Serena POV

I stopped right outside the closed Science class door, swung the strap of my bag over my shoulder and drew in a deep, bracing breath. Time for a pep talk, Serena.

Leaning against the wall next to the class, I ignored the weird looks people pushing past me were shooting me, focusing instead on looking and acting normal when I walked into class.

Be cool girl.

You might be wondering why I was trying to calm myself down when all I felt like doing was backtracking in the opposite direction. Well, this was the first time I would be in the same room as Ash since the gala, so you can imagine I had a right to be nervous.

To make matters worse, after I had told them what went down at the gala, May and Dawn had done their best to blow things way out of proportion.

Things like 'whipped', 'he loooves you', 'somebody's in denial' and 'you're so into the guy' had been said, leading me to threaten to stop talking to them if they even mentioned anything about the kiss to Ash.

I wasn't worried that May would say anything to him, mostly because she's the most sensible person I knew. But Dawn- she was another, looser lipped story. Plus which, something that Dawn had said to me offhandedly had stuck and was currently making my head whirl.

"A kiss isn't something you can put behind you that easily."

Damn her for being crazy enough to figure out the real thing that was troubling me with this situation about Ash.

Did I handle everything okay?

Because let's face it, the gala night was the first time something like that had happened to me. As in the first time a guy had just randomly decided to kiss me.

Did I over-react when I backed away? What were you supposed to do, kiss him back? In the hallway of a hotel? Mental head shake. I don't think so, Serena Yvonne. You handled it just fine.

I rubbed my nose, sighing. Maybe I did. I just hoped that things between Ash and I wouldn't be different due to the kiss debacle.

It was all his fault!

But I had read enough books to know that one single, accidental kiss had the potential to cause a whole lot of problems. Yes, I am aware that I read far too much. Unfortunately, poor little unworldly me had absolutely no experience with things like- romance. At all.

Unfortunately, the untimely arrival of our gruff Science teacher meant that I had to cut my internal musings short and I followed her into class, my heart beating irrationally fast. Just chill, Serena. Don't even look at him.

Well, that was going to be pretty difficult, since Ash was lounging right in the back of the class, his woolly red cap pulled low over his dark, raven hair, chewing gum as he laughed at something with the cute girl next to him. And he was sitting a couple of rows behind me, which was unnerving, to say the least.

As I slowly walked to my seat, focusing on my feet so that I didn't have to look in front of me, and ultimately at Ash. I was sure that I could feel his eyes on me.

He probably hadn't even noticed I had walked in the room.

I got to my seat without doing anything stupid like falling over my feet, dropping my bag, bumping into tables. I sat down, still breathing deep. Sitting comfortably.

Why was I still so shook up over this? I'm pretty sure that Ash had forgotten about it, so why couldn't I? It happened three days ago; shouldn't I be over it by now? Were Dawn and May right? Was I sprung?

No. Definitely not. I shook my head briskly, settling more comfortably in my chair and staring right ahead at the board. All I needed was concentration to get through this class.

Concentration? Yeah right.

A few minutes later, as Mr Rowan droned on about formulae's, someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned slightly around in my seat and gave a small smile, reaching back with my hand as Trip slipped something into it.

Note passing time.

Bored students passing notes were an everyday occurrence in Mr Rowan class.

The fact that I was the one usually used to pass them didn't really annoy me, even though I never got any notes myself. And I had gotten really good at passing and receiving notes unobtrusively to attract attention. That's a skill you can use later in life. Or not.

I slipped the note under my desk and looked at it for a name. The front and back was blank. Great, note writing genius. How the hell was I supposed to know who this was for?

Waiting for Mr Rowan to turn to the board, I turned to look at Trip, who had his customary 'too cool for school' expression on his face.

"Who's this for?" I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.

Without saying a word which I've known Trip for 4 years and I don't think I've ever heard him talk to anyone. He pointed his pencil at me...

"Who's it from?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. Trip pointed his pencil behind him, right at-

Ash?

As I gazed at him, he turned from Angie, grinned at me and mouthed, "Open it."

Like I needed any more persuasion after that.

Turning to face the front of the class again, I quickly unfolded the note. Yes, I was super excited. Note passing in class was something I hadn't done since 5rd grade, when my teacher caught me with a note and made me read it out to the whole class. Can you say embarrassing? I felt like crawling under a rock for the rest of the day.

The note was written in Ash's small, neat writing.

'You look super bored. Wanna chat? :-). Ash'.

My heart leaped to my throat. How sweet! He was concerned that I was bored! He- chill out, girl. Have a little self-respect.

So I waited a full minute before I replied, so as not to appear desperate, you know?

'How can you see that I look bored? You can't see my face- can you? Serena.'

I passed the note back to Trip, who gave a long suffering sigh but handed it back to Ash regardless.

His reply came back almost immediately and the note writing marathon began all the way till the end.

'I wish. I can tell from your shoulders. You have really expressive shoulders. I bet your eyes are as glazed over from boredom as mine are. Ash.'

He had no idea.

'Expressive shoulders, huh? That's a first! I'm gonna have to do something about that. Serena.'

'Don't! I like your shoulders the way they are. So, how are you? Ash.'

Even when Ash was writing notes, he still managed to change the subject rapidly.

'I'm great. How about you? Serena.'

'Eh, could be better, could be worse. Do you realize we could text each other instead of passing notes? Wouldn't it be hilarious if we got caught? Ash.'

Uh, no.

'Yeah, I think texting would be safer. Serena.'

"But not as fun. I haven't passed notes in years! It's worth the risk, right? Ash.'

I had to smile at Ash's enthusiasm.

'If we get caught I'm so putting the blame on you. Serena.'

'I'll say I couldn't help it. You drove me to it, Sere. So, I was thinking... Ash.'

'Wanna let me in on what u were thinking or is it gonna be a surprise? Serena.'

'You got jokes, huh? Are you busy after school today? Ash.'

'No, how come? Serena.'

'Do you wanna come to the hospital with me? Ash.'

'How come? You got a checkup? Serena.'

'No. I wanna go give blood but I'm scared of needles. Can you come hold my hand? Please? Ash.'

'You're such a baby! Serena.'

'I know, I'm pathetic, right? Say yes, please, say yes! I'll love you forever if you say yes :-) Ash.'

I rolled my eyes. Ash was smooth. And even though I knew I would end up going with him, just to hang out, I decided to play hard to get.

'So this is what you call making up for it? Serena.'

I heard him laugh from behind me. A few seconds later, his reply was in my hands.

'Trust me, when I make up for the gala, you'll know. So... is that a yes? Ash.'

And he was persistent.

'Okay, I'll come hold your hand. It's about time we started getting serious with your list anyway. You need to prove to your dad u can take it all the way. Serena.'

'I'd rather prove it to myself. And to you. I don't wanna let you go and I never let you down. Ash.'

I smiled at that, a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach.

'You're not going to, I can feel it. Serena.'

'You're a really awesome girl, Sere. Like really. Ash.'

I flushed deep red as pit of lava. No one had said that to me in recent history. It felt- awesome.

'Thanks :-). Serena.'

'NP. So, I'll meet you at MetLife at around 4? Ash.'

'Sure. I'll be there. I might even join you and give blood too. Serena.'

'I hope I don't faint. I'm really scared of needles. It's almost crippling. Ash.'

'Well, this is a great chance to face your fear. Serena.'

'Hmm. That's a good one. I'm gonna put it on the list! Ash.'

"Okay, Kenny, Serena, Zoey and Barry, do you want to leave the class and pass your notes outside or you think you can hang on a little bit longer?" Mr Rowan suddenly asked sarcastically loud across the room, just as I was in the middle of jotting down a reply to Ash.

Barry's pen clattered to the floor as he sat up straighter in his seat, staring red-faced at the front of the class.

Several people giggled all around me and I saw Miette stare from Ash to me, a confused look on her face.

Crap. I so don't want to deal with her again.

Making a mental note to make tracks as soon as class was over, I settled back into my seat to listen to Mr Rowan drone on and on for the rest of the class.