The final bell rings, signalling the end of the day.

Fucking finally. I can't stand being away from my kitten for too long.

I find Ashton outside of my door, waiting for my arrival so we can meet up with our angel.

"Hey, man," I greet him.

"Hey, come on, let's go. I wanna see my baby girl." I chuckle at his response. Always the charmer.

We take our leave to meet up with our other brother and my kitten.

Once we make it to their classroom, we see Xavier holding her hand, leading her out of the room. I swear, that kid will jump at any chance to touch her. Not that I'm judging; her touch is kind of electrifying and euphoric.

I greet him in the same fashion as I greeted Ashton, and then I lean in to kiss our angel's cheek. Bold move, I know. She just let's out a little giggle and blushes. I honestly don't think I'll ever get used to her adorableness. I mean, how can you?

"Are you ready to go, Avelyn?" I ask her. She meets my eyes.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"To our house, babe. Where else?" Ashton answers.

"B-b-but what about my parents? They'll be so mad if I don't come home." I can hear the quiver in her voice, and I immediately become tense. Oh my poor girl, what did they do to you?

Xavier lowly growls. "Princess, I told you. You aren't going back there. I'm not going to let them hurt you again. I couldn't bear seeing or hearing of your pain again. Please don't fight me on this." He's practically begging, and I would too if I were him. I'm not letting her go back to those lowlifes she calls parents.

I can see the apprehension in her beautiful eyes, the worry. But I assume she realizes there's no point in arguing because her shoulders sag and she sighs, nodding in agreement. We care about her too much to let anything harm her again. If we can do something to stop it, then we sure as hell will.

I still can't believe this girl stole my heart so easily. I've never been one to be taken with just one girl; I could never be tied down, but now I can't imagine ever being with another. She's stolen my heart, and I'd let her do it again, a thousand times over.

I take her other hand, the one that's not already taken by Xavier, and Ashton takes her bag. After he's slung it over his shoulder, we start to the car. The parking lot is still pretty full, too. And out of nowhere Ava stops, which immediately causes worry to set in.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I just remembered something. What about my car? I assume you guys want me to go with you, but I can't just leave my baby here all alone and unprotected." We all chuckle in response. With the tone in her voice, you'd think she'd be leaving behind an actual child. I swear, she just keeps getting better.

"How about you come with Ashton and I, and Cole can follow in your car," Xavier suggests. I feel like I've just been stabbed, and the world is ending. I'm sure they can all see the shock written on my face because Xavier and Ashton chuckle while Avelyn giggles.

"No way, dude! How the fuck is that fair? I wanna ride with Avelyn. You were just with her last period." I know I sound like a whiny little bitch, but I can't help it.

"Ugh, fine. I'll take the stupid car," he huffs in annoyance. When he says this I can see the red-hot anger start to form on my kitten's face.

"Did you just call my baby stupid?" She questions menacingly. Wow, at least I know one way to piss her off. She looks super fucking hot right now, and I can't help the tent that begins to form in my pants--angry is definitely a good look on her. Xavier just looks shocked and slightly scared. His face goes white as he frantically tries to defend himself.

"O-ofcourse not, princess. That's definitely not what I meant," he stutters out.

Oh my God! Did she just make the Xavier Stone stutter? She truly is an angel.

"Good," she huffs, all previous anger being wiped from her flawless face. Ashton and I can't contain our snickers, which soon turn into full on cackling. That was probably one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. He sends us both a glare which has us shutting up immediately.

Sheesh, what crawled up his butt and died?

~~~

I end up riding in their car with Coco and Ash, Xavier taking mine. Serves him right for calling my baby stupid, even if he didn't mean it. About fifteen minutes later, and we're pulling up to a large two story mansion. It's nothing like I'd expected. It's made of white brick and has a front porch that stretches along the perimeter of the house, and it has a fountain in the front. Woah, I knew they had money, if their car was anything to go by. But sweet, holy Jesus, they're loaded! It's not as big as mine, but there's is still so much prettier. It seems much more full of life, and I haven't even been inside yet! My face is literally pressed against the glass, and I can hear my boys chuckling in amusement.

Oh they think this is funny, do they?

"So I take it you like the house?" Ashton jokes. I roll my eyes. I don't know when I got so sassy, but I definitely know it has something to do with these guys.

I sit back in my seat, trying to play off the fact that I basically just drooled all over their window.

"Eh, it's alright, I guess," I shrug like I'm not still totally freaking out on the inside. We come to a stop in the driveway, to the left of the beautiful fountain.

As soon as we park, Xavier pulls up behind us. Somehow, before I can even blink, Cole is at my side, opening the door. He takes my hand.

"Why thank you, kind sir," I say to him in an overdramatic posh accent. I give him a fake cursty . . . for good measure.

"You're very welcome, Mademoiselle. It is my utmost pleasure," he plays along, adding a bow at the end. I can't keep the giggle from escaping, and he gives me a charming smile in return.

"Okay, you two, let's go inside already. I'm starving," Xavier whines; his stomach growls at the end, as if agreeing with his statement. He pats it, and I swear I could hear him mumble, "good boy."

Cole, still holding my hand, leads me up the grand steps to the front door. Ashton opens the door for me and gestures for me to go inside; I smile in return.

After I step in, I'm immediately ten-times more impressed than I was previously. I take the time to marvel in the scenery. I'm greeted by a grand foyer, with a railing/banister running along the dark wood staircase. The stairs lead to a loft-type-area. It's open and under sits a large arched entrance leading to the living room. The railing has a very beautiful and intricate design etched into it. The walls are beige, and there is a hanging chandelier.

"Wow," is all I can manage.

"I know, right? Ashton is pretty loaded," Coco remarks. Xavier knocks him in the back of the head.

"Ouch!" Cole let's out. "What the hell was that for?"

"Dude, you're not supposed to say shit like that," chastises Xavier.

"Well, we were all thinking it," he replies.

I giggle at their cute little argument.

They really are a family.

I take this moment to soak up this feeling. They are a family, and now they say that I'm part of their family. Is this what coming home is supposed to feel like? Because if it is, I wouldn't mind coming home like this every day, for the rest of my life.

"Come on guys, shut up, and let's feed Ava already and that beast Xavier calls a stomach." Ashton reprimands, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Fine," they grumble in unison.

We head to the kitchen, and let me just say, it's beautiful, too. There are state of the art appliances, marble counter tops, and dark wood cabinets. I play off my gawking, once again, by jumping to sit on the counter.

"So, princess, what would you like to eat?"

"Oh, I'm not really hungry. But if you guys let me look through your pantry, I can find something to fix you up." I can see they are about to protest, so I continue.

"And before you guys say anything, I actually like to cook. I'm always the one to cook in my house, and I find peace in doing so." I can see the resolve on their faces; they already know they aren't going to win, so they give up.

"Okay, babygirl, but only because you like to."

"So . . . what would you guys like?" I ask.

"Hmm," Cole begins. "How about spaghetti? I could really go for some spaghetti."

The other boys' stomachs growl in approval, and I laugh.

"Of course, but I'm gonna need you guys out of the kitchen. When I'm in my element, I work best alone."

I can tell Xavier just realized something, but I leave it be. He probably just realized that this would be a good time to finish up some homework, anyway.

"Come on guys," he says. "Let's give her some time alone while we go and do our homework." His voice has some sort of suggestion lacing his tone, as if there is a secret between his words--as if he is hinting at something.

The guys, as if catching on to the hint, nod and follow him upstairs. I just leave it be. I realize they are probably keeping something from me, but we only just met; it's not like I have the right to pry, so I don't. I just move along to the fridge and start pulling out ingredients to make my favorite spaghetti recipe.

~~~

Ava said she wants time alone to prepare a meal, so I decide this is the perfect opportunity to fill my brothers in on what our angel has confessed. I give them a look, silently telling them to follow me, so I can do just that. As if catching on to my suggestion, they nod and follow me up the staircase. I know they aren't going to be happy about what I have to tell them, but it must be done. She is ours, and we protect what's ours.

____________________________________

I'm sorry that this update isn't super long, but I wanted to get one out before tomorrow. It was kind of rushed, so the editing may not be great; please forgive the mistakes. *sigh* But I do hope you like it, and I'll try to get out another update tomorrow.

So, until next time...

Sincerely,

The Annoying Author Lady