"Lemme check your class schedule so I can take you to class." Gen said, and peered over her shoulder at the paper in her hands.

"Ah I see. Your first lesson is actually the same as mine. Maths with Mrs Hadree." She informed her in an excited tone.

Erica faked a small smile. This girl was being super nice to her, and yet she still wanted to get away. It wasn't that she didn't like this girl, it was more about her still feeling awkward at the moment.

Despite these feelings, she would make an effort with the girl, who knew, she may even make a great friend out of it.

A great friend was something that she had never had before. Back in her home town, she had been the least popular person in the whole school and those who claimed to be her friend often did things that were not very friendly.

"Now I should warn you about the rowdy boys in our class. Well...Dawson isn't so bad, it's Ryder, Chad, Trevor and Mark you gotta look out for." Gen informed her.

She responded with a nod as they ventured further, then reached the classroom. She had no idea who her new friend was talking about, but she decided to go along with it anyway. Though she would much rather be at home in her room, listening to her Walkman while writing poetry, and no she didn't mean the new house. She meant her real home in Conrad.

"Thanks for the warning." She managed to say.

"No problem." Gen replied.

Inside the classroom was quite small and everyone was sat down at desks that were aligned perfectly in rows of six. There were only three empty spaces.

At the same time that Erica noticed this, the door opened behind them, and a boy walked through, almost pushing past the two of them in order to get to his seat.

He sat in one of the three empty seats.

"Ignore that cretin. Come on, let's get sat down before the teacher arrives in class." Gen said, and guided her towards the two empty seats.

Unfortunately for her, she got the seat that was right next to the one belonging to the boy who had pushed past them. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she took in the sight of him.

He was slouched in his chair, his dark brown hair a little over grown and messy, falling into his chocolate coloured eyes. He was dressed the exact way you would expect someone like him to dress.

A plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark grayish colour jeans, a black leather jacket hung from the back of his chair too and he appeared to be chewing gum.

"Excuse me darl, can I help you?" She heard a male voice say.

Up until then, she had not realised that she was staring at him. The voice, which she now realised came from him, had broken her out of the daze she had slipped into.

"What? No!...Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." She apologised, feeling stupid.

"That's okay, a pretty face like yours can stare all you want." He said with a smirk on his face.

She could feel the heat in her cheeks as soon as the words left his lips. What an odd thing to say to someone you didn't know. Then again, this was high school.

"The name's Ryder by the way." He informed her, quickly after his last statement.

"Good...I uh...I mean Erica. My name is Erica." She stuttered.

Oh how embarrassing this was for her. She felt as though she was making a complete fool of herself.

Luckily before anymore conversation could take place, the teacher entered the room with a folder and sheet of paper in her arms.

"Good morning class, today we have a new student joining us. Is there a Miss...Erica Atwood among us?" The teacher asked, her eyes scanning the class full of students.

Erica raised her hand half way into the air. Instantly the teacher noticed.

"Excellent! Welcome the class Miss Atwood. I do hope that the rest of you will do your best to make her feel welcome." Mrs Hadree said, speaking first to Erica, then to the rest of the class.

A few members of the class chuckled before the teacher silenced them in order to begin the lesson.

That's just great, she thought to herself. Her significant decline in popularity had most likely followed her from Conrad, all the way to California.

"Psst." Gen whispered. Erica did not hear at first.

"Psst." She whispered again, a tad louder than before.

"What?" She whispered back, trying to stay under the radar of the teacher.

"Girrrlll what are you thinking? I told you to steer clear of...of...you know...that!" She exclaimed in a whisper, nodding her head towards Ryder, who was doodling on his eraser.

"I'm not....we will have this conversation later." She whispered back, not knowing what else to say.

With that being said, she turned her attention back to Mrs Hadree at the front of the class, and tried her hardest to keep it there and not drift back towards the conversation with Genevive, or in the direction of Ryder.

It was a difficult task though, since maths was pretty much the most boring subject in the history of subjects. Several times throughout the lesson, she found her eyes drifting off in his direction, and each time she caught herself, she instantly tore her eyes away and scolded herself for losing focus.

At one point he caught her eyes drifting towards him, and had the audacity to wink at her followed with a smirk. It had made her feel extremely awkward but she had to keep her cool because she did not want to draw any unwanted attention to herself on her first day.

"You and I should hang out sometime." Ryder leaned over and whispered in her ear.

She was absolutely mortified, and she didn't know what to say to him. Of course she wanted to make friends, but surely Gen had warned her off of him for a reason. Unless that reason was fear because she had a thing for him. Only time would tell.

"Uhh...sure." She stammered.

He then winked at her again instead of responding in words. She shifted a little in her seat, willing the class to end. As soon as that bell rang, she would be out of the room, faster than a bullet.

Unfortunately for her though, the hour seemed to drag by. Each minute passing painfully slow.

The whole lesson consisted of her enduring Ryder smirking at her and occasionally winking, Gen scolding her for even looking at him, and the teacher mumbling something about the times tables.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bell rang for the next class of the day.

Getting up from her seat, she checked the schedule that was in her arms. It informed her that her next class was English with Mr Arthurs. Not knowing who else to ask, she turned to Genevive,

"Where is this?" She asked.

"Oh. That sucks that we're not in the next class together. That is the first door on the left upstairs." Genevive explained, a disappointed look across her face.

Once Gen left the room, she began to head off to her next class. As she was walking down the halls, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around, almost too quickly for her eyes and head to keep up, and saw Ryder stood before her.

"I have to get to class." She stated, hoping that he would accept that and either make it quick or let her go off to class.

"I know. So do I. Let's just say I overheard you and Gen talking, and as it turns out, I'm in the same class as you." He explained quickly, before she could get annoyed.

"Oh." Was all she could say in response.

"Don't act too excited. Nah I totally get it, you don't want to cause too much attention, so you're keeping your excitement low key." He assumed, both his tone and facial expression cocky.

"Why would I be excited?" She asked as she began to walk up the stairs, and he walked along side her.

"New school. New social life....you're really not used to people talking to you like this are you doll face?" He quizzed, speaking almost too fast for her to be able to keep up.

"Well...not really. No." She answered awkwardly.

She couldn't quite pin point it, but there was something about him that made her freeze up. It often led to her saying something embarrassing or just completely feeling awkward when someone stirred that reaction in her.

There was something about him that seemed to challenge her, and cause her to question herself. Maybe within time she could work out exactly what that was.

Whatever it was, this next hour with the only familiar person being him, should definitely be interesting. She could only hope that nothing too dramatic would go down.