The hot water was pounding on my face, washing the sleep from my eyes completely. I turned around to wash my back when I saw a figure standing just outside the bathing cell. It was foggy and blurry because of the blurred glass, but I knew exactly who was out there. I turned off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and kicked the door open. It nearly got him in the shoulder, making him jump back in surprise.

"What the fu--"

"Can I help you, Adrian?" I scowled at him, hastily toweling my hair dry and moving away from him. I looked at him through the mirror above the basin and glared again. "Do you always barge into bathrooms that are already taken?" I couldn't help the bitterness that laced my voice.

He grimaced at me. "Sorry, Bernard, I didn't know you were in there." His hair was a mess on top of his head, the thick curls sanding up in different directions. He wore grey sweatpants that hung dangerously low on his hips and of course no shirt. He had a lazy smile as he watched grimace at him.

"So what?" I asked him after I spat the foam out of my mouth. "You didn't hear the hot water assaulting the floor?" When he held up his phone and earpiece, I rolled my eyes and went back to furiously brushing me teeth. Stupid boy with his stupid music nearly opening the stupid bathing cell with its one way glass, while I was showering.

I stomped off to my room, making sure to lock the sliding doors so Adrian wouldn't stumble into my room by accident, claiming he was wearing sunglasses inside or some other excuse. The storm clouds were still high above the town, crackling with thunder and splattering rain on everything, covering the town in a grey blanket. I pulled on my uniform and grabbed my backpack before bounding down the staircase and I to the living room.

Mrs F was listening to Roxette on the Record Player and wildly dancing around with a spatula in hand. The kitchen smelled of pancakes, eggs and bacon sizzling on the stove. I breathed it in and waved when she saw me. "Hey, Mrs F. I didn't see the car out front, do you know why?" I jumped up and took a seat on the counter by the coffee machine.

Mrs F turned down Roxette and flipped a pancake. "I told the school that since Adrian is back from his camping trip with his dad, I'd have him drive you to school. I already discussed it with him and he's alright with it. You were already sleeping last night, so I didn't want to wake you." She told me and poured me a glass of orange juice.

Suddenly, the orange juice didn't look so appealing to me anymore. I glanced at the coffee machine and frowned. I guess today would be as good as any day to start drinking coffee--I was gonna need it if I was to share a car with Adrian for forty minutes. And what would I tell Piper when she saw me walking the halls with Adrian Fitzgerald close behind me?

Four pancakes and two scrambled eggs later, Adrian and I were sitting in his Pathfinder. We hadn't talked since the bathroom thing this morning, and I was feeling jittery from the coffee I'd ingested. We turned down one of the many streets of town where you could see St Abbey's Hill. Downtown was already stirring.

"So, are you going to the party tonight?" The sudden intrusion of his voice in my ears made me jump. The car had been quiet for so long I'd practically forgotten what sounds were. Even the radio wasn't on. Adrian looked over at me for a split second before focusing back on the road in front of us.

I frowned, playing with a string on my backpack. "Party? What party?" I hadn't been out since I'd moved into the Fitzgerald house. I'd spent the last weeks of summer cooped up in that room while listening to Fall Out Boy's new album. Mrs F had asked me why I always closed the door. I'd told her I'd been listening to the same song for eight hours and I was being considerate.

"Fletcher Ray's party." Adrian answered in a tone that said that I should've known about it. From what I can remember of Getting To Know Adrian Fitzgerald 101 yesterday during music class, Fletcher Ray was one of Adrian's teammates and best friends.

I pursed my lips and looked out the window. "I don't know. I don't have anyone to go with." I admitted, watching how a worker wiped down the tables in from of the cafe to start the day. Piper said that she had a fancy dinner to go to with her parents and couldn't make it for the movies, so I was gonna stay in tonight.

The struggles of only having one friend.

"You can go with us with you want." Adrian offered as he pulled up the hill. "Me and the guys. We're going later, and they wouldn't mind if you tagged along." He pulled into a parking space in the parking lot at the base of the hill. "Oh, I have swimming practice after school, so you can wait up if you want."

I nodded and clambered out of the car, then straightened my stockings. My heels clacked against the floor as I headed up to the suddenly, Adrian was in front of me, his arms reaching out to my chest. I scrunched my eyebrows and looked down. He was straightening my tie.

"Your tie was crooked."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat, turned on his heel and headed the other way. Where was he going? His unruly hair flopped in the howling breeze and his tie whipped around in front of him. The storm clouds were rolling in, so I dashed inside.