"For the love of God, stop screaming!" I groaned out loud with my eyes still shut. I stretched out my hand, trying to reach my stupid phone to shut it off, but it ended up falling on the ground with a loud thud.

"Perfect." I threw my sheets away from my body in anger and picked up my phone from the floor to see a small crack on the top left corner and the name of my best friend blinking on the screen.

"Lucy, it's Sunday!" I almost yelled at her as soon as I answered her call. I hated when someone interrupted my sleep, especially on a Sunday.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine!" she replied in a sarcastic tone, and I rolled my eyes.

"You better have a good reason for calling me," I yawned, falling back on my bed, pushing my chestnut brown hair away from my face.

"School is starting tomorrow, and we're officially seniors now. We need to go shopping, Ri."

"You mean you need to go shopping," I replied lazily, trying to get back under the covers.

"Riley Adams, you better get out of your bed. I'm going to be there in, like, fifteen minutes to drag your lazy ass to the mall." She cut the call without waiting for my reply. I loved that girl to bits, but she drove me insane sometimes.

After much struggle, I got out of my tiny bed and took a quick shower. I put on my ripped jeans and favorite Gryffindor hoodie, then threw my hair up in a bun before heading downstairs to see my dad reading a newspaper on the couch.

"Wow, you're up early. It is Sunday, right?" he asked in a doubtful tone and adjusted his specs to check the date on the paper just to be sure.

"Lucy is making me go shopping with her again," I whined, grabbing a bowl from the kitchen and a box of cereal from the shelves.

"But that's great, right? It is about time you bought some new clothes for yourself," he stated and reached for his wallet to give me some money.

"I'm not going to buy anything for myself, Dad. And what's wrong with my clothes?" I pouted, looking down at my cute hoodie.

"They're very cool, sweetheart, but if you ever feel like buying new clothes at all, I want you to ask me for money. Please don't hesitate." He smiled at me warmly, and I sighed, walking towards him with my bowl of cereal.

"I know, Dad, but I'm fine."

"Alright then. I'm going to head out to the store to pick up a few things for dinner. Lock the door before you leave, okay?" He kissed my forehead and got up to leave.

"Okay."

It was just me and my dad. My mom was not in the picture. She and my dad got divorced when I was five years old. She left him for another guy, and we were no longer in touch with her, nor did she try to stay in touch with us.

My dad was a carpenter. Even though he was paid decently, it was not enough, so I took a part-time job at the library near my school. He tried so hard to talk me out of it as he didn't like me juggling work and school at the same time, but obviously, I won in the end. I could be stubborn as hell sometimes.

For now, we were able to pay the bills, but I was worried about college. I was just an average student, so getting a scholarship was totally out of the question. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Coming," I shouted, placing the half-eaten bowl of cereal on the coffee table in front of me and rushing to get the door. I came face to face with my best and only friend in the whole wide world.

Lucy Wilson!

She was the exact opposite of me: Beautiful. Smart. Rich. Literally every guy in our school had a huge crush on her. Sometimes, I wondered why she even hung out with a loser like me. She never showed off her wealth or acted like a bitch, unlike other rich girls. That was one of the reasons I liked her so much. We had been friends since first grade.

"Shall we?" she chirped enthusiastically, dangling her car keys in front of my face as I shut the door behind me.

"Yeah, but give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!"

"Because you love me, babe." She winked, getting inside her car, and I climbed inside the front seat, buckling my seatbelt.

"I hate you, Wilson. You owe me," I mumbled, sinking into the back of the seat, and soon we were on the road.

"Stop whining, Ri. It's going to be fun."

"Fun for you. Boring for me."

"Let's get you new clothes too. Something hot and sexy. It's senior year, Ri, and you're still a virgin," she whispered the last part, making me scowl.

"Do I look like I care?" I asked with a shrug, but she paid me no mind.

"Well, I care, and as your best friend, it's my duty to make sure you get a boyfriend this year. You are so getting laid before we head off to college," she stated firmly.

Easy for her to say, she was dating Andrew Simmons on the swim team, and he was the perfect guy. They had been dating for almost a year now.

"I have more important things on my plate, Lu," I spoke quietly, and she sighed heavily beside me.

"I told you that my parents are more than willing to pay for you to go to college, babe. You can pay them back when you start making real money." She pouted, but I shook my head firmly.

"No way! I've told you a million times, I'm not okay with that. I'll just find a way to earn some extra bucks and save up for college," I explained, looking out the window.

"It's really hard to convince your stubborn ass sometimes," she muttered under her breath, but I was already lost in my thoughts.

***

"What about this one?" she asked, coming out of the dressing room in a purple skirt.

"Ew! No way." I grimaced, and she gave me a dirty look.

We had been at this for more than three hours, but finally, she ended up buying the dress that she and I picked out first.

"Who are you texting?" I asked as we walked towards McDonald's. I was starving.

"Andrew. He just got back from vacation, and I can't wait to see him." She sounded excited, and I smiled at her. They both were so cute together.

The thought of a boyfriend did excite me sometimes. I mean, I wasn't completely boring. I had been on a date or two, but obviously, it didn't end well.

I wasn't the type that guys usually went for. I was a nerdy girl who wore hoodies and baggy clothes, and honestly, I was much more comfortable this way. I wanted a guy to like me for who I was, and I didn't want to change myself just to get a boyfriend.

"Yo, Adams! Still can't afford to buy some decent clothes at the mall?" I heard a familiar yet irritating voice call out from behind me. Turning around, I saw the most annoyingly perfect face, one that I absolutely loathed.

Tristan fucking Harris!

Captain of the football team. Popular. Handsome. Annoying. Cocky. Arrogant as hell.

I hated him to the core. It all started in seventh grade when he began picking on me for no reason at all, and it just kept getting worse from there. Every popular guy needed a target to show off his coolness in front of others, and I guess I was Tristan's.

"Fuck off, Tristan. Leave her alone," Lucy spat at him, but he just laughed along with his friends as they kept walking towards us.

"Always a pleasure, Adams. Can't wait to make fun of you at school tomorrow." He smirked, and I flipped him off as he walked past me with his stupid friends.

"God, I hate that stupid jerkface," I grumbled while Lucy placed an arm around my shoulders.

"Don't mind him, babe. Just one more year."

"Yeah, let's go home. I've completely lost my appetite," I sulked, pulling her towards the exit.

"Fuck! I hate this, Ri. It's only been a week, and we're already swamped with homework and assignments," Lucy groaned in frustration. We were in the study hall, working on our math assignment, since we had a free period.

"What would you prefer to do?"

"Anything but this. Also, Andrew is annoying me to the core. He hasn't texted me since this morning." She pouted and kept checking her phone every five minutes.

"Here, let me help you." I grabbed her notes and started to teach her. Not to brag or anything, but I was pretty good at math. It was probably the only thing I was good at.

"Damn! You are good, girl," she whistled when I solved a complex problem, but I simply shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"You just need to use your brain," I teased, earning a smack on my arm from her.

"Shut up."

"You know what? You could probably do this for money," she added after a while, making me scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think anyone is as good as you at math in our grade. You could put up an advertisement on the school notice board or newspaper as a tutor," she explained. I thought about it for a while. It was actually a pretty good way to earn some money for college. I would be learning and teaching at the same time. Dad would also understand if I explained it to him.

"Do you think anyone would notice?" I asked in a doubtful tone.

"Sure, just post it anonymously with your contact info, and wait and see. No harm in trying, right?"

"You know, I think you've finally put that brain of yours to good use," I grinned widely, making her roll her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go, babe. I'm craving some ice cream." She stood up without waiting for my reply, and I copied her actions, collecting my things from the table.

***

"Psst! Why is Tristan staring at you?" Lucy hissed, making me frown. We were inside a small ice cream shop close to Woodcreek High School. We saw half of the school's population inside this popular spot, so it wasn't a big surprise that Tristan was here. He and his mates used to hang out here almost every day.

"I think it's time for us to leave," I whispered back, brushing her question aside.

"Hmm, if you look closely, he is good looking. Do you think he secretly likes you or something? Maybe that's why he annoys you."

"Ew! Gross, Lucy! Stop looking over at his table. I don't need any drama today. Plus, I need to get to the library or I'll be late for my shift," I stood up, hiding my face with my hoodie, and walked towards the counter. She immediately followed me, almost running to catch up.

"Alright, relax. I was just kidding," she sighed beside me at the counter while I paid for our orders.

She was right though. I could feel his eyes boring into my back, and I didn't understand why.

Was he planning something big?

I had no freaking idea.

We rushed out of the shop immediately, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. We said our goodbyes, and she headed home while I walked back to the school to submit my tutoring ad to the school newspaper. Around 5 pm, I left the school grounds and made my way towards the small library just twenty feet from my school.

"Hey, Judy!" I called out to the girl behind the reception desk, and she turned around to face me with a bright smile. She was around my age, with short blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She went to a different school, so I didn't know that much about her.

"Right on time, as always. Have fun, Riley." She smiled and started to collect her things to leave.

The library was mostly empty, except for a few kids doing their homework or reading a book. I got bored and started to work on my own school stuff. Halfway through an essay, I felt a huge shadow looming over my head. I lifted my gaze to see who it was, and my eyes went wide, mouth hanging open and pencil dropping from between my lips.

I was met with a pair of ocean green eyes with thick eyelashes, followed by a pair of plump lips. His chiseled jawline was sharp enough to cut through anything, and my eyes roamed freely all over his disheveled light brown hair. He was wearing a white polo shirt underneath his black jacket, which looked really hot on his arrogant shoulders. I came out of my trance immediately, feeling ashamed to be checking out my enemy.

Fuck!

Lucy was right.

Had he always looked this good?

"Are you done checking me out?" He smirked, leaning against the desk, and I caught a whiff of his strong, musky cologne. It sent tingles down my spine.

Ew! Ew! Ew!

Dear God! Please, don't do this to me.

"Could you please take a step back? I'm feeling nauseous." I coughed a bit, trying to get myself together.

"More like breathless, Adams. I tend to have that effect on people. Girls especially." He winked, making me roll my eyes at his cockiness. "I didn't know you worked here," he added, throwing a book at me, which I caught swiftly. I looked down at the title of the book and raised my eyebrow. It was a trigonometry textbook.

"I didn't know you had time to study with all your fooling around," I replied almost immediately, making him sigh heavily.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he muttered, surprising me with his non-flirtatious response, making me more confused than ever.

"You have seven days to return this book without any damage," I spoke, typing away on the computer in front of me. When I was done, I looked up to find him staring at me. He snatched the book from my hand forcefully, making me scowl.

Spoke too soon!

"Whatever." He cleared his throat and rushed outside, leaving me puzzled.

"Asshole," I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully, he didn't turn around to give me any snide comments, just kept walking towards his fancy-ass car.

My shift ended at 7 pm. After grabbing my stuff, I started walking in the direction of my house, wearing my headphones. When I got home, I noticed that my dad's car was not in the driveway, so I made dinner for myself.

After finishing my dinner, I went back to my room, turned on Netflix, and started streaming The Vow. Not even Lucy knew that I watched romance movies. I acted all tough, saying that I hated romance and all that cringe stuff, but deep down, I secretly wanted a love story of my own, as corny as that may sound.

I was a girl after all, and I wanted to experience all the cute and heartfelt things that high school girls gushed about. I thought about Lucy's words from the other day.

Get a boyfriend?

But who would even talk to a girl as boring as me?

I sighed and drifted off to sleep to the soothing sound of Channing Tatum's voice.