The Mystery across the hall

Across the hall

Zoe Phillips rushed down the stairs in her apartment building her backpack half slung on one shoulder as she almost slammed into the kitchen chair taking a quick bite of toast.

"Someone's in a rush today, sleep in late?"
Zoe's mom asked with a smile in her voice as she scraped the scrambled eggs onto a plate.

"That boy next store Pin kept me up all night! There was music playing all night long, there was a huge crash too in the middle of the night."
Zoe said exasperatedly between bites of her toast.

"Teds boy? I didn't know he lived there, i thought he was still in a home."
Zoe's mom said putting the eggs on Zoe's plate very interested in this conversation.

"You knew his dad?! No one knows anything about him in school..he's like a mystery!"
Zoe said now eating forkfuls of the eggs she had just been given.

"Give him a chance Zoe...Ted was a very close friend of mine, I promised Ted I'd help look after him if he got out of the home...be nice?"
Zoe's mom asked leaning on the table with a serious expression.

"Fine..I'll be nice, he probably won't be."
Zoe said with a small eye roll as she stood up from the table kissing her mom on the cheek goodbye and walked out the door, as she closed it she bumped into somebody-and turned around.

"Phillips..."
The cool voice of Pin Hawthorne said as he looked at Zoe a couple feet away from her.

"Pin...hi."
Zoe said clearing her throat taking in his appearance, he was wearing his usual green hoodie ontop of his black and red flannel wearing normal jeans and a belt..the only thing different was a white bandage wrapped around his right hand down to past his wrist.

"You uh...you alright?"
Zoe asked her eyes landing on the bandage and back to his face, Pin instinctively hid his hand behind his back.

"Fine, see you at school."
Pin said backing away then turning to face the stairway as he walked down the stairs. 
Zoe sighed but then followed soon after realizing they were both late to school...

"So uh your late like I am..you sleep late?"
Zoe asked catching up behind him as they walked down the stairs.

"I had trouble sleeping."
Was all pin said as he continued on down the stairs.

"Cool yeah yeah me too, pretty loud music you had last night."
Zoe said a accusatory tone in her voice.

"You liked it? I'll turn it up next time."
Pin said with a smirk as he got to the end of the staircase pushing through the doors and starting to speed walk his was across the street and to the school.
Zoe sighed and sped walked after him.

"You know people need sleep right?? We have exams coming up! And you know we have to spend our volunteer hours at the stables!"
Zoe said exasperated struggling to walk beside Pin as they approached the school doors, Pin, Zoe, and other of their schoolmates have to volunteer at a nearby horse stable until they graduate Bright Fields school..this resulted from a incident involving a ice cream truck during the first week of freshman year. 

"Oh come on Philips the only reason I have to volunteer is because Mia pinned that incident on me, 2nd of all some of us can't sleep."
Pin said a sterner look on his face as they entered the school and Pin took a sharp turn towards his locker on the 1st floor, Zoe was about to speak up again until she saw Pin tense as he turned to his locker trying to open it as quickly as possible..Zoe then rolled her eyes realizing why as Mia, Marcus, and Susie walked up beside Pin Mia leaning against the lockers by Pin.

"Get into another fight eh Pin? Or did you get caught stealing from the kitchen again."
Mia asked sneering as Pin closed his locker revealing his bandaged hand.

"Shove off Mia.."
Pin sniffed the air for a second before a smirk crept on his face.

"Cologne...too cheap for Marcus..sneaking around with Calum again are you Mia?"
Pin said crossing his arms and leaning against the locker mocking Mia's posture. Mia's face turned red as Susie looked absolutely hurt and Marcus just looked plain annoyed.

"Come on this isn't freshman year...everybody knows about your advent calendars of boyfriends, I'm just surprised Marcus has stuck around as long as he has."
Pin added before he turned around walking towards the nurses office leaving a very angry Mia and her group as a stunned Zoe slowly backed away following Pin her mouth agape.

"I-h how did you do that?? M-Mia will NEVER let that go!"
She exclaimed catching Pin's book bag before he crossed the threshold.

"Hawthorne's have nothing to lose..see you around Phillips."
Pin said pausing between his sentence as he slowly walked into the office letting Zoe let go of his book bag at her own time.

"What is going on with that boy?"
Zoe thought as she trudged to her 1st period class her mind occupied with the mystery that was Pin Hawthorne.