**A Romance, Teen Fiction, and YA Featured Novel**
Worlds collide when a formerly overweight teen befriends a blinded football player and is forced to confront her growing feelings for the boy who lost it all.
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Tay Statin had always thought a per...
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The cafeteria is much larger than I remember, with a lot more people. But it smells like fresh bread and spices, and that's enough to soothe my nerves. Even though there are many different options ranging from pizza to burgers to salad, it always smells like bread and I can never figure out why.
When I step through the door, I search for Tay and his friends. I spot them and make my way toward them until my stomach growls. A burger is beginning to sound amazing, but if I give in to the temptation, it won't be long before I start overeating. And that can't happen ever again.
Right when I reach the food counter, someone bumps into me. He quickly apologizes, so I don't bother looking up at him. But the line moves, and he stays in his spot, staring at the food options.
I try to step around him, but April, one of the servers, clears her throat at me. With a huff, I sit my tray down on the sliding bar and cross my arms. There aren't that many options to choose from, and none of them are that much more appealing than the last. What is his deal?
"Hey, man, you're holding up the line," a guy behind me points out.Indecisive-guy looks up from the selections to apologize again and settles on a slice of pizza before moving on. Wow. That wasn't as hard as I thought.
I turn to look at the guy who got the other to move. When my eyes meet bright blue ones, I almost jump. His dark, unruly, blue hair and piercings tell me he isn't someone I want to mess with. But when he smiles, all previous assumptions go out the window, and I stare at him, no doubt a stupid look on my face.
"Hey. It's good to see you." His smile doesn't disappear when she speaks and his voice is deep, with a huskiness that twists my stomach.
"I'm sure it's nice to see you..." I trail off as I try to remember his name. He knows mine, so it's only fair to remember his. His name is in the back of my mind, but I can't quite place it.
"Asa," he offers.
So, that's who this is. Wait. What happened to the baby face and shy smile?
I stare at him with newfound confusion and try to connect him to the gangly teenager I worked with on a few class projects in the past. He was always so shy, but very intelligent. Even when he was making a stupid joke about something we learned in Health. This guy looks nothing like him. He has wide shoulders, an angular jaw, and high cheekbones, whereas the Asa I knew was the opposite.
"I've changed a bit since last year, so I'm not offended that you don't remember me." He flicks his head toward the line. "I think you ought to move along before the folks behind me get too mad, though."
"Oh. Sorry." I shake my head to clear the fog and look at the food options. My stomach growls as I look at the pizza, but I hesitate to reach for it. I mentally count the calories in my head. A typical slice of pizza like this is around 300 calories, so I'll only have about 1,200 left that I can eat today. Not worth it.
