BOUND 2 (GxG)

Happy First Day of Senior Year

I hate stereotypes.

Maybe it's because they're technically true—or maybe it's because it's the twenty-first fucking century and people are still labeling each other.

I could walk into my school completely unknown, and by the time the first bell rings, everyone suddenly knows me.

Or at least thinks they know me.

At Montrose high school, labels actually influence your high school career, whether you like it or not.

Most students fraternize with anyone who's labeled like them—for example, if you're a football player then you're likely going to end up hanging with all the rest of the jocks.

I say likely, but that's only putting it lightly.

You think you have control over who you're friends with or what you end up involved in, but realistically, the labels will lure you into what you think you should be.

Luckily, I like doing what I'm not supposed to do.

Which is why I somehow befriended Cher in freshman year—the school's alleged rich girl, which is actually true, based on perception, but she's much more than that.

She's funny, smart, caring, and always finds a way to cheer me up. Most importantly, she puts up with my smart remarks and attitude.

Besides everyone at this school has wealth—some generational and others newer.

Although I'd have to say, Cher takes the cake. Her house feels like a fucking neighborhood, and that's why she always hosts the best parties.

Yeah, it's partially the fact that she has a big house, but everyone here has that—what sets Cher apart is her multitudes of cleaning staff and the fact that her parents are always away on business.

And while I would love to host parties, given that my mom is always away travel nursing, I have more of an average suburban house—which only a fourth of the student population at Montrose has, and those are called the scholarship kids.

I'm not a scholarship kid since my mom has enough money to afford Montrose—we simply just don't need all the space—considering that it's only ever been the two of us.

"Hey, don't forget the Whiteout is tonight," Cher said, typing on her large iPhone with one hand while the other fed her a salad that basically only had three ingredients.

I nodded, taking a bite of my apple as I boringly gazed around the noisy lunchroom, "How could I forget when there are posters everywhere, and the school account's recent post keeps getting reposted everywhere?"

Cher looked up from her phone for a moment, "Okay, smart ass I was just reminding you."

I laughed, knowing that she was only messing with me. It was a part of our dynamic. "I just like to fuck with you," I said, smiling before taking another bite of my apple.

Cher rolled her eyes, "What's that one Kardashian quote—"

"You're so easy to piss off," I quoted the Kim Kardashian quote with a nasally voice and a playful smile.

Cher laughed, shaking her head at me as she started typing on her phone again, "Can I come over to yours after school to get ready?"

I sighed dramatically, "You seem to love my house oh so much when you have a whopping one hundred acres to yourself."

Cher lowered her phone, "First off, it's not one hundred acres—"

"It damn sure could be."

Cher only continued, "And secondly, well... I didn't actually have a second point, so yeah," she shrugged nonchalantly as she went back to typing on her phone.