CHAPTER 1
The Past
"Nerdalert!"
The narrow hallways of Ashburton High were packed with students spilling out of their second-period class, yet Harrison's deep voice seemed to carry over and above the rest of the student body.
I rolled my eyes despite the blush creeping up my smooth cheeks. I wasn't embarrassed. I was pissed.
Harrison O'Connor.
Popular jock, QB of our high school football team. Currently banging the head cheerleader—if rumors were to be believed. What a fucking walking cliche.
Yes, he was talented on the football field, popular with students and teachers, and stupidly handsome. But to me, he was the epitome of evil. My bully. My tormentor.
Ashburton was a small town. Everyone had grown up together; everyone knew everybody's business.
Harrison and I had known each other since we were toddlers. We were in the same playgroup, the same Sunday School class, and the same school classes. When he was a boy, he was the sweetest thing.
I had admired him back then. He was always helpful, friendly, funny, and kind. I was too young to really classify my feelings as a crush, but looking back, I recalled an overwhelming affection towards Harrison; an affinity of sorts. It certainly was the last time I felt anything other than distaste for him.
When Harrison was around fourteen years old, something changed. It started out slowly at first. Physically, he became different—his body filled out, he grew almost a foot taller than all the boys in our year, and he settled attractively into his lanky looks.
But then he procured a new set of friends. All good looking. Athletic. Popular.
And mean.
It didn't take long for his personality to morph, too. It happened almost overnight.
I was walking across the football field after school, my arms laden with books. Three boys were approaching me, and I instantly tensed before their figures cleared and I could decipher who they were. Harrison, James, and Kyle.
Keeping a wary eye on Kyle, I continued to trek forward. I wasn't worried about the other boys, but if anyone were to bully me, it would be Kyle. I wouldn't put it past him to stick his leg out as I walked past, regardless of his audience.
Kyle had grown up with a chip on his shoulder, always targeting the weaker kids no matter their gender. Which, of course, meant that I fell under his warpath.
Curiously, despite his behavior, he still retained his popular status among his peers. Go figure. Being a shithead really paid off.
I was puzzled as to why Harrison was hanging out with Kyle, but I felt grateful and relieved at that moment that he was there. I was ignorantly safe in the knowledge that Kyle would either not lash out at me because of Harrison or, if he did, Harrison would for sure stick up for me.
As I approached the group, I attempted to trace my steps away from their eyeline without being too obvious. Bullies could smell fear a mile away.
My heart sank when Kyle mirrored my steps, a Joker-looking smile creeping onto his face. I could feel my heartbeat thrumming quickly when I realized I had no option but to brush past him.
I cried out when he slapped my books out of my hand. He laughed in evil glee at my distress, his eyes lighting up as he sneered down at me.
"Why are you always reading, you fucking nerd? That's why you have no friends." He snickered again, glancing around him to ensure he still had an enraptured audience.
My lip wobbled, but I was determined not to cry. I would do that in private.
I glanced at Harrison, expecting him to shove Kyle away from me, tell him to get lost and help gather my books. But what he did next shocked and broke my heart.
"She has no friends because she's ugly, not because she's a nerd!"
I stood there in stunned silence, disbelief washing over me as I let those cruel words sink in. Surely that sentence did not just come out of Harrison's mouth? My friend. The boy who never said a bad word to or about anyone in all the years I'd known him.
When I glanced at him, I was taken aback by the look in his eyes. Instead of the warm chocolate brown I was used to, his gaze pierced me with an unfamiliar mocking glint. I knew then that I wasn't mistaken.
"Harrison," I whispered, my bright blue eyes clouding with hurt.
