(Callie's POV)

My alarm clock sounded in my ear, playing "Someone like you" by Safetysuit, my favorite band, waking me up from my less than pleasant sleep. I was actually kind of grateful to be waking up, able to get away from the nightmares that haunted me while I slept.

I wasn't sure why I had been having nightmares and most of the time it was just me, stranded in the middle of the woods with nowhere to go. I couldn't find my way out and every time I tried, I just got even more lost. Just as I thought I'd be getting somewhere, something would stop me and I would wake up in a dead sweat, trying to comprehend.

This morning was the same as the others, although the only difference was that I had to get up and got to classes. It was the first day of the fall semester at Spenser Academy in Ipswich, Massachusetts and it was my senior year. I'd attended Spenser since I was a freshman and it hadn't changed much in the four years I'd spent there.

My Dad was in the military and I hardly ever saw him. During the summer and winter seasons when the students were sent back home from the school, I went home to the empty house in Vermont with a few housekeepers and that was all. My mother had died when I was seven and my father rarely ever came home, he was some big-wig in the Air Force and I was pretty positive that he'd never really wanted a kid in the first place, hence why he was never around.

I got up out of my bed, kicking the covers off and standing up. I was glad that my father paid the extra tuition money for me to have a single room all to myself, complete with a personal bathroom as well – it was literally the greatest thing ever. Pulling off the t-shirt I'd slept in last night, I headed to the bathroom to shower.

Once I was cleaned and smelling fresh, I went back into my room and found my uniform hanging up in my closet. I pulled on the pleated plain gray skirt and the white button-up shirt, tucking it in and buttoning it up, then pulled on the navy blue jacket and red tie. God, they were hideous and I hated everything about them, but they had to be worn.

I brushed out my brown hair and left it down to dry in natural waves. I didn't put on any makeup, as usual and only sprayed myself a bit with some perfume. The clock read quarter after seven and I was starving. Classes didn't start until eight so I figured I had time to go grab breakfast at the dining hall before the first class. I slipped on my Sperry's over the navy blue, knee high socks, grabbed my book bag and headed for the door, locking it behind me.

The dining hall wasn't as packed as I thought it would be on the first day of classes, but I didn't mind. I toasted my bagel, spread some cream cheese on it, grabbed a cup of coffee and found a secluded table next to the window Of course, it was raining. It seemed that was all it ever did here in Ipswich. I sat, picking at my food while watching the rain fall outside.

There was a commotion coming from the entrance of the dining hall and I turned my face to see what it was. Of course, I should have already known. The Sons of Ipswich had just walked through the doors.

The four Sons were the most popular guys in school, their parents were the four richest families in town and had been here for three centuries. Let's just say that they got pretty much whatever they wanted, girls included. It didn't surprise me though; they were all incredibly good looking.

The Sons of Ipswich: Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Tyler Simms and of course, Mr. Ladies-Man himself, Reid Garwin. I rolled my eyes as I watched them glide into the hall, turning all heads as they walked to get their breakfast. A brunette girl with dark skin ran up to Pogue, kissing him on the cheek and holding onto his arm. I was pretty sure that was his long-time girlfriend….what was her name? Kate?

It amazed me the way that people treated those four boys. As soon as they walked into any room is was as if the whole royal family was present. Girls fell at their feet and teachers treated them differently, even if they tried to hide it, everyone still knew that they were afraid of them and their families.

I'd never really talked to any of them and I didn't really have much desire to either. They all seemed to think they were better than everyone else and I wasn't really interested in befriending people like that. I really only had two good friends at this school, Hannah and Matt. They'd been my friends since we were freshman and they were really all I had here. Matt was this level-headed guy who always thought things through and hated to party and hated the sons of Ipswich even more. Meanwhile, Hannah was completely obsessed with them, Tyler Simms especially.

I was in between. I wasn't obsessed with the guys but I didn't hate them like Matt did. He said "They just think that they're better than everyone else and deserve to be able to walk all over people all the time" which I thought was pretty true, but I didn't hate them. Although Reid may have been the exception. They'd never done anything to me. I was pretty sure I'd never even spoken to any of them before and they didn't even know I existed. I didn't mind, I liked going unnoticed. It's worked the last three years and I was positive this year wasn't going to be any different.

I walked to my first class, English Literature and took a seat off to the side, making sure to save a seat on either side of me for Matt and Hannah because I knew that this was the only class I had with them in the morning then we had another one together at the end of the day.

The whole room went silent and I looked up at the door to see the four God-like boys walk in, Pogue with the dark haired girl in tow behind him. As much as I hated to admit it, they really were all gorgeous. They were the star swimmers at Spenser and had incredible bodies that were evident even under the white collared shirts and the blue dress jackets. They all had dark hair except for one and he happened to be the biggest asshole of them all.

Reid Garwin.

He was the 'bad boy' of the group and definitely the biggest man-whore in school. I couldn't even begin to count how many girls he's slept with and it was only for sex. He'd never been in a relationship; he just took girls out, had sex with them then moved on to the next. Every girl in school knew this, yet they still lined up to be with him, knowing what would happen in the long run.

I rolled my eyes. He really thought that his shit didn't stink. They walked up the stairs and I knew I was staring but I couldn't bring myself to look away. As much as I knew he was a player, he was still really something to look at. His blonde hair hung down to his ears and fell to his eyebrows in front of his face and his dark blue eyes were mesmerizing. His muscles were evident through his layers and he had a smirk on his face that was both attractive and annoying at the same time.

I was just about to look away when his eyes flickered to mine, catching me staring. My eyes widened and my heart stopped. I knew his eyes were blue, but I didn't know they were that….beautiful. God, he was gorgeous.

He knew I had been staring; he had to have because he just grinned smugly and winked at me. I scowled and tore my gaze away, looking down at my notebook. Yes, he was definitely a huge douchebag.

Hannah and Matt walked in then and found me and took their seats next to me.

"Welcome back," Matt droned, pushing his black hair out of his eyes. It was so shiny all the time and I wondered how he always made it like that.

I smiled and nudged him with my shoulder. "It's not that bad."

Hannah squeaked. "Oh my God, all four of the Sons are in this class with us guys!" she held her hands together in front of her face. "Thank you!" she said up into the air.

I rolled my eyes. "You're ridiculous, Hannah, you know that?"

She just smiled at me. "I am not! You cannot tell me that you're not the least bit excited that they're going to be some of the first people we see in the morning."

I shrugged. "I really don't care."

Matt leaned over in front of me to look at Hannah. "Because she's not an idiot and knows that they're all arrogant assholes who only care about themselves."

Hannah scowled at him. "I'm not an idiot. Any girl who isn't an idiot would be acting the same way. Callie's just weird."

I laughed at her. This was how it always was between the two of them. We were all best friends but it always seemed like Hannah and Matt could never get along and were always fighting with each other about the dumbest things.

"I do think they're cute, but I'm not a stalker like you are," I shot back at her and she punched me in the arm playfully as the teacher walked in, silencing the room.

"Good morning everyone and welcome back," he said looking up at us, seeming uninterested. "I'm sure you're all thrilled to be here."

The class groaned in agreement.

Mr. Simpson chuckled and walked around to the board and started writing the curriculum down and I sighed, taking out my pen and notebook and started taking notes.

Welcome back.

The morning went slow and I sat through my classes in a bore, taking notes when needed and trying not to fall asleep. Why was I so tired? Damn nightmares.

I noticed that in every one of my classes I had at least one of the Sons. Reid was actually in most of them. I had three classes in the morning before lunch and he was in all of them. I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if he was doing it on purpose, but whenever he walked by me to his seat, he would look at me and I would hold his gaze, just as I did in English.

I mentally shunned myself. I shouldn't be looking at him. He wasn't my type and even if he was, I definitely didn't want anything to do with him.

Lunch finally rolled around and I took my usual place at my usual table with Matt and Hannah. It made me happy to see them sitting around me again, it felt like old times.

"Oh my God, Tyler and Pogue are both in my Philosophy class right before this!" Hannah cried, fanning herself. "I think I died and went to heaven."

I laughed and shook my head in amazement at her.

"You're pathetic," Matt told her, taking a bite of his pizza.

"Shut up, Matt," Hannah hissed. "Just because you're jealous of them doesn't mean you have to be mean to me."

Matt scoffed. "I sure as hell am not jealous of those fags," he shot back at her and she rolled her eyes.

"They're far from fags, trust me," said Hannah, picking at her salad.

I sighed. "Will you guys stop bickering for three seconds? We haven't seen each other all summer and we've barely been around each other for more than a few hours and you're already going at it like dogs."

"He started it," Hannah informed at the exact same time that Matt said, "She started it."

I laughed and took a bite of my pizza. Hannah's phone buzzed and she took it out quickly, reading the text message.

"Oh!" she squealed, making me jump. "There's a party at the Dells tonight!" she said happily, looking right at me.

"Awesome," both Matt and I mumbled and I snickered.

Hannah scoffed. "You guys are such party poopers," she said, putting her cell phone back in her purse. She looked back at me, looking at my with her stupid puppy-dog eyes that always made me give in.

I knew exactly what she was doing. "No, no, absolutely not," I told her, holding my hands up.

"Oh come on, Callie, please!" she cried, grabbing my hands and holding them. "Please come with me!"

I shook my head. "No."

"Cal, we never do anything fun!"

"That's because the last time I went to the Dells with you, you left me there and I had to get a ride home with Andy Zenger!" I accused, raising my eyebrows at her. That kid was gross and smelled like old cheese.

She sighed impatiently. "I told you! I thought you said that you were going home with him anyways. You were all over him that night."

"I most certainly was not. That pervert couldn't keep his hands to himself," I told her, rolling my eyes. "I'm not going."

"Come on, Callie. It's our senior year, let's have some fun. Please!" my best friend begged.

I sighed. A part of me did want to go. As much as I hated to admit it, the last time I went to the Dells had been pretty fun before Andy decided to take a liking to me. It was this secluded beach that no one really knew about and was hidden by a mountain complete with a bunch of bonfires and music and dancing. It was a rare occasion that cops showed up and everybody usually drank enough to get smashed.

My best friend was looking at me, pleading with me. I knew I had to go with her. She was right. This was our senior year and I shouldn't miss out on any more experiences.

I threw my hands up in the air. "Fine, I'll go. But if you leave me there again I swear to God Hannah, I'll kill you," I threatened.

She squealed in victory. "Yay!" she clapped. "I'll come over to your room at eight to get ready!"

I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat, Matt glaring at me with a look of annoyance.

"Don't you dare," I hissed at him and he just sighed.

The rest of the day passed by quickly and I was grateful when the last bell finally rang and I headed up to my dorm room, ready to take a nap. I had just rounded the corner to head down the hallway when I ran into a hard body and would have fell backwards onto my ass if the hands hadn't reached out to steady me.

I looked up, pushing my hair out of my face to see that it was Reid Garwin that I had run into.

I sighed. "Forget how to walk?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

He smirked. "I'm pretty sure that you ran into me," he said, raising his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Just because you think you own the school doesn't mean that you can just walk into people without apologizing," I hissed at him.

His brow furrowed. "And just because you think that you're smarter than I am does not mean that you can be rude to me."

I blinked, wondering if he was actually being serious or not.

"I'm not being rude!"

He smirked and I just rolled my eyes at him again. "Whatever," I said and went to walk by him at the same time he did and we both moved in the same direction, stepping in each other's paths. We tried again, moving the same way again. He chuckled and reached out and put his arms on my shoulders again and stepped around me while holding me in place.

"See you around, sweetheart," he said, not turning back to look at me.

I scowled at his back and went to my room, trying to get Reid off of my mind. Stupid asshole. I shrugged off my uniform and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and climbed into my bed, finding sleep in no time.