|chapter two:: not so welcoming|

A groan escaped me as I stared at my reflection in my phone. I had just finished giving the new kids a tour, but when I showed them the entire school and ended the tour, they seemed to have gotten confused and followed me to my hangout with my friends, now only sitting a few tables away from us. I got pissed at Guzman because he continued to make jokes, so I hit him repeatedly until Carla had to move away from Polo and stand between us.

I grimaced at my face, touching it lightly, "I think I'm breaking out."

"It's probably a sign that you need to get dick, Ana," Lu bluntly said aloud and I noticed Guzman and Ander break away from their conversation to look over at us.

"Please, can we not mention my sister getting dick during our downtime- or at all?" Guzman pleaded, his face showing clear disgust.

"Yeah, you're going to make me throw away my sandwich," Polo agreed before Carla rolling her eyes.

"Oh, both of you shut up. When you guys talk about girls, we pretend to be deaf, so I suggest you do the same," Carla retorted.

I hummed, turning my phone down, "Carla's right, but Lu is wrong," I stated and met Lu's eyes, "I don't need dick. I need a sheet mask."

"I use this charcoal mask that's pretty good," Polo inputted and I smiled suddenly. Girls aren't the only ones that care about their skin.

"Well, Ana, regardless of Polo's useless statement and what you need, I know you want it, which is a great add on for the party." Lu continued and I huffed out, feeling Ander staring at me for a moment before looking down.

"What time does the party even start?" Carla asked Lu, turning to her.

"Party?" A sudden voice asked and we turned to see one of the new kids, Christian, come over to us, "Someone said 'party'?" He asked us, before leaning on the table, "What's up, I'm Christian."

"Adriana, get your boyfriend," Guzman teased, staring at Christian as I glared at him, "He obviously can't tell I was talking to our friends."

"Guzman, would you like a black eye with that bruised shoulder?" I seethed, and my brother glanced at me, rubbing his shoulder.

Christian then looked at me, a smirk on his face, "I like a girl whose feisty. It only makes me wonder what you're like in la cama."

I can see Guzman move quickly to my side, "Don't ever think about my sister that way, got it?" He stated, his tone threatening even though he was just calling the kid my boyfriend.

Ander stared Christian down as well as Christian tossed up his hands, but he stayed quiet as Christian spoke, "Sorry, didn't know she was your sister. I'm assuming she got all the looks." He met my eyes and smirked when I did, though I break contact when Ander then looked at me again.

"And I'm assuming you'd like to get your ass kicked, newbie." Guzman went around the table to get close to Christian, but Polo stood in his way.

Carla chuckled, "Don't pay my friends any mind, they were born ruthless."

He then smiled at Carla, "So, about this party.."

"My little sister's party is private, pal. Just like our conversation was a couple of minutes ago before you chose to not mind your business." Guzman taunted, so I tugged on his blazer, for him to look at me.

"Okay, Guzman, stop it. It's only his first day. He doesn't know better," I tried to persuade, "Plus this little bullying thing is getting boring."

"Right, it is. Thanks, babe," Christian nicknamed me before he purposely winked in my direction to piss off my brother more. And it worked, seeing as Guzman visibly clenched his jaw, "So who do I talk to to get into this private affair? I can show what a party really is."

"Aren't you the one that had the ceiling fall on them?" Guzman asked, so I sighed and stood up, but so did Ander to go stand near Guzman. When Christian nods at my brother's question, Guzman's smirk appeared, "Makes sense, because it seems like it's a challenge for you to take a hint. Shall I say it in French? Au revoir."

"And if I don't want to?" Christian pressured, so Guzman got closer to his face.

"My sister is right when she says you don't know better because you clearly don't know how shit works around here-"

"Guzman," I called out, but he continued.

"Your friends seem to have the good idea, so why don't you just go back to them, huh?" Guzman seethed, "Maybe they could teach you some French unless that thick ass ceiling that fell on you-"

"Guzman, I said quit it!" I raised my voice a bit louder and he turns to look at me as Ander and Polo back him up. He saw I was getting pissed, so he backed up from Christian, "Let's just fucking go, alright? This shit blows."

I grabbed my phone and walk off, a bit pissed off, already waiting for the day to end. My friends follow behind, but I turn to see Guzman at my side, "Why were you defending that loser back there? Do you like him or something? Is defending the Help a turn on for you?"

I scoffed, "Jeez, Guzman, have you ever just sat down and thought that we're not in middle school anymore, so we should leave the bullying to them?"

"And what's the fun in that?" He asked, a smug look on his face.

"You're being a dick, Guzman." I bluntly stated before the bell rang, "And it's not a good look on you."

I walked off to my class, completely avoiding every one of them for the rest of the day. Ander texted me to see if I was alright, but I chose not to respond. I know I never knew the kid before today, but he didn't deserve to be treated like a piece of shit. No one does.

"Adriana!" I looked behind me, the halls empty as I meet Ander's eyes. Everyone was quick to dismiss when the bell rang, so I stayed behind a bit until there wasn't anyone shoving me to leave. I slowed down and when he caught up, he quickly grabbed my hand to pull me into an empty room, "You alright? You didn't come to lunch earlier."

"Yeah, I had to get my work from my Calc class since I missed," I explained and he nodded.

"I hope Guzman didn't get to you," Ander told me and I shook my head.

"Guzman will always be like that- a child." I sighed, "I have dealt with it since birth, so I learned how to not be bothered by his ignorance."

"You seemed really mad today, though." He expressed, coming close to me.

"Yeah, that's because Christian didn't deserve it, no matter how doofy or bad he is at French." I watched him nod and get closer to me until our hands briefly touch.

"Well, are you still mad?" He asked, a small smirk on his face.

I grinned at him, "Maybe," I placed my hand on the bottom of his shirt, messing with the fabric, "I think I might need a distraction. Your house after school?"

He furrowed his brows, "I thought you had to go to your family dinner?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, but I think I'd prefer your house today. Unless, you don't want to."

"Of course I want you over, Adriana," He smiled at me, intertwining my hand in his, "Are we still studying since my grades are 'slipping'?"

I laughed a bit, thinking back to the excuse I made, "I was thinking of something better- something Lu recommended to me."

He moved dangerously close to me, risking someone seeing us if they were to pass by, though he knew I didn't care in that moment when I didn't step back, "Then what are we waiting for?"