Logan's POV

I glanced at my watch as I stepped onto the elevator. "Crap," I thought. I knew I wasn't going to make it." The guys headed off to school without me that Friday morning, and I knew I was going to be late. I only had two minutes to get to school, and the sweaty early-morning exercisers were all staying on different floors. What a joy…

Eventually, the elevator got down to the lobby. I hurried out and checked my watch again: 8:31. One minute late and-

SLAM!

I collided with someone. My backpack practically exploded. Pencils and notebooks flew everywhere. The girl I crashed into smiled.

"That's what we call an epic fail. Next time, use the zippers on that thing."

She helped me put my stuff back. I got a good look at her, and was surprised at her kindness.

Purple and red extensions streaked her naturally brown hair. She had side bangs, which almost hid her left eye. Her right eye was surrounded by a pitch-black sea of eyeliner. A thick spiked bracelet and skull-ridden charm bracelet covered her wrists. She was wearing two necklaces; a plain black beaded one and one with a lightning bolt hanging from the chain. Her nails matched her eyeliner. She was wearing a gray and red hoodie with a glittered bat wings on the front and a t-shirt that said 'Vampaneze Rock.' She had ripped black skinny jeans on, and to top it all off, she was wearing purple combat boots. Despite her outfit, the craziest part of her was her eyes. She had beautiful bright green eyes that were her focal point.

"I'm Larissa," she told me. I nodded and shoved some pencils back into my bag.

"Logan," I managed to say in my rush.

I caught sight of a clock: 8:33.

"So, Logan," she said. "I've seen you around here before."

"Yeah, I've seen you, too." I said, interested in talking to her, but choosing to hurry to school.

"I also hear you're in a band…Gustavo Rocque's 'next big thing.'"

I shrugged and put another notebook back in my bag.

"That's really cool." She said. "Some people spend years here and never make it as far as you have."

I nodded again. I really would have liked to stay and talk to her, but I was then five minutes late for school.

"Thanks," I said, and threw my bag over my shoulder. I ran straight to school, feeling a little guilty for leaving Larissa hanging. There was something special that I liked about her, but I didn't realize the significance of it just yet. I slipped into class unnoticed, thank God, and pulled out my math binder. There was something stuck to it. It was a post-it note with a number on it.

Larissa Davis
818-555-3054

-----

"He shoots, he scores! We win again!" Carlos yelled. "Victory ride down the swirly slide!"

"Damn it, Logan!" James yelled. We had just lost to Kendall and Carlos in table hockey…for the third time. I just couldn't concentrate.

"I mean, you only had to be goalie! It's one freaking playing, and with your apparent super-genius brain, I thought you could at least-" James' diva fit faded out.

All I could think about was Larissa. The image of her smiling never left my thoughts. Her eyes were so perfect, so pure, if only I knew if what happened that morning was a façade or not.

"Hey, Logan," Kendall said, breaking my train of thought. "You don't seem 'all here'. Your head's somewhere else. What's going on?" I figured I should tell them.

"See, I met this girl, and-"

"Whoa! You met a girl?" Carlos asked, so stunned that I ignored him.

"Yes, Carlos, I met a girl. I bumped into her this morning, and she gave me her phone number." Kendall and James were now as stunned as Carlos. Me getting a girl's phone number was a foreign concept.

"Holy crap…" Kendall said, still in shock. "You, Logan, the smart-ass geek, got a girl's number?"

I wanted to ignore him as I did Carlos, but I couldn't resist what happened next.

"Yes, self-absorbed jackass." I said to Kendall with a smirk. James laughed.

"It's harsh, but so true!" Kendall wanted revenge.

"Is it, Bandana Man?" James stopped laughing.

"So, back to that girl you met!"

I told them everything that happened, but I was hoping for a more…positive reaction.

"Is this a joke?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, combat boots are so last year!" James said. We all stared at him. And he claimed he wasn't gay…

"She sounds pleasant." Kendall joked. "Seriously, Logan, I don't think you should call her."

"I think she's a drug dealer!" Carlos added. "Yeah, and she gave you her number so you could buy crack from her!" He continued on his wild fantasy, thinking he actually made a breakthrough. Poor, misguided, slide-loving child.

I didn't care what the guys thought of Larissa. I wanted to call her. The problem was that Carlos' drug dealer thing could actually be close. I knew looks could be deceiving, but there was no way in hell that Larissa could be the type of girl I would date. Not that there was anyone to compare her to, but still, she couldn't be that kind and considerate all the time and dress like black is the only color left on the planet.