Chapter Three

Love Blooms

Tori sat in English pretending to pay attention. Mr. Burns was talking about the project we must complete that was 2/3 of our grade. Tori stared at the boy sitting in front of her. Gabe Miller. She sighed. "Next group, Tori Vega and Gabe Miller." Mr. Burns said, as if on cue. Gabe and I both stood, and made our way to the desk. We grabbed the worksheets, and went back to their desks.

I'm going to work on a school project with Gabe Miller Tori thought. Then , the bell rang. She slowly got up, and got her stuff together but when she turned around he was gone.

"Shapiro!" Jade's voice flared through the hall.

"What?" Robbie asked, he was wiping his glasses off with the bottom of his shirt.

"I need your help." Jade said. "My help?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, you're the only tech person I know, that isn't scared of-" Jade said, looking at Robbie's face. "Never mind." She said. "What do you need help with?" Robbie asked. "My stupid phone, won't let me see the texts I received!" She said, frustrated. "I'll look at it, when do you need it back?" Robbie asked.

"Tomorrow, Tuesday after school the latest." She said, and then she left.

"What do you mean you're confused?" Andre asked. Andre and Beck were outside, running the track for P.E. "I don't know, man!" Beck said, they were jogging, which made it hard for him to think. "Don't get me wrong, I love Jade. But, I think I'm beginning to feel something more for Tori." Beck said.

"Whoa, Whoa, whoa," Andre said, he pulled to a stop, touching Beck's arm. "Don't hurt neither of them." Andre warned. "Especially Jade." "I won't. Not until I know for sure." He said. "Hey, race you to the starting line!" Andre shouted. "You're so on!" Beck replied.

Tori went into her house, her friends following. "Hey, anyone up for a game of war?" Andre asked. "Sure." They all said. They cleared the kitchen table, and sat in a circle. They began to play. "So, did Mr. Burns give you an English project?" Robbie asked Tori. "Yeah." She answered. "Who'd you get as a partner?" Robbie asked. "I got Hilary Franks." His face was glum. Hilary Franks was the meanest girl in school, she was meaner than Jade (that tells you something!).

"I got paired up with Gabe Miller." I said. Everyone stopped and looked up at me. "Gabe Miller?" Andre asked. He stopped shuffling the cards to look at Tori. "Yeah, what's wrong?" She asked. "Gabe Miller, is not a good person." Jade said. "What do you mean?" Tori asked. "He seems to be a nice guy." She said.

"Just be careful, is all we're saying." Andre replied. "I always am…don't say anything!" She said, referring to the other boyfriends she had that ended in disaster. She just hoped this wouldn't end the same way as all the others.