Stephen's POV

I rolled to my back, shielding my eyes against the sun that streamed through the light curtains. Damn my East facing windows! Usually I was up with the sun, either practicing or studying. But yesterday's rain had prohibited my normal activities, and the confrontation with Bridget had left me feeling empty.

"Stephen," a knock on my door was followed with the creak of it opening. My mom's head peeked around the door. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." I rolled to a sitting position on the side of the bed and ran my hands over my face and up through my hair in attempt to shake my grogginess.

"Want me to make you some eggs and toast?" She asked.

"Sure, I'll be right down." I could see the concern, and figured she would feel better if I let her do this for me, especially since I generally ate and ran before she was even up and going.

I pulled a t shirt and jeans on after she closed the door, and then began filling my back pack with the homework and textbooks I had left scattered around the room the night before. Grabbing my shoes I jogged down the stairs to the kitchen.

The image of Bridget Lane standing in the parking lot yelling at me filled my minds eye. Obviously I had backed myself into a corner, and there was no way out. For years I had done what I could to get her attention, and it had worked, in an immature way. I hadn't really warned anyone off from asking her out, but my close friends knew I was interested in her. I never really heard much in the way of locker room talk about her either. How her friends came to the conclusion that I had staked a claim on Bridget and made her taboo was beyond me. But I wouldn't have really minded people having thought that, except for her reaction. I had been contemplating how to get in her good graces for a few months, but how do you start a friendship, much less a relationship with someone who hates you?

Yesterday I had kept out of sight, but my ears were wide open. Of course everyone was eager to report what she was doing to see my reaction, but I had tried to absorb everything with a blank, noninterested face. Though I couldn't stop myself from reinforcing her shield before she became drenched walking in to school. But those types of acts of kindness would never be noticed- they hadn't been so far.

"Hmm, are you trying something new?" Mom asked, sniffing as she placed a plate in front of me.

"No," I frowned and shrugged. I never wore cologne, as a rule. I had a bottle on my dresser that I had recieved for my birthday, but it had a thick layer of dust on it.

"You aren't your normal self, no matter what you say." She leaned against the counter, arms crossed and eyebrows dipping in concentration.

"Sorry." I pushed the eggs around and then picked up my toast. I really didn't have much appetite and that made it a lucky thing that I was short on time.

"Yeah, well, you just seem off." Finally she shrugged and started cleaning up the breakfast mess. "Your dad will be back Saturday. Do you think we should barbeque or go out?"

"It's Dad, what do you think?" I gave her a peck on the cheek as I set my plate on the counter. "Barbeque, of course!" My dad was in the Defense Corps and was away every few weeks with a week off in between. Mom, on the other hand, had a very unstructured job as a self employed event organizer.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes, and wished me a good day at school. I could only hope.

+++++++

"I am so stupid." I muttered to myself, as I walked between classes with Brant. It was like she was the new kid, the amount of attention Bridget was getting.

"Yep." Brant said matter of factly. That was why he was my best friend. He didn't pander to me, or anyone for that matter, and he was always upfront about everything.

I watched her wavy, brown hair as it swept back and forth across her shoulders as she walked, chin tucked down in attempt to ignore prying eyes. Yes, I could read her that well, even from behind. I was all too familiar with the blush that creeped up her neck when the attention spotlight was placed on her. It had become one of the only ways I knew she was aware of me in the past year or two. I didn't get the flashing eyes too often anymore, since she took to avoiding the acknowledgment of my prescence.

A firm hand grabbed my arm, and Brant swung me into the classroom that was our destination. "Pay attention much?" He muttered under his breath.

"Always" I retorted smartly. Man, I really had lost it. That girl had always hummed in the periphery of my senses, though I wasn't quite sure why. Funny how I knew she wasn't the most beautiful girl in school, but she was the one I was attracted to. And always had been. My mom pestered me about girls, and my dad always asked if there was anyone for him to meet when he was on leave. It wasn't that they were worried about my "orientation" or that there was a need for me to be in a relationship, I guess it was just odd that I had never been on a date or expressed an interest in anyone. That they knew of. Kind of hard to admit at this point that the girl I was interested in would love nothing more than to blast me with a ball of fire.

Mr Dreisbach tended to drone, and today was no exception. I could already list the classes of magic users: diviners, charismatics, illusionists, conjurers, transmuters, evokers, and obscurers. Many excelled in one particular realm, though some could use a few. This was what we were talking about today: the possible combinations of said classes. And again, this was something else I knew inside and out. Even before my abilities started to show I had devoured books about the classifications, I was so obsessed with where my future may lie.

The first time I had felt that singing, electrical current hum in my fingertips, and the bedroom door closed when I was two feet away, was elating and a let down all at the same time. Transmutation was awesome, yet there were so many other great classes! My dad had found it amusing that I was in a funk over my abilities finally showing themselves. Then a month or so later I was on my way downstairs looking for something to munch on when I heard giggling and rustling from the couch. Dad was home on leave and the tv was still glowing, I had opted not to watch "Dances With Wolves" with my parents and apparantly they had lost interest too. What was more embarrassing than catching your parents in the middle of sex? I dropped to all fours in attempt to remain unnoticed, panicking, when I got chills all over and saw my arms and legs begin to blur. The yelp that escaped my lips was anything but muted, doing nothing for my disguised body and alerted my parents of my presence. Their scrambling and my excitement ended up with me recieving more than an eyeful, but I really could have cared less since I realized I was blessed with more than a normal amount of abilities.

Since then I played a game with myself, trying to guess everyone else's classes and strengths. It really wasn't too hard if you had an idea of their personality. Though with Bridget I really wasn't sure. I could rule out charismatic and diviner, but I had to admit I wasn't really sure I wanted to know exactly where her magic lay. What if we weren't compatable? That would kind of ruin my attraction and obsession, and I wasn't ready to let that flicker of hope die. Sappy and pathetic, yes.

I mindlessly copied Mr Dreisbach's slides, while contemplating Bridget the entire period. It was obvious that she didn't appreciate big shows of affection: she had looked awkward with Eric's flowers, and I had heard that Chase's escort was more like a body guard trailing his ward than a couple strolling together. I wondered, for the millionth time, what it would take for a guy to win her affections. And once again I replayed the incident from a few days before. There hadn't been any need to spread the word that she was available- it had spread like wildfire, a match to dry kindling in the desert. And I felt dry, as if I had been choking on the smoke. Her temper was a sight to see. I smiled. Should I stay on the periphery and hope to keep some of the suitors at bay, or stay off her radar on the chance that she would cool off, giving me a chance to reappear at a suitable moment and get back in her good graces?