“Have a good time,” I said for the fiftieth time that day, managing to force a smile on my face. My best friend, Adeola, was ditching me for a school trip to France. She was going on a skiing trip for a week. She pulled me into another hug, grinning. I had all ready had about twenty hugs that day, most of them from Adeola.

Huh. It was all right for her. She was away from school for a week, skiing. I wasn’t particularly fond of skiing…OK, I’d never actually been skiing before, but the idea didn’t exactly appeal to me when I heard about the trip. Cold weather and all that…wasn’t my thing.

Unfortunately, it appealed to my best friend, and several of my other friends.

I was in a really bad mood, and I was pretty miserable too. My best friend and I are in the same classes together, which is great, but when she decides to go on a school trip without me – well, technically, that’s my fault – I have no one to sit with. I can hear you saying ‘why doesn’t she just go on sit with her other friends?’ Well, my response is that they are all going on the trip as well.

You may think I was overreacting. I mean, I could sit with somebody else, and it’s only for a week. I should be happy for my friends, right? I tried, and that just didn’t work for me. So I was trying to be nice, wondering whom I could possibly sit with in my lessons. I know that makes me sound like a terrible person, and maybe I am, but I just didn’t like the fact that my friends were leaving me for a week for the slopes of France, meaning I was all by myself.

It was Monday morning, and the school bell hadn’t rung yet. The pupils going on the ski trip didn’t leave till lunchtime, but they wouldn’t be in lessons, so we had to say our goodbyes now.

The school bell suddenly shrieked, and I sighed.

“Missing you already, Mia,” Adeola, my best friend called as she turned away, already beginning to start up another conversation with another girl. I smiled a wan smile and started to make my way to class. Notice the word ‘started’ there. I had only walked about five steps when somebody blocked my way.

I looked up and met the eyes of none other than Ash Jones. He smirked at me as he noticed my expression. I was still annoyed and upset about the trip, and my face clearly showed that, but I was a little shocked at turning round and seeing him standing there.

Ash isn’t my archenemy or anything like that. I honestly don’t know where I stand with him. Sometimes he can be nice and we have small conversations, but sometimes he completely ignores me… Once when one of his friends – whom I hate, by the way – was making fun of one of my friends and he wasn’t laughing, which was good, I suppose, but then again, he wasn’t doing anything stop it happening. I’m not entirely sure whether I like him or not.

“Upset, Mia?”

I scowled at him and decided to take the sarcastic/annoyed approach. “At least I have friends,” I muttered as I tried to walk past him, but she stopped me.

“Mia, what are you trying to say? I would never insult you when it comes to Adeola.”

“Oh, so you fancy her as well?” I snapped.

What? I said I was in a bad mood! And half the boys in our year group fancied my best friend, most of the time ignoring me, so could I help that I was bitter about it?

Ash looked genuinely confused. I rolled my eyes and moved past him. But once again Ash stopped me.

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” he said, smiling. I glared at him.

“Don’t I get a hug?” Ash said, spreading his arms apart, as if he wanted me to run into them. Ha. As if.

“No,” I said flatly.

“Aww, and I was looking forward to that.”

“Oh, I hate to let you down,” I said sarcastically. “Look, I need to go to class. So, if you’ll let me past…”

“I need my hug first.”

“And I need you to get out of my way, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen either, does it?”

“How about a deal? You give me a hug and I’ll let you past.” I stared at Ash. Why did he want me to hug him? What was the big deal? Was this a big joke? Were him and his friends going to laugh about it as soon I was gone?

“And besides, Mia, I thought you were all alone in class…” Ash said casually.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” I shot back.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t work for me, ‘cause then I’d have to be quiet all day,” he said, with a ‘sympathetic’ smile and a shrug (meaning he pretended to look sorry but, really, was the total opposite).

“And that would be absolutely brilliant!”

“Look, you give me a hug and I’ll let you past.”

“Why are you so desperate for me to give you a hug?” And why didn’t he just hug me himself? Was it a pride thing? “And anyway, that’ll backfire on you because you’ll be late for class too.”

Ash shrugged. “Miss Donovan loves me.” I rolled my eyes. He was so vain. But sadly, it was true. He never got told off for coming in late, or for talking, which is really unfair.

“Well, she hates me, so if you don’t mind-” I began.

“If you walk in with me I’m sure she’ll let you off.”

“And you’re so sure because…”

“Well, why don’t we test it?”

I shook my head and tried to move past him once again. This time he let me walk past him but he suddenly slid his arms around my waist and pulled my close to him.

“Uh…Ash? Get off me. Please,” I added, hoping that might work. It didn’t. Ash didn’t move. “People might be watching,” I hissed.

“No, they won’t. Your friends are on the coach and everybody else has gone to class.”

“Why don’t we follow their example then?”

“Not until you give me a hug,” he whispered in my ear, which sent a shiver down my spine. I hoped he wouldn’t have noticed, but I knew that wasn’t very likely, considering how close we were.

“What do you call this then?”

“Bonding?”

“What?” I spluttered. “Fine. I’ll give you a hug if you get off me. OK?”

“OK.” He released me. I whirled round, and hesitantly took a step forward. I slowly put my arms around him, let them rest there for about three seconds and then pulled away.

“There, I did it,” I said quickly. “Now I’m going to class.”

And with that, I practically ran to my classroom. After a long lecture I was able to sit down. I spotted the row of desks where my friends and me would sit. I sighed and saw there was only one empty space next to other people, and that was Ash’s chair; plus I don’t think his friends would be too happy if sat there. Come to think of it, neither would Ash…Eventually I sat down by myself.

Just as I had put my bag under the desk, Ash walked in. Miss Donovan looked up, nodded and let him sit down. She didn’t say anything. I gaped, and some people laughed. I blushed red and stared down at the desk, furious. I was starting to wish I had walked in with Ash. Maybe I wouldn’t be in so much trouble…

I was relieved when the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson. I was about to leave the classroom when Miss Donovan called me back.

“Miss Campbell, a word, please?” Oh great. Not another lecture. Holding back a sigh,I turned round and walked to her desk. I noticed Ash was there.

“Mr Jones-” Teachers at my school have a habit of calling us all by our surnames. “-tells me that you were with him before class? You had lost your bag and he was helping you look for it – such a kind boy - you hurried to class to explain, but I didn’t give you a chance to, and so I apologize.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. Miss Donovan had apologized to me!

“Well, off you go,” she said, obviously wanting me to leave.

“Um, OK,” I said, and left the room, Ash behind me.

“Uh…thank you…for…you know.” I wasn’t used to thanking boys, and I certainly wasn’t used to thanking Ash. I had never thought I would have to, to be honest.

“Well, I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth now, could I?” Was Ash’s response, and he winked at me before walking off.

I stood there, stunned. This day is getting weirder and weirder by the minute…

But the weirdness hadn’t stopped there. I went to my next class, slowly. What was the point in hurrying? I had no one to sit with, no one to talk to, and no one to share a laugh with…

Well, that’s what I thought.

I walked into the classroom, scanning the seats for a spare one, so I could sit with someone I sort of liked, and they would be OK company, and when that failed looking for just a spare seat.

I needn’t have bothered.

“Mia!”

“Come and sit here!”

“We saved ya a seat!”

The voices were male, and I glanced around the classroom, trying to figure out who was calling my name.

It was Ash and his friends (minus the one I hated). But Ash wasn’t there… I stood on the spot, wondering if it was a joke.

“Miss Campbell, please sit down,” my teacher called out in a bored tone.

“Uh…OK,” I said, wondering where Ash was. I glanced at Ash’s friends once more, before finally sitting in the middle of them. I noticed the seat next to me was vacant, and guessed it was Ash’s.

Five minutes later, Ash strolled in.

“Mr Jones,” the teacher said, “where have you been?”

“I was helping a Science teacher carry some books,” Ash answered, and I knew he was being truthful. Teachers usually asked him to do that. He worked out a lot, and he was pretty strong, so he could carry loads of textbooks from one classroom to another easily.

The teacher nodded. “I’ll be checking that. Which teacher?”

Ash told him and came to sit next to me.

“I see my mates told you to sit here. I was surprised though, this morning you weren’t as…helpful for me.”

I rolled my eyes. “The teacher told me to sit down here, so I did.”

“Good,” Ash replied.

I stared at the Maths problem in front of my and frowned, running a hand through my hair once again.

“Need some help?” Ash asked.

“Kinda,” I admitted.

“Well…it’s pretty simple really.” I snorted. “No, seriously. All you have to do is…”

Yes, Ash was sitting next to me, and he had been doing so all week. His friends had invited me to sit with them, and sometimes Ash called out to me when I was wondering where to sit. I didn’t want to automatically assume I would be sitting with the guys, but they seemed to. They always looked surprised when they saw I was thinking about sitting somewhere other than where they were.

I soon learnt that his friends were friendly and funny – not as I had expected them to be. Ash had been nice to me – he had teased me, but it was friendly teasing – and I didn’t mind sitting with him. He was even helping me with Maths problems, something I hadn’t expected him to do. I mean; I had known he was good at it, but I didn’t think he would help me, of all people. I had often seen him helping out other girls, but he never paid any attention to me, no matter how confused and frustrated I was.

It was Thursday, and on Monday Adeola would be back. Would everything change then? I would be back to sitting with Adeola, right? Would Ash ignore me on Monday? Was this just a one-off? Was he doing this because he felt sorry for me? And what was the hugging incident about on Monday?

“…and that’s how you get the answer. Mia? Mia? Did you get that?”

“Uh…what?”

Ash smiled. “That’ll be a no, then. What’s wrong?”

“I…was just…I just…it doesn’t matter. Could you explain it again?”

“Not before you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Oh, so we’re back to this, are we?”

Ash’s smile turned into a smirk. “Yep.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you, but only because I can’t be bothered to argue with you today.”

Ash grinned in triumph.

“Well…I was thinking about the hug on Monday.”

“Why? D’you want to hug me again?”

I rolled my eyes. “You are so full of yourself.”

“And?”

“Look, why did you want me to hug you so much?”

“‘Cause.”

“‘Cause?” I echoed. “Come on, Ash, answer me properly.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I can handle it.”

Ash laughed. “Mia, you can hardly understand a simple maths problem, what makes you think you can handle what I’m going to say next?”

“Hey!” I said indignantly, smacking him on the arm. “It’s a hard question!”

Ash laughed again. “If you say so.”

“I do.”

“OK.”

“OK.” I sighed. “So…you were going to tell me something?”

“I’ve got a better idea.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll show you. It’ll be much easier. For you, and me.”

“Now?” I asked excitedly.

“No, after school.”

“Oh.” My face fell.

“How about we meet up?”

“Uh…”

He didn’t give me a chance to reply. “Six p.m. at the cinema? Good, see you there.”

The bell rang and he was gone. I was left there, staring at my work in front of me, surprised and shocked. I glanced at the problem and saw Ash’s neat writing on the page. I read it and saw he had worked out the problem for me. I understood it perfectly. (It had always been that way for me. If it was written down in steps, I could understand it easy peasy.) Wow, he had saved me a lot of homework.

I was nervous; I’ll admit it. I walked quickly; desperate to know the reason Ash had hugged me. I arrived and saw that he wasn’t there. Pushing away negative thoughts, I realised he was probably late. I moved around, wrapping my arms around myself, a million thoughts running through my mind. Five minutes passed. I sighed, and glanced around me. No sign of him.

How had I known he would stand me up?

I rubbed my cold hands together and took one last look around me. He wasn’t there. Angry more than upset, I started to walk away quickly, hoping to get back to my house as soon as possible.

“Mia!” A voice called out, and I stopped. I didn’t turn around, afraid of who might be standing there. Yes, that was Ash’s voice, but how did I know his friends wouldn’t be there too?

I slowly turned around, and to my relief only Ash stood there. Hurt and confusion showed on his face.

“Where were you going?” He asked.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” I said apologetically.

“I was five minutes late so you thought I stood you up? Not very trusting, are you? You should know there’s loads of traffic around here.”

“Are you going to stand here all night and insult me?” I snapped. It was cold, and all I wanted to do was find out the reason why Ash had wanted to hug me and then go back to my warm, cosy home.

“You had to pick here, didn’t you?” I muttered. “It couldn’t have been somewhere…warmer?” Ash grinned and walked over to me.

“Now who’s insulting who? Come on.” He started to walk in the opposite direction after motioning for me to follow him.

“OK…but where are we going?” I asked, as I jogged to keep up with him. Ash was taller than me, and therefore he could cover quite a bit of ground in a few strides whereas I couldn’t, and so I had to hurry to keep up. Ash muttered something over his shoulder that I didn’t quite catch.

“Huh?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” was his mysterious reply.

Ten minutes later we were standing outside the Gardens.

“Ash, you like flowers?” I asked, amused. He shot me a look.

“I thought it was a sort of…” He trailed off and muttered the last bit.

“What?”

“Well…” Ash rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed.

“Why don’t you show me?” I suggested.

“Yeah,” he said, and then started to walk off. I hesitated, and then followed, puzzled.

When we stopped I saw a little swing bench, and surrounding it was arrangements of flowers, and little lanterns. An elegant smell filled the air, and I breathed it with a smile.

“Ash…wow. This is really…romantic,” I suddenly realised why he had been so embarrassed, and I laughed. “This is really sweet.”

Ash just shrugged. He gestured to the bench and I sat down. Ash started pacing.

“Ash…you can sit if you want.”

“No…look, I don’t know the best way to explain this but…”

“But?” I prompted gently.

“I…did you find that weird?”

“What weird? And why are you changing the subject?”

“Just answer the question. Did you find what happened on Monday strange?”

“What, you being nice to me? A little, yeah,” I joked. Ash gave me a look. I grinned in return.

“This isn’t funny,” Ash said.

“Sorry. But…you mean about the hugging thing? Well…I mean…I’ve never really hugged a guy before…I mean, I kinda liked it…I just didn’t understand why…”

“Do you want to know why?”

“Yeah!” Finally!

“OK. Uh…”

I slowly stood up, and walked over to him. I don’t know why I did that; I just had an urge to. Ash turned his head to look at me. And then he pulled me close to him, in a warm hug. I was slightly shocked at first, but then I relaxed and returned the hug.

“I like you, Mia. I like you a lot,” Ash whispered into my hair. My eyes widened. Had I heard right? I was too stunned to move as he pulled away slightly and I didn’t realise he was leaning his head down, towards mine…

But I did notice when his lips touched mine. I felt Ash’s arms wrap around me, as if he didn’t want to let me leave, and as I kissed him back I discovered my arms were in his hair, and one was resting on his shoulder.

When we pulled away Ash grinned.

“Phew. I thought you’d slap me or something.”

“Nah. But if you want me to…”

“No, it’s all right,” Ash said quickly. We shared a laugh.

“So…that was all real?”

“Huh?”

“I’m not dreaming?”

My reply was another soft kiss from Ash. I stared up at him, into his eyes.

“Does that answer your question?” He whispered.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice barely audible. And then I snapped out of my trance. I pushed myself backwards, out of Ash’s embrace. Common sense had hit my like a ton of bricks.

“What on earth…? What are you doing?” I shouted.

“What…Mia…”

“Are you trying to humiliate me or something? Kissing me like that? Ash, I didn’t know you were as low as this…” How could he? I knew this was a joke. Something felt so wrong about all of this. Ash didn’t act like that. He watched as his friends made fun of my friends. He threw insults at me. He ignored me.

He did not want to sit next to me, he did not help me with my Maths work, he did not take me to a romantic place…and something Ash certainly didn’t do was kiss me. This was not Ash’s normal behaviour at all.

As I stormed away I couldn’t help but wonder why. I mean, why would he do all this? Maybe it wasn’t to humiliate me…

No! There had to be a catch, somewhere. There had to be-

I didn’t get to finish my train of thought as I was suddenly pulled backwards and lips connected with mine for the third time that night. My first instinct was to pull away…but then the romantic side of me took over.

…And I kissed him back, all the doubts leaving my head.

I know how that sounds. One minute I’m kissing him, the next I’m shouting at him, and the next minute I’m kissing him again. But I decided that if he was going to kiss me the way he did, he had to be telling the truth. (Plus he was a good kisser.)

Two days later Ash and I sat on my couch, arms around each other, my head just resting on Ash’s shoulder. We were now dating. I thought back to two evenings ago and smiled…

“What was that all about?” Ash asked. He still looked confused.

“Uh…do you promise that this isn’t a joke?”

“I promise.”

“And do you promise that-“

“Mia, you sound like we’re getting married.”

I laughed. “’Right. Sorry. But…I just don’t get it. Why did you hug me?”

“Because…I wanted to know what your hugs felt like.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?”

“Uh…let me think…because you’d call me weird and never speak to me again after that?”

“Good point.” We both laughed. “Listen, I’m sorry about before. I just…I thought it was all a joke.”

“I wouldn’t ever do that to you,” Ash said softly, smiling at me. I smiled back and leant up to kiss him.

“So…we’re officially dating now?” Ash asked.

“I…I guess.”

“You just guess?”

“Fine, fine, we are.”

“That’s better.”

I smiled. “Uh…Ash, listen. Your friends…”

“They really like you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“And…what about your other friend? The one that I…you know.” Hate, was what I didn’t add.

“I’ll stop talking to him, if you want.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No. He hurt your friend, and I know he’s said stuff to you in the past, so from now on I won’t have anything to do with.”

“Aww, Ash.”

He winked at me, and then kissed me again.

“Hey, Mia, were you flirting with Ash just before I left?” Was the first thing Adeola said to me when she got back from France. I just laughed.

“Yes. And now we’re dating.”

Her mouth fell open. “What?”

“Yep, that’s right. And I have you to thank, really.” I gave her a smile and then went in search of my boyfriend.

He spotted me, walked over, kissed me quickly…

And then he hugged me.