"Amber, I need your help!" I hear Uncle Anton shout from upstairs. I'm in the basement, covered in shades of yellow, and no where near done with my artwork. "I'm busy!" I shout back and blow a rebellious golden hair, that fell from my messy bun, out of my face. "This is literally a matter of life and death!" my uncle mewls. I hear a clatter and a God dammit from upstairs before I decide to help the poor man. I quickly stir my paint brush in the jar of water before chucking it into my shoulder bag, grabbing my sketch book and paints, and rushing upstairs. When I get to the kitchen, I spot Uncle Anton peering at the toaster. "This bloody bread tanner, isn't working," he complains. I let out a sigh and push the lever down at the side. "That's genius, Amber. Genius!" Uncle Anton says. His face is too sincere for me to tell him how un-genius it really is. You'd never guess he's a doctor. A bloody doctor! I check the time and swear under my breath. "I'm going to be late," I mutter. "Late for what?" Uncle Anton asks. "School." "That's today?" "Yup," I say without popping the 'p'. I do not pop p's over here. "Aren't you suppose to be making a living? You're what? Fifteen, sixteen?" "Seventeen." "Seventeen! Good God, we need to find you a husband!" I'm about to remind Uncle Anton that it's not the eighteen hundreds, but Aunt Tessa and my cousin, Jessica, come bouncing into the kitchen before I can even try. Jessy grabs the toast that jumps out of the toaster and Uncle Anton cries out a protest before trying to figure out the toaster again. "Honey, the lever. You're not a baby," Aunt Tessa says. Jessy turns to me with a scowl, "You're covered in paint," she points out, "Did you even sleep?" I duck my head in guilt, "I wasn't tired," I try to explain. Jessy lets out a sigh before licking her thumb and wiping some paint from my cheek. "We're going to be late. Otherwise I would've told you to change into something that's not covered in paint," she says. "Yeah-yeah, you're not my-" I shut myself up. Jessy sees my change in mood and catches my eye, "You sure you're ready?" she asks. My psychiatrist says I'm ready. She says I'm dealing amazingly with the fact that I lost my parents in a robbery. It's my last year of high school and if my psychiatrist says I'm ready for the first semester, who am I to oppose? "I'm ready," I announce. "Then let's go," Jessy says and grabs my hand. We leave the kitchen with a goodbye and just when Uncle Anton manages to make himself toast, I grab it. Uncle Anton's cries of protest follow us all the way to the drive way. Jessy and I climb into her silver Ford and make our way to school. "So, first day at Tygerwell High, you nervous?" Jessy asks. "Not really," I answer. My previous school wasn't something memorable. It was pretty average and I was pretty average and my friends were pretty average and, well, boring I guess. I wasn't one to inform the whole school my parents were rich. "I wish you'd let us drive your BMW. Everyone would be so jealous of us!" I don't answer that. The BMW is the last thing my parents bought me. The car, along with the millions my parents left me, will most likely not be used soon. I only made sure to pay in some money into my Aunt and Uncle's bank account. I don't want to be a burden to people I love. My parents were rich. I'm not even going to try to deny it. But to me, they were average. And average isn't always bad. Sure, we lived in a mansion and had plenty of sports cars, but those things never mattered to me. What mattered was that they always made a smiley on my eggs and toast and they were always there when I needed someone to talk to and they just knew when I had a bad day or when- "Amber... you're doing it again..." Jessy interrupts. I look back at her, "Doing what?" "You went blank. I was telling you about the cliques of Tygerwell High..." "Oh..." And as quickly as the dark thoughts came, I banish them. I put on my brightest smile and will my eyes to sparkle. "Let's take a first day selfie together!" I suggest. It's a good conversation changer. "Okay!" Jessy says when we finally roll through the school gates. Jessy parks the Ford in a parking that's away from the more flashy cars. She whips out her phone and we pose together. "New beginning!" we both chime when her phone snaps a photo. Jessy picks a warm filter before we observe. Where Jessy has dark brown hair, like most of the family, I have blonde hair. Something I got from my mom. And where Jessy likes wearing converse and crop-tops, I prefer over-sized sweaters and vintage skirts. I know, I know, flattering for the body. "That is going on my Instagram!" Jessy beams. We finally get out of the Ford and make our way to school. My new kind of prison for the next few months. The kind where I'll have to smile until my face hurts and hide the paint spots on my clothes. We enter the hallway and it's just as I remembered high school to be. Kids are laughing and catching up all around. A few couples are making out against lockers. Mean girls are gossiping. Jocks are flexing. Nerds are reading. Pervs are perving and... And... And what the hell are they? I spot a couple of guys at the end of the hallway walking like they're Greek gods. Not towards Jessy and me, but if we don't move within the next minute, we'll probably become roadkill. Kids are practically diving to get out of the way of the five guys. Some going as far as to bow their heads or straight-up run for their lives. The five guys all seem to be mainly dressed in black. And they're all hot. But it's the guy in the middle that catches my eye. With his raven black hair and eyes that I know all the way from here are silver-grey, he walks with a bit more confidence. There's a permanent sneer carved into his stone-cold face. Jessy grabs my arm. "We got to move," she says and turns me. When she has me turned around, we're facing guys from the other side of the hallway. They walk with the exact same level of authority and superiority, but where the other guys have people running away, these guys have people melting. The girls are all basically drooling and guys are getting envious. And where the first group of guys are modeling ripped jeans and leathers, these ones are tailored in coats and expensive pants. Leather Boys and Coat Boys I'll call them. And just like Leather Boys, Coat Boys also has someone that stands out. The guy in the middle has copper hair and dangerously dark eyes - as if every sin is trapped in his gaze. "Shit," Jessy breathes and pulls me to the side. We stand glued to the lockers, like we're hoping to blend in. "What's going on?" I protest. "Just keep quiet," Jessy hisses. Leather Boys and Coat Boys meet at exactly where Jessy and I were standing just seconds ago. "Rhodes," the leader from Leather boys snarls. "Bowmen," the leader from Coat Boys snarls back. The tension can be cut with a knife. A butter knife to be honest. Hell, even a spoon. "Some of your guys were seen on my territory," Leather Leader says. "Well, technically the whole town is my territory," Coat Leader shoots right back. Oh. My. God. This is battle of the egos. I have to refrain from asking Jessy to pass me the popcorn. "This town, belongs to us," Leather Leader says and oh, there they go again. Measuring levels of testosterone or something. The bell rings and everyone scurries to class except for the bunch of guys blocking our way. I can feel Jessy tense up. Not wanting to miss class, but also not wanting to interrupt these guys. "We're going to be late," I say to Jessy, but she shushes me before I can get the entire sentence out. What the hell? "It's my first day; I can't be late," I try again. When Jessy only responds by shushing me again and pressing me even harder into the locker, I just about have enough. "Excuse me, Mister Leather Jacket and Mister Fancy Coat, can you guys go have an ego brawl some other time? We need to get to class," I interrupt. I hear Jessy suck in a breath and all eyes turn to me. Both silver and dark gazes send death glares. Well, shit.