COLOR="pink"]Chapter one - Heels Over Head[/COLOR] The school bell rang, signalling the start of the day as Mrs Pettigrew ran outside to bark orders at the students coming in through the gates. I often joked that Mrs Pettigrew was a vampire and hated teenagers for their youthfulness. A thing she could never have. But everybody knew that wasn't true. My school years were coming to an end, I knew as I walked into form and sat in my usual seat. Pairing the school's uniform with black skinny jeans was an idea that ran through the school right now, as were wearing trainers with it. I wore black skinny jeans with pink skeleton handprints on the back and pink and black etnies with mine. However I wasn't expecting a new student right near the end of the year. He walked into the room, his sandy blond hair framing his face as it fell in soft layers ending at the nape of his neck. He didn't look over-confident or overly shy. He did exude a certain aura of confidence with him though somehow. His black and white checkered backpack sat snuggled into his spine. He walked over to the teacher and said something before coming over and sitting down, right in front of me. He turned around and his blue eyes locked onto mine. "Hi, my name's Jake." he muttered, without moving his lips but still every word came out clearly. "Shannon." I muttered back, doodling in my notebook. "Shannon" He tasted the name, "I like it. That's...Irish, right?" "Yes." "Are you Irish?" He asked, staring at me. "No..." I stretched the word out. "Oh. You're...nice...enough to be Irish. That's why I thought...you were." He ruffled the back of his hair with his left hand, a gesture I recognised from somewhere, except I couldn't place it. The bell rang again and I rushed off to morning classes, with Jake's gesture in my mind. "Jake McCartney?" Jeff Bowls' head whipped up, looking around the room for the boy who'd answered a lazy "Here sir." I looked too, and saw Jake resting on one of the chairs. He flashed a smile at me and I grinned back. His surname was McCartney? Where had I heard that before? (I mean, aside from Paul McCartney, Jesse McCartney, Stella McCartney - I don't even know who she is...) It was later on in the class when he came over that I realised where. Right after he'd asked "Hey, Shan... you know Lee Flynn, don't you?" I stared at him with my mouth open for a while before answering. "Of course I do... he's my cousin." It all made sense, the hair ruffle - that was something Lee tended to do while talking a lot, the name McCartney - Lee always had plans to meet up with McCartney, in fact he'd once said that I'd like him. "You're....?" Jake leaned in closer to me, "That's right. I'm Lee's best friend. Part of the organization he's trying to get you to join. I knew I recognised you." "Computer guy?" I asked, placing him working at a computer, intently adjusting some settings. "I'm not sure that's the right name for it..." Jake smiled. I remembered something else before realising Jake was wearing a black hoody as well, "Lift up your sleeve." I commanded. "Sure babe, but which one?" I shut my eyes, trying to remember. "Right." I answered. He lifted up his sleeve to show off a black and white checkered wristband, with a black trim around it. "I, uh, made the trim myself." He whispered. "Let's start over?" I asked. He nodded in response, "I'm Shannon, nice to meet you." He took my hand and shook it, "I'm Jake. Wanna grab coffee?"
