I was sitting in English class, forcing myself to keep my eyes averted from Axel. It was a surprisingly hard thing to do, but somehow I managed, even though Hannah wasn't there to distract me. Although, annoyingly I couldn't stop thinking of Axel.

Luke's words were in my head and to my surprise, I found myself hoping - wishing they were true. For some insane reason I wanted Axel to be a good guy and that left me both frustrated and exhausted. Axel was becoming a big part of my life, just like Hannah had thought.

"Hi, Zoey," a familiar voice said.

I looked up and saw Xavier standing in front of my desk. He was smiling, but I noticed his hands were shaking. He was nervous and I knew it was because of me.

"Hey," I said, giving him a small smile as I hoped he would distract me from Axel temporarily.

"You know, I was sitting across the classroom," he said, looking down shyly. "And I thought you looked beautiful."

"Oh." I couldn't help but blush. "Thank you."

This was different. I was so used to guys telling me I wanted them, that hearing a guy compliment me was a surprise.

"And you're smart." Xavier looked back up at me. "Probably talented too."

I smiled shyly, flattered. Xavier sounded honest and his words were sweet. Thinking back to what Luke said, I knew I shouldn't generalize guys.

"I was wondering," he continued, his eyes filling with hope. "If you'd like to get to know each other. Like, I know you don't date, so we can just hang out and talk. And learn more about each other."

Xavier was so adorable, I had to admit. But this request left me feeling uneasy and I didn't get it. It didn't make sense because I couldn't keep going like this. I had to give someone a chance. Xavier was sweet and shy, and would definitely be the right choice, but still it just didn't feel right. I didn't understand myself and looked down, ashamed.

"Sorry," I said, feeling sad yet relieved. "It's a no."

"Oh," Xavier said. "Alright."

I heard him walk away and looked up, feeling guilty. It didn't make sense. I had thought that the fact that all of the guys were jerks was the reason why I never been into them, but it seemed like that wasn't just the case. Frowning, I began to wonder what was wrong with me.

Class soon began and the lights went off as the projector went on. Mr. Arthur was teaching and as usual, I was zoning out. And before I knew it and could stop myself, my eyes wandered to Axel.

He was sitting in his seat, slumped, and he looked tired. Exhausted as I noticed his eyelids seemed to droop. Seeing him like that made something in me twist, so I shook my head, reminding myself to forget about Axel. He wasn't worth my time. But yet, I couldn't help but hope he'd look over at me.

To my surprise, he suddenly did and when his eyes met mine, they looked sad. Almost longing, too. I looked away then, telling myself I was imagining things. Axel didn't care about me. He only cared about the kiss. I needed to stop hoping for more.

*****

With a sigh, I shut my locker and began to walk to the cafeteria. Hannah had skipped English to finish an assignment, so I prayed she'd be there. I didn't want to be alone for once, knowing my mind would be on Axel who I needed to stop thinking about.

As I walked to the cafeteria, I noticed the hallways were oddly empty. Usually they'd be packed with teenagers hanging about the place, but today they were oddly sparse. Frowning, I wondered if there was something special or important going on that I had missed out on.

Soon I reached the cafeteria and walking up to the double doors, I was surprise to hear silence. The cafeteria was always filled with screaming teenagers, so I knew something was happening. What it was, was a complete mystery to me.

Throwing open the doors in hopes of figuring out what was going on, I jumped at the immediate sound of a marching band. My jaw dropped as I saw almost everyone in our school crammed into our cafeteria, standing to the sides, as Axel stood in the centre on a lunch table, grinning at me. The marching band stood in front of him and to my utter disbelief, Axel brought a microphone to his mouth.

"This one is for you, Zoey," Axel said, causing everyone to cheer.

Axel then began to sing, to my utter shock. My eyes were bulging as Axel sang his first line.

"You are you. And I am me. But we together, would be we."

To be quite honest, his voice was quite bad. His lyrics were horrendous as he kept singing and I stared at him, wondering whether to be angry or happy. Seeing him grinning, his eyes so sincere, made me realize I should be happy. So I started grinning. It took everything in me not to laugh as Axel sang the weirdest song I had ever heard.

"And I want to know you. Everything that makes you, you," he finished off, singing. "So please forgive me baby. For even the best of us, sin."

I laughed and everyone cheered. A huge smile was plastered onto my face and Axel himself looked full of joy. To be honest, seeing him like that brought warmth to my heart. It was such a beautiful sight to see him genuinely happy.

Once everyone quieted down, he said, "I hope you know the song is a joke. Don't take it seriously."

"I had a feeling." My heart was soaring with joy. "Was your voice, too?"

He grinned. "Sadly not."

Axel jumped off of the table and walked over to me. Everyone's eyes were on us and I knew I should feel self conscious, but I didn't. For the first time in so long, I was so happy and only because one peculiar boy had serenaded me. The thought nearly made me laugh, knowing how absurd it was.

When Axel reached me, he said, "This is an apology. I admit I've been treating you wrongly and I'm really sorry about it. Do you forgive me?"

"Yes," I said easily, knowing I did.

It was so out of character for me to forgive someone so easily, but around Axel I did a lot of things that surprised me. He brought out sides of me that left me contemplating everything, but somehow, there was no one else that brought a smile out of me like this. No one had ever made me laugh like this.

"One more question," he said, eyes softening to that gentle look I enjoyed. "Would you give me a chance? Would you get to know me?"

That wasn't an easy question to answer. A part of me wanted to, but yet another part of me felt wary. This feeling was always around boys and I didn't know what it meant. All I knew was that it left me feeling like I had to reject offers such as this.

"I... I don't know," I said honestly.

"One day," Axel said softly. "That's all I'm asking."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.

"You can decide if you truly hate me then," he said, giving me a small smile. "If you do, I'll leave you alone forever. If you don't, well... Let's see."

I stared at him, locking my eyes on his stunning blue eyes. What he said made me realize I had nothing to lose. I was given a choice here and I was given freedom. This was the best thing I could ask for from any guy.

So even though I had an uneasy feeling still, I said, "Yes."

Axel grinned and I decided then that I had no idea where this was going. I had no idea how he'd become a big part of my life. All I knew was that I was going to figure the both of us out.