"I really don't want to!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, pulling myself away from Kylie's strong grip. I ended up being dragged by her anyway.

That yell got us stares from people around us, probably thinking that I'm out of my mind for yelling in a mall. Yes, I was dragged to the mall. She said, "Stop yelling, we're going to get costumes whether you like it or not."

"I wanna cry." I mumbled to myself.

I didn't want to go to the Halloween party and I didn't want to go to the mall. Both of them combined meant the fiery hell for me. I hated the lousy mall music playing in shops. I hated the cries of little kids wanting to buy toys in toy stores. I hated the crowded chatters in the food court. I hated everything about the mall, except for the record store — where the music wasn't lousy and the records were good music.

Kylie dragged me into a costume shop against my will and let go of her grip on my wrist when we entered the costume shop. The dark magenta wallpaper darkened the room, leaving only the yellow lights glamorously shining the whole shop. There were costumes scattered everywhere, while the other costumes were hung neatly. An old man sat by the cashier counter, flipping pages of an old novel with his reading spectacles on.

"There's a variety of costumes here!" She exclaimed in wonder, eyes glimmering and lips curving a smile.

I shrugged my shoulders and my eyes scanned the room for any possible costumes that I would prefer. None, none at all. I whined, "Let's just go! I don't want to be anyone else! I just want to be me."

She said, "Oh c'mon, there's a lot!" She stopped when she saw all the costumes and frowned.

I stopped my whining and asked her, "What's wrong?"

"I don't think I want to be any of these characters the costumes are," She said. "It sucks."

"Hey, don't be that way!" I encouraged her. "Maybe we can find something else instead of a costume and add some finishing Halloween touches!"

Her face brightened up like a Christmas tree and she said, "Oh yeah! That's a great idea coming from a person who doesn't like going to places like this!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, saying, "Fine then, let's just go."

***

"I'm not going as a princess." I firmly stated, crossing my arms and blew a strand of hair out of my face.

Her eyes were already tearing up, swooning over my gracious look. She whimpered, "B-But it's s-so beautiful!"

"But I'm not wearing it." I told her firmly, slowly going back to dressing room, and closing the curtains.

I looked at the mirror, gazing upon my so-called beauty that made Kylie tear up. It hugged my curves. The flowers which traced around the edge of the midnight blueness of the dress, went on and on, growing over the bow which held the dress together. The white bow was made of the purest silk which was in a tight knot, accentuating my figure beautifully. Like a waterfall, the blue silk flowed downwards, hitting my shapely knees perfectly and showing off the porcelain whiteness of my skin, lit up by the darkness of the blue dress. The dress was so breath-taking. It actually looked nice on me.

I opened the curtains to find a weeping Kylie who jerked her face up with smeared mascara. I told her, "I'll get this one."

Her face lit up and she said, "Really? Yes!"

She leaped from the couch she was sitting on and gave a little cheer which made me giggle. Then, she said, "You're not just going to be a princess, you're going to be a masked princess."

"What?" I mumbled out, confused by what she was saying. She repeated herself, "You can't just be a boring princess, you must wear a mask! It's going to be beautiful."

"Whatever." I said lazily as a devious smirk curved her lips.

***

"This one's pretty good!" She said, examining the mask. It was a beautiful ocean blue mask with white and blue sparkles embellished on it.

I held up a mask too and said, "How about we go for the Phantom of the Opera style?"

It was exactly like the Phantom of the Opera's mask. It was half-faced and just plain-colored, but it was quite fascinating. She eyed the mask and said, "Um, maybe we should just go for this one."

"Ugh, why?" I whined, throwing a tantrum like Damien did earlier.

She put her hands on her hips, sighing and pouting. She said, "It's a thing for boys, ok? You should buy that for Danien or someone else who is a boy."

"That doesn't prove anything," I said. "But, whatever."

***

"Okay, you look beautiful." I said, reluctantly agreeing but she looked beautiful.

The dress was perfect, it sat on her body as if it had been made for her. Its satin folds hugged her figure following her curves and the ivory color was gorgeous against her skin. The halter neck was embroided with miniature dark flowers and finished, as along all the visible seams, with jet black lace to match her stilettos, and its light skirt flowed out above her knees showing off her toned legs. Her black hair hung perfectly, its choppy layers framed her face an she finished it in style with a deep black satin bow, and same style as her ribbon necklace which held a beautiful black glass flower. She looked stunning.

I clapped my hands, applauding for her exquisite appearance. Her face reddened slightly and she looked away. I said, "Now that's the look! You should wear that Phantom of the Opera mask, it will totally look good on you!"

"But it's too plain," She whined. "It would be an odd combination."

"You like crafting stuff, right?" I said. "Then, do your thing."

She snapped her fingers, making squeal too quietly for her to hear, and she said, "All right! Thanks for the idea, Taylor."

***

Yum! Cheeseburger with fries equal perfection. I tightened my grip on the cheeseburger and took a humongous, but delicious bite. I chewed the heavenly delicacy, trying not to tear up along the way. I was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria all alone for today because Kylie and Damien got their classes. But, I enjoyed the silence and peacefulness of being alone.

The cafeteria was nothing like a regular gross cafeteria, in fact it looked like a cafe. I could smell the brewing coffee, freshly-baked baguettes, and other yummy delicacies. French music was playing softly and I could hear chatters from other college students.

A screech from a chair woke me from the daydreaming world, making me slightly leap from the chair and squeal, "Eeek!"

A familiar sight from the person who made the chair screech by pulling it recklessly. That guy. He looked like as if he just crawled out of the bed and walked like a zombie through the hallways to this cafeteria. His brunette hair was disheveled and his eyes looked tired. He was wearing a wrinkled grey sweatshirt and a pair of maroon pants. He jumped into the seat and placed his elbows on the table where I was sitting.

"Hello, princess." He said, trying to not look moody and tired.

Princess, the word that quite traumatised me after he said that when I was pretending to be asleep. I hissed, "What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be suspended or something?"

"Oh my god, that hurt my feelings," He said feigning a stab to the chest. "Do you wish I would be suspended or something?"

"Whatever," I said my signature word. "Who are you anyway?"

"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet," He said as if it was the best thing in the world. "I'm Asher, Asher Drakewood."

So, his name was Asher Drakewood. Before I could say anything, he said, "What's your name, princess?"

I stiffened at the word 'princess', feeling uneasy. I shrugged it off and said, "Taylor Peaksons. Why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" He repeated my words. "Why do you have to state it like that? As if you don't want me to be here."

"That's right, I don't." I bitterly told him, making him frown.

Then, he pulled his chair closer to the table and leaned in closer. He said, "I just want to know if you're okay or not."

"Why? Because of the fight you had with the quarterback, you've decided to feel guilty? As a man, you should've stop fighting." I scoffed harshly, but it didn't bring him down. His lips formed a devious smirk and there's a glint in his jade orbs.

"As a girl, you should've just left us alone. You're not a female warrior of the century," He told me. "But, I still cared for you, unlike the quarterback jerk."

"Who are you anyway, Asher Drakewood?" I scoffed, confused by his existence in this freaking college. "Oh yeah, you're the new transfer student who got into a fight on the first day."

He took some of my fries and ate it, chewing them loudly just to annoy me. He said, "I can't even thank you because you got hurt and it turned out to be useless."

I let out a snort, expressing an utter disbelief. I laughed maniacally in disbelief and said, "What manners you have, Drakewood."

He chuckled at my response and said, "What lady-like manners you have, princess."

Ugh, I really wanted to punch him in the face. He's really annoying and retarded. I clenched my fists under the table, not ready to show him that I was totally pissed off. I bit my lower lip in annoyance, instead of gritting my teeth. I wanted to roll my eyes, but held it back. He seemed to notice the fury in my eyes, so he said, "I'll find some time to meet you again, goodbye princess."

He got up from his seat, not even forgetting to take some of my fries and popping them into his mouth. He walked away in a arrogant way, making me grab my half-eaten cheeseburger and readied my hand to throw it at him. But I did what I did, I held back. I continued to eat it again, still feeling annoyed.

Arrogant jerk.

***

"Nana, I'm here!" I yelled happily, opening the creaking door and laid a basket of pastries on a small oak table.

My grandma lived in a small country house in a residential area, not that far from the campus. It was vintage, old. But, it had this peaceful ambience that made her buy this house. She would always play this old, disco music from the 80's, despite her age. She would be in the kitchen, baking an apple pie.

She yelled back, "Oh, Taylor! Come to the kitchen!"

I knew best where the kitchen was, even on the first day Nana lived in that country house. I followed the scent of the freshly-baked apple pie, appetising and hunger-stimulating. The scent filled the house, a great air freshener. I walked to the kitchen, finding Nana placing the apple pie on the table.

She was wearing a large flower-patterned dress with an apron coating the dress. She wore a pair of oven gloves. Her skin was wrinkled and her white, thinning hair was curly. She looked at me with a bright smile and said, "Hello, sweetie pie!"

"Hi, Nana." I said, hugging her. I recognised the fragrant perfume scent when I hugged her. I missed her.

***

"Really? That's wonderful!" Nana said cheerfully.

I shrugged my shoulders, saying, "No, it isn't. You know I don't like those kinds of stuff."

She hit the side my of my head, making me whine, "Ow! Why did you do that?"

"You're young and it's not going to last long. You don't want to spend your life like that and you're going. Period. Besides, you already bought your dress and mask!" She explained.

I told her, "I don't have any shoes to fit that dress too. I'll just let that dress and that mask stay in the closet forever."

She stood up, leaving the me in the living room. I sat there alone, frozen in place. Did she just diss me? I didn't know that grandmas could do that. But, that thought died out when she came back with a wrapped present box. She came back, sitting on the couch with the present sitting on her laps. She traced her fingers on the ribbon bow. Then, she said, "I've been longing to give this to you."

She handed me the present, waiting for me to unwrap it. I untied the bow, setting it aside. I ripped the paper wrap open to find a white box. I opened the lid of the box and admired the sight of the object in the box.

It was a pair of heels. It was a beauty. The heels were the color of bright silver, glittery. The tips of the heels were embellished with two large, blue jewels that would sparkle under the moonlight. I asked Nana, "What is this?"

"It's a gift. It was made by a special friend of mine, but I don't think it will fit me. But, I think you will." Nana explained.

"B-But, I can't accept this." I told her, feeling guilty. She widened her eyes and said, "What are you talking about? It's yours now!"

"Thank you, Nana." I said, my eyes tearing up.

It was a special gift for her, and she passed it on to me.

***

Was I cursed or something?

He walked into the classroom, feeling mighty and proud for nothing at all. He was wearing a band t-shirt underneath a black leather jacket, a pair of black trousers, and some good sneakers. He spotted me sitting in the corner of the room, in a table with no partner. He smirked and shot me a glint. I rolled my eyes and looked away.

The teacher told him to introduce himself and so he did. He said, "Good morning, everyone. I'm Asher Drakewood, pleased to join this lecture class."

I spotted some girls whispering to each other while eyeing him, probably gossiping about him fighting with the quarterback or he was just good looking for them, not me. I also spotted some guys glaring at him, probably because he fought with their buddy or he was just grabbing attention. The teacher spoke quietly with him, trying to avoid announcing the whole class.

He nodded after the teacher finished speaking and walked towards where all the students were sitting. People's eyes followed his footsteps, deep breaths echoed throughout the room, but he didn't care. He walked closer and closer as I hoped that he sat in front of me next to another student, instead of sitting next to me. He stopped at the row in front of me. Fireworks exploded with colors in my mind, but it was too soon. He walked again towards my direction and plopped into the seat next to me. Too soon, too soon.

I could hear several quiet gasps, but I couldn't ignore the glares I was getting, or he was getting. He placed the history book on the table and took out a pencil. He whispered, "What page are we on?"

"Page 231, why are you even in History class?" I whispered back, but he didn't answer. He ignored my question, flipping the pages. He said again, "What's the page again?"

I was boiling with fury, anger. I'd really want to punch him in the face, breaking his nose. I felt my face reddening. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold my anger in and yelled, "I told you! It's page 231! God!"

Everyone's attention averted to me and the teacher stopped lecturing. The class became dead silent and I was burning in embarrassment. Beside me was a laughing Asher, grinning widely and making fun of me. The teacher glared at me and said, "Ms. Peaksons, see me after class."

After the teacher told me that, giggles could be heard throughout the room. I sank back into my seat with a tomato red face.

You little piece of -! Argh! What had I done to deserve this?!

End of chapter two. Lol! I usually don't go for these kinds of guys, but it was hilarious. So, Asher Drakewood, huh. A troublemaker, an ignorant person, and a flirt. Good or bad combination? (Comment down below! I really have no idea)

Where did Damien go anyway? I kinda miss him. Lol, just kidding! If you were Taylor, would you like Asher? Comment down below, so I can know what is Asher like in the eyes of girls. I personally think he's quite annoying, but nice sometimes.

Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter and I'll see you in the next chapter!