Chapter 1

I'd always been fascinated about the differences between the male and female mind, notably the conversations I'd have with Henry would seem to cement that particular theory, including the current one we were having right now.

"I'm not saying that women should be in the kitchen," Henry used his hands for emphasis, running one of them through his chocolate brown hair with the stress of his incorrect statement at the beginning of our conversation. "It's just a lot more common for you girls to be in them than men," seeing as the conversation had begun with Henry stating that "women belong in the kitchen", he had somehow managed to dig himself a bigger hole than when he had started.

Valentina looked as if she wanted to pull her hair from the scalp, affirming her strong belief that Henry was incorrect in this conversation. Although, debates like this had become a rather common occurrence at the lunch table for us all. "You say one more thing," she outstretched her finger with authority towards Henry. I couldn't help but giggle at the terrified expression displayed on his features, "and I will throw that food into the nearest trash can I see."

Henry hastily pulled his sandwich out of Valentina's reach, cradling it like a new-born baby. "Fine, please can we just drop it then?" She looked over at him sympathetically before shaking her head and digging back into her own food.

"Shouldn't have said anything, Henry," I joked and took a short swig of my water bottle, delighting in the cold liquid running down my throat. He rolled his eyes in my direction before eating his sandwiches, keeping them at a cautious distance from Valentina.

Four of us were sat comfortably at one of the central tables in the cafeteria, the same one we seemed to find empty whenever we came in. My small, yet irreplaceable group of friends consisted of only myself, Henry, Valentina and April.

The four of us had been inseparable since we'd thankfully met in kindergarten, credited to our old teacher, Mrs Greeves for throwing the four of us together in a "bonding" activity, which went down a lot better than expected. Obviously.

Valentina had the most confidence out of the lot of us, asserting herself and winning the majority of class debates and arguments, mostly because not a lot of people were willing to step up against her, and for that, I admired her. Her natural hair was beautifully ringleted, a constant reminder that I had been unfortunate with my similar brunette hair, falling oddly with a mis-match of curls and waves throughout.

April and I lacked the trait of Valentina's conviction in a high school full of people that would agree. However, April was the sweetest person you could ever meet, combine that with her deep red hair, she was a walking saint. She'd continuously tie her hair away from the front of her face, usually into a ponytail or plait, something I also wished I could do. But it was safe to say that I was pretty talentless.

Lastly, Henry was like the male version of Valentina, although a little less self-assured. He was one of those people that could get along with anyone and not have a bad word to say about them. He was a natural charmer, enabling him to know practically everyone in the school on a first-name basis.

We were what most would call a disjointed family of friends, although I'm sure April would avoid referring to Henry on a brotherly level at all costs.

"Sav, check your one o'clock," I turned as discreetly to my right, following Valentina's usual instructions. However, I was simply met with the various individuals that I would see every day in the cafeteria. I swung back to Valentina with a questioning look in my eyes. "Other one o'clock," with a grin against my lips, I turned again to now see the three things that this school was unfortunate to have been graced with, the smile on my features fading instantly.

Josh Parker, Harvey Matthews and Tyler Brown. The only three names that could easily cause the hair to stand to attention on my arms and the goose bumps to pull their way onto the surface of my skin.

Valentina scoffed audibly as we watched them all walk into the cafeteria and perch down in their usual corner table, scowling around the room as if they were better than the rest of us, which would've been correct if they weren't already intimidating enough to everyone.

In order of who I found the least unnerving, Tyler Brown seemed pretty tame. He played football occasionally with our schools' team despite no-one ever seeing him attend any of the games. But then I wouldn't have been surprised if the three of them were too preoccupied cutting the heads off of chickens or maybe stealing toys from babies.

All I knew and observed about Tyler was that he always had a few girls wanting to surround themselves with him every time that signature side smirk would appear against his lips. Despite being rather terrifying to me, I'd hate to admit that I wouldn't mind seeing that famous smirk up close, directed towards myself.

Harvey Matthews was another one of them, his deathly glare giving him the ability to temporarily send me into shock, along with a lot of other people in the school. Therefore, I'd always keep my distance from him, mostly because I had never heard him speak and I couldn't imagine the sinister undertone of his actual voice.

Valentina, however, seemed to maintain a strong resentment towards him and although I would have probed her for more information about it, she could do nothing but become enraged at the sheer mention of his name, hence why none of us dared to ask her again.

Josh Parker on the other hand, seemed to sit on the most extreme side of the scale for intimidation, causing an unsettling feeling to run through me every time I would look at him. However, I couldn't help the perplexity that stood when I remarked how weak I felt when I would stare at his muscular physique, prominent in the white shirt he usually wore.

As much as I despised his good looks, Josh seemed to draw most girls to him like a magnet, yet not many could make it past the first wall that was, Joshua Parker. Most would get with him and never share a conversation with him again.

Fortunately, I would never and have never gotten that close, physically or mentally. But that was most likely because I would never go near the person that seemed to scare me more than he should've. Every rumour I would hear through the school about him would range from rather believable to completely absurd, yet I wouldn't have put it past him.

I understood that being this scared of three people like them was pathetic and somewhat irrational, but I guessed that it was more a fear of embarrassment from them than anything else.

My eyes remained locked on the three people in the corner, observing their movements as if they were animals in the wild. Josh struck my curiosity as he held a sharp knife against his plastic tray, spinning it between his fingers. I'm surprised he'd even gotten it into school.

Before I managed to spin my eyes back to my friends, Josh turned his head, catching my intrusive eyes with his, most likely puzzled about why some girl was staring at him as if I didn't have anything better to do.

My heart had other ideas as it raced beneath my chest and I felt my palms stick with the clamminess developing on the surface. I hastily turned back to stare down at my water bottle, lacking the stomach to even take a sip.

"The kid must've been unconscious for what, like a day?" Valentina questioned Henry as I joined late into the conversation.

"Who?" I asked unknowingly before Henry nudged his head discreetly towards Josh, now digging the knife into the tray and looking away from our table, thankfully. "What did he do?" I knew I shouldn't have been this intrigued about someone I'd never attempted a conversation with, but I couldn't help the curiosity.

"He held a freshman in a headlock last Friday," April mentioned, keeping her eyes away from their table, "a little too hard if you ask me."

"He's not as bad as you think he is," Henry defended as someone walked past and gave him a friendly nudge. Like I said, everyone liked Henry. "From the times I've spoken to him in class, he's pretty chilled."

"If you mean chilled as in a frozen cube of ice, then I would agree," I mentioned and looked back at Josh again, regretting the habit that it was becoming.

My eyes would continue to capture the knife in his hand, anxiously hoping that he was caught with it and suspended from the school. I couldn't help but imagining the way that he was stabbing into the tray was a foreshadowing sense of what he would do to me if I were to get in his way.

"Anyone hungry?" Valentina perked at my suggestion, sitting up in her seat like an obedient puppy. I'd been drinking my water since lunch had started with the intent of purchasing food, but the distraction of Josh and his friends had kept me preoccupied.

"Get some fries to share?" Valentina insisted on handing me a couple dollars, telling me that "I'd buy her something another day" before I stepped into the line of the cafeteria. "Lots of ketchup!" Valentina's loud voice sliced through the room as I turned to her impulsive shouting, creating unnecessary attention around us.

However, I was unable to stop myself from turning to Josh's' table, only to find three stoic expressions faced away from us, barely faltered by her shouting.

My cheeks fell into a reddened colour, causing my hands to press against them in the hope that they would cool down. Attention was something I loathed more than anything. I'm sure that it must've been up there with Josh in my list of fears.

"How can I help you, darlin'?"

I smiled at the obvious sense of cheerfulness from the dinner lady, seeming to enjoy her job a lot more than others I had met. "Just a portion of fries, please," she shouted something to the back before taking the money I handed over to her.

Before long, I was handed the plastic tray with a plate of fries on top, combined with a small smile from the dinner lady. "Ketchup is to the left," she joked with a small wink, causing my cheeks to redden again at her hearing Valentina from earlier, "enjoy!"

I stepped across to the dispenser of sauces, squirting the ketchup around the fries, surrounding them more than necessary. After placing the plate into a suitable position on the tray, I began to tread lightly back to our table, attempting to keep the food as steady as I could make it.

"Miss, you forgot your change." I heard the desperate calls from the kind dinner lady, prompting me to turn back to her with a small smile and with the intent to walk back to retrieve it.

However, I'd clumsily lost my footing at the sudden pivot of turning back to the dinner lady, feeling the sudden slow motion of slipping into something in the shape of another person.

I watched suddenly as the red sauce smothering the fries had been transferred onto a plain white shirt, similar to most people in the school, barley handing me the prediction as to who it was. The fries, along with the sauce, dripped down onto their black shoes, causing my hands to fly to my face, shielding the embarrassment of what I had just done.

"I am so—"

When my eyes scanned upwards again, I examined the red, irreversible stain covering the shirt, sinking against the muscular chest I'd unfortunately observed before. I felt sick as I spotted the familiar knife handle sticking out of the pocket of his jeans. My heart fell deep into my stomach as I imagined the look covering his features.

And that is exactly why I kept my head down and ran.