Thank you to all of those that read this, I hope you like it.

Here's another chapter, hope you enjoy too.

R&R

The normal disclaimers apply.

Beta'd by Zuvios Gemini

…..

"I wish I had gotten that job at the bookstore too, I would have been better off." said my best friend Audrey Currier as we found our lockers at Grand Tree High School.

"I swear I got the only picky people in the entire town."

"Doesn't sound too bad." I said as I pulled open my locker and put my extra notebooks and gym bag in.

"The diner pays a whole dollar more than the bookstore."

"Yea, that's true, but I bet it was quieter." She said as she put her books and gym bag in. I chuckled as I looked down the hallway, looking for my other best friend, and… Wondering if that guy would be here. I frowned and looked back to my locker then to my friend.

"Do you know if we're getting any new students? I mean, brand new-out of town students?"

She gave me a weird look.

"Newcomers? I haven't heard of any. But I'm not on the paper. Ask Amanda."

Amanda was on the school paper, yes she would know.

"Why you ask?"

I stared at my notebook, wondering if I should tell her. Tell her what? Some creepy guy was watching me? Does that mean I have a stalker? No way, I've never seen him before…

Yes you have, whispered a voice in the bad of my head.

"Hey! Earth to Alex!" Audrey waved her hand in front of my face. I jumped and glared at her.

"What?" she asked. I sighed and shrugged, closing my locker. I was getting worked up about nothing. Really stupid.

"Come on, let's get to class." I mumbled as I head down the hall.

"This going to be a great class!" Mrs. Balmman sang, smiling widely as she handed out the reading list for Senior English Lit.

"It's going to be a wonderful year of heart-stopping romances. From Romeo and Juliet to Wuthering Heights; some of the greatest love stories of all time."

While Mrs. Balmman had this dreamy look in her eyes, everyone else was groaning as the list made its way around the class. It was a tossup between what she said and the list that made people squirm. I saw Audrey look at hers with a misery and my other friend Kira Knight, who was across from me, pointed her thumb at our teacher. I just shrugged. Something must happen during the summer to make our aged teacher all love sick. I hide my smile as I looked down my list.

Oh no, she had Pride and Prejudice, and Gone with the Wind, ugh! And It Had to Be You as well. Joy.

I sighed as John Andrews raised his hand.

"Come on Mrs. B," he said. "Can't we have some action? War?" he asked hopefully.

Mrs. Balmman smiled as she headed back to her desk.

"Mr. Andrews, there is plenty of action in these books. And the war of love is the action and so is the great story of how it came to be!" Again with the dreamy eyes. John just laid his head down on his arms and the class could see it was hopeless.

"God what a drag." said Rebecca Hawkins, my worst enemy since kindergarten, from behind me. Great, I was stuck with her for the whole school year. She was everything you expected in the normal cheerleading captain; blonde, with bright green eyes and perfect in every way; bitchy and hateful to all whom dared to cross her.

That would include me; I refused her friendship and started a war between us. I was sure to hear her mean comments every time I turned around. I saw I was doomed to that very fate as the seating chart made its way to me. I signed it and handed it back to the hateful girl behind me.

"Ever heard of a manicure? Oh right, only real girls do." She sneered as she snatched the chart from my hand. So what if I wore black nail polish? My nails were strong and perfect without any help.

"Too bad mine are real" I hissed back, earning myself a glare. Her manicure was perfect but it was easy to see that her nails were fake.

I watched as the chart was passed back up and Mrs. Balmman looked over the list. She looked up and smiled. I thought she might be smiling at me or Rebecca, but it turns out she was looking behind us.

"Let's welcome our new foreign exchange student, Koda …" she frowned at the chart, "Drac…gon. Is that correct?"

I looked behind me as I heard the name, as did everybody. Across from Rebecca was a familiar stranger, looking less than pleased. I stared; it was the guy from this morning! In the same all-black clothes. Now that I could see him up close, he did look like he should be in college.

"No," he said, "That is not."

I couldn't help but stare as he stood up with grace and walked up the aisle with the same long stride. As he reached the front, he turned to the class like he was a teacher himself. And his eyes… oh wow. They were deep gold mixed with brown and crimson… Like an amber jewel; dark near his pupils, lighter fanned out in his big eyes. They were beautiful; mesmerizing.

"My name is Koda Dracgion. Dre-ka-on." He announced, his tone filled with authority, like he was addressing us like we were under him; on a lower rack completely.

"The Dracgion name is a very important name in Eastern Europe. It has been known for many years as a noble name." He looked from each face to mine, his jeweled eyes staring into mine.

"A royal name."

I realized I was holding my breath again as he finished. Nobody moved as he turned to the teacher, who blushed and stammered out; "A-anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself?"

Koda looked at me again, as if I should come up and say something myself. I looked away. God he was intense.

With jet black hair falling onto a face of man, he was clearly not a boy. There was nothing boyish about him; those eyes set on high cheekbones, a perfect nose, a strong jaw with an equally strong chin, and full lips. He was tall; over six feet. His chest was proud and his shirt was tight; tight enough to show off his muscles. He had them everywhere. He looked like he should be a model for some men's magazine.

"Your heritage sounds so interesting. Would you like to share more?" Mrs. Balmman asked, looking at him with stars in her eyes.

He gave an elegant shake of his head.

"In due time" he said and looked at me again. I sank lower into my chair, looking at my desk.

"In due you will all know."

Why did that sound like a threat?