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It's been two weeks since I started public school. So far I've had my ups and my downs, luckily Sky's had my back. I've been sitting with her at lunch every day and we share two lessons -- Spanish and History.

I'm still getting the odd stares and name-calls in the corridors, though, I've just learned to ignore them. It seems to be working.

Today I feel drained, I didn't get much sleep last night since it turned into another eventful evening.

I got home to find my mom having smashed up the whole downstairs area. Everything was ruined, including all the expensive furniture and my dad's framed gold records that were hanging on the walls. Shards of glass decorated the floor and I found my mom crying in the corner, bottles of spirits littered around the coffee table.

I hated having to comfort her when she was like this. She would always start picking at me -- making me believe it was all my fault that dad died. She seems to think having a child so young had a big effect on him, but even if that was the case, why have a child? And how is that my fault?

I decided to sit with her, rubbing her back until her tears dried. She looked up at me, her dark eyes were glassy and broken. "Why? Why is everything so damn awful?"

She cried harder. "I should be married to the man of my dreams, playing music and enjoying life. Instead, I'm stuck here, in this big lonely house, growing old and looking after a child by myself. Do you know how hard it is to be a single parent?"

I hardly spoke much, just listened to her ranting and raving until she grew tired and fell asleep on the sofa. I grabbed a blanket and pulled it over her slim body. I checked the time and sighed when I saw it was two in the morning. My mom can talk until the sun came up.

I'm rushing to use the restroom before my first period, I hurry inside not bothering to look at the many disgusting glares I usually receive day after day. I'm used to blocking it out by now.

After I used the toilet, I step outside to wash my hands. The door to the bathroom opens and closes. I glance in the mirror, racking my blonde hair through my fingers when I see a boy through the reflection of the wide mirror.

I stand motionless, my fingers remain still in my hair, watching the boy as he stares at me. His deep forest eyes peered at me in surprise and confusion.

Why is he in the girl's toilets? Why is he staring at me?

Why is my stomach fluttering as I watch him look at me through the mirror?

"What are you doing in here?" he snaps.

Although he seems angry, I can't help but think how nice his voice sounds. Rich and velvety.

I spin around, narrowing my eyes. I remember this boy from the cafeteria. The hot one that Sky was warning me about. What was his name again? Ryan? Robbie?

"What do you mean? This is a girl's bathroom, what are you doing here?" he glares at me, his eyes darkening a shade of green.

"Did you not bother to check the door before you walked in or are you just stupid?"

The nerve of this guy. Who does he think he is?

"Excuse me?" I place a hand on my hip, raising an eyebrow at him. Did I check the door?

I glance around the old murky bathroom and I mentally palm my face when I see the men's urinal in the corner. Oh no.

"Oh." Well done Marnie, you've just managed to embarrass yourself in front of the hottest guy in school.

"Are you going to leave?" my eyes snap to his, he looks irritated.

"Umm... yeah." I quickly snatch my things from the counter and head to the door when I hear his voice behind me.

"New girl," His voice is husky, and masculine, making my heart race. "Try not to walk into a guy's bathroom again, it was lucky it was me you ran into."

I gulp, leaving the room without another word. He's right, I'm lucky he wasn't some jock.

Could I trust that he won't make fun of my slip-up? He said I was lucky, maybe this time he'll let it slide. I hope.

During third-period English, I rested my head on the table and waited for the bell to ring. I like English, and I like reading, but today I'm in no state to listen to the teacher talk in-depth about Emily Dickinson's poems. My head hurts and I rub my temples slowly, praying for the ache to leave.

"Today you will be paired into groups of two. You will write a paper about your favourite poem and will submit it by next lesson." I groan.

Great, everyone in this class hates me.

The teacher starts to read the names from a piece of paper, "Charlotte and... Zoe. Kira and... Sam. Danny and... Max. Joey and... Liam." I wait for my name to be called as the teacher calls out the names slowly.

Seriously, just say it already.

"Marnie and... Reese." Every pair of eyes in class look in my direction and I slide down my seat. Some girls on my left shot daggers and scoff under their breath.

"Okay, everyone you need to sit beside your assigned partner so you can start a discussion on your chosen poem." I get up from my seat, rather unenthusiastically and look around the room.

There is only one person without a partner and he sits by himself in the back of the room -- staring out the window. What is he looking at anyway?

His eyes find me and I freeze.

Oh no.

It's him.

The guy from the bathroom this morning.

I bite my lip and slowly approach the table, his face holds a bored expression. "Can I sit?"

I see a faint smile on his handsome face. "I guess we don't have much choice, do we?"

I roll my eyes and take a seat, as far away from him as possible. I open my notebook and look over the poems on the left side of the page. "So do you have a favourite poem?"

He looks at me and I notice his eyes have a slight gleam in them. "I'm not a fan of Emily Dickinson."

"Well we need to pick a poem," I hope he doesn't think I'm going to do all the work. He needs to pull his weight as well.

"Maybe I could write a poem, I'm a poet myself you know," I stare at him in awe. I remember Sky telling me that Reese was in a band.

"Oh yeah, you're in a band, right? That's cool."

His lip twitches, and amusement dances in his eyes. "You should see us perform one day." he offers.

Did he invite me to see him play with his band? Oh my God.

"Umm... yeah, that could be fun." Despite our earlier encounter, I hope Reese and I could get along. It would be nice to have a second friend in this place and it would make this assignment much easier.

I gaze at our paper, seeing his name written on the page in black bold letters. Reese Black. Such a sexy name. It definitely suits him and-- "It's Welsh."

"Hmm?" My eyes snap to his, my face flaming red. Did he know what I was thinking?

He gazes at me for a moment before nodding his head at the paper on the table. "My family are from Wales. We moved here when I was born. Reese is a Welsh name -- named after my Grandfather Rhys Black." He leans back in his chair, the front legs of his seat lift from the ground.

He tilts his head, analysing me.

"Oh... that's cool." I gulp. I feel slightly pleased he's opened up to me, even if it's something as small as what his name means.

"Okay class, remember I want you to write a poem and hand it in by tomorrow afternoon." Mrs Andrews announces.

Oh shit. We didn't even discuss what poem we are going to choose yet.

Reese watches me with an impassive expression. I nervously bite my lip and his eyes drop to the small action.

"Would you... umm... like to come over to my house tonight? To discuss the assignment?" Yeah Marnie, invite a guy to your house like It's something you do all the time.

His eyebrows lift in surprise. "Really? You want me to come over to your place?" his voice is soft, like silk.

"Yeah, it's the easiest way to finish the paper." his brown hair falls into his eyes and his hand rakes it out from his forehead.

"Okay, what time?"

The bell rings and people are quick to get out of their seats. "Is five okay?"

He nods his head slowly as a few girls crowd around our table. "Hey, Reese." a honey blonde-haired girl flutters her long lashes at him. I glance back at Reese and I'm shocked to see that he's still watching me.

What is he thinking about right now?

"See you tomorrow." The girls give me the dirtiest, evil look and I smile sheepishly as my face burns.

"Bye." I walk out of the room and sigh with relief. I'm glad to be out of that class, however, an unsettling feeling rises in my belly.

Reese is coming over to my house tomorrow. Fuck.

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