Despite my worrying, Juniper didn't ignore me or blow me off the next day in gym class. She happily came to stand by my side, and asked if we would be partners again. I said yes of course. I noitced Ben and Daniel glaring at me, but it wasn't really my fault- Juniper had asked me after all. Still, I worried about what they'd do to me after class.

We were playing volleyball again- we tending to stick to the same sport for a week or more, which got very boring- and I let Juniper take more shots. I hated to admit it, but she was the better player. She was fit- fitter than she looked- and strong for such a small person. I didn't really mind if she took more shots than me, because it gave me a chance to watch her; something Ben, Daniel, Clive and almost all the boys in our gym class were doing from the other courts. Her hair flew around her as she ran around the court, her brown legs strong and powerful as she leapt up to spike the ball. She seemed very self-concious of her ears for some reason- they looked perfectly normal to me, but every time there was a break in play she would pull her hair so it covered them again.

Gym class was the same the next day. Juniper and I didn't really talk like we had the first day; she just asked if it was okay if we were partners again, and I said yes, of course it was. I would have liked to have a bit more of a conversation with her, but we were always pushed onto the court to start playing.

I never saw Juniper in the cafeteria. I thought this was strange, because where else would she go at lunchtime? Where would she get food? I searched for her and never saw her at anyone else's table, and I began to worry that she had no one to sit with.

Then, on Thurday, I saw her. She was waiting in the line to get food, easy to spot in a white beret. I only saw her in her gym clothes normally, but occassionally I saw her in her other clothes. She dressed differently to everyone at Forks High- her clothes looked like they were all bought from a designer store.

She looked worried, nervous. She was keeping her head bent like she didn't want to be noticed. Who was she hiding from?

As she stood there, she glanced out and scanned the room. Was she looking for someone. I was suddenly full with hope that she was looking for me, that she was going to come and sit with me and my friends. But her eyes skimmed over my table, and settled on the Cullens for some bizzare reason. I looked at the Cullens too- sitting all alone at their usual table, all staring into space and not eating. Edward's stare was fixed on something though, and I realised that Juniper and Edward were staring at each other. I remebered who Clive said she would like. 'People like Edward Cullen'. Was she really interested in him?

But she didn't look like she was- she looked almost scared. I couldn't say I blamed her- Edward was freaky with his dark eyes. I watched as Juniper paid for her food and left quickly. I wondered where she was going.

"What are you staring at?" Kate asked me.

"Nothing," I said, turning away from Juniper's retreating figure.

"Nothing." Tom repeated, grinning, "Which in Andy's language means Juniper."

I felt my face grow hot.

"I was not," I said.

"Who's Juniper?" Steph asked.

"New girl." Tom said. "She's in Andy's gym class."

"Is she the blonde one?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, the one with the great tan." Matt said.

I nodded and Matt laughed.

"She's way out of your league mate!"

"What do you mean?" Steph said, "Andy's a nice guy. Why wouldn't Juniper like him?"

Steph had a habit of standing up for me like this. We had been friends since our mom's had organised playdates for us as toddlers. She had always been bigger than me- she was almost as tall as Ben Miller and Daniel Tarraway- and so she had a sort of protective instinct.

"If you saw her, you'd understand." Matt said, rolling his eyes at Tom in a way that said Girls don't get it.

"You should ask her to prom Andy. When it's closer, I mean." Kate said.

"Yeah! She's new, no one else will ask her." Alex added.

"I don't know. If I wasn't tied up I would be." Tom said playfully and Alex punched him.

"Can we talk about something else?" I muttered. My face had been on fire the entire conversation. I was glad Juniper didn't eat in the cafeteria.

My friends dropped it then, and conversation moved on to other topics.

As I left the cafeteria Steph whispered,

"Just talk to her. Be yourself. I know she'll like you."

I thought about that all through my English class. Maybe I should talk to Juniper some more. We hadn't really had a conversation, unless you counted her first day. And that was just a few questions. We really should talk more. She didn't seem to have a lot of friends- maybe I could be one?

I got to Gym, looking forward to seeing her, and dreading trying to talk to her. What if I couldn't get a word out?

We were playing tennis. I wasn't very good at tennis, but I didn't care because there weren't enough courts. That meant we'd have to sit and watch a little. Which meant lots of time for conversation.

Juniper didn't ask if I'd be her partner today- she seemed to assume it would be okay after three days of doing so. We sat on the edge of the court to watch. I was aware of her every move as she watched the game. I wondered if she was aware of the insensity with which I was staring at her.

"Where do you go at lunchtime?" I blurted out. I could have slapped myself. I hadn't meant to ask that straight off, I had been planning to build to that question. But I'd said it now.

She didn't look at me properly, and I wondered if she was mad.

"I do my homework." she said, her voice expressionless, eyes focussed on the game.

This wasn't what I'd been expecting. She didn't strike me as a very studious person.

"Why?" I asked. "Why don't you go to the cafeteria?"

She didn't answer, just kept staring at the tennis.

"Is it because you have no one to sit with? Because you can sit with me if you want."

She turned and faced me, turning her whole body, not just her head.

"Do you know the shop between the video rental place and the watch repairer?" she asked me.

I didn't know where she was going with this, but I nodded.

"Yeah. It's the empty building, right?"

She nodded. "I own that shop." she said.

"You mean your family own it?" I said.

She gave a funny half nod and hurried on.

"Anyway I own the shop now, and I'm going to open it and work in it and everything. And I have to be open after school and serve customers and things. So I have to do my homework at lunchtime, or else I wouldn't have time to do it." she said.

I nodded, wondering why her parents made her work so much. My parents wouldn't make me work so much that I didn't have time to do homework.

"Do you like working all the time?" I asked.

Did that sound too protective and weird? Was I acting too concerned?

Her mouth twitched like she was going to laugh.

"I don't mind it. It's fun sometimes," she said.

I didn't answer. I wasn't sure what to say. We went back to watching the tennis game, and eventually had a turn playing. She was good at tennis too, which didn't really surprise me. Those tanned legs could carry her all over the court.

I tried to say goodbye to her at the end of class, but she had already gone to change. I saw her leaving on her scooter again, her blonde hair flying out behind her. I wondered if she considered me a friend. And if she did, could I ever be something more?