Ugh! The hallway was scattered with books and paper. I could do without my French textbook, I guess, because I wasn't about to be part of the clean up efforts. Especially not when people rushing to get to class were kicking things like that awful sweater around. Um... that sweater... was my hideously cute floral sweater.

"What?" Why was my sweater on the end of that guy's shoe?

"No!" I pushed the boy in front of me about to step on the picture of Kamillah and I. It should have been taped inside my locker door, which was wide open, not a thing remaining inside.

"My stuff! What the hell?!"

Don't cry. Do. Not. Cry. I yanked my things up, bulldozing my way through people, like if I moved fast, I wouldn't have time for tears. Just for the heck of it, kids were shoving things out of my reach as I got to them. Didn't they know I was Amara Pierce?

"Stop touching my stuff!" I shrieked, anger bubbling out of me in a way I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to. Dammit, now they were probably all looking at me like I was a nut job. "Ugh! Just get in!" I muttered frustrated, jamming things back into the locker.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I near-jumped out of my skin.

"You okay?"

I didn't trust my voice, knowing I might cry and make an even bigger fool of myself. Don't do it, Amara.

"Hey man, can you pass me that stuff?" Holland. I could see his concerned face in my locker mirror laying on the floor between us.

I managed a tiny smile; he didn't seem so scary right then. Handing me some of my things, he moved on to another part of the hallway.

"You alright?" He checked again when he returned, "I think this is all of it."

"Yeah." I said after swallowing down all the emotions trying to claw their way up my throat. "Thanks for helping."

"No problem. I don't really like fourth period anyway."

He could have left while I tried to force my locker shut, but he remained in place while I struggled. After a minute, he leaned over me onto the door so I could lock it. I think I had it wrong; I was worrying about him for no reason at all. He seemed far too nice to be trying to kill anyone.

I grinned and looked up at him. "Are you following me, Holland Ryan?"

"Maybe you're following me, Amara Pierce."

Damn, I liked his smile, even though it was smug! No. None of this Amara! I jutted my hip and chin and pointed at my locker with all the sass I had in me.

With a nod, he pointed to a class a few doors down. "I just got out of Mod West. I come out of that room every day after third period, I've never seen you here before."

"I come through this hallway, and stop at this locker, every day before fourth period. I've never seen you either..." I challenged, before a realisation came to mind. "But, I guess you don't really notice someone you don't know."

He shrugged, and as he left I caught his grin. "I still think you're following me, Amara."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself!" I ducked my head to hide my smile. I'd much rather he believe I was put off by him, than flirting with him. Which I might have been. Because maybe I wanted him to have nothing to do with whatever this evil note situation was.

Damn, Amara, hold yourself together girl. All it takes is a pair of bright eyes and a sexy grin and you're falling for a guy you don't even know. You're too easy, Girl!

Shoving thoughts of his butterfly wing inducing smile out of my head, I hurried off to a class I was epically late for. I glanced at the Mod West classroom as I passed and wished there was a way to verify that he was in it. You know, one that didn't make me seem like a complete stalker.

-.-

Meet me at Retro at 6.

I looked at the message for what may have been the hundredth time since just after school let out.

I watched him type it.

In a moment of complete weakness, and because the thought of waiting alone for Gem scared the crap out of me, I allowed Kamillah and Lacey to drag me to the soccer field. The same one where the pre-tournament friendly game the soccer team was hosting was taking place. The same one Holland, in all his sweaty athletic glory, was running last minute drills on.

He looked in our direction once, just once, and I was sure the smarmy grin on his face when he looked away was because he'd seen me. When he dropped onto the bench, for a water break before the game started, he tapped something quick into his phone and then ditched it again before his coach saw.

He could have been messaging anyone, but when my phone beeped, I knew he'd texted me. Over the last couple days, I'd gotten used to opening my phone to messages from him, or at least to pictures of new notes.

I expected to see a smug jab about me following him, especially after the hallway incident earlier. Nope. It was an invitation to a date spot—too classy and pricey to be a decent hangout place. Speculation of why he wanted me there seemed to consume me and as close to six as it was, I tried to decide whether I should show up.

The Wicked Witch of the West theme song filled my car interrupting my thoughts. "What's up Kami?" I asked the holder on my dash, pulling into the nearest parking lot. "I'm driving."

"Where to?"

"Kami," I growled at her saccharine tone, glad she couldn't see me digging my makeup pouch from my purse. "Get to the point."

"I saw the message you got during the game... Retro?"

Pausing, I cursed the fact that I'd opened the message in her vicinity; she missed nothing. "I was hoping you hadn't seen that."

"Holland, right? You going?"

"No." Even though I was sitting in a parking lot very close to Retro, with my makeup bag in my hand.

"What? Why?"

"I swear I'm being pranked, Kami." Pranked right, as if that were it; how about possibly walking into my own murder?

"Honey! Boys think they're being pranked when you talk to them, not the other way around. Besides, we all saw him text you."

"You saw him use his phone." I corrected, flipping the bag over a few times.

"I saw him use his phone, after that smile when he saw you—yeah, I saw that too. Then, I saw you get a DM from Hollandaze, and I'm pretty sure the whole school calls him Daze." Kamillah paused to bask in her rightness, though I hadn't really known that both boys were the same person.

I coughed out a laugh, "True... but still. What if—?"

"You have a good time? You have a good meal? You have a cute boy to look at, even if he turns out to be more vanilla than vanilla?"

"Fair points... Bye Kami." I hung up before I even finished saying her name, and so I couldn't change my mind, I swung the car out of the parking lot and toward Retro.

Except after my hair and makeup check, I waited on the curb out front for what seemed like forever. Long enough to make me double and triple think my decision to show up. My phone said it was 6:15. Maybe the game ran long? But Kami had been at that game, so it must have been done by now. I could have been halfway through editing a couple of posts in the time he had me waiting for him. I didn't have time for this.

Mad at myself for showing up at a date spot, like some love sick Katie, I decided to leave.

"Amara?"

It wasn't Holland, but I spun around to see a petite blonde who seemed to know me. A fan probably? But, looking past the girl into the restaurant and around the parking lot, I wondered if it had been a set up. Was he actually part of the locker note scheme? Was this girl going to shove me into oncoming traffic or something? With my mind spinning, I looked at the girl and asked the most ridiculous question considering who I was. "How do you know me?"

"Oh good, you are Amara!"

She worked there, I realised, and she'd probably been sent to give me a message. "Let me guess, he's not coming?"

"Oh! No, that's not... I'm Carly. Follow me."

Carly did not go back into the restaurant, but around the side of the building, and I followed curiously. It wasn't until she smiled at me over her shoulder that I began to relax; I knew fake, and that wasn't it.

"One question, how'd you know it was me?" I asked, closing the gap between us.

"You were the only gorgeous edgy girl standing out there."

That— Oh. He said... Surprised and confused, I chewed on a corner of my lip. I was at Retro, and he said... and why was I going towards an open door in the alley behind the restaurant?

"Here we are." Carly waved me in, and without allowing myself a second to back out, I did.

-.-

What is Amara walking into?