I closed my eyes momentarily, already feeling the headache coming on, and sighed into my hands. Too many things were happening at once and I had so many stupid essays to complete along with just as many tests to study for and on top of all of that the two little kids screaming behind me.

"Elena is coming over for a play date tomorrow!"

"No, Mark is!"

"I was born first so I should have first pick!"

"With twins the one that's born second is oldest!"

"You just made that up!"

"Oh yeah? Ask Kimmy!"

"Kimmy!" They both yelled my name at the same time and I had just about enough. I stood up gave them both my evilest glare, which albeit wasn't that evil but scaring 8 year olds wasn't all that difficult anyway.

"Blue? In the kitchen now." My eyes then shifted to the other twin as I picked him up and sat him on the couch, pushing down slightly to emphasize my point. "And you Gray stay here, I'll deal with you later." Once we got to the kitchen and Blue was sat in the naughty chair I decided that with her it would be best to try for pitty.

"Blue, do you understand how hard it is for me to take care of you two when I'm always alone and Dad's at work?" She nodded solemnly as I felt smugness seep over me, this was going to be too easy. They would each end up sitting on their half of the room leaving me 100% free to finish homework and to just get two minutes of peace. "Well I want you to do something for me this time. You see, I'm in year 11 now and so they give me big homework tasks that are incredibly difficult to get done with you and Gray screaming and fighting all the time."

"I'm sowwy."

"Hey, none of that." I told her smiling and wiping a tear off her cheek. "Just imagine this as a... Thank you gift, for my birthday." She smiled and nodded, gave me a hug and then clambered up the stairs clumsily, probably heading to her room. Next, was Gray who wouldn't be as easy.

"Kim, should I go in now?"

"Yup, get your arse in here Gray." He walked in slowly peaking over the entrance to find me glaring at the wall that was about three feet away from me. "Stand next to the wall soldier!" With Gray the best tactic was to just make it like a game, he usually took those more seriously than life anyway. "What do you pledge?"

"Isn't that only said when you're in front of a judge-"

"What do you pledge soldier!"

"Not guilty sir yes sir!" I started marching in a straight line occasionally looking at him in fake disgust, just like I'd seen in the movies.

"I beg to differ! I saw you committing the act of being a traitor against your country when you fought with our ally Blue, the leader of princess land."

"I'm sorry sir yes sir!"

"You do realise you don't have to say that every time you say something right?"

"Of course, it just makes it more real." I smiled at him and then ruffled his hair, pushing him slightly towards the door. "Go on soldier, but don't let me see you do that again or you will be... Tickled to death!"

"No!" I ran out of the kitchen with my arms stretched out. We found Blue halfway up the stairs and she decided to join in, it wasn't really her choice though as she knew she'd get tickled if she didn't run as fast as she could. I was about to reach them when the doorbell rang through the air. I almost missed it what with all the giggles but just managed to hear it.

I went down the stairs slowly counting as I got close to the bottom. I already knew that there were twenty steps in total but I didn't want to face the person at the door. Blue and Gray looked at me curiously from the top of the stairs so I shooed them, motioning to their bedroom. If it was who I feared it was then it was best for the to be in there and out of his way. Taking a deep breath I opened the door with my eyes closed and started talking as quickly as I could.

"Dad, I'm really sorry but dinner isn't ready, I really wanted it to be but Gray and Blue were arguing so I just had to deal with the two of them first because I just know how much you hate it when you come home with a hangover and there's not complete and absolute silence. Please don't hurt me-"

"He does what?" My eyes flew open and what I saw left me dying on the spot. It was Jared and I had just told him my dad was a drunk who hit me. God all mighty just swallow me whole and get this done with. "He hurts you?!"

"What?" I said, stretching out the word too much for it to be sincere. "Who said that?" My voice rose up a few octaves which just made it obvious that everything in me wanted everyone everywhere to know that I was not only the nerd/freak but that I was also hit by my dad. That would go down well with the school bullies.

"You did, just two seconds ago."

"I did?" I forced myself to laugh but it came out as the fakest, most horrendous laugh that had ever come out of my mouth. Clearing my throat I just looked up into his nice lovely warm eyes and begged him through what I imagined to be a mental message to just shroud my secret into the darkest pits of his mind where he'd never find it. Somehow he got the hint and didn't reply to my lie. "Are you here for anything specific then?"

"No, I was just strolling down the street and I saw your house-"

"Which you knew was mine because..." I motioned with my hand for him to continue although slightly surprised by how I was acting. I supposed it was just that we were at my house on my "territory" and I simply felt more powerful here or something. Wow, I'd never ever thought that I had even a pinch of influence on other.

"I heard these two little kids yelling your name inside."

"How did you- You know what? Never mind." I was about to continue with a probably very embarrassing rant about the whole akwardness of the situation when he suddenly perked up and turned towards the trees in despair.

"Now?" He sort of mumbled under his breath as he moved back to me and smiled an apologetic smile at me which just made me suspicious. "I'm sorry Kimmy, I need to go, but wait! That gives me an idea!" A smirk formed itself on his lips, his brain patterns were starting to be somewhat confusing and this came from the freak who thought that revising algebra on weekends for fun was normal.

"Are you Ok Jared-"

"Kimmy you need to ask me to stay." Was he inviting himself into the house? But he had glanced at the forest, maybe he'd gotten in with the wrong people, Sam Uley like the rumours said, and he was going to get pummelled to the ground for, I dunno, not paying back the money for steroids? It seemed plausible so I opened the door wider, not wanting him to get hurt.

"Do you want to come in?" All the while I looked over his shoulder at the forest, looking for anything suspicious like a sniper gun which might be concentrating it's nice red dot laser on Jared's back. Or maybe I was simply watching out for a big muscly silhouette outlined against the forest to confirm my doubts.

"No, not like that. Say it like you need me to stay." Well, that was one weird request yet I couldn't risk him dying on me so I opened my eyes wider, stuck my bottom lip out and poked my eye to make it water slightly.

"Jared, you've got to stay."

"Hear that? I'm needed!" He yelled it in the vague direction of the forest, going in through the gap I'd left in the door when he first asked me to tell him to come in. "Thank you so much Kimmy!"

"It's nothing really." And that's when I realised: Jared was in my house.