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"Why aren't you eating anything?" Alex asked, eyeing my untouched lunch tray.

Normally, food would've been my only desire at this moment, but right now just the sight of it made me all queasy. Rethinking about what exactly I had done to fuck with my fate.

I glanced at my tray once more before muttering, "I got a C." With a frown, I looked him straight in the eye. "Again."

I picked up a cold fry and chewed on it, hoping to work up an appetite again. It worked for all of five seconds before flashes of my Physics's test paper and a big red C on it appeared right before my eyes. I suppose I had to accept the fact that I could definitely not have lunch today.

A small snicker escaped his lips, which made me pass him a wounded look before he gave me the sincerest apology, "That sucks, Sky."

I glared at him this time and he put his hands up in surrender. Sometimes, I found myself wondering how we had managed to become friends in the first place. It's not like Alex didn't care about his grades--they were decent--but they also weren't his first priority. I, on the other hand, cared a lot about my grades. And it wasn't like anyone could blame me. I had my lawyer parents to live up to.

"Mom will freak out when she sees my report. It's the third time, Alex. Why is this even happening to me?" I rambled with wide eyes. I felt really sorry for myself.

It wasn't like I was a total nerd. I didn't even study every night and hugged textbooks wherever I went. I didn't like studying. But I still managed to get acceptable grades.

All except for Physics, it seemed. I had sacrificed my sleep for this one test. I had spent the entire night memorizing each and every bit of my notes, so much so that I was completely sure I'd ace it. But when the test papers were passed out, I'd forgotten everything almost immediately. My mind had just gone blank.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Sky. You'll have another test, what, next week? Another bright chance for you to ace it." He reassured me. I furrowed my brows at him. "You'll do great."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Because it didn't.

I had expected him to dodge the topic off like this. Like I said, he didn't care about his grades. Not as much as I always had to. But then again, his strong suit was sports. And I sucked at sports. So much so that coach usually, mostly didn't spare me much of his energy during PE classes.

I shot Alex a disapproving look. His parents focused more on his athleticism and only worried about grades when he was on the brink of being kicked out of a class.

With my parents, it was all about the GPA.

"Is there anything that could cheer you up? Perhaps a chocolate cupcake?" He suggested as if he hadn't deceived me earlier. I think that was the whole point. To reopen my wounds.

"What? Why?" I snapped.

He grinned sheepishly. "Well, I've got a favor to ask."

I eyed him cautiously, then scooted away a little. "Depends. Does it have anything to do with the boy's restroom?" An event I did not want to think about. I was desperate at that time, okay?

"No, of course not. It's not quite that drastic." He replied, his gaze flickering away from mine every few seconds. "I mean, it's just a small task."

I let out a laugh. "Sorry, Alex, but I don't want to be a victim of this school's social media again. Last time one of those pictures went viral, I'm pretty sure even Harold saw it." Harold, being the principal, hadn't thankfully called my parents. Would've been a disaster.

I did love cupcakes but I preferred my dignity over them, thank you very much. I wasn't going to be that stupid again.

"I promise it's not that bad, Sky," Alex said. "I'll even buy you a jar of Nutella after this."

I narrowed my eyes at that. Nutella certainly wasn't as precious as my sleep, but it was a close second. Unfortunately, Alex knew that and he was a goddamn manipulator.

And that wasn't even the saddest thing. The most upsetting thing was that I always somehow agreed in the end.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said when I took too long to answer. "All you have to do is talk to Caden."

It took me a while to register what he had just said.

"And why the hell do you think I would do that?" I asked him, crossing my arms. There was no way I was talking to that idiot.

"Because I can't. And if I don't, Coach will probably give me another lecture on all those responsibilities and shit."

That was the truth. Alex wasn't one to care about his responsibilities.

"Why can't you talk to Caden yourself?" I asked him.

"Because I hate his guts."

I took a sip of my milkshake. Our school cafeteria didn't have one of those delicious milkshakes, but it worked.

"And why do you hate his guts?" I asked some more. Even though almost everyone hated Caden Miller at some point, except all those girls who totally adored him, I still needed to hear a legit reason from Alex.

Alex rolled his eyes at that question, seeming almost irritated. "He tried to flirt with Stacey. And I don't think I can look him in the eye without wanting to punch the lights out of him."

I'm sure it would've been Stacy who'd flirted first. She's one of those girls who throw themselves at almost anyone. And besides, I didn't think Caden had ever flirted first.

If he ever flirts, that is.

"And who is Stacey?"

Alex looked highly irritated by now. "My girlfriend?'' He made it sound like it should've been obvious.

"And you didn't tell me all about that because?" I continued the interrogation.

I already knew the answer to that. Stacey was one of the cheerleaders. Name any one of them and there's a ninety-five per cent chance Alex has already hooked up with her. Not a long term relationship though--Alex never did those.

"God, will you stop that?"

I decided to think over it for a minute.

"No. I won't talk to Caden." I denied his previous request. "The seventh time, Alex! He was running in the hallway, like it fucking belongs to his dad or something, not even caring to help me get up from the floor when he made me fall down."

Alex stared at me for a few seconds.

"You're exaggerating." He finally said. "It only happened twice."

I passed him a glare at that. "Okay? But was he ever a gentleman about it?" I didn't wait for his response. "No, he wasn't."

Caden was a douchebag. He wouldn't even care if he crashed into an old lady. That's what he was so popular for--his hostile and temperamental attitude, which I honestly didn't think was something to be popular for.

He was famous for skipping classes almost every day. I didn't know why he even bothered coming to school in the first place. Along with his attitude problems, he also got into a lot of fights, rarely getting into trouble for it because of his dark and mysterious ways. He never got suspended for it and that alone was terribly suspicious.

Not that I cared.

People like me tried to do everything to stay away from him. And really, all I ever saw him was in the hallways when he was in a rush.

"What if I throw in another jar? Two big jars of Nutella?" Alex negotiated.

"No."

"Three?"

"I'll die on a sugar rush," I told him. "Is that what you want? For me to die inhaling all those three jars in one night?"

Alex laughed, shook his head, and pleaded. "Come on, Sky. Do this one favour for me, please."

I looked at him for a moment, weighing my choices.

"The things I do for you." I groaned, giving in.

Well technically, for Nutella. If it weren't for that, I would've ditched Alex a long time ago.

Or not, I thought. He was my best friend after all.

•••••

So here I was.

Sacrificing my only free period to talk to the most unwelcoming person on the planet. I would've chosen any other period for this but my craving for Nutella had gone unsatisfied for way too long.

I sighed and headed for the other side of the school where I knew he'd be. Caden was usually seen around this one person only, a guy named Shane who was another senior here in Crestmont High. I sometimes spotted him in my Biology class. And I think he was as close to it as one could be friends with Caden.

Once again as I walked across the hallways, hugging my arms around myself, I wondered why Caden even cared to attend this school. Maybe one part of him actually cared? Unlikely.

Maybe it was because of his parents? I didn't know who they were, but according to the rumours, they seemed just as sketchy as he was.

I looked across the grounds, trying to spot him. He wasn't in his usual spots like the bleachers by the football field or the trees that surrounded the tennis court. I didn't find him, not even in the parking lot.

He was heading towards the parking lot earlier when we'd collided with each other. Maybe he left the school premises after that?

Feeling happier, more than I should've at that thought, I turned around and started heading back. Alex would just have to deal with it. And since I had honest intentions to talk to Caden, he'd still have to buy me my long overdue Nutella.

Unintentional, but it still sounded like a great revenge plan for this morning.

I had almost entered one of the hallways when I caught an unmistakable figure from the corner of my eye. He was leaning against one of the tall, chalky pillars--a black leather jacket on, and talking to some other guy who was none other than Shane himself.

It was in times like these that I wished my communication skills were better than my social life. I had never tried having a conversation with Caden, his friends, or anyone like Caden. The guy was intimidating, come on.

I would say it was just jitters, but this was Caden Miller. He gave the jitters, jitters.

Still, I sucked it up and walked towards them anyway, mentally regretting every life decision I'd made up until this point.

It looked like they both were in a serious conversation, and as much as a part of me wanted to eavesdrop, I didn't. Maybe because I felt the tension in the air. Or maybe it was just Caden and his all-too threatening aura.

No wonder most stayed away.

After much thoughtful contemplation, which was as painful as it sounds, I stopped a few feet away from them both in case I needed an easy escape. Then I cleared my throat, figuring that it was a much more appropriate move than actually speaking words. But instead of gaining Caden's attention, I only caught his friend's.

Caden, on the other hand, didn't even look in my direction. He had a piece of paper in his hand and there was this murderous look on his face which almost, almost made my eyes widen. I wanted to say as little as possible and leave as quickly as I could.

"Hey, beautiful. You must be Stacey." His friend's gaze lingered over me with a half-smile. I would've been lying if I said he wasn't hot. Because he was.

"Oh," I whispered, a tiny frown forming on my face. "'Course I'm not Stacey."

There was not a chance I looked anything like Stacey. I knew Stacey. She was beautiful and had a face everyone remembered. And she was a blonde. I was as brunette as they get. Plus the dark circles, I thought. I had spent my whole last night watching Harry Potter on fucking repeat. Of course, I had dark circles. Stacey might die if she had even hints of dark shadows under her eyes.

Was Stacey really supposed to meet Caden here? Wasn't she Alex's girlfriend? Oh gosh, was she cheating on him?

I almost actually laughed at that. Alex really needed to be here.

Shane looked confused but kept the smile on his lips. It was kind of cute.

I stopped ogling him and jerked my head towards Caden. "I've got a message for him." I avoided any eye contact with Caden himself because quite frankly, he looked like he was seconds away from stabbing someone.

If only looks could kill.

What was on that paper that was making him so angry? I was aware of the fact that he had certain anger issues, but still, there had to be a reason behind it.

"Sure. I'll leave you two alone." Shane took his leave and I stared at his retreating figure in disbelief. How could he have left me with someone like Caden all alone?

Had he never heard of stranger-danger?

Shane was a stranger too technically. But he looked like an approachable one, and Caden did not. I wasn't exactly scared of Caden, it was just that the situation didn't seem nice enough to have a small talk with him. Especially when just the air around him crackled with the threat. I wasn't really fond of the idea that I might just get killed in the process.

Gathering up my courage, I turned a little towards him, whispering a little meekly, "Caden?"

He didn't do anything to acknowledge my presence except for raising a brow, with his focus still on that paper. It offended me a little, but I stopped myself from snatching the paper away from him just so he'd look at me.

I didn't think talking to him would be so awkward. Why did Alex always have to trap me in such awful situations?

"What is it." He still didn't look at me. "I don't have all day."

I opened my mouth to retort, then slowly closed it shut.

"Right," I muttered. "You must know Alex from the football team." I waited just for a second, before continuing, "Well, Alex, from the football team, asked me to pass on a message that he couldn't have told you himself because--" I stopped abruptly, my eyes widening a little. Because he hates your guts. I know sure as heck I wasn't about to say all that to his face!

"Never mind," I added. "He asked me to tell you that Coach wants you at practice tomorrow."

Hoping that I had made it clear, I took a small step back, ready to literally dash out of there when he looked at me. And I mean, he actually looked at me. Right in the eye. For the first time since I joined this high school.

I never liked making eye contact in general, only because it was so awkward. But right now, right here, I couldn't help but look. And surprisingly, his gaze held me hostage, not letting me look away.

God.

The first thought that came in my head was, how in the freaking hell is he so hot?

Just his eyes were enough to make anyone swoon. They were green, the most beautiful green I had ever seen. Dishevelled hair fell over those same eyes, a shade that matched his black leather jacket.

I had always wondered what it would feel like to be in a position like this, to be staring at someone like this. It felt strange. The strangest part though, was that there wasn't anything to see. No emotion in his eyes. The green in his eyes was blank, impassive, maybe even a little angry. It would've been romantic if the situation was a little different, with probably a different guy.

"What?" He asked rudely, breaking me out of the stupid trance. Of course he was hot, but he was also extremely rude.

"What what?" I asked back.

"What the hell did you just say?"

I frowned at him. "Coach wants you at practice tomorrow."

He blinked and stared. A look similar to the one a few seconds ago, but somehow having a different energy.

"Do I look like I give a fuck about him?" He asked.

Before I could've replied, he crumpled up the paper--which might've made me jump a little--in his hand and walked away, leaving me utterly speechless.

"No," I murmured, a little taken aback as I watched him leave. "I guess you don't."

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