Jade's P.O.V.

I'm sitting in the middle of my new room surrounded by a mountain of boxes that I wish were already unpacked. Reluctantly I pull the first box closer and open it. Mostly I'm hoping that by keeping busy I can keep my mind off her. But seeing Autumn again for the first time in a year had a bigger impact on me than I expected.

I pull another box closer and take out my Trainers. Going for a run sounds like the best idea I've had all day. I get up, leaving everything else as is.

I slide my iPod in its pouch and strap it around my arm. I turn the volume up at full blast. Before officially starting my run I stretch some. I set an even pace so I don't tire out too soon. I've only recently taken up running. It was a requirement at my old school. I fought them on it right up until the end of the year only to find out that I actually enjoy it.

For a moment the hole in my chest is replaced by a fire. My lungs burn with the rest of my muscles and I enjoy the slight numbness the physical pain causes over the emotional.

My heart beat picks up with each stride, warming the blood flowing through my veins. Every step I take is perfectly smooth. The rows of trees that occupy the other side of the street fill the air with an earthy freshness. I turn around after a mile in. I doubt I'll make it home if I run any further. Like I said, running is still a little new to me.

In my peripheral vision I notice something grey move around on a roof. I stop. I put off my iPod and wrap my earphones around it before shoving it into my pocket. I take in deep breaths to savor the runner's high. I'm tall enough to look over the fence if I stand on my toes. On the roof is Autumn. She is absolutely breath-taking. So beautiful that I can't help myself; I tighten my grip on the top of the fence and jump over. I hide behind the big, thick, trunk of the only tree in this massive yard. I feel like a stalker but I don't care.

Autumn hugs her knees to her chest and stares at the moon like she is lost in her thoughts.

A large grey coat is draped over her shoulders. Her hair falling down in waves past her shoulders.

I'm a little taken by the crescent moon myself that it's hard not to get caught up in the moment. I place my hand on a branch just above my head. It causes some of the leaves to rustle. Afraid that Autumn might have heard, I watch her like a hawk while I start giving baby steps backwards. She seems unfazed. I'll be the school's biggest creep if I get caught. It's bad enough being the new / old student. A twig snaps under my foot.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Autumn tugs on her coat, wrapping it tighter around her. Looking in the general area where the sound came from. My blood runs cold as I wait with bated breath for something to happen.

"Hey," she shouts, standing up. Fuck, I think she saw me. I jump over the fence before she can recognize me. I know I should run but I don't. I find a gap in the fence and watch for her next move. Autumn goes back through the open window on the roof. She stands in front of it; her eyes are still hooked on the tree. When she finally closes the curtains, I lean my back against the dusty wood and sigh a breath of relief.

♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀

When I enter the cafeteria my eyes automatically scan the room for Autumn. I skip the food line because the meatloaf isn't exactly what I consider eatable. On my way to the only empty table left, a guy with blonde hair and green eyes pulls out a chair for me. I can tell by his young face that he is a freshman, that and the fact that I don't recognize him. I force a smile and decline his offer. I sit down and finally see her. She's been staring at me, I know because when our eyes meet she looks away, quickly. It's harder for me to pull my gaze from her though.

I unpack my own brought lunch; because you know being healthy and shit is important to me. I pull a grape off from its pedicel and eat it. I bite into a seed and cringe at the sudden bitterness in my mouth.

"Hi, Sam."

I almost choke on the half-eaten grape. Then I spit out the seeds in a napkin. I've always hated the nickname given to me by everyone else here, just because I was one of four Jade's in the school. I would've been more satisfied with Jay or even squirt, like my dad used to call me; but no they had to take my surname and shorten it.

Ace is standing next to me. My old best friend out of the group, but now my soon to be step brother. Talk about awkward. He hasn't changed much. He is still always touching Autumn and Sally. I know he doesn't mean anything by it because he never grabs an ass cheek or anything like that. It's more around the shoulders and waist, quick hugs and cheek kisses.

"Hey sibling," the way I say it sounds funny to my ears, like I can't believe it's true.

"Come sit with us," he points his thumb over his shoulder. I already know where that finger leads, but I look anyway. Just the mere thought of being so close to her sends my heart hammering in my chest.

Sally, who catches my eye, welcomes me with a wave. Autumn grabs her hand mid-air with a big fat scowl on her face. They start arguing. Seeing enough, I turn my attention back to Ace. His has a Cheshire grin plastered on his face. It's been ages since I've seen a smile so genuine.

"You and I both know I can't," my eyes linger towards the table again.

"She'll get over it. Besides I know Autumn, the only thing going through her brain is ripping your clothes off,"

"Ha!" I cover my mouth, then start laughing, throwing my head back.

I've been scratching in my locker for the last two minutes. I never find the damn books I need when I need them. Everything is always a big mess, but I don't reorganize it because I know it will look exactly like this again in a few days. I tie my hair up in a high pony; fan myself a bit. When I first got to London the cold, rainy weather was a bitch, but I got use to it. Now coming back to the sunny side of the world, I can't stand the heat. Go figures. But I did think it would be cooler considering it is technically Fall.

Autumn is on her way to her locker and I can tell there is something different. I've been extra observant, watching her. It comes naturally because every time she enters a room, she just captures your attention. She moves around this school like she owns it. But today her shoulders are slightly slumped. Her steps are smaller, like walking is taking much more energy than usual. There are bags under her eyes and the bun in her hair looks even messier than usual. It's not a bad fit; most girls just can't pull off the 'I don't care what I look like' look like she does.

She looks right through me, pretending like she doesn't even know who I am. I try not to take it personally because I know it's just one of her defense mechanisms. She leans her back against the locker, waiting now, for the bell to ring. I go back to looking for my book. Frustrated at the lack of results.

Autumn leans closer to me and her warm breath reaches my ear. It's hard to focus on the shiver running down my spine because I swear she just sniffed at me.

I push her head away from my neck, ignoring the shrill it sends through my arm, "what the hell, Autumn?"

Since when does she go around sniffing people? Autumn is close enough for me to notice the cleft in her chin. It's always been one of my favorite features about her, but I try not to smile.

"Oh sure, now you're,"-

"Why are your eyes violet?" I cut her off.

A red flag pops in my head. She can't be one.

I have a slight idea that what she was about to say had something to do with the small tattoo behind my ear.

Autumn suddenly looks more awake. She is frozen for only a split second. Not giving her enough time to even seem guilty of doing something wrong.

"I thought putting in these contacts would freak out Sally."

I focus my eyes in on her. That sounds like something she would do. Freshman year she put a fake spider on a teacher's desk. Misses Benet lost it and almost set the table alight.

If I wasn't busy drooling over her and her stupid cleft chin, I would've noticed if her eyes were purple the whole time or if they only just changed color.

♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀

I am practically begging for this day to be over, when I enter calculus. Our very smart and very attractive teacher Miss Frost already has work written on the board for us to do. When she turns around to add to that, Autumn sneaks in the class and takes her assigned seat next to mine. Frost doesn't even notice she is late.

If Autumn tries to explain the contact thing to me again I might have reason to believe she is hiding something. Instead she leans back in her chair until the front two legs lift off the ground. She smirks. I want to wipe that smile off of her face, but then again I like it.

"Did I miss anything?" She asks, wiggling back and forth in her chair. I try to keep my eyes focused on the teacher.

I shake my head. I won't allow myself to be distracted by her.

The teacher looks in our direction and squints her eyes. I pick up my pencil and start copying the work off the board.

Autumn leans in closer until our shoulders touch. My stomach turns and this time I am far too aware of how good it feels, being so close to her. I'm about to shift my chair away when she starts whispering, "by the way, love the tattoo behind your ear," she lays on the sarcasm pretty thick, making sure that I get the picture. Out of habit, I brush my fingertips over the tattoo; its two female symbols interlaced with one another.

I think about explaining myself, but the smirk on her face makes me change my mind so I just roll my eyes at her instead.

♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀

"Why did you guys break up anyway?" I hear Ace ask when I escape from my thoughts. It's kind of a sore subject for me so I pretend not to hear him. We're on our way to Isabella's party. She has one every year at the end of the first school week. We pull up the driveway and I get out first, waiting for him to lock the car. He grabs my hand and places it on his huge bicep. Any other girl would love to be in my shoes, but for me it doesn't mean much. It's just Ace being Ace.

The party is heated and already filling the cliche checklist. Teenagers making out in hallways, check. Drinking games like beer pong and quarters, check.

Bathroom line that extends into forever, check. Kids hooking up in the rooms, I assume check; I do not wanna see that to know for sure.

I lose Ace somewhere in the crowd. I don't have the energy to go looking for him and I don't want to follow him around like a lost puppy either, even though coming here was his idea. I hop on a counter, closest to the keg and just sit there for most of the night, observing teenagers in their natural habitat.

"Body shots!" I hear someone yell. I take that as my queue to leave the kitchen. I slip out through the open glass door, making sure the crazy kids who always want to throw someone in the pool, don't see me. I ponder the idea of hiding out in Isabella's infamous tree house because I've already grown tired of the party. Even though the tree house looks like it's about to fall apart and it's covered in a thick layer of dust, she refuses to let her dad take it down because it's where she had her first kiss and where she lost her v-card.

A guy in a football jersey leans closer to me, placing his hand on the trunk of the tree to keep his balance. I take a step back and my back presses against the trunk.

"Long time no see Sam," the stench of his beer breath is almost too much to bear and I have to stop my gag reflex. His face looks familiar but his name is lost to me.

"You should give me your number; it's about time we hook up,"

I roll my eyes at him, "I'm afraid you're not my type."

"You a dyke or something?" What a typical guy reaction. Well a guy with a huge ego at least.

I try to push him away but he doesn't budge.

"Yeah, you have a problem with that? Fucking leave." I swallow down the fear that is building inside of me.

"So the rumors were true," he says more to himself.

"I think I can change your mind," his aims his face towards mine and puckers up his lips.

I bend down and step out under his arms just before he gets close and he kisses the tree. His eyes shoot open and everyone is laughing. I'm already by the entrance of the tree house, hoping that he doesn't look up.

"I'm sorry I didn't think anyone would be up here," I say, when I see a body illuminated by the moonlight.

Long brown hair sways to the side when the girl turns her head to look at me. It's Autumn. I forgot she dragged me up here once to get away from the crowd. It was before our first kiss; when I was still harboring all my feelings for her, because I never dreamed that telling her how I felt would end well.

Autumn's hair isn't in a messy bun this time. It neatly hangs past her shoulders, not one hair out of place. I'm rendered speechless by her flawless features. I know this isn't the best idea but I sit down next to her before I give myself a reason to change my mind. I'm surprised when she doesn't chase me away. This is the first time I've been alone with her since I got here; no students roaming the halls, no teachers shushing you in class. No parents, no friends. Just us and the perfect opportunity to talk. I'm suddenly aware of how close I am to her. I fidget with the hem of my shirt.

"Can we talk?" I whisper but I still sound loud against the muffled sounds of music coming from below.

Autumn's eyes never leave the dark sky and she doesn't even attempt to answer me.

I don't want to look up at the moon either, afraid I will get pulled in by its beauty myself.

"I'm sorry."

Autumn peers at me from the corner of her eye, "For a long time I thought that there was nothing as beautiful as the moon, and then I saw your eyes."

I'm too stunned to speak because I expected more of a fight from her.

"Turns out that your eyes are the window to your soul. Yours are an icy blue and that is exactly how you are; icy and cold. I mean why else would you just leave me here to drown? And then I don't hear from you for a whole year. No calls. No texts. Not even a forsaken letter. "

That's more like the Autumn I know.

I contemplate telling her why I left, but decide against it because I know how stubborn she is. She's already made up her mind as to why and there is no changing that. She needs to change it herself.

Still fidgeting with the hem of my shirt I just sit there. Autumn has one eyebrow cocked like she anticipating words to come out of my mouth.

When the awkward silence engulfs us both she decides to leave, finally, but before she gets to the exit, her phone rings.

I stare at Autumn's silhouette as she answers the phone. There's a little more silence and then she says "I'll be right over Sally," with a worried tone to her voice.