Against All Odds

Chapter 1

Eve

Friends are things I was never short of at school. In my opinion, being civil to everyone was far less complicated than causing pointless arguments and sending round silly rumours.

Take Charlotte Manson for example, in a perfect world our friendship would be highly unlikely. But since her twin brother introduced us, we put our obvious differences aside and a friendship like no other began.

Charlotte's the party goer, whereas I'd rather stay home and snuggle in my bed in front of a decent movie. Hell, out of the hundreds of times she's begged me to go partying with her I've somehow avoided the majority of them. Parties never end well. Of course, she has her group of 'girlie girls', but for some reason she hangs out with us more frequently, even though her and her brother drive each other mad.

Then there's Lex. We're more alike in many ways; we avoid parties for fear we'll catch an STD, we'd choose playing rugby over painting our nails any day. Just because we're not on the team doesn't mean we don't enjoy an informal match with the guys now and then. Lex was dark haired, short and stubby compared to Charlotte who was blonde and leggy.

The rest of the gang includes me and 'the guys'. Leo Mason is Charlotte's twin brother, and he shares her good looks, making him the teenage heart throb of year twelve. Charlie Harrison is the innocent ginger who suffers from fancying Charlotte, who is totally oblivious. So many times Leo and I have begged him to move on, but he's determined to find a way into her heart. Harvey Lewis is the closest guy to a player I know. He's a year older, retaking his first year of A levels since he messed up last year, and his dark features make him a hit with the ladies. To me, however, he's like a best mate.

Then, of course, there is my favourite person in the world. Alfie James. He's like my brother, and if I ever lost him I don't know what I'd do, I can't even imagine a life without his cheeky grin to brighten up my day.

Lastly, we have the odd one out of the group; Mike Beech. Since we'd began dating, he'd tried to enter my friendship group. It's weird, especially with AJ. They hate each other, that much is obvious. I sometimes feel guilty since I basically force them to spend time together.

Mike just didn't fit, so over the past three months I've been spending much less time with my gang and more time with him. In all honestly I don't like it, but you're supposed to spend time with your boyfriend right? That's what Charlotte used to tell me, and she's pretty experienced when it comes to romance.

Today is Monday, and I desperately need some quality AJ time. As I drag my feet into school, not looking forward to Chemistry first lesson, I send him a text seeing if he's free at lunch.

"Eve!" Someone calls my name and I turned, noticing Lola (one of Charlotte's girlie group) striding towards me. I groan internally; this girl was a gossip magnate. "Walk with me to chemistry?"

"Sure." I shrug and she falls into stride beside me. For a second we walk in awkward silence, but it doesn't take her long to bring up my love life.

"So three months with Mike huh? How's it going?" She asks innocently, her mascara caked eyelashes blinking at me.

"It's fine." I answer shortly, not giving her the satisfaction of juicy gossip she can share with the world.

"Is he good in bed?" She raises her thickly pencilled eyebrow and I scoff.

"Like I'm gunna tell you that." I roll my eyes and check my phone to see if AJ has replied yet. Of course there's a reply saying he'd meet me in the canteen. This cheers me up greatly.

"A girl can ask." She defends and I shake my head in amusement. "You're so closed around me."

"Yeah, that's because you sent a picture of Leo's dick around the whole school." I point out, referring to the brief fling the two had had, which ended badly when Leo respectfully deleted the nudes Lola sent him. But she decided it would be a good idea to send his to all her mates in a group chat. Typically, those girls passed it on to their friends and it wasn't long until everyone had seen. I'd never seen Leo lose confidence until this gossip addicted girl embarrassed him beyond belief.

"We're over that now," She shrugs as though it didn't even matter. "Anyway, I think he's taking me on a date tomorrow."

I stop in my tracks and glare at her.

"What?" Lola says innocently.

"If you lead him on like last time, you'll lose your friends Lola." I warn her, because she and Charlotte had had a major falling out the last time she messed with her brother. They were close friends, but I knew Charlotte would always support her brother over her friends.

"Is it so impossible for you to believe I actually have feelings for him?" She complains dramatically.

"Yes." I say simply, and she rolls her eyes at me. "Just think before you act this time."

She promises me she'll do better as we enter the classroom, but I find it hard to believe. All I can do is be there for Leo when she leaves him in pieces again.

Chemistry's a boring lesson. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the content, it's just the teacher who bores the heck out of me. He's called Mr Baker and I'm not kidding, he's so old I'm worried one day soon he'll keel over and die right in front of us. With hair so grey there's no possible way of telling what colour it used to be, he stumbles around the classroom, not to mention he's utterly incapable at using his laptop.

~~~

I love the feeling when you get home after a long day of school and finally you can slump down on the sofa and chill.
Remote in hand, I do just that with a small, triumphant smile on my face.
My brothers aren't getting home until seven, so I have three hours where the TV is mine and only mine.
Scrolling through our recorded films I find The Eagle, a film with Jamie Bell and Channing Tatum. It doesn't matter that I've probably watched this film five times, I still love it.
Just as I get myself settled with a cup of tea and a KitKat (hell, they're my favourite) there is a knock on the door.
Groaning with annoyance, I pause the film and drag myself off the sofa to open the front door.
"Hey babe." Mike smiles down at me then leans down for a kiss but I cut him off.
"I thought you had football tonight?" I interject and he shrugs it off, entering my house.
Don't get me wrong he's my boyfriend and I like that he wants to spend time with me, but seriously? Tonight was going to be a me night.
"Coach cancelled. Something to do with his daughter." He explains, eyeing up my body hungrily.
Closing the door behind us he doesn't waste any time, pulling me towards the sofa and then laying me down. He climbs on top and I let the make out session happen.

_____

First chapter done!
What do you reckon? Liking any of the characters? I'm sure you'll get to know them more as you read on.
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Thanks for reading :)