CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

For as long as I can remember, Mathew has been with me. He was there when I fell that first time I started riding a bike, when my mom got mad because we messed up her car glass, holding my hand when my grandmother took her last breath and he was there starring in my first kiss.

He has been there forever.

Mathew Sanders has been my best friend my whole life, taking the next step in our relationship felt natural, the right thing to do. So, the day he asked me to be his girlfriend was one of the brightest, most colorful days of my life. At fifteen, he was all I could think about. My life became completely perfect the instant he confessed to me. A year later, the feeling of happiness to have him with me has not faded. As I wait for him to pick me up for school, the smile doesn't disappear from my face. That smile widens when I see his car appear on my street.

I hold my backpack tightly as I wait for him, as usual, to get out of the car to open the door for me. Butterflies, as usual, make their presence known in my stomach when I see him get out and give me his beautiful white smile. My smile gets impossibly bigger as soon as he places a small kiss on my lips as a greeting.

"How was your night?" He asks as polite as ever.

"Fine" I look into his eyes, never tiring of doing so. "And yours?"

"Same" he suddenly looks uncomfortable. "I... I have to tell you something."

Alarm bells go off in my head.

"What's going on?"

"This girl, Ariana, my dad's business partner's daughter, showed up and he wants me to help her adjust to school" I still don't understand, so I wait patiently for him to continue. "She will study with us and my dad left a burden on my shoulders by making it clear to me that he wants her to feel comfortable, Thea."

"I don't understand what you're getting at."

"She's coming in the car with us," he says slowly, "And I'd like you to make friends with her. It's important to my father because Ariana's father is his main partner and he doesn't want her to have any complaints about me. Could you help me with this?"

"Sure" I accept without finding any problem with it.

Mathew's eyes sparkle with obvious relief.

"That's my girl" he strokes my cheek with his thumb and then leaves a kiss on the tip of my nose. Even though he's been doing it since we were little, I blush at his tender display of affection.

We walk hand in hand the little space left before we get into the car. I stop to look at him in confusion when he opens the back door of his car for me.

"I'm not going with you?" I ask him in a complete daze.

Mathew grimaces in discomfort.

"Ariana is in the front."

I try to ignore the slight discomfort I feel inside and force a big smile on my lips.

"Sure" I whisper, getting into the car without objection.

With my smile still on my face, I look over to the passenger seat to find a blonde-haired girl looking back at me with a small smile on her lips.

"Hi, I'm Thea Anderson," I say, stretching out my hand towards her.

"Oh, you're Thea," her smile drops a little, "I'm Ariana Rowling. You're Mathew's little best friend, aren't you?"

I freeze for a moment, looking with confusion at Mathew who is already inside the car. This morning just keeps getting more and more confusing. As the car starts, Mathew says, "That's right, Thea is my best friend," he looks at me in the rearview mirror with a smile. "And my girlfriend. I thought I told you, Ariana."

"No, you didn't mention it" she looks angry. "The way you were talking about her, I thought she was just your friend."

"You're wrong" I tell her raising my voice a little, suddenly angry when I see her hand on my boyfriend's arm.

"My mistake" Ariana looks at me shortly, without taking her hand away from Mathew's arm. I wait patiently for him to pull it away, but he never does.

I snort very softly without them hearing me and adjust my rimmed glasses on my nose because they have fallen a little. I cross my arms over my chest to avoid doing anything else against the bold girl who flirts unabashedly with my boyfriend in front of me, so I just lean my head against the window as I listen to her talk to Mathew about a party her father is having that he's invited to. It doesn't escape my notice that I am totally off the guest list for that party.

What's wrong with that girl?

Needless to say, it's the most uncomfortable ride to school I've had in a long time.

As we walk through the halls of the school, I totally ignore her incessant chatter. The only thing that calms me is Mathew's hand holding mine, but it only calms me a little because her arm wrapped around his arm brings my irritation to its peak.

I feel relief when we enter the classroom as she will finally be away from us - from Mathew to be clearer - but my irritation reaches anger when I see her sitting in my seat, next to Mathew.

"That's my place" I tell her as politely as I can.

"I thought you told her, Mat" she speaks to my boyfriend and then looks at me with a cocky smile. "I'll sit with him from now on."

She's got to be playing games.

"Is this a joke?" I laugh under my breath, but my laughter stops when I see that Mathew doesn't deny it. "Mathew?" I try to make my voice steady, but fail in the attempt.

"It's only for a few days, Thea" he doesn't look at me as he speaks. "Until Ariana gets someone to sit with."

And in the meantime I go to pieces, mentally complete.

I look at the seat behind him where Diane, my best friend, looks confusedly at the whole thing. I give her a small smile to indicate that all is well, even though it's not at all.

"And where am I supposed to sit?" I ask Mathew, concentrating on making sure my voice comes out totally calm. "There are no more empty seats."

Mathew turns his face to look carefully around the classroom, then his gaze is fixed on the end, where only one person sits in the company of no one.

"I'm not going to sit with James," I tell him before he mentions what I know is going through his head, "He scares me and you know it, Mathew."

"Come on, Thea, if he says or does anything to you just let me know."

He can't be serious. I'm not sitting next to the new boy and school bully.

"It's the last seat," I add, "You know even with my glasses I can't see straight."

"Jesus Christ, Thea" I look at him with wide eyes when he talks to me in complete annoyance. "When did you become so infuriating?"

I bite my lip to avoid blurting out something that will make the situation worse. Ariana's laughter next to him only manages to humiliate me more, so putting my fear aside for the boy who they say has been involved in drugs and has been expelled three times from his former schools, I move forward through the classroom and sit down next to him.

Here we go, Thea. You're brave. James is just a boy who has earned the fear of the entire school. He's beaten up students, insulted teachers and is rumored to be a drug user. It's not that bad, is it?

Careful that James doesn't notice, I drag my chair to the end of my side, as far away from him as possible. I pull the language book with my agenda out of my backpack and wait patiently for the teacher to appear.

I watch from behind me, pathetically, as Ariana curls her finger in one of Mathew's chestnut locks and looks at him with obvious coquetry. I swallow the bile in my throat when he doesn't pull it away. It is when I feel wetness on my cheek that I notice the treacherous tear running down it. Good heavens, why am I so sensitive? I bring my trembling hand to the wetness on my face and wipe it away at high speed. I hope no one has noticed, but the piercing gaze I feel from the boy next to me tells me I'm not so lucky.

I turn my face to look at him and expect to find, at the very least, a mocking expression in his eyes.

That's not what I meet.

A pair of hypnotic green eyes look at me with curiosity and I am simply caught there, unable to look away from him.

I've never held him close enough to notice how handsome he is. The features of his face are so rugged and manly that they expose total masculinity, and his tousled dirty blond hair gives him a carefree air. However, he doesn't look like a boy, but like a man who carries a long list of stories behind him. Stories that would perhaps terrify. His eyes are a strange mix of sadness and danger, and perhaps some mischief. His sharp jaw, straight nose and slightly full lips make him look tougher than his eyes are. James is mesmerizing, he really is... Then my eyes drop to his tattoos and a shudder runs across my skin, remembering what is rumored through the halls; his tattoos he got from the criminal gang he belongs to.

He's dangerous, I tell myself mentally, stay away from him.

I'm thankful in my mind that the teacher has arrived because I have something else to distract myself with other than the tough guy in my class who gets on my nerves and scares me to great levels. However, any attempt to focus on the teacher is futile. My curious eyes stop on James' planner as he opens it, noisily setting it down on the table we share. My eyes also catch his tattooed fingers, then I look at his name marked on the first page.

Nathan James Harrison.

I avert my gaze, but bring it back to the same place when I see him scribble something on another clean sheet.

What does he write if the teacher hasn't started class?

As I read the sentence on his sheet, another shudder of fear invades my body.

"A curious lab mouse is on the lookout for trouble."

Holy mother, I don't have to ask him anything to know his lines are meant for me.

I drag my chair as far away as possible and in the entire class I concentrate on not looking at him.

Holy Macarena, what have I gotten myself into?