Mainlee sped down the road, racing the passing cars to get to school. Colton was sitting next to her, looking queasy, and Dustin sat in the back hanging on for dear life.

"Is it necessary to go this fast?" Dustin shouted over the roaring wind.

"Yes! I do not want to be late!" Mainlee shouted back, ignoring his groans.

Earlier, they had walked back to Oscar's, picked up her car, and had gone to Mainlee's. She had let out a sigh of relief to see that her dad was already gone. She quickly dressed in a tank top and shorts, slipping on flip flops out the door.

Now, as they sped down the road, Mainlee knew the bell would ring soon. She knew she had blown off Ellsie, who probably gone by her house earlier looking for Mainlee. She hadn't informed Ellsie she had gotten a car.

Mainlee pulled into the school, tires screeching to a halt in the nearest parking spot to the school. She immediately jumped out, grabbing her backpack. "Let's go."

Colton stood up slowly and grumbled, "I thought you didn't want to come to school."

"Really." Dustin said, hopping out of the back.

"Well, if I have to go, I do not want to be late." She started walking towards the crowd of kids. "Let's move it."

"Yes ma'm!" They shouted at the same time, saluting her.

Mainlee laughed, linking her arms in theirs. She decided she didn't care who saw her with them. Mainlee scanned the crowd for Ellsie, but didn't see her. She wanted to apologize. The only friendly face she could see was Marcus' who was walking towards them.

"Oh great." Mainlee muttered under her breath, pulling the guys closer to her.

"Do we need to get rid of him?" Colton said, noticing Marcus' approaching too.

"Nah, I got this." Mainlee said, smiling at Marcus. "Hey."

"Hey Mainlee!" Marcus said, grinning his touchdown smile. "I'm sorry you couldn't make it to the football game. I hope you can come to the next one? It's tonight."

Mainlee hesitated; she wasn't sure what to say. She looked at Dustin and Colton, but they just shrugged. "I'll be there." Mainlee said.

Marcus punched the air, "Good. I hope you'll be my lucky charm!" He paused, seeing that Mainlee wasn't too interested. He coughed. "Oh, and Ellsie is looking for you."

"Really? Where is she?" Mainlee said, jumping out of the guys arms. "I was looking for her too."

"I'll take you," Marcus said, nodding at the guys.

"See you later!" Mainlee said, quickly squeezing both their hands. She followed Marcus through the crowd, pushing her way past backpacks and band instruments. Justin is in band. But I bet he nor his brother are talking to you at the moment .Mainlee shook off the thought.

Marcus made his way through the crowd, where Beth and some of the other girls were sitting, but Ellsie was gone. "Where's Ellsie?" He asked, motioning to Beth.

She shrugged. "She said she had to go somewhere." She smiled at Mainlee, "How's it going girl?"

Mainlee gave a sigh of relief; it was nice being with them. It felt normal, But you're not normal, are you? Mainlee asked herself. "It's good, all good. Thanks."

Beth moved her backpack of the steps so Mainlee could sit next to her. "So how was the walk yesterday?" She whispered when she sat down.

"It was a nice change. I needed to think."

Beth patted her back, "Good to hear. I promise I won't tell anyone." They grinned at each other like little school girls sharing deep dark secrets.

"Thanks, but it doesn't really-" She was cut off from the school bell.

"See you in third!" Beth called, racing after the rest of the cheerleaders.

Mainlee stood up, brushing off any dirt. She was glad she didn't wear a dress today.

"Mainlee?" She zapped back to school to see Marcus still standing there. "Can I walk you to class?"

She shrugged, "Sure." It won't hurt anything, Mainlee decided.

He grabbed his backpack, surprisingly empty looking, and walked with her to the English building. "So, are you really going to come tonight?" He paused. "You didn't seem to sure back there."

Mainlee nodded. "Sure I will." She made a lame punch in the air. "You know me, all school spirit."

Marcus laughed. "I can totally tell."

When they reached her classroom, Marcus hugged her. "See you in third? I'll show you who can run."

"Sure." She walked in, leaving Marcus, nobody particularly cool was in this class. Just B-rated students, as Ellsie would say. She took a desk in the back of the room. Sitting in the front meant paying attention, which was not something she wanted to do.

She slumped in the chair, propping up her binder, as she pulled out her Blackberry. Her teacher stood in front of the room, talking, telling some odd number of announcements Mainlee didn't care about. Suddenly, the class erupted in cheering, and Mainlee looked up from her phone.

"Settle down class," Ms. Roberson waited until they quieted down before she continued, "As I was saying, Prom is in two weeks." Mainlee had completely forgotten about Prom. "Your behavior…"

Mainlee droned her out again, looking back at her cell. No calls or texts from Ellsie, which could be good or bad. There was a text from Marcus, from last night. Nothing from Oscar or Patrick. Mainlee's heart sank. She felt down in the mouth. Nothing was going good anymore.

When the bell rang, Mainlee quickly went to Math, her least favorite class. She excelled in it, so that meant stuck with all the smart kids. Mainlee nestled herself in a chair and pulled out her binder. There was a substitute today, so she knew it would be an easy day. She started copying off the work from the board, when a voice sounded from behind her. "Mainlee?"

She turned around to see a tall, somewhat lanky kid. He had a pointed face, but beautiful eyes and gorgeous dirty blond hair. He had jeans and a striped jacket on, something Mainlee thought was revolting. He looked like a skater kid. But that's what Colton and Dustin look like, and you don't mind them, Mainlee told herself.

Mainlee felt as if she should recognize him, but she didn't know from where. She shook her head, "Are you a new kid?"

He's eyes sparkled with laughter, "I guess that means you don't recognize me."

"Oh…Um, are you in this class?"

"I am now. Mainlee," He looked at her hard, "I'm Peter."

Those last words took forever for Mainlee to process, time itself had slowed down for her. Peter? From elementary and middle school? Her long lost love? "You…you can't be!"

He just shook his head and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a rusting key. "This is yours," Peter said, handing it to her.

She took it, and felt a warm rush of air as their hands touched. She looked at the key closely. Yes, this is defiantly mine, but…

"The key to your heart." He said simply, and Mainlee gawked at him. "Or that's what you told me in the sixth grade. Suddenly, Mainlee remembered. Peter and her had gone on what they called a 'date' back then. He had come to her house, and they walked to the park, where they sat on the swings. Peter lived right across from the park, so his parents had kept an eye on them.

Mainlee remembered taking off the key from her necklace and putting it in his hand, "The key to my heart." She had whispered to him. They glanced at Peter's house, and when no one was watching, Peter had kissed her. It was nothing big, just a quick peck on the lips, but it was Mainlee's first. She could never forget that night, she couldn't stop talking about it for weeks to a poor Ellsie. Mainlee chuckled. Ellsie had gotten so tired of her talking about Peter that she had given up calling her at night.

Mainlee looked back at Peter, "I can't believe you still have this."

Peter smiled, "I wear it every day, as a necklace." Mainlee handed it back to him and he put it back over his head. "I never could stop thinking about you Mainlee." He sat down at the desk in front of her, but he turned to face her.

"What happened to you?" Mainlee sputtered, suddenly ticked off. "You left me. Without a heads up or anything!"

Peter looked down nervously. "The parents I was staying with at the time moved to Tulsa. They refused to let me say anything to you."

"John and Ursula." Mainlee mumbled.

"That's them." He looked up at Mainlee again, "I tried so hard to contact you, but I couldn't."

Mainlee stared at him. "Really?" She squeaked.

"Really." He reached for her hand. His beautiful eyes looked confused as he stared at her Mark. "What's this?"

Mainlee snatched her hand back. "Nothing." She said, looking down at her math textbook.

He cupped her face, pulling it back towards him, his eyes filled with worry. "It must be something."

"Well, it's something that I can't explain now."

"Mainlee, you can tell me everything." He almost sounded exasperated.

"Peter please…" Mainlee moaned.

He put up his arms in surrender. "Fine, I won't ask Moomoo."

Mainlee smiled at her old nickname. "Moomoo." She repeated.

Peter grinned, "Remember when I started calling you that?"

"How could I forget?" Mainlee through her head back and laughed. "The fourth grade. Ellsie's brother abandoned us at that farm. Where that cow pushed me down."

"And you fell in a cow pie!"

Mainlee crinkled her nose, "That smelled terrible!"

Peter nodded, his beautiful face full of laughter. "And we had to walk for miles to get home!"

"And Ellsie was wearing those heels she thought were so glamorous!" Mainlee said, remembering the mad Ellsie.

"Speaking of Ellsie, how is she?"

"She amazing, hasn't changed a bit really." Mainlee said, trying to ignore the fact that she hadn't talked to Ellsie yet. "Except way more beautiful, you'll be completely smitten when you see her!"

Peter raised his eyebrows, "How can I do that when I'm already under someone else's spell?"

Mainlee caught her breath. Her heart was pounding inside her, she hoped Peter hadn't noticed she was shaking. This is Peter were talking about, don't be like this. Mainlee took in a deep breath and cocked her eyebrows. "Who is this girl, Peter? Should I be jealous?"

"Very. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, she's smart, funny, and incredibly talented." He leaned in closer, "And cows adore her!"

Mainlee couldn't help but smile, her heart lifting. "Sounds like some catch."

"She is." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Excuse me." They broke apart to see their substitute teacher standing over them. She was an old lady, weirdly reminding Mainlee of the librarian. The sub peered down at them through her tiny glasses, which so happened to be perched on her scrawny nose.

Peter leaned back, blushing. "Sorry."

Mainlee looked down, her face flushed. "Sorry." She repeated, trying to busy herself with her math worksheets. "Won't happen again."

Peter and Mainlee turned their attention back to their worksheets. They only spoke when they asked each other a question.

When the bell rang, Mainlee stood up, but Peter grabbed her hand. "Will I see you later?"

Mainlee nodded, "Of course you will, I'll find you."

Mainlee was the first girl out of the locker room. She wanted to find Patrick, to tell him all about Peter. There were some guys already out, but as the rest of the kids came out, there was no sign of Patrick.

Mainlee suppressed a sigh. Is he that hurt? She bit her lip nervously.

"Hey Mainlee, come on!" Beth shouted as they lined up to do their usual run. Mainlee jogged over. Beth was with Athena and Venus. They were sisters, who should have been born twins. They looked exactly the same: Short blond hair with green eyes. They were both short, skinny, and were never apart.

"Hey y'all!" Mainlee said, as they started walking. "Where's Marcus?"

Athena nodded up ahead, "Running."

Mainlee looked where she had pointed and sure enough, he was running. He was in the lead, since Patrick wasn't here. Mainlee just sighed and turned back to the girls, listening in to their endless chattering.

"He is hot!" Venus said, fanning herself.

"He can warm me any day!" Athena said, which set them into a fit of giggles. Beth rolled her eyes playfully.

Suddenly Athena stopped and gasped, turning to Mainlee. "Are you dating him?"

"If so," Venus said finishing, "We are so sorry!"

"Not really," was all Mainlee could manage to get out without slapping them both.

They let out a sigh of relief, as if this solved all their problems. "Good." Venus said.

Mainlee felt extremely uncomfortable, and the girls did not pick up her vibe. "So, um, I've always wondered where your names are from. Aren't they goddesses?"

Venus nodded and Athena spoke. "Oh yeah, Athena was the Goddess of War."

"And Venus is the Goddess of lurve." Venus purred out the last word.

Athena poked her sister, and looked back at Mainlee. "She is obsessed with that fact."

"What can I say? I love boys too much!" Venus pouted, "But they never want to be with me it seems!" She sighed dramatically and with a superhuman effort, Mainlee didn't roll her eyes.

Beth put her hand on Venus' arm, "Of course they do darling! You are a boy magnet!" She pointed across the gym, to a bunch of boys Mainlee recognized from the basketball team. "They staring at you!"

Venus smirked, "Well, not any good boys."

Athena sighed, patting her sister's arm gently, like Beth. "What about David?"

Mainlee immediately knew who they were talking about. David was the star soccer player at the school, he had been ever since freshman year. All the older kids hated that, but they couldn't hate David. It was almost impossible. He was one of those kids who liked everyone. He didn't have a crowd, he was everywhere. Mainlee had hung out with him multiple times, but never anything serious. That would be weird, he was so brotherly.

The smirk flew off Venus' face. "Yeah, he's hot, but so not my type. He hangs out with those people." She pointed across the gym, her long, pointed fingers gesturing to the freshmen who were struggling to keep up. David was over there, encouraging them along. Mainlee smiled at the gesture, but apparently that was the wrong thing to do. "What are you smiling at?" Venus rounded on her.

Mainlee lost her smiling, backing up. "Nothing, it's nice."

Venus glared at her, and Athena spoke up. "Sorry, she's been touchy lately ever since her and…" She lowered her voice like she was speaking a bad word, "Daulton."

Mainlee just shook her head. Daulton and Venus had dated for a few months before he had cheated on her with the school slut.

Beth looked sympathetic at Venus, "Darling, I told you to forget him. He was so not worth it. He's a bastard."

This seemed to cheer Venus a little, "I guess so." She stared at the basketball players, who were waving her over. "Be right back!" She said, cat walking across the gym floor.

Beth and Athena chuckled. "That girl is crazy!" Athena said.

Mainlee suddenly felt queasy, and she quickly sputtered out, "I need to sit down."

Beth nodded, and Athena just waved her hand. Mainlee sat down on the dirty bleachers that hugged the gym walls. She sat down, suddenly tired and grumpy. Why did I have to come to school? Mainlee groaned inside. What she needed was a Coke.

She gingerly got up and snuck outside of the gym to the courtyard. There were soda machines there, and Mainlee reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out a dollar. This wasn't the first time she'd done it, so she always kept a spare dollar in her pockets. She grabbed the Coke and sat down on a bench. She couldn't go back in, because Coach would yell at her.

Gripping the coke, she popped it open and welcomed the familiar taste. She admitted it, she was addicted. The day wasn't normal unless she snuck a Coke in it. It was something that her mother always drank, one of the few things Mainlee appreciated about her. Mainlee thought about her mom and with a jolt realized that her birthday was coming up. Mainlee knew she didn't have too, but she wanted to buy her a gift.

Mainlee sighed, remembering her last visit, which was about two weeks ago. They had been forced to hand cuff her mother because she had slapped Mainlee. Mainlee couldn't remember why, but she could still feel the fierceness of the slap on her cheek and the look in her mother's angry eyes. She had gone to the dogs.

"There's nothing we can do," the doctor had told her. Mainlee had just shrugged and left. She had mixed feelings, she didn't like her, but at the same time, she was her mother. Mainlee felt some sort of duty to her, Keeping her alive? Is that it? Mainlee asked herself bitterly.

Mainlee shuddered at the thought. She shook her head and slumped, taking a sip of her Coke. She didn't want to think about what those doctors did to her. At least they weren't as barbaric as they were in the old days.

She had suddenly thought of Peter, and the countless times he had been with her to visit her mom. Her mother loved Peter, and Mainlee always felt a pang of jealousy. Did her mother love Peter more than her? This question bounced in her mind constantly, considering on how her mother hated boys. She had shunned her own sons, yet she was captivated by Peter.

Peter had always been Mainlee's shoulder to cry on, after visits to her mother. Her mother would complain bitterly the whole time about how life was unfair and that her own daughter wouldn't save her. She hated the fact that her sons and 'husband' didn't visit her. She was perfect in her eyes and she didn't understand how much she had hurt the family.

Looking at the clock on the schools pointless tower, Mainlee saw that third period was about to end. She chugged the rest of her coke, and walked into the locker room to change.

"You okay?" Beth asked, retying her gorgeous dress.

"I'm fine, thanks." Mainlee quickly showered off, taking off the ugly shirt and shorts the school made them wear. She slipped back on her flip flops, stuffing her deodorant in her P.E. locker. She grabbed her backpack from it and left the locker room, not bothering to notice that all the girls were staring at her in equivalent curiosity.

Mainlee crossed the school to the courtyard. She wondered if she should go try and find Ellsie, but she shrugged it off, knowing she'd see her next period. Mainlee through her backpack on the ground and slipped onto the cold bench. She pulled an apple and bottle of water from her backpack. She munched on the apple, waiting for Dustin and Colton.

She scanned the area, looking for a sign of Peter. Would he want to eat with them? She shivered at the thought of Peter sitting next to her, hanging out with Colton and Dustin. What would they say? 'Making friends with humans again, Mainlee? She could imagine Dustin asking her.

She opened the bottle of water, taking a sip, in the hot April weather. She was jealous of northerners, who would still be enjoying the nice cool air. In Tallahassee, the only real 'winter' they had was in the month of January. A quick snap of the cold, and then poof. It was gone. Not that she could complain, Mainlee loved the heat, the sunshine, and the humidity. All the other girls at school hated the humidity, because it frizzed their hair, but it never effected her hair.

Mainlee was basking in the sun when Dustin and Colton finally appeared. "Hey." She said, through a mouthful of apple.

Dustin and Colton sat across from her, looking surprisingly smug.

"What?" Mainlee mumbled, when they didn't speak.

Dustin looked at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "We just received a text from Oscar telling us all about your arrangement with the other pack."

Mainlee glared at them, "So what? It's not like you were there to help me."

Colton laughed, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "Don't get your dander up, were just telling you what he said."

Mainlee let herself relax, "Yeah, I was pretty freaked." She paused, "I didn't know what else to do."

"I think that was smart of you," Dustin said, shrugging at Mainlee's surprised looks. "I mean, it's not like you had anything else to bargain with."

Colton nodded in agreement, "I think so too. But, I understand Oscar's anger with you."

Dustin punched Colton, "You are such a pansy!"

"Which is what makes him so cute!" Mainlee laughed, tapping Colton's nose. "Isn't that right sweetie?" Colton squirmed away, laughing.

"Anyways," Colton said, "The pack totally shunned him, and I think I would hate them too."

"But after all these years?" Mainlee asked.

Colton shrugged, "Oscar has a lot of hatred in him, I guess."

Before Mainlee could mumble her agreements, a voice sounded behind her. "Who's Oscar?"

Mainlee gasped and spun around, only to relax and see that it was Peter. He was caring a lunch tray, which Mainlee found adorable. She smiled at him. "Just a friend, I guess you could say."

He sat down beside her, "Is it my turn to be jealous?" He laughed, and turned to Dustin and Colton. "Hey." He said coolly, "I'm Peter."

Dustin nor Colton extended a hand, so Mainlee piped up and said, "This is Dustin and Colton. Guys, I want you to meet Peter." She felt awkward being with Peter in front of them. Compared to Dustin and Colton, Peter seemed like a little boy. Dustin and Colton had their brows raised.

"The love of her life," Peter said, sweeping Mainlee into her arms to kiss her. He pulled back and grinned at her stillness. "You okay?"

Mainlee shook her head to clear her thoughts, something she seemed to be doing lately. "Not at all." She glared at Dustin and Colton and mouthed 'Be nice.'

Dustin leaned over and got really close to Peters face. "So you're the one who broke our Mainlee's heart?"