Chapter 1

I hate Logan Hernández.

So. Freaking. Much.

I didn’t get how one person could be so annoying! How was it possible to develop killer instincts every time I was in close proximity with the moron?

Right now, with every ounce of strength in my body, I wanted to kill him. The sight of my locker only helped to fuel my rage. What had I done to him to make him hate me so much in the first place? I mean, I know what he did to make me hate him but as far as I know, I’ve only reciprocated his stupid pranks back to him.

This time, though, he’d gone too far.

Next to me, Aimee whistled while Darren chuckled. “Damn,” Aimee muttered, no doubt wondering the same thing as me. “He went all out, didn’t he?”

“That’s an understatement,” Darren added, then leaned forward to sniff the weird looking liquid. “What on earth is that? I smell broccoli and… is that cabbage juice?”

I sighed, falling back on the locker next to mine. “I’m going to kill him. I will.”

“That’s if you don’t get into trouble first,” Aimee muttered, her eyes darting from left and right. “Principal Donna incoming.”

Shit. My brain went into a frenzy and it only took me a few seconds to realize that there was no running from this. Unless I was Wonder Woman or something, there was no way I would be able to clean up the mess before Principal Donna reached me. I was screwed.

“Yeah, you’re on your own, sugar.” Darren swung his backpack on one shoulder, turned on his heel and walked away. Aimee mumbled a low ‘sorry’ before she followed suit.

And then there was one. I really needed new best friends.

With her blond hair firmly packed in a tight bun in the middle of her head, it was a wonder Principal Donna was able to even move her head at all. Her dress was clean-cut as usual, hugging her long frame and she wore her usual black flats with a low wedge. Her face was devoid of makeup, not even powder could be found on her skin.

“Lexi Hale,” Principal Donna’s deep voice thundered. “I see two weeks of detention did nothing to change your delinquent ways.”

I almost rolled my eyes before I remembered I was already in more trouble than I knew how to deal with. “Principal Donna, I know how this looks but I assure you, it wasn’t me.”

Her thin lips pursed in a straight line. “So, someone dropped from the sky and smeared this…” Her eyes narrowed as she studied the green liquid that covered my entire locker. Seriously, it looked like the Hulk threw up. "...stuff on your locker."

“It was Logan Hernandez.” I know it seemed like I was shifting blame but I really wasn’t. No one else could have done this. I was sure of it.

Principal Donna sighed, obviously tired of me. “You will clean this up before first period’s over, Miss Hale, or I’ll have you suspended for defacing school property.”

I nodded, my anger rising as she walked away. Principal Donna was a pragmatic woman and therefore believed in proof. The few times I’d been able to prove that idiot was behind my misfortunes, she’d believed me. Times like this, when I had nothing to show as proof, she didn’t. And words could not describe how much it vexed me.

In fact, words could not describe how much I hated Logan.

He was the bane of my existence and I was on a mission to end his.

Dropping my bag on the floor, I headed to the janitor’s closet to borrow some cleaning materials. Now, the main reason I was angry about this entire thing was because Logan’s plan was to humiliate me. What better way to do that than to make me clean up Hulk vomit in front of the entire school? He knew my locker was situated in the main hallway and all the students would pass by here on their way to class.

The snickers and snide comments did nothing to deflate my anger. Me, the smartest girl at Cambridge High, cleaning up vomit or whatever the hell it was that Logan had smeared all over my locker. I would never hear the end of this.

Oh, my revenge would definitely come, and it would be swift and cold.

I opened my locket because somehow, the green liquid had managed to seep through the small holes and onto my books. Seriously, what the hell was this?

“Looking like you’re in your element there. If school doesn’t work out, you could always consider cleaning up vomit as a profession.”

My eyes snapped up to meet Logan’s teasing emerald orbs. I knew it. I knew he was behind this, the little shit.

“I hate you so much,” I spat at him.

He puckered his lips. “The feeling’s mutual, sweet stuff.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Or what?” He smirked. “You’ll vomit all over me like you did your locker?”

Snickers rose around me, darkening my already burning cheeks even further. I didn’t know why I even bothered talking with him. He was an asshole and he’d always be one.

“You know as well as I do that you did this,” I let out through gritted teeth, fisting my hands because I was this close to reaching out and strangling him.

He took a step forward, challenge in his eyes. “Prove it.”

Maybe it was the fact that he invaded my space so I could smell his perfume or it was the fact that his being so close made me lose my focus, but I stepped back. “I don’t care if it’s a crime, I will kill you.”

He chuckled. “Good thing I know you’re scared of prison then.”

He walked off, leaving me there to seethe and breathe like a raging bull. It was no secret that Logan Hernández and I were sworn enemies. It was the usual cliché, which was probably why I found it extremely annoying. The most popular guy and the smartest girl at school, mortal enemies.

All things considering, this was a normal day between Logan and me. If we weren’t playing pranks on each other, we were plotting some sort of plan that usually resulted in the other party getting into trouble. I don’t know exactly when it became our ‘thing’—ew, no. I didn’t have a ‘thing’ with that airhead. I refused to have anything with him.

He irritated me to no point and I prayed fervently for the day when he’d take a walk and never come back.

Seeing him made my blood boil. He was right; I was terrified of prison, which was probably a good thing because if looks could kill, he would have been ten feet under.