T W E N T Y S I X

Zion glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His face was paler than it was mere moments ago. A somber smile was on his lips as he replayed the conversation with his brother.

Ryleigh meant the world to him and the fact that he hurt him, even it wasn't intentional, left him feeling disgusted with himself. Zion grabbed a oversized hoodie and threw it over his head, covering his body.

Over with tears glazed his brown orbs. The fact that Ryleigh caught him in such a vulnerable state dismaled him. Hastily, he downed a glass of water to wash out his mouth of the overwhelming stench of vomit. He quickly brushed his teeth and slipped out of his room.

Zion tried to ignore the judgemental glares, which he knew were based on his weight, and headed to his first period, with his eyes averted to the ground.

Abruptly, a hand encircled his wrist and he closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable hit, but it never came. He opened his dark irises to find a blue eyed gaze.

He blinked at him.

"Are you okay?" Casper's minty breath fanned his face. He released his grip on Zion's wrist.

"W-What?"

"Are you okay?" His voice was laced with concern. "Ryleigh told me you barely ate today and you haven't for a while now. I know you don't know me that well, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"Why do you care?" Zion forced a glare in his direction, but a tinge of sadness filled his voice.

"I used to have binge eating disorder. Although I don't have it anymore, I know what it feels like to suffer like that. I know what it feels like to look at yourself that way. I know what it feels like to not think you're good enough."

Casper's forlorn tone pierced through Zion. He had no idea that one of the school's most feared used to think he wasn't good enough. Honestly, he thought he was a cocky bastard who thought he was better than everyone else.

"Here," he scribbled onto a piece of paper shoved into his jean pockets. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you."

Zion's eyes widened at the numbers inked onto the piece of paper. "Thank you," he choked out. Casper flashed him a halfhearted smile and brushed past him on his way to his own class.

What the hell?

Nika shoots Zeus a half smile. Zeus arches an eyebrow, his brown eyes focused on the Power Point at the front of the room. Public Speaking was an interesting class if you weren't an introvert. Neither Nika nor Zeus feared judgment from the public eye.

Nika actually loved talking in front of people. At his old school, all of his introverted classmates wanted to work with him because he'd gladly present the project. Nika considered himself confident, but he wasn't cocky.

Zeus maintained a 4.0 GPA every year, so he'd push aside his small fear of large crowds and take it upon himself to excel at Public Speaking. He wrote down the bullet points typed onto the Power Point onto an empty page of his composition notebook to assist him later. Zeus was the sort of person to excel at note taking because he had to write down simple facts to remember them.

Nika, however, remembered facts said to him vividly to the point where it was petrifying.

"So in summary," the teacher stated, wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose. "You'll be graded on how well you present at the end of the year. I will be looking at your tone, volume, and your confidence as you present. Of course, you'll have to be factual, but only a small portion of your grade will be determined on the accuracy."

Nika's smile widened because in all honesty, he was terrible when it came to academics. Zeus's smile faltered, on the other hand, because accuracy was what he was accomplished perfectly.

A boy in the front of the class raised his hand, a wide smile on his face. "What is the topic?"

Mr. Hunley hummed in response. "I'm glad you asked, Caleb. Your topic will completely up to you, but it has to be a topic that's factual and searchable on the internet. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you choose to teach the class. In addition, every time you lose the focus of a classmate, you lose ten points."

Heidi: can I tie your shoelaces for you? I don't want you falling for anyone else.

Apollo rolled his eyes at Heidi's attempts to flirt. For an hour now, he'd been sending him cheesy pickup lines. Although they were cheesy, the dark haired boy was unable to stop the laugh from slipping past his lips.

Apollo: you have to try harder, Heidi. I'm not tempted to kiss you yet.

Heidi tapped his finger against his bottom lip, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. A smile appears on his face when his fingers hover over his keyboard.

Heidi: I must be in a museum because damn, you are truly a work of art.

When Apollo didn't respond, Heidi sent another one.

Heidi: I'm not into watching sunsets, but I'd love to see you go down.

"Oh fuck," Apollo cursed. Even though he couldn't see him, he knew a smirk dangled from the brunette's lips.

He knew Heidi sent the message to purposefully send him into a frenzy. His mind steered to Heidi beneath him on it's own accord and Apollo was in desperate need of a cold shower. He groaned in frustration.

Dammit, Heidi.

Heidi: so do you want to kiss me yet?

"Heidi," Apollo warned the darkness in a low voice. "Bloody, fucking hell, Heidi."

Heidi: so is that a yes?

"Of course it's a fucking yes," Apollo groaned loudly.

"Are you talking to me?" Reese lifted his head, his brown hair sprawling across his tanned face.

"No," Apollo muttered to his roommate, who was scrolling aimlessly through Twitter, the blinding light from his phone illuminating his face.

Reese shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly because he stopped questioning his roommate. Reese's hair was damp from his recent shower and his head sat propped up with his elbow. "Whatever, man."

Yes, Heidi is cheeky as hell and he has that much of an effect on Apollo.