I take the last bite of my apple and toss the core into the trash. I walk out of the kitchen into my dad's office. "Where's Mom?" I ask him.

"Uhhh, she had to go into the office." He says, not looking up from his computer.

"Oh."

"Also, um, you can go out," he adds.

"Okay."

He looks up from his computer. "Do you not want to go out anymore?"

"No, I do. But if mom's going to be gone, I can stay here with you. If you want."

He smiles at me. "I'm okay. You got out, have fun. Take that car of yours for a spin."

I give him a small smile.

"Call if you need anything," he says as I walk out of the office. "And no speeding!" he shouts.

I roll my eyes as I walk upstairs to my room; I remove my white t-shirt and slip my black long sleeve shirt over the top of my head. I walk into my bathroom and remove the scrunchy from my hair. My curls fall all over the place. I shake my head and fix it up a little bit. It looks better now... sort of.

It's time for me to go to the hair salon to get a cut. My hair now reaches to the middle of my back. This is the longest it has ever been. Usually, I keep it shoulder length. I push the hair behind my ears and then pick my phone up from the sink to text my mom.

*Can we go to the hair salon tomorrow?

I know she will be surprised to see that message. I hate going to the hair salon, but it is needed. I walk out of the bedroom and over to my desk.

Okay, where are my keys?

I laugh to myself. It feels so weird to say that. My eyes scan the desk, I find them under my notebook. I grab it and walk out of my room and down the stairs. "Bye, Dad," I yell out.

"Bye!"

I unlock the door and head out. I unlock the car door and get in. I type the address in Ravenswood High School. I remember Caleb telling me how they had Sunday practices. So I know he's there; he has to be. I know it's a pretty bold move popping up at his school unannounced, but I mean, it's not like I can call him.

I turn the car on and pull off.

After about twenty minutes of driving, I have finally reached Ravenswood.

Their town looks nothing like Crossland; it's dark and gloomy over here. The sun was shining bright in Crossland. How come it isn't shining brightly over here? I mean, their towns only twenty maybe thirty minutes away from Crossland. It's even chiller outside; I had to roll up the windows. The one day I don't wear a freaking hoodie. The temperature wants to drop, and then I have on ripped jeans. Ugh! Maybe this is a sign for me to go back.

There's no one on the roads; I thought Crossland was a small town, Ravenswood looks even smaller... emptier too. There's no one on the road or the sidewalks. It looks like a complete ghost town.

"Your destination is on your right." the GPS says.

I slow down the car and look to my right. Then back at the GPS, this can't be it. I look at the run down old building. I spot the sign Ravenswood High. I guess this is it. I turn my car into the lot; there are a few cars out here, one of them being Caleb's car. Okay, he's here; I'm glad I didn't drive all this way for nothing. I pull my car into an open space. I'll wait here until he gets out.

I quickly lock doors, just because this town is really giving me the creeps.

...

My finger taps the steering wheel. It's been about an hour; they have to be finished now. I fidget in the smooth leather seats—my phone buzzes.

*8 o'clock the diner, don't forget.-James

Crap, I forgot I was supposed to go out later. I don't really want to go. There's no point in me going anymore. Even if there were a point now that I think about it, it would be foolish for me to go.

The diner is going to be filled with everyone from school. I know Ashely and Ryder will be there. Along with their followers. I'm not ready to see everyone just yet. I want to savor every minute of my last drama-free day.

The school's front doors open, and out comes Caleb and Logan. They have on their football uniforms, and they are holding their gear in their hands. Without thinking, I take a deep breath and get out of the car, shutting the door harder than I meant to.

They both spot me. Caleb's eyes go wide. A small smirk comes across Logan's face.

"Hey," I say to Logan as they get close.

"Hey," he responds; he looks at Caleb, who is still silent. "I'll be in the car," he says to him. I give him a goodbye smile. Caleb watches him as he walks away.

"What are you doing here?" he asks me. His deep voice makes my stomach flutter.

"We need to talk," I say softly.

"No." He shakes his head, "No, we don't." he turns around and starts to walk away from me.

"Caleb!" I grab his arm and gently pull him. He turns back around. "Please." my voice is fragile; I feel fragile; if he turns away from me again, I swear I will break into a million pieces.

"There's nothing to talk about!" He snaps; there's anger in his voice.

"There is!" I try to hold back the tears I feel, getting ready to fall from my eyes. "What happened to us? Why did you never call me back?"

His lips press together. "Like you don't know!" he spits.

"I don't know!"

"Well, ask Adams."

Adams? "Ryder?" I narrow my eyes. "What does he have to do with this?" What the hell is he talking about?

"Were you not in New York with him?"

How does he know he was in New York, and why would he think I was there with him? "Uhhh no, I was in New York with my parents. Ryder and his parents were there too; I didn't even know they were in New York until later that day...when I was already there." As he hears the words, I can see him loosening up. His body doesn't look as tight, and his eyes are starting to relax.

"Obviously, something is going on with you and him. So why should I believe you?"

"First of all, nothing is going on between Ryder and me, never has, never will," I say the words with complete confidence.

"Second, you should believe me because you don't even like Ryder." I narrow my eyes and cross my arms. "So why would you believe him and not me?" I can see him contemplating whether to believe me or not. He looks from me and to the ground. He has to believe me. "Caleb." he looks back at me. "You know how he is. Ryder is crazy. He... he's just..."

"So why did he answer your phone?" He blurts out.

"My phone?" I tilt my head in confusion. I think back to New York; when did Ryder have my phone?

"He answered your phone, I called you, and he answered," he says sternly.

My heart starts racing. I press my lips together in anger. "What did he say?"

"He said that you were in New York together and that you were with him," he explains.

Why would he do that? Why would Ryder... I don't even know why I'm asking myself this; I know exactly why he did it, because he's a selfish dick.

Just because he doesn't like his fucking life, he wants to ruin everyone else's. But when did he... I take a deep breath. "I was at this art gala thing with my parents, and he was about to make this huge scene," I explain without mentioning Alexander. "So we left and went out to this restaurant. When I went to the bathroom, I left my phone on the table, and he must have..."

"It's okay." Caleb interrupts. I look up at him into his warm brown eyes. "I believe you." He takes a deep breath. I feel really stupid," he admits.

"Don't, I mean, you thought I was with Ryder in New York; you had every right to be mad."

"Yeah, but it was stupid as shit for me to listen to him. I should've at least talked to you first." he looks down again. I step closer to him; his eyes meet mine. Without thinking, I grab his hand and give him a small smile. "I missed you," he says to me with intensity in his voice.

'Did you? Didn't look like it in that picture.' my subconscious says. I'm glad he can't hear it.

"I missed you too," I say back. The air feels thick, my lips part trying to take in more air, the heat from his body is bouncing off him and onto me. There goes that feeling, the feeling I always get when I'm around him, that familiar warmness overtakes me. I need to snap out of it; I can't do this again; this is not what I came here for. He leans down closer to me and pulls me closer to him. Our faces are centimeters apart. I can't stop it; I don't want to stop it. I close my eyes...

The school doors come open again, making a creaking sound; it startles me; I back away from Caleb, he still holds onto my hand even though I pulled back from him. Two girls come from the building; one is a familiar one. It's the girl from the picture.

What did James say her name was? Oh yeah, India. Gosh, she really is tall, and she's pretty. Prettier than me.

She has blue basketball shorts on and a gold T-shirt with the school's name on it. There are two boys behind them; they also have their football gear in their hands. Their conversation ceases when they spot Caleb and me.

Caleb is still holding my hand. The girl India looks at him, then looks at our hands, then her eyes land on me. She smiles and then looks back at Caleb.

"Hey, Caleb!" she tilts her head to the side.

"Hey," he says.

"Damn!" the dark skin boy says. He's looking at my car. "Who's sweet ass ride is that?!"

"Mines," I say.

His eyes go wide; he looks shocked. "Damn, girl, you can handle all that?" he laughs.

The brunette girl beside him smacks his arm. "Shut up, Chris." She rolls her eyes and then looks at me. "I'm Marcy, and this is big mouth, Chris."

Chris swings his arm around her and pulls her close to him. "Girl, you know you like this big mouth; you weren't complaining yesterday when I..."

"What's your name?" India asks me, cutting him off.

I pull my hand out of Caleb's. "Jayda."

She nods her head. "Nice to meet you, Jayda," she says, not sincerely.

She looks back at Caleb. "We'll see you later, right?" she asks him.

"Yeah."

"Cool." She and the rest of her friends walk off and get into their cars.

"Where are you going later?" I ask him even though it's none of my business.

He takes his hand and rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, we're going to the drive-in movies."

"In Crossland?"

He nods his head.

"Oh."

"Do you want to come?"

...

"I'm on my way back! I'm like 10 minutes away."

"Is Caleb with you now?" my dad asks.

"Uh, no, he's coming to get me later."

"Okay. See you soon," he says.

"Bye." I click the end call button on the steering wheel. I can't believe I agreed to go with him. I take a deep breath. Maybe this was a bad idea. I should have just said no. Or told him I was busy, I don't need to be getting closer to him, I can't get closer to him.

I can't believe my dad said yes. I wanted him to say no; that would've given me an excuse to not go out with Caleb tonight. Ugh, I wish he hated Caleb as much as he hates Ryder.

I still wonder why they don't like each other. I mean, it's always weird for an adult to dislike a child. I feel like it's more to it than my dad just disliking Ryder's reputation. It has to be.

I mean, my dad likes Caleb, and Caleb is from Ravenswood. Ravenswood has always been viewed as this bad, poor, wretched place. People judge everyone from there, my mom judged Caleb the first day she met him, but yet my dad didn't. Well, at first, he did, that is until he realized who he was. Maybe he likes him because Caleb plays football and he does have a good reputation.

But I don't know. I still feel like there's more to it. Maybe he doesn't really like him, perhaps he's tolerating him for my sake, or maybe he's tolerating him for another reason. But what?

My phone rings. I look on the dashboard to see who it is. It's Thomas. I click the answer call button on the steering wheel. Man! I'm glad this car has Bluetooth.

"Hello."

"Hey," he says.

"What's up?"

"Okay, so the coding you did was amazing!" he praises me.

"Thank you."

"The team and I are really feeling confident about the upcoming competition."

"Who are we going against?" I ask.

"Harrison Prep."

The name makes me think of Katie. I wonder how she is doing; I haven't heard from her since that day at the house. She couldn't possibly still be mad at me. All I was trying to do was help her.

"We really wish you could come to the competition. It wouldn't feel right winning without you being there," he says passively.

"Well... your wish has been granted, I can come."

"What?" he gasps.

"I'm coming back to school tomorrow," I say grimly.

"Really?!"

"Yup."

"Did you tell, Violet, Liam, Ja-."

"I didn't tell anyone." I cut him off. I don't know why I didn't tell them. I just didn't want to. "So keep it to yourself, Thomas."

"Will do. They won't hear it from me." He says. "Are you coming to the diner tonight?"

I turn the car onto our street. "Oh yeah, I'm going to try to make it."

"Okay, well, I'll see you later."

I pull the car in front of my house. "Okay, bye."

"Bye."

I hang up the phone and turn my car off. There's a dark blue Cadillac right in front of me. It doesn't belong to my parents. Unless my father bought another car today, Nah, it can't be his he wouldn't drive a Cadillac.

I unlock my car door and get out. I close the door and then click the key's lock button; the car beeps twice then locks. I head to the house. I need to take a shower and change. Caleb should be here in about an hour. I don't have much time; it took longer to get back than it took to get there.

I put my key into the door and unlock it. As I open the door, a pamphlet falls on the floor. I bend down to pick it up.

"Hey, Jay." I hear my father say from the left of me; he must be in the living room.

I lift, getting ready to greet him back; my eyes go wide when I see who's sitting on the couch across from him.

Ryder.

(I'm sure we all saw this coming, ugh he ruins everything. OMG I really wanted Caleb and Jayda to but not yet, that wasn't the right moment. I still cant believe no one has figured out why Ryder and Marcus don't like each other, lmao, just wait yall gonna be shocked!

ps. sorry this chapter is so long I'm not sure if I'm going to update later today so this is like 2 chapters. )