There was a moment of disappointment before it was replaced with one of his signature smiles.

"Sure, I can do friends," he said. The burden on my shoulders lightened.

"Great," I replied with a smile, feeling better that I'd been honest with him up front.

"Are you allowed out during the week?" he asked, his eyes watching me expectantly.

"Yeah, it should be okay. My grandmother isn't very strict. As long as she knows where I am."

"Are you free tonight?" he asked.

I smiled at him. "Yes, tonight would be good."

The bell signaled the end of lunch and Andrew walked me out of the cafeteria. As I walked out, I saw Jared watching us. I'd done my part; I'd lied about hooking up with him to protect him.

"I'll pick you up at six," he said as he walked with me to my next class.

"Six is good." I gave him a nod.

"I'll see you later, then," he said as he left me at my class.

After school had finished, Stacy and Kennedy cornered me for details.

"Whatever you are wearing, I want some, too," Stacy remarked, looking convinced that my perfume was the reason for all the attention I'd been getting from the opposite sex.

"So what happened with Jared?" Kennedy nudged me as we walked out of the school entrance.

"Not much, he just wanted to say hi." It was close to the truth.

"Just hi?" Kennedy asked, looking unconvinced.

"Yup." I shrugged, hoping they would drop the subject.

"And Andrew?" Stacey was now the one questioning me.

"He asked if he could take me out tonight." Both of my friends didn't look surprised. They'd realized before I had that Andrew liked me.

"And?"

"I said yes," I answered as I stopped and looked at them for their reaction. "But only as friends."

"Why just friends?" Stacy asked. "He's cute and so into you."

"I just don't feel that way about him." It wasn't something I could force. It was there, or it wasn't.

"So what's happening between you and Jared?" Kennedy asked.

"Jared made it clear it was a one off," I explained as I fiddled with my bag's strap. Stacy threw her arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward her car.

"It's his loss."

Stacy dropped me off at my house. I'd forgotten to ask Andrew where we were going, so I wasn't sure what I should wear. I didn't think I could really go wrong with a T-shirt and jeans, and I would smarten it up with some nice sandals. I brushed my hair and left it down. It hung in waves down to my shoulders. I put on a little lip gloss and I was ready by six.

Anne hovered by the front door, so when the doorbell rang she was the one to answer it. I think she was more excited about me going out than I was.

"Hi, you must be Andrew," she greeted him as she ushered him inside.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you," he greeted back.

It was a relief to see Andrew as casually dressed as I was. He was wearing a button-up cotton shirt rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of jeans. He looked cute.

"Where are you taking Ava tonight?" Anne questioned him.

"Dinner or a movie, or both? Whichever Ava is happy with?"

Anne smiled. I could see that she approved of him. "Okay, well, whatever the plan, have fun." And with that she rushed us both out of the door.

"Sorry, my gran is a little weird," I said as we walked to his truck.

"I like her," he said as he opened the passenger door for me. "She's... interesting." He grinned and walked back around the vehicle after I sat down.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked as he settled into the driver's seat.

"A movie sounds good," I said, nodding.

"The movies it is, then."

The conversation on the way to the movie theater consisted of the reason why I'd moved in with my grandmother.

Andrew let me choose the movie, which I appreciated. It was toss-up between an action and comedy, though I ended up deciding on seeing the comedy. We got popcorn and soda and made our way into the theater. I settled into my seat next to him and waited for the movie to start. By the time the movie was finished, my sides were sore from laughing. It had been a good movie.

Afterward he drove me home. It was getting late and we had school in the morning. He walked me to my front door.

"Next time I get to choose the movie," he insisted as we both stood facing each other on the front porch of my house.

"Thanks for a nice evening," I said with a genuine smile. Being around Andrew was easy and just spending time with him had taken my mind off all the chaotic thoughts of Jared.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," he said as I opened my front door and quickly disappeared inside my house. I sighed and leaned against the front door. Anne appeared in the hallway in her dressing gown.

"Did you have fun?"

"It was nice," I admitted to my grandmother.

I went upstairs and started getting ready for bed. That night I slept better than I had in a while and I couldn't help thinking that spending time with Andrew had something to do with it.

The next day at school, my friends wanted to know what Andrew and I had done the night before.

"We just went to a movie," I told them.

I told them a little about the movie and a couple of the funny parts that had me clutching my sides with laughter.

"I've been meaning to see that movie," Kennedy said.

"I'll go with you," Stacy offered.

That lunchtime, Andrew stopped by our table.

"Thanks for an awesome evening," he said, brushing his hair out of his face.

"You're welcome. We'll have to do it again sometime soon," I said.

"Next time can we come with?" Kennedy asked.

"Sure," he replied. "Are you in as well?" He directed the question to Stacy.

"Okay. But no horrors."

"Really? No horrors."

"I second that," I said, adding my opinion. Horror movies were a waste of time for me because I spent most of the time hiding behind my hands.

"Okay. No horrors."

He was still smiling when he left our table.

At that moment, my eyes caught Jared's. I couldn't decipher the expression on his face. Abruptly, he looked away.

"I think someone is jealous," Kennedy said cryptically.

"I think you could be right," Stacy agreed.

I was already shaking my head at them. Why would Jared be jealous? He only saw me as an ordinary human who had discovered his secret.

"Are you sure your hookup was supposed to be a one-time thing?" asked Kennedy as she watched me closely.

"Yes, that's what he said." That had been the agreement, hadn't it? Now that I actually thought back, he hadn't actually specifically said those words, but it had been implied.

"If he'd wanted to continue what happened, surely he would have made plans to see me again, wouldn't he?" I threw the question at my friends. "He lives on the same street as me. So at any time between Saturday and now he could have come over and made plans to meet up. But he hasn't, because he isn't that interested."

He had come over but it had only been to make sure we had our story straight so there wouldn't be any suspicion.

They knew I was right. The subject of Jared was closed. I wished I could tell them the real reason for the 'hookup'. The truth would make them realize that Jared wasn't interested in me in that way. The only reason he was having anything to do with me was to ensure I kept his secret.