I had never gone for the dyed hair, pierced-lip, guitar-playing kind of guys. Actually, I'd never gone for any guy at all; I was terrified of them. That was probably why my love story came as a surprise to even me.

It all started on a start, chilly October night. I was being dragged against my will to some ratty little teen club. You know the kind: they usually never have live music, they have soda instead of beer, and they have sleazy bathrooms. It was my best friend's seventeenth birthday, so I couldn't whine about it too much, but that doesn't mean I was going without a fight.

"Mags, do we have to?" We were in the parking lot of the nameless little club, sitting in Maggie's little red car. Her normally straight blonde hair hung in ringlets that framed her face, and her sparkly top brought out her blue eyes. Needless to say, she was going to turn heads tonight. I, however, looked like I normally do; a mess. My brown hair was in a pony-tail, with my bangs hanging in my face, and I was donning a simple "We The Kings" hoodie and a pair of skinny jeans. My vans stuck out from beneath my jeans, just colorful enough to catch a little bit of attention. Maggie rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Laurel. Can you please just cooperate for one night?" I wasn't up for the guilt trip, so I slipped out of the car, sighing inwardly. Once inside, it took Maggie and I approximately six seconds to lose each other in the crowd. I actually didn't mind too much; I'd much rather cower in a corner, nursing a Mountain Dew for the rest of the night than bumping and grinding in the middle of the dance floor. For the first twenty minutes, I did just that, but my peace was shattered by the last person I would expect.

His hair was the first thing that caught my attention, because most guys don't have a streak of acid green hair hiding one of their eyes. Not suprisingly, the next thing I noticed about him were his eyes, or at least the one that I could see. They were a deep gray, and they were obviously the kind of eyes that could either cut you into pieces or make you melt with one glance. In this instance, they were doing neither; instead they were simply staring inquisitively at me, never leaving my face. His pierced lip was fixed at a cross between a smirk and a welcoming smile. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Can I help you?" I asked, trying to keep the acid out of my voice. Couldn't he see that I just wanted to be left alone?

"I just thought you looked bored." I tried to roll my eyes subtly, but I'd never been good at the whole subtle thing, so he saw it.

He took the seat across the table from me, still staring.

"So?" he asked. I frowned.

"So what?" I tossed back, surprised at myself. I usually didn't talk like that to people, let alone boys that I'd never even met before. Who was this guy?

"Are you bored?" I shrugged, looking away. Now that was the normal me; being quiet and submissive, using gestures instead of words. Mr. Green Hair obviously didn't like that, because he leaned forward and shook his head. "Don't go all quiet on me now, sassy-pants."

I sat up straight, glaring at him. Sassy pants?

"Don't call me that, Green Hair." And the rest of the night went on like that; bartering back and forth, playing quarters with soda, and laughing at each other's stupid jokes. We never called each other by our names that night, because we didn't know them; instead, we used Green Hair and Sassy Pants for the remainder of the night. It was odd, and we both knew it, but neither of us minded, because it gave us something to do.

Disappointment settled at the bottom of my stomach when Maggie finally came bounding over towards us, a bright grin on her face. Maggie coming meant one of two things: he would immediately forget I even existed, and sit here and flirt with Maggie, or she would be ready to leave, and I would probably never see him again. Surprisingly, he merely glanced at her before turning back to me and grinning.

"Guess it's time for you to go, Sassy Pants." I gave him a half-hearted smile before rising out of my seat and meeting Maggie half-way. She raised her eyebrows at me.

"He's not anybody." I said, before she could ask. She frowned.

"If you say so, Laurel. But he wasn't grinning at you like a not anybody." I rolled my eyes, following her out the door and on the march to the car. I was just opening the passenger side door when someone grabbed my arm. I whirled around to find Green Hair smirking at me, his gray eyes glinting.

"You didn't think I was going to let you leave without getting your number, did you?" I scribbled my number on his arm, fulling expecting to never hear from him again. I was wrong.

The next morning I was awoken by my cell phone ringing from my bedside table. Shaking my hair out of my face, I reached for my phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?" I stifled a yawn.

"Aww, did I wake you up, Sassy?" The familiar, lilting voice coaxed a grin from me, and I leaned back into the bed.

"Yep, but it's okay." I didn't tell him then, but I normally hated getting up in the mornings. It was the only time during the day that I wasn't a pushover. "I needed to get up anyways."

"So..." his voice trailed off, and I prayed this wouldn't be an awkward pause. Thankfully, it wasn't. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"What?" He laughed.

"I said, what do you want for breakfast? Waffle House? We could even do McDonald's, if you want." I grinned, finally seeing what he was getting at.

"I want I-Hop. What time are you picking me up?" Thirty minutes later, we were seated in a booth at the International House of Pancakes, contemplating the menus. Suddenly, he looked up at me.

"What's your name?" We both stared at each other for a moment before laughing uproariously. I held out my hand for him to shake.

"I'm Laurel." Green Hair reached for my outstretched hand and shook it, holding it for a little longer than necessary.

"Nice to meet you, Laurel. I'm Ryan." Over strawberry-banana french toast, I learned that he hated peanut butter, loved the smell of homemade icing, and had a younger sister. He was 18 years old, only a year older than me, and he played guitar and sang in a band that was yet to be named. He had gotten his lip pierced on a dare 3 years ago, and decided that he liked it. He loved his step-mother, but hated her dog.

We didn't say much on the drive back to my house, but it was a comfortable silence. When he pulled into my drive-way, he turned to grin at me.

"You wanna come see us play tonight?" I nodded, climbing out of the car and watching him drive away.

Over the next few months, Ryan became my second best friend. At first, my parents were a little freaked out- what parents wouldn't be if their daughter brought home a guy with green hair? After they got to know him, however, they loved him. He started living at my house, practically; he would come over to watch movies, eat dinner, (or eat anything), or just to hang out.

The night I realized I was falling in love with him was one of those 'hang out' nights. We were in the game room, playing pool, and it was my turn. I leaned over the pool table, causing my hair to fall in my face, but I ignored it. I was winning, I couldn't take the time to worry about my hair! But apparently Ryan did care, as he reached over and tucked it behind my ear. I looked up at him, and he shrugged.

"I couldn't see your eyes." His voice sent shivers down my spine, and, needless to say, I missed my next shot. Long after he left, I lay awake in bed, thourougly freaking out. Love is a serious thing, I kept telling myself. Are you sure you're in love with him? Of course, the questions had the backwards effect from what I wanted; I just managed to convince myself that I was, indeed, in love with him.

I didn't have to keep my secret for too long, though. Two weeks later, I was back at that ratty little club, only this time I was at the closest table I could possibly get to the stage. Maggie was with me, and together we screamed for Ryan and the boys as they finished up their last song of the night. It had become a tradition for me to be at all of his concerts, no matter where they were. I stood from my seat, about to run and congratulate them, when Ryan's voice once again filled the room; only this time he was talking.

"As most of you know, our band has no name. Over the past couple of weeks, however, we've been talking about it, and we decided to go with Nameless. Not just because we were nameless until last night, but because I didn't know the name of my favorite girl in the world until our second 'date'." He grinned at me from on stage, and I beamed back. Maggie laughed, ruining the moment, and I looked at her, deciding to wait there for Ryan.

"What is so funny?" Her eyes twinkled at me.

"He is so whipped." I opened my mouth to reply with something smart (Ryan was a bad influence on me) but I was cut off by someone wrapping their arms around my waist from behind.

"And I like it." I turned in his arms, smiling up at him. He gave Maggie a "Leave now or I'll kick your ass" look, and she immediately scurried away, looking for someone to flirt with. He watched her go before turning back to me. "Laurel, I have to tell you something."

"Hmm?" I asked, watching him.

"Laurie.. I love you." I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his scent, before looking back up at him.

"I love you back, Green Hair." He laughed, and for a long while, we just stared at each other.

"Oh, just kiss her, Ry!" Mitchell, the drummer of Nameless, seemed to think he was funny. I didn't.

"Mitch, if you don't shut the he-" I was cut off by Ryan's lips covering mine, and I immediately found my hands wrapped around his green hair.