Chapter 2

I awoke shivering, unaware of where I was. My head pounded and stung in protest as I put my hand to my forehead. Carefully, I touched my fingertips once again to the right side of my forehead, hissing slightly against the sharp pain.

"Great," I muttered as I noticed blood on my fingertips and fell back against the soft pillows on the unfamiliar bed I lay on. The door to my right flew open, filling the previously dark room with bright light. I squeezed my eyes shut in protest to the harsh light, covering my eyes quickly with my hands.

"She's awake!"

"Where am I?" I asked, forcing my eyes open. As if the day couldn't have gotten any weirder, who else stood at the edge of the bed but four extremely attractive boys-the most popular in school.

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

"Fine," I answered quietly, hugging my knees close to my chest as I shivered.

"Still cold?" he asked. I hesitated but slowly nodded. "Carlos, get her another blanket."

"On it," the Latino boy wearing a helmet saluted eagerly.

"What's your name?" the tall brunette who had caught my eye so many times in the halls asked me. Part of me was disappointed that he didn't know who I was; that lack of knowledge crushed all my ridiculous teenage girl fantasies that he secretly admired me from afar, or that I would ever end up in a fairy tale love story with a pretty boy-this pretty boy. But before I let myself get too disappointed, I remembered a valuable piece of information that I lacked.

"What's your name?" I countered.

He seemed taken aback. "Y-you don't know who I am?" I shook my head. He shrieked and clutched his hand to his chest.

"I'm Kendall," the blonde laughed. "The guy with the helmet is Carlos; Mr. Doctor is Logan. And the guy with the damaged ego over there is James."

"I'm London," I told them quietly.

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

"Where am I?" I asked, rubbing my goose bump covered arms.

"My house," he answered. "We saw you fall in the lake so James jumped in and pulled you out." James gave me a dazzling smile. "We didn't know your name and we found your phone on the bench, but it was locked, so we couldn't call anyone. So we just brought you here." I sat there, absorbing everything he told me. Why save me? Why go through all the trouble to save me?

I shivered again and hugged my knees even closer to my chest.

"Body heat will help warm you up," Logan told me gently. "James?"

"Got you covered," he smiled his perfect-toothed grin as he jumped in the bed next to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. It would have been every girls' dream to have the most gorgeous boy in school offering to cuddle up with them and his touch brought me the warmth that I craved, but I pushed him away asking, "What?"

"It's ok," he told me softly. "I pulled you out of the lake; you can trust me. I don't bite. Just let me help keep you warm." I hesitated, but watched silently as James wiggled underneath the covers and wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into him. His warmth was much needed and inviting, so I snuggled in closer to his chest.

"Thank you," I whispered. James responded by gently rubbing his warm hands against my cold arms and kept me pulled into him. To my surprise, I quickly fell asleep once again.

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

"Morning," he smiled.

"Sorry," I muttered, quickly pulling away and sitting up. I got up out of the bed to find I had been changed into an oversized pair of sweats that weren't mine. My guess: Kendall's mom.

"The guys are waiting out in the living room," James said. "Come on." He motioned for me to follow and led me out. The three other boys sat on the couches with an older woman with red hair and a soft smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, handing me a cup of hot chocolate.

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

"I'm Kendall's mom," she said.

"I'm London. How long have I been here?"

"Just about a day. Should we call your parents?"

I paused for a second. Marissa and Eve were busy. They didn't need to worry about me. "Um, no. My aunt is working," I answered quickly.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here until she gets home," she smiled.

"Thank you." With a small nod, she left the room, leaving me with the boys.

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

"You don't talk much," Carlos observed, frowning slightly.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I'm not used to people wanting to talk to me," I thought.

"I think we're going to be best friends," he answered with a cheeky grin. I was taken aback, but gave him a small smile in response as I took a sip of my hot chocolate.

A few hours passed as I watched the four best friends goof around, occasionally joining in with their laughter.

Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that I needed to get home and help Eve with the kids. Being the oldest, Marissa and Eve allowed me to do whatever I wanted; it never worried them. I didn't have friends to make stupid decisions with, so whenever I got home from school, I just helped them 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," James stated, grabbing his keys.

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

Once we arrived at my house, I thanked James and quickly got out of the car.

"We'll see you at school on Monday, right?" Carlos asked from the backseat.

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

"Bye, London!" Logan and Kendall exclaimed.

"Bye," I waved, running up the steps. I walked into the house, loudly letting out a sigh. As the five little kids ran to me, greeting me with tight hugs, my mind was somewhere else. I wondered what it was that drove them to be so nice to me. Having friends, or at least the idea of it, was nice while it lasted.

Too bad it wouldn't.

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