a\n: OC story written for my good friend, for her birthday I know how much you love Jesse, and I hope this story of Keith and his little mini-you OC is enjoyable for you, Jasmine(:

Blessings,

Sarah!

Keith's POV.

Legitimately, my day could grow no worse. When would Walter understand that I could not be paired with someone who had so much spunk, and positivity, and happiness as Jasmine? Yes, I had known her for years, but unfortunately, those years had done nothing to make me grow anymore fond of her. Truthfully, I didn't want to be mean, but I couldn't help the sudden retort I had made to her comment about the 'wonderful weather' she felt we were having. I'm not a jerk, honestly, but seriously, it is storming outside. A sorrowful expression gracing her features, she quickly transformed it into annoyance, and gritted her teeth.

"You know, Keith, I have tried for two and a half years to be nice to you, but you just don't seem to want to return the favor."

"Oh it's no favor you're doing me." I shot back, becoming angry now. Immediately, I regretted my angry reply. The look in her eyes let me know that she was hurt, and I felt a sudden emotional punch in the gut.

"Look, I can just make this easier on both of us and ask Mr. Miles for a different Biology partner tomorrow."

I could tell that she was truly trying to be genuine, and kind. I knew that she was trying to make me feel better, even though I had made no attempt to spare her feelings. Sighing and hoping years from now if we ever came in contact again, she would forgive me for being such guy, I watched her walk over to Walter. The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and I watched as Walter's eyes drifted over to me. I knew I had made a mistake in letting her try and change the partnerships, and (of course) by acting like such a jerk, but I didn't regret my decision. I rather liked my life and the dark cloud I carried over myself; my cloud kept me shaded from people like that who insisted they could cheer up anybody. Unfortunately, though, I didn't need cheering up, I just needed a friend who knew and liked me for me…and understood that the pained expression, (or so people thought it was pained), that I wore on my face, was the face I wore all the time. No one really understood the kind of person I was, and I wasn't about to give them any clues. My Dad had a lot of difficulty trying to figure me out, and I even thought he had deemed it his life mission to figure out every piece to my little 'puzzle' of a life. But my Mom had mentioned to him on more than one occasion, that maybe, like her, I enjoyed being mysterious and to myself. My Mom insisted that I would make good friends that adored me for who I was, whenever they decided to make the move to get to know me- and for that, I was grateful.

Taking one last glance over to Walter, I saw that he had begun furiously writing things down on a piece of scrap paper, and then glancing about the room for a few seconds at a time. I assumed he was changing the partners, and I sighed in contentment. Looking for any signs of Jasmine, I saw that she had already left for her next class and was nowhere to be seen. I grabbed my plain, black book-bag and slid it onto my right shoulder. Gathering my science book and notebook, I slipped my pencil behind my ear, and walked to my locker. My locker was amongst many of the seniors, which was fine by me. I was probably the only sophomore that didn't mind mingling with the 'big bad seniors'. Whistling to myself happily as I quickly hammered out my locker combination, I yanked open my locker door and stuffed my books inside. For a guy who seemed not to care about anything, I sure did keep a pretty clean locker. For the most part, I was a calm, cool, and collected person- my only flaw could be my extreme OCD, and maybe that's why I couldn't handle Jasmine. My life just didn't revolve around finding the silver lining among the clouds, and I preferred viewing the glass as 'half empty'. I just wasn't a 'false hope' kind of guy, and if something bad was going to happen, I just had to swallow it, not chew.

I turned then to go to my next class, but to my surprise, I came face to face with Jasmine. She was only a head shorter than me, had gorgeous eyes that seemed to stare right into my soul, and a smile that she graced me with that held an air of sweetness and genuine-ness that no one had ever bestowed upon me before. This was the closest I had ever gotten to this girl, and it felt, strange.

Jasmine's POV

Being this close to Keith was something I had never experienced before, and it felt really odd. I had known Keith since Elementary school, give or take a couple of years of different moves that resulted in, of course, different schools, but he never bothered with me. I truthfully tried hard to put myself out there and bother with him, but when he didn't reciprocate even a shred of kindness, I felt like I should be giving up. Today confirmed my thoughts; I really didn't need to be pestering him, and I was here to simply apologize, not let myself feel…

Well, what was I feeling for him simply by standing this close?

"Keith," I spoke softly, my voice being naturally shy and reserved. "I'm sorry if I bothered you in class today, I really didn't mean to."

I saw his expression change from confusion to understanding, and even a slight morsel of, appreciation, perhaps? I assumed it was simply relief for me finally backing off…

He opened his mouth to speak, and my breath hitched in my throat. He smelled of tic-tacs. His minty breath clung to my nostrils as he replied back, almost as quietly as I had, "don't sweat it," and with that, he was gone.

A/n: So, girl, I hope this was a good start to a birthday gift for you! It was interesting experimenting with an OC that I had to base with your characteristics, but I also hope I displayed Keith's thoughts well- (don't wanna offend! Lol) Everyone, I really hope you liked this OC, and that you're enjoying my other one. Don't worry, I am definitely a Nat/Keith shipper, but I wanted to broaden my horizons a bit so I don't get bored. Please review, and check by soon for updates on all of my other stories! Oh, and if you guys read, Something to Live For, there is a pole on my profile for it! And I believe that is all for now- thanks guys, you're amazing and I seriously don't know what I would do without your reviews/support! Fanfiction is definitely a home, not just a site(:

God Bless,

Sarah.