It felt like years since Tessa Cass had moved in, but her new girl charm never quite faded. There was something about her style and siren-like voice that drew people into her storm. The way she sang to herself quietly was evidence enough that she was beyond perfect, and I hadn't been able to get it out of my head for weeks.

Naturally, everyone's eyes were on her, even after the months that had passed, and despite my inability to stop staring, knowing that my boyfriend's eyes drifted her way whenever she walked into the room made my jaw ache and head throb.

But when I ran out of Mrs. Warren's room for early dismissal and ran right into her, I felt at peace. Her faint earthen scent was a gentle tap to my senses, awakening them as I fell back onto the old tile floor. While I was able to keep a firm grasp on my notebooks, the same couldn't be said of Tessa.

"Oh my god, I—"my breath caught in my throat as she began to speak. I couldn't even finish my own thought.

"—I'm so sorry!" Tessa cut in, saving me from my own embarrassment as she profusely apologized, her papers scattering across the floor. Her dirty blonde hair fell in front of her face and she seemingly struggled to move it. She was sharper than my classmates described, which somehow made her beauty that much more entrancing. Words didn't do her justice—I couldn't even compare her without attenuating her looks.

"I shouldn't have been running," I muttered softly as I stupidly dropped everything to help the girl up.

"I should have been paying attention," she giggled, letting the melody of her voice ring through the empty halls. "I'm Tessa. You're Adia, right?" She brushed her blonde hair back as she spoke, her smile brightening her face.

"How did you know?" Now I was the one to grab my notebooks off the ground. While I was down there, I caught a glimpse of her combat boots, noticing there were almost no creases on the fresh-looking shoes. Her jeans looked clean, except for the few brown specks by the cuffs.

"I'm familiar with your boyfriend," she replied curtly. My heart dropped as I remembered that I was in a relationship, and a pretty decent one at best. The hallway went silent as I acknowledged the end of our conversation, but as I turned to leave, she boldly asked to walk me to my locker, and I agreed.

"Your hair is so long, how long have you been growing it?" Tessa chirped as she casually kept up my pace beside me. The sound of her boots stomping on the ground clashed with the light sound of my heels tapping under me.

"Oh, I've been growing out my hair for a few years now is all," I shrugged, trying to ignore the look she was giving me. "My mom went crazy and shaved my hair off a while back." Tessa's hand landed on my forearm while I spoke. Soon, my hand was in hers as we walked down the hall in silence, as if we had been friends since childhood, neither of us breaking the silence.

"Hey cutie, looks like this is your stop." Tessa's smile dropped slightly as the words left her lips. She quickly scribbled something down on my notebook and looked around just as the bell had rung. She winked and sauntered off in her tight, black shirt and light flannel that draped over her perfect body.

And just like that, I hated the girl again. She was sweet to me, but I couldn't deal with her beauty being on my mind while my body ached from anger. I had completely forgotten about Caleb until he playfully slammed my locker shut.

"You look happy. Who were you with?" Caleb inquired, dragging his finger across my collarbone, but all I could think about was all of Tessa's perfections. She was everything I wasn't, and it was no wonder how she supposedly stole everyone's boyfriends. The only thing worse than a distracted boyfriend is his best friend Max, who has, on several occasions, hit me over little things that Caleb complained about, and I lied to protect him every time.

"Just a friend," I replied as I reopened my locker to finish packing up, something that Caleb had disrupted with his general being.

"What friend?" His hand trailed closer to my neck, and there was that familiar feeling: my heart began pounding and my body shivered slightly. Though I became accustomed to the action, the feeling never faded.

"Is it your business?" I managed, my voice trembling slightly against my will. He knew I had nowhere to go, and he wasn't going to let me go. His breathing went uneven as he pulled my body closer to his. I suppressed a yelp as he spoke directly into my hear, not dropping his volume.

"Who were you with?" There was something about his flat voice that made me want to break away. Nobody had made me feel that way in a long time, and for the first time, I realized that new doesn't always mean good.

"Oh, Adia?" A firm voice questioned, suddenly next to me. I turned my head so fast I could've sworn I heard my neck crack. "Need a ride?" Tessa's smile was warm and comforting, but her hazel eyes were slightly wider than just minutes before and she continuously stole glances at Caleb. "I mean, you are going to tutor me today, right?" Her tone was soft and innocent as she spoke to me as if we were alone. I turned to eye Caleb, then Tessa, then Caleb again. The safest choice was clearly Caleb as he wouldn't get mad at me for ditching him, but Tessa offered comfort, and though the thought of her gave me emotional whiplash, the obvious choice came instantly.

"Right, I'm sorry, Caleb! I..." I looked back at Tessa, who was offering a supportive, yet shy smile. "I completely forgot about tutoring."

"Okay... Call me when you're done. Be home by eight." Caleb leaned down and kissed my cheek, lingering for a few seconds too long before leaving.

The moment he was out of earshot, Tessa rolled her eyes and looked down slightly, letting her eyes connect with mine. "What a buzzkill."

"Tell me about it! I can't be out past eight but then I see his snaps while he's at parties at midnight." I sighed and closed my locker, wondering how I had gotten into this situation in the first place. Tessa shook her head and let out a quiet groan that I agreed with.

"Honey, have you thought about breaking up with him? You deserve someone who won't give you a bedtime. You're just dating your dad at that point, and nobody wants that." Tessa led me out to her car in the school parking lot as she trapped me in the conversation. I hadn't even realized we had gotten outside until the light breeze and sun assaulted me. "He's killing your vibe."

"My vibe?" I stifled a laugh as she spoke with a straight face. There was something about the word that sounded childish. My father would have never let me be so casual around strangers, and, as I thought about it, neither would Caleb.

"Yeah, your vibe. Aren't you more comfortable when he's calm and not so," there was a clear struggle to find the correct word as her dark eyebrows creased together, "invasive?" She paused and looked at me from over the hood of her car. Her eyes seemed to change colors under the sun, distracting me from our conversation. When I snapped out of my daze, I realized her eyebrows were once again knitted together as she waited for me to respond.

"Aren't guys always like that?" I asked, hesitating before getting into the stranger's car. Tessa shook her head as her car door shut.

"Good guys won't be like that. Don't settle." Tessa started the car and her music began playing almost instantly. Her cheeks flushed as she rushed to silence it, but I stopped her before her hand reached the volume dial.

"I love this song," I said quietly, watching her lips curve into a smile as I began to forget the past. She let her hand drop to the center console, and for some reason, my hand stayed with hers, though she didn't seem to mind.

"I love your brown hair, but have you considered red?" Tessa smiled, but her eyes were locked on the road.

"Thanks, I uh, grew it brown myself." Tessa laughed as I stammered in front of her. I tried ignoring her as my face heated up. "Where are we going?" I asked quietly, looking over at Tessa. She had a trustworthy feel to her, but I had to remind myself that she was still a stranger to me. A boyfriend-stealing stranger at that.

"Just downtown. Maybe we'll keep you out past eight."

"Caleb would kill me," I said awkwardly. "And I—"

"If he's restricting you, leave him. I've seen enough girls go through this: thinking it's normal or okay. It's not," Tessa finally said. "I couldn't ever do that to a girl I promised to love."

"But he says he does," I mumbled, feeling less and less hopeful about my already dreary situation. "I trust him... I think."

"If you're not sure, you should review everything you know." Tessa sighed and shook her head, "I don't want to say it, but I've seen Caleb out at parties before, and he isn't quite who he says he is." Her tone changed and her voice dropped to almost a whisper as she turned off of Main Street to park.