Jack sat underneath the spreading oak in the center of the school lawn. He was starving, and wanted nothing more than to scarf down the turkey sandwich he had brought for lunch, but he had promised Kate that he would wait for her. He took out his lunch and began setting everything out neatly. Sandwich… apple… water bottle, then he folded his napkin in half. He was in the middle of meticulously straightening each item when he heard a mocking voice behind him.

"What the hell are you doing, man? You are such a freak." Sayid's head popped out from behind the tree.

Jack laughed and grabbed Sayid's ankle, sending him sprawling into the grass.

He sat up and dusted himself off. "Please tell me that you are not really that much of a control freak." Sayid turned his backpack upside down, and dumped its contents onto the ground. He moved his books and papers around until he found his Tupperware container that held his lunch.

Jack looked at him questioningly. Sayid pointed to Jack's perfectly arranged food.

"Oh, I'm starving and bored, but I promised Kate that I'd wait for her. You know how slowly she eats."

Sayid rolled his eyes. "Why won't you just tell her that you like her? This has gotten past the point of being pathetic."

"How many times do I have to tell you? She doesn't like me like that. I'm just her best friend. That's all I'll ever be. Give it up."

"But how will you ever know for sure if you won't even try-"

"Try what?" Sayid was cut off by Kate plopping down between them and butting into the conversation.

"My hilbeh. Jack won't try it. He thinks it will be too spicy." Kate seemed to believe that answer and Jack breathed a silent sigh of relief. It's a good thing Sayid was such a great liar.

"Come on, Jack. You have to try it. Step out of your comfort zone for once. I'll try it."

Jack groaned. He really didn't want to try the hilbeh, but he decided to take the path of least resistance.

"Fine."

After they finished eating, Sayid had a free period so he went off in search of Kate's best friend Claire. Jack and Kate cleared up their mess, and walked toward the north building where their respective classes were. Jack couldn't stop thinking about Kate's comment about stepping out of his comfort zone. He wondered if she meant it about more than just the food. Maybe she was subtly hinting that she wanted him to ask her out. Maybe she liked him. Maybe she- Jack's thoughts came crashing down as Kate's voice called him from his reverie. "Did you finish the Physics?"

"What?"

"Are you even listening to me?" Kate laughed and smacked his arm. "I asked about your Physics lab. Did you finally get it finished?"

"Oh, that. Yeah. Thanks for your help. My teacher said that it was really good."

"No problem"

Jack turned down the hallway to his psychology class, but Kate's voice stopped him. "Are we still on for Thursday?"

"Yeah. I'll be there." Jack looked forward to spending an afternoon at Kate's house, even if it was just to help plan Claire's birthday party. Kate's house was so homey and inviting compared to the foreboding stone contraption that his parents adored. Thinking about parents reminded him that his mother needed him to pick some stuff up from the health food store across town. That meant he couldn't hang out with Sayid like they had planned. He trudged the last few steps into his class. His mood was decidedly more dejected than it had been. Thinking about his parents often had that effect.

Kate sank down onto the bench outside the school entrance. Normally, she would ride the bus home, but Claire had invited her to dinner. Since Claire stayed late on most days to work on the school play, Kate was waiting outside. She really preferred to spend as little time as possible inside the school.

She dug around in her backpack, thinking that she might as well get started on her homework. She had just gotten her Physics book open to the right page when she felt someone sit on the other end of the bench.

"Are you in AP Physics?" A male voice asked.

She nodded as she looked up to see who it was. His voice didn't sound familiar. She took a silent breath when she saw his face. He was so handsome. She entirely forgot what he had asked her. She snapped out of her momentary daze when she realized that he had started talking again.

"I skipped class today, so I was wondering if you had the assignment."

She just looked at him for a second. "Oh, yeah… uh… let me find that for you."

She looked down and realized that she was holding it in her left hand. She quickly handed it to him, trying not to act embarrassed.

"Thanks." He smiled at her. His smile was slightly crooked, and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She was never good at talking to very attractive people.

He stuck his hand out. "I'm James, but everyone calls me Sawyer."

"Oh, um… I'm Kate." She awkwardly shook his hand, hoping her palm wasn't sweating.

He smiled again, and she noticed that he had really nice dimples. "I just moved here from Tennessee, and I don't know anyone yet. You're actually the first person I've met here. Would you mind showing me around and introducing me to people some time?"

She wondered why the heck he would want to talk to her. Could he not see how awkward she was?

"Uh… yeah. Whenever… I don't mind."

"Cool." He shot her another one of his grins. Why did he have to look like that? He seemed really nice, but she could barely talk around him.

He stood up. "Well, it was great meeting you. I guess I'll see you around school."

She watched him walk away, and sighed. Why had she acted like such an idiot? She was usually good at talking to people. She mentally smacked herself. She picked up her Physics book, and realized that she had given him her only copy of the assignment. Not surprisingly, she wasn't that broken up about it. He was good looking enough that his talking to her was worth losing a week of assignments over.

"Why are you smiling?" Claire appeared in Kate's line of vision.

"You will never believe what happened." Kate told Claire all about meeting Sawyer, and Claire squealed with delight.

"I can't wait to see him. We need more hot guys around here. I mean, Jack is a bit cute, and Trent Matthews is pretty hot. But Jack is…. well… Jack, and Trent is so stuck up. We have been in desperate need of more eye candy."

"You're so crazy." Kate grinned over at her enthusiastic friend. "He probably thought I was stupid anyway."