Chapter 1

Ruby picked at her salad, trying to spear a particularly robust tomato with her fork. It exploded into a mass of green seeds and goo, making her grimace and drop it to the plate.

The clattering of metal on china alerted the attention of her mother who looked over with a thin smile and asked if everything was okay.

"I’m just not hungry," Ruby said, looking down at her food.

Earlier that day, Amber had pointed out the inch of fat around her middle, pinching it between her finger and thumb before telling her to sort it out.

"I can't have a fat best friend," Amber had said, curling up her top lip in disgust. Ruby poked at the flesh around her midriff and looked across the table at Amber, recalling her friend’s cruel barb.

"Greg! Dinner!" Mum shouted for the seventh time. The low hum of music from above disappeared, replaced with thudding footsteps. Greg seemed to be incapable of walking down the stairs without creating the sound effect of elephants tumbling down a cliff top. It was one of his many annoying qualities that she was going to have to live with from now on.

He sat down at the table, looking at the dinner her mother had made for him with a confused frown for a moment before picking up the cutlery.

"Thanks, Sam," he said only once he’d felt the weight of her expectant stare.

"You’re welcome, Greg," she said. "Your Dad is just getting the last of the boxes and then he has to return the van to work."

Ruby watched as Greg nodded with disinterest and attacked his salad, salmon, and potatoes with the same lack of enthusiasm as Ruby. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her mother, who had taken the time to cook a meal from scratch to see it go to waste.

Amber, who used her house as a second home, was picking around the fish, just eating the salad. To Amber, being fat was just as bad as having fat friends. She was very self-restricting when it came to food and fastidious about her exercise routine.

Ruby was about to apologize for not eating all her food when she felt a sharp pain in her shin. Looking around the table with accusatory eyes, she found it was Amber who had kicked her and was now giving her a very pointed look and signaling toward Greg.

"Oh, sorry," Ruby gasped. "Greg, this is my best friend, Amber. Amber, my stepbrother Greg."

"Hi, Greg. It's nice to meet you," Amber said with a wide smile.

He looked at her and frowned. "Hmm. Amber and Ruby. Is that a coincidence or did you two decide to be friends based on your names?"

Amber turned to Ruby, grabbed her hand, and flashed him one of her dazzling smiles. "We bonded over our names and have been inseparable ever since."

"Oh," Greg grunted. He rolled his eyes ever so slightly as he turned back to his plate, indicating the end of the conversation.

Amber did not take the hint.

"So tomorrow will be your first day of school. I’ll let you sit at my table at lunch if you ask me nicely," she said. It was clear she was trying to be flirtatious, but it came off sounding arrogant. The way she said “my table” as if Ruby and her other friends were esteemed guests of Princess Amber.

Thinking about it, this was fairly accurate, though Amber was more the queen than a princess. Queen ruler of the school.

'Why is she flirting with Greg, though?' Ruby wondered. He was most definitely not her type. His style looked similar to the alternative kids she was always ragging on at school, with black hair, piercings, and dark clothing. He did have a pleasant face, but it was mostly hidden behind his hair.

"I think I'll manage to find my own friends." Greg screwed up his face. "But… erm, cheers for the offer."

Amber stared at him for a moment, open-mouthed and gawking, as though she couldn't fathom his response. She wasn't used to rejection.

As Mum passed out the dessert—chocolate mousse cake—both Amber and Ruby decided a little slice couldn't hurt, their eyes lighting up at the sight of the fluffy chocolate desert.

Greg picked up his plate, turning to her mother to make a face behind Amber's back. "Mind if I take this to my room?"

"Okay," Mum agreed. "Just make sure you bring your plate down after."

Usually, the pair would hang out in the living room after dinner, hoping Mum would open a bottle of wine and let them have a glass. Amber loved to hang out with her Mum. She was young, pretty, and fun, according to Amber, whose mother was in her sixties, divorced and, according to Amber, boring.

Today, Amber grabbed her by the hand and yanked her upstairs, meaning she had something private to discuss.

'I already know what it is,' Ruby thought with a weary sigh. 'She's going to bitch and moan about my rude stepbrother as if it's somehow my fault.'

Everything was Ruby's fault, even if it wasn't. That was a reality she had learned to live with from an early age.

"Oh my God," Amber started. "Your stepbrother."

"Yeah, he's..."

"Perfect!" Amber cried.

Ruby did a double take.

"What?" She frowned.

"He is so freaking gorgeous! How could you not tell me about this?" Amber said.

'Here comes the blaming and moaning...'

"Erm, well, I don't see him that way," Ruby explained.

"Really?" Amber seemed dubious. "How can you not see it?"

Ruby had to explain how her stepbrother, aside from the fact that he was indeed a family member, did not fit her type—a type Amber should be familiar with since they often both had the same crushes. They both went for the tall, toned, and tanned guys, the more athletic the better.

Greg was not athletic. He hated most sports besides football, and he was about as far from tanned as you could get. Aside from the fact he was taller than most guys his age, he did not fit the criteria.

For the next few hours, Amber garbled on about all of Greg's amazing qualities, both real and very much imagined, and mined Ruby for information about his likes and dislikes.

When it was time for Amber to leave, she had a last request before going home.

"You have to ask him out for me," Amber demanded.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

"Why not?" Amber asked, her pretty face turning dark. "Don't you want me to date your stepbrother?"

"Oh, it isn't that!" Ruby gasped, terrified of upsetting her friend.

"Well, what's the problem then?" Amber asked.

"I just don't see how he's good enough for you," Ruby said. It was a tactful move, flattering her and putting her off in one fell swoop.

"I think I can decide who is good enough for me," Amber scathed.

After taking a deep breath, Amber smiled and jumped up onto her feet. "Okay, I'm off. Message me when you've done it."

Her blonde ponytail bounced as she did an excited little jig and waved.

Once alone, Ruby turned to her mirror and made a horrified face at her reflection.

This situation was a mess and she sensed it was only going to get messier. There was no way Greg liked Amber—he'd left the table to get away from her.

'But if he says no, I will be to blame,' she realized.