Chase was an idiot.

Not in the sense of intelligence, on the contrary, Chase was quite smart - but in the sense of being aware of what was happening around him. This has always been a huge problem for the teen; ever since the day he'd first went to school, back in pre-k. The boy never paid attention to what others thought of him, what they were saying, and the alike, and as a result, when it came to humanized socialization, Chase was pretty clueless. It was also because of this, Chase wasn't aware of the large crowd of attraction he was getting now that he was in high school.

The boys he was pretty cool with, sometimes. Some of them envied him because apparently, all the girls were attracted to him, and he was all they could talk about. Then, there was Bruno, a guy that considered Chase as a rival in almost everything they do. He hated how smart he is, hated how athletic Chase is, and he hated the fact that the girl he's been crushing on, Everest, also liked him. Luckily, Chase didn't know about the burning hate and the jealous glares he gets almost constantly, so Chase never really cared much about it.

The girls, on the other hand, were a handful. Many times, Chase would find his locker packed with secret love notes and letters, and he would have to ask a nice janitor to discard all of them, because it would take forever and a day just to clean it out. Sometimes, some of the girls were shameless with their flirting, and would constantly try to get them alone so they could have some private time with him. At this point, Chase would politely reject the girls, and this would anger them, causing rumors to spread about him, yet this never stop any of them from trying to get at him.

There was this one girl who was persistent, though; her name was Skye. She was really pretty, and Chase liked her a lot, but he didn't see her anything more than just a little sister, who is constantly trying to get into his pants. It was really weird, and Chase ignored the taunts half of the time, but regardless of what he does, Skye doesn't seem to get the hint, which is why Chase ended up avoiding her most of the time.

Chase only had two best friends - Rocky and Zuma. He had known them since middle school, when they first met in Math class. Rocky was pretty much the nerd of the group, the teacher's pet some would call it, but Chase didn't mind. He liked it when Rocky spoke of intelligence, and even though some of the things he says confused Chase most of the time, he still kept an ear sharp whenever Rocky was conversing with him. His favorite color was green, he's Aquaphobic, or an irrational fear of water, his favorite food just so happens to be Caesar salad, and he was bit of an environmentalist. If there was anything that could get Rocky to talk, it's the suggestion of helping the planet they call Mother Earth.

Zuma was the exact opposite of Rocky, when it came to classes anyway. The brown-skinned boy was always sleeping on his desk, turning in his work late, and pretty much the kid that you just knew was failing in school, but Zuma didn't seem to care. The only class Zuma seemed to be interested in was Biology, which wouldn't surprise Chase at all - Zuma loved learning everything about the life they live, and how it was created, especially if it was the sea life. Unlike Rocky, Zuma loved the waters, loved learning about the sea creatures, and how to prevent dangers that may come with it. His favorite color was orange, pretty much fearless as far as Chase was concerned, favorite food was anything junk related, and maybe a bit of an environmentalist.

Despite their differences, Zuma and Rocky were in a relationship, which, from what Chase could see, was a pretty amazing thing. A part of him just knew they were perfect together, given by how similar they were when it comes to the environment, and he could see love in their eyes when they looked at each other, not speaking, because they don't have to in order to communicate. Chase could swear up and down that his heart squeezed whenever he saw Zuma and Rocky holding hands when they were walking down the hallways, taking each other to their class, and a smile would be on his face whenever they gave each other a peck of the cheek. It was really cute, and a part of him felt envious that he didn't have someone like that.

"Whatacha thinkin' about Chase?" Another friend, Ryder, asked, as he sat down near him. Right now it was lunch hour, where the cafeteria was buzzing with hungry students, most sitting with their friends, chatting. Chase titled his head.

Ryder was a year older than Chase, and was about to graduate soon. He had met the senior about a month ago, and the two quickly became friends when they shared interest. Ryder was a cool, level-headed, guy that always came up with the brightest of ideas, given Rocky a run for his money, and was usually found on the track team recently, since Ryder's interest varies. He was also in a relationship, with a girl named Katie, who was also a senior, and was planning to go to school for pet grooming and a parlor, for both humans and pets.

"Eh. Just reminding myself how lucky you and Zuma are to find someone you love." Chase said, shrugging his shoulders. Hearing his name, Zuma, who had been kissing his boyfriend, looked over at Chase.

"Dude, you have, like, hundweds of giwls thwoing themselves at you. Why not date of them?" He asked. Zuma also had a speech impairment, in which he would pronounce his R's as W's instead. It sometimes caused him to get teased and yelled at, causing the boy to shrink in embarrassment, but neither Chase, Rocky, or Ryder was going to let any of the kids get away with that. Chase sighed.

"I don't know. That seems desperate to me. I want to date someone who I can love, someone who will like me for who I am, and not because I look good." He said. He could feel, rather than see, Zuma smirk.

"And hewe I thought you wewe being vain." He said, making Chase laugh and playfully shoved him.

"Shut up!" He sighed. "But no, seriously, you and Rocky, Ryder and Katie...I want what you guys have." He said.

"Don't put too much thought into it, Chase. When the time comes, you'll know." Katie said, making Chase look down at his food.

"Yeah..."

Later that afternoon, school had let out, and as far as Chase knew, Ryder had a club to go to, Rocky and Zuma were already walking home, and Katie was staying behind because of Ryder. With a sigh, Chase shut his locker.

"Looks like I'm walking home alone again." He mumbled, shifting his backpack onto his shoulder and began leaving the building. There were a few students left, meaning some of them were probably staying behind for late activities, which Chase didn't pay attention to. He would occasionally nod when someone spoke to him, but that was about it. His footsteps were the only thing keeping him company as he walked the otherwise empty halls to leave school, and when he got to the door and walked out, he shielded his eyes when the sun blinded him. He groaned. "Great, I'm going to have to buy sunglasses soon."

Suddenly, there was humming, causing Chase to stop in his complaining, and blinked.

The humming was quite beautiful, and also feminine, and it urged Chase to come and follow it. Which is exactly what Chase did, after adjusting his eyes to the light, and began following the music. It didn't take long, and Chase found himself in the back of the schoolyard, near the garden the principle had wanted, and was surprised to find that the singing wasn't really female as Chase thought.

Instead, it was a boy, no older than Chase, maybe a bit younger, and was wearing the heaviest set of gardening clothes Chase had seen. The boy was wearing a sunhat, shielding his eyes, though there was no need for that, as the boy was wearing sunglasses, green rubber gloves, a green apron that covered him from the body down, but despite that, Chase could see that the boy was wearing a long-sleeve button down shirt, and washed-out jeans, that ended in a pair of a black, leather, boots. Despite all the cover-up, however, Chase could still see glimpses of pure, snow-white, skin.

At first, Chase was worried that the boy would've gotten some kind of stroke wearing all that, but when the boy made no indication of discomfort, Chase knew he was alright, judging by his singing, anyway.

For a moment, Chase was stuck on what to do. Now that he had seen what peaked his curiosity, he should return back to the path he was on, and walk on home, but...something about the boy made Chase want to stay, and observe him. So, despite his better judgement, he did.

He watched as the boy moved around the garden - a flower garden - planting new things into the soil, still humming, and sprinkling water over the plants he was growing.

"And just how are we today, Miss Rose?" He heard the boy speak, surprising Chase. The teen blinked, confused for a couple of seconds, before he realized that the boy was talking to the plants. Chase felt his lips twitch in amusement. "Looks like you're still in need of growing. Violet hasn't been messing with you lately, has she? That girl has a lot of sass, but I'm sure you can handle yourself."

Chase grinned.

"And you, Miss Iris? How are you feeling?" The boy asked, touching the leaf of the plant. "Still under the weather, I see. That blasted snowstorm we had caused this! No matter, I'm sure I can heal you up soon." Then he moved onto the pond, where there flowers growing there. "Water Lily, my dear, your colors has never been more brighter. I think you are in bloom!"

Chase couldn't help it, he laughed.

Startled by the noise, the boy turned around, and if Chase could see underneath those glasses, his eyes were widen in surprise as pink covered his face. He could tell that the boy was about to bolt, so Chase quickly explained.

"N-no, wait! Don't go! I wasn't laughing at you!" He said, quickly getting up and moving towards the boy. The boy shifted on his feet, looking extremely nervous.

"No one's suppose to be here." He muttered, looking down at his feet.

"Sorry, I just heard your singing so I'd thought I would come and check it out. Never expected a gardener to be here." Chase said, giving the boy a sheepish grin, one which the boy couldn't help but return. "So, are you the school's gardener?"

"Yes," He said, nodding his head. The boy was soft-spoken, which Chase couldn't help but adore. "It's my duty to take care of the gardens. I was informed that no one was allowed to be here besides me, however."

"Oh, sorry. Want me to leave?"

"No, no." The boy shook his head. "I could use the company. It kind of gets lonely back here all by myself."

"That explains the talking to the flowers." Chase teased, making the boy blush. "Hey, don't feel bad. I ended up talking to a wall, I was so bored once."

At that, the boy laughed, making Chase grin.

"A-a wall? Why?" He giggled.

"Like I said, I was bored." Chase said, shrugging his shoulders, making the boy giggle again, and him smiling. He could get use to that, he thinks, and looked down at him. "So...what's your name?"

"My name is Marshall." The boy, Marshall, said. Chase pretty much had the name down on a memo.

"Chase."

After a while, Chase headed home, where his family awaited him, looking worried.

"There you are Chase! We were so worried, and was about to call the school!" His mother said. Chase shrugged his shoulders, leaning into the hug that was given.

"Sorry, I got caught up in something."

"After school activity? Chase, why didn't you tell us you started staying after school!" His mother cried out. At first, Chase was going to deny that he wasn't staying after school, but then thought about it. He and Marshall had such a great time, and he knew Marshall would never allow anyone to know about Chase's slip-up, especially when the teen had invited him to stay after again tomorrow, so why not?

"Sorry mom, I'll be staying after school again tomorrow." He said. His mother just smiled while their dog, a German Shepherd named Buzz, barked, wagging his tail. The two looked at the dog and grinned.

"Think Buzz thinks 'it's about time!'" Chase snickered, making his mother laugh.

When tomorrow rolled around, Chase pretty much faced the day with a smile on his face. He didn't care what the others were saying about his behavior, and he ignored the whispers behind his back, he just couldn't wait to see Marshall again.

He also ignored the angry glare he was getting from Skye.

"Dude, what is wwong with you? You've been smiling all day." Zuma said, raising an eyebrow as Rocky snuggled underneath his arm. The gray-haired boy, too, was wondering what's gotten into Chase, but merely kept his mouth shut, figuring Zuma would talk to Chase to get more information out of him.

"I met a guy yesterday," Chase said, the smile getting bigger. "He's so funny! I really like him, and I hope to meet him again today."

"Sounds like a cwush." Zuma teased, making Chase blush.

"N-no, he's just a friend, is all."

"That's not what I'm getting fwom you." He snickered, ignoring the punch Chase gave him.

"Shut up!"

"So, who is this guy Chase? Anyone we know?" Katie asked, looking just as excited as Chase.

"His name is Marshall."

When school ended, Chase immediately went around back of the school, not really caring about anyone seeing him. He was too excited to see Marshall again, because the two had an awesome time together, and Chase learned something he'd never thought he would - flowers and their meanings.

"Sometimes, people give flowers to others because it's romantic." Marshall had said. "If someone took the time out and figured out what means what to each flower and it's color, it'll probably be a lot different. For example, roses are the classic romance symbol, because a red rose means 'I love you'. Well it's not the only one. A pansy means loving thoughts, so when you give someone one, you can probably take it as someone who has you in mind, lovingly. A red tulip is a declaration of love as well. So many things like that are simply the best."

Chase was never really much of a flower person, if he was honest. They were pretty, and they usually get the job done when it comes to wooing over another person. But, because of Marshall, Chase had learned so much and in so little time.

"Hey again." Chase said, surprising Marshall. He smiled.

"Hi." The white-skinned boy said. Chase simply grinned and sat down on the grass, watching as Marshall watered, added new soil, and other things to the plants. "Oh, Blue-Bell. You're looking lovely this evening."

"Wait, we have blue-bells? Don't they grow somewhere in the UK?" Chase asked, making Marshall grin.

"You remembered! Yes, they do, but they also grow in outer large areas too. These Blue-bells were transported, however, because the principle loves them and wishes to grow some more around the school." Marshall said. "So, I'm doing my best to breed some more."

"Oh. They are really pretty." Chase complimented. Marshall grinned again.

"They are!"

"Are they your favorite flowers?"

"Surprisingly, no. They aren't." Marshall answered. Chase blinked and looked at the boy.

"Then...what is it?" He asked. Marshall titled his head as he thought about it. On one hand, he could tell Chase about his favorite flower, but, on the other, he could also make it into a game, which Marshall liked. He liked it a lot.

"I'll give you three guesses and you have until the end of the school year to get it right." He said, and Chase's eyes went wide. "One, it comes in four colors. Two, the name starts with a 'C' and three, it's meaning holds a very special place in my heart."

"what's the meaning?" Chase asked. Marshall grinned.

"I can't tell you! You'll probably figure it out right away, so that's one secret I'm going to keep." He giggled, making Chase pout. "Remember, the end of the school year."

Chase groaned.

"You're a tease. What do I get when I get it right?" He asked. At first, Marshall was having quite difficulty trying to find a reward that Chase may like, but when a thought came to him, a blush came across his face.

"A...kiss?" He hesitated. Chase froze, eyes wide as a blush came across his face as well. Marshall thought about changing the reward when Chase spoke.

"Deal."

To be Continued...Next chapter :P