Mesmerized

politely refused and stayed with Hannah. 
    The brown-haired boy with glasses who was in front of her handed her a tray. “What do you want to eat?” he asked. 
    “I can get my own food.”
    “Of course you can,” he said hurriedly. 
    Lily took the tan tray from him and reached over to scoop some eggs on her plate. The boy excitedly took the spoon from her hand and started dumping eggs on her plate. 
    “Hey!” she yelled. “Cut it out.”
    The boy blushed. “Sorry. Just trying to help.”
    Annoyed, Lily grabbed the spoon back and finished getting her own breakfast. She and Hannah walked past Samantha and her clique and sat down at a corner booth. 
    In the past couple of days, Hannah had learned not to say anything about the way the boys reacted to Lily. She could tell Lily didn’t like it, although sometimes it was amusing. She looked out the window. “It’s raining. I love storms.”
    Lily followed her gaze. “There goes our walk.” She ate a few bites of her food. “What do you want to do instead?”
    “I need to return a book at the library. We could go do that.”
    Lily nodded. “Sure.”
    When they finished eating, they went to the door. It was raining harder now. Not pouring, but hard enough they were going to get wet walking to the library. Lily didn’t mind. She liked the rain; it relaxed her for some reason.
    Suddenly, a handful of boys met Lily at the door, shoving their umbrellas at her. “Thanks guys…really, but we’re good. I'm not sugar. I promise I won’t melt.” She pushed passed them and hurried to the library, Hannah at her heels.
    ***
    Jake had watched the scene in the breakfast line and the one at the door. He curled his lip in disgust. What makes a boy turn into an idiot like that?  Even though he found it revolting that they were falling all over Lily, he couldn’t help but want to be the one opening the door and sharing his umbrella with her. 
    Jake knocked his head on the wall a few times. What was wrong with him? He couldn't allow a girl to get to him. Last time he allowed himself to feel for someone it tore him apart. That was over a hundred years ago and he still wasn't over the loss of Laura. To watch the person you love die…he wouldn't wish it on anyone.
    ***
    A few hours later, Lily made a mad dash from the main building to the dining hall for lunch, where she was meeting Hannah for lunch. 
    It was pouring now. Lily made a mental note to buy an umbrella soon. Bursting into the doors to the dining hall, she barely stopped before crashing into Jake.
    She smiled, even as her heart was racing. “Hi Jake.”
    He nodded a hello. “You’re soaking wet.”
    “It is raining out.” She grinned. 
    “Right,” he stuttered.
    Ugh! Why was he so tongue-tied? God, how was she so beautiful when she was dripping wet? 
    “Here take my coat." He gently placed it around her shoulders. 
    “Thank you,” she said and took a step closer to him. She stood there, staring at him for a minute. Intimate thoughts filled her mind. All she wanted to do was press her body against his, but she couldn’t. She shivered and pulled the jacket tighter. "I'll get your jacket back to you tomorrow. Thanks again." She forced herself to walk away and join Hannah. 
     
    Hannah had seen the way Jake and Lily were looking at each other. Even now, tables apart, they were stealing glances at each other. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she said, “Ya know, he’s bad news.”
    “What?”
    “Jake O’Connor.” 
    "Why do you say that? He seems nice to me." 
    "No one really knows his story. There are so many rumors, no one knows which is true. Apparently, he got kicked out of other schools for causing trouble. I've heard anything from he put someone in the hospital to he got caught stealing. His parents have never visited him. Not even once! He acts like he's too good for everyone. He doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Despite that, everybody here has a crush on him, including Samantha.”
    Lily shifted her gaze to where Samantha sat with her friends. “He’s just cute. I’m not interested in him.”
    “Sure…” Hannah raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
    Lily knew how rumors got started. He was probably a good guy who got a bad reputation for no reason. People just wanted to make him sound more mysterious. She was definitely curious to learn his story, but knew she should stay away. 
    When Lily got back to her room, she checked her phone. She had a message from her mother—in