"Oh Mae, Chris and Andy are going to drive me home." Kaya chuckled as Mae and that other guy came up to her new group of friends outside of the school. It was a few days later and this was the new normal. Kaya would hangout with her friends and Mae would be with Jacob.

He and her had become such good friends. They had a lot in common, especially with playing music. She taught him new techniques with the guitar and he her. It was all very fun but they couldn't hangout as much as Mae wished with him working.

"Uhm okay." Mae said, turning away from the group of misfits.

But she felt like the misfit now. It was just her and Jacob.

She felt Andy's eyes on her as they walked away.

"Want to go to my house?" She asked, taking his Gatorade from his hand and taking a sip.

He frowned, "I have work."

"Okay." She shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Cool. Text me." Jacob said, leaning down to hug her. She nodded and walked away. She jumped into her car, quickly plugging her iPod in to the auxiliary chord.

She played an album called Sometimes by City And Colour and let the music fill her ears. She felt relaxed as she drove away and she sighed.

Mae decided she would just drive around for a while to try and clear her mind.

She drove past her house, drove through the town, and before she knew it she was getting on the interstate towards downtown Cincinnati.

She felt like crying, as this was something she would have done with Eran. As the tears began to drip down her face, her mind was pulled into a memory.

"Mae, let's go to the beach!" Eran exclaimed, jumping on the young girls bed. Mae sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes.

"It's the middle of December." Mae mumbled, sleep still in her eyes.

"Who cares!?" Eran laughed, running a hand through her black hair.

"Maybe me." Mae laughed.

"Well it doesn't matter! Do you want to wake up one day and be sad cause you never did anything with your life!?" Eran exclaimed.

"I guess not."

Mae let out a laugh at her own memories. That was Eran for you, always so happy. She always had something great to say or do and she made Mae feel far less superior.

She parked her car on the side of the street and jumped out. It had been a few hours since she left the school and hoped her parents weren't getting worried.

Mae walked around, feeling her bones chill. It was getting dark out and she was a little nervous as she walked next to a dark alley.

One of them had voices coming from inside and she peeked her head inside. "Hey little lady.." She heard someone say. Her heartbeat quickened as a guy with dyed green hair, guages, and tattoos appeared in front of her. Two others stood behind him, one with short blonde hair and the other with shoulder length brown hair.

"Uh hi.." She mumbled, trying to walk on but they formed a circle around her.

"What's your name beautiful?" The green haired one asked.

"M-Mae." She stuttered.

"Oh pretty name for a pretty girl liked you." He grinned, pushing her against the wall. She felt incredibly uncomfortable as he brushed a piece of her hair back. "I think we'd like to take you home sexy.."

"Uh-"

"Leave her alone Xavier!" She heard a deep voice say from the other side of the alley. Someone pulled the guy off of her and her eyes widened as she saw that it was none other than Andy Biersack.

"What's it to you, Andy?" Xavier chuckled. "We all could have fun with her."

"She's a friend of mine." Andy mumbled, grabbing her arm and yanking her behind him.

One of the other guys laughed, "Your friends with this girl?"

Andy only crossed his arms over his chest and bit his lip ring. "She goes to my school."

"Ah that makes sense, I guess." The other dude said.

"Take her out of here. We'll see you tomorrow Andy." Xavier clapped a hand on the younger boys shoulder. He turned around and grabbed Mae by the arm.

"Come on." He seethed pulling her out of the alley.

"Ow! Let go!" She exclaimed. He turned to look at her as they stood underneath a street light.

"What are you doing here!?" He said, anger in his voice.

"I was taking a fucking walk!" She shook her head. "Trying to clear my head."

"Well downtown Cincinnati is probably not the best place for that, okay?" He shook his head. "It's not safe."

She nodded, swallowing but something about his tone annoyed her.

Like he had to protect her.

"Let's go, where is your car?" He asked. She gestured in the direction and he began walking. She followed after him, keeping her eyes locked on the back of his head.

He opened the door to her Mini Cooper and got inside. She was a little confused as to why he was riding with her but she didn't feel like asking. She walked around to the drivers side and got in.
She pulled onto the street, every so often glancing at him.

"Who were those guys?" She asked.

He was quiet for a moment, "Friends."

"They didn't seem like friends." She said, "What happened to Chris, my sister?"

"Those are people from school." He spit. "I met these guys other places."

Mae was silent, these must have been the guys Jacob was talking about.

"They seemed like bad seeds." She said, gripping the steering wheel. "My sister will never want to be with you if-"

"Who said I wanted to be with your sister?" He glared into the side of her head.

She shrugged, "You seem to be pretty flirtatious."

"That's how I am with friends." He said. She nodded and turned up her music. The song playing was called Casey's Song.

"I guess I don't know you so well then." She said, "At all really."

"I don't know you either." He said. "I'd like too."

She glanced at him, tapping her hands on the wheel to the beat of the song. The lyrics of the song began to seep into her mind.

With you on my mind, and my heart held in your hand.

Screaming.

Break me, oh, break me, oh.

She couldn't understand why Andy's words were shaking her to the very core and she only hoped she could get him out of the car before she exploded.

The song began to replay and Andy sighed. "What is this?"

"City and Colour." She said, softly.

"And this is what you listen to?" He asked.

"Mhm." He leaned back and tried to listen but it didn't sound right to him.

There wasn't enough guitar, and no drums. It wasn't what he was raised on.

The rest of the ride was silent until finally Mae pulled in front of Andy and her's houses.

"Well here we are." She said, unbuckling and glancing over at him. He was already staring at her.

"Mhm." He nodded, leaning on his shoulder. "Don't go back downtown alone, okay?"

"Whatever." She said, grabbing her bag and jumping out of the car. He followed and bolted to her. He pushed her against the car and leaned so his nose was touching hers.

"I'm. Serious." He seethed. She tried to push him off of her but he held her tighter. "It's. Not. Safe."

"Who ever said you had to protect me?" She asked.

"Those guys are my friends but they aren't exactly the best. I don't want to be responsible for them hurting you." He let go of her and walked towards his home. "So forget about it."

---

Mae woke up with a groan. Friday, the last day of the week until she could forget about everything and relax. Her phone buzzed next to her so she reached over and grabbed it.

It was a text from Jacob.

Hey! Didn't hear from you last night, all good?

She smiled at his worry and began typing a reply.

Oh yeah, I'm fine! I just fell asleep early. Bring me coffee? :P

Her phone buzzed with a response two minutes later.

No problem, hot stuff!

She giggled at him and got out of bed quickly. She opened her closet and leafed through some of her clothes before settling on a pair of leggings, an oversized sweater, and a black beanie. She brushed through her hair and put on the minimal makeup she usually wore. She slipped on her Toms and ran down the stairs.

"Hi sweetie." Her father, Jason, mumbled, sipping his coffee.

"Hi daddy." She smiled, grabbing her bag.

"How're you liking school? I know your sister is really loving it, said she met a boy. The one next door apparently." He said, leaning on the counter.

"Uhm, it's good." She said, feeling her heart sink.

Kaya came running down the stairs, looking frantic. "Good god, I need to wake up earlier." She chuckled. A car horn beeped outside. "Oh that's Andy! I've got to go, bye guys!"

"Bye daddy." Mae smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Bye princess." She walked out of the room, and out to her car, seeing Andy in his old Nissan with Kaya next to him. He glared into her eyes and shook his head softly, just as he backed out of her driveway, Kaya hanging off his arm.

She hopped in her car and drove to school as quick as she could. Jacob was waiting by his car for her and she smiled at him. As she got out he handed her a coffee.

"Why thank you." She winked and gave him a quick hug.

"No problem, do you want to go downtown tonight?" Jacob asked. "A cool new singer is playing at The Camel."

Mae thought of what Andy said to her last night. "Y-yeah."

"Okay, good." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the school.
Andy glared at her the whole time as she glanced at him. He didn't like that Jacob guy.

Not with Mae.

Notes

Protective Biersack :) I might post again today just because I really like the next chapter! happy heart day guys!