☾

"C'mon, you'll be fine," Lydia says, trying to convince me that my first day back at Beacon Hills High School will go smoothly. I'm feeling more nervous than usual, lacing my hands in my lap and twiddling my thumbs as my knee bounces.

Since I'm not old enough to drive yet, Lydia picked me up this morning and we're now sitting in her car that is already parked outside of school. Anxiety is weighing down my stomach like lead, but adrenaline is running through my veins although I barely got any sleep since I came back a few days ago. The last time I was this nervous I was—

I stop that train of thought instantly, ignoring the brief pang in my heart it brings. "How can you be so sure?" I mumble, looking down.

"Because, you're a beautiful, strong girl who looks adorable today," she says teasingly and I can't help but giggle and inspect my outfit for a few seconds. Light-washed skinny jeans, a fitted red turtle neck, my black leather jacket and black heeled ankle boots. To keep myself warm, I put on gray gloves and a white knit infinity scarf that I got from my grandma years ago.

I take a deep breath and look up at her, my smile matching hers. "Thanks, Lyds," I mumble and pull her into a hug over the console.

She returns the hug and we stay like for a while until we break apart, smiling at each other. She gets a gleam of confidence in her green eyes, her smile morphing into a smirk. "Let's go!" She declares, hopping out the car.

I chuckle and follow her actions, pulling on my shoulder bag and closing the door behind me. Stepping up onto the sidewalk, Lydia instantly links her arm with mine and together we walk in sync, her confidence slowly boosting my own. We walk with our heads held high as we make it to the swarm of students at the entrance, and just like that, it's like nothing between us has changed. I turn my head to look at my friend to see her already looking at me, her expression clearly saying, "See?" I roll my eyes at her, but I can't help but smile a little.

My eyes land on two tall brunettes talking, one more visible than the other as his front is facing me. Pale skin and brown buzzed hair, pretty cute. As we near them, his eyes land on me, connecting with mine. We keep eye contact as he says while we pass by them, "Since the birth of Mary Anne Archer." My heart flutters a bit at that, a little smile quirking at my lips. His voice sounds adoring and dreamy. "Hey, Mary Anne, you look..." he trails off, head turned as he continues to gaze after me, my own head turning back to keep my eyes on him as Lydia drags me away.

Feeling a little bad as I see the disappointment on his face, I raise my hand a bit to wave. His eyes widen but he returns the awkward gesture, smiling brightly. As we get to the stairs, I tug my arm from hers and she stops and turns to give me a questioning look. "I gotta meet the vice principal," I explain, head down as I reach into my back pocket for my schedule Nessa got a few days before I came back.

She sighs and nods. "See ya later, Mare," she calls out, leaving me as the bell rings. I turn to the side and wander the school grounds, spotting a bench. Someone is already sitting there, a pretty pale girl with long brown hair, wearing a teal scarf with a cute jacket.

Her head snaps up as my heels click on the sidewalk, a friendly smile on her lips directed towards me. "Hey, are you new, too?" She asks shyly. I nod, returning the smile and sitting next to her.

"Yeah, but I used to live here, so," I shrug awkwardly. Her smile widens, sticking out her hand to shake mine.

"I'm Allison," she introduces herself. I take her hand, shaking firmly.

"Mary Anne," I return the introduction. She seems nice, a perfect new friend.

She drops my hand as her phone rings, searching her bag for it and successfully finds it and answers it, phone wedged between her shoulder and ear as she continues to search her bag. I can't help but listen to the conversation and I know I'm being nosy, but people fascinate me and she's right there. "Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing it." Wow, three calls? I've gotten about ten texts from Nessa on my way here. I'm surprised I don't have any more from her. "Everything except a pen. Oh, my God, I didn't actually forget a pen," she groans. Looking towards me, she mouths, "do you have one?"

I furrow my eyebrows and check one of the pockets of my bag that I could've sworn I put a pen in for today. My hands search but it's empty. Ah, hell, just my luck, right? I shake my head sadly and she sighs a little. But her conversation is cut short as we see a dark-skinned man in a grey suit walking towards us. Taking the phone in one hand, she says, "Okay, okay. I gotta go. Love ya," before hanging up and putting her phone away.

I stand as he stops in front of us. "Miss Argent and Miss Archer?" He asks with a polite smile and we nod in unison as Allison stands up next to me. My eyes widen as I realize that she is very tall, taller than Lydia and I. "Sorry to keep you girls waiting." We start to walk and he asks her, "So you were saying San Francisco isn't where you grew up?" San Francisco? Makes sense with the great taste in fashion.

"No," Allison answers, "but we lived there for more than a year, which is unusual in my family." We start to get closer to what I guess is our first class, English.

"Well, hopefully, Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while." I look at Allison as he walks into the class, she and I standing side by side next to him. "Class, these are our new students, Allison Argent and Mary Anne Archer." My eyes land on the cute guy from outside. As well as the guy he was with, tan skin and shaggy dark brown hair. His brown eyes and uneven jaw makes him look like a puppy as he gazes at Allison. Oh, someone's got a crush.

However, the guy I'm more concerned with is staring at me, making my cheeks heat up as I discover the only seats left is behind Puppy Eyes and in front of Buzz Cut.

"Please do your best to make them feel welcome," he finishes before leaving. Wow, great introduction, Mr. Vice Principle.

I follow Allison as she walks towards Puppy Eyes in one row and I go towards Buzz Cut, my gaze on the floor as I feel his eyes on me, only making my cheeks burn hotter. Oh, my Gods, why am I reacting this way to a stranger?

I sit quietly in front of him, bag on the floor next to me. My head turns to see Puppy Eyes turned around with a pen, offering it to Allison who accepts it with a smile. "Thanks," she says genuinely, but I find kind of it weird that he knew she didn't have a pen. I bite my lip and timidly turn in my seat to smile kindly at Buzz Cut who looks like a deer caught in headlights. From up close I can see his nose is upturned, his eyes are a light brown that reminds me of whiskey, and he has cute moles randomly scattered across his face. It reminds me of constellations.

Wow, he's really attractive. Like, seriously.

"Do you have an extra pen I can borrow?" I ask him politely. He nods quickly and hands me the extra pen he has on his desk, our fingertips grazing as I take it from him. Electricity runs up my arm and I have to bite my tongue to hold back a quiet gasp of shock. "Thanks." I turn around back to the front quickly, surprised by the reaction. It makes my stomach tighten and then flutter, my heart palpitating. I can still feel a bit of the jolt going up my arm.

Thankfully, I don't have to dwell on it more right now as the teacher begins to talk.

"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis, on page one hundred and thirty-three."

☾

Since we're both new, I guess the school decided to put Allison and I next to each other at the lockers, not that I'm complaining. We stand side by side after our last period as we prepare to leave. However, like I said before, I don't have a car so I have to wait for Lydia. I open mine in record time and put the books I don't need in there, humming lightly to a tune that's been stuck in my head all week.

I notice that she's staring at something behind me after closing her locker, a wide smile on her face. Curious, I shut my locker quietly and turn my head to see what she's smiling at. A smirk forms on my face to see Puppy Eyes down the hall, staring at her with a smile.

My attention is turned back towards Allison as I hear a familiar voice. "That jacket is absolutely killer," Lydia compliments an intimidated Allison who is leaning against the lockers. "Where'd you get it?"

Allison is frozen for only a second, quickly recovering. "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco," she answers.

"And you are my new best friend," Lydia says with a chuckle. I gasp dramatically, a hand on my chest to feign hurt.

"I'm hurt, Lyds," I say, feigning pain, "that you're so quick to replace me."

My short strawberry blonde friend rolls her eyes at me. "You know I love you," she starts before a familiar blond walks up behind her and hugs her. "Hey, Jackson."

Meet, Jackass—I mean, Jackson Whittemore. He and Lydia have been dating since freshman year. For some reason, I can tell he's still the douche bag he was before I left, just by his face. I cringe a little when they kiss, right there in the halls and in front of us. Guess they're still not shy when it comes to PDA.

"Mary Anne," Jackson greets curtly with a small nod after breaking apart from Lydia. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Whittemore," I say politely, trying to be civil like he was. Before I left we had a love-hate relationship and I hope we've matured enough to at least tolerate each other for Lydia's sake.

My eyes travel to where Puppy Eyes is, now joined by Buzz Cut who is talking to a girl. His eyes repeatedly flicker over to me, seeming unaware how my eyes are on him. Before he can notice it, I look back at Lydia and Jackson as she mentions a party.

"So, this weekend, there's a party."

Uh oh, she's gonna force me to go. Apparently, because I was in New York, I've had to have gone to plenty of parties. And I have, and I have enjoyed them but some of them ended pretty badly. I just felt a little suffocated in the large crowds, wanting nothing more than to take my friends' hands and get the hell out of there.

"A party?" Allison asks, innocently.

"Yeah," Jackson answers. "Friday night. You should come."

"Uh, I can't. It's family night this Friday." Smooth, Argent, smooth. Totally lying but conceivable. Not for me, though. I've got this thing where I can tell when most people lie to me, something I got from my Mom.

"You sure?" Jackson asks, leaning one arm against the lockers near her head with the other around Lydia's waist. "Everyone's going after the scrimmage." Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that. Even last year, Jackson was the captain. He was pretty good for a freshman, even I couldn't deny that.

"You mean like football?" Allison questions, confused.

"Football's a joke in Beacon," Jackson chuckles. "The sport here is lacrosse. We've won the state championship for the past three years."

Lydia runs her hand through her boyfriend's hair, smiling. "Because of a certain team captain," she says proudly and I roll my eyes. As much as I love her, she's being the cliche popular girl dating the captain of the football team, but in this case, the lacrosse team.

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is if you don't have anywhere else..." Jackson trails off.

"Well, I was going to—" Allison starts but Lydia cuts her off.

"Perfect. You're coming." She grabs her wrist and mine and drags us with her.

☾

I would totally leave Lydia and Allison to escape watching a sport I don't get any more, but sadly, I can't. Then again, I noticed that Buzz Cut and Puppy Eyes had lacrosse sticks strapped to the back of their bags, so maybe I can catch another glimpse of the pale boy.

Wait—what? Why would I do that? I don't even know the dude.

Lydia drags us outside after parting with Jackson but she lets us go once the bleachers are in our line of sight. "So, where did you used to live?" Allison asks as we walk up the bleachers which isn't that tall.

"New York," I answer. "Left a few months into my freshmen year and now, here I am again."

Her attention is pulled away by Puppy Eyes after that. Aw, they would make such a cute couple. And the feelings part won't be any trouble with all the staring and heart eyes. They aren't exactly discreet about it. My attention is pulled to Buzz Cut who is sitting on the bench, his back to me. What is it about him? I'm certain we've never met before and yet he seems so familiar.

I sit next to her with Lydia on her other side who doesn't notice that our eyes are fixated on two boys. But my eyes go back to Allison as she asks Lydia, "Who is that?" Lydia looks at Puppy Eyes who is now in the goal.

"Him? I'm not sure who he is. Why?"

"He's in my English class. So is the boy Mary Anne was staring at a few moments ago."

My lips part in shock as Allison calls me out, my cheeks heating up as Lydia looks at me with narrowed eyes. "What boy?" She questions.

"He's on the bench; buzz cut," Allison answers for me.

Her eyes search the bench until landing on the only guy with a buzz cut. "Really?" She asks me, a little judgmentally. I close my mouth and shrug helplessly. I cannot have feelings thing for a guy I've never met before... Right? I mean, I guess that's the case with crushes on celebrities and fictional characters, but I've barely spoken to the guy.

The whistle is blown and I look back at the field, avoiding Lydia's scrutinizing eyes. I look just in time to see the ball hit Puppy Eyes helmet, falling back into the net. I wince a little while almost everyone else laughs, including Coach Finstock. I loved the guy last year with his eccentric personality, but sometimes he can be a dick.

He gets up, holding the stick tightly and the next guy is tossed the ball and runs to shoot, flicking the stick and I know many people are expecting Puppy Eyes to miss, but surprisingly, he caught it effortlessly. Even he seemed surprised by it. I can't help but smile at the turn of events.

After that, he keeps catching the balls, so easily that it seems like he's been playing for years. Buzz Cut, probably his best friend, cheers along with other people who started to do it. "He seems like he's pretty good," Allison comments.

"Very good," I say the same time as Lydia.

Jackson then stops the guy in front, pretty angry. Oh God, he's still the egotistical kid I knew before New York. Hopefully, Puppy Eyes will catch it and one-up Jackson. I sit on the edge of my seat as Jackson starts running, jumping as he shoots the ball. And he caught it!

I shoot up the same time as Lydia, cheering. Buzz Cut is also standing, arms open and moving a little spastically as he whoops. "That is my friend!" He yells even though no one really noticed it. But he looks back and our eyes meet, both of us freezing. A little smile plays on his lips, hand raised a little in an awkward wave like this morning. Smiling genuinely, I return the gesture.

Realizing that I had noticed him, he blushes dark enough for me to see from up here. I look away after a few moments, so it wouldn't get awkward or something... Well, even more awkward. But my eyes land on Allison, who is smirking up at me. "What?" I mumble, sitting back down.

"Nothing," she shrugs off. "Just noticing that you were staring at him again."

I can feel my cheeks heating up again, eyes darting down to my knees before looking back at Allison whose smirk turned into a warm smile. "Maybe either of you could gather the courage to ask the other out?" She suggests.

"Maybe not," Lydia comments just as Coach blows the whistle, meaning practice was over. "Mary Anne, the point of you coming back here was to move on and you should, preferably, go out with a hot lacrosse player. Or at least dabble a little, meet different people."

I don't respond as we get up and start leaving. She was right; I came back to get over someone. But I'm not going to hook up with some douche who'll only want me for sex. Buzz Cut seems like a better option, although what Lydia is suggesting isn't even an option. And even though I don't even know him, the feeling I got when our fingertips brushed in English is something totally new for me, and it definitely wasn't a static shot. I've never felt it before.

Maybe this is a good thing.