They grew up together, but never really got along, even if they did secretly like each other. But things change. People change, and they both discover secrets about each other, which brings them closer and unexpected feelings surface. Ah, the ups and downs of high school.

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She gasped, "You took my crayon without asking!"

His blue eyes narrowed, "Who cares? Shut up."

She watched him color silently, a snapping noise heard seconds later. "You broke it! My mom just got these crayons for me yesterday!"

He stared at her as she snatched the broken crayon away. She glared with much loathing in her eyes, hating the fact that their teacher assigned them at the same round table, even worse, sitting them next to each other. Jude sat there, noticing how when his mother became upset, she was quite scary, but with Katelyn, she was still very cute.

And he loved that reaction. He grinned, and as soon as she saw that evil grin, her hand shot out for the rest of her crayons that were lying helplessly on her construction paper. His hand reached them first, and without hesitation, he started breaking as many crayons as he could with his small hands.

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01.

Katelyn smiled as she finished her younger sisters hair, turning her around in the stool and letting her look at herself in the mirror. Her five-year-old sister smiled, clapping her hands together as she got to see her french braided hair. Katelyn helped her down from the stool, turning off the bathroom light and following her into the living room where her backpack was lying down on the floor. She picked it up, tossing it on the couch before getting another backpack from the floor, handing it to her younger sister.

"There, Mary. I put everything in there for you. Your crayons, pencils, and your notebook."

Mary smiled at her, looking at the time. "Can you take me to school today?"

Katelyn stopped briefly at putting her black hair up in a pony, but continued when she plastered a smile on to her face. She ignored her sleek bangs that fell into her eyes as she looked at Mary. "I can't. I'm sorry-don't give me that look. School for me starts in fifteen minutes and you don't need to go to school for another forty minutes. I can't be late for my first day. I'm sorry. Remember what we talked about last night? Dad is going to take you to school today."

"But I don't want dad to take me," she admitted softly.

"I know." She bent down to Mary; her smile softening as she reached out to her to run a finger across the necklace their mother gave her. "But I'll make it up to you. On the way home after school, I can pick you up some candy or something like that."

"Really? I want anything chocolate!"

She laughed, "I'll keep that in mind."

A car honked from outside of their small house and Katelyn stood after kissing her on the cheek. She picked up her backpack and purse, smiling as she walked to the door. "I'll be back home around three, so just wait for me, okay?"

Mary nodded, watching her walk out after waving. The door closed and Mary hurried to the window, watching her sister climb into a red jeep full of girls she recognized. Katelyn glanced out of the car window, waving one last time before the car pulled off, heading to the high school they attended.

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Jude smirked easily as he tossed his backpack onto a picnic table, shaking hands with his friends that were occupying the picnic table outside of the school. He climbed onto the top, taking a seat and leaning back, his hands planted firmly on the tabletop to hold himself up. His blue eyes scanned the schoolyard, stopping at every short skirt that his eyes came in contact with.

"There's a lot of freshman this year—but I can't really complain…have you seen the freshman this year? They get more better looking and willing each year…"

Jude glanced at his friend, Andy Rush, before scanning the schoolyard once again, seeing that most of the freshman were wandering around looking lost and confused, some with scared looks on their faces as they stared at the large high school. His eyes landed on a group of the so-called 'gothics' that were dressed entirely in black, chains hanging from their shirts and pants, too much black eye liner, and a few girls even going as far as wearing black lipstick. He made a face, and Andy nudged him with a grin, catching the face he made. "Someone needs to tell them that Halloween is a bit far off."

Jude grinned, being impolite enough to actually go up to them and say that, but that idea died down as soon as a red jeep came to a screeching stop a few feet away from them, and the doors opened, revealing mini-skirt clad females. He straightened, his elbows resting on his knees. Andy offered him a bag of chips and Jude waved him off, his attention focused on the red jeep.

All but the driver got out of the car, the driver pulling into a parking spot as her friends' waited. Jude stared at only one of the girls once he spotted her, recognizing his childhood nemesis even if she did look a bit different.

She had filled out, no longer the scrawny girl he once enjoyed to tease without mercy. He noted that she looked even more beautiful than he remembered, and she certainly grew during the summer, but he would keep that to himself. He wasn't one to express his feelings. He watched her as she laughed out loud as a friend nudged her, mumbling words in her ear as she pointed to a student by one of the trees.

Jude had missed talking–or teasing–Katelyn, especially ever since their families drifted apart since the death of Katelyn's mother four years ago. He remembered her sobbing at the funeral, dressed in black with her make up running down her face, and he resisted the urge to hug her right there and then. He was sure she needed someone to comfort her, and he wanted that someone to be him years ago, but he chickened out and barely spoke a word to her on that day. As his parents talked with her father, he simply let out that he was sorry for her loss. He got no reply as she stared at him as she stood next to her father, her face void of any emotion.

He blinked in surprise when her brown eyes met his, and she easily sent him a small glare without hesitation. His face fell, and he resisted the urge to flick her off. It was their last year of high school, and he at least wanted to be civil with her before they graduated and parted ways. He may have grown up making her life a living hell, but there was a part of him that actually enjoyed her company and the look on her face whenever he ticked her off.

Did he like her? Hell no. She was his amusement, and that was it.

Katelyn made a noise in the back of her throat when she noticed Jude, a frown coming onto her face when she continued to stare at him, her eyes roaming over his body. She hated it that he was so good looking, showing off his toned body with a blue form fitting t-shirt. He had ripped jeans on, and a black beanie hiding his sandy blonde hair that always made his blue eyes stand out. As her group of friends neared the picnic table he was occupying, she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. As some boy ran up to the group, hugging one of the girls, they all stood, chattering quietly.

"Checking me out?"

Her eyes shot up back to his, "Don't flatter yourself.".

"We haven't talked in…how many years, and you can't even muster a 'hello' or 'how are you doing?'"

"Is he bugging you?"

Jude turned his attention to the tall girl that walked up next to Katelyn, the driver of the car that they came to school in. He knew who she was—hell, the entire school knew who she was. She had the honor of earning the title of the most popular girl in the school, the bitchiest, and he wasn't going to lie, he agreed that she was a beautiful girl. She was Claudia Schaffer and with her wavy black hair, gorgeous blue eyes with specks of green, and her mile long legs; she could easily have any guy with a flirtatious look thrown at them.

But her rude personality made her an ugly person, and he didn't understand how she became Katelyn's best friend.

Katelyn smiled slightly at her, "He's been bugging me ever since I can remember."

Jude nodded at Claudia, "Claudia."

She gave him a dirty look without hesitation, "Pothead."

"Ouch, I have a name, you know?"

"I don't really care to learn it either."

"Still as vicious as ever, I see," Andy piped up, sending her a wink. Her face noticeably softened when the brunette baseball player finally joined the conversation. Andy was well known around the school himself, and everyone knew him as the school player and flirt, but people couldn't help but love his playful nature.

They had dated during their sophomore year, and it lasted a month before Claudia got fed up with Andy's wandering eyes. He was a great boyfriend, and he never cheated on a girl, but he couldn't keep his eyes on his girlfriends, and it always bothered every girl he dated. Jude figured that Andy wasn't too upset when Claudia dumped him since he without delay had a new girlfriend a week later and didn't have a problem remaining friends with Claudia.

She narrowed her eyes temporarily, "Andy, mind your own business." A smile came to her lips as she looked at Katelyn, "Let's head inside and see if you can get our locker open. It was a big bitch at orientation."

Katelyn nodded silently before walking away with Claudia, Andy waving with a smile on his face, "See ya later, ladies…" His smile fell when Claudia and Katelyn entered the school, and he glanced at Jude, "I bet Claudia's vagina has teeth."

Their friends erupted into laughter and Jude shook his head as he let out a short laugh, "I take it you two didn't fool around?"

"God, no. She was prude during our sophomore year. It was junior year that she turned into a little sex kitten—or so I hear."

Jude lifted a brow, a small smile on his face when he looked back at the school.

Jude noticed how Katelyn kept quiet, and she was never quiet as a child, always running off at the mouth about anything and everything. He also picked up on how she looked a little sad; something that was bothering him a bit, and he wanted to find out what was wrong with her.

He would work things out with Katelyn, and he wouldn't be ignored or treated like crap any longer.

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No, I won't neglect my current stories. I've decided to edit this story, thus all of the chapters being removed and being replaced by the new chapters. I really enjoyed writing this story since a few things about it were personal, so I wanted to go through and correct as many grammar mistakes that I could pick up on (but I'm not perfect with picking up a few things…so let me know if you find any or better yet, if there's a beta out there, contact me!), and I also wanted to change a few things around with this story. I want to thank those that have been reviewing after this story was completed. My story Getting A Fairytale is a sequel to this, so I warn, do not read that before you read this if you don't want spoilers. That story may be edited as well…much later on. Expect an update on this story at least once or twice a week. If that doesn't happen, you can beat me with a stick. As always, reviews are appreciated.

10/07/07