~Mark

         Sean was practically bouncing with excitement when he told me about his new drum set that his mom got him, already planning when we would start practice at his house. "Slow down there cowboy." I laughed. "Sorry, just really excited." He smiled sheepishly. "Talking about girls in here?" Thomas joked, peeking into the room. "No." I rolled my eyes. "Your mom wanted me to tell you that you're going to school with Mark tomorrow." Thomas ignored me. Sean glanced over at me before nodding in acknowledgment. Thomas then left us alone, disappearing back into his room. "It's like midnight, we should go to bed." I yawned, stretching my arms over my head. "Aw, you don't wanna be a tired zombie in the morning?" Sean playfully poked me in the ribs. "Hey!" I jumped, lightly smacking his shoulder. "So Sean-" "Jack." He cut me off. "Am I a friend now?" I smiled. "Of course ye goof." He retorted. "Okay then, Jack," I emphasized his name. "What kinda things do you like? Hobbies, favorite color, etcedera?" "Well..." He paused to think. "I like video games, my favorite color's red, I defiantly refuse to do sports much to my father's disappointment, and my favorite part of school is the end of it." He said the last part jokingly, but I could still see a flash of pain in his eyes that he tried but miserably failed to disguise with a half hearted smile. "Not really a fan of school, huh?" I prodded him. He shook his head, biting his lip. "Don't worry, I'll introduce you to all of my friends, you'll love them." I assured him. "There's Suzy, Barry, Arin, Ross, Danny, Nate, Felix, Ken-" "look at you Mr. Popular." Jack interrupted me. "Bet you have a girlfriend too, don't ye?" I avoided his gaze, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. "No." I said, barely audible. "Didn't have one back at home." He shrugged. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. "Well, we really should go to bed." I faked a yawn, sleeping on the floor much to Jack's protest while he reluctantly slept in the bed.

       "TOP O' THE MORNING TO YE!" Jack shouted directly in my ear, startling me awake as I ended up tangling my legs in the mess of blankets, falling face first off of the bed to the cold wooden floor. "What was that for?!?" I hissed quietly, rubbing my nose as I attempted to free myself from my fuzzy restraints. "It's time fir school. I'm your human alarm clock." He tried but failed to conceal a smirk of amusement at my predicament. "Do you not sleep?" I grunted, managing to free one leg. "Sleep is for the weak!" He whisper shouted, leaving the room. I managed to kick the rest of the blankets off, stumbling over them as I chased after him. Mom was already in the kitchen making scrambled eggs, bacon, and waffles drenched in syrup, making my mouth water as I sat at the table, sipping from my up of orange juice already at the table. "Thank you Mrs. Fischbach!" Sean said around a mouthful of food. I rolled my eyes at him, washing down a bite of bacon with more orange juice. "Better than your Irish potatoes huh?" I teased. "Never!" He pretended to look offended. "Boys, you're going to be late if you keep dilly dallying." Mom intervened. I quickly finished eating, huffing in annoyance as mom fussed over my clothes and hair, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off of my shoulder. I was dressed in an American flag shirt and jeans, my messy red hair covered by a hat. Jack was wearing all black with a red beanie. I was somewhat relieved when I heard the rumbling of the bus down the street so I could avoid further embarrassment in front of Jack. When we climbed on, I sat down in the first empty seat in the middle, Sean sitting beside me. I glanced out the window as the bus drove away, my home soon a tiny dot far behind us. It wasn't long in the bus ride until I saw hands reach over the seat behind us and steal Jack's hat off of his head while he dozed off on my shoulder. "Give it back!" I demanded the boy. He was sitting by himself dressed in all black with dark brown eyes that almost looked black, his hair style similar to mine. "What are you gonna do about it?" He sneered. I reached for it through the crack beside me, only to have my arm grabbed with sharp claw like fingernails that dug into my skin. "I could break your arm if you want. It's as easy as one," He began twisting my arm. Pain shot through it as I struggled to escape his iron grip. "Two," he continued counting, twisting it further. I gritted my teeth so he didn't have the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. "Three." There was a sharp crack of bone in my arm, causing me to bite my tongue to keep from crying out. "Let him go!" Jack realized what was going on. "Sure." The boy's grip on my arm was gone, the hat back in my hand. I massaged my arm, handing Jack his hat. "Your arm okay?" He gently touched it. I flinched, swallowing hard. "Well, he wasn't kidding." I mused more to myself than Jack. "Is it broken?" He frowned. "Definitely." I sighed in annoyance. That was my writing arm as well. I wasn't even at school yet and already things are going terrible. Jack began panicking, reaching for his phone. "You can't use that remember? You need a new one since you're not in Ireland." I reminded him. "Your arm is broken!" He growled, his head falling back against the back of the seat. "I'll be fine for now, just don't tell anyone." I instructed. "Promise?" "Fine." Jack sighed reluctantly. I looked back out the window, for once rushing the bus would get to school faster.

~Jack

       When we got to school, I instantly felt lost and confused. The school looked like a giant white castle with concrete stairs that led to the entrance. Overhead hung bold blue letters that read "Romans" presumably the school mascot. People talked underneath the few trees that were by the stairs, occasionally glancing over at me. "I have to get to band." Mark informed me, walking me inside before darting down a hallway. I observed my surroundings, wishing I knew what to do. "You new here?" I heard a boy with a light Swedish accent ask. "Y-yeah." I stuttered. "I'm Felix." He introduced himself to me, extending a fist for me to bump. "Sean, but you can call me Jack." I relaxed as I bumped his fist. "I'll take you to the office to get your schedule." He jerked his thumb over to a small white room with people lined outside of it, waiting impatiently. "I got this." He assured me, helping me weave through the crowd. Several people greeted Felix, waving hello to him. "Thanks!" I told him once we reached the front. "I'm Sean Mcloughlin, I'm new here." I told the lady at the desk. She shuffled through a giant stack of papers before handing me one, listing all of my classes and my locker combination, as well as my lunch code. "So?" Felix prompted. "I have English first with Mr. Malkin." I informed him. "He's pretty cool, I'll take you to his class!" Before I could react, he grabbed my hand and ran with me through the halls, pausing at room thirty-seven before nudging me inside with a wink.