A/N: Reviews, please...please... I'm writing and writing, and now I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms because I'm not getting enough reviews! *ahem* I have a slight addiction to reviews, okay. I like to know people are reading my nonsense and enjoying it as much as I do. And please, don't quit on me because Julian hasn't made his appearance yet. He will, all in good time.

Ooo888ooO

Wanna know who you are,
Wanna know where to start,
I wanna know what this means.
Wanna know how you feel,
Wanna know what is real.
I wanna know everything
-- Avril Lavigne, Fall to Pieces

Ooo888ooO

"Hey," Haley leaned closer to Zoe when they approached the cafeteria doors. "When Kyle asks about why you were so upset, just tell him it's personal issues at home that you'd rather not discuss. He won't press the subject then."
Zoe's eyes were still burning from crying, and she blinked them hard before glancing at Haley. "Why shouldn't I tell him the truth?"

"And scare him off? He's really into you, Zoe." Haley said. "He was talking about you non-stop since he got home yesterday."
"Really?" Zoe asked, her heart doing a hopeful flip in her chest.
"Are you kidding? I threatened to hit him if he mentioned your name again." Haley grinned at her. "My dad's really curious to meet 'the mysterious Zoe'."

"Your dad?" Zoe's eyes widened. "What?"
"Oh, don't worry just yet. I think Kyle would rather ask you out first before he brings you home to meet our parents."
"But... to meet your parents? That's..."
"Serious, I know." Haley lifted her eyebrows and sighed. "If you don't like him that much, you should drop some hints. He'll pick up on them and keep his distance."
"No. No, I... like him too." Zoe shook her head and frowned.
"Well, good. Then we have an agreement." Haley stopped outside the doors, and Zoe swallowed nervously. "Don't tell him what really happened, not unless you want him to avoid you like the plague."

"Okay." Zoe said. This is doomed. I shouldn't even get involved with him at all now. If he finds out the truth... the truth about me...
The cafeteria was bustling with activity when they stepped through the doors. They joined Tanya and another girl in the lunch line, and the conversation revolved around the upcoming party that night.
"I'm so stoked that Kyle is coming too, right?" Tanya chipped once they were all seated at a table, armed with their food trays.

"Oh, yes, the life of the party." Haley sighed.
"I invited half the football team, so it looked less conspicuous when I extended the invitation to him this morning." Tanya said, stabbing a fork into her salad.
Haley and Zoe exchanged looks. Haley licked her lips and shook her head discreetly at Zoe, before flashing a completely fake smile at Tanya.
"Clever." Haley commented, although it was clear she thought the opposite.

"You don't need to worry one bit about him catching us doing the Ouija. I have a perfect plan of action."
"You do." Haley said flatly.
"The California Golden Bears are playing against some or the other team tonight. Live." Tanya beamed. "Not that I planned to have my party the same night as the game, obviously, but after I told the guys they can watch the game on my dad's plasma television with surround sound..." She trailed off, shrugging and smiling cunningly.
"Very innovative plan, Tanya. I wonder what the world would have come to if it wasn't for coincidence..." Haley said sarcastically.

"Anyway, the game only starts at eight, so that's when we'll slip out to the Willis house." Tanya cut her off.
"I need to stop by the Chill Bar before I come through." Haley said.
"What for?"

"Jess played the hero this morning and saved Miss Damsel-in-distress here from ending up on the police's missing people list." Haley nodded toward Zoe. "I want to go see if he checked on his mom as well. Which is, you know, a probability."
"Poor Mrs Thornton." Tanya shook her head.
"Yeah." Haley agreed quietly, then straightened up.
The sombre moment passed, and the discussion moved on to complaints about upcoming school assignments and pop quizzes.

Zoe didn't join in. To be honest, she wasn't all that bothered with the school work that lay ahead. She finished her lunch and sat back to take a good look around the cafeteria. It momentarily amused her how just the day before she'd been sitting alone and had been aware of every one looking at her. Today she was sitting with people as if she'd always been there, as if she belonged there. The throbbing warmth the thought brought to her was brief. She didn't belong there, not really. She still had to put up a facade. She still had to pretend that she was just like everybody else.
I don't fit in.
She caught several students watching her curiously, and her thoughts were confirmed. She stood out in the crowd like a sore thumb. There were no two ways about it.

Zoe stopped when she met another pair of eyes that, unlike the others, didn't turn away the moment she caught them. They looked at one another across the cafeteria for a moment, before Kyle inclined his head and nodded toward the exit doors. Zoe caught his message and watched him get up from his table, leaving his friends in a smooth and casual manner. She waited until he was through the exit doors before licking her lips and turning to her own table.
"I'll see you guys in class." Zoe said, scooting out her chair.
"Fine." Tanya said.
"Wait, where are you going?" Haley frowned.
"I've got some... stuff to do." Zoe said.
Haley's frown deepened. Zoe saw her look toward the football players, and her gaze cleared slightly.
"Okay, catch you later then."

Zoe dumped her empty tray on the way. Once outside, she paused to look around for Kyle. She took a few uncertain steps into the parking lot until he came into view. He was sitting on one of the garden bunks, just out of sight from the lunch room. Zoe walked over, becoming more self-aware with every step. Her heart beat louder, her fingers tingled, and her palms became damp. She slowly sat down beside him, afraid she'd make a fool of herself by tripping herself, or worse.
"I don't get why your parents would make you walk to school." Kyle shook his head, but there was no trace of anger in his voice anymore. He seemed genuinely confused.
"They didn't." Zoe said. Not this again.

"Regardless, I'm going to be your chaperone for the next couple of days."
"I can't say no, right?" Zoe said lightly. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to drive around with him every day. She quite enjoyed it yesterday...
"Right." Kyle smiled, then worry swathed his features. "What happened in class this morning? Was it something Tanya did?"
"Oh, ah..." Zoe paused, gazing back into his concerned eyes. Her heart was telling her to take a leap of faith and trust him with the truth, but her lips were already forming the words her mind ordered them to. "It's personal stuff. You know, family stuff."

"Oh." Kyle said.
Silence fell over them. Zoe glanced at him, wondering what was going through his mind. He caught her gaze, and gave her an impish smile.
"You must be used to this."
Zoe returned him with a confused stare.
"Being whisked away by some or the other guy. Being told how beautiful you are. How you've stolen their hearts and how they are irrevocably in love with you. How incredible you are." He was speaking easily, but she could tell there was a part of him that was hesitant about the words.

She couldn't respond right away. She was overcome with a soaring sweetness she'd never experienced before. The situation she was in felt unreal – not the frightening sensation she had earlier that she could no longer distinguish between what was real and what wasn't.
This was a different kind of unreal; the kind where she felt like she was drifting on a soft cloud, afraid that she would suddenly wake up and the dreamy moment would be lost forever.

"I know," Kyle grimaced, pushing his hands on his knees. "It's crazy-talk. I only met you yesterday, and I don't know you well enough to be head over heels in love with you. But..." He trailed off, and shrugged.
"But what?" Zoe pressed quietly.
"I can't help the way I feel about you."
"You mean you're irrevocably in love with me?" Zoe asked lightly, slightly breathless.
Kyle pursed his lips and stared down at his shoes. "I feel like I've known you all my life. From the moment I saw you, I just knew." He shifted uncomfortably and finally forced himself to look at her. "I knew that you're the one I've been looking for all this time."

She tried to swallow. She tried not to swoon at his words. She fought the irrational fear to run away when he looked at her with a passion in his eyes that mirrored her emotions. She forgot to breathe.
"It's clichéd. You've probably heard it a hundred times from different guys before. But," Kyle folded his hands together helplessly. "It's the truth."
He watched her, uncertain. Zoe caught herself staring at him, and her cheeks flamed up.

"Ah, well..." Zoe cleared her throat, embarrassed. "I didn't think you'd be the type of guy who falls in love with complete strangers." It was on the tip of her tongue to add that she'd received that information from Haley, but stopped herself when he spoke.
"I'm not." Kyle said. "I mean... you're different."
This time it was Zoe who looked away. No one had ever told her that to her face before. She could always see the thought in their eyes, but no one had actually ever voiced it. She had always thought about how horrible it would be when one day someone did say it. But it wasn't horrible, not at all.

In fact, she quite liked the way he said it.
"I know, it's too much too soon..." Kyle started.
"No. It's okay." Zoe said.
"It is?"
"I feel the same way about you." Zoe said softly.

Kyle let out a deep breath, and broke into a smile that melted her down to the core. The hesitance she'd sensed in him before evaporated into thin air. Zoe smiled back at him shyly.
"Do you mean it? You're not just saying that because you feel sorry for me or anything?" Kyle asked, doubt seeping into his smile.
"I'm the kind of girl who doesn't feel any empathy for the arrogant jocks who think they rule. So, no, I'm not just saying it. I mean it."
"You don't think I'm arrogant, do you?" Kyle asked awkwardly.
Zoe burst into genuine laughter. "I know a surprising amount of arrogant people, but you're not one of them, Kyle. You are the most sincere person I've ever met."
Kyle smiled quietly. "I try to be good."
"I don't think you need to try. I think you just... are. Naturally." Zoe said earnestly.
Kyle chuckled, half embarrassed, and shook his head when the bell rang.
Not already! Zoe thought, surprised at how fast the time had gone. Disappointment filled her to the brim when Kyle stood up and held his hand to her.
"Where do you want me to meet you after school?"
"Oh, I'll... meet you by the car," Zoe said, glimpsing the slick black car at the far end of the parking lot as she allowed him to help her up.
"Great."

They stepped into the building as students began to weave through the corridors.
"See you later, Zoe." Kyle said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before joining the flow of foot-traffic.
Zoe stayed rooted to the spot, her heart throbbing with delicious delight.
"Looks like the cat got the mouse," Haley appeared next to her suddenly, and Zoe jumped. "And ate it too, if your face is anything to go by."
"Well..." Zoe admitted sheepishly.
Haley giggled and once again linked her arm through Zoe's. "As much as I love the idea of you and my brother hitting it off, please spare me the details. I am his sister, y'know. Now, we have to get to English class. I heard we're going to be quizzed on our basic knowledge of Shakespeare."
As the two friends made their way to class, Zoe couldn't help but feel that she finally found a place where she could belong.