Chapter one| When being good is bad

I pushed past the familiar doors, painted to a brighter shade of cherry red over the summer break. My feet scraped tiredly across the floor as the chatter suffocated me whole. Voices laced with both excitement and dread filled the school hallway.

Some were excited, trying to share their summer experiences as fast as they could. Others cursed the very existence of the school and education system, wishing that summer break never came to an end.

Seeing such a variety of expressions and voices filling the cramped space hallway was both over-stimulating and annoying.

Without my notice, a gigantic hand came on my shoulder and patted too hard, almost making me kiss the already dirty floor. I huffed as I regained my breath and balance and turned to glare at the atrocity I called my best friend.

Connor Chandler just chuckled in response, with his shaggy strawberry blonde hair fluttering around him (in the non-existent wind), and icy blue eyes twinkling with humor.

"Well, it looks like you lost your muscles over the break, Elias," he mocked with fake concern, amusement dancing through his eyes.

I rolled my eyes at his statement and shrugged his hand away from my shoulder. "Seems like you lost your non-existent brain, want my help finding it? Oh, wait you never had one to begin with." My words amused him to no end, making hearty laughter slip past his lips. I huffed in response and rushed towards my locker.

My eyes scanned the surroundings and noticed the female population of school admiring the evident changes in Connor's appearance. It was impossible not to, with the tautness of his muscles and the golden tan of his skin he had gained over the summer. He was already an above average looking guy but with the magic of this summer, he was now in the 'HOT' male category.

Now you wish you had agreed with him and joined sports camp too, instead of spending days filling yourself up with bookish knowledge and ice-cream? Maybe then you would have been successful in gaining her attention. The snarky voice of consciousness called out. Teenage self-depreciation habits right there.

I shook my head at my thoughts and looked up from my dirty blue converse.

Leaning against my locker was none other than Navya Kapur, the only girl to grab Connor's attention and his longtime girlfriend. Her long dark hair was collected in a complicated braid as she was leaning over her phone, oblivious to her surroundings.

With a mischievous smile on his face, Connor slipped his arms around her waist. She gasped in surprise, with her brown eyes turning wide. A choked scream slipped past her lips, getting lost in the havoc of voices in the hallway. Connor laughed as he twirled her around in his arms.

All the while, some female eyes turned away in disappointment. A few persistent girls still followed his movements. A group sighed in envy, making me shiver.

Female envy is dangerous.

I pushed the thoughts of my ex out just as I saw Navya smacking him across his chest with a scowl. "Don't you dare do that again," she hissed, narrowing her eyes. "I will break your nose next time."

It was a threat she had actually followed through once.

Connor leaned down and pecked her lips, grinning at her reaction. "Baby, you don't want to ruin my pretty face. You love it too much." Connor pouted at the end for good measure.

Navya just rolled her eyes in return, and soon her eyes landed on me. "Hey there, Elias. How was your summer?"

I smiled and was just about to respond when Connor jumped in.

"You are blatantly ignoring your hot boyfriend, who got hotter over summer. Ignoring hotness is not right." He nodded at the end, agreeing with his statement.

Navya just scoffed and stared at me expectantly, waiting fr my answer. I couldn't help but chuckle as his eyes narrowed over her form. Did I forget to mention that he was too greedy for her attention?

He swiftly turned her around in his arms and connected their lips. I mentally cringed but kept a neutral face on the outside. PDA is disgusting. I know you are enjoying yourself, but please don't make others uncomfortable.

I turned away from my friends almost having sex in the hallway, towards the other faces passing by. It was a mundane sea of some named but mostly unnamed faces.

My head turned as I heard the patter of clicking heels coming our way, just as voices hushed over. My breath got caught in my throat as I stared at her, approaching closer.

Andrea was the epitome of perfection in my life. She was just gorgeous, from her dark mocha skin to her dark eyes, she was the center of my attention as always. Being the typical male I am, I admired the way her skirt hugged her ass and complimented her figure. Her lips painted a pinkish-nude shade added to her ethereal beauty. I couldn't help but recall how many times I wished to kiss those pouty lips.

"Try not to get turned on right here because that would be embarrassing," Connor whispered near my ear as he stifled his laugh over my awe-struck expression.

I scowled at him and jabbed him in his ribs, hurting myself more in the process. Still, his snickers continued.

As I turned my eyes back to my all-time crush, Andrea Lawson, I found her along with her best friend and our school's head cheerleader, Cynthia Crimson, better known as Sin. Weird nickname, right? It sounds like something out of an erotica novel.

But what made my blood boil was the jerk walking next to her, Jacob Everett, the school fuckboy and the renowned heart-breaker. He was like a paper cut on my finger. Insignificant, but hurts like a bitch.

I scowled as Andrea leaned into his side as he made a joke with his shit-eating grin on. Everyone in the school knew about him and his escapades. I couldn't recall how many times, the rumors of him coming out of an empty room (especially the janitor's closet, a well renowned and favorite spot for bad boys) with random girls had surfaced.

What irked me the most about him was the fact that girls still drooled over him, including Andrea. She, at the moment, was his fucking girlfriend, emphasis on fucking. I was a hundred percent sure he was cheating on her with another one of her cheerleader friends. I was as positive as Cesium's electro-positivity about it.

"Hey, Eli!" she called out as she crossed past me. Her smile made my heart melt.

"Hey!" I said, giving her a smile. I mentally hoped that I didn't have any Nutella stuck in my teeth because that would have been embarrassing.

It might seem like I was a nerd (which I am not, just a science enthusiast), and you must be wondering how in God's name she knew about me? Well, you see she was my lab partner last year in Chemistry, and I hope she becomes this year too.

It was during those classes that I realized how much of an exceptional person she was outside the cheerleader persona. While many might say she was a dumb bimbo, she was far from it. Sometimes, she was just too innocent for her own good.

It also made me realize that we had 'chemistry' together (dumb nerd joke, ignore), which she was unfortunately not able to realize.

No matter how much I tried to attract her attention, she never looked at me more than a friend, or a lab partner in my case. I had tried so many tricks from the books that I was thinking that there might have been something wrong with me.

Half of my school fought for her attention, increasing the competition tenfolds. But the biggest roadblock between her and me was her knack for the oh too popular bad boys. Which, by the way, was still beyond my understanding. I blame those cheesy teen-fiction novels for that.

But when my eyes once again fell on her face, with pink lips curled in a smile at his words, I felt my heartache. It just reminded me of the fact that maybe being good was bad in this case. Maybe the bad boys do get all the girls.

I was so drowned in a mixture of heartache and awe as I saw her walk away that I failed to notice the warm cocoa eyes focused on me. Ideas were glimmering through those eyes as a look of understanding passed through them.

Cynthia spoke the silent words as she devised a plan for me. A plan, with mutual benefits.

A plan that changed my life forever.