"Your." He points at me. "Stomach." He rubs his abdomen. "Growled." He makes a noise in his throat.

"Are you being funny? Is this how you joke?"

His beaming widens, showing a white row of teeth. "I guess I am."

I try to suppress my laughter, but I'm sure he detects it. "I have food, thanks."

"You gave it to those kids. Your brothers?"

"I have money."

"This bus is going to get to school after the late bell, you won't be able to get food until lunch."

I direct my gaze towards the treat. I am hungry, last night all we had was soup as my mom was getting ready for work, and it did little to keep me full. "How can I be certain you didn't drug it?"

He laughs, a cute, full laugh. "Is that how you joke?"

I can't help it; I am smiling now. Feeling all the bitterness I had since my dad told us we were packing our lives and moving across the country began to soften. "I'm Thea, Theodora Vidal."

He sticks the rest of his treat in his mouth and shakes my hand. After a hard swallow, he gives me that nonchalant half grin again. "Abraham Woodman, Abe."

I let out an unsure laugh. "No, really?"

"Hand to the bible."

With an effort to avoid appearing eager, I tentatively indulge in a bite of the crumbling strawberry filled tart, one I haven't tasted in years. My eyes trace him out as I chew; he wasn't someone that at first glance would stick out of a crowd, everything was subtle about him. As if scorched by the relentless summer sun, his skin had taken on a dim tan, harmonizing with his flowing golden-brown hair that delicately concealed his most captivating feature. His eyes, not blue but gray, had an almond shape that added a touch of melancholy to his expression. Hidden by a hoodie, he conceals himself in baggy clothing. I doubt he perceived any of these qualities as prepossessing, but the more I took in, the more I noticed him.

"Santa Barbara." I say, swallowing.

"A foreigner." When he spoke, the smile spreads wider, reaching the other side of his cheek.

"No, it's in California."

"I stand with what I said."

"It's on the other coast." I turn my body, so I was full on facing him.

"So, you're famous." His lazy smile mocks me.

I take another bite, letting an enigmatic smirk cross my lips. He laughs at this as the bus pulls to a stop, picking up a new group of kids. I notice two girls nudging each other, their eyes fixed on me, before redirecting their attention to Abraham and greeting him with a wave. He raises his hand timidly, shaking his head at me. "Ignore them. That's Charlie and Harper. They're..."

"Your girlfriends?" I answer with a teasing smile when he doesn't respond.

"Oh, no." He laughs. "Charlie, I've known since we were in preschool, and you're more Harper's type than I am. And before you ask, they are cousins." He clears his throat awkwardly. "And I don't have a girlfriend, by the way."

Just as I was about to come up with a clever comeback, his pocket starts buzzing, making him jump in surprise. He pulls out this ragged flip phone out of his pocket, reads what's on it, and glares up at the girls who giggle from two seats across each other more up the aisle. I can guess what it says, so I don't bother and turn back to him. "Are you from here?"

"Yeah, bred and raised." His eyes keep looking from me, back to the girls, trying to get his attention. I press my lips together, trying to keep back a laugh as he lets out an aggravated sigh, pushing back on his hood from his head. "Sorry."

"Don't worry." A slight chuckle comes out of my words. "Tell me about high school in a small town."

He shrugs at this, and for the next five minutes of our ride, he goes into a grotesque detail of the gossip. Everyone knows everyone. No one ever seems to leave reproducing the next generation of residents, or at least he claims. Get ready to be astonished if you don't have time to speak, as they have knowledge of nearly everyone's affairs. As he took a picture of my schedule I volunteered, he went into some details about some of our classmate's business even not so subtly pointing them out on the bus, but as we pull up to the school he shrugs. "You'll pick it up quickly, and whatever I can't tell you, the two nosey girls up there will." They wave back at us as they leave the bus, and once again he raises his hand. "Sorry, they're going to try to bring you into our cluster of friends."

I smile at him. "That's okay if you're there."

I swear he blushed, but without a glance back, I grab my stuff. Merging into the crowd, shuffling away from the bus. When my feet hit the pavement, one girl was waiting for me. She exudes a subtle beauty, with her skirt falling just above her knees and her blouse fitting comfortably. She reminds me of a delicate mouse, with straight brown hair neatly in place and big, bright blue eyes. "I'm not normally this creepy, but Abe sent me your schedule, and we have a lot of the same classes. I can show you around."

I grin and turn my gaze towards him, moving in the opposite direction. "That would be nice, thank you. I'm..."

"Thea, I know." She holds up her phone. "Sorry, I swear no more creeping. I'm Charlie, and that's..." She gestures to the other girl, who could be her sister if I wasn't aware. She was taller, and lankier, but that's the only place they differ.

"Your cousin Harper, right?"

"The creeped becomes the creep." She laughs.

We walk into the small school, she tells me as we pass the hallways what's down there, and if we have a class, where to find it. We arrive at our first period class, where everyone has already taken a seat, and the teacher is mid-sentence.

"Sorry number 10 bus," Charlie chirps, slipping into a seat near the back of the class, more awkwardly, I found one a little closer to the front. The teacher takes that without any question and goes back to her lecture. When we finish class, we part way, this time I meet up with Abraham, Abe, again, and Harper in science. His half smile he wore before I walked in spreads wider when our eyes met from the doorway. Almost out of some instinctual habit, I glance away shyly as I made my way towards the two friends.

"This place must be a big difference from California." Harper had this lazy smile, one she pulled off with her incurious way she spoke. "Small towns are the worst. I moved her when I was five from New York."

"Wow, really?" I took my seat at the desk behind them, but Harper lifted herself from the spot next to Abe. "I think I'm starting to like it here."

"No, it's fine, sit here." She threw a smile at Abe, who rolls his eyes. "Woods won't bite."

"Jenkins thinks she's a comedian." He huffs.

Holding back a giggle, I shift closer to him. "It really is a big difference. Right now, would be beach weather."

"I've never been to a beach." Abe leans in, but Harper snaps at him in a teasing manner.

"The adults are talking, don't interrupt."

"She's very mean to me." He leans into my ear, and a feeling of a slight shiver runs down my neck as his words sweeps across my skin.

"Good morning class." The teacher comes in, her eyes scan across the classroom, assessing those she would be teaching.

"It's because I'm his best friend," Harper says as she walks back towards the table behind us. "I'm allowed to."

"She isn't my best friend." As the teacher tisks, as he grins mischievously.

"Mr. Woodman, I'm so delighted you are in my classroom, we can continue our practice on minimal disruption this year too."

"Of course, Mrs. Fleck, but let me express how beautiful you appear. Summer must have been so kind to you, I mean, for the minimal pay you get, you probably could only stay around here, but you made it work for you."

She smirks cruelly. "Anymore comments and you can pay a visit to the principal and inquire about her summer."

He opens his mouth, but Harper hisses with a loud hiss. "Abe." And his mouth shuts. Mrs. Flick's eyes shifted from Abe to Harper before returning to him and finally turning towards the whiteboard.