Okay, so let me start off by saying SORRY to everyone who had to wait for like a month for this. :(

It's just that I'm having a really hard time dealing all this with school. It's really hard for me, because as you may already know, I moved countries and that means different language and everything... It's gonna take me a while to adjust, which is a whole different story. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to find excuses for my laziness and the fact that I've been completely blocked for the past month, but I'm working on it. Some of you guys are impatient and I understand it, but try to find some understanding for me. :)

Anyways, that's it for today's ramble haha my life's weird and so am I and I don't expect any of you to get it ;)
For now, I'm leaving you with this chaotic ass chapter and I promise the next one's better. :)

~TheCreativePenguinLover

p.s. sorry for any spelling mistakes, I promise I'll fix it tomorrow. I just wanted to get this chapter out already because it's been driving me insane.

I ran into the school building and saw the corridors were filled with people. I relaxed and slowed down. I took a look at the clock to see what the time was. I ran to school for no reason; the bell wouldn't ring for another 10 minutes. I walked up to my locker and opened it. When I checked my schedule for Monday, Gaby walked up to me.

'Hey Tay!' she greeted. I smiled.

'Hey' was all I could say, because I was still trying to catch my breath. She noticed that.

'What's up with you?'

'Nothing. I thought I was going to be late.'

'How come? The bell rings in like eight minutes' she said while looking at her watch.

'I know. It's just that my watch is being an ass. It must have stopped at 7:56 last night. I kept looking at my cell phone all morning, until I left the house. Then I looked at my watch and thought it was late. So I ran here.'

'Awww, that sucks. Get it fixed?'

'It's not gonna work. I changed its batteries already, but it either stops or it just stops for like five minutes and then comes back to life as if nothing ever happened. And I'm five minutes late.'

Gaby laughed. 'Time to get a new one.'

'Yeah. Or it's time to start using my phone like other teenagers do.'

'Yeah, they're almost always accurate… Anyways, you excited for today?'

'Why?' I asked as I looked through my locker.

'Today is the day when you finally get to treat Chad as your boyfriend.'

'Shhh' I smiled. 'It's not official yet. Plus, I'm not sure he's my boyfriend. We went out only once.'

'And you kissed… and a little birdie told me it was quite a kiss' she said smirking. I blushed and giggled.

'It sure was… But I don't know, I guess we'll take it slow… Or not. See, I'm not even sure yet! It's too early to tell.'

'Well, something tells me you guys will be a great couple' she smiled.

'Yeah, though I'm not sure East High is ready for that.'

'Oh come on! If it was ready for me and Troy, it sure is ready for you guys.'

I smiled weakly and thought about it. The idea of being Chad's girlfriend appealed to me a lot, but I was afraid of how the people at school might react to us. First of all, I was famous as the most stuck-up nerd and he was the most popular guy in our school. We were totally opposite in that case. Second of all, the school was full of Chad's ex-girlfriends and I feared that they could make the whole school hate me. It was silly, yet I couldn't stop thinking about that.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by someone touching my arm. I got scared, so I jumped up. Gaby giggled and I turned around to see who it was. It was Chad. He smiled at me.

'Hey. Did I scare you?' he asked. I smiled and went back to searching through my locker.

'Yeah, a little.'

'Sorry' he chuckled. 'I didn't mean to.'

'Someone has a guilty conscience' Gaby suggested jokingly. I squinted my eyes and gave her an irritated look, while Chad just laughed.

'I hope I didn't interrupt anything important' he said. Gaby shook her head.

'Nah, we were just talking.'

'About?'

'You know, stuff' she replied and smiled mysteriously. Chad gave me a confused look and I rolled my eyes.

'My watch broke and we discussed that' I cleared up. 'I have a problem with being late and that's why it bothers me. The fact that I can be late disturbs me. A lot.'

'Oh' Chad smiled. 'It's early in the morning, but you girls start the day off with some heavy topics' he joked. I smiled a little.

'You know us' I said and started sorting my books. Gaby looked at her watch.

'Five more minutes… I'll let you guys talk a little' she said and smirked at me. 'Chad, have you seen Troy?'

'Yeah, he was by the vending machine down the hall' he answered.

'Thanks. See you guys later!' she said and started walking away. Chad walked around me and leaned on the locker next to mine.

'She knows, doesn't she?' he asked and looked at me smiling. I raised my eyebrows.

'Of course she does' I responded. He chuckled.

'You guys really tell each other everything.'

I smiled. 'That's a big thing, I had to tell her.'

'I thought we weren't official yet.'

I stopped looking through my locker and looked at him. He might have been smiling, but he wanted a serious answer.

'Well, no…' I started slowly.

'I want us to be' he said. I smiled.

'Me too… But you know how it is.'

He sighed and looked around. A lot of people were passing by, but only a few paid attention to us. That would change if they knew we were dating.

'You know what' I said. 'I thought about it a little… maybe, before telling the world about us, we could just keep it a secret until we are sure about it.'

'That's a good idea…' he admitted. 'Which means at school we pretend nothing is going on and when we are alone-'

'Yeah' I cut him off, before he got some dirty thoughts. He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.

'So basically no one knows except us and Gaby' he said.

'Didn't you tell Troy?'

'I did… He knew I liked you, only because he caught me sneaking around your locker. I had to tell him what I was doing, before he told Tony I was being creepy. Otherwise I wouldn't tell him.'

'Are you excited to tell Tony?' I asked jokingly. Chad sighed.

'Very funny… He'll kill me, won't he?'

'Not necessarily. To be honest, he has no impact on who I am dating and he never will.'

'Yeah, but he's my bro… I don't want him to hate me…' he said and looked down. Suddenly, he got an idea. 'Wait, he's moving to New York this summer, isn't he?'

'Yeah…'

'That means we don't have to tell him… at all' he said smiling. I laughed and shook my head.

'Stop worrying, it's not like he will do anything crazy' I assured and looked into my bag. 'Damn it already! I can't find my Biology book!'

'Oh, it's right here' he said and reached to his bag. He took out my Biology book and handed it to me. 'Thanks for letting me borrow it.'

'No problem. You could have told me about it earlier, though. I wasted 5 minutes of my life trying to find it.' I took the book away from him and put it in my bag. 'Did you study?'

'Yeah' he replied. I gave him a suspicious look.

'Chad.'

'Okay, maybe a little… But I did. I mean, I read the chapter!'

I shook my head. 'That's not enough.'

'Whatever. I'll just copy from you' he said and smiled. I giggled and closed my locker.

'Of course I'll let you' I said sarcastically, which made him frown.

'Hey, what's that supposed to mean?'

'Hey Chad' some girl said. We both turned around and she waved at him as she passed by.

'Hey…' he replied and looked back at me. I raised my eyebrows.

'Who was that?' I asked curiously.

'No idea.'

'Why did you say hi to her then?'

'She said hey to me…' he explained. I laughed and put my bag on my shoulder.

'So you have no idea who she was?' I asked when we started walking down the corridor.

'Nope. I think she might be a cheerleader… or something. I think I've seen her around… school' he replied. I couldn't help laughing; he was so confused and cute at the same time.

'It's okay.'

'What, are you jealous?' he asked smirking. We stopped in front of my class and I turned to him.

'Actually, yeah' I admitted, which made him grin. I didn't let him answer, though. 'I'll see ya later.'

'Wait' he said and discreetly grabbed my hand. I faced him, giving him a funny look.

'What?'

'It's still break.'

The bell rang and he mouthed "shit". I laughed.

'You'll be late' I said. Chad looked around.

'I wanna be like that, Tay' he whispered and pointed at Troy, who was getting a goodbye kiss from Gaby. I smiled and fixed the collar of his jacket.

'Soon, don't worry' I whispered. He smiled weakly and I could see his eyes fill up with hope.

'Can't wait' he replied.

'See you in Math' I said, smiled at him and started walking towards the door.

'I'll save you a seat!' he called and ran to his next class.

I spent the whole history class doing something I shouldn't be doing: daydreaming. Even though it was almost the last week of school, the teacher continued his lesson as if the school year was to last forever. Honestly, colonialism was the last thing I wanted to hear about. I kept thinking about Chad and I. After I openly admitted to liking him, I started expressing my feelings more freely. Before I just kept holding them back, I kept them only to myself. However, once I opened up, I realized how much I've hid in there. For instance, I thought I only had a crush on Chad, but in reality I couldn't stop thinking about him, I couldn't take my eyes off his gorgeous smile and when I was alone, I wished he was there with me. I understood I liked him way more than I thought and that scared me a little, but I decided to let my feelings loose and enjoy life.

When the bell finally rang, I got up and hurried down the corridor to Math because I knew he was there. On my way there, I got stopped by Tony, who wanted me to lend him 10 bucks. We fought for a moment, but I gave up when the bell rang. I gave him 20 and demanded the change next break. When he agreed, I ran to Math. I made it, because the teacher wasn't there yet. I slowed down when I walked inside, just so I could take a look around. I found Chad and two empty seat next to him, however there were notebooks and pens on the desk and I understood someone was already sitting there. The only empty seat left was right in front of Chad. I moved the hair out of my face and sat there. He smiled when he saw me and leaned forward so that his face was next to mine.

'Sorry. I told them it was taken, but they asked who I kept the seat for and I had to give up' he explained.

'It's okay' I said and took my notebook out. 'Maybe it's better like that.'

'I'm not happy about it either' he said and I smiled. His friends came back and sat beside him. I turned my back to them and looked at the board. The teacher wasn't there yet.

'Hey dudes, look who honored us with her presence' Chad said jokingly and the boys chuckled. I smiled to myself, making sure they couldn't see it. He started teasing me as usual, only because he wanted his friends to think nothing has changed. 'It's the Nerd Queen.'

'Seriously? Can't you come up with something more original?' I tried to sound irritated. I was still looking at the board. 'You invented the 'Nerd Queen' like 5 years ago.'

'It still fits you' he snapped. I couldn't see his face, but from his voice I could tell he was smiling.

'You didn't even bother to make up a new name for me. I see your creativity reflects your maturity: you're still 12 years old' I replied. The boys laughed at Chad, but I knew he kept smiling.

'Wow, really? Is that all you can tell me?' he asked. I faced him.

'Yeah. I want to keep this argument on your level. You know, so you can follow' I said and smiled like an angel. His friends laughed once again.

'You should be a comedian' he said sarcastically.

'I know. I should work as a backup, in case your show's a flop.'

While the guys were chuckling, Chad and I were staring at each other. We both had, what seemed to be, evil smiles on our faces, but in reality that wasn't even close. We had a lot of fun pretending to hate each other, mainly because we spent most our lives doing that.

'That's a very brave thing to say to someone who's on top of the pyramid' he pointed out.

'What pyramid? Not the intellectual one, that's for sure' I said and turned my back to them. The guys laughed once again. I rolled my eyes and faced them. 'That "compliment" was for all of you.'

Chad's friends got serious and looked at each other, while he chuckled.

'Wow Taylor, you're so witty' he commented sarcastically. I smiled.

'Only because you're making it so easy' I replied. He looked into my eyes and winked. I smiled once again and turned my back to them.

While I was trying to catch up with the Math teacher's writing pace, a folded piece of paper landed in front of me. I raised my eyebrows, put my pen down, picked up the paper and opened it under the table, so no one could see. Here's what it said:

let's go out today?
a) yes
b) A
c) B
C.D. =)

I discretely smiled to myself, picked up my pen and added:

d) maybe ;)

I circled d), folded it and wondered how to give it back to him. I figured he told his friends he wrote something nasty on it, because I could hear them chuckling. I got an idea, made a mad face and turned to them.

'Here. Do me a favor and choke on this' I whispered as I put the paper in front of Chad. I looked back at the board. Wow, we really knew how to pull of all the hate.

When the bell rang I got up and casually walked out of the room like everyone else. Chad and his friends were the last ones to get out, but he caught up with me.

'Wait' he said as he ran up to me. I slowed down and looked at him.

'What?'

'That, back there… Pretty hot' he admitted and smirked. I laughed.

'Well, I tried. And I think we could make this work.'

'No way. I want everyone to know that I was the one who managed to win Taylor's heart. Plus, Andrew said it's obvious you've got hots for me.'

I gave him a shocked look. 'What did you tell him?'

'I said you were hot and stuff, but too smart for me' he said and smiled, which made me giggle.

'Be careful, we wanna keep it a secret until September.'

'I know, I know… Hey, what's up with "maybe"? Don't you wanna go out today?'

'I'll see' I replied and the bell rang. 'I gotta run now, see you after school.'

'Alright. I don't have practice today, so just wait outside.'

'Sure' I said and smiled at him. 'Bye.'

The rest of the day was rather boring. I spent most of the classes just doodling and clock watching. I occasionally looked out of the window, just to check whether the weather was going to change soon. If it was still sunny outside, Chad and I could go to the park and hang out there before going home. I smiled just at the thought of that.

'Taylor' Gaby whispered and nudged me. I looked at her.

'What?'

She didn't say anything, she just looked up. I looked up also and saw the Chemistry teacher standing in front of me.

'Ms. McKessie, can you see the reaction of lithium hydroxide and carbon dioxide out there?' he asked and pointed out of the window. Even though I knew it wasn't there, I checked before answering.

'No…' I replied.

'That's because it's on the whiteboard' he said. 'Are you paying attention?'

'Yes, sir' I lied.

'Really? Then would you be so kind and introduce us to the law of conservation of mass?'

Everyone's eyes were on me. I gulped and rubbed my hands nervously.

'The law of conservation of mass states that a mass of an isolated system will remain constant over time' I replied confidently.

'What is an isolated system?'

'Isolated system is closed to all transfers of mass and energy, meaning no mas or energy can enter or exit it' I explained.

'Why is this law mostly just theory?'

'Because a perfectly isolated system does not exist.'

He looked at me for a moment, then he spun on his heel and started walking towards the board.

'Ms. McKessie' he started. 'If you were actually listening to us, you would have known that we were talking about the law of definite proportions, which states…?' he cut off here, so that I could continue.

'That a chemical compound always contains exactly the same proportion of elements by mass' I finished. He stopped at his desk and nodded.

'Very well. Despite your impressive knowledge, which we are all aware of, I will need you to pay attention, is that clear?' he asked and looked at me.

'Yes, sir' I answered and looked down.

'Good. Now back to stoichiometry. Anyone finished with balancing the equation?'

Everyone took their eyes off me and looked back at the board. I took a deep breath. I knew that Mr. Rodriguez didn't mean to embarrass me in front of the class, all he wanted to do was to see whether I was paying attention or not. I was one of his best students, I guess he was just surprised to catch me staring out of the window on his lesson. To be honest, I was surprised too.

'You okay?' Gaby whispered. I picked my pen up and started balancing the equation.

'Yeah. I was just thinking. Thanks for letting me know he was coming towards us' I whispered sarcastically.

'Sorry. I was busy solving this' she said and pointed at her notebook.

'It's okay. I don't wanna get caught again.'

After the bell rang, said bye to Gaby and rushed out of the school. Coming out of the school on a sunny day had to be the best feeling ever. Joy left me when I saw Chad waiting… with Tony. I rolled my eyes and walked up to them.

'Hey guys' I greeted. 'Who are you waiting for?'

'You' Tony replied.

'Why?'

'Pops told me to.'

'Alright. Can we go home?'

They both nodded their heads and we started walking. I was a few steps ahead of them.

'Why was the practice called off?' I asked.

'Teachers have a meeting or something' Chad explained. 'Coach had to be there.'

'Yeah, they are probably discussing how to make our lives more miserable than they already are' Tony added. 'Sucks to be you guys.'

'Why?' Chad asked.

'Cause you have to say there for another two years… Two more weeks and I'm out of here.'

'Are you really that excited to go to college?' I asked.

'Yeah! Living with my boys, partying all night, chicks everywhere…' Tony said and smiled dreamily. I rolled my eyes.

'What about studying?'

'Studying?' he scoffed. 'Don't be dumb, Taylor. No one goes to college just to study.'

I shook my head and ignored what he said. I had no energy to fight with him.

'Where are you gonna live?' Chad asked.

'I don't know, probably we will rent an apartment together.'

I laughed.

'What?' Tony asked.

'Nothing, I just imagined it. Dirty clothes just wallowing around… Food thrown all over the place… And the smell.'

'What makes you think that?'

'That's what your room looks like' I answered. Chad laughed.

'Whatever. You're just mad 'cause I'm leaving and you need to stay and put up with Mom and Dad's bullshit' Tony said before looking down.

'Yeah, probably. I'll have to stand Mom's cooking, free Internet, free TV, warm bed and people doing my laundry. Yeah, sucks to be me, indeed' I replied sarcastically. Tony shook his head.

'Whatever. Oh, speaking of party… There's going to be a party the last day of school, in the deserted warehouse down the main street. Wanna come?' he asked Chad.

'Isn't it only for seniors?' I asked before Chad could even reply. I heard gossips around the school about it. You see, the warehouse was a place where parties were forbidden, however that didn't stop the kids from our town from throwing them there.

'Yeah, but if you're on the team, you can come too' Tony cleared up and looked back at Chad. 'So?'

'I don't know, man…' Chad said as he scratched the back of his head.

'Come on!' Tony whined. 'There will be music, booze, girls..'

I rolled my eyes once again. My brother was just being his usual, barbarian self. He was going to do something bad and he wanted to drag Chad into doing it too. Normally I wouldn't care, but since Chad was technically my boyfriend, I was curious of his response.

'I can't, man' he finally answered. 'I'm going to New York the next day. My parents will know something happened.'

'Alright, then you don't have to drink. Just come to hook up with someone…' Tony kept convincing.

'I'd love to, but I kinda have my eye on someone right now…' Chad said. My eyes widened, but I didn't look back at them. I just continued walking, pretending I wasn't listening to their conversation.

'Really? Who?'

'I can't tell you, bro. We're both not sure yet...'

'K, then just invite her to the party. Who knows, it could be your chance to hit it' he said and laughed, while Chad just smirked. I sighed.

'Tony, can't you just get laid already and stop being an ass?' I asked and looked at him. He smiled.

'Don't worry, sis. That's already been taken care of' he replied and smirked. I shuddered in disgust.

'Ew… Just… Ew, Tony!' I said and he laughed. 'What did you tell her? That you had a month left to live? Poor girl.'

Chad laughed and Tony shook his head.

'Anyways, as I was saying… Come on man, it will be fun!' Tony continued convincing Chad. He looked at me as if he was looking for an answer, but I turned my back at him.

'Let him go already' I told Tony. 'How doesn't want to go.'

'He can speak for himself. And stop trying to bring everyone down, Taylor. Just because no one invited you to the party doesn't mean you have to talk people out of it' Tony snapped.

It took all the energy I had inside of me to stop myself from turning around and screaming 'I'm dating your best friend' in his face. My brother considered me as an ultimate loser, who had no social life whatsoever. He believed, just because he was my brother and didn't see anything interesting in me, other people didn't as well. If it wasn't for my lack of interest in what others thought about me, my brother's comments would completely destroy my self-esteem. I wanted to see his face when he heard that I, apparently the biggest loser in the world, was dating the most popular guy in school, who also happened to be his best friend. I wanted him to know that a person who had interest in me really existed.

However, I knew Chad and I agreed to keep it a secret and I also knew that Chad was afraid of Tony's reaction, so I didn't say anything. I just looked down and continued walking in silence. Fortunately, Chad was fed up with Tony's comments.

'Hey man, stop' he said. Tony gave him a confused look.

'What?'

'I don't know if you're trying to be funny, but it's really mean.'

'Oh come on! It's Taylor!' Tony said, as if it was more than okay to make fun of me. Chad frowned.

'Exactly, it's Taylor. So stop it' he said seriously and we continued walking in silence. I smiled a little. It was great to have someone stand up for me.

I wasn't mad at Tony, only because I was used to his idiotic behavior. He annoyed me every day, so I sort of got used to it and learned to ignore it. The only thing that bothered me was that I didn't really get to spend time with Chad that day. At school we pretended nothing between us changed and acted neutral around each other. I thought I'd get some alone time with him after school, but then Tony decided he'd walk home with us. When we stopped in front of our house, all I could do it wave to Chad and go home. It bothered me a little, but I knew that if we wanted to keep it a secret for a while, it was the only thing I could do.

I was in my room listening to music, when the door opened and Tony peaked in. I took my earphones out of my ears and gave him an annoyed look.

'Hey' he said. 'I knocked, but you didn't hear… So I came in… Can I stay?'

'Why?' I asked as I paused the music on my iPod.

'I wanna talk to you' he explained. I sighed and looked down at my earphones.

'About?'

'Umm…' He closed the door and looked around my room. 'Stuff.'

'Look Tony, no offense, but I have better things to do than discussing "stuff" with you. So, if you don't mind…' I said and pointed at the door. He shook his head, grabbed the chair, pulled it to the bottom of my bed and sat on it.

'I wanna say… I feel stupid… for what I said today' he said and looked at me.

'It's fine, don't worry about' I assured, even though I really didn't feel that way.

'No, it's not. I know I'm mean to you and I really don't mean to hurt you by that… But sometimes I go too far, huh?'

'Yeah, sometimes…' I admitted.

'Well, I'm… sorry about that' he said. I could see genuine honesty in his eyes.

'It's alright' I smiled at him.

'Great' He smiled also. 'I just say all of that… because you're my little sister, I have to make fun of you.'

'I don't mind that… I just don't like you calling me a loser and a nerd all the time… Especially in front of other people.'

'Okay, done. I will only call you a nerd when we are alone' he said and smiled. I threw my pillow at him and he laughed.

'Ass. Why do you always try to embarrass me in front of others anyway?'

'Because it's fun. Plus, I don't want anyone to think you're cool.'

'Why?'

'Because you're smart and stuff… And if you were also cool, I'd be less popular than you' he said and he threw the pillow back at me. I caught it and raised my eyebrows.

'You less popular than me? Come on, you are like the most popular guy in the whole school.'

'Yeah, I know… Hey, when I leave, you have to be cool. It's like a family tradition.'

'How am I supposed to do that when you already told everyone I'm boring?' I asked and threw the pillow at him once again. He caught it and smiled.

'I only did that because I don't want my dumb friends all over you.'

'Really?' I laughed. 'Like they care about me.'

'Well, I catch them checking you out all the time… It annoys me. Plus, Pops told me to keep them away from you.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Did he really?'

'Yeah.. He doesn't want that whole Derrick thing again… And you know how it was with Destiny…'

'Well, let's not compare me to her. We are totally different. I can't imagine myself dating the whole basketball team.'

'Good' he said and threw the pillow at me. 'I don't want my lil' sister dating any of those dumbasses.'

I laughed. 'Dumbasses, huh?'

'Yeah. You have no idea how they treat girls.'

'Don't you also treat girls that way…?'

'Yeah, but… I don't want anyone treating you like that.'

I put the pillow on my lap and looked at him. That was the sweetest thing he ever told me and I was speechless.

'What?' he asked, because I was staring at him. I snapped out of it and looked down.

'No, it's nothing… But not all guys on the team are that bad.'

'Well… Troy is like the only normal one' he admitted.

'Okay, but what if… hypothetically speaking, I liked one of them?'

He frowned. 'Who?'

'I'm just saying… What if one of them was to ask me out?'

'I don't like that, Taylor' he said seriously. I rolled my eyes and sat closer to him.

'What if?'

'I don't know… Look, I'm not gonna tell you what to do. It's your life. I just don't want some fools spreading rumors about you again.'

I sighed. 'Don't worry, I won't make the same mistake again. I won't go out with a dude I don't know' I assured him. Tony smiled and looked down.

'Good. But, if something happens, you call me. And I'll deal with it' he said and looked up at me. I smiled.

'Deal.'

He balled his fist and held it up in front of me. I giggled and fist bumped him. Maybe it was only a small gesture, but it sure meant a lot to us.

Suddenly the door opened and Destiny came in. When she realized Tony was in my room, she froze.

'What's going on?' she asked. She seemed scared, but Tony only laughed.

'Don't worry about it' he said getting up. 'It's all good now.'

My sister gave me a confused look, but decided to leave it. 'Um, okay. Anyways… Mom has to stay longer at work, so dad's ordering pizza. You guys want the usual?'

'Make it double cheese' Tony said and walked up to the door.

'Yeah, he's right' I agreed.

'Alright… What are you doing here anyways?' she asked our brother.

'Just being a big brother' he said mysteriously and walked out of the room. Destiny crossed her arms and looked at me.

'You guys were conspiring against me, weren't you?' she asked. I laughed and shook my head.

'No, sorry. Just talking.'

'Hmm… You are acting weird lately' she said and looked around my room, as if I was hiding something. 'I told you I'd find out sooner or later, right?'

'Yup, you did' I replied.

'Well, I will, so watch your every step' she said seriously and walked out of my room. I laughed to myself. Destiny hated when I had secrets; she wanted to know what every member of our family was doing and what they were up to. Sometimes her curiosity was beyond normal and she wasn't stopping until she knew everything.

I got up from my bed and closed the door, when my phone rang. I picked it up from the desk and looked at it. It was Chad. I smiled and answered it.

'Hello?'

'Hey, it's me' he said. 'What'cha doing?'

'Nothing, just sitting in my room, bored…'

'Well, I can see that.'

I walked up to the balcony door and saw him standing near the window in his room. He smiled and waved, which made me laugh.

'You know this is creepy, right?' I asked when I waved back. He laughed.

'It's not my fault you live next door and I can see your room from my room. If that makes you feel any better, I don't do this too often.'

'Oh really?' I asked and leaned on the door. 'How often is "not too often"?'

'Just sometimes' he explained and smiled. I laughed once again.

'What's up with you? How's life?'

'It's boring… The grass seems greener on your side of the fence.'

I smiled. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means I'd rather be with you than all by myself. Plus, we didn't get to spend time together all day and that makes me sad' he said and made a sad face. I giggled.

'Awww, poor thing. I'd invite you over to my balcony, but my dad's home… so is my sister and my brother.'

'I know… We have to figure out a way to meet… I don't want to see you on the weekends only.'

'We could go to the park tomorrow, after school' I suggested.

'I have practice after class.'

'Okay, then I'll wait for you there.'

'For an hour?'

'Yeah, I can do my homework and stuff… I don't mind sitting there' I said and smiled. His face brightened up.

'Awesome.'

'Just get rid of your shade.'

'What shade?'

'Tony' I said and he laughed.

'Don't worry, I will. I'll tell him I have to go visit my grandma or something.'

'Since when is "grandma" code for "Taylor", huh?' I asked jokingly. He smiled and shook his head.

'You're right. "My smart, gorgeous girlfriend" is code for "Taylor", but that's a bit too obvious' he said. I blushed and looked down at my feet. I adored how he came up with all the cute things just like that.

'True, it's quite obvious' I admitted and he chuckled. 'So, tomorrow after school?'

'Yup' He nodded his head and smirked. 'But can I count on a good-morning-kiss before school?'

'We'll see' I replied and smiled evilly. 'Bye, Chad.'

'Bye, Tay.'

I hung up and we both put our phones down, but we didn't break the eye contact. He was still there, smiling at me. Finally, he winked at me. I smiled, waved my hand in response and we both got back to what we were doing a moment ago.

Two weeks from that day Chad was leaving to New York for summer. We managed to spend those two weeks together, mainly hanging out after school… just the two of us. And I enjoyed it very much. Dating wasn't much different than our friendship; we talked about life and our problems, dreams, memories… I could always count on him whenever something was bothering me; he never failed to make me laugh. We were just a bit more opened about everything, he'd tell me more about his feelings and I'd tell him how I felt. And we occasionally kissed, which turned out to be Chad's really strong side. Thanks to him, my skills in that area could develop too. I knew that Chad was a lot more experienced in dating and at first I thought that would be a problem, but that wasn't true. At all. He wasn't a type of guy who pushes girls to do things. He was different. He was patient, understanding, caring and quite mature for a teenage guy. I actually felt he liked me for who I was, not only for my looks like Derrick did. Chad made me feel special and helped me realize I meant something to someone.

We tested our "secret relationship" at school, but also outside of the school building. On the weekend it was Chad's birthday, so he decided to throw a party for all his friends as usual. And of course I was invited, like every year ever since we were five years old. Except this time I was his girlfriend, but we couldn't show that at all. We basically spoke only twice, because Chad was always circled by his friends and there was no way we could get some alone time. It was annoying as hell, but we both knew it wasn't time yet.

Once again, I was the last person to take a shower. Mom came home late, so she took a shower first and went to sleep. Next were Dad and Tony. We stayed up late to finish watching a movie and it was my mistake I didn't make it to the bathroom before Destiny. She took forever in there. I perfectly knew her routine; first taking all that make up off her face, then a half an hour bath, then washing her hair, then applying all possible hair products on her hair, THEN applying all creams we had in the house. She was really clever, because she sneaked out of the living room and ran upstairs seconds before the movie ended. I was mad when I realized she was in there and I even banged on the door to make her get out, but my father came out of the bedroom and disciplined me about making so much noise when my mother was sleeping next door. I apologized and told him that Destiny would take ages in the bathroom, but he only told me to let her go because she was pregnant and I didn't want to mess with a pregnant woman. I gave up on trying to get her out of there and managed to get in when she was done, which was around 2:30am. As a result, I was out of the shower around 3, when everyone was already sleeping.

I quietly walked down the hall, came into my room and closed the door. I was really pissed at my sister, but I was too tired to go and fight with her. I decided to leave it for the morning. I turned the lamp on, took my robe off and fell on the bed. I was exhausted. After the long day at school, which was also the last day of the school year, all I could think about was to get some sleep. The whole day was just running around, saying bye to all my friends, then saying bye to them for the 5th time already and then the guys decided to play the last game in this "squad", so we stayed for that too. And then I spent the rest of the day with Chad, Gaby and Troy at the amusement park. The boys stopped at their favorite game, which was shooting balls into a little basket and they won a toy for Gaby and I. Chad chose a quite big tiger plushy, which was the biggest yet the cutest toy in my room at the time. I smiled at the thought of that and rested my head on the tiger. I don't even know when my eyes closed, but I felt I was slowly drifting away to sleep. I curled up and I was at the edge of falling asleep, when my phone vibrated. I reached for it and looked at it. It was a massage from Chad and it said:

you asleep?

I rubbed my eyes and the only response I could think of was:

No, I'm not.

A few seconds later the next message came:

then check your balcony

I raised my eyebrows. I had no idea what he meant by that, but I wanted to check it. I got up, walked up to my balcony door and spread the curtains. Chad was sitting outside on the bench. I shook my head and opened the door.

'What are you doing?' I asked. He looked at me and smiled.

'I'm leaving tomorrow. I wanted to say bye' he explained, which made me feel all warm inside. I smiled and sat next to him.

'But you already said bye today.'

'I know, but I said bye to everyone. I wanted to say bye to you.'

'That's nice' I said and yawned. My head fell on his shoulder. 'But it's really late. Couldn't you do it in the morning?'

'My flight is at 8am, meaning we'll be leaving at 6' he said and looked at me. 'I didn't want to wake you up that early.'

'So you decided to keep me up this late, huh?' I asked jokingly and looked into his eyes. He chuckled.

'Well, you weren't sleeping anyways… How come?'

'Destiny got the bathroom before me' I explained.

'Ow. That sucks.'

'Yeah, it does. What's your excuse for not sleeping yet?'

'I'm not tired… Plus I saw the light in your room and thought I'd say goodbye right now.'

I lifted my head up and smiled at him. 'Well, bye' I said and pecked him on the lips. He didn't seem satisfied.

'That's it? Come on, I'm leaving for 2 or maybe even 3 weeks!' he whined. I giggled.

'The less you get, the more you'll miss me.'

'I'll miss you no matter what' he said and looked into my eyes. I smiled, put my hand on his cheek and pulled him into a deep kiss. I felt him smile and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. After a moment I pulled away and smiled.

'Better?' I asked.

'Much better' he replied and held me tight to his body. I sighed, rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. My forehead was touching his neck and I realized he smelled amazing. It must have been his shower gel or something.

'I'm gonna miss you' I said quietly before yawning again. He rested his head on mine and rubbed my back.

'I'll miss you too, Tay. I'll Skype you every day.'

'You don't have to, just Skype me whenever you get a chance to.'

'Don't worry, I'll have a chance to talk to you every day. Either that or hanging out with my grandma's cat.'

I laughed and rubbed his arm. 'I'm sure it won't be that bad.'

We sat in silence for a moment. I felt so safe with him, I swear I could spend the whole night on that balcony, just sleeping in his arms.

'You're tired, huh?' he asked and looked down at me.

'Yeah' I admitted. 'But I don't want you to go yet.'

'I don't wanna go either…'

Finally, my common sense came back and I lifted my head up, pulling away from him. His arms slid down my back and ended up on my waist. I guess all he wanted to hold me as long as he could.

'You should go' I said and rubbed my eyes. 'If your flight is at 8 and you need to leave the house at 6… You need to wake up at 5. That's very early.'

'Actually, I should wake up at 4.'

'What?'

'My mom checks everything at least three times before we leave. That's why she needs me out of bed by 4, so that she can just run through the house like a tornado without me getting in her way.'

I giggled. 'Well, good thing she's careful…' I said and realized something. My eyes widened. 'You have to wake up at 4…. And it's like 3 now… You need to go to sleep right now, Chad. Otherwise you won't be able to wake up on time and you'll be dead tomorrow.'

'Oh, don't worry about it. I can sleep on the plane' he said and smiled. I knew he just wanted to spend as much time with me as he could, but I had to knock some sense into him.

'Go' I told him and got up. 'I don't want your mom to be mad at you.'

'Alright' He sighed and got up too. He stood in front of me and looked into my eyes.

'I'll miss you too' I said before he even opened his mouth. 'And you'll call me every day, right?'

He smiled. 'I promise.'

'Good. Now bye' I said and kissed him once again. I let him deepen the kiss, but I couldn't have him stay up there for another 15 minutes. I pulled away. 'Call me when you arrive.'

'I will' he promised. 'Bye, Tay.'

'Bye, Chad.'

He kissed my forehead and I watched him go back to his balcony. When he climbed off the tree, he turned to me. I blew him a kiss and he smiled. I went back into my bedroom, lied down on my bed and fell asleep right away.

Taylor M.