The air conditioner in the school seemed to reach the end of its life. I could barely feel the cold air touch my skin. Mrs. Lansing's classroom was warm and with the amount of bodies, I could feel my body feel sweaty and clammy. Unable to take it anymore, I tied up my black hair.

Several students fanned themselves with their notebook or a piece of paper. Mrs. Lansing opened the window to see if any wind would blow into the room, but it only made it worse. The spring heat crawled in like waves.

"We have only three more months before school ends and you all will either be off to college or looking for a job..."

I half-listened to Mrs. Lansing while trying to cool myself down. Today I regret wearing skinny jeans. I should have stuck with shorts or a skirt. However, I knew I wouldn't be able to wear shorts or a skirt. The chafing between my thighs was too painful. By the end of the day, I would be in pain.

I wasn't a big girl, but I wasn't skinny either. I carried a good amount of fat around my hips, waists, belly, and arms. On a hot day, my boobs sweat and cry.

Feeling aggravated with the heat, I turned my attention outside the window. There I saw Dean Foster running in all his glory on the track with other students. Many students trailed after him as he blazed right through the track like a winning horse. Sweat drenched his sleeveless t-shirt. His dark brown hair blew in the wind like waves.

He's perfect. Someone who achieves perfection in all areas and subjects. There wasn't a single thing wrong about him. Many girls fantasize about Dean Foster, including me.

I heard Mrs. Lansing clear her throat. It was at that moment; I realized she was standing at my desk, looking out the window as well. She caught me looking at Dean. I could feel my face heat in embarrassment.

"Is Mr. Foster more interesting than me, Tamsin?"

I heard giggles and laughter. I looked down at my desk and pretended to write. Luckily, Mrs. Lansing turned and walked back to the front.

"Alright, settle down. Before the class ends, I wanted to announce your partners for the science projects." Mrs. Lansing pick up a piece of paper from her desk and began reading names.

When it came to my name, I heard Kai. My head whipped up from the piece of paper just as she finished Kai's last name.

Kai McGrath.

He was the other popular kid in school. A lot of girls fan after him. Yet the two were different in many ways. Dean worked hard in school, while Kai didn't care at all.

I found him sitting in the back row of the classroom. His feet were propped up on the chair in front of him. His head tilted back with eyes closed.

I could have had anyone as a partner, but Mrs. Lansing had to pair me up with the one person I didn't want to be paired up with.

The bell rang just as she called out the last partners. I gathered my stuff into my backpack before slinging my backpack strap over my shoulders. I walked over to Kai.

"So, when do you want to meet to talk about the project?" I asked him.

Kai didn't bother opening his eyes, and I felt the sudden urge to kick him. I bit the bottom of my lip to stop myself from screaming at him. Instead, I moved closer and jabbed a finger at his arm to wake him up.

His opposite hand shot up and grabbed a hold of my hand. Warmth flooded covered my hand like a warm blanket. My eyes snapped up from our connected hands to his face. Kai yawned and popped one eye open.

"You interrupted my sleep, Dollface."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms under my breasts. Kai rubbed his eyes and stretched one last time before standing up. He stood a good 5'8 to 5'9. My height reached his shoulders. I had to stretch my neck to look up at him.

"When do you want to meet, Kai?" I asked again.

Kai moved to sit on the desk. By now, it was just him and I in the room. The door to the classroom still opened. His pale green eyes looked me over while he rubbed his chin.

That was the last straw. I slapped him over the head. When his eyes found me again, they were angry.

"Do you want to work on the project together or not?" I snapped.

I saw his jaw ticked and knew he didn't like being slapped over the head, but he shouldn't have looked at me like that in the first place.

"I'll meet you at your place tonight at six," he responded unhappily.

"Ok." I looked him over and realized my mom would totally kill me if she took one look at him. Kai wore dark ripped denim jeans that hung low and a low black v-neck t-shirt. His black messy hair falling an impish mess over his forehead.

I don't know how I was going to make it through this science project, but I'm going to have to try. I haven't had a single failed grade yet, and it would not start now. I have a dream to enter the same university as Dean. I hope he will notice me then.

Suddenly, loud boisterous voices boomed in the hallway. You could hear the teasing and laughter. A second later, two heads popped into the room. All looking similar to Kai in style. It was Devon and Benny. They were Kai's loyal friends. Their eyes found Kai first, before looking at me. A slow cheeky smirk appeared on Benny's face. He popped into the room first.

"We were wondering where you were. I see that someone is keeping you busy." Standing at his full height, Benny is slightly shorter than Kai. However, the boy was absolutely gorgeous with that perfect proportion smile and gleaming clear blue eyes. His curly brown hair tied up into a bun.

"We should leave them alone, Benny boy." In sauntered Devon. His dark skin and sharp eyes made him look like a wolf—dark and dangerous. It was his bright smile that softened his features.

"That is unnecessary. We are done here," I replied and walked away, but Kai caught me by the elbow. I turned to look at him.

"I think we should exchange numbers. Don't you think so?" He raised an eyebrow.

When I didn't answer Kai, he pulled me closer to him.

"Give me your phone," I said.

To my utter surprise, he listened and dug his phone out of his jean pocket. He handed the phone over to me. I took from him. His hand still wrapped around my elbow. I swiped the screen, only to see that it was locked with a passcode.

"It's locked."

"3410."

"You're just going to give me your passcode like that?"

"Should I not trust you?" He arched an eyebrow.

"I mean..." My sentence dropped off. I'm not a bad person and I have no interest in looking into his phone. So, yeah. He can trust me. "You can trust me."

He smirked, and I noticed a dimple on his right cheek. Tearing my gaze away, I tapped his passcode in before I tapped in my phone number into his phone. After I finished, I handed it back to him.

"There."

"I'll talk to you later, Dollface." Kai released me and walked away with his friends. The three of them pushed each other and laughed as they disappeared from the classroom. I stood there watching them leave before I readjusted the strap of my backpack and walked out.

When I entered the cafeteria, Avery waved her hand at me. She was already in line, waiting. I walked over to her side. She hooked her arms through mind. Her platinum pixie haircut flew around her shoulders excitedly as she talked about her day.

"And then Hutton walked up to the front and solved the math problem with no hesitation. The boy is a freaking human calculator. He didn't even stop to think. He just wrote. I can't believe it. I hate him. He's a freaking nerd," she muttered with pursed glossed lips.

Avery was my best friend. She's beautiful in her own unique kind of way. When people first meet her, they'll think she's a quirky mess because she loves wearing bright colors. Yet she's beautiful with the heart-shaped face and wide doe-y eyes.

"So, he embarrassed you?"

"It was all Mr. Raymond's fault. He caught me texting in class. Then he thought it would be funny to punish me by asking me to solve a math problem. I don't fucking know calculus. When I couldn't solve it, Hutton walked up and solved it for me. Afterwards, Mr. Raymond scolded me in front of the classroom. He said if I had paid a little more attention to his lessons and less on my phone, I would have been able to solve the problem."

I remember Mrs. Lansing embarrassing me today, too.

"Just three more months," I said to Avery.

"It seems like a lifetime to me."

"Did you get your acceptance letters yet?"

"I've been watching for the mailman every day after school. God knows my mom would kill me if she knew I applied for art school."

We walked up to the lunch ladies and pointed to what we wanted. The lunch lady dropped some pepperoni pizza onto our trays. I'm not exactly paying attention to my diet even though I know I should.

"Did you apply to any university?" I questioned.

"Nope. This is my life and my choice. I will apply for whatever I want. Her dreams are not mine. What about you? Did you apply to Stanford?"

Stanford was where Dean received a full ride and a scholarship. A rare opportunity that I know he wouldn't miss. I applied, but I didn't receive any acceptance letter from them yet.

I shook my head.

"I did, but have received nothing yet. In case I don't get accepted, I applied to other places."

"You'll get in! You are one of the smartest people that I know."

I smiled in response before paying for my lunch. We found our usual spot in a quiet corner of the cafeteria and ate. My eyes roamed the room. Everyone was sitting with their friends. I saw Dean in the middle of the room with a bunch of people surrounding him. He smiled and joked around with his friends. For some reason, the surrounding light glowed brightly. He seemed to always bring in a sunny aura.

On the opposite end of me, I saw Kai sitting with Devon and Benny. Benny was talking to two underclassman girls with his cheeky smile. While Devon had one arm wrapped around his girlfriend. Kai seemed oblivious to everything around him. He had his phone in his hand and he was swiping his fingers across the screen. He must be on some kind of social media website-ping!

I looked down at my phone next to my tray and saw a message from an unknown number.

What's your address, Dollface?

He was texting me. Avery leaned over and looked at my screen before looking at me.

"Who is that?"

I flipped my phone over and picked up my pizza. I took a bite out of it before shrugging my shoulders.

"It's Kai."

"Kai?!"

I looked around to see if anyone heard her before I turned to look at her.

"It isn't what you think. He's my partner for Mrs. Lansing's science project."

"He's coming over to your house?" Avery questioned.

I nodded my head.

"What would your mom say?"

"She won't say anything. We aren't doing anything that we aren't supposed to. He's my science partner. That's it."

"But he's so...so...hot."

Kai was gorgeous hot, but troubled. There was no way I would look at him any other way. Picking up my phone, I replied to his message.

"He's hot, but Dean is so much better."

"Girl, you are too hung up on him. It's been four years, and the boy hasn't even looked your way. Does he even know who you are?" Avery asked. It hurt, but it was the truth. Avery's facial expression softened, and she pulled me into a hug.

"Let's just focus on surviving the last three months of senior year. Boys are trouble, right?"

I nodded my head and hugged her back. Boys are trouble. I needed to focus on finishing strong. Although I liked Dean, I can't afford for him to distract me. Plus, I had a bigger obstacle waiting for me.

Kai.