"How was your first day at school?" I'd barely been in my room five minutes before someone was knocking at my door. Part of me wanted to be left alone, I was exhausted after school but the larger part of me wanted company. I'd always stayed in a room with my mom so I wasn't used to having my own room. Also, being with others distracted me from missing her so much.

"Alright," I answered yanking open the door to allow Nico, Mitchell, Grey and Sawyer in.

"Truthfully," Mitch looked me straight in the eyes his voice commanding.

"Honestly," I reassured, "it wasn't that bad. This one girl Jenny was really annoying, she's genuinely obsessed with all of you, she wants me to invite you to a party on Friday. But this other girl Mina was so nice, she's in my art class."

"That's good," Sawyer agreed with a deep look into me to see if I was lying, he glanced away seemingly satisfied that I was being truthful.

"So are you?" Grey asked collapsing backwards onto my bed.

"Am I what?"

"Going to ask us to the party on Friday?" Grey wore a satisfied grin.

"I didn't think you'd want to go?" I shrugged one shoulder and played with a strand of hair.

"We can't let you go alone," Mitch said simply.

"So you'll go?" I was shocked, I thought they'd think a high school party was the most boring thing.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Grey teased.

"Just warning you Jenny will be like a rash on all of you the entire night," I cautioned.

"Is she hot?" Nico prompted.

"Could you be any more shallow?"

"Is she?"

"Depends," I shrugged, "I don't know what you define as hot."

"I gotta go," Mitch rose suddenly, "football practise, see you later."

"I didn't know you played," I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, Mitch had the body of an Olympic athlete.

"He's the linebacker," Nico informed me as Mitch smiled sheepishly, "best player on the team."

"I'd love to see you play sometime," I told him and could've sworn I saw his cheeks turn a shade pinker.

"Sure Cara," he gave my hair a friendly ruffle, "catch you later."

"Enjoy," I called as he left.

"What about you three?" I turned back to the others, "why aren't you on the football team?"

"Swimmer," Grey shrugged simply.

"Me too," Nico nodded, "and Mitch."

"What about you?" I turned to Sawyer.

"Sawyer runs but he's really the musical man," Nico butted in before Sawyer could say anything.

"Really?" I felt my eyes widen.

"Yeah he's insane on the piano and violin, don't let him tell you otherwise," Nico interjected again.

"So how good are you?" I tilted my head to one side and stared straight at Sawyer.

"Not as good as I'd like to be," Sawyer admitted honestly, holding my eye contact the whole time.

"Do you know what I'm not good at?" Grey announced snapping my focus away from Sawyer, "chemistry and I've got a paper to hand in tomorrow so how about you help me Nic, cause I'm gonna fail."

The rest of the evening was spent sprawled across my bedroom floor doing homework while Elvis played softly in the background. I was writing an English essay, Nico who seemed to be some kind of science genius was helping Grey do his chemistry and Sawyer was writing a composition for music. Many times throughout the evening though I would glance up and catch one of them looking at me instead of their work as I bobbed my head and mouthed along to my favourite Elvis songs. It was quite uncomfortable to always have one of their gazes on me.

I liked their company though. I learnt things about them to, Nico had a gift for blowing things up or setting them on fire in lab but was actually insanely talented at chemistry. Despite all his jokes and big bravado he was a science genius. Sawyer was the all rounder, a runner and musician, intelligent in all aspects of school, never exceptional in one thing but just good at a lot. Mitch was a budding athlete, it turned out that along with football and swimming he did tennis, wrestling and boxing all to a highly competitive level. However, it was Grey's talent that surprised me the most, he excelled in maths. I watched him as he easily completed a maths equation, his hand whizzing around the page frantically. It was extraordinary to witness.

I'd never met such interesting and talented people.

***

My first week at Kings Bridge went by in a flash, I was kept so busy that I barely had a second to breath. Each day the boys would drive me to school, turn up the radio and we'd scream at the top of our lungs down the highway. Then I'd go to school and slip into the background, I'd sit with Mina, her boyfriend Connor and best friends Betty, Sam and Helena at break and lunch if I could avoid Jenny. I'd chat with Mina in art which was by far my favourite lesson. I'd get the bus home which unfortunately no one I knew took so I sat on my own, usually drawing in my sketch book. Then, I'd spend my evenings with the boys doing homework or playing games in the common room, they'd quickly learnt that I was unbeatable at pool from too many nights spent in casino bars. If all the boys were at their various sporting or musical activities then I would hang out with Ben who was hilarious and openly in love with Grey who he talked about every five seconds.

"Look Grey's step dad had another interview," Ben announced on Thursday night when I was sprawled on his bed reading Tess of the D'ubervilles while he flicked through various magazines for his media homework.

"Why would his stepdad be in a magazine?" I glanced over disinterested.

"Didn't you know?"

"Know what?" Ben had my attention now.

"Grey's dad is the famous American football player Jordan Jarvis, he's the quarterback for the best team in the world," Bens eyes gleamed with excitement at the story and his voice became dramatic as he announced, "he's like the heartthrob of the entire nation. He won sexiest man alive last year and is one of the wealthiest athletes in the world."

"No," I shook my head slowly, "I didn't know." I could imagine why.

"He doesn't talk about it much," Ben added, I have Ben a look, Grey didn't talk to Ben about anything, "well you'd think someone with a step dad like that would boast about if all the time and would be so arrogant. But he seems oblivious to the fact that his step dad is so famous."

"I'll make them fucking believe me you bastard," I pictured Grey's face as he punched the wall, his face so furious but at the same time distraught.

"He and I don't get along," I remember the way Grey had tensed up when he'd said that, like it caused him pain to talk about his step dad.

Grey clearly had some problems with his step dad, that wasn't hard to work out. My mind just wondered why. I decided that when the time was right Grey would tell me, just like I'd tell the boys about my past when I was ready.

"So what's this party I've heard about?" Ben changed the conversation easily.

"It's nothing," I shrugged, "I'm only going to stop Jenny from pestering me for all eternity." I'd told Ben about Jenny's constant pushing to get me to hook her up with a Kings Bridge boy, he thought it was hilarious.

"So?" Ben persisted a slightly irritated smile on his face.

"What?" I was confused.

"Are you going to invite me?" Ben was trying to look cool about it but I could see the annoyance in his eyes.

"Seriously?" I was shocked, Jenny had portrayed the Kings Bridge boys as thinking themselves above high school parties but it was clear that wasn't the case, "of course you're invited, I just thought you wouldn't want to go," I told him earnestly and the frostiness in his glare instantly vanished to be replaced with a delighted glow.

"Of course I want to go," he sighed with an obvious roll of his eyes, "didn't I mention that I love to party?"

"No," I let out a chuckle, "I think you forgot to mention that."

"You should ask all the seniors, we never get invited to parties," Ben prompted, "I'm sure they'd all love to go."

I paused for a moment considering, Jenny said to invite everyone but it wasn't exactly her party. But who was I to deny the boys their one chance at a high school party?

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Ben nodded furiously.

"Let's do it then," I pushed myself up from the bed determinedly, Ben beamed in delight.

He raced for the door and threw it open while calling, "announcement everyone, Cara has an announcement!"

It took ten seconds flat for the corridor to flood with all the forty seniors, in my few days here I'd met more and more of them. Lloyd was the caption of the football team, Seb was my main competitor at pool but he'd never beat me and Andrew was the source of answers to everyone's impossible homework questions. I exchanged smiles with all of them.

"So," I wrung my hands nervously, forty pairs of eyes blinked at me, "there's a party this Friday and I've been told to invite you all, it's at this girl Courtney's house and she'd love it if any of you could come." She had no idea any of them were coming but at this point I doubted that mattered.

"Yes," one guy pumped his fist in the air before the whole corridor erupted into cheers and celebration. Ten or so boys stepped forward to tell me they couldn't make it but the rest looked thrilled to be invited.

I began to reconsider my view of the Kings Bridge boys, instead of them being the uptight ones who looked down on everyone I considered it might be the people from Ainsley who were really the ones who are judging. They seem to have prejudged the boys based on their expensive cars and endless wealth, without getting to know them.

Though all the boys were happy to be invited, no one was more ecstatic than Jenny that they were coming. When I told her on Friday at break she practically combusted with excitement. For the rest of the day she was inconsolable, she found me at every available moment to enquire on who was the most eligible bachelor. Half of me wanted to recommend Grey and watch her lay herself all over him, but the bigger half of me wanted to keep her far from him. I kept my answers vague and took the first opportunity I could to extract myself. By the end of the day I found myself diving into a toilet when I saw her down the corridor.

"In trouble?" I instantly recognised Mina's slightly mocking voice as I collapsed in relief against the toilet door at avoiding Jenny's ambush.

"If Jenny asks me one more time about which boys prefer auburn hair I'm going to yank my ears off," I was only half joking. Mina let out her lovely high pitched laugh that reminded me of wind chimes. I asked her desperately, "please tell me you're going, I'm going to need someone to stop me going mad?"

"I'm going," Mina reassured with a chuckle, "practically the whole school is going now they know that the Kings Bridge boys will be there."

"Crap," I huffed poking my bottom lip with my tongue, I should've known something like this would happen.

"It will be fine," Mina touched my arm kindly, "they wanted to come it's not your responsibility to make sure nothing bad happens."

"Thanks."

"I should go Connor will be waiting for me but I'll see you later, I look forward to meeting the infamous Kings Bridge boys!"