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Looking around the classroom, familiar faces stared back at me. After I'd introduced myself, most of the guys that used to laugh at me were looking at me with lust-filled eyes, practically with drools down their chins. I rolled my eyes. They were still as superficial as ever. All they cared about was looks. If I was standing here looking like I did before, they wouldn't even spare me a glance.

Hearing a loud laugh, I turned my eye on Rachel. She still looked as bitchy as ever, but I could tell her eyes were screaming in envy when she glanced at the bag in my hand. I smiled, feeling satisfied.

Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw the smirk on my face, turning away a second later. Knowing that Thomas was right next to her, I watched her interact with him. A moment later, she stood up abruptly, and slammed her chair against her desk.

I jolted where I stood and watched her take the seat next to Amanda—the only available seat left in the classroom. I cursed silently knowing that I'll have to sit next to Thomas now. Seeing his eyes glowering at his desk, I almost wanted to dash back home and cuddle with Sweets for a few more hours. What if he had recognized me? What if he starts making fun of me again? Amanda said my disguise was foolproof, but what if she was wrong? What if—

"Isabella," the teacher said, snapping me out of my racing thoughts. "You can take a seat next to Thomas."

"Um, right."

Thomas looked up as I slowly walked up to his desk. Seeing the smile on his face, I let out a deep breath. Thank God, he hasn't figured it out yet. If he did, he wouldn't be smiling at me right now. He would be laughing at me, and calling me Isacow. Biting my lower lip, I pushed that thought to the back of my mind, and took the seat next to him.

"Hey." The smile on his face widened, as I saw his body shifting in the corner of my eyes. "I'm Thomas." He extended his hand towards me. I arched my brow, looking at it. "It's nice to meet you."

I gave him a curt nod, and turned my attention back to the board. Hearing the definite silence in the air—save for Mr. Jacob talking, I knew he was dumbfounded by my response. I bet no girl gave him the silent treatment before.

"Ah . . ." he started, followed by some scratching noises. "So, um . . . how do you like our school so far?" he asked, even though it was obvious I wanted nothing to do with him.

I simply shrugged in reply.

When he sighed in frustration, I almost wanted to erupt in a fit of laughter.

"You know," he tried once more, after mumbling some incoherent sentences under his breath. "You have the same first name as someone I used to know." My back straightened up hearing that sentence come out of his mouth. If I'd remembered correctly I was the only Isabella at Woodway Prep. But why the hell would he bring me up?

"Oh?"

He perked up when I spoke. "Yeah. Her name was Isabella Ace, but she moved last year."

My mouth formed an oval shape, as I listened, not missing the slight glare in his eyes and the change in tone when he said my name. "How come?"

"I don't really know." He shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "But good riddance."

"Sounds like you didn't like her."

"I hated her." I watched the specks of whites in his eyes turned black. Even though I already knew he didn't like me, I didn't think his hate for me was that strong. What the hell did I even do to make him hate me so much? Was my ugliness too much to bare? Was that it? Was I too pathetic for him to look at?

"Thomas, please stop talking while I'm trying to teach." Mr. Jacob sighed. I turned to see him staring at Thomas. "We all know you're not that welcoming."

In response, the class burst out in a fit of laughter, including me. Seeing the redness clouding his cheeks, I laughed harder.

"Whatever," he grumbled back and slumped in his chair.

"You know," I said after the laughter died down. "If you want to stay out of trouble, you may want to try whispering it."

"Sorry, I forgot." He laughed quietly. "I guess your beauty has that affect on people."

"My beauty?" I chuckled. If only he knew who he was talking to, he wouldn't have said that. "You're a flirt aren't you?"

He grinned, shaking his head. "Nope, just stating the truth."

"Well, thanks."

"Anytime," he said, tapping his chest. "And hey, I was wondering—" He paused, scratching the side of his face, "—since you're new and all, do you want to have lunch with me and my friends? I could show you around as well if you want me to." He grinned, as he waited for my answer.

The smile never wavered from his face, even when I didn't respond right away. He probably thought I was going to say something along the lines of, 'yes'. Boy, was he wrong.

"No, thank you."

"Great. Meet—" he started saying, when he fully grasped what I'd just said. As he did, his eyes widened into saucers. "Wait, did you just said no?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I don't get it . . ." he whispered. "Was I being too forward or something?"

I pressed my lips together, and rolled my eyes at him. "It was nice talking to you, Todd." I had to hold in my laughter when I saw the color draining from his already pale face.

"It's um, Thomas."

"Todd. Thomas. It's all the same." I shrugged and turned away from him.

When I started to pay attention to the teacher's lesson, I could've sworn I heard Thomas talking to himself, as he continuously called himself an idiot. I giggled under my breath, knowing that this was going to be fun.

Once the clock finally ticked a quarter to nine, everyone that held an interest crowded around me. An array of questions were thrown my way from all different directions. Feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of it all, I was glad to hear Amanda's voice shouting at the crowd.

"Leave the poor girl alone," she yelled, shoving a path for herself. "This isn't some stupid police interrogation room."

"We just wanted to get to know our fellow classmate better," some guy I recognized from Thomas' group of friends said. "Isn't that right?" he asked, addressing the rest of the guys and some girls.

They nodded in response.

Amanda shot daggers at him. "Yeah, well maybe she doesn't want you down her throat so back the fuck off."

He held his hands up, and took a step back. "Chill." He turned to the rest of his friends. "Let's just go."

"That's what I thought." Amanda snickered, watching them all leave at once. When the classroom was empty she rushed towards me, and gave me a quick hug.

"So, how does it feel to be back at school?" she asked.

"Eh. I got to mess with Thomas a little bit, so I'm feeling perfectly happy," I told her. "Thanks for getting rid of those idiots back there."

She shrugged. "What are friends for?"

I smiled, forever grateful that she was here. If it wasn't for her I don't think I would've made it past the front doors this morning. She literally had to push me into the school, telling me everything was going to be okay. And she was right—everything was. "I'll see you at lunch then?" I asked, knowing that I didn't have anymore classes with her.

"Duh. Have a great first day Isabella Elizabeth." She winked, turned around, and walked off.

I laughed, saying goodbye to Mr. Jacob as I headed out the door. Just as I was about to turn the corner to my next class, a body slammed into me causing us both to fall to the floor with a loud thud. I groaned, reaching behind my head. Rubbing the sore spot, I squinted my eyes, feeling a massive headache coming on. Great, it's not even second period and I'm already on the ground.

"Shit." I heard an all too familiar voice said. My breath hitched as I laid there. It's him. "I'm so sorry—" he started to say, but paused suddenly.

When my eyes opened, I saw Jason staring at me with an indescribable look in his eyes. I held my breath, taking him in. Even after a year, he still looked as handsome as ever with those kind gray eyes of his. But as the memories from the party flashed back at me, my eyes narrowed into slits, pushing those unwanted feelings in the back of my mind.

"Sorry," I said, collecting myself. Reaching out for my bag, I swung it over my shoulder and got up.

I smiled as I left him staring after me with a blank look in his eyes.

Cover by _lostdreaming

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