It is starting to concern me how much my mind is consumed with Haze, since I only met the mysterious, inked stranger this morning.

Ever since I showed him around, my mind is reeling back to his ice-cold eyes, his delicious arm muscles and his perfectly lined jaw.

I have never met anyone like him. Living in a small country town comes with a certain type of people who live in it. Haze is certainly not one of those.

"What are you thinking about?" Heidi asks me as we walk to lunch, giving me a sidelong glance, quirking one of her ginger eyebrows up.

"The new guy," I reply honestly.

"What about him?" she smirks, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"He's just so different?"

"Definitely," she nods as we walk through the entrance to the people-filled cafeteria. "No other boy like him around here, that's for sure."

Immediately, my eyes begin scanning for him. I notice he's lined up at the canteen, his hands dug into his jean pockets, his shoulders hunched. He looks starkly out of place with his dark-wash jeans, heavily tattooed arms and especially the ring that's looped through his ear. I can't name a single guy around at this school that has a tattoo, or a piercing of any kind. Only girls have piercings – most of us have our ears done. Heidi has her belly button pierced and hasn't told her parents, as they would disapprove. She would have a nose piercing if it was as easy to hide as her belly ring.

"I'm going to buy some lunch," I tell Heidi, as I see Kai making his way over to us.

"Okay," she shrugs, linking arms with Kai, before going to find a seat.

I walk over, trying to appear nonchalant as I line up behind him. I can smell the faint stench of cigarette smoke, mixed with his aftershave. His defined muscles are visible through the white school uniform shirt, making my eyes walk across his back.

"Hi Haze, how's it going?" I question with a bright smile.

He doesn't respond.

"Haze?"

After ignoring me, again, I lightly tap his shoulder.

"What?" he growls, peering down at me with a scowl, which for some reason, only makes me smile more.

"How is your first day going?" I ask politely.

"Fine," he grunts, before facing the front again.

I tap his shoulder again. He lets out a sigh, facing me.

"What?"

Ignoring his rude attitude, my smile only grows. "May I sit with you for lunch?"

"No."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Look, thanks for being nice and whatever, but I'm fine sticking with myself, okay?" he frowns, brushing his unruly, dark hair back from his forehead, before facing the front.

I nibble at my lip, making no further attempts at conversation.

Usually, if someone is so openly rude to me – which never happens around here – I wouldn't go out of my way to speak to the person again. But something about this boy is pulling me in. It seems the harder he tries to push me away, the more I want to know about him.

He grouchily orders his lunch and doesn't make eye contact with me as he skulks away, his head low.

I head towards the table where my two best friends are sitting, deep in conversation.

"What's the hot topic?" I ask them as I take a seat, carefully unwrapping my salad roll packaging.

"The horror party next weekend at the community hall," Kai tells me with an excited grin on his face.

"Oh!"

Quite often, parties are held at the community hall. They range from 22 and under to 23 and over, depending on who or what organisation is holding it. The "young" parties, as they are commonly labelled, draw a surprisingly large crowd, as people from all surrounding towns come to join the celebration.

We have loose laws around here, considering most people drink at the "young" parties. The cops in town know pretty much everyone on a first-name-basis. Nothing too crazy ever happens, which is why the parties are always a major success.

"Posters are being hung up today," Kai says, pulling one out and showing me.

It is a black and red poster, decorated with fangs, bats and werewolves. The font is blood red and has a dripping effect.

"Should I invite Haze?" I ask them.

"No way!" Kai blurts at the same time Heidi exclaims, "Yes!"

I blink, switching my eyes between the two. "Which is it? Yes or no?"

"No – because he is dark and scary." Kai sheds his point of view.

"Yes – because he is dark and sexy," Heidi grins. "Besides, what better way to get to know people?"

"Come on, Kai, it would be nice to at least offer," I point out. "He might not come, anyway."

"Your funeral," Kai shrugs. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

I take in his words, but find myself standing up, the poster tightly tucked in between my thumb and forefinger. I give them a tight-lip smile, before walking over to the table, where Haze is sitting. His food is untouched as he sits there, playing an app on his phone. I round the table and sit down opposite to him.

The sleeves of his school polo shirt are rolled, showing off his delicious looking biceps. His dark hair looks windblown, the top buttons on his shirt undone, revealing the tips of what looks like another tattoo on his chest. I can't seem to stop staring at the intricate designs of ink spread across his skin.

He doesn't look up or make any attempt to react to me sitting down.

"Hi Haze," I greet in a chirpy voice. "I have a proposition for you."

"Not interested." He bluntly replies, still not looking up from his phone.

I watch his hands and my eyes zero in on the many cuts and bruises that are scattered across his skin. I didn't notice them before.

"It's a party," I continue, as though he didn't say anything. "It's next Saturday. Would you like to go with me?"

He finally raises his eyes, looking shocked.

"With you?" he asks in a low voice.

"Yeah? They're really fun and a great way to meet people." I tell him with a smile.

"Why do you want me to go?" he asks, his voice deep, looking genuinely curious.

"Because I want to see you there," I find myself saying.

I feel my cheeks blush as he stares at me, his gaze almost too intense.

"Where is it?" he asks eventually and I slide the poster in front of him.

"It's at the community hall. It's a horror theme, so you can dress up."

"Do I have to?"

"It's not compulsory, but everyone does."

"Can I drink?" he asks, meeting my eyes once more.

"Sure. Most people do."

"Do you?"

"Yep," I nod.

"Really?" he drawls, leaning back slightly with an amused smirk on his lips. "Didn't think you'd be the type."

"Is that an insult?" I ask him with a small smile, glad that we're having a two-sided, proper conversation.

"Take it as you want." He shrugs.

"Do you want to get ready with me and my friends?" I ask him.

"Who are your friends?"

"I'll be getting ready with those two," I point to where Heidi and Kai are gawking at us, not-so-subtly. They abruptly look away as our attention falls on them.

He rolls his eyes. "Figured as much."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." He answers with a straight-face. "What time?"

"The party starts at 6, so we'll probably meet at about 5. Doesn't matter if we're a bit late."

"I'll think about it," he surprises me by saying.

"Okay," I smile.

I get to my feet, unable to wipe the grin off my face, as I walk back to the table.

"Tell me everything!" Heidi squeals, her cheeks flushed as she claps her hands together excitedly.

"Looks like I might have a date to the horror party," I beam.

Heidi lets out a "whoop whoop" while Kai shakes his head at me.

"This is going to be fun."

***

As I walk up the path towards my house, I find myself thinking about Haze, for what feels like the thousandth time today.

I'm shocked that someone he has had such an effect on me. This has never happened – not even with Fletcher, the "Golden Boy" of the school. Sure, I liked him, but I never felt overwhelmingly intrigued by him, like I do with Haze. I can't help but wonder what his story is.

I kick off my shoes once I'm on my porch and neatly line them against the wall.

As I step inside, the smell of a home-made dinner has filtered through the house. I smile, the Heavenly smell attracting me to the kitchen, where Ma is, preparing dinner for me, my father and my younger brother.

"Hi Ma," I greet, knowing that she hasn't heard me come in.

"Hi Hun," she smiles over her shoulder. "How was school?"

"Interesting," I reply honestly. "I had to show a new guy around today."

"What's he like?" she questions, opening the oven and peeking at the food, knowing that I often show the new kids around.

"Very, very different to anyone else I've ever met."

"Is that a good thing?" she asks, straightening up and discarding her oven mitts onto the bench.

My mother looks very alike to me. She is tall, with a slender build and long, blond hair, although hers is always tied neatly back, whereas mine is usually cascading down my back in waves. We share the same bright green eyes.

"I think that is a yes and no, kind of question."

"That sounds exciting," she winks and I know for a fact that she wouldn't be doing that if she knew what he looked like.

Both Ma and Pa are very conservative country folks, forbidding me and my brother to never participate in any drugs, tattooing of the skin or any piercings. My Pa told me that if I did any of these things, he would publicly disown me and kick me out of the house. I had laughed until I realised that he was serious. I have my ears pierced, which he was against at first, but he soon came around once he realised that the Queen even has her ears pierced.

I leave the kitchen and mount the stairs, heading to my room. I remove my bag from my shoulders, feeling my tense muscles begin to relax, once the heavy weight is off me. I exchange my uniform for my exercise clothes, deciding that a run might help my reeling mind soothe.

"Want to come for a run?" I ask Ma, poking my head through the kitchen doorway, even though I already know the answer.

"Oh no, I have far too much cooking to do. You go have fun," she smiles and I nod, before disappearing out the door.

I jog down the steps and continue at an even pace as I make my way down the bitumen road. I live in a nice street, full of neighbourly people with huge, green backyards that are perfectly manicured, even through the drought seasons. I love running around the block during Spring. The flowers in people's gardens are incredible.

I can see my breath in front of me as I pick up my pace, feeling my cheeks burn due to the exertion.

I find myself running down Pine Avenue, even though Ma has warned me time and time again, not to. I find it interesting, seeing how drastically the neighbourhood turns. The lawns here are overgrown, cars are dented, there are weeds sneaking through the cracks of the pavements and there are pieces of broken furniture out the front of people's homes. When I used to run down here, I made it a habit to count the many cigarette butts that litter the ground.

I often hear shouting and cursing, coming from inside houses, when I jog past. I've had someone follow me in a car once and try to get me into the car, too. After that, I didn't run down here for a good six months. I haven't since then – actually.

The only reason I am today, I know, is because I have a feeling that Haze might live here. It's terribly stereotypical of me to think such things, but I can't help being curious to see if I'm right.

I continue jogging at a steady pace, my neck feeling clammy with sweat. I scan my eyes, meeting a few strangers' stares, one guy licking his lips as he watches me. I ignore the intimate gesture, keeping my eyes peeled for a boy with strikingly dark hair and tattooed arms.

My eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I see him. He's down on one knee, attempting to work on a motorcycle, a rusty spanner in his hand. He's dressed in a tight, black singlet, despite the temperature being cool. He has grease marks on his arms and there's a glisten of sweat beading across his skin.

I slow to a walk and find myself going over to him, knowing that I probably appear like a stalker.

"Hi Haze!" I beam. "How's it going?"

He jumps almost a foot in the air as he whirls around, facing me. His face looks shocked as his eyes dip over my attire. I am starkly aware that I'm only in a crop-top and tights, even though it is chilly out. I'm surprised Ma didn't pull me up from going out in public in such limited clothing. She was probably too distracted with cooking to notice.

"What the hell are you doing in this part of town?" he exclaims, his voice deep and a little raspy sounding.

"I jog down here all the time," I say breezily, even though I haven't in many months. "You live here?"

He flickers his eyes to the very warn down house with visible paint peeling. He looks uncomfortable as he nods.

"Cool! I've never met anyone that lives on this street."

"There's a reason for that, none of these dickheads have an education."

I am taken back for a moment.

"That's a pretty harsh thing to say."

"That's life," he says flatly, his eyes dipping down to my exposed skin. "What's your name, again?"

"Ellie. Ellie Browning."

"Right."

"Any who, I should keep going so I don't get cold," I tell him with a smile. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately." He deadpans.

I give him a brisk wave, before picking up my jog again. I run fast, all the way home, suddenly feeling radiant with energy. I don't stop running until I get into the house, up the stairs and into my room. My chest is heaving as I plant my hands on my hips, struggling to breathe.

Dropping to my carpeted floor, a breathless smile forms on my face.

I am excited to see Haze again tomorrow.

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