I try not to drop the wine glass in my hand and kept the smile on my face. Onstage, Lucien's friends are having the time of their lives roasting him, the birthday boy. And all around me are the servers, my friends, and a couple of strangers that would absolutely judge me if I hurl right now. I'm reeling. Seb is acting crazy and he never acts crazy. He is one of the most sensible and logical people you'll ever meet. Thankfully, Seb is nowhere to be found. I don't think I can look him in the eye. All I could think about was my first day at Hector Park High, when I saw him and Brad in a diner for the first time in years. They didn't recognize me then, yet I panicked and left my diary. The diary I've now traced to be the reason for my extreme embarrassment at school the other day. Could Seb have picked it up? Could he be the one doing this to me? I shake my head at my wayward thoughts. This is Seb. I know him. We might fight every day of the week, but he would never do that to me. Or at
Kate Crawford comes at me with everything that she has. Her hands grip both sides of my head, taking a bunch of my curls in them, and her nails scrape my face as she let out a guttural scream. I stagger back at the surprise attack, almost losing my balance. "Kate! What the hell?!" I protest. "How dare you! I had nothing to do with those letters. Why would you tell Brandon Oh that I sent them?!" Kate yells at me, practically frothing at the mouth. "What the hell are you talking about?!" I ask her, still trying to defend myself from her attacks. What the hell is going on? Finding my chance, I wrap my hands around her wrists, stalling her move to slap me. Damn it. This is why Olive tried to stop me from going into the bathroom. "Okay, Kate, just...calm down. I swear, I have no idea what you're talking about. What did Brad do?" I ask Kate. She hiccups and suddenly, Kate becomes limp and starts to cry. I just stand there, still holding her wrists, not knowing what to do. "I know y
I stir and rub myself deeper into the comforter that surrounds me. Gosh, this bed is so warm. I can stay here forever. Wait... a bed? Without warning, I sit up, almost pulling a tendon on my shoulder at the sudden motion. I whip my head around, looking at my surroundings, and lightning shoots up inside my brain so I had to close my eyes again. I saw enough, though. I am in a room that I don't recognize. Where the hell am I? What happened? "Calm down. You're safe here with me." I scream at the voice and movement beside me. Seb. He's in the bed with me, shirtless. Panicked, I scoot farther from him on the bed, checking my own decency. Seb rolls his eyes, bringing an arm to cover his head as his head falls back down on the bed. The muscles in his arm flexed as he moved and I try not to stare at them, and especially not at his smooth chest. "Stop being so dramatic, A. It's not like we haven't slept together on the same bed before," he said, closing his eyes, his lashes impossibly lon
"How is he?" I ask Lucien as I see him exit Seb's room. Lucien silently closes Seb's door before turning to answer me. He has his stethoscope around his neck, probably one of the rare times that he has it on at home. "He's doing better, Ari. He'll be back in school tomorrow. You should get going or you'll be late." I nod but remain standing before Lucien, "Look, I just want you to know I'm sorry that Seb wasn't more present at your party. It was my fault." Lucien raises his eyebrows incredulously, "Why would it be your fault?" "He was mad at me and didn't want to see me." Lucien sighs, "No, I'm sure it wasn't you, Ari. I know for a fact how elated he is that you're back. I bet if he can have you glued to his side, he would do so. He was hiding from the party because of an argument we had the night before." I'm sure Lucien is the one who's wrong. Seb told me himself that he wasn't at the party because of me. But I am more curious about their argument so I dare to ask, "What
"Seb, please tell me you're feeling better and can go to school today. Kier's out of his wits, he's definit---" I stop, covering my eyes in horror. "Oh my God! I did not just see that!" I hear a crash beside me, presumably Seb scrambling to get dressed. "Why the hell are you naked?" I yell, heart pounding in my throat. Dear God. Why does this thing keep happening to us? It's really time for us to have a "Please Knock" sign plastered in front of both our bedroom doors. "What are you talking about?! This is my room. I was changing!" Seb shouted back, but I can hear laughter in his voice. "Shut up," I murmur, aware of the blush that took over my cheeks. He's right. I am the one who came into his room without an announcement. "Are you fully dressed now?" I ask him, never taking my hands off my eyes. His smooth, tanned skin burned behind my eyelids, and I would die of embarrassment if I saw it again. "Yes, I'm dressed," Seb replies, amused. "Right." I straighten up, still avoiding
Back when we were kids, Kier had told me about his first love. His first kiss. It was a cute little story. It was at a mall during one of his vacations in South Korea, a girl was crying because she lost an earring. Kier had found it and kissed the girl to make her feel better. And just like every little thing in my life, I wrote about it in my diary. For anyone, this bit of information getting revealed would be harmless. Not for Kier. That's because his first love, Nikki, is his fiancee's sister and they were just very recently seen leaving a restaurant together. Not only that, Kier's fiancee is famous. She is THE Ella Kingsley, and with Kier being the heir to Livingston Hotel, their marriage is highly anticipated and publicized in the news every single day. Sure, Kier had wanted out of the engagement for a long time, but I doubt he would appreciate this, considering he's still in love with Nikki. "Kier..." I can only utter his name as I stare at him sitting on his bed, with his he
I am in and out. Like the sun that rises above to be seen but is sometimes hindered by the clouds around it. "Ari, Ari? You're okay, right? Please tell me you're okay." I open my eyes just enough to see Cal hovering over me, our friends behind him. But then everything gets blurry and I had to close my eyes again. The next time I wake up, it was only Seb and Lucien by my bedside now, arguing again. They're always arguing these days. "This is the second time this happened to her. She should be seeing a psychiatrist." Lucien is telling Seb. "And you think she'll willingly go? You know her. It's a feat to convince her to talk to us, her own friends, about her problems. You think she'd just go see a therapist?" Seb replies. "So, you don't think she needs one?" Lucien asks. "No, I definitely think she needs one. I'm just saying..." I open my mouth to get them to stop, but the world dissolves again. The next time I open my eyes, everything is looking a bit clearer and I know I
His head hits the tile pretty hard, bounces, and I grasp it with my hand, fearing that it might hit the floor again. I feel a pull in my IV and I think my hand bleeds but I don't register the pain. "Seb! Seb, you idiot." I ask him, "Are you okay?! Seb!" "I'm...okay. I'm okay." Seb says, wincing in pain as he sits up. "Are you sure?" I ask again worriedly. "Yes...ow!" Seb grunts. "What? What is it?" I reach up to push his hair back, inspecting his head for bruises, while he looks at me amused. "Stop that," I tell him, pulling my hands back to myself. "Stop what?" "Looking at me like that. It's annoying." I say. "How do I look at you? I don't know what you're talking about." Seb says, then his face softens. "A..." He starts to lean in, and I get a good view of his eyes. Starview Magazine, one of the leading gossip papers in the country right now, has listed him as one of the hottest young heirs of our generation. A panel had talked lengthily about his eyes and I remember