I had no clue when I actually fell asleep that night, but I'm pretty sure it was way past late. The next morning, when I started to open my eyes, all groggy and half-awake, I was met with a pretty unexpected sight.

Somehow, during the night, I'd rolled over in my sleep, and when I woke up, Luke's face was, like, right there. We were practically nose-to-nose, with only a few inches between us. For a moment, I just stared, frozen in place, still tangled up in his arms. It was seriously awkward. My brain was in full-on panic mode—do I wake him up or try to wiggle out of this mess quietly?

Just as I was debating my escape plan, I glanced back up and saw Luke's distinctive purple eyes starting to open. The second he realised the situation, his eyes went wide, and he shot up like he'd just been electrocuted, letting me go instantly. Judging by the heat creeping up his cheeks, he was just as mortified as I was. "Sorry, must've thought you were a teddy bear or something..."

Awkward? Yeah, that didn't even begin to cover it. It was probably the most embarrassing thing to ever happen in the history of the universe.

Luke stood up, rubbing at his eyes and stretching like he didn't just cuddle his new roommate in his sleep. "We're never talking about this again."

"Agreed." I nodded, trying to sit up as casually as possible—though I managed to lean on my injured arm and winced like an idiot. Great start to the morning.

Then Luke picked up a note from the side table and read it out loud: "'Gone home. Didn't want to wake you, you looked comfy. Can't wait to tell Mum about your new friend.'" He paused, frowning. "Damn, she went back on her own."

Despite being young and cute as a button, Coco was surprisingly pretty independent.

"I'm gonna go call my mum, make sure Coco got home safe. Get ready for school, we've got class in an hour." Luke was halfway out the door when he turned back with his usual laid-back grin. "Oh, and don't forget your sword this time." With that, he disappeared to make his call.

With Luke out of the room, I headed to the bathroom to check on my wound. It looked like the stitches had held up fine—no major bleeding or anything, thanks to Luke. So, I rebandaged my arm, got dressed in my uniform, and prepared to face another day.

When I stepped back out, Luke was still halfway through getting dressed, his hair all over the place and his uniform only half on.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for class," I urged, trying to hurry him up, but he acted like we had all the time in the world.

"You go ahead. I've got something I need to do this morning."

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he could possibly need to do this early. Was it something to do with Coco, or was he just planning to ditch class? I hadn't known him long enough to be sure.

"What do I tell them when they ask where you are?" I asked, grabbing my sword and getting ready to leave.

Luke just shrugged. "Dunno, make something up."

With that, I sighed and headed out, ready to tackle the day solo.

***

Without Luke around, it was a bit of a mission to find the right classroom. This was a lesson I hadn't been to before, and even though my first day had been pretty full-on, I still had no clue where certain room numbers were.

"You look totally lost. What's the problem?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to find Mara standing there, a smug grin on her face as she clapped her hands, clearly enjoying my struggle.

"I'm looking for room 231, but I can't find it, and I'm already late," I admitted with a sigh.

Her pink hair bounced a bit as she chuckled. "Literature with Mrs Holms? I'm in that class too. Come on, I'll show you."

It was weird seeing Mara actually being nice. She'd seemed so cold and distant the day before after pummeling my face in. Maybe she just needed a reason to thaw out a little. Then again, as soon as her chuckling stopped, she was back to her usual self, marching ahead while I followed.

Luckily for me, room 231 wasn't far off. As soon as Mara swung the door open, every eye in the room turned to us. We were both late—Mara, who I already figured was used to the attention, and me, the new kid who was just trying to keep a low profile.

What's the deal with those two? Are they together?

Whispers spread through the room, but the teacher quickly shushed everyone. "Mr Mercia, I presume. I won't ask why you're late. Will your roommate be gracing us with his presence?"

Mara had already taken a seat at the back, leaving me to deal with the teacher on my own. I hoped I wouldn't get into too much trouble.

"He wasn't feeling well this morning," I lied, figuring it was better than nothing.

She gave me a look that said she didn't believe a word, but surprisingly, she let it go. Instead, she pointed to an empty desk. "You can sit over there next to Miss Baxter."

Scanning the room, I spotted the girl from yesterday—the one with the dark, blue-black hair and the perpetually bored expression. Her outfit still didn't follow the school's uniform rules, and she looked just as uninterested in life as before. My arm throbbed just thinking about our last encounter, but I had no choice. I made my way over and took a seat next to her.

Blake didn't say a word the entire lesson. Not to me, not to the teacher, not to anyone. She was like a lone wolf, even more than Mara. But I did catch her glancing at my arm a few times, like she was checking to see if it was okay. Maybe she wasn't as bad as I thought. Still, she was definitely the most mysterious person I'd met so far.

By lunch, there was still no sign of Luke, and I couldn't help but worry. Something seemed off about the way he'd acted after that phone call with his mum.

"Hey, Nathan." Nilla plopped down across from me, her usual cheery grin still managing to shine through the dirt on her face.

"Nilla, what have you been up to?"

She ignored my question, glancing around like she was searching for someone. Then she looked back at me, tilting her head. "Where's Luke?"

Before I could answer, Mara rushed over to our table. "Nathan, you need to come with me. That idiot roommate of yours is in trouble again."

The urgency in her voice made both Nilla and I leap to our feet. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good.

"What happened? I've never seen you this worried," Nilla asked, her usually chirpy voice serious for once.

"It's better if you see for yourselves."

With that, we started running. I had no idea where we were going, but if Luke was in trouble, I wasn't about to sit back and do nothing. He'd looked out for me since the moment I met him, and I wasn't going to let him down now.

***

When Mara finally stopped, Nilla and I found ourselves in front of a small house. It looked cosy and peaceful—definitely not the kind of place you'd expect trouble.

"Where are we?"

Mara didn't answer. She just knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately, revealing a very worried-looking Coco. That's when it hit me—this was Luke's house.

The moment Coco saw me, she rushed over, tears streaming down her face. Without thinking, I wrapped her up in a hug, trying to comfort her even though my own stomach was churning with dread. Something bad had happened. Something really bad.

"Coco, what happened?" I asked gently, kneeling down to her level and wiping her tears away with my thumbs.

"Daddy, he... he..." She choked on her words, unable to get them out, and just buried her face in my chest again.

"Nathan, get your arse in here now!" Mara shouted from inside, sounding angry—but I didn't think it was at me.

I picked up Coco and carried her inside. Nilla, who had been frozen in shock, quickly followed, closing the door behind us.

We headed towards the sound of voices, and when we reached what I guessed was the living room, I froze. The room was a wreck—broken glass everywhere, furniture overturned, like a tornado had torn through it. Whatever had happened here, it wasn't good.

Mara was standing next to an older woman with the same dirty blonde hair as Luke. They were both crowded around the sofa in the centre of the room. As I approached, Coco clung to me even tighter.

"Luke?" I gasped.

Luke was lying on the sofa, unconscious. Blood was still trickling from a nasty wound on his forehead, and his right hand was slashed open.

The woman who looked so much like Luke turned to me, her eyes red and swollen from crying. "You must be Nathan. Coco's told me all about you."

What happened to Luke? Is he going to be okay? Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote!