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jennaferz

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Days passed. Deni loved the new life she was experiencing. People she had previously been frightened of, or intimidated by, came up to her daily and asked her to do something with them. She got asked on more dates in one day than she had ever been asked in her life. But what sort of bothered her was that after that incident, Taylor made no effort to speak to her or pay any attention to her again.

She knew she deserved it. But it was weird...even though she had rejected him, and had only spoken to him once, she felt an inescapable attraction to him. It was probably just his good looks, but more than that, she felt that it was in the way he lit up the room when he walked in. She had never known anyone like that before.

She was walking to her art class one day when Halley Moore, a popular senior, fell into step behind her. She glanced over at her and smiled uncertainly.

"Hey," she offered.

"Hey," Halley replied. "You're Denise, right?"

"Right."

"I'm Halley Moore." She paused for a second, as though waiting for Deni to say something. When she didn't, she continued, "So Taylor has been asking about you. Like, nonstop. He won't shut up."

Deni couldn't stop a smug smile. "What has he been saying?"

Halley rolled her eyes. "He seems to think we're best friends. Every time I see him, he's like, 'So have you talked to Denise? Has she mentioned me?' And I'm like, 'Taylor, I'm not doing your dirty work. If you want the girl, you have to get her yourself.'" She laughed. "He told me that you think he's quite the partier."

"I didn't mean to offend him!" Deni protested. "It's just what I've heard! From everybody." She paused. "So is he?"

"Yeah." Halley smiled. "He'll try to tell you otherwise, but he is. He's had sex more times than he can count, and he's such a heavy drinker. I hate it when he's drunk...." She shook her head. "And he's a druggie. I'm not gonna lie."

Deni nodded. "That's what I've heard. And I just don't really want someone like that, you know? I want someone who will take care of me, not someone I have to take care of."

Halley raised her eyebrows. "Denise, it sounds like I'm the first person to tell you this, and it sounds like you need to hear it. In a relationship, one person doesn't take care of the other one. You take care of each other." She stopped walking. "Hey, I've got to get to class. I'd really love it if you talk to Taylor. Maybe he'd get off my back." She winked and disappeared down the hall.

Biting her lip, Deni slipped into her art class. Taylor didn't even look up as she walked in. Yeah, right, Halley, she thought bitterly. He hates me. She pulled her picture out of her cubbyhole and sat down at her normal seat. The assignment was a charcoal drawing, and with each stroke she made on the paper, her fingers grew blacker and blacker. Sighing with exasperation, she headed to the back of the room to wash them. She had just turned on the sink when someone spoke from behind her.

"Hey."

"Ahhh!" She screamed and jumped about a foot in the air. Heart pounding wildly, she turned around to face...Taylor.

"Whoa." He was standing a few feet away from her, his hands in his pockets, obviously struggling not to laugh. "You really screamed."

She held her hand over her heart, trying to catch her breath. "Taylor! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry." He grinned at her. "So, charcoal fingers, huh?"

She smiled, holding them up and waggling them at him. "See for yourself."

"I saw you talking to Halley." He glanced away, then back at her. "And guess what else? I heard my name."

"I'm glad your ears are working." She turned to wash her hands, but just as she was about to stick them under the water he stopped her.

"I hope she wasn't telling you that I've been talking about you."

"That's exactly what she told me," she replied with a slight smile. "Apparently you forgot to make her promise not to."

He rolled his eyes. "That or she just has a big mouth."

"Definitely a possibility," she agreed.

"But then, the bitch that you are, you probably just talked it out of her."

"Did you just call me a bitch?"

"Yeah, I think I did." He raised an eyebrow. "What you gonna do about it?"

She allowed a smirk to crawl across her face as she held up her still-black fingers and smeared them across his cheeks. He yelped and jumped backwards, but it was too late. She doubled over in laughter at the sight of his black-streaked face.

"You look good in black," she told him, gasping for breath.

"Shut up!" But he was laughing too. "You really are a bitch, aren't you?"

"I'm a bitch that found out that I'm not a gossip whore," she countered. "Halley told me that the rumors I heard were true."

"As long as you have a foundation now."

"And I have something else to add to the list."

"What's that?"

"I actually hand in my Algebra assignments." She smiled at his skeptical expression.

"I don't do my Algebra," he replied smoothly, "because I've never had a good teacher."

"So go to peer tutoring."

"Why don't you just tutor me?" He grinned at her. "I'll pay you. A buck an hour."

"How can I refuse?" She scrubbed her hands and ripped off some paper towels, tossing them at him. "Here, clean off your face."

"There's no need to be sarcastic," he replied, catching them without taking his eyes off her face. "I'm being serious. You seriously should tutor me."

"I'll think about it," she answered. "By the way, you missed a spot." 

GUYS. Like it said in the intro, FIFTEEN RATES OR NO CONTINUATION! And if you're going to comment, please rate, okay? On the last one there were thirteen comments and ten rates...what the freek is that? =] You know I love to hear what you think and all, but I like my rates too. I'm greedy like that. =] And...well, just so you know, if there's not enough rates? You'll be missing out. I've got some special stuff planned for this one. Haha ~ Jen