Picture of Haley on the side :) --------------------------------->

"Thanks," Keely said the next day as Joe pulled up beside the school.

He just sighed, swivelling around in his seat, Joe looked Keely boldly in the eye. "You're going to forgive him, aren't you?"

Adverting Joe's eyes, she grabbed her side back pack from the ground by her feet. "You better get going, first of all you're already holding up traffic and secondly you're going to end up being late for school."

"So you are?" it might have been phrased as one, but it wasn't a question.

"You don't know him like I do," Keely looked down at the door handle. "Nobody knows him like I do, and I know that sounds so stupid and I feel like cliche, but I really don't know what's between me and Tony still. I didn't sleep at all last night, Joe, I was just sitting up listening to one of my Johnny Cash albums over and over again. And after all of that, I still wasn't sure what it is with me and Tony. So I need one more time, I just need to know."

Looking out at the road, Joe just said, "I'll pick you up where the bus drops you off."

"See you tonight," she sighed sliding out of the car.

Today, Keely was wearing her plaid blue skirt - of course - but she had pulled her socks up her slim calves.

She was wearing one of the school issued white pinstriped with a thin line of grey button up shirt. Keely was wearing the red loose vest with the black trim, she hadn't bothered with a tie this morning, going for the open collar look since it was much easier.

Grabbing her morning Chai latte, Keely didn't hook the extra space at one of the couches in the room for doing the homework she hadn't finished the night before as usual. Instead, she walked straight back out of the room.

Keely just wanted to find Tony, find him and say that one magical word, she just wanted to say 'Okay'. She marched briskly past her own locker, ignoring the weight of her physics text book and binder plus her song book.

When she rounded the corner to Tony's locker, she met his eyes straight on.

This would have been okay, except that the one girl Keely hated the most in this world was just too close for comfort. She had a dangerous home wrecker look on her face, and those milliseconds that had passed between when Keely saw them and Tony looked up, he had been locking down at Taylor as well. A flirtatious look in his eyes and a grin gracing his mouth.

What were you thinking?! Keely's conscience screamed at her. You were going to forgive the scumbag, and there he is, flirting with her!

Everything Keely had ever wanted or ever had, Taylor had made it her priority to either steal it away or ruin it beyond repair. Keely had known that Tony had done some pretty jack ass moves in the past.

But she would never have thought he would ever fall to Taylor's standard.

Especially when he had been begging for Keely's forgiveness just last night, but the proof was right in front of her now.

"Keely," Tony had apparently broken away from the claws of Taylor, because he was grabbing at her are desperately as Keely tried to walk away.

"What do you want now?!" she exclaimed.

Neither of them even registered that they were in a crowded hallway anymore, and Keely's extremely loud shrieking voice was getting more than enough attention from the inhabitants.

"It's not like that," he countered.

"Yeah, right," she shouted hysterically. Pulling the sheet of paper out of her pocket, Keely crumpled the meaningless words and threw them at his head. The paper bounced off his head, hitting an innocent bystander, but once again, they didn't notice the aftermath.

"Best of intentions my ass," Keely scowled.

"I thought you were done being a bitch," Tony wasn't shouting anymore, but his voice was loud and carrying.

Without much ceremony, Keely slapped him hard across the face. It made a blaring echoing sound down the hallway. She knew it wouldn't hurt him much, but Keely just hoped that the slap would make a point.

"I really am finished this time," her voice was dangerous. "I was going to say okay, but now for the first time, I really see that the other half of Tony isn't even a half anymore, it's doesn't even have a sliver. Here are some words for you, I think you'll remember these ones a lot longer than you'll ever remember Travis Tritt's." Taking a deep breath, Keely continued.

"'So you say you want to be with me, You'll have to follow through, With every word you say.' You might be able to take a sack," she took another step back. "But you're never going to be able to follow though."

*

"Are you going to charm Miss. Jones tonight?" Grinning broadly, Keely slid into Joe's car after almost skipping away from the bus.

Ignoring her question, Joe looked at her almost suspiciously. "What are you so happy about?" the tone of his voice matched the dubious light in his bright ice blue eyes.

"Today's just a good day," she said vaguely, waving a hand.

But Joe didn't move the car.

"Seriously," he said, her light-hearted mood seemed to be going to his head, because he laughed. "I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."

"I got to slap Tony today, and right after I quoted Gavin DeGraw, how could this not be a good day?"

"True true," he chuckled, wrapping an arm around Keely's shoulders and pulling her close as he drove one-handed down the road. He didn't ask anymore questions about the incident that had put her into such a buoyant mood, because he didn't want to risk the auspiciousness.

His words had been absolutely true, she hadn't been this bright in a long time. They may have only been seven and eight years old, but Joe could remember her back then.

Keely had always had a smile gracing her generous graceful lips, seeing things always in a light that nobody else could see. And then her mother had died. And that light had left quickly, she still had that humorous tip to her lips, but it never reached her eyes, always pausing at the wariness. Keely still wasn't as happy as she had been back then, there was still a trace of caution in her eyes.

But at the moment she was completely controlled in her own bliss of slapping Tony.

"So you didn't answer my question," Keely prompted.

"What question?" he asked in surprise, he had been as wrapped in his thoughts as Keely was in her bliss.

Rolling her eyes, Keely hit him in the shoulder playfully. "Are you going to come charm the mother with your blond locks and blue eyes? And you could probably mesmerize the daughter, even if she's only five years old."

"I had no idea you found me so alluring," he grinned.

"Don't flatter yourself," she warned. "The country boy look has never worked on me, I like the slightly broken, dark, bad boy look."

*

Keely couldn't contain herself. She was bouncing on her heels with just the thought that her new student would be here in moments. Joe just rolled his eyes and found a seat.

"She's going to be here soon, baby," Keely murmured.

The horse she was speaking to was in fact Rosie. There wasn't much of a choice between what horse the anonymous Mitchie would be riding. Because there was really only two horses that she could offer at the moment, and while Rosie might not be the friendliest horse to anyone but Keely, she was demure, kind for the most part, and, most importantly, slow.

"Pacing isn't going to make a time machine," Joe pointed out lazily from the chair.

Glaring, Keely sat down cross legged in front of him. "Then distract me," she suggested. "I seem to remember you going on a date the other night with Tanisha," Keely prompted.

"Yeah, I went out with her," he replied unhelpfully.

Rolling her eyes, Keely hit him not too lightly in the knee, "So?"

"She's hot," he said simply with a smile on his face. The tone of his voice suggested that his plain answer explained everything.

"So?" Keely repeated exasperated. "That really does not explain anything whatsoever when you're talking to a girl about a girl. I mean, tell me something about it, about her. Did you find out if she can count to seven? Is there more to her than the just a cheerleader? Can you count the amount of her brain cells?"

"She's hot," he repeated.

"See!" she exclaimed. "This is why we say men are pigs-" But she cut off quickly when Keely heard the sound of heels on the concrete.

Standing up, Keely hastily wiped the dirt from her dark jeans. In seconds her disgruntled, childish expression turned to one of a warm, polite teenager that acted older than her age.

"You're Keely Staub?" the woman was recognizable as Miss. Jones for that raspy yet high voice. She was wearing a black suit, with a severely cut blazer and wide straight pants, but it was still feminine. Her haircut was neat and trim as well, with her pixie cut spiked out in a somehow dignified fashion. She had overly large dark eyes matching perfectly with her mocha skin and somehow hip hair colour of dark brown but with blonde streaks.

"And you're Miss Jones," Keely smiled friendlily, shaking her hand professionally.

But the proficient attitude faded when she crouched down, the slightly cool smile slid off to be replaced by a warm smile, but it barely thawed the wariness in her eyes.

"This is my daughter Mitchie," Miss Jones supplied.

"Hi, I'm Keely," grinned Keely.

Just looking at Mitchie, she felt some sort of comradeship. The little girl was sucking on her tiny thumb, her doe eyes the colour of dark chocolate were wide as one sticking hand gripped her mother's pants and she had straight dark brown hair messy in her ponytail.

"Would you like to meet Rosie?" Keely asked, offering Mitchie a hand.

Without saying a word, and keeping her thumb in her mouth, Mitchie gripped Keely's hand with surprising strength.

"This is my best friend, Joseph, you can call him Joe," Keely announced when they got down to where Joe was lounging in his chair. But he got up quickly yet fluidly, giving her his most bewitching smile.

"Hey Mitchie," he said simply.

And Keely couldn't help but roll her eyes as Mitchie blushed looking down at the ground. It seemed that no girl, no matter what age could resit Joe's charisma.

Usually, Keely would have been worried about the tautness apparent in the mother's shoulders. But it barely perturbed Keely, and that was all because Joe was sitting there.

- Anyone happy? I sure am, Keely was kick ass for a couple moments there!

I feel like pointing at people and going "nananana" because no one had guessed what's actually happening in the story haha! Seriously though, I doubt anyone could guess, except for one person, but that's because I kind of told her XD

We should get into the main plot line soon, yay!

Words of caution, sleeping is a good thing, don't become an insomniac, it is not fun!

Oh, dedication to itellstories because she was my 90th fan! -