HATE FALL LOVE

Chapter 1

[Brianna's POV]

I looked out to the driveway from where we were parked outside Damon's huge house. It was very dark outside the street. Only the blinking lights from the party crowd gave an illuminating glow around us. I move my eyes to look around, only to pause at a certain spot from where I see a tall guy, looking familiar despite being concealed in the darkness. He was leaning on a tree, smoking a cigarette, a little too far from the party happening in the front yard of the place.

The tall guy was wearing a black jacket, with white-bleached hair and fitted denim jeans. His shoulders were slouched down, gazing at the scene of the party. I watched him with utter fascination and wonder. And suddenly, the little movement of his face gave me a full view of his profile. But it also made me realized who he really was.

He's here.

Kent Knight was here. The annoyingly gorgeous, menacing, seductive, manipulative bastard who's swift as the wind had stolen my heart and crushed it two years ago. How can I even forget? And I instantly kept my emotions at bay, knowing fully well that this night had already turned to its downfall. I needed to get out of this place now.

"Know what?" I turned to my right to look at Jess, my best friend, who was sitting on the passenger seat of my car, putting some lip gloss on as she used the rearview mirror to check her up-do.

"You go, I'm leaving," I nervously said to her, deciding to chicken out of the plan tonight. Not when that guy was here too.

"What?" Jess turned on her seat and frowned at me as she stopped what she's doing to give me a scowl. "No. Bree, we're both going in there."

"I don't feel good right now," I admitted as I quickly flitted my eyes back to the windshield to check if he was still there. And yes, he still was. "I'll just drive around and come back to get you when you're ready to go home."

"NO." Jess stubbornly replied to me, "We are going inside to enjoy. This is the only time we don't have to worry about your curfew. Don't you dare ditch me the last minute, B."

"Jess, please," I pleaded back.

"What's gotten into you? A while ago, you're just as excited as I was?"

I could not answer her right away. And my eyes kept coming back to that particular spot in front of me.

"What are you looking at?" Only by then that Jess finally noticed the look on my nervous face and faced the direction of where I was glancing and I heard her gasp.

"What is he doing here?" Jess snarled the instant she spotted him too.

"I don't know," I told her anxiously, "But I don't think I can do this anymore. I'll just leave."

"Don't," Jess held up a hand to stop me from reaching for the keys in the ignition and said sternly, "Don't let that jerk ruin your night. Let's go."

I tried to complain once again but there's no use to it since Jess was already stepping out of the car, walking around as she stared me down through the clear windshield. I groaned and felt helpless. I didn't have any choice now but to follow her out too. As soon as I met the cold night air as I got out of my car, I felt the hairs on my nape prickled, sensing someone staring at me. I knew he's staring at me now.

"Act cool and ignore him," Jess went up to my side and whispered those words to me, taking my arm as we began walking towards the crowd. I just simply nodded back, gulping the rest of my fears as we greeted some of the people we knew on our way into the house. But I still couldn't brush off the feeling of complete vulnerability the moment I discovered that he was also here. Kent Knight was here and my heart started pounding again.

Too bad... I still could not control myself no matter how much I want to ignore him.

-------------

"Briana!" Damon greeted me with a tight hug as both I and Jess beamed at him, saying a pleasant "happy birthday" to the host of the party. Beers were already pouring down, good shits everywhere, and people constantly bounced through the rhythm and beat of the music booming loudly around us. I immediately relaxed and found myself enjoying it now. The thought of Kent Knight being here no longer bothered me and I started to be more at ease. It was a party, and it should be fun. I should have fun.

"See?" Jess was grinning so wide when she had said this to me as we danced wildly to the upbeat song playing this time, "Nothing to worry about the jerk! Just enjoy the party, Bree!" she shouted against the loud cheers that came around us. I laughed back, nodding at her, completely swept away by the incredible mood of the party.

After a few more minutes of dancing, I eventually felt thirsty and excused myself to get something to drink in the kitchen. I went there, more like squeezed my way out towards there because people hovered all around the place. It was so hard to find space to get through them. Finally, when I came to the fridge, I indulged myself with a big glass of cold water. I sighed with pleasure once I got refreshed but suddenly tensed when someone's presence popped behind me, making me feel uncomfortable in an instant. I stiffened.

"Look who we have here," the voice said in a lowered tone. His hot breath fanned against my nape that I quickly turned around and took a step back. I didn't like that feeling. And the instant I saw who was the person standing behind me, I felt my throat drying up. He's a senior.

I kind of recognized him to be one of the popular jocks at school and he was staring at me with that sneaky eyes, raking my body from head to feet. I squirmed and tried to put a protective stance around myself by consciously hugging my arms around my chest. "Uhm... Sorry. I should go."

It didn't even take me more than a foot away when a strong grip stopped me from leaving, pulling me back as the senior held my gaze with his intense stare.

"Why are you running away, princess?" the jock said in a really arrogant tone, and I suddenly had an urge to strike his face with my palm. But I resisted because I didn't want to cause any trouble tonight. Then he asked again, "You're Emily's younger sister, right?"

The second he mentioned my stepsister's name, I already figured why he had approached me. My sister had been infamous for being wild and reckless when she was in high school. She used to fool around with a lot of guys and got into a lot of trouble when she was younger. Did this jackass actually think I would be the same? I immediately felt annoyed. This was why I really hated admitting that I was in any way related to her.

"She's my stepsister," I tried to make a point by making that very clear with him, in case he was trying to get in my pants. Then as I moved again, I glared at his hand still gripping my arm, "Can you let me go?" I asked but a little bit forced as I frowned up to the jock's smirking face, "I have to get back to my friend."

I tried to pull my arm back, but his hold on me still got even tighter. "Why don't we dance? I'm sure you're not going to pass the chance like this, will you? Come on. Just dance with me."

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Just let me go," I started raising my voice but because of the loud music blaring in the background, no one seemed to mind what was happening to me. I kept struggling to free myself from the tight grip but the jackass didn't even budge. He was even laughing at my current helpless situation.