Lunch was not only entertaining, but also distracting. As I interacted with each of the boys and listened to their banter, my nerves faded. No one mentioned my mini meltdown in study hall either, which I was grateful for. I had known the boys for less than a day and I wasn't quite ready to explain how messed up I was yet. I didn't think I would ever be ready if I was being honest with myself.

"Damn," Silas said on our walk to Biology. He was looking over my schedule while also leading the way. While he was otherwise occupied, I admired his looks; he really was handsome, but all of the guys were. "You're really smart. You might give Kota a run for his money."

I snorted and shook my head, snatching my schedule away from him, giving him a knowing look. "Doubtful. Kota seems rather intelligent, and I'm just average."

Silas raised his eyebrows at me, as if preparing to fight me on my view of myself, but I held a hand up to silence him. I wasn't in the mood to hear bullshit about how I was better than I thought, especially not when I heard it from my brothers almost 24/7, especially when it was all a lie. Lucky for me, we had arrived at our classroom, rescuing me from whatever charming speech he was about to make about my character.

He sat behind me in class, and I spent most of the class period knocking my feet against his' playfully. We took turns practically holding each other's feet, and while it was fun, it also had me blushing. If anyone happened to decide to pay attention to us then they would probably think that we were playing a game of footsies. We weren't though; playing with our feet together was somehow just more entertaining than listening to the teacher drone on about shit I had already learnt.

Silas insisted on walking me to my next class, even though I insisted that chivalry was dead and there was no need for him to try to revive it. He had laughed at that joke then scooped my books up from my arms and lead me to the music room where I would have my piano lesson. The walk was quiet, but I enjoyed it. There didn't have to be conversation for me to enjoy Silas' company, and it seemed that he shared the sentiment since he didn't try to talk the entire walk.

When we arrived at the music room, he refused to hand me my books back until I gave him my number. I didn't bother telling him that I didn't have a phone at the moment, certain that I would more than likely purchase a new one on the drive home. After I had entered my number into his contacts, we made a trade off: his phone for my books.

"Bye, Aggele, have a good rest of your day!" he called to me over his shoulder. His voice was loud enough to draw several people's attention, and a blush spread across my cheeks as I waved to him. Eager to get away from the prying looks, I slid inside the music room, momentarily forgetting that there would be a teacher there in all of my embarrassment.

"Are you alright, Miss Sorenson?"

I squealed in surprise, jumping, my books crashing to the ground. My green eyes met steel grey ones, and my heart stopped for an entire moment. The man standing before me could only be described as utter perfection. His light brown hair was combed back from his face, steel eyes watching me from behind his black rimmed glasses that were similar to Kota's. He wore a grey suit complete with a maroon tie that laid against his body just right.

After studying him for a good few minutes I remembered that he had asked me a question, and the blush on my cheeks intensified. "Oh, um, yes, sir. I'm just fine. And you may call me Sang, you don't have to call me Miss Sorenson."

Amusement danced in his eyes.

"I'm quite glad to hear that you're alright," he said and I kneeled on the floor to pick up my books but also to avoid eye contact, feeling unnerved by those grey eyes. "I'm Mr. Blackbourne, your piano teacher. You've been made aware these are private lessons, yes?"

I nodded, smoothing down my hair and doing the same to my skirt when I stood. "Yes. I believe my father informed me of that fact."

"Your father told me that you know some piano. Could you possibly show me one of the few songs you've learnt?" He inquired, crossing his arms and watching me as I crossed the room to set my books down. My body felt hot from his gaze, and I didn't exactly like it. I much rather preferred blending into the shadows and away from everyone's prying looks, but that didn't seem to be happening very well at the moment.

"Sure, yeah," I muttered, nodding, brushing hair away from my face just to have something to do with my hands.

He raised his eyebrows at me expectantly and I nodded, plopping down onto the piano bench. I stared at the black and white keys for a moment, as if preparing myself to do something I had avoided for many years, then took a deep breath and began. My fingers smoothed over the keys and pressed hard enough to coax music from it. I lost myself in the beautiful sounds and the memories I associated with them. It seemed only seconds later the song was over and I was left gasping for air, blinking several times to clear my mind. I forced myself to draw my eyes away from the piano and face Mr. Blackbourne, tucking my hands beneath my thighs.

"So," I croaked out. "How was I?"

"That was very good, Miss Sorenson," he said, his eyes piercing into the deepest depths of my soul. "I'm excited to see what else you will be able to accomplish this year."

The rest of the class we discussed what we would most likely cover over the course of the year, and I also tried to regain my breath and my sanity. There was something about the combination of Mr. Blackbourne and playing the piano that had left me feeling dizzy and had my head spinning. I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, and I couldn't decide if I liked it either.

On my way out of the class, Mr. Blackbourne stopped me. "You really did do well today, Miss Sorenson. Have a good day, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

I merely nodded in response, then scurried from the classroom and through the hallways. I winced every time someone bumped into me, but I kept in mind that I only had one class left that day and I shared it with Kota. Once again, he was waiting for me when I arrived, the seat to the right of him reserved with his bag for me. I gently placed it on the floor beside his desk before slipping into the seat and sharing a smile with him.

I didn't get the chance to thank him before the class was starting. Mostly, it was boring. We read over the syllabus and went over what exactly we would be learning that year. I had learned a great deal of the content already, due to the fact that private school seemed to be slightly ahead, but I didn't mind. I truly did enjoy physics, and I was willing to revisit old subjects.

The teacher allowed us the last few minutes to converse, as many teachers had done that day, and I turned in my seat to face Kota.

"Thank you for saving me a seat," I said. "And making friends with me. And rescuing me last night. And not telling anyone about last night. Thank you for everything, really."

Kota laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement at my spews of thank yous. "You're welcome, Sang. Though, you really don't have to thank me. It's clear that you're out of your element here, and I wanted to help anyway that I could."

"I really mean it though," I insisted, my eyebrows furrowing together. I didn't think that he could truly understand the extent of my gratitude. I didn't think any of his friends could, actually. "Is there anyway I can repay you somehow?"

"You don't have to repay me for anything." Kota leaned forward in his seat, probably prepared to turn down my offer but then paused, his eyes glimmering with something I couldn't identify. "But if you're really insistent on repaying us somehow, then I would really like it if you would hang out with my friends and I tomorrow night. Would that be okay?"

At first I hesitated, but not because I didn't enjoy hanging out with them, more so because I wasn't sure how members of my family would react to this. I came to the conclusion they would never have to know, and if I popped a good amount of anxiety meds beforehand, then I should be able to handle it. Also, I deserved to have some friends for the first time in my near sixteen years of living.

"Okay," I said, a smile forming on my face. "I would love to. Talk to Silas, he has my number. Send me the details tonight."

After I answered him, the bell rang. As much as I enjoyed speaking to Kota and any of his friends really, I needed the solitude and safety of Mustang. I waved bye to Kota, then raced out of the classroom then the school. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought that I had caught sight of the group of boys, but I didn't have the time to deal with that. I needed to buy myself a phone then get home and deal with whatever bullshit Knox and my mom had prepared for me.

As I drove past them and out of the parking lot, I rolled down my window to wave to them.

They all beamed and waved back to me.

My smile lasted the entire drive to the technology store.

***

I froze in the entranceway of the house, the atmosphere dark and unwelcoming. Something was off, and I wasn't sure I wanted to walk in on it. I turned, ready to flee from the premise in order to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, but before I could, shouting erupted from down the hall. Most times I would ignore it, yelling was a regular occurance in my house and I did my best to avoid it, but there was a certain voice that my ears perking up.

The prodigal son had returned home for a visit.

My heart froze then started again, pounding against my chest. I gripped my keys in my hand tightly, just in case I needed to throw them at anybody; it had happened before, and I was certain that it would happen again. My family didn't understand what it meant to be peaceful, we never had. While most of us loved each other, fighting was in our nature, and there was nothing I could do about it no matter how much I hated it.

I tiptoed down the hallway and into the kitchen, where the voices were drifting from. It was no surprise that they had chosen it as their location for the fight, it had plenty of things to throw at each other if it got too out of hand. I strained my ears, attempting to see if either of my parents were present for this argument. When I didn't hear either of their voices, I relaxed and stepped into the wide kitchen.

All four of my siblings stood inside of it, looking ready to tear each other's throats out. Marie stood on the other side of the kitchen, by the other door, which was a strategy of her's. She liked to stand near a door in case she needed to make a quick get away; I usually did the same thing, well aware of how bad my brothers tempers could get. Knox and Zain stood toe to toe, both practically snarling at each other, their fists clenched and their bodies tense, both prepared to fight. Micah stood off to the side, shouting over them, most likely trying to delegate.

"What the hell?" I hissed out, throwing my keys onto the counter as well as my new phone. I crossed my arms over my chest as my siblings' attention was drawn to me. Even though I was the youngest, I was often the most level headed and most responsible. "Does someone want to explain to me what's going on here?"

Knox came barrelling straight towards me and my eyes widened as I backed up, throwing my hands up to ward him off. Micah reached out to stop him, but he was unsuccessful as Knox gripped both my arms and shoved me up against the wall. His green eyes that were nearly identical to my own were narrowed as they scanned me over, as well as lit up with fury.

"Where the hell did you go last night?" he exclaimed, releasing me and taking a step back.

Micah stood behind him, his dark eyes apologetic, telling me that he was the one who had tattled on me to our eldest brothers. Marie joined my side, sending Knox a wary look, a look that warned him to back off. Marie and I weren't protective of each other that often, aware that we could take care of ourselves, but when it came to moments like this, we were there for each other.

"I asked you a question first," I replied, my voice steady and my eyes reflecting a good amount of fury of my own. I carefully avoided looking over at Zain, not quite ready to speak to him, especially not after what had happened the night before. He couldn't just call me a bitch and throw shit at me then get away with it; our relationship didn't work that way.

"We were fighting over you."

I gritted my teeth as I turned to face my eldest brother who leant against the fridge, completely unbothered by the fact that all of his siblings were furious with him. He was just like that, though. He never truly cared about anything, not anymore at least. Once he was a lot more presence, a better brother, but that went down the drain when he moved out of the house and discovered how well alcohol worked for numbing his feelings. At least when he was sober he still found it in him to care for me.

I still worshipped the ground he walked on, but he didn't come around enough for me to grovel for his love, and when he was around, I often found us fighting over my well being.

"As usual, then." I said dryly.

Knox and Zain had an ongoing argument about what they should do with me, as if I couldn't make the decision myself. Zain wanted me to live with him, he was convinced that he could take care of me better than our parents. Knox was set on just getting me through the rest of high school, and then getting me into college far away. I was clear on the fact that I didn't give a shit, but they didn't seem to care about that. My opinion rarely mattered.

"It was actually about whether or not you would be able to handle a party," Marie spoke up, her black coffee eyes on me, pooled with concern but also curiosity.

My eyebrows shot up. "A party?"

Knox's hand were gripping my own, drawing my eyes to him. His emerald eyes had softened, wearing the look he usually did when he looked at me: love and hope. I relaxed, holding onto his hands, finding comfort in the touch. It wasn't ever vocalized, but it was known that Knox was my favorite brother, and I was his favorite sibling. I was certain that if he wanted to throw a party, then he had been keeping me in mind when discussing it.

"It would be this weekend," he explained, his voice quiet. "There wouldn't be a lot of people, and mom and dad would never find out. Zain said that he thought you shouldn't around for it, but I told him you might like it, that it might help you. Would you like to stay for the party, Sang?"

I looked over Knox's shoulder and met eyes with Zain. He was smirking, as if waiting for me to say that I was uncomfortable with it, and that I would prefer to stay at a friends house. I rolled my shoulders back and raised my chin, my resolve hardening. I drew my eyes back to Knox and smiled at him.

"I would love to come to your party, guys," I said, addressing the siblings that stood around me.

Zain stared at me for a long moment then detached himself from the fridge and disappeared down the hall, most likely leaving or going to sulk in his old room. The moment he left the room I felt as if I could relax again, and slumped against the wall, leaning my head against it, taking a deep breath. It had been a long day, and my heart was still racing erratically, and probably wouldn't calm until I went to sleep.

I took a seat at the island and flashed a smile at my siblings, tapping my fingers on the counter top. "Come here. Tell me about your day."

I half-listened to how their days went, while I also remembered the good times. There was a time where my mother loved me and didn't lay her hands on me. There was a time where my father was home more. There was a time when every time Zain and I talked it didn't end in a screaming match. There was a time where I didn't have to rely on three sets of pills to get through the day. But that time was over, and I was in a new era, a dark one.

This was a time where I was left stumbling through the dark, searching for any comfort I could seek while also looking out for myself. It wasn't ideal, but all I had was myself and my siblings, and I was content with that.

I nodded along to Marie's story, all the while crossing my fingers, hoping that I could find some light in the group of boys I had made friends with that day.

A/n: I don't really know how I feel about this chapter but at least you guys met Zain and Knox. So what are your feelings on them two? I'm warning you now that Zain is sketchy so. I hope you guys like this. love you!!

Song: Angel on Fire by Halsey

-ry