Chapter One

I ran my fingers through my hair and stared at the shelf in front of me.

Alright. There was no way in hell I could squeeze the big encyclopaedia that was sitting on my carry-on on that shelf.

I let out a big sigh and walked back to my counter.

I loved working at the library—well this was more a volunteer curriculum activity but whatever—and I loved being surrounded by all these books, but the no space deal, not so much.

While I mumbled angrily about that fact and walked back to the counter where you checked books out, that's when I heard a high pitch giggle and turned around to see who was coming in.

And oh, surprise surprise, it was Drake Eaton carrying with him one of his fake platinum blond and orange tanned conquests.

That was another thing I hated about this library, aside from the no space deal; the fraking seminars! Stupid rooms the size of freaking closets that student were suppose to used to study in little groups. But that was the only thing people didn't do in them! I didn't even go near them.

I didn't even want to think about how dirty they must really be.

It was simply disgusting! We were in school for crying out loud, not in a brothel!

"I'm not sure about this... Are you sure we won't get caught," the girl whispered too loudly still giggling.

"Don't worry babe," Drake answered with one of his seductive half smiles.

The girl giggled again and stuck her tongue in his mouth.

Wow, way to go girl! It's all about girl power, I thought dryly and rolled my eyes at them.

Drake Eaton was—as anyone could easily guess—the school jock. Every girl wanted him, every guy wanted to be him...blah blah blah.

All of this was way too predictable for me.

Now sitting behind the counter, I picked up the encyclopaedia and started to turn the pages not really seeing what was in front of me.

A few minutes later, the poor girl ran out of the seminar crying, her hair everywhere, her blouse half way unbuttoned.

"Aw, come on, I didn't mean," Drake said as he rushed out of the room, his shirt in his hand.

Well that was a first, a totally inappropriate first, but still a first.

I couldn't help myself from grinning at this.

Take that, asshole!

Of course, my smiling didn't go unnoticed. "What are you staring at," he asked me rudely.

"A public humiliation," I answered grinning even more.

"That's funny, I thought you were drooling over my perfect body," he replied with his cocky attitude.

Well it's not like I hadn't notice how hot his perfect muscled chest was. Pretty much everything about him was hot, starting with his perfectly tousled golden-brown hair, his grey eyes and his athletic and tall body.

But I sure as hell wasn't drooling over him!

"Oh yeah, baby, you got me. I can't stop myself from staring at you fake creatine boost up body," I mocked and rolled my eyes.

I wasn't going to lose some of my precious minutes over that arrogant fool.

"See, wasn't so hard to admit," he smirked.

"If you're too dumb to realize it by now, I was using sarcasm," I mumbled and looked down, turning the pages again.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked an almost victorious grin on his lips, probably reading my last move as a sign of uneasiness, like he was winning or something.

"No, I'm just finding this old decrepit encyclopaedia more interesting than you, sorry." I smiled, making a face. I was not sorry. Sarcasm again.

Just like that, he darted out of the library, while putting his shirt back on, obviously scowling.

Inappropriate much? That boy was acting... well like an hormonal teenager boy. If only he could be some nobody, that way they wouldn't let him do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.

Sure, other people were misusing the seminar but never as noticeably as him. It was almost marked on his forehead Wanna bang in a seminar? But no one dared to stop him because he basically ruled the school.

Asshole!

I turned the pages of the encyclopaedia for a few more minutes, and then Katy came in to take her shift.

"You won't find any room for this one," I informed her.

"They should really think about buying new shelves," she answered.

"I know... Hey, you didn't find my ring did you?"

Last week I had lost it while working here. One minute I was playing with it, spinning it on the counter and then after I had answered a question to a new student it had disappeared.

It pissed me off. I loved that ring. I had bought it on a trip to Hawaii, when my family was still happy and perfect; the way it was supposed to be. It was a real normal kind of ring, just a band of silver with a little orange stone incrusted in the middle which you barely noticed since it was so tiny.

I hated any kind of big rock in the middle kind of ring. And this one was just perfect.

But now I had lost it and my right index felt naked without it.

"No still haven't. Sorry," she simply said.

Crap!

"Okay, thanks," I simply replied and stormed out.

The second I walked outside, I saw Alexander, aka my best friend in the male department, lying on a bench, looking like he was asleep, with his arm over his eyes and his iPod's earplug in his ears.

I walked towards him and poked him in the ribs.

"Hey what the... Oh Lexi, have you finished," he asked sitting up.

"Yep," I answered popping the p and waited for him to pick up his bag.

"Alright, let's go."

We walked side by side towards the parking lot. I usually didn't drive to school with Alex but today I needed his moral support.

I was going to meet my mom at the restaurant to speak.

Well that's what she said she wanted on the phone but I wasn't going to speak with her. I didn't want to have anything to do with the woman anymore. She had abandoned our family two months ago and she didn't deserve my trust anymore.

The day she had told me she was leaving, she had said it was because she couldn't stand to be with my father anymore. He always talked about work, didn't care about her or about us, and she couldn't live with it anymore. She said she deserved a life too and she wasn't having one with my father and I would have forgiven her somehow, I knew that, but last week my father had gotten a call from a friend of his. He had seen my mom with another man.

And it really wasn't like I hadn't seen it coming. I mean ever since my mom had turned forty she had started going crazy about her age. She wanted to change everything about herself; her hair, her clothes, her friends...I should have guessed she wanted to change us too.

So today, I was having dinner with her and I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was going to show up there and look nothing like my usual self. I didn't know her anymore. She wouldn't know me either. I would dress up as sexily as I could to make her think the worse thing that she could. She'd always been adamant about nice presentation and what people thought of us. I'd make sure she'd have a heart attack seeing me at that restaurant. She would never know anything about me again. I would never let her see any of my drawings anymore, I wouldn't let tell her my crazy stories anymore and I would never share anything with her ever again.

I know it was a little harsh but she had broken my heart. She had abandoned me! And I wasn't good with forgiving.

I hopped in Alex's black Jeep in silence and waited for him to start the car.

"Alright I don't like this Lexi," Alex said, the keys still in his hands looking at me.

"What do you mean?"

"I want happy-go-lucky Lexi. The one who doesn't give a shit and sure as hell doesn't stay silent for more than one minute!"

"Well set your mind because you always complain about my rambling mister," I answered and crossed my arms over my chest.

"This isn't you, Kitty... I know she hurt you, but whatever she did, don't let her take your true self away from you," he said slowly.

I just looked at him.

I really couldn't say anything.

I mean I knew I had been moping a lot lately but I wouldn't have thought I was that bad...

"Good, now let's get you all sexy missy!" He smiled and started driving.