Once Upon a Time

Chapter One: There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate

Chapter One: There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate

"Alright, so the twist to this project is that I will not be accepting a pair of the same gender. I want you guys to try grow up a little, okay?" Mr. Warren told the class. "Considering that we have an equal number of boys and girls in this class, I'd like you to make sure that you find a partner of the opposite gender." 

I glanced around the room to try catching Carson's eyes. If he wasn't going to pair himself up with Samantha, then I knew that I'd probably end up working with him. 

Who are you gonna work with? I mouthed when he finally met my gaze.

He jerked his head toward Samantha's direction. Ah, of course. Already expecting him to try getting himself paired up with his crush, I nodded and suppressed my disappointment. Carson was probably my first choice, —mostly because we were close and he was smart—but I wasn't going to stop him from trying to find an excuse to spend time with Samantha. 

Knowing that she'd be happy to work with him, I continued looking around until my eyes settled on Stefan. 

Stefan Holden was one of those guys that I kind of got along with, but not really. We were friends, I supposed, but the pair of us argued over the smallest things that probably shouldn't even matter. Nonetheless, he was smart. And I knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn't seem to have found a pair for this project yet, and neither had I. Despite our constant bantering and petty little fights, working with him wouldn't be so bad. Sure, he was lazy as heck, but he was better than most of the other guys when it came to schoolwork. 

"You got a partner yet?" Stefan shouted from across the room. "If not, be my partner?" 

He was better than nothing. I'd rather be stuck with him than say, one of the idiots like Andrew for the whole term. I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm in." 

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Carson smirking at me. Clearly he had heard my exchange with Stefan. I turned my head to scowl at him, my brows raised as if I was daring him to say what was on his mind. Ever since Carson had found out about my strange relationship with Stefan, he had been teasing me about it relentlessly and saying that we'd make a great couple. Not that I took his words seriously, considering that he practically shipped me with every guy that I was friends with—except himself, obviously. He was hell-bent on trying to get me to like someone romantically. Why wouldn't he get that I was uninterested? 

Stifling a sigh, I grabbed my bag and stood up, then proceeded to cross the room to claim the seat beside Stefan. We had fifteen minutes before class ended, so I thought that we might as well make good use of that remaining time.  

"This project is crap," my partner immediately announced as soon as I dropped my stuff next to the desk. 

I hadn't forgotten that he could be such an immature little shit sometimes. Still, it'd be nice if he could actually do something productive instead of whine for a change. I couldn't help but agree with him, though. As much as I usually enjoyed Mr. Warren's English class, having to co-write a freaking book was stupid as fuck. 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed writing creative pieces. But having to co-write it just made me want to groan. "I know," I agreed with a nod of my head. "Doesn't mean that we won't do good, though." 

"Yeah, smartass, I know that you're a writing whiz, but no need to show it off," Stefan teased me. 

I gave him a standard 'Alana Response', which was basically a pointed look. He laughed, raising both arms in surrender. We spent the rest of the lesson brainstorming—which in Alana and Stefan language, meant arguing about pointless things.