Staring at my math notes only solidified that I don't remember a single thing my teacher had taught us. It just looked like a bunch of scribbles on a blank piece of paper ready to ruin people's lives. I wouldn't be able to tell apart the things I knew from the material I didn't know. Sighing, my head slammed down onto my arms, regretting this long night already.

Maybe if Declan was my teacher, I would actually pay attention. But that would never happen; the damn boy hates me.

Maybe I should shift from math and try science. Opening my chemistry book, I glared at the periodic table; what does this have to do with science? What was that song my teacher created to get us to remember all the elements? Dang it, how do I get distracted so easily. Daydreaming was secretly is a curse. 

The time ticked by as I tried creating my own random song to remember the pies on the table. Wait, pies? I think that's the wrong subject. Great! Now, everything was getting jumbled in my small pea-sized brain. Currently, I was rewriting notes since I read an article stating how writing notes will help you remember them.

My eyes betrayed my trust by slowly closing in on me. Yawn after yawn, I was left with random marks on my paper for when I fell asleep for a second. At this rate, I wouldn't reach the top two hundred until a million years. Clearly, sleep is overthrowing me and I don't know how much longer I can hold on to it.

"Lana!" her voice boomed through the room, causing my body to shake.

"Mmm yeah," I replied, turning around.

"I made midnight snacks to help your brain function better," Declan's mother said, placing the tray down on the table.

"Oh, thank you." I smiled, staring down at the rice cakes covered in Nutella.

She sat down by the table and patted the spot next to her. "Relax, take a break. You've been studying since eight."

"You're right," I agreed, suddenly feeling my stomach grumble. Apparently, I wasn't only not sleepy but starving as well. No one can learn on an empty stomach.

"I'm so happy to finally be able to do this," she beamed, clapping her hands quietly.

"What do you mean? What about Declan?" I asked, munching on a rice cake.

"Declan never studies." she frowned.

I frantically blink my eyes. "Huh? He really doesn't study at all? Then what is he up to?"

"Sleeping, I just went to check," she answered.

Sleeping! That boy was hit by God's perfection stick because how was this literally possible? Who doesn't need to study to achieve the highest grade in the state? Studying must be a conspiracy theory teachers created because clearly, we didn't need it to pass. Declan was the perfect example of that.

Just imagine how cutely his face would look while sleeping caused goosebumps to slither up my spine. This certainly isn't healthy. I wonder what position he sleeps in; I'm betting on his back, also known as the superior option.

"Declan is a natural-born genius, isn't he," I said.

"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder if that's a good thing," she drawed out.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

Her eyebrows crinkled together forming a crease between them "It's sorta hard to explain, but at this rate, if he continues being reserved and to himself; he might lose something very important," she confided in me.

"Don't worry about Declan. He has a remarkable family watching over him," I replied.

"Thank you," she smiled, which was quickly changed into a mischievous one. "I just got the perfect idea; Would you like to see photo albums of Declan?"

My smile grew, causing my cheeks to hurt from how hard I was grinning. "Would I? Yes!"

"Great! I'll be right back." she jumped from her spot and ran out the door.

If Declan was attractive now, just imagine how adorable he was as a baby. I wonder if he was a chubby baby who only wore diapers. I know I was back in the day. Diapers were the style back in the day before pants came into fashion. As a baby, usually, the chilly breeze would seep into your butt from the lack of pants. Or maybe it's just me.

Photo albums are like the closest thing to a diary. I could learn his deepest, darkest secrets just from a few groups of photos. Quickly, his mother entered, dropping the three large photo albums onto my bed. Excitement was rushing through my entire body, I couldn't stop shaking my leg because of it.

"Let's start with when he was first born," she said, opening the grey-colored album.

The first photo was of Declan showering in the sink, all covered in bubbles. Already, my heart was swooning from how precious he looked. How did this little baby turn into such a jerkface? The next one was Declan, wearing a cute sailor outfit and posing with a can of spinach.

"I secretly have a passion for photography," his mother confessed.

"Every single one of them captured an emotion! You're amazing, Mrs. Novak," I complimented, getting lost in the pages.

The photo that made me smile like crazy was probably the photo of baby Declan dressed in a bunny costume, and his small butt had a little tail. His smile was wide and bright; something I haven't had the chance to witness yet. Sure, I've seen his malicious smile, but never the sweet, genuine one.

Hopefully, one day.

However, I noticed in every picture he was either holding a blue teddy bear or it was resting behind him. Maybe it was his favorite childhood item. When I was little, I loved my purple llama; I never went anywhere without it. That's until Dad 'accidentally' threw it away, but I've my suspicions about that entire situation.

"I miss when Declan would let me take pictures of him and naturally because Declan doesn't like Sam doesn't as well," she answered.

"Declan was already handsome back then," I whispered.

"Ohh..."

The last photo album was the year it started it all. When Declan gave his inspirational speech in front of everyone. My cheeks were hurting so much from grinning, but seeing every picture made my day. He looked so perfect standing beside the wall as his mom took his picture. There were even photos during his speech, and he still managed to look smooth. His soccer images were even better seeing his body covered in hot sweaty madness.

I'm losing it.

At this point, my hand was propelled on my thigh, and I rested my chin on it. Normal thoughts barely formed in my mind before they were replaced with melancholy longing and fantasies of what could be if he liked me back.

"Lana... do you like him?" she asked, questionably raising her eyebrow.

"No, no, no," I frantically blurted, "He was just so adorable."

Nervously, I giggled, wiping the sweat moisturizing my hands on my sweatpants. Her eyebrow was still raised; probably debating over if I'm lying or not. Please let it go. It's already embarrassing enough Declan knew; I don't need his mother knowing too.

What truly captured my attention was the last picture in the photo album; it was a sixteen-year-old Declan sleeping with the bunny in his hands. My heart instantly exploded just from that picture. Oh, how I wish I was that bunny.

"Oh, my gosh! I didn't mean for you to see that photo. Not even Declan knew I took that," she replied, with a guilt tone attached to it.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." I smiled, twisting an imagery key on my mouth and throwing it into oblivion.

Taking the book from my hold, she dug her hand into the plastic protecting the photos. "You know what. For keeping the secret, I will give you this in return."

She handed me the current photo I was admiring before and I couldn't help but internally squeal!

"I'll treasure this forever." I giggled, making an imagery heart around his face in the image.

The minute Declan joined us during breakfast; I almost spat out my coffee. Instantly, the image of Declan cuddling his bunny invaded my mind. At first, it was adorable, but now it's amusing to know the most popular boy in school slept with a stuffed animal.

"Good morning," Declan said.

"Good morning," I replied, foolishly laughing, earning a sudden glare from Declan.

There was no expression, just a cold, hard stare ruining my giggly mood and internal forced that part to hibernate. Softly, I pulled my cheeks down to keep them from continuously smiling. However, the moment I took a sip of my mild coffee, the images infested my mind. How am I going to survive the day without laughing?

I was able to hold my cool to swallow the coffee but bursted into a loud harsh crackle of laughter. Groaning, I felt an elbow attack my shoulder.

"Lana, are you okay?" my father asked, carefully slicing his eggs.

"Yeah, it's just a little inside joke." I snorted. Wouldn't be surprised if coffee poured out of my nose at this point.

"Maybe, staying all night studying made you go crazy," Sam interjected.

Ignoring him, I went back to giggle to myself like those crackheads on the benches.

During our free period, I spent it continuously reciting my notes out loud since it supposedly helped. It was easier repeating the scientific elements or important moments in history compared to the answers to a Geometry problem. Unlike science and social studies, math frequently changes.

Usually, Catalina, Meadow, and I would spend our class time watching 'Titans Beware' episodes or plucking each other's eyebrows. Through after yanking too many eyebrow hairs from Meadow, my permission was revoked. It wasn't even that bad; I think they were being too dramatic. The door slammed open, yet nothing could ruin my rhythm.

"Damn, you were serious," Meadow said, leaning over my shoulder for a few seconds before leaving me to attend to my grades.

"She's been acting strange since she moved into the new house. Something is suspicious," Ambrose's voice expressed.

Abruptly, the sound of arms slamming against my desk broke my concentration. Ambrose's loving smile burned into my soul.

"Hey, so Lana, where are you living?"

Ignoring his question, I went back to rehearsing the answers out loud, causing Ambrose to wave his hand in front of me. Couldn't he understand I wanted to focus on my studies and could chat later?

"As I thought, something is wrong," his voice wavered.

"Hart." That one word broke everything once again, especially when I connected whose voice that belonged to. Quickly, I sprung from my chair and turned to face him.

Why was he here? Wasn't it one of his sacred rules to never speak to me? Do the rules only apply to me? Honestly, I couldn't think of anything that could cause this sudden appearance from him. Though my heart was content to see him.

"Declan!" Catalina and Meadow yelled in a shocked tone.

"How dare you come in yelling her name like that?" Ambrose charged towards Declan.

"Hart, can you bring your bag and come with me?" he asked.

"Okay," I breathy responded.

With only confusion left in my head, I grabbed my backpack and rushed to follow an already leaving Declan.

"Oh, no! Could it be that Declan changed his mind and wants Lana to be his girlfriend?" Ambrose gasped, slowly dissolving as I moved further away.

Declan led us outside to the courtyard. He waited behind the tree bark for me to meet him. Cautiously, he checked his surrounding, possibly not wanting people to catch this secret moment between us. Though probably going to my class wouldn't help with the rumors.

"Why did you ask me to come out here? And with my bag?" I questioned.

He opened his bag and pulled a fuchsia-colored lunchbox. "My mom gave me the wrong one,"

Repeating his movements, I took out an aqua-colored lunchbox. "Oh, you're right."

"If any of your annoying friends see this, it would cause such a commotion," Declan grumbled, dropping my original lunchbox into my bag. "Geez, this is such a bother. It's so confusing since we have the same bag."

"I've been wanting to ask you something," I replied.

"I don't care," he muttered, turning away from me.

Subconsciously, I grabbed his sleeve and held him back from leaving. "Please, I need your help."

"Ugh... with what?" he grumbled.

"Studying. Can you help me study for the whole week for my final exams?" I pleaded, trying my usual puppy eye trick. It tended to work on Ambrose and my Dad, but Declan is a different species.

"Me? And you? No!" he abruptly replied. 

"Please! At this rate, I'm not going to get into nursing school," I sighed, sitting down on the sidewalk. "See, my mother always wanted to finish nursing school, but she had me and I ruined everything. I thought if maybe I got into nursing school or achieved her dream that I would feel close to her again." I hiccuped, noticing my vision becoming glossy.

"Maybe it's selfish of me to ask you this, but I just really want to feel close to her again." I dug my face into my knees. Great, I'm sobbing in front of my crush like it couldn't get any worse.

Suddenly, a heavy weight was placed on my head and when I looked up, I realized it was Declan's rough hand. He exhaled, ignoring my gaze, and ruffled my hair into a bundled mess.

"Fine," he whispered in a defeated tone.

Springing up from my spot, a gigantic smile crept on my lips from feeling his touch on me. This touch lingered, branding my soul with a simple mark: fondness. For the first time, he actually showed a bit of emotion, and I liked it.

"Good! Because I didn't want to use this photo for leverage." I puckered my lips, pulling out the photo from my backpack's front pocket. The photo of Declan snuggling his stuffed bunny was now revealed.

Maybe I shouldn't have promised that secret.

Declan's entire body went rigid as panic washed over his features. "How do you have that?"

"Your mother gave it to me." I smiled, glancing down at the photo.

"Why would she do that?" he groaned, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I already agreed, so give it back."

I smacked his hand. "No way! You have been incredibly mean to me, so now it's my turn," I countered, confidently arching my eyebrow. Quickly, I stuffed the picture into my boob pocket since no decent guy would touch that area.

"I can't believe she's blackmailing me?" he exhaled, staring down at his shoes.

"How about this if I make the top two-hundred list, I will give it back to you." I wickedly grinned.

"I thought I was only supposed to help you study, not do the impossible," Declan bluntly responded.

"Yeah, but I'm aiming high," I replied, using my finger to point to the sky.

"It is important to know what you can do and what you can't do. Phillip Chesterfield." he retaliated.

I furrowed my brows. "Fi-ied? What did you say?"

"In other words, stupid people should stay in their place. It's impossible to get someone like you to the top two-hundred list," he harshly replied, though it went straight through my ear.

"Fine, then I'll just show everyone the picture." I wiggled my eyebrows, taunting him by pulling the picture out from my special pocket.

"Ugh... Wait, wait!" he groaned. "Alright, starting today, I will help you for a week at night," He spoke in a defeated tone.

"Yay!" I cheered.

"But I show no mercy. The top one hundred consists of students from classes one and two. You know how hard it is to put a student from your class on it right?" he explained, receiving a nod from me. "See you later."

The moment magically appeared in front of me. It was perfect for him taking me from class to his mother giving me the picture. Finally, the stars aligned for me. Now, I could personally show Declan how smart I really am and spend quality time with him. It's a win-win situation.

Proving everyone wrong was my favorite thing.

"Lana, are you okay?" Ambrose shouted, glaring towards Declan's direction.

"What were you guys talking about?" Catalina asked, seductively wiggling her brows.

Woah, did everyone watch that go down? Declan wasn't joking when he said rumors would spread around us so quickly. Though, he can't blame me since he went all the way to my classroom. He should've eaten his fuchsia-colored lunch; it's not like he ever ate in the cafeteria, anyway.

"Nothing." I laughed, "Anyway, I need to go study."

Who's ready for Lana's and Declan's study day ;)! Who enjoyed the moment between Lana and His mother?

Thank you for every vote and comment they all serious make my day! I'm so glad you guys are loving Lana as much as I do!

Love you
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