Honestly, I don't even know what this is. Enjoy anyways, readers.
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It's not like she was proud of it or anything, but Alicia Rivera was pretty sure that she had and knew more secrets than the girls of Pretty Little Liars.
Now, she wasn't a liar exactly, she was just really good at keeping things to herself. Some of the things she knew were unbearable, just too scandalous to be told.
When she was in middle school, she was always a bit of a gossip girl. If she heard something, she would tell someone. She would usually tell her inner circle; Massie, Dylan, Kristen, and Claire. Sometimes she would even go blurting it out to Olivia Ryan, a friend of hers from Body Alive Dance Studio. No matter what the secret was, she would always find a way to get it out.
The whole gossip girl thing had worn off once she entered high school. No, it wasn't because she miraculously matured- okay, maybe a little.
What really shut her up?
Well, when she was a mere freshman, bright-eyed and so very innocent, she had been making the treacherous journey to the Math room for free period. Up three sets of stairs, through four different hallways, and past five couples sucking face in the open. The Math room was always empty, no matter what, so she liked to go there and gather her thoughts in peace. It was a time to get away from all the drama and secrets, a time to have a little independence from her close-knit group of friends.
But when she made to open the classroom door, she heard voices. Whispers of affection, some a little bit too obscene for her young ears. When she was just about to turn away and go back to where she had walked there from, she heard it. The two little words that no man wants to hear.
"I'm pregnant."
Alicia's hand had flown to her mouth, covering up a super cliché gasp. Cracking the door a little bit to look inside, she saw Mrs. Messerschmidt and Mr. Harvey, the Math and Spanish teachers respectively. Mrs Messerschmidt had been seated on top of one of the front student tables- Alicia had made a mental note to never sit there- and Mr. Harvey had been standing between her open legs.
Both teachers were married, and Alicia wasn't sure she could hear anymore of the conversation. But when she had made a hasty move to turn away and run, her lace button-down top had gotten caught on a splinter of wood on the door. And when she had tried to gently remove the expensive top, she had stumbled on her tan wedges, and fallen through the now-open door.
To say the least, both teachers had raised her grades to an A+, and Alicia had learned never to wear wedge heels to school again. Ever.
Ever since then, Alicia had been a bottomless pit of never-ending secrets. She had even made a long list of them, just to keep her from blurting them all out to the world.
Mrs. Messerschmidt and Mr. Harvey are having an affair and a child together.
Kristen Gregory is actually poor.
Mrs. Block has been "borrowing" money from the bank to support the big family move back to Westchester from England.
Massie Block and Todd Lyons have make out sessions in the eraser room during lunch.
Landon Crane hooked up with Skye Hamilton at last year's end of the year party.
Layne Abeley hacks into the schools computers to get the answers to final exams.
Claire Lyons stole four dresses from Betsey Johnson to hold her for the entire junior year's formal dances.
Dylan Marvil payed Chris Plovert to take her to prom every year for the rest of high school.
And those were just the secrets she could remember. Who knew what others she was leaving out. Of course she felt terrible about keeping these all inside of her, but it wasn't like she had an actual choice about whether she could spill them or not. These were people's lives she could potentially ruin!
Stuffing the little piece of notebook paper to the bottom of her newest Marc Jacobs messenger bag, Alicia flipped her long braid over her shoulder and made her way out the front door to her cherry red Mustang convertible. She liked to note that it was a big step up from her middle school Schwinn. With music from the cast of Glee blasting through her speakers and the wind blowing through the pieces of hair that had made their way loose from her braid, she was off to another day at Crawford Day.
If there was one thing Alicia knew that wasn't a secret, it was that school uniforms didn't look good on anyone unless they went to Crawford. The girls' uniform was a cute navy school skirt, knee-high socks, any shoes, and any form of white, beige, cream, or ivory top. The boys were much simpler, with their khaki pants and any color polo shirt.
Her white iPhone 4 rang, and Alicia turned the stereo down. "Kris?"
"Leesh? It's Kris."
Alicia rolled her wide brown eyes, turning into the parking lot of Crawford. "I know, Kristen. Caller ID."
"Oh. Right. Anyways, are you almost he- oh! Alicia, I see you! Do you see me?"
The Latina looked around, spotting her best friend flailing around by the entrance. She laughed and parked her car next to a black Mercedes Benz. "Yeah, Kris. I see you. Cute top, by the way. Lacoste?" She should have known better than to ask, but if she didn't, Kristen would catch on that Alicia knew her big secret. She heard Kristen stutter a bit, then laugh nervously.
"Uh, yeah, Lacoste. Yeah. Meet me in the foyer!"
When the dirty blonde hung up her cellphone and rushed into the building, Alicia couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl. She had gone from being the daughter of a very wealthy artist and living in the Montador building, to living in a cheap apartment complex. The fact that she was able to keep this secret for so long helped keep Alicia from telling anyone. Alicia knew that if she herself had been middle-class, she wouldn't want anyone to know. It's not that she was shallow or anything, it was just that she didn't want to be at the end of Massie's never-ending string of insults.
Alicia straightened the sleeves of her brand-new, cream lace top and smiled down at her red TOMS-clad feet. She had really stuck to her no-wedges rule. The Latina walked up the stairs into the large, ivy-covered, three-story building and made her way to the foyer. On her way to meet Kristen, she spotted a royal purple poster tacked up on the large, floor-to-ceiling bulletin board. It had a picture of none other than Massie Block, with the words "vote Massie for Prom Queen!" written in glittery script.
Sometimes, Alicia wondered why she was even friends with Massie. Then, she always came to the conclusion that they had been brought together by fate, so she might as well just go with it. It wasn't like there was anyone else at Crawford for her to hang out with.
At Crawford, most of the student body was split up into little cliques. You had the following:
The Usual Suspects; me, Kristen Gregory, Massie Block, Derrick Harrington, Chris Plovert, Josh Hotz, Olivia Ryan, Danny Robins, and Kemp Hurley.
The Art Freaks; Layne Abeley, Claire Lyons, Dylan Marvil, Todd Lyons, Strawberry McAdams, Dempsey Solomon, and Heather Suarez.
The Senior Crowd (also part of the Usual Suspects); Landon Crane, Skye Hamilton, Harris Fisher, Dune Baxter and of course the others that don't really matter.
Bitches and Hoes; Nina Callas, Nikki Dalton, Meena Reyna, Abbey Boyd, and Hadley Durk.
And everybody else? Well they just stuck with their loser friends, always out of the drama. That's probably the reason Alicia doesn't know any of their secrets. And that's saying something, because she know a lot of secrets. Don't think she hasn't realized all of the opportunities from this secret-knowing thing. She definitely has. Alicia could be Crawford's very own Gossip Girl, or maybe even an excellent blackmailer. There was tons of stuff she could do with these secrets, but she just couldn't find it inside of her to do anything with them.
When she was just about to roll her eyes and walk away, she heard an all-too familiar voice behind her.
"Hello, Alicia."
Alicia turned to see Dylan Marvil, her once best friend. The redhead had drifted away from their group freshman year, along with Claire Lyons. She didn't know why exactly, but the two girls seemed to have changed overnight. It had been somewhat hard to get used to for Alicia, but not for Massie.
"Hey Dylan. Did you need something?"
Alicia used to have a lot of respect for the outspoken girl, but after she saw the secret prom date exchange go down between Dylan and Kemp, all of that respect had been hidden somewhere deep inside of her. Underneath the secrets, begging to be taken out and recognized again.
Sadness flashed across Dylan's face, and Alicia wasn't sure if the girl was faking it or not. "Alicia, I miss you. When are we-"
Massie shoved herself in front of Dylan then, Kristen at her right side. "Come on, Leesh."
Alicia followed them, turning around to mouth her apology to Dylan. Normally, Alicia would be annoyed with her friends for interrupting her. But today was different. Today was the day Alicia would meet him. Hermia had told her so at their last monthly meeting.
Before you start thinking that Alicia's some weird, superstitious freak, just know that she just really trusts the psychic. Every single time Hermia had predicted something, it always happened.
So that was why Alicia had known that she would be meeting the tall, dark-haired and handsome boy from Hermia's prediction. The psychic had told her that she would know it was him by his eyes.
"So you're voting me for prom queen, right?"
Alicia turned to Massie, a smile forcefully plastered on her tan face. "Of course, Mass!"
Kristen popped her white polo collar jokingly and said, "There's a new boy coming today."
Alicia visibly perked up, and Massie laughed, smacking her Glossip Girl-covered lips. "Shut up, Kris. Just give us the details."
"Yeah Kristen, details," Alicia sing-songed.
The blonde giggled excitedly. "Okay, okay! His name is Cam Fisher and he's Harris' little brother, he just moved here from Canada."
Alicia frowned. "Why didn't he live with Harris in the first place?"
Massie rolled her eyes at the Latina and said, "Leesh. It's obvious he's a bad boy. I mean, hello! Moving down to live with Harris in the middle of the year? He's probably a juvenile delinquent. I declare him unworthy and off-limits."
Alicia adjusted her messenger bag strap to keep her shoulders from slumping. There goes her potential dream guy. But if Massie Block could secretly screw Todd Lyons, then why couldn't Alicia at least talk to this new boy? It was time for her to start living for herself, and stop bowing down to Massie.
Using Massie's secret against her was a viable choice, and it practically calling for her to do so. But Alicia couldn't bring herself to do that; it just didn't seem like her.
"Ooh! Is that him?" Kristen slightly shoved Massie out of her way, looking towards a scruffy-looking dark-haired guy.
Alicia turned in the same direction and almost choked. This Cam guy was gorgeous. He had messy dark hair, two different colored eyes, and wore a worn leather jacket over his navy blue polo. "I call dibs!"
Scoffing, Massie yanked Alicia's arm towards her. "Hello, off limits? Come on, we're going to be late for first period."
Alicia eyed Cam again. "I'll meet you guys there." They gave her shocked expressions. "Surfing a crimson wave! It's a big one," she lied.
The other girls nodded, slightly grossed out and slightly understanding. "See you there."
The Latina waited until her friends were all the way around the corner, then counted to ten. She was about to turn when a deep voice sounded behind her.
"You okay?"
Alicia swiftly turned around, coming face-to-face with Cam. "Oh! Yeah. Totally," she said, trying her best to sound smooth.
The gorgeous boy nodded and said, "I'm Cam."
She shook his hand firmly, cautious of her red-painted nails not digging into his palm. "Alicia. You know, a psychic told me I'd meet a boy with strange eyes."
Cam laughed, and Alicia immediately felt stupid for saying that. "Do you always start with that line?"
She blushed red, embarrassment obvious. "It's not-"
"How much does a polar bear weigh?" He looked serious.
When Alicia opened her mouth to answer, Cam interrupted with, "Enough to break the ice."
She laughed a little too loud, and he smiled. "There. Now we both feel stupid."
They laughed together, and Alicia noticed a guitar pick at his feet. "Did you drop this?" He looked down, picked it up, and before he could say yes, Alicia asked, "Do you play? Were you in a band? My friend Derrick's band is looking for a bass player slash singer since Derrick's a terrible singer and Danny Robins can't play bass for shit. You should talk to them about joining! Do you want me to talk to them for you? Am I talking too much?"
He nodded, smiling. "I do that a lot, sorry," she said quietly.
"Don't be sorry. It's cute," he offered, smiling still. "And yes, I was in a band. We did a lot of Fall Out Boy and Simple Plan stuff."
Alicia offered a small smile. "Are those bands?"
Cam laughed again. Alicia liked it when he laughed. "You've never heard of them? Okay, I'm converting you as soon as possible. Do you need a ride home?"
She instantly thought of Massie. "I have a car, sorry."
Cam tilted his head. "Then I'll give you a ride to school tomorrow morning, so you can pick up your car," he insisted.
Alicia smiled. "Maybe. I have to get to class. I'm already like ten minutes late, and you don't want to get into trouble."
"Fair enough. Let me know later, Alicia."
In that moment between when her eyes left Cam's gorgeous face and met the hall before her, Alicia decided that for once, she'd do what she wanted to do. She'd let Cam take her home today. And everyday after it if she got the chance. Maybe it was time to have her own secret, what was one other to add to the list?
Massie could suck it.