I couldn't sleep that night. I was, once again, sleeping on the floor. Dusty was actually prepared for my stay this time so he'd managed to get more pillows for me (no idea where he got them from). He even cleaned up his room a little bit so I wouldn't be surrounded by dirty piles of stinky clothes as I attempted to sleep.
I was comfortable and content in my current position.. however, there were a few things on my mind that have been bugging me all day. To be more specific, there were exactly two things that have been bugging me for a while. Those two things? Dean and Drake. There was something up with them and I wanted to know why.
With Dean- it looks as if he's trying really hard to befriend me. He's been talking to me a lot more and being extremely nice to me. Still shy, though. Still very very shy.
And Drake- he always looks so distant from his brother. His twin brother. It actually surprised me that they weren't the typical, cliché set of twins. They look miles apart and I would argue that they weren't even related if they didn't look exactly like each other.
But then again, maybe I am reading into it way too much. Dean is just probably being friendly. He must really want to be my friend. He does look like someone who would be nice enough to go out of their way to make friends with another person. And Drake was probably a sore loser and I was over analyzing as always. Whatever it was, I really wanted to know.
I woke up the next morning to a pillow smacking me in the face. Dusty stepped over me to make his way to the bathroom.
“Get up, Dakota,” he said tiredly. He looked drunk as he tiredly wobbled on his feet.
Drake got up after hearing the bathroom door slam. He sat up, brushing the hair out of his face. He strangely resembled the Grudge in the morning.
With a groan, I laid back down, tossing Dusty's pillow back on his bed. I rubbed my eyes, trying hard not to fall back asleep. I didn't get much sleep last night.
By the time we got to breakfast, everyone was halfway done with their food.
“How was the slumber party?” Seth teased as we sat down with our eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Still love the breakfast here.
Drake grunted as he picked up his fork and began shoveling his scrambled eggs down his throat. Dusty just shrugged.
“Same old, same old.”
We weren't the morning types, apparently. Except for Seth, of course.
“Hey, Dakota,” Dean greeted me with a smile as he sat down with Logan. I nodded a hello and looked over at Logan, who just smirked at me. Raising my eyebrows at him, he only shrugged and looked away, pretending he didn't know what he did.
“So!” Dusty started, clapping his hands together, hoping to start some sort of a conversation, but he as interrupted by Collin, who was messing with his hair.
“Damn, I need to dye my hair. You too, Drake?” he asked, looking over at his twin. I could see Collin's brown roots showing. I've never wondered what his natural hair color was. I honestly thought he'd look cute with brown. Why he dyed his hair in the first place was beyond me. I could understand Drake, though.
Drake just shrugged and continued eating, not wanting to talk to anyone. I could see Collin's small smile slightly fade as he looked down at his plate. I decided to continue his poor attempt at a conversation, knowing he was trying hard in the early hours of the day.
“I need to redye my hair, Collin,” I said, shaking my hair a bit. My roots were beginning to show, as well. Plus, I did like the black in my hair. I felt like it gave me an edge and made me look a bit more rough. More like a boy than a girl.
Collin's face immediately brightened as he forgot about his moody twin.
“Great! We can go together!”
“..Uh,” I started, not knowing what to say. And how much would it cost exactly to go dye my hair with Collin? Someone who was very rich and could own half the school if he wanted? I sighed, knowing I had to improvise. But now wasn't the time.
I looked over at Dusty, who gave me a small smile as if he knew what was going on. He certainly caught on easily.
“You are so damn fat,” Seth said, looking at Logan's heaping plate of food. This morning was so jumbled and confusing. It was hard for me to follow anything that was going on.
“Hey,” Logan replied defensively, “I may be fat, but you'll always be ugly. At least I can diet.”
Dean let out a quiet laugh at Seth smirked at Logan's comeback. They continued to bicker until breakfast was over and we all had to go to first period.
I didn't see any of the guys besides Collin until second period in honors Chem, which I had with Collin, Dean, and Dusty. The teacher actually opened up to me a little after a few assignments. I knew he still remembered the time I strolled into his room halfway in to class without a uniform on. At least he knows I'm a good student and is at least trying to let go.
As soon as I walked in the room, half the class that was already there was putting their backpacks away into shelves on the side. This could only mean one thing.
“Be my lab partner!” Collin immediately demanded of me, gripping my arm and pulling me to his side. I would have lost my balance if it weren't for the chair in my way.. which I almost toppled over.
“Damnit, Collin! You almost made me fall!” I scolded as I adjusted my backpack on my shoulders. “Again!”
Then came the puppy dog stare.
“Come on, please? You always know what to do! You always get fours and don't break anything!”
That I had to roll my eyes at. The first time we did a lab together, Collin wanted to do everything. So I, being oblivious to his lack of knowledge, let him play around with the burner and chemicals.
The chemicals boiled over. We couldn't get to the beaker. When Collin did get to it, he didn't know how hot it was. He dropped it. Whipping around in surprise, he knocked over the rest of the test tubes. Needless to say, he had to pay over two hundred dollars for new equipment. I wouldn't tell anyone this, but I sighed in relief when I found out Collin had to pay for everything. I don't know what I'd do.. or my mom.. if I had to pay some of that.
I glared back at Collin, almost reliving the memory. “No.”
“Come on!”
“Do I need to remind you of last time?” I asked, looking up to meet Dusty's eye. We were partners for every lab ever since then. We'd been acing them and he was a great partner. He nodded once at me and went to put his bag in the cubby.
“It won't happen again! I swear! I'll even let you do all the work!”
I wanted to laugh at his poor choice of words, knowing he didn't mean that I'd actually be doing all the work- but it was too good to pass up.
“Gee, thanks, bro,” I replied, patting him on the shoulder.
The warning bell rang and more students piled into the room. Just a minute until our lab would begin.
“You know what I mean! I won't touch anything! I bow down to you!”
Dusty came back to us, most likely wondering why I haven't prepared our usual table for our lab yet.
“Back off, Dust-Pan!” Collin called out to him, holding his hand out in front of Dusty's face like a valley girl.
Dusty froze in his tracks, taken by surprise by Collin's antics. He should really be used to them by now.
When I turned back to the silly boy, he had his hands clasped together and he looked as if he was about to get on his knees and beg.
“Please help me out, dude. I need a good grade on this! My parents are gonna be all over my ass if I get a two like on my last lab!”
I sighed, giving Dusty an apologetic look. He nodded with a small smile in understanding and went to sit with Dean instead.
“Alright, let's go,” I said as the bell rang and our lab time began.
“Thanks, man!” he said before he dashed off to his seat, putting his backpack away. He went to gather all the supplies for me then quickly backed off so he wouldn't break anything.
I rolled my eyes at his caution and set to work. Today we had to observe the reactions of certain elements when held over a bunsen burner.
Thank goodness Collin wasn't doing anything today.
He gathered a whole row of samples that we'd be burning over the small flame. Before we began, the whole class including us had to put on our safety goggles.
Everything was going smoothly until Collin grew bored.
“Aw, let me burn something, 'Kota.”
“No.”
“Come on, Kitty Cat.”
“Even more no.”
“I didn't mean that, 'Kota.”
I looked up to meet his puppy dog look, the same one he'd given me when he asked me to be his partner.
“Are you going to use that look on me every single time you want something?”
“Is it going to work every single time I want something?” he asked, his hopes clearly soaring.
“You're weird,” I decided, “And no.”
“Damnit.”
After Chemistry, Collin, Dusty, and I headed down to AP Lang together. Since none of our classes had assigned seats, we always sat together.
“Hey, I need to talk to you,” Dusty leaved over to quietly tell me as class began.
I raised my eyebrow at him, giving him my best questioning look. He just shrugged it off and looked up at our teacher, who'd begun class.
AP US History was boring. I don't have that class with anyone. It made me wonder why I had no classes with Drake. He was Collin's twin, so should he be in the same grade as us?
I didn't do much in history. I was just lectured and given a bunch of homework. After this class, I headed off to lunch to find the rest of the guys. I was surprised to only find Dean and Nigel at the table. They barely talked to each other, from what I saw. I was earlier than usual, it seemed.
I set my bag down and took my usual spot. “Hey, guys,” I greeted. Nigel just gave me a small nod and looked away so he wouldn't have to talk to me. Dean smiled at me.
“Hey, Dakota! How were your classes?” He asked, being the friendly Dean he was. I smiled back and talked to him until the rest of the guys showed up.
Only Dusty and Collin came, though.
Dean didn't seem to mind, as if he knew why Logan, Drake, and Seth were absent from our table.
“They went off campus,” Collin said with a small shrug as he sat down. He didn't look very happy about it but he did a great job covering it up. That was weird. From what I learned over the few months I've spent at this school is that Nigel is always hanging out with Seth and Dean is always hanging out with Logan. Strange.
“Why do you look surprised?” Dusty asked, setting his things down and sitting down by me as usual.
I just shrugged, “Odd trio, I think,” I replied, completely honest.
“Odd trio?” Collin repeated me, “They're anything but. We all hang out with each other within this.. little circle we have! Er, tight knit group! ..What ever we are..”
Dean silently laughed while Dusty encouragingly patted Collin on the back in a mocking fashion. “Just let the words flow,” he guided, laughing along with Dean.
“Oh, you,” I said to Collin, seeing a few random guys I've never seen before walk past our table.
“Kitty Cat!” One of them called out.
I raised my hands in disbelief. “I don't even know that guy!”
While Collin fell into his usual giggle fits, Dusty just smirked, “It's never gonna end.”
A series of loud knocks woke me up. I groaned and turned in my bed a few times. Damn Chris and his friends. One of his buddies must have swung by or something.
“Chriiis,” I groaned.
The banging continued. Damn, this person was persistent. Chris didn't even stir. With a dramatic sigh, I sat up and dragged my tired body to the door. I didn't even bother grabbing anything to defend myself with in case someone decided to beat me up. You never know. Chris's friends. Yeah.
I took a deep breath, which ended up turning into a yawn- and opened the door. There stood Seth. He was in his regular clothes and had his arms crossed as if he was pissed about something. Figures.
With an eye roll, I moved to shut the door, but his hand pushed it back open.
“What do you want?” I asked tiredly, squinting at him in the dark. The hall lights were dimmed during the night, but they were never out. This allowed me to see Seth's scowl as he reached in and grabbed my shirt, pulling me out of the room. I let out a small yelp as he slammed me against the wall, not too hard. My eyes fluttered open as he pushed me against the wall one more time.
“Awake yet?” he asked, smirking down at my wide-eyed stare.
I let out a quiet groan. It must have been past two in the morning as it was still pitch blackout the window when I went to open the door. I wished with a burning passion that our doors had peep holes.
“Yeah, yeah. I'm okay.”
“Alright. Walk with me.”
“What?” I asked, confused. Was I really that tired or did Seth just ask me to walk with him in the middle of the night?
“Walk. With me.”
“I'm not stupid, I heard you.”
“Oh, good. I just had to make sure.”
I had to pause to glare at him before saying what I had planned on saying.
“Okay. You want me to walk with you in the dead of night while the Night Watch is patrolling the grounds and dorms?”
Seth sighed dramatically as I ruined his plans.
“Alright, fine. We'll talk out here.”
I sighed. At least it was better than walking.
“Okay.”
When Seth didn't make a move to talk, I frowned.
“That usually means, go on.”
Seth rolled his eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets.
“So Dean-”
“Shh!” I heard footsteps going up the stairs and momentarily froze. “Get in!” I whisper-yelled, pulling on Seth's arm and dragging him into my room. I slammed the door closed and looked around, waiting for my eyes to adjust so I could find Seth. He sat himself on my bed and was quietly snickering at Chris's silly sleeping position.
I rolled my eyes at his immaturity and grabbed his arm again, pulling him to the bathroom. I turned on the lights and closed the door as soon as he came in.
“Talk,” I said, crossing my arms and leaning on the door. I wasn't happy at the moment. I knew for a fact I'd be incredibly tired tomorrow.
Seth suddenly turned serious. He looked almost mad.
“Alright. What is up with you and Dean?”
I tilted my head to the side.
“What?”
“What's up with you and Dean? He's been hanging out with you a lot more than usual.”
I narrowed my tired eyes at him.
“You came to my dorm at two in the morning asking me why Dean's been hanging out with me!?” I quietly yelled, if that was even possible. The nerve of some people! Why did it matter if Dean hung around me more than usual? Plus he really didn't.. He just paid a little more attention to me. Nothing too drastic here.
“Oh, shut up.” Seth ordered me with a harsh tone. I immediately frowned at this but didn't say anything as he continued.
“What I want to know is why Dean has it in his head that you like him.”
I shook my head, “Why wouldn't I like him? Of course I-” I froze. He couldn't possibly mean..
“Wait. Dean...is..-”
“Gay.” Whoa. Dean is gay? I mean.. it would certainly explain a lot of things but I definitely did not see this coming. This just raised more questions in my head.
“And you came here in the middle of the night asking me this because..?”
“Because you're going to see him again tomorrow and I don't want you upsetting him.”
I nodded, understanding. “Yeah, totally ignoring the fact that you're jealous of me.”
“What?”
“Because you know, you like Dean but he doesn't like you. He likes me and that makes you jealo-”
“I will murder you.”
I let out a quiet laugh.
“I'm not gay. You're lucky I haven't beat the shit out of you for that yet.”
I stared at Seth, amused. “So what is it that you want me to do, exactly?”
Seth let out a lout, unattractive groan. “Dakota! Do you return Dean's feelings?”
“What? No!”
“Well then! What's so fucking hard to understand? Don't lead him on! Holy shit!”
I leaned my head back to softly hit the door.
“Don't lead Dean on. Got it. Anything else?”
“Yeah, get out of my way. I'm leaving.”
“Oh, of course, Princess. Gotta get back to those gay porn magazines.”
“I swear to God, I'm going to-”
“Yeah, yeah. Get out already.”
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I know, I know. I'm a horrible person and you all want to eat me v.v
But hey! I uploaded! And I'm already starting on the next chapter so I can get back into my regular updating. So.. sorry for that delay.
Also! Some news for you all. I'm in the German exchange program at my school, so that means I'm going to have a German at my house for a month in April and then I'll be in Bavaria all through June. I know I will not be able to upload at all while in Germany, but I will try super hard to upload in April!
And because of this delay- I'm going to do something silly for you all. I'm going to make you a video. Below in the comments, you may ask me up to 5 questions about anything at all and I will answer them all. They can be about my writing, my favorite color- whatever rocks your boat. I'll answer anything you ask me. AND NO- I WILL NOT GIVE AWAY ANY SPOILERS. The deadline to ask questions is.. March 23rd and I'll make the video sometime after that.
[My birthday was on January 13th. Happy birthday to me! I'm an old hag! :D]
<<<<CONTEST!!: Here's a contest I've thought up of a month ago. Do this, and you will win some awesometastic prizes. For ten participants and under, prizes will go to places 1-3 and for over ten 1-5. (3-5 place prizes will remain the same) 3rd: A fan, critique on any story, a read/vote, one dedication and one promotion. 2nd: a fan, critique on any two stories, four promotions, three dedications, and a read/vote on three of your stories. FIRST PLACE: A fan, critique on all of your stories, a read/vote on all of your stories, three dedications, ten promotions, and one book cover. I will also send you a printed copy of the WHOLE story once it's finished.
Winners will be announced on EASTER, the due date (April 8th).
What you must do:
Write a free-for-all chapter for 'TCKIAG.' It can be in anyone's POV in any point in time, doing whatever you want to happen! Your chapter must have a minimum 2,500 word count and the max is unlimited. No new (official) characters (w/ exceptions) and no rewriting chapters! Send your entries to: muse3@live.com and make sure to tell me your username.>>>>>
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