I loved my nan more than anything but I can't deny how excited I was when she left. She had left pretty shortly after dinner. The only reason I had desired her departure was that she had never liked Elijah or me to leave the family while she was still here to do our own things, she claimed that she wanted to spend as much time with her grandchildren before she died. As much as I understood her reasoning, I didn't really want to sit next to a squirming Elijah and listen to all the grownups talk about politics or what was best for the economy.

I was sprawled out across my bed cuddled up to Nala while reading 'The Handmaids Tale'. I had only begun it a couple of days ago but I had already loved it.

I was so invested in the story when I heard something hit my window. Figuring it was just the wind I ignored the sound and continued to read. The sound got louder and more frequent, and pretty soon I wasn't able to ignore it. I groaned and put my book face down on the bed, Nala continued to sleep peacefully, perking up when she saw me open my window.

I had just gotten out of the shower and worn the same Pajamas as I had yesterday, this time I had kept my bra on though and I was thankful for that when I opened my window only to be faced with a smirking Aiden. He was sitting on his window seal comfortably, throwing small pieces of scrunched paper at my window, no doubt being the cause of the noise.

"Hey Collins" Aiden smirks at my annoyed face.

I don't reply and just look at him expectantly, it's now that Nala decides to stop being lazy and she stands beside me curiously looking at who I'm talking to.

"Oh hey that's a cute dog" Aiden smiles, it was the first time I had ever seen him genuinely smile and I was almost swooning. I knew his smirk was attractive but his smile was something else entirely. For once he actually seemed genuine, and the fact that it was even possible that Aiden Black could be genuine shocked me.

"Yeah, this is Nala" I smile at him, the first time I had directed a genuine smile to Aiden, and he seemed pleased.

"Anyways" he continues, "I just wanted to apologize for before, I shouldn't have tried that on you, and I actually want to be friends, for Toby's sake as well as mine" he finishes smirking.

I mean it would definitely be nice to be friends with Aiden instead of detesting him, if we were gonna be window buddies then it would be better for the both of us. It would also be great if our mothers get along to have a friend my age around when they were together instead of continuing to hang out with Elijah.

"I'd like that" I smile in reply, happy with my choice. Who knows, the bad boy may even be nice.

"I heard you were coming to my house tomorrow" he smirks.

"Unfortunately" I laugh lightly, Aiden laughs with me.

"What was the good girl doing before I interrupted?" Aiden continues to smirk, it was nice to have a genuine conversation with him, even the light teasing wasn't the worst thing in the world.

I instantly light up at the mention of my book and rush to get it to show Aiden. Nala continues to sit beside me, she even seemed to be grinning at Aiden. "I was reading the handmaids tale," I enthuse making Aiden laugh genuinely, and let me tell you...Woah.

Maybe there was more to Aiden than just some Bad Boy wannabe with a notorious reputation.

"I've heard its pretty good" Aiden replies, his signature smirk returning.

"You read?" I question.

"Yeah, there's more to me than just my good looks" Aiden replies smirking.

"What good looks?" I tease, giggling slightly at his shocked expression.

"You hurt me Collins, right here" Aiden smirks back placing his right had on his heart mockingly.

"Oh so he does have a heart, who would've known, hey Nala" I joke back, purposely acting like I was talking to Nala who just kept her tail wagging and her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"I have much more than a heart" Aiden winks back jokingly, this banter I could do, I even enjoyed it. Yeah, he was still being flirty but it was blatantly obvious that was his personality, it was also pretty obvious to me that he didn't mean anything of it, or at least I hoped he didn't.

"Good night Aiden" I laugh shaking my head.

"Night Collins" he replies smiling that genuine smile I had become quite fond of.

I close the window with a small smile on my face and walk back over to my bed, I lie down and Nala instantly joins me.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I felt like tonight was the beginning of a new chapter of my life, maybe even the start of a wild ride, one that was rewarding.

I can't believe she rejected me earlier this morning and hardcore too. This morning during our first little encounter I had noticed she didn't like being the center of attention after I had flirted with her, and I was sure that she would give in with just a little more proximity and where there were no eyes watching her every move. Obviously I was wrong.

The fact that she had just rejected me so effortlessly made me want her all the more. There was one thing that I had figured out about her though, and that was that if she was going to sleep with me that it would take time and a relationship. I don't mean dating or anything because everyone knows I don't date, but just a general friendship. She needs trust, words were cheap to her and that was pretty obvious throughout our most recent encounter. She would definitely be a challenge, but I had always been competitive and I was positive that this was a challenge that I would do anything to win.

I was definitely happy that Toby had gotten her and her cousin to join our bio group, there weren't many people that I could easily tolerate, especially in that class. Having Emily and Charlie in our group would make the class more tolerable as well as get me close to Emily, and it was more evident now than ever, that was I needed to do if I ever wanted the chance to fuck her. It might be a shame though when we finally do, I've actually begun quite liking her, she was fun. Like a mouse trying to be a lion, she was entertaining and I knew that Toby loved having her around. I didn't want to screw up their relationship but I wanted to screw her more.

This morning her little outfit had only increased the huge desire I had felt for her, she was wearing a green and white dress which showcased her body amazingly. Her breasts were on display as were her legs and the little boots she wore made her tan legs look a million miles longer. Her hair was similar to what I had seen last night but it still looked extremely hot. She had more makeup on today than she had last night, her eyelashes were darker but other than that she looked the same.

It had made my little challenge all the more fun that she was Luke's best friend, I had nothing against him, but I understood why he had hated me. Getting under his skin was just a bonus of my game.

I had gotten her attention tonight because I wanted to begin our friendship, the sooner we have a friendship, the sooner she will trust me enough to let me take her to the bedroom. I must admit though, her dog was fucking adorable. The more I spoke to her genuinely, the more I actually began liking her. She actually seemed like a genuine girl and hopefully, we could stay friends after I win the challenge.

Tonight I had told her that I also enjoyed reading, I'm not entirely sure why I did that to be honest, I had never told anyone that, it may damage my bad boy reputation. If I'm being completely honest, the more time I spent with her, the less I wanted to ruin our relationship by the challenge but I knew I just had to keep my head in the game. She was seriously the hottest chick I had ever seen and although I enjoyed her company, I wanted to take her so much more. I had never thought about a girl I only wanted to fuck as much as I thought about Collins.

Girls always threw themselves at me and I just accepted their invitation, they all had known what they were getting into, so why should I feel bad. She intrigued me for some reason, I had never been rejected, especially as bluntly as she had rejected me. I had always been extremely observant and as much as I wanted to fuck her, a part of me also just wanted to figure her out.

Whatever it was, tonight was the first night in ages that I had gone to bed genuinely happy.

When my alarm went off I wanted to scream, it's the worst when you're having the best dream and then you suddenly get woken up. I was dreaming about Maddison, it was a simple dream, but something I had always looked forward to when sleeping was the simple dreams that I would always tend to dream about. Elijah, Maddy, Nala and I were swimming in the ocean, we were throwing Nala's ball for her and laughing as she excitedly went to collect it.

I woke up with a smile, It was nice to see her, even if it was in my dreams.

Still smiling, I stand up to have a shower and brush my teeth.

After washing myself and brushing my teeth, I walk to my closest wrapped in a towel to find an outfit for the day. I had gone with a tighter black shirt tucked into a tighter checkered skirt that reached just above mid-thigh. It was definitely a more scandalous outfit than what I usually wear but I had wanted to make a good impression again.

Putting on the outfit I had picked out for the day, I begin to walk downstairs to eat breakfast. Mom had already left, but Robert's shift didn't start for a few hours so I knew that he would no doubt be cooking something for Elijah and my breakfast. My mom had often left before us so we had always had simple breakfasts if any at all, but Robert made sure to cook breakfast for us at least once a week. It's not like I didn't know how to cook, mom had taught Elijah and I and we were pretty good, but we just never had time in the morning.

"Hey Emmy, how'd ya sleep?" Robert grins at me from the stove where he was cooking pancakes. Whilst I had loved Roberts pancakes, Elijah had always preferred his waffles so he had always made the effort to cook us what we wanted. I had always loved how Robert had known these things and made the effort, my biological father wouldn't even know what grade I was in at school.

"Good, how about you?" I grinned in response while I sit down on a barstool and wait for my stepfather to serve me his famous pancakes.

"Good good" He replies.

"What are you cooking Robert?" Elijah's excited voice calls out from the entrance to the kitchen.

"Pancakes for your sister, I'll do waffles next time for you" he rolls his eyes grinning back at Elijah.

Elijah sits next to me happily just as Robert passes us each a plate of pancakes.

"Remember you two, dinner tonight at the neighbors" Robert reminds us, Elijah groans in reply causing Robert to laugh. Before last night, I had dreaded the idea but now I may have even been excited.

***

It was now break time, the day had gone pretty quickly but I was still excited to participate in one of my favorite activities, to eat. I hadn't had bio today and therefore hadn't seen Aiden. I'm sure Luke would be happy about that.

I begin walking towards the cafeteria when an excited voice calls my name. "Mills!! Wait up!!" I turn around at Toby's familiar voice and it doesn't surprise me when he engulfs me in a suffocating hug.

"I've missed my bestie!!" Toby grins, releasing me and finally allowing me to breathe.

"I've missed you to Toby" I giggle at him.

"What about me?!" a cocky voice interjects, I look up to face a smirking Aiden, I hadn't even realized he was here.

"Who would miss you?" Toby grins.

"So much for being mates" Aiden smirks back, the boys obviously had a lot of banter. I laugh at my two friends causing them both to smile in my direction.

"Mills please sit with us today, bring Luke and your hot cousin!!" Toby begs me with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, sit with us Collins" Aiden encourages smirking.

I look at both the boys and almost give in but then I remember how much Luke hates Aiden.

"I'll ask Luke and Charlie" I find myself replying, then continue, "Don't call my cousin hot, her name's Charlie" I finish, jokingly scolding Toby.

"I'm gonna convince Luke to say yes" Toby quickly says before he rushes off, leaving Aiden and me alone.

"Hey Collins, why'd you move away from here, obviously your family loves it here if they're willing to move back so easily," Aiden asks me genuine curiosity.

My heart beats rapidly at the thought of the answer and I almost feel a panic attack coming on. Trust me when I say the move wasn't easy at all.

Think of Nala Em, just breathe. I chant to myself, successfully calming down.

When Maddi got sick, I started getting panic attacks. They started randomly, but I had eventually learned how to control them. I hadn't had one in a while but I had always known how easy they were to trigger.

Dreaming about her was different, It allowed me to remember her the way I chose to, as a beautiful and lively young girl. Often when someone else triggered a memory of her, my mind would instantly flashback to when she was sick and everything that happened with my father.

"Just wanted a change I guess" I manage to choke out, sounding surprisingly confident. Aiden gave me a confused look, obviously not believing my story, but I'm definitely thankful when he drops the subject.

"Alright Collins, I've successfully chaperoned you to the cafeteria, do I get anything in return?" Aiden smirks charmingly making me roll my eyes but smile at the palpable change of subject.

I hit his shoulder jokingly and scan the cafeteria, my eyes fall on the familiar petite brunette who is my cousin talking with an unfamiliar blonde, the blonde is also obviously in the cheer team as she wears the same outfit as Charlie. She smiles at me and flags me over. I walk over to her bidding my goodbyes to Aiden

"Em, I want you to meet Tiffany, this is Heather's daughter I was telling you about and also the cheer captain." Charlie smiles at me.

"Hey" I smile back in reply. Tiffany was extremely attractive, and by the looks of it, she knew. Her makeup was done to perfection and her hair was in a ponytail that looked as though it had taken an hour to style. I had recognized the name Heather as Mels other friend and was surprised to see Charlie talking to Tiffany when she had told me many nasty stories about her. It was pretty obvious how much Charlie hated her, but she had always admitted to being overly nice to Tiffany for the sole purpose of staying in the Cheer team as well as not being one of Tiffany's targets.

Tiffany doesn't say anything in reply and looks me up and down judgementally making me extremely uncomfortable.

"I thought you were prettier," Tiffany says in a judgemental tone before walking away.

"Fucking bitch" Charlie rolls her eyes at Tiffany's frame.

"Wow, you weren't wrong, she is the queen at the school" I comment in surprise as I watch the whole cafeteria part so she could walkthrough. The school acted in a similar way to the untouchables, like they were well, untouchable.

"She practically forced me to introduce you to her" Charlie comments angrily.

"Why?" I ask in confusion.

"I have no clue, when it comes to the queen bee at our school, you eventually learn not to ask" She replies rolling her eyes.

I nod my head in agreement, maybe she always had to state her position at the top of the food chain to all the newcomers.

Charlie and I walk over to Luke and Toby, by the looks of it, Toby's convincing wasn't going as successfully as he had hoped.

"Oh come Luke, it was ages ago and you didn't even like her, you used to be one of us and loved every second" Toby groans not realizing Charlie and I were in earshot.

I look at Charlie in confusion who just shrugs at me in response.

"What are we talking about?" Charlie grins, making herself known.

"I'm trying to get Luke to come and sit with us so that Mills and you will" Toby groans.

"Come on Luke, it'll be fun," Charlie says, obviously enjoying the untouchables company as much as I did.

"No way, Aiden sits there" Luke replies.

"Please Lucas, it'll be fine and you might even enjoy it, you can sit between Toby and I or Charlie" I persuade grabbing his arm and batting my eyelashes the way I had always used to as a kid when I wanted it to go my way.

"Agh fine" Luke groans.

I jump in excitement and drag Luke to the table right in the middle of the cafeteria where the untouchables all sat.

Toby follows, obviously as happy as me but I notice Charlie not looking nearly as happy as I thought she would be. I thought she wanted to sit with them as much as I did.

I let go of Luke's arm and slow down so I can talk to Charlie.

"What's wrong Charlie, we don't have to sit there if you don't want to" I whisper in concern.

"No I want to sit there, Toby's funny and Carter is like super nice" Charlie giggles.

Although I don't completely believe her, I drop it. She would tell me when she was ready.