The day passed in a blur of teachers, books, and lessons. I already had homework, and this was just day one.

It didn't bode well for the rest of the year.

I always did my homework on time and I was one of the straight-A students, but I hated studying. It always drove me to draw more, and that took away all the time I generally devoted to Susan and Larry and George.

Sadly, those had been the only people I called my friends up to that point.

The final bell rang and Mario and I headed to our locker. George and Dan were waiting for us. Once Mario and I were ready, the four of us headed over to Starbucks. I glanced nervously at Mario and Dan when we went inside, wondering if they could afford it. I knew that most of the students were able to, whether it was because they had jobs after school or because their parents made a lot, but there were some that had a lot less.

Me, well... Dad and Aunt Millie made a bit and Mom would send me money sometimes.

While I watched, Mario pulled out his wallet and I glimpsed a lot of money inside. I nearly made a little noise, but I looked away before he knew I'd seen.

Not poor, then.

I wondered if he had a job over the summer or if he maybe had a job after school. After all, that amount of money wasn't exactly normal for a high school student.

Once we all had our coffees, we found a table and started on our homework. It wasn't exactly the most fun after school activity, but at least we could get it out of the way. Well, some of it. We usually goofed around or simply hung out too much to get it all done.

Less than ten minutes after we sat down, three guys came through the door and began ordering coffee. They called out to George, who put his arm around the back of my chair and waved. I smiled and nodded at them. Dan turned around and grinned at the guys, giving them a friendly nod.

Mario's eyes were on me. I tried to ignore him, but, for the first time of many, I found it impossible. It would have been easier for me to go to sleep after drinking three double-espressos than to ignore him. I found myself looking back, meeting his eyes. They seemed to drill into me as he studied me. All that had passed was a couple of moments before he looked away, but it felt longer.

I nearly shivered when he did.

George looked over at me and I quickly smiled at him. His friends were on their way over to the table. "Babe, you remember everyone, right?"

I blushed when he called me 'babe', nodding with a smile. "Of course."

He kissed the top of my head and introduced them to Mario as they slid a table and chairs closer and sat. "These are some of my buddies. The blond guy is Harvey, the guy over there is Justin, and that's Kevin."

Harvey was blond with brown eyes and reminded me faintly of Ross Lynch. Justin had dark hair and green eyes that were accentuated by his boyish facial features, and those features were made handsome by his defined jawline. Kevin had darker skin and black hair accompanied by brown eyes. He wasn't a lot different in the face than Justin. If it wasn't for the difference in skin tones and their builds – Justin was tall but a bit stocky while Calvin was towering and thin with visible muscles in his arms – they'd look related.

Dan eagerly introduced himself while Mario did so a bit more reluctantly. I noticed the way he also kept eyeing them, as if he knew something about them that we didn't. We stayed for a long while there at Starbucks before I finally I told everyone I had to go. George offered to give me a ride, but, after finding out they were only a couple of blocks from my house, Mario and Dan ended up taking me home.

We drove in silence for a while before Dan spoke up. "Bro, I need to go straight home. I don't feel too great. Sorry, Daisy."

I shook my head. "It's okay."

Mario, who was driving, glanced over. "Coffee?"

"No, I think it was the wheat." His stomach made a noise.

Mario nodded and sped up a little. A couple of turns later and he was pulling up to a light blue house similar to mine. Dan jumped out and I got in the front seat of the black Toyota.

"Is Dan okay?" I asked after Mario had backed out.

"He will be. He just had problems with gluten and, sometimes, coffee."

"Ah. Susan's older brother is like that."

"Who?"

"Susan Young. She was one of the kids we played with."

He thought a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I don't remember her." He glanced at me. "You're friends, huh?"

"Yep. We didn't become friends until later, though. She's dating a Drama guy named Don. You'll see them tomorrow. They'll be at lunch."

"Why weren't they there today?"

I shrugged. "He's in Drama and she is, too, because of him. They miss lunch the first day and every week afterwards they miss lunch on Tuesday and Thursday."

"Patrons of the arts." He nodded appreciatively, moving his hand back to the wheel. "I respect that." I studied him out the corner of my eye as he pulled into my driveway. He looked over at me as he put the car in park. "What?"

I turned to him. "What?"

"You keep watching me. Have been all day, in fact."

I raised an eyebrow. "I could say the same thing about you, Mario."

His lips twitched when I said his name. "All I've been doing is figuring you out."

"What have you garnered so far?"

He cut the engine and turned so he was leaning against his door. "While you like George and you are excited to go out with him, you also seem to be embarrassed when he shows affection for you."

I raised one eyebrow. He was attentive, but he was also wrong. "I don't get embarrassed."

Mario smiled a little. "Maybe not, but you look like you are."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Anything else."

He studied me a moment before replying. "Not really."

I looked at him and found his eyes waiting for me. The car felt like it was heating up the longer I held his gaze. I abruptly looked away. "Do you want to come in?" I blurted, not sure why I asked.

He fiddled with his keys a moment, as if debating, before pulling them out. "Sure. Why not?"

I could think of a few reasons, but I kept them to myself. We got out and I led him up the steps then inside the house. "Larry?" I called. I heard some footsteps and then Larry was coming down the stairs.

He looked at me and Mario. "Hey, Daze. Who's your friend?"

"Larry, this is Mario Lopez. We share a locker. Mario, this is my older brother, Larry."

Larry shook his hand as he got to the bottom step. "I thought maybe you were George."

Mario raised an eyebrow and looked at me. I blushed. "He's never met George."

Larry crossed his arms. "We never have the same lunch, so I've never had the pleasure. Plus, George isn't the most social type," he said flatly, shooting me a look.

There was a very good reason I hadn't brought George around: while I liked him a lot, I wasn't sure if I would date him. That was going to change now that I was, though. "You'll meet him soon. I promise." I shook my head at Larry. "Ignore him," I told Mario.

Mario gave me a tight smile before turning to Larry. "You're a senior this year, right?"

Larry nodded. "That's right."

"Then you probably met my brother and sister, Jimmy and Maria Lopez. They're also seniors."

Larry thought a moment. "You mean the twins?" Mario nodded. "Ah. I only met your brother. He has the locker next to mine." He leaned on the wall. "So, you have a sister in my grade?"

Mario's eyes narrowed. "Yes."

Larry nodded. "Okay. I'll probably meet her tomorrow. Is she and Jimmy, like, super close?"

"Of course. Why?"

He shook his head. "Just a question. Hey, do you play basketball?"

"A little," Mario said, nodding. He had just a hint of an accent. I wanted to hear more.

"Up for one-on-one?"

"Sure," Mario said. Larry, grinning, grabbed his ball from the hall closet and went outside. Mario and I followed.

They were playing the best of five. One basket each into the game, Larry took off his shirt and gave it to me. I pinched it between two fingers and sat it inside. When I came out, Mario had taken his off and was putting it in his car. I took up my spot near the goal again. It gave me a good vantage point to see Mario's abs. A nice six-pack. A few baskets later and he caught me looking. Larry was dribbling, talking about how I should have seen Mario's elbow just before his last shot.

Mario looked at me and grinned, a real smile that touched his eyes. He glanced down at himself and I felt myself flush. When our eyes met again, he winked at me. Startled, I glanced at Larry, who was too busy ranting to see what had happened. For once I was grateful for his passion, if only because he was too focused to notice.

George flickered in my mind and I felt myself really flush. I shouldn't think about Mario while I had George. For a brief moment, I was ashamed of myself. That wasn't who I was, or the values I was raised with. For the rest of the game, I didn't even look at Mario. It was the best I could do. I watched Larry as he ran around instead.

This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Mario. I could feel his eyes on me as he beat my brother. They finished the game and I took a deep breath, announcing Mario had won.

"Ugh!" Larry shouted. "You're kidding me!"

I shook my head, smiling. "Sorry, big brother, but Mario beat you."

He shook a finger at me. "You're just saying that because he's new."

"No, Larry – he really beat you."

Larry threw up his hands and then turned to Mario and shook his hand. "Well, congratulations. How does it feel to know you beat someone from the basketball team?"

Mario raised his eyebrows. "Pretty good, you know?"

"Don't let it go to your head," I told him. "Larry hasn't been on the team for a year. He was given the boot."

"Ya, and I don't get that," he told me as he walked towards the house. "I was great!"

"You were just beaten by someone that's not on the team," I reminded Larry. "That doesn't speak too well about your moves on the court." I turned to Mario, who was watching me intently. "Have you ever played on a team? I think you'd make our team, no problem."

He shrugged and turned away. "No, but I'll think about it. Amanda played last year at our old school. I would take turns with the rest of my family playing with her." He glanced at his car. "I should probably head home. I still have a lot of homework to do."

I nodded. "Me too. See you tomorrow." He nodded and went to his car.

Larry, who I hadn't seen come closer, spoke from over my shoulder. "He likes you."

I jumped at his voice before turning to him, defensive. "He does not! Why would he, anyway?"

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Daze, have you even looked at yourself in the mirror?"

"I'm not pretty." I crossed my arms. While I had a tan, I was still very light. My hair was about to my shoulder, or a little longer, and light brown. I had natural highlights, so it looked almost copper in the sunlight. The rest of me, well, I was tallish, around five-nine. I was slim, but curvy. I suspected that was what Larry was implying, but I wanted to give him trouble for implying it. My face was freckled and my features didn't fit my face right.

Larry pinched the bridge of his nose. "Daze, please." He sighed and went back inside, sunlight hitting his back, reflected from Mario's windshield as he backed out. I waved at Mario before following Larry back inside. Barely five steps inside and he turned to me again. "Do you like him?"

I frowned. "No," I told him adamantly. "I don't. I like George. He's already planned out our first date for when I turn seventeen."

Larry sighed. "Okay." He looked at me a moment longer before retreating to his room, again blaring Taylor Swift as soon as he stepped inside.

---

Two weeks flew by in a blur of classes, teachers, homework, George's hugs, and Mario's glances. A full stop came one day during the third week of school. George and I were sitting together after school, hanging out at Starbucks like we usually did, and he had his arm around me. It started with him talking about graduation next year.

"That's the one thing that makes me wonder how things could work out," he said.

"You know I don't want to go to college, and there's literally no pressure from my dad or aunt to go," I told him.

He fiddled with his empty cup. "I know. My mom thinks I should, though. I mean, I can see how it's gotta be better for specializing in something, but I don't have anything that really interests me. She says I could take a year off and then go." He shrugged.

"That sounds like a plan," I said, leaning into him. "I mean, we could go to L.A. and chill for a year." He nodded once, but I could tell something was up. "What's wrong?"

He glanced at me. "It's just, I've been thinking about that and it doesn't seem realistic. Neither of us has a job and therefore nothing saved up." He gave me a sidelong glance. "You don't even have a valid license."

I felt my cheeks heat up. That was a problem. "I can drive, though."

"I know, but you still need a license."

"I'm getting one." I felt the need to defend myself. "It's just, well." I shrugged.

"You need to get a job, I know." He sighed. "See? This is what I'm talking about. We don't even have jobs, yet here we are, talking about going to one of the most expensive cities in the US."

I leaned my head on his shoulder and thought about this. "Are you looking for a job?"

He shifted. "Well, I kind of already got one. I start tomorrow at a store over on 29th." He blushed for a reason I couldn't tell.

I only raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay. Well, good. I'll start looking tomorrow, then."

"Not now?"

"You want me to leave?"

He smiled down at me. "Not in the least." He kissed the top of my head. "You can stay exactly where you are."

I smiled to myself. "That's what I thought. I'll go look tomorrow when you're working."

George nodded and rested his cheek on my head for a while. Our homework sat in front of us, waiting for us to do it, but I knew it wasn't getting done just yet. When he sighed contentedly a few moments later, I knew how he felt. I didn't want to leave my spot - or that moment - either.