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⋆⋅⋆⋅⋆⋅ 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 ⋅⋆⋅⋆⋅⋆

(𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙵𝚒𝚟𝚎)

"ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴛᴀʙʟᴇ, ɪ'ʟʟ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ ꜱᴇᴀᴛ"

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To say Aurora was pissed would be an understatement. She knew that middle schoolers could be harsh and cruel but she never knew that they could do something like this, especially Anthony. When Kenny told the blonde about what they had done she was furious. She despised the group of boys for their constant bullying and wished they would stop, but it didn't, it only got worse. 

The group would mock the Payne boy with terrible nicknames. They doused the boy in milk, Aurora was still confused on how they got the milk in the locker. They would overall terrorize the boy and Aurora had no idea what Kenny had done wrong. He was a sweet boy and a good friend to Aurora, in the few weeks that they had known each other they had grown very close. Their friendship was blossoming.

Every time the two would pass the group of boys, Aurora would send them harsh glares. Her stares would always soften for a moment when she saw Anthony, but she always shook the feeling away. She was confused on why the boy stayed with the group, she noticed his discomfort when they would tease Kenny or how he always would try to speak up but never said a word. But even if she pitied the boy, he was being a jerk when he was with that group. So she ignored the LaRusso. And it was hard to say the least.

It was quite hard for the Lawrence to ignore the LaRusso, but she tried her best. He constantly annoyed her by passing her notes, whispering constant nonsense, and even a little playful teasing. Most of the time it ends with Aurora sending Anthony glares or rolling her eyes or sometimes even the middle finger. 

Anthony didn't mind though, he only wanted some sort of attention from the girl. A part of him hated the disappointed look that the Lawerence girl would give him but he knew how much his life would suck if he didn't stick with his friends.

The school days felt long and exhausting as Aurora tried her best to ignore Anthony and his friends. She felt a wave of relief as she laid down on the couch that sat in the living room, throwing her backpack onto the ground. She out a small sigh while Johnny walked into the room, "Hey, kiddo. We're heading to the LaRusso's in a little bit for dinner, so wear something nice."

Aurora let out an annoyed groan at his words. She didn't want to be around the LaRusso boy no more than she wanted to be at his house, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." Johnny replied in a mocking tone, "I know the kid annoys you but LaRusso invited us and the Diaz's over, so it would be rude if you didn't go Rory." Aurora sighed at her father's words, slowing sitting up, "Now, get your ass off the couch and go change." Aurora rolled her eyes while letting out a small laugh, finding her father's words amusing. Johnny smiled as he watched his beloved daughter go into her room.

She didn't know how this night was going to go. It could either end in making amends or in disaster. She knew her father and Anthony's father had finally resolved their conflict, but she had heard of and knew how stubborn the two men could be, easily opening up the healing wounds.

Aurora quickly threw on a red sweater and a pair of blue jeans before using her fingers to brush through her curls. She took a few glances into the mirror before walking out back out into the living room where she saw her dad. Johnny gave her a quick smile before leading the girl outside and into his car.

The younger Lawrence furrowed her brows, she had assumed they would have been going with the Diaz's. "Dad?" Aurora questioned and Johnny hummed in response as he began to drive, "Why aren't we going with Carmen and Miggy?"

"Uh, it was just easier to go in separate cars." Johnny told the girl. Aurora only nodded at his words before leaning back into her seat. She knew damn well that driving together would be easier than driving separately. What she really wanted was for her dad to admit he and Carmen were together. Truth was, she had caught Carmen leaving their apartment a couple of days ago. It was awkward to say the least, but dad didn't need to know that she knew. She just wanted him to open up to her and to tell her the truth.

Soon enough that had arrived at the LaRusso's house. Mackenzie stared at the house in amazement, shocked at the size of the home. She knew Anthony's family had money but she never knew how much. She noticed Carmen's car off to the side. She stepped out of her dad's car and walked towards the door. Her dad rang the doorbell and Daniel opened the door with a smile, "Hey Johnny" Daniel spoke before he noticed the younger Lawerence, "Nice to see you again, Aurora."

"You too." Aurora sent the LaRusso a small smile as she walked into the house behind her father. She glanced around, looking at all of the decor. The LaRusso home was filled with love and happiness, Aurora could feel it radiating from the moment she walked in the door. As she went to turn back around she ran into Anthony. 

"Shit, sorry Rory." He apologized as he gripped onto her arm, keeping the girl from falling over. Aurora regained her balance as Anthony pulled her up, coincidently pulling her closer to him.

"It's okay." She assured the boy, looking up at him. She never noticed how much taller Anthony was than her, it had to be about a few inches.

Anthony nodded his head at the girl as his grip loosened on her arm. He then let go of her arm before dropping his hands to his side, "What are you doing here anyways?"

Aurora shrugged, "You're dad invite my dad and I over."

"Oh." The LaRusso replied as he made eye contact with the Lawrence girl. Aurora bit her lip softly as she rocked on the heels of her feet, not really knowing what else to say due to her still being mad at the boy. "I'm sorry you know."

Aurora rolled her eyes at his words, knowing that he had been apologizing for the past few days, "If you were sorry you would have stopped by now. And, you said you were sorry last time and then you went back to bulling Kenny."

"I know, I but-" Aurora cut the boy off, "No, Anthony. I'm being serious, You need to stop. Whatever you're getting from those assholes is not worth it, you're becoming a dick. And I hate it, it's not you."

Anthony scoffed as he debated what to say. Before he could reply, Amanda called out, "Kids, dinner!" Aurora sent Anthony a tight smile before she walked towards the dinning room table. Anthony cursed to him self before thinking, how could I be so stupid.

Aurora sat down next to her father, sending a small smile his way. Anthony then sat beside her before he handed her a chocolate Yoohoo. Aurora quickly thanked the boy as the three families began to eat. Aurora placed a piece of pizza onto her plate, it was covered in different meats, like the way her dad always made them. The blonde girl zoned out of the conversation, knowing that it would probably end up being about Miguel or Sam.

She stayed quiet until her name was called by Amanda, "Aurora?" The Lawrence girl's head shot up at her name before she let out a small hum in response. "How's school been?"

Aurora shrugged her shoulders, "It's good, kind of boring though. But, I'm doing well in all my classes, so that's good."

Amanda nodded her head at the girl's words, "I've heard you class with Anthony." Aurora smile a bit as she glanced over at Anthony, concluding that the boy had been talking about her, "Yeah, I think we have all of them together, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Anthony said in agreement before taking another bite of pizza, getting sauce on his face. Aurora let out a small laugh when she noticed the sauce on the boys face, she gestured to his face with her hands. Anthony furrowed his brows as he used the back of his hand to wipe away the sauce, but he only ended up smearing it.

Aurora shook her head slowly as she used her napkin to wipe the sauce of the boys face, "There."

"Thanks." Anything replied as blood rushed into his cheeks trying them a light pink. Aurora leaned back into her seat, "No problem."

Sam glanced between the two, a smiling forming on her lips. Cute, she thought before sending a smirk towards her brother causing Anthony to roll his eyes.

"SMC's great too. It's right by the beach. Have you checked out their campus?" Daniel spoke as Aurora took another bite of her pizza, she knew how quickly the conversation would have changed to focus on Miguel, it was always about it.

"No, actually, I haven't." Miguel shook his head as he reached over to grab a spoon, but ended up knowing over Daniel wine, spilling it on the older LaRusso. Aurora let out a small gasp as she watched the scene unfold, seeing how quickly a perfect dinner could become a total disaster.

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I hope you're loving the book so far!

Sorry that this took so long! Hopefully I'll have another chapter out soon!

Thanks for reading!