Chapter 1: A Strange Twist

Life is a complicated and unpredictable phenomenon. Takes what you wanted, gives what you never asked for.

It was safe to say that Cornelia Hale was quite pleased with everything. She was tall, beautiful, had the perfect friends, perfect life – basically, the works. She was flying through college, marrying the perfect guy for her and would soon be living like a princess in a fairytale. What more could she ask for?

She didn't think when she woke up that morning, that her path, already intertwined with others' as it was, could set her on a course that would send her future spiraling completely out of control.

Sometimes, it's unfortunate things don't always turn out the way we hope.

The blonde girl threw her Marc Jacobs bag over her shoulder as she walked casually along the sidewalk. It was sunny, she was wearing a new outfit she had bought, class wasn't for another hour – life was perfect. Cornelia smiled to herself, basking in the spotlight of receiving envious looks from girls who passed her and appreciative glances from fairly good-looking New York males.

Thinking she'd stop by the corner Starbucks where the cute guy would always slip her a complementary doughnut with her usual Mocha Latte, Cornelia crossed the street, her long blonde hair swaying in the slight breeze.

A car honked as it drove by and two youths leaned out of the car window and whistled at her. She raised her eyebrows although secretly enjoying the attention. Too bad for them she wasn't available. Of course, she didn't pay that much attention to them; they were just –

Cornelia stood stock still as brown coffee seeped into her white trench coat and the cream cake slid off her chest and splattered on her shoes.

"Oh crap!" someone muttered staring at his empty Styrofoam cup.

The blonde girl began to tremble and could feel a big tantrum coming up. She took a deep breath to control the curses she was about to spit out. After all, a lady swearing and screaming in public was never in.

Her offender finally looked up and opened his mouth to say something when he caught sight of her clothes and the expression on her usually pretty face. That's when he made the huge mistake of letting an amused grin cross his face.

Screw the public.

Cornelia growled angrily and she ripped her jacket off and kicked the mess off her flats. Struggling to form coherent words, she gave him the biggest glare she could muster.

While any other girl would have probably let this go after staring at his gorgeous face, Cornelia refused to become distracted. This guy was about to get a piece of her mind.

"Stop. Laughing."

He bit his lip to smother the grin without success. That did it for her.

"Look mister! You have some nerve –"

He raised his eyebrows and she faltered suddenly feeling a little put off. Maybe she could deal with him later. She shook her head slightly before turning around and walking away, trying to conserve whatever dignity she had left.

The boy watched her go, his bright green eyes trailing her. He too shook his head as he tossed the empty cup away and muttered, "Nice to see you too…Cornelia."


Few days later – The Mall

"Look!" said Cornelia tugging on Will's arm. "There's that guy who spilt coffee all over me. Wait till I get my hands on him! Come on."

"Cornelia…" Will feebly protested. There was no real point trying to go against her. The blonde used her 'subtle tactic' to get closer to where the guy was sitting at the food court with some friends. This involved stopping every few shops and pretending to look at stuff instead of walking up directly where they could easily be spotted.

They were two shops away when Cornelia looked up. "Hey, where'd he go?"

Will looked around and thought she spotted him heading to the escalators. "Is that him?" She pointed at the group, wondering whether or not to regret helping her sometimes unreasonable friend. Cornelia grabbed her arm and pulled a bottle of coke out of her bag. "Oh…no…" Will muttered deciding she did regret it after all.

She and Cornelia stealthily followed them to the top when her friend stopped. "That's not him," she said turning on Will who immediately blew a sigh of relief. "He's too short!" Crossing her arms, she turned and started looking around. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Cornelia!"

Cornelia spun around and shrieked as she came face to face with a brown haired, green eyed stranger. She took a step back and teetered over the edge of the escalators and grabbed wildly at his jacket.

Unfortunately, she still lost her balance and dragged both of them down.

The end result was not pretty.