"Come on, Rio! You're saying that out of the whole school –"

"All the people you've made fun of or been rejected by," Roxy added, sounding smug.

"That you don't have her e-mail or anything?" Andy finished.

"Hey, don't rush me," Rio said, giving him a glare. "You said she didn't go the public junior high school, and wasn't here on the first day of school. That just leaves extracurricular activities and the White Pages, along with a random assortment of emails. That is a very small window of opportunity; you know private school kids have email chains and stuff I've never even heard of."

"Another small thing is memory of rejection," Mark muttered from next to him. The four were in their already-designated spot on the campus; the back corner of the library on the furthest computer so the librarians, teachers, and other students couldn't see the screen. Roxy was leaning against the wall, glancing down at Rio – sitting on the computer's matching chair. Andy sat on the ground near Roxy with his back against the wall, keeping an eye out for anyone snooping at the, It was unlikely though: class started in five minutes, so everyone was too busy catching up on gossip to be in the library.

"Come on man," Mark continued, "It was just a girl." When Mark saw the look Roxy was giving him, he held up his hands defensively. "I mean that nicely. Can't you just give up and find some other one to go after? Didn't you say you found six different cell phone numbers in your pocket?"

Andy shrugged, not bothering to point out one was Mitzi's and another was for the Rejection Hotline. The only reason he knew that was because he'd dialed all of them, trying to find Bloom's. None of them had worked, and finally he had convinced Rio (who had a surprising talent for computers) to run a few searches for him to try and find her online (considering he didn't want to call the house phone and didn't have the courage to ask his Dad about her). Every result had turned up nothing. "I keep telling you, she was different."

"And I keep telling you; you were drunk."

"Not drunk enough to molest a pole," a girl who passed by on the other side of the computers laughed. Her boyfriend cracked up too as they continued down to the resource section.

Roxy blushed and bent her head so her hair covered her face. The incident at the party had sparked some interesting names for her, the most popular being a contestant from 'Extreme Stripping'. It probably wouldn't have been too bad if a certain someone (Mitzi) hadn't taken pictures of her and posted them on her personal blog and e-mailed them to everyone. Now, Roxy had her own popularity, but not in the way she'd wanted.

"Bitch," Roxy muttered under her breath.

Mark reached over and gave her arm a friendly squeeze. "Don't worry, Rox. It's just post-party gossip. It'll blow over soon."

"Yeah. Maybe by the time I graduate." She grinned sarcastically. "How goes the search, Rio?"

"After a search of Myspace, I have precisely…nothing." He clicked off the browser and gave Andy a helpless shrug. "Dude, I've done all I can. And no offense, but I feel like a stalker."

Andy sighed and stood up. "I know. Thanks Rio."

"If I may ask," Roxy said, picking her silver bag off the ground and searching through it for a hair elastic, "Why are so interested in her?"

"Well…it's just…well, you know."

"Uh-huh," Mark grinned, "You're crushing big time on her."

Andy's eyes narrowed. "I am not."

"I beg to differ. You agree Rio?"

"A fool if I didn't," he winked, "Besides, someone needed to have a little luck at that party."

"Exactly. Roxx?"

"Agreed," she said, looping her hair up in a ponytail. Her bangs fell over her left eye.

"You guys are so supportive."

"And that my friend is why you love us," Roxy grinned as the bell rang, signaling the conversation was over.

"Andy Picolli? You saying Andy Picolli did you?"

"He didn't do me, Anna!" Bloom snapped, digging through her locker for her Biology book.

"Yes you may think that, but you woke up in bed with him. So I assume something happened," her friend replied, her short black hair staying perfectly in place as her head bounced up and down to the song that was playing on her iPod. One ear bud was in, allowing her to rock to the chorus of whatever Korean band she was obsessed with this week, and talk at the same time.

"Newsflash, Dr. Phil; you said you probably got laid that night, too."

"So you admit he did you?"

"Anna!" Bloom almost yelled, "Nothing happened! I can't even remember if anything went on because I was way too spaced."

"We were all spaced. It turns out it was Evan Harbor who did it. Mitzi would press charges, but that would mean her parents finding out."

"Oh please, like they would care. I've seen her mother; her face is so plastic she could be a Barbie doll."

"Don't forget the IQ of a bottle of hot sauce."

Bloom grinned, probably for the first time that day. "You should have seen her when I used to go over there, she was always spaced out. I swear she does pot."

"I bet you twenty bucks she does," the other girl grinned. After a small laugh, she said absently, "I bet he was a good kisser."

And just like that, Bloom was back to being annoyed. "For the last time, I don't know. Why are you bugging me?"

"Because," she sighed dramatically, "I've been going to school with that guy for years, and I know for a fact you have accomplished in one night what the cheerleading squad has been dreaming of for years."

"He's not that cute," Bloom muttered.

Anna rolled her eyes, "He's Dork Rocker Cute. And don't let Mitzi catch you saying that."

"Whatever," she shrugged, "What does she see in him anyway?"

"Like I understand her. You're the one who used to be best friends with her."

"Yeah, back when I was seven."

Anna shrugged. "But still…"

"You know what; it doesn't even matter. There are tons of kids here, and I bet I won't have a single class with the guy."

"Well, you know the old saying about jinxing things…"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Bloom said, "Are you going to come with me to get my class schedule?"

"Sorry, but I've got to head to English. I'll see you at lunch?"

"Yeah," she said, shutting her locker, "And please forget the stuff about Andy."

"Hey Rio," Ellis (who went by his last name instead of Josh) called across the European Lit room, "Rumor has it Eva Aldrez is taking out a restraining order against you because of something you did at the party. Care to share what it was?"

"Don't remember, but she slapped me pretty good," he laughed as he and Andy took their seats near him. "Actually, I got slapped by a lot of people that night."

"I hear you," Ellis insisted. "And my parents grilled me to death." He tilted his head to look past Rio. "What about you, man? Anything interesting happen with you?"

"Not really," Andy replied absently, grabbing his book from his backpack.

"I refuse to believe that. I heard Mitzi was trying to get some quality time with you. Did she succeed?"

"Not by a mile," Andy replied as the she-devil herself entered the room, her clique following. Andy noticed Elle was there, so Mitzi obviously hadn't caught her raiding the house on Saturday morning. He also noticed – to his discomfort – that Mitzi's eyes were right on him. She started heading over to his desk…

"All right, students, take your seats!" the teacher's voice rang out as the bell sounded.

"Thank you, Mr. Depaw," Andy said to his English teacher under his breath. The blonde man approached the board and gave a look that got everyone into their seats in lighting fast. Mr. Depaw wasn't the tallest, strongest, or best looking of the Gardenia High teaching staff, but the single fact that his eyes were dark like the night sky and could go from happy to furious in a fraction of a second made him the most feared of the teachers. Not to mention, he could catch anything that his students were doing.

"I trust you all had a nice weekend?" there were a round of mummers and snickers and a girl with a short skirt saying it was a very nice weekend while winking at her boyfriend. "Good," Mr. Depauw said, barely paying attention to the responses. "Now, as you all know, we're getting partnered up for the Renaissance papers today. You and your partner will pick a writer and artist from the Renaissance era in Europe, and combined write a ten page paper, due in three weeks…" he paused from writing on the board, "Miss Ellis, if you could kindly shut your music player off?"

Ellis's twin sister Anna dug into her bag guiltily, grabbing her iPod. "I wanna be all right, naegyeote issojwo -" she cut the song off. "Sorry, sir."

"Don't let it happen again." He said in a slightly dark tone before turning to face her. "Pick your partner."

"Um…Carly." She said after scanning the room.

"Josh," he continued, marking the names off.

"Rio." Ellis said quickly, flashing Andy a 'sorry-but-I-really-need-a-passing-grade' look.

Andy gave him a smile as Mr. Depaw called on volunteers for picking partners. Most kids quickly said the names of their best friends or girlfriends or boyfriends or the smartest kids in the class. Andy didn't really focus until he noticed Mitzi's hand in the air and her eyes looking dreamily at him from the reflection in her compact mirror. In a moment of fear of being paired with her, his hand shot into the air like lighting.

"Mr. Picolli?" Mr. Depauw called, a smirk on his face, "You suddenly remember this is a choice of yours and not something I'm telling you?"

He cringed a little at the snickers of his fellow classmates. "No sir. Um…I pick –"

Before he could finish, the door to the room opened, and all eyes fixed on the girl with red hair and bright blue eyes who entered, her bag slung over her shoulder. "Um…this is Euro Lit, right?"

Mr. Depauw gave her a look. "Yes. You must be Miss Holloway."

"I am," she said, handing him a slip of paper. "Sorry for being late, the excuse note's on there."

"Yes," he waved off, turning back to his chart, "Now Mr. Picolli…"

"Bloom."

His teacher arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"You said to pick a partner. I pick Bloom."

Ryo's eyes widened in surprise. Ellis took one look at Bloom and gave his friend a wink. Anna had to bite back a snicker, and Mitzi's jaw dropped as her compact mirror clattered to the floor. And Mr. Depaw just acted as if every student picked the new girl as their partner, regardless of knowing them (or so he thought). Andy had a slight moment of victory and relief until he realized exactly what he said. Then, his eyes quickly darted down to his backpack to look for a nonexistent piece of paper as he heard his teacher say, "If you'd please take your seat, Miss Holloway?"

"Yes sir," Andy heard Bloom mutter after a moment. He listened as her sneakers slapped onto the tile floor as she made her way across the room (and away from Andy, much to his relief), and sat down at a desk. After a few minutes, he risked a glance at Bloom, only to find her eyes focused on the board with an angry scowl on her face.

"Psst!" Andy turned to find Rio holding out a piece of paper for him. He quickly grabbed it and slid it under his book before Mr. Depauw turned around. After a second, Andy unfolded the note, already knowing who it was from.

You are so dead.

Everybody put up your hands
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love…

I Don't Wanna Be In Love (Good Charlotte)