AUGUST

There he was. Beautiful as always. And just like the year before, and the year before that, I was staring from afar. Where he couldn't see me.

I sighed, propping my head against my hand while admiring the tall senior from way back in the classroom. The back of class was safest to sit so there was no one behind me to catch me staring like I have done every year since ninth grade. That's when I first laid eyes on Zade Ruiz.

I bit my bottom lip as Zade laughed at something one of his friends said. My free hand on my desk, drummed lightly in timing with my day dreaming. It was the first day of homeroom, where the teacher would go over some less-than-thrilling speech about this being a new year and to embrace it with new opportunities. However, this homeroom class in particular had Mr. Broden.

Mr. Broden wasn't a very enthusiastic man and never had been the past three years. So to bribe his students into letting him sit at his desk and read the newest edition of the women's swimsuit magazine behind his newspaper (we all knew it was there), Mr. Broden allowed his students to do anything they wanted as long as they kept it within reason and not leaving the classroom.

And so here I was, doing what I always did for the first thirty minutes of my school day every year.

Three months into my freshman year, Mr. Broden was hidden behind his newspaper and the class was chattering away until the door opened. Never saw my homeroom teacher jump out of his seat so fast before. His eyes bulged at the open doorway, his hands frantically using the crumpled newspaper to hide the magazine.

When I shifted my attention from my frantic teacher to the door, I felt like time stopped. There was a boy there, hand still on the door knob with an eyebrow raised suspiciously at Mr. Broden. He side glanced at the rest of us students, staring back at him.

There was this sudden warm feeling in my chest, my heart beating a bit faster. Mr. Broden, once he realized it was just a student, straightened and stuck his chin up into the air. "May I help you, young man?" he asked through a narrowed gaze.

The boy introduced himself as Zade Ruiz, and that he was a transfer student. The sound of his voice was like melted butter.

My gaze followed him present a yellow paper Mr. Broden scanned a moment before nodding and welcoming his new student. Then he waved for Zade to find an open seat for the remainder of the homeroom period before the teacher sat back down and was already straightening out his newspaper.

While the other students went back to chattering, Zade scanned for an open seat. His brown eyes looking around until they stopped near where I was. My eyes widened, slowly shifting my gaze beside me where there was the only empty seat left. My eyes got wider, snapping my focus back to the new boy already making his way around the other students and heading this way.

Gulping, I faced forward, focusing on the whiteboard. I sensed him sit down and he was looking around.

On my right, where I was talking to Yolie a minute ago, I sneaked a look her way and she was already looking at me with a grin on her face. Yolie's eyes widened a little, wiggling her eyebrows up and down then mouthed, "He's cute."

I scrunched my nose before taking a peek to the left at the new boy. To my horror, he caught me. He looked up from rummaging through his backpack and caught gazes with me. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the smile he gave me then introduced himself, his hand out towards me.

Staring at him, unable to say a word, I was grateful for the light shove behind me from Yolie before I stammered, "Um, Daisy! My name—I'm Daisy." I hoped he wouldn't notice how shaky my hand was when I reached out to take his. That tingling feeling of warmth came back to me once more, shooting all the way down to my fingertips. The beating tempo of my heartbeat skyrocketed.

When he released my hand, that feeling was still there. I didn't know what it was but it only ever happened because of this boy. I lingered on Zade a bit longer before he looked behind me when Yolie introduced herself, reaching around me to offer a handshake. Zade shook her hand, nodding with a smile that made me melt.

For the rest of the homeroom period, I was quietly sitting at my desk, a bundle of nerves the entire time, while Yolie—the big talker she was—had a full on conversation with Zade. And when the bell rang, everyone started packing up, rearranging the desks upon instruction from Mr. Broden.

Zade stood up, hooking his backpack onto his shoulder and took a few steps down the aisle but then stopped, facing me again. I froze, mesmerized by the smile he offered as he says, "It was nice meeting you, Daisy. Hope to see you around." And then he was gone.

Remembering that day, I groaned, shutting my eyes as I bowed my head and hit my forehead a bit harder than I intended on my desk. That day in ninth grade still haunted me. I was not a shy person by any means but that day I might as well have been a total recluse. And I regret every bit of what happened after that first day.

Because of how nervous he made me, I had changed my seat in homeroom, sitting in the back so that weird feeling Zade gave me wouldn't happen again. I'd been sitting in my new seat when Zade walked in and that nervous feeling started up again. Zade had looked in the direction he sat yesterday and frowned, his gaze scanning the room while his mouth pursed to the side.

'Was he looking for me?' I wondered. Just as I plucked up the courage to wave my hand around and call him over, Yolie beat me to the punch.

Yolie waved Zade over and patted the top of the desk beside her—my old desk. I noticed Zade looked around the room once more before seeing me at the back of the class. He stared at me for a moment longer but then I dropped my gaze, my face feeling hot from those beautiful chocolate eyes and I waited a few minutes before looking up again. Disappointment flooded me that Zade was now engaged in conversation with Yolie for the entire period. So much for being my friend, I thought about Yolie, who was playfully touching the new boy's arm whenever she laughed.

As the weeks went on, Zade started making other friends in homeroom and in other classes that I shared with him. And for the next two years, I suffered in silence at the number of girls who were vocal in how much they liked Zade. His popularity was growing so quickly with how athletic and academically brilliant he was. He was perfect.

"What's the matter with you?" I heard from in front of me.

Unbothered that my forehead was probably red from how hard it hit the desk, I rolled my head to the side, peeling an eye open at Yolie. The dark haired girl raised her eyebrows, neck craned forward as she waited for my response. I groaned and sat up, letting out a longer than necessary sigh while peering across the room again when laughter broke out.

Without a word needed, Yolie tipped her head back and said, "Aaaaaah, this is another 'Woe's-me-because-I-missed-an-opportunity-with-Zade' meltdown."

I shot Yolie a look, scoffing as I craned my neck forward. "It is not!" then grumbled under my breath, "And it's not a meltdown." I glanced at my friend who rolled her eyes before crossing her arms, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, please," Yolie snorted. "You've been my best friend for a few years now, Daisy, that I can tell when you are having your goopy moments over Zade."

"Where are you getting these ridiculous names for my feelings?" I wondered out loud, watching her flip her hair off her shoulder.

Yolie reached over and tapped me on the nose, ignoring my question, while raising her brows as she shook her head. "Don't change the subject, Daisy."

Shoving my friend's hand out of the way, I closed my eyes and groaned again. I did that every time I thought about that first day of school three years ago... and every day since.

"Why don't you just talk to him, Daisy?" I could hear the exhausted tone in her voice as she sat beside me.

My eyes snapped open and gave Yolie an incredulous look. Shaking my head, I scoffed,"Talk to him? Talk?!"

I ignored the way Yolie leaned back and rolled her eyes upward as she muttered, "Here we go..." and instead I explained how I couldn't even look at Zade without turning into a pile of mush. How every time I thought about going over to talk to Zade, I'd freeze up and that all these embarrassing scenarios would pop into my head. By the time I had finished, I looked back at an unimpressed Yolie. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head that she just didn't get it and never would.

The snort from Yolie was unattractive, making me glance irritably her way, before she replied, "What's not to get? You, Daisy Fairhaven, are in love with Zade Ruiz and lack the balls to tell him because that would make you look totally psycho after all these years of not talking to him."

"I'm not psycho, Yolie!" I bit back, glancing around the room to make sure other students weren't listening in on the conversation. I faced my friend with her still unimpressed look. I groaned with a sighed, "Okay... Maybe I am in love with Zade. But it's not like I'll ever be able to tell him! It's our senior year, and say that by some miracle, or whatever, that he happens to like me back. What then? We'd only have this year to be together.... why? Because of college, that's why."

"So?" Yolie frowned, tilting her head.

"So? So... We'd be going to different colleges and he'll end up meeting someone else who's totally at his level, and then he'll break up with me, that's what!" I shrugged, my nose scrunching. "I remember overhearing that he was applying to Duke University. And—well, come on, Yolie. I can't get into that school! I don't have the brains for it!"

My friend lowered a brow, raising the other as I stared back at her with a pout.

"I don't have the extra curricular activities that I should other than dance," I whined. "I am barely up to par with my GPA as a 3.0. And that was with me trying really, really, hard!" I sat back heavily in my seat, groaning out that Zade was part of the football team for the past two, now three years, and that alone was going to get him a potential scholarship to the school he wanted. "I don't stand a chance," I pouted.

There was a mind-blowing sting swiped across my face out of nowhere and I gasped, "Ow!" while cradling my cheek. I glanced at some of my classmates staring at us, Zade's group included, before I turned away and narrowed my eyes at Yolie.

"What the hell was that for?!" I looked down at my hand then placed it on my cheek again. "That really hurt..."

"Good. Maybe it'll knock some sense into you," Yolie quipped.

I squinted my eyes, shaking my head. "Wha...?"

Rolling her eyes, Yolie sat up and leaned on her arms to get closer and lowered her voice. "Look... It's your senior year. And you are one of—if not the most— popular girl in school. Do you honestly think you don't stand a chance to at least give it a try to tell Zade how you feel? I mean, don't go crazy and tell him that you are in love with him—because that would just creep anyone out after not even having a simple conversation the past years, but at least you can see where you stand. You never know, Zade's had the same classes with you for the past three years, he has to have noticed you once."

I pursed my mouth to the side, biting my lip as I was contemplating my friend's words. The more I thought about it, the more I realized my best friend was right. I am one of the most popular girls in school; the one everyone liked to talk to, so why should Zade be any different? My popularity was based on my wealthy background, but hell, most of the kids in this private school had money. My family just happened to be way up there.

I bit my lip again, chewing on it tentatively while my gaze looked to Zade. His brows furrowed, nodding slowly at something one of his friends was saying before that curl of the corner of his lip tugged upward.

Oh, how I wished Zade would smile at me like that! I'd be in heaven to know that the most sought after boy in our year couldn't take his eyes off me.

'But Yolie is right,' I thought to myself.

It was my last year of high school. Now was the time to pull me up and be brave for once in trying to win over Zade Ruiz. I was sure that we'd have some of the same classes again just as we did every year. I could probably sit next to him and his friends... or—or maybe talk to some of his friends about him? Would that be too obvious? Probably.

Looking to Yolie who was raising her brows, waiting for an answer, I grinned, nodding that she was right and that this was going to be my year.

"This is it, Yolie!" I proclaimed, looking over at Zade rising out of his seat as the bell rang to dismiss us. "This is the year I finally tell him how I feel."

My best friend and I rose out of our seats, following the herd out of the classroom and into the hallway.

Yolie inquired how exactly I'd be getting Mr. Popular's attention as she nodded in the direction of where Zade was now standing by the lockers with his friends. A few girls who were passing by smiled and cooed, "Hiiiiii, Zaaade!"

The senior boy turned his head, grinning and nodded, "Morning, Ladies," before facing his friends who all teased him with a mimicked "Hi, Zade!".

I lifted my chin, glancing at Yolie waiting for my brilliant plan. Instead, I just shrugged a shoulder, flipping my hair off my shoulder when my confidence was boosted. "You'll just have to wait and see," I told her before I started down the hall.

Through my peripherals, Yolie narrowed her eyes, watching me until she pursed her lips. I frowned, glancing her way before her lip curled and she shook her head, grumbling, "You have no idea what to do... do you?"

I reeled in my lips, staring straight ahead before sighing, "Not a clue."

"Oh, lawd..."

"Hey!" I frowned at my best friend and told her that I was going to come up with something. That things like this just took time.

"Well just don't take too much time, Daisy. I know I'm encouraging you to tell him how you feel, but just remember if you take too long or don't do it the right way, Zade just might get away from you. Or worse... he'll be snagged."

"Ugh..." I scoffed, shaking my head, looking ahead of me as I replied that wasn't going to happen. Not this year. "And besides," I reminded Yolie. "Zade's never had a girlfriend since he's been here at Cedar Prep. So I have nothing to worry about."

Yolie grinned, chuckling, "Except exactly that point: Zade's never had a girlfriend. What's gonna change now?"

I stopped walking, frowning at the floor then at Yolie. She raised her brows with a smug look. Rolling my eyes, I grumbled, "Whatever," and walked away although I could hear Yolie shout over the sea of students, "Tick-tock, Daisy Fairhaven! Tick-Tock!"