That Girl

Alex bit back a laugh as Jack pulled him out of the principal's office. "Don't say a word," he muttered as he and Jack found their way back into the hallway. 

"Dude, we are so lucky," Jack told him with a smile.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I know. That might have been one of the stupidest decisions we've ever made."

"I don't know, I think we can always top it," he told him.

"Good point," Alex agreed as he made his way to his locker. 

"Are you actually going to class?" Jack asked with a faux look of surprise on his face.

Alex groaned. "Yeah, I have a test today of some sort," he said with a shrug.

"What on?"

"No fucking clue, dude," he admitted. "I don't pay attention to anything in that class."

"You never pay attention to anything," Luka, Jack's girlfriend of six months, declared as she walked over to the two boys.

Alex smiled sarcastically. "Thanks, Luka, always so kind."

Luka shrugged. "It's what I do. Have you guys seen the new girl yet?" she asked.

Alex's ears perked up at that question. "New girl?"

Luka shook her head. "No, no, get your mind out of the gutter, Alexander."

"Impossible," Jack muttered. "He senses someone has a vagina and loses his mind."

"Hey! I do not!" Alex protested. 

"Yeah, ya do," Luka muttered.

"Dude, I've known you for years. You completely change when you're around a hot girl. Always trying to impress and flirt, dropping comments about how you're in a band--"

"I am in a band!" Alex declared.

"The point remains that you have to have all of their attention all of the time," Luka said. "She's from Texas so be nice and don't mock her accent."

"Maybe I'll like her accent. And how do you know she's from Texas?" Alex asked.

"I actually listen to what people say when they're around me," Luka said with a smile. "Instead of being the topic on everyone's lips."

"Jealousy. Pure jealousy," Alex muttered. "You've always been jealous of me."

Luka laughed. "Oh, yeah, I've always been jealous of your reputation," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Alex threw an arm around her shoulder before kicking his locker shut. "See? Don't you feel better now that you've admitted that?" he asked.

"Don't get too handsy with my girl, Lex," Jack said, pulling his girlfriend away from Alex and into his own arms.

Alex scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever, dude," he muttered, turning down the hall to walk to his class.

That was when he froze in place. That was the first moment that he saw her.

+

Finley McAdams brushed a strand of fire-engine red hair behind her ear. Another year, another new school. It wasn't a surprise. She moved around a lot. After the third school, she had a system. It was easier to not get close to people, even if it was difficult at the time. She didn't regret the life she and her father had been forced to live in the past five years since her mother died. She had grown up declaring that she wanted adventure and action, and her life certainly wasn't void of those anymore. Where other kids would want to blend in at all the schools they had to attend, Finley wasn't afraid to stand out. She didn't even try anymore--being the new kid was the ultimate stigma so everyone knew who she was on day one.

She wasn't deaf, either, she could hear what the people were saying. Had it been her first time at a new school, she might have cared. But this wasn't her first rodeo and she didn't have paper-thin skin. She liked to think of herself as tough-as-nails, but there was still a few things that could actually get to her.

Not that anyone would find those out, but still.

People liked to say that she walked all over everyone, but she didn't. She never preyed on someones weakness, even though she easily could have. She just refused to take shit from someone that she deemed insignificant in her life. She didn't like giving anyone the upper hand if she could avoid it.

And, boy, could she avoid it.

+

"That's her," Alex mumbled in what probably appeared to be a daze.

Luka nodded, clearly unimpressed with his behavior. "Can you not think with your dick for one minute?" she asked.

Jack laughed. "Good joke, Luka."

Luka rolled her eyes.

"Holy shit," Alex muttered. Yeah, he was never rendered speechless by someone, but this girl almost had him to that point with one look. 

"She is hot," Jack said with a shrug.

Luka elbowed him in the side.

"I mean, in a...gross and completely undesirable way," Jack corrected himself.

Luka rolled her eyes. "I don't know why I bother with you," she grumbled.

"It obviously isn't for his dick," Alex said, though he was still distracted. "Awh, dammit. Why the fuck is Lydia Johnson talking to her?!"

+

"Hi! I'm Lydia Johnson! You must be the new girl! So nice to meet you," Lydia exclaimed as she reached for Finley's hand.

As politely as she could, Finley removed her hand from the strange girls. "I wish I could say the same," Finley answered with a faux smile on her face and her Texas accent not as thick as people would expect.

Lydia took a step back, her smile faltering. "Well, I know that moving to a new school can be difficult, especially as a teenager, but all you need is some friends who--"

Finley laughed. "Look, honey, I don't know what kind of Sweet Valley school you think this is, but I want no part of it. I'm not here to listen to you ramble, and I'm most certainly not here to make friends. So, let's not pretend this is anything more than common acquaintance, okay?" Finley explained. She really wasn't trying to be rude (it just came naturally) but she wanted to get the point across early. That was the best way.

"Oh," Lydia said softly. "How sad, to not have friends," she muttered.

Finley rolled her eyes. Sympathy was a common result of her well-practiced speech. "I need your pity as much as I need your friendship, Lydia," she declared before walking away from the simpering girl. She met the surprised eyes of a guy as she walked down the hallway, she couldn't tell if it was curiosity or admiration, but she didn't care. "The fuck are you looking at?" she snapped. She wasn't looking for an answer. In fact, she wasn't sure what she was looking for. She hadn't even meant to say anything to him, but she did. But she didn't wait for an answer, she just hoisted the strap of her bag further up her shoulder before continuing her walk to class.

+

Alex watched in surprise as the girl walked away. He should have responded when she spoke to him, but he didn't.

"You good, Lex?" Jack asked, a hand resting on his best friend's shoulder. 

Alex nodded, turning to watch her walk further down the hallway. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

One thing he knew for sure: he had to get to know the new girl.