Chapter Two

Day two of hating Jack began as a complete disaster. I woke up the next morning feeling like death, and looking even worse. In movies, everyone is a morning person. In real life, we’re lucky if we look remotely human getting out of bed. Trust me, I have tried multiple times to wake up looking like Beyoncé. I failed, big time.

I almost broke my alarm clock with the force I used to turn it off, roughly brushed my teeth and jumped straight into the shower. Brendan was no doubt going to be outside the house soon, honking his horn with impatience. He hated it when I was late. For my sixteenth birthday, dad had gifted me a glossy black, convertible Beetle, a car I had wanted since I was five. I use it all the time for shopping and partying purposes, but my house is on Brendan’s way to school. For the past seven months or so, since we had started dating, he’d been taking me to school everyday.

Tripping over my towel, I ran out of the ensuite and straight into my walk-in closet, commonly known as heaven. It’s about the size of half my bedroom, smells like happiness and is completely stocked with an endless list of designer clothes and a fluffy pink beanbag that I never use. There are many people in Hollywood that complain about having to dress up. I am not one of those people. Sure, it can be a pain at times, but trust me, life tends to run a whole lot smoother when you’re wearing a pair of Louboutins. Take it from someone who’s grown up around human Barbie dolls. If you want to survive at my school, you’ve got to bring something to the table. Even your off days have to be red-carpet worthy.

“Gia! Are you ready?” I heard Dad call from the foot of the stairs.

“Almost!” I yelled back as his footsteps grew distant.

Confidence levels were running low, and time to contemplate outfits was even lower. I grabbed my American Apparel strapless jumpsuit off the hanger and threw it on without a second thought, slipping my feet into my heeled Jeffery Campbell boots. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to reinspect yesterday’s purchases; I had been too busy hoping the whole bodyguard thing would end quickly and painlessly. I had sort of hoped that I’d get to look like a complete knockout, blowing Jack away with my fabulous looks and sense of style. Unfortunately, that didn’t look like it was going to happen. If only I had Mom’s personal makeup artist here to help me.

I grimaced at the reflection of my long, brown hair in the huge mirror, pouting at how much of a mess it was. Straightening it would take too long but curling it would take even longer. I also secretly believed that my hair was often a good indication of my stress levels. If that theory had any strength, I was going to be Disney’s new Lion King character before noon. I gave a frustrated sigh as I ran my fingers through it, hoping desperately that it would magically transform into a GHD advertisement. When it didn’t, I gave up and tied it into a ponytail.

Thanks to Jack and his beautiful face, I would now have to look top notch all the freaking time. This was a major inconvenience, because it meant I wasn’t allowed any of those off days I mentioned before. Heidi Klum could wear a garbage bag and still work it like a nine-to-five job. I, on the other hand, needed to put in a little extra effort. Clearly, crippling insecurity wasn’t something people tended to advertise with the perfect Hollywood life. What a shocker.

“GIA! YOUR BOYFRIEND’S HERE,” Dad called out, sounding annoyed.

I did some mental pep talking and reassured myself that I looked fabulous, given my small time frame. Grabbing my science book and studded Balmain bag off my bed, I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I jogged down the hallway, into the kitchen and straight into Jack, hitting against his arm. I gave a small groan as my hip dug into the tip of the kitchen island.

“Ow!

“Morning!” Jack greeted me cheerfully, still rooted in the same spot. He eyed me up and down, a smile appearing on his face.

I had chosen my outfit in a minute flat, my eyeliner wings were uneven, I had a little too much blush on, and I had a seventy percent chance of looking like a drag queen. If that smile was to say he liked what he saw, he was hopefully going to see a whole lot better.

“You’re still here?” I asked, a little out of breath from running.

“Gia!” Dad said sharply, coming up from behind me. I gave a small jump, startled at his sudden appearance. “Jack is here to help you, remember? Be nice.”

“Oh, that’s okay Mr. Winters,” Jack said, with a humble look. “I can understand that this must be hard on Gia. It’s all a process.”

I glared at him so hard, I thought my eyes were going pop out of my head. What a kiss-ass.

“I’m going to go show Kenny how our security system works,” Dad said, his tone suggesting a warning to me. “Breakfast is on the counter, and your boyfriend is still waiting outside. Tell him not to wake the whole of L.A. up with his car horn.”

I silently watched Dad walk out of the kitchen before turning back to Jack the moment we were alone. He was watching me, leaning against the fridge and sipping coffee out of my favorite mug. It’s pink and has a little Yorkshire terrier on it, just like Famous. Who, evidently, Jack thought was interesting, whatever that means.

“I just figured you’d have gotten the hint by now,” I said, shrugging casually. “It’s not too late to book a flight back to New York.”

“I don’t scare easy,” Jack replied, placing the mug down on the counter gently.

“Oh, really?”

Jack leaned in a little closer, as if he was about to reveal some huge government secret to me. My body stiffened, and I reflexively took a step back.

“No offense,” Jack said softly, and I raised an expectant eyebrow. “But I’ve dealt with a lot worse than a hostile teenager.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms over my chest. Hostile? Where did he get off calling me hostile? Okay, so maybe I was being hostile. And maybe that was kind of the point. But still! He didn’t get to stand in my kitchen, drink out of my mug and call me hostile!

“Well . . .” I began, struggling to think of a decent comeback. “Good for you.”

Brendan had definitely caused some damage to his car horn from the amount of times he had pressed it. I checked the time on my phone. It was 8.07 am. That was really late for Brendan. That was beyond early for me.

“Where is everyone, anyway?” I asked Jack, referring to the lack of housekeepers, who were usually bustling around the kitchen.

“Somewhere around, I guess.”

“Where’s my brother?” I pulled a plate of pancakes toward me. I took a mouthful, barely chewed and swallowed it whole.

“He left about five minutes ago. Chris drove him to school.”

“And you didn’t go with them?”

“And give up an opportunity to spend quality time with you?” Jack asked in mock surprise, as if I had just suggested we start eating our feet. “Never!”

I watched Jack silently, fiercely chewing on my pancakes as Brendan continued to honk his horn outside. He was dressed in jeans again, and he was wearing a plain black t-shirt that was a little tight so you could tell he had perfectly toned abs. His hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed, but not in a dirty and scruffy way. More in an I always look this sexy kind of way. Oh yeah, L.A. City Elite was going to love Jack.

“I have to go,” I said, leaving the food half eaten and swiping my bag and book off the counter.

I yelled my goodbyes out to Dad and Anya—even though I had no clue where she was—and kissed Famous on my way to the front door. Noticing Jack was right behind me, I turned to face him abruptly, slamming the front door shut.

“Don’t you have your own car?” I asked hopefully, clutching the science book to my chest.

“Of course I do,” he replied. “But I have to ride with you and your piece of meat, or whatever your dad called him.”

My cheeks flushed. “Brendan is NOT a piece of beef!” I cried.

“That’s the one.”

Clearly my dad had shared his personal views on my boyfriend with Jack that morning. I could only dare to imagine what else he had discussed with him while I was battling my bad hair day upstairs. Brendan, who was still furiously honking his horn, seemed to be having a fight with his stereo, and losing. He kept pressing all the buttons and yelling out “Damn you, track fifteen!”

“If we’re going to do this then I’m going to set out some ground rules,” I said firmly, and Jack raised his eyebrows, clearly amused. It was like I was a skydiving instructor and we were standing on the edge of a plane. “Rule number one, no touching me. Like, ever. Not even by accident. Rule number two, no flirting.”

“Well that’s not fair!” Jack protested. “If I’m not allowed to touch you then I should be allowed to flirt. It’s all I’ve got!”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied, looking at me expressionless. “Why, do you not have a sense of humor?”

“Not when it comes to you,” I replied. “Rule number three, minimal talking. People at school can get kind of crazy about a new student, and you’re . . .” I trailed off, eyeing him up and down. “Just try not to talk to anyone.”

“What if they talk to me first? I can’t not reply. They’ll think I’m weird.”

“You are weird.”

“You read articles about people who sleep naked, and I’m the weird one?”

Oh lord. I felt my cheeks begin to blaze up, immediately grateful that my sunglasses were covering the embarrassment in my eyes.

“Just don’t talk! Okay?”

“Do you give all your friends these rules, or—”

“Uh,” I said, cutting in. “We’re not friends. Your time here has an expiration date, and it’s coming up.”

Jack smiled. It wasn’t a full grin or anything, but he was clearly enjoying himself.

“GIA! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET IN THE CAR ALREADY!” Brendan screamed, roughly pulling a CD out of the player.

“He seems nice,” Jack said. I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Rule number four, no insulting my boyfriend.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Good, don’t.”

“Should I be writing these down?”

“You got a pen?”

__________

The first half of the day had gone painfully slow, and by the time lunch came around I couldn’t bear to introduce Jack one more time. I had told the cover story so many times, I was actually starting to forget why Jack was really around. I managed to find my short-lived escape when the lunch bell rang, bolting out of class and away from Jack before he could stop me.

Usually my friends and I would drive off campus at lunch, just to get away for an hour, maybe for a milkshake to brighten our moods. Not that we really need to, there’s a Starbucks at school. With Jack around, I needed that milkshake more than ever, but no one was interested in leaving. People were fawning over Jack like he was actually a Calvin Klein model. Even my best friends, Aria and Veronica, were sitting opposite me at our usual table, wide-eyed with curiosity.

“I’m just going to say it,” Veronica began, and I looked up from my lunch. “That Jack guy is the most attractive person I’ve ever seen.”

“What about your boyfriend?” I asked, pulling my sunglasses off the top of my head and putting them on the table.

“What about him?”

“I don’t think it’s even legal to look that good,” Aria added, inspecting her heavily rhinestoned acrylic nails. “I couldn’t stop staring at him in History. That boy is sex on a stick!”

“In more exciting news,” I said, desperately trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. “I’ve been dying to tell you guys something! It’s going to blow your minds, but you have to keep it on the D-L.”

“Oooo!” Aria said, leaning in. “This sounds scandalous.”

“So Mom called last night . . .”

“She’s dating Orlando Bloom?” Veronica said, looking hopeful.

“Even better,” I said with a grin. I paused momentarily, just for dramatic effect. “The Hollywood Foreign Press are considering me for Miss Golden Globe this year!”

Aria’s jaw dropped and Veronica clasped a hand over her mouth in excitement. My smile widened. It was just the reaction I had hoped for.

“No!” Aria exclaimed. “Shut up! No way! That’s amazing!”

I nodded and said, “I practically died! She said the person they chose had to back out last minute so now they have to find a replacement.”

“Which could be you!” Veronica finished.

I squealed in excitement, my friends joining in. Mom’s phone call last night had started off as the perfect opportunity for me to complain about my dad’s stupid bodyguard plan. But before I had even gotten around to mentioning Jack and the gross injustice I was facing, Mom had dropped the news on me about Miss Golden Globe, the coveted opportunity of a lifetime. Only the children of the very best stars are chosen for the chance to help hand out awards to the winners at the prestigious Golden Globe ceremony, and I actually had a shot! I had been so excited; I had completely forgotten to mention the bodyguards to my mother. I was too busy imagining what it would be like to get to hold the statues in my hands, looking like Grace Kelly, as I helped hand them out to the elite class of Hollywood. Maybe they would consider giving me an award just for doing such a fabulous job.

“So when do you find out?” Aria asked.

“I’m not sure, she didn’t say. But it’s already been delayed by a few months, so I’m guessing it’ll be soon. There’s no time to waste!”

“Hey guys,” Jack said suddenly, placing a bowl of salad down next to my chicken parmesan. “If I’m going to be your bodyguard,” Jack whispered, leaning in close to my ear. “I’m going to need a body to guard. Don’t disappear again.”

My whole body tensed as he eased into the chair next to me and gave a cheerful smile to Aria and Veronica. All the happiness that had been running through my veins had been replaced by dread within seconds. Even Aria and Veronica had forgotten all about my amazing news and were now beaming at Jack, completely oblivious to my discomfort.

“So Jack,” Aria began, looking at him from under her eyelash extensions. “How come we’ve never heard about you before? I mean, we’ve been friends with Gia since fifth grade, and she’s never mentioned you.”

I glanced at Jack uncertainly. He opened his mouth to reply, but I cut in between.

“That’s because he used to live in . . . Guam. We barely ever saw his family.”

“Oh!” Veronica said, clearly a little confused.

“Guam.” Aria repeated. “Isn’t that a fruit?”

“Of course not!” I snapped back, my voice becoming shrill. “It’s just off the coast of . . . Africa.”

Alright, I had no idea what I was talking about. I’m pretty sure I had only ever heard about Guam on TV, and there was a big chance that it actually didn’t exist. But it seemed random enough to fit my story. Besides, did Africa even have a coast? What is a coast?

“So, Guam. That must have been different than L.A.,” Veronica said, turning to Jack.

“Uh, yeah. Africa’s, um, definitely different.”

I bit my lip, reasoning with myself not to have a nervous breakdown. I could practically feel my organs shutting down from copious amounts of stress.

“So how do you like LAC Elite?”

“It’s a huge change from . . . Guam,” Jack replied, glancing at me with a smile. I stabbed my chicken with my fork, whimpering a little. “But I like it. I have to admit though, everyone seems a little overdressed for school. All the elite schools in Guam had uniforms.”

“Years ago, LAC Elite used to have a uniform policy,” Aria explained, tossing her insanely long, brown hair behind her shoulder. “But then all these mothers went all Real Housewives on the school and started to complain about how the uniforms weren’t good enough.”

“Our school is a little different from others,” Veronica added. She didn’t need to elaborate; we all got the picture.

Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise, and I wanted to kick my friends under the table. Now he probably thought we were all stuck-up, pretentious snobs who wouldn’t accept anything less than Chanel. Which was kind of true, but it wasn’t a great first impression to make.

“Hello ladies!”

I looked up from my stabbed chicken and saw Brendan walking toward me with Veronica’s boyfriend, Aaron. Veronica and Aaron have been dating for just over two years, and I secretly think they’ll get married. To be honest, I’m crazy jealous of Veronica. She’s a natural brunette, but in ninth grade she dyed her hair a blood red color and instantly turned into a sexy, supermodel look-alike. I had begged dad to let me dye my hair red as well, but he told me I’d look like Elmo, and he refused to father Elmo. To spite him I dyed the ends of my hair blue with one of those washout DIY packs. I looked liked an idiot. Thankfully it washed out in a couple of weeks.

Veronica has the perfect relationship with Aaron. He’s the kind of guy who unexpectedly buys her flowers and quotes poetry to her. But I didn’t get any of that. My relationship had been seven months of boredom, decent make-out sessions, and zero common ground. Brendan was great, but he was the anti-romantic. Once, he gave me half of his Hershey’s bar and quoted a scene from White Chicks. Hardly something to write home about.

“Hi!” I said a little too enthusiastically, as Brendan and Aaron approached the table.

Aaron pulled up a chair and sat next to Veronica, kissing her on the cheek. Aria was concentrating on Jack, and was completely unfazed by the lack of romance in her life. If it was possible, Aria was even more attractive than Veronica. But it was impossible for one guy to hold her down. It wasn’t like she went around making out with any male who passed her on the street, but the word “commitment” just wasn’t in her vocabulary. Plus, she could do the splits, which I think added to her appeal.

Brendan lowered himself into a chair next to me and kissed me on the lips. I went completely rigid, as if my body had temporarily paralyzed itself from sheer awkwardness. I didn’t know if Jack even cared, but I had suddenly become shy and self-conscious.

“Hey man. How’re you liking school so far?” he asked Jack.

Jack leaned back in his chair and said, “Algebra was torture, but so far, so good.”

“Algebra is definitely not the highlight of LAC Elite. But it gets better, don’t worry.”

Oh lord, why were they even conversing? Couldn’t they both just shut up and let me hyperventilate in peace? The two were clearly continuing their polite conversation from the car ride to school. It had been excruciatingly awkward until I finally got Brendan talking about the fight with his dad, who was apparently making him miss out on a bar hopping adventure with his best bud Danny that night. Instead, he was forcing Brendan to go to some college mixer where he was giving a speech about building a successful empire. Brendan had described it as “giving lectures and drinking expensive whiskey. My father’s two favorite things.” I’m not a fan of Danny, but I disliked Brendan’s dad far more, so I could sympathize.

Dad and I had been to a few of those lame mixers last year, so that I could suck up to the professors and deans well enough to slip into an Ivy League. But people were either extremely excited by my last name or extremely bitter. “It’s not a reputation you need, Gia. I’ve already built one for you,” Dad had said, when he finally gave up on his networking plan. “It’s really your grades you should be worried about.” Apparently my grades weren’t the only thing crashing and burning, now that my father had decided to hire full time protection without so much as an explanation.

Fortunately for me, getting lost in thought had allowed me to stop freaking out momentarily. Brendan and Aaron had lost interest in Jack and were talking about basketball, while Aria and Veronica were engaged in a deep discussion about Ellie Saab’s latest collection. I couldn’t join either quick enough to cut Jack out of the group. He leaned forward in his chair and eyed my untouched food with the fork protruding out of it.

“Not hungry?” Jack asked.

I pushed the plate away from me, frowning. “I’ve lost my appetite.” Jack laughed and pulled the fork out of my chicken, placing it on the tray. I noticed his food hadn’t been touched either.

He looked around silently, as if taking a few moments to soak in his surroundings. “It’s been a while since I was at school. It feels weird.”

Jack couldn’t have been much older than I was; he looked to be in his early twenties. He was definitely young enough to not raise eyebrows at a high school. He probably saw me as kid though. The whole schoolyard setting wasn’t particularly helping my cause. A thought suddenly crossed my mind, that Jack could potentially be a vampire. I mean, it was unlikely. But he was definitely hot enough to fit the quota, plus his skin was flawless. No sparkles though.

“You guys have a sushi stand at school?” Jack asked, turning to me with an incredulous look.

“Yeah, next to the waffle stand.”

“That’s crazy!”

“Why? It’s just sushi.”

“Yeah, but do you really need four sushi stands?”

I blinked at him. “We actually have five. There’s one the other side of the school.”

“Oh of course,” Jack replied wryly. “My mistake.”

“It’s not a big deal!” I shot back, suddenly feeling defensive. “We just have a lot of options.”

“You get options at a Burger King, Gia. This is something else.”

“Jack,” I dropped my voice to almost a whisper, making sure my friends couldn’t hear. They were too immersed in their own conversation to notice anyway. “You’re a bodyguard. Don’t you deal with rich people all the time?”

“Well, yeah,” he said. “But not like this. I’ve never seen wealth like this around people so young.”

“Jeez, its just sushi,” I mumbled, ignoring my phone as it let out a little buzz on the table in front of me.

Actually it wasn’t just basic Japanese food. Jack was completely missing the point. He thought he was just sitting amongst spoiled kids with overpriced shoes, eating overpriced lunch. But in my world, it’s not just about money; it’s about where you’re from. And if he was going to be around and survive, even if it was for a short while, he was going to learn that a pair of Alexander McQueen stilettos and five sushi stands represented a postcode and not just a dollar bill.

But I just shrugged and played along, not bothering to explain this to Jack. He wouldn’t have understood, and I’d have come across looking like a stuck-up brat, which was a reputation I was desperately trying to steer clear of. It hadn’t even been a proper twenty-four hours of knowing the guy and my self-consciousness was through the roof. I was so aware of every move I was making, I felt like someone had attached strings to me and was moving my arms and legs like a puppet.

Jack leaned forward and rested his arm on the table next to our untouched food. “So let me get this straight,” he said, pointing at Brendan, who was still immersed in conversation with Aaron. “He’s the quarterback and you’re head cheerleader?”

I looked at Brendan and then back at Jack. “I’m sorry,” I scoffed. “Does this look like a Bring it On movie to you? We don’t do that stuff here.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. You don’t look like the overly perky type anyway.”

I pursed my lips, not sure if that was a compliment or an insult. My phone buzzed again before I could reply, clearly annoyed that I hadn’t bothered to check my texts the first time it alerted me. The screen read “Unknown.” Without giving it a second thought, I clicked open. It read:

I’m always watching you
- DR. D

Alrighty then. Whoever thought that text was a good way to scare me clearly needed to up their game. Why would someone have secretly sent me a message and then signed it off? Didn’t that just defeat the purpose of the anonymity? Granted, I had no clue who this Dr. D was, but still. And how did they manage to mask their number? I had heard of private phone calls, but never a private text message. It wasn’t adding up.

“What’s the matter?” Jack’s voice broke into my thoughts.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re glaring at your phone. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, jeez.”

And it was. It was just a text, not a bomb threat. Okay sure, it wasn’t exactly normal. And Dad had hired Jack for a reason, right? What had he said about that threat to my life, again? I really should pay more attention when he speaks. I put the phone down on the table, but forgot to lock it. Jack leaned closer and read the text before I had the chance to snatch it away from him.

“Gia,” was all Jack said, his mouth forming a grim line.

“What’s up?” Aria asked me, as I glared at Jack. He clearly had issues with respecting privacy.

“Nothing,” I replied, waving a hand as if I was swatting a mosquito. “I just got this weird text. Whatever, don’t worry.”

“Who’s it from?” Brendan said.

“Don’t know,” Jack replied for me. “It just shows up with unknown.”

“Unknown?” Veronica repeated. “Can you even do that?”

At least I wasn’t the only one lacking knowledge in that department. “Clearly you can,” I said. “But it’s signed off with ‘Dr. D,’ which is pretty bizarre.”

“Do you know who that is?” Aaron asked, and I shook my head no.

“Try replying,” Brendan suggested. “Ask who it is.”

Jack leaned forward in his chair, shaking his head. “It won’t work. There’s no number listed, remember?”

Brendan cut his eyes to Jack. “Right,” he said, a few seconds after he probably should have.

“I heard once,” Aria said, looking dead serious. “That music producers watch their possible new clients for months in advance to gain more information on the type of person they are. It’s all part of a marketing strategy.”

We all looked at her blankly for a few seconds before Aaron finally said what we were all thinking. “What? That’s ridiculous!” he exclaimed. “Where’d you hear that?”

“Some guy at a party told me!” Aria told him defensively. “He said his dad was a music producer so he knows all about this stuff.”

“You really think a record producer is reaching out to me?” I asked, doing a half-assed job of stifling my laughter.

“It’s a possibility. I mean, maybe this Dr. D is some guy who’s been watching you because he wants to do an album with you.”

“Maybe it’s Dr. Dre!” Veronica said eagerly.

I gave her a, you can’t be serious look, but she just grinned back at me so I knew she was only kidding. Aria, however, took it seriously. She slapped her palms down on the bench as her eyes widened.

“Oh my gosh, MAYBE! How cool is that!”

Jack, who was silent through this whole ordeal, cleared his throat and we all turned to look at him. “I think it’s a definite possibility,” he began, looking at Aria’s keen expression. “But I highly doubt it.”

“Oh come on, Jack!” Brendan piped up, throwing a muscly arm across my shoulders and trapping my ponytail underneath it. “Don’t be so negative. Maybe Dr. Dre really does want Gia.”

I glanced at Jack and craned my neck uncomfortably underneath Brendan’s arm. He looked at me without a word and I turned back to Brendan almost instantly. How nice of Brendan to crush me under his arm like I was going to run off into the sunset with Jack at any moment. He may as well have just peed on me. That would have been a more subtle way of marking his territory.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Aaron said, stretching his arms out above his head lazily. “This is Hollywood. Someone’s always watching.”

My phone buzzed in my hand. Another text message popped up, again from an unknown number.

“I got another one,” I said, and all my friends leaned in to view the message.

And I’m closer than you think.

“Okay,” Aria said uncertainly. She looked at me with a frown. “I’ll admit that’s kind of creepy.”

A small rush of fear climbed up my spine. Couldn’t disagree with her on that one. As if we had all rehearsed it, my friends and I looked around the campus in unison, hoping to catch someone suspiciously peering at me with a phone in their hand.

“Well who do you think it is?” Jack asked.

It felt like every student on campus had suddenly had a violent urge to pull out their phones and start texting. Almost everyone I could see was tapping away on their keypads and screens. It could have been anyone.

“Gia!” A voice called out from my right.

I froze, immediately recognizing who it was. “Mystery solved,” I said under my breath.

The voice belonged to Meghan Adams, daughter of billionaire magnate Kevin Adams. She’s also my arch nemesis. Don’t be fooled by her perfectly styled strawberry blonde hair or her insanely large blue eyes. She looks innocent enough, but in reality she’s the most arrogant and self-obsessed human being, like, ever. Her dad owns a B-grade airline called “Air Adams,” but still manages to earn what seems like a zillion dollars each day. Over the years I’ve come up with many theories about how her family must get the money to sustain her shopping addiction. I’ve decided she uses some kind of black magic. Wouldn’t put it past her; she’s pure evil.

Not only does Meghan’s ego suck the air out of a room, she always acts like a complete angel around Brendan because she knows he’s attractive and lacking in the common sense department. But for the amount of people who hate Meghan, which is a lot, there’s an equal amount who adore her. Her two best friends, Lori and Mischa, never leave her side, acting more like bodyguards than Jack ever has.

“Meghan!” I said with fake enthusiasm, as she and her friends approached our table. “Come to feed on more innocent people’s souls?”

“Yeah!” Aria added, matching my mocking tone. “I didn’t know you could come out in daylight hours!”

“That’s hilarious,” Lori sneered, and I smiled at her sweetly.

“I just came to introduce myself to your friend Jack. Maybe show him around the school if he needed a tour guide or something,” Meghan explained with an innocent smile on her face.

Brendan removed his arm from my shoulders and rose from his chair. “That’s a great idea!” he said, beaming at her. “Do you guys want to sit down? Should I get some more chairs or something?”

“What are you doing?” Veronica asked him, with an incredulous look on her face. “She can’t sit here.”

“V, come on,” Brendan said quietly.

“Oh that’s okay Brendan,” Meghan said, giving him a bruised look. “I just came to say hi.”

Aria rolled her eyes as I glared at Meghan, slightly impressed that she could play the victim so well. Aaron glanced at Jack, who was watching the scene unfold silently. Brendan sat back down on his chair uncomfortably, avoiding my eye contact.

“I got your messages by the way,” I told her, holding up my iPhone. “I must say, I didn’t think cyber stalking was your style, but I guess it’s not completely unbelievable.”

To be honest, I didn’t think Meghan would randomly send me a stalker-esque message; it wasn’t her style. But I wouldn’t put it past her to go a little crazy when it came to making my life hell.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking genuinely confused.

“You didn’t send Gia a message saying you’re always ‘watching her’?” Aaron asked her.

Meghan put a perfectly manicured hand over her heart and gave me a hurt look. “I am deeply offended that you think I would be behind such a childish act,” she said, batting her fake eyelashes at me dramatically.

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Oh give it up Meghan! Everyone knows you’re a—”

“Did you know,” Brendan cut me off abruptly, fully aware that the situation would escalate if he didn’t. “That Dr. Dre wants to do a record with Gia? Isn’t that awesome?”

“Seriously?” Mischa said with a scoff. Meghan held up a hand, silencing her like the evil dictator she was.

“Oh,” Meghan began, unsure as to how to respond to that. “Yeah. That’s cool. I didn’t even know you could sing, or rap. Or whatever. Good for you.”

I smirked at her. It was clear she was biting back a snide remark to maintain her angelic reputation in front of Brendan, and give Jack a squeaky clean impression of herself. Brendan thought he was helping keep the peace on both sides, but really he was just making things worse for her and better for me. Lori and Mischa glanced at each other, struggling to keep in their own opinions.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Meghan.” Jack’s voice came from behind me, and I shot him a death glare. He gave me a shrug and his lips curved into a half smile.

“So I’m having a party this Saturday to celebrate Gia’s almost record deal. You guys wanna come?” Brendan asked.

It was like he was asking me to slap him. “Brendan!” I cried, my voice reaching a new octave.

“What?”

“I’d love to!” Meghan exclaimed, looking painfully smug. “You’ll be there, won’t you, Jack?”

Jack opened his mouth to say something and turned to look at my warning glower. He closed his mouth and gave Meghan a sweet smile.

“Absolutely.”

I reasoned with myself and took a deep breath. Stabbing Jack with a fork wasn’t going to help the situation, so I decided against it.

“Nice outfit, Aria,” Lori said, looking distastefully at her silver glittery skirt. “Of course, my mother always told me that a lady never wears silver in the afternoon. It makes her look cheap.”

“Really?” Aria exclaimed with fake fascination. “Well if I ever meet a lady, I’ll let her know.”

Veronica gave a bark of laughter and I glanced at my lap, suppressing a smile. At least I was polite enough not to laugh at Lori right in front her. Meghan kept her eyes fixated on Jack with a tight smile on her face, before spinning on her pencil-thin Louis Vuitton heels and walking off silently, taking long strides with her two loyal friends behind her.

“What the hell was that?” I cried, smacking Brendan on the arm the moment Meghan was out of earshot.

“Ow! What are you talking about? I just invited her to—”

“—a party that you’re not even having!”

“Who said?” Brendan rubbed his arm where I had hit him. “My parents are going to Boston for the weekend so I’ll have the house to myself. I was just about to tell you before Meghan came over.”

I took my bag and whacked him again on the arm. “So then why’d you invite her?”

“Gia,” Brendan said reasonably. “Don’t you think it’s time to give up these childish games? I mean, Meghan’s always making an effort and you come across as kind of bitchy.”

I gaped at him incredulously. He couldn’t be serious; there was absolutely no way. I mean, Meghan was a self-righteous concubine, and Brendan was falling right into her trap.

“Oh come on, Brendan,” Aria said, making a face. “Everyone knows Meghan’s evil and she only acts all innocent around you because she wants you to get in her last season’s Tibi pants.”

Brendan shook his head disappointedly and said, “You girls, she’s not even that bad! In fact, she’s actually pretty funny. The other day—”

“Oh yeah?” I snapped, clutching my bag as I pulled my chair back. “Well if she’s so freakin’ fantastic, then why don’t you make her your girlfriend?”

I hiked my bag strap onto my shoulder and pushed past Brendan roughly, leaving my sunglasses on the table. He tried to grab my hand to stop me, but I yanked it away and stalked off toward the lockers. I could hear Jack calling my name behind me, but I ignored him. Stupid Brendan could have stupid Meghan. If he was crazy enough to think someone like that was great, then he deserved her.

On top of that, Jack was proving to be more of a distraction than I had imagined he would be. His blonde hair made me want to read Shakespeare and use words like “glisten” or “scintillate.” The last thing I needed was a ridiculously attractive guy up in my face all the time, especially when my boyfriend was being such an ass.

“Gia!”

“WHAT!”

I whirled around and smacked right into Jack’s chest, which after all of this bumping into, I had realized was toned as hell. Jeez, he was always sneaking up behind me. I reminded myself not to run my hands down his abs, as it would be far too awkward to explain later. I took a step back and brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.

“Go away, Jack. You can be my bodyguard later.”

“What, did she steal your cheerleading routine or something?”

I glared at him. “Was that another joke? Because it wasn’t funny.”

“Not big on humor, I can see.”

“I don’t suppose you can have her . . . removed?”

Jack gave me a knowing look and said, “Gia, I’m a bodyguard. I’m not an assassin.”

I pouted. “Once again, you’re proving to be completely useless.”

“Oh relax, she’s just a girl. You can take her.”

“Meghan isn’t just some girl, Jack!” I practically exploded. “I hate her with every morsel of my body! This isn’t some clichéd high school movie, where we were best friends in second grade but now she hates me, even though everyone knows we’ll let it go and become friends again at the end. We’ve always hated each other, and we always will. Brendan knows that! Or at least he should.”

“Well,” Jack said, putting his hands in his pockets casually. “Then don’t go to the party on Saturday.”

I gave a deep sigh. “Well I have to go, now! Meghan will be there for sure, and if I’m not there something’s bound to happen between the two of them. I don’t trust her at all.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “But you trust Brendan?”

“Of course,” I replied quickly. “It’s just, Meghan will do something and he won’t have time to say no.”

Jack gave me pitying look and said, “I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that you may actually believe that, or that you’re trying to get me to believe it.”

“I don’t pay you to pass judgement.”

“Actually, you don’t pay me at all. Your dad does. And he doesn’t like the guy too much either.”

“Well I trust him!” I exclaimed, taking another step back. I figured I could subtly inch away from him, far enough to not be able to hear him. The conversation would have to end then. “I mean, I’d practically let him perform heart surgery on me! That’s how much I trust him!”

Okay, maybe I had gone slightly overboard with my “I trust Brendan” speech. Jack grinned and my heart started dance battling inside my chest.

“Gia,” Jack began, trying not to laugh. “I wouldn’t trust him with the game Operation. I doubt he even knows where the heart is located.”

“It’s a difficult organ to locate!”

Jack shook his head, but stayed silent. He didn’t need to say anything; his judgement was pretty obvious. I hiked my bag’s strap higher up my shoulder just as the bell signaling the end of lunch went off.

“Look,” I said, giving a frustrated sigh. “It doesn’t matter what you think. I know why I’m going to that party, and that’s what counts.”

“Whatever you say.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, flipping the tip of my ponytail behind my shoulder. “I bet you’re having a great time relishing in my pain.”

“I’m just here to do my job,” Jack replied, but his smile gave away his amusement.

“A job that isn’t actually necessary.”

“I think those text messages prove otherwise.”

“Seriously?” I asked, my irritation growing by the second. “That set you off? That was nothing! If I call Pizza Hut tonight, you’re not going to shoot someone are you?”

“Hilarious,” Jack said, deadpan. “But you don’t think it’s a tiny bit suspicious that the day after your dad hires bodyguards for your protection, some random person starts telling you that they’re constantly watching you?”

On the word “bodyguards” Jack lowered his voice, aware that we were in full eavesdropping range.

I let my arms fall to my sides, forcing all emotion off my face. “Well, I mean, if you put it like that . . .”

Brendan suddenly walked past Jack before he could respond, pushing him roughly into me. I turned around to look at him, just in time to catch the glare he had shot in Jack’s direction. It was Jack’s first day at school and he had already left a trail of destruction in his wake. The worst part was he didn’t seem to care that he was slowly but surely ruining my life. For him, I was a source of entertainment.

“Perfect,” I said, throwing my hands in the air with frustration. “Just freaking perfect!”

“And you thought your life was nothing like a clichéd high school movie,” Jack said, tilting his head to one side with a smile.

A jealous boyfriend, a manipulative arch nemesis, a creepy stalker and a frustratingly good-looking bodyguard. Throw in some pom poms and a stolen cheer routine, and I was the definition of a cliché.