I wasn't sure if it was something he did or he had a talent, but he always managed to make me speechless. I wasn't sure what did it. Was it his rather intimidating aura or the mischief in his eyes. Nevertheless, he only had to utter on sentence or do one freaking thing before I sealed my mouth shut.

     I blinked, many times. My sweaty palms tensed into fists and I drew my lip under my front teeth. I kept my eyes away from his, but the hair-raising feeling along my back told me he didn't care if he was staring me dead in the eye or not.

     "Are you deaf?" he said as the most clicheé thing ever to do.

     I cringed, pulling deep within to find words to answer him. "Call me Debbie."

     "You need a tutor, Collins?"

     Shocked would be the wrong word to use in this situation. Frightened might have come closer. However, again I couldn't pint point why and where my feelings came from. They just came. And it was his damn fault. Stupid ass boy.

     I furrowed my brows and pulled my face a bit back. I looked at him for the first time. As usual, his face did nothing to give me some form of clue. It was a blank canvas you couldn't paint.

     "No?" I said, but to my dismay, it came out as a question rather than a statement.

     Mike noticed it. He ran his long fingers through his hair, glancing down the hall. "Just say yes," he said, tugging his bag further upon his rather slender shoulders.

     Digging up some confidence, I managed to pronounce a long sentence. "Why so desperate? You didn't seem to enjoy the thought last time we discussed the topic." I lifted an eyebrow, trying my best to be my witty and sarcastic self. 

     He grunted, running another hand through his hair. By doing so he achieved the look most girls would only dream about to wake up next to. He almost seemed... nice? Welcoming? No, that couldn't be.

     "I need the credits it will give me," he said, twisting to open his bag and pull something out.

     I tilted my head. "Credit? Can you get that by tutoring?"

     "None of your business." He had pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He scrambled something down on it before handing it to me. "Here's my number and address. Text me your answer later."

     With those words, he left me like a dumb bitch. I stood, with my mouth ajar, eyes widened, in the middle of the hallway. And I was even late to class.

     I crumbled the piece of paper in my hand as I strode over to a trashcan. He could put his credit up his arse for all I cared.

     My hand hovered over the trashcan, not letting go yet.

     In some way, I wanted to blame him for being rude and me getting in trouble for ditching detention. But, then I remembered the moment in the car. The bliss of having no expectations pressing down on my shoulders. His company may not be the best, but it was strain-free.

     It wouldn't hurt to save it? Would it? I could throw it out later.

     I slipped the note into my pocket and finally proceed to get to class. My teacher wasn't happy that I interrupted his lesson. However, the only thing my mind could focus on was the note in my pocket.

     I kept checking it every few minutes. I even brought it out to look at it. It was as if I expected the words to change into "fooled you" or something like that.

     They didn't.

     After school I found myself sitting on the stairs outside. Hamilton had joined me and was searching for his car keys. He had emptied almost his entire bag and took up most of the space on the stairs. He had an arm dug deep within the bag, pushing the endless amount of things around.

     "Maybe you need like a lady purse to keep a check on your things," I said, giving him a sideways look.

     Hamilton shook his head, a smug grin glued to his face. "You would like that, wouldn't you?" He pulled up his car keys with a triumphant expression. They dangled from his finger as he held them into the air.

     "See." He turned to look at me. "No need for a lady purse."

     I shook my head and took a sip of my water. "Where's your home keys?"

     I didn't even have to look. I knew he tried to find them in his jacket but came up empty-handed. He cursed out loud, his hand flying right back into his back to search for his other pair of keys.

     That boy was going to have a hard time finishing highschool.

     Maya slipped out from the door behind us. She greeted both of us with a smile. "Hamilton," she said. "What are you doing here? You usually don't stay this long."

     Hamilton gave her a nod as greeting. "I've been searching for my keys." He went to open another room in his bag, lifting it on his lap.

     "For an hour?" Maya came to stand in front of me. She struck out a hand. I took it and she hurled me onto my feet.

     "Your point?" Hamilton's lips turned into that of a straight line when the keys didn't show in that compartment. He went on to swing around with his stuff to check if they fell out.

     Maya gave me a look. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to walk towards her car. "Good luck, Hamilton." I waved goodbye to him over my shoulder, almost running to get to Maya's car. She had been extra slow to get to the parking lot today.

     We both jumped into her car and sped out from the school. We had waited for the weekend to come around, however, none of us had thought about making any plans. Since the last party, we both agreed that we needed to give Mum some breathing space. The last thing she needed was two hungover teenage girls in her kitchen once again.

     "Do you wanna go shopping tomorrow? Before the party." Maya turned on the radio right after having asked her question. Music blasted out through the car.

     I pulled out the piece of paper and straightened it in my palm. "Do you remember that time in the diner when you asked Mike to help me with homework?"

     Maya nodded, her head swaying to the music. "Yeah. He was pretty mean about the whole thing. I'm glad I'm not the one fucking him."

     I choose to ignore that last comment.

     "Well, he kind of asked to be my tutor. It was something about needing credit." I sunk into my seat, waiting for her response. I was going to regret telling her this. She gasped beside me. I opened my mouth again before she could answer. "And he kind of gave me his number... and address."

     I chewed the inside of my cheek, gazing out the window. In the glass, I could spot her reaction. Her mouth was ajar and she struggled to focus on the road.

     "He gave you his number?" she said, pronouncing every word with great care. "And his address?"

     I nodded my head. "That's what I said."

     "You got to be kidding me! This is huge. He actually asked to spend time with you. I'm totally gonna lose this bet. And here I really thought I had a chance at winning." Her lower lip went over the upper one. "I should have chosen someone else for you."

     "He didn't ask to spend time with me." I ran a hand through my brown locks. "And I'm pretty sure he didn't do this for me." I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at a random young fella walking past us. "That narcissistic bitch."

     "What?"

     "Nothing."

     I sighed and watched as Maya drove up to my house. My muscles noticeable stiffened. Maybe I should ask Maya if we should do something? No, I couldn't hide because my parents weren't the best of friends at the moment. They would get better.

     The house I knew so well felt cold as I gazed upon it. I didn't imagine how the entire family would be snuggled up around the television. No, everything was gone and replaced with those screamed words.

     "Aren't you going to, you know, go?" Maya poked me in the ribs. I jumped in my seat, dashing away from her. I slapped her hand as I turned to regard her. She sat with her eyebrows raised, awaiting my response.

     "Of course," I said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I just zoned out a bit."

     She reached for my bag on the backseat and swung it into my lap. On her face, she held her usual happy expression. I could do nothing but smile and lean over to hug her. I held her for a moment longer than usual. And to be honest, I felt the love and that was all I needed.

     Walking into my home, silence was the first thing to overwhelm me. The jackets were still missing. I furrowed my brows and made my way into the kitchen. I let my bag fall on the counter as I went to the fridge.

     In the square center hung a note. The writing was in bright red and with my name written at the top. I snapped it and held it in my hands.

    Will and Markus are with their friends. Your dad and I will be home late. There's money on the counter.

     I scrunched my nose. That was a first. Mom would always call or text when the house was empty or dinner plans would change. And I wasn't sure how I should analyze the fact that both her and Dad and was out doing God knows what.

     I shrugged and curled the piece of paper into a ball. To the best of my abilities, I threw the paper ball. It went through the air in a fine arc. It landed right in the center of the trash can and rustled with the other items hidden in there.

     I smiled, high fiving myself in my mind before running upstairs to my room. I threw my jacket and bag on the bed, turning on my music. It blasted out the speakers and I couldn't care less. How freeing.

     With a few awkward dance moves, I moved into my bathroom, singing out loud to the newest pop-song. For a moment, as I washed away the makeup, I forgot every single worry. That was until a small piece of paper fell out of my pocket.

     I bent down to pick it up. I didn't need to unfold to know what it was. However, I did anyway, just to be sure.

     Again I gazed at the strange number and address. It wasn't weird or anything, actually it surprised me how normal it was. But what did I expect? His address to be Devil Street 13?

     My hand found my phone and unlocked it. I remembered our moment in the car. I craved that feeling again. In a weird way, I thought that Mike could be someone good for me. And I guess that was why I send him one simple text.

     Okay.