I hate sleeping. Some say that eyes are the windows to the soul, but in my case, it's dreams. More like nightmares, really. But they aren't windows. No. They are doors, left ajar, begging me to open them to see what's inside. And I always do. I see the same thing every time. Darkness swirling around a blob of light, offuscating it. Imprisoning it. The darkness I know to exist inside of me transformed into shadows. No matter how hard I fight it, I can't escape.

And then there are those rare nights, where there is no door. No darkness. Just a white void, to float in and forget my problems. My existence. Those are the ones I get when my brothers are with me. The bright light within them scares my shadows away, making them hide in the corners of my mind and out of view.

Right now, with Xander's alarm blaring in my ears, I don't want to wake up. A rare occurrence. The gears in my mind begin to turn at a sluggish and rusty pace. As I start gaining focus, I find myself being crushed by Alex's weight. He has a leg thrown over my body, and his arms circle me like a teddy bear, my head tucked under his chin. He doesn't even seem to hear his alarm, but I sure as hell do. And it's pissing me off.

"Lex..." I mumble against his chest while shaking him, only to be hugged more tightly in response.

"Xander" I try again, this time being a little more forceful. Still nothing. The only answer I got was his grumbling, but a few seconds later and he was asleep again. I let out a huff and lay back down.

I've been laying here for a few minutes now, trying to think of an escape plan when I see River walking past the door "Riv!" I shout at him. He must have heard the desperation in my voice, seeing as he came back. I see his eyebrows shoot up in a questioning way.

"Please, help! He has me in an iron grip and won't let go" I plead, using my most powerful weapon: the puppy dog eyes.

"It's too early in the morning to resist that face..." He groans as he looks into my violet, watery eyes "Give me a second" he says, quickly running out of the room.

A few seconds later and he is back with a blowhorn. Where the hell did he get that? "You might want to cover your ears" he warned me, a smirk dancing on his lips. I do as he says, and not even a second later, he presses the button. All of my brothers run in, curious as to what is going on.

On the positive side, Alex did wake up. On the negative side, however, he got such a scare that he took me with him when we fell off the bed. Worse than that was when he fell on top of me. His 200-pound skeleton weighing on my small one.

"You're crushing her, you Neanderthal! Get off!" Levi shouts at a disorientated Alex. He quickly shoves him aside, making sure I can breathe again.

"Air!" I wheeze in between coughs while glaring at an unbothered Xander.

"At least you are free now" River says with a shrug of his shoulders while I give him a deadpan look.

"I don't know if I want to hug you or punch you." I answer, genuinely torn. He did free me from the giant I like to call brother, but at what cost?

"A hug sounds good!" my cunning brother says with a toothy grin.

"Alright, guys! Get ready, so you can be on your way to school. You'll be late if you don't hurry, so just grab something from the fridge for breakfast and be on your way." Ez tells us, looking at the time on his watch.

We all shuffle out of Xander's room and into our own. I quickly brush my teeth and put some hydrating cream on my face before making my way to the wardrobe. The weather is still quite warm because summer hasn't ended quite yet, so I choose a more breathable outfit. I put on a pair of white short-shorts and a light blue top with spaghetti straps, pairing it with some white flats. I head back into the bathroom so I can to the finishing touches. I look in the mirror and automatically let out a groan, realizing my hair was still purple. Ignoring its color, for now, I start braiding it, so it goes all around my head and rests on my shoulder. Moderately happy with how I look, I head out of my room, not before grabbing my navy blue soft cardigan and school bag.

I walk down the stairs and see that, at the bottom, are Levi and Luca, waiting for me.

"Ready?" Luca asks with a smile.

"Yup!" I answer with one of my own, popping the 'p'.

We pass by the kitchen on our way to the front door, where the twins are having breakfast. I quickly walk over and give them each a kiss and a hug, which they return. "Have a good day guys!" Evan hollers after us. "You too!" the three of us shout back in synchrony, making us go into a fit of giggles.

We make our way out and start our 15-minute walk to school. We go to the local Highschool, along with Xander, who is in his last year, and River. We usually just walk there, unless it's raining. As usual, those two are late so we go ahead of them. Being the lazy people they are (I don't even know how they manage to keep fit), they can't be bothered to use their legs for 15 minutes, so Alex usually drives them to school.

As we near the school's gate, I start to feel self-conscious about my bright purple hair. I'm not bullied like other kids, thanks to my brothers, but that doesn't mean people don't whisper as I walk by or send nasty looks at me. Society has this funny thing of seeing the different as a threat. As to be expected, a girl with violet eyes, that has survived being struck by lightning and a deadly car crash, is considered a freak in their books. Now, add purple hair to the list. This day is gonna be great! Note the sarcasm.

Luca, being the perceptive person he is, notices my fidgeting and throws an arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his side in a protective manner. Like a chicken pulling her chicks under her wing, making sure no one harms her babies.

"Hey, don't be nervous. They are just a bunch of idiot teenagers, jealous of you" he says in a soft and comforting voice, trying to make me feel better

I slightly scoff "Jealous? What's there to be jealous about?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"You have something that makes you special. Unique. They just don't like that you steal the spotlight without even trying" Luc explains, shrugging his shoulders in the end. As we make it past the gates, I see a few students looking at me, failing to hide their snickering. In return, they receive one of Levi's chilling glares, which makes them shut up and run away as fast as possible.

I mull over Luc's words as we make our way to the office to take our schedules for this year. When we get there, the nice old lady at the counter prints them out before shooing us to our first class.

We make our way to our designated lockers that are the same as last year's. We obviously all have the same last name so they are all next to each other. As we tread our way in the busy corridors, a mop of dark brown hair catches my eye. I would recognize that mess of curls anywhere.

"RILEY!!!" he doesn't even have time to turn around before I jump onto his back, nearly making both of us come tumbling down onto the floor. He quickly steadies himself and wraps his arms under my knees to keep me up before taking a deep breath.

"Jesus, Luna. You almost gave me a heart attack. I'm getting old here!" I giggle at his dramatics before hugging his neck tightly in greeting. He chuckles at my enthusiasm, a beaming smile on his face.

"I exist too you know?" Roman pipes in with a mock frown on his face.

Riley and Roman Morgan are our next-door neighbors. They are Irish twins, which means that they were born in the same year but aren't actual twins. In their case, Roman is 11 months older. We have known each other since we were in diapers because our parents were best friends. When they died, our grandparents moved in with us, but when the twins turned 19 they too passed away in a tragic fire. Throughout all of that, Eleonor and Jack have loved us and been there for us like we were their own. Riley is like another brother really. There was a time when I had a little crush on Roman, but I grew out of it. At least I like to think so...

"Sorry..." I smile sheepishly, a light blush covering my cheeks. I skip all the way to him before giving a bone-crushing hug. At least by my standards. These guys are like a bunch of Hulks... He gently wraps his arms around my waist bringing me closer to his chest. When we break apart I look at both of them expectantly.

"So... How were the Bahamas?!" I ask, wanting to know how their holiday went.

"Great! It was so warm and sunny. I didn't rain once! You'd love it there Lu! I'll tell you all about it later, after classes." Riley told me, almost as excited as me and I furiously nod my head in confirmation.

Luca and Levi have caught up to us by now and are doing that weird handshake thingy to greet the boys.

"What classes do you all have?" Levi askes. Turns out none of the boys have the same first period as me. That might be problematic in the future, but as of right now, I know I can handle it.

Who knows? The rest of our friend group might just be there...

Author note:

Hey guys! This chapter was a bit boring but I can tell you that the next one has some tea in it... If everything goes as planned, it will be posted tomorrow at around the same time as today.

There are also gonna be some new characters coming in. Would you like me to do a description of their personality as I did with the brothers?

Question: Did you like the opening of the chapter?

If you enjoyed this chapter vote and/or comment!!

Until next time!