A/N: To those of you who write - have you thought about entering my short story/one-shot contest? There will be six prizes for the winner (different forms of advertising and feedback). For more info, check my The Contests Book, chapter May Challenge (link in the comments).

*****

Nathaniel's POV

The car dipped and we heard a splash as our mother drove over a puddle of melted snow.

"Such a shame there's so much mud on your first day back in school," she commented. "But at least the sun is shining."

"There wouldn't be mud everywhere if the sun wasn't shining so much and melting all the snow," Val commented with a pout.

When the white flakes had begun dropping on the ground last night, big and fast, my sister had gotten excited. She'd begun humming a random melody, while repeating the words 'snow day, snow day, no school tomorrow; snow day, snow day, extended vacation". When the weather softened and the flakes began to gently descend to the ground instead of assault it, her mood had diminished, but she'd stayed hopeful, the tune changing to 'Do you want to build a snowman'. I could only imagine how disappointed she had been when she woke up this morning, looked outside her window and saw slush everywhere instead of the white blanket she'd been expecting.

Now she was not only forced to go to school, but she was also not making a snowman; there wasn't enough material even for a snowball.

I shook my head at how insignificant her worries were.

For me the first day of school after our winter break was the first day of school with Hunter and me being together. Will we manage to keep our secret?

I'd never been a good liar although I seemed to have improved lately. But had I become good enough to keep my mouth shut about something like this?

Would I let something slip with my words or gestures?

Maybe someone would catch me staring at him and just know...

"Oh, I can see the building from here," mom chirped and I looked away from the side window and through the windshield. She was right: the school was already in sight, I could even make out the cars in the gradually filling parking lot.

I swirled my head to the side again. Simply looking at that place tightened the knots in my stomach. The nausea returned so I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

Hunter agreed to pretend that nothing was going on between us, I reminded myself. And Vallery promised she'd help me act that way too.

But I had very few classes with my sister. And even though I trusted Hunter when it came to hiding his feelings, could I bury mine away for the duration of the school day?

I would stare at him, I knew I would. And if I somehow managed not to, I'd be pointedly looking away and that could tip off someone as well, although they wouldn't necessarily know why I was avoiding Hunter Harris.

The worst option would be if I stared, he caught me staring and I blushed. One could not hide a blush.

"We are here," my mom announced, searching for a spot to park.

I bit both of my lips and took a deep breath through my nose. Vallery's hand landed on my knee, pressing it down to stop the rapping of my leg; I hadn't even realized I was fidgeting.

*****

Hunter's POV

Nathaniel got out of the car, turned briefly around - probably to say goodbye to that cow he called a mother - and walked towards the school, keeping his eyes forward. Even from here I could see how tense he was, his gait quick and stiff. Vallery was hot on her brother's heels, not letting him out of her sight for a second.

"'Ain't we gonna say hi?" Lyn asked, tilting her head towards the twins, the top of her freshly dyed mohawk slumping to one side; she probably only meant the female sibling.

"Val will join us later," I replied, playing with a packet of smokes. I was sure it would be easier for Nat if I avoided him today.

"And that cute geeky brother of hers?"

I couldn't decide if she was asking for herself or to tease me. She knew I had a thing for the boy, she just had no idea how big of a thing it was. I'd never believed in love at first sight and back then it wasn't that; it started as an interest, then grew into a fascination. And now? Now I wasn't so sure.

"Don't know," I shrugged, pretending I didn't care.

"I want to bang him," Lyn went on. "Get him outta his shell for a night... or two."

"He is kind of cute, isn't he?" Stacey mused aloud, tilting her head to the side just as the twins walked into the building. I wondered if the blonde actually noticed Nathaniel before or if she'd only took interest in him now that Lyn had mentioned him.

Stacey was Lyn's on-and-off best friend for about four months a year; the rest of the time, the two girls hated each other with a passion.

Stacey was a bitch; there was no denying that.

Her hobby was to sleep with other people's boyfriends or hook-up interests, including Lyn's. That was usually what they fought about. Their fight were the real thing, not just pushing each other and occasionally pulling each other's heir. They would punch, kick and smash their opponent with whatever was in reach: chairs, bottles...

Stacey looked anorexic, but she was one tough adversary, especially when your face collided with her many, heavy rings.

I could never understand why Lyn forgave her and took her back. I once asked her and she'd just shrugged, saying she wasn't an innocent herself and that she'd put Stacey through some shit as well. As true as that was, Lyn had some redeeming qualities, knowing when to keep her mouth shut included.

"Man, I hate school," Colin whined, his skin even more yellow than usual. His eyes were blood-red and unfocused; would they even allow him in the building?

He was pathetic, I'd always thought that. The only reason why I hung out with him was because I befriended his sister and she was the only one other than his junkie friends to stand him being around.

I'd told him twice that I was gay. The first time Colin was high, so he forgot; the second time, I asked him 'Don't you remember I told you I fuck guys?' and Colin thought it was a joke.

Before I met Nathaniel, I sometimes wondered if I should grab the nearest random guy and make out with him just so I could see the surprise on Colin's face. I was sure that it would quickly turn into disgust, but one - I didn't give a damn, and two - he'd probably stay away from me even when I was with Lyn.

Now that Nathaniel was around, there would be no improvised make-out sessions with random guys, that was for sure.

"Are we going in then?" Stacey asked when the bell rang. Without giving her a verbal reply, I slowly began walking towards the school building and the other three followed. It was going to be a long day if I had to stay away from Nat.

*****

Nathaniel's POV

It was lunch break and so far things were going better than I'd hoped.

I hadn't run into Hunter a single time and most people weren't aware of how anxious I was. The only ones who'd brought it up were Irene and Dustin; I'd told them I was alright, but neither believed me. The boy had picked up on my reluctance to talk and didn't bring it up again; the girl kept sneaking glances my way and trying to guess what was wrong. I knew she was doing that not to pry, but because she was worried about me and that only made things worse; it only made my guilt about replacing her even more unbearable. She was standing beside me as I opened my locker, but I couldn't look her in the eye so I pretended to be absorbed in getting the books I'll need for the rest of my classes.

"You are Nathaniel, right?" A not very pleasant voice but one with a friendly tone made me turn.

Before me stood a familiar blonde girl. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to remember where I'd seen her before. It took me a while before I realized she was the one I'd seen fighting with Mohawk girl on several occasions. Val claimed that the two teens were sometimes friends; I couldn't fathom what kind of friends gave each other black eyes.

"Yes?" My reply came more as a question than a confirmation. Her smile widened, her gaze slipping down my body than back up. She gave a little nod to herself as if she'd come to a decision.

"I'm Stacey," she introduced herself, latching onto me by intertwining our arms at the elbows. She was wearing heals high enough to tower over me and thin enough to make me amazed that she could stand straight, let alone actually walk. "Want to have lunch together?"

I gaped at her, blinking.

"I-I don't know you," I pointed out.

"So?" She lifted her shoulders. "We'll get to know each other."

"I'm sorry, but no." I managed to loosen her grip and move away. "I'm having lunch with Irene."

"Is she your girlfriend?" The blonde asked with a wicked grin, giving Irene the once-over. Her face contorted into one of jeer when she saw the other girl ball her fists tightly. "Don't worry, when I'm done with him, I'll return him to you in one piece... Disheveled, but in one piece."

My jaw dropped at her blatant insinuation and I moved further from her when she reached for my arm again.

"Come on," I urged Irene, grabbing her by the wrist and leading her towards the cafeteria.

"How do you know Stacey?" She asked, her voice cold.

"I don't," I denied. "Didn't you hear her introduce herself?"

Beside me, Irene relaxed a bit, but her voice was still cool when she spoke:

"She hangs around Lyn and Hunter; maybe you've seen her then?"

Hunter...

Could it be that he sent her?

I could not imagine why a girl I had never spoken to would flirt and hint about... Making out with me?

Going further?

I shook my head.

I could not imagine why a girl I had never spoken to would hint about whatever she'd hinted about out of the blue. She had to have a reason. Maybe Hunter asked her to do that so that I could flirt back and people would think I was into girls...

I shook my head again and this time received a raised eyebrow from Irene. I didn't tell her anything as we turned left towards our destination.

Hunter wouldn't do that; he wouldn't send someone to seduce me so that I would have a cover, he'd know I wouldn't flirt with her...

I stopped when a new thought came to mind: was he testing me?

Did he send her to see if I'd give into her charms?

She thought she had charms - you could tell that by her confidence - but what I thought was that she looked cheap.

Irene beckoned me with a swing of her hand to continue and I began moving again.

Hunter wouldn't do that. Besides, I had no idea if he was the reason Stacey talked to me. Whatever her motives were, I hoped it was a one-time attempt; the last thing I needed was more trouble on my already full plate.

*****

A/N: I'm sorry about the switches between their POV-s, but I thought you'd like to see what both boys had on their mind. Was I right?

What do you think of the chapter and this sort of (as she's been mentioned before) new character?

Would she make things for the boys worse?

And what of Irene's reaction?

I hope you've enjoyed the chapter enough to support it with a VOTE.

Have a great time wattpading, everyone!