THE CAR RIDE BACK seemed like it was way shorter than the one towards the camp had been. Then she had felt like she was driving to her inevitable doom, now she was just feeling glad. Her mother hadn't even started another sermon in the car, so that was a win in her book. Sebastian was silent for once too, seeming pleased, a wide grin on his face from his encounter with his friends as he stared out of the window.

Even though she had only been gone for five days, it felt like she had been there years already. She was glad to have found people she clicked so easily with, though she supposed it wasn't surprising. In a camp for delinquents most of them were bound to have the same interests and personality. Never mind the fact that it wasn't hard to find her type there.

Levi's face flashed in front of her eyes, not able to suppress the smile on her face as she thought back to him. Something about his cold, bitter personality was the most adorable thing in the world for her, even though in the beginning all it had been was an annoyance. She was shaken out of those thoughts when they arrived, her house a comforting sight after spending days in a small tent.

The outside was a soft cream, ivy climbing up the side and flowers blooming in the garden. After her father had died her mother had moved, taking her and Sebastian along to get away from the city which reminded her so much of her husband. She had grown up here ever since she was nine and had adapted really quickly to it, though Sebastian had had it a bit more difficult.

Thinking of her father didn't sting as much as it had now, her lungs not clouding with grief and shattered glass the way they had back then. Sometimes she wondered if it was better that she had been a child, that she didn't remember a lot any more, purely because she saw the sorrow Sebastian still choked on. One look to the sky made her whisper a soft prayer then, one she didn't believe in but her mother did. If heaven existed, she hoped he heard her.

"What are you waiting for, Ella?" Sebastian said as he held the door open," are you coming in or walking back to St Joseph?"

"Walking back obviously," she said," the allure of sleeping in a tent outside is too big for me to stay here."

"Understandable," Sebastian nodded sympathetically, before flashing her a grin and heading in.

She followed behind, making her way to her bedroom and letting herself fall on her bed, her suitcase forgotten. Her room was a sight for sore eyes now, after days in a tent, with it's grey walls covered with polaroids, the clothes scattered across her floor and the punching bag beside her makeup table, both a matching silver. A sigh escaped her lips then as she leaned her head back on her silk pillow, her phone beside her as she let her friends know she was back in town. Her fingers hovered over the boys' names then, though she knew the cell service sucked in the woods.

Still, she made a group chat and send a text to let them know she was home, a small smile playing on her lips as she wondered what they were doing right now. If she remembered right, a collective yoga session was planned for today and she was actually sad to miss it. Though it was hard to imagine Levi stretching himself in any position but a fighting stance, she would have liked to see it.

Her mother hadn't explicitly grounded her, but Ella knew better than to ask if she could go to her friend's house when she got the invite. She hadn't seen them all in so long, but after being kicked out of a camp for delinquents she supposed it would get even longer. There was one place she could go however, so she threw on a black crop top and cargo pants, grabbed her oversized denim jacket and walked down the stairs.

"I'll be off to Faiza's for a moment, mamá," she said as she peeked her head through her mother's office," if that's alright."

Her mother glanced up from the case she was looking at and nodded absent-mindedly. "If it's only to Faiza, I don't mind. Be back before dinner."

"I will be," Ella said, but before she could even head out Sebastian interrupted her with a hurried shout.

He had practically ran out of his room, hair a mess and sweat glistening on his body from his workout, one of his boxing gloves dangling from his hand as he leaned on the stair bannister. She simply raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to elaborate his incomprehensible yelling earlier further, and he sheepishly grinned at her.

"You're going to Faiza?" he said.

"Yeah," she nodded, turning around already," bye."

"No, wait!" he shouted, holding up a finger then," give me one minute, I'll come along."

"Why?" Ella frowned.

In response Sebastian threw his boxing gloves at her head. She dodged them, but before she could give him an indignant look he already had ran in his room to put on a shirt, leaving her to wait. Five minutes later he finally joined her, chains glistening on his Nirvana sweatshirt and the scent of cologne dancing around him.

"Nirvana, huh?" she said, knowing he had bought it specifically after Faiza had told him it was her favorite band.

"Shut up and let's go," he said.

They walked through their backyard and Ella climbed on the fence then, only checking to see if her mother was looking before she crossed over. Though Faiza had been her neighbour for about eight years now and they even had a key to her house, her mother disapproved of their way of getting in. It was better than Sebastian's though; he always just jumped over the wide distance from his balcony to hers to talk about things. Then again, she supposed he was willing to break a leg for her.

"Ella? Is that you?"

Faiza was sitting amidst the blooming peonies in her backyard, a few chairs scattered there, a messy stack of poetry books on both of them. Her dress was a matching pink, soft on her cinnamon skin, and her long hair a brown so rich it seemed to melt in the rays of the sun. She put her cup of strawberry tea down on top of her books then, placing a pressed flower in the one she had open before closing it.

"Back so soon already?" she said as she stood up.

"You know me," Ella said," there's nothing I do as well as getting expelled."

"That's a lie," Faiza laughed, pulling her into a hug when she reached her," you can get Sebastian riled up easily too."

"A talent the world didn't need," Sebastian said.

When Faiza went to hug him, he stiffened ever so slightly, and Ella almost laughed at how her usually so flirty brother only managed to stammer his next words then.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"You always compliment me so much, Bash," she said as she tucked a stray lock of his behind his ear," such a charmer, you are."

"I'm not, really," Sebastian said, though his usually loud voice had become softer now.

She just smiled at him, before noticing his shirt. He watched carefully how her smile widened as she smoothed out the wrinkles in the fabric.

"I love your new shirt," she said.

"Yeah, I just happened to buy it," he shrugged casually," they have some really great songs."

"They do," she said, lips already parted to talk more before her eyes widened. "I haven't even offered you two a drink yet. Come on in, baba is inside, he always likes it when you come visit."

Ella was just about to follow the two of them inside when her phone pinged and she fished it out of her pocket, glancing absent-mindedly at the screen. Only when she noticed Alex' name did her eyes widen and she swiped up to see his entire message.

"BABE, I HAVE FINALLY FOUND CELL SERVICE IN THIS HELLHOLE. WILL IS CLIMBING UP A TREE IN AN ATTEMPT TO CALL, HE'LL EITHER FALL TO HIS DEATH OR SUCCEED. MORE UPDATES LATER."

She wasn't sure if she was concerned or amused, but then just settled on a mix of both as she texted a quick "don't die" back. With a chuckle she pocketed her phone again and headed inside, only to take her usual seat at the table. In comparison to her own house this always seemed like an explosion of color, the carpets intricate patterns and the walls decorated with numerous family pictures. Even though no one was cooking the rich scent of spices still clung to the house like perfume, entangled with the flowers and plants all across the living room.

"Are you alright, Ella?" Faiza's father said when he noticed her, his bushy brows pulled in a frown.

"The camp wasn't that bad," she assured him and he nodded at her warmly.

Sebastian glanced at his phone then and his eyes widened, quickly texting back to whomever it was. She was just about to ask why he was grinning when her own phone went off, causing him to lock eyes with her.

"Mom isn't going to be happy," he said.

"What about?" she frowned as she took her phone out of her pocket.

She glanced at the screen then and blinked, before rubbing in her eyes to make sure she read it right.

"OKAY SO WE GOT SENT AWAY TOO, BUT SEB TEXTED YOUR ADDRESS. WE'RE COMING OVER TO PLAY, SEE YOU SOON. PS: WILL LOST HIS PHONE IN A FIGHT WITH A BIRD, SO DON'T TRY TO TEXT HIM."