—

It was nearing dinner time; Mattias was taking a quick shower before the twins' mother came home.

May had already returned from school but didn't bother saying anything further than 'hi' to her older siblings before she rushed to her room to do her homework before Karen came home from work, which the older two couldn't be more grateful for as May didn't bother to question why the shower was running in the downstairs bathroom.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway alerted Zach and Melanie of their mother's arrival.

They shared a wide-eyed look before Zach pretended to stir the already cooked red beans in the pot, shooing his sister away.

"What the hell—?"

"She's gonna question why the shower's running." The baseball player gestured dramatically to the bathroom.

Just as Karen entered the home, the bathroom door was closing with Melanie behind it.

"Hey, Mom." Mel heard Zach greet the older woman. She rolled her eyes at his sickly sweet tone, one that was a dead giveaway that he was hiding something. Karen must've been distracted because she didn't seem at all fazed.

Unfortunately for her, Mattias seemed to hear the door open and close over the sound of the shower water. His head peeked behind the curtain.

"Mel?"

Her hair smacked her in the face as she turned to face him, her index finger meeting her lips as she urged him to be quiet.

A knock on the door startled the pair, "Melanie, honey?" Karen's voice echoed from outside.

The girl in question eyes widened, as she called out, her voice cracking in nervousness, "Y-yeah?"

"I'm going to come in for a bit to grab my hairbrush, alright?"

"W- uh, Mom—"

"It'll just be for a second."

Her hazel eyes narrowed in on the way the doorknob slowly turned. She did the first thing that came to mind.

She froze as Mattias looked down at her in amusement, his wet hair dripping onto her cheek as they stared at one another. Her heart pounded in her chest as she held his stare, forcing herself not to look anywhere else. She couldn't even find it in herself to be annoyed that she was getting her socks wet.

Karen's voice didn't do anything to ease the tension between the two.

"I'll have to call someone to get the showers checked. Zach said the upstairs bathroom won't run hot water?"

"Uhm. No, yeah. I don't know what's wrong." She feigned confusion in her tone.

Karen hummed thoughtfully, "I was hoping it was just my bathroom."

Mel suddenly felt like an idiot for forgetting the way her mother complained about the cold water in her bedroom shower earlier that morning. That's why her hairbrush was in the downstairs bathroom.

"I can't even begin to think of the number of who to call. Would it be a normal plumber?"

Mel could've scoffed, "I don't know, Mom. Maybe ask Zach? I'm getting shampoo in my eyes talking to you."

"Okay, okay." She imagined the woman was raising her hands in defense at her snippy tone. "I'll leave you alone."

Mattias smiled at the girl as the familiar sound of the door opening and shutting was heard.

Melanie watched as he turned around to wash his face, her eyes subconsciously darting downward. Her brows raised, almost as if she were impressed before Mattias turned around to face her once more.

He couldn't help but chuckle when her eyes snapped back up to look him in the eye, her face flushed red at the embarrassment of getting caught checking him out.

He leaned down to whisper into her ear, "I think she's gone."

•••

The next morning was a little less chaotic since Melanie now had Zach to help her keep Mattias hidden.

Or so she thought.

Ten minutes after waking up, Mattias decided that he wanted to go back to school. That wasn't the issue. The problem was that May missed the bus, and Karen had left the responsibility of getting her to school up to the twins as she was rushing to get to work.

After arguing for what felt like hours, it was decided that Melanie would drive May while Zach and Mattias would head to school together.

The taller of the two boys wasn't happy with the end decision, but he needed to be at school early for some reason Mel didn't bother to remember, so it only made it easier to rush them out of the house while May raided the pantry for a snack.

"The Doritos are gone already?"

The frustration in her tone was prominent.

"Yeah, sorry. I've been stress eating." Melanie quickly came up with the excuse. It's not like she could tell her sister that there was a boy staying in her room and he just so happened to love nacho cheese Doritos. What she forgot, however...

"I thought you hated Doritos."

Like a fish, Melanie's mouth gaped. "I-I mean—"

"Are you pregnant?"

The question startled her so much that she responded in a way she hadn't spoken in a long time. "The fuck? No. Really, May?"

The youngest sister didn't budge, grabbing a pop tart and making her way towards the door with Melanie in tow. "Don't act like it's so far-fetched, Melanie."

The two girls entered the car. "I'm not pregnant."

"You've been eating a lot lately. And you're extra moody. I haven't heard you mention anything about your period, either—"

"I'm not pregnant, May."

May grasped that her tone suggested she was done with the conversation; she couldn't help but tease.

"Does Scott know?"

•••

Monty wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was glad to receive the text that his little brother was returning to school.

He knew there was a reason he made Estela pack an extra bag of clothes for Matti; he just didn't think the teen would be coming to get the bag himself.

Monty returned home for a day before he was sent on his way again, so he wasn't too sure what was happening.

According to the youngest De La Cruz, their father was still upset with Matti. The man wouldn't bring him up himself unless he was drunk, but if their mother or Estela so much as mentioned Mattias' name or brought up the possibility of him returning home, Luiz would snap.

As he sat on a bench outside the school, Scott keeping him company, he couldn't help but frown at the second person sitting in Zack's car.

His eyes didn't leave the vehicle when he realized it was his brother sitting in the passenger seat.

"What the fuck?"

Scott stood up. "Relax. You don't know what happened."

The Reed teen was looped in on Mattias staying with the Dempseys just two days after it happened. He had grown confused at Mattias' lack of presence and Monty's uncharacteristically quiet attitude and questioned his friend on what happened.

Monty told him that Melanie was hiding Mattias out in her house until the younger teen healed. Monty also mentioned that no one aside from Monty and Melanie knew except himself.

So he was also unsure why Zach followed close behind Mattias as he approached them.

"What the hell happened?"

—