Hell & Back || TYLER SBG

Chapter 1: Project Buddies

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Danica groaned, reluctantly rolled onto her other side to turn off her alarm. She felt crumpled papers rustling beneath her as she moved up from her bed.

She was used to her bed being filled with what her mom called junk. Papers, pens (of every variety), etc. Basically, if it was a piece of stationary, it was probably in her bed. How could she write her songs if the paper she was writing on wasn't cute?

Besides, she hated working on personal projects at her desk. Her desk was strictly for schoolwork and makeup, so as long as she had a say, her bed would continue housing her materials.

She tried not to trip over her guitar stand as she made her way to her desk. She lazily applied her makeup before putting her hair in a quick ponytail. She had already picked out her outfit the night before, so she didn't have to do much more than put on the jeans and tank top that hung from her door.

In years prior, her mom had breakfast made by the time she made it down the stairs, but she had started a new job, leaving Danica entirely alone in the mornings before she left. It was a bit of an adjustment, and getting ready on the first day back to school without her sucked, but she'd get used to it.

She grabbed her water bottle before rushing out the door. The back of the bus was crawling with jocks talking way too loudly for 7 in the morning, so she resigned to one of the front seats, putting in her earbuds and turning the volume up to full blast.

Not even five minutes into the ride, she saw two kids walk onto the bus from her periphery. It wouldn't be so obvious who they were if the boy didn't make a b-line for the back of the bus, practically shouting greetings so loudly that she could hear it over her music.

The Hernandez Twins. The thought made her groan. Taylor Hernandez was perfectly fine. Danica would even go as far as to call her a school friend. It was her brother, Tyler, that got under her skin.

He was so insufferable that half of her was hoping that by some miracle they moved away entirely or he got sent to some sort of boarding school. Hell, she'd even be fine if he got an ego boost from getting a baseball scholarship to a private school. Anything was fine, as long as she didn't have to be stuck in a classroom where she was unable to participate without him starting an argument.

From the corner of her eye she could see Taylor scan the bus for a seat before drooping her shoulders in frustration. She looked defeated until she looked over in Danica's direction and walked down the aisle towards her.

"Hey, Danica," She approached her with an apologetic smile. Danica took one ear bud out when she noticed her, "Do you mind if I sit here? There's no other empty seats besides the one next to that kid who draws penises on the window with his finger."

Danica scanned the bus only to find the exact kid Taylor was talking about. She was right, only empty seat, and while she may not have loved the idea of sharing in the morning, she wasn't about to be a complete asshole.

"Yeah, I don't mind," she said as she moved her backpack from the other side of the seat to the floor as to make room. Taylor sighed in relief, mouthing 'thank you' as she sat down next to her.

When she arrived at the school, she wandered the hallways for a bit before she finally found her boyfriend walking with Courtney, the new girl in her band ever since the old drummer moved away.

"Oh my god!" Courtney called out from across the hallway, a smile immediately rushing to her face, "Dani!"

Courtney was the kind of girl to run up and give someone a bear hug as a greeting, even if it had only been a day since she'd seen them. Unfortunately for Danica, she had been on vacation for over a week.