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THANK YOU SO MUCH TO BAYGIRL64 FOR THE FANTASTIC NEW COVER!!!! ISN'T IT DAMN AMAZING?!?!?!?!?

Sorry bout the all caps. I'm just excited. Now, on to the chapter!

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"Hey Sawyer!"

I looked up to find Norah sitting down in the desk next to me, and I blinked. I still hadn't gotten used to her new, more fashionable clothes. Today, it was a powder blue dress with a white cardigan. "Hey," I replied, closing my German notebook.

Norah placed her backpack on the ground and then turned to me. "How did your second first date with Griffin go?"

I smiled, remembering the way his lips had felt on mine. "It was fun," I said, leaning back against the hard plastic chair. "He brought me out to this deserted farm, and then we had a sort of paint-water balloon fight. After that..." I let my voice trail off, and I reopened my textbook.

"What?" Norah asked with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. "What happened after that?"

"We kissed," I said simply, without looking up, and I heard Norah gasp.

"You and Griffin kissed?" she cried excitedly, and my head whipped up at her sudden increase in volume. Norah covered her mouth in embarrassment just as we both heard something slam. I looked to the side to find Kaia standing in the door way, an expression of pure anger and hatred on her face.

Without a word, Kaia turned and stormed back out of the room, leaving her clones to look like lost toddlers looking for their mom. Norah and I shared a look, and then she shrugged and asked all about how the kiss went. When I described the part about how we both had paint on our lips, Norah and I dissolved into giggles.

The bell signaling the end of homeroom sounded, and Norah and I filed out of the room as I listened to her telling me about this book she was reading. When we were about to turn a corner, the sound of Griffin's voice made me freeze.

I grabbed Norah and stopped her from walking. She looked confused for a moment, but then she also heard Griffin and understood. We slipped closer and peeked around the corner to find Kaia and Griffin talking, the hallway now vacant save for a few girls walking out of the bathroom.

"Kaia, what happened between us was fun, what you did was awful. I can't forgive you," I heard Griffin say, and I noticed how strained his voice was.

"How can you say that?" Kaia hissed, taking a step towards him. "I thought what we had was special! Sure, I made a mistake, but that was so long ago. I thought you loved me!"

"I don't," Griffin replied, and he started to walk away from Kaia, down the opposite end of the hallway from Norah and I. "Not anymore, at least." Not anymore? I thought to myself, frowning.

Griffin disappeared, leaving Kaia alone in the hallway. She kicked one of the lockers on the wall, and then stormed down the hallway, towards where Norah and I were standing. Before we could hurry away, Kaia turned the corner to find us there.

She stopped in her tracks, and I couldn't help but notice the hint of a tear slipping from the corner of her eye. Just as I started feeling bad for her, Kaia had to open her mouth. "He'll come back to me," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Once Griffin realizes that you're nothing but a loser, he'll be begging to have me back."

Then, she pushed through Norah and me and stomped down the hallway. I turned and watched her go, and then Norah tapped me on the shoulder. "Did you hear what she said to him?"

"You mean that he loved her," I replied, turning to look at her. She nodded and readjusted the strap of her backpack.

"Aren't you jealous?" she asked, "Or at least bit a concerned? Apparently they have a past."

"Nope," I replied with a sigh. "I mean, he told her that he didn't love her anymore, and right now, that's good enough for me." I glanced at Norah, and she looked like she knew something I didn't. "What?" I asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Nothing," she replied, turning a bright red.

"You know something, don't you?" I said with realization. Norah shifted awkwardly, and I rolled my eyes. "You're not going to tell me are you?"

Norah nodded. "Well," she said, breaking the silence after a moment, "I need to get to class. What about you?"

"I've got a free period," I replied, "I'll see you at lunch, though." Norah smiled and hurried away, leaving me alone.

I wandered through the halls, towards the library, and I couldn't stop myself from thinking about what I'd seen between Kaia and Griffin. They'd had more history than I'd originally thought. At first, I'd assumed it'd been a hookup, but now, I knew that she'd loved him, and he'd felt the same way about her.

I didn't know what to make of it, honestly. I thought I should feel jealous, but after watching the way he'd dealt with her, I'd decided to trust that he was over her. However, that didn't mean I wasn't a bit curious.

*

"I'm no good at this!" I declared, dropping the stick head onto the ground. I ran a hand through my hair and placed it on my hip. "I have zero hand eye coordination."

Griffin laughed. "C'mon, Sawyer. It's not that hard."

I snorted. "Says the guy who has been playing this sport since he was six." Griffin shrugged, and walked over to me until he was two feet in front of me. Then, he picked up the ball that I'd completely failed at throwing, and he walked back to his spot.

"Ready?" he asked, and I nodded reluctantly, raising the stick in my hands. Griffin pulled the stick back, and the ball came flying towards me. Instead of catching it in the stick he'd lent me, the ball whacked me in the shoulder. I swore under my breath and dropped the stick, grabbing at the place where I'm sure a bruise would appear.

Remember when Griffin had offered to teach me lacrosse? Well, he hadn't had practice today since his coach was sick, so for the past half hour he'd been giving me lessons.

I was definitely sure that it wasn't my sport. The many bruises that were starting to form would agree with me. Griffin was trying to help, which was sweet, but I was purely awful.

I groaned and flopped onto the turf. "I think I'm done for the day," I said, propping myself on my elbows.

"You sure?" Griffin asked, and I nodded. He shrugged and scooped up one of the bright blue balls by his feet. He turned to the side and whipped back his stick before sending a shot into the nearby lacrosse net with a swish.

As I watched him shoot, the long sleeve shirt he was wearing accentuating his lacrosse muscles, I found my mind wandering back to what had happened this morning with Kaia and Griffin. I hadn't seen him at lunch, since he'd been making up a test, so I figured now was as good a time as ever to ask him about it.

"Hey," I said, and Griffin turned to face me. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he replied, and he came to sit down across from me. "Go ahead," he said, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"What happened between you and Kaia?" I asked, and his carefree smile was immediately wiped from his face.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, and I let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't denied it, which made me feel better.

"I saw you and Kaia this morning," I stated, and Griffin looked away.

"You saw that," he repeated, and I nodded. "Everybody else in school knows, so I guess you'd have found out eventually."

"Probably," I replied simply, remembering the way Norah had acted this morning when I'd asked her if she knew what had happened.

Griffin wiped his sweaty bangs from his forehead and took another gulp from the water bottle. "Kaia and I started dating the summer before last school year, and we stayed together for about nine months. About a week after we told each other that we loved each other, I found out she'd been cheating on me with this guy who goes to a different school."

I didn't know what to say. I mean, I could totally see Kaia cheating on someone, but after nine months? "That sucks," I said finally. "I guess I just never pegged you as going out with someone like Kaia."

Griffin chuckled, "She wasn't always like... She wasn't always a," he paused, searching for a word.

"Bitch?" I suggested, "Ho?"

"Yeah," he replied, "Something like that. Kaia used to be really sweet, and she was even a cheerleader. After I broke up with her, though, she quit the squad and came back different."

Somehow, I couldn't picture Kaia like that. However, I'd only known her after her alleged transformation. Griffin had known her longer, and more intimately, so I was going to have to take his word for that.

Now for the awkward question.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" I asked, tucking my hands in my sweatshirt pocket.

"No," he answered immediately. "That relationship is long over." The seriousness in Griffin's voice told me that he was telling the truth. I nodded and shivered as the wind picked up. Griffin noticed and said, "I can take you home now, if you want."

"Thanks," I replied, and Griffin reached down to help me up. However, as I rose to my feet, I tripped on the lacrosse stick in front of me and stumbled into Griffin's arms. I looked into his light brown eyes and found that I couldn't tear myself away. Griffin seemed to feel the same way.

He placed one hand on the small of my back and cupped my cheek with the other. Griffin tucked a strand of stray hair behind my ear and smiled. Then, he leaned down, and our lips met once more.

Our mouths moved in sync, and the kiss turned from soft to urgent. Griffin's hand wove into my hair, pulling me closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, but just as I felt Griffin's hands move up my torso, my phone went off.

We pulled apart, breathing hard, and I hurried to grab my cell phone out of the front pocket of my backpack. "Hello?" I called breathlessly into the phone.

"Hi!" called Norah cheerfully. "What's up?"

I glanced at Griffin, who was collecting his lacrosse gear. "I'm just hanging out with Griffin," I replied, swallowing.

I heard Norah gasp on the other end of the phone, "Were you just doing what I think you were doing?" she asked.

"Yep," I answered, popping the p. "But, we're not now, so go ahead."

"Oh," she said guiltily, "I was just wondering if you were going to the fireworks this weekend."

"Huh?" I asked, "What fireworks?"

"Never mind," she said quickly, and the phone clicked, telling me that she hung up the phone.

I rolled my eyes and slipped it into my back pocket. Then, I grabbed my backpack and stood up. "Who

was that?" Griffin asked.

"Norah," I replied, "She was talking about some fireworks this weekend."

"Seriously?" he cried loudly, causing me to jump.

"What's the big deal?" I asked, surprised.

"There are these fireworks this weekend for the town's anniversary, and I was talking to Colby about asking you to go, and I guess he told Norah. I kinda wanted it to be a surprise, but she beat me to it," Griffin said.

I smiled and said, "You can still ask me. I'll humor you."

Griffin grinned and held out his hand. "Would you please accompany me to the fireworks production held in this town's honor this Saturday?" he asked in his most gentlemanly tone.

I tapped my finger against my lip, pretending to be thinking. "Sure, why not," I said after a few minutes, and I slipped my hand in his happily.

"Good," Griffin replied, "Now let's get you home."

Our fingers stayed intertwined all the way to his car, and the smile on my face lasted even longer.

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There we go! Sorry it's a bit uneventful, but I knew from the beginning that I was going to have to give Kaia a reason to be after Sawyer for going out with Griffin.

Another hectic weekend! I went to a lacrosse game and met some really hot players, and then my sister's birthday was on saturday, and then today, I went to an arts festival and got a shirt with a bear head on marilyn monroe's body... my wardrobe is complete :)

anyways, hope you enjoyed it!

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