Temporary ✔️

Chapter 8: Games

AN: here's chapter 8. Enjoy, people.

Lexi's POV: (two days later)

I completely ignored all the brothers except from Ryan. Even when the five younger ones 'apologised' I didn't react.

At Lunch, I sat down at my table and Jackson joined a short while after. We exchanged a few words over the past week but we mostly kept silent.

"Where's your necklace?" Jackson asked.

I raised an eyebrow, "not with me unfortunately."

"Oh," Jackson looked down and began reading.

I sighed inaudibly, "I lost it."

"Okay," Jackson nodded.

Suddenly, someone sat next to me. I tensed and looked at him. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and an arrogant smile. I gave him a bored look and he grinned.

"Will you go out with me?" He asked.

"No," I deadpanned and returned to my reading.

"Aw come on baby-"

"Don't call me baby," I glared and he recoiled slightly.

Then, he slung an arm around my waist and leaned onto me. Instinctively, I elbowed him in the gut and stood up, twisting his arm behind his back, "don't touch me."

Of course, the idiot didn't get the hint and whistled before gripping my shoulder. I was already upset about my necklace and I was in no mood to humour him. So I slapped him and punched him in the face, giving him a lovely black eye.

"What's going on?" The principal- Mr. Flint- asked, hearing the commotion and coming into the cafeteria.

"Sir, Rick was harassing my friend- Lexi- and when she politely told him to leave her alone, he gripped her shoulder so she defended herself," Jackson quickly explained.

"What?!" Mr. Flint glared at Rick, who was clutching his face and groaning like a wounded soldier, "this is not the first time I've had this type of complaint from you, Rick! I've had enough. Come to the office and your parents will be called."

Rick followed Mr. Flint and shot me a nasty glare. I returned with one of my own and he hurriedly looked away.

I sat back down, "thanks Jackson."

He grinned, "no worries. That was awesome!"

"Thanks," I laughed lightly. We began talking and he told me a little of his backstory. It was surprisingly fun.

X (After school)

I went home and made a beeline towards my room where I took a shower and got changed. I lay on my bed and began reading 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' by John Boyne. A light knock on my door interrupted my reading.

"Come in!" I called and- shockingly- Sam came inside. My jaw set and I looked back at my book, determined to ignore him.

"Hey Lexi," Sam began sheepishly.

"Come to steal and sell another one of my possessions?" I asked bitterly.

"No... I came to apologise. Properly. Look, what we did was incredibly wrong and I'm really sorry for it. Sorry, I'm not good at apologies."

I looked at Sam in the eye and saw nothing but guilt and honesty. I smiled slightly, "your apologies won't bring back my necklace, but I forgive you. But I won't forget what you guys did."

"And I don't expect you to," he replied, "dinner's ready. Also, here's a heads up- Tony and Flynn want to talk to you afterwards."

I frowned, "why? As far as I know, I haven't done anything wrong... kind of."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "for legal reasons, I didn't hear the last two words. Anyway, I don't know... guess you'll find out afterwards. Come on."

X

Sure enough, after the meal, Flynn said in a flat voice, "Lexi, come to my office. Antonio and I have something we wish to discuss with you."

Confused, I followed the two of them into the office. Automatically, my mind started thinking of ways to defend myself should they attack. I sat down on the wooden chair at the desk with Flynn directly in front and Antonio a few steps to his right.

"Here," Flynn dropped a small white package in front of me, "open it."

Tentatively, I opened it. My eyes widened when I saw the contents. It was my necklace.

I smiled so wide my face started to hurt. I gently picked up the necklace and put it on, feeling a profound sense of relief and gratitude.

"How?" I asked, looking up.

"We have our sources," Antonio replied evasively.

Then I did something I never thought I would do. I got up and hugged Antonio then Flynn. They looked shocked and I probably would've been too, had I not been delirious from happiness.

"Thank you both so much!" I grinned and walked out of the room.

Meanwhile, back in the office, the two men smiled softly at the retreating form of their sister. They both finally accepted that they cared for her and were beginning to feel brotherly affection towards her.

I sprinted up the stairs and crashed into Jack.

"Woah!" He cried, grabbing my arm before I could fall down, "you okay Lexi?"

I beamed, "I got my necklace back!"

Jack grinned, "that's great!"

I laughed and ran to my room. Looking outside, my smile grew when I realised it was raining. I quickly changed into a long sleeved dark top and trousers- to hide the scars.

When I went downstairs, I saw my half-brothers sitting in the living room and looking outside gloomily.

"What's with the frowns?" I asked.

"It's raining," Ryan sighed, "and now we can't meet our friends."

"But that makes it the perfect excuse to watch a movie!" I exclaimed, grabbing the remote.

"Or," Ryan took it from my hands with a grin. "We can play Uno."

I pulled a face, as did most of the brothers, but getting my necklace back quickly washed away the unease. Sighing, I relented and the cards were brought out.

Third Person's POV:

At first, the tension in the air was heavy enough to cut with a knife. Thirteen people spread out in a circle, a clear divide between each group of brothers. Lexi sat next to Ryan, keeping far away as possible.

Slowly, as the game progressed, the silence disappeared. In an effort to make it up to Lexi, Sam snuck several +4 cards over to her, which infuriated Flynn when he had to pick up 12 cards. Alliances were formed, deals were broken, and it almost dissolved into a brawl. By the end, Lexi was laughing hard enough for her sides to ache, which warmed her half-brothers' hearts.

For the first time, the Silver Skulls and The Devils had fun together- without it being forced.

All because of one girl.

End of chapter 8.

Edited as of 23/06/2025 because one section really annoyed me XD

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)