One

Skylar's POV

I felt like I would break apart. I could almost hear my heart shattering into a million pieces. Every possible emotion overwhelmed me, but only one stood out more than the others,

Misery.

All because today was Monday.

The day that leads to a whole week of school. What can I say? I hated waking up so early –for such purpose– with a burning passion.

It's not like I got bullied, had to go through mean girls, or had really bad teachers.

It just wasn't my thing.

I preferred to sleep more than anything. Except for cupcakes, of course. Which was the only reason why I had to drag myself out of bed.

"You've got exactly one minute to get downstairs before I eat all these cupcakes." Alex threatened over the phone. "By myself."

That was the meanest statement I'd ever heard. One minute I wanted to sleep like a bear and the next, I was blackmailed into rummaging through my closet to pick out a decent outfit.

Settling on a hoodie and leggings, I rushed downstairs, and out of my house without saying any goodbyes. It's not like I had anyone to say goodbye to. My parents were lawyers, meaning that they woke up extra early and came back sometime after midnight.

I didn't complain though. I wasn't much of an attention seeker when it came to my parents. And it wasn't like I never saw them. They had jobs and I had school, besides we had our moments together.

"God, you're such an elephant for cupcakes." Alex commented as I sat down inside his car. "What took you so long?"

I rolled my eyes, placing my bag on my lap. Alex hated my sleeping schedule. He was jealous of the fact that my sleep was more of my best friend than he could ever be.

That's why I didn't tell him that I'd been asleep until he called me. It definitely would've given him a chance to keep those heavenly cupcakes to himself.

"Chicken got in my way, and I tripped...landing my foot in the um, cereal box, and spilling them everywhere. I needed to clean the mess." I ended the lie with a small, fake laugh. A very awkward one.

Who even laughs just after waking up?

"You know how much I hate making a mess." I added. "Especially in the mornings."

I knew that excuse was rubbish and Alex knew that too. Because firstly, Chicken (my cat) didn't wake up until I came back from school. Secondly, I never gave a shit about messes in my life.

Alex, being the best friend he was, chose to ignore my lame excuse. He threw me the paper bag and I clutched onto it happily, knowing what was inside it. However, sudden dread filled me out of nowhere when I opened it up and found crumpled tissues inside. I pulled them out hoping that I'd somehow find a wonderfully sweet cupcake buried deep underneath. But nothing like such happened.

I looked up at Alex who was focusing on the road ahead. A serene expression on his face as if he hadn't just given me tissues instead of cupcakes.

"You cannot do this to me," I whispered in horror.

A slow smirk tugged on his lips as he kept on driving.

"You are evil, Alexander! How could you do that? I thought you loved me!" I whined before slumping down into my seat, crossing my arms with a frown.

He chuckled before pulling into the school parking lot. "The day you'd wake up early, would be the day I'd give you real cupcakes, Sky." He said. "And besides, the bakery was closed."

I clenched my fists and glared at him.

"You're meaner than Severus Snape!" I snapped.

I don't even know why I said that. Snape wasn't that mean.

Maybe because my head was still wrapped up around Half Blood Prince, the movie I had watched last night, and Snape was kind of mean in that part.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval before stopping the car. "Stop being so dramatic. If I hadn't bribed you with cupcakes, you would still be in your bed."

He knew me too well. But at least, I had something to look forward to. "It's not good to play with feelings," I remarked.

He chose to ignore me, again.

"Don't stay inside here for too long. You'll be late for class." He said before getting out. I watched him join his football friends, various girls sneaking glances at him.

In addition to being on the football team, Alex had that blond hair that everyone fell for. Seriously, it was way too easy. Girls fell for him way too easily.

I, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Guys never spared me a second glance, let alone fall in love with me. All because I cared for my sleep more than my social life. Besides, most of the guys at my school preferred the blondes over brunettes and unfortunately, my mother didn't pass her genes on to me, which sucked, to be honest.

As a result, I had never been on a single date. I was only ever found third wheeling along Alex's side. Alex was the only person who actually cared about me. We'd been friends since we were children.

I couldn't say the same for my parents though and I couldn't blame them either. Things always worked a certain way with my parents and we were never exactly a cheerful family.

I gathered my things and exited the car, sighing as I shut the door behind me. No cupcakes plus no sleep equals a really angry Skylar.

I would make him realize what a big mistake he made.

Plotting the best revenge plan of the century, I made my way towards my locker. Most people were gossiping like always, chatting, applying makeup, not so discreetly eyeing the boys.

Typical high school morning.

"Hey, Hanna." I greeted with a small smile as I approached my locker.

I didn't usually acknowledge people in the hallways, but Hanna was pretty much the same as me; she was more of the quiet type and didn't care much for the latest gossip. And since she was my locker buddy, I couldn't just ignore her.

She mirrored my smile, then left for class. Out of the two of us, I was definitely the talker.

After struggling to open my locker, I pulled out my textbooks and internally gagged realizing that I had Physics first and Mr Frank had probably graded our tests papers by now.

Could this day turn out even worse?

All of a sudden, the bell rang, indicating the start of first period and pulling me from my thoughts. Most people started rushing to their respective classrooms. As for me, I leaned my forehead against my locker wishing that I could just disappear and sleep, wishing that I was anywhere but here.

Preferably my bed.

Finally, after much deliberation, I took a deep breathe and started walking towards my classroom.

Maybe, Mr Frank had somehow gotten sick over the weekend and wasn't here today. Maybe, there will be no graded test papers or Physics today. Maybe, when I enter the classroom–

Perhaps I was too lost in my intense thoughts to see the person in front of me. Apparently, he hadn't seen me either because he seemed to be in quite a rush. Because he was in a hurry and I was daydreaming, I slammed into him and fell backwards, right on my butt.

Right after you accidentally fall down, you expect the guy to give you a hand and help you up, right? Especially if he was the reason for said fall. I expected that too. But when I managed to look up with a small frown, he was nowhere in sight.

I glanced behind my shoulder and huffed in annoyance when I saw him walking away towards the grounds, not even bothering to throw a fake apology towards me.

Slowly getting up, I dusted myself off and rolled my eyes almost in disbelief.

I didn't even have to look back at him to figure out who he actually was. There was only one person who was capable of such disgrace.

Caden Miller.