"Something is scratching its way out, something you want to forget about."

I never thought those words could be so true.

My name is Raven. My friends call me Rae. I'm sixteen and I'm obviously a girl. My mom's name is Mae and my dad is Nero. I have a black kitten named Middie. I have a best friend named Lindsay. We're complete opposites of each other. That's where my story starts.

Lindsay and I were walking down the school hallway one Monday morning when I saw....him.

Zac. His dreamy green eyes....Oh, I could get lost in them all too easily. Not gonna lie, they remind me of my dad's eyes. I mean, I guess it's true that a girl always looks for her dad in a guy.

He passed me in the hallway and I almost melted at the knees. Lindsay had to keep my standing.

"There you go again," she chuckled as he turned down another hallway behind us.

"I...uh..." I had no response. How could I? Zac is the most perfect being in all of the world!

"While you were standing there goggling over him, we're now late for class," she explained, but it didn't seem to sink in. As I stood there staring at where Zac's perfect form had left my sight, Lindsay looped her arm around mine and sehe dragged me to our class.

That's not where the problem began.

The problem began when I hatched the stupid idea to actually talk to him for the first time. Before, I'd just gaze at him from across the room or accidentally bump into him and then run away scared.

No. Not this time.

This time, I would gather up enough courage to figure out what to say to him and then say it. Hopefully.

"It's not gonna work," Lindsay tells me after I explain my plan. Her face tells me she's not convinced that it's gonna work. This makes me feel even more confident.

"No," I reply, "This will work."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Then the end-of-class bell run and we escaped into the hallway. I stopped at my locker and then headed to lunch. I knew where he sat because I'd studi-I mean, watche-I mean, seen him from a distance and he eats pretty slowly.

AHHH!! Not the point!! Stay on track, Raven!

I made my way to his locker. I saw him throw his notebook in there like it was a piece of wadded up paper.

"Uh...." I was standing in front of him. He noticed me and my heart clenched, afraid of what he'd do next.

Then a smile rose to his face and I smiled, too. Maybe this wouldn't go as bad as Lindsay had figured.

"Um, hi, Zac," I choked out.

"Hi, Rachel."

This kind of deterred my spirit, "It, um...It's Raven."

"Okay," he didn't seem to care. Maybe Lindsay was right.

No. I'll prove to her that I was right.

"I, um....what do you think of me?" My voice faltered as I reached the end of my sentence. He was starting to walk away. I let him go. My heart seemed to have dropped to my feet.

"Okay," I mumbled, "Nice talk."

I stumbled my way to lunch.

It hurt me every time I glanced over at Zac. He ate like nothing ever happened. I almost wish I never knew him. But....that's not true. I'm kinda glad I met him. At least I can still stare at him from across the hall.

"Hello? Earth to Raven?" Lindsay banged her hand on the lunch table several times, which slowly brought me back into the moment.

"Oh, sorry," I muttered. I avoided her eyes. I knew what she was gonna say. I was just waiting to hear it.

Finally, she sighed, "I know what happened."

I took a chance looking up at her. Her head rested on her elbow and she looked almost sorry for me.

"How did you know?"

She smiled and now I knew she was feeling sympathetic, "It's written all over your face."

I bowed my head again, "Oh." I rested my chin on my arms, which were crisscrossed on the table's surface. I decided not to eat today. For some reason, I didn't feel hungry.

Lindsay held out a roll to me. I didn't take it.

"Eat." That's all she said. I still didn't take it.

"Open your mouth," she ordered. I did as she asked. She stuffed the roll in my mouth and I chewed it. The last few minutes of lunch period were filled with silence.

The end of the day seemed to come so quick that I'm glad for it. I just wanted to go home and cry.

I entered my house through the front door. Mom sat at her desk, editing her YouTube videos.

"How was school?" She spun around to face me in her spinny chair. I shrugged. This gave Mom a clue that something was the matter.

"Okay," she rolled closer, "What's wrong?"

"Just, um....Zac rejected me at school today."

"How so?"

"Well, I walked up to him and started talking to him, but he just walked away like I wasn't even there."

She rolled her eyes upward, like she'd been through this before, "Well, you talked to him once. That doesn't mean that he'll never talk to you again or vice versa."

I perked my head up in curiosity, "Huh...You're right."

"Of course I am," she beams a smile at me.

She runs a hand through her waist-length brown hair. Her hair is as long as mine, but I inherited my dad's black hair.

I kiss Mom on the cheek, "Thanks, Mom!"

She giggles, childishly, "Heh, you're welcome, Raven."

I run upstairs.

So I guess it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'm glad it worked out the way it did. Pain isn't that bad, once it's dealt with in a healthy way. Thanks, Mom.