The cafe was warm, as soon as I stepped inside I felt my cheeks heat more. I gazed around at the cafe, my stomach spinning circles. Were they here? Was I too early? Did they decide not to come and I'd be sitting on my own for an hour and a half.

Luckily, Jayce saved me once again when they spotted me, waving from a window seat.

I sat quietly And smiled as they introduced me to their friends. There was Simon; who i'd already met before, and Yasmin, a tall gangly girl with dark skin and too many piercings in her ears, and Cameron, who had short blond hair. They were nice. Not as good as Ollie and Jessa, but they were nice. And that was something.

We bonded over how differently I said things.

"So, you say bAth whereas we say bARth."

"Gravy? On chips? The most gross thing ever."

"So, where is Sheffield? By Yorkshire? Where's that?"

"You play piano?" Cameron Asked once we'd exhausted all the words I say differently.

On the whole, as meeting new friends go, it was okay. These guys knew each other better than they knew me, but they went to college to meet knew people and I was a new person. I was just grateful. Jayce obviously led this group of non-musical people, and Cameron clearly fancied Simon, and that was adorable. It was strange to see two people so open about their sexuality; Cameron even carried around a rainbow over the shoulder bag. I thought it was adorable, though, he stared adoringly while she described how naff their old performing arts facilities were.

"So, why did you move all the way down here?" Asked Yasmin, stirring around her hot choclate.

"My dad got made redundant. He couldn't find another job up north."

Yasmin looked up at me with genuine sympathy. "That sucks." The rest of the table made supportive noise over the foams of their drinks.

I sniffed and nodded, then checked my watch. "What've you guys got next? I got music."

Cue a frantic rustling of paper as everyone tried to figure it out.

"Biology."

"Further maths."

"Art."

"Music!" Simon squealed, reaching across the table to excitedly clutch my hand. My heart melted in relief. There was going to be a friend in my class!

Jayce stood up and checked their watch. "we better get going, then. I like being five minutes early, and we got ten minutes to get to school."

~~~

I lugged Simon's guitar down the corridor, away from our music class. We weren't using instruments today, but Simon wanted to keep his guitar here for tomorrow's lesson. And me, being such a push-over, didn't object when he asked me to put his away.

I pushed through the door, Simon's guitar clattering against the frame. And that's when I saw her.

Such pretty eyes. That's the first thing I noticed about her. Only Disney princesses and old nans complimented the eyes, but i didn't care at that point. A mix of light caramel - almost fudge, and coco, with a fleck or two of gold. God, i was so gay.

cor, she's hot.

She was standing at the back of the room, hand tracing a saxophone. She turned to look at me to see who caused the clatter, and cocked her head, before giving me a small smile.

"Umm, hi," I squeaked. "Is this the place where I put my instruments?"

She was tall, her face was all sharpe angles and striking features, with a dimple in her cheek. Short, almost-black hair that flopped into her eyes in a pixie cut, with caramel skin and pink cheeks. She was wearing a leather jacket indoors, but it only added to her look.

"Yeah," her voice was smooth, and i could feel my face getting redder with the second. She hopped over a package that looked like drums, and offered her hand. For a second, i went to grab her hand, then i jerked with realisation. My rash flared as i handed her the guitar nervously.

"Thanks." i said. "Do... do you have music next?" i was nervous. Did she even want to talk to me right now?

But she just smiled, her dark-lipped, perfect-teeth smile. "Yeah," her hand crept up to the back of her head and she scratched. "I- um.. my mate was supposed to meet me here, but i think he ditched on me."

I didn't reply, or react to her whatsoever, i just kept staring at her face, slightly taller than me, in a mix of admiration and pure awe. Kind of a dumb move, as she waited for me to react.

"I'm Mila." She held out her hand.

I clasped her hand in mine, my hand - cold and sweaty at the same time. But she didn't notice - or care, about my temperature problems. "I'm Spencer, do you wanna walk back with me?"

Mila blinked. "Nah, I won't, Pennie." my heart sank, but then i brightened at the nickname. "I'm just gonna bunk." she stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"What instrument do you play?" i was desperate to keep this conversation going.

Mila's curly hair flipped into her eye and she glanced away. "Saxophone. It's kinda stupid."

"No!" i said, maybe a little loud and quickly. "I- I really like jazz music." i tried to give her my best reassuring smile, but it probably just looked like a grimace. "But, like, Jazz Band Jazz Music." Yep, it was official, I, Spencer Rodgers, am officially the worst person at human interaction in the world.

But, she just laughed, and I puffed the fringe from my eye.

"Okay, you win. I'll come to class."