"Red is your color," she winks at me. I hear a car honking outside and assume it's Maddox. I starts towards the door and she quirks a brow. "That for you?" she wonders as she glances out the front window. "Yeah, I've got to go," I tell her. I know Maddox will get frustrated and drive off if I'm not outside in a minute or so. "You're to be home by twelve!" she calls to me as I approach the front door. My eyes widen as the number leaves her mouth. My mother and father would've given me until nine on a good day. Of course, I was never home by nine, but I usually gave them the satisfaction of letting them set a time without me arguing in response. I nod at my aunt before exiting the house. As I walk towards Maddox's car, I'm surprised to find him in an actual tuxedo. I don't know what I was expecting him to wear, but it wasn't anything remotely formal. It was probably all black and leather because he seems to be fond of that. From what I've seen so far, his uniform is always accessorized with the two. When I get into the car and admire his outfit, he glares at me. "Don't say anything." "A tuxedo?" I ask with a small smirk on my lips. I can't help but to tease. He glowers at me before he pulls off down the road. "Do you live far from here?" "I'm not telling you where I live," he scoffs as if the idea of saying his address is preposterous. "I probably won't know where it is, anyway. I was just assuming because it took you barely ten minutes to get here," I mutter as I stare out the window. We're silent as I continue to think. We never really introduced each other. I know his name thanks to Vivica and he knows my name... "Wait, do you even know my name?" He looks at me with narrowed brows. "Yes, I'm not stupid." "Oh, really, what is it then?" I inquire. He has to know, right? I mean, his friends knew. "Olive," he announces confidently. "It's Olivia," I correct him. At least he was close... "I know. But Olive is better. It's a food," he mutters as he takes a left turn. Unlike Vivica, he turns normally, not with too much force or the goal of giving me a minor concussion. "I don't like that nickname," I reply in hopes that he'll revert to using my real, birth name. "It's not a nickname," he concurs with a slight head shake. "You have to like the person to give them a nickname." We fall into silence again as he continues to drive towards the school. "Why'd you say yes?" I wonder aloud. "You talk so much," he sighs. "Answer the question and I won't talk again until we get to school," I propose as I pull at the end of my dress to yank it down. I forgot how uncomfortable these things are. Instead of responding, he reaches for the radio. When I go to speak over it, he looks straight at, turns up the music, and rudely silences me. I dont bother to speak to him again. + + + My question about why he came so early was answered when we drove in an unfamiliar direction. Rather than straight heading to school, we take a detour. Twenty minutes go by and we eventually arrive at a cute, white house. It's tiny and has a neat front yard with plants hanging from the porch. Two familiar girls emerge from the house and I can't help but smile. Cassidy and Winona slowly walk to the car, yelling out swear words when Maddox honks the horn. I swear I see him grin at that. I wait patiently for them to get into the car before we take off, but not without loud music, yelling, and terrible singing. When we arrive to school, we go to the event hall after handing in our tickets, which were free thanks to a recent fundraiser. I was grateful; I only brought ten dollars in case we stopped for food. Barely fifteen minutes after Maddox, Cassidy, Winona and I arrive, Vivica and her friends show up. I'm standing off to the side with Maddox and we're both watching people silently. Speaking is awkward because he rarely replies. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, he'll nod. Other times, he'll outright ignore me. It's quite aggravating- all I want to do is make this event fun for the both of us but it's not going to work unless he cooperates. And every time he ignores me, my attitude towards him becomes sharper and sharper. Giving up on conversation, I allow my eyes to wander around the event hall. I noticed a group of people making their way over to us. Leading the group of five or six is Winona and Cassidy. I recognize a few people. I know one of them is called Nicholas, and another is called Jackson. I think I have class with them. However, I don't recognize the two people in the back at all- a girl and a boy. "Olivia!" Winona greets me before she turns and points at people, listing off their names as she does. "Nicholas, Jackson, Parker, Raven." Okay, so Nicholas is the one with the boyish smile and surfer blonde hair. Jackson has brown hair, which rises up in the front, and bright blue eyes. Parker, like Jackson, has brown hair and matching eyes. He's at least a foot taller than me and I stand at 5'6", which is a bit tall, I guess. Raven, the only girl of the four "new" people, wears her light brown hair down to her shoulders and has bright green eyes, like Maddox's. She's a good three or four inches shorter than me and is wearing a straight, white grin. It takes me a second to notice that she has a nose ring. Catching me by surprise, Raven walks over to Maddox, wraps her arms around his neck, and presses her lips to his. He return the kiss as he loops his arms around her waist. I awkwardly looked away and shoot a look to Cassidy, who laughs loudly. Nicholas, Parker, and Jackson, who all wear disgusted looks on their faces, excuse themselves. "Don't worry, they're not dating," Winona whispers to me. My eyes widen slightly as I look back at her.