Well, there we go, I gave it away. The cat's out of the bag. Thanks for catching it moomy! Chris is Jesse in real life. I forgot to change it when I was writing. Oh and you guys…he thinks its his fault that he gave me that scar on my knee! I asked him yesterday!

All Over a Boy

Chapter 3: The High School Years

After that night, Nicole rarely saw Jesse. It turns out they did go to the same school. They smiled and chatted in the halls, but that was the extent of their relationship. The scar on her knee reminded her of him, but the reminder was of a chance lost.

As for Nicole and Laura, they remained awesome friends for the rest of middle school. When high school came about, however, they went to different school and for about a year, they held their friendship strong. But as they got involved in their individual lives, they grew apart. It wasn't negative though. Nicole always remembered their friendship, throughout high school and beyond, and it made her laugh and feel good knowing there were people like Laura in the world. Although they never spoke, Nicole drew strength from the fact that they once were friends as did Laura.

After middle school, Nicole went to Palmer High. She made a bunch of new friends there and established a really close-knit circle of girls and guys. At the end of her freshman year in high school, she saw him again. He was walking with another girl, hand in hand. She smiled and waved as she called out, "Hey Jesse!" She was surprised to feel a bit of jealousy a year later even after they'd really spoken only once.

'He looks so good she thought. He's even taller than I remember and his masculine features are stronger and oooh…his girlfriend is so lucky!'

He glanced in her direction and his eyebrows arched in surprise when he saw her.

'Wow! She looks so beautiful. She's matured so much.'

As he eyed her in appreciation his girlfriend Stefanie elbowed him.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" she asked, slightly envious of this girl's looks, but not jealous, because she had the man.

"Uh, ya," he responded, in a deep baritone.

Nicole shivered. His voice was very sexy.

"Nicole, this is Stefanie. Stef, this is Nicole."

The girls nodded their acknowledgements and they made small talk. Both Jesse and Nicole felt something of what they did that night, but neither let it get out of hand because he was, once again (although more formally), taken.

After that, as in middle school, for about three years, they chatted in the halls and occasionally went to the same party, but never got to be close. When his girlfriend, who was a grade older, graduated, they broke up. He never really felt much with her. They were just really good friends.

Then one day in the summer before their senior year, Nicole's best friend Beth, invited a bunch of people to go to the beach. Nicole dressed in a green, flowery one-piece, embarrassed to go in a bikini because of her extra ten pounds. Beth kept telling her that she looked beautiful but, of course, Nicole wouldn't believe her.

They met up with the guys at Subway (A/N: I don't own Subway!) to buy lunch. As the bell on the door tinkled when they entered, a gasp was heard.

"What is it Nicole?" Beth asked.

"You invited Jesse?!" Nicole replied in a panic.

'Oh my God! I'm going to see him in a bathing suit…Ah! He's going to see ME in mine! Shit, shit, shit!"

"Ya, you know him?" Beth asked giggling.

"Not very well." Nicole replied, forcing her appearance to be cool, calm, and collected.

"Well, Mike said to invite two people and he'd bring two people. So I invited you and Jesse, because I think he's really hot. And Mike was going to bring his girlfriend, but she couldn't make it. He also brought Ryan, a guy in his band." Beth explained. Then she muttered, "Who is VERY cute by the way. I've always wanted to date a Ryan."

Nicole rolled her eyes at her best friend and proceeded to go greet Mike.

Hearing a familiar giggle, Jesse turned around and his breath caught in his throat.

'She's here?! Nobody told me SHE would be here. I get to see her in a bathing suit…yes! But, oh man! She's so pretty when she giggles like that. Ahh! She's coming over here.'

Putting on a debonair smile, Jesse greeted Nicole. "Hey Nicole, long time no see."

"Ya," she said, returning his smile and making his heart pound. "How are you?"

"Pretty good, pretty good. Hey, do you know Ryan. He's the lead singer for Mike's band."

"No, I don't believe I do. Wutsup Ryan." Nicole asked as he looked her up and down, noting her curvaceous figure.

"What about me?" yells Beth when no one introduces her.

Immediately all males are eyeing her appreciatively with only her bikini top on and shorts. She was not very well endowed at all, and her face was ok, but her thin waist and large derriere made men drool over her. Nicole felt a tinge of jealousy and Jesse eyed Beth.

'She's pretty hot. Wow, two lovely ladies…what could be better?!' Jesse thought as he glanced back at Nicole who was looking back and forth between him and Beth with a look of…jealousy? 'Whatever.'

"Ok people. Let's get moving. We don't want to be there when the clouds get there." Mike said as he headed out the door with his subs as everyone else ordered theirs.

When they got to the beach, it was fairly crowded and the girls set up camp and prepared to get Nicole a tan, because she was always teased for her fair skin.

"Ok, let's get that sunscreen on so you can absorb some rays little girl." Beth was saying as she slathered the suntan lotion onto Nicole's back.

"We'll be back in a few," hollered Jesse as all three boys ran into the ocean and wrestled one another.

"Boys," Nicole giggled.

"You can't live with'em, you can't live without'em." Beth finished for her.

They sat tanning for a while and gossiping about everything, but mostly the boys. Nicole didn't say anything about Jesse, she just talked with Beth about her developing crush on Ryan.

"Nikki!" Beth gushed. "I love a man who can sing...Whoo-hoo! And he's so tall"

And on and on it went, until the guys came out and practically dragged the girls into the water. Jesse grabbed Nicole's arms and a jolt ran through both of them, but he barely faltered and threw her into the water. No one noticed the heightened emotions between the two. Even they were having trouble identifying them.

The group splashed around for about an hour and then they crashed on the towels to eat their subs. Beth flirted like mad with Ryan, who, sure enough, asked her out the next week. Nicole and Jesse talked like old friends and subtly flirted with one another. Not even Beth noticed the attraction between the two, but that could have been because of her own flirting madness.

The two had another moment, looking into each other's eyes, but as luck would have it, before either could think of making a move, water poured forth from the sky and they had to head home.

"It was nice seeing you again, Nicole."

"You, too."

"Later."

"Bye."

And that was the last of their conversation for the summer except for a party where Beth flirted up a storm with him because she thought he was really hot and had just broken up with Ryan. So Nicole backed off because she hadn't made her intentions, or her feelings known. She just let Beth have him at that party, and every other girl who was vying for him. Nicole didn't think he would want her even though throughout the party he wondered, 'Why won't she speak with me? I must have done something.'