"You are not going to believe this but this man keeps entering my mom's house. I see him almost every single day. It's weird but I try to ignore him." Jackie said fiddling on her golden chain necklace. "Do you think he's... you know, him and my mom..." Adalyn paused from organizing her books inside her locker and paid attention to Jackie.

"Jackie, if you're having problems with this guy, you should ask your mom. She will tell you." Adalyn advised her. Jackie stared at her for Adalyn shared a concern face with her. Jackie narrowed her eyes at her while she continued to fill her locker with books. "Do you know something, River?"

Adalyn looked at Jackie with a bit of surprise, "No. I just think maybe it's better you ask her before someone else tells you otherwise."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Adalyn dismissed the topic. Luckily before Jackie could ask any more questions, Vincent approached from behind.

"Hey Lyn, long time no see." Vince said smiling.

Adalyn peered at Vincent and hugged him tightly, "You have no idea." She responded. It was a short hug for she couldn't stand on her toes for so long without hanging from Vince's neck. Once they separated, Jackie rushed to Vince with a hug and said, "Vince you're here!" She shrieked with excitement. He was pulled back by the sudden surprise, her push made his headphones fall off his head and mess up his blonde hair. Vincent hugged her like he would never let her go. "It's good to see you too Jackie." He said. Adalyn stared at them delighted. Jackie after a moment let him go. Vincent looked sorer from his neck with Jackie's hug than Adalyn's but he didn't seem to mind. "How have you been Jackie?" He asked.

"I've been great. You?"

"Never better." He said without moving his eyes off her.

Jackie then turned to Adalyn. Adalyn smiled warmly, "Do you have something to say Jackie?" Adalyn wondered.

Vincent and Adalyn focused on Jackie. Jackie simply responded, "I think Zeke and I are going to be together again." She said enthusiastically.

"Zeke?" Adalyn said unsure if she meant it. Vincent lowered his head.

"Yeah," Jackie said then something glimmered in her dark eyes, "Here he comes."

A boy passed by them without even glancing at them for a moment. Adalyn met Vincent's gaze. His blue eyes seemed to turn gray.She rubbed his arm, "Did you see her reaction towards you?"

"That'snot even Zeke." Vincent muttered.

"We're close, she just needs more time." Adalyn assured him. Vincent nodded and leaned on the lockers between Jackie and Adalyn. Adalyn grabbed her dictionary and placed it on the shelf that laid aside in the locker. After seeing Vincent's expression, Adalyn, at once, remembered exactly their first year of middle school: when they met him.

Adalyn was given money to buy food in the cafeteria, Jackie accompanied her. Both were laughing and giggling about their vacations in the hot summer breeze, though for Adalyn, she spent her summer vacation watching her parents looking for some chemical, even now she doesn't recall what they were looking for, in Norway. They waited for their turn to order food; the pizza was stunning to their eyes. Jackie spotted the lunch lady coming towards them. She cleared her voice ready to speak. Until, the lunch lady made her way to a boy who stood in front of them. His back was facing them

"What would you like sweetie?" The boy made no reference whatsoever.

"Hey, it's you turn." Jackie said. Once more, no movement. Adalyn wanted to snap in the guy's ears. Why was he ignoring them? "Hey!" Jackie called out again. Adalyn moved around trying to capture a face. She remarked other's gesture towards their actions. Some were unaware, others whispered silently. Finally, she gave one last look at the boy. Crap, she thought.

The lunch lady tried to get his attention pacifically. Jackie couldn't bear his attitude so she grabbed his shoulder. Adalyn with knowledge about the boy exerted Jackie's hand. "Jackie stop." She ordered. The boy shrugged when feeling her touch. The lunch lady told Jackie to back away. "Someone's got to teach this kid a lesson." Jackie took his shoulder and yanked it back, making him face her. The boy, shoved by the sudden haul, glared murderously at her. He grew 5 inches taller! He wore earphones and held a PSP. Apparently, the girls put one's two cents in his video game. This didn't really help their case for the reason that it was Assassin's Creed. He gave the impression of being a haunting assassin. Still, no one ever does this kind of reaction. However, obviously, he wasn't anyone.

The lunch lady clapped her hands forcing him to listen to her. The boy threw his device, along with the earphones across the cafeteria. Everyone raised silent when hearing it crash on the ground. Adalyn folded her fingers around Jackie's arm and walked slowly away. Jackie was shocked. What the hell was going on? Jackie ignorant of the boy followed Adalyn, whom knew who he was.

The lunch lady called his name but he didn't seem to hear it. He marched slowly to the girls. The students scattered away from the situation. Out of everyone, Jackie appeared to be the perfect subject in his game for the day. Adalyn put herself in front of Jackie. "Hey," She said in a hushed voice, "Travis, right?" The boy didn't reply. "Travis Holler?" Adalyn extended her hand in greeting, "Nice to meet you, I'm Adalyn and this is Jackie," They continued to pace backwards. "Jackie is so very sorry, she... She.... She wasn't thinking clearly," Adalyn finally said, then regretted it, "Not that it's a problem, you know."

The lunch lady came walking towards them until a boy dashed inside the cafeteria. His blonde hair swung in the air as he ran. He came close to Travis. They were around the same height. The boy placed his hand on Travis's chest; "Hey man, chill, it's all right," Travis didn't seem to be bothered by this guy. The blonde boy looked at the girls. "It was an accident, right?"

Jackie responded, "Well, not exac-" Adalyn immediately interrupted, "Yes, it was, definitely," She glared at Jackie, "It was an accident." Jackie returned the stare to Adalyn.

The boy looked back at Travis, "See? Everything's alright, c'mon, let's go," The boy traveled with Travis out of the cafeteria.

Jackie and Adalyn stood up straight and scanned the room. Everyone was murmuring, whispering. However, strangely, they dismissed the situation from mind and recommenced their day. Jackie stood in front of Adalyn, "He didn't look anything like Travis Holler" Jackie said. Adalyn replied, "He's three years older than you! Why would he look the same the last time you saw him?"

"Five years are not a long time." Jackiesaid. 

 "Oh god." Adalyn uttered walking away from her. 

After the incident, the magic smell of pizza wore off them for they seemed to replay the episode over and over again. Without notice, the blonde boy became visible to their eyes. "Hey, sorry about that," He apologized. "He's still learning to control his anger," The boy sat down with them. "BPD is not an easy thing to control you know?"

Adalyn looked over at the kid and asked, "Are you guys, best friends or something?" Jackie didn't stray her eyes from the kid. He gave the impression of a normal kid but Jackie knew better than that. She could tell he wasn't some regular boy. Especially when wearing the One Ring around his neck. Nerd, she confirmed in her thoughts.

"Best friends? Yeah I guess you can say that. He's actually my older brother." The boy stated. Adalyn was surprised from this disclosure.

"You call that a brother?" Jackie said. Adalyn kicked her in the shin.

"You don't think much do you?" Adalyn inquired towards Jackie.

The boy chuckled. "Yeah, I do." He smiled answering Jackie's question. The boy was used to getting reactions like that from people. His eyes popped as soon as he realized, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention, "He said, "My name's Vincent. But you can call me Vince." He mentioned. Adalyn, in return, introduced herself and Jackie.

"Is it just Jackie?" Vince asked. 

Jackie responded, "Jacqueline, but I prefer Jackie." Vincent nodded. 

After, the three had a brief conversation in the cafeteria. Vincent had to run off to his brother. The girls said goodbye to Vincent. They parted ways, but of course, encountered again.

As she returned to the present, she spotted Vincent and Jackie playing a thumb war. "That's cheating," Vince said. Jackie used both hands to beat him.

"No, you're just losing." Jackie stated. Adalyn laughed with her friends. It felt good to be back with them. Jackie giggled with her high-pitch laugh, making Vince and Adalyn laugh even harder. The first ring from the bell chimed throughout the school, meaning it was time to go to class. "Where's are first class of the day?" Jackie asked.

"Room 12, Biology." Replied Adalyn.

"Let's go." Vincent said. The three of them paced into the hallway.

They sat in the usual spots: Adalyn beside the window, Jackie beside her and Vincent behind Adalyn. The teacher walked in as the second bell ring chimed. He positioned his stuff on his desk and on the floor. He took the chalk to write his name on the chalkboard. He so badly wanted to write at the top of the board but he couldn't reach it. At last, he just wrote his name where he could and turned to the class. "Morning students, welcome to your second week of school. I would like to remind you that I'm Professor Lance, your biology teacher." Mr. Lance introduced himself. He took out the attendance paper and began calling their names. However, Adalyn didn't recognize one name.

"Dallas, Michael?" Mr. Lance said. Nobody answered. Absent, the teacher thought. Adalyn leaned towards Jackie. "Who's Michael?" She asked.

"New kid, really hot, fit, and gorgeous eyes," Jackie confirmed. 

"Oh."Adalyn commented without giving much importance to the topic. When she felt atap on her shoulder, Adalyn turned to face Vincent as he said, "You'll likehim." 

 "You knowhim?" She asked. 

 Vincent nodded joyfully. "He joined the football team." 

 "So soon?" 

 "Iguess he has mad skills." Vincent supposed. 

 "What happened to him?" She wondered. 

"Hewent with his parents on a business trip; he'll probably be back next week."After speaking, Vincent tapped her arm, motioning her to turn around. Adalynarranged herself in her seat as Mr. Lance clapped his hands together and said,"Okay, let's begin."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Vote and Comment! I would like to know your thoughts so far :D

~Stephanie