I don't own the idea of the TiMER but everything else, yeah, I'll take credit for. Enjoy the new chapter!

I didn't speak to my mom the entire ride to school. I knew she was talking about something, but I wasn't paying attention and was set on looking out the window. There wasn't anything I wanted to talk about with her. If anything, I wished she would have shut up, but I wasn't about to tell her that. That would be a first-class ticket to grounded city.

I mumbled bye to her and started my tek up to the school. Of course, there were a million other kids standing outside on the steps and lawn and of course there were a lot of them that were looking at me. I could have been paranoid, how they know what I look like? I just tucked my head and kept walking. One hundred and seventy nine days left of school. I just had to keep that in mind.

A pat on my back made me jump. "Missed walking to school with you this morning." It was Lexi.

"Mom had an open house this morning and it was on the way, so she drove me. Sorry," I mumbled, not looking up.

"Yeah, your dad said when I knocked on your door. And stupid Spencer is suspended. What. An. Idiot. Anyway, how's love in paradise?" she laughed.

"You mean hell?" I asked.

"Is he that bad? Does he at least kiss well?" she asked back.

"I wouldn't know," I retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"My mom flipped out and thinks it's a mistake. I've barely gotten to talk to the guy."

"Damn, that blows. Makes me glad I don't have a TiMER."

Lexi was lucky. Her parents didn't believe in the TiMER. They came from somewhere where it wasn't the norm to get one. They told Lexi she could have a TiMER if she bought it and since they are expensive Lexi decided it wasn't worth it. Some people consider it weird and abnormal, but I admire it. She was the only person I knew personally my age that didn't have one. Makes me wish my parents didn't believe in the TiMER. At least then I could go to gym class and not feel weird about it. At least then my soccer career wouldn't be in jeopardy.

I almost skipped gym. I thought I would never say that in my entire lifetime. There was a split moment where I thought about walking the opposite direction. The voice in the back of my head however told me to go to class because I was sure to get in trouble otherwise, so I didn't skip. I almost did though. I was dreading it that much.

Walking into the classroom was like walking into a performance and I was the actor. The room got quiet, and everyone stared at me. I just looked around for a moment, not sure if I was supposed to say anything or not and sat against a wall away from everyone. I was early and really didn't feel like conversing with my classmates and it seemed as if no one really cared to talk to me either. This was perfectly fine with me.

I hadn't even noticed Andy was sitting in a chair near the bleachers. There was no music playing and he hadn't stirred the whole time before the bell. He looked a bit tired and unhappy. I was probably the cause of it. And that didn't make me feel any better. The bell seemed to have startled him and he stood up to address the class.

"Sorry we didn't get to start on anything exciting yesterday. Does anyone want to make today even more adventurous? No? Okay. Good. Well. As I said yesterday I am Mr. Jackson. You'll find I have numerous nicknames, but that's neither here nor there. Welcome to P.E. or whatever they call it now days, I feel like it's something different. It's a nice day outside so we are going out to the soccer practice field and having a free play period!" Andy said in a tired and a bit sarcastic tone. Everyone stood with a few grumbles and followed Andy out of the room. I sat still until everyone had left. I didn't want to look too eager to follow. "Coming Miss Parker?"

I mumbled and got up. I guess I probably had to.

"Everything alright Kaylee?" Andy breathed as I followed him out. I shrugged. "Is your mom giving you a hard time?"

"If by hard time you mean she thinks there's something wrong with me than yeah," I spit out, not realizing I had that anger pent up.

"No, she thinks your TiMER has something wrong, not you," Andy stated.

"Yeah, well the TiMER is attached to me, so it's gotta be my fault," I replied.

"Then something must be wrong with me too," he pointed out.

"How so?" I challenged.

"My TiMER went off too, remember?"

He walked off to catch up with the group, leaving me at the tail end. He had a point. His did also go off. It made it seem as if I was being ungrateful and saying I didn't want him for a soulmate.

He probably was really distraught about this in all reality. He grew up with the belief that the TiMER was wrong, got one because people said he was wrong, and now he has a shit end of the deal with it. Most people after their TiMER goes off live happily ever after. He probably wished he'd never gotten the TiMER now. That way he wouldn't have to go through this. Then maybe he would have found someone who he could have been happy with.

When the bell rang to leave class everyone but me bolted off, rushing back to the school and leaving me once more behind. I didn't care though. I did have to speak with Andy, so it gave me the opportunity.

"So," I said, not knowing how to start. I was mindlessly dribbling a ball and trying not to make eye contact with Andy. "My mom is really adamant about this being a mistake. So, she wants to get our TiMERs tested and has set up the appointment with my uncle this afternoon. But don't worry, she won't be there. My dad will. And he believes it isn't a mistake so he's cool. He's a really cool guy. I think you'll like him. But I can't make you do this. So, if you don't want to I'll tell them you can't and that's that."

Andy chuckled. "Do you want me to?

"Huh?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Do you think this is a mistake?" He clarified.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you want it to be a mistake?"

"That's not a fair question."

"Answer it." There was a bit of despair in his voice. I knew that was what was troubling him.

I had to think about it honestly. Could I see myself spending the rest of my life with this guy? He knew soccer and played in college. I knew that's what I wanted to do. He had, as far as I knew, I good taste in music. He seemed to make me smile some. There was a bit of spark behind his eyes that I admired. Maybe I could see that.

"No," I replied. If the TiMER said this was the one, I would trust it.

"Then I'll do it," he said and started walking again.

"Why does it matter?" I asked and picked up the ball. When I looked back at him he had already made a big gap between us. I had to run to catch up with him.

"Because if you believed it's a mistake than we could just walk away now and never have to know if it's real or not," he stated with a grimace.

"Do you believe it's real?" I quietly asked.

"You don't want me to answer that."

"Yes I do."

He stopped again and looked me in the eyes. His eyes didn't read of unhappiness. There was something deeper there. I didn't know what it was but I saw it. It was that spark. I put down the ball and crossed my arms.

"I don't believe in the TiMER," he started. I opened my mouth to question him but he raised his hand. "But, when it went off that wasn't the only thing going off. It took a minute to realize it was my TiMER going off. Because when I saw you my brain froze. I don't know any other way to explain it. Time seemed to freeze. So I don't care what the test results are from the TiMERs. I don't care how strange it sounds for me to say this, but there's something about you that makes me feel different. And that's all that matters to me."

Before I knew what I was doing my arms outstretched and wrapped around Andy. I had never heard anything like that before and even though it probably was cheesy I knew it was something Andy couldn't easily say. Even if I didn't want to love him right away I knew it would happen one day.

Andy smelled of mint and vanilla and I didn't really want to let him go. Someone clearing their throat made me jump back like I'd been bitten by a snake. I jumped back as if I was doing something wrong. Was hugging Andy such a wrong thing to do? It was the intent behind the hug that made me turn red however.

The person behind the voice was revealed as the same lady who was in Andy's classroom yesterday… Mrs. Archer I believe was her name. I looked down at my feet, as I was sure I was blood red by this point.

"Yes, Mrs. Archer, is there something I can help you with?" Andy asked without a waver in his voice.

"Shouldn't Kaylee be going to class?" the woman said in a stern voice. It was in question form but I could tell she wasn't looking for an answer. She knew the correct answer. I mumbled something incoherent and started to walk away.

"Wait," I said almost out the door. "An- Mr. Jackson, my dad has requested you meet us after school at his car. He'll be in the visitor's parking lot not long after school has ended."

Andy gave me a nod and turned back to Mrs. Archer. That was all I was going to get from either of them so it was best if I walked out before being asked again. I tucked my head down and walked into the main building, heading to my locker. My thought was that if I couldn't see anyone they couldn't see me.

It was working in my favor until someone else wasn't watching where they were walking and ran right into the front of me. Papers went flying and books dropped. I glanced up and saw I had collided with an upper-classman who I didn't know. He was a lot bigger than I was and a lot scarier looking than a normal person. He had long brown hair that he kept brushing back from his face and had eyes that were just cold. They were maybe a blue color but looked grayer than anything else.

"S-sorry," I stuttered, just standing there. I was a little afraid to move.

"Why don't you- you pick up my- wait. I think I know who you are," the guy spit out as a smile crept across his face. How on earth did this upper-classman know who I was?

I knelt down to pick up his books when his hand stopped me. He put his hand under my chin and lifted up my whole head.

"Yeah, you're the freshman with the TiMER that everyone's been talking about," he continued in a jeering voice. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

"I- I don't know what to say," I replied in a small voice. I looked around to see if anyone else was watching us. It seemed as if the whole hallway had frozen to see what was taking place. The guy's hand jerked my face back to looking at him.

"Look at me in the eyes when I'm talking to you," he demanded. I glanced down briefly and noticed he had a scar where a TiMER should be. This only frightened me more. "What's your name, mystery girl?"
"Ka-Kaylee," I stuttered.

"Well Ka-Kaylee. I think I'll make sure no one picks on you too bad," he jeered and grinned deviously at me. What was he playing at?

"Why would you do that?" I asked with a little more strength in my voice.

"Because you're going to quickly become an outcast, and being the king of outcasts, you will not be made fun of. We're going to get to know each other. Got it?" Before I could say anything, he moved my head up and down with his hand. I wasn't sure what agreement he had just made me make, but I was beyond frightened now. "Now, what class do you have next?"

"History with Mrs. Ihram," I mumbled out.

"Then what are you waiting for?" he asked. "Let's go take you to history class."

His hand moved from below my chin to around my waist and he pulled me forward. "I'm Collin by the way," he said and moved me closer to his side as we walked down the hallway. Everyone looked away as we passed. I tried wiggling out of his grip but that only seemed to make him tighten his arm around me. Was he taking me some place to kill me? It looked like we were going in the right direction for my class, but I had no idea who this guy was or what his intentions were.

We finally came to a stop and Collin looked at me. "Well, this is your classroom. Don't just look at me, go on it," he started with his mischievous smile. "Wait here after class and I'll walk you where you need to go.

I stared at him blankly as he walked away. He winked at me and turned a corner just as the late bell rang. It made me jump at which a few people chuckled, but most ignored me. I walked over to my seat and sat down, still unsure of what just happened.

"What were you doing with Collin Pierce?" Hannah whispered in my ear as class was starting. I just shrugged. "I've heard he's a really bad guy. I heard he ripped his TiMER out. You should be careful. You don't want that kind of reputation."

"Too late," I mumbled.

"Oh people will get over the TiMER issue soon enough."

"You think so?"

"Excuse me, Kaylee, Hannah, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Mrs. Ihram asked, making every face turn towards us. I shook my head and looked down, feeling my face turn red.

"No ma'am," Hannah cheerfully said. "I was just commenting on that lovely blouse you have on." She was really layering it thickly. I had to bite the inside of my cheek not to laugh at her over that one.

"Now is not the time to discuss my fashion, or any fashion for that matter," Mrs. Ihram cut back at her.

"I'm sure these people in history had some type of fashion," Hannah innocently said. I was about to lose it.

"We are going over the test portion of this class and study techniques. Keep up," Mrs. Ihram said coldly and started talking to the entire class. I couldn't help it. I let out a laugh and couldn't stop. This only made Hannah laugh. The entire class gaped at us in horror. "Behavior room, now!"

That shut me up. I stared at Mrs. Ihram with an apologetic face, but she shook her head and pointed to the door. Hannah stood first and dragged me out the door with her, still stifling laughs.

"My mom is going to kill me," I quietly said on the walk down.

"They don't tell your parents," Hannah stated cheerfully and started skipping beside me. Was this really true? I could go to the behavior room and my parents would never know? "My older brother Kevin told me so."

Kevin was a pretty smart guy. Smart in the street kind of way. I wasn't sure how book smart he was, but he always had the best advice. If he said it was true than it must be true. I simply nodded and followed silently, feeling a little better about the situation.

We walked into the behavior room and Hannah handed an ancient looking man a piece of paper. I hadn't seen her get the piece of paper from the teacher, but she must have done so. The ancient man said, "Just go sit down."

He didn't even bother to look at us. He maybe looked at the piece of paper for a minute, but he was more invested in the newspaper inches in front of his face. After minutes of quietness, Hannah shrugged and walked to an empty desk, it was clear this man wasn't going to say anything else. I followed and sat in a desk next to hers. That's when I heard a chuckle that gave me a cold chill. It was Collin.

"Well, well, well," he said. "If it isn't Ka-Kaylee. What brings you here?"

"Shhhh," I insisted, looking back at the man sitting behind the desk. "I don't want to get into more trouble."

Collin just laughed. "Mr. Falls couldn't hear you if you were yelling. COULD YOU MR. FALLS?" Mr. Falls didn't respond at all which only made Collin laugh more.

Hannah made a face at him and turned to me with a look that read stop talking to this freak. I could almost hear her saying it. It's not like I wanted to talk to him.

"So… what brings you here?" Collin asked again and stood. He was near the back of the room but quickly made his way to a desk right behind mine.

"Could you like not?" Hannah asked in the bitchiest tone I had ever heard, and I don't say that lightly. My eyes widened and looked at both of them. This didn't seem to bother Collin however as he didn't even look at her but kept intently on me.

For what seemed like forever he remained staring at me without saying a word. It made me really uncomfortable. I wanted him to go away. Did he not realize how creepy he was being? Even though I wasn't looking at him I could tell he was still staring at me. Hannah had her phone out, not paying any attention to this whatsoever.

"I'm not really a bad guy," he whispered low enough to where only I could hear him. "I hope I don't… frighten you too much, because I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon. We're going to see a lot of each other." His voice sent chills down my back. I just couldn't catch a break.

A/N: re-write of ch 5 complete! Collin has an interesting story to tell, and I hope in this re-write I can capture it better.