Chapter One

Rrrrring. Rrrring. Rrrrring.

Shannon groaned, rolled over, and, with her eyes still closed, groped around for her cell phone on the nightstand beside her bed. After knocking her iPod and a bottle of lotion to the floor, she closed her fingers around it and brought it up to her ear.

"Hullo…?" she said groggily, forcing open one eyelid and then letting it close again upon seeing the time.

"Shan!" her best friend Rebecca cried. "Don't tell me you're still sleeping!"

"Well, not anymore…" Shannon muttered.

"Come on! It's the first day of our SENIOR YEAR!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"It's also 5:45 AM."

"So?" Rebecca demanded. "You have to get up, do your hair, do your makeup, and we have to scope out the area for cute new transfer guys!"

"Becca," Shannon said calmly. "Any cute new transfer students our school MAY have gotten will be there all day. They will also be there tomorrow. It's not the end of the world if we miss them this morning. Besides, you know as well as I do that I don't wear makeup. Well, except foundation. And lip gloss."

"Oh right," Rebecca said sarcastically. "Too bad we can't all have gorgeous skin and naturally thick long lashes and-"

"Oh stop it, you're just as gorgeous as I am, and probably more so. YOU'RE the one guys chase down in the hallways."

"And if you'd just let me teach you how to do your own makeup…" Rebecca coaxed. "I mean, you're beautiful now, but with a little blush, mascara, eyeliner… You'd be a knockout! Come on, please…?"

"No, Becca."

"Oh, all right," Rebecca said crossly. "Well, get your butt out of bed anyway. Go have some breakfast or something."

"Yes, Mother," Shannon replied, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Meet you at the spot?"

"You know it. Later."

Shannon closed her phone and looked over to see her older sister's bed was empty and hadn't been slept it. She sighed and sat up, stretching.

"Just another day…" she sighed, sliding on her bed slippers and heading into the bathroom.

--

"Finally!" Rebecca yelled, throwing her arms around Shannon as she walked up to "The Spot", which was a giant oak tree at the side of the high school. "I've been here for ages!"

"She got here two minutes ago," their friend Julian informed Shannon with a smirk.

"Whatever," Rebecca retorted. "I've been looking for hot guys but all I've seen is HIM."

Julian glared at her. "For your information, while you were busy tweezing your eyebrows or whatever it is you girls do in the morning, I was here, and I got two phone numbers."

"Oh please," Rebecca scoffed. "Pity numbers, more like."

Shannon rolled her eyes and leaned back against the tree, scoping out the crowd of students milling about. She was used to Julian and Rebecca's antics by now. They had dated in their sophomore year, but things hadn't worked out, and even though the each of the two considered the other a friend, they spent more time bickering than half the married couples Shannon knew.

"See anybody interesting?" Rebecca said brightly, turning to Shannon so suddenly that she whipped Julian in the face with her long dark hair. Behind her back, Julian held up his fingers like a pair of scissors and gestured toward her head with a cutting motion.

"Not really," Shannon murmured. She did notice a couple of guys looking at Rebecca. Nobody ever looked at Shannon though, but that was fine by her. Over the years she had mastered the art of blending in with her surroundings. She didn't particularly care about being noticed.

"Ooh what about him," Rebecca pointed at a guy not too far away, with brown skin and a mop of curly hair, walking with one of the counselors. "He's cute. I like his hair."

"Yeah," said Shannon distractedly, barely glancing his way. She had noticed someone else. Someone who was currently heading her way. Mark.

"Hey, babe," Mark said smoothly, nodding at Julian and Rebecca. Rebecca smiled back coquettishly, but Julian just looked at him, eyes narrowed. "What's good?"

"Not much," Shannon replied quietly, wanting to look away but forcing herself to look directly into his face.

"You look great," Mark complimented, looking Shannon up and down in a way that gave her chills. "But, then, you always did. Maybe we can get together sometime."

"Maybe," Shannon muttered, all the while thinking to herself that that would never happen in a million years. "We'll see."

"Yes, we will," Mark said, smirking a bit. "See you around." He turned and walked away, but not before throwing Rebecca a wink.

"God, Shannon," Rebecca squealed as soon as Mark was out of earshot. "He is too fine! I can't believe you broke up with him."

Shannon just shrugged.

"I don't like him," Julian put in.

"I'm sure you don't," Rebecca snapped. "But I'd go out with him in a heartbeat. I mean, if he wasn't your ex, Shannon." She looked at Shannon hopefully, willing her to say that it was okay if Rebecca dated him.

Before she could help herself, Shannon shook her head vigorously. "No! Rebecca, promise me you won't go out with him, okay?"

Rebecca looked taken aback. Before Shannon could regain her composure the warning bell rang.

"Come on," Julian said, breaking the awkward silence. "Let's get to homeroom."

The three of them walked into the building, Rebecca shooting Shannon confused glances every now and then. None of them had the same homeroom so soon they parted ways.

"Good luck today," Rebecca said, smiling at Shannon and giving her a hug. "I love you."

"Love you too," Shannon said, smiling back. Her smile faded when Rebecca had turned her back. Right now, senior year wasn't looking so hot.