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PERSON_PROFILE

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to homecoming with me," I ask Maddox, the school popular guy.
My evil cousin and her friends forced me to do that.
Now they are snickering and laughing with their hands over their mouths.
"Okay," he says in his semi-familiar deep voice.
"Well, I tried," I mutter before I suddenly went rigid. "Wait, what did you say?"
"I said okay," he repeats as if annoyed.
"O... Okay...?"
The guy who turned down every girl at school?
After I accidentally spilled my lunch all over him?
"Wear red, it's your color." he responds.
Great, my cousin’s gonna end me in my sleep tonight.

Prologue
"You must be Olivia," the blonde in front of me speaks in a bored manner, brushing a strand of wavy, blonde hair over her shoulder. I nod, trying to ignore the fact that she's nearly a foot taller than me. She's definitely grown up quite a bit since the last time I've seen her, given that was almost nine years ago. I'm sure I grew as well...a couple of inches at the most.

"You must be Vivica," I smile at my cousin. She doesn't exactly smile back; instead she shifts her cheer-leading bag on her shoulder and looks at her mother. Rude.

"Chelsea and Tracy are coming over at five. Can we get a pizza?" she inquires as she traces her long, manicured nail.

Her mother nods. "Yeah, can Olivia hang out with you guys?" my aunt asks and I immediately feel my face go red. I spent the time Vivica wasn't home preparing for when she arrived. I got a drink and a snack just so I wouldn't have to engage in conversation with my stuck-up cousin. Now my aunt's just throwing me into the fire.

"No, it's fine! I can, uh, I can make my own friends," I attempt to dismiss in an attempt to not make Vivica hate me anymore than she apparently already does. I have a feeling that I left quite the impression on my cousin all those years back. Vivica glares at her mother with narrowed eyes.

When my parents told me that I was going to be coming here for the rest of my junior year, I tried to keep an open mind. However, the day before I was dropped off, my mom decided to let me know what exactly I was going to face. She warned me about my cousin's personality and her "impoliteness," as my mother called it. Basically, my mom said that she was spoiled and ungrateful. Well, she didn't exactly say the words, but she said something along those lines.

A few years back, when I was around eight years old, I had to come and stay with Aunt Genevieve, Uncle Thomas, and Vivica during the summer. Vivica, however, went to a day camp; I remember her yanking me aside and demanding that I stay out of her room. I also remember hitting her and telling her not to touch me. And then I remember my father coming back to get me a few hours later, even though I had been there for only a week.

"No, Vivica won't mind, right, dear?" Aunt Genevieve asks, looking at her daughter with the pointed expression that I know too well. My mother has the same one, probably because the two are sisters. Honestly, I don't want to hang out with Vivica and her friends. But I also remember my mother telling me to treat my aunt well and to not take advantage of her kindness, seeing as her daughter already does.

"Of course not," Vivica says with a flat expression. I feel awkward as I stand between the two with my gaze locked on my feet. I hear footsteps and a door closing quite aggressively. Knowing that it was Vivica throwing a tantrum because of me, I hold back a sigh. My father won't be coming to get me anytime soon.

"I'm sorry, she's just been having a bad week," my aunt excuses, trying to rack her brain for a potential reason as to why her daughter has been experiencing a bad few days. "She, uh, failed her French test."

I nod and, with a short lived smile, head towards my room. Not all of us can be good at French, you know? "She'll warm up to you, I promise!" my aunt calls from behind me and I nod again before opening and closing the door to my new room.

I'm sure she will...when I'm leaving. And who knows when that will be? And who knows if I can keep my cool until then?

- +

It's approximately 5:26 when Chelsea and Tracy appear and my mood immediately drop. I'm fetched from my room, where I'm hiding and unpacking my things, by a light knock on my door. Aunt Genevieve insists that I hang out with the girls no matter how much I protest.

"No, I think I'll just unpack. And I need to study my schedule and the school map so I won't get lost."

"No, it's okay I'll just stay in here."

"I'm tired from the car ride; I'm going to take a nap."

I'm going to punch your daughter in the face if she says something to me.

Well, of course I didn't say that last one. I mean, my parents taught me some manners. The point is that no matter how many excuses I conjure up, there's no way I'm getting out of this. As my aunt drags me down the hall to Vivica's room, I'm thinking up excuses as to why I could leave early. Obviously, Vivica won't want me there, and I doubt her friends will. I feel like an intruder- a violent, reluctant intruder.

We reach the door and a loud honking from outside jolts my aunt. "That's the pizza, I'll be right back. Stay here," she tells me before running off to the kitchen.

As I stand outside of the door, I hear faint voices from inside, followed by laughter. "Well, on Friday, he crashed Adrianna's party. They got so drunk and they were trying to drive the four-wheelers around in the woods but the cops came," a voice I recognize as Vivica's relays. "Anyway, back to what I wanted to tell you guys, I asked him."

"Don't tell me you asked him when the police arrived," one of the other girls responds in a joking voice.

"No, Chelsea. I asked him before everything went down. I left as soon as the cops showed up. The last thing I need is my mother breathing down my neck about nearly getting arrested," Vivica retorts sourly. "But I asked him and he said no! In front of everyone!"

"In front of everyone?" a different voice inquires curiously. I lean in a little closer to hear better. Now I'm kind of interested...

"Did I not just say that, Tracy?" Vivica snaps in her familiar high-pitched tone. "He said no and his friends laughed! Those goth freaks had the nerve to laugh at me! I assumed that popular people go to homecoming with popular people; I didn't even stop to think that he might've said no. I mean, it's an honor to be asked by me, right? I was so embarrassed so I just called for my ride. He showed right when the cops did."

"Maybe, he only said no because he had a few too many drinks," the same girl as before suggests hopefully.

"I messaged him this morning before practice and he didn't respond. He read my message. He still hasn't replied," Vivica sighs.

"How'd you get his number?" the girl Vivica called Chelsea inquires.

"One of his friends gave it to me," Vivica confesses. "She gave it to me. And I know it's the right number because she showed me the contact, and it was actually him. I don't know how I'm going to face him on Monday."

My aunt's footsteps sounds up the steps and I immediately retract from the door. Though I didn't know who or what they were talking about, I couldn't help but grow intrigued. Who had the nerve to turn down Vivica? Don't they know how rude she is? Aunt Genevieve appears carrying a large pizza box and she motions for me to open the door, so I do.

"Hey girls, this is my niece, Olivia," my aunt introduces as she places the pizza box on the dresser not too far from the door. The girls are smiling, despite the fact that we've just interrupted an in-depth conversation. "Be nice to her. She's new in town."

And with that simple statement, she closes the door, leaving me to stand there like an idiot. Like I predicted, Vivica's room is pink and purple. All of the girls are on the white carpet, and one of them motions for me to grab the food and sit down. She's brunette and is the only dark haired one of the three. She's a lot shorter than them, too. I can tell because even with her perfect posture, she can't sit up taller than the slouched girls.

"I'm Tracy," the brunette introduces as I slowly and cautiously sat down, trying not to drop the large box of pizza.

"Chelsea," the blonde announces. I smile nervously at both of them, noticing that they're both wearing cheerleading uniforms, much like what Vivica was wearing when she first walked into the house. She changed, though, into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

"Olivia," I introduce with a nod. I guess they don't seem that bad. They're sort of amicable, as far as I can tell.

"We know," they respond in unison. Vivica keeps her hands on her phone and texts away.

"We were just playing truth or dare, weren't we girls?" Vivica ask with a smirk. She slowly tucks her phone away. I want to sigh as the words leave her mouth.

"I thought it was dare or dare," says Tracy with a grin. I stare at the carpet, urging to just get up and leave. Amicable, yeah right.

"Oh yeah," Chelsea nods her head. "It's your turn, Olivia."

"But—," I don't want to play, especially not with people that I barely know, and already don't like. They lied straight to my face.

"You have to go. We all went," Tracy adds sharply. Vivica stares at me with narrowed eyes, as if scrutinizing me. I can tell that they're judging me based off of whether or not I'll agree to take my turn. Refusing to come off as wimpy, I nod.

"Okay," I state.

"Maddox Finnegan," Vivica smirks broadly. The other two girls' eyes go wide. I simply quirk an eyebrow. What the heck is a Maddox Finnegan? Is that who they were talking about only moments ago?

"That's a good one!" Chelsea coos. "Okay, so on Monday, you have to ask out Maddox Finnegan."

"To homecoming!" Tracy adds with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah!" Chelsea nods excitedly.

"W-who's that?" I ask as I look between the three girls with a lost and embarrassed expression plastered on my face. It better not be the guy who rejected Vivica. If he rejected Vivica, he'd surely reject me. Vivica scoffs and the other girls simply grin knowingly.

They refuse to say anything else and I can only sit there and watch as they snicker and laugh at my expense. This is going to be a great year.

Chapter 1: The Mighty Fall
Embarrassing.

That's the one word I'm going to use to describe my first day at my new school, Gregory H. Peters Preparatory High School. Everyone keeps staring at me like I'm an alien. I'm betting that they don't get new kids very often. I stick out like a sore thumb. And the fact that I have no choice but to trail behind Vivica and her friends doesn't help whatsoever. So far, I've made no friends.

I miss my old school. I didn't think I'd miss my old school, to be honest. I had a few friends there, most of whom I still talk to via text message and social media. I received a few "I miss you already" tweets this past weekend but I didn't bother to respond because that's just who I am, I guess. Distant is what my friends called me. Wild is what my parents called me, which is the entire reason why I'm here, in Harrington.

Parties, parties, parties. That's all I did according to my parents. In actuality, I went to school, ate, slept, occasionally partied, watched television, and read. I also hung out with my younger brother, Charlie, pretty often. Speaking of Charlie, I miss him a lot, probably more than I miss my parents. I was out of 'control and needed a change of scenery'. I think my father was just embarrassed of having to break up parties that I threw, or was attending. He said that he made the decision to send me to Aunt Genevieve's as a father, not as a cop. But for some reason, I don't think that's the case.

By the time lunch comes around, I'm unsure of where I'm going to sit. I don't want to be around Vivica and her toxic friends but I have nowhere else to go, really. My eyes scan the cafeteria once, twice, and three times before I notice Chelsea waving at me in the left, back corner of the large room. Should I just ignore her and pretend I didn't see her? But then where would I go? Hesitantly, I make my way over there, drawing eyes as I do. I let out a sigh. I wish I had spoken to someone, anyone, just so I wouldn't have to sit at my cousin's table. Today, I learned that she's popular, very popular. I just assumed that she was just a snob, but no, she's a very popular snob. So popular that she manages to split crowds just by getting in a room. If that didn't make me uncomfortable, the way she's whispering at the table does.

I stop in my tracks, uncertain of whether or not I should actually go to the table. I can lie and say that I have to change my schedule, which is actually fine. I only have one class with Vivica and it's my first period class, which I can handle it. On Friday, when I was forced to hang out with Chelsea and Tracy, they demanded I give them my schedule. I have one class with Tracy and two with Chelsea, but I realized that she usually skips those classes. She said so in the car ride this morning, which I was also forced into taking.

As I stand a few feet from the table, I decide that I'll just leave. I hastily turn around and slam into someone. The loud cafeteria falls silent as the sound of two people colliding and falling to the ground wafts through the air. I hear a deep voice swear and I feel my face immediately warm up. I waste no time in formulating my apologies. I'm such an idiot. I was just standing in the middle of the cafeteria staring at the table like a doofus.

I stand up and look down at the guy that I bumped into. The ketchup that I retrieved for my fries is now a stain on his black uniform shirt. I continue to apologize as I look around for napkins; no one offers any. Instead, they all stare at us. By the tense aura of the room, I can tell that whoever I just bumped into isn't someone to be messed with. I'm guessing the people around us are expecting him to lash out at me by the way they stare at him, waiting for a reaction.

"I'm sorry," I apologize again when I can't offer him any napkins. My lunch lay abandoned on the floor, as does his unopened soda bottle. I immediately pick it up and hand it to him. He stares at my outstretched palm before grabbing the soda. His green eyes stare at me as I try to explain the situation.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bump into you. I was just going to go change my schedule. I didn't mean to embarrass you. If it's any comfort, I'm pretty embarrassed, too," I continue to rant as my cheeks become more and more red. When you're the only one talking, it gets pretty awkward. Especially when you have over two hundred listening ears. My words are practically echoing off the walls.

I may not know this guy, but I know enough to say that he's intimidating. His broad shoulders basically overshadow my entire existence. His tapering eyes and messy hair are the only things I cam focus on. My stomach is clenched and knotted as I stare up at his tall figure. I wouldn't be surprised if he stepped on me. In fact, I kind of wish he would.

He watches me with furrowed eyebrows. His eyes fall to his shirt and his jaw clenches slightly. "Watch where you're going," he hisses. It's barely audible but the words rattle around my head, bouncing from wall to wall. He's capable of making the four words sound like a threat.

Without another word, he turns on his heel and exits the cafeteria. The breath I was holding is immediately released and I feel my stomach untie rapidly. I slowly made my way towards the lunch table I was avoiding once the janitors shoo me away from the dropped lunch.

I let out a slow. shaky breath as I sit down. The stress of that situation has wrecked my nerves. "You know who that was?" Chelsea asks with a smirk.

"Maddox Finnegan- the guy you're going to be asking to homecoming," Tracy grins proudly.

Can this day get any worse?

- +

Because I know his name and his face, Maddox Finnegan has popped up in two of my last few classes. During roll call, his name is called and he answers with a raise of his hand. I feel my stomach twisted into yet another knot when the last period bell rings and I have to leave the safety of the classroom to wait at Vivica's car.

"You have to ask him now," Vivica informs me once I reach her vehicle. His car is parked directly beside Vivica's and he's leaning against it, as if waiting for someone. Chelsea and Tracy look at me expectantly.

"Can't I wait until he forgets about how I bumped into him today?" I ask in a quiet voice as I rub my inner elbow nervously.

"You either ask him now or you don't get a ride home," Vivica explains louder than I would've liked.

Had I made a friend with a car, this wouldn't have been a problem. The drive here was about twenty five minutes, so walking would probably be triple the time. And since I don't know the way, it'd probably take me hours to find my way back to Aunt Genevieve's. I stare at them in annoyance. I'd say something but they'd think I was refusing to do it. And I wouldn't get a ride either way.

I sigh. "He's going to say no and embarrass me...again," I concur as I glance over at him.

"You won't know until you try," Chelsea grins encouragingly. I could tell that that is what they wanted: my embarrassment. I scoff and look at the car beside ours. He's leaning on the driver's side door, talking to a group of people excitedly.

A guy says something to him and he laughs, which is something I didn't think he was capable of doing. At least he's in a better mood. I glance at my cousin, who looks unrelenting. "Can't I wait until the crowd disperses?"

"You have five minutes," she announces as she glances at her phone. Luckily for me, the group slowly thins out and instead of it being five people, it's only two: Maddox and a guy with blonde hair.

I slowly walk around his car and approach him nervously. My palms begin to sweat so I rub them against my skirt. His friend spots me first and nudges Maddox in the side. He glances up when his friend elbows him and turns his gaze on me. He takes on a threatening stance as if I'm going to throw all the condiments in the world at him. His shirt is changed into a white button up, another uniform option. I wonder what he did with the black one that I wrecked.

His friend mutters something to him before walking away and I let out a sigh of relief. The less people who see my embarrassment, the better.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize about earlier," I nod awkwardly as I stare at the floor. I feel his eyes on me and I nervously brush my hair from my face. I wait for a response but come up short so I look up, notice that he's staring at me, and immediately look down again. "I also have a question." I glance up at him and find him scrutinizing me. I look the other way and try to count the amount of seconds until my rejection. "You know what homecoming is, right?"

He didn't respond so I sigh. "This is like talking to a brick wall," I mutter as I kick at the gravel beneath my feet. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to go to homecoming with me," I inquire as I glance behind him. I watch as my cousin and her two friends hold their hands over their mouths as they snicker and laugh.

He peeks over his shoulder before looking back at me. My face is bright red and I can feel my palms growing sweatier and sweatier with each shaky breath I take. I really shouldn't stress it this much. I know he's going to say no. I don't want him to say yes. "Okay," he says in his semi-familiar deep voice.

"Well, I tried," I mutter before I suddenly go rigid. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said okay," he repeats as if annoyed.

"Okay as in...?" I ask as I quirk my eyebrows upward in slight shock.

"Okay as in I'll go with you," he responds. I peek over his shoulder and see Vivica's eyes widen as Chelsea and Tracy turn to look at her.

I simply nod a few times before walking around the car and back to Vivica, who looks angry. "Did he say yes?" she inquires even though she already knows the answer. I slowly nod, still shocked myself that he agreed. Her eyes narrow at the ground as her mouth purse together.

"Uh, we can't give you a ride home. We have cheer-leading practice at a nearby school," Chelsea states and I stare at her, slightly stunned. Like clowns, they all pile into the car and speed out of the lot.

I swear under my breath as I take out my phone and dial my aunt's number. There's no response so I groan. I have no money for a cab, and even if I did, I don't even know the address. It's difficult to remember. My old one was simple: 12 Taverness Drive. This one has a list of numbers and I'm not sure if it's a lane or a drive or what.

Rubbing my eyes, I sigh and prepare to go into the office to ask where my aunt even lives. "They left you?" a low voice from behind me asks.

I turn around and nod, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah, they did," I mutter.

He looks hesitant as he bites his mouth. "Do you need a ride?" he asks, appearing unsure as to whether or not he even feels up to giving me a ride.

I'm surprised at the fact that he asked me so I slowly nod. "Yeah."

"Come on," he grunts as he kicks off his car and opens the door for himself. I shuffle over to the side and tug open the door, in fear that he'll leave me if I tell him that I have to run inside for a minute to get my new homes' address.

As he starts the car, I grow curious. "Aren't you waiting for someone?" I wonder as I look back at the large building we were just released from.

"Nope," he concludes as he backs out of the parking space and drives out of the lot. "We have to stop and get gas."

"Okay," I nod at him.

As we reach the gas station, he gets out of the car. Before he closes the door, he leans forward and looks at me. "Don't touch anything."

"No promises," I murmur as I look around at the clean interior. He harshly stares at me and I roll my eyes. "I'm joking!" Maybe I shouldn't do that with him.

When he gets back into the car after filling up the tank, he turns to look at me. "What's your address?" he asks as he prepares to leave the lot.

"I don't know," I answer after a moment of trying to pull the location from thin air.

He stares at me and blinks a few times. I look back at him and awkwardly meet his eyes. He has very pretty eyes. The thought causes my face to burn so I avert my gaze and peer out the window. Hopefully he sums it up to me being embarrassed at his staring. He probably thinks I like him. I mean, I'd understand if he does. I asked him to homecoming and I barely know him. And whenever I look at him, I blush like an idiot.

"What do you mean you don't know?" he asks with slightly narrowed eyes as he drags me back to reality.

"I just came to live with my aunt on Friday," I clarify with a meek shrug. "I didn't have time to memorize the address."

"Do you even know the street name?" he questions in bewilderment.

"No. I just know that it is twenty five minutes from school...and the house is blue...and the number of the house has a five in it," I inform him as I purse my mouth in thought. He stares at me before letting out an exasperated sigh. I try to think of something he may know. "Do you know where Vivica lives?"

"No, why would I?" he retorts with a slight scowl. I have a feeling that he doesn't like Vivica very much.

"Don't get an attitude with me! This is a particularly small town; I just assumed that people know people!" I respond as he parks the car outside of the gas station. "I think I might be able to retrace the drive from the school."

He sighs yet again and makes his way back to the school. I can tell he's thinking that I'm more trouble than I'm worth. I can't help but think that, too.

- +

Thirty minutes later and we're still driving around. "Left?" he wonders as he stops at another similar looking street.

"Yeah," I respond and he turns. "Wait, no! I meant right!"

He groans noisily and glares at me. I notice how his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. "I'm wasting gas on you," he repeats once again.

"I'll pay for it," I tell him for the third time.

I stare at my cell phone and see a response from my aunt. It's the address. I quickly read it out to him and he slowly turns to look at me. "We're a half hour away from there. You took us in the opposite direction of your house," he snaps with an irritated look on his face.

"I've been here for, like, three days, okay? I don't have the entire town memorized," I retort defensively. He glares at me and I sigh quietly. "How much do you need for the gas?" He doesn't respond and we sit in silence for a good block of time. As we get closer to the house, I turn to look at him. "You know, we don't have to go to homecoming together. I-I, uh, I was dared to go. I didn't expect you to say yes, and the girls didn't either. You probably have other stuff to do." He remains silent.

If every moment spent with him will be this tense, then I don't want to spend four straight hours with him. I wait for a response but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he keeps his eyes narrowed as he reads street signs. A few moments later, he pulls onto a recognizable street and slows down.

"Which house?" he questions me. I nod to the blue one at the corner, which is covered in wind chimes that are twinkling here and there. He pulls up to a stop in front of it. The white porch swing is empty, as is the driveway. Hopefully, my aunt's car is parked in the back. I don't like being home alone, especially in a house that isn't mine.

"I'll give you the gas money tomorrow. I'm not completely unpacked and my piggy bank is still in a box somewhere. Will ten dollars cover it?" I wonder as I look to him curiously. Again, he withholds his words so I awkwardly unbuckle my seatbelt. "Well, thanks," I mutter as I close the car door.

"Tell Vivian to lose my number," Maddox calls once I reach the sidewalk. I turn to him and nod. Vivica, I want to correct him but decide against it.

As I continue up the steps to the house, he yells out to me again. "What?" I respond as I turn around with a confused look on my face. He couldn't have said all this when I was still in the car within hearing range?

"Wear red," he repeats. I furrow my eyebrows as he drives off down the street.

Homecoming, I remember.

So he actually wants to go.

Chapter 2: Take My Money
I spend an hour looking through my boxes to try and find my green piggy bank. I come upon it and find that it's barely full. I wish my mother would've told me that she and my father would decide to send me off to my aunts so I could've saved up from my old job. Instead, the week before I left, I spent almost two hundred dollars on worthless items like party food and plastic bowls. I could've saved that until I managed to get a job here. I barely have fifty bucks to my name, and I already owe someone ten dollars. I sigh, take out a ten, and put it on my bedside table as I climb into bed.

I wake up the next morning with a jolt. My aunt pushes open my door and tosses a bag onto my bed. "Morning, sunshine!" she greets me in her slightly nasally voice.

I look at the bag, which landed on my legs, and groan. I sit up, open the sack, and allow my shoulders to slump. School uniforms. I guess my parents bought these for me. Yesterday, I used one of Vivica's old ones from her freshman year. It was one of the few that wasn't hemmed and stitched so the skirt rose a few inches, and the shirt actually still had buttons.

After I shower and get ready, I meet my aunt and cousin downstairs. My aunt's making breakfast, which smells delicious. With half lidded eyes and damp hair, I sit down at the table. My cousin picks at a piece of toast, looking primped and preened. She has an annoyed look on her face, which appeared the moment I plopped down in the seat beside her.

"Why'd you need to know the address yesterday?" my aunt wonders when her eyes settle on me.

"I needed a ride home but I didn't know where I lived," I confess as I shove a piece of bacon into my mouth.

"You needed a ride?" my aunt repeats as she looks between the two of us at the table. Yawning and rubbing my eyes, I blink a few times before nodding.

"Why didn't Vivica give you a ride?" Aunt Genevieve questions more to her daughter than me.

"She had cheer-leading practice at a different school," I admit flatly, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

"We're going to talk later," my aunt glares at my cousin. "How'd you get home?"

"I got a ride from Maddox," I explain, getting cut off in the middle of my sentence by a yawn, which causes my eyes to close slightly. Speaking of Maddox, I pat my pocket to make sure I have the money for gas. Vivica's eyes widen as a look of anger overtakes her face. Why's she so angry? She's the one that left me stranded in the school parking lot without a ride.

"You're going to give her a ride to and from school from now on," my aunt demands.

I don't bother speaking. Instead, I just eat a forkful of eggs and remain silent. When Vivica announces that we're leaving, I grab a napkin and load it up with the rest of my bacon. I make a move to wash my dish but my aunt stops me and smiles, nodding towards the door. I force a smile back and grab my bag from the floor, shoveling bacon into my mouth as I go.

The car ride is tense and everything Vivica does seems angry. She punches the radio buttons until a song she approves of comes on; she brakes rather hard; she turns fiercely; and she doesn't warn me whenever she's taking a sharp turn. I'm guessing that's how she takes out her anger: by beating up the passenger.

After arriving at school, I make a beeline for the bathroom. As I'm walking towards the toilets., which I found yesterday after a ten minute search, I spot a familiar guy standing at a locker. He carelessly shoves books into his bag. I slowly approached him, unsure if it was a good time. "Maddox," I state as I dip my hand into my pocket.

He turns around with that natural sour look on his face- the narrowed eyes and the set frown. "What?" His pretty green eyes are conical and his mouth is set in a line. I feel my face heat up when I realize that I was just staring into his eyes for a good minute.

"I-I have the money," I concur with him as I hold out the cash.

"Is that bacon?" he asks with furrowed brows. His eyes are locked on the napkin in my other hand.

"Yeah, want some?" I offer as I hold it out as well.

He shakes his head and I shrug, retracting my bacon-filled hand. "And I don't want the money," he tells me bluntly as he slams his locker.

"But I searched through my boxes for an hour for this," I grumble unhappily. I know what you're thinking- take the money and walk away. If he doesn't want it, be grateful. You're ten dollars richer (or maybe just not ten dollars short). But I can't help but feel like I owe him. He gave me a ride home even though I couldn't even provide him with an address until forty five minutes into town exploring.

"That's not my problem," he informs me. Without a second glance at me, he walks away with his hands tucked in his pockets. I glare at his back, fold up the money, and shove it into the slits of his locker. I, Olivia Ortega, refuse to owe anyone anything. I walk towards the bathroom and get in, listening as the bell rings, signifying that the day has just begun.

- +

It takes me a minute to realize that I have five of eight classes with Maddox. And it wasn't until American Literature, which is directly after lunch, that he comes up to me and places the money on my desk angrily. I shove it back towards him, lifting it when he doesn't accept it. "Take it," I demand.

"No," he states as he stands on the other side of my table, refusing to take the money. I keep my hand extended towards him.

"Take it," I repeat as I examine his face; his defined jaw is clenched and his long eyelashes create shadows on his cheeks in the bright lighting of the classroom. The green of his eyes is flashing as he blinks impatiently, trying to shrug off my attempts to give him the money. His pale, pink mouth is set in a line as he represses the urge to, most likely, swear at me and call me names. I pushed the money towards him again, cutting off his path to the back of the class.

"Maddox, have a seat," Mr. Harvey announces with a fleck of impatience in his tone. Maddox looks around and grits his teeth when he notices that the seat beside me is the only available chair. Everyone's eyes are on us as they wait to see what he'll do. He grumpily drops in the only open seat, giving me a glare when he realizes that this is the third time I've embarrassed him in a two day span. He shoves my hand away and I tuck the money into my pocket with a plan of slipping it into his bag once the bell rings.

Maddox ignores me the entire class period. Even when I attempted to ask him for help on a question, he disregards me. The teacher didn't explain it to me well enough and I didn't want to ask again, so I just shut up and pretended I knew what I was doing. In my old school, we didn't get this far into this lesson. In fact, we barely got into the lesson before this one. Was my old school behind or is this school ahead?

Maddox also ignores me when I ask him what time class ends. And I know he heard me. I mean, he made eye contact with me for a few seconds before he looked away. And the moment the bell rang, he jumped from his seat and dove out of the classroom, not bothering to retrieve the homework on the way out.

- +

In my Pre-Calculus class, which I have absolutely no friends in, I'm surprised when two girls take the seats beside me. I just assume that there's a shortage of seats until they introduce themselves to me. I recognize them; they'e two of the people who followed Maddox out of the cafeteria when I attacked him with my lunch.

"I'm Cassidy," the redhead introduces herself. She has several piercings on her ears, mouth piercing, and an eyebrow piercing. I smile at her and nod, still confused as to why she's talking to me.

"I'm Winona," the dark skinned one greets me. She doesn't have any piercings but her makeup is dark and smokey, like something I've seen in a tutor. I smile at her as well, nodding my head again. "You must be Olivia."

My eyes flicker from Cassidy to Winona in slight confusion. "Uh, yeah, how'd you know?" I ask.

"Maddox," they reply in unison. "We're his friends."

"Oh," I mutter. "Well, yeah, I'm Olivia."

The girls start a conversation with me and I politely engage, though still confused as to why Maddox told them about me. I don't bother to ask.

- +

"You're going to homecoming with a boy?" my aunt gasps the second I get in the house with my bag over my shoulder.

I nod slowly. "Yeah, how'd you know?" I wonder as I slow to a stop in front of her.

"Viv was talking about it on the phone when she came in," my aunt smiles. "Do you have a dress?"

I shake my head. "No," I answer in short. I don't even have money for one, if we're being honest. I really didn't think this through.

"Well, homecoming's this Friday! We need to go get you a dress," my aunt explains happily.

"Now?" I mutter when I see her grabbing her car keys.

"Yeah, or they'll all be sold out, if they aren't already!" she smiles at me. I can tell how excited she is to finally have a teenage girl to spend time with.

"Let me just run upstairs and get my money," I conclude when I realize that I may not be able to pay Maddox back after all.

"No need, I'll pay for it," she concurs with a dismissive hand wave.

I return the grin this time. "Thanks, Aunt Gen."

"No problem," she announces as she leads the way outside. I leave my bag on the living room floor as I shut the door behind us.

As we drive to the mall, I think about what Maddox said. Should I wear red? Or should I wear what I want to wear? After much contemplation, I decide that I'll wear what I want to wear, unless I find a cute, red dress. Then, I guess I'll get that. Upon our arrival, I notice a few things. There are a lot of teenagers and a lot of stores. This mall's definitely larger than the one from my old town, almost twice the size.

"Let's look around," my aunt suggests as she looks at the different stores. I follow behind her and peer around at the variety of shops that dot the aisle. "They have dresses." We cut across the large hall and get in the aforementioned store, where we're hit with a blast of heat. I immediately notice a red dress on a rack so I approach it and examine it. "So you want a red dress?"

"What?" I wonder as I tear my eyes from the dress.

"Your eyes darted to that red dress faster than my eyes dart to purses," she comments with a small chuckle.

I look down, feeling slightly embarrassed. At least she doesn't know my reasoning for wanting red. "It's cute, don't you think?" I ask her as I wave the garment around.

"Yeah, do they have your size?" she wonders. I survey the rack more and frown, giving a slow shake of my head. "We'll keep looking, then."

There isn't much to look at in that store so we keep it moving. Two stores later, we finally find a dress that's cute and has my size. After purchasing it (I thanked my aunt repeatedly for doing so), we exit the store. "Do you have any shoes?" my aunt wonders as her eyes fall on yet another girly store.

I stare at the floor and shake my head again. "Nope."

"No problem, we'll get you some!" she insists with wild eyes. "Vivica hates going out with me. It's good to have someone around that I can shop with."

"Thanks, Aunt Gen," I say for what seems to be the fifth time today.

"Anytime," my aunt responds. "When was the last time you talked to your mom?"

"Not too long ago, three days I think," I estimate. To be honest, it wasn't much of a talk. She just called to make sure I knew the rules, which she shouted at me repeatedly on the way here.

'Don't do anything disrespectful. Follow all of your aunts' rules. If she has a curfew different than ours, follow it without complaint. Don't get into trouble with the police. No parties, at all. Don't hit Vivica. I mean it, Liv; don't hit her...' My mom's voice drones on in my head.

"She told you the rules again, right?" my aunt grins at me.

I chuckle and nod. "Yeah, she did," I admit.

"Don't worry about it. You're doing just fine here."

I give my aunt a half smile. Maybe this year won't be so bad. At least my aunt won't be.

Chapter 3: The Happier Brother
I'm sitting in last period with a tapping foot. I look at the clock and sigh. When does the bell ring again? I just want to get out of school, but I don't exactly want to go back to my aunt's house. Vivica's probably going to have Chelsea and Tracy over so they can get ready together. Then, at eight o'clock, we'll just come back to school for homecoming. I'm not exactly excited for it. I barely know Maddox, and he doesn't seem very fond of me. However, he hasn't cancelled on me and I have a feeling he would've by now if he felt like he wasn't going to show up. Unless he wanted to wait until the last minute so I'd feel like absolute and utter crap. Then again, if he said he didn't want to go, I wouldn't be that sad. I guess I just don't want to spend four hours with him, especially because I'm depending on Vivica for a ride home, and if she sees that I'm having a bad time, she'll refuse to take me home until the school staff kick us out at eleven o'clock. She's still mad at me for many things, most of which I'm unsure about. I stopped caring after Wednesday. As long as she brings me to school and back, I'm fine.

Even if Maddox ditches me, I still have to go. My aunt bought me a dress and shoes and as far as she's concerned, I really like this boy. I don't know how she came to that conclusion seeing as I've been here for barely a week but I don't ask questions. Simply put, it'd be embarrassing if he cancels on me. It's worse because I won't know until I get to homecoming. He could've already decided he's not going to go without telling me and just stand me up. Now that I think about it, I bet he won't show up. We haven't talked since Tuesday, and he didn't seem very happy with me then, probably because I led him on an unintentional wild goose chase to my house on Monday. Or maybe it was the fact that I bumped into him.

Once the bell rings, I immediately begin packing up my stuff. Everyone else does the same. Mrs. Reanna is the type of teacher to yell at you if you make a move to put something back in your bag before the bell rings, even if it's an eraser. I jolt in surprise when a voice speaks in the quiet classroom. "Are we still on for tonight?" Maddox wonders in a strained voice.

I turn around as I swing my bag over my shoulder. Cassidy and Winona stand behind him with large grins directed at me. "Yeah," I confirm as I give both girls a confused look.

He groans and Winona elbows him in the side. Through gritted teeth, he questions: "Do you need a ride?"

I think about it. Would I rather sit through a tense, awkward ride with Maddox or a loud, obnoxious ride with my cousin and her friends, where they'd make fun of me and I'd have to refrain from ripping the door off its hinges and slapping them all across their faces with it? It isn't much of a competition, to be honest. "Yeah," I agree since he's offering.

"What's the address again?" he questions and I have a feeling Cassidy's pinching his side by the way he's cringing away from her.

"I'll write it down," I tell him as I reach for my bag.

"Or she'll just text it to you," Winona suggests quietly.

"Or you can text it to me," he blurts and I feel myself cringing for him. The two girls are using him like a puppet, poking and pinching him to get him to speak.

"I don't have your number," I state the obvious.

He digs into his pocket and retrieves his phone. I guess Winona pinched him a little too hard because he tosses it at me as he lets out a girlish squeal. I shuffle to catch it, almost dropping it several times. He has a terrified look on his face as he watches me fight gravity to grab the phone.

I notice that his phone doesn't have a lock on it. Huh, unusual. "Don't touch anything," he tells me in his normal, threatening voice. I glance at him and watch as his back arches in reaction to Cassidy pinching him. "Or touch whatever you want." His voice raises with each word he says.

I take my time adding a contact, glancing up at him judgmentally every so often to give off the idea that I'm reading his messages. At one point, I did look up at him with genuine judgment when I saw that he had several different female contacts; he had four Emma's and five Jessica's, if that gives you an idea of the lengthy list he had. When I finish, I hand him back his phone and he snatches it, which earns a pinch from Winona.

"I'll just text you when I'm going to leave my house. Reply with the address then," he informs me me. Winona and Cassidy drop their hands and he sighs in relief, hunching over.

"I'll see you later," I grunt as he leaves the classroom. He doesn't bother to acknowledge my farewell as he shuffles out. Cassidy, Winona, and I exit the classroom and begin walking in the same direction. "What was that about?"

"He didn't want to talk to you about your plans," Winona explains with a shrug. "So we had to use some force to get it out of him."

"Oh," I mutter in a slightly disappointed manner. If he didn't want to go with me, why didn't he just cancel? I'd rather go alone than go with someone who'll just constantly complain about my presence, which is something I think Maddox would do.

When I reach my cousins car, I find her waiting impatiently. She mumbles something about not waiting on me again as I buckle my seatbelt and I huff noisily in response. Halfway home, I turn to look at her. "I don't need a ride to homecoming."

"Why? Did he cancel on you?" she smirks in a somewhat satisfied manner.

I roll my eyes at her. "No, he's bringing me."

She doesn't bother to respond and only continues driving in her angry, dangerous manner.

- +

I get ready much quicker than the other girls, who arrive at the house at four thirty. I started getting ready at six and was completely prepared at 6:30. Given, I showered at 3:30 and curled my hair at four o'clock, but I wasn't in my dress. It wasn't until six that I got into my outfit, put on perfume, and then packed a small purse. I didn't put on makeup, mainly because I never learned how to. I only have an older brother and a younger brother, and my mother never wore makeup. There was no one to teach me. And I don't want to try and end up looking silly because I followed a professional YouTuber's tutorial.

I planned on watching a movie until 7:30 or so, which is when I thought Maddox would come and get me, but he came a lot earlier than I expected. At 6:40, I get a text from him telling me that he's leaving his house so I respond with the address and put on a few finishing touches. I grab my jacket, put it on, and walk downstairs with my purse over my shoulder. "You look so pretty!" Aunt Gen announces when I come into her view.

I smile at her, wondering if she only believes that because she helped picked it out. "Thank you," I comment awkwardly.

"Red is your color," she winks at me.

I hear a car honking outside and assume it's Maddox. I starts towards the door and she quirks a brow. "That for you?" she wonders as she glances out the front window.

"Yeah, I've got to go," I tell her. I know Maddox will get frustrated and drive off if I'm not outside in a minute or so.

"You're to be home by twelve!" she calls to me as I approach the front door. My eyes widen as the number leaves her mouth. My mother and father would've given me until nine on a good day. Of course, I was never home by nine, but I usually gave them the satisfaction of letting them set a time without me arguing in response. I nod at my aunt before exiting the house.

As I walk towards Maddox's car, I'm surprised to find him in an actual tuxedo. I don't know what I was expecting him to wear, but it wasn't anything remotely formal. It was probably all black and leather because he seems to be fond of that. From what I've seen so far, his uniform is always accessorized with the two. When I get into the car and admire his outfit, he glares at me. "Don't say anything."

"A tuxedo?" I ask with a small smirk on my face. I can't help but to tease. He glowers at me before he pulls off down the road. "Do you live far from here?"

"I'm not telling you where I live," he scoffs as if the idea of saying his address is preposterous.

"I probably won't know where it is, anyway. I was just assuming because it took you barely ten minutes to get here," I mutter as I stare out the window. We're silent as I continue to think. We never really introduced each other. I know his name thanks to Vivica and he knows my name... "Wait, do you even know my name?"

He looks at me with narrowed brows. "Yes, I'm not brainless."

"Oh, really, what is it then?" I inquire. He has to know, right? I mean, his friends knew.

"Olive," he announces confidently.

"It's Olivia," I correct him. At least he was close...

"I know. But Olive is better. It's a food," he mutters as he takes a left turn. Unlike Vivica, he turns normally, not with too much force or the goal of giving me a minor concussion.

"I don't like that nickname," I reply in hopes that he'll revert to using my real, birth name.

"It's not a nickname," he concurs with a slight head shake. "You have to like the person to give them a nickname."

We fall into silence again as he continues to drive towards the school. "Why'd you say yes?" I wonder aloud.

"You talk so much," he sighs.

"Answer the question and I won't talk again until we get to school," I propose as I pull at the end of my dress to yank it down. I forgot how uncomfortable these things are.

Instead of responding, he reaches for the radio. When I go to speak over it, he looks straight at, turns up the music, and rudely silences me. I dont bother to speak to him again.

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