"Kyle! WAKE UP!" Kyle heard his sister screech. "It's time to get ready for school!" Kyle groaned, rolling over in bed before going still once again.

Just a little more rest.

The door burst open, revealing his little sister Maddie standing there as she sucked in a huge breath.

"KYLE! WAKE UP!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Alright!" He yelled back. "Just get out of my room." She wore a smug smirk on her face as she left the room.

"Banshee." He muttered, sitting up on his bed with a sigh. He got off the bed, leaving his room to head to the bathroom. After walking up the stairs he found the first bathroom door closed. He went towards the second one crossing his fingers as he walked down the hall. The door was also closed and he let out a little sigh. When he was about to get comfortable and wait for them to leave, the door opened to reveal his sister Claire with a towel wrapped around her. 

"Thank god." He whispered, quickly going into the bathroom.

"You're welcome," Claire said, raising a brow when Kyle still didn't say anything in response. She was really testing it staying outside of her bedroom longer than necessary. Unlike her skinny siblings, Claire was considered plus-sized and struggled to keep her towel wound comfortably around her body. Even then, she felt it important to get a proper thank you from her younger brother.

"Thank you, big sister." He smiled, tilting his head for the extra effect.

Claire made a disgusted face, her mouth twisting up as if she were smelling Kyle’s socks.

"Just a thank you would have worked." She told him, a shiver racing up her body as she walked away. "'Thank you, big sister?' Ugh!" Kyle laughed, knowing that it sounded more like a cackle, while he entered the bathroom so he could get ready.

—————

"Bonjour Maman, Bonjour Papa." Kyle said, kissing them both on the cheek before he entered the kitchen.

"Bonjour." They both said back before continuing with their breakfasts. He grabbed a pan, put it on the burner with butter before turning it on and heading to the fridge. He needed to make breakfast and the usual eggs would work.

"Bonjour Maman, Bonjour Papa, good morning Kyle." Maddie smiled cheerfully as she came downstairs. They all returned the greeting as she came into the kitchen and grabbed her lunch before going to the living room where she would probably just read until Kyle was ready to take her to school. Once he was done beating the eggs he was working on Kyle poured them onto the pan and watched as they started to cook immediately. Fifteen minutes later once Kyle finished eating he packed up his lunch and hoisted the bag onto his shoulder.

"Maddie, let's go." He told her, lacing up his shoes in the entryway. She quickly made her way over, obviously excited to get back to school.

The crazy girl.

"Bye!" The siblings called out, closing the door as they went. Soon they were walking over to the car Kyle got for his eighteenth birthday.

A Silver Jeep Compass.

The car quickly became Kyle's baby and he loved the car to death. They got in and buckled their seat belts only moments before Kyle was tearing out of the driveway and driving down the road.

"You seem oddly excited for school," Kyle commented, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at his sister as he spoke. "Any reason?"

"No, not really," She replied. "I mean I'm excited to learn some new things and get back into drama. I didn't get to see some of my friends during the break so seeing them will be cool plus Joma-" She cut herself off and ducked her head acting as if she were embarrassed.

"Who's Joma?" He asked her.

"His name's Joemark," She snapped automatically. "And well . . . he and I are kind of . . . testing the waters," She told Kyle bashfully. 

Maddie lightly pulled at some stray curls at the front of her head, quickly attempting to pull the hair back into her ponytail. This was her preferred way to keep her hair. As an athlete, she found it easier to have her curls kept in a loose ponytail with her baby hairs puffing at the front instead of out where they could distract her as they flew around her face. With her hair brought back, her full lips and thick brows were further highlighted. Kyle frowned for a moment as he latched onto something she’d said. 

"Testing the waters?" He asked, a smile trying to make its way onto his face.

"Yeah," She nodded, relieved that Kyle might understand. "We like each other but Joemark and I don't think that we should be getting serious since we are both freshmen and planning on universities so we're just hanging out. Plus we didn't get to hang out much during the summer so I'm kind of excited for that." He pulled up to a red light before he gave her a drawl stare.

"So you basically have a boyfriend."

Kyle saw her face get a little color before she turned it away from view.

"N-not exactly."

"Yeah, you do."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Yup!" Kyle beamed. She laughed and her brother was quick to join her as the light turned green.

—————

Kyle and Maddie walked through the halls together, both of them getting their fair share of waves and greeting that you would expect from students so heavily involved.

"Bye Kyle." His sister said, waving as she started walking away from him.

"Wait," He said, stopping her in her tracks. "I don't have any Rugby practice so I should be able to give you a ride back." A smile appeared on her face causing Kyle to smile too.

"Ok, thanks. See you later!" She said, walking away again. He nodded smiling as she disappeared from sight. People nodded or waved while Kyle continued down the hall. He went over to a familiar locker when he saw a black head of hair.

"Hey, Neal!" Kyle smiled, going over to his friend and giving him a good shove. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he shrugged with an equally cheerful grin. "Probably the same as when you asked me last week."

"And the week before," Kyle supplied. "What can I say, it's a friend's duty." Neal rolled his dark brown eyes as his friend held his chin high waving it around as he explained his heroism.

"Nope," Neal replied, making sure to shove his wrench deep into Kyle's mood. "You just wanted to bother me every week." Kyle clearly heard the teasing in Neal's voice but chose to ignore it.

"You're kidding me right?" Kyle asked incredulously, stepping away from his friend. "I can't believe you actually think that. I thought we were cool."

"W-what? Of course, we're cool," Neal stuttered in surprise. "Why would you even-" He cut himself off when Kyle let a smile break out on his face.

"So you've been practicing your acting," he realized with another roll of his eyes.

"Maddie gave me some lessons during our 'sibling bonding time' this summer," Kyle smirked smugly, walking back over to his friend as they started walking again.

"Great, now you are going to become even more annoying," Neal whined, releasing an exaggerated sigh for the extra effect. "And you were already so annoying before!"

Kyle scoffed to himself at the hypocrisy. Neal was upset that Kyle was more dramatic but here he was being a drama king himself. That was Neal Nakayama for you, the CEO of contradictions.

"But you deal with me anyway." Kyle retorted with a grin, wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulder.

"Yes, I do." He agreed. "Because if I didn't then you would castrate me." Kyle fake gasped, dramatically putting a hand over his chest as if insulted by his friend's words. 

"No, I would not." He started, pausing for dramatic effect. "I would go into my mom's knife drawer, get a butter knife and meat knife for different levels of pain. Then slowly cut off your balls, followed by your penis." Neal let out a sigh, shaking his head after he probably rolled his eyes.

"That's the same thing, Kyle." He told his friend, unable to keep his smile at bay when Kyle put his arm around him again. "You're terrible."

"I think that we've established that already." They shared some smiles before separating to head to their classes.

—————

Kyle leisurely went through the halls, occasionally stopping for a light conversation when the situation called for it since his next class was very close and he had plenty of time before he had to be there. Eventually, though he was in front of his class.

Eight more minutes huh? He thought after checking his phone. I may as well head in, I've been stalling enough. He walked through the door acknowledging that his teacher didn't arrive when he noticed something.

Actually someone.

The boy was sitting in the front row right next to the window, the farthest place from Kyle actually. He had pale skin covered in freckles that went perfectly with his natural orange-red hair that messily fell on his head. At first glance, his face seemed round further pushing the boyish look he seemed to be sporting. But as Kyle paid more attention he realized his jaw was actually quite defined and, without realizing it, Kyle had swallowed down, his thoughts running away from him.

The boy was sitting in the front row right next to the window, the farthest place from Kyle actually. He had lightly tanned skin which surprised Kyle since his natural orange-red hair that messily fell on his head suggested otherwise. His face was round and his jaw though still defined gave him a young look that suited him with his small plump lips and big eyes.

And those eyes.

His eyes were not blue, not brown, not green, and not hazel. They were grey, Kyle was shocked that he actually saw someone who had them in real life. They were striking, and they drew Kyle in.

Kyle blinked, his interest fading until it just sat at the back of his mind where he could easily ignore it. He turned his attention away from the boy, walking over to his seat where he could sink back and fool around with his phone until his teacher arrived.

He wasn't paying much attention, standing up for the anthem and speaking when he was supposed to, but somehow he heard that one name that would stick in his mind for years to come.

"Cole Dunbere?" Mrs. Peregrine asked.

"Here." He replied, raising his hand like the good student that he seemed to be.

"Oh," Mrs. Peregrine muttered, lifting her head as it came to her. "You must be our new student. I hope you have a great rest of the year."

"Thank you." He told her, his voice dropping into a mutter with what seemed to be embarrassment.

Cole Dunbere, Kyle thought, only getting a glimpse of red hair among the other students. Interesting.