You were used to the streets. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was yours. You made your rounds like clockwork, checking in on the old man who ran the corner shop, helping out the single mom at the diner, and keeping the neighborhood kids out of trouble. You were more than just a hobo—you were the hobo. The one everyone loved. A tomboy with a sharp tongue and a knack for fixing things, whether it was a busted bike chain or someone’s bad mood.

But today? Today was something else.

Your little brother, Eli, had called you out of the blue, panicking about some big emergency at his high school, Crestview High. Of course, you dropped everything. Eli was your world, the one family member who didn’t turn his back on you when you got kicked out of the house for being...well, you. A lesbian who didn’t fit the cookie-cutter mold your parents wanted.

You strolled into the schoolyard, your usual smirk plastered on your face, not expecting much. Maybe Eli got into trouble again, or maybe he just needed his big sister to scare off some punks. But as you turned the corner into the courtyard, the air shifted.

There she was—Harper, Eli’s bully, with her smug grin and her little gang of wannabe tough girls: Bri, Tasha, and Kaylee. And right beside them stood her boyfriend, Logan, and his crew of meatheads, who looked like they spent more time flexing in the mirror than actually fighting.

And then it hit you. This wasn’t about Eli. It was about you. Harper hated you—your confidence, your popularity despite having nothing, your refusal to give a damn about anyone’s opinion. And she’d dragged Eli into it, framing him to lure you here, all because her fragile ego couldn’t handle the fact that you were better at being yourself than she was at being anyone.

You glanced around the courtyard, seeing the entire high school watching from the sidelines. Fear in their eyes. They weren’t here to help—they were here for the show.

And then, out of the corner of your eye, you saw him. Eli, standing awkwardly in the shadows.