I groaned as my alarm went off for school. Been doing this for way too long and yet I've still not gotten used to hearing that cursed ring of my alarm. I'm still dead inside, seeing the sun rising, and having little sleep to run on for the rest of the day.

I'm organised when it comes to my schoolwork but it comes to my sleep schedule, that's fucked. Forget it, it's either I can go to sleep early or I can go to sleep late, depends how I'm feeling. And yesterday I went to sleep late, almost 3am.

I'm a dumbass for that decision but damn Jack for keeping me awake throughout the night while we watched movies since he wanted me to witness the marvellous film that is Star Wars. I didn't think he would enjoy those movies but I was proved wrong.

He was intensely focused on the films with such interest and even explained a lot of the scenes to me since I got confused at times. It was nice to see him like that, letting his guard down and letting me get to know more about him.

"Looks like it's time to get up princess," Jack's voice came from behind me, making my eyes open wide.

Wait what the fuck?

I looked down at the arms wrapped around my waist to confirm what I was thinking. Shit, I must have fallen asleep in his arms while we were watching TV together in his room. Crap, Lisa cannot see us like this. We just got together last night, the last thing I need is a bunch of questions thrown my way first thing in the morning.

I was ready to practically roll out of his bed so I could dash downstairs back to my room, well, his, so that Lisa and Max don't notice that I've spent the night in Jack's bed. I froze when a pair of lips was pressed against the side of my neck, slowly going up to my jaw.

I froze, cursing Jack out in my head for this as I bit my bottom lip to prevent myself from moaning. The clear sound of echoing footsteps coming up the stairs frightened me. Bloody hell that better not be my brother or I'm screwed, or more Jack than anything really.

"Jack, stop it, I have to get out of here before your mother or my brother finds us together," I whispered.

"But I want to stay in bed with you in my arms," he whispered into my ear. My cheeks heated up as a shiver ran down my body.

"Maybe another day but not today," I said. He sighed against my neck, tickling my skin. I let out a small laugh as I flinched away. I hate that, I hate when someone or something tickles my skin. It's like a weakness to me.

"Fine but I'm not happy about it," Jack grumbled as he sat up. I rolled my eyes, following his action.

"Wallow in self-pity then," I teased.

"Amy!?" I heard my brother's voice from outside the door.

"Fuck," I cursed as I jumped out of bed. "I was never here," I told Jack before running to the door.

I peeked out, waiting for Max to head back downstairs before I bolted down to my room. I shut the door when I heard my name being called out again. I huffed in relief. Just on time. Now I can get ready and use the bathroom as an excuse as to why I wasn't in my room when Max came up to wake us. I'm safe since no one saw me.

"Morning munchkin," I greeted Catherine once I was done getting ready and met everyone in the kitchen. Jack beat me getting here first and was already having breakfast with my two siblings while Lisa was having her coffee. Catherine giggled as I sat next to her, in front of a plate of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.

"Morning!" Cat exclaimed with a beaming smile.

It was good to see her much better today. I see that yesterday's whole fiasco didn't deter her mood. I'm glad that she's still her bright and happy self after it. Who knows, maybe it's the pancakes that are making her so bubbly this morning.

"Morning little sis," Max said, ruffling my hair. I groaned as I attempted to fix my now messy hair. Both Max and Jack started laughing. Already my hair was a mess since I didn't bother to straighten it today but that didn't mean they had to ruin my perfect ponytail. It's already hard enough to tie it up.

"I hate you both," I grumbled, glaring at the two boys.

"Love you too sis," Max grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"So, what did you two do yesterday before you got home?" Lisa asked. I blushed at the memory of yesterday, especially of the kiss.

"We went to the botanical gardens," I replied. Lisa's eyes narrowed, glancing at me then at Jack. Ok, now it's a little awkward and I'm curious as to what's going through her head. I jumped when she gasped loudly.

"My son finally admitted his feelings to you!" she exclaimed. I almost choked on air but Jack actually did on the water he was drinking as he started coughing.

"Wait what?" Max said, glaring at Jack. Uh shit, he better not start anything.

"I can see the glow on your face young lady and the change in his mood this morning," Lisa pointed out.

I never in my life wanted to hide in a dark room, away from a situation, than I do right now. I wonder if I can make an excuse to get out of this confrontation. How the hell did she even guess that correctly? It can't be that obvious, can it? Surely not. I got to get better at concealing my facial expressions so something like this embarrassing situation never happens again.

"What's she talking about?" Cat asked, looking up at me with curiosity. "Are you together with Jack like mum is with dad?" she questioned.

Oh no, why does this have to happen today? This is so embarrassing, which is what I wanted to avoid. But now I'm stuck in the middle of all of this first thing in the morning of a school day and all I want to do is hide from the world. I didn't even want to explain to Catherine right now anything about Jack and I. I don't know where she got that question from though.

"Uh, no, not like mum and dad," I replied awkwardly to Catherine.

"Are you dating my sister?" Max demanded. Jack glanced towards me as if I had all the answers. Though to be honest, I didn't really know the answer to that question myself because we never made it official.

"Yes, she's my girlfriend," he replied confidently. I smiled but attempted to hide it.

"I'm so happy for you two," Lisa gushed.

"You better not hurt her or you'll regret it Reece," Max threatened.

"I promise I won't, cross my heart and hope to die," Jack said. I'll hold him to that promise.

"Ok, well now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'm just going to head out before I die of embarrassment, excuse me," I said sarcastically and faked a smile. I grabbed the empty plate and put it in the sink.

"Wait, this conversation isn't over!" Max called out but I was already running for the door, grabbing my bag along the way since I had put it by the exit.

Jack followed behind quickly as we made our escape, closing the door behind us before either my brother or his mother could say anything else. Catherine, I'm only a bit worried about because she would be the one to tell our parents. Even if they don't mention anything, she will blurt it out.

She did it when Max got a girlfriend, though that didn't work out very well unfortunately because the woman turned out to be a bitch who only wanted a fling before breaking his heart. No one blames Catherine for telling them but we just can't have her blurting it out unless we want them to know about our relationships. I'd rather wait until I know it's serious.

"You know they're just going to bring it up once we get back, right?" Jack said once we got into his car and drove off. I sighed and rubbed my temple.

"Yes, but it's not a big deal," I mumbled.

"It is if you've spoken to your brother about me in the past," he pointed out.

Crap, I forget that Max knows about that, actually, that my parents and he know about Jack. I complained way too much but I had my reasons and they were valid. But now I have no idea what they're going to do or say about this. I didn't even have enough time to tell Amanda and Sarah last night. Those two are going to get a surprise when we get to school.

"What do you want to do?" Jack asked. He had parked his car out the front of the school.

"Go about as usual I guess," I shrugged. Jack raised a brow.

"You sure about that?" he questioned. I nodded.

"What have we got to hide?" I smiled.

He returned the gesture before we both decided to exit the car. Luckily, no one was staring since it's not like it was the first time I've arrived at school in Jack's car or been around him. Jack grabbed my hand and intertwined them.

I instantly leaned into his side as we walked inside. I'll admit, I was worried to see Dillon and Thalia, more than anyone else in the school. Their reaction is more concerning than the rest of the school's since I know what they're both like, unfortunately.

"Amy Jude Prescott," I heard from behind me after I opened my locker to collect my books for the day.

I spun around to face Amanda standing there with both her hands on her hips and a stern glare. Sarah stood behind her. She shrugged when I glanced at her and threw her hands up in defence, taking a step back. Damn it, she left me to fend for myself against Amanda.

"Amanda Grace Williams," I retorted. She rolled her eyes.

"What is going on between you and Jack? I saw you two holding hands," she demanded. Jack took the opportunity to wrap his arms around my waist and place his head on top of my shoulder. He kissed my cheek.

"She's my girlfriend, got a problem?" he smirked. Amanda narrowed her eyes.

"If you weren't with my best friend, I'd push you into the locker and leave you there to rot for thirty-two years," she threatened in a low, menacing voice. It almost gave me chills. Sarah shivered and stepped back even more with wide eyes while Jack simply raised a brow as he let go of me to stand up straight.

"Thirty-two? Why so specific?" he questioned. She remained silent as she continued to give him the death glare. "Ok then."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Sarah smiled. I smiled back. She walked over to give me a hug, which I returned.

"Thank you, it means a lot," I said. She gave me a nod before stepping back. Amanda sighed in defeat, dropping her head.

"As long as you're happy, then I'm happy for you," Amanda said with a genuine and sincere smile.

"Aw, love you too," I grinned, throwing my arms around her. Amanda laughed as she hugged back.

Once we grabbed our things, we began to walk to the cafeteria. We still had time to spare and we wanted to meet up with John first. He's running late since he had no ride and is now contemplating running here, even though he lives thirty minutes away. It's not going to end well.

I noticed Wayne from across the cafeteria. He was oddly sitting alone, which is unusual. He had his earphones in while it looked like he was drawing in his notebook or something. I contemplated talking to him since I wanted to thank him for confessing everything. It seems like things were back to normal, I guess, since no one was now giving death stares or saying horrendous shit to Jack.

"I'll be back," I told my friends. Jack pecked my lips before removing his arm from around my shoulder to let me walk off. Wayne instantly looked up when I sat in front of him. He took one earphone out and raised a brow.

"Yes?" he said.

"I wanted to say thank you for what you did the other day," I said.

"I didn't do it for you, I did it to teach that bitch not to lie to me again," Wayne grumbled with a scowl.

"Well, still, I appreciate it," I smiled. He looked back down to avoid eye contact after that.

Wayne was about to put his earphones back on when we heard the sound of a chair scraping against the tiled floor and then a loud crash. I jumped and twisted around with wide eyes to see Daniel holding Jack in a chokehold against the wall with one of the seats thrown across the cafeteria, which is where Jack must have been sitting.

Oh fuck, this is not going to go down well. I knew his reaction was going to be ... barbarous but I didn't think it would be this extreme because now this is going to get way out of hand. Maybe I should have waited to 'go public' with our relationship at school.

"Shit, I got to go," I muttered. I quickly shot out of my seat and ran over, but not in time for Dillon to get a punch in. I winced. I can't bear to watch this.

"Fuck you, you piece of shit, stay away from my girlfriend," Dillon's voice boomed throughout the cafeteria. I grabbed Dillon's arm before he could land another punch.

"Dillon! Stop! This is not the way to handle this!" I pleaded but he managed to shove me back, making me stumble into Wayne's arms.

"You ok?" Wayne asked, steadying me on my feet. I simply nodded but emotionally, I wasn't.

Seeing Dillon go from the sweet guy who used to treat me like a princess to someone who became so violent that he pushed everyone away. It makes me wonder what turned him that way. I know I had some part in it but he started to change before shit went down that night at the party, before Jack and I almost kissed, before everything really. I just didn't want to admit it.

"Dillon! Put him down! This is not like you!" Sarah ordered. Dillon simply ignored her and began repeatedly punching Jack in the face. I winced at every blow.

The small number of people in the cafeteria were just watching with amusement, some with their phones in their hands, recording the event as if it were some type of stunt for YouTube views or social media attention. When did people become heartless and useless in school? It's like they became numb to emotions.

"Fuck off Sarah!" Dillon raged. Amanda and I attempted to stop him by grabbing onto his arms again, managing to stop him for a moment but he shook us off easily.

"Ok, this is getting out of hand," Wayne muttered, massaging his temple.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I watched him walk over to the pair.

Wayne grabbed onto Dillon's shoulders and roughly pulled him back until he let go of Jack, making Dillon fall to the floor. I ran over to where Jack was slouched against the wall. I cupped his face into my hands and analysed his wounds as he attempted to keep his eyes open. Fuck, he could have a concussion.

"I feel pain," he mumbled.

"I know, I'm going to take you to the hospital to check your wounds and then you'll feel much better," I reassured him, using my thumb to stroke his cheek as he leaned into my hand.

"I deserved that," Jack said in a low tone. I shook my head as Sarah and Amanda kneeled next to me to help me get him up.

"No, you didn't, no one deserves that," I argued. I put his right arm over my shoulder, while Amanda did the same for his left. Sarah followed behind just in case we needed help. I took a quick glance over at Wayne, who stood over Dillon with a scowl on his face.

"You need to grow up and be a man, act like a fucking adult rather than sulking and fighting," Wayne spat.

"Says you," Dillon glared. Wayne rolled his eyes.

"Great comeback," he muttered. "You lost your girlfriend and now, your sister as well, all because of your inflated ego, this is your fault, now get over it and let Amy go," Wayne said.

The last thing I saw was Dillon's lips turn downwards into a deep frown of sorrow. I looked away, continuing to walk with Jack. I don't know if Wayne knows the details of my breakup with Dillon since I didn't really go around advertising my heartbreak to the school.

It seemed like he did by that last comment. Thalia would have broken up with him to be with Dillon. But as much as I was curious about Wayne knowing, I was more worried about Dillon. Despite how we left off, I feel like there was something more to his behaviour.

"I want to sleep," Jack mumbled, his eyes drooping close and his head dropping down. I used my free hand to turn his face to me.

"I'm going to need you to stay awake for me, ok? I promise you can sleep later but for now, please don't close your eyes," I said softly. He nodded and leaned his head on my shoulder. Once we got to the carpark, we noticed John getting out of his car. His eyes widened as he rushed over to take Amanda's place.

"What happened to him?" John asked with a frown when we got Jack into his car.

"Dillon happened," I replied. He sighed as he face palmed.

"I'm late by fifteen minutes and everything goes to shit," he grumbled. We entered John's car, with Amanda in the front and Sarah and me in the back with Jack. I ran my fingers through his hair as he laid his head on my shoulder.

I just hoped he didn't have a concussion or any serious injuries after that. I can tell he may need a stitch or two. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Lisa. I hate that Dillon took his anger out on Jack.

Of course, he couldn't find any other way to express how he felt other than starting a one-sided fight. He shouldn't even be mad when it's his fault we broke up because he cheated. I don't see how he could have changed so fast while moving here, and not for the better, that's for sure.

What happened to you Dillon?