"Jackson Hale?"

Jackson raised his hand in the air, catching everyone's attention as they noticed that they had a new boy in their midst. He slowly lowered his hand down and tried to ignore their stares.

He absolutely hated being the new guy.

Not knowing anyone in a school where it's obvious everyone's being going to school with each other since first grade, sucks. And he was absolutely dreading lunch, which was next period. He didn't want to eat alone like a loser but also....he was hungry.

He hadn't made any new friends yet, and although a couple of girls have decided upon themselves to introduce themselves to him, he had a feeling they had a more superficial reason of speaking to him than a genuine one. The only person he really connected with today, was the Aaliyah girl from second period chemistry.

She was a beautiful as her famous namesake once was, and seemed very sweet from the moment he met her. And he even noticed she was a bit popular among everyone in their grade from the way she smiled and waved at almost everyone that passed by. Maybe being her friend wouldn't be that much of a bad thing.

But as much as Jackson wanted to keep things platonic, there was just something on the inside that kept bothering him, but he wasn't sure what. So instead of trying to figure out what that was, he just pushed it aside and made his way to the courtyard so he could get to the cafeteria. He looked around and watched as everyone reunited with their friends to talk about their summer.

Meanwhile, he was all alone.

He made his way inside the cafeteria to see what they were serving so he could decide whether he would eat there or wait till he got home. As he patiently waited in line, he curiously looked around, trying to get familiar with his surroundings, his eyes caught sight on Aaliyah waking in with another girl by her side. They looked like they were engrossed in a serious conversation and him being, well new, he didn't want to intrude. So he decided to mind his business, and eat his lunch alone.

But as soon as he grabbed his slice of pizza, he started making towards where her and her friend were sitting, since quite honestly, he didn't want to eat alone.

So much for "minding your business".

Her friend was the first to spot him as her eyes flickered over to him and brighten as soon as she saw him. She leaned in a little closer and said something, probably warning her about his incoming intrusion. They both looked up at him now, Aaliyah smiling kindly up at him and her friend curiously looking at him.

"Jackson, hey!" Aaliyah instantly greeted him warmly, making him feel more welcomed than he's felt the entire day.

"Hey...I️ hope you don't mind if I️ sit with you?" He asked. "It's just...I️ don't know anyone else so-"

Suddenly, a handsome black male makes an appearance, swooping in and stealing the chair next to her that Jackson was considering sitting in. "What's up baby girl?" He said to her, pressing a quick kiss on her lips. Aaliyah almost couldn't keep up with his quick moments and inked back a bit in surprise. The boy, presumably her boyfriend, then looked up at him with a wary look in his eye. "Who's this?" He nods right at him.

"Babe, this is Jackson," Aaliyah introduced. "He's new. We both have Ms. Santos together," she informed him. "Jackson, this is my boyfriend, Elijah," she gestured towards him.

"'Sup man," Elijah simply gave him the nod of acknowledgement but something deep down told Jackson that he didn't really like him that much. Or maybe even at all.

"And he was just about to sit with us," her friend chimed. "You can't sit next to me Jackson," she picked up her back off the chair next to her to clear the way. Once he sat down, all eyes were on him now. "I'm Carolina," Aaliyah's friend introduced herself. "So Jack, where you from?" She asked curiously.

"And why you came to a school like this?" Elijah wondered. "You look like you should be at that rich all boys private school across town," he remarked.

Oh...trust that his mother tried. She tried very hard to get him into that school. But they missed the deadline, plus all the spots were filled...there was just nothing his mother could do but sit and pout at the fact that her baby was forced to go to public school.

A public school filled with ethnic minority's no less.

Elijah's seemingly ignorant statement earned an annoyed eye roll from Aaliyah. She mouthed "sorry" towards him and he simply smiled back, which Elijah caught, but decidedly didn't speak on.

He was gonna handle that later.

"I️ mean, this is the closest high school?" Jackson offered.

Elijah laughed off his response while Carolina and Aaliyah stayed quiet, watching. "Yeah but, you do notice there's not that many white students, right?"

Jackson simply shrugged. "What does that have to do with me?" He asked.

Before Elijah could say another thing, Caroline jumped in. "So where'd you move from?" She asked, switching the subject.

Aaliyah wasn't stupid. She know what Elijah was trying to do and she didn't appreciate him trying to antagonize a guy they all did just met just based on his skin color. But she appreciated Jackson's effort to remain unproblematic. She watched as Carolina and him talked effortlessly and with such ease, almost as if they've been friends for a while now.

Soon lunch ended, and they barely got to speak two words to each other the entire hour. And she could thank Elijah for that. After school, she had to meet up with Elijah after school and watch him practice with the rest of the football team. He said other football player's girlfriends do it and that she should go out and support him too. There was a huge argument over what she could do but in the end, she lost and promised to be there. She shut her locker and grabbed her bag, and slowly started making her way to the football fields of their school.

"Hey! Aaliyah!" A voice said behind her, making her turn around and look up to see Jackson.

"Hey Jack," she said with a smile.

He gave her a weird look. "Jack?" He asked, making her realize her mistake.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry-"

Jackson held his hands up in an effort to calm her down. "Hey hey hey, it's okay!" He laughed. "It's just...I️ haven't been called that in a long time," he explained. "It's nice to hear it again," he smiled.

They both walked the same way in silence and she looked over at him again. "So is there a reason you're following? Are you lost again or..."

"What?" He asked. "No," he chuckled off, "in trying out for football," he told her.

Uh-oh.

"I️ used to play back at my old school and I️ figured this would be a quick and easy way to get some new friends," he says. "Why are you going this way?" He asked her. "You play on the team too?" He joked, making her laugh.

She shook her head. "No," she said, "Elijah's on it. Well, he's trying out too but he's been playing since freshman year, he's basically on the team," she rambled on.

Jackson nodded slowly as he listened to her words. Back at lunch, he was sure he caught a vibe that said "I️ don't like you" from him. He kept trying to antagonize him and push his buttons. Even Aaliyah saw right through him. But him, being new and trying to give people a chance, just let it go.

This time.

"Are you a cheerleader then?" He asked. "I️ mean, I️ could see it, you know? The whole cheerleader/quarterback dating thing," he said, making her giggle once more.

"No..." she shakes her head, looking down. "I'm just supposed to watch, you know? Cheer him on. Be a supportive girlfriend," she says. Although there was a certain sadness in her voice that he noticed.

"But...you don't want to?"

She looks up at him and glares. "What? Of course I️ do!" She starts getting defensive. "He's my boyfriend! I️ have to be there for him," she says.

"Aaliyah, calm down. I️ didn't mean-"

"Look, we're both gonna be late so why don't we just pick this up?" She said, starting to walk in a faster pace, leaving him behind.

Nice going. Idiot.