I looked at the one who said my name. I knew it was him, without a doubt, before he confirmed it by calling me Lilac.

Even though it was dark the night we met, and I couldn't make out any of his features with the shadows crossing over his face, I remembered those blue eyes. They were so bright, I wondered if they were real. They reminded me of the crisp blue of a tropical ocean, or the bright sky on day with no clouds and the sun left to shine uninterrupted.

But the boy who stood in front of me didn't look like the type to wear contacts, so I'm almost positive they're real.

He was looking at me while I looked right back at him. His eyes were even more brilliant because of the skin they sat on. The contrast of the olive hue made them pop even more. His hair was dark, as were his eyebrows. His chin was sculpted, and I swear I could see the muscles in his jaw begin to tense as we silently stared at each other.

Well, I stared up at him. He stared down at me. There was a significant height difference between us. I had no doubt he was well over six feet tall.

I wondered for a moment if he really did go to our school, because simply, I found it hard to believe I had never before noticed a boy who looked like he did. He was hot. There was no way around it.

And I knew, that he knew he was hot. The way he was standing confirmed it. He stood with such confidence, no self doubt as my eyes poured over him. Over his broad shoulders, and the way his leather jacket tightened around his biceps...

"Lilac?" Clara's confused voice brought me back to reality. "What the fuck?"

"Is that not your name?" The mystery boy didn't take his eyes off me, even though it was clear that Clara was speaking to the both of us. "That's what you said your name was."

"It is my name." I said simply. I looked away from him, and back towards Clara. She was darting her eyes between me, and the two guys we didn't know the names of. Her pale eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion. She shook her head slightly as we made eye contact, as if she was silently asking who the fuck is that and why the fuck did he call you Lilac?

"I'm Samuel." The other guy said, walking past Mr. Mystery until he stood in front of Clara and I. He was looking us up and down like we were a snack that he wanted to eat. Even his simple words of introducing himself oozed with sex appeal, and instantly, I could tell we were dealing with a ladies man. Who the hell were these boys?

"I figured I would introduce myself, since everyone else seems to be on first name basis. I was feeling left out. Rome, you mean to tell me that you know these beautiful ladies, and you never mentioned it before?" Samuel continued when we didn't speak.

I was surprised at the fact Clara hadn't said anything yet. Clara may get an A in every class she's ever taken, but trust me when I say, boys is the subject she really excelled at.

"We're not on first name basis. Your boy here just happens to know my best friend's full name. I find it to be suspicous, to be honest. No one calls her that, and I highly doubt she told you it herself. So, no, no one here is on first name basis." Clara said quickly.

Anyone who didn't know Clara might think she's being rude. I knew her, though. I knew her like the back of my hand, and this was Clara's first step in flirting with someone. She tried to hurt their feelings.

Yeah, my best friend can be a little toxic. But... can't we all?

Samuel opened his mouth at the same time Mr. Mystery did. They both looked at each other, like a silent argument on who should speak first. After only a second of their stares, Mr. Mystery shook his head, while Samuel continued. He walked right up to Clara, his hands in his pockets. He stopped when he was right next to her. He peered down at her, his head slightly tilted.

"I know your first name, Clara Jenkins. And now you know mine. So, I'd say we're on first name basis." Samuel said to her. I saw the reaction in Clara, but only because I knew her so well. She looked calm on the exterior, but I knew his answer made her squirm with excitement on the inside.

"Can we circle back to how you hit my car?" Mr. Mystery said in an unimpressed voice. He had moved his eyes away from me, finally, and was looking at his friend like he wanted nothing more than to drag him away from Clara with force.

"Can we circle back to why you called Lilly, Lilac?" Clara said instantly.

Clara was the queen of wit, and she was the queen on distraction. Even though there were cars having to circle around us, honking their horns and peering out of the widows at us, she wasn't bothered by taking as much time as she needed to get what she wanted. I knew there were a couple of things that she wanted right now. She wanted to get out of this with the least amount of culpabilty as possible, and she wanted those boy's attention. She would easily get what she wanted, I had no doubts.

"I told him to." I said, causing the three teenagers to look at me. Clara looked at me suspciously, Samuel looked at me like my answer amused him, and Mr. Mystery looked bored. "He was the one who gave me a cigarette on Saturday night."

"Wow, Rome, you smoked with Lilly Green this weekend and you didn't even let your best friend know? Thought we were closer than that, my man." Samuel chuckled after he said the words, eyeing his friend like he was wondering what the real story was.

"Lilac." The boy who I'm assuming was called Rome corrected him sharply. He looked at his friend with eyes that said watch what you say. Samuel didn't seem affected by those eyes, though, his grin stayed on his mouth.

"This is who corrupted you?" Clara asked me, a smile resembling Samuels forming on her mouth.

"He didn't corrupt me. It was one cigarette. I didn't even finish it." I said blankly, shrugging. It was the truth after all. Plus, I don't think Clara had any right to speak on anyone corrupting me. If anything, she was the one who corrupted me with her basically nonexistent moral compass.

"From the stories we have heard about the two of you, I don't think Roman here is capable of corrupting Miss. Green." Samuel looked Clara up and down from head to toe before turning to me. "Lilac." He said, shooting me a wink.

I made mental note that his use of Rome had switched to Roman.

"Stories? Do tell." Clara's voice dropped into that low territory. The way it gets when she gets to talk about herself. Or simply hear about herself.

"Can you tell me what the hell you plan on doing about my car, instead?" Roman said, and the annoynce was evident in his voice.

"Calm down." Clara said, her voice sounding like a sigh. "I have insurance. Obviously." She disappeared into her car, searching for the information that she needed.

I crossed my arms against my chest as I stood between the two cars. I felt awkward, especially with the way the two boys were staring at me. Samuel looked like he was enjoying every second of this interaction, the way he looked at me with the lopsided grin on his face.

His stare didn't bother me as much as Roman's did. Roman was looking at me like he was trying to decide whether or not I was worth his time, and I'm guessing by the slight frown that he was wearing on his lips, the answer was no.

"Here." Clara said as she exited back out the car. She put on her flirty walk as she sauntered past Samuel, her hips swaying, making the fabric of her short skirt bounce around her. She handed him the cards of information.

I took the opportunity to observe the boys further. They were different from the boys we hung out with usually. They were different than Jesse, they were different than Khalil, and they were infinitley different than Brett.

The guys who we hung around were bad boys in disguise. They looked like good guys. They dressed like good guys. They wore polos, and khakis and they owned boats. But they did bad things. They did bad things but then they went to church with their prominent families on Sundays and pretended they were saints.

Samuel and Roman looked like bad boys. The way they were dressed, the way their tattoos that were still visible even though they wore long sleeves and long pants, the cigarette smoke that I could smell even though we were standing in the fresh air, it all told me one thing. They weren't pretending to be anyone besides themselves. Unlike Clara, and especially, unlike me. It intrigued me.

Clara and Roman seemed to exchange information without any further problems, because they began to inch away from each other. Samuel tried to catch Clara's attention, but Clara wouldn't let him. Part two of Clara's method of flirting. She turned right around, and climbed back into her car instead. Samuel was left to shake his head at the ground, a knowing smile on his lips. He turned and climbed back into the passenger seat of the silver car.

Which left me and Mr. Mystery, even though I now knew his name... he still seemed liked a mystery. He was looking at me again, and I didn't know what to do. So, instead of continuing to stand here in what I'm sure was the most awkward way possible, I turned to walk away from him without another word.

Which is when I heard him speak.

"You seem different today, Lilac Green." Roman said.

I didn't stop my steps, and I didn't turn to look at him until I opened the passenger door of Clara's car. I paused, seeing the question in his eyes. The way they were narrowed at me. I couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way.

"You don't know me." I said blankly before I shut the door.