A/N – Thanks for all the reviews and alerts on this story. Glad so many of you are enjoying it.

Next up comes Callen's look back to high school and his relationship with this important girl. There are probably going to be three or four chapters of these before we come back to the present. Time line basically goes from when he first met her until when he left school for boot camp. Nice and simple and straight forward.

All of the flashbacks are from Callen's point of view.

Disclaimer in Chapter 1

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Chapter 2 – Flashback to High School

Callen's pov.

He walked through the school corridor, head down, shoes squeaking on the tiled floor. He tried not to notice that conversations seemed to pause as he got close to groups of students, only to resume once he had passed by. It's not like he wasn't used to that. It happened every time he started a new school. It was predictable.

Barely looking at the map he had, he easily found his way to his first class. A really good sense of direction was always a plus when starting fresh – you could at least look like you belonged a little if you didn't have someone holding your hand and leading you to your classes. He headed straight to the back; as he always did.

After the first few curious glances by the students, and the dreaded introduction by the teacher, nobody bothered him for the rest of the class. Actually, nobody bothered him in any of his classes that morning. Just the way he liked it. It seemed like the 'I'm the bad boy, stay away' vibe he'd been trying to send out was working.

He first noticed her at lunch.

Again, as was normal, he was sitting on his own and once he had finished eating, he started observing those around him as discretely as possible, trying to figure out who he should be avoiding.

He heard her laugh; a gentle, sweet laugh that was hard to ignore. He looked in the direction it came from and, as he heard it again, he was able to place the owner.

It was a girl – such a sound couldn't have come from a guy so that had definitely helped narrow down the possibilities. She had long, straight shiny brown hair that was loosely tied back. The guy next to her, wearing the typical sporting jock attire, had his arm resting on her shoulders. He concluded fairly quickly that he must be the boyfriend.

She looked up and over at him, perhaps sensing him, as he watched her. She smiled a welcoming smile in his direction. It was a genuine one. He knew that because it reached her eyes. Even from a distance he could tell that they were a golden amber colour. He couldn't recall seeing anyone with eyes that colour before. Her face, smile and eyes matched her laugh; gentle and sweet.

His eyes darted away quickly. His heart started to race and he was shocked by the reaction he'd felt when she smiled; the urge to smile back. He didn't do that and he certainly wasn't used to having anyone welcome him so genuinely, or openly, as she seemed to have just done.

Well, there was definitely someone he should avoid. Attachments weren't his thing; he was rarely around long enough to make them worthwhile. He preferred not to have to say too many goodbyes when the inevitable time came to move on.

He left the lunch room before the bell and made his way to his English class, again finding a seat up the back in the hope that no one would join him. For some strange reason, this classroom was furnished with desks designed for two, not the usual single occupant one. He dreaded the potential meaning - that the teacher enjoyed putting people together to work on things.

When he heard her already familiar laugh again, he automatically looked up. He watched her say goodbye to her friends, as they took their seats closer to the front. He continued to watch as she made her way toward him. She was watching him as she progressed down the aisle, and he looked away. He tensed as he felt someone sit down next to him. Something in him told him it was her. He resisted the urge to look and confirm that fact. But he couldn't help feel the brush of her arm against his as she leant close to him and said softly, "You know you're in my seat."

He replied without turning his head. "Didn't see your name on it." He tried to keep his tone rough. It was hard when you were speaking softly. He hated attention and certainly wasn't planning on being the centre of it now, by having an argument with this girl over where he was sitting.

She didn't move away, just asked, "Do you know my name?"

He was sure she was enjoying this; there was something in her voice to that effect. It was hard not to look to see if she was smiling.

"No," he admitted, somewhat reluctantly. She continued the conversation, obviously not put off by his tone.

"Then how do you know my name isn't on it?" she asked.

He could definitely hear the smile in her voice.

Finally he looked at her, unable to resist the pull any longer. She smiled at him; that same welcoming one she'd shown earlier, with just a hint of teasing to it. He had the urge to stand up and find another seat, perhaps even flee the room entirely, but the teacher came in before he could make a decision one way or the other. She winked at him before straightening up and giving him some much needed space.

"Okay class, roll call. You know the drill," the teacher said.

Great, they check it after lunch as well. So much for any ideas of ditching afternoon classes.

The teacher reached his name quickly, "G. Callen?"

"Here," he answered reluctantly, glancing sideways at her. She didn't seem fazed by his name, or lack of one.

"Josephine Ellison?" the teacher continued.

"Here. But Sir, you should know by now that it's just Jo," the girl next to him replied.

Josephine? Jo? He wasn't quite sure which one he thought suited her the most. Probably Jo. It seemed more open and friendly than Josephine. Just like she seemed to be.

"Not on the roll, Miss Ellison," the teacher responded good-naturedly. "Now, since you seem to have befriended our new student, make sure he is caught up by the end of next week. It will add to the decent reference you will be looking for toward the end of the year," the teacher told her before carrying on with the rest of the roll call.

Jo glanced over at him, and gave a shrug. "Teacher's orders," she said; that gentle, easy smile of hers back on her face, adding to a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

He wasn't sure how it happened, but he found himself returning the smile. Hers came out fully when he did and he couldn't help the warmth that spread through him at it. No, he shouldn't be doing this. He shook his head slightly, frowned and turned his attention back to the books in front of him, attempting to listen to the teacher, or at least look like he was. He managed to ignore her for the rest of the class. Thankfully, at least today, the teacher didn't seem interested in pairing students up for the day's lesson.

At the sound of the bell, he rose quickly and was one of the first few students out into the corridor. He made his way to his locker, exchanged his books and closed his door, to find her standing there waiting for him. He just stared at her for a moment, not completely sure what was going on.

"So," Jo said with a smile he was already starting to find familiar, "you doing anything for lunch tomorrow, or just sitting on your own, glaring at the world?"

He frowned and wondered how she had him pegged so quickly. What had happened to that bad boy vibe that had been so effective on everyone else? What about the walls he kept up to keep everyone out? Why weren't they affecting her?

"My own," he admitted.

"Can't have that now, can we? I'll see you at the library. We'll get started," Jo said before she started to walk away.

"With what?" he asked.

Jo turned back to face him and raised her eyebrows, "Getting you caught up in English," she replied as if the answer should have been obvious.

"I don't need your help," he denied.

"Yes you do," she nodded. "Mr Franks' exams are thorough and cover everything. You need to pass to graduate," Jo added.

"Who said I want to graduate?" he asked.

Jo just looked at him for a moment, her amber eyes seeming to see right through him. It scared him a little that he felt like she was seeing the real him. Someone he didn't want anyone to see, someone he didn't think anyone would want.

She shook her head slightly. "You are stubborn," she commented.

"And you don't seem to take no for an answer."

Jo gave a small chuckle. "You're right, I don't." Her tone turned serious as she continued. "Not when it's important. So I'll see you at the library tomorrow," she told him again, barely holding back a smile.

He frowned and wondered why she was doing this. His question slipped out before he could stop it. "Why is this so important to you?" he asked.

It was her turn to frown now. "You don't think you're important?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "Not really." At least in his experience, he wasn't important to many people.

"I'll work on that later," Jo replied softly. "For now though, you might not care about graduating or college applications, but I do. And the more I can get the teachers on side, the better chance I have of getting out of here."

He sensed there was more to it than just getting into a good college. He wasn't going to open his mouth though. Who knew what he might say if he did.

"Library. Lunch tomorrow, G Callen. See you there," Jo finished before heading off again.

This time, he let her go.