❝Why do always call me Cherry?❞
❝Because your lips taste like Cherries.❞
When teenage supervillain Havoc stands up to the head of the League of Villains, Colby Madden's family is forced to change their identities and relocate to a sleepy Texas subur...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
☡
𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 first days. Not that he'd ever admit it—he was the kind of guy who looked like he owned every room he walked into—but moving to a new school in a new state, under a new name, was testing even his confidence. After everything that had happened—the League of Villains, his family's sudden relocation to Texas, the constant reminders that one wrong move could undo all of it—he just wanted to blend in. Stay quiet. Avoid attention. Easy, right?
He rolled his skateboard under his arm as he stepped onto the red-brick campus of Westbrook High. The Texas sun beat down mercilessly, and he already felt the weight of a hundred curious eyes on him, sizing him up. That was the thing about new schools: everyone knew each other, and everyone was suspicious of strangers. Colby tugged the hoodie over his head a little, hoping the dark fabric would shield him.
As he made his way to the main building, his eyes caught movement out of the corner of his vision. A group of girls, all impeccably dressed, were laughing and tossing their hair like they were in a magazine spread. At the center of them was someone different. Someone impossible.
Her hair was glossy, chestnut brown with sun-kissed streaks, cascading in waves over her shoulders. Her smile was bright, confident, and effortlessly charming—like she'd been born with the world at her feet. Colby froze, momentarily forgetting how to breathe.
She noticed him. Of course she did.
"You're new," she said, her voice smooth, teasing, with just a hint of curiosity.
Colby swallowed, gripping his skateboard tighter. "Yeah. Colby. Uh... Madden," he said, keeping it casual, though his heart was hammering.
"Aveline Hartley," she replied, tilting her head with that perfect mix of amusement and challenge. "You're not from around here, huh?"
"Nope," Colby said, shrugging. "Just... visiting Texas." He gave a small smirk, trying to sound nonchalant.
Aveline raised an eyebrow. "Visiting... or hiding?"
Colby blinked. "Hiding?" he echoed, intrigued despite himself.
She laughed, a sound that was more melody than noise, and it made him feel like he was suddenly under a spotlight. "Never mind," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out."
Something about the way she said it—half teasing, half knowing—made Colby's chest tighten. He didn't even know her, and yet... he felt a pull he hadn't felt in a long time.
Of course, it wouldn't be easy. Her friends, three girls who looked like they'd stepped out of a fashion catalog, shot him dirty looks immediately. Colby caught their whispered comments: Who's the skater boy? Does he even go here? Gross. He could feel the judgment like a physical weight, but the spark in Aveline's eyes made it all fade into the background.
