I Was Supposed to Hate Her

Ashton Hayes' POV "Five dollars says Coach benches you today." I glanced at Mason, who was grinning like an i***t from the passenger seat of my car. "You're about to lose five dollars." Mason snorted. "You were thirty minutes late to practice yesterday." "I was twenty-eight minutes late." "That doesn't make it better." "It does in my head." He shook his head while I pulled into Crestview Academy's parking lot. The moment my car came to a stop, students started flooding toward the main building. Another normal day. Another day of pretending senior year wasn't coming to an end. "Look alive," Mason said. "Victoria's coming." I groaned. Sure enough, Victoria Blackwell was walking toward us with two of her friends. Perfect. Just perfect. I quickly grabbed my backpack. "Nope." "You are such a coward." "I'm not a coward. I'm avoiding unnecessary drama." "Same thing." Ignoring him, I headed toward the building. The hallways were already crowded. Students stood around talking, laughing, and showing off whatever expensive thing their parents had bought them this week. Normal Crestview behavior. I was halfway to my locker when someone crashed into me. Hard. Books flew everywhere. A collective gasp echoed through the hallway. I looked down. A girl was kneeling on the floor, scrambling to gather her books. Great. Just great. I'd accidentally bulldozed someone. "Sorry," I said automatically. The girl looked up. For a second, I forgot what I was going to say. She had dark curls pulled back into a ponytail and sharp eyes that looked completely unimpressed. Most people got nervous around me. This girl looked annoyed. Very annoyed. "Maybe watch where you're going next time." I blinked. Excuse me? "You ran into me." "You were walking backward." "I wasn't." "You were." I stared at her. She stared right back. The hallway suddenly became very interested in our conversation. Mason appeared beside me. "Oh, this is entertaining." The girl finally stood and adjusted the strap of her bag. "I don't have time for this." Before I could respond, she walked away. Just like that. No apology. No awkward stuttering. No pretending to be impressed. Nothing. I watched her disappear around the corner. "Who was that?" I asked. Mason shrugged. "No clue." Then he grinned. "But I think she hates you." For some reason, that bothered me more than it should have. A lot more. Little did I know, that girl was about to become the biggest problem of my senior year. • • • • Emery's POV My first day at Crestview Academy was already a disaster. I stood outside the principal's office, taking a deep breath before knocking. "Come in." I pushed the door open. Principal Harrison smiled when he saw me. "Miss Sterling, welcome to—" I immediately raised an eyebrow. His smile vanished. "Right. Emery Walker." "Good save." He cleared his throat. "I still don't understand why you're doing this." Neither did my parents. Or my grandparents. Or anyone else in my family. "I just want one normal year," I said. The principal sighed. "Normal and Crestview Academy don't belong in the same sentence." I laughed despite myself. Maybe he had a point. The school was filled with wealthy students whose families practically owned half the city. Most of them cared more about popularity than actual grades. The last thing I wanted was for them to know I was Emery Sterling. The moment people heard that name, they stopped seeing me as a person. They saw money. Status. Connections. Nothing else. "I can handle it," I said. The principal looked unconvinced but nodded anyway. After a few minutes, he handed me my schedule. "Good luck." Something told me I was going to need it. As I stepped out of his office, I felt eyes on me It was a bit disturbing. I faced towards the direction of my first class and marched forward. Okay!. This isn't how I planned my first day of school to go about. I paced across the hallway, head down, clearly unaware of where I was heading to. Next thing I knew, I slammed into someone. Hard. My books went flying everywhere. I stared up and locked eyes with the person. A guy. Of all creatures, it had to be a guy “Maybe watch where you're going next time” He blinked. “Excuse me?” “You ran into me” “You were walking backward” “I wasn't” “Yes, you were” Ugh!!!. Men!. Freaking pathological liars As if things couldn't get worse, the hallway suddenly became very interested in our conversation. A random guy appeared beside him, perhaps his best friend “Oh, this is entertaining” I stood up, adjusted the strap of my bag. “I don't have time for this” I walked away. Great!, just great. My first day of school is officially ruined because of him. Just freaking great! --- Ten minutes later, I walked into my first class. The room was already packed. Students talked loudly while waiting for the teacher. I glanced down at my schedule. Row three. Desk seven. Easy enough. Then I looked up. And froze. No. Absolutely not. Sitting in desk six was the same arrogant guy from the hallway. As if sensing my stare, he looked up. Recognition flashed across his face. A slow grin followed. "Oh," he said. "It's you." I tightened my grip on my books. This was going to be a very long year.