"Hey, will you guys slow down?" I look back at Nicole, who's chasing after us. I slow my pace.

Zoey is the first one to respond, "we're gonna be late for class!"

I shiver, "if we're late, I'll have to deal with Logan making fun of me for it," I say. And it's true, Logan is determined to prove I'm not the perfect student, and playfully mocks me whenever I'm late or get less than 90% on tests. In exchange, he gets an elbow to the ribs and helps me with my chemistry work.

"Better late than sweaty," Nicole tells us, and honestly, she has a point. I'm already getting a little hot from the fast paced walk, and I'm not exactly unfit.

We stop walking. "She has a point," Zoey says.

Our walk continues and Nicole sees someone. "Ooh, cute boy to the left!" Her noticing a boy is not surprising, she loves boys, but 'green shirt, backpack' boy is not as cute as I was expecting. "How hot is he?"

Dana hums in thought, "seven."

I groan, "maybe four? I think Logan's rotted my brain, I don't know who to find attractive anymore." Nicole pats my shoulder. "And my roommates never talk about guys so I feel out of practice."

"Well I think he's a nine, right Zoey? He's a nine," Nicole insists.

"Yeah, but I gotta take off for the red shorts and green shirt. He looks like Christmas."

Dana laughs, "agreed."

"Totally," I nod.

"I like Christmas," Nicole says, hands on her hips. Her stance is broken by Dustin, Zoey's brother, walking up to us.

"What up, Zo?" He asks.

She smiles at him, "hey, kiddo." We greet him too, waving slightly.

"Just going to geometry class," he says and I raise an eyebrow.

"Geometry?" Dana asks.

And Nicole is also confused. "In fifth grade?"

"Aren't you a little young for geometry?" I add.

Zoey becomes the proud sister, "yup, Dustin takes eighth grade math, cause he's brilliant." We all coo at him, and I wonder why my brother couldn't be so smart.

"Zoey, I gotta go," he says, embarrassed.

She stops him, "wait, let me fix you."

She adjusts his shirt and socks. "What are you doing?" He asks, and I wonder the same.

"Making you look cooler," she tells him. "Oh, and your hair's too neat," she ruffles his hair up and he laughs at her.

"Will you stop? I gotta get to class," he hurries away and I laugh.

"Don't let the eighth graders intimidate you!" She shouts to her brother.

He shouts back, "come on! I fit right in!"

The girls look at me as I finish chuckling. "My brother would totally kill me if I tried to do that." Zoey shrugs.

We go to class and I leave the girls to chat when it's over. I follow Logan out to a bench, where we sit. He watches his reflection in a mirror he pulls from his bag, and I read over my notes. It's a relaxing change from the chaos of Nicole's ramblings about cute boys, the crankiness of Dana, and the other chaos my friends bring. Until the ball hits me in the face.

"What the hell!" I shout, and Logan even looks up from his reflection.

"Are you okay?" He asks, not sure what happened and finding it slightly funny. I watch him huff a laugh and cover it with his concern.

"I'm fine," I grumble, and see my brother picking up the ball. "But again, what the hell?"

My brother smirks, "sorry, didn't see you there." He slides onto the bench, and I scoot away until I'm squished between him and Logan. "Whatcha doing?" He asks.

I watch him closely. "None of your business," I say, closing my textbook.

Logan suddenly sits up straight and points at Jake, "this is your brother!"

We blink at him and nod. Jake leans in, "he's not very smart is he?" I push him away.

"What do you want, Jake?" He grows worried and I watch him spin the ball in his hands.

He looks around, sees nothing then goes back to staring at the ball. "I got in trouble." I laugh, not exactly concerned by this. Every teacher he's had has considered him to be trouble since he was six. "No, I really got in trouble," he says.

I sigh, "how are you in trouble?" He points over at the cafeteria.

"I didn't have enough money for the vending machine, so I shook it and now the lunch lady is mad at me." I roll my eyes. "She's not letting me get lunch today until I pay her back for the stolen candy!"

I roll my eyes, and go digging through my bag. I find my purse and pull out ten dollars. "Use that, and I'll be telling mom what I did so expect ten dollars less in your allowance." He grins and jumps up, and runs away. "Thank you?" I shout after him, and he turns around.

"Thanks!" I shake my head at him and look back at Logan, who's pretending to watch his reflection, his eyes on me.

"Come on," I tell him. "Our next class starts soon." I think silently about how strange it is to have my brother around, and ask what I did to deserve it.

I'm kept awake by concern for my brother, and the money I gave him, when I realise I desperately have to pee. I'm on my way back when I find Chase and Michael running through the halls, with a dog.

"Guys?" I ask, not sure that I'm awake.

Chase grins, "Harper! We need help, come on." I'm dragged with them to room 101, where the begin loudly banging on the door. I groan and hug myself, wishing I could just go back to bed.

The door opens and a confused Zoey watches us come in. The boys say hello to the girls and I wave apologetically to the blonde.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Dana stands up from her bed, "at one thirty in the morning?"

They look at me, but I just shrug and sit on Zoey's bed, about to collapse.

"You gotta hide Elvis!" Chase says, and I tilt my head in sleep-deprived confusion.

"Who's Elvis?" Nicole asks.

Michael hops in, "our dog, you gotta hide our dog." I groan.

"Why did this have to happen now?" I ask, wondering why it couldn't wait until a better hour of the day.

"Yeah, slow down and tell us what's going on."

Chase looks at Zoey and begins telling the story, "well, I found this dog on the beach."

"And he didn't have any tags," Michael adds.

"So I've been keeping him in our room."

Nicole asks, "doesn't PCA have a rule against pets in the dorm?"

"I'm guessing that's why we have to hide Elvis," I mutter, eyes closing.

"Yes, that's why we're here," Chase says. "Harper go back to bed," he tells me, pushing me to the door. I wave to the others and go to my room. I suppose the cure for my insomnia was to replace my brother worries with fever dream material.

The next morning I find myself struggling to decide if last night happened or was a dream, after all. I go to see the girls and am met with Nicole snuggling Elvis.

"So that answers that," I say. I leave without saying anything else and go to breakfast. I see Logan leaning against some girls table and drag him away.

"Hey," he says, "you're killing me!" I laugh.

"You could've told me you had a dog," I say and he nods.

"You met Elvis."

"I met Elvis."

He scrunches his face up, "I thought Chase and Michael took him to Zoey."

I hit his shoulder, for making fun of Chase's crush on Zoey, and then explain. "I was awake, saw a dog, followed them and went back to sleep." He laughs. "I'm really tired, though."

"Yeah? Well I had to cover for them, when our DA came looking."

I grin, "your dorm advisor stopped by at one in the morning?" He nods, drinking his Blix. "Well, suppose he's still better than Coco," I tell him.

He swallows before asking, "who's Coco?"

"Our DA, but she's always super sad about her boyfriend breaking up with her and then super happy when they get back together." I glare at him and he raises his arms as if to say 'what'. "You've probably turned someone into a Coco."

He grins and winks at someone behind me, "oh I definitely have." I shove him and go to get my breakfast, but even I can admit that im really starting to enjoy Logan's company, even when he is a massive jerk.

I go back to the dorm and chat with my dorm mates, and find out that Dana had come home with a dog. I grin, glad to hear Elvis is still around and hasn't been confiscated, and go to sleep happy, desperate to catch up on the hours I missed yesterday.