A/N: SURPRISE! I didn't have to go to school today, so I spend the whole day, working on this chapter for you guys! Your reviews really made me the happiest person in the world. Thank you so much!

Her flu had been dispersed along the week, and she felt better than she had originally started off with on Monday. Her fever had gone down tremendously after the first day and now, all she was left with was the sniffles. And however annoying the sniffles were, she was glad that was the only thing left.

It had happened in her second period class. It was AP Music Theory, and not to mention her favorite class of the day. This class was the only class she didn't have to study for. Music came very easily to her, considering she had been playing a wide variety of instruments since the ripe age of two, particularly the piano. She preferred playing music over chatting over the phone, or even going online to chat with her friends. She never chose the time to make a Facebook for herself. The only time she ever went online was to do research for homework. To pass time, she read novels and texts all the while listening to music that literally belonged in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, rather than listening to modern music.

It was no wonder why she was far behind in the latest technology.

Maddie had been playing a symphony she was supposed to be learning that week at one of the piano stations when Reid strolled in casually. She had not been deterred in playing, but her eyes followed him curiously. She watched as the blonde boy handed her teacher a slim, white slip.

"Maddie Bennett," Mrs. Bordoli read the slip, "you're wanted in the principal's office."

She furrowed her brows. What had she done? The last time she checked, she hadn't done anything wrong. And more importantly, why was Reid sentenced to get her in the first place?

"What did I do?" she asked, her head filled with paranoia when the two teenagers entered the hallway.

"You didn't do anything."

"Then why am I going to the principal's office?"

Reid didn't answer her question. "Put you books in your locker," he ordered her, once they were in front of the lockers.

"Not until you tell me where we're going."

He leaned against the bank of lockers casually. "You ever heard of the term 'go with the flow'?" he grinned easily at her, white teach flashing under curved lips.

"I've heard 'expect the unexpected'," she responded sarcastically, thinking that phrase could have not fit the situation any better than it did. Nevertheless, she opened her locker anyway, dumping her books in there.

"You don't need your bag either," she hard him tell her a moment later. "In fact, don't bring anything at all."

Maddie's butterscotch eyes lighted up in recognition. "We can't ditch school, Reid," she said that as though that was considered breaking the law. "I've already missed a day this week. I can't skip another."

"Come on," the blonde boy replied impatiently, not bothering to wait for her as he turned on his feet and started walking into another hallway.

Maddie stared after him in a mixture of amazement and irritation. She had no choice—well, she actually did have a choice, but she chose to follow him based on her piqued curiosity. At first, she thought they were going back to her dorm, but when Reid passed the girls' dormitory building, it had her thinking of many insane and unreasonable thoughts. He could be taking her anywhere. It would be Boston, or a simple marketplace downtown, or freaking Disneyland for all she knew. Or he could be taking her to the one place she detested the most: a strip club.

This was Reid Garwin she was talking about here.

She continued following him until they were outside on the school parking lot. She had pestered him with questions and protests, but he didn't respond to any. He could have blocked her out, the perks of selective hearing, but he chose to listen to her ramble on with a simple smirk on his face. Maddie saw that, and it made her want to rip it off. They haven't even known each other for a full month and yet, she already wanted to kill him.

"Hmm," Maddie murmured thoughtfully in a quiet awe as they neared on car in particular. It was a red and black, expensive looking car that gleamed in all its glory underneath the rays of the sunlight. "Nice car," she eyed it with interest. The car probably cost more than her house back in Dillon. No, it cost more than all the houses in her hometown.

"Isn't it?" Reid asked, agreeing with her. He was never one to flaunt his money, but once he saw the Bugatti Veyron, he knew he had to have it.

She slid in the car, enclosed in its richness. "Now can you tell me where you're taking me?" she placed the seatbelt over her, prepared to face the worst.

Reid chuckled upon seeing her face. He started the car and slowly backed out of Spenser's parking lot. "Try not to look so horrified. It's not like I'm taking you to crack house."

Maddie lifted a brow. "Well, I really don't know how to look, considering someone won't tell me where we're going."

She looked out the window, the outline of Spenser Academy disappearing rapidly behind her as the followed a trail that was fully surrounded by trees.

A ditching day with Reid.

She better buckle that seatbelt real tight.

"I want that one."

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

"But there are better ones around here than that one."

"I think it's cute."

Reid picked up a random phone around him, ironically it was an iPhone. "See this? You could do so many things with this one," he explained as he scrolled down the touch screen menu, pressing a bunch of icons. He knew what he was doing; problem was, Maddie didn't have a clue.

True to his word, Reid had taken her to get her very first phone. She had objected at first, and that included not even entering the phone store, but rather glued to his car door. Reid had to drag her away from his car and literally hold her hand to keep her from escaping. To prove she had some dignity left, Maddie offered—no, demanded that she pay for her phone herself. That is until she had forgotten that she had left her bag back at school. Just like Reid had told her to and she was stupid enough to listen.

Sneaky bastard.

Maddie utilized her time by walking around the store, her eye twitching at how complicated these high-tech phones actually were. First there were the types that slide up to show the keypad. On another similar phone, she had tried to slide that up too, only to realize that one didn't slide. It flipped up. And then there was the whole texting issue. It really did take her five minutes to type one short sentence, much to Reid's mirth. She had given up then, trying to look for the cheapest, most convenient phone for her.

"It looks expensive," Maddie noted, watching as Reid touched another icon.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" he muttered, blue gaze heavily on hers. "Money isn't a problem for me."

"Well, it is for me, considering that thing cost three hundred dollars. Do you know how many groceries you could buy with that much money? It shouldn't be spent on a phone."

"This phone does almost everything!" he tried to argue with her. "You can text, you can store music, you can go on the internet. I'd say it's worth three hundred dollars."

Maddie shook her head stubbornly, pointing to a black and white phone that had caught her eye. It was a simple one; one that slid up with a normal keypad (not the one with all the letters stretched out on it), the phone was one of the older ones that the store carried. Looking at the label, the phone was a Nokia 6111, and it was one of the smallest phones there. She instantly liked it upon seeing it.

"I like this one," she held the small phone in her palm. It worked out, and it didn't cost all that much. She smiled at seeing his frown. "Come on, Reid. You told me I could get any phone I wanted."

True, he had said that. But how else was he supposed to get her into the store? Maddie had been willing to stay outside, protesting all the while, if he hadn't bribed her with that option.

"I said you could get any phone that's reasonable."

Reasonable being one of the expensive, nicer-looking ones that caused your friends to envy you. The kind of phones that everyone wished they had.

"This one is reasonable," she told him. "If I had it my way, I wouldn't even be buying a phone at all. Plus, you get a discount if you're a member."

"You think I can't afford this phone?" Reid wasn't merely shocked by what she had said. He was affronted, astounded, and maybe a little hurt. Did she not know who he was?

Maddie wanted to laugh at his face. Of course she knew how extremely wealthy he was. Judging by his nature, his nice and shiny car, his clothing—even his casual clothing reeked of the rich life. She believed that a broom closet or a shed in his house would cost more than all the money's worth of normal houses of Massachusetts combined. Maybe even houses in other states.

"I never said that you couldn't afford it," she replied, mentally rolling her eyes. "I was just stating the fact that they give discounts. You know, discounts are a way of saving money for us commoners."

Those blue eyes narrowed at her. "I know what discounts are," he said defensively. His accusing tone hidden beneath his defensive one made Maddie smile.

She took the Nokia 6111 and placed it in his hand, giving him a nudge towards the cashier. "Go on," she grinned encouragingly, giving him a hard push.

An indignant look was followed by a glare as Reid made his way toward the cashier to pay for the insanely cheap-ass phone. Buying this was almost mocking his wealth. He bit back a snort when he returned with the newly-bought phone, meeting the image of Maddie trying to figure out the iPhone.

"Now, this," she waved the iPhone in his face, "is an unreasonable phone. I press one button and it automatically presses another," her face lighted up when he gave the phone to her. It was hers. It belonged to her now. "Thank you," she murmured a fully fledged smile on her face.

Aw, crap, he morosely thought as his heart sped ten times faster the normal rate at the sight of her beautiful smile.

"So, are we going back to school?" she asked, once they stepped out onto the street.

Reid eyed her strangely, before smirking at her. "What part of 'ditching' don't you understand?"

Maddie made a face. There were certain things he did that made her actually like him. For example, buy her the phone she wanted. Not many boys would just take her out of school and go buy something for her. That part of Reid made her smile. Another part of him was how he said something that completely took that smile off her face, making her forget whatever thing he's done for her, and made her want to smack him.

"When's your birthday?" she asked him curiously.

"July thirty-first."

"Oh," she said after a while, her lips pursing together in thought. "You know what? You have the same birthday as Harry Potter."

Reid made a growling noise at his throat at the name. "Don't mention his name around me."

"Harry Potter?"

His seething eyes turned on her.

Maddie bit back an amused grin. "What do you have against Harry Potter?"

"I hate him."

"He's a fictional character," Maddie pointed out tentatively.

"What's your point?"

"I love the series," she began, ignoring his question. "Do you ever think what it's like to live in a world full of magic?" she asked, unable to notice the way the blonde Son of Ipswich froze at the word 'magic'. "To fight using curses instead of fists or to learn subjects like Transfiguration and Charms, instead of simple Science and Math? I'd like to wave a wand around too."

He sneered at the thought, succeeding in masking his true expression. "What's so special about waving a stick around?"

"It's the fact that magic comes out of that stick."

"Not all magic comes out of a stick," he grumbled quietly in the barest of whispers. It was so quiet, that Maddie had to strain her ears to hear it.

"You're right," she agreed with him. "There are other forms of magic. At times, I think magic doesn't exist at all. But when I read books like Harry Potter," she continued when Reid snorted at the name, "or when I watch movies with magic in them, I kinda wish magic would exist."

It does, Reid fought the urge to say that out loud.

If only she knew.

"Can we go to the bookstore? I want to get that new Harry—"

"No."

Maddie peered at him earnestly. "I swear, I'll pay you back. It'll be real short. I'm just going to go in and—"

"No."

"What if I wanted another book? If it wasn't a Harry Potter book, would you pay for it?"

Reid remained silent, his eyes drifting to hers and then up to the sky. "Sure."

Her shoulders slumped as she sighed, thinking how extremely ridiculous he was being with his hatred for one of her favorite books. When she looked back up at him, she noticed a dark glint in his eye as he watched her. "What?" she asked, feeling his gaze long on her.

"Have you ever been to Nicky's?"

Later that day, when the sun was long gone and the moon was in the midst of rising, she found herself at Nicky's, gawking around her surroundings. She had no idea it would be a bar. The way Reid had explained it to her earlier, it had sounded like utopia. Her eyes had still been trained on the pool tables, the long bar, the dancing of the bodies, when Katherine had made her way over to her.

"Not what you expected?" Judging by the look on her friend's face, Katherine would think so.

Maddie shook her head, still staring. "Not at all," she had scoffed at herself before turning that into a laugh. "Where's Reid? I want to know where he is before I murder him."

Katherine grinned in sudden amusement. "Why?"

"He told me this place had a candy bar. I see a bar, but I don't see any candy."

"Why would this place have candy?"

"Ask Reid," Maddie managed through clenched teeth.

The hazel-eyed girl laughed, slinging an arm around Maddie's small shoulders and putting their heads together in a friendly fashion. "Do you think you would have gone here if Reid had told you the true description of what Nicky's looked like?"

"I still would have gone," Maddie started indignantly, but when Katherine raised an eyebrow at her, she muttered, "Fine, I wouldn't. But that's only because I've got other things to do."

"Like what?" Katherine made an impish noise. "It's a Friday. What do you usually do on Fridays?"

Back in Dillon, she actually did nothing on Fridays. All her friends, amazingly as it was, were hard-core football fans. It just so happens that every Friday in Dillon, there was always a football game between Dillon's beloved high school team, the Panthers, and some other football team. It was either go to the football game, or stay home and do nothing, because every store and franchise in Dillon had to be closed, just so that the owners of the stores could go watch the game. She couldn't even watch TV on Fridays, because every channel she flipped through had a showing of the current football game. Even the news channels' latest news were about the game dealing with the Panthers.

Oh, she hated Dillon.

She reckoned her parents hated that place too. The only reason they stayed in that part of Texas was because their main laboratory, or whatever it is zoologists had, was there. Her mother and father had accepted to travel around the world as quick as she had accepted to go to Spenser, and all for one particular cause: to get away from Dillon and its madness.

"I was going to figure out how to use my new phone."

Katherine smiled slyly, nudging her elbow into her side. "I still think it's adorable that Reid went out and bought you a phone."

"You forgot to mention that he abducted me from class and literally dragged me into the store with him."

"And he was willing to buy you the phone that cost the most too!" Katherine continued as if she hadn't heard what Maddie had said. "You're lucky. He wouldn't buy things for just any girl, you know."

"Nor would he stare at a girl after bumping into her, or care for her because she's sick as crap," Maddie had added sarcastically, but underneath her tone, she felt pleasantly warm. She was actually thankful for Reid taking care of her, and buying her a phone. He was really making her stay in Massachusetts memorable.

"I'm going to get a drink," Katherine decided, about to make her way to the bar. "You want anything?"

"Do I drink, Kat?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You could have just said 'no'."

Maddie grinned when her friend left. Her hand flew out and caught an arm when the person passed her. The person turned, staring right at her, before a smile broke out on his face. "Hi, Tyler," she greeted, reaching up to muss up his hair.

"Hey," he chuckled, his hands poised over his head, protecting it. "Heard you had an eventful day."

"Ugh. I still don't know how to use my phone."

"Did you read the manual?"

"It comes with a manual?" Maddie was surprised at the news. She didn't know there were instructions; obviously they were hidden somewhere in the box. A tired expression filtered across her face. "I can't believe Reid pulled me out of school."

Tyler laughed, patting Maddie on her back. "He does things like that."

"Does he do it all the time?"

"They don't call him the 'rebel son of Ipswich' for nothing."

"I figured," she said, letting out a long sigh. "Where is he anyway?"

"Where he always is," Tyler responded, his hand lifting up and pointing at one of the pool tables.

Oddly enough, Reid was the first person she saw that was blended around there. He was the only blonde within distance of the whole bar, besides Sarah, but she was sitting on the other side of the room next to Caleb. It seemed that Reid was playing by another group of unnamed boys, and it also seemed that he had won that game, considering the dejected looks on the boys' faces as Reid collected their money with a smirk of his own.

Why did he need that money? He was already loaded to begin with.

She parted from Tyler with a good-bye as she made her way to the pool tables. Maddie unsuccessfully dodged the dancing bodies of couples out on the floor, so that she wouldn't get roughly rammed into to. Just escaping her way from those people was a feat itself. She was almost stepped on twice and she had been bumped on the side more times than she could count. Her shoulders and her hips were slightly aching when she had made it through. Those people really danced hard out on the floor.

"Garwin," she pinched his side to get him to turn around, "I don't see any candy anywhere."

A look of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Oh. I lied."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Did you just say a bad word?" His eyebrow arched upwards. "Maybe I'm rubbing off on you."

"Right," she rolled her eyes. She reached over and fiddled with the pool stick. "Didn't know you played pool."

The same smirk he always had settled right onto his face. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me."

"Wanna play?"

Reid would have stumbled as he walked around the table, but luckily he didn't. He stared at her as he racked the cue balls together, not quite sure if he was hearing right. "What?" he finally asked.

"Pool," she outwardly grinned at his surprised expression. "I know how to play, and I think I could beat you at it."

He chuckled then, his head tilted in her direction inquiringly. "Is that a challenge?"

"You bet," Maddie suddenly felt spontaneous, and a little…devilish. "If I win, we go out on a Harry Potter day. You have to buy me a whole new set of Harry Potter books and we go see that new Harry Potter movie that just came out—The Half Blood Prince," she finished, laughing as she caught the martyred look on Reid's face.

"Fine," he mumbled, not liking her proposition at all. He bit the inside of his cheek in thought. "If I win, you have to…kiss me."

Maddie stopped. "Huh?"

"Kiss me," he repeated slowly, as if she was a child. He ignored the glare that was sent his way. "You sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah."

What was she getting herself into?

"Okay," Reid had on a grin as though he already won the game. By that grin, Maddie had a feeling she was deep in trouble. "Grab a stick," he inclined his head towards the rack that held the sticks together.

In the beginning of the game, they were evenly matched. She had to remind herself to thank her uncle for teaching her how to play pool. She was well-trained. She knew which balls to sink, and which to just leave it there. Maddie had played pool so many times; she had even played against older, more experienced men. Her uncle would always smile in pride whenever she had won a game for him. The best part was seeing the shocked expressions on her opponents' faces. It always gave her a good laugh whenever she went home.

Maddie didn't know when it happened or how it happened, but she found herself losing. Sure, she had sunk a ball or two, but just when she was about to grin at her success, she would look back at Reid's face and find that he didn't look the least nervous at all. It was like he knew her every move. In the middle progressing of the game, he was sinking more balls than she was, using unique combo shots she had never seen before. Towards the end of the game, Reid had a firm smirk planted on his face.

She had lost.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

She shouldn't have opened her big mouth and challenged him in the first place.

"I win," his voice lifted into the air, his eyes glinting mischievously at her.

"There's no need to rub it in," she narrowed her eyes, her lips forming a frown.

"Hmm."

A strong arm tugged at her hip roughly, causing her to collide into his solid body. This brought back memories of her crashing into him the first time. His chest was still as hard and painful as ever when she hit him. Maddie made a surprised noise as she was quickly hauled into the air, his hands suddenly gripping her waist. She had dropped her pool stick in the process. He lifted her until she sat at the edge of the table, teetering at its countertop. His hands gently pried her knees away, and then he was suddenly in front of her, eye to eye, straddled between her thighs.

Holy crap.

She heard his amused laugh, followed by him murmuring, "You don't have to be scared," he teased, bringing his hand up to her face to brush a stray strand of raven-colored hair.

"Not scared," she mumbled, golden eyes averted.

Reid held her chin with one hand, forcing her to look at him. In an instant, gold met blue. He leaned in, and just when she thought their lips would meet, he had bend his head down to her neck: his favorite place to attack. His blonde hair tickled her throat as his lips skin over the surface of her skin. She bit her lip, trying hard not to part them. The next moment was filled with small, feather-like kisses along her neck. He knew what he was doing. He had done it before.

"Hey," she started, trying to keep her eyes open. "You said only one kiss—" she gasped, the noise turning into a light moan when he gave her a particularly hard bite. A gentle lick was lapped over the bite, as if apologizing for biting her, but she found that she didn't mind one bit.

She was met with his smirking face again, once he detached himself from her pale neck. She bit the corner of her lip, nearly gnawing on it as she waited anticipation for him to make his next move. His blue eyes were testing her, seeing if he could hold her gaze long enough. His hand went to her cheek, feeling the warmth of it beneath his palm. When he leaned in, he watched as her eyes closed halfway, her long eyelashes creating shadows on her face. She could feel his breath on hers when he neared, waiting for that warmth to cover her lips.

It never came.

Her eyes widened incredulously when he pulled away. There was a pained expression on his face when he averted his gaze from her. He wanted to kiss her. Badly. But instead, he squeezed her hips softly before letting his hands fall down to his side.

"Wha…?" she could barely make out the words to say for it.

A small, forced smile came onto his face, the pained expression vanishing. "When I kiss you, I want you to want me to kiss you, not because you lost at a game of pool."

With that said, he withdrew from her, walking away from the pool table, hands gripped tightly in his pockets.

Maddie watched the retreating of his back until he faded from her sight. She chose to look up that the ceiling, mauling over her thoughts of what had just transpired, or rather, what didn't transpire.

She didn't notice Aaron and his pack of boys follow Reid out the door.

She didn't notice the other three Sons of Ipswich exit through the door either.

Maddie just sat.

Did that mean that he had wanted to kiss her? Did he truly mean that? He wasn't doing all that just because he naturally was a flirt was he? And what about her? Did she want to kiss him? She could have pushed him away anytime, breaking their little deal (though she highly doubt that she would do that), and she could have stopped him. But she didn't. Guess that explains the look of disappointment on her face when he pulled away.

She hopped off the table, determined to go after him. Maddie hoped they were still friends after this. She didn't want this to be cause an awkward rift between them. She laughed at the thought. Things were never awkward when it involved Reid Garwin— that was for sure.

"Hey, Maddie—"

"Sorry, Kat, I can't talk right now."

Katherine held onto Maddie's arm anyway. "I was just asking if you needed a ride back to the dorms."

"No," Maddie shook her head quickly, her eyes darting to the door. "I walked here. I can walk back."

"I'm not letting you walk alone," Katherine said with a frown. "Meet me at my car when you're done."

Maddie nodded, saving herself as much time as possible. She spared a tight smile for her friend before Katherine's grip loosened on her arm, allowing her to go. She gently wretched her arm back to her side and headed through the door, pushing it open and feeling the cool air wash over her face. She stepped to the side when an angry Aaron Abbot stomped through the door, cradling his broken jaw. His friends didn't look in a better condition than he did.

What happened?

She made sure to hide herself in the shadows. She knew that eavesdropping was about the worst thing there is, but she couldn't help herself. The four sons were in the alleyway, a white light flickering above them, allowing Maddie to see the emotions running across their faces.

"Did you use, Reid?" Caleb demanded angrily, arms crossed tightly.

Reid sent him an icy glare. "No."

"Then why was Abbot mad? You must have done something."

"Why do you always blame me? Why is it always my fault?" the blonde Son snapped, each word slicing through the air like a knife. "Is it so surprising that I didn't use this time? Huh, Caleb? You're just waiting for me to crack, aren't you?"

"Someone used!" Caleb shouted. "Someone used the night after the party at the Dells. Did you do it or not, Reid?"

"What the fuck?" Reid's posture changed from his stoic position, as if he were to lash himself on Caleb that instant.

"It wasn't him." This came from Tyler.

Caleb directed his anger towards the youngest Son of the group. "How would you know?"

Tyler's deep blue eyes flashed in ire. "Because I'm his goddamn roommate, Caleb."

"Calm down, Caleb," Pogue warned, his hand settling on Caleb's shoulder. He hadn't said anything in this, not wanting to get into it now, at this time.

"He used," Caleb accused, as Tyler glared at their leader, and Reid made a growling noise at the back of his throat. Pogue just looked indecisive about the whole thing.

Silence.

"What's using?"

The four Sons of Ipswich had frozen in place. Someone had found them out. Oddly, they recognized that familiar, light voice. The one who recognized it the most had to be Reid, considering he was just with her moments ago. Chills ran down each boy's back as they turned around, facing Maddie, who had the look of utter confusion on her face. Only one thought ran through each boy's mind as they contemplated her curious stare.

Shit.