Well, this may be the last one for a week or so. I'm going on vacation tomorrow - but I'll try to update :] Thanks for the positive feedback.

During third period English, I sought out Luke. I had seen him in the back of the classroom before, sleeping; I had just never really had a reason to actually notice him.

He looked up with a smile as I approached his desk. Blue eyes glazing over with some kind of ego-maniacal all-knowing power. He knew I was coming to accept his invitation. The posture of his thick body showed he did.

He had leaned back casually; one leg sprawled out across the aisle. Two of his football buddies were seated near him and they both looked at me expectantly as I came to a halt.

"Hey there." Luke said, and the cocky grin could be heard in his tone.

"Hi." I smiled back and made my best attempt at flirtatiousness. If it had been Percy, he would have burst into a hysterical fit of giggles. But somehow, Luke couldn't see through my girlie mask to the true dork underneath.

"How's it goin'?" Luke asked, coolly jerking his chin upward. I shrugged.

"It's going." Was all I could say. Sometimes things are just too much for you to completely lie about.

"That's cool." Luke continued grinning up at me, waiting patiently for the boost of ego I was sure to supply. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, opting for an absurd chuckle instead.

I'm told sometimes girls laugh at stuff thats not funny when it comes to guys they like.

"So, Luke, I just wanted to come and tell you that I'd love to go to Homecoming with you." I said quickly. The grin grew on his face, if even possible.

"Shit, you should have gotten to me sooner." He said, "I got reeled into going with this sophomore during second hour."

I think my jaw hit the floor. How did this guy manage to make the physically impossible continually happen to me?

"Oh..." I shifted uncomfortably, "Well, that's...excruciatingly... embarrassing" I stammered. Luke stood up and cut me off.

"I'm just fucking with you." He said with a satisfied smirk. I clamped my mouth shut and mentally threw myself over the edge of a cliff.

My God he is one funny fucking meathead.

Luke leaned forward and his lips ghosted past my ear, "I'm glad you changed your mind." He whispered. His hand grazed my arm as the bell rang and I turned around like a zombie to find my seat.

Alex wandered in halfway through the period, decked out in sunglasses and reeking of Axe cologne. He handed his pass to the teacher, who gave him a rather suspicious look, and made his way clumsily to the empty seat behind me.

He only ran into three other desks along the way.

"Shit, Alex, how many bowls did you smoke this morning?" I turned around and hissed as soon as the teacher had resumed her lecture. He grinned at me sleepily.

"I'm not stoned, Soph." He laughed, "I'm hung over. I'd think you of all people would understand the difference."

"Wow, Alex, that was almost funny." I smirked, "Why are you hung over?"

"Uh, because I was drunk last night?" Alex cocked an eyebrow at me as if I was the epitome of stupidity. "You're not really following are you?"

I reached back and swiped at the sunglasses on his face. He yelped and jerked backwards, almost putting out the eye of the Junior behind him.

"You're such a twerp!" I laughed, "Why were you drunk last night? Did you finally realize that you're worthless?"

"Ouch." Alex touched his chest, "Actually I was hanging out with my lady, who happens to have a fondness for strawberry wine." He wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively and it took less than a millisecond for me to swat his arm and nearly shriek.

"You're lady?" I practically leapt from my desk, "You've been holding out me, mother fucker! Who is it?"

Alex gave me a very condescending look and tilted his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, "Summer Van White." His voice was rich with a husky sort of film Noir suave. I narrowed my eyes.

"Seriously?" I cocked my head to the side disbelievingly, "I thought she scared the living piss out of you during that project."

"She did. She is one scary biznatch when it comes to scholastics." He pushed his sunglasses back up and leaned forward to get an inch from my face, "But away from the prison grounds she's an animal." He purred at me.

I sat back and turned back to the teacher as she posted the assignment up on the board. After copying it down I swiveled back to face Alex, who hadn't taken his eyes off of me.

"That's so weird. You and Summer? I didn't think you were her type." I rolled my eyes at the openly aghast look on his face, "Or that she was yours for that matter."

"Me neither. But there's something about her." He sighed and shook his head, a soft sort of affectionate gesture that I had never seen Alex make over anything except a cheeseburger.

"My God, Alexy, you've fallen for a girl!"

"You make me sound like a fairy."

"I'll admit I was starting to have my suspicions." I grinned, "Why the hell didn't you fucking tell me?"

Alex's jaw dropped slightly and he flung his pencil at my head, luckily it missed and hit some girl in the front row.

"I did tell you, Sophia! On the phone on Friday!" He sighed again, this time with shame, and looked down at his desk.

I stared at him, "You did not tell me." I insisted, wracking my brain for some memory of him mentioning it.

"I knew you weren't listening to me."

"I was totally listening to you..." I frowned, "Sort of."

Alex snorted, "Were you making out with your new boyfriend?" Alex teased. I glared at him. How did he find out about me and Percy's twisted relationship? He shouldn't make fun of me.

"What are you talking about?" I scoffed, "Don't be a jackass, Alex, he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh so you and that big ole' stud of a grizzly bear in the back aren't going to the Homecoming Dance together?" He crooned, gesturing toward Luke. My head shot up and I furrowed my brow.

"Luke?" I glanced back at him. He was playing Chinese Paper Football with his friends. They were all so into it; like it was a real game and a real championship lay on the lines.

Boys are a species that I will never understand.

"Yeah." Alex tried to meet my eyes, "Who did you think I was talking about?"

I caught his gaze for a split second before looking back down at the desk between us, "I don't...nobody."

"Soph, come on, what's up?" Alex leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, and tilted his face in front of mine, "Talk to me Sophizzle Jizzle."

I laughed and tucked my hair nervously behind my ear. I tried to force myself to look at him, but I couldn't. Instead I managed a weak shrug and a timid smile.

"It's Percy." He said softly. Not asking, just knowing. I lowered my head even further, letting it hit the desk with a thud.

Alex let out a slow breath and I heard his body shift as he sat back again, "I always kinda figured there was something going on."

I peeked up at him from beneath my hair, "It doesn't shock you?"

"You're kidding right?" He laughed, "It makes sense, Soph. You guys have been one step away from romance for years now. I can see it in his eyes and the way he moves when he's around you. I've been making bets with myself on who'd admit it first."

"Don't tease me."

Alex leaned forward again and laid his head down on the desk beside mine so that we were eye to eye, "I'm not."

I bit my lip, "You really think it's mutual?"

"Yes. You really think I'm worthless?"

"Yes."

"Nice."

I lifted my head, resting my chin on my forearm and gazed down at him. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were red, but he looked happy and content. I guess love can be found in the most unsuspected of places. Like Life Studies Class or the cAndrew aisle at a convenience store.

"Alex I'm terrified." I whispered. He sat up and reached forward to tuck my bangs behind my ears. They tumbled back across my forehead and he smiled.

"Yeah? Well so is he."

After Alex's attempt at moral boosting, I had a hard time meandering through the day without thinking about what he said. Was it really so obvious to everyone else that me and Percy were so confused? Not even that we were confused but that there was some underlying passion that we were trying to ignore? Did all of our friends see this? Or just the stoner kid?

I pondered over it all through the next two hours and barely managed to redirect my mind long enough to hear Marissa shouting my name as I walked obliviously into a classroom door.

It caught me full on and I tumbled backwards to the floor, sprawling out across the hall like Bambi on the ice. My books scattered everywhere, and people stepped over them, sChristianering and pointing at me and my Lizzie Maguire moment.

I shook my head and rubbed my temples to try and refocus my doubled vision as Marissa gathered some of my books. She squatted beside me, a hand on my shoulder and checked my eyes.

"Fuck, Sophia! Where the hell were you? Narnia?" She helped me stand up and shot a glare at the boy who had opened the door and knocked me on my ass, "Why don't you get your eyes checked, you near sighted fuckass!" She shouted at him as he loped away, a barely mumbled apology hovering in his wake.

"Shit...that hurt...a lot." I murmured and leaned back against the wall.

"Yea I'll bet." Marissa scolded. She stood in front of me holding my books and waiting for me to fully return to earth. "So what were you so preoccupied with?"

"I don't even know, Riss." I sighed, "I'm really fucked in the head right now."

Her faced softened and she brushed at my hair affectionately, "I know, Soph. Come on, I'll buy you a Twinkie."

Marissa threw an arm around my shoulders and led me down the hallway toward the cafeteria. I followed absently, watching the floor, "How is a Twinkie supposed to help me clear my head?"

Marissa snorted as we reached the vending machines and sent me a slinky smile, "I've always lived by two rules, Sophia." She began as she dug through her back pocket for a dollar, "One: never leave the house without checking to make sure your shirt is right side out." She slid the dollar into the machine and hit the buttons, "And two." She paused again to watch the predominantly processed pastry fall to the slot below, "The best cure for a bad day is sex and Twinkies."

I stared at her as she stopped to tug it out of the bin and then handed it to me. I glanced from the Twinkie to her and then back again several times before she threw it at me.

"I don't wanna know what freaky ass things you and Christian do with your alone time." I said as we continued to the cafeteria. Marissa laughed and pushed open the big glass doors.

"We sit around telling each other housekeeping secrets we read in Martha Stewart Living."

"Yeah, naked maybe." I ripped open the package and pulled a chunk off.

Marissa glared at me as we approached the table, "I resent your insinuation that all we do is have sex. I'll have you know that Christian and I do a lot of other really fun things together."

"Do you make pajama pants that say 'Jesus Loves Me' on them?" I asked.

"Fuck no."

"Oh good."

She stopped and crossed her arms, "We take walks and go to the beach and play games. Normal couple stuff."

"What kind of games?" I licked some cream filling from my knuckle and looked up at her quizzically. She shrugged, clearly frustrated, in a very funny way.

"We like to play chess."

"Naked chess."

Marissa swatted the back of my head with a barely suppressed laugh and we moved to join the boys already gathered around the table. Alex looked up and winked at me as I slid into the open seat beside Percy.

"Hey." Percy smiled at me. I set my Twinkie on the table in front of me and smiled back.

"So, Sophia, I heard through the grape vine that you have a date for the Homecoming Dance." Christian chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at him and shifted in my seat.

"Really?" Percy turned to stare at me, "I thought you sai-"

"Yeah he's a football hero too." Our friend Andrew joined in, pulling a very dramatic passing pose. I refocused my glare at the half eaten Twinkie in front of me.

"Footballs a pussy sport." Christian shook his head scornfully, his humor lost, swallowed up by his loathing of our schools primary athletic focus, "Our soccer team has more wins under its belt this year than the football team has had the past four."

"Don't worry, buddy, someday they'll open their eyes." Alex stuffed a forkful of cafeteria food into his mouth.

Christian let out a sardonic laugh and tossed a grape into Andrew's milk carton, "Yeah, they'll open 'em when I fucking nail the principal in the testicles with a soccer ball."

"Yes, Christian, use violence to make your point." Marissa rolled her eyes, "All you'll show them is that the soccer players need to lay off the Gatorade."

Christian proceeded to tell Marissa exactly how useful Gatorade could be, what with the electrolytes and whatnot. And Marissa proceeded to tell Christian exactly how much she cared about electrolytes. I kept my eyes trained on the table, trying to count the marble spots to avoid looking up and meeting Percy's steady stare. Or lack thereof. I made a very sneaky glance upward and saw that he was also fixated on the table, and I knew it wasn't because he had a strange fascination with crusted salad dressing.

I don't know if the others at the table were purposefully ignoring our awkward reverse staring contest, or if they were actually so wrapped up in their discussion of whether or not Gatorade counted as a performance enhancer like steroids, that they were virtually oblivious to the world around them.

Finally Percy's voice entered the atmosphere around my head as he said very quietly, "Why didn't you say anything this morning?"

I waited a minute before blinking slowly and answering without looking up, "Say anything about what? My newfound love of anything Shia LaBeouf, or the fact that I don't really know how to swing dance?"

I could hear Percy sigh, but I could feel in the sigh that he wasn't really sure he wanted to talk about that morning anyway.

"The swing dancing." He answered. I nodded and looked up at him for the first time. He was still staring at the table top, but I knew he was really focused intently on me. Any shift in my body or intake of breath. The tiniest toss of my head or switch in my tone. He was taking it all in and trying to find a hidden meaning. Trying to break it all down and see where my head was, see where I was going before it happened. Before I even knew.

I could tell he was doing this because its exactly what I was doing.

That whole, sixth sense thing I mentioned.

"Well, Jackson, I have a general idea of how to swing dance. But it was a horrendous lie when I said I was a professional."

Percy laughed and reached for what was left of my Twinkie, "Can I have this?" He asked, his eyebrows raised and his eyes big and innocent. I pretended to consider it for a minute; squinting and rubbing my chin.

"Yes, but it'll cost you."

"Name it."

"Well since I already own your soul, maybe you could give me that brownie." I smiled and pointed to the Little Debbie snack sitting near Percy's elbow.

He turned and grabbed it, holding it out to me, but stopped and pulled it away, "I'm gonna need you to do something for me."

I glared at him and made a swipe for the brownie, "That's not really how this whole trading thing works, Percy."

He laughed and slid the brownie under his t-shirt. I opened my mouth to protest and shut it quickly, staring after my dessert as it disappeared in a place I had only ever dreamed of going. I glanced up at Percy, "You're underestimating me."

"No I'm not." He smirked.

"Oh so you think I won't spear you off your chair and tear your shirt to shreds for a brownie?"

Percy's cheeky grin spread wider, "I'm one hundred percent aware that you would do that and so much worse for a crumb of a brownie."

"Spare your corny clothing and give me that brownie."

"There's nothing corny about Smurfs."

"I swear to God,Percy, if you don't give me tha-" I watched Percy dip the tip of his forefinger into the cream filling and lick it off, his eyes trained on my face the entire time. After that it took me a long time to get myself back on track and before I could speak, Percy leaned forward, a centimeter from my ear, and whispered;

"Just save me a dance?"

I moved my head to look at him. He had the smallest of hopeful smiles on his face, almost masked with defensive cockiness, but not enough that I couldn't see right through it. I smiled and slid my hand quickly up the front of his shirt, grabbing the brownie and earning the softest of gasps from his lips as my hand brushed over his skin.

"Done."