Dared to Love the Loner

Chapter One: Lily— "Back then, I didn't know what I was getting myself into or that I could ever fall so hard for someone that breathing without them seemed like death by a million little cuts. It may seem unharmful, but deadly when you least expect it to be." If you saw me walking down the halls of Ridgewood High, you'd think you had me all figured out. I'm the girl everyone notices—the one with the perfectly straight hair that falls just past my shoulders, the designer clothes, the friends who seem to orbit around me like I'm the sun. I've spent years perfecting the art of appearing flawless like my life is something out of a glossy magazine. But if you scratched beneath the surface, you'd see that none of it's real. The perfect life is just a mask. You'd never guess that my mom died of breast cancer when I was twelve, or that I've been living in the shadow of that ever since. No one knows about the BRCA gene I inherited from her, the ticking time bomb inside me. It's not something you just bring up in casual conversation between classes. "Oh, hey, did you catch the game last night? By the way, I might have the same disease that killed my mom." Yeah, no. Instead, I keep the smile plastered on my face, pretending like everything's fine. My dad? He's never home. My stepmom and stepsister? They're basically plastic Barbie dolls, spending money like it's water, and they act like I'm an afterthought in my own house. My stepmom, Karina, is a real-life Cinderella villain, minus the ugly. She's all Botox and bleach-blonde hair, strutting around in designer heels and spending my dad's money like it's going out of style. Then there's my stepsister, Madison, who might look like she stepped off a magazine cover but is about as sweet as a rattlesnake. They live in our house, but it's not really home—it's just a place where I exist, trying to keep up appearances while they tear through everything my mom left behind. And then there's the matter of boys. I've spent way too much time trying to fill the emptiness with the wrong ones. The jocks, the players, the guys who look good on paper but fall apart the moment you actually need them. It's like dating a series of perfect i********: filters—nice to look at but hollow inside. I'm tired of it. Tired of pretending, tired of feeling like I have to be someone I'm not. Which brings me to Jessica's party last weekend. It was one of those typical Friday nights—the kind where you just go through the motions because there's nothing better to do. Jessica's house was packed with the usual crowd, the music so loud you could feel the bass thumping in your chest. Red Solo cups were everywhere, and people were crammed together in the living room, pretending like life was one big endless party. I was lounging on the couch, staring blankly at the swirl of people around me. Jessica plopped down beside me, her glossy blonde hair bouncing as she took a long sip from her drink. "Lily, what happened to that hot guy you were dating last week?" she asked, her tone half curious, half-mocking. I rolled my eyes, slouching back against the cushions. "I had to dump him." Jess raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Why? He was a total ten." "He was a ten, all right—a ten on the jerk scale," I shot back, taking a sip of my drink. "Caught him cheating with one of the bunheads from the dance team." Jessica winced, almost like she felt the sting herself. "Damn, Lily, you're really bad at love." "No, I'm not," I snapped, though the words stung more than they should. "I just need the right guy, that's all. He's out there somewhere." Jess gave me this look, like she was trying to decide if I was serious or just delusional. She swirled the last of her drink, the ice clinking against the sides. "You know what, Lily? I dare you to do something different." I looked at her, confused. "Different how?" She grinned, leaning in closer like she was about to share the world's best-kept secret. "I dare you to date the most pathetic loser at school." I snorted, shaking my head. "You've got to be kidding." "Nope," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "You always go for the same type—hot, popular, and guaranteed to break your heart. I'm saying mix it up. Step out of your comfort zone. Date someone who isn't all looks and no substance." I knew I should've just laughed it off, but something about the challenge stuck with me. Maybe it was because she was right—every guy I'd dated had been the same, a clone of the last one, and I was tired of it. Or maybe I was just fed up with everyone thinking I couldn't be more than the role I'd been playing. "Fine," I said, setting my cup down with a little more force than necessary. "I'll do it." Jess's eyes widened. "Seriously? You're going to date a loser?" "Yeah, why not? How bad could it be?" I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew this was going to be anything but easy. The next day at school, I kept thinking about Jess's dare. It was stupid, reckless, and absolutely the kind of thing I shouldn't waste my time on. But the idea kept gnawing at me. I started paying attention to people I'd usually just walk past, trying to figure out who Jess might've meant by "the most pathetic loser." I'd see guys like Benji, who wore the same sports jersey every day and had a permanent scowl, or Kevin, who talked to no one and always seemed lost in his own world. But one guy kept catching my eye, even though I'd never really noticed him before. Samuel Liam Parker. He was always by himself, tucked away at the back of the library or sitting alone in class. He had this messy, dark hair that fell over his eyes, and those glasses—those Kent Clark lens, old-school kind that made him look like he was hiding behind them. His clothes were baggy, almost like he was trying to make himself invisible. But every now and then, I'd catch him sketching in his notebook or reading something that looked way too complex for high school, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his head. I decided to approach him after school, figuring it would be easy. I'd flash a smile, charm him into saying yes, and fulfill the dare just like that. But when I found him at his usual spot in the library, hunched over a book, I suddenly felt like I was the one out of my depth. "Hey, Sam," I said, sliding into the seat across from him. He looked up, blinking at me in surprise. "Uh, hi?" It was awkward, and not the kind of cute awkward that makes your heart skip a beat. More like the kind where you suddenly feel stupid for even trying. "So what are you reading?" "Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson," he replied, not even glancing up or seeming to notice how close I was sitting to him now. "Astrophysics, huh? That's... light reading," I said, smirking as I leaned a little closer to sneak a look at the cover. The title was bold, like Sam himself wasn't the least bit embarrassed about reading something that most people would probably use as a paperweight. He raised an eyebrow at me, unimpressed but with the tiniest flicker of amusement in his eyes. "It's more interesting than whatever romance novel you probably think I'm reading," he said, his tone so deadpan it took me a second to realize he was teasing me. I gasped dramatically, pretending to be offended, but I couldn't hold back a laugh. "Hey, I'll have you know I've read exactly zero trashy romance novels in my life." "Sure you haven't," he said, still not cracking a smile but managing to sound just smug enough to make me roll my eyes. "Okay, fine, maybe one," I admitted, grinning now. "But only because I was stuck at my aunt's house with nothing else to read." I tilted my head, letting my curiosity get the better of me as I studied him. "So, what's so fascinating about astrophysics that it beats everything else in the library?"