JUDAH's POV :
12 AM, the alarm clock in my room rang.
I got up quickly and got myself ready. It was time for another day.
When I walked down the stairs, I found my mother sleeping in front of the TV again. She always had this habit of turning on the TV and falling asleep in front of it. Slowly, I turned the TV off and pulled a blanket over. She mumbled some incoherent words and snuggled deeper into the couch. I looked at her for a moment, gave her a shirt kiss on her forehead, and I made my way out of the house.
It was past midnight, so this was my time to leave the house. Striding towards my bike, I lit up a cigarette and turned the engine on. With a cigarette hanging loosely on my mouth, I put the bike in gear and roared out of the driveway. Within seconds, I was jetting down the streets with the cold night air hitting my face, lighting my blood with excitement.
 
TAYA's POV :Oh, the things I do for a high school resume.Today, I was spending my precious Friday after school hours working to build a Titanic replica with the theater club. If this wasn't desperation, I didn't know what would be. Dear colleges, please notice me!I had my oversized hoodie and baggy pants on, my hair pulled up in a messy bun, and my hands had dried paint all over them. I was in charge of painting the wooden boards, while Hallee was in charge of, well, everything else."Where'd Gabe go? I need him to arrange the props table," Hallee said in a demanding tone."I sent him to get the rest of the wooden planks from the car," I replied, my hands still busy with the paintbrushes.
JUDAH’s POV :I really didn’t want to fight, but…"Yeah, that's right. Walk away. Go home to your whore of a momma, shitface!"The fight really wants me.Turning back to face the brawly dude, I glared at him and said, "Now, you don't call my momma names okay? That just ain't nice,"He narrowed his eyes at me as if he couldn’t believe that I had the guts to turn back to him."And plus, 'your momma' jokes are so dead, let it rest already. I'm sure you can do better than that," I taunted sarcastically and Gabe looked at me as if I was crazy."What'd you say to me?" the big dude glared menacingly."Cam, bro, come on," Blake reached for his shoulder but Biggie smacked his hand off of him."Nah, this bitch is asking for it,"
TAYA's POV :Blake and I took Kai and Cameron to the emergency room. Cameron came out with six stitches on the side of his ribcage, and Kai came home with eleven stitches on his arm. The injuries weren't that serious, but imagine me trying to explain the whole situation to the doctor in charge.Oh yeah, my kissing scene partner hit my little brother and his friend with a wooden plank we were using to build a Titanic replica. Just the usual Friday, no big deal.Kai wouldn't tell them what happened, but Cameron spoke up. He explained how they were just having a slight argument but it turned physical once Judah started coming at them with the board.Now I wasn't naïve. Don't be fooled by the dimples and wholesome smile, everyone knew that Cameron Tucker was no angel. He and Ry were in the same grade, but Cam got held back due to behavioral issues. Normally, I wouldn't take
JUDAH’s POV :"Hey," Blondie beamed at me.I was floored. I still couldn’t believe that she was standing at my door. When I finally gathered my composure, I stepped outside and closed the door shut behind me."Coming back for round two?" I asked.She ignored my joke and instead she said, "I got you something..."She pulled her hand from behind her back and handed over a bag of frozen peas to me."What's this for?" I took the bag and noticed how it was still ice cold."A peas offering?" she grinned and gestured to my nose.Fuck, okay, that was low-key real cute.I put the bag on my nose and the coldness stung my skin immediately. I winced at the pain, but I tried my hardest to hold it in."Kai told me what happened..." she said
TAYA's POV :“Tea. Spill. Now!”Those three words were the first thing Hallee said to me the moment she saw me at school the next day. It was lunch period and I just sat my ass down for two seconds before getting grilled by my best friend. But what else was new?“What do you wanna know?” I sighed to her.“What happened with Judah, your brother, and Cam yesterday?” she demanded. “People were talking about cage fighting and gang initiation or something like that!”“Cage fighting?” I scoffed and rolled my eyes at how the rumors in this school were spreading. “It’s a long story, Hal, but basically Judah’s not the bad guy. My idiot of a brother and Cameron Tucker were,”“Whoa, talk about a plot twist!” Hallee’s eyes lit up in excitement. She alway
TAYA’s POV :I couldn’t let Judah get into another fight. So before anything could happen, I pulled my hand away as hard as I could, successfully breaking off Blake’s grip."Judah, no! Blake, stop this!" I said sternly to the both of them, hoping to end the standoff."You shouldn't be hanging around this kid Taya, he's bad news," Blake said to me, but he kept his gaze straight on Judah.“You can’t tell me what to do, and you don’t know h—“ But before I could finish my words, Judah eagerly chimed in."Yeah, I'm trash," Judah said with a playful smirk. "What? You think she hadn't figured that out by now?"Ugh, he’s not making this any better!Blake narrowed his eyes further at Judah, but his intimidation didn't faze Judah one bit, and it caused Blake to get even
TAYA's POV :"What is this place? Am I being kidnapped?"I had lived all my life on this island, but I never knew of this narrow dirt road Judah drove into. Once we got to the end of the road, he parked the bike and killed the engine, before motioning for me to get off."Blondie, I can't kidnap you even if I want to. You're too much work," he joked.I rolled my eyes and I was struggling to get off the bike. The next thing I knew, I slipped, falling butt-first on the ground. Because of course, I would."Ouw!" my hand instinctively went to rub my backside.Judah just stood there and he had the audacity to laugh at me."That's not very chivalrous, don't you think?" I muttered as I pulled myself up without his help."Chivalry's dead, princess," he replied, before turning towards the woods.
TAYA's POV :"Bravo! That was amazing!"Mrs. Zee led the room in clapping her hands for Judah and me as we finished performing our last scene. She fished out a tissue paper from her purse and wiped the side of her eye. She looked extremely proud of how far we had come."I just love how natural you two are. Such a great chemistry, wouldn't you all agree?" she said again, turning to Hallee and the audience."Yes. It almost feels as if it's real and not acting," Hallee shot me a suspicious look, but even through the suspicion I could see her tearing up a little.I was blushing nonstop as the whole room broke in boisterous claps and cheers. I was also feeling proud and my heart felt so full, like Judah and I had achieved something great. We didn’t let our friends down, and all those hard work and extra hours we put in really did the trick.