[Otto's POV]

"I'd chose a vacation with family over a beach-holiday to flirt with strangers any day!" Lindsey shouted.

"Aw, come on, you strange anti-sexual girl! I'll admit that your little brother is cute, but I don't think it is healthy that you don't look at other boys!" Jessy countered.

Meet Jessy and Lindsey. They usually get along just fine, but a simple "Hey! Long time no see! How was your vacation?" was enough to get them going. They've been shooting verbal balls at each other for the past ten minutes now, and although I am learning a lot from their verbal match, I'm starting to feel like I'm watching a game of tennis too closely. Well, they are both strong minded after all. Isn’t it only natural that they collide sometimes?

“We can’t all prance around on the beach, dressed in a scantily bathing suite, just to see how many heads you can turn,” Lindsey says through gritted teeth.

"It's better than not showing any skin at all! You better watch out, Lindsey. You might become an old spinster at this rate," Jessy shoots another verbal ball at Lindsey, aiming for an ace.

"Just because I take my sweet time doesn't mean that I'll die a virgin, Jessy! You, on the other hand, might end up as a teenage mom," Lindsey hits the ball right back and scores. I briefly regretted not keeping the score. How many did this make? Game? Set? I’m not sure.

"Oh! My! God! Did you call me a slut?!" Jessy yells clearly offended. It also means that they have finished playing. Jessy and Lindsey are already glaring at each other, ready for a catfight. Things will only spiral out of control from this point onwards.

Time to intervene.

"Oh! For crying out loud! Are the two of you going to argue all morning? Because I'm leaving if you are!" I shout, startling the both of them. Jessy and Lindsey blink at me stupidly for a few seconds, but the surprise on their faces quickly morphs into a cheeky grin.

"Did you hear that?" Jessy murmurs not-so-secretly to Lindsey. "The topic changed to sex and it suddenly became too much."

"Sweet little Otto. Still so innocent," Lindsey giggles, all arguments between them forgotten.

"Oh no, you didn't! Seriously? You turned on me?!" I ask incredulously. "Ok! That's it! I'm leaving! I wonder where Jasper could be?"

I say as I turn to leave but don't get far as Jessy and Lindsey both trap me in a smothering hug.

"No! Otto, don't leave! I'm sorry!" Jessy wails.

"No! Not Jasper! Please, not him!" Lindsey begs melodramatically.

I can't help but laugh at the clear distinction between their reactions. Both are a typical thing for them to say.

It is obvious that Jessy would beg for her best friend not to leave, since she doesn't mind Jasper's presence. Jessy, Jasper and I have all been friends since kindergarten. We know each other so well, that we don't even need words anymore to know what the other is thinking.

Lindsey, on the other hand, only joined our class two years ago. Jessy has tried to pull her into our little group of close friends, but her strong dislike of Jasper and the fact that she still has friends from her previous class, have made her the odd one out. I have no idea why she doesn't like Jasper. He is full of shit, but he wouldn't hurt a fly.

We all freeze at the sound of a hearty chuckle, which I instantly recognise as Jasper.

"That looks like fun! Group hug!" he says and instantly Lindsey scurries away for Jasper's heavy weight to replace hers.

"Ah! Good morning Jasper," I say as I turn around in his embrace and hug him back. Jessy doesn't greet him but grumbles something along the lines of "You're too close!" under her breath and clings a little harder to me.

"Good morning ladies! How are you today?" Jasper asks.

"I'm so glad you're finally here! These two have been arguing and bullying me all morning!" I complain, well aware that I sound like a spoiled little child. "Where have you been anyway? You're late!"

"Right? Oh boy, do I have a surprise for you," Jasper says quietly so only Jessy and I can hear him. He is smiling his shit-eating grin again. He only smiles like that when he knows something we don't.

Without waiting for either of our reactions, Jasper takes a theatrical step aside, his hands making a grand sweeping motion as he reveals someone standing behind him.

I suck in a breath as I recognise the boy behind him immediately. Behind Jasper stands the boy we'd met at the park during the summer break, Alex. I'd made the mistake of commenting on his good looks, in exactly the same way I would if I'd see a movie star in real life. I really had though he was some kind of fairy when I'd seen him sitting in that tree. He isn't just good looking, he has features that make him seem otherworldly. Like his bright blue eyes and his silky, darker than black hair.

Sadly enough, I'd only realised that it was a mistake when I'd seen Jessy grin at me slyly.

Jessy has tried to set me up with a boyfriend for years, but the only thing her match-making has resulted in so far is that I cringe every time she introduces me to a new boy.

I had made her promise not to try and set me up with anyone anymore, and Jessy had (reluctantly) agreed. But I hadn't counted on Jasper trying to set me up. That's a first. It makes me wonder what Jessy promised him for doing so.

I glance at Jessy sideways. She catches my glance immediately, presses her lips into a thin line, shakes her head ever so slightly and shrugs in the smallest of gestures. The others probably hadn't even seen it. But I knew that it was her way of silently telling me; "It wasn't me. But, o well, let's roll with it!"

I take care to not roll my eyes at her, since the boys would undoubtedly read it the wrong way, and bring my focus back to Alex.

As if his attractive features weren't enough, he had clearly put some thought into his style today. His shiny, straight, medium-long hair, is currently swept aside as if it was lazily racked to one side with a hand, and his school uniform is hugging his chest in a way that a summer T-shirt never could, accentuating his strong, but lean figure.

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He seems a little skittish, as if he is nervous about what we think of him. But that can't be. Someone as good-looking as him has to be brimming with confidence, right? I dare to bet that it has rotten his personality too.

I watch his eyes flash nervously from one person to the next as he waits for any of us to say something.

His eyes truly are the most mesmerising bright blue I've ever seen. They are definitely his best feature.

"Jessy, Otto, Lindsey? This is Alex," Jasper says. "Alex? Let me introduce to you. These are Jessy, Otto and Lindsey. You've met Jessy and Otto before, right?"

"Yes, I have. You were at the park that day," Alex says and holds out his hand towards Jessy so she can shake it.

"So you remember us. Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Jessy," she says enthusiastically as she grabs his hand with both of hers and shakes it energetically. Alex nods in acknowledgement, Jessy lets go of his hand and then he reaches it to the next in line, which is me. I stare at his hand for a moment.

"He isn't the devil," I chid myself mentally. Shaking his hand won't seal some kind of deal. All I have to do is say "Hi" and shake his hand like Jessy did. Polite and spontaneous.

"Hi," I say as I smile politely and finally grab his hand to shake. But I had been wrong. Touching his hand was the worst thing I could have possibly done. My body reacts to his touch like a junky with withdrawal symptoms to drugs. Instantly, all my hackles stand on end and for a split second, I can imagine myself rubbing my body against his, like a cat with an itch. An utterly terrifying thought! I've clearly underestimated the effect of raging hormones.

I manage about half a shake before I let go of his hand with flying haste, subtly swipe my hand at the fabric of my uniform skirt and finally place them in my sides in a (failed) attempt to hide my awkwardness.

"Don't be so shallow," I chid myself in thought once again. I'm a firm believer in the principle of "the inside is more important than the outside" and I am not going to change that now.

Yet, I do feel ashamed of how I reacted to him. I can't look at him. I feel so deadly embarrassed. I curse myself. Why is it so hard to just shake his hand politely? How stupid to let my emotions get the better of me.

I notice Jasper raise a questioning brow at me and Jessy is looking at me with pity.

Alex's hand is hanging aimlessly in between us, not making its way to Lindsey anymore. I dare to sneak a glance at him and cringe once more. He looks so confused! Bordering on hurt. And the worst part is that I caused him to look like that. It makes my heart ache.

I want to apologise but don't know how. What could I say? "Hey? I'm sorry for acting strange. It's not every day that you meet such a good-looking boy as yourself." I want to slap myself for even thinking that preposterous combination of words!

Well, ... at least he won't look at me twice now.

...

Good.

That way I won't have to worry about accidentally leading him on either.

A familiar clicking noise brakes me away from my train of thoughts. Everybody looks up in surprise.

Lindsey is known for her passion for photography. If she isn't looking through a lens, she is constantly searching for different lightings and settings. Lindsey has been happily snapping pictures of us ever since we became friends. If we go on an excursion, school-related or not, she always brings her large photo camera with adapted zooming lens. On an average day, she has to settle for the camera of her smartphone. Not that it matters. Lindsey makes every photo look great!

Everybody is used to Lindsey taking pictures. Alex however, is new.

"Did she take a picture just now?" he asks, confusion dripping from his voice, as Lindsey snaps another few pictures. Her smartphone makes an artificial clicking noise every time she does.

"Yes. Yes she did," Jasper says, I can tell that he's wondering if Lindsey's timing could be any worse. "Alex? Meet Lindsey. She's an aspiring photographer."

"Ok. That explains why she's taking pictures," Alex says. Another click. "How many is she going to take?"

"As many as she wants," Jasper shrugs. Click!

"Why? It's not like this is a very memorable moment." Alex is starting to raise his hands against the camera now, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "She doesn't just dump them all on the internet, does she?"

"Not all of them. Only the best make it into her portfolio. And she makes the most awesome yearbooks!" Jasper says. Undoubtedly, he completely missed the reason behind Alex's question.

Another click.

"Ok, enough," I interrupts the stream of clicking noises. "Lindsey, sweetheart, can't you see that it's making him uncomfortable?"

Only now does Lindsey look up from her smartphone, blushing slightly.

"Sorry," she says. "I should have asked beforehand. It's just that, when I see a perfect picture, I'll want to capture it and the camera tends to walk away with me."

Alex's eyebrows rise at her explanation and he blinks a few times rapidly as if he has trouble processing the new information. Then he clears his throat and says: "That's alright. I guess I'm just not used to having my picture taken."

His shy reaction doesn’t go unnoticed. I share a glance with Jessy. Not used to having his picture taken? That couldn't be right. If he had been ugly, I might have believed him, but not with his looks. Honestly, it surprises me that Lindsey has held out as long as she has. It was strange to call a boy beautiful, but he was beautiful in the same way you'd call a diamond beautiful. Heck, he is beautiful enough to confuse him for a real wood nymph!

Yet I couldn't shake the strange feeling that his reaction was genuine. After all, he hadn't instantly ducked away at the first sign of a camera like someone who didn't like to have his picture taken. He'd genuinely looked unsure of what to do.

I'm pulled from my musings by the sound of the first period bell. I usually sigh at the sound of it, reluctant to start a day of learning. But today it sounds like a release, mercifully cutting our awkward conversation short.