I spent the next day at home binging on Netflix, grateful of the fact that my mom slept until one that day. I managed to finish the rest of Jessica Jones - and I mean, whoa, Kilgrave definitely gave me nightmares - before moving jumping back into season 3 of Friends. However, even Netflix couldn't save me from my mom's outbursts, so I was pretty anxious to get back to school on Thursday.

Most of the kids avoided me like the plague - which wasn't exactly different than normal - but now instead of pretending I didn't exist, they were staring at me as I walked down the hallway. Zach wasn't in my fourth period class, creative writing, so I'm assuming he's either in detention or he was suspended for a few days. Hopefully the latter, but I have my doubts. His family's wealthy, so the school probably doesn't want to risk pissing off rich parents.

I took my time in lunch, waiting until at least half the lunch period was over before I hurried into the cafeteria to buy an order of chili cheese fries and a carton of chocolate milk. It wasn't the healthiest of options, I know, but cheese fries are one of my guilty pleasures, so I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I've had a shitty week, so I think that's a decent excuse to skip the standard chicken patty and go straight for the good stuff.

Lunch lady Rebecca smiled at me, per usual, and I picked up my tray to locate an abandoned table at the side of the lunch room. A few minutes after sitting down, my eyes wander away from my computer screen and I nearly panic when I see Zach and his friends enter the lunchroom. Apparently both of my theories were wrong, and he was probably just cutting class last period.

Suddenly, my half-eaten fries weren't as appetizing, and I quickly shut my laptop and slid it into my backpack. I wasn't planning on avoiding Zach forever, because screw that, but I certainly didn't want to hand him the opportunity to make my life hell. The asshole should at least have to work for it.

I turned my head back to my food, praying he wouldn't notice me, and - luckily enough - my prayers were answered. After a few seconds, I hazarded a glance to my right and saw Zach sitting at a table filled with the 'popular kids', which - at my school - meant the wealthier ones. His arm was draped over Lily McCallister, his on-again, off-again girlfriend, meaning they were probably back together. At least, they were for this week. Who knows about the next?

Crowded around the table with Zach and Lily were their friends - well, Lily's friends - Piper Rodriguez and Cora Patel. Piper's parents owned a slew of restaurants in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles that were uber trendy, and Cora's older sister Riya was a model-turned-Instagram celebrity who hung out with the likes of Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. Last I saw, she was invited to one of Taylor Swift's famous Fourth of July parties. Naturally, being two of the richest and most well-connected girls in school, they were also surrounded by their male counterparts, Andrew Everett and Jackson Quinn. Jackson and Piper had been dating pretty much since the 8th grade, and both boys were on the track team.

The last member of the table? Theo De Vries.

You know how most high schools have that 'one guy' who defies logic of what a popular guy should be? Theo was that guy. Not only was he the star of the track team, he was also second in our class, incredibly friendly, and - oh yeah - gorgeous. Like, male model gorgeous. It was unfair for any human being to look that good, let alone a high school student, but there he was sitting with his friends at the lunch table.

No idea how or why he put up with Zach, because the thing that made Theo De Vries absolutely unbelievable? He actually seemed like a decent guy.

I haven't talked to him or anything (get it? Because I don't really 'talk'), but I have photography with him at the end of the day, and he's always respectful of our teacher, Mr. Buchanan, no matter how rowdy the class gets. Most people see photography as a blow-off class. I'm sure you're thinking, 'How hard can it be, right? Point and click.' That's basically the mindset of most of my classmates, but Theo was different. He actually applied himself, like he was interested in the subject and wanted to get better, and - considering photography's my favorite class...that gave him a one-up in my book.

He moved here with his family two years ago, when we were in tenth grade, so I barely knew him other than the few things I've observed in school and online. His Instagram account was mostly travel photos, and his parents both worked in Silicon Valley. They were probably part of the reason he was pushing himself so hard in school - the guy was primed to get into the college of his choice - well, that and his athleticism. As a junior, he hit a new personal record in the 100m dash, demolishing the school's record, and placed third in the nation for high school students with a time of 10.1 seconds. If he keeps up his performance, the local paper said he's on track for an appearance at the next U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Watching him now, however, I can't help but notice how different he seems from everything I've read about him. Not that I've done a lot of reading about him, obviously - because I'm not a creeper - but when you can't listen to the gossip around school about your classmates you have to do your own digging online to keep up. I try to follow everyone on social media - make sure that I'm tuned into the conversations - and it's pretty hard to miss news about Theo, because he's basically the talk of the school.

You'd think he'd be cocky or talkative or anything, really, but that's the thing about Theo De Vries. He's not flirting with the girls, he's not joking around with his friends, and these days it's rare to see him even crack a smile.

He's just...quiet.