Things Can't Get Any Worse, Can They?

"I'm home," I greeted into the empty house as I walked through the front door. While a part of me was thrilled that no one was home, another part of me wished that someone were there. After my terrible first day, I actually wouldn't mind hearing about someone else's day or talking about my own; anything to help me relax and take my mind off of school. But then again, maybe I wasn't in the mood to talk. I mean, I basically talked all afternoon.

After 8th period, I had to stay after school for a student council meeting. It was a long meeting with the principal about how we were going to go about with our annual beginning of the school year pep rally. Usually, the president made a speech about how much fun the year was going to be and how we were all a big happy family. All of that is bull, I know but I had to do what the job entitled me to do. So, that meant I had to spew High School Musical quotes and maybe break a few dance moves just to please the principal. I guess I didn't mind too much though. I bet the school would enjoy a humorous speech this year. All of the other presidents before me were a bit boring in their speaking skills but always had great events. I want to be the president that has awesome speeches and even more awesome school events. But of course, that was going to take a whole lot of work.

Once, I finally got out of the meeting, I had to take Ashley to her dancing school which was only a couple blocks away from the school. Then, I had to pick little Zac up from his school center and take him to his little sport camp thing. That took me the longest since I basically drove all around town. But now, I can finally just lie down and relax. I didn't even bother wondering where my parents were as I wandered up the stairs to my room. They were every barely home anyway. They were always working.

I flopped down onto my bed, kicking my shoes off as I did so. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I felt tempted to just fall asleep right then and there. But I knew I couldn't do that. My mom would come in the door later with a whole list of premeditated questions that she would ask about my day. She does that with Ashley as well but that conversation usually doesn't last long due to my sister's short answers. There was also no doubt that my dad would want to question me about what I found in the mail when I came in - just as he had been doing ever since I completed my applications. Luckily for me, there were no envelopes stamped with a college logo. Just bills and a few catalogs for the girls. The usual as I call it. I knew that dad wouldn't like the usual though. He wanted to see one of those big envelopes. I'm not sure why he was so pumped over it though. I mean, I was the one going to college and I wasn't even that stressed over it. I knew that I should get into at least one of the schools I applied to. I actually managed to convince my mom to let me apply to good colleges under Ivy League such as Duke, UCLA, Stanford and some other colleges. With my overly high GPA, close to perfect SAT scores, and abundance of school activities, I should get into one of them. But dad always worries. That's what he always does. Sometimes I swear he stresses more about me and my life than his own which can get annoying sometimes. But I knew that I did have one school on my mind. One school that I was praying to God that I would get into. That one school where I would actually be happy.

X

"Do you think I should dye my hair pink," Melanie asked as we walked down the school hallway the next morning. I had been zoned out, merely walking down the hallway like a zombie. The night before had been pretty busy. My parents practically bombarded me with questions about my day and about college since my father took the dignity to call Columbia and see if they had reviewed my application. Apparently, they did and they told him that I should be receiving something in the mail soon regarding their decision. So, my parents - more my dad I should say - were going crazy. My dad was practically picturing me in a Columbia sweatshirt with my jersey number on the back of it. I'm surprised he didn't already buy a ticket for us to go up there and visit again.

"Excuse me," I asked, looking down at my friend. She was holding up one of her shiny auburn locks in between her fingers, staring at it thoughtfully. Her brown eyes glanced up at me.

"Do you think I should dye my hair pink? Or maybe orange? Or red? Or purple even?"

"Or maybe the whole rainbow," I teased. She pushed my arm playfully.

"Danny, seriously. I want to do something different with my hair but not too different, ya know?"

"Oh yea and dying your purple won't be too different."

"It won't be my entire hair. Only the tips or like half of it. You've seen the pictures with the girls with multi-colored hair. It looks so pretty."

"Yes, it looks pretty on girls who are models and whose hair dye is probably fake." Melanie rolled her eyes at me. "Just dye it honey blonde or something. It'll bring out your eyes more." A small smirk played on Melanie's lips as she looked up at me a bit shyly. I could see her cheeks begin to turn a bit pink.

"Really," she asked. "You think it'd make my eyes look pretty?" I nodded.

"Yea. The lighter color would emphasize them more. Plus, it'll frame your face better." Melanie blushed a bit deeper.

"Since when do you know so much about hair color and what makes a woman looks beautiful?"

"My mom is the creator of one of the most famous cosmetic lines, remember?" I then pursed my lips and spoke in a high toned voice. "Plus, I'm just so in love with all of the cute hair styles nowadays." Melanie laughed at me as I began to pat my hair. "I don't know though. Should I dye my hair brown? I think I want it to be brown. I want to totes bring out my eyes. Or should I go black but I don't know. I don't think my skin color would make it look right. What do you think?" Melanie was laughing too hard to even answer me. I smiled at the fact that I managed to lighten the mood a little bit. Plus, I just loved hearing her laugh. Her voice had a melodic tone and when she laughed, it sounded like ringing bells.

In my peripheral vision, I caught sight of my sister's brown hair. I averted my eyes towards her direction. Yes, my sister was standing there in her fitted clothing, looking pretty innocent and her age for once. But that wasn't what made me stare at her for a while. It was who she was talking to that really caught my attention.

Without thinking, I slightly changed the direction in where I was walking and practically left Melanie talking to herself. I accelerated my walking as my sister began to talk more animatedly. She was waving her hands around as her red lips moved quickly. Her face was drooping into one of worry and desperation. I didn't even want to think about what they were talking about. All I really knew was that I didn't want her talking to him. "What's going on here," I asked as I put myself between Jayden and my little sister. Jayden raised an eyebrow at me, his bright green eyes beginning to fill with amusement.

"I'm sorry, big brother, but if I don't recall, I don't think you were concerned in this conversation," he said, his accent almost taking over his voice.

"Get out of here, Danny. I'm fine," Ashley said as she tugged at my arm. I shrugged her off easily. Jayden merely glanced at my movement and his facial expression changed slightly into one of the offensive. The corners of his mouth tightened as did his eyes harden. It was a very slight variation but my eyes were quick enough to catch it.

"Is there a problem," he asked, his voice dropping down a tone. "Because ya know, if there was then I'm sure I won't have a problem helping you solve it." I glanced down to see a flash of something silver shine near his belt. It was too quick of a flash for me to tell whether it was a gun or a knife but neither of the two sounded too good to me. But, I can't say I was exactly surprised. I knew about his reputation. He always got in trouble with the law and hung around with soon-to-be felons. Everyone in the school knew not to test him. It was obvious that he wouldn't have a problem arranging personal punishments. Throughout all that I knew, though, I couldn't afford to be scared of him. I had to protect my sister – no matter the consequences.

"If I ever see you talking to my sister again then yes, we will have a problem," I said. I took a step closer and lowered my voice. "Leave her alone." Jayden smirked, a small chuckle softly rumbling in his chest.

"You're funny," he said. "I wonder if you'll still be funny after I rearrange that pretty face of yours." I felt a muscle in my jaw jump as my anger shot up. I hated to be insulted or downgraded or any of that. This dude may have something he can stick right into one of my vital organs but I didn't care. If he wanted a fight then he could have one.

"Daniel, don't," Ashley said as she jumped in front of me. Her emerald eyes pleaded for me to calm down as her hands pressed against my chest firmly. "Just walk away. Okay? I'm fine." She then looked over her shoulder at Jayden. The stupid fucker was smirking at me, his eyes shining with amusement as if he were playing a game. He looked ready for my attack though. His hands were balled up into fists at his sides and he had partially straightened up his composure. I bet if I would've taken a swing at him then it would have only taken less than a second for him to return one back. "I'm sorry about my brother's actions. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again," she said softly before grabbing my arm and yanking me down the hallway. I still caught the look in Jayden's eyes that challenged me to jump right back on him. I almost did too if it weren't for Ashley's voice snapping me back into reality. "Are you trying to get yourself killed," she yelled.

"Don't even start with me," I growled. "What the hell were you trying to do? What were you trying to get from him? Drugs? A gun? Trying to join his new gang? Look, I know that you're in your whole rebel stage or whatever you wanna call it but I will only cover for you for certain things and getting involved with that douchebag is not acceptable."

"Danny, calm down. I know that he's dangerous but he's really good at math too. I know it's only the first week of school but my teacher recommended that I go to him for tutoring. Before you wanted to do your whole big brother standup, I was trying to convince him to help me. You don't have to be so overprotective, you know. I can handle myself."

"Yea, tell me that the next time you call me at 3 in the morning when you're trying to get away from your so called friends."

"That's different. Jayden can't do anything here. Just trust me okay?" I sighed but nodded. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go bargain with the devil." I rolled my eyes as she turned and began to walk down the hallway.

"What's this that I heard about you almost getting your ass kicked by the most feared teenager in this town," I heard Melanie say as she appeared at my side. I looked down at her to see that she had her arms crossed and was giving me a disapproving look. I sighed as I shook my head.

"It wasn't a big deal. I thought Ashley was getting involved with him so I had to make sure she was alright."

"I'm sure Ashley knows better than to have anything to do with that kid."

"I hope so," I murmured with a shrug. Melanie merely wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled me close to her. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to comfort me more but what she was doing was perfectly fine with me. I really didn't feel like making things complicated between us. I needed her more than I cared to admit.

The morning rolled by smoothly although the whole school was trying to make my altercation with Jayden earlier much bigger than it actually was. But I guess to them, it was a big surprise. I mean, who would think that the school president would actually try to pick a fight with a street rat? There were also some bets roaming around about who was going to win if we ever did fight. I can't exactly say a lot of money was on me with that one. In Calculus class, I was sitting in my usual seat when one of my classmates tapped me on the shoulder. "So, are you guys gonna duke it out or what," he asked. Now, I didn't want to instigate any unnecessary drama but I told him what I think was a legit answer. If he messed with my sister then I was going to punch him in the eye. Ha, that was kind of a funny sight though. Although, I did work out and such, I wasn't very big. Jayden was a couple inches taller than me and a lot more muscle. So, that would equal a small preppy white kid against a muscular, badass Hispanic kid. Yea, I think we all know how those types of fights end.

"You think you're tough, huh?" I heard a soft voice say from beside me. I looked over to see a girl with bouncy blonde hair and big blue eyes staring at me. Her slender legs were crossed over each other and her head was leaning down in the palm of her hand. Her skin was a milky color and her cheeks were a bit red. She was pretty though with her wide eyes, long, flared eyelashes, small nose, pink lips, and heart shaped face. She reminded me of a porcelain doll.

"No, I'm just your average overprotective older brother," I replied. The girl smiled and tilted her head.

"So, you didn't really want to fight the guy?" I shook my head.

"I would've if I had to but I didn't necessarily want to. I just wanted to protect my sister." The girl nodded.

"That's sweet of you. I wish I had older brothers that were as sweet as you." I smiled and shook my head at her. She hesitated for a moment but extended her hand out to me. "I'm Mia. I'm, um, well, we've gone to school together since freshman year but we've never been officially introduced."

"Hi Mia," I said as I shook her hand. "I'm Daniel. It's nice to finally meet you." Her hand was warm, soft and smooth. It was also very small. I was afraid that if I gripped her hand too hard then I might accidentally break it. I had to admit that it was kind of cute though.

"It's nice to meet you too." She blushed deeply as I flashed my charming smile at her. I couldn't deny that she was absolutely gorgeous and seemed pretty nice. That meant that I also couldn't help but feel the need to flirt with her. My parents have been begging me to get a girlfriend for a while now and she seemed like a good fit for the moment. Plus, I think that I needed a good distraction right now. I knew that sooner or later I would start stressing about school and college and all that other good stuff. I'm sure having a girlfriend wouldn't hurt. So, I casually flirted with her until she finally caved in and gave me her number. I actually liked her though. She was really smart, funny, and sweet – and beautiful. I can't forget that.

I was actually in a bit of a newfound bliss for the rest of the day. Mia was in a couple of my classes so we walked together and chatted up a storm. Although we had just met, I could tell that she was going to make me happy in the future. It wasn't until I was on my way to eighth period that I felt my stomach twist in a bad way. I had almost forgotten about my small altercation with Jayden earlier. I know that it wasn't much but I'm pretty sure that it was enough to piss Jayden off. It didn't take much to do that – something that everyone knew. I just hoped that he wouldn't lean over and stab me in the side during class. I did want to die in an unforgettable memory like finding the cure for cancer or as a world leader - no– as a murder in the middle of a lecture about the structure of matter and atoms.

To my surprise, though, Jayden seemed pretty relaxed when I entered the classroom. Or maybe that was because he wasn't looking at me. He was sitting in our designated lab table with his long legs stretched out in front of him and his back leaned into the chair. His vibrant green eyes were observing the classroom curiously, a subtle lost expression on his face. I guess I wasn't too surprised at that. Why wouldn't he feel lost here? I mean, this was a private school with a bunch of rich kids. He was only here because he got a full tuition scholarship or something. Or at least that's what the rumors were. Anyway, there were only a handful of other kids like him that were in this grade. But, they were all in regular classes. I'd also heard through the grapevine that he took a lot of advanced classes. Surprisingly, he was part of the top 30 in our class and was part of the National Honor Society. If he would clean up his act then all of his accomplishments would show more. Maybe then he would also have more friends. A lot of kids now don't want anything to do with him because they were afraid of what he might drag them into. Whatever brain he had inside his head sure didn't work well with what he does with his life.

Suddenly, Jayden's eyes flicked over to me. Immediately, the lost look on his face vanished. His eyes took a devious and mischievous gleam as the ends of his lips tugged upward a bit. I could feel him mentally laughing at me. I could also feel myself blush in embarrassment. Of course, Jayden wouldn't be mad. It was stupid of me to even think that he would be. I wasn't a threat in his eyes. Instead, I was a joke. A very funny one. But, I refused to be laughed at – even if it was by a reputed gang leader.

Reluctantly, I took my seat next to Jayden. He didn't say anything and neither did I. Instead, we both sat there and listened to Mr. Myers talk about atoms as if they were the love of his life. I partially listened to him, anyway. I knew what he was talking about. The concept wasn't hard. Atoms couldn't be separated, blah, blah, blah. I've heard that since 7th grade. I'm sure we all have. But, it was a requirement of the course. Honestly, I wanted to be relieved when Mr. Myers ended his lecture with about fifteen minutes left until dismissal but I couldn't be. That fact only meant that I had fifteen minutes to spend with my lab partner from Hell. Mr. Myers did set a topic for us to talk about though. We were to discuss Dalton's Atomic Theory along with the other laws that were associated with it. Hopefully, I could keep that topic alive.

"So, what do you think about Dalton? Crazy scientist or a man who loved science a bit too much," I asked as I turned to Jayden. He was already looking at me when I turned, his eyes examining me as if I was a piece of meat. His tight, defined jaw was moving slightly to the rhythm of his gum-chewing. He shrugged.

"A little bit of both, I guess. The theory continues to make sense so I'm not questioning it. But, you know what doesn't make sense?" Oh boy, here comes the humiliation. "The way you really think that you can try to fight me and win. Now, that's just mind-blowing."

"Look, I was trying to protect my sister. You ought to be able to respect that." Jayden nodded.

"I do. Trust me, I have little siblings too and I'd do anything to defend them. I actually applaud your effort a bit. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"It won't as long as you don't put your hands on my sister." Jayden raised an eyebrow into a perfect arch as his eyes flashed with a hint of hardness.

"Is that a challenge?"

"It could be." Jayden seemed genuinely surprised at my statement for a second. His eyes widened a bit and his jaw loosened a bit. I'd really caught him off guard with that. Go me. "You don't scare me." Jayden let out a small scoff before he leaned over, his eyes darkening.

"Listen here, pretty boy. You do not want to test me." I narrowed my eyes.

"And what'll happen if I do?" Jayden smirked.

"You keep this shit up and I'll be happy to let you find out." The bell rang causing me to unconsciously jump. Jayden smirked wider as he got up from his seat. "See you around," he said before walking away. I stared after him as he did so. I had a feeling that he wasn't meaning that he would see me by chance. Instead, he was telling me to watch my back. I always associated a three strike rule with people before they finally blow up or attack in this case. Right now, with Jayden, I'm pretty sure that I've gone through at least two of them. One more and he'd probably be more than happy to kick my ass. Ah, this year just can't get any worse, can it?