Neverland Academy was a prestigious and intimidating school, but I'm sure that you already knew that. I knew that everyone thought that I didn't belong there, and I couldn't help but agree with them. I hadn't even been through two of my classes yet and I wanted to jump out the window and back into freedom.

But I knew I couldn't do that, no matter how much I wanted to. I was stuck here for at least the rest of the school year, which definitely wasn't a good thing...

"Having trouble?" a snide voice asked from my side, and I couldn't help but stare down at my worksheet flatly. "You are the scholarship student, aren't you? This should be easy."

It was easy, but I wasn't about to speak to Eli and risk getting in trouble. Mr. Pars had told us that no one could talk during the assessment, but I knew he'd make an exception for Eli, since no one in the school could mess with the leader of The Lost Boys...

"Ooh, the silent treatment," Eli smirked, playing with the eraser on top of his pencil. "That's the first time a girl has ever given that to me. They've given me a lot of other things though..."

Girls in the class giggled at what he had been implying, and my grip on my pencil tightened. How could Mr. Pars just let him get away with talking during an assessment like it was no big deal? He had even told us that we couldn't! But Mr. Pars didn't even look up from his desk as Eli continued talking.

"You're different," he observed, and I couldn't believe that he was actually saying things like this in front of the class! I wasn't even the one talking and I was embarrassed! "Different girls are fun."

I bit my lip to stop myself from snapping at him. I wanted to tell him to shut up so badly, but I knew I couldn't... I couldn't get him angry.

Even Chloe laughed as Eli spoke on through the assessment, and I wanted to hit my head against the desk until I wasn't conscious anymore. The sooner I got out of that class, the happier I would be. I just hoped that I didn't have any more classes with Eli. Or any of The Lost Boys for that matter...

When I finally stepped out of Mr. Pars's room, I let out a deep breath. That guy was a lot louder than a teacher should have been. He was hilarious, but way too loud for my liking.

"We have biology next," Chloe informed me, tightening the straps on her backpack as we continued our way down the hall. People continued to stare at me, as if in awe that a poor person was actually walking through their hallways the same time they were.

"I hate all this attention," I muttered to Chloe as I gripped onto the straps of my backpack even tighter. "It's like they've never seen a poor person before or something."

"Most of them haven't," Chloe waved away as if it was no big deal at all. "These kids are used to everyone here being rich. You're the first ever scholarship student that has ever been poor."

I shrugged. "Yeah, well..."

When we walked inside our third period, I definitely wasn't looking forward to it. I had only been introduced to two classes and I was already tired of it. I was tired of the stares of disgust that I would get from all my classmates, and I just couldn't get wait until I got out of there.

"Hi," my biology teacher, Mrs. Lavaliere, greeted me as Chloe and I both made our way to the front of the room. "You must be Ivy Morgan, the scholarship student I've been hearing so much about. Welcome to the class."

At least I didn't have to tell her that I didn't like being called Olivia. I knew that that was going to be a very annoying thing that would happen throughout the day. I was just glad that she saved me from having to tell one person...

"You can be lab partners with Jack, in the back," Mrs. Lavaliere informed me, giggling a little and mumbling under her breath about how that had rhymed. I blinked at her, afraid that the Jack she was talking about was The Lost Boy Jack. There was no way I'd be seated next to two of them, right? I wasn't that unlucky!

I looked back to see the familiar face of the boy who had saved me back at the coffee shop, and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from groaning. How lucky was I?

When I sat down in the stool next to him, he didn't acknowledge me right away. It wasn't like I was expecting him to pounce on me and mention what had happened when we first met, but I thought that he would at least glance at me. But he didn't even move a muscle.

"Jack, if you could just get Ivy used to this class a little, it would be great," Mrs. Lavaliere smiled at him, as if he wasn't one of the most four feared boys in the entire school. Why did he have to be my lab partner? At least Eli wasn't in this class with me... I was pretty sure we'd end up being partners, knowing my luck.

"Um," was all I said, trying to think of a nice way to introduce myself. Did I even have to? He knew who I was; he knew I was new. There was really no point in introducing myself... "I want to thank you."

Thank him? I wanted to thank him? Why the hell had I said that? He was going to think I was some kind of freak now! What if he didn't even remember what had happened in the coffee shop weeks before? He probably thought I was insane or something now!

"Thank me?" he asked, his accent evident as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Um... a couple weeks ago, at Starbucks," I reminded him, feeling my cheeks heat up ever so slightly as I thought that there was a huge possibility that he didn't remember at all. "I ran into your friend Eli and spilled my hot chocolate all over him and you stopped him before he could do anything to me."

"Oh," was all he said, and I couldn't tell if he could remember or not. "Sounds familiar, I guess."

Of course it sounded familiar, it really happened! Did he think I was just some insane poor girl that was making this all up? Simon and Henry were there! They were witnesses!

Following Mrs. Lavaliere's instructions, Jack told me what we would be learning in the class. I had biology back at my old school, and we were in front of them, so I knew everything already.    But I guessed that Jack kind of expected that, because he did a pretty half-assed job of explaining it to me. I was pretty sure I'd have an easier time explaining it all to him.

When the class finally ended, Chloe and I made our way to lunch. The cafeteria wasn't even a cafeteria, it was a dining hall. A huge dining hall that looked even bigger than my house.

"The Lost Boys and their followers sit right in the middle of the dining hall," Chloe whispered to me as we walked through the dining hall. "We get the pleasure of walking by them every day."

Oh, no. What if I saw Chris? I sure hoped that that wouldn't happen. I didn't want to see Chris because I knew he would have been with the rest of his group, and I definitely didn't want to see them.

As we walked by their table, I immediately made eye contact with the one person I didn't. Chris's eyes brightened, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from groaning.

"Ivy!" Chris smiled, waving me over to him. "Come on, sit with us!"

That didn't sound like a very good idea at all. He was sitting with Eli, Jack, and Tyler; the rest of The Lost Boys. Not to mention Courtney and her two friends were with her as well... I didn't want anything to do with those jerks. I didn't know who he was when I had spoken to Chris that morning, but I sure wished that I did.

Chloe looked at me, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She didn't know that I had spoken to Chris earlier that morning, and I was hoping that it would stay that way. I could tell that something was different with her when it came to Chris, even though I didn't know what.

"Um, I think I'll pass," I muttered, staring down at my expensive looking salad. I never thought food could look like it cost so much. My mouth watered just looking at it. "I'm going to sit with Chloe today."

"She can join us!" Chris continued on grinning, and I could see Courtney's nose wrinkle in disgust. Well, I didn't want to sit with her either! "It'll be a great way to get to know each other!"

Eli snorted, and I glared at him as my hands tightened on my tray. Of course the school was practically being run by that asshole...

I looked at Chloe, but she shook her head. "You go ahead, Ivy," she forced out a smile, but I could tell by the way she was gripping onto her tray that she was angry. "I'll just go eat with Stephanie. I'll see you in fourth period."

She hurriedly scampered off, and I found myself sitting at the gigantic table right in the middle of the gigantic dining hall. It was so weird, eating expensive foods in such a fancy looking place. I was so used to meatloaf and eating outside that I was actually kind of impressed. Change wasn't always that bad...

But then there was the fact that I was eating with The Lost Boys and their followers. That definitely wasn't a good thing, especially since Courtney wouldn't stop glaring at me the entire time. Eli wouldn't stop smirking like he knew something I didn't, and it made me want to smack it right of his face. The only one so far that I found bearable was Chris, but I hadn't even talked to Tyler yet.

"So, Ivy," Chris started with a grin, causing Eli to roll his eyes. "Did you go to that grungy public high school a few miles from here? I don't know what it's called, but the one with a cougar as their mascot?"

I nodded, taking a bite of my salad. I wouldn't exactly call my old high school grungy, but I wasn't about to argue with him. It wasn't like it was the greatest school in the world or anything... I definitely wasn't defending it.

Courtney's nose continued to stay wrinkled in disgust. I knew she wouldn't have been able to last a day at my old high school, and I would have loved to see her try. Not that she ever would...

"So we're letting a grungy, poor public school girl eat with us," Courtney sneered in disgust. "Fantastic."

What was with the word grungy? It meant dirty, didn't it? Last time I checked, neither me nor my old school was dirty. Well, to all the kids of Neverland Academy I guessed it was kind of dirty, but still. I didn't think they had the right to call it grungy.

"I think it's cool," Chris grinned, wrapping one of his arms around my shoulders. "I've always wanted a poor friend before. Haven't you?"

Courtney's eyes narrowed. "No."

"Oh, come on!" Chris bellowed, turning toward the rest of his friends with his normal wide grin. "None of you have wanted a poor friend before? Are you crazy? What about a poor girlfriend? I bet they'd be great to buy things for!"

"I would never date anyone lower class than me," Courtney spat, shoving a piece of lettuce into her mouth before swallowing it. "My family would never be alright with that, and neither would I! Dating someone poorer than you is such a disgrace."

Chris continued on grinning, his arm wrapped around my shoulders still. I hadn't ever been that close to a guy before, not counting Simon or Henry or when I had gotten into a fight with a football player. This was different, but I could tell it wasn't anything new for Chris.

"Do you agree with that, Ivy?" he asked, shaking me lightly as if I wasn't paying attention. "Do you think boyfriends and girlfriends need to be of the same class?"

What did I think of that? I actually had no idea. I guessed that it didn't really matter, but then again they would be from two different worlds. One would be used to getting everything they want whenever they wanted, and the other would never take anything for granted. Could that really work out? I didn't even know.

"Um, I guess it doesn't really matter," I voiced out, averting my gaze away from Eli and Jack, who were sitting next to each other across from me. "Love is love, right? It shouldn't matter what class you're in."

Courtney glared, but Chris grinned. He's grip on me tightened as he said, "Alright then. Want to be my girlfriend, Ivy?"

What?

As my eyes widened, I tried to think of something to say back to him. He couldn't have been serious, right? There was no way a Lost Boy wanted to go out with me... He had to be joking.

But what if he was really being serious? We seemed to have hit it off, but... I couldn't be sure. I hadn't ever been in this type of situation before! I hadn't ever been asked out, even if it was fake... Everyone had always been afraid of me! But now I was being asked out by one of the boys that everyone was afraid of!

"Stop messing with the girl," Jack said in that English accent of his, and I couldn't help but find I attractive. "She looks almost terrified."

Chris burst out laughing, removing his arm from my shoulders. "Ah, I was just kidding! Can't I mess with the new girl? You all know how fun it is to mess with new kids! This is the first time they've ever been poor! I couldn't pass up this opportunity!"

Mess with the new girl? That was all he was doing? So nothing was going on between us at all... I couldn't help but feel like a complete and total idiot. He just wanted to make fun of the new girl. He just wanted to make a fool out of me...

When I saw Eli smirking at me, I couldn't stand it anymore. I jumped up from the table, leaving my tray and making my way out of the dining hall without even looking back. The last thing I heard were the laughs from their table, and I couldn't look back at them.

All throughout high school at my old school, I was the one people were scared of. I was the one that would embarrass people, and no one would have gotten in my way. But now it was the other way around, and I was the one that was getting embarrassed.

Wiping at my eyes, I continued down the hall, not even knowing where I was going. I just wanted to get away from the dining hall and the idiots everyone was so afraid of. How could I really think that I could have thought Chris was a friend of mine? I had only met him that morning, and he was supposed to be one of the jerkiest guys in the school...

Shoving the door open, I went out the back of the school and toward the park that was down the street. I didn't know if I could leave campus at lunch, but I didn't really care right then. I just wanted to be alone and stay away from everyone in that stupid school.

What had happened to my life? It felt like it was yesterday when I was in a decent size house with my mother and my father, but I knew that that had really been years before. I knew that there was no way that I could go back to that, no matter how much I wanted to.

I sat under the slide, feeling like a little kid in a game of hide n' seek. Except I didn't want to be found. Not then, not ever. I just wished I could have curled up under there and cried my eyes out... I hated it when anyone saw me cry, so I sure hoped I'd never be found.

"I want to go home," I sobbed into my knees, not knowing what else I was supposed to do. "Simon, Henry, Terra, Mom... I just want to go home. Why does everything have to happen to me?"

"I highly doubt everything happens to you."

I jumped up, hitting the top of my head on the slide. I rubbed my head, biting my lip to stop my tears from falling. The voice was familiar, and I looked over in shock to see Jack sitting down in the bark next to me, looking so at ease you would think that he did it all the time.

I really liked his accent. It was different and no one else I knew had an accent even close to it. I found it unique and different, even though so many other people had the same kind of accent as him.

"Are you here to humiliate me, too?" I asked, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "Because if you are, just save it. I think I've been embarrassed enough for one day."

"Ah, don't listen to Chris," he waved away, rolling his eyes as he leaned back a little. "He's nothing but a jokester. He's probably the most harmless out of the four of us."

I didn't have to ask him who the toughest out of all of them was, because I already knew the answer to that. Eli was their leader, so I knew that he had to be the toughest and the strongest out of all of them. That was how it was supposed to be...

Jack then rummaged through his pocket for a second before pulling something out and offering it to me. It took a second to see what it was with my blurry vision, but my eyes widened a little when I saw that he was offering me gum. That was sweet...

I took a piece, quickly popping it into my mouth and chewing on it. He didn't have to come out here, but he did anyway. That was really nice of him... Did a Lost Boy have a heart? I found it kind of hard to believe... But it could have been possible, right?

"It'll probably take you some time to get used to The Lost Boys," Jack informed me, playing with a piece of his light brown hair that had fallen into his face. "It took everyone some time. I don't even know how long it took for everyone to fall into step with us practically ruling the place."

"You shouldn't be ruling the place," I voiced, my face in my knees as I continued to chew on the gum. It was really minty, which I liked a lot. "You guys are students. You should be like everyone else, but even the teachers and the faculty are scared of you. That isn't right."

Jack shrugged. "I guess you're right. But that's how things are around here. Our families are very important people. We have a lot of money, and the school knows that. As long as our family keep donating money, we're basically untouchable."

"That's horrible," I muttered now. "It isn't fair. You all can do anything you want and no one even cares. That's why I miss my old school. I knew I shouldn't have come here..."

"Were you popular at your old school?" Jack asked, turning his head so he was now looking at me.

"I wouldn't really say that," I sighed, removing my face form my knees now. "You could say I was... well known for the wrong reasons."

"Ah," Jack nodded, staring off into the distance. "School slut?"

"No!" I squeaked, covering my mouth after I had done so. "I wasn't a slut! Definitely not! I haven't even had my first kiss yet!"

Jack chuckled. "Good to know."

Great! Now he was going to think I was some kind of freaky loner girl that no one liked! But wait... why did I even care what he thought? I didn't care what he thought!

"I got in a few fights," I explained, even though I really didn't have to explain myself to him. "But I really hate fighting. I only do it when I really have to. But I always gave off the wrong image, so people assumed that I was bad news. Everyone at my old school was afraid of me. I hated it, but at least I still had friends..."

"Someone who knows how I feel," Jack observed, a sort of smile that I couldn't read plastered onto his face. "I never thought that would ever happen."

I blinked at him. He didn't like being feared by everyone? That was surprising. Why hadn't he said anything before? We were sophomores, so that meant he went through all of freshman year feeling that way. And strangely, I felt kind of bad for him.

Since I obviously couldn't make a friend in Chris, maybe I could make one in Jack. He seemed like a pretty intimidating guy at first, but I could tell that there was some good in him. And I was going to make it my mission to find it.

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I totally lost track of the days with this story. xD I didn't even know that it had been a week... At least it only took me like an hour to write this. :D

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