Mia walks down the stairs and into the kitchen she sees her mom and furrows her brows in confusion. "Um...hey, Mom?" She says with a small smile. Nora looks up at her daughter, "Good morning, Mia." She says in her soft voice.

"You're kind of up early, what's the occasion?" Mia asks. Nora opens her mouth to say something but Mia is quicker. 
Oh wait, let me guess! You wanted to say good morning to your children before they left?" Mia says in a question.

Mia taps her chin, "Or should I be more specific and say, you wanted to say good morning to Bryce before he left for practice?" Mia raises her brows with a cocky smirk. 

Nora rolls her eyes, "No, I wanted to see the both of you."

Mia nods her head and walks over to the coffee machine. She pours herself a cup and walks over to her mom and leans against the counter. "Riiiight...Mom..." Mia says looking at her mom.

"Mia?" She replies.

"You should quit while you're ahead, lying is a sin." Mia says with her signature smirk. Nora rolls her eyes once again, "Honestly, Mia I don't understand why you don't believe me--"

"You're up early." Bryce states as he walks into the kitchen. Mia looks to Nora with her eye brows raised in a taunting manner. 

"You got Rodin coming over for a yoga lesson?" Bryce questions. 

Nora inhales, "No. Just wanted to say good morning to you and Mia before you both went off to school." Nora states.

Mia rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she takes a sip of her coffee. "Oh. Why?" Bryce inquires. Nora doesn't answer and Mia looks over at her mom and sees her looking down at her tablet. 

"That girl's mother made a statement in the press, apparently." Nora states. Mia scoffs and takes another sip of her coffee as agitation flows begins to slowly flow through her veins. 

"Yeah?" Bryce says without a care in the world.

"You haven't been following it?" Nora asks. 

"Uh, dad and Warren told me to keep my head down. So, you know, that's what I've been doing." Bryce says shrugging his shoulders. 

Mia chuckles, "You're going to listen to dad?" Mia questions. Bryce shakes his head, "Not just dad, dear sister. Warren as well--"

"That doesn't make it any better." Mia snaps. 

Nora changes the subject as she notices Mia becoming tense. "So, school's been fine, then? With all this drama?" Nora asks

  "Yeah, yeah. Everything's great. You know, just gearing up for the season."  Bryce states.  Mia looks at Nora and Bryce in disbelief. "Let me know if you need someone to talk to." Nora says softly. "Dr. Pierce would be glad to see you." Nora adds. 

Mia inhales and drinks her coffee as her mother keeps talking. Mia notices Bryce tense up at the mention of Mr. Porter. 

"What's wrong Bryce, scared of sharing your feelings?" Mia asks with a fake lip pouting. Bryce scoffs, "Okay you two, have a good day." Nora says as she walks away.

Mia and Bryce smile, "Yeah, you too." They both say.

Mia walks over to Bryce and sits on the counter. She ruffles his hair and he lightly smacks his hair away. She notices him still being tense and Mia inhales. She lightly smacks his arm. 

"Hey...you'll get through this." Mia says with a reassuring smirk. Bryce looks over at her, "Oh yeah? What about you?" He questions her about showing up in court. 

Mia inhales and shakes her head, "Not going." She shrugs her shoulders and hops off the counter. "What? Why?" Bryce questions her. Mia grabs her bag and slings it onto her shoulder. "Because, I-I'm over it. Bryce. I have to move on...if not then, i'll just destroy myself just like I did five months ago." Mia says as she starts to walk away.

"But, you could be arrested if you don't go. Mia that's ridiculous." Bryce states. Mia turns to look at him and smirks. "I'd rather get arrested than remember all the pain that I had for Hannah." Mia says as she walks away.

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Mia walks down the hall and sees her two friends she runs up to them and grabs their shoulders as she jumps up. "What's in the bag?!" She says loudly.

They both flinch and Tyler grips onto the bag, "Jesus Fuck! Mia!" Tyler yells. Mia chuckles softly and wipes her face. "What?" She questions innocently. Tyler looks down at her then at Cyrus. He shakes his head, "N-Nothing..." He says as he grips the bag tighter. Mia looks at the both of them and smiles. "Fine, don't tell me what's in the bag. But...if you need an alibi, I've got you two..." She whispers as she touches their backs. She snickers and walks with them to the library, "Hey! Thanks Mia!" Cyrus exclaims as he wraps his arm around her shoulders.

Mia smiles and winks at them. As they all sit down. Tyler looks at his phone and tenses up. Mia looks up from her book and sees Tyler open his mouth in anger.

"This fucking trial is a fucking joke!" He yells. Mia raises her brows and tilts her head. "Marcus said Hannah was in love with Bryce, which is a fucking lie." Tyler sneers. Mia looks over at her brother and makes eye contact with him.

"Shit..." Mia says as she moves her eyes from Bryce's to Marcus's. She pushes her chair out and stands up. Marcus tenses up as memories of him getting punched in the face by Mia goes through his mind. 

Cyrus grabs Mia's wrist and she looks at him. She reads his eyes and she sighs. She sits back down and makes eye contact with Clay. She inhales and gives him a small smile.

"I tell the truth, I get endless shit. Marcus does his politician thing and blows back in like the fucking returning king." Tyler rants. 

"What a motherfucker." Mia and Cyrus state. Mia crosses her arms and they all look over at Marcus shaking every bodies hands. Mia shakes her head, "Okay...so...why can't I kick his ass?" Mia looks to Cyrus and then Tyler. Before they answer, Cyrus looks at Tyler and they both share expressions. 

"Hello?" Mia waves her hand. Tyler gnaws on his lip and smirks. "Guys, listen. If this thing you guys are keeping is a secret. I get it, if you don't want to tell me. I mean...my older brother isn't exactly liked by the people that I think matter the most but--"

"Holy Fuck, Mia! Do you always do those touchy speech things?" Cyrus questions her as he chuckles. 

Mia frowns slightly, "I mean...I just recently started doing them again, why. Was that one bad?" She asks them.

They all laugh and Tyler nods his head, "Mia. I trust you and I think that...you should be apart of this." Tyler states.

Mia rolls her lips into her mouth and nods her head. "Okay, uh...what exactly are you--"

"Follow us." Tyler says excited. He stands up and grabs his bags and walks out of the library. Mia knits her brows together and looks to Cyrus. He smirks at her and Mia rolls her eyes as she follows them out. 

"Guys...I don't get it, what the hell are we--"

"Shhh!" Tyler puts a finger over his mouth. Mia runs her tongue over her teeth. "Guys, literally I have class and I promised my mom I wouldn't pull this bullshit this year, so--"

Tyler turns to her and places a finger over her mouth now. Mia stops talking but she knits her brows together. Tyler slowly takes his finger away from her mouth. He turns back to look at the parking lot. 

Mia sees Marcus walking towards his car. Mia notices a duffel bag near his car and Mia looks at Tyler to see that his duffel bag is gone. "Ty?" Mia whispers as her voice is caught in her throat. Tyler and Cyrus ignore her.

Marcus grabs the bag and starts to open it. Mia feels her heartbeat quicken as she sees Cyrus raise his hand. He clicks a button and Mia covers her mouth to stop a scream from leaving. 

She hears a loud sound and pink flies onto Marcus's face. Mia knits her brows together as she hears Tyler laughing loudly. A crowd forms around Marcus and Mia sighs with relief. A small laugh escapes her lips. Tyler and Cyrus high five. Mia begins to feel bubbles form in her throat and she laugh louder. 

She keeps laughing she feels someone grab her by the bag of her shirt. She looks to them and they all start running away. They all stop running away from the scene and Mia wipes her mouth as they all smile at each other.

"What do we, uh...what do we do now?" Mia asks as she smiles at them. She looks to Cyrus then Tyler.

Tyler looks to the both of his friends, "Have you guys ever shot a gun before?" He questions them. Mia and Cyrus look at each other and Mia feels a pit form in her stomach.

~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~   

Mia crosses her arms and leans against a tree as Tyler teaches Cyrus how to shoot a gun. Mia pops her gum as they start to shoot their targets. Mia feels herself grow uncomfortable with them still shooting. Mia feels her phone vibrate and she pulls it out of her pocket.

"Shit!" Mia says loudly. She answers the phone quickly, "H-H-Hello?" Mia calls out.

"Mia, where are you? You have your AA meeting in half an hour." Nora says with impatience. Mia closes her eyes and grabs her bag. "Y-Yeah...I know mom, I'm just doing something--"

"What is that? Are those, are those gunshots?!" Nora exclaims.

Mia looks at Tyler and Cyrus still shooting. She runs away from them. "I'm sorry, mom. I-I-I was at a gun range, I didn't mean to startle you, okay?" She lies through her teeth.

"Why were you at a gun range, Mia?" Nora asks with worry.

"Mom, I need a break okay?! I wasn't going to hurt myself..." Mia crosses her arms and pops her gum. 

"Just...come home, now please?--"

"Alright, alright...I'm heading over now." Mia says as she hangs up the phone. She sighs and looks back at Tyler and Cyrus still shooting. Mia licks her lips and walks home with that same pit feeling in her stomach.