"I'm so glad that you guys could come to my barbeque."

That was the first thing that left the mouth of Ryan "All-American Golden Boy" Peavey's mouth upon my arrival with Holly, her boyfriend Derrick, and my foster brothers after a five-minute walk down the street. And while everyone else was dressed for a Hawaiian-style luau with short-shorts and tank-tops that covered their swimwear, I was feeling self-conscious in my simple outfit of Levi's jeans and a plain shirt. Add the fact that Ryan was grinning at me like he was lost in la-la land and I was definitely feeling like I never belonged here in the first place.

All the more reason that I wished that I had you aborted, Mom's voice sneered in my head. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be enough for anyone. You disgust me.

"All you all right, dear?" Mrs. Peavy, who was the epitome of a former beauty queen that kept her looks despite being in her forties, asked me as she saw my look of worry.

I blinked twice, snapping out of my toxic reverie. "Yes, ma'am," I replied. "It's the vocie of my late mother who keeps telling me that I shouldn't be here."

And I really shouldn't have come in the first place. This was all a mistake from the-

"Don't let that woman's words get you down, boy," Mr. Peavy, a heavyset man with a stern stare, said harshly. "Joel and Taylor told my wife and myself about your late family and how you were unfairly treated by them. They didn't deserve a stellar kid like yourself anyhow."

I sighed, fighting to ease my rattled nerves. "Sir, I wished I could believe that, but who needs enemies with a family like mine? I considered myself lucky to be even alive after everything," I confessed. "But I want to at least try and begin living life."

"And you will," Antonio said to me, giving me a knowing stare. "And this barbeque will be the start of just that."

"So it will," Ryan crowed as he extended his hand towards me. "Shall we?"

Say no, Demario. Say no and do what I wish for you, Mom's voice intoned in my head. End your life while you have the chance. Grant my final wish.

I took a deep breath and took my hand into his. "We shall," I said firmly as I let Ryan lead me through his mini-mansion right to the large backyard where the action was.

Sorry, Mom. Tonight is when I plan to have some fun, even if it's for one day.

***********

For kids of my caliber, a teenager's debut at a house party or barbeque (supervised or no) can go either one or two ways. It can spell disaster if one's unprepared and has no clue about the etiquette (or is somehow led into a dark web of underage drinking and drug usage). Or it can go smooth sailing if one has enough experience thanks to all the teen movies that he or she watches beforehand.

In my situation, everyone seemed to know my name and I somehow got the better end of the stick with almost everyone inviting me over for after-school outings, open auditions for sports and extracurricular clubs, or even dinners with them and their families. A few of them even gave me their phone numbers in case I wanted to chat or lend them an ear.

And in a way, it was nice to actually have some kind of positive feedback about my upbringing and me  the Lomax family since they were well-liked by everyone.

"It's kind of sad how your parents and siblings tossed you aside like that, kid. And those relatives never gave you a fair shake in life, either. It's their loss since the Lomax folks can take good care of you."

"That late family of yours sounds like they belong in hell, kid. You're a warrior for coming out of the fire like that.  They got what they deserve for abandoning you and treating you like trash."

It was a bit much, but at least they didn't pity me like that. Of course, a few of the partygoers didn't care about me for much, but they just left me alone.

After two hours of making small talk and eating food, I needed a break. I walked over to a deserted gazebo and sat down on the wooden bench. "Making connections isn't for the inexperienced," I breathed. "But it looks like everything is smooth sailing so far."

"Why, hello."

I looked up to see a stunningly beautiful young woman who looked as if she could win Miss Teen USA- from her tanned complexion and platinum-blonde hair to her statuesque and leggy figure and her icy-blue eyes. She wore a flowy sundress that looked expensive as her open-toed sandals. All in all, she was every girl's admiration and every boy's wet dream.

"Uh, hi," I said. "And you are?"

The blonde smiled widely. "Jillian Kendrick," she hummed as she walked over to the gazebo and sat on the opposite side of me. "And you must be Demario Bader."

"That I am."

"Well, I do hope you'll find some balance here after your...uncharmed life at your old neighborhood," she chirped. "So, I take that you're adjusting to our neighborhood well. I hope you're not too offended on how everything looks opulent here."

I inhaled deeply. "It's a bit much, but all I can do is take things slow," I admitted.

"What do you think about Ryan?"

That was a question that I didn't expect. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's your first opinion about Ryan?" Jillian clarified. "I mean, I know that he's been by the Lomax house a couple months' ago and introduced himself. So, what's your opinion about him?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know much about him, to be honest," I admitted. "I mean, he does remind me of my brothers and how he stands for all things that I can never achieve, even though he does look friendly enough. I bet anyone is lucky to date him, even you."

Jillian looked amused. "I'm flattered," she gushed, "especially when I'm dating Ryan."

"Well, there you go. You're very lucky to have him."

"And that's sweet," Jillian crooned, batting her eyelashes. "Listen, Demario. You look like a smart enough kid and you have a good head on your shoulders. But I am very possessive when it comes to Ryan. And since you might have known, Ryan can be a bit too friendly when it comes to people like you- if you get my drift."

I nodded. "I did notice," I commented. "And just so you know, I am mainly focused on my schoolwork and trying to keep my head down. I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Then we're agreed," Jillian purred. "I just want to make sure that you have little to do with Ryan and just focus on your life, okay? I hate for us to be rivals."

"Jillian!"

The blonde bombshell and I whirled around to see a fuming Ryan and his father storming over here. "What the hell?" I exclaimed. "Ryan, Miss Kendricks and I are just having a conversation about-"

"She'll be leaving if she knows what's good for her," Mr. Peavey barked, narrowing his eyes at the female who looked nonplussed. "Demario, do not believe a word that...witch says."

"Don't be silly, Mr. Peavey," Jillian replied coolly. "I'm merely here to introduce myself to Demario and have him understand that Ryan is mine and mine alone."

"Hardly," Ryan scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You know damn well that your parents and mine agreed that you and I are never meant to be, even more so since I came out as gay and after what you did to Artem."

My eyes went wide.

Ryan is gay? And those two had history? And who the hell is Artem?

"All the same, Ryan, I want to make sure that no one else can have you if I can't," Jillian said, her southern-belle personality turning that into something similar to Mom's. "Demario seems to get the picture perfectly and he wants no trouble with me."

To me, "I do hope you can forgive me, Demario. Things aren't as they appear. I do hope we can be friends. Truly, I do. And I want to be the first to welcome you to PGHS of the Arts."

She sauntered off like she was Karolina Kurlikova at the Victoria's Secret fashion show, leaving me baffled while Ryan and his father looked livid.

"What the hell was that about?" I found myself asking.

"Demario Bader, you just met the most-disturbed and neurotic young woman in all of Fort Worth," Mr. Peavey said to me. "And I give you fair warning: the less you have anything to do with her, the better off you'll be. Because if you somehow end up on her blacklist, you'll wish that you never did even though you didn't mean to."

And judging from that sentence and the glares from Ryan and the other partygoers who watched Jillian leave, I knew that there was some bad blood between Ryan Peavey and Jillian Kendrick. It was more reason enough to stay out of it.

***********

Summertime can be full of surprises and unwanted drama.

And after my first outing at Ryan's end-of-summer barbeque and everything that happened beforehand, I learned a lot about what to expect for my debut at my new school.

1. Know which people who can be trusted (Holly, Derrick, and my foster brothers)

2. When it comes to studs like Ryan Peavey, make sure that you have little to do with them.

3. When there is bad blood between the stud and a femme-fatale who is a stark reminder of a vindictive mother who wishes you weren't born; it's best to stay out of it and never get on the femme-fatale's blacklist.

I don't know what's going on between Jillian and Ryan, especially when Ryan is gay and isn't interested in her; but I do not want to be caught in that spiderweb at all. I have enough problems in my life.

"Long night, am I right?"

I looked up from my now-finished journal entry to see the fatherly gaze of Taylor as he stood in the doorway of my bedroom. "Tonight's been...surprisingly chaotic despite me having enough friends and plans for after-school moments," I replied. "I guess you've heard about Miss Kendricks and-"

"Yeah, I know as do Joel, Gianna, and Jose," the dark-skinned man commented. "And I was hoping you never run into her at the party. Demario, you may have heard about this already, but I'll say it anyway: Jillian Kendricks is nothing but bad news for anyone whom she might see as a threat. And though you're still the new kid in town, she might deem you as such unless you stay away from Ryan."

"But I'm not interested in Ryan," I protested, keeping my voice calm even though my nerves weren't. "I don't even know the whole story, never mind that Ryan's gay."

"Well, he is and Jillian's still not over it while he's not over how she almost killed Artem," Taylor commented. "All I can tell you is that you'll want to watch your back because Jillian Kendricks is a femme-fatale scorned with plans to get Ryan as her future husband no matter what it takes. If you can help it and if you value your life and sanity, you'll stay away from that harlot at all costs."

"And as for Ryan?"

Taylor smiled faintly. "Give him a chance, son. You might be surprised," was all he said before bidding me goodnight.

Okay, folks. There was something that I'm missing out on here. And for all I know, I wanted no part of it at all. I turned to my journal entry and added one more sentence.

Note to self: steer clear of Jillian and Ryan at all costs! Do NOT be involved in their warring game of chaos.

If only I was prepared enough for the first wave of the many firestorms involving those two...well, we might not have much of a story, would we?

Ooh, child! The drama thickens in this story.

First off, Ryan is indeed gay and it looks like Jillian isn't too pleased with that.

Secondly, there's some bad blood between Golden Boy and the Blonde Bombshell.

Third of all, who is Artem and how do Jillian and Ryan fit in with what had happened to him?

Finally, Demario wants no part of what's ahead. But this is Wattpad, folks! A good story is not without some form of drama and game-changers! And if you know me by now, there's going to be PLENTY of drama, scandals, excitement, passion, game-changing moments, and gag-worthy cliffhangers that will make you say OMG!

All will be made clear in the chapters to come, ladies and germs, so make sure to stick around as you can find this story EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad!

Coming up next, it's the first day of school and Demario's nervous as he makes his concerns known to his principal and vice-principal who's very receptive and has some advice for him. Stay tuned.

Media: "Boom" by Anjulie.

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