A/N: This is my first story. I've read them for years and finally decided to give it a shot myself. The characters belong to James Patterson. Enjoy!
Chapter One
Beep. Beep. Beep. I roll over and silence my alarm before walking to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I see that my dirty blond hair is a complete mess. I pull it back and brush my teeth then head back to my room to get dressed.
I throw on my black floral tank top, a pair of blue jeans, and my worn out Converse before grabbing my bag and sliding into my beat up black Stratus. The paint is chipping and the radio doesn't work but it was cheap and anything is better than taking the bus.
My dad, Jeb, and I just moved here this summer for his job so today is my first day. But I'm a senior so I won't be here long.
I reach the school, park my car, and head towards the front doors. I look around at all of the people talking and hugging and I suddenly realize how nervous I am. It might only be a year, but that doesn't mean I want to spend it alone.
As I walk through the courtyard, I hear a group of guys talking about all of the advanced classes they're taking and some girls whispering about homecoming. I feel a knot forming in my stomach as I approach a large statue of the school mascot.
"Hey," a voice says from behind me. I turn to see a skinny girl with pale skin, brown hair, and glasses walking towards me with a camera. "You must be new," she says eyeing me.
"Is it that obvious?" I ask awkwardly.
"Not at all! I'm in charge of yearbook so it's kind of my job to know everyone," she gives me a smile before continuing. "Actually, I was wondering if I could get a picture of you next to the statue?"
I look at the statue, then back at her. "I guess so," I answer, trying to figure out a pose that doesn't look stiff or stupid. I finally decide to stand, smile, and hope for the best.
"That's great! Thank you. I'm J.J. by the way," she says, putting her camera in her bag.
"I'm Max," I say, grinning slightly.
She smiles back, throwing her back over her shoulder. "Well it was nice meeting you, Max. I'll see you later."
And with that, she turned and walked off, leaving me alone by the statue. I sigh to myself and look around. Suddenly, I hear a voice appear from behind me. "Are you okay? You look a little lost."
I turn and see a girl with straight black hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. "Oh yeah…" I start. "Just first day jitters, I guess."
She gives me a big smile. "I know how that feels. I was new last year and almost hyperventilated I was so nervous." She pauses blushing. "Anyway, I'm Ella. I thought you might need a friend."
"Thanks, that's sweet of you. I'm Max."
"Can I see your schedule," she asks but takes it before I can answer. "Hey we have the same homeroom! Come with me." Ella grabs my hand and drags me inside.
We walk into the class and every seat is filled except for two in the front and two in the back. "So, front or back?" Ella asks, looking nervously at the front two seats.
"I think we'd better take the back," I start but before I can finish, a girl with pink hair pushes past us and sits down in one of the back chairs.
"You snooze, you loose," she grins. "And I'm saving this one for Nick."
Just as I open my mouth to argue, I feel someone bump into me. I spin around and see a tall guy with olive-toned skin, dark eyes, and shaggy black hair standing behind me. I cross my arms and block his path. His expressionless face begins to glare down at me.
"You're in my way." His voice is deep and quiet.
I glare back, "I could say the same thing to you." I hear Ella gasp behind me.
"Look, new girl. I'm just trying to get to my seat."
"I don't see your name on it," I counter, mentally patting myself on the back.
His glare is replaced with a smirk. "Oh, really?" He nods to the girl with pink hair. I follow his eyes as she turns the chair to reveal the word FANG carved in the back.
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Fang?"
"That's me," he says with a grin, pushing past me.
"I guess that leaves the front for us," I say to Ella.
She nods and sits down. I slide into a seat between her and a guy with dark, honey-colored hair and turquoise eyes.
"You must be new. I'm Dylan," the guy says smiling.
"I'm Max," I say for the third time that day. Suddenly, I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I turn my head and see a skinny guy with dark brown hair and an obnoxious smile.
"Oh, this is Holden. He introduced me to my girlfriend, Lissa," Dylan explains.
Holden groans. "Dude, you are way too hung up on that chick. Sure, she's hot but it's not like she's your wife."
Dylan laughs, "you'll understand when you fall in love."
"You're so lame," he says, rolling his eyes.
"Wow," I mumble.
"You got something to say, new girl?" Holden asks angrily.
"Nope," I answer, not wanting to fight on my first day.
"Good. I like a girl who knows when to hold her tongue," he smiles arrogantly, and I instantly regret not telling him off. "You should totally come to my party tonight." He glances behind me at Ella before raising his voice. "But leave your sidekick at home, I have standards."
I turn to see Ella running for the door just as the teacher walks in. She opens her mouth, probably to tell Ella to take a seat, until she sees how upset she is and moves out of her way.
"That, was hilarious!" Holden laughs from behind me.
I turn to glare at him, then stand up to follow Ella. Mrs. Moore hesitates, then hands me the hall pass. "Hurry back, please."
I walk out the door and head into the bathroom. Inside, I find Ella sitting on the floor crying. "Are you okay?"
She looks up at me, her cheeks wet with tears. "What are you doing here?"
"You're my friend, Ella. And you're pretty much the only one I've got."
She nods, "I'm fine, you should go back to class."
"Nah, I'm good to wait here."
Ella wipes her tears on the back of her hand and gives me a small smile, "thanks… But you shouldn't be wasting your time on me. No one knows you, you've still got a chance to be popular."
I raise my eyebrow at her. "I don't understand. You seem great, why don't they like you?"
She looks down and shrugs. "It's always been this way," she whispers. "I spent last year doing homework, reading, and doodling in my notebook. I was just the quiet new girl crushing on the star football player."
I stare at her in disbelief. "Ew, you liked Holden?!"
"WHAT? No!" Ella blushes, "Dylan…"
"Oh! That makes way more sense. Isn't he dating Lissa?"
When she doesn't respond, I walk over and help her up.
"You know," she starts. "I've never been to a party. And I always told myself that it was a choice, that I never really wanted to go. But, when Holden said that… I realized it wasn't a choice, I was just being excluded." She begins crying again.
I sigh. "Trust me, Holden is so not worth getting upset over. I mean, how fun can a even party be with someone like him in charge of it?"
"He might be a jerk but he's popular. Everyone is going to be there, including Dylan. And he just heard his best friend call me a loser!"
"Well everything is going to change now that I'm here," I say smiling.
"How can anything change? I'm always going to be the nervous, awkward girl."
"Just let the past go. Start looking for new opportunities instead of hiding from them."
She stares at me for a minute before nodding. I put my hand on her shoulder. "Stick with me kid, because your life is about to change."
Just then, the bathroom door opens and a girl with mixed skin, green eyes, and black hair storms in looking stressed. She walks right into a stall without even looking our way. I glance at Ella who shrugs before walking towards the door to leave.
"Are you gonna be okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better now. Thanks for coming after me."
"No problem," I smile. "By the way, who was that girl?"
"Oh, that's Mara. She's our class president and is taking homecoming super serious this year," Ella explains.
After class, Nick - or "Fang" - follows me into the hall. "Hey," he starts. "That was pretty cool of you. You didn't have to go after her like that. I wouldn't have."
"Um, thanks?"
"Sorry, I don't usually give compliments," he laughs nervously.
"You don't seem so bad to me."
"That just shows how little you know me," he winks before turning and disappearing into the crowd.
I shake my head and follow the rest of the students to the the pep rally. Inside the gym, I see Ella and sigh in relief as I sit next to her on the bleachers. Before I can thank her for saving me a spot, loud music begins playing as a blond woman with pale skin and bright clothes runs toward the podium in the center of the gym.
"Welcome to your first day at our beautiful school!" The woman starts excitedly. When she isn't met with applause, she hesitates and looks around nervously. She sees me and I give her an encouraging smile.
She takes a deep breath and keeps going. "As some of you know, I am Principal Anne Walker. And I'm very excited to start the new school year with all of you." She smiles and nods to the band to start playing.
Ella and I stand up and follow the rest of our classmates out of the gym. Outside, the girl from the bathroom - Mara - runs up to us holding a notebook and a pen.
"Hello, Ella. New girl," she says looking from Ella to me. "I'm here to ask some questions for the Homecoming Committee."
I glance at Ella then nod for Mara to continue.
"Great. First question, do you plan on attending the Homecoming dance?"
"Um… Well it's my first day, I hadn't really thought about it," I say honestly.
She sighs, annoyed. "That doesn't answer my question! How am I supposed to plan a dance if know one even knows if they're coming? How much food do I order? What if no one shows up at all?"
For a second, I'm afraid she might start crying but she just shakes her head, turns on her heel, and storms down the hallway.
Ella and I exchange a look before heading for the cafeteria.
We walk into the room and stare at the large crowds of people. I look at all of the different groups: the football players, the band, the cheerleaders, the gamers, and the skaters.
A/N: It's going to take a long time to explain who's who so I'm just putting everyone's description at the end of this chapter.
Ella looks at me with large eyes, "I don't think I can handle these crowds. But you should get to know more people." And with that, she was gone.
I grabbed my tray and started looking around, thinking about what group I wanted to sit with. I ended up walking over to Dylan's table, since he was one the only person I'd talked to other than Ella and Mara.
"Hi." No one moves.
Dylan looks at the only football player I haven't met. "Are you okay, Ari? You seem distracted." I follow Ari's gaze and see he's staring at the girl who took my photo this morning, J.J., and some guy with messy chestnut hair and hazel eyes.
Holden looks between J.J. and Ari then starts laughing. "Dude, you guys broke up a year ago. Plus, she's not even that hot. Move on already."
Ari glares back. "I know you're trying to help, but don't ever talk about her again," he growls.
Holden puts his hands up defensively then leads back, grabbing a fry off of his tray.
Dylan desperately tries to change the subject and looks at me for help. I begin starting, trying to help him out. "Yeah, um how's football?" I ask stupidly.
Dylan gives me a grateful smile, "it's great, are you thinking about trying out?"
I open my mouth, a little stunned by the question. I mean, come on. It's my first day! But before I can answer, Ari looks at me with a big grin.
"That's a great idea! You sure look fast. We should go down to the field and have a race!"
I try to shake my head, but I'm interrupted again, this time by Dylan.
"Definitely, and we can show Max some moves for tryouts."
"Are you guys sure about this?" I ask nervously. It's my first day, I don't really know these guys, and I have no idea if I want to be on the football team.
"Positive," Dylan says. "I wanna see what you got."
"This is going to be hilarious," Holden laughs. "I can't wait to see you humiliate yourself."
I glare and suddenly want to kick his ass, even if it's just in a race. "You're on!"
We walk out of the cafeteria and onto the football field. The four of us get in position on the 50 yard line.
"I can't believe I agreed to race against some girl," Holden complains.
"Why? You afraid to lose to a girl?" I smirk at him.
Before he can argue, Ari steps in. "Less talking, more running. 1… 2… 3!"
We take off, with Holden in front and me in the back. I start picking up the pace, before long, I pass Ari and come up behind Dylan. I take a deep breath and push myself harder. I pass him and begin focusing on the distance between me and Holden. Only one more, I think to myself. Keep going, you need to beat him. But just at I start to pass him, he stretches out his arm and whacks me in the face.
"Oops," he laughs as he crosses the end zone.
"You know, it's not a win if you cheat," Ari scolds when he and Dylan catch up.
Holden scoffs and storms off. "Sorry about him, Max. He can be a real jerk sometimes," Dylan apologizes.
"Well, regardless, you were obviously fast. You should really consider trying out. We could use you," Ari smiles.
"Thanks, it sounds like fun."
"That's great," Dylan gives me a huge smile. "With your speed, you'll make the team, no problem."
Before I can respond, the bell for class rings. We grab our stuff and head in different directions. As I'm walking, I suddenly become very aware of how sweaty I am. That'll make a great first impression in my next class, I think, regretting my decision to race.
After school, I find Ella talking to Dylan in the parking lot.
"What's going on?" I ask, a little nervous.
"I was just apologizing for what Holden said in homeroom this morning. He has a... weird sense of humor," Dylan says, not believing his own statement. "Sorry, he and I have been friends for years but, honestly? I'm getting tired of apologizing for him."
"Maybe you should stop. I mean, shouldn't Holden be the one apologizing?" I ask.
"You're right, but I don't think he's ever said 'sorry' to anyone."
"Then why do you hang out with him?"
"We've been friends since the 3rd grade. I can't just bail on him, no matter how bad he gets. It's just not who I am," Dylan sighs.
Ella opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by the sound of squealing tires. I turn my head and see a blue sports car pull up next to us. The driver slid out, ran up to Dylan, and started making out with him.
Ella looked away, obviously upset. I cleared my throat and watched as the redhead whipped her head around to glare at me. But she doesn't say anything, just her attention back to Dylan.
"Come on, Dylan. You promised you'd take me to dinner before the party," she pouts.
"Okay, I was just talking to —." But before he can finish the girl, who I can only assume is Lissa, cuts him off.
"Would you rather hang out with these losers or take me on a date?"
Dylan's brow furrows and he opens his mouth but is pulled toward her car before he can say anything. He gets in the car and waves as they speed off.
Ella looks at me, still upset. "Can you believe her?!"
"I know! She's horrible!" I answer.
Ella sighs. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she says, turning to leave.
"Wait," I grab her arm and spin her around.
"What?" She asked, eyes wide.
"You should crash the party with me!" I say, suddenly very excited.
She stares at me like I'm crazy, then smiles and nods.
A/N: So that's the first chapter of my first story. Here is the character list, as promised. Every character is taken directly from the MR books, I do not own any of them!
The Football Players:
Dylan: Dark, honey-colored hair, tan skin, and turquoise eyes.
Holden: Skinny, dark brown hair, and an obnoxious smile.
Ari: Tall, brown hair, tan skin, and dark eyes.
The Band:
Iggy: Icy blue eyes, pale skin, and strawberry blond hair.
Star: Blue-eyed, rail-thin, with with blond hair (usually in ponytail).
Gazzy: Short, curly blond hair and blue eyes.
The Cheerleaders:
Nudge: Curly brown hair, brown eyes, and smooth chocolate skin.
Brigid: Reddish-brown hair (always in a braid).
Angel: Curly blond hair, blue eyes, and light skin.
The Gamers:
Sam: Messy chestnut hair and hazel eyes.
Maya: Blue hair, brown eyes, and tan skin.
Ratchet: Glasses, green eyes, ginger hair, and freckles.
The Skaters:
Fang: Olive-toned skin, dark eyes, and shaggy black hair.
Kate: Asian, thick black hair, and a warm smile.
Tess: Pink hair, pale skin, and brown eyes.
Others:
Max: Brown eyes, dirty blond hair (with sun streaks), and tan skin.
Ella: Tan skin (darker than Max's), straight black hair, and brown eyes.
J.J. (Jennifer Joy): Pale skin, brown hair, and glasses.
Mara: Long, black hair that covers her left eye, mixed skin, and green eyes.
Anne: Blond with pale skin.
Jeb: Messy blond hair, glasses, and blue eyes.
Lissa: Long, neatly-parted red hair, green eyes, pale skin, and a lot of makeup.