Chapter-2

Althea.

Feb 2011

"Ali, Your Noah is here." Kayla's voice broke through my sleep making me jump slightly in bed.

"I'll be down in 10 minutes Kay," I shouted back and hurried into the bathroom.

This became a routine these days. My nightmares are keeping me awake most of the night making me sleep through the alarm in the morning. Kay offered to sleep with me but that didn't help, it never did. So she does the only thing she could and lets me sleep late in the morning.

After 15 minutes of running around my room, I came down somewhat presentable. The sight of Aaron eating Kay's eggs with a smile playing on his face, listening to Kayla's stories immediately brightened my mood.

Well, Aaron is the guy Ray kept talking about on our first day. All his friends call him Ron but I prefer Aaron. I think it suits him better. However, Kay prefers to call him Noah. Yep... you guessed it right. Ray gave a detailed account of my super embarrassing moment that took place in the canteen on my first day and Kay isn't going to let it go anytime soon.

"You are early Aaron," I said jumping down the last step and making my way towards the kitchen.

"Ahh... the princess is finally out," he replied making me roll my eyes.

"Did you sleep well Ali?" Kay asked in a voice filled with concern.

"I overslept my alarm Kay. Obviously, I slept well," I tried to play it down. Aaron was too perceptive for his own good and it's not a good idea to give him anything to doubt my sanity.

After our disastrous introduction on the first day, our relationship took a total U-turn and we ended up being friends. True, they were still assholes but once you get to actually know these guys, it's impossible to not like them.

In no time, they accepted me as a part of their gang. It's just been around 6 months since I am here, but I feel like I knew these guys forever. Until now, I never thought of actually making friends. Frequent changing of schools has always been an issue which stopped me from making someone who lasts. Moreover, I was quite comfortable with my own company. The fear of being called a freak once people get to know me kept me away from wanting to get close to anyone.

I wasn't expecting anything different here either but these guys dint give me a choice. They forced their ways into my heart and now; I am stuck between wanting to be normal and hiding my abnormalities from these people.

"You just woke up Thea and you started dreaming again. Come back to our world. Will you?"Aaron's annoying voice broke through my thoughts. I stuck out my tongue at him and continued eating my eggs.

Once we were done, we hurried up to get to our bikes. Aaron usually stopped at my place every morning as it is on his way to school, and we went together. We had the first period in common, and so it worked well.

With Aaron's constant smirks and Ray's non-stop chatter, lunch rolled out pretty soon. Mason and Joe joined us and soon our table became busy with laughter and talks.

"So you guys are all in for tonight's party at Kat's place right?" Joe asked. The word party makes this guy lose his shit.

"No man. I need to attend Ree's performance. She'll kill me if I ditch her again," Ray said. Ree is Ray's cute little sister who is on her way to becoming a ballerina. The prettiest one in that matter.

"Ahh...that sucks man. What about others?" Joe asked again making the other two guys nod while I kept myself busy with food.

"Ali?" Joe prodded. Why won't this guy let it go?

Partying doesn't sit well with antidepressants. The few times guys forced me to attend a party, I was careful not to touch alcohol but last week, one of the guys exchanged my drinks with some sort of alcohol and it ended up a disaster. After that, there is no way Kay allows me to attend another party. Neither am I interested in attending one.

"No," I said simply hoping he would let it go.

"What? But why? Don't do this Ali," he whined.

"I am not feeling good Joe. Let it go please," I pleaded in a voice to which I knew the guys can't say no to.

"Fineee! But this is the last time you are getting a free pass," he said making the other two guys groan.

"Aww! I love you Joe," I beamed widely at him.

"Yea... yea.. whatever," he answered making me chuckle.

After that, day ended without any further events thankfully.

Now, sitting in my room, with loads of homework in front of me, I started doubting my choice.

Had I been a bit more careful, I would have been enjoying the party instead of whining with stupid books in front of me.

A shrill sound of bell ringing burst my bubble of self-pity. Kay wasn't home yet, and she wouldn't be anytime soon. It's Friday and she works late on Fridays. The guys are all out partying. Thinking of various possibilities of who it could be, I cautiously made my way towards the door.

With the chain still in place, I opened the door to find Aaron, Joe and Mase standing there with bored expressions on their faces.

"Guys! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the party?" I questioned while opening the door completely to let him in.

"It was boring," Aaron simply shrugged making his way into our house. And the guys followed him leaving me with my mouth open.

"You guys ditched a party. A party. Wait I am gonna need to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming," I said pinching myself and wincing dramatically.

"And then she calls me drama queen," Joe huffed while rolling his eyes at my antics.

"So how was my muneca going to spend her evening?"He asked already knowing the answer.

"What else would I do Aaron? Homeworks," I answered with a roll of my eyes.

"Don't be so boring Allie. Come, let's watch a movie. Make my evening worthy. I'll let you chose," Joe bargained making me smile like a Cheshire cat and jump towards our DVD collection.

As soon as we found a movie all of us could agree on, we jumped onto the couch with chips in front of us. Aaron and Joe settled on either side of me while Mase took the side chair. Except for Mase, all other guys are cuddlers. Try saying this to someone else, they'd laugh at your face but well, that's the truth.

Mase, he doesn't like being touched. Not unless it is on his own terms. He has some deep-rooted issues. All these guys have their own demons they constantly battle with. They try to mask it with humor or crazy antics but there are times their facades crack and the darkness hidden within them shines through it. They say broken pieces fit together. May be thats the reason I could form a bond this strong with these boys.

My phone beeped with a message and the smiling faces of Ray and his sweet sister Ree lightened up my screen. I clicked a picture of guys deep into the movie and sent it to him. And the next second my phone started ringing.

"Why the fuck are the guys there. Aren't they supposed to be at the party?" Ray shouted as soon as I answered.

"Apparently the party sucks," I answered laughing.

"But how could you guys start the party without me. You guys suck. Pause the movie this very moment you peasants. The great Ray is on his way," Ray ordered in his fake accent and I could hear Ree's uncontrollable laugh in the background.

"Bring Ree along or I won't let you in," I ordered.

"You wound me Ali. You chose this little monster over me," he replied. Her laughter became louder and I can practically see him tickling her to death.

Ray's family was loaded. Maybe loaded is still a small term for the amount of money their family has. Yet, they lack the one thing every child craved. Their parents' attention. Ray's parents were divorced. His father never cared about his existence after the divorce. Soon after the divorce, his mother married again and had Ree. The tiny little angel Ray lives for. Within a few months of Ree's birth, his mom got divorced again leaving Ree with a stepbrother and absentee mom. She became so busy making a name for herself that she forgot she had two kids to care for. One being a 5-year-old kid. Ray didn't want his sister to suffer the same trauma he did. Waiting for your own parents to recognize your existence is not a pretty feeling. So he did everything he could to make up for his mom's coldness towards Ree. He attended her dance competitions. Her parent-teacher meetings. He cheered for her achievements and chided her for her mistakes.

Even before my thought ended, the doorbell chimed making Joe jump from his seat. These guys adored Ree. We all did. It was impossible not to with how cute she is. As soon as Joe opened the door, Ree jumped into Joe's arms shouting.

"Joe. I got first prize again," she beamed proudly as she showed him her cup.

"Oh my god. Such a big cup. You are the world's best ballerina. Of course, you'd come first munchkin," Joe said carrying her towards us.

"Alliee," she squealed jumping on me and started reciting the events of her day. Suddenly, she stopped her excited chatter and turned towards Aaron who already had his full attention on her.

"Ron, I did what you said," she stated.

"Which one munchkin?" Aaron asked with equal seriousness. Wait. What am I missing?

"Both. I won the competition as I promised. And I punched Charlie" she announced proudly.

"What on earth Aaron. You asked her to punch her classmate. What's wrong with you?" I deadpanned.

"He was being a pain in a....ah the back. I was going to teach him a lesson myself but I thought it would be badass if she did it on her own. I even taught her how to throw a perfect punch," he explained like it made perfect sense.

"You what? Aaron, you don't teach kids to throw a punch. That's not ok," I reasoned.

"But that motherfucker deserved..." Joe interfered but was interrupted by a smack on the head from Mase.

"Language Joe," Ray, Aaron and I said at once making him pout.

"Arghh...you guys are so bad for her," I mumbled.

"Did I do a bad thing Allie?" Ree asked with a frown on her face. Shit, I forgot how sensitive this lil girl is. Not having an adult in her life made her more perceptive. Since these guys are only adults in her life, she became more receptive to me. She looks up to me. I even found her imitating me at a time or two. And she values my opinion. A lot.

"Oh no, sweetie. You have a reason for punching him. Don't you?" I asked pulling her further into me.

"He is always mean to me Allie. He pushes me when we are playing and pulls my hair. He says mean things all the time. He even made my friend cry," she said, her voice breaking at the end.

"In that case, you did a very brave thing munchkin. You should never ever let bullies get their way. Standing up against him was such a brave thing to do," I said placing a kiss on her nose making her giggle.

"But sweetie, I know you are very strong but unlike these big idiots here, you are very very very smart. Arent you?" She nods her head at my question with curiosity.

"Then you don't have to waste your punches on stupid boys who bullied you. You can use your brain and do something so that he gets caught. Let the teachers handle such small things. Don't you think?" Her brows furrowed in deep thought and after a second or two, she nodded her head.

"That's right Ali, I should have done that. I really felt bad after hitting him," she says genuinely concerned.

"It's ok baby girl. He deserves it for hurting you. But next time, we use that pretty head of yours first and if the problem is still not solved, then we introduce our fists to their faces. We'll ask the guys to teach us a few more tricks and then we'll both go on a secret girl mission," I wink.

"Allie, you are the best," she squeals again and hugs me.

"And you are my best girl who deserves lots of cookies for winning this huge cup," I say hugging her back.

I hand her jumping self to Aaron and move towards the kitchen to get her cookies. Ree loves chocolate chip cookies and Kay makes sure we have them at all times. She loves this little girl as much as we do. On my way, I meet Ray's eyes and find him nodding in my direction. He said he was always worried about Ree not having a female role model in her life after she grew up. Someone she can trust with her secrets and boy talks. Someone who can talk to her about boys and bras when it's time. I try my best to fill up that role and hope I could be at least half of what Kay was for me.

As I am about to leave the kitchen with cookies in hand, Mase enters looking distraught.

"Are you ok? You look pale," I say placing the cookies down and being careful to not touch him. Most days, Mase wouldn't mind the touch of people close to him. However, there are days like today, days where he is more restless. More frantic and even the slightest of things bug him.

"Ree. She wants me to hold her. Her face Ali... she looked so disappointed when I couldn't. Like...." he stopped midsentence with his head hanging down. Mase is like Aaron in many ways. He hates showing weakness. To see him broken over something so small breaks my heart all over.

"Mase. Look at me," I say and wait till he does.

"Ree is a smart kid Mase, she understands everyone had bad days. What you saw on her face, it's probably sadness. For you Mase. She can feel our pain. You know that right?" I try to make him see it. He nods his head but still unconvinced.

"Mase, take my hand and place it over your cheek. I want to hold you. You can remove it the movement you feel uncomfortable," I say thrusting my palm forward.

He looked at it like it was something alien for a few moments and then very slowly, he held my palm in his and placed it over his cheek like I usually do when he is hurting. At first, he held it loose. I wanted him to do it his way, so I resisted my urge to pull him closer. A few seconds later, he leaned into my hand completely pressing it to his cheek with his palm over mine. Closing his eyes, he stayed in the same position for a while before moving away.

"Thanks for that baby girl, I didn't know I needed that, but I really did," he said with a small smile.

"So how about I hold Ree and you take her palm or something on your own terms and hold. That's a win-win for both of you right?" I ask hopefully.

"I don't think that's a good Idea Allie," he whispers.

"You can't hide from your demons forever Mase. You need to face them. You know you won't hurt that little girl. No matter what. Then how about we start it from there?" I ask hoping he would consider it.

I badly wanted to know the demons haunting him but I know it's not my place to probe into it. Not unless they are ready to talk. I know guys have their own doubts about me so I can't expect the guys to bare themselves to me when I hide my real self from them. I may not know the reason for his pain, but I want to be there for him as he takes those baby steps to heal himself.

"Alright. Let's do this," he says after thinking for a moment and moves towards the living room with cookies in hand as I follow.

And like we planned, he held Ree's hand throughout the Disney movie Ree decided on while I made sure she doesn't make any sudden movements to alert him.

With all these broken but beautiful people around, it finally felt like I found my home.