Let The Games Begin.

Music blasted from the stereo as I swiftly turned my car into the school parking lot. I turned the dial; as silence filled the car. Killing the ignition, I looked out at the various students scattered throughout the parking lot.

As they gazed at my car people did different things. Some stared, some laughed, and some guys would send me suggestive glares; which I would ignore.

As they stared at me; eyes fixed to my every move, I shook my head. Back and forth they whispered to each other.

Let me break it down. The name’s Piper Hawthorne. I’ve been called every name in the book that could be frowned upon. Slut. Whore. Bitch. Skank. And the list goes on and on.

Frankly, people were wrong. Yeah, I’ve been around. So what?

Girls in school were constantly giving me dirty looks. Rumors would fly around about how much of a trashy slut I was.

But honestly, I think people were just intimidated by my I-really-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude. It was true. I could care less about what people think of me.

But you know how girls are. They just love to gossip. So they decided to label me the slut of the school. Just because I hang out with mostly guys and tend to have a good time every once in a while.

In this school, you can’t blame me for having mostly guy friends. The majority of the girls were nasty, stuck up, popular plastics.

Like Chelsea.

As I walked away from my car my boots scraped against the black pavement, causing people to once again turn their nosy heads in my direction.

My own eyes moved to the ground, and before I knew it, I had run into someone.

Of course, it was Chelsea.

She looked me over and scoffed before tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Ugh, watch where you’re going, Slut.”

She threw the word around like it was nothing; like it was my name.

I didn’t say a word and just kept walking, of course, I made sure that I ‘accidentally’ brushed into her shoulder, causing her books to fall to the pavement.

When I entered the school, I walked to my locker, mindlessly turning the dial to open it. As I threw various books inside, I heard a small knock on the locker door.

I turned my attention to the noise and immediately butterflies flew to my stomach when I saw who I was face to face with.

Alex Gaskarth.

No, I’ve never slept with him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.

But there was something different about him. I’d never felt anything for any of the guys I had ever been with. So yeah, maybe that’s where my reputation comes from. But Alex, there was something about him that drove me absolutely insane.

“Hey, Piper.”

Hearing him say my name sent an electric current through my veins, making my heart race.

“H-hey Alex.”

He smiled, revealing perfect white teeth, as he ran a hand through his hair.

“How’ve you been?”

“Good. You?”

“Same old band stuff.”

I nodded, smiling. I tried to stop myself from imagining what it would be like to have him right where I wanted him.

The bell rang and he started to back away.

“Well, I’ll see you around Piper.”

I nodded, closing the locker.

“Yeah. Bye, Alex.”

He smiled again before turning and heading down the hallway.

I did the same, heading to English. Walking inside, I saw that the desks were pushed together, implying that there would be group work.

Fantastic.

The teacher spoke up, confirming my suspicion before beginning to split the class. As I heard my name called, I walked to the place in the classroom where my new group sat, and trust me, I was ready to scream.

I found myself in a group with Chelsea, Olivia, and Claire.

Chelsea, thinking she would be the leader of the group, began to mouth off about how she was going to do absolutely nothing for the project, and basically bitching that she’s in a group full of ‘losers.’

I could feel my blood start to boil and I couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Listen, princess, here’s the deal. This is a group project. Either you do the work, or I make this a living hell for you.”

She immediately shut her mouth and rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath.

I think I made my point.

She turned to me again.

“The school whore is NOT going to tell me what to do.”

Almost ready to jump over the table, Olivia and Claire spoke up, taking a softer approach.

“She’s right, we all have to work together, or we’ll all fail.”

Chelsea once again rolled her eyes, but finally remained silent.

They started to discuss plans for the project while I stared off into space, allowing my mind to wander.

I thought about the various parties lined up and how I could finally score that chance with Alex. I wondered how it would feel to run my hands down his chest with his arms snaked tightly around my waist.

Chelsea waved her hand in front of my face and ‘accidentally’ slapped me.

She chuckled. “Oops, sorry.”

I bit my lip and rolled up my sleeves, standing up.

“I swear to God I’ll—“

“Girls, is there a problem?”

I took a deep breath a sat back down in the chair, shaking my head.

I stared up at the ceiling, ready to lose it.

This class would be the death of me.