Chapter 1

“Don’t look now, but he’s staring at you again,” Kate whispers. I blush and try to glance at Zach as discreetly as I can. I totally fail, of course. I’m anything but subtle. He catches me staring at him from across the cafeteria and grins as he throws a wink my way. My cheeks heat and I turn back around so quickly that I nearly fall out of my chair. Kate looks at me in disbelief. “I said don’t look!” she whisper-shouts. I bury my face in my hands to hide my embarrassment and Kate gasps. “Oh, my god. Oh my god, Milly. He’s coming this way. He’s walking right towards us.”

I peek at her through my fingers to make sure she isn’t joking. Her shocked expression tells me she isn’t messing with me, and I suddenly forget how to act like an actual human being. Zach is one of the hottest guys in school and I’ve had a crush on him for as long as I can remember. He’s in Carter’s grade, so he’s two years older than Kate and me. For him to even speak to me makes my heart race. Our town is tiny and almost everyone knows each other, but it’s still not that common for a senior to speak to a sophomore like me. And… it’s Zach.

“Hey, Emilia,” he says, dropping into the seat next to mine. Oh my god. Zach is actually sitting next to me. He puts his arm on the back of my seat and I nearly stop functioning. “Haven’t seen you around for a while,” he murmurs.

Instead of replying I just stare at him, beyond flustered. “I… I… I had the flu,” I stammer.

Zach smiles at me, and my heart does a somersault. “Hope you’re all better now, babe.”

I nod and stare at him, still in disbelief that he’s actually sitting here speaking to me. And did he just call me babe? I practically swoon. I glance around us to find some of the girls in my grade looking at me with blatant jealousy. Zach is widely considered to be the second hottest guy in school. The top spot is reserved for asshole Carter. I don’t see the appeal. It’s obvious the girls in my school are delusional. I guess he does have gorgeous hazel eyes that look a little green in certain lighting, and his thick dark hair is pretty nice. He’s also super tall and keeps getting more and more muscular, but whatever. It’s Carter. His rotten personality definitely overshadows his slightly good looks.

“Yeah, all good now,” I reply, finally snapping out of it. Zach is talking to me. There’s no way I’ll ruin this opportunity, nerves be damned.

“That’s good,” he murmurs. “because I was kinda wondering what you’re doing on Saturday. I’m having a few people over at my house. Thought you might wanna hang out?”

I blink, my mind completely blank. Did he just… Is he asking me out? I guess not, because he said there’d be more people. But still, it’s more than I ever expected. I blush and Zach smiles smugly. He leans in as though he’s about to brush my hair out of my face, but before his fingers make contact with my hair, a hand closes around his wrist. I look up to find Carter staring down at me.

“Goddamn it,” I mutter under my breath. Carter’s sole mission in life seems to be to annoy me. We’ve been feuding with each other since the day we met, and over the years our war has only intensified. I’ve tried my best to keep my teeny tiny crush on Zach from Carter, because that type of knowledge would be weaponized in his hands. He grits his teeth and looks away from me, focusing on Zach instead. Zach’s shoulders sink and he purses his lips, clearly disappointed that Carter interrupted us.

“What do you want?” I snap.

He ignores me and stares Zach down. “Kate and Emilia aren’t allowed to go to parties until they’re sixteen,” he says, grinning evilly. “So please tell me you weren’t just inviting them to this weekend’s house party?”

He pushes Zach’s wrist away and stands in between us. I’m tempted to poke him where I know he’s ticklish, but I don’t want to come across as childish or petty in front of Zach.

“Ah, I didn’t know, dude,” Zach says. My heart sinks. He’s going to take back his invite, all because of Carter.

“That’s odd, because I vaguely recall mentioning it to you when you asked me about Emilia yesterday,” Carter says. Zach cups the back of his neck and looks down. Not only are Carter and Zach in the same grade, they’re also on the football team together. There’s no way he’d choose me over Carter. I’m never getting an invite now.

“It’s fine. I mean, you don’t live that far. I could drop by,” I say, trying to sound as upbeat as I can.

Carter laughs humorlessly and turns to look at me. “Like hell you will,” he says. He glares at me and I glare right back at him.

Zach stands up and looks at Carter, ignoring me entirely. “Look, I hear you. No hard feelings, man,” he says.

I stand up too, but Zach shakes his head. He winks at me and then walks away. I bite my lip to keep from murdering Carter in cold blood.

“You — you… you’re such a dick!” I shout. I push against his chest, but I fail to move him. In the last year he’s gone from thin and my height to muscular and tall. I hate it. I hate that I now have to raise my head to look into his eyes. I push against him harder and he grabs my hands, keeping them in place.

“If I catch you trying to go to any parties before you’re sixteen, I’ll tell your dad,” he says.

I huff and roll my eyes. Like my dad would actually care. With each year that passes by, he works more hours and spends less time with me. He’s become a shell of the person he used to be. Every once in a while he’ll make a remark that tells me he’s just reminded of my mom whenever he looks at me. I can’t even remember the last time we had dinner together. He’s definitely not going to care if I go to a party.

“I’ll tell my mom too,” Carter says.

That asshole. He knows Helen is my weakness. The idea of her being disappointed in me breaks my heart, and he knows it. He grins like he knows he’s got me now and lets go of my hands. His eyes move to Kate and he stares at her with raised brows.

“What?” she says. “I didn’t do anything. Go tell mom all you want.”

I chuckle when Carter glares at her before storming off. I inhale deeply and sit down in my seat. I push my tray of half eaten food away, my appetite long gone.

Kate huffs and stares at Carter’s disappearing form. Her stunning eyes are identical to Carter’s and they’re flashing with anger. “I can’t believe he just cock blocked you like that. I mean… I know you two have your feud and all that, but damn. This is next level.”

I look up at her, suddenly realizing that she’s right. “He did, didn’t he?” I snap.

Kate nods, furious on my behalf. She crosses her arms and bites her lip. “Maybe we can sneak into the party,” she murmurs. “How cool would it be if we actually went? I know Zach hasn’t invited anyone else in our grade, he never does. This would’ve been a first. Damn Carter. I can’t believe he ruined this for us.”

I laugh. “I can’t believe that’s what you’re concerned about. Kate, he ruined my chances with Zach! Didn’t you see the way Zach looked at me before he walked away from us? I know that look. It’s the same way Tommy looked when Carter told him to stay away from me last year. I can’t believe he did that to me when he goes around sleeping with half the school. Don’t even pretend it isn’t true.”

Kate looks disgusted at the idea of her brother sleeping around. She flicks her long auburn hair over her shoulder and sighs. He’s a total dick to me, but he treats his mother and his sister like they’re the most precious people alive. He’s always polite and caring to them, while he saves his crudeness and malice for me.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she says, looking away. The mere idea of Carter sleeping around makes her uncomfortable, but she and I both know that it is true. She’s heard the same rumors that I have. She just chooses to believe that they’re merely that. Rumors.

“Ugh,” I groan. I bury my hands in my hair and seethe in silence. “I’m going to get him for this.”

Kate nods in agreement. Usually she tries to dissuade me from arguing with Carter, but today she’s on my side.

“What’re you gonna do?” she asks with a hint of excitement. I grin and wink at her, leaving her to wonder what I’m planning.