I followed Ellery as she walked to her house. What a coincidence, it was actually the opposite direction from mine.

"Um.." I started. "Why were still in school in the first place?"

"Wait, what did you say?" she asked, turning around and I saw her taking earbuds out of her ears.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?"

I sighed. "Why were you at school so late to make you get locked in?" I repeated.

"Oh! Well, I was in the art classroom." She answered.

"Why?"

"Because I saw Ms. Garth painting this really nice scenery piece and I had to stop and admire it's beauty."

"'Had?' Isn't that a bit extreme?" I said, doubting that she was that eager to look at someone paint.

"You wouldn't know because you don't understand the deeper meaning of art. You express yourself through art. It's a way for you to show your emotions without speaking." she explained happily.

"Yeah..." I said, still skeptical of it but I let it slide. Everyone was free to have their own opinions.

"So you watched someone paint for two hours?"

"No." she corrected. "I watched her paint for half an hour and the other hour and a half I, myself, was painting."

"Who paints for an hour and a half?" I asked. This girl kept saying unrealistic things. She stood still and watched a person paint for half and hour and then painted by herself for an hour and a half? Talk about unrealistic. No one could possibly have that much patience.

"Me." she answered without missing a step.

I groaned. This girl was so weird.

"What? You have a problem with that?" She asked, a grin forming on her face.

What's she thinking, now?

"No," I rolled my eyes, half hoping she didn't notice that and half not even caring.

She stopped walking and went in my face. I don't know why but I felt my checks burn up.

"Oh? Is the Lucas Bradley rolling his eyes at me?" She grinned, some of her teeth showing in her smile.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I asked her.

She took a step back and gave me an innocent look. "Call you what?"

"You always refer to me as 'Lucas Bradley' but how would you know that if we just met?"

She gave me a look as if I was unbelievably stupid. Then, she chucked. I wasn't sure if it was directed at me or not.

"Geez, you're such a stupid boy."

"Hey!"

She laughed again and this time I was sure it was at me.

I groaned.

"Okay, okay," she spoke after her laughing session, "I'm done laughing now."

She took a look at me and her cheeks puffed up as if she were a fish.

Then, she let the air out along with another hearty laugh, at me.

"You know, I think you can find your house on your own. You don't need my help." I said, annoyed at her behavior.

I turned around to walk back but she grabbed my arm, pulling me back rather roughly.

"What do you want?" I rolled my eyes.

She let go of my arm and gave me a smile. "Listen, I was calling you stupid because you are stupid." She started.

I felt a vein pop. "Gee, thanks." I commented sarcastically.

"Anyways," she pushed the comment away. "The reason I said that was because I'm not a transfer student."

I tilted my head in confusion. "You're not?"

"No, I'm not." Ellery clarified once more.

"But I've never seen you around the school before." I thought aloud.

"And we share all the same classes." She added on.

I widened my eyes. "What?!" I didn't believe this. "But I never saw you!"

"And one time we partnered up for an English project."

"No way..."

"And other time, you flirted with my friend and I punched you in the face."

"Um..." I put my hands on my face, as if I was reliving that day.

"And you and your friends sit behind the table me and my friends sit at lunch."

I narrowed my eyes. If all of this is true, I thought, then I must be more stupid than I had ever imagined!

"Um." I tried to find a part to intervene.

She stopped and looked at me. I felt my face heat up once again.

I don't think I ever noticed it before but she had beautiful hazel eyes. And her brown hair seemed to be soft to the touch. The over sized hoodie she wore with her jeans made her look even more adorable.

Wait. Did I just call her adorable? Oh my god.

A giggled could be heard from in front of me and I broke away from my little fantasy.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "My brown hair seems soft to the touch, huh?"

My face reddened. Shit. Did I say all of that aloud?

"Wow, Lucas Bradley, I never knew that you thought about me that way." She teased.

"Gah!" I groaned, scolding myself for saying that aloud instead of in the security of my mind.

"I apparently look, quote and quote, 'adorable' in an oversized hoodie?" She quoted me and I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment.

Kill me now.

She chucked. "Well, you were right about the oversized thing at least. This is my older brother's hoodie." She told me.

Oh shit, she has an older brother? Oh god, I am so dead.

"Don't worry, he won't kill you." She reassured me, either reading my mind or I spoke out loud again.

"Well, it's more like he can't." She mumbled the sentence so I couldn't really hear much of it.

"What did you say?" I asked and she quickly shook her head.

"I said thanks for calling me adorable."

My cheeks burned once more and I turned my back on her so she couldn't see.

"Well, you can go back now." She said, chuckling as she did.

"Huh?"

"You can go walk to your house now. My house is right around the corner so you don't need to come with me." She told me.

"You sure?" I asked, suddenly not sure wanting to leave her side.

What was this feeling? I began to think. Why do I feel as if I need to protect her?

"Yeah, it's fine. And my parents would freak out if they saw me walking home with a boy so it'll be safer for the both of us." She grinned and waved her goodbye.

I waved goodbye as well.

"Wait!" I called out to her, realizing I had been missing something.

"We were never properly introduced!" I said.

Wait, why was I saying this? I already knew her name. Why was I trying to get more attached to her?

She gave me a curious stare before answering my call.

"My name's Ellery Kane. Nice to meet you Lucas Bradley." She waved once again and walked away.

I was stunned for some odd reason.

As her silhouette faded off into the distance, I felt an emotion that I didn't quite understand.

"Nice to meet you too..." I mumbled, waving my hand, although she was already too far to have heard me or saw me.

And I realized, that I was getting so absorbed into the book with the ugly cover.