have just stuck with the original plan I had at the start of the semester: don't listen to whatever he says.

I didn't have the faintest clue who he was, yet, but if I had just stuck with my plan, I couldn't help but wonder what would've happened at the end of the year?

*

Groaning, I struggled to open my locker. I had entered the combination five times, and it still wouldn't open. What I tried to avoid, though, was pulling it like a girl from my Geography class did.

It was hilarious to watch when she forced it open and the metal door hit her hard in the face. Although I struggled constantly with mine, I wasn't stupid to not learn from her mistake.

Muttering some colorful words underneath my breath, I curtly kicked the locker below mine; not too keen on becoming the center of attention this early.

"Let me help you with that," a deep voice came from behind me. Turning around, I tried my best not to frown.

It was Cole.

Now, Cole Adler was your typical high school jock, 6'1 tall, with blonde hair, and blue eyes. He was handsome, and he knew it. Well, we all knew it since it was obvious, but Cole was something else.

He was a player.

I remembered Cole from middle school, and I couldn't help but notice how much he had changed from the last time I saw him up close.

As a young skinny boy with big rimmed glasses, he didn't attract the girls. Red spots were scattered all over his face and his cheekbones... well, his cheekbones just gave him a skeletal look. Puberty came along by fourteen, and Cole Adler was already filling out. The perfect example of how hard puberty hit teenagers.

When I called Cole a player, I wasn't jumping to conclusions from rumors I heard about him. I had evidence, not proper physical evidence, but I knew he was the major cause of the heartbreak most girls faced at school.

He just had to run a hand through his hair, give a fake smile, and that girl was captured.

I nodded my head in appreciation. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Anytime, Schatzi."

"So," I said, completely ignoring the way my heart skipped a beat when the German name rolled off his tongue. "Why did you come over?"

From what I knew, Cole Adler was German—cue the nickname—so it was more like an 'advantage' for him. I didn't know about other girls, but I found it attractive when a guy could speak a language other than English.

He ran a hand through his hair, a small smile playing on his lips. "I wanted to invite you to my party."

What?

I paused, turning away from my locker to look at him. "We just talked for the first time, and you're inviting me to your party?"

He made a sound of affirmation, and I furrowed my brows. I found it weird that he was inviting me to his party, but this was Cole Adler for crying out loud!

"I don't have a car," I lied. "So, I won't be able to make it."

Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the locker beside mine and smiled. And at that point, I understood why the girls at my school found it hard to say no.

"Don't worry, you can come in a taxi, I'll take you home."

I curtly sniffed the air to confirm if Cole was drunk, but I only perceived the faint scent of rosewood. Damn, he even smelled good.

"I don't know, Cole."

"I'll be expecting you," he said just as the bell rang.

Did he know my name?

I watched as he sauntered towards his group of friends before turning back to my locker. Shutting the metal door, I placed my bag on my shoulder as I thought of a believable excuse for my tardiness.

It was past five, and I was lying on the dark couch in my living room doing nothing. I picked my phone from the table beside me and scrolled through my dead Instagram account. Yes, I was one of the few individuals who stalked celebrities on Instagram.

That didn't sound creepy at all.

Scrolling through my feed, I received a text from mum which I opened immediately. Once again, her flight was delayed and she still had some things to sort out. I didn't understand what those things were, but she never gave me a specific answer when I asked.

As a flight attendant, Mother was rarely ever home and when she did come back, she had to leave the next day.

She wasn't always like this, and even if we didn't have the perfect mother-daughter relationship, I believed we used to have a great bond.

On the night of the accident, I didn't lose only Father; I lost a large part of my Mother. Things weren't the same after then, and I wondered if they were ever going to return to normal.

In the middle of stalking, my mind kept diverting to Cole's party. Although I had attended one or two parties in the past when I thought it was going to be a great distraction, I hadn't been to Cole's party.

The fact that he invited me made me curious, and no matter how much I tried not to think about what the reason for the invitation could be, I knew it was a failed attempt.

A wise man once said: Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures. I could as well attend his party, find out the reason he invited me, and satisfy my curiosity.

Standing from my position on the couch, I walked up to my room to pick an outfit. Overdressing wasn't included in my dictionary, and even if a tiny part of my heart wanted to make an impression on Cole, being comfortable was all that mattered.

*

Okay, so the original first chapter was really, really long. So, I decided to cut it short and...well, here it is.

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