Chapter Two – You're Green, Amy

Ryan sighed, almost dreamingly, as she watched the retreating figure of this boy, Ephram. But the second she finished that sigh, she remembered the blond haired, honey eyed boy back east who still had the rights to her heart. Adam had been great. He had always promised he wouldn't let anything get between them, and he had so far, kept up with that promise. He agreed to deal with this new, long distance relationship. And now she cursed herself for even letting herself see potential in a guy like Ephram.

Not that it would matter if I was single, Ryan thought, because unless the girls of Everwood are completely blind, there's no way he's available.

Ryan shut her locker and started to look for her homeroom classroom.

Ephram got halfway to homeroom, at the end of the hall, because he came to the realization that Ryan would be in his homeroom. He turned around quickly and his eyes met hers. I've never seen eyes like those, he thought.

"Hey!" he called down the hall. "Ryan, this way!"

Ryan quickened her pace to catch up with Ephram. Soon, she stood next to him and sent him a questioning gaze.

"My last name is Brown," he began to explain, answering her silent question, "and since there's like a population of two in this town, you'll be in my homeroom."

"Two? Has anyone ever told you that you exaggerate?"

Ephram raised an eyebrow. "You know, you remind me of me." He said it as a plain statement, in no real cocky attitude. In the past ten minutes or so, he was starting to realize this girl was more and more like him with every sarcastic remark out of her mouth.

"Oh, sarcastic and conceited. Wow. I hope you're not the example of a typical student here in Everwood, or I might have some problems," Ryan said. Her idea of flirting was through sarcasm. It was also her idea of being honest and playing it off as joking around. Sarcasm was the strength behind her wall. She was intrigued in Ephram, but she wasn't about to let on too soon.

"Look," Ephram began, "I'm sarcastic, yes, conceited, no. I try to be funny, but it's not really working on you, so I give up."

"Chill, no need to be dramatic," Ryan said as they entered homeroom. "And besides, you just met me; you can't give up on me just yet." And she actually cracked a smile at him.

"Ephram!"

Ryan turned her head to find where the female voice had come from. She found it. It had come from a girl with long hair, who was smiling at Ephram, but gave her a rather nasty look. I'm guessing the girlfriend, she thought.

Ephram headed to the back of the classroom and Ryan followed. He turned to her and said, "Ryan Bailey, meet Amy Abbott. I'm surprised you haven't met her already. She's usually the first on the sunshine welcome wagon."

"Ha. Ha. Ephram," Amy said. "Hi Ryan, I'm Amy."

Yea, I got that, Ryan thought. "Hi. You … you live across the street from me, right?"

"Yea, I do," Amy replied. "Do you have your class schedule with you? I'd really like to take a look at it."

Ryan reached into her bag and handed her the piece of paper as Ephram and her sat down in the row next to Amy, with Ryan sitting behind Ephram. The two began to discuss music, realizing that they had extremely similar tastes.

Amy glanced over at the two from the corner of her eye. You're green, Amy. I wonder if it shows, she thought. Jealousy was running through her veins at a quickening pace. She needed to calm herself down, she was getting almost angry. Ephram has every right to be flirting with this girl right in front of me. I'm not supposed to be jealous. I have Colin. I'm in love. She glanced over again. I just never expected it to hurt.

"Ephram, she has the same schedule as you," Amy stated, the tone of jealousy could be heard in her voice. She cleared her throat and started again. "So that means you have three classes with me, five with Colin, and two with Bright!" Think she bought it?

"Who are they?" Ryan asked. Am I supposed to know who they are already? What does this girl take me as, a mind reader?

"Well, Colin is my--" Amy began before she was interrupted by their homeroom teacher.

"Class, we have a new student today. Her name is Ryan Bailey. Ryan, would you please stand up…"

"Get ready for 20 questions," Ephram whispered.

Rolling her eyes as she stood up, she looked down at Ephram, and noticed for the first time his eyes, so deep and intense. There was something in his eyes that was calling her and as Ephram looked up at her, she couldn't help but forget she ever knew a boy named Adam.

All it took was fifteen minutes for this alliance to already begin to form into something more.