"Nerd alert!"

The loud shout echoed through the hallway of Langley High. Despite the narrow corridor being filled with students spilling out of their classrooms, slamming their locker doors and gossiping with their fellow friends, Harrison's deep voice seemed to carry over and above the rest of the student body.

Grace rolled her eyes, despite the blush creeping up her smooth cheeks. She wasn't embarrassed. She was pissed.

Harrison O'Connor.

Popular jock, QB of their highschool football team. Currently banging the head cheerleader, if rumors were to be believed. What a fucking walking cliche.

Yes he was talented on the football field, popular with students and teachers alike, and stupidly handsome. But to her, he was the epitome of evil. Her bully. Her tormentor.

Langley, KY was a small town. Everyone had grown up together, everyone knew everyone's business.

She had known Harrison since they were toddlers. They were in the same play group, the same kindergarten, the same classes. When he was a boy, he was the sweetest thing.

She admired him back then, always helpful, always friendly. She was too young to really class her feelings as a crush, but looking back that was as close as an affectionate emotion she had felt for Harrison. It certainly was the last time she felt anything other than distaste for him.

Once Harrison grew to almost 6 foot at 13 years old, filled out, got a new set of popular friends, grew into his lanky looks he suddenly had a change of personality.

She remembered distinctly walking across the football field, her arms laden with books. Harrison, James and Kyle were walking towards her. If anyone was to bully her it would be Kyle. He grew up with a chip on his shoulder and always targeted the weaker kids. Despite this, he was always popular with boys and girls alike. Go figure. Being a shithead really pays off.

She remembered feeling relieved to see Harrison with Kyle, safe in the knowledge that Kyle would either not lash out at her because Harrison was there or, if he did, Harrison would defend her.

Sure enough, as she came closer to the group she tried to move further away without being too obvious that she was attempting to avoid them. Bullies could smell fear a mile away.

Her heart sank when Kyle moved to mirror her movements so that she had no option but to brush past him. She cried out when he slapped her books out of her hand, laughing in glee.

"Fucking nerd, why are you always reading? That's why you have no friends." He snickered, his mouth turned up in a sneer.

Her lip wobbled but she was determined not to cry. She would do that in private.

She glanced at Harrison, waiting for him to tell Kyle off and help her with her books. What he did next shocked her and broke her heart at the same time.

"That's because she's ugly, not because she's a nerd!"

She had stood there in stunned silence. Surely that sentence did not come out of the mouth of Harrison? Her friend. The boy who had never said a bad word to or about anyone in the many years she'd known him.

But one look at the mocking glint in his normally warm chocolate brown eyes and she knew that she wasn't mistaken.

"Harrison," she whispered, her bright blue eyes clouded over with hurt.

"Harrison," Kyle parroted mockingly. "Aww are you gonna cry?"

For a split second she thought that she had seen a flicker of regret on Harrison's face. But whatever it had been, it didn't last long.

"C'mon, guys," he called, shouldering past her, causing her to spin and lose her footing, "let's go see if Jessica and Dee want to hang out. Nerd girl is boring me."

She watched, helpless, as Harrison stood on her beloved copy of Emma and strolled away; Kyle and James following behind her.

"Sorry, Grace," James whispered, careful not to stand on her belongings. At least James had a conscience. Although, he too would be lost into the world of popularity, meanness and gossip.

Grace didn't wait until she got home to cry in private.

"Hey, you rolling your eyes at me? Bitch, you think you're better than me?"

Now here she was. Senior year. On track to graduate with honours and class Valedictorian. Partial scholarship secured to UC Berkeley. She had long since given up being hurt by Harrison and Co's destructive words and behaviour. Years of verbal and sometimes physical abuse at the hands of his gaggle of female fans had caused a hard shell to form.

She no longer sat there meekly, holding in the tears, head bent, twisting her fingers in anxiousness. She now held her head up high and gave as good as she got. She was an intelligent young woman, going places in life. Once she graduated highschool she had a road trip planned with her bestie, Amelia, and then a pit stop back to Hicksville, Kentucky to pack her bags and fly out to California.

Goodbye Harrison. Goodbye snooty slutty cheerleaders who made it their life mission to wreak havoc on those they deemed beneath them. She was only planning on coming back for family emergencies, weddings, funerals and holidays. Hmm maybe she can convince her family to have a Californian Christmas next year?

"She does think she's better than us," Jessica, leader of the Whores laughed.

The leggy blonde cheer captain sidled up to Harrison as he approached Grace. Her eyes danced in delight and anticipation for what Harrison would do. They were all a bunch of fucking sheep.

"Is that right, nerd"? God, could they at least come up with a better nickname for her? She was fucking proud to be a nerd. Her nerdiness got her a 4.5 GPA and a partial ride to college. Suck on that.

She wished she was confident enough to brag about her accomplishments. But really, it was no great secret that she was smart. Bill Gates smart, as her brother, Teddy, liked to proudly state. It didn't matter that she constantly informed him that if he insisted on comparing her to an intelligent figure in history, then he should at least pick a woman.

Instead of answering the duo, Grace threw her head back and stared unflinchingly at Harrison's annoyingly handsome face.

She watched his brown eyes darken and roam across her features. Over the course of their Junior year, and now into their Senior year, she noticed Harrison staring at her more frequently. He tried to be subtle about it but she always seemed to catch his brown eyes peering appreciatively at her face or figure before shifting quickly away. A few times she caught a slight flush on his cheeks.

Her best friend, Amelia, rolled her eyes when Grace casually mentioned this observation.

"Um.. have you seen you?" She said.

"You somehow grew legs and boobs. And with your dark hair and blue eyes.. Shit, if I wasn't so in love with Liam I would do you. I do wish you would dress to your figure, though," she continued. "You have such gorgeous legs and you hide that beautiful face under a mass of bangs."

So yes, while Grace knew she had developed and discovered the joys of light make up, she still didn't see herself as beautiful.

Grace arched a brow, clutched her books closer to her chest and cleared her throat.

"You wanna take a picture, Harrison, or have the many knocks to your head rendered you dumb? Do I need to shut you off and turn you on again?" Her cheeks blushed at the double entendre.

Jessica laughed heartily. Well, cackling was more like it. "You wish, loser. Like Harrison would even wanna look at you. He doesn't want to puke!"

Grace's gaze shifted to Jessica. She no longer saw a beautiful, confident young girl who enjoyed bullying weaker individuals. No, what she saw was a flash of jealousy at her dark headed peer.

Grace knew that Jessica's grades were abysmal and that she was staying in Langley to work at her mother's hair and make up salon.

Nothing wrong with that, she just knew from growing up with Jessica that she had been very vocal about taking off to the bright lights of New York and making it as the next Victoria's Secret model.

When really, as stunningly pretty as Jessica was, she wasn't high class model material. She was an Instagram influencer at best but she had neither the drive or determination to pursue that avenue. So she decided to carry on with the family business, despite never working there a day in her life. The way she talked about Abbott's Hair and Nails made it sound like she was inheriting a dynasty. They did do decent hair, to be fair.

Jessica had high hopes of marrying the football captain and becoming the belle of Langley, popping out a couple of kids and baking gluten free muffins for the school bake sale. Once Grace saw Jessica for what she was, stripped of her cheerleading gear, her Prom Queen crown that she was sure to get, you just got another bitter "peaked at highschool" mean girl.

Jessica stalked towards Grace, like a prey hunting down it's victim.

"You're gonna die an ugly old virgin because no one would want to stick their cock in you unless you were wearing a paper bag over your head!" She jeered.

Harrison grabbed Jessica back, his eyes quickly moving to and from Grace's determined blue ones. There was that flash of regret with an undercurrent of desire in his stare.

"C'mon, babe. She's not worth the hassle. Let's skip biology and create our own.." his dark head bent down to whisper, no doubt, gag worthy nothings in her ear.

Jessica flushed prettily, tilted her blonde head up and proceeded to kiss Harrison soundly - tongue work and all.

She pulled back and stared pointedly and triumphantly at Grace before slipping her hand in Harrison's and dragging him in the opposite direction.

Grace waited until they were a good ten feet away before calling out.

"Hey, Jessica."

The coupe stopped, Harrison turning first to glance back at Grace.

He took in her tall, defiant stance. Her heart shaped face, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes that stood out amongst a sea of ordinary people. Although she was wearing considerably more than the short skirts and cropped tops that the girls seemed to favour these days, no one could deny how enticing the tiny waist, shapely hips and long legs that, unbeknownst to her, Jessica would jealously inspect when she thought that no one was looking.

"What?" She haughtily replied.

"I would rather die a virgin than be a running train for the football team. I would save your money on getting breast implants, your vagina would need a revamping by the time you're twenty."

She watched as Jessica's face grew pink then red with rage. Her mouth flapped open and shut like a fish. Harrison stood there, shock written on his face. And was that admiration? Oh she couldn't have that. She was all for equality, after all.

"Oh and Harrison? Make sure you wrap it up. Your dick has been in more places than Carmen San Diego." Okay, it was a dated joke but she couldn't come up with an explorer on the spot that they had heard of. "And from what I heard, there wouldn't be much to write home about."

With that, she wiggled her fingers, turned swiftly on her heels and strolled proudly in the opposite direction. The student body that was present all responded with the requisite "ooooohhh!" or "burrrrnnn!" Some patted her on the back, some gave soft claps and laughed.

If she thought that would cause Harrison, Jessica and their crew to back off, she would be sorely mistaken. They came at her harder than ever.

Her name and number was plastered on the walls of the bathroom with derogatory slang attached. Apparently a photo shop of her face on a nude body was also circulating.

Publically, she held her head high and got on with it. Mentally counting the months and days that she would be free of this god forsaken town.

Privately, though? Privately, she broke down. Unable to eat or sleep at times. Her parents were so worried for her but she had brushed it off to them as last minute studying and worrying before UC Berkeley.

Rationally, she knew that her time in highschool would be a blip in her life. She would leave, get good grades, get a great job, make new friends, travel, have sex, get married maybe, have children if she wanted. Highschool would be a distant memory and she would grow up and out of it.

Rationally she knew that.

But try telling that to a teenager who was living in the moment getting verbally and physically abused daily. Despite telling herself that the rest of her life would start soon, this part of her life was happening now. And it was miserable. She was lucky enough to come out of it on the otherside - other kids would not be so lucky. Succumbing to the constant taunts and becoming another teen statistic.

She hated Harrison.

He was a bully. A tormentor. An evil individual who thrived off cutting other people down.

But she had no idea how vengeful he could be.