[A/N: Song for the chapter:
- Taylor Swift // Begin Again]

The next day Tyler walked into class with a clean shaven face, bright eyes and an outfit that made every female soul in our class swoon. It was nothing special; just stonewashed jeans, a baby blue sweater and white hi-tops, but the way his sweater clung to his muscles made my eyes roll out of their sockets. Oblivious to the sudden female attention, his sea green eyes scanned the room, instantly catching mine to flash me a genuine and dimpled smile that made my mouth hang open.

He hadn't smiled at me like that in years.

Now that he was striding past the first three rows, I noticed there was something else that was different about him but I couldn't quite pinpoint it until he slid into his desk in front of me.

His eyes.

They weren't dull, dead or dimmed; they held a subtle determination that made my breath hitch when he turned around in his seat to greet me.

"Hey Ashley."

It wasn't until his eyebrows scrunched up together that I realised I was still gaping at him. Closing my mouth, I cleared my throat and leaned forward onto my arms.

"Hey," I breathed, giving him a wide smile. "Feeling better?"

Again, as a response to my question I received a dazzling smile that made his dimples deepen and it was enough to make me gape again.

"Much better thanks." He replied with a curt nod before turning around to face the front.

Ms Smith was behind her computer muttering to herself about the complications of modern technology whilst the class spoke amongst themselves. Once she finally figured out how to switch it on, she called Dylan up to help her play a documentary explaining how cakes are made in batch production.

When Dylan finally got the computer working, he picked up a small remote on Ms Smith's desk and aimed it at the projector that hung from the ceiling. She barked at the class to stop bickering so loudly and dimmed the lights.

It wasn't until my cheeks began to ache that I realised a grin was still plastered onto my face. Shaking my head gently, I hid behind my hair and waited for the smile to die down but it stayed put, wide and disarming.

Eventually, I settled for propping my head on the table and used my hands to cover my smile. It was the best alternative to being caught with a cheshire grin that the creepy perverts wore in the dodgy areas of the town. Scanning the classroom, my smile froze and I met a beady glare that made my jaw breaking grin flip upside down.

Since my seat was in the last row, my view consisted of the back of everybody's head so it was slightly alarming to catch Michelle giving me a death glare while her eyes flickered to Tyler every few seconds. Returning her harsh stare, I raised an eyebrow in response and sat up straighter, pushing my hair out of my face in the process.

With the sharp click of her tongue, she flipped her long hair hard enough to take out the eye of the person behind. The redhead behind Michelle jerked back and spluttered in astonishment at the close encounter that could have scratched her eyeball.

"Whoa, watch it!" Mona snapped when Michelle's hair almost blinded her.

Swivelling around, the dark haired beauty glared at my friend with a look that could have made a flower wilt instantly. When Michelle's back was turned, Mona turned around in my direction with an a perplexed grimace, clearly infuriated by what had just happened.

"What the hell is her problem?" She mouthed and I could feel the fury wavering off her like steam coming off a kettle.

Shrugging my shoulders in response, I turned my gaze to the front where the documentary had started and tried my hardest not to burn a hole into Michelle's head. Instead my gaze flickered to the blond in front of me who was surprisingly awake and sitting upright.

It was kind of hard to keep my wandering eyes off him for the remainder of the hour. They drank in the toned muscles that rippled beneath his sweater every time he shifted in his seat. I was certain I wasn't the only person checking him out, especially since he'd finally gotten rid of his week old scruffy beard.

The documentary finished seconds after the bell rang for second period so as we gathered our stuff and rushed out of the class, Mona ambushed me, still vexed with Michelle's attempt to blind her. She helped me shove my pens into my pencil case and I raised an eyebrow at her tight lipped frown.

"Someone please explain to me why that bitch tried to slit my eyes with her extensions," She hissed as I slung my bag over shoulder.

We filed out of the room, weaving in between our classmates to pool out into the hallways first.

"I have no idea but she's probably still mad about yesterday," I replied, looking over my shoulder to where Michelle had miraculously shimmied up to Tyler, desperate to breathe in his attempt to make an effort to look good.

He caught my eyes the exact time I turned around, holding my gaze as and once again I was subjected to his dazzling, dimpled smile. It wasn't jaw-breaking or wide, but it was small enough to make my palms clammy.

Instantly I smiled back at him and completely forgot Mona was talking to me until she nudged me in the ribs - quite painfully, I might add.

"Mona!" I snapped, turning around to glare at her.

"Stop ogling Tyler," Her furious brown eyes softened as an omniscient smirk played on her lips.

"I wasn't!" I protested meekly.

"Yes you were!" Her smirk grew into a full blown grin and for a moment, I was glad she had forgotten about wanting to batter Michelle to a fleshy pulp.

"Seriously Mona I wasn't ogling–" I was abruptly cut off when I went careering into my friend, momentarily losing my balance as we both staggered forward. "What the heck!"

By the time I managed to regain my composure, Michelle was metres away with a smug smile on her mouth. Dead straight, brown hair billowed behind her as she sashayed down the corridor looking particularly pleased with herself.

"Did she just barge into you?" Mona screeched viciously, kneading her forearm where my elbow had stabbed her.

Confused, I looked at the retreating brunette and then back at the redhead.

"I think she just did," I muttered hotly, massaging my shoulders quite vigorously before shooting Mona an apologetic smile. "Are you hurt? I did kind of bash into you."

She just huffed and shook her head, flaring her nostrils before stomping off to our next class. Just as I was about to rush after her a heavy hand clamped my shoulder and kept me rooted to the ground.

"Ashley?"

I whirled around, surprised to see that Tyler was still lurking around considering the fact that he was usually the first person to bolt out of the classroom.

"Oh," I squawked, radiating shyness that I didn't even know I had in me. "Sorry I didn't see you there."

I wondered if he had witnessed Michelle's little stunt and felt my cheeks begin to burn with humiliation and anger. In a haste to escape, I walked faster, hoping he would slow down and make his own way to his next class but Tyler's long limbs fell into step with me.

"Are you okay?" He asked cautiously when I tucked a curl behind my ear and pursed my lips.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I replied quickly, although I couldn't keep the edge out of my voice.

He turned his head in my direction but I kept my gaze plastered on the grey lockers that ran on either side of us until we turned the corner. My feet scraped across the smooth linoleum floor and I could feel the dirt and grime beneath the sole of my shoes. When I stole a glance at Tyler, his eyes were still roaming my face, scanning every feature to the extent that it made my insides knot together.

It was like he was studying every curvature of my face and that left me perturbed and unsettled. Finally, Tyler turn his head forward and frowned slightly.

"If she's bothering you that much, you should just tell someone," He voiced in a calm tone like my relationship with Michelle was really that simple. "She can be quite a bitch when she wants to, which is basically all the time."

Alarmed, I quickly looked away when our eyes locked and tried my hardest to keep my face impassive as I formulated a quick reply.

"I can handle her," I exhaled heavily before chuckling at his latter comment. In a sarcastic voice I drawled, "You really think?"

Tyler's lips twitched with amusement and he pulled his backpack's shoulder strap closer towards his neck. I studied his pink, calloused knuckles and frowned at the cracked skin that seemed to be in the process of healing.

The number of students rushing to their classes was rapidly declining since the second bell was due to ring in two minutes, however we still had to cross the courtyard to get to the other main building. It really annoyed me that the school only gave us five minutes to get to lessons when the two main buildings were so far apart, separated by a courtyard that was jam-packed with students on their free period.

"What class do you have now?" I asked curiously as I pushed open the double doors that led to the courtyard.

As we strolled past the seven pine benches and the giant oak tree, I zipped up my light raincoat and eyed the grey clouds warily. A couple of eyes followed us when we strolled along the cobbled path but I kept my gaze on the sky, pushing my glasses further up my nose and savouring the chill that nipped at my ears.

"Chemistry," He replied, looking at me a questioning glance.

"English Literature," I frowned, remembering that Michelle sat two tables away from Mona and I in that class. Oh the joy!

When we reached the peeling red double doors leading to the second main school building, Tyler held the door open for me, pausing to spare me a small smile and I hurried past him, surreptitiously rubbing my clammy palms on my thighs. When he fell back into step with me, I thanked him quietly and we lapsed into silence.

I started to ponder on the fact that I had walked to from Home Economics to English Literature a millions times before and Tyler had never made the effort to walk with me, so why now?

Stealing a glance at him, I was taken about to find his eyes already on me but they were glazed with apprehension. Grinding to a halt, we stood just outside my classroom but before bidding him goodbye, I whirled around.

"What is it?" I asked slowly, taking a step forward so that he was forced to take a step backwards.

I didn't mean to corner him but the strange relationship between us was discomforting. We jumped from being complete strangers - well, he hated me so I shied away from him throughout junior year - to 'friends' in such a short space of time that I really wasn't sure what he expected from me. Confusion graced his features when he leaned back against the wall and I frowned at the effort he put into masking the emotion behind his eyes.

For the first time ever, Tyler Miller couldn't hide the fact that he was anxious about something I couldn't quite pinpoint.

"What's wrong? Do you need to ask me about anything in particular?" I prodded, feeling slightly antsy that the classroom door was ajar so that Mr Reid and the entire two front rows could see me if they glanced past the door.

Tyler opened his mouth to give me a negative response but I just shook my head curtly. There was no way he could lie to me that nothing was bothering him when his eyebrows were pulled down with unease, especially when he willingly walked me to my next class. Even at the start of freshmen year, when we were still really close, he had never walked me to any of my classes.

Thinking back to last night, I let my own eyebrows furrow together although mine were a reflection of my irritation.

"Don't tell me you've given up already?" I rolled my eyes, thinking back to the promise he made me last night.

"No, no," He said quickly, pushing back off the wall and standing in front of me. "Of course I haven't. I'm just a bit worried about how we're going to do this, that's all."

For a long moment, I studied his face, racking my brain for an answer. How were we going to do this? The question rang inside my mind, kicking against my skull until I could feel the beginning of a headache forming. I had no idea how I was going to help him; I just knew that I had to, like an instinct as strong as to fight-or-flee; similar to adrenaline, the desire to help Tyler overwhelmed me.

I was kind of hoping that an idea would pop into my mind, but I was still drawing blank answers and it had been frustrating me at breakfast this morning. When he raised his eyebrows to indicate that he was still waiting for an answer, I sighed heavily and pushed my curls away from my face.

"I guess, slow and steady is the best way forward. I don't think we should rush things because change won't really take place overnight. It's a gradual thing," I assured him in a surprisingly strong voice, trying to draw attention away from the fact that I couldn't answer his question. "We'll take it step by step, starting with just talking about her in general before we go onto talking about how you feel. When you're emotionally strong enough, we'll empty her room and find other ways to get you the closure you need and the rest we'll figure out together. Okay?"

Surprised by my spontaneous plan, I smiled to myself and mentally gave myself a pat on the back. Uncertainty and terror flitted behind Tyler's liquid eyes making them waver the way the sea crashes against the hull of a boat during a storm. I wanted yank him into a tight hug and tell him that everything was going to be fine but instead I settled for taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"And it's actually going to work?"

Tyler returned the squeeze. The usual monotonous tone he used was laced with apprehension, lowering the pitch so that his voice sounded husky. Suddenly the shrill bell made us both jump as we stared at the deserted hallways, surprised that we were the only people lingering outside class.

"We have an audience," I grunted, glaring at my nosy classmates before looking up at Tyler with apologetic eyes.

Before he could reply, a booming voice bellowed and Mr Reid's head popped out of the classroom.

"Ashley Martin! Stop fooling around with Tyler Miller and get inside this instant!"

My face paled with horror, drained of all colour but Tyler rolled his eyes, raking his haunting gaze over my teacher with enough contempt to make me shudder.

"Chill out Reid, she's coming," He drawled languidly as if he was scolding a nerdy freshmen for stepping on his shoe.

A red flush blossomed on Mr Reid's face, darkening his already pink skin to a deep purple that made him look even more like a plump grape. Tyler detached his hand from mine and stepped back, holding my teacher's gaze with a spine-chilling glare. Gingerly, he turned to look inside my classroom, raising an eyebrow at the endless pair of eyes that gawked at us until they shied their gaze from him.

"Sorry for keeping you here," I muttered, low enough for him to catch it. "I didn't mean to make you late too."

Tyler gave me a disarming smile, small but enough to flash me a glimpse of the dimples that used to drive me crazy. Heat seeped through my veins, first a camp fire and then a scorching furnace.

"No worries," Lifting a hand up, he waved goodbye and started sloping down the corridor in his long, lazy strides. "See you around Ashley."

Rooted to the ground, my gaze flickered past the ajar door and I groaned at the sight of two dozen, wide eyes gawking at me when I finally trudged into the classroom - including Michelle's scorching glare and Mona's eager stare.

"You're holding up the class Ashley!" Mr Reid barked forcing me to jump again and shoot over to my seat beside Mona.

I spent the rest of the lesson hiding behind my hair and refusing to look up from my textbook, concentrating on the same word as we read through a book extract. I knew that Mr Reid kept glowering in my direction but for once, he didn't pick on me to read aloud like he usually did. I wondered if it had something to do with the way Tyler snapped at him in a tone so patronising that it made goosebumps rain along my arms.

Occasionally, I peeked through my curls to see Mona watching me like a hawk, her head propped up on her elbows.

"So, Ash..." She drawled slowly when Mr Reid gave us time to discuss the text, waggling her thin eyebrows at me. "What were you talking about with Mr Grumpy?"

"Nothing," I hissed, annoyed that she was using her outdoor voice to deliberately draw attention to our table. I was already in enough trouble with our teacher so I didn't need a detention slip smacked on my forehead. "And stop calling him that, he's not grumpy."

He's just really sad, I thought to myself with a deep frown. Sad, misunderstood and lonely.

"That conversation was definitely not nothing, especially since we all heard the words 'slow and steady' and the rest sounded really juicy," She grinned, shooting me a wink. "He was holding your freaking hand Ash!"

"What?" I yelled making half the class turn to look at us. In an incredulous whisper I continued, "You heard us?"

Twirling a lock of her hair around her forefinger, she scoffed and gave me a flat look.

"You guys weren't exactly quiet now, were you?"

Burying my burning face into my hands, I let out a loud groan before bringing my forehead down onto the table. The cool wooden desk did nothing to fight off the wavering heat that my body was giving off.

"That's it, I'm going to move schools to Brazil and start afresh where my new friends Juan and Juanita won't spend the next week talking about my nonexistent sex life with Tyler freaking Miller. They'll accept the truth from my mouth and believe me when I say that nothing happened."

Mona threw her head back and laughed before leaning forward and rubbing my back in what she thought was a reassuring circular motion, but in actual fact, she was kneading my spine like it was the stringiest cookie dough in the world.

"We also heard how you two were going to take things 'step by step'," She snickered and her hot breath on my shoulder made me bolt upright and jerk away from her.

"Seriously?" I snapped my head in her direction so fast that a jolting pain shot through my neck.

She patted my shoulder affectionately and gave it a squeeze as she placed a hand on her heart in a dramatic fashion.

"Oh Ashley, you're so naive to your feelings it hurts."

With a deep frown, I glowered at her.

"What on earth are you talking about? We have a major issue here! The whole class, including Mr Reid and Queen Bitch over there think I'm hooking up Tyler."

She gave me that all too familiar, knowing smirk of hers and let out a silvery laugh.

"Oh nothing Ash. Just hit me up when you finally figure it out."

And with a wink, she turned to the front of the class, leaving me to plan out how I was going to save myself from the tornado rumours that were sure to spread around the school by lunch period.

I mean, could it get any worse?

**

I managed to escape English Literature unscathed by Michelle's blistering glare but that didn't mean I survived the glances I received up until lunchtime. By then I was steaming furious that I was being subjected to the school's notorious rumours. I hadn't done anything promiscuous! All I signed up for was to be Tyler's friend to help him overcome his grief, not the hassle of being asked every second if I was 'dating' him.

The absurdity of the question shocked me at first but then I began to get irritated and bit off every inquirer's head.

There was no way in hell that I would ever date Tyler. Not after what he put me through in ninth grade. I would have to be the stupidest person in the world to walk into that trap again. Last time that happened, I had Taylor to nurture and piece back my broken heart and eventually, after avoiding Tyler greatly, I managed to get over him but that didn't mean I couldn't remember how painful it was.

I spent the entire lesson in French fending off Jonah's perverted stares and obscene comments. Let's just say that when the bell rang for lunch, I shot to the canteen in a millisecond after he held his fingers up to his mouth in a V-shape and stuck his tongue out repeatedly.

Moron!

Catching Blake in the winding queue in front of the steaming hot delicacies of the day, I huddled beside him and ignored the grumbles I got from the people behind me for cutting the queue. I picked up a tray and a plate and handed it to the dinner lady, wincing as she slapped the saddest, most soggiest excuse for a lasagna onto my plate.

"So what's this I'm hearing about you and Tyler having some fun fondling in the corridors today," Blake grinned, shooting me a saucy wink before grimacing at the mucky lasagna that flopped down onto his plate.

"Lies, lies and..." I trailed off before lifting a finger to my chin as if a genius idea had come to me. "Oh wait! More lies!"

I rolled my eyes, picked up an apple, a bottle of water and headed towards the cashier to pay for my meal.

"Hmm? Really? I've always been told there's a little truth to the biggest lies," He whispered into my ear as I handed five bucks to the cashier.

I jerked away as he nudged my hip to the side so that he could pay for his meal.

"And that is without doubt the biggest pile of shit I have ever heard," I replied in an aggravated tone before stomping away from him.

Planting my tray down onto our usual corner table, I picked up my fork and stabbed at the oozing, minced meat that spilled out from the edges of the lasagna. Glancing up, I watched Blake saunter over to our table in his usual lazy strides, shooting him a glare when he gave me a smirk. After three bites of the lasagna, I pushed my tray away and downed the bottle of water to wash away the bitter aftertaste. The entire time, I had to deal with pale green eyes scrutinising my every move. Eventually, I slammed my empty bottle down.

"Stop that! " I snapped.

Green eyes blinked, masking their obvious amusement with bewilderment.

"Stop what?"

Did he really think he was some pretty boy that could pull off the innocent act? My eyes narrowed in to paperthin slits as I studied his face.

"The staring. You're staring at me and it's annoying as hell."

When a cat-like smirk tugged at his lips, I felt the sudden urge to strangle him, shove him in a coffin and bury him out at sea. Okay, maybe not the latter one but Blake was still going to get his own coffin if he carried on watching me like he knew something I didn't.

"Oh really?" He drawled, raising an eyebrow to challenge me. "I didn't realise I was."

My cheeks flushed with fury and the anger I'd been bottling up the previous lesson threatened to resurface after I'd spent the previous hour refraining myself from thrusting a foot down Jonah's mouth to silence his crude attempts to hit on me.

"Blake!" I hissed through gritted teeth.

He leaned back in his seat and lifted his hands up in a surrendering motion but that infuriating smile of his stayed put and it drove me crazy. Miraculously, I kept a lid on my anger and bit down on my lip.

"Damn, where's Mona? I'd rather listen to her singing right now that hear your voice," I muttered hotly, taking a vicious bite out of my apple.

"Drama club," Blake announced, still sporting his infamous grin. The same one I would have gladly carved off his face with a knife.

"Great! Now I'm stuck with you for the rest of lunch," I groaned, rubbing my eyes behind my glasses. "Gee, don't you ever get tired of having yourself around?"

With a feigned hurt expression he placed a hand over his heart and hung his head low.

"You wound me Ash," Blake whimpered dramatically, pouting at me. "And I quite love myself thank you very much missus."

"I preferred it when you weren't Mona's sidekick. You guys have the exact same personality now. What did she do to you?"

With a raised eyebrow, his smirk just widened and I bit back a laugh.

"She would've slapped you right there and then, you pervert!"

He shrugged his shoulders though two pink spots lingered on his cheeks and he slurped his juice. It would have been wonderful if his teasing had stopped right there but Blake sipped his juice while simultaneously waggling his eyebrows at me in a suggestive manner.

"Man, when was the last time you got laid," I muttered quietly under my breath.

To my surprise, his robotic ears picked up on my words and his cheeks grew pinker than the mention of Mona. Maybe I shouldn't have brought that up. After all, he had just broken up with his girlfriend, Isobel Vasquez, over the summer. It wasn't rocket science that their relationship was one sided during the last month and it was painful to watch her blow him off time after time after time again. Maybe it was because she was a year older than us and was moving away for college. I didn't blame her for calling their relationship off but I didn't like the fact that it took her so long to cut to the chase.

When Blake's easy smile dropped, I knew I had taken a low blow. I didn't mean for it to come out that way but my emotions were kind of all over the place. I wasn't quite sure where to draw the line when they were overwhelming me.

"You're one to talk," He muttered under his own breath, causing my own face to turn beetroot.

There was no way I was going to apologise to him now. Definitely not when his eyes were back to their usual teasing twinkle because his comment had transformed me into a flaming tomato.

"Shut up!" I hissed, tossing my plastic fork at him, narrowly missing him as he ducked. "Not everybody is a slut like Michelle."

Blake laughed and nodded at that comment. His eyes darkened slightly as he stared over my shoulder at the table where the soccer players and Michelle's clique sat.

"You got that right. That girl was going at it with Dylan when she dated Tyler two years ago. She even offered to sleep with me."

Turning around, I watched her long hair bounce everywhere as she let out a silvery laugh when Dylan slung an arm over her shoulder. She was definitely the type of person who was used to getting whatever they wanted when they wanted.

Swivelling back around, I tried to keep a bitter smile off my lips but it was relatively hard.

"What can I say? She's very ambitious," I chided but my voice came out extremely bitter.

Blake's eyes flickered back to me and he gave me a sad smile. He opened his mouth to rebuke but closed it as if he thought it would be better to keep his current thoughts to himself. After a moment of silence, his frown curved back up.

"Don't worry, things will be different this time round."

Confused, I just blinked at him before frowning deeply.

"What do you mean 'this time round'?" I asked slowly, leaning forward.

He threw his head back and let out a laugh, stretching his arms above him. Letting out a deafening yawn that made him look like a meerkat, I rolled my eyes when he shot me a wink.

"Don't you worry your pretty little mind," He sang, giving me a wide grin.

"Gosh, you've become Mona's twin with a ballsack, haven't you?" I muttered darkly. "The two of you have been hanging out without me far too much. She's rubbing off onto you."

With a shy smile and a shrug, his eyes flickered to my abandoned plate and he looked back at me, cocking his head to the side.

"And you're PMS-ing, aren't you?" He chuckled, leaning over to flick my nose.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, jerking back and avoiding his finger by a fraction of a second.

"I wasn't going to," He replied smugly, swooping his hand under my chin to drag my discarded plate towards him. "You gonna finish this?"

Staring at the soggy mess on my plate, I shook my head - not that he waited for a reply. Almost instantly he had managed to devour half of the lasagna, leaving behind an oily, brown residue on my plate.

"Sooooo Ash," He drawled after he finished my lasagna, smacking his lips clean. "When are you planning on telling me what position you and Tyler were in during your heated corridor sex? I heard that he had you up against the wall."

In a split second, Blake's flashed with horror when my apple flew at him in lighting speed. It hit him square on the forehead making him shriek.

"Ash! This isn't fruit ninja!" He cried, letting out a roar of pain. "Quit attacking me!"

Giving him a smug smile, I crossed my arms over my chest and watched with satisfaction as he rubbed his forehead vigorously.

"If you don't shut up within the next second, you're going to lose that baby making tool of yours."

The perfect o-shape his lips made was enough to make me laugh; that and the fact that there was a reddening patch between his brows.

"You wouldn't dare!" He cried, eyes still masked with pain from my previous attack.

With a curling, evil smile I cocked my head to the side and blinked innocently at him.

"Try me." I retorted just as the shrill bell cut off his reply.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A/N: Pic of Mona on the side. Literally, my celebrity crush right there *drools so hard*

Literally, I would get it on with Hayley Williams anyday. Yum.

Chapter 23: "Bad Boy Band Aids" ... so I have no idea what's going to happen but maybe you could tell me in the comments below? ;)

Vote, comment and fan. (Takes me light years to write these chapters so the appreciation and love would help)

See you in a few days ;)
- Kaddy]