I had Maths for the last period, and Alex said to meet her and Jane by her locker before going home. I didn't have this class with any of them.

I kept glaring at the clock every five seconds wishing for the class to be over quick. Why? Well, because it so happens that I have this class with Ryan, and I swear I could feel his burning stare on my back. But whenever I turned around, I always found him staring down at his book, either writing or reading whatever he's written down. Maybe I was imagining things.

I desperately waited for the bell to go off so that I could dash out of here as quickly as possible. But it seemed the time was slower than it used to be, and the class kept going on forever.

I stared at the clock once more, and there were about two minutes left for this period. I let out a sigh of relief, but that was cut short when I felt like I was being stared at again.
I knew I might be imagining things, but I decided to check one last time. Immediately I rotated my head backward, my blue eyes clashed with a pair of cold brown eyes, making me gasp. They were staring so intensely at me and swirling with so many emotions.

The spell was short-lived, however, when I heard the bell go off. Everyone began to pack their books and walk out of the classroom, while our teacher reminded us to do our homework. Who gives homework on the first day of school? This guy obviously.

Shoving my book hurriedly into my backpack, someone walked over to where my seat, towering over my short frame. It was a tall blond boy, and I noticed he had dimples when he smiled. Cute

"Hi." He offered me a smile, and I returned it. "I'm Daniel." He introduced himself.

"Sam," I said, and stood up.

"So, you new here?" He asked while I leaned comfortably on my desk. He was cute and all, but I wasn't interested. And I so desperately wanted to leave now, so I tapped my feet impatiently.

"Yeah." I kept my answer short, to show my disinterest. But he clearly didn't get the memo as he asked;

"Cool. Listen, you wouldn't mind me taking you out to dinner sometime and maybe show you around?" Wow. Already have someone ask me out on my first day!

I was about to decline as nicely as possible when I heard someone growl threateningly behind me instead,

"Yeah, she would mind, McCoy. So why don't you go show your girlfriend around instead." Even though I hadn't heard his voice since coming back, I still knew how it's sounded. But now, it was way deeper than before. Ryan.

I froze at the sound of his deep masculine voice and watched a scowl etch on Daniel's face before he muttered a curse and walk off.
What a jerk! He had a girlfriend and was asking me out. But that wasn't what bugged me right then. What bugged me was that Ryan Adams was standing close behind me.
And he just abruptly told a guy, who was asking me out, to fuck off. What do I do?! What do I do?!

I spun around to face him but only saw his retreating back, leaving me stunned.

What the hell was that?!

I shook away from my state of shock and also went out of the door. I then went to my locker still dazed, before getting my stuff, while texting Jax to come pick me up. I hoped he saw it on time.
After, I hurried over to Alex's locker. She was already leaning comfortably on her locker and looking bored, while Jane chatted away. I hoped I didn't take long.

"Well, look who decided to keep us waiting." Alex teased.

"Sorry, guys. I just had something to take care of." I hurriedly explained.

"It's okay. We haven't been here that long," Jane assured. We three then proceeded to stroll down the hallway and out the school doors.

"Don't forget you owe me lunch." Alex reminded. I had noticed she had a very big appetite. I had watched her in the cafeteria devour her hand burger and half of Jane's hamburger. She wanted to come for my salad, but I quickly pulled it away, leaving her pouting like a child.

"Gotta go, guys. I promised my mum I would pick up my little brother," Jane explained before running off.

Alex and I proceeded to the restaurant opposite us, and I ordered us some chicken wings. As we ate, I made sure to look out for Jax. Didn't want to miss him.

“So, which social media platform are you on? So that I could add you up.” Alex questioned, and we exchanged numbers and usernames before I caught Jaxon the corner of my eyes. Immediately, a text pops up on my screen, saying he was here. I texted him back that I could see him.

"Gotta go, Alex. My brother's here to pick me up."

“What?! No way. Jaxon Kendall is here?! Where? Where is he?!” I watched in amusement as her eyes scanned everywhere outside, through the window. Had he really been that popular while he was here?

"Come on. I'll introduce you to him." I offered.

"Shut up!" She exclaimed while I kept smirking in amusement. We both walked out of the restaurant, and immediately, I spotted Jaxon's car and walked over to it.

"And how was my little sis first day of senior year?" Jax asked immediately he spotted me.

"Pretty eventful," I replied, remembering all that happened with that Jenny chick and also Ryan. "This is my friend Alex. Alex, meet Jaxon." I introduced them to each other and watched Alex's eyes sparkle.

"Hi! Can I touch your hair?" Alex blurted out and I almost facepalmed myself.

"If only you let me touch yours," Jax smirked at her.

"There will be no touching of hairs." I quickly butted in, making Alex pout. "Do you want a ride home? I'm sure Jaxon won't mind." I offered.

"Oh, no. I got my own car. It's still at the school parking lot." Oh, she is so lucky. She bided us farewell, and Jax winked at her, making her grin widen the more. I hopped into the car before Jaxon pulled out, ready to go.

"Okay, were you really that popular here, or is Alex just a huge fan." I had to ask. I swear Alex almost peed her pants out of excitement when she heard Jaxon was around.

"Hey, not everyone can look this good, okay?" Rolling my eyes at him, I leaned back into my seat ready to doze off. What a day.

When we got home, Jax woke me up, and we both went inside. Mum and Dad still weren't home yet, so it was just him and me.

"So, did you get to see your boyfriend today?" He had a teasing smirk on his face as he asked. I knew immediately who he was referring to.

When Ryan and I were little, everyone, including both our parents, teased us of being in a relationship mostly because we were inseparable. I could even remember when Ryan had asked if we really were in a relationship. I had wanted to tease him a little, so I had said yes, and boy was he happy. Throughout that day, he followed me around everywhere and even slept over, saying he didn't want anyone to steal his girlfriend away.

Remembering the good old days made my eyes tear up as I missed him so much, and Jaxon immediately noticed.

"Hey, Sam? Are you alright?" He asked confused and worried. I nodded my head before replying.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Jax knew that ever since I left, Ryan and I hadn't been on speaking terms. But he doesn't know why. I refused to tell him, and I don't think he asked Ryan either. Or maybe he did. I don't know. Anyway, he was oblivious of what was going on.

Excusing myself, I dragged myself upstairs to my room and plopped down on my bed. I felt exhausted. My first day of school, and it felt like I had been dragged through hell and back with all the drama.

A few minutes later, I got up and had my homework started. I was almost through with it when I heard mum and dad's car pull in. That's weird. They usually aren't home that early, or at the same time since they don't work in the same place.

Jaxon was already downstairs when I got there. Soon enough, mum came in with a big grin splitting her face, and dad behind her, also wearing the same grin on his face.

"You guys are home early," Jaxon commented, while mum excitedly gave him a hug before coming over to give me one too.

"Okay, what's with all the happy expressions?" Jax asked, as we both look at our parents confused.

"Let's go sit down for this," Mum said, and we all moved to go sit at the dining table.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"Well, we wanted it to be a surprise, and that was why we kept quiet until now." Dad went to hold mum's hand as he spoke.

"Wait a minute. I hope you aren't pregnant mum." Jax blurted out, earning a scowl from mum.

"No, she isn't." Dad answered him, and continued to say, "A few months back, Joseph Adams brought up an idea of starting his own hospital to join his other businesses." Joseph Adams was Ryan's father, and as I said before, he had left his Surgeon work to focus on his other businesses, which were rapidly growing. "And he discussed it with me as I was a doctor too, and he wanted to start it with me. So together, we combined resources, and now, we have our own Private Hospital built and ready to go!"

"Surprise!" Mum added as we both looked at them in shock.

"Oh My God, You have your own Private Hospital!" Jaxon was the first one to speak up.

"Technically it's owned also by the Adams. We are partners now." Dad corrected.

"No way. Congrats dad!" I stood up to go hug him and mum.

"This is so cool." Jaxon hugged them both too.

"How were you guys able to achieve that in a few months?" I was still surprised by the news and wanted to know.

"With the Adams, anything is possible," Dad answered.

"We'll be going over to have dinner with them to celebrate. I hope no one's sick this time?" Mum gave me a look. Oh, shoot. I guess she realized I have always been giving excuses not to go over to their place.

In my four years at grandma's, whenever I came to visit home, I had tried to avoid dinner with The Adams. Or going over to their place for any reason. Always giving one excuse or the other. Either I had a stomach upset, or I felt sick, which were all lies to avoid bumping into Ryan.

I thought of giving an excuse not to go again, but then I paused. What am I so afraid of? He wasn't going to chase me away or do anything of the sort. So then why couldn't I go?

I guess deep down, I'm afraid he wouldn't acknowledge me like he did today. And that had been more painful than getting insulted by him.

But Today was a special day for my dad, and I didn't want to ruin it. So I looked up at my parents with determined eyes, and said;

"Not to worry. I'm Okay. I'll go."