Shay Mitchell as Hazel everybody. Round of applause. Welcome her to the scene!

~*~*~*~

I couldn't get rid of him. Not that I wanted him to leave of anything...

After we had managed to swipe all traces of evidence from the crime scene, Ryan had offered to watch Jasmine while I showered. I gratefully accepted his offer.

When I came back downstairs Jasmine and Archie were playing sonic on an ancient play station of Caleb's, Archie was playing as Amy Rose and Jasmine as Sonic. Amy Rose was kicking ass. Obviously.

Ryan on the other hand, who was supposed to be watching Jasmine and Archie, was sprawled across the couch. One hand hung down, touching the floor and the other rested on his stomach. His head was tilted on a painful looking angle but his facial expression made him look peaceful. His face was relaxed, but even in his sleep his lips were tilted up in the beginnings of a smile.

The way his hair was sticking up was so adorable and I was tempted to run my fingers through it, but I decided against it seeing as that would be extremely creepy.

I really didn't want to wake him, but he couldn't stay here. It would just feel....wrong. I mean for any other girl it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but I'd never really been around guys much except for my dad and brother. I'd never had a boyfriend, never kissed a guy (except for on a dare but that shit doesn't count), hell I wasn't even friends with any guys. Basically the male species was foreign to me.

I plopped into an armchair a safe distance away from Ryan and peered over at his sleeping form. He was so still he almost looked dead. If it wasn't for the slight movement of his chest rising and falling, he could easily be mistaken for someone in need of serious medical attention.

I went back into the now spotless kitchen, making a mental note to bribe Jasmine so she wouldn't tell mom about our...adventures.

The clock on the wall read eight thirty pm. I did a double take, surely it didn't take that long to clean up. What was I supposed to do with Archie? And sleeping beauty's prince wasn't coming anytime soon. Wouldn't their parents be worrying about them?

I hurried into the living room where the sonic championships were continuing.

"Archie!"I whisper shouted, trying not to wake Ryan.

"Huh?"he said, twisting around so he could see me. "Why are you whispering?"

"Because he's sleeping,"I whispered, pointing to Ryan's sleeping form.

Archie giggled. "You won't wake him up. I tipped a whole bottle of water on him once and he still didn't wake up."

Archie turned back to face the TV just in time to see Amy Rose hurtle off the edge of a cliff.

"Aww man,"Archie pouted in defeat, placing his controller on the floor.

"Ha,"Jasmine whooped, jumping up to perform a well rehearsed victory dance.

"Archie are your parents expecting you home?"

"Nope, mom's at the hospital,"he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Is she alright?"I asked, concerned about the whole situation.

"She's visiting dad."

She's visiting dad? Why would she be...Oh he must be a doctor or a surgeon or something. She's probably taking him food or something. Yeah that's it.

"Oh, okay."
~*~*~

It was 10pm. I'd sent Jasmine and Archie to bed a half hour ago. Archie was sound asleep in the guest room and Jasmine was making those soft snuffling noises that she always made when she was sleeping. The pink light from nightlight shone out from under the door.

What was I doing, you might ask? I was organising my shelves. Why? I have no idea. It might have been because I saw a spider, which I squashed with my history textbook, but it didn't die because I saw it scoot into the depths of the wooden shelves next to my bed. Now there were two problems with this. One, I was terrified of spiders, I wouldn't go so far as to say I was an arachnophobic but they still scared the shit out of me. And two, Jasmine told me that the average person unintentionally ate around a pound of bugs per year. Not that I was average or that I believed her anyway, I actually thought it was complete bullshit so I googled it. Wikipedia told me that she was right. That shows you how much faith a had in my sister. I really didn't what that spider to be included in my bug quota for the year so I was trying to find it, which proved unsuccessful anyway.

In the midst of my frantic spider finding expedition there was a loud thump.

I froze. Was there a burglar in the house? Did I lock the door?

C'mon Hazel, do you think a burglar would care if the door was locked?

I shook my head as if I was shaking the stupid thought out.

I blew out a breath and went to investigate. When I reached the kitchen everything seemed to be in place and there were no smashed windows so that was a bonus.

As I entered the living room I realised what the noise was. Ryan was on the floor. Obviously he had fallen off the couch in his sleep, he was laying flat on his stomach with one arm twisted under him. And he still hadn't woken up.

I sighed out loud, rolling my eyes, thanks for the heart attack.

I grabbed a blanket from the closet in the hallway and gently draped it over him.

"Thanks Sunshine,"He said sleepily, rolling onto his side and snuggling into the blanket.

I wasn't sure if he was awake or not, but my cheeks still flooded beet red regardless.

I dragged myself back upstairs, feeling suddenly exhausted. I flopped onto my bed, no even bothering to pull the blankets over me. I fell asleep almost instantly, forgetting all my worries about bugs on shelves.

I never did find that spider.
~*~*~

I opened my eyes only to be greeted by harsh white sunlight. I quickly shut my eyes again.

Why did morning have to come so soon? I swore I only went to sleep five minutes ago.

I sat up and tried to drag a hand through my hair, which didn't turn out very well because my hair was sitting in a knotted bun on top of my head.

I swiped a hand across my face, only to find that my eyes were crusted with that gross stuff that magically appears when you sleep.

I blearily stumbled to the bathroom, swearing as I tripped on an ugly rug that mom absolutely had to have. I washed my face rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I mentally debated on whether to get changed out of the sweatpants and tank top I'd been sleeping in, but decided against it. It's my house I'll do whatever the hell I want.

There was a great smell wafting up the stairs and I was drawn to it like a magpie to something shiny. It took me five minutes to find the source of the smell, which was obviously coming from the kitchen. I wasn't the sharpest person in the world when it came to mornings.

Ryan was turned towards the stove, away from me, but his head snapped in my direction as soon as he heard me clumsily making my way to the counter.

His signature smirk appeared when he saw my amazing cavewoman state.

"Sunshine, you're awake. Good morning."

"I never understood that phrase. 'Good morning', when the hell is morning ever good?"I muttered irritably, resting my head on the cool granite countertop.

"Well you're not a morning person,"he chuckled,"I'll remember that for next time."

I frowned, which made my face squish on the hard surface. Next time?

"Don't frown Sunshine, I made bacon,"He said, gesturing towards the stovetop.

I lifted my head and raised an eyebrow. "You can cook?"

"I can do a lot of things,"he replied with a wink.

"Disgusting,"I muttered, resting my elbows on the counter and propping my head on my hands.

"Only for you sunshine."

I yawned. Apparently I didn't get enough sleep. Oh well.

"What's with the nickname?"I asked curiously.

"It's a secret,"he grinned, putting some toast and bacon on a plate, sliding it towards me.

"Secret my ass,"I mumbled to myself.

I brought the toast to my mouth, ready to take a bite and then....

A faint buzzing sound interrupted my breakfast.

I groaned loudly, dropping my toast back onto the plate. My phone just had to ring didn't it?

I actually looked at the screen this time. Caleb.

"What?"I grumbled, staring at my breakfast which was slowly getting cold.

"Is this a regular thing now? Are you just going to greet your favourite brother with 'what', every time we talk? Should I start saying fuck every time I answer the phone?"

"You interrupted something important,"I mumbled, completely disregarding his comment.

"Well tell me then,"he said impatiently.

"I was about to eat bacon."

"Oh, bacon is very important. How the hell did you get mom to cook bacon?"He wondered aloud.

"Mom didn't cook it, a...friend did,"I replied, looking at Ryan who was watching curiously. As strange as it may sound, I didn't find it weird that he was listening in on our conversation. Looking back on it I probably should have, but ahh I was a rebel.

"A friend? You mean Tara? Oh sweet baby Jesus, please don't eat that bacon. I want you alive when I come home, not poisoned,"he panicked.

"Settle down, it wasn't Tara."

"You have other friends?"

I fake gasped. "Are you doubting my friend making skills?"

"I would never!"he replied. "So who is this new friend? Is she hot?"

"Well I don't know if HE swings that way, but I'll ask,"I said teasingly. I did think about lying to Caleb about the gender of my new 'friend', but decided against it. He could always tell when I was lying.

"What do you mean 'he'?"Caleb asked.

"I mean he. As in male, opposite to female, guy, man, boy, chico-"

"I know what he means!"

"Why'd you ask then?"

"I can't believe I'm related to a retard,"he said, not answering my question.

"I know, I can't believe I'm related to Jasmine either."

"Oooh, that was a good one,"he said approvingly. "Guess what I'm doing?

"Um, flying to the moon?"

"Close. I'm eating a salad."

I snorted. "You eating a salad? I don't believe you."

"I am!"he defended. "It's brown and you buy it in bars."

I rolled my eyes. "Chocolate is not salad."

"Chocolate comes from cocoa, which is a tree. That makes it a plant. Chocolate is salad."

"Jesus,"I muttered under my breath.

"Actually, it's just Caleb, but I appreciate the promotion."

"Did someone put any other kind of...plant in that chocolate, by any chance?"I asked, looking at Ryan who was still listening intently, although now he looked mildly amused, even though he could only hear one side of the conversation. Then I looked at my plate. That made me sad. My poor bacon.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I don't know, it depends if what you think I'm thinking is actually what I'm thinking. Because what you think I'm thinking and what I'm actually thinking are probably two completely different things."

He sighed. "You lost me."

"That was the plan."

"Well then,"he replied, before telling someone in the background to 'go fuck a parrot'. His words not mine.

"Sounds like you're needed."

"Yeah I should probably go before some asshole revokes my phone privileges."

"If anyone actually did that you know I would fly over there and give him a personal ass kicking right?"I asked seriously.

"I know H."

"Alright, I love you."

"Love you too. Be careful around that boy okay? I promise I'll be home soon."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

I ended the call. Talking to Caleb always made me feel depressed. I didn't know where he was, what he was doing or when he'd be back. He always promised he'd be home soon, but I knew he was just saying that for my sake. He didn't know when he'd be home, nobody did.

"Boyfriend?"Ryan asked.

I raised my head, realising that I was still staring at my phone.

I snorted at his assumption. "Brother,"I corrected.

"Ahh,"he said, nodding to himself as if he'd put the pieces together.

"Older?"

"Older,"I agreed.

He didn't push the subject any further which I was grateful for. In fact he didn't say much at all, sensing that I wasn't in the mood to tell my life story.

Ryan left shortly after, saying that Archie had already gone home. Which made sense seeing as we were neighbours.

After I was left to my thoughts, I realised three things. One, my breakfast was cold. Two I never got any ice cream yesterday. And three, I hadn't seen Jasmine since last night, which probably wasn't a good sign considering her track record.
~*~*~

I slammed my locker with brutal force, while staring at the sheet of paper that I was so tempted to tear into tiny pieces of confetti. I got thirty two marks out of a possible fifty on a stupid math test. I was pissed off. It didn't help that today was a Monday or that I was surfing the crimson wave. Today I was rocking a baggy hoodie and sweatpants. My 'don't mess with me look'.

Yesterday had actually turned out alright. I found that Jasmine was still sleeping when I went upstairs to check on her, which meant peace and quiet. Mom was in a good mood when she got home, which meant that everyone was happy. And I took Jasmine out for ice cream as a bribe so she wouldn't tell mom about our eventful weekend. So all in all, a pretty good day.

Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for today. Tara had decided not to turn up to School today, which was all kinds of bad for me. I would be alone in english, the only class that we shared. Not to mention lunch. When food comes into the equation teenagers turn into a bunch of sharks. Anything that stands in their way of food is an enemy. Even if you're not eating the cafeteria food, you'll probably end up with somebody else's sloppy joe on your shirt because well, its sloppy. The key is to stay away from the long line, which sometimes winds its way out the cafeteria door and into the hallway. The reason being, waiting equals impatience, which is soon replaced by anger. Add that with hunger and a little frustration and you've got yourself a recipe for disaster. Hangry is the name of that recipe.

Luckily for me, I had a whole hour to dwell on my cafeteriaphobia while I was in chemistry with Mr Acklefield. Tara had already warned me about his spit missiles, so I was praying that I wasn't near the front if the class.

To my surprise something had gone right for me today. I wasn't sitting at the front of the class. Although I wasn't sure what was worse, being showered in saliva or trying to tune out Annie's high pitched blabbering. Yes I was stuck with Annie again and yes I hated every millisecond of it.

This time she was recounting the spontaneous vacation where she went to Spain. How her daddy, as she called him, bought her an apartment. But oh my lord it was too small. Too small. Ungrateful horse. I would've said cow, but I like beef.

She was one of those people who would never survive in the real world. She relied solely on her father, who was the owner of some major company. She obviously didn't inherit her dad's IQ.

I couldn't handle her any longer so I snapped.

"Just shut the fuck up okay? No one cares about your rich girl problems. Some of us are going to have to get a job one day, to earn money. Contrary to what you may think money doesn't grow on fucking trees. Not all of us have fathers who just buy them whatever the hell they want. Jesus, some of us don't even have our fathers around. So I would find it really fucking satisfactory if you would shut the hell up so I can hear what the teacher is fucking saying,"by the time I was finished her eyes were filled with tears, but I didn't care. She needed someone to give her a slap in the face.

The rest of the class, including Mr Acklefield, was staring at me, some in disbelief and others in awe.

I expected to be sent out of the class, but instead the teacher gave me a slight nod and went back to his lecture.

Annie, on the other hand was having a complete meltdown. And nobody cared, not even her so called friends. I didn't have one ounce of sympathy for her, she deserved everything she got.

I settled into my chair and listened to what Mr Acklefield was saying. Amazingly chem was making sense to me for the first time in my life.
~*~*~

Walking into the cafeteria was strange. People cleared a path for me to get through the crowds, like I was some kind of hero or something. And that wasn't even the strangest thing. People were smiling at me, it was kinda creepy because I doubt any of those people knew me.

Must be how it feels to be popular.

Looking around the room I wasn't overwhelmed at my choices. Usually Tara and I sat near the middle of the cafeteria, but since she wasn't here I was basically a loner. At our school there was a pecking order, so to speak. on the right side of the room were the cheerleaders, jocks, just the hot people in general. The further left you got, the less socially acceptable the people were, so on the other end of the spectrum there were the nerds, goths, exchange students. The misfits. That's why we sat in the middle, we liked to stay neutral. I mean hell, it's just a table.

"Sunshine, sunshine, over here!"

I face palmed. That over excited voice was unmistakably Ryan's.

I turned my head to the right side of the room. He was standing and waving his arms as if he was directing a plane onto a runway.

Talk about embarrassing.

I sighed and meandered over to the table where Ryan was. Thankfully he was seated.

He grinned as I approached and patted the seat beside him. I flopped onto the seat.

Occupying the four other seats were four guys, three of which were at the creepy house that Archie directed me to. I knew the other guy from my art class but I couldn't remember his name.

"So,"Ryan said, looking at me,"how was chem?"

"Uhh...fine, why?"

"Anything interesting happen?"

Anything interesting happen? what kind of a question is that? Of course nothing interesting happened, it was chem after all.

"Not that I'm aware of,"I said, furrowing my eyebrows confusedly.

"It's already on youtube,"one of the other guys said, sliding his phone across the table.

I peered at the screen. I could see myself and Annie in the frame. Oh.

"Oh, yeah that happened,"I admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"That's why everyone is acting so weird,"I said to myself.

The conversations seemed to flow and I became more comfortable with them as time went on. I learned that the three guys from the creepy house were called Lee, Justin and Kyle. And the guy from my art class was called Alex.

"Did you know that my mom called me a son of a bitch yesterday?"Justin laughed, which made us all laugh.

I laughed so much that I almost cried during that lunch break. I hadn't laughed that much since Caleb left and damn, it felt good.
~*~*~

Chapter 4 completed!

Not edited so...yeah.

Any suggestions for who to play Caleb?

I was also thinking that I might kill off a character. Thoughts on that?

Until next time.