I wake covered with the blanket from the foot of my bed. I don't recall falling asleep but I do recall Flynn being there before I did. We'd sat watching movie after movie, commenting and laughing at parts but neither felt the need to start a conversation and there was certainly no awkwardness. He just sat accompanying me until I fell asleep

The books that we'd placed on my bed to make it look like we were working, in case my parents came in, are now piled up on my bedside locker with the few bags of sweets, we hadn't eaten.

I jump in a quick shower, dry my hair and put my uniform on before descending to the kitchen, where my parents are sat at the table, eating breakfast.

"Good morning" My mother chirps. She's always been a morning person, unlike me, who even after a shower, still doesn't feel fully awake.

"Was the film good?" My father question and I freeze.

"What? How do you.." I look at my parents in surprise.

"After an hour of not hearing you two bickering, we had a fair idea you weren't working on your project" My father says slightly amused.

"I had..."

"It's okay" My mother interrupts. "He's a good guy Leah"

A good guy? Flynn?

I was just going to say that I had nothing to do with it and blame it all on him but if they believe Flynn's a 'good guy' and want to let me away with it, I'm okay with that.

"A good guy? We are talking about the same Flynn right?" I can't help but blurt out.

"So you two aren't..." My mother asks suggestively.

"NO!" I gasp in horror.

"I knew it" My father chimes. "You owe me a tenner"

"You two made a bet on me" I huff. Unbelievable! "You thought I was with him just because yous think he's a good guy?"

"But he is" They chime in unison.

"And we should know, we have a daughter just like him" My father chuckles and I frown at him.

No way was I like Flynn Murray!

"Only he has better taste in clothes than she does nowadays" My mother interjects.

"I thought you liked the new image the new me has"

"We didn't want a new you Leah. We just wanted you to stay out of trouble" My mother looks at my benevolently. "And how you dress doesn't define who you are. If you like what you wear now and it makes you feel confident then wear it; But regardless of your clothes, you're a good person.."

"You just fell off the track for a while" My father concludes.

I look at my parents and smile.

Flynn's right, my parents are cool. Just don't tell him I said that.

"I better get to school" I grab a breakfast bar and head for the door, kissing my parents on the way.

I step outside, pulling my coat tighter around me. It's turned into a proper winter over the past few days.

"Hey" Summer says a faint smile pulling on her lips.

I run out of my garden and around to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry for being such a shitty friend" I say, slowly releasing her from my grip. "I'm really not used to this but you're so damn nice, it's contagious. If this was the old me I wouldn't even be hugging you or apologizing. I never told people I was sorry" I say in one long breath then struggle to catch it again.

How does she do that so effortlessly?

"The old you sounds like a real bitch"

"She was. Is" I correct with a faint smile. "I thought by changing everything about myself I'd become a better person but...but, I lost myself along the way. I didn't like how much trouble I got into or how I treated people and I'm going to work on that, but that bitch is a huge part of who I really am and I miss being me!"

Summer glares at me for the longest moment and I fear she's just going to stalk off, until a smile slowly spreads across her face. "I can't wait to get to know this bitch"

I pounce forward and hug her again, tighter. Happy to still have her as my friend.

"So what's the main thing you miss about yourself?" She asks as we saunter to school.

"The clothes" I blurt without hesitation. Summer glares curiously at me. "Don't get me wrong, your clothes are nice, on you but I love the color black. My entire wardrobe was filled with black and white clothes with a splash of purple, blue or red but nothing as vibrant as some of the outfits you've put me in..oh and my heels. I could wear high heels all day and night" I say dreamily.

"You'd have to be crazy not to love high heels but to practically live in them, you're definitely crazy" She laughs and I'm over joyed to hear her laugh again.

I nod my head. "I promise I'll try let you in on my past more"

"Okay" She smiles, "But can I ask why you moved here and changed in the first place?" She asks with that look of concern on her face, the look that dims her blue eyes.

I squeeze her hand in mine and tell Summer my story in detail.

__

"Oh my god, guess what?" Summer and Natalie nearly collide with me as they coming running up to me. Summer has the broadest smile I've ever seen possible on her face so I can only assume it's fantastic news. "Fine don't guess" She huffs impatiently. "Benji asked me to Will's Christmas party this weekend" She quietly squeals to me, trying not to let everyone around us overhear her exciting news. "You're coming right?

"I don't know if I can. I'm still grounded" I remind them.

I'm on my second week of being grounded and it's killing me.

After Flynn's DVD trick last week, my parents warned me not to let it happen again, not that I minded. I didn't particularly want Flynn coming around pestering me when unnecessary. Him doing it in school is more than enough.

"I'll talk to your mam surely she'll understand that I need you as my wing-woman, if anything goes wrong with Benji, I'll have a nervous breakdown" Summer frets, with a nervous giggle. "Besides it's not like we go to parties every week"

"That's because it's winter and it's too cold for parties" Natalie points out blatantly.

"Whether I'm there or not, everything will be fine and you'll have a great night.. both of you" I wink slyly at Natalie, who I've recently notices has a thing for Carl. I don't know how I didn't notice sooner but I guess I was just being too selfish to notice.

"Hey Leah" Anthony appears with a faltering smile. "I was wondering if you'd like to be my date to Will's party Friday night"

"Actually I don't think I can go. I'm still grounded"

Due to being grounded, I still haven't gone on that third date. Not that it'd make much of a difference anyway; I'm so confused about who I am that I can't figure out how I actually feel about him.

"Are yas all really planning to go to that losers party on Friday?" Flynn intervenes, appearing beside me.

"Get lost Flynn" Anthony growls sternly.

"Oh no, I better run. Anto found some balls" Flynn chuckles and Anthony rolls his eyes. There's nothing he hates more than being called Anto, except for Flynn of course. "but seriously Will's party is gonna suck" He proclaims a little too loudly and Will overhears.

Will is a quiet guy, okay he's a little nerdy but somehow he has a somewhat cool group of friends who like to really party.

Forming a fist I turn and punch Flynn's arm. He stumbles sideways at my unexpected force and glares at me in shock. I can't imagine many people have dared to punch Flynn, especially not a girl.

My friends are all looking with mixed emotions. They're simultaneously stunned by my actions, bursting to laugh aloud at it but are fearing Flynn's reaction.

"I'm going to let that slide, Trouble" He states pointing a finger at me; And it seems I have a new nickname. "next time I'll get you back" I watch as he bites back a smile; his grey eyes show a glint of amusement.

"Let's go man" Benji lightly hits Flynn's arm indicating for him to follow him. "Bye" He smiles directly at Summer who smiles back and blushes.

"Later loser" Flynn looks at Anthony, "Later Trouble" He smirks at me and follows after Benji.

"I really hope he's not at the party Friday" Anthony says before leaving to find his seat in class.

I sigh at their little dispute.

I swear boys are worse than girls when it comes to bitchiness.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Flynn has a soft spot for you" Summer pipes up and Natalie nods in agreement.

"Don't be stupid. It's Flynn, he only has a spot for himself!" I roll my eyes, dismissing her comment before entering the class, while thinking about all the times he's been genuinely nice towards me.