Every Sunday at noon a youth group holds a meeting in an old rec hall at an abandoned church, it's for young people seeking help and acceptance through their lives. They go there to talk about their day; their hopes and dreams; their faults and insecurities. They go to rectify themselves and be heard by the few people who actually understand them enough to listen.

There's always stale coffee and fresh donuts from the local bakery, a combination that everyone seems to enjoy. There are six people in the youth group, and as they gather around in their familiar circle beside the same person, it's then that they notice someone new.

Kathrine Pierce, or Kat as everyone calls her, is the unofficial leader of the youth group. She has a short pixie cut, and her hair is a dyed hot pink that her parents disapproved of but makes her feel free and more like herself than her straight brunette hair ever has. She's strong and fearless, and she always fights for the ones she loves with an unwavering fist held high.

Peter Pierce is her twin brother, and he isn't as free and outspoken as his sister. He's more reserved and keeps to himself; he's the type of guy who could easily melt into the background at a party, and no one would notice he'd left. He comes alive through music though, and everything about him transforms into something new and beautiful. People don't see him as the weird kid who never talks or washes his long brown hair, he just becomes another human being who happens to have an extraordinary gift that makes all of the other things disappear around him.

Megan Knoll is another gifted prodigy with an affinity for music as well. She's fair-skinned with long blonde hair and pale blue eyes, and her parents are strict and insist she practice every day after school for three hours on the piano they bought for her. She loves music with everything in her, but over the years what had use to make her smile and glow has reduced her to a thin shell that's only going through the motions. Her passion faded when her parents began to push for her to join very competition she could, and at first she enjoyed it, but the more awards she won the more power hungry her parents became.

They don't realize the toll their pressure is putting on their daughter, and they never pay enough attention to notice the stress they're putting her under and she can never get them to listen. Her once fair-skin and blonde hair has dulled to an almost grayish color, and her eyes are pale and lightless, and beneath the long-sleeve sweatshirts she always wears her bones are prominent.

Jordan Parker, a senior and the star football player of Greystone High School is the exact real-life version of a magazine model posing as a high schooler. He's older looking for his age, with thick brunette hair and just the right amount of stubble to be sexy. But he isn't happy with his famous role as star of the football team. The pressure to carry the team to Nationals is too much, and everyday on his lunch period he hangs out with the stoners behind the school and smokes pot —- it's the place he first met JoAnna.

JoAnna Rogers is an outcast with dyed black hair and black nail polish, who wouldn't be caught dead in pink. She loves danger, and any and everything that invokes fear. She's a dare devil, and always the first one up to jump. She laughs at Death, but she cried when her puppy died after getting hit by a car. She's complicated, and only Jondan has ever come the closest to figuring her out.

And then there is me.

Beau Bayes.

I'm a mystery even to myself and my closest friend, Peter. I'm tall, but not tall enough to be considered tall. My hair can never decide if it's brunette or red in the sunlight, and my eyes constantly shift between hazel and brown depending on my mood.

I'm smart, but not straight A's smart. I have dyslexia and I stutter when I'm nervous, which is the majority of the time except when I'm surrounded by my friends. They keep me calm, and when I'm with them, it's the only time I understand myself.

Like Peter and Megan, I also have a gift, which lies in my hands and flows through the delicate strokes of my paint brush. Painting is the only thing about me that makes sense. I love color, unlike JoAnna and her addiction to the darker spectrum of the color wheel. Without my paints and canvases to create windows into new worlds, I'd surely go insane.

An on this particular Autumn afternoon, surrounded by the stale smell of coffee and fresh baked donuts, the newest addition to our group appears.

He has tan skin and brown eyes, that are framed by a set of thick lashes. He has an angular jaw structure, that's softened by his wavy brunette hair. Yet, even with his hair to soften his looks, the hardness around the edges couldn't be wiped away. There was an underlying mystery to his appearance, that accompanied with his ripped black jeans and gray T-shirt beneath his brown jacket, he had everyone crawling over each other to figure him out. He doesn't speak or smile; his face doesn't move a single inch until it has to, but even then he doesn't seem too talkative but when he speaks....he jumps straight to the jugular.

Kat is the first to break the silence, being the voice of our group.

She smiles, her blood red lips moving up into a delicate curve as she says, "Hello, I'm Kat, welcome to the group." He doesn't say anything in reply, and frowns began to surface as Kat awkwardly clears her throat. She purses her lips but remains her friendly smile as her eyes flicker around the group. "Okay then, how about we all introduce ourselves, and then you can tell us your name?"

Still no reply.

"O-kay then, Peter, would you like to start?" she asks as she glances at her brother.

Peter's eyes quickly flicker to his sister before darting to the stranger, and then he nervously bites his bottom lip and tucks a long lock of hair behind his ear before he speaks. His voice comes out deep, but it's shadowed beneath his lack of confidence and his fight to remain hidden and small, so it's rough and hard to understand when he speaks —- only his friends that surround him can understand.

"My name's Peter," he says as he keeps his chin tucked into his chest, his hair falling around his face.

Kat rolls her eyes at her brother, but smiles anyway as she glances to Megan.

Megan frowns and crosses her arms, making herself even smaller as she quickly and curtly says, "Hi, I'm Megan."

And then down the line it goes, from Megan to Jondan, who decides to be a goof; to JoAnna, who is sultrily and flirty; to me, awkward and stuttering. And after everyone has said their name and revealed a little sliver of their personality, it's his turn.

He watches us all for an impossibly long time, before without moving a muscle except to speak, he says, "I'm Christian, and I heard around town that this was the place all the freaks and burnouts come to hang out. So . . . can I join the club?"

We're all silent, our eyes keep flicking to Kat for her reaction, and we only grow more nervous by the minute when she doesn't express one. After an impossibly long time, she finally speaks, and her mama bear claws and fangs are bared.

"If all you did was come here to gawk at us, I suggest you leave right now," she says firmly.

Christian purses his lip, and his face shows no hint of teasing when he replies, "I didn't come to stare at the misfits, I'm looking for an invite. And even though you can't see it yet, I'm just as fucked up as all of you are."

Jordan purses his lips and grabs JoAnna's hand as he retorts, "Prove it, Christian."

At that, a barely there smile tugs at his bottom lip as he replies, "Sorry, but buy me a drink first, and I might just talk."

There is a hint of a laugh underlying his words, and I frown curiously. He's a puzzle —- a very difficult puzzle —- and I love puzzles, but maybe this isn't one I should be jumping to solve.

"Hey, Beau!" Kat suddenly calls, jerking me from my thoughts with a startle. "You're smart, should we give him a sit in our circle of misfits, or throw him out like we should have done to last week's coffee?"

Kat's question turns all eyes on me, and I feel my cheeks heat up as I stutter, "I-I don't know, m-maybe we should vote on it?"

Kat grins, and JoAnna claps as she purrs, "Brilliant idea, Beau!"

Jordan rolls his eyes while Megan sneers in disgust, and Peter hides behind his hair. Christian's gaze zeroes in on me for the first time, and when our eyes meet, I feel an unwelcome shiver race up my spine. His eyes hold mine, and my breath catches. I see a barely there smile on his lips as he says, "So Beau, why don't you cast the first vote?"

I gulp, and my palms immediately began to sweat as his dark brown eyes continue to stare into my hazel ones. I feel frozen by his piecing gaze, and my stutter is made worse that I'm surprised I don't bite my tongue off when I say, "H-h-he can s-st-stay."

Christian grins, and I feel my cheeks redden. Megan frowns, and she shoots Christian a nasty look as she spats, "I don't accept you joining our group!"

Christian breaks our stare, and I'm able to breathe as he glances away. He purses his lips, and glances around as he mutters, "Anyone else?"

"I'm-I'm okay with you," Peter says.

"Me too," JoAnna replies with a flirtatious smile.

Jordan frowns and winds his arm around JoAnna as he says, "Well, I'm saying no. Sorry, dude."

Christian waves him off as everyone turns to look at Kat, and JoAnna says, "You'll either tie us or you won't.... Decisions, decisions."

Kat rolls her eyes, and she glances around the group before meeting Christian's gaze as she says, "You . . . can join our group."

Christian nods, and beneath his hard edges and mysterious aura, I see something in his eyes. He glances at me again, and his gaze makes my skin tingle. I quickly divert my gaze, and on the day goes.

Word count: 1,816

~ 🌸 ~

A/N: Hello, lovelies, how did you like it!? I'm super excited with this book, and can't wait to share every chapter with you. So please, if you enjoyed it, give it some love and support. Thank you, have an amazing day/night!

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️