I woke up mentally prepared for two things the next day. One, more interrogations from the girls in my class—it was to be expected after yesterday's breaking news of Pierce becoming the TA right after I kissed him—and two, dealing with a post-rejected Trey. I had a feeling he'd cause trouble for me with his unrequited feelings, given his mulish nature.

But the one thing I didn't prepare for was my feelings skyrocketing for Pierce.

"Amber, are those your legs I see?" Mom asked me, staring at my bare legs as I came downstairs that morning. Yeah, for the girl who lived in pants her whole life, seeing my legs was like seeing Ariel's. I'd never owned a single skirt in my life and only wore floor-length gowns for special occasions. So when I suddenly broke out of my tomboy mold this morning because of a certain golden boy, I had to go raid Thea's girly wardrobe for something feminine. So far, I'd even gotten away with yoga pants at school under my uniform—not anymore.

I had a certain golden boy whom I wanted to impress.

"Yeah, Mom, I thought I'd start acting like a girl, like you always wanted," I replied, smiling innocently at her. She looked amused.

"Well, well, I'm glad to see you're finally growing up. Although I do wonder whatever brought this on..." Mom gave me a keen stare and I giggled nervously. Yeah, you can't get away with secret agendas when your mom is a psychologist—she knows everything. But fortunately, my mom was tactful enough not to ask until I was ready to tell.

So quickly slurping down my oatmeal in two seconds, I was out the door before Mom could make any more guesses about my sudden switch to femininity.

"There you are! I'm gonna kill you!" The angry voice of Haruko rang out behind me. I turned around and saw her following me on her skateboard—huh, she usually took her Hummer...

"Why haven't you answered any of our texts?!" She ranted, coming and pulling me off my scooter. Haruko had a really short fuse when it came to unanswered texts—especially from her friends because I know she cared.

"She's right, Amb, do you know how worried we were about you?" Cassie appeared out of nowhere on my other side, riding her scooter. "And sweet marshmallows, are those your legs?" Cassie looked stunned to see my bare legs. I glanced at both of them with a nervous giggle.

"Hehe, sorry guys, didn't check my phone yesterday." Not after my incredible sorta-date with Pierce...

"What the heck happened to you yesterday, Amb, you fainted!" Haruko yelled. "And Hartman whisked you off to the nurse's office before we could even get a hold of you!"

"Mr. Byrd didn't even allow us to come after you and he kept us back for one of his long speeches after class," Cassie explained more calmly, "By the time we came to the nurse's office to get you, you were gone. That's when we started looking for you." I frowned.

"Wait, didn't..." I halted. Didn't Trey tell them I left with Pierce? Guess he wasn't talking to anyone anymore...

"So what happened to you?!" Haruko asked impatiently. A little smile crept to my lips.

"I went on a date with Pierce." My answer made both my friends shriek 'WHAT?!' at the same time. I quickly explained to them how Pierce took care of me and took me out because he thought I'd skipped lunch. They rode along, listening to me with their jaws hanging open.

"No freaking way, Amber, you're dating the TA?!" Haruko gasped. I grinned.

"Come on, Haru, it's not like that. He's the TA, and in college, and—"

"And you like him, don't you?" Cassie asked me with a sly smile. I blushed.

"Mmm... maybe..." I mumbled. Cassie and Haruko both squealed.

"Oh my gosh, Amber, this is amazing!"

"Wait, you guys don't think it's weird or wrong?" I asked in surprise. Cassie shook her head and Haruko waved her hand.

"Are you kidding?! Our best friend finally found someone she likes for the first time, uh, best news ever!" Cassie squeaked.

"Yeah, and I think it's pretty damn hot that you're dating an older guy, go Amber!" Haruko winked at me, making me laugh.

"I'm not dating him but... Thanks, you guys. I was worried about how you'd take it."

"We're okay with it Amb, but... how does this work?" Cassie asked, looking thoughtful. "He's the TA and you're his student..."

"Guys, it's not like we're actually going out!" I reminded them. "I just happen to really like him, that's all." And happened to really like him for years...

"And he likes you..." Haruko said smugly. I blushed feeling bubbly inside.

"You really think so?" I asked demurely.

"Tch, the way he had his hands all over you in public yesterday was a pretty darn good indication," Haruko replied with a smirk.

"What are you going to tell everyone, Amb?" Cassie asked me.

"Nothing, I don't care what assumptions people make!" I said emphatically. "I just don't wanna get Pierce in trouble. Since he's gonna be TA here for a year, I don't wanna cause any problems for him. And it's not like he actually asked me out or anything..."

"So that's it? Like, you're gonna pretend like none of it ever happened?" Cassie asked me. I sighed.

"It's not like I expected anything from that kiss, guys," I said sadly, facing reality. "And I can't expect anything from him now that he's the TA, he's practically off-limits."

"Maybe, but something tells me Hartman's not gonna be able to keep his eyes off you," Haruko said, waggling her eyebrows. "Especially when he sees those legs..." I playfully shoved her while Cassie laughed uncontrollably. Whatever happened yesterday and whatever would happen today, my feelings for Pierce would not change—and even if there was nothing more for me to expect, I'd still have eyes only for Pierce.

"Amber, Amber, are you really dating the TA?" Was the first question I was hit with on entering school from the mouths of every girl in my class.

"Wouldn't be very ethical dating the TA, would it?" I replied evasively, smirking at everyone. I didn't answer 'yes', but I didn't have to give a downright 'no' either.

"Wasn't Pierce Hartman the golden boy of Bellfort three years ago?"

"Is it true that he was once your sister's boyfriend?" Someone else asked. Oooh, it finally happened, someone recognized him. With Pierce's past fame, it was only a matter of time. My sister herself became a legendary golden girl for hanging out with the golden boys. But things were different now.

"Won't you get into trouble for dating the TA?" Whoa, the assumptions already reached the next level.

"Yeah, Amber, how did you even meet him? Are you really dating him?" The questions continued to swirl about me. I smirked at everyone.

"Sorry ladies, I don't kiss and tell," I said with a flirty wink, and walked off with Cassie and Haruko in a fit of giggles. The suspense must be killing everybody but I wasn't gonna enlighten them.

"Just leave 'em itching for more, girl," Haruko said with a swagger and I laughed. As long as the rumors didn't hurt Pierce, I wasn't gonna fix them. Now if only I could get a glimpse of that golden boy I was in love with...

However, the next person I had to deal with was a very irate Trey.

"Amber!" He yelled through the hallway while Cassie, Haruko, and I were putting away our bags at our lockers. I literally groaned.

"What's it gonna take for that boy to leave me alone?" I mumbled in repulsion. Trey came running up to me, looking peeved.

"Did you get home alright yesterday? Where were you? Why didn't you answer any of my calls?" He threw rapid-fire questions at me. I scowled.

"I was busy, and I'm not obligated to pick up your calls," I replied with irritation. Not that I got his calls, I'd secretly blocked him after our blow-up yesterday morning. He frowned.

"Look, Amber, I don't get why you're still mad at me—"

"You don't get why—are you serious?" I gaped at him incredulously. "Trey, I'm done! I'm tired of you hounding me because you can't get over your feelings! Either you start acting sensibly or leave me alone!" I slammed my locker shut in irritation and stomped away from Trey with Cassie and Haruko following in my wake. I thought that was it, that he'd back down now. But I wasn't prepared for what Trey was gonna do next.

"I love you, Amber!" The impossible idiot hollered through the hallway after me, in front of everyone. I froze in my footsteps, my jaw dropping to the floor and utter chagrin filling my face. I turned around in flabbergasted horror and stared at him with loathing. He did not just do that!

"Oooh, Amber, looks like you got an admirer," one of the boys in the hallway said to me. Some of them started giving wolf-whistles and I nearly died of embarrassment. Trey didn't do that because he meant well, he did it to embarrass me! Dammit, he was so DEAD after this!

I practically ran off, sick with humiliation. My loyal friends followed me, calling after me. But I didn't stop till I was in the gym. I plonked down on the bleachers with an angry yell.

"I'm gonna strangle Trey after school today!" I roared, folding my arms in a fuming rage. Cassie and Haruko took their seats on either side of me.

"How about if we throw some pie in his face instead?" Haruko suggested.

"Seriously, Trey's lost it!" Cassie said hotly on my behalf. "He's resorted to embarrassing you just because you turned him down?"

"If he thinks that'll make me change my mind, he's dead wrong," I raged, "he's gonna make me hate him at this rate!"

"You're just gonna have to avoid him at all costs, Amb," Haruko said. I grunted.

"He's making life at school hell for me!"

"Don't worry, you've got us," Cassie said, squeezing my arm. "We'll help you avoid him."

"And we'll make sure he doesn't get a chance to embarrass you like that again," Haruko said, her own eyes burning with anger. "I didn't think Trey would stoop so low!" The bell went for classes just then.

"Darn, we gotta get to class, Amb," Cassie reminded me. I sighed wearily.

"We'll get through this together, no way in hell are we gonna let our girl get degraded like that!" Haruko said, holding my hand in a firm fist. I felt a little heartened by my friends' encouragement.

"Thanks you guys, I don't know what I'd have done without you." Yeah, I'd need all the help I could get dealing with Trey—especially now that the situation got even more complicated with Pierce in the picture.

~

At lunch, our friendship group was divided again—Ronnie and Juno faithfully sat by Trey at one end of the cafeteria while Cassie and Haruko stuck by my side as we took our seats way at the other end of the room, far far away from Trey. We were having spaghetti smothered in tomato sauce and I dearly would've loved to have thrown a plateful at Trey and slather him with it from head to toe after what he did to me this morning.

"Hey Amber," some guys called out to me while passing by and made kissy faces. Urgh, I knew they were doing it on Trey's behalf, it made me wanna pulverize something!

"Why I oughta—" Haruko glared at them, crunching her can of soda in her fist.

"Okay, maybe avoiding him isn't enough, Amb, we gotta do something," Cassie said, looking concernedly at me. I groaned.

"I know, Cass, but what?!" I asked irritably. Cassie rubbed her chin.

"Maybe if everyone knew for sure you were already dating someone else, he'd leave you alone and nobody else would bother you," she suggested thoughtfully.

"Newsflash, Cass, I'm not dating anyone else!" I said, slumping in my chair. "And I'm not gonna fake-date either, so don't suggest that."

"Darn," Cassie said with a nervous giggle. Haruko suddenly turned to me, looking like a lightbulb went off in her head. A slow, sly smile spread on her face.

"Maybe you just gotta milk the situation offered you and—fan the flames," she said, waggling her eyebrows. I stared at her skeptically.

"Haru, if you don't stop talking in proverbs, you're gonna be labeled a weirdo," I said, giving her a jaded look.

"What I'm saying is—the women already assume that there's something big going on between you and Hartman," Haruko went on excitedly, "it wouldn't hurt if that rumor spread among the guys as well."

"And once that rumor clinches, no one will ever think there's anything between you and Trey!" Cassie said, also brimming with excitement. I held up my hands.

"Whoa, slow down, brainstormers, there's no way I'm gonna use Pierce like that, it'd get him into big trouble!" I said in shock. "I'm not gonna go around convincing people that I'm dating the TA just to get Trey off my back." I already kissed him to do that...

"That's the thing, Amb, you don't have to do any convincing, the rumors will do everything!" Haruko said impatiently. "You already have a good rapport with Hartman and after yesterday's kiss, no way people are not gonna think there's more to it!"

"We just have to get people to think you're dating him, without actually saying so!" Cassie said. "It worked this morning..."

"Guys, you're forgetting that I'm not gonna do anything that might harm Pierce!" I reminded them, rolling my eyes. "I really like the guy, I don't wanna use him to solve my problems—"

"Have you seen him? He is sooo sexy!" A couple of girls passing by our table chatted. "If I had to know we'd be getting a demigod for a TA in chem this year, I would've taken chem for sure!"

"I know, hot Hartman is to die for!" The other girl said with a dreamy look on her face. She sighed.

"Hot Hartman... what I'd give to get some alone time with him... maybe I could get detention with him..." The other girl said. My jaw dropped. No freaking way, I should've expected this, given how good-looking he was but—Pierce had other admirers?!

"Watch it, Amb, if you don't make 'hot Hartman' yours, looks like some other floozy will," Haruko said with a smirk.

"Yeah, that name is gonna catch on, pretty soon 'hot Hartman' will be off the market," Cassie also said with a sly smile. I clenched my fists and my jaws. Hell no way was I gonna let anybody steal my Pierce!

"Guys," I said with a resolute look on my face, "we need a plan."

~

"Alright, settle down, let's not waste any more time," Mr. Byrd called us all to order. It was chemistry class again and as you'd expect, I'd taken a seat right up front for the best view of the golden boy standing beside Mr. Byrd. I had my eyes keenly fixed on him. Unfortunately, so were the eyes of many other females in my class. It made my blood boil. No one else had the right to ogle my Pierce like that!

"Now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way," Mr. Byrd continued, glancing between Pierce and the class, "let's start like we always do. Revision test, I want to see how much you all remember from last term." Audible groans rose from the class. Cassie even dropped her head on her table.

"Ugh, I hate revision tests, how are we expected to remember everything from last year when we're supposed to cram new stuff this year?" She asked mournfully. I didn't like revision tests either, and being chemistry, it was sorta my worst nightmare. In fact, I'd rather be studying circuits than chemicals but for love...

As Pierce went around handing out the question papers, I gave him an extra sweet smile when he came to me. To my satisfaction and utter delight, he returned it with a smile that made my insides melt. Damn, he really was 'hot Hartman'. And I was the ice cream on a summer's day...

"This test doesn't count towards your final grade so I don't want any of you to get stressed over it," Mr. Byrd said when Pierce had returned to his side. "However, I do want you all to do your best so Mr. Hartman and I can assess your level of knowledge accurately. This year is crucial for perfection as it will be your stepping stone to college for those of you continuing in the science field."

"So no pressure," Cassie mumbled dismally, while Haruko giggled. She was usually a B student in chemistry and had nothing to worry about. I, on the other hand...

I wanted to do my best since Pierce would be correcting the papers. So I tried hard for the first time in my life, trying to answer every question to the best of my ability. Do it for Pierce, Amb, I told myself while revolting against the periodic table. Not that I wouldn't hear from Mom too if my grades were bad...

Still, impressing my golden boy was more important to me right now.

"Alright, time's up, hand your papers over and you'll get your grade back tomorrow," Mr. Byrd said by the end of class. Pierce went around collecting everyone's papers and I couldn't resist brushing my hand against his as I handed him mine. I could swear I almost saw sparks fly when our skin touched. A tiny smirk played on the edge of his lips.

"Hope my 'star student' won't disappoint," he whispered to me. I smiled, remembering how I'd promised him I'd be his star student. And he called me his star student, eeek! I really really hoped I'd done a decent job on that test.

We had PE in the last period next so after changing into our gym clothes, we hit the great outdoors. Haruko and I were in track and field while Cassie did cheerleading—like I said, she was a beauty queen and had the figure to show off for it. I was proud of my best friend, she was the best cheerleader on the squad.

"Hey, hey, looks like we have an audience of one," Haruko said, nudging me while we jogged around the field. I turned to the bleachers in curiosity and saw—to my delight—Pierce sitting there with his eyes on us and one knee folded over the other. His lips definitely tugged up when he saw that I saw him.

"Think he came out to see a certain someone, huh, huh?" Haruko asked, nudging me again in the ribs while repeatedly winking at me. I giggled and my cheeks turned pink—not from the exercise.

"Oh, stop," I said, running on. I did aim to impress him after that though and broke my own record in the hundred-meter dash—ah, love lent me wings.

Of course, a ton of other girls also tried to show off their athletic abilities in front of Pierce after catching sight of him—made me super irritated—but I was glad to see that Pierce didn't have his eyes on any of them.

"Oh sweet marshmallows, I think the man's really got it for you, Amb," Cassie stated in surprise when her cheer routine ended and she joined us. "I saw him watching you the whole time you were on the field!"

"Yeah, Amb, guy's making it real obvious he's playing favorites," Haruko said to me, smirking. "Why don't you try asking him out?"

"Don't be ridiculous, guys, a student can't ask a teacher out!" I said in shock.

"Maybe, but it's after school hours," Haruko said mischievously, "and that means, he's no longer your teacher and you're no longer his student."

"Go on, Amber, talk to him!" Cassie encouraged me, pushing me forward. I bit my lip, debating. Should I really make a move on Pierce? What's the worst that could happen?

Without thinking, my body having a mind of its own, my feet led me to him.

"Hi, Pierce," I found myself saying with a bashful smile. Holy smokes, what did I just do?!

"Hey, troublemaker," Pierce smiled at me. "Nice job out there on the field. I used to spin around the track myself so I know a good runner when I see one." The way I blushed earlier was nothing compared to how I blushed now—my cheeks turned to a beetroot red.

"Oh, er, thanks," I said, smiling like an idiot and fidgeting with my feet. Freaking fruit loops, what was this strange effect Pierce had on me? I felt like one of the naive maidens in Cassie's historical romance books!

"So, you heading home now?" Pierce asked me. I quickly turned around and glanced at my friends, wondering what to do. They flapped their hands at me mouthing 'go on!' enthusiastically.

"Well no, not yet... actually... I wanted to ask you..." I quickly wracked my brains for a plausible activity to do with him and then I remembered. "I wanted to ask you if you'd like to come skateboarding with me!" Score, Amber.

"That sounds great, Amber, but... I don't wanna intrude on your party," Pierce said, looking hesitant. I saw his eyes travel to my friends and quickly understood his dilemma.

"Oh, no, no, it's just me," I said rapidly, "you know, I thought we could hang out, just the two of us. I never got those skateboarding lessons you promised me, remember?" I gave him a flirty smile as I reminded him what he had promised me three years ago and he grinned.

"Mmm, I did, didn't I? Alright then, looks like I'll be busy teaching Tony Hawk Junior today. What time can I come pick you up?"

"You'd—come pick me up?" I asked, wide-eyed and unable to believe my luck. Did Pierce just agree to a skate-date with me? Moreover, is he offering me a ride with him?

"Of course," he answered, "might as well conserve your energy for the halfpipes."

"Right, of course," I agreed, a euphoric smile spreading on my face while my dopamine levels hit the top. "Meet me at my house by four?"

"Sounds great," Pierce said, walking backward. "See you then, troublemaker." He saluted me and sauntered off, leaving me in an excited dither.

Pierce Hartman just agreed to go out with me.

https://youtu.be/VNsDcNwr3Qc

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OOOH the drama!😂🙄😲
Hello gorgeous, that's what all the females are saying in their heads on seeing 'Hot Hartman'. 🤣 And dontcha wanna throttle Trey?😡😤. But now we have a real date with a golden boy to look forward to, whoohoo! You excited?😏😉 Leave your thoughts!