10. Taking Chances

Another day in the "paradise" called King High.

It was lunchtime and I hadn't seen Kyla anywhere. I guess she stayed home today.

Great.

If she stayed home, it means that I'm all alone again. Whatever, I thought, turned on my iPod and laid down on the table.

It's not that I can't be alone; actually, I feel fine when I'm alone. Really. I just don't feel fine when I'm alone around strange people.

I was listening to my favorite song by Three Days Grace, called Time of Dying, and my thoughts returned to the night before.

I was completely shocked when Kyla opened the door. I was expecting anything but that, and she seemed to be shocked as much as I was. Luckily, my mind worked pretty quickly, so I told her that babysitting was the reason why I couldn't go out with her. I just hoped she would believe me.

When I entered the living room and saw Ashley, I was speechless. Honestly, I'd never seen a more beautiful girl. It seemed a movie in slow motion when Kyla introduced us. I couldn't even look her in the eyes. When our hands finally touched, I felt something really weird. It felt like some kind of electricity.

Maybe I'm just overreacting. And maybe not.

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All the sudden, I felt someone standing over me. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, because the sun shone right in my eyes. When I finally spotted the person, I saw a Latina girl glaring at me.

I sat up and removed my headphones. "Can I help you?" Good, Carlin, just play cool.

"Who are you?" She asked, still glaring at me.

Huh?

"And who exactly are you?" I spat out back.

"Look, kiddo." Kiddo?! "You obviously have no idea who I am, so I forgive you." What? Seriously, this girl is weird.

She continued, "I'm Madison. And I own this school." Haha.

"Oh, really?" The sarcasm was evident in my voice.

She didn't seem to notice, though, because she continued, "Yeah, and because of that, I want to know who you are."

Should I tell her?

"Leave that poor girl alone, Madison." Well, it looks like I don't have to.

A dark girl around my age appeared behind her.

Madison turned around and glared at the new girl. "Why exactly should I?"

The dark girl returned the glare. "Because I said so. And," she continued, "because this girl is a friend of Kyla's and I'm sure Kyla wouldn't be happy if she knew you were bothering her friend."

The Latina girl gave up. "Whatever," she replied, and I watched her as she left, surprised.

What? She's afraid of Kyla?

The dark girl turned to me and offered me her hand with smile. "Hey. I'm Chelsea."

I returned the smile and accepted her hand. "Spencer."

She sat next to me. "I know. Kyla told me about you." Really?

"Oh, she did?"

"Yep. She told me to keep an eye on you."

I glanced at her, surprised. "Why?"

She just shrugged. "I don't know. She seems to care about you."

Oh.

I didn't exactly know what to say, so I just gave her one of the headphones and we lay down on the table, listening to my iPod.

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An hour later and I'm sitting in the class, alone again, because Chelsea had another. At least after this class was school over. With my headphones still in my ears, I was waiting with the others for the teacher.

When I thought that he'd finally showed up, I lifted my head to see one hot girl instead. Ashley.

I so didn't know she went to King High too. Why hadn't anyone told me?

As I stared at her, her eyes met mine. We just stared at each other for a few seconds, and then she decided to break the contact and move. The seat next to me was empty and she noticed it.

"Hey," she said softly, smiling as she sat down in the seat.

"Hey," I replied shyly. God, why do I feel like a fool when she is around me?

Our conversation was cut short, because just then the teacher entered the room.

During the class, I wasn't listening at all. All my thoughts belonged to a certain brunette sitting right next to me.

All the sudden, a piece of paper landed on my desk. I glanced around and noticed Ashley smiling at me. As I opened it, her gaze returned to the teacher.

Thanks for yesterday.

I grabbed a pen and wrote back.

It's okay. Amy is adorable.

I glanced at the teacher and when he wasn't looking, I threw it back to her. After couple of seconds, another piece of paper landed on my desk.

Thank you. I've been thinking, wanna hang out after school?

I started thinking immediately. Should I? Or is it not a good idea?

I made a decision and wrote back. Sure.

I saw her smile when I threw it back. I made a good decision, right?

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"Where are we gonna go?"

We were sitting in Ashley's convertible and I was so nervous that I couldn't even speak. This was my first sentence in 15 minutes.

Why am I so nervous? It's just a girl.

"I'm gonna show you my favorite coffee bar." She, unlike me, didn't look nervous at all. At least someone wasn't.

For the rest of the ride we stayed quiet, neither of us knowing what to say.

After another 15 minutes, we finally arrived at the café and Ashley found a good place where nobody could disturb us. The waiter came immediately and after he left with our orders, we were left alone again.

"I know I already told you, but thanks again for yesterday," she said, breaking the silence.

"And like I already said, it's okay. If you need help again, just tell me," I tried to convince her.

She gave me a warm smile. "Thank you. You know, when I saw you yesterday with Amy, you both looked adorable together."

I blushed and looked at my hands. "Umm…thanks."

Is this girl trying to kill me?

Luckily, the waiter brought us our coffee.

"Can I ask you something?" Maybe I'm a jerk, but I couldn't help it.

"Yeah, anything," she replied, and looked at me.

"Why are you so nice to me?" I know, I'm a jerk.

"What?" she asked. She obviously didn't get it.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, but I'm not used to people being so nice to me. First your sister, then Chelsea, and now you. And I've only been here two days."

"You already met Chelsea?" She drank of her coffee.

I nodded. "Yeah, she saved me from some Latina girl."

Her look hardened. "Madison."

"Yes, that was her name. You know her?"

She sighed. "Yeah." Yeah? That's it?

"You two aren't friends, right?"

She smiled, amused. "Actually, we hate each other."

"Oh."

"Anyway," she said, changing the subject, "tell me something about yourself."

I knew this would come.

"Like what?" I replied, playing with my coffee.

She smiled again. "Anything."

"You know, there isn't much to say. I grew up in small town in Ohio and we moved here a week ago because of my mom's new job."

She seemed to be interested, but I really didn't know what else I could say.

"Did you…uh…did…" Is she stuttering?

"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Did you…leave someone back in Ohio?" she finally asked, and blushed. Why is she blushing?

My mind returned to Alex and I saddened. "Yeah, actually, I did."

Disappointment flashed across her face. Why is she disappointed? Or am I overreacting again?

"Oh," was all she said.

Wait.

"Oh, but I don't mean someone like someone. Yes, I did leave someone back there, but he is my best friend. Not my boyfriend." I really don't know why, but I had the feeling that I have to explain it.

Her face brightened and she smiled. "I get it."

"What about you? Are you with Amy's father?" What? I can be curious too.

She started laughing. Why is she laughing? I stared at her, not sure what to think.

After what seemed like forever, she finally stopped laughing. "Sorry. I just…sorry. No, I'm not with Amy's father. Actually, do you remember Aiden?"

Yeah?

"He is Amy's dad." Oh.

"Oh, okay. So you guys aren't together?" I asked again. I felt like an idiot, seriously.

"No, not anymore. Actually, we broke up before I found out I was pregnant."

Uh huh…

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The rest of the day with Ashley was anything but boring. We had a lot of fun and she showed me places I had no idea existed.

When she pulled in our driveway and switched off the engine, she turned to me and smiled. "I had fun today."

I blushed and returned the smile. "Me too."

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, tomorrow."

She looked at me with a long, deep stare. I didn't exactly know what she was going to do, but then she leaned in and pulled me into hug. I froze for a while, then finally relaxed and leaned into her arms. It felt nice.

We pulled apart and I left the car with a big smile on my face.

I didn't know what exactly this girl was doing to me, but I knew it had to stop before it would be too late.

But what if I don't want this to stop? Whatever it is.