I was sitting at the kitchen table, running my fork over the eggs my mother had prepared, but I couldn't bring myself to eat them. The time was already 7:15 and if Avory didn't come out of her room soon, I'd have to leave for school without her. Picking up Rian and Jack along the way took a lot of time out of the morning. Not only that, but I was anxious to see her. She was nervous about school, I knew that when I heard the shower cut on at 6:45. I could just imagine her in her room, trying to figure out what to wear or worrying about whether or not she'd fit in. I even wondered if she'd wear the clothes we bought her, of if she'd settle for sweats again.

"Alex, I can take her to school. You have to go if you're going to pick up the guys."

"I know, mom, but I don't want her to show up her first day by herself."

"I'm sure she'll be-" My mother paused. Her eyes were locked archway that lead into our kitchen and her mouth was hanging open slightly. "Oh, Avory! You look great!"

Slowly, I spun around in my chair to see the girl. He head was down, but there was a soft smile on her lips. Her brown hair was pulled into a clip, but the messy pieces that stuck out made her face seem just a tad bit less thin. She was wearing a small layer of eyeliner, a pair of dark colored skinny jeans that Jack picked out, a v-neck Blink tee-shirt that I had chosen, and checkered converse, that she picked out all by herself. From where I would sitting, I could smell the sweet scent of 'Butterlfy Fields' lingering on her skin. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

The only thing that pulled me out of my thoughts was the sound of my fork clanking against the plate. My mother jumped in surprise and, though I'm not enitrely sure, I think Avory giggled a little. I nervously smiled and stood up from the table, avoiding my mother's eyes. If she thought I had any attraction to this girl, I'd be lectured for hours.

"Come on, Ave, we've got to get to school."

"You guys be safe. Have a good first day, Avory."

She nodded, following me through the house and out of the door. We climbed into my crappy car and began our journey to pick up my two best friends. Jack's house was first, since he was just down the road, but we'd have to drive another ten minutes to pick up Rian. Jack was happy as usual in the mornings, but he pouted instantly when he saw Ave in the front seat.

"I've been riding shot gun since you got the car!" He complained, tossing his bag in the floor. "You're lucky you look pretty today, Ave, or I'd be mad at you!"

Avory didn't speak much, mostly she just kept her head down and looked out the window. Even when we picked up Ri, she mumbled a thank-you when he complimented her apperance, but said nothing more. I knew she was nervous, so I think we all found it best if we just remained quiet and let her sort things out in her head.

When we finally pulled into the familiar parking lot and got out of the car, Avory's face had grown more pale than it usually is. Her small chest was rising and falling heavily. I was honestly afraid she'd have a panic attack or something. The fact that I didn't know anything about this girl made me fear she may have some deep form of anxiety- What would I do if she went into a fit? I decided to push my luck and wrap an arm around her shoulders. I could feel her tense at my touch, and though she tried to tug away, she slightly relaxed into my chest.

"Everything is going to be fine, Ave," I tried to comfort her. "It's just like any other high school, except now you've got us. I'm sure you'll have at least one class with some of us, or at the very least, our other friends."

"I don't like people, Alex," she whispered, turning her head away from me. "And they don't like me, either."

"Well, we do," Rian smiled, walking ahead of us. "So screw everyone else."

"No, Ave, he literally means screw them. Ten bucks says by the time you're actually settled, you'll have slept with just as many people as Mr. Manwhore your snuggled up with."

My cheeks began to grow hot. There was no denying that I'd been with my fair share of girls, but name was totally uncalled for. I glanced down at Avory, only to see her looking up at me with her big, green eyes. Sadness lingered in her orbs.. She almost seemed disappointmed in me, which made me feel bad about myself. No one had ever cared about how many chicks I've shared sheets with, why should she? Regardless, she pulled herself from my grip and caught up to Rian.

Inwardly, I groaned, knowing that for a while, my chances of getting to know her were slim to none. In two seconds, Jack Barakat's sense of humor ruined that for me.

We entered the building just as the warning bell sounded. Rian informed us that he would be taking Avory to get her schedule and that he'd see us at lunch. I didn't have any classes with Avory before lunch, but once I sat down at the table I learned that she had a class with Rian and a class with Jack. If she ended up with at least one of us in her next two classes, she would survive the day with a familiar face in every room.

Slowly, the group came together. Lisa and Cass sat down together, Matt followed in suit. The six of us gossiped for a while about the new girl, until the scraping of her tray against the table pulled us from our thoughts.

"How's it going?" I questioned her, hoping she'd at least speak to me now. "Jack and Rian said you have a class with each of them."

"I do," her voice was low. "Makes it less hard."

"Alex?" Lisa huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Introduce us!"

"Oh, right. Ave, this is Lisa, Cassadee and Matt, but you can call him Flyzik." They all smiled. "Guys, this is Avory, my foster sister."

"Pleasure to meet you," Matt beamed. "Please, feel free to trust me more than anyone else. I won't lead you astray like those guys," he motioned to us. "Or turn you into a gossiping slutbag, like these two."

Cass and Lisa both laughed, knowing he was kidding, and punched him in the arm. Matt pretended to be hurt and poked out his bottom lip.

"Stop it," Jack snorted. "Ave, he's just trying to get in your pants. You'll get that a lot around here."

"Oh." Avory frowned. "Okay, then."

When the bell sounded that told us to go to our next class, I was relieved. Avory showed me her schedule as we left the lunch room, which made me grow excited because she had the next class with me. After that, she'd be on her own with Flyzik and Lisa.

I watched her throughout our lesson. She was a shy girl, never raising her hand, but she paid close attention to everything Mr. Cross was saying. Like the little sponge she was, she took in every word and wrote it down on a piece of paper. She must be really smart, it's no wonder she didn't fit in with my friends.

Last period, thank God, flew by. When the final bell sounded, I darted to my locker and grabbed the books I would need for my homework, then ran out to my car. I was worried about Avory and I wanted to know how her first day really went. Jack and Rian were already waiting for me, and I could see that Avory had opted to sit in the backseat so Jack would have the front. I frowned, but drove everyone home nonetheless. When Jack closed the door, I glanced in the rearview at the small girl. She was staring down at her hands awkwardly.

"How was it, really?"

"I said it was fine," she weakly stated. "Please stop worrying about me, Alex."

"I can't help it," I admitted, my palms suddenly getting sweaty. "I feel like it's my job to protect you."

"Just like you protected all those other girls?"

"I'm not some kind of perv, Ave," I sighed, shaking my head. "Besides, we only just met. What right do you have to judge me?"

"I have no right to judge you, but you have no right to care about me, either."

Why did she keep saying that? It literally made me want to turn around and shake the stupid out of her.

"Actually, I do. Because this little broken girl just moved into my house, met my friends and is by law a sort of sister to me. So yeah, Ave, I'm allowed to care."

"Think what you will, Alex, but don't expect me to believe you. I'm bad news, no one you should concern yourself with. Why don't you just go back to your picture perfect life and let me be alone with my thoughts?"

That was it. That was the final straw. I'd spent a week trying to talk my parents out of adopting this child, then she shows up and and rips my heart out of my chest because of how fragile she is. What made her think she had any right to shut me out? I was offering my entire world to her, that should mean something.

With anger in my veins, I slammed on the brakes and pulled the car out of the road. I leaned back in the seat to stare her down, her green eyes holding fear.

"Let me tell you something Avory-whatever-your-middle-name-is-Bowan. One week ago I didn't even want you in my life, but here you are and I'm working my ass off to make sure that you're at least comfortable in it. If you want to be a stubborn bitch, fine. But just because everyone else in the world gave up on you doesn't mean I will. Stop putting everyone in a fucking box."

Her eyes were wide with tears leaking over the rims. Pink cheeks and trembling lips, she spoke, but barely.

"Okay, Alex," she sniffed, making my heart rip in two. That was stupid, why did I do that? "At least you called me by a name I've grown to understand."

Notes

You guys are WONDERFUL. But let's try to get some more comments on this, yeah?