You would think that with a name like Rave, he would be intense and moody, like your classic bad boy. With the amount of cigarettes he smokes in a day, you would imagine that his car smells like stale smoke and nicotine. By the amount of rumors that circulate his name, you would picture him as an alcoholic, a party boy, and a jerk. 

However, I'm learning that none of these things are true, and that Rave Matthews is just a regular guy - a nice guy, at that. His messy mop of hair is blowing in the wind as his window is down, he has one hand out the open window and the other on the wheel. I blush when his green eyes flicker over to me, embarrassed to be caught staring at him. 

"So, how long have you worked at the radio station?" His voice is smooth and I'm glad he didn't make a comment about me staring at him. 

"I started over the summer, my uncle works there so he got me the job." I look down at my phone and see that Whitley had finally texted me back about needing a ride after school. I quickly type out a reply to her, telling her no worries, that I got it all figured out. 

"I bet it's a cool place to work." He flips the blinker on and turns onto the street where the radio station is located, meaning that our short ride together was about to end. 

"I mostly just organize and sort through stuff, but it's a pretty cool environment to work in." I glance at the clock and see that I had made it just in time, even though my ride had ditched me at the last minute, leaving me standing in the parking lot with no way to work or home. 

Surprisingly, when Rave walked through the school doors and saw me standing there, my shoulders slumped and my phone in my hand, he offered me a ride. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I've been going to school with Rave since Kindergarten and I don't think we've ever said a word to each other. We run in different crowds, and while I'm not exactly unpopular, I'm also not considered popular - I sit comfortably in the middle of the hierarchy of high school.

When he offered me a ride, my first thought was his girlfriend, Lexy. Lexy is the queen of the school - a title she gave herself. "Won't your girlfriend mind?" I had asked. 

"What girlfriend?" He said it so casually, like he really had no idea who I was talking about.

"Lexy." I reminded him of his head cheerleader girlfriend, but his passive expression didn't change when he replied,

"We broke up."

Of coarse they did, breaking up and getting back together is what they do. I'd literally seen them together at lunch, Lexy was hanging possessively onto his arm while they were in line to purchase their meal. That was only three hours ago, and they've already broken up again. 

I decided to drop the subject and accepted his offer and followed him to his car. 

Even though I had never spoken to Rave, I'd heard plenty of rumors about him. I'm not one to believe rumors, but it's hard not to when everything he does makes the stories sound believable. Like I said though, I was learning that none of those things were true, and Rave was just a normal guy. 

"Ky."

"Helloooo, Kylie!" My best friend, Whitley Adams, waves her hand in front of my face and I snap back to the present, the memory of last year fading away - just like my friendship with Rave Matthews. 

I turn towards Whitley and frown at the look she's giving me, "What?"

"You were staring at him." Her eyes glance over to where I was looking just moments ago and when I follow her gaze, I see Rave leaning against Lexy's locker, his signature smirk on his face as he leans down and whispers something in his girlfriend's ear. 

I turn back towards Whitley before he has a chance to catch me looking at him, "I wasn't staring at him. I was lost in thought and he just happened to be in my line of view." I ramble, my excuse sounds pathetic and I know it.

"Yeah, lost in thought about him." She teases just as the third member or our trio, Erin White, joins us. 

"I made it!" She breathes heavily as she doubles over and rests her hands on her knees. Erin is known for being late to everything, especially school. Last year she had so many tardy slips that the school called her mom on multiple occasions, so I'm guessing that she ran from the parking lot in order to avoid getting a tardy on our first day of senior year. 

Erin lifts her hand for a high five, and both Whitley and I slap her hand as she stands up straight, her breathing returning to normal. "So have I missed anything?"

Whitley looks at me and then back to Erin, "Nah, just Ky checking out Rave." 

"I was not checking him out." I say a little too defensively. Not that it matters because neither one of them believe me. They both know about the short lived friendship I had with Rave last year, and they both know how much the end of that friendship affected me. 

When the bell rings, the three of us, along with every other student in the crowded hallway, start to walk towards our first class. Erin and I branch off from Whitley as she goes to English and we head to Health Sciences. 

Some students are already in the classroom, but Erin and I spot two empty seats in the back and make our way to them. Erin is in front of me as we walk down the aisle of desks towards the back, and suddenly I am pressed against her back, almost knocking her to the ground. 

"What the hell, Ky?" She turns around and looks at me after regaining her balance, but I'm just as confused as she is. That is, until I her a familiar sounding voice cough loser from beside where I'm standing. 

When I look down I see Lexy Jordan, in all her mini skirt and tight tank top glory, looking up at me from her seat. "Have a nice trip, Kylie?" 

Choosing to ignore her, I turn and follow Erin to our seats. "She's such a bitch." 

Erin's right, Lexy is a bitch. She always has been, but never to me - not until she got back from Christmas break in Cancun last year and found out where her "ex boyfriend" had been spending his break. She had Rave back under her spell within minutes, and so far, they haven't broken up since - at least not that I'm aware of. It's not like I've been in touch with either of them over the summer, but from the scene at her locker this morning, Lexy still has her claws in Rave. 

I'd be happy for him if I hadn't spent weeks listening to him talk about how unhappy and one sided their relationship is. I still don't understand why he went back to her, especially when we had gotten so close and - 

"Ky, you okay?" Erin nudges me and I realize that class has started and that a guy named Ben is trying to pass me my syllabus. 

I mumble an apology to Ben and take the papers from him before telling Erin that I'm fine and turning my attention to the front of the room, trying to block out all thoughts of Rave Matthews and his evil girlfriend.

Every class is the same, syllabus and talking about expectations for the year, causing time to drag by. I only have three classes this year, and then after lunch I am an office aid before having my free period. Senior year is going to be a breeze, academically at least. Socially, I have a feeling that Lexy is going to try to make things difficult for me, even though she's already got Rave to herself and I'm no longer a threat - not that I ever really was one. 

Both Whitley and Erin have the same lunch period as me, so we all three meet at my locker since it's closet to the cafeteria and grab a table outside in the quad after purchasing our lunch. 

I can hear his laugh floating through the air and it reminds me of all the times he laughed at something I said or they way I blushed at something he said or at his touch. My eyes wonder over to the table he's sitting at with a group of his friends, his always wild and unruly hair is sticking up in places and because his elbows are propped on the table, his biceps are stretching the material of his shirt. He looks the same as last year, and when he catches me staring at him, the same smile he wore last year slowly spreads across his lips - fading just as quickly as it appeared. 

I tear my eyes away from him and back to my lunch sitting in front of me. Erin and Whitley are talking about their next class, one that they have together, and thankfully they missed the whole Rave smiling at me thing. I don't think I can deny that I was staring at him one more time today, or see the knowing looks on their faces when they don't believe me. 

After lunch I go to the office and sign in as the office aide. Mrs. Reed, the sweet older lady that has been sitting behind the front desk since my parents were in high school, greets me and spends half an hour explaining my duties to me before leaving me on my own while she goes to lunch. The job is simple enough - answer the phones and direct calls, page students to the office when requested, make copies of stuff, take notes, hand out forms, etc. 

Since it's the first day of school, there's not much traffic in the office, so I lean back in the chair, my back to the door and start to play a game on my phone. I was so focused on the game that I didn't hear the office door open or close. 

I'm not sure how long he had been standing there, but when I heard a smooth and all too familiar voice say, "Wow, you're pretty terrible at that game." my heart dropped and sped up all at the same time. 

I lost all focus on my phone and the game ended as I turned around in the chair and came face to face with Rave. He has a faint smile on his lips and his hair wasn't as windblown and wild as it was earlier at lunch. His green eyes are looking right into mine and I'm at a loss for words. I haven't been this close to him since the night before Lexy came back from Cancun. 

"There's that famous blush." His small smile turns into a smirk and I can feel myself blushing even more. I raise my hands to cover my face and he laughs, just like he did last year, just like I was remembering during lunch. 

"Aw, come on, Ky, don't hide it." He reaches across the desk and I feel his hands wrapping around my wrists and pulling my hands away from my face. "You know I like when you blush." 

I'm so confused right now, he hasn't said a word to me since January and now he's acting like he never tossed me to the side as soon as his perfect girlfriend came back. 

All of a sudden I'm not love struck by him anymore. Instead, I'm angry. I'm so angry at him for acting as if he has the right to come in here and talk to me like we're friends. Rave Matthews and I are not friends, he made that very clear, and I'm not someone he can just toy with whenever he feels like it. 

I jerk my wrists free from his hold and will the heat to leave my cheeks. "What can I do for you, Rave?" 

He's surprised at my reaction and tone, his hands falling back to his sides as his green eyes study my face, trying to read me but getting nothing. "Uh...I need to switch classes. I took Chemistry last year." 

I nod and reach for the folder of forms Mrs. Reed had given me for this situation, pulling one out and sliding it across the counter towards Rave. He's still watching me but I ignore his eyes and point to the chairs lined up against the wall. "You can sit over there and fill this out. I'll tell the counselor that you're out here." I keep my voice flat and emotionless as I speak.

"Ky..."

I pick up the phone and push the button programmed to the counselor, Mr. Miller's, office. Rave gives me one last look before walking over the the chairs and taking a seat. I tell Mr. Miller that Rave is waiting outside for him and then try my best to ignore the fact that he's five feet away from me until Mr. Miller pokes his head around the corner and calls his name.  

As he walks past the desk where I'm sitting, Rave gives me another small smile and I look away. 

How dare he.