For some reason—or many—Nash and I didn’t click together as easily as our counterparts. But I enjoyed the time we did share together. At day’s end, though, when I shut down my computer, I often gazed out my bedroom window and up at the moon and wondered if, like my friends, I’d ever find true love.
Chapter Three
The New Guy in Town
When a new student first arrived at Legend’s Run High, their entrance didn’t go unnoticed. Though everyone at Legend’s Run High didn’t hang out together, we all knew one another. It was odd to see a strange face.
It was late October, just after the campfire and werewolf-scare outing, and I was taking notes in government class when something caught my attention. Outside our classroom window, I saw an olive green beat-up Jeep pulling into an empty space in the student parking lot. I had to squint but noticed a WWF sticker on the front bumper. The driver-side door opened and a guy got out, wearing a vintage brown leather motorcycle jacket, torn jeans, and black hiking boots. He walked into the school building. A few moments later, the bell rang to change classes.
When I arrived at English class, I found my desk occupied. The guy in the vintage leather jacket was riffling through his backpack and placing a notebook on my desktop. In Mrs. Clark’s class the students weren’t seated in alphabetical order, or any other order for that matter, but rather we elected to take a desk where we wanted. Since school began, I sat in row six, first chair from the window. Abby sat next to me and Ivy next to her. Their boyfriends and Nash sat along the row nearest to the door.
When I noticed the stranger sitting in my seat, I didn’t know what to do. I preferred to sit by my friends, but he was a new student and I wasn’t about to tell him to move—I just didn’t think it was polite. Instead, I chose an empty chair in the back.
Ivy spotted the stranger sitting in my seat and took it upon herself to confront the situation.
“That’s okay—” I tried to say, but my words weren’t heard.
“Excuse me, that desk is already taken,” she said abrasively. Ivy got very territorial when it came to breaking up our clique. But it was okay with me. I could survive a day sitting on my own.
The new guy opened his notebook and looked up at the blond girl hovering over him, scolding him as if she were the teacher. I was hoping Ivy wasn’t going to make a fuss. The new student would probably have moved had she been polite, but it seemed as if it was too late.
I hid behind my textbook. For a moment Ivy wasn’t as confident as she was when she first approached him. I hoped this meant she was going to soften and either apologize or just return to her seat.
Instead, Abby joined her. Even though Ivy and Abby were pretty, their temperaments could sometimes leave even the kindest gentlemen challenging them to a duel rather than tipping their hats. Ivy threw her hair back and straightened her stance.
“This is my friend’s desk,” Ivy said, again in a very unpleasant tone. “She sits here every day.”
The new guy didn’t budge. He paused, weighing his words. “Are you two on the welcoming committee?” he asked. “I didn’t see your pictures in the brochure.”
A few skater students around him snickered. I couldn’t help but giggle, too.
Abby tightened her lips. After all, she was used to competition, and it appeared that she wanted to win this battle.
“I understand you are new . . .” Abby charged, in a strong whisper, “but things work a certain way here, and the sooner you know this the easier it will be for you.”
He sat up and leaned into Ivy. “This is your friend?” he said to her. “You might want to reconsider.”
We all laughed again, even Dylan and Jake, who probably wished they could have said it. Abby and Ivy both folded their arms. It was clear the new student wasn’t going to budge under the pressure of his two bossy classmates.
“No, that is our friend,” they said in unison. Then they both pointed to me.
The new guy turned around. He was completely captivating and model gorgeous. His short hair was dark and wavy, his face as perfectly sculpted as I’d ever seen. He stared straight at me—his eyes a deep, riveting royal blue. We locked gazes and I almost lost my breath. My face flushed red. I was unable to look away, and I didn’t really want to.
I’d never felt such a powerful stare—or witnessed such a handsome student.
He almost broke a smile, and my heart along with it.
The new student turned back, grabbed his notebook and backpack, and rose. He towered over my friends, who were blocking his way. They stepped aside, and he moved to an empty chair in the back of the class without another word.