A/N: Thanks to all those that followed, favourited or reviewed, it means a lot. I'm updating pretty quick at the moment but next week I go back to uni so don't expect everyday updates. More like weekly.

Enjoy

While waiting for her friends, she decided it was time for her favourite sport; people watching. Being the first day back, the emotions on the students' faces were a little more obvious than they would usually be, and more diverse. They skittered from excited to nervous to happy then back to nervous. Usual school jitters. To be honest she was a little excited too. Sure, it was school and she had to show up every day at a ridiculously early time, but she loved the social side of it. To see people you haven't seen all summer, to talk to people you wouldn't usually talk to, it was her bread and butter really.

Her fascination with the people around her had become narrowed down to the few people she spotted here and there with a completely different expression on their face; boredom. Some of the students, despite school having not even officially started, look like they just sat through a five hour lecture on the joys of advanced calculus theory. How could they possibly look so negative on a day like this? Can't they see that another year of opportunities is about to be presented to them? She didn't understand these people, so she watched them more than the others, as if they would magically provide her with the answers she wanted.

"Are you excited for the new year?"

"Shit!" Chloe jumped and turned, surprised by the sudden appearance of her best friend. "Stacie! I thought we talked about the sneaking up on people thing."

"I literally called your name five times on the way over here." Stacie announced with an eye roll. "I don't know how much more warning I could possibly have given you."

Chloe took in Stacie appearance and smiled to herself. The brunette had opted to kick in the new schooling year with the shortest skirt she'd ever seen coupled with a tastefully low cut, short sleeved pink top. Paired with her infamous heels, Chloe can easily say it was one of Stacie's more modest outfits even though it would be a regular person's most racy.

"Nice look, Stace." Chloe laughed a little, eyes twinkling to let Stacie know she was teasing. "That's a lot less boobage than usual, thinking of becoming a nun?"

"Oh hardy ha ha, I forgot how super funny you were." Stacie replied sarcastically before laughing along. She had only returned from her, affectionately dubbed, nerd camp last week, meaning she had spent a lot less time with her friends than she would have liked. While she was gone, it was the teasing and laughing like this that she truly missed. Her friends could be such dumbasses sometimes but that's why she loved them. "Anyway, have you seen Tom yet?

"Not yet." Chloe replied, anticipation intertwined with her words. "It's been so long, and near the end we started Skyping less and less so I feel like I haven't seen him in ages."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Stacie placated with a soft hand and a sympathetic voice. "I'm sure when he shows up it will be like BREE!"

Chloe was, once again, startled by Stacie's sudden outburst. She watched as Stacie ran to meet the third member of their 'golden trio', squealing as she practically tackled the blonde into what could only be described as a bear hug.

"Stacie," Aubrey managed to wheeze out. "Stacie, you're squishing me."

"Bree!" Her reply was still excited, but significantly scaled down. She waited for Aubrey's breathing to even back out before continuing. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Another eye roll was pulled from Chloe at that statement. She knows for a fact they were talking on the phone last night, which Aubrey immediately informs her of.

She was about to walk over and join them when something out the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked over and could see the shiny object was nothing more than a bead on a bracelet. It was an intricate black band, woven with little silver beads. It was pretty, but it was also quite a dark piece, especially from its spot between similar jet-black bangles. It seemed to suit the girl that was wearing it though.

She was facing away from Chloe, but she could tell from the combat boots, the ripped jeans and blue plaid that this girl was probably a bit of a troublemaker. Even from behind she seemed to portray a standoffish attitude, probably stemming from the spikes she could see protruding from her ear. Gorgeous chocolate locks reached just past her shoulders, and Chloe couldn't help but want to reach out and touch them. It looked soft, like, ridiculously so. She was short, shorter than herself which was quite a feat, so she assumed the girl was a freshman. The schedule and school map clutched firmly in her left hand just another indication of her newbie status. She was about to go introduce herself to the freshman, maybe show her around or ask where she got her bracelet, instead she was stunned when the girl finally turned around.

Holy shit.

Despite her short stature her face was much more mature than any freshman's could, and should, be. High cheekbones, soft lips and an aggressive amount of eyeliner. On anyone else, Chloe probably would have laughed to herself about it, seeing it as a desperate attempt to stand out or perhaps write it off as a simple newbie make up mistake. But it didn't make her look silly, or ignorant of proper styling dos and don'ts, it made her look fierce. Rebellious. A simple statement of 'don't fuck with me unless you want to end up face down on the floor'.

Unlike the panicked and frantic look on the faces of every other freshman she had seen, the brunette easily sat in the boredom category. While the others with a similar expression intrigued her, this girl had her downright baffled. Everyone else in her category were no lower than a junior, and they had more than enough time to acquaint themselves with the inner most workings of the school. She knew she had not seen this girl before, begging the question why she looked so… disinterested in the world around her. This was her first day in a new school. She knew none of her surroundings, or where her classes were, or the people around her, or who her teachers were, yet she looked like she actually couldn't care any less and still be conscious.

The girl turned away and Chloe, for some unknown reason, released a strangled gasp as she lost her view of her prized subject. And with Chloe's good luck, the brunette's head whipped back around at the unexpected noise, quirking her eyebrow at the redhead. Somehow the redhead looked more surprised at their encounter despite, accidently, initiating it. Her jaw opened and closed though no words actually came out.

What is happening?

This does not happen. Well of course it does, all the time in fact. It just never happens to her. Chloe Beale does not stutter, and Chloe Beale does not get nervous in front of people. She's great with people, she fucking rules when it comes to people. She's had people in front of her in this state before, and of course she felt sympathy for them at the time, but good god she did not show them enough. Because this was actually terrifying and she wanted it to end right now.

But the beautiful, scary lady was still staring at her. And her eyebrow was still quirked. Except instead of full blown confusion, and acute resting bitch face, her eyes were twinkling in amusement, mouth twitching at one corner, hinting at the smirk just waiting to come out.

Chloe's cheeks matched her hair.

What the actual fuck was happening?

Before she could actually implode on her own awkwardness, the brunette's back was once again facing her and she was walking away. Chloe snapped her mouth shut in fear that she would engage the girl again, even when knowing the best option was to just let her go.

The girl was barely around the corner when a heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder. Snapped out of her thoughts with another jump scare (like seriously, what was wrong with her friends today?), Chloe faced her newest attacker with a slight glare that quickly transformed into a dazzling smile.

"Tom!" Her voice was going to be raw by the end of the day if this was the amount of screaming she was going to do.

She launched herself at him, arms wrapping tightly around his neck and lips planting firmly on his. When she pulled away to fire about fifty questions at him in one breath, he pulled her back in for another kiss. Unlike her, comparatively, chaste kiss, Tom immediately opened her mouth and began what those around her could only describe as a tongue bath. Not that she usually didn't like a good make out session, but she felt extremely uncomfortable doing so on the front steps of the school where everybody could see them. Not to mention, his newly grown stubble was nothing but sandpaper against her cheeks, probably leaving a red rash on the bottom half of her face. It was weird to her, not remembering any time before now that Tom had stubble. She remembered him once saying that he hated the feeling of stubble, finding it distracting due to its itchiness.

What is he doing?

She gently pushed him away, taking a few seconds to actually get him to disentangle his mouth from hers. He grinned down at her, ignoring her embarrassed look.

"Hey Babe." Babe? "It's been so long, I forgot how beautiful you looked."

"Uh," Chloe was lost for words. This was a…different version of Tom. Then again, two months was a long time apart, especially when he was submerged into a completely new environment. "Yeah, thanks. I missed you."

"Yeah I missed you too, Chloe." Tom's grin had yet to waver. "I was thinking, after school maybe we could BUMPER!"

Honestly, people really needed to stop doing that.

And then he was gone. Running after douche face to participate in an elaborate bro handshake that ended with a hearty chest bump.

Chloe's heart sank. Two months apart and that was the reunion she had been so excited for? She supposed that maybe she was over thinking it, that she was being too quick to judge. After all, this isn't just the first time he's seen her in two months, it's the first time he's seen anyone else as well. Perhaps she was being selfish for demanding he be focused entirely on her just because she was his girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" Aubrey had approached with Stacie just in time to see the exchange and the subsequent blow off. She must say, she's a little bit angry at Tom but also a little confused, having never seen him treat her that way. "That looked a little rough."

"Yeah, no I'm fine." Chloe brushed the hurt aside and faced her friends. "Although, I haven't received a hug from my best friend yet and I gotta say, it stings a little."

Aubrey rolled her eyes, her friends were complete idiots. They had all hung out two days ago and they were both acting like it had been years. She wasn't really complaining, however, because she loved the two goofballs. She opened her arms, inviting the redhead into the hug she had so woefully deprived her of, almost falling over when not only did she end up with arms around her shoulders but also legs around her waist.

Fucking goofballs.

"Get off me, Chloe." Aubrey huffed out.

"As you wish." Chloe laughed while climbing off her friend. "So, you guys ready for senior year?"

She grabbed her friend's elbows before they could reply and started escorting them inside. 'Of course' was Aubrey's sure reply, Stacie going for a less eloquent 'fuck yes'. Chloe probably leaned more towards Stacie's fuck yes side, excited to play out her final year at school.

It was amazing, really, to think that this was her final year at school before she goes off to college. She was looking forward to the typical senior year. Prom, skip day, graduation, her senior yearbook, she could picture it all now. She and Tom were the power couple at school, an almost guaranteed King and Queen. Her dress would be an amazing shade of blue, matching the vest and tie of Tom's otherwise black and white tuxedo. They were going to look incredible, and it was going to be perfect. The entire year was going to be perfect.

She was sure of it.

A/N: That's all for now folks. Thanks for reading, reviews more than welcome, in fact they are encouraged.

Until next time.