1 ~°~Chapter One~°~

"Mom," I say hesitating.

"Yes darling," she turns to look at me expectantly.

"Um...I found this baby kitten in the back gardens, it looked so cold and hungry and it's mother wasn't anywhere close by and I simply couldn't leave it." Now that I'd started, I couldn't stop.

"Your heart is simply too big for you," she tells me quietly, retrieving the toast from the toaster. "Well you can keep it, because even if I say no you'll spend half your life with the cat anyway."

I'm so happy and already on my way upstairs to freshen up and come down for breakfast. "Why can't you want a puppy like every other boy your age?" She mutters to herself halting me.

I can't be sure if she is being rhetorical or not, not that I could answer her. I just pretend not hear and dart upstairs, gently cradling the shivering kitten against my oversized pyjama shirt. It's actually not oversized but my Aunt Candy doesn't know this, she just bought the average size for a seventeen year old boy and that's where the problem is --- I'm not average sized!

I'm tiny. I sigh dejectedly into my bathroom mirror. My new pet, Apple is fast asleep in an aesthetic bamboo basket filled with cushy blankets and cushions, there's not much I can do for her until school is over but I did leave a giant bowl of milk that she can't miss. It'll have to do.

I clean up quickly so that I'll have enough time to blow dry my annoying hair, which is curly and below my ears and just too thick, I got sick of cutting it because it just regrew almost overnight, at least it isn't down to my neck or shoulders. So yeah, I'm blow drying it instead of using a towel like every other sane person but it's either that or I end up with wet shoulders. It isn't optional really.

"Hayden!" My mom yells from the kitchen and I cringe at her inordinately loud voice, she sure has no idea what an indoor voice is.

"I'll be down in a minute." I throw back at her, already in comfy jeans and a loose sweat shirt, I run a brush through my hair and grab my backpack, I check on Apple before going out, not wanting to touch her soft, downy, white fur in case I wake her up.

"About time, do you want to be late for school?" She asks, guiding me to my seat then proceeds to watch me as I take a bite of bacon.

I ignore her questioning stare for two full minutes until she finally cracks.

"Well?" She prompts, leaning towards me, watching intently as I pick at the small feast in front of me.

"Well what?" I feign confusion.

She's not even distracted by my very bad acting. "How's the food love?" She asks intensely, staring at me with soulful grey eyes I inherited from her.

"Why can't I just eat cereal?" I ask suddenly, evading her question.

"Oh! I knew it was horrible." She wails dramatically, flinging herself on a chair.

"I never said that mom." I say quietly, wondering how to keep her happy and at the same time not lie. But honestly, the bacon tastes like recycled plastic and the crusty toast looks like it could give me a nose bleed if it bumps my head.

"So it's not bad?" She sniffles wiping her nose with her overpriced nightwear.

I keep quiet. "No." Her bright face makes me hold in my laughter. "But it's not good either." I finally admit.

She sighs apathetically then gets up. "Good thing I have all day to practice then." She giggles running to her room.

I groan with true frustration. "You say that every day mom."

"You can eat cereals baby." She ignores me.

"At least it's edible." I mutter to myself, sighing at my single, childish parent as I start to prepare my meal.

I don't have a dad, not because he's dead or anything gruesome but my mom simply didn't marry him. They were high school heart throbs which lasted until he got her pregnant, it didn't really affect any of them but her lover decided that he wasn't quite ready to get settled down yet and she decided she wasn't interested in romantic love anymore, preferring instead to shower every bit of it on me.

She's a trust fund baby whose parents dote on but are simply too busy to care the right way so she has access to a whole lot of money and has way too much time on her hands which equals one thing --- disaster!

Renee LeBaron is the personification of disaster, an aromantic one though but that doesn't lessen her danger, at least it kept people from getting emotionally hurt by her.

"Are we getting your boyfriend?" She asked casually, coming down the stairs in a humongous pale pink shirt and shin length furry boots, her dark brown hair in a messy knot. Right now, she doesn't look like my mom. Hell! She doesn't look like anyone's mom.

"Why are you dressed like my older sister?" I narrow my eyes at her, following her to her car a BMW 8series. Yes. She's a big sucker for pricey, powerful cars.

"And I don't have a boyfriend." I dead pan, getting in quickly so she doesn't see the high blush on my cheeks.

She ruffles my tousled hair and puts the car in reverse. "I look cute." She pouts. "You never compliment me anymore plus you're right Virgil isn't your boyfriend, he married you." She says matter of factly.

"Mom!" I complain, now the perfect color of an overripe tomato. "We were just five."

"And I was the priest, while he wore his best jacket and draped you in my white lace robe, which you kept tripping on." She reminded with traces of an ancient anger. "Ruining the expensive thing but you were both adorable so I forgive you."

"And that's why you had the picture enlarged to practically life sized, framed and put up in the living room." I complain for what must be the thousandth time.

"I deserve that for putting up with you two." She snorts. "He asked for a bloody cake that was as tall as you."

"Which you tried to make and ended up nearly burning down the house." I fire at her. This was a really old argument.

"It was just that one time..."

I cut her off with a glare. "Firemen call to check up on us if we don't have at least two emergencies a week, thank goodness it's always when I'm in school."

"It's that stupid smoke detector." She grumbles under her breath. "I light a fucking candle and it starts screaming."

I roll my eyes. "Said candle is probably as big as me, you're low key a pyromaniac mom."

She sighs soulfully as she pulls up to Virgil's big house. "I finally get a compliment but it's about me being mentally unstable. Alright go call him." She tells me.

I don't wait a second, already hurrying up to the front porch, the white awning protecting me from the morning sun. The door opens before I can touch it and Virgil's older brother, Ian is staring at me like I'm a five course meal.

"Oy! Princess, your friend is here!" He calls out, the signature Everett piercing blue eyes still staring at me.

I gulp, usually his brothers are out, usually he's outside waiting for me, usually he drives me to school... Let's just say I rarely come in contact with his intimidating older twin brothers.

If I was uncomfortable before now I'm full on panicking when Ian's twin joins him at the open door.

"Fuckface what you doin... Oh it's Princess's friend." He interrupts himself, matching golden blond hair brushing, standing beside each other.

"Idiot we have the same face." Ian eye rolls but quietens down quickly so they can resume staring at me.

I feel like dying under their scrutiny, it might have been better if there was hatred behind those unnerving blue eyes but there's none, just quiet appraisal. I try to look at my mom from the side of my eyes, terrified of turning my back to the twins but I see her furiously splashing paint on a plain drawing sheet. I mentally face palm, thank goodness I use a backpack or my books would have been useless.

"Um... I-I ca-can go i-if V-Virgil's n-not in." I stutter out, my entire body is red now and I'm grateful for my long sleeves.

"What the hell are..." Virgil's angry voice yells out. "Oh! Hayden." His voice softens when he sees it's me, shaking and shivering like a leaf under his twin brother's glares.

He pushes past them and pulls me into a hug, I hadn't seen him all weekend which didn't happen very often, we were usually inseparable. He kisses my forehead and what little shred of self control I have left snaps, tears gather at the edges of my eyes, my head is hurting from how hard I'm trying to keep the tears in. The kiss isn't new but the audience definitely is and now I pretty sure I'm having a panic attack, Why can't I just pass out? I wail mentally but nooo! I'm fully awake and fully aware of everything.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Virgil demands as I bury my face in his chest, unable to move. He's more than a foot taller than me so it's not very hard to do this.

"Nothing Princess." Leon's lower voice speaks up.

"We were off to school anyway, try not to die or maybe do." Ian chuckles brushing past us. "I don't care either way." He shrugs, walking with his twin to their SUV.