Thariah's POV

How was I going to find Azrael? There's got to be over half the senior class jammed in here. I slided out of the room where my doom was announced. Looking left, looking right, I saw a tall figure disappear around the corner. Either he was doing something illegal, or he had just gotten dumped and wanted to cry alone in a corner.

Curiosity won, and carefully I peeked ever so slightly around the corner. Azrael was leaning against the wall, running his hand through his hair.

I took a deep breath. I can't believe I'm doing this. It's just a stupid dare! But my pride would not let me back out. Before I could talk myself out of it, I walked over to Azrael, grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him like the world was about to end. Then I ran, back to the room before he could process what happened.

Riz was there waiting for me, and when I sat back down, she whispered. "Sorry, I kinda dragged you into that."

I smiled shakily at her. "It's fine. At least I'll have done it once in my life."

The game meanwhile had moved on, and I shrank down next to Riz, and wondered what my world have come to.

***

Azrael POV

What just happened? There I was, hiding from my ex, when I felt a soft pair of lip on my own. It was the girl, the one I saw earlier and forgot her name. Soon as it started, it was over, and I stared into hazel eyes before she turned and ran away. I stood there for a few minutes, trying to process what had just occurred. Then it hit me. Thariah. She was in my English last year, and World History. How could I have forgotten? She always sat in the back and never once have I seen her without a book. I'm such an egghead, I forgot her name. I forgot she even existed!

I found my way back to Nate and Tristan. Rachel was nowhere in sight, but that barely passed through my mental state. I was looking for her, Thariah, but she wasn't anywhere either. The rest of the night, I talked with my friends, but my mind wasn't really focused on the conversation. It kept drifting back to Thariah, and her soft, soft lips.

The rest of that weekend, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I'd barely ever talked to her. Now my head was filled with with hazel eyes, and long blonde hair. She had a pretty hair. I never really noticed before. It was long and flowing, like someone had trapped a sunbeam in a waterfall. It was more than just her hair, it was her everything. She was rather pretty, it was all just hidden in her wallflowers ways. If she made herself known to the world, there would be a lot of guys who where interested.

That thought made me unsettled. I knew a lot of the guys in our grade, heard them in the locker rooms and others. I didn't really like the idea of those horn dogs talking about her the way they did most of the girls.

A thought hit me. Why did she kiss me? Was it a prank or a bet? Was it a whim? Thousands of questions ran through my muddled brain. I spent the rest of my summer vacation waiting for school to start.

***

Thariah POV

The next few days before school started were filled with anxiety and wanting to rip my hair out, but not doing so because I don't want to go bald. Sunday evening, I finally end up curled up on my bed, staring at the corner of my ceiling where a spider has decided to set up camp. Since I am all the way across the room from said spider, I don't immediately go into a panic attack, but I do stare it down and will it to go away.

I wonder if he told anyone. Does he even know my name? I bet he's thinking. "This weird chick came up out of nowhere and kissed me. What a pervert." I don't want to go to school. I don't want to leave my room. Why did I even go to that stupid party? Ah! I almost want to kill Riz. But if I did that, I'd have no one to commiserate with over trivia life matters. I want to find a hole to crawl in and die. Maybe not die, maybe just cry, and hide from the world.

"Thariah! Get your butt out of your room! Dinner's ready!" Nicole my older sister who was about to go back to college in a few days, poked her head in my room. One perfect dark eyebrow shot up on her forehead. "Why are you in burrito formation? Is something wrong?"

I grunted at her, one of out many forms of communication. She came over and pretended to sit on me, then plopped down by my pillows. "Spill."

I pulled the covers over my head and let out a muffled groan, only a smidgen of the turmoil I was feeling. "I am an idiot of extreme proportions and I'd rather not to say why. I am also an awkward potato, who lacks every social skill there is to be had."

I could hear Nicole snort. "You're such a drama queen."

"Am not."

"Yeah you are dingus. I'm sure whatever you did will be forgotten about eventually, give or take a few years."

"That helps so much, thanks." I said, emerging from my blanket cave of shame.

"That's what I'm here for. Now seriously, food, unless you want to continue to wallow in self pity."

"I'm comin." Food sounded promising, especially if it was cheesy or pasta-y or chocolaty.

Dinner was no cheese or pasta-y or chocolaty in the least, but it was still food, and food makes everything better. Most of the time. I had finally come to the mental state that I would take whatever the future could throw at me, and go from there. That didn't stop the knots and scrunches in my stomach though. For three hours, I lied awake, staring at the ceiling again, plotting ways and excuses to skip school tomorrow, and hoping for snow in the middle of September.