Halfway through the Miller family's morning prayer, Davina flinched. Her eyes flew open.

She glanced at her wrist for the disturbance.

Her younger brother's hoodie had brushed against her arm.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned to her with an apology in his dark brown eyes. She nodded and he closed his eyes to continue the prayer their mother was leading.

Davina glanced at him, suppressing her self loathing feelings that threatened to rise at his ease to return to their earlier activity after his attention was broken. Such could not be said for her; as soon as her eyes opened, her head had flooded with so many thoughts that demanded her attention.

She pressed her eyes shut and tried to listen to her mother's words.

Stop it, Davina. It's not David's fault.

Images of David and her parents accepting and accomodating her flashed through her mind. A small smile rose to her face and her mind cleared. The words her mother spoke began to make sense.

The remaining half hour of prayer flew by and Davina went up to her room to get ready for school.

As she came out of the shower, the sound of her soft ringtone filled the air and her best friend's face flashed across the screen.

"Hey, girl. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, you ready yet?" Jaiyana asked.

When Davina had moved newly to the state, her parents had scoured earnestly for schools that would take her in. Having been homeschooled all her life, Davina's parents thought that she needed to experience communication in a social setting. When she got to her school in the middle of tenth grade, it seemed that all the cliques were taken. If she had gone home that first day without even talking to anyone, the looks on her parents' face would have crushed her. So when Jaiyana West came to her with a smile and an outstretched hand, she had taken the offer without hesitation, glad that someone deemed her worthy to be a friend.

"You are ten minutes earlier than the time you normally call. Is there a problem?"

Jaiyana sighed. "I can't keep anything from you, can I? Paulina called me a few minutes ago. Her boyfriend broke up with her. I need to see her before class."

Davina frowned at the disturbance in her schedule even though Jaiyana could not see her. "Because you're a love shrink."

"Don't call me a love shrink!"

Davina couldn't tell whether Jaiyana was offended or amused through the phone.

"I'm sorry. When Ann called you a love shrink, you laughed."

Jaiyana let out a laugh. "I'm not offended, Davina. I'll see you in ten."

Davina ended the call before Jaiyana did. She was used to their conversations ending without Jaiyana saying goodbye. The last time she had ended a call with her physics lab partner without saying goodbye, the girl had marched up to Davina and gave her a piece of her mind for being rude. Davina's confusion fueled her partner's anger and it took Jaiyana's patient explanation to the both of them to clear out matters. Her lab partner had dutifully apologized but that didn't dispel the rumors of her abnormality that circulated the school.

"Davina. Breakfast," David said from outside the room.

She dressed and hurried down the stairs to the kitchen where her family sat.

"You're earlier than usual," her father commented with amusement. Her family always made light-hearted humor of her organized schedule.

"Jaiyana has a patient," Davina said.

"Her love shrink business?" David said and their parents burst into laughter.

"Very funny." A familiar voice said from the kitchen doorway. "I am not a love shrink."

"Jaiyana, your sense of time is very disturbing," Davina said, wondering how ten minutes became two.

Jaiyana shrugged. "Oh, no biggie. Just took shortcuts and ran a few headlights, that's all."

"Jaiyana!"

"Just kidding, Mrs Miller but Davi and I have to leave now."

Davina's mother's expression morphed into concern. "But breakfast-"

"I got Davina some in my car," Jaiyana said. As soon as Jaiyana gave her mother her 'puppy-dog' face, Davina stood up, knowing her mother was going to cave soon.

"Okay, fine." Her mother looked up at Davina who was about to leave the room. "Hey, I hadn't said yes yet."

"You always agree."

"Well, this is the last time," her mother replied with crossed arms.

Her father snorted into his coffee cup. His wife glared at him.

"Is something funny, Harry?" her mother asked.

Davina shut the front door behind her, drowning out her father's reply. When she got in the passenger seat, Jaiyana gave her five seconds to put on her noise cancelling headphones before speeding down the road.

Not surprisingly, they pulled up to school less than five minutes later, a journey that would usually take twelve minutes. Immediately Jaiyana parked, she rushed out of the car, leaving Davina to chase after her.

The outdoor field was empty around that time every morning after the football players finished their practice so Jaiyana's patients always met her on the bleachers or for the shy ones, under them.

As Davina caught up to Jaiyana, they saw a ball of flesh underneath the west side bleachers.

Jaiyana said something and ran. That was when Davina remembered she still had her headphones on. As she took them off, nature's noise began to slowly flood in with the school students' as a distant backdrop. She took a few tentative steps towards the other girls before righting herself and walking faster.

"H-he s-said he d-didn't want a r-relationship," Paulina cried.

"Who?" The question flew out of Davina's mouth before she could stop it.

"Leo."

That one name was enough to rid Davina of all interest she might have taken in that conversation. Having at least three girls come to Paulina every month about the same guy had gotten tiring.

As Jaiyana consoled the crying female, Davina began to watch two birds in the sky that flew in circles around each other, spinning in unison with them.

"...it's not your fault you liked him. You'll get over it."

Davina's logic flared.

"It's not his fault either," Davina blurted.

Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

Jaiyana gave Davina a look that was indecipherable. "You like him and I'm guessing you asked him out?"

Confusion added to Paulina's anger. "Yes. And?"

"Granted he's misguided and can be considered greedy or lustful for agreeing to your wish to date him, you knew his reputation before you asked him out. You're not the first girl this month that he's broken up with. This is also added to the fact that you might not hold romantic feelings towards him. There is a part of the average human to desire the unattainable and he is unattainable compared to the other males at this school. Is that correct?" Davina said in one breath.

Davina glanced at the other girls who was staring at her with her jaws dropped.

"Jaiyana, did I say something out of line?"

Paulina recovered first and blew out a breath, all the fight leaving her. "You really should never be a therapist, Aspie."

Aspie. That ridiculous nickname.

"But thank you." Paulina gave Davina a teary smile. "I needed that."

"You're welcome," Davina said and continued to play with the birds.

"Jaiyana," a loud unfamiliar voice said. Davina flinched and with shaky hands, reached for her headphones.

Before she could put them up, she heard a softer voice. "You idiot, I told you not to shout."

Out of curiosity, she turned around. At a distance too close for comfort stood the reason Davina had broken her schedule that morning, complete with his curly mass of brown hair and cheeky grin.

Leonardo Smith, the heartthrob of her high school.

Her eyes darted to the two boys who always walked with him, both handsome yet slightly inferior to their leader.

She took two steps back before looking up at him and seeing a smirk on his face.

"What should I say? Is hello too formal? Is hi too casual since we just met? Or should I refrain from speaking at all and let him steer the conversation?" she muttered to herself at a volume only she could hear.

She looked to where Paulina previously stood. The girl was gone.

"What's your name?" Leo asked, looking at her.

His intense staring unnerved her. Her eyes darted to a space above his head.

"Davina," she replied. "I've been meaning to talk to you but you always seem to be in a crowd."

"What are you doing?" Jaiyana hissed in her ear.

Davina turned to her. "I want to make your life easier."

She took advantage of Jaiyana's confusion and spoke. "Leonardo, I would like for you to stop breaking up with so many girls. Jaiyana's the school's resident love shrink and I hate disrupting my morning schedule because I am listening to different girls cry about the same guy."

Jaiyana facepalmed. Leonardo blinked, once, twice, then burst into laughter.

It was Davina's turn to blink in confusion. It had been a long time since anyone at their school except Jaiyana laughed at something she said. As much as Leonardo laughing warmed her, she could help but be confused at why he was laughing.

"Did I say something funny?"

Jaiyana just shook her head slowly in response.

"I like you. How don't I know you?" Leonardo said.

"Do you interact with anyone except your football friends and your harem of women?"

Leonardo flinched and swore.

"Language," Davina said.

Leonardo said. "Your words hurt me, Davina."

"I'm sorry, Leonardo," she hastily replied.

"I was joking."

"Oh."

"Aha! I remember," one of Leonardo's friends exclaimed.

All eyes turned to the shortest boy in the group, not that he was really short.

"I remember where I know you from," he continued. "There were rumors. People call you this weird name....um...A-something."

"Aspie," Jaiyana said with a glare. "If you call her that, I'll feed you to my uncle's piranhas."

The guy took a few steps back.

Leonardo looked at her with a questioning glance. "Aspie?"

"It's a nickname for my Asperger's," Davina replied.

"Asperger's?"

Davina maintained eye contact with him for a second. "I'm autistic."

***
That's chapter one.
I'd like to hear your thoughts.