I was right about the whole snobby Porsche driving prediction.

As soon as I pull up in my white Jeep, I'm astounded at how much the cars around me are worth. You'd think that they'd opt to choose a car that stands out, but the cars around me are like a reading of a list of European luxury cars. They all look the same to me, save some are black and others white. Occasionally, a sports car is decked out in a daring orange or blue that stands out, but for the most part it's sleek and monochromatic.

I park my car as close as I can and take time opening the door so that I don't accidentally scratch the Mercedes next to me. I wind my way through the cars until I find myself before the looming gates of Devenford Prep.

I walk through the open gate and up the stairs, my legs burning by the end of it. Turns out holing yourself up in a spell of grief isn't the best for your fitness.

I follow the directions to the office where a benevolent looking woman sits behind the front desk. The woman has auburn hair cut into a bob and eyes filled with welcoming warmth. I breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe Devenford Prep isn't as hostile as I first thought.

"Um, hi," I say, tugging on my bag strap nervously. "I'm new here."

She smiles. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Lenore Harrington," I reply. I feel the tight anxiety feeling in my gut receding. I've always had an immense nervousness surrounding meeting new people and public speaking. Perhaps this new town and school will change me for the better.

She studies her computer screen for a few seconds before turning back to me. "I'll go get your timetable and lock," she says and disappears behind a door that I assume leads to some sort of storage or office space.

She comes back through the door again, a lock and sheet of paper clutched in her hand. She hands the two objects to me and says, "Looks like you have chemistry first. Room twenty one is on level two, by the way."

I thank her and begin my trek to chemistry. I'm on the second level and following the classroom numbers, but to no avail. Whoever planned where these classes are must've been blind. Room 18 is right next to Room 7. I begin to give up as I realise that I've been past Room 20 three times.

I'm about to try and find my way back down to my locker when someone pipes up behind me. "Lost?"

The boy talking looks only about fourteen with a small face and big eyes. He's lanky and about the same height as me. "Uh, yeah, actually," I say. "I'm new here."

"Lucky you," he says, sidling up beside me. He begins walking and I clamber after him. He has extraordinarily long strides for someone of his height. "Everyone here is rather...rancorous, if you know what I mean."

"Not many people would know what you mean by rancorous," I say. "But you're in luck. I once read the entire dictionary out of boredom."

"And you're officially now my new best friend," he declares with a grin. "I'm Wesley, by the way. Wesley Maddox."

"Lenore Harrington," I introduce myself. He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "And before you ask, yes, I'm named after that dead chick in The Raven."

"I take it your parents are Edgar Allan Poe fans. I hope you don't mind if I come over to your house just to discuss poetry with your parents."

I wince. "My parents - they, uh, they died a couple of months back. Hence why I'm here with my aunt." I shrug. "Sorry about that. Not really a light conversation topic."

Wesley shoves his hands into his pockets. "I'm so sorry about that," he says in a low voice. His voice raises to normal volume again. "So which class are you in?"

"Um, let me see." I hold up my timetable. "I'm in chemistry first."

He glances at my timetable. "Junior chemistry. You're with me, then." He gestures for me to follow him and I fall into step beside him.

He stops outside a classroom labelled Room 21 and I push the door open. About twelve students are in the room already and most of them are clustered in small groups, talking in low voices and laughing.

Wesley stops beside me. He has a distracted look to him and I follow his gaze to a group of boys. "Dammit," he mutters. "The lacrosse team hasn't gotten any less attractive and any more gay than last year."

I look at him and then back at the group of boys. "Those are some good looking boys," I declare, raising my eyebrows.

I can't tear my eyes away from a tall blue-eyed boy with brown hair styled impeccably and possibly one of the sharpest jawlines I've ever seen. I'm still staring at Tall Lacrosse Sex God when he turns and his eyes meet mine. He furrows his eyebrows at me and I look away quickly. I pretend to be looking out the window. "Those are...nice trees, Wesley, don't you think?"

"Very nice," he says loudly. Then he lowers his voice. "Brett Talbot, huh? He's one fine motherfucker."

"Well said, Wesley. Well said." I lower my head as I walk past Brett's group to get to my seat. I lower myself into a seat near the back. Wesley makes a move to smack his books down onto the desk, but when the books drop down onto the desk, they're not Wesley's.

I grimace when I look up to see Brett. I raise my eyebrows at him as he drops down into the seat next to me. "Wesley was going to sit there," I tell him.

Wesley flushes a deep red. "You know what, it's okay, Lenore. I'll find someone else to sit with." He scurries off before I even have the chance to tell him to wait up.

When I look back up at Brett he has a grin plastered across his face. "You know how many girls would kill to be in your position right now?"

"Look, if this is about before, I wasn't staring at you, I was staring at the trees. You have interesting flora in this area," I say.

He chuckles. "Keep telling yourself that," he says. "Anyway, I'm not here because you were staring at me." He leans in. "What are you?"

I furrow my eyebrows at him. "I'm an Aries. I don't see what that has to do with anything."

He lets out a long, boisterous laugh. "I didn't mean freaking star signs. I mean, what are you?"

I purse my lips and lower my eyebrows in confusion. "I have no idea what you mean by that," I say.

"Your scent," he urges. "It's strange. I've never smelled anything like it."

My mouth falls open. "Did you seriously just sniff me? And insult my smell? I'll have you know that I spent a lot of money on this perfume, mister, and I don't appreciate you dissing it."

He throws his hands up in the air in frustration. "I'm not asking about your perfume, for god's sake. Stop playing dumb." I narrow my eyes at him. He raises his eyebrows and says, "You're not playing dumb, are you? You actually have no idea what I'm talking about."

I roll my eyes. "Well, obviously. It's not everyday a hot lacrosse player sits next to me and questions me about my strange scent."

He grins. "So you think I'm hot?"

I grumble an answer that's meant to be a no, but comes out as a cross between a groan and scoff.

"Welcome back, class. I trust you all had a good break." I snap my gaze to the teacher who stands at the front of the class, leaning back onto her desk. "I know you're all probably in the holiday mindset, but you're all juniors now and that means adjusting back to school with a good work ethic."

The teacher rambles on about knuckling down in this class and the expectations for this year. I listen to most of it even though by the end of it I'm tuning out. She gives us a set of notes to copy down on the outline of the subject.

Brett leans over as I'm finishing the third dot point. "So you actually have no idea what I'm talking about?" He raises his eyebrows.

I shake my head again. "Stop asking me that. I already told you. You're sorta starting to creep me out."

He scoffs. "Alright, then."

After class, Wesley makes a point of interrogating me. "What did Brett want?" he asks, falling into step beside me.

I purse my lips. "The thing is, I have no idea. He sounded like he was a bit, you know..." I gesture to my head with wide eyes.

"Crazy?" Wesley asks. "That's just Brett. He doesn't just fill the cocky lacrosse captain position, he also fills the mysterious, brooding position."

"Right," I say. My eyes fall on Brett at his locker. "Something about him just seems...off."

"Yeah, well, a lot of people at Devenford Prep are off."

"Go figure."

After school, Wesley coaxes me out of going back home and asks me to join him at a local diner. "I can't," I protest. "My aunt will be wanting me home."

It's half the truth, at least. My aunt seems to have this persisting belief that I'm going to break down whenever I go out in public or think of my parents. The again, she hasn't really specified when and where I'm allowed to go in my new town.

"Come on," he pleads. "They have the best burgers in all of Beacon County."

I fold my arms and smile. "Fine," I say. "There goes my diet."

He shakes his head as we walk into the parking lot. "Don't worry about it. My longest diet was three days. It was around the time that Brett announced he was bisexual. I was intent on bulking up for my future boyfriend. Of course, he turned me down even when I amounted the most muscle mass I've had in my entire life. I don't care, though. There's other hot lacrosse players that will come around in time."

I open my mouth to respond but he cuts me off. The thing about Wesley is that he talks a lot. "By the way, can I catch a ride in your car? I'm currently car-less."

I smile. "Sure," I say. "But how did you get to school this morning without a car?"

He blushes. "I take the bus. You see, I did have a car. My parents bought me this awesome Porsche. I was living the high life, Lenore! I even picked up a few babes in that thing." His voice grows quiet. "But you see, I'm not the best driver. One day I took it for a spin to Beacon Hills - they have the best gay clubs there - and I completely wrecked it. Since then, my parents haven't bought me another one."

"Oh, well. My jeep will have to suffice, I suppose," I say.

He beams. "You have a jeep? That's awesome. You're totally going to survive the zombie apocalypse."

"Er, thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome," he says. "Being ready for the zombie apocalypse is a redeeming quality."

The diner is a hip little place in the less fancy area of Devenford. It seems to be a rendezvous for Devenford students because when I pull up to the curb, the place is practically flooded with them. The place is actually quite modern for such a classic area. It has stencilled graffiti on one side of the building and is decked out in timber accents and plants. It's the type of place I expect to be frequented by hipsters with beards and those clunky fake glasses.

I can hear the steady thrum of indie music streaming out through the door. Wesley leads the way, no doubt familiar with the place. He takes a seat on a table in the far corner and picks up a menu. "Hmm, I highly suggest the burgers."

I pick up one of my own and choose what I want. After a few minutes, a waiter comes up and asks what we'd like. I order a burger, much to Wesley's relief, and a strong coffee. If I'm going to make it through today, I'd like to be properly caffeinated.

"Oh, you're one of those people," Wesley says. I raise my eyebrows and he continues. "The whole 'strong coffee builds character' type. Disgusting. I'd rather stick to my strawberry milkshakes, if you ask me."

"Nobody was asking you," I laugh.

My eyes fall onto the pool tables on the other side of the diner. I meet eyes with a Devenford Prep girl who seems to be glaring at me. She has blonde curls that cascade down her back and bright blue eyes framed by long lashes. I vaguely remember her from one of my classes. I quickly look away. Goddamn these Devenford Prep kids and their staring problems.

"Hey, um, do you know who that girl is over there?" I ask Wesley, side eyeing the girl, who is shooting daggers. "The one staring."

"Oh, my god. That's Brett's ex. She broke up with him when he came out as bi. Total bitch. I blame her father. He's a local politician and has it instilled in her mind that god hates gays. That's why she hates me, I suppose. Or maybe it's because I've banged a few of her exes."

"You? Getting banged?"

"Well, yeah," he scoffs. "I'm just your regular man whore, you know."

I stare at him blankly until he says, "Okay, okay. Maybe I only slept with one, but still."

I grin at him.

He looks over my shoulder and perks up. "Burgers are here."