Truth or Dare

(A Bayfield High Romance Book 1)

By

Madeleine Labitan

Copyright

Copyright © 2018 by Madeleine Labitan

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Dedication

To Mama Mercy, who wanted to see her name mentioned in here. You’re a rock star, Ma. Love you! x

Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Sneak Peak: Perfectly Clueless

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Kiss and Make Up

One

“Are you really sure about this, Ash?" I fidget nervously from the passenger seat as my best friend looks for an empty spot in a long line of parked cars on both sides of the street. "We can still go back to your house for the sleepover."

A quiet sleepover was what we were supposed to do in the first place. Not this crazy, stupid plan. I don't even know if we can pull it off.

But that's the thing about Ashley. When she sets her mind on something, there's no holding her back. It scares me sometimes, to be honest.

Like right now as I watch her knuckles turn white against the steering wheel. "No. That asshole needs to pay."

This is all Jason Everly’s fault. I never liked the boy since he's a douche canoe of the highest order, but right now I downright hate him. He turned Ash into a revenge-obsessed ex-girlfriend. She even dragged me and Holly to be her accomplices.

As if she’s reading my thoughts, Holly leans forward from the backseat. "Don't be such a wuss, Kenzie. We've already planned this."

Let me correct that: Ash dragged me. Holly is a willing accomplice.

“Yeah. Only a couple hours ago," I point out. "I don't even remember participating in the planning."

“Hey, it was your suggestion."

“I was only kidding!" Leave it to me to stupidly crack a joke about helping Ash get even with her cheating ex while watching John Tucker Must Die.

Stupid Netflix recommendations. We should have picked The Notebook instead.

Well, to be fair, I didn't expect them to take the joke seriously. So it’s not entirely on me.

Holly narrows her eyes. "Are you suddenly feeling sorry for the douchebag?"

Ash whips her head in my direction, mirroring Holly’s expression.

“Of course not!"

I can’t believe they're doubting me. Did they forget? I cheered the loudest when Ash kicked the asshole in the balls after we caught him making out with Tara Bennett behind the bleachers in the soccer field. And again, when the incident spread throughout the school the next day, courtesy of the soccer players.

The humiliation should've been enough. But Ash isn't done yet. She wants more blood to spill. And because I just dumbly fueled that thirst, we're now on our way to spill said blood.

“Then why are you so against the plan?"

Um, probably because this can end in big trouble? This isn't just some silly prank. We're talking about destruction of property here. Because that's what Ash has in mind: crash Jason's party and trash his room while everyone's distracted.

She thought it was a brilliant idea since his bedroom is filled with state-of-the-art gadgets. Gadgets that Jason apparently loves more than anything. So by destroying them, she'll be breaking his heart. A payback for breaking hers, she said.

Cheesy, I know.

Anyway, Holly didn't even hesitate when Ash laid out the plan. She was onboard from the get-go. Convincing Ash to change her mind is one thing. The two of them banding together? I'd have better luck pacifying a toddler throwing a fit.

Don’t get me wrong. I'd love to see Jason get a visit from Lady Karma. But I don't want to be the one to deliver her to his doorstep.

We can get caught, and when that happens, there will be hell to pay. Jason's family is extremely wealthy. Their sprawling mansion by the lake is one of the biggest in our community. His parents are super influential, too. Mr. Everly is a big-shot film producer while Mrs. Everly is a well-known fashion designer. How can we go against these people if they decide to press charges?

The implication of that thought hits me square on the face.

We’re going to end up in jail. And my mom is going to kill me.

“I think I'm going to be sick," I blurt out.

Ash turns back to me, her eyes bugging out. "Please not here. I just had a carwash."

She’s worried about the possibility of me making a mess in her car when she's off to destroy someone else's property. There's irony there somewhere.

“Ignore her. She's just being dramatic," Holly tells her.

I glare at the two of them. "If we get caught, I'll tell the cops I've been blackmailed into doing this."

“No one’s arresting us, Kenzie,” Ash laughs.

Holly stares at me for a long moment. "You really have to stop watching CSI."

“It’s Criminal Minds."

“Whatever.”

“You guys are hopeless." I thump my head back against the seat in frustration.

“Seriously, Kenzie, you're being ridiculous right now. You've been pranking Sean for years. This should be child's play for you."

I scowl at the mention of that name. "Those weren't pranks, Holly. They were just retaliations for pranking me. You should know, you've been helping me carry them out. Besides, they're harmless compared to this."

She shoots a sugary smile at me. "You mean like that time he contracted diarrhea and then broke out in hives so bad that he had to be sent to the hospital?"

I feel my cheeks redden. "That was an accident. I didn't know he was allergic to laxative."

“I wonder why he kept quiet about that. He could have told everyone it was you who put laxative into his drink. He could have gotten back at you for it. But he didn't say anything at all. It was like he was protecting you or something."

I scoff. "He got his payback soon after, remember? He snuck into the girls' locker room during P.E. and put hair dye into my shampoo."

“Yeah. But that was a pretty lame payback. And the dye was washable."

“Are you kidding? I had to walk around with pink hair for two weeks."

“That’s because you refused to dye your hair back."

“Because I—”

“Girls, can we focus on the plan, please?" Ash finally interjects.

Holly clears her throat. "Right."

I cross my arms and look out the window, realizing we're already parked. Ash managed to wedge her mini cooper between a red jeep and a black BMW.

She takes off her seatbelt to face me. "Kenzie, you know I won't be able to pull this whole thing off without you, right?"

Oh, great. Now Ash is pulling the best friend card. She's even using the puppy-dog face against me—the little sneak.

She’s well aware that the look never fails to get her what she wants. With her round chocolate brown eyes and adorable curly strawberry blonde locks, she practically owns it.

I wish I can say the same for myself. But my pale blue eyes and light blonde hair—which is either as dry as the Sahara desert or as dull as a dishwater—have yet to win me any favors.

Even Holly—what with her "I just stepped out of the salon" shoulder-length chestnut brown hair—is way luckier than me.

Between the two of them, sometimes I can’t help but feel like a DUFF.

“Why can't we just deface his locker?" I say in a last-ditch effort to change their minds. "Or fill it with trash?"

I did the latter once as a payback. Disgusting, but worth it.

“Because we don't want to get detained after school," Ash says in a matter-of-fact voice. “Sean just landed you in detention last week, remember?”

“Or suspended." Holly gives me a look as she applies lip gloss. "You don't want to risk it. You're the class vice president."

Oh, look. They're more concerned about my position as a class officer than the possibility of jail time. Good to know they both have their priorities straight.

“Let’s hire someone to do it then."

Holly scoffs. "Where's the fun in that?"

“What if—"

“No,” Ash says with finality. "This is the only way. This is what I want to do. I won't settle for anything less. He owes me this. So I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you with us or not?"

I turn to Holly. But one look at her tells me she's not letting me off the hook easily, either.

Gah! "Fine. Let's get this over and done with."

Ashley and Holly exchange triumphant smiles.

This is so not going to end well.

Two

Despacito—the Justin Bieber version—is blaring through the speakers when we walk into Jason's mansion, causing Ash and Holly to exchange a smirk.

I roll my eyes and follow after them, just barely managing to avoid the bodies grinding and bumping against each other.

The party is definitely in full swing, bursting with teenagers wanting to have a good time and drink booze without getting carded. They're mostly students from Bayfield High, although Jason is known to invite kids from other schools, too. So the mansion is almost always packed to the brim whenever he throws parties.

And it's turning me into a claustrophobic.

Ash and Holly don't seem to have the same problem though. They're moving to the music as we make our way through the thick crowd.

With Holly's off-the-shoulder top that flaunts her dark caramel skin and Ash's cute pink dress, they feel right at home. I, on the other hand, didn't even bother changing out of my black hoodie and denim cutoffs. Even my hair is a messy bun on top of my head.

They wanted to fit right in. To look inconspicuous, they said. But I doubt Ash turning up in Jason's party just days after dumping him will go unnoticed. Not when Ash and Jason were considered one of the "It" couples and their breakup is still a favorite topic for gossip.

Her presence at this party is going to be the talk of the school come Monday, I bet my week's allowance on it. Heck, she's already starting to attract attention.

“We have to find Chris!" Holly shouts over the music.

Chris is Holly's best friend, and a member of our foursome. And apparently in on the plan, too. Makes me wonder if I'm the only sane one in our group.

“If we find Mark, we'll find Chris!" Ash yells back, referring to Chris's boyfriend. "Let's look around."

We continue on our way, all the while ignoring the curious stares and whispers directed at Ash and trying to avoid getting accidentally groped by sweaty roaming hands.

Ew.

I manage to bump into some of my classmates in my honors classes. But I can only smile and wave at them, knowing we won't be able to talk over the music.

I just pulled out my phone to text Chris when Ash suddenly stops walking, causing me to bump against her back. "What the—"

Holly growls low in her throat.

What has her foaming at the mouth like an animal? Looking up, I finally see it. Right across the hall is an open room where a few people are hanging out. And Jason is one of them.

He’s not alone. There’s a blonde sitting on his lap, sucking his face off. Tara.

“That bitch," I mutter.

I hate violence just as the next person. But at the moment I have no problem dragging Tara by her hair and wiping the floor with her face.

Her and Jason's.

Shooting daggers at the room at large, I grab my friends' hands and lead them away. There's no need to alert the two of them of our presence. Not yet, anyway. Not if we want to pull off our plan successfully.

“Why did I even think that he'd stop hooking up with her after I broke up with him?" Ash sniffs, clenching her fists. "God, I'm so stupid!"

“No, you're not," I tell her, my voice sharp. "You didn't even know he was cheating on you."

“That’s the point, Kenzie. How could I not know that? Tara and I are both cheerleaders. We spend a lot of time practicing together. Why have I been so clueless?"

“Shut up. He's the idiot, not you." Holly looks back over her shoulder, glaring as if Jason is still within sight. "Seriously, what did he even see in Tara? That girl is so dumb. I swear to God, one time she asked me how to spell orange. Can you believe that?"

I snicker, remembering the movie we watched in our last sleepover. "Maybe she wanted to channel Karen Smith from Mean Girls?"

“Why would she choose a dumb character?" Ashley looks genuinely confused.

“Duh. Because she's dumb," Holly and I say at the same time, causing the two of us to burst into laughter and for Ash to smile a little.

“Call Chris now,” I tell them. “Let's get this over with."

Ash and Holly exchange glances.

“What?” I ask, impatient. Seriously, we're wasting time here.

Holly smirks at me. "So you're not having second thoughts anymore?"

Oh, I still am. But when I saw Jason and Tara making out in that room, I decided right there and then that I'd help Ash get her revenge. I know for a fact that if our situation were reversed, Ash would help me in a heartbeat. It's just right that I do the same.

We just need to be stealthy about it. Since, you know, the possibility of jail time is very real.

“We have to make him pay for what he did to Ash."

Ash gives a teary smile, her lips wobbling. "Thanks, Kenzie."

I squeeze her hand and smile back.

“Oh, look, here comes Chris," Holly announces then.

Sure enough, I see Chris's tall, lean frame already approaching. To our horror and amusement, he stops in front of the room where Jason and Tara are in, then flashes his middle finger to everyone inside.

Holly, Ash and I about double in laughter as he practically sprints toward us afterwards.

"Holy crap, Coleman!" Holly shrieks.

Grinning widely, Chris motions for us to be quiet then leads us into an unoccupied room.

As my friends rush inside, I glance around to check if anyone is staring. When I move to join them, I feel a sudden sensation of being watched. Nervously, I look over my shoulder but find no one paying attention. Weird.

Shutting the door behind me, I hear Holly exclaim, "That was freaking epic! I wish I managed to snap it." Hah, she even looks bummed.

Ash goes straight to business. "Chris, what did you get for us?"

"Okay, so I made a quick trip to my house and grabbed some stuff that I thought we could find useful." Running a hand through his dark curly hair, Chris drops his backpack to the floor and slides the zipper open, revealing different cans of—

"Ohmigod, are those spray paints?" Holly exclaims, her voice suspiciously laced with glee.

Ash widens her eyes. "Where did you get those?"

"Um," I say, "we're vandalizing Jason's room too?"

That earns a "duh" look from the three of them.

Oh, well. I guess we're going all out tonight.

Chris claps his hands together to get our attention. "Okay, girls. Let's synchronize our clocks now. We have less than an hour to accomplish this mission." He takes his phone from his pocket. "Time check: eight fifteen."

I hold back a laugh as Ash and Holly pull out their own phones to do just that. God, they're really serious about this.

"Mark just texted me. He's already with Jason and their teammates," Chris tells us then, glancing up from his phone. "He'll keep an eye on them while we're up in Jason's room."

Chris plays soccer while his boyfriend Mark Johnson is a member of the swim team. Mark is not friends with Jason though. He doesn't even like the ass. Which is probably why he has no problem acting as a lookout.

Ash gives Chris a watery smile. "Tell him I said thanks. I owe him one. And all of you, guys. You helping me do this means a lot to me."

"Aw, babe." Chris walks over to envelop her in his muscled arms. "That's what friends are for. We're all in this together." He winks at me and Holly over Ash's head.

Holly and I both nod.

Stepping out of Chris's embrace, Ash addresses us all with grim determination. "Okay, everyone ready?"

Three

“Uh-oh.”

“Shit.”

“What do we do?"

That doesn't sound good.

Closing the door, I turn around to see what has my friends in a sudden panic. My confusion turns into annoyance when I realize what's up.

Sean Freaking Murphy, that's what.

I fold my arms over my chest as the captain of Bayfield High soccer team—and the bane of my eighteen year old existence—walks leisurely toward our direction like he has all the time in the world.

"What the heck is he doing here?" I mutter, scowling.

"Well, this is a party," Ash whispers beside me.

When Sean stops to talk to some girl, I breathe a sigh of relief. "This is our chance to bolt. Let's go."

"No." Holly grabs my arm to stop me from moving. "He can easily catch up to us. We need to get rid of him first."

"Good idea. Kenzie, go distract him." Chris pushes me forward.

"What? Why me?" I keep my feet firmly planted on the spot, resisting his shove.

But then Holly starts pushing me too. "We all know he has the hots for you."

"What?"

"They're right. You have to stay behind," Ash decides. When I look at her incredulously, she gives me that pleading look I'm starting to hate. "This is the only way we can pull it off without getting busted, Kenzie. If you distract him long enough, Holly, Chris and I will be able to carry on with the plan without any hitch."

Wait. They're leaving me here with him?

"Shit," Chris curses. "Here he comes. We need to go now." He drops his voice to a whisper. "Don't worry. I won't let Ash and Holly destroy the expensive stuff up there." In a louder voice, he adds, "Good luck, Kenzie."

Before I can react, the three of them are already scurrying away. Traitors!

I scowl as I watch my so-called friends disappear around the corner. So much for being all in it together.

"Did I just see your friends making an escape?"

Expelling a breath, I force myself to face the absolute pain in my butt since middle school. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"So it's going to be like that, huh?" He has one shoulder leaning against the wall, smirking, looking as if he owns the place.

Such a cocky jerk.

A gorgeous cocky jerk, I grudgingly admit. He has rich brown hair that falls in a sweep over his forehead and pale green eyes that always seem to have a spark of mischief. Top that with six feet three of broad, athletic build, and you got girls falling over themselves on a daily basis just to get his attention.

Vomit-inducing, that. Especially when he takes the time to gloat in front of me. As if I care.

"Look your fill, Brown. I don't mind," he drawls, making me realize that I was, in fact, looking him over.

Once upon a time I may have done that and with stars in my eyes. But that was a long time ago—already forgotten even—back when he wasn’t making a habit of pissing me off.

"Why don't you just get lost, Sean?" I glare up at him.

I hate that I always have to do that—look up at him, that is. I'm nowhere near short in my five-eight frame, but his towering height makes me feel small sometimes.

"And leave you alone? Where's the fun in that?"

"I can't deal with you right now. Go make out with Erin or something," I shoo at him, referring to his girlfriend. "She's probably already waiting for you to get back to her."

He tilts his head to the side, as if to study me. "Easy. Or I'd think you're being jealous."

Me, jealous? Is this boy delusional or what? "You wish!"

Sean just hums under his breath.

I shake my head. A delusional will believe what he wants to believe. "You know what, I have no time for this."

I just stalked past him, wondering if I could still catch up to my friends, when he suddenly says, "Let me guess. You're off to help Ashley get back at Everly—"

That has me whirling and crossing the distance between us in the next second. My hand goes to cover his mouth to silence him.

I knew it. My gut feeling was right. Someone was watching us get into that room. It was just my luck that it happened to be Sean, of all people!

Glancing around warily, I hiss at him, "Shut up!"

He stiffens.

A few seconds later, I do the same, realizing why.

It turns out my hand isn't the only one making contact. I'm completely leaning against him, our bodies pressed together.

Slowly, I glance up and our gazes meet. Sean's eyes are dark and heavy-lidded, looking at me in a way he never did before, causing me to suck in a breath.

What is happening? My pulse starts to race as I'm kept frozen on the spot, my eyes locked with his, unable to move.

Until something wet touches my palm, breaking the moment.

My eyes widen. Did he just—

"Did you lick my hand?!" I push away from him, disgusted.

He grins. "I did."

Ew, ew, ew.

"Can you be any more gross?" I wipe my hand on his shirt.

"Hey—"

"It's your germs!" I glance around, searching for the nearest bathroom.

I can't believe he licked my hand. Seriously, who does that?

The idiot looks completely entertained by my distress. "So what's the plan? Burn the house down?"

"And get charged with arson? Get real," I huff.

He just shrugs. "Can't blame Ashley if that's what she wants. Everly's an idiot."

At least that's something we can agree on.

"Yeah, he is." I sigh, no longer in the mood to verbally spar with him. "Listen, Sean, I know we don't like each other." What an understatement. "But can we have a truce? Just for tonight?"

"Truce?" He looks skeptical. "What do you propose?"

"Nothing. I just need you to keep your mouth shut and give me a break for once."

A low chuckle escapes him. "Sorry to break it to you, babe, but that's not how a truce works."

Babe. I ignore the sudden onslaught of sensation in my stomach at the word. It doesn't mean anything. Just a casual endearment. He probably calls every girl that. Especially Erin.

That pisses me off for some reason. "I'm not your babe!"

His eyes widen a little, startled by my outburst.

I clear my throat. "Just... please, don't tell Jason anything. It's not like we're going to make major damage to the whole place, anyway." Just his room. "Think of it as one of those pranks you love to pull on me. It’s just as harmless." Lie. "We only want to help Ash get a little even with him so she can finally move on."

"We? Didn't your friends already leave to stir up trouble?"

"This is me helping them."

"By just standing there?"

I roll my eyes. "I was supposed to distract you so you wouldn't find out what we were up to."

"Ah," Sean nods, understanding dawning on him. Then smirks, "So how is that working for you?"

"It's going well, can't you see?" I snap back.

"You know, for someone who asked for a truce, you sure are acting hostile."

I glower. "It wouldn't be the case, if you weren't pissing me off every minute."

He lets out a heavy sigh, as if "not pissing me off" is asking too much of him. "Fine. Truce." He extends his hand, surprising me.

I glance up from his handshake offer to his face, suddenly hesitating.

Was asking for a truce the right thing to do? Can I even trust Sean? This is the same boy who made a habit of telling on me to teachers. Like when he caught me eating chips during class. Or that time in seventh grade when he saw me and Ash passing notes.

It was how everyone found out about my crush on our classmate, Justin Gilbert. That had been so embarrassing. I remember trying to avoid Justin for weeks.

"What, did you change your mind?"

Oh, what the hell. It's not like I have another choice.

"Truce." I take his hand and shake it, ignoring the tiny prickles running up and down my arm at the contact.

I just hope I won't regret this.

Four

“Hey, man. I've been looking for you. We're about to play pool."

Startled, I drop Sean's hand like it's on fire.

He, on the other hand, looks unhappy at the interruption, glaring at the newcomer standing behind me.

Curious, I turn around and realize it's Sean's best friend, Adam.

"Hi, Adam!" I quickly paste on a bright smile.

Confession time: I've been crushing on Adam since sophomore year. It's hard not to when he looks like a teenage version of Clark Kent, what with his dark rimmed glasses and cleft chin. Only he has blonde hair and baby blue eyes.

Okay, not really Clark Kent two point zero. I just love to compare him to the fictional superhero. So, sue me.

And those dimples—gah! He can flash me that dimpled smile all day every day and I won't complain one bit. It's simply hard to resist.

Just ask the Adam's Dimples Are Life support group, which holds a monthly meeting in one of the empty classrooms in school to discuss about, well, Adam and his dimples.

Yes, it's a real thing.

Don't ask me why I know.

But it's not just his looks though. Like Sean, Adam is right there at the top of the social hierarchy in Bayfield High, but he's honestly one of the nicest people I know. He's friendly with just about everyone and never let his popularity get to him. That's why he's won class president every year. People just can't help but like him.

Except maybe Madison Cooper. She's the girl he's been dating until recently. I heard he dumped her for cheating on him with Derek Matthis. A complete shocker, I know. That football jock has got nothing on Adam.

"Oh hey, Kenzie." Adam looks surprised to see me with Sean, but he gives me a warm, accommodating smile nonetheless.

When he runs a hand through his hair, I almost swoon right there and then.

Sean lets out a loud snort of disgust. He's even scowling.

"What's your problem?" We just had a truce, hadn’t we?

"What are you two fighting about now?" Adam asks, his voice tinged with amusement.

"Nothing," I say quickly, putting the smile back on my face. Then when Adam takes his phone out and checks the screen, I glare at Sean to be quiet.

He only rolls his eyes. The jerk better stick to the deal.

I glare at him again for good measure.

Adam glances up from his phone, oblivious to our exchange. "Why don't you join us, Kenzie?"

"Join you where?"

"To play pool."

"Um," I pull my bottom lip into my mouth.

Should I go with them? Oh, why am I even hesitating? The truce may already be in place, but it’s still my job to keep an eye on Sean. So as much as I hate to be stuck in his company, where he goes, I go too.

At least until my friends are done wreaking havoc on Jason’s room. Shouldn’t take long, right?

"Okay, sure," I finally decide. "I should warn you though, I don't know how to play."

Adam flashes that dimpled grin I love to look at. "Don't worry. I'll teach you."

I smile like an idiot. "I'd love that."

"No, I'll be the one to teach her." Of course Sean has to go and ruin the moment. Again. 

I shoot him another glare. "No thanks, Adam already offered. He'll probably do better, anyway."

"No, he won't," Sean smirks. "I always beat his ass at pool. Isn't that right, Adam?" He mocks, mimicking my voice.

"Screw you." But Adam is chuckling. "Sorry to say he's right, Kenzie. For some reason, this asshole always gets lucky when we play."

Sean snorts. "Luck has nothing to do with it, and you damn well know it. I'm just better at it than you, that's all."

"Not with a distraction, you're not." Adam slides his gaze toward me, then smiles broadly at Sean.

Sean flips Adam off. Then something incredible happens. A faint blush creeps onto his cheeks.

I blink furiously to make sure my eyes are not playing tricks on me.

Sean Murphy never blushes.

Ever.

He's way too arrogant for that. The boy's sense of shame is practically non-existent.

So, naturally, my curiosity is piqued. "What kind of distraction are we talking about here?"

Hmmm. Maybe I can use it as an ammunition against Sean in the future. Any kind of weakness can be exploited, after all. And it's not like the jerk himself hasn't played dirty before.

Back in eighth grade, he had sneakily flicked red paint on my pants in art class when I refused to be his partner for a homework assignment. Mrs. Larsen, the teacher, believed I had my period and sent me to the clinic as a result. As if that wasn't humiliating enough, the whole class started calling me "Bloody Kenzie." Needless to say, the weeks that followed had been a complete torture.

"You'll have to ask Sean, Kenzie," Adam tells me.

I give Sean a sideway glance, but there's no mistaking the pissed-off look on his face. Yeah, no. I won't be getting anything from him.

"There's a pool game waiting for us, right?" he snaps before walking away.

"Geez, what's up his butt?" I ask Adam as we trail after him. Wasn't he in a good mood just ten minutes ago?

"I think I have an idea," Adam chuckles. "But he'll kick my ass if I tell you."

"I'm sure you can take him on."

They almost have the same height and built, after all. Although Adam doesn't play any sports in school—since he'd rather devote his time being the class president—he goes running and swimming regularly. He even plays basketball sometimes.

I may or may not be guilty of stalking his Facebook and Instagram accounts to know all these things.

"I'd rather keep the peace," he grins.

Sigh. So perfect.

"Are you two coming or what?" Sean is glowering, already a couple feet ahead of us.

Apparently, Adam and I have stopped walking.

"Is your butt on fire or what?" I snap back.

"Whatever." He rolls his eyes, then rounds a corner and disappears from view.

"Go easy on the guy, Kenzie."

Uh, what? "You want me to be nice to someone who's anything but?"

Adam knows how much of a bully Sean is when it comes to me. That pissing me off is his best friend's favorite hobby. And now he wants me to go easy on the jerk?

Yeah, right. Not gonna happen.

"That's just his way of getting your—"

"What's that?"

He simply shakes his head. "Nothing."

I shrug and follow him into a large room where a few soccer and basketball players are crowding around the pool table.

Looks like they already started without Sean and Adam. I raise a brow when I see the stack of dollar bills sitting on the table. They're playing for money. Surprise, surprise.

After exchanging "hi's" and "hello's" with some of the guys, I sit in the couch beside Brandt Thomas—Sean's other best friend and soccer teammate—who lazily watches the game in front of us. It's pretty obvious he's bored.

"Not a fan of pool?" I nudge at him.

Brandt scowls. "We were playing Overwatch when these suckers decided they wanted to beat each other's asses here." Then he pauses and gives me a hopeful expression. "Do you think you can—"

"No," I cut him off, laughing. "I don't play video games."

"It's worth a try." He shrugs and pulls out his phone from his pants pocket, effectively ending our conversation.

Starting to feel bored myself, I try to focus on the game. Adam is now playing against a boy I recognize from the basketball team. Good thing he's not playing with Sean. He won't win then. Unless Sean was just being his usual cocky self when he said that he always beats Adam at pool.

Speak of the devil... My eyes flit to the doorway and find him standing there. His attention isn't focused on the game like I expected. It's directed at some redhead.

No, not just some redhead.

Erin Taylor.

Sean says something to her then, making her throw her head back and laugh flirtily, her hand caressing his arm.

An involuntary snort escapes me before I can even stop myself.

Erin must have super hearing because she whips her head in my direction. She gives me a dirty look then sidles closer to Sean.

What was that about? Did she think I'll snatch him from her? Please. He's all hers.

"You don't like her." It's a statement coming from Brandt. I almost forgot he's sitting right next to me.

"Who?" I pretend not to know who he's talking about.

"Erin."

"What's there to like?"

Didn't he see the look Erin sent me? And the fact that she is the exact opposite of a likable person? You see, Erin’s the head bitch—I mean head cheerleader and a total snob. She only tends to be nice to a select crowd of Bayfield High, a.k.a. the popular crowd. If you're not a part of her social circle, she won't bother giving you the time of the day.

"Good point." He pauses. "So, how's Holly?"

Holly and Brandt used to go out. Nothing serious though. It only lasted a few weeks because neither wanted to be more than that. At least that's what Holly told me. She's not really a "relationship" kind of girl. Chris always teases her of going through boys as often as she changes underwear. To which she only rolls her eyes, arguing she's too young to be tied down by commitment. Which is crazy. It's not like she's being pressured to get married or anything. Hello! We're still in high school.

"Is she seeing someone right now?"

Is he still interested in her? I study Brandt from the corner of my eye. He's kind of cute, with his reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes. Although he's not as good-looking or popular as Sean or Adam, Brandt has a certain appeal to him that draws in a lot of girls.

"Not that I know of," I tell him, observing if he's going to give himself away.

But then he just nods and resumes messing with his phone.

I guess he's not that interested.

"Brandt, man, you coming?" Adam, who's apparently done playing pool, is walking toward us. Judging from the high-fives going on behind him, it seems he lost.

That was fast.

Glancing past the pool game, my eyes find Sean and Erin once again. They haven't even moved from the door and look to be still wrapped up in each other.

"Shocker," I snort under my breath.

"You too, Kenzie."

I tear my eyes away from them and look up at Adam. "Where?"

"To the lake. There's a bonfire going on there."

Brandt stood from the couch. "Finally. I'm bored out of my damn mind." He lifts a brow when he notices I'm still seated. "Well?"

I glance over to Sean and Erin, both of them looking our way like they're waiting for something. Or someone. Us.

No.

I have to deal with the two of them at the same time?

Ugh.

Five

Sure enough, there's a bonfire going on by the lake and a small crowd is gathered around it. Some are sitting on blankets and camping chairs, while others made themselves comfortable on tree stumps and long logs. They even brought red cups and chips from the party.

We're far enough from the house that the thumping music can be barely heard. But it's not entirely quiet. Nick Wilson is strumming on his guitar as Bianca Hayes, Adam's twin sister, croons about heartbreak and unrequited love with her flawless voice.

Smiling at familiar faces, I settle on the empty space on the log next to Adam. While Sean, Erin and Brandt opt to sit on the other side of the bonfire.

A couple is making out on my left—gross—so I scoot a little closer to Adam. When I look up, I meet Sean's scowling face over the flames.

Whatever.

Ignoring him, I check my phone, in case my friends are trying to reach out.

No messages.

I glance back at the house. Are they still in Jason's room? What's taking them so long? God, I hope they haven't been caught.

The sudden edge on Bianca's voice pulls me back from my anxious thoughts and I catch her glaring daggers at the couple next to me.

Huh.

Curious, I try to make out their features. I don't recognize the girl, but my brows shoot up when I see that the guy is none other than Bayfield High resident "bad boy," Dylan McCafferty. He's known to hook up with girls left and right. Sometimes even three at a time, if the rumors are to be believed.

My gaze flicks back to Bianca. It looks like she's about to be sick as she continues to stare at them.

Whoa.

Is there something going on between her and Dylan? Her best friend Dylan?

"This blows. Let's play Never Have I Ever," I hear someone whine, tearing my attention away from the intriguing drama.

"Boring," a female voice chimes in. "How about Seven Minutes in Heaven? I'll start."

"What is this, middle school?"

"Fuck you, Sloan!"

"Love to, babe. Just tell me where and when." 

"Ew, no thanks."

"So what's it going to be, guys?" another voice interjects. "Seven Minutes? I've never? Make up your damn minds."

"What? We're not entertaining enough for you, suckers?" Nick puts his guitar down.

"How can we be entertained when Bianca keeps on singing pathetic heartbreak songs?" Erin sneers at Bianca then glances maliciously at Dylan.

She totally knows.

Bianca narrows her eyes at Erin.

"How about Truth or Dare?" I blurt out to break the tension.

Erin rolls her eyes. "Can you get any lamer?"

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Bianca snaps at her before I can even react.

"Catfight!"

"Knock it off," Adam booms in an authoritative voice, causing everyone to shut up. He rarely uses that kind of voice, so when he does, everybody listens. He gives me a sideway glance. "Truth or Dare it is."

"Have any dirty truths to share, Brown?" Sean drawls, smirking.

My eyes widen. I knew it. I can't trust him not to break our truce.

I lift my chin up, silently challenging him to tattle on me and my friends right there and then. "I know I don't have any. Can you say the same for yourself?"

To my puzzlement, Brandt coughs on his hand at the same time Adam lets out a belly laugh.

Sean glares at his best friends. Looking pissed, he turns back to me. "Fine. Since it's your idea, how about you start the game? So, Truth or Dare?"

When his eyes flick maliciously to Adam, I finally understand what he meant by "dirty truth." He wasn’t talking about my friends. He was talking about my crush on his best friend. He knows!

Is he planning to out me on the spot?

Not if I can help it.

I gave him a smug look. "Dare."

A wicked smile slowly curves his mouth and I know right then I made a mistake. I just played into his hand, damn him.

"I dare you to dive into the lake." He pauses dramatically. "In your bra and underwear."

Jerk.

I don't know what came over me. But I hear myself gritting out, "Fine. But I dare you to come with me and do the same."

"Like hell he is!" Erin snarls.

But I can barely hear her over the collective cheers and jeers of the group and the loud beat of my heart slamming against my chest.

Crap. Did I just really dare Sean to join me?

I'm about to take it back when he abruptly stands and tilts his head toward the lake with a smirk. "After you."

Erin stomps a foot on the ground. "You're seriously doing this, Sean?"

I wince and quickly make my way to the lake, not waiting to hear his response, knowing that I just put a target on my back. There's no way Erin will let me get away with what I did. It doesn't matter that it was just a game. Or that I was pissed and not thinking clearly when I dared Sean back. In Erin's mind, I did it to hook up with him. She's going to demand payback. I just know it.

"Good job, Kenzie," I mutter under my breath.

Ugh. Whatever. That’s a problem for another day.

Sighing, I stop at the edge of the lake, staring at the peaceful surface of the water. No doubt it's going to be cold as hell when I get into it.

Why did I even agree to do this? Oh, right. It's better than admitting my "dirty truth" in front of Adam and our classmates.

"Having second thoughts?" Sean whispers in my ear all of a sudden, his hot breath causing goosebumps along my skin, making me jump forward.

I yell out a loud curse as near-freezing water touches my feet.

This is so a bad idea.

Sean's amused chuckle sounds behind me.

I grit my teeth, not bothering to look over my shoulder. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

The moon and the stars cast just enough light that I'm not worried that Sean will get an eyeful. He can probably only see my profile.

Thankfully, he doesn’t stare as I strip my clothes from my body, leaving my bra and underwear on as per his stupid dare. But I still shoot him wary looks, only glancing away when he starts taking off his shirt.

"You can go skinny dipping if you want. I won't stop you."

"You'd want that." I roll my eyes. "Perv."

"Just looking out for your health, Brown. Don't want you to catch a cold or anything."

"Like I said. Perv." Wrapping my arms around my middle, I wade through the water which, like I suspected, is way damn cold.

Really, really a bad idea.

I stop when the water reaches my hips, my feet refusing to move an inch. Gah, I can't even feel my toes.

A splash sounds behind me, followed by a loud yelp. "Shit! It's so fucking cold!"

"I h-h-hate you," I grit out through chattering teeth when Sean finally joins me.

"I-I-It's your fault. You picked dare."

"You could've dared me to do other things."

He scoffs. "Like w-what? Kiss Adam? You'd want that."

"Shut up!"

He doesn't respond, and save for our chattering teeth, we remain quiet for a long time.

At least, we try to. Our teeth simply keep on chattering. It can’t be helped when the water is practically zero degrees cold.

The almost-silence is finally broken when my loud shriek pierces the air. I just felt something touch my leg! "That's it. I'm out of here!"

Without waiting for Sean to protest, I quickly wade back to shore.

Only to stare in confusion when I get there.

Shivering in the cold, I glance around. Where the hell are my clothes?

Then it hit me.

Fuming, I yell at the top of my lungs. "Sean!"

"What?" He's right behind me.

I whirl around. "You know what! Where did you hide them?"

"Hide what?" He shakes his head like a dog, droplets of water flying from his hair.

I squeal when they hit me. "Stop messing around!"

"I'm not! I don't even know what you're talking about."

"My clothes, Sean! Where did you put them?"

"Why the hell would I hide them?” He pauses, then turns around. “I can't even find mine!"

"You're lying!" No way his clothes are missing too. The jerk is just pranking me as usual. He has to be.

"Look around, dammit. Can you see my clothes anywhere?" 

Panic starts to swell inside me. "No, this can't be happening. I can't go back to the party in my underwear! I'm not going to live it down!"

"Well, shit."

"What? What!"

"Look at the tree."

"What tree?" Then I see it. A large tree few yards away. My eyes land on the branches. "What the... Are those...?"

"Yep."

"But how did they get up there?" We're both staring dumbly at our clothes hanging haphazardly from the branches of the tree. "It was them, wasn't it?"

What, they were not satisfied with the dare so they had to prank us, too?

Funny. Not.

"Hell if I know." Cursing under his breath, Sean kicks a stray stone then approaches the tree. He's going to climb it.

"Be careful," I can't help calling out.

He grins at me over his shoulder. "I always am, babe."

Babe. Ugh. Why does he keep calling me that?

"I'm not your babe!"

Sean only chuckles as he makes his way up the tree to retrieve our clothes.

I shudder as the cold night air suddenly assaults my exposed skin, the water dripping down my legs only making it worse. I suppose I should be thankful that I managed to keep my upper body dry. But it’s not any help. I’m still shivering from the cold.

Glancing around, hoping nobody is venturing anywhere near us, I hiss, "Hurry!" Then as if on cue, something hits my face.

Sputtering, I shove it off, only to realize that it's my hoodie. The shorts just landed on my feet. "Gee, thanks." I roll my eyes and pick my clothes up.

Looking down at myself, I grimace. I can't put my clothes on over soaked underwear. Which means I have to take it off.

Ugh. I really shouldn't have taken this stupid dare.

When Sean jumps down from the tree, I walk to the tall bushes to change. I just finished putting on my hoodie when I hear a rustle from behind me.

I freeze. What’s that?

Crickets.

I take a deep breath. “Relax, Kenzie. It’s nothing. You're just imagining things.”

But then the rustling starts again. This time, it's accompanied by a hissing sound. Dread overtakes me in an instant.

"Snake!" I yelp in full-on panic, running out of the bushes as fast as my legs can take me.

I'm already a few feet away when a howl of laughter rings in the air.

I scowl. Is it coming from the bushes?

"That was epic!" Sean stumbles out, doubling over in laughter.

"That was you? Ugh! I should've known!" Asshole.

"You should've seen yourself." Said asshole is still laughing at my expense.

"I thought you were a snake!" I snap, pissed that I just unwittingly made a fool of myself in front of Sean.

He only laughs harder.

Glaring at Sean one more time, I make my way back to the bushes and quickly change out of my underwear. I put on my jean shorts, all the while mumbling curses at the idiot.

Still fuming, I step out of the bushes and stalk away, leaving the obnoxious ass behind.

I’m done babysitting him.

Six

It turned out the Truth or Dare game started and ended with my dare. When I went back to the bonfire after leaving Sean at the lake, there were only a few guys left. Stoners, from the looks of them.

Apparently, a full-on fight broke between Bianca and Erin. Adam, Brandt and Dylan had to jump in to keep them from tearing into each other. The boys then decided that the game was over and took the girls back to the party. The others just followed.

Sean managed to catch up to me at the bonfire and asked the stoners who put our clothes up in the tree. They laughingly admitted to doing it. They thought it was hilarious.

Sean and I didn't share the humor.

My annoyance has died down by the time I got back to the party. Well, somewhat. Sean was on my heels but I ignored him. Like I said, I’m done babysitting.

So, now I’m wandering along the halls and looking for my friends. They're supposed to be finished by now. Where the hell are they?

Blowing out a breath, I take my phone out to send a text to Chris. He's the one likely to respond fast as Ash and Holly are too far gone on the revenge mission to pay attention to anything else.

But before I can finish typing a message, loud hoots and laughter coming from the living room get my attention. Why does my gut feeling tell me that's exactly where I can find them?

A moment later and I’m proven right.

Ash and Holly are right in the middle of the room, dancing to Little Mix's Shout Out to My Ex on top of a table with a boy from the hockey team. And the hoots and laughter I heard are coming from the surrounding crowd cheering them on.

Way to be unnoticeable, girls.

Shaking my head, I watch as they laugh and move clumsily to the music, just barely managing to keep their balance.

Oh look, they're drunk, too.

Great.

I glance around. Where is Chris?

"Kenzie!"

Oh, there he is. He's sitting in a corner couch with Mark.

Giving the girls one last worried look, I walk over to sit beside Chris.

Mark smiles at me. "Hey, Kenzie."

I grin back. "Hey."

"So, I've heard some things," Chris starts, smirking.

"Later," I wave a hand dismissively, then launch the questions I've been dying to ask. "So how did it go? How bad was the damage? Didn't you get caught?" I glance back to where Ash and Holly are. "Maybe we should make a break for it now."

Chris just laughs. "Take a breath, Kenzie." He hands me a red cup. "Here, have a drink."

I roll my eyes, but take it from him, sipping quickly before putting it back on the table. "Now answer me."

"You really need to relax."

"Chris."

He gives me an exasperated look then lowers his voice. "It's done, okay? The damage wasn't that bad. I told you I wouldn't let them go far. And, no, we didn't get caught. I doubt Jason's got any clue. Not yet, anyway. Last I saw him, he was dry-humping Tara in a corner."

I wrinkle my nose. "Ew."

"I know," he shudders. "I needed a brain bleach after seeing that. I'm just glad Ash got distracted."

Yeah, we don't need Ashley seeing red and deciding she wants to inflict damage on the whole house. Jason's room is already more than enough.

"Anyway, back to what I was saying. I've heard things."

"What things?"

"That you went skinny-dipping with Sean in the lake." He points his cup at me. "I have to give it you, Kenz. That's commitment right there."

"What?” I practically shout. “I did no such thing. Who told you that?"

"Oh. It wasn't true?" Chris looks a little disappointed. "Guess it makes sense. Your hair isn't even wet."

"Well, I did take a dip in the lake with Sean." Then I quickly add on, "But we weren't naked. We were wearing underwear the whole time. My hair remained dry because I just got soaked from the waist down. The water was too freaking cold." I shiver at the memory of the frigid lake water lapping against my skin.

He quirks up a brow. "And how did you go from distracting him to getting into the lake with him?"

I blow out a breath and lean back against the couch. "Long story."

"Hmmm."

I roll my eyes. "It was just a stupid dare, okay? There was a bonfire by the lake and we went there with Adam and Brandt. We ended up playing Truth or Dare and Sean dared me to get into the lake. I dared him back to join me."

"I see. While we were busy carrying out the plan, you were having a great time."

"It was your idea to ditch me!"

Chris only chuckles. "So, you and Sean, huh?"

I don't like his tone. He's making it sound like there's something going on with me and the jerk. "There's no me and Sean, Chris. Like I said, it was just a dare. Besides, Erin was also there."

"Wait," he frowns. "She witnessed the whole thing and didn't make any fuss when you went in to the lake together? That's not like the Erin I know."

"Oh, she did make a fuss." I grimace, remembering the look on her face. I know I'll have to deal with her soon.

"And Sean didn't listen to her."

"Nope."

"You're a dead woman."

"Yep."

He pats my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll help with the funeral arrangements."

"Ha ha." I wish I can confidently say there won't be any retaliation, but a girl can only dream.

Our conversation is interrupted when, all of a sudden, a high-pitch squeal pierces through the air.

Startled, I look to the direction of the sound. Then my eyes widen when the scene across the room registers.

"Oh my God," I gasp.

"Holy shit!" I hear Mark exclaim. "Is that—"

"Ash?" Chris finishes for his boyfriend. "Yeah, babe."

My drunk best friend is now crowd-surfing right there on the dance floor.

Table dancing? And now crowd surfing? The Ash I know would never ever get caught doing these things. She's all about projecting a pristine image at school. But then again, the Ash I know would also never think of trashing someone else's room.

Damn Jason. He did this to her.

"Did you guys see that? So cool, right?" Holly bounds up to us out of nowhere, sounding excited, her face flushed.

Yep. Definitely drunk.

I'm surprised she's not up there with Ash. Well, not yet, anyway.

I look to Chris, but he just shrugs, as if to say, “what can we do?”

I sigh.

Holly doesn't stay long. After yelling “Best party ever!” in our faces, she runs back to Ash, who’s safely back on the floor now. The two of them shriek at each other, then proceed to dance their hearts out once again.

“They’re going to have one bitch of a hangover tomorrow,” Mark muses, chuckling.

“Uh-huh.” I turn to Chris. “Whose idea was it to give them drinks?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t look at me. It was all Ash. When we came back from Jason’s room, she made a beeline to the makeshift bar. And, well, you know Holly.”

Yeah, I do know Holly. She lives for the hard stuff. There’s no stopping her once she sets her eyes on one. For one who loves to drink though, Holly is a lightweight. And Ash as well, for that matter, seeing that she rarely touches booze.

“Should we stage intervention?” I ask worriedly.

“Nah, I don’t think so." He pauses. "Maybe later."

“Aren’t we supposed to be low-key? Ash, Holly and I just crashed this party, remember?”

“Meh, I don’t think Jason cares. He already saw Ash a while back.”

“Really?” My eyes widen. “What did he say?”

“He tried to talk to her when he saw her dancing with a couple guys. She just brushed him off.”

I let out a snort. "Before or after he dry-humped Tara?"

"After," Chris chuckles. "It was pretty funny. Tara was behind Jason the whole time, scowling and stomping her feet to get his attention. But he just ignored her and tried to get Ash to talk to him.”

"Damn. I should have seen that."

If there is something I don’t want to see though, it’s his reaction once he finds out what happened to his room. I’d rather be out of the party by then. But one glance at the dancefloor tells me that’s not going to happen any time soon.

“Do you think…” The question dies on my lips when I notice that Chris’s attention is now focused on Mark. Their heads are bent close together, whispering to each other.

That’s a couple moment right there and I don’t have the heart to interrupt it.

Sighing, I glance at my watch. It’s only nine past thirty. Only over an hour since we got here, but it feels like hours have already passed.

The night is still young. I wonder what more shenanigans my friends will get into before the party's over. And me, for that matter.

Seven

Feeling the need to pee, I left my friends to find a bathroom. Not that Chris or Mark noticed. They were too wrapped up in each other to see me go.

I spy one across the hall but the long line outside tells me I won't be able to get in any time soon. You'd think they're selling hotdogs there.

So I head upstairs to continue with my search.  A couple turns and I manage to find one, but when I try to open it, the doorknob won't turn.

Just my luck that it's already occupied.

Blowing out a breath, I continue wandering down the halls. I need to find an empty one. Soon. Or I'm going to have to relieve my bladder right in the hall.

I'm not even kidding.

I'm close to giving up when I absently glance at an open room and notice that it has an en suite bathroom. And it's unoccupied.

"Thank God." I quickly step into the room and head to the en suite, doing my business fast.

I just flushed the toilet and already zipping my shorts up when the door suddenly flies open and someone walks in.

"Hey!" I yelp, tugging the zipper up fast.

"What the—" The person looks up in surprise.

I scowl. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Well, what are the odds?" Sean smirks, moving to close the door.

"Hold it," I stop him. "I'm heading out. It's all yours."

I've had enough of Sean Murphy for the night. Another moment with him and I'll lose my mind.

But before I can head out, a female voice suddenly pipes up. "Are you sure nobody saw us?"

Crap. Someone just entered the room.

"Positive."

Make that two someones.

Not a minute later and we're hearing kissing noises outside the bathroom.

I close my eyes. Seriously? Of all the empty rooms to use for hookup?

"No way," Sean snickers.

Motioning for him to be quiet, I peek through the small gap in the door. Sure enough, there's a couple making out in the room.

Hey, is that Derek Matthis with Madison Cooper?

Anger flares inside me. How dare she flaunt her affair with him when Adam is in the same house!

No.

Wait.

Madison has ash blonde hair. This one's a redhead.

The girl turns her head just then and I let out a gasp.

"Erin," I whisper.

I feel Sean stiffen behind me, no doubt witnessing the display himself.

When the two start to take each other's clothes, I take a step back, almost bumping into him, and carefully close the door.

"Looks like we'll be staying here a while," I mumble, putting the toilet seat cover down and sitting on it.

Sean doesn't respond, only clenching his jaw, his eyes trained on the floor with his back against the wall.

God, this is awkward.

"So it wasn't Madison."

"It appears so," he chuckles darkly.

"I'm sorry."

Sean and I never get along. We're practically enemies. But seeing his girlfriend cheat on him just outside this bathroom makes me want to comfort him right then. He doesn't deserve what she's doing. He may be a cocky jerk. But as far as I know, he's always been loyal to Erin.

"It's okay. We're already broken up."

I look at him in surprise. "When?"

"A few weeks ago. I caught her sexting someone. I just didn't know it was Matthis."

"So you dumped her."

He nods.

"But why is she still acting like you're still together?" Erin has been all over him the whole night. And didn't she protest the dare at the lake?

"She refuses to accept it."

"Really? She has the nerve to do that despite the fact that she’s cheating on you?" Unbelievable. "I'm sorry but your ex-girlfriend is a raging bitch."

He lets out a snort. "I'm not even going to argue with that."

We exchange a look and laugh. It's hard to believe I'm having a non-confrontational, borderline friendly moment with Sean but it seems to be that way. Even crazier, it's because of Erin.

A long stretch of silence passes and I stare as Sean returns to scowling at the floor. He may have already broken up with Erin weeks ago, but it's clear that he's still affected. But then why wouldn't he be? He only learned who the other guy was.

The urge to storm out and bitch-slap Erin comes out of nowhere, startling me. Why am I suddenly feeling protective of Sean? Sean, of all people. No. I'm not being protective of him. I'm just sympathizing. Yeah. That's it. It's a normal human reaction.

Not knowing what else to do, I walk back to the door and put my ear against it. "I think they're done. I don't hear anything anymore."

Sean looks skeptical but pushes away from the wall.

Carefully, I open the door a little. Just enough to peer outside. The room is empty. That was fast. "They're gone."

I step out of the bathroom and into the bedroom—making a face at the crumpled sheets—then back out into the hall with Sean right behind me.

"So I guess I'll see you downstairs," I tell him, feeling a little awkward.

"I'm not... I don't want to go back to the party." He looks a little pained. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he says, "Want to join me there?" He motions to the balcony at the end of the hall with his head.

I shrug. "If you don't mind the company."

"I don't." Then for the first time in a long time, Sean gives me a genuine smile.

I nod. "Okay then."

I'm not even going to analyze why I just agreed to hang out with Sean. Or why he offered in the first place. I won't be stupid to assume that it will be the start of a beautiful friendship. The chance of that happening is probably, well, zero. Knowing how he and I butt heads all the time.

But he needs a friend right now. Why not be one in the moment? Come Monday, we can go back to hating each other.

Stepping out into the balcony, I rest my hands on the railing and look down.

We have a full view of Jason's massive pea-shaped pool where a few people are frolicking and splashing around. I hope, for their sake, they're all sober enough to be there.

"Great party, huh?" Really? That's all I can come up with? I cringe inwardly at my lameness.

Since when did I suck at small talks? But then come to think of it, I haven't had the chance to have a decent conversation with Sean before. Not that I remember, at least. This is a first.

I look at him from the corner of my eyes, bracing myself with the incoming mockery.

But none came. Instead, he just shrugs. "It's not bad."

“Did it hurt to see them together?” I ask then mentally face-palm myself. Insensitive much, Kenzie?

It takes him a long moment to answer. “No. But I’m pissed. She did cheat on me.”

“It’s okay if you were. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“No. Really. I’m just pissed. I was already planning to break up with her before I caught her sexting Derek.” He makes a face. “Our relationship lasted more than it should have.”

“Oh.”

Well, I didn’t expect to hear that. But why am I pleased to hear that he’s not all torn up by Erin’s cheating?

I shake my head.  "Do you think..." I trail off. "Never mind."

"What were you going to say?"

"About what we saw in there," I say softly. "Should we tell Adam about it? He also deserves to know the truth."

We fall silent for a moment before he speaks again. "Do you want to?"

I rear back. "Why won't I?"

"You like him."

"So?" There's no sense denying it. We both know he knows about my crush on Adam.

"Don't you want him to remain single? Because if we tell him the truth, he'll try to win back Maddy."

Is he serious? "First of all, we can't not tell Adam. He has to know his ex-girlfriend didn't cheat on him. Second, Madison deserves to clear her name. Everyone at school has been talking crap about her ever since the breakup. Do you even see her here? It's like she became a social pariah. Trust me, the truth will vindicate her. And if they get back together, all the better. They've always been the perfect couple. Not that I think she'd make it easy for Adam. He was quick to dump her, after all."

"But what about you?" Sean looks down at the pool area.

I'm confused. I frown at him. "What about me?"

He still won't meet my gaze. "Don't you want him for yourself?"

I can't help it. I laugh out loud.

Now it's his turn to be confused. "What's funny?"

"You," I choke out, wiping at the tears in my eyes. He made me laugh that hard. "That was a good one."

"It wasn't meant to be a joke." And he's frowning, too.

My laughter dies down. "I know. You saying I want Adam for myself was hilarious. What made you think that?" I roll my eyes. "Just because I have a crush on Adam doesn't mean I want to date him. He's super cute and all,” Sean rolls his eyes at that. I ignore his reaction. “but I never thought of us as a couple. It’s just really like having a celebrity crush. Nothing more to it than that.”

"Oh."

"What? Did you think I was in love with him or something?"

Sean clears his throat. "Something like that."

"Well, I'm not."

"Good to know."

"Good to know?" I arch a brow. "And why is that?"

"Because I don't want you feeling that way for him."

I give him a blank stare. "Why?"

"Because..." He takes a deep breath, "I want you to feel that for me."

Eight

I suck in a shocked breath, my eyes wide like saucers. Did he just say what I think he said?

"I want you to feel that for me.”

No, I shake my head. That can't be right. The Sean I know wouldn't say those words to me. Or even think of saying them to me.

But the look in his eyes is telling me otherwise. That maybe I didn't hear him wrong at all.

He swallows hard. "Kenzie."

My heart starts to pick up pace. Something's happening here.

"Um," I lick my lips nervously.

"Dammit, I'm doing this wrong." He runs a hand through his hair in clear frustration. Then takes a deep breath and blurts out, "I have feelings for you."

“W-What kind of feelings?”

“What do you think?”

No.

At my stunned expression, he chokes out a laugh. "Did... Did I shock you?"

Shock me? I'm completely dumbfounded, my heartbeat practically thundering in my ears. He just dropped a freaking bomb on me. I am so stunned all I can do is gape up at him.

Because, seriously, holy crap!

"Y-You have feelings for me?" I croak.

He nods, staring at me with sharp intensity. He takes in another breath. "I like you, Kenzie. I like you a lot. Always have since middle school."

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

"Aren't you even going to say anything?" he prods after a long moment of me just gaping at him.

"Are you playing me? Is this a prank?"

"What? No!" He looks affronted.

I narrow my eyes at him, suspicion growing inside me as seconds tick by. "If this is one of your tricks..."

It has to be. Because what he’s saying is completely insane!

"One of my tricks?" Disbelief crosses his features before they darken. "You know what? Forget about it." Hurt flashes in his eyes as he shakes his head. "I should've known."

My eyes widen. "You're really serious?"

His only response is gritting his teeth, eyes trained down below, a tinge of color on his cheeks.

"You do like me," I breathe.

His cheeks redden even more.

"Wow." I blink and shake my head. Then blink and shake my head again. I feel like I’m starting to look like an idiot so I brush off the shock-filled haze to clear my head. But, really, how else am I supposed to react to his confession? That’s when something finally occurs to me. "If you have feelings for me all this time, then why do you keep on pissing me off? Seriously, you've done nothing but bully me."

"I'm not a bully," he scoffs.

I simply give him an “are you for real” look.

He rolls his eyes. "I'm just pranking you. And it's not like you don't give as good as you got."

I open my mouth to argue but then quickly close it. Because Sean's right. I always make sure to get back at him for all his pranks, sometimes even going as far as trying to one-up him. Case in point: the laxative incident.

I guess that makes me just as bad as him.

"You're right," I grumble.

Not that I’m feeling remorseful or anything. Save for the laxative incident, he deserved each payback.

He clears his throat. "But I guess I do owe you an apology."

"Yeah, you do. You started this whole thing back in seventh grade."

He scowls. "That's because you told Ashley you'd rather date Edward Cullen than me. And I knew how much you were team Jacob then."

Wait, what? "You heard that?"

Not the team Jacob part. But that he heard me say that about him. I remember that conversation with Ash clearly. I made that pronouncement when I saw him flirting with some girl in the school cafeteria. Just hours after I caught him making out with Sydney McCarthy in the locker hall. Who kisses one girl in one moment and flirts with another the next? A heartbreaker, that's who.

Of course I was already smart enough to know I wouldn't want to "date" someone like that.

"And then just a week later, I found out you had a crush on Justin Gilbert," Sean presses on, oblivious to my train of thought.

I cross my arms and glare back. "What, he was cute. Half the girls in our class liked him."

"Please," he scoffs. "Half the girls liked me. Not him. Nobody liked that sucker but you."

I roll my eyes. There's the cocky Sean I know. For a moment there I thought he already took a hike.

"So that's why you outed me to the whole class. Because of you, everybody found out about my crush on him."

He grins, nodding. "Yeah. That was epic."

"It was the most embarrassing moment of my life!"

"Really?" He tilts his head to the side. "It wasn't the day I flicked red paint down your pants? Or that time I rigged your computer presentation to show a picture of a half-naked guy in front of the class instead of your actual homework? How about—"

"Fine," I scowl, cutting him off. "One of the most embarrassing moments. Happy?"

He just continues to grin.

My annoyance perks up once again. "Tell me the truth—"

His grin grows even bigger. "I didn't know we were still playing Truth or Dare."

I ignore his smart-ass comment." Did you start the prank wars because I was one of the few girls in class who didn't like you? Were you just being bitter?”

Seriously. Even Ash had a crush on him back then.

"Bitter? Me?" He scoffs. "I was just pissed you thought that stupid sparkly vampire was better than me, that's all."

I just stare at him, not believing that at all.

He finally relents. "Because it was the only way I could think of for you to notice me."

I gape. "Seriously? You couldn't have just, I don't know, asked me out like a normal person?"

"I told you I heard you—"

"Right." I pause. "Still, resort to pranks? That was childish, don't you think?"

"I was twelve."

"A twelve year old who was already flirting and making out with girls."

"Touché."

I smirk.

He smirks back. "I admit I was a little shit back then."

"Still are," I sing-song but not really meaning it.

He rolls his eyes. "The point is I was an idiot, okay? And yes, you're right, it had been out of bitterness. I already liked you from day one, but you wouldn't even spare me a glance. I'm fairly sure you didn't even know I existed for that first few months. You never looked at me. Not even when I was trying to get your attention. It literally took me borrowing something from you for you to finally notice me."

I stare at him in shock. He liked me from the first day? My mouth goes dry as my heart once again picks up pace.

How come I never noticed that?

Because you were busy pretending you weren’t one of the girls who had a crush on him, remember?

Okay, confession time: I used to have a crush on Sean too, like most girls in our class. Like I said before, I’d once looked at him with stars in my eyes. What can I say? Even as a kid he was already pretty darn cute.

It was the flirting and making out with girls part that made him less appealing for me. And when the pranks started, any crush I had on him was effectively snuffed out.

Then Justin conveniently came into the picture and I focused my attention on my new crush instead.

Not that it had earned me any brownie points with Justin. While I was shooting moony eyes at him, he was crushing hard on Madison’s best friend, Lexi Santiago. Funnily enough, Lexi never paid him any attention. Because she had her eyes set on… Sean.

I can’t help blurting out a laugh at the realization.

“What’s funny?”

“Did you know Lexi had a crush on you back then?”

“Yeah. We, uh,” he clears his throat, “I was her first kiss.”

Of course. I roll my eyes. “Was there any seventh grader back then you didn’t make out with?”

There’s that hurt look again. “You make it sound like I was such a manwhore. I’ll have you know that I didn’t lose my virginity until freshman year.” He even sounds proud at that, his chest all puffed up.

“Do you want a trophy?” I mock dryly.

A mischievous glint flashes in his eyes. “How about a kiss?”

“Wh-What?” I stammer. “You’re joking. Right?”

We were just discussing his propensity to make out with girls back in middle school. And now he’s asking for a kiss? From me?

I wait for Sean to admit that he was only kidding. But then he turns serious, his expression taking on that intense look. A crease of concentration appears between his brows as he stares hard at me.

Suddenly, I find myself struggling to breath, my eyes widening a little. Is he… Is he really going to kiss me?

Oh God, oh God, oh God, I scream inwardly when he starts to lean in…

"Kenzie!"

The frantic voice somehow manages to penetrate through the near-kiss haze. I jump away from Sean and turn my head to the balcony doors to see Chris gaping at us.

Oh, crap.

My cheeks heat up. "Um—"

“What are you guys doing here?”

“I can explain,” I squeak out.

He shakes his head. "You know what? Just tell me later. Right now, we need to go. Jason has seen his room and he's looking for the culprits."

"What are we going to do?" My eyes bulge in panic and I momentarily forget about the near-kiss.

"Like I said, we need to leave."

"Okay," I nod, moving to do just that.

But before I can take another step, Sean quickly grabs my arm, causing me to slam into his chest.

"Wha—" The word is suddenly cut off when his lips press against mine, robbing me of my breath and making all thoughts scatter from my mind.

Because, holy crap, Sean Murphy is kissing me!

Before I know it, my eyes are already fluttering close, hands sliding up of their own accord to clutch at his biceps. He responds by gripping my waist and pulling me closer.

"Seriously?" I vaguely hear Chris groan in the background.

But I can't bring myself to care because Sean is kissing the hell out of me, turning my knees to mush. I'd be too weak to stand on my own if not for the support of his arms around me.

I’d been kissed before. But not like this. Not this intense. Like he’s proving every word he said tonight. All too soon, the kiss ends. And I'm left breathless, in a daze, my heart beating so fast.

"Wha-What was that all about?" I gasp.

Panting, he grins and touches his forehead to mine. "Just in case you decide to go back to hating me on Monday."

Nine

Dazedly, I follow Chris as we make our way through the mansion to join our friends. I'm glad he hasn't said anything. Judging by the way he keeps on glancing at me, he has to be dying to ask questions.

Questions I don't think I can answer, seeing that I'm still reeling from the kiss. I'm so wrapped up on what happened in the balcony that I can't bring myself to care about Jason and the possibility of us getting caught.

Shocking, I know. I blame Sean's lips for that. They blew my focus out of the water. And, by extension, my anxiety as well.

I really can't believe he kissed me. More so the fact that he admitted he has feelings for me since middle school.

I thought nothing could top Erin and Derek’s affair as the biggest revelation of the night. But it’s absolutely nothing compared to Sean’s confession in the balcony.

And I can’t stop thinking about it.

What am I going to do with him?

"What's wrong with her? She looks a little dazed. Is she high on something?" Holly suddenly appears in front of me, inspecting my face.

I have to blink a few times to register that we already reached our friends. Oh, and we're outside at the front yard.

"Yeah, high on Sean," Chris mumbles, making me blush once again.

"High on who?" Ash turns to me, her eyes narrowed, surprisingly looking sober than the last time I saw her. "Why are your cheeks all red?"

"Later. It's a long story," Chris says dismissively. "Let's get going."

We exchange glances. Me, still blushing silly. Him, holding back a smirk and giving me a “you owe me” look.

But I'm grateful he doesn't say anything to our friends. Ash and Holly wouldn't stop until I tell them every single detail. I'm still not ready to talk about it. I haven't even processed it yet. Maybe later when we're finally back to Ashley's place.

I clear my throat. "Yeah, we need to go. We don't want Jason to find us here."

"Don't we know it?" Holly glances back at the mansion. "What took you guys so long, anyway?"

"We were worried Jason had already busted you already," Ash says.

"You don't look drunk anymore," I deflect, not wanting to tell them the reason of our delay.

Holly rolls her eyes. "Because we were never really drunk. We were just having fun."

"Huh." I lift a brow at Chris.

He just shrugs.

"Guys, any moment now," Mark interjects, "Jason can come out and see us here. He looked really pissed in there." He smirks. "Definitely not pleased with whoever wrote ‘Jason has a small dick’ on the wall of his room."

"What?" I choke out, looking to my friends. "Who did it?"

Holly cackles loudly, flashing me an evil smile.

Yep. That answers my question.

"Remind me not to piss you off in the future." I give her a wary look. "Also, where are the pictures? There's no way you crazies didn't take any. I bet there were selfies too."

"Oh, don't worry. There were plenty." Ash looks happy with herself.

Mark chuckles, shaking his head, his semi-mohawk unmoving. "Tara has been telling everyone about it. She saw the writing on the wall when she and Jason went up to his room. Every single person at the party probably knows about it by now."

"Good," Ash sniffs.

"Well, serves him right," I snort. "It's probably true, anyway."

"Oh, it is," Ash says glumly.

What the...? A moment of stunned silence passes and then all of us burst out laughing.

"Holy shit!" Mark roars, doubling over.

I'm laughing so hard I'm clutching my stomach. Beside me, Chris has his head thrown back in silent laughter, his shoulders shaking. While Holly is wiping tears from her eyes.

Ash is the only one not laughing. She's blushing fiercely as she covers her mouth with her hand, realizing her blunder. Which only makes us laugh harder.

It's Holly who first sobers up. "Oh, crap."

"What?" I ask, still laughing, wiping my eyes.

"Don't look. But the Bitchy Trinity are heading our way," she announces in a low voice.

I don't have to turn around to know Holly is referring to Erin, Tara and—Tara's twin sister—Carla. Holly has been secretly calling them that nickname since last year.

In an instant, everyone stops laughing. The humor is quickly replaced by panic.

"Oh shit, alright," Chris grimaces, sneaking a glance over his shoulder at them. He snaps at us, "I told you we had to go."

"It's okay." I touch his arm, swallowing. "Let's just keep our cool and pretend we don't know anything."

Ash nods in agreement. "Deny, deny, deny."

I just hope it will work. Or we'll be screwed.

"Everyone, shut it," Chris hisses. "Here they come."

"Going somewhere?" We all stiffen before turning to face the mocking voice.

Erin's arms are crossed and the twin minions are flanking her on either side. Of course.

I almost snort at the clichéness of it.

"Erin, you look hot in that dress. Where did you buy it?" Holly coos.

"Don't bother, Holly." Erin lets out a cruel smile, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You're already busted."

"What are you talking about?" Ash is giving Erin her best "confused" look.

"Don't play dumb, Ashley. Jason already knows that it's you guys who trashed his room. Not that I can blame you." Erin wrinkles her nose. "I'd probably do the same if I caught my boyfriend cheating on me." She punctuates "cheating" by glowering at me.

I glare back. "You're one to talk."

I realize my mistake as soon as I utter the words. Ugh. Me and my big mouth.

Erin narrows her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

For a moment, I debate not telling her. But then I realize that it may very well serve as a distraction. And do I really want to pass the opportunity to finally put Erin in her place? I may never get the chance again. "Sean and I were in that room, Erin."

"What room?" Her face pales, betraying the fact that she knows what I'm talking about.

Now it's my turn to grin like a Cheshire cat. "Oh, you know, the room you and Derek Matthis got in a while ago. We were in the bathroom. We witnessed the whole thing. Didn't look like it was the first time you guys hooked up, either.”

I hear collective gasps behind me. Someone whistles. I think it's Mark.

Surprisingly, my friends aren't the only one shocked with that revelation. Erin's twin minions are also staring wide-eyed at her. So they had no idea about it, too.

"So it's not Madison who's hooking up with him. It's you all along," Carla accuses, confirming her cluelessness.

Tara pipes up. "Or maybe they're both hooking up with him."

All of us turn to give her blank looks.

"What?" She rolls her eyes, twirling her blonde locks around her finger. "It happens. There's this funny movie—"

"Shut up, Tara!" Erin snaps at her, before turning to give me an icy stare. "And what the hell were you doing in—"

My brows shoot up. "Really? You still have the nerve to ask that when you were already caught red-handed?" Seriously, this girl.

Erin shakes her head, denial written all over her face. "No. It was nothing. I'll talk to Sean. I'll explain everything. He'll listen to me."

Anger flares back inside me. She really thinks she can manipulate Sean?

"Oh, but he already dumped you, remember?" I smirk.

Another collective gasps. Mark whistles again.

Carla glares at her. "What the hell, Erin? He dumped you? You said you were just on a break. And you told us you were the one who asked for it."

Holly snickers. "Damn, girl, why do you keep lying to your friends?"

"Because we're not broken up, okay? We’re just going through some stuff right now. I'm going to fix it." But Erin doesn't sound as confident as before.

"That's what he said, too. That you refused to accept it. Seriously, Erin, how pathetic can you get?"

Ash whips her head in my direction, wide-eyed.

"Oh, snap," Chris murmurs, his voice filled with amusement as Erin's eyes narrow into slits.

Holy crap, I'm on a roll. But as much as I want to keep my mouth shut, I just can't stop taunting her. It's like I'm being spiteful in behalf of Sean. As if I want to hurt her for hurting him.

And that's only after one kiss. Damn those lips.

"Whatever. Can we go back to the real issue, now?" Tara gives Ash a dirty look. "Listen, skank, I know you're still dying to get Jason back—"

"No, I'm not," Ash scoffs.

"—but he's already mine. So back off."

"Please, he's all yours. He's probably got a disease by now, considering where he's been dipping his stick lately. Trust me, I want none of that."

Chris and I exchange glances, both of us choking back a laugh.

Holly isn't holding back though. Her shoulders are shaking with laughter.

Tara just looks confused. "Did you just insult me?" she asks, wrinkling her nose.

"I just did." Ash pauses and smirks. "Slut."

"Oh, God!" Holy is absolutely cracking up. She's loving every minute of it.

"You, bitch!" Seething, Tara goes to pounce on Ash.

I don't know what came over me. Maybe it's because of my new-found Sean-related spitefulness. Maybe to dish out my own revenge for what Tara and Jason did. Or I'm just simply sick of these girls' deep-seated meanness. But before Tara can reach my best friend, I block her path. Then I swing my arm back and punch her square in the face.

Shocked yelps fill the air as Tara falls to the ground, whimpering, cradling her cheek.

Erin is gaping at me like I've lost my mind. Carla glares at me before coming to the aid of her sister.

"Holy shit!" Mark howls.

"Okay. We really have to get out of here." Laughing, Chris grabs my arm. He goes to reach for Ash's as well, but she evades him and turns to face Erin.

"Hey, Erin."

Erin only blinks, still looking shell-shocked.

"I quit."

That snaps her out of it. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You can't quit." For the first time ever, I see the usually cool and composed Erin panicking. "You're the best flyer! You're vital to the squad!"

"I just did." Ash gives her a victorious smile, then walks away, as if she just didn't drop a bomb on Erin.

"Best party ever!" Holly yells for the second time tonight. Then she goes after Ash, making sure to flip off the three girls before prancing away.

"Well?" Chris cocks a brow at me, his eyes dancing in mirth.

Biting back a laugh, I nod and lead the way, not even bothering with a backward glance.

Ten

Monday comes and, to nobody's surprise, Jason's party is the subject of school gossip. Everywhere I go, I hear snippets of conversations regarding Friday night.

Literally everyone is talking about it. Even the faculty and staff.

But for once, it's not the epicness of the party that is being talked about. Nope. No one is interested in finding out whoever got drunk and passed out face first into their own vomit. And nobody wants to know who hooked up with who.

Apparently, the student body is only interested to know one thing: Is Jason's dick really small?

If Jason wasn't such a douchebag and a half, I'd feel sorry for him. But then the whole thing wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been one in the first place. So, really, it was all his fault. He had it coming.

Holly definitely finds it a hoot. She has no problem answering the million dollar question with a resounding "Hell, yes!" even when the person is not asking her. She never really liked Jason, so it doesn't surprise me at all. Ash, on the other hand, is both mortified and amused whenever someone walks up to her to ask about it.

People are also curious to know the culprits behind the vandalism. Some are even boldly pointing at Ash. But seeing that there isn't any proof, they can only speculate. It helps that she and Holly are simply laughing it off.

When the last period bell rings, I step out of class, joining the throng of students littering the hall. I'm heading toward my locker when I feel my phone vibrate in the outside pocket of my bag. Fishing it out, I see a Facebook message from Holly.

For your eyes only!

Looking from left to right, I open the message, then choke back a laugh when I see for the first time the pictures of the "scene of the crime."

Damn but the room was completely and totally trashed. Did they empty his closet? His clothes and even the DVD games are strewn everywhere. Some of them even have streaks of paint.

Like Chris said, they left his expensive stuff alone. Thank God. But they didn't hold back on using the spray paints. I thought only one wall was vandalized.

Well, apparently not.

Aside from the ‘Jason has a small dick’ message, there were also drawings of small, well, dicks. And they were everywhere!

My friends were definitely not screwing around. It would've been fun to personally witness it.

Not that I’m no longer worrying that Jason will find out it was us. I’m still a little apprehensive. Especially since he already confronted Ash about it. She denied the whole thing, of course.

But that aside, I'm glad Ash has finally found her closure. She's not moping around anymore. The cheerful smile and the bounce in her step are already back in place. Quitting the cheer squad probably also helped.

That night after we left the party, Ash revealed that she never really wanted to be a cheerleader. "I just wanted to get Jason's attention," she admitted then. "Now that it's over between us, I see no need to be a part of the squad anymore. I never really got close to those girls, anyway. No lost love there."

Then just when I thought the Sean issue was already forgotten, Holly started grilling me about it. Chris even made it worse when he sang, "Kenzie and Sean sitting in the tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

Whelp, so much for keeping quiet about it.

So to shut them up, I relayed everything—starting from the Truth or Dare game in the lake up to the kiss in the balcony. Ash found the whole thing romantic. No surprise there. Girl has always been a sap when it comes to romance.

What I didn't expect was for Holly to smugly state that she knew Sean liked me all along, and Mark commenting that he's always noticed Sean staring at me when I wasn't looking. That may have elicited a silly, goofy grin from my face and a little thrill in my stomach.

Turning a corner, I see Jason and Tara arguing. He looks furious. It doesn't take a genius to know why. The vandalism wouldn't be circulating the school right now if Tara kept her mouth shut. Well, technically, there wouldn’t be anything to talk about if my friends didn’t trash his room.

I wince when my gaze lands on Tara’s black eye, and I quicken my stride before she sees me.

It still amazes me how I managed to throw that punch. Like I said before, I’m not a violent person. Seriously.

My friends didn't care though. They thought it was epic. And again hours ago when we were having lunch in the cafeteria. It turned out Mark took a picture of that “epic” moment. Our table erupted in laughter when he passed his phone around to show us. Tara was sprawled in the pavement, cupping her left eye, mouth open in a whimper. Behind her, Erin and Carla were gaping. Yeah, it wasn't a pleasing shot.

Across the cafeteria, the three of them were shooting us scathing glances, knowing full well that they were the topic of our conversation. It just made my friends laugh even harder.

Not me. I was still mortified to join in the fun.

I caught Sean staring at me the whole time. But I studiously avoided his gaze. The same way he ignored Erin’s glares directed between the two of us.

Even when Erin eventually gave up and ended stomping out of the cafeteria with the twin minions following behind.

I couldn’t even find satisfaction there. I was too pissed and confused to care. But mostly pissed.

Sean admitted that he liked me, didn’t he? That he’d always have feelings for me. Then why hasn’t he approached me the whole day? The only thing he did was wink at me before he left the cafeteria with his friends.

What was that all about? It seriously infuriated me.

Now, here I am obsessing about it. And I hate it. I hate the fact that I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since the night of the party. That I’ve been replaying the kiss in my head over and over, wondering if he was also thinking about me.

Yeah. I’ve become that girl.

But, really, can anyone blame me? He didn’t even bother to contact me over the weekend. No text. No tweet. No Facebook message. Nothing! For someone who claimed to like me, he sure has a poor way of showing it.

So now I’m starting to doubt him. Maybe it wasn’t really true. Maybe he was just really playing me. After all, I’m talking about the same boy who lives to prank me. So who’s to say that his confession was nothing but a joke?

“Asshole,” I gripe as I open my locker to deposit my books.

“Asshole? Hmm. Do I need to go kick someone’s ass?” someone whispered in my ear, tickling my skin.

Sean.

Ignoring the fluttering in my stomach at just the mere sound of his voice, I turn around and roll my eyes. “Yeah. You.”

He gives a confused look. “Me? What did I do?”

“Nothing.” And that’s the problem. I close my locker. “I have to get going. Ash is probably waiting for me in her car.”

“Actually,” he grins, “she’s already gone.”

I frown. “Gone where?”

“Home.”

Home? “She left me?”

What the hell? Ash knows she’s my ride since I don’t have a car. So why did she leave me behind?

“I told her I’d drive you home.”

“Really?” I purse my lips, glancing away. “You shouldn’t have bothered.”

I’m going to kill Ash. I can’t believe she handed me over to Sean just like that. Traitor!

Oh, that's right. She’s rooting for the two of us to be together. She even came up with a ship name. Was it KeSea? Or SeKenz?

Whatever. It wasn’t like I was paying attention when she called us that.

Okay, maybe I was. But just a little bit.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be?”

He tucks his hands into his pockets. "Maybe because you refuse to look at me."

Grudgingly, I glance up at him. Ugh. Why does he have to look so gorgeous even with messy hair? You’re still pissed at him, remember? Stop ogling him!

“You can ogle me all day. You won’t be hearing complaints from me.” He’s grinning from ear to ear.

My face grows hot. I can’t believe I said that out loud.

Mentally face-palming myself, I push away from my locker and start walking. It’s not too late. Maybe I can still catch the bus. When was even the last time I’ve been in it?

I grimace, remembering how much I hated riding the bus. The noise. The rowdy kids. The smell of teenage sweat. Ew.

I definitely don’t miss the experience.

Or I should just walk. It won’t hurt. But then I remember my house is several blocks away. A fifteen minute walk can easily be a five-minute commute.

Where are other options when I need them?

“Kenzie,” Sean calls after me.

I stop on my tracks but don’t bother to turn around, noticing we already reached the parking lot.

A group of junior girls choose the moment to pass by. And it doesn’t escape me that they start giggling and batting their eyelashes at the sight of Sean. That pisses me off for some reason.

Oh, who am I kidding? I know exactly why. And the fact pisses me off even more.

I glare after the girls.

A low chuckle sounds out. “You look cute when you’re jealous.”

I let out a pfft sound. "Me, jealous? Please!" I cross my arms and avert my eyes.

Because, damn it, he's right. I'm acting jealous. Just because some girls fluttered their lashes at him. He's not even my boyfriend yet.

Yet?

“I’m sorry I didn’t call over the weekend.”

I stiffen. "I didn't expect you to. Not like there was any reason for you to call." Liar!

He moves closer, stopping just almost a foot away. "I have every reason to. I just came clean about my feelings for you. I should have done something about it."

"Then why didn't you?" I can't help snapping out.

He bites back a grin and I realize my error. Again.

I groan silently. Why does my big mouth keep on betraying me?

He clears his throat when I shoot daggers at him. "I had to keep Adam from killing Erin."

That makes me pause. "You told him the truth."

"I did."

"So, how did he take it?” His face takes on a grim look. “Pretty bad, huh?"

"Yeah,” he sighs. “He raided his dad's liquor cabinet. So we—me, him and Brandt—got shitfaced drunk." I raise a brow, but he shakes his head. "I rarely drink, even at parties. Saturday night was seriously the first time I got drunk." He winces." "Never again if I can help it. The hangover was so bad I had to sleep the whole day yesterday." He looks embarrassed to admit that.

"So," I bite my lip, "that was the reason you didn't reach out? You weren't just leading me on?"

That seems to offend him. "I'm not an asshole, Kenzie. I won't do that to you."

He’s not leading me on! I can't help feeling a surge of relief with those words.

"I didn't mean..." I shake my head and let out a breath. "But why only now, Sean? Why did you wait so long to tell me how you feel? You even dated Erin."

"I only dated her because you were seeing some douche from another town!"

My mind races back to last year, those few weeks when I was dating that "someone." He was Carter Reed, a boy I met in Bayfield Hospital where Mom works as a nurse. I was there running an errand for her when I bumped into Carter. He chatted me up and I thought he was cute. We ended having coffee in the cafeteria and before we parted, he asked for my number.

That relationship didn't last long though. For one thing, Carter lives in Holy Oaks, which is two towns over. He only happened to be in Bayfield that day because he visited a cousin in the hospital. At least that's what he told me.

Secondly, he's a football player. Which means, like Sean, he's always busy with after-school practice. It was hard enough to spend time together during the weekdays. And sometimes, even the weekends too. So we stopped dating after over a month.

Sean, on the other hand, dated Erin for almost a year.

Which I'm quick to point out. "So why did you continue to date Erin even after I broke up with Carter?"

"That's his name? Carter?" he scoffs. "Sounds like an asshole."

I roll my eyes. "Don't change the subject."

"She's hot," he shrugs.

Another eye-roll. Boys.

He rubs the back of his neck. "If you've been paying attention, you'd notice that it was more like an on-again, off-again kind of thing. We were never really serious."

"Tell that to Erin," I mutter.

"Trust me, she knows. Why did you think she cheat on me? Because secretly she knows that we wouldn't go anywhere."

"That still doesn't explain why you chose to stick with her than tell me the truth sooner."

"I always chicken out, okay? Just ask my friends and they’ll happily tell you how much of a chicken shit I’ve been. Every time I thought I had the guts to talk to you about it, you'd always look at me suspiciously or give me dirty looks."

"Probably because you've been pissing me off every chance you got."

"I told you—"

"Yeah, I know."

“So…” He shifts on his feet, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“So?” I pretend to examine my nails.

“Kenzie,” he groaned.

I fight back a smile, still staring at my nails, enjoying seeing him squirm. Call it a little payback for making me wait.

He sighs. “I knew it. You’re pissed I didn’t talk to you the whole day.”

I remain silent.

“I didn’t want to go after you half-assed. You don’t deserve that. Especially after I’ve done a poor job of showing you how I feel all these years.” He winces at that. Then says sheepishly, “I had a plan, you know. I was going to ease you into it and show you I’m really serious. That’s why I missed soccer practice. So I can give you a ride home. Then, afterwards, I’ll ask you out.”

“And that’s supposed to make me happy?”

But, secretly, I’m pleased. Sean didn’t become the captain of the soccer team due to his popularity. It was never even a factor. It’s because he’s been dedicated and committed to the sport since day one. So him missing practice is a huge deal. The fact that he did it for me?

Yeah. Pleased is definitely an understatement.

And did he just say he’s going to ask me out?

Secretly, I’m squealing like the Jacob Black fangirl I used to be.

“You’re really not going to make it easy for me, are you?”

“Nope.” But my lips twitch, betraying me.

Then I stare at him. Should I trust the sincerity I hear in his voice? Should I take a risk with him? What if he just sees me as a rebound for Erin? The last thing I need is a broken heart courtesy of Sean Murphy.

Just as doubts and insecurities start to penetrate, it hit me. Didn't we already waste enough time? And do I really want to see him back with Erin?

Hell no! HELL NO!

Plus, didn’t he already say he wasn’t broken up by what Erin did?

Well, there goes your answer, Kenzie.

Coming to a decision, I finally say, “About that ride home?”

He grins at me, looking relieved, as if he was dreading I’d reject him.

Then, clearing his throat, he moves to open the front passenger door. Only to let out a loud curse when a large pile of balled-up papers come tumbling out.

I laugh out loud, causing him to whip his head back to me.

My eyes spark with mischief as I tell him, “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t get back at you for the snake prank?”

Sean chuckles. “Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Brown.”

The End

Thank you for reading! Did you like this book? Please don’t forget to leave a review. It’s never demanded, but always appreciated. If you want to get the latest updates on the Bayfield High gang and upcoming releases, you can like my Facebook page and join my mailing list.

Turn the page for a sneak peak of Perfectly Clueless, the third book in the Bayfield High series.

Sneak Peak: Perfectly Clueless

“McCafferty, where are you?” I growl, kicking at the stray rocks on the ground, shivering as the cold seeps through my jacket.

Fifteen minutes. That’s how long I’ve been sitting on my porch steps, braving the chilly night air while impatiently waiting for Dylan to arrive. He’s supposed to be here already. Hell, we should be on our way to the party by now. It’s an open field party and our friends, Nick Wilson and Sloan Collins, are already there waiting for us.

If I knew he was going to keep me waiting, I would have hitched a ride with Nick or asked my twin brother to drive me there.

Only Adam isn’t home. He’s at his girlfriend Madison Cooper’s house right now. Ever since the two of them got back together they haven’t spent a single time apart. Like they’re attached to the hip or something.

Blowing out an annoyed breath, I stare ahead. Still no sign of Dylan’s red pickup truck.

Seriously, where is that boy?

The front door suddenly opens, making me look over my shoulder to see who stepped outside.

It’s Dad. He’s wearing a robe over his pajamas, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. “Going somewhere, princess?”

Princess is Dad’s term of endearment for me, sport for Adam, and pumpkin for my little sister Peach. Whenever I complain about him calling me princess—because it seriously makes me feel like I’m five—he only smiles and tells me I’ll always be his princess no matter the age.

Corny, ugh. But also kinda sweet.

“Yes, Dad. I’m waiting for Dylan to pick me up. We’re going to meet a friend.”

He narrows his eyes. “Is that a code for party?”

Damn. The man knows me so well.

I flash him a sheepish smile. “I won’t stay up late. I promise.”

He shakes his head, fighting back a smile, then frowns when he stares out into the empty street. “You really need to have your own car.”

I bite back a groan. My dad has been itching to buy me a car ever since I got my license, but I say no every time. Because I find it completely unnecessary. All three of them—Mom, Dad and Adam—have cars that I can borrow whenever I need one, anyway. And that need rarely arises.

For one, Adam and I go to the same school so I can easily catch a ride with him if I want. Then there’s Dylan whose front passenger seat is always reserved for me. He’s my ride most days. And he’s usually never late.

Admonishing me to return before midnight, Dad goes back inside, leaving me alone in the porch again.

Come on, D. I’m already freezing here! I fire up the text, hoping it will make Dylan turn up in the next second.

Sorry, B. Look up.

I comply and sure enough, headlights assault my eyes. Finally. Pocketing my phone, I wait for him to pull over before I approach. “Did you really have to make me wait that long?”

I make sure to keep my expression stern, ignoring the familiar sucker-punch effect of his dark intense eyes and sheepish smile on me.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, B. I had to pick up Kristen first.”

Kristen who?

That’s when I see her. The girl sitting in the front passenger seat—my seat—beside Dylan.

“Hi, Bianca.” A shy smile grazes her lips as she lifts a hand to wave at me.

“Hey,” I blink and wordlessly climb into the backseat of the truck. Then stare hard at the back of her head.

I know this girl. She’s Kristen Stevenson, a senior like us. But what the ever-loving hell is she doing in Dylan’s truck? And in my seat? Why did he even pick her up?

It’s not like they run in the same circle. Kristen belongs to the popular crowd, although she’s not as popular as say, Madison or that backstabbing bitch Erin Taylor. But she’s one of them and she doesn’t socialize with other kids beneath her status.

Not that my friends and I are school outcasts. But we’re not exactly popular either. At best, we have notorious reputations. Dylan and Nick are known for being the resident “bad boys” while Sloan, in his desperate attempts to be like them, has earned the moniker “Sleazy Sloan.” Although I don’t think girls find him that repulsive. Not every girl, at least.

Me? I’m the “rocker chick” or the “goth bitch.” And, oh, “Adam’s emo twin.” Depends who you’re asking, really.

All because I decided to dye my blonde hair into dark brown, wear dark contacts to cover my baby blue eyes, and dress myself in dark clothes. Like right now, I’m rocking a black Nirvana shirt under my blazer and ripped blue jeans, paired with my favorite ankle boots.

People and their stupid stereotypes.

It’s not like I wear eyeliner or mascara. Or going around killing puppies and plotting mass murder.

Please. I scream like a little girl just at the sight of a flying cockroach. I mean, have you seen that thing up close? Nasty.

And newsflash: I’m not that different than the average teenage girls. I don’t do a lot of girly stuff anymore, but I’m just as obsessed with chick flicks and rom coms, fangirling over Ryan Reynolds even before he became Deadpool. I even took that stupid “Who’s your Hollywood Celebrity boyfriend?” quiz one time, hoping it would give me him.

I got Ryan Gosling. Close enough.

Girly giggles penetrate my wandering thoughts and I clear my head just enough to see Kristen kissing Dylan’s cheek.

My stomach churns. They’re hooking up. Of course. Why did I even think that he’s merely giving her a ride? How dumb.

Still, it begs the question: What’s a goody-goody girl like Kristen doing with Dylan?

What, is she suddenly tired of messing around with a fellow square and now looking to slum with a drape?

Well, spoiler alert. Dylan doesn’t own a motorcycle and he has a terrible singing voice. Plus he can’t shed a single tear.

I should know.

He tried.

The only similarity he has with Cry-Baby is that he sports black hair—not slicked back—and wears a jacket—not even leather. That’s it.

Besides, Kristen doesn’t do casual hookups. She’s a relationship kind of girl. And I know the type of guys she dates—jocks and preppy guys. Two weeks ago, I saw her making out with a guy from the baseball team in front of her locker. And a month before that, she was dating a soccer player.

Should I warn her? Because it’s not going to last long. I’ll give it a day or two before Dylan is done with her. She’ll be yesterday’s news then. That’s what always happens. Different day, different girl.

As for me, I’ll just try to ignore the pain of seeing him with another girl. I’m used to it.

Kristen glances at me over her shoulder. “Um, aren’t we going to tell her?”

I give her a blank stare. “Tell me what?”

“Dylan and I”—She slants Dylan a shy smile, biting her lip as if that shit is sexy. It’s not. She actually looks a little constipated—“We’re together now.”

“You mean you’re hooking up?” I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I can see that clearly. You don’t have to spell it out, Kristen.” Did she feel the need to rub it in my face?

My snide comment makes her cheeks flush. It’s clear I’ve annoyed her. Good. Because the feeling is mutual.

She huffs out a breath. “No, Bianca. Dylan and I are not hooking up. We’re together.”

I just blink at her, like she’s speaking a foreign language.

“As in I’m his girlfriend?”

She’s Dylan’s girlfriend? Well, guess what, the earth is flat. Nice try.

If there’s one thing everybody knows about Dylan is that he doesn’t do girlfriends. He hooks up with a lot of girls, yes. But be an actual boyfriend? No way in hell. Dude is totally allergic to commitment. It’s literally one of his life rules: “Thou shall not commit to anyone.”

And now this chick is telling me she’s his girlfriend? She has to be out of her damn mind if she thinks I’d believe that for a second.

“Yeah, right,” I snort. “Keep dreaming.”

But Dylan shatters that with his next words. “Kristen’s telling the truth, B. We’re not just hooking up. She’s my girlfriend.” He punctuates that declaration by giving Kristen a quick kiss on the lips.

What? My mouth falls open, deafening silence ringing through my ears.

Dylan, the boy who’s never been a fan of dating and committed relationships, has a girlfriend.

Dylan, my best friend who has absolutely no idea that I’m completely, madly head-over-boots in love with him, is now someone else’s boyfriend.

Until now I’ve never known how it feels to have my heart ripped out of my chest and broken in pieces. I thought it was just a dramatic metaphor people use freely. Boy, was I wrong.

Swallowing the sudden bile in my throat, I force out a smile. “Cool.”

But inside? I’m dying.

Now available!!!

Acknowledgements

I'm finally published—holy crap! It feels a little surreal to be honest. Makes me want to pinch myself over and over.

But I digress.

This is the part where I get to thank a bunch of people. So here goes:

My parents, especially my mom - Mama Mercy, who's always always been supportive from day one. I know I probably haven't said it before, but you're the best mother a daughter could hope for.

My brother, Marlon, who was practically bullied to read and critique my book and then promote it afterwards. Thank you for putting up with my demands. Now the work starts, bitch. Ha ha.

Jeannie, one of my closest friends since high school - thank you for taking the time to read this and lend your editorial skills. I would have missed those errors otherwise. I really appreciate the help.

Another Marlon - my dear friend since college - thank you for being the first one to ask if my book was already out so you could go ahead and buy it despite your busy schedule. That means a lot.

The Redditors who helped beta read my book then gave comments afterwards - thank you for the awesome feedback and suggestions!

Special mention to Malen, Rosell, Yves and Norlyn. Thanks for being there, ladies.

And finally to you, the ones who took a chance in reading this book, thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed reading about Sean and Kenzie as much as I enjoyed writing them. Reviews are never demanded, but highly appreciated.

About the Author

Madeleine Labitan lives and breathes for three things: books, coffee and Netflix. Deny her of one and you'll make an enemy for life.

A freelance writer and virtual assistant, she pretends to be a dedicated hard worker most days, while secretly preferring to instead spend hours falling in lust with hot book boyfriends and hating on their heroines (lucky bitches!).

She's been writing most of her life, and after nearly a decade of procrastinating, finally decided to try her luck on being an author.

Truth or Dare is her first foray into publishing world and hopefully not the last...

And, oh, she’s in social media. Not that active, but she tries:

Facebook: Madeleine Labitan

Twitter: @myinkonpaper

Instagram: myinkonpaper

Blog: Madeleine’s Books

Never miss out on important updates! Join her mailing list here.

Bayfield High Series

Truth or Dare

Kiss and Make Up

Perfectly Clueless

Kiss and Make Up

Book 2 in the Bayfield High series

Will she give the boy who broke her heart another chance?

As far as Madison Cooper is concerned, she's done with Adam Hayes. He sealed that fact the day he believed the rumors and publicly dumped her.

No. She's not going to talk and laugh with him like nothing happened. She's not going to listen to his lousy explanations. And she's definitely not going to let him kiss her breathless.

No, no and a big no. Thank you very much!

Right?

If only she didn't find herself breaking every one of those promises...

Now available!!!