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Hi. Just a little update. 

Twitches and spasms are still going on, but I've been really tired lately. It feels like I have to try five times harder to do the things I do. Also I take naps almost everyday from school now, which is pretty lame if you asked me. But my body can't help it.

Oh, by the way, I've told you about Oliver, right? The one with five siblings. And the one who stole my letters. Yeah, that one. He knows.

I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know what you would think. Plus, I was planning to push him away, but that just made him pull harder, I guess.

How have you been doing? Well, scratch that. You wouldn't be able to answer anyway.

I hope you're doing okay.

________

"What's the answer to number three?"

"Sshhh," I hissed.

We were having a practice quiz for physics and it had only been ten minutes since it began. Why did he have to sit beside me? I get that we're friends now, but shouldn't he be keeping like a one-mile radius at all times? Or was it just me?

"Hey," he urged. "In exchange, I'll give you pie."

"Why pie?"

"Because you look like the pie type."

"What's that suppose to — "

"One more word, you two," Miss Stevenson scolded.

Oliver scowled and I smiled in triumph. That will hopefully shut him off.

Apparently not.

"Do you want apple pie or cranberry pie or — "

"Mr. Grant!" Miss Stevenson lashed out. "Out, now. And take your pies with you."

The whole class, upon hearing this, were all wearing bewildered looks. Only a few wore amused expressions. Of course the rest wouldn't get it; they didn't hear me and Oliver's hushed quarrel.

He stood up, getting his bag from the ground with an annoyed look smeared on his face. I knew it was best to stay quiet, but I couldn't help the snicker. Oliver would be out of the class. I would continue my work in peace. The best part was Oliver's face, the look of utter and complete — 

"You too, Miss Woods."

I blinked. "What? But — he was the one who — "

"I saw you laughing. No buts. Out, both of you."

I didn't need to look over my shoulder to see that Oliver was smirking down on me. Without a word, he grabbed my bag too and shuffled towards the door, whistling what suspiciously sounded like the Looney Tunes theme song. When the door closed shut, that was when I snapped out of my state of stupefaction. While completely aware of Miss Stevenson glaring at me and the expectant eyes of my fellow classmates, I stood up and went out the door.

Oliver was waiting for me, leaning against the wall. "So I take it that you don't like pie?"

"Don't start." I began reaching for my bag, but he held a finger in front of me.

"Uh uh." He shook his head. "I can tell that you're a bit worn out. Therefore, as your friend, I'll be your slave for now. You're welcome."

I gave him a look. "I can handle it."

He shrugged. "If you say so." Then he basically shoved me the bag, causing me to give a little oof! sound. Gotta admit, it was heavy weight — but I couldn't show him that. First of all, I didn't want to look weak and pathetic. That might sound stupid, but that's just how I am. Second, he could be very annoying if he figured out he was right. And third — he was already an egotistical maniac. I didn't want to add another thing to boost up his esteem.

Still smirking, he walked away, not even bothering to see if I'd follow him.

I half-ran and half-walked. "Since when do you know the way?" When I first got to Cromwell High, I was completely lost. Especially to the principal's office.

"I've been there a few times."

I peered at him. "How many?"

"Six."

My mouth dropped. "You've only been here for a month!"

"I know, right? Isn't it impressive?"

Finally, we reached the front of the office, which was currently in it's Do Not Disturb sign. That meant Principal Kenneth was handling someone else that was trouble. I suddenly felt sorry for whoever was inside. The principal could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be.

Then, out of nowhere, I tripped. My foot seemed to sway a bit, like it was on the verge of falling asleep. Luckily, my other foot caught hold of its balance, putting me in place. Unluckily, Oliver noticed and stepped forward.

"Whoa. You okay?"

I knew I should've told him from the start. The tripping incidents have been happening to me for a while, actually. It was easy to hide since all I had to do was say that I was being "clumsy."

Reluctantly, I nodded. That didn't seem to convince him, because his eyebrows were still furrowed with concern.

I was safe from his questioning eyes when the door opened. Then I realized I wasn't safe at all.

Devon.

Devon was standing in front of me.

"Well, well, well. What have we got here?"

________

Devon Trevino was my tormentor. Well, I guess that was kind of a stretch, but he's been picking on me ever since ninth grade. It certainly didn't help me when I started getting the twitches and spasms. Out of all people, he was the one who continuously noticed, so he turned me into a public humiliation as often as he could.

Don't get me wrong; I wasn't his only victim. If his job was to ruin a lot of people's lives in this school, then he'd be stinking rich. But let's just say that I was his "jackpot."

"I missed you, Emily. How's that condition going?" He made a big gesture of twitching in front of me, and laughed at his own original joke.

Beside me, I could feel Oliver stiffen. I gave him a quick sideways glance, trying to reassure him as I silently said, don't worry, he doesn't know. 

Apparently, he wasn't even looking at me; he was too busy staring daggers right through Devon's skull.

"And who are you, exactly?" he snapped.

Devon looked from me and slowly, turned his head. His eyes widened a bit as he took Oliver in. "Devon Trevino. You?"

"Grant," he stated, still with that intimidating look. "Oliver Grant."

Devon sneered. "Should've known. Of course you're that Grant guy. The one that's been following Emily's tail like a lost puppy."

Before Oliver could spat out a word that was going to get us in more trouble, Principal Kenneth had called us from his office. I looked down and slipped inside, ignoring Devon's vile grin. Oliver, on the other hand, was openly glaring at him. Devon shrugged it off, like he always did, and stepped aside to make way for Oliver. This just made him even more angry. 

Please don't play into his tricks, Oliver.

Thankfully, his attention was swept to Principal Kenneth, who also had a glare on his face.

I barely paid any attention to what he was saying as he scolded us. Oliver surprisingly listened in a polite way and even nudged my shoulder so I could nod along. However, throughout the nagging, sometimes I would catch Oliver turning his attention to me, worry shown in his eyes. I hoped the act of me looking away from him brought the message that I wasn't in the mood of talking about it.

After that, the bell rang, which signalled the end of the day. We walked together to our lockers and I saw Valerie waiting beside mine. Just when I was about done packing my books, I looked to the other side but Oliver was gone. Val nudged me.

"He's over there," she mumbled.

Oliver was talking to a group of kids that I'd never crossed paths with — the type that were sociable, out-going and definitely out my league. They were laughing about something he just said, and I could see from here that he had captured every one of their attention. I guess that was the charm of Oliver Grant.

Val said something vaguely about how "people like him always find their own crew" but I didn't listen. Why? Because Oliver was making his way towards me, and his so-called friends in the back were trying their best not to look surprised. That failed due to their mouth-hanged expressions and wide eyes.

"Hey," he greeted casually.

I raised my eyebrows. "Hi."

Oliver then gave Val a knowing look, like they were having a silent conversation between each other. Moments later, Val huffed a sigh, muttering, "See you later." She hastily walked away and left the two of us alone.

"You wanna go somewhere?" he asked.

I frowned. "Where? And isn't Tom going to be worried when he sees that you're not in the bus?"

He grinned. "He won't even notice. I'll just call him. Trust me."

And unexpectedly, I did. We purposely missed the school bus and crossed a few streets, reaching to a small sector that held a lot of restaurants and cafes. Then I realised where he was taking me: Pies 'N' Stuff.

I wanted to laugh. "Seriously?" That cafe wasn't really the big "hang-out" place for teens here. It was more to the elderly, not that I had anything against them or anything.

He shrugged. "I'm hungry. Are you still up for pie?"

I shook my head, but not before letting a smile creep up on my face.

I didn't know how, but he managed to cheer me up in the most unusual ways. I didn't even like pie that much, but this gesture meant something to me. He noticed that I didn't like Devon — but he didn't dare ask. He left it alone, and instead of interrogating me, he just came to make me feel better.

"Sure. Let's grab some pie."

So, what do you think of Devon? 

Okay, technically he was a jerk. But everyone has a backstory. Right?

Also, shout out to all the pie lovers out there.