It was a misty April morning at dusk. At approximately 6:36 a.m, Rachel stepped on the bus, even though she dreaded every single step she took down the 'Aisle Of Shame'. Her car had broken down last night after cheer practice, and she didn't have time to get it to the shop before school that morning. She tripped over her own heels while she was walking, and sat down quickly with a flush, hoping nobody had noticed her. 'Play it off like nothing happened,' she told herself within her mind. Hey, at least she looked pretty good today-her chestnut curls were falling just right, and her eyelashes could almost scrape her brows. Once she set her Coach bag down beside her leg (she hoped nobody had seriously considered sharing the seat with HER), she got a text message- it was from her boyfriend; the infamous Devon Ottawaugh, star quarterback of the football team. She read the message and smiled.

     Austin Shamp was sitting in the seat behind her, using the light from her phone to go over his Physics notes one more time. He knew that his eyes were seeing the formulas, but his mind wasn't reading them. He could smell Rachel's lilac perfume and it put him in a trance that even Biology couldn't snap him out of- now that was serious. He pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and made one more failed attempt to focus. He couldn't think about anything other than how beautiful Rachel was and how much he HATED Devon Ottawaugh. 'Here goes nothing,' he muttered under his breath, throwing his notes down beside them and poking his head around the side of his seat.

     "Rachel," he whispered. No response.

     "Rachel."

      "RACHEL!" he beckoned in a hushed but forced tone.

     " What do you want?" Rachel finally replied in between chomps of bubblegum.

     "I just...I...I wanted to give you these," he said sheepishly, pulling out a bouquet of fresh lilies. "Apparently you like lilacs, but I picked these myself out of my mom's garden. I hope you like them."

     Rachel paused for a beat too long, shocked. What was this boy thinking? And what was his name again? "Uhm...thanks," was the only retort she could muster up.

     "Mhmm," Austin answered, somewhat crestfallen. Oh well. He'll just try again tomorrow. 'She WILL love me one day," he told himself. "She will."