My first thought about Dove West is that she's gorgeous.

My second thought is that she's as stubborn as the rest of her family. I was willing to accept that maybe she was different, but that was until she slapped me across the face.

I'm sat in the medical wing, an ice pack to my face. I can admit she's strong. But she's reckless.

What a great way to start my day back.

I move to the little rectangular mirror opposite the chair and remove the ice pack from my face. The left-side of my cheek is still a little red, but I look okay otherwise. My hair flops symmetrically on my forehead; every angle of my face on show.

I turn around and bin the ice pack. As I do this, Mr Wright comes in.

"Kite." He says wearily, rubbing his forehead. "Please, sit down."

I do as he says without speaking.

"I am terribly sorry that this is how you've been treated on your first day back. I understand that she may have been provoked-" She, as in, Dove. "But we do not accept assault or physical abuse in this school."

"I wouldn't call it physical abuse, sir." I say. I wasn't trying to back her. I could never imagine myself doing that. I was worried about her family, maybe a little scared, at what they could do. They got the police on me for something I did as a child. I understand what I did was wrong, but I was 7. Did I really have the self-control then that I have now?

"Are you implying she shouldn't be punished?" Mr Wright asks, confused, as he would be.

I lean back on my chair. "I'm just saying that giving her a punishment with my name involved in it will certainly cause more drama than there needs to be."

I watch as Mr Wright contemplates this. "I see where you're coming from, Kite. I understand. But I will need to speak to both of you in my office."

I sigh. "If it needs to be done." I shrug.

Mr Wright nods. "Are you willing to do this now?"

I nod. Better to get it over and done with.

"Alright then." Mr Wright speaks. "Follow me."

We walk out of the medical wing and into the corridor, eerily empty. Which was understandable, since it was lesson time. I think to myself, only first period and already I'd been slapped and taken out of lesson.

Up a flight of stairs, across another corridor. This school was a maze. I run a hand through my hair, something I always did when I was nervous. I really hoped Dove would agree that extra drama from both our families was unnecessary.

But I don't think she would. Why would she back me? The first thing I did when I saw her was give her dirty looks. And I could tell it had affected her. Hurt her, not in a way that she was offended that I had given her looks, but that the looks were back. She didn't owe me anything.

I sigh again, as we reach Mr Wright's classroom. She'd probably be as stubborn as I've already seen.

Mr Wright opens the door and walks in; I follow behind. I turn around, and already seated is Dove, sat at a desk 2 rows back, her right hand pretty red. I stare at the hand, then look at her to see she's smirking. She was happy to see that a mark of her strength had been left on my face.

But clearly I hadn't left her unbranded either.

Mr Wright motions for me to sit next to Dove, and I sigh again, moving to do so. I notice how she moves away from me slowly, so Mr Wright doesn't notice.

He sits in front of us on the table, facing us both, looking at each of our faces in turn.

"Alright, let's begin." He finally speaks. "Dove, as you know, physical abuse is not tolerated in this school."

"In my defense, I was provoked." Dove says simply. I realise that Mr Wright had spoken to her before me.

"I understand that. But you still touched Kite in a way unacceptable."

Dove snorts. "Trust me, in any other situation, I would've done quite the opposite."

Mr Wright sighs. "Obviously, I know the situation between you both, and I understand how hard that can be for both you. But, Dove, Kite has asked for you to have no punishment for your actions."

I look at her. I watch her face become shocked, confused. "And why's that?" She says quietly.

"I think I'll let you two speak for a bit by yourself. You have 10 minutes." Mr Wright simply says, and then gets up and leaves the classroom.

Great. Ten minutes with probably the person I hated most.

Dove stands up and faces me. "Tell me." She says simply.

"We both know how our families would react if they find out that you slapped me. My family would come knocking on your door and start screaming. Your family would-" I hesitate. Was it too rude to say this?

"My family would what." Dove hisses, hatred lacing her every word. Nope, definitely not too rude.

"Your family would call the police on me again." I say, staring dead into her eyes. I watch as a hurtful expression came on her face. Then anger.

And then she begins to laugh sarcastically.

"I don't find this very funny." I say, angry now.

"Neither did I, when you spoke about my family, but here we are." She says, walking to the big glass window and looking outside.

She remains silent.

"So, do you agree with me?" I ask, uncertain.

"Of course the only time you would back me would be because you're saving yourself." Dove states quietly. I feel really uncomfortable. "But whatever." She turns around to face me. "Whatever you want."

I watch as she breathes heavily. It's hard to believe I had this impact on someone. It scared me, sometimes.

"Are you alright?" I ask, genuinely concerned. The way she was breathing didn't seem natural.

"What a stupid question." She says, not giving me an answer, glaring at me.

I glare at her back. I couldn't even be nice without her assuming the worst out of me. Well, I could do the same.

I move back to where I was sat before, and then Mr Wright walks in again. He glances at me and then at Dove, looking out of the window again.

"Dove." He says hesitantly.

She turns around. I notice her eyes are bit red. "I've decided that, for Kite's sake, I will receive no further punishment for slapping him."

"Amazing news, Dove. I'll see you at break for your detention." Mr Wright claps his hands together, pleased we have come to some sort of an agreement.

Dove just stares ahead, lost in her thoughts.

Mr Wright then coughs. "You're both free to leave to your next lesson. There's 5 minutes left."

I cough as well. "I don't know where my next lesson is, sir. I have History." I hear Dove's breath hitch. That meant we had the same lessons.

"Dove, you have History too, don't you?" Mr Wright says, a warning in his tone.

"Yes." She strains out, like she can't actually believe this is happening to her.

"Could you politely take Kite down with you?"

"It would be my pleasure." Dove says sarcastically.

She then walks towards the door and opens it forcefully. I take that as a sign to leave. "Goodbye, sir."

Mr Wright nods in my direction. I exit out of his classroom, and am surprised to see that Dove is waiting for me, and hasn't ran off.

We walk in silence up the flight of stairs located right outside Mr Wright's classroom.

"Thank you." I say awkwardly, to fill the silence.

"Don't." She says. "We are not doing this."

I stay quiet, and focus on her. I watch as she fiddles with her necklace, her bracelet. Anything to not look at me. I watch as she touches something delicately on her face, and then sighs.

Eventually, we reach the History classroom.

"Here we are." Dove says unenthusiastically, and then she walks in straight away.

I wait a few minutes outside to make it look like we didn't come together, and then enter the room. The History classroom is small. Unlike the Art and Mr Wright's classroom, the tables are together to form tables of 6, like in primary school. There are 4 of these in total. I notice Cole and Hugo sat on the same table as-

Oh. Of course. Dove and her friend.

"Ah, Kite." The History teacher says, a short stout woman with a bob of brown hair. "I'm Mrs Lowe. You're free to sit next to your mates if you want, or anywhere else. There's at least 1 spare seat on every table."

"Thank you." I say, and then begin to walk over next to Cole and Hugo. I sit next to Cole, as he pats my back once.

"You're lucky you missed Art, mate." Hugo speaks, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Why?" I ask, curious.

"We were told to draw statues of naked bodies." Hugo says. I burst out laughing. I was anticipating something horrible, but it was just that. Drawings of naked body statues.

"Boys." Mrs Lowe warns, and then she catches my eye. She beams at me.

I turn ahead. I watch as Dove speaks with her friend, smiling happily. She's avoiding my eye contact, trying to distract herself.

Interesting.

"Maya, stop talking. Come hand out the papers." Dove's friend rolls her eyes, and gets up to collect the papers. With no one to speak to now, Dove just lays her head down on the table, crossing her arms and using them as a pillow. Her black hair falls down her back perfectly.

No, I tell myself. I shouldn't be noticing these things.

Maya comes to sit back down after she's finished, and then when she sees Dove has no reaction, just stares at me. I get what she says in her eyes: Don't mess with my friend.

I raise my eyebrows at her: Really?

Maya motions for me to look under the table, and I do, where I'm greeted with her middle finger.

How lovely.

I snort, and I lift my head up. Maya shrugs, acting innocent.

I bet her whole friend group was as snarky as Dove was.

For the rest of the lesson, I just chat with Cole and Hugo, catching up on the 5 years I'd missed.

Ashfield was a small town, so there was only one school: Ashfield Institution. It was massive, though. It had to be, since it was both a primary and high school joined together. For obvious reasons, high schoolers weren't allowed in the primary school, and vice versa, so I don't know how that part of school looks. Since I'd left after I'd finished Year 6, I never knew what the high school looked like either, until now, of course.

For such a small town, a school this big was incredulous.

Suddenly, a bell goes off, and I nearly jump out of my seat.

Cole laughs at me. "You'll get used to it." He says, getting up and lifting his bag onto his shoulder.

I laugh as well, doing the same. With a crisp, "Off to break," from Mrs Lowe, we exit History. As I'm going through the door, I nearly bump into someone. "Sorry." I mutter, before I realise it's Alina Katz and a blonde girl behind her. Alina glares at me, then steps to the side. I walk away with Cole and Hugo, lost in my thoughts.

Out of all Dove's friends, Alina was the one I knew best. As her family was a close family friend of the West's, it was hard not to know. Alina's father had been Dove's mother's defence lawyer, when she was accused.

My head hurts badly, I realise. Whether it's from the slap, or these thoughts, I wouldn't know.

All I want is to stop this pain. And I'm not just talking about the headache.