A/N: What fun. This is a complete and total daydream gone awry--even more so than CoP. But this is so much fun to write, and it's uber-cute. Gotta give a shout out to Carlie--this one's for you! R&R

“Oh shit,” I mumbled when we walked into the pizza place. Ellie turned around and saw Cole and one of his friends sitting in a booth.

“Oh, it’s the love of your life!” I glared at her. “Don’t be a chicken,” she scolded. “Aren’t you always telling everyone off, speaking your mind, doing generally outspoken things?” What does outspoken mean again? “I’ll order the pizza. You go talk to him.”

“How?” I have gone to a private school since I was three. Therefore I know no boys and I do not know how to talk to them. This is an issue, especially because Cole is quite possibly the most gorgeous specimen of boy God ever made and he could have any girl he wanted. Add the fact that he’s a year older than I am and I have a slim to none chance of ever ending up with him. But why is it the race you’ll never win the one you want to run?

“I don’t know any more about boys than you do. Go!” Ellie said, shoving me towards the booth. I silently cursed her while I walked over to Cole.

“Hey,” I said, and both boys look up from their pizza. “I think I’ve seen you around before. Do you go to Powell Lewis?”

“Yeah. I’m Cole, and this is Lucas.” He smiled, and I felt my cheeks burn. Geez, they were probably bright red by now. “Do you and your friend want to sit with us?”

“Sure. I’m Lily, and this is Ellie.” Thank God this guy is so nice. I slid into the booth next to him and Ellie came over with two slices of pizza and two bottles of Vitamin Water. She sat down next to me and handed me a paper plate and a bottle. “So, do you guys play any sports?”

“Lacrosse and football. We just played our first football game of the season the other day,” Lucas answered. He was pretty cute too, with dark floppy hair and freckles dotting his nose. “What about you guys?”

“Track,” I answered. “That’s pretty much it.” I took a big bite of pizza and splattered tomato sauce all over my face, then grabbed a napkin. “Although for school we also played field hockey.”

“You two go to Jones-Price Academy?” Cole asked. We both nodded with our mouths full. “To be honest, most of the girls there are—”

“Sluts?” I offered. Both of them blinked, and Ellie shoved me. “What? You’re the one who told me to be outspoken, weren’t you?” Lucas laughed, and Ellie shoved me again.

“Yeah, a lot of them are sluts,” Cole said slowly, “but I was going to say that they’re rich bitches.”

“Also true. How many girls have you dated from Jones-Price?” Ellie’s eyes widened, obviously telling me that I shouldn’t have said that. Lucas looked down at his pizza, but Cole didn’t look fazed.

“A couple. You know any of them?” He listed five or six names, some of which I recognized even though they were all freshmen. Then again, so is Cole. I was crazy for having a crush on him while I’m just a lowly eighth grader, but you can’t blame me. Half of Franklin’s teenage girls are just as in love with him.

“Yeah, a few.” How could someone at a “preparatory school for boys,” who therefore only has time to hang out with girls two days a week, have had so many girlfriends? I’ve never even had a boyfriend. I must be way behind.

For a few minutes we were all silent, picking at our pizza slices. Then some sort of remixed rap/hip-hop horror show came over the speakers. You’d think that because it was a pizza place, they’d play Italian music or something, wouldn’t you? I groaned, and Ellie giggled at me. “How bad?”

“Nine,” I answered. Both boys looked at us like we were crazy. Which we are, but not for that particular reason.

“We have a system,” Ellie offered as an explanation. By the look on Cole and Lucas’ faces, it didn’t help. “She can’t stand good music.”

“I can’t stand the overpublicized trash playing on most radio stations right now. Want to hear why?” I have a very long list on this topic in my head. Ellie has already been subjected to it twice, which is two times too many in her opinion.

“No!” Ellie shrieked. She looked terrified at what was coming next.

“No, I want to hear this.” Cole looked amused. “What’s on this list?”

“Well, first of all,” I said, taking a sip out of the bottle, “do you ever hear anything about these artist’s albums? You only hear about their singles. One of the big things artists are trying to do is sell albums, not let everyone listen to their single for free on the radio. And there’s no guitar or drums or any real instruments in any of these songs. It has to have a real instrument to be a real song. Not to mention the terrible remixes all over the radio. If someone doesn’t like the song the first time, what makes you think a remix will make them like it better? Remixes are even more annoying.” Ellie’s eyes were glazed over, but Cole and Lucas were still listening.

“Do you have to continue?” Ellie moaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“You’ve got a point,” Cole said. I blushed and became very interested in my pizza crust. I never eat the crust. It bugs me. I mean, the crust is the same height as dough, it’s the same height when toppings are added, but then it goes in the oven and becomes some humongous thing twice the height of the pepperoni and cheese. Not to mention those big air bubble that look like ping-pong balls. “I don’t really like that stuff either. I’ve never met a guy who actually has Katy Perry or Lady Gaga on his iPod. It’s just music we put up with because girls listen to it.”

“My cousin has Katy Perry’s entire album on his iPod,” Ellie said. We all burst out laughing. “He also sings soprano in his school choir.” She took one last sip of her Vitamin Water and tossed it into the recycling bin. I passed her my empty bottle and she threw it in. The four of us sat in an awkward silence as Lucas finished his last slice of pizza, and as soon as the crust was in his mouth Cole stood up.

“Well, girls, it’s been nice meeting you, but we’ve got to go.” Cole put his hands in his pockets and pulled out his phone to check the time. “Come on, Lucas, the movie starts in ten minutes.”

Then he did something totally unexpected. He handed me his phone, a shiny silver Blackberry, with a blank contact opened up and my name typed in. I must have stared blankly at it for a full minute because Ellie nudged me, and when I looked up Cole was watching me the way someone would watch someone who’s just drank three cans of Red Bull and is holding a chainsaw—like they’re completely crazy and you’re really worried about trusting them with technology. I pressed in my number and handed the phone back to him, mortified. He passed it to Ellie, and she passed me Lucas’ phone. As soon as the boys had their phones back and walked out of the pizza place, I buried my face in the sleeves of my sweatshirt and moaned.

“Look on the bright side,” Ellie said in an attempt to comfort me. “He doesn’t think you’re a total freak or he wouldn’t have asked you for your number in the first place.” I lifted my head up to glare at her, and she stared back. “What? It’s true.”

“I looked like such an idiot!” I cried, putting my head back in my arms. “He’ll never talk to me again.” I lifted my head up and grimaced. “Honestly, do I look like a weirdo?”

“No, but there’s a hunk of cheese stuck in your braces,” Ellie said, giggling. I rubbed my tongue over the metal on my teeth and pushed it out. “But you don’t look a freak.”

“Then why do I always act like one?” I asked.

She giggled again and stood up. “Come on, let’s go home. I have a surprise for you.” She turned around to the man behind the counter. “Thanks, Jimmy! See you soon!” Jimmy waved to her and we walked out of the pizza place and down the block, turning and walking until we reached Ellie’s adorable Victorian-style home.

“Dad! Come here!” she yelled as we went into the foyer.

“No, you come here! I’m in the kitchen!” Mr. Hays called back. We trooped into the kitchen, where Mr. Hays was making pizza, no doubt testing a new recipe. He owned the pizza place that Ellie and I, among every other teenager in Franklin, frequented. “Do you think anyone will eat pizza with eggplant on it?” he asked. Ellie wrinkled her nose and I shook my head.

“Okay, so you know how my dad graduated from Powell Lewis like a zillion years ago?” Ellie asked, her voice rising.

“It was 1984,” Mr. Hays said as he put the pizza into a plastic container and stuck it in the fridge.

“Whatever. Anyways, the class reunions are coming up soon, and it’s not just for alumni. All the classes that are at Powell right now set up tents where they sell stuff to raise money for their class, so most of the guys are there…” She trailed off, and grinned.

“Cole!” I shrieked happily. She nodded, smiling crazily, and Mr. Hays interjected.

“We’d love if you came with us, Lily,” he said politely. “It’s on the fourteenth.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I jumped up and down, a rush similar to a sugar high coursing through my veins. Adrenaline? Excitement? Something like that, I think.

“Come on, let’s go up to my room.” Ellie started heading up the stairs, and I followed.

“Thank you, Mr. Hays!” I yelled over my shoulder before walking into Ellie’s room, where she was sitting cross-legged on her bed checking her text messages. I sat next to her and pulled my phone out of my pocket to do the same.

“I got a text from Cole!” I yelled excitedly.

“Me, too. He was just asking if my dad owned the pizza place ‘cause he noticed that we got our pizza for free.” Ellie closed her phone and threw it towards the stack of pillows in the corner. “I already said yes so don’t bother.”

“Can I borrow a shirt for Alumni Day?” I asked, rifling through her closet. She had some really cute tops that would probably fit me, although she was seven inches taller than I was so the shirts would probably be kind of long on me.

“Here.” She tossed me a light-blue button down and a tank top with paint splatters all over it—the shirts I’d been saving up to buy for a couple weeks. “I saw you staring at these when we were at the mall. Keep them, they’re too short for me anyways.”

I hugged her. “You’re the best.”

She grinned. “I know.”