Hey it's so strange, really strange

I've never been like this before

Whenever I see you, my heart pounds and trembles

When I see your face, I imagine things by myself

I can't keep a straight face – I'm going crazy

Because I miss you again

— SISTAR, Loving You

Autumn

"M-MINE?" My eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as I asked nervously. What the hell did he mean by 'I'm going to be yours'?

With our bodies so close to each other, I could feel the vibration as he let out a deep chuckle. "I meant I'm going to be your secret." He smiled and those dark eyes sparkled under the rays of the streetlight. I looked at him in disbelief. It was so hard to believe that he was the same Tyler I'd been cursing on every Math lesson for being so smart that I couldn't beat his score. "Why? Do you want me that bad?" He laughed full of himself.

"Are you sure you're Tyler Vincent and not his twin brother or something?" I asked, still dumbfounded. Maybe he had a twin brother. That always happened in books and movies, right? I mean, come the fucking on! Tyler Vincent couldn't be this handsome, right? That damn weird nerd couldn't be this hot!

He messed up my hair with one hand and smiled. "The one and only, my dear." His smile turned into a grin as he watched my suspicious expression. "Why? Don't you think I look better without glasses?" Giving me a wink, he caressed my cheek with his warm hand. His thumb ran across my lips making my breath hitch. He lowered his hand to my neck; still keeping his eyes locked with mine, and went all the way down to the edge of the tank top beneath my hoodie.

I caught his hand before he went further down. I admit that I was shocked to see him looking so delicious and hot, but that didn't mean that he could play me like a toy and start groping me.

I'm Autumn Summers, I'm the damn Queen Bee for Odin's sake! He's just another nerd in the school; he can't play me!

Giving him a hard stare, my eyes met his and I said in my back-off-tone, "Don't you dare!" I tossed his hand and walked away. To my surprise, he didn't chase after me, nor did he say anything back, but his devilish laugh echoed through the alley following me like a shadow.

* * *

Tyler

I watched her walk away and couldn't help but laughing my ass off. She was the combination of cute and sassy, and I had to admit that I kinda liked it.

She spent almost a year sitting on the seat behind me in Mrs. F class, but this was the first time we've ever spoken to each other.

And to add more in the tray, it was the first time I kissed her. It was purely accidental. I hadn't planned on kissing Autumn Summers, but when she looked up to me with those big dark eyes of hers that glinted under the moonlight like a puppy, and bit her pink lower lips, I knew it was my undone.

At that moment there was nothing that I wanted more than to kiss her senseless, to taste those pink strawberry lips.

Surprise, surprise.

It didn't taste like strawberry. It didn't taste like any lip smacker or lip-gloss that most girls wore. Her lips were bare.

Call me crazy, but it tasted like summer breeze. When our lips met, despite the coolness in the air, I felt warm. And it's not even summer yet, it's February, it's practically winter.

Maybe it was her name. Maybe kissing someone named Apple made her taste like apple. Whatever it was, I was going to find out.

I walked down the alley to where she was going. "Ty!" I heard my buddy Lucas calling me, so I turned to watch him jog towards me over my shoulder. "You're leaving now?" It was funny to see people trying to jog while they were high, as if their legs had their own will and confused left for right.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Got a chick waiting for me." Luke smiled, probably thinking I was going to bang someone tonight. I let him think that, and when he shouted "good luck", I let out a chuckle and walked away.

It was true. There was a chick waiting for me at home. But it wasn't a girlfriend or a fuck-buddy, it was a woman that I respected and loved, my mother, Audrey. She worked very hard every day as a waitress to make a living for both of us. The jackass, who was supposedly my father, ran away from us when I was ten. And mom has been supporting us ever since.

So when I finally got a scholarship from Carlton Private High School, we packed our bags and moved to the U.S. And that was exactly why I've been playing the good kid at school. I couldn't afford to lose the scholarship and I needed the good grades so I could get a decent job and make my mom stop working. She needed some rest after working so hard all of her life, and I was going to give her that.

Why was I smoking pot in a dark alley at night? It was not because I was a junkie, but because I was a dope slanger, aka a drug dealer. The options to get money fast and furious were either to whore myself out or to sell drugs. I chose the latter.

Now Autumn Summers had seen me here. I thought I've chosen the perfect place where no kids from Carlton would ever come.

However, she walked down the alley like she owned the freaking place, which surprised me again. And stupid me didn't recognize her with her hoodie on and thought maybe I could score a deal. A transaction deal, of course.

Now I have to take care of this situation. She was smart, the smartest girl I knew, and she was probably coming up with a dozen reasons why I was there.

I reached the main road, and two girls giggled when they saw me. An idea popped in my head. Maybe she was smart, but she was still a girl. Maybe instead of thinking about why I was there, she was distracted by the kiss and thinking about it.

Yeah. She was probably dreaming about the kiss right now. Putting both hands inside the pockets of my jacket, I walked home satisfied.