This weekend felt like an entire year.

I can't believe I actually told them. I just can't believe it. After worrying about what their reactions could be for ages, I was more than shocked when nobody started to act strangely around me.

Well, almost nobody.

Rivo hasn't said a single word to me since yesterday's afternoon. He didn't glance my way while eating dinner and breakfast, didn't comment on how my hair looks bad in the morning like he usually does, and didn't even complain when I called shotgun in Amadeo's car.

I didn't think I'd care so much, I mean, he's kind of an ass, but this unfamiliar pain in my chest makes me think that I do.

"Don't worry about him." Santo's voice made me snap my head to my left, breaking the intense gaze I had on Rivo's back. He basically jumped out of the car as soon as we arrived to school, not even staying for Amadeo's usual safety lecture.

"It's fine." I sighed and kicked a rock on the ground, holding my bag straps tightly with my fists.

This is exactly what I was scared of. I was scared they'd change their whole way around me and start treating me completely different. I try to remind myself that I shouldn't give a shit, but receiving the cold shoulder still kinda hurts.

"Really." I confirmed loudly after seeing Santo's skeptical expression, trying to overcome the noise of hundreds of teenagers in the hallway. "I wouldn't know how to react either, if I were in his shoes, I mean."

"He's just-"

"Watch out!" I heard a familiar voice call from behind us, and before I could even turn around, all air was completely knocked out of my lungs.

"Hello, Ollie." Theo shouted into my ear, hoisting himself on my back. My first instinct was to grab his legs so he won't fall, even if it felt like I was carrying a fucking elephant.

"I've tried to stop him." Ares gave me a meek smile, and I realized he was the one who gave me the heads-up. Not that it was any help. He turned his head to the side, only now noticing Santo. "Hey man."

Santo looked at him up and down, clearly unimpressed. He tried to hide his annoyance from their interruption by smiling back at Ares, but I've watched him give enough fake smiles in this past month to know how to identify one.

Santo turned his head back to me, one eyebrow raised. "I'll see you later, then." I was so busy trying not to crash under Theo's weight, that all I managed to do was nod in response.

Just before Santo walked away he glanced at Theo, who remained surprisingly quiet. But I guess I should've waited a few seconds.

"He's so hot."

I groaned in disgust and threw him off my back, my hand immediately clutching my waist. "You're so gross." I mumbled. "And heavy, God."

"I'm sorry, alright?" Theo leaned against the wall next to me, watching Santo talking to some guy far away from us. "You've got some great genes running in that new family of yours."

Ares rolled his eyes and pushed Theo away, something I wanted to do myself, and came to stand next to me. "How are you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and straightened myself, not realizing what he's talking about.

"Wha- oh."

I sighed and started walking again, Ares and Theo immediately jogging to my side. "Rivo is completely ignoring me, and I actually haven't seen Riccardo since yesterday."

Of course they know I told my brothers. As soon as I walked into my room I called them and explained everything, not missing a single detail.

"It could've been worse, I guess." I shrugged, trying to convince myself. Rivo will get over his thing eventually. He won't just ignore me for the rest of his life, that's absurd.

Right?

"What is the douchebag even pissed off about?" Ares furrowed his eyebrows, looking down to meet my eyes.

I didn't have an answer to give him, and that was the worst part. I have no idea what this 'thing' is, and I have no idea what I can do to make this awkwardness go away.

"Fuck." Theo muttered and lifted his hand up, trying to hide his face with his arched palm. "Crazy chick coming through."

I stopped over-thinking about everything and followed his line of sight, immediately realizing who he's talking about.

Raven, the same cheerleader I spilled water on and called me a bitch, is walking straight down the hallway.

To my defense, she crashed into me just as much as I crashed into her.

This time, she was wearing the same uniforms as everyone else. Her black hair was tied up in a long, tight ponytail, and she didn't even glance at anyone as she walked with a furious expression on her face.

"Isn't crazy a bit much?" I raised my eyebrow, but it seemed like Theo had a complete different opinion. He moved to stand behind Ares and I, shielding his entire body from her sight.

"You don't know shit, she's fucking crazy." he hissed, keeping his head down. "It all started when I decided to explore, alright? I wanted to know where everything is in this giant school."

"Was that when you skipped physics without telling me?" Ares suddenly cut in, looking at Theo over his shoulder. "I had to fight the urge to punch that teacher all by myself."

"Oh, yeah." I nodded and pointed at Ares with a smile. "She was the one that sent me to the principal's office."

"This is not about any of you!" Theo shushed us and held Ares' shoulders tightly. We all watched silently as Raven stormed past us, finally letting Theo relax.

"What did she do to you?" I tried not to smile, but the serious look on his face was making it really hard. He's scared of a sixteen years old head cheerleader.

"I walked around, okay? And I eventually ended up at the gym." he narrowed his eyes at my smile, but still continued his story. "Look, I didn't even know where I was when I accidentally barged into the girls locker room."

"No!" I widened my eyes and put a hand over my mouth, trying so hard not to laugh. No fucking way. "What did you see?"

Theo ran a hand through his hair, not looking at any of us. "A lot."

"You're such a waste, man." Ares threw his head back, and his groan was even louder than my laughter.

"Exactly!" Theo exclaimed, nodding rapidly. "But that psycho didn't even let me utter a word before she started yelling and punching me."

"So let me get this straight," Ares stopped walking as soon as we reached the section where our lockers are. "You got your ass kicked by a fucking cheerleader?"

I matched Ares' smile and looked at Theo, who shook his head. "A crazy cheerleader." he emphasized. "She promised to stick a knife through both of my eyes the next time she sees me, her fucking words!"

"Let's rewind for a second." Ares completely dismissed his last comment and shut his locker, turning his full attention to Theo. "How much exactly is 'a lot'?"

I rolled my eyes and tuned them both out, opening my own locker. I'm not surprised Theo already managed to get a target on his back, and I'm even more not surprised that all Ares cares about is the inside of that locker room.

I need a prize for dealing with the two of them on a daily basis.

"What class do you have now?" Theo peeked inside my bag, running his fingers through the heavy books I just put in.

"AP English, whatever that means." I swatted his hand away and sighed as the bell rang. "See you guys later?"

"Yeah, I'm planning to go to the gym at lunch, meet me there." Ares shrugged, but after seeing my amused expression he wiped his own smile off. "No, you perv. I'm going to shoot some hoops, not spy on girls in the locker room."

I held my hands up next to my head. "Whatever you say."

"Shut up." he mumbled and moved past me. Theo smirked at me and followed Ares, leaving me to walk all by myself to my class.

Great.

"You're late." the teacher called as soon as I stepped into the room, not even looking away from the board.

Double great.

I took a deep breath, trying to stop myself from responding like I normally would. Thankfully, Alessandro prepared me for that exact situation. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm new."

Now that got his attention. He stopped writing and turned his head towards me, his lips pursed into a thin line. Mr. Laurier, as was written on the board, looked about sixty. He took his job as an English teacher very seriously, seeing the old brown sweater he was wearing.

"Of course, take a seat." he gestured towards the inside of the class, and I didn't need to be told twice.

I walked automatically towards the back, trying to ignore the annoying stares. I looked up and tried to find a free seat, only to stop immediately in my tracks.

Fuck me.

You see, this weekend was a lot. Before I decided to put an end to everything and tell my brothers about myself, I was busy doing... Well, other things.

And one of those things is looking right at me.

I quickly glanced around, hoping the table next to Carter's isn't the only one that's free. But unless I want to sit right in front of the teacher's face, then no.

"Stop looking at me." I whispered and sat down, pushing my hair behind my ear. I guess you can call me a hypocrite, because my own eyes wondered to his face, and I tried so hard not to let then go down his body.

Carter was leaning back on his chair, a slight smirk on his face. He didn't stop looking at me, not even when I turned away from him.

"Are you following me, blondie?" he finally asked, leaning his body towards me. I tore my eyes away from the board, not that I was able to focus anyway. Not when the guy I drunkenly made out with is sitting one fucking table away from me.

"Aren't you a jokester." I smiled tightly and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, suddenly feeling hot. My plan was to avoid him for the rest of my life, but of course, that didn't work out.

I can remember every single detail of that night at the bar, and I can't help but curse myself. What the hell was I thinking? Making out with a guy from my school? One that I don't even like, for God's sake.

"Come on." he put his elbow on his table and leaned his head on it, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing here, in a senior class?"

I huffed in annoyance and turned my body to fully look at him. "I'm not stalking you. They put me in AP English, I go to AP English. End of story."

Carter raised his hands up in mock surrounder, his eyes trailing down my body. In any other day I would've killed him for it, but he was fucking lucky I was busy doing the same thing.

It wasn't just the alcohol, apparently. He is really attractive.

"Eyes on your books, you two." Mr. Laurier called from the front, making Carter and I snap our heads towards him.

A couple of girls turned around to look at us, but one glare was enough to make them look away.

I sighed and opened the ancient book this class requires. Who was the one with the genius idea of putting me here? I fucking hate literature.

"You see Henry over there?" Carter suddenly whispered, gesturing with his head towards the teacher.

I looked at him for a few seconds, watching his back as he writes some complete nonsense on the board.

"All you need to do to win his favor is stay a few minutes after the class ends." Carter continued, and I tore my eyes away from Mr. Laurier. "Talk to him about his cat, that's a guaranteed A."

I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from smiling. "You seem to know a lot about how this school works." I said quietly, remembering the advice he gave me outside of the principal's office.

"I do." He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, giving me full view over his toned arms. Come on, Olive.

"And why, exactly, are you sharing your tricks with me?" I questioned, kinda amused. Carter doesn't seem like the 'nice' type, and as if to prove my point, the guy sitting in front of him looked back.

"Do you have a pen I can-"

"Turn the fuck around." Carter cut him off, a sharp edge to his voice. I watched with a raised eyebrow as the poor guy shifted uncomfortably in his seat and turned around, not even asking anybody else for a pen.

I would've given him a pen myself, but it's simply insane to assume I have more than one on me. I'm not even sure my own pen works.

"Don't get over excited, blondie." Carter leaned back on his chair, regarding my question. "I'm helping you because this school sucks enough, even without being new."

I hummed and glanced at the teacher, noticing he still has his back towards us. I leaned towards his table with a teasing smile, my eyes not leaving his.

"Are you sure it's not just because you want to get into my pants?"

Carter bit the end of his pen, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Never crossed my mind."

I smiled in amusement and sat straight, trying to force my brain to listen to whatever Mr. Laurier is blubbering about.

So much for avoiding Carter for the rest of my life.

Those two hour passed painfully slow, especially with his presence on my left. He mustered a scoff throughout the entire class, occasionally rolling his eyes whenever someone gave the teacher a stupid answer.

We didn't talk anymore, but I could definitely feel him looking at me from time to time.

Not that I wasn't looking at him myself.

"Alright." Mr. Laurier clapped his hands as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the break. Everybody immediately started to gather their books, myself included.

"Remember your seating arrangements, because this will be your seat for the rest of the year." he continued, making me freeze mid packing.

I turned my head towards Carter, who continued putting his books away with raised eyebrows.

"Would you look at that." he whistled and threw his bag over his shoulder, pursing his lips. "I guess we're stuck together."

I hummed, looking away from him. Just as I was about to zip my bag close, I felt Carter's body from behind me.

"Don't forget the cat." he whispered into my ear, moving past me. I bit the inside of my cheek and watched him leave the class, silently cursing myself for being attracted to him.

I sat back and waited patiently in my seat, only getting up after the last girl finally left the class. Mr. Laurier was still sitting behind his table, going through some papers.

"I'm really sorry about being late this morning." I said, walking towards him.

He didn't raise his head to look at me, only waving his head in dismissal. "Just don't make a habit out of it."

"Yeah, of course." I nodded, trying to catch his attention. I don't necessarily enjoy sucking up to people, especially teachers, but I really need an easy A.

"It might sound stupid," I started talking again, noticing he's not going to say anything else. "But I saw this cute little cat by the school's gate, and I just couldn't walk away and stop petting it."

He raised his head, finally looking at me. I guess lying is the way in.

"I don't know why I said that." I chuckled and tightened my hold on my bag. "It really does sound stupid."

"Not at all." Mr. Laurier shook his head, his lips turning upwards into a smile. "Cats are simply irresistible."

"I know!" I exclaimed, grinning widely. "But it does get me into some trouble, you see, my own cat gets so violent after smelling others on me, she's a complete psychopath."

"My cat is the exact same." Mr. Laurier laughed and left his seat, coming to lean on his desk in front of me. "My granddaughter called him Biscuit when she was only three."

We're on.

°°°

So, Carter's advice worked perfectly. Again.

Mr. Laurier, or Henry, as he insisted I'd call him, turned out to be a really nice fella.

Waisted almost my entire break, but I guess it was worth it.

Oh, and I have an orange cat named Apple if anybody asks. An amazing name, I know.

Nyla, the nice girl I met here, is apparently in my math class as well. Everything about this class was so boring, so it didn't come as a surprise when she had to make sure I'm awake every ten minutes.

But thankfully, it's lunch time. I invited Nyla to come with me to the gym to meet Ares and Theo, but she said she promised to sit with her sister at lunch or something like that.

It's kinda cute, you know? But I just can't imagine myself spending more time than I have to with my brothers. They're always fucking everywhere.

So here I am, walking aimlessly towards the gym. I'm not blaming Theo for accidentally walking into the girls locker room anymore. This school is gigantic.

A loud chanting made me stop walking, and I had an internal debate whether to follow the calls of 'fight' or continue my search.

Maybe the gym is down that hallway, you know? Maybe the key is to follow the drama.

I groaned to myself and spun on my heels, pushing my way through the rest who too decided to see what the shouts are all about.

I'm a sucker for watching people punch each other.

There was a big circle around two guys whose faces I couldn't see, but I got the general idea. I fucking love school fights.

Back in my public school days, I couldn't go through one day without running into a fight in the middle of the hall. Top notch entertainment, I'm telling you.

"Why are we even here?" A girl from next to me muttered, and I slightly turned my head towards her.

I raised my eyebrow in amusement as soon as I realized who she is.

Theo's crazy cheerleader, Raven.

Her hands were crossed over her chest while standing next to another girl, who looked excitedly through the people.

"We're gonna be late to practice. Please, Amy." she tried to pull her friend away from the circle, but when she shook her off, Raven spoke again. "Come on, they're just two idiots."

Eventually, she managed to drag her away down the hallway, and I just couldn't help but grinning. I'll just follow them straight to the gym, fucking easy.

Always follow the drama.

Just as I moved to walk after them, the girl in front of me took a step back, giving me full view to the two guys fighting.

And holy shit.

I immediately pushed harshly past people, not caring about their protests. I stopped as soon as I reached the front of the circle, looking with furrowed eyebrows at the scene in front of me.

There's a guy from my biology class on the floor, blood dripping from his forehead. He was holding the other guy's shirt and tried to push him away, but it was no use.

"Say that shit again to my face." Rivo punched his nose, making his head snap to the side.

"Fuck off." he spat the blood from his mouth to the floor, trying to kick Rivo off him.

My heart was beating faster in my chest as I continued watching Rivo, who looked more than furious. His shirt was covered in blood, and I had no way of knowing whether it was from his own bleeding nose or from the other guy.

Why am I even surprised? Of course Rivo is the type of guy who gets into school fights.

The dude has zero self control.

I had to do a double take once my eyes landed on Santo, who was leaning against the wall behind Rivo while watching everything go down with distaste.

He furrowed his eyebrows in my direction, and as soon as he realized it's me, he widened his eyes and snapped his head back to Rivo.

"Alright." Santo jogged towards the both of them, trying to pull Rivo to his feet. His eyes kept darting between Rivo and I, causing me to furrow my eyebrows even more. "You've had your fun, come on."

"Get the fuck away, Santo." Rivo muttered, blowing another punch at the guy's nose. "I'm going to fucking kill him."

The crowd groaned, and I found myself grimacing. That looked... Insanely painful.

"No, I don't think so." Santo yanked Rivo up by his shirt, blocking his way to the coughing dude on the floor.

Rivo was about to push his twin away and continue what he started, but then Santo whispered something into his ear.

Something that made Rivo snap his head to his right. To my direction.

His wide eyes locked on mine, and his fists immediately unclenched. He lifted his shirt up to wipe the blood off his face, causing a few girls around me to giggle.

I rolled my eyes in disgust and turned around, pushing past people to leave the crowd. He fucking ignores me for almost a day, and then acts like he cares if I see him fighting someone?

Raven was right, he really is an idiot.

"Get a life, show's over!" I heard Santo's voice from behind me, and after a few seconds, everybody started to leave.

That's the beauty about school fights. It's never your problem. Well, unless you're Rivo.

"Wait, Olive." a hand grabbed my wrist, turning me around.

I raised my eyebrow and yanked my hand away from his, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What?" I asked and looked behind his shoulder, watching Santo help the guy from before up.

What the hell is this? One twin almost knocks him out just for the other to make him feel better? A brilliant tactic.

"I don't like it either." Rivo muttered, watching Santo with me. "I'd rather let him die in this-"

"Do you really think I give a shit?" I cut him off, my eyes narrowed. Is he seriously going to act like everything is normal between us?

"I won't tell Alessandro, if that's what you're worried about." I rolled my eyes and continued walking, only for him to jog past me and block my way.

"I'm don't- I mean, they'll tell him anyway. I'm not worried about that." Rivo ran one hand through his hair, while the other one pressed his shirt to his bloody nose.

"Then what do you- did Santo tell you to come and talk to me?" I furrowed my eyebrows and turned back to look at him, but he and the other guy were already gone.

"No!" Rivo shook his head, and almost immediately grunted in pain. His shirt was covered in blood, and I really, really wanted to let him suffer for making me doubt my decision of opening up.

And yet, I somehow couldn't.

"You're doing it all wrong." I muttered and twisted my bag to my front, pulling a roll of toilet paper out.

What? You can never know when you'll have to pee in the middle of the road. Or when you'll have a bleeding nose, at that.

"I'm fine, it's not that-" he started arguing with me like he always does, but I slapped his hand away from his face, making him drop his shirt back down to its original place.

"Shut up." I said and pushed him into an empty lab. I gritted my teeth and walked directly towards the sink, wetting some of the toilet paper.

"You are the most annoying person I've ever met." I muttered and turned to look at Rivo, who was sitting on top of a table while keeping his nose up. "I was supposed to be with my friends right now."

"I'm not forcing you to be here, I'm fine." he mumbled, and I shut the tap forcibly. I walked back towards him and pressed the wet paper to his nose, making him hiss.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he jerked his head back, looking at me through wide eyes.

"You should have protected your nose better if you didn't want it to hurt." I snapped and pulled his own hand up, placing it above of the toilet paper. "Press it."

He muttered a few things under his breath, but eventually did as I said. I lifted my bag up from where I dropped it and started walking towards the door.

Not forcing me to be here? Good. I'm fucking gone.

"Where are you going?" he jumped off the table, and his nonchalant behavior just set something off inside me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep holding back the question my mind was begging me to ask.

"Why did you completely ignore me?" I asked, turning around sharply. I held onto the straps of my bag tightly, my eyes not leaving Rivo's.

This is the first time he has talked to me since I've told them, and I want to know why.

"What?" he furrowed his eyebrows as if my words were the most absurd thing he's ever heard. "I don't know what you're talking about."

If there's one thing I've learned about Rivo, is that he's a terrible liar. He gets all defensive, and his jaw immediately clenches.

Just like now.

I pursed my lips and looked away, nodding faintly. "Right." What the hell was I thinking? Having a real conversation with Rivo? Yeah, like that will ever happen.

"No, just..." he quickly moved past me, closing the door I just opened. I took a few steps back and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, watching him as he struggles to decide what to say.

"What, Rivo?" I exclaimed. "Fine. You weren't ignoring me. Can you let me fucking go now?"

He took his hand off his nose and rubbed his eyes with the back of his palms. "I didn't- I wasn't ignoring you."

"Then what exactly were you doing?" I threw my hands up, and the anger and self doubt I've been feeling all day were starting to slowly creep into my voice. "Because all I could see was you ignoring my entire existence after I shared everything about myself with you!"

"You told me not to treat you differently because of it!" Rivo argue, his voice raising. Blood started to come out of his nose, so he had to press the toilet paper to it again. "I couldn't do it, alright?"

"So your solution was to forever avoid me?" I chuckled humorlessly, my fists clenching at my sides. "Wow. Genius!"

"You don't understand-"

"No, you don't understand!" I cut him off angrily, my voice slightly breaking. "I've never told anyone about what happened to me there, alright? It was so hard to actually tell all of you, and the last thing I need is something that'll make me question that decision!"

"Then what do you want me to do, huh?" Rivo narrowed his eyes, taking a few steps towards me. We were both breathing heavily, looking angrily into each other's eyes.

"Do you want me to pretend I've never heard a word you've said?" he continued, his hand pointing at my neck. "That I've never found out how you got that? That you were fucking abused by that-"

"Don't fucking say that I was abused!" I yelled and used my palms to punch his chest, making him stumble back. "And I told you I don't want to talk about any of it ever again, you asshole!"

"If not being able to just blindly move on with my life is what you consider an asshole then fine, call me an asshole!" he yelled back, throwing the bloody toilet paper into the trash bin. "At least I'm not the one in complete denial."

"You have no right to say that to me." I said through gritted teeth, my vision's starting to become blurry. "You don't know shit about me."

I'm not going to cry, it's not fucking worth it.

"You think I don't know that?" Rivo exclaimed and took one big step towards me, now standing right in front of my face. "We've only met each other a month ago. I don't know shit about you, and you don't know shit about me."

I looked away from him with a clenched jaw. "Then maybe we should just keep it that way." I hit his shoulder as I stormed past him, but he caught my wrist again.

"What?" I breathed out angrily, trying to yank my hand away from his grasp. "What else do you want to tell me, Rivo? What other part of my life do you want to throw into my face?"

He closed his eyes for a second and let go of my wrist. "I didn't mean to say it like that."

"You never mean anything." I hissed and dropped my bag harshly onto the floor, feeling like I'm about to explode. "You never mean anything, and you still make me feel like absolute shit whenever you open that stupid mouth of yours!"

For this entire month, Rivo and I's only interactions have been through fights. He says something annoying, I get annoyed. He acts like a complete ass, I fight the urge to punch him.

And every time I think he's starting to act like a decent human being around me, he proves me wrong. I don't need us to get along, I don't need him to like me.

I don't.

"You can take care of that nose alone." I smacked the rest of my toilet paper onto his chest, and he immediately took it.

Stupid Rivo and his stupid nose. I should've just let him suffer. Why did I even want to help him in the first place?

"How do you think I feel?" he snapped, placing the roll of toilet paper on one of the tables. "You don't think that I feel like shit whenever I see you joking around with Santo? Whenever I see you talking with the rest?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but he beat me to it.

"I can't fucking do it, Olive! You were gone for fourteen years, and I can't just ignore that fact like the rest of you, even if I really want to!"

"D'you think I ignore that fact?" I asked, disbelief clear in my voice. "It's all I think about every single day. I keep thinking about what could've been if I grew up here, if I had a normal childhood, if I had your family! So yes, I joke around and talk with everyone else because they don't make me feel like they don't want me here!"

"I do want you to here!" Rivo took one big step towards me, and I snorted while wiping aggressively the stray tear that escaped my eye.

"I mean it, even though everybody say I suck at showing it." he said and ran his hand through his hair. "Look, everything about this is fucking new to me, but I do care or some shit like that. I mean, when I saw you with blood all over your neck I felt... Something."

I bit the inside of my cheek and looked back at him. His hair was so messy from all the times he ran his fingers through it, but at least the blood finally stopped coming out of his nose.

"Alright, let's have this conversation." I placed my hand on my waist, narrowing my eyes. "Why haven't you told them about it? What's your gain here?"

"What's my gain?" Rivo repeated in disbelief. "Do you really think that low of me?"

"I don't know what to think of you!" I yelled, trying to make him understand. "You give me nothing, and as we established before, we don't know each other! So why the hell didn't you tell them?"

"Because you were actually talking to me!" he yelled back, clenching his fists. "You trusted me and talked to me for once, and I didn't want you to regret doing that!"

I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of his words. "What?"

"What?" he shot back and took his eyes off me, running his hand through his hair again.

"You didn't tell them because..." I started and took a small step towards him, furrowing my eyebrows. "Because you didn't want me to regret... Trusting you?"

"I'm not going to say that twice, forget about it." Rivo muttered and waved his hand sharply in dismissal.

I just stared at him silently, watching him snatch the toilet paper from the table and rip some harshly off the roll.

"You're not bleeding anymore." I mumbled and gestured towards his face. He stopped and turned to look at me for a few moments before sighing.

"Thanks." he murmured and put the toilet paper back on the table. I opened and closed my mouth for about four times, trying to figure out what to say.

The silence started to become too heavy, but my mind was still racing. I have no idea what to think.

"I like boxing."

I snapped my head up towards Rivo, who was glaring at the floor and rubbing his bloody knuckles. "Now you know something about me."

I blinked in surprise, realizing what he just said.

Now I know something about him.

"I can't really throw a punch." I confessed quietly after a few seconds, giving him something to know about me too. I've never learned how to do it correctly, so I always end up hurting myself too. It's pretty embarrassing.

He snorted and lifted his head up, looking at me like I just told him the funniest joke he's ever heard.

"I'm serious." I said, pushing my hair behind me ear. "I got soft knuckles."

Rivo slightly widened his eyes, and his hand dropped down from his hair to the side of his body. "Wait, really?"

I shrugged. Is it that hard to believe?

"At least you know how to kick someone in the balls." he cracked a smile and looked at me briefly before walking to lean against a table. "It was fucking painful, by the way."

"You deserved it." I said, coming to sit on the table next to him. Rivo looked up to meet my eyes, no trace of the smile he had on just a few moments ago.

"It's stupid, I know, but I was just worried. I didn't... I didn't know what happened or what to do after seeing you like that. Is that even makes sense?"

"I guess." I mumbled, looking down while swinging my feet. "I don't know what got into me that night either. I mean, I suddenly remembered everything and I just-"

I breathed out heavily and lifted my head, looking at Rivo straight in the face. "I hate this scar. So, so much."

I thought it'll get better with time, but it didn't. I'm marked. It's as simple as that. I'll never be able to forget about what happened and just move on with my life, not when I have a permanent reminder on my skin.

Most of the time I ignore it, but sometimes I just... Can't.

"It fucking sucks." Rivo shook his head and looked away from me. "Knowing what happened and not being able to do anything about it."

I nodded and turned my head to the side, looking at the wall he's looking at. "Yeah."

We sat there for a few minutes, but the silence wasn't as uncomfortable as before. It was just... Sad.

"Alright." Rivo straightened himself and pushed his hair back, trying to make it look more presentable. He breathed deep and looked up to meet my confused eyes.

"Don't make it weird." he grumbled, holding his hand out for me to grab.

I hesitantly put my hand in his. "What do you-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence, because Rivo immediately pulled me off the table and into his chest.

He wrapped his arms around me, but I was completely frozen. Is he... Hugging me?

I swallowed the lump in my throat and brought my own arms up, copying his actions. His body slightly tensed, but he relaxed after a few seconds. We both did.

"Your shirt is so bloody." I mumbled, feeling the dry blood on his shirt with my cheek.

"Shut up." he muttered and wrapped his arms around me even tighter. I did as he said and without thinking, I copied his actions again.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but a loud noise from the school's PA system made us come back to reality.

"Rivo Giordano, please go to the principal's office."

We broke apart almost immediately, not looking at each other's eyes.

"I should, uh, go." he took a couple of steps back, stumbling over my bag on the floor.

"Yeah, me too." I cleared my throat, and followed him to the door. "Good luck. I mean, because you're in deep shit."

We both looked at each other, equally embarrassed. It was still lunch, so the hallway was full of people.

Rivo's eyes were slightly wide, and I'm sure I looked just as shaken. "I'll see you later?" he asked, his voice higher than usual.

"Yes." I nodded, and the two of us turned around from each other in the exact same second.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and immediately started to walk away. I have no idea where I'm headed or how much time do I even have left.

What the hell just happened?

"Ollie!" I heard someone call on my right, making me snap out of my thoughts. "Over here!"

I looked around and glanced at Theo with confusion. How did I find him? Where even am I?

"What took you so long?" he jogged towards me, looping his arm around my shoulders. "You have blood on your face, weirdo"

"I'm alright, It's not mine." I grumbled and lifted my hand up, brushing my cheek with fingers. "But thanks, really. Your concern is heart warming."

He stuck his tongue out, and I suddenly noticed the ball he was holding. "Why are you walking around with a ball?"

"Got tired of losing to Ares in basketball, so I stole his ball." Theo shrugged and walked us towards some big doors. He shoved one of them open, revealing the gym.

I snorted and snatched the ball away from his hand, spinning it on the end of my finger.

"You still have some blood there." he furrowed his eyebrows and came to walk next to me, pointing at my cheek. "You sure you're alright?"

I stopped walking for a few moments and just looked at him, thinking about his question. "Yeah." I decided, and a grin broke into my face. "I am."

I think I'm even more than just alright.

"Come on." I dribbled the ball and nodded towards the indoor basketball court. "Get ready for losing to someone other than Ares."

Chapter 40!!

So let's talk about the elephant in the room- I haven't updated in a bit more than a week. It was because I was really sick, but I'm starting to get better now <3

But to make it up to you, I wrote you the longest chapter yet! 6.6k words. Took me awhile to write, so that's why I haven't published it yesterday like I've said on my wall.

*by the way, if you want updates about this book, you can check there from time to time.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!

Every comment you leave, oh my God! I'm either laughing or blushing. I love yall so so much.

And on the same note, 200k reads??? Bro that's insane!

See ya next chapter babesss!!