That morning I had taken my time getting ready as I chose a faded black Biggie Smalls shirt, a black denim skirt and opaque black tights with my black Doc Martens- it was a little darker than what I would normally wear but I was in the darker mood. I paired the outfit with a gold necklace of my name and tiny gold hopped earrings as I tied my hair in a low bun with a few short free curls at the base of my neck as I did my edges.

I was in the mood to look good, especially after the drama I'd been having. I said goodbye to my parent's as I grabbed my travel mug of tea and headed to my car. I turned on Summer Walkers album and as I drove to school, allowing my mind to drift off to a certain honey-colored eyed girl who gave me butterflies.

It seemed as though I manifested something into the universe because as I drove into the parking lot, parking in the first open spot close by and only once I had turned off my car, I realized that I was staring right at the front steps of school- the same steps where Haydn and her friends stood talking. Her hair was in a ponytail again and you could see her newly shaved undercut as she stood dressed in her signature dark aesthetic with a black shirt, dark-green flannel, black jeans ripped at the knees and black vans. She looked relaxed as she laughed at something her friend said and I felt my heart tug a little bit.

"Cris?" Roxanne asked tapping on my window and I jumped in shock- that was the last thing I expected to pull me back to reality. I quickly grab my tote bag and travel mug before hopping out the car and closing the door behind me. "Woah, nice outfit." She grinned and I shrugged with a small smile, I was actually glad she noticed.

"Hey, and thanks." I smiled as I gave her a hug and when I pulled back, I saw a frown of confusion on her face.

"What were you looking at like that?" She asked as we starting to head towards the building, and I laughed a little nervously.

"Oh nothing, I was just daydreaming." I smiled as I looped my arm through hers. "So, anything interesting to tell me?" I asked, praying she'd drop the subject.

"Well, I'm glad I ran into you actually, I have to talk to you about this party Aaron wants to throw on Friday after the game." She said as we walked up the stairs and I could feel my eyes briefly stray to Haydn's face, and when I saw her staring right back at me, I felt my face grow red as I quickly dropped my gaze.

"U-um, don't you think that's a little weird considering we don't know if we've won or lost?" I asked as we walked through the doors, and she laughed.

"Duh, that's the whole point- we get to party whether we win or lose." She said as we approached Logan and Blanca at their lockers which were, thankfully, close to mine.

"Are you guys talking about the same party as the whole football team?" Logan asked and I saw Blanca's eyes light up as I frowned.

"Party?" She mused.

"Football team?" I groaned.

"Yeah, Aaron wants to throw a party on Friday after the game," Roxanne replied to Blanca before turning to me. "And what's wrong with the football team?"

"Have you forgotten who's on the football team?" I asked and she shrugged. "Wesley is, and I really don't want to see him for at least another lifetime," I sighed as I put my tote bag in my locker and grabbed my biology books. My friends may have thought I was joking but after the last encounter I had with him I would be happy if I never had to see him again.

"Fuck Wesley!" Blanca huffed as she put her hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. "Don't allow him to ruin your social life." She said seriously and I rolled my eyes as the bell rang.

"I'll see you guys later." I smiled and Logan stopped me from leaving.

"Please Cris, we're going to have such a good time." She pleaded with her big, blue doe-eyes and I sighed in defeat, I could never say no to that face.

"Fine, I'll think about it, but we should go before we're late for class." I negotiated and when they finally let me leave, Blanca and I headed to biology.

I spent the majority of period doodling in my book as I thought about Wesley and the stupid party everyone wanted me to go to- much to Mr. Patel's dismay as he had to call me to attention about three times. That being said I wasn't too surprised when he asked me to stay behind after the bell rang and everyone went running for the door.

However, what did surprise me was that he told me that the mark from my surprise quiz was an indicator that I was going to do poorly in his class and if I didn't pass the test, we were writing in three weeks he'd have no choice but to kick me out. I would like to say that I handled this information as well as any other normal person, who would've immediately moved on with their day and decided to study harder or get a tutor or something but I'm not normal and anxiety is a bitch.

As I walked out of Mr. Patel's classroom, I immediately felt short of breath as the walls started closing in and I couldn't breathe anymore as a killer headache began to form behind my eyes. With one split decision, I had changed my path and instead of walking to my next class I made a beeline for the stairs that took you to the rooftop, to get some air without any teachers finding me.

I took the stairs two at a time until I saw the white and heavy double doors and using all my weight, I threw them open. I took several steps forward as I inhaled deep breaths, trying to remember what my therapist told me as I dropped my books on the floor and groaned.

"Fuuuck." I sighed as I slid down one of the ledges with my head in my hands and started massaging my temples as I closed my eyes, leaning my head on my knees. The concrete floor was cold and hard, but I didn't care where I was as long as it wasn't inside that awful building that seemed to be closing in on me.

"You, okay?" A familiar voice called out and I shot up in shock- it seemed like people were making a habit of scaring me today. I looked up and was surprised to see Haydn, sitting casually against the opposite ledge a few feet away, rolling what looked to be a joint with her hands. I had no clue how I never saw her when I came up here.

"Oh shit, yeah I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was up here- I'll leave." I said as I started to get up, but she shook her head as she stood up instead. Picking up her bag she lazily walked across the roof and took a seat next to me, crossing her legs as she did. She turned to me and as her honey-colored eyes stared into my brown ones I could feel my heart do that whole stop-start thing as butterflies swarmed my body.

Woah, I was definitely crushing on her.

And hard too.

"You want one?" She asked as she held out the joint and I frowned in suspicion, I liked smoking weed but I wasn't about to do it at school. Lucky for me she saw the look of worry on my face and smirked. "Don't worry, it's chamomile, sage and peppermint, I don't smoke weed at school, but this blend helps calm me down, helped me quit smoking cigarettes too." She reassured me and I let out a little sigh of relief as I nodded. I never smoked at school but today I was stressed and very anxious so it couldn't hurt.

"Thanks," I said gratefully but instead of handing it over with the lighter, I watched as she brought it to her lips and lit it herself before passing it to me, our fingers brushing slightly as I took it from her. She expertly started to roll another one as I brought mine to my lips and pulled before inhaling it in and breathing it out along with some of my anxiousness- she was right, it did help. "So, what are doing up here if you don't mind me asking?" I asked quietly and she shrugged as she took a pull and let it out.

"I just needed room to breathe I guess." She said casually before turning to face me. "What about you?"

"Same," I said with a small smile. "Also, doesn't help that I've got I killer headache." I joked and she smiled.

"So, is this headache from your friends or that William guy?" She asked and I laughed a little.

"His name is Wesley but it's neither of them, it's actually because I'm failing biology and there's a strong possibility Mr. Patel is going to kick me out of his class." I sighed as I rubbed my temples with one hand and held my rollie with the other.

"Don't stress about it so much, it's just a class." She reassured me and I shook my head before leaning it back on the wall behind me.

"It's not just a class though, if I get kicked out of this class it's going to affect my grades and then I won't get into a good college and then I'm going to disappoint my parents and then I'd be a failure who can't get a good job and end up alone and my parents would hate me." I ranted embarrassingly as my anxiousness started to return so I closed my eyes and took another drag of the rollie. I felt Haydn watch me for a while as we smoked our rollies, I knew she was figuring out what to say, but before I could apologize for embarrassing myself, she spoke.

"You think too much." She said as she took another drag before putting it out. "You know I could always help you with biology." She offered and I had to stop the shock from showing on my face at her offer- that was the last thing I expected.

"Haydn you don't have to do that-" I started as I put out my rollie, but she quickly stopped me.

"I'm serious." She smiled. "I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to." She explained and I blushed, the last thing I wanted was to be pitied but she really was coming from a genuine place- and she was brilliant in biology.

Haydn was actually brilliant in most of her subjects, she'd placed in the top 10 since she moved here in sophomore year.

"Are you sure? Cause I'm pretty sure I'm failing that subject." I informed her cautiously and she nodded. "Okay, fine," I said a little reluctantly, but my smile was still there. "But how much are you going to cost me?"

"Cost you?!" She exclaimed as she rolled her eyes playfully with a smirk. "I'm not going to take your money Cristina, but we can find alternative methods of payment if you want." She said with a wink, and I blushed a little as I shook my head.

"I can't agree to something when I don't even know what I'm agreeing to," I argued, and she smiled.

"You need to relax and live a little." She smiled as she knocked her shoulder into mine gently. "So, I'll meet you at the library after school today?" She asked and I groaned.

"I've actually got cheerleading practice after school." I sighed but she just shrugged.

"That's cool, what about tomorrow?" She asked as she looked at me and I took a second to look at her eyes up close with their warm pools of honey and light brown swirls. It wasn't until she cocked a perfectly shaped eyebrow did, I realize that I hadn't replied yet.

"Yeah, I'll see you after school tomorrow," I promised and she grinned before the bell rang and it was then that I realized that we were still in school and not in fact in our own world.

"Okay then, I'll see you later Cristina." She nodded as she grabbed her backpack and stood up before walking towards the door, giving me one last glance before she disappeared.

I waited for my heart to stop beating so fast before I rubbed my hands with hand sanitizer, popped a piece of gum and headed back down to get on with the school day, a lot less anxious.

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