If Only Being Switched at Birth Was Easy

/5/ Pain Doesn't Make You Stronger

"What, you and your precious foster brother break up?" Connor's voice teased in my ear on my way out of eighth period once the bell rang. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Stay out of it," I suggested. He laughed.

King was hooked up with his new temporary girl from when I saw him fighting. On top of that, I was hiding the fact that I moved out from everyone and the fact that Nikko and I were siblings was completely unknown.

"I'm kidding," he said. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I can tell that there's something wrong with you," he said. I stopped walking and looked up to him.

"It doesn't matter if anything's wrong or not," I said up to him. Before he could say some jerk-off line, or try to charm me in a way that wouldn't work, Nikko walked up and swayed there awkwardly.

"You ready to go?" he asked. I nodded and walked away from Connor.

"Hey," Connor said, grabbing me from behind. His hands slid past my waist and he tucked paper into my pocket. "Call me if you want."

"Trust me, I won't," I assured. Why didn't these guys realize I wasn't interested!? Apparently the only way they'd get the picture was if King beat them up.

"Fighting with your boyfriend?" Nikko asked as we walked to his fancy car. I looked at him.

"He is not my boyfriend. Got it?" I said sternly to him.

"Alright, alright," he shrugged as he unlocked the car. We climbed in before he said anything else. "I know that something's bothering you." I looked out the window and bit my nails. "Is it King?" he asked. I looked to him.

"Why the hell would he matter to me?"

"Never mind," he said.

Nikko's POV

I walked through the loud and crowded place that might as well be underground, looking for King. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

"King is champion!" the announcer exclaimed. I pushed though the crowd and found King, fanning himself with bills of cash—his winnings—and the same girl from school hanging on him while she was half dressed. He stepped down from the ring as I noticed his beat up opponent.

"Hey," I said as I got in his path. He sized me up and smirked as sweat dripped from his long hair. He quickly looked away until I spoke again. "What'd you do to AJ?"

His face dropped.

"Who said I did anything?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I reasoned. And with a gleam in his eyes, he was excusing himself from the big crowd and we were now sitting outside in the dark courtyard with couples sucking face, groups smoking, and punks skateboarding.

"What do you want?" King asked me.

"Do you know what's up with AJ?" I asked. Anyone can tell that there's something wrong with her. Well at least I could and I, unfortunately, didn't really know her.

"Why would I know and why would I care?" he asked.

"Aren't you her brother—"

"Correction—I was her brother," he spat.

"You're still her brother," I insisted.

"Well it doesn't feel that way," he said with a sort of aloofness in his tone. "It's not that way."