A/N: Ok I know I'm awful at updating, but I'm finally getting a chapter up! Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Hermosa

I woke up with bags under my eyes again, and my hair a tangled haystack. I had one of those nights where you sleep peacefully, yet you don't get your energy back. I was also mildly nauseous, but that happened a lot to me in the morning. I trudged down the hall to put my contacts in, but my eyes wouldn't stay open long enough for them to stay in. So, it took me nearly fifteen minutes before I could get anything done. Consequently, I was in a rush. I practically dragged my mom out of bed, then returned to my room, throwing on a simple combination of jeans, a softball themed t-shirt, and my softball sweatshirt. I laced up my favorite pair of tennis shoes and sped down the stairs, choking down a granola bar and taking the dogs outside. I grabbed the correct school bag for the day and went outside, slamming the door to let my mom know I was walking out to the car. I sat in the car and immediately started dozing off. When I finally got to school I zoomed down the halls, trying to reach the back door of the school to get to Spanish before the bell rang. I entered the room and slid into my seat the minute the bell rang, earning a disapproving look from Senora Newberry.

"Hola clase! Me llamo Senora Newberry." I repeated the words to myself in English. Hi class, my name is Mrs. Newberry .

We droned back, "Hola Profesora." Hi teacher.

"Ok clase, today we will partner up and habla en Espanol!" Ok class, today we will partner up and speak in Spanish.

I felt eyes on my back and turned to see Seth grinning at me with his adorable smile. I mentally slapped myself. Then I nodded to him. He came over to me.

"Hola chica. Me llamo Seth." Hi girl. My name is Seth. "Hola Seth. Me llamo Kayla." Hi Seth. My name is Kayla.

We babbled on like this for almost the full eighty-three minutes. Profesora was headed to her little bell to tell us to stop when Seth blurted out the most shocking sentence I'd ever heard.

"Tu eres muy hermosa." Then he blushed bright red and looked abashed.

You are very beautiful. Wait, what?! I felt my face blush. I never blushed, but I just did.

"Gracias." Thanks. I whispered. Then Senora Newberry's little bell dinged.

"Clase! Silencio!" Class! Be quiet! She then instructed us to write a story in Spanish as our homework. The schools bell went off. I grabbed my stuff and attempted to bolt from the room before either Seth or Aimee could see my bright red face. Cruel joke. I thought to myself. I'm not beautiful. What a jerk. Tears sprang to my eyes.

I could hear Aimee behind me calling for me to wait up, but I just walked faster. I reached the Chemistry lab and slammed my book bag on the table, fighting to hold back the tears that threatened to erupt. I saw Aimee's pink shirt out of the corner of my eyes slide into the seat across from me and felt eyes on my face. Then a much huger and much warmer person sat down to my right. Mr. Harshfield told us to settle down and start our bell work. I glanced up to see Aimee working diligently, Levi by her side. I refused to look at Seth.

"Alright class, turn to page two in your notebooks and get ready to start a small lab."

Some groans echoed through the room but so did the fluttering of turning pages. A piece of paper thunked into my elbow and I glued it onto the page. I skimmed it, barely taking in the title "Mass of a Burnt Match" through my tears.

"Ok, we are burning matches to see how their masses change!" He smiled widely but faltered a little when he saw our faces. "Oh come on guys, we get to play with fire!" Some people laughed appreciatively. He went on to explain in excruciating detail the procedure of the lab but I spaced out, still smarting from the insult. I crashed back to Earth when Mr. Harshfield pronounced my death sentence.

"People on the same side of the table are lab partners!" Great, the one person I was avoiding, I was now forced to civilly work with. I scooted my chair back to stand up and make my way to the lab table, when a warm hand gently touched my arm. I whipped around to see the grief ridden face of Seth Clearwater.

"Why are you mad at me?" He pleaded, his tone bleak. "I thought girls liked it when we call them pretty." His brow furrowed. "Actually, I thought girls liked it when we called them beautiful." Honesty shone from his eyes. I wasn't caving.

"Pretty girls like to be called pretty. Ugly girls," I pointed to myself, "take it as a practical joke, especially when they've been bullied about their appearance their whole life." I turned around to go get a match.

"But you're not ugly." He practically whispered. Gosh, he sounded miserable, like he might cry. "I'm sorry I upset you. I really meant it though."

I weighed the match and recorded the mass in my notebook.

"Whatever." I mumbled. Score one for the moron. Aka me.

I lit the match and counted to ten before gently blowing it out. I weighed it again, recorded the mass, and stomped back to my table. I completed the stupid questions that went with the lab, and sat there glaring dejectedly at the table. Seth returned to the table.

"Please talk to me!" He begged.

Maybe he really meant it… A small voice in my head said. But why would he? The other voice answered back. You're nothing special. I whimpered softly. A soft hand gently patted my back. Its warmth flowed through my body.

"Did you really mean it?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"You're very beautiful, Kayla." He whispered.

Then I heard a snicker. And a giggle. And someone flat out laughing. I looked up and saw a few of the "popular" people laughing openly at me. I felt the tears surge and I leapt up, the laughter increasing in volume. I started towards Mr. Harshfield's desk to get a bathroom pass and escape this terror; I looked over my shoulder to see Keely openly flirting with Seth. A tear spilled over and I wiped it quickly away before grabbing the pass and escaping to the restroom. I caught a glimpse of Aimee and Levi bent over their papers, heads nearly touching, before the tears blurred my vision and the door shut behind me. I shuffled to the bathroom and took the stall furthest away from the door. The seat didn't have a lid but I sat on it anyway and started to cry. Nobody came to check on me. When five minutes had passed, I left the stall and washed my face in the sink. The paper towel dispenser was empty so I had to use the sleeve of my sweater. I returned to the classroom trying to muster as much dignity as I could. The room was super loud when I entered, everyone too wrapped up in their silly little groups to noticed a frazzled puffy eyed nobody walk in.

I took my seat again, and found a small square of paper on my notebook. I opened it up and read the note.

Kayla,

I'm sorry those idiots laughed at you. But I still stand by what I said. You are beautiful to me. And if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you.

Seth C.

I sighed. We'll see about that. But to have it in writing still made my heart feel like it was melting.

A/N: I know some of you probably think she's overreacting, but seriously, think of her home life and her past. That's bound to make her touchy. Review please! J