Cinder's Pov

"Hawkins, am I suspended from classes?" I was currently sitting in the back of my brother's car as he drove towards his apartment though the events of what happened were still fresh in my mind. "They asked that you take a few days to calm yourself Cinder. Never once did they say you were suspended" As I let out a small sigh my eyes turned to look at the buildings, we passed but all I could think about right now was Kato. "Hawkins, what's going to happen to Kato? You told me he got into a fight but I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone"

"He went home with his brother Katakuri. The school bullies believe that he was the reason for your tears" That just made my blood boil since those bastards were the only reason why I was crying in the first place. "That's a fucking lie! Kato would never do something so mean!"

"I know Cinder but please calm down. There's no need to get upset about the situation any longer. Drake, stop biting your sweater you're going to put a hold in the fabric" I had almost forgotten that my brother's ginger had decided to left class early as well but based on the male's nervous behavior something must have set him off. "I-I failed that test this morning I just know it, Hawkins"

"Poor Drake. Don't worry about it since the grades in that hell hole won't matter much in the long run" This male always worried about everything but he got a pass since his home life was terrible and Hawkins was the only person he trusted completely. "Speak for yourself Cinder not all of us are like you" I really shouldn't push the ginger too much though I liked seeing his cute little reactions. "Hawkins doesn't care about grades either and none of the teachers have the guts to fail him"

"Yeah, but Hawkins is a genius. He's never failed a single test" This man held such high regard for my big brother though I had something more important to do at the moment so I turned my focus back to my phone. "Stop bothering Drake you'll only cause him unnecessary stress" Since my attention had already left the ginger, I gave a short reply then continued searching for my friend's profile. "Fine Hawkins I'll stop pestering your ginger but I want pasta for dinner"

"Drake doesn't care for pasta Cinder" I was not about to be denied one of my favorite foods just because Hawkins' King didn't like it. "Tsk. Well, I like pasta and I want to eat some tonight. If I don't get any, I'll just have to leave the apartment" Sure, my behavior was childish but my mother was a drug addict who hardly remembered to buy groceries so I had an excuse for my actions. "I'll prepare a separate meal for you Cinder. Would you like anything else for dinner?"

"Nope, I just want pasta~"

Kato's Pov

"Do you think Cinder's okay?" Katakuri was still driving me home but I couldn't stop thinking about the girl. She was kind though I knew those bullies had caused her to shed a few tears today and her brother wasn't pleased by that. "Cinder will be fine Kato. Do you mind if we stop at the supermarket? I need to pick up a few things for dinner" As I slowly nodded my head a soft ping filled my ears and I recognized it being the sound my phone made when I received a notification. A small part of me didn't even feel like looking at the screen since the chances of it being a message from one of my bullies were high.

Although when I took the device from my pocket my eyes widened slightly when I saw it was a friend request. "Something wrong little brother?" This is a friend request from Cinder but I don't see why she'd do something like this. Unlocking my phone, I clicked on her profile though I was surprised to see her friend list only had a handful of people on it. "Kato I'm going to run inside you just stay here, alright?" As my head tilted up, I could see Katakuri was waiting for my answer so I quickly replied. "Yeah, that's fine. Can you get me some black licorice?"

"Sure, thing little brother" I wasn't sure how long Katakuri would be in the store though as my gaze returned to the screen, I stared at the accept button. "Hm, maybe this is a good thing..."

Somewhere Across Town...

Cinder's Pov

I liked this little creature but the ginger really didn't want me anywhere near it. Although maybe I could get away with just a few more minutes of watching this cute animal. "Stop bothering my gecko Cinder. He doesn't like it when people stare through the glass... Hawkins your sister isn't listening to me and she's stressing out Jiyū" Leave it to Drake to sell me out to my big brother. "Cinder please respect the personal space of Drake's pet. Would you like to help me cut up some vegetables in the kitchen?"

This man must have been high if he thought I'd be doing any kind of kitchen work after the accident that happened a few weeks ago. "No, the last time you got me to help I almost cut off my finger! I'm not made for doing kitchen work Hawkins" Despite not wanting to help the man I still followed after him much to Drake's relief. "Your phone also received a message it appears to be from Charlotte Kato"

I had forgotten that my phone was charging in the kitchen but that didn't give Hawkins the right to look at my personal business. "Don't look at my phone Hawkins. There's private information on it that you have no business seeing" My older brother was going to be the death of me and his next sentence immediately caused my face to turn bright red. "Would you be referring to your collection of animal photographs or perhaps you're concerned about that folder filled with photos of Trafalgar Law's tattoos?"

"Hey! I don't just have pictures of Law's tattoos!... Drake did you know Hawkins has your name tattooed on him!?" If my brother wanted to call me out then he was going to get a taste of his own medicine and based on the thump from the other room Drake had no clue about the new ink Hawkins had gotten. "Where!?" Since I wanted to let the adults settle through their issues, I unplugged my phone and headed to the guest room that was unofficially my room. "Hehhehe. Serves Hawkins right for bringing up my photos... Now to see what the cute Kato messaged me~"

'Ding' 'Ding' 'Ding' 'Ding' 'Ding'

As my eyes scrolled through the messages that kept popping up on my phone, I realized that they were all coming from my bullies. Although I probably should have expected this since the girls at my school weren't that fond of me and I was an easy target for them. They weren't supposed to be able to message me since I had blocked them but all they needed to do was create a new account. I knew reading the messages would only upset me though I couldn't help it and as I continued down the list, they grew more hurtful.

When I noticed that my tears were dripping onto my bedsheets I looked away from the screen. "H-Hawkins c-can you come here for a minute!?" I didn't want anyone to see me like this since I always put on a mask and convinced the world that everything was okay but despite that right now, I really needed my big brother. Hawkins always took care of me even when we were younger, he made sure no one would be able to hurt me. Though now I wasn't sure how he could take on a threat that was forever changing.

"Why are you crying Cinder?"

Kato's Pov

"Why isn't she texting back?" I could see Cinder had looked at my message though soon after she had gone offline without replying. Maybe something came up but it slightly worried me. "Here's your licorice Kato" When a bag was handed to me, I thanked my brother before I returned to looking through Cinder's profile. I recognized a few of the people on her friend's list but I was still curious about why the girl had such few friends. Hmm, Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kidd are friends with Cinder?

"The school called Perospero and he's not happy Kato but I managed to explain the situation to him. He wants you to stay home for the rest of the week just until things settle down" That didn't sound very fair but it definitely would give me some time to think. "Katakuri... I want to ask Cinder if she'll go to the school dance with me. Do you have any advice that you can share?" That was a difficult thing to admit to my older brother but this wasn't something I could do alone.

"She's an interesting girl Kato but her brother isn't the type of person that will let his precious little sister go out with just anyone. If you really want to go with Cinder then I suggest going with the direct approach and ask her the next time you see her" Well, that was never going to happen. "Are you and Star going together?" As I waited for his reply I looked back down at my phone where I could see Cinder was typing something. "No, she wants to go to the fair instead"

"Oh, alright"

Cinder's Pov

Since my little breakdown had ended, I finally got the chance to start replying back to Kato and I'm sure he was wondering where I had disappeared to. Although my fun was interrupted when some decided to wiggle their way into my business. "Who are you texting Cinder?" Hawkins was in the kitchen preparing my dinner but the little ginger across the room was growing curious. "Why do you care Drake?"

"I'm just asking a question Cinder there's no need to get so defensive" Turning back to my screen I continued to ask the man little questions here and there but since Drake was so curious, I decided to tell him what he wanted to know. "Charlotte Kato" That seems to quiet the man down for the time being since I heard him unmute his movie. "Be careful with the Charlotte's they're nothing but trouble"

"Yeah, whatever Drake"

A Few Hours Later...

It had taken a lot of convincing but my girl Star had finally given me the information I'm been try to get from her all day. Even though it was late I had to get this done tonight and I thought I'd be able to sneak out without any trouble until a male's voice called out from the living room. "Where are you going Cinder? It's already past seven and the sun will be setting soon"

"Don't worry about it, Hawkins! I'll be back in an hour or so! Goodbye!" Just stay in the living room Hawkins. "I can take you Cinder I'm heading to the store anyways. Where are we going?" Damn, I'd rather be stuck with Hawkins than Drake but I probably wasn't going to have a choice in the matter. "The land of rich and unloved men" The male was giving me an odd look though I only continued out the door while he was still putting on his boots.

"Where exactly is that Cinder?"

"That's classified information Drake~ Come on before it gets dark outside"

To Be Continued...