A/N: hey, i made a little mistake when i repliedt to Draco's Secret Lover's review. I got Tory confused with Amanda! Can you believe it? I feel a little stupid, sorry! But next chappy, i'll try to get 'TORY' into the story again. LOL. anyways, this is a short chappy, but there's another one coming soon.

Inner Struggles

Chap. 3

Reid woke in a sweat. He'd had a very restless few hours of sleep, if you could even call it that. He slowly realized his cell was going off. Tyler moaned for him to turn it off, and Reid ignored him, and looked to see who was calling him. It was Caleb.

"What?" he asked angrily. "It's like three in the morning!"

"Are you using?" Caleb got right to the point. Reid was sick of this. He sighed. "Tell me the truth!" Caleb said.

"Why am I the first person you call when you feel someone using?" he asked. "And, no, I'm not using. You freakin' woke me up!" he answered bitterly, having to force himself not to slam his phone shut.

"Past expierences," Caleb said, backing off a little. Reid got up to get a drink of water, still holding his phone. He was horrer-stricken when he looked in the mirror. His eyes were as black as night, but he didn't even feel like he was using.

"Caleb, I'm gonna go," he hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes. The black was beginning to fade, but that didn't make him feel any better. He went back to his bed, to try to get some restful sleep.

Four hours later, Reid finally had to get up, all the way. He got ready in silence, and Tyler woke up slowly.

"You're up earlier than usual," he said, yawning.

"But you're up late," Reid answered, running a hand through his hair. That was the extent of the preparation his hair required.

"I'm aware of that. And are you aware that it's Saturday? You usually aren't up for another hour or so on Saturdays." He got up, and began his morning routine. Reid looked at his watch and sighed. It wasn't even funny how much he wished he'd been able to sleep in for another hour.

"I couldn't sleep last night. The only thing for me to do now is to go get myself an Bookoo, and start the day," he answered, grabbing his fingerless gloves, black hat, and keys. "I'm running to the store, you wanna come?" he asked, opening the door. Tyler agreed, and followed him out the door.

Reid drove them down the road to town in silence. He parked, rather crookedly, at the back of the parking lot and got out. "Nice parking job," Tyler pointed out. Reid rolled his eyes and started walking towards the doors. 'note to self: don't mess with Reid today.' Tyler thought, catching up with Reid.

Reid made a bee-line for the energy drinks, grabbed a suitable one, and walked towards the check out line. "Hold on a sec, I'm gonna go get something," Tyler said, walking towards the back of the store. Reid sighed and followed him, curious as to what he needed to buy.

"What are you getting?" he asked.

"Some chips, to stash in the dorm. And some soda. We're out," Tyler answered, picking up a bag of sour cream and onion chips. Reid nodded and went back to the checkout stand.

Once they paid, they went out side. It was a chilly October morning, and the sun was just beginning to become visible, proving just how early they were up.

"Hey Reid, what were you doing when you skipped out on Algebra 2?" Tyler asked. Reid grinned inwardly, remembering his little date with Emma last night.

"I went down to Nicky's with a friend," he answered, hoping that answer would suffice, he didn't want the guys finding out about Emma yet.

"You have friends besides us?" Tyler asked, in mock surprise. Reid shoved him, only this time, it was friendly, not serious. "Was it a girl?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, it was. Don't tell anyone else though, I'm not ready to subject her and me to Caleb and Pogue, who would absolutely have a ball with it. Her name is Emma, I think you might know her," Reid answered. Just thinking about her took his mind off the events of earlier that morning.

"Yeah. She's in one of our classes, right?" Tyler asked. Reid nodded and got into the car, and started it. They drove back to campus. Reid didn't stop yapping about how great Emma was. 'Wow Reid's confusing. He was so pissed this morning, and now I can't get him to shut up. It must be the Bookoo." Tyler thought.

Once they were back at the school, Reid and Tyler went back to the dorms, to put the food away. Caleb and Pogue were on their way up the stairs when they were coming back down. "Hey guys," Caleb said. "Reid, where were you yesterday? You missed an amazingly wonderful day of Algebra 2."

They laughed and went out to the center court yard. "Lets see if the girls want to go somewhere today. It looks like it's gonna be a nice day. We should do something outside," Caleb suggested, slowing down and waiting for a response.

The guys all agreed, and Caleb took his cell out to call Sarah. Reid was surprised that Caleb hadn't said anything, or even seemed to recall the phone call last night. "I'm gonna go call someone, to see if they want to tag along. Is that okay with you guys?" he asked, not caring if they said yes or no. He really wanted to spend time with Emma.

"Sure," Tyler said, with a knowing smile. Reid grabbed his cell, and went a ways from the group to call her.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, it's Reid. We're all heading out somewhere, do you want to tag along?" he asked, crossing his fingers for a yes.

"Okay. I'll be right down. Center courtyard?" she inquired.

"Yeah. Bye," Reid hung up the phone and walked back to the group. Pretty soon, Emma came walking out from the girls dorms.

Yesterday, she had had her hair straight, but today, her dark brown hair was in curls. He hadn't even noticed how green her eyes were yesterday. "Hey Reid," she said. She ran up to him and hugged him. Caleb and Pogue were staring at this display, confused.

"Hey guys, this is Emma. We skipped class and hung out at Nicky's yesterday," he explained. "I think she likes me," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear him. She laughed and slapped his arm. She was wearing dark wash jeans, and a deep red sweater. She also had on converse, and those fingerless gloves from yesterday.

"Nice to meet you Emma. I think you're in one of my classes," Pogue was the first to reply.

"I think so. You're Pogue right," she asked, shaking his hand. He nodded, and Caleb took his turn to greet this new comer.

"I'm Caleb," he reached out his hand and shook her still outstretched hand. Just then, Sarah, Kate, and also Amanda came out of the girls dorm.

"Hey guys," Sarah said, approaching where they were standing. "Who's this?" she asked, referring to Emma. "Wait, you're Emma right? I think you're in my Biology class.

"Yeah. I think so," she answered, smiling.

"What are we going to do today?" Amanda asked, moving to stand next to Tyler, who took her hand. Reid watched this, surprised that it sparked no anger.

"I don't know. What do you girls want to do?" Caleb asked.

"We should go on a drive in the country," Emma suggested. "It's such a beautiful day, we might as well spend it outside." Reid nodded, and so did everyone else. They walked out towards the parking lot, where all their cars were parked.

Pogue and Kate got onto Pogue's motorcycle. "How bout we meet at the end of the school road," he said. "Then we can decide where to go."

They all agreed. Caleb and Sarah walked over to his car, which was convertible. Tyler and Amanda followed them. Reid led Emma to his car, and they got in.

Once they were at the end of the road, they decided to go out to a meadow Sarah and Kate had discovered once. "It's really pretty," Kate said, before putting her helmet back on. They all sped down the road one by one.

"So, how was your night?" Reid asked Emma who was sitting staring out the window.

"Pretty good. You know what I've always wanted to do?" she asked. Not waiting for a response, she demonstrated. She unbuckled her seat belt, and stood up, holding the windshield for support. Reid laughed at how much Emma was enjoying herself. She stood there for several minutes, before rushing to sit down when she saw a corner in the road coming. She sat there laughing for a while.

Reid saw that everyone was pulling off the road ahead of him, and he did the same. He assumed they were there, because everyone was getting out of their vehicles. He and Emma walked over to where everyone else was waiting for them.

"It's right down here," Sarah said, leading the way down an embankment. They all followed her for about 5 minutes until they reached their destination.

"It's so pretty here!" Amanda exclaimed, not having strayed too far off campus since her arrival. Caleb had thought ahead and had three blankets in his arm, and Sarah had one wrapped around her protecting her from the still crisp October air.

He threw a blanket at Tyler, Pogue, and Reid. They all spread them out, and sat down comfortably. "So, we should get to know each other a little better," Emma suggested.

"Ok, but you suggested the idea, so you can go first," Kate said, smiling.

"Well, I'm Emma, and my parents moved here from New York when I was born. My mom died when I was 8, and, that's about it.

"I'll go next," Amanda said. "I was born and raised in England, till last month, when my dad got transferred here for a job." She said. One by one, they all said a little about themselves, until they had all spoken.