As soon as Ethan walked into first period on Monday, he knew something was terribly wrong.

Maybe not terribly wrong, but something was very unusual.

People were whispering to each other and looking at him while doing so, even more than usual.

He sat down on a chair next to Joshua and sighed. "What happened this time?"

"Ethan, I don't know how to tell you this..." started Joshua but went silent. Suddenly his eyes darted to the door again and it was as if all color disappeared from his face.

Ethan turned around and the moment he saw who walked through the door, he choked on nothing but air.

"What the hell is he doing here?" he spat, ready to stand up and punch that idiot on the face.

"Apparently he transferred here," said Joshua and that was all the explanation Ethan got.

With a smirk on his face, Lucas waved at Ethan and walked toward him. "Morning, Emmerson."

"How the hell did that happen?" Ethan rubbed his temples and stared down at the table. "Why didn't anyone tell me that he'd be here?"

Joshua laughed but quickly became serious again. "How was anyone supposed to know he would transfer here. I found out about five minutes before you got here."

"You should've told me so I could prepare. Or just skip class."

Joshua groaned. "You're making too big of a deal out of this. I'm telling you that he won't try anything."

Emmerson chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Are you serious right now? You don't know him like I do."

"And when we talked a few days ago you couldn't give a proper reason as to why you hate him so just try to ignore him. Don't let him ruin your life when you got a perfectly good one right now."

Ethan nodded and smiled at Joshua.

He knew that Joshua was right, but it was very hard to keep concentrated when Hamilton was right there and even though he wasn't physically making noise, he was being loud just by being there.

He could be staring right at Ethan and plotting something, and Ethan wouldn't know it.

That was the problem with the two of them.

They were constantly doing something to prevent the other one from succeeding when that wasn't the way they should work and they both knew it.

Just the knowledge that Lucas had gotten closer to him and would be able to harm him easily was enough to get him worried and make it impossible for him to concentrate in class. It didn't matter that it was one of his favorite classes and he usually made the effort to listen.

It was the fact that Lucas Hamilton was there and could now plot against him even better that was bothering him.

There were so many situations in which Lucas could do something that would leave Ethan worse off than he was.

School projects, potential girlfriends, friends, and the worst of them all, football.

Lucas was better at him at that, even if Ethan didn't really want to admit it. He was better than Ethan and if he came to the team and the people liked him more, then he could become captain in no time.

With how Ethan had been playing, it wouldn't be a surprise that Coach would pick someone else over him to be the captain, and even though Ethan would be flaming mad, he really wouldn't have anyone to blame but himself.

Just days before, Coach had told him that if he couldn't get his act together, he would be replaced on the football team, and now that Hamilton was here, there was no question that he would try going for Ethan's position.

And if Ethan lost his position, there would be no question of losing the potential scholarships that he so desperately needed to have.

"Snap out of it," whispered Joshua. "I know you're thinking about him right now and that's the exact opposite of what you should be doing right now."

Ethan groaned. "He's right there and he's being so obnoxious."

"He hasn't said anything since he said hi to you. To you or to anyone else," pointed out Joshua with a smile on his face. "You're making too big of a deal out of this, Ethan, and there's no need for the big deal."

"There absolutely is a need for a big deal, Joshua. If I'm not careful he could come in and steal my position as captain in no time. He might be already scheming to do so."

Joshua didn't answer and instead just stared at him for a few moments. "Are you serious, Ethan? You shouldn't be thinking like that. If he's trying to steal your title, then you won't let him, but you should be crossing that bridge when you get there."

"We already are there. We got there as soon as he walked through that door," he said and pointed at the now-closed door. "He's out to ruin my life and you should help me save it."

"You're too paranoid for your own good. I'll help you with anything you need, Ethan, but you can't expect me to just help with something that isn't even going on."

Joshua was thinking rationally and Ethan knew that, but the problem was that Ethan couldn't think rationally at all. After all, there was someone inside the class that physically prevented him from doing that.

"I'll try to relax, but if anything happens you have to help me," he answered, knowing very well that he wasn't going to stick to it. "Deal?"

"Deal."