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'How was your day?' Mum asks me when I sit down to dinner with my parents that evening.

'It was okay,' I reply and nudge my broccoli around my plate. 'There's a new boy at school.'

'Has he moved into the modern house on main street?' My dad asks and I nod. 'I saw them moving in at the weekend.'

'He's the school photographer. He took photos of me without my permission.'

Dad frowns. 'Did you report him?'

'It wasn't like that, Dad. I was dressed. I was playing football, actually, but he was keen on getting pictures when I was a sweaty mess.'

'What is he like?'

'Tenacious, persistent, stubborn, annoying,' I reply quickly.

My parents share a look and chuckle. 'Sounds like you might like this new boy. Is he handsome?'

'I'm not in primary school, Mum. Disliking a boy doesn't mean I like him.'

'She avoided the question,' Dad says to my mum. 'That means she's hiding something.'

'Avoiding answering, you're right,' Mum responds. 'Must be attractive.'

I scowl and take an angry bite of broccoli. 'Can we change the subject, please?'

'Must be very attractive,' Mum comments to Dad.

These two wind me up.

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I don't have another interaction with Alex until lunchtime the next day. I'm sat with the girls on the field when Alex comes and sits down with us.

I'm surprised at first that he is confident enough to come sit with three people he doesn't know. Halle and Etty are more than pleased by the sudden addition to our group.

'Hello, ladies. I'm Alex, the school photographer and new kid.'

I press my lips together in disapproval as he slides his camera from its little bag.

'Do you mind if I take a few photos for the look book? Apparently, it's good manners to ask before you take photos.' He looks at me and winks.

Knob.

'Of course,' Etty replies quickly and flicks her hair over her shoulder.

Halle beams and I sigh in defeat. I lean closer to them and smile for the camera. Alex takes a few snaps and thanks us.

'What are your names, please?' He asks, meeting my glare. 'Purely so I know what to put under the photo caption in the book, of course.'

I glare at him more.

'I'm Etty, this is Halle and Bianca.'

He looks at me and grins. 'Bianca. Nice to meet you.'

I smile tightly. 'Pleasure.'

He gets to his feet and brushes the grass from his jeans. He swings his bag over his shoulder and puts his camera away.

'Thanks, ladies. I'll see you around, Bianca.'

Halle and Etty look at me with excited expressions.

'What was that about?' Halle asks.

'He specifically said you! He likes you!' Etty gushes.

I roll my eyes at them. 'He doesn't. He's a pain in the ass who enjoys winding me up, that's all.'

'Hmm, I'm not convinced,' Halle replies.

The school bell rings. 'You don't have to be because lunch is over. Come on.'

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I only bump into Alex once or twice for the rest of the week. We don't take the same classes, so I only see him at break or lunch times or in the corridor. Other than saying hi and winking provocatively, there is very little interaction.

At the weekend, I celebrate my birthday and go out with my friends. I spend Sunday hungover and rely on concealer to hide my bags on a Monday morning.

'Someone had a big night out.'

I jump at the sound of Alex's voice. He falls into step with me as I walk down the corridor to my first lesson.

'Don't creep up like that. Besides, is it that obvious?' I reply dryly.

'You have hungover-Monday look, I've experienced it myself, it's a bitch. So, what was it? Night out? Sleepover gone wild? Wedding? Party?'

I stop walking and narrow my eyes at him. 'It is too early and I am too hungover for you to be this perky. It was my birthday, please leave me alone.'

He smirks. 'No-can-do, red,' he replies, referencing my ginger hair. 'Happy Birthday, though. I hope it was good despite the hangover.'

Even though he is annoying, his response is genuine.

'Thanks.'

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On Friday night, Joe Rite has a house party. The text I get from Halle leaves no room for argument.

I feel like the last part was unnecessary, but I'm outside Joe's house at 8PM nonetheless. Dressed in a jewel blue dress that hugs every curve that I have and shows off an extraordinary amount of leg, I'm ready to get drunk. It's like my hangover never happened at the beginning of the week.

Apparently, I don't learn from my mistakes.

I find the girls inside and we get drinks. The girls from the football team come over and talk with us. We do the rounds, talking to loads of different people from our year. All anyone can talk about is Alex Kingsley, the new boy.

The man, myth and legend is currently outside playing beer pong. From the sounds of his obnoxious cheering, he's winning.

All the girls want a shot at him and they're all trying to guess who he likes, what his type is and then morph themselves into it.

'Have you seen Alex tonight?' Marissa asks. 'He looks so hot in red, oh, my God. So fit.'

I grab her hand and pull her into the kitchen. I need another drink if I have to talk about Alex Kingsley in another conversation.

'He's playing beer pong with Matty and absolutely hammering him. Matty's the champ, I've never known anyone beat him.'

To be fair...I am slightly impressed by that. Matty is undefeated.

A cacophony of cheers erupts in the garden. Apparently, undefeated until now.

'He tried out for the rugby team last week and he's already make co-captain. It's such a shame we haven't seen them practice during one of our lessons yet, I bet it's so hot to watch him tackle for that ball.'

I take a large swig of my drink. 'Yep.'

Marissa narrows her eyes at me. 'I know you, Bianca. You fancy him.'

'What makes you think that?' I splutter and try not to choke on my drink.

'Um, because you're barely talking about him! Usually, you're happy to discuss guys. I know Jackson was an ass to you, but you didn't lose interest in them completely. But you're so tight-lipped about Alex, that means you fancy him. A lot.'

I glare at my friend and take another sip. I hate that she knows me so well. She crosses her arms over her chest and gives me a firm look.

'Why are you fighting the attraction to him?'

I sigh heavily. 'What's the point? There's too much competition, so many people fancy him, yourself included.'

She shrugs. 'He's fit, yeah, but I only like having someone to focus on. I don't wanna be his girlfriend or anything. From the vibes I've got from him when we've spoken, I think you two would be a good match. I think you should go for it.'

I give her a deadpan look. 'Are you crazy? He's out of my league.'

'You're the crazy one for thinking that. Come on, we're going outside.'

She links my arm with hers and practically drags me out into the garden. The sun has set and the garden is illuminated with giant bulb string lights. It's cute.

Music is blasting from two speakers at the end of the garden. Some people are dancing in front of it, singing along to the lyrics and holding their drinks in the air.

I spot Alex sitting on the ping-pong table. He's wearing black jeans, a red t-shirt that contrasts so fricking beautifully with his skin and a black baseball cap on backwards.

He looks like a stereotypical frat boy and yet still, so fucking hot.

He catches me looking and grins. He puts down his drink and jumps down from the table.

'He's coming straight over here! Be nice, Bianca,' Marissa hisses.

'Hey,' he says with megawatt grin. 'You look beautiful.'

I was not expecting the heart-felt compliment. It takes me by surprise and at first, my only reaction is to blink dumbly.

'Thanks,' I mumble.

'Want to dance with me?' He asks and holds out his hand.

I look between his expectant face, his hand and the group of people dancing at the end of the garden.

'Um, I'm alright. Thanks.'

Alex frowns. 'Why not?'

'Because I'm talking to my friend.'

'What friend?'

I look around at Alex's reply and spot Marissa disappearing inside.

Traitor.

'Alex!' Joe shouts his name. 'Come over here one sec!'

He turns back to me, looking reluctant that he has to go. I feel relieved. He is too attractive for his own good and he makes it hard to concentrate.

'Let me know if you change your mind about that dance, Bianca,' he says and winks. 'I'll see you in a bit.'

I watch him walk over to his mates and let out a sigh of relief. A group of girls congregate next to the lads, no doubt sucked in by Alex Kingsley's beauty.

I don't blame them.

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Thank you for the feedback, angels! It's honestly so helpful.

I love that Wattpad gives me a platform to be able to ask these questions and get good answers.

The world is a better place because of variation. Variety is the spice of life, isn't that the saying? L x