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Winter break was finally over and Woodway Prep was back in session. While I dreaded and protested going back to school every other year, I was actually excited this time. I smiled knowing that it had to do with a certain someone that was currently waiting downstairs for me. Because of that, I made sure to wake up extra early so he didn't have to wait too long for me since I knew how punctual he is.

When I was downstairs, I saw my mom waiting for me with a warm smile on her face.

"Have fun at school, sweetheart," she greeted and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Thanks!" I returned her affection with a hug. "Love you!"

"Love you too, honey." She let go and I felt something soft pressing against my leg. I glanced down and saw Sweets looking up at me with her big brown eyes. I bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the nose.

"Hey there, girl," I cooed, giving her a good rub behind her ear. She darted her tongue out and licked my hand. "Be a good girl while I'm at school, alright?" She barked at my comment. I laughed and beamed down at her. "I'll take that as a yes then."

I gave her one last kiss goodbye, and watched her run over to my mom when she called out her name. I couldn't help but grin as I headed out the door. Saying a quick "Good morning" to the gatekeeper, I made my way over to Thomas' car. He was parked in the same spot as usual. I stopped when I didn't see him sitting in his car like I always did. That's strange . . . where did he run off to?

I cranked my neck to get a better look when I saw a flash of blonde hair in the corner of my eyes. I was soon engulfed in a pair of warm arms. I inhaled against his chest, smelling his delicious cologne mixed with a scent that was uniquely Thomas.

"Hey," he whispered, sending shivers down my spin. Hearing his soft chuckle, I felt his lips kissing my cheek softly while he pulled me tighter against him.

"Hey," I said back. "Why aren't you in the car?"

He pulled away from me. "Thought I'll surprise you." He grinned. "Plus I wanted a hug."

I rolled my eyes but laughed anyway. "Well you got your hug, now let's head inside before we freeze to death." I pulled my jacket closer towards me, missing the warmth of his body heat.

He reacted fast and opened the door for me. "After you, m'lady." He bowed, trying to act like a gentleman.

I giggled at his charming ways. "Why, thank you." I placed a hand over my heart and got in the car.

"No problem, Little Beauty." He smirked as he shut the door. He quickly ran over to the other side of the car and got in his seat. He switched the ignition into drive, stepped on the gas pedal and we were on our way.

I couldn't even step a foot out of Thomas' car when a familiar voice screamed my name. I looked up to see Amanda running towards me, her hands waving back and forth like a maniac. When she knew she had my attention she pushed through the crowd, shouting curses here and there as she stumbled a few times. I laughed, missing her sense of humor.

"I missed you so much!" she exclaimed as she tackled me with a bone-crushing hug.

I returned the hug and got out of the car when Amanda decided to let me breathe again. "I missed you too! But we literally just saw each other yesterday." Her sister had gone back to college for intersession and Thomas had work, so we decided to crash at my place and immerse ourselves with a chick flick marathon. Well, more like I did, while Amanda just pointed out every little flaw that was wrong with them.

"Exactly. That's twenty-four hours too long," she said being her over-dramatic self again. Before I could even reply, Thomas cleared his throat, notifying Amanda of his presence.

"Hey Thomas!"

He gave her a short nod. "Hi."

"Oh, you're no fun!" Amanda pouted. "You didn't even say hi to me like you meant it."

"Hey!" Thomas shouted once more, turning a few heads our way. "Happy?" he asked.

"Much better." Amanda turned her body slightly, almost blocking me from Thomas' view. "Anyways, just a fair warning I heard Mr. Jacob has something important to tell us," she said to Thomas and grabbed my hand subtly. "Can't wait to see what our class advisor wants us to do this time. Not."

She didn't give him enough time to respond when she tugged on my hand and pulled me down the parking lot. We were nearing the front building when I heard Thomas' voice yelled, "Hey! You can't just leave and take her like that!"

"Oh yeah? And what exactly are you going to do about it?" she challenged, sticking her tongue at him.

"You'll see." He pushed some people out of the way and raced down the lot towards us. Hearing some rude remarks thrown his way, I scowled at them, narrowing my eyes.

"Looks like your boy toy over there is going to split us up." Amanda jabbed my side, bringing my attention back to her. "I bet he'll be here in about . . . three, two, one—" On cue, Thomas showed up between Amanda and I. He snatched my arm away from Amanda and pulled me close to his body. He shot her a playful glare and also stuck his tongue out at her.

Amanda only laughed at him. "Wow Thomas, you must really love Isabella if you got jealous just because I took her away from you for one second."

His cheeks blushed a light pink. "I-I'm not jealous!"

"Ha!" she yelled. "So what I'm hearing is, you actually love Isabella since you're not denying it!" she teased, giggling at him.

"I-I—" Seeing him blubbering like an idiot, I felt my own cheeks heating up. There's no way Thomas loved me—right? He couldn't have. He can't. He's probably just embarrassed that Amanda was teasing him.

Nodding at my own conclusion, I decided to save Thomas from his embarrassment. "Amanda, remember Mr. Jacob?"

"Shit. You're right!" She pushed Thomas away and grabbed my hand again. "Let's hurry!"

"Come on," Thomas groaned. "At least wait for me," I heard him shout causing Amanda and I to both start laughing.

Once we finally got to the classroom, Thomas took the seat next to me while Amanda took the seat behind me. Looking around, I was surprised to see Jason's seat empty. He's always here on time—usually before us. I couldn't help but automatically think something was wrong. It wasn't like Jason. Hopefully he's not sick . . .

"Alright, as you may know," he started talking once the bell rang. "This weekend is our school's annual charity basketball game." Everyone nodded at that. "This year, we're a little short on the numbers of players, so we need a few more people to sign up. Anyone is welcome." He eyed some of the girls in the class as they stared at him in disbelief. I almost laughed. Hell would have to freeze over if he wanted any of the girls to join. They only went to the games for the eye candy and nothing else.

"What charity are we playing for this year?" someone in the class asked.

"Katy's Orphanage. All the money raised will be donated to them and given to the children who need it the most," he explained to the class. "So, any volunteers?"

"I'll play." Thomas raised his hand. My eyes widened. From all the years I'd known him, he'd never ever signed up for this. So, why now? Why is this year so special?

Mr. Jacob's smile brightened. "It's so great to have you on board this year, Thomas."

"Thought I'll give it a try, you know?" He shrugged, quickly signing his name. This caused some of the other guys to start volunteering as well.

Just as I was about to ask Thomas why he decided to volunteer this year, the front door slammed open, grabbing everyone's attention. I smiled seeing Jason. "Sorry, I'm late." Jason breathed heavily. "I got a bit sidetracked."

"I'm also sorry." Rachel said, sounding awfully happy. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her. What the heck is she doing with Jason? Even though they were in the same social circle they hardly ever hung out. Not alone anyways. "But we do have a pass." She waved a piece of index paper in her hand.

He sighed and took it. "Don't make this a recurring thing." He motioned his hands to take a seat. "And oh, Jason," he said, halting Jason in his steps. "Are you planning on playing in the charity basketball game this weekend?"

"Um . . ." Jason started to say before Rachel answered for him.

"He'll love to, right?" Rachel asked, squeezing his arm.

He stared at her for a few seconds and then immediately nodded his head. "Ah, yeah. What she said." I blinked, my mouth opening briefly. He actually listened to her?

"Wonderful!" the teacher exclaimed and gave him the sign-up sheet. Jason quickly signed his name and gave the pen and paper back to Mr. Jacob. I didn't miss the quick smile he sent Rachel as he headed to his seat. She returned his smile with a wink.

I eyed Thomas, seeing the same bewildered look that mimicked my own expression.

Whatever's going on here, it can't be good.

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