Let me know what you guys think of this new concept in the comments!

XOXOXOXOXO

Chapter 1

James

The last bit of sunlight was fading into the horizon as I scouted out my intended target from the bushes.

This is the stupidest thing I've ever done.

My friends were parked along the street, waiting for me to make a complete fool of myself, as always.

I cursed myself for allowing them to trick me as easily as they had.

I'm well-known for accepting ridiculous dares, but they usually stick to making me eat weird shit, pranking teachers, or embarrassing myself in class and at school functions.

I never thought Zandar and Amber would stoop so low as to make me break into the house of the girl I've had a crush on for years.

I watched Sofia Bellview lock her front door as she left for work, and I knew her parents were both out shopping.

I had a tiny window of time to procure the item from Sofia's bedroom.

I could have said no, but I didn't want them to know I like her.

They would make my life hell more than they already do.

And hers.

She's one of the most popular girls at our school, and them identifying her as my target didn't surprise me, but I don't want to do this.

It's not like I'd ever have a chance with her; she's the volleyball team's captain, debate team captain, and student council president.

I'm just a low-key internet star.

I'm pretty sure breaking into her house to steal her damn varsity jacket is going to lessen my chances even more.

I watched her get into her red firebird and made sure she was out of sight before I sprinted to her backyard.

I jumped the wooden fence and hoisted myself through her bedroom window.

Sure, it might be weird that I remember which room was hers after only visiting her house once four years ago, but the knowledge was finally coming in handy.

I made sure not to track any mud or grass onto her carpet and took a moment to take in my surroundings.

The air in Sofia's room smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, her shelves were full of past trophies, and her walls were covered in her winning debate essays like wallpaper.

I wondered for a moment why she would display them like that, but I quickly focused on my task.

I turned the flashlight on my phone, illuminating her closet as the room got darker.

I began pilfering through the racks of clothes until I came across her jacket and gently peeled it off its hanger.

"Hey, James," Sofia's voice startled me from behind, "Whatcha doing?"

I swung around and found her smirking at me from the window, "Oh, um-" I tried to come up with an excuse, but what could I say that would explain what I was doing?

She caught me red-handed, and every worst-case scenario began speeding through my mind.

She pulled herself through the window, turned the lamp by her bed on, and eyed the jacket.

"They asked you to steal my jacket?" she raised her eyebrow, "I figured they would have asked you to steal my underwear or something."

I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I shook my head, "N-no, just the jacket. How did you know?"

"I saw Zandar and Amber outside staring at my house, and I figured you weren't too far away," she shrugged, "I'm not stupid; I pretended to leave and parked in the back alley."

"No, you're the smartest person I know," I chuckled, handing her the jacket, "Sorry for this; I didn't know what they were going to ask until I already accepted their dare."

My text tone went off, and I checked my phone, finding a message from Zandar.

"James Henshaw and his infamous dares," she gently pushed the jacket back at me, "Promise me that you're not planning to destroy it, and I'll let you take it."

"I was supposed to give it back to you at school tomorrow," I admitted shyly.

"I'll pretend to be freaked out if that's what your public demands," she shrugged.

"Why are you so cool about this?" I frowned, "I broke into your house. You should be freaked out, not wanting to pretend to be."

"I dunno," she smiled, sitting on her knees on her bed, "You're like a celebrity; I follow all of your socials, and I guess I feel kind of flattered that you chose to prank me."

Sofia Bellview thinks I'm a celebrity?

"Well, you're the most incredible girl at school, so it was an easy decision," I chuckled nervously, eyeing the window that I wanted to jump out.

Her parents are going to be home any second, and I've had about as much awkwardness as I can take.

And that's saying a lot since my last dare involved me walking through the school bake sale in Amber's short, pink fuzzy robe.

I would take any of those stupid dares over this, even if it does give me an excuse to talk to Sofia again tomorrow.

"Thanks," she pushed a lock of her long brown hair behind her ear, "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow to get that jacket back."

"Yeah," I nodded, walking toward the window, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sofia caught my elbow as I passed her by and looked up at me with her big blue eyes, "By the way," she blushed and bit her lip, "Do you, maybe, want my number? To coordinate the exchange."

"Y-yeah," I nodded, handing her my phone.

She typed her information in and handed me her phone so that I could do the same.

"I'll talk to you soon," Sofia smiled, turning off the light and following me out the window.

I waved as she ran to her car in the alley and made my way back to Zandar and Amber.

"Dude, what took you so long?" Zandar started his grey Saturn and sped away.

That was amazing.

I haven't ever talked to Sofia that much about anything, and I have her number now.

"We thought you got caught," Amber rolled her green eyes as she stared at her phone, "You were being a perv, weren't you."

"You know me better than that, sis," I laughed, clutching the jacket in my lap.

"She's going to be so pissed tomorrow," Zandar slapped the steering wheel happily as we turned onto the highway.

"I'm just going to hand it back to her," I shrugged, "She might be creeped out, but I doubt she'll be pissed."

"You didn't tell him, Z?" Amber giggled, meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror.

Shit.

What are they planning?

"Tell me what?" I groaned, turning in my seat.

"He wouldn't have agreed if I told him," Zandar smirked, "We're going to modify it."

"How?" I growled.

"Calm down, little brother," Amber smacked my shoulder and quickly swiped the jacket from me, "We're just going to add a few extra patches to it."

"Give it back, Amber!" I reached back and tried to grab it back, but she kept it out of my reach, "What kind of patches?"

Amber has always been jealous of Sofia, but I refuse to do anything cruel to her.

Plus, I promised Sofia I wasn't going to destroy it.

"Little miss perfect needs to be knocked down a peg," Zandar laughed, "We're just going to call her out."

"Sofia worked hard for her jacket; this seems like more than just a prank, guys," I shook my head, "It's bad enough you made me break into her house; this is destruction of property. I could go to jail."

"Do you want sponsors or not?" Amber huffed, "We're graduating in two weeks, and we need to do something big."

"We're so close to getting to do this shit for a living, James. People are getting bored with silly stringing teachers, this could put us over the top, and I don't want to be stuck in this hell hole forever," Zandar glared at me.

"Then you two start doing some of the embarrassing crap; I'm getting sick of being your puppet," I glared back at him.

"Why do you even care?" Amber leaned in between us, "You haven't said two words to Princess Sofia in years. She's a stuck-up bitch, and it's not like this is going to ruin her life or anything, unfortunately."

"You're the face, dude. Everyone who's anyone knows who you are. You aren't our puppet; you're our famous friend," Zandar slapped my knee, "If you do this, you won't have to do silly pranks anymore until we get signed."

I know they're right, and if it were anyone besides Sofia, I wouldn't care at all.

All we've wanted was to be famous, but she doesn't deserve to be treated like this.

I took my phone out of my pocket and ran my thumb over Sofia's number.

Should I warn her?

Maybe Venmo her some cash to cover the damages?

She could buy another one...

Her feelings are going to be hurt either way.

"Our graduation prank idea would be enough to get Century to sign us," I made one last attempt to deter them from this stupid plan, "We can do some more dumb shit for two weeks for the views, I don't want to do whatever you guys have planned."

The dark car was quiet for a moment until Zandar said the words I was trying so desperately to avoid, "Shit, you're in love with her, aren't you."

"No," Amber put her hand over my mouth, "Don't you dare answer that question, James."

"Why not?" I managed to ask with her silencing my voice.

"Think about everything in perspective for a second," she removed her hand and sat on the console, "If you are somehow crushing on the Queen bee, do you think it's worth sacrificing your career? If she were interested in you, you'd have already been together, and she's going to some fancy college on her volleyball scholarship. You don't have a chance with her, so keep your emotions out of this."

"You guys aren't even friends," Zandar added, pulling into the hobby shop's parking lot, "Have fun with this like you do with all the others."

Amber pointed her camera at me as we walked into the store and took pictures for the website.

I got into character and tried not to think about the immorality of my actions.

Amber's right.

It's not like she likes me anyway.