The part of the first chapter that I have done...

*10 MONTHS EARLIER*

Pulling my rusty blue '99 Honda into the school parking lot, I sighed, and thought, OK. Only one year left at this school. I can handle one more year of this place. Just one more year.... I mean, it's not as if it was a horrible school; it was just like any other, but I was ready to move on and be my own independent person. I was sick of being here in this stupid town where I had lived my entire life. One more year...

I stepped out of my car, feeling the warm, but strong wind blowing my reddish-brown shoulder blade length hair in a messy disarray and making my eyes water just slightly. Adjusting my jean shorts and the light purple tank top, I looked around the parking lot. There was just about everyone I knew from the past three years here, and a few new kids. One person I didn't see, however, was Jason Sylwer. To say that I was disappointed would have been a complete lie. That kid had been tailing me all of the last month of school during our Junior year. It was a huge relief that he wasn't there... or at least that I couldn't see him. If he was gone, or if he moved to a different school, that would have been completely fine with me. Unfortunately, though, I knew Jason hadn't moved. If he had, my friends would have told me, because of course, they're also friends with him. That was the one bad thing about having tons of friends; they were friends with people you couldn't stand.

"Hey. Looking pretty fine again this year," said a voice right behind me.

I jumped, and turned, glaring at Jason. "Get away from me. I'm not going to sleep with you like most of the female population at this school," I hissed.

He didn't look angry, instead, an amused smile formed on his lips, making his hazel eyes light up. "You're a funny, funny person, you know that don't you, Vanessa? Who said I was going to try to get you to sleep with me? All I want to do is take you out on a date," he said slyly.

"And during the time of said date, you would be bugging me to sleep with you," I said, walking away at this point.

"Hey," Jason said, brushing his sandy blond hair away from his hurt looking eyes. "I have changed a little over the summer. I'm trying to be a better person, and besides, how could I resist a girl like you? You really are beautiful... the way your eyes sparkle like emeralds, and your hair always has that slight wave to it... and your smile. Vanessa, seriously, I think you're really beautiful."

I was astounded. I could not find any words to say back. You really are beautiful. And my eyes... and hair... my smile, even? How can he like all that about me? I know I'm pretty, but... beautiful...? That was... sweet. All he had ever called me before was 'hot' or 'sexy' or 'fine'. But beautiful... I blushed as I quickly ran inside to get to my locker. Beautiful... Could he have really meant it? I grabbed everything necessary from my locker as I thought about this. Before long though, I was nearly tackled by my best friend, Ofelia Jalowski.

Ofelia- or OJ as we sometimes called her- had the most beautiful soulful dark eyes. She didn't need eyeliner for them to be the first thing anyone noticed about her. I'd always told her I wanted to trade eyes with her, but she complained that mine were way prettier. She thought that I had the best eyes, but I had to disagree. OJ's just about the only Mexican in our small Iowa town, but seriously, she's probably the prettiest girl in the entire school.

"Ah my gosh! Can you believe we're seniors?" She shrieked. "This is so awesome! Let me see your class schedule," she demanded, practically ripping it from my hands. "Hm... it looks like we have math and science together! Lab partner!" OJ hugged me again, because I was one of the best students in my class at science, which means I'm also pretty good at math. My hardest subject, though, is English. I just can't find the right words to describe anything, and my ideas are so unorganized. Math and science are simple compared to writing.

OJ and I continued talking until the first bell rang, and then we parted ways- her to English, and me to home economics. As I sat down, I noticed my closest guy friend, Jake sitting across the room. "Hey, Jake," I called, going over to sit by him.

"Hey," he answered. "So, I noticed you were talking to Jason this morning. Anything I should know about, Vanessa?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, just shut up! You know I would never go for him," I say, playacting like I'm totally offended by this comment. Of course I'm not, because it's been a joke between me and some of my absolute closest friends for a couple months. "And I saw you talking to Alyssa Riebarn today. So is there anything you would like to talk to me about?" I ask back, teasingly.

He slapped his hand to his forehead. "Come on, not again! Just because we went out for like, a week-"

"I'm sorry, but a week? I thought it lasted all of five days," I said, cutting him off.

"Earth to Vanessa! When I say week, I mean a school week. I think everybody but you does that, because you're always confused when we say the word 'week'," Jake said, smirking slightly at my confusion..

I sighed, and would have said a very nasty comment to him, but fortunately for Jake, the bell rang for class to begin, so I had to remain silent as our teacher blabbed on about stuff we were going to be doing later in the year, and next thing I knew Jake had my arm in a strangle hold.

"Um... what are you doing?" I asked, completely confused, since I hadn't been paying too much attention to what Mrs. Barnes had been saying.

"Duh! I'm partnering up with you! She just told us to pick our partners for the rest of the year," he whispered. "And it had to be boy girl for some of the assignments, and I really didn't want to have anyone weird for my partner."

"Oh," I said, feeling like a complete idiot. "Alright... so what are the assignments that call for boy/girl partnership?" I asked, already dreading the answer. If I was right, it was going to make our friendship a little awkward.

"Were you paying any attention?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you were just too busy thinking of someone else. And I'm pretty sure I could guess who it was, too." He was doing that stupid suggestive eyebrow raising thing again, and it was getting seriously annoying.

"One more word out of you and I will-" the rest of my sentence was cut of by the shrill ringing of the bell directly to my right. I cringed, but gave Jake my warning glance. So much as one more word on that subject today, and he might be the new meat special at lunch tomorrow.