The Good Girl's Bad Boys [Book Two of TGGBB Series] (Ongoing)

Chapter One: I Think He Was Talking About Himself

I dropped my binder.

It wasn't by being tripped, making me crash onto the floor to scatter all of my homework and notes on the hallway floor.

I swear I'm not the clumsy type. I have never broken a dish before in my life. I can't say it was really because a foot was in my way while I was trying to find some homework in my binder was the reason I tripped. For one thing, I wasn't even walking. I was merely holding my binder, trying to open my locker with my combination which was inside it.

I didn't have to ignore the laughter and comments of me when I crawled around the floor to pick up my stuff. There were no people passing by to kick it farther away from me and walk over it to leave their shoe prints. It was only the first day back at school from winter break here in Dartwell High, home of the dragons, and I'm not as bullied as I used to be.

As I reached for my schedule that slipped out of my binder, someone grabbed it for me.

I stood back up to see him holding my binder out to me.

"Hey Nomi," he said with a small smile.

I tensed at the name and took my binder back, holding it against my chest. "Hello Dominic."

I saw a slight frown from him, probably noting how I didn't say "Domi", the stupid nickname we gave each other when we were kids. It gave me a sense of nostalgia back when times were better.

There was an awkward pause between the both of us. I mean, I don't blame the awkwardness. We haven't seen each other in years. But seeing him now right in front of me, it felt so surreal that he's here.

I didn't see my childhood best friend who had rowdy black hair and playful gray eyes that wore a big smile on his face. Instead, I saw a total stranger, with slightly calmer ruffled black hair and dark gray eyes that I don't recognize. Despite the small smile he was wearing, I knew it was a forced one since he'd rather give me a smile than anything else. He wore a leather jacket for the still chilly weather over a red plaid flannel and a t-shirt of a band I recognize and didn't know he liked, compared to the catchy kid songs we grew up to.

"Long time no see," he told me quietly, his voice turned soft at this atmosphere.

The casualness in his voice irked me how he could act so, well, casual in this reunion. Speaking of his voice, puberty hit him like a missile.

"I wouldn't say that," I told him, "given I saw you on Halloween."

My mind flashed back at the Halloween party. The guys' Musketeer costumes, my Alice in Wonderland costume, and his Zorro costume. His gray eyes under his mask, that cocky smile being the only visible thing I can see from him. Our dance- He's a pretty good dancer.

He chuckled. "You got me there."

The guys were right by my side. For a split second, I felt calm because they were with me. But the feeling vanished when I knew that it wouldn't be like anything we faced before. I could tell they were sizing him up. They each gave him a once over. They noted the confident straight posture he held, which he covered up by putting his hands in his pockets to look casual.

Bennett stared at Dominic with an unsettling gaze, one that would make people crumble whatever was in his line of sight. Despite this fact, Dominic was unfazed by Bennett's stare of his piercing blue eyes. He seemed to be in equal stance with Bennett.

Jordan gave Dominic a warm smile as if he was welcoming him. But looking at him, I could see that the smile wasn't like his usual ones. It felt forced, fake even, compared to Jordan's sincere smiles. Whether Dominic knew this or not, he returned Jordan a genuine smile.