ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀꜱ : ᴛʜᴇ ᴜᴘʀɪꜱɪɴɢ

|2|

• ＲＡＩＤＥＮ •

Weird. That's how I felt. Given my life, this should be the norm, but this sensation was different, unsettling, and I absolutely disliked it.

I got up, packed my things, and went downstairs where the commotion that had woken me earlier continued. Breakfast time in this house was like a scene from a zoo, with even the quietest turning into demons. Broken items were a daily occurrence, and the chanting and screaming typical of unsupervised teenagers filled the air. Living together was both a blessing and a curse. We were bonded like siblings, fighting just as fiercely, but I wouldn't trade any of them. They were more than family.

I arrived in the kitchen and grabbed my cereal. Everyone else was already eating at the table, the TV blaring while they talked over each other. Breakfast was supposed to be a calm start to the day, but this chaos made me want to bury myself six feet under.

I plopped down next to Ethan. As he stopped talking with Maya to shake my hand, he suddenly jumped from his seat, screaming, "Man, you're fucking charged today, what's going on?" He rubbed his hand, feigning pain.

Everyone stopped to see what had happened. I shrugged and went back to my cereal. I didn't know what was wrong; I just felt out of control this morning.

Everyone watched me, but I had no explanation. Later, they gathered into the cars while I opted for my bike. I needed fresh air to clear my mind.

Before I left, Aria grabbed my arm, studying me from head to toe. I crossed my arms and frowned. I loved her, but I didn't need her mothering me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. I nodded, and she sighed. "Just be careful. See you later." She turned and got into the car as I put on my helmet and started my motorbike. I took a deep breath and headed to school.

As soon as I parked, the tension I had felt earlier came back stronger.

"Rai? Are you sure you're okay, mate?" Adrian asked, patting my shoulder and bringing me back to reality.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah," I replied. I was fine, just frustrated that this feeling was getting stronger and I couldn't pinpoint why.

The others joined us as a car passed by. My body was inexplicably drawn to it. I turned to see who was inside—it was Willow Bardin, the birthday girl. Something was wrong with her. I didn't know if it was just my weird feeling that day, but it seemed connected to her.

"That's the girl," Nara whispered, staring at Willow, who was being hugged violently by the girl who's always with her.

"What girl?" Adrian asked, turning to where Nara was looking.

"The girl of my dreams," she answered, making me seriously question her sanity.

"I didn't know you swung that way," Ethan laughed, earning a slap from Aria.

"Shut up, idiot. What girl, Nar?" Aria asked, annoyed.

"This one, the polar blonde," Nara replied, referring to Willow, who was laughing and shaking her head at her friend.

"The birthday girl," I said, bored, as everyone looked at me in disbelief.

"Isn't that the girl you always look at, Rai? What's her name again?" Avani teased, smirking. I wanted to slap that smirk off her face.

"Shut up, I don't know what you're talking about," I snapped, annoyed.

"I like this girl. She's nice and always has a new hair color almost every month. She seems pretty cool," Ethan said, trying to lighten the mood.