Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Cress's POV:

Codes and Crushes

I frantically run around my house, searching for all the school supplies scattered haphazardly in pretty much every room. Hey, I like having a change in scenery when I'm doing my homework! And when you take tutoring and extension classes, plus extra credit assignments, that's a lot of changes in scenery.

"Cress, I understand that it helps for you to move to a different room when you're working," My dad sighs as he checks his emails, "but can you at least avoid messing up my work when your tearing up the house trying to find everything?"

I pause in my digging through the mess of papers scattered on the dining room table to process the stern look Dad's giving me.

"Sorry Dad," I mumble, face flushed with embarrassment. He nods and tugs a single sheet of paper out from the pile. Just one glance at the neat lines of ones and zeroes marching across it is enough to make me grin with relief and delight. My Computer Science project!

I take it eagerly and hug my dad as tightly as I possibly can.

"Cress," He wheezes, "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry Dad." I say again.

He dramatically gasps for air as I let him go and I giggle. Dad can be quite the comedian when he wants to be.

I give a passing glance at the rest of the papers as I stuff my Computer Science project into my backpack. There's everything from electricity bills to patient records and medication prescriptions. Being a combined doctor and psychiatric, Dad's generally very busy, and can't always afford to be organised. I guess that's why he doesn't scold me for my own messy habits.

I pick up the notepad he uses for taking notes on his psychiatric patients. He mentioned last night that he's doing some parent-child counselling and I'm a bit curious as to why they didn't just go to a support group. The first page of notes is enough to tell why. These people have one messed up relationship! Apparently the father is neglectful and lazy and doesn't seem to be capable of holding a steady job, and the daughter is short-tempered and quite frankly hates her father. She actually slapped him during their session! I can't imagine hurting my Dad on purpose! Then again, he's not an alcoholic.

"Cress, would you mind not reading about the personal lives of my patients?"

I hurriedly drop the notebook and stare down at my feet. I know I shouldn't be reading my dad's notes, but it's really hard to ignore them when they're just lying on the dining table!

Dad shuts his computer and starts gathering up the papers.

"The girl attends your school you know." He mentions suddenly, "Her name is Scarlet Benoit. Try talking to her, you could use some new friends."

I nervously play with one of my long strands of hair. I highly doubt that this "Scarlet" will want to be my friend.

"Maybe I can ask her to go easy on you during your sessions?" I ask my dad, "I mean, it seems like both her and her dad are pretty terrible patients."
"You have no idea." Dad agrees with a roll of his eyes. "I swear, even Kesley's more cooperative! But I think it would be best if I saw the full force of her daddy issues to try and get a better scope on her relationship. The sooner I'm done treating them, the better."

I sit in my usual spot on the bus: the very farthest back corner. Around me my schoolmates gossip and throw paper airplanes and listen to music on their phones. I tug out my laptop and open up my coding app. I start rapidly typing codes, line after line of ones and zeroes that would eventually come to be the building blocks of an artificial intelligence program I've been working on.

I've always felt that technology is my only friend, so, why not make it real? Or as real as it can be when it's made of nothing more than numbers.

I don't have any friends at school. I guess that's what happens when you're awkward and shy and been home-schooled all through primary school. When I first found out I would be attending an actual high school, I was so excited! I envisioned something like the movies, just without all the backstabbing and gossiping. The reality turned out to be much worse. On that first day alone, I was teased mercilessly for my long hair, called "Moony" because my name's Crescent Moon, and had my lunch stolen. Now, I mostly just spend all my time in the computer labs, working on new programmes and coding software.

I hang back as far as possible as the other kids stampede off the bus. I move towards the front doors slowly, almost with dread. When I'm just one step away from pushing them open and going inside, I pause and take a deep breath.

I'm a beautiful actress and I'm about to walk down the red carpet.

Letting a confident smile spread across my face, I open the doors and stride inside the school.

The fantasy shatters within moments of listening to the gossip of students loitering in the hallways.

I reach for my hair and start winding it around my wrists, trying to distract myself from the stares that follow me as I head to my locker. My hair is very, very long, past my knees even, and has become something of a security blanket for me, something to keep me grounded. Even if it is the source of some serious mockery.

I open my locker and check my hairstyle. I've done it in a French braid today. I like doing my hair in fancy styles (one of the advantages of having extremely long hair: there is a vary wide scope for hair styles. I even did it up like Princess Leia once for Halloween!).

Someone taps me on the shoulder and I let out a rather undignified squeak and jump up a foot in the air. As soon as my feet touch solid ground again, I feel my face flame with embarrassment. Come on Cress, quit being so jumpy!

I turn to see who had just given me a heart attack and find myself looking at a stunning girl with long curly red hair.

"Sorry I scared you." she says, though it feels less sincere when her mouth keeps trying to twitch into a smile. "I was wondering if you could tell me where room 52 is? I've got to get there in, like, ten minutes and the last thing I need is a detention on my first week of school."

"Oh, you're new?" I try for a grin as I speak, though I'm pretty sure it comes out as more of a grimace. "Room 52 is with the science labs. Just head up to the second floor then turn right at the English classrooms."

"Thanks." The girl flashes a grin at me and sticks her hand out to shake. "I'm Scarlet by the way. Scarlet Benoit."

I take her hand shyly. I'm not used to people actually being… social with me.

"Crescent Moon Erland. Um, but you can just call me Cress."

Scarlet's eyebrows shoot up as I introduce myself. Great, here comes the teasing.

"Erland huh? That's my therapist's name."

Oh right… Dad said his patient was named Scarlet.

I feel my smile become just a bit more natural, even if it's mostly from relief. "Yeah, he's my father."
"I see he's been complaining about Dad and I."

I have no idea what to say to that. Dad has been a bit of a grouch about his two newest patients. I open and close my mouth, unsure whether to defend him or confirm what Scarlet just said.

Scarlet chuckles and pats me lightly on the shoulder. "Relax, it's totally fine. Dear old Dad and I are pretty terrible patients, and he's told us so to our faces. Apparently, we give him whining rights. Don't ask."

I giggle at this. Dad's often complained about how Dr Pine is the only one who gets to bemoan his bad luck with patients. I'm surprised he didn't brag about his newfound privilege this morning.

"Helloooo Scarlet."

The voice comes from behind me. Once again, I squeal and jump, though my face feels even warmer this time since I actually recognise the voice. Of all the people who had to see my "startled cat" reaction…

I turn around and look up at his sky-blue eyes, his expertly tousled brown hair and easily confident smirk. His shoulders are broad, his build fit and strong. I'm willing to bet I could've drawn a perfect picture of him with my eyes closed, I've seen that perfect face so many times (if not always in the real world). Carswell Thorne: trouble-maker, thrower of epic parties and my crush since I first walked into English class.

While I'm struggling to remember how to breathe, Scarlet rolls her eyes at him.

"And hello idiot."

Thorne chuckles and winks at her. Meanwhile, I'm busy trying to wish myself invisible so Thorne won't see my face, which I'm ninety-percent sure has turned an embarrassing shade of tomato red. Ugh, why did he have to be so perfect?

His blue eyes flit over to me. I expect them to just pass right on over me. After all, that's what they do every other time. Instead, Thorne grins down at me, flashing the most perfect pearly-white teeth I've ever seen.

"I see you've met the school's own master-hacker." Thorne says to Scarlet. "Cress here could probably break into the FBI database if she wanted to. Good thing she's also got a perfect little heart of gold, else we'd probably be stooped in nuclear war right now."

I feel my eyes go impossibly wide. Thorne knows that I'm good with computers? He thinks I have a perfect golden heart? He knows my name?

My mind is still swimming with these revelations when Thorne speaks again. "I'm having a party this weekend. Can I count on you two lovelies coming? There'll be pizza!"

My heart's pounding so fast I swear that it would just sound like a steady hum if anyone bothered to check. Did Thorne just call me lovely?

Scarlet shrugs. "Sure, why not."

Thorne looks at me expectantly.

Half a second spent gazing into those beautiful blue orbs and I'm a goner.

"Of course!"

A/N: Oh dear, sweet Cress… what have you just gotten into?

So here's chapter 4! I really struggled to come up with a name for this one since it didn't really have as much of a recurring theme or point of focus like the others, but I think that the name I eventually settled on was pretty fitting.

What did ya'll think of Cress (or should I say Cresswell) in this chappie? I enjoyed writing Cress's attraction for Thorne and Thorne's semi-attraction for Cress (please note: just because it's only a semi-attraction now doesn't mean it won't grow to be more in the future ;) )

And for all of you who are wondering why I'm bringing up Thorne's party so much, it's because it is actually pretty important to this story. Feel free to guess why, 'cus I'm not telling! (I'm evil that way)

Please review!