I walked into English class early and grabbed my normal seat by the window. I gazed out and watched all the other, younger college kids make their way to class. I couldn't believe we were soon going to be entering the big wide adult world and not have the comfort of college and friends any more. Despite only being here a short time, I really liked it. Most people were really nice and there was an oddly comforting feeling when you were here, like you were looked out for and protected. I did miss my old school though, and the friends I'd left behind...

"Hey." A voice pulled me from my thoughts. I whipped my head round to see Conor sitting next to me.

"Hi." I smiled, which he mirrored instantly.

"Sorry I had to run off earlier, I felt really rude..."

"It's fine!" I said before he finished. "You're looking out for your friend, who by the sounds of it is having a stressful time at the moment!" I let out a comforting smile which he retaliated again.

"That's exactly it. Despite what everyone thinks, this is actually quite stressful for Liam." He sighed.

"So why do it?" I questioned, he moved around uncomfortably for a second before he answered.

"I-I can't say." He said. "I would, but I can't." He looked apologetically at me. I mouthed that it was fine just as the teacher came in. Conor quickly got up and made his way to his seat at the back of the room.

The class was okay, we were focussing on revising for our exam later on in the month. The teacher pretty much just sat reading a book that had nothing to do with our class while we kept our heads down. Half the class time went by before Urwa, another student, raised her hand.

"Can we not study in groups or something? I'm not concentrating very well doing it like this." Other students murmured in agreement and the teacher merely nodded. Everyone suddenly got up and scraped their chairs and tables to join with other students, all getting together with their friends to gossip and talk. Only two people remained by themselves... Me and Conor. I sat with my head down, desperate to finish reading the final book we had to for our exam; I was only two chapters from the end and could complete it in no time if everyone would just quieten down a bit!

"Conor..." A popular girl in our class, Katelyn, called out over the general hubbub of the classroom. He looked up and over to her with an eyebrow raised. "You can come and sit with us if you want?" She patted the table as if to beckon him over.

"I'm fine here, thanks." He rolled his eyes as he looked back down at his textbook. You could see she looked taken aback by his answer but looking at her friends, who all nodded and smiled at her, she continued.

"I can help you with your work." She said with an almost seductive tone. He sighed and rested his head in his hand, trying to block her out. "I think we need to talk anyway..."

"I can't help you get a date with Liam." He said, looking glum. He looked up and caught my eye but looked back down at his book quickly.

"Why not? You're his best friend! Surely you can talk to him!" She began pleading. "I've given him lifts to college before and gave him a birthday present - he'd better not leave me out of the list!" By now she was glaring over at him, her friends all staring over too. Conor continued to stare down at his book, trying not to give anything away. What was this going to solve? Was this how all the popular girls were being?

"Why don't you speak to Liam then?" I piped up unexpectedly. I never spoke in class, just kept my head down and worked. I could feel all the glares focus on me but I kept looking at my book. "If you want Liam to put you on his list go and pester him instead of Conor."

"Who asked you?" Katelyn snapped at me, her eyes bore into the back of me.

"No one. But no one wants to listen to you beg your way to a date with Liam either." I spat. Her jaw dropped as she looked at Conor and at me.

"Thanks Leah." Conor looked over to me and smiled. "You want to study with me?" I nodded and picked my book up, walking over to his table and sitting next to him.

"Who even is she?" "She's sucking up to Conor to get a date with Liam." "Can you believe her?" the girls began to whisper about me the moment I sat down.

"Just ignore them, they'll get tired of it eventually." He whispered, turning the page of his book.

"Do they? I'm pretty sure they have a daily quota to keep up with." I said with a smirk on my face.

"I've hung out with these kinds of people too much. Liam always seems to date popular girls. Trust me, they tire out eventually and move onto the next thing." He replied with honesty. A small silence ensued as we just stared at each other, smiles growing with every passing moment.

The bell rang to signify the end of the lesson and everyone packed up quickly, shuffling out of the room to their next class. Conor and I made our way out of the classroom together and stopped just outside the door.

"Hey, thanks again for that." He said, pointing towards the room.

"Honestly don't worry. I hate when people act irrationally. I can't stand by and let it happen." I let out a small breathy laugh. "Sorry if it seemed like you couldn't speak for yourself." I shrugged. "I just need to voice my opinions a lot!" Conor laughed and nodded.

"I noticed that. And, don't worry, I appreciated the gesture." I looked away shyly as he answered and didn't notice Liam appearing beside Conor, with a hand on his shoulder, until he spoke.

"Conor you weren't getting in trouble again, were you?" Liam laughed, nudging him. Conor laughed as a response and shook his head.

"Nah, Leah just helped tame some brats." He said, still smiling. Liam's smile faded quickly upon hearing that.

"Ah man, I'm sorry. I didn't realise this was going to be so hard on you. I should have kept my mouth shut." Liam sighed, rubbing his hand through his short, black hair.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Conor patted his shoulder sympathetically. "And I've got help." He said, a smirk falling on his face as he looked over at me.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Liam smiled as he turned to me and held out a hand. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Liam."

"Leah." I said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."