It Started With Hello

*****
Emma Pear knew she wasn't the most popular girl in high school. Her nose was usually buried in a textbook, and her grades were as spotless as her reputation for always following the rules. "Nerd" was a label she'd long since embraced. Her parents, determined to keep her on the straight and narrow, packed her schedule with violin lessons, shifts at the local animal shelter, and tutoring sessions for elementary school kids. Emma barely had time to breathe, let alone experience "normal" teenage rites of passage like parties, late-night hangouts, or even just goofing off with friends. So when the captain of the football team-the captain-unexpectedly asked her to the school dance, Emma saw a glimmer of a different life. She practically begged her parents, and to her shock, they actually said yes. She had no idea that one night, under the glittering lights of the gym, would rewrite her entire story.

Blake Black was the kind of high school loner who radiated an almost magnetic quiet. Girls whispered about him in the halls, drawn to his mysterious aura and the fact that he rarely spoke to anyone. Most of his time was spent wrangling his hyper little brother, Alex. Their parents, a brain surgeon and a heart doctor, were perpetually busy, leaving little time for their growing boys. His parents made it clear attending the school dance wasn't optional. They just wanted him to "act like a normal high schooler" for a few hours. Blake's plan was simple: show his face, then ditch the minute he decently could. He brushed off a parade of hopeful girls, already counting down the minutes until he could escape. But then he saw what happened to Emma. And unlike everyone else, he couldn't just stand by and watch.