*Any references to existing companies will have their names changed. Don't be alarmed :D.

Edit: Merged chapters 1 and 2 to provide a better intro xD.

Chapter 1

'Naturally, there'd be no one to talk to,' thought Amy as she quietly found an empty seat in the classroom. First day as a transfer student meant watching the cliques from the sidelines. Not that she was dying to talk to anyone, she assured herself. It was just a small observation to contrast all those similar settings in books and movies, where a new student shows up and suddenly all those quirky characters get interested in her, and become her best buddies. She snorted. Wouldn't it be nice if it was all so easy? In fact, if she had to categorize, and she did so often enough, regarding friendship she would put people into three groups.

Group A for Antisocial. They didn't care about other people's business, didn't put an effort to get close to anyone, usually sat by themselves in a corner minding their own interests. Anyone in that group could have different reasons as to why they chose to be in it, but in her opinion, most of them were strong individualists who were unhappy with the masses' conformism to society's norms.

Group B for Buddies. Not necessarily friendly or nice, but with great social skills. They'd be the first to get close to you and the first to drop you if your value went down. They usually had many acquaintances, whom they'd call friends so they could benefit from their wide network. Acceptance to this group required charm, skill and lots of energy.

Finally, group C – the Cautious. They would pick their friends with care and would be slow to warm up. Gaining their friendship was like being accepted as a VIP club member. You would need to work for it, but it was worth it. The bad news – approaching them only managed to annoy them. To get their interest you had to put something desirable on the table like wit or a great sense of humor, or mad billiard skills and so on.

Yes, people were like that. Who would want to be friends with someone who wasn't interesting, had nothing to offer, or had nothing in common? It wouldn't make sense. And that made getting friends entirely too complicated. If she had to pick, she would go for group A and then C. People from A always had interesting opinions and respected personal space. Also, they almost never asked personal questions or didn't know how to react if you shared anything of the sort. Hence, they didn't spread rumors around. That would go against their individualism anyway. Getting close to A or C, however, required effort and time, and she wasn't sure she had the patience to withstand that battle.

She didn't feel particularly lonely and she liked to seclude herself, but surviving in society without any contacts wasn't a challenge she wanted to take. In fact, she didn't even think it was possible. Even the antisocial group had online friends based on interests.

Just as she was busy considering the amounts of energy she had to spend in order to meet new people, Amy noticed a girl with a friendly smile plastered on her face approaching her desk with a determined gait. Yup, here comes Group B's "new student special". She didn't think herself hot enough to deserve the alternative Group B "welcoming committee special", or the Group B "queen marking territory special".

"Hey," B's representative said with a chipper voice.

Amy lifted the corners of her mouth and wrinkled the area around her eyes with a practised precision, producing the sincerest smile ever given by an insincere person. She called it the "refreshing" mask. It was a fusion of friendly, happy, problem-free and kind, and she was proud to be able to slip it on in a split second.

"Hi," she answered. The mask was good enough. No need to get wordy too.

"You're the new student, right?"

"Mm," was Amy's answer. Which she liked to think was an affirmative utterance in the Neanderthal language. Neanderthal was always good as an answer to rhetorical questions.

"I'm Gracie. I'm also taking Literature class."

"I see." Amy grinned for good measure. "Amy. Nice to meet you."

Amy was glad they skipped the hand-shaking ritual. She didn't enjoy skin contact with random peope all that much.

"Your family moved in the big red house, right? I heard your father is our mayor's new accountant."

Good old group B, always working on extending their connections. Amy nodded keeping the good-natured smile on her face.

"Seems the info gets spread fast around here."

"The old accountant left after a huge scandal," Gracie supplied. "We were all curious about his successor."

Amy didn't feel like clarifying that her father was in fact retired, and was only working as a part-time consultant. He was well-paid for his ability to deal with screw-ups.

"His work is kinda boring," she said instead. She scrunched her nose and shrugged to further illustrate the point. A few gestures here and there always made a good impression of an easy-going person.

Gracie giggled as expected. It didn't even have to be funny.

"I'll show you around after class, ok? And you can meet the others too!"

"Great! Thanks."

The girl hurried over to her seat in a good mood. Amy let the mask slip off slowly. 'The others, huh?' She felt a bit apprehensive. Meeting a large group of people seemed somewhat pointless to her. She never knew what to say to them, and could never remember their names, and would probably never speak to half of them afterwards. Besides, she didn't want to have to be acquaintances with certain types of people, that she knew were usually in this group.

'Oh, why the heck not! Let's just go and see what happens,' she finally decided. If she wanted to lead a comfortable school life she should be able to communicate with any sort of person. It's not like they would eat her if she said anything wrong. Feeling scared of a few people was pathetic. If anything, her pride was the largest entity constructing her persona.

Truthfully, Amy didn't need the tour of the school. She had already seen what she needed earlier, and didn't care to remember everything the first day. She was looking forward to getting lost in the maze-like building. That was the whole charm of it. She tuned out the directions and explanations and just smiled and nodded whenever necessary. Her guide seemed more than happy to chatter away. In the meantime, Amy was trying to remember the girl's name. She knew there was an 'r' somewhere in the middle, but couldn't recall more than that. Thankfully, she had a strategy for dealing with this problem. Rather than a strategy, it was already a habit. She never called people by their names. There were countless ways to manage that.

She looked over the girl who was excitedly discussing the cafeteria food. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, good figure. Doll. The nickname she would use for reference in her head was ready.

Apparently, they were meeting the others in the cafeteria. Amy noticed there were already people queuing for lunch. She didn't intend to eat there, but still got curious about the menu. If the food really was that good it was rather tempting.

"They're over there," the Doll nudged her and showed a table in the middle of the room. Naturally, it would be in the middle, so that everyone could hear what they were discussing. Amy only blinked. It would be too rude and obvious to roll her eyes here.

"Hey guys, this is Amy. Amy, this is Alex, Peter, Eric, Nathan, Ann, Rosie, Linda, Rosh and Jeff," Doll pointed at each person on the table. Amy's eyes followed the finger's path in a blur of colors. She let the names slide in a thin thread through her ears, and left her brain blissfully unoccupied. She nodded and beamed her "winning" smile.

"It's a pleasure."

"I'm gonna get some food. Do you want anything?" the Doll prepared to leave the table.

"Not today." Amy sat down and smiled at the blond girl. "Thanks."

A second later, she was regretting her decision, but it was too late to take it back. She sat awkwardly under the gazes of her companions. She slid in her default poker expression. 'No need to show everyone you're embarrassed. What a loser,' she berated herself. 'Just relax and speak like you usually do.' She thought about her friends in her old school. They kept in touch on fakebook but the connections were as good as lost. She didn't feel it as a great loss and found it quite natural. She was away, so she didn't exist in their world anymore. Still, she missed the relaxed way she used to talk to them.

Amy didn't pay much attention to the greetings and pleasantries thrown her way, and just answered in her default mode. A 'thanks' here, a nod there and it seemed they were happy to go back to their own conversations. Relief washed over her, although her brain was still insistently producing epinephrine. Nothing new there.

As her heart rate was slowing, she decided to finally take a good look at the people around the table. She hoped to find someone rather remarkable, so she could recognize the group next time. It would be incredibly callous if she just passed them by without a hint of recognition on her face. There was a strategy to deal with such a case, but it was difficult to get away with it several times in a roll.

She looked at the girls carefully one by one while they were chatting, pretending to listen in their conversation with an engaged expression. Dark hair, blond hair, blond hair, red hair. She paused in her observations. 'I need to do better than that, seriously.' Blue eyes, blue eyes, hazel eyes, blue eyes. She looked up at the ceiling. Who knew blue eyes were so common? She'd never thought her dark brown eyes would ever be a rarity. Blond hair hazel eyes wore glasses. Amy couldn't rely on them as a pointer though, as the girl could always put on contacts. Red hair had amazing lips, the type women paid money to get. That would do. Perhaps her nickname could be Lips. She'd deal with the rest of the girls another time, if opportunity came.

From the guys she recalled the name Jeff. It was the last one she heard, and it was the guy sitting next to Lips. A bit on the scrawny side compared to the rest of the guys on the table, and he looked like he had an interesting personality. His mouth worked non-stop. Amy tried to burn his image in her mind. It wasn't every day she could put a name to the face, it would be a shame to leave the name faceless. She took his features with a few glances at him, while he was talking. Dark hair and eyes, tanned skin, thick eyebrows and a delicate jaw line. Not the most handsome face, but quite comfortable to look at. He was probably also easy to talk to. She smiled at him when he caught her eyes.

"Amy, which classes do you take?" He asked to include her in everyone's discussion.

"Oh, this and that. My list is in the locker."

What a truly unnecessary question, though. If she saw anyone in class, then they obviously took it together. It wasn't as if they would sit together or anything. Still, she accompanied her answer with an effortless smile.

"How laid-back," he commented with a cheeky grin. She gave a short laugh through her nose and left it at that. There were several things she could retort with, but didn't see the point. It didn't seem like his attention was on the topic anyway.

Sports took over the table next and she could calmly observe the rest of the guys, as she half-listened. One did have particularly striking features. Her heart rate went up again when she stopped her eyes on him. She felt the urge to look away and put some good distance between them, but her pride and logic prevailed. She stubbornly forced her gaze on him again and nearly got a heart attack when their eyes met. He was watching her with curiousity, and darn it if she showed any weakness. Without looking away, and ignoring the racket her heart was producing, she beamed her "refreshing" smile at him. He looked startled for a moment but then turned to his neighbour to answer a question. 'Viva pride,' thought Amy with relief.

Even without looking at him again, she had already remembered his features. His face really wasn't an easily forgetable one. His phisique either. His nickname came without any difficuty. He was definitely a Player. She was willing to bet her entire pride on that. No way a guy like that was left alone by women, no matter whether he was already taken or not.

Her heart wasn't calming down and the adrenalin was keeping her on edge. She noticed her foot tapping nervously and willed it to stop. She didn't dare glance at his side again. Really, why couldn't she be like all the other women, and not react so negatively every time she laid eyes on a tall, fit and handsome male. She didn't use to be like that before. Maybe something in their alpha genes wasn't agreeing with her. She hated feeling like a rabbit suddenly thrown in a wolf cage. The panic could very well end up with a heart attack one day.

The Doll finally came back with her lunch and Amy stood up, excusing herself politely that she still had to talk to a few teachers before the end of the day. While she was striding towards the teachers' office, she analysed her two options for dealing with that guy. Either she should avoid him at all costs, or get so used to his presence, that his face wouldn't bother her anymore. It wasn't the guy's fault really, so option one seemed easier to implement. It was not as if he would intentionally come and bother her after meeting once and not even talking. Option one it was then.

Chapter 2

In all her 17 years, it was the first time Amy had a vaguely romantic dream about a guy. Although his face was obscured by shadows and her brain's protective mechanisms, she knew well who he was. They were on the beach, and while the others weren't looking, he stole a kiss on her cheek. In the dream, she had felt butterflies in her belly. In reality, she just felt exasperated. How could a 17 year old's sex dream be so embarrassingly innocent? Unbelievable!

She sat up in her bed and stared at the white ceiling. She wanted to go back to sleep and continue the dream. It felt so sweet, that she kind of wanted to experience it for real. Her romantic wishes, however, hit the huge wall of her rationality. No guy was this sweet. Certainly not a player like the one she dreamed of. Now that she was far away from him, she could recall his appearance without the risk of a failing heart. The first thing she had noticed about him, was the wavy brown hair falling in his eyes and curling around his ears. Amy absolutely adored it, and if she wasn't so scared of the guy, she would have loved to play with it and curl it around her fingers. It looked soft like cotton.

She absent-mindedly played with her own straight hair as she glanced at the clock. There was still time to prepare for school, and she was too lazy from her sleep to get up yet. She reached for the clock and turned off the alarm before she forgot about it.

'I shouldn't think so much about a guy I want nothing to do with,' she tried to convince herself, but a part of her stubbornly refused to be pressured about her own thoughts. As long as there were no mind-readers around, it would be fine, and no one could call her a hypocrite.

She thought about his face next. It was masculine yet so painfully beautiful, it felt unreal. Amy wondered exactly in what manner humans determined another's beauty. Science tried to explain this with proportions and symmetry, but it couldn't be only that. The healthy color of his smooth skin and the seductive light in his eyes had more to do with the over-all impression. 'The angle of his nose too,' she thought as she traced her own with her forefinger. Deciding that was enough, she finally got up and made her way to the bathroom opposite the room.

She brushed her teeth as she stared at her reflection taking it in. Every day she forgot what she looked like. No one could know for sure what they looked like to others. She wondered whether it was normal to not be able to picture her own face when she closed her eyes, and perhaps that would explain why everyone perceived a face differently. Maybe the reason she could not perceive her own was because of her impartiality. Satisfied with the conclusion, she cleaned her mouth and did her morning ritual of observing her expressions. A smile, a grin, a frown, a sad look, a shocked look, and she was ready for her shower.

Half an hour later, she was dressed and ready to go, but her mood was taking a turn for the worse. She could clearly hear the sobs coming from her father's bedroom when she stopped in front of it. No need to ask him whether he wanted coffee and breakfast now. She went on to descend the stairs. She couldn't help but feel that he was letting her hear him on purpose, to make her feel bad that she didn't shed any tears. Maybe to remind her that her mother was gone. Couldn't he just cry when he knew she was out of the house? Maybe it was meant to make her feel sorry for him. Amy curled her upper lip in disgust, but caught herself and smoothed her expression. She felt moisture gather in her eyes as a memory of her mother cooking scrambled eggs suddenly flashed through her mind. She blinked twice and pushed the memory back in some dark corner of her brain. 'Thanks, dad.'

Waiting for the bus didn't take long, but she used the time to clear her mind and prepare for her happy and problem-free act in school. No one liked gloomy people, and she certainly didn't want to look like she needed consoling and pity. It didn't seem like anyone had managed to find some gossip about her family yet, and no one ever would if it was up to her.

.

Amy sat lifelessly under the shade of a tree. She loved her new school's position. It was right next to the forest and the air felt clean and fresh. She was in the middle of Gym class, but they weren't doing more than stretching and running today. She looked down at her bare legs bitterly. If she knew that girls were required to wear shorts in this class, she would have dieted a bit more during the summer. She poked her thigh and watched as her finger sank in. She paid attention to her body. She dieted and did sports, and made sure she had a thin waist, yet there was this stubborn softness she could not get rid of no matter what. 'Must be in my DNA.' She looked up at the sky through the green leaves.

She could hear the boys playing basketball nearby. It seemed that the teacher let them on their own after the running was done. She glanced in their direction and recognized Jeff and the Player. It didn't take a lot of time to find out a few things about them. Apparently, Jeff was into Lips. He followed her around like a loyal puppy, yet she barely paid him any attention. Even so, she got pissed when any other girl got close to him. Amy recalled an earlier incident in History class, when she had tried to sit next to Jeff and Lips had pushed her not too gently out of the way. Amy had almost burst out laughing at that moment, but had composed herself and had only winked at the dark-eyed boy, before she found another seat in the back. She chuckled to herself. When did girls ever know what they wanted?

The Player had proved he deserved his nickname after she had found out he already had a girlfriend at another school, yet that didn't stop him from sampling the girls in this one. On some level, she could understand why they were so crazy about him. Not only was he gorgeous, but he treated them gently and always spoke politely to them. He didn't behave like the arrogant jackass she expected him to be. She still felt bad about his girlfriend though, as it didn't seem she mattered more than the the rest of the girls to him.

Amy noticed someone waving at her from the girl group. She squinted a bit until she connected the hand to Doll's face. The blond obviously wanted her to join them for some game, but Amy played dumb and only waved back and turned her face to the boys' direction again. She wasn't in the mood for more group socializing.

She watched as the Player took off his shirt, and from the safe distance took to admiring his body. Even if she couldn't stand being close to guys like him, she still wanted to appreciate the mouth-watering sight. She stroked the bottle of water next to her, contemplating a sip. Her temperature was rising at an alarming speed. She put her hands on her cheeks to cool them a bit. Truly, what a fit body this guy had. She stared at her favorite male body parts – the back and the arms, and they fulfilled her aesthetic criteria perfectly. And she knew she was shallow and picky about a guy's appearance. For her to find him perfect meant she had finally lost, and nature had won against her.

Amy had to admit to herself. She wasn't any different from the rest of the female population. She was getting a purely physical crush on the popular guy. 'Heh, not like I'm going to do anything about it.' There was no harm in ogling a little.

All of a sudden he went out of the game and started making his way towards her. She quickly detached her face from the rest of her body. It was the only way to keep her expression neutral while her heart was going crazy and tremors passed through her legs and hands. She curled up to hide the shaking. Was he mad at her for staring? She couldn't see why that would be a reason. He didn't look pissed in any case. Amy kept her eyes on the approaching figure. She really wanted to avert her gaze and pretend she hand't noticed him, but at that point it would have made no sense.

For a second her eyes fell lower on his body and connected with his abs. The thoughts in her brain scrambled away to make space for the high resolution visuals. She felt saliva gathering in her mouth. 'You pathetic fool, don't you dare gulp right now!' The thought pushed away the momentary haze and she looked up to his face again, and watched as he sat on the ground next to her.

"Hey," he said with a friendly face, but the sparkle in his golden eyes was giving her shivers.

'What a predicament.' She couldn't really say anything before gulping, and she was certain that if she did so now it would be loud and embarrassing, and he would immediately know she was drooling over him earlier. Ever the adapting girl, she lifted her hand to her shoulder in a nerdy greeting gesture and beamed a smile at him before grabbing the water and shoving the bottle in her mouth. Finally, that gave her the needed excuse and she blissfully gulped down the liquid, ending with a satisfied sigh. One problem – solved. As for the other one, Amy was determined to tolerate his presence, instead of jumping and running as her instincts kept urging her. Her pride would take too much damage if she didn't at least try to overcome the panic.

"Oh, water! Can I have some?" he asked like he was dying for a sip.

Amy looked at the sweat rolling off his face in contemplative silence. He raised an eyebrow, his amusement obvious.

"Let me drink some more, then you can have the rest." She held the bottle protectively and forced a few more gulps, just to prove that they were on her terms.

He chuckled and gazed at her from under his eyelashes, making the air around them thicker. Amy nearly spat the water out her nose. Only dignity kept her stoic expression firm.

"Are you scared of some spit?" he asked in a light-hearted tone. She felt like he was setting her up for something.

"I try to avoid putting in my mouth, what other people have had in theirs," she said smiling, trying to make it sound less haughty. Yes, she was squeamish. They both paused to think over the sexual aspects of what she had said. Her pervy mind quickly supplied her with the example of oral sex. Great stuff to think about when Mr. Popular was sitting right next to her, looking like he was reading her mind.

As long as she was alive and sane, her pride would rule her every action and no blush would be allowed to rise. Not blushing, she turned her big innocent eyes to him like she hadn't just thought about his equipment. He smoothly decided to let the topic rest in peace.

"How about kissing," he pushed his original angle now. "If you're squeamish about spit, you probably haven't kissed before." He grinned teasingly.

She gave him her most serious poker expression and admitted it like it was no big deal. Really, it would take a lot more than that to get her embarrassed. His teasing was on the level of a 10-year old. He seemed satisfied, as if his trap was finally laid out and she had just walked right into it. Amy could see his next action from a mile away.

He placed his arm above her head on the tree trunk and leaned into her. His body completely hid her face from the light.

"How about trying me? I'll be a great first experience," he promised her with his low husky voice.

Her expression didn't change even when his unoccupied hand slid through her hair and his half lidded eyes came closer, willing her to throw away reason and submit. She admired the unique color for a second before she placed her hand on his mouth and lightly pushed him away.

He obediently moved back.

Amy took her hand off before it could start trembling again. It felt hot and uncomfortable from where his lips had touched it.

"Just drink the water and go back to the game. I think they're missing you." Her voice was calm and she smiled at him as she stood up. Without glancing back, she walked with measured strides to the changing room. The first thing she had to do was wash her hands thoroughly.

.

Eric felt perplexed for the first time in his life. He stared at the retreating back of this strange human girl. It wasn't her refusal of his kiss. Some girls had refused him before, minding that he had a girlfriend. It didn't bother him. He liked the seduction game that followed after, as he made them drop their innocent act and admit their desires. Although he could never commit to them, he enjoyed the human girls. The fact that he always had to restrain himself, and treat them softly and gently, never failed to heighten his senses. It was like stretching a rubber band and waiting for the moment of the highest tension, without allowing it to snap. It gave him excitement he could never hope to gain with another of his kind.

Amy, however, was in a league of her own. Her fear was hitting his senses in such thick waves, it was almost making him dizzy. Yet her actions never betrayed her state. Her voice was calm and without a hint of emotion, and her expressions were so confusing. Her smiles always caught him off-guard. He wondered how it was possible for her to detach body and mind to such an extent. Precisely that point made her so interesting to him. Her strong act tickled his appetite. It tickled so much he didn't know what to do. No way was he leaving her alone. He would come back for more of this feeling, again and again, until he couldn't take it anymore or she broke. The challenge was too delicious to pass up.

Eric licked his lips and lifted the bottle to his mouth. He finished it in two hungry gulps. He groaned as he felt a tiny bit of her essence slide down his throat, but now wasn't the time to get hard. He glanced at the still going basketball game. Nothing better than some sports to soothe frustrations.

.

It seems Amy is cynical and slightly psychopathic but give her a chance :D. To those of you who are giving the story a try, I hope you'll stick around to see the plot progress. If at any point you'd like to share your opinion, please feel free to. I'd like to know what people want to read in a story. ;)