Do You Have a Soul to Spare?

As Serena just stood there, unable to move, the boy just kept his eyes locked with hers. It felt like time had frozen, like her body. His eyes held her there involuntarily and she didn't even realize that the teacher was calling her name.

"Serena! Take your seat! I said next to Jayke Alexander Kanami." She glanced over and saw--to her luck--that Cherry was on his other side. She waved and Jayke's other three friends--besides the strange one--just kept talking to Jayke.

"Hey. So you get to sit by us! You are so lucky! You could've got stuck with the 'cool little preps!'" She smiled and Serena had to ask.

"Well, you're not a prep?"

"What? Oh God, no!! The pink huh? Well, that couldn't be farther from it. I don't believe in stupid labels for me. They suck. I don't listen to what others call me... but somehow... I get the feeling you know what that's like."

She just tried to ignore that and pulled out a pencil and notebook to take notes on what elements to use in the compound. She felt something lightly kick her foot but paid no mind to it. It happened again, but still she ignored it. It happened thrice and it was definitely a kick. She looked up and saw that one guy from before. He looked up, too, and she looked down, not wanting him to think she was staring, but he wasn't bad looking or anything.

"So. Can I borrow a pencil? I forgot mine."

She looked up, realizing it was he who had spoken.

"Oh. Sure. Hold on a second." She dug through her stuff, searching for a pencil.

"So, Swanson huh? I heard about it. I couldn't believe it. I thought I had it bad..." She didn't know why, but her lip started quivering, hands shaking along, too.

'Why? Why is it getting to me? Why?'

She rummaged furiously, wanting him to stop.

"How'd it happen? I only heard of a car wreck, but others said that it had to do with a fire."

She felt something cold run off her cheek. There, on her binder, was a small droplet--a tear.

'I'm...crying? What is wrong with me? Not here. Not now. Not in school. Please don't cry now!'

"I...they..." Serena managed to find a pencil and pulled it out, but her hand shook as she held it in front of him. Just as his hand was a second away the pencil flung across the room and clattered on the floor. She watched numbly as it rolled back to her feet. He looked at her and when she looked into the unreal definition of his eyes--like an ocean--her own eyes overflowed. She couldn't stop and eventually she started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hey," Cherry asked. "You okay-"

But before she finished her question Serena was out the door and in the girl's bathroom.

"Why? Why did it get to me? I didn't even... I didn't even care until they were dead!!" she yelled at herself. She sat on the window ledge, sobbing, for what seemed like an hour before the bell rang. She quietly regained composure and walked into the room. The teacher wasn't there so she grabbed her stuff and walked out the door.

"Hey. I'm sorry. I don't need to know..." She could have sworn she heard a 'yet' but ignored it and looked up to see him. The boy who made her cry.

"By the way... I'm Zane. I didn't think that... So, my friends ditched me and walked straight to class. I could walk you to class. Language Arts right? That's what I have, too."

She nodded and followed him down the hall, ignoring the whispers and stares when she walked with company through the main hallway.

'Why didn't they wait?'

"Oh, and Cherry went to geometry as did Jayke, well that or he skipped. I don't know but just if you were wondering."

"Oh. Thanks."

Serena saw the door and sighed to herself. It was awkward walking with a guy that could make you cry when you locked everyone else out of the real you.

"I can give you a seat. There's an empty one beside me, if you want,"

"Okay."

To tell the truth, she just wanted to be in class where no one could talk about her or her dead parents. Hopefully--and she prayed for this--the teacher would be strict.

"Hi, class! Today we're going to do a project! Before you down and get all gwumpy, I am going to try to help that! You are doing a project on someone in this class of your choosing. You and your partner will answer questions and ask them. It's a way to learn about your peers. Ready? Go!" She heard a whistle and sighed.

'Strict. Yeah right.'

"So. You wanna be my partner? I would like to get to know you better. Plus, I'd rather not have to deal with...others."

"Okay, but who are others?" she asked.

"Everyone but you."

'Original.'

"Okay, so what is your full name?"

"Zane Coryon Corbane."

"I'm Serena Lynn Swanson." She looked up and he meet her gaze. She actually got lost in the gentle waves that seemed to form in his ocean blue eyes. A loud sound disturbed her trance and everyone stood up.

"I'm so sorry! We got hardly anything done!"

"That's okay, really. If you want I could stop by and we could work on it."

"You know where I live?"

'Stalker!!' screamed in her head.

"Yeah. My mom works for the school and gets a list of students and all of that information and stuff like that."

"Okay then. See you then, Zane."

"Sure, unless we have other classes together. I'm sure we have lunch together."

"Sure. See you then."

The day went by really fast after that. Cherry was in her next class, art, and Jayke was in every other class with her, but not Cherry. Serena, Cherry, Jayke, and Zane all had lunch together and when she got on the bus she sat with Cherry.

"So you really talk a lot with Zane. Every second I see you whispering something into his ear and laughing!"

She blushed and laughed, getting the hang of how her new friends acted and talked. "It's so easy to make fun of Jayke!"

"Wha?" Jayke woke up from his nap at the sound of his name. "Well, that's not nice of you to say. Now go die in a hole. I'm tired."

"Yep," Cherry remarked, "It's so hard to get all d's!" He shrugged it off and when Serena finally got off the bus, she was ready to talk about everything. Just to have someone she could speak her mind to, not caring if they believed her or not. Besides, she had a feeling Zane would get every word.