Chapter 1 - The First Day

Christian's POV

Another school year always meant another new school. I was expelled from three private schools over the years for fighting. My mother said if I get expelled from another school, I'll be shipped off to military school, non-negotiable. It seems that with my abysmal record, even my parents couldn't buy my way into another private school in Bellevue, so I would be attending Seattle College Prep for my junior year of high school.

My parents tried to do everything in their power to stop me from starting fights at school. All the school counselors said I had major anger issues, so I was forced to see a therapist, which unsurprisingly, hasn't helped me at all.

I think I visited at least five different therapists, and I never felt comfortable with any of them. All they wanted me to do was talk about my past, but I vowed to myself that I'd never let anyone know my darkest secrets. I don't need their pity for my shitty and abusive childhood.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever told anyone about the nightmare my life was like as a child with my drugged-out prostitute of a mother and her pimp who abused me and used me as his ashtray. And I fully intend for it to stay that way, too.

I honestly can't tell you why I got into all those petty fights. I was just so angry – angry with life, angry with myself. I felt undeserving of this amazing family I was given.

I was adopted at the age of four by Carrick Grey and Grace Trevelyan-Grey – a prominent couple in Seattle society. My mother, Dr. Grace Trevelyan-Grey, was the Head of Surgery at the world-renowned hospital, Seattle Grace. My father, Carrick Grey, was a partner at the best law firm on the west coast.

My older brother Elliot was attending college at Yale. He was no doubt the golden child in my parent's eyes. He always had perfect grades and was the star quarterback of his high school football team. He was the living, breathing cliché of every teen romance movie.

My little sister Mia was just the best, though. She had a special quality about her – everyone she met instantly fell in love with her. It must've had something to do with her outgoing and bubbly personality.

And then there was me. A failure. The disappointment of the family. I couldn't control my anger. I drank too much. I started fistfights. The only thing my parents could be proud of was the fact that I had decent grades: A's across the board.

But school was utterly useless for me. Thoughts in my head moved a million miles an hour, and hearing teachers drone on about history and math held no interest for me. I could ace their classes without ever paying attention. It came naturally to me.

Anyways, back to my family. We were all adopted, but somehow, I was the only one who was fucked up in the head. None of my siblings seemed to deal with any of the shit that went on in my brain. It was probably because they were fortunate to be adopted before they could remember anything.

Both Mia and Elliot were adopted as babies. They had teenage mothers who wanted a better life for their children than they could have provided. I, on the other hand, was 4, and burned into my brain were the memories of the pimp beating me, burning me with his cigarettes. But the worst memory of all... Holding my mother's hand while she was stone cold and dead, begging, pleading for her to wake up.

My birth mother overdosed on drugs, probably cocaine or heroin. I sat next to my dead mother for what seemed like days. When the pimp finally came to our apartment, he at least had the decency to call the police.

I would always be eternally grateful for my angel, Grace Grey. When the EMT brought me to the hospital to be examined, Grace was the one who found me. And she saved me. And now look how I turned out. A fucking failure to my parents. This just proved how unworthy I was. I didn't deserve to be a part of this family. I didn't deserve my angel of a mother. Grace truly saved my life, and I chose to repay her by fighting and getting expelled from school.

Damn, I needed to turn myself around, didn't I? New year. New me. Right? Hopefully, no one at this school has heard about my past. I needed to change. And change fast. If not for my sake, then for my family's sake. No more drinking. No more fights. I could do this.

It was 7:00 AM on the dot.

I was contemplating why I had already been awake for 3 hours spewing out thoughts about my life?

It was a simple answer, really. I was absolutely terrified of sleep. Sleep only brought nightmares, vivid ones about the pimp beating me and burning me with his cigarettes. Those memories left me frozen in place in bed, and I let the alarm keep ringing.

"Christian dear, are you awake?" my mother's voice snapped me out of my trance as she knocked on the door.

I turned off the alarm and replied, "Yes mother; I'm awake. You can come in."

She opened the door and greeted me with a warm smile. "Good morning darling. I have breakfast ready for you downstairs. School starts at 8, so you should probably leave by 7:30 to be safe. You don't want to be late on your first day. Seattle Prep is a farther drive than your previous schools in Bellevue. I know you just got your driver's license. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

I gave her the best smile I could muster and said, "Good morning mother. I think I'll be fine to drive myself. I'll be down for breakfast in a few minutes."

"Oh, I almost forgot," my mother stated, "I had your uniform pressed. It's hanging in the closet."

"Thanks, mom," I curtly replied.

My mother gave me another smile, this time more encouraging, and she headed back downstairs. She was definitely praying that I'd be able to stay at this school until I graduate. Here's to hoping!

I knew I couldn't fuck up this time. My parents were serious about sending me to military school. They weren't bluffing. My father wanted to send me right after I got kicked out of my last school, but Grace convinced him to give me another chance. My father relented, so Seattle Prep would be my last chance.

I was hoping that I could stay under the radar this year. At all of my previous schools, I was the one people pointed at, the one people gossiped about. I was the boy who was always alone. The boy who had no friends. The boy who could kick your ass in a fight. But this year, I was determined that it would all change. I wasn't going to allow myself to become a source of gossip for idiotic high school kids.

I was going to do my work with my head down and try to avoid fighting at all costs. That meant I needed to stay away from the alcohol. I really needed to sort out my shit to prove my parents wrong. I wasn't the disappointment they thought I was.

I got out of bed and grabbed my uniform from my closet. It was the standard private school uniform: khaki pants and a white, long-sleeve button-down. Fuck, there was even a tie. How pretentious! I begrudgingly put on the uniform along with the tie and went to the bathroom to fix my hair and brush my teeth.

When I walked downstairs for breakfast, I saw Mia sitting at the breakfast bar talking mom's ear off about all the clubs and activities she was planning for this year. Mia was going to be a freshman at Bellevue Academy this year. She was so excited to finally be in high school.

"I think I'm going to join cheer. The uniforms are so cute! Oh, and maybe I can run for a position on the student council. I think I can be useful to help plan all the big events like homecoming and prom…" Mia's overexcited self babbled to mom.

I took the seat next to her where there was already a plate full of french toast and fresh fruit waiting for me.

"Hey Chrissy," Mia said much too enthusiastically for the morning. And she called me Chrissy. Ugh, I hated that. But she was the only person who could get away with it.

"Hey, Mia. Are you excited for your first day?" I decided to indulge her.

She then started telling me the exact same thing she was telling mom. I pretended to listen to her while I ate my breakfast.

Thank God mom interrupted, "Mia sweetie, I think it's time for Christian to leave. He has a much further drive than you do. You can tell him all about your first day when you get home from school."

And there was another reason to be eternally grateful for Grace Grey – helping me escape from Mia's constant blabbing. I grabbed the keys to my car and wished Mia good luck on her first day of high school.

I picked up my backpack and headed for the garage. Before I opened the door that led to the garage, Grace stopped me. "Christian, a word please?"

I sighed and turned to face her, "Yes, mother?"

"I need you to behave yourself. Your father is serious about sending you to military school," she said.

I relented, "I know mom. I'm going to try. No more fights, no more drinking, none of it."

She came to embrace me and was careful not to touch any of my boundaries. Oh, did I forget to mention that I couldn't be touched? Any time someone touched my upper back or chest, I saw red. It was definitely a side effect of being abused by the pimp day after day.

Finally, I got into my dark grey Audi R8 and drove to school. I knew it was an extravagant car for a 17-year-old, but it was a gift from my maternal grandfather, Theodore Trevelyan, right after I got my driver's license. Grandpa T had the same car, and he saw how much I loved it when he used to take me for joyrides.

My dad freaked out over the gift, though. He didn't want his son to look like a spoiled brat, and he wanted to return the car. Grandpa T eventually convinced him that I should keep the car. It was a gift after all, and my dad was always unable to stand up to his father-in-law. Rumor has it, Carrick wasn't the first choice for his daughter. But regardless, it's not like my dad had any ground to stand on. He drove a Bentley for goodness sake.

It took me about 20 minutes to cross the bridge into Seattle and another 5 minutes before I pulled into the school's parking lot. I was in the reserved lot, no doubt for the kids whose parents donated plenty of money to the school. I was assigned spot number 102, and it was right at the front of the school's entrance. Fuck, how much money did my parents donate to this school?!

In front of the parking spot, there was a bronze plaque that read: "RESERVED: C. GREY." I pulled into my spot right in between a midnight blue Maserati reserved for A. Steele and a cherry red BMW M5 reserved for K. Kavanagh.

I grabbed my backpack from the trunk and headed for the school's administrative offices. Since I was a new student, they were making me pick up my schedule, which was aligned with someone else's so they would be able to show me around for the first few days.

Ana's POV

For as long as I could remember, I was always excited about the first day back to school, and today was no exception. I was going to be a junior this year, head of the cheer team, and student body president. What could I say, I was a natural queen bee.

Some things you needed to know about me:

I was seventeen years old and was an only child. My parents divorced when I was four years old. My "father," Raymond Steele, technically wasn't my real father, as in we weren't biologically related. However, he was the only dad I'd ever known, and he loved me like his own daughter.

My biological father died before I was born. He was in the army and was killed in combat. That's where my mother came in. Carla Adams married my biological father, Franklin Lambert after she found out she was pregnant with me. Sadly, he was killed in battle and left my mom alone with a child to care for. Ray and Franklin were good friends in the army, so that's how he and my mother met. Long story short, they got married then subsequently got divorced. My dad would never say anything like this, but my mother was and still is a gold digger.

My mother came from a struggling working-class family. Ray, on the other hand, came from a well-off family. They weren't filthy rich, but they were very comfortable, with both of his parents working in the professional fields. My mother never really loved Ray; she saw him as an opportunity to give herself an easy, comfortable life. My parent's marriage tumbled when Ray caught my mother cheating on him with the man who became her third husband, Steven Morton.

Ray immediately filed for divorce, and there was a messy custody battle. Since Ray adopted me when they married, he had just as much legal right to me as my mother did, and the court found Ray more fit to take care of me than my mother, although she was granted visiting rights. sfter all, Staying with my dad was the best thing for me because my mother ended up in the hospital and filed sexual abuse and rape claims against her third husband. I shuddered to think of what he might have done to me had I gone to live with my mother.

After Steven, my mom didn't know what to do with herself for a while. The divorce settlement with my dad left her with an ample amount of money, but my dad encouraged her to find a job and settle down somewhere. She ended up in Georgia with husband number four who was a good 20 years older than her, Bob Adams. Talk about a sugar daddy! My mom practically took care of him, but I supposed money was the only thing that mattered to her. I didn't even think she cared much about me. Even with the encouragement and monetary assistance from my father, she never wanted to come see me on holidays or birthdays. It was always just Ray and me, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, now more about my dad. He was honorably discharged from the army when I was about two years old. After the military, my dad opened a private security company, which became pretty successful. I'm talking about hundreds of millions of dollars successful. More recently, my dad was summoned to work for the White House as the National Security Advisor. One of his best friends from the army, Fitzgerald Grant, happened to be the president.

Initially, my dad planned to move both of us to Washington D.C. He had a place lined up for us and got me admitted to Sidwell Friends School. However, I told my dad I didn't want to leave Seattle, so he said he wasn't going to take the job. After insisting that he needed to take the job and would regret it if he didn't, my dad made the move to D.C., and I was living in Seattle on my own. No doubt, my dad was having his security goons keep an eye on me from time to time.

My dad also got me an amazing penthouse in Seattle in a building named Escala. I still got to go to Seattle Prep, and my best friend was still the one and only Kate Kavanagh. I was one to admit that I led an extraordinarily privileged life. Most teenagers didn't have their own penthouse, drive hundred thousand dollar cars, and have millions of dollars of money to spend. But that was my reality.

Today was the first day of school, so I set my alarm clock for 6:00 AM. School started at 8, but I needed plenty of time to get ready. After all, first impressions were the ones that stuck.

At 6 AM on the dock, I shot out of bed and bolted for the bathroom. I took the time to do my daily skincare routine: La Mer cleansing foam, Sisley toner, Saint Laurent serum, Cle de Peau eye cream, La Mer moisturizer, and to finish it all off, Chanel sunscreen. Did I mention I was high maintenance?

After skincare, I moved on to makeup. I didn't wear much makeup because the truth be told, I didn't need it. Not to sound self-absorbed, but I wasn't afraid to admit that I was a natural beauty. I was blessed in the looks department. Kate always told me how every guy at school was dying to go out with me, but honestly, I'd never met anyone I was interested in. Kate was always joking that I was asexual and that I'd be a virgin forever. She was always so dramatic!

Anyways, back to the makeup. I didn't need much, so I filled in my eyebrows a little and used concealer to cover up some dark circles under my eyes. I checked myself out in the mirror and was satisfied, so it was onto hair next!

I brushed out all the tangles and fixed my part. I decided to leave it straight instead of curls – I thought I would come off more sophisticated that way.

I went back to my room and opened the enormous walk-in closet. Usually, it took me forever to find a suitable outfit, but lucky for me, the school had uniforms! I put on the obligatory plaid skirt and white blouse and paired it with my favorite Gucci pumps and a headband that matched the color scheme of the plaid.

After all that, I went downstairs to fix myself breakfast. I decided to go with something light, so I grabbed a yogurt from the fridge and cut up some fresh fruit.

By the time I gathered all my things and got my backpack, it was almost time to leave. I picked up the keys to my car and took the elevator down to the garage.

When I got to school, I was a little earlier than usual, so not too many kids were here. I drove to my usual parking spot reserved for me. Kate usually had the spot next to mine, but this year someone named C. Grey had it. Hmm, I'd never heard that name before. Must be a new student.

Oh, that reminded me! I was supposed to be showing around a new student for a few days. That meant I had to go to the office to pick them up. I was kind of excited for this new student. We needed some fresh faces around here.

On my walk to the courtyard, I called Kate to see where she was. It was 7:35, so she probably wouldn't be here for another 5 or 10 minutes. She picked up on the first ring and told me that she was pulling into the parking lot. Even though we just came back from our Europe trip a few days ago, I missed her.

When I got to the courtyard, there were already plenty of students who were chatting and catching up. I spotted some of the girls on the cheer team and went to talk to them. A few minutes later Kate joined us. She was on the cheer team too, and all the girls were talking about how excited they were for the new season to start. I seemed to lose track of time talking to the girls, and when I checked my phone, I realized it was already 7:50. Shit! I needed to pick up that new student. I politely excused myself and quickly walked to the administrative offices.

Christian's POV

When I walked into the office, an amiable middle-aged woman greeted me. She perked up at my entrance and said, "You must be Christian Grey. We're so excited to have you this year. I'm Ms. Ross; it's so nice to meet you."

Yeah, you were excited that my parents donated a shit ton of money.

I responded, "Hello Ms. Ross. It's nice to meet you too. I was told I needed to pick up my schedule here."

"Yes, of course. I have that for you right here," she said while handing me a folder, "Your schedule is in there along with our dress code and other school policies. There's also a schedule for the athletic tryouts this week if you were interested in joining a sports team. A student volunteered to show you around the campus for the first few days. You guys have the same schedule. She should be here any minute. You can take a seat while you wait."

I smiled at her, took a seat on the leather couch, and fiddled with my phone. A couple of minutes went by before someone popped through the door. She was about 5'8'' with a very slim figure. She had thick, long mahogany hair, and her legs seemed to go on for days. She was wearing a fitted white blouse and a plaid skirt. She was also wearing Gucci heels along with a matching headband. Christ, Mia! She's got me all knowledgeable about women's fashion from just listening to her at the dinner table drone on and on about the latest designers.

But back to this girl… Her body was fucking perfect. Her little perky tits were just the right size. They would fit perfectly in my hands. FUCK GREY! Get your head out of the fucking gutter. A girl that looked like that would never go for you.

"Hi Ms. Ross," the girl exclaimed, "How was your summer?" Ms. Ross jumped out from behind her desk to hug the girl.

"Anastasia, it's so lovely to see you. My summer was anything but relaxing. You know how energetic and crazy my kids are. I barely got a break in. What about you?" Ms. Ross asked.

"Summer was amazing," she replied. Damn, that girl had the voice of an angel. And her name was Anastasia. Quite a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Fuck, I haven't even seen her face yet. Calm your dick down Grey!

Anastasia continued, "I spent some time with my father in DC and then it was off to Europe with Kate."

"That sounds lovely," Ms. Ross replied. "Oh, I have the new student here." She motioned to me, and I got up from the couch.

Anastasia turned around to look at me and DOUBLE FUCK! A gorgeous pair of brown doe eyes and rosy pouty lips hit me. "Anastasia, this is Christian Grey. Christian this is Anastasia Steele. She'll be showing you around."

She extended her hand out to me, but I was too busy staring at her. Fuck snap out of it! It took an awkward moment for me to extend my hand out to her. Fuck, even her hands were dainty and perfectly manicured.

"Hi Christian, it's so nice to meet you," she said.

I barely spit out, "Likewise."

Ms. Ross interjected the introductions and said, "Well, I should let you kids get on with it. Class starts in a few minutes. Have a great first day guys."

We both smiled and said thank you before exiting the office. I had no idea what to say to this girl. Her beauty was rendering me speechless.

Anastasia started walking, presumably to our first class. Before the silence became too awkward, Anastasia began the conversation. "So, Christian, do you live in Seattle?"

Nervously, I replied, "No, Bellevue."

"Oh, is there a reason why you're not attending school in Bellevue?"

Fuck, that question kind of hit a nerve and I rudely replied, "I'd rather not talk about it." Grey, come on. That was fucking rude!

Anastasia looked shocked at my response, and I apologized, "Sorry, that was rather short. It wasn't a good situation, and I'd rather not talk about it."

She turned to look me in the eyes and gave me a soft smile. "No worries Christian; I'm not one to judge. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Thanks for understanding," I said, gratefully.

We continued walking to class, and I realized that I hadn't checked my schedule yet. I had no idea what class I had first.

"Anastasia," I began, "what class do we have first?"

"AP Calc BC," she replied, "The class is mostly seniors. I think we might be the only two juniors in this class. Mr. Warner teaches it. You'll love him. He's one of my favorite teachers. You can call me Ana by the way. Anastasia makes me feel like my father is chastising me."

She let out one of the cutest chuckles, and I smiled right back at her.

"Okay, Ana it is then," I said.

We continued walking for a little while and stopped when we reached one of the buildings. "This is Buckley Hall. All the math classes are here. We also have AP Statistics here fourth period. I'm not sure if you had the chance to look through your schedule yet, but all of our classes are 45 minutes long, and we have eight periods."

"Thanks for letting me know. So our schedule is exactly the same?" I asked her.

"Yep," she replied and led me through the doors.

There were already students walking about, a buzz in the air no doubt because it was the first day of school. Walking through the halls, pretty much everyone took the opportunity to say hi to Ana. Damn, this girl must be popular.

"I'll introduce you to some people later. We have second period free. A lot of my friends do too, so you can meet them," she said to me.

I replied, "Thank you, that's very nice of you."

When we walked into our classroom, I saw that most of the seats were already filled. There were two seats front and center and two seats in the back corner. I was inclined to take those seats in the back, but just to my luck, Ana led us to the two unoccupied seats in the front of the classroom.

We took our seats and put our stuff down. Ana said to me, "I'll be right back. I'm just going to say hi to someone."

She walked over to a blonde girl sitting two rows behind us, and they quickly fell into a very animated conversation. I took a look around the classroom at the other students. A few nerds were occupying the other seats in the front, an assortment of other kids occupied the middle seats, and guys who one would label as "jocks" were in the back. How typical! And to top it all off, guess who those guys were staring at? Ana, of course. Fuck, that shit made my blood boil. Fuck Grey, you literally just met her!

Anyways, I forgot to mention some things about me, didn't I? I pretty much fit the stereotypical 'jock' body type and look. Not to be narcissistic or anything, but I was a good looking guy. I guess God had to reward me with something good. If I had such a shitty personality, at least I had good looks. I had caramel colored hair and grey eyes. I was fairly tall at 6'3,'' and I had a toned body. All that anger really lent itself well to the gym.

Anyhow, those jock fuckers didn't intimidate me one bit. I might not have been on the varsity football team, but I could sure as hell kick anyone's ass in a fight.

Ana returned to her seat next to me when the teacher walked into the room and took out her materials for class: a Louis Vuitton notebook and a matching pencil case, both monogrammed. Fuck, this girl was any guy's wet dream.

I took out my supplies as well, with no intention of taking notes.

The teacher made his way to the front of the room and began talking.

"Hey guys, I hope all your summers were enjoyable. For those of you who don't already know me, I'm Mr. Warner. Before we start, I'd like to make a note of a new student, Mr. Christian Grey." Oh, fuck. Just great. So much for trying to stay under the radar. I hoped none of my other teachers did this.

Mr. Warner scanned the room, presumably looking for me. When he saw me, he said, "Christian is sitting right here up front next to Miss Anastasia Steele. Please take the time to introduce yourself throughout the day."

I could feel the eyes of all my classmates on me and started to feel very uncomfortable. God, I wished I could sink into my seat and disappear.

Everyone's interest seemed to turn back to the teacher and off me when he started talking about the syllabus and class expectations, and blah blah blah.

Anastasia was dutifully taking notes in the cutest bubbly handwriting I'd ever seen. I found myself staring at her terribly cute concentrated face. She turned her head up to look at me, no doubt sensing my stare. I was caught red-handed as her eyes met mine. Bashfully, I darted my head down to my unopened notebook and tried to pretend that I wasn't staring at her all along. However, that didn't seem to fool her as I heard her let out a small chuckle.

Ana's POV

When I got to the office, I immediately greeted the school's counselor. "Hi, Ms. Ross! How was your summer?"

She told me about her hectic summer with her kids and asked me how mine was in return. I gave her a short answer and told her about visiting my father in D.C. and my trip to Europe with Kate.

Then, she mentioned the new student I was supposed to be showing around and motioned to the person behind me. I didn't even notice him! I turned around to a stunning, well-built, well over 6 ft mass of a man. Shit, this guy is hot!

Nervously, I held out my hand to greet him. Ms. Ross said his name was Christian Grey. What a sexy name to go along with a sexy man. Since when did I start thinking about guys this way! Ana, what were you thinking?!

"Nice to meet you," I said with my hand held out waiting for him to shake it.

A few moments later he finally shook my hand and muttered something inaudible. Hm, must be shy or nervous about being at a new school, especially junior year when everyone already had their friend groups established. I knew I wanted to try to make him as comfortable as I could, and I decided I would introduce him to as many people here, so he'd feel welcomed. Oh, I could even invite him to the party this weekend! Good idea Ana!

We left the office and started to walk to class in complete silence. Think of something to say, Ana!

Impulsively, words started spewing out of my mouth. "So, Christian, do you live in Seattle?" It was quite odd that I'd never seen him in any of my social circles. Maybe he just moved into town? It was very rare to have new students at Seattle Prep junior year.

He replied, "No, Bellevue."

"Oh, is there a reason why you're not attending school in Bellevue?" I asked. His body immediately tensed, and he spat out, "I'd rather not talk about it." Shit, did I do something wrong! Oh God Ana, think of something to say!

Before I could say anything else Christian piped back in, "Sorry, that was rather short. It wasn't a good situation, and I'd rather not talk about it."

I wondered what happened to him. This boy was very mysterious, but somehow that turned me on.

I asserted, "No worries Christian; I'm definitely not one to judge. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I wanted to make him feel as comfortable as possible here.

"Thanks for understanding," he replied.

I gave him a warm smile, and we continued walking across the expansive campus to class.

Surprisingly, Christian asked me a question. "Anastasia, what class do we have first?"

He must not have had a chance to check his schedule yet. I replied, "AP Calc BC." I explained to him how the class would be all seniors except us. I also told him about the teacher, Mr. Warner, who was one of my absolute favorites. I also told him to call me Ana. Anastasia was much too long, and it's what my dad called me when I was in trouble.

When we reached the math building, I gave Christian a mini-spiel about the building. "So, this is Buckley Hall. All the math classes are here. We also have AP Statistics here fourth period."

That's when I remembered that he probably didn't get to look over his schedule, so I informed him that all the periods were 45 minutes long and there were eight periods every day. He also asked if our schedules were the same, and I confirmed that they were.

On the way to our classroom, a lot of people in the hall said hi to me. Christian must have felt a bit awkward, so I definitely needed to introduce him to some people soon. I told him that since we had second period free, I'd get the chance to introduce him to some of my friends.

When we walked into the classroom together, most of the seats were already taken. Being the good student that I was, I darted straight to the front where there were two open seats right in the center. I hope Christian didn't mind. We set our stuff down, and I saw Emily, one of the girls on the cheer team.

I told Christian, "I'll be right back. I'm just going to say hi to someone."

I went over to where Emily was sitting, and she gave me a big hug. "Ana, it's so good to see you," she exclaimed.

"It's great to see you too Emily. I just wanted to remind you that cheer practice starts tomorrow," I said.

Emily replied, "Yes, Ana. I know. But what I really need to know is who is that hottie you walked in with? I've never seen him around."

"That's because he's a new student," I quipped.

Emily giggled, "Well, damn that boy is fine. I would totally hit that."

I laughed along with her, knowing she was kidding. Deep down though, I was a little annoyed that she made a comment like that. I already called dibs on Christian!

I lightly hit her on the shoulder and chastised her, "Emily! Don't say things like that with people around."

She laughed at me and said, "I missed you Ana Banana. You better get back to your seat before Warner gets here."

I took a look at the clock and saw that class was about to start. I told Emily that we would catch up more later and went back to my seat next to Christian.

I took out my notebook and pencil case so I was ready to take notes once Mr. Warner started class.

When Christian reached into his backpack to take out his supplies, I took the time to stare at his muscular arms through his shirt. I felt myself starting to bite my lip involuntarily. God, Ana! Stop drooling over him; he's going to think you're a desperate hussy!

A few moments later, Mr. Warner walked in and started talking. He introduced himself and made a note of Christian as a new student. I could sense Christian's uneasiness, as everyone in the class looked at him. He wasn't one for attention, unlike me.

Mr. Warner started droning on and on about the syllabus and class expectations. To look like a dutiful student, I took notes, unlike Christian who hasn't even opened his notebook.

In my peripheral vision, I thought I saw Christian staring at me. I had to know for sure, so I tilted my head back up, and what do you know, our eyes met. He was definitely staring at me. I smiled at him, but that caused him to turn away from me, and he finally opened his notebook to pretend to take notes. I let out a light giggle due to the fact that he was so embarrassed at being caught staring.

Christian's POV

Math was tedious, to say the least. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to pay attention because of the mesmerizing girl sitting next to me.

After Mr. Warner dismissed us from class, Ana brought me to the courtyard to meet some of her friends. I wasn't the most sociable guy to say the least, so this was probably going to be a little awkward for me at first.

Ana and I walked over to a table, presumably filled with all her friends.

"Hey, guys," Ana said to them, while I followed behind her. She continued, "This is Christian. He's new this year."

They all said hi to me as Ana introduced me to everyone sitting at the table. There was Kate Kavanagh, Natalie Davis, Josh Reilly, Luke Evans, and Alex Spence.

Natalie scooched over a little to make room for both Ana and me and said to us, "Come sit, guys."

Ana and I both made our way to where Natalie was sitting and took our seats. They immediately began a conversation about what they did over the summer. I was naturally an introvert, so I just listened to their conversation, not feeling like it was my place to comment about what I did over the summer.

Ana tried to bring me into the conversation a couple of times, but in all honesty, I felt super awkward around all these people who were complete strangers to me.

45 minutes flew by pretty fast with everyone's non-stop chatting, which reminded me of Mia. Quickly, they all dispersed into different directions on the way to their next class. Meanwhile, I followed Ana's lead to our next class.

"We have English next," she said, and I nodded at her.

"You're not too comfortable around all those people are you?" she asked, already seeming to know the answer.

Crap, how did she know? She was very observant. I thought about lying to her, and telling her that I wasn't feeling well right now, but my conscience kicked in, and I decided to tell her the truth.

"Yeah," I replied, "I'm not a social butterfly."

She gave me a sympathetic smile and led the way to our next class.

Ana's POV

At the end of the school day, I asked Christian, "Do you play any sports?"

"No, I don't," he responded.

I was surprised. Judging from his body type and build, he looked like he was a football player or something of that sort.

"They're having football tryouts today," I informed him. "You look like a football player," I giggled and regretted saying it right after it came out of my mouth. Way to go, Ana, now he's going to know you've been looking at his body all day!

He laughed at my comment and said, "I do work out a lot, but sports aren't my thing. My older brother, Elliot, used to play football though. He's the quarterback for the Yale team this year."

Okay, so he had a brother, good to know. "Do you have any other siblings?" I asked.

"I have a little sister, Mia. She's a freshman in high school this year. What about you, any brothers or sisters?" he inquired.

"Nope, it's just me," I answered.

It was then I heard my stomach start to grumble. "Do you want to grab some food with me? I'm starving," I asked.

I was hoping he wouldn't say no because that would have been awkward. And we only just met today. Crap! Is he going to think this is a date? I mean, I'd love to go on a date with him, but really Ana! Be subtle, not desperate!

I expected him to say that he had to get home, but to my surprise, he said, "Sure."

I was giddy on the inside, and my stomach was full of butterflies. More time with Christian and his hot body!

"Where'd you park?" I asked.

"I think I'm parked right next to you," he said, "I saw your name in the reserved spot when I pulled in this morning."

Oh, I remember now. That spot was for him. He must come from a wealthy family then.

"Do you want to drive together or separately?" I asked him.

"It's probably best to drive together, right? I can drive and then drop you off back here to pick up your car? Is that okay with you?" he replied.

"Sounds good," I said.

We walked together in silence to the reserved parking lot. Holy crap, look at his car! A spyder! That car made my car look like a piece of junk.

"Oh my god! You have a spyder?!" I exclaimed.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm and opened the door for me. Okay, swoon already. Someone taught this boy some manners.

He got into the driver's seat after me and turned on the engine, making that signature sports car 'vroom vroom' sound.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked.

Oops, I might have forgotten about that part. I thought of all the restaurants around here. "There's a good diner near here. I'm craving burgers and fries right now."

"I pegged you for a salad kind of girl," he quipped.

I laughed at his joke and said, "A girl needs to eat real food, you know."

We both laughed at each other before Christian started to pull out of the parking lot.

"I can give you directions," I commented.

"Thanks," he replied.

Christian's POV

I couldn't believe Anastasia asked me to get food with her. That meant she actually wanted to spend time with me. Or was she just being nice because I was a new student and she felt bad for me? Whatever the reason, I was excited to spend more time with her.

When we got to the restaurant, there weren't that many people there. It was 3:45 on a Monday after all.

I opened the door for Ana and told the hostess, "For two."

She led us to a booth, and we both sat down. The hostess gave us the menus and told us our server would be with us soon.

"I'm so getting a milkshake," Ana remarked. God, she's so adorable.

When our server came, we both ordered a cheeseburger with fries, a chocolate milkshake for me and a vanilla one for her.

Ana said something to me, but I was distracted by my phone ringing. I checked the caller ID and, crap, it was my mother. I forgot to tell her I was going out. She must have been wondering where I was.

"Do you mind if I take this?" I asked her. "It's my mom."

"Go ahead," she said.

"Hey, mom! What's up?"

"Where are you, sweetie?"

"I went out to lunch with a new friend."

Grace gasped at the mention of a new friend. "That's so great sweetie. I'm glad you're making friends."

"Okay mom," I said before she could gush more about me finally making a friend. "I'll be home in an hour or so."

"Have a nice time darling, love you."

"You too mom," I said before hanging up the phone.

"Sorry," I apologized to Ana, "My mom's very nosy."

She smiled at me and commented, "I think it's cute your mom's so concerned about you."

"Tell me about your family," I declared.

"My dad's working for the president in Washington D.C. right now, and my mom lives in Georgia with her husband," Ana responded.

She looked a bit upset at the mention of her mother. Probably best not to press it any further.

"So you're living all alone?" I asked.

"Yeah. I have an apartment in Seattle," she answered.

"You must get lonely by yourself," I remarked.

"It does at times, but Kate keeps me company," she replied, "Anyways, enough about me. Tell me more about your family. What do your mom and dad do?"

"My mom's a doctor, and my dad's a lawyer," I stated proudly. "I already told you about my siblings Mia and Elliot, right?" I asked.

"You did," she affirmed.

She looked like she was just about to ask me another question when our waiter came with our food.

Ana's POV

After the waiter brought us our food, Christian and I started talking about anything and everything.

Somehow we got onto the topic of The Notebook.

"You like The Notebook?" I giggled.

"Hey, don't make fun of me," he laughed, "I was forced to watch it with my little sister. And I have to admit it's not bad."

"I never would have pegged you as someone who was into chick flicks," I teased.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," he joked.

I heard my phone buzz, so I picked it up and saw the time. It was already 6? I can't believe we spent that much time talking. We completely lost track of time!

"Oh my gosh, Christian it's already 6!" I commented.

"I probably have to get home before my mother starts wondering about me again," he said.

When the waiter came by again, we asked him for the check. Christian pulled out a 50 dollar bill, and I said, "You don't have to pay for me." I pulled out some money of my own.

Christian gave the waiter the money before I could. "If my mom knew I let you pay, she'd slap me silly," he said.

"I guess chivalry isn't dead," I laughed, grinning from ear to ear.

Christian's POV

After I dropped Ana off back at school, I went home. I couldn't believe we talked for that long. Usually, I was uncomfortable and closed off around people I'd just met, but she just seemed to bring out something different in me.

I walked into the kitchen to grab some water, and my mom was already working on dinner.

"Hey mom," I greeted her.

"Christian, dear, how was your first day?" she questioned.

I gave my mom the obligatory answer, "It was good."

"And tell me about this friend you've made. You are home awfully late. Did you guys have a good time?" she asked.

"We kind of lost track of time, mom," I replied.

"What's his name, sweetie," she asked, probably ruling out the possibility of me making friends with a girl.

"It's actually a she. Her name's Ana. She was the one assigned to show me around school the first few days," I answered.

My mom had a look of shock on her face. She probably couldn't believe I made a friend, let alone a female one. "That's great sweetie. You'll have to bring her over for dinner one day. I'd love to meet her," my mom said, going a little crazy that I made a friend.

"Mom, I just met her. Let's hold off on a family dinner for now," I said.

"I'm just happy for you, that's all darling," she reasoned.

Ana's POV

After lunch, Christian dropped me off at school to pick up my car. On the way home, I could barely focus on driving because I was thinking about him.

Does he like me? I mean he seemed engaged when we were talking. We were flirting, or was that all in my mind? Gahh!

When I got home, I called Kate, and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, Ana Banana," she greeted.

"Hey, Kate," I responded.

"Where'd you go after school today?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you. I went out to lunch with Christian. You remember him, right? He's the new kid," I replied.

"The smoking hot tall one?" she asked.

I laughed and answered, "Yes, that one."

"Okay, go Ana Banana. You get it girl!"

"Kate!" I admonished her.

"I'm just joking Ana. But are you actually into him?"

Nervously, I replied, "Is it bad to say I am?"

"Go for it Ana," she encouraged, "There's no way he would shoot you down."

"I hope so. Thanks for the pep talk Kate. I needed it."

"No problem. I'll talk to you more about this tomorrow."

"Definitely. Bye Kate!"

"Bye Ana," she repeated as she ended the call.