She doodled in the margins of her notebook, her head resting in her hand as she did so. She could vaguely hear the sounds of her math teacher, Mr. Cartwright as he babbled on to the class about mathematical theorems and algorithms. Lily loved to learn, but my god math was just incredibly boring to her. She could never pay attention for more than a few seconds. She'd rather be in her Literature class, reading and writing. She shifted her eyes to the clock on the wall. 'Thank god. Only a few minutes until lunch.'

The bell rang, and she gathered her notes and her books in to her bookbag, standing up and lifting her bag up and around her shoulder. She walked briskly on her way to the cafeteria, trying to get there quickly before the line got too long.

She arrived at the cafeteria, noticing how long the line was already. She let out a dejected sigh, opting to go and sit down at her usual table with her friends until the line died down a bit. She walked through the cafeteria, paying no mind to the chatter of others as she walked over to a table near the far corner of the cafeteria, where she and her friends always sat.

"Hi, guys." She said as she sat in the empty seat, letting her bag slouch off her shoulder next to the table.

She glanced over her shoulder, looking out the large cafeteria windows in to the school courtyard. She squinted her eyes, noticing a guy sitting on the grass underneath one of the shady trees. He was by himself, reading. She never noticed him around school before. Curious, she turned back around to her friends at the table.

"Hey, do you guys know who that is out there? The one reading?"

They turned to glance out the window, looking for who she was talking about. One of them spoke up, "He's new. His name's Jack, but stay away from him. I heard he's messed up in the head."

Her other friends nodded silently, agreeing with him. Another one of her friends spoke up, "Yeah, Lily. Don't bother with him. He likes to be alone anyway." She turned her attention back to the food on her tray, picking up her carton of strawberry milk and sipped at it.

Lily looked back out the window, staring as she watched him read. He looked perfectly normal to her, he was probably just shy. Being a new kid was never fun. Meeting all new people in a place you've never been to was probably tough. 'He could probably just use a friend.' she thought to herself. She stood up and started walking towards the doors leading out to the courtyard.

"Lily, where are you going?" She heard one of her friends remark from over her shoulder. She didn't stop walking; she merely turned her head back towards them. "I'm just trying to be nice." was all she said as she pushed the door open, stepping outside in to the cool autumn breeze. The leaves were changing in to warm colors, and gently floating away from branches and on to the ground. It was really beautiful out here. She wondered why more people didn't come out here during lunch, but shook her thoughts away and drew her attention back to him. He either hadn't noticed her come outside or he didn't regard her presence. She started again, walking towards him and stopping when she stood in front of him.

She looked down at him. He was wearing a worn pair of converse, riddled with tiny holes and spots of dirt. He had on a pair of dark navy jeans, which also had holes worn in to them on the knees. He also had a military style belt, with olive green canvas and a silver buckle. Also, a dark gray thermal shirt which he rolled up to his elbows. His hair was brownish blonde and naturally curly, and reached just past his slightly chiseled jawline. "Uh, hi." She smiled awkwardly.

He slowly turned the page of his book, not looking up at her. "Hey."

She turned back around, noticing her friends looking at her through the windows. She faced him again. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

This time he did look up at her, his eyebrow raised slightly in confusion. She could see now that he had bright, hazel eyes and a few freckles across the bridge of his nose. He looked at her this way for a moment or two, before he brought his attention back to the book he was reading. "I suppose not."

She stood there for a moment before she sat down so she was next to him. She peered over his shoulder slightly, looking at the text on the pages. "What're you reading?"

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It's a classic."

"So I take it you like to read?"

"It helps to pass the time, yes."

She sat back a little, looking at the leaves in the grass next to her. She started to feel like this was a bad idea; he didn't seem very interested in making light conversation.

He finished the page he was reading, gently closing the book and setting it in the grass next to him. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree, glancing over at her while she wasn't looking. She was wearing a pair of black combat boots, paired with some dark skinny jeans and a baggy olive colored sweater. She had long, slightly wavy light auburn colored hair. She had cute, delicate features.

"So, what about you?"

She looked back up at him. "Huh?"

He smirked slightly. "Do you like to read?"

"Oh. Uh...yeah. I do." She smiled slightly. "I really like Ray Bradbury and Poe."

This caused him to smile. "Oh, you should read Lovecraft. I bet you'd love him. He writes fantastic horror stories."

She smiled back at him. "I will."

She glanced over to his book again. "So, what's this about anyway?"

"Oh, it's great. This guy, this perfectly sane guy gets admitted in to a mental hospital. While he's in this hospital, he starts messing with the staff. Upsetting the established order, disobeying rules, and riling up the other patients. Want to know why he did it?"

She said nothing, but she kept her gaze fixated on him, interested in what he was saying.

"He did it, just because he could. Just for fun." He chuckled. "Because he wanted to."

"It sounds… interesting." She looked around, they were the only two sitting out here. She looked back to him again. "So, how come you sit out here by yourself?"

"I'd much rather sit by myself out here in peace and quiet instead of sitting by myself in loud and incessant chattering."

"Hm, I guess you have a good point." She paused for a moment. "Well, if you ever get tired of sitting by yourself, I could keep you company." She flashed him a warm smile, and he smiled slightly back.

"Yeah…I'd like that."

"I'm Lily, by the way."

"Jack."

She stood back up. "Well Jack, I'll be seeing you tomorrow then?"

"Sure."

She smiled again, turning back around and going back inside.