Chapter 1

I think to myself, we will last forever. We will be like those old couples strolling around the city, hand in hand, taking in the breeze, and enjoying each other's presence. Like those old couples that sit on the bench cuddling with each other, loving each other, adoring each other.

As I look into his warm loving eyes, I know he's the guy who will always be by my side no matter what. I know he is the guy for me.

And I smile, knowing I'm a lucky girl because I am his.

Well, let me explain how everything came to that point.

Six years ago I was in high school and that's where everything began.

My name is Jessica Herd and I go to Greenville High School in Santa Barbara, CA.

I have my friends here and there. But for the most part, I'm open to everyone and I like to mingle and socialize.

Of course that doesn't mean that I don't have my crush.

James Maslow. Everyone knows who he is. Quarterback of the football team. Captain of the basketball team. It's a wonder why so many-actually all the girls- love and adore him. So who is he to even notice me?

But a crush is a crush, and I just had to choose him to fall for.

I bet he doesn't even know I exist. He's cocky in his ways, but he's also very smart when it comes to school.

I guess that's what made me fall for him.

That even though on the surface, he appears to be conceited in his looks and popularity, when it comes to studying for a big test or learning something new, he's always consistent in his studies.

And maybe that's why I liked him. Because I chose to seek something that no one in this school sees in him. Because I believe there is something more to him than what meets the eye.

It's the first day of senior year.

As I walk through the red, metal, double doors, I get that feeling of superiority.

I spot a group of freshman in a corner looking at the list of names posted on the white bulletin boards informing them where their homerooms are.

I smile, remembering that being me on my first day of freshman year. Thank God now I'm a senior.

Suddenly my best friend, Tracey, came rushing over to me dragging me away from that feeling of superiority.

"Jess!"

"Hey Trace," I said.

"How was your summer?" She asked.

"Amazing. Spent most of it at the beach."

"I know. Your tan is amazing. I loved Europe."

She mentioned she was going to Europe the entire summer before we got out of school. She was going to tour London, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Amsterdam, Turkey, etc. Basically almost all the European countries. Her parents had been saving up money for a two-month and a half trip to Europe. She just got back three days ago.

"Oh yeah, how'd it go?"

"Amazing. I fell in love with Istanbul."

"I can see," I said motioning to her bracelet with printed letter saying, "I love Istanbul".

She flashed it in front of my face.

"Well can you blame me?" She said.

I laughed and continued walking to my homeroom to get my schedule passing the familiar faces I've seen my entire three years of high school.

It's like I memorized each one of them.

On my way there, I spotted James a few steps ahead of me and I almost ran into this kid if it weren't for Tracey to pull me aside.

Tracey, of course, knows about my liking him.

"You still like him don't you," she said quietly taking note of her surroundings.

I nodded.

"Why? He's a douche. He parties, gets drunk," she mentioned as if she had a list in her mind labeled, "reasons why James' a douche". She seemed to be checking off the many reasons why he was from her list.

"Oh and let's not remember, he doesn't even know you exist. It's like you're a ghost to him," she said.

Which is true.

That's the other thing about James. He parties a lot when he can and hooks up with all the girls. I don't know how he passes his classes if he gets drunk all the time. It's almost as if he pays someone to do his homework.

But that wouldn't explain why he gets good grades on tests and quizzes. I would know because last year I had math with him.

And of course, I don't exist to James. As far as I'm concerned, he hasn't even laid his eyes on me.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just can't help myself," I told her.

He was walking with his friends who were so boisterous all the time in the hallways.

Literally, I can hear their laughter from down the hall. I rolled my eyes at them thinking they're so immature.

And then I almost stumbled. I saw James looking at me.

Whoa, did I just say James was looking at me? Do I need glasses or something? Because for a good six months from the moment I started liking him, I didn't cease to exist to him.

And now all of a sudden he is looking at me? Am I seeing this right?

My body was swarmed with instant butterflies and I looked around to see if there was anyone around me. But there wasn't.

When I looked back to him, he was still looking at me, but this time he smiled at me.

The one guy I've had a crush on since January finally noticed me. But why this sudden change?

Maybe I look pretty enough for him to notice me.

Because all the girls he's dated in the past are the pretty ones, which is kind of annoying.

I brushed my hair behind my ear and looked away again.

I whispered to Tracey, "Did you see that?"

"What, the freshmen running around trying to find where the hell their classes are?"

I look at her in disdain. I was about to protest and remind her that we were they three years ago but refused my temptation to argue because I had bigger things to tell her.

"No, James just looked at me," I said.

"Shut up, no he didn't. Did he?" She gasped hitting my arm.

"If I had a video and was recording, I'd show you."

"You sure he was looking at you?"

"I'm certainly positive," I assured her. "He even smiled at me."

"Ooooooh," she teased slightly pushing me with her elbow.

I couldn't help but get a smile on my face.

"Maybe senior year is your year," she mentioned walking in her room.

"Yeah right," I said with a half laugh.

"Alright. I'll catch up with you later," Tracey said at the doorway of her homeroom.

Mine was right next to hers. Her last name was Gelling. So logically her homeroom was next to mine. It always has been.

I walked into my homeroom and took a seat by the window. I hung my bag behind my chair and waited for the bell to ring.

Meanwhile, I replayed the scene that just happened over and over again of James noticing me.

I didn't realize that I was smiling, until my friend, Logan, gave me a confused look as he sat down at the desk in front of mine.

Logan Henderson. He was pretty smart and entertaining, always cracking jokes when he could. He's like the class clown of the senior class. Everyone, like James, knew who Logan was.

He also likes to do many activities, especially snowboarding and skateboarding. He even likes to do gymnastics. That's why he can do backflips and side flips and all those crazy flips.

Sometimes, he shows me and tries to make me do it. But I can never.

He also has a deep passion for singing and acting.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked.

"Nothing. I was just..." I trailed off.

"Just what?"

"Never mind."

He smiled at me and faced the front of the room as the bell rang.

Logan became my friend during my freshman year. We had history together and we were always partnered up for any assignments or projects we had in that class. Slowly we became closer to each other and by the end of that year we were already close buds.

He was truly an amazing guy. He's sweet, caring, protective, charming, helpful, and kind. I'm glad I'm his friend because we have each other's backs.

I got my schedule card and took note that I had calculus first period. Why did I have to have such a hard class for first period?

I tapped Logan's shoulder.

"What do you have first?"

"English," he said examining his schedule.

I looked to see what I had second and noticed that I had English. So close to having him in my class.

Third period I had physics, fourth, Spanish, fifth, psychology, sixth, ceramics and seventh, I had nothing, so I could leave early. At least that was something beneficial from my schedule.

"English, math, physics, French, psych, ceramics, and free," Logan said.

"We have physics and ceramics together," I said.

"Awesome," he said giving me a high five.

"And we both have nothing afterwards," I mentioned.

"Cool we can leave early together," he said smiling.

We were able to do that because last year when we discussed our schedule with our counselors and principle, we asked if it was okay and they said yes.

The bell rang and I stood up, placing my backpack over my shoulder.

"So why were you smiling?" Logan asked.

Logan knew about James. He was the first to know about him actually. I trust him with all my heart and he knows how to keep a secret. Besides, he gives the best advice ever.

"Um," I hesitated at first, but Logan nudged me in the ribs. "Okay, okay," I said laughing. "James looked and smiled at me like twenty minutes ago," I said.

He stopped and stood in front of me.

I felt myself smiling extremely wide.

"Did he really?" he asked in shock.

"Yes. I know. Weird right?"

He nodded as we kept continuing to walk out of our homeroom.

"What does it mean?" I asked eagerly.

"I don't know."

"How do you not know? You're a guy," I told him.

"Yeah well, we're all different."

"What does it mean to you when you look at a girl?" I asked.

He was quiet and pondered a bit.

"I look at them because they're pretty and they catch my eye. Maybe that's why he saw you today," Logan said.

"Thanks for calling me pretty."

"You always have been," he said placing his arm around my shoulder.

We met up with Tracey and discussed our schedule together.

Turns out Trace and I had math and English. So we walked together while Logan left in the opposite direction to go to his class.

"What if he's in our math class?" Trace asked.

"I'd freak," I stated.

"Would you really?" Trace asked in disbelief.

I laughed. "No, I mean, I would inside, but I wouldn't really mind. I'd play it cool," I admitted.

This is something I've mastered. When I like someone, I play it cool and let no sign show that I like them.

We reached our math class and took our seats in the back.

I focused more when I'm sitting in the back for some reason so that's why I've always enjoyed sitting in the back.

"Sit where you want for now. But I have assigned seats." Our teacher, Mr. Foster said from his desk in the corner.

I sighed. I hated assigned seats. What was the point of them?

Tracey was telling me all about her trip and all the people she met. She showed me some pictures on her phone when all of a sudden I wasn't looking anymore.

In came James with his loud friends.

He looked over at me and sat down on the other side of the room our eyes still locked.

I looked away from him and focused back to what Tracey was saying.

The room was slowly getting filled and then the bell rang.

"Okay everyone go to the back of the room and when I call your name, I want you to come sit at the desk I point to," Mr. Foster said.

"Conner Doran, Macey McChallin..." He started listing people and they were accommodated at their assigned seat.

"Jessica Herd," he called out.

I had to walk past James to get to my seat. And trust me it wasn't easy. I could feel his eyes on me like I was prey and he predator.

"James Maslow," was the next name I heard called out.

He was sitting behind me this semester. I started feeling nervous and my back was burning up. He was sitting behind me. Why couldn't I be behind him?

"We will begin with a pre assessment. You can work with people around you, but don't get out of your desk," the teacher said.

He handed out the papers and I began to work on it.

It seemed like pretty basic stuff.

Around me, everyone was talking and asking each other how to do the problems.

"Jessica right?" I heard a voice say from behind me.

Obviously it was James.

I was swarmed with butterflies all around. Did he call my name? This can't be happening.

I turned around and faced him.

"Yeah."

"My name is-"

"James," I finished for him.

"How'd you know?" He asked smiling at me.

"Who doesn't know you? Everyone does," I said fully facing him now.

"Is that a good thing or?" He asked.

"Both," I told him.

"I guess it could be both," he said placing his arms on his desk.

I smiled at him.

"Do you know how to do this?" He asked looking down to his paper.

"Yeah, it's quite simple," I told him.

"Want to explain?"

I laughed. "Sure."

I started explaining how to do the problem to him. But I don't know how I was doing it. My mind was racing to the many thoughts. James was talking to me. He was smiling at me. He finally saw me.

I looked up to face him and found that he was staring at me and showed no interest in what I was teaching him.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. I was just..." He trailed off.

That was something I'd always say when I couldn't explain what I was doing with out getting embarrassed.

"Admiring me?" I teased.

He laughed and I smiled at him.

"Yeah that's what I was doing."

"Do you know how to solve the problem?" I asked.

"I actually knew how to solve it."

"Then why'd you ask me to explain it?"

"So that I can have some time admiring you," he said leaning back in his desk.

"Clever," I said turning back around to work on my worksheet.

Was James Maslow seriously flirting with me? Was he actually flirting and talking with me?

"Are you really going to finish that all by yourself?" James asked from behind.

"I didn't know you wanted to work with me," I said grabbing my paper and placing it on his desk.

I turned my body fully around and continued working.

"You're mysterious," James said while working on the worksheet.

"What does that mean?"

"There's more to you that I'd like to get to know."

He wants to get to know me?

"Really? And how is Mr. Popular going to do that?" I asked in a joking way expecting nothing, but a teasing remark he soon would make.

But he didn't.

"I don't know. Do you want to eat out tonight?" He asked looking directly into my eyes.

He just asked me out on a date. James Maslow. He just offered to take me out somewhere. Tonight.

"Don't you have other plans for tonight?"

"Hm, let me think," he said staring off into space.

I hit his arm lightly and he laughed. "The answer is supposed to be no," I told him laughing.

"I know I was teasing you. Of course I'm free tonight. That's why I asked you," he said.

"I don't like teasers."

"Better get used to it," he said.

I stared at him and he only smiled.

"I was kidding. If you don't want me teasing you, then I won't."

"Good."

We were silent for a moment just staring at our papers realizing that we hadn't had much done.

"Crap, there's fifteen minutes left of class," he said looking at the clock.

"Time flies when you're having fun," I mentioned.

"Screw this, it's only a pre assessment. It's not even graded," he said.

"Maybe it's graded for completion," I suggested.

"Well then I'll just write whatever."

He started to write random numbers on his paper, but I stopped him. I placed my hand on his and lifted his pencil off his paper.

"I'll ask my friend for the answers," I said getting up.

I walked stealthily over to Tracey so the teacher wouldn't see me. Trace was talking to a guy named Sam Prate about summer and her trip.

"Hey Trace. Can I see this?" I asked taking her paper.

"Knock yourself out," she said.

I walked back to my desk making sure my teacher didn't see.

"Smooth," he said.

"I know," I said flipping my light wavy brown hair.

He laughed.

"I got the answers."

"Don't need them," he said.

"Why?"

"I already completed the worksheet."

"No you didn't, this was empty like mine a few minutes ago," I said.

He only shrugged his shoulders.

I checked his paper and the answers were actually right.

I looked up from the paper.

"Why are you smart?" I asked him starting to copy down the answers.

"Clever and smart. You know those mean the same thing. But thanks for the compliments."

"Shut up," I said laughing.

I finished copying down and there was eight minutes left.

"When you walk out, put it in the black bin," our teacher said.

"So what's your next class?" He asked.

"English."

"With who?"

"Gerty."

"Really? Same with me."

"Oh no, another class with you? I don't know how I'm going to cope with that," I teased.

"You don't like to be teased, but it's okay when you do it. Weird."

"There's nothing weird about that when the person being teased likes it."

He laughed and looked down at his desk.

"How do you know I like it?"

"Your eyes."

"They're gorgeous aren't they?"

I nodded.

Clearly, he was trying to get me to admit that he was cute so that he could tease me some more.

"Do you have a seventh period?" I asked.

"Yeah. Spanish," he said.

"Oh, I don't have one."

"Lucky."

"What Spanish are you in?" I asked.

"Spanish 6."

"Oh same, but I have that fourth period."

Just then, the bell rang and I gathered my stuff.

"Are we walking together to English?" James asked.

"Aren't you going with your friends?"

"Nah, they don't have English with me next period."

"I mean yeah you can, but I'm walking with my friend."

"Yeah, me."

I laughed. "No, Tracey," I said motioning my head in her direction.

Tracey walked up to me and tapped me on my shoulder to go.

"Hey Trace," I said.

"Trace? That's what you call her?" James smirked.

"Yes James," I said.

"Hey Tracey," he said to her.

"Hey," she said as normal as possible.

But I knew she wanted to flip. I could tell she was dying inside just by her eyes.

For the most part of the walk to our class, James would always spark up a conversation with the both of us, resulting in laughter.

He was a funny guy always sharing funny stories.

When we reached the room, we all took our seats next to each other.

James sat in front of me this time and Tracey sat next to me in the next row.

It was kind of a surprise that James wanted to get to know me better.

My first day of school was already a success for me and I was more than happy because James, my crush from last year, finally started talking to me.