Freanchy and Nicole sat in English Lit. class.
"Whoa, did you see the look on Jessie's face when Taylor handed her his jacket?" Freanchy asked, smiling.
Nicole nodded. "Yeah, that was so sweet!" she paused. "He seems really nice. I hope they hook up. They would look so cute together! He's so tall and she's really short. It would be adorable."
"Yeah it would be." Frenchy said, deep in thought. Then a mischievous grin played over her face.
Nicole had seen this look before. She didn't like it. It worried her. She held up a hand before her friend could say anything. "Whatever you're thinking, stop. I don't want to have anything to do with it."
"Oh come on. You just finished saying what a cute couple they would be!"
Nicole shook her head. "No I didn't. I just said, 'stop. I don't want anything to do with it.'"
"Fine. Me, Stacey, and Jen will do it when she gets back. I'll call her when I get home. She'll do it. And while Jess and Taylor are walking down the hall holding hands and dancing at the prom, we'll all know who will be responsible for it all." Frenchy said, mater-of-factly, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Nicole sighed. She wanted Jessie to have someone to be with like everyone else. The last boyfriend she could remember Jessica having was Kyle, who she broke up with after her father died. Then Kyle moved away and she hadn't had one since.
"Okay, I'll help."
The guys all sat in American History.
Nick and Taylor carried on a conversation while Brett and Marques had their own little conversation, and listening in on Nick and Taylor's.
Taylor was trying to dig up enough information about Jessica as he could, but none of the other guys were much help. All he had found out was her last name, age, and the fact that she was on the soccer team.
"I haven't known her long." Brett informed. "She's not exactly the easiest person to get to know, with her being all shy and everything. But she's Jennifer's friend, so I have to accept her, I guess."
"Is that all you know?" Taylor whined.
Nick shrugged. "I haven't known her that long either. She's really nice though, once you get to know her and get used to the shyness."
Taylor gave Marques and Brett a pleading look. "Do either of you know anything?"
Brett shook his head, but Marques nodded. "Yeah I know a little bit about her. I used to go with her a long time ago. But we broke up and I got with Nikki and she started going out with my ex-best friend Kyle."
Taylor swallowed thickly. "Is she still with Kyle??" Please say no! He silently prayed. I don't want to have to deal with a boyfriend.
Relief rushed over Taylor when Marques shook his head and said no.
Suddenly something hit him. "You don't mind that I'm going after her, do you?"
Marques' eyes widened. "No way! Like I said, I'm with Nicole now, and I love her, so I couldn't careless, man."
"Okay, good. So what do you know about her?"
Marques gave Taylor all the four-one-one he knew about Jessica.
At the end, Taylor found himself liking her more, and more, even though he had just met her that day.
He looked down at his schedule which was laying on his desk. "Does anyone have chemistry next?" he asked.
They all shook their heads.
"Damn,"
Taylor walked into the chemistry lab, which smelled like a mixture of a gas and battery acid. He sat down on an empty stool and watched the door to see if anyone he knew would walk in.
He felt his heart skip a beat when Jessica walked in. He laughed when he noticed her nose crinkle at the smell.
He watched her scan the room for an empty table. He gestured to her to sit in the stool beside him. He was pleased to see that she was still wearing his jacket.
She walked slowly over to the stool next to Taylor. She smiled at him shyly. "Hey."
He smiled back at her. "Hey."
As Jessica watched the door, waving occasionally at people she knew, Taylor looked her over. She had pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail, two strands feel on each side of her face. Her jeans feel loosely over her shoes, and her green shirt stopped right above her jeans.
Jessica felt Taylor's eyes on her, she pulled the jacket tighter around her, then turned to him. "Where did you move from?"
Taylor, caught off guard by her sudden interest to talk to him, squeaked and said, "Huh? Oh! Tulsa, Oklahoma."
"Cool." She then got a sympathetic look on her face. "Do you miss your friends?"
Taylor nodded and looked at her. "Yeah, I do."
Jessica nodded, understanding the hurt look in his eyes. "I know how you feel."
Taylor looked into her blue eyes. "You do?"
She nodded again. "Yeah. I moved here from New York when I was nine. I left all of my friends and family," she paused and laughed bitterly. "I cried for days."
Taylor continued to listen to her talk about her friends. This was probably the most he had heard her speak all day.
Jessica stopped talking and blushed fiercely. "I'm sorry. I'm probably boring you. And I can't believe I just said that much."
Taylor smiled. "You're not boring me." He suddenly was overcome with the impulse to kiss her, and it took over. He leaned forward, but was interrupted by the teacher coming into the room.
Jessica was both relieved and disappointed by the interruption. She breathed in deeply.
I will be assigning lab partners," the teacher said. "Please go to your assigned table when your name is called."
The teacher pulled a sheet of paper from his briefcase. "Sean Kelley and Rebecca Moore, table one. Catherine Thomas and Billy Jordan, table two. Table three...Jessica Smith...and..."
Please be me! Please be me!
"Taylor Hanson."
Yes! he thought happily. He gathered his books then followed Jessica to their assigned table
Stacey, Nick, and Marques sat in biology. They watched the teacher write rapidly on the chalkboard.
The room smelled of a mixture of phramaldihyde and frog guts. Stacey felt as if she was about to hurl.
"Please choose a partner." Mr. Poole instructed.
Nick walked over to Stacey and put his arms around her shoulders. "Wanna be my partner?"
She smiled at him. "Sure, but only because no one else wants to be your partner."
Nick chuckled and sat down beside her. "What do you think of Tay?"
"He seems nice enough. But he moves kind of fast."
Nick looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Stacey looked thoughtful. " I mean, it's his first day here, and he's already hitting on Jessie."
Nick laughed. " Most guys are like that."
Stacey starred at him. "Are you?"
He was caught off guard by the question. "No..."
"Three people in a group, please." Mr. Poole said as he came by.
They gestured for Marques to join them.
"Guess we're stuck together for a while." He said, setting down his books."
The final bell finally rang and everyone met in the parking lot, leaning against Marques' new black Alexus.
"Ugh." Nicole exclaimed. "I can already tell this is going to be a long year."
The others agreed with grunts and moans.
"Jen's going to have a hell of a time when she comes back." Frenchy murmured, leaning against Ben, who's arms were wrapped around her waist.
They continued to chat. Then a group of senior football players came walking by. One of them ramming hard into Jessica's small shoulder, almost sending her flying to the ground, but she managed to keep her balance.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, shorty!" he yelled in her face.
"She didn't do anything to you!" Nicole said loudly.
"Yeah! You ran into her!" Stacey jumped in.
"Well then she should watch where I'm going!" he cracked., slapping his hysterical friends a high five.
"S-sorry." Jessica stumbled over her words, forcing back the tears that threatened to pour.
This sent the jock and his buddies into an up roar. The jock hit her shoulder again, this time sending her flying into a furious looking Taylor. "What jerks." He whispered, helping Jessica to her feet.
They laughed again. "Just watch yourself next time short-stuff." Then they walked off, punching each other.
Everybody looked at Jessica, who looked as if she were on the verge of tears. She rubbed her now bruised shoulder. "I-I have to go," and with that she took off running, ignoring the shouts of her friends.
The guys all sat in American History.
Nick and Taylor carried on a conversation while Brett and Marques had their own little conversation, and listening in on Nick and Taylor's.
Taylor was trying to dig up enough information about Jessica as he could, but none of the other guys were much help. All he had found out was her last name, age, and the fact that she was on the soccer team.
"I haven't known her long." Brett informed. "She's not exactly the easiest person to get to know, with her being all shy and everything. But she's Jennifer's friend, so I have to accept her, I guess."
"Is that all you know?" Taylor whined.
Nick shrugged. "I haven't known her that long either. She's really nice though, once you get to know her and get used to the shyness."
Taylor gave Marques and Brett a pleading look. "Do either of you know anything?"
Brett shook his head, but Marques nodded. "Yeah I know a little bit about her. I used to go with her a long time ago. But we broke up and I got with Nikki and she started going out with my ex-best friend Kyle."
Taylor swallowed thickly. "Is she still with Kyle??" Please say no! He silently prayed. I don't want to have to deal with a boyfriend.
Relief rushed over Taylor when Marques shook his head and said no.
Suddenly something hit him. "You don't mind that I'm going after her, do you?"
Marques' eyes widened. "No way! Like I said, I'm with Nicole now, and I love her, so I couldn't careless, man."
"Okay, good. So what do you know about her?"
Marques gave Taylor all the four-one-one he knew about Jessica.
At the end, Taylor found himself liking her more, and more, even though he had just met her that day.
He looked down at his schedule which was laying on his desk. "Does anyone have chemistry next?" he asked.
They all shook their heads.
"Damn,"
