Isabel sat in the far right corner of the room, not at all paying any attention to Mr. Green's lecture. Sure history interested her, but nothing could make up for the man's exceedingly monotone voice. It was as if he were Ben Stein's clone or something. She stared out the window, occasionally allowing herself a glance at Alex.

'Okay, now your teetering a little too much towards obsession,' she thought.

Her mind wandered back towards the look on his face at lunch, it was appalling to say the least. Thee Alex Whitman seemingly discontent? Not very likely, but it was there. And his smile, god his smile. Her knees wobbled a little just thinking about it. Rational thought came back into play, as she looked at him for the hundredth time during the class. Alex may have seemed unhappy, but that didn't mean anything. Her dreams would not come to life just cause he was a little unsatisfied with life. It didn't mean he would lower his standards. Standards she knew she couldn't possibly meet.

"I have a special assignment for you all," Mr. Green said seemingly dragging on every word. "I will pair you into groups for a little history reflection on each other. You will all answer this questionnaire accordingly," he said holding it up for all to see. "The groups are as follows, J. Lenoce, M. Smith, C. Cannon, M. Gonzales, A. Whitman, I. Evans…"

Isabel's head jerked up instantly, looking at the teacher with horrified eyes.

'Is he running low on dramatic irony?' she thought.

She looked over to Alex, who was looking right back at her. He seemed a little surprised as well, but he had that smile on his face, it was mildly reassuring. Mr. Green continued to pair off the rest of the class, but Isabel wasn't listening and could only stare at Alex. She glanced over the copy of the questions the person in front of her handed back. Whoa, these were a little personal. Filling out a survey about your life with him? Getting to know his fears, hopes and dreams, everything she'd ever fantasized knowing about him? It was a bit surreal, but she'd take any opportunity to get to be the tiniest bit closer to him.

***

Alex heard her name called after his. He blinked in confusion at first and it took a second to register. Just an hour ago he'd been having thoughts about her, and now he was going to pair up to her to answer a slew of deeply personal questions? The word bizarre didn't begin to cover it. He looked back at Isabel, always tucked into that little corner of the room, and felt the smile on his face again. He didn't seem to control it, he looked her, and he smiled. It was like a reflex action. It could mean something; maybe fate was giving him his chance. A chance to be himself without the risk of being blackballed. 'Maybe,' he found himself thinking again, 'Maybe.'

***

The bell rang, ending the assault on the vitality of youth. Isabel grabbed her bag and practically ran out the door. She was two steps into the hallway when she felt his arm reach out and grab her shoulder. She tried not to shudder under the contact, but she couldn't deny it. His touch was electric.

"Isabel," he said.

She turned around slowly, and barely looked up at him. It could have been like looking at the sun, you know it would blind you, but sometimes you just didn't care. Her eyes finally managed to meet his and she had to fight sucking in a breath. She didn't think she'd ever been this close before, and the closer she was to Alex, the more her limbs turned to jelly.

"So it looks like we're paired up for this thing huh?" he said looking at her closely, feeling that smile again.

"Um, yeahIguessso," Isabel mumbled brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, and looking down at her shoes.

"I was thinking," he said. "We could meet up at the Crashdown after school, get started on these questions. Get to know each other a little."

"Sure," she said in a bit of awe. He was actually talking to her! She almost felt like she could fly away at the moment.

"Great," he said walking off down the hall. "It's a date."

Date? Did he just say date? There was no way she could possibly keep back the smile that stretched from ear to ear.

The rest of the day seemed drag on like a turtle in a marathon. In just another hour, Isabel Evans and Alex Whitman at the Crashdown, on what he called a 'date.' Her mind was gibbering. Date, date, date, it said. Alex said date.

'It's just a school assignment you know,' rational thought said.

But that didn't matter right now. Right now she didn't feel like Isabel Evans outcast extraodinarre, she didn't feel like that girl always hiding in the corner. She felt like a princess. And she had Alex to thank for it.