After breakfast Charlotte leads me outside towards her Audi R8. She opens the passenger side door for me which makes me smile as I slide into the seat. She closes the door behind me before she walks towards the drivers side and starts the car.

When we arrive at school she cuts the engine before we exit her car. People stare at her in awe as we walk past them but when they notice me they either glare or smile.

"Charlotte, I love your jacket" one of the girls scream out but Charlotte doesn't glance at them, she doesn't even show any emotion as she continues to walk towards our class

When we reach our class all eyes immediately turn towards us and not long after that Maddie walks towards Charlotte.

"We didn't see you at the football game last night. Where were you?" Maddie asks her as she twirls a strand of her black hair around her finger. Charlotte rolls her eyes before grabbing my hand and dragging me towards a lab desk in the back of the classroom.

"Are you okay?" I ask her since she looks tense. She turns her face towards me and has an emotionless expression.

Oh, she's pissed.

"Why must she always ruin my mornings? She acts like we're dating, I don't even like her" she says in a low tone since people are still watching us

"Calm down, I'm sure she'll get the hint soon" I say in a calm voice as I look her in the eyes. She nods before laying her head on the desk and falling asleep.


It's currently second period, which I do not have with Charlotte.

I'm currently reading one of my favorite books but I can't enjoy it as much as I want to since I feel a bunch of eyes watching me. I look up and, no surprise here, I see a group of girls glaring at me.

I look down at my book and resume my reading until I'm interrupted by a guy clearing his throat beside me. I look up to meet a pair of brown eyes.

Is he new? Usually no one speaks to me besides Charlotte.

"Hi, I'm Kayden" he says as he offers me his hand. I look down at his hand with an unreadable expression.

Is this a joke?

"Um, okay..." he says awkwardly as he brings his hand back to rub the side of his neck nervously

"I'm new here and I thought that you looked the least intimidating in this class," he says nervously which makes me release a small laugh

"You can sit down, if you want. I don't bite" I say with a smile so he doesn't think that I'm stuck up. He gives me an appreciative smile before sitting in the seat towards my right.

"My name is Aspen" I say "Since you're new, would you like it if I showed you around?" I ask him since I know how difficult it is to find your way around on your first day at a new school

"Yes, that would be so helpful. Would you like to see my schedule?" He asks as he points towards his backpack. I nod which makes him smile as he reaches into his backpack and pulls out a green paper.

I grab the paper from his hands which causes him to laugh as I open the folded piece of paper. I quickly scan over the paper and smile as I hand it back.

"Lucky for you we have all the same classes," I say which causes his smile to widen. If he smiles any wider I'm pretty sure that his face will break.

"And since we have lunch next, you can meet my best friend. If it seems like she hates you, she doesn't" I say with a reassuring smile. He gently grips my hand as he speaks.

"As long as you don't hate me, I'm okay" he says before he presses a feather light kiss onto my knuckles. I laugh awkwardly before I remove my hand and look at my book.

Okay, that was kind of weird.


"How is it possible that you take longer to get ready than me?" Charlotte complains as I walk out of my bathroom fully dressed for the day

"Because your wardrobe is mostly the same stuff," I say with an eye roll as I pull my long brown hair into a high ponytail

"Can you hand me my glasses?" I say as I point towards my bedside table that has my black rimmed eyeglasses lying on top.

She grabs them off of the table and walks towards me before she opens them and places them over my eyes. She smiles at me before she kisses my cheek and grabs my wrist which causes me to blush.

She's usually never this affectionate with me.

"Come on, I can smell your mom's famous banana bread" she says as she pulls me out of my room and downstairs.

As soon as we reach the kitchen the smell of my mom's banana hits me in the face which causes me to smile in delight.

My mom is a well known culinary chef and baker. She's been able to keep me out of the public eye since she knows what happens to some people when they get overwhelmed.

"Hey, Ms. Bailey" Charlotte says with a smile as she lets go of my hand and walks towards a barstool. My mom turns away from the oven and smiles wide when her eyes land on Charlotte.

"Charlotte, I haven't seen you around here in awhile. How have you been?" My mom asks as she walks towards her and gives her a hug

"I've been good" Charlotte replies as she wraps her arms around my mom in an appreciative hug.

Here's something that Charlotte will never mention or approve.

She's very emotional, but she likes to pretend that she's not. I'm lucky that she's not afraid to show her real emotions to me.

"Aspen, eat" my mom says as she point to the plate of banana bread in front of me

When did that get there?

I pick up a fork and start to devour the delicious treat as my mom washes the dishes.


After breakfast Charlotte leads me outside towards her Audi R8. She opens the passenger side door for me which makes me smile as I slide into the seat. She closes the door behind me before she walks towards the drivers side and starts the car.

When we arrive at school she cuts the engine before we exit her car. People stare at her in awe as we walk past them but when they notice me they either glare or smile.

"Charlotte, I love your jacket" one of the girls scream out but Charlotte doesn't glance at them, she doesn't even show any emotion as she continues to walk towards our class

When we reach our class all eyes immediately turn towards us and not long after that Maddie walks towards Charlotte.

"We didn't see you at the football game last night. Where were you?" Maddie asks her as she twirls a strand of her black hair around her finger. Charlotte rolls her eyes before grabbing my hand and dragging me towards a lab desk in the back of the classroom.

"Are you okay?" I ask her since

Chapter 3