"...Ashley? Ashley? Ashley!"

I jerk up in my seat, startled. "Y-yes?"

My teacher, Ms. Winn, shakes her head with a sigh. "Daydreaming again? Please get your head out of the clouds. Unless you want to stay back another year?"

I sink back into my seat as soft giggles rise in the air. "No, ma'am."

"Then advise you to be writing down notes."

"Yes ma'am."

I focus my attention back on my notebook. The numbers and letters swirl in my vision. I'm not dyslexic or anything, but math and I don't seem to click very well. I almost failed last year if it weren't for all the extra credit I had to do, along with some summer school. My mom was a bit disappointed, but she understood where I was coming from. She wasn't the greatest at math either.

The marker squeaks on the whiteboard, bringing my attention to the board. She wrote a whole two new problems! I hurry to scrawl the problems and the answers in my notebook before she erases it. Ms. Winn is a little hard on me, but she says it's for my own good. For college.

I still have no idea what career I want to pursue. I can tell Mom is worried about that, but she won't say. Perhaps an author. My English teacher says I'm an excellent writer.

I spent the rest of the time gazing out the window, admiring the skies and the birds soaring in it. The way the trees sway like dancers and the leaves swirl towards the ground. I also write down notes so I don't fail the exam.

Next thing I know, the period has gone by and the bell rings. Lunch time! I shove my notebook in my black backpack and rush out of the room. I hate math.

I bump into plenty of people, mumbling "sorry" under my breath as I head into the direction of the lunchroom. I'll be meeting my best friend, Liam. We've known each other since we were in diapers. We have also been neighbors since then. Our parents are best friends too, having known each other since middle school.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I burst through the crowd, searching for a tall brunette dude in a red and blue basketball jersey. I immediately spotted him sitting with some of his friends. I head over to them, feeling a bit shy. Liam's eyes dart to mine and they light up. He rises to his feet and strides to me, embracing me and spinning me around.

"Liam!" I exclaim, giggling. "Put me down! I'm going to throw up all the food I had this morning!"

"You would never," he says, placing me down with a shit-eating grin. "Not on this jersey. If you do, I'm deleting you from my friends list."

"Screw you!"

He throws his head back and barks a loud laugh that makes students look at him. He takes my wrist and drags me over to his table. "Come sit."

I sit down next to a dark-skinned guy whose name is Tyrone. He nods his head at me and I duck my head, avoiding his gaze. I'm usually shy around people I don't know and very introverted.

"Whatcha going to eat?" Liam asks, shoving a piece of popcorn chicken into his mouth.

I shrug. "Probably nothing. I'm not very hungry."

"Ashley." Liam gives me a look.

"That's me?" I reply innocently.

He sighs heavily. "Ash, you need to eat. It's not healthy."

"I still eat! I just sometimes skip lunch is all."

"You shouldn't be skipping it in general."

Liam stares at me and I start to squirm. His chocolate brown eyes always seem to stare straight into my soul, seeing through all my facades. Finally, his gaze shifts elsewhere and I sigh a relief. He brushes his brown hair out of his eyes and looks back at me again.

"Ash, you do know how important you are to me, right?" he asks after a while.

"Of course," I say. "You say how important I am all the time."

"Exactly. I want you to take better care of yourself. I don't want something bad to happen to you." His eyes search my face and I know the meaning under that sentence.

I twist one of my dark curls, purposely avoiding his gaze. "I'm sure it won't happen again."

"You can't promise it, can you?"

I say nothing. I really can't.

"Oh my God, did you hear? About Leo Hayes?"

I perk up upon hearing that name and Liam rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, it's so sad."

Huh?

"I would be so devastated if my little sister died."

Whaaaat?

I swivel around to see a group of girls whispering with their phones in their hands. "Excuse me, what about Leo Hayes?"

"You haven't heard?" a girl with braces asks. "His sister died in a car crash this morning."