READ! VOTE! FOLLOW! 

It's Monday morning and I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. I look at the clock and it reads 6:34 A.M. I slowly get out of bed and drag myself to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and comb out the knots in my hair. I wash my face to wake myself up, letting the water run over my face leaving a refreshing feel. I head back to my room and to my closet. I wonder whether I should wear my contacts or not. After standing there, I finally make up my mind and decide I would try it.

I slip on a pair of skinny jeans and an unbuttoned plaid shirt with nice-looking sneakers. I put makeup on, knowing Falene will make fun of me anyway. I descend down the staircase and into the kitchen. I find my mom reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom greets. "Hey," I reply. I open the pantry and grab a granola bar and start to head out the door. I grab my keys and slip on my black flats.

"Bye Mom."

"Bye, honey! Oh, I almost forgot; I'll be a little later getting home, I have to give a presentation at 4:15. You get out of school at 3:15?" she questions. I nod. "Great, there's a frozen pizza in the freezer and make sure your brother gets his homework done. Understand?"

"Mom, Neal's 17, I'm pretty sure he can handle getting his homework done," I defend.

"Well, Neal isn't always focused," she says. I laugh, "Okay. Gotcha. Bye!" I lean over and kiss her cheek. I head out the door and back out of my driveway. I drive to school in silence, dreading to see Falene and Sasha, who I haven't talked to since I walked out on her last Thursday.

I pull into the school parking lot and loop around several times before I finally find a parking space. I gather my things from my trunk and head toward the school.

"Hey!" I hear a familiar voice call. "Hey! Natalie!" I turn to see who's calling me. What could possibly be so important? I think. 

I turn and see Logan's muscular build standing right in front of me. He's so tall I have to look up. It's hard to think straight when you have a beautiful boy with a beautiful body standing right before your eyes.

"Hey," Logan says again. I snap back into reality and remember our last conversation. I look up at him. "Logan," I greet. I start walking again, trying to get rid of him. He follows and I try not to look at his distracting face.

"How are you?" he asks.

"Perfectly fine," I reply sarcastically. He gives a small smile, still looking at me, "Me too."

I stop to look at him. "I like how you answer your own question even though I never asked you." My muscles tense and my face has an annoyed look. Apparently he didn't get the hint of Go away and leave me alone. Instead, he smiles. I don't.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I start walking again. I look at him again, this time, he doesn't have a smile on his face. His smile faded and his eyes look sad. "I don't get it."

"What don't you get?" I shoot, my voice a little too rough. He doesn't say anything.

"What I don't get is that you're always pushing others away. Last Thursday, I came up to you and asked if you were okay. I didn't even know you, but I still asked. Let me ask you this, did anyone else ask if you were okay?" He pauses, but doesn't say anything else. 

I shake my head at his question, looking at the ground.

I smirk. "That's really funny because here, at this school, it's either you know me or you don't. So, no. No one else asked if I was alright because the ones who do know me don't care. The ones who don't know me— well, why would they ask if I was okay to some unpopular, ugly, fat, chick?"

Okay, okay, I'm not fat... It kinda came out; the rest is true.

"Maybe, instead of pushing people away, you should start letting people in," he rudely suggests. I really shouldn't be taking this crap from him, but I listen anyway. He continues, "If you want friends, then start making some, 'cause right now, you aren't doing so hot. Try making friends without being so tense." I look at him. His tone is stern but his eyes are calm and softened. I should be calmed too, but instead, this makes me mad. I don't know why, but it does.

"I don't need you to be my Yoda and give me the words of wisdom. If you actually saw what my life was like, you'd understand," I blurt out harshly. Immediately after I say that, I realize what I said and wish I can take it all back. "Logan, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that."

He looks at the ground and then back at me. His eyes show everything. He's hurt and angry, but doesn't reveal it in his words or tone. "I'm sorry, too. See you 'round." He doesn't leave, instead he stays put.

I stare at him and he stares back. My eyes well up with tears and eventually my cheeks become streams. I don't bother to wipe them away. His eyes soften and looks less angry. It's probably not the best time to notice this, but I take in how beautiful he is. 

So delicate, sweet, and innocent-looking. I don't know how we end up like this, but we're only a few inches away from each other. He reaches toward my face. I flinch at the touch of his hand against my cheek. He takes my head in to his hands and wipes away my streams of tears with his thumbs. I am lost in his touch—soft and gentle. I suddenly remember the state of anger I am in and I pull away.

"I guess I'll see you around too." I say shyly, breaking the silence; not looking at him. I stand there for a second, then leave without looking back. Just like I did the day I met him.

***

Keeping my head down, I walk through the halls to my next class, Algebra. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check the time. Two minutes until class. I have plenty of time. I take my time reaching the next class. I turn left to the next corridor. I find the classroom and walk through the door. As usual, the boys throw crumpled-up pieces of paper at each other. I walk to my seat in the middle of the room. 

My head still hangs low. Then something hits me in on the side of my face. I look over in the direction the throw came from and then look back at the ground. A paper ball.

"Nice hit, Warner!" Austin yells. I look back up. I stare at Warner with narrow eyes. Warner is one of Falene's friends; a rebel who doesn't care about life, just the girls he hangs with. He's constantly being pulled around by her and getting told what to do. Honestly, I think he secretly enjoys it. Suddenly, I remember that I'm not wearing my glasses. Warner's expression changes, replacing the old look with a new confused look. 

"What're you staring at?" I scowl. I shake my head in irritation and move to my seat. Warner's eyes follow and so do Austin's. The noise dies down, but not completely. Austin and Warner and his friends are the only ones studying me. 

One of Warner's friends calls out to me: "You're that chick ... um ... Natalie right?" Before I can answer, he continues. "You're the chick that Falene get called a geek. Hey guys, Geeky doesn't have her glasses. Ya-know, if Falene gave you a makeover— dude, you'd be smokin'." He laughs and slaps Warner on the shoulder. He doesn't smile, he just looks at me. 

The bell rings and everyone turns to face the front. Mrs. Driscoll walks through the door holding a stack of papers in her hand. I study her; she's wearing a somewhat loose, black pencil skirt that goes to her knees and a white, button-up collard shirt. Part of her curly, brown hair is slicked back into a small ponytail, leaving the rest of her hair down.

"Alright, everything away except a pencil, calculator, and a scrap piece of paper. It's quiz time," she announces, organizing the things on her desk. "I'll be right back, I need to grab something from the printer."

Just as Mrs. Driscoll leaves the room, Austin continues to throw insults. "Good luck with the quiz, Warner. Maybe if you fail this quiz, you can be Geeky's study buddy. Wouldn't that be fun?" Austin tries to whisper, looking at me; although everyone can hear him.

"Oh, but Austin, how funny! You're the one telling Warner to do well when all you can do is cheat off of him and to make yourself so great. Awww, helpless little boy," I defend. I shouldn't be defending Warner, but I can tell he's not a huge fan of Falene, so I guess I gave him a little help. 

I hear some students try to stifle a laugh. Austin's face goes red and he turns back around all huffy-puffy. I look at Warner and he has a small, shy smile.

Mrs. Driscoll returns, scanning the room of students. "Oh, wait. Attendance. I'll read the names, you'll raise your hand." She looks to Warner and Austin's side of the room. "Boys, I'm talking to you. No funny business," she warns. She announces names and hands shoot up in the air. About halfway down the list, my name is called. 

"Natalie?" I raise my hand and no one looks my way— not a surprise. Before Mrs. Driscoll continues, she comments on my attire. "Natalie, you look gorgeous without your glasses. I like your outfit, today." She gives me a slight nod and everyone turns to look at me, except for Austin. I keep my eyes and head down as she finishes the attendance form.

Once class is over, my lunch period starts and I quickly gather my things and get out the door. I head to my locker. I turn the corner, finding, Falene and her posse gathered around my locker. "Natalie! Hey, babe!" Sasha greets, smirking to Falene after.

"Can I help you? And why are you hanging out by my locker? Yours on the other side of the corner; my locker is not a hangout place, so don't treat it like it's one," I scowl. Crowds start to slowly gather around us. It should bother me, but I am so used to it, I've taught myself to ignore it. 

Sasha and Falene spit things at me, hitting me with hurtful words. As I listen, tears well up in my eyes. Instead of the tears streaming down my face, they just sit in my eyes, blurring my vision. I blink them away and look at them, scanning over Sasha and Falene's posse.

"Why?" I ask. Sasha looks at me.

"Why what?"

"Why do are you doing this?" I shift myself to look at Falene. "Why do you always have to put others down to bring yourself up? I have had to live with your cruel self since fifth grade. We're in our junior year. I feel so small and unimportant. You did this to me. I want to know why. Do you enjoy this? Does it amuse you to hurt others and watch them fall to pieces, because that's exactly what you've done to me.

"Sasha? What have I done to you? Just last week, we were best friends, and then we weren't. I just ... I just want some answers, an explanation. Please? Can I at least get that?" I look at them and then out of the corner of my eyes to the crowd, silently gathered around us.

I turn back to Sasha, Falene, and their others. I don't notice the tears now running down my cheeks, probably smearing my makeup. Their faces look serious and almost forgiving, but it's hard to believe, even for a second, that either of them would beg for forgiveness. After minutes of waiting for an explanation, I start to get irritated instead of upset. I roll my eyes.

"Forget it," I say under my breath and walk past them and into the crowd. I can feel the eyes on me, making me the center of attention. My face feels hot from being mad, embarrassed, and irritated.

"Natalie, wait," I hear Sasha call. I stop and slowly turn around. Sasha stands in an uncomfortable way, her head down and her hair covering the front of her face. She looks up at me. "I'm sorry." She hesitates for a moment before a smirky smile grows on her face. She tries to hide it, but it's too obvious.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I think you need to leave, that shirt is just killing my eyes. I cannot have that happen; if it did, I wouldn't be able to see all the hot guys."

I cannot believe she just said that. I feel so embarrassed. I turn on my heal to the sound of their snickering and laughing. Hot tears really start coming out of my eyes, streaming down my cheeks. I wipe them away even though they keep coming. 

I push through the crowd, once again feeling all the eyes on me. I finally get out of the crowd except for one thing blocking me from leaving. I look up and see Logan in front of me. His muscular figure is blurry from the tears welled up in my eyes. I stand there for a second, staring into his eyes. I can see the remorse for me in his eyes. I start to walk past him but he stops me by wrapping his arm around the front of my waist.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers into my ear. He releases me, the heat from his breath lingering on my ear. He secretly stuffs an envelope in my hand and gives a sad smile. "I thought you might need a little Yoda wisdom," he says. I stand there, just staring at him, looking deep into his eyes.

Then, I quickly move past him; holding Logan's envelope tightly between my fingers.