"what the hell." i yell totally confused. then i remember him talking about the rules being a secret. "i can't kiss you." mason freaks out. "what?!" i stand up feeling offended for some reason. did he not want to kiss me?

i start to feel insecure.

"did my brother make this rule up? what are the rest of the rules?" i get angry. "i can't say." mason walks away from me. "mason seriously? tell me now." i walk up to him and he backs away.

"what? is another rule that you can't touch me? because you literally just had your hand on my ass a few seconds ago." i go up to him. "bri, calm down." mason moves again. i laugh, feeling very frustrated. "take me home now!"

❀

"bri please calm down." mason grabs my arm. i quickly turn my head to him and he immediately lets go and backs up. i storm in my house and i see noah standing in the kitchen with his phone in his hand. i stomp towards him and i push him. "what the hell?" he puts his phone on the counter. "i can't believe you right now!" i push him again.

he looks behind me and i assume mason followed me inside. "woah, what's going on here?" my mom comes in out of nowhere with my dad. "noah made a list of rules for the soccer boys." i bawl my fists up. i could beat him up right now. "what kind of list?" my dad asks. "well, tell them!"

i cross my arms and wait for noah to tell them. "i made rules for my soccer team to keep bri safe from them." i scoff. "i'm confused. what are the rules?" my dad comes in the kitchen now.

"rule number one: don't date my sister. rule number two: don't touch my sister. rule number three: don't ever kiss my sister. rule number four: if you break any of these rules i'll...kick your ass." noah laughs at the last one and i had to restrain myself from almost slapping him.

my parents are quiet and they look confused. "w-why would you do that?" my mom asks him. "wait how did you even find out about them?" noah looked behind me again. "it doesn't matter." noah looks behind me again. "did you break a rule?" his voice gets deeper. mason better run.

"shit." i hear mason. noah starts to charge after mason. my mom and i stop him before anything could happen. "noah stop! i can do whatever i want, i can date whoever i want and i don't need my brother telling other guys what they can and cannot do! this isn't middle school, i'm seventeen and you're acting like an asshole," i yell at him. "mason i'll see you later." i storm up to my room.

i close my door and i lock myself in the bathroom. i stare at myself in the mirror, i look like a mess. i take my glasses off and i start a shower. i take a deep breath then i exhale three times. i needed to calm down, i didn't want to be mad right now after a fun day.

when the water is hot i undress myself then i step in the shower. i let the water run all down my body before i get closer and let it run down my face. this feels so good and this nap i'm about to take after is going to feel even better. i wash my hair and body and i just stand in the shower just staring at the tiles on the wall until i got tired of standing. this week was so exhausting.

i turn the shower off and i reach for my towel on the hook. i dry myself off, put lotion on, and finally let myself out of the bathroom. i put underwear on and i threw on a hoodie. fuck a bra. i hopped into my bed, got comfortable and fell asleep.

❀

i woke up about two hours later. it was dark out. well now what am i going to do? homework? i scoff. yeah right.

i grab my phone from my bed and see a text from mason.

i sigh and text him back.

there's a knock on my door and i give whoever's at my door permission to come in. it's noah. "can we talk?" he asks coming in. i try to figure out if i'm still mad at him or not. "respectfully fuck off." i flip him off.

i sit up in my bed and he sits next to me. he pulls me into a hug and i punch him. "okay i deserve that. i'm sorry for making up those stupid rules. i was just looking out for you. i don't want you getting hurt." noah looks at me, his face full of worry. "why would i get hurt?" i ask sort of confused.

"i hear what the guys talk about. i hear how they talk about other girls and how they talk about you. i had to set down rules so they knew you were... so that..." noah struggles to get the last words out. "so they knew i was off limits?" i try to finish for him. "not exactly those words but yeah."

i sigh. i understood where he was coming from. "i get it. thanks for looking out for me but i can handle myself." i pull him into another hug. "i know, i'm sorry. you know i always got your back." he rubs my back. i break away. "i know." i smile. "alright," he fist pumps me and gets ready to leave my room. "i'll have a talk with the guys and get rid of the rules." noah says. "cool."

he stays by my door. "you and mason huh?" he goes back to his stupid self. "shut up and get out of my room." i roll my eyes. he laughs. we exchange goodnights and he leaves my room. goodnight? i pick up my phone from on top of my nightstand and i look at the time. 11:24pm. i lock my phone and i put it back down.

i smile when i think about today. today was probably the most fun i've had in a while. mason's definitely starting to grow on me.

❀❀❀

i must've fallen asleep again because i woke up to the next morning. i woke up before my alarm again. i stretch and look around my room. should i start getting ready or should i fall back asleep? decisions, decisions.

i throw the covers off of me and i start to make my bed. you're making your bed... what has this world come to?

i walk over to my drawer and i find something to wear. i get dressed and i go to the bathroom and finish getting ready for the day. "it's going to be a good day." i lazily tell myself with my toothbrush in my mouth. it was getting harder and harder everyday to be positive.

my phone rings and i look at it. it's riley, texting in the group chat with natalie and i in it. i look at the mirror. natalie texts back. . i spit and rinse my mouth before texting back. i wait a few seconds. riley says, . natalie sends a thumbs up emoji.

i grab my sunglasses and backpack then i run downstairs. i see my dad in the kitchen making a smoothie. "hey dad." i walk over to him and he gives me a kiss on the cheek. "morning bear." he hugs me. i've had that nickname ever since i was a baby. he's the only one who calls me it though. apparently when i was younger, i would always cling onto my dad and give him bear hugs so that became my official nickname.

"protein shake?" i ask when i see his green shake and spinach all over the counter. "yeah. i found a recipe online. want one?" he offers. "no thanks, i'm about to get coffee with the girls." i grab my keys off the hook by the front door. "i haven't seen them in a while, tell them i said hi. do you need any money?"

"no i'm good and i will." i open the door. "will you be here when i get home?" i ask. "of course." he smiles at me. i smile back harder. "okay bye dad, i love you." i wait. "i love you too."

i leave and i close the door. i love my dad.