I know, I know! I really really shouldn't but... :D

Chapter One

"Yo, Riley!"

Riley turned away from his locker at the call. Ben was coming down the hall, his tall frame clearing the way easily, and he forced a half-assed smile in his direction.

"What's up?" He greeted as Ben came to a stop beside him, leaning casually against the lockers and surveying the students around them with a lazy eye.

"Is it true?"

Riley let out an exaggerated groan. "Fuck man. Really? You too?"

Ben chuckled warmly, a laugh that always tricked people into laughing along with it. "Hey now, a man's got a right to a little curiosity."

Slamming his locker shut, Riley shouldered his backpack and started down the hall. With another laugh Ben followed good-naturedly behind him.

"Well?" He badgered as they cleared the hall and came to the cafeteria. Students were scattered around the room, grouped at tables, many eating breakfast while they waited for school to start.

"Yeah, it's true." Riley finally said.

"Shit man," Ben crooned as they seated themselves at a table in the back of the large room. Dark brown hair fell into matching eyes as he grinned across the table at Riley. "How relieved are you?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Riley slid down in his chair and leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "It's good I guess."

"You guess? Fuck you. You've been whining like a bitch for two weeks about wanting out."

Riley snorted derisively. "Yeah well, I'm out now."

Ben's sudden loud laughter startled him enough to turn his gaze back to his friend. "What?" He asked defensively, straightening up and crossing his arms.

"I get it," Ben laughed, brown eyes twinkling wickedly, "She dumped you, didn't she? You waited too long and she ended up dropping your sorry ass before you could drop hers!" He broke off into another round of laughter and Riley rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Shut the fuck up."

Ben laughed harder.

Riley sighed and leaned back in his chair. He supposed he could deal with a laughing Ben. Better than if he told him the reason Mel had broken up with him before he could figure out how to break up with her. That definitely wasn't a story he planned to share anytime soon.

"So what happened?" Ben asked, his eyes mirthful and the corner of his mouth turned up teasingly.

"The usual shit. You know how it is," he deflected.

Ben raised his eyebrows. "Come on, Porter, spill."

"Fuck, why do you care so much?" Riley snapped. "It was nothing."

The surprise that flickered across Ben's friendly brown eyes before they shuttered into impassivity sent a pang of guilt deep into Riley's gut.

But before he could say anything the too-loud bell rang above them. Riley dropped his gaze to the table. A blink of silence stretched between them in the aftermath and then Ben pushed away from the table and got to his feet.

"Saved by the bell, hey," he said with a crooked smile. "I'll talk to you later, man."

Riley watched him walk away, cursing himself for acting so defensive. If he was going to play it cool, he was going to have to do a lot better than that.

….

Luke pushed open the door of the boy's bathroom and slunk inside. Out in the hall kid's hurried to get to class before the final bell but that was just about the last thing on his mind. Instead, he dropped his bag on the floor and slumped on top of it, resting his back against the wall and shutting his eyes.

After a good twenty minutes had passed and he knew the campus security would be out on the west side, he got up. Hoisting himself up onto the farthest sink, he pressed one hand against the perpendicular wall for balance while he used his other to jimmy open the small window. With the ease of a well-practiced routine, he pushed his bag out through the window before slipping through after it, feet first to land in the grass six feet below. He left through the empty baseball field and in five minutes was halfway down Chester Avenue.

…

The familiar, dark green door made him hesitate, but he knew he couldn't stand it if he didn't, so he forced himself to knock. And when there wasn't an answer, he knocked again. Finally, with a sigh, he pulled out his keys and opened the door for himself.

"Hello?" He called out as he stepped into the house, trying to push down the nerves humming in his stomach. He blinked away spots as his vision adjusted. The house was dark and cool, a relief from the bright sun already shining outside. It was after eight so he knew his Aunt was already gone. "Mel?"

No answer came but he hadn't expected one. Turning on the floor lamp by the door and bathing the entryway in soft light, he surveyed the area. There were no signs of life on the first floor and Luke pocketed his keys and dropped his bag underneath the end table before heading towards the stairs.

"Mel?" He called again, this time right outside of her door, adding a soft knock. There was a long pause and then he tried again. "Mel? Can I come in?"

"No," came his cousin's voice, finally, muffled and tired, "Please go away."

Luke winced, shutting his eyes and leaning his head against the wall. He never meant to hurt her.

"Please?"

The seconds ticked by and when no more response came he carefully turned the doorknob and cracked the door open. "Mel?" He peaked in to find his cousin curled up on her side. The curtains were drawn shut and the only light trickled in through the small gap left in the middle. Melissa's hair was piled in a sloppy bun and her small hands clutched a blanket around her like a shield. Suddenly Luke felt ten times worse.

"What part of go away don't you understand?" Mel hissed from the cocoon she'd made for herself, her blue eyes flickering towards Luke in a glare.

"I'm sorry." Luke whispered, but instead of leaving he slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. "For everything. I know you have every right to hate me." He leaned against the door and stared across the room at Melissa. He hoped she could tell how much he meant what he was saying. If she thought for a moment he was here for any reason other than true regret it would break his heart.

Face twisted into a bitter grimace, Melissa pushed back her blanket and sat up. Her hair was tangled and her eyes were red and all Luke wanted to do was give her a hug. He was supposed to be the one that made her feel better, not one of the people bringing her down. "How could you do that to me?" Her voice broke. Luke watched a tear slip silently down her cheek before she scrubbed it harshly away. "I love him," she whispered.

And she sounded so let down and broken that all Luke could do was drop his head and say, "I know," instead of what he really wanted to … I love him too.

…

Please let me know what you think! I promise this doesn't mean I'm abandoning any of my other stories, it just means there's more potential opportunity for something to be updated… er yeah, let's go with that… Anywayy, lots of love! Oh yeah and the document edit/preview thing was totally fucked up tonight so blame any format issues on that...

-carefullyironic