She doesn't know. She doesn't know how she catches my eye every time she passes by. I want her to stop and tell me, for once, that I'm not a jerk and that she's attracted to me. Why is that so hard? I hear it from randos all the time. She got me curious. A genuine soul with a hilarious tendency to cause chaos. Brutally honest, in a way I try to be. And vulnerable, because she's so forgiving to everyone around her. That's Minnie. And that's what made me want to protect her... before I realized how strong she already was. And how much stronger she's getting. Her timing last night was perfect. I was leaving the grotto party after Jake's sappy singing. (My half-brother is trying to become Justin Bieber. The tattoos make more sense now.) That's when she called my name and came to me with tears rolling down her face. She doesn't need to cry over me. I'm here. I've been here... And I don't know why. But she trapped me the day she ran over my laptop. The party last night had everyone talking. No photos were posted, per grotto rules, but whispers of it were in the air. It isn't scandalous if it isn't a secret. That's the grotto motto. Because a lot of scandals are still under wraps. Luke was handing in his history homework after class, when the teacher asked him to stay behind. He let others walk past him as he approached her desk. A girl dropped her notebook front of him. He picked it up, sweeping his hair out of his eyes. She smiled giddily and hovered in front of him, before darting off. He remembered junior year when girls were dropping pens and books and bumping into him in the hallway all the time. It's calmed down a bit since then. Maybe they got less clumsy. Or maybe they realized that 'accidentally' bumping into a guy doesn't start a chain reaction of a romance story. His teacher wanted to talk about the midterm assignment. "I enjoyed your paper, Luke. Your writing is impressive, but I can see that you actually put work into the analysis this time." He flicked through his paper, skimming the comments she'd highlighted on the sides of each page. Suddenly, Austin came barging through the classroom door like it was his own home, (as usual). "Heyo!" "What's up," Luke nodded to him, before returning to the conversation with his teacher, "Thank you, Mrs D. I'll read through it." "Keep up the good work, Luke. Championships are won at practice. Isn't that what you say in basketball?" she smiled warmly. Austin answered on Luke's behalf, "Haven't heard that one Mrs D, but we'll go compare notes..." Austin smiled while he steered Luke towards the door, "About our evenings." The door slammed shut behind them and Austin exclaimed, "You disappeared last night!" Some guy walked into the classroom after them and high-fived Austin along the way. "Great party man!" the guy praised him. "Thanks, it'll be an annual thing," Austin grinned, and then sombered up to face his friend, "OK I'm listening. What happened?" "I kissed her." Austin yelled and punched him in the shoulder, jumping up and yelling out again, "MA BOY!" "How was it?" "F*cking fantastic." "What are you going to do now?" "Nothing. She's going on a date with Jake and I'm getting mind f*cked over here." I submitted my Math homework and returned to my locker in search of my biology textbook. I was sure I put it here... I've been meaning to clean out my locker but what's the point? It'll get messy in a heartbeat again. Julia was at her locker as well. I looked at her and realized that we're overdue on a chat. She's been rude lately, and we need to discuss. "Hi Julia," I approached my friend, feeling a sense of bravery I wasn't used to feeling. She ignored me, grabbed a Mrs Field's cookie from her locker and slammed it shut. I didn't care. Honestly, I was over the drama. My phone buzzed. Cearra texted me: Where do you eat lunch? I texted back: On the bleachers outside Cearra: Can I join? Just got kicked off my table. Me: Of course. Why kicked off? Cearra: LUCKY is mad I went to $1 Entry without them More drama. I sighed and sympathized with Cearra. I've dragged her into this mess with me, just because I became friends with the popular boys. I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned around and saw Austin grinning at me like a Cheshire cat. I gave him a weirded-out look back. His grin only got larger. Luke must have told him about our kiss. 100% And there Luke was, the snitch himself. The sexy snitch. He was handing over his gym bag to someone on the basketball team, unaware that I was watching. Happy to see my overconfident jerk. His broad shoulders and musky scent. The way his hair falls over his electric blue eyes. He glanced my way and his face softened. He left his group behind to come to me... but, unfortunately, they followed him. They continued to speak to him, but he came and hugged me before he turned to address them. There's a feeling I get when I get close to Luke. It's like a spiraling sensation of excitement mixed with coziness. Small shocks of electricity. Like my mum and her cocktails, I'm addicted. He doesn't know that I'm standing here, reminiscing about his hands on my body. He's talking like he doesn't know how I remember his mouth on mine. Pause, and then replay on the memory. Maybe he thinks I'm thinking about the news. Yes, look focused. I stood straight and put a serious expression on my face. He saw through my 'serious' expression and knew that my mind was on nothing near the news. It was on him. I was stuck on him. And he smirked. "Want to get out of here?" he asked. Yes. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I reluctantly looked away from Luke. Cearra had texted me. "I have to go," I apologized. "You're not eating with us?" he asked, surprised, "We have lunch in room 109." "I can't," I said, "Cearra's waiting for me outside." Sure, I like the guy. But ovaries before brovaries. The day was chilly. Wind knocked over my orange juice and I returned it to my tray, half spilt. Cearra was used to having a table indoors, so this was her first time braving the elements. She was shivering. Summer was a distant memory. "Here, do you want my sweater?" I offered, "I'm wearing two layers underneath." She shook her head, "I prefer to freeze."