Quick Note: I see this question asked a lot, "What are the hashtags for?" So, here's the answer.

I am a member and founder of several Wattpad book clubs. The goal of these clubs is for writers to help each other better their writing. To do that, we leave comments in each other's books using a hashtag. Each hashtag represents a different club.

For example: #ShadowBC #PIPBK #RebelBC #TTBC #JamBC

I know book club comments might not be the funnest to read, I get it, I like to hang out with fellow readers in the comments too, and dish about the story. But I ask that you be kind and not rude to those who took the time to read my book and provide feedback that can be valuable to me editing and one day publishing this book. If you don't like these comments, please ignore them and continue on. As this book gains more reads, more and more non-bookclub comments have popped up that you can enjoy. In fact, most of the book club comments are heavy at the beginning of this book but dwindle down the further in you go.

As always, thank you, enjoy the read, and be kind to one another.💜💜

On with the story!

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I once heard that the past is in the past and the best thing you can do is look toward the future.

Not sure where I heard it, could've been a poster in the guidance counselors office or a stupid Instagram quote. Either way, whoever came up with those lame words of wisdom deserves to be slapped.

My past has haunted me for two years; lurking in my nightmares, my dreams, slowly creeping up behind me, ready to pounce and say, "surprise, bitch! Remember me?"

Of course, I remember. I can never forget. There's no leaving it in the past for me and going on about my business. Been there, tried that, and failed miserably. Even when I put on a brave face and pretend that everything's fine, there's still this voice of doubt in the back of my mind.

That voice of doubt is laughing at me now.

I told you so.

Clutching my phone tightly in my hand to the point my knuckles are turning white, I stare down at the screen and the post that's popped up in my newsfeed. It only takes reading the title of the article to understand what it's about.

School Board Finalizes Decision On The Transfer of West County Students To Northeast After Fire.

I heard about the fire on the news. They suspect it was an accident, nothing crazy or out of the ordinary. What they didn't say though was that all the students are being transferred to Freecaster High. My school. To most people, this isn't a big deal. Maybe an inconvenience at the most. For me, it's like the headlines have been ripped from one of my nightmares.

If West County students are coming here, then that means he is coming here.

"Lex, are you done, or did you die in there?" My friend Ava yells from her living room.

It's Sunday night, which means movie night for me and my three closest friends. What was supposed to be a quick trip to the kitchen for popcorn has turned into fifteen minutes of me staring at my phone without ever turning the microwave on. I finally set the timer before browsing through the article's comments section. A few parents leave words of concern, some give their personal views and opinions about the fire's cause. One deranged woman types in all caps, "THIS FIRE IS A WARNING! WE WILL ALL BE TESTED NOW!!"

You have no idea, Crazy Karen. Trust me.

Among those are students from both schools. Some excited, some irritated, and then there's those who just don't give a damn. I catch a name that looks familiar, some guy named Kade who seems to be looking forward to transferring, but it's not so much his message that sticks out to me as much as the names he tagged.

"Y'all ready to have some fun at FHS? @WilderWatts @JosetteBennett @TravisStone..."

And that's when I see it, the last tag, his name.

"..@JaceHall"

Someone shoot me. Please.

The cherry on top of this shit sundae is the reply to his comment.

JaceHall-Can't fucking wait!

"Lex!"

"Ahhhh!" I jump out of my skin and drop my phone on the floor.

Looking at the kitchen entrance I find my other friend, Marcel, with his head poked out from behind the wall while he tries to hold back his laughter.

"A little jumpy there?"

"You're an asshole," I huff as I bend down to pick up my phone.

"I'd be less of an asshole if I wasn't starving. Now come on with the snacks, woman."

He ducks back down, disappearing behind the wall as I get the popcorn out of the microwave and pour it into a bowl.

I love him. Marcel Booker has been like a brother to me ever since junior high. Back then he got a kick out of telling people we were siblings, which always made people look at us funny since I'm pale as a ghost and he's "milk chocolate" as he likes to say. After laughing at the looks on their faces he'd then tell them I was adopted and once they relaxed, he'd laugh again and tell them "Sike!" I always wound up having to explain to them that we were best friends and he was just crazy.

But past all the jokes and goofing around, he's one of the most real people I know. You want an honest to God opinion on those bad decisions you've been making lately? Go to Marcel. He'll bring you back down to earth with honesty, a smile, and a joke or two to lighten the mood.

Grabbing a few bags of candy and a couple drinks, I head back out to the living room. After dumping the treats on the coffee table and handing Marcel his bowl of popcorn, I plop myself down on the couch next to the fourth person rounding out our little group, Caleb.

"Is this plain popcorn?" Marcel asks before holding out the bowl to Ava. "You try it."

She throws a piece in her mouth and nods. "Yup, plain popcorn."

Marcel raises a brow at me. "I expect better from a chef of your caliber, Lex. Shouldn't you be adding little touches to the food you make? Maybe some chocolate drizzles or candy pieces?"

I roll my eyes. "Just cause I like to cook doesn't mean I have to make you special snacks."

"I want special snacks." Caleb pouts from beside me.

This is what happens when you tell your friends you want to go to culinary school. All of a sudden, any food you offer them has to be something you personally whipped up with all the extra touches.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook and I love that they enjoy my food, but that doesn't mean I'm making gourmet popcorn for movie night. Even a chef needs a night off.

"I expected more from you." Marcel tsks.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Keep complaining and I'll shove that popcorn down your throat."

"You sound awfully violent tonight, sis. Maybe you need some sugar." Marcel's big brown eyes gaze at me innocently before he strikes like lightning and chucks a bag of gummy bears at me.

The bag misses and hits Caleb in the side of the head. "Dude!"

"Sorry, man." Marcel shrugs. "There's a reason I don't play football."

Caleb rubs his head. "No shit, Sherlock. You can't throw."

"I'm gonna throw something at both of you if you guys make a mess in here." Ava points at them like a parent scolding two toddlers.

"Yeah," I agree with a nod. "Don't make us put you two in timeout."

"No one puts Booker in a corner." Marcel pouts.

We try to contain ourselves but it's no use. Laughter fills the room while Ava starts the movie. Tonight's her night to pick what we watch and of course, as the hopeless romantic that she is, she chose a rom-com.

Ava-Ms. Attitude-Santos is the kind of girl who believes in happily ever after but has the temper to dump a guy if he even so much as looks at another girl. She's had three boyfriends since school started, and it's only October. After each disaster, she swears she's taking a break from men but it rarely lasts longer than a couple weeks. I love her to death, but Ava can get a little boy crazy and forget she has friends when she's "in love." Still, she always has my back when it counts and I always have hers.

"You idiot! Go to her!" Ava yells at the TV with a mouth full of potato chips.

For ninety minutes, some hot football player chases after the guarded nerdy chick on the flat screen. When I'm not rolling my eyes at the movie, I'm dodging popcorn torpedoes while Marcel and Caleb battle out their boredom. In the end, when the love-struck couple shares their final kiss, the guys take the last of their popcorn and chuck it at the TV before it fades to credits.

"You guys are children!" Ava huffs. "And you're no help, Lex! I saw you rolling your eyes."

I shrug, trying to look apologetic. "Sorry. I'm just not in the mood for love tonight."

"You're never in the mood for love. That's why poor Derek doesn't have a chance." Ava pouts.

I hate to admit it, but she's right. Derek is the only guy I've seen since Jace, but it's nothing serious. At least, not to me.

"Can we not talk about your boyfriends tonight?" Caleb's lips thin as his soft green eyes bounce between Ava and me.

Ava rolls her eyes. "I don't have a boyfriend to talk about. "

"Neither do I." I raise my hand in the air.

"Oh my God, me either!" Marcel adds, his mouth dropping open like it's the most scandalous thing in the world.

Laughing at Marcel's chick voice, I toss a pillow at him, hitting him in the face. "Never again with that voice, or I'll have to start calling you my sister instead of my brother."

"Well, at least I got you to crack a smile." Marcel tosses the pillow back. "You've been stone-faced all night."

Shit, I was really hoping he wouldn't notice. I can normally hide things from Ava and Caleb, but Marcel can read me like an open book. No matter what I'm feeling, he always knows. He just gets me more than anyone else, and sometimes that can be seriously annoying. Like now.

I pull my phone out of my bra, knowing there's no point in trying to hide it anymore. Marcel is on my trail and he won't let up until I cave.

"Did you guys hear about this?" I hold up my phone with the news article on the screen.

"I can't even see it from here. Is that Facebook?" Marcel squints his eyes.

Caleb takes my phone from my hand. "Looks like someone needs an eye exam," he mumbles while scanning the article.

Slowly, I watch as his face falls. Even with this doomed expression, Caleb's a good looking guy. Sharp features, big green eyes, and dirty blonde hair he keeps neatly trimmed. If he wanted to, he could get any girl at school and become a total player, but that's not him. Caleb's the kind of guy to give a girl his jacket if she's cold, or walk you home even if it's raining. He's the total opposite of Jace, surprisingly since they used to be best friends way back when.

When things went down between me and Jace, Caleb was there for me. He's been such a good friend and here I am, thinking about myself and everything that could happen with this transfer when I should be worried about Caleb too. He'll have to see the friend that left him behind.

With a sigh, he hands my phone back to me. "Yeah, they made this decision last week. Your mom didn't get the email."

"If she did, she didn't tell me." I scoff.

I really hope she didn't get that email and just forgot to tell me. She might not know the significance of this, but still, it affects me and my school. At the same time, she's been working a lot of overtime. Chances are good she hasn't even seen it.

"Don't worry about it. We're getting new students tomorrow. Big deal." Caleb shrugs but I can see the irritation on his face. He can act unaffected all he wants, we both know this bothers him almost as much as it bothers me.

"They aren't all new," I whisper, staring at the article again.

Caleb tenses beside me. "They're all strangers to me. No point in stressing over people we don't know."

I get it. The Jace we knew doesn't exist anymore.

When he moved across town it was like he had moved to an entirely different continent. He stopped coming around, made new friends, and started acting weird. I wish I could say more, but the truth is, I don't know what to say. I have no idea what happened, what changed him. All I know is it only took a couple of months after his move for him to become someone different.

The Jace I knew wouldn't have done what he did.

It's amazing really. Since the breakup, I haven't run into him once. It's like he doesn't leave his side of town and I don't leave mine. Which is probably for the best. Until now that is.

"Can someone please fill me in here?" Marcel waves his hand in the air, watching me and Caleb expectantly.

I open my mouth but the words get caught in my throat.

Damnit! Why is this hitting me so hard? Am I getting my period or something? Is that why I'm so damn emotional tonight?

I blow out a frustrated breath, making a stray strand of brown hair fly into the air.

"Some dumbasses set West County High on fire and now they're sending all the delinquents to Freecaster," Caleb states with an unamused smile.

Calling them delinquents might be a little presumptuous, but they definitely don't have the best reputation. It's the lowest-rated school in all of Freecaster Florida and has had more than their fair share of visits from the police. Caleb would know, his dad is a cop and has told him plenty of stories about the "troublemakers" at West County.

"We don't know if someone set the fire. The cops aren't even sure yet," I interject.

Ignoring me, Ava smiles from ear to ear. "So...that means new boys?"

"I thought you were taking a break." Caleb finger quotes the last word.

"Aww." Ava holds both her hands over her heart. "Don't get jealous, cutie. You know I'll always have a soft spot for you."

Vomit.

Ava's shameless flirting knows no bounds. Even when it comes to friends.

"Okay then..." Marcel drawls. "Well, it's getting hella late and we got school tomorrow. So who's ready to call it a night?"

"Me!" Caleb jumps off the couch, ignoring Ava's puppy dog eyes.

Sometimes I wonder if her flirting is serious but then I remember, this is Ava we're talking about. She changes guys like she changes her underwear. The thought of her feeling something serious for one of our friends sounds a little out there.

I follow the guys, since they're my ride home, with Ava close behind me.

"All jokes aside," Ava says as we step out onto her front porch. "I get why you're worried, Lex."

Turning around, I'm met with her deep brown eyes. She twirls a strand of dark brown almost black hair around her finger as she watches me carefully. It's something she always does when she's being serious. Like the idea of talking to someone honestly is enough to wreak havoc with her nerves.

Same here, girl. Same here.

"With the flood of students we're getting tomorrow, there's a good chance you might not even see that douche canoe."

I can only hope. Freecaster High is huge, hence the decision to send extra kids our way. Out of the now two remaining schools in town, we're the only one with enough space and resources to take on this kind of transfer. It also helps that West County's student population isn't all that big, to begin with. But with the sheer size of our school and the added bodies in the hall, I'm liking my chances.

Or it could backfire and I could wind up shoved right into you-know-who in the first five minutes. I'd say my odds are sixty-forty.

"Thanks, A." I hug her. I don't have the heart to tell her I'm not confident in my chances though. We both know they aren't good.

Ava gives the guys a hug and waves as we climb into Marcel's jeep.

"Lexi!" Ava's shouts as the jeep starts.

I roll down the window. "What's up?"

Her pearly white smile shines through the dark. "Wear armor. You're a tough bitch, but the right clothes can't hurt."

Armor?

"Uh, okay."

As we drive away, I consider my options. I need the right clothes but preferably something that makes me feel like a badass. Like armor. But what the hell are the right clothes for seeing your ex after two years? Pretty sure sweatpants and a T-shirt won't cut it.

"Hey, Lex," Caleb speaks up from the passenger seat. "Don't we have a test in pre-calc tomorrow?"

His words are like the straw that broke the camel's back.

That's it. Screw this. I'm taking a sick day.

💋____________________________________💋

Yay, chapter one!

If you're a returning reader from FWMH, you probably can already see the differences in the rewrite. If so, what do you think?

And for you newcomers, did you enjoy the first chapter? What do you think of Lexi and her friends? 

This chapter is a little bit of a slow start but I hope you all enjoyed. If you did, please leave hit that vote button and tell me what you think in the comments!