I shoot up in bed like a freaking jack in the box. Gasping for air I reach to the nightstand for the glass of water I left after my run in with Ethan this morning. I try to take small sips while my chest heaves up and down.

Mom burst into the room, nearly knocking the door off its hinges from the force. She crosses the small room in seconds and sits, wrapping her arms around me.

"It was just a car backfiring."

She runs a hand through my hair attempting to calm me.

My whole body shakes, wondering if I'll ever forget the sound of gunshots. I wasn't there in person when dad died. Instead, I watched the whole thing unfold on live TV before they could cut to commercial.

Mom is trying to calm me by making gentle shushing sounds, while rubbing my back.

Through the old ratty curtains that come with the place I can just see the hazy sun starting to rise. Shit! I pull away from mom, confusion riding on her face.

"I'm gonna be late!"

"I thought you were getting a ride from that cute boy..."

"I am mom," I say, standing.

My legs wobble and I need to take a quick second to relax so that they stop feeling like jell-o.

"It's just he told me 6:45 and it's like five minutes past. I don't even know if he's still waiting."

I sigh, rushing over to one of the boxes of clothes. I didn't get to put away everything and most of the clothes I did put away were the winter ones. I reached in for my black crop top, light blue high rise skinny jeans and my checkered vans that I swore up and down were gone for good until they arrived on the truck.

I start undressing and mom just sits there staring at me.

"Honey, I could take you..."

"It's okay mom, showing up the first day at a new school senior year with my mom would give the entire senior class reason to mock me for the entire year. No offense," I say.

Mom laughs and it's honestly a sound I haven't heard in months.

"I get it, I was a teenager once too," she says. "Plus that boy who's driving you is super cute."

"Mom, no one says super cute anymore," I say.

She laughs again and stands. I shimmy the pants up my leg and she stops me in my tracks as I go to button them up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asks, her voice turning serious.

I suck in a deep breath and nod.

"Honey, you're going to have a great senior year, the one you deserve. One without people taunting you over what your daddy did..."

"Mom, don't. I don't want to look like a wreck on my first day."

"Right," she says, a half smile on her face.

"Go darling, have a great first day."

She sets a gentle kiss on top of my head. I swipe my sunflower print jansport bag off the floor and throw it over my shoulder.

"Oh sweetie what about breakfast?" she asks.

"I'll grab a poptart on the way out."

"Okay, have a great day," she calls as I race out of the room.

I start to shove a cherry poptart in my backpack while opening the front door at the same time and as the door opens I smack into someone.

"We really have to stop meeting like this," Ethan's playful voice says.

I lift my chin to meet his warm friendly eyes, and he's got a soft grin on his face. My lips seem to respond to him and curl into a smile, "Sorry I'm late I..."

"I'm late too," he laughs. "Alarm never rang. Shall we?"

He holds his arms out in the direction of the stairs. I finish putting the poptart inside my bag and walk out ahead of him, as he pulls my front door shut.

He's right about his hunk of junk, but at least he has a car. It's an old blue toyota that shakes when idle. My hands are still shaking a little and I'm trying hard to hide them under my legs by sitting on them so Ethan doesn't notice.

"So, are you nervous?" he asks.

"No, why do I seem nervous?"

I answer a little two quickly and he glances over real quick with his brow raised.

"You're sitting on your hands and your leg is moving a million miles an hour over there," he says nodding towards my leg.

He stops the car at a red light and smirks.

"Maybe a little," I say, and it's mostly not a lie.

"Don't be, you've got us. Shae seems to have taken a liking to you. She asked me about you."

"Oh?"

I turn to him, but he's still concentrating on the road ahead as we make a right onto School Street.

"Yeah, Shae's pretty cool. We've been friends since Kindergarten. Some kids were teasing her on the playground and I thought I was being her knight in shining armor by pushing them into the sand. Let's just say it didn't end well for me, as I ended up in the principal's office," he laughs.

I glance over at him, staring at his side profile. Ethan looks happy, like nothing could ever let him down. I like that about him and so far I think I could get used to having him in my life.

"Well that was kind of you. She seems really great. What's Angela's deal?"

I hate that the words slipped out of my mouth. I'm trying to make friends not enemies here. I have enough of those back in Tulsa.

"She's Angela," he sighs.

"Uh-oh that doesn't sound too good," I tease.

He shakes his head, "Don't be offended it's not just you she's cold to," he tells me.

His eyes look sad as he talks about her, and that's when I know I should probably stop digging around and just get to know Ethan. So i change the subject.

"Thank you again for driving me."

"I told you it was no problem, I wouldn't want you to have to sit on that hot stuffy bus."

The school comes into view as we round a sharp curve. The old three level brick building sits at the end of the street behind some metal fencing. I'm in awe by its size, although I do know it houses pretty much the entire school district in one. At the front entrance there's a security guard in a blue button down inside a small rectangular blue and gold booth. Hanging high over the booth and the entrance and exit is a sign that says; WELCOME BACK BARRACUDAS. After the letter "S" there's a picture of a blue and white barracuda with its teeth bared and looking ready for a fight.

"Welcome to barracuda territory," he tells me.

"That's one mean looking fish," I laugh.

He chuckles, "Don't mess with us lake kids," he smirks.

The security guard stops everyone, so the wait to get into the school takes a few minutes. When it's our turn the man in the booth directs me where to go in order to get my school ID. Ethan hands him his own ID and waits as he runs it through some type of machine.

"Welcome back Mr. Marley, are you going out for the team this year?" he asks.

"Of course I am Dwane," he says to the widely built guard, who looks like a linebacker.

"Looking forward to you and Levi taking charge this year," he says.

"You know it!" Ethan chants in a deep low rumble.

We pull away and I stare over at him with a smirk on his face. His cheeks redden and he looks over.

"The team? Are you a jock?" I ask, being playful.

"I am, what of it?"

He bites down on his lip and looks over at me, his lips pull up into a smile as he does.

"Nothing, you just seemed more of the artsy type. I pegged you for a band geek," I tease.

"Drummer," he says, using one finger to point to himself.

"For real?"

"For real," he says, pulling into a spot on the left side of the lot that says, senior parking.

As we park I see a group hanging out in the parking space in front of us. Upon closer inspection I notice that its Ethan's crew. I hadn't recognized Shae in her blue and gold cheerleading outfit. Angela stands next to her in one also, and another girl I didn't see at the party. The girls tan is so dark she looks like she just rolled off the beach and came here. All three girls have their hair pulled back into high pony tails slick back so tight I'd be shocked if they all didn't have headaches.

I let out a burst of laughter and Ethan probably thinks I'm completely crazy.

"What?" he asks.

I run a hand through my hair, "Nothing."

I do that when I'm nervous, laugh like I'm psycho or something. I'm amused by the fact that the people I chose to associate with are everything that I spent my entire junior high and high school life trying to avoid. It's not that I'm being judgemental it's just that when I attempted to try out for the cheer squad in seventh grade after dancing and taking cheer classes for years I was cut from the team all because I didn't have the look.

"C'mon, Shae will be excited to see you," he says, urging me out of the car.

I suck in another deep breath, then grab my bag and slide out of his car. Angela turns when she hears the car door shut and the moment she sees me her smile fades completely. I feel the same way, I think to myself. Her arms cross at her chest as Ethan and I cross the lot to where everyone is. Levi's face lights up like the sun when he notices.

"New girl," he says.

"Levi."

I stop next to a fancy red mustang and give him a friendly smile.

"Hey girl," Shae says, putting an arm over my shoulder.

She eyes me up and down, and part of me feels a bit self conscious. Then she asks, "You have a dancer's body, you cheer?"

I stare up at her as she towers over me.

"Not anymore," I say.

"Ah, that's too bad we lost some of our best cheerleaders when they went off to college, we are having try-outs on Friday."

"You cheered?" Angela questions, an eyebrow raised like she's sizing me up. Part of me wants to try out just to spite her, but if I get cut again I don't think I'd handle it too well.

"I did."

"What did you give up or something?"

Her tone indicates that she's amused by this face.

"Ang," Ethan scolds.

Jay stands behind her trying his hardest not to laugh. That guy irks me for some reason, I can't put my finger on it, but I doubt I will ever be actual friends with him.

"What?" she questions, an evil smirk forming on her face.

"Hi, ignore her. I'm Tori Cummings, you must be the new girl?"

The girl I hadn't met at the party steps forward. I give her a friendly smile and nod, "Yeah that's me. I'm Morgan Adams."

"Morgan, so nice to meet you. You should definitely come to tryouts, we really need some good talent this year."

"I'll think about it," I tell her.

"Really?" Shae questions.

"Yeah."

Although, deep down I'm not really sure. A bell rings and the group groans.

"That's the warning bell," Shae tells me, taking her arm off my shoulder. "Can I get your phone number?" she asks.

"Sure."

A sense of relief washes over me, that maybe I have made a friend and could like it here after all.

"What's your number?"

Shae takes her phone out of her tight jean pocket and starts typing my name into her phone, I give her the number and she sends over a text that says, hi.

"Man, Shae how'd you beat me to the new girls number?" Levi questions, cocky as hell.

"Because unlike you I'm nice."

She sticks her tongue out at him, and he smirks.

"Hey, I'm nice right Morgan?"

When I don't answer Jay takes him by the neck and pulls him towards the school. The crowd follows and for a brief moment Levi glances over his shoulder at me, the cocky grin wiped away replaced with a look I can't quite read.

"Hey, you need me to show you to the office?" Ethan asks, breaking my concentration.

By the time I look at him another bell has rung and I'm officially late for my first day. I give him a polite nod and follow him inside.

The woman at the front desk seems annoyed that I wasn't here earlier. Her face wrinkles as she types frantically into the computer to find my schedule. She's got a short brown bob with some red highlights. Her tight scrunched up face reminds me of the woman Gladys from Reaper who traps souls to send to hell. She sure acts like she's stuck in hell.

She slides the printed schedule towards me, "Here, and here's a pass for being tardy," she says slapping a small rectangular piece of paper on top of the schedule.

"Thanks," I say, staring down at it.

"Oh, and here's a map so you don't get lost."

This time I don't say a word as I grab the papers from the desk and start for the door. I'm on my own to find my classes, I told Ethan I'd be okay and to go to class and that I'd catch him later. When I'm out of the stuffy office I lean against the blue cement wall and look down at the schedule. Art is first on the schedule taught by a Ms. Ryan. I check the time on the round clock on the opposite wall and I'm about fifteen minutes late for a forty five minute class.

The map shows that each grade has a section of the building, minus the specials; art is a special therefore it's in the center of the building on the second floor. There are a set of wide stairs in front of me and I decide to take those up, because art should be right there when I reach the top. I have to take several deep breaths at the top, not because I'm out of breath, but because the nerves have officially set in.

I push open the soft colored wooden door and stumble inside the art room. The room is cold and there's a small entryway before entering the actual classroom. Several wooden desks are lined up facing one side of the room, there are two students to a chair and pretty much no more space left for me, like they forgot I was coming.

"Hi can I help you?"

Aside from the eyes of the entire class Ms. Ryan focuses her attention on me. Honestly, she doesn't look a day over twenty and she dresses like she just stepped out of forever twenty one.

"Yes, I'm Morgan Adam's. I'm new here," I say.

"Ah. Yes, I saw you on my list," she says, looking around the room.

As I step further into the room I sense a pair of eyes on me, scanning the room I find that those eyes belong to Levi. There's a girl sitting next to him who is just staring up like he's some sort of god, in fact some of the other girls around the room are doing the same.

"Jennifer, could you move and sit with Greg over at table three?"

Ms. Ryan points to one of the tables in the front of the room and adds an extra chair.

"Ms. Adams, you can sit next to Mr. Harmon," she says.

That smug arrogant look crosses his face again and part of me would love to just smack it right off of him. I put my bag on the floor and sit on the stool next to his.

"Long time no see," he whispers.

Once again I find myself smiling at him, even though he's kind of getting on my nerves.

"Okay folks, now that everyone is here let's get started."

She circles around the old wooden desk that sits at the front of the room and leans up against it.

"For our first project you are going to be working with the person next to you," she says.

Levi nudges me, "Hey partner," he whispers.

"Quiet you."

I'm half teasing half not. I don't know why, but I smile back at him and the vibe feels flirtatious. I don't know why I'm flirting with someone like him. Maybe I'm just trying hard to fit in, because I'm desperate to make friends again.

"I want each of you to draw a portrait of the person sitting next to you, but I also want you to take this questionnaire," she says, grabbing a stack of papers from her desk.

She holds it up and one of the girls up front raises her hand and grabs them to distribute them around the room.

"You have to ask your partner these questions, get to know them a little. This assignment is due two weeks from today. So get to know your partner and draw them. You can sketch, paint, use crayon, I don't care, just be creative."

The questionnaire sheet slides across the desk, Levi takes one then slides it over to me. I glance over some of the questions and my eyes widen. I'm not sure how I'll answer half of these, especially the personal ones.

"So, Morgan," Levi says, clearing his throat.

He turns to me, his pencil clamped between his front teeth," Describe yourself."

I adjust myself on the stool and clear my throat, I probably look like Kristen Stewart during one of her awkward interviews as I run a shaky hand through my hair.

"Can't we just draw first or something?" I ask.

"Shy, beautiful and mysterious," he says, jotting those three words down onto the spot just underneath the question.

I roll my eyes and laugh, "I didn't use any of those words..."

"No, you didn't. They are my words," he says, his lips pulling into a straight line.

"Aren't they supposed to be mine?"

"And I'm charming, remember?" he says, the cocky grin returning.

I snort and the students in front of us turn to stare at us like we are interrupting their thoughts.

"Real charming."

I hold back rolling my eyes.

The bell rings what feels like seconds later, only it's not. We've gone through a few more questions, mostly simple like; what do you want to be when you grow up? And our favorite school subjects. He skips around the intense questions, like he knew I wasn't ready to answer them just yet.

I start packing my things when Ms. Ryan speaks over the murmuring of the students, "Ladies and gentleman, tomorrow we will continue working on this project. I want you guys to also try to work on this outside of class, maybe draw a portrait of your partner in their favorite spot, be creative."

I don't think many of the students are paying attention, but I'm pretty sure that Levi did. He gently reaches out and takes my arm. I glance back over my shoulder.

"The roof," he says.

"Huh?" I ask, looking down at the hand he has wrapped around my arm.

"My favorite spot," he says. "Do you want to meet maybe over the weekend to get some drawing done?" he asks.

"Uh..."

"Hey, look I'm not trying to hit on you or anything I swear it."

He pulls his hands away from me and holds them up like he's surrendering. This stupid gesture makes me laugh.

"I didn't think that I just... won't Angela have something to say?"

He laughs, "She's not my girlfriend or anything, that's in the past. Plus if she was she'd get over it."

"Okay," I say.

"Okay?"

His eyes grow wide and I give a small laugh and nod, "Okay."

"We'll make plans then."

With that he heads out the door leaving me standing there unsure of what just happened. I'm not quite sure I understand what Levi's intentions are. I've only met him the two times and so far he's flirted with me and has also treated me like a friend. I shake my thoughts, because if I don't move I'll be late for a second class.

I stare down at the map in front of me realizing I have to climb the stairs to the third floor and swing all the way around to the other side of the school for English. I rush out of class and out into the hallway. I turn the corner towards the English room and freeze when I see Ethan standing near the door talking to that girl Tori from earlier.

I watch Ethan's animated face and hands while he talks to her. She touches his shoulder and laughs with him. I hear a male voice call for everyone to come inside As Ethan turns towards the room he stops when he spots me. A friendly smile spreads across his freckled face.

"You got second period English?" he asks.

"Sure do," I say.

"Shall we?" he asks, holding his arm out for me.

I stare down at his arm and then back up into his warm eyes and nod.

"Let's do this."