The next morning I wake up a minute before my alarm goes off. I curl my hair and do my makeup in the bathroom. It's supposed to rain today because California weather is on crack. I go to my closet and look over my options. I don't have very many. I go with some jeans, a white long sleeved shirt and a light green jacket. I throw on a pair of brown boots and head downstairs.

Before leaving, I grab a banana from the kitchen and eat it on the way out. As I'm walking to my car I hear yelling coming from next door. Colton opens the front door and I hear the yelling get louder. He shuts the door behind him and walks to his motorcycle. He looks irritated and stiff as he snatches the helmet off the seat. He swings his leg over the bike and brings the helmet to his face. He notices me staring and he stares back before putting the helmet on and starting his ride.

I get into my car and do the same. I assume he too is on his way to school so I'm not sure who should leave their driveway first. He makes the first move as he rolls down the driveway. Once he's on the street, he's off. I follow close behind him and we soon reach a red light. It's a foggy dark morning so my headlights had come on and are shining on the back of his leather jacket .

He turns his head back a little as if to see if it's me behind him. The light turns green and he takes off. I stay behind him the entire time until we get to school. I park in my usual spot but Colton parks a little closer to the building. I grab my bag from the backseat and start towards the D building. As I pass Colton, he approaches me and says, "don't follow me like that again." I was about to take him seriously but then he smiles and walks off. His smile was wide and genuine, not sarcastic and cold. It's beautiful.

This boy is literally crazy.

***

I barely pay any attention in my first period and my second passes in a breeze since calls were pretty nonstop. I get to anatomy and sit in my usual spot. Arko walks in a little after me and takes his seat. As soon as he sits, his smell hits me like a truck. Please, not again today. I hold my breath as he tells me hello. I feel bad because I may seem distant but I must have mercy on my nose.

Colton walks in just as the bell rings and Mr. Miller gives him The Look. The Look is what you get when you do something Miller doesn't approve of, and he believes you should already be in your seat when the bell rings. I laugh at the way Miller stares at Colton the whole way to his seat. But instant karma bites me in the ass when I inhale a lungful of what smells like armpit.

I cough and bring my hand to my nose to smell the sweet scent of my lotion. In the corner of my eye I see Colton looking at me, and then I see him throw his head back. He then stands up from his seat and stands behind Arko.

He taps him on the shoulder and says, "Switch spots with me." His voice is pretty intimidating and I suddenly feel sorry for Arko. Here's this small, skinny little boy and then there's Colton, a tall monster in comparison.

"But, but this is my seat," Arko says.

"I said switch," Colton repeats, leaning a little closer. I would advise him not to but I'm sort of frozen and he doesn't seem to be phased by the smell. Arko stands up and gathers his things and moves two seats down.

Colton takes his seat next to me but doesn't say a word. He just stares forward and stays silent. His face is hard and I wonder if it hurts at the end of the day from keeping it so stiff. I also notice that the bruise around his eye is almost completely gone.

I realize he did this so I'd be able to breathe, so that's exactly what I do. I take a deep breathe and my nose is filled with his scent instead. It's a sweet smell, like clean laundry and mint. His scent is definitely an upgrade.

I turn my attention to my work, but it's hard to concentrate with him right next to me. But Miller does catch my attention by saying, "The chapter 6 test will be on Monday, and I'm still working on the study guide but it'll be ready to print tomorrow."

I've been slacking this week and I'm in no way ready to take this test. I think of a way to maybe get Miller to change the test date. This is my second year having Miller as a science teacher and he loves to play favorites and I'm one of them.

I raise my hand and he points to me. "The test is on Monday you said?" I ask.

"Yes that's right," he replies.

"And the study guide isn't even online yet?" The study guide is an important part of taking his tests because you answer the questions and your able to use it on the test. It makes it way easier than taking it alone, obviously.

"He already said that freak," a girl in the front row says. Colton's head shoots up, but he doesn't say anything. Why would he? Miller gives the girl The Look and tells her to step outside.

"Yes that's correct, it'll be up tomorrow," Miller turns his attention back to me.

"But Mr. Miller tomorrow's Friday and the test is on Monday, how is that fair?" I ask.

"Well you print out the study guide tomorrow, work on it all weekend and come prepared on Monday," he says simply. Mr. Miller's an old man. I think he said he's 64. He's short and bald with a huge belly. Not very intimidating.

"Yes but Miller you always say to get ahead and have the study guide done a week before the test. How am I supposed to get ahead if the study guide isn't even ready?" I argue. Everyone turns to look at me, but my demeanor remains neutral.

Miller eyes me for a few seconds before saying, "Camryn's brought a good point to my attention. The test will be on Thursday and I expect all of you to be prepared." The class cheers and I mentally pat myself on the back.

I hear someone scoff next to me and I turn to face Colton. "Do you always get what you want?" he asks harshly. Okay, Arko would never say that. In fact he would thank me. I'm starting to think I'd take the smell over the attitude.

"I'm sorry?" I say, confused by the way his mood changes in the blink of an eye. It's kind of annoying and I'm over it.

"Nothing," he says, turning his head towards the front of the class. I notice that he has no work out in front of him. Does he even have a backpack?

I realize that I still need to grab yesterday's worksheets so I get up to do so. The sheets are in stacks on the counter on the side of the classroom. I take one of each and sit back down at my seat. Colton glances at the papers and his hands form into fists on top of the desk. What's with him?

The bell rings and Colton bolts out the door before I have all my things put away. I walk out of class and start walking down the hallway when someone tugs at my arm.

"What happened to the papers I brought you," Colton asks, his expression still tough. I don't want to tell him I threw them away because then he'd ask why and I don't want to explain.

"I forgot them at home and I need to work on them in class soo..." I say, being quick on my feet. I turn around to walk to fourth period, but he pulls my arm again.

"So I brought them to you for nothing?" he asks, still holding my arm. I look down at his hold and then back into his eyes. He lets go.

"I'm sorry," I say, shrugging my shoulders.

He runs his hand through his hair and says, "You know you're making it real hard to be your friend."

"I thought you didn't want to be friends," I remind him, raising my brow. He lets out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, well," he says and walks away. Okay I get it. If we're going to be friends, I'll just have to get use to his bipolar moodiness.

It started to pour rain by the time lunch came around so Judith and I practically ran to the cafeteria. We sit at our table and I brush some of the water off the sleeves of my jacket. The cafeteria is more crowded than usual due to the rain, there's not even any space to stand on the wall.

I notice Colton walk in and he shakes his hair with his fingers to rid some of the water. He looks around the cafeteria looking like he's lost and then his eyes meet mine. I quickly look away and turn my attention to my salad in front of me.

"Cam, don't look now but I think the new guy is walking towards us," Judith whispers quietly. "Oh my god he is," she says excitedly. Before I have the chance to turn back around, Colton takes a seat at our table. He doesn't say anything, he just stares at the crowd of people in front of him. He rests his elbow on the table and rests his head in his palm under his chin. So casual.

"Hi, my name's Judith," Judith smiles at him. She seems nervous like how you act when you meet your favorite actor.

"Colton," he nods, looking at her for a second, then turning his attention away again. It's super quiet so I take a bite of my salad just because. I realize I'm not even hungry anymore. Why is he sitting with us.

Judith still has a stupid smile on her face and is starring at him like he's an angel. "So what school are you from Colton? Did you get kicked out? Is that why your here? Is our school better or worse than your last?" Judith rambles.

Colton turns to look at her and says, "you ask too many questions." He gets up and exits the cafeteria without another word. He didn't even eat.

I see Judith's smile fall to a frown and I say, "Don't take it personally, he's a douche to everyone," and she laughs weakly. "C'mon," I tell her, "lets get some ice cream." After waiting in line for ten minutes, I'm able to cheer Judith up by buying her an ice cream. She's like a child, so easy to please. We walk back to our table which, thankfully, was still empty.

"So why did you ask him all those questions anyways?" I ask her, popping a grape into my mouth.

"Because of the rumors," she replies, taking a lick of her ice cream. I hand her a napkin to wipe the excess off of her chin.

"What rumors?" I ask, trying to act like I'm not too interested. What are people saying about Colton?

"You haven't heard?" she asks. I give her a look that says 'who would tell me' and she says, "right. People are saying he's here because he got in to many fights at his old school."

"Well that's not a big deal, no need to interrogate him," I say nonchalantly.

"Yeah but in his last fight the other guy had to go to the hospital, poor dude," she sighs. The hospital? Damn, that's rough. What would make Colton do such a thing?

"Do you know what school he came from?" I ask.

"I heard he was from Valley High, but that's why I asked him, you know, to confirm," she says, finishing off her ice cream. As soon as she said the name I remembered Walt mentioning it in the office the other day.

"Oh," is all I say. I stay quiet for the rest of lunch and head to English as soon as the bell rings. I'm having a hard time concentrating, so I basically spend the whole period in a daze thinking of a reason as to why Colton would send someone to the hospital. When the bell rings I head to the parking lot.

I don't see Colton once I get to the back so instead of going straight to my car I sit on planter. I don't know why I'm waiting for him, maybe I want to ask him some questions myself. But would he really answer them or would he just brush them off like he did with Judith?

I pull out my phone and before I know it I'm Googling Colton. I type in 'Colton Sommers Valley high school'. I hit search and the first thing I see is a link titled 'Colton Sommers vs. Penn Cambridge Ends In A Trip To The Hospital'.

I click on the link and an article pops up and I skim over it. "Cambridge started fight... Sommers finished it... Cambridge sent to hospital... Sommers arrested for assault..." I scroll through the article and see there's another link to external images. I click on it and gasp at the sight that pops up.

They're pictures of a mans face bloody and bruised and disgusting. His eyes are swollen shut and his face it twice as big as a normal one.

"What are you doing?" I jump and turn around, accidentally dropping my phone. It's Colton. He bends down to pick up my phone and I try to stop him but it's too late. He glances at the screen and his eyes go wide.

"I can explain," I say quickly, taking my phone from his hand. His face is stone. His eyes are burning holes in mine, I have to look away. "I just wanted to know..."

"So instead of fucking asking me, you look me up," he snaps. I wince at his tone of voice and he takes a step towards me.

"I'm sorry..." I begin.

"You're always fucking sorry, why don't you just leave me alone and stay the fuck out of my business" he spits. His words are sharp and they're striking me like knives. I'm too shocked to say anything as he storms off to his motorcycle.

I can't even call him crazy for going off on me, I'm the one who screwed up. I shouldn't have been snooping. I don't know if I should try to apologize again right now, or wait for him to cool off.

I start walking to my car, which is a few spaces away from him and as I pass, he's standing in front of his bike, pinching the bridge of his nose. I take a few steps towards him.

"Colton, I..." Colton cuts me off by punching the right side mirror of Bug parked next to him. I flinch at the sound of the glass breaking and the sound of the alarm going off. He then jumps on his bike and takes off. I look around the parking lot nervously to see if anyone noticed what happened and luckily the football boys are on the other side of the lot. I hurry to my car and am away from the school in seconds.

What is his problem, why would he do that? If the parking lot cameras are on, he's going to be in a shitload of trouble. And it's all my fault because I'm the one who pissed him off. If he gets in trouble for that then he'll hate me even more than he does now.

I pull up to my house a few minutes later and Colton's motorcycle isn't in his driveway. I wouldn't expect him to go straight home anyway. I really messed up this time and I'm not sure how to fix it.

This is just too much to think about before I have to go to work so I take a shower to try and clear my mind. The hot water didn't really help my mind but it did relax my muscles. I forgot to not wash my hair so now I have to blow dry it.

I blow dry my hair straight and put it up in a ponytail. I pull out some pieces to frame my face and get to work on my makeup. I do my usual routine and then put on my uniform.

I take my keys an apron downstairs and my mom stops me at the door. She looks all dressed up with her hair and makeup done and she's wearing a dress. On a Thursday?

"Camryn, sweetie, I'm going to need to borrow your car, mine's in the shop" she says, holding her hand out for my keys.

"Okay," I say handing them to her, "are you going to take me to work then?" She nods. "And pick me up?" She nods again, walking out the door. "Where are you going?" I ask.

"Your father is taking me on a date?" she smiles excitedly.

"On a Thursday? Why?"

She frowns and says, "Well we both work all weekend and I've been wanting to go out."

"Okay, then why do you need my car, why can't dad take you on your date in his car?" I ask, climbing into the passenger seat of my Camry.

"I don't know, he says it's a surprise," she shrugs. I don't ask her what kind of surprise because obviously she doesn't know. I love how my parents still keep things a little spontaneous.

My mother's driving isn't the best and it worries me. She steps on the brakes too hard and always tries to multitask. I have to tell her to stay off her phone five times by the time we reach the diner.

"Okay I get off at 10, don't forget," I tell her.

"Forget my own child? Never," she laughs and I kiss her goodbye. I get out of the car and cover my head with my apron due to the rain. I run to the entrance to the diner and shake myself once I'm inside.

I stomp on the front mat a few times before stepping on the tile. I look up to see which usuals are at the counter this evening and to my surprise, I see someone unfamiliar.

I see Colton.