Ryane's POV

I walk away from Greyson while trying not to die from embarrassment. I can't believe I said his name. The way he grabbed my arm and his suspicious expression told me how much it freaked him out. He probably thinks I'm a crazy stalker. Way to go, idiot! This is not in any way me laying low. I'm too busy scolding myself so I don't notice the boy directly in front of me until we've bumped into each other.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry." I stutter at the boy as he just laughs. His laugh at least isn't a mocking laugh; it's more of an I'm laughing with you laugh.

"It's all good. You must be Ryane. I'm Gunnar." He says in a kind voice full of laughter.

"You know who I am because I ran into you?" I say in a flirty tone. He has blonde curly hair and kind, brown eyes. He's a pretty boy, unlike Greyson. Gunnar is the type of guy that you'd bring home to meet your mom. Greyson is the kind of guy you would need to hide from your mom. He's the guy that I want.

"No. I know who you are because you're the only new person we've had in over three years." He says in a matter of fact voice.

"Right. I do remember hearing something about not many new people in the area. Of course, it makes sense. Who chooses to move to a middle of nowhere, hick town?" I ask feeling embarrassed that he didn't catch onto the fact that I was teasing.

"Ouch." He grips his chest in mock pain. "That hurts, R."

"R?" I ask with a smile breaking across my face. Maybe this place won't be too bad.

"I hope you don't mind. It's just that Ryane is so... I don't know. Hicktown?" He winks. So maybe he does get that I was teasing.

"Says the boy named Gunnar." I smile.

"Hey, I'm a man. I turned eighteen last month." He says and puffs out his chest.

"Oh my apologies, sir." I curtsy to him.

"That's more like it. Now, how about I give you the tour?" He waves his hand towards the direction that I just came from.

"Maybe later, right now I have to go meet with Principal Johansson. Thank you though." I go to step around Gunnar but he places his hand on my arm. His touch doesn't feel near as good as Greyson's did.

"I already talked to him. He had a meeting come up and asked if I'd take you under my wing. I agreed, but only after making sure you were cute." He winks again. He's clearly a charmer and more dangerous than I first thought.

"So, you think I'm cute?" I flirt. I instantly feel guilty as if I were cheating on someone.

"You know it, baby." He says as he caresses my arm with his hand that is still there. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure why though. I just don't want anyone to see us. You don't want Greyson to see you. My thoughts turn against me. It's your own fault. You started it.

"So, about that tour; do you think we could start it now?" I ask while stepping away so that my arm is free from his wandering hand.

"Sure. Follow me." He holds out his arm and I know that he expects me to take it. I don't. He shrugs it off and leads me down the hall.

I see Greyson down the hallway and instantly feel embarrassed. I don't want to pass by him. I think I'd be okay without ever speaking to him again.

"Gunnar..." Greyson says his name in a way that makes it sound like a threat. I half expect him to add: you're next. But, I've probably just seen too many scary movies. It's not like this town could have anything dark or sinister going on.

"Greyson." Gunnar nods his head and subtly steps farther away from him. When we've walked out of range from Greyson I hear Gunnar mumble. "What a freak."

"What did you just say about him?" I ask surprised to hear something mean to come out of Gunnar's mouth. I may not know him well but he seems decent.

"He's a freak; that guy. Don't tell anyone that I told you that, though." I'm once again surprised to see genuine fear in his eyes. "I'll give you some advice to live by: stay away from Greyson Curley. He's dangerous."

"Okay, thanks," I say aloud while in my head I rejoice. I knew there was something dangerous about him. I may not need him but I want him even more now. What I need is someone who will never find out who I really am; someone who is kind, charming, and boring; someone like Gunnar.

"So this is your locker," Gunner says after having taken me around the entire school, which surprise, surprise isn't very big. "It's right next to mine." He winks again. He sure likes winking and for some reason, his charm is growing on me. Maybe it's because all the guys I grew up around were too afraid to flirt with me.

"You really are insufferable." I playfully swat his arm. In the thirty minutes we've taken to walk around he's winked at least twenty times and he's been showering me with compliments. He definitely is a player unlike what I thought when I first met him. I need to be careful around him or I just might find myself caught up in his web.

"What can I say? I'm smitten." He leans against the locker and reaches out to play with a strand of my hair that has fallen out of my ponytail. I turn into his hand because I know that's what he expects and well, I'm having fun.

"You know what? I think you were wrong earlier." I say as he pulls my hair out of the ponytail completely causing my wavy red hair to fall down my shoulders.

"Oh yeah?" He leans forward pushing me against the locker. He rests his left hand by my head on the locker behind us. "About what?"

I run my hand slowly up his chest to his shoulder. I whisper in a husky voice. "I think you're the one that's dangerous."

When he presses his body against mine I decide that I've played the game long enough. I sigh and push him back. He instantly steps away from me but not before sliding his hand down to meet mine.

"Yes, you are definitely dangerous." I laugh.

"Don't worry, R. I won't hurt you." He says in a raspy tone and squeezes my hand.

"How about you help me get my schedule," I say and start to walk towards the office. As I walk away I see Greyson mopping the floor. My stomach starts to churn in the most horrible of ways. How can I be attracted to a guy that I don't even know? Why does it have to be the one who thinks I'm a creeper?

A girl with dark hair comes in and hugs him. He smiles at her and I can tell that he's happy to see her. She says something that makes him laugh and I can't fight the jealousy that is growing inside of me. When he reaches out to tousle her hair I almost snap. Then I remember that we don't even know each other and take a soothing breath.

"Why did you stop?" Gunnar asks from down the hallway. I hadn't realized that I had stopped walking.

"Oh, nothing I just was trying to remember if I brought a pen. I think I forgot it." I lie easily while still keeping an eye on Greyson. He hasn't seen us and I'm glad.

"You can borrow one of mine," Gunnar says as I start to walk again.

"Thanks." I smile at him trying and failing to keep the jealousy out of my mind.

"No problem. I've always wanted to be someone's knight in shining armor." He gives me a crooked grin.

"And that you are." I give his arm a squeeze and we grab my schedule from the office. Principal Johansson is just coming into the office as we are walking out.

"Ah, you must be Ryane. It's great to meet you. I'm so sorry that I was busy and couldn't meet with you earlier." He holds out his hand for me to shake.

Taking his hand I say, "It was fine, really. Gunnar was a great tour guide."

"Yes, Gunnar is one of our best students. You stay close to him and you'll do great in this school." He says and claps a hand on Gunnar's back.

"Thank you, sir." He smiles up at the man and I see true respect. This is the real Gunnar, not the flirting one. And I actually like this one more.

"Now you two better get to your class. The bell is going to ring any second now." He finishes right before the bell chimes. I look in the hallway to see students filing inside.

"Cool," Gunnar says while reading my schedule over my shoulder. "We have all the same classes except for P.E. and art."

"Awesome." I smile. At least I'll have one friend to get me through the end of my senior year.

"First, is English and it's down there by our lockers." He says and wraps his arm around my shoulders and leads me to the classroom. I freeze when I look inside and see that there are only two empty seats and they're both next to the brunette I saw with Greyson.

"Hey, Gunnar!" She waves him over and pats the seats on either side of her.

"Hey, O!" He calls back and ushers me to the seats. "How was your night? I didn't see you there."

He sits on her right side and I take the seat to her left.

"Yeah, Greyson tried to get me to come but who wants to hang out with their brother all night?" She says.

"Brother?" I ask loud enough to make a couple of people give me weird looks.

O, the girl turns to me. "Oh sorry, how rude of me. I'm Olivia." She leans forward and hugs me.

"Hi, I'm Ryane," I say into her hair as it falls into my face. She pulls back and flips her hair behind her ear.

"It's great to meet you. Greyson told me there was a new girl." She must notice the confused look on my face because she soon adds, "Greyson is my brother."

So he is her brother. I'm so relieved that I physically sink back against my chair.