Scarlett drags her eyes along my body before returning them to my face. "Who's your friend?" I feel like she's looking straight into my soul, picking at every insecurity and flaw that she can find. I can understand how Penny can feel intimidated by this girl.

"Why do you care?" Penny spits. She steps in front of me slightly as amusement dances in Scarlett's eyes.

"It's okay," I reassure her. "I'm Madison." I plaster on a fake smile to try and keep the peace. Scarlett grins mischievously, flicking her fiery red hair over her shoulder.

She places her hand on Penny's shoulder. Her manicured nails look like claws that are ready to rip her to shreds. "I didn't know you had friends, Penelope."

Penny grits her teeth, seeming irritated by her continuous use of her full name.

"You see me with Brody all the time."

The employee from earlier comes back at the perfect time with our food. I grab the bag out of his hands and thank him.

"Well, it was nice to meet you," I lie. "But we need to go before this gets cold." I raise the bag, my eyes flickering from her innocent-looking smile to her piercing eyes.

I hold onto Penny's arm, dragging her away from Scarlett and out of the restaurant. She doesn't move willingly. She would stay rooted to the spot if she could, death staring her for the rest of the night.

We both get into the car. She grips onto the wheel tightly. I roll down my window to let some air in because it looks like she needs it. She's flustered and her face is growing redder by the second.

"I strongly dislike that girl." She clenches her jaw.

*

I flick through the pages of my textbook, scanning over the words but not really taking them in. We all have a free period on a Monday morning, so we're sat in the library attempting to study. Emphasis on attempting.

"Can you believe her?" Penny growls for the third time this hour. See what I mean when I said attempting to study? She has been constantly talking about what happened at the restaurant since Saturday. I can't say that I blame her though.

"Don't listen to her," Brody advises. "You're giving her what she wants."

I close my textbook, deciding against flicking through the pages to make it look like I'm studying, and instead focus on the conversation.

"Yeah," I throw him a side glance. "He's right. You've got to show her you don't care."

"Easier said than done." A scowl is still engraved on her face.

The librarian that has been staring at us since we walked in saunters over towards our table. She pushes her glasses into her hair to keep it from falling in her face. Penny and Brody are too busy talking about Scarlett to notice her stood at the head of our table.

"Libraries are for studying, not gossiping with your friends." Her nasal voice surrounds us as her accusing eyes pass over our hunched forms.

They finally notice her presence as they turn their heads towards her. She gives us one last irritated roll of her eyes before going back over to reordering the shelves with her head held high.

"We weren't even being that loud," Penny insists.

Her words are true for me and Brody but not quite for herself. She has been getting louder and louder the more she gets agitated. If you haven't noticed, she's been very agitated. "Libraries are for studying." She mocks with a scoff.

I find myself looking out the window when she continues complaining about Scarlett. I watch people as they walk past, trying to guess what they're talking about or where they're going. It can't be far seen as they're all stuck in school but it's still fun.

It's crazy to think that people around you have their own lives, hopes, and dreams and that to them you're just a passing stranger they see from time to time. They don't know anything about you, and you know nothing about them. But one little thing can bring you together. Suddenly, they're no longer a stranger, they're a friend or even more than that.

You're spending most nights at their house, learning everything about each other and laughing at your favourite shows. If you weren't in that one place at that one time or you didn't make that one decision, then you would be completely oblivious to each other.

Archer makes his way past the window. I find it ironic that he would walk past. If I didn't make the decisions I did or go through what I've been through, I would have never come to America. I wouldn't have met Archer, Penny or Brody.

If I happened to pass them in the street one day, I wouldn't know who they were. I wouldn't know that Penny has watched every twilight film back-to-back without break or that Brody once burnt down his kitchen experimenting. They would just be another face in a sea of people.

This is when I notice the girl walking alongside him. It's a different girl to the one at the game. He's kicking stones as he walks and staring off into the distance.

She's constantly talking, only stopping a few times to catch her breath. I almost feel bad because he looks like he isn't paying her any attention.

They walk out of sight. "My dad called last night." I hear Brody say as he fidgets with his hands. Penny's face falls just like it did on Saturday, and I start to get worried.

She takes it upon herself to explain to me what has happened in the past with him and his dad. He doesn't seem in the right state to take a trip down memory lane, so he pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts typing aimlessly.

She tells me that his dad remarried a couple of years ago which came as a shock to them. They had no idea that he wasn't happy in their relationship, in their family. To them, he seemed happy but deeper down he was hiding his doubts.

Apparently, Brody's mum hasn't been the same since the day her husband left, she hasn't been smiling as much.

"What did he say?" I ask.

He takes a deep breath, his gaze glued to one of the books on the table. "He wants me to go see him sometime," my lips part slightly in shock, "maybe during fall break."

Penny narrows her eyes. "He has some nerve asking you to go see him when-" She starts but he cuts her off. She purses her lips.

"-I think I'm going to." He reveals unexpectedly.

"Are you out of your mind?" Penny's eyes are wide and frantic. I nudge her with my elbow and give her a pointed look. She gets the message and clears her throat, trying again. "I mean, are you sure you're ready for that?"

"Yeah, that's a big move," I add.

His pain-filled eyes pour into ours. "I honestly have no idea."

*

"I can't do question four." Penny groans, thrusting her hand up into her hair. We both decided that we would do our homework together tonight. We planned on helping each other but I haven't been much help so far.

"Skip it," I give her my best advice. "That's what I've been doing."

She tilts her head slightly, pondering whether to listen to me. "Alright," she shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly and moves onto the next question.

Barely five seconds later she drops her pen onto the paper and looks at me. "How many have you skipped?"

"Not much," my eyes scan my sheet. "Maybe around ten." I chew the end of my pencil before attempting to draw another diagram.

"And how many questions have you actually answered?"

I flick through the pages of blank questions until I find the ones that I've written under. "Three."

She shakes her head in amusement as she plugs her earphones into her ears. I don't understand how she can do homework when she's listening to music. I can barely do it now and it's practically silent.

She has answered more questions than me though so maybe whatever she's listening to is helping her...or maybe she's just smarter than me. I wish it were the former rather than the latter.

"I need a break," I announce out of the blue.

"Already?" She raises her eyebrows in disbelief.

I give her a cheesy grin. "Yep." I unfold my legs and get off the bed. "I'm going to find something to eat. You want anything?"

"Bring the hot Cheetos," is her only request.

I skip down the stairs and slide into the kitchen. Remembering that Archer got something from the cupboard next to the oven the other day, I open that one. A satisfactory smile fights its way onto my face once I see all the snacks piled in it.

"Jackpot." I sing enthusiastically.

I grab the hot Cheetos for Penny and lick my lips as I choose what I want. There's Cheez-Its, Pop-Tarts, Airheads, Chex Mix, and a bunch of other things. The only thing I find that I turn my nose up at is the Reese's Cups.

"She's getting on my nerves." A voice echoes into the room. I almost hit my head on the cupboard. My eyes grow wide.

It's Archer, I recognise his voice instantly. My gaze shifts to the stairs to see if Penny's watching me and when I see that she isn't, I creep towards the room. He must be on the phone with someone.

I know I shouldn't be spying on him but it's too late now. I hide behind one of the walls, so I'm out of sight.

"She was all over me, Ty." He paces around the room with his phone pressed to his ear. I'm guessing Ty is short for Tyler. He sits down on the sofa before standing back up again moments later, walking towards the TV.

I cringe at what he's saying. I should go back upstairs and do the rest of my homework. Penny's probably wondering why I'm taking so long.

I turn my back to Archer but find myself turning around again. I shouldn't be listening to his conversation, it's probably private.

"And then she tried to play the 'you'll never find anyone as good as me' card." He scoffs.

I hold my breath and lean further forward so I can see better, risking being caught if he looks in my direction.

He pauses to press his phone to the other ear. His mouth is set into a straight line and his face is void of emotion. "She knew what she was getting into, it's her own fault for not listening."