Lyla James was irritated.

It had been two weeks since Wyatt had first assigned her to Haiden in bio, and she was currently standing in a rather short line at Trellis High's main office, a newly filled schedule change request folded in her hand.

He was crazy—and he was driving her crazy. Haiden embodied everything Lyla disliked: a persistent optimist, a non-stop chatterbox, and an overly nosy speculator, constantly asking her questions that she would never consider answering in a gazillion years. All that was Haiden Lucas plagued her—his wide eyes, bright silver spark, and deliberate continuation of that aggravating beat on the surface of their lab table. Oh, and if she saw another combination of dress shirts and pleated slacks one more time, she might just end it all then and there. Her life or his? Both were debatable, but she was decidedly leaning toward his.

"Lyla? It's my favorite lab partner!"

No, no, no. Not for long, dress shirt.

She moved forward a step in line before turning her head back to find him standing there. A plastic yellow toilet seat was dangling from Haiden's neck; that was how she knew he must have come from Mr. Reynold's history class.

"What are you doing out here?" Lyla spoke through gritted teeth, her gaze focused squarely on the bridge of Haiden's nose.

"On my way to the bathroom, but what about you? You do know you're in line for a schedule change, right?" He cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. If she didn't know better, she would have thought him accusing and perhaps a little hurt.

"Y-yeah. I have a free period." At that moment, Lyla moved to show him the paper form. Her intention was to let the paper speak for itself—the schedule change laid bare in all its glory. She'd trusted Haiden to know the difference between lab partner and friend, but he was either too oblivious to understand, or he was deliberately ignoring the line he was so blatantly crossing. Either way, she meant to make him understand.

Yet, while Lyla meant to move her hand forward toward Haiden, her body had other ideas. Her muscles tightened, her hand clenching around the sheet, and her arm swung behind her. "Th-that's what I'm trying to fix. You know, if I want to beat Alex, I can't just take it easy."

He nodded.

His smile is crooked.

"If it makes a difference"—Haiden laughed easily now—"I personally think that you're way smarter than Tate. And I have no doubt that you'll manage to prove it on paper too." He winked at her, and that was when Lyla made the mistake of looking into his eyes.

Haiden's irises were alight, the gray sliver within them reflecting what light there was to be found, and she was struck once again by how much the amber of his eyes reminded her of swirling galaxies.

Haiden was cute, Lyla had to admit, with his thick, dark hair and fair skin. Lyla could acknowledge that, regardless of how she felt about him. But the more she thought about it...she didn't really know how, exactly, she felt about him anymore. She wasn't really sure about anything at the moment.

"Well, I'll see you in bio!" she heard him say faintly before he continued on his way. The sound of his whistling reached her long after he turned the corner.

When it was finally silent, Lyla slid out of the queue; she couldn't go through with it.

Weak. She was absolutely weak.

"I do not like Haiden Lucas," she whispered to herself, even as she balled the transfer form in her fist and threw it into a nearby recycling bin. "I don't want to be his friend."

I don't want to be his friend.

Regardless of if she spoke the words out loud or in her head, they still sounded a bit off.

***

"Happy is a good look on you, Ly."

She blinked, immediately scowling at the nickname. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing much." Haiden shrugged. "Just that you're in a good mood today, and that definitely boosts my mood as well."

She rolled her eyes. "Like your mood needs any boosting as it is."

"Hurtful!" He gasped.

"Good to know that I've succeeded in hurting your feelings."

"I'm kidding; nothing can ruin my day." Haiden grinned, to her dismay. "So, are you going to tell me why you're not giving me the evil eye today, or am I going to have to guess?"

Lyla faced her worksheet, content to tune him out as he began to list possible causes for the faint smile on her lips. In honesty, the disappearance of Lyla's permanent scowl had to do with her mother. She was returning from an out-of-state business trip today, one of the many she had, and Lyla would get to spend a whopping two weeks with her before she left again. This, however, Lyla would not tell Haiden. She would wait him out instead.

"Ly, I know you're not even paying attention to me." He waved a hand in front of her face.

"Would you stop calling me that?!" she snapped.

Haiden quickly withdrew his hand, apparently taken aback. "What? Ly? You don't want me to call you Ly?"

Bracing herself, she looked him in the eyes. "My name is Lyla. If you're not going to call me Lyla, then I would prefer it if you didn't call me anything at all."

"What's not to like about Ly, though?" he pushed, brows furrowed in question.

Lyla shook her head. "It's not what's to like or not to like. It's the fact that it's not my name!" she said, although she knew that was not all. If Sirah had decided that very day to start calling her Ly, Lyla would have gone along right with it, no objection. The difference between Sirah and Haiden was that she and Sirah had an established friendship—they were close. When Haiden used the nickname, it insinuated a false reality. It made it seem like they were friends, like they were close enough for nicknames, for inside jokes, and as far as Lyla was concerned, that was never going to happen.

"Okay, okay! Have it your way," Haiden huffed, but a few seconds later, she heard him whisper a final, "Ly."

She needed a spork...like, yesterday.

"You do know that one of these days, I'll find out what makes you smile." Haiden fixed her with his megawatt grin.

"When pigs fly."

"What world exactly"—he laughed—"are you living in?"

"The same one as you, Lucas," she deadpanned. "A fantasy one."

Ruefully shaking his head, Haiden held up his hands. "Okay, okay, you got me."

Lyla turned away, but suddenly, Haiden was all too close, his face directly next to hers. If she moved just a millimeter to the left, she was positive that his nose would brush her cheek. Lyla's heart surged in her chest, but Haiden didn't seem to notice, apparently unaffected by their proximity.

"I'm serious," he whispered, and her breath hitched. "I'll make you smile sooner or later. Count on it."

When he finally pulled back, oxygen returned to Lyla's lungs, and she inhaled sharply. She glanced at Haiden only to catch a small smile, and then it was 1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4, for the rest of the period, and all Lyla could think was that his smile is crooked.

***

The following Monday, Haiden Lucas strolled into Ms. Wyatt's AP bio classroom wearing a pink dress shirt. Looking at it made Lyla want to puke—way too much pink for her taste.

"I missed your voice, Ly," Haiden said as he took his seat next to her. She hadn't even spoken to him yet, and upon hearing his words, she considered giving him the silent treatment for the rest of the day just to be especially cruel. However, Lyla had never been very great at keeping her mouth shut, and the instinct to snipe at him was too much.

"Don't call me that," she retorted, but as the words left her lips, she realized they held no bite.

Apparently, she was not the only one. "Uh-huh." Haiden shrugged noncommittally. "So, I had this thought."

"Your very first one. Congrats," she muttered, not bothering to look at him.

"I said—" Haiden surged forward to intrude on her personal space, and Lyla automatically jerked backward in turn. The movement caused her lab stool to rock onto a single leg, and then the linoleum floor suddenly rushed up to meet her face.

"Woah!" Haiden reached out to grab her by the arm, and—none too gently—he hauled her up. When Lyla regained her balance, her heart was pounding in her chest, staring at a crooked grin.

Haiden's head was cocked smugly. "That'll teach you to listen to me the first time."

"Ha." Lyla's voice was faint and breathy, her nerve endings firing a mile a minute. She felt like she was buzzing from the inside out, her bones vibrating within her body as her heart malfunctioned.

"So, I had this thought," Haiden said again, "that we're basically friends, and that you should meet my other friends."

"Y-your other friends?" At that moment, Lyla should have been concerned with the fact that Haiden considered them friends, for she had told herself countless times that this was the exact situation she was hoping to avoid. Yet, as she struggled to compose herself, the weight of Haiden's words didn't really sink in.

"My other friends. My, uh, group. I kinda already told them about you and everything, so you can't back out." His face was earnest, and it was the most serious Lyla had ever seen him.

"We—you and me—we're friends?" Hesitation and doubt colored her tone, but it was not because she did not want to be Haiden's friend, per se. It was just that Lyla had only ever had a friend. Singular. It had always been her and Sirah, and even that had taken some work. A lot of work, in fact, when Lyla thought about it. It was completely foreign to entertain the idea of her and Haiden having an honest-to-God friendship, as it meant that she would have friends. Plural. And maybe that was not all. Maybe Haiden's friends would turn into her friends too. Who knew?

"Of course we're friends," Haiden said in a duh sort of way. As an afterthought, he glanced down to find he still held Lyla's hand in his. "Oh, sorry." He released her.

Poof. The vibrations were gone, and with them, Lyla's optimistic thoughts. Her body went quiet, and she began to process everything that had just transpired between her and Haiden.

"So, that's a yes? You'll come and meet them, Ly?" His galaxy eyes were hopeful, the light within them blooming, but Lyla was frozen.

No, no, no. She knew that was what she was supposed to say. Lyla had built a wall for a reason—to protect herself, for she had learned long ago that disappointment, conflict, and pain were directly tied to human interaction. She had made sure her relationships were few in number, and that those who were granted passage through her defenses were trusted and worthy. She'd done everything she could to avoid getting hurt.

Regardless of that, Haiden had managed to crumble a section of her defenses. He'd brushed away broken remnants of brick and stone and uncovered a part of her. She'd hated him for that for a long time, irritated that he had the power to make her feel absolutely powerless. Yet a piece of Lyla's wall had remained, and now she understood that she still had control. She held the ability to say no to this question of his, to prevent him from overcoming the final barrier that would solidify their friendship.

But for all that influence, Lyla did not want to use it. They were already friends; that was the truth. She'd opened up long ago, letting him in without realizing it. Somewhere deep within herself, she had already forged a connection with Haiden.

"Ly?" Haiden's hand brushed against hers, and for just a moment, a thrill of vibrations ran through her.

Yes.

She was setting herself up for disappointment, she knew. She knew, and there was still no doubt about it. Perhaps Lyla was not thinking clearly at that moment, but she said it again, out loud this time. "Yes, I'll come."

And when Haiden grinned his crooked grin, it made everything feel right.