ZANE'S P.O.V.
It's weird, the way things work out. I mean, one minute you think you're supposed to hate someone, and the next they change your life. I was never supposed to like Rikki Chadwick. I hate her friends, so it only makes sense to hate her. I used to think I hated her, but turns out I didn't. At least, not until the other day. I was walking home from school on the last day when I noticed a petite figure say goodbye to her friends. They separated and I saw her start walking home. For some reason, I couldn't keep my eyes off of hers. I was lost in those beautiful blue eyes. They reminded me of the ocean. Then, I saw the parts of her wavy, blonde hair that were not up in a bun, blowing in the wind. She didn't mind it. She just smiled as she felt the breeze, which got me to notice her ruby red lips. I remember getting a tingling sensation up my spine. She was beautiful, unlike anything I ever saw. I wondered how I never noticed before. Since that day, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. The weird thing is…I barely know anything about her.
~~2 Months Later~~
"Rikki! You ready?" Terry shouted, signaling for his daughter to hurry up before she misses the bus.
Rikki just sighed as she finished packing up her bag. She didn't want to go back to school. Her summer was amazing, having every day to swim, especially with Emma and Cleo. They had a blast all summer, and school was the only thing that could ruin it. "Yea dad!" Rikki shouted back. She grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder as she walked out the door. Terry was right there waiting for her. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Have a great day pumpkin," he smiled. She exchanged the smile and thanked him, then walked out of her house. She left to the front of the trailer park, where the bus would be picking her up. As she waited for the bus, she couldn't stop thinking about how she longed to get a car. Her dad and she agreed to wait, seeing as they couldn't afford it right now. But still, she couldn't help but think about it. The long, yellow bus pulled up to her neighborhood and the doors split open, welcoming her in for the ride. Rikki sighed. "Welcome to hell," she mumbled as she walked up the steps to find a seat. She found a couple other juniors on the bus. One, to her surprise, was Zane Bennett. She was sure he would've had a car by now, considering his rich dad would have helped him out. She pushed her way to the back of the bus. As soon as she was about to sit down, the bus sharply started moving again. The pressure made her fall back, causing her books to spill everywhere. "Whoa!" she shouted as she fell. She saw all the books on the floor and sighed, as she went to pick them up, Zane got up immediately and came to her side.
"Here, let me help," he said, as he started picking up her history and math books. She was surprised, but decided to let him help anyway. They both stood up at the same time. Zane handed the books to her. "…thanks," was all Rikki said and took them from him. She stuffed them back in her bag and took a seat. Rikki got out The Giver by Lois Lowry and started reading. It only took her about 30 seconds to look up and realize Zane was still standing there. "Can I help you?" she asked bluntly.
"No, um…I was just…going back to my seat," Zane said. He turned around and walked back over to his bus seat to resume looking out the window, as he had done before Rikki got on. Rikki just rolled her eyes and went back to her book. She couldn't pay attention to her book, though, because she kept wondering why in hell Zane would ever help her, even with something as simple as books falling. I mean, if anything, she would've expected him to trip her again right after she collected all her books. She decided to shake it from her mind, and figured he was just having an off day or something. As soon as she looked back to her book, she felt the bus make a sharp stop. She looked up to see the school, and put her stuff away. She stared at the school for a good couple minutes, before walking inside.
