Well, here's another chapter; I'm impressed with the reader who knew right away who had entered the classroom. I guess I am quite predictable, and offer no surprises but...that's okay I guess. Thanks again for all the reviews, once again, if anyone has any suggestions or anything they would like to see in this story then please don't hesitate. Now, on with the chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Seven

Adrienne

Clear shifted slightly so that she could follow Alex's gaze, frowning slightly; whatever had captured his attention better be damn good to have interrupted an invitation for a date. Her frown grew when she saw that Alex's attention was focused on a leggy blonde, who had drawn the attention of the other males in the room, including the balding teacher, who was talking to her while glancing at her schedule. At first glance, Clear figured that the girl was there age, though far more mature in body, which was exactly why she had drawn everyone's focus so easily; her blue eyes were hard to miss, especially because the brown peasant top she wore caused them to stand out even more. Everything she worn, down to her earrings and bracelet, complimented her look perfectly and Clear narrowed her eyes, trying not to think of how unattractive she looked in her carefully chosen outfit.

Tod hadn't missed Adrienne Grant's entrance into the classroom and instantly knew that it would not bode well for his friend, and especially Clear, who would surely have to jump through hoops of fire, naked, just to get Alex to blink if he was looking at Adrienne. Though Alex had made up his mind about asking Clear out for a night at the movies (even going so far to admit that he liked her), Tod knew that all those carefully planned sentences would now be for waste, especially if Adrienne was in their French class. Which, of course, seemed like the obvious thing since the teacher was directing her to an empty seat in the front of the room.

"Tod...can you believe it? Adrienne Grant is in our French class." Alex muttered, eyes still on the blonde, even as she took her seat, ignoring Carter's not so subtle cat-calls. "I mean, I thought she moved."

The only thing Tod could think to do was nod, since what his friend said was true, after all; at the end of the previous school year, Adrienne had mentioned to her peers that she and her parents were probably moving Albany, which had left Alex broken hearted for nearly the whole summer. Everyday he had passed by her house on his bike, glaring at the "for sale" sign in the yard and looking rather pathetic, in Tod's opinion. As discussed the previous day, Alex still hadn't gotten over his crush, despite the knowledge that Adrienne had moved. Or so they had all thought.

Now here she was, looking very studious as she started copying French phrases off the whiteboard before her. "Right, maybe she moved back." Tod muttered lamely, very aware of Clear's cold stares, directed not only toward Adrienne but toward Alex and himself as well.

Clear had long sense been forgotten in Alex's mind and this was a fact he made very obvious when he stood up, taking his gaze away from the blonde long enough to look at his friend. "I think I'm going to go talk to her, see how she's been." It wasn't a thought, it was a decision that was ready to be put into action.

Tod knew he could do nothing to stop his friend but that wasn't going to keep him from trying. "Alex, you couldn't even talk to her when you were six, what makes you think you can now?" When his friend didn't answer, he decided to try a different approach. Standing up, he grabbed Alex's arm, keeping him from moving any farther. "What about Clear?" He whispered.

Alex pulled his arm free, raising an eyebrow. "What about her?" He questioned, ever the clueless fourteen-year-old male and headed toward Adrienne, who didn't notice him until he stood beside her desk.

With a sigh, Tod slid back into his seat, turning to face Clear, though he wasn't sure he wanted to. "Who is that?" Clear questioned as soon as she saw that she had his attention. She looked confused and hurt, like someone had just run over her dog and then given it to her, gift-wrapped.

"That is Adrienne Grant, the object of affection for every male in Mt. Abraham, including, sadly, Alex." Tod knew there was no way to beat around the bush, going for her usual directness.

Seeing Alex talking and laughing with a girl that wasn't her nearly broken Clear's heart into pieces and she balled her fingers into fists, squeezing until her knuckles turned white. She had thought that Alex was about to ask her out but now that appeared that it wasn't the case; all her hopes of snuggling up with him in the movies were suddenly dashed.

To make matters worse, she suddenly pictured Alex and Adrienne Grant in Paris together, sharing a pair of binoculars while they were at the top of the Eiffel Tower. And that was the thought that brought tears to her eyes.

Desperate to hide the sudden show of emotion, Clear tossed her backpack onto her desk and once again buried her head inside, pretending to be searching for something. She ignored Tod's inquires, asking if she was okay, and ignored the sounds of Alex's now familiar laughter.

If ever Carter Horton was going to beat her within an inch of her life, now would be the perfect time.

* * *

By the time French class began, the inevitable became obvious. Obviously, whatever had caused Adrienne to steer clear of Alex all last year was old news and the two had been talking like old friends until they were forced to part when the class began. But by that time, however, Adrienne had already excepted Alex's offer to go to the movies on Friday night.

When Clear heard Alex ask Adrienne the same question he had asked her before they had been rudely interrupted, she nearly knocked herself senseless by knocking her head against the surface of her desk. No one had noticed, not even Tod, who seemed amazed that his friend had managed to carry on a conversation with the apparently untouchable goddess of the ninth grade. By the time Alex returned to his seat, a wide smile upon his face, Clear had such a horrible headache that she couldn't tell English from French and didn't even bother to try.

All that was on her mind was how Alex had deserted her, in mid-sentence (of all things) to go ask another girl out on a date. 'Our date,' Clear thought sadly, pushing aside the mental pictures of sharing popcorn with Alex at the movies.

By the time French class had (thankfully) ended, Clear's sorrow had turned to hatred, and she felt like beating Alex senseless with the very French book that had given her such a headache. She nearly did that very thing as she walked Alex walk over to Adrienne, already smiling at her.

As soon as Clear saw his charming smile, directed at someone else, the anger dissolved back into sorrow.