When it was time for lunch, Sydney made her way into the cafeteria where her dark eyes searched for Parker. "Syd! Over here!", a voice called. She looked to see her best friend waving from a table near the corner of the room. She grabbed a tray and made her way to the table.

"Hey! How's it going?", he asked as she sat down.

"Let's see. History sucks, English is ok, and Algebra needs to go jump off a cliff somewhere and never be heard from again."

Parker couldn't help but laugh. Sydney had harbored a hatred for math for as long as he could remember.

"What about you?", she asked as she took a bite out of the sandwich on her plate.

"Everything's going pretty good so far. But I have Chemistry next so that might be kind of hard."

"Might be? I wouldn't survive a semester in there! But you're like ten times smarter than me so you might actually make it out alive", she smiled.

"Oh come on. You're smart. I mean you're good at English, right? And you got the award in Law last year!", he pointed out.

"How could I forget? My mom took like a hundred pictures. She couldn't believe I finally got an award in something."

"Yeah. Remember when they called your name and your whole family like went crazy!"

"I know! They're so embarrassing sometimes!", she giggled.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sydney caught sight of Anthony walking out of the line.

"Anthony! Over here!", she called.

"Who's Anthony?", Parker wondered.

"Just a guy I met today. He's new here", she informed him as Anthony made his way to the table.

"Hey", Anthony smiled as he sat down next to Sydney.

"Hey. Anthony, this is my friend, Parker Kiriakis. Parker, this is Anthony DiMera", she said introducing them.

"Nice to meet you", Anthony said.

"You too", Parker replied. "So, you're related to the DiMeras, huh?"

"Yeah. But, don't worry. I'm not evil or anything", Anthony joked.

"Hey, I can't say anything. My grandma is married to Stefano."

"Really? Kate's your grandma?"

"Yep."

"Oh my goodness. Parker!", Sydney interrupted.

"What?"

"You're not going to believe what I found out. You know John, right? My grandma's husband?", Sydney started.

"Uh yeah. What about him?", Parker wondered.

"He is the illegitimate love child of Santo DiMera and Colleen Brady", she revealed.

"A Brady and a DiMera having a kid together? Yeah right… and who are Santo and Colleen anyway?"

"Santo was Stefano DiMera's father. Colleen was my great-grandpa Shawn's older sister. They had a secret affair and that's how they had John."

"It's actually true", Anthony confirmed.

"Whoa. Talk about crazy!", Parker breathed.

"I know. I couldn't believe it! Talk about a bombshell! A Brady and a DiMera…"

"Tiffany!", Parker gasped. "That would mean Tiffany is related to the Bradys and the DiMeras! So she's related to all three of us!"

"Ugh! I didn't even think about that!", Sydney groaned.

"Who is this Tiffany anyway?", Anthony asked.

Sydney looked around the cafeteria until she found the table with all the preppy cheerleaders.

"See the girl at that table right there? Long blond hair. Really fake tan. Got a sequin headband on."

"Oh ok. So she's the one you don't like, huh?"

Parker laughed. "Don't like? That would be the understatement of the century!"

"Ok, it's not my fault that she's a stuck up snob that thinks she's better than everybody else just because she's a freakin Kiriakis! See, Parker's a Kiriakis and he isn't like that! I mean what is her deal?", Sydney ranted.

"See what I mean", Parker grinned.

"Hey, do you guys know Theo Carver?", Anthony wondered.

"Not that well. But he's dating my sister's best friend. Why?", Sydney asked.

"He's my cousin."

"Oh, ok. I knew he was related to the DiMeras somehow", she commented as she looked over at the table Theo, Ciara, and Ali were all at.

But with them was a guy she had never seen before. He had light brown hair and piercing blue eyes that she could make out from across the room. He was laughing and he had dimples when he smiled just like Parker did. She didn't realize that she was staring until he looked her way and his blue eyes met her brown ones. And he smiled at her. Her lips trembled as she smiled back.

"Sydney? Sydney? SYDNEY?", Parker finally yelled.

She turned around quickly. "Oh sorry."

"Where were you just now?"

"Um…I don't know. Is that guy next to Theo new?", she wondered.

"Yeah. That's my brother…Ty", Parker informed her.

"That's your brother?", she gasped.

"Yeah."

Now that Sydney thought about it, there was quite a resemblance between Parker and his brother. They both had bright blue eyes. They had identical smiles with dimples to match. It made sense. She couldn't help but look back one more time. He was so hot! But deep down, she knew she wasn't the type of girl for a guy like him. He was the kind of guy that would probably go for a girl like Tiffany. Well maybe not Tiffany since they were related and all. But somebody who was beautiful and popular and most definitely not her. With a sigh, she turned back around.

After she had turned around, Ty looked at her again. Though he could only see her curly dark hair now. He had no idea who the girl was or why he was so drawn to her. And he didn't even know her name.

"Ty? You ok, man?", Theo asked.

"Uh…yeah. Do you know that girl right there? Curly brown hair? Red shirt?", Ty wondered.

"That's my little sister…Sydney", Ali revealed.

"Sydney…", Ty smiled as he looked at her again.

"Do you like her?", Ciara asked teasingly.

"What? No! I don't even know her!"

"Well, I'm just letting you know in advance. My step dad does have a shotgun and he knows how to use it", Ali warned. "Him and my mom are very protective of Sydney."

"It sucks being the youngest. I would know. But Sami takes overprotective to a whole new level where Sydney's concerned", Ciara stated.

"Why are they so protective of her and not you?", Ty asked Ali curiously.

"Who knows? Mom had a fit about Sydney's outfit this morning and it wasn't even that bad. She's just weird. I don't know", Ali replied.

"Look, man, you just moved to a whole new town, right? And you're just getting to know everybody and connecting with your family and everything. Don't you think you should give it some time before you get in a relationship?", Theo suggested.

"Dude, I didn't say I was getting in a relationship anytime soon. You guys just need to chill."

"Oh come on, Ty. We all saw the way you were staring at Sydney", Ciara smiled.

"Well, she was staring at me too!", Ty pointed out.

"Dude, why don't you just go talk to her?", Theo wondered.

"Fine", Ty agreed as he stood up and walked away.

"I can't believe he's actually doing it!", Ciara gasped as the trio looked on.

Across the room, Parker noticed his brother walking toward them.

"Hey Ty!", he called.

Sydney glanced behind her. Was he coming over there? She quickly tried to smooth her hair without making it obvious to Parker and Anthony. Her heart felt like it was about to pound out of her chest.

"Hey", Ty said as he took a seat next to Parker and in front of Sydney.

"Hey, how's everything going?", Parker asked.

"Good so far. It helps that I have so many long lost relatives here", Ty replied.

"Yeah. Well, this is my friend, Sydney Hernandez and this is Anthony DiMera. Guys, this is my brother, Ty", Parker introduced them.

"Nice to meet you", Ty said as he flashed a smile at Sydney.

"You too", she said shyly.

"So, do you like it here?", Parker wondered.

"Yeah", Ty replied with his eyes still on Sydney. "I think I'm really going to be happy here."

At that moment, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

"Ok, I'll see you guys later", Parker called as he took off.

"Alright. Bye, Sydney", Anthony said before he left the cafeteria too.

"Bye", she called as she grabbed her purse.

She started to leave before Ty grabbed her arm and she turned around to face him. For a brief moment, they stared into each other's eyes. Sydney hoped that he couldn't hear her rapid heartbeat.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?", Ty asked before thinking.

At that moment, he felt like smacking himself in the head. Did he seriously just say that?

Sydney was speechless. What was she supposed to say to that? Ultimately, she decided to take a chance.

"Yeah…I do. See you later, Ty", she smiled before walking away.

Ty watched as she disappeared from his sight. He didn't know what it was about her that he was so attracted to. She was beautiful obviously, but there was something else…something deeper. When their eyes had met, it was like something just clicked. He didn't know what yet, but the one thing he did know was that he wanted Sydney Hernandez. He could only hope that she felt the same way.