A cool breeze blows against my skin, but it does nothing to cool down my annoyance. Annoyance directed at the smirking idiot standing in front of me. He stands in the middle of the few students gathered on stone benches around him. His dark brown wavy hair lifting ever so slightly in the breeze.

"Noelle." he greets in a condescending tone, folding his hands across his chest, his muscles bulging out in the process.

I almost lift my hand up to slap the stupid smirk off his stupid face. Instead I settle on giving him a blank look.

"Parker." I reply in a dull tone.

"I'm glad you've finally decided to join this club." he says with a genuine smile which can fool anyone, however, I know him well enough to see right through it.

"Don't be" I say, taking a seat next to Lucas and Priya, who arrived before I did. "I was forced to join. Don't think you're so special."

I expect my comment to make him angry, but his smirk never falters as he turns around to address everyone. From behind him, I meet the heated gaze of Melissa, a pretty brunette who's always got her head in her books. Once I meet her gaze, she eyes me up and down in what I can only describe as annoyance, before returning her gaze to Parker.

"I know most of you have other meetings and practice to get to, so I'll make this short and simple."

Parker signals to Melissa, who immediately straightens up and readies her book and pen to take notes.

"I'm sure we all know what this club is for, if you don't, you shouldn't be here," Parker pauses and looks around, as if expecting someone to leave. "Good. So, we already have people who have signed up to be tutored. Each of you have the luxury to pick a maximum of five people to tutor. If you want to take in more people, it'll have to be after two weeks. Here..." He raises sheets of papers.

"Are the list of people who signed up. I'm going to mention a list of subjects, and those who are sure they can handle the heat, should raise their hands. I don't want the reputation of this club tarnished by those who bite off more than they can chew... Melissa, be alert."

Could this guy be any more authoritative?

With that he begins to mention a bunch of subjects, to which some people raise their hands. Lucas raises his hands for Chemistry and Economics and Priya raises her hand for Physics. When Parker gets to math, I'm the only one who raises my hand, aside Melissa, much to my surprise. I decide to only raise my hand for Math, because I'm not in the mood to tolerate any other subject.

In total there are 10 people present, including myself, Priya, Lucas, Melissa and Parker. Sasha, a cheerleader; John, a guy on the track team; Emily, the debate club president; and two other guys, whose names I find out are Dre and Kevin.

Parker hands out sheets of papers. I receive mine, and it has a capitalized "Math Requests" at the top.

I take the moment to scan my list. There are about 50 names on the list, from freshmen to Seniors. I scan for familiar names and stop at one.

Ben Meyers

I don't hesitate as I pick a pen and circle his name. I continue searching through the list and arrive at another familiar name.

Nicole Sanchez

Nicole is a friend from last year's drama club, and a big gossip. Not only will I be imparting knowledge, I'll also be getting buckets of gossip in return.

Maybe this tutoring gig won't be as bad as I thought it would be.

"Brittany's on my list!" Priya exclaims, diverting my attention. Lucas leans over to peer at her sheet.

"You know what you can do? Agree to tutor her and teach her all the wrong stuff."

Priya knocks him upside his head, causing him to groan and rub his head "That's not nice" she chastises. I agree with Priya.

Brittany may be a bitch to Sarah, but she's not done anything to the rest of us surprisingly. Usually she keeps her distance from the rest of us, aside from the rare 'hellos' here and there.

"Better not let Sarah know about this, she'll pester you with ways and means to destroy Brittany." I say and Priya frowns. She knows that Sarah's enemies are our enemies, though I find that absurd sometimes.

"If you're done, hand over your lists." Parker says and begins collecting the sheets. I decide that I can only handle two people for now and hand in my sheet. After he collects all our papers, Sasha raises her hand.

"When are we going to be meeting? Cause I have practice almost every day."

"I know most of you have plans after school, so I suggest either before school or during Lunch... as for the days we'll be meeting, I'll communicate it the day before."

"No way man, I can't wake up that early." says Dre with a frown.

"Well I'm not willing to give up lunch either, I'm a growing boy." Lucas pipes in, earning an eye roll from Priya and a high five from me.

The banter goes back and forth, but I keep quiet. Frankly I don't mind giving up lunch or coming to school early. The group finally decides on lunch time, much to the dismay of Lucas. Priya cheers him up with the prospect of free lunch during our meeting days.

As soon as Parker dismisses us, I jump and leave with Priya, Lucas however, decides to stalk over to Emily to strike up a conversation. I hope he strikes out with her, for dragging me to this club.

All I hear is her goofy laughter as I leave our meeting place.

Damn it.

"Shoot, I forgot my notebook in my locker." Priya exclaims, stopping in her step "Catch you later?" She doesn't wait for my reply and rushes back into the building, leaving a trail of sweet perfume.

I'm about to head towards the parking lot when I hear my name being shouted by an all too familiar voice. I groan loudly and wait for the owner of the voice to near me before I turn around.

"You're leaving without saying goodbye?" Parker asks with a grin. I roll my eyes and fix the strap of my bag before giving him a blank stare.

"Goodbye." I say and leave, but all too soon he catches up, falling into step with me. I don't bother quickening my steps, knowing that he won't leave till his agenda is fulfilled.

"I noticed you picked Ben Meyers. Interesting choice from your part." Parker suddenly says after a moment of silence. I stiffen but try not to let him notice it. Parker, his calculative mind and observant eyes are not what I need to end my already shitty day.

"Yes I did. Any problem?"

"None at all, I just thought you'd be more open to tutor someone you're more familiar with. For example, Logan Benson."

I shrug nonchalantly "I wanted a challenge."

Out of my peripheral, I see Parker shake his head before chuckling lightly "Seems to me like you're trying to get yourself noticed."

I stop walking and face him fully "Watch yourself Parker."

"I am. Unlike you, I care about this club, and if you're planning to use my club to pursue your shower fantasies, then I'm worried about if you're actually going to be effective."

"I didn't even want to join your stupid club in the first place, so-"

"So nothing. I don't want you in the club as much as you don't want to be here. Just do your job, keep your head out of the clouds, and everyone's happy, Got it?" Parker's earthy brown gaze meets my ice blue one.

For a while we just glare at each other. With me clenching and unclenching my fist and Parker fighting to keep the scowl off his face.

As usual, Parker and I have managed to end our day with another argument.

My eyes avert for a second and spot behind Parker, a not so happy Melissa. She catches my gaze and intensifies her glare. I refrain from rolling my eyes.

What the hell is her problem?

It's no secret that Melissa has a crush on Parker, one that she swears doesn't exist. I hope she doesn't have the silly idea that I'm interested in Parker. I almost vomit at the thought of that.

"I don't joke with academics, so don't worry about me getting distracted. You should rather be more focused on other people who are in the club for their own romantic purposes." I spit out with a pointed look in Melissa's direction, causing Parker to turn his head too. Melissa, out of either shyness or the sudden attention shift, ducks her head.

With an exaggerated eyeroll and a shake of my head, I walk away from him. I let out a deep breath and run a hand through my curls, calming down instantly.

As I near my car, a sight makes me stop. I squint my eyes, then rub them to make sure I have the right person, before nearing her.

"Seriously, how could you bail on me... No I don't know where the bus stop is Alex. Do you really expect me to take public transportation...? No I didn't take money for an Uber. Ugh bye." The girl, I realize, has a distinguishable British accent, even as she yells into her phone.

"Athena?" I ask with a hint of uncertainty.

She whips her head around. At first she looks confused, before it dawns on her. Two skinny arms wrap around my shoulders tightly. I hug her back equally as tightly.

Athena was the baby sister I never had and never wished for, but that didn't stop me from loving her unconditionally.

"It's been so long. I've missed you so much" she exclaims, pushing her now blonde hair out of her face.

"I've missed you too Eenie," I coo and she grimaces, making me laugh.

"It's just Athena now, Eenie makes me feel like a child." she says with an awkward laugh.

"Are you headed home?" I ask, diverting the topic. Her hazel eyes light up.

"Yeah. Alex was supposed to get me, but he bailed last minute. I guess I have to take the bus." She says with a tearful gaze. I sense that she's trying to ask for a ride, so I decide to put her out of her misery.

"You know what, why don't I give you a lift"

Her eyes brighten "Seriously? I don't want to impose; I could always take the bus, or a taxi".

I make a mental note to give Alex a large smack on the side of his head. How could he leave his sister stranded, without backup.

"Don't worry about it" I lead her to my car. I get in and she follows. I start the car and begin my drive home. As we continue the journey, Athena and I catching up on some old times, her phone rings. She hurriedly fishes it out of her bag, removing some books in the process.

"Hello?" She answers "Oh hey Alex" As soon as she mentions his name, my heart skips a beat, but I ignore it.

"Ummm no, Elle gave me a lift... Uh huh sure, well you're still an idiot" she nods to something he's saying "I can't do that... Because she's driving you dimwit, bloody hell... Mmmhm, I'll tell her... Hold on,"

She lowers the phone and turns to me "Can you drop me off at Home Paradise?" she asks and I eye her curiously "Alex promised to take me shopping to redecorate my old room."

"Sure." I say and return my attention to the road, redirecting the car towards the boutique. Athena finishes up her call and soon I'm pulling up in front of the store. I spot Alex, leaned against the hood of a black Camry, his phone in his hands. Black shades protecting his eyes from the late afternoon sun, his clingy shirt showing off his muscles.

Athena rolls her window down and yells "Idiot brother!" causing me to let out a few giggles. She definitely hasn't changed.

Alex pockets his phone and heads over, Athena is already out of the car, landing smacks on her brother's shoulder. He smiles and opens his arms wide, engulfing Athena in a bear hug, despite her protests. I choose that moment to open the door and exit the car. I contemplate and leave the engine running since I'll just be saying hello to Alex.

"Ellie!" Alex exclaims once he sees me, immediately he stops bickering with Athena. He gives me a warm hug, shocking me. I snap out of my shock in time to wrap my arms around his torso. His woody masculine smell engulfs me, and I allow it to penetrate my senses.

All too soon, he's pulling away and I'm grateful for it, because I can't calm my beating heart down.

"Thanks for bringing Eenie." He says. Athena swats a hand at his chest at the nickname, but he responds by slinging an arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him. A nice scowl mars her face at this, along with some grumbling about how the nickname is childish.

"It was no problem," I say, pushing some stray curls behind my ears. "Though I have to run, I have a ton of stuff to do."

A frown appears on his face, but it disappers so fast that I believe I imagined it. "You're not joining us?" This makes Athena look confused as she sends glances between us.

I shake my head and send a wicked smile at Athena "Naaa, Athena deserves all the time she needs for payback."

Athena shouts in glee while Alex sends me a look of plea. I quickly say my goodbyes as Athena drags a stiff Alex into the shop. I know firsthand what torture it is to go shopping with Athena.

Laughing and shaking my head, I enter my car and drive home. My Alan Walker playlist on full blast.

A/N

I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. I was busy with college and multiple assignments. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this new chapter, I'll try to keep the rest rolling in.

Let me know what you guys think of Parker.

Abby.