I cursed and looked down at my phone, when he handed it back to me it was on the playlist marked. Crush.

I wanted to kill him.

“Want me to sing to you right now?” he asked, amusement making his eyes twinkle more than usual.

“No, I kind of want to jump into the ocean and drown myself though.”

“I’m not worth it, and neither is Justin Bieber. Don’t let me see that crap on your run mix again.” He put his ear buds in.

I reached for his phone, but he had it in his pocket before I could snatch it. “What do you listen to?”

“Myself, of course.” He laughed as he set the pace for our run back.

“Doubt it.”

“Wanna bet?” He stopped.

“Yup.” I knew the guy probably had himself on his playlist it only made sense, but I highly doubted he actually listened to himself sing, that would be vain, and he didn’t seem the type. Now, Demetri on the other hand…

“Fine. I win, you have to go to Evan’s party with me next Friday. You win, I’ll let you drive my car for a week.”

“What kind of car?” I asked. I was skeptical since I hadn’t since either of their rides over the past week. Then again, I hadn’t exactly stalked them like the rest of the student body.

“What kind of car do you think I drive?”

I liked this side of Alec, the playful one. He reminded me of Demetri only more devastating. I’m sure any girl on the opposite end of that smile would willingly throw their V card, no questions asked. “I’m guessing you drive something classy, dark. Hmm, black Mercedes, tinted windows?” As I watched the sweat trickle down his cheek, I could almost pretend like he was a normal person… almost. My comfort level with Alec had definitely changed.

“Not even close, but it’s nice. I promise.”

“Fine.” I held out my hand. “Hand it over.”

He placed the phone in my hands. I gasped. He really was listening to himself, but it didn’t say AD2 it said Alec Daniels.

“What’s this?”

He shrugged.

I unplugged his ear phones and slipped mine in.

The music wasn’t the usual techno that the guys were famous for. It was… raw. It made me want to cry. My heart lurched when his voice reached the high notes. It was an acoustic track, and then the music stopped and he was talking about changing the verse. The music started again and his voice reached the same painful heights that made me tremble.

Shaking, I handed the phone back. “Is that going on your next album?”

“Nope.” He laughed bitterly. “That will never see the light of day. Not if my brother has anything to do with it.”

“Why?” I blurted.

He shrugged. Should have known he wouldn’t give me any details. “So this party…” He placed his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

I rolled my eyes. “A bet’s a bet.”

“Yes it is.” Alec said, starting to run again. I followed him. We ended the run in silence. He waved as he ran inside. I might be late for my school meeting, but it was all worth it.

Mom had yet again fallen asleep in her office.

I yelled goodbye.

Silence greeted me.

I hated being ignored so much, but the only other option would be to charge into her room and share my feelings. I’d rather be ignored than be a client.

Irritated, I jumped into my truck. But for the first time in years I was excited for school.

I just hated that it was Alec’s face that came into my head, Not Demetri’s. I turned on the radio to distract me, and rolled my eyes as one of AD2’s infamous songs began to play. Alec’s voice was first. I only knew that because I’d seen the music video. I hated that while Demetri was the one irritating the crap out of me, Alec was the one I was curious about. It had to be the whole hard-to-get thing, not to mention he was brooding. Girls liked brooding. I got to school and tried to push the thoughts of the guys out of my head. Math. I needed to focus on math.

Chapter Seven

By the next Friday the news had been announced that the band AD2 was taking a much needed hiatus from touring, claiming the brothers were exhausted and spending time at their cottage in Oregon and attending school in order to bring some normalcy back into their lives.

It sounded super believable. I would have probably thought the story was legit. But Demetri made me doubt it. But what other purpose could there be behind them being here?

My mom was as reclusive as ever, and I was actually looking forward to going to Evan’s party with Alec.

We ran together every morning. Demetri never said anything about it, but I wondered if it upset him.

Demetri followed me everywhere at school like a puppy dog. If he was trying to annoy me, it was working. Though it was more flattering than annoying. I got more glares from girls in those few days put together than I had in my entire life. Alec ignored me completely as if he was embarrassed to be seen in public with me. He was always glaring at people and hardly ever said two words unless spoken to.

The one time I approached him, he gave me a small smile and brushed me off. I wish I could say that I stopped running with him, but I couldn’t help it. I was drawn to him. It seemed like the mornings were ours. We talked about music and his family. Never about his brother and never about school.

After a few weeks I was able to be seen in public with either guy and not freak out, meaning I could walk in a straight line and chew gum without choking. Demetri had warned me that his brother was different, that I needed to keep my distance, but I figured that was just jealousy talking. Not that I was anything to be jealous over. I mean, Demetri had kissed me. But he hadn’t made a move since then. He joked around with me, carried my books everywhere, but that was the extent of it. Maybe he found me interesting, like some sort of pet he could watch and spend time with. Oh, my gosh! Was that what I was? A fish? Some sort of entertainment because he was curious about high school life and the real world?