While he got out and walked around the car to open her door, she had a few moments to pull herself together before he helped her out.

"I saw what happened in the cafeteria today," he murmured, pulling her down the street with her hand in his while she held the eggs to her chest with her other hand. "I did some asking around and found out where Noah lives."

"Noah," she said sharply, and he stopped to hush her with his finger to his mouth.

"Yup. We're going to teach him a lesson." It was then, as they stopped outside an average-looking house, that she recognized Noah's car in the driveway. Things began to make a little more sense.

"This isn't legal," she mumbled to him, now that she pretty much knew what the eggs were for.

"We aren't exactly breaking the rules." He shrugged. "It's more like bending them."

They stood just out of the light of the streetlight at the end of the driveway. The anxiety she had felt before was replaced by a nervous excitement. She remembered how Noah had treated her friend and how she had wanted payback.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, motioning to the eggs.

She had never even contemplated doing anything like this, but she opened the egg carton and took one out. "Yes."

Each time she felt the prickle of her conscience, she remembered how he had hurt her friend. Noah had used Diane without a care. And it was time for payback.

"I was terrible at softball," she murmured as she tried to take aim.

It reminded her of the first time she had attempted to play softball. She hadn't been able to throw the ball in the direction she aimed. For the most part, she had been useless. Even with a few games under her belt and after some practicing hadn't helped, she had eventually quit. Her hand-eye coordination wasn't great and no amount of practicing was going to change that.

Her first egg just missed the side, as well as the side mirror, splattering against the driveway instead.

Maddox stifled a laugh beside her, and she pinned him with a glare. "It's not like I've had practice egging someone's car."

"I can see that but there's a first time for everything," he assured her, straightening his grin. "Come on. Try again. You have another eleven eggs to get it right."

She reached for another egg and tested the weight in her hand before she tried to throw it far enough to splatter against the back of the car. This time it did hit the car, but not where she had aimed. Still, watching the egg break against Noah's nice clean car made her smile. Something that felt a lot like excitement stirred in her stomach.

"Here," Maddox whispered beside her, handing her another egg.

She gripped it in her hand for a moment before she threw it, putting more power behind her throw. Her aim improved with each egg and, by the end of the carton, she felt exhilarated and giddy. And Noah's car was dripping with egg.

"Not bad," Maddox murmured, attracting her attention from her handiwork to his playful smile.

"That was..." She was trying to find the right words to describe how she was feeling.

"I know." He stared at her for a few moments, and she felt the unmistakable draw to him. The sound of the door opening broke the moment.

"What the fuck?" someone yelled. It sounded like Noah.

"Time to go." Maddox gripped her hand and pulled her behind the hedge in the front yard beside Noah's house for a moment before making a dash in the direction of his car.

Her heart thumped in her chest. It was a feeling she found difficult to describe accurately. Maddox shoved her into the direction of the passenger's side.

"Who the hell..." Noah yelled, taking a better look at her handiwork. She was tempted to turn back to see the expression on his face, but she feared the repercussions if he saw them.

The car door refused to open at first when she tugged against the handle. Maddox yanked the door open, and she slid in as quickly as she could without drawing any attention. Her heart raced while Maddox got into the car as well and he started it up.

As they sped away from the scene of the crime, she was unable to look away from Maddox, who was concentrating on getting as far away as quickly as possible. A strange feeling twirled like excitement in the pit of her stomach while she continued to stare at him as the adrenaline pumped through her.

Then he looked at her and a slow smile spread across his face. The wind blew her hair as her heart galloped in her chest. She was breathless. Time seemed to slow down as she found herself captivated by the troublemaker. He turned his attention back to the road, and it gave her the crucial moments to catch her breath.

"That was reckless," she murmured, wanting to rid herself of the strange feelings the boy beside her brought out in her despite all her attempts to remain immune.

"But so much fun," he quipped back, and she found herself smiling.

She felt alive. Her heart still beat erratically in her chest as the fear and the excitement of what they had just done swept through her.

"So, you think this will help me?" she asked, struggling to identify the array of feelings she was experiencing. She didn't seem to have any control over her emotions.

He was quiet for a moment before he turned to her. "If you're not trying to kill yourself, there's only one reason you'd stand on the ledge and that's for the rush. This is just a less dangerous way of getting the same feeling."

Hypnotized, she stared at him thoughtfully for a while. He was right. The exhilaration she was experiencing had made her feel alive, like she was standing on the edge of danger. How had he been able to see something she hadn't? How did he know her better than she seemed to know herself? It was something she wasn't comfortable with.

"And you're home safe and sound," he murmured when he pulled up outside her house, the engine still running.

She didn't immediately get out. Before, she would have gotten away from him as quickly as possible. She struggled to pinpoint the reason why she couldn't seem to want to leave.

"That was..." She still couldn't find the right word to describe it.

He sighed and switched off the car. "You're trying to rationalize it."

She stared at him.

"Don't. Just enjoy it."

She frowned. "I still don't understand why you're going to all this trouble for someone you barely know." What did he have to gain from all this?

"You just needed someone to show you there are easier ways to experience the same rush you were looking for."

She nodded and opened the door to get out. "See you tomorrow."

He nodded. "Sweet dreams." He winked, and her stomach did that stupid fluttering thing again.

Awkwardly, she tried to cover it up before she hurried up the path to her house. He was watching her when she glanced back over her shoulder, just before she entered her house. Only once she was inside, with the door closed, did she hear him start up the engine. She leaned against the door as she listened to him drive away.

Just one unexpected encounter with Maddox had shaken something in her well-organized world. And she was feeling shaken like the stability beneath her feet was broken. It was scary and exciting at the same time.

Was his motive as simple as he had explained it or was there more to it? When he could have any girl he wanted, why was he wasting his time on her?

Nothing seemed to make sense. But as much as she distrusted him, she couldn't ignore how alive she felt in that very moment. It was dangerous to stand on a cliff to feel alive, but she wasn't sure it was any less dangerous to allow Maddox in to turn her world upside down.

Her mind drifted back to when Noah had discovered his car covered with their handiwork. She smothered a giggle. It served the asshole right. He couldn't treat people the way he had without payback. That made her smile. He had gotten what he deserved.

After going up the stairs and getting ready for bed, she lay tucked inside her covers, staring up at the ceiling, replaying her evening with the mischievous Maddox. It was difficult not to be taken in by him, but he wasn't known as the troublemaker at school for nothing.

Remembering how he had gotten into more fights than she could count, she obviously hadn't seen every side to him. She didn't know what made him tick and, even though she didn't want to admit it, she was curious.

But curiosity killed the cat. This would not bode well for her.