A/N: Hello again everybody! I'd like to thank EmeraldGrey57, annabellex2, winterschild11, CessLizz, and RandomWriter23 for reviewing last chapter!

I see alot of you are anxious to hear James side of the story! Well you'll hear his side of the story in a few chapters! But for now, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 4

After getting my lunch, I quickly made my way over to my usual table.

I didn't really have any friends, so I just found a table towards the back of the cafeteria, wanting as little attention drawn to me as possible.

As soon as I was settled, I cautiously glanced up towards Kendall's table, suprised to find him staring at me. But he quickly averted his gaze once he noticed me looking at him, which made me chuckle a little.

'Same old Kendall.' I thought to myself.

I was suprised that Kendall hadn't tried talking to me at all today. Maybe he finally realized that he was just wasting his time with me…

"Hey." A familiar voice said.

I looked up, noticing that it was the mystery guy that had helped me yesterday. But now that I was really looking at him, I realized that it was Dak. I guess I was too out of it to recognize him yesterday.

"Hey…" I said cautiously, my walls immediately going up now that I knew that it was him who had helped.

"Um, can I sit?" He asked awkwardly, probably noticing the cautious tone in my voice.

"Why don't you sit with your jock friends?" I asked bitterly, glancing over to the infamous jock table.

I had only been at this school for a few days, but it was long enough to know that they practically ruled the school, running over whoever got in their way. And something told me that Dak was no different than his friends.

"Well, between you and me, I don't really like hanging out with them all that much. They're jerks and most them are idiots. Especially Jett." He admitted, chuckling a little in the process.

I didn't say anything, keeping my face void of emotion. Dak must have noticed this because he immediately stopped laughing, things quickly becoming awkward again.

"So… can I sit?" He repeated, giving me a hopeful look.

I knew that I would probably regret this later, and I didn't completely trust him, but I knew he at least deserved a chance. Besides, it'd be kinda nice to have a friend here.

"Sure." I said, not missing the bright smile that spread across his face as he eagerly sat down.

"So how's your head? It seemed like you hit it pretty hard yesterday when you fell." He asked casually as he started picking at the food on his tray.

"It's fine. I just had a mild concussion, passed after about fifteen minutes." I said to which he just nodded.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, we finally started talking, getting to know each other a little better. Turns out, he was actually a pretty cool guy.

As we talked, I couldn't help but steal another glance over at Kendall's table, noticing him staring at Dak and I with a look that looked alot like jealousy.

Dak and I continued to talk, asking each other random questions until I finally decided to ask the question that had been on my mind ever since he came up to my table.

"Why are you hanging out with me?" I asked bluntly, feeling a little bad when I saw the slightly hurt look on his face. "Not that I don't appreciate it. But you're… you! You're popular, you have plenty of friends, and you have alot going for you. I'm just the loner new kid. You could do better, trust me." I muttered.

"Well first, like I said earlier, most of my 'friends' are idiots. I'd much rather hang out with someone who can carry an actual conversation. Second, I'm hanging out with you because you seem like a pretty cool guy. But more than that, you just seemed like you could really use a friend." He admitted, a sheepish smile forming on his face.

I wasn't really sure what to say to that, so I just stayed silent. He continued once he realized that I wasn't going to say anything.

"I know it sounds weird, but I've always kinda had a knack for reading people." He said, which definitely piqued my interest.

"Really? Then what did your reading say when you first met your jock friends over there?" I asked, motioning over to jocks table towards the front of the cafeteria.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." He said, chuckling a little.

"Why do you hang out with them then? I mean, you've made it pretty clear that you don't really care for them." I asked, both testing him, and genuinely curious as to what he was going to say.

He was silent for a few seconds, seemingly trying to choose his words carefully before letting out a sigh.

"Look, around here, popularity is important. If you're not popular, then you're basically a nobody. At least, to most people here you are." He started, but he didn't even have to continue for me to see where this was going.

"And let me guess, they give you that popularity so you continue to stick around." I said, not meaning for the words to come out the way they did.

"It's more than that. I-" He started, but was cut off by the sound of the bell, signaling the end of lunch. "I'm just gonna go." He said, sounding both bitter and hurt as he quickly grabbed his things and left.

I let out a sigh as he walked off, knowing that I had messed up.

I didn't mean to make him feel like I thought any less of him, but I knew that was probably how my words had come across. And while I initially didn't trust him, he seemed to be the only person other than Kendall that genuinely cared.

I decided to brush it away for now before grabbing my things and getting ready to head to my next class.

XxX

As soon as I walked into my house, I knew something was up. My suspicions were confirmed when I noticed the distinct smell of my mom's homemade sugar cookies, something she only made when she was happy.

I quickly made my way to the kitchen where both my mom and dad where standing, giggling and covered in flour.

"Um… hey." I said awkwardly, effectively getting their attention.

"Hi Jamie! Have a seat." My mom chirped.

I hesitantly sat down, wanting know what this was about.

"What's going on? You only make cookies when you're really happy." I asked, to which both of them just smiled.

"Nothing. It's just… your father and I finally worked things out." My mom said, her huge smile never fading.

"Really?" I asked as I turned my attention to my dad, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Really. Turns out, all we really needed to do was sit down and talk things out." He said as he wrapped his arms around my mom's waist, giving her a kiss in the process.

"Gross!" I exclaimed jokingly as I grabbed my backpack, getting ready to head up to my room before my mom's voice suddenly stopped me.

"James? Do you want any cookies? They're fresh out of the oven." She said in a cheerful voice, which made me smile a little.

"Sure. Just let me put my stuff away and I'll be right down." I said, to which she just nodded.

I quickly made my way up to my room, closing the door behind me in the process.

I wanted to be happy for my mom, I really did. But this wasn't the first time that they've 'talked things out' just to go back to fighting days later. I just had a feeling that this wasn't going to last.

But as I made my way back downstairs, noticing the loving looks that they shared, I thought that maybe things were actually looking up.

Alright, so not too much happened this chapter. But you did find out that the mystery person is Dak, and you got a little backstory on him. And James' parents seemed to have worked things out. But are they going to last?

Dak will be playing a pretty important part in this story so we will be seeing him quite a bit. But next chapter is mostly going to be focused on Kendall. And again for those waiting, you'll be getting James' side of the story in a few chapters!

So what'd you all think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on Dak, James' parents, and what you think might happen next :)

I'll try to have the next chapter up soon!

-Rusher0994