OK guys, so I decided to upload this chapter so early (a week after the last one) simple because I was bored and wanted to share it with someone. This is so far my favorite chapter, I don't know why, but I was in a good mood while writing it. I hope you guys like it too and remember, there is way more coming. :)

~TheCreativePenguinLover

I was at Chad's door punctually at 4:30pm. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. I did a step to the back and I waited for a second for him to open the door. I looked around to check if anyone was looking. For some reason I didn't want to be seen coming into Chad's house.

'Comin', comin'!' I heard Chad yell. He opened the door. 'Hey! Wow, you're early.'

'No, it's 4:30.'

'Yeah, well when I said 4:30 I didn't think you would actually be here at 4:30… Never mind though, come on in.' he said and he moved out of the way. I walked into the hall and he closed the door.

'I hope I didn't… you know, interrupt or something…' I said.

'Nah, it's okay. I just don't feel like doing homework yet.' He smiled. 'Anyways, come on in.' he said and he started walking towards the living room. I followed him.

The Danforths had the biggest and the fanciest house on our street. It was at least twice the size of our house. It had 4 or 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, big kitchen, dining room with a table that could fit 12 people and an enormous living room. I've been there before, however it had been a while so I needed a moment to look around in amazement. In the living room there was a wide, long black couch (covered in leather), a coffee table, a huge flat screen TV on the wall and a white carpet on the floor. The whole room was basically black and white.

'You thirsty or somethin'?' Chad asked from the kitchen.

'No, I'm fine, thanks.' I replied politely.

'Good, 'cause we don't have anything to drink…' he said and he closed the fridge. He walked into the living room holding a bag of snacks. 'Unless you hungry. We have chips.'

'No, I'm fine, really.'

'Alright then, more for me.' He smiled and he opened the bag. 'Let's go to the dining room, more space there.'

'Sure' I said and I followed him to the dining room. It looked just as I remembered it. Long table with 6 chairs at each side. In contrast to the living room, it was really bright there. Or at least it would be, if the drains were opened. However, colors in the room made it look bright. The carpet was light brown, the drains were beige.

We sat down at the table. I put my bag on the ground and I looked down at the table. I knew Chad was staring at me.

'So, what do we do?' he asked and he put another chip in his mouth.

'I don't know, what do you want to practice?'

'Well, hard to say since I suck at everything… Hey, can you help me do my homework?'

'Sure.'

'Awesome. I'll be right back' he said and he ran up the stairs. I sighed and looked around the room. Just by talking to him I knew this would be a hard job for me.

Finally Chad came back with his books and notebooks. He sat on the opposite side of the table, in front of me.

'Here's a thing I don't get.' He opened the book and pointed at one question. 'The math teacher gave it to me as extra practice, but this crap is harder than what we do in class.'

'Let me see' I said, took the book from him and looked at the question. 'Yeah, I don't remember doing this sort of questions. One sec, let me try solving it.'

'Sure, take your time' he said. He folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. 'Wonder why she gave that to me…'

'She gave you harder stuff so you can study in advance… You know, when we will officially start doing this, you will have an idea and you won't be behind everyone.'

'Probably… Hey, what's that supposed to mean? "Behind everyone"? When did that ever happen?' he asked. He seemed a bit insulted. I gave him an "are you serious?" look. 'Okay, it happened once or twice… Doesn't mean I'm stupid, does it?' he asked. Now he sounded sad. I looked up at him again and I thought of something nice I could tell him.

'No, it doesn't' I said. 'You are just lazy and that's what you have to work on.'

'Thanks for not calling me stupid like the rest of nerds…' he stopped because he realized what he said. 'I meant smart people. Sorry.'

I shook my head and continued solving that exercise. 'It's fine' I said.

'Your friends don't really like me, do they?' he asked. I looked up at him.

'Um… I don't really know.'

'Of course you do. But it's okay, you don't need to lie to me. I know they all hate me.' he said and he looked down. 'The sad part is that everyone, except the people on the team and cheerleaders, hates me.'

'That's not true… I don't hate you.' I said. Did I actually say that out loud? Too late, he heard it.

'Really?' He smiled. 'I always thought you did. Especially after how much I teased you when we were kids…'

'That's not your fault, all that was Tony.'

'Still, I shouldn't do that… Sorry for that.' he said and he looked at me.

'It's fine, really.' I said and I looked at him. Our eyes met. We stared at each other for a moment before we realized it. I was the first one to look away. It was really awkward, especially because it happened for the second time that day. I looked down at the exercise and tried to continue solving it, Chad sat back on the chair.

'So, um…' he said. 'How's it goin'? The question?'

'Almost done' I said without looking at him. 'When's your mom coming back from work?'

'Around 5:15… why?'

'Just asking. You still need to do your homework and you need me here to help you.'

Chad's mother, Ms Rossi, worked as an attorney. In New York her job was more demanding, but also better paid. However, she decided to move here with Chad after divorcing her husband, Mr. Danforth. She was a very serious person, I rarely saw her laugh at something. She seemed strict, but while having a child like Chad she couldn't be strict, because he kept getting in trouble every day. From what I heard she punished him rarely.

'Yeah, well you can still stay when she comes' he said.

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah. I mean, you're not my girlfriend, so she won't make you leave.'

I laughed. 'Does she actually do that to your girlfriends?'

'Yeah… She doesn't directly tell them to leave though… When I bring a girl home, it's usually before my mom comes back from work. But when we get carried away, Maya usually stays a bit longer and then she runs into my mom. We move to my room, but my mom keeps like calling me all the time and stuff… It's really awkward. That's why I don't usually bring Maya here.'

I laughed again. 'Does she really do that?'

'Yeah I swear! Man, that's a life with an Italian mother. She has no one else to spy on, so she won't let me breath in this house.'

'Aw, it's because you're her little boy. She needs to check on you.' I smiled. Chad smiled back.

'Very funny, hilarious' he said in an irritated voice. 'Is that normal, or is my mom the only psycho around?'

'I don't know, my mom doesn't really spy on any of us… Not me for sure, because she doesn't have a reason to…' I said and I looked up at him.

'Oh yeah, that reminds me… Did anyone ask you out yet?'

'Wha-? No! Why?' I asked.

'Don't you remember what I told you… before summer? About that guy that likes you?'

'Oh yeah… So?'

'I guess he still didn't make his mind up' he said and he chuckled. 'Were you mean to someone or something? The guy seems scared.'

'You know, it would be way easier if you told me who it was. Then I would know whether I was mean to him or no.'

'Oh, I already told you I can't do that. I promised I wouldn't tell. I'd love to help you out, but I can't…' he said and he shrugged.

'Whatever' I said.

'Don't be mad at me though' he said and he looked at me. 'I'd really love to tell you…'

'Never mind, forget about it. Tell that guy that if he will take this much time, no one will ever be interested in him.'

'You mean yourself, right?'

'Yes, precisely.'

'Okay then, I'll keep that in mind' he said and smiled. I gave him a weird look.

'Anyways…' I said in order to change the subject. 'Here, I solved it. It's quite easy, but first you need to do your homework.'

'K, let's do it then.'

After two weeks I got used to teaching Chad. It wasn't that hard, I just needed to find a way to get to him. We also talked a lot… about everything. We tried not to get back to the "mysterious guy" topic though; he knew I didn't want to talk about that. He mostly told me about what they did on practice or about a movie he watched or a song he liked. Surprisingly, I wasn't uncomfortable talking to him at all. We occasionally got into little fights, but they usually ended by him making me laugh.

People at school knew that Chad and I had, as they called it, "private lessons" together, but we both ignored that. At school we both went on with our lives and we couldn't care less about the gossips. We both knew it was only doing homework, nothing else. Besides, Chad was in a committed relationship with Maya and everyone knew that. Maya had nothing against me helping Chad after school.

One day, in the morning, I was running to class. Not because I was late, but I had to get there earlier because I had to talk to the Math teacher about Chad. I had 3 minutes left until the bell and I would be there on time, if I didn't bump into him…

'Um, I'm sooo sorry!' I heard someone say. I looked up and I saw a pair of beautiful, deep green eyes looking at me.

'No, I'm fine' I said and I tried to get up.

'Wait, let me help you!' he said and he pulled his hand out. I looked at it and grabbed it. He pulled me up.

'Thanks' I said and smiled. I looked at him. He had shiny brown hair, pearl white teeth and those deep, green eyes…

'Sorry again. I was just trying to get to class… I'm new here' he said shyly. Of course he was, I'm sure I would notice such a cutie walking down the hall for the past 5 weeks. 'I'm Derrick… Derrick Martin.'

'I'm Taylor… Taylor McKessie' I said and I wanted to pull my hand out, but I realized I was still holding his hand. I blushed like an idiot and I took my hand away.

'Um… Are you maybe the coach's daughter?'

'Yeah, that's me. Are you on the team?'

'Yeah, I was accepted yesterday… Anyways, could you maybe help me? I'm looking for M18.'

'Oh, that's close from here. You have to continue straight down this corridor and then turn right. First door on the left.'

'Thanks Taylor' he said and smiled. 'Sorry again for bumping into you… I'll see you around.'

'Yeah' I said and I watched him walk away. I was standing in the middle of the corridor smiling like a weirdo. My daydreaming was cut off by a bell. I finally realized that I was late.

'Shoot!'

I ran to the classroom as fast as I could. I have never been late in my life. I stopped in front of the door, took a few deep breaths to calm down, knocked on the door and opened it. Everyone was staring at me as if I entered the class through a window or something. The math teacher turned around. She was surprised to see me come in after the bell.

'I'm sorry I'm late, may I come in?' I asked. Usually, when someone was late, they were given detention. However, the Math teacher thought it was absurd to send someone to detention only because of that.

'Yes Taylor, come in and take your seat' she said slowly. Man, she really was surprised.

'Thank you' I said and I closed the door behind myself. I looked down at the floor and I made my way to my seat. When I sat down, Gaby nudged me.

'Why were you late?' she whispered.

'I bumped into a new kid, he asked me how to get to class. I had to help him' I whispered back.

'New kid?'

'You'll see later.'

I got my books out and I started copying what the teacher had written on the board. While I was writing, a rolled up piece of paper landed in front of me. I stopped writing and I opened it. It said:

got caught up watching Discovery Channel? :)
-C.D.

I knew the initials, so I turned to Chad. He was smiling but I just gave him an angry look. I ripped the paper into tiny pieces and I made sure he saw it. He mouthed a "sorry", but I just put the pieces in my pocket and continued writing.

At lunch time Gaby and I picked a table in the corner of the cafeteria. From there we could see everyone who came in or left.

'Is he here yet?' Gaby asked.

'No, I don't see him...' I replied.

'Is he really that cute?'

'Yeah, he's alright…'

'Alright? Taylor, how could an "alright" guy cause you being late to class?'

'True… Okay, he's super cute' I admitted and I continued looking around. Gaby smirked.

'Taylor has a crush!'

'Shhh, someone will hear you. And no, I don't have a crush, I just find this guy really… attractive.'

'Then I'm sorry, but that's a crush.'

'Whatever.'

We were sitting there and waiting for Derrick to show up, but we weren't lucky. Instead, Chad and Troy showed up. They walked up to our table.

'What's up?' Troy asked, but he didn't wait for an answer. He immediately wrapped his arms around Gaby and they started chatting about something irrelevant to the whole world. Chad sat in front of me.

'Why are you guys sitting here?' he asked. 'You usually sit over there.'

'Yeah, well our table was taken' I answered.

'No, it's not.' He turned around. 'There is no one there…'

'Well, it was taken when we came here.'

'Oh, okay then…' He turned to me. 'Are we meeting today?'

Exactly when he said it, I saw Derrick coming into the cafeteria. He was walking with a bunch of guys from the team. I didn't know why, but I couldn't stop staring at him. He seemed so… perfect. With his slightly gelled up hair, his gorgeous eyes and the smile that would make any girl melt. I just couldn't stop staring at…

'Taylor!' Chad waved his hand in front of my face. 'You there?'

I closed my mouth and I looked at him. I tried to remember what he asked me.

'Could you maybe repeat?' I asked. I slid my hand under the table and I tapped Gaby on the knee. She looked at me and I pointed at Derrick with my eyes. She spotted him right away.

'I asked if we were gonna meet today' Chad repeated.

'Yeah, sure.' I said while I was looking at Derrick from the corner of my eye.

'Who's that new guy?' Gaby asked all of the sudden. She was still looking at Derrick and Troy didn't notice that.

'Who?' Chad turned around to look. 'Oh, that's Derrick or whatever. He's new.'

'What's he like?' I asked. Chad turned to me and gave me a surprised look.

'He's okay I guess… why?'

'Nothing, just asking.'

'Okay then…'

Gaby and I kept discreetly staring at Derrick, while the guys discussed their practice.

Suddenly, Maya showed up. That girl had a thing with popping out of nowhere. She walked up to our table.

'Hey guys' she said and she smiled weakly.

'Hey babes!' Chad got up and kissed her. 'What's up?'

'Oh, you know… Nothing really. Just getting some lunch. Are you done with class?'

'Yeah, you?'

'Same. Hey, can you maybe walk me home?'

'Sure' he said and he grabbed his bag. 'Is everything okay though?'

'Yeah, it's fine. Just come. See ya guys!' she said and she started walking away.

'Bye ya'll!' Chad waved to us and he ran after Maya.

'What's wrong with her?' Troy asked.

'I don't know.' Gaby shrugged. 'She acted funny, don't you think?'

'Yeah' I said and I took my eyes off Derrick. 'Wonder what that was about.'

Later, at Chad's house, we were again in his dining room just like every other Wednesday. Except that Wednesday was a bit different…

'Are you okay?' I asked him. He was sitting on the armchair that was in the dining room. He acted a bit weird since I came over.

'Yeah, I'm fine…' he said and he sighed.

'Are you sure? You're acting… different.'

'I'm fine…'

'You're usually all over the place, making jokes, making fun of how smart I am… Why aren't you doing that right now?'

'I'm tired…'

'No, you're not' I said seriously. 'Chad, what's going on?' It was really funny, because a small part of me started worrying about him.

'Nothing…' he said and he sat up in the armchair. Just from his facial expression I could tell he was upset.

'Hey' I said and got up. I walked up to the armchair and stood in front of him. 'Tell me what wrong right now.'

'Ugh…' he moaned and he hid his face in his hands. 'Maya…'

'Yeah, Maya… what about her?'

'She… she dumped me.'

I stood there for a second clueless what to do. The poor guy was sitting there, with his face hidden in his hands because his girlfriend broke up with him and I didn't know what to do.

'Why?' I asked. Just after I said it, I realized it was a dumb question.

'I don't know why…' he replied. He was angry and sad at the same time. 'She said that over summer she changed and I changed and we were both different and we wanted different things… I don't know, she just fucking dumped me!'

I felt really bad for him. I sat next to him, on the armrest and I rubbed his back. He kept his face in his hands.

'It's not your fault…' I said quietly.

'Am I really that terrible or stupid or whatever that she had to break up with me? Am I?' he said and he lifted his head up. He looked at me. 'Am I?'

'No, you are not terrible and you are definitely not stupid. She is stupid for dumping you.'

'Well she dumped me, so she's the winner.' he said. He sounded like loser and that irritated me.

'Stop, she didn't win anything. What she did was lose… lose a great guy like you.' I said. It might be hard to believe, but that came straight from the deep bottom of my heart.

He didn't believe in himself though, I could read that off his face. He was still depressed.

'Don't worry' I said and I put my arm around his neck. 'That girl messed with the wrong guy.'

Chad smiled weakly. 'What are you gonna do to her?'

'I'm gonna prove she dumped the best guy in school.' I smiled.

'How?'

'Well, first of all you are gonna get your grades straight, then you will lead the team and win the championship and in the mean time, we will find you a real girlfriend. Maya will be sorry she even thought about breaking up with you.'

Chad's face brightened up. He looked up at me. 'Will you really help me with all that?'

'Yeah, of course. What are friends for?'

'Thanks Tay. You the best.' he said and he put both of his arms around me. For the first time ever, Chad and I hugged. That was the first time I felt this weird… attachment to him. I knew he needed a friend to support him and I was there. No matter what happened, no girl could mess with Chad from then on. I was the only one why could mess with him and he was the only one who could mess with me and we both knew that very well.

Taylor M.

So yeah, I hope you liked it! :3

Also, I'm not sure whether I will update every week or two weeks... My plan for summer was to update every two weeks, but since it's summer, I'm really creative and those chapters seem to be writing themselves haha :D
I will probably update every week, but I'll still see! It depends on your guys' feedback. :)

~TheCreativePenguinLover