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It's been a week since my birthday and everything has fallen into place. It's been great between me and Reese. I guess it didn't take long for people to find out we are officially a couple. For the first couple of days, it was the juiciest piece of gossip around the school.

Many people think Reese is leading me on because I'm the daughter of a famous rock star, although I don't listen to the rumours. Reese also reassures me that it's just that. Rumours.

Instead, I focus on myself and my own happiness. Since I started high school, I was an outcast, a freak and hated for being famous and wealthy. As soon as people saw I was dating Reese Black, I started getting noticed more. I never wanted that sort of attention. I just wanted to be respected by others. No more hate.

I tie my white converse shoes, grab my backpack and pet the little grey furball on my freshly made bed goodbye. She looks up at me with her little blue sleepy eyes and I giggle. Adorable.

I make my way down the stairs and by the time I get to the front door, I hear my mother's voice calling me. Her stiletto shoes click on the white marble floor. "What is this?"

I freeze in my tracks as my mom holds up her phone. My eyes zoom in on the device and I wince when I see a video playing. A video of myself singing.

Oh no.

"It's-- uh..."

My mother raises a perfectly arched eyebrow, waiting for an answer. I know whatever I say won't make any difference to her.

"So you wanted to attend high school hoping for what exactly? Because seeing as this has gone viral, I can only assume this is what you wanted all along."

Nervousness builds inside my stomach as I look down, feeling ashamed. "You don't understand. I didn't know someone recorded me. It was just for fun."

My mother looks beyond furious, her brown eyes menacing. I notice the fixed scowl on her lips and a few fine lines appear on her forehead. "I told you not to go down this road, Marnie. You promised me, you said you wanted to go to public school so you could attend college. You were the one who said you wanted to study hard."

"I do. I--"

"So what exactly do you want to do with your life?" she crosses her arms and then she looks down her nose at me.

"I... I don't know yet."

She scoffs, shaking her head. "You're wasting your life. This lifestyle won't be good for you. Believe me, it never ends well. By the time you're my age, you'll be widowed with your own selfish brat to raise."

Tears well up in my eyes and sadness tore into my chest. I couldn't believe my mother could stand there and say such mean things to me. I'm her daughter, her only child.

"Mom please, I don't know what I want to do yet. I'm trying to figure it out."

"Just leave Marnie, you'll be late for school." Fighting with her won't solve anything. I can't win with my mother. I start to wonder that if I choose a path that my mother approves of, will she really be proud of me?

She has never praised me. Growing up, I've accomplished so many different things that my mother paid for, like piano lessons and ice skating. However, the only thing I wanted to gain was her love.

Hanging my head in sorrow, I leave without another word. One lone tear rolls down my face as I stumble into my Jeep. I bury my face in my hands and cry.

It's days like this that I wish I had my dad around. I miss him and I miss my mother. Somehow I've always felt I lost her since the day he left us.

Will I ever get my mom back? Will it be this way forever?

I meet Sky after class for lunch, I'm starving and cranky after this morning. We sit down at our usual table, she talks animatedly about a new show she's watching on Netflix and I feel slightly bad for daydreaming halfway through.

All of a sudden, she stops speaking and I frown. I peer up and notice Sky's eyes widening into saucers as she glances over my shoulder, a small blush rising in her cheeks. A figure looms over me, I notice his musky, earthy scent instantly. "Hey, Marns,"

He kisses the side of my face, sitting in the spare seat next to me. Sky makes a high-pitched, squeaky noise and she giggles into her hand. I snap my head in her direction and her whole face turns the colour of a tomato. Neither of us is used to his presence during lunch.

"Hey," I reply quietly while looking around the room.

Reese doesn't worry about the whole cafeteria watching us, actually, he seems completely oblivious to it.

Three of Reese's friends join our table. The dark-haired girl, Roxy and her boyfriend JJ sit next to Reese on the opposite side of me. The blond pretty boy with deep sapphire eyes sits comfortably next to Sky and opposite me. He smirks in her direction.

Sky and I stare at each other in complete awe. What is going on here? They don't usually sit here. I mean, they are popular.

Everyone else at the table eats their lunches as if this is completely normal. The only one missing from their group is the blonde girl with the blood-red streaks -- Harley.

"So, Marnie. Have you ever been clubbing at Cruise?" Matt starts a conversation out of the blue.

"Should I know what that is?" I chuckle.

"Matt, seriously? She's just turned eighteen." Roxy says.

"So? Maybe she went there on her birthday. I did. It was a sick night, remember Reese?"

Reese ignores Matt and the other boy turns to me. "It's a club, it's on the outskirts of town," he grins crookedly. "I didn't introduce myself properly at the dance, I'm JJ."

"Nice to meet you." I smile politely.

"She might have a fake ID, like the rest of us."

"Matt!" everyone else at the table apart from Roxy laughs.

"Guys, I'm serious! We could get into trouble if someone at the club finds out, and then we won't be able to perform again."

"Come on Rox, the owners of that club know we're underage. They won't say anything because we make their club full. Chill out."

How on earth have they got away with this for so long? What kind of club is this?

"So anyway, do you girls fancy coming to watch us perform tomorrow? It starts at eight." my ears perk up at the mention of them performing.

Sky's eyes narrow on Matt. "No thanks." my smile drops.

"Aw come on, sweetheart. Live a little." Matt nudges her and she blushes brightly. An annoyed expression takes over her face.

"One, we don't have fake IDs and two, we don't want fake IDs. Oh and three, I'm not your sweetheart asshole."

Matt roars with laughter. "Feisty little thing. Are you sure? I could hook you up?" he winks.

Sky sighs dramatically. "No thank you, I do not want to be hooked up."

"Actually, I think it sounds awesome. I'd love to hear the band play again."

Sky snaps her eyes toward me. Reese also watches me with furrowed brows. "I don't know if it's such a good idea Marns..."

"We won't drink any alcohol, we'll just watch you guys perform." I look at Sky with hopeful eyes, I could see on her face that she was caving. I grin in triumph.

"Yes!" Matt does a little victory dance. "You'll see how sexy I am on stage!"

Reese is tense throughout the rest of lunch. Before our next lesson, I pull him into an empty class to speak alone. "What's wrong?"

He looks down, deep in thought. He then drags a hand down his face, sighing. "I'm worried. Matt shouldn't have opened his big mouth." his forest eyes lock on me, they hold apprehension. "That club -- some of the people who go there are drunks. I won't want to leave you alone knowing you're not safe."

My belly flutters. Is he worried about me?

"I'll be okay Reese, I'll stick with Sky the whole night. I promise we will be responsible."

"I'm not worried about that. I just... what if some guy--"

I hold his face in my hands and our eyes connect. "I will be fine. Stop worrying."

He nods his head, his gaze falling onto my lips and I lick them involuntary. I notice how his eyes darken two shades and my insides heat up.

Reese leans in slowly, crushing his lips against mine. My body ignites into flames and I rise on my tiptoes, circling my arms around his neck. The kiss ends too soon and a second later he pulls away, clearing his throat.

"We should head to class." he tucks a blonde piece of my hair behind my ear and I nod. I follow him through the narrow hallway as we pass a pretty girl with shoulder-length blonde hair who brushes her hand against Reese's arm. "Hey, Handsome."

Anxiety bubbles in the pit of my stomach watching the girl gaze dreamily at my boyfriend. This is an odd feeling -- knowing I have competition for the most desired boy in school.

I hate the thought of competing against all these pretty girls and I'm slightly worried about being rejected.

Maybe my Mom was right, maybe I'm living on cloud nine -- thinking my life is like a cliché romance novel.

No, Reese told me how he felt at the bleaches and on my birthday. I'm his girlfriend. He told me he wanted to be with me, he wanted to take things slow with me. He cares too much to throw us away.

For now, I'll just have to see where things go. I don't want to come across as insecure, or jealous, especially this early in our relationship.

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