"I don't care what you say, you're both going." Emmie gives me and Saige her best I-mean-business glare, making us both groan.

I guess you could say that Saige and I have made up. By that I mean neither of us have brought up our argument from last week. We both choose to ignore our fight as if it never happened, which might be for the best.

"What, exactly, are we going to?" I ask. Emmie smirks like she was hoping I'd ask her that question, which only makes me dread what she's going to say next even more.

"There's going to be a party this Friday at some guy on the football team's house, and everyone is going. Including you two. No excuses."

"I can't," Saige and I say in unison. We even share a glance, which might be the most we've acknowledged each other in a week.

"I said no excuses!" Emmie cries. "You guys are coming, and it's going to be fun! Please? You never come to parties with me!"

"That's because I'm not a fan of the underage drinking and drug use," Saige states simply, being the childless mother that she is. "It's disgusting, to be honest."

Emmie rolls her eyes, giving me a do-you-know-this-chick look that makes me laugh. "So? You don't have to drink or do drugs or do anything that you don't want to do."

"Good." Saige smirks, her eyes gleaming brightly. "Then I don't have to go to the party."

"I retract my former statement. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do at the party."

Saige rolls her eyes, turning her attention to her yogurt cup. I find myself realizing that I'm not entirely against the idea of going to this party. Lately, I've slowly started to branch out of my shell. Then I remember that I have overly protective parents, and remind myself that there's no way in hell I'd ever be able to sneak out to go to a party, of all places.

"I wish I could," I tell Emmie, genuinely meaning it. "But, you know who my parents are, right?"

"Yeah, the biggest sticks in the mud of all eternity." Emmie looks downcast as she stares down at her lunch, her mouth pursed. I wonder if I should be offended by what she just said about my parents, and if it's a bad thing that I'm not.

"I'm not giving up." Emmie looks determined as she meets Saige's gaze and then mine. "Somehow, I am going to convince both of you to come to this party. Just you wait."

"Okay," Saige says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I doubt that, but you do you, sweetie." Has Saige always been so negative? And, if so, how have I never noticed before?

"Sorry," I tell Emmie softly. "You know I want to. It's just, it's kind of impossible with the biggest sticks in the mud of all eternity for parents."

Emmie stands, looking down at me and Saige. "You're still coming. You'll see."

★★★

When Thorne rolls into fourth, I'm already prepared. I tear a page out of my notebook as he takes his seat next to me, sliding it across the table to him. (Instead of separate desks, we have one table. He has his side and I have mine.) Then I take a pencil out of my bag and hand it to him. In return, he gives me that half-smile, half-smirk of his that I now find slightly endearing.

Ever since the day Saige and I fought about him, this is how things go in fourth. I share my materials with him, and he promises to at least take one note during the class. I just don't want him to fail, so I've been helping him out a bit. Surprisingly, he's (so far) kept up his end of the deal.

"You heard about the party on Friday, Sunshine?" Thorne asks. He raises his eyebrows, waiting for my response. I hesitate, wondering what he's getting at.

"I did," I admit. I shift in my seat, turning to face him. "Why? You going?"

Thorne shrugs, looking smug—as usual. "I don't know. I don't normally like hanging out with the people at this school, but I was thinking about dropping by. Why? Are you going, Sunshine?"

"I don't know. Parties aren't really my kind of thing." I don't tell him that Emmie was just trying to convince me to go the very party we're talking about during lunch. I definitely don't tell him that now that I know he might be going, there's no way that I'd miss it.

"You should go, Sunshine." Thorne pokes my side with the eraser end of the pencil I lent him, a small smile on his lips. "You never know. It could be fun."

I pretend to be shocked, even letting out a small gasp. "You're talking to me about fun? Like you know what that is."

Thorne rolls his eyes good-naturedly. Suddenly, he looks serious. "It's okay to branch out, you know," he speaks softly, his words meant just for me. "You don't have to stay in this little bubble, Sunshine. Climbing out of your comfort zone can be scary, but sometimes it's worth it."

I raise my eyebrows, biting back a smile. Deep down, I know that he's right. But I'm never going to let him know that, of course. "When did you get smart?"

Thorne just gives me that I-know-something-you-don't-know smirk, leaning back in his seat. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me yet, Sunshine."

I like the way he said yet. Like he's going to give me the chance to get to know him better in the future. The thought makes me smile.

Mr. Musgraves chooses that moment to walk in, starting one of his infamously boring lectures. I'm surprised to find that Thorne goes silent next to me, turning to the piece of paper I gave him. He remains silent throughout the rest of class, seemingly paying attention to doing his work for probably the first time ever since I met him.

I have to force my gaze away from him and tell myself to do my own work. Once I do, it's hard not to turn and glance at him, but I make myself focus.

When the bell finally rings, I'm shocked—and slightly hurt—to find that Thorne is already gone. I pack up my things, wondering why he didn't stay behind longer. Normally, we at least walk out of class together.

As I'm rising from my seat, I notice a piece of paper on Thorne's desk. I pick it up curiously, wondering if he forgot his notes. I gasp as my eyes land on a drawing of a rose growing out of the ground, facing the sun that's shining down on it. I'm impressed by how realistic the sketch is, realizing that I had no clue Thorne was such a good artist.

That's when my subconscious makes the realization of the century. Thorne drew a rose and a sun. My full name is Mia Rose McHenry. He calls me Sunshine. I understand that this could be totally false, but I think that maybe he drew this with the intention of leaving it behind for me to see. Could he have drawn this for me? That's crazy, right?

I fold the drawing carefully and set it in my back pocket, knowing one thing for sure. There's no way I'm going to miss that party tomorrow night.

★★★

"Hey, Mom," I say the next night, just hours before I'm supposed to go to the party with Emmie. I should have cleared my schedule with my mom earlier, I know, but the thought of lying to her always makes my stomach churn. I'm always afraid that she's going to call me out and ground me for the rest of my life.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom says, looking up as I walk into the kitchen. I wring my hands together as I replay my excuse in my mind over and over, telling myself that this is going to work. There's no way she's going to know I'm lying. She's not superhuman.

Right?

"Uh, I was just wondering . . ." I trail off, my throat starting to constrict. Suddenly, I feel all flustered and sweaty. When was the last time I lied to my mother? Have I ever done this before? I've always been a relatively good girl. What has gotten into me?

"You were just wondering . . ." Mom gestures for me to go on, staring at me. Her hazel eyes watching me so closely makes me want to run up to my room and stay there forever. Then I accidentally touch the paper in my back pocket, remembering why I even want to go to this party in the first place.

"I was wondering if I could spend the night at Saige's," I say calmly. Mom has always liked Saige the best out of my two friends, claiming that Emmie is "too wild" and "too extra" for her. "I'll be back by the morning, and you don't have to worry about me driving. She can pick me up."

Mom looks thoughtful for a moment. When she finally opens her mouth to give me her verdict, I wince. She's going to say no. She's going to yell at me for lying and lock me in my room, never to be seen again.

"Okay," Mom says, shocking me. "Just come back before one, okay? I have to go to work then."

I have to force myself not to sigh aloud in relief. Grinning, I try not to start jumping up and down in excitement. "Thanks, Mom!" I cry, giving her a quick hug. I run up to my room, deciding that if I'm going to a party, I need to change my outfit.

Plus, it wouldn't hurt to look good, just in case Thorne shows up. Emphasis on the just in case.

★★★

"Drive!" I cry, slamming the back door of Emmie's Prius and praying to God that my mom won't recognize the car as Emmie's and not Saige's. Emmie slams down on the gas pedal, speeding out of my driveway faster than she needs to. Although, it's kind of exhilarating. Not necessarily the way Emmie's driving—that's just scary—but knowing that I'm going to go to a party and see Thorne—well, hopefully see Thorne.

"You look good Lil M," Emmie says with an appreciative whistle, glancing at me in the rear-view mirror. Her words make me smile, as that might be the nicest compliment anyone's ever given me. It feels good to have my hard work be recognized.

I left my dark hair down in its usual waves, and I applied more makeup than I usually would to my face. I found this tight black top in the back of my closet that I paired with ripped black skinny jeans and black high-top Vans, which might be the most dressed up I've ever been in my life.

I notice that Saige is sitting in the passenger seat (though she doesn't look happy about it), giving Emmie mental-props for managing to get her to come along.

Only minutes later, Emmie's parking in the driveway of probably the biggest house I've ever seen. It takes a while to drag Saige out of the car, and once Emmie and I manage to do that, Emmie wraps her arm around Saige, determined not to let her out of her sight.

"I am not drinking," Saige mutters as we trudge toward the giant house. I can hear loud music blasting from here, and I can already smell the scent of cigarettes lingering in the air.

"Okay," Emmie barks, dragging Saige toward the front door. "You don't have to. Just have fun for once, okay?"

Inside the house, the noise and smell of cigarettes gets much stronger. Groups of people crowd together in all the rooms I can see. I'm starting to feel a little nervous, as I always do in big social situations. But I can tell by the glances the people by the door are giving me, I can tell that for the first time in my life, I'm not invisible.

And, unlike when Thorne makes me feel that way, I don't like it. At all.

It doesn't take long for me to lose sight of Emmie and Saige, but I don't really care. I'm too busy looking for Thorne to notice. I check for him in the living room, but I don't spot him anywhere. If he were here, I know I'd be able to spot him out of a crowd. I've gotten very good at it over the past few weeks.

He's not in the kitchen, den, or basement, either. I don't give up my search, though. I check all the bathrooms on the first floor (3) before making my way to the backyard, the most crowded area of them all. A large group hovers around the snacks/drinks table, which isn't surprising. A bunch of buzzed teens strip out of their clothes and jump into the pool. Some kids are dancing to the beat of an Ariana Grande song in the center of the yard. Still, no Thorne in sight.

I guess I really want to find him so I can ask him about the drawing that's burning a hole in my back pocket. I want to know what it means. Why he drew it. If he meant for me to see it.

Half an hour later, I still can't seem to find him. The only place I haven't checked is the upstairs region of the house, but I know that if he's not hooking up with some girl, there's no reason he'd be up there. Besides, he never said if he was definitely coming to this party or not. He said he was thinking about showing up.

Bummed, I make my way out of the house. Now that I'm here, I realize that the whole party idea isn't really that great. By this time, everyone is either drunk, hooking up, or throwing up. I decide to just spend the rest of the night in Emmie's car because she never locks it, which is a bad habit of hers but good for me in this case.

I step out into the darkness, rubbing my arms as I feel the chill. It's only October, but it's starting to get pretty cold. As I'm walking toward Emmie's car, I begin to hear the sounds of voices. I can't hear them clear enough to make out every word, but I can tell the people talking are close because I can hear them over the music. I stop in my tracks, looking around. I don't see anything around me but empty cars and a patch of woods to my left.

Suddenly, the air is quiet once again. Deciding I must have just been hearing things, I trudge on toward Emmie's car. Just as I'm pulling on the doorknob for the back seat, I hear footsteps. The hair on my arms starts to stand on end, and I turn around slowly. This is always the part of the movies where the girl gets murdered and then thrown in some dumpster. I really don't want to be thrown in a dumpster before I even turn eighteen.

Whirling around, prepared to scream, I come face-to-face with a figure in all black. Through the darkness, I can make out messy brown hair and startlingly green eyes.

"Sunshine?" the figure says at the same time I say, "Thorne?"

"Hey." Thorne steps toward me, the light of the moon shining over his face. "I didn't think I'd see you here."

I take a step toward him, blurting, "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Thorne smirks, clearly finding my revelation funny. "You've been looking for me, Sunshine?"

"Well, uh, you said you might be here, so . . ." I trail off, not knowing what else to say. I can feel Thorne's eyes as they look me up and down, making me shiver. When he meets my gaze and bites his lip, my heart goes crazy.

"You look good," he says. He has no idea what his words are doing to me, clearly. "Black's my favorite color. Did you dress up just for me?" He's teasing me, I know. That doesn't stop my knees from going a little weak.

"No." I don't tell him that, yeah, I kinda did. "Of course not."

Thorne nods, looking like he doesn't believe me. "You having fun here, Sunshine?"

"Not really," I admit. I gesture to Emmie's car behind me as I say, "I was thinking about hiding out for the rest of the night. I don't have my car with me, so I can't really go."

Thorne is silent for a moment. Closing the space between us, he asks, "Do you want to get out of here, Sunshine?"

I've never wanted anything more in my entire life.