"It's nice to meet one of Laurie's friends finally." The man in front of me scratched the back of his head as he chuckled nervously.

I grinned awkwardly so as not to make him feel uncomfortable. Laurie, who sat next to him, across from me, switched her gaze between mine and his while her face scrunched in disgust.

"Why are you guys making this so awkward?" She said while laughing.

I pressed my lips together as I thought of how ignorant she was being. The first time I met her boyfriend, she acted as if I was some stalker who followed her around.

I sigh and lean back into the chair, annoyed by my friend. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

She shrugs nonchalantly, careless of how things would turn out if Bella found out in some type of way.

"Not everything revolves around her you know." She informs me.

I roll my eyes and look around the school cafe, wondering how we should move along with this situation. The fairy lights of the room flickered as though they were losing power. Only whispers could be heard throughout the space, due to the early time we came.

"You're the one who didn't want to tell her because she didn't like him," I mention, pointing at Julien, her boyfriend.

She snorts out loud. "I know, but..." She starts, turning over to look at him. "... Julien made me realize that she wouldn't overreact to a choice that wouldn't affect her. That is, if she is a good friend..." She trails off.

Julien nods along to her words and continues for her. "Ariana, Laurie told me a lot about you guys, and I know how controlling your cousin is, but you have to try to stand your ground."

I frown, unable to comprehend how this conversation went from talking about how they would tell my cousin the truth, to me having to be more confident.

"Right." I squint my eyes. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Julien. I hope we get to know you more in the future." I smile softly.

"Is this your way of telling us that you're leaving?" Laurie smirks at me.

"Maybe..?" I shrug, joking around. "I have a three-hour lecture in half an hour, I gotta get there early." I sigh, getting up to leave the room.

Laurie waves at me while her boyfriend nods his chin towards me. I make my way around the tables and chairs being used by a few students and go out of the door.

Heading off in the direction of my next class, I mentally prepared myself for the burden that would be have to resolved this evening, at the library.

For three hours straight, I had to listen to a teacher talk about chemistry, the worst subject on this planet. It was only two in the afternoon, but I was already exhausted from the day. I had noted down the notes of today's class but now that it was over, I needed to revise them right away. i didn't want to put it off for later, because I knew that I would end up procrastinating it and forget about it.

I stared at the pieces of paper, wondering if I should finish the last of it today or tomorrow. It more logical to finish it all today but I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. On the other hand, Ethan was going to come meet me at the library later on, so it wouldn't be nice to not be there.

I decide on finalizing them right at this moment, so I quickly get back into focus. As the minutes ticked by and the people came and went, my eyelids started to get heavier and my head drooped down every so often.

Okay maybe I'll just rest a little on the desk.

Getting comfortable, I cross my arms on the table and rest my head on top of them. I let my eyes relax and light sleep takes over my body. After what felt like hours, I get slightly woken up by something thrown over my shoulders. I was alarmed, but not enough for me to open my eyes. For a moment, I felt something was watching me, until I heard weak footsteps leave the area and went back to my sleep.

Suddenly, a chair being pulled fiercely wakes me up and I jump up from my seat. I look up from the desk and stare at the person who caused the noise.

Ethan was smiling at me while the side of his head rested on his fist. "Sup." He nodded.

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I smile back awkwardly and fix myself up, getting my hair out of my face and straightening my posture. The clothing on my shoulders decides to fall as I do so and I watch it drop to the ground.

Ethan's eyes follow mine as he stares at the jacket suspiciously. "That seems very familiar..." he jokes. "You wear my gym's jacket uniform?"

I watch him in amusement, knowing that he was the one who threw it on me, to keep me warm. At least, that's what I assumed.

"Yeah," I play along, putting my arms through the sleeves and letting a familiar scent run through my nostrils.

He shrugs. "It looks good on you."

I smile knowingly and remember what we were here for. "Right. So what have you been up to?" I ask.

He stares at me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you trying to get to know me?" He questions with a smirk on his face.

Panicked, I shake my hands in the air. "No, no, that's not what I meant." I try to take back my words. "I was talking about the project."

Seeing a slight disappointment in his face, I regret saying what I said.

Right as I was about to overexplain the meaning of my words again, he raced me to it and began talking about the work he'd done over time. Seeing as I should just let this go, I nod and listen to what he tells me.

I'm so awkward.

About an hour passes by and we decide to finish up our work for the day, packing up our stuff and leaving the table. As we were about to go our separate ways, I remembered the jacket I was wearing this entire time.

"Oh, Ethan," I take the clothing off my shoulders. "Thank you for letting me borrow this," I say, handing him the jacket.

His gaze shifts between me and the gym clothing with a questioning look on his face. "That's not... mine," he reveals.

Okay, wait.

Was he joking or was he being serious? I couldn't tell. There was no way that the jacket wasn't his. Do you mean to tell me that I was joking around with him about it while this had nothing to do with him? On the other hand, he looked dead serious.

"Wait, really?" I ask.

"Yeah, isn't it yours?" He squints his eyes at me.

Shoot. Do I lie? I mean, it's too late to lie now so...

"No," I reply. "Someone threw it over me while I was sleeping." I frown.

He laughs out loud. "Well," he runs a hand through his hair, "guess you got yourself a free jacket."

"I guess..." I say, embarrassed at the fact that this whole time I thought this was a kind act done by him.

"Alright then, see you soon." He says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I nod and wave him goodbye as I walk off towards the direction of my house.

I fiddle with the jacket in my hands while walking home, until I accidentally drop it. When I reach to pick it up, I notice a little tag sewn on the inside of it. When I look closer to read what it says, I can't help but notice the funny handwriting.

'Andrew Davis' it said. And right under it was written a phone number.

I stopped in my tracks and looked around warily. Did he throw this on me without even saying anything?

I didn't know how to feel about this. Should I be scared or should I be grateful he gave me his jacket? Matter of fact, this was the first act of kindness he'd ever shown toward me.

"I'm home!" I yell as soon as the door closes behind me.

My mom's footsteps reach me right as I enter the house. "Ariana, get this stranger out of my home." She panics, grabbing my hands in hers.

My eyes flicker between hers in confusion. Then, I hear loud stomping get closer to us.

"Mama, it's really not that bad..." Cristian whines.

When he reaches the last step and comes into view, I realize why she'd made all this ruckus. Cristian stood in the hallway, staring at the both of us with a flustered face. The truth is, his Edgar cut was gone. The bush on his head had vanished and left a buzz cut on the top.

"W-what happened to you." I widen my eyes in shock, a shiver running up my spine.

"What do you mean what happened to you? I cut my hair, that's all!" He throws his arms in the air. "I'm the same person as before!" He explains desperately.

My mom wraps her arms around me and points in his direction. "Get that demonio out of my house!"

"Mama! Stop!" Cristian cries out loud.

Suddenly, she grabs the slipper from under her foot and threatens him with it. "I will hit you with the chancla! No son of mine will be gang affiliated!"

"Who said I'm in a gang-" he whisper-shouts, his hands raised in surrender. "I swear, Mama, it's just a haircut! The barbershop messed up, and this is all they could do to fix it!"

My mom's grip on the slipper tightens, her face a mix of disbelief and disappointment. "No te creo! Why would you do this to yourself, Cristian? ¿Por qué?"

"I didn't have a choice!" Cristian pleads, taking a step back. "They said it was either this or a bowl cut, and I wasn't about to get made fun of by my friends!"

A snort escapes me before I can stop it, and both of them turn to stare at me. "Sorry," I mumble, covering my mouth with my hand. "But a bowl cut? Really? What barber shop would offer that? You could've came up with any other lie, yet you choose this?"

Cristian glares at me, his eyes demanding that I stay out of it. "Yes, a bowl cut." He squints his eyes.

"Watch his pop up on the news while the screen says: Warning! Immigrant and former Cartel associate, Cristian Medina, caught meddling with drugs." she says, leaning in towards me, her hand hovering over an imaginary board in the air.

"He wouldn't last a day, mamá. Let alone make it to the news." I roll my eyes playfully, crossing my arms. "He's obviously doing this for the girl he likes." I point accusingly.

Her eyes widen as she darts her eyes between us. "Cristian," she slams her hands on her hips. "You like a girl?"

At that, my brother falls to his knees in defeat. His face covered with the palm of his hands as he whined dramatically.

Then, a loud slam is heard, indicating a fallen object, or rather, my dad's lunchbox. "Cristian has a girlfriend's?" He says in surprise as we all turn around to face him while he stood at the tip of the door, his jaw dropping in shock.

This was going to be a long night, at least for him. Being evil is so hard, I should be getting praised for this.