"Finns really cool," I blurted to Jack as we walked down the hall.

"He's the best. I knew you'd love him. I love him. Everyone loves him! And I'm sorry about the Ellie thing. I know you really don't like her, but she's actually a good person once you get to know her," he insisted. I knew that there was no way that could be true, but I also knew it was better to just sit and agree with Jack than to argue with him. Jack was very passionate when it came to things he cared about. That was one of my favorite things about Jack, how he always defended things he loved.

We reached our english classroom and proceeded to sit down next to each other, since there were no apparent assigned seats. Our teacher, Mrs. Bellini, stomped into the room. She was a short woman with long wavy red hair and tan skin. Jack began to giggle.

"Is it just me or does she look like the witch from hocus pocus?" he said a little too loudly. "You know, that hair. And her teeth!" He continued. A few kids laughed, and I cracked up.

"Shut up," I whispered back trying to contain my laughter.

"Hello class, and welcome to english," Mrs. Bellini exclaimed. I could already tell that this was going to be a long ass day.

40 minutes later the bell rang, signaling class was over. Jack and I walked out of the classroom together and down to the gym with our arms linked. We always walked like this. When we were little, at the playground, Jack used to try and run away from our parents to go play on the slide, which we were most certainly not allowed to do. Our parents made us walk with our arms intertwined so Jack couldn't escape, and we had continued to walk like that ever since.

Jack and I both hated gym a lot, so it was good that we had it together. I was fairly athletic, and Jack was not. Last year he got a mile time of 13 minutes, which was a record for the slowest mile in years. Jack was more of a video game / movie kinda guy, which I didn't mind. We filed into the gym with about 15 other students, most of which I knew. There were a few kids in the grade below us but mostly everyone there was in 10th. For the whole period we went over the rules of gym, and our teacher Coach Rivoli made us run three laps. Jack surprisingly ran an extra two to show off before quitting and going to the water fountain.

"Damn, Jack," I said between breaths, "You really got into shape."

"Tell me about it," Jack said causally. "Finn kept dragging me to the gym at camp. We ran on the treadmill together like every day," he explained.

"Finn seems great," I confessed. "I mean, he got you, Jack Grazer, to work out." I giggled.

"Are you calling me lazy?" Jack laughed, punching my shoulder as we re-entered the gym.

"You? Fat? Never."

I wouldn't have described Jack as fat, just maybe... pudgy? But now that he was taller, his baby fat seem to have finally left. His face was definitely slimmer and more defined than it had been before. To be honest, he was a lot more attractive. I didn't blame Ellie for going for him. But I had Finn to worry about now.

The bell rang, and I said goodbye to Jack and walked quickly to Spanish. This was my first class with Finn. I could hardly contain my excitement. Just me and Finn, no Jack, no Ellie, in a class together. Hopefully I could listen to some of his music and actually get to know him properly. Something about Finn made me want to be close to him, be his friend. I reached the classroom and nervously walked in. The desks were organized in groups of two. I walked around the room, trying to decide where to sit.

"Hey stranger, come sit with me," I heard Finn's voice call. I looked up to see Finn sitting in the front of the room motioning me to come sit with him. My heart skipped a beat. Finn looked just as good as before. I grinned and went to join him.

"Hi," I said. I put my backpack down and pulled in my chair. I turned my head to face him. Up close, you could see the freckles sprinkled around his adorable nose. Finn pulled his phone and airpods from his pocket excitedly.

"Here, wanna listen to my band? Jack recorded us performing at camp." I nodded. Finn handed me an airpod. I put it carefully in my ear.

"My baby's insane

She brings all the rain

She just got home

She threw it all down the drain." I heard someone, presumably Finn, sing. He was a fucking amazing singer. There were multiple guitarists playing, as well as a drummer. They sounded like a professional band.

"This is incredible!" I exclaimed. Finn smiled and reached to take his airpod.

"I'm glad you like it," he said quietly. His hand brushed my cheek slowly as he retrieved his airpod. I let out a small gasp. Our eyes met and maintained contact while Finn took his earbud back. Finn's eyes were deep and mysterious. He had little flecks of lighter brown in them, imitating his freckles. I couldn't seem to look away.

"Hola clase!" a voice to the left of us shrieked. Finn snapped his head towards the voice and our eye contact was broken. I sighed and turned to face the very front of the room. I very short and tan women was pacing in front of us.

"My name is Mrs. Gonzalez! I will be your spanish teacher this year! O este año, si quieres ser elegante!" She laughed maniacally.

"What's so funny?" Finn whispered to me. His breath smelled like fresh mint.

"Nothing. I've heard this bitch is a fucking crackhead." Finn stifled a laugh. The rest of the class consisted of Mrs. Gonzales saying random things in spanish and making us take notes on a syllabus. Class ended and Finn and I walked to history together.

"I'm listening to Twin Peaks. Want an earbud?" He asked me in the hall.

"Of course," I respond with a wink. Finn smiled and slipped an airpod in my ear. We walked together to our next classroom. The desks were in pairs of four this time.

"Over here, Finny," Ellie's obnoxious voice called. Finn waved back and we walked over to where Ellie was seated.

"Can Madison sit with us?" Finn asked. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"You need to understand that we hate each other. You're gonna have to pick between us. Jack will have to too," Ellie explained.

"Not everything's a fucking competition. Chill out, it's just seats. Jesus." I walked away and sat at the arrangement of desks furthest away from Ellie. Was what she said true? Would Jack actually have to pick between us? Who would he pick? I was his best friend, he had to pick me. Right? I guess it didn't matter right now. I needed to focus on class. Finn glanced at me before declaring,

"I'll sit with Madison. I only get to see her like three times a day anyways. See you later, Ellie." Finn came and sat down next to me. Finn chose me. I smiled at him. It seems I couldn't stop smiling today.

"I like Ellie and all, but sometimes she's a nightmare. And dating her is about the worst thing you can do. I told Jack not to but he just couldn't resist I guess," Finn shrugged. I froze.

"Wait wait wait. You've dated Ellie?" I was shocked. I didn't expect perfect Finn to stoop so low as to date Ellie. Jack, maybe. He was sometimes blinded by looks, not that Ellie had any, rather than looking at someone's personality.

"Yeah. We dated for three years, and we saw each other at summer camp every year. That's where we met. We'd facetime for most of the school year. I came to America to visit her during Christmas break every year. I'm from Canada if you didn't know," he told me.

"And you're fine with Ellie dating Jack?" I asked. This wasn't adding up.

"I really don't care. Jack can do what he wants. Plus, I'm interested in someone else."

"Who!" I said a little too excitedly. Before Finn could answer, class started.

"Hey guys! I'm your teacher this year, Mr. McGill. I'm gonna bring a lot of fun to history! Also I love John Green. So we'll be watching a lot of him. Did I mention I love John Green?" Mr. McGill laughed.

"What the fuck is wrong with the teachers here?" Finn whispered to me.

"I wish I knew. You get used to it though," I giggled.

"We have a new student today!" Mr. McGill said, pointing at Finn. "Come up and introduce yourself. Come on!" He motioned for Finn to join him at the front of the room.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Finn Wolfhard. I moved here from Canada. Some of you may already know me, some of you may be getting to know me," he said. Finn made eye contact with me and winked. This boy will be the death of me. "So yeah that's basically it," he finished and returned to his seat. The class went by fast, and I spent most of it staring at Finn. Creepy? Maybe. Necessary? Yes. Finn was so beautiful. I just felt so connected to him, and I hadn't felt like this about anyone, ever. Except Jack. Jack and I had a complicated history, but I shouldn't get into that now. Class ended, and I walked into the hall with Finn.

"See you at lunch," he waved before departing. I couldn't wait.