A/N : I merged some chapters since I don't like how short each of them are. It won't matter if you read them already, there's no change to them. Just don't be shocked when the number of chapters drop and get longer.

Note : For those who read up to chapter 5, I combined two chapters to one. So chapter 3 right now has the original chapter 6 in it, read it first before proceeding to chapter 4. Sorry for the hassle :/

Mr's Peterson closes the door to her classroom. "Good afternoon and welcome to senior chemistry." She walks to her desk, leans on the edge, and opens her class folder. "I appreciate you picking your own seats, but since this is my class, I make the seating arrangements. . . alphabetically."

Groans erupt from the students, the same sound that has greeted her on the first day of school for over thirty years at Fairfield High.

"Mary Alcott, take the first seat. Your partner is Andrew Carson." Down the list Mrs. Peterson goes, students reluctantly sitting in their assigned seats next to their chemistry partners.

"Paco Fuentes," Mrs. Peterson says, pointing to the table behind Mary.

The handsome young man with pale blue eyes like his mother's and smoky black hair like his father's takes his assigned seat.

Mrs. Peterson regards her new student over the glasses perched on her nose. "Mr. Fuentes, don't think this class will be a piece of cake because your parents got lucky and developd a medication to halt the progression of Alzheimer's. Your father never did finish my class and he flunked one of my tests, although I have a feeling your mother was the one who should have failed. But that just means I'll expect extra from you."

"Sí, señora."

Mrs. Peterson looks down at her notebook."Julianna Gallagher, please take your seat next to Mr. Fuentes."

Mrs. Peterson notices Julianna´s blush as she sits on her stool and Paco´s cocky grin beside her. Maybe the tide was starting to shift after thirty years of teaching, but she wasn´t taking any chances.

"And for those of you who want to start any trouble, I have a zero tolerance policy. . ."

Paco

"… I hope I made myself clear on my expectations." Mrs. Peterson finished off her speech and eyed the class. "Are there any questions before I start on my lesson?"

"Yeah, I have one." I said, grinning, aware of the attention I am getting. I enjoy being the centre of attention, a trait that I probably inherited from my mother.

"I would appreciate if you raise your hand before asking a question next time, Paco." Mrs. Peterson narrowed her eyes at me.

"Sure, if that´s what you want." I answered lazily and pretended to stretch, throwing up my right hand in the process. "Am I doing it right?"

Mrs. Peterson cocked her head slightly as Julianna took a sharp intake of breath next to me. I raised an eyebrow at my teacher, giving her a charming smile. "I sure hope I´m doing it right, I never had to raise my hand in class before."

"Oooooh." There was a low murmer from the back of the class when my classmates realised that I am openly challenging her authority. Instead of losing her cool like I thought she would, Mrs. Peterson just gave me a knowing smile. "Then I guess it´s time to learn how to do it, don´t you agree, Mr. Fuentes?"

I stiffened a little, realising that I am getting played right back. Regaining my composure, I leaned forward on my chair and smiled sweetly. "I won´t mind that at all, as long as you can teach me how to do that during a one-on-one session," I propped my head up with my hands on the desk, inclining my head towards Mrs. Peterson. "I might even be able to give you some tips on other matters that I am exceptional at."

The class erupted in laughter and I stared at Mrs. Peterson, hoping to catch a flicker of emotion that might prove that she was angry or shocked. Anything, really. Once again, that sentence did not have the desired effect on my chemistry teacher, and I found myself grudgingly respecting her. She merely dismissed that sentence with a wave of her hand and continued with her introductory speech.

"You don´t have to like your partner, but you are stuck with him or her for the next ten months. I suggest you get to know each other." Mrs. Peterson said, taking a seat on the edge of her desk. "Tell your partner your hobbies, what you did over the summer and whatever it is that makes you unique. You have five minutes, starting from… now."

I relaxed and leaned back on my chair, eyeing Julianna all the while. Her hair was a rich shade of mahagony that went past her shoulders and ended in curls at the hip. The wavy brown hair adorned her porcelain skin, as well as her rosy red lips. Her eyes were hazel coloured, framed by her long lashes. Her high cheekbones went well with her straight nose that was upturned just slightly, giving her a cute, irresistible charm.

Julianna glanced at me and turned a bright shade of red when she realised that I was staring at her. She averted her eyes and suddenly appeared to be immensely interested in a diagram in her chemistry textbook which was upside down. I almost burst out laughing, if not for the fact that Mrs. Peterson was staring right at me, hands on her hips. What came out was more of a strangled sound and I disguised it as a cough.

"Paco," Mrs. Peterson´s tone was impatient. "I would prefer if you talked to Julianna instead of just gawking at her."

Julianna groaned and sunk lower into her seat. "I would prefer to do that too, Mrs. Peterson." I answered cheerfully. "But you know what everyone says, gotta check out the merchandise before buying it."

Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw Julianna rising to her full height, scowling at me. "What is your problem, jerk?" The chatter immediately died down as the cheerleader glared at me scornfully. "Why must you always treat us," she made a sort of dramatic gesture to indicate the general female population. "As if we are just mere tools in your game?"

My temper momentarily flared up and I stood up, towering over her. "And who the fuck do you think you are, giving me a piece of your mind?"

"That´s it, both of you, to the principal´s office now." Mrs. Peterson marched over and commanded. I dragged my glare away from Julianna and stuffed my chemistry textbook back into my bag. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of her flipping me the finger before storming out of the room.

Great, first day of school and I have to face the principal. What a wonderful start.

Julianna

"Ah, Paco Fuentes. What a pleasant surprise." Mr. Aguirre said, unsmiling as he sat behind his desk strewn with stacks of paperwork. That jerk just shrugged, as if to announce that it wasn´t his fault that he was there. Screw him, this is all so his fault. I should have listened to Katie´s advice to stay away from him. Well, at least now I know what he´s like.

"Mrs. Peterson told me about what happened in class and I must admit, this brings back memories." He continued, eyes never leaving Paco. After a few more seconds, he finally tore his gaze away from Paco and onto me.

"And…" The principal gave me a sweeping glance and shook his head disapprovingly. "Julianna? I expected you to be on good behaviour after what happened last year."

I was almost expelled from school last year after I was caught for possession of alcohol. The problem with that was that the alcohol wasn´t mine, I was framed. The school board sure didn´t believe me though, but my father settled it with a small call to the school and some cash. My father. I bit my lip at the thought of him and shook back hot tears that threatened to spill over.

"Julianna, is everything alright?" Mr. Aguirre´s brow was furrowed with concern at my facial expression and I blinked, keeping my emotions in check.

"Y-Yes, everything´s fine." I stammered slightly, trying to find my voice. "I promise it won´t happen again." I added quickly.

Paco rolled his eyes at my reaction. He was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets as he awaited his side of the punishment. I had an urge to walk over and give him a slap on his face to show him how angry I really was about his little "speech" back in class but held back. I could do it later, away from the eyes of the school board.

"I´ll hold you to that, Julianna." Mr. Aguirre replied without missing a beat. He then turned to face Paco once again, a tired expression on his face. "How many times have you been in this office last year alone?"

Paco shrugged nonchalantly. "Too many times."

"Exactly my point, Mr. Fuentes. These visits have to stop." Mr. Aguirre walked over to the phone on his table and picked it up. "I regret to inform you that I would have to call in your parents once again." I have heard about Paco´s parents, Alex and Brittany. They were the renowned chemists that discovered the medicine that would hinder the progress of Alzheimer´s. I also heard about how his father used to be a gang member, a past that had haunted him for many years.

"If you must."

Mr. Aguirre paused, studying Paco for a long moment. Paco didn´t flinch and mirrored the principal´s unwavering gaze. I could feel the tension in the air and fidgeted uncomfortably. Finally, Mr. Aguirre sighed and placed down the phone, sitting back down onto his chair.

"What is your problem, Paco?"

"Ain´t got any." Paco answered simply.

A vein throbbed in the principal´s temple and he sighed again, stretching his hands out in a friendly gesture. "Look, Paco, I´m not the enemy here. I´m just trying to help you stay out of trouble."

"I don´t need the help." Paco replied stubbornly, shaking his head. "I know how to keep out of trouble."

"Well, circumstances have proven otherwise." Mr. Aguirre stood up and strode over to Paco. His hair had thinned over the years, turning a colour of greyish white. However, the long drawn out years had done nothing to remove the stern look on his face. "You, young man, have to learn some self-control or I´m going to teach it to you myself, do I make that clear?"

Paco narrowed his eyes. I noticed how his body grew rigid and his body tensed, like a predator ready to attack its prey. However, he relented and nodded curtly. "Yes, sir. I can´t make you any promises though."

"I don´t expect you to." Mr. Aguirre answered as he walked back to his seat. "The Fuentes family have a weird tendency of getting into trouble all the time." There was a bit of dry humour in the way he said this and I chuckled quietly. It was true to a certain extent, at least with Paco.

"Can we go now?" I asked, sensing the awkwardness in the air. Mr. Aguirre eyed me and nodded. "You´re both dismissed, hurry off now for your second period."

I whirled on my heels and sauntered out of the room, keeping my head held high as I passed Paco. He snorted at me and we went our separate ways for our next lessons. I had a weird feeling that I would be seeing him more than I would want to from now on.