Seth didn't believe in luck. At least not in good luck anyway. His life had been nothing short of drama and bad luck and ever since his father left, he stopped believing in wishes coming true altogether because they simply didn't exist.

He didn't believe in crushes or love at first sights often depicted in romantic movies either. Perhaps that's why he hated those kind of things; romantic scenes taking up a whole hour in a movie which is supposed to be action packed. He always found it foolish that the brave hero sworn to fight for his people and save them will fall for the charms of a beautiful heroine and die for her in end; only to have the heroine wail in the movie for a good thirty minutes which always—always for some inexplicable magical reason raise the hero back to life.

There was nothing more annoying than watching a Van Damme movie—expecting him to fight the villain and have him glance back at his supposed beloved and gaze or kiss her for a good three minutes before pouncing on the villain. As if her face and kiss was a courage potion he needed to go on. And the villains. . . .?

Aren't all villains supposed to be cruel, impatient, no–nonsense and unforgiving characters that exudes evil?

Then why do they stand there and watch while the hero make out with the heroine? Or is it that the villains also crave love?

He had thought all this was foolish. Good luck, crushes strong enough for even boys to miss out on soccer practices and heroes always staring at the heroines as if they are their very air, their only reason for survival.

But now, walking beside Rebecca, having her so close that he could smell the sweet caramel cologne she used and her arm constantly brushing against his, he understood why heroes tended to act foolish. Why even boys reacted the way they react around their crushes. Why good luck still existed.

Because he couldn't stop glancing at her at every opportunity that arises. He dared not speak for her to notice her arm brushing up against his and move away. Because it was sheer damn luck that their paths have crossed. Ireland and the United States. Who would have thought?

"I thought you said the school is close to our neighbourhood. Then why do I feel an ache in my legs as if I have walked a thousand miles?" Rebecca asked.

Seth blinked at her, "What did you say?" He hadn't exactly been paying attention at the moment. He was too busy watching the way her orange hair gleamed in the sunlight.

Rebecca laughed and nudged him, "Are you here with me?"

"Of course I am," he said. "I just. . . . I'm just a little bit distracted." He admitted.

"Are you distracted because of me?"

Seth stopped in his tracks. He looked back at her in utter shock. She couldn't possibly know what he was thinking or what his gazes say when he looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Becky flushed bright red and looked away, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Don't worry, I was just joking." They continued down the path to school in silence. There was a tension that Seth strongly believed shouldn't be there. Maybe if he hadn't been looking at her too much, she wouldn't have suspected it. And how could he possibly tell her he had a crush on her?

"Finally," Becky sighed in relief and rubbed her shoulders. Seth didn't know how she could be cold in this warm weather but he suspected Ireland must be much colder than the United States. He advised her to take a jacket with her the next time as they passed the security guard. There was still an hour before class so Seth showed Rebecca around the school. He showed her his class first before he took her to the library, the canteen, the track field, the sports grounds, the swimming pool where they usually practice swimming in Physical Education classes and finally the science laboratory. But even after showing her everything, Rebecca still pleaded with him to take her to the canteen at lunch.

Seth laughed and grabbed her arms gently to stop her from begging, "Don't worry. I will be there. Just wait for me in your class and I come pick you up. I will do that every single day until you get used to the school surroundings."

She blushed at his hands on her arms. Seth immediately stepped back, hiding a blush of his own as he glanced around, looking for nothing in particular. "Thanks. I don't know what I will do without you here."

Her words made his heart flutter. "You're welcome." The bells chimed just then, signaling the start of classes. "Go to your class. We will meet at lunch."

* * *

Seth kept his promise. When the mathematical class ended and the bells rang for lunch, he and Josh headed for Rebecca's class. She was waiting in front of her classroom, arms crossed on her chest. When she saw him, a bright smile lit her face. Seth couldn't help but smile back. After he introduced Josh and Rebecca to each other, the three of them went to the canteen for lunch. When they were settled around a table, Seth asked her, "So how was your first day at class?"

Becky gave a pout but Seth thought it was cute. "Not good. Some of them laughed at my accent and I almost lost my temper. But the teacher, Mrs. Robinson was so nice that my nerves calmed automatically. By the way, she loved my orange hair and she promised to help me catch up on her lessons."

Josh nodded, taking a bite of his fries. "Mrs. Robinson and Sir Edwin are the only nice teachers around here. Others are just plain mean, obnoxious, ill-tempered and some are just jealous of their students. Especially the female ones."

"Really," Rebecca asked.

"Yes. I remember one party we had last year, a teacher kicked a girl out of the party because she claimed the girl had dressed too much," Seth said.

"She was jealous that Mercedes looked more beautiful than her own daughter Wendy so she purposely kicked Mercedes out so that Wendy can be crowned 'Queen of the night'. Typical mother and daughter. Wendy is just mean. And oh, she is in your class so watch out," Josh added with a smirk.

Seth held his hands up in Becky's defense, "Hey, don't scare my friend because you can't. She is fire don't forget that. Why do you think her hair is orange?" They all laughed and Rebecca chuckled out her thanks.

After lunch, school passed quickly much to Seth's delight. Rebecca was in a much better mood when he saw her again. Since there wasn't any pressure to go home early, Seth showed her around town but not too far from school or their houses. Rebecca was a fast learner so Seth didn't bother himself giving her any more directions to the coffee shop behind the school or to the library at school. He still accompanied her to the supermarket after school though to buy groceries and help her with the cooking.

He wasn't a fan of vegetarian food but Rebecca's food was too delicious to pass over and order pizza. After weeks of having her around; going to school with her each morning, having lunch with her and doing their assignments together, Seth began to dread Saturdays because that was the only day he didn't get to see her.

So he cherished the moments when he got to spend time with her. She had a great sense of humour just like Annette. Seth remarked it must be part of the Irish heritage. He earned a hard slap to the arm from Rebecca, making him yelp in feigned pain.

"That was supposed to be a compliment to all Irish people," he complained. "I didn't deserve that."

Becky shook her head, laughing. "Say that to my father. He always complains he doesn't have a great sense of humour like my mother and I. My mother teases him a lot for it."

Seth could detect the sadness dripping from her voice, "You miss him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. But it is all for the best. Ireland will only accept me once I accept myself."

He thought her words sounded ominous but he didn't press. All in due time, he thought. He had to earn her trust first. The last thing he wanted is to spoil their friendship and make things awkward between them. He reached for the donuts but Rebecca kept it away yet again, "I'm hungry Becks," he groaned, reaching for the it again.

"No you don't, Mr. Lopez. We promised to eat and do our assignments together, remember?"

Seth rolled his eyes, "Fine. So which one this time? Your house or mine?"

Becky bit her bottom lip, "Well I was thinking. . . ."

"I know," he cut her off, his brown eyes all excited. "My house. Then I can finally show you my room."

Becky chuckled nervously, "Your room?" He looked confused so she raised her eyebrows for more effect.

Seth blushed, embarrassed. "No Becks, that's not what I meant. I wouldn't suggest that. We have only known each other for two weeks. And. . . . we. . . . we are young and. . . ."

"Seth, calm down. I should be the one embarrassed for assuming such a thing. I know we haven't known each other for long but I trust you and I know you wouldn't do anything I wasn't comfortable with." She paused to look at her fingers, "We are friends."

"We are?" Seth asked, stepping closer to her, their noses almost brushing.

She smiled up at him, her green eyes twinkling like tiny, shiny stars. "Yes. I mean we hang out a lot. Hell, I spend more time with you than I do with my mother.

He conceded, "Same here but that's probably because they aren't home until six or seven in the evening and we have the whole morning and afternoon to spend with each other."

"Still, I feel comfortable with you. I felt comfortable enough to tell you I love wrestling."

"And dogs." He suddenly recalled the day he had found out she liked dogs. Not only does she like them but she wants to own one someday. Seth had in turn confided in her that he had a dog once but the poor, little puppy died of cold and fever when he went missing. The door had been locked and Holly was out looking for him so the dog had unfortunately laid outside while it rained. Seth arrived later that night to find his dog cold and feverish. He died the morning after. Now they were saving to buy a new dog together.

Becky smiled at the memory. "And dogs." She held his gaze longer than she should. Seth had an overwhelming need to kiss her and bite the lips she was biting at the moment but he suppressed the desire. "I trust you. I feel comfortable with you, I'm happy with you so yeah, we are friends."

Giddiness danced in his belly. "Tell me," he whispered, wanting to get closer but another step and his lips will crash down on hers. "Tell me. Say my name and tell me I'm your friend. Say it Rebecca."

She gasped softly, eyes drinking into his own as her shoulders tensed. "Mr. Colby Lopez, will you be my friend?"

Seth smiled. He loved the sound of his real name on her lips. He stretched out his hand to her, "Mrs. Rebecca Quinn, will you be my friend?"

Setting the donuts down, she took his hand and shook it. "Friendship accepted, Mr. Lopez."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Quinn. Fancy getting to know you." They burst into laughter, laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. Hand in hand, they jogged down the street to the house, feeling contented and happy. Seth opened the door and dragged her into his room. He left the door open so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

Becky stared at the posters of WWE Superstars on the wall, most of them of Stone Cold Steve Austin. But there were others of Bret Hart, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle and many others. But there were even more pictures of Stone Cold Steve Austin: wrestling another opponent, a title on his shoulder or hitting a stunner. Seth showed her games he had of WWE, the T-shirts he had bought secretly and told her about the wrestling school. "What wrestling school," Becky asked as they sat on the floor in his room. She spread the donuts beside them as they took out their home works. "I didn't know you had one here."

"Yeah, we do."

Becky gestured to the WWE posters on the wall, "Is that where you get the posters and the T-shirts?"

Seth shook his head, "No, my mother forbids me from going there. My friend Josh is the one that gets to go to WWE events with his father. He buys the posters which he gifts to me for free but I always insist on buying the T-shirts so whenever he has one to spare—especially Steve Austin's own—I buy them." Becky handed him a donut, "I want to show you something."

Becky's ears perked up, "What is it?"

Seth placed the donut aside and retrieved a small piggy bank from under his bed. The body of the piggy bank had drawings all over it with writings in bold ink; Burn It Down. He set the piggy bank in front of her. "Josh is the only one who knows about this and now you."

Her eyes looked grateful as they bore into his. She touched the piggy bank softly, reverently. "You save for the wrestling school?"

"And for the dog we want to buy too," he reminded her. "My father bought this for me on my fifteenth birthday, just two years ago. He is the only one that has ever understood my desire to wrestle and he encouraged me to save up what little I can and when the right time comes, he will support me if the money isn't enough."

"Your father is a very wise man," she said. She frowned up at him then, "How are you saving for your wrestling school and the dog. . . . no, no, no Seth. Forget about the dog thing."

"Hey, but you are also saving up for that. I should also do the same and that is exactly what I'm doing. There is nothing wrong with it."

"I agree there isn't anything wrong with buying a dog but the wrestling school and your dreams should come first." She sighed and handed him the piggy bank, "Again, forget about the dog. It isn't important."

He took her hand in his and insisted, "But I want us to buy the dog. Besides, I don't even know when the wrestling school will open again and take admissions. The wrestling school can wait. We can focus on our studies for now, buy the dog and apply for the wrestling much later."

"No, no, no Mr. Lopez. Wrestling is much more important than a dog. We can save up and apply for the wrestling school together," she offered.

His brown eyes lit up, "You will apply with me?"

She nodded, "I have been saving for a week now so I will continue until the wrestling school opens and then we shall see. So promise me, you won't use the money to buy a dog."

"Done deal," he promised. They ate their donuts and did their homework, chatting throughout. They listened to music, played games, shared ideas on how to minimize their spending to save more. So Colby didn't quite get how their conversation suddenly swerved to crushes and dating topics.

"Me? No way, I am not crushing on anyone." Seth told her, getting a bit defensive but Becky laughed and nudged his ribs with her elbow.

"Oh come on, you can tell me. I thought we were friends."

"That's why I'm being honest with you, precisely because you're my friend. I already told you. I'm not in love with anyone nor do I have a crush. I'm too young for that."

"You are a final year student. Seventeen years of age, surely you must have or had a crush." She asked, eyes strangely hopeful and inquisitive.

Seth was quiet for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. He was scared she knew he liked her as more than a friend. He definitely knew he had a huge crush on her. From the very first day he met her, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. Because of her, Rebecca is his favorite name in the whole world. "Do you have a crush," he countered, smoothly changing the subject.

Becky turned onto her side, her head resting on the edge of his bed, her hair falling onto her face. When he reached out to swipe the hair away, she allowed him, leaning into his touch as his hand lingered on her cheek longer than it should have. She giggled quietly, "What if I say, yes?"

His hand moved away from her cheek. His heart hammered. What if it's someone else? Perhaps Josh? "Then I will tell you mine." The sun had set and the sky has taken on a golden shade. The little light peeking from the window allowed a view of her expression. It was stoic, blank but her eyes shone so bright.

"I don't know. It might be you."