-CHAPTER 14-

Joe looked at me. "I'm a dead man."

"What do you mean?" I asked him. Joe pointed toward the center of the crowd. Alyssa was making her way towards us, with a deathly look on her face.

When I saw the way Alyssa dressed for school, I finally understood what people meant when they say a girl is popular. But she wasn't your typical Barbie doll with blonde hair and big brown eyes. Her light brown hair fell in perfect curls around her shoulders and her forest green eyes were almost literally burning holes in me and Joe. She wore a powder pink polo with low-slung jeans that showed off just enough of her perfectly tanned skin and there were a pair of black sandals which I was pretty sure from Manolo Blahnik on her feet. "You haven't even been in this school more than a week and you've already taken my boyfriend! I don't even know your name!" she hissed at me.

"He was never your boyfriend and my name is Bealeigh." I replied in a surprisingly even tone.

"Baleigh! What kind of name is that? Look at you, you're the only Austrailian in here and you can't even reach the top of your locker!" She looked me up and down. "Ugh you're taste is disgusting! Those earrings are so ewwh!" Alyssa had a disgusted look on her face.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that ever again." said Joe in a deep and angry tone.

"Well, I'm surprised Joe. I never took you to be the type to date younger girls." snapped Alyssa.

"She's a Sophmore just like us and you have no right to judge the type of girls I want to go out with." he snapped back.

"Well I thought you always wanted to date girls more like me." said Alyssa in a sickly sweet tone. She traced her finger in a heart on Joe's arm.

I grabbed her wrist, gripping so hard I could feel my nails digging into her flesh. "Get your hands off him!" I said, barely audible to even myself. Alyssa's face turned pale. I could see tears of pain and defeat forming in her eyes, threatening to smudge her perfectly applied mascara. I let go of her, leaving five perfect half-moons on her otherwise flawless skin.

"Fine I will. But this isn't the last you see of me." she said, attempting to threaten me.

"Oh I don't think so. I mean, you are in my chemistry class, sixth period you know." I replied rudely.
Alyssa flashed a 'whatever' look at me before turning on her heels and stalking off to her homeroom.

"And she shall run in fear from you." remarked Joe.

"Oh you just can't shut up can you?" I said with a smile.

"Only when my littledamsel in distress puts the most popular girl in school down."

My bag hit the floor with a thud. What ever happened to the rule that banned homework? I sat at the foot of the bed and let my head fall back on to the bed, my hair falling in a fan behind me. "Ughh!" I said. About two seconds later I heard footsteps enter my room.

"Hey, Joe. So much for knocking." I said, staring at the ceiling, and gently closed my eyes.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked, ignoring my comment. He stood a foot away from me, looking at my awkward position.

"Your footsteps." I replied. I swung my head up and looked him in the eyes. Joe shrugged and sat down next to me.

"Is this a social visit or do you want something from me?" I asked him.

"Actually, I need help with the chemistry homework. I figured you could help me." he said.

"Why me? Why not ask Kevin?"

"Because you're the only person who didn't fall asleep in class today and you got an A+ on the quiz and you made sure we didn't blow the entire lab up." he said.

"Not forgetting that little miss popular's experiment made her face blue." I reminded him. Joe laughed.

"So will you help me?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Fine. But you had better make sure that you repay me with the best date ever tonight." I said. I reached into my bag and pulled out my chemistry notebook and textbook.

Two hours later...

"And so a when an acid is combined with a metal carbonate you get a salt, water and carbon dioxide." I concluded.

"Are you sure you're not a genius?" Joe asked me.

"I'm not a genius, just someone who bothers to study, unlike some of us who decide to nap in class." I replied.

"True." he smirked.