After he left, I threw on my black, baggy overalls over my white short-sleeved crop top. I decided to wear my hair in a side part, with my neon green cap, but I wore it backwards. And I finished the look off with my white Adidas. I put in my contact lenses, making a mental note to pick up some more before the end of the month, because I was running low. For makeup, I went with the same look as yesterday: mascara and lipbalm. Then I thanked God that my skin was clear enough to get away with having no makeup skills, whatsoever. Grabbing my bookbag, I headed downstairs for breakfast. Paully was already there, eating his cereal and listening to music, with his blue hoodie pulled over his headphones. I glanced around, but it didn't seem like Tracy was there. "She left to run some errands," he shrugged looking up at me. I had to admit, it was weird hearing his voice directed at me, but for some reason, it made me happy. I should have yelled at him sooner! After eating breakfast, we got in my car and were on our way to LHHS. When we'd been driving for a couple of minutes, Paully took his headphones off. I could see him looking at me, but I didn't say anything. A few seconds later, he spoke up. "So...ugh, what is your middle name?" he asked, breaking our silence. I couldn't help the small giggle that came out as I thought back to when I made the comment about Tracy not knowing my middle name. I hadn't even thought to say that he didn't, which he clearly didn't . It was funny...my dad always said you didn't have to raise your voice to be heard. Clearly that's not always true. "I'm serious?!" he insistsed, but I heard the awkward laughs breaking through his voice. "Leigh. Natalie Leigh Drake," I finally said, a huge grin spreading across my face. It might have been small, but this was the first time in three years that he'd asked me anything about myself. Being an only child was lonely, and I'm sure he could relate, but I always felt like Paully handled it better than I did. Just talking to him made me feel less isolated. Less alone. We spent the rest of the ride asking the simplest of questions, like: What's your favorite color? Favorite food? Favorite memory? "What do you miss most about New Jersey?" he asked, a sudden seriousness taking over the conversation. I thought of my answer as we pulled into the half empty parking lot of school. When I finished parking in a spot up front, I had my answer. "I miss feeling like I belong," I shrugged, looking at him. I was being brutally honest, and I didn't want him to laugh at me, so when I looked at his face and he looked just as sad as I felt, I knew we're on the same page. "Me too," he said, giving me a small smile. After a few silent moments passed, he gathered his things and stepped out my passenger door. "Don't worry about me after school. I think I'll stay back and get some work done in the library," he stated. Then I watched as he walked toward the building. I decided to be productive and use the time I had before first period to figure out where all my classes were. I did not want a repeat of yesterday, even though it was the reason I met Riley. As I stepped out, I heard a car come to a sudden screaching halt. It sounded like it was right behind me, but I avoided looking in that direction. Instead, I focused on getting my stuff out my car. "Hey!" a familiar voice roared. I recognized it because of the repulsion I felt when I heard it. Turning around, I saw the green-eyed cretin himself coming right towards me. "We need to get a few things straight about what happened yesterday!" Drew shouted as he marched up to me, his jeep boxing my car in. Seriously?! Does this guy have to make a scene right now? Everyone there was already looking at us, expectantly. What, do they think we're going to start throwing punches or something? I wished they'd just find something else to look at. "Will you keep your voice down? I don't want to be seen associating with you again," I said in a hushed tone. "You don't want to be seen with me?! Do you know how many girls throw themselves at me on a regular basis?!" He asked, crossing his arms. This guy's cockiness was suffocating, although I didn't doubt he got plenty of propositions from infactuated girls all the time. But I just wanted to shove a sock in his mouth to shut him up. "Does it look like I care? Those girls must have poor taste and you clearly have a god-complex about yourself," I spat, throwing my bag over my shoulder. Yesterday, he took up all the time I had in the morning by pissing me off and taking my parking spot. I wasn't letting him do that again. I started walking away, but he grabbed my arm. "Don't walk away when I'm talking to you," he said, his voice deep and authoritative. I'm sure any other girl would do as he said, mesmerized by his face and intimidated by his voice. Me? I was NOT that kind of girl. "Don't touch me," I growled, looking up at him. Every word was uttered with as much authority as his were. He let go, looking around at his surroundings. Some people were still watching us, but most had moved on. I guess the new girl wasn't as interesting her second day there. I was startled when Drew suddenly grabbed me, pulling me into his side and in the opposite direction of the school. "Hey! I said don't touch me!" I shouted, fully irritated and trying to get out of his hold. "You can't just go around grabbing whoever you want whenever you want!" "Just calm down," he said, annoyed. What do you have to be annoyed with?! I'm the one being taken against my will. Well, I was being taken against my will... Out of nowhere, a guy in a blue hoodie pulled me out of Drew's grasp, stepping in front of me; something about him felt vaguely familiar. It wasn't until I got a good look at him that I realized he was Paully, and that his hand was balled up in a fist that was headed straight up and at Drew's face.