| so crazy to see that we're already ranked in the romance section! |

You have got to be kidding me.

I freeze for a moment. Maybe if I don't move he won't be able to see me. 

I close my eyes and will myself to become invisible. Hey, it works on tv. 

But, unfortunately, my life sucks and I am not stuck in a flat screen. So, I slowly turn to look at him. And he is freaking glaring at me. The alarming hatred in his eyes takes me aback, and I wide my eyes at him. Seriously, is he on acid or something?

"Are you mute?" He barks quietly and I shake my head from my thoughts. 

"Huh?" I blurt out. What is he-

"I asked you a question?" He says through gritted and white teeth. Damn he has some pearly whites. 

"And that question was...?" I ask, squinting at him. My fear is subsiding quickly, I am back into my defensive and sarcastic-bitch phase. 

Which he certainly does not approve of. 

"Don't push me, gringa." He threatens, moving in closer to me. I look around, looking to see if anyone notices the Tasmanian devil closing in on me. I am surrounded by a cloud of him, sharp and masculine, the cologne addictive. 

Focus, Katya. Churro is being a little bitch. 

I look up at him with steel in my own eyes but he just glances down at me with a cocky expression, his pierced eyebrow raising slightly. He must pluck them for them to be that clean...

"I asked..." His mouth goes near my ear, and I hold my breath. Holy fuck what is going on? "What the fuck are you doing in my school?"

His words break me from whatever spell I was in and I shove him away from me, my hands coming into contact with a hard chest, but I don't dwell on the easily outlined grooves. Okay, maybe I dwell a teeny tiny bit. Don't judge me I'm a teen girl.

"Well, Luka, if you even had a smidgen of a brain, you would realize that we both live in the same school district, seeing as we live in the same condominium complex." I snap, placing a hand firmly on my hip. 

His silver eyes flash suddenly but with something greater than anger: suspicion. His expression grows murderous as he stalks towards me again. 

"How the hell do you know my name?" He hisses, his voice deadly and full of possible violence. 

I back up into my locker, scanning through the corner of my eyes for some sort of weapon I could use: crowbar, stapler, coconut, seriously anything that I could use to knock this creeper out. Great, I'm going to die against a locker. Classic.

Oh wait, wasn't churro asking me something?

I turn back to face him and his eyes are still filled with rage, but something inside of me twinges, saying "don't let him know that he scares you." 

And so I don't. 

I step forward, causing him to step backwards in surprise. I smirk, emulating the same look he held moments before. 

"Guess you'll have to wait and find out, Churro." I wink at him, and turn to open my locker. By the time I turn around, my hands filled with books, he has disappeared. 

.............

First period, English 12A. Second period Spanish 5A. Great, two language classes in a row. Ugh, there's going to be so much reading. 

I rush down the hall, finally coming to room 123, convenient. The bell begins to ring just as I enter the class, meaning that I have thirty pairs of eyes staring up at me. 

"I presume that you are Ms...Buchanan?" A stout man with a red face asks me, looking off of a clipboard on his desk. 

"Emerson." I say out of habit, but I blush almost as red as the man's nose after I speak. I'm not the best with being in front of a room full of people. 

"Alright, Ms. Emerson, take a seat at the back of the class next to Zeke." I look at the back of the class and at the only open seat, which I take quickly. I look to my left to see who must be Zeke. He's a tall boy, that's evident even when he's sitting, his hair a light light brown, but not yet blonde. He's admittedly cute. 

He turns to me, and gives me a smile, which I return. 

"You must be-"

"Ms. Emerson?" I look forward to the front of the class, my blush returning. "Five minutes into my class and you're already talking? If I have to warn you again that will be a detention." 

I nod my head quickly and the teacher, who I don't even know his name, turns back around. 

"Looks like you're already on Mr. Tyler's bad side." A voice next to me whispers and I look to see Zeke with a large grin on his face. He has a contagious smile, one of those that brightens the space around him. It's adorable. 

"Tell me about it-"

"DETENTION MS. EMERSON." 

Great. 

......

"He is a dictator!" I complain to Zeke after fourth period. He invited me to sit with him and his friends at lunch, and I agreed of course. I need some infectious positivity right now. 

He leads me into a large cafeteria. It's your basic lunchroom, large with linoleum floors and an insanely high roof. Basic as usual. The room is also filled with a bustle of people, all of them laughing, talking, or even arguing. But it's evident that at each table, there is a different group of people. Not exactly cliques, almost like gangs. 

"Are you going to buy lunch?" Zeke asks me.

"Um, I don't have any lunch credits and I am completely broke, so I guess I'll sit this one out." 

"Well, as the gentleman I am, I shall allow you to eat some of my fries."

I laugh and follow him down the line where, as promised, he orders fries and pizza and I happily snatch a fry from his plate. 

He directs me to a seat at a table with two other people: a fairly pretty girl with almost white blonde hair and a lightskin boy. They both smile and I sigh, thankful that they seem just as friendly as Zeke. 

"Troy, Esther, this is Katya. Katya, Troy and Ester." Zeke introduces us, and I smile at both of them. 

"Hey!" Esther says, and gives me a huge huge smile. Her eyes look brown at first, but upon further inspection they're just colored contacts. Apparently she hates her blue eyes, something about her father. Troy plays basketball apparently, which leads to a long discussion about irony and high school musical. 

For the first time, I'm enjoying spending time with people at my school. It feels...odd but good. Promising. 

That is, until I hear Zeke scoff next to me and I turn to see where he's looking. He's staring out the big window next to us, and I immediately know what he's scoffing at. 

Luka and a few other thug-looking boys are outside on one of the deserted lunch tables, passing around what seems to be a joint. Seriously? They couldn't just go off campus?

"He's such a waste-case." Esther rolls her eyes, picking at the muffin in her hands. 

"Tell me about it." Troy chuckles. 

"He seems like a douche." I agree and they all turn to me.

"How do you know Vincenzo?" Zeke asks me. 

"Who? Oh, you mean Luka?" I ask. 

They all stare at me like I have a fifth head. 

"What?"

"Sorry, but I don't think I've heard someone call him Luka since...well, ever." Zeke says. 

"Oh, I guess I wasn't aware." I trail off, staring out the window at him. He doesn't look up from his weed, but I see the hint of a tattoo peaking up from his sleeve again.

...

Where the hell is room 27? 

I have been looking for the detention room for a full ten minutes. 

Finally, I stumble upon it, and hurriedly push the door forward. 

And I freeze. 

"Seriously, you can't get enough of me can you, gringita?" 

Are. You. Kidding. Me. 

P.S. Zeke = Paul Wesley ;)