The Favor (BOOK 1 & BOOK 2 INCLUDED)

1. I Am Not an Animal

I'm scanning my outfit one last time in my body mirror before I leave. A simple chiffon, dark blue blouse and a pair of white shorts with wedge heels. What's missing?

Curled hair, check. Earrings, check. Makeup, check. Bag, no check.

I rummage through the pile of clothes on the ground that I created in hopes of making a new outfit to try and find my purse. Let me tell you, I have a pretty big closet. We're talking Hannah Montana closet big, so if that isn't big for a seventeen year old girl, I'm not sure what is.

Once I find it, I shove it in my backpack and run downstairs, only to be late for breakfast.

"Lily, what took you so long?" My mom shakes her head at me and clears the table of the beautiful smelling pancakes that I was so looking forward to eating this morning.

"What the hell? I eat those every morning on the first day of school!" I pout, childishly stomping my foot.

"If you had planned out everything last night, like I told you to, you would be eating these pancakes right now instead of taking this muffin and walking to the bus." Mom extends a hand with a blueberry muffin in it, and I have no choice but to take it. Then she pushes me towards the door.

"Wow, thanks Mom. I really appreciated your forehead kiss and 'have a good day sweetie!' comment," I spat sarcastically.

She kissed my cheek and said "have a good day, sweetie!" in a mocking tone.

"Bye," I grunted while walking out the door and to my bus stop.

When I got on, Talon was there, smiling at me from a seat in the back. Gladly I joined my best friend.

"I missed you so much!" I cried, hugging him as tight as I could.

"Lil, it's only been three weeks since I've seen you." Talon laughed at me.

"That's still too long." I looked up at him and smiled. He kissed me on the forehead, and I swear, his ego balloon deflated just a bit.

"It always is for you. You just can't resist me, can you Young?" He smirked smugly at me.

Nope. Still there.

I pushed him away and crossed my arms. "You're mean."

"Not as mean as some people. Just toughening you up so when we go to Miami and you get that record label, you can bite back." Talon claims this every time, but I know it's just because he loves seeing me mad.

"Sure sure," I roll my eyes, but then I smile, because hell, I can't stay mad at this guy for a minute. In a best friend kind of way, he is my ride or die.

"Just one more year of this high school drama and you and I will be down in our own loft, listening to your rockin' songs, and everyone in this school is gonna think 'why didn't I go for the brunette instead of the blonde,'" Talon puts his arm around my neck and gives me a noogie.

Talon knows exactly what he's talking about when he says brunette instead of the blonde.

My best friend since kindergarten, Gillian, is the blonde, and I'm stuck with brunette.

Gillian, since first grade, has been the better one. She's prettier, smarter, funnier, sexier, and extremely vulnerable. Me on the other hand, I'm the hard to get one. It didn't really start til we were thirteen, though. So nobody has really wasted their time on me, and when I say nobody I mean no men. In the past, I've fallen for their tricks and later have served the consequences of letting my guard down. They're all players in the end, and I'm just Gillian's DUFF. And if you don't understand that reference created by Kody Keplinger, shame on you.