Grayson takes my hand and leads me out into the courtyard across from the cafeteria. Walking over to a more secluded spot under a gigantic maple tree, we both sit down and Grayson just looks at me for a few seconds before beginning to talk.

"Look, Sapphire, I can tell something isn't right. Is everything okay? Why have you been avoiding me today?" Wow. That's... A bit forward. But I guess I deserve it, as I may have been avoiding him... at least a little bit today. Okay, I get it - a LOT today.

"Well, the truth is..." I trail off, thinking of a way to put it into words that won't hurt him in any way. Grayson, meanwhile, just stares at me while I continue thinking. I meet his gaze before quickly looking back down at the ground again. Those eyes.... I can't think straight when he looks at me like that. Ugh, and I'm getting nowhere trying to come up with an excuse for not talking to him...

"What is it, Sapphire? What are you trying to hide from me?" There's an edge to his voice. I'm not sure whether that's from wanting to help me or wanting to leave out of the frustration of me not talking him.

"Look, Grayson, I just have a lot of things going on right now in my life and I need some time to think everything over. Nothing's wrong, I just need to figure some things out." His eyes darken, but miraculously he doesn't leave. Instead, I'm pulled into a warm hug and suddenly can't remember how to breathe. Even just a hug from Grayson can leave me breathless.... Oh gosh, what is wrong with me? Why am I thinking these things.....?

"You know, if you ever need anything, ever, you can always come to me. No matter what it is." My thoughts are interrupted by Grayson, and I just sigh in response.

     "And you know that even if I do that I won't. I don't want to be a bother to you and always ask for help or something I need. I can deal with everything myself." I attempt to get up and walk away but unfortunately Grayson has other plans.

     "You are not leaving until you promise me that you will talk to me and always come to me for anything. Please, Sapphire, I want to be there for you and help you out with everything that you might not even need help with." He wraps his arms tighter around me and refuses to let go. This will be a bit difficult - I can't promise him anything because I NEVER break a promise and promising him means that I will keep that promise, but at the same time I don't want to let him down more than I already have.

     "Grayson....." I want to tell him, I really do. I wish I could but... There's a part of me holding me back and it's strong enough that there is no way I can tell him anything. It's not that I don't trust him, I just don't like telling people much about myself. Too many ways for people to get at you or more reasons for someone to betray you. It doesn't matter what you say - they will always find reasons to leave you and never talk to you again. "Look, Grayson, I can't promise you anything. I will try to be more honest with you, but I can't promise you that I will not still hide things from you." Hey, that end part is true...

     "You need to stop holding everything in and not trusting yourself." He sighs and loosens his arms around me just enough to let change the position I'm sitting in. "I will accept this as an answer for now but I expect this to change in the future and get a REAL answer from you." I slowly nod in response and slowly untangle myself from his arms, standing up and taking a moment to look at the bright, fluffy clouds in the sky.

"We should be getting back to the cafeteria. I believe lunch will be ending soon anyway." Grayson looks at me with a - how to describe it - hidden expression before getting up and following me through the doors and back to the cafeteria.

As I sit down at the table again I no longer have the urge to eat. I pack away my lunch and motion Tamora and Pearl over to explain where I went. I already know that they know about Grayson taking me away, so I feel the need to explain why. They make their way over and I see Grayson just nod sadly at Ethan before eating his lunch.

"So, Saphy, what was that about?" Tamora giggles and Pearl just jabs her in the side to keep her from laughing any more. Sighing (wow, I sigh a LOT these days), I turn away from Grayson, take a deep breath, and explain.

"SAPPHIRE!" Tamora shrieks and I shush her before any teachers come over and ask what's wrong.

"I'm sorry, okay? I can't help it! I mean, you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't tell him. It's not that I don't trust him, I just don't trust myself. And it's not that bad! I get that I should have told him but I couldn't! And PLEASE Tamora, stop shrieking! I don't want to get a teachers attention!" I say in a hushed tone. Pearl just watched over us sympathetically before packing up her lunch.

"Guys, the bell is about to ring soon. We should get going." Pearl stands up to leave and I join her, thankful to get to my next cla- oh no. Oh no.... No no no no no... Grayson is in my next class..... And sits near me.... Let's hope he doesn't bring up what we talked about before. I'm sure the rest of the class would love to hear all about that conversation and anything else he might have to say about it. Shaking my head, I clear my thoughts and head on to class where I hope nothing will be brought up.

Grayson slides into his seat just as the bell rings. Luckily Mrs. Yachtfire wasn't looking up from her laptop long enough to see him barely make it in time. Once the bell is done ringing Mrs. Yachtfire begins the lesson for today. Being the person who I am, I practically write down every word she says (hey, it's what I do) and color code every separate section.

     While I try to stay as organized as I possibly can, I can feel Grayson's stare coming from the right practically burning into my head. Shouldn't he be taking note- oh. I see why this is. Don't tell me he's staring at me because he's trying to figure me out or anything.... I brush my hair in front of my face so that I can't see him out of my peripheral vision anymore and go back to taking notes.

The staring continues and it is at this point that I wonder if Grayson's taken any notes at all. Why does he keep staring at me?!? Tucking my hair behind my ear, I look at Grayson and smile, pointing to my paper. If he doesn't get this hint I don't know what to do anymore. I'm practically shouting at him to take his notes and not look at me but he won't oblige. He just keeps looking at me and sends me a wide grin. Sighing I look back up at the teacher and continue my notes as if nothing happened.

     The class seemed to pass pretty quickly once I was completely focused on my note taking and not on the person burning holes through the side of my head. As I quickly jot down one of my last sentences the bell rings and completely interrupts my thought process. Well..... Guess these notes are done.... Excluding the fact that I was in the middle of a sentence. Maybe I'll figure out what I was writing later. Sighing, I pack up my things and turn to head out the door before someone grabs my arm.

"You okay?" Grayson asks, his voice barely a soft whisper. I just nod and jerk my arm away, slowly rubbing it to try and get some feeling back in it from the frigid air in the room. "No you're not. I can tell. You want to talk about it?" I move my gaze to the floor and shake my head enough to let him know my answer but not enough for him to try and continue the conversation. Keeping my gaze on the floor I step out of the classroom and walk to my next class.

     I'm not sure if Grayson is following me or not, but I don't look back to check. Maybe it's better this way. After all, I'm probably hurting him even more by not telling him anything.... Gosh, why do I always hurt people that get close to me?!? I guess I'm just protecting him from myself at this point. After all, who would want to associate with me anyway? I literally have the most boring life ever and practically no friends......

     Heading in to Medical Terminology I take my seat in the front of the class, hoping to be able to forget everything that happened earlier today. Maybe some extensive note taking will help? Just as I am practically contemplating my entire existence on the planet Leah comes over and sits next to me.

     "Hey Sapphire! How's your day going?" She flashes me a smile and unpacks her notebook and pencil case, ready to take notes when class starts.

     "Hi Leah! My day is going pretty well, I'm just a bit tired." I muster up a smile, hoping she won't see past that half-lie. Well, it's not really lying, I am actually pretty tired, and my classes haven't been too bad. But.... As long as she doesn't ask about Grayson....

     "Good to hear!" She replies, and then glances to the back of the classroom. "Any reason your friend - or can I say boyfriend -" I quickly shake me head at that. Of course she asks. And to be fair, we haven't gone out yet (well, I'm not sure when we even world at this point) so technically he's not my boyfriend... "is staring us down right now?" Oh. Well, I guess he made it to class on time...

     "Not sure, and no, he's not my boyfriend, don't worry about it Leah." I quickly reassure her and get out my own notebook and pencil for notes.

      "You suuuuuuure?" She draws it out, as if I couldn't understand what she was saying. Luckily the bell rang and class began before I had a chance to answer her. I guess when people say "saved by the bell" they actually mean it!

     Okay, Sapphire, lets get on with it - World History. With a seat next to Grayson. You can do it, just don't say anything for the whole class period! It's just 45 minutes long, you can survive!..... Oh who am I kidding, Mr. Heartattack will definitely know something's up if I don't talk to Tamora and Pearl like I normally do... Okay, Sapphire, just be yourself and pretend like nothing's happened. Maybe even talk to Tamora and Pearl. There, that's it. That's what I'll do.

     Taking a deep breath I leave the class as soon as the bell rings and practically run to World History so Grayson won't have enough time to catch up. Slamming into my desk I hiss in pain before casually setting down my backpack as if nothing happened. Thankfully Mr. Heartattack wasn't in the room yet so no one had to witness that "graceful" event. A few seconds later Tamora and Pearl enter the room and set down their backpacks next to mine.

     "Hey Saphy, we're going to the bathroom. You want to join us?" Tamora asks, and I nod, smiling. Don't ask what we do in the bathroom - I mean it's nothing bad or anything - but it's a sacred girl secret.

     As I sit back down I my seat I take careful measures to not look anywhere near Grayson or Ethan. But mostly Grayson. The bell rings and Mr. Heartattack enters the room carrying a salad. Guess that's a snack? Tamora, Pearl, and I look at each other before looking back to the salad. We watch it's every move ending with it being put on the desk. Mr. Heartattack notices our staring and gives us each a smile. Sadly, it's all we get from him, no salad.

As I reach down to collect my notes from last nights homework Pearl jabs me in the side. I would say it was painful, but it really wasn't. Looking over at her with half of a glare, she looks between me and Grayson, then leans over to whisper something in my ear.

"I think Ethan and Grayson are talking about you. They keep staring at you and then Grayson says something to Ethan and they look back at you again." I glance behind me for a split second and sure enough, Pearl was right. Or at least it seems that way.

     Groaning, I turn back to my notes and jot down some important key points that I missed last night, pretending like all is fine with the world and these notes are so interesting. I mean, who would have thought that you'd learn all about The History of the Yak in both Medical Terminology AND World History?!?

     Tamora starts snickering and both Pearl and I look over at her confused. She points down to her paper and we both start silently laughing along with her. She had decided to drawn a picture of a very confused-looking yak and named it Lachlan after her favorite YouTuber - and she also added in hearts and bows. Of all the things to do in class.....

     Thankfully Mr. Heartattack trusts us enough to know we aren't copying each other's notes and are just laughing at something funny, not at him, so he doesn't really care that we're all silently laughing and choking on air because of a yak. And of all the things that we could be laughing at and choking on air for instead, it's all for a yak. I mean, come on! How is it not funny?

     Samu-Chan Dolphin Warrior (*ahem* Sam) gives the three of us weird looks from across the room, but we just shrug at him and get back to looking at the yak. And drawing more hearts and "flirty Japanese sayings" around it. Let's just say at this point I hope Mr. Heartattack doesn't collect our notes for this unit....

The bell rings and once again my note taking process is interrupted by others getting to their next class. Why does this always happen to me??? I stuff everything in my backpack as fast as I possibly can and rush out the door with Pearl and Tamora to go change for Dance. (Well, gym for Tamora) Speeding through the halls (well, speed WALKING) we manage to make it to the locker room and change in time for class. Sadly, when you have to go across the entire school to get it the locker room, you have almost no time to change if you want to be in time for class.

Throwing my hair up into a ponytail I grab my backpack and run up the stairs just as the bell rings. UGH I WAS SO CLOSE! I set down my things outside and sneak into the dance room, hoping no once notices that I wasn't there yet. As it turns out we have a sub for today, so she was just looking over the notes Mrs. Danceathon left her and not paying any attention to the doorway. (Thank goodness!)

Pearl enters the room after me and together we sit down in our attendance line, waiting for class to start. About a minute passes before Ethan and Grayson enter the room, however this time Grayson doesn't look at me. Not once. Oh no.... What if he's mad at me? What if he hates me? What if-

"Alright class! Those of you that worked with Chris (the professional choreographer who came in and is doing a piece as an after school activity) will go downstairs and practice. Everyone else, you can start warming up, we will be doing some more across the floor today." I didn't even notice she took attendance already. Oh well, guess I'm going downstairs. About one third of the class follows (though Pearl and Brea aren't doing it so they won't be joining me) as we all walk downstairs and set up the music. And now it's time for practice.

     Once the bell rings I head over to the locker room and get changed back into my clothing. Now, the final part of the day - walking home! A few days ago Pearl and I met this really awesome person who had just moved from Louisiana. She is a triplet, the other two being boys. (Gotta be a harsh life) Hopefully she will be walking home at the same time as us today.

     I wait for Pearl to finish changing while I absentmindedly scroll through some books I have on my phone. I've already read them all but haven't had the time to get new ones yet. Oh well, Wattpad will have to do for now. I choose a story and start reading it as Pearl bounds through the door.

     "Ready to go, Saphy?" She asks, and I nod, putting my phone away. As soon as we step outside we hear someone squeal and footsteps running behind us. Irene bounds over to us engulfing me in a hug, almost knocking me over from the force.

    "Hi y'all!" (She has a bit of an accent) "How have you been?" She flashes a smile and I can't help but smile back. Her smile is just so contagious!

     "We're pretty good, how have you been, Irene?" Pearl does a little curtsy and Irene and I look at each other before snickering and curtsying back.

     "Pretty good, we're almost finished completely moving here, so soon I'll be here all the time!" Her smile is so bright that I swear the sun is no comparison. At all. I sigh in relief. The last few days she's been taking trips to and from Louisiana to gather the last few things and what not and she hasn't been at school for a while.

     "Yessssss...." I reply, and we all start laughing. Reaching the crosswalk we wait for the light to change before crossing the extremely busy road.

     "Oh my gosh I almost forgot to tell you both...." She draws out. "I played an AMAZING prank on my brothers yesterday!" Pearl and I start squealing and start asking questions about every aspect of it. "So when they were both taking showers I snuck into their rooms and set up video cameras in both the bathrooms and their rooms. Then I took ALL their clothes and hid each piece separately around the house, making sure my mom didn't notice. Because, you know, they would always come to her first. Then I snuck back in the bathrooms and took all the towels and blankets and hid those around the house too." Pearl and I burst out laughing and give her high fives.

     "Oh my GOSH Irene that is AMAZING!" Pearl exclaims, and Irene nods before continuing.

     "So, of course my they went to my mom and she couldn't help them because she was cooking and didn't know where I hid anything. I think they might have found one outfit each, but so far they have yet to find more. What's even better is that the outfit I'm wearing today consists of some of their clothes and they haven't even noticed yet." We burst out laughing once again and take a moment to examine her clothing.

     "You know, I think they look SO much better on you that they would on them!" I exclaim, and we all nod in agreement. Reaching the street where we separate, we say goodbye and continue on our own houses.

     "So, Saphy, what do you think about the prank?" Pearl asks, and I just smile and think for a second.

     "Actually, I think she's AMAZING at pranks. You really don't want to get on her bad side!" I say, and Pearl laughs for a moment. The rest of the way home is silent, both of us deep in thought.

     Hey everyone! I am so so sorry that I've been pretty slow on updating lately. Okay, REALLY slow. I've just been really busy with work and school and have also been editing all my stories, so that also took a while. I know this chapter may not be as interesting as it should be, but I thought you would all enjoy at least ONE update sometime soon and it was honestly the best I could do at such "short" notice.

     Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update and I am currently (not even kidding) working on updating EVERY story I have so far, so please be patient because it may take a while. Feel free to leave a comment asking me any other questions that you would like answers to that I have not already answered. Until the next update!

-Chrissy <3