My final minutes at work were interrupted by the chime of my phone announcing a new text.

"I'm outside," Micah said, and I gestured to Hazel across the store that it was time for us to go.

Luckily, Abi and James didn't mind if my friends hung around the store in the afternoons as long as they didn't interfere with the customers or make too much noise. On that particular night, Hazel and I had ridden to Claywood with Micah after school so that we could ride to a party together once Micah and I got off work.

After a quick goodbye to Abi, we both ran out of the store and jumped into Micah's truck. One of our classmates was throwing a party while their parents were out of town, and basically, anyone who wanted to come was invited. I was more than a little nervous about my first high school party, but Micah had insisted it was like a rite of passage, and I was determined to live my senior year to the fullest.

"Is Oliver coming?" I asked idly while buckling my seatbelt.

"Yeah, he's meeting us there. What about Lawrence?" He asked, glancing over at me momentarily while keeping one eye on the road.

I was upset to notice the reluctance in his voice when he asked about Lawrence. He and my friends still hadn't exactly meshed. They were civil when they were around each other, but I'd noticed that they seemed to try to avoid being around each other as much as possible.

"Not sure. I mentioned it to him, but he didn't really say anything about it," I shrugged.

"Oh, I forgot," Hazel exclaimed. "Ari, I brought you a shirt to change into. You can't go to your first high school party in your work shirt."

She bent forward and started digging through her backpack, completely missing my cringe. I wished I had thought to bring my own shirt and wasn't looking forward to seeing Hazel's choice. My style and Hazel's weren't anywhere near the same.

I almost groaned out loud when she pulled out a fitted, low-cut purple sweater. I didn't really do sweaters or anything low cut. I decided not to argue because high school parties weren't exactly my thing either, and I might as well get used to being out of my comfort zone.

Seeing no other option, I grabbed the sweater from Hazel's hands and changed shirts right there in the passenger's seat of Micah's truck. Once it was on, I apprehensively pulled at the bottom of the sweater, attempting to force it into covering the sliver of pale skin showing above the waistline of my jeans.

"It's supposed to be like that. Leave it alone," Hazel commented, swatting at my hands.

When we pulled up outside of a secluded house in the woods with a long line of vehicles parked on the side of the road, I knew we had reached the party. Stepping out of the truck, I took a calming breath and tried again to force the sweater to cover more of my torso. Not only was a bit of my stomach showing, but there was too much cleavage visible to anyone who wanted to look. Uncomfortable, I sighed. It was the type of thing River would typically wear, and I'd make fun of her for it.

When we walked through the front door of the house together, I was relieved to see that there weren't as many people present as I had feared. I'd expected the entire school to show up since it was an open invitation, but it didn't look like everyone had come. It was definitely crowded, just not as bad as I'd expected. Making our way through the small crowd in the hallway, I attempted to avoid bumping into anyone. I spotted Julian across the kitchen and gave him a small nod of acknowledgment while I continued to follow behind Micah. I planned to stick close to my friends, having no desire to be on my own in the overwhelming environment.

"Well, here I am. What are your other two wishes?" A voice said from behind me, and I shook my head.

"Where do you get all these pickup lines, Oliver?" I asked without even bothering to turn around.

"Google, of course," he responded like it was obvious, causing Micah and Hazel to laugh lightly. "You guys should come downstairs. It's a little less crowded down there. There's a pool table too."

Micah grabbed two cups from the guy in charge of the keg and tried to pass them to Hazel and me. Hazel took hers, but I refused the one meant for me.

"You go ahead. I'll drive if you want," I said. I'd heard alcohol could cause people to lose control of themselves, and I just didn't have the privilege of letting go like my peers.

Micah shook his head and passed the cup over to Oliver, who sat it down on the counter.

"Can't. My dad will be waiting when I get home. He's looking for any reason to kick me out of the house," Micah explained.

I felt saddened at the mention of Micah's father. He didn't bring him up often, but when he did, he hadn't hidden the fact that he didn't exactly see eye to eye with the man. He apparently couldn't accept that his only son was gay. My life hadn't been great, but I had never once doubted my parents' love for me.

Oliver led the way downstairs with the rest of us following behind, trying not to lose sight of him in the crowd. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I was pleased to see that he was right about it being less crowded. It was surprising more people weren't trying to play pool. It looked like most people were more interested in drinking, dancing, and trying to hook up.

Our group made our way to the far side of the room and leaned against the wall to watch the show unfold around us. I found myself amused by the couples making out without a care in the world that they were in a room full of people. Teenage hormones obviously overrode any shyness. Others had made a makeshift dance floor out of one half of the room. A couple guys were making use of the pool table while others stood around, watching like we were.

We were only standing there for a couple of minutes when Hazel nudged my arm and gestured towards the stairs with her head. Lawrence was coming down the stairs towards us, his eyes already locked on me. I admired the way he looked in his light grey long sleeve polo shirt that was pulled tight across his chest. When he reached our group, he leaned over and dropped a chaste kiss to my lips like it was completely natural, and he'd done it a million times before, catching me off guard.

I noticed how Micah and Oliver's conversation fell silent at Lawrence's arrival, but I chose to ignore it. I had hope that we could all get along once they got to know Lawrence without it being awkward.

"Love the sweater," Lawrence whispered in my ear, and I gave him a look, making it clear that I didn't share his sentiment while pulling at the material once again. All that accomplished was making more cleavage show at the top. Sighing dejectedly, I decided to just give up.

Hazel slid to the side, making room for Lawrence to lean against the wall between the two of us, and he took the opportunity to slide an arm around my shoulders, holding me tight to his side.

"Hey, you want to play a game of pool?" He asked. The guys who had been playing had just finished their game. So, I nodded, trying to keep my face blank and not give anything away. I had spent countless hours killing time by playing pool on Lucien's table, and I'd gotten really good over the years.

Surprisingly, my friends actually followed us over to the table to watch, their curiosity momentarily overruling their desire to keep their distance from Lawrence.

"Ladies first," Lawrence said, gesturing to the table when he finished racking the balls.

With a smug smirk in his direction, I leaned over the table and struck the cue ball solidly, making the balls scatter across the table, and two stripes drop into the pockets. After four more shots, I finally missed one and looked up from the table to find Lawrence staring at me in surprise while my friends all tried to hide their laughter. Lawrence shook his head at me with a grin and moved towards the table to take his own shot.

When he was lining up to take his third shot in a row, someone tapped me on the shoulder, drawing my attention away from the table. I was barely able to hide my flinch of surprise at the unexpected touch. A boy a few years younger than us with shaggy red hair and a face covered in freckles stood behind me, shifting from foot to foot nervously. He seemed somewhat familiar, but I couldn't place him.

"Can I help you?" I asked in a friendly tone.

"Aren't you Julian's sister?" He asked in return in a shy voice, and I felt a prickle of unease shoot up my spine when I nodded. "You need to come upstairs. There's a problem."

I immediately tossed my pool stick to Micah and shot up the stairs, unsure if my friends were following or not and not really caring. A commotion could be heard from the living room, and I followed the noise, somehow knowing that's where I would find my brother. Stepping into the living room, I had to pause to take in the scene before me. The crowd of teenagers had all gathered around the edges of the room, and in the center, some girl that I had never seen before had River by the hair and was screeching something that I couldn't make out in a tone that only dogs should be able to hear.

Julian was standing nose to nose with a guy I'd seen around school a few times but had never talked to. Before I even had a chance to step forward, I saw the boy's lips move, saying something I couldn't hear over the ungodly noise coming from the girl who had ahold of River. Something flashed in my brother's eyes right before he took a swing at the guy's face. I muttered a curse and started moving in their direction.

Julian's fist connected with the guy's cheekbone, making a soft sound I was overly familiar with from training.  Before he could even pull his hand back, two of the guy's buddies stepped out of the crowd and moved towards Julian. At the same time, another girl jumped in to help the girl currently trying to drag River to the floor.

With a sigh of annoyance, I grabbed the main girl off of River. Shoving her towards the guys, I forced them to pause in their advance towards Julian to catch the girl from hitting the floor. Everyone's surprise presented the opportunity I needed to try to find out what was going on.

"What is the problem?"

"That bitch just came out of one of the bedrooms with my boyfriend!" The girl screeched, making me wince while she pointed at River.

So far passed fed up with River's drama, I sighed again, shooting her a disapproving look.

"He told me they broke up," River said, shrugging like it was no big deal. Her eyes scanned the guy Julian had been fighting with appreciatively before landing back on me. "Besides, I don't need your help. Stay out of my business."

I looked at her in surprise, unable to believe she was rejecting my presence even in a moment like this. When I noticed the girl gearing up to go for River again, I paused, allowing the girl to get in one good swing to River's face before stepping in and shoving her back again. As far as I was concerned, River deserved that one.

The girl did not take kindly to me shoving her again. She turned and took a swing at me, attempting to slap me across the face like she had just done to River. I jerked my head back, narrowly avoiding the girl's hand. My aggravation reached a new level. Had I not just allowed her to get a hit in out of the kindness of my heart? Grabbing the girl's wrist, I twisted it behind her back, forcing her to the floor and ignoring her cry of pain. Her friend tried to come to her rescue, but with a hand to her stomach, I gave her one good shove, forcing her to stumble back into the crowd of onlookers.

The guy River had been upstairs with stepped forward in an attempt to save his girlfriend, who was currently eating carpet. Without bothering to turn, I jerked my arm back, elbowing him in the face, and he stumbled back a few steps with a curse.

A light, familiar chuckle reached my ears, and I knew my friends had arrived.

Julian took the guy's moment of weakness as his opportunity to get back in the fight. He shoved one guy away from me, and they both started swinging. I felt an arm slide around my waist from behind, and on instinct, I reached over my shoulder, grabbed a handful of the person's shirt, and dropped to one knee. His weight and momentum allowed me to easily swing him over my body, and a loud grunt escaped the guy as he slammed into the floor at my feet.

With that, the others that had been advancing came to a stop, deciding to leave me alone. I stepped over the two people at my feet and grabbed the shoulder of the guy Julian was still fighting. Swinging him around to face me, I landed a solid punch to his jaw, knocking him out cold despite not using my full strength.

"You're right. You totally didn't need my help," I said to River with a smirk.

Knowing it was time for us to leave, I turned and walked towards the front door. When I noticed my friends following me onto the front porch, I glanced at Micah.

"You can stay if you want. I can call someone to come get me," I said, already pulling my phone out to call Lucien, but he was already shaking his head.

"No, it's fine. I'll take you guys home."

Giving him a look that I hoped conveyed my appreciation, I agreed and glanced at my siblings. River had a busted lip and a bruise already forming on one cheek. Shaking my head, I didn't even bother saying anything to her. She'd never listen to anything I had to say anyway.

Julian had a bruise forming on his chin, a busted lip, and a split above his left eye.

"You good?" I asked, and he nodded sullenly.

When I turned to walk towards Micah's truck, I felt a hand wrap gently around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. I turned to see Lawrence staring at me with a strange mixture of admiration and curiosity.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked, running a thumb along my cheekbone soft as a feather.

I shrugged evasively, having no idea how to explain my training to someone outside my family without being vague. I abhorred lying, especially to someone I was trying to build a relationship with. So, I decided to stick to the truth without including any actual details. For the billionth time in my life, I wished I could just be normal like everyone else. What I wouldn't give to have a normal life with normal problems.

"Lucien wanted me to be able to defend myself," I said with another shrug, stretching onto my tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. I was hoping to distract him from asking any more questions, and luckily it worked like a charm.

He swiftly turned his head, catching my lips with his own. He pressed his lips firmly to mine, sliding his tongue along my bottom lip, asking for entrance. Before I could respond, a throat-clearing nearby brought me to my senses, and I pulled away.

My group of friends and my siblings were all standing nearby, trying to look anywhere but at us. Stepping out of Lawrence's arms, I took a step towards the group that was clearly waiting for me.

"I'll text you later," I said softly and turned to follow the others to Micah's truck.

Oliver broke off from the group since he had driven himself to the party. Once we were all piled into the cab of Micah's truck like sardines, with me sitting on Hazel's lap, Micah drove away from the party with silence filling the cab. I was sure if my siblings weren't present, Micah and Hazel would have plenty to say, but with River's usual attitude, no one knew how she would react. So, everyone just got lost in their own thoughts. Thankfully, it didn't take long to reach our house, where we could all escape the awkward atmosphere of the truck.

"Thanks for the ride," I muttered while my siblings slid out of the truck.

"Anytime."

Unlocking the front door, I swung it open and stepped inside only to come to a sudden halt. I was vaguely aware of someone bumping into my back, but I didn't budge.

Directly in front of me, coming out of the kitchen, was a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties. She had golden-brown hair that fell to her waist in gentle waves and long tan legs on clear display since she was only wearing one of my uncle's shirts. Her face paled when her eyes landed on us, and she dashed up the stairs with an embarrassed squeak.

We all stood awkwardly in the doorway until Uncle Ben walked out of the kitchen, pausing when he saw us standing in the still-open doorway. His face instantly flushed bright red, and I had to bite my lips closed to stop the building laughter from escaping. I leaned over and whispered something into Julian's ear, and he nodded subtly while we all continued to stare at each other. Uncle Ben's mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish out of water, and I could no longer contain it. A quick bark of laughter burst out of me before I was able to control myself once again.

"What are you guys doing here?" He finally found his voice.

"We live here," I replied sarcastically.

"What kind of teenagers come home from a party this early?" He muttered quietly to himself. "Wait. Are they bleeding?" He suddenly sounded concerned as he pointed between Julian and River while giving me a questioning glance.

Without a word, River shouldered her way past me and headed upstairs.

"We're fine. Just a small situation at the party," Julian replied with a shrug while sliding something into my hand.

I had to fight back the grin trying to take over my face as I walked towards the kitchen. When I passed my uncle, I patted his bare chest and let go of the small foil wrapper in my hand, causing him to reach up and catch it on instinct.

"You can have this back. I think you need it more than I do," I said, laughter clear in my voice while I watched his blush spread from his cheeks all the way to his ears.

Without another word, I finally lost the fight and walked into the kitchen cackling. Julian's loud laughter joined my own, filling the first floor of the house.

Hearing my phone ringing, I pulled it from my pocket to see Lawrence was calling.

"Hello," I answered.

"Hey, did you make it home okay?"

I nodded before remembering that he couldn't see me. "Yeah, we just got here."

"Can I stop by?"

"Actually, I'm kind of tired. I think I'm just going to go to bed. Maybe you can come by when I get off work tomorrow?" I responded, and he instantly agreed before we both said goodbye.

On my way out of the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of Julian through the window in the backdoor. I was so distracted by my phone call that I hadn't even noticed him walk past me to get outside. Stepping closer to the door to peer out the window, I saw him sitting in one of the patio chairs, leaning over with his head in his hands. I hesitated only a moment before going out and dropping into the chair next to him.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked gently, not wanting to push him away. I hated it when someone tried to force me to talk when I just wanted to be left alone.

His fingers gripped his platinum blond hair, and his shoulders tightened. "Do you have any problems with anger since-..."

"Since Mom and Dad were killed?" I finished his sentence for him when it became obvious that he couldn't force the words out. He glanced over at me, and I saw his bloodshot eyes were filled with tears, but none spilled over. "Yeah, I have," I said with a sigh, leaning back in the chair to get comfortable for this conversation that I knew would be anything but. "Not really often, but I have. My biggest struggle is guilt, but there's definitely some anger mixed in there as well."

"It seems like it comes out of nowhere sometimes. Like tonight. I was just talking to the guy about lying to River about his girlfriend, and when he smarted off, this rage just took over. What he said wasn't even that bad, but I had no control at all. That never happened before-...." Again, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Does it happen often?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah, pretty much," he said, nodding his head and not meeting my eyes. "I almost hit someone at least once a week, but I can usually hold myself back. Tonight, was worse."

Ignoring the pain it caused, I reached over and gripped his shoulder in a silent show of support. "I think maybe it would be good for you to train with me and Lucien. I should have offered before. It's a good release for all the negative feelings. It helps me... most of the time."

"It's worth a shot, I guess," he said while rubbing roughly at his eyes.

Feeling like he might want some space, I stood up to go back inside the house. Just as I reached the door, I heard his voice again.

"Thanks, Ari," he said quietly.

I glanced at him over my shoulder guiltily. "I'm sorry that I didn't notice you needed help before."

"It's not your fault," he said, shrugging one shoulder and staring into my eyes.

With one last small smile, I left him alone and went up to my floor to try to get some sleep.