Throwing the doors open, I headed towards the administration office. The sound of them banging shut behind me, a pleasant sound to hear. A sound that let them all know that I was back.

I had been gone for a long while and because of that, I had to go through our school's system the old fashioned way- unlike my fellow peers. They could just waltz right on to their classes, as they had their schedules emailed to them.

But hey, a reason to be late, right. Or as late as one can be since I'm a whole fucking hour early.

Walking into the office, a fairly old woman sat behind the desk with the phone pressed to her ear. The sound of the office door opening, causing her to glance up at me with a sweet smile, and then motioning for me to wait.

I carried on towards the desk, as the corners of my lips twitched up into a small smile. Leaning against it, I waited for her to finish up her call, while I took in the rest of the office.

The room was large, with a massive wooden front desk. The walls painted a soft yellow while the carpeted floor was a muted colour. Three red chairs stood along the wall near the front desk, while another three stood against the far wall, between two wooden doors.

Each door had a plaque on it, one that read Principal and another that read Vice-Principal. Two doors that I was very used to seeing and walking through, as I lived up to the title given to me.

"Mrs. Clark, the school year has just begun. What is there to complain about?" Mrs. Johnson – the school secretary asked, rolling her eyes.

At the mention of Mrs. Clark, I perked up and glanced over at the woman before me, with her light complexion and angular face. She had a straight nose, a pair of piercing hazel eyes and thin lips. Her greying black hair was always tied up in a bun atop her head.

This the making of what we all assumed to be a stern woman, but I knew better.

Although her seemingly stern demeanor, Mrs. Johnson was one of the few people in this school, and godforsaken city, that didn't judge me based on my family, their reputation or the deeds that I've done. That's something that meant a lot to me.

"Yes, I understand but nothing of note has happened yet," Mrs. Johnson spoke again.

The sound of Mrs. Clark on the other side of the phone could be heard fairly clearly from where I stood. Looking on in amusement, I reached over and grabbed a piece of paper and pen off Mrs. Johnson's desk, before I started doodling upon it.

"Again, I understand, but even as a benefactor of the school, you're not entitled to that information," Mrs. Johnson continued in a stern voice, while glancing up at the ceiling, as if it held the answers.

I frowned at this, interested in what Mrs. Clark could be requesting. And wondering why she was phoning the school on the first day, when school hadn't even started yet.

Rolling my eyes at the woman's insanity, I continued to mess on the page before me.

"Mrs. Clark, I am sorry but I cannot send you that information. Please do call if there is an urgent matter, good day." Mrs. Johnson said with some finality in her voice, before she slammed the phone down and mumbled a few curses at it.

Glaring at the phone for a minute or two, she quickly composed herself before looking up at me with a bright smile. "Good Morning to you too, Mrs. Johnson," I greeted rather sarcastically, dropping the pen.

"Morning Leah," she greeted, before turning in her seat and ruffling through some papers behind her. "I'm sure you're in a rush to get to class, so I won't keep you..." her words trailed off as she turned back around, surprise colouring her face.

With a smirk and a raised brow, I inquired, "Something wrong?"

Mrs. Johnson looked perplexed as she looked between her computer screen and me. Her gaze shifting between us, shock evident on her face. She glanced down at her watch for a second too, before she finally focused on me again.

"My goodness, you're- you're early!" she exclaimed. "By some miracle or deception – which I clearly wouldn't put passed you, Missy. You're early," she mused.

"You are early right?"

I chuckled at her antics and nodded, "Yup, I'm early. And there was no deception, well not from me anyway," I said, grumbling the last part.

Mrs. Johnson chuckled along with me, a bright smile stretching across her thin lips, "Turning a new leaf, are we?"

"Oh hell no," I said shaking my head, "Just some stupid prank by Devon and Grace."

"Well if their shenanigans can get you to school on time, then I'm not complaining," she said with a smile. "This is one for the record books."

"Hey, not so fast. As I recall, I used to have a perfect attendance record," I said with a frown.

"Yes, I remember, but that was before you turned rebel and now it's terrible," she sassed.

I gasped, "It is not terrible," I emphasized, causing her to raise a brow at me. "Sure, it holds a suspension or two and maybe more than a few detentions, but I wouldn't call that terrible," I stated, with a sweet smile.

"Sure, and I'm the Tooth Fairy," Mrs. Johnson responded sarcastically.

I smiled at her without hesitation as she smiled back. The banter between us was always fun. To the rest of the school Mrs. Johnson was the stoic secretary who took no nonsense. Unlike with me, as she helped me out of a few sticky situations and even to bunk school.

So yeah, she was pretty cool.

"Sign here, here and here," she said, handing me a slip of paper.

Signing on the allocated places, I handed her the paper as she passed along a small hand book and two pages that belonged to me.

"Thanks," I called as I walked towards the door.

"Keep up the early bird thing, will you?" she called.

"Not likely," I answered with a chuckle, walking out.

I studied my schedule as I walked down the hallway, towards my homeroom, watching as people gave way. Clearing out of my path, they were scared that I might snap if they dared jostle me or get in my way.

My reputation for having a violent temper was known school-wide.

But even with the knowledge of my temper, and the need to give way, that didn't stop them from turning to their friends the moment I passed by. Gossiping about me and other things that transpired over the summer holiday. The hottest topic at the moment, being my return.

Walking into my first class, I headed straight to the back.

I had no issue with being early, except for having to wait for things to happen. The point of homeroom was for our teacher to get a registration of who was present or not, which meant that it was basically a free period.

With that being said, most people used the time to either catch up on unfinished homework, chat to their friends or some even slept. Me? Well, I found it quite boring, so I skipped out on most of it by arriving late.

Usually, by walking into homeroom just before the bell rang, attending class for about two to five seconds. This allowed my teacher to sign me in, and spared me twenty-five minutes of boredom.

Oh, and lets not forget the signature scowl I received upon entering and exiting the class. That was the epitome of my day.

Sitting down at the last desk, the one that was furthest from the door, I claimed it as my own; even though this would most likely be the only time I would ever use it. Getting comfortable, I leaned my arms onto the desk and placed my head upon them. Sleep being something I was going to need, if I was expected to make it through the rest of the day.

For I was sure to run into a bitch or two while roaming these halls, it was inevitable. This is high school after all.

Closing my eyes, I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard people walk into the classroom. Their chatter soon coming to an abrupt stop the moment they noticed me.

And how do I know this, you ask?

Well, they fell silent after no more than ten seconds of being in the class, and that could only mean one thing. They had noticed me. It also stands to reason that they were shocked by either my presence or by my being early.

Either way, they noticed me.

Their shock wore off soon enough, since not long after that, the rumour mill once again started up.

And the main topic of choice, you ask?

Well you guessed it, me.

"Where the hell has she been?" one of them hissed, their question sparking a torrent of questions and answers on where I might have been. Speculating on whether my mother sent me away, to being in a gang, to even going to prison. Each new question or statement a further leap from the truth than the last.

"Remind me how long she's been gone for again?" someone asked inquisitively. Their question piquing my interest, knowing that something far-fetched was about to be said.

"Around six months or so," another answered, their timeline pretty much correct.

"Well, maybe she was pregnant and went away to give birth," some girl said with a snicker.

I scoffed at this, as I sat up to see who these girls were. Finding six of them standing in a group, gossiping amongst themselves. Neither one of them noticed that I was now wide awake, and listening in on their conversation.

"She gave birth, really?" That's the best you could come up with?" Another girl snidely asked, and as I took her appearance in; I noticed that it was none other than Jenna Black. A dark haired, mocha skinned beauty with an attitude.

"Well, what else could it be?"

"Not that, she wasn't pregnant, of course," Jenna said, and I could literally picture her rolling her eyes.

"But she was gone for six months," another girl emphasized, while I frowned as I tried to pin point who she was. My eyes finally landed on a black-haired beauty named Amber Harper. A girl with long wavy black hair, green eyes and an angelic face.

Both these girls were a known force within our school, as they both belonged to the cheerleading team. Noticed for their strong lean bodies and their ability to shake their ass. One with an attitude that could scare any man, and the other with a bubbly personality.

"Yeah, but who the hell would want to sleep with her?" Jenna asked.

"Cameron sure does," Amber commented, as Jenna bristled.

"He sleeps with anything that has a pulse," another girl corrected with disgust.

"Correction, Cameron sleeps with anything that has a working vagina," I commented, finding this turn in conversation interesting. My comment though, caused all of them to turn and look at me, with either shock or fear on their faces.

"I take offence, Mercer." A deep voice came from the doorway, and as heaven would have it. When I looked up, the one and only, Cameron Stone stood there in all his glory.

Oh great God, what wrong have I done to deserve this?

Cameron Stone is known for one thing and one thing only, and that's his reputation with the ladies, as he had it all. He had the hair, the eyes, the bone structure, the body and the charm. Oh and to add on, he also had the ego and arrogance to match.

In laymen's terms, he was one hot guy.

His tall lean muscular build captured the ladies. He had a diamond shaped face, with a strong jaw that could cut glass. And with his high cheekbones, straight nose and tanned complexion, Cameron was the whole package.

Couple all that with his wavy brown hair that hung just over his forehead, and his captivating green gaze. Well, what girl wouldn't fall for him.

Well with the exception of me, of course.

"Can't help it, if the truth hurts, Stone." I shrugged.

His green gaze focused on me as he stepped further into the classroom. A sigh seeming to escape the lips of each of the girls, at even the slightest of movements from him.

"It hurts you know," he said dramatically, his eyes never leaving mine.

"What does?" I asked, wondering where he was going with this.

"Your words, they hurt."

"Shame... I guess." Unsure of what to say, though still treading cautiously enough to see where he was taking this.

"I thought we had a great summer together, I thought I meant something to you," he said.

Gasps erupted from the girls in front of him as they turned to look between the two of us in utter disbelief.

"Oh you wish there had been something between us," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"You continue to wound me, Leah." Cameron said walking further into the class, as he walked towards the back. "Why won't you just admit that we had wonderful times together?" He asked, winking at me.

The boys who entered the classroom in that moment, heard his words and stopped short. Confusion etched on their faces, while the girls continued to eat up every lie that left his lips, as if it were spoken by a God.

They turned to each other soon after, and started gossiping once more. This time including the boys who had just entered and filling them in on what they had missed.

I narrowed my eyes at Cameron who stood with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes.

"I won't admit to things that didn't happen, Stone!" I snapped.

All eyes turned to me a second later, before the group turned back to each other. Their softly spoken words clear enough for me to hear, as each word they spoke irritated me to the bitter end. For no matter what I said against Cameron, neither of them would listen.

Cameron had just thrown extra fuel on an already big fire and by the time I reached my next class, not only would my return be the talk of the town, but so would my supposed rendezvous with him.

Great, just fucking great. What the hell was his freaking problem?

I watched Cameron as he took his seat and not a moment later, the one in front of him was filled by Alexander.

Noticing my gaze on him, Alexander sent a slight nod in my direction before he turned to Cameron and the two started talking.

Alexander Reid, was not only best friends with Cameron but also Grace's boyfriend. He was what you could call an All-American Dream boy. The guy that every girl wished they had and that every guy wished they could be.

Tall with some muscle definition to his upper body, he had a tanned complexion, neatly cut blonde hair and of course, them baby blues that any girl would love to get lost in.

Alexander and Cameron however, were part of a trio of friends. The only person missing from their group being their fearsome leader, Sean Evans, otherwise known as the Golden Boy.

Shaking my head, I looked up to find that the girls and guys had taken their seats while still gossiping. Continuing to glance back at Cameron and I, they would turn to start up a new piece of gossip with their friends, after each new look between us.

And with each glance, paired with each new piece of gossip that left their mouths, my irritation grew. Glancing over at Cameron, I narrowed my eyes at him, because this was his fault.

And for that, I was going to make him pay.

So with that in mind, I laid my pounding head back down onto my arms and got comfortable. I wasn't going to sleep; no way in hell could I do that now, not with the shit that just went down. But they didn't need to know that.

* * *    * * *

Lying there, I waited for the perfect opportunity to put that damned narcissistic player in his place.

Time passed fucking slowly in homeroom, causing me to believe that it had stopped. Just as I was about to move, the bell rang, and what followed was a mass amount of movement.

Usually I would be the first out of this class or any class really, but today I had other plans.

Pretending to wake up, I lifted my head from my arms and stretched in my seat.

What? You gotta make it look believable.

Next, I rubbed my eyes, before placing my sunglasses back on my head while watching people as they rushed out the door.

Thankfully, Alexander and Cameron hadn't moved from their seats and were still chatting away. Neither of them bothered by the fact that they needed to move on to their next class.

Students at the door started to dwindle down and that's when they started to move, which coincidentally was when I moved too.

Grabbing my bag from the floor, I slung it carefully over my shoulder. Making sure not to let it hit my body like before. I made my way quickly across the classroom, heading straight for Cameron, as anger fuelled each and every step I took.

"Stone!" I snapped, stepping in front of him and slamming my hand against his chest; forcing him back against the wall behind him.

"What the fuck Mercer?" He called out, shocked at my sudden appearance.

Ignoring him, I turned and sent a glare in Alexander's direction. "Scram, this is between me and him," I said in a hard tone, daring him to fight me on this.

Alexander looked torn as he stood there, uncertainty shining in his baby blue eyes. Glancing back at Cameron, he quickly made a decision and with an apologetic glance in Cameron's direction; he shrugged on his backpack and left the room.

Turning on my heel, I plastered a scowl on my face as I faced Cameron. Only to find him staring back at me with a raised brow.

"Wanted to get me alone?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Of course!" I hissed, "You didn't think I would let you get away with what you said earlier, now did you?" I asked with a raised brow of my own.

At the mention of what happened earlier though, the uncertainty in his eyes vanished as if knocked out of him. As he replaced it with none other than his signature smirk. His eyes twinkling with mischief as he stared down at me.

"Oh, I knew you wouldn't forget," he said in a low voice.

"Counting on it, were you?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Well... I mean... this here just confirms what I told our class," he said with a smirk as he motioned between us.

"None of them know we're in here alone," I said rolling my eyes.

"Well they will, once we're not in our classes on time," he said and truth be told, he was right about that. But I couldn't focus on that now, for if the rumour spread, it was okay because I would soon squash it.

I mean my best friend wasn't the damn gossip and rumour queen of West Mount for nothing.

"Touché, Stone." I said with a smirk.

"So, what did you want to discuss, Mercer?" he asked with a raised brow, as he leaned back against the wall.

"Really, you're going to play this off?"

"Oh come on, it was just innocent flirting Mercer, nothing major," he said waving his hand around dismissively.

"Innocent flirting my fucking ass!" I snapped, stepping closer in warning.

"Oh yes, and a fine ass you have there," he said with a smirk and a wink.

Glaring up at him, I stepped closer. "I bet the girls will be clawing at you now, begging you for attention since you're supposedly off the market," I said with a smirk. "I mean, wasn't that the whole point of this?" I asked.

Once again stepping closer to him, as we now stood toe to toe, chest to chest. Our breaths mixing with the other's as I looked up at him.

"Well I can't help that I'm so charming," he answered with a knowing smirk.

A smile came to my face at the fact that I could read Cameron like a book. I mean seriously, he was so egotistical and arrogant, it was surprising his head wasn't bigger. I mean he did have a point, he was freaking hot, and he did know how to turn on the charm, but that wasn't the point.

The fact that he thinks he can get any girl to fall for him is just ridiculous.

"Are you really that charming though?" I asked in a low whisper, watching as my words caused him to stiffen.

"Questioning my abilities are we, Mercer?" He asked back in a low, yet sultry voice.

The timber in his voice vibrated through my chest, causing a weird feeling to run up my spine as another coiled in my stomach.

I hadn't noticed that Cameron had moved slightly forward, causing our lips to be mere inches away from each other.

His warm breath fanned against my lips, his eyes shining a bright emerald green as his hair, flopped off his head in just the right way, slightly brushing against the top of mine.

"Maybe?" I whispered breathlessly.

Cameron looked at me with surprise blazing in his emerald gaze, and before I knew it our roles were reversed as I found myself standing with my back against the brick wall and Cameron blocking me in. His one hand next to my head, braced against the wall and the other on my hip, my hands somehow on his chest, feeling as his heart beat slightly faster.

"You're messing in uncharted waters here, Mercer," he warned, in a low voice. His expression serious, yet still handsome as ever.

Whoa woman, get a damn grip.

"Maybe I like the seas a little rough," I said back, as I slightly bit my lower lip.

Cameron looked taken aback by my sudden comeback, a naughty glint shining in his eyes as he opened his mouth to say something in return. But he was cut short by the sudden sound of sneakers squeaking on the tiled flooring of the room.

Both of us winced before we tensed at the sound of someone having entered the room without either of us hearing. Snapping us out of our little world, as it dissolved into nothing at the sudden intrusion.

"Uh-" a slightly deep voice said, uncertainty clouding his words. "Sorry."

"I uh- I guess I'm in the wrong class," he continued to stammer.

Neither of us knew who the new comer was since Cameron stood stock still in front of me, blocking my view of the guy, with his back to him. Though the expression on Cameron's face was priceless to see, anger and frustration clear upon it.

Glancing up at him, I smirk before shrugging. "Well Stone, I guess this means until next time." I said patting his chest while moving passed him.

Winking at Cameron, I looked up and froze in place at the sight of the person in front of me. Looking back at me, was none other than Sean Evans, Cameron's other best friend and the Golden Boy of West Mount.

Oh goodie.

Sean stood frozen in place as he too stared at us, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

"You're catching flies," I said in a bored tone.

"M- M- Mercer?" He stammered in shock.

"As we live and breathe Evans, as we live and breathe," I answered, before brushing passed him and heading towards the door.

"What..."

"Don't ask, just listen. The whole school is teeming with information on me," I said, smirking at the thought of the rumours passing around the school. Stopping at the door, I turned to face them once more.

Sean looked back at me with the expression of a fish out of water on his face, while Cameron glared daggers into the back of his best friend.

"I mean one of their ridiculous stories should be accurate, right?" I asked, as I winked at them and left.

* * *     * * *

And that's a wrap for Chapter 3. I hope you all liked the new and slightly improved and shorter chapter.

Please do vote and leave me your comments and thoughts. I do read them all and welcome any and all remarks on how to better my work.

Orlaith