"You look cute today." Hunter tells me, laying on top of my bed with his hand behind his head. I roll my eyes, exiting the bathroom and picking up my bag. I point to the window and raise my eye brows. He scuffs and gets up reluctantly, climbing out of the window and closing it. I sigh with relief and walk out of my room, downstairs to the kitchen to grab a banana. Sterling was already downstairs eating the remains of his cereal and Mason was standing next to him.

"Mace, please tell me your driving us and I don't have to sit through another 'lesson' my brother gets on driving." I beg, peeling the banana and smiling at the yummy breakfast I chose. Mason raises his eyebrow and smirks at me as I put it in my mouth so I do the only thing I could think of- bite maliciously into it. He sharply inhales, making Sterling chuckle and choke on his cereal. These two were a pair.

We banter for a bit in the kitchen and soon head out to Mason's truck to go to school. Mason was a senior and Sterling was a junior, the same as me. Ever since we were little, they had been best friends- inseparable. Mason was shorter for his age, and had a bit of a baby face. His brown locks put in a pre-2012 Justin Bieber hair do and his muscles making him resemble a short body builder made his character all that more funny. He may be one of the gentlest people I've ever met. "Rubes, who were you talking to earlier, I heard noises from your room?" Sterling pipes up, making my eyes go wide for a split second.

"Myself... I am a very, uh, intriguing person." I blurt out, making myself seem so conceited or just plain dumb. Hunter had decided to enter the bathroom while I was taking a shower to go pee, and then peek at my nakedness in the bath. Pervert.

After we had arrived at school, parking was a big issue. Every morning, the whole student body decided to hang out in the parking lot like it was some kind of free-for-all. After we parked, I fled the car and headed to the school to my first period class.

Halfway through the day, lunch finally came around. My classes had been laid back due to real coming up next week so I didn't have much work to do. Walking out to the football field, I sit in the bleachers, watching my brother and Mason play ball with a few of their teammates. "Hello, darling." Hunter smiles, coming up the bleachers and sits next to me. I shake my head at him.

"What would my brother say if he saw you talking to me?" I ask him, thinking of all the possibilities- murder, torture, kidnapping, blackmail, threats...

"More importantly, what would I care?" He smirks, making my stupid heart skip a beat. Hunter was the kind of guy who didn't give any effort in life and got everything he wanted. Good grades, swooning girls, endless money from his neglectful parents, popularity enough for five people. He was a stud, with his black hair that he threw back in a man bun most days, perfect eyebrows, sharp jawline and these amazing gray eyes that made even the most cold hearts melt; not to mention his lean body completed with abs.

"How long are you gonna pretend to be sweet?" I chuckle, shaking my head. He had this school wrapped around his little finger, acting like the sweetest boy ever when in truth, he was a nightmare. He shrugs and drapes an arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Oh by the way, I like you naked. You should wear less clothes." He laughs, making me shoot up. I hated him sometimes, his idiotic comments always angered me. I start to make my way down the bleachers to the ground, hearing him follow me. "Princess, wait up! I was just kidding. I like the whole sweatpants and Tshirt look too."

"If this is you trying to fix things, you aren't succeeding." I call out to him, reaching the grass. My brother smiles at me as he looks in my direction. I feel Hunter sling his arm around me once again while makes my brother's smile falter. Hunter pulls me in the direction of the exit and I allow him to, giving Sterling a small wave goodbye. The two boys hated each other with a passion. No one knows what happened to them because until they entered sixth grade, then and mason used to be the three amigos.

"So, my love, are you going to the party tonight?" Hunter asks me, pulling me as close to his side as I could physically get. I shake my head, knowing I was in big trouble with mom for last night.

"Can't, have to... help mom tonight." I lie, knowing he could see right through me. A frown appears on his handsome face which makes me feel a bit sad. For some reason he loved to go to parties with me, he loved to hang around me. It was as if we were conjoined twins, never leaving each other's sides.

When we finally stop walking the halls, were in front of my seventh period class. I smile at him for walking me here and he pulls me in for a hug. I initially resist his effort to show affection but soon melt into his arms, feeling so safe and cozy. He had a way of making my body ignore my brain. "See you tonight." He winks, walking off to his next class as the bell rings and the hall floods with students.

-____-

"Go ahead, have a good time at the party." Mom chimes, waving goodbye to Sterling. He was wearing skinny jeans and a plain white tee, his black hair spiked up and his face freshly shaved. He had a semi sharp jawline and a cleft chin, which he used to get teased about a lot. His big brown eyes were hidden behind a pair of aviators and I notice he put in his gauges. Sterling waved back at mom as he hopped in the truck with Mason, who was wearing almost the exact same thing. He had a hint of a mustache but Mason didn't grow much facial hair. It was weird seeing my brother, who looked like a regular 17 year old, look so different from his friend of the same age who looked like a tween.

After they leave, mom locks the from door and turns to look at me, anger in her eyes. I had broken her favorite vase and was gonna pay for it right now. She grabs me by my waist length red hair and drags me into the kitchen. There at the table sat her husband, Lance. He made my stomach churn, all the unnecessary stares, peeping and abuse adding to the discomfort and disgust.

Tugging my hair again, I'm thrown against the island and feel a crack in my neck. She wasn't playing nice to start out this time. Curling up into a ball, I feel her foot slam into my legs and back. With every kick, my tolerance for the pain wears thin. Soon I whisper out in hurt, earning a chuckle from her. Lance just sits there, eating his mac and cheese nonchalantly. This was a regular day for me. My mom beat the living hell out of me and I got sexually harassed by her new hubby. She had been awful ever since my dad left her, trying to get custody of us until his untimely death.

"Now go upstairs and don't come out." Mom snarls, kicking me one last time. I slowly stand up, dashing to my room as she and Lance make out in the kitchen. Quietly closing the door, I lock it and start a bath. Bruises were starting to form on my legs from what I could se wand I didn't even want to look at my back. Getting into my bath, I try to let all my worries go for the night.

My hair tinted the water from the red dye reflecting on the water, which made it look all bloody. I needs to stop Kool-Aid dipping it, but mom would never buy me hair dye. Plus, she wouldn't let me get a job, neither Sterling or I could because she 'wasn't going to be seen as that kind of parent', whatever that meant.

My short stature allowed me to lay flat in the bath, fully submerged in the water. Girls at school liked to poke fun at me because my proportions were off. I had a nice butt and big boobs so they'd call me 'top heavy' because I was 4'9". They actually thought I might fall over one day. Compared to Hunter, who was 6'4", I looked like a midget. Well, I kinda was in that sense. 

After I got out of the bath, I brushed my long hair and put on one of Hunter's t-shirts I had confiscated. Getting into my bed, I snuggled in the five layers of covers and soon fell asleep.

Which was short lived when I felt a body lay next to me and envelope me in a hug, positioning himself to be comfortable. I shake my head as Hunter's almost nude body (except for his boxers) tangles with mine and adds an extra sense of warmth and protection. "I thought you went to that party?" I ask softly, laying my arms into of his and drawing circles on his skin.

He nuzzles his head into the crook of my neck and mumbles, "I'd rather be here for you." I smile in the total darkness, feeling so safe and sound with him next to me. He was truly a prince when he was like this- sweet and caring.