I wake up the next day feeling like yesterday was a dream. Hakeem kissed me! And this time he didn't run away after. I get out of bed and practically skip to the bathroom. 

"Someone's happy." My mother says, stepping in. I notice that she's still in her pajamas, which means she's off from work today.

Heat rushes to my cheeks. "Yeah, dinner tasted great last night." 

"Dinner always tastes great, so I'm going to assume it's because of our guest." She smirks, taking a sip from her cup of coffee. 

"Maybe..." I say, getting ready while I talk. "Do you actually like him?" 

"Yeah, he seems like a good kid. Those are rare these days." My mother says. "And he's very handsome." She adds. 

"Mom!" I exclaim. 

"It's not my fault I have eyes." She laughs. 

She stays and talks to me for a couple more minutes before going downstairs to make breakfast. I join her after about 20 minutes. 

We eat together before I rush out to go pick up Ruby. 

"Good morning, Rose Quartz." I smile, as Ruby is getting into the passenger's seat. "I like the lip gloss." I say, referring to the sparkly pink color she's wearing. 

"Thanks, boo." 

"I have so much to tell you about!" I start as begin driving us to school. I tell her about everything that happened yesterday. She squeals and asks me questions about the event. 

"So, you like him, he likes you, and your parents like him. What are you waiting for?" Ruby says as we step out of the car and towards the school doors. 

"For him to make the next move." I shrug. "He's only just started to be nice. I want to get to know him more." 

"Fair enough." Ruby says. "Oh! Here he comes." She says nudging me towards Hakeem's approaching figure. 

I notice Damien and Rhondel watching Ruby and I from their little circle. I ignore their gazes and return my attention to Hakeem. He's looking down at the ground, so I call out his name to get his attention. He walks right by me without even glancing up. 

"Is he okay?" Ruby mumbles. 

"Maybe he didn't hear me?" I say, not even believing myself. I decide to follow him into the building and find out for myself. 

"Hakeem." I say, jogging to catch up with him in the hallway. "Why'd you ignore me outside?"

He keeps walking, so I grab him by his arm and stand in front of him. He winces in pain and pulls his arm away. 

"Are you okay? I didn't even grab you that hard!" I say, concern and confusion showing on my face. 

While clutching his arm, he finally looks up at me. 

"Oh my gosh. Who did this to you?" I exclaim when I see why he walked in with his head down. His lip is busted and there's a bruise on his cheek, right under his eye. 

"I'm fine. Just leave me alone." He says, trying to walk around me. 

"Talk to me, Hakeem. Please." I plead, standing firmly in his way. "Was it Damien?" 

Hakeem sighs and walks around me. I can't find the energy to keep following him.

"You're still chasing after that hot headed loser?" Damien says, taking my attention away from Hakeem's shrinking figure. 

"Leave him alone." I say. 

"You should be with someone who won't get mad at you and ignore you for no reason." Damien says, stepping forward. 

"Don't tell me what to do." 

"Just letting you know your options." He says, standing uncomfortably close to me. "I would hate to see anyone get hurt..." He whispers in my ear, sending chills down my spine. 

"You did that to him?" I practically scream, backing away from him. 

Damien simply winks at me and walks away. The bell rings, signifying that I'm late to my first period class. I groan to myself and walk to class without stopping at my locker. 

-----

A couple periods later, I plop down in my seat in trig. I quietly take out my notebook and materials. 

"You okay, Rox? I didn't get to see you after the Hakeem thing." Ruby says, looking over at me with concern on her face. 

"He got beat up and I feel like Damien did it. But, I don't know if Damien could've escaped a fight with Hakeem untouched." I speculate. 

"Beat up? Damn." Ruby says. "How ba-" She starts before Mr. Smith interrupts her. 

"Good morning class. I have your favorite treat!" He grins.

The class begins to snicker. 

"If it's not chocolate chip cookies you can keep it." I say, loud enough for everyone to hear. Laughter rings out in the classroom and a few people agree. 

"As much as I would love to keep these wonderful pop quizzes to myself, I must be fair and share them with you." Mr. Smith says, beginning to pass them out. 

"This is not the time for a pop quiz." I groan. 

"You got this, Rox." Ruby assures me. I nod, but my nerves don't subside. 

Mr. Smith places the quiz on my desk. It's five questions. I recognize a few and begin working on it. 

After ten minutes, Mr. Smith collects the papers and begins today's lesson. Mr. Smith's teaching style is very fast and confusing. I find myself wishing Hakeem's slower straight forward style was used to explain the topic. My mind wanders to his potential attacker. I remember seeing several intimidatingly muscular men in his aunt's neighborhood. It's possible that one of them saw him walking there at night and jumped him. 

The period passes with me considering ways to bring justice to his attacker. I also consider ways to get him to open up to me. Why can't he just be open and simple, like Damien? 

I'm finally brought back to reality when the bell rings. 

"Let's go." Ruby says, standing beside me. 

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Here's the daily chapter :) 

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