This chapter will mention of blood, mention of throwing up, recovering from an ed, anxiety, BPD episodes, social anxiety, OCD episodes, and alcoholism

Please do not read the following content if these topics affect you and make you uncomfortable

𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐱 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐛𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡. He wanted to go and hug the boy to try and get him to stop pacing but he didn't. He didn't even say anything to the blonde, he simply just sat down and stared at each checkered tile on the kitchen wall. Caleb took notice of the dazed state the boy was in and instantly felt terrible. He had been the reason the boy was uncomfortable in cousins. He was the one who ruined Felix's summer, again. In an attempt to make up for it, Caleb stopped pacing and walked over to Felix. He stopped in front of the boy before he started speaking.

"Hey Felix, what should I have for breakfast? I was thinking about having an egg with bacon since it had protein but then I also haven't had oatmeal in a while. I also was thinking about having a bowl of cereal but decided against that since it would have too much sugar for this early in the morning," Caleb ranted as he started thinking of new things to have for his breakfast, something he doesn't have often.

"I was also thinking of using those croissants we bought and making everyone breakfast sandwiches. Or even breakfast sliders but no one else is up yet and I was planning on going for a run before my shift and needed to eat something beforehand so I don't pass out mid-run you know," Caleb smiled slightly as he rambled on, and on and on, only stopping when he needed to catch his breath

"I think I'll make breakfast croissants and then when everyone is up, they can have one if they would like. Should I use bacon? Or what about ham or sausage? I'll make multiple vegan versions as well with the vegan croissants for Cora and Hazel, and anyone else who may want them. Um I think I'll use the apples we have in the fridge and make hot cinnamon apples for a snack later as well as make freshly squeezed apple juice and orange juice," Caleb added before looking up at Felix, who had paid absolutely no attention to the boy and could care less about what he was talking about

"Lix? Are you listening?" Caleb asked, a lump forming in his throat as he spoke

"Hmm? Yeah cool," Felix frowned as he pushed himself up from the chair and walked away from the kitchen, wanting to go back upstairs and wrap himself in his blanket

Caleb's heart clenched as he felt nauseated at the thought of food. Felix had always cared about Caleb when it came to him talking about good and now he won't even acknowledge him when he's talking about it. Caleb felt bile rise in his throat as he rushed upstairs and into the bathroom, he shared with Fran. The door slammed shut so loud he could hear Frans footsteps seconds later, his sister knowing something was wrong by the quick slamming. Caleb waited for the girl to knock but when she never did, he knew he was okay to finally let it out. Tears fell down his cheeks as he grew tired of living the way he did. He was sick of constantly upsetting those around him. Caleb felt more bile rise as he leaned his head into the toilet and spent almost 30 minutes throwing up.

"Cay? Are you okay?" Fran's voice sounded through the door, concern evident in her voice as she began to slightly open the door leading into the bathroom

"I- 'm fine, just a little nauseous is all," Cay lied as he pushed himself up from the floor shakily, not steady on his feat after throwing up nothing but stomach lining

"You've been in here a long time and you just came upstairs. Are you?" Fran looked at her brother with wide eyes, giving him a knowing look

"No, I'm just, I was throwing up but it wasn't from that. I made a big mistake and I think I ruined everything with him," Caleb looked up at his sister's eyes for the first time and he could see the worry in them, a type of worry he only saw when their dad would yell at them

"What do you mean?" Fran asked, still confused by the situation, not understanding how her brother possibly messed up so bad

"I kissed Felix last night Fran, I kissed him and now he won't talk to me. I was asking him what I should eat since I'm trying to get comfortable with eating again and he just stared at the wall, not listening to a thing I said. I ruin everything, I ruined my relationship with Carter and I ruined my friendship with Felix," Caleb explained, picking at the hangnail on his pointer finger

"That asshole," Fran sneered, pushing herself away from the bathroom counter and storming to Felix's room

Fran didn't even knock on his door, she just swung it open and stormed inside. Felix quickly sat up in his bed at the noise and panic rose inside him at the sight of Francesca Dubois storming into his room. She swung her fist back before pushing it forward and colliding it with Felix's nose. His head hardly moved but the damage was there. His nose was bleeding badly, the blood dripping down into his shirt as he groaned. Francesca hardly even cared that she looked crazy as she launched forward and punched him again. She knew Felix's feelings were justified but ignoring Caleb when he was talking about finally wanting to eat again crossed a line for her. Caleb had struggled with eating for years after their dad would lock him in his room for days at a time and not let him eat. He grew nauseated at just the mention of food and so much so that after eating, he would force himself to throw up. This carried on for a few years until Caleb went to rehab for it, but it soon returned afterward. He had started to eat and not throw up at the beginning of 2020, but at the start of 2021, he would get nauseated and not eat at all. Once again, he went to rehab before returning in mid-2021 and being okay with eating.

It would happen again every once in a while but for the most part, he was okay with eating again. But when he would get nauseated, Felix would bring him his favorite granola bars and he would be okay again. That's what hurt Fran and Caleb most about this. It wasn't the rejection, it was the ignoring him when he talked about finally eating again and being happy. Fran punched Felix a good 5 times before she had been ripped away from him, Theo holding a tight grasp on her stomach to make sure she couldn't get away.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She yelled as Theo pulled her out of the room, her legs thrashing and her arms flailing around

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Felix cried as tears fell down his face. He knew how hard it was for Caleb to eat and then he chose to ignore him anyway. He deserved whatever happened to him.

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After having Francesca hit him multiple times, Felix found himself in Cora's room. He was extremely nervous because he knew how close Cora was to Caleb but he also knew she could be trusted. He started by just coming into her room and explaining how things happened and how things had been off between them ever since they arrived and the smiths showed up.

"Okay...so what's the problem?" Cora asked confused. As anyone would be. Hell Felix didn't even feel like he was making much sense.

"I just don't know if it came from the right place. I went and chewed him out for getting high and drinking with Carter, during the twin's birthday dinner. Then he tried to argue that it didn't matter, that he didn't matter. So of course I told him he did matter to me and everyone else and to just keep going for us y'know? And then he kissed me." Felix said giving a rough summary of what had gone down. He didn't need to give Cora all the gritty details of it.

"And the kiss was great don't get me wrong, but I don't want to be played. He wasn't sober and I was someone giving him attention at the time. He'd probably do the same if it was Carter giving him attention. I just don't know if he'd done the same if he was sober. Plus I.." he paused. He didn't know if he needed to disclose this with Cora. About his abandonment issues and worries about what would happen if he and Caleb did start dating right now. He decided to anyway. Get it all out while we're still on the topic.

"I don't want to start dating him and he switches up on me. Like go back to Carter or have him relapse. I want him to be doing better on his own before getting into anything serious. Does he need to know he can be okay without me y'know? So it's like he's choosing me to make life better and not depending on me too. Does that make sense? I'm not acting stupid am I?" Felix said sadly, not wanting to be hurt again. Cora looked up at him and Felix could sense the sorrow in her gaze

"Your feelings are justified Fe, they are. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I care about you and Caleb deeply, and knowing this makes me want to kill Caleb. You're allowed to be upset over this, especially with Caleb practically using you. If you need to talk more, please come to me or someone else, we all care about you and we'll all listen to you," Cora gripped Felix's hands in hers as she stood up from her bed

"Fran didn't" Felix sighed as he followed Cora out of her room, placing an ice pack on his probably broken nose

"She's just being a bitch and choosing her idiot of a brother over her friend, it's truly stupid Fe. She's only hearing one side of the story and not even hearing you out," Cora snapped, not fond of the Dubois twins at that moment in time

"Now let's not be a hypocrite, Coraline. You only heard Felix's side and went with him. Don't get all pissed because you lost your dance competition last night, Fran and Caleb took you in and they didn't have to. They could have left poor little Cora alone with the geeks but they didn't. They chose you, without them, you're nothing." Rosilvia's voice cut into their conversation as she stretched her cinnamon gum out with her fingernail, her red lipstick making her eyes shine

"Shut up, no one wants you here," Cora sneered as she grabbed Felix's hand and dragged him away from who she considered being the most toxic person in their friend group

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Adi wasn't sure why she wanted to work as a beach lifeguard. She wasn't even that fond of the water or getting her hair wet, but she knew she couldn't spend the summer inside when the wilderness was calling her name. That's why she was standing in the beach party house, listening to the rules and guidelines for being a beach lifeguard. Adi turned her gaze to the crowd and noticed a few familiar faces, both of them being Rosilvia and Pierce. Someone tapped on her shoulder and when she turned around, Adi felt the air leave her lungs. Melanie Evans stood behind her and was smiling brightly at her.

"Hi babe," Melanie wrapped her arms around Adi and Adi felt as if she was going to throw up

"What are you doing? We aren't together Melanie," Adi sneered at the girl, receiving a few glances from people around her

"What do you mean?" Melanie looked genuinely confused as she glanced over at Adi and Adi couldn't help but scoff at what seemed like an act

"Piss off Melanie," Adi snapped as she shoved the girl away and followed behind the now-walking-away group of lifeguards

Adi had grown excited to be a lifeguard and be able to help each other and now it was ruined by some bitch from New York. She stayed close to Rosilvia and Pierce for the rest of the day, not knowing anyone else. She has a small conversation with Pierce before the boy was pulled away from her by Rosilvia. Adi pushed her sunglasses down in her face as she climbed up the lifeguard tower and took off her jacket, revealing her one-piece lifeguard swimsuit. As Adi sat down, she heard screaming from down the beach. She quickly jumped down and ran in the direction of the scream. As Adi got closer, she spotted a girl flailing her arms in the ocean. Adi whistled before she ran into the ocean diving under and swimming toward the little girl. As she surfaced, she looked around and the little girl was nowhere to be seen. Letting out a line of curses, Adi dove back down and saw the girl floating underneath the water. She had been completely unconscious as Adi swam over and grabbed the young girl.

Once Adi got back above the water, she held the girl's head above as well as swam to shore. She spotted people running down the shore to help her as she laid the girl in the sand. Adi checked for a pulse before starting compressions, making sure to press down hard on the fragile young girl. She reminded Adi a lot of Fran when she was younger. She had bright platinum blonde hair and her features looked very similar to Fran's. Adi felt someone try and pull her away as she did the compressions but she didn't pudge, she continued to do the compressions gif another 3 minutes before she felt the girl start to move and cough up water. A bright smile appeared on Adi's face as she fell back into the sand and allowed the paramedics to take care of the little girl.

"Who are you?" An older man asked, seeing as this girl was now a hero

"I'm Adina fox, first-year lifeguard, and paramedic," Adina informed, smiling brightly for the first time in a while

"Well Adina, you're a hero," The man nodded toward her before walking away, causing Adi to smile even more

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Rosilvia didn't need this lifeguard job. She was wealthy enough as it was and could charge practically anything to her parent's credit card, but everyone else was getting summer jobs so she supposed she should do the same.

There were some highlights to this job though. She looked good in the uniform, and she got to see Pierce shirtless most of the day while doing it. Yeah, so it wasn't all too bad, though that didn't mean she cared for it any.

She sat high in the lifeguard tower as she waited patiently for them to switch to Adi's shift. She cared a lot more about this job than she did. She already saved someone today and no Rosilvia was not jealous of the attention she received from it. Everyone calls her a hero for just doing her damn job.

She rolled her eyes as she went back to filing her nails, and chewing on her gum. Sure she wasn't paying as much attention to the brats, but she was sure she'd be able to detect if one of them tried to be too adventurous and started drowning. There would be a commotion after all. Not that she wanted that to happen at all. She'd rather sit up here all nice and pretty.

She smiled as she saw Adi walk up and she jumped down. "All your hero." She said as she walked away without sparing a second glance. She walked little ways before stopping to look around for Pierce.

She couldn't spot him anywhere which confused her. He usually was always right near her no matter where they were. She was about to move to go find him when "Boo!" Was called from behind her and someone clapped their hands on her shoulders.

She jumped and was about to deck whoever in their dumb mind thought that was a good idea when being met with a snickering Pierce.

"I told you not to do that!" She scolded as she playfully hit his shoulder.

"But it was so funny! You should've seen your face." Pierce replied still snickering.

Rosilvia rolled her eyes though she had a small smile on her face. He was lucky that she liked his smile so much or she very well might've still decked him. It was truly too bad this was likely only going to last the summer. She might miss him when he's gone.

It wasn't like she meant to get involved with her best childhood friend either, it just happened. One day they were just hanging out as usual and then they were kissing. And she didn't want to stop kissing. So bam now they are here.

"Come on let's go for a swim!" Pierce said as he started to rush towards the ocean water. Rosilvia followed after him since she might as well. Sure this break was meant for food, water, to finally be out of the sun so you don't get heatstroke, but why couldn't she have a little fun with Pierce? Couldn't be so bad right?

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Fran always loved cleaning up the beaches in her local area, loving that animals could become safe afterward. That's mostly why she had applied for a summer beach cleanup job, joining Conrad and Shayla in the cleanup. Fran loved it from the moment she stepped into the beach and smelled the fresh air, not being able to have that in New York. As Fran walked down the beach, she felt a gaze on her, causing her to look up and turn around. Conrad had been staring at the girl from a few meters away, a bright smile on his face as he pushed a piece of his hair behind his ear. A small smile appeared on Fran's face as she felt a bit embarrassed. She didn't know why she felt embarrassed, but as she continued to pick up the trash, that embarrassment turned into something more as she felt very disoriented all of a sudden.

Conrad seemed to notice because, within seconds, he was running over to the girl and leading her through an exercise to calm her anxiety. That didn't work much though, Fran was still very shaky and disoriented as they walked down the beach. Conrad pulled the girl off to the side and made her sit down on a large rock along the beach. He bent down in front of her and led her through a breathing exercise. Fran could feel herself calm down and once she was calm, she couldn't help but grow embarrassed again. She just had an anxiety attack in front of the entire beach and anyone could have seen her. She felt pathetic at getting that nervous over someone looking at her. Fran pushed herself up from the rock and walked away from Conrad, needing to get away from the boy before she had another attack.

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Caleb hadn't wanted to go there o his shift at the pool that afternoon. He had what felt like a migraine and couldn't move without wanting to puke, but when he tried to get Cora to cover his shift, she flipped him off and walked away. Caleb didn't know what he did to pies her off but he knew that he couldn't confide in her as he had planned to. Caleb walked out of the country club with a handful of beach towels and noticed how Cora was glaring at them from the pool. He rolled his eyes and continued to walk into the pool, walking right past her.

"You're an asshole you know," Cora yelled at him as she followed behind him

"What? What did I do Cora? I haven't done a thing," Caleb said, tired of having to talk to her already

"You hurt Felix you know, you shouldn't have done that," Cora said, anger obvious in her voice as she grew more and more annoyed

"And he hurt me too, he isn't innocent Coraline, stop acting like he is," Caleb sneered at the girl as he continued to walk away, causing more anger to rise in the girl

"You act like you're this amazing person Caleb but in reality you're just like your dad, hurting those around you," Cora snapped at the boy as she glared at him. She didn't realize what she said until it was yo late, Caleb was already walking away with obvious hurt in his eyes

"Caleb-" Cora called after him, feeling bad for saying something like that to the boy

"No, I don't know why you're so mad at me but no matter what I did to Felix, what you said to me is unforgivable," Caleb told her before turning on his back and walking away, causing Cora to follow once again

"Caleb, listen," She said as Caleb turned around, grabbed her wrists, and shook her slightly, "leave me alone," he said as Cora ripped her arm from his grasp and brought it back

"Get off me," was all she said as she pushed her fist towards his face, meeting his nose is the process

Caleb groaned as he grabbed his nose, not noticing his feet on the edge of the pool. Before Caleb to stop himself, he plummeted into the pool, making a large splash as his head fell underwater. Cora gasped at the sudden noise but chose to run off, not wanting to be found as the cause of it. Caleb swam back up to the surface and as he surfaced, he was facing the country club manager, also known as his manager.

"Follow me," The manager told Caleb as he walked away

Caleb bowed his head to the floor and let the water drip, trying to keep his emotions intact.

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Cora wasn't sure why she said those things to Caleb or why she punched him. She thought it was for Felix but she realized that even though Felix told her what had happened, it couldn't have been the full story. She had needed to hear Caleb's side but she didn't. She let her anger overpower her and spoke without thinking. Cora had felt bad about what she had said about Caleb being like his dad because she knew he was nothing like Gabriel. But she still said it and now Caleb probably wouldn't talk to her again. She didn't feel bad about the punching though, he had deserved that for even thinking about touching her like that.

"Coraline, my office," The manager said to the girl, ripping her away from her thoughts as she placed the towels down and walked into her manager's office, jumping slightly at the sight of a bloodied Caleb. His nose had been covered in blood as he tried to stop it, a white beach towel pressed up to it with an ice pack beside him

Her stomach turned instantly as she felt panic inside of her. Was she being fired? Was she not folding the towels right? Did Caleb tell her what happened? What was going on? Ringing was all Cora heard as her eyes widened and she froze in fear. She couldn't risk being fired, her name in cousins would be destroyed. She wouldn't be able to return. She wouldn't be able to spend another summer in the wonderful town. Everything had been falling apart underneath her.

"Coraline, it had been brought to my attention that Mr.Dubois put his hands on you earlier. In regards, he has requested to see you and apologize. I would like to inform you that after today, Mr.Dubois will no longer be allowed here at the pool and you will not have to deal with anything like this again while at work," Mr.Taylor, the manager, informed Cora as Caleb turned to face the now stunned girl

"I apologize for what I did earlier and I'm sorry you had to go through that, it was nice working with you," Caleb tried to put a smile on his face but it was a very sad smile, hardly any happiness in it. Caleb gave the manager one last glance before he placed his badge on the desk and walked out, rubbing his upper chest as he did so

"Please sir, he did nothing wrong. I started the whole thing, please don't fire him," Cora pleaded, tears rising in her eyes. She didn't know why she was crying but she was

"I'm sorry Coraline but he won't be working here from now on, please get back to work," Mr. Taylor said before walking out of his office, leaving an upset Cora behind

Cora let the tears fall her face as she finally realized something. Her anger was a major problem. Her anger was the reason people's lives fall apart.

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flashback

Cora pulled her leg up for her needle turn, feeling a nervous feeling in her stomach. She pulled out of the turn beautifully and kicked her leg up. She held it behind her head for a few seconds before releasing it and bending down into her finishing position. Cora waited for the music to stop before she rose from the floor, giving a quick bow before exiting the stage to the right. She felt relieved to have the solo over, a nervous feeling eating away at her the entire day. She wasn't sure why she was nervous, she never got nervous over a solo, but now she was and she couldn't shake it. The feeling was dreadful. It was as if she was being eaten away at, not being able to calm down long enough for her stomach to not turn in knots.

"Have you seen her parents? They wear the nastiest clothes and her mom isn't even a good dancer or dance teacher, she's setting her daughter up to fail," A girl laughed from behind Cora causing the young girl to turn around

"Shut your mouth," Cora snarled as she pushed the girl in the back

"Ooo I'm so scared, you couldn't hurt anyone if you tried Finley," The girl laughed as she stepped up to Cora, getting in her face

"Please I've never even heard your name before meanwhile mine has been broadcasted on national tv, and I've been ranked in the top 5 best dancers in the World. Who are you? A nobody from a random dance academy in New Jersey? Don't talk about my mom and how she was failing me when I'm a well-known professional dancer at the age of 9 and I've never even heard of you before today," Cora snapped as she tried to turn away but as she walked away, she heard the girls laugh and continue to say things about her and her family. As Cora turned back around, all she saw was red

Cora stormed up to the girl, grabbed her shoulder, spun her around, and punched the girl in the face as she turned around. The girl fell to the floor and Cora bent down next to her, grabbing the collar of the girl's costume, Cora's yellow cardigan fall slightly, revealing her white crop top. The girl screamed as Cora continued to punch the girl until someone grabbed her waist and pulled her away. Cora tried to fight back but there was no point, the person wasn't budging. Cora glanced up and noticed it was her coach. He wasn't even looking at her, he was staring down at the bloodied girl. He let Cora go before he walked up to the random girl, bending down and telling her something before rising back up and grabbing Cora by her arm, pulling her back to the dressing room.

Cora grimaced at the hurt in her knuckles, she was tired and couldn't wait for the awards to happen. After 2 hours, all of the dancers sat on the stage for awards. Cora sat listening to the announcer announce the overall high scores of the competition, not hearing her name. As they got to the second overall high score, panic started to set in for Cora. She didn't believe she did that well on the solo and so now she thought she didn't place at all. Cora held her first-place junior solo award in her left hand, being sure to cross her fingers as she waited for the first overall high score of the competition.

"And in our first overall high score of the day, with a perfect score of 300, they were and being crowned miss energy, number 266, Hopelessly devoted, Coraline!" The announcer yelled through the applause, everyone clapping and screaming for the girl as she stood up, smiling brightly and walking towards the lady who was handing the awards

Cora grabbed the award and smiled brightly at the crowd, noticing the broken-nosed girl a few feet away, glaring straight at Cora. She continued to smile, feeling like she could conquer anything if she put her mind to it.

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End of flashback

Felix smiled small as he walked into the library. The smell of books and coffee wafted into his senses. He immediately relaxed the library feeling like a second home. He liked coming here to relax. And after how the day was currently going he needed it. How'd he get this job? He recited The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald word for word from memory. The bookstore owner was shocked and gave him the job immediately.

He set his bag down as he walked around to the back behind the counter. He set down his to-go piping black coffee and pulled out his current read, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He usually spent his time at the counter reading occasionally checking people's books out, or helping someone find a certain book.

His face still throbbed but most of the swelling was down, only a few cuts remained really. Which was good or else he'd probably be in the back putting all the returned books back on the shelves.

"Um excuses me?" He heard a small child's voice enter his ear. He pulled a small smile as he peered over the counter and down to meet a young boy with glasses. He reminded Felix a lot of himself when he was younger as he was wearing a plaid shirt, khaki shorts, and suspenders.

"Yeah, buddy? How can I help you?" Felix asked noticing he didn't have any book in his hand.

"My name is Ozzy. I'm looking for a book on birds" The boy replied pushing up his glasses.

"Well okay, Ozzy. Follow me. I'll take you to the nonfiction section and then there should be an animal subsection. Do you know what a subsection is?" Felix asked as he came to the front and held his hand out for Ozzy to grab ahold of.

"Yeah. It's the white sticker labels on the shelves." Ozzy replied as his small hand wrapped around two of Felix's fingers.

"Yeah, good job buddy. So the white sticker you'll look for will be labeled animals. Then you'll look down until you reach the B's and that should be where the bird books are." He explained as he guided the small boy down the isles.

Once they reached where he was talking about, he squatted down to reach Ozzy's level. "Now what about birds were you looking for? Types? Migration patterns?" Felix asked. "Types. Something with all of them" Ozzy said.

Felix smiled as he started pulling books out. Grabbing ones about birds in the area since he would find it cool if Ozzy was reading about a bird, looked out his window, and saw one. After a good five books, he handed the stack to Ozzy. "Is that going to be enough?" He asked smiling.

Ozzy lit up, smiling a nodding smile as he carried them to his chest. "May I ask one more question?" Ozzy said looking at Felix. "Sure of course."

"What happened to your face?"

"Nothing you need to worry about buddy,"

"Does it hurt?"

"A little, though that's now two questions."

"Oh well. Here I fix it." Ozzy said as he put the books down and pulled a small backpack he had on his back to the front. He rummaged in the bag before pulling out a packet of bandaids. "You like frogs?"

"I do actually," Felix confirmed. Ozzy smiled as he pulled one out and showed it to him. "Good I do too." He with his small fingers gingerly placed the bandaid over the cuts on his face. Felix smiled as he asked, "Do they look nice?" Ozzy smiled as he nodded.

"Better?" Ozzy asked. Felix nods. "Much. Thanks, buddy. Now let's go get you checked out." He said as he stood back up. Maybe today wasn't so bad after all.

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Theo wasn't sure why he signed up to help the local elderly home in cousins. He didn't even need the job, he was fine with his own money, but he didn't want to spend his summer alone in the beach house with the parents so here he was. He sat in the corner of the nursing home's dining area, waiting for the group of elders to come and play their weekly game of bingo. Theo sat quietly in the corner as the elders started to arrive in groups. After about 30 minutes, everyone arrived and the game of bingo finally started. Theo walked around and helped those who couldn't find certain numbers, couldn't see or didn't understand. He hadn't necessarily wanted to but he kept being reminded by those that he signed up for it and he was stuck with it.

After 5 rounds of bingo, a few of the elders had fallen asleep, their heads resting right on top of the boards. Theo quietly walked over to them and grabbed the bingo supplies, pushing them to the side for someone else to grab before he picked the older man up from behind and helped him to a wheelchair, where a nurse wheeled him back to his room.

Although Theo didn't like working at the nursing home, he loved being able to put a smile on the faces of those around him.

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Matt never liked being in public alone. He always got flustered and felt like everyone was saying something about him whenever they glanced over in his direction. Even if they weren't, he continued to think they were. That's why he didn't want to get a job that summer. He hadn't wanted to work with a group of people and have to get to know them. He was comfortable in the summer squad, not getting anxious by being around them, he didn't want to know anyone else but them. But that's not how life worked and Matt knew that. He knew when he was at the arcade he would have to help those around him and get to know people.

"excuse me?" A voice brought Matt out of his thoughts as he blinked and looked over at the teenager who stood in front of the counter

"Hi, do you know if the dig dug machine is up and running? It wasn't the last time I was here," The young teen asked, their voice cracking just slightly on the machine

"Hi, I do not but let me check our website and I'll let you know, in the meantime, u-um feel free to try any of the games until you win a prize, our treat," Matt rushed out before patting himself on the back and whispering a small good job as he began to check the website to see which games were up and running for that day

"It looks like dig-" Matt paused before he could finish the sentence, feeling his palms grow sweaty and his chest tightened. No no no this can not be happening here.

"Man, are you okay," one of the guys at a close by video game station asked, seeing as Matt was not okay

Matt didn't even say anything, he just pushed through a crowd of people and ran out of the arcade, needing a breath of fresh air. The air didn't fully help though because once Matt was outside he didn't stop rubbing. Matt kept running, and running, and running until his lungs gave out and he collapsed in front of the Fishers beach house, just a few feet away from the safety of the Dubois beach house. Matt didn't know who helped pick him up from the floor but he knows for a fact that someone did. Once Matt was standing, he glanced back toward the person who helped him up and jumped slightly at the sight of Steven Conklin right in front of him. Yeah so maybe he had a small crush on Steven. Maybe it wasn't that small but Matt didn't want to get into that.

"Woah, Matt are you okay?" Steven's voice sounded into Matt's ears but Matt was too busy coming up with an escape plan. He couldn't be seen with Steven, not with the squad next door

"I-I'm sorry," Matt stuttered out before he took off running towards the Dubois beach house, running up the driveway and into the house

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Harveen loved working at the local marine rehabilitation center. She loved being able to help the animals and get them back into their habitat. That was until she got to the animals that would cry out in pain when they were being helped. It truly broke her heart to put them through more pain than they already were. Harveen was currently helping an otter named Izzy get back to her old swimming ways after getting stuck in a thing of rebar and cutting herself. She smiled at the otter who was swimming happily next to the other otters. Harveen stood next to her coworker, happy to be able to work inside the rehabilitation center.

"Hey, I won't be in tomorrow, so I'm going to need you to cover my shift," Danielle, Harveens coworker, informed as she turned to face Harveen

"Okay yeah sure," Harveen went to smile at her coworker but her smile dropped when she noticed that the woman was no longer there and had walked away

Harveen had been used to people not sticking around and talking to her but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less every time it happened.

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Hazel was ecstatic when they were hired at the local cousins greenhouse and flower shop. They were worried that they would miss gardening like they did back at home. Not like you can plant anything on a beach at least, but this was great!

They had more than enough experience in this field with their own garden. They've planted almost every plant at least once and knew how to take care of them really well. They also loved helping people pick out flowers and making the bouquets. They knew the language of flowers which always came in handy when people were asking for things that had a certain vibe.

Hazel was trimming the already harvested flowers to make bouquets when they took a scan of the shop and noticed Belly staring at the roses seeming lost. They smiled brightly as they took off their gloves and headed over to her.

"Hi! Belly right? Do you need any help?" Hazel asked brightly.

Belly jumped a little turning to face Hazel before shyly nodding. "Yes. Belly. Um I'm kinda going on a date and need some flowers but roses seem so cliché." She said pulling a strand of hair behind her ear.

Hazel nods. "Well is it with Cora if you don't mind me asking?" Hazel said giving a knowing smile. Belly blushed brightly as she nodded.

"Well little known fact about Cora is her favorite color is pink so maybe some pink flowers?" Hazel said trying to guide Belly into the right direction to flowers they knew Cora would love.

Belly nods as she starts to look around at all the different pink flowers. "Would pink roses work?" Belly asked. "Well pink roses are more of a friend flower since they often times symbolize gratitude. Plus you were worried about being cliché let's stray away from the roses." Hazel replied.

"What would you suggest then?" Belly asked. Finally the question they've been waiting for! It was the only time they got to pretty much tell costumers what to get. "I would suggest some pink tulips since they are known to symbolize caring affection and good wishes. Or carnations since they are for love and enchantment." Hazel informed.

"Tulips are cute. I'll go with some pink tulips then." Belly confirmed as they walked over and grabbed a simple pink tulip bouquet. Plus the carnations were a bit forward, especially if Cora knew flower language like Hazel did.

Hazel rung Belly up smiling happily. "Yes I'm sure she will love these. I hope your date goes well!" Hazel wished Belly off as she paid. They were so happy to be of help.

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Adina had been having a good day so far. She had saved someone on her very first day and got recognized by those around her. She had made a few new friends and was overall really happy. That was until she got back to the Dubois home and heard yelling from upstairs. To say Adi was confused would be an understatement. As she got closer, she figured out it was Cora and Francesca yelling at each other about Caleb and Felix, causing more confusion. Adi walked into the room in which the girls were arguing and noticed the rest of the squad was there too. Caleb, Harveen, and Rosilvia had been sitting behind Fran while Felix, Matt, and Pierce stood behind Cora. Adi stepped in and listened in on the arguing.

"God why would you say something like that? Of all things to say to one of us, you say the thing you know would hurt him most. This honestly says so much about you Coraline. I knew the moment I met you on that beach that you were trouble and would end up hurting my brother. He was so happy to know someone finally cared, someone that was outside of our family, and you used that against him," Fran snapped at the girl as she glared into the blondes blue eyes

"I apologized! What more do you want? I'm already feeling guilty enough about him being fired and I fed guilty about what I said. But don't act like Caleb did nothing wrong in this entire situation. If he hadn't done what he did, Felix would talk to him, Felix wouldn't be uncomfortable around him. I know what I did was wrong but Caleb needed to be put in his place," Cora said to the girl, annoyance evident in her voice

"I never said he was Cora but what you did was wrong. Felix needs to grow up and fight his own battles. He got kissed, big deal, if he's that upset that he chose to ignore Caleb, then he truly is a child. It's a kiss and to ignore him when he's talking about something important, that's extremely childish. like if Felix gets that upset over a kiss, he won't make it in the world when bigger things happen. Fight your battles and talk it out, don't let it spread around and let it ruin someone's life. Due to both of you and due to Felix confiding in Cora, Caleb got fired and guess who the country club called, my dad. So if my brother ends up in the hospital, I'm blaming both of you," Fran sneered before grabbing Caleb's hand and pulling them away, rushing to the basement cellar to make sure their father wouldn't find them

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," Felix cried as he pulled his legs up to his chest and put his face in his hand

"You're right, it is," Hazel said, her voice full of disgust as she stood up and walked out of the room, needing to be in her room so she didn't say something she would regret.

Adi was furious. She hadn't known about the situation yet and now that she knew, she couldn't help but want Felix to be crushed by a cement building. How could he be so reckless? Confiding in someone who couldn't control their emotions that well? He set himself up for failure. Adi stormed forward, finally reaching Felix and grabbing him by the collar, shoving him to the floor harshly. The boy had slammed into the floor and groaned as his head made contact with the floor. Cora let out a small scream as she was grabbed by her arms and shoved against the wall, being held tightly.

"Adi let her go," Theo pleaded as he watched his sister lose herself in rage, Adi letting out a scream as she slammed Cora to the floor before she rushed off to her room

Theo looked at the two on the floor before he followed after Adi. He could hear the sound of screams inside her room. He could hear things be thrown around the room. He could hear Adi slam her fists into the wall repeatedly until she let out a scream. Theo waited until everything fell silent to enter her room. As he pushed the door open, he could see the damage the girl created. Holes covered the walls as well as everything that was on the walls was now on the floor, completely shattered. Pictures of the summer squad were ripped apart in the floor, Felix's side being ripped apart from Caleb's side. Everything that could have been thrown was in the floor and everything that could have been moved was moved. Theo's heart broke as he bent down next to his now crying sister. Her wrapped his arms around her and let her melt into them, spending the next 3 hours crying nonstop.

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After the very long day she had, Cora needed her date with belly to go well. She had chosen to wear a light pink crop top with a white skirt, her hair in a half up half down hairstyle with a pink clip holding it up. To say Cora was nervous would be an understatement. She sat at a table in the restaurant the girls decided to meet up at, tapping her foot against the floor nervously. Belly had yet to arrive and that alone made her nervous. What if belly didn't like her? What if belly wasn't coming and was sitting at the beach house laughing at the thought of Cora sitting alone at the restaurant? Cora knew belly wasn't like that but her thoughts kept wandering and she couldn't help but think those terrible things.

"Sorry I'm late, the flowers weren't ready until a few minutes ago," Belly rushed out as she handed Cora a bouquet of pink Tulips. Also known as her favorite flower.

"Bels, you didn't have to," Cora smiled up at the girl in aww as she held the flowers right to her chest

"No but I wanted to, now let's eat," Belly smiled as she grabbed the flowers from Cora and placed them on the side of the table

"Thank you, truly this night is amazing," Cora smiled brightly as she pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and looked down at the menu

The girls continued to have their date and after about an hour, they were ready to leave the restaurant. Cora pushed her chair back gently and grabbed her bouquet of tulips. She reached over, grabbed belly's hand, and looped them together. The two girls walked out of the restaurant and once they made it outside Cora felt a thought she had earlier that evening start repeating over and over and over. She cursed under her breath as she shut her eyes and tried to calm herself down. That didn't work though, the thought kept repeating and Cora wasn't able to get it to stop. Her brain truly was setting this date up for failure as she
now began to see unwanted images.

"Bel, hey I'm sorry but I need to go," Cora told the girl before she let go of belly's hand and ran off in the opposite direction, not wanting to be near belly when these thoughts were running through her head.

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To say the Dubois family was stressed would be an understatement. They stood by the front door, awaiting the arrival of the man who frightened them most. The main who caused all of their fear. The man who made it so at any loud noise, they would flinch. The doorbell rang as they all stared at the door, causing Caleb to tense and look up at the newly opened door, seeing his dad walk through it. He could notice how wide his moms eyes now were.

"Hello my love," Gabriel stared into his wife's frightened eyes, smiling widely at the fear he can inflict

I apologize deeply for the amount of pin this chapter caused. Nothing can excuse this and I apologize.

Make sure you guys vote and comment! I love you all sm and thank you for reading! Go apply to my new apply fic, as the world caves in!

Date: 10/12/22
Word count: 8338
Love y'all, laine / liv