"Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry but I can't—ouch! What the hell, Ember?" Corry whines as he rubs a red mark on his forehead.

"It was only a pillow," I smirk at my twin. "Don't be such a baby."

He narrows his eyes at me, then, leaning against the large blue arm of the sectional couch everyone has settled on for Gabby and Gianna's weekly movie night. "I'm not."

"Whatever you say." I smile, stretching my legs out in front of me.

Gabby loops around the couch with a stack of DVDs in her arms while Felicity and Paris come down with big bowls of unhealthy snacks in their arms. I ogle at chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter cups, popcorn, Doritos, spicy Cheetos, chips and salsa.

Corry picks up the 'weapon' and examines it. "What is in this pillow? Rocks?"

"Rocks? Really, Corry?" I snort. "Don't tell me a few feathers hurt you!"

"It has heavy beading all over it, excuse you."

"Ohh," I wave my hands. "Beading! How dangerous!"

"Okay! Enough, you two!" Gabby shushes from in front of the giant flat screen TV that commands the space of her expensively furnished basement. "Before I hit you with rocks!

"Pillows!" I shout.

"Whatever!" She rolls her eyes. "What do you guys want to watch? We have the latest James Bond, Transformers, Pulp Fiction..."

She names off a few more movies I don't quite hear as I stare at the phone in my lap. I can't stop reading the cryptic messages from Derek's friends and thinking about the marker on my car. It would be dumb to assume they're done with me—but I hope they are. I hope whatever is going on doesn't involve me.

"Oh my God doesn't one have Channing Tatum in it?" Felicity squeals.

Think about it later, I tell myself and shove my phone in my bag, throwing it away from me so I'm not tempted to check my messages again.

"Channing Tatum?" I grab a handful of pretzels and pop them into my mouth all at once. I'm more of a Hemsworth type of girl myself but I mean Channing Tatum does have really nice abs.

"I wouldn't mind watching that," I offer. "I love Scarlett Johansson!" A pillow bounces off the side of my face. I glare at Corry and he looks everywhere else but me, acting super innocent.

"You know as the only guy here," he says for the millionth time. "I think I should have the say on which movie we watch."

"You do," Paris points out.

"You know what I mean," Corry replies.

"No, I don't. Care to elaborate?" she challenges. Paris hops onto the couch across from him and crosses her arms over her chest. Paris loves Channing Tatum as much as she loves Drake. Which is really saying something.

"Umm... guys don't watch chick flicks...?" His statement comes out as more of an unsure question when he's met with four equally menacing glares.

"Don't worry," Gabby assures him. "Your masculinity will be intact. It's just a movie."

"At least Scarlett Johansson is hot. Maybe she'll have a nude scene."

I almost choke on my Dr. Pepper and Gianna punches him in the shoulder.

"It's kind of a bad idea talking about seeing other girls naked in front of your girlfriend." Paris fake-whispers to Corry. Gabby and I exchange looks from the floor and Felicity smirks. Paris shakes her head.

His face goes pale and he wraps Gianna in a hug. "I-you-I-I mean, I, uhmm— I'll always prefer, you know, to see you naked over Scarlett Johansson! You look way better!"

This time, I choke on my drink, and Paris smacks my back repeatedly. Oh dear God!

"Oh come on! Talk somewhere else!" Gabby shouts from the floor. "This is my little sister you're talking about!"

"Yeah!" I gasp, hurling another pillow at my brother. "That's gross!"

"Especially when we're eating," Felicity adds.

Gianna, however, bursts into laughter, pulling him close and planting a long kiss on his lips. "How sweet of you."

"Oh come on!"

"Not you too!"

"Away with your nasty selves!"

"Fine, fine, we'll stop," Gianna announces and Gabby and I break into furious applause.

"Thank God!" my best friend sighs.

"You're just jealous," Gianna teases playfully.

"Okay! The movie's about to start!" Paris announces. "Everyone shut up!"

The movie starts with the gentle murmur of a piano playing off in the distance and cuts to a scene of roaring gray waves crashing against massive boulders lining a shore. The sky is a depressing overcast.

I lean back against the cushion and pop more pretzels in my mouth, eyeing the brown bag lying on the floor a few feet away.

Maybe if I—

No! No, Ember!

A girl dressed in all white stands at the shore, tears running down her swollen and red face. The wind whips her dark brown hair into her blood-shot blue eyes. There is something unsettling and familiar about this scene. Scarlett Johansson freezes, fear in her eyes, and turns to see a group of boys running in her direction. They're all laughing and calling something out to her and she flinches with every word.

"What was this movie about again?" I whisper to Felicity. She looks from me to the screen and shrugs.

The movie progresses into the guys circling her and making fun of her. They call her fat and ugly and that no one will ever want to be with her. I sink deep into the cushions.

Yikes.

There is a particular boy out of the rest whose words seem to hurt her the most. She cries and runs away screaming that she'll never forgive them for making her feel so low. The movie progresses to the girl, Cara, leaving her ocean-side hometown to go live with her Aunt May in New York.

Her whole transformation is of epic proportion. Cara changes her hair color to blond, works out to get a killer body that makes every boy in New York drool over her. Her clothes are different. Her makeup would make a beauty guru on YouTube swoon. And then she returns to the town she left behind, blowing everyone away with her sudden hotness. Her tormentors can't believe that she's the same girl. They pursue her. The one boy in particular (Channing Tatum) tries to hang out with her and acts like the biggest sweetheart in the world. She lets him in and they get along great. There's some random conflict. And finally in the end, they end up together and live happily ever after.

"Well that was good," Paris says when the end credits begin. At the top of the screen it reads 'based off of the best-selling novel'.

"It was okay, I guess." Gabby says, sounding just as bored as I feel. I look to see Corry and Gianna fast asleep.

Felicity scrolls through her phone, looking up and wondering, "Oh it's done?"

I look at the cover, confused. "Why is it," I begin. "That in every book and in every movie, the girl goes through a huge makeover to get the guy, but then all he has to do is act like a sweetheart?"

Gabby cocks her head to the side. "I don't know. I never thought of that before."

I shake my head, ready to say more, when familiar phone bells fill the air. Corry jolts awake almost instantly and my brother and I look at each other with identical concern. That ringtone is our mother's—what could have happened for her to be calling us now? She was supposed to be at an office dinner.

I dive across the couch and yank my phone out of my purse, staring at her name flashing on the screen. Two missed calls? How is that possible?

"Hello?" I answer, uncertainty clear in my voice. She didn't get into another bar fight, did she?

"Ember," a gruff voice says from the other side of the line. My stomach drops and Corry stands up when he sees horror in my expression.

"What are you doing with my mom's phone, Cross?" I demand. My friends lean forward and Gabby motions for me to put the phone on speaker. Corry has already stormed upstairs to grab his keys and Gianna races after him, yelling for him to calm down. My stomach churns painfully in my abdomen. "What's going on?"

"Your mom was at a restaurant I work at." Though he speaks rather calmly, I don't miss the edge in his stoic voice. "I—I think you guys should come and pick her up."

"What?" My heart pounds so hard in my chest that the world becomes fuzzy. "That's impossible! She's supposed to be at a work dinner—" I stop and exhale slowly. I shouldn't be so surprised.

"Well, I don't know about that. She was getting a little too friendly with some jerks," Hayden tells me carefully and I swear I'm going to be sick. Corry lets out a string of wild curses, demanding that he talk to our mother right now. "You know, some weirdos from out of town?" Hayden reminds me. "I thought it would be a good idea to get her a ride home. She doesn't have any cash on her for a cab so I used her phone to call you."

These two months have been horrible, but now it's starting to feel like a nightmare. "Where are you guys?" I ask when Corry returns to the basement, no trace of peace or playfulness left in his expression. He holds out his hand and I grab my bag, following him outside.

"We're at Bar 45," Hayden tells me. "Don't worry. Your mom's with me."

But I am worried. In fact, I'm absolutely terrified.

Of course—of course, Stacie Chance would manage to flirt with literally one of the worst possible people to flirt with. Of course, somehow, someway, Hayden Cross would be there. Not to make it worse, in this case. But still!

Corry and I race out the front door with Gianna and the others on our heels and I stumble into Corry's car, my dizziness intensifying.

"Is everything okay?" Gabby wonders. "What's going on?"

"I hope so," I tell her, blinking back tears of frustration. "We'll be right back."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Gianna asks. Corry shakes his head and starts the engine.

"We shouldn't cause a scene." The harsh edge in his voice tells me that that's unlikely.

"Call us if anything happens, okay?" Gabby asks urgently.

I nod at her and say to Hayden, "We'll be there in two minutes, Cross. Don't hang up the phone."

"What the hell is he doing there?" Corry demands. His voice cracks with anger and he whips out of the Hansen's driveway, speeding down the quiet little street and onto the main road like a maniac.

"He works there."

"I can't believe her!" he fumes. "Who has a company dinner at Bar 45? Drug dealers! Not lawyers!" A car honks when he accidently swerves into oncoming traffic.

"Calm down!" I scream when he jerks the car to the side again and speeds up. "We need to get there in one piece!"

"I can't believe it!" my brother continues. "I can't believe it! One more time—I told her! One more time and we're going to Louisiana with Gran!"

Gripping my seat, I swallow the lump in my throat, and count down the minutes until we get to the bar. "We're not going anywhere, Corry."

"Why, Ember?" he hisses. "Why not? It's not like she can take care of us!"

"How far are you?" Hayden asks. I forgot he was still on the phone.

"Five minutes." I bite. And then those five minutes turn into two, and then one, and finally we're in front of Bar 45, sprinting across the packed parking lot. Hayden and my mom are sitting on a bench in front of the colorful patio and it takes a lot of self-control not to grab her and shove her towards the car.

"Mom!"

"Emma!" she beams and my chest tightens more than ever before. It was a nickname my father gave me when I was a baby and I've refused to be called that ever since he died. "Hello! Corry!"

"What are you doing here?" I ask her when she teeters to her feet and comes at us with open arms, her blouse torn at the bottom. "I thought you had dinner."

When Corry ducks out of her arms, she staggers towards me, and I hold her hesitantly, ignoring Hayden's heavy gaze.

"I did!" she hiccups. "And then I came here! I love it here! I met some friends!" This time, I look at Hayden and he clenches his jaw. "But I couldn't go to their party," she continues, sadly. "Hayden said you needed to talk to me. I didn't know you two were friends!"

"Y-yeah," I gulp. She puts all of her weight on my body and I have to lean against the patio railing to keep us up. "But, first, I need to talk to Hayden. Corry! How about you take her to the car?"

Crossing his arms, he doesn't move.

"Corry?" I repeat, frustrated. This isn't the time to be throwing a temper tantrum! Why doesn't he understand the severity of what's going on?

Because he doesn't know. And he doesn't need to know.

Hayden walks up beside Corry. "She said something, man." My brother looks like he wants to punch Hayden in the jaw. Thankfully, he doesn't, and takes Mom by the arm instead.

"Be quick, he growls. I return his words with an irritated glare. I'll deal with him later. But first...

Turning on my heels, I face Hayden. He shoves his hands in his back pockets and regards me with cool gray eyes, a cigarette between his teeth. When did he get that?

"Spill," I order. "Who were those people?"

"Who do you think?" Hayden spits, folding his cigarette between two long fingers. "There's a lot of them here right now, Emmy. You need to keep a better track of things."

"I can't exactly control what she's going to do," I answer. There aren't many people on the patio tonight—the past few nights have been unusually cold—but there's enough to where we get a few curious stares. Hayden steps closer and I mimic his stance of folded arms and serious eyes. "She's never been here before."

"Neither have they."

"That's wonderful." I frown. "They wanted her to go to a party?"

Hayden nods. "Not the kind of party anyone wants to go to."

"Oh God." A sour taste fills my mouth and I wipe at my lips in disgust. "Those pigs."

Gray smoke slides from his lips. "She's lucky I was her waiter. I'm lucky she was drunk enough to listen to me."

"Thanks," I say, fidgeting with the sleeve of my sweater. "For...what you did."

Hayden chuckles. "I know you think I'm a horrible person, Emmy. And I know I haven't exactly proved otherwise, but I'm not going to let someone get hurt because of our nonsense. I'm not that bad."

"But you are bad, right?"

His frown transforms into a wicked grin. "Yes. And whatever's been happening doesn't change anything."

"It should," I tell him.

"There's nothing to worry about," Hayden says in a low voice. "If you stay away."

I narrow my eyes and grab the cigarette from his lips, tossing it behind me. "You keep saying that but I don't believe it. How am I supposed to stay away when Trouble keeps calling my phone? What am I supposed to do? Lock myself in my room?"

"It's not my fault karma is having its way with you, Emmy." Hayden pulls another cigarette from his pocket and I lunge for it. Hayden holds it high above his head. "That's what happens."

"The only one who's doing bad is you!"

"Don't act so innocent," he growls. "Now, I gotta get back to work."

"You're insufferable, Cross."

"Maybe. But I'd rather be insufferable than dead."

* * *

"Have I ever mentioned that I hate Monday mornings?" A voice says from beside me.

I abruptly look up expecting to see Hayden ready to start his week of torment, and stifle a gasp when Nate Lincoln smiles down at me, hair still damp from showering, his eyes practically glowing in the white light of Valleyfield High's library.

Wait, he's talking to me. Why the heck is Nate Lincoln still talking to me?

It's not like I gave a good impression at his party. Or any impression for that matter.

You can't really do that if you guys didn't even see each other.

"No, but I'm with you on that." I answer coolly. How I did that is beside me. "I shouldn't be up before the sun itself decides to rise. That should be illegal or something."

Nate laughs. "So what did you do this weekend?"

I look at him.

"Nothing really," I shrug. "Just watched some movies. What about you?"

He runs a hand through his light hair and shrugs. "Nothing exciting."

"Seems like we both had exciting weekends," I laugh.

"Yeah," he grins and looks around the library. "I didn't know you had Study Hall."

"I don't, actually. I was just doing some work."

"Well, you do know the period starts in two minutes, right?"

"Crap!" I look at my phone. "I swear I didn't hear the bell ring!"

Nate bursts into laughter and I almost fall out of my seat, shoving everything into my bag as fast as I can. I am not getting another detention for being late. Hell no!

"Don't worry. Just get a pass from Mrs. Christy."

Nodding vigorously, I mumble, "Good idea."

"We can walk to call together."

"Yeah, yeah, good idea—oh." I freeze. Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, I say, "Sure."

I heard that correctly, right?

Thankfully, the school librarian doesn't give us much of a hard time for a late pass, and the bell signaling the start of class shrieks the moment we step into the hallway. The hallways are nearly empty aside from a few stragglers.

"Mrs. Christy is the best," I say, staring straight ahead like my life depends on it. Nate's arm bumps mine as we walk.

"Yeah. So, you said your weekend was pretty boring?"

"For the most part," I admit. Except for the part where my mom almost went home with a bunch of criminals if it weren't for my arch-nemesis' intervention. "My weekends are usually pretty chill."

"I know what would stop that from happening this weekend," he begins.

My heart thumps in my chest. "And what's that?"

I have a feeling I already know the answer to my question.

"Go out with me Saturday night?" Nate asks when we reach my first period class, catching my wrist and turning me towards him.

I. Can't. Believe. It.

"L-like a date?" I stammer. Am I dreaming? Did I fall on my head? Did I eat some bad breakfast and now I'm hallucinating?

"Yeah," he smiles.

I take a step back into the room and suddenly trip over something that catches my ankle. Our eyes momentarily meet.

And then it happens.

Bone-chilling water hits the top of my skull and drenches me to my toes. The sound that emanates from me does not sound human.

"Holly shit!" Nate yelps.

People burst from the doors of surrounding classrooms in alarm.

I close my eyes and exhale deeply.

Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out.

The anger bubbles at the base of my stomach grows with every drop of water sliding beneath my clothes until it's hot in my throat.

"We had class outside today," Hayden Cross says from behind me. "I decided to stay back and make sure you knew that."

"Cross."

I turn around to face him when a bright white light momentarily blinds me.

"How should I caption this picture?" Hayden asks, holding his phone up. Lunging towards him, I grab for the phone. Hayden snatches it away quickly. "Nuh uh, I don't think so, Emmy."

So instead, I spit the water that has pooled behind my lip right in his face. It conveniently sprays all over Hayden's face. His smile doesn't falter when he slowly wipes the water from his cheeks. A few people stifle giggles and my eyes flicker to Nate. He looks both amused and horrified.

"Get a life, Cross."

Hayden laughs and looks behind my shoulder at something that makes his evil grin get even bigger. My stomach drops when Nate yells for me to watch out. Just as I whirl around to see Hayden's friends come running at me, my shoe slips and I slide into a half-split. This turns into a blessing, however. Because whatever Chase had in his hands does not hit me.

No, it barely misses me, and lands directly on the perpetrator of this disgusting prank.

A pie tin slowly travels down Hayden's face.

"A pie?" I scoff. "Where did you learn that? Clown school?"

The gooey dessert sticks to the bad boy's face and a trail of whipped cream starts from between his eyes to end at his chin. I lift a finger and graze it across his cheek, studying what appears to be an apple crumble, before popping it into my mouth.

"Oh, apple pie! How did you know, Cross?" I smile. Behind us, our spectators burst into laughter.

"Funny how things can seriously backfire on a person, Cross. Karma's a bitch. And so am I."

* * *