If Only Being Switched at Birth Was Easy

/13/ King's POV

King's POV

I stormed off from the school pissed off. I especially didn't want to go through a class with Sam and AJ.

"Hey King!" someone called me as I was walking around town. I looked over to see some of my old friends.

"Hey," I muttered, changing my route to walk over to them. I noticed they were smoking. One of the guys I was closer to—Darren—held out a blunt to me and I accepted it. But when I put it up to take a drag, I stopped myself.

I could just hear AJ and Krystal warning me not to screw up my life—more Krystal than anything. But I knew that the imaginary voice was what's best for me because I wouldn't be able to support anyone if I got back on drugs...especially not myself.

I held it back out to him. He accepted it and took a drag himself.

"Not in the mood?" he asked. I didn't give him a verbal answer, but he got my point and nodded only once. I hung out with them for a while and they checked the time every few minutes.

"How's AJ?" Darren asked me after our conversation about how the guys and I were doing. He had once been a part of our group, but then took a turn in a wrong direction which was saying a lot because we were already at the bottom of the barrel when it came to behavior. We chased trouble, but trouble followed him. If what we did was considered misdemeanors, Darren would elevate it to a felony. It didn't matter that he was a good dude to me. He was reckless and careless and ex-communicated for a reason.

"She's okay," I answered.

"Man, I gotta tell you," he started. I looked over to him and his high self, "I saw her the other night and damn, she's smoking hot—"

"Stop," I growled.

"Oh right. You love her and some shit," he slurred with a laugh. I shoved his shoulder.

"Dude. She's my foster sister," I reminded. He was one of the first people to start that crap about me and AJ...but he was the only one with a solid reason to do so.

"That's not what I heard," he laughed. What?

Before I could ask him, he took off down the alley due to the sudden police sirens were ringing and, no matter who was there, I sprinted away from them. I could not get into any more trouble.

I looked down to my phone and saw AJ calling me.

"What?" I spat. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I should ask you that," she said. I sighed at her attempted humor. "I really think you're overreacting."

"I don't care," I responded, even though I did care. She just never knew that side of me. I never showed it. It made me feel angry at myself for not being able to open myself to the person who was essentially my best friend.

"Look, if it seems like I'm on Connor's side—"

"It does."

"—that's not how it is," she finished.

"Whatever," I muttered even though I wanted to say more. I heard her scoff and then she hung up. I sighed myself.

Sometimes, I wondered why I even acted like this with her. I never cared about anyone as much as AJ, even though I denied it, but I knew that she didn't see me as anything but a brother because that's truly what I was. Over the years, I had some façade hanging over my head. Maybe because deep down, I wanted to hate her like some ironic sibling-ship, but I know I couldn't ever do that. And with only two people in this entire world that know how I feel—one being a drug addict (Darren) and the other living far away from here—there was a façade hanging over my head from long ago...