Chapter 2

I awoke shivering and unaware of where I was. My head pounded and stung in protest when I touched my fingers to a wound on my forehead. Carefully, I touched my fingertips to the gash, hissing slightly at the pain.

The door to my right flew open, filling the previously dark room with bright light. My eyes quickly shut, protesting against the sudden change in light.

"She's awake!" a voice exclaimed and a figure rushed to my bedside. Through one eye, still screaming against the light, I saw three more figures run in behind him.

"Where am I?" I croaked, my throat dry and sore. I forced my eyes open to find a sight I had never thought I would ever encounter. Who else to stand at my bedside than the four most popular and attractive boys in the junior class?

"How are you?" the boy with spiky brown hair asked me as he sat at the foot of the bed.

"Fine," I said slowly, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Still cold?" I hesitated for a moment before slowly nodded. "Carlos, get her a blanket, would you?"

"Yes sir," the Latino boy in the helmet saluted eagerly.

"What's your name?" the boy that had caught my attention so many times before asked me. Part of me was a little disappointed, although I shouldn't have been. Those three words, the first three words he had ever spoken to me, crushed any teenage girl fantasies of having the hottest guy in school secretly pining for the loser girl at school that I had.

"What's your name?" I countered.

His hand flew up to his heart as he let out a small shriek. "Y-you don't know who I am?" He seemed taken aback. I shook my head.

"Get over yourself," the blonde boy laughed. "My name's Kendall."

"I'm Logan," the boy with spiky brown hair told me.

"I'm Carlos!" the Latino boy with the helmet exclaimed as he entered the door with another big blanket for me.

"I'm James," the pretty boy told me as he flipped his hair to the side. "But my friends call me 'Awesome.'" Kendall smacked his arm.

"I'm London," I said quietly.

"Nice to meet you, London," Kendall smiled at me.

"Um, so… Where am I?" I asked them.

"We saw you fall into the pool so James pulled you out and you were unconscious and we didn't know where you lived or what your name was so we just brought you back to my house," Kendall rambled quickly.

"So… I was unconscious, nearly drowned, and you brought me back to your house? You didn't think to take me to a hospital or, I don't know, call 911?"

"Please," Logan scoffed. "I'm going to be a doctor one day. Of course we called 911."

"And?"

"They assessed you on the scene," he told me. "You were in and out of consciousness there and they told us you suffered no major injuries. So we brought you back here so you would be comfortable and probably a lot less freaked out when you woke up." As what he told me sunk in, I absentmindedly rubbed my goose bump covered arms.

"Are you still cold?" Kendall asked me. I nodded slowly.

"Don't be freaked out," Logan told me, holding his hands up. "But body heat will help you a lot."

"I got you," James smiled, climbing onto the bed next to me. I scooted away and looked at him curiously.

"Excuse me?" I asked him. "I literally just met you."

"Relax. I pulled you out of the pool; you can trust me. I don't bite. Just let me keep you warm." I stayed silent as James wriggled under the covers and wrapped his arms around me. I hated to admit it, but he gave off exactly the warmth I craved. Convincing myself this was simply for the sake of my warmth, I snuggled up to him.

"Thank you," I whispered. He responded by gently rubbing his hands against my cold arms. To my surprise, I quickly fell asleep.

When I awoke this time, I was still snuggled into James.

"Morning," he smiled when he noticed I was awake.

"Sorry," I muttered, quickly pulling away from him and getting out of the bed. I found that I had been changed into a pair of sweats that weren't mine.

"Don't apologize," he told me. "It's totally fine. The guys are all in the living room. Come on." He motioned for me to follow him. The other three boys were sitting on couches with an older woman with red hair.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me as she handed me a cup of hot chocolate.

"Much better, thank you," I answered, graciously accepting the cup.

"I'm Kendall's mom," she introduced herself.

"I'm London. Thank you so much for having me here."

"It's not a problem at all."

"How long have I been here?"

"Just about a day. Should we call your parents and tell them where you are?"

I thought for a moment. Marissa and Eve were busy and didn't need to worry about where I was or what had happened to me.

"No," I told her. "My aunt is working."

"Well you're welcome to stay here until she gets back."

"Thank you," I said. She smiled before leaving the room.

"So, London," Logan started. "I've seen you around school. You're a junior right?"

I nodded.

"You don't talk much," Carlos observed with a frown.

"Sorry," I muttered, looking down at my cup of hot chocolate. In truth, I wasn't used to having people talk to me and I wasn't used to this much attention.

"I think we're going to be best friends," he told me with a cheeky grin as he slung his arm around my shoulders. I was taken aback, but gave him a small smile as I took a sip of my hot chocolate.

For the next while, I sat and drank my hot chocolate while watching the boys goof around and laugh with each other. Occasionally, I would join in with their laughter. But then the thought occurred to me that I needed to go home and help with the kids. Being the oldest, Marissa and Eve gave me a lot of freedom to do as I pleased. Since I didn't have any friends to make stupid decisions with, I usually stayed home and played with the kids.

"I should get home," I said.

"We'll give you a ride," James offered.

"No, it's fine. I can walk," I declined.

"No, I'm giving you a ride home." He grabbed his keys off of the counter while the other three raced out of the house towards the car.

"Really, it's-" I cut myself off when James was already out the door. "Alright then."

Once we got to my house, I quickly thanked the boys for helping me and got out of the car.

"We'll see you on Monday, right?" Carlos asked, leaning halfway out of the car window.

"Sure," I answered, knowing they would forget all about me by the time Monday came.

"Bye, London!" the rest of the boys waved.

"Bye," I waved, running up the steps to my house. I quickly closed the door behind me, letting out a huge sigh. Five young kids barreled towards me, greeted me excitedly with tight hugs. I smiled at them, while still reflecting on the last few hours. Having friends, or at least the idea of them, was nice while it lasted.

Too bad it wouldn't.