Chapter 3

I stared at Ashlynn who seemed content to just sit in her seat admiring the same cheese burger on her plate. She noticed my attention on her and she looked up, smiling. I felt my face heat up slightly and I knew I was beginning to blush. What the hell is wrong with me? I sat there stunned, not moving a muscle.

"Excuse me?" I asked her as I slowly put my burger back onto the plate. "Is this a joke?" I added as I began to look around the cafeteria, noticing the looks that the many students were giving both Ashlynn and myself. Most of the looks were of astonishment while others held some disgust. There were even a few that held some hostility towards me.

"No, it is not." Ashlynn said still smiling just before she lowered her head slightly and took a bite out of her burger.

I was still stunned as to why she was here, and now apparently, it is of her own free will. I slowly picked up my burger, still focusing my gaze on her wondering if there is in fact a hidden agenda.

We ate in silence until both of our burgers were finished. I saw the look of content on her face as she ate the last piece and it would seem she really likes these cheeseburgers. I sat back and watched her push her tray to the side and then her gaze met mine. I noticed a soft blush rise to her cheeks at the same moment I felt heat rise within mine.

"Why are you sitting here?" I asked her still a little confused at this whole situation. For a brief moment I thought I saw a hint of pain cross her features but the smile returned almost instantly.

"Because I want to." She said with a soft chuckle as she picked up her bottle of water and took a sip. Even this ordinary movement of taking a sip of water had an affect on me. Just what the hell is happening to me? I screamed inside my head.

"I don"t believe you. No one wants to sit here." I told her as she leaned further forward, her smile growing larger.

"But it"s the truth. You seem to intrigue me." She said as she tipped her head slightly to the left. She reached out her right hand offering to shake mine. "I"m Ashlynn. It"s a pleasure to meet you."

I watched her hand slowly wondering if she truly meant that. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, I reached over and shook her hand softly before quickly pulling my own away. "Malachi."

"Interesting name." She said with another large smile. I could be wrong but she seemed to be enjoying herself here. "Tell me about yourself."

"I don"t understand. Why do you want to know about me?" I asked her as I leaned against my arms on the table. I tilted my head just before her right hand shot forward stealing one of my fries. "Hey! Those are mine." I told her and in return all I received was a chuckle.

"Sharing is caring." She told me still chuckling. "And I want to know about you because, and I have stated before. You intrigue me." She pointed the half eaten fry at me near the end of her statement.

"Fine, but these are my fries." I told her as I pulled them closer to me. "And there really is not much to say about me. According to the student body, I am the school nerd. To be honest, that is what I sort of am. In my brief stunt in high school, I have only received a grade lower than an A once. And even that was a B+.

"I don"t play sports due to it being uninteresting to me. I love to cook and work as an assistant chef at Cyrus, the cafe close to here." I began my little introduction to her, only to be interrupted at this point.

"Oh, I love that place." She said with a big smile. "They have this dark chocolate cake with a white chocolate icing. It is amazing!" He said, using her hands to gesture just how amazing this cake was.

"Thank you." I replied with a smile. Of course she wouldn"t know that I am the one who bakes at the cafe. The main cook, Trey, deals with the everyday meals while I am left to do the baking in the early morning.

"Why are you thanking me?" She asked a little confused, but in just a few short seconds, it seemed to dawn on her. "Wait, you baked that? Seriously?" She seemed shocked and pleased at the same time.

"Yeah." I told her beaming with pride. "I love to bake. And I always appreciate good criticism about my work." What are the odds that the conversation would take this turn? Her smile was quickly becoming my favourite thing to see. I couldn"t get enough of it.

"Wow. You really are an amazing baker." She said with a sigh and I no doubt knew she was thinking about the cake. Once more, she moved quickly and stole another of my fries. The look of shock on my face seemed to entertain her as she smiled once more. "What? I forgot to get some earlier. Please share with me." She asked with another smile and I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat. What is she doing to me?

"Fine." I told her as I moved the plate of fries to the center of the table. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, you already know I absolutely love your cake." He said with a smile and a slight blush. "Other than that, I just moved here with my folks, who at the moment are away on business. So it is just me at the moment. According to the rumors flying about, I am a bit of a bad girl. But it wasn"t my fault. These people are just sheep. They don"t really want to get to know me. I became agitated and one thing led to another..." She trailed off gesturing a "whatever" motion with her hands.

"And you punched the quarterback." I finished with a chuckle of my own. "Well done."

"Again, it"s not my fault." She said in a mock defensive posture by crossing her arms in front of her chest. "He basically insinuated that sleeping with him is a gift that all women should have and then he grabbed my ass. I was so not having that." She said as she leaned forward resting her forearms on the table.

"And Haylie? What was that about?" I asked, wondering what she did, other than what the rumors have being saying.

"Have you seen her? She is a walking doll." She said with a look of disbelief. "You can practically peel her face off. In one piece!" She added as we both chuckled at her joke.

I still can"t believe how at peace I feel with her. How comforting it is to be in her presence. I can really get used to something like this.

Just then the bell for the end of lunch rang and broke up our little moment. We both stood grabbing our trays.

"Hey." She said as she moved around the table to stand next to me. "Will you be working at the cafe this afternoon? I could really use a slice of that cake." I could almost see her drooling at the thought of the cake. I laughed as I turned to her.

"The cake was made this morning. There should be a slice or two left this afternoon." I told her and a huge smile crossed her face. "And yes, I will be working. If you come by, I can probably whip something up for you if you want."

"I would love that." She smiled and we both made our way out of the cafeteria after disposing of our trays.

The day dragged on as my thoughts began to wonder if my school life might just have a chance. I know I just met Ashlynn, but this whole thing just feels so right. Our brief conversation at lunch was the best moment of my time here at this school. I began to wonder if I will be able to have more of these moments.

The day finally ended, and only now did I realize that I only have one subject in common with Ashlynn. History. That just had to ruin my day. I wish she had been in more. It would have made it so much better.

At the end of the day as I walked out of the school building, I noticed Ashlynn waiting for me. She stood next to a silver ford mustang with dark gray racing strikes. I could have sworn I have seen that car before.

My smile dropped as Mark and the rest of the team made their way over to her. Mark was smaller than his friends but that didn"t mean he wasn"t big. His black short sleeve shirt pulled tightly across his chest displaying the muscles beneath. His short blonde hair spiked upwards.

"Hey, Red." He said as he came to a stop next to her. "Nice ride. Bet I"m better." He said with a smirk as his friends chuckled behind him. Ashlynn on the other hand, seemed a little agitated at his presence.

"Two things." Ashlynn began as she raised two fingers on her right hand. "One, don"t ever call me Red again. And two, I am pretty sure I told you this morning to not mess with me. So why are you here?" Her voice pervade her annoyance at the situation.

"Aw, come on Red." Mark began as he leaned towards her placing his right hand on the roof of her car right next to her shoulder. "You know you wan-" He was cut off my Ashlynn"s right hand hitting him square in the chest.

He stumbled backwards into his friends trying to catch his breath. His friends all looked at Ashlynn with surprise plastered on their faces. If she could see mine too, she would see the same expression. She just hit the most popular guy in our school and he was the one to back away.

Afraid at what he might do, I quickly made my way over to Ashlynn, and grabbed her left upper arm turning her away from the group of footballers.

"I think it"s best if you go now. I will meet you at the cafe." I told her hoping she would agree.

"Fine. Get in, I"ll drive." She said as she opened the drivers door and got in not waiting for an answer.

I stood there slightly stunned at her answer before I quickly made my way to the passenger side door. I got in quickly wanting to get out of here due to the fact that I noticed Mark regaining his composure and he looked pissed.

"I could"ve just walked." I told her with a soft smile.

"And make we wait for my treat? No. You promised me something delicious and now you have to deliver." She said with a laugh.

I moved my left hand to the radio to switch it on at the same time she did causing our hands to touch.

What the? I thought to myself.