Chapter One: A surprise waiting for me at home. Whatdya know?

“Nice job on your final, Scarlett.” Mr. Brunken, my math teacher, said. I smiled. I looked down at the paper in my hand and saw it was an A. Another A. Another twenty-dollars from my parents.

Mr. Brunken walked away and Alex walked up to me. “No way! How the hell do you do it?” She exclaimed, showing me her paper. She received a D+. Typical. She always received lower than a C-. Yet, she still made it into the 12th grade.

I smirked. “Study. That’s my secret. An hour a day, I study away.” That was one of my mottos. I knew that if I studied, I would ace every test and receive money from my parents.

That’s what my parents did. Whenever I received an A on a test, quiz, or anything else, they would pay me twenty dollars. They started this in sixth grade, when I had all A’s on my report card. Though, they paid me five dollars for every A back then. But I’m a senior and my mom felt like I could earn more. So now every time I get an A, I get paid and go shopping with Alex. In a way, I guess you could say I’m spoiled.

Alex wore her stilettos with her purple tight skirt with a black diamond tank-top under a glinting black jacket. Her black some-what emo hair fit perfectly with every outfit she picked out. I always looked up to her; she was my best friend. Well, looked up to her for style, that is.

Me, on the other hand, wore black skinny jeans with a blue top and a black vest. I also had blue heels. My hair was pinned up, but some hung loose to my neck.

“Teacher’s pet.”She mumbled, walking away.

“And proud of it.” I smiled and grabbed my Aeropastle bad and dumped my books into it. The bell rang and I waited at the door while Alex collected her stuff. “You take a long time, you know.” I murmured as she walked over to me. We walked out of the room and went straight to the doors that led out of the school.

“Hey, Beautiful!” Griffin said, embracing Alex in a hug.

Griffin is Alex’s boyfriend. They have been dating ever since sophomore year when Alex accidently ran into Griffin in the hallway. They started to hang out; then somehow clicked. Soon enough, they went out. And here they are today.

Alex giggled and pulled Griffin’s neck down and kissed him intently. Then they went into a full-out make out session. I rolled my eyes as Griffin pushed Alex roughly against the locker. Alex groaned.

I cringed. “Okay, seriously, Alex?” Alex surprisingly heard me and pulled away from Griffin. But Griffin just moved to her neck and she giggled. “Griffin!” I growled. I put my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes. Griffin pulled away and pouted. I stood my ground, not giving in to his plea. Griffin sighed and faced Alex.

“Fine. I’ll go.” Alex didn’t seem happy by this. I saw her eyes flick to where I was standing, pure annoyance in them. Hey, I didn’t want my best friend making out with her boyfriend in front of me. Especially when I don’t even have a boyfriend. Sigh. “But tell your friend over there to watch it.” He smiled at me; he only smiles at me and Alex.

I smirked. “Are you sure it’s me who needs watching?”

Griffin scowled and kissed Alex sweetly and walked away, but not before shouting, “You know I hate you Scar.”

“Love you, too!” Alex stifled a laugh. Griffin soon disappeared down the hall, barging into his friends’ conversations like he was already involved in it. Alex and I held onto our books and walked toward my slick, black BMW.

You see, I’m the type of person who stands their ground. I don’t like it when people ignore me, disobey me, or even make out in front of me. Especially when they are my friends. I also don’t like it when someone tells me off, because I fight right back. Yeah, I have an attitude, but for the most part, I keep it to myself. And of course, Alex and Griffin. They know not to mess with me, but still do.

“Sorry I keep doing that.” Alex murmured. She knew how I felt when they made out in front of me. I always felt like a third-wheel when I hung out with them.

I sighed. “Apology accepted.” And every time she hung out with her boyfriend, she always apologized. I always deserved an apology.

“But really, you need a boyfriend.” I looked down at Alex. She was a little shorter than me.

I laughed. “No I don’t.” I wanted one, though.

I heard Alex take a deep breath. “Scar, no offense, but your life is like…a lawyers, you could say. Your schedule is always planned out. You make it so you don’t have any free time; you work yourself to the limit.” Alex paused and put a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. “I honestly think a boyfriend will be good for you. I mean, c’mon.” I really didn’t like it when someone compared my life to another’s.

I sighed. “My life is fine.” We stopped when we got to my car.

“And do you honestly think a life that is boring and safe is good for one’s nature?”

“It works perfectly for me,” I stated. I heard a soft growl come from Alex’s throat. I sighed. “Look, I don’t mean to be a bother to you about relationships. But I’m not the type of person to commit to something. And dating, well, it’s not really my forte.” All of that was right. I was the type of person that couldn’t commit to something; I always stuck to doing homework and playing my life safe. I couldn’t commit to loving someone or getting close; I always had my heart broken or I caused the people I loved pain. The only people I can get close to are Alex and my parents. Griffin…well, not so much.

I have only ever had one boyfriend in my entire life. Trust me, I could get more. With my long, blond hair and brown eyes with my “model” body (that’s how guys put it). Every guy just wants what a girl looks like. But anyways, his name was Steve and we dated for two years. We were inseparable, as people said. We spent every hour we could in school together, hung out right after, went to movies, kissed, and plenty more. And through it all, we both kept our grades up. But then, one night, it was pouring out, lightning and thunder radiating. Steve insisted on coming over when he found out I was at home alone. I was deftly terrified of storms. Especially lightning. And so I asked him to come over, through the pouring rain.

But on his way…he got into a bad car accident. That night, when I needed him the most, Steve died instantly. His car was hit on the driver side door by a car that went through a red light. If it wasn’t for me, he would still be alive today and happy as ever.

“Don’t think about it, Scar.” Alex ordered. I stared at her, putting on my best dumb-founded look.

“What are you talking about?” I acted as if everything was alright, when it wasn’t. She knew what was going on in my mind.

“Don’t lie to me.” She smirked. “Just….I don’t know. It’s in the past and not your fault. Sorry. Look, I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow?” Alex took out her car keys and hit the unlock button.

I was about to answer her, but she turned around and walked to her car. A minute later, she pulled out of the school parking lot and drove away, her wheels squeaking. I pulled out my car keys and did the same, minutes later pulling out and taking a road I knew by heart.

In a way, Alex felt guilty about that day a year and a half ago. She never told me why; she just told me she did. And I wish that she felt what I felt. The pain, the loss, the enormous guilt flooding my heart. I have never lost someone so dear to me and when I did, my life changed completely. I lost my way for a little bit, letting my grades drop. I tried smoking and, they say that you immediately get hooked to it, I ended up sick. I mean, really sick. I told myself from that moment on that I would leave the past alone and move on with my life. But I didn’t want to move on. The past was always better with Steve around.

I turned into my neighborhood and headed toward my house.

Now that everything that I locked up escaped my mind in less than ten minutes, I tried to put it all back, tried to fit it in the little box it was supposed to be in. I took a deep breath and clenched my hands over the steering wheel. Okay, Scarlet, you got this. Forget about the past. You did for five months straight. Keep it up.

God, I really hated talking to myself.

I pulled into my drive way and noticed a car I didn’t recognize. It was blue, with a black top. I noticed it was a Jaguar. Now, I wouldn’t mind having a car like that…but my car is so much better. I turned off the car and opened the door. I shut the door behind me, locked the car, and walked up to my house door with my school bag on my left shoulder. I opened up the screen door and put my hand over the door knob. I heard laughing inside. My parents had someone over. I turned the knob and walked in, relieved to know the front door was unlocked.

“I’m home.” I stated. I dropped my bag and my car keys on the floor. I pulled out my phone, ready to text Alex. I didn’t feel like meeting my parent’s friend. Their friends were always…weird.

I walked into the kitchen and picked up a Granny Smith’s apple and bit into it. God, this was so good. I was about to walk up the stairs when my mom said, “Sweetie, can you please come here?” I yawned. I turned around and headed into the family. In a way, I wish I didn’t.

My parents were sitting on the couch, my mom holding a cup of tea in her hand. On the couch across from them was a guy. A good-looking, smokin’ hot guy. Yum. He had curly brown hair with sharp, open brown eyes. He was very muscular; his shirt clung to him. I had to admit, I liked my parent’s friend. But he didn’t seem like he would be in communication with them.

“Who’s this?” I asked, curiosity soaking those words. My mom smiled warmly and gestured toward the guy.

“Scarlet, this is Adam. Does he look familiar?” Hot name, hot guy. I almost forgot what just happened at school…almost.

I squinted my eyes, clutching my phone. “Umm, no. Should I know him?” Adam stifled a laugh. If he wasn’t so hot, I would have glared at him.

My mom still had that smile on her face. “Adam is an old friend of yours. A childhood friend, actually.” She paused, looking at my expression.

I looked at Adam more closely. He still didn’t look familiar. But in a way, I saw a small, cute kid in him. I narrowed my eyes. Maybe I did know him.

Then it hit me.

Adam Birch. The kid who I knew before I moved, when I was five. My best friend at the time. I remember him telling me that he cared for me and wouldn’t let anyone harm me. I grimaced. How can I only remember that about him? Yeah, it was sweet of him to say…when he was seven. But now, looking at him, I noticed that everything has changed about him. His hair color, his body, toned muscles, everything. He may have been my best friend, but now…he was nothing that I wanted to deal with. And just by looking at him, I could tell he only cared about one thing: Girls.

Of course. It was obvious. Guys like him, with good looks and everything, only cared for girls. Dating them, and then dumping them. I smiled

“Yeah. I remember.” I mumbled. My dad smiled. My mom continued.

“Good. Maybe you two could catch up. Adam here is going to be living with us for a while, just until his parents get back from their over-sea business trip.” The smile on my face faltered and I glared at Adam. Damn him for such good looks. He was smirking, happy by my surprise.

Well, didn’t this day just get better.