Arabella's POV

Hand in hand, Erika and I both made our way to the schools front yard where our transportation was currently waiting along with the other students from our classroom surrounding Mrs Grot. By the time we arrived she was currently taking roll call, just in time for my name to be mentioned.

"There is in fact a sitting arrangement on the transit for various amount of reasons that I won't disclose with any of you. As soon as you hear your names please take a seat beside your riding partner. Aaron Herondaé you're partnered up with Erika Simpson."

"Ace Payne and Max Kepler, Arabella Smith and Tyler Hart."

Excuse me?!

I swallowed the bile in my throat, my mind drifting off to the occurrence in the elevator ten minutes ago. Out of instinct I searched for Tyler in the crowd, only to see his back faced away from me as he surrounded himself with Ace and two other guys I've never seen before.

Normally I'd already catch him smirking at me and I could bet my life on the fact that he knew I'd search for his gaze, he was purposely turned away from me. Maybe it's because I saw him in his weakest point, apparently he never shows any signs of fear and vulnerability, I caught him in an inevitable spot, if he didn't portray it he's probably lose his mind.

"Oh, I'm paired up with a total hottie," Erika snapped me out of my thoughts, nudging me in the arm softly as she motioned towards one of the guys standing beside Tyler. I didn't ask her how she knew it was him since we barely know anyone in this class but instead I took in his features, a small smile curving on my lips.

He was mid height, not too tall, not too short for a guy. Blonde hair cascaded down his face, blocking my view from his eyes but I could still see his defined jawline, his pink lips glistening in the sunlight, pulled into a smile as he reacted to something Ace said. My lips moved with his and I once again found myself being mesmerized by a guy.

"I'm guessing you think he's cute too. . ." Erika trailed off. I cleared my throat and averted my eyes from his, letting it fall onto her face which was held with a very judging stare. "What? so now I can't think other guys are attractive?"

"No, no. I'm not saying anything. Look at this on though, the one standing next to Tyler. He's an eye candy." I trailed my eyes towards them once again and caught the gaze of the other mysterious guy. Tall, maybe six feet. Brown hair trailed past his shoulders, a hint of blonde mixed within it, also glistening in the sunlight. He looked like a young Leonardo DiCaprio, handsome to say the least. He really was a catch.

"Hey, earth to Bella. The bus is loading, let's go."

I followed Erika onto the bus, the air conditioning immediately enveloped my body. All the heat from the weather and possibly from something else seemed to dial down as the coolness seeped through my bones. Mrs Grot motioned towards the very back of the bus, motioning towards an empty seat in which Tyler and I will occupy in 0.15 seconds.

With a huff I shoved my bag into the compartment above my head and slumped down onto the seat. Erika settled in the seat before me, bickering with Mrs Grot on where she preferred to seat to which she was immediately shut down.

Tyler soon made an appearance, his super model friends trailing behind him, all looking less tense and upset than he did. He avoided eye contact with me and shoved his bags into the compartment before sealing it shut and lowering himself onto the seat beside me.

Ace sat across us with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Blondie sat beside Erika who flashed him a flirtatious smile.

"Will you look at that? Tyler and Bella sitting in a tree—"

"—K.I.S.S and you'll meet my fist." Erika sing sang in response to Ace, who glowered at her in response. He flashed me a smirk and averted his eyes towards Tyler who grumbled, his arms folded before him as he deepened his scowl.

"Arabella huh." Blondie mumbled as he turned around to face me, he draped his arm over the seat and sent me an inviting smile, his eyes which were now visible to me glistened when they interlocked with mine and for a sheer moment I found myself smiling until Tyler's monotone voice broke our gazes.

"Yeah don't think about it, Aaron." He grumbled. I pursed my lips in a thin line and snapped my head towards him, preparing to swear his ears off before Max's voice broke through the tension. "Arabella? The girl who drives Tyler crazy?" Max suddenly, I glanced at him and faintly smiled–not genuine but annoyance since he basically added fuel to the already blazing fire. "I might just steal you from him because he's wasting his time," he winked.

"Would you look at that." Erika chuckled, her brows wiggling towards me as she motioned towards the boys who were no doubt seconds away from having a brawl. "Don't you know when you steal you get punished. I'll break your jaw, that's for sure," Tyler exclaimed threateningly as he leaned forward, his eyes penetrating through Max's head.

Anger suddenly began to boil beneath my burning skin, Tyler was no doubt beginning to grind my gears and I was certainly fed up with his constant mood swings. "Is she a dog? You don't own her." Aaron snapped as he leaned into Tyler's face, his brows arched in question.

"No, she's not a dog. She's Arabella Smith, someone that you assholes are gonna stay far away from because that won't make Tyler happy now would it?" Tyler said in monotone. I was stunned, on the edge of my seat ready to add my opinion into a conversation that was about me but very not discreetly excluded me.

"What's the purpose of fighting for this slut anyway, she's not worth any of your time so get on with your lives if you know what's good for you boys." An unknown voice spoke up from behind me. Everyone including myself turned towards her as she leaned over her seat, her eyes glared directly at my head.

Ace let out a humorless chuckle, soon followed by Aaron and Max, who both shared a longing stare. Tyler didn't hide the fact that her comment upset every bone in his body. The deathly glare on his face scared me but seemed to have a zero effect on the oblivious girl. "It takes a slut to know a slut, I suggest you lower yourself back onto your seat before I clock that pretty face of yours, darling." Erika sneered, her lips pulled into a deep glower.

Whoever this chick was was certainly not going to give up. She parted her lips to send another remark, but Tyler shot up from his seat and leaned into her ears. I watched perplexed as he whispered a few words into her ears. At first her lips were pulled into a smirk until they abruptly fell and turned into a frown, then her eyes suddenly started to shed with tears and a shriek escaped her lips.

My lips parted in shock as I listened to the amused and deep chuckles resonating from everyone's lips around me. She slumped down onto the seat, cupped her hands over her mouth and sobbed. Tyler lowered himself down nonchalantly, his eyes finding mine for a split second before he averted them. "What did you say to her?" Aaron asked, flabbergasted as much as we all were.

Tyler cleared his throat and shrugged. He then let out a soft chuckle, his lips pulling into a smirk as he shook his head. "I know a lot, that's all." He exclaimed. I snapped my eyes towards Erika who shrugged and mouthed that it worked before she turned her attention to the seat before her. I swallowed the bile in my throat, the thought of her words seeping back into my mind.

I could not deny the fact that what she said was true. I'm not worth a lot of things, and I certainly do not deserve Tyler's defensiveness. I let out a shaky breath and averted my gaze towards the window, watching as the trees zoomed by, not giving me a simply second to gaze at its beauty.

Suddenly, still trapped in my thoughts, I felt it; his fingers wove through mine, a soft squeeze and then a comforting smile. 

~~~

After the two-hour ride to our destination, we finally arrived. Tyler still had not spoken to me in the duration of our ride, but he kept his hands tightly intertwined with mine, never breaking free. I got to know the guys, found out that they've been friends with Tyler for two years so far. Max was as charming as he appeared, he had a way with his words, the kind of guy to make you fall at his feet, a bit differently than Tyler's approach, with him it seemed genuine, with Tyler it seemed like he only does it for fun.

Aaron who I still referred to as blondie was certainly ten times more charming than Max was. It felt like we've been friends for years when we've only just began to know each other. From the moment I saw him, I knew there was something special. He was funny, not illiterate funny like Ace, but the type of funny that would make your cheeks hurt to the point they feel like it'll fall off.

It seemed like we'd be great friends.

"Can I have everyone's attention! We have arrived safely, thank god. When we get off our first priority is to find a secluded, clean and safe spot to build our tents, when that is done everyone will have lunch where I will inform you of the details of this trip."

"Oh, do boys and girls get to be in the same tent!?" Ace chirped loudly as he wiggled his eyebrows towards Erika who gagged. "Perv." Max snorted, slapping Ace upside the head to which he glowered in response and hissed in pain.

"Absolutely not, that is a ridiculous question. Boys with boys, girls with girls. Anyone seen in the tent of the opposite gender past ten will get kicked out of this class and will fail this course. This is not high school, you are adults and we won't be lenient with you. So trust me, I think you guys would need to cool it down on the hormones for the weekend before you fail college."

"Okay, ground rules." She began to list all the rules, but my mind drifted off as I stared outside.

We were in the woods alright. Trees touched the sky in every direction in which I looked, they swayed, left and right, softly, smoothly, it was peaceful. Definitely a place where I would just love to lay down and stare up at the blue sky's reminiscing over my life.

"And finally, do not and I repeat, do not stay in the lake past eight. It is prohibited, anyone who is injured is our responsibility. And also I know what you new generation of adults are up to these days, I do not want to be the cause of impregnated new adults, thank you very much."

I lowered my eyes towards Tyler's hands and slowly slid my fingers away from his. I peered up, his eyes interlocked with mine. I couldn't read his emotions at the moment and I surely didn't miss the way his eyes flickered to my lips before he cleared his throat and recoiled backwards as if I were his worst nightmare.

"Everyone I would like you to follow Mr Ramirez. He will be our tour guide and will ensure our safety for the weekend."

I listened closely to the birds serenading mother nature. The warm crisp breeze swept my hair over my face, tickling my cheeks annoyingly as I fought to tuck it behind my hair. A hand suddenly pressed against my lower back and I expected it to be Tyler, but it was only Ace smirking towards me mischievously.

"So. . ."

"No."

"Okay." He pouted, shifting away from me and towards Erika who shook her head vigorously. I giggled softly, outstretching my hands towards his. He stared down at them in excitement before interlocking his with mine and pulling me to his side. We all turned our attention towards Mrs Grot who motioned towards our surrounding, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the wild."