thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! they really meant a lot and i'm glad you all like the story so far. like i said, the next few chapters are going to be all flashbacks, enjoy and please let me know what you think!

Boy Meets Girl

1992

"He's totally staring at you Lex!" her friend Sarah squealed excitedly. They were standing off to the side in the gym, waiting for the before school pep rally to start; that night was the homecoming football game. Alexia stood with the group of stretching cheerleaders, all of them in matching red sleeveless uniforms with white trim.

"Who?" the sixteen year old asked casually, adjusting the white bow around her long ponytail.

"Steve McGarrett!" Sarah exclaimed, her short blonde curly hair bouncing as she did. "The quarterback!"

Lex looked over her shoulder at number 50 who nodded his head at her, smiling. She laughed, turning back around to her friend. She knew who he was and she knew his type. Just a few weeks ago he was smiling like that at the girls' soccer captain Daisy, and before that it was his lab partner Maggie.

"He's still watching," Sarah said quietly as the girls lined up to do their cheerleading routine.

"So is everyone," Lex giggled. The music started and the girls launched into their dance routine. Lex couldn't help but look back at Steve; he was still watching her, smiling when he caught her eye. She knew who he was, she knew his type, but something about that smile was almost irresistible.

Once the pep rally ended, the students began to disperse for first period. Alexia, thankful that things were too busy in the gym for Steve or Sarah to catch up with her, made her way to her locker. She grabbed her lime green binder and her English textbook before closing the locker door. Standing on the other side of the door was Steve; she jumped.

"Scare you?" he laughed.

"I wasn't expecting anyone there," she explained, blushing a little.

"Steve McGarrett," he introduced himself.

"I know who you are," she said casually; he smiled. "Your sister Mary is on the middle school cheer team right?"

"Oh," he said, a little surprised; people knew him because of him, not because of his sixth grader sister. "Right, yeah." Lex nodded.

"I help coach them," she went on; Steve nodded.

"Can I walk you to class Lex?" he asked; she didn't know how he knew her name. "I know who you are too," he grinned. She laughed a little, starting down the hallway and he followed. "So, what color is your homecoming dress?"

"Excuse me?"

"I wanna know what color tie I should get, to match," he smiled at her.

"Uh huh," she laughed, stopping for a moment. "And how do you know I don't already have a date?"

"Because I asked your friend Sarah," he smirked at her. Lex could see her group of cheerleader friends on the other side of the hall, giving her a thumbs up; she shook her head.

"Well," she said, not ready to answer as they continued down the hallway. "I'm surprised you don't have a date already."

"I know who I want to take."

"You sure took your time asking," she laughed. "With the dance being tomorrow night and all." They stopped outside her classroom.

"Come on," he said, flashing her that smile again. "It'll be fun."

"I'm not so convinced," she smiled back. Steve wasn't used to girls saying no to him. He could walk up to almost any girl in that hallway and ask her, and they would immediately say yes. Why was he so fixated on this girl?

"What if we win tonight," he offered. "Then will you go with me?"

"That's too easy," she laughed. "You guys are undefeated, it's a pretty safe bet for you."

"Then what?" he asked; she thought on it, then smiled.

"Ok, so you have to win," she said. "But, you have to score the winning touchdown."

"Done," he agreed; they shook on it.

That night at the game, almost everyone in town was there. Not only was it the homecoming game, but they were also playing their biggest rival. It was a close game, with each team trading touchdowns. Then, the opposing team took the lead. There was enough time left for one more play and they needed a touchdown to win.

"Nervous?" Sarah asked, bumping her shoulder playfully against Lex's; Lex rolled her eyes.

"Nope," she shook her head, even though her stomach was in knots. She wondered if she was nervous for the game or if she was nervous about the bet. Maybe it was a little of both. If she hadn't been watching it herself, she wouldn't have believed it. Steve had faked a pass to one of his teammates before running it into the end zone himself. They won the homecoming game, maintaining their undefeated status; and, of course, Steve had won the bet. Everyone rushed onto the field to celebrate. Lex was with the other cheerleaders when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Of course it was Steve, grinning as he came to collect.

"Red," she told him, before he could say anything. "My dress is red."

"I'll pick you up at eight," he smiled.

Steve knocked on the apartment door, standing outside nervously. He had never really been nervous to go on a date before. Then again, he also never had to do so much convincing and then win a bet to get a girl to go out with him. Maybe that's why he liked Lex so much, because she was different. That was also what made him nervous.

"Hi," Lex said quickly, slipping out the door and shutting it quickly behind her. It was like she didn't want Steve to see inside.

"Hey," he smiled. "You look nice." She was wearing a short red dress with thin straps; her hair was up, with a few stray curled pieces falling into her face.

"Thanks," she smiled. "You too."

"I got you these." He handed her red roses, that matched both her dress and his tie.

"Aw, thanks," she smiled back. "One sec." She opened the door back up, slipped in, and shut it behind her without giving Steve an option to look inside let alone come in. She set the roses on the counter before coming back out as quickly as before. "Ok, let's go!"

"Um, all right," Steve said, taking her hand and leading her towards the stairs. Why hadn't she invited him in? "You don't want me to come in?"

"It's not a big deal," she said as they made their way to the parking lot of the apartment complex.

"Are you sure?" he said, laughing a little. He had been to dances like this before and this wasn't the usual routine. "Moms always want a million pictures and dads want to interrogate-"

"My mom's passed out," she interrupted him, sounding casual about it. "And my dad's not around."

"Oh," Steve said awkwardly as they got into his car. "Well…um...is it ok if we stop by my house? My mom-"

"Wants a million pictures?" she finished for him, smiling. "It's ok, let's go."

"You don't have to feel bad," she said, breaking the tension in the car on the way to Steve's house. She had picked up on the fact that he felt awkward having brought up her parents. "It's really not that big of a deal. And, really, you didn't know." Steve nodded quietly, still feeling like he blew it. "Let's just have fun ok?" By then, they had pulled up and stopped in front of Steve's house. He held her hand again as they walked up to the door, only letting go to get the door.

"I'm back!" Steve called, leading Lex into the house. They walked by the living room, through the hall, to the kitchen where his mom was cleaning up from dinner.

"Hi!" she smiled big, when they came in. "You must be Alexia."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. McGarrett," Lex smiled at her.

"Oh, honey, call me Doris," she laughed. "You know, I'm sorry we never got a chance to talk before at any of Mary's practices. She thinks you're just the greatest." Lex laughed.

"Mary's really sweet," Lex told her. "I love coaching her." They looked over when Steve's dad came into the room. Steve introduced the two of them and they shook hands.

"You look familiar," John told her as he released her hand.

"Honey," Doris told him. "That's Mary cheer coach."

"No, it's not that," John shook his head, thinking on it. Then, it dawned on him. "Your Mark's daughter." Steve noticed Lex shift uncomfortably, but she remained smiling. "How's your mom doing?"

"She's doing well," she nodded. "Thanks for asking."

"Lex!" Mary said excitedly once she realized she was here. "You look so pretty!"

"Thanks sweetie," Lex laughed, thankful that they stopped talking about her parents. She leaned over and hugged Mary. "How are you?"

"I'm good!"

"Have you been practicing?"

"Yes!" Mary said proudly; then, she looked to Doris. "Mom, can I show Lex the house?"

"Mary," Steve groaned.

"I'd love that," Lex said, looking over to Steve and giving him a sweet smile. Mary lead Lex by the hand out of the kitchen and proceeded to show her every room in the house. When she went upstairs, Lex glanced into Steve's room. It was a typical teenage boy's room, with clothes on the floor and an unmade bed. She found herself blushing as she looked at his bed. Downstairs, Steve was actually grateful that Mary dragged Lex away. This way, he could asked his dad what he was dying to know.

"Dad," Steve said to him. "How did you know Lex's dad?" John let out a heavy sigh.

"We were friends in high school," he explained. "We lost touch for awhile, he went to the mainland for school, but came back with Megan and two kids." Megan, he assumed, was Lex's mom; he also remembered her brother, Seth, who had graduated a few years ago. "It's a real shame," he went on. "He was killed in Iraq last year."

Steve felt bad all over again about asking about her family. She had lost her dad and her mom was obviously having a hard time with it. He was sure it didn't help that her brother had left for college somewhere on the mainland.

"Hey," Lex said, coming back into the kitchen. You would never have guessed this awful thing had happened to her, as she still had a big smile on her face. "You ready to go?"

At the dance, both seemed to forget the bit of awkwardness that they had experienced before. Meeting up with a group of friends, they had a great time at the dance. Steve couldn't take his eyes off of her, she was so beautiful. She was different from the other girls. She wasn't hanging on everything that he said, not that she wasn't interested. He could tell she was being herself though, that she wasn't trying to act like whoever she thought he wanted her to be.

After the dance, a few of their friends invited them to an after party. Steve declined, saying he was tired and should probably just go home. Alexia didn't really have an opinion either way, but was surprised he didn't want to go to the party. She was also surprised when they continued by her apartment complex without stopping.

"Um," she laughed. "Where are we going?"

"You trust me?" he grinned at her; she laughed.

"Of course," she nodded. "Where are we going?"

"My favorite spot on the whole island," he said, continuing down the road. They got further away from the main part of town and eventually, the road turned to dirt. They were heading to what seemed to be the middle of no where.

"We're here," he said, stopping the car and turning it off. Alexia didn't see what the big deal was or how this could be his favorite spot. He had pulled off the road and parked in the grass.

"Ugh!" she said in disgust, hitting his arm. "Did you bring me up here to-"

"You wish," he said, getting out of the car. "C'mon." Alexia rolled her eyes, getting out of the car. Once she was out, she saw the "big deal." You could see the entire island from up there. It was the perfect view in the most quiet secluded spot.

"Wow," she said, taking in the lights below, the ocean in the distance.

"And you thought I wanted to make out," he teased her, hopping up to sit on the hood of his car. She stuck her tongue out at him before hopping up to join him, both of them leaning back against the windshield. They were quiet for awhile, listening to the crickets. Steve felt her hand lightly brushing his; it gave him goosebumps.

"I was home alone," she said, breaking the silence. "When they came to tell us about my dad." She sighed heavily, sitting up a little; Steve remained laying against the windshield, listening intently. "And, I guess they couldn't just tell me without my mom being there? Because I'm a minor or something? So we waited an hour and a half till she got back from work." Steve nodded. No one he knew had ever lost a parent, so he wasn't sure what was appropriate to even say right now.

"I knew too," she went on. "I knew because of how they kept looking at me. Looking at me like, that poor girl just lost her dad." She looked over where he was laying. "Kinda like the look you're giving me now."

"I'm sorry," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "You know you don't have to tell me about this."

"I know," she nodded. "But...I want to."

"Ok," he said quietly, waiting for her to continue.

"And the whole time," she started again. "I just kept thinking, maybe it's something else. Maybe, he's hurt and he's coming home. But then my mom came home and...well it wasn't that." She looked over at him again. "I've never told anyone about that." He tugged gently on her arm, pulling her down to lay against him, kissing her head.

"I'm glad you did." They laid there again in silence for a few moments, before she propped herself up to look at him.

"So," she said lightly, seeming like she wanted to change the subject. "Tell me something no one knows about you." He shook his head. "Why not?"

"Because," he said, propping himself up on his elbows like her. "Anything I say won't be as...big." She shook her head at him.

"Biggest fear," she prodded.

"Nope."

"Come on!"

"No, no way."

"Steve-"

"Clowns, all right?" he said, stopping her; she exploded into laughter.

"What?" she said, unable to stop laughing. "You're..." She started laughing harder. "Afraid...of clowns?"

"It's a serious issue," he said, laughing with her. "Really though, the guys would never let me live that one down." She smiled, leaning in to kiss him once.

"Well, your secret is safe with me."

Author's note: let me know what you think! next chapter is more of the high school years