This chapter is dedicated to @_grace390_for the title suggestion How We Fell Apart.

Chapter 1: How We Fell Apart

I stepped outside into the light drizzle, yanking my hoodie up to avoid any hair mishaps. Adjusting my new school bag onto my back, I got into the car that I share with my older brother, Dylan. As if on cue, the front door swung open and he darted out of the house with a large grin on his face. He walked over towards the driver's side door and opened it, hopping into the truck. He tossed his bag into the backseat carelessly before shoving the key into the ignition. I watched as the book bag flopped from the seat to the floor, wondering if he even bothered to put anything in it.

"What happened to all of the new school supplies that mom bought for you?" I questioned as I turned back to look at him.

His grin didn't falter in the slightest. "I'm a senior now! I don't have to worry about grades!" he announced and my eyebrows rose.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth, and I've heard you say a lot of stupid things." I shook my head.

"You wouldn't understand; wait until next year, you'll be a senior then," he explained. "Speaking of next year, how are you getting to school? Because this bad boy is coming with me to college." He patted the dashboard of the truck with a grin. Yeah right it is; I paid for half of it. "So, are you walking to school? Because it doesn't seem like you're saving for a car or anything."

I snorted, shaking my head again. "The drive to school is an hour. I don't even want to imagine walking."

"Well, you need it," the idiot beside me stated. I reached over and punched his arm as he was backing us out of the driveway. "Hey!"

"Oops, my fist slipped," I falsely apologized. My brother glared at me as he drove us in the direction of the school.

"Hey, Lex, do you happen to know the exact date of mom and dad's anniversary?" Dylan blurted, his eyes shifting towards for a second before returning to the road.

I pursed my lips in thought. Do I look like I know, Dylan? "If I'm not mistaken, it's in a few weeks."

"What do you mean by a few? Specifics please," my brother waved a hand around and I sighed, struggling to remember the exact date. I was also struggling to remember how he has more friends than I do.

"I think it is September 19th but I'm not completely sure. I can ask mom if you want me to," I suggested with a shrug. "Why?"

He smirked widely, flicking a strand of damp, brown hair from his green eyes. "I want to have a party before Isaiah and Isaac."

"The twins are throwing a party to start off the school year? Even after what happened last time?" I questioned curiously.

"They plan to. That's if they can get their parents out of the house. And if your information is correct, then I can have my party first. Their parents only leave for extremely urgent occasions ever after last year's events," my brother explained. Last year, the twins had a party and their parents came back in the middle of it, only to find their sixteen year old sons drunk on the floor with hordes of teenagers dancing around them. The twins were grounded for two entire months.

"And where am I going to go?" I questioned. "There's no way I'm sleeping in a house full of loud, drunken idiots." Dealing with sober idiots is hard enough.

"Well, I expected you to help set up the party and then you could go to one of your friend's houses," my brother suggested.

"No, thank you," I concluded.

"I'll tell mom about how you left the house Wednesday night, the first day of school, when you were supposed to be in bed sleeping," my brother blackmailed.

"What are you talking about? I was in my room on Wednesday night," I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at him curiously. How could he possibly know?

He snorted. "Yeah, and I was, too. But wait, my curfew is eleven o'clock and yours is ten. And if I'm correct, you were out of that window at twelve, right? Or was it one?"

I glared at him. It was actually 11:30. I went to go see a midnight movie with my friends. "You wouldn't tell mom. She'd take the car away, which means she'd have to drive us to school."

"No, she'll drive you to school," my brother grinned sneakily.

"That's-," I started to refute but my brother cut in.

"How about you help me set up the party and I won't tell mom if you decide to sneak out again?" Dylan offered.

I weighed my options. "And I get to drive the car for a week."

"Don't push your luck; I have seven other people to help me. The loss of one person won't hurt," my brother warned.

"Then why am I even helping?" I questioned. "When I'm around your friends, my IQ lowers substantially."

"Well, if you decide to tell mom and dad about the party, you'd get in trouble for helping to set it up," Dylan laughed, either at his intricately planned scheme or my comment about his stupid friends.

I shrugged. "I get the car rights for a week or I tell mom and dad not to go out for their anniversary."

My brother glared at me before sighing. "Fine, you get the car rights for a week."

"Now tell me who's going to help set up this party," I inquired.

"Isaac, Isaiah, Miles, Demetri, Holden, Colton, and Axel," my brother listed.

I was perfectly content with the first six. Axel Jacob Bruno has come to be the most annoying guy I've ever met. To think we were once best friends... "Axel? Is he really necessary?"

"Axel is my friend, and not too long ago, he was yours. He's willing to do free labor," my brother explained, "so put aside your petty disagreements because this is going to be the best party ever and if you play your cards right, you just might be a part of it."

I rolled my eyes. "I thought he wasn't even back yet."

My brother grinned. "He just got back yesterday; guess where we're having the welcome back party?"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, already knowing the answer. "Where are you hosting the welcome back party, Dylan?" I asked just to play along with my brother, hoping that the answer would be different than anticipated.

"At our house," my brother explained. "But don't worry, mom and dad said I could only have my friends over, so it's nothing big."

"Seven extra people in our house totally isn't going to disrupt me from whatever I plan to get done," I sardonically stated.

"You won't even realize they're there," my brother joked.

"Can't you guys have it at Holden's house?" I questioned. "Why does it have to be at our house?"

"Because we have a cool basement, duh. Besides, I figured after nearly two months of being stuck with his aunt and female cousins, Axel could use some guy time," my brother responded.

"I bet," I muttered sarcastically.

My brother rolled his eyes at me. "So, are you excited for his return?"

"I wish he would've stayed longer," I told my brother honestly. I can already tell that once he comes over, things are going to be awkward. If he hadn't left on such bad terms, then perhaps I'd be a little less harsh towards him. He didn't bother texting me to apologize or even attempt to talk to me. He'd just make petty comments whenever he'd be video chatting with the guys or talking with them on XBOX.

"Well, he's back," Dylan grinned.

I nodded. "Can't wait to see him. Not."

+++

"Oh, can I come?" Sidney piped excitedly as we returned to our new lockers. Out of my three friends, my locker is next to Sidney's. Camilla's locker is only down the hall, whereas Oliver's is all the way on the opposite side of the school. It's inconvenient compared to last year's set up; all of our lockers were in the same hallway.

I'm currently explaining the situation that I have to deal with later on today to my friend. My brother and his friends are going to be at my house at around five, which is when I planned on getting homework done. But obviously Sidney sees this as an opportunity to stare at the "cute boys!" But of course, she won't talk to them because she's just that shy.

"Do you honestly think your mother will let you?" I asked her and she shrugged before frowning.

"No, she's intent on getting the house ready for the baby and that means I can't leave," Sidney admitted sadly and I nodded in understanding. I'm the youngest in the household, so I don't understand.

"They're going to be in the basement, anyway. I'll be on the second floor. I think I'm good," I smiled.

"I'll pray for you," Sidney jokingly responded.

"Thanks," I muttered. "But you should pray for Axel."

"That's who the get-together is for, yeah?" she inquired from beside.

"Yeah, unfortunately," I responded. "I don't know why Dylan just pretends nothing happened between us. I bet he was the one who suggested our house for the gathering. He's inconsiderate like that."

"Well, the way he sees it is that you had a crush on Axel, he got a girlfriend, and you were jealous," Sidney explained and I sighed, shaking my head.

"That's not how it happened, though! He got a girlfriend and he basically abandoned me! And when I pointed it out to him, he called me jealous and said that I didn't understand the demands of a relationship. When I called his girlfriend clingy, he told me that we could be friends when I got over him, and then a few weeks later, he left to his stupid aunt's house for the summer. But not before letting every one of the guys know about what happened in a very wrong and biased explanation, despite the fact that we both agreed to not tell anyone our business not too long before that," I retorted angrily.

"I know that," Sid replied and I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "But you guys were best friends for a while. You're really not going to at least try to talk to him about it?"

"I wasn't the one who cut him off. He told me to get over him when I never even liked him," I told my friend who ducked her head as if she had other feelings. I glared at her. "I didn't like him! You know that!"

"You two were best friends for how long? Four years?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, but that means nothing!" I responded.

"And you've never had feelings for him? Not once?" she asked me slowly, as if talking with a child. Maybe. I don't know. But I don't like him now. I hate him. And that's all that matters.

"No!" I responded, crossing my arms. "I don't even know how he got that idea."

"Well, maybe he realized how stupid he was while he was away. Just talk to him," my friend responded, earning a snort from me.

"That's not going to happen," I told her. "If anything, I'll wring his neck."

"Will you at least hear him out if he tries to talk to you?" she asked and I shrugged.

"It depends on what he has to say," I answered. She sighed loudly as she pulled her crisp schedule from the inside of her folder.

"What class do you have first again?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Chemistry with Oliver," I answered. The same class I've had these last three days. "You have French, right?"

She sighed. "Yeah, unfortunately."

The sound of the bell ringing signaled the start of first period. Students all around us began walking towards their class. Sidney told me she'd see me later before turning and heading in the direction of English. I turned and approached Chemistry, which was all the way on the other side of the school.

"Lex!" a voice called before I could even round the corner.

At the sound of my name, I turned around, recognizing the blue eyed boy advancing towards me. Oliver bombarded me, encasing me in a hug. His brown hair was wet from the rain and I felt droplets dampen my face, potentially wrecking my makeup. "If you keep hugging me like this whenever you see me, girls are going to start thinking that you're dating me."

"Is it a crime to hug my friend?" Oliver remarked, pulling away from me

"Well, no," I answered. "But being late to class is, so we should probably get going."

We arrived at the lab and glanced at the board. Displayed on the screen was a seating chart, which earned a sigh from both me and Oliver. This always happens in the classes that I have with my friends. For the first few classes, we were allowed to sit wherever but of course Mr. Porter noticed the talkers and this is his way of separating them. My eyes scanned the chart and I came to the conclusion that I was seated alone right in the front. My eyes grazed over the rest of the chart, narrowing when they arrived at Axel B. He's in this class?

Oliver was seated next to a tall, tan girl who plays on the volleyball team and I could tell he was elated. The class filled up quite fast and I remained in the front with my textbook on my desk. With a sigh, I grabbed my notebook from my bag. This is definitely not going to be my favorite class.

+++

Lunch was the only time I got a break. And it was after four long hours, most of which was spent catching up with my friends and, against my will, talking to my brothers friends. Once I reached lunch, I sat down at the familiar table with a tray in my hands. Camilla and Sidney were already there, sitting in the same seats we sat in last year. I plopped down, receiving two greetings. I returned them before taking a large gulp of my juice.

Oliver was the last one to come to the table. He was complaining about some idiot who cut him in the lunch line, so he had to "take him out." I guess you can say he's affectionate and secretly violent...which isn't a very good mix now that I think about it. Sidney is the shy, girly-girl, if she needs a label. She wears dresses, despite the rain, and finds it difficult talking to new people, especially cute boys. That small fact earns her an innocent reputation. Camilla is the boy crazed one. It doesn't roll over well with Oliver, because he knows most of the boys that she talks about. She's also a bit overdramatic and is known to blow things out of proportion. I'm probably the only normal one in my group of friends.

Okay, that may have been a lie.

My brother is popular and has many friends because of the baseball team. And on top of all the team members, he has friends from other places. While I have four good friends, used to be five, he has seven. I know all of them and they all know me. I don't get along with every one of them though, as you probably concluded. This is about the time where I should cough and indiscreetly mutter 'Axel' halfway through. But I'm a better person than that, so I'll spell his name out for you. A-x-e-l.

Believe it or not, we were best friends for a long time, four years to be exact. It wasn't until he met Victoria that our friendship began to falter. Victoria Queenly, now a senior, and a surprisingly nice girl, aside from her clingy factor. I was accepting towards the fact that my best friend was in a relationship, allowing him to hang out with her as often as he wanted as long as we could hang out at some point or another. It wasn't until he began blowing me off because of her that it began to bother me. When I called him out on it, he told me that I was just jealous and that it wasn't a big deal, to which I responded that I was not jealous and that he should lay a schedule down with his clingy girlfriend to let her know that they both need time for friends. Apparently, this was a bit too outspoken and he told me that we could be friends once I got over him. He told the story of what happened to my brother and their group of friends and they thought that I did have feelings for Axel, even though I denied it anytime they brought it up. They still believe I have feelings for him because, unlike Axel, I'm still annoyed at the fact that I lost my best friend because of a stupid relationship.

"Earth to Alexis," Sidney waved her banana in my face and I narrowed my eyes at the yellow fruit, shoving it away from my nose.

"Yeah?" I asked, perching my arm on the table as I tuned back into the conversation.

"Axel's welcome back party is at your house?" Camilla asked, earning a nod from me. "And you didn't tell us?"

Do you see what I mean about the dramatics? "Well, I just found out this morning."

"What happened to texting us?" she inquired and I sighed.

"It's not a big thing. It's just my brother and his friends," I told her. "Besides, I'm not partaking in any of the activities- so it'd be just another normal day in my house if you were to come over."

"Aside from the fact that there are eight cute boys in your basement," Camilla gushed.

I wrinkled my nose and Oliver snorted. "That can be taken out of context," he noted.

"By eight do you include Dylan?" I asked.

"Yes! He's hot, right Sid?" Camilla turned her attention to Sidney, who made a big deal of slowly sipping her drink, trying to buy enough time to come up with a good excuse as to why she couldn't answer the question.

Sid shrugged as she placed her drink down. "He's cute."

"He's gorgeous," Camilla concluded.

I groaned, placing my head in my hands. "You guys disgust me."

"If I had a hot brother, I wouldn't mind you swooning over him," Camilla shrugged.

"Hot and brother should never be in the same sentence...ever." I looked up at Camilla and shook my head.

She just shrugged. "If he's hot, he's hot."

I rolled my eyes. She's clueless. "Speaking of hot brothers, I'm thinking of joining the track team," Oliver announced. I didn't bother asking about what that had to do with hot brothers. At least it got me out of talking about Dylan and his so called hotness...

Cam scoffed at the beginning of his sentence. "You and track? You have trouble walking down a flight of stairs."

"You have trouble breathing," Oliver retorted.

"I'm asthmatic!" Cam replied.

I quickly found myself tuning out of the conversation again, only to be brought back the shrilling bell.

+++

"I just wanted to let you know that we're hosting a carpool," Dylan told me as I met him by the truck.

"What?" I asked him.

"Well, because you like to take your sweet time, it's 2:46. We need to go shopping for some snacks for the party. I figured that since the event is starting at 5:30, we might as well bring everyone to our house once we're done shopping," Dylan informed me as tossed his book bag into the backseat.

"How long do you think shopping is going to take?" I asked him and he held up his wallet, which held a couple of twenty dollar bills.

"We're buying chips, drinks, and anything else we see and want," Dylan explained with a glazed over look to his eyes. Food is his weakness- everyone knows that.

"I think I should handle the shopping," I told him, reaching for his wallet. He quickly tucked it behind his back.

"No, you're just going to buy Nutella. Axel doesn't like Nutella and Miles is allergic to nuts," my brother told me.

"I will buy Nutella for me, then. You guys can have Oreos and milk or something," I shrugged.

"Miles is lactose intolerant," Dylan retorted, driving in the direction of the local supermarket.

"Tell him to take a lactaid pill," I responded.

"He can't swallow pills," Dylan answered.

I groaned. "Is there anything that isn't wrong with that boy?"

"Ask Miles," my brother replied. I just rolled my eyes and stared out of the window.

"What time is your stupid party ending?" I inquired.

"I don't know," he stated. "They're probably staying the night."

As if things couldn't get any worse.