Meet The Characters: (Note: The bulk of the story takes place in their Senior Year of high school and college so this is what I imagine the characters to look like during that time frame)

Matthew Jones

Vanessa Adams

Addison Miller

Kayla Albright

Devin Turner

Aimee Montgomery 

Chapter 1

Freshman Year

Vanessa

"You're in my seat."

It was Freshman Year, 2nd period and I was waiting for Math class to begin as I sat there doodling little stars into my notebook and daydreaming about all the cool things I would get to do now that I was finally in high school. "Sorry," I muttered, glancing up from my drawings to see who was speaking. My stomach did a small somersault when I realized I was staring up at what may have just been the cutest face I had ever seen in my entire 15 years. Ok, maybe that was being slightly dramatic but not that far off from the truth. No matter how you looked at it, you couldn't deny that the boy was good looking.

His steely blue grey eyes were so unique in color I couldn't help but let my gaze linger on them. However, noticing that I was gawking and my nerves beginning to rattle, I quickly looked away instead, focusing on his beautiful dark hair. He had it styled in the trendy cut that all the older boys wore; tousled to one side with the other side trimmed down much shorter. I had never seen him around in middle school but could only guess he had a reputation for being a total heartbreaker.

He raised his eyebrows at me, a slight smirk accentuating the dimple on his right cheek. My heart skipped a beat. "Sooo......are you going to move?" he asked. "Or would you rather I just stand here hovering over you?"

Realizing I was staring, I instantly flushed. One would think I had never talked to a cute boy before by how tongue-tied he was making me. Grabbing my bookbag off the floor, I scanned the classroom for another empty seat. "Yea. Sorry. "I muttered. " I didn't realize the seats were assigned."

"Weren't you here yesterday?" He gave me a questioning look and I wanted to sink into the chair, only I couldn't because he was impatiently waiting for me to vacate it. "Mr. Chaplin gave everyone an assigned seat." The boy turned away to follow my gaze around the room.

He pointed at the only empty seat, which just so happened to be the one right next to his. Great. "Looks like that one's yours. I'm Matt Jones by the way. Ignore everything you heard about me." He gave me a sheepish grin and I wondered just exactly what people had been saying.

Commanding my legs to work, I finally stood up and brushed past him to get to my desk. I felt a slight electric current run through me where my arm had grazed his side. He was so gorgeous and at this point, I was beyond mortified but how was I supposed to know that the seats were assigned? Yesterday had been the first day of school and as luck would have it, I had been out sick with the stomach bug. When I came back, I assumed that I could just sit wherever I wanted but of course, I had plopped myself down in the one seat that belonged to the dreamiest boy in the class and now he probably thought I was nuts. I desperately wished Addison was here.

Addison Miller was my best friend since the 3rd grade and was much more outspoken about these kinds of situations than I was. If this had happened to her, she would have laughed off the situation like it was no big deal. Yup. That was Addison. She probably would have batted her eyelashes at the boy and made a witty remark about sitting on his lap and sharing the seat. I, on the other hand, couldn't even make eye contact as I fumbled my way into my desk chair.

I realized Matt was staring at me expectantly and I looked down at the pen I was clutching in my hand. Had I stolen that from him too? I started to hold it out to him to give it back but before I could, he stopped me. "And you are?'

I blushed even harder. Duh. Of course. I hadn't given him my name. "Vanessa Adams," I replied, willing my voice not to squeak.

Matt laughed. "That's a long one. I probably won't remember that. I'm just going to call you, V."

I shrugged, my cheeks on fire at this point. I breathed a sigh of relief when a teacher, whom I guessed was Mr. Chaplin walked into the classroom. I willed myself to focus my attention on him but still found myself risking the occasional sideways glance in Matt's direction. He really was cute. I couldn't seem to find a single flaw on that beautiful face of his. Like me, he was a freshman and probably only 15 as well but I was guessing that in a few more years his jaw would become more chiseled, his arms more toned, his lips more full...whoa, slow down there Vanessa, I chided myself. Let's not get too carried away. I had only been in high school for exactly 2 hours and had somehow managed to already find a male to drool over. I was pretty certain that even Addison hadn't found an object of her affection yet and she was the boy-crazy one.

I tried to remember the last time I had instantly developed a crush on a boy but drew a blank. I had obsessed over Aaron Long for most of middle school but that ended when Quinn Spears, the class gossip, found out about it and told him. He responded that he thought I was ugly, effectively squashing any feelings I had for him. Before Aaron, I was in elementary school and still believed that all boys had cooties.

Since I only had just the one other crush, I had no clue what my type was but I wouldn't have guessed that Matt was it. He stood out from the other boys in class. Whereas they all had their Adidas sneakers and sweatshirts, Matt wore boots, a hoodie ,and a leather jacket in all black which made him look mysterious and slightly intimating. Hanging from his jeans, he had a chain that connected to what, I didn't know.

Judging by the way he dressed, I assumed he had that classic "bad boy" persona. The type of guy your mom warned you to stay away from but you just couldn't resist. The kind that had you sneaking out of your house in the middle of the night to steal kisses from in the streetlamps and moved too fast for your liking. The kind that left you crying when he stopped answering your calls. The kind that always ended up breaking your heart. He had that smoldering, brooding look that made you want to know what was going on inside his head but would probably refuse to ever tell you exactly what that was. He definitely was different from the other boys our age and that made him trouble for me.

Afraid it was obvious I was gawking, I forced my attention back to Mr. Chaplin. What was he saying about the Pythagorean Theorem? I sighed. This was going to be a long year with Matt sitting this close to me every day.

***

Matt

I could feel Vanessa's eyes burning a hole through me and tried not to smile. I felt bad for embarrassing her. I really hadn't meant to be a jerk about it but it would have been way more mortifying for her if Mr. Chaplin had called her out in front of the entire class. The way I looked at it, I had done her a favor.

I hadn't seen her around before, so guessed that we had gone to different middle schools. She was cute enough, so I know I definitely would have remembered seeing her. I cringed, recalling how I had told her to ignore everything she had heard about me. Why had I said that? Could I just for one second not be so socially awkward? I really needed to stop being eager and thinking I've made a friend anytime somebody showed me an ounce of kindness. I learned that the world was not a friendly place. I should have just ignored her just like I did everyone else.

But she seemed different. I slid my gaze over to her to study her looks.

She had big brown eyes and a cute little button nose. Some of the other girls our age had just begun wearing makeup but it looked like she still opted for that natural look. I thought being fresh-faced suited her and hoped that she continued to refrain from caking her face under two pounds of makeup as she certainly didn't need it. I could tell that she was one of the few lucky ones who managed to keep her skin crystal clear while nearly everyone else around her was battling teenage acne.

She seemed like a no-fuss kind of girl and not one of the ones who spent hours in front of the mirror getting ready each morning. Not that she needed to. I bet she could roll out of bed and still have boys lining up around the block to date her. She had wavy brown hair that she wore down to her shoulders and looked soft to the touch. It looked pretty on her. She didn't dress all frilly either. She was wearing head to toe black; ripped skinny jeans and a zippered tank top paired with ankle boots. Ok, so the girl obviously liked black. I looked down at my own dark ensemble. Clearly, she was speaking my language.

On her desk, I caught sight of the title of the book she had been clutching in her hand earlier and noticed it was one of my all-time favorites, Catcher in the Rye. I raised an eyebrow. Vanessa just kept getting more and more interesting. What else did we have in common, I wondered? I figured if I had to be stuck in a boring classroom all year long; at least I was fortunate enough to sit next to someone that had the potential of being cool.

***

Vanessa

At lunchtime, I found Addison sitting at a table in the corner of the cafeteria. She was munching on carrots while scrolling through her phone. I breathlessly rushed over to join her at the table, dying to tell her about my new crush and how I had met him. "Addie, you are never going to believe what happened to me in Math class," I squealed excitedly. "I could've just died!"

She glanced up at me, her jungle green eyes shining with intrigue for the latest hot gossip and she shoved her phone aside, her full attention on me now. Addie was a great listener and I was so thankful to have her in my life. She was a loyal friend to the end and when she started getting popular and I didn't, she hadn't let it faze her like some of the other girls from middle school had and stayed by my side. With her long, tousled raven-colored hair and her fashionista level of dress, it wasn't hard to gauge why she was well-liked. She was beautiful, charismatic, and already well on her way to becoming the senior class Prom Queen. Which meant we were opposites in nearly every way.

I studied her as she gave a 100 watt smile and tossed her hair flirtatiously over her shoulder as a junior boy walked by. He gave her a grin in return which she lapped up. She loved the attention and had no trouble getting it either, in her tight pink sweater and black mini-skirt. She loved dressing to impress and spent hours perfecting her hair and makeup every morning but she reaped the rewards from the effort she put in. People flocked to her with the girls wanting to be her and the boys hanging on her every word.

As for me, I was more of an introvert and with my shyness holding me back; I was nowhere near close to popular. If a cute boy so much as said 'hello' to me, I could barely manage to sputter out a reply and wished that the floor would just open up beneath my feet and swallow me whole. However, despite our differences, Addison was the truest friend one could ever have and I absolutely loved her for it.

She propped her chin in her hands, her eyes laser focused on me. "Tell me everything."

I recounted what happened with Matt, the flush returning to my cheeks and my pulse quickening. "So yea, he probably thinks I'm a total dweeb now," I finished lamely.

Addison scoffed. "If he thinks my awesome and gorgeous best friend is a dweeb then the only loser here is him. But I have to at least know, was he cute?"

I let out a small squeal. "You have no idea!"

She leaned forward and whispered in a conspiring tone, "I would have asked to sit on his lap then." We erupted into giggles at the thought.

I began to relax and popped open the top of my cherry yogurt that I had brought for lunch as I chatted with my best friend. Addison always had a way of making me feel more confident whenever I acted like a total dummy around boys. "There is just one thing he said that was a little odd." Addie raised an eyebrow at me, urging me to continue. "He told me not to believe anything I heard about him. What do you think it means?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "Hard to say, really. It could mean anything. At least he cares what you think about him, though. That sounds promising."

Still mulling his words over in my head, I dipped my spoon into the container and was about to take a bite when I froze, the utensil halfway to my mouth. Matt had just strolled into the cafeteria, pausing at the entrance with his backpack slung over one shoulder as he gripped a worn out book in his hand. His steely grey eyes surveyed the room as a chorus of angels from the heavens sang. Was it my imagination or had he gotten even dreamier since the last time I saw him?

Addison, noticing the wistful, love-struck expression on my face, turned around to follow the direction of my gaze. "What is it?"

Clutching her arm, I stared at her wide-eyed. "That's him," I whispered, pointing towards the double doors. Matt was still standing there, biting his full lips and scanning the cafeteria for a place to sit.

"Oh, he is cute!" She breathed. "Forget him."

I looked at her startled. "What, why? What's wrong with him?"

With one finger, she prompted me to come closer. "He's clearly a two-timing jerk. He's way too good-looking not to be. I'm willing to bet he has multiple, fuming ex-girlfriends running around this school bad-mouthing him and that's why he doesn't want you to listen to it because he's trying to put the moves on you next."

I glanced over her shoulder at him, all pouty lips and brooding stares. "You think?"

Addison slightly winced as she turned around once more to look him over. "Maybe not. He does look kind of lost and unsure of himself. Nobody's even asked him to sit with them yet." She frowned for a fraction of a second before raising her hand and calling out "Yoo hoo! Over here!" in his direction.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, yanking her arm back down.

"What?" She asked innocently. "You can't get to know him if you never speak to him."

"Maybe, I prefer it that way. Do you not remember Aaron?" I tried slouching down in my seat and covering my face, praying that Matt wouldn't notice me but it was already too late. He looked in our direction and realizing that both our gazes were locked on him, actually laughed. My face burned with mortification. This was it. Another Aaron Long moment. He would probably shake his head, walk away and then tell all his friends about the geeky girl that thought she was cool enough to sit with him at lunch. I waited for it to happen. Any second now. I was so sure it would happen but it never did. Instead, and to my surprise, he actually made his way over to our table. Was I mistaken or was that relief on his face?

"Hey V," he said, nodding at me and sliding into the empty seat beside me.

I did my best to avoid his gaze. "Uh...yea...hi." I stared down at my yogurt, swirling the spoon around in the pink mixture. I peered up at Addison, chancing to shoot her my most venomous stare. I could just kill my best friend right about now.

However, Addison, not one to be perturbed, propped her chin in her hand and stared at Matt. She batted her long eyelashes at him and turning on her most flirtatious voice, said, "Hey. I'm Addison but you can call me Addie."

Matt laughed. "I'm Matt. You can call me Matt."

And that was how I found myself contemplating pulling the fire alarm so I could hide in the bathroom and not come out again for the next 70 years.

***