School went by slow as I sat in three more classes after lunch. My day was coming to an end as I stepped into Mrs. Enders classroom for my study hall.

Luckily, Charlie and Skylar were in my study hall; as well as Zoey, Margo, and Bryan.

About five minutes into study hall, the grey-eyed asshole comes waltzing in. Ryan. He gives our study hall supervisor a note and proceeds to sit next to Skylar.

"Mr. Evans asked me to move into this study hall since his was too full..." he whispered to Skylar, but loud enough for Charlie and I to hear. I turned my head towards the two and Ryan gives me a glare.

What is his problem??

Charlie nudged me, obviously trying to ignore Ryan, and I look over to see Zoey motioning for me to come over by her, Bryan, and Margo.

Since it's only the first day, our study hall supervisor, Mrs. Enders, told us we could just talk and hang out, quietly, of course.

I casually get up out of my seat and sit down in an empty desk next to Zoey. She places her chin on her palm, giving me a bright smile.

"So why did you want me to come over here?" I asked Zoey. She glanced over to where Ryan and Skylar were sitting , grimacing and then her eyes avert back at me.

"I uh... was just um... wondering if you met Bryan yet," she flicked Bryans arm, and he sharply turned his head away from Margo towards us.

He rubbed his arm. "What the hell, Zo," he whined and then saw me. He gave me a half-smile. "Sup... you're the new kid, uh Jake?"

"Josh, actually. Josh Parker. Nice to meet you Bryan," I gave him a slight smile back. He seemed nice.

"Oh sorry, man. Um, Zoey said you're coming to her party Friday night?" I nodded and noticed Margo whisper something in Zoey's ear. Zoey placed a hand over her mouth, trying to suppress a laugh I assumed.

Girls.

"Uh yeah. What usually goes down at these parties anyway? I imagine loud music, lots of drunk teens grinding on each other, the usual stuff you see on TV..." I trailed off as they all shrug.

"I mean that stuff usually does happen, but Zoey's parties are usually only about 20-30 people, and we play games and hang out. We all pitch in for pizza and drinks too," he replied and Zoey nodded in agreement with a huge grin.

"Yeah ... I mean some of the guys bring alcohol and stuff but nothing too much since many of us are involved in after school activities, like for instance, I'm in volleyball, Bryan is in basketball, and Margo here is president of the school's science club. So, if any of us go too hard or go to bigger parties we could get caught and get kicked out of our activities. That's why I'm only inviting a small group with minimal alcohol ... I'm not dumb like Ella Lane is..." she said while emphasizing the word dumb when describing Ella Lane. Hmm... the one girl that the guys always talk about is not very well liked by Zoey and her friends. Interesting.

"Makes sense. And wait, you're in volleyball?" I gave her a look of surprise and she giggles.

"Yeah ... I'm actually our teams setter and captain." She lifts her chin up a little with a proud smile. Gosh, I swear she gets more attractive every time I talk to her. Not only is she good looking , but she's also our school's volleyball captain. Guess I'm going to a few games this year.

"That's awesome. I know my mom is trying to get my sister to join volleyball, but she keeps saying she hates sports and would rather join the art club or whatever." I gave her a slightly bigger smile than before and she returned it with an even bigger smile, showing her perfect, white teeth.

"Awe... she sounds like little Mar over here," she giggled while gesturing to her best friend. Margo blushed slightly and laughed.

"Yeah... I'm definitely more of the arts lover of the group. I'm not very athletic," she quietly said while jotting something down in her notebook, but then I noticed it was actually a drawing. I couldn't quite tell what but it looked like a fairy or angel of some sort.

"Yeah, but that's why we love you," Bryan said softly to her, making both mine and Zoey's eyes wide. Margo glanced up from her drawing with a confused expression. "We are your best friends after all ..." His cheeks turned a slight red and he quickly pulled out his phone. Oh my god this guy admitted his love for his crush ... in front of her. I nearly laughed my head off at the poor guys now very crimson face.

Margo just sat in silence and went back to her drawing. Zoey let out a long sigh.

"Well ... so tell me, Zoey. What kind of games are we talking about?" I smirked and she rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"Games?"

"The games that you guys play at your parties. What should I expect to participate in at your party this Friday?" I asked coyly.

She let out a sarcastic laugh before responding. "Oh , well that is something you'll have to find out when you come. Let's just say you'll love them..." she bit her lip, lowering her eyes and batting her eyelashes.

I felt the sweat start to form on my forehead and back of my neck. The way she said that got me ... bothered. And hot. Oh shit!

She just turned me on with one little sentence. Who is this woman? Some kind of witch? I've never been this turned on by any girl in my life. And to think it was all because of how she said one little sentence to me.

"Oh uh yeah um okay..." was all I mumbled before I felt Charlie's hand slap my back.

"Geez Zo, what did you do? He's all tongue-tied," Charlie said chuckling. Zoey let out a playful laugh and shook her head.

"I think he's nervous for the games at my party." She gave me a slight smirk. Yeah I was nervous all right. Nervous about how I'd be able to control my manhood around her. I swear if she'd touch me , even poked me, I'd get an .... oh shit , I was not just going to say that. Disregard that.

"Oh is that right? I'm guessing you didn't tell him what games? Gonna leave him in suspense until the big night?" He questioned her, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"You know it! It'll sure shock him haha! He probably thinks we just play drinking games and the measly spin the bottle stuff," she stated with amusement in her voice. She was right... that's kinda what I assumed 'play games' meant in terms of parties.

"Oh boy! He'll be in for a treat then..." Charlie gave me a wink. What kind of games did they play? Did I go to a school of psychos or something? When they mean games ... do they mean like gang fights or board games?

"Nah. He's gonna love them. You all do!" She protested. She crossed her arms with a smirk.

"Very true..." Charlie trailed off.

Then the bell rang and everyone swiftly got up and began to file out of the classroom. Even though it was only the first day of school, I was already sick of it.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" Zoey exclaimed as she grabbed her bag and hurriedly exited the room.

Charlie and I walked out together. He kept giving me a smug smile, like as if he knew something that I didn't.

"What?" I asked him, slightly annoyed that he was still giving me that look.

"Oh nothing... just that the fact that you say you don't like Zoey like that, yet I saw you get all hot and bothered when she said one seductive remark to you."

I paused in complete shock. Was I really that noticeable? " Uh what are you talking about?" I wanted to smack myself across the face. I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Nothing. But it's okay bud, she's obviously just as into you as you are into her," he gave me a slight pat on the shoulder and walked towards the locker room.

I stood and watched him walk away from me, my jaw dropped from what he just said. Did he just say that Zoey... showed interest in me? Nah... he totally was bluffing.

*****

In the locker room, we all put on our practice gear. I usually just try to get my stuff on as fast as I can, but sometimes the conversations going on are too good to leave. Most the time , the guys talk about either A) girls B) cars C) the latest video game or D) our dicks.

So, as I was listening to Skylar complain about Bryan, all of a sudden I heard Zoey's name pop up in the conversation... followed by mine.

"So, is everyone going to Zoey's party?" Charlie asked us junior football players. Everyone nodded, including me. Couple of 'duhs' and 'yeahs' were also in the mix.

"I know Zoey is very excited for our newbie, Josh, to attend.... right Josh?" Charlie winked while giving me a slap on the back.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah sure," is all I muttered.

I heard the guys all snicker as I started to leave the locker room and towards the field. Just as I set foot on the grass, someone rammed their shoulder into mine as they walked by. The impact doesn't hurt since I'm wearing padding, but it pissed me off.

"What the hell?" I yelled at the guy walking past me. The guy's head turns around; it's Ryan.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You were walking too slow." He gave me a dirty look before turning back around towards our coach.

GOD HE'S SUCH AN ASSHOLE!

I shook off my anger before going up to Coach. Ryan and a couple of the other guys were talking to him already, and then Coach noticed I came over into the group.

"Josh, hey, so I've noticed you've been working really hard in practice and I want you to be on the starting defense this Friday," Coach said to me while writing down something in his play book.

"Oh wow... that sounds great! Thanks coach!" My excitement was very present within my voice. In the corner of my eye, I could see Ryan rolling his eyes. I guess my argument to him earlier today is slightly invalid now. Ha!

The rest of practice went well, and I should be excited for actually getting a chance to play in the game Friday, but honestly... the only thing that consumed my thoughts for the next few days was Zoey.

Everyday in any class we have together, she makes a point to talk to me. She even sat by me in study hall a couple days. The more and more I talked to her, the more and more I became excited for the party.

Who am I anymore? I'm Josh Parker, who doesn't get girls or attention. I'm the average 'cup of joe' that people know of but won't remember, but now I'm actually feeling like I'm not so much like that... and it's because of her.

****A/N****

Hey everybody!!

So I may have lied when I said I would only be updating every Sunday. I get too excited to post the next chapter, so I'm going to just kinda post whenever, but once my schedule gets super hectic, I'll just be posting and updating on Sundays :)

Thank you to anyone who is reading, commenting and voting for my book! It helps me keep motivated to write more ! :) 

Much love <3
~Madelyn Joy