The Hot Bad Boy and His Sassy Girl

As my mother and I approached our new house, my emotions were all over the place. I was anxious to see my new house, town, school, and life. I was nervous to start over. However, I was also excited to be getting a fresh start. Despite the developing emotions about my new life, I knew that I couldn't run away from my problems forever. I had learned to accept the fact that I would never live a normal life, with normal friends, or a normal family. My status quo had become an abnormal mixture of fear and heartbreak, and no matter how much I tried to get away from that, it would always find it's way back to me. But I knew I needed to move forward. Each day was a new one, and even though the deck of cards I had been dealt were so shitty that they'd make any gambler cry of fear.. I needed to find a way to use them. To make a new life for myself.. and my mom. As our car pulled into the driveway, I was afraid to look up at my new home. When I did, however, I felt a smile spread on my face. It was a pretty decent sized house. It was white, and had some palm trees in the front yard. The grass was a vibrant green and the landscaping was nice and neat. Seeing the house sparked a bizarre feeling of joy inside of me. However, my bliss quickly came to an end as I realized how expensive the house must have been. I was about to ask my mother how she was able to afford it, when I realized that I probably didn't want to know the answer. My mother didn't have a good job, and definitely spent the majority of her money on alcohol, so I figured that I'd rather not know who she scammed to get this gorgeous house. My mom never used to be a junkie... but my father's death and my brother's arrest really impacted her life in a very negative way. It impacted me, too. As I was helping her with the few bags, I took my first look in the house. It was very modern and reminded me of something that someone might find on Pinterest or something. I ran up to what I assumed was my room and looked around in awe. The walls were a shade of light grey, and there were huge windows that viewed over some beautiful Californian scenery. I even had my own goddamn bathroom. All I wanted to do was just fall on my bed and sleep my severely sleep-deprived ass off that probably hadn't slept in days. However, the moving truck was coming tomorrow, so I was going to have to sleep on the dark, hardwood flooring. I placed my bags on the floor and walked back out of my room, down the stairs, and to the kitchen. "So how do you like it?" my mother asked and smiled. I was a little taken back at how sober my mother was. I decided to embrace it while it lasted. "It's so pretty!" I said and looked around the kitchen, resting my arm on the island, which was located in the middle of the kitchen. "Hopefully we can start a new life together here," she said and smiled again. I felt a certain rise in my chest that I hadn't experienced in a few years... hope. The newly aroused emotion scared me, so I quickly pushed it back down into the depths of my heart, where it would be poisoned with the ink that was held in my heart; turning it into fear. What if we couldn't start over? My mom probably would start drinking again once she starts to think about my fath- "Your father would have loved this place," she said and took the flask out of her back pocket. She took a swig of her precious alcohol and sighed. Told ya.. "I think I'm gonna go upstairs and unpack what I have," I said, trying to change the subject. She nodded and looked down as I ran back up to my room. I closed my door and stared out my window-wall. Life will go on, whether I want it to or not. There was something weirdly comforting about the fact that time didn't stop for anybody. It was sort of.. peaceful to think about. I began to unpack the few clothes that I had thrown in my carry on, and all of the electronics that I brought. I plugged my charger into my phone and opened up my laptop. Just as I was about to go onto Facebook, a picture folder caught my eye that was in the bottom right corner of my desktop screen. The folder was titled "Old Family Pictures". I hesitated as I went to click on it. I knew that it wouldn't lighten the mood, but I hadn't looked at pictures of my family before everything happened in so long. I opened the folder and clicked on the first picture. It was a picture of my brother and I when we were little. We were hugging each other and smiling. My lips couldn't help but curve up slightly as I looked at the pictures of my brother and I posing like we were in an action movie. I played a video and smiled as it progressed. My dad was tickling my brother as I was trying to save him by attacking my dad, meanwhile my mom was cracking up behind the camera. When the video came to an end, I resumed looking at pictures of my family together. The happy, nostalgic thoughts soon turned back to sorrow and grief as I remembered what our family had become, and what it would never be again. I quickly closed out of the folder and put my laptop away. I walked into the bathroom and wiped away the lone tear that had fallen from my deep, blue eyes. I heard a knock on my door and opened it, revealing my mom. "I just got a call from the moving company, they said that they are going to be delivering our stuff today, instead." She smiled and I nodded. "I'm gonna go to the store and get some things for us," my mom said but I quickly chimed in. "Um, no. You've been drinking. I'll go. Just give me a list and I'll get some stuff," I said and a sad yet understanding look spread across her face. "I'll go make one," she said and walked into her room. When she gave me the list, I went to the grocery store and got everything that she should have been getting. My mom used to love shopping and buying fun groceries to surprise us with when she got home. She loved getting out of the house and accidentally spending way too much money on all these different foods. But not anymore. Whoever she had turned into was barely sober enough to even think about the groceries we needed, or the electric bills that we needed to pay. I wondered if when she looked in the mirror, she recognized herself. Because I sure as hell didn't. I knew that this was going to happen- I was going to end up taking care of her again while she wasted all of our money on alcohol and drugs. This was why I couldn't afford to have hope. People think that the expression 'Hope is the only thing stronger than fear' means that when you have hope, it will let you overpower the fear and accomplish whatever you want... but the expression actually means that hope will fuck up your life much more than if you live in fear and are aware that hope doesn't do anything for you besides disappoint you. The rest of the week, my mother and I got settled in and started to get comfortable in our new home. I enjoyed my final sleep before my first day of senior year, gazing out at all of the stars as I began to doze off.

I woke up to the loathed sound of my alarm clock booming throughout my room. I emerged from the warm safety of my bed as I reached over and shut it off. I slugged into my bathroom and washed my face. I brushed out my dark blonde hair and braided two strands together in the back, leaving the rest of my hair hanging. I loosely curled my hair and put on some simple makeup. My outfit consisted of ripped, light-wash mom jeans and a white, retro-looking crop top that I got at my favorite thrift shop back in Boston. I slipped on my high-top converse and walked downstairs. I quickly ate some frosted flakes, brushed my teeth, and grabbed my backpack. I began to walk into my mom's room to say goodbye, but since she was sleeping, I decided not to. I grabbed the car keys and drove off to the school. As I was driving away from my house, another hurricane of emotions swept through me. The people in my new school didn't know anything about my family, who I was, or what I was like. A completely clean slate had been set in front of me, which is great... but I couldn't help but feel like I was going to mess everything up again. As I pulled into the parking lot, I began to breath heavily. I tried to calm myself down with some of the strategies that my therapist showed me back home. When I finally calmed down, I got out of my car and took in the scenery. I kept my head down and tried to find my first period class. After asking like 10 different people, I finally found it. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I sat down at an empty desk in the back of the room. As I was getting my books out, I heard a voice in front of me. "Hey! You must be new. My name is Cathy," I looked up at a girl with strawberry blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a pretty smile stretched across her face. I smiled back. "I'm Lilian," I told her and her face lit up at my name. "I love that name! It's so pretty," She said and then sat down at the desk next to mine "Thanks, yours too." I responded and she smiled as she took a piece of paper out. "I wonder if we have any other classes together," she took my schedule and compared them side by side. She was super perky, but she seemed really nice. As long as she was nice, I liked her. "We have history together fourth period. Then we can walk to lunch together after," she said and I smiled. "So what do you like to do?" Cathy and I talked with each other for about 10 more minutes, and we actually had a lot in common. I started to feel the uplift in my chest again, but this time I let it happen. A little bit of joy couldn't be too bad once in a while- I just couldn't allow too much joy. The teacher walked in during the middle of Cathy's story about an embarrassing school moment of hers. "Hello students... Welcome back. My name is Mr. Fichte. Not fish... Fichte. And I will be your calculous teacher this year," He said and a couple giggles scattered throughout the room. The period consisted of the class rules and shit. I didn't pay attention. When class ended, Cathy and I looked at each other. "I'll see you in history... good luck!" she said and walked out of the room. Before I could say bye she had already left. I chuckled as I got up. I had 5 minutes to get to my locker and get to class. I walked out of the classroom, joining a stampede of people walking to their lockers with their friends. I fought my way through the crowds as I made my way towards the calmer hallway where my locker was. When I got to my locker I sighed with relief and opened it on the first try. I dealt with my books and closed my locker. Just as I turned around, someone slammed into me, spilling ice-cold liquid all over me. I stood frozen in place with my jaw dropped, stunned by the unexpected sequence of events and the bright blue drink now covering me. "Jesus- can you watch where the hell you're going?" I heard a deep voice say and I looked up. His eyes were dusk blue, and he had dark brown hair that looked messy yet put together at the same time. Behind him were three other boys, also annoyingly attractive, who were presumably his posse. "What did you just say??" I stared back at him, my blood boiling. I liked this shirt, godamnit.. and now it's tie-dyed. "Are you deaf? I said- could you maybe watch where the fuck you're going," he repeated it slowly. "First of all I'm not deaf, but if I was deaf then saying it slower wouldn't help me understand what you said, dumbass. And second of all, you're right.. I'm so very sorry you spilt your drink all over me," I replied sarcastically, getting pretty heated. "Well, you walked into me," he said, a little taken aback by my response. He probably expected me to squeal sorry and run away. "Technically I wasn't even walking. I'm not really sure how you define walking, but I'm pretty sure that you have to be moving," I responded. Ass wipe... "Can you just shut up and keep walking," he said very asshole-ish. "I can't. You're still in my way." I said and waited for him to step out of my way. When he didn't, I sighed and pushed my way past him, probably earning a harsh glare from him. "Bitch," I heard him mumble under his breath. I let out an unexpected laugh and spun on my heals, marching back over to him. Before he could react to me appearing in front of him, I grabbed the half-empty bottle of Gatorade out of his hand and lifted it over his head, pouring the rest on him. His expression, as I'm sure you could imagine, was priceless. I heard his friends cracking up behind him. "Never call a girl a bitch," I glared into his eyes as he opened them, piercing into me. "Or she just might act like one." I gave him one last sarcastic smile before I pushed by them, walking away. As much as I despised him, I felt a strange electric warmth spread through my body, originating in the spot where our bodies briefly made contact... must just be due to the lack of testosterone in my life.. I walked into class after quickly drying myself off in the bathroom and sat, again, in the back. I didn't make any friends in this class like I did with Cathy, but I'm okay with that. I eventually made it to fourth period. "Lilian!" I heard Cathy yell over when I walked in the door. Her face immediately fell when she noticed my more colorful appearance. "What happened? It looks like a smurf threw up on you." "I have a question," I sat down in the seat next to her that she had been saving for me. "Who are those four boys that are all randomly very attractive?" I asked, thinking she would have to know who I was talking about. "Ohhh them. Yeah. They're the 4 most popular guys in school. There's Anna, Evan, Earl, and then Stone. He's a total hunk, but a total ass. Earl Is a new recruit. He was new at the end of last year and they just so happened to take him under their wing," she replied. "Here's a tip... if you're falling for them, DON'T. They are such players. I mean I guess except for Stone- he never really dates anyone," she added. After History, we started to walk to the lunchroom. On the way there I told her about my little encounter with Stone at my locker. She was loving it. She then went on to explain that no one ever stands up to them. Whoops. I guess I broke the rules of the hierarchy... Do I give a fuck? No, not really.

When we arrived at the cafeteria, she brought me right over to her lunch table that she sat at every year. Another girl showed up as well. She had long, curly brown hair that perfectly complimented her golden-brown skin. Her eyes were brown and she gave off a very welcoming vibe. "Hey, I'm Viola," she said in a really laid back tone. "Lilian," I replied and sat down. All lunch we just talked and I got to know them a lot better. Viola seemed very cool and super chill, in contrast to Cathy's preppy and hyper self. Cathy told Viola about my encounter and she was just as surprised as Cathy was. After lunch, we went our separate ways (after exchanging numbers of course). When I got to fifth period I look around at my class. I recognized that one of the boys who was in the group with Stone was there. When he saw me his face lit up and he waved at me. I looked behind me to make sure that he wasn't smiling at someone else, but there was no one else there. I walked over to him confused. "You're the girl from the hall! That was pretty sick by the way," he said, digging through his bag for a pen. "Um, thanks..." I said and sat down at a desk a couple away from his. Then he moved seats and sat right next to me. "What are you doing?" I ask him. "The name's Evan. And you are?" "Lilian." I replied. "How about Lily?" he asked and I looked at him. "Lily?" I asked harshly and he nodded. "No. Lilian," I said then took my notebook out. "Lily it is," he said as the teacher walked in the room and introduced himself as Mr. Budge. The rest of the class was also spent learning the class rules and then at the end he gave us some free time to talk. "So," Evan began, "how's life?" He turned to face me with a big, goofy smile. It was honestly kind of hard to see him as a player. "Why are you being so nice to me? Shouldn't you be like hating me or something?" I asked and chuckled. "Well I think you're cool. We don't all have one mind in our group. We have three." He said and I got confused. "I thought there were 4 of you," "Well I don't have a brain so," he said and we laughed. I guess I was wrong to assume that all of them were as much of a jerk as Stone. When the bell rang I looked at my schedule. I had a free period, and I mentally decided to go to the library and use my laptop. On my way to the library, I stopped by my locker to grab my laptop, and when I closed it someone startled me. I gasped and almost shrieked, then I realized that it was Viola. "Wow, okay. I didn't think you got scared that easily," she said laughing and I smiled in relief. "Well I do. Do you have a free period right now?" I asked and she nodded her head. "Ya. I was just heading down to the library," "So was I," I added and she smiled at me. We talked as we were walking to the library. When we got there we sat at a table. When we started talking again we quickly got hushed by the librarian and giggled. Being around Viola and Cathy made me want to keep that happy feeling in my chest. "You know, the group isn't completely horrible, I don't think so anyway..." Viola said and I shot her a skeptical look. "They seem kind of horrible to me," "Only Stone is a true asshole, the others are just asswipes," she explained and I chuckled silently. "That Evan guy seems fun," I said, hoping to get a response that would tell me if he's actually a douche or not. "Yeah, Evan's a goof. He's still a player though. Anna throws really good parties, but I'm pretty sure he just throws them to hook up with girls," she told me. "And Earl doesn't really do anything... To be honest I don't even think that they like him that much," she told me, receiving another hush from the librarian, who kind of reminded me of the slug woman from Monsters Inc... Viola and I held in our laughter and resumed with our conversation. "Why do you say that?" I whispered. "You can just kind of tell, you know? They just are always sending him looks like he's done something wrong," she explained and I nodded understandingly. "What do you have next?" I asked her, knowing that she wouldn't be in my class considering my luck. "English. You?" "AP Biology," I said and she looked disappointed. We talked about the school for the rest of the free period- the apparently very strict hierarchy, the teachers, and even the best places to hide in the school if you wanted to ditch. When the bell rang we sighed and got up. We went our separate ways to our lockers. When I walked into biology, I froze in my place. I locked eyes with the same dusk blue ones as earlier. Stone. His face was straight, clearly lacking the ability to express emotion. Although I had a feeling that if I could read his face, it would show pure hatred. I tried to swallow the lump swelling in my throat, to no avail. The feeling that I had in my chest from hanging out with Viola had completely sunk back own into the depths of my heart. While he looked like a freaking Abercrombie model sitting at his desk, I looked for the farthest desk from him. I broke our gazed when I looked towards the back of the room, where I spotted an empty desk and walked briskly to it. I didn't dare look back over at Stone as I sat down and waited for the teacher to come in. I felt his eyes upon me. Seconds later, the teacher walked in, saving me from almost looking back up at Stone. "Good afternoon, class. I hope that you all had a good summer. My name in Mr. Zero and I will be your Biology teacher this year," he said and smiled around the room. Why did the teachers keep saying what subject they were going to teach? Apparently we students weren't smart enough to figure out what our schedule said... He continued, "And although I know that you guys must like sitting next to your friends and all, I'm afraid that I must assign seats," he said and everyone let out a groan. Shit. I started to get nervous when he made us all stand up. "Lilian Summers... there." He said, pointing to the back left corner desk. I went and sat down at the two person desk, waiting anxiously to find out who my desk partner would be. He called out a couple names before finally calling, "Stone Addison." I assumed he pointed to a seat as I looked down at my desk, hoping that he didn't sit in the chair next to me. I let go a breath of relief that I didn't know I was holding when Mr. Zero moved onto the next name. "Leon Kelins, there." As he finished saying that, I heard someone sit in the seat next to me. I moved my head up to see what Leon looked like, only to find myself choking on air. Sitting next to me was a pretty pissed off and slightly blue Stone, glaring down at the desk.