A/N: There's not a lot to say here except for one word: Tests. I had a lot of studying to do, but it was worth it. Grades are my first priority and I'm pretty satisfied with how I did on my finals. Now I'm on break from school but I had a bunch of all-day practices for my sport. But finally, I have time to write, and so that's what I'm doing…hello.

Well, enough about me. Welcome back! You came here to read a story, not to read my complaints about school… though I'm sure many of you can unfortunately relate. Finals suck.

Also, another cool sorta thing. I decided to go vegetarian! To anyone who has been considering something like that themselves, it's not quite as scary as you'd think. I'd say just go for it, because I'm so much happier and have a better diet. It's a win-win!

Anyway, I'll get to the story now. (Again, I love hearing your feedback) … enjoy!

Chapter Four-

Lukas's POV (Yes, really!)

I get elbowed in the ribs by that brunette girl racing up to the whiteboard and beating me, snatching the last marker. I sigh, stepping to the side and waiting for someone to finish.

I spot a blue dry erase marker hit the floor and I drop to my knees, weaving between people to grab it. This is a madhouse.

The brunette (again getting in my way) steps back, and her wedged shoe digs into the back of my left hand. I gasp in pain, my fingers curling around the marker. She doesn't even notice and I have to physically grab her ankle and lift it off of my poor hand.

"Wha…don't touch me!" She snaps, finally moving. Well, at least I got her attention. I blink up at her, just crawling backward the way I came awkwardly, muttering 'sorry' almost inaudibly.

I scramble to my feet, reaching up to fix my glasses and brush my bangs out of my face. My left hand is throbbing, and I shake my head as I uncap the marker and scribble down my name and my partner's. Jessie, I believe.

Handing off the marker like a civilized person to another student (a skill which the rest of the class seems to be lacking) I maneuver through the classroom back to the group of desks where I claimed a seat. Jessie is laughing at me. Her laugh is warm and sweet. Unlike many of the other girls in this class, she's not wearing a pound of makeup on her face, her dark hair is thrown into a casual bun, and her outfit looks comfortable, not tight and revealing. She looks genuine and friendly.

I sit down next to her again and see her reading the whiteboard. She grins.

"You spelled my name wrong."

I squint, confused. Written in tiny letters up front is Lukas and Jessie.

"But…no, I…huh?"

"It's okay. Common mistake. It's J-E-S-S-E." I make the switch in my mind. Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Not Jessie. Got it. "It's okay, because I would have spelled your name with a C if you hadn't written it out for me up there." She smiles kindly at me. "I like your handwriting though."

"Thanks." I reply shyly.

Commence the awkward silence.

The realization that I am weighing my whole future on a project with a stranger begins to kick in, and my cheeks start to heat up. I clearly didn't think this through. This is going to be the most awkward two years of my entire life, and what will I tell my family when I don't make the Ocelots? I promised them I would. I was sure that I would.

Luckily, Jesse saves me from my doubtful thoughts.

"Well, why don't we get to know each other?" She smiles. I silently thank her for breaking the silence and nod.

"I'll start. My family is pretty weird. I have a brother whose name is also Jesse. He is a senior and he's adopted—"

I can't help but interrupt. "Your brother's name…is also Jesse?"

She laughs at my astonishment. "Long story, but I can shorten it for you. After I was born, my mom had a surgery that prevented her from being able to have any more kids. My parents didn't want me to grow up an only child. So when I was really little they brought me to an adoption agency and told me to meet some kids. Basically, they were planning on adopting whoever I felt I had made friends with by the end of the day. They were expecting another girl about my age… so imagine their shock when I dragged over a boy who was three years older than me and told them my new best friend's name was also Jesse."

"You're kidding." I state with a laugh. She shakes her head.

"Sure enough, they signed the papers and we welcomed another Jesse into the house. He's still my number one supporter and best friend, even though we like to tease each other. He goes by J so we don't confuse anyone."

"Ah." I pause. "Well you confused me."

Her grin creeps back up her cheeks. "You'll meet him, he's cool. What about you? Any siblings?"

"I'm an only child. Unfortunately, my parents did not bring me to adopt a sister named Lukas."

Jesse lets out a guffaw, nodding. "What about…favorite food?"

"Pasta. You?"

"Anything chocolate." Her eyes light up.

I laugh. "I actually don't like chocolate." Jesse's jaw drops at that and I decide to explain. "About a year ago, my cousin decided to fill a chocolate pastry with toothpaste…and give it to me. Never had chocolate since."

"Wow. Hmm… favorite color."

"Blue."

"Mine's red. Play any sports?"

"I used to, for a long time." I begin. "Archery, for almost as long as I can remember. I first picked up a bow and arrow when I was three. It wasn't real, obviously, but I got some practice in with dull, rubber arrows. I got really good at it, and when I was seven I started shooting real arrows. I was a world finalist two years ago."

"That's impressive. Why'd you stop?" Jesse asks.

"I loved the sport, but not the people. I got bullied. The kids that I trained with were all older than me, and I got pushed around like I was helpless. They were all jealous of me, because I was good. Better than them, even. I wanted to quit for a long time, but didn't know what I would do instead. Then I discovered building. It became my passion, and eventually, my priority. I couldn't juggle both, so I quit archery…my coach wasn't very happy about it."

"Wow. Well, I don't play a sport, nor have I ever." Jesse replies. "I've never found anything I was any good at. I always felt discouraged because everyone I know has found their thing. I just seem to suck at everything. But I started building a few years ago. I'm not great at it yet, but I put in a lot of effort and hope to learn a lot this year. I want building to be my thing."

I reach over and put my hand on the top of my stack of textbooks. "I annotated two of these this summer. One the summer before that. I'm working on the last one. You're welcome to read through them, if you want." I realize after it comes out of my mouth how completely dorky I sound. "…Or you don't have to."

She smiles, still genuine. "Actually, that would really help."

I relax slightly, resting my back on the back of the seat. "Cool, cool." Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Jesse doesn't miss a beat. "Cool beans." She echoes with a smirk. I wasn't expecting that one. "So…when are we going to start? Building, I mean?" I pause, thinking, and Jesse offers a solution. "I have a really open backyard. We could build our project out there."

"That's great!" I nod, excited. "I mean, my family lives in an apartment, so I was hoping you'd have space somewhere."

Jesse glances up at the clock. "We don't have a whole lot of time left to plan, plus we don't want anyone stealing our ideas… how about tomorrow? Around four o'clock?"

"Sure, definitely! So…am I coming over to your place?" I realize this will be the first time my parents have ever let me go over to a girl's house. What? They're overprotective.

In fact, this is the first time I've ever been invited to a girl's house.

She leans down and reaches into her backpack, pulling out a phone with a boxy white case, pulls up the contacts app, and reaches it out to me. I stare at it like it's an alien. She blinks at me, waiting. I take it slowly, and type my name and my phone number into it, giving it back.

"Yeah. I'll text you to remind you that you're coming over tomorrow and tell you where I live. You can't drive, right?"

"No. My parents won't let me start learning until I'm a junior." I complain.

"Well, I'm sure my mom can give you a ride if you need it. You'll just have to text me your address."

I nod, glancing around at the rest of the classroom. Jesse and I have been so much in our own little bubble that we hadn't even notice the chaos in the rest of the room. People running around, screaming, throwing things…you'd think we were in a second-grade classroom. And Mr. Ambler, who is still in the room, just doesn't care. He must just let people get away with so much.

Jesse notices, too, once I am looking around. "This class is crazy."

"Can you see any of them being on the Ocelots?" I laugh.

"No." she answers with a chuckle. "Thanks for being normal."

I turn to face her, with a shake of my head. "I'm not normal either."

"How so?"

"I am so dorky about the subject of building. You'll be sick of me very quickly."

"Well, at least you're honest about it." She grins. "I find it very inspiring."

"That's a nice way to put it." I shrug. "But you'll see. In fact, I already have a few ideas for our project that I am very excited about."

"I'm equally excited to hear them." Jesse declares. "Nobody is going to see team Jesse-and-Lukas coming. I'm ready to be on the Ocelots with you, Lukas."

I let the thought wander into my imagination. The pure joy when they hand me and my new teammate a leather jacket with an ocelot embellished on the back. Popularity is something I've never had; I bet it's amazing.

It's time to get to work.

A/N: As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed Lukas's point of view. In fact, let's do a little poll: (So far) Do you like Lukas's point of view or Jesse's better? And are there any more POVs you want to see? I wasn't planning on doing any more, but I will if there's demand for it. Let me know in the reviews, as well as answering the questions that I left at the end of last chapter! If you didn't see them, go back and have a look. I'm still looking for some input.

On the next note, I love inserting foreshadowing into my chapters. In fact, this chapter alone is filled with it. Most of the time, if I mention something small, it will probably come back around later. I already have this story nearly completely planned, with detail and everything, so no predictions will influence the story. If your prediction ends up coming true, it means you were right, not that I just took your idea because I liked it. So predictions are also welcome!

I know most of this chapter was just small talk between Jesse and Lukas, but I thought I should establish how I am going to write the characters. I may tweak their personalities just slightly (not much Lukas, but mostly Jesse, especially since the character is sort of just a base that you can develop with your choices). I thought it would be appropriate to start a fanfiction by letting the readers get to know the two main characters.

Well, this is it for now. Merry Christmas! (And if you don't celebrate it, happy holidays!) And in case I don't post again before the new year, happy New Year and see everyone next year in 2018! Later!