"Alex?"

Okay. I've done this before. Step 1: Find a vacant room. Step 2: Enter room and close the door behind you. Step 3: If a teenaged couple knock on the door, seeking a place to make out, yell back that this room is occupied at the moment. Step 4: Look around room for a place to sit on. Preferably a bed. Step 5: Realize that you've done this WAY too many times.

Once I waited to see if Step 3 was even an option in this situation (which it wasn't) and found a place to sit (which in this case was a futon), I fixed my eyes on the door, waiting to see how long it would take them to find me.

One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. "Alex, we know you're around here somewhere..." Three Mississippi. Four Mississippi. I heard a rattling noise in the corner of the room. I turned my head to find that the doorknob of the door was turning.

"Gotcha!" I heard as the door suddenly opened and two girls popped in. Their eyes scanned the room until they found my hiding spot. Disapproving glares quickly took over their faces. One girl, with platinum blonde hair and a lean, athletic body that girls would kill for, walked quickly across the room and stopped when she was in front of me. I looked up at her towering figure, feeling her piercing, beautiful blue eyes boring into me.

"Alex, I thought you promised us you weren't going to hide anymore." She crossed her arms and traded her glare for a pleading look that would make any guy downstairs do anything she wanted. I sighed. "Jessica, I don't know why you keep dragging me to these things. You know I'm not this kind of person." I have her a small smile.

That's when the small girl, with fiery red hair and small features, who was standing by the door and listening, loudly stomped across the floor to stand beside Jessica and took me by the shoulders. "Alex," she said, looking me squarely in the face. "You've been our best friend since the second grade. We care about you and your social status. Who cares if you don't have a boyfriend? And what better place to fix that situation than a high school party like this?" She let go of me and straitened up as Jessica nodded her head in agreement.

My smile disappeared. "Look, Jessica, Sophie. I appreciate your concern in the boyfriend department, but that's not why I come up here at every party you guys drag me to. I don't think I... belong, I guess, in this kind of crowed like you do." They both exchanged a look that I wasn't able to read. Jessica opened her mouth first.

"Alex, have you even tried talking to any of these people?" I looked down at my friends and answered with a guilty "No. But only because I don't think I have anything in common with them. All they seem to talk about is the latest football game or this new color nail polish they just bought." Sophie sat down next to me and gave me a hug, Jessica following her in suit.

"Can you just do us a favor and open up a little bit? I'm sure you could be anyone's friend if you really tried. And every guy deserves you," Sophie said with a smile. I tried to return the smile the best I could while I remembered my curfew. I checked the clock on the wall.

"Could one of you drive me home?" Jessica nodded. "I'll tag along too," Sophie piped up. "I've got a test I gotta study for." We all made our way downstairs and towards the door. I stopped in my tracks, remembering something. "I forgot my jacket. Why don't I meet you guys in the car?" I turned on my heels and started in the direction of my forgotten item. I found it sitting by the stairs and reached down to pick it up when I felt a force bump into my side, knocking me to the ground.

"Oh gosh! I'm sorry!" I heard a deep husky voice say above me. Then a hand touched my shoulder. I looked up only to see Jayden Moore. Quarter back, homecoming king, all-around good guy. Popular. And, to add to all that, hot. He held out his hand to help me up. I accepted and quickly jumped to my feet. He looked at me with guilty eyes. "Sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "For some reason, I just totally lost my footing." He smiled. "Embarrassing, I know."

I smiled back. And I couldn't help noticing his deep brown eyes. Or the dark curly hair to match. Also the cute way he slightly blushed...then I noticed a bewildered look on his handsome face. "Have we met before?" he asked, looking at me intently. "No, never. I mean, I've seen you in the halls and stuff. But that's it." He nodded slowly and stuck out his hand. "Well, I'm Jayden Moore." I shook it, replying "Alex Young."

He still stared at me. Then he shook his head. "Sorry. I just feel like I've met you before. But I've never seen you before in my life." He bent down and picked up my jacket, then handed it to me. "Why is that?" he asked.I sighed. "Wallflowers seem to be pretty good at being unseen," I replied with another smile, taking my jacket from him. In the process, our fingers brushed, making it my turn to blush. I looked up at him. "I've got to go." I turned around and headed for the door. Behind me I heard a faint "Good-bye".

When I reached the car, Jessica and Sophie both gave me exasperated looks. "What took you so long?" they asked in unison. I buckled my seat-belt and faced forward, looking at nothing really. "I ran into...someone," I replied slowly.