Chapter 1

Embarrassing.

That's the one word I'm going to use to describe my first day at my new school, Gregory H. Peters Preparatory High School. Everyone keeps staring at me like I'm an alien. I'm betting that they don't get new kids very often. I stick out like a sore thumb. And the fact that I have no choice but to trail behind Vivica and her friends doesn't help whatsoever. So far, I've made no friends.

I miss my old school. I didn't think I'd miss my old school, to be honest. I had a few friends there, most of whom I still talk to via text message and social media. I received a few "I miss you already" tweets this past weekend but I didn't bother to respond because that's just who I am, I guess. Distant is what my friends called me. Wild is what my parents called me, which is the entire reason why I'm here, in Harrington.

Parties, parties, parties. That's all I did according to my parents. In actuality, I went to school, ate, slept, occasionally partied, watched television, and read. I also hung out with my younger brother, Charlie, pretty often. Speaking of Charlie, I miss him a lot, probably more than I miss my parents. I was out of 'control and needed a change of scenery'. I think my father was just embarrassed of having to break up parties that I threw, or was attending. He said that he made the decision to send me to Aunt Genevieve's as a father, not as a cop. But for some reason, I don't think that's the case.

By the time lunch comes around, I'm unsure of where I'm going to sit. I don't want to be around Vivica and her toxic friends but I have nowhere else to go, really. My eyes scan the cafeteria once, twice, and three times before I notice Chelsea waving at me in the left, back corner of the large room. Should I just ignore her and pretend I didn't see her? But then where would I go? Hesitantly, I make my way over there, drawing eyes as I do. I let out a sigh. I wish I had spoken to someone, anyone, just so I wouldn't have to sit at my cousin's table. Today, I learned that she's popular, very popular. I just assumed that she was just a snob, but no, she's a very popular snob. So popular that she manages to split crowds just by entering a room. If that didn't make me uncomfortable, the way she's whispering at the table does.

I stop in my tracks, uncertain of whether or not I should actually go to the table. I can lie and say that I have to change my schedule, which is actually fine. I only have one class with Vivica and it's my first period class, which I can deal with. On Friday, when I was forced to hang out with Chelsea and Tracy, they demanded I give them my schedule. I have one class with Tracy and two with Chelsea, but I realized that she usually skips those classes. She said so in the car ride this morning, which I was also forced into taking.

As I stand a few feet from the table, I decide that I'll just leave. I hastily turn around and slam into someone. The loud cafeteria falls silent as the sound of two people colliding and falling to the ground wafts through the air. I hear a deep voice swear and I feel my face immediately warm up. I waste no time in formulating my apologies. I'm such an idiot. I was just standing in the middle of the cafeteria staring at the table like a doofus.

I stand up and look down at the guy that I bumped into. The ketchup that I retrieved for my fries is now a stain on his black uniform shirt. I continue to apologize as I look around for napkins; no one offers any. Instead, they all stare at us. By the tense aura of the room, I can tell that whoever I just bumped into isn't someone to be messed with. I'm guessing the people around us are expecting him to lash out at me by the way they stare at him, waiting for a reaction.

"I'm sorry," I apologize again when I can't offer him any napkins. My lunch lay abandoned on the floor, as does his unopened soda bottle. I immediately pick it up and hand it to him. He stares at my outstretched palm before grabbing the soda. His green eyes stare at me as I try to explain the situation.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bump into you. I was just going to go change my schedule. I didn't mean to embarrass you. If it's any comfort, I'm pretty embarrassed, too," I continue to rant as my cheeks become more and more red. When you're the only one talking, it gets pretty awkward. Especially when you have over two hundred listening ears. My words are practically echoing off the walls.

I may not know this guy, but I know enough to say that he's intimidating. His broad shoulders basically overshadow my entire existence. His tapering eyes and messy hair are the only things I cam focus on. My stomach is clenched and knotted as I stare up at his tall figure. I wouldn't be surprised if he stepped on me. In fact, I kind of wish he would.

He watches me with furrowed eyebrows. His eyes fall to his shirt and his jaw clenches slightly. "Watch where you're going," he hisses. It's barely audible but the words rattle around my head, bouncing from wall to wall. He's capable of making the four words sound like a threat. 

Without another word, he turns on his heel and exits the cafeteria. The breath I was holding is immediately released and I feel my stomach untie rapidly. I slowly make my way towards the lunch table I was avoiding once the janitors shoo me away from the dropped lunch.

I let out a slow. shaky breath as I sit down. The stress of that situation has wrecked my nerves. "You know who that was?" Chelsea asks with a smirk.

"Maddox Finnegan- the guy you're going to be asking to homecoming," Tracy grins proudly.

Can this day get any worse?

+ + +

Because I know his name and his face, Maddox Finnegan has popped up in two of my last few classes. During roll call, his name is called and he answers with a raise of his hand. I feel my stomach twist into yet another knot when the last period bell rings and I have to leave the safety of the classroom to wait at Vivica's car.

"You have to ask him now," Vivica informs me once I reach her vehicle. His car is parked directly beside Vivica's and he's leaning against it, as if waiting for someone. Chelsea and Tracy look at me expectantly.

"Can't I wait until he forgets about how I bumped into him today?" I ask in a quiet voice as I rub my inner elbow nervously.

"You either ask him now or you don't get a ride home," Vivica explains louder than I would've liked.

Had I made a friend with a car, this wouldn't have been a problem. The drive here was about twenty five minutes, so walking would probably be triple the time. And since I don't know the way, it'd probably take me hours to find my way back to Aunt Genevieve's. I stare at them in annoyance. I'd say something but they'd think I was refusing to do it. And I wouldn't get a ride either way.

I sigh. "He's going to say no and embarrass me...again," I concur as I glance over at him.

"You won't know until you try," Chelsea grins encouragingly. I could tell that that is what they wanted: my embarrassment. I scoff and look at the car beside ours. He's leaning on the driver's side door, talking to a group of people excitedly.

A guy says something to him and he laughs, which is something I didn't think he was capable of doing. At least he's in a better mood. I glance at my cousin, who looks unrelenting. "Can't I wait until the crowd disperses?"

"You have five minutes," she announces as she glances at her phone. Luckily for me, the group slowly thins out and instead of it being five people, it's only two: Maddox and a guy with blonde hair.

I slowly walk around his car and approach him nervously. My palms begin to sweat so I rub them against my skirt. His friend spots me first and nudges Maddox in the side. He glances up when his friend elbows him and turns his gaze on me. He takes on a threatening stance as if I'm going to throw all the condiments in the world at him. His shirt is changed into a white button up, another uniform option. I wonder what he did with the black one that I wrecked.

His friend mutters something to him before walking away and I let out a sigh of relief. The less people who see my embarrassment, the better.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize about earlier," I nod awkwardly as I stare at the floor. I feel his eyes on me and I nervously brush my hair from my face. I wait for a response but come up short so I look up, notice that he's staring at me, and immediately look down again. "I also have a question." I glance up at him and find him scrutinizing me. I look the other way and try to count the amount of seconds until my rejection. "You know what homecoming is, right?"

He didn't respond so I sigh. "This is like talking to a brick wall," I mutter as I kick at the gravel beneath my feet. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to go to homecoming with me," I inquire as I glance behind him. I watch as my cousin and her two friends hold their hands over their mouths as they snicker and laugh.

He peeks over his shoulder before looking back at me. My face is bright red and I can feel my palms growing sweatier and sweatier with each shaky breath I take. I really shouldn't stress it this much. I know he's going to say no. I don't want him to say yes. "Okay," he says in his semi-familiar deep voice.

"Well, I tried," I mutter before I suddenly go rigid. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said okay," he repeats as if annoyed.

"Okay as in...?" I ask as I quirk my eyebrows upward in slight shock.

"Okay as in I'll go with you," he responds. I peek over his shoulder and see Vivica's eyes widen as Chelsea and Tracy turn to look at her.

I simply nod a few times before walking around the car and back to Vivica, who looks angry. "Did he say yes?" she inquires even though she already knows the answer. I slowly nod, still shocked myself that he agreed. Her eyes narrow at the ground as her lips purse together.

"Uh, we can't give you a ride home. We have cheer-leading practice at a nearby school," Chelsea states and I stare at her, slightly stunned. Like clowns, they all pile into the car and speed out of the lot.

I swear under my breath as I take out my phone and dial my aunt's number. There's no response so I groan. I have no money for a cab, and even if I did, I don't even know the address. It's difficult to remember. My old one was simple: 12 Taverness Drive. This one has a list of numbers and I'm not sure if it's a lane or a drive or what.

Rubbing my eyes, I sigh and prepare to go into the office to ask where my aunt even lives. "They left you?" a low voice from behind me asks.

I turn around and nod, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah, they did," I mutter.

He looks hesitant as he bites his lip. "Do you need a ride?" he asks, appearing unsure as to whether or not he even feels up to giving me a ride.

I'm surprised at the fact that he asked me so I slowly nod. "Yeah."

"Come on," he grunts as he kicks off his car and opens the door for himself. I shuffle over to the side and tug open the door, in fear that he'll leave me if I tell him that I have to run inside for a minute to get my new homes' address.

As he starts the car, I grow curious. "Aren't you waiting for someone?" I wonder as I look back at the large building we were just released from.

"Nope," he concludes as he backs out of the parking space and drives out of the lot. "We have to stop and get gas."

"Okay," I nod at him.

As we reach the gas station, he gets out of the car. Before he closes the door, he leans forward and looks at me. "Don't touch anything."

"No promises," I murmur as I look around at the clean interior. He harshly stares at me and I roll my eyes. "I'm joking!" Maybe I shouldn't do that with him.

When he gets back into the car after filling up the tank, he turns to look at me. "What's your address?" he asks as he prepares to leave the lot.

"I don't know," I answer after a moment of trying to pull the location from thin air.

He stares at me and blinks a few times. I look back at him and awkwardly meet his eyes. He has very pretty eyes. The thought causes my face to burn so I avert my gaze and peer out the window. Hopefully he sums it up to me being embarrassed at his staring. He probably thinks I like him. I mean, I'd understand if he does. I asked him to homecoming and I barely know him. And whenever I look at him, I blush like an idiot.

"What do you mean you don't know?" he asks with slightly narrowed eyes as he drags me back to reality.

"I just came to live with my aunt on Friday," I clarify with a meek shrug. "I didn't have time to memorize the address."

"Do you even know the street name?" he questions in bewilderment.

"No. I just know that it is twenty five minutes from school...and the house is blue...and the number of the house has a five in it," I inform him as I purse my lips in thought. He stares at me before letting out an exasperated sigh. I try to think of something he may know. "Do you know where Vivica lives?"

"No, why would I?" he retorts with a slight scowl. I have a feeling that he doesn't like Vivica very much.

"Don't get an attitude with me! This is a particularly small town; I just assumed that people know people!" I respond as he parks the car outside of the gas station. "I think I might be able to retrace the drive from the school."

He sighs yet again and makes his way back to the school. I can tell he's thinking that I'm more trouble than I'm worth. I can't help but think that, too.

+ + +

Thirty minutes later and we're still driving around. "Left?" he wonders as he stops at another similar looking street.

"Yeah," I respond and he turns. "Wait, no! I meant right!"

He groans noisily and glares at me. I notice how his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. "I'm wasting gas on you," he repeats once again.

"I'll pay for it," I tell him for the third time.

I stare at my cell phone and see a response from my aunt. It's the address. I quickly read it out to him and he slowly turns to look at me. "We're a half hour away from there. You took us in the opposite direction of your house," he snaps with an irritated look on his face.

"I've been here for, like, three days, okay? I don't have the entire town memorized," I retort defensively. He glares at me and I sigh quietly. "How much do you need for the gas?" He doesn't respond and we sit in silence for a good block of time. As we get closer to the house, I turn to look at him. "You know, we don't have to go to homecoming together. I-I, uh, I was dared to go. I didn't expect you to say yes, and the girls didn't either. You probably have other stuff to do." He remains silent.

If every moment spent with him will be this tense, then I don't want to spend four straight hours with him. I wait for a response but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he keeps his eyes narrowed as he reads street signs. A few moments later, he pulls onto a recognizable street and slows down.

"Which house?" he questions me. I nod to the blue one at the corner, which is covered in wind chimes that are twinkling here and there. He pulls up to a stop in front of it. The white porch swing is empty, as is the driveway. Hopefully, my aunt's car is parked in the back. I don't like being home alone, especially in a house that isn't mine.

"I'll give you the gas money tomorrow. I'm not completely unpacked and my piggy bank is still in a box somewhere. Will ten dollars cover it?" I wonder as I look to him curiously. Again, he withholds his words so I awkwardly unbuckle my seatbelt. "Well, thanks," I mutter as I close the car door.

"Tell Vivian to lose my number," Maddox calls once I reach the sidewalk. I turn to him and nod. Vivica, I want to correct him but decide against it.

As I continue up the steps to the house, he yells out to me again. "What?" I respond as I turn around with a confused look on my face. He couldn't have said all this when I was still in the car within hearing range?

"Wear red," he repeats. I furrow my eyebrows as he drives off down the street.

Homecoming, I remember.

So he actually wants to go.