For the next two classes, I did a great job of avoiding the guys. I mean, yeah, Lucas was in Government and Tyler was in Physics, but I didn't sit near them. Even though I could feel them watching me sometimes, I did my best to just stay focused.

When I looked for study hall, I knew I was heading in the right direction when I noticed the guys converge in front of me.

Justin glanced back at me, causing me to slow down and squeeze the straps of my backpack. My eyes fell to the floor as I instantly became infatuated with my shoes. If I could just make it through the rest of the day, everything would be okay.

Everything that I'd been through in the last two days had been absolute hell, and I was literally counting down the minutes until the end of the day.

"Hey," Someone said as I entered the classroom. "You're Ember, right? Lucy's friend?"

I glanced over to see some guy Lucy sat with during lunch. He had an open-mouthed smile pinned to his face, telling me he was a little goofy, but he seemed harmless as he pushed up his blue framed glasses with one finger. He had a lanky frame and his shaggy hair was an absolute mess, but his dark brown eyes were warm and welcoming, which was good enough for me.

My lips stretched into a wide grin. "Yeah. And you are?"

"Steve." He looked away as he fidgeted in discomfort. "There's no assigned seating in here, so you can sit next to me if you want."

Thankful for Lucy, and now Steve, I nodded eagerly. "Thanks."

Steve smiled and gestured for me to follow him to the front.

To my surprise, the guys kept to themselves. They sat in the back of the classroom as a small crowd formed around them.

When the tardy bell rang, Mr. Perry cleared his throat, looking over the class from behind his computer. "Quiet down, class. Everyone needs to get seated, and needs to at least pretend to do something productive."

I chuckled. Mr. Perry was my kind of teacher.

Going against every voice in my head, I glanced back at the guys again. While Justin and Lucas discussed something quietly amongst themselves, three girls burst into giggles as they surrounded Tyler.

Tyler grinned and tickled one when she tried to sit on his desk. Yep. Just like I thought. Things were going back to normal. Good.

Tyler caught me watching him and grimaced as he sent me an apologetic look.

I looked away. I wasn't his mommy. Tyler could do whatever he wanted.

Seated next to Steve, I pulled out my homework and got started. Most people didn't understand that study hall was actually a great time to complete schoolwork, but I did. It was my most productive period of the day. It gave me time to concentrate on school crap so my nights would be free for dance and other stuff.

"Dang. You get straight down to it, don't you?" Steve grinned as he watched me outline my English essay.

I nodded. "Yeah, I hate falling behind. Procrastination just makes life difficult. I like to stay on top of things."

Glancing at the sketchbook on his desk, I jutted my chin toward it. "What're you working on?"

Steve lifted one bony shoulder. "Nothing important. Just some drawings for art."

"Really? You're in art? I've always wanted to take an art class, but I never have enough time. Can I see?" I asked.

"Uh..." Steve's thick eyebrows arched. "I don't really show anyone my stuff. It's nothing personal."

I sent him a warm smile. "Believe me. I know. I write songs and I hate when people read my stuff. It makes me feel weird like they're examining me butt-naked under a magnifying glass."

Steve suddenly burst out laughing so loud that he snorted. He instantly covered his mouth but continued to laugh.

Grinning, I gestured for him to quiet down.

"Sorry," Steve said from behind his hand. "I've just never heard anyone describe it like that, but I feel you. That's exactly what I mean."

"I know, right?" I said before focusing on my outline.

After I finished, I pulled out my Government homework.

"Whoa," Steve whispered. "You're done already? It's only been like five minutes."

I shrugged. "I already read the book, so I already know what I need to write."

"Oh. Makes sense." Steve continued sketching.

I wanted to peek, but I didn't want to press my luck. Besides Lucy, Steve was the only person in school that seemed decent so far.

Ten minutes later, I put my completed Government homework in my backpack.

"Damn," Steve whisper-yelled. "You're finished?"

Unwilling to tell him how simple most classes were for me, I shrugged. "It's Government, and I just had to answer some essay questions."

"I have Government this year too and that packet is huge. That's why it's not due until the end of next week. It's gonna take me at least a few hours to finish it, and you just blew through it just like that." Steve snapped his fingers.

I blushed as I searched my brain for a believable explanation while I pulled out my Physics homework. "I learned all this stuff already at my old school."

"Figures. You lived in Orlando, right?" Steve asked.

I nodded.

"I bet they have some bomb ass parties, don't they?" Steve's eyes lit up in curiosity, which was awesome. I enjoyed a good party when I had time to go.

"You know it." Leaning forward on my elbows, I grinned. "I only lived a few hours from the beach, so we would party at the beach all the time. I really miss it."

"I bet." Steve's eyes went wide as he imagined what parties were like in Florida. "There's a party here tonight. You wanna go?"

"Um..." Taken aback by the offer, I raised my eyebrows. "Where is it?"

"At my boy's place. Collin's parents have this kickass house on the mountain. It's a drive, but his parents are out of town and the whole school will be there. We got three kegs and other party favors coming, if you know what I mean." Steve's eyes grew wider and wider as he grew more and more excited.

I wanted to go, and I desperately needed to get out of my aunt's house. A party would be a great way to let loose. "I'm not sure. That sounds like a long drive and I don't have a ride."

"You don't have to worry about that. I can..." Steve's gaze cut to someone behind me. "Oh, hey, man. What's up?"

Following Steve's gaze, I gritted my teeth when I spotted Justin.

"Sorry for interrupting. I just overheard you guys talking about Collin's party. Are you going, man?" Justin asked Steve as he sat down in the empty desk behind me. Suddenly, Justin's finger began softly tracing tiny circles on my back, causing tingles to lace their way down my spine.

I stiffened, trying to stop myself from finding excitement in his touch.

"Yeah, it's gonna be badass. Collin has plenty of space for people to crash too. You guys can totally stay the night. Do you wanna go, Ember? I think Lucy might be going. I can save a bedroom for you." Steve was really excited, which made me smile.

Justin's finger stopped moving at Steve's offer, but I knew Steve wasn't expecting anything. He was just being kind and making sure I had a place to sleep.

As Justin's finger slowly started drawing figure-eights on my back, I relaxed as I thought about going to the party. Truth was, I didn't have a ride, and I didn't want to burden Lucy with my situation.

I bit my lip. "Thanks, but I still have a lot of unpacking to do, so..."

Justin leaned forward, whispering only loud enough for me to hear. "Not from what I heard."

I scoffed and turned to face Justin. "Well, you heard wrong."

The corners of his lips tugged up, revealing his dimples. "Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle?"

Justin had a motorcycle? I remembered the beautiful black sportbike in the parking lot, and suddenly I realized it had to belong to Justin.

Warmth began to fill my belly as I imagined riding with him. If I went with Justin, he might give me the answers I needed, but that meant I'd have to be alone with Justin.

No. Not just alone with Justin. Getting all up close and personal with Justin. I would have to hug him to stay on the damn bike. My boyfriend would never approve of me doing anything like that.

Shit. The more I thought about Josh, the more I was seeing the truth. We were living too far apart to make this work. I couldn't stop living my life because I had someone that cared about me over two thousand miles away. It was only day two and all I'd done was lust after three hot guys. This was never gonna work.

"Ember Pearl?" A woman stood at the front of the classroom, holding a huge white rectangular box.

"Yes." I stood, wondering if I should go to her.

The woman waved me forward.

I glanced at Mr. Perry and he nodded, waving me forward.

Hurrying to the front, I glanced between the woman and Mr. Perry. "Is everything okay?"

Mr. Perry crossed his arms and shrugged, leaving the young woman to explain.

"We don't normally allow such extravagant gift deliveries during class, but when we saw you were in study hall, Principle Jenkins said it was okay. It's the end of the day on a Friday anyway." The woman's red apple lips spread into a big smile as she dipped the box down like a baby. "These were dropped off for you a few minutes ago."

Looking through the plastic window in the lid, I gasped at the long stem roses piled inside. There was a lot of frigging roses.

Unsure of what to do, I reached for the box and gave the woman a small smile. "Thank you."

She giggled lightly as she placed the box in my arms like it was the most precious thing in the world. She leaned in to whisper. "For safety reasons, we had to open the box. There was a card, but it wasn't signed. I think you have a secret admirer."

I gave her a big smile, trying to act grateful, even though I wasn't. This was just fucking weird.

Not to mention the fact that the staff took precautions when it came to deliveries, but they turned a blind eye to fights.

My face was on fire when I turned to face the class. I noticed the girls first. Most had looks of envy while a few were happy for me. Most of the guys had expressions of awe. Especially three very familiar guys with glowing eyes, but their awe quickly transformed to hunger as they examined me like I was some high profile celebrity.

Moving as quietly as possible I set the box on the ground under my desk and buried myself in my homework. I only had a half-hour to finish up.

I could hear people whispering and asking one another about what I'd received, but I wasn't about to brag about it. I'd never gotten roses before and it was a rarity to get even a balloon or a teddy bear at my old school, and those gifts were normally from parents. I could only imagine this was the first time anyone had ever received such a large gift in this school. And it happened on my second fucking day.

After I finished my work, I mindlessly tapped my eraser against my notebook, trying to figure out who in the world would send me roses.

Josh? No way. Josh barely knew how to order a pizza. They could be from my best friend, but Katie would never send me flowers. Come to think of it, I hadn't heard from Katie in a while.

My mom? Hell no. She would never get me something so frivolous.

"So? Damn girl, I'm dying to know. What's in the box?" Steve whispered in a funny voice.

I felt Justin stiffen behind me. Holy shit. Were they from him?

"Flowers." I shrugged.

"Really? That's a lot of flowers." Steve said. "Who're they from?"

"I don't know." I chuckled, trying to stop my heart from doing cartwheels. Did Justin send them to me?

Justin was suddenly kneeling beside me. Grabbing my pencil, he wrote in my notebook. "Can I watch your practice today?"

Shocked at his silent request, I glanced at him and his golden eyes pleaded with me. He didn't say one word. His expression was like a lost puppy, and damn it, I nodded.

Justin's lips tugged up, giving me a tiny grin before he wrote another question. "Can I give you a ride to practice?"

I couldn't help but smile as I released a quiet laugh and nodded.

Both of his dimples came to life as he gave me a huge smile before he went to grab his stuff.

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