Owen looked in the mirror and cross examined the person he saw staring back at him. Average height, average size, maybe slightly more muscular. He was a cliché and stereotypical jock, yet he had a way of flying under the radar and avoiding drama. And that was just how he liked it. He left his reflection for a moment and ventured to his closet. It was the first day of his senior year; his last first day of high school. After a few minutes of looking, he finally decided on wearing a light blue shirt with thin, black stripes and faded blue jeans. He went back to his mirror and teased his hair for a minute. After he decided he looked acceptable for school, he walked out of his room, turned off the light, and closed the door. He walked into the kitchen, where the smell of pancakes and bacon lingered in the air.

"Owen, honey, I hope you're hungry! I made you a big breakfast for your big day!" his mom said with an obnoxious smile.

Owen rolled his eyes at how desperate his mom was for things to get back to normal with them. Ever since his dad was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, things had been a little off. She was more tense and irritable, and because of this, Owen grew to be even more angsty towards her. Neither of them really liked how things were, but they learned to accept it. One thing remained the same between them, however- they both shared the fear of his dad's life.

"No, Mom. I'm fine. See you later," he said with a chill to his voice as he walked out of the door.

He walked down the sidewalk and onto the paved driveway, where his black convertible sat. He got in the driver's side, threw his bookbag onto the passenger's seat, and drove the 2 miles to school. When he got there, he drove around the parking lot and found a spot close to the front doors. He grabbed his bookbag, slammed the door, and walked into Degrassi Community School.

The very first person he saw was Anya MacPherson. God, she looked beautiful. She was wearing a red ruffled shirt and a flowered skirt. Her hair was neatly pinned back, and her brown eyes shone brighter than ever. Owen's heart skipped a few beats whenever he saw her nicely tanned hand reach up to push her hair behind her ears. He was in love with her; that was undeniable. But nobody needed to know he felt that way. She must've felt his eyes burning her back because before he could look away, she turned her head and smiled at him. He could feel the butterflies attacking his stomach and his heart skipping beats. He gulped and returned a shy smile. He quickly looked away and gently chewed on his bottom lip. 'Damn it, she probably thinks I'm a creeper,' he thought to himself. He decided not to think about it and walked into school.

He then saw the school's mos t famous couple- Eli and Clare. He sighed. How could two people be so perfect for each other… yet so different? This blew his mind, and he was forbidding himself to be jealous. He looked to his left and saw the Coyne twins, Declan and Fiona. They were the richest kids in the school, and if you didn't know that already, you could easily tell by the way they dress. Declan was always wearing a dress shirt and a tie, and Fiona always wore something that made her look like a middle aged business woman. He looked ahead and saw students from every grade flooding the hallways. Screams of friends reuniting were heard down the halls, and freshmen were walking around with their noses in their maps like lost puppy dogs. Out of the corner of his eye, Owen saw his best friend Riley leaning up against a wall of lockers. Riley was the starting quarterback, and he knew how to present himself as such. But despite his reputation, Owen felt that there might be something about him that he hid from everyone, even his best friend. Owen shot him a quick smile and walked over to greet him.

"Hey man, it's nice to see you. It's been a while," Owen said with a grin.

"What's up dude?" Riley asked, returning the smile.

The two walked to their first class together and got ready to endure the school day.