As my alarm rings, I groan and slam my hand down on the "off" button. Pulling myself up to sitting position, I turn on the lights in my bedroom and stare into space for a bit. A few minutes pass by, and I finally wake up a bit. When my spacing out is done, I fling off my blankets and take a look at myself in the mirror. As usual, my hair is a complete mess. Sighing, I make my bed (arrangement is key) and get my clothes out for the day. Let's see... A black sparkly headband and silver hoop earrings, with a top of blue-green and some slots on the sides.... Bright blue and green leggings with light slashes of color (resembling lightning)... Adding a light greenish jacket, I am finally done with my outfit.

Well, that's settled, I think to myself. Brushing out my hair, I wince as the brush gets stuck in a knot. Of course this happens on a Monday when I'm JUST going back to school.... Smoothing it out and taking one final look at my outfit, I nod on approval, put on some lip gloss and gather my things for school. Stuffing everything in my backpack, I eat a banana and wait for Pearl so we can walk to school together. A few minutes later, Pearl comes out of her room ready to go, and we both head out the door, immediately talking about last night.

     "Ugh, I got to bed at 12:30 last night and that was only doing half of my homework!" I sigh. (True story. Yeah, I'm tired.) Pearl nods as this happened to her also, and we both continue the walk to school in silence for a bit. After a few minutes of walking, Pearl decides to start up conversation again.

"So.... Sapphire.... Did you, oh I don't know... Have any good dreams last night? About a specific someone?" She turns to me for a second to give me a wink, and I groan and look away.

"No, Pearl, I did not think about Grayson last night. My gosh, I'm not that into him, I only like him as a friend." I try to explain, and she just smiles.

"So, then, what are you going to tell him? 'Oh Grayson, I know that I agreed to go out with you, but I really don't like you that much so therefore forget what I said, because now I won't go out with you anymore?' I mean, that would just be rude." She mimics me, and I sigh.

"No, I'm not going to tell him that. I guess I'll just see where this is going to go. After all, you like Ethan, don't you?" She nods. "Well, why don't we both just see where it takes us."

"Yeah, you're probably right, sorry for asking about it." She sighs, and I just nod.

"Thank you, now, let's get to school. I don't want to be late to French!" We make our way to the front of the school and walk to our French classroom.

The bell rings, and Pearl and I just barely make it to our seats in time. Mr. Baguette nods in approval that we actually made it to out seats on time, and class starts. Next to me, Grayson whispers hi, and I whisper hi back just as a new lesson begins.

"Today, you all will be starting a new project. You will pair up with someone and create a presentation about what you have learned so far in class. I am sorry to have to say, Pearl and Sapphire cannot work together, and Ethan and Grayson cannot work together either. That would be unfair to the rest of the class as you live together. Also, no one may pair up with someone they have already worked with previously for other projects." Mr. Baguette teasingly scolds us all, and the four of us internally groan and put our heads down on our desks. "Before we begin, let's review a bit! Everyone, get out of your seats! We are doing... the dance." The whole class groans and sighs, but obey what he says. With exaggerated movements and lots of moving, we manage to get through it.

*Timeskip brought to you by the fact that the dance is too awful to repeat in another chapter. You're welcome.*

"Now, let's get started! Pair up, come see me, and I will give you your assignments ." Mr. Baguette exclaims. I look around, not sure who to pair up with. Grayson looks over at me, and I just shrug. Surprisingly, no one even looks at me. (Gee, I wonder why) By this time, the entire class has paired up with someone else except for Pearl, Ethan, Grayson, and I. Mr. Baguette looks over and groans. "Oh, you four. Well, Sapphire, work with Ethan, Pearl can work with Grayson. I suppose that will be fair." It is settled, and we sit at a table together in a small group of four. (Hey, just because we can't work together doesn't mean we can't sit with each other and help each other out)

Ethan puts his arm around Pearl, and Mr. Baguette catches him. "No no no, Ethan, you are working with Sapphire, not Pearl. Please kindly keep your arms to yourself, Mr. Seascape, and work with your partner." The whole class turns to look at him. Ethan removes his arm, turning a bit red. "Thank you. You may continue to work with Sapphire." I snicker, and Grayson jabs me in my side to let me know he was silently laughing too. We all shift apart, and I turn to look at Ethan.

"So, you ready to get this thing done?" I ask, and he nods.

"We should probably start with introducing ourselves to the rest of the class, and then go on to basic structures of writing and talking." He tells me, and I agree. Getting to work, I start on the basic words and meanings, while Ethan gets to working on phrases. I look across the table (it's a pretty big table) and see Grayson watching my every move. Well, then, that's not intimidating in any way. Pearl notices I am getting a little uncomfortable and gently smacks Grayson's arm. (Fun fact: spell check originally changed that to 'snacks' XD I don't really imagine her eating his arm...) He quickly shakes his head and gets back to work. A few minutes of silence go by, and all four of us are insanely uncomfortable. And I mean really uncomfortable. Hoping to get some more work done and try to lighten up the awkward situation, I decide to start talking to Ethan about how he was doing.

     "So... Ethan... How far have you gotten on the phrases?" I ask, hoping he'll get the hint.

     "Oh, Sapphire, I have just gotten so far that it is absolutely fabulous, darling!" He replies, saying in an extremely exaggerated fancy tone.

     "Oh my, that is wonderful! I am so happy for you!" I reply, equally as exaggerate. Pearl and Grayson stop working and stare at us in confusion.

     "So, darling, how far have you gotten?" Ethan keeps the tone going, and it takes all of my effort not to start laughing.

     "Well, you see, darling, I have just gotten so much done that I cannot add anything to it!" Grayson and Pearl look at each other and then back at us, trying not to start laughing.

     "What are you guys even talking about?" Pearl asks, snickering.

     "Oh my, darling, we have been talking about our work. Isn't that what you should be doing?" I reply, and she smiles.

     "Oh yes, darling, how could I forget?" Pearl replies, and we both start laughing. Next to her, poor Grayson is still looking confused, and Ethan turns to him.

     "Gray, it's a Mettaton voice." Grayson finally get it.

     "Oh, how could I not have known that?" He asks, and we all  burst out laughing. Mr. Baguette comes over for a second, telling us to be quieter and to get back to work. Following his instructions, I start looking for a video of a French song to play in the background, while Ethan looks for an alphabet song so we can review before we begin presenting. (Not that song again... It was too much!) Putting on my headphones, I scroll through music, finally finding something that represents the presentation itself. Across from me, Pearl is snickering and furiously typing something - no wait - make it violently. She is practically smashing the keyboard to write whatever she is writing down fast enough. Gee, I wonder what she's writing that is so important.

     I turn my gaze towards Grayson, and he immediately looks at me. I smile and quickly turn back to my work, turning slightly to the side so my hair hides my face. My gosh, why can't I meet his gaze? What's wrong with me? He's just a friend... Just a friend... Just a friend... Why can't I look at him? It is because I'm shy? Because it's awkward? Because I like him that mu-wait no! That can't be it..... Can it? Shaking my head, I try to clear my thoughts and work on the bibliography. Taking slow, deep breaths (silent, not like a dying whale) I try to calm myself down and get back to work.

Just in time, the bell rings, and I sigh in relief. Packing up, I get excited to leave the room when I realize something horrible. Grayson's in math with me too. And sits next to me. Whyyyyyyyyy..... What if he tries to talk to me? Will I have to respond? Oh, don't be stupid, of course you have to respond! It would be rude not to..... But then again it would be rude not to look at him when talking...... Looking at that face.... That perfect face..... I run into a wall. Gosh dang it Sapphire, pay attention when walking down the hallway! I hear a snicker behind me and turn to find Grayson. Turning around as fast as I can, I put all my energy and focus into walking straight so I don't run into a wall again.

     I put down my backpack and slide into my seat just as the bell rings. Taking out my notebook and last night's homework, I try as hard as I can not to glance to my right. Focusing on taking new notes (today's lesson was , my writing is interrupted with a quiet cough. Turning to where I came from, I notice it was Grayson trying to get my attention. I give a small squeak turn back around, and he frowns in disappointment. Okay, Sapphire, you really need to get this under control. Maybe I should talk to him about it....? Nah, notes are more important. I focus on the lesson once again, and immediately get confused.

     "-by adding the three to the X. What is the X?" Mrs. Shellfire asks, and I have to look away. People don't call on me... Please don't call on me... "Grayson what's the answer?" She calls on him, and I sigh in relief. Until I realize that he was staring at me the whole time so he has no idea either.

"Ummm... Seven?" He guesses, and she smiles.

"Yes! That's correct! I thought you weren't paying attention, but I guess I was wrong! Thank you, Grayson." She continues on with the lesson, and I go back to taking even more notes and get a start on my homework.

Math is finally over, and I pack up my things, ready to head to lunch. Grayson approaches me, waiting for me to notice him. Sighing, I turn to him and wait for him to begin speaking.

     "Sapphire.... Is something wrong? It seems like you've been avoiding me all day." He asks, showing signs of concern. I can't help but sigh and give him an answer.

     "Well... I haven't been avoiding you necessarily.... I just..... Needed some time alone..." I answer, but he doesn't seem convinced.

     "Is this about what happened over the weekend? If you didn't want to go out with me you could have just told me..." He trails off.

     "No! Grayson, that's not it at all! I do really want to go out with you, but I've just been going through some things lately." I give him a weak smile, and he gives me a full-fledged smile back.

     "Hey, you want to talk about it? I promise I'm good at giving advice..." Grayson offers, and I shake my head.
     "As much as I believe that, I'm not really in the mood to talk about it. Let's just go to lunch." I reply, and he nods. We walk to lunch together not really talking, and sit down with the rest of the group.

      "Hey, Ethan, can I talk to you for a second?" Grayson asks, and the two walk away to talk. Wait - what if Grayson is going to talk about me? Nah, I'm probably just being paranoid. Pearl and Tamora glance at me, giving me questioning looks. I shrug, and we start talking about random things.

     "So, Tamora, how was your day with Aaron?" Pearl asks, and I give her leg a smack under the table. Now we have to listen to this.....

"Oh my gosh you guys! It was amazing! Well, I mean, Raie didn't enjoy it, but otherwise it was good!" Pearl and I share a look saying "we feel so bad for Raie and wouldn't have enjoyed it either". Tamora doesn't catch on to this, and continues talking. I look around and notice Grayson and Ethan weren't back yet. Huh, maybe they're making up something for a class....

"-And then he put his arm around me, and we kissed for like, FIVE minutes straight!" I give a silent gag towards Pearl, and she nods her head. Neither of us feel like eating anything anymore.... Tamora stops her flashbacks and looks at both of us in confusion. "Why aren't you guys eating?" She asks, and Pearl and I look at each other before answering.

"We..... -Are tired!- Aren't hungry anymore!"I say, just as Pearl replies with a completely different answer. We look at each other before I summarize it up.

"Yeah! We're too tired and we're not hungry anymore!" We both nod, refusing to speak anymore about it. Tamora doesn't buy it but decides to change to subject, much to both of our relief. Grayson and Ethan finally return, and Grayson approaches me.

     "Hey Sapphire, can I talk you in the hallway for a second?" He asks me, taking my hand to help me up.

     "Grayson, you really should eat some lunch. You don't want to go hungry and have to eat during another class." I say, but he just shakes his head.

     "This is more important. Besides, eating in another class isn't as bad as it seems. You know that." He replies, and I just nod and go with him.

Ooh what will Grayson tell you....?

     Hey everyone! I am so so sorry that this chapter has taken me so long to get out for you guys, but here it is! I hope you all have enjoyed reading this, and I will work to get more chapters out soon for you! If you guys have any questions for me, go to my book "Ask The Author" and I will answer any questions you guys have for me! Anyway, what would you guys like me to write? I am taking ideas!!! Be seri to check out these awesome people:

RainbowDashLoyalty - Pearl's POV
ThreadlessNeedle  - She's an amazing writer!

Anyway, I hope to get another update out soon! I love you all" <3

~Chrissy