A/N: Hello All! Thanks for choosing to at least look at this story. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. :) There have been some minor updates, mainly grammatically, but some parts have been added because I've inserted a new chapter right after this one. Feedback is appreciated.

Chapter One:

When It Rains It Pours

She was not having a good day. Candice Fitz stood on the corner of Maple and Elm, staring at the disappearing tail lights of her bus as the heavens poured down, lightening flashed and thunder boomed in the distance. Taking off her glasses to wipe them clean (not that it did one bit of good with the rain still pouring down) before placing them back on their perch, Candice sighed and tugged the strap of her bag more firmly onto her right shoulder. Not for a second did she contemplate skipping school over making the five mile trek towards Adams High. She'd never missed a day of school in her life; today would certainly be no exception.

If her sister, Eleanor, had been just a little less self-absorbed, if the storm that was still raging hadn't knocked the power out in the middle of the night, if her mother would have just allowed her to get that car this past summer…Candice scowled, her lips turned down in a tight frown. Her hair clung to her skin and her simple white tennis shoes sloshed through the sidewalk puddles as she walked. A few cars zipped past her, but none of them bothered to slow down. Candice kept her brown eyes focused solely on the ground in front of her, trying not to worry over how late she'd be to class. She'd never been late before, not once.

After about twenty minutes, she heard the beep of a car coming up behind her and a black Ford Focus slowed to a crawl beside her. Glancing over at it, she felt her face grow hot and she kept walking. The passenger side window rolled down and Matt Hanson leaned over from behind the wheel to smile at her. "You really take school dedication to a whole new level Candice."

"I missed the bus," she called back to him, not slowing her pace or even allowing herself a second glimpse of the school's blue-eyed god. She'd never considered herself naïve enough to develop any sort of crush on him, though she'd been around him enough to see why someone might.

"Yeah, I figured." Matt finally came to a stop with a sigh. "Get in, you're soaked."

Candice cast his car a considering look. "I'll soak your interior."

"It'll survive. Come on, I don't bite."

Her face still aflame, she turned towards his car, setting her bag in his backseat and sliding into the passenger seat. He turned on the heated seats as she closed the door and sped off towards school before she'd even pulled her seatbelt on. Matt shot her a look as they drove, her gaze focused on her glasses as she attempted to wipe them clean. "I've got extra clothes in my gym locker you can change into when we get to school."

Surprised, her gaze shot up to him. "Oh, I'm alright thank you."

He raised a brow at that, "You have a spare set of clothes then?"

Of course she didn't, but how would it look if she were walking around in his clothes all day? Her silence seemed to be answer enough because Matt smirked a little and nodded. "They'll be a little big, but they'll be a hell of a lot warmer than what you've got on. Not to mention, less see through." With a gasp, she looked down and pulled her red cardigan closed over her white blouse. Matt broke into laughter and reached into his back seat before tossing her a large Adams High football hoodie. "Relax Candice, you're practically my sister."

Anger helping her to find her tongue, she pulled the hoodie over her head and shot him a glare. "If by sister, you mean your best friend's sister's best friend. I don't think it's very funny."

Clearly deciding it was best to say nothing, Matt only blasted the heat for the next few minutes it took to pull into the school parking lot. Candice had what she considered only the mildest of crushes on Matt Hanson, and it was more her lack of experience with boys that always caused her to flounder in his presence. He'd been best friends with Jay Thomas since they'd been kids, and as Faith, Jay's sister, had been her best friend since preschool, she'd seen him plenty of times in passing. Still, she'd never ridden in his car, and she definitely never said more than a handful of words to him where required. The moment they parked, she was out like a shot, grabbing her bag and ducking her head so that no one would notice who it was stepping out of Matt Hanson's car.

Before she could get more than a few steps, he was tossing an arm around her shoulder and steering her towards the left side entrance. She peered up through her sopping wet hair to verify that everyone around them was much too preoccupied with getting out of the rain to notice her and Matt. "I'm really fine."

Ignoring her, he pulled her through the side entrance and down the hall to the left where the boys' locker room was located. She saw two boys leaned up against the side of the building, just under the roof ledge in an effort to stay out of the rain as they inhaled the nicotine in their hands. Candice turned her face instinctively towards the crook of Matt's arm to keep from being noticed.

When he would've pushed her through the door, she locked her feet in place and leaned back. "I can't go in there!" she hissed, cheeks aflame again. "It's the boys' locker room."

Matt raised a brow, his smile not faltering, "It's seven in the morning, no one is in here. We just need to grab the clothes so you can change." With no visible effort, he pulled her through the doorway and over towards his locker. In less than two minutes, he was handing her a t-shirt sporting his last name and jersey number on the back. "Sorry I can't help you out with the pants, but this is better than nothing."

Even if no one noticed him bringing her to school, they'd definitely notice her wearing his shirt. Candice did not do well under scrutiny. "It won't take too long to dry out."

"You're shivering."

She studied him a moment and then glanced back towards the locker room door uneasily. If she was lucky, maybe she could find Faith, Hope or Cyn to borrow a sweater before anyone even noticed which shirt she wore. She bit her lip and looked back at him, pushing her glasses nervously back up her nose and then held out her hand to accept the shirt with a small, "Thanks."

Matt smiled at her and then headed for the door. "Anytime, I'll guard the door so you can change real quick."

Before she could protest, he was gone. Trying not to think about where it was she was undressing, Candice made quick work of removing her soaked shirt and cardigan and tossed on his dry one. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she noted the time and knew the halls would now be filled with her classmates. Pulling the door open, she cast Matt a quick glance, thanked him again and rushed off down the hallway before he could say anything else.

Her three friends were all crowded around her locker when she reached it and Faith raised a brow and studied her through sharp hazel eyes. "Something you want to tell us?"

Feeling more comfortable now that she was near her friends, Candice felt some of the tension in her shoulders dissipate as she spun the lock and began organizing for first period. "The power went out at the house and my alarm didn't go off. I got up forty minutes late and then Eleanor locked herself in the only bathroom to cry over her boyfriend of the day, Troy. I missed the bus."

"And you're wearing Matt Hanson's shirt because…" Hope trailed off, leaning her shoulder on the locker to Candice's left.

Candice shot Hope a scowl. "He was driving past when he saw me walking to school and gave me a ride. My shirt was soaked through and he offered me an extra from his locker. It's really not a big deal."

"Seraphina Patrick is going to think it's a big deal that you're wearing her boyfriend's shirt," Cyn pointed out, pushing her blonde hair back behind her ear to reveal an always present headphone in her ear, her gaze trailing down the hall to the red headed cheerleader in question. "In fact, she's going to consider it a very big deal."

Having had the same thoughts, Candice shut her locker and followed Cyn's gaze with a frown. "I'm practically his sister."

Faith snorted at that, rolling her eyes as she shifted her books to her other arm. "Did he tell you that? Matt Hanson is a conceited ass. How my brother can stand to be around him so often is beyond me."

"But it was nice of him to help you out," Hope offered, elbowing Faith in the ribs as the color began to rise in Candice's face. "You're right, Candy, it really isn't a big deal."

Her eyes roaming the halls, Candice pressed her back up against the lockers in what she hoped was a relaxed attempt at hiding the name on the back of the shirt. "Do any of you have a sweater I could borrow for the day?" All three of her friends shook their heads and her gaze shifted back down the hall towards Seraphina and her clique. Matt was with her now, his arm looped around her waist as they talked to their friends.

"Don't worry about it," Cyn said softly, breaking her trance. Candice turned her attention to her friend and she forced a smile she didn't feel. She really wasn't great with confrontation. She preferred her books. "No one is even going to notice. I'm sure of it."

Everyone noticed. By the time lunch rolled around, Candice could swear that all eyes were on her as she carried her tray towards a picnic table in the far back left of the courtyard. The rain had stopped around ten o'clock. Flicked off like a switch and then the sun was out and shining brightly as it beat down on them. Candice kept her head down, avoiding confrontation at all costs. Halfway to the table where her friends were gathering, a pair of silver sandals with turquoise painted toes came into view directly in her path.

Holding in a sigh, Candice came to a stop and looked up into the angry green eyes of Seraphina herself. "Excuse me."
"Matt Hanson is mine." Seraphina stood with her hip cocked and eyes narrowed, glaring at Candice as if she wished her bodily harm. "Hands off."

Candice's gaze shot past Seraphina and over towards her table wistfully. She was definitely not having a good day. Shifting her weight as her anxiety grew, Candice looked back at Seraphina. "I wouldn't try to steal him from you, Seraphina. He only let me borrow this because−"

"I'm sorry," Seraphina broke in with a snap. "Do I look like someone who cares about what some nerd has to say?"

There was a prickle of irritation at those words, but Candice didn't want a fight. Even the thought of one made her itch. "No. I'm only trying−"

This time she was cut off by the sensation of milk spilling down over her. Seraphina stood in front of her with a smirk and two other girls, each with a milk carton in hand, moved to stand on either side of her. Both girls looked smug as Candice stood there, finding that she and her lunch had been covered. "Don't touch what's not yours."

Laughter surrounded her and Candice found that all eyes were on her− much like they'd been all day, but now they were laughing at her. She felt her face grow hot and tears threatened to add to her embarrassment. Her gaze darted around at all of the faces and she wished desperately to be anywhere but here. Already, her friends were heading in her direction, and she wanted to run. Seraphina and the other two girls turned away smugly and Candice took a step to escape, except that as she did, her foot hit the nearby picnic table bench and she fell forward. Much to her dismay, her tray tipped and landed flat on the back of Seraphina as she went down.

There was a shriek as Seraphina swung around towards her, but before she could cause any further damage to Candice herself, Candice was flat on her face, having followed the tray on its path to the ground. The laughter from before exploded and she suddenly found herself flanked on either side by Hope and Faith. Cyn stood in front of her, blocking Seraphina from any further damage as the other two pulled Candice to her feet.

"Did you see what she did to me?" Seraphina shrieked to someone. "Look at my clothes. She attacked me."

"Ms. Fitz." The laughter died immediately, and everyone's gaze locked on that of the disapproving face of Mr. Patrick, Seraphina's father and the principal of the school. "My office, immediately."

Faith and Hope stepped reluctantly away, and she felt the tears burning hot trails down her face. Candice Fitz was not having a good day.