Her Secret

Chapter 1

Ali wished she could say that the weirdest part of the day was the hamburger being shoved into her book-bag. But that just wasn't true.
The absolute weirdest part of the day happened after that- which was saying something, since she had to rinse ketchup off of her math textbook without getting it water damaged.
She sighed to herself, wishing the stupid people who adored torturing her would do her a favor and leave her alone. This was the third book bag that had been ruined in the last two months. First was vanilla pudding, which she was allergic to. Next was the sloppy Joe that had been served in lunch only two weeks before then, and now, This.
For this very ruining reason, Ali now kept her entertainment books in her locker. She didn't want to risk having them ruined- every single one was her prized possession.
Once she had finished wiping down the textbook, she threw away the book-bag. It was a crappy, $5 pink one from a drugstore that she didn't much care for anyway.
She stepped out of the bathroom, clutching her book to her chest. She wished that people would stop treating her the way that they always did. Ever since they found out about her mother...
Before she could finish her thought, she slammed into something hard.
She squealed, fiery red hair flying around her, blinding her temporarily. She flailed, trying to catch herself. The math book fell to the floor, forgotten.
Something grabbed her wrist, yanking her upright as quickly as it had knocked her over.
She straightened, heart still beating wildly out of her chest.
The dizziness finally ceased, and she could make sense of what her crystal blue eyes were taking in.
A strong hand was gripping her wrist, leading up to an even stronger torso. She was almost afraid to look up and meet the eyes she knew she would see.
"Are you alright?"
Cold, steely grey eyes watched her warily, as if unsure what to make of her. She blushed, ripping away from his grip.
"I'm fine," she said softly, almost silently. He cocked his head, causing his sandy brown hair to drop in his eyes. She figured she had to repeat herself, so she said louder, "I'm fine."
He nodded, peering at her. "I heard. I'm just wondering why I've never seen you before."
Michael Winters had never seen her before. She tried not to feel insulted as she bent down to scoop up the fallen textbook.
"I'm in three of your classes," she muttered, barely meeting his gaze.
He looked surprised. It wasn't all that astonishing to her that he didn't know who she was- almost no one knew who she was, and if they did, they hated her. She had become the master at blending into the background, despite her pale skin and bright red hair.
  "Are you?" He peered at her, slowly nodding. "Alice Carter."
  She blinked in recognition of her name. "Ali, actually. Michael Winters."
  "Mike, actually." He smirked at her. She tried to resist rolling her eyes at him.
"Well, I have somewhere to be," she snapped, pushing past him. She had seen enough of his asshole-ish ways over the years to know that she did not want to spend too much time in his presence. He, however, did not seem to get the hint.
"Wait," he said, catching up to her in the hallway as she walked away quickly. "What class do you have, Ali?"
  She felt a small shiver at how he said her name, and yet she chose to ignore it. "Literature."
He smirked again. "I have Science. Right next to you."
This time she did roll her eyes, turning around. "Alright, look. I don't like you, and I probably won't ever. So please, just leave me alone?"
She turned back, praying that he would heed her wishes. No such luck.
"Why don't you like me?"
She verbally groaned, quickening her pace. It was no use, though. He was at least eight inches taller than her, with much longer legs. He easily kept up with her pace.
  "Because," she snapped again, frowning. "You think you're all that and a bag of chips- that every girl in the school is willing to sleep with you because you're so attractive. Well, not me. I'm not that girl, and i don't plan to be."
  She refused to look at him, and he wasn't making noise, so she wasn't even sure if he was still keeping up beside her until he spoke again.
"You don't know me." 
She finally reached her classroom, turning to face him as she put her hand on the door handle.
It didn't seem likely, but could she see hurt in his attractive features?
"And i don't plan to."
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