AN: Hello my lovelies. I'm back again. I wanted to give you something about this story. I started this story 4 years ago, and my writing has grown tremendously since then. I have done some editing. Another thing is, it's not finished. I don't like to post until I've finished a story but I felt the need to get his out there. Please, please, please give some feedback. It will help me with the ending (which I have an idea for but am really not sure how it will turn out.) Last but not least is a note about updates. I'll try to update as often as I can, but I can't promise anything. My job takes up a good 16-17 hours of my day and I have to devote that time to it. But don't worry, I won't give this story up. I've spent WAY too much time on it to do that to these characters. So, enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: First Meeting

She stood outside the classroom door listening to the pre-school chaos and attempted to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She knew the students would be shocked and angered at her arrival. She prayed school would go smoothly. She wanted to graduate as soon as possible and leave her hell on earth.

She didn't want to go to Omni High. But she couldn't argue with her step-father. Omni High School was one of the top boy's private high schools in the country. Her step-father had been transferred in as the new headmaster. He charmed the board into allowing her to join the senior class.

Her attention was drawn back to the classroom as it became quiet. The teacher's voice was loud, reprimanding his students for being so loud.

"Good morning class. We have a new student today. Please greet her as you would anyone else. Come in Ms. Jones."

She took a deep breath and walked in the room tucking a long, loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She stood in front of the teacher's desk and looked into the room watching faces turn from interest to shock.

"Please introduce yourself."

She swallowed hard and opened her mouth. "Hi. I'm Sam," she said attempting a smile.

No one said a word. They heard the headmaster had a child and they were going to join the class, but they didn't expect a girl.

Sam's eyes briefly focused on one guy in the very back row. His eyes were dark and mysterious. His black hair fell in his face. He seemed to be staring straight into her soul, or trying to suck it out.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the teacher. "Welcome, Sam. Sit in that empty desk in front of Mr. Mullins so we can get started," he said pointing in the direction of the mysterious boy who was still staring at her.

Sam made her way up the platform to the empty desk and put her bag on top of it, sitting down in the chair behind it, very aware of the stares.

"Ok. Let's get started. Here are the announcements…"

Sam pulled out her notebook and pen and froze. She felt a presence over her left shoulder and then felt a warm, moist air fly into her ear. Without moving her head, she glanced to her left and a face was there, hovering within centimeters of her ear.

He breathed heavily, making her entire body shiver. She knew he was trying to make her nervous and she sighed heavily hoping it indicated to him she wasn't the least bit scared, although she was terrified and shaking on the inside.

The morning went by and the boys slowly got over the shock of having a girl in their class. Sam only noticed staring between classes and when she moved to go to the trash. The boy behind her, however, kept tugging at her hair. At first she turned around and glared at him, but only briefly, not wanting to get in trouble on her first day. Three other boys around her were joining in the fun by passing things over her desk and her head or constantly whispering to her. Sam wanted to smack them all, but she couldn't get in trouble. Being sent to her step-father's office would turn into a huge disaster.

Lunch soon came and many students pulled their lunchboxes out of their bags and placed them on their desks. The sound of scraping desks echoed around the room as the students gathered their desks in cliques to talk. Sam guessed their conversations were about her from the glances sent in her direction.

Sam tried to ignore them. She knew this "obsession" wouldn't last long and once they realized she was just another student trying to survive the high school experience, they would leave her alone, which is what she wanted.

Sam reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a small, two tiered box and sat it on her desk. As she turned to open the boxes, the guy behind her bumped her arm hard, knocking the food out of her hands. For a moment, her lunch paused in mid-air for several seconds, crashing into the ground, silencing every person in the room.

Sam sat up straight hoping no one noticed her lunch's Matrix-like fall.

But she was wrong. She looked to her left and the boy stood above her with wide eyes, but he didn't say a word. He stared at her in complete astonishment and underlying understanding. She could feel a kinship tug in her heart with him, but pushed it away. He walked back to his desk for a moment, pulled out some food and sat it on her desk. He took the other half his lunch out of the room, three other boys following him.

Everyone was greatly surprised by the whole scene. One of the toughest boys in the class showed a soft side. The room buzzed with this new unexpected development. It was like a soap opera right before their eyes, and if someone missed it, too bad so sad.

She was glad no one was pestering her with questions. She didn't feel like answering something stupid or even listening to someone badgering her about how she got into Omni High School. They weren't the only ones who gone from uneasiness to shock. She moved from a place she learned to call home to unfamiliar territory. Not only that, she was forced to attend the all-boys academy with no friends. The one person who decided they were going to make her life miserable gave her half his lunch without a word.

She wasn't sure if she should eat it or suffer the rest of the day on an empty stomach. She hadn't eaten breakfast because of her nervousness. It looked really good. It was a little bit of rice with some beef strips in a sort of barbeque sauce. But after a quick decision, she put his lunch back on his desk, ignoring her stomach growling in protest. She went to the floor and scooped up the pieces of her own ravaged lunch. She took the remnants to the trash can and returned to her seat. Lunch wouldn't be over for at least ten more minutes, so she took out her book and began to read.

The group of boys came back in the room a couple minutes before the bell rang. She could see the boy standing next to her, but she attempted to focus on her book. He blew hard in frustration looking between her and his desk. He picked up what she left on his desk, took it to the trash and threw it away. He returned to his desk and sat down crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the back of her head.

She could feel waves of hatred peel off the boy. She wanted to turn around and fuss him out. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone and just don't bother her anymore. But before she could say something to him, the teacher entered the room and continued class.

Sam did her best on focusing on the lessons. It was harder when math was being presented and completely over her head. Every time the teacher opened his mouth, her mind wandered to the boy behind her. He wasn't bothering her, but she had the odd sensation of being watched. She could also sense a tingle at the back of her mind. She felt it again and immediately pushed it away; trying to keep that mental wall she built to protect herself.

But, when her mind wandered to the dark, brooding boy sitting so close behind her, her heart beat faster and she couldn't concentrate. His knees would brush up against her back and she'd arch a little in discomfort and odd pleasure. That slight jolt focused her thoughts totally on him like he was the only one in the room. It was a bad boy vibe he was emitting, but there was an awesomely good boy struggling to get out.

The school day continued at a snail's pace until the teacher assigned a paired activity. Sam was forced to pair up with a guy named Sean, who was very short, with greasy blonde hair and black rimmed glasses. He did most of the work even though Sam tried to help. Her focus would wander across the classroom and land right on the boy, his stare fiercer every time she glanced at him.

"I'll do it!" Sean finally muttered, pulling the beaker out of her hands.

She shrugged in apology. "Sorry, Sean. I'm just still a little nervous."

He scoffed but continued the experiment without saying another word.

By the time they were finished and sitting back in their desks, Sam resolved to completely ignore the boy behind her. She didn't want to get involved with him because she figured it would only get her in more trouble.

The rest of the day moved along in a blur of activities and learning. Sam barely had to process anything, let alone the dangerous end of the day. But she was quickly reminded of her place in the world when a voice cracked over the intercom. "Mr. Nash, please send Samantha Jones to the office."

"Okay. Samantha, you heard her. Go ahead and collect your stuff since the bell will ring before you get back."

Sam just nodded her head, dread filling her heart to the brim. Aside from the brief threats this morning, her first day had gone swimmingly. Her step-father was the last person she wanted to see. The day was hard enough and she was ready to go to work. She collected her books quickly, stuffed them in her bag and glanced behind her as she stood up. The boy was staring at her again. The look in his eyes, however, was far away, like his soul left his body temporarily. He looked like he was trying to read her mind.

Sam made her way to the office with very little detour. She opened the glass office door and walked to the secretary's desk. "I'm Sam Jones. You called me?"

"Nice to meet you Miss Jones. I'm Mrs. Stevens. Your father wanted to talk to you before you left today. He's not in his office, but he said for you to wait for him."

"Thanks," Sam said, her heart thumping to the bottom of her stomach. He wasn't waiting for her, whether that was a good sign or not she didn't know.

Sam pulled her books tightly to her chest as she walked into his office and looked around the room. There was very little personal decoration. No pictures of her or her mom, no awards or recognitions hanging on the wall, just a plain desk with a computer monitor, a couple chairs and pictures of past principals hanging on the wall.

She sighed. She wanted to get this over as soon as possible. She was glaring at several of the pictures when she heard her name from the lips of a man she despised. She whipped her head around and saw the grey-haired source of her heart's deepest hatred.

"Samantha," he grinned, his raspy voice dirtied her name. He started to close the door leaving it barely cracked open. His eyes roamed from her head to the hem of her skirt, where he grinned wider, revealing stark white teeth. He stalked toward her and pressed himself against her back lifting his arms to barely feel the skin on her shoulders.

She could feel his hot breath against her neck and it made her shiver in fear and disgust. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for him to realize where they were.

The few seconds he was behind her, seemed like hours. He moved quickly around her, moving to his chair behind the desk. "Where are you going after school?" he asked as if nothing happened.

She just looked at him. As she opened her mouth, the bell rang and she could hear students emptying into the hallways laughing and leaving school. "I'm going to work."

"At the bookstore?"

"Yes," she lied. If she told him where she was really working, he would keep her from going.

"When will you be home?"

"Eight or nine, I'm not sure yet."

"Be home by eight," he commanded. He looked up at her from his paper work. "Don't be a second late or you will find an unpleasant punishment waiting for you."

She shivered inside and nodded her head. "May I go, sir? I don't want to be late."

"Go!" he said a hint of anger seeping between his teeth.

She swung open the door and nearly ran down the hall to get out of the building.

School grounds were nearly clear, only sport's teams moved in the yard. They stopped and stared at her, the rumored girl in class 4-B, as she practically ran out the gate. When she stepped off school grounds, she stopped and caught her breath. She looked back at the building that would be her heaven and hell for the next year. Then, she would be free.

Sam straightened up and took a deep breath before starting the walk to her only haven from her step-father. It was the one place she could be herself and not feel like a complete freak. There she felt loved and could remember the good times she had with her father when he was still alive.

Since returning to the city, she managed to sneak a call to her father's best friend and her "uncle." She let him know where she was and she wanted to spend some time with him. He suggested that she work for him. He could use some help with many of the orders through is antique collecting business.

Jae's Antiques was about ten blocks from school. It was a nice walk especially on a beautiful day where the sun was shining brightly, a nice breeze was blowing and the air was clear. As she walked down the sidewalk, she suddenly felt very strange. Sam felt like she was being watched or followed. She slowed her pace a little before stopping and turned around quickly. The sidewalk behind her was clear, only a few students and shoppers in the distance from where she stood. As she turned back around to continue to her destination, she thought she saw something out the corner of her eye.

She started to walk again, but this time deliberately slow. She knew she saw someone, but she didn't want that someone to know she saw them, yet. She realized she wasn't alone in the world. Her uniqueness was shared with someone else and she had to find out who it was. She needed a friend who she could share her secret with. The fact someone was like her scared her but it was exciting at the same time.

On the other hand, she didn't like being followed. It was irritating.

She could see an alley about fifteen steps ahead. She didn't want to be followed by some unknown assailant. She wanted to be in control. The further she walked the more irritated and nervous she became.

Without warning, she jumped into the alley. When she saw the outline round the corner, she reached out. Her hand felt something in the air and she closed her fist around it, yanking it to the ground.

Instantly, the person became visible and Sam realized she was looking at one of her classmates.