CHAPTER ONE
( NAME )

     CARMEN HESITATED, LETTING out a sigh. Her brown eyes never left those of his, captivated by something of a spark that started in her lower back, and traveled into her chest. His touch- even through the material of her favorite sweater- made her shiver.

"Yes," She replies steadily, clearing her throat. "I'm fine."

Elle pulled her friend from the boy's arms, before glancing around at the four other boys that began to come together beside him. She let out a heavy groan, before looking back to the crowd.

"Cam, I think I know why they're here," Elle mutters to Carmen, straightening her t-shirt. "And I know why they were screaming at the top of their lungs."

Camera flashes burned the girls' visions, and Elle was yelling in a minute.

"Hey there, sir! It is not kind to do that!" Elle yaps, shoving away a mid-aged man, who had somehow got out of the hands of a security guard. "I believe you should apologize for deeming my eyes as unfit to see through."

She sighs, her hand on Carmen's arm once again, giving her a knowing look.

"I think we should go," Elle says, her eyes not leaving the band of boys as they watch in confusion. "Like, right now."

Carmen stumbles forward after Elle, heading for the doors as quick as they could. They manage to open them in a short second, before looking back at the still screaming girls.

"Wait! I didn't get your name," Zach calls out, moving forward.

But before he could get any closer, they were out of the exit, and sprinting to Elle's car. The only thing Carmen could do was shoot him a smile over her shoulder, and hope to see him again.

__♔__

"What do you think about this one?" Elle asks, holding up yet another book. "It seems good. The cover is pretty, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but have you read the summary yet?" Carmen raises an eyebrow, before scanning over the teen fiction book area. "I'm sure you could figure out if it was a good book if you read the summary."

"It doesn't have one," Elle huffs, brushing the hair from her face. "See? Look at the back. There's nothing there."

"That's because it's inside." Carmen states without looking up from the row of books on the shelf. "Check the inside cover."

"Fine, but I know it's not there. I've read enough books to know that-" She stops, the summary of the book staring at her from the inside cover. "You know what? Nevermind. Books aren't my thing anyway. I'll leave reading to you."

"I can't help it," The brunette shrugs, pulling a book from the shelf, before glancing at Elle. "Reading is addictive, and I'm positive you'd be an addict if you'd just sit down to read a book."

"I have better things to do." Elle states, lying the book on the table beside her. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to grab a coffee from Starbucks. You wanna join?"

"No," Carmen waves her off, focused on the book in her hands. "Bring me a caramel mocha frappé."

"Okay," Elle nods, before making her way to the far end of Barnes and Noble, where a small Starbucks store had been recently introduced.

Enjoying the silence, Carmen slips in her ear buds and sits down at a table with her nose stuck in her book. Studying the words closely, she finds herself getting lost in her own little la la land. In fact, the book was so interesting that she didn't notice the boy that took a seat across from her.

The familiar boy sat, his hands folded as he stared amusedly at Carmen. Seconds later she sees his movement, before pulling out her ear buds, and slipping her phone into her bag.

"Are you following me?" She asks with a chuckle, placing her book on the table.

"Jonah wanted to grab a book and some coffee," Zach says, tilting his head to the side with a grin. "But lucky me, I came along with the others. I'm glad I found you, I didn't catch your name at the mall."

"That's because I didn't throw it," A smile tugs at the corner at Carmen's lips. "And who's Jonah?"

"One of my friends," He shrugs in response. "He's a part of the band."

"Band?" Carmen raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to be in a band?"

"I'm just an amazingly talented sixteen-year-old with great hair," Zach says, his grin only widening at her question. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," She replies steadily, staring into his brown eyes. "But I'll be sixteen in a few weeks."

"I hope I'm invited to the party. Or else I might just have to crash."

"No way you're crashing my party," Carmen rolls her eyes.

"So is that an invite?" Zach asks hopefully. She shares a glance with him, before opening her mouth to speak.

"Oh my gosh, Carmen!" Elle cuts her off, sprinting full speed ahead. "You'll never believe it! I just saw Jonah Marais back there- at Starbucks! That means the others are here, too, and you can get Zach's number and live happily ever af-"

Elle stops in her tracks, eyes wide as she looks between the two. "Well, I guess you found Prince Charming all on your own, huh? I think I'm just going to leave you two alone . . . "

"May I have my coffee?" Carmen asks, not fazed by Elle's words.

"Yes," She steps forward. "One caramel mocha frappé for the lady, and nothing for Zach. Sorry, doll, I didn't know you were here."

Carmen rolls her eyes as Elle bursts into laughter at Zach's expression.

"Elle," She sighs. "Go out to the car, okay? I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay." Elle stops laughing, skipping off with her coffee in her hand.

"That was easy," Carmen murmers, before turning back to Zach. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine," He waves it off with a smile. "She seems . . . fun."

"A handful," She corrects him, before taking a sip of her frappé. And that is the moment that four other boys decide to join them, all of them laughing.

"-and then Jonah was all 'the gorgeous girl that I bumped into at Barnes and Noble and OH MY GOD SHE GAVE ME HER NUMBER!'."

"Wait, hold up," A boy with blonde hair says, pointing at Carmen. "Who is she, and why would she talk to Zach?"

"Hey! You're the girl from the mall!" The one with curly hair says, smiling at her. "I remember you."

"Um, hi?" She furrows her eyebrows, looking to Zach for help.

"That's mean, Corbyn." Zach glares, before motioning to Carmen. "This is my new friend. I don't know her name yet, though. She's too stubborn to tell me."

"Am not!" Carmen argues.

"What's your name?" A tall boy asks.

"Carmen," She replies with a smile. "And you are?"

"I'm Jonah."

"Nice to meet you, Jonah."

"I'm Corbyn." The blonde greets her, nudging the boy with curly hair. "And this is Jack. And that's Daniel."

"Well, I'd love to stay, but I have an unfunctional friend outside. I really must be going." Carmen says, tossing her bag over her shoulder.

"Could I have your number?" Zach asks hopefully.

"You could," Carmen says. "But you can't, because I have to go."

"Come on!" Zach pleads, pouting slightly. "Please?"

"I'll see you guys around," Carmen waves, turning to leave as she picks up her coffee. "Bye, Zach."

And so she exits the building, leaving behind the five band members. Zach sighs loudly, before laying his head on the table.

"What did I do wrong?" He groans.

"She's just out of your league," Jonah says bluntly with a shrug. "Don't worry about it, Zach. You have plenty of other girls chasing after you."

"Says the guy that's fawning over the girl that dumped coffee all over him," Jack snorts.

"Who's book is that?" Daniel asks, picking up 'The Fault In Our Stars' from the table. "Zach?"

"What?" He asks, his face still pressed against the table as Daniel skims to the back of the book.

Daniel stops on a note, of which holds a contact number for if the book was lost and found. He holds up the book with the signature 'Carmen Elliott', before putting the book down in front of Zach.

"Zach, I think we found your ticket in."

_____