As I stand outside of the door, I hear faint voices from inside, followed by laughter. "Well, on Friday, he crashed Adrianna's party. They got so drunk and they were trying to drive the four-wheelers around in the woods but the cops came," a voice I recognize as Vivica's relays. "Anyway, back to what I wanted to tell you guys, I asked him."

"Don't tell me you asked him when the police arrived," one of the other girls responds in a joking voice.

"No, Chelsea. I asked him before everything went down. I left as soon as the cops showed up. The last thing I need is my mother breathing down my neck about nearly getting arrested," Vivica retorts sourly. "But I asked him and he said no! In front of everyone!"

"In front of everyone?" a different voice inquires curiously. I lean in a little closer to hear better. Now I'm kind of interested...

"Did I not just say that, Tracy?" Vivica snaps in her familiar high-pitched tone. "He said no and his friends laughed! Those goth freaks had the nerve to laugh at me! I assumed that popular people go to homecoming with popular people; I didn't even stop to think that he might've said no. I mean, it's an honor to be asked by me, right? I was so embarrassed so I just called for my ride. He showed right when the cops did."

"Maybe, he only said no because he had a few too many drinks," the same girl as before suggests hopefully.

"I messaged him this morning before practice and he didn't respond. He read my message. He still hasn't replied," Vivica sighs.

"How'd you get his number?" the girl Vivica called Chelsea inquires.

"One of his friends gave it to me," Vivica confesses. "She gave it to me. And I know it's the right number because she showed me the contact, and it was actually him. I don't know how I'm going to face him on Monday."

My aunt's footsteps sounds up the steps and I immediately retract from the door. Though I didn't know who or what they were talking about, I couldn't help but grow intrigued. Who had the nerve to turn down Vivica? Don't they know how rude she is? Aunt Genevieve appears carrying a large pizza box and she motions for me to open the door, so I do.

"Hey girls, this is my niece, Olivia," my aunt introduces as she places the pizza box on the dresser not too far from the door. The girls are smiling, despite the fact that we've just interrupted an in-depth conversation. "Be nice to her. She's new in town."

And with that simple statement, she closes the door, leaving me to stand there like an idiot. Like I predicted, Vivica's room is pink and purple. All of the girls are on the white carpet, and one of them motions for me to grab the food and sit down. She's brunette and is the only dark haired one of the three. She's a lot shorter than them, too. I can tell because even with her perfect posture, she can't sit up taller than the slouched girls.

"I'm Tracy," the brunette introduces as I slowly and cautiously sat down, trying not to drop the large box of pizza.

"Chelsea," the blonde announces. I smile nervously at both of them, noticing that they're both wearing cheerleading uniforms, much like what Vivica was wearing when she first walked into the house. She changed, though, into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

"Olivia," I introduce with a nod. I guess they don't seem that bad. They're sort of amicable, as far as I can tell.

"We know," they respond in unison. Vivica keeps her hands on her phone and texts away.

"We were just playing truth or dare, weren't we girls?" Vivica ask with a smirk. She slowly tucks her phone away. I want to sigh as the words leave her mouth.

"I thought it was dare or dare," says Tracy with a grin. I stare at the carpet, urging to just get up and leave. Amicable, yeah right.

"Oh yeah," Chelsea nods her head. "It's your turn, Olivia."

"But—," I begin to butt in. I don't want to play, especially not with people that I barely know, and already don't like. They lied straight to my face.

"You have to go. We all went," Tracy adds sharply. Vivica stares at me with narrowed eyes, as if scrutinizing me. I can tell that they're judging me based off of whether or not I'll agree to take my turn. Refusing to come off as wimpy, I nod.

"Okay," I state.

"Maddox Finnegan," Vivica smirks broadly. The other two girls' eyes go wide. I simply quirk an eyebrow. What the heck is a Maddox Finnegan? Is that who they were talking about only moments ago?

"That's a good one!" Chelsea coos. "Okay, so on Monday, you have to ask out Maddox Finnegan."

"To homecoming!" Tracy adds with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah!" Chelsea nods excitedly.

"W-who's that?" I ask as I look between the three girls with a lost and embarrassed expression plastered on my face. It better not be the guy who rejected Vivica. If he rejected Vivica, he'd surely reject me. Vivica scoffs and the other girls simply grin knowingly.

They refuse to say anything else and I can only sit there and watch as they snicker and laugh at my expense. This is going to be a great year.

Embarrassing.

By the time lunch comes around, I'm unsure of where I'm going to sit. I don't want to be around Vivica and her toxic friends but I have nowhere else to go, really. My eyes scan the cafeteria once, twice, and three times before I notice Chelsea waving at me in the left, back corner of the large room. Should I just ignore her and pretend I didn't see her? But then where would I go? Hesitantly, I make my way over there, drawing eyes as I do. I let out a sigh. I wish I had spoken to someone, anyone, just so I wouldn't have to sit at my cousin's table. Today, I learned that she's popular, very popular. I just assumed that she was just a snob, but no, she's a very popular snob. So popular that she manages to split crowds just by entering a room. If that didn't make me uncomfortable, the way she's whispering at the table does.

I stop in my tracks, uncertain of whether or not I should actually go to the table. I can lie and say that I have to change my schedule, which is actually fine. I only have one class with Vivica and it's my first period class, which I can deal with. On Friday, when I was forced to hang out with Chelsea and Tracy, they demanded I give them my schedule. I have one class with Tracy and two with Chelsea, but I realized that she usually skips those classes. She said so in the car ride this morning, which I was also forced into taking.

As I stand a few feet from the table, I decide that I'll just leave. I hastily turn around and slam into someone. The loud cafeteria falls silent as the sound of two people colliding and falling to the ground wafts through the air. I hear a deep voice swear and I feel my face immediately warm up. I waste no time in formulating my apologies. I'm such an idiot. I was just standing in the middle of the cafeteria staring at the table like a doofus.

I stand up and look down at the guy that I bumped into. The ketchup that I retrieved for my fries is now a stain on his black uniform shirt. I continue to apologize as I look around for napkins; no one offers any. Instead, they all stare at us. By the tense aura of the room, I can tell that whoever I just bumped into isn't someone to be messed with. I'm guessing the people around us are expecting him to lash out at me by the way they stare at him, waiting for a reaction.

"I'm sorry," I apologize again when I can't offer him any napkins. My lunch lay abandoned on the floor, as does his unopened soda bottle. I immediately pick it up and hand it to him. He stares at my outstretched palm before grabbing the soda. His green eyes stare at me as I try to explain the situation.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bump into you. I was just going to go change my schedule. I didn't mean to embarrass you. If it's any comfort, I'm pretty embarrassed, too," I continue to rant as my cheeks become more and more red. When you're the only one talking, it gets pretty awkward. Especially when you have over two hundred listening ears. My words are practically echoing off the walls.

I may not know this guy, but I know enough to say that he's intimidating. His broad shoulders basically overshadow my entire existence. His tapering eyes and messy hair are the only things I cam focus on. My stomach is clenched and knotted as I stare up at his tall figure. I wouldn't be surprised if he stepped on me. In fact, I kind of wish he would.

He watches me with furrowed eyebrows. His eyes fall to his shirt and his jaw clenches slightly. "Watch where you're going," he hisses. It's barely audible but the words rattle around my head, bouncing from wall to wall. He's capable of making the four words sound like a threat.

Without another word, he turns on his heel and exits the cafeteria. The breath I was holding is immediately released and I feel my stomach untie rapidly. I slowly make my way towards the lunch table I was avoiding once the janitors shoo me away from the dropped lunch.

I let out a slow. shaky breath as I sit down. The stress of that situation has wrecked my nerves. "You know who that was?" Chelsea asks with a smirk.

"Maddox Finnegan- the guy you're going to be asking to homecoming," Tracy grins proudly.

Can this day get any worse?

"You have to ask him now," Vivica informs me once I reach her vehicle. His car is parked directly beside Vivica's and he's leaning against it, as if waiting for someone. Chelsea and Tracy look at me expectantly.

"Can't I wait until he forgets about how I bumped into him today?" I ask in a quiet voice as I rub my inner elbow nervously.

"You either ask him now or you don't get a ride home," Vivica explains louder than I would've liked.

"You have five minutes," she announces as she glances at her phone. Luckily for me, the group slowly thins out and instead of it being five people, it's only two: Maddox and a guy with blonde hair.

I slowly walk around his car and approach him nervously. My palms begin to sweat so I rub them against my skirt. His friend spots me first and nudges Maddox in the side. He glances up when his friend elbows him and turns his gaze on me. He takes on a threatening stance as if I'm going to throw all the condiments in the world at him. His shirt is changed into a white button up, another uniform option. I wonder what he did with the black one that I wrecked.

His friend mutters something to him before walking away and I let out a sigh of relief. The less people who see my embarrassment, the better.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize about earlier," I nod awkwardly as I stare at the floor. I feel his eyes on me and I nervously brush my hair from my face. I wait for a response but come up short so I look up, notice that he's staring at me, and immediately look down again. "I also have a question." I glance up at him and find him scrutinizing me. I look the other way and try to count the amount of seconds until my rejection. "You know what homecoming is, right?"

He didn't respond so I sigh. "This is like talking to a brick wall," I mutter as I kick at the gravel beneath my feet. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to go to homecoming with me," I inquire as I glance behind him. I watch as my cousin and her two friends hold their hands over their mouths as they snicker and laugh.

He peeks over his shoulder before looking back at me. My face is bright red and I can feel my palms growing sweatier and sweatier with each shaky breath I take. I really shouldn't stress it this much. I know he's going to say no. I don't want him to say yes. "Okay," he says in his semi-familiar deep voice.

"Well, I tried," I mutter before I suddenly go rigid. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said okay," he repeats as if annoyed.

"Okay as in...?" I ask as I quirk my eyebrows upward in slight shock.

"Okay as in I'll go with you," he responds. I peek over his shoulder and see Vivica's eyes widen as Chelsea and Tracy turn to look at her.

I simply nod a few times before walking around the car and back to Vivica, who looks angry. "Did he say yes?" she inquires even though she already knows the answer. I slowly nod, still shocked myself that he agreed. Her eyes narrow at the ground as her lips purse together.

"Uh, we can't give you a ride home. We have cheer-leading practice at a nearby school," Chelsea states and I stare at her, slightly stunned. Like clowns, they all pile into the car and speed out of the lot.

I swear under my breath as I take out my phone and dial my aunt's number. There's no response so I groan. I have no money for a cab, and even if I did, I don't even know the address. It's difficult to remember. My old one was simple: 12 Taverness Drive. This one has a list of numbers and I'm not sure if it's a lane or a drive or what.

Rubbing my eyes, I sigh and prepare to go into the office to ask where my aunt even lives. "They left you?" a low voice from behind me asks.

I turn around and nod, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah, they did," I mutter.

He looks hesitant as he bites his lip. "Do you need a ride?" he asks, appearing unsure as to whether or not he even feels up to giving me a ride.

I'm surprised at the fact that he asked me so I slowly nod. "Yeah."

"Come on," he grunts as he kicks off his car and opens the door for himself. I shuffle over to the side and tug open the door, in fear that he'll leave me if I tell him that I have to run inside for a minute to get my new homes' address.

As he starts the car, I grow curious. "Aren't you waiting for someone?" I wonder as I look back at the large building we were just released from.

"Nope," he concludes as he backs out of the parking space and drives out of the lot. "We have to stop and get gas."

"Okay," I nod at him.

As we reach the gas station, he gets out of the car. Before he closes the door, he leans forward and looks at me. "Don't touch anything."

"No promises," I murmur as I look around at the clean interior. He harshly stares at me and I roll my eyes. "I'm joking!" Maybe I shouldn't do that with him.

When he gets back into the car after filling up the tank, he turns to look at me. "What's your address?" he asks as he prepares to leave the lot.

"I don't know," I answer after a moment of trying to pull the location from thin air.

He stares at me and blinks a few times. I look back at him and awkwardly meet his eyes. He has very pretty eyes. The thought causes my face to burn so I avert my gaze and peer out the window. Hopefully he sums it up to me being embarrassed at his staring. He probably thinks I like him. I mean, I'd understand if he does. I asked him to homecoming and I barely know him. And whenever I look at him, I blush like an idiot.

"What do you mean you don't know?" he asks with slightly narrowed eyes as he drags me back to reality.

"I just came to live with my aunt on Friday," I clarify with a meek shrug. "I didn't have time to memorize the address."

"Do you even know the street name?" he questions in bewilderment.

"No. I just know that it is twenty five minutes from school...and the house is blue...and the number of the house has a five in it," I inform him as I purse my lips in thought. He stares at me before letting out an exasperated sigh. I try to think of something he may know. "Do you know where Vivica lives?"

"No, why would I?" he retorts with a slight scowl. I have a feeling that he doesn't like Vivica very much.

"Don't get an attitude with me! This is a particularly small town; I just assumed that people know people!" I respond as he parks the car outside of the gas station. "I think I might be able to retrace the drive from the school."

He sighs yet again and makes his way back to the school. I can tell he's thinking that I'm more trouble than I'm worth. I can't help but think that, too.

Thirty minutes later and we're still driving around. "Left?" he wonders as he stops at another similar looking street.

"Yeah," I respond and he turns. "Wait, no! I meant right!"

He groans noisily and glares at me. I notice how his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. "I'm wasting gas on you," he repeats once again.

"I'll pay for it," I tell him for the third time.

I stare at my cell phone and see a response from my aunt. It's the address. I quickly read it out to him and he slowly turns to look at me. "We're a half hour away from there. You took us in the opposite direction of your house," he snaps with an irritated look on his face.

"I've been here for, like, three days, okay? I don't have the entire town memorized," I retort defensively. He glares at me and I sigh quietly. "How much do you need for the gas?" He doesn't respond and we sit in silence for a good block of time. As we get closer to the house, I turn to look at him. "You know, we don't have to go to homecoming together. I-I, uh, I was dared to go. I didn't expect you to say yes, and the girls didn't either. You probably have other stuff to do." He remains silent.

If every moment spent with him will be this tense, then I don't want to spend four straight hours with him. I wait for a response but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he keeps his eyes narrowed as he reads street signs. A few moments later, he pulls onto a recognizable street and slows down.

"Which house?" he questions me. I nod to the blue one at the corner, which is covered in wind chimes that are twinkling here and there. He pulls up to a stop in front of it. The white porch swing is empty, as is the driveway. Hopefully, my aunt's car is parked in the back. I don't like being home alone, especially in a house that isn't mine.

"I'll give you the gas money tomorrow. I'm not completely unpacked and my piggy bank is still in a box somewhere. Will ten dollars cover it?" I wonder as I look to him curiously. Again, he withholds his words so I awkwardly unbuckle my seatbelt. "Well, thanks," I mutter as I close the car door.

"Tell Vivian to lose my number," Maddox calls once I reach the sidewalk. I turn to him and nod. Vivica, I want to correct him but decide against it.

As I continue up the steps to the house, he yells out to me again. "What?" I respond as I turn around with a confused look on my face. He couldn't have said all this when I was still in the car within hearing range?

"Wear red," he repeats. I furrow my eyebrows as he drives off down the street.

Homecoming, I remember.

So he actually wants to go.

After arriving at school, I make a beeline for the bathroom. As I'm walking towards the toilets., which I found yesterday after a ten minute search, I spot a familiar guy standing at a locker. He carelessly shoves books into his bag. I slowly approach him, unsure if it's a good time. "Maddox," I state as I dip my hand into my pocket.

He turns around with that natural sour look on his face- the narrowed eyes and the set frown. "What?" His pretty green eyes are conical and his lips are set in a line. I feel my face heat up when I realize that I was just staring into his eyes for a good minute.

"I-I have the money," I concur him as I hold out the cash.

"Is that bacon?" he asks with furrowed brows. His eyes are locked on the napkin in my other hand.

"Yeah, want some?" I offer as I hold it out as well.

He shakes his head and I shrug, retracting my bacon-filled hand. "And I don't want the money," he tells me bluntly as he slams his locker.

"But I searched through my boxes for an hour for this," I grumble unhappily. I know what you're thinking- take the money and walk away. If he doesn't want it, be grateful. You're ten dollars richer (or maybe just not ten dollars short). But I can't help but feel like I owe him. He gave me a ride home even though I couldn't even provide him with an address until forty five minutes into town exploring.

"That's not my problem," he informs me. Without a second glance at me, he walks away with his hands tucked in his pockets. I glare at his back, fold up the money, and shove it into the slits of his locker. I, Olivia Ortega, refuse to owe anyone anything. I walk towards the bathroom and enter, listening as the bell rings, signifying that the day has just begun.

It takes me a minute to realize that I have five of eight classes with Maddox. And it wasn't until American Literature, which is directly after lunch, that he comes up to me and places the money on my desk angrily. I shove it back towards him, lifting it when he doesn't accept it. "Take it," I demand.

"No," he states as he stands on the other side of my table, refusing to take the money. I keep my hand extended towards him.

"Take it," I repeat as I examine his face; his defined jaw is clenched and his long eyelashes create shadows on his cheeks in the bright lighting of the classroom. The green of his eyes is flashing as he blinks impatiently, trying to shrug off my attempts to give him the money. His pale, pink lips are set in a line as he represses the urge to, most likely, swear at me and call me names. I push the money towards him again, cutting off his path to the back of the class.

"Maddox, have a seat," Mr. Harvey announces with a fleck of impatience in his tone. Maddox looks around and grits his teeth when he notices that the seat beside me is the only available chair. Everyone's eyes are on us as they wait to see what he'll do. He grumpily drops in the only open seat, giving me a glare when he realizes that this is the third time I've embarrassed him in a two day span. He shoves my hand away and I tuck the money into my pocket with a plan of slipping it into his bag once the bell rings.

Maddox ignores me the entire class period. Even when I attempted to ask him for help on a question, he disregards me. The teacher didn't explain it to me well enough and I didn't want to ask again, so I just shut up and pretended I knew what I was doing. In my old school, we didn't get this far into this lesson. In fact, we barely got into the lesson before this one. Was my old school behind or is this school ahead?

Maddox also ignores me when I ask him what time class ends. And I know he heard me. I mean, he made eye contact with me for a few seconds before he looked away. And the moment the bell rang, he jumped from his seat and dove out of the classroom, not bothering to retrieve the homework on the way out.

In my Pre-Calculus class, which I have absolutely no friends in, I'm surprised when two girls take the seats beside me. I just assume that there's a shortage of seats until they introduce themselves to me. I recognize them; they'e two of the people who followed Maddox out of the cafeteria when I attacked him with my lunch.

"I'm Cassidy," the redhead introduces herself. She has several piercings on her ears, a lip piercing, and an eyebrow piercing. I smile at her and nod, still confused as to why she's talking to me.

"I'm Winona," the dark skinned one greets me. She doesn't have any piercings but her makeup is dark and smokey, like something I've seen in a tutor. I smile at her as well, nodding my head again. "You must be Olivia."

My eyes flicker from Cassidy to Winona in slight confusion. "Uh, yeah, how'd you know?" I ask.

"Maddox," they reply in unison. "We're his friends."

"Oh," I mutter. "Well, yeah, I'm Olivia."

The girls start a conversation with me and I politely engage, though still confused as to why Maddox told them about me. I don't bother to ask.

"You're going to homecoming with a boy?" my aunt gasps the second I enter the house with my bag over my shoulder.

I nod slowly. "Yeah, how'd you know?" I wonder as I slow to a stop in front of her.

"Viv was talking about it on the phone when she came in," my aunt smiles. "Do you have a dress?"

I shake my head. "No," I answer in short. I don't even have money for one, if we're being honest. I really didn't think this through.

"Well, homecoming's this Friday! We need to go get you a dress," my aunt explains happily.

"Now?" I mutter when I see her grabbing her car keys.

"Yeah, or they'll all be sold out, if they aren't already!" she smiles at me.

Even if Maddox ditches me, I still have to go. My aunt bought me a dress and shoes and as far as she's concerned, I really like this boy. I don't know how she came to that conclusion seeing as I've been here for barely a week but I don't ask questions. Simply put, it'd be embarrassing if he cancels on me. It's worse because I won't know until I get to homecoming. He could've already decided he's not going to go without telling me and just stand me up. Now that I think about it, I bet he won't show up. We haven't talked since Tuesday, and he didn't seem very happy with me then, probably because I led him on an unintentional wild goose chase to my house on Monday. Or maybe it was the fact that I bumped into him.

Once the bell rings, I immediately begin packing up my stuff. Everyone else does the same. Mrs. Reanna is the type of teacher to yell at you if you make a move to put something back in your bag before the bell rings, even if it's an eraser. I jolt in surprise when a voice speaks in the quiet classroom. "Are we still on for tonight?" Maddox wonders in a strained voice.

I turn around as I swing my bag over my shoulder. Cassidy and Winona stand behind him with large grins directed at me. "Yeah," I confirm as I give both girls a confused look.

He groans and Winona elbows him in the side. Through gritted teeth, he questions: "Do you need a ride?"

I think about it. Would I rather sit through a tense, awkward ride with Maddox or a loud, obnoxious ride with my cousin and her friends, where they'd make fun of me and I'd have to refrain from ripping the door off its hinges and slapping them all across their faces with it? It isn't much of a competition, to be honest. "Yeah," I agree since he's offering.

"What's the address again?" he questions and I have a feeling Cassidy's pinching his side by the way he's cringing away from her.

"I'll write it down," I tell him as I reach for my bag.

"Or she'll just text it to you," Winona suggests quietly.

"Or you can text it to me," he blurts and I feel myself cringing for him. The two girls are using him like a puppet, poking and pinching him to get him to speak.

"I don't have your number," I state the obvious.

He digs into his pocket and retrieves his phone. I guess Winona pinched him a little too hard because he tosses it at me as he lets out a girlish squeal. I shuffle to catch it, almost dropping it several times. He has a terrified look on his face as he watches me fight gravity to grab the phone.

I notice that his phone doesn't have a lock on it. Huh, unusual. "Don't touch anything," he tells me in his normal, threatening voice. I glance at him and watch as his back arches in reaction to Cassidy pinching him. "Or touch whatever you want." His voice raises with each word he says.

When I reach my cousins car, I find her waiting impatiently. She mumbles something about not waiting on me again as I buckle my seatbelt and I huff noisily in response. Halfway home, I turn to look at her. "I don't need a ride to homecoming."

"Why? Did he cancel on you?" she smirks in a somewhat satisfied manner.

I roll my eyes at her. "No, he's bringing me."

She doesn't bother to respond and only continues driving in her angry, dangerous manner.

I hear a car honking outside and assume it's Maddox. I starts towards the door and she quirks a brow. "That for you?" she wonders as she glances out the front window.

"Yeah, I've got to go," I tell her. I know Maddox will get frustrated and drive off if I'm not outside in a minute or so.

As I walk towards Maddox's car, I'm surprised to find him in an actual tuxedo. I don't know what I was expecting him to wear, but it wasn't anything remotely formal. It was probably all black and leather because he seems to be fond of that. From what I've seen so far, his uniform is always accessorized with the two. When I get into the car and admire his outfit, he glares at me. "Don't say anything."

"A tuxedo?" I ask with a small smirk on my lips. I can't help but to tease. He glowers at me before he pulls off down the road. "Do you live far from here?"

My question about why he came so early was answered when we drove in an unfamiliar direction. Rather than straight heading to school, we take a detour. Twenty minutes go by and we eventually arrive at a cute, white house. It's tiny and has a neat front yard with plants hanging from the porch. Two familiar girls emerge from the house and I can't help but smile. Cassidy and Winona slowly walk to the car, yelling out swear words when Maddox honks the horn. I swear I see him grin at that. I wait patiently for them to get into the car before we take off, but not without loud music, yelling, and terrible singing.

When we arrive to school, we go to the event hall after handing in our tickets, which were free thanks to a recent fundraiser. I was grateful; I only brought ten dollars in case we stopped for food. Barely fifteen minutes after Maddox, Cassidy, Winona and I arrive, Vivica and her friends show up. I'm standing off to the side with Maddox and we're both watching people silently. Speaking is awkward because he rarely replies. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, he'll nod. Other times, he'll outright ignore me. It's quite aggravating- all I want to do is make this event fun for the both of us but it's not going to work unless he cooperates. And every time he ignores me, my attitude towards him becomes sharper and sharper.

Giving up on conversation, I allow my eyes to wander around the event hall. I noticed a group of people making their way over to us. Leading the group of five or six is Winona and Cassidy. I recognize a few people. I know one of them is called Nicholas, and another is called Jackson. I think I have class with them. However, I don't recognize the two people in the back at all- a girl and a boy.

"Olivia!" Winona greets me before she turns and points at people, listing off their names as she does. "Nicholas, Jackson, Parker, Raven."

Okay, so Nicholas is the one with the boyish smile and surfer blonde hair. Jackson has brown hair, which rises up in the front, and bright blue eyes. Parker, like Jackson, has brown hair and matching eyes. He's at least a foot taller than me and I stand at 5'6", which is a bit tall, I guess. Raven, the only girl of the four "new" people, wears her light brown hair down to her shoulders and has bright green eyes, like Maddox's. She's a good three or four inches shorter than me and is wearing a straight, white grin. It takes me a second to notice that she has a nose ring.

Catching me by surprise, Raven walks over to Maddox, wraps her arms around his neck, and presses her lips to his. He return the kiss as he loops his arms around her waist. I awkwardly looked away and shoot a look to Cassidy, who laughs loudly. Nicholas, Parker, and Jackson, who all wear disgusted looks on their faces, excuse themselves.

"Don't worry, they're not dating," Winona whispers to me. My eyes widen slightly as I look back at her.

"Uh, good to know," I mutter as I look at the pair a few feet away. I honestly don't care whether or not he's dating her.

"You look so...okay with it," Cassidy adds as she examines my facial expression.

I shrug at her. "It's not like I like him."

"So...why'd you ask him?" Winona inquires with furrowed brows.

"I was dared to by my cousin," I confess with another shrug.

Winona blinks a few times, as does Cassidy. "Oh," they both blurt. I simply nod in response, happy that everything is cleared up.

They talk excitedly about all the cute boys among us and I agree occasionally. I nod appreciatively when I see a group of cute guys having a conversation. I smile as couples dance to the song that's playing. "Who is that?" I question curiously when I see a tall, blonde boy saunter across the room.

"The blonde one?" Winona asks from beside me. I nod at her. "Adrien Warhol. He has a girlfriend."

"Well, that doesn't change the fact that he's cute," I mumble as I assess him once again. I mean, it's not like I'm going to go over there and try to talk to him.

It takes me a second to realize that Maddox has joined the conversation. Hearing his scoff, I glance over and he rolls his eyes. "If you want to go up against his girlfriend, be my guest. She does kickboxing," he adds as if I care.

I curiously look at him. "Do you know him?" I press as I look back at Adrien.

"Nope," he replies. Raven has her head on his arm.

"Then how do you know all this?" I inquire with a curious look on my face.

"I'm very observant," he excuses with a one-armed shrug.

"So... you're creepy?" I quirk an eyebrow. Winona and Cassidy laughs.

He glare at me before looking around. "Call it what you want."

"You like gossiping, don't you?" I smirk. He sets his narrowed eyes on me in the form of a glower. Instead of being intimidated like I should be, I simply laugh. He looks away with a scowl and again, refuses to acknowledge me.

After being dragged to the dance floor by Cassidy and Winona, we dance for barely thirty minutes before they ask if we can go back to where we were standing before. We return to the area where Maddox and Raven are with jubilant smiles on our faces. I cringe when Raven pecks Maddox's lips and I immediately turn away and join Winona and Cassidy's conversation. Once the discussion dies down a bit, I feel the urge to announce something. "I'm hungry."

Winona immediately turns to Maddox and I know I've made a mistake telling her that small fact. Maddox is talking to Raven, who has a large grin on her face, when Winona clears her throat. "Maddox! Your date is hungry!"

"That sounds like a personal problem," he responds as he turns back around with an annoyed look on his face.

"Take her to get something to eat," Winona demands. My face is red as I stare at Winona. How could she?

Maddox groans as he pulls away from Raven, giving her one last kiss before turning to exit the event hall. Winona shoves me in his direction when she sees that I haven't moved. I shoot her a glare and earn a laugh in return.

I follow after him with my head down and stare at my shoes as they clack against the linoleum. As we walk by a fan, I'm hit with the smell of cologne. I inhale deeply, unsure if it was Maddox or just a brief whiff of someone else. It smells good. I slowly inch closer to him in an attempt to smell him. When my face gets close enough to his back, he whips around faster than I anticipated.

"What are you doing?" he questions me and I immediately jerk my head back. I cough awkwardly as my face heats up from being caught.

"You smell good," I blurt.

He narrows his eyes at me before turning away.

Gee, now I've made things awkward.

We get into an argument in the car about which fast food restaurant to go to. I want to go to Burger King but he wants to go anywhere else. For some reason, he's so against going to Burger King that he threatened to change the route of our drive so we wouldn't come in contact with any of the restaurants. "Come on! I have to pee! Can we at least stop at Burger King so I can go?"

"We're not going to this one," he retorts as we approach one of the fast food chains.

"I really have to pee!" I tell him. "I'll pee myself if I don't go now!"

"Don't you dare," he snaps in annoyance. I smirk in satisfaction as I stare out the window. I know his weak spot- his car.

"I can't help it. My bladder feels like it's going to explode. I shouldn't have drunk all those sodas," I complain as I dramatically press my hands over my stomach and cross my legs in the seat.

"Fine, we'll stop!" he barks. "But I'm not going in."

"Are you banned from Burger King or something?" I wonder. I thought it was just him refusing to get the food I wanted, but I guess it's something personal.

"Something," he responds mysteriously. He's a very open person, I've noticed. Except, not.

"Well, I'm going to run in and out," I tell him as he slowly pulls into the plaza. I sigh in relief as I exit the car and enter the restaurant. I walk up to the lengthy line and stare at the overhead menu, contemplating what I'm going to get. About ten minutes later, Maddox bursts into the restaurant with a hoodie on. I'm not sure where he got it from but it's on and up on his head. When he sees me in line, he walks over and begins to whisper angrily at me.

"I thought you had to pee," he hisses.

"I want Burger King," I reply with a shrug. What's he going to do? Drag me out of here?

"Welcome to Burger King, how may I help you?" a guy's voice asks and I turn my attention to the boy behind he counter. Maddox immediately looks down at the tiled floor. "Maddox, is that you?"

Maddox grunts and glares at me. I let my head bounce between the excitable boy behind the register and the miserable boy to my left. "Maddox! I thought you vowed never to come to my place of employment!"

Upon further inspection, I realize that they guy behind the counter looks very similar to Maddox- the same full lips, dark hair, and green eyes. Except, the guy behind the register, whose name-tag reads "Abel," looks a lot happier. His eyes are wide and glowing, unlike Maddox's, which are usually narrowed and cynical. It's very, very likely that the two are brothers.

"And who are you?" Abel asks as he turns to look at me. Rather than saying it rudely, he seems curious, amused almost.

"Oh my god," Maddox mutters through gritted teeth as he glowers at the floor.

"I'm Olivia," I tell Abel with a small smile. Though I wouldn't mind this introduction had it been planned and anticipated, I can't help but feel awkward and tense. Maddox obviously didn't want me to meet his brother. Now, I see why he wanted to avoid Burger King. This was the first one on the road we were taking and I'd obviously demand we stop here to get food.

"I'm Abel, you could probably tell by my name tag," the guy grins. "So how do you know Maddox? Are you his girlfriend?"

With a bright red face, I shake my head quickly. "No," I concur.

"I should have assumed so. My brother can't get a real girlfriend to save his life. Isn't that right, Maddie?" he asks with a smirk. I can tell that Maddox is getting angry by the clenching of his jaw.

Abel leans over the counter, allows his legs to flail around behind him, and unzips Maddox's hoodie to reveal the tuxedo. He then glances at my dress as he returns to his standing position. "Isn't homecoming today?" he questions, though it's clear that he knows the answer. I nod slowly and he grins. "Did you guys go together?" Another hesitant nod from me.

"How cute," he coos as he examines our matching outfits. Abel yanks down Maddox's hood and grins at his brother, who glowers back. I thought his annoyance with me was bad; he looks like he wants to rip Abel's head from his body. As I continue to assess the two, I struggle to determine who's younger. Abel is shorter and immature but Maddox rarely shows any sign of emotion, so you can't exactly compare personalities. Plus, height doesn't exactly clue me in on much.

Maddox's hair is ruffled and his eyes look as if they can turn someone to stone; however, Abel doesn't look even slightly fazed. "When did you plan on bringing her home to meet mom and dad?" he wonders.

Maddox doesn't speak; instead he stands there with clenched fists. His brother continues to pick with him. Eventually, I decide to speak up. Though it's not my place to talk, I can't help but feel the need to stop the arguing before something goes wrong. "Uh, Maddox and I were just leaving." I step out of line and the lady behind me immediately took my spot with an annoyed look on her face, obviously not amused with the introduction.

When I see that Maddox isn't moving, I tug on the sleeve of his sweater, not at all surprised when he yanks his arm away from me. He storms out of the restaurant and I follow behind him with a quiet sigh.

And I thought that the night couldn't get any more awkward.

The following Monday, I have a feeling that whatever Maddox and I had going on, which was barely anything, had come to an end on Friday night after he sped to my house and wordlessly told me to get out of the car. I was barely on the sidewalk when he zoomed off again, leaving me to watch the car until it disappeared down the street. I was home by ten thirty. At least Vivica hadn't seen the sour end to a supposedly fun night.

I was right, to put it simply. Maddox doesn't even spare a glance at me in class, nor does he bother to wave at me whenever we have a few seconds of uncomfortable eye contact, not that he ever would before. I feel bad for some unknown reason. I guess it's because I went against his wishes and forced my way into his life by meeting his brother. Maddox isn't the nicest person, but then again, we all have our flaws. One of my major ones, unfortunately, is that I'm a people-pleaser. I'm trying to change that.

When Wednesday comes around, I'm content with the idea of eating alone and walking to and from school. It'll take me forty five minutes, give or take, but I'll manage. I don't want to have to depend on anyone, especially not Vivica. So when I arrive at school ten minutes before the first bell rang, I decide to go to the bathroom to freshen up. The walking will take some time getting used to and I'll have to plan rides with Aunt Gen ahead of time in the case of bad weather.

It isn't until sixth period that I'm assigned the first partner project of the school year. I would've been excited had I actually liked the project, and had someone been willing to partner up with me. Instead, I'm in the front of the class like an idiot while everyone else is partnering up behind me. The teacher begins calling out names and checking who they're partnered with to keep record.

"Jessica Fay?" Mr. Herman calls out.

"Aaron," Jessica responds in short. I glance at her and she brushes her curly hair out of her face.

"Aaron, are you okay with that?" Mr. Herman asks and Aaron nods.

I already asked the teacher if we were allowed to work alone and he said no and that this class requires a lot of group work. It's American Literature- there are plenty of authors who write their stories alone. Why can't I be one of them? It's a children's book, not a textbook. Working with someone else will only make things difficult. Besides, if we have to work on it at home, that makes things ten times harder.

"Maddox Finnegan?" the teacher calls and I stare at the ceiling, hoping that there are an odd number of students in the class so I'd be allowed to work alone. But knowing Mr. Herman, he'd force me into an already formed group so I'd be an awkward and unwanted third wheel.

"Olivia," his familiar voice speaks from the back of the class. I furrow my eyebrows when I try to think if there are other Olivia's in this class. Apparently, there aren't because Mr. Herman looks to me as if satisfied that I ended up finding a partner.

"Is that okay with you?" he questions me and I purse my lips.

Slowly, I nod. "Yeah, sure."

When Mr. H sees that we aren't moving, he claps his hands to signify that we're moving on to the next part of the class. "Sit with your partners while I pass out the project booklets," he announces and I glance back at Maddox. He's sitting back in his seat with his phone in his hands. When he sees that I'm not moving, he surprises me by groaning, collecting his things, and getting up.

Mr. H gives us ten minutes at the end of class to discuss potential topics. I take it upon myself to change the direction of our conversation. "What made you decide to actually talk to me again?" I inquire with a slight attitude.

"Have I ever told you that you talk so much?" he wonders with a quiet sigh.

"Have I ever told you that you dodge questions often?" I retort with raised brows.

"Have I ever told you that I didn't care?" he comments as he flips his phone over in his hands.

"You're very rude," I mutter as I glance down at the desk.

"And I repeat, have I ever told you that I didn't care?" he reiterates with a dry expression on his face.

"I hope you know that this project requires working outside of school," I murmur as I look through the packet.

"I'm aware," he concludes.

"And we're definitely not working at my aunt's." I shiver at the thought of being in the same house as Vivica while Maddox is there. She hates the fact that Maddox actually agreed to go to homecoming with me. Seeing me and him together after will only strike another fuse.

"Is this you begging to go to my house?" he asks with something of a smirk. I stare at him for a few seconds before raising an eyebrow. I guess he's awkward in situations where he's guilty of doing something bad. In this case, it's treating me like garbage and not apologizing. Rather than manning up and saying that he's sorry, he simply ignored me. Now he's back and trying to act as though nothing happened.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" I question him. "Is this your way of trying to apologize for getting mad at me for something that wasn't my fault? And being an overall jerk to me when I was just trying to be nice?"

He sighs and looks the other way. "I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're asking of me."

I gaze at him for a few more seconds before shaking my head and turning back to the packet on my desk. So he's just working with me because I'm the only one he can "tolerate", not because he actually wants to work with me.

When the last bell rings, I get up, take my time walking to my locker, and slowly put my books. I even use the bathroom and put my hair up. Once I'm ready to leave, I exit the school and notice that many cars are missing, including my cousin's. I told my aunt that I would be walking back and forth from school from now on so she wouldn't yell at Vivica for arriving home without me. When she asked why, I told her for exercising purposes; I was too embarrassed to tell her that her daughter hates me.

Maddox's car is still outside when I push open the doors to the building. Like usual, he's leaning up against it with his phone in his hands. I know he's not waiting for anyone, but for some reason, he's still here. I zip my jacket up as I walk across the lot. Because Maddox parks his car near the entrance, I have to walk past him, and as I'm doing so, he calls out to me.

"They left," he states the obvious as if my eyes don't work.

"I'm aware," I respond.

"So what are you doing?" he wonders as I continue on. I found a shortcut through some woods that shaves twenty minutes off the typical hour long walk. It's not the safest bet but I figure I'll be fine. I survived this morning either way. Let's just hope there aren't any creeps hanging out in there.

I motion towards the exit of the lot. "Walking," I say as if it's obvious.

"To your house?" he asks as he allows his eyebrows to rise. It's not as bad as he's making it out to be. Yeah, it's a good distance but it's such a long drive in a car because of all the one ways and dead-ends. Those don't affect walkers.

"Yeah," I nod at him.

"Do you want a ride?" he asks me after a few seconds of us just staring at each other.

"So you can kick me out of your car again? No thanks," I retort with a quiet scoff.

"I didn't kick you out of my car," he states. I stop walking and turn to look at him with my hands tucked in my pockets.

"You leaned over me, unlocked, and opened my door. That's kicking me out," I state.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's unlocking and opening your door. It's usually considered a gentlemanly thing to do," he responds as if it wasn't rude of him. I give him a flat look in response. "It's supposed to rain."

That's a weird way to apologize, isn't it?

"Then let it rain," I scoff as I keep walking, leaving him to stand in the parking lot.