I kicked at the air, sat on the edge of the infirmary bed, and wolfing down the giant dinosaur chocolate cookie I had baked for her. In the end, I sought refuge in the infirmary and ate my frustration away, in vain. Come to think of it, I was quite acquainted with this feeling. It had happened before, at a time when I still didn't know how to tie my laces. My hair was shorter and I could not even reach the first shelf in the kitchen. I remember being drenched by the rain, shaking with fear to the point that I could no longer walk. The world had felt vast then; a labyrinth. Such a dusty memory which fades into the darkening sunset.

"I'm sorry, Lucas! I failed-"

Yes, Failure is hard because it strips you of your dreams when you think you're close to actually winning. Everything is ruined within moments and all you can do is watch. You watch and you learn to live with it... For a moment, a very brief one, I had forgotten that I was born a failure. I let down my guards and dared to dream... Now, Fate was putting me back in my place. And the ache at my temples wouldn't stop, not even with the pills. Damn it!

"I can't keep you any longer, kid." yawned Raina, knuckles rubbing at one of her eyes. The raven strands of her straight hair flew down her back in a short ponytail, the front puffed up slightly to highlight even more her diamond face. She was just a nurse at our school, the type which did get many faking an illness. But if only they knew the clumsy nerd that hid behind squared spectacles... It was a habit of mine to seek her stupid stories, weird food experiments and that omnipresent crooked smile in times of solitude and mental drain. Weird how easy it was for us to get along... "Hilary has a competition tonight and I'm supposed to be the driver."

Hilary was the nine-year-old Raina would babysit after school to afford that ty apartment a few blocks away. It still made no sense to me that she wouldn't move out, especially when I had proposed a quite enticing deal, but the woman had her pride. So I shot her a comprehensive smile and plopped myself off the bed. "Yeah, I feel better anyway."

A lie. We both knew it. But all she did was ruffle my hair and fix my glasses, sending me off with a, "Damn, you still look like a grumpy grandpa!"

That's how I found myself aimlessly wandering the hallways, unmotivated to go back to class and clueless to good spots for skipping. I really wanted to lunge a punch in Will's impeccably chiseled face but had a feeling it wouldn't leave a scratch. Damn him, that's not how it was supposed to go! Why did he have to always meddle in like that? Didn't he have anything better to do than to continuously ruin my life? And what if she did accept going out with him?... I rubbed at my temples, groaning. Was he worth getting a criminal record for?

"Lucas!" Josh's worried face suddenly popped in front of me, pulling me out of my daze. And I blinked at him, confused. "Are you okay?"

Somehow, in the midst of my stroll, I had started a fight with the wall, attracting quite a crowd despite myself. An arm wrapped itself around my back and I dropped my gaze to blood caked on my knuckles, frowning. I couldn't only feel tingles but I did wish it had really been his face.

"Let's get you out of here, buddy!" Josh tried, encouragingly. On any other day, his voice of reason would have me obediently tagging along but unfortunately, that was the very moment my gaze landed on her nectarous face. She was with Will, yet again, and it hurt so much. They were laughing, they looked happy... I had lost. My gaze followed as they disappeared together in a class and Will's friends stayed behind, guarding the closed door. It was like time had stopped and I was struggling against it, forcing my way through the sea of people. Who knew what they were doing in there? I had to do something; to stop her at all cost. It was all I could think of... all I could focus on. My mind was not working anymore; I had to get to her.

"Where do you think you're going, four-eyes?"I heard as I walked straight into a wall of muscles. I racked the back of my mind for a name, only getting one when I noticed the fake Rolex at a buffy wrist. Derek, Will's right-hand, was glaring down at me like a giant of stone. Had I been in my right mind, I would have probably taken to my tail already. Too bad for him though; any sense of rationality had apparently left me.

"Get out of my way!" I tried to go around him but a rough tug at my collar had me staggering backward all of a sudden. The difference in strength was overwhelming; I found myself tripping onto someone else.

"Look, nerd, know your place!" warned Derek, trying to intimidate me with his height. Years ago, he had enjoyed slamming me into walls, trying to punch me into them. And he would always mention how nice I looked on the floor, a whining mess under his shoes. Hesitancy made me freeze at the memory, my eyes bulging out for a moment. But the pain never came and I quickly understood that he couldn't hurt me... Not anymore! So struggling to my feet, I reached for the knob again. But he beat me to it, yanking my arm before his fingers missed my neck. But his elbow didn't and my glasses went flying as I stumbled towards the door, light-headed. Just then, the latter chose to open, exposing a laughing Will. "At least, I had that one against you too-"

He never got to finish his sentence, not with me crashing into him. There was a general gasp from the crowd as we both fell, with my head banging against the floor. In the stillness of it all, everything blinked black and my ears began to buzz as if my head was filled with bees. Then, hit the pain; a struck of lightning. I pushed myself up, cussing.

"You idiot-"

"Will, don't!"

Blurry silhouettes were moving in front of me, one I quickly assumed to be Cherry's and the other being Will. Her body was partly shielding mine from the latter, rushed voices swimming around me. An eternity went by like this before he fumed out, courtesy of Cherry's orders. Josh would later explain how they had argued for almost five minutes, making quite a scene, before a fear-stricken Derek was escorted away. To where? No one exactly knew, but he appeared three days later with an arm in a sling.

"Everyone leave."

I still could not see that well, now remembering the tragic fate of my reading companion. What a hassle! I could even feel the blood dripping from my throbbing cheek and head. I was too tired to deal with this, I thought while leaning onto the legs of a desk. Maybe I could just sleep-

"Look at you!" her silky voice called out and I was instantly engulfed by a wave of Vanilla. I opened my eyes and she was right there, literally straddling me as she nonchalantly pushed my glasses over the bridge of my nose. I looked at her through the dirty glass, eyes widening at our proximity. She was so close that I could feel her breath and see the deep shade of her orbs. I forgot how to breathe. "Jealous boys sure are a handful!"

"Jea-Jealous bo-boys?"

"What? You thought I would not realize?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with an air of mischief. She was so cute... "The stu-stuttering, the flowers, the cards... you picking a fight with Will's mates."

"I was not picking-"

I winced when the pads of her fingers suddenly pressed a handkerchief against my forehead. But the pain was soon forgotten, my heart pounding loudly against the bars of its cage. At the same time, I leaned into her touch, unable to help it. There was this delicate feel to her skin as if she was made of silk rather than human cells. "Sure you weren't, buddy!"

I didn't know what to say; my heart was overpowering my mind with its incessant pounding. And her face said it all; she could see right through me and was not going to hold back with the mockery. Ashamed, all I could do was lower my gaze.

"You like me, Lucas, don't you?"

"I- I- The thing is- I-"

This was bad; the words were failing me again. All that practice in front of the mirror only to-

"Yes or no?"

"Yes!" I breathed out, feeling like a caged bird. Cherry did have her way... always. Bewildered, I raised my head up and finally met her gaze. She was so breathtakingly beautiful and taunting, hands reassuringly resting on my shoulders... But how did she know about my feelings? What was going to happen now-

"Let's date then!"

Say what?