Chapter 1
Sunday,
Wu Manor
(Sun Family Residence)
Sun Shang Xiang gazed at her reflection in the mirror. What peered back at her was a lightly tanned girl, though the complexion was more to do with excessively being in the sun than from visiting the local tanning boutique. She saw jaw-length thick but slightly scruffy dark hair, huge green eyes and a slightly bemused expression on a fine-boned face. Mostly satisfied, Shang Xiang turned away, flopping onto her unmade bed. School started again tomorrow, fresh from the summer break. And she would be a Sophomore at last, instead of just an embarrassing Freshman.
She could hear her eldest brother Ce in his room next door, which he currently occupied with his two best friend's, Zhou Yu and Lu Meng. Sighing, Shang Xiang closed her eyes and imagined that instead of being in there with her brother, he was in here, with her. They would shut the door so that no one would interrupt them and then he would gaze at her with his beautiful hazel eyes, gradually moving closer and closer to her waiting face, her waiting lips until…
"Kids, dinner's ready!"
Shang Xiang's eyes flew open at the familiar sound of her father's voice. She grumbled a little at being so rudely awoken from her perfect fantasy. Still, there was plenty of time for envisioning later on.
As she left her bedroom, she bumped into him leaving her brother's room at the same time. His eyes were apologetic as his hand automatically reached out to steady her. Shang Xiang was well aware however, that her almost falling was less to do with the collision and more to do with the sudden close proximity of her secret crush.
"Sorry Shang Xiang," his usually serious lips curved into a slight smile. "Are you alright?"
Shang Xiang felt her cheeks flushing bright red from the direct conversation. Mentally, she slapped herself. Why did she always end up looking like a ridiculous goon in front of him? "I… I'm okay."
He nodded once, giving her a slightly larger smile. Shang Xiang almost fainted with pleasure. He was just so… perfect.
She watched him make his way down the staircase and toward the dining room, where she could already hear her father serving the meal he had cooked. She waited a few seconds to gather herself before following his path, trying hard to keep her breath even. He would realise that he loved her one day. And until then, he would continue to grace her dreams every night…
Flower Avenue
(Qiao Family Residence)
Xiao Qiao's eyes were even wider than usual as she gazed upon the clothes she had laid out on the bed before her. She screamed quietly in frustration and was about to resort to 'out goes you' to decide when her elder sister entered their shared bedroom casually.
"What's wrong, Xiao?" Da wondered, her dark eyebrows furrowed in concern. "And why is your bed so untidy?"
Xiao exhaled a long due breath. "Because I still don't know what to wear for my first day tomorrow! I have to make an impression you know, sis!"
Da chuckled at her younger sister's drama queen ways. "Just be yourself tomorrow, Xiao! How about your white shorts and the pink top? You know, the one with the rose motif on it?"
Xiao made a disapproving face at her elder sister's suggestion. She didn't want to look like a baby on her first day of High School! She wanted to stand out. She wanted people to know that Da wasn't the only sophisticated one in the family. "No way! It has to be something more spectacular than that! Something like-" Her eyes resembled lasers as they scanned the room, before finally settling on Da's tight lace dress, which was scarlet and fell to mid- thigh. Just. "Something like that!"
Da's eyes followed Xiao's path and when she realised what her younger sister had set her sights on she lifted her hands up in disapproval. "No, Xiao, not that! You're not wearing that to school tomorrow!"
Xiao scowled, her lips pouted in frustration. "Why not? It's perfect!"
"If having perverts trying to stick their slimy paws up your thighs is perfect, than you're right, Xiao. But I'll be damned if I let that happen. You're going to have to choose something more suitable."
"But that's so unfair!" Xiao screeched, tears of anger filling her eyes. "You can't be the only pretty Qiao, Da! And you can't tell me what to do, either! You're not mom!"
And with that, the younger Qiao sister stormed out of the room in a huff, slamming the bedroom door hard behind her.
Da groaned in anguish, flopping herself down onto her own bed. All she wanted to do was protect Xiao, since their mom wasn't around to do it anymore. But as usual she'd come over too bossy and upset the sensitive younger girl. Why couldn't she do anything right?
A Random Back Alley,
(Lu Bu – And Posse)
Lu Bu inhaled from the spliff he was holding, feeling the weed relax all his muscles. He handed it over to Dian Wei after one last puff, feeling resentful that they hadn't purchased more. It just seemed to finish so quickly.
"So boss, seniors for another year, huh?" Zhang Fei grumbled, after inhaling from the almost finished hash. His thick fingers ran through his gristly beard, a factor that added to his scariness.
Lu Bu just snorted. School held no interest for him whatsoever. And it had been no surprise to anyone when the results of all the tests (two) he had taken the year before came back with matching grade U's. Unmarkable. He had been receiving the same grade for the past three years. But of course, with the amount of effort he put in for the lessons he had taken (i.e. none) what did anyone expect? Hell, the only reason he attended school now was because of the sports, his reputation and Diao Chan.
Diao Chan. Although he would never admit it, Lu Bu knew he was sort of… kinda… very in love with the beautiful songstress. Thank fuck she loved him back – and wasn't afraid to say it. Lu Bu always contemplated what she actually saw in him. Did she like the bad, bad boy attitude? Or was she only dating him because she knew he could offer her protection from any would-be bullies? He supposed he would never know. After all, there was no way he was going to ask her something so… soppy. Shit. Why couldn't he just accept that the fates had played in his favor this once?
"What'chu grinnin' bout boss?" asked Dian Wei, who was dumber than eight short planks and proud of it, rubbing a beefy hand over his equally beefy head – which had been devoid of hair since the day he turned eight.
"None o' your business," Lu Bu grumbled, sneering crudely.
Dian Wei just grinned in response and turned his attention instead to Zhang Fei, who was swigging straight vodka freely from a battered Evian water bottle – a trick he had been using everywhere he went for the past five years.
The sound of 'Peanut Butter Jelly Time' filling the alley made them all jump with shock, before each trying to hide their embarrassing flinches with faux-coughing and fidgeting. Lu Bu yanked his BlackBerry out of his jean pocket, his eyes automatically lighting up when he read the name displayed. Diao Chan.
"Hey, why don' you losers leave me in peace for a moment," Lu Bu commanded Dian Wei and Zhang Fei in a gruff tone, one he deliberately used so that they wouldn't detect the happiness he was feeling inside.
"Sure thing boss. Feel free to gush away to your lovebird. Just make sure to send kissies for me!" Zhang Fei chuckled, with Dian Wei guffawing in agreement.
Lu Bu gave them both a rude gesture, only pressing the 'receive' button when he was sure they were out of earshot.
"Hey, Sugarplum," he mumbled into the phone, resting his back against the cold brick wall.
"Hi, Mister Twinkles!" Diao Chan's sweet voice tittered from the other end. "I've missed you! Have you missed me?"
Lu Bu gave one more quick peek around for his so-called comrades before he responded to his girlfriend's rather embarrassing question. " 'Course I have, snookums. Every day we've been apart."
As their conversation got more and more fluffy, Lu Bu found himself immensely relieved that nobody was aware of how they conversed with one another in private. Because if anyone ever found out… God! He's reputation as a bad boy? It'd disappear quicker than a meatbun in front of Xu Zhu…
Monday,
The Ma Ranch
(Ma Family Residence)
Zhao Yun grinned into the mirror as he noticed his best friend, Ma Chao watching him, with an expression that could only be described as… envy.
"Why the fuck do you always look so good?" Ma Chao grumbled good naturedly, grabbing a stray lock of Zhao Yun's dark hair. "It should be illegal to be this pretty for a guy!"
Ma Chao always seemed to underestimate himself when he was around Zhao Yun, whether that was grades-wise, looks-wise or popularity-wise. "Shut up! You know the girls are always all over you!"
Ma Chao snorted. "Yeah, but only 'coz they wanna get closer to you! Admit it Yun. It's as if you have the words 'Babe Magnet' tattooed across your freakin' forehead!"
"Nah, the girls definitely dig you more. It's because you're more of a rebel than I am. And you know how much women dig bad boys," Zhao Yun frowned, it was a cliché that was unfortunately true. And incredibly unfair. What was it about idiots like Gan Ning and Lu Bu that had all the girls weak at the knees?
Ma Chao chuckled. "Oops! Sorry 'bout that, Mister Valedictorian, 4.9 GPA!"
Zhao Yun rolled his eyes, slapping Ma Chao lightly on the back of his head, which was currently obscured by an odd looking hat. "For Gods sake, take that thing off! It makes you look like a cross between a paintbrush and a meatbun!"
Ma Chao raised a dark eyebrow in surprise. "What, this? No way, dude! It makes me look awesome! I got it in a sale the other day. It's wicked!"
Zhao Yun sniggered. "What sort of a sale? Garbage?" Almost as quickly as he had said it he ducked down, to avoid the arm Ma Chao rapidly sent in his direction. Geez, it was so much fun winding Chao up!
When they had finished tussling, Ma Chao glanced at his Rolex watch, which had been a present from one of his ex-girlfriend's, who had been as dumb as two rocks but whose father had been a mega-millionaire. He groaned when he noticed the time. "Come on nerdy loser. We gotta make tracks, 'else we're gonna be late on our first day." He paused, adopted a mock-prissy voice and continued. "And what would that do for your currently perfect school record?"
"Piss off, loser," Zhao Yun grumbled, unable to hide the grin on his lips. "That's all your good for – driving fast."
Ma Chao snorted. "Better than being the best at repelling the chicks like you, sweet Yunny."
Zhao Yun raised an eyebrow. "Oh so now I'm crap at getting girls then, huh? Funny how much your opinion's changed in the last… fifteen seconds!"
Ma Chao smiled dryly, as he grabbed his car keys from off the wooden drawers. "Yeah. My pop tells me I need a lobotomy everyday."
A rather congested Freeway… Somewhere sort of close to High School…
(Sun Ce, Sun Quan & Sun Shang Xiang)
"Ce, come on, we're going to be late!" The second-born (and most irritating) of the Sun family kids, Quan, complained bitterly. "We've been stuck in this exact spot for the past fifteen minutes and thirty-four seconds!"
Sun Ce turned around from the driver's seat to glare at his younger brother. "Keep your dorky panties on, dude. Don't you see I'm trying my best here?"
"I don't wear panties, you idiot!" Quan scowled in response, tapping a foot impatiently against the passenger seat, which his sister currently occupied.
"Cut that out, loser, 'else I'll tie them up with that dorky belt you're wearing," Shang Xiang grumbled. "And is there ever a time when you stop complaining?"
Quan didn't bother to respond, instead glaring grumpily out of the slightly parted window, which was lightly condensed from the early morning dew. It was often hard being the only real academic out of three children, whilst the other two were awesome and popular athletes. Ce, for a start, was perhaps the most popular guy in school and Shang Xiang had come as a Freshman last year and managed to fit right in, while he, who had joined the school a year after Ce and one prior to Shang Xiang, just trailed along like a rotten corndog, never being noticed by anyone, despite the fact that he too, was related to them both. Hell, he even seemed to disappoint his father, who was always commenting that he would have been perfect if he was 'just a little cooler'.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the road finally began to clear and Ce was able to move again, getting them closer to school. The most humiliating thing to do when you were a high academic like himself (although Ce and Shang Xiang just called him a nerd) was to start the school year off with a late pass. Especially if, like him, you were trying with everything you had to be valedictorian next year, when the current seniors drifted off to who-cares-where.
They came to the school five minutes later, finally leaving the heavily congested freeway that had caught them that morning because Ce had been too busy in front of the mirror admiring himself.
Without a word to his siblings, Quan yanked open the car door and slid out, slamming it behind him. The school building in front of him was exactly how he had remembered it. Feeling rather refreshed now that he was out in the open and away from his constantly infuriating brother and sister, Quan began to walk up to the front entrance, humming a jaunty tune that had been playing on the radio whilst they had been waiting. He was so lost in his own world that he didn't notice one of Lu Bu's meatheads, a monster of a man – Zhang Fei, watching him with a sneer on his lips.
"Hey, weedy? Where's your protection today?" The older teen asked, an Evian bottle held tightly in one meaty hand. Evian his ass. There was no way Sun Quan believed that the liquid inside that battered bottle was actually H2O.
"Leave me alone, Fei," Sun Quan mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up. When it came to the bullies of the school, you were either loved or hated. There was no in-between. And talking back to any of them would usually leave you with one of two things: A broken nose or the utmost respect from the entire school. Sun Quan hoped desperately for the latter.
"Leave ya alone?" Fei chuckled, reaching out with one incredibly steriod-esque arm and dragging Sun Quan by the hood of his coat closer towards him. The harsh movement ripped the appendage off the windbreaker and into Zhang Fei's beefy hands. The older boy sneered at the loose fabric for a moment before throwing it onto the floor and using his boot to grind against it. "And why would I do that, dork?"
"Because being a bully doesn't pay!" Sun Quan whimpered, making an effort to keep all his folders tightly in his hands.
Zhang Fei seemed to find that comment hilarious and spent the next twenty seconds bent double, tears of mirth falling from his piggy eyes. Sun Quan winced as the bell rang, signalling the start of homeroom. It seemed like if he got out of here alive, he was going to be late after all. what a truly perfect start.