I was making my way down the hallway, without the knowledge of the pair eyes trailing my every move. I hated my first year, it felt like I had a pair of eyes on me no matter where I went. The exception, it being to my knowledge.

I had a free period, Lydia and Anthoine were still in class. I turn into the library, there is a spot I like to go to whenever I'm there, my favorite spot. I discovered it during my first year here. The school was so big, so many unfamiliar faces. I felt so small, wanting to shy away from everything. My spot allowed me to do that, still allows me to do that. It isn't some secret sanctuary if that's what you think, everyone can go there, however that's just the thing, nobody goes there. My spot is actually the enclosed aisle hosting the hundreds of encyclopedias. I call it the aisle of the forgotten. The name kind of suits how I felt during my first year, the name originating from the fact that no one uses encyclopedias anymore, ergo forgotten books.

The library was quiet, only a few students lingering, since most people were still in class.

I had just made myself comfortable on the floor, back against the shelf, when I heard his voice.

"Ciao!"

If I hadn't been picky with which Lofi playlist I was going to put on, I would have never heard him through the headphones. "Hello?" I remove one ear as my gaze wanders down the empty aisle. "Over here!" He hiss. For some reason my gaze wanders off onto the sealing. I felt like an idiot hearing his distant laughter. Finally in between some books, I spotted him, his bleached head moving from side to side as he continued laughing at me.

"Valentino?" I rise to my feet, ready to escape, but he has already come around from behind the shelf.

"Skipping class Naomi?" He smirks. Valentino makes sure to run his hands over every book as he approaches. This did not only make sure to block my way towards freedom, but it also made sure to make me feel awkward as hell staring at him, waiting for him to come close enough. "We have a free period, you knew that." I said, in my most confident voice.

"I did. Thought about skipping the rest of the day actually."

"How sweet, did you miss your friends?" I mock. An amused look appeared on his face. Having Valentino in the same class as me had been more liberating this year, since none of his hot headed friends were there to cheer him on he hadn't been such a pain. He kept to himself mostly, his dreaming gaze always wandering out the window. Not that I've paid much attention or anything.

"What were you doing?" He asks, his crooked smile now permanently embedded in my brain. I shrug, "Just listening to some music." My legs crumbled beneath me as I took a seat on the floor again. To my surprise Valentino does the same. "What kind of music?" Without permission he undresses the headphones from my head, leaving my hair slightly tousled around. I wait for him to put them on before pressing play. I watched his eyebrows slowly twitch into a frown. He shouts over the music "What is this?" his voice echoes through the aisle.

"If you must know..." I take my headphones back, envying the fact that I couldn't tousle his hair around now that it was cut short. Usually he would have brown thick curls, spiraling out of control. I liked his curls. "...I was going to take a nap."

"A nap? What are you, retired?" He chuckles. If his smile hadn't been so transmitting I would have sounded more serious when I told him to leave me alone. "I'm kidding." Our shoulders touch as he nudges my side. My headphones are cupping my ears, however I haven't pressed play yet. I bet he noticed, since he continued speaking to me.

"Do you need a ride home?" He asks.

"No thanks, Lydia is taking me."

"How come you never ride with me anymore, still hate my truck eh?"

"You mean your Ice cream truck for midgets " My words make him snort, showering me with a sense of pride. "I don't mind, I just don't want to be late for school every morning."

"Come on we were only late like twice."

"You mean twice a week!" I chuckle.

Before we continue I should explain that technically Valentino wasn't the one tormenting me that first year, it was mostly everybody else, including his friends. This answers your question why I could even carry a conversation with this guy. That and the fact that he lives three houses down from mine, so we know each other well enough. Also, his mother works for my dad in his restaurant in town. I should tell you how we got to form this peculiar relationship of ours, however that would mean revisiting the awful memories of my first year.

Bare with me people.