(A/N): Another quick story. Again, I really appreciate comments and favorites. Make sure to follow, this is going to have four parts. Anyways, hope you like the story.

The room was small, almost bare, save for the table and three chairs set right in the middle of the room. The two-way mirror was stark, showing your tired reflection. You'd been here for hours, waiting for someone to come in and talk to you, letting you give your statement. You already knew what you were going to say, seeing as there was no point in lying about your situation. As you walked around the room, softly singing to yourself, you wondered where they would ask you to begin your story. As you stood in the corner, debating what to do next to alleviate your boredom, a man in a suit with shoulder-length hair and a goatee walked in, giving you a bright smile. "Ashland Barnes?" He asked as he looked down at the file in front of him. You smiled back, watching as he went to sit at the table.

"That'd be me. You're taking my statement?" You asked, moving to sit across from him. Your heart was racing, but you wouldn't let him, or the detectives and DA on the other side of the glass, see that. You'd never been in big trouble like this, but you watched enough Law Order to know how this worked.

"That's right. Now, let's get a few simple questions out of the way before that, shall we?" He replied, never giving you his name.

"Sure, ask away," you said, remaining as nonchalant as possible.

"Your name is Ashland Raine Barnes, correct? And you attended Park Vista Community High School?"

"Yup, that's me. Wretched middle name, isn't it?" You joked, leaning forward on the table. You saw him crack a small smile, knowing you were already breaking down his professional exterior. "I saw that smile, you thought it was funny."

"I'll admit it. You're a bit of a joker, aren't you?" he questioned, brown eyes searching yours for something. You just smiled and nodded, knowing you'd be closer to telling your story if you were agreeable. "Alright, let's start from the beginning. When did you first become acquainted with our detective?"

"Second semester of senior year. We were in a class together and my friend Justin would not shut up about her," you started, already brought back to that first fateful day.

"Justin, we're gonna be late," you called to your friend, your Converse thudding across the linoleum of the hall. It was your first day back from winter break and you were already going to be late for your first class. "This is why we don't hang out before school, Honor Roll."

"Shut up, Ash." Justin called back, running past you to make it to his math class, his curls bouncing slightly with each step. You had photography first period, so you weren't as worried as Justin was. "I'll see you in physics, alright?"

"Sure thing, now run, Forrest, run!" you laughed, turning to run up the stairs to your class. You heard Justin's laugh, making you smile as you finally made your way into the class just as the bell rang. Photography had always been your favorite class, it was just fun to watch your simple pictures be turned into beautiful works over time. You heard talk amongst the other students about a couple new kids, seniors like you. You didn't really pay that much attention, though. You figured you wouldn't be involved with them, that your group would remain as it had since freshman year. You couldn't've been more wrong.

"So, what was it that drew your friend to Naomi?" the man asked, jolting you out of your memories.

"Well, she used to fall asleep in class, and he thought it was oh-so-cute," you replied, shaking your head slightly. "She was a light skinned, Puerto Rican-Dominican, long hair, and 'mature in the body like woah'," you said the last part mockingly, reminded of how Justin had described her to your group at lunch that day. "He said that wasn't the only reason he liked her, though."

"So, tell me how you actually met Naomi," the man instructed, letting you launch back into your story.

The day seemed to fly by, and before you knew it, you were sitting in the third row of your physics class, Justin sitting beside you. "You know, the packet over the break was stupid," you muttered, rolling you eyes.

"I helped you with most of it, what're you talking about?" Justin laughed, taking his packet out of his backpack.

"I know, but there's a reason it's called a break, ya know?" you replied, sticking your tongue out at him. Justin laughed again at your childish behavior, making you smile. The teacher still hadn't shown up, but you immediately noticed the new girl that walked into the classroom. You could tell Justin noticed too, the way he seemed to perk up and his eyes widening in realization making it obvious. "Who's that?"

"Remember the girl I was telling you all about at lunch?" Justin asked. He continued once you nodded. "Yeah, that's her. I'll see you after class, alright?"

"What? Justin," you nearly hissed, watching as he grabbed his things and went up to your other friend sitting next to the girl. You realized what was going on the second he nodded his head towards you, your other friend nodding in agreement and getting his things. Justin sat in the seat next to the new girl, waving shyly. "Please tell me Justin did not just do that," you quietly fumed as Derek took the seat next to you.

"Oh, he did," Derek said, pulling out his own work. "Andrew said he did the same thing to him in math."

"No," you said in disbelief, dragging out the word. "Hold up, why didn't I hear about that?"

"He told me and Tevin, you were too busy swooning over Justin to notice," Derek replied, rolling his eyes. "Your window's closing, are you gonna make a move on him or what?"

"I don't like him like that," you mumbled, casting your eyes down to the desk as a blush started to overtake your face.

"Yeah, sure you don't," Derek teased. You were saved from replying as the teacher finally walked into the room, clapping his hands to get the attention of the class. The look Derek shot you let you know that it would not be the end of the conversation. You groaned, already knowing that Derek, Tevin, and Andrew would give you hell for this.

"So Justin and Naomi really hit it off, ya know?" You said, gesturing towards the interviewer. You still weren't sure just who he was, but you dealt with it. "They start talking, like a lot. The next few weeks were pathetic , seeing him fawning over her like some puppy."

"How'd they hit it off?" He asked.

"Well, Naomi moved to Florida from New York, just like me and Justin. So, Justin was all into that, talking about New York with her and just anything. Thing is, for a guy from New York, Justin's pretty trusting. I always used to ask him how he survived out there, since you really gotta watch your back. You never know what's gonna happen or who you can trust. Most New Yorkers know that, but I guess Justin never got the memo. Anyways, he's basically going crazy for her, telling her all this dumb crap," you replied.

"What did he tell her?"

"He starts saying this stuff like, 'what the heck I gotta do to be with you?' and who does he have to be to make her into him. It was dumb, especially since he didn't know her all that long," you replied, still somewhat bitter about that.

"He told her all this in person?" the man questioned, somewhat incredulously.

"What? No, he told her over text," you said. "He wasn't that stupid. At least, not yet."

"'What the heck I gotta do to be with you?'" You read out, handing Justin's phone back to him. "Dude, what the heck?"

"Pretty smooth, right?" Justin asked, seeming proud of himself. You, Justin, Tevin, Derek, and Andrew were hanging out at a diner not far from all of your places, trying to work on small assignments while getting an early dinner in. You simply rolled your eyes, not even wanting to humor him.

"Hold it, look at this one," Tevin said, passing Justin's phone back to you.

"'Tell me who I gotta be for you to be with me'? Bro," you said, slightly judging Justin. "You've known her for like a month, isn't this a bit much?"

"She just gets me, man. It's like, she's so mature and she listens to all of my problems," Justin replied dreamily. That stung, you had to admit it. The way Justin was talking about Naomi just made you feel like he was describing you, but with added feelings for her. By the look Andrew shot you, you could tell he noticed it too.

"So, has she even replied to you?" Andrew asked, grabbing Justin's phone from Tevin's hands.

"Not yet," Justin pouted. "She's gonna reply though, I just know it."

"Well yeah, she can't just leave you on read when she knows she's gonna see you at school tomorrow," Derek pointed out.

"Five bucks she just sends an emoji or something," Andrew joked. Justin's dilemma was soon forgotten, the group falling back into the normal routine of joking and telling different stories from your classes. It made you feel like things were semi-normal again, back before Naomi had came and turned the routine around. It wasn't until you had paid the bill and started walking out of the diner that Justin finally looked at his phone again.

"Yes!" Justin cheered, startling your group and other patrons of the diner. "Sorry!" He apologized, softer this time.

"What happened?" You asked as your group left the diner.

"She replied!" Justin said, bouncing as if he couldn't contain his excitement.

"Let me see!" Derek said, making a grab for Justin's phone. Justin let him, still silently celebrating whatever Naomi had sent him. "Smiley face!"

"Bro!" Tevin cheered, high-fiving Justin. Andrew and Derek seemed to share their excitement, leaving you confused.

"What's going on?" You asked, not sure how to respond to the celebration going on around you. Sure, you'd seen the guys get excited over girls before, but never to this extent. Maybe it was just because this was the first girl Justin was seriously interested in, but you didn't know.

"She sent a smiley face to Justin flirting," Andrew explained, unable to stop smiling. "That means she either wants him too, or is starting to be into him."

"You guys sure are putting a lot of meaning behind one smiley face," you replied, shaking your head. "It could just be that she didn't know what to say and didn't want to just not say anything."

"Nah man, Naomi's not like that," Justin defended her.

"How can you say that, man?! You've known her for like a month!" You argued. Sure, you were glad that he seemed happy, but it was like Naomi had pulled a shade over his eyes and made him believe anything she told him.

"It feels like I've known her all my life! I don't know what your deal is, Ash." Justin told you, eyes narrowing.

"You know what, forget this. I'm going home," you fumed, stomping off in the general direction of your home. You could hear the general confusion you left behind, but you didn't care. You didn't trust Naomi for some reason, and you sure as hell didn't like Justin getting that involved with her that fast. There had to be some way for you to make him see that.

When you got home, you had to refrain from picking up the phone and calling any of the guys. It took all of your willpower to just throw your phone to the side and work on whatever things you had left. You knew you'd need some time to completely cool off before talking to them, especially in this situation. Maybe you were being biased and Naomi wasn't actually that bad. You'd liked Justin almost from the time you'd first met him back in freshman year, and maybe you were just upset that he was finally into someone that wasn't you. You shrugged that thought off, letting yourself focus on your homework while your phone buzzed with notifications from the guys.

"So, anyways, a couple weeks after that whole mess, Justin finally decides to ask Naomi out," you explained. "They'd been texting pretty much nonstop. During class, breaks, after school, you name it, you could find Justin with his phone in hand texting Naomi. He was head-over-heels for her, going to talk to her about all his problems, giving her all his homework, it was a mess."

"And how did that work out for Justin?" The man asked, enthralled with your story. Sure, it might seem like it was just high school drama, but it was all part of the big picture here.

"She said no. Just like, 'sorry, man, not into you' level. I think it was like March when that happened. So, our prom was in April, and Justin decided to ask Naomi to prom, even though she'd already rejected him. I'm telling you, he fell hard for her," you said. "So, during physics, he gets up in front of the whole class, and starts singing and dancing. I know, it was ridiculous. Apparently the other guys were in on it too, because they just appeared out of nowhere and acted like back-up dancers and singers. Anyways, after all that was done with, Naomi told him she'd think about it. Honestly, I had to get up and leave the room when I saw that crap. It was a lot, especially since I'd been warning Justin to be careful with her. Derek filled me in on what happened after I got back."

The man looked at his watch after he jotted down a couple notes. He looked back towards the two-way mirror, as if it would suddenly reveal the people on the other side. "We've been talking for quite some time, I think it's time for a bit of a break. Can I get you anything?"

"Yeah, can I get like some chips or something and some water? I've been in here for a while and I haven't had anything to drink," you requested, noting the man's somewhat shocked look when you said that.

"Of course, and I'm sorry about that. I would've brought some water with me if someone told me," he replied, shooting a semi-glare back towards the two-way mirror. "I'll be back soon." You nodded, watching as he left the room. That was definitely interesting, especially the way you saw him wildly gesticulating through the tiny window in the door. You could already picture the next part of your story, knowing exactly when everything went wrong. You leaned back in your chair, putting your feet on the desk and crossing them as you closed your eyes, figuring you'd get a bit of rest while you waited for the man to come back.