Mike elevated an eyebrow and behind those glasses gazed a pair of captivating eyes at me. He waved with the book by his head, a bored expression slipping across his face. "You shouldn't read this." He tossed the back towards Mrs. Cook. She managed to grasp it with both hands, tumbling back a few steps.

I stretched my eyes, pulling my hands into my body. Who the hell does he think he is? "Why did you do that?" I asked instead of shouting a few thousands of bad words.

Mike shrugged his shoulders. A cigarette packet drifted out from his pockets and fell on the ground. We eyed it as it caused us both to stay silent. He bent down to pick it up. "You won't learn anything by reading that junk." Though his eyes held pure mischief I did nothing to take the book back. I let Mrs. Cook keep it.

Noticing my silence, Mike twisted on his heels and strolled towards the exit. He slipped a cigarette out of the package before gliding it back into his pocket. He curled his fingers around the cigarette, hiding it from view.

I took a glance at Mrs. Cook before I sped after Mike. He had only walked a few feet down the hallway before I catch up to him. I struggled to find some air, my bad eating habits and lack of exercise catching up to me. "Please wait," I said, reached my arm out to stop him, but he was too far away.

He didn't halt nor did he turn to acknowledge me, he grunted. "What do you want?" He turned and strolled towards the parking lot.

For a moment I had nothing to say. Not a word could slip past my sealed lips. What did I want? I had leaped after him without any reason and it was coming back to bite me in the ass if I didn't hurry and found a reason.

"Why do you have to be like that?" I asked, forcing my strides to become longer. I was soon enough strolled beside him. A few curious gazes came our way. No one talked to Mike Everson.

He shook his head, neglecting my question. We strolled onto the parking lot together. I followed him behind the school where he could enjoy a smoke in peace. Or almost in peace. He leaned against the wall while I stood a bit away. I crossed my arms over my chest, staring him down.

He lifted the cigaret and a lighter to his mouth. Not long after it was lit and he slid the lighter back into his pockets. He inhaled the first amount of that grey stench. An odor that foreshadowed his feature death-bed reached my nostrils. I scrunched my nose and took a step aside to avoid the smoke.

His eyes stared at the sky. A few grey clouds hovered over us but there was no rain yet. There was nothing beautiful about it, however, he stilled seemed interested.

"You should go home and study," he said and inhaled another good amount of smoke.

"Because I'm stupid?" My tone was clear. I did not like his words. And for some reason, I had to make sure he knew it even if his stares made my heart pump faster and sweat form in the palms of my hand. I wouldn't let him scare me into silence. He was only a teenager.

"Yes." He blew out a ring and watched it disappear in the air.

To say it didn't hurt would be a lie. But what could I do? I didn't decide which words would leave his mouth. I only decided which would leave mine.

"Fine, then be an asshole. I don't want your help anyways." I flipped my hair and my eyes tore through his. "And by the way, that day in the restaurant, my friend wanted to embarrass me. I don't even like your glasses." My hand did this punching motion to end off my rant.

Mike didn't seem to care though. He nodded along to my words and couldn't give a shit about my opinion. I was a piece of dirt under his shoe.

He threw the bud of his cigarette down on the ground. His boot slid over it and stomped down. He lifted his eyes to look at me. The intensity of his gaze made my stomach do a flip. Yet, it didn't last long. He left me standing there without as much as a word. He waltzed back to the parking lot.

I gazed after him, even when he was long out of sight. I stood there with an empty feeling in my stomach.

I was going to lose this bet.

I sighed, my shoulders slouching as I went back into the school. I walked to class alone, observing the people who wandered past. I didn't know any of them, mostly just their faces. However, as I had learned, there was so much more to a person than their faces.

The class I attended was boring and hard. I fought to write down useable notes. I never finished a sentence before the teacher was on to something new. And that was how it went or at least until my phone lit up.

I glanced up at the teacher. She was scribbling something on the board, her back turned towards the class. I took my chance and reached to grab my phone. I had gotten a notification from Facebook. Mike H. Everson has liked your profile picture.

I dropped my phone back on the table. In shock, I jumped in my seat and by accident shoved my notebook and pencil down on the ground. They landed with a thud.

Every single head, except maybe one or two, turned to look at me. The teacher who had been explaining some weird shot had an eyebrow lifted as she glared at me.

"Using your phone in my class?" she asked though she already knew the answer.

I bit my lip, letting my eyes sway to look into the table. "Sorry." You could barely hear it, but the teacher sighed anyway.

"Detention after school today, Collins. I won't write a note to your parents if you show up."

My head shot up as I stood from my chair. "Detention?" I waved my hand in the air like a mad man. "For looking at my phone one time! You can't be serious."

The teacher put her hands on her hips and stared me down for a good second before opening her mouth. "Don't test me today, Collins. One day detention can turn into a week." She shifted to look over the rest of the class. "Now can anyone else who would like to use their phone in my class?"

No one inclined to answer and the teacher took that as a no. She returned to teaching, turning her back towards the class once again. I leaned back in my seat, my eyes never leaving my phone. He liked my profile picture. He liked my stupid profile picturer. What a shocker. And what a stalker.

I couldn't get it out of my head. Or more precisely, I couldn't get him out of my head. And he wasn't even here! Stupid boy.

The remaining classes went by in a blur. I waved goodbye to Maya and Jacob before making my way to detention. Maya had tried to force me to go with her and Jacob to the bakery and ditch detention. However, I wasn't sure how much my mom would kill me if my teacher wrote home.

It was with heavy feet and a sour mood that I entered the detention room as the first person. I slipped into a seat in the back, spreading my bag over the table. I rested my hands on top of it and leaned forward. My eyes watched the door, waiting to see if others had been as unlucky as me.

My nails tapped on the table and my eyes swayed to gaze out the window. More dark clouds were rolling in over the city. The time drew near the beginning of detention and I was still the only person inside the room. Was I even in the right place?

From my pocket, I slid out the note the teacher had given me right after class. Room 235, 3:30 PM, Mrs. Brown.

The number on the door said 235 and, I glanced at my watch, there were only five minutes until detention began.

I sighed and leaned back in my seat as the door swung open. The person had pushed it with great force and it rambled into the wall. My head shifted towards the door. Through the door came a tall figure. He had his hood over his head, however, I could skimp the glasses he wore. And I knew those glasses.

"You got to be kidding me." It was a whisper under my breath, but Mike turned his gaze up until our eyes met. A smirk spread from the corner of his lips, however, as quickly as it had come, so did it disappear.

He waltzed to the right back corner and slung down into a seat. He threw his bag down on the floor, leaning back until his chair was tilting. He rested it against the wall and ran a hair through his hair. The hood fell and collected in a mess around his neck.

His eyes didn't take me in nor did he send me glances. His eyes focused on the outside world and no greeting came from his mouth.

And we were supposed to be Facebook friends.

With another long sigh, I got comfortable in my seat in time for Mrs. Brown to walk through the door and smack it after her. She had stacks of paper in her arms and a satisfied smile painted across her face. Her eyes landed upon Mike in the back. "Lovely to see you again, Mr. Everson. It seems like I can't get rid of you."

Mike didn't acknowledge her. He grunted as a response but did nothing else.

Mrs. Brown locked eyes with me and for a short moment, I registered shock in her eyes. "Debbie Collins? I didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't expect to be here either," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well." Mrs. Brown sat the papers down on the desk and put her handbag beside them. "I have something to pick up. I expect you to behave and be here when I come back. You can do homework or whatever." Her eyes only focused on me as if Mike was already a lost cause. He didn't do anything to answer her this time either.

"Of course, Mrs. Brown." I gave her a warm smile in hopes she would let me out early. Spending my afternoon at school wasn't what I had planned.

"Lovely." She clasped her hands together and picked up her bag. She swung it over her shoulder and waltzed out. It was silent enough for me to hear the locking of the door as she left us alone.

Great, I was alone with Mike in a locked room.

I shook my head and dug my hands down in my bag. I pulled out my notes and went through them. I halted on a page which a certain someone had written his thoughts. The ink was a different color so it wasn't hard to spot.

I turned my head to glance at Mike. He pushed away from the table and bowed down to pick up his bag. Without a word he stood and went over to the window. He put his hands on the locks and pulled hard.

"What are you doing?" I asked, closing my notes and putting them back into my bag. Closing my bag, I stood from my seat and sat on the table instead. I brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes and secured it behind my ear.

Mike didn't turn to look at me. "Getting out of here." With one final pull, he got the window open. A gush of wind rushed past my ear. I shivered, hugging my body tight.

This guy must be crazy, however, I still picked up my bag and took a few steps closer. "But we have detention."

Though he had his back turned towards me, I could feel his eyes roll. With a swift movement, he got the window open enough for him to slip out. As he swung his first leg over, the clouds let the rain pour from them. It patted down on the ground in big raindrops. "That's just fantastic." Mike didn't move any further, he stayed with one leg hanging out the window while eyeing the sky.

The dark clouds had reached the school. And Mike Everson wasn't a fan.

I bit my lip. Should I say something? Or would it be best to let him go? It would be easier for me at least.

Mike finished up eyeing the sky and turned his gaze back upon me. I took a step back and away from his. The mischief in his eyes told me to stay the hell away.

"Come," he said, no, commanded. He even reached a hand towards me and raised an eyebrow.

Our eyes stayed locked as he waited for my response. However, I choked on my saliva, a million thoughts running through my head. Only one of them was terrifying. I considered it.

He was my friend. At least on Facebook.