Sean

I watched her intently as the days went on, and yet I still got nothing. Leah Mercer was a total enigma to me and the rest of the school.

She acted cold and distant with everyone, aside from Grace – her best friend. She's always sporting a scowl or a hard expression on her face, as she walked the school halls. It was like she was angry at the world, while choosing a select few that she dared to let in.

Rumours of where she had been still milled around, each one different from the next and more exaggerated than the last. Ranging from her being sent to juvenile detention, to giving birth, to going on some drug deal thing, to even ending up in jail.

The more I listened, the more ridiculous they seemed to get. And it was strange to watch as Leah walked the halls, hearing each of these rumours and yet, paying them no heed at all.

For the first week of school though, I had noted that Leah spent an awful amount of time in the nurse's office. As well as the fact that she slept through most of her classes, not caring that she might get in trouble for it.

I had finally worked up the nerve to sit next to her through all the classes we shared, except for homeroom since she always skipped it. Yet, in every other class that we shared, she barely paid me any attention. Paying very little attention to the teachers too, yet she still managed to get good grades.

Sure, she wasn't ranked at the top of the grade like I was, but she was still getting fairly good grades for someone who barely took notes.

The Bad Girl of West Mount intrigued me, but for more than just the one obvious reason. Sure, I had glimpsed the scars that marred her back by some accident, but that was only part of the reason why she intrigued me.

Her eyes, though guarded, had shown me something different that day. Something that sparked an interest in me, far greater than that of what happened to her.

It was that simple look in her eyes that pushed me to want to know exactly who she was. It was that look, that simple expression that enticed me, that encouraged me to look into the possibility that there may be more to Leah Mercer, than just being the Bad Girl of West Mount City.

And I was determined to find out what it was.

This morning I had planned on interrogating Grace about Leah, but that had sadly gone awry. At the mention of her best friend, Grace seemed to clam up and switched into police mode. So instead of me interrogating her on the matter, she ended up interrogating me, as to why I was asking.

Clearly that was a bad idea.

"Sean! Oh my God! Look at this!" a voice broke through my thoughts as my room door flew open to admit my sister.

Bailey raced in waving her phone around as she headed straight for me, "How could you not tell me this happened?" she shrieked, as she jumped onto my bed, next to me. Leaning into me, she held her phone in front of us, before pressing play on whatever was on the screen.

A second later as I stared at the screen, I watched as the hallway of the school became clear on it. The rest of the screen, filled up by two people who stood really close to one another. And as I took my time to take in who they were, I realized that it was a video of Cameron and Leah.

"What is this?" I asked, frowning down at Bailey.

"The video of Cameron and Leah from lunch," Bailey answered, pausing the video to look at me. "I thought you saw it?"

"No, I only heard about there being an incident between them," I answered.

"Incident, this is more than just an incident!" she shrieked, "Watch!"

Bailey restarted the video, pressing play once more so that we could see what happened. As it played, I watched as the two bantered back and forth, standing so close to each other you could mistake them for a couple. As it continued, I came to understand why Jenna shouted those things at Leah earlier. The spat between the two of them having gone a bit too far in my opinion.

But, what did you expect from the likes of Leah, right?

The video came to an end, as Bailey locked her phone and looked at me with a giant smirk on her face.

"Oh, I don't believe it, she stole his wallet!" she gushed, before bursting into laughter, "That's priceless."

"Yeah," I mumbled as I thought back to lunch. "And she most likely also paid for lunch with his money," I said, deep in thought as the memory of Cameron and Leah walking into Matteo's Pizzeria together came to mind.

"She did what?" Bailey screeched, her laughter dying as she gaped at me.

"She paid for lunch earlier today," I answered robotically as my mind raced with the memory.

"Wait, she ate lunch with you guys?" Bailey asked, staring at me, "As in with you, the boys and Milena?"

"Yes," I answered with a frown.

"And Milena was fine with that?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Yes," I answered with uncertainty, "Wait, what do you mean fine with it? What sort of problem would there be?" I asked.

"Uh- I don't know." Bailey answered, rolling her eyes. "And on what planet do you live that you don't know Milena hates, and I mean hates, Leah Mercer?" she asked, shaking her head.

"She doesn't hate her," I defended.

"Oh sure, and unicorns exist big brother," she replied sarcastically. "Are you really that blind Sean?"

Bailey waited for me to answer but when I didn't, she carried on. "How can you miss the constant jabs at Leah, the constant degrading of the girl. The bristling of Milena's haunches the moment Leah is in the room. I mean, even her bitchiness is amped up more than usual when Leah is around."

"Milena was fine with Leah being there okay, they even spoke," I bristled.

"Sure, and pigs fly," Bailey answered, rolling her eyes again.

"What? Leah came because Grace invited her. Milena couldn't exactly protest that, now could she?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Oh, but that doesn't mean that she didn't try, now does it?" Bailey replied, a smug smile spreading across her face.

"Fine Bailey, fine. Milena protested Leah being there and they spoke, but with venom lacing their words. Happy now?" I grumbled in irritation as I recalled Milena's cattiness towards Leah the moment she walked in with Cameron.

"Yes, now back to the whole Leah paid for lunch thing," Bailey said, waving off my irritated remark as she brought us back to the previous conversation.

"Well, once we were done, instead of getting the bill like we usually do, Leah got up and went to pay. Cameron of course protested behind her, but she ignored him. I thought it was because we usually split the bill, but now that I think about it. She most likely used the money from his stolen wallet to pay for it and that's what he was protesting," I said thoughtfully.

My mind raced through the events of the afternoon, at Matteo's. Going through how Milena had continued to pick on Leah while she brushed it off. How Cameron and Leah kept bickering on the side, and finally how Grace through it all, kept on hinting at Leah and Cameron becoming a couple.

Bailey though, had burst into a fit of laughter at my words, her eyes watering as she held her stomach.

"Oh- oh- oh-" she struggled.

"Breathe Bailey," I chuckled.

"Stealing his wallet is one thing, but using his money to pay for lunch as well, that's just epic," Bailey gushed once she had calmed down enough to speak coherently, "That's even better than before," she continued with a giggle.

"Yeah, that's Leah for you," I said with a shrug.

"Clearly, there is never a dull moment around West Mount, when she's involved," Bailey said with another chuckle.

"True," I agreed.

"Well big brother, if that's all. I'm going to call Maya and tell her all about this extra bit of information. Thanks," Bailey said with a wide smile, before hopping off my bed. Heading to my door with her head down as she looked up her best friend's number.

With Bailey gone, and my door closed, I closed my eyes and let out a heavy, yet contented, sigh. Happy to finally get a moment to myself.

That happiness, however, was short lived though as my door burst open once again, but this time it was Milena who entered through it, instead of my overly excited sister.

"Can you believe it?" she shrieked, walking into my room and throwing her hands up in the air.

"Can I believe what?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"That- That- That spastic bitch sold the dress!" Milena shrieked once again, as she stomped her way towards my bed. "I was going to buy it," she cried. "I asked the assistant lady, whatever her job is, to place the dress on hold for me. She told me I had forty-eight hours to claim it, or they would sell it to someone else. And then, when I got there, nothing," she explained.

"Nothing Sean, nothing!" she screeched, "They sold the dress. My dress. They sold my dress, Sean!" Milena shrieked as she dropped onto my bed and pounded her hands into my covers.

"Okay, so buy a different one," I said with uncertainty. Not sure if that was the right thing to say.

A loud gasp came from beside me, causing me to glance down at Milena, to find her staring up at me in disbelief.

"A different dress," Milena said in a calm voice, one that I didn't like. "A different dress!" she shrieked a second later. "Why would I buy a different dress, when I was meant to have that one!" she cried.

"Because it's gone?" I said in an askance tone. Knowing once again that I was saying the wrong shit, but what the hell did she expect from me. Before Milena could utter another word though, I lifted my hand for her to wait as I asked with a frown, "Wait, how come you can't just buy the same dress? I mean they should sell many of the same make right?"

Milena stared at me as if I had spoken in a foreign language, before shaking her head. "Okay, because you're my best friend, I will forgive you for such blasphemy," she said with a hard look at me.

"Okay."

"So... let me explain," she said, as she hopped off my bed and began pacing in front of it.

"The dress I wanted, the dress I deserved," she started off. "That dress was one of a kind. As in that is the sole dress of its make – as in there isn't any other like it. So to answer your question, no, I can't go and buy the same dress," she continued, "And you know why?"

"Why?" I asked, knowing it was a trap.

"Because that bitch sold it, she stole it and sold it!" Milena seethed, clenching her hands into fists.

"Uh huh," I murmured, nodding my head to everything she said while feeling completely lost and confused.

I was a guy, what the hell did I know about bloody dresses and girly shit. Milena seemed to think I was all clued up on this shit, but I wasn't. Sure, she was one of my best friends, but that didn't mean she could come take over and rant on in my room.

We weren't girlfriends.

My phone and hers dinged with a message, but before either one of us could move, my room door flew open once more. As Bailey charged into it, waving her phone.

"Did you see Grace's newest update?" she shrieked. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Milena standing in the room. "Oh, hi Lena," Bailey greeted in a dry voice, before rushing towards me.

"What update?" Milena asked.

"The one she just posted on her blog," Bailey said, waving her phone at Milena, before shoving it into my face. "Read," she ordered.

Scanning my eyes over the screen, I read what it said;

We may have a Budding Romance on the horizon.

Cameron Stone and Leah Mercer were caught getting really close at lunch today. Though they seemed to be bickering, the two made quite a lot of raucous.

Causing many people to stop and stare.

The two of them didn't stop there though. As soon as school ended, the two had a little spat in which Jenna Black, who happened to be Cameron's next score, came out as the sore loser. Cameron abandoned his latest conquest, and instead chose to stay behind and converse with Leah.

Ending their conversation with the promise that things between them might change.

So, the question that stands to be asked is this: Is Learon really going to happen? Or is this just some pipe dream for us hopeful romantics?

#TeamLearon

Check out the videos of both rather smashing hits between Cameron and Leah, and comment your thoughts below.

"Well thats..." I paused unsure of what to say.

"It's fantastic!" Bailey gushed with glee.

"What do you mean, fantastic?" Milena asked with a frown.

"Well duh, Cameron and Leah would make the perfect couple. I mean they look freaking amazing together. And just think of the babies, I mean those two would make some good-looking kids," Bailey continued;

"They both have model features, and I mean Cameron is dream worthy as is. All you really need to do is change Leah's attitude and I mean, damn." A moment later Bailey looked at me in thought, "I wonder if Maya has seen this," she said, before hopping off my bed and rushing out of my room.

Milena turned to look at me the moment the door closed, her eyes wide. "What the hell was Grace thinking?" she shrieked.

"That Leah and Cameron make a good couple," I shrugged, stating the obvious.

"That riff-raff?"

"What can I say Lena? Leah has some kind of charm," I said rolling my eyes.

Milena scoffed at my words as she shook her head, "This isn't funny, Sean."

"Oh, but it is," I said with a chuckle.

Crossing her arms, she glared at me, "Look Lena, Cameron isn't a one girl type of guy. We all know that, so stop stressing okay," I said as I tried to calm her down.

"But..."

"I have homework to finish," I cut in, hoping to shut her up for at least a moment. Getting off my bed, I headed towards my desk.

"Oh good, can you help me with Calculus?" she asked, thankfully dropping the previous topic of Cameron and his newest interest as she focused on her homework.

"Sure," I said as I grabbed my bag from the floor, hoping that the next few hours would be filled with doing actual work and not having to listen to any more girly gossip or girl talk. My plans for a free, relaxing afternoon were now down the drain and it clearly wasn't going to get any better if the universe had anything to say about it.

So accepting my fate on how things would be, I walked out of my room and followed Milena as we headed towards the kitchen, where we always did our homework.

* * *     * * *

Milena and I spent a few hours working on our homework in the kitchen, before Julio – our personal chef, came in and chased us out.

With that, we moved back to my room to finish up, before I spent some time on my computer, while Milena was busy on her phone. She still continued to prattle on about fashion and complain about her dress getting stolen.

Tuning her out after a while, I did some research into Leah and her family.

Now, I found myself sitting around the dining room table with Milena seated next to me and my mother sitting across from us. My mother had invited her to stay for dinner which she accepted, of course.

Both of them thinking, it's a good idea, so that they could bond while trying to persuade me to give Milena a chance. Something they did all too often, if I think about it.

"Where is that child?" my mother asked, just as Bailey came sauntering into the dining room.

Stopping in her tracks, she frowned, "Where's dad?" she asked, moving to take her seat next to our mother.

"Working late, as usual," my mother said in a bitter tone, "Some tough case or another," she continued, waving her hand dismissively at my sister's question, as if it would mask the bitter note to her voice.

"Oh," Bailey said with a nod, before digging into her plate of food.

I sat there and stared at my mother for a good few minutes as I tried to figure out what was going on with her lately. She had been uptight for the past two weeks, but I just couldn't figure out what it was that caused it.

"Sean, your food is getting cold," Milena said in a low voice, with a glance of concern as she brought me out of my thoughts.

"Oh yeah," I mumbled, shaking my head and tearing my gaze away from my mom.

Silence fell around us as the clinking of our cutlery was the only thing to be heard while we ate. A peaceful moment that was cut short as my mother decided to make small talk;

"So Milena, how is school?"

"Well it's only been two weeks, but it's good. We're holding try-outs for new cheerleaders and have two or three new spots open," Milena explained with a smile.

"Oh that's good to hear," my mother chimed.

"Yeah, we're holding try-outs on Wednesday after school," Milena continued, "Hey Bailey, why don't you come and give it a go?" she encouraged.

"Why? So you can call me fat and tell me what to eat and when. Thanks, but no thanks," Bailey answered snarkily, shaking her head.

"Bailey!" my mom chastised.

"What, it's true," Bailey said with a hard look at her. "They booted the last two girls for somehow being overweight. I mean they looked like damned sticks."

My mother gasped at Bailey's words, blushing red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry for her behaviour Milena," my mother apologized as she glared at Bailey, "Sometimes she exaggerates."

"Oh sure, that's what I did. Sean knows it too," Bailey said, pointing at me.

My mother glanced at me as she waited for my two cents on the matter, but I just carried on eating. Seeing no point in joining in on the bickering.

"It's quite alright, Mrs. Evans," Milena said after a while, a smile on her face.

"Sean, how is school and soccer?" my mother asked, after a moment of silence once the tension seemed to dissipate.

"Fine."

"Anything interesting happen?" she asked curiously.

"Not real..."

"Oh, interesting things did happen," Bailey said, cutting me off.

"And what is that?" my mother inquired.

"Well for one, Cameron is interested in Leah Mercer," Bailey gushed, a huge smile spreading across her face, "And another thing is that Jenna Black tried to slap Leah twice, today."

"And, and, and, Leah stole Cameron's wallet from him at lunch, and Sean says she used the money from his wallet to pay for their lunch," she finished narrating the events of the day with a satisfied smile.

"She did what?" Milena asked, turning to look at me.

"Leah, paid for your lunch with Cameron's money," Bailey repeated, "Isn't that just priceless. I mean how does she come up with this stuff?"

"And when did you find out about this?" Milena asked, turning to look at me.

"Well, I figured it out this afternoon when Bailey came to show me the videos," I shrugged, "It's no big deal."

"No big deal, she stole from Cameron and paid with his money!" Milena shrieked.

"So, it's not like Cameron cared, otherwise he would have made a fuss about it. The only one making a fuss is you, Lena," I said with a hard look at her.

"Excuse me," my mother interjected, drawing our attention to her.

"What?" I grumbled.

"You're saying that Cameron is interested in Leah Mercer, Georgina's daughter?" my mother asked with a raised brow.

"Yes..." I answered slowly, not having known Leah's mother's name, as every article I found on their family hadn't mentioned her name in it.

"And she stole Cameron's wallet?" my mother asked with a raised brow.

"Yes..." I answered slowly again, trying to see where my mother was going with this.

"Well, then the apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree, now does it?" my mother said with a thoughtful look in her eyes, "And where did this happen?" she asked.

"In the school hallway, before lunch," Bailey piped up.

"So it happened on school property?" my mother questioned.

Bailey nodded her head in answer as she stuffed the last of her chicken into her mouth. Once she was done, she excused herself from the table and rushed out of the room. Knowing all too well, what she had just started.

Thanks so much, Bailey.

"Mom, can we just drop this. It was a bit of harmless fun and it's not like Cameron cared," I said, irritated at the path which my mother was surely heading down.

"Leah did start a fight with Jenna over Cameron, so I don't think we should really brush off the issue that easily," Milena spoke up, after the silence had carried on for far too long. A small smile played on her face, portraying sweetness, but I knew better than that now, especially since she mentioned Leah.

"He didn't care. Cameron..."

"Honey, we can't let people like Leah think that they can run the show. We have to put them in their place and let them know, there are consequences," my mother said in a soft voice as she tried to reach for my hand, over the table.

Her outstretched hand was a clear sign of her trying to sway me into thinking that whatever was about to happen, was for the greater good. Not seeing the point in arguing the conversation, I pulled my hand away and stood. Tired of hearing my mother and Milena cut Leah down when she wasn't even here to defend herself.

"Thanks for dinner, but I've lost my appetite," I said in a hard tone, before turning and walking out.

Heading into the foyer and to the stairs that lead up to my room, I stopped in my tracks when I heard the front door open and close. My father walked into the house, dressed in a form-fitted black suit with his black briefcase in hand and a tired look etched across his face.

"Hey dad," I greeted.

My father's head snapped up in surprise. His hand over his heart as he stood there and stared. "You almost gave me a heart attack, son," he said with a chuckle, "And hello to you too."

"Sorry, dad," I said with a sheepish grin.

Shaun Quinton Evans was a man of status in our city. Tall with broad shoulders. He was a man to be reckoned with, both inside and outside the court. A man whose name alone, intimidated people and yet, to me he was simply dad.

With a square shaped face, a strong jawline and straight nose, it was obvious where I got my looks from. With a slightly tanned complexion, neatly trimmed blonde hair and baby blue eyes, that completed his look.

All in all, he was a man who demanded respect and one who worked hard to be one of the top in his field.

With another nod at my father, I headed up and grabbed my car keys before sneaking out of the house. I was sick of Milena and her nonsense, bickering over dresses and shoes and assistants, I was sick of her demeaning Leah. I was just sick of it all.

So with my keys in hand, I decided to take a drive.

* * *     * * *

"What can I get you?" her voice broke through my thoughts, as I stared down at the table. Her voice, hard and unwelcoming.

"Oh uh-" I stumbled over my words, shocked at her sudden appearance.

"Come on Evans, I don't have all night," Leah coaxed, irritation clear in her voice.

Looking down at the menu in my hand, for a second, I decided, "I'll have Cheese fries and a Coke," I said, handing her the menu.

Leah grabbed it from my hand, before walking off to another customer. A small smile graced her face as she took their order. Watching her as she made her way to the counter, with her head down, as she wrote down our orders.

I frowned at her actions as it seemed as if she only had a scowl for me, having slightly brightened up for her other customers. Shaking my head, I continued to watch her from where I sat in J's Diner.

"There you are," a voice said behind me.

Groaning at her voice, I turned to find Milena standing near my table, a small smile on her face. "Why did you leave?" she asked, coming to sit across from me, before waving her hand at Leah to get some service.

"I wanted to be alone," I mumbled, feeling a headache coming on.

Turning in her seat, Milena grumbled something about Leah taking long, just as she walked up to our table. "What can I get you, Ma'am?" Leah asked with a smirk, as I burst into laughter at the shocked and horrified expression that crossed Milena's face.

"A diet coke," Milena answered dryly.

Leah looked at me with a raised brow and a small smile, before she turned on her heel and walked off. Blinking after her, I watched her walk away, wondering if I had just hallucinated her smiling at me.

Tearing my gaze away from Leah, I turned to look at Milena, to find her glaring at me with steel in her eyes.

"What?"

"What do you see in her?" she asked with a raised brow, her voice frosty.

"Nothing, why?"

"Then why are you staring at her and being so nice?" Milena asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Uh- because I'm a nice guy," I answered, confused.

"Oh, so all of a sudden you're Mr. Nice Guy, with her as well?" she questioned.

"I'm nice to everyone," I answered exasperatedly, shaking my head at her obvious jealousy. I had left home to be alone and away from confrontation and yet, here it was, right in front of me again.

Seriously, could I not catch a break.

"Sure," Milena said in a hard tone.

I stared at Milena for a long while, before scoffing and shaking my head. It was about time I got some answers as to why she despised Leah so much, as Leah had done nothing to her other than taunt her, a few times.

"Seriously just stop! What the hell is your problem with her?" I asked in a stern voice, narrowing my eyes at her, as I waited for her answer.

Milena glanced behind her, at Leah, who stood near the counter, before turning to look back at me. Her eyes glossy.

"Hey," I said in a soft voice, "I didn't mean to, okay..."

Milena glanced away from me for a second as she sniffled, wiping the tears away before they could fall and smudge her mascara. "You don't understand," she said in a small voice, sniffling a bit more.

"Then tell me so I can," I said back, mimicking her tone of voice. I hated when women cried as I felt helpless in knowing what to do or say to make them feel better.

"You wouldn't understand Sean," she said looking at the table.

Opening my mouth to say something, I closed it as Leah appeared at our table with our order. "Here's your diet cola, and your cheese fries with a coke," Leah said as she placed our food and drinks on the table, in front of us. Stepping back she looked down at me with a tight smile, "Can I get you anything else?" she asked with a raised brow, turning her gaze onto the teary eyed Milena.

"No thanks," I answered, watching her closely as she scrutinized Milena.

"So, you're not interested in a blackened heart or dying soul then?" Leah asked as she glanced back at me, before shifting her gaze back to Milena. "How about the husk of a person?" she carried on.

"None of this tickling your fancy, huh?" she asked with a smile.

I stared at Leah wide eyed and open mouthed at the fact that she dared to speak to customers that way. But Leah wasn't focused on me at all. No, her gaze was solely on Milena, who had turned away from me the moment Leah had appeared.

"How about a tissue for your issue?" Leah asked in a more upbeat voice, a second later. Pulling out a serviette from her back pocket.

"What?" Milena asked in a soft voice.

Leah scoffed and shook her head before placing the serviette on the table. "Fake tears won't get you anywhere in life, Milena. But they clearly worked on your dumbass boyfriend here, so props for that," she said with a slight chuckle, before tapping on the table twice and walking off. Leaving me to stare after her once more, as I grumbled under my breath that Milena and I were not a couple.

Tearing my gaze from her again, I turned to Milena to find her staring back at me, wide eyed. "She's lying," she said, grabbing the serviette and dabbing at her eyes, before wiping her nose. Clearly trying to hold up the charade of being sad, even when someone had already called her out on her bullshit.

"Sure," I said rolling my eyes at the now obvious lie, "Why do you hate her so much Milena? Seriously, what is the reason?" I asked in a stern voice, expecting an answer to my question this time.

"I don't hate her," Milena protested, causing me to raise a brow at her, "Okay fine, maybe I do, but it's just that, she's... she's so full of herself," she said with irritation in her voice, as she glanced back at Leah with hatred burning in her eyes.

"This coming from the Queen Bee of our school?" I asked.

And even as the words left my mouth, I regretted them instantly as Milena looked at me in surprise. "Is that what you think of me?" she shrieked, her voice reaching volumes that dogs could hear as the other customers turned to stare.

"Lena, calm down. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, you think..."

"Is everything okay here?" Leah asked, appearing once again by our table as she cut Milena off.

Milena seethed at the sight of her, while I nodded in answer. Looking between the two of us, Leah's blue eyes shone with curiosity. "Good, so if you don't mind, could you please keep it down. There are other customers here as well, who would like to enjoy their meal in peace," she said in a low voice, before sauntering over to another table.

Turning to Milena, I smiled, "Look, I didn't mean that okay, just tell me why you hate her," I said apologetically.

"Fine, since you want to know the nitty gritty story, here it is," she said with a small smile, before taking a sip of her drink. I smiled in satisfaction at finally having gotten her to tell me what the hell was going on.

"Leah, Grace and I, used to be best friends, I mean we all lived in the same area so it was a given," she began.

"Wait, you were friends with Leah?" I asked, shocked.

"Believe it or not, yes. We were best friends – correction we were friends. Grace and Leah were best friends because their mothers were close and they grew up together," Milena explained with a small smile.

"After the scandal with her father – who's now in jail. The Mercer's moved out of South Side, to where they are now. From then on Leah changed. She pulled in on herself, we still hung out and we were still friends, but she didn't interact with us in the same way, except with Grace, of course. Grace always seemed to be the exception to the rule, when it came to Leah," Milena mumbled.

I frowned at this new information as I listened intently to Milena. Everyone who lived in West Mount knew of the Mercer's fall from grace, their status and reputation taking a major knock. But why Leah changed, however, that was interesting to know and learn.

"A few years after that, something major happened. I can't say what, but I know Leah went missing for a long time – just like she had last year. When she finally reappeared, she was completely different, having changed completely," Milena carried on, "She was rude, she shunned everyone, including Grace, and she was just a menace."

I frowned at this new piece of information, because I vaguely remember Leah being away for a while before, but I hadn't really paid attention to it.

"Grace and Leah grew close again at some point, but I can't really say when. But like I said Grace was always an exception," she explained with a sad, bitter note to her voice as she fiddled with the straw in her coke.

I frowned at Milena as she showed a little emotion and envy for the two best friends. "Anyway, finally the day of our first prom came – you know the Winter Wonderland one?" Milena asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah," I answered, not exactly remembering the night, but indulging her anyway.

"Well, I liked this guy and I planned on getting him to ask me to the Prom. I mean come on, he was the hottest guy around," Milena explained, matter-of-factly while I stared at her in confusion as I didn't understand how this fit in with her hating Leah.

"So, I tried to get him to notice me only to find out that he had already asked Grace out," Milena said with venom lacing her words, as she scowled.

"Uh- Lena, this is all very interesting but how is this relevant?" I asked with a raised brow.

"It's relevant because Leah stole Jesse from me and gave him to Grace," Milena seethed, clenching her hands into fists on the table.

"Jesse?" I asked.

"Yes, Jesse McAllister."

"Wait, McAllister, the guy who left town about a year ago? The class clown, adrenaline junkie, from North Side, McAllister?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Yes."

"Seriously?" I asked, staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

"What?" Milena asked.

I shook my head as I stared at her, unsure of what McAllister had to do with hating Leah. Though considering it was Leah we were talking about, it seemed like you didn't need much of a reason to hate her.

"Look, Jesse McAllister was my crush when we were fourteen, but instead of asking me to the dance, he asked Grace instead. Like seriously?" she asked in irritation, her voice going up an octave higher as once again people looked in our direction.

I cringed at her words, "Maybe a little lower in pitch there Lena," I said as I nodded apologies at those who stared.

"He picked Grace over me, Sean. Me!" Milena emphasised, leaning forward in her seat.

"Uh huh," I answered, blinking a couple times as I tried to process what she was telling me.

It made no sense to me why we were going down this road, when it had absolutely nothing to do with Leah. How did Leah even fit into this, when Jesse asked Grace to the dance.

"I still don't get it," I said after a long pause.

Milena looked at me for a long time, with a frown, before she shook her head with a sigh. "Both Grace and I liked Jesse. Leah knew about it and instead of letting Jesse choose, Leah coaxed him into going with Grace," she explained.

"Wait, what?" I asked with a frown, "Are you telling me, you've been angry at Leah since we were fourteen because she helped Grace get a date?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Erg no, you're not listening," Milena complained, rolling her eyes.

"I'm listening quite alright and everything you just said, made no sense or equates to what I just said," I explained as I looked at her with a raised brow.

Milena glared at me for a long while before she shook her head, "Think what you like Sean, Leah is still a damn ruffian," she hissed, before standing and walking away with a huff.

Turning to follow her, I chose to forgo that as I leaned back in my seat and stuffed my face with my now cold cheese fries. "God women are freaking confusing," I grumbled as I took a sip of my coke and rubbed my temples.

Sitting there, I finished my food and coke when a figure came to sit in front of me. Looking up, I stiffened at the sight of Leah.

"Well, that was fun to watch," Leah said with a smirk.

"What was?" I sighed, in no mood for games.

"She tell you why she hates me? Hmmm?" Leah asked with a raised brow.

"H- H- How did you..."

"How'd I know?" she asked sarcastically, cutting me off as I nodded in confirmation.

"Well, maybe because most of the restaurant heard your conversation," Leah said as she motioned towards the other customers and a few that were leaving. Some of them were still watching me, while Leah sat there.

"Anyway, I suggest you forget this quest of yours," she continued with a shrug.

"What quest?" I asked with a frown.

"Oh, the one where you try and find out more about me. You're not going to get anywhere with it. Like your girlfriend said, I'm just a ruffian. So stick to your side of the tracks Evans, because you definitely don't want to come over to mine," she said with a smirk, before slowly getting up.

Grabbing her hand, Leah turned to look at me with a frown. "One, she's not my girlfriend, and two, you're gonna need a lot more convincing to shake me," I said in a low voice.

Leah glared at me for a moment, before she glanced down at our hands in confusion. Her slightly smaller one, still in mine. Pulling her hand free, she scoffed at me and walked away.

She looked back a moment later, her gaze meeting mine with a frown etched on her face. Something shone in her eyes as she stared at me, something deep, something meaningful... something that drew me in. Leaving me more intrigued to know her, than I had been before.

* * *     * * *

Chapter 10... What did you think of Sean? Of Bailey? What did you think of Milena's story.

Also what about Grace's blog post.

Let me know what you think in the comments and don't forget to like.

- Orlaith