Brooks Scott

The first week and weekend at Havenpoint had gone by quickly. It had taken me about three days to realize that this new move was draining me slowly like an ink pen. There were moments throughout the week when I felt fine and content. Once I was alone again, those feelings went away and I remembered the absolute betrayal from my family.

Nola, my sister, is the only person I've really talked to. Mom and dad's phone calls have been sent straight to voicemail. Despite the fact that Havenpoint isn't completely terrible, I'm still bitter that they decided to send me into unknown territory millions of miles from home. London may not be the worst place in the world but I'm homesick as fuck.

A month ago, I was looking forward to my final year at Highland Preparatory, my old school. Now, I was patiently waiting for the day when I could escape this hellhole. This morning, I was notified by the dean that my visits with my assigned shrink would start today.

What. The. Fuck.

No one told me boarding school involved fucking therapy. Did it look like I needed therapy?

The session was absolutely dreadful. Most of the time, I stayed mute. There wasn't anything wrong with me and my shrink wouldn't convict me otherwise. Once I was out of there, I took a shaky breath. Was it normal to feel small in that room? It wasn't huge but my presence had felt minimal.

My next couple of breaths were also shaky as I placed a hand on my heart. "Hi, Brooks," a soft voice came from behind me causing me to flinch slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry did I scare you?" she added, placing a hand on my back. Once my eyes caught her face, something in me calmed. "A little," I admitted, clearing my throat. Amelie had a worried expression on her face. "You look flushed. Are you alright?"

Oh, God. Did I?

"I'm fine! I just ran across the building," I lied, chuckling to seal the deal. That seemed to work because she flashed me her pretty smile. It was time for my next class which we shared so she took her steps next to me. "How was your first week and weekend at Haven?" Amelie asked. That small smile never left her face.

I didn't know how to describe it but something about this girl's presence made me feel calm. She felt like a pretty angel that inflicted a sense of relaxation inside me whenever she came around. It was weird. I'd never felt that aura from a girl before and here this girl came, making it happen. We had only known each other for a week too.

"Fine? I guess. Honestly, it's not as bad as I thought it would be," I admitted to her. "Well, that's good. Have you made any friends?" she questions. "Yeah, my roommates pretty chill and I've met a group of friends who have been kind enough to take me under their wing," I explained. Her smile grows wider. "Oh, I never asked who your roommate was?" she said.

"His name is Asher Schulz, do you know him?" I asked her. A light blush crosses her cheeks then. "Oh yeah, I know him," she replied. Oh, God, does she have a crush on him or something? Before I can ask, we step into class which is almost full. Our professor never assigned us seats so we took our usual seats next to one another.

Amelie pulls out her notebook and pen. "Well, I'm glad you're adjusting. For some reason it's kind of easy to make friends here," she admits, a small chuckle falling from her lips. "I definitely had more friends a couple of semesters ago but it's not hard to make friends here. Unless you come across the wrong people." Hmmm. That makes sense. Everyone I've come across has been decent.

No assholes yet.

"We're friends," I told her, smiling. She turned to me and smiled back. "Are we? You don't have to say that just to be nice, Brooks." My name slips from her lips perfectly. Ugh, her accent is fucking cute. "We're definitely friends. If you want to be my friend too, that is." The blush creeps back into her cheeks and she gives me a side smile. "Yes, I do want to be your friend."

Acting like a goof, I fist pump and add a little excited 'yes' to it. This earns me a giggle from the blonde. Amelie is someone I met on my first day here. She's shown me nothing but kindness and I love how easy she is to talk to. Most girls my age can't hold a decent conversation but Amelie can. We could talk for hours and I don't think I'd get bored or annoyed. That's rare.

After class, Amelie and I walk together when a brunette runs up to her, interlocking arms with the girl. They chatted for a couple of seconds until Amelie faced me again. "Oh, Brooks this is Sascha. My bestie," the blonde introduced her friend. She's about the same height as Amelie with pin-straight brown hair and dark eyes that are almost black. Her skin has a fair tint to it and she has a small mole that sits above her lip.

"Brooks, nice to meet you. I've heard... a lot about you," Sascha remarked, a small smirk on her red-painted lips. My brows raise slightly and I look at Amelie who has a flush on her face as she nudges Sascha discreetly. A smile lifts my lips. "Nice to meet you too," I replied, not making the interaction more awkward for Amelie by responding to her sly comment.

Sascha ended up pulling the blonde away from me, taking her god knows where. Next class, we spent most of the period reading the book we'd be quizzed on this Friday. There was complete silence except for the air conditioning running through the room and our professor's occasional typing. Oh and Callum who couldn't shut the fuck up next to me.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Callum added, taking me out of my daze. "Lad, are you even listening?" Not really. The book on my desk was boring. More boring than those Caroline Forbes and Katherine Pierce fanfictions Kiersten would read me. What a god awful show. I am team Stefan though. "How much have you read?" I turned my head and looked at Callum's book. He was still on page one.

"I'm in an existential crisis here, Brooks. I'm not trying to read a word of whatever bullshit this book is spewing!" he whisper shouts. My eyes flit to the professor who's completely oblivious. We're sitting in the very back of the classroom as per Cal's request. I normally sit in the front. And by normally, I mean I've been sitting at the front since moving to Haven. My buddy here would rather be out of the professor's eyesight.

"Yeah, what were you babbling about again?" I asked then. Cal's mouth gaped like he was offended by my words. He leaned in closer then. "Should. I. Do. It?" His eyes were laser-focused on something in front of us. Following his eyes, they land on a redheaded girl who sits three rows below us. His words come back to me then.

Since when do guys ask their friends if they should hook up with someone? Is this something people do in the UK? "Why ask me? Just do it," I shrug, returning my attention to the book in front of me. Callum groans like I hit him in the balls, a pained expression on his face. "That's not what you were supposed to say," he whined. My brows knotted together. "Why not?" I asked.

A smile curved on his lips then as he faced his body forward, kicking up his feet on the empty seat in front of him. "Ugh," the girl in the seat next to his feet complained but Callum didn't bother to pay her any mind as he continued his theatrics. "You see, Brooks, I have prided myself on becoming a better man this year. Which means my fuckboy era has to die. No more careless hookups with birds and no more girls period. My hand will have to do."

I make a face at that last sentence, not wanting that image in my head. "Why the sudden change of character?" I mused even though I probably shouldn't. Callum puts his feet down and gets comfortable in his own seat again. "That is for me to know and you to not know!" he cheered, then cleared his throat. "Now, again, should I do it? Or do her, shall I say?"

"No."

"NO? Why not? Brooks, get a good look at her! Why wouldn't I?" Callum whisper shouts, pointing at the girl from earlier. My brows furrow together and I lean closer to him so he can hear me. "You just told me to tell you no! What is your problem seriously?" I've never been more confused in my life than I have when talking to Callum. "Those words never left my mouth," Cal said more calmly now.

"You just said you weren't going to hook up with girls anymore which leads me to believe you're going celibate unless you have other plans..." I replied. His eyes narrow in my direction. "Are you offering?" It's me narrowing my eyes at him now. "That's what I thought. Now, final verdict, should I do it, yes or no," Callum slams a hand down on his desk.

"No."
"Fine. I won't. Thanks for the help, lad."

My head has never been more rattled after a conversation. The timer goes off a couple of seconds later which initiates the end of class time. "I've uploaded a quiz on the first six chapters of the book that is due tonight by midnight. I'll see you all tomorrow," Professor David announced. My head turns over to Callum who's collecting his things quickly. Great, now I have to go back to the dorm and read.

As we're walking down the stairs, Callum's head is turned in my direction as he tells me about something he and Kai plan to do later. Before I can tell him to watch where he's going, he bumps into our classmate. The redhead from earlier specifically. He catches her shoulders before she can tumble down the steps. "I'm so sorry," she mumbles. Cal's expression goes blank as he stares at the girl in front of him.

Realizing he hasn't said anything, he shakes the cobwebs out of his brain. "You're good, darling." He steps aside to let her go down the steps first and he waits for her to leave before turning to me with wide eyes. I grab his arm and pull him out of the class. "No, Cal. We've already established you weren't going to do it," I remind him.

"Weren't going to do what?" Imani's voice surprises both of us as we make it out of the class. She stands just outside our class, holding onto the strap of her backpack. Her blue headphones are on her ears like usual, I've noticed. I'm about to explain but Callum cuts me off. "Nothing!" he exclaims with a smile. "Hello, Mani."

Imani looks at him weirdly but doesn't make any further comments on the previous conversation. Neither do I since it seemed like Callum didn't want her to know what we were talking about. "Hi, sorry I was looking for Brooks," she said then, surprising me. The blonde next to me seemed to have the same reaction, showing it more than I did. His eyes are widened as he looks between me and Imani.

"Him? Brooks?"
"Mhm. Want to walk with me to our class, Brooks?"

"Sure thing. Catch you later, Cal." I smacked his shoulder before Imani and I left. When I turned back to look at him, he had a frown on his face. "Did you do the professor's homework? The reading, specifically," Imani asked me, bringing my attention back to her. "I did but I had a bit of a hard time understanding it I'm not going to lie," I admitted.

School used to be my strong suit. Growing up, my parents made sure we knew how important our studies were. They came before any sport my siblings and I participated in. But once I started getting in trouble more, school was pushed to the back burner. I'd lie to my parents about how I was doing. Kayce and Nola both attended top schools that were hard to get into.

This time next year, I already know I won't be joining them because of my rotting grades during high school. That even is if I want to go to college. My mind has been all over the place these past weeks. I'm trying to be better in school but it's hard to get back into the groove of things. Especially since the material in the UK is different and a bit more challenging.

"Really? Do you want me to help you figure out the parts you got lost in?" she asked as we turned the corner into the grand hall where our class was. "I mean, sure. If you have the time," I said. That's nice of her. I don't understand why everyone has painted her out to be shy. She hadn't shown that to me since the first night we met.

Imani shrugged. "I have the time. I just asked if you had read it already because I wanted someone to talk about chapter ten with. We can talk about it later. Is after the school day is over alright with you?" I nodded my head as we took our seats next to one another. "Yeah, sounds good. Just text me when you're at the library and I'll meet you there," I told her. She gave me the smallest smile before class began.

Once class was over, I met Imani at the library where she helped me out with the reading for a good two hours. Callum had invited me over to his dorm and when I got there, him, Kai, and Rowan were sat on the floor talking and passing around a bottle of whiskey. "Oh, great. Join the party, traitor," Callum spoke as I shut the door behind me. My brows furrowed at his words. "Excuse me?"

"I told them about our chat earlier and everyone agreed that I should fuck her. Except you. Traitor." Callum points at me with the whiskey bottle before throwing it in my direction. I caught it before it could fall and gave him a what the fuck look. "I told you to do it and you got mad at me for saying yes. Did you tell them about your plans to stop sticking your dick into anything with a skirt too?"

"He's not doing that."
"Yeah, right."

Both of his friends add to my comment. Callum ignores them and still looks at me. "Erm, you did say yes but then when I told you not to tell me yes, you that you did exactly that!" I look over at Kai and Rowan with a crazed look. The thought if Callum is on drugs passes through my head every single day. "This is how he is. Clearly, you don't know him enough," Kai speaks, taking the whiskey from me and taking a swig from the bottle.

Callum grins like he's agreeing to what Kai just said. "Alright then, make love to the ginger. Now shut up please," I groan at Callum, taking the bottle from Kai now. The latter chuckles. "Well... I'll think about it. Just don't open your mouth about my sex life to any of the girls. Like you almost did earlier," he warned. "Cal, I'm sure none of the girls are surprised or give a fuck about the amount of women you sleep with," Ro confesses.

The blonde glares at him. "Shut it, rugby head. Boys chat is boys chat. Especially you," he looks over to Kai. "I know you like to tell Mina everything." Callum took a long drink from the bottle. Kai rolled his eyes. "Telling your girlfriend everything is kind of an unspoken rule, man," I said. Cal blew a breath out of his nostrils and covered his mouth with his forearm to hold back laughter.

Kai shook his head and Ro looked amused. Callum swallowed the alcohol easily. "You think Mina is dating this knobhead?" Kai glares at him now but doesn't say anything. "They're not?" I asked, genuinely confused. I could have sworn they were. From what I've seen from them, they sure as hell do look like a couple to me. "No!" Callum laughs. "Trust me, he's not her type." Kai's lips lift slightly at that.

Rowan stands up and walks over to the nook in the middle of the room and opens the window. "I'm gonna smoke," he mumbled. Kai looked at Ro with something like worry but the emotion passed quickly before he turned his attention back to us. "So... Mina's single? Are any of you dating any of the girls?" I questioned out of curiosity. The only ones who seemed like they were in a relationship were Kai and Mina but I happened to be wrong there.

"Nah," Callum answered. "It's not like that with us. We're all just friends." Interesting. "So, nothing has ever happened between any of you and the girls? I don't believe that," I laughed. I'm a guy and I'll admit that having a pretty girl as just my friend has never worked out. These guys managed to find the four prettiest girls, befriend them, and you're telling me they've never hooked up? Jokes. There's no fucking way.

Kai shook his head. "Never. The girls don't see us that way and vice versa. I guess that would be our unspoken rule within the group." It surprises me but none of the guys make faces like they're guilty of something. Strong guys. Maybe I'm just an easy idiot. "Which is why I find my pussy elsewhere. Our girls are too sensitive anyway," Ro spoke up then, putting his cigarette out on the ashtray before returning.

What a waste of a cigarette.

"Speaking of," Callum slaps my arm. "You've been here long enough. See any girl you'd like to slip into?" He winked. I make a disgusted face and his friends don't seem fazed by his words as they focus on me. "Uhm," I hesitate to say anything. What if they know and have been with her already? It would be disappointing because I actually like Amelie so far.

They all look at me with brows raised. "Not slip into but there's this one girl in a couple of my classes who I think is pretty," I shrugged. "Name?" Callum asks. "Amelie Jenson," I told them. None of their facial expressions changed but they didn't say anything for a beat before Ro changed the subject. "Did you lads see Jesse McDaniels finally got expelled for good?"

For some reason, I figured they would press for more information but they didn't. Maybe they don't know Amelie. Which is exactly what I'd hoped. "Wait, really? We've only been back for two weeks," Kai added. Ro nods, taking a drink out of the now almost empty bottle. "Dean finally gave him the arsekick outta here." Callum laughs. "Thank Godness. Mans was a walking mess."

"Who's that?" I asked. "Some Irish kid who used to bully Cal when he first moved to Haven," Ro snickered. Callum smacks his chest. "He did not bully me. I don't get bullied. Have you seen the size of me?" Cal flexes his muscles which are prominent under his white button-up. Ro rolls his eyes. "Uh-huh, whatever you say, laddy."

Callum makes a face at him before turning to me. "Did you know Rowan has to wear AirPods while he fucks girls or else he won't be able to come?" Kai almost spits out the whiskey in his mouth, turning around to hold in laughter. Ro lurched over to try and attack Cal but he moved out of the way laughing. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Is that true?" I asked. "Sure is!" Cal added and Kai was trying his best not to laugh. I've never seen him with a smile this big which means it's probably true if he's trying this hard to hold back a laugh for his buddy's sake. Rowan was able to smack Callum's head but sat back down his face a light shade of red. "This is why you have a baby dick," Rowan rumbled.

"Do not!"
"Do to."
"That shits massive. Cal Junior, do not listen to him!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, dipshite."

Kai actually laughs at their exchange and I do too. "My cock is smashing. And now that you mention Cal Junior; He's full and needs a release, so boys if you'll excuse me." Callum stands and makes a gesture with his hands for us to go. "You're sick in the head, Cal," Kai mumbled, being the first one up. Ro follows after him and the blonde boy smiles.

"Use the hand," I scold him. "Not the redhead." Callum rolls his eyes, pushing me out of his dorm. "Of course. Using the redhead would involve waiting and this one cannot wait." Without another word, Cal shuts the door behind us. "Crazy friend you got there," I tell the boys as we walk back to our respective dorms.

"You'll get used to him," Rowan added. Kai looked at him with a concerned face. "No. You never will, Brooks. Don't listen to him." Rowan laughs then. "Yeah, man, but now you're stuck with him."

Oh well. There are worse people in the world to be stuck with.