Monday morning I woke up at four o'clock. Every fiber in my body protested at my early rousing, but I forced away the wariness, slipping on my school uniform. In order to not alert Paul of my plans, I'd taken a shower the night before so I wouldn't have to in the morning. After brushing my hair and throwing on light makeup, I snuck out of the house, my schoolbag in hand.

And promptly ran into a masculine-feeling body.

My eyes shut as my jaw knocked on the other person's shoulder painfully. Two strong, firm hands grabbed my shoulders and my thoughts instantly went to my night stalker. Just as I opened my mouth to scream, a panicked shh was sent my way. "Don't scream! You'll set Lucky off and wake up the whole neighborhood!"

Confused, I stepped away from the person, opening my eyes again. Standing before me (also towering over me) was a sandy-haired man with panicked, bright blue eyes. Judging by his structured jaw, but boyish face, I presumed he was a few years older than me. And very handsome.

Suddenly realization hit me. "Oh! You're Paul's neighbor! Sam, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he responded, surprised I knew him. His eyes appraised me for a moment, a playful smirk crossing his face. "And you're one of his students? Oh man, that is bold. Taking home a student."

At his words, a fierce blush crossed my face. "What? No! No, no, no! I'm not... that. No. I live here."

Sam's eyebrows rose. "Taking the next step? A little young aren't we?"

"No," I snapped, wishing away the blush on my cheeks. "I meant, he's a family friend and he's watching me. We're not... No."

"In other words, you're single. In that case, my name's Sam, I'm twenty, and very pleased to make your acquaintance," he said, offering out his hand.

Hesitating only a brief second, I placed my hand in his. "Allie Heywood."

"Well then, Allie, what are you planning on doing sneaking off at four in the morning?"

"Why are you returning home at four in the morning?" I retorted.

His lips twitched up. "I don't think you want to know, but I'd be happy to tell you if you want. It involves a lot of alcohol, the back of my car, and two gorgeous girls—"

"I'm good," I interjected, holding up my hands. "Too much information from someone I just met."

Chuckling, he nodded his agreement. "Yeah. But, I'm beat, so I'm going to go crash. By all means you're welcome to join though," he added, giving me a once over.

Though tempted to roll my eyes, I just smiled. Paul hadn't been wrong when he'd described Sam as a womanizer. "Sorry, I have school. As in high school."

"Of course," he grumbled. "All the good looking ones are always the jailbait."

Now I laughed, nodding my head. "Sure seems like it, huh?"

"Be on your merry way then, Allie. I'll probably be seeing you around... if you plan to sneak out at four AM again."

"Not really," I replied honestly, "I never plan to wake at this ungodly hour again."

Sam grinned again. "S'not that bad once you get used to it."

"Right, well, I'm going. Have a nice nap." After waving once, I started down the driveway again.

"Don't get kidnapped!" he called after me in a lighthearted tone.

My heart skipped at his words. Not that I would've taken them seriously two days ago. But after Saturday night, the safeness of this area had reduced significantly. Of course, I couldn't be sure if someone, if anyone, had been following me. It could've been my imagination (probably not). Or someone who just happened to be walking in the same direction as me (all the way to the house?). Maybe I was just paranoid. Still, at the time, it sure as hell felt like that person had indeed been stalking me. And who knew how many times before— I'd always had my iPod in, music blasting in my ears and covering up any outside noise.

Either way, my earbuds were now staying out of my ears.

I arrived at the school at exactly quarter before five. Not to my surprise, the front doors were locked. So I scurried around to the back window I'd purposefully unlocked on Friday in case of that situation. It took little effort to heave myself through it and into the dark building. My footsteps echoed through the empty halls and I treaded more lightly, hoping to quiet them. The school was creepy with no one around.

After a quick sweep through the entire main building, I retreated to the stairs that led to the upper levels by my locker. This way I'd be able to keep a vigilant watch on both my locker and the stairs. And so I sat and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And even dozed off at some point.

The next thing I knew, I heard footsteps tapping down the hallway in a hurried fashion. Immediately springing to my feet, I snuck to the edge of the stairway, ready to pop out and take down whomever it was heading by. Balancing on the heels of my feet, I hunched my shoulders, ready to spring into action. The moment the new arrival's shadow, casted on the floor, met my gaze, I sprung out.

A masculine shout of surprise left the unknown person's mouth as I crashed into them. Shock flowed through me as I realized the person was a man, and a groan of pain left my lips as we hit the polished floor hard. My forehead bumped painfully against the other's and he groaned this time. Opening my eyes, I found myself staring at the person I least expected.

"Mr. Tucker? What are you doing here?" I questioned, my mouth running dry. There was no way he was the one sticking the notes in my locker... was there? No, that wouldn't make sense. Why would he be jealous of my piano skills? And the handwriting wasn't like his...

Propping himself up on his elbows, he grimaced. "Me? What are you doing here? You do realize it's five in the morning, right?"

"I came to catch Olivia putting notes in my locker."

"Ah, I see great minds think alike."

I blinked down at him, and at that moment, realized I was still on top of him, sitting on his stomach. Cheeks flaming red, I scrambled off of him and onto my feet, then offered out my hand. "What? You were trying to catch the person as well?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, allowing me to help him to his feet. He brushed off the back of his flannel, rubbing his forehead. "You have a hard head."

"You... you have a hard head," I grumbled back at him, unable to meet his eyes due to my embarrassment.

A quiet chuckle left his lips. "Good one."

Frowning, I finally turned my eyes to his incredibly blue ones. "Why?"

"Why? Because I figured your way of dealing with it was to not deal with it," he responded easily, shrugging. "I thought I might at least help. Even if you don't want it. It's hard to just sit by and watch, you know? I mean, since you're a student and all..."

I shifted on my feet, suddenly uncomfortable. Was that how Paul felt too? A wave of guilt washed through me. I'd been a jerk for no reason.

"A-anyway," Mr. Tucker continued, clearing his throat, clearly embarrassed by his words. "Did you catch anyone?"

"Only you," I said unhelpfully.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Maybe she's decided to quit...?"

"So you believe me when I say it's Olivia?" I asked, hope swelling up inside me.

"Yeah. You sound pretty positive to me so I won't doubt you."

"Thank you," I breathed, offering him a warm smile. At least someone believed me wholeheartedly. Paul, I thought bitterly. Why wouldn't Paul believe me while Mr. Tucker did? I'd only known Mr. Tucker for a little over two months; Paul basically my whole life. And yet he wouldn't believe me?

Well, whatever. It didn't matter. At least Mr. Tucker believed me, even though I had no solid proof. Friends were supposed to believe in each other. An overwhelming affection toward him rushed through me at that thought. Even though we'd only known each other a short time, he believed in me more than Paul did.

"Allie?" His eyebrows furrowed in concern at my sudden silence.

"I was hoping to catch her today," I spoke, pulling myself out of my thoughts.

Shrugging, Mr. Tucker started walking away. I followed after him. "You never know," he began, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Maybe she gave up. Too intimated by your skill and charm."

"Charm?" I echoed. "What charm?"

"I think you have plenty of charm," he continued, throwing a smile at me. "More than her, at least." Then he scratched the back of his head, something I noticed he did when he was nervous. It was cute.

Once again, I found myself smiling back at him. Now I understood how the other student's had fallen for him. Even though he was much older than them. Only four years, a very unhelpful, but very correct, voice pointed out. "Thanks, Mr. Tucker."

Without warning, he came to an abrupt stop, heaving a sigh. "Allie."

Unprepared for his stop, I bumped into him, my nose tingling as it smashed against his firm back. Fit for a soccer coach. "What?" I demanded.

"How many times have I asked you to call me Kyle?" he asked, turning around to face me.

My voice caught in my throat at our proximity. In this position, I'd only have to lean forward an inch (and stand on my tiptoes) to kiss him. Mentally, I slapped myself. No matter how handsome and kind he was, he was still a teacher. "I... uh..." Teacher or not, it was hard to think straight this close to him.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, his eyes playful and mischievous. "Well, whatever. You can call me anything that makes you comfortable."

"Maybe Kyle, if we were closer," I told him; surprised I'd been able to make a coherent sentence.

"Aren't we close enough?" he responded, raising an eyebrow.

Abruptly, I felt like I wasn't in control of my actions. Maybe it was the intoxicating scent of his cologne, or my lack of sleep. "Just a little closer..."

And then I kissed him.

Well, almost. I thought I was going to kiss him, but I came to my senses just in time, stopping my head when it was barely two inches away from his face. Still, there was the little problem of the proximity of our faces. It was pretty obvious about what I planned to do.

I'm not sure which one of us was the most embarrassed. I blushed furiously, but Mr. Tucker's face could've rivaled mine. His eyes were wide, and his face completely red. Which just made me more embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry," I managed to choke out, mortified. "I don't know..."

"Come here," he demanded, snatching my hand from my side and dragging me up the stairs. Ducking my head, I allowed him to lead me out of the dark stairway and into his classroom, where he flicked on the light.

I stood rigidly, expecting a lecture about attempting to kiss teachers. Some speech about how it wasn't right for him to do this with a student. At least a little admonishment for my unruly actions. But instead, I found him smiling at me, standing too close to give any chiding for my actions. "Well, you were the last person I'd expected to make a move on me."

"I... uh..." No words came to my lips. What was I supposed to say? That I wasn't aiming to kiss him? That would obviously be a blatant lie. Even I knew I was about to kiss him, God knows why, but I definitely had been trying to at the time. "I'm sorry," I finally apologized again.

To my surprise, he chuckled. "Don't apologize."

"I didn't mean to... you know," I continued in a mumble. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay," he assured me, offering a small smile. "Why don't we forget it?"

Unreasonably, a wave of disappointment washed through me. He was that willing to forget it? Still, I nodded quickly. "Uh, okay, sure."

"But if you try to kiss me again, try not to do it out in public," he added with a grin that sent my cheeks aflame.

However, before I could respond, both of us picked up the sound of footsteps outside his classroom at the exact same moment. In a panicked way, he shoved me toward his desk, signaling for me to hide under it. I dropped to my knees and slid under it just as the door to his classroom opened.

"Kyle!" I heard a very familiar, and very Olivia voice cry in shock. "What are you...?"

"More importantly, what are you doing here?" I heard him demand, his voice cool. "What's in your hands? Let me see."

"It's nothing— hey! Give those back!"

There was a moment of silence and the scuffling of feet— I assumed it was Olivia trying to take back whatever Mr. Tucker had stolen from her. "Huh. So it was you leaving Miss Heywood those notes."

Another brief pause. "She deserves them."

"I'll be taking these. And you should be expecting a call from the principal at some point today."

"What? But—"

"This is bullying, Olivia," he snapped at her. "Harassment, even. This can't be taken lightly."

"But—"

"Get out of my classroom."

My eyebrows rose at the threatening tone in his voice. If he wasn't careful, he himself could get into trouble... Suddenly a feeling of dread settled in my stomach. If Olivia was the bitch she was, she could do a lot to get him in trouble.

For example, filing a fake sexual harassment report. It probably happened way too often when childish young woman didn't get their way. And at this school, nothing was impossible.

After a few more seconds of quiet, I finally heard the sound of angry footfalls and then the slamming of Mr. Tucker's door. Then a sigh of relief. I popped out from my hiding spot, frowning deeply at him. He caught my eye and smiled. "And you were right. The notes should stop now."

"Good, but don't go to the principal," I told him, cupping my elbow. "It's not worth it."

"Worth what?"

"What she might do if you tell on her..."

His face fell the tiniest bit. "But..."

"As long as the notes stop, I'm happy," I assured him with a small smile. "Thank you though."

"You're welcome."

I glanced at the clock on his classroom's wall, frowning when I realized school didn't start for another two hours.

"So, um..." My eyes shifted back to him. He ran a hand through his short blonde hair. "What's your middle name?"

I tilted my head at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"What's your middle name?"

"Leigh... why?"

"We have time, and I figured, hey, why don't I get to know her more?" he responded with a shrug. "Well, more than I already know. If you're up for it."

Slowly nodding, I sat down at his chair at his desk, while forcing him to sit at one of the student desks. "Yeah," I concurred, smiling. "Let's talk."

And talk we did. Until the other teachers started arriving. In order to not draw suspicion to us, I decided to wander the halls—pondering Mr. Tucker all the while. Why had I tried to kiss him? Sure, I had a tiny miniscule crush on him, but I had that kind of crush on many different boys throughout my life and never tried to kiss them. So why him? A teacher? After all, I was anti-teacher dating.

Sighing heavily, I dragged myself down to the piano hallway. While I couldn't sort out my feelings about Mr. Tucker—Kyle— I could at least apologize to a certain brunet for my poor behavior. He only wanted to help, but I'd shot him down. So it was only right for me to apologize.

Butterflies spread through my stomach as I knocked on his door. I wasn't used to apologizing. I never really had anything to apologize for, unless it was my sharp tongue. My anxiety was brief though. Paul opened the door not even five seconds later. "Allie!" he said, his eyes narrowing at me. "What the hell?"

I blinked, but before I could open my mouth to respond, he began speaking again.

"Don't you think you could've left me a note or something?" he asked, annoyance leaking into his tone. "I'm supposed to be your guardian, so I don't know what to think when I wake up at five, and realize you're nowhere in the house and you're not answering your cell phone."

My hand absently went to my pocket, searching for the cell phone that usually rested there, but came back empty. "Oh. I must have forgotten it..."

"Again, don't you think you could've spared five seconds from whatever had you up so early to write me a note?" he demanded, his jaw tight. "I don't lock my doors. I'd thought someone..."

"Kidnapped me?" I finished, unable to help a small smile cross my face. "You didn't happen to come across Sam, did you?"

"He told me where you were." Judging by the aggravation of the tone, it hadn't been the first thing Sam had told him. Which meant he'd probably worried about me unnecessarily.

Still, the idea made me smile. "Well, I wasn't kidnapped. I just came to catch Olivia red-handed— which I did."

"You what?"

"It was Olivia leaving the notes," I told him proudly. "I told you so."

He crossed his arms. "Allie."

My self-esteem faltered at his tone while my mind grew wary. "Now what?"

"Don't you think it was a stupid move to catch her on her own? What if it hadn't been her, and some guy who'd tried to hurt you?"

I waved him off. "It wasn't, so forget it. And I wasn't alone."

"You weren't?"

"Kyle was with me." His name felt weird on my tongue. It'd be awhile before I was used to it. For now, Mr. Tucker would have to stick.

Paul's frown deepened. "Was he now?"

"What's that look for?"

"What look?"

"The look you have on right now," I responded, narrowing my eyes. "What's it for?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, he turned his back to me. "Nothing."

I opened my mouth to snap at him, but shut it abruptly. No, I wasn't here to argue with him. I was here to apologize. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. "Paul, listen, I'm sorry I got angry with you the other day. You only wanted to help. Like Kyle."

"It's fine," Paul told me, not even bothering to glance over his shoulder at me. "I'm glad you at least went to someone for help."

For some reason, his tone irked me. "What now?"

"Nothing," he responded innocently.

"No, it's... whatever." I didn't want to deal with him right now. If he wanted to act like a petulant child, he could. But I had a sneaking suspicion on why he was acting that way.

Because his precious Olivia had been behind the notes after all.

A snort ripped through me. Paul really had bad taste in women.

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I really hate when my internet doesn't work. Dial-up really sucks. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter :D

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