I've spent the past few days researching – okay, who am I kidding – cyber-stalking my next target: Mark Hamilton III.

But the research turns out to be harder than I originally thought. Don't get me wrong. I know how to use Google. I know how to stalk people online. But no matter what keyword I type into the search engine, I can't find any information about the Mark Hamilton that I'm looking for.

As it turns out, there are over twenty Mark Hamiltons living around the area.

Twenty!

Ugh! Why does he have to have such a common name?

But, the hours I've spent on the web aren't totally useless. If any, I've learned a new thing about him. Apparently, he doesn't have any social media account (because I've checked out every single one of Mark Hamilton I could find on the net and none of them is my Mark Hamilton) – which makes me even more curious in return. What kind of a teenager doesn't have an Instagram account? Who is he? A royal?

Through a short conversation with Mark the other day, I found out that he attends Southwood College – a campus in a neighboring town. But that was the only thing I got from our conversation. He was being super... mysterious.

It's hot, I gotta give him that. But it also makes my plan a lot harder to execute than I initially thought.

My curiosity drives me to reach out to my friend, Lorelei Mauvais, a fellow bad girl in Southwood College. Tonight, I hitch a ride to Southwood and meet her at a small bar on the outskirts of the town.

"So, why do you want to know about that Greek God?" Lori asks.

"Greek God?" I snort out a laugh. "What do you think this is? Some stupid online novel?"

Lori gives a small chuckle. "That's what we call him in Southwood. I mean, have you seen that guy's abs?" She rolls her eyes and grunts. "They're like Thor's!"

A smile was formed on the corner of my lips as I can practically see the drool dripping from Lori's dark goldilocks lips. Unlike me, Lori prefers dark clothing and make-ups. Today, she is wearing her favorite black biker jacket with a dark blue mini dress underneath. She looks amazing with her newly cut pixie, jet-black hair that complements her tanned skin. The nose ring that she wears tonight makes her stand out even more.

"Oh yeah. He's yummy, alright." I take a quick sip of my beer. "So, what do you know about him?"

"Not much, really." Lori shrugs before drinking her glass of beer. "He's quite famous because of his good looks and super thick wallet, but no one really knows him, you know what I mean?"

Interesting... So he is indeed a really private guy. My lower lip juts forward in agreement as I give a small nod. I wonder what he's hiding...

"Everyone knows him as the perfect guy though. Handsome, kind, rich–  which brings me back to my original question." Lori's arms are folded on the table as she leans forward.

"Why the sudden interest on him? I mean..." Hesitation spreads in her voice as she softens her voice. "I thought you hated rich people?"

"I do," I mutter under my breath. A wave of horrible memories starts to fill my thoughts, causing me to gulp loudly. All of a sudden, my heart feels like it's being crushed into pieces and breathing slowly gets harder. Closing my eyes for a quick second and taking a deep breath, I pull myself together and shift my gaze back to Lori.

A shot of guilt is seen on her dark brown eyes as she bit her inner lip, probably regretting what she just asked. Having been friends since we were in high school, Lori knew all about my history with rich people –including my worst nightmare. We haven't talked about what happened in a long time and she knew better than to dwell on the past. After all, she's the one who always encourages me to move forward and get on with my life – something I have done.

With an assuring smile, I continue, "I'm not asking for me. It's... for a friend."

"A friend?" Her surprise is written all over her face as she jerks her head back a little. Placing her right hand on her chest, she continues with an exaggerated tone, "I thought I was your only friend!"

A small chuckle escapes my lips as I joke, "Don't flatter yourself, Lorelei." She's not wrong though, she is my only friend.

"Well" – she shrugs, a smile decorates her pretty face – "you gotta let me meet this friend of yours, okay? It's not everyday Sophia Wilde gets a new friend."

I chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, later. So..." Dragging myself closer to the table, I rest my arms on the table and prop my chin on my palm. My eyes narrow as curiosity starts to fill my mind. "How rich exactly is he?"

"Filthy." Lori's eyebrow wiggles up and down as she nods. "Ever heard of the Hamilton Hotels?"

"What am I? The Flintstones?" I roll my eyes. "Of course I have! It's like the most luxurious hotel chain in Westwood and South–"

A loud gasp escapes my mouth as my eyes almost pop out from their sockets. "That's his?" I exclaim, my voice is so loud a couple of the guys at the bar throw a glance at us.

Lori's smirk grows into a grin as she lays back on her chair and gives a firm nod. "Yep."

"Whoa..." From the way Mark talked and seeing the expensive clothes he wore, I have assumed he's an educated and rich man. But I didn't expect him to be Donald-Trump-kind of rich!

"Anyway" – Lori crosses her arms in front of her chest, an irritated look comes across her rectangular face as she lets out a small sigh – "good luck with getting him to fall for your new friend."

Her reaction caused me to narrow my eyes and raise my brow. "O-kay... What's wrong with you?"

Instead of answering me, she throws her gaze back and forth between the ceiling and the ground, letting out a few small sighs in between. That's when I start to put two and two together.

"Ohh... I see what's going on here." With a teasing smile, I wiggle my index finger at her. "He rejected you, didn't he?"

"Oh, shut up, Soph!" Lori throws her arms to her side, her body slouches back to her chair while her cheeks slowly turn red.

"It's fine, Lore," I try to comfort her. "Everyone has performance issues sometimes!"

"It's not that! I'm telling you." She pulls herself up and drops her elbow on the table. "I've used every single trick on the book but nothing works on him. I mean he's still nice to me and all, but it's like he's fucking immune to my charm, or any other girls' for that matter!"

"Hmm..." Coming from the mouth of a notorious player like Lori, that sure means a lot. "Is he gay?"

"Nah!" She waves her hand back and forth in front of her face. "At least I don't think so. I'm telling you, some guys are just..." Another loud sigh escapes from her lips as she plops her chin to her palm. "Unseduceable – if that's even a word."

My mind suddenly reminds me of that night I got humiliated by that psycho causing my forehead to fold into a frown. What is wrong with boys these days?

But, now that I know Mark is such a tough one to conquer, something inside me feels even more challenged instead.

As much as I love Lori, I have to disagree with her this time. No one is totally unseduceable.

No one.

I always believe that everyone has a soft spot for something – or someone, and that's the key to conquer their hearts. Now, all I need is to find that thing...

"Do you know where he lives?" I ask as a wicked idea comes across my mind.

Lori doesn't answer right away. Instead, she stares at me for a while before narrowing her eyes and cocking her head forward as if observing my face. "Sophia... What do you have in mind?"

"If I tell you, you'll be an accomplice, so it's better if you don't know what I'm about to do." I fold my arms in front of my chest.

Lori squints her eyes as her suspicion continues to grow. Suddenly, she lets out a loud gasp. "You're not actually thinking what I'm thinking you're thinking, right?"

Us bad girls, we think alike. That's how I know she knows what I'm thinking. My lips curve up into a mischievous smirk, replying to her question with a nod.

"Sophia, no!" Lori exclaims, fear flickers in her eyes. "You might end up in jail for real this time and need I remind you that you look awful in orange?"

I scoff. "No, I don't!"

She raises her brow and throws me a judging look.

Who am I kidding? I do look awful in orange. "Tsk! You know me, I'll be fine! Don't worry!"

"No!" She huffs before shaking her head with a pout on her face.

"Seriously, you're acting like a five-year-old now. Give me his address!" I command. But she huffs and shakes her head rapidly instead.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not going to do this alone," I try to bargain with her. "So, at least if I get arrested, I'll have a nice cellmate!"

"Oh, so now you're planning to get your new friend involved too? That's just even worse, Soph!" The look on her face tells me she's not going to give up without a fight. That's why I decide to use my trump card.

"Fine. Remember, you force me to do this," I warn her. "Need I remind you what you did on our graduation day?"

She gasps loudly, her eyes widen and her mouth forms a large 'O'. "You won't!"

"Yes, I will."

Her strong jaw clenches as she throws her gaze back and forth between me and the table. Her lips jut forward into a small pout before she rolled them inwards, clearly considering my threat. After a while, I can see a slight defeat in her eyes.

Slowly, my mouth forms a victorious smile. "So, his address?"

***

"Is... Is that Sophia Wilde?" a girl whispers.

"Oh my God!" another voice replies, her voice is soft but I can still hear her clearly considering how much of a graveyard this place is. "What is a girl like her doing here?"

My eyelids droop a little as I raise my brow. What? I'm not allowed to visit a library now?

In a way, I suppose I understand the cause of their surprise. During my two years of attending this campus, I've never set foot in this place. But, hey, even a bad girl can study too!

Well, I'm not exactly here to study, but still.

I take a quick glance around me and spot the girls who gossiped about me are sitting on one of the long tables in the middle of the room. Slipping my sunglasses down my nose bridge slightly, I give them a piercing glare that makes them flinch. As quick as lightning, they hide behind the thick books they're holding.

That's right. You better hide, nerds.

I scan the vast room in search for my new 'best friend' but the darkness that surrounds me makes it harder to see.

Why is this place so dark? They should install more light or something! Are they trying to turn us blind or–

That's when I realize something important. Oh. My sunglasses.

A wave of embarrassment rushes to my cheek as I quickly shove the glasses on top of my head. Regaining my cool, I look around the room in search for Mac.

Mac told me she works part-time as a librarian here, and when I texted her earlier, she said she'd be here. But the room is too vast for me to find her.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I decide to ask someone. After all, it's better to ask the way than go astray, right?

I take a quick glance around me and spot a boy wearing thick glasses is organizing the books on one of the shelves. Hmm. Looks like he's a fellow librarian. Maybe he knows where she is.

As I approach her, the sound of my clicking heels echoes throughout the room and alerts him. Turning around slowly, surprise takes over his face as I stop right in front of him. His shock causes him to drop the thick book he was holding. "M-m-may I help you?"

"Have you seen Mackenzie Goode?" I ask with my usual bitchy tone.

He blinks repeatedly. "M-M-Mac?"

"Yeah. Have you seen her?"

"Y-yeah. O-Of course, she's over there." He points at the counter at the far end of the room.

"Cool," I say, still keeping my cold attitude. "Thanks."

As I turn around and start to walk towards the counter, I can hear the sound of the boy behind me dropping to his knees. It is then followed by a few loud thumps and the boy's loud whimper. I stop and turn around slightly, only to see the boy is now sitting on the floor, buried under the pile of books he was organizing. I can't help but smirk at the scene. Oh, how I love when boys are being boys!

As I continue approaching the counter, I can see three people are sitting behind it: a woman in her late 50s, a dark-haired girl, and Mac...? I squint my eyes to get a clearer look at what she's done to her hair.

Oh, no, she doesn't!

With a small grunt, I pace up my steps and stop right before the counter. She seems to be too busy to notice me, so I decide to grab her attention by slamming my left hand to the counter.

The loud, sudden noise causes her to jump a little from her seat and she raises her gaze in an instant.

"What did I tell you about ponytails?" I ask coldly, my anger seeping through my voice. I hate ponytails and I thought I've made myself clear to her. Apparently, I haven't.

Quickly, she unties her hair and shakes her head to loosen it. Looking at me with an awkward, somewhat guilty smile, she asks, "What's up?"

I huff before shifting my gaze to my tote bag. My right hand roams inside it for a while before I finally find what I'm looking for. Then, I place the small photo on the counter and push it towards Mac.

Raising herself from her seat slightly, she cocks her head forward and starts to observe the photo I just hand over to her. A look of pure confusion fills Mackenzie's long face as she observes Mark's photo – one that I took secretly when I tail him to his house yesterday.

"What's this?" she asks innocently.

A mischievous smirk comes across my face. "Your next lesson."

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I'm really sorry for the long wait. I've been super busy these past few days. Hopefully, this chapter can make up for the long wait *bows*

So, can you guess what Sophia is going to do next?

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The fun (or should I say, chaos) will continue in the next chapter so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading ❤