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"I was trying to call you for ages!" Callie whined behind me as I cautiously peered around the corner before going to my locker.

"I know," I said, opening it and getting my books. "I sent you a text, didn't you see it?"

"Um, a text saying you would explain everything to me tomorrow at school? Don't you know that just makes me more curious?"

I couldn't help but laugh, but Callie wore a pout. "Now spill. Where did you disappear to after school yesterday? Didn't you say you were going to find Ashton and then go to detention?"

I winced at the word detention.

"Yep. She did," Melissa said, appearing on my right.

With her there, and Callie on my left, I had nowhere to escape.

"We were so worried about you! We even went to Kevin to find out where you or Ashton were."

"At least you're speaking to him again," I said with a weak laugh.

Inside I was panicking. How was I supposed to explain my disappearance to them without revealing anything about Ashton's secret?

"What did Kevin say?" I asked.

"That boy didn't know anything. He was just as surprised to hear that you and Ashton were MIA."

"I just went to detention," I shrugged.

Hopefully the action seemed natural enough. They didn't look convinced.

"And then...?" Callie prodded.

I tried to swallow my nervousness. There was no way I could lie to them. I couldn't lie to save my life.

I racked my brain to find a suitable answer. I couldn't simply explain that Ashton took me to his home to meet his parents and show me a life changing secret. Even I had trouble believing that. Finally, I found a solution.

"He took me home in his car," I said as calmly as I could. It was true, at least.

"Ashton took you home?!" they shouted together in surprise.

"Shh!" I whispered to them. "The whole hallway doesn't have to know too."

"Nothing happened in between that?" Melissa asked suspiciously. "Ashton has been hanging around you a lot lately."

Callie's piercing eyes seemed to see right through my carefully edited story.

"Um..." I struggled. "I met a few of his friends too."

They both stared at me incredulously.

"Okay. So let's get this straight. You went to detention, then he took you home, but you had a meet and greet with his friends before that?" Melissa summed up with a confused expression.

"If you say it like that, then it sounds weird," I complained.

"This whole situation is weird," Callie sighed. Then her eyes perked up. "Do you think he's into you?"

"Callie he has a girlfriend, remember?" I reminded.

"Oh, yeah. Her. Speaking of Nicole, if she and her friends try something like that again, I'd be more than happy to show them just how high I can kick."

She kicked the air for emphasis, nearly flooring the guy who was walking in front of us.

"You'll get in trouble if you do that," I reminded her, trying to hold back my laugh as the guy hurried away from her.

"I will take one for the team," she grinned.

"But back to Ashton... He has been showing up a lot lately. Wherever you are, he's there too," Melissa deliberated as we walked to class.

I kept continuously scanning the place for any sign of Ashton. Today I needed to avoid him at all costs. I wasn't ready to discuss what happened yesterday and I didn't want my friends to think there was something going on between us.

After all, there was nothing going on, right?

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In the end, I didn't have to take measures to avoid Ashton. It was clear that he was the one avoiding me.

In English, I could feel his burning gaze at the back of my head. I thought I was just imagining it, but when I turned around to pass a handout to the person behind me, our eyes connected. Of course, he was glaring and his mouth was set in a straight line.

Beside him, Nicole was desperately trying to get his attention. She gave up with a pout and decided to copy the notes from the board, then she realized that Ashton's attention was focused on me. Her features contorted in anger as she sized me up with a jealous glare.

I managed to break eye contact with him and turned around in my chair. I closed my eyes with a sigh. What was this crazy situation I'd managed to get myself into?

"Are you okay, Liz?" Callie asked, lightly touching my arm. I looked over and saw that her eyes were filled with concern.

I wanted to tell her everything. Explain everything. But I couldn't put it into words.

"I'm fine, just tired," I smiled reassuringly.

She didn't seem totally convinced, but she smiled back and nodded.

I shook my head as if to clear what had just happened. I wouldn't have to explain anything to Mel and Callie, I decided after some thought. There would be nothing to explain. I was not going to get caught up in Ashton's world. Our previous encounters had established the fact that we were not friends.

I was the shy, quiet girl. He was the arrogant jerk.

The shrill sound of the bell indicated that first period was over. I quickly packed my stuff into my bag so that I could leave before Ashton decided to be Ashton. However, he was one of the first to leave the classroom without even looking back. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was the closest we got to communicating that day.

I had this period free, so I followed Callie to her next class and then decided to go to the library. On my way there, I changed my mind. I had a free period, which meant that Kevin did too.

We usually spent the period together, since Melissa and Callie both had classes at this time.

We either went to the library, when it was raining or when I wanted to study. But when it was sunny, we lounged outside under one of the gazebos in the mini 'park' our school had set up.

There was a huge fountain in the center, surrounded by lush green grass and trees. There were concrete paths that led to the gazebos so we wouldn't trample the grass. It was beautiful.

I decided to go there. I doubted he would be there, but I figured it wouldn't be a loss. The park felt relaxing and it made you feel like you weren't at school.

I didn't expect Kevin to be there, so when I turned the path that went to our usual spot, I was super surprised to see him. His eyes were closed and he was leaning against the seat with his AirPods in. I stopped, uncertain as to whether I wanted to have this conversation with him or not. For the billionth time, I wasn't sure where we stood.

As if he could sense that I was there, he opened his eyes and his lips parted in surprise. I decided that I had to talk to him.

I slid into the seat across from him and smiled.

"I didn't know you still came here."

He smiled back and removed his AirPods. "I was afraid you wouldn't come back."

"This is my spot too, you know," I joked lightly.

"Are you, okay?" he asked, suddenly leaning closer to look at me. "I've been telling you to learn to swim."

"I'm fine," I laughed.

"You don't know how worried I was when I saw that you fell in," he said. "Those guys..." His fists clenched in anger.

"I'm okay now," I said, placing my palm over his hand to calm him down. "Your friend saved me."

"My friend? You mean Ashton." He seemed to think about this, and then grinned widely. "He beat me to it. I was about to jump in."

"Thanks, Kev," I smiled. "Although I was surprised that he would mess up his hair to help me."

"You know, Ashton's not as bad as you guys make him out to be," he sighed.

I tilted my head in confusion. "You keep saying that."

"I'm starting to understand why he's like that... with- with you, I mean," he stuttered.

"I'll never understand how you guys became friends," I said, shaking my head in wonder.

When was it that they'd started hanging out? As far as I could remember they'd always been friends, even before Kevin met us. When Kevin wasn't with us, he was with Ashton and his crew.

Ashton and Kevin... together they were the heart-throbs of Westwood High.

"It's kinda complicated," he laughed.

"It is. You're my best friend and also best friends with the guy who hates me for no apparent reason".

Kevin seemed to think about this for a while. "Hmm... He doesn't hate you. And I definitely prefer you over him anyways," he said with a wink.

"Whatever," I laughed, waving him off.

His eyes lit up as he remembered something. "Mel and Callie were looking for you yesterday."

"Yeah, they already found and interrogated me this morning."

"I'm surprised they didn't report you missing and start a search party," he mused. "Ashton took you home safely though," he said more like a statement than a question.

I was about to answer, but paused in surprise. I might have missed that if I wasn't paying attention.

"How did you know I was with Ashton?" I asked cautiously.

Kevin blinked a few times, obviously surprised by my question. "Um... ah! They said you had detention with him, and then they couldn't find you after. I assumed you were with him," he chuckled nervously and took a sip of his bottled water.

"I didn't say he took me home, though," I pressed.

"Oh, you didn't?" Kevin laughed awkwardly. "My mistake."

He grabbed his bag suddenly. "I've got to go," he said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the classrooms.

He hastily got up, flashed me a tight smile and strode off.

I sighed as I watched his retreating figure. Something was off.

I didn't mention that Ashton had taken me home to anyone other than Callie and Melissa. They definitely didn't tell him anything, and I was sure that he was no where around when I told them that. I was so busy looking out for Ashton, I noticed everyone that came into the hallway.

Unless Ashton told him... but I doubt that was the case, or else why didn't he just say so?

This conversation was by no means finished, I decided. I was upset, so I folded my arms on the gazebo table in front of me and rested my head there.

I'd barely slept last night, because I kept on thinking about Ashton's secret and my own identity crisis. I was about to fall asleep when I heard a loud vibration. I groaned. All I wanted was to get some sleep before the next period.

I groggily pulled out my phone, but it was off. I must have imagined it. I went back to sleep and was woken by another loud vibration.

I sat up in frustration and tried to locate the source of the sound. Another vibration indicated that the phone was on the other side of the seat. I got up and walked around to where Kevin had been sitting. Sure enough, his phone and AirPods were there. He must have left them in his hurry.

I picked them up and looked around, but Kevin was long gone.

I slipped his phone into my pocket. Now I had to go find him and return them.

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