A/N: So, instead of adding another chapter to the previous story, I decided to just skip to this one because I was so excited about putting up this first chapter! This one deals with the teens "struggles" throughout their senior year of high school. I've been working really hard on this one and I hope you all like the first chapter! Please let me know in a review :)

Chapter 1 – A New Beginning

Sophia Mendoza groaned as she woke up in the guest bedroom at her aunt and uncle, Adam and Anna's penthouse in New York City. After a whole summer away from boy drama Sophia had been able to convince her parents to let her stay in New York for the rest of the year with Adam and Anna. She decided it was what she needed to do… get away. Jared was in Italy but Andy was still in Minnesota and Sophia still wasn't able to face him after what had happened at the wedding.

Andria, though, had decided to go back after Nick had called her and apologized for being so stubborn and Sophia understood that her cousin couldn't stay away from the man that she loved.

Today was her first day at a new school and even though she loved the city and spending time with her family, she was nervous. It was an all girls school and Sophia knew there would be trouble, which is exactly what she had run away from two months earlier.

She got out of bed and saw that her new uniform had already been laid out for her. She smiled and walked over to it, playing with the frills of the skirt.

"Morning sunshine!" Her aunt, Anna Warren-Banks, walked in. "How are you this morning? Did you sleep well?"

"I'm good," Sophia told her. "And I slept amazing, that bed is so comfortable!"

Anna smiled and sat at the edge of the bed, Sophia joined her. "Honey, I just wanted to let you know how happy I am that you decided to stay," She told her. "I know we haven't been seeing each other much these past few years but that's all going to change now."

"Well, I'm happy to be here!" Sophia smiled.

"It's just so nice to have another girl living in the house, I've been trying to get Andria to stay here but she hates the city and I'd have trouble tearing her away from that boyfriend of hers!" Sophia swallowed and looked up at her aunt. "Sorry, sweetie, no boy talk!" She said and Sophia nodded. "Breakfast will be served in five and the driver will bring you to school when you're ready."

"I think I'm gonna like it here." Sophia said and Anna laughed.

"Of course you will." She said and kissed her forehead then walked out of the room. Sophia picked up her uniform and went to change.

Back in Minnesota, Jesse Russo was dropping his girlfriend of almost a year, Nora Conway, off at school.

"I still can't believe I'm going to have to go through my senior year without you," Nora. "You sure you can't just drop out of mechanic school and stay here with me?"

Jesse laughed again. "What's gotten into you? Nora Conway can raise a baby all by herself but she can't conquer High school?"

"Oh she can definitely conquer High school," She said and he nodded. "She'd just rather do it with her amazing boyfriend by her side." She said and he smiled, kissing her.

"You'll be fine," He promised. "You've got Andria, Nick, Melanie…" Nora looked away. "Oh, right, you two still aren't talking."

"What she did was horrible, Jesse." She informed him and he sighed.

"I know, but maybe you should forgive her?" He suggested and she shot him a look. "You forgave Ethan."

Nora froze at the mention of Ethan. She hadn't spoken to him since he had proclaimed his love for her a few months ago and she hadn't told Jesse about it either.

"That's because he's the father of my child," She reminded him. "But I guess I could talk to her…"

"That's my girl." Jesse smiled, proudly and pulled her into a kiss. "See you at 3:00."

She frowned and he laughed as she got out of the car.

Melanie watched as Nora entered Eden Hall and sighed. They needed to patch things up, immediately. Melanie missed her best friend and she needed her now more than anything. She took a deep breath and was about to go talk to her but stopped when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Melanie!" She froze, it couldn't be. She turned around and there he was. "Thought you were ignoring me there for a second."

"What the hell are you doing here, Jeremy?" She demanded. Jeremy Connors was the guy that Melanie had hooked up with over the summer when she had gone to her grandmother's house in Florida. He was a total jerk but Melanie had been so drunk that night she didn't even care.

Seeing him at Eden Hall, where she was smart girl Melanie, made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Well, a friend of mine goes here and when my mom heard from said friend's grandmother how 'amazing' this school was, she decided to ship me here." He explained and Melanie felt like she couldn't breathe.

"This can't be happening."

He smirked, loving that he was getting under her skin. "Oh, it's happening." He told her and she looked up at him. The bell rang and he stepped closer to her. "See you in Social Studies, we have that class together." He smiled and walked off.

Melanie ran into the girls' washroom and splashed water on her face. There was no way this was happening.

After a long flight, Jared had finally arrived in Italy. He barely had time to explore the city as he was supposed to check into his new dorm. The dorm included a small kitchen, living room and two bedrooms. Jared figured he'd be getting a roommate but decided he'd get to pick which bedroom he got.

He decided on the one with the better view and set his bags on the bed. He smiled as he looked out the window and then walked over to his suitcase. The first thing he saw was a picture of Sophia.

He sighed and picked it up, not being able to take his eyes off her. He wondered how she was doing in New York, if she was happy but he knew not to call her. They were technically still on a break but when Jared found out Sophia had decided to stay in New York without telling him, he had just assumed it meant she was breaking up with him. So, he packed his things and got on the first flight to Rome.

"Una bella ragazza."

Jared spun around and saw a boy, about his age, standing in front of him.

"A beautiful girl is what I said." The boy told him with a heavy Italian accent.

"Yeah, my dad's half Italian so I understand the language," He informed him and the boy nodded.

"Ah, bueno! We will get along just great then, yes?" He said and Jared looked at him. "I am Massimo; I will be your 'bunk buddy' as they say in America, correct?"

"Sure," Jared laughed. "Jared Portman." He said and they shook hands.

"So, Jared," Massimo said. "Are you ready to cook?"

"Hell yeah!" Jared said and Massimo brought him to their cooking school to check it out.

Later that day, Sophia sat on the steps outside of the school, by herself, eating lunch. She had only gotten through two classes but that was enough to let her know that every girl that went to St. Joseph Academy for Girls was a rich, stuck up snob and she didn't know how she was going to make any friends here.

She sighed and picked at her salad, promising herself that she would give this school another chance. Anything was better than going home.

"Hey, um, are you new here?"

She looked up and saw an incredibly good-looking boy, a little older than her, with a smirk on his face. She was confused; wasn't this was supposed to be an all girls school?

"Uh, is it that obvious?" She asked and he laughed.

"Well, it's just that you're sitting here, alone, when every other girl is sitting with their different cliques on the terrace." He explained and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, maybe I don't belong in a clique."

"Hm, pretty and sassy," he said and she looked up at him. "I like it," He said and Sophia held back a blush. "I'm Preston Ashford," He said, extending his hand. "And no, I'm obviously not a student here, I graduated years ago," He said and she gave him a look. "From St. Luke's, the guys' school," he informed her and she nodded, laughing. "But my little sister goes here and I take here out for lunch once a week."

"Well, I'm Sophia Mendoza," She told him and he nodded. "And that's really… adorable," She said. "How old is she?"

"Preston James!" Both Sophia and Preston turned around and saw a tiny blond heading towards them.

"That would be her." He said and Sophia was surprised, expecting her to be way younger.

The blond made her way over to Sophia and Preston but she didn't seem interested in Sophia's presence. "Preston, what are we just standing around here waiting for? You know we have to make it before 12:15 or Maurice will be swamped with other orders!"

"I was just talking to my new friend here," Preston said, carefully. "Chelsea, this is Sophia Mendoza, she's new here," He explained but Chelsea wasn't bothered. "Maybe you could befriend her?"

"Hi, I'm Sophia." She introduced and Chelsea looked at her, made a face and turned back to Preston.

"She bores me; I want to go, now!" She said and jumped into the limo.

Sophia looked at Preston in shock and he smiled.

"Don't be offended," He said. "She's like that with everyone."

"Right," Sophia nodded.

"Preston James Ashford!" Chelsea called.

"Well, I better go," He said and she nodded. "I'll see you around, I hope?"

"Sure." Sophia smiled and he got in the car. They drove off and Sophia sighed. She didn't know what to think about Chelsea but Preston, he was cute… very cute.