I woke up to the welcoming smell of baked goods, coming from the warm vent. It was one of the main reasons I'd ever come in the first place, because the vent let out warm air all night.

I checked my phone, it was 7:45am. I got up and stretched, back sore from leaning against the brick wall all night. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining and warm. I looked through my phone, and saw a few texts from our groupchat.

I wanna get a burger, can someone come after school with me

sure

I'll come

I frowned. When did they add Clay to the chat? I guess it made sense, since I was sort of friends with him now, but it made it a lot harder to avoid him.

Nick and Bad are next to me, they say yes. George r u coming?

okay

I needed a chance to give him my Kit Kat, anyways, as a thank you. I guess it wouldn't hurt, especially if there were so many people around.

I got up, deciding to go to school early. I could probably just wait in the library or something.

I waved goodbye to Louise, and headed off. The air was fresh and nice, and for once, I didn't feel stressed or anxious. I worried too much sometimes.

As I was walking to school, a car slowed down next to me. I turned to look at it, confused, and realized it was Clay.

He stopped beside me. "Hey, do you want a ride?" He asked, motioning to the passenger seat.

"Why are you going to school so early?" I asked him. It was 8am now, and we didn't have to be there for another thirty minutes.

"I was actually just driving around for fun, if you wanna join me."

"Okay," I said, getting in. It was better than being all alone in the library.

He merged back into the road. "So, what about you? What are you doing outside?"

"Just woke up early and had nothing to do," I said, hoping that made sense. Anybody else would probably just leave later, but I didn't want people to see me sitting behind the bakery and realize I was homeless.

He nodded, believing the lie. "Do you live near here?" He asked.

I froze. Uh oh. "Um, yeah, sort of."

"Where?"

I shifted in my seat. "Near the bakery on the corner."

"Oh, cool, I like that place. I'm friends with the owner, Louise."

I looked at him, surprised. "Oh, really? I am too."

He laughed. "That's funny, I think she mentioned you once. That was before I knew your name, and so I was confused."

Oh, I should probably tell Louise to keep it low that I stayed there occasionally, although I'm sure she already knows. Just to be safe.

"Are you friends with Sarah?" He sounded hesitant, awaiting my answer.

"I guess you could say that, yeah."

Clay glanced at me. "What does that mean?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't know. We're not too close."

Clay seemed relieved. "Oh, okay. Let's head to school."

I nodded in agreement. That was a little weird, but I didn't question it.