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Life is strange.

It's strange to think that the very boy I told myself I hated by the end of summertime was one of four friends at school that I now had. The boy who broke my heart ten times harder than Jake Sloan ever had from cheating on me was the same one who I sat with at lunch.

Granted, things weren't perfect. More often than not, I only paid attention to Wes, Joey and Georgina and disregarded Carter's presence. I was never alone with him unless we were in class together, but even then I steadily ignored his efforts at starting conversation and pretended to be too busy taking notes.

Even though I rarely spoke with Carter unless we were in our group with the other boys and Georgina, I couldn't help the way my heart beat quickened when I caught him staring at me. It was absolutely pathetic, the way my body reacted to him. Hell, it was pathetic that I even considered him one of my friends at school.

But I couldn't help it. Something always drew me in to him, and even though I kept him at an arm's length at all times, I just couldn't completely cut him off.

"Hey Amelia!" Georgina calls when she sees me, effectively pulling me out of my own whirlwind of thoughts.

I smile at her. "Hey Georgina."

Ever since we got lunch on Tuesday, Georgina and I have been hanging out a lot. And, by hanging out, I mean we eat lunch together, leave campus during our free period to get Starbucks together, and I actually regarded her in the hallway. She was sarcastic and reminded me of Poppy, so we easily got along.

"Whatcha doing hanging out here?" Georgina asks, her eyes glancing up at the sky. "It's going to rain soon.

My eyes dart to see the clouds darkening the sky as I tell her, "Waiting for the bus."

She glances at me curiously. "You don't have a car?"

"Nope," I answer sadly. "My mom's lease was up so she just took back the car she gave me for my birthday."

Which she did, at the end of last year. She told me I could get it back when she got her own car or renewed her lease, but it's been months since she took it. I miss having my own car.

"That sucks," Georgina sighs. "I'd offer you a ride, but I told my brother I would take his friends home."

I smile at her and wave her off. "I'm fine, the bus is easy. Thanks anyway."

She looks toward me to smile back at me, but her gaze gets caught on something behind me. Georgina's smile drops and is replaced by a scowl as she narrows her eyes.

"My idiot brother is climbing my car," Georgina growls, then looks at me. "I have to go hit him over the head. I'll see you tomorrow."

I laugh and wave her off, glancing behind me to see Georgina storming toward her black Jeep with a sophomore boy on the hood of the car. I lean against the bus stop booth as I watch my friend hit her brothers leg, the group of younger boys all laughing around the car.

My entertainment was short lived when thunder cracked overhead, and then raindrops began steadily falling. I frowned and looked up at the roof that still let raindrops soak my head to see multiple cracks. I crossed my arms and glanced around the road, trying to see my bus in the distance. 

Cars in the parking lot leave quickly, and I stand with my arms crossed, rain slowly soaking the front of my clothes. My bus was nowhere in sight. I waited impatiently, considering the option of walking home instead of waiting for the late bus.

"Amelia!" A familiar voice shouts from a few feet away. I look up and see Joey hanging the window out of Carter's car. "What are you doing?"

"You know, just enjoying the weather," I shout back sarcastically.

"Get in, I'll give you a ride," Carter leans over Joey to yell. I look at him hesitantly, and he rolls his eyes. "Before you get sick, Mina."

Before I could think too much about it and ultimately end up rejecting the offer, a car honked from behind Carter, waiting impatiently for his car to move. My good judgement flew out the window and instead of telling him I was fine, I jumped into the back seat and shut the door, thankful for the warmth inside the car.

Joey twists around in the passengers seat and grins toothily at me. "I suppose you could say I'm your knight in shining armor."

I hold back an eye roll as a response. Joey and Wes, although my new friends, have made it impossible to have a conversation in which they weren't flirting with me. I knew it was all in good fun, and there was no harm to it, but I was well used to their antics by now.

I, without thinking, say, "Technically Carter would be my knight in shining armor, since he's the one giving me a ride."

After I say this, I bite my lip to keep my mouth shut, and glance at the rear view mirror. Carter's eyes, crinkled from the onslaught of a smile, met my gaze through the mirror as a blush coated my cheeks. Did I really just say that he was my knight in shining armor?

Joey holds his heart in mock hurt as Carter laughs. "You wound me, princess."

The nickname Joey uses cuts off my playful banter, and I look out the window and mutter, "Don't call me that."

The air becomes thick between Carter and I, but Joey is completely oblivious. Instead of shutting up, he begins joking with Carter about the disturbing amount of pet names Wes has for girls. I tune him out instead of jumping at the opportunity to make fun of Wes and look out the window.

A few minutes later, we pull up to a nice looking house in the neighborhood over, and Joey hops out of the car, leaving the door wide open. I'm too lost in my own thoughts to realize he got out of the car until Joey knocks on the window.

I look up at him and he grins. "Are you going to make Miller chauffeur you around or get in the front seat?"

I nod distractedly at him, climbing out of the car as Joey retreats to his house. "Bye Joey!"

He turns around to wink at me. "See ya tomorrow, Amelia!"

As I round the car to get in the passenger seat, I feel oddly nervous at the prospect of being alone with Carter. We've been alone together before, when we were just friends, so there's nothing to worry about. Right?

Still, I take a deep breath as I climb in the front seat and shut the door behind me, the only noise between us being the soft sounds emitting from the radio. Carter pulls from the curb and starts driving again, and I have to look out the window to keep myself from looking at him.

"What's your address?" Carter asks suddenly, the question taking me by surprise.

Without looking at him, I mumble, "223 Maple Street."

He nods. "I live on Summit. We're only a few streets away."

I nod too, but don't make any attempt at keeping the conversation going. Really? He lives a street over from me? What are the odds of that?

After a few minutes, he speaks again. "How was your day?"

His attempt at holding a conversation, albeit chit chat, amused and irked me at the same time. It was almost cute, watching Carter try so hard to have a normal conversation with me. But it irked me because it reminded me of how easy it all came in the summer, and how he ruined every bit of it.

"Fine," I answer shortly, not in the mood for the small talk.

Carter pauses for a second before he chirps happily, "That's better than bad. During first period, I witnessed some chick trip and spill her coffee all over her white-"

"Carter," I cut him off, glancing at him momentarily before looking away. "You don't have to do that."

"Do what?" He questions softly, his eyes flickering from the road to me.

I finally turn to him, giving him my full attention. His eyes kept looking from the road to me, burning a hole through me with the intensity of his gaze. "You don't have to make small talk and act like things are okay..."

I stop talking once I hear the song change on the radio, and my heart begins to swell without my permission. I pause, my eyes flickering to the radio, as I stare at the dials. More Than A Feeling by Boston begins playing, and almost instantly, I'm transported back to the nights in the summer where Carter and I cleaned the dining halls and danced.

My frown is replaced with a soft smile as I lean forward and turn up the dial almost subconsciously, wanting to get as close to those summer nights as I could get. I can feel Carter's gaze burning a hole through me as he stops at a red light, watching me cautiously as I drift back in time to the days when all I had to worry about was piano practice and pranking Carter.

"I miss the summer," I whisper without really realizing I had even uttered the words out loud.

Carter didn't speak for a moment, making me think he hadn't heard me, but he eventually murmurs, "So do I. Things were better then."

I can't help but agree, my voice coming out soft, as if as long as the words were whispered, the nostalgic conversation with Carter didn't actually happen. "They were easier."

"You were the first person I ever told about my dad and the guilt I felt," Carter says suddenly, becoming more stoic. "I never even told my mom because I didn't want her to worry about me. Talking about it hurt too much. But telling you... it came easy."

Our gazes lock after he admits this to me, and I stare into his eyes for a long moment, my heart hammering against my chest. My eyes searched his hazel ones, only finding genuine honesty, and that only sped up my heartbeat if possible. It felt like there was nothing on earth besides Carter's eyes, and I found myself falling deeper and deeper into his stare.

That is, until someone honked behind us.

My cheeks began warming up as I looked ahead to see that the light had turned green, and Carter sighed almost inaudibly before he begins driving again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his hand come up to rub the back of his neck, a telltale sign that he was nervous. I simply look forward and ignore his constant glances in my direction, telling my heart to slow down.

His words both soothed and confused me. On one hand, it felt nice to know that Carter found solace in confiding in me; I mean, that had to mean something, right? But on the other hand, all I could think about was how expressionless his face was as he looked me in the eyes at the pit in the summer and told me that we should end things, and felt like he was manipulating me.

But how could someone that seems to genuine be planning on hurting me again? It didn't make sense, none of it made sense.

I take a deep breath and let it out, trying to remind myself that things rarely made sense when it came to Carter Miller, so I shouldn't spend too long trying to figure it out. But still, even though I should just ignore him, I still felt drawn to him, especially when he revealed something so personal to me. He made himself vulnerable by telling me his personal life, the story behind his mom and stepfather.

By the time we got to my house, I was more than relieved to see the tacky white picket fence lining our yard. Before the car even stopped, my hand was on the door handle and my seatbelt was unbuckled. I turned to give Carter a small, forced smile, and saw him giving me the same kind of smile.

"Thanks for the ride," I say quickly, and start to open the door to brace the rain.

But something stopped me. Despite the fact that all I wanted since I stepped foot in his car was to be out of it, I took my hand off the door handle. He had opened up to me, told me something deep and personal that I know he didn't tell anyone else, and I hadn't been able to answer him.

The fact that Carter had made himself vulnerable to me and I didn't say anything made me feel like I owed him the truth, too. I owed him honesty, even though I never planned on admitting this to him. So I turned back to look at him to see Carter already regarding me with a curious gaze.

"You were the first person to show me that there was more to life than piano. Even though things ended like they did, I'll never take those memories for granted." I tell him softly, looking directly in his eyes.

With that, I give him a soft smile, and get out of the car, and run all the way to my door to keep from getting soaked. And when I finally made it to the shelter of my warm, dry house, all I could think about was the shock on his face when I admitted it to him, and how I swear I saw the beginnings of a smile form on his lips.