I sat at the table, looking out the window moodily. Stupid Potter.

Ever since I got back home all I could think about was James Potter. And it was driving me insane. I couldn't get him out of my head! He is so stupid. I hate him.

I'm usually nice and sweet and charming, but around him I grow angry and violent. Whenever he starts talking to me I turn defensive and sarcastic. It's not my fault. He's the one that's been pestering me and asking me out non stop for the past two years. Two years. Two.

I mean, most girls envy me. After all, James Potter is one of the sexiest guys at our school. But honestly, am I the only one that sees him for who he truly is? A snob, stuck up and egoistic, strutting around the school like he owns the place. Oh wait, he does. Well, his parents do. Still!

He thinks he's all that because he is football captain and hot and has the girls all over him. Whatever. Personally, I could care less about James Potter. And that's exactly what I told my mom after the first week of junior year of high school.

"He's awful! And he's just been getting worse since seventh grade!" I complained to her, throwing my hands in the air. "I don't think I can take it much longer!"

My mom laughed. "Sweetie, is there nothing good about him?"

"No! He's a stuck up rich manwhore who doesn't care about anyone except himself and for some stupid reason seems to enjoy torturing me until I'm ready to go crazy!" I said in one long breath, pulling at my hair. I breathed heavily before saying, "But I guess I'm already crazy, huh?"

My mom smiled. "You're fine. But I bet you could pick out five good things about him." When she saw my face, she said, "Just five. Try. Please."

I took a deep breath. Well, let's see. He… he eats a lot. Is that a good thing? No, I don't think so…

"He's never cheated on a girlfriend?" my mom prodded, seeing my blank face. I nodded. "Then he's faithful. That's one."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, okay. He has top grades in some of his classes."

"Intelligent. Good."

I pursed my lips, thinking. "He is… compassionate." Well, that's a bit toned down, but it will do.

My mom nodded. "Okay, so we have three: faithful, intelligent, and compassionate. Those are all very good characteristics. How about funny?"

"To some people." But looking back I remember some pranks that made even me laugh. "Okay, he's funny," I said grudgingly. "So there's four." That's more than I thought he would get. I grabbed an apple and bit into it. "He's sporty."

My mom raised her eyebrows. "How's that?"

"Well one, he's captain of the football team. Two, he runs around our neighborhood everyday, and three, he tries to chase after me," I said smiling, thinking about how I was top in track. Hah.

"See, there's five! Maybe he's not such a bad kid after all," my mom said, giving me a reproachful look. She had seen James before, and though he was 'cute'. Gross. But for some reason, she was determined to get us together. And I thought this was the worst of it.

"No, maybe not," I said sweetly, but bit into my apple to hide a scowl. I would never like James Potter. Ever. At least, that's what I thought then.

It was the first Saturday since school started. I was a junior now, with only one more year to go! But school was brutal already. It took me two hours to do my homework left over from yesterday. When I finally got that done, I called up my three best friends and asked them to come over. It was a kind of tradition with us. Since I had a fire pit and pool in my backyard, we swam all day and made smores at night.

Emily was the first to arrive. She is amazing. She's the super sporty one of the group, since she plays basketball, soccer, tennis, and track. But I'm better than her at track. But then again, track is the only thing I do.

She has those super long, sporty legs that all girls want. She has the most beautiful blond/brown hair that is usually swept up in a ponytail. She's 5'5, an inch taller than me. Her spunky attitude made her fun to have around, though only if you can handle the sass.

"Hey Lils, how are you!" she squealed, giving me a hug. I laughed and hugged her back.

"I know, it's been so long!" I teased. We just saw each other yesterday. She and I are super lucky since we have all the same classes together. The other girls only have a few classes together with us.

"Oh, you know you missed me," she said, rolling her eyes. I smirked and let her inside. We started talking about our Chemistry teacher, who I swear is a complete psycho. Right as we got on the topic of hot guys, the doorbell rang again.

"COME IN!" I screamed from our living room, too lazy to get up and answer it. In walked Brooke, one of our best friends. She was the silly, ditzy one of the group. Her bright blond hair sometimes excused her, but we thought it was really her. She was the one who took a while to get the jokes (though we all do that sometimes). But she ran into walls and doors a lot more than us. She's a bit accident prone.

She screamed and ran to us, smiling her amazing smile. She was the cute one, but not like, downright sexy. But more like a Barbie doll. Her bright blue eyes completed the whole look.

After we all exchanged greetings, we started evaluating boys. We did this almost every time we got together. Brooke gushed on about her crush, Jared. Emily and I shared a look. Brooke has liked Jared since ninth grade. Poor Brooke.

The door suddenly flew open. We didn't even blink an eye, knowing it was the last of us, Kayla. She was the super smart one. She was taking all Pre-AP classes and could probably skip a grade if she tried. She finished homework before all of us and tutored us on anything we didn't get. But she did not look nerdy. She had the prettiest black hair that was as dark as midnight that went down to her waist that had that natural straightness and shine. Her dark skin and large, brown eyes made her look almost Egyptian. Her outgoing attitude made it easy to love her.

We all went up to my room and sat on my bed. I looked at all of us and sighed happily. We were all so different, both attitude and physically. I had fair, almost ivory skin with flaming red hair that went to my ribs. My vivid green eyes were almond shaped and fit perfectly on my heart shaped face. Though all the girls say I'm prettiest in the group, I don't agree. We are all so beautiful, I just happen to flirt the most.

I'm basically a mix of all the girls; somewhat sporty, sexy, silly, crazy, intelligent, emotional, funny, modest, and passionate. I contradict myself all the time. I'm the sexiest and flirtiest of the girls, but one of the most modest. I act stupid, but I'm book smart. I get emotional; I try not to show my feelings. Depending on what's going on, I can be a totally different person. And I love it.

"You like Sean? Sean Blaines?" Kayla cried out, startling us. Emily gave a shy smile and nodded, blushing. We all looked at each other, startled. Emily never blushed. Ever!

"Oooooooooooooh, Emily likes Sean!" Brooke cried out, giggling.

Emily stuck her tongue out at her. I smiled. Emily rarely had a crush on someone, since she was so focused on sports. But I could see why she liked him. He was popular, good looking, and super athletic.

"And who do you like, Kayla?" Emily asked, trying to change the subject.

"Matt," Kayla said after a second. "You know, that blond haired guy, the one in our History class? He sits right in front of me."

We all had History together. I tried to think of Matt and finally put a face to the name. "Oh, he's cute! I approve," I said, smiling.

"Agreed," Brooke and Emily chorused.

"And Brooke, what about you?"

Brooke shrugged. "You know, same old person." She gave us a sheepish grin. "I'm not getting over him anytime soon."

We gave her a small smile. "You'll get him eventually sweetie," I said encouragingly. She smirked but said nothing. They all turned to me.

"What about you?" Kayla asked. I rolled my eyes. I didn't like anyone right now. Which was weird, since I usually liked someone. So I went through the guys our age and came up with nothing. "I don't know."

Emily smiled deviously. "Oh I know who she likes," she said slyly. "James Potter!" All of us started laughing hysterically. Even the thought of it was ridiculous. Me, liking James Potter? Hah, never.

I splashed Emily. We had gotten in the pool and we were just floating around on floats, talking and watching the clouds. I started to get hot, since it was two in the afternoon and very hot here in Keller, Texas. So I slipped off my float and dove under water.
I loved swimming so much. It felt so natural to be swimming, and I could spend days just floating and swimming in my pool. It was a salt water pool, so I could open my eyes and look around. I always felt like a mermaid in the water, with the red hair and all. My friends would call me Ariel whenever we were swimming.

I sat up on the steps going into our pool and stretched my legs out. Leaning back on my elbows, I actually felt like a mermaid washed up to shore. I smiled. When I was a kid I loved The Little Mermaid, and would still watch it sometimes. I felt like Ariel, just waiting for my dark haired Prince to come and carry me away.

I looked at Brooke, who jumped off the diving board and did a cannon bomb. But since she was so tiny, her splash was super small. I laughed. Brooke was like a stick figure, way too skinny. But she wasn't anorexic or anything, she was just naturally like that.

Kayla was lying back in her float, flipping through a magazine. Her dark eyes scanned the page rapidly before she threw the magazine to the side of the pool and joined me in the water. Emily was jumping off the diving board, trying to land on Brooke. I relaxed, enjoying the scene when I heard the voice of my archenemy: James Potter.

"How's it going, ladies?" he asked over the fence. I snapped my head around and let out a moan. You have got to be kidding me.

Potter lived right next door to me. He and his best friend, Trent Woods, lived to the left. Woods lived with him ever since his family kicked him out of the house for being a 'Shame to his family.' Actually, his family was just evil so he wasn't really that torn up over it. He was the biggest womanizer ever. He must've dated half of the girls at our school. I mean, he is one of the sexiest guys at our school. But he's so arrogant and immature that it's hard for me to stay with the guy for one hour without fighting.

"Go away," I shouted, ignoring Emily's laughter. She and the other two knew how he bugged me ALL the time. But instead of being sympathetic, they laugh. Great friends, huh?

"Lily flower, don't be so mean! I'm your best friend!" he cried out dramatically. Wood's head popped up and smirked at Potter.

"Good evening, everyone," he said suavely, winking at us. I rolled my eyes and smiled, but said nothing. I could get along with Woods, for a limited amount of time, but Potter was a whole different story.

"Lily flower, how come you didn't invite us over to swim?" Potter whined. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry Potter. Would you and Woods like to come swimming with us?" I asked sweetly. Potter stared at me suspiciously. Usually I'd be threatening to give him a black eye right now.

"Oh, Lily that sounds like a good idea!" my mom said, coming outside with lemonade. "Why don't y'all come on over, boys?"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! NO! "Mom, I don't think they want to," I said, glaring at them. But Woods just smiled evilly and Potter grinned widely. "We'd love to, Mrs. Evans, thank you," Potter said courteously before jumping the fence. Stupid boys.

They already had their swimsuits on, so they just pulled off their shirts and took a glass of lemonade. I had a hard time looking away from their toned bodies. They were both athletic, and very hot. Very.

I hate Potter, I reminded myself. And I don't care how hot he is.

But he's so hot! He had black, shaggy hair that stuck up in the back. It was so adorable! And his chocolately brown eyes made you want to kiss him senseless. Not that I want to, or anything. Just saying.

Anyways, I got out of the pool and walked up to the mom, who was giving Kayla and Emily some lemonade.

"Mom, I love you so much, but why must you do this to me?" I asked, my voice filled with anguish. "Swimming with James Potter? What are you thinking?"

My mom ignored me and handed Brooke a glass. "I think you and him could be good friends," she said after a moment. I saw the gleam in her eye. Oh dear. "And besides, I think he likes you."

I laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "No, he doesn't. He likes my body. That's it." I walked away, fuming. Because it was true. He only wanted me for my looks. But he didn't know me. He knew what I looked like, and how mad I got at him.

I jumped off the diving board, doing a back flip. I stayed under water longer than usual, to avoid unwanted people in this pool. But finally, I had to come back up due to lack of oxygen. I so wish I was a mermaid.

I came back up and noticed Woods flirting with Brooke. I smirked. Hopeless case, she was too wrapped up in Jared to notice Woods. But then, instead of ignoring him as usual, Brooke started flirting back. I raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled and gave a subtle nod towards the house. I nodded back and slowly got out of the pool. But when I was almost up the stairs, Potter interceded.

"Lily! How are you?" he asked, ruffling his hair. I tried hard not to scowl. As guests, I had to be nice to them, or mom would burn me alive.

"Good, Potter," I said, trying to inch around him. But he blocked the top stair, meaning I would have to climb out. Great.

"You know, Lily, you can call me James. It's not illegal." He looked a little sad, as if it hurt his feelings that I called him by his surname.

"Fine, James," I said sarcastically. "Please move. I need to get out of the pool."

James looked behind me. I turned to follow his gaze and saw Trent (if I was calling James by his first name why not Woods? I mean Trent) and Brooke. Trent and James exchanged a look before James turned his attention back to me.

"No can do, Lily. Trent needs a little while longer before he lets you and Brooke rush off to the house."

My mouth dropped open. How did they know about that? Were they watching us? Creepy, stupid stalkers, watching our every move. I wouldn't put it past them. I mean, honestly, James stares as me all the time. Maybe Trent stares at Brooke. Does Trent like Brooke? I thought he just wanted to flirt with her! Oh, I have to tell her! Oh wait, I can't, since someone is blocking my way!

"Listen, Potter-"

"James."

I sighed. "Whatever. Get out of my way. Now. I really need to talk to Brooke. And if you don't let me, I will personally-"

"Come on, Lily," Brooke said, making me jump. I turned and saw her behind me, smiling. James smirked and moved to make run for me. As I walked past him, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him.

"And he does like her, but don't try to intercept. You can tell her, if you want," he said carelessly, nodding at Brooke, who had already gotten out of the pool. She shot me a look, and I realized I was about two inches away from James's mouth. I blinked and tore my gaze from his. My breathing had stopped and I was having trouble thinking.

"Thanks, I guess," I said, unsure about what was going on. But he let me go and I slowly followed Brooke to the house, grabbing my towel on the way. I shook my head and took a deep breath. That was really weird. Usually, when we talk, it's filled with sarcastic and rude comments that turn into a screaming fest (on my part, at least. He usually just smirks and calls me hot). We just had an okay conversation. But I turned my thoughts away from that. I'd deal with that later. Right now, I had to talk to Brooke.

"He so likes you!" I said quietly, pretending to read the magazine that Kayla had thrown aside earlier. Brooke was taking a sip of her lemonade. Whenever guys were over, we had conversations that looked totally casual, as to not draw attention. It worked most of the time.

"Oh really? And why's that? Because he was flirting with me?" she asked sarcastically, pointing at an article in the magazine, pretending to ask about it. Anyone from a distance would think that's what we were talking about. I smiled.

"No, because James just told me. I think he might actually like you. I mean, He's already dated you before, which means you're not on his list. And he went to you first, not Emily who is still on his list. Or Kayla," I added, taking a bite of a cookie that had appeared on the table while we were swimming. Well, a whole platter had appeared, not just the one cookie.

"James? Since when did you start calling him James?" she asked, taking a cookie herself. I frowned. Whoops.

"Slip of the tongue," I lied easily, not wanting them to tease me for it. But I guess they would find out eventually that we were on first name terms. For now.