The takeout Chinese food on the kitchen table smelled like grease and overcooked meat. It made Ashton's breath catch.

He crinkled his nose and leaned against the kitchen doorway. He shook his head as his mother and older brother, Luke, set the table for dinner.

"Takeout? Again? That's the third time this week!" he complained, taking a seat next to his brother.

"Would you like to cook a fancy dinner for us, then?" Luke joked. He poured fried rice onto his plate.

Ashton frowned. Luke smirked.

"Didn't think so," Luke said. "So unless you want to go out and buy dinner every night like I do, I suggest you shut up and eat."

Their mother scolded Luke. "Now, Luke, there's no need to say that to your brother," she said. "He's younger, anyway."

"Yeah, I'm the younger one," Ashton said. He grinned.

Luke gave him a playful shove on the shoulder.

After they settled down, they made small talk. Ashton picked at his food. Luke tried to force-feed him.

"So, boys, how was school today? Any new friends, Ashton?" their mother asked.

She looked at Ashton with a worried face. Ever since they had moved and switched schools, he'd been having some trouble finding friends.

"Not really," Ashton said. "I did sit with this girl at lunch. We didn't talk, though. Just got each other's names," Ashton said. He shrugged, looking down at his plate.

"A girl? Who was it?" Luke asked.

"Alina Clark. Pretty sure that was her name," Ashton said. "I don't know if you've heard of her."

"Ashton, no! You can't!" Luke said. "Alina Clark is an outcast. Everyone says she's mental. If you hang out with her, that's social suicide."

"It's my life, not yours. How many times do I have to remind you of that? For the last time, Luke, leave me alone!" Ashton said. He rolled his eyes.

Their mom changed the subject to something Ashton wasn't interested in.

The next day, Ashton sat down at a small table toward the end of the lunchroom. He sat beside a girl who was reading a book.

The girl let out a loud and frustrated sigh. It made him laugh.

"I thought I told you to stay away," she said. She was obviously annoyed by him.

"Well, I thought I told you I didn't want to. Where are your friends, anyway?" Ashton asked.

The girl groaned and closed her book. She put it carefully on the table.

"You're looking at them," she said. She pointed to the pile of other books next to her lunch tray.

"Alina, those don't count. I could be your friend," Ashton said, smiling.

"I don't need one, thank you very much," Alina said.

"Oh, come on, that's no fun," Ashton said.

"Can you just leave me alone? Please," Alina said.

"Stop doing that!" Ashton said.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Pushing people away," he said. "It's not cute, you know."

"I wasn't trying to be cute," Alina said.

"Lies," Ashton said. "You're attracted to me, obviously. Just look at me."

"Exactly why I'm not attracted to you," she said, rolling her eyes.

The two of them burst out in laughter.

"You should smile more often, you're prettier like that," Ashton said to her. He meant everything he said.

"Now you're the liar," Alina said.

Those were the last words spoken before the bell rang and she was out of sight.

The lunches after that day were about the same. Although Alina didn't notice, Ashton could tell she was slowly opening up to him.

"So, tell me about your family," Ashton said. He was trying to uncover a secret she kept from everybody else.

"There's not much to tell," Alina said. "My dad's always at work and my mom's always in the hospital." She shrugged.

Ashton tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Why is your mom always in the hospital?" he asked, completely interested.

He noticed how Alina suddenly tensed up. He got the message that the subject was not open for discussion.

"Never mind that, now tell me about your family," she said, changing the topic away from her mother.

"It's just my mom and my older brother. Not much to tell, just like yours," Ashton said.

Alina nodded her head in understanding.

"Your brother, how old is he? Does he go here?" she asked him, looking around the cafeteria.

"Yeah, he's 18," Ashton said. "A senior, so we don't have lunch with him."

"So, he's two years older than you. You're 16, right? Do you look alike?" Alina asked.

"Not really. Probably the only thing we have in common is the blond hair and dimples," Ashton said. "Do you look like your parents?"

"Probably my mom, I guess. The only thing I got from my dad was the blue eyes," Alina said.

"Oh, that's cool," Ashton said, smiling.

The bell rang and Alina waved goodbye. She walked out of the cafeteria slowly.

At another lunch, Ashton finally noticed all the stares and whispers they were getting from other people. He didn't care. He liked that he had a friend all to himself.

"What's your dream? Like, what do you want to do with your life?" Alina asked.

"I want to be happy. I don't know what that is at the moment, but when it happens, I'll feel it," Ashton said.

Alina smiled.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I want to be a doctor. I just want to save lives, you know?" she answered. The smile didn't leave her face.

"Yeah, I get it," he said. But he really understood why.

"How will you know when you're happy, though?" Alina asked.

Her facial expression made her look like a curious five-year-old girl.

"I don't know, to be honest," Ashton said. "Maybe I'll be married, have a few kids even. I could be a football player, I guess."

"You like football?" she asked.

"No, it's just that it'd be cool, right? Having a whole crowd chant your name when you make a touchdown," he said.

"But what if you get a life-threatening injury?" Alina asked. "Then that'll all be gone."

"Maybe you could be my doctor," Ashton said. He grinned.

Alina laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

"Maybe I'd like that," she said.

They both smiled at each other.The next day at lunch, Ashton was surprised to see what was waiting for him. Alina was sitting there with a smile on her face, like she was actually looking forward to seeing him.

They chatted a bit.

Ashton finally asked, "So, how's your mother?"

"What do you mean?" Alina asked. She looked confused.

"Your mother. You said she's always in the hospital. I kind of put the pieces together. If I was wrong and she just works there, I apologize in advance," Ashton said.

Alina laughed. "No, it's okay," she said. "She's been better, I guess you could say. Still in the hospital, but she's doing alright."

She smiled again, like she was happy that someone cared enough to ask.

"Oh, that's good. What's she in for?" Ashton asked.

"A bunch of stuff," Alina said. "Had a lot of problems when she was a kid. They didn't go away as she grew older. Heart problems, blood problems, other things that have too many words to remember. I've gotten used to it."

"Oh, wow. Your mom is a fighter," Ashton said. "It kind of shows in you, too."

"Shut up!" Alina laughed, playfully punching his arm.

She moved on from the topic. She started telling him a story about something that had happened the day before.

Ashton couldn't focus on anything she was saying. He was too distracted by thoughts of her.