There are things that occur in life that just don't make a bit of sense. Like how people use to think the world was flat. Or how people thought the joke about the chicken crossing road was the most puzzling thing ever. What about when our parents tell us that when we do something bad, we should already know that it is wrong before we commit the crime.

For example: when I was seven my little brother Carter was sitting on top of the slide of the playground we use to have and I had wanted to go down the slide so I climbed up to the top and pushed him down it. He face planted in the sand. I got in trouble by my parents, they told me that it wasn't nice of me to do that to my three year old brother. In my defense my older brother, Xander, had dared me to do it. I told my parents that I was only doing what Xander told me to do. My parents then sat me down and explained to me that I should of listened to my conscious. Being seven I had know idea what that word meant, and after they told me what it meant I, being the sassy kid I was, said I had no conscious. Mom and dad did not find that cute one bit. As punishment, Xander and I got put into a corner to think about what we had done while Carter got ice cream. It was unfair.

Right now my conscious was trying to stop me from doing something that was considered dangerous and idiotic. But I couldn't help it. I needed answers.

All weekend I thought about, what happened on Friday night. I didn't give a damn about Johnny. His motives were clear. Nick Ross, on the other hand, was an unclear image. A guy who avoids contact with the entire school doesn't just come out of the darkness like Batman to save a girl he doesn't even know. I haven't heard much about him, all I know is that he is someone you don't want to get on his bad side. Well, that is the rumor that flows through the school. I wanted to know why he was there at the school that late. From what I knew, he hated this place just as much as every other student here. I also wanted to know why he decided to be a hero. But mostly I wanted to give him my thanks, he deserved that much.

I currently had a lunch period and I was going to spend it searching for a guy who seemed to stay hidden. Come to think of it, I have never seen Nick in the halls, not even at a locker. Mr.Mysterious did an excellent job of staying away from everyone. I don't blame him, it isn't fun being well know through out the school. Nick was doing the smart thing. He transferred here during sophomore year and was immediately labeled as a bad boy. I suppose several popular guys tried to recruit him but he declined every invitation, so he quickly became an outcast.

Attending a Prep School we were all expected to have a certain image. This school was going to prepare us for college. We weren't that different from a public school, we had the same clicks, we just had better teachers. I remember asking my parents before entering the school why I had to attend a Prep school, they told me that the education was better. I couldn't argue with that. My older brother Xander went to this school and he isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. But intelligence had nothing to do with his acceptance into college, he got in on a football scholarship. So I guess this school does have its perks.

"Hey, you ready to head to the cafeteria?" Lacey popped up next to me, giving me a slight scare.

"Um no, I have a paper in English to work on so my lunch period will be spent in the library doing research." I lied. I hadn't told Lacey or anyone about what went down in the parking lot Friday night so she didn't need to know why I was planning on searching for Nick Ross.

"Oh alright, do you want me to tag along?" Lacey asked.

"No that's okay. Enjoy your lunch and if I get finished before the end of lunch I will join you." I lie again. There was no way I would find Nick Ross before the end of lunch.

"Sounds good. Text me if you need company." Lacey offers and I nod. Lacey then spins on her heels and heads to the cafeteria. I let out a breath and start my task.

I was on a mission.

I had spent the last thirty minutes looking for Nick and I was failing miserably. I checked every possible location in the school. I even checked the library, don't know why, I don't think the bad boy would hide in there. I was running out of time, patience and locations. I was also starting to get frustrated. Our school wasn't that big nor was it Hogwarts, this boy couldn't just disappear without anyone seeing him.

I was tempted to ask a few random students that I passed in the hall if they had seen him, but I knew they would be questioning why Taylor Croft was in a search for Kennedy High's mysterious bad boy. I could hear the rumors already. 'Taylor Croft dumps Johnny Sanders for mysterious bad boy' or 'Taylor Croft is so desperate to get over break up, she has slumped to dating a nobody' yeah those would be the rumors. Not only would I be signing my life away, I would be signing Nick's away as well.

No matter how bad or mysterious he was, he did not deserve any kind of hate. People were already questioning why Johnny came to school with a black eye and a busted lip, if they knew I was looking for Nick, they would put two and two together, and Nick would most likely suffer the consequences. I couldn't let that happen. Johnny being the quick thinker he was, told everyone that he got roughed up at football practice over the weekend and no one on the team went against his story. Like I said earlier; he was a smooth talker.

I was about to give up my search when I realized that I hadn't looked outside yet. Even though it was mid September, the weather was still mildly decent so the school allowed us to go outside and eat lunch. It actually never occurred to me that outside could be the place Nick could possibly be at. So I made my way to the nearest exit of the school and walked out into cloudy day. I wrapped my cardigan tighter around me as the wind blew a slight chill in the air. That was the sign that Fall was here. Unfortunately there were several places Nick could be. I didn't know him so I had no idea where he could be hiding. If I had to guess, I would say somewhere isolated from the rest of the school.

I searched the outdoor cafeteria and nothing. I searched every corner of the building and zip. I even searched the football field and nada. This guy was impossible to find. I assume that was the way he liked it. I was about to call it quits once again when I saw a tree out of the corner of my eye. The tree was planted there five years ago and had finally grown into a humongous tree. It sat on top of a tiny hill, far enough away from the school but not far enough for it to be out of the boundaries of the places we were allowed to go. Of course Nick would choose the one spot that was far enough away from the craziness of high school. I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. I didn't even know this boy but something about his possible location made me smile.

I trekked my way up the tiny hill, silently cursing myself for wearing ankle booted heels, they were making it slightly difficult to climb the tiny hill. I was slightly out of breath once I reached the top, the cheerleader in me was shaking her head in disappointment, oh well. Once I regained control of my breathing I saw a figure sitting on the grass leaning back against the tree. My heart pounded as I walked closer and recognized the figure as the one and only Nick Ross, the boy who saved my life three nights ago. God, I sounded like an idiot. I prepared myself to walk closer to him, telling myself not to be an idiot or to stutter. The last thing I wanted to come off was that I was terrified of him. Which was bad, because you aren't suppose to judge a book by its cover.

I walked over to him and stood right in front of him. I saw that his eyes were closed and that he has ear buds shoved into his ear. I hope he wasn't dead, I had no clue how to handle that situation. I saw his chest rise and fall at a steady pace and I let out a breath of relief, not dead. I waited a few minutes to see if he would sense someone standing in front of him, but nothing. I glanced down and saw his phone on his leg, I thought about grabbing it and pausing his music, but something told that he wouldn't be okay with me invading his personal space when I was already invading his secret hideout. I was going to say something but his music was pretty loud. I am pretty sure he was listening to Nickelback, wow the bad boy has good taste in music. I decided to tap his foot with my own which did not get his attention. So I did it a few more times.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

I did it once more, a little on the harder side and that most definitely got his attention because his eyes snapped open and a scowl covered his face. I visibly gulped. Way to go, Taylor. Nick's hazel eyes held anger and a tiny hint of confusion. He was probably wondering why I was standing here in front of him. I didn't say anything for a long time, I just stared at him and he glared at me not saying anything. I finally gathered myself and pointed to my ears as a gesture for him to take out his ear buds. He continued to glare at me but did what I asked.

I took a deep breath and began what I had been rehearsing in my head all weekend when this moment came. I cleared my throat. "Um...hi." I meekly waved, Nick still didn't react. Tough crowd. "I am so sorry to bother you at your place of peace and quiet, but I just wanted to thank you for what you did on Friday night. You know, you saving me from Johnny and all. I really do appreciate it." I finish. I half expected him to be a gentleman and say you're welcome or ask if I was okay, but my expectations died when he didn't speak. His facial expression didn't even change.

His cold stare told me it was time for me to get the hell out of there. I turned around and started walking away but stopped mid step when I remembered something else I had wanted to say to him. So I turned around and walked back over to him, his ear buds were still out but the glare was as present as ever.

"Sorry for coming back but I remembered one thing. Um, I want you to know that nobody knows what happened and they won't find out. I promise I won't tell anyone. And Johnny is clueless so you are in the clear. But ya know, if he ever does find out, um...watch out," I laugh nervously but he doesn't do anything. "Okay, so, I will leave now. Once again thank you and I am sorry about invading your space. I also won't tell anyone where you spend your lunch period. Yeah, I'm gonna go." I say then all but run back in the direction of the school.

The rest of the day I replayed my one sided conversation with Nick Ross. He never once spoke to me and I couldn't help but wonder if he heard rumors about me just as I had heard rumors about him. I was fully aware of what people said about me so he must have heard things while walking past classmates. I was also worried for Nick's safety if Johnny ever did find out who beat the shit out of him. That was something that I would absolutely make sure never happened. I was risking my reputation for a guy I did not even know.

How dumb was I?