My dreams, his reality

Chapter One: People don't want to open a door and walk in to see a live session of porn.

Oh. Shit!

My senior year at Ridgeback High couldn't have started on a better note. Not.

Everything was going absolutely fine. Perfect, even. I was being less clumsy. I mean, I didn't even trip on air once and that is a considerable feat for me.

Well, until now.

I stared in horror at Melanie whose whole outfit was now soaked with my orange juice. I don't even know how the whole damn carton of juice flew out of my hand and landed on her head, drenching her from head to toe.

The whole cafeteria was silent and everyone was staring at us in anticipation of the coming drama. These people seriously needed to get a life.

Melanie, a power-hungry queen bitch was glaring at me. She snarled at me. "You fucking bitch!" She cried and her shrill voice resonated in the walls of the cafeteria.

In a way, I was thankful that it was Melanie and not Amanda who fate decided had to have a bath in my juice. Amanda, the self-proclaimed queen bee of Ridgeback High School is crazier than anyone I have known.

Before Melanie could lunge at me, two hands grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from me.

Drew was trying his best to keep Melanie from clawing at me and for that I was grateful. With nails as long as hers, she would definitely be able to scrape my skin off. Drew was Melanie's boyfriend, though what did he see in her was beyond me. He was also my best friend Natalie's brother.

Drew and I had known each other forever because we weren't really close or anything. We just shared a couple of classes with each other.

And no, I didn't have a crush on him. Sure he was cute with hazel eyes, black hair, and dimples on either side of his cheeks, but he wasn't my type.

Melanie had always been a slut and no, I was not being judgemental here. She had slept with almost every guy here. But everything changed after her eighteenth birthday, exactly when she got together with Drew. That was seven months ago and, she somehow changed her ways. It was as if one day she decided that she had done enough of sleeping around and wanted to settle down, and who better than Drew, the quiet and attractive guy. What changed, I am still not sure.

Melanie had been mean to both me and my best friends for as long as I could remember.

Just don't call us the three musketeers. Anything but that!

"What's happening here?" Ah! Principal Powers. This man has always had impeccable timing. It's like he has a radar for ongoing teenage drama.

"Hey, Melanie, baby. Calm down." Drew cooed in Melanie's ear.

"Calm down?! How the fuck am I supposed to calm down when this bitch purposely drenched me?" She snarled while pointing her manicured finger at me.

"Language, Ms. Simpson." Principal Powers glared at Melanie.

"Now, Melanie. I am pretty sure that she didn't do it on purpose." Drew tried to diffuse the situation.

Melanie struggled to get out of Drew's grasp. "I am going to kill you" she cried. "Let me go, Drew."

Everyone had their cell phones out and were recording this scene and I was sure that it would be posted on all social networking sites before the lunch period was over.

Did I mention I hate attention?!

And where are your best friends when you need them?!

Drew tightened his hold on Melanie and whispered something in her ear. She stiffened with a blush coating her cheeks. She went limp in his arms and leaned back in him. I didn't know Drew had such power over Melanie. What did he even say?

"Ms. Melanie Simpson, care to explain what happened here?" Mr. Powers had moved from his position at the entrance of the cafeteria to beside us.

"Mr Powers, Zara here deliberately drenched me in her orange juice."

I have had it with her accusations. "You know, Melanie, if I had drenched you on purpose, it wouldn't have been with my orange juice. There is more disgusting stuff in the cafeteria." I scoffed. And on cue, murmurs broke around the cafeteria.

"You bitch....." Melanie growled and tried to lunge at me again.

"It would do you good to control your mouth, Ms. Simpson. You're still in school!" Principal Powers said.

"Are you on your fucking period? It wasn't even a good comeback." I snickered. I never talked back like this, what had gotten into me, and in front of the principal too. And judging from other student's expressions they were wondering the same thing. Even Melanie was surprised.

"Girls, enough!"Mr. Powers sighed."Mr. Drew Jenson, I suggest you take your girlfriend away from you and get her changed into some dry clothes. And as for you, Ms. Zara Hemming, you will clean the mess you created."

Clean the mess I created? I suppose could do that. There was just a little orange juice which I could easily mop. Better to concede than argue with the principal and get detention in the process.

"Ok, Principal Powers." I begrudgingly accepted.

"Good." Principal Powers gave us both pointed looks and walked out of the cafeteria.

Melanie smirked at me, picked up her tray, and let it fall on the floor. "Oh, I guess you will have to clean my mess too", she mocked me in a sickly sweet voice.

Her whole posse stood up from the table and one by one, all of them dropped their plates and laughed. Wow, talk about unity.

Drew looked apologetically at me and dragged Melanie away, who, I was sure had much more to say to me.

Her posse of fellow cheerleaders walked out of the cafeteria, swaying their hips, their skirts barely covering their asses, just as the bell rang signifying the end of the lunch period.

My hands balled into fists. I just couldn't believe that they did this.

I was not a pushover but the cafeteria was already empty and I don't think going to Mr. Powers and whining like a child would do me any good.

I sighed and rubbed my temples. I am going to kill Natalie and Samantha for leaving me alone and getting detention for coming in late.

Everyone must already be on their way to their lockers to attend their classes and here, I would be cleaning the mess I "supposedly" created. I could just leave whatever mess Melanie and her followers created but I didn't want to give them another reason to get on their bad side and get detention.

I sighed and walked out of the cafeteria. Instead of walking towards my next class, like I wanted to, I walked in the direction of the janitor's closet.

The famous janitor's closet where half of the sluts in our school had lost their virginities.

I could actually hear grunts and moans from inside the closet.

Just my luck!

No shocker there. They should sterilize each and every surface in that closet. Poor Mr. Janitor who has to touch the supplies on a daily basis.

I was in a hurry to get to my class, well whatever was left of it, anyway and I really didn't care whose baby-making I interrupted.

After taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and opened the door and inside, I found Harper Cain hooking up with his girl of the week. Or day. Or hour.

Harper Cain, the obnoxiously good-looking playboy of the school. With green eyes, soft brown hair, and a height of 6'3", he was every girl's dream. The only problem was that he knew how damn hot he was and he took full advantage of it. Almost 80% of the girls here lost their virginities to him.

What an absolute clich, a bad boy who never settles down with one girl, broke the hearts of all his hookups and girls still pined for him.

And the rate with which he was going, I was sure he would run out of girls to have sex with. But yeah, there was another high school not too far from here, so I don't think he was worried much about that. Ew.

Oh, and I hate him. Shocker! If only he could respect girls more and not treat them like shit. He slept with my sister two years ago when she was a senior and we were sophomores. He didn't even have the decency to stay the morning after they had sex. I mean, how did he even get to score with a senior? Apparently, nothing is impossible for the high and mighty Cain.

Harper didn't even have the decency to lock the door and they didn't even notice me. I mean, hello, people don't want to open a door and walk in to see a live session of porn.

The victim of the week was Maria Wilson, who was supposed to be a goody two-shoes nerd. Again, I'm not judging anyone, I'm just saying what I see it. Is there no end of Harper's charm?! Apparently not.

His body was a work of art if only his ego wasn't too big. His body was lean and muscular as if all he did was play with weights. And I could see a six-pack too. Is he on steroids? I mean, can seventeen years old boys even have such chiseled bodies?

His dick was still inside her and he was rocking his hips none too gently. Maria cried and moaned in pleasure at every thrust. Her back was arched and her eyes were closed. He was gripping her ass so hard that I was sure her ass would have his hand imprints. His other hand supported her by gripping her lower back. His abdomen muscles flexed at each and every thrust. I had a full view of Maria's backside and it was a sight I will never be able to forget. I am literally, scarred for life.

For a second, I forgot why I was here and wondered what it would be like to hold Harper's arms when they flexed when he was inside me and I moaned in pleasure.

Wait, what?

I shook my head to clear my head of these thoughts. I needed to control these traitorous whore-mones.

He sucked her breast as if they were just going to ooze out the drink of the gods. He bit her already pink nipple which made her moan so loud, I was afraid it would bring everyone out of their classes to check out the source of the sound.

Awkward much.

I cleared my throat but I got no response. They were still going at it like rabbits. Disgusting.

I cleared my throat with more force. Harper opened one of his eyes and looked at me. He still didn't let go of her nipple.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't stop thrusting.

Oh God!

"I, um, was j- just l- looking for some cleaning supplies."

He didn't stop, instead just grabbed Maria and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Okay?!

Maria was still in her own bliss. I don't think she even knew that lunch period was over and she had to get to class.

Leaving her nipple, he grunted and looked at me. "What the fuck are you waiting for? Grab whatever you need." And went back to sucking on her other boob.

Great! Just fucking great!

I gingerly entered the already crammed closet and grabbed whatever I needed to clean the cafeteria floors. They didn't stop even once and I bumped into them so many times. I wondered if I had contracted a venereal disease by just being in the same room as Harper Cain.

I gathered all the supplies, maintaining as much distance I could from the horny couple.

"Get out, already. And close the damn door." Harper growled.

Wow, Harper could not have been more of an idiot.

If I wasn't so out of my wits, I would have given him a witty retort.

Instead, I just grabbed the cleaning supplies and closed the damn door.

If it was possible, Maria's moans got even louder. How in the world had no one heard her yet?

If Maria's moans were anything to draw my conclusion from, I was sure I now knew the reason why girls pined for him even after he left them hanging.

I cringed at my thought.

A guy who looked like a Greek god and fucked like one too.

Ah, cafeteria, here I come.

My life is so much better than Harper Cain, anyway. Not.

Chapter Two: "Can you just go back to being oblivious to my existence, like you have been for the past several years, Harper?"

I was more than twenty minutes late for my English class. And my English class was at the other end of the school. Great. The universe hates me!

Don't get me wrong! It wasn't like I was dying to get to class, it's just that I had never been late to class before and the thought somehow disturbed me, even if being late wasn't entirely my fault. Scratch that! It wasn't my fault at all.

I ran all the way, as fast as my legs would carry me, and guess what, Ms. Wilson wasn't even there, and here I was, huffing, so I could catch my breath. Wow. Talk about being responsible.

As I walked into the classroom, the chatter ceased and everyone looked up. When everyone realized that it was just me and not the teacher, they redirected their attention to whatever they were doing before.

I scanned the classroom for an empty seat and the only seat available was the one in front of Harper Cain, who was busy sucking some girl's face off.

This guy has some serious hormonal issues, I tell you. His behavior is definitely not normal.

She wasn't even the same girl I saw him in the janitor's closet with. What was her name again, Maria, was it?! I mean, literally. What. The. Hell.

Could he be more of a douchebag?!

He wasn't even kissing her subtly or trying to be discrete about it. He was full thrusting his tongue in the poor girl's throat. She was sitting on his lap and was moaning his name between kisses. Just by looking, I was pretty sure he was hurting her boob by groping her so hard. Guess what, she didn't even mind. What the world has come to?!

I mean, was it just me or did anyone else think that this kind of behavior was highly inappropriate in public?!

Can he even breathe without some sort of girl hanging from his arm or clinging to his tongue as her life depended on it?!

Disgusting.

If it was up to me, I would just sit in the other corner of the room, far away from this walking STD of a man-child. Preferably, I would stay in the other corner of the school from him.

I dropped my books on the desk and sat on the last seat available, in front of Harper. Very reluctantly, I may add.

Being this near, I could hear every sigh, gasp, and moan.

Kill me already. It was way past being uncomfortable.

What games is the universe playing with me?!

I took out my phone from my jeans, plugged in my earphones, and blared some music, loud enough to shut out the sounds coming from behind me.

After two songs, the door burst open and a flushed Ms. Wilson walked in with the material of her cashmere blouse ruffled, her buttons undone and her hair sticking in a million different directions. Is there really drool on the side of her face? Was she really sleeping all this time? So fucking professional.

Still a little breathless, she asked us to open our books to page 320 and tried to smooth out the wrinkles in her blouse. Keyword being tried.

I rolled my eyes at the immature behavior.

I took out my earplugs and shoved my phone back into my jeans.

"Psst."

"Psst." Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to look at Harper, who leaned forward in his seat to talk to me.

"What?" I hissed.

"Do you have a pen?"

I sighed and decided that he wasn't worth the effort of arguing. Of course! What more did I expect from him?! I just simply rummaged through my bag and handed him a pen.

After about two minutes, his breath fanned my neck. "Psst."

"What?" I asked, without turning around.

"Hi, I am Harper." I could imagine the infamous smirk on his face, which all bad boys like to sport.

OH MY GOD. Was he fucking serious? He was hitting on me? Right in the middle of class? And just after I saw him sucking someone else's face not too long ago?

"Yeah, I know." I gritted my teeth. I just wanted to keep this conversation as short as possible, if you could even call my short-clipped retorts a conversation.

I turned my attention back to the front of the classroom where Ms. Wilson was just droning on about some novel that was in our syllabus.

"Psst."

I ignored him.

"Psst."

Just ignore him.

"Psst." He tapped on my shoulder. I ignored him and copied whatever I thought Ms. Wilson was talking about.

"Psst." Tap. "Psst." Tap. "Psst.". Tap. "Psst."

"What the hell, Harper?" I hissed, careful to keep my voice low enough so I wouldn't attract attention but could easily pass out as venomous.

His lips twitched in a smirk and his eyes twinkled mischievously. "Not my fault. You were the one who was ignoring me."

Yes, douchebag. Now get the message. I am ignoring you because I don't want to talk to you. Don't you have a brain?

"Can you just go back to being oblivious to my existence, like you have been for the past several years, Harper?"

"Aw, come on. You have my attention now. I am making up for lost time."

I could still feel his smirk even though I was facing forwards and wasn't looking back at him. I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to groan out loud.

"Okay. First, that was the worst pickup line ever. Second, I am not interested. And third, Fuck off."

His cool demeanor shifted and he looked angry. Furious even. Aww.

Has Pretty Boy never been rejected? Did I deflate your ego, you man whore? Awww. I am so not sorry, though. You deserve it.

I smirked. Harper opened his mouth to say something, which I was sure wouldn't have been pretty if I took his facial features into account.

But before that, the bell rang. I gathered my stuff and practically ran out of the classroom.

***

You know what's the best part of any school day? The bell rings marking the end of the day.

If I wanted to look like a demented person on crack, I would have jumped like a crazy maniac and sang some stupid rock song about gaining my freedom all the way from my last class to my locker. That was what I was feeling, anyway. But as a normal person, I settled for a smile and a slight jump in my step.

When I reached my locker, I saw Samantha and Natalie waiting for me at the locker. Ah! My two best friends.

Natalie had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes while Samantha had brown hair with grey eyes. Both of them were really pretty and really tall. While Natalie had a wild personality, Samantha was the mother hen of our group. Whereas, I was the quiet intelligent type, who had a 4.0 GPA and was ready to try out my life in the big city.

Where the hell were these two during lunch anyway?

And what were they talking about? Why were they both so damn excited?

I squared my shoulders as if I were preparing myself for a war. I approached my best friends with narrowed eyes and the best intimidating expression I could manage. And of course, they saw right through it. Damn it.

"Where the hell were you two when Melanie went crazy on me during lunch?" I pointed my finger accusingly at the two.

"We were late." They shrugged nonchalantly.

Before I could accuse them of lying, Natalie took hold of both of my arms and started speaking excitedly about some kind of party, which was apparently going to happen tomorrow.

"A party? On a school night?" I asked them.

"Oh yeah. It's going to be great, you know. Everyone's going to be there. Like everyone." Natalie squealed while Samantha just rolled her eyes.

I put my books in the locker and slammed it shut. The three of us started walking towards the parking lot, where our cars were parked.

"What's so special about this party anyway?"

"Tomorrow is Harper's eighteenth birthday," Natalie told me in a sing-song voice.

"And? What's so special about that?"

"Are you kidding me? Tomorrow is his eighteenth birthday! He could find his ma- oof" Samantha cut off Natalie by jamming her elbow in a not-so-subtle way.

I eyed them both suspiciously.

"What were you going to say?"

Samantha coughed nervously and Natalie just sighed.

"Well, tomorrow could very well be the day when our school may lose its biggest heartbreaker."

"Why, is Harper going to die and make the world a better place?" I scoffed.

"No, I am just saying, you know, maybe he will find someone tomorrow, and I don't know, maybe, want to commit." Natalie fidgeted nervously.

I looked at her for a couple of seconds and laughed. Hard. I had trouble breathing but still, I was unable to control my laughter.

I took a deep breath and laughed again. "Okay, why do you think that tomorrow he is going to wake up a different person and will have the motivation to commit to some girl."

They both looked at each other nervously.

I looked around the parking lot in search of a dark blue BMW. Yup, that was my car, when my eyes landed on the topic of our conversation.

"Just look at him."

They both turned their heads in the direction in which I pointed, to look at Harper Cain who was, yet again, making out with a different girl while leaning on his car. He was groping her ass and she was holding onto him like her life depended on it.

"Today, I saw him hooking up with Maria in the janitor's closet. Then, I saw him making out with some other girl in the English classroom. And here he is making out with some other brunette. Three girls in a day people. And I am not even sure of how many more there were."

"Well, yeah. He is a....... um, player. We are not denying that." Samantha said.

Natalie nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I am just saying, maybe some girl sweeps him off his feet?"

"What girl are you talking about, Natalie? He has already made out with every single girl in the school?" I rolled my eyes at her suggestion.

"I don't know. I am just saying, you know, that he could change." Samantha laughed nervously.

They were just being so weird.

"You know", I unlocked my car and dumped my bag in the passenger seat," the day he changes, I will sleep with him myself. I give you my word." I chuckled, shaking my head in mirth.

They both laughed nervously, making some weird eye contact with each other, waved at me, and headed towards their own cars.

I shook my head and laughed under my breath.

Is Harper Cain changing his ways? I could laugh forever at the notion.

Chapter Three: I think, sometimes, they forget that they themselves were parents to three hormonal teenagers.

I wouldn't say that the town I lived in was some kind of booming metropolis. Quite the contrary, actually. The town I have lived in since I was born, is a quiet little town situated in the hills. It was not one of those small and remote towns too, where everyone knew everybody.

Arada was a moderate-sized town and had two high schools three primary schools and a number of kindergartens. There was also a small prestigious college on the outskirts of Arada, which didn't accept many applications, and thus had fewer students compared to any big University.

Arada was surrounded by thick woods on three sides. The forest was shaped like a crescent moon if you were to look from above, high in the sky. The abundance of trees in the area made the town colder than other nearby cities and made it rain quite often.

The nearest city was almost six hours away and was more industrialized with big businessmen and buildings and a bigger population.

The second nearest city was half a day away and was more of a quiet little town. If you stayed overnight and traveled another six hours east of the town, you would come across a budding coastal town that had the most beautiful beaches ever. The coastal town, Mylta was a favorite spot for us Aradans to vacation.

I drove my car out of the school premises towards my home. My house was a twenty-minute drive from my school.

I kept humming the tune of a hit pop song while I parked my BMW in my house's driveway. My car was my baby as I had paid for it all on my own (with a little help from my parents), with the paychecks I got weekly after working at Monique's Bakery. I have worked there since I was legally allowed to work, so yeah, almost three years.

I got out of my car and opened the door to my house. I stepped into the two-storeyed, light blue painted house and headed towards the kitchen.

And there behold, I saw my parents full-on making out on the kitchen slab. That's a site you don't want to see. Like ever.

Gross. They acted like horny teenagers. I think, sometimes, they forget that they themselves were parents to three hormonal teenagers.

My parents were high school sweethearts and have been going on strong since their college years. They loved each other so much, that it sometimes made family dinners unbearable. You seriously don't want to watch your parents make googly eyes and seductive gestures when you are sitting with your brother at the same table.

But I guess I was lucky since I had two parents who loved each other to the ends of the world. They made me believe in love. As I stood here, I couldn't help but wish to have the same chemistry and love with my husband when I was pushing my forties.

"Hi", I said, in the loudest voice I could muster, with which I was sure I would get their attention. As soon as I said it, both of them sprung apart from each other with wrinkled clothes, flushed faces, and nervous smiles.

My dad cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled at me nervously. "Uh, I was just, uh, helping, um y-your mom make dinner."

I couldn't help it, my lips stretched on their own accord to a full teasing grin. "Oh, I am sure Dad, that's exactly what you were doing."

He scratched the back of his neck nervously and practically ran out of the kitchen while coughing.

I looked at my mom and both of us burst into giggles.

"You need to go easy on your dad, honey."

"Oh my god, but that was so funny."

My mom giggled again. "Yeah, but don't tell your dad I said that."

I mock saluted her. "Call me when it's time for dinner."

She nodded and I began climbing the stairs to my room. On my way, I checked on Cory, my fourteen-year-old brother, to see how he was doing, only to find him sleeping in his room. That boy sleeps all the damn time.

I shook my head as I smiled. My family was far from normal but we loved each other so much. Sure, we had petty fights now and again, but nonetheless, I wouldn't trade them for anything else.

***

The next morning, I woke up late by forty minutes. I am not going to take the blame for it, Netflix is.

My parents leave for work before I leave for my school and my little brother, Cory was the least dependable person ever, so they couldn't have woken me up. And now, I was going to be late and miss my first class. Absolutely great.

I have had the best first two days of my senior year already!

I hurriedly got up from my bed and got fresh within minutes. After I showered and shimmied into my clothes, I raced down the stairs and out of the house.

I got in the car and zoomed out of my driveway. I drove like a madwoman, so I could at least be in the school fifteen minutes before the second class. In record time, I found myself parking my car in the school's parking lot. Hastily, I got out of my car and ran all the way from the parking lot to the front doors of the school. I barged through the doors and checked the time, while desperately trying to control my breath.

Yes! I had fifteen minutes before the second period started. I did a little happy dance before I realized that I needed to breathe to compensate for all the running I had been doing. Yeah, not an athletic person.

After I made sure I was not going to die from lack of oxygen, I walked leisurely towards my locker. The hallways were deserted as everyone was in their respective classes.

I dialed my locker combination and began sorting everything in the tiny space because I had made quite a big mess in it last year. I rearranged my books and cleared all the junk I didn't need anymore.

Just as I was taking out the books I would need for the next class, I heard the sound of someone's rapid footfalls. Isn't running in the hallways prohibited? Someone was running like their life depended on it.

I craned my neck to get a better look at the person blindly running as if hounds were chasing them.

The person was getting close and would probably end up walking straight into a wall.

Harper Cain came into my view at the end of the corridor and he was not even breathless. I mean, I knew that he was in the school's football team and he had good stamina, but still, not even a little out of breath?! I would have been panting if I had been running like that.

When Harper came to a stop, after running like a madman, he just stood there for some time and looked straight at me. I don't know why, I just couldn't look away. He just kept looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face and stood there, looking all dark and brooding.

But he looked handsome as always. I may say he is a playboy and an asshole but even I can't deny how sexy he really is. Ah! But that wrecked personality of his! Dressed in a grey V-neck and blue ripped jeans, he looked intimidating and sexy as ever.

For a brief moment, I wondered if he was just looking at someone behind me, but I quickly banished the thought when I remembered that all the students were still in their classes.

He started walking towards me in calculated and even steps. He walked like he was a predator and I was his prey. I gulped. I had absolutely no idea as to why, Harper Cain of all people, would take two minutes out of his playboy life to come to talk to me.

He came to a stop when he stood close to me. Too close. Our boots were touching and our chests were a few inches apart. Okay, definitely too close for my liking.

Even though it was too close, I just couldn't seem to take a step back to increase the distance between us.

His minty breath fanned my face. I wanted to move away. Take a step back. I really did. But, somehow his eyes held me in a trance. They were magnetic and demanded all my attention. And they were really beautiful. They were a soft color of green and when light hit them, I could clearly see the flecks of gold in them.

They were more than beautiful, they were simply enchanting.

"What's your name?" Harper's gravelly voice brought me out of my thoughts.

That question broke me out of my trance. Is he fucking serious?! Honestly, I was offended.

I have been living in the same town as Harper and have been going to the same middle school and now, high school. We have even sat together all these years and have done various assignments in our sophomore year. He even flirted with me yesterday. But what exactly did I expect? Him to remember each and every girl's name he sleeps and flirts with?! He could probably write his own book of GIRL'S NAMES.

I broke the eye contact, shoved my books in my bag, closed my locker, and muttered "asshole" under my breath.

I turned to leave when Harper grabbed my wrist and turned me around to face him.

What was the matter with him?

"What?" I hissed.

"Okay, I am really sorry for not remembering your name and not calling you. But I swear, give me your number again and I will definitely give you a call." Desperation laced his voice and his eyes pleaded with me. His pink lips were puckered into an adorable pout which I was sure, made girls fall at his feet, left, right, and center.

"What?" Okay, I was genuinely confused now. What the hell was happening?!

He scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "I slept with you and didn't call you back the next day. I mean that's why you are so angry with me, right?"

Wait, what?

The nerve of this man-child!

Anger coursed through me at his ignorant and arrogant attitude.

"I never slept with you, Harper, and I am never going to. Now it's best if you leave my hand and let me go" I hissed.

He looked taken aback and I wondered for a second, what he was thinking. That there were still some girls left in the school, who he hadn't slept with, yet? Or that I would reject him when I had never even slept with him? Or why I didn't want him like every other girl in this town?

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as if what I was saying was completely unbelievable.

I scoffed.

Harper was lost in his own world and I felt his grip on my hand loosen.

I jerked my hand away from his, as the bell rang and headed towards my class.

Chapter Four: "Party. At my house. Today. Come." Harper flushed.

"Why is Harper Cain staring at you?"

whispered the girl sitting to the left of me, for what felt like, the hundredth time.

I groaned inwardly. "If it had not been for you, I wouldn't have known he was staring at me. And for the last time. I. Don't. Know." I gritted my teeth.

The redhead gave me a death glare and went back to texting on her phone in the middle of the class.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself to check if she was right like I had already done the past twenty times. I knew that he was looking at me because I could somehow feel his intense stare at the back of my head.

Nonetheless, I gathered my courage and turned my head around. And there he was, in the last row, in the corner of the room still staring at me with a stony expression. I don't think he had looked at any other person in the class because every time I turned my head around to look at him, he had his eyes right on me.

I met his intimidating gaze for a few seconds, raised my left eyebrow, and telepathically questioned him as to why he was being a creepy stalker and had been staring at me since the class started.

He just kept looking at me with the same stony expression, when finally his lips twitched upwards to reveal his trademark smirk which I absolutely hated.

I rolled my eyes and looked forward toward the teacher, who was going on and on about some quantum theory and looked as eager as the students to get out of the school.

And I swear, if one more person asks me why the hell is Harper Cain staring at me, I am going to go berserk. How the hell would I know why this idiot keeps staring at me?

Samantha and Natalie had a field day during lunch when Harper kept staring and staring and staring at our table, well specifically at me. I even had to change my goddamn seat so I wouldn't have to directly look at him.

I mean, what even happened to him? Did he wake up this morning on a single mission to stare me to death?! If that was his plan, then it was certainly working.

He doesn't even blink. It's like he wants a staring contest all the damn time.

We shared three classes with each other and I could feel his stare at the back of my head every damn second. Doesn't the teacher even notice that he was not paying attention or do they have a personal vendetta against me, because every time I turned to look at him, the teacher always pointed it out?

And as a result, I am pretty sure, half the school must think that I have been eyeballing him.

"Hey Zara?" a male voice spoke from behind.

"Yeah," I leaned back to hear a little more clearly.

"Why does Harper keep staring at you?"

I sighed and plopped my head on the desk.

***

I packed my bags as soon as the class ended, eager to get home.

"Miss Hemming, stay after the class."

Mr. Roberts said.

Great.

I sat back down on my seat with a huff and waited for the class to empty, wishing I could get out early too.

When everyone got out, I stood up from my desk in the middle of the room and headed towards the teacher's desk where Mr. Roberts's desk was. Mr. Robert had a small smile on his face.

Okay, so that was good. At least, I was not in any trouble.

"Zara, I may not have taught you before but I have heard from all the teachers that you are a grade-A student." He smiled in a really creepy way.

"Um, yeah." What the hell am I even supposed to say to that?

"Great, because this year I will be monitoring a group of twenty students who will join our school's tutoring program. And I want you to be one of them."

I was not one of those super nerdy students who got an A all around the year. I got decent grades, I often touched the B grade and I was pretty sure there were many students just like me. This man before me, who I had never even spoken two sentences to before, thought I would be a good tutor. I had never been in the tutoring program before, how did he even come up with my name?

"Yeah, ok. I will think about it."

He smiled again and handed me an application form from the top drawer of his desk. "Just fill out this application and get back to me, ok?"

I took the flyer from him and nodded.

As soon as I got out of the classroom, I crumpled the flyer and threw it away in the nearest dustbin.

I had absolutely no interest in investing my limited free time in tutoring someone who wasn't even going to care about his/her grades. My job at Monique's Bakery already demanded so much of my time, I don't think I would be able to entertain anyone.

The hallways were deserted because the school had finished twenty minutes ago. How time passes! Everyone pretty much runs away from school as soon as the bell rings. Yeah, that's how much everyone despised this hell hole.

I headed in the direction of my locker when, out of nowhere, a hand latched around my wrist and I was roughly pulled into an empty classroom.

I stumbled a little at being manhandled and closed my eyes because I was pretty sure I was going to fall, because what can I say, I was clumsy that way. When I was about to topple on the floor in a mess, two arms wrapped around my waist and helped me regain my balance.

I opened my eyes and all I could see was a vast expanse of someone's chest. Definitely a male. This person was standing very close to me. Inside my personal bubble. I could even smell his cologne which was so very delicious. I had to resist the urge to grab his t-shirt and sniff him.

That wouldn't have been awkward at all.

I looked up to see Harper looking down at me. Of course, it had to be Harper. The boy was everywhere today! He looked at me with an intense expression of...need? Lust? I can't even fathom it. My breath got caught in my throat at our proximity and the sudden rise in the temperature.

His large, warm hands on my waist were sending delicious shivers through my whole body and I resisted the urge to close my eyes and lean into him.

I was caught in a trance. A trance created by Harper Cain out of all people.

I wanted to move, I really did. At least a part of me did. That particular part was aware of the fact that Harper had his hands on my waist, the same hands with which I was pretty sure he had groped countless females. That part of me wanted to remind my brain to step out of his embrace because I have hated Harper since he broke my sister's heart. That part wanted to remind me that I would just be another number in the never-ending list of Harper's conquests.

But unfortunately, that part of me was really small and was quickly fading away.

We just kept staring at each other for a long time. And we would have stared for a long time if the silence had not grown uncomfortable.

I shook my head to clear my head of these traitorous thoughts and tried to step back. But he didn't let me which, for some reason, didn't surprise me at all.

He leaned forward abruptly and slammed his lips on mine. All rational thoughts completely flew out of my mind because the next thing I knew, my hands, which were limp by my side before, came around his neck in order to pull him closer to me. His lips molded perfectly with mine as if his lips were made for me. My knees buckled due to the unexpected desire coursing through me and the lust my body was experiencing and had it not been for Harper's arms around my waist, holding onto me for dear life, surely I would have fallen down on the ground into a mess of raging hormones.

I could feel his shoulder muscles flexing. I felt as if any time now, I would just float away.

His tongue slid out of his mouth and he sucked on my bottom lip asking for entrance. I couldn't help but moan and grant him the entrance he needed.

His tongue massaged my own and conquered every inch of my mouth. Fighting for dominance in the kiss with him was a futile war, which I would have no problem in losing.

I detached my lips from his quite reluctantly and breathed in large amounts of air.

Harper didn't stop. Didn't he need to breathe too?

He planted little butterfly kisses from the corner of my lips to my jaw. To behind my ear lobe to my neck. And to my shoulder. I felt a shiver of desire go down my body at his last kiss.

He rested his head in the crook of my neck and breathed in my scent.

Leaving my neck, he met my eyes and I saw his lust for me. Pure unadulterated lust.

His pupils were dilated and appeared almost black.

He wiped his tongue on his bottom lip and my gaze drifted towards his lips, which were, a few moments ago, very skillfully massaging my own.

I resisted the urge to pull him back down and kiss the living daylights out of him. I knew he wanted it too. I could see it in his eyes and in the tense muscles of his shoulders where I was still holding on to him.

With one hand on my waist, he used his other hand to cup my cheek and I subconsciously leaned into his touch. I enjoyed how rugged and calloused his hands felt on my soft cheek. I closed my eyes for a second and reveled in the moment.

"Party. At my house. Today. Come." Harper flushed.

My eyes flew open at Harper's husky voice.

Woah! Was Harper so out of it that he couldn't even form a proper sentence? I mean, sure, I was pretty out of it too but I would like to think I would still be able to form a coherent sentence. Seriously, my subconscious snarked at me.

Harper cleared his throat and a blush crept on his cheeks. Wow! I had never ever seen Harper blushing before. Ever! And it felt great to know that I was the reason that he was so flustered and bothered.

"Um, I am throwing a party at my house today. Come. Please."

PLEASE? That was just another word Harper Cain never used. He was used to people over his every word and following him around. I felt honored and special. And happy.

I was stunned and totally out of my wits, so I could just nod. I felt my lips relax and gave him a soft smile.

He smiled. Not the smirk which I hated on him, but a full-grown smile.

"You know, I think I deserve another kiss."

"Why?" The word sure came out of my mouth but it didn't sound like my voice at all. It was way more husky and.....breathy?!

"Because it is my birthday."

He smiled softly at me and gazed at me with pure adoration. He twirled a strand of my brown hair which had somehow gotten out of my ponytail during our little make-out session.

Without waiting for a reply, he leaned forward and stole another kiss from me. Not that I mind.

The second kiss was way more passionate and hungry. The first kiss was nothing compared to this one. I think I moaned twice and was not one to boast about it, he did too!

His lips broke away from mine quite reluctantly. He took a deep breath looked down at his watch and sighed. "I have to go." He gave a small smile, his fingers tracing the bone of my shoulder creating tingles and leaving a hot trail of fire.

He leaned back, gave me a quick peck, smiled at me, and ran out of the room. I am not joking. He literally ran out of the classroom. Leaving me all hot and bothered.

Holy hell!

Chapter Five: I didn't have the heart to tell her that I wanted to roam the place and check out where Harper was.

I was numb. Just completely and utterly dumbfounded.

My brain was taking a lot of time to process what the fuck just happened. Throughout the ride home, I replayed the kisses over and over in my mind. How they felt and how they drove me to peaks of desire and ecstasy.

After I reached my home, I walked like a robot to my room, all the while ignoring my parents and brother. I plopped down on my bed and that was when it hit me.

HARPER CAIN KISSED ME! AND I KISSED HIM BACK! AND I LIKED IT!

TWICE, if you leave that last peck.

After I freaked out for half an hour, I decided I needed an expert opinion on this matter and that's why I called my two best friends on a conference call and told them everything.

Silence reigned for a few seconds on their ends and then they screamed. I could feel cracks beginning to form in my room's walls and my eardrums being shattered. They were that loud.

They giggled for some time, fangirled a lot, and fought over who was going to be my maid of honor in my wedding with Harper. They even foretold the names of our children because according to them 'we are so meant to be together'. Over dramatic much?! I rolled my eyes at their childish behavior.

It was a nice distraction. Their giggling and 'oohing' and 'aahing' certainly put me in a much lighter mood.

I mean, he had just asked me out for a party. It was not even a proper date. And before that, we hadn't even spoken two words to each other (if you exclude the short conversation we had in the janitor's closet). So what was the big deal?

But even then, I let them have their moment, because why not. It amused me to no end and diverted my mind.

The only reasonable decision my two best friends could come up with was to help me get ready for Harper's birthday party tonight.

So, at exactly seven, they came over to my house and dolled me up. They curled my straight hair into soft waves. They made me wear a chick strapless black figure-hugging dress that rested just above my knees and accentuated my curves. Then, they gave me black pumps to wear with four-inch heels and because of them, I now stood tall at 5'9". My makeup was light but my eyes were given a smoky look which looked very attractive.

They changed me!

After taking an hour on me, they both worked super fast and were ready in just half an hour. That was the fastest I had ever seen them getting ready. I swear, they were more excited about this party than I was.

And that was why here I was, sitting in the backseat of Samantha's car with Natalie sitting in the front, filled with nervous anticipation.

I didn't even know why I was nervous, to be honest. I mean, like I said before, it was just a party. Nothing serious at all.

And it's not like I had never attended parties. I had gone to my fair share of parties, gotten drunk, danced like crazy, committed drunken mistakes which I regretted later, and woke up with a killer hangover in the morning. As I said, parties were not new to me at all. So, I didn't have the slightest clue as to why I was getting nervous.

Clenching my hands into fists, I took deep breaths and tried to control my anxiety.

"We are here," Samantha said.

Harper lived in the richer part of the town. The insanely rich part of the town was directly opposite to mine. I am not saying that I was poor or anything. No one was really poor in our little town but Harper, he was insanely rich. The society in which he lived, was a sucker for guards and all kinds of security systems. On a normal day, normal people like me won't even be able to enter the society premises. We were only allowed entry because Harper was having a party. Talk about being royalty! I had no idea how his father turned out to be a man of such importance.

Natalie lived in this part of the town and her parents were super rich too. Samantha just lived outside the society and as a result, their houses were pretty close to each other. That helped when we had to sneak in the middle of the night to go to each other's houses.

Harper's house was simply gorgeous. I mean, who even needs that much space? It was like six stories. The building before me was styled like a mansion from the Victorian era and looked like a five-star hotel. How many rooms were in this house?!

The lights on the ground floor and the first floor were all on. The music was blaring and I wondered why his neighbors weren't calling the police. There were so many people milling around, drunk teenagers smoking in the front well-kept lawn, and inside, I could see silhouettes of teenagers dancing to the crazy music.

I could recognize many of the people from my school, Ridgeback High, and many others from Cormack High. Despite teenage novels clich, there was no enmity between our school and theirs. There were two schools in the town just because there were too many teenagers to accommodate in one building.

The three of us got out of Sam's car and headed towards the front door. When Natalie opened the door, the base of the music hit us in full force.

The ground was shaking with the thumping of the bass and I could see a few pieces of furniture vibrating on their spots on the ground, but I don't think anyone minded getting deaf at such a young age because everyone was already dancing like crazy.

Bodies were grinding against each other. Red cups were littered everywhere. Zombie-like people were lying on the couches and floor, passed out from intoxication, and it was not even 10 o'clock.

Samantha grabbed my hand and started leading me towards the kitchen. How she knew, where the kitchen was, I had no clue! As we walked, I could sense several pairs of eyes following us and checking us out. Some even wolf-whistled at us. I blushed at the attention.

When we made it to the kitchen, Natalie handed me a beer bottle and we downed our first drinks of the night.

My eyes roamed the entire place for a certain person who invited me to this party but he was nowhere to be found. Slightly disappointed, I grabbed another drink and finished it in a few seconds.

Natalie grabbed our hands and led us to the makeshift dance floor. She was the wildest and the spontaneous person in our group.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that I wanted to roam the place and check out where Harper was.

Hiding my disappointment at not meeting Harper yet, I tried to at least enjoy the party. I moved my hips to the rhythm of the music. Swedish House Mafia was on and the crowd went wild and started jumping and dancing with more vigor.

I was having so much fun that I almost forgot about Harper. Almost.

After about an hour of dancing, I yelled in Natalie's ear that I was going to the kitchen to get another drink. She just nodded and went back to her seductive dancing.

I made my way toward the kitchen with much more difficulty than I had experienced earlier. It looked like more people joined the party and even more of them were passed out, as if this was their own house. There was barely any space to move.

The kitchen was relatively quieter and the music was muffled.

I grabbed a beer and drank a few sips. I found myself alone in the kitchen with empty beer bottles and a lot of trash and I was thankful for some silence because I could finally hear my thoughts.

Just then, Aiden Knight entered the kitchen. Aiden Knight was Harper's best friend. He was insanely good-looking and was a player too. Why are good-looking guys all players? So damn unfair. With sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, girls fell to his feet and worshipped him but he wasn't exactly like Harper. He at least treated girls with respect and had the decency to offer them a cup of coffee after he kicked them out after a one-night stand. Nonetheless, he too, used girls to get whatever he wanted which were mostly sexual favors. As far as I know, he too never had a girlfriend, just some casual flings.

Now, as I think about it, I have always been in the same school with the same people for so many years and have never once talked to them.

Aiden smirked and winked at me.

"So, Zara, right?"

He knew my name was Zara, which was new. I was like a wallflower. I had no intention of coming into the spotlight and being the topic of everyone's interest. He was just trying to make conversation, I reminded myself. Let's see, do I help him or act like a bitch?

I just nodded.

He leaned against the counter, at a respectable distance, his whole body facing me. "So, are you enjoying the party?"

I smiled. "Yeah" and held my red cup upwards in the universal sign of "cheers".

He abruptly stood up and covered the distance between us in two short strides. Somehow, I just knew that he didn't want anything to do with me. Anything romantic or sexual, I mean. I didn't get turned on by our proximity at all. Unlike with Harper.

He just leaned forward and whispered, "If you're looking for Harper, he is on the first floor. On the balcony. The last door on the left side."

He leaned back, winked at me, and then left me speechless.

That was random. I have a doubt it was random at all!

Great, now I am going crazy too!

How could he have known I was looking for Harper? It was not like I had looked for him at other parties before! Or maybe, he just thought I was another one of his hookups who clinged to him for a relationship and would be satisfied with a quickie instead. I scoffed at the thought.

I finished my beer placed the empty bottle on the counter and headed toward the staircase. I followed Aiden's directions and reached the first floor.

I turned left and kept walking straight till I felt the soft breeze of the wind which could only come from the open doors of a balcony.

The sliding glass doors of the balcony were open. The curtains that covered the doors were fluttering in the breeze.

I reached the glass doors, grabbed the curtains, and moved them to look out onto the balcony and there he was. Harper.

The only problem was, he wasn't alone.

In his arms, there was a girl. I couldn't figure out who she was, though. But that detail was irrelevant. What matters was, that they were both making out, quite passionately so.

I was just rooted to my spot. I didn't know what to do, because out of all the scenarios I prepared myself for, I didn't think about this one. My heart plummeted to the ground and I felt sick.

Gathering my wits, I just turned around and fled from the scene. I ran down the stairs and waited a moment to catch my breath.

I felt incredibly stupid.

What did I even expect from him? Did I think that a few stolen kisses would change him and make him less of a douchebag?! I think, for a moment I forgot who I was talking about. Guys like Harper Cain never changed. He was a playboy and he didn't care about anyone. He broke everyone's heart and I will not be next in line for him to trample over, I vowed to myself.

Plastering a smile on my face, I rejoined my friends. They didn't question my prolonged disappearance for which I was glad. I resumed swaying my hips to the peppy Katy Perry number and lost myself to the music.

After some time, I felt a pair of hands wrap around my waist. I turned around to find Harper gazing down at me with adoration and lust. I wasn't going to be fooled again. I don't know what came over me, but I didn't remove his hands from me. Instead, I giggled put my arms around his neck, and danced with him for a while. I swayed my body with the music, while Harper's hands burned my body.

After the song, Harper stopped moving. I stopped too and looked up at him, silently asking him why he stopped.

He grabbed my wrist pulled me off the dance floor and dragged me up the stairs. If anyone did see Harper dragging me, nobody stopped him. Where are your friends when you need them? I was too drunk to resist him. I wasn't sure the drunk me wanted to resist him and that was a big problem. His strides were long and determined and I stumbled after him, trying desperately not to fall. He pulled me to the same balcony where I found him making out earlier with some girl.

My mood plummeted instantly when those images flashed through my mind. I writhed in his grip in a desperate attempt to get away from him but he didn't let me go. Instead, he slammed his lips to mine.

Earlier in the day, when he kissed me there were fireworks, and there was passion and I loved it. But now, I wanted nothing of it. Those images kept flashing in my mind and the rough way in which he dragged me here gave me enough motive to resist him.

I started pushing him away from me but my actions were already uncoordinated because of the alcohol I had consumed.

His grip on my body was firm. It was clear he didn't want to let me go yet.

His lips moved forcefully over mine and were continuously asking for entrance. My lips are so going to be bruised after this. I was trying to push him away. I tried to hit his shoulders and push him away, but our bodies were pressed so tightly against each other that there was no space and my drunk body was refusing to cooperate with me.

And then I got an idea.

I granted him entrance for a second and before I could forget the reasons why I needed to get away from him, I bit his lip hard. I immediately tasted blood. I think I bit a little too hard. Oops.

Well, he deserved it!

He pulled away from me in a state of shock and disbelief. Taking advantage of his shocked state, I pushed his chest, his hold on me loosened and he stumbled back with wide eyes and blood on his lower lip. He looked at me with hurt in his eyes, but I didn't give a damn. You don't kiss a girl forcefully and then expect her to sympathize with you when she kicks your balls.

As soon as I got away from his hold, I swung my hand and slapped him as hard as I could. If he was shocked before, he was more than stunned now. He was completely speechless. His cheek was red with a red imprint of my hand on his cheek and I smirked internally in satisfaction at my masterpiece.

"Who the hell do you take me for?" I shrieked. "I am not one of your whores!"

I was getting angrier by the second now. How dare he do this! What does he take me for?

"W-what?" He stuttered.

"I saw you making out with some girl in this very place two hours ago. And now, you bring me here to make out with me as some sort of fucking replacement."

His eyes widened and he had the gall to look guilty. He looked around nervously and didn't make eye contact with me, for a few minutes. When he looked up again, I could see his face depicting several emotions, the prominent ones being pain and guilt.

"I am not one of your whores, Harper. News flash and fuck you."

I was seething now. I was furious.

Before he could say anything else, I pushed him again one more time and ran away from the balcony. He didn't follow me. Good. I didn't think he had the nerve. And I would have kicked him in the balls if he did.

I rushed down the stairs and ran out of the house.

I stopped only when I realized I was standing on the pavement with no mode of transportation in the middle of the night.

It was only then that I realized that my face was streaked with tears. And they weren't angry ones!

Chapter Six: "...Don't let these boys get to your head. They aren't worth it."

When I stood on the pavement, at night, I realized I had no ride. I didn't want to go back inside and face Natalie and Samantha with tears streaming down my face and smudged mascara. So, I took the only option I had, I started walking while furiously wiping my tears.

At this point, I didn't even know why I was crying. Was it because Harper stole a kiss from me when I didn't want it? But that couldn't be the reason, because it had already happened in school today. It wasn't with the same forcefulness, but still.

Was it because he thought it would be okay to kiss another girl before me and he thought I would never know and that I was just another one of his hookups? Was it because the kisses we shared did something to me whereas Harper just thought of me as another girl he could have sex with? I was so confused I don't even know the answer to my questions, right now. And I was not sure I wanted to know.

I heard the sound of a car honking beside me. I ignored it at first and hoped that the person sitting inside it would just take the hint and go their own way. But luck wasn't on my side tonight.

The side window went down and I turned around to see Aiden sitting in the driver's seat with a concerned expression. I honestly didn't know how to feel!

In a way, it was Aiden's fault that I was on the pavement in a dress while trying to walk in these heels. After all, he was the one who had told me where Harper was, and that was when the whole drama started. I knew I was being irrational but my exhausted mind couldn't come up with a better explanation.

Was I expecting Harper to come to me and give me a ride back home?! Be the gentleman I knew he wasn't?!

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. "What do you want, Aiden?"

If he saw my raccoon eyes, tear-stained cheeks, and shaking shoulders in the darkness, he didn't say anything and for that I was thankful. I would like to hold onto whatever was left of my pride.

"Zara, are you going to walk back to your house?" He asked me gently.

"I don't see how it's any of your business." I snapped and regretted it immediately. It was not Aiden's fault I was on a road, walking in my heels trying to get away from the party and Harper.

I was not a bitch to random people and I was not going to start now.

If he found my reply offensive, he didn't say anything. Let me drop you. Your house is on the other side of the town. Please."

He was right. My house was literally on the other side of the town. I didn't even know how I thought I would be able to walk to my home. I didn't even take into account the heels I was wearing and that I didn't carry any money.

Even though I had my phone, I had no intention of calling either of my parents to come and pick me up. It was almost twelve and I wasn't ready for the onslaught of questions I would have to face if they ever saw me like this.

"Why are you even doing this?" I asked in a small voice.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I let you go like this. Alone and miserable. You don't deserve that. I am just happy to help." He smiled at me.

Releasing a breath, I resigned to my fate and got in the car.

"Thank you, Aiden."

He just smiled at me and nodded.

I wondered why a certain green-eyed boy couldn't be more considerate.

The ride back to my house was filled with silence. A silence that didn't need to be filled. Aiden understood I needed to be alone with my thoughts and take control of my emotions again. He didn't question me or ask me how I was doing, instead just drove silently.

When he parked the car in front of my home, he gave me a small smile. "Take care, Zara."

It didn't go unnoticed by me that he knew the address to my house without me telling him where to go. I was, honestly too drained to question him about his stalker tendencies.

"I will, thank you." I smiled at him, unbuckled my seat belt, and got out of the car.

Giving him a small wave, I unlocked the door to my house and walked in.

I could distinctly hear the sound of the TV in the living room and I knew both of my parents were awake and were watching some night show or something.

I didn't want to face them right now. Not when my makeup was a mess and clear signs were showing that I had been crying not too long ago.

The whole point of riding with Aiden was to evade the questions my parents would ask me if they saw me in such a state.

I planned to silently climb the stairs and make my way to my room. But surprise, surprise that didn't happen because before I even climbed the first step, Dad called out my name.

"Zara, is that you?"

"Um, yeah it's me." After crying, my voice became hoarse and scratchy and my parents knew it too. In a minute, both of my parents were standing under the archway of the living room side by side with worried and concerned expressions.

"Are you okay, Zara?"

"Yeah, mom." I cleared my throat to make it less scratchy. "I will be in my room." I gave them a small smile which felt more like a grimace to me.

Before they could say anything, I ran upstairs, slammed my bedroom door, and heaved a sigh of relief. I was not in the mood to give any explanations.

I walked into my en suite to wipe my makeup and change my clothes. I wanted to take a shower to wash out any remains of the party tonight, but I couldn't find the strength to do that just now. I quickly walked to my queen-sized bed and buried myself under my wine-colored duvet.

After about ten minutes, my door opened and a sliver of light crept into the room. Dad came inside, and with him followed my favorite fragrance: hot chocolate.

He usually knocks before entering my room but when he knows I am upset, he just walks in. He knows whenever I feel down, I am fully dressed and moping in my bed and won't open the door.

He swiftly crossed the room in calculated steps and reached my bed. My dad was a tall man, so much so that he had to pay extra money if he wanted a comfortable seat while traveling on a plane. Mom never fails to tease him whenever that happens.

I sat up on the bed, ready to drink the hot chocolate he made for me. He makes the best hot chocolates in the world. Whenever any of us had a bad day or got upset, he always made us hot chocolate. He is thoughtful that way.

My mom had other ways of coping with hormonal and distressed family members. She hugs them and listens to them patiently, before taking us out for our favorite treat.

My family is great that way.

I took the mug from his hands. He chuckled at my eagerness.

"Are you ok, Zara?"

I wondered how they decided which one of my parents would come and talk to me. The last time something like this happened, they played a game of rock, paper, and scissors. The thought brought a small smile to my face.

The best thing about my dad is that he knows exactly when to give space and what questions to ask. His soft blue looked at me with concern. The blue eyes I get from him.

I gave him another small smile and nodded my head.

"You know we are here for you, right? Whatever happens, you can always come and talk to your mother and me. We won't ever judge you."

"I know." I smiled brightly at the man who has been my hero ever since I could remember.

"Was it a boy?"

I hesitated before answering and looked down at the mug in my hands. I could never lie to him. He always had the uncanny ability to know whenever any of us lied.

He sighed. "I won't dictate your life, Zara. But I do trust that you will make the right decisions for yourself."

I nodded my head and gave him another smile. "You can trust me."

"I know, Zara. I know." He smiled back and kissed my forehead. "Good night, kiddo. Don't let these boys get to your head. They aren't worth it."

With that, he ruffled my hair and laughed at my annoyed expression. Giving me another kiss on the forehead, he walked out of my room.

What can I say, I am a daddy's girl!

***

The next day at school was pretty boring if I say so myself. I had bravely battled through three periods, keeping my head high and warding off any signs of sleep.

The downside with the last period before lunch was that I didn't have either of my friends in it. So, it had just changed from boring to super boring.

And the teacher, who I was pretty sure, was going through a mid-life crisis, was droning on and on about algebraic equations, which no one gives two shits about. Remind me why I thought taking AP English for my final year would be nice. Right, extra credit, of course!

I groaned.

Loudly.

Quite loudly.

So much so that the teacher stopped talking, the class was silent and everyone was looking directly at me.

Kill. Me. Now.

My cheeks burned from embarrassment at the sudden attention and I even heard a few snickers coming from the slackers seated in the back. I so wanted to glare at them but I refrained from doing so because I knew Mr. Andrews had something to say about the disruption. Great.

"Miss Hemming, is everything ok?" Mr. Andrews arched an eyebrow. If he was trying to look intimidating then I must say, he failed. A middle-aged man wearing khaki trousers with a pot belly could hardly look intimidating with a raised eyebrow.

Instead of telling him exactly that, I smiled inwardly as a plan began to form in my head.

I groaned again and clutched my stomach as if I was going to puke my guts out any second. "No, sir." Add a little stutter to make it a little more believable- stomach cramps."

He flushed in embarrassment. What is with guys evading the topic of us females bleeding?

But the sad part in me was enjoying his discomfort. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Would you like to go to the nurse's office or perhaps the washroom, Ms. Hemming?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

With that, I quickly gathered all my stuff, swung my bag on my shoulder, and walked briskly out of the classroom.

I lifted my hands in the air as a form of victory against boring classes, when the door of the classroom closed behind me.

I am an evil genius. Cue an evil laugh!

I roamed around the school hallways, carefully avoiding the hall monitor of the school.

The halls were pretty much deserted because all the students were in their respective classes and didn't have the right motivation to bunk them.

I headed to my locker, dumping my books and taking whatever I would need for lunch and the period after that.

In a way, it was soothing to find the hallways empty, when usually all one could see was people bustling and elbowing their way in a desperate attempt to get to their classes.

Taking note that I still had some time left, I walked slowly towards the girl's washroom. I could touch up my very basic makeup and check my messages while I was there.

I occupied one of the stalls and did my business.

Suddenly, the doors to the washroom opened and someone walked in. I couldn't hear the click-clack sound of heels, so I was pretty sure it was not some diva girl who would eat my brains about some new fashion trend she read somewhere in a magazine. Girls in my school were weird that way.

I opened the door of the stall and walked out, ready for some quiet time knowing the girl outside, most probably clad in sneakers or flat bellies, wouldn't trouble me with mindless chatter.

But when I came out, I saw someone who I would have never talked to anyway and didn't belong. At all. At least not in the girl's bathroom.

I stood there with my hand stretched towards the tap to wash my hands when I looked sideways to find Harper Cain standing in the girl's washroom and looking at me with an unreadable expression.

I have had it with his intense expressions. Snapping out of my daze, I glared at him.

Yesterday night, after crying because of him, I resolved to revert to my previous self who wouldn't give Harper the time of his day.

"Can I help you?" I could hear the ice in my tone and I was sure he didn't miss it too.

He took a deep breath as if to collect himself before opening and closing his mouth several times.

"Look, I don't care for your apologies because-"

"I, Harper Daniel Cain reject you, Zara Sophia Hemming, as my mate." His expression changed to one of immense pain as soon as the words left his mouth and his features distorted into one of utmost despair.

And with that, he barged out of the washroom leaving me behind, with my jaw hanging open.

Naturally, several questions sprang up in my mind.

How did he even know my middle name?

How did he have the nerve to enter a girl's washroom?

What the hell is a mate?

And last but the most important question in my head was, what the fuck just happened?