"Tell me again how you smacked him," Tyler said, his feet dangling in the pool as he sat on the edge next to me. I laughed, leaning back onto my elbows as I looked up at him. I'd managed to pull myself together for a mere ten minutes' notice of my crush's arrival. Granted I wasn't looking nearly as fabulous as I had the night before (and my dark circles were a pain to cover up), but he didn't look too horrified when I'd opened the side door and snuck him into the house through the laundry room.

     "I said, 'you know what?' and just hauled off on him. It's a damn shame I wasn't wearing any rings. A scar would suit him," I said, smiling with satisfaction.

     "That's un-freakin-believable," Tyler grinned, shaking his head, "Madison Carlisle, bitch-slapper,"

     I hit him in the arm and he cocked an eyebrow, as if to say 'way to prove my point'. I laughed anew.

     "You didn't tell me how your Saturday went. Courtie said you qualified?" I asked, closing my eyes to bask in the weekend sun. When Tyler didn't answer, I opened my eyes to look at him. He was wearing that lopsided grin that made my stomach do somersaults as he looked down at me.

     "I won the title this morning," he said. His eyes never left me as I rocketed upright.

     "You won? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I demanded, throwing my arms around him to hug him congratulations. I had a million more questions to ask, like how were the waves and what kind of competition had he faced and what happens next, but when his arms closed around me my brain short-circuited.

     "Because I wanted to tell you in person," he said into my hair. A kaleidoscope of butterflies erupted in my stomach and I couldn't help but smile against his chest.

     "Congratulations," I said, my voice little more than a whisper as I pulled back to look at him. His arms were still around me when our eyes met, only for his to drop to my lips.

     This was it. It would be perfect, I could already feel it.

     "What part of you're grounded did you fail to understand!"

     My mother's shrill shout echoed from the back door of the house and I pushed free from Tyler, springing to my feet. The patio door slid open and my mother emerged, teetering in high heels and obviously dressed to go out. Her arms were crossed and her face was puce as her eyes raked over Tyler.

     "Come on!"I whispered, dragging Tyler up. I yanked his hand and ran as fast as my flip flops would carry me towards the side gate.

     "Madison Isabelle Carlisle you come back here right now!" my mother screamed, her heels clicking against the stone of the pool deck as Tyler and I careened around the side of the house. He nearly ran into me as I struggled to open the gate, finally yanking the latch free and pushing him through before me.

     "Are you sure you want to do this?" Tyler asked, as I ran towards his car.

     "I'm already grounded, what more can they do?" I shrugged, a reckless smile on my face. His answering grin was a lot more hesitant, but he unlocked his car anyway. We'd both slid into our seats and he had the engine started by the time my mother made it to the gate. Our eyes met before Tyler reversed out and sped down the driveway, my mother's angry words lost on the wind.

     I let out a whallop of glee as we turned onto the road, not daring to look back.

     "Ok escape artist, where to?" Tyler asked, laughing at me.

     "The beach, where else?" I said, shooting him a smile. His eyes softened as he turned back towards the road.

*****************

     I was lucky I wasn't kicked out of my parents' house. I'd spent the rest of the afternoon with Tyler at the beach, roaming the boardwalk and sharing snacks. He'd won me a plush whale at one of the carnival game booths, a feat it had taken him no less than five rounds to accomplish. But the fun was cut short when a text from Brett punctuated the barrage of ignored calls from my mother.

     Friendly heads up: you no longer have a working credit card and they're calling the phone company now. Where are you?

     My heart had sunk at reading it and when I replied, Brett told me to stay where I was. Tyler had offered to drive me home, but I had a feeling I was in for an even worse lecture when I got home. I didn't want him to be caught in the middle of my parents' wrath again, especially with the way my mom had looked at him out by the pool.

     So Tyler had waited with me on of the benches by the boardwalk, his arm draped casually along the seat behind me as we looked out at the waves. I was sleepy from spending so much time in the sun, my skin no doubt freckled from the afternoon. But I didn't care. I leaned my head back against his arm, the stuffed whale clutched in my arms. I wanted days like this to last forever.

     "You've really done it this time," Brett said, poking his head out his window and not even bothering to switch off the engine. I craned my neck to look at him, but his face was unreadable behind his aviators.

     "I'm the baby, gotta love me," I said, stretching out as Tyler stood and offered me a hand up.

     "You might not want to try that one today," Brett said, "Come on, before they decide to ground me too just out of spite,"

     He rolled his window up and motioned for me to get on with it.

     "Thanks for today," I said, tearing my eyes away from my brother to look up at Tyler.

     "We'll do it again soon, princess," he said, smiling, "But hopefully next time won't involve an escape from the Carlisle mansion,"

     "After today I'm probably grounded for the rest of high school," I said ruefully, "But at least now you know how to break me out,"

     "Just say when," Tyler smiled, opening the car door for me. We paused, staring at each other, but my brother drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. I sighed as Tyler cleared his throat, taking a step back from me.

     "See you tomorrow," he said, closing the door as I slid on the seatbelt.

     "You realize they're never going to let you see him again, right?" Brett asked, as we backed out of the parking spot. My eyes never left Tyler.

     "Good thing they probably don't remember his name," I replied. Brett grinned.

     We drove home in silence, my arms slowly crushing the plush whale as we approached the house. I knew I was in for it, but I'd never pissed my parents off this badly before. Brett had warned me that they'd frozen my credit cards and cell phone service, but I had no idea what the retaliation would be for me running off with Tyler.

     "Who was that boy?" my mother demanded the moment I stepped through the door. Dad was nowhere to be found, his car gone from the driveway. I'd assumed he'd run off to golf and let my mom deal with the unruly teenaged daughter.

     "He's a drug addict who's slowly introducing me to crystal meth," I replied, as Brett dashed up the stairs, away from the fallout. My mother's hands were shaking in fists at her sides.

     "What has happened to you, Madison? You used to want the right things and now you've gone and wrecked everything!" she shrieked, advancing towards me in her towering heels. I stood my ground, staring her down.

     "Because what you think are the right things are actually the stupidest, shallowest, most ridiculous things in life," I retorted. She actually bared her teeth at me.

     "Go to your room. You're not to leave this house except for school!" she shouted, pointing at the stairs. I shrugged, knowing that was the exact move that would enrage her even more. She made an angry noise in her throat before the front door slammed and her car roared to life in the driveway. I paused at the top, watching through the curved window above the door as she tore down the driveway, off to wherever she went to blow off her anger.

     Brett let out a low whistle from behind me, emerging from the hallway.

     "I bet they thought the tough part was over when I stopped acting out," he said, peering out the window after mom's car, "Little did they know,"

     "Oh whatever," I scoffed, "So I slapped Will and went to the beach with Tyler. It's not like I'm gunning for 16 and pregnant or dealing drugs out of my locker!"

     "Don't push them too hard, Maddie," he said, clapping a brotherly hand on my shoulder, "Because they may threaten to send you to Kingsley Prep. That's the what they held over me that finally ended my sophomore year rebellion,"

    I shuddered, thinking back to the horrible bimbos at Will's party, Kinglsey students every one of them.

*************

     "Earth to Maddie," Tyler said, giving me a nudge. I groaned sleepily, looking up from where my head rested on my arm as I lazily scribbled swirls on my lab sheet.

     "Pass the beaker sleepyhead," Tyler said. I sighed and sat up, yawning as I handed him the clean glassware.

     "Okay, where are we," I said, squinting at my lab sheet as I tried to figure out what Tyler had been doing while I attempted to catch up on lost sleep. My parents had yelled at me again as a team when they'd both returned from wherever they'd gone out to. The shouting match had lasted until nearly midnight, resulting in the confiscation of my cell phone, keys, and credit cards. I'd handed them all over willingly, knowing they had no clue my iPad's iMessage function would negate any damage a missing cell phone could do to my social status.

     "It's okay, I'm almost done," Tyler said, filling the beaker with some distilled water. I yawned despite myself yet again.

     "I really owe you one," I moaned, lying my head back down on my arms.

     "Not really, since I'm assuming your late night is because of me kidnapping you," Tyler said, shooting me a sideways grin. I smiled despite myself.

     "I've named our whale," I said, still grinning like an idiot.

     "Our whale?" Tyler chuckled.

     "His name is Flipper," I replied huffily. Tyler laughed in earnest.

    "He's a whale, not a dolphin! Did your brain suddenly go blonde from lack of sleep?" Tyler joked. I groaned, forcing myself to sit up so I could whack him in the shoulder. He dodged with a grin while I glanced down at his nearly complete lab sheet. I was leaning over to start copying his answers when there was a crash and an explosion of laughter from Ethan and Dakota's lab bench. On the desk before them, the test tube assembly was fizzling over with green foam.

     "Hey! Unauthorized experiments are not permitted in this lab!" Mr. Grant thundered, exploding out of his office as the stench reached him, "Whoever that was, you are out!"

     "No problem sir," Ethan said, with a little mock salute as he and Dakota got their stuff together and left the classroom, giggling. I couldn't help but sneer. I'd checked my messages all morning using my iPad and even borrowed Courtney's phone that morning to dial into my voicemail, but Ethan had never replied to the message I'd left him.

     "Dumbass," I hissed under my breath.

     "Great, now the whole room smells like an atomic fart!" Tyler said, waving his hand in front of his face. I giggled beside him.

     "Just a little present for my two favorite people in the whole world!" Dakota trilled as she passed us. She shot me the finger, but Mr. Grant didn't see because he was too busy moving the exploding test tube into the fume hood.

     "Keep it moving Mary Jane," I snapped, lifting my eyebrows and consulting my lab sheet as if anything were more important than Dakota, "Nice to see you still have the maturity of a 2nd grader. Tell me, did that help or hinder when you pled insanity for the drug case?"

     "Oh shut it Barbie!" she snarled.

     "Barbie, huh? I didn't know pot affected originality too," I said, smiling as sweetly as I could. Dakota was about to snarl something back and I was half-sure she was about to lunge at me when Ethan grabbed a hold of her wrist. Tyler shifted beside me, angling himself between me and Ethan.

     "Leave it," Ethan said to Dakota, shooting me a loaded look, "You know as well as I do she won't amount to anything more than what daddy's money can buy her,"

     There was a shocked silence throughout the entire lab. Well, part of the lab. The other part was just quiet anyway. I opened my mouth, but I could do nothing but gape like a fish. There was a scuffle of motion beside me and before I knew what had happened, Tyler was off his lab stool, his face an inch from Ethan's.

     "Nobody says shit like that about Madison and gets away with it," Tyler growled. Once again, my own words never came. Of everything I could've expected to happen, I would never have predicted Tyler getting all amped and defensive. If anything, he was the gentlest and least aggressive of the A-Listers, but here he was about to take Ethan down.

     "Hey! Mr. Wheeler, I told you to get out of my class!" Mr. Grant roared, swooping in to avert the confrontation.

     "Say what you want, pretty boy," Ethan snapped, pushing Dakota towards the door, "I'd take you any day,"

     "Oh yeah? I could take you in stilettos and a bustier and still kick your ass," I snapped, leaping to my feet next to Tyler. Ethan said nothing but rolled his eyes as he disappeared out of the classroom and Mr. Grant slammed the door behind him. When he turned back around, he surveyed the class with a scowl before barking at us all to get back to work.

     "Ethan's a bastard," I muttered, sitting back down.

      "There is no way that guy is getting away with that," Tyler said, angrily snatching a beaker and spilling half of its contents.

     "It's fine, he'll get what's coming to him. Especially if he keeps hanging out with that lot," I said, my temper cooling faster than Tyler's as I mopped up the spill.

     "No, Maddie, that's where you're wrong. It's not fine. You don't need to sit there and take it when people dish it out!" Tyler said, slamming his fist on the counter in frustration. My hand shot out and came to rest upon his.

     "Tyler just calm down," I said, "He's just a jealous moron. And besides, I shot some right back at him." Tyler's hand seemed to relax beneath mine.

     "He's just such a presumptuous jerk," Tyler said finally, "Half the guys are ready to pound him into a pulp already,"

     "What? Why?" I asked.

     "Because he's the new kicker. The football team hates him, or so Brad tells me," Tyler said.

     "What happened to Justin Fischer? He was playing at the exhibition, wasn't he?" I asked.

     "Nah, Justin moved this summer. It was that Wheeler kid, they just gave him Justin's old number," Tyler said. The bell rang and I hastily copied Tyler's numbers to hand in my data sheet.

     "No way," I breathed, totally incredulous. Ethan. Playing football. How could he have all the makings of an A-lister and yet be such a pompous, A-hating jerk? A jerk being an A was no surprise – case in point Will Dawson, among others – but someone who was trying so hard to do everything right was usually attempting to climb the social ladder. Danielle Burke should've taken notes, because Ethan's clothes, hair, physique, and extra-curriculars were all the right ingredients to be a part of the popular crew and if he hadn't been such an ass on his first day, he'd probably have effortlessly joined the group.

*************************

     After school that day, I made my way towards Brett's car, prepared to grill him about why he hadn't said anything about the new kid being on his varsity team. To my dismay, the car was empty so I leaned against the side and dug through my purse for my phone. With a wince, yesterday came back in a rush and I remembered it was securely locked up next to my car keys in my parents' safe. I sighed as I pulled out my sunglasses and looked around the rapidly emptying parking lot and quad. I'd give him ten minutes before I went prowling around to figure out where he had gotten to.

     "Hey, Maddie!" the voice turned my head to where Vicky Carrington was sauntering towards her car, three other senior A girls in tow. I forced an automatic smile, wondering what Brett's girlfriend wanted with me.

     "Hey Vicky, girls," I said, acknowledging them. Vicky Carrington, Crystal Mackenzie (Jordan's gorgeous but slightly dumb girlfriend), Melody Jiang (the sexy Asian student council member everybody knows and loves), and, last but definitely least, Amber MacIntyre (Katie's uber-slutty older sister) were striding towards me. Now, I had no problem with Vicky, Crystal, and Mel - heck, they're actually quite nice to me because I'm Brett's sister - but Amber is just a snotty bitch.

     "God, Vicky I really need to get home. Do we really have to chat with juniors?" Amber whined as they approached, shooting me a blatant once over. I pushed off the car and crossed my arms, returning her stare.

     "Shut up Amber," Mel said, rolling her eyes, "So how are ya Maddie?"

     "Fine, thanks. Just waiting for Brett," I said, meeting Vicky's eyes with a smile. Vicky treats me a littler nicer because I'm Brett's little sister, but sometimes I get the feeling that if I was any other junior A she wouldn't care one bit.

     "You know he hs football today, right?" Vicky said, her perfect eyebrows furrowing slightly.

     "Oh no way," I sighed, glancing at the car and only then seeing a note on the windshield. Three words were scrawled on it:

Maddie - Football. Sorry

     "I'd offer you a ride but we're full up already," Vicky shrugged, digging her keys out of her purse, "I guess I'll see you later,"

     The rest of the girls chorused their goodbyes, Amber's smug grin firmly fastened in place as they sauntered towards Vicky's car. Once they'd all piled in, Vicky's engine roared as they took off out of the parking lot, the convertible's top down as the girls squealed with glee. I watched them leave, feeling utterly excluded. As far as A-Listers went, Victoria Carrington was probably the worst. Anyone else in my shoes would probably be frantically racking their brain for something they'd done to offend Her Highness, but I recognized it as just another play to remind me I'm nothing but an insignificant junior.

     I watched them leave before I cast my eyes around the rest of the parking lot. Brandon's car was still parked, as were most of the footballers', but Tyler's Jetta was gone as was Courtney's Lexus. Blowing out my cheeks, I resigned myself to killing time until Brett's practice was over, breaking into his locker for his car keys or walking home. Glancing down at the ballet flats I'd picked over a pair of heels this morning, I chewed my lip. I'd probably ruin them or at least scuff them up walking home, but then again did I really want to spend over an hour watching drills knowing Ethan was among them? 

     My feet took off of their own accord. Unfortunately, the fastest way home was straight by the football field and I couldn't help but look over to where the team was practicing. They were running suicides as Danielle led her cheerleaders in a particularly raunchy routine. I didn't miss the sultry faces she'd make every time the line of guys made it back to her side of the field, snorting when she waggled her butt at Brandon when he reached the sideline and took off back the other way, barley sparing her a glance. I mentally thanked Deanna for excluding her, because I'm not sure I could've handled her being permanently attached to Brandon's side.

     I frowned as I walked, seizing that last thought and laying it out to pick over. Obviously Danielle was annoying, but why should it bother me if she was after Brandon? Because he doesn't like her, a part of my mind rationalized, while an uncomfortable, blunt part of me whispered because you want his attention. I heaved my purse higher on my shoulder, shaking my head to clear it. Brandon had always given me more attention than the rest of the Junior A's because he knew me best. Hell, he'd known me when I was a fat little elementary schooler hell bent on sneaking food into my room. And I didn't want his attention, I wanted Tyler's. Conversations with Brandon rarely progressed past the mundane, while Tyler and I could talk an afternoon away without even noticing.

     I pored over that little situation for most of the walk home, until a horn blared and yanked me from my thoughts as a car slowed next to me. I'd made it more than halfway home into the center of town, my feet sore and blistered from all the walking.

    "Your brother has been looking all over for you," Brandon grinned, his Ray Bans glinting in the late afternoon sunlight, "He's probably still running around the school trying to find you,"

     "Serves him right for trying to make me wait," I said as he pulled to a halt next to me.

     "Get in, princess," Brandon said, reaching over to push the car door open. I slid into the seat next to him, my aching feet savoring the relief as I sat.

     "You're a lifesaver," I said, leaning back in the chair as he pulled away from the curb and drove on.

    "You know me, high schooler by day, superhero by night," he grinned. I punched his arm and he reached over to rumple my hair in retaliation.

     "Watch it! I have a rep to keep up, I can't be seen with crazy hair!"I squealed, batting him away. Brandon chuckled.

    "You seriously don't need to worry about that Maddie. I mean, to me just being you is enough," he said, shooting me a sidelong glance. A sidelong glance saturated with something I couldn't quite place.

    Whoa.

     Whoa there. Brandon just hit on me.

    "Oh, shut up you!" I managed, forcing an airy laugh. I felt totally awkward, especially with all those thoughts from my walk rolling around in my head.

     "So...Kyle's place on Friday?" Brandon asked. I felt a little jolt. Was he asking me out now?!

     Oh wait...right. It's probably a party. I hoped.

    "Sure thing," I said, my voice a little higher than usual. I wanted nothing than to just get out of the car. I mean, it's one thing that he'd hit on me, but quite another that he was inviting me to a party right after. Honestly, Brett was going to get an earful. All of this could've been avoided if he'd just left me his keys or something.

     "It's a varsity soccer party and Kyle's tight with the captain of the team they're playing Friday, so chances are it won't be an exclusive Clairview party," Brandon continued, oblivious to my uncomfortable squirming. What he really meant was that it would be a party filled with plenty of hyped, half-drunk senior guys from both Clairview and wherever the other team came from with a relatively low concentration of girls.

     "Are any juniors invited?" I asked, realizing I'd never been invited to a soccer party before. I mean, football parties are for anyone who feels like going, but soccer? I didn't even know soccer after-parties existed.

     "That's the thing," Brandon said, turning into my driveway, "Don't spread the word too far. We don't want select, ah, characters turning up," he said cryptically. The weirdness factor took a monumental leap. He was inviting me to a seniors-only party.

     "Do any of the juniors even know about it?" I asked. Brandon smiled and shook his head slowly. I felt my stomach give a little jump as he fixed his blue eyes on me.

     "Don't worry. Vicky, Mel, and Crystal wanted you there. They asked me to invite you," he said. I frowned, stumped by this sudden turn of events after Vicky's clear snub before. She certainly knew how to keep someone guessing.

     "Oh, okay. Well...thanks for the ride," I said, slipping out of the car in a state of utter confusion.

     "Anytime Maddie!" Brandon said, then with a little wave tore off down the driveway. I stood fixed in place as I tried to figure out the jumble of mixed signals Brandon had sent during that short, but emotionally complex ride home.