THE RULES OF KISSING GIRLS

Chapter One: My Perfect Life Is A lie Charlotte's POV “Mm… ugh…” I moaned as Max kissed my lips down to my neck. “Ow…Ma… Max, I have to get to class now,” I said, pushing his hands away from my breast and pulling my bra in place. “Just one more kiss, Charly”, Max said, grinning as if he had just won a lottery. The previous night, Max sneaked into my room around 11, almost midnight just to have s*x with me. Sometimes I feel….. “ Charly..” He leaned back a little and whispered something into my ear. Honestly, I didn’t even hear it. His lips were cold, and the kisses felt empty. But I kissed him back because apparently that’s my job as Charlotte, Max's perfect girlfriend. I’ve known Max since I was twelve. Everyone thinks we’re perfect. Cheerleaders, nerds, teachers, and random people who should be minding their business. “CHARLY!” Maya yelled from across the hallway. She marched over, shoved a latte into my hand, and starPleaseme like I was the world’s biggest failure. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?” she asked. “Oops, guess I was a little distracted,” I said, forcing a smile. Maya rolled her eyes “Distracted licking each other’s tongues? Girl, please.” I choked on air while she stomped off toward class not caring if I followed, so I jogged beside her like her sad little assistant. The hallway was loud, people were laughing, talking, and staring, mostly at me. I did the usual: smile like my life isn’t on fire. My phone buzzed. Two messages from Max: “Didn’t finish that kiss” “Miss you already, babe” “Max again?” Maya asked without looking at me. I locked my phone and shoved it into my pocket. “ It’s nothing.” Maya sucked her teeth. “You’ve been on that phone like it’s giving you superpowers” “I’m not that bad,” I said. “You are and you’re getting worse.” Her voice was soft but scary, like she could see straight into my brain. We stopped at her locker, and she slammed it shut as it had personally offended her last week. “Charly , you act like Max owns you,” she said. “I don’t like who you become around him.” Ouch, that one hit right in the heart, like a slap to my face. “I’m fine,” I lied badly. “No, you’re pretending, you don’t even look happy with him.” “Okay, fine, I'll text him later,” I said, shoving the phone into my bag. “Will you?” she asked, giving me a side eye . I looked away because yes, okay, I’m a liar. We got to Chemistry class . And sat near the window. My brain wasn’t in class. It was on my phone. Inside the stupid dating app, the girls dared me to download it for a few nights. I was scrolling on the app that night and then I met her, Sophie_wtf. Her profile picture was cute and weird; half of her face was hidden behind a plushie and she texted me like we knew each other. And when she messaged me, my heart did this weird jumping jack thing. The previous night, I almost accidentally told her how I felt, stupid right?? But she was so funny and so not like Max. At least nobody knows I’m on the app, they also don’t know my username is Lottie, a name I never use in real life. This morning, Sophie sent a “good morning” message. I didn’t reply because I didn’t want to, but because I was busy figuring out the perfect way to respond, I didn’t want to sound desperate. “Charlotte,” Mr Morris said suddenly. I didn’t hear him. “Charlotte.” I jumped so high and sat up and straight like a student who totally cares about chemistry. “Yes??” I said, trying to pretend I heard everything he had been saying. He dropped a worksheet on my table. “You and Maya are partners today.” Maya snorted “Oh wow”, I guess she thought that was hilarious too. We started working, but I couldn’t focus. Maya kept looking at me like she knew something was off. Then the door slammed open, and the whole class twisted their necks to see who dared walk into Mr Morris's class late. And of course Charles Miller walked in late again and he wasn’t alone, a new girl followed him in, she was pretty, confused and holding his arm like she just got hired for the role of Charles’ girlfriend. Someone whispered behind me, “Is that his new girlfriend already?” Another person added, “Didn’t he dump Amber like two days ago?” I didn’t even have to look at Maya to know she was staring at Amber to see her reactions. Charles broke up with Amber a few weeks ago, but the drama went viral days later. People were saying she was obsessed and would do anything for him. Ever since then, she’d disappeared into the background, barely talking in class, always minding her business. Honestly, I barely noticed her anymore, not like I ever did though. Charles smirked like he owned the school and said, “Sorry I’m late, traffic.” Boy, you live five minutes away. Mr Morris sighed “Just sit down, Charles.” Charles winked at the new girl, and for a second, I actually prayed for her safety. He’s basically a walking red flag with legs. My phone buzzed again, and I didn’t check it, but it felt louder, like it was calling me by my name. For a second, I thought it was another notification from that stupid anonymous school page, the one that likes posting rumours. But no, this time it was definitely Sophie. Sophie’s message flashed in my head: Sophie_wtf: “Still up for later, Lottie? I wanna tell you something.” About what? ? Wait, is she about to confess her undying love to me? I stared at the worksheet like it was supposed to save my life and give me relationship advice or maybe just teleport me out Hartere. Maya nudged me “You’re zoning out again.” “No, I’m fine,” I mumbled, pretending to be focusing on the worksheet. I wanted to reply to Sophie's messages so bad, I chewed on my pencil, glanced at Maya, tried to focus, and somehow almost knocked over my water bottle. Then, I lifted my phone slowly, and my fingers hovered over Sophie’s message. Just as I was about to reply, Max walked up behind me as Sophie's message lit up the screen and I immediately stopped breathing.