I own only Amelia, Lucy, Nathan, and Amelia's mother

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Amelia was handed a cup of beer as she stepped through the doorway almost immediately. She stared at the foamy beverage warily before placing it on a nearby in table and followed Sarah, who was weaving through the crowd on tip-toe, presumably trying to find Caleb, and subsequently to Amelia's immediate dissatisfaction, Reid. When they found them, they were in the back yard standing next to a statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite all brandishing blue cups filled with beer. Amelia moved so that she was behind Sarah. She wasn't sure if she could pull of her new look. But it was two late. They had spotted her and all but Caleb were trying to get a clear look.

"We weren't really introduced," said one of them, coming forward and sticking out his hand, "I'm Pogue."

"Hi," she said shyly, taking his hand, and trying desperately not to blush as she stared into his deep brown eyes. Why they couldn't be ugly, she'd never understand.

"And I'm Tyler." She smiled and shook his hand. Suddenly, all eyes were turning away from her and she turned to follow their gaze. Walking straight towards them was Nathan Eldridge and he was smiling broadly at her.

"Hey, Amelia," he said warmly.

"Um, hi, Nathan," she said uncomfortably, realizing that the entire group was staring at her intently. Surprisingly, he looked relieved. "I didn't think you knew my name. I waved hi to you one time in class and you kind of blew me off."

Amelia made a face. She could not for the life of her remember Nathan Eldridge waving at her, except for her first day at Spenser, when he had turned and said hi to the girl behind her.

"Wait, you were waving at me?" she asked, somewhat confused. "I thought you were waving to that one girl."

Nathan laughed, his eyes smiling. "No, I was definitely waving to you."

She heard Sarah whisper behind her, "Looks like Prince Charming found his princess."

To which she heard Reid snort, "Some princess."

"Well, look, I gotta get back to some friends, but next time I see you I'll be sure to get your number so we can hang out some time," he said, backing away slowly. Amelia could only stare at him with what she assumed was a fairly dazed expression. "Okay."

She turned around slowly to see Sarah smiling broadly. "Really nice, Ames, really, really nice."

Amelia felt something rise in her chest, something click and lock into place. It was different, but it felt good; made her feel good and she realized she was smiling in an almost triumphant way. She shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess he is kind of cute."

"To most girls that would be an understatement," Reid muttered, heatedly. Pogue rolled his eyes. "He's just jealous because girls like Nathan more," he explained before turning to Reid and adding, "Besides, it's not like you never get any, ass wipe."

Reid smiled smugly. "This is true." Sarah laughed, "You guys are such pigs."

"Hey do you want something to drink?" Tyler asked her politely and she smiled gratefully. "Just a soda if they have any, thank you."

"What kind?" he asked. She shrugged, "Doesn't matter, surprise me."

When she looked back toward the rest of them, she noticed Reid staring at her. When he realized she was looking at him, he glared and took off towards a group of girls draping his arm over their shoulders and saying smoothly, "Alright ladies, who's going home with me tonight?" The girls all giggled and Amelia shook her head. "I wonder how many STDs each of them has."

Pogue laughed and patted her shoulder, "Don't worry, Blondie can take care of himself."

Sarah leaned in close to Amelia and whispered in her ear, "In my personal opinion, besides Caleb, there's no other guy in school half as attractive as Reid." She shrugged, "But I think it's that whole rebellious thing. Still, as far as boyfriends go, Nathan is definitely the better choice."

"So you want me to date them both?" Amelia asked jokingly. Sarah shrugged. "If you want."

Tyler handed her a coke and she thanked him politely.

"So is it just me or does this party suck?" Reid asked, his arms draped around two girls. They giggled and Amelia rolled her eyes. Reid smiled down at her slyly, "You know me and these here pretty young ladies are heading back to my place if you'd care to join us."

She smiled sweetly and said, "You know, I would just love to, but I kind of already promised someone I'd be going back to his room." She waved at Nathan who had been staring at her and he waved back, his smile broadening, before saying to Reid, "Bye."

But Reid didn't let up. "I see, little Amelia's afraid of having a little fun."

She frowned at him. "No, I'm all for fun….when it doesn't involve you."

"But see, that doesn't really qualify as fun then," he said letting go of the two girls and stepping closer, "I bet the naughtiest thing you've ever done is not study the night before a test."

She tried to hide a smile. If he only knew how I was before I came to Ipswich. Sarah stepped forward. "Geeze Reid, what's your deal? You act like you've never been turned down before." And Amelia knew that the truth was he hadn't. Reid glared at her but continued to address Amelia. "and I bet, the day you cross the street without looking both ways…well I best look out because by then you'll be one badass chick."

"Come on, Reid, leave her alone," Tyler said quietly. Reid looked over at him and then back at Amelia and held up his hands. "Look, I was just stating the obvious. And the invitation is definitely open for her to prove me wrong."

"Oh, and I will," she snapped, "just not in the way you're hoping."

Reid laughed, "Whatever you say, Amelia."

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The phone rang loudly and Amelia finished off her soda, "Hello?"

"So, how'd it go?" asked an enthusiastic voice. She smiled. "Hi to you too, Lucy. Nathan Eldridge asked for my number."

She heard her suck in her breath on the other end, but she didn't answer, causing Amelia to worry slightly, "Luce?"

Her voice was quiet, like she was hiding something. "That's so awesome, Amelia. He's really cute."

"I know," Amelia said finally, sighing slightly as she watched an infomercial flickering on the television. The cable had been screwy as of late. "It's so….weird."

"Yeah, it's not like he ever acknowledged your existence or anything," Lucy said bluntly, causing Amelia to cringe. Lucy could be so spiteful when she was jealous, which was often.

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When Sarah had picked her up that morning, she almost spit her coffee out all over the dashboard. "You do realize that we have a dress code and that there's a 99.9 chance you'll be sent to the Provost's office."

"Yep," she answered, smoothing out her pleated skirt that had been hemmed to come up to her mid-thigh instead of the mandatory two inches below the knee, "that's the point."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "This has nothing to do with Reid, does it?"

When Amelia didn't immediately answer, she sighed. "Ames."

"I'm just trying to make a point, Sarah, that's all."

Sarah rolled her eyes and snorted. "Yeah, that you're hot." Amelia laughed in response as they pulled out of her driveway.

"You know," Sarah added after a moment or two, "I seriously think that when he sees you, he'll die of shock."

"That's the whole idea."

Amelia's confidence had begun to give way, until they reached school and she saw the amount of heads that turned. Some turned in shock, but the majority turned in appreciation. As they walked towards the building, Sarah tried desperately to stop laughing. Amelia pinched her arm. "Would you cut it out? You're making me nervous!" she hissed, to which Sarah replied breathlessly, "I'm sorry, it's just that……you'd think they just saw God or something!"

Amelia stifled a laugh of her own. "I know, isn't it great?"

Her high heels clicked against the floor loudly as people parted to watch her in astonishment. She smiled at each of them cheekily as she headed into the bathroom to check her makeup just as the first bell rang. She put on a little more red lipstick and adjusted her almost too tight fitting white collared shirt. She rolled up the sleeves and undid her tie, preferring to let it hang around her neck when the tardy bell sounded. This was the first time she had been late to class. Amelia checked herself one more time and decided she was ready.

"Now, who can tell me what they thought of Shakespeare's approach towards the subject of love in Romeo and Juliet?"

Reid sat up quickly, so as to look alert. Tyler was taking notes furiously. "Good to see you're awake," he whispered, without looking up from the notes he was writing. Reid didn't respond and instead stared at his closed Lit book.

"I wonder where Amelia is," Tyler said absently, "she's never late."

Reid glanced down at Amelia's seat for the first time and realized she was indeed missing.

The door suddenly slammed open and Reid heard Pogue gasp from two rows away, "Holy shit!"

Amelia sauntered in slowly, "Sorry, I'm late. I was thinking about skipping all together," she said, slowly turning to shrug at the professor and throw him a charming smile.

"Miss Thorne!" he cried in shock. "You're-you're-"

"Late?" she finished, shrugging again. "Yeah, I was sure we just covered that."

"You're uniform!" he finally sputtered, "It's-it's-"

"I know, renders one speechless doesn't it?" her smile broadened and she climb the stairs aware that the creaking of chairs meant that several of the male students in class had turned to watch her. Instead of her usual seat near the front, Amelia chose to sit in the same row as Reid, leaving a few empty seats between them. She threw her navy blazer over the back of her chair, crossed her legs in a way she knew made them look miles long and smiled down at the professor expectantly. "Oh please, continue."

He only glared at her. "Perhaps a meeting with the Provost is required."

Amelia sucked in her lower lip and answered demurely, "Only if you think it's necessary, Sir."

The professor only harumped and continued on. A crumpled piece of paper hit her in the shoulder. She picked it up as casually as possible and unfolded it.

So what's this all about? It read. She glanced over to see Reid staring at her intently. He pointed at the paper and made a gesture as if to write something.

You bet I don't take risks. I'm just proving you wrong. She wrote back before hurling the note back to him. He laughed silently to himself and began to write.

The note landed in her lap. Technically, there were no terms to this bet and technically, all this proves is that when altered, the school uniform can make anyone look twice as hot.

So, what are you trying to say, Hotshot? That you think I'm hot?

He grinned almost evilly. That we need terms, Sweetheart.

Amelia's grin matched his own. Deal. What did you have in mind?

A mischievous glint formed in his eyes ad he wrote furiously.

You win, I do anything you want for the rest of the year. I win, you spend the night with me anytime I want.

Amelia stared at the letters scrawled on the paper. Amelia was beginning to feel less sure of herself. However the smug look on Reid's face made her feel less inclined to back down.

Deal. She answered, making sure that this time the note hit Reid square in the nose.

Reid read the note and smiled like a Cheshire cat.

When she looked down at the front row, Lucy was staring at her with narrowed eyes, but she smiled when she noticed Amelia staring back. She glanced pointedly at Reid and mouthed 'yum.' Amelia crinkled her nose slightly in response and Lucy smiled. When she looked back at Reid he was staring at her, grinning.

Reid was beginning to think Amelia was his type after all. She was witty, smart, and very attractive. She waved down at someone and he frowned when he saw Nathan Eldridge wave back. The only competition he had ever had at Spenser was Nathan Eldridge and he knew from experience that while many believed Nathan to be a decent guy, he was in truth, just as womanizing as he himself was. The only difference being he took care to hide it whereas Reid flaunted it like a badge of honor. Why anyone would pick that over-muscled, lumbering, Neanderthal over him was beyond his comprehension.