Life is normal. You're going to the same school with your triplets, just a couple of "minor" family issues in the background, but other than that, it's normal.
You develop small feelings for a new kid, which you know he doesn't feel back because he'...
I sat behind the arcade, head in my arms. I was gripping my jacket sleeves, trying to get my hands to stop shaking.
"Haha, wow! That caught me off guard" -I heard Barron's voice, making me jump- "I never would've expected to see you here, four eyes. It's been a while, pal, how've ya been?"
I felt a sudden hand on my back, and I jerked, head shooting up. My eyes met with Tyler's worried ones, and I let him pull me into an embrace.
"Shh... calm down..." he whispered, rubbing my back.
I slowly calmed down; enough to hear Logan talking. "...and you felt guilty saying no, right? It's okay to want to help people... but you should stay away from people like Barron. It won't end well."
I winced, trying to stand up, but Tyler held me against him. "Thay, put in your earbuds."
I hesitated.
"He has a... tactic to prolong beating you into doing what he wants so it takes longer for him to get caught. If you keep-"
Hands shaking, I reached into my pocket and grabbed my knockoff AirPod case, quickly putting in my earbuds and turning up the volume. Maybe nothing was going wrong.
I gripped my sleeves tighter.
Tyler grabbed my phone, and before I snatched it back he turned the volume even higher in my earbuds.
Something was happening.
Ben got up and started walking around the fire hydrant, and I ripped out of Tyler's grasp, stuffing my earbuds in my pockets and running around to see Barron under Logan on the ground, tackled or something. But Logan was being lifted off him by Jace and Will. Ben grabbed Will's hair and slammed him into the ground. Everyone else ran over, and then someone yanked Taylor's hair. I grit my teeth, and Tyler yelled her name, running at the girl who did so (the girl who also used to be one of my closest friends).
