CLICHE

Chapter Two

After spending the rest of the week with my head in books after school. It was finally Friday. I could finally relax and enjoy myself without having to worry about any work. Believe it or not, I cared about my education.

No one else has to know that though. 

"Let's return to pretending, Carter!" I whispered. Checking myself out one last time, I pushed the door open to my bedroom and headed towards the stairs to greet my friends who sat and waited for me patiently. 

"It's about time!" Rickey exclaimed, "We are super late!" 

"Fashionable late," I corrected while holding the door open for them to get out so I could lock it. Cyndi looked gorgeous. She wore a tight red dress with red heels to match while her accessories were gold. Rickey wore a tight black shirt with black dress pants and a pair cheetah print shoes and jacket. 

I kept it pretty simple wearing a tight black dress. The straps on the dress formed a x across my back while it was super tight around my waist showcasing my wide hips with red bottom heels. To top it all off, I wore a black fur coat which was fake. 

We don't wear real fur around here. 

"Amber will be there so prepare yourself," Cyndi warned. 

"I really could give two f***s about Amber," I mumbled. Cyndi turned her head and raised an eyebrow at me while Rickey stared at me in shock. 

"What did you say?" 

"I really will need good luck dealing with Amber!" I lied.

"I thought you said something else," Rickey said while laughing, "I was about to say who is this girl and why is she acting so odd?" 

I rolled my eyes. Here we go again. 

I would wake up everyday and pretend to be someone I am not. While I was in middle school, I was this shy and reserved girl. I wasn't seen by many and the small amount of people who noticed me could automatically tell that I was what they would consider a geek. 

I wasn't really a geek or nerd. I didn't wear glasses and I didn't get straight A's when the grades dropped but I wasn't as dumb as people thought either. I'm smart — as f**k. After my Dad passed away, Mom's work hours went up to the point where she was never home. I was always alone and I was sick of being lonely so I changed. 

High School came and I began to act and dress differently. People noticed me more and more and by my Sophomore year I was the most popular girl in this school. Everyone knew my name but I hated it. I wanted attention. I wanted people to know that I existed but not like this. 

I wanted to be known for me. The Real Me!

Not Carter the Rich Girl and not Carter the Dumb One but Carter Louise Johnson. 

Me.  

People walked the halls everyday and judged one another and expected me to do the same but I couldn't. I couldn't judge anyone because I wasn't perfect either and I was once judged. These "friends" of mines spent a lot of time judging. 

My thoughts were cut short when I noticed that we had pulled into the busy street where the party was being held. Rickey parked the car down the road and I groaned when I saw that I had a little distance to walk. 

"There's no way I will be able to walk so far while wearing these heels!" I exclaimed. 

"You did it at the last party," He replied. 

"I wasn't wearing Louis Vuitton shoes at the last party either!" 

Not that I really cared. 

"You were wearing Gucci shoes!" 

"And they were so last season!" 

"Please!" 

Groaning, I opened the door before slamming it behind me and began to walk towards the crowd that stood outside on the lawn. Rickey and Cyndi trailed behind me while giggling and whispering amongst themselves. I walked into the house to see everyone grinding on one another or standing against walls with red cups in their hands. 

Drunk ass kids. 

Strip by Little Mix blared through the speakers which made Rickey jump up in excitement. He turned faced Cyndi and I before speaking, "This is my s**t so I'm going to go vogue on the dance floor. Catch you two later!" 

Cyndi giggled and turned towards me with a sour expression on her face, "You look like you don't want to be here!" 

"No. Someone stinks!" I replied which caused her to laugh. 

"I'm going to go get a few drinks. Do you want anything?" 

"I'm pretty sure Rickey is going to get drunk and you are too so no. Someone will need to drive," 

"Look at you!" Cyndi exclaimed, "Being all mature and what not!" 

"Is my contour really that bad?" 

"I said mature not contour, Carter!" Cyndi replied. 

I know. 

"Oh!" I said with a giggle. She laughed before shaking her and walking away. I watched as she headed to the kitchen. I turned faced the dance floor to see Rickey having the time of his life while a small crowd had formed a circle around him. I chuckled before rushing towards the stairs to head to the bathroom. While searching for a bathroom, I came across an open room that had four guys inside. They were talking amongst themselves but I could hear them loud and clear. 

"I could blow it up! We could turn this entire f*****g thing into a Bonfire!" One of the guys exclaimed. 

"A barbecue," Another one responded which caused all three guys to laugh. 

The fourth one stared at the others in boredom before replying, "That's too much! There's too many people here! We are going after one person and one person only!" 

"He's right," 

"We don't harm anyone else unless they get in the way so a bonfire is out!" He growled. 

"Hey!" I heard someone scream. I looked up to see one of the guys speaking to me. 

"Carter? What are you doing there?" He asked. 

Andre. 

"I was searching for the bathroom," I replied. 

Suddenly, the fourth guy grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him. I hissed at the grip that he had on my arm while trying to pull away. I stared at him in disgust only to see Jake. Jake was the leader of this evil little crew here. Everyone else feared Harry but these are the ones who they should fear. 

"What the f**k did you hear?" He growled. 

"I didn't hear anything! I wasn't paying attention!" 

"Do you think I'm as dumb as you? You may have a pretty face but I'm not stupid enough to fall for your dumbass games! What the f**k did you hear?" 

"I didn't hear anything! I swear!" 

"Carter, I swear to God!" He warned. 

"She said she didn't hear anything," Someone said from behind me. I turned around to see Harry standing there. He wore his signature black shades and all black outfit. 

"You're just who we wanted to see," Jake replied before pushing me to the side. I hissed when my head hit the wall. 

Before Harry could reply, Jake swung his fist at Harry's face. Harry moved to the side which caused Jake to miss. He punched Jake in the face which caused Jake to fly back. Andre jumped into the fight and began to throw punches at Harry getting a few good licks in, Harry wrapped his hand around Andre's throat but the other guy jumped into the fight which put a pause to Harry's winning reign. Harry groaned as the guy punched him in the face and tossed him into the corner of the wall. He continued to throw punches at him and I couldn't take it anymore. 

I looked to my left to see a glass vase sitting on the table. I quickly grabbed the vase before hitting the guy in the head with it. He collapsed on the floor which caused Harry to look up at me. He stared at me with an unknown expression on his face before turning his attention back to Andre. He grabbed him by his neck before head butting him which knocked him out cold. Jake stood up and pulled a gun out of his back pocket before pointing it at Harry. 

"You should've stayed your dumbass out of this!" Jake growled while staring at me with the same hatred he usually showed towards Harry. Harry grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him. 

"You brought her into this the moment you dragged her into this room with you!" He responded. 

"If you think that I won't shoot her then you're in for a rude awakening! I'll kill you and her both!" 

"Then shoot, motherfucker!" Harry yelled. Suddenly, Jake pulled the trigger and the gunshot sounded. I could hear screams from downstairs and I could see Jake climbing out of the window but I was too distracted by the fact that Harry was on top of me.

"Are you okay? Were you shot?" I asked him. 

"He missed," He answered. He quickly stood up and made his way out of the room leaving me standing there in shock. 

I almost f*****g died. 

I started to breathe heavy and I knew I needed to get out before I had a full on panic attack. I slowly made my way out of the bedroom only to be pushed by everyone else who were trying to get out of the house. 

"Excuse me!" I said while trying to push through the crowd. I was ignored. I had finally gotten to the end of the stairs but the house was so packed that it looked almost impossible to make it to the front door. 

"Move out of the f*****g way!" I heard a familiar voice yell. Everyone in the room went silent and cleared a small space for him to walk through. I pushed myself against the wall as I watched Harry make his way through the crowd and towards me. He held his hand out towards me and stared at me with those big blue eyes and waited for me to place my hand in his. 

I slowly turned around to see everyone staring at the scene in front of them with shocked and scared expressions on their faces. I shook my head before placing my hand in his as he turned around and began to drag me out of the busy house. We continued to walk until we were in front of a Black Jeep. 

"Get in!" Harry mumbled. I quickly opened the door and got into the passenger seat. He got into the drivers seat and slammed the door behind him. He quickly put the key in the ignition before driving away. 

"Thank you for doing that back there," I whispered. 

"Doing what?" He asked. 

"Everything," 

He stared at me for a few seconds before turning his attention back on the road. It was silent for the next five minutes as we continued to drive down the road. I would look at Harry out of the corner of my eye but it would only last a few seconds before I would look away and start playing with my fingers. 

"You're welcome," He finally replied. 

I looked up, "You're welcome? For what?" 

He scoffed, "You can stop with the dumb act, Carter!" 

"Are you calling me dumb?" I asked. 

"Nope but you love pretending to be dumb," 

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" 

"I saw your test scores, Carter. I had to take them to Principal Adams!"

"It's called luck," 

Harry scoffed, "I know you live in this area but I don't know where exactly," 

"Make a left turn," 

Harry did as I said and made a left turn, "Carter, I don't want you to get involved in anymore fights between Jake and I. It is between us and I don't want anyone getting hurt!" 

Bad boy, huh? 

"I'm sorry," 

"It's fine," He mumbled. 

"Stop getting yourself hurt though!" I replied. "We know that you're this tough guy but you don't have to keep this rivalry with Jake going. It has been going on for years," 

"You know nothing about me so stop acting like you do," 

"Make a right turn and it'll be the last house on this street," I mumbled. I sat back and looked out of the window. 

Finally, Harry had pulled up in front of my house. I unbuckled my seatbelt but Harry grabbed my arm and stopped me. 

"Stop pretending to be something that you're not! I know that you're this smart girl but you don't have to pretend so much!" He stared. 

I chucked before unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the car door. I jumped out of the truck before turning around faced him, "You know nothing about me so stop acting like you do!" 

"Goodnight Princess!" He called out. 

"Goodnight,"