Courtney looked at Tyler with a confused expression, when he didn't answer her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

All eyes were on Tyler, but his eyes were fixed on me. Not being able to hold his gaze for long, I quickly looked down at my feet and I heard him sigh.

"I want to go with someone else this year Court. I'm sorry, I can't take you," he said in an apologetic tone.

When I looked up, I found her frowning as she shook her head in disbelief, "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure what he meant was pretty clear Courtney, " Jace said, his lips twitching. "He's going with someone else."

She shoot him a glare before looking back at Tyler. "How? I mean, we always go together. You never ask someone else to be your date!" She said, her voice hard.

"I know. I'm sorry, but you can always find someone else. There are guys who are dying to be your date," Tyler said taking a step towards her and she looked down, shaking  her head.

I realized that she must be  embarrassed because he turned her down in front of everyone. And for whom? Me? A person who turned him down.

Great, I was feeling guilty for more than one reason now.

"Who is it?" She asked him and I gulped. A long silence passed over the group, while everyone waited for Tyler to answer.

"C'mon, we always used to go as friends. And now you have a chance to go with someone you actually like," he said taking another step closer to her.

God, this guy could be really clueless sometimes.

She looked away and forced out a smile. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I just wish I wouldn't find out like this."

"I'm sorry about that."

"You didn't tell us who the girl is, Tyler, " Zoe chimed in and I glared at her.

"Yeah, so who's the lucky girl?" Courtney asked and Tyler shifted on his feet, uncomfortably.

Dammit! I can't even imagine what must be going on in his head. He turned Courtney down, and asked someone else to be his date for the first time, and I didn't even say yes!

"Uh..actually she hasn't given me a definite answer yet..." he trailed off awkwardly and everybody just stared at him.

"Are you serious? I mean...who is this girl? Why would she say no to you?" Courtney demanded and I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you even want to go with someone else, when you have Court? Especially when that girl has left you hanging like that, " Zoe butted in again and I gritted my teeth, in an effort to keep my mouth shut.

"I don't see how any of this is your business, Zoe," Tyler snapped and she scowled at him.

"Alright man, but who is she? You've got us all curious now," Neil asked.

Ashley looked at me, while Tyler awkwardly scratched his head and I sighed.

Fuck this shit!

Before I could even fully comprehend what I was doing, I found myself walking up to Tyler and grabbing his hand before lacing our fingers together.

He turned to look at me, then stared at our hands for a moment, before a small smile creeped up onto his face. There was a hint of happiness and hope in his eyes, that made me feel so powerful and weak at the same time.

Powerful because I had such an effect on him and weak because he had a similar or maybe a much bigger effect on me. And it was undeniable.

"It's me. I'm his date, " I said and looked at everyone.

"What!?" Neil said almost choking on his coffee and then coughing violently. Sam let out a surprised chuckle and started slapping his back.

"I knew it!" Jace exclaimed while Ryan and Avi were just staring at us wide-eyed.

I couldn't see Ash, but she might have been in the middle of a happy dance.

Meanwhile, Courtney, Zoe and the two of her other friends did not look happy with this new development. Though Courtney tried hard to mask her displeasure regarding the situation, it didn't escape me. And to be honest? I didn't give a damn about it.

I turned to focus on the guy beside me who looked at me like I had just given him the best news possible.

"I'm sorry, for not answering right away..." I whispered.

"It's alright." He shook his head, with a smile.

"I would love to go to the dance with you, " I said and he immediately wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Thank you," he whispered into my hair and I gave him another squeeze before pulling away.

"That was unexpected, " Courtney said, eyeing my hand in his. Then she looked up and gave me a tight smile, and added, "But I'm happy for you guys."

"Are we good?" Tyler asked her.

"Of course." She nodded. "We gotta go now, I have a lot of things to do. I'll see you all at the party tonight." She gave us a bright smile, before turning on her heel and walking away, with her friends trailing behind.

"Ty, we gotta run. We have practice in some time, " Jace said.

"Okay. I'll see you later, " Tyler said looking at me and I nodded. "Neil, you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in five!" he answered.

As soon as Tyler, Jace and Ryan were out of earshot, Ashley tackled me in a hug.

"When did this happen?" Avi asked.

"And how did this happen?" Neil asked and I grinned.

"It's not a big deal..." I started, but I was distracted, when two black sedans zoomed into our school's parking lot, in a row.

Three well-groomed men wearing dark suits get out of one of the cars, then walked over to the other one. One of them pulled open the door to the backseat and after a moment, a tall middle-aged man, with dark blond hair and sharp features, got out of the car.

He had an air of authority around him, and a personality that immediately gave away that he was someone of importance.

I could see our school principal, Mrs. Smith, along with a few committee members walking towards the parking lot, to greet these men.

All of us started walking closer to the parking lot, curious to know more about who they were. When we were close enough to have a good look at the man standing in the center of the group, I came to a sudden halt. His facial features were strikingly familiar, and I instantly recognized who he was.

"Andrew Stone, " Avi muttered, confirming my doubt.

We watched as our principal exchanged a few words with him, and turned to lead him inside the school. As they walked by us, one of the teachers caught my eye and walked over to where we were standing.

"Miss D'costa, right?" he asked and I nodded.

"It's a good thing I found you here," he gave me a tired smile before continuing, "Mr. Stone is going to have a meeting with some of the staff members, student council and other achievers from our school, in a while. Since you've been one of our school toppers from a few years, Mrs. Smith wants you to be present there too."

"Of course sir." I smiled and gave him a nod, though my stomach clenched at the thought of being in the same room with that man or having any sort of conversation with him.

"Good. The meeting is in the staff room in fifteen minutes. Don't be late," he said and walked away.

"Shit. V, promise me you will behave and avoid talking to him at any costs," Avi sternly said, after a few seconds.

"I have no interest in talking to him. I can't help it if he talks to me though." I shrugged.

"You will not say a word about Max to him, okay? Act like you don't know anything about him, " Ash said in a panicked voice.

"I think he knows me Ash. His son was in the hospital for two days because of a shoulder injury I gave him. Do you think he wouldn't know about it?"

"Oh God, What if he asks you something about it? " Ash asked.

"He won't. He is here on business, " Avi answered.

"Whatever it is, I'll deal with it. If necessary, I'll gladly remind him of what a bastard his son is. Everything that happened last year was Max's fault, if anything he should be nervous about meeting me," I said.

"Yes. You have nothing to be scared of," Neil agreed.

"What? No!" Ashley said. "You can't tell him that. Max is his son after all."

"Well, he has my condolences, " I said and Ash swatted my arm.

"Just, be careful, alright? Think before you say anything, " Avi said, and I nodded.

"Good luck." Sam smiled at me, who had been silent during this whole conversation.

"Thanks, " I said and turned to walk away.

"Text us after you're done, " Neil called out after me.

"Will do, " I answered and started walking towards the Administration building.