Go back to your perfect little life. How easy it was for him to say this sentence! If only he knew. I sat there on my bed, hugging my knees, wearing Mom's old T-shirt and sobbing silently. He didn't know how excruciatingly painful it was to watch my mother slowly wither away. A part of me died when she took her last breath. Another part of me died when I watched my father cry like a baby on her funeral. There were many times when I wanted her on my side, I needed her on my side. The day I lost my mother, I lost my best friend too. My childhood ended that day and at the age of 12, I grew up. Perfect! Another sob escaped my lips. ... "Come in Alicia. Adam will be here soon." Tiffany opened the door and let me in. She was dressed in a nude business suit which hinted that she just returned from the work. She led me to their TV lounge and we both sat down on a mahogany couch. After what happened last night, I was a little nervous to meet him. So I sat there silently, playing with the hem of my shirt. "Is Adam giving you a hard time?" she asked when she noticed my nervousness. "Uh.. Nothing I can't handle." I replied. "It's not his fault you know. After what happened with him, he... He just.." she stopped in her sentence. "What happened?" I asked curiously. "Nothing you should be concerned about." his deep voice hit my ears and I looked behind me, only to find Adam standing near the door. "Adam we were just-" Tiffany tried to speak. "Don't bother." he said dryly and turned around to leave. From the tone of his voice, he sounded seriously pissed. "Do I need to give you a printed invitation?" his voice was directed at me. I immediately straightened up and followed him to his room. "You don't have to be rude with her." I whispered once we were inside his room. He chose not to reply and seated himself on the bed. I looked at him with disappointment and then flopped down beside him. "Here. I tried solving the questions Mrs. Dale gave us." I passed him the notebook which he assessed. "Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong." he said as his gaze moved downwards. "Correct. Sorry my bad, again wrong." "Huh? How is that possible?" I half-yelled and snatched it away from him. "Your condition is far worse than I assumed." he taunted, tearing the page off and I gritted my teeth in annoyance. Cocky son of a bagel. For the next half an hour, he helped me solve the questions. By helped, I mean taunted me to a point where I was willing to tear his face apart. I had realized that my basics were quite weak and he was, in fact, a genius. A rude, condescending genius actually. "Why aren't you coming to the party?" I asked when I found him engrossed in his own work. "I don't owe you any explanation." he retorted without bothering to look at me. "But-" "Ssshhh." he hummed. I rolled my eyes and scooted a little closer to him to take a peek on his work. Our little fingers accidentally touched and he jerked his hand away instantly. I exhaled and created some distance between us. My eyes grazed over his facial features. His slightly tanned skin, the straight nose, perfectly plump lips. He was wearing a black half-sleeved T-shirt, his toned arms were on full display. The prominent veins running up his muscular arm looked strangely sexy and I found myself gulping the saliva down my dry throat. "Stop drooling." he spoke and my hand involuntarily moved towards my lips to find any actual drool. He smirked at my reaction and I blushed profusely. Heat crept up my neck and I averted my face away from him. "Fuck off." I snorted, feeling flustered because of his gaze on the side of my face. "So the princess curses too." he spoke sarcastically and I rolled my eyes again. ... "Wow. Look at this one." I stopped in front of a red lace dress. "It's too bright for my taste." Emily replied and my shoulders drooped again. "I didn't know you were that picky." I teased, earning a frown from her. We were at the mall, finding the perfect dress for her. In the last hour, we have visited almost every shop on the first three floors yet she didn't look satisfied with any dress. I, being the laziest person on the face of Earth, didn't have any more stamina left while she was nowhere near choosing a dress. "Just the last one, I promise." she tugged my hand forwards and I groaned lowly. "Look look, who is it." we stopped in our tracks when a familiar voice reached my ears. "The fat barbie and her loser friend." It was Chloe, walking towards us in her signature pompous walk. Trailing behind her with an annoyed face was Justin. They stopped when they reached us. "The plus section is towards that side Em. What are you doing here?" she taunted, looking at Emily from head to toe. "Is there a special section for narcissistic bitches too? If not, you should file an application." I countered and the smirk wiped off her face. "Fuck off." she glared and then walked past us, followed by Justin. All the rosy color had left Emily's cheek, leaving behind pure sadness. I gripped her wrist and took her inside the next shop. Fortunately, a cute pink dress caught her attention. After buying the dress, we moved to the shoe section and found heels for her. It was about 5pm when we reached my home. We took turns for shower and then dried our hair. I curled her wavy hair to give the blonde waves more dimension and applied light makeup on her face. Keeping her lipstick nude, I highlighted her shiny blue eyes with black smokey eyeshadow and double coats of mascara. It was my turn to get ready next. I had already chose my outfit. It was a black top and a nude skirt. For my first party, going in casual yet cute clothes would help me blend in. Emily styled my hair in a braided headband and did my makeup. Overall, I looked good enough. The drive to Jake Dawson's house was quite short. I stopped the car to a halt in front of his house. Even in the car, we could feel the loud music piercing our ears. From what I have heard, his parents were out of town and he had the full house to himself. Parking the car, Emily and I linked our arms and marched inside the house. Jake was the one to open the door. He greeted us in a friendly manner and let us inside. For a small moment, his eyes widened when he noticed Emily's presence but he didn't say anything. "Are you alright?" I asked Emily who looked quite nervous. She pulled the hem of her dress down. The constant comments and taunts by her own sister had made her insecure of her body. She didn't realize that she was one of the prettiest girls in Redwood High, even in her loose baggy clothes. So now that her dress was hugging her curvy figure, she looked hot enough to give any boy blue balls. We passed through sweaty bodies and made our way to the living room. A group of boys and girls were seated on the couch in centre. A particular couple captured our attention, Chloe and Justin. Chloe was sitting on Justin's lap, wearing a short black lace dress. Justin's hands were roaming up and down her body as she conversed with another girl of her cheerleading team. "Hey, isn't it your sister Chloe?" a guy who was sitting beside Justin said and everyone's attention diverted towards us. "Wow. She looks hot." he added and then turned his attention towards me. "Alicia King is it? Wanna be my queen for tonight." "Only if you tone down your desperate attitude a bit. And I don't see that happening anytime in future." I retorted and grasped Emily's wrist. But when she didn't move, I turned to look at her face which was focused on Justin. He was mimicking her gaze, looking at her with wide, appreciative eyes. I was not the only one who noticed the heated exchange of looks. By the constipated look on Chloe's face, she had noticed it too. "Hot? The dress makes her look pregnant." she spat, looking at the guy. "Besides, what are you doing here? Don't you remember what I said?" "Back off, Chloe. Live and let live." I told her and she glared at me. "Ignore her babes." It was Justin who spoke this time. "She isn't worth your time." He said, looking towards Emily. Not wanting to watch their public display of affection anymore, we trudged towards Sophia who was busy chugging something down her throat. She was dressed in red tights and a black leather jacket, her dark hair were pulled up in a high pony tail. "Damn. You both look stunning." she giggled as she noticed our presence. Her voice slurred slightly, indicating that she was drunk. "Same girl. Red really suits your eyes." I commented honestly. We slouched down on the empty space beside her and observed our surroundings. Everyone was either dancing or busy making out. After a moment, Sophia and Emily swayed their way to the dancing bodies and joined them too. The loud music blasting through the speakers was making it difficult to sit there so I excused myself to get some air. A door in the back led me to the pool area. It was less crowded than the rest of the house so I decided to spend a couple of minutes here. One blonde boy asked me to join them in the pool which I politely refused and walked past him to a secluded corner. "Well well well. Isn't it Alicia freaking King?" I sighed in irritation when I heard a familiar voice.