The next morning, my nerves from the first day were gone, but they were replaced by nerves from another meeting with Max. I naively hoped that he had forgotten about me, but I knew that hope, and Max never went together.

Kathy and I decided to meet on the street corner near the school. We no longer lived in the same direction, so we didn't have the same route to school, but even that didn't stop us from going to school together.

On the way, I decided to stop at a grocery store to buy some candy, and of course, I was now late. I picked up my pace, but I was sure Kathy was already there waiting for me. I didn't want to upset her, but the fact that she was still talking to me after all these years of silence indicated that she wasn't as easy to upset as I thought.

"Ooh, look at that! Looks like Max's future husband!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as soon as she saw me, and I began to reconsider the idea of going to school together.

I scoffed and came up to her. Unlike her, I didn't plan to shout and attract unnecessary attention.

"You know I hate you, right?" I asked her for reassurance, and she gave me a cheeky smile in return.

"I know your love is reserved for only one person," she teased me, and this time I playfully pushed her away. She made no bones about it and laughed. I could only roll my eyes at her.

“No idea why I bothered to buy you candy.” I shook my head at her, and she immediately stopped cackling.

“What kind of candy?” Her eyes sparkled, and I knew I had won. She always loved sweets and bribing her was the easiest thing in the world.

I pulled a rock candy stick out of my pocket and offered it to her. She immediately grabbed it and started unwrapping the candy. I never understood how she could like it, but I always preferred the most ordinary tastes.

"Okay, I take it back. I'll be the one to marry you," she mumbled with a stick in her mouth.

"Still gay," I reminded her, to which she waved her hand as if it were an unimportant detail. This time I was the one who laughed, and my good mood lasted until school until I realized that we didn't have most of the classes together again.

"You need to make more friends," Kathy advised me, leaning against her locker. I pulled the book out of mine, slammed the door, and echoed her stance.

"I have enough friends," I countered. Most of them were in Gladwater, and the only one I was still in contact with was Asher, but it didn't matter. The people at Misthall had never made a good impression on me, and I doubted that would change.

"Me, Rachel, and Thomas don't count," she protested.

“I have no idea when I last saw Thomas.” My answer took a different turn at the mention of Kathy's brother. He was five years older than us and always treated me the same as his sisters, whether that meant treating me like a brother or teasing me like a proper sibling. He had not been spoken of until now, and I had no idea what had become of him while I was away.

"He entered university but dropped out after a year. Now he works as a car mechanic and lives with his friends from high school." She shrugged. I had no doubt that it had once been an important topic in their household, but apparently, everyone was already reconciled to his choice.

“In Misthall?” I asked about the essential part she left out.

“Guthram.” The town right next to ours. I don't know why it pleased me, when I had no idea how he would react to me, or if we would even meet.

“Taylor!” a woman's voice said behind me, and I turned in surprise. My eyes immediately landed on a leggy blonde in a denim miniskirt.  

“Jessica, hey,” I greeted her with a small smile and then turned quickly to Kathy, indicating with my eyes that I had won. I didn't consider Jessica a real friend, but I could play it in front of Kathy.  

"How do you like it here so far?" The blonde stood between me and Kathy, acknowledging her presence, and I began to think that maybe I had pigeonholed her too soon.

"I've already had my first embarrassing day, so I'd say I'm doing pretty well," I answered honestly with a shrug. Jessica chuckled at my answer, and I smiled back.

"Max has an obvious crush on him," Kathy interjected, and if looks could kill, she'd be long gone. Jessica looked surprised by her answer, and her gaze returned to me very quickly.

"Oh really?" I couldn't tell from her tone or expression what she thought about it.

"I'm sure Kathy is exaggerating. I talked to him once yesterday and that was it," I tried to downplay it. Through my peripheral vision, I saw Kathy give me a look that didn't agree with what I said at all.

"I'd stay away from him if I were you," Jessica advised, and my eyebrows shot up. I assumed she was in the same social circles as him or that they were even friends, but apparently, I was wrong.

“Why?” I asked her. I knew why I wanted to avoid him, but why was she advising me to do so?

"He is a player. He gets tired of people very quickly, guys and girls both,” she explained, and I could tell from her tone that she was one of those people.

“Good to know,” I answered. I wanted to say more, at least explain to her that I was not interested in him, but we were interrupted by the bell signalling the start of the first class.

"Gotta go. See you later." Kathy immediately disconnected from us, saying goodbye. I nodded to her and turned to Jessica, waiting for her reaction. I had no idea what grade she was in, but since she didn't leave me, I figured she might be going in the same direction.

"I have math with Samuels now, what about you?" she asked me, and I was delighted to find that we had the same class.

“Lead the way.” She took my answer literally as she grabbed my hand and ran down the hall. My palm was in hers, and I had no doubt that the gesture had earned me a rumour or two.  

Luck was obviously on my side today, as we managed to reach the classroom before the teacher. But not so much that two seats were free so that we could sit together. Jessica immediately let go of me and headed towards the girl in the back. Before I could look around for an empty seat, Austin appeared in my field of vision, beckoning me to him with a nod of his head.

“Hey.” I slid into the chair next to him, showing no signs of nervousness about his presence.

“So you and Jessica?” He looked in the direction the blonde had disappeared to and then his gaze drifted back to me with a raised eyebrow. I looked back at him with a slight shake of my head so that he understood how absurd his question was.

“I just met her yesterday,” I protested but he did not look convinced.

"Are you going to warn me about her?" I asked him, remembering her warning about Max. Austin looked like he was seriously thinking about it for a moment, but then he just shook his head and turned to face forward.

Before I could ask him anything else, the teacher entered the classroom. Samuels was an elderly man with glasses and a big belly. He had a stern expression on his face and his overly straight posture screamed that he was no good to be trifled with. So I didn't. Instead, I remained silent and focused on his interpretation.

I caught Austin looking at me a few times, but he always managed to get back to his notebook before I turned to him. I had no idea what was going through his mind, but I suddenly felt uneasy when I realized that the scar on my palm was more than visible. I didn't think it was possible for him to realize that he had caused it, but even so, the nervousness didn't leave me until the end of the class.

“Are you coming?” Austin asked me after standing up and I was surprised. I thought he chose not to talk to me and honestly, I was happy about that, but apparently, I was wrong.

“Where?” I answered his question with a question like an idiot. He obviously thought the same, as he rolled his eyes.

"Max's locker," he explained, and I frowned. I didn't think I had the least favourite place in this building, but apparently, that wasn't true.

"Not sure where my next class is," I answered truthfully, hoping he'd leave it at that and leave. Of course, he did the exact opposite. He sat back down next to me and held out his hand. Fortunately, I understood what he wanted before he could get annoyed again and gave him my schedule.

"You have the same next class as us. Come on." He stood up again, thrust my schedule into my hand, and I officially had no more excuse not to join him. So I did.

We walked down the hall in silence, and I started to get nervous. I wasn't afraid of him, but I scolded myself for giving up on my own plan so quickly. Kathy and even Jessica were safe options, but I was clearly an adrenaline freak.

Max spotted us first and a big smile immediately appeared on his face.

“Hi,” he greeted me and took a step towards me. Behind him, leaning against the lockers were Josh and Mike, who had gone quiet after we appeared, watching our interaction with Max with undisguised interest.

“Hey,” I said back, and my eyes wandered to his friends. They looked back at me and greeted me with a nod.

“I hope your second day is better than your first,” Max broke the silence, bringing my attention back to him.

"Nobody bumped into me, so..." I trailed off but put on a smile, so he knew I was just kidding. His smile widened even more even though I thought it was no longer possible.

"I happen to think it's a pretty cool way to meet new people," he protested in a cheeky tone, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not really someone who likes meeting new people," I admitted honestly. I didn't consider myself an extrovert, although I had no problem communicating when needed.

"I get that, but I still think it doesn't hurt to have a few familiar faces around." He shrugged. My eyes wandered again to the familiar faces behind him. It was a strange situation, watching us like this, and I had the feeling that they were waiting for any mistake of mine.

Max sensed my mood and turned to his friends. "Are you going to talk or just watch us like creeps?" Fortunately, they chose the first option and finally started talking to each other.

"Sorry for them." Max's attention turned back to me.

"I'm getting used to it," I admitted, though it was far from the truth.

“The people of Misthall may seem strange, but you just have to give them a chance.” I wanted to laugh at that statement, but I knew I couldn't, so I just nodded.

"I managed to make a few friends," I admitted. Max was obviously pleased with my answer, as a bright smile once again played on his face.

“I'm glad. I hope you include us in that category." I glanced over at his friends and then looked at him with a telling grimace.

"Okay, I'm correcting my statement. I hope you consider me a friend." I paused for a moment, thinking about my answer, which caused his smile to drop a bit. I debated whether to tell him about Jessica's warning, but I had no doubt that Austin would tell him the moment I was out of earshot.

"You know what, why not," I finally chose to answer.

“Oof, I was getting scared.” Max playfully wiped his forehead with his sleeve and gave me another smile. If I didn't know him, I would think he was nice. That he was a friend worth having. But like this... He was a friend who made me constantly look over my shoulder.

"You're lucky I don't want to bother the same people over and over with helping me find a classroom," I chuckled despite my nervousness. I was still cautious in his presence, but I didn't enjoy cringing every time I saw him. That was my old self, the one I promised I would never go back to.

"I don't think there's anyone who doesn't like your presence." I had no idea if I should take his answer as flirting, especially when I wasn't going to reciprocate.

"You obviously don't know me yet," I replied, implying that I wasn't exactly a pleasant companion.

"I'm trying to change that, aren't I?" He obviously took this as another opportunity to flirt.

“I hope you will not be disappointed.” In reality, of course, I meant that I hoped that he would be and would forget about me as soon as possible.

"I don't think that's possible." Twice might have been a fluke, but three times? Definitely flirting.

"Okay, that's enough. Friends, remember?" I decided to stop him before he started thinking that it was working. His smile faltered for a second, but eventually, he kept it on his face.

"No flirting, I get it," his tone was still pleasant, and he didn't seem hurt by my words. I didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed.

"So what's your next class?" he changed the subject and I automatically handed him the schedule I didn't realize I was still holding it in my hand.

"We have quite a lot of subjects together. Nice." He looked more than pleased.

"Austin mentioned that we have the next class together," I added. Max looked up from the schedule and our eyes met again. I automatically extended my hand to him, and he hesitated for a second until he understood that I wanted my schedule back.

"We do. We still have about a minute, but we can go there," he suggested, then quickly added, "if you want." Even though everything inside me was screaming for me to refuse, I nodded, and we disconnected from his friends.

We walked down the hall together, and I felt like all eyes were suddenly on us. I tried to ignore it and focus only on Max beside me, but it was impossible.

"They're idiots. Ignore them." Max leaned closer to me and whispered so that only I could hear. His breath tickled my face, and I tried very hard not to shiver. There was no way I could give him any indication that he would have a chance with me because no matter how much he changed, he was still just a bully to me.

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled. Max was still too close to me, and I wasn't happy about it. He obviously noticed the change in my attitude as he pulled away and even picked up his pace, so we stopped pretty quickly in front of the classroom door.

But before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a voice from the classroom, “Taylor!” My gaze very quickly found Jessica waving at me from the back of the classroom.

"I guess I'll see you later?" I turned to Max and was sure that my sentence sounded more like a question. He was suspiciously quiet and just nodded in response.