Maya P.O.V.

"Reminds me of the old days", Hanna says, as I shut the door to her car.

"It does", I say with a laugh, pulling a lose stand of hair behind my ear.

First day of school, but for once it isn't at a brand new school. I have friends, and I don't have to worry about where I am going to sit, or who I was going to sit with.

"Did you know this is the first time I'm not at a brand new school for the beginning of a school year", I ask, not realizing I said it out loud.

Hanna turns to me and smiles, "I hope this is your forever home."

I nod, but I don't say anything back. My forever home? I've never thought about that before, because my family and I were constantly moving. I didn't have time to make lifelong friends, but this time is different. My dad really enjoys this town and the people in it.

Hanna turns into the school parking lot, "Do you have your schedule on you?"

I nod and hand it to her.

"We have a few classes together. English first, should be a drag", she says, handing my schedule back to me.

The first day was already turning out better than expected.

Emily P.O.V.

"Emily, get up", my mom screamed up the stairs.

I toss, and I stare up at the ceiling. Of course I didn't get much sleep last night. My thoughts were occupied by Maya. For some reason, I can't shake how I feel about her. Hanna asked me multiple times to ride with them to school, because "Maya and I needed to get over that awkward period already", that's how Hanna phrased it. Maya is close to my friends, and I don't expect them to ditch her just because we ended badly. Plus, I miss her.

Two honks meant that Ben was waiting out front. Grabbing my book bag, I was out the front door.

"I've never met someone who takes as long to get ready as you", Ben says, kissing my cheek.

Normal people would love that small gesture, but it made my stomach lurch. Ben is good looking, in his own way, but I can't shake the disgusting feeling I get every time he kisses me. I try to talk to Hanna about it, or even Spencer, but they don't understand. The only person that would understand is Maya, and it feels like we are light years apart.

"Emily, Emily", Hanna says, banging against my locker.

I turn and smile, "Nice to see you, also."

"What's your first class", she questions.

I open my schedule, "English."

"You're kidding. I have that, also", Hanna says, grabbing my arm.

Little did I know, Maya had that class, also.

Maya P.O.V.

I head straight towards the middle row, and I drop my books on my desk. I don't recognize a familiar face, but why would I? When I was here last, I spent my entire time worrying about Emily.

"Hey", a boy with brownish blonde hair says to me, dropping his books next to mine.

I smile back politely, "Hey."

He holds his hand out, "Christian."

"Maya", I say, shaking his hand.

He smiles, "Nice to meet you. Are you new here?"

"Technically, I guess I am. I came here a year ago, moved away. Came back", I say.

"I'm new", he says after I finish.

Before I could reply, Hanna sat down next to me, and Emily wasn't too far behind her. My stomach turned into knots, and I kept my head down. If I don't make contact with her, she won't talk to me.

"Who is this", Hanna says with a grin.

Christian holds his hand out, "Christian."

Hanna gives him a toothy grin, "Maya, let's trade seats."

Protesting was out of the question, because she was already up and moving.

Awkward silence would be an understatement. Neither Emily nor I said a single word for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only two minutes.

"Are we ever going to talk about this", Emily asks, breaking the silence.

I don't reply right away, "I don't think that's a good idea."

She turns to look at me, "Why?"

"I'm happy, and I want it to stay that way", I reply, staring forward.

The conversation ended like that, because the teacher at the front of the room began to talk. Throughout class, I felt Emily eyeing me. When I thought she wasn't looking, I glanced at her, also. One thing I never forgot was how breath taking she is.

Emily P.O.V.

"Did you really have to switch seats with her", I question.

Hanna smiles, "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad."

I stare at her, "It was. She had no desire to talk to me."

"She might not want to talk, but we both have class with her again next period", she replies nonchalantly.

I'm not sure I can take another class with her. I tried to focus on the teacher, but in my peripheral vision I could see Maya. The way she twirls her pencil when she is focusing, or the way she smiles when the teacher says something remotely funny. Everything about Maya is intoxicating.

Hanna snaps her fingers in front of my face twice, "I asked you a question."

"What? Sorry", I ask, confusion evident on my face.

"I asked if you like her", Hanna says a little louder this time.

I don't think, but I can feel my head nodding. That's when it struck me, I'm falling for Maya St. Germain.

Maya P.O.V.

"Maya, you are stalking me", Christian says with a grin.

I smile back, "Man, I was hoping I'd get away from you."

"I never pictured you as the type of girl who'd take gym", he says, folding his arms across his chest.

I push him playfully, "It's a requirement, or I wouldn't be."

We talk for a few minutes, before I realized I hadn't changed into my gym clothes, yet.

The locker-room is big, with about twenty girls inside. Each one changing into comfortable shorts and a t-shirt. I didn't notice anyone, but I am certain I have this class with Hanna.

I walk to the nearest bench, and something catches my attention from the corner of the room. Of course, Emily is sitting next to Hanna. They'd both already changed, and I didn't bother to go make my presence noticed. The last thing I wanted was another awkward confrontation with Emily.

"Come on, girls. We are getting started", the coach says from the doorway.

We all rush out, and I notice Christian right away. He walks over in my direction, and that's when Hanna noticed us. Of course, she was totally fixated on Christian, not like she has a boyfriend or anything. I mean, I'm assuming that was her boyfriend that she took on that date.

Once again, I am left with Emily.

"We need to talk", she says.

Maybe an innocent conversation wouldn't hurt anything.

"Okay, meet me after school", I say before walking over to Christian and Hanna.

Emily P.O.V.

Coach had us play volleyball. On top of that, it was boys against girls. Every guy seemed to want to physically crush every girl, but it was fun either way. Of course, the guys ended up winning big time.

"This shower is going to make my day", Hanna says, stripping down and getting into the first available shower stall.

I nod, mimicking everything she did. The water felt good on my skin.

"You are right about one thing, this shower is going to make my day", I say quietly.

But it wasn't going to make my day, talking to Maya was going to. For the first time in a year, I was going to be able to tell Maya how I feel.

From the corner of my eye, I notice Maya getting into the stall next to Hanna. I turn straight and stare at the wall, trying to focus on something else. But every few seconds, I felt my head turn in her direction. I don't know if she ever noticed, but I noticed her. Goosebumps shot up my arm, and I finally directed my attention to getting dressed. Still, my eyes went back and forth from Maya to my clothes. This went on till she was out of the shower and dressed.

I am going to continue to try to update as much as possible, but I have exams till next Thursday. Next chapter, we are going to see a really great friendship progress with Christian and Maya, plus the long waited conversation between Maya and Emily is going to happen. Emily is about to make a lot of progress.