After my musical escape was ruined I became irritable, but that didn't seem to stop this Marcus kid from talking to me. He practically latched himself to me and wouldn't leave me alone, even after we got to the school. It was only when he had to go to the office to get his schedule that I was able to ditch him and I was too tired and cranky to care if I hurt his feelings.

Later on before classes started I saw Adam and Chase talking to him. At first I was glad he was out of my hair until I remembered the secret the Davenports were hiding. For a brief second I thought of warning Marcus to stay clear of them and get some normal friends.

The bell rang for first period. Which meant I had to be around Chase.

I had a scowl on my face that showed how moody I was, and Chase noticed it right away as I sat down next to him in Chemistry.

"You alright? "

"Why do you care?" I asked harshly. He sighed.

"I was just asking-" I interrupted him.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But-"

"Just leave me alone Chase." He was about to say something but decided against it when I gave him a cold stare. He shook his head and I could tell he was disappointed. But I didn't care.

At lunchtime I planned on hanging out in the library where I had a secret corner to hide and be alone. First I made a stop in the cafeteria to get lunch, as I hadn't eaten since yesterday. Unfortunately for me, Adam was the person before me and when he turned to glance around the cafeteria his eyes drifted to me and they lit up.

"Hey!" He said happily but then he looked at me with concern. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah why?" I asked, wondering why he asked that.

"You look pale and tired."

I bit my lip and couldn't look directly at Adam. "I-I'm fine." I assured him, though I didn't sound too confident. To be honest I am tired but I don't need him to know that. Not sure why he seemed worried though.

Our conversation was paused as we got our lunches. I could only afford a simple turkey sandwich with an apple. Adam on the other hand got two sandwiches that had turkey like mine but with all the fixings like lettuce, tomatoes, and two kinds of cheese. And he added two bags of chips and an apple.

"Are you gonna be able to eat all that?" I couldn't help but ask. It made him laugh for some reason, like it was stupid of me to question his appetite. Whatever. I looked at him curiously when he took my tray out of my hands.

"You're gonna come sit with us right?" I guess I am if you took my food I thought sarcastically. I almost asked if he could carry both of our trays without dropping one but it's then I remembered yesterday. I'm so tired that I completely forgot about it!

But it wasn't the memory of Adam's super strength that made me second guess joining him for lunch. I regretted my decision when I saw that not only was Chase there, but that annoying kid Marcus was sitting with him. He seemed happy to see me but I swear I saw a flash of annoyance in his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking. Guess he doesn't like me after I ditched him. Fair enough.

Adam was the only one who seemed genuinely happy with my presence. He introduced me to Marcus.

"We've already met." Marcus revealed. I nodded, confirming this.

"You have? When?"

"On the bus ride here. Then she ditched me." He finished giving me a pointed glare.

"Yeah, don't take it personally. Harper isn't very nice… too anyone." This was one of the rare times I didn't even have the motivation to snap at Chase for saying that. I just let them continue whatever conversation they were having before.

"So me and my dad moved around a lot. I was homeschooled for most of my life." Marcus explained.

"No way! So were we!" Adam exclaimed and Marcus smiled at him. "We are so similar! Do you have a third nipple too?" Cue the weird looks from the other two and myself.

"Anyway... That's a pretty sweet guitar, Marcus." Chase said while gesturing to the instrument that said boy apparently brought with him everywhere considering he'd had it with him on the bus.

"What do you know about guitars?" I asked Mr. Perfect, and it wasn't in a demeaning way, I was genuinely curious. "I've never seen you play."

"He did earlier and was a natural!" Marcus told me and Chase looked at me smugly.

"Can you play?" Adam asked me. I smirked at him and leaned back in my seat with crossed arms.

"Actually, I used to be in a band. Played lead guitar." I said confidently, feeling pride in the one thing I was good at. Chase looked surprised.

"Guys! We should start a band!" Marcus exclaimed suddenly and the two brothers became excited like their friend.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Adam said excitedly. He began to beat a couple of sticks on the table in a catchy rhythm." But what would I play?" I wonder how long it would take for him to realize the best choice. "Oh, I got it!" He paused, " No, I don't got it."

"I think you're gonna be our drummer, Adam." Marcus said. Adam looked thoughtful at the suggestion.

"Hmm. Interesting choice. I had been pondering the french horn." I mouthed a 'what' to myself and Marcus smiled at me in amusement. "Maybe Harper can do the French horn!"

"As fun as that sounds, I think Marcus meant to form a band with just the three of you." I glanced at Marcus to confirm this and he appeared relieved.

"Sorry. You can be our back up guitarist?" I shrugged, showing that there were no hard feelings. Again, he looked relieved.

Before anything else could be said, Leo showed up and stood to the left of Chase's seat.

"Hey, Leo, guess what? Marcus and Adam and I are forming a band." Chase told him. Leo looked more worried than happy at this new information.

"Well, you guys just met. Don't you think it's a little soon?"

Chase scoffed. "A little soon for what? Taking the deeply committed step of jamming together?" Leo looked at him with annoyance.

"Now if we could just find someplace to practice. I live in a pretty small place, so…" Marcus looked down and had a downcast expression.

"Oh, no, I know a place. The lab." I saw the color drain from Chase's face as he and Leo looked wide eyed at him.

Adam was confused at first then it dawned on him that he said something he shouldn't have. "Oh. L-Labrador Retriever Park. Yeah, the dog park. Nice acoustics. Plus, they have dogs." He rambled then he sang something under his breath that I didn't hear. His brothers were looking nervously at Marcus and I, probably hoping we bought the pathetic excuse. I waited until Marcus just laughed off the weird turn the conversation had taken and joined in with as believable a laugh as I could muster. But inside my mind was processing Adam's slip and his brother's reactions.

Chase was able to relax after this. " Well, you know, Marcus, we have a pretty big place. We can all just jam there." He suggested but Leo spoke up quickly, not having relaxed like his step brothers.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold your horses, cowboy. Come on." Leo grabbed Chase's arm and dragged him from his seat to stand a few feet away from us. "Chase, what are you doing? Do you really think it's a good idea to let a total stranger into our very private home?" He asked, and it was loud enough for those of us still at the table to hear perfectly.

Marcus' expression became sad like it had been before.

"That's okay, guys. We don't have to jam. Not everyone needs a bright spot in their otherwise horrible life." He fiddled with the strings on his guitar and it almost looked like he was going to cry.

My eyes narrowed at the boy. Something was off about the way he was acting and the way he said that last sentence made me suspicious. I got a strong feeling that Marcus was playing the sympathy card by how depressing his last remark sounded. He was obviously trying to make them feel sorry for him.

The guilt tactic, I could see it a mile away.

And Chase fell for it like an idiot. "Oh, look, Leo, you're making him feel bad. Don't worry, Marcus. We'll practice at our place later. Come on over." All sadness was wiped away and replaced with joy.

"Great. See you guys after school." When Marcus glanced briefly at me and saw my suspicious look his mouth twitched in to a small frown for a millisecond that only I caught.

Marcus left the table, and it didn't look like he had touched any of his lunch. Most wouldn't think much about it other than he was being wasteful.

By the way Marcus spoke, it sounded like he didn't have much. And the first rule of being financially troubled: never. waste. anything. Especially food.

My instincts told me that this kid was hiding something. It's also telling me that it had to do with the Davenports.

And I might be caught in the web of lies and secrets surrounding these people. Marcus knew I didn't fall for his act, and now I was a hurdle in his way. And if he was up to something, he can't risk being exposed.

I suddenly felt ill to my stomach and feared I would throw up. Today just went from bad to worse.

Time Skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I involuntarily yelped when I turned to leave my locker and Leo was standing next to it causing me to run into him.

"Leo!" I said angrily and I took a couple steps back. "Why were you standing so close like a creep? "

"Are you doing anything later?" He asked seriously. My eyebrows drew together at this.

"Uh, I don't know? Why? " I asked, though I had a suspicion about what it was.

"I need you to help me keep an eye on Marcus. He's coming to our house later. " I rested my a hand on my hip and raised an eye brow. I didn't have to ask why because I already knew why Leo was afraid of having him over.

"You never have a problem with me coming over." I stated, seeing what his excuse for that would be. I was a little curious as to why Leo wasn't this way when I first came over.

"I trust you, not him."

"What makes you think I'm more trustworthy than him? Just asking." Leo paused looked like he was in deep thought for about thirty seconds. I didn't expect him to put much thought into the question but waited patiently.

"You're too pretty to be evil." He finally said, and I chuckled while shaking my head.

"So you think Marcus is evil now?" I asked while crossing my arms. Leo nodded.

"Yes. So will you help me to prove it? Maybe talk to Chase? " I shook my head again.

"How am I going to help? Chase and I don't like each other, so how do you think it'll look if I go up to him and say," I made my voice sound cheerful and spread my arms out while taking, "'Hey Chase, you know your new guitar playing buddy? Turns out, he might be a psychomaniac.'" I dropped my arms and went back to speaking matter-of-factly. "Think he'll believe me?" I deadpanned.

"He might." Leo insisted and I sigh shortly.

"Then he'll also think I care which if it hasn't been clear enough: I don't. " Leo put his hands together and started begging.

"Come on please? I need someone on my side. My siblings think I'm being paranoid."

"I'm not a big fan of Marcus either, but honestly what's the worst that could happen?" I held a hand up when he attempted to talk, "Sorry Leo. You're on your own." I pursed my lips when he became disappointed and awkwardly patted his shoulder and hurried to catch the bus. I'm sorry Leo, but I know your secret and don't want to be more involved than I already am.