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(edited)

Hannah and I were making our way down the corridor to our last class of the day, English, apparently, laughing like fools. She was going on about her favorite band again, and honestly? I wasn't even pretending not to care anymore.

It had been two weeks since I started my sessions with Enzo, and I'd already finished my second one. And let me tell you, I was thriving! Lighter. Freer. He hadn't brought up my past yet, which was fine by me. So far, we'd just talked about my brothers and what life was like now. I knew the deep stuff was coming eventually, but I wasn't pressed. Not yet.

Anyway, it was December 17th. School ended tomorrow! One more day and I was done for the year. I was buzzing.

We stepped into the classroom and, ugh. There they were. All three of my brothers. Plus, Vince. And... Myles.

Great. Just great!

Hannah and I walked past them and found ourselves a desk near the windows, second row from the back. Right in front of Dylan's girlfriend, who –shocker– glared at me like I'd personally ruined her life. I ignored her and dropped my bag on the desk, laying my head on top of it. School made me sleepy. But in my defense, these teachers were more boring than watching a snail race a clock.

"So, are we going to the park today?" Hannah asked, practically vibrating with excitement.

I wanted to. So bad! But I had to ask permission first. Going anywhere without my brothers knowing would be suicide. Literal death wish. So, I did the only thing I could do.

I walked up to them.

As I neared their desks, I caught sight of a familiar smile. Myles. His warm ocean-blue eyes locked onto mine, and his lips curled into the softest, gentlest grin. My heart did somersaults!

I smiled back, probably blushing like an idiot, before I turned to face my brothers.

"Why the hell is your face red?" Dylan's voice rang out, dragging the whole class's attention toward us.

Oh, good. Just what I needed, public humiliation.

"I... uh... I was running?" I mumbled, more question than statement.

He raised an eyebrow but, miraculously, didn't push it. Instead, he returned to chatting away with his friends. I quickly turned to Cole, in hopes he would be a peach and let me live my life a bit.

"Coley, can I go to the park with Hannah after school? I won't be out for more than two hours, I promise!" I pleaded, unleashing my deadliest puppy eyes.

Chuckles rippled through their group. The twins. Vince. Even Myles smirked. I could practically feel their reputations crumbling under the weight of my adorableness, and I smirked internally.

"Hm... Coley?" I added sweetly.

And that was it. The final straw. They broke.

Laughter exploded around us as Cole adjusted his glasses, giving me a hard glare he didn't really mean. "Fine..." he said. "But be home before six. It gets dark early."

I squealed and threw my arms around him, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Coley!"

I turned to try to head back to my seat.

Keyword: try.

"You're going to pay for that..." Cole muttered, low and ominous. Well, as ominous as a guy with glasses and fluffy hair could sound. Before I could even blink, he swooped. One second I was standing there, the next I was dangling over his shoulder like a sack of stolen treasure!