Chapter 2

The first couple of days passed by as we expected; we simply just settled in. We didn't have much time to go out and explore the city, although I doubted there was much to it. Everything was completely different back home in Arizona, and the only person whom I didn't feel like belonged to a different planet was Aunt Sarah. Everywhere I looked, it was like looking through a grey, lifeless filter--the result of a lifeless, cold climate. I certainly did not welcome it.

If two days ago, I were told that I'd be sitting in a new bedroom in Alaska now, I would've laughed. It was hard to believe our parents kept this a secret for so long. We took all our decisions together. Our family has always been close -- albeit, Damon and I were adopted-- and it was one of the things I was immensely grateful for.

My bedroom door suddenly flung wide open to reveal a bored-looking Damon, his dark hair a mess. If everything were to change in the world, I knew that things between my family and I will never change. Usually I would've scowled at Damon's lack of knocking, but right now, I find myself smiling as I welcomed the sense of normality

"Hey, Ashie-pie," he said teasingly, bouncing on my bed. I rolled my eyes upon hearing the nickname I spent years trying to get rid of. "How we holding up?"

I have kept everything bottled up since we've arrived, afraid of breaking down if I acknowledged the harsh truth of moving. Busying myself with unpacking, decorating my room, and settling in provided a way out of not thinking about it. But now as I looked at Damon resting with his arm behind his head and his dark eyebrows furrowed, the honest words were out of my mouth before I can stop them.

"I'm never seeing Reece again, I know that I do not and will ever fit in this place. I'll probably be the next outsider when I go to school tomorrow. I miss Fin. And I haven't seen a vivid color outside since the moment I fucking walked on Alaskan ground. What is this, Suicidal Santa's neighborhood?"

I took a deep breath, rubbing my tired eyes before aggressively running a hand through my tangled hair. He didn't answer. Finally, when I looked over at him, I saw him rolling his eyes with a slightly amused smile and a teasing glint in his rich, jade eyes.

"I came to ask if you were hungry enough to order takeout, you drama queen."

"Asshat," I muttered, forcefully chucking a pillow at his head which he easily missed. "Chinese is good."

He got up to leave with a smirk on his face, but before he can close the door, he turned around with a knowing look. "So, Reece isn't here. So what? What did you think would happen anyways? You would go to college together and get married together and then live next to each other and have your children-"

"Shut up! Just shut up. Jeez, you talk more than an excited Sarah on Family Game Night," I interrupted, chucking another pillow that successfully hit the back of his head.

"I thought I would never see that laugh again, you bitch," he called out before leaving and finally closing the door behind him.

I puffed, then collapsed on the bed, my brown hair fanning around my head.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

***

"Welcome to Marviston High School," the cheerful receptionist that seemed to be in her mid-40′s said, beaming at us.

"You must be Ash and Damon Brooks," she smiled, nodding at each of us, "and you, my dear, must be Elyse!" The old lady stretched her perfectly manicured hand towards my mom, and Damon and I rolled our eyes.

Everyone loved Elyse; she's that cool mom in the neighborhood whom everyone wanted to be friends with, which explains why we call her by her first name.

"Well, children, this is our senior year, isn't it," she continued excitedly, "Damon, your homeroom class is in Building A, the last class on the right on floor 2, and Ash," she turned to me, "you will be in Building C, and, oh, here," she handed me a map of the school with a class that was circled in red multiple times, "that's your homeroom."

Damon was five months older than me even though Dad and Elyse adopted me first. Dad wanted us to call him 'dad' because that's what he always wanted: normal children that would call him 'dad'. On the other hand, we called mom 'Elyse' because she wanted us to feel like she was our best friend.

And she was.

The receptionist continued talking about something I didn't care to hear, like how this school is a family and their spirit is live and bubbling. I watched as her red lips moved animatedly, thinking of the jumpy cartoons from Cartoon Network. After what seemed like hours of hearing the receptionist welcoming us, the first bell finally rang, signaling that we had to hurry up and get to class.

Mom said something I didn't hear from all the noise of everyone rushing to go to their classes on time, then she gave me a light kiss on the cheek. I had just then realized that my feet were now rooted to the floor; I couldn't seem to make them move.

Damon, who knew me well enough to figure out what was wrong, squeezed my shoulder encouragingly, and I was finally able to budge. He sighed and grabbed my arm, dragging me with him out of the administration building, which was also named Building C, according to the map.

"Here," he said after a while, and I looked to where he was pointing at a white door with a small window: my new homeroom.

I took a deep breath, letting my lungs expand and push down the nervous butterflies in my stomach. And then I took another one, trying to stall.

You're a confident person. Meeting new people should not faze you. You're going to knock on that door and-

Damon knocked the door, sensing that I won't anytime soon, and left before I can scowl at the idiot.

All the class' attention was averted to me when I walked in. Ignoring everyone's gaze on me, I gave a tight-lipped smile to the teacher, then sat down in the only spare seat I could find right in the middle of the class.

"You must be the new student here, I'm Mr. Trevors," he announced and gestured to the rest of the class, "I'm sure everyone will make you feel at home."

There were a few mutters around the class that didn't sound too enthusiastic.

I ignored everyone who was giving me looks and never took my eyes off the teacher, but really, I had no idea what he was talking about. The rest of the day was pretty much the same.

"Hi!" I stopped packing my bag for a moment and turned around to see who it was. A girl with pixie-length brown hair and big eyeglasses smiled at me, and I instantly recognized her from my classes. She was also the only person who bothered answering the teacher's questions.

"I'm Bexley," she exclaimed and extended a hand towards me.

I shook her hand and returned the smile to the overly excited girl. I turned back to packing, hoping she would get the hint that the conversation was over.

"You need help? You look like you need someone to hang around with," she insisted.

A mind reader, that one.

"No, it's fine, I'm done actually," I said quickly, tucking my hair behind my ear and locking my locker. "My mom's gonna be here any minute now. Thanks for the offer, though."

I started walking away towards the fountain in front of all the buildings, when I realized that she was trailing behind. Internally groaning, I realized that I had to make friends like Damon said, and this one was not going to leave.

I wasn't a 'small talk' person. That useless banter to waste time with no meaning never appealed to me. I either clicked with the person and became friends or I simple didn't. Forcing a good time never resulted in anything good, but then again, my group in my former high school had always been small. So, I let the quietness stretch between us, the sound of students laughing and conversing, floating around us like a charm, as I crossed my arms and stared ahead.

"You don't like it here."

My head snapped to her in surprise at her blunt words. Her big eyes were studying me with a knowing look on her face as the wind pushed a few strands of hair in her face, her bottom lip tucked in between her teeth.

"Is it that obvious?" I scoffed, slightly relaxing my tense shoulders.

"As obvious as Ryder staring at you from that group of boys," she jerked her head over my shoulders.

"Who?"

Her phone rang, stopping her before she can reply. She waggled her fingers in goodbye as she slid the phone to unlock it, placing it on her ears. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I watched as she walked away in a rush, giving me a smirk before getting into a black car. My eyes followed the car speeding away until they found Damon high five-ing a bunch of guys and laughing with them about something one of them said. All thoughts of the weird girl fled my brain as I watched him. I've always admired his kind personality and easy-goingness, something that I had trouble with. His charm always attracted everyone to him, boy and girls alike, and it was not surprising with his sharp features, boyish grin, and sense of humor. As if sensing my eyes on him, Damon turned to me and waved me over.

When I was close enough to be noticed by the whole group, I let my eyes skip over them quickly, my eyes stopping on one particular tall guy that was eyeing me for far too long. Their conversations quieted down upon my arrival, and the tall dude leaned in to whisper something in Damon's ear.

"That's gross Ryder, she's my sister," he smacked the back of his head. "We're adopted."

"Interesting," Ryder muttered, a sly smile growing on his attractive face as he faced me. "I can show you around later on."

A couple of the guys in the group laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. Although I wanted to properly look at his features, I didn't give him the satisfaction of staring at him for too long, especially because of his overconfident vibes radiating from his pores. Once again, I genuinely wasn't interested.

I raised an eyebrow before impatiently looking at my watch. "I think I'm good, hon. I don't mind getting lost."

More laughter rang around the group and the corner of my lips lifted subconsciously when Ryder playfully pouted. I tried to ignore his gaze on me as I half-listened to the guys' conversation.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and my mood immediately soured as I read the name on the screen. Fin. Guilt shot through my stomach at the negative knee-reflex reaction.

Interrupting Damon's conversation, I tossed him the keys. "You can have the car, I'm gonna grab something before heading home. Don't catch up."

He nodded before quickly going back to arguing over which football team was superior, and I took that as my queue to leave. Pulling out the phone from my pocket, I quickly tapped on the screen, my heart twisting at the words being sent across the globe. It was a simple sentence, and I imagined all the codes of 0's and 1's as it was being delivered in less than a second that would cause havoc on the other side.

We need to break up.