Chapter 1-New Beginnings

 
 

I don't know why I chose to do what I do. Maybe because I just felt helpful, or maybe helping others let me solve my own problems, I don't know. All I do know is that I did it. I felt like I should. And that's why I'm sitting in the back of the library, reading yet another letter sent to me, and wondering what I should say.

 

Dear S-

 

My boyfriend of 3 years feels we should take a break. I don't know what to do! Ever since freshman year, we've loved each other like a couple should, hell, maybe even more! I thought we'd be able to last all through senior year, and go to the same college. What should I do? I love him to much to let him go, and if he really wants, I would take a break. But what if he likes not being around me? Should I go with it, or fight for him?

 

-Curtains might close

 

I sighed. It's not like I didn't know who it was. Kate Nowinski, fourth period AP Spanish. She was one of the "it girls". Smart, pretty, outgoing, in almost every club at school. She was going out with Adam Hunt, the quarterback of the football team. I should've seen this coming. The school's it couple was taking a not-so-it hit, but I knew better. I rubbed my face with my hand before coming up with a quick reply. Taking out my laptop, I opened a document and began typing.

 

Dear Curtains might close,

 

I understand how aggravated and upset you must feel. You’re confused at how this was even brought up, what may be going on in his mind. Hell, you may just be wondering if he's going crazy?! I understand this, all of it. Truthfully, I feel he may just be overwhelmed with stress. If your boyfriend is in any sports, clubs, activities, etc. he may feel overwhelmed with juggling school, homework, family, friends, extracurriculars, and even you. So don't be upset. Give him the time to cool. You don't even need to clarify that it's a break. Just take some time off, hang with some friends, catch up on the latest Pretty Little Liars episode with a bucket full of Ben & Jerry's, or find a new hobby to pursue. With all the extra time you'll have, you can enjoy yourself, and your boyfriend can also have some time to ease the heat. I'm guessing because you're both seniors, you may feel the college process is practically yanking your hair out. So take the break, because honestly, if your love for each other is as strong as you believe, you'll be smooching behind the bleachers in a week or two's notice. Don't worry, the show is still going on, we're just taking a small break.

 

-S.

 

I saved the document, promising myself to print it out as soon as I got home. Now, to go find that Chemistry prep book.

 

**********

 

Carter Woods walked out of school, swirling his keys in his hand. Nodding his head to some friends standing in the corner, he stepped down the stairs, heading towards his blue mustang. Upon arriving to his car, he saw a girl leaning against it, her back facing him.

 

Walking towards the passenger side of the car, he faced the pretty brunette.

 

"Carter, we need to talk,"

 

***********

 

"What do you mean you're breaking up with me? How could you do this?" Carter whispered, broken and defeated.

 

"I, I just don't feel we connect anymore Carter, I'm sorry. Ever since you came back from your vacation over the summer, I realized I didn't exactly miss you much, and S. said that meant-" she rushed out, but got cut off.

 

"What, did you just say?" his voice was deathly calm, but his demeanor was angry.

 

"Did you seriously ask S." he spat out the letter, "on information about OUR relationship! She has no idea about us, Lizzie!"

 

"Carter, please, I was just confused and didn't understand, and I couldn't tell my friends, you know that. I just needed some advice-"

 

"Are you fucking serious!? She's just some freak who wants attention by writing all these damn useless letters. She's just a freaking home wrecker!" he spat, hitting the steering wheel. 

 

"No, Carter. This is why I'm breaking up with you. You act like the whole world is yours and you can judge everyone. Well you know what? That's not how it is. So stop acting like a control freak!" She all but yelled.

 

For a split second everything was quiet until the shrill ring of a cell phone broke the silence.

 

Checking her phone swiftly, Lizzie looked back up outside the windshield before speaking.

 

"I have to go. We'll talk about this later,"

 

With that, she stepped out of his car, and walked away, her brunette hair fluttering in the breeze.

 

Carter stared until she was out of view before staring straight ahead, his grey eyes darkening with every passing moment.

 

"Whoever you are S., I'm gonna find you, and when I do, you'll regret ever messing in anybody's life, especially mine."

Chapter 2-Reality Check

 
 

Brushing back a lock of my brown hair, I studied the problem in front of me. I swear, AP calculus was made for students to rip their hair out. Biting my lip in frustration, I dropped the pencil down and rolled over on the bed. Sighing into my hands, I peeked out of my hand blindfold to my laptop resting on my desk. One letter couldn't hurt, right?

 

Jumping to my feet, I grabbed another letter out, and sat at the desk, my laptop bright and glowing, ready for another letter.

 

Dear S-

 

So a friend of mine has been crushing on this guy she likes. Now I usually have no problem with her silly crushes, cause she's usually over them in a few days. But this one might be a problem. She's been ogling at this kid whose known to be a troublemaker. I know he's the type that likes having arm candy, and I can't just let my hopeless romantic of a friend ruin herself over this guy. Knowing her, I know all the signs of her usual crushes, but this one's different. She's been obsessed over him for two weeks now, and for her, that's REALLY saying something. Please help me show her that she might be making a mistake going for a heartbreaker without sounding like an overprotective mom.

 

-protective friend or buzzkill?

 

I smiled. These were the type of letters I liked to answer. The one's where people who gave advice asked for advice. It made me happy to know I was helping others help the ones they care about.

 

Dear protective friend or buzzkill,

 

Do not, for one second, think you're a buzzkill! That's absurd! This is a completely normal situation and the fact that you care makes you a truly genuine friend. Hopeless romantics are like a breed of monkeys, always hanging around and living life with no idea of the consequences. That's why people like you are out there, the one's that help them stand their ground when their flying high on their tails from tree to tree (or I guess in this situation, guy to guy!) Though this one looks particularly difficult, it's not impossible. Let your friend know that you do not approve of this, but say it in a way that makes her seem like you just don't think he's that good. Something along the lines of, "Eh, he's alright. Not as cute as this one guy I saw at the coffee shop, though. Now that guy was smokin! Maybe we should go check out the guys there!" This says you're not opposed to her idea of boy hunting, but you're still establishing that he's a) not good enough for her, and b) he's low, end of story. Giving subtle hints like that will not only make you a good friend, but keep your friend away from boys like him. Also, encourage her to write a list of things she'd like in a guy, and tell her that anytime she sees a potential boyfriend, to go over the checklist. This way, she knows what she wants, ultimately getting rid of the fleabag guys who just want arm candy, and she can learn to make decisions for herself instead of just falling in love with every guy she sees acceptable. Give it some time, and soon both of you will be ogling at the new cashier at that coffee shop you go to, and maybe she'll end up with a great boyfriend. Trust me, she'll remember that you stuck with her through all the craziness come end of high school, and she'll appreciate it like no other.

 

Keep up the work, you're truly a good friend(:

 

-S.

 

Closing the laptop, I looked over at my homework on the bed. Well, better do my homework. Stupid calculus. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I was just a normal kid, with friends, and a normal sized brain. Being a nerd, with barely any social ability hurt, but at least I could express my voice through my letter, I thought with a sigh. Well, better do those Calc problems.

 

***********************

 

Carter sat at the table in the back corner of the library, hiding behind an old copy of Wuthering Heights.

 

"Come on, it's almost closing time! Where is she?" he grumbled quietly, waiting for S.

 

All of a sudden, his phone went off, choruses of rap ringing.

 

Carter hastily dug around his backpack for his phone.

 

"Damn it, where did I put it!" Finally he found it, at the bottom of his bag, underneath a pile of homework. Looking back up, he noticed the brick on the wall was moved a little. Carter's eyes widened, he just missed her!

 

He swiveled his head towards the exit. A swish of brown hair was all he could see before it disappeared around the corner.

 

"Shit," He cursed, grabbing his backpack and chasing after her. Her ran into the parking lot, but couldn't see anyone in sight. The lot was almost empty, except for a few cars parked in the teacher's section.

 

"Just my luck!" He cursed again, running a hand through his black hair.

 

"Run all you want S., I'm gonna find you," He muttered, walking towards his blue mustang in defeat.

 

 

Chapter 3-Floor It!

 
 

“Sammy, Sammy, wake up!” Someone poked me in the arm. I slapped it away, before cradling my head in my hands.

“Okay, you leave me no choice,” they muttered. Suddenly, I felt hands tickling at my sides.

“Hey, stop, no, Ty,” I breathed between laughs.

“Finally, you’re awake!” My twin brother, Tyler, ruffled my hair, causing me to scowl at him.

“Well you were sleeping so…” he plastered on his goofy smile and shrugged his shoulders. I smacked him on the arm, before grumbling to myself. 

“So, I better get out of this seat before Fay gets here. She punches hard for a quiet, innocent one,” I grinned at him. Fay did pack one mean punch.

“That’s because us quiet nerds need defense to get people to leave us alone,” I air quoted the ‘quiet nerds’ part. My brother was one of the jocks at school, and constantly picked on us for fun. But I didn’t mind, he was just joking around, and he loved me, we were twins after all. Both with the same dark brown hair, and hazel colored eyes. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the same tall gene as him apparently, because he towered over me, while some confused me for a sophomore when I was clearly a senior.

“Ty, get out of here, I’ve gotta talk Sammy about girly stuff,” Fay smirked at him as she arrived at the table, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

Ty raised his hands up in mock surrender and backed away from the table.

“Bye ladies!” He bid us a goodbye and rushed towards his friends.

“So, I know it’s not exactly what you’d expect of me, but –” she sucked in a deep breath, her green eyes twinkling with happiness, “– Bryan asked me out!”

I sputtered on my water, painfully swallowing it before I stared wide-eyed at my best friend.

“THE Bryan Fink! The basketball-playing-you’ve-had-a-crush-on-since-fifth-grade-Bryan! Wow, I’m so happy for you!” I gushed at her.

Bryan Fink. I could hardly believe it. Here was my best friend, in almost as many AP classes as I, the one who talked about quantum theories instead of the best skinny jeans in this season, or the hottest celeb couple. I gaped at her like a fish, opening and closing my mouth.

Letting out a muffled squeak, I launched into a series of questions.

“What!?”

“When!?”

“Where!?”  

“You know what, forget about that! Just tell me how he asked you!?” I grinned at her.

“Well, I was sitting at the library during study hall, when he comes up to me and asks if I know what the assignment for English is. At first I was like, sheesh another kid asking if they could copy my homework, so I sighed and told him it was the reading from our textbook.  Then he gives me one of his lopsided adorable smiles, and says he forgot his book, and asks if he can share mine with me. I’m sitting there, confused as hell, because he didn’t ask to borrow my book, but instead asked to share it! We began talking and he said I was pretty cool, and that maybe both of us could hang sometime. After my momentary shock, I nodded back. He said that we could go to the movies this Saturday with his friends! I can’t believe it!”

I smiled at her. Clearly she was overjoyed and I was glad that I could at least help. The whole being shocked and surprised was kind of a fake, because I knew he would ask her out. After all, he did write me-err, I mean S-a letter, about Fay.  He was a nice guy behind his jock exterior, and wasn’t the type to act like a jerk because of his status. Just the way he wrote, I knew he probably faked the whole English assignment thing, because his writing was remarkable, and I knew he probably had a good grade in that class. The fact that he used a cute excuse like that made my heart swell with pride, Fay’s soon-to-be-boyfriend was perfect for her.

My thoughts were interrupted when Carter Woods waltzed into the cafeteria, scanning around the room. My heart began hammering in my chest. Yesterday, he was waiting right by the library wall where my letters would be dropped off, inside the brick wall. He’d been there, scanning around the empty library. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was looking for me.

I gulped, as his eyes met mine for a brief second, but I turned away, unable to look into his beautiful grey orbs. It didn’t matter anyway. He wouldn’t suspect a low profile, nerd like me to be the oh-so-famous “S.”

He walked away from the lunch line, heading towards the table where all his friends sat. Looking closely, I just noticed his beautiful girlfriend, Lizzie, wasn’t there.

I remember receiving a letter from her. Though private, with secret names to cover their identity, all my years of being a quiet observer, I knew how some acted, and it was clearly visible through their writing. Lizzie was a fun loving girl, with a bright personality and an equally bright heart. Her writing itself was just as bubbly and sweet as Lizzie herself, and it was easily recognizable.

When I’d gotten her letter, I just assumed it would be another fight between the two. Their relationship was good, despite the few banters they experienced. But hey, didn’t all couples get into fights once in a while? Not that I knew, but the fights weren’t bad considering they got to make up afterwards in ANY way they wanted. I’d expected them to get over it, and be back to passionately making out by his mustang by the next morning.

Looking to my left, I noticed Fay staring at me with curious eyes.

“What?” I questioned her, lifting up an eyebrow at her curiosity.

“Why are you staring at Carter?”

“I’m not staring. He’s the one who’s looking around the cafeteria like he’s searching for someone,” I crossed my arms in front of me, resting them on the cafeteria table, “And besides, I don’t see Lizzie on his arm like usual. It’s kinda weird.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that? They’re usually joined at the hip. Guess it’s another fight,” she shrugged, lifting a lock of black hair and tucking it behind her ear.

“Forget that. Tell me more about this date….” Her cheeks turned crimson, and I couldn’t help but grin.

************

Walking down the sloping steps of the school, I trudged towards the parking lot, once again, in pursuit of where I parked my damn car.

Grumbling in frustration, I began walking up and down the aisles, looking for my old black Toyota. 

“Where the hell did I put it?!” I mumbled in defeat. My car was looking more and more like a needle in a haystack.

Turning around, I came face to face with Carter, looking above my head.

My heart beating at a hundred miles per hour, I sidestepped him quickly and quietly, hoping to avoid his gaze. Almost there! I chanted, as I walked towards the side and passed him by.

“Hey!” Came a shout from behind. Shit.

I turned around slowly, ducking my eyes down towards the gravel pavement.

“You dropped this,” Carter handed me something. I grabbed it quickly, accidentally brushing my hand against his fingers. A warm feeling shot down to my stomach, but I ignored it and quickly stuffed the thing back into my back.

“Thanks” I mumbled quickly, before turning around and speed walking away.

Oh god, that was a close one.

*********

Carter watched the girl hurriedly walk away before turning around.

Strange, he thought as he walked down towards his car.

He swiveled his head around to the area of the parking lot by the library, hoping to find someone exiting with possibly letters in her hand.

He sighed in frustration, as he saw teacher after teacher, student after student, leave, with nothing but books or briefcases in hand.

Slumping towards his car, he popped the lid of his Mustang open, grabbing his lacrosse gear.

As he walked towards the field, he could stop thinking about the girl he’d run into.  As her fingers had brushed his, he felt an unfamiliar spark between their hands.

Sighing, he entered the field and began strapping on his gear.

When would he find this “S”? He thought dejectedly, as he pulled on his helmet.

The coach whistle blew, and all the other guys assembled onto the field. Carter grabbed his lacrosse stick and followed after them, thinking about the girl.

And that was when he remembered one critical detail. The item he’d picked up was what he’d been looking for: an envelope.

He whipped his head towards the parking lot in the distance, but all he could see was empty spots, and a defeated self.

Chapter 4-Playing Games

 

Dear S-

So I have a little problem. Okay, let’s be honest, I have a big problem. My friend just recently started dating this guy. It’s been a while since she’s put herself out there, but the problem is that he’s liked me for a while now. I’ve known this for a few months. He’s always staring at me, and I’ve heard from his friends that he mentions me a lot in his conversations. I don’t really like him in that way, but I don’t want my friend to find out from someone else. What should I do? If I tell her, she’ll think I’m trying to break her relationship, but if I don’t, she’ll find out and assume I liked him back and just didn’t want to tell her!

-One sided love

 

Dear One Sided Love,

Just take a deep breath, and think about the situation. Okay, now throw all those ridiculous paranoid thoughts out of your mind and actually digest the situation. So, this guy likes you? Okay. You don’t like him back? Perfectly fine. He’s your friend’s new guy? Well, now we have a problem. Your friend seems like she’s really enjoying this guy, but telling your friend may jeopardize your relationship with her. I’m assuming that this guy probably went out with your friend to get close to you, and he may just be paying a little too much attention to you and not your friend. I’m about 80 percent sure that your friend might be noticing this. So just go right out and say it! Tell her that he may just like you, and that you have no feelings back for him. If she is a good friend, she’ll understand. And besides, if this guy is dating her to get close to you, maybe it’s better off that you risk her happiness to protect her feelings later on when he possibly leaves her.  Telling her will allow you to be an honest friend, who cares about her feelings. Even if she chooses to stay with him, just smile and say it’s okay. If she gets mad, and accuses you, let her cool down, and show her that you truly meant what you said. Give her proof, even if it means becoming a secret spy and capturing a conversation of him and his friends talking about you! Okay…not that creepy, but at least get a witness to this one sided romance to support you. She might just be able to see your point, and will make a wise decision based off of that.

-S.

 

“Sammy, are you ready yet?” Ty yelled out.

“Yeah, just a second!” I yelled back, as I shut off the laptop and grabbed my cross body purse off the bedside drawer. Slipping on my converse, I ran downstairs and outside, where my brother was waiting.

“Come on Sammy, I’m gonna be late for the game!” Ty shouted back, as I locked the house.

Running over the passenger side, I got into his car and buckled in.

Not even as I glanced back up to the front, had a shirt been thrown over my face.

“Thanks” I muttered sarcastically to Ty’s smiling face, and pulled his lacrosse jersey over my t-shirt.

********

Pulling into the parking lot of the school, I jumped out, waving a quick goodbye to Ty, and headed towards Fay.

“About time you got here,” she scolded me, after handing me a Slurpee.

“Thanks” I smiled at her apologetically. We walked off towards the bleachers, trying to find some good seats before they all got full.

Sitting in my seat, I surveyed the field. Today was just a regular game for the lacrosse team, and since my brother was in almost every sport imaginable, I came to all his games. He usually gave me his jersey, unless he promised another girl his jersey, then I would usually just wear his lacrosse hoodie. I didn’t mind. My brother was kind of a flirt. He wasn’t a jerk though. Not like Carter, anyway.

Speaking of Carter, I looked back at the fields, hoping to see him. Though the last few run-ins with him weren’t the most pleasant, I did have a tiny crush on him. Okay, a big crush.

Maybe it was the fact that he was insanely hot or maybe because he wasn’t always such a hot shot.

I guess I’d developed this stupid crush for him when he used to come over to my house all the time. Back when we were freshmen, Carter used to come over all the time to hang out with Ty. I didn’t really notice him much at first, but soon, he was all I could think about. Too bad I never had the courage to talk to him. I doubt he even knows I’m Ty’s twin sister.

Rolling my eyes at my own stupidity, I focused on the game, when a pair of piercing grey eyes stared right back at me. My heart almost stopped. 

Carter.

“Hey! Hey! Sammy!” I jerked back, looking over to Fay, who was staring at me with confused eyes.

“You okay? I was trying to call you when I noticed you got all pale…”

“I’m fine,” I lied. I was far from fine.  Carter was staring at me. Me. And it wasn’t the type of stare that made butterflies in your stomach, no. It made goosebumps erupt all over my arms.

Carter Woods was staring at me as if he knew who I was. I gulped, and looked back over to the field. Ty spotted me and waved. Timidly, I waved back and smiled weakly.

A whistle blew, signaling the start of the game.

I gulped. It was definitely the start of a game, a terrible one.

********

“Eww, get off of me! You smell like sweat!” Ty chuckled as he pulled away from Fay. She scowled at him, before crossing her arms and walking away in a huff.

“I’ll be waiting at the car!” She shouted. I only shook my head in laughter.

“Congrats Tyler! Another win!” I embraced him in a hug, which he returned with more than just a bear hug.

“Ow, stop Ty. I can’t breathe” I chuckled.

Tyler ruffled my hair, before slipping on his jacket.

“I gotta grab something from a friend real quick, be back in a bit!” He ran off, leaving me alone in front of the boy’s locker room.

Just as I was about to head off, I felt someone behind me.

“I know what you do,” I could almost feel them smirking behind me.

I recognized that voice. Carter. Taking a deep breath, I mustered a fake smile on my face as I came face to chest with Carter.

"Um, what are you talking about?" I gave him a confused look, hoping he bought it.

“Yeah right. Don’t play games. I don’t know who you are, but you better stop writing those fucking ridiculous letters.”

Well, guess he didn't buy it.

The sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears as I heard what he said. For some reason, that angered me. He couldn’t take a piece of me away like that. Hell, he couldn’t do it if it was over my dead body.

“What are you talking about? Maybe you should get your facts straight before accusing random people! Whatever the hell S. did to you, she did, but I’m not S. so I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I huffed, and turned on my heel, walking away from the so-called bastard.

 

 

Chapter 5-Behind The Mask

 
 

Carter couldn’t believe his eyes, as the timid nerd in front of him had walked away, after yelling her ass off to him.

For some strange reason, he found her angry stature underneath her timid façade quite sexy. Something about her made his heart thump faster.  She was so much more different than any girl he’d been across, and he couldn’t help but admire her sexy kitten like attitude.

But something still nudged at his mind. If she wasn’t S., why was she so pissed at him when he asked her?

Pulling his large lacrosse bag higher up his shoulder, he walked away, still thinking about that girl. He was clueless. This was the second time he’d seen her, and yet he still couldn’t believe he’d never seen this girl before.

And what was she doing with Ty? Maybe he liked her. The thought made him angry. ‘No,’ he thought, ‘I can’t be jealous for some loser like nerd,’ he scoffed mentally. Focusing back on S., he began thinking about how he could find her.

‘Maybe he could find this S. if he sent a letter himself’ He thought.             

‘If I sent a letter with some made up issue, maybe she could tell me who she is!’

Eyes sparking with excitement, he raced home to put his plan into action.

*******

Dear S-

So I’m a guy with a problem. There’s this girl I like, but she doesn’t know me. We’re not really close, so I’m confused at what to do to get her attention. Being a guy, I have absolutely no clue to what girls like. Can you give me an idea as to what girls like?

Thanks!

-Clueless crush

Carter looked over the note again, reading and rereading it to make sure he didn’t leave anything out. He’d tried so bad to make it seem like he was just some heartsick guy who desperately needed advice. Praying silently, he just hoped all his efforts would work.

Honestly, he didn’t know exactly why he was so hell bent on finding out if S. was the girl he met at the game. Truthfully, he just wanted her, whoever she was, to feel the pain of rejection like he had. He was always the heartbreaker, not the heartbroken.

Stopping midstride, an important thought occurred to him. With all that was going on, he didn’t even really miss Lizzy all that much. Granted, he wasn’t much of a softy unless he did find the perfect girl, he usually still felt a little weird after a few days, but not in this case.

Somehow, the idea that finding S. to make his embarrassment lessen didn’t sound right anymore. He didn’t even miss Lizzy. Not once had he thought about her, or how he must’ve looked like an idiot for not having her anymore.

So why was he still after S.? He didn’t know. But something, something in the back of his mind, wanted to find this S, for reasons still unknown to him, especially since he was clearly over Lizzy already.

Picking up his stride, he entered the library, and weaved around through the shelves towards the back corner. Lifting his hand up, he gently traced the brick with his hand, feeling the bumps of the rocky surface scratch his fingertips. Shaking his head, he lifted out the brick, exposing a small compartment that was empty. Placing the letter gingerly into the slot, he looked at it once, before replacing the brick back into the wall.

“Soon,” he whispered, “Soon, I will know who you really are.”

Chapter 6-Meetings and Messages

 
 

A whistle blew, disrupting me from my reading. I was trying to finish some homework, but it looked like Ty’s lacrosse practice was over.

Just an even bigger reminder for me to get my own car back.

My dad’s car happened to be at the auto shop, since it broke down yesterday. He was borrowing my car for a bit until they could fix the problem. Until then, I had to stay after school until Tyler’s lacrosse practice was over and he could drive both of us back.

Packing my books up into my backpack, I got off the bleachers and dusted my shorts off.

I headed towards the parking lot, waiting for my brother to show up.

Spotting a rock, I kicked it around with my foot before it rolled into a puddle. I went to retrieve it, when I saw the reflection inside of the puddle.

“What do you want?” I spat, as I looked up to see Carter’s smirking face.

“Nothing. Just wanted to see what you were up to?” His smirk grew wider, if that was possible, as he leaned back against a car.

I rolled my eyes, and walked around to the passenger side of Ty’s car. Crossing my arms, I waited for Ty to show up.

“You know, it’s not really nice to ignore people,” Carter said as he walked around the car hood and stood in front of me.

“Not when they’re creepy strangers who won’t mind their own business,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes again.

Come on Ty! Where the hell are you? I thought urgently. I couldn’t let myself be around this jackass any longer. What did I see in him again? I blame teen hormones.

“Ouch, I’m hurt. You think I’m a stranger? Remember me? We had a nice little conversation yesterday in this parking lot. Although for our first time meeting, I remember you using some colorful vocabulary. Not much of a lady, are we?” He chuckled as he moved closer to me.

I gaped at him like a fish. How dare he call me un ladylike!? The nerve of this jerk!

“Excuse me for trying to defend myself from annoying jerks who think they can blame shit on anyone! No. Thank. You.” I bit out back at him.

His chuckle turned humorless, as he glowered at me with those captivating eyes. Standing right in front of me, he closed me between him and Ty’s car, caging me in with his hands.

“Now, now, now, what did I say about that dirty little mouth? Maybe you forgot the fact that I’m the innocent one here. At least I don’t go messing around with people’s lives, thinking I’m actually helping when instead, I’m screwing everyone’s shit up,” My eyes blazed in fury as he neared closer to my face.  Faintly, we could hear the sounds of the other team members laughing and talking as they neared the parking lot. Looking to the side, Carter smirked down at me.

Backing up with his hands in a surrender fashion he continued,

“Hey, don’t get all mad. I was just telling you the truth,” he chuckled, backing away with small steps.

“Later S.” he retorted, turning around and walking away.

My hands clenched in fury as I saw him retreating. I wanted to go up to him and kick his sorry little ass till he-

“Hey Sammy! Ready to go?” Ty smiled at me as he jogged over to his side and jumped in.

I turned around and opened the passenger door. Giving one last look to the side, I saw Carter smirking at me from his car in triumph. I glared at him before climbing into the seat.

Pulling out of the parking lot, I saw Carter wave towards our car, looking at Ty first before sliding his eyes over to me. His smile remained plastered on his face, but his eyes looked mischievous and taunting as they looked at me.

Looking away, I pulled out my phone and logged onto Facebook to get away from his glowering eyes.

Driving silently, I couldn’t stop thinking about his threat. Wait, it wasn’t a threat…he purposely made me feel like crap without actually saying something. Damn, and here I thought I could go to the police with this.

Enough jokes Sam, I told myself, we need to get our priorities straight. Okay, enough of this talking to myself, it’s getting creepy. Anyway, I looked absent mindedly out the window, staring at the cars and buildings that passed by.

“You okay Sammy? You’re being really quiet, more than usual,” Ty questioned, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

“Hm? What? Oh, I’m fine, just worried about a test coming up,” I shrugged, acting like it was no big deal.

“Nerd,” he coughed out.

“Shut up!” I pouted.

“Aw, is the nerd getting upset?” he smirked at me.

“At least I can spell the word upset,” I smirked back.

“U-P-S-E-Oh shit!” Ty yelled as he swerved to miss another car.

“Ty, just focus on driving,” I giggled to him.

Throwing me a goofy smile, Ty focused back on the road, creating a peaceful silence yet again.

Arriving home, I dashed out of the car and into the house.

“I’m starving!” I yelled to no one in particular and ran into the kitchen.

“Sweetie, don’t run all over the place!” Mom scolded playfully as she walked into the kitchen.

“Sorry Mom,” I smiled sheepishly and kissed her on the cheek.

Humming to myself, I grabbed a chocolate muffin and a plate and placed it on the counter. Running upstairs, I changed into some yoga pants and a blue hoodie.

Eating my muffin quickly, I went back upstairs and threw my backpack on the floor.

Collapsing onto the bed, I rubbed my hands over my face and took a deep breath.

A beep came from my half closed laptop, causing me to get up and walk over to it.

I opened up my laptop fully and glanced at the screen. It was a friend request on facebook. Clicking the icon, I was a bit surprised when none other than Carter Woods, showed up.

My finger wavered on the touchpad. Should I confirm him? Why should I? He’s treated me like crap for the past few days. I don’t really need him harassing me on Facebook either. But if I deny his request, it’ll just make me look like I’m afraid of him. I bit my lip in frustration. Finally, my pride won, and I accepted it, much to my distaste.

Finally finished with an assignment for English, I heard another beep from my laptop. Looking up from my worksheet, I saw the inevitable: The prick had messaged me!

“Hey S.”

Not again! I groaned as I read his IM. Swiftly, I typed back the only response I could think of.

“Sorry, got the wrong person!”

He didn’t reply back for a bit, so I continued to do my homework.

“Nice joke. Still pretending I see”

Now I was getting pissed off.  I decided to ignore him and not reply.

“What happened, was it too much truth for you to handle?”

Now I was past angry, I was fumed.

“No, but your bullshit is,”

Smiling triumphantly, I went back to studying.

“Wow, this is a whole new side of you that I’m seeing. What does that make it now? 3 sides? I didn’t know you were 3-faced?”

I glared at the screen, wishing for him to disappear. Why does he have to care so much about S!

“It’s called having a personality. Something you clearly lack,”

Logging out, I shut my laptop forcefully and tried to focus back on homework, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Why does he have to be so hot, yet so arrogant and selfish!?

Sighing, I decided a letter wouldn’t hurt.

Dear S.,

I’ve been having some problems with my family. My parents are getting divorced, and even though I had seen this coming, I’m still really upset. I don’t know how to handle this! My mom is gonna keep me with her, but I’m going to miss my dad so much! What should I do?

-Caught in the middle

This letter caught me by surprise. I wasn’t sure what to do about this one. Sure, many parents had divorces, but I didn’t really know what to say to this person. Thinking hard, I decided to just go with my gut.

Dear Caught in the middle,

I’m sure right now the thing you’re most worried about is the idea that it’s your fault. It’s not. Sometimes, relationships won’t work out, the glue between them isn’t as strong as it once was, but that doesn’t mean your parents don’t love you any less than they did when they were together! I know it’s hard to accept, but sometimes your parents had issues going on that were just too much to bear, but it never has anything to do with you. The biggest mistake most divorced kids think is that it’s their fault, when its not. No amount of blame can be placed on you. Just like how high school couples break up, sometimes married couples do too. It’s just a matter of accepting it. Now for your other problem, I know you must really love your dad, but maybe you can persuade him to still live nearby so that you can see him. Of course it’ll be hard not seeing him every day, but you can always work out a schedule to go see him every few days, or every week, whatever’s comfortable for you. Truthfully, I believe you should make your dad work his schedule around you, so that you both still have time to see each other without distancing your relationship. And this way, your dad will really see how important it is to connect with you. Also, try to talk with him about your feelings, show him that you understand what’s going on, but you still want him as a part of your life. If he loves you like I think he does, he’ll find a way to work it out. Hang in there, your family may be separating, but your love will never break.

-S.

Saving it to my laptop, I closed my eyes as I rested my head on the bed. Today was too exhausting to even think about. With all the drama Carter was causing, I doubt I’d be able to live peacefully anymore. But I wouldn’t let him take away the most important thing to me: helping others. If he can’t see what I’m trying to do, he can go screw himself. There is no way he’s gonna ruin S. for me, not a chance.

 

Chapter 7-A Little History Lesson

 

“I won’t stop poking you till you look at me,”

“I know you’re getting mad. Just give in already,”

“Giving me the cold shoulder, really? I didn’t expect that from you. When will you learn your manners?”

Clenching my fingernails deeper into my skin, I used all my strength to hold myself before I jabbed my pencil into Carter’s eyes.

For the past 20 minutes, he was poking my back with his pencil, trying to get my attention. I was trying to ignore it, but I could already feel a small circular bruise forming from the tip of his eraser hitting my back in the same spot repeatedly.

If I could just turn around and smack him so hard, he’d forget his own name, let alone messing with me, or S.

I didn’t understand how nobody even noticed? I mean, come on, a classroom full of bored students and nobody could see Carter practically harassing me with a weapon. Of course, it wasn’t a weapon, it’s just a pencil, but it counts!

My fingernails were now creating permanent moon shaped dents in my palms as I tried to focus on the teacher.

Finally, the poking stopped, much to my surprise. I unclenched my fists slowly, and relaxed my back. Heaving a sigh, I finally focused back on my English teacher and his lecture on the Modernist writers.

Just when I thought peace had finally come, I felt a kick at my feet.  Then another, and another. Soon, Carter had found a way to stretch his legs under my seat and kick my feet repeatedly. I tried to move my feet, but there was no room to put them. Even at the farther distance, he could still reach them.

How long were his legs? I grunted in annoyance, and crossed my arms. The kid next to me looked at me then at Carter behind me. I rolled my eyes and looked back ahead.

Finally, after what seemed like years of torture, the bell rang. Stuffing my books in my bag at lightning speed, I got up and practically ran out of the classroom. Just as I made it out of the room, a yank pulled me back from my sprinting.

Turning around, I saw the smirking Carter looking at me with triumph.

“Did you really think you could just ignore me?”

Looping his hand around my shoulders, he walked us down the hallway.

“Look Sammy, I get it. You’re intimidated by me. I mean, come on, looks, charm, personality, popularity. I get it. There’s no need to be ashamed. I know I’m hot, and I know quiet girls like you get easily nervous when getting attention from guys like me, but don’t be so scared. I won’t bite,” I could only stare at his face, as he smirked again and stopped by my locker.

“You shouldn’t keep staring at me, or somebody’s going to get the wrong idea,”

I opened my mouth in shock, before closing it and stomping around to face my locker. Opening it quickly, I grabbed my things before slamming it and walking away from him.

“Woah, woah, slow down Sammy! I didn’t mean to offend you!” He said as he ran to catch up to me.

I stopped and looked at him, rolling my eyes in disbelief.

“Carter, go get a life. I’m not interested in talking with you. So please just leave me alone?” I sighed, and turned around.

Walking away, I could hear Carter laugh behind me. I turned back around, only to see Carter wink at me and laugh again.

“Playing hard to get? I like it. See you later, Sammy!”

I clenched my teeth together as he walked in the opposite direction, and disappeared into the crowd of teenagers.

Turning back around, I hugged my books and stomped down the hallway to my next class.

Arriving at History, I dropped my books on my desk and plunked into my seat.

“Rough day?” Fay asked as she walked in and sat in the desk beside me.

“You could say that,” I muttered, grumbling to myself.

“That bad, huh?” She questioned, still looking at me with a quirked smile.

“Three words: Carter’s an ass.”

Fay laughed, shaking her head before looking at me.

“Well that’s old news. What did he do now?”

“He’s been bothering me for –” I stopped midsentence as I realized what I was about to say. Fay didn’t know anything about S. I couldn’t tell her why Carter was bothering me! Groaning quietly, I quickly made up a lie.

“He’s been annoying me because he thinks I like him. Real mature.” I rolled my eyes.

“But didn’t you have a crush on him before? Maybe he found out! Do you still like him? You do, don’t you! How could you hide this from your best friend Sammy?” Like rapid fire, Fay’s questions just hit me again and again, as I laughed at her.

“No Fay, I don’t like him. If I did, you’d be the first I would tell. Jeez, relax,” I answered.

“Good. No secrets between best friends Sammy. Don’t ever hide anything from me,”

“I won’t Fay,” I answered with a smile, but I could still feel the guilt eating away at me. Fay should know who I am, what I’m doing. After all, she’s my best friend! We should tell each other everything.

“So anyway, tell me about your date with Bryan! Was it good? Did you kiss?” I practically shouted, swarming her with questions.

“Would you not scream that out loud Sammy? You want the whole school to know?”

“Oops, sorry Fay,” I apologized. “So, how did it go? Tell me everything,”

“Well, it was really great. We ended up getting separated from the group after the movie, since they all wanted to go hang out at the arcade. I didn’t feel like doing that, so we both ended up buying more popcorn and walking around. We talked about stuff. Turns out, he’s more like us than like usual jocks. Even his friends are nice, they really welcomed me.  When we were all about to leave, he asked me out. This time, on an actual date between just us. Sammy, can you believe it?! He actually likes me!”

I smiled at her and gave her a high five.

“See Fay? Told you he liked you. You were worrying about nothing. Now you guys are dating! Aww, my best friend and her crush are dating! You guys will be so adorable as a couple,” I grinned.

“I hope so,” she grinned back. Just then, the teacher walked in, so we ended the conversation and turned to face the front.

Grabbing my notebook out of my bag, I opened it and saw a note inside. I grabbed it and opened it.

Dear S.,

It may be fun and games right now, but it’s going to get serious. Hope you have a great time in history! Oh, and remember to write this down in your notes too, World War III has just begun. I will prove who you really are.

-Carter

I stared at the words in fear. How could I have been so stupid? He’s been attacking me, and annoying me, but in the end, all he’s doing is trying to get close so that he can ruin my reputation. I need to stay away from him.

The rest of the period, I thought of ways to avoid him. He was getting too close, and I was really afraid that if he found out and used it against me, everyone would hate me. What if he decided to reveal all of their secrets that they wrote me? I couldn’t have that happening. People trusted me to tell their secrets to and ask for advice. Carter might just ruin all the trust and compassion I gave to all these people.

As the period ended, I walked out quietly, deep in thought over this issue with Carter, when I was bumped on the side.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Ty asked, as he steadied me.

“You’re thinking really hard about something. Want to tell me what it’s about?”

“No, I’m just worried about my grades. Some tests are coming up, and I don’t want them to fall,” I replied quickly.

“Hey,” Ty held my shoulders and turned me to face him. “You sure you’re okay? You look really nervous.”

“I’m fine, Ty. Nothing’s wrong. I gotta get to class.”

With that, I quickly walked away, leaving my brother and myself, more confused and worried than ever.

 

 

Chapter 8-A Date with the Devil

 

 

“Bye Fay!” I called out as the last bell rang. Walking to my locker, I quickly stuffed my books in and began walking towards the library to pick up my daily letters.

Arriving to the library, I gave a small wave to the librarian, who offered me a sweet smile. I continued on, weaving in and out bookshelves until I finally reached the back of the library.

My feet came to a screeching halt as I saw Carter sitting on a chair, playing around with his keys. Almost as if he sensed me, he looked up with a triumphant smirk and stood up.

“Finally! You’re here. For a minute I thought you’d forgotten about all the letters you have to write!” Shaking his head in laughter, he walked towards me and slung an arm around my shoulders. I stood there, dumbfounded, as he turned me around and we began walking out of the library. All the while, he kept chatting, but I wasn’t even paying attention.

“…so then I thought, well it wouldn’t hurt to go out on a date, right?”

My brain finally kicked in, and I opened my mouth in shock.

“Date?”

“Yeah! You, me, a nice place to eat, and then maybe getting some ice cream afterwards.” He stated so nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

I stared at him in shock. Why on earth was he asking me out?

“Aw, come on Sammy, don’t make that face. A date with me is like a blessing. You should definitely take it,” He winked at me, while I recoiled in disgust. God he was such a pig.

“Um, no thanks. I have better things to do with my time, like shave cats, than go on a date with you,” I replied, shrugging his arm off and walking faster. He ran to catch up to me, but I ignored his constant pleas.

“Really S? I didn’t think you of all people would turn me down for a date, especially since I have something very important that I found about your little secret. Wouldn’t want that getting into the wrong hands, now would we?” He smirked.

I was dumbfounded. He knew something about S?

“There’s no way. You’re lying. And even if you weren’t, why should I care? I’m not S.” I prompted. How could he ever find anything about S? Nobody has yet come close to finding out my secret. I doubt he knew anything…right?

“Well, if I were you, I’d be on the safe side and go out with me. How do you know if I’m lying or not? And please, you do care.”

He just didn’t seem to let up! My fingers twitched in anger. If it weren’t a crime, I’d wring his sorry little neck!

“So, assuming by your silence, I’ll take that as a big fat yes. Pick you up at 7 tomorrow night!”

He waltzed off, whistling in triumph. All I could do was stand there and watch his retreating back in anger. How did he manage to manipulate me again?

I sighed. The exhaustion from a long week of school, plus the tension of Carter had me craving for a long nap. Rolling my shoulders back, I straightened my back and walked with my head held high.

Good luck to you Carter, I thought. Let’s just see how this little date of ours really plays out. And if I’m correct – I smiled – the ball will be in my court.

*********

“You did what!?”

“Wow Fay, way to blow out my eardrum,” I muttered, pulling my phone away from my ear.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “It’s just that this is such big news! You’re going on a date with THE Carter Woods! Damn girl!”

I laughed. Fay was acting like I was going out with some celebrity or something. It was safe to say that Carter was far from it.

Rolling my eyes, I grinned, “Fay, it’s a pity date. He kept asking and wouldn’t let up till I said yes, so…I said yes.  Big deal, it’s not like I like the guy anyways.”

But that wasn’t entirely true. Of course the date was a pity date, but I did like Carter. I always had. Not that I would let him know. He’d just hold it over my head, just like he was doing about S.

“Still! You should be excited! I’m coming over tomorrow to do your hair, makeup, and pick your outfit! No excuses. You’re gonna look insanely hot that Carter will be drooling at your feet! I promise,” she replied.

I just laughed, “Okay Fay. It’s a deal. Come over to my place around 4 tomorrow, and you can do all of that crap for me if it really means that much to you.”

“Yes! Thanks so much Sammy! You won’t regret it! Anyway, I gotta go, piano practice soon. I’ll text you later. Bye Sammy!”

“Okay bye Fay!” I grinned, hanging up.

I dropped my phone on the bed, where I’d been laying down on, and put my hands behind my head. Staring up at my ceiling, my thoughts floated to Carter.

If he’d asked me out for real, I would’ve been ecstatic, but this date was only an excuse to get closer to my secret. The thought panged my heart a little. I just wish he would stop messing with my secret. It wouldn’t do anyone good if he told everyone I was S.

I grabbed a throw pillow near me and hugged it to my chest.

Whatever happens tomorrow, I won’t let Carter manipulate me. I would stand my ground. No amount of charm would get me to give up my secret.

I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh. For now, I think a nap would be a good idea.

 

 

Chapter 9- Dinner for Two?

I squinted my eyes again. I promptly crossed my arms, then uncrossed them, before crossing them again. I twirled around, doing a complete 360. Ugh, was dressing up this hard?

For the 50 billionth time, I’d changed my outfit. Why I was caring about this date so much was beyond me. After all, I was using this time to get close to Carter and find a way to trick him off exposing me.

Glancing down at my phone, I unlocked the screen and saw it was 20 minutes till 7. Crap! I needed to get ready!

Throwing open my closet doors, I shuffled through the clothes until I found a loose green top, skinny jeans, my favorite leather jacket, a beanie, and my amazing heeled wedge booties that I absolutely loved. Slipping it all on, I took a look in the mirror and praised myself for how good I looked. With a quick wink at myself in the mirror, I checked the makeup and hair that Fay had done a few hours earlier, and gave a prompt nod. Grabbing my phone and my purse, I headed downstairs, waiting for Carter to come pick me up.

No sooner than I had reached downstairs, the doorbell rang. I walked over to the door and opened it. Standing there, in all his glory, was Mr. Perfect, Carter Woods. His look was almost flawless, as if he’d effortlessly thrown on his jeans, dark grey button up, and Supras. I rolled my eyes. Of course he’d effortlessly thrown all that on. I mean it was Carter Woods. He’d look good with a freaking trash bag.

His eyes went from my own down to my body and legs before back up again. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, giving a low whistle. I almost had the urge to blush, but held it back. Or maybe my urge to punch him was just more powerful.

“Ready to go babe?” He said, gesturing his hand out towards his car. I huffed, but stepped out obediently. Locking the door behind me, I joined him by the car. He opened the door for me and waved inside, to which I gave a fake smile and stepped in. He wasn’t going to get any satisfaction from me.

Running over to his side, he climbed in and buckled up before pulling out.

“So, where exactly are we going?” I questioned, curiosity was creeping in after we’d been sitting for 10 minutes without saying anything.

“You’ll see” was his reply. I huffed in annoyance. I hated surprises.

“Now, now, Sammy…” he drawled out, “No need to frown, we’ll be there soon.” He pinched my cheek. I slapped his hand and crossed my arms. Dammit, he made it seem like I was the baby. I was not! Okay maybe I was.

I looked out the window and watched everything pass by in a blur. My thoughts drifted to my secret. What if Carter did find out? Would he really tell the whole school it was me? Who would ever write a letter to a nobody like me? The minute they found out, people would be horrified knowing they told their deepest, darkest secrets to a wallflower like me. Just being without that made my eyes tear up. That advice may have seemed like just some stupid, wreckless hobby to Carter, but it was much more to me. It was finally something that could express my thoughts when my own voice couldn’t. Carter would take that away from me.

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. Be cool Sammy. Don’t let him see you like this! I told myself repeatedly to calm down.

Just as I opened my eyes, Carter parked the car. I looked through the dashboard and saw the amazing Italian restaurant I loved going to as a kid. My family would go there all the time, but unfortunately with my parents busy with work and Ty and I growing up, we didn’t have much family bonding time anymore to come here and eat together.

“Like it? The food’s great.” Carter said, but I could only nod. He already knew a lot about me, why let him in on a family memory?

We walked inside and a waiter placed us at a table. I sat across from Carter and quickly grabbed the menu, pretending to look busy reading it.

Unfortunately, Carter had other plans.

“So, S, tell me about yourself?” I groaned inwardly. Just my luck. Way to go Carter, jab and jab until it hurts, why don’t ya?

I smiled fakely and said, “Sorry, not much to tell since you apparently already did recon on me, so…” I smirked, leaning back in my chair and crossed my arms.

He reciprocated, leaning back as well and smiled evilly.

“Poor Sammy. Never been on a date, huh? Well I guess I should teach you. On dates, you talk about yourself a little, eat, chit chat, that’s how it goes silly.” He chuckled, obviously quite amused. My smile dropped and my arms uncrossed. I pointed my face away from him and began to check out my surroundings.

There were quite a few tables full, with families and couples. It seemed like we were the only teenagers here.

I raised a questionable eyebrow at Carter. “Why exactly did you bring me here Carter?”

Now it was Carter’s turn for his smile to drop. His eyes flashed with guilt temporarily before becoming lazy again.

“Italian’s my favorite food, and this is my favorite restaurant. Enough reason for you?”

I nodded, but I wasn’t fully convinced.  Something was definitely going on.

***************

Carter looked down at his menu, pretending to choose something to order. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sammy looking back down at her menu, in actual interest this time, and let out a sigh.

When he’d chosen this restaurant, it wasn’t because of the food or anything of that sort. He hadn’t even been here before. Carter felt absolutely guilty. The reason he’d chosen this restaurant was to get as far away as possible from anyone from school seeing him out with Sammy.

As far as he was concerned, Sammy wasn’t exactly the most popular, and he was the polar opposite. Besides, he was here for the secret, plain and simple.

But something kept nagging at him. It had happened the minute he saw Sammy, all dressed up. He could hardly keep his drool from spilling down to his shirt. She looked that gorgeous. Not that he would ever tell her. Douche-like comments and whistles were all he could do. He had to keep pestering her.

Again, he looked up and saw her looking at him. Immediately, she looked back down at her menu. A small shiver went down his spine. It was like a glimmer of excitement of catching her staring at him.

Carter caught himself. There was no way he could be happy that she was looking at him.

Something in Carter’s gut told him he was treading in dangerous waters, getting involved with a girl like Sammy, who could easily kill a guy with her looks and intelligence.

He caught himself looking back at her again, and a small smile formed on his lips. Maybe it wasn’t Sammy who was lucky to be on a date with him. Maybe he was the lucky one all this time. Was a secret worth that?

 

 

(Her outfit!!! I love it, do you???)

Chapter 10-Mirror Says All

 

 

My shoes squeaked against the linoleum floor with my rushed pace.  I soon arrived to the dance studio in my school.  Inside was a small booth containing a rectangular window that faced into the dance room. The window was one sided, so that people could see into the dance room, but dancers could only see their reflection in the mirror.  A door separated the two spaces, to which I went through and tossed by duffle bag to the side.

A year ago, a custodian found me dancing in the studio after school. I was scared he would turn me in for being on school property without permission. Instead, he let me practice there, knowing that I wasn’t some bad kid or anything.

See, the thing is, I love to dance. Hip hop is my main choice, but I do some ballet here and there. This was the only side of me that I never showed to anyone, that and of course, the letter writing. It was just easier to express what I loved without having people question it. Whenever I was tense with homework, I did either of the two. I guess I should appreciate this last hobby, because who knows, Carter might just end up taking one of my hobbies away from me. At least I will still have this left.

I sighed, and shook my head in annoyance. Forget him, isn’t that what you came to do? I chuckled, and changed into a pair of sweatpants, and an off shoulder top. I pulled on my black high top sneakers to finish it off. 

Tossing my hair into a high ponytail, I walked swiftly over to the stereo set and plugged in my phone, which held a playlist of all my favorite hip hop songs.

Breathing in slowly, I faced the mirror and waited for a song to play.

I was off, spinning, moving, and dancing all over the place. Most people would be shocked if they saw me now. I did not exude the type of personality that would support a hip hop dancer, but hey, don’t judge a book by its cover right?

I continued to move to the music, letting myself get lost in the transition, and temporarily forgetting anything that’s been bothering me.

********************

“I’ll go grab it!” Carter yelled to his coach. He offered to go grab more jerseys for a practice lacrosse scrimmage game after school.

Running inside the building, he headed towards the gym lockers, which held all the sports equipment. Grabbing a bag of spare jerseys, he proceeded to head out of the locker room when he heard music playing nearby.

His eyebrows furrowed, as he tried to recall whether or not the dance team was practicing today. He was sure they weren’t.

Curiosity got the better of him, as he exited the locker room and headed to the right, approaching the dance studio.

He opened the door and walked into the booth. Carter was momentarily stunned, as he saw who it was practicing in the room.

He could not believe his eyes. There, dancing like some professional was Sammy.  The way she swayed her hips and moved to the music acted like a hypnotic force stopping Carter from leaving.

Eyes still plastered to the scene before him, he crawled into one of the seats and continued to watch in surprise. She was breathtaking when she danced. The way she stared into the mirror, it seemed like she was looking right at him.

One last move and then her body came to a stop. Breathing deeply, she wiped her arm across her forehead.  Sammy grabbed her water bottle and chugged the liquid down.

Walking over to the stereo, she shut off the music and unplugged her phone.

Carter immediately shot up to his feet. He couldn’t let her see he was here.  He quickly climbed down from the seats, grabbing the jerseys and slipped out of the booth before she could see him.

He ran down the hall and turned a corner, hiding behind it.

As he caught his breath, he saw Sammy pass by carrying a duffle bag across her body.

She was looking down at her phone, fortunately for him, and continued to walk on, unaware of him presence.

Carter tried to wrap his mind around what just happened. Apparently there was even more that she was hiding from him.

He continued to watch her as she walked down the hallway, until she turned a corner and was out of his sight. He breathed a sigh and decided it was probably a good idea to go back to practice.

Jogging back to the field, his coach asked him what took so long.

“Sorry coach, the jerseys weren’t where I expected them to be,” he answered, turning away from him and looking towards the parking lot to a familiar face getting in her car.

 

Chapter 11-Playing The Field

 

 

 

After getting home and taking a shower, I immediately got to homework, but that didn’t stop my mind from straying off of it and thinking about my date with Carter.

After dinner, he drove me home and left, not even saying so much as a witty joke. That just didn’t seem like him.

Not that I could judge, I couldn’t even make eye contact with him the whole ride back. That date left me in total confusion. Why was I feeling these butterflies in my stomach? That should not be happening.

This was Carter, the very same guy who, not a few weeks ago, threatened to expose my secret. Since when did I start having feelings for my enemy?

Okay, okay, I guess calling him an enemy is too harsh, but still! He should not be my friend, much less some guy I have a crush on. “God, this is getting way to out of control!” I muttered, putting my head in my hands.

A knock sounded on my door.

“Dinner, Sammy!” I heard a shout, which sounded like Tyler.

Closing my eyes for a second, I willed myself to forget all the crap that happened on that date. It was just a pity date, something to get me to spill my secret. 

I huffed in anger, and got up for dinner.

I descended the stairs and walked over to the table. My family was all sitting around, my mom bringing food over to us.

This, right here, was what I needed to focus on. Not some stupid guy that could potentially cause problems in my otherwise happy life.

Carter does not deserve any special attention from me, and I’m definitely going to let him know that the next time I see him.

******** To be honest, I had no idea what came over me that day.  I guess I finally lost all my marbles, either that or Carter was being extra ass-like that day.

When I’d gotten to school that day, Carter was acting off.  He didn’t normally tease me; in fact, he ignored me the whole time. As I went from class to class, whispers flew everywhere I went. It was as if someone had put me under a microscope and everyone at school was giving their two cents about my life. I was bewildered, to say the least, until Fay decided to explain what was going on. Apparently Carter wasted no time in spreading the news of the date he went on with me because I’d begged him to go out with me in desperation.

My feet stomped harder on every poor piece of grass underneath as I stormed into the lacrosse field after school, remembering exactly why I was so mad at him.

As I passed player after player, they all turned to stare at the deranged girl that looked like she was about to chop someone’s head off.

I knew I’d reached my destination when Carter turned his face towards me and his pupils dilated from fright. I almost had the urge to smirk. After all, I was in his position a few weeks ago when he cornered me against a car in the parking lot. It was nice to see that I had this effect on him as well.

“CARTER WOODS I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!” I shouted as I lunged at him. Before I could tackle him down, I felt arms wrap around me in a tight hold.

“Sammy calm down!” I heard the voice behind me, Ty, trying to stop me from murdering the idiot in front of me.

“No, let me GO!” I shouted in refute. I needed to get my hands on his throat and wring it so hard-

“It’s okay Ty, let her go,” I heard Carter tell my brother, who reluctantly let me go.

I huffed, and straightened out my clothes, before running over to Carter and hitting him as much as I could.

For a girl, I had to admit I hit him pretty hard. He actually had to deflect my hits and he did cry out in pain a couple times. Good, he deserved every bit of it. What gave him the right to spread false accusations, on top of the blackmailing?! No way in hell was I letting some stupid blackmailing jock make me look like a fool for something I didn’t even DO!

Before I could process what was happening, I felt Carter grab my hips and crush me against him. Next thing I know, I feel soft lips molding over mine. My body froze in shock, but somehow my lips kept going, following his lead as I succumbed to this strange feeling. I could smell the hint of cologne, mixed with the fresh cut grass on him, making my head spin. God I never wanted to stop. His hands moved over my hips and up to my waist and back down in a soothing motion.

My eyes snapped open, staring up at my captor, and I pushed him off of me. He stumbled back a little, before looking at me with the same shocked expression that I had on my face at the same moment.

Around me, I could feel confusion and shock coming from all the other players on the field as they watched our encounter.

Oh god. What did we just do?

Chapter 12-Cinderella

 

 

 

A laugh. That’s the first thing I heard from Carter’s mouth after our kiss. The same mouth I was unfortunately sucking on a second ago was now wide open, ripples of laughter tumbling out and striking me straight in the gut.

Was I that bad?

That was the first thought that came into my mind and even I had to admit that was weird. Since when did I care about being a good kisser? What about the fact that he just took my first kiss from me, without permission!?

“Jeez, she just can’t resist me, huh?” He continued to laugh, his face contorting to one of amusement.

Scrunching up my own, I could only stare at him, as tears threatened to spill from my eyes – and no, not the “doubled over in laughter” kind.

This was some joke to him?

I shook my head at Carter, before turning in the opposite direction and running the hell out of there.

I didn’t care that this whole incident happened in front of all his teammates, including my brother.

Oh god Tyler! My tears actually started spilling down my face at this point. Tyler would pummel the heck out of Carter for doing that to me.

But it didn’t matter. Carter just told the entire school how pathetic I am. It didn’t matter that the kiss was his fault. I wasn’t popular. Who would believe me over him? And Tyler, he had to witness his own sister humiliated like that.

I raised an arm and let the scratchy material of my sweater wipe my tears from my face. My feet now thudded on pavement, the parking lot to be exact, as I neared Tyler’s car.

I heard a voice call behind me, getting louder as I ran farther. For a second I wanted to believe Carter grew a conscience and ran after me, but my suspicions were debunked when Tyler’s familiar voice rang in my ears.

“Sammy wait!”

“Come on, Sam!”

“Sammy please!”

I couldn’t take it. I stopped, abruptly, in the middle of a small red Honda and a black Escalade parked next to each other.

My shoulders slumped, as I heard Tyler’s footsteps get closer and closer until they stopped. He placed a tentative hand on my shoulder, but all I did was spin around and collapse on his chest.

I muffled my sobs as much as I could, letting the tears soak into Tyler’s lacrosse jersey.

He stroked my hair, wrapping the other arm around me protectively.  Somehow, he shifted me to his side, walking us over to the car I presume, since I was still face deep in his jersey, sniffling.

Eventually I had to let go, and got into the passenger seat of his car. Tyler climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door.

“Hey,” he cooed, stroking my back as I sniffled, staring at the floor.

“What a jerk!” I hiccupped as the sobs died down.

“He’s an idiot. Never liked him,” Tyler replied, opening the glove compartment and handing me a pack of tissues.

“You’re just saying that,” I pouted, wiping my tears with a tissue.

“I mean it. Never liked the guy,” Ty cracked a mischievous grin in my direction.

I giggled, slapping his arm lightly.

“Sureee,” I drawled out, rolling my eyes, “you loved the guy.”

“Okay fine, he was cool. Was being the operative word. I kicked the crap out of that guy,” he grinned again, wiping a stray tear that fell from my eye.

“Did you really?”

“Hell yeah! Nobody messes with my twin,” he chuckled, ruffling my hair.

“Hey!” I ducked my head, but smiled anyway.

We sat in silence for a bit, just staring out the windshield at the field where the players seemed to be hunched over someone on the ground. A small smile appeared on my face.

“Thank you,” I said softly, turning to Tyler. He met my gaze and gave me a small smile.

I looked back over at the direction where a wounded Carter was now being escorted off the field by a friend, his arm draped over the guy’s shoulder.

“For that too, especially for that,” I giggled, before leaning across the gear shift and cup holders in between us and giving Tyler a hug.

We pulled apart, and laughed. And we continued laughing, for what seemed like hours.

“I’m so dead tomorrow. If the principal doesn’t have my head, my coach sure will.” Tyler shook his head, a small smile flittering on his face.

“But it’s worth it. I gotta defend my baby sis,” he mused, pinching my cheek.

“Hey, I’m only four minutes younger than you, jeez!” I rolled my eyes and pulled my face away from his hand.

“But thanks, really Ty. I mean it,” my voice wavered, as I braced for an onslaught of fresh new tears, but none appeared. I sent a silent prayer to God for preventing yet another breakdown.

“Can we go home now?” I asked Tyler.

“Already ahead of you,” Tyler replied, buckling his belt. I buckled mine as he backed out and immediately sped out of the parking lot.

“Oh wait! My car’s back in the parking lot!” I suddenly remembered, along with my backpack and all my homework.

Unfortunately, we were just turning onto the street we lived on.

“It’s okay, just get it later. I think you should take a nap for now. Just tell me when you want to get your car and I’ll drive you,” Tyler said quickly.

“Okay,” I agreed. A nap was exactly what I needed, right after a long soak in the tub. My muscles were starting to ache a bit from crying hysterically and running off the field in such haste. A bubble bath and a nap would be the perfect remedy. Hopefully it would be enough to get my mind off a certain grey eyed heartbreaker.

********

The first thing my eyes saw when I woke up from my nap was the 6:23 PM on my alarm clock.

Groaning, I stretched a bit, before I abruptly sat up straight.

I whipped my head back over to my alarm clock, and widened my eyes. It was late and I still had a boatload of homework to do!

Frantically, I threw my comforter off my body and jumped out of bed. Hastily grabbing any clothes I could find, I changed out of my pajamas into a hoodie and skinny jeans.

“Tyler!” I shouted, as I grabbed my phone from my nightstand. I ran down the stairs in lightning speed and pulled on my sneakers at the front door.

“Yeah?” Tyler emerged from the kitchen, a half-eaten sandwich in his hands.

“Let’s go get my car!” I ordered, pacing around the foyer as I checked my phone again. It was starting to get late and I had way too much chemistry homework to finish. I already knew it was going to be an all-nighter kind of night.

Tyler engulfed the sandwich in two bites, much to my disgust, and grabbed his keys.

We piled into his car and sped off, back to the school parking lot. By now, most of the cars would be gone, only some athletes and teachers remaining.

We arrived there in no time, and I immediately jumped out.  I started feeling my pockets for my keys, when all the blood drained from my face. I must’ve forgotten my keys at home!

I felt like such an idiot. I was so worried about the time that I didn’t even think to check where my keys were!

I knocked on Tyler’s window quickly, effectively making him roll it down.

“Tyler, I think I forgot my keys at home,” I murmured, too embarrassed to face him.

“Jeez, Sammy!” He groaned, hitting his steering wheel.

“Okay, I’ll go back and see if they’re there. You check if you dropped them here somewhere.”

He drove out, back to the house, while I scrambled over to the field. The last I remembered of my keys was when I tucked them into the very same jeans I was wearing now, before I went to confront Carter.

My eyes searched every bit of the field, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. I pulled out my phone, hoping Tyler texted me that he got the keys, but there were no texts. Frustrated, I stuffed my phone back in my pocket.

“Damn, where are you stupid keys!?” I shouted to nobody in particular, so I was quite surprised when I heard a reply.

“You should be a bit more careful where you leave these,” a voice said from behind me.

Swiveling around, I came face to face with Carter himself, swirling my keys on his index finger. The blue diamond encrusted “S” swung around his finger. If I weren’t so mad, I’d have laughed at how ironic that was. The clue was right in front of him and yet, to him it probably looked normal. After all, lots of people had their first initial or name as a keychain.

“Give those back,” I bit out, my eyes narrowing at his approaching figure.

“Why should I? You ran away from me. That hurt.” He put a hand on his chest, feigning hurt.

“Oh shut up,” I rolled my eyes at him, “if anyone should be hurt, it’s me. I had to stand there while you assaulted my face.”

“That’s not how I remember it.” He smiled wickedly, catching my keys in his palm, before throwing them up again. He was enjoying every minute of taunting me, especially when he had some leverage.

Something in me just snapped. My resolve broke, and I sighed.

“Can I please just have my keys back?” I asked him, hanging my shoulders in defeat.

He looked taken aback at the hollowness in my voice.  All he could do was stand there, staring at me. I’m sure he expected some sort of witty comment from me, but I was too tired from being tortured by his antics. I just wanted to go home, do my homework, and get on with my life like Carter Woods never happened.

He tossed them over to me and I caught them swiftly. Tucking them into my pocket, I went to pass him, when his hand wrapped around my forearm.

“What? No insult? No attitude? I just handed you the keys!” He snarled.

I gently pried his hand off me, and gave him a blank look.

“Why waste my breath? I’ll look like the bad guy in the end anyway. I’ve learned my lesson. You win,” I said quietly, my head hung low.

Stepping away from him, I shoved my hands in my hoodie’s pocket and walked away. Sending a quick text to Tyler that I found my keys, I headed over to the parking lot to retrieve my car.

I didn’t hear any footsteps behind me, and a sad smile appeared on my face.

I left him speechless, but he left me scarred. Who was the real winner here?

Chapter 13- All Battles Leave Scars

 

 

 

It really didn’t come as much a surprise to me that the entire school was talking about our “kiss” the next day. But that didn’t mean I was immune to the attention.

Everywhere I went, people whispered, gossiped, and pointed in my general direction, causing my skin to crawl. Every girl in my vicinity threw glares at me, while all the guys snickered right to my face in an unabashed manner.

To me, it was probably the most humiliating moment of my life. Strangely, however, I was more numb than bristled with self-loathing.

My body seemed to react exactly how anyone would in a situation like this: completely frazzled and blushing all shades of red.

But a part of my brain just seemed so done with everything Carter-related. It was like the kiss was the final straw. It was like –

I stopped suddenly, in the middle of the hallway I was currently walking in. My head lifted up from its previous somber state and stared at the throng of students walking around. Well, not really. It was more just staring at nothing as two and two connected in my brain.

It was like Carter planned the entire thing to sabotage me the only way he could! Maybe he couldn’t find out if I was S. or not and just went ahead and ruined my life, or maybe he did find out and knew the best way to destroy me was to ensure I was too miserable to deal with my own problems, let alone give advice to others!

I clenched my teeth as the sound of the bell rang ahead and I finally realized that the hallway was empty except for a few stragglers who couldn’t seem to care if they were late or not. Apparently, I was a part of them. Suddenly, as if my brain shifted into auto, my legs scrambled awake and ran down to my Calculus class as I prepared exactly what I was going to tell Fay about this revelation. If that meant telling my best friend my secret, so be it. After this incident, I knew that if I was going to face Carter, I would need an accomplice.

*********

“You’re S!?” Fay squawked, as a look of disbelief covered her face.

We’d just gotten out of Calculus, in which I’d given Fay a paper that had written basically everything, from my start as S. to my theory on Carter’s kiss and every detail in between.

“Shhh!” I whispered harshly, pulling her to a row of lockers that were relatively empty.

“It’s a secret, Fay! Don’t let the whole freaking world know!” I hissed, as I glanced over my shoulder to make sure nobody was listening.

“Okay, but give me a second to digest this. Wait, I wrote letters to her –  you – ugh!” She threw her hands up in frustration, before crossing them.

I gave her a sheepish grin, before lying to her, “Well you used a codename right? I wouldn’t know who it was then?”

She rolled her eyes at me, “Oh cut the crap Sammy. It’s obvious from the note itself! I tell you all that stuff anyway, so you’d know if it was me!”

My shoulders slumped, as I gave her a pout.

“I’m sorry. I know this was a big secret to hide, but I had no choice! If I told you, you’d act like – well – this!” I sighed.

“But you should’ve trusted me with this Sammy! I would’ve kept your secret,” Fay said softly.

“I know, it’s just – it was too much for me to even digest, and I couldn’t imagine bringing someone else into it too! I didn’t want to take advantage of your friendship like that,” I concluded, giving her a small smile.

Fay hugged me tightly, before letting me go. She gave me a huge smile.

“Well, better late than never, right?” She beamed, giggling.

“I guess so,” I mused, smiling back.

The bell rang overhead, and I realized that it was time for lunch. The entire day, I hadn’t seen Carter once, which surprised me, as it did the rest of the student body.

“I can’t believe Carter kissed you like that!?” Fay muttered, bringing me out of my thoughts on the devil himself.

“I know. I can still taste his grimy lips.” I shuddered, making a show of wiping my mouth roughly with the end of my sweatshirt sleeve.

Somehow, we found ourselves walking over to the cafeteria, discussing how much of an ass Carter was and what level of pond scum he was equivalent to on the biological scale.

“I can’t believe he’d do that to you!” Fay exclaimed when I brought up the theory part. I didn’t believe it either, but then again, he was hell bent on punishing me, and so far, it was working.

“I dunno. A part of me says he’s too dumb to do something like that. But another part of me says he’s angry enough to,” I murmured, as we reached the cafeteria doors.

Before we could walk in, I hesitated. Entering that cafeteria meant dealing with all that I had been throughout the day all in one single cluster of a space. Was I ready for that?

“You know what, you go in without me. I really don’t need more stares and glares from everyone. I think I’ve gotten my quota,” I laughed half-heartedly.

Apparently, Fay saw right through the act.

“Sammy, if you’re not going, I’m not either,” she stated firmly, dragging my arm as she maneuvered us down the hallway. “But, I know exactly where we can go.”

**********

Carter watched the doors of the cafeteria as students entered in and out, but no sign of Sammy yet.

He was surprised. Although he’d convinced his older brother to call in and lie about a doctor’s appointment he “supposedly had” this morning – and that he’d be at school after fourth period – he didn’t expect the school to still be obsessing over his kiss with Sammy.

But as he walked into the school and through the cafeteria doors, all talking had turned to whispers, and the gossip spread from table to table as he walked to his own.

“Dude! Did you really kiss that girl?”

“Who is she anyway?”

“Is she hot?”

These were some of the comments he received from his friends and admirers, as he took a seat at the table. Most of them he just smirked at and they got their answer. A few others, however, he joked around, saying she was some random girl obsessed with him and her annoying voice needed to stop, hence the kiss.

It was cruel, he knew that. And as he glanced to opening of the cafeteria, where the doors were propped open by now, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that she never entered inside.

Looking down at his half eaten sandwich, he pushed it aside, his appetite gone.

He looked back up, and connected eyes with Lizzie, his ex. She took their eye contact as an invitation and walked over.

“Carter,” she drawled, as her eyes narrowed at his own. She motioned for the guy sitting across from him to move over, and gave him a coy grin when he did. She held her smile until she sat across from Carter, switching to full on bitch mode.

“What the hell were you thinking?” She questioned, raising her eyebrows.

“About what?” Carter mused, though he knew full well what she was talking about.

“Cut the act Carter. I, of all people, should know when you’re playing games, and this doesn’t seem like one.” She leaned back, crossing her arms and laying them on the table.

“What are you talking about? I kissed her. She was obsessed with me. I never planned on the humiliation. But oh well?” He quipped, shrugging his shoulders.

Lizzie’s eyes narrowed further, before she rolled them and made a move to get up from the seat.

“Whatever Carter, it’s your life. Screw it up how you want to. But just know, I’m a girl too. I know what it’s like to be humiliated by a guy you like. I hope you know what kind of a hell you just put her through.” She gave him a disapproving look and walked back to her table.

Carter watched her go, coming to the realization that Lizzie was right. About Sammy, he wasn’t sure. But about him? Definitely. When they broke up, he put the blame on her and “S” for thinking it was his fault. Lizzie called him a control freak, an arrogant boyfriend, an ass. Back then, he’d have scoffed at the idea of him being at any fault, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

He looked around the cafeteria, watching as eyes that were on him quickly ducked or slid away from his direction. He really did control the school, and that power was starting to get to his head.

Carter looked back at the cafeteria opening, and was surprised when he felt himself frown. There was no sign of that spunky, brown haired girl through those damn cafeteria doors.

Chapter 14 - Confrontations

 

 

“Where are we going exactly?” I threw a tentative glance at Fay, who just smirked at me.

“You’ll see,” was her cryptic response.

We walked down the main hall until we reached the health wing, which was towards the end of the building. Climbing down the stairs, we reached a pair of grey metal doors. There was no flashing red “exit” sign on them, so they weren’t emergency exits. But it didn’t look like they were used often to get inside the building, or out.

“Um, what are these?”

“Doors, duh!” Fay responded.

“I know that,” I explained, “but exactly where do these lead?”

“Outside!” She laughed, grabbing my forearm and pushing open one of the doors.

I suddenly found myself behind the building. There was a parking lot over to our right, faculty parking I assumed, but was relatively empty save for a few cars here and there.

In front of us was a wide expanse of grass, starting on the ground before slowly elevating to a small hill that rose up to meet the main road.

“Uh, we’re not ditching school, are we?” I asked hesitantly, looking at Fay out of the corner of my eye.

“No, but we are going to eat out here,” she exclaimed, running over to a small tree that had enough shade for the both of us to sit under.

I walked over hesitantly, looking over my shoulder more than once. I half expected a teacher to pop out of nowhere and bust us for being out here, but none showed.

“Stop being so paranoid and sit down,” Fay scolded, patting the patch of grass next to her while she dug into her sandwich.

“Fine,” I grumbled, plopping down next to her and shedding the straps of my backpack off. “And I’m not being paranoid. What if we get caught out here?”

“Relax. My photography teacher allows us to sit out here during lunch. She thinks we’ll find some amazing inspiration if we sit in nature. If we get caught, we can just use her as an excuse,” Fay smiled, like the plan was completely bulletproof.

Which it sort of was, but still, I was having reservations. Fay noticed the doubt on my face and rolled her eyes.

“Just relax and eat your lunch. Unless you wanna go back to the cafeteria, then by all means we can go.”

She cocked one eyebrow at me, her green eyes staring me down.

“Okay,” I groaned, putting my hands up in surrender, “you win! I’ll eat here.”

She smiled, before happily continuing the consumption of her sandwich.

I unwrapped my own, and chewed on it a bit, my thoughts wandering to Carter. I wonder what he was doing now. Maybe he was sitting at home, thinking about our kiss? Or maybe, he was laughing at me in the comfort of his room, kicking back and replaying the horrified look on my face over and over in his mind.

My chest throbbed slightly. A sort of ebbing pain grew from it, one I really wasn’t accustomed to.

Stupid feelings! They were messing with my head and my body. But I couldn’t ignore the fact that Carter was making me feel like crap for what he was responsible for. Even if he didn’t start some of the rumors, he sure as hell did throw in a little fuel to the fire, telling everyone that I was some desperate girl who wouldn’t “shut up” so to speak.

I hung my head, looking at my sandwich in distaste. I rewrapped it, throwing it back in the brown paper bag it came from and putting it back in my backpack.

“Not hungry?” Fay questioned after I’d put my lunch away.

“You could say that,” I sighed. “I’m thinking about the kiss.”

Fay gave an unladylike snort, and bit into her sandwich angrily.

“He’s an ass. How could he do that to you? And his reasoning? Completely stupid! Of course all the brainless idiots in this school would believe everything that came out of the Adonis himself,” Fay grumbled.

“I know,” I sighed again, pulling absentmindedly at the grass underneath us as I pondered what she said.

It was true. The entire school had fallen for his reason, and to be honest, I couldn’t blame them. If people had to choose between believing a celebrity or a regular kid, nobody would think otherwise. But knowing that I was that “regular kid” who couldn’t convince anyone of how stupid Carter really was was frustrating!

“I hate it too Fay. But what I can I do? Teach him a lesson? Please. Embarrass him? Not likely. There’s just nothing I can do. The only thing I can do is ignore it and hopefully something else will capture everyone else’s attention,” I stated, my voice resigned.

I felt Fay’s hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her. She gave me a sympathetic smile, but I knew she was just trying to be a good friend. This was a crappy situation and no amount of smiling or swearing could fix it.

“You’re right,” she finally spoke. “This is too big to do any damage control. Carter’s an ass, but you’ll always be the bigger person.”

She put her sandwich down and gave me a quick hug, one that I realized I very much needed.

Pulling apart, I smiled at her before pushing her shoulder lightly.

“Okay forget about my problems. How are you and Bryan?” I smirked as I noticed a faint blush coating her cheeks.

“He’s great Sammy,” she blushed, giggling slightly. It was quite a sight to see, considering she was just as anti-boy as I was. I know it’s pretty childish to feel that way, but we both weren’t all that trusting of guys anyway, and our combined nerd factor made us the best of friends. And because I’m her best friend, I appreciate everything she’s doing for me, though I do feel a pang of envy, considering her crush turned boyfriend isn’t treating her like a toy.

“That’s great Fay! I’m happy for you. He’s a great guy.” I smiled at her, laughing slightly as her blush grew.

“Thanks Sammy.”

We elapsed into silence, staring out at the school as we heard cars fly past us on the road behind.

“We should get back,” I finally stated, getting up and dusting my butt for any grass that might’ve wanted to hitch a ride on.

“Yeah,” Fay agreed, mimicking me with the dusting and grabbed her backpack.

I slipped mine on as well and we headed back towards the grey doors we’d exited from before. We slipped inside with ease, and walked down the halls towards our respective lockers.

“You’ll tell me if anyone does anything mean right?” Fay ordered rather than asked as we stopped at the corner of two connecting hallways.

“Promise,” I smiled at her.

“Good luck,” she whispered, before heading down another hallway to her locker.

I walked away in the opposite direction, going towards my own. She was right. Unfortunately for me, I had English after lunch, which meant I had the horrifying possibility of seeing Carter.

My gut was filled with dread. I prayed to god he wasn’t there, considering he sat right behind me in that class and that would make for some interesting rumors.

Sighing, I arrived at my locker just as the bell rang, dismissing everyone for their next class.

Hoards of students filled the hallway at once, but I kept my back to them as I stuffed some books into my locker and grabbed my English notebook and assigned reading book. Closing the locker, I gave myself a mental push and walked to my English class.

Again, passing the hallway while people stared at you was quite the experience, one I would never wish to anyone. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on if Carter was here, I arrived to English and headed straight for my seat.

The seat behind me was still empty, but I didn’t release a deep breath yet. Knowing Carter, he would walk in the minute the bell rang.

I tried to focus on something, but the class was filled with a few people – none of whom I’d talk to. Deciding to distract my mind, I opened my notebook and began doodling in the margins.

The lines crisscrossed and morphed into a picture of a flower, but it drooped slightly considering the sun I drew in the corner was covered with clouds.

A shadow fell across my page, as I suddenly realized that the class was very much silent.

I looked up nervously, my heart thudding in my chest so hard I felt it would rip out and fall onto the desk I was sitting at.

Carter was standing before me, glancing down at what I’d drawn before looking back at me again. His face was tight, his lips drawn thin and his jaw clenched, judging by it protruding out of his thin face.

He passed my desk swiftly, leaving behind a scent of sweet cologne, and sat behind me.

My back felt rigid, and I willed myself not to look around me at the others who were probably gawking at us right now. I couldn’t believe he was here, after ditching the first half of today, he had the audacity to show up!? My mind fumed, as I thought of a hundred different ways I could wring his sorry little neck. Despite all that anger, however, I still felt nervous as hell, and him being right behind me didn’t help.

“Hello class, I hope you’ve all been keeping up with the reading.”

Thank god for interruptions. My English teacher walked in, placing his briefcase on his desk and shrugging off his coat.

“Please open your books to page 84 and take out your notebooks. We have a lot of notes to cover today,” He continued, and for once, I didn’t want to groan.

I happily obliged to his request, glad that the attention I was getting before was finally diverted to our English teacher.

Despite the fact that we were all writing notes and focusing on my teacher’s lecture for once, I could still feel the hair on my neck stand up every once in a while, and I knew exactly why.

Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? It felt like every two seconds, he would look over at me, and there wasn’t a freaking thing I could do to stop it.

The bell went off abruptly, halting my notes. I quickly packed up and raced out of the room for the first time in my life.

It felt like all the stress that I’d experienced in that room in the hour I was in there just melted away the minute I walked out.

Strolling leisurely to my locker, I switched out my English stuff for my history stuff and walked over to my history class. Fay was going to be fumed.

*******

Carter watched her back retreat from her locker, and hung his head down.

A part of him was dying at how big of a jerk he was being to her, but a stronger, more evil part wanted to keep the charades running.

He walked briskly in her direction, before stopping short. His evil side had won over again. Turning around, he forced himself to walk over to his next class without thinking about Sammy.

“Carter!”

Carter looked over to his right, noticing a friend of his call out to him.

“Hey Bryan,” he mumbled out.

“I heard about the kiss, but I’m sorry, I’m not buying that ‘she was obsessed’ bullshit,” he stated, cutting straight to the chase.

“What are you talking about? It’s not a rumor,” he defended half-heartedly. For once, Carter didn’t give a rat’s ass about his image. He just didn’t have the energy to convince Bryan.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about dude. It’s not cool for you to lie like that.”

Carter turned over to Bryan, and watched his blue eyes narrow on him.

“What’s your deal?” Carter bit out harshly, turning back to face the hallway he was currently walking in.

“My deal is that Sammy is best friends with the girl I’m dating. She’s not too happy that Sammy’s being screwed over obviously. I think you should cut it out. It’s not fair to her,” Bryan retorted, shaking his head.

“You’re dating Fay?” Carter’s eyebrows rose as he stared incredulously at Bryan.

Bryan rolled his eyes, before nodding.

“Yeah, unlike some people I know, I’d rather not treat the girl I like like shit,” he snorted.

Carter stared at him, before peeling his eyes away and stopping. He was in front of his classroom door now.

“Just stop being such an ass Carter. Sammy doesn’t deserve any of this.” Bryan left it off at that, leaving Carter standing there.

For once in Carter’s life, he stood there, rendered speechless as he realized for the first time all day, what kind of a mistake he just made.

Chapter 15 - Reflections

 

 

The tip of my finger blushed red, as I stopped the incessant gnawing I was currently putting it through. It cooled slightly, returning back to my pale hue.

For the past hour, instead of trying to focus on the history reading I was supposed to be doing, my mind’s been wandering back to Carter, much to my distaste.

I was currently situated in the back of the library, a hair’s width away from my secret stash of letters. My brain was torn between doing my homework, thinking of Carter, or answering a letter.

As much as dealing with other peoples’ problems sounded better, I knew I couldn’t just go grab the letters in broad daylight. It was my lunch period, and although another rendezvous in the back of the school to eat lunch with Fay sounded so fun, I didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught again. Besides, she was meeting with a teacher right now, so that left me all alone.

Rather than go with Fay’s choice of staying outside, I opted for the library, where I hoped Carter wouldn’t step foot in. I doubt this was his kind of place anyway.

Stupid Carter, I really thought I was finally done with all this back and forth.

Scratching my head slightly, I groaned and crossed my arms on the table, resting my head on them.

Unfortunately, the nap I wanted to have would be pointless. He’d probably end up there as well. There was no escaping that stupid jerk. At school, at home, and even in my dreams.

I groaned again, and lifted my head from my arms, scanning the library. I sat at a good angle where I could see everyone else inside, but was basically hidden to them.

A movement near the front doors caught my eye, as the door swung open and Carter stepped inside, a backpack slung over his shoulder casually.

I sat upright in my seat and scrunched my eyebrows. I really didn’t expect him to be here. What the hell was he doing in the library? Of all the places he could choose to be right now, he had to choose here?

He scanned his ID in and proceeded inside towards the section to my left, skipping past the computers and study tables, heading directly for the bookshelves.

A slip of paper was clasped between his index finger and thumb, and he glanced at it and back at the bookshelves, slowing his pace slightly.

I felt a bit of relief rush back into me. A small part of me, though I hate to admit, was a bit disappointed that he only came here to look for a book. But it was a relief to know he wasn’t going to pull a stupid prank or something to embarrass me again in front of the whole school.

I ducked my head down to my notes as he neared the bookshelf closest to my hideout, and pulled my sweatshirt hood up. It wasn’t the best disguise, but at least it hid some of my hair and face.

I let my bangs fall down as I looked down at my notes, pretending to be busy. The bangs helped create a curtain from anyone from noticing me, and I really hoped it would work on Carter.

For an agonizing 10 minutes or so, I sat there, holding my breath and rereading the same line from my notes over and over again.

The curiosity was killing me, so I lifted my head slightly and glanced at the bookshelf.

A jolt of energy hit my stomach as I saw two pale grey eyes staring back at me. My breath lodged in my throat, looking at those annoyingly beautiful eyes staring at me through a space in the bookshelf.

I glanced down quickly, angry that he found me and annoyed that the stupid blush on my face was spreading way too fast.

My mind was in one hell of a fight or flight problem. It seemed like every cell in my body was screaming at me to get my crap and run out of there, but my stubborn willpower kept me planted on that seat.

I lifted my chin higher as a sign of confidence – well I hope it seemed that way – and grasped the pen in my hand tightly, scribbling my notes faster now fueled by my adrenaline.

A little while later, I glanced back up at the bookshelves, only to see an empty space and no sign of those gorgeous grey eyes.

I breathed in a sigh of relief and let go of the pen I was furiously writing with a few minutes ago. I glanced down at the notes I’d written, surprised to see the indentation of my writing behind the page.

A small frown grew on my face as I glanced at that sheet, my frustration, anger, and tension, all of it on display.

He was the sole reason behind all of this. No matter how hot he was, how alluring his eyes were, how goofy he could be sometimes, none of that mattered. For god’s sake, my blood pressure was rising to dangerous levels.

And what was I suffering for? A stupid kiss? One I had absolutely no fault in? I closed my eyes, exhaling slightly as if to physically get rid of the tension I was withholding.

My hands shook a bit and I felt a pang in my chest. What did I ever do to deserve this?

A traitorous tear rolled down my left cheek, and I hastily wiped it away. There was no need to embarrass myself further by crying.

A few stray laughs sounded from my right, along the reference section of the library. I glanced over and noticed a few kids huddled by one of the bookshelves, whispering and looking over my way.

I felt heat rise up in my cheeks, and ducked my face down again, ashamed. It wasn’t much of a surprise to guess they were laughing at me. Their laughter was getting a bit loud, and it took every ounce of my energy not to hysterically bawl my eyes out.

The librarian came over and ushered them out when their laughter was getting a bit loud. I sent a silent thanks to her, glad that her cranky behavior had finally worked in my favor.

It was official. Carter managed to get inside my head and ruin my life without so much as going near my S. stuff. I didn’t think he could do it, but he did. He ruined my social reputation, embarrassed me in front of everyone, and took my first kiss. There really was no going back now.

*********

Carter felt like he just got sucker punched in the stomach. He wanted to coil over and die at that moment.

Watching her cry was horrible, but to see her so embarrassed, to see her resolve break was too much for him.

How could one measly kiss turn so much upside down?

‘Those bastards were gonna pay for making fun of her,’ he thought silently, seething at them cower away from the librarian, sneaking one last glance at Sammy.

He wanted to get up from his hiding spot at the end of a bookshelf, but before he could, he saw Sammy gather her things abruptly.

She stuffed all her stuff into her backpack and shut it close. Swinging it over her back, she grabbed her phone off the table and headed out.

Scrambling to his feet, Carter did the same, hoping to catch up to her. He saw her leave the library through the main doors, and quickly ran to catch up to her.

The hallway was empty, except for a retreating figure in the distance. Carter picked up his pace and was now running after her.

It seemed that she heard someone behind her, and stopped suddenly, turning around.

Carter connected eyes with her, his stomach clenching when he saw the pain in her eyes. Slowing to a stop before her, he grabbed her arm.

“Sammy,” he breathed, catching his breath.

“Let go of me Carter,” she bit out, her teeth clenched.

He let go of her abruptly, but quickly ran in front of her as she tried to walk away.

“No wait please, hear me out,” he begged, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Stop messing around Carter. I don’t have time to deal with your fucking mood swings, much less you,” she hissed, her eyes blazed with anger.

Carter stepped back, feeling like he was slapped across the face with those words. He was shocked to see the once shy girl before him more furious than ever.

“Do one thing for me Carter, and stay the hell away from me, got it? I don’t, and I won’t ever hear you out or forgive you, so save your breath. I have better things to do with my time than get caught in your bullshit of stupid high school drama, especially if it means never having to see you.” Her harsh retort followed with a quick sidestep around him, her shoulder knocking against his as she walked away from him.

Carter just stood there, not bothering to turn around and run after her. He’d made a hell of a mess and it was his job to fix it before he did any more damage.

When he’d set out to uncover her secret and figure out why she messed his relationship up, he never meant to hurt her. He just wanted answers and to make her realize what kind of shit she put him through. It felt like years ago when he’d made it his personal mission to take her down. Now, it felt like such a waste of time. He and Lizzy were never a great couple anyway, and they were bound to break up, with S.’s help or not, but it was easier to blame it on someone.

Carter walked over to a row of lockers and slid down them. He sat down and clutched his head in his hands.

His brain flashed back to Sammy crying in the library. She didn’t deserve this. Nobody deserved this. He felt like the biggest piece of shit on earth. Seeing her cry made him sick to the stomach. If one thing was for certain, making a woman cry was the worst thing you could do. His mother had taught him to be a gentleman, and somehow he even screwed that up.

How did he make such a mess of things?

He lifted his head and stared down the hallway where she’d left.

One thing was for sure. He was going to fix this and that was a promise he wouldn’t break.

Chapter 16 - Open Invitation

 

 

Dear S.,

I’ve recently been seeing this amazing guy. He’s been the sweetest thing, always making sure I’m okay, surprising me with little gifts, listening to me, you name it. He’s the definition of a perfect boyfriend. There’s just one problem. He’s not in the same “social circle” as me. I know it sounds so ridiculous, but I’m afraid of what people might think of our relationship. We’ve kept our relationship a secret so far, just because I’m afraid my friends will think badly of me, and that people will think I’m betraying them. He’s not as “popular” as me I guess, but I don’t care. He’s the best guy I’ve ever dated and I’m really tired of hiding my relationship. I told a friend recently about this and she advised me not to tell, or it’ll ruin my reputation. Before I could decide, I wanted your opinion. Do you think I should tell and risk the talk? I really like him, and he means a lot to me. I just don’t know what to do and could really use your advice.

Sincerely,

Social Butterfly

I wanted to laugh. How ironic that with my situation going on, this was the first letter I opened to view?

I sighed, and opened my laptop. Pushing my feelings aside, I began typing a response to her letter. What I really wanted to tell this girl was she was stringing this poor boy along and he didn’t deserve it, but then again, I was biased. I saved what I’d written so far. I’d have to get back to it when I wasn’t so tense about the stupid Carter situation.

I heard a ping on my cell phone and grabbed it off my nightstand. I glanced down at it to see a text from Fay.

We’re going out tonight. Don’t ask any questions. Wear something hot and I’ll come pick you up at 7. Be ready by then.

I stared at the screen, confused as ever. Not once in my years of friendship with this girl have I ever heard her talk, much less text me like that. I knew something was up, I just had no idea what.

Okay. But be ready to explain everything when you get here.

I replied, satisfied. Maybe she was planning a girl’s night with just the two of us? But why the need to be dressed up?

Instead of confusing myself with all these questions, I decided to just pick an outfit, get some work done, and then worry about everything when Fay got here.

*********

Picking out a stylish outfit, I slipped on the last earring before I heard my phone go off again.

I grabbed it and saw a text from Fay. She was already downstairs, waiting for me in my driveway.

I looked back at my outfit quickly in the mirror and grabbed a small purse.

Rushing down the stairs, I said a quick bye to my parents before heading out the door.

“Wow, sexy,” Fay commented when I slipped into the backseat. When I’d reached the car, I saw her new boyfriend Bryan was driving and Fay was next to him. So I guess the girl’s night plan was out of the question.

“Thanks,” I laughed at Fay, “but where are we going? You promised to answer my questions when you got here.”

“Relax Sammy, we’re just going to a party. It’s a small one, a friend of Bryan’s is hosting it and I thought you could use a little fun tonight,” she replied, pulling out a tube of lipstick and applying it.

I looked down at my outfit, hoping I was dressed for the occasion. I’d worn a flowy blue top over a black skirt and paired it with my favorite black leather jacket and a pair of gold gladiator sandals. My makeup and hair were pretty simple, but decent enough.

I opened my purse and quickly swiped on a bit of extra lip gloss and checked my hair in the pocket mirror.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea Fay? I mean, my reputation hasn’t been that great lately,” I asked her.

“That’s why I want you to go out. Have fun and act like nothing happened. If you don’t, people will feed off of this for days, maybe weeks. You need to show everyone you’re over it so they can move on too. Besides, this was Bryan’s idea and I thought it was great!” She replied, snuggling into Bryan’s side. He slipped a hand into hers and I felt a pang of envy.

“Yeah sorry to hijack you like this Sammy, but what Carter did to you was horrible. I thought the least I could do was help a friend out,” he said to me.

“Thanks Bryan, really, but I don’t know about this,” I murmured, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten as we approached a mansion sized house. Music was thumping loudly and people were walking inside in hordes.

“Please Sammy, loosen up tonight. You deserve it okay? Forget that asshole Carter and have a little fun,” Fay said to me as she stepped out of the car.

I followed suit and got out, feeling my already tightened stomach start doing summersaults as we got closer to the front door of the place. I told myself to relax, to have a little fun, and stepped inside.

The inside was a complete mess. Girls and guys lined the hallways, making out, talking, and flirting. There were beer cans and solo cups littering the place. The smell of alcohol was strong, and the air was sticky with hot humidity.

“I’m gonna go get us some drinks! You guys wait here!” Bryan shouted over the music, and left us by the stairs.

“I don’t know if this was such a good idea,” I yell into Fay’s ear, looking around nervously. Was this my first ever party? No. Was this my first ever party after public humiliation? Yes.

I was afraid of being around all these people after what they saw between Carter and I. Even worse was the chance of bumping into Carter himself. He was obviously going to be here, and the thought of accidentally seeing him made my palms sweat.

“Sam, come on, have a little fun! You need to get your mind off of that douchebag anyway,” she chuckled, grabbing my hand.

“Wow Fay, you’ve changed,” I smirked, laughing slightly, “where did my best friend go?”

She gave me a sheepish grin and glanced over at Bryan who was pushing his way through a crowd with 3 solo cups in his hands.

“I don’t know Sammy. He’s…he’s amazing. I’ve always wanted to let loose a bit. You know, not be such a ‘stick up my ass’ kinda girl? He’s really helped me get out of my shell,” she answered, giving me a coy smile.

“Which is exactly what I want for you! Please Sammy, god knows you deserve it after the hell week you’ve been through!” Fay frowned, lightly bumping me on the shoulder with her own.

Before I could answer, Bryan finally reached us and handed us our drinks. I sipped mine cautiously and surveyed the room once again. We’d inched our way closer to the large living room where everyone was dancing and drinking. So far, no sign of Carter, which made me breathe a sigh of relief.

“We’re gonna go dance! Wanna come with?” Fay shouted over the music, pointing towards the crowd.

“Nah, I’ll stay here for a bit. Maybe later,” I answered quickly. I was not about to be a third wheel. Plus, it was more dry humping than anything, and I was not about to do so on some random guy.

She pouted at me but I just waved her off, pushing her towards Bryan. She finally relented and I watched her take Bryan’s hand and weave through the crowd to the makeshift dance floor.

“Hey,” a voice whispered in my ear. I looked to my left to see the origin of the voice.

A raven haired guy with beautiful blue eyes stared down at me, his lopsided grin showcasing perfect teeth.

“Hi,” I squeaked out, surprised that such an attractive guy was talking to me.

“What’s your name?” he whispered, his lips just barely grazing my ear.

“Sammy,” I answered, feeling more and more nervous as he stood right in front of me, placing one hand on the wall behind the left side of my face.

“Sammy, I like it. I’m Connor,” his silky voice hummed out.

I felt like a thousand butterflies had erupted in my stomach and were fighting their way through. His 100 watt smile had me plastered to the wall, with a dorky grin on my face as I tried to stutter out a response.

“Thanks,” I replied, giving him what I hoped to be a sexy smile but probably looked more like a grimace than anything.

“Wanna dance?” He questioned, raising the right corner of his grin up. I wanted to melt into a puddle right there. Me dance with him?

“S-sure,” I managed to stutter out. My face felt hot when he held out a hand for me and moved us further down the wall, towards the group of dancers.

Giving me that winning smile again, he flipped our positions so that I was facing him and he leaned against the wall. His large hands rested on my hips, and I placed mine on his firm chest. My fingers could feel the indents of his pecs and abs through the thin material of his shirt.

We swayed back and forth, as the loud thumping of the music made us grind our bodies together. I couldn’t believe that I, Sammy, was grinding with this handsome stranger before me. It felt exhilarating, knowing that for once, I was wanted by someone who didn’t make it an objective to make my life hell.

I pushed closer to Connor, loving the toned chest beneath my fingers. I moved a hand up to his neck, wrapping it around the back of it and stared into his azure eyes, giving him a small smirk.

I don’t know where this courage came from, but I was done letting my troubles ruin everything for me. I swayed to the music, feeling the bass vibrate through my body. Connor seemed to like this free spirited version of me, as he laid his soft, pink lips on my neck, kissing up to my jaw. I just grinded more into him, loving how his lips felt on my neck.

For once in my life, I was glad that Fay intervened. She was right. After the week I’d had, I deserved this more than anything, and I wasn’t going to let Carter ruin that.

Chapter 17 - Jealousy

 

Carter took a swig of his drink, feeling the tart burn of alcohol fill his mouth and swim down his throat. His eyes grew hazy, staring at the room filled with his drunken friends all having a great time.

Normally, he would’ve been just like them. Partying, drinking, kissing Lizzie, and having the best damn time of his life.

He scoffed and threw his empty cup on the ground, kicking it away from him. That life was long gone and it was his fault.

His bleary eyes scanned the crowd once more from where he was standing, leaning against the stair railing on the second floor. The living room ceiling extended all the way to the second floor, giving him a perfect view of the party, and Carter felt so different, watching his life play out before him. His previous life.

His eyes focused on a girl dancing in the crowd, her dark raven hair a stark contrast to the others. She turned slightly, revealing a bit of her face, and Carter’s eyes widened as he racked his brain trying to think of her name.

Shay something? No wait, wait Fay. Yeah Fay. Shit, what was she doing here? Carter’s heart thumped loudly in his chest. If she was here, does that mean…?

Carter’s eyes glanced next to Fay and saw a glimpse of brown hair before it disappeared from his view by the person in front of her. His brow furrowed as he noticed she was dancing with a guy.

It can’t be her. What would she be doing here anyway? Carter thought, but those thoughts dissipated when the guy moved slightly, uncovering her face.

Carter watched as she brushed back a lock of her hair, blushing as the guy leaned down to her ear. She bit her lip, glancing back at him with a smile. Carter gripped the railing tightly, inhaling a sharp breath as she leaned in and kissed the guy.

“Hey man what are you looking at?” came a voice from behind Carter. He placed a hand on his shoulder, looking where Carter was looking and whistled lowly.

“Oh damn she gets around fast,” he said, chuckling and taking a quick swig of his beer. He patted Carter on the back.

“Good thing you got a taste. Maybe I’ll see if I can get a turn,” he laughed again, turning to leave.

Carter felt like a nerve had exploded inside him. Who the fuck was this guy, talking about Sammy like that?

Before he could realize what he was doing, he grabbed the guy’s forearm, shoving him back around.

“You better take that shit back asshole,” Carter growled out, teeth clenched. His fists were curled tight, ready to pummel the guy’s face in.

“What the fuck man? It was a fucking joke. Relax,” he rolled his eyes, tilting his beer can up to his mouth.

Before he could take a sip, Carter slammed his can away. It flew into the wall, creating a sharp noise. People swiveled their heads in their direction, their eyes wide when they landed on Carter.

“What the fuck-”

Before he could finish, Carter swung his fist to his jaw, a satisfied smirk appearing on his face as he heard a crack.

The guy cradled his jaw, his eyes blurry. He turned back around, eyes blazing, and threw a punch at Carter, who dodged it easily and swung his arm into the guy’s stomach.

He landed on all fours, and Carter took this moment to kick him in the stomach. He kept kicking as his words rang in his ear.

Fucking prick thinks he can talk about Sammy like that? What a piece of shit.

Carter’s eyes burned with fire, letting all his anger out on the guy. He hated himself for treating Sammy the way he did, for driving her into the arms of another guy that she probably didn’t even know, and for the dumbass in front of him for insulting her.

Carter felt hands grabbing at his arms, yanking him away from the shriveled up man in front of him.

“Carter, oh shit, stop man!” someone shouted at him, which he realized was Troy, a friend and teammate of his.

“Yeah what the fuck has gotten into you?” his other friend Max yelled, grasping his arm roughly.

They managed to pull him back far enough, and finally Carter stopped fighting them. He pushed out of their grasp, glaring at both of them before storming down the stairs.

As he walked down, all eyes were on him. He just realized that the music had stopped, and everyone was watching him leave after that fight.

A sharp jolt hit him as he connected his eyes with Sammy, fear written all over her face. He stared at her, before moving his eyes down to see an arm around her waist. He glanced to her right and saw the guy she was dancing with, holding her close to him, and anger flared in him again. He looked back at Sammy, glaring at her, before running down the last few steps and out the door.

The cool air of the outside hit Carter sharply, but he didn’t care. He welcomed the cold, still burning with anger at what just happened.

He didn’t know why he was acting like this, so volatile and angry. Why was some girl he barely knew a few weeks ago changing him completely?

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, pulling slightly at the ends. It didn’t make sense. He should hate her for ruining his relationship, but turns out he didn’t even care about that anymore. So why was he still sticking around her? Why couldn’t he seem to let her go?

He walked over to his car, leaned on the hood and grasped his head in his hands. What the fuck was she doing to him?

The asphalt scratched softly as a pair of footsteps approached him. He straightened up and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, staring straight ahead.

“You okay?” Sammy’s voice whispered, barely audible. Carter remained silent, gazing down the street. He saw a squirrel run across the road and a flash of car lights illuminate a house for a quick second.

He could hear Sammy shuffle next to him, leaning against his car also.

“That guy you beat up is laying on the couch downstairs. You really did a number on him,” she remarked, chuckling lightly.

Carter scoffed, turning his head to look at her. She looked at him as well, but before she could say another word, he turned his head back to the front. Sammy sighed, standing up from the car. She turned around, about to walk away when Carter spoke.

“I did it for you.”

Sammy inhaled a breath, closing her eyes. She did not see that coming.

Turning around, she walked in front of him and glared at his face.

“So? What did he even do to make you beat him up?”

His eyes turned hard, remembering what the asshole had said about her.

“He insulted you, and I couldn’t take it.”

“Couldn’t take it? You were insane back there! There’s no reason you did that just because he said something mean about me,” she scoffed.

When Carter didn’t reply, Sammy uncrossed her arms and moved closer to him.

“Damn it can you look at me please?!” she yelled in a whisper.

Carter looked down at her, burning anger evident in his eyes.

“Why? So you can see what a fucking joke I am? That I manage to hurt you and then act like some fucking hero when someone talks shit about you? That I think I have some right to be angry when I see you with another guy? Because I don’t fucking understand it either, but here we are.”

He huffed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I’m supposed to hate you. I’m supposed to expose you for all the fucking meddling that you do in other people’s lives. But I got too close and look at what it’s done to me, what it’s doing to me.”

Carter watched the swirl of emotions in her eyes, the way she furrowed her eyebrows softly, the strands of hair that kept getting into her face that he had to resist the urge to push them back for her. She looked beautiful under the glow of the street lights, beautiful but dangerous.

“You won’t have to worry about me anymore. Consider yourself free from me,” he stated quietly, getting up from his car and getting closer to her. He gave into the urge and pushed the strands of hair back from her face and skimmed her cheek, placing a small kiss there.

He turned around and opened his car door. Before getting in, he looked back at her, relishing in seeing her eyes widened and cheeks flushed, but the feeling was bittersweet.

“And don’t worry about your little secret. It’s yours to keep, not mine to ruin.”

He got into the car and revved it to life. Sammy stepped over to the sidewalk, looking at him with an ache in her chest. She’d never seen Carter like this before, so vulnerable. And because of her? The thought made her head spin.

The sound of tires squealing broke her out of her thoughts, as she watched him pull out of the driveway and drive off, taking her heart with him.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 11.09.2012

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