01

Kade’s POV

I look up at the building that looks very similar to a prison with the pasty color with blotches of darker concrete from the sun and collection of dirt over time. The block letters display at the top of the new school that I’m being forced to attend for my senior year because my dad got a job offer about two hours away from his previous one.

I sigh and look over at my sister, who looks extremely nervous for her first day at the school as well. She’s starting high school in a completely new town, with absolutely no friends, and no idea where she’s going or what to expect. I reach over and grab her hand as I put the car into park. « Everything will be okay, just figure out where to go and go from there. Don’t stress too much, alright ? »

She nods her head, swallowing the lump in her throat before looking over at me. « Alright. »

I watch as she reaches in the backseat to grab her backpack and her hands are slightly shaking, telling me that she’s still extremely nervous which isn’t surprising because this is a very nerve-wracking situation. If I had to have to start at a new school while also starting my first day at high school, I would’ve never left the house.

I take the keys out of my car and get out with my sister. I see teenagers coming out of their cars to scream and hug their friends that they probably saw just last week because our new neighbors told us that there’s always parties the week before school starts back up to mourn that summer is ending and school’s back.

I make sure to lock my car before walking with my sister through the parking lot and up the sidewalk into the school. I notice Emilie fidgeting with her hands as she looks around at the other people talking with their friends as they walked in.

« So I have dance after school, so Dad said that he’ll pick you up from work. It might take him some extra time to find his way here, so if he’s late, don’t worry about it, » I tell her to try and take her mind off of everything that she was thinking of right now.

« Okay, » she tells me as I hold the door open for her before following her into the office that was connected to the main hallway as soon as you walk into the school. I walk up to the desk first where a blonde woman wearing a lavender blouse is typing on the computer loudly with her fake nails.

« Hi, how may I help you today ? » She says, looking up at me with a big smile.

« My name’s Kade Brooks, my sister and I are new here and we need to get our schedules and we were also told we could get maps too, » I tell her before she nods her head and starts typing.

She looks over at the lady sitting down a few feet from her before looking over at Emilie. « Sweetie, you can go over to Ms. Jennifer and give her your name and she’ll print off your schedule for you. »

Emilie walks over to the lady before giving her her name and I take a second to look outside the office windows to see people walking in and down the halls. I watch as the lady in front of me prints off my schedule and a map before picking up a highlighter and circling things for me.

« Okay, I circled all the halls where you have classes today. Your first one is upstairs, so go out that door and go to the right and that’s where the stairs are. All the hallways are labeled so you should be able to find your way with those, » she tells me and I nod my head as a thank you before waiting for my sister.

Once she’s done, I take her schedule and notice we both have to go upstairs so I lead the way. As soon as I find her first room, I turn to her and set my hand on her shoulder. « Take notes, try to talk to the people next to you when you can, and text me if you need me whatsoever. »

« I will, thank you, I love you. Have a good day, » she says, giving me a quick hug before walking into her classroom and finding an empty seat. I watch as one of the girls that’s sitting in the desk next to her looks at her before making a small comment, surprising my little sister. I walk away, not wanting to seem too weird and embarrass her if anyone notices.

I find my classroom after circling the entire upstairs once and walk in, successfully finding a seat with not too many people around it before pulling my phone out to text my mom that Emilie was doing fine because my parents were both worried about her since she was definitely the more nervous one.

Some blonde girl wearing a floral high-waisted skirt and a black tucked in t-shirt walks over and sits in the desk in front of me. « Hi, I’m Jenny, who are you ? »

I continue looking through Instagram, not wanting anything to do with this girl that probably only wants to flirt with me with the way she’s staring at me. « I’m Kade. »

« Are you new here ? » She asks, reaching out to grab at my arm before I pull away to not let her get her hand on me.

« Well, you haven’t seen me around, have you ? »

« Hey, Jenny, why don’t you leave the poor kid alone ? It’s his first day, let him adjust before you make your move on him, » some girl with curly brunette hair that’s wearing a light pink maxi skirt that goes over her stomach and a tight, white crop top to match with it.

« Why do you care, Melissa ? You already have a boyfriend, » the Jenny chick says with a vicious look on her face before she crosses her arms to look at the other girl.

« Because I don’t particularly want you to scare the poor guy on his first day, » I look over at the Melissa girl who is sitting next to a cute Hispanic boy with dark hair spiked up while wearing black jeans with some rips by the knees, a black t-shirt, and some red shoes that look expensive. The other boy sitting next to him is probably the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.

He has light brown hair with piercing hazel eyes along with tan skin. He’s wearing some tight black jeans along with a white t-shirt, jean jacket, and a pair of Adidas shoes. He looks up and as soon as our eyes meet, I get the most intense chills run through my body and can’t take my eyes off of him. He looks shocked for a second before he forces his eyes away from me.

« I think he’s perfectly fine with me being here, » Jenny says, giving me a soft smile.

I scoff, setting my phone down. « I don’t think that’s necessarily true. »

« Well, why not ? You have a pretty girl sitting in front of you that you can do anything you want to, so why not want me here ? » She says with a small smirk.

I sigh, leaning forward and setting my hand on her arm. « Because I don’t like girls. »

Jenny immediately sits back before standing up and walking back over to her desk. Melissa and the two guys chuckle a bit before Melissa comes to sit in the chair that she’s just abandoned. « Sorry about her, she’s a little desperate. »

I chuckle, nodding my head. « No, it’s fine. Thanks for having my back though, it means a lot. »

« Yeah, of course, I’m Melissa by the way. I know we didn’t introduce during that whole thing, » she says with a giggle.

« Oh, yeah, I’m Kade, » I tell her with a smile. « so is she always like that ? »

« Yeah, basically, she toys around with a boy for a week or two before she gets bored with them and moves on to the next one. Whenever someone new comes here, she’s the first to introduce herself to them. »

« Well, glad I got someone who could tell me that before she was able to get too close even after I tell her no, » I say with a chuckle.

Melissa laughed, covering it up with her hand. « Yeah, glad I could help. I would hate to see another boy hurt by her just because they didn’t realize all she wanted was their dick. »

« Well, I would never be hurt because she isn’t coming anywhere near mine, » I said, leaning back in my chair as Melissa giggled again. The warning bell rings and I see kids in the hallway rush to their classrooms while a few of them come into this one to find an empty seat.