Author's Note: I've decided to write a high-school romance, but hopefully it's not like the cliched ones you've all read.
This story is loosely based on the book "Perfect Chemistry" by Simone Elkeles, and features one of my favourite couples: Tiffany and Justin.
Hope you all enjoy, leave your feedback in a review :)
"Mum," Tiffany said worriedly, "are you serious?" staring out the window of the shiny black Escalade, she saw their new home, if you could even call it that. Her mum pulled into the shared parking lot of a double-storey, brick apartment complex, the rundown building wrapping around the car park in a 'u' shape, "you can't expect me to live here!" Tiffany protested.
Her mum turned to face her only daughter, her eyes red and puffy from lack of sleep and too much crying. Her usually perfectly styled platinum blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun, like she didn't care about her appearance anymore, "look, I know you're used to living the high life, so am I, but you father was the one who provided all of that," Tiffany could tell her mum was choking back tears as she talked about her soon-to-be former husband, the founder and chairperson of 'Terrell Real Estate', the leading real estate agency in New York, "this is the best we can afford at the moment, until the money from the divorce comes through."
Tiffany hated her father. She hated him for cheating on her mum with his secretary, she hated him for all the trouble he's caused her family since her mum found out about the affair and most of all she hated him for causing her mum to decide to leave behind their lavish life in Manhattan. Their penthouse level apartment on the Upper East side, her friends, everything. And now they were here, living in some crummy town in Vermont called Lorcliff. Tiffany stepped out of the Escalade and surveyed her surroundings. Walls of the apartment complex were spray painted with all sorts of graffiti, windows of rooms were smashed; some covered up with cardboard and newspaper, the basketball court across the road looked like it was used for much more sinister activities then a friendly neighbourhood game.
"Tiff," her mum interrupted Tiffany's thoughts, "I saw a general store back on the corner, can you go and get cleaning supplies? Bleach, window cleaner, surface spray, stuff like that. It's the first thing I plan to do when we go inside." Tiffany smiled at her mum, knowing that she liked everything to be spotless, in this situation though, Tiffany didn't complain about having to clean, "I'm going to go and talk to our new landlord." Tiffany watched as her mum entered the small building just off of the complex, before slamming the door of the Escalade shut and storming down the cracked concrete pathway towards the general store.
The store smelt like smoke and was dimly lit, finding the aisle which contained the cleaning products Tiffany hurriedly grabbed anything which she thought could be put to good use. Placing the 50 dollar bill on the grimy counter, she waited nervously for the cashier to scan her items and hand her the change, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.
Once she was back at her new home, Tiffany saw her mum heading up to what she supposed was their room. A group of guys were standing outside on the balcony smoking, drinking and laughing. Tiffany noticed that they were all tanned, muscled and hot, completely different to the neatly groomed, designer clad guys she was used to in Manhattan, though this difference set off a spark of excitement inside of her, she'd always wanted to kiss a guy with dreads and tattoos.
Walking up the concrete stairs towards the room, a series of wolf whistles and cat calls pieced through the silence, Tiffany self-consciously pulled her tight, low-cut, baby pink tee up as she reached the group of mysterious guys. "Well boys, look at what we have here," one of the guys stepped in front of Tiffany, blocking her path to the room. He ran a hand over his buzz cut hairstyle, and crossed his tattooed arms over his chest, "don't get many of them 'round here, and I ain't talkin' bout the Escalade."
"Yeah baby girl, you lost?" questioned the dreadlocked man Tiffany had noticed earlier, "you don't belong here," he added as he raked his eyes over her body; tight top, faded Diesel jeans and black Louboutin pumps.
"Clearly," Tiffany said, trying not to show how intimidated she was, as the two men towered over her, even with her 4 inch heels, "I don't belong here. But I do live here," she stated, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder, "so can you please move so I can get to my room?"
"Ooh, Justin, you're neighbour's feisty," an African American nudged the guy standing next to him, who Tiffany guessed was Justin. His hazel eyes were locked on her own, studying her. Tiffany quickly looked away, before pushing past the dreadlocked and tattooed guys and entering her new home. Tiffany couldn't deny that she was attracted to Justin, his fohawk and muscular build turned her on immediately, but deep down she knew that he, along with his friends were bad news.
Though I have always had a thing for bad boys Tiffany thought, remembering how none of the males at her exclusive Manhattan school ever did anything that could be classed as 'bad'. Suddenly all thoughts of Justin - and boys in general - fled Tiffany's mind as she saw the state of the apartment her mum and her would be living in. Paint was peeling off the walls, the carpet was threadbare and dead insects were scattered around on the floor. Tiffany wanted to run as far away from this place as she could and take a long bath in disinfectant.
"Tiff, come here," her mum called out from somewhere within the apartment, "and bring all that cleaning stuff with you."
Walking into the bathroom, Tiffany was glad that she had bought extra strength bleach, "you'd think they'd clean this place," Tiffany muttered to herself. Donning gloves and giving her mum a pair, Tiffany helped scrub the shower, toilet and every visible surface of the bathroom until it smelt overpoweringly of bleach and her mum was satisfied that it would be impossible to pick up any diseases or infections.
"Be a darl and get the vacuum cleaner from the car will you?" her mum asked, "bedrooms are our next project, I'm cleaning those mattresses before we sleep on them, who knows what's happened in those rooms!"
Tiffany couldn't wait until the removalist van arrived tomorrow so she could sleep in her own, pest free bed, and decorate her room so it somewhat reminded her of her life in Manhattan. Hauling the vacuum cleaner out of the car and struggling to get it up the stairs, Tiffany had to deal with Justin and his group once again, "if any of you were gentlemen, you would've helped me."
"Yeah, it must be hard work liftin' something heavier than your designer handbag," buzz cut guy said "poor you."
"Look," Justin said, "you may be all Beverly Hills, but now you're livin' in the Bronx babe, better get used to it," he called out as Tiffany slammed the door on him and his laughing mates.