I was right.

As soon I got to school the next day, Austin and I were called down to the principle's office. It came as quite a shock to the class when my name was heard. I mean how the hell did "goody-two shoes" Ally Dawson get in trouble? Trish was gawking at me when I stood up and quietly left the class. All right, so I was blushing a little, but still. Austin wasn't in my class first period. When I got to the office, he was already there. He was calmly seated on a chair, tapping his foot. My nerves were jittering and my heart was racing. Swallowing hard, I made my way and sat next to Austin while we waited for the principle to arrive.

Soon, we were staring at a red-faced Mr. Petrillo. Needless to say, he wasn't happy.

"I cannot believe that you two deliberately skipped detention. I mean I don't understand this! Skipping detention is only going to get you in more trouble! Especially you, Mr. Moon. September hasn't even ended and you've already cut classes and got into fight with a fellow kid." Mr. Petrillo stopped and took a deep breath. His icy eyes averted to me and I internally squealed, shifting in my seat. "You have disappointed me the most, Alison. As far as I know, you have a perfect attendance record. Your grades are astounding and you never cease to amaze the teachers. Your attitude is also splendid but you skipped detention and I no longer know what to think of you. I never expected you to do such a thing."

"She skipped detention; she didn't commit a felony," Austin snapped.

"I don't expect anything from you, Mr. Moon," Mr. Petrillo calmly said, clasping his hands behind his back. "I never really did and I don't think I will. You've done nothing but wreck havoc in this school. You left a really bad impression and as far as I know, you weren't that great back in New York. Need I remind you that you got expelled? I don't suppose you'd like the same thing to happen here. Am I right?"

I noticed Austin's jaw clenching, his hands balled up in fists. Mr. Petrillo smirked at this and I felt a surge of anger within me. Principles weren't supposed to treat students like they're the scum of the Earth.

I cleared my throat. "It wasn't – It wasn't his fault, Mr. Petrillo. You can't entirely blame Austin for this. I agreed to participate in skipping detention. Frankly, I take blame for all of this."

"Ms. Dawson, I am aware that both of you have agreed to this. I believe that if you hadn't hung around him, you wouldn't have committed such a thing. He's bad influence and I advise you not to stick around."

Now it was my turn to clench my fists. Taking a deep breath, I unclenched and stared at the principle.

"Well, I don't believe that," I said. Mr. Petrillo raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest.

"Shut up," Austin hissed, low enough only for me to hear. I looked at him and he glared at me. "You're making this worse for yourself."

I shrugged.

"Oh, you don't? Should I be surprised when I hear that you've decided to cut classes? Or that you've vandalized school property?" he sneered.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "With all due respect, I don't think you should be romanticizing this whole matter as if it were very serious. Yes, I skipped detention. I've already admitted that. I'd like to know what my punishment is now so that I could go back to class."

Mr. Petrillo stared at me and I knew that he was not in the least bit happy with me. Frankly, I didn't care. I looked down at my lap as he sat down and interlaced his fingers.

"Mr. Moon," he spoke. "Do you have anything to add?"

"No."

"Very well," he said, looking down at some papers on his desk. He looked back up a second later and annunciated his words carefully. "As punishment, you two will be cleaning classes and bathrooms. I do not want any arguments. I hope you two will learn your lessons and I do hope this won't happen again, especially from you Ms. Dawson. I expect much better. As for you Mr. Moon, I don't expect anything at all and I don't think this will change."

I frowned and clenched my fists. "What is that supposed to—"

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt Austin's hand curl around my wrist, squeezing it so that I yelped. I pursed my lips and stayed quiet.

"You're dismissed."

When we left the office, I began walking towards my class, Austin slowly trailing behind me. We walked in complete and utter silence. My lips pursed, I thought of how unfair Mr. Petrillo was. It wasn't even about the punishment. Why did principles like to degrade students?

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that?" Austin spoke.

My shoulders sagged and I whirled around. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do anything!"

He stopped walking and stood in front of me. "Were you honestly about to start a debate between you and that bastard of a principle? It's better if you stay quiet next time."

"Why you little—"

He rolled his eyes. "You could have gotten in more trouble, you know that? People see you as this good girl and I am not surprised. And then you were about to argue with the fucking principle."

"I wanted to," I said, folding my arms. "He was being unfair."

"We're going to be cleaning—"

"No," I interjected. "He was degrading you. As if you're the scum of the Earth. Now, I don't think you are; school-wise, that is. But, I won't disagree with the fact that sometimes you can be a huge ass."

He stared at me, his eyes roaming mine.

I shrugged and began walking away. "See you after school, then!"

"Fuck!" I heard him say.

All right, sometimes he can surely be the scum of the Earth.

"I feel quite bad for you, Ally," Trish said. "And that's weird. I never feel bad for anyone."

"Gee, thanks," I flatly said, hoisting my bag up onto my back. "I just want this day to be over."

"Good luck cleaning the bathrooms!" she cheered, giving me a bright smile. I almost wanted to attack her. Sticking out my tongue at her, I whirled around and walked to the janitor's closet, where we were told we were supposed to meet. The door was locked so I leaned against the wall and waited for the janitor and Austin. I hummed to a favorite song of mine and tapped my foot in synchronization.

"Oh, I never expected to see you, Alison," the janitor said, giving me a confused look. "You're the student who has to clean?"

"Yes."

"I am quite astonished."

"I know."

He unlocked the door and it was then that Austin arrived.

"What took you so long?" I asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," he replied. I bet you he was smoking.

"Okay, kids," the janitor said. "The school's empty, except for a few students stuck in detention. Your job is to clean empty classrooms and the bathrooms. Here's the equipment. Have a nice day!"

Sighing, Austin took off his jacket and threw it over the lockers. I fixed my bun and grabbed my share of equipment.

"Ready to work, partner?" I cheerily asked, grinning at Austin.

He glared at me. "Oh, fuck off."

I laughed and followed him into the nearest classroom.

"You wipe the tables and windows, I'll mop the floor," he said, dipping the mop into a mixture. I grabbed a rag and applied the same mixture and quietly began to wipe off the students' desks.

It was going to be a long day.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Austin yelled, flinging the door to the men's bathroom open and emerging out, a disgusted look on his face. "Are you fucking serious?"

I barked out in laughter.

He glared at me.

"Oh, it's not that great in the women's bathroom, either," I said.

We walked into another classroom, this one larger. We both ended up mopping and the silence that engulfed us was really annoying.

"Can you hand me your phone?" I asked.

Austin looked up and stared at me as if I were crazy. "What for?"

"Music."

We stared at each other.

"Oh, come on," I said. "I open a conversation and you just reply with sarcastic comments and retorts. If you don't want to talk, let us at least have some music playing while we clean."

That seemed to convince him. After looking at me some more, he eventually pulled out his phone and handed it to me. He had no password and that surprised me. I tapped his music app and pressed shuffle. A song that I admired began playing and I set down his phone, smiling.

"I love this song!"

"I don't care."

"Why you stubborn—" I grabbed the rag and hurled it at him, hitting him in the face. It fell down and he looked like he was about to kill someone.

"What the fuck was that for?" he snapped.

"You're rude, that's what!"

"What the fuck do you want me to do? You know the song; fanfuckingtastic!"

I pointed the mop at him. "I will not hesitate."

Austin inhaled and turned around, getting back to his work. I turned around, too, which was a big mistake. A second later, I felt something warm drizzle down my body and I jumped, gasping. It was the mixture for cleaning. And Austin poured it all over me.

I whirled around, teeth gritted.

Austin's eyebrows were furrowed. "Wait, no, I actually didn't mean to do—"

Without giving him time to finish, I grabbed my water bottle, uncapping the top, and didn't hesitate to pour down the contents over him.

"Are you fucking insane?" he spat.

"What are you complaining about? You threw a whole bucket over my head!"

"I tripped and fell, you idiot!"

"I don't believe you."

He glared at me and I glared at him.

"Why is it that every time I'm around you, I feel like I'm going to fucking stab someone?" he snapped.

"It's a charm I carry around," I answered. "I'm glad it has affected you."

"Fucking hell!"

"You look really stupid, you know that?"

"Jesus!"

We finished the last of the classrooms in the specified wing of the school and we were both exhausted. Well, I was exhausted and smelt of cleaning mixtures. We returned the equipment to the janitor's closet. The sun was beginning to set and the school was completely abandoned. Students who had detention had left about two hours ago.

Austin and I were sat down on the floor, backs against the lockers. His head was bent backwards, his eyes closed. I scrolled through his playlists, trying to pick a song. I picked a random one and left the app. His home screen was a picture of a man well into his forties. With salt and pepper hair, the man had a thin face, a small nose, and blue eyes. He looked nothing like Austin but I knew it was his father.

I decided to ask anyway.

"Is this your father?" I asked.

Austin shifted in his position and rubbed his eyes, sighing. He looked down at his phone and then at the adjacent lockers. "Yeah."

"Do you guys still talk?"

Austin stayed quiet for a minute and I noticed his eyes swarming with such fleeting emotions. I saw anger, disappointment, and sadness. I think I felt my stomach plummet. Why was Austin upset? Frankly, I had never seen him smile at anything. He always looked so blank and these emotions – they were real. And that was the sad part.

"No, no we don't," he finally replied.

"Well, why not?"

"We just don't. Okay?"

"Okay."

I thought for a minute.

"Do you miss him?"

"I don't know."

I wonder what happened. Sighing, I handed him his phone and ignored my curiosity. It was increasing by the minute. It was as if I was determined to finish the puzzle that was Austin. Frankly, I was not able to find any connecting pieces yet.

"I'm hungry," I said, standing up. "You want to grab something to eat? All this work has drained me of energy."

"Sure," he spoke lowly, standing up. Austin shrugged on his jacket and we left school.

We found ourselves doing the same thing as yesterday. After we got some food, Austin drove to the abandoned building. We climbed up and sat down at the edge again and ate in silence.

I liked it, anyway.

"I feel like I haven't eaten anything in years," I said in between chewing.

"Stop fucking eating all the fries!" he snapped.

"Make me," I said, shoving more fries in my mouth.

And then Austin cupped my cheek.

And it caught me off guard.

And I stopped chewing.

"Here, here!" I squealed, shoving the box over to him. "Take it, I'm sorry! Just – just don't do that!"

I was quite sure Austin could feel the warmth that enveloped my, well, entire face.

Austin let go and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So she was right."

"Wh-what?"

"Your curly-haired friend – the one that always screams at the red-head. She told me how to scare you and how pretty fucking easy it is. She was right." He smirked in amusement and rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to kill her!"

"Right."

He proceeded to eat the fries and I smiled. Then, I held out my palm, suspended in the air.

"We did a great job today, partner!" I grinned. "Didn't we?"

"If you honestly think I'm highfiving you, you're wrong," he flatly said.

"Oh, come on," I cried. "Don't leave me hanging!"

"No."

"I will follow you around school tomorrow."

He didn't hesitate to high-five me and I grinned.

Austin rolled his eyes and sighed. "What am I ever going to do with you?"