A Pretence Of Hate

Chapter One: Welcome To My Life

A.N: Hey, this is my first sorta published story, so please vote, rate, review ect. I've edited some parts of it so it makes more sense but the base is the same. Next chapter should be out by the 31st of April but most likely sooner since when I'm done with a chapter I'm usually really eager to get it posted. Also, the next chapter will be a long one & from Sebastian's POV. =P Hope Your All Well, Nadia.

Do you ever feel like breaking down?  

Do you ever feel out of place? 

Like somehow you just don't belong, 

And no one understands you, 

Do you ever wanna run away, 

Lock yourself in your room 

With the radio on turned up so loud 

So no one hears you screaming. 

-Welcome To My Life, Simple Plan

Chapter One: Welcome To My Life

Cathy

BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEP!

Holy SHIT, Monday morning already! I groaned miserably as I attempted to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock that sat on my bedside cabinet without opening my eyes. Still, the irritating noise refused to stop and I angrily wacked it one last time before kicking off my covers with a sigh. Well, at least THAT stopped. I rubbed my eyes wearily, a morning person I was not. I turned to look at the mirror that hung opposite my bed. A bleary green-y brown eyed girl with a tangle of reddish brown hair looked back at me with a slightly disgruntled expression on her face.

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair before groaning and climbing out of my bed. I padded my way bare foot to my en-suite bathroom before stripping off and stepping under the steamy hot water of my shower allowing my muscles to slowly unclench and relax. I breathed in the strange steamy smell and felt myself relax under the pounding water before quickly squirting some sort of strawberry scented shampoo into my hands and scrubbed it into my scalp. The shower ended all too soon and dried off somewhat happier then I was when I first woke up. Slightly happier, I wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and brushed my teeth quickly.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I looked strange under the steamy light, my skin was pretty pale, a contrast against my dark brownish red hair. I wasn't what the girls at school would call pretty exactly, I didn't fit in with the blonde and brilliant girls who always came into school with about a ton of mascara and heavily lined eyes. They dressed extremely scantily, short skirts that looked as though they might be otherwise used as a hair accessory and shirts so tight the buttons seemed to strain. No, compared to them I was plain, ordinary, nothing special. Not that I minded, with parents as rich and elite as mine, you'd have thought they would have expected there only child to be just like them. To them however, I remained only as the child that shared a home with them, whilst they screamed at each other about supposed affairs and secret lovers. I tended to go unnoticed by the pair of them, my bank account being updated monthly by one of their assistants instead. Unfortunately, at school, I stuck out like a sore thumb, it wasn't that I didn't have any friends, it was just, well the name Sebastian Walker ought to sum it up.

Sebastian Walker was everything at school, hell, in this town! He was everything I was not, popular, sporty, clever but most important the school player. He had girls hanging around him at every second of the day, but he was also conceited, stuck up, loathsome and most important a complete and utter jackass. We hated each other like our lives depended on it. I wondered what had happened to us; we used to be good friends once, years ago admittedly but close, best friends. Back then, we were both the freaks, me being rich and weird and him just plain weird. We bonded of the fact that neither of us had our parents around very much and for that reason amongst others, we did most things together. Well, up until high school started. This was around the time when suddenly he stopped being the Sebastian I knew and loved and he became spiteful instead. His parents separated and he took it hard. He stopped hanging around with me, preferring to either play basketball with his "new" friends or hang around the cheerleaders who had hated me from the start. But then gradually he became worse and worse, his friends teasing me, just making little comments at first but he never once said anything to stop them. At first I'd put it down to Sebastian just feeling lonely and needing new people around his to help him forget about home life but eventually it became deeper then that. Whenever he saw me in the hallways on the way to our lessons he'd laugh, his eyes showing no indication that I was once the girl he had shared those 99p ice creams with, instead, his dark forest green eyes showed me nothing but hate. Ever since that day, he became worse, occasionally starting up fights with me, I'd tried asking him why but he'd simply smiled that cold smile and made some sardonic comment about how I'd grow up to be like my parents, cheating, lying scum. It hurt me that he could so easily turn around everything I'd ever told him, and for that reason I began hating Sebastian Walker with cold hearted passion.

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and pulled on a black pleated skirt and put on a white shirt. I then stood in front of my mirror adjusting my black and red striped school tie. I left my hair as it was, slightly damp, wavy at the bottom and pulled on the black school blazer and tied up my red converses before heading down for breakfast. Grabbing a slice of toast, I headed out the door, not stopping to say goodbye to my parents who were most likely either fighting over something, asleep, or drunk. I grabbed my messenger bag and headed out the door.

I sent a text to Alex - my best friend extraordinaire, the only guy capable of standing up to Sebastian and pretty much the best person I'd ever known. After telling him I'd be meeting him at the bus stop, I switched on my iPod and selected the song that seemed to describe my life at the moment in time: Welcome To My Life by the truly amazing Simple Plan on non stop replay. Just before I'd gotten to the bus stop, I could see Alex's outline, his long dirty blonde hair swaying in the breeze. He was good looking, next to Sebastian, he was the second most sought after guy in school. However, unlike Sebastian, Alex was loyal and stuck by me, choosing not be the type of guy who dated numerous girls. He had the most intense dark blue eyes and had a way of knowing exactly how I felt. He was like the brother I never had; Unfortunately, I sometimes got the feeling Alex's feeling for me ran a little deeper then just brother a sister, although he never once acted on it. Once I'd got to the bus stop, Alex greeted me with his usual:

"Hey, what's playing on your iPod?"

"...Simple Plan"

He laughed, "Damn your dark today, the rents' still driving you mad?"

"Kinda.." I stopped, not letting myself talk about them since I knew that once I started I wouldn't be able to stop. Thankfully Alex realised this and pulled me close for a hug.

"Hey, its fine, you wait, the second you turn 18 - it's nothing but freedoms for us, New York, remember?"

Ah, New York, the dream we both shared, our plan was that when I turned 18, we would both pack our bags and head for New York on the first flight available, no more dealing with annoying parents or in Alex's case, no parents, since his own parents had died when he was only 2. He swore that he was happy living with his aunt, but even I could see that he wished he had parent to lean on rather then an aunt who only took him in because he had no one else. She never stopped reminding him either.

"Only 2 years left."

"Yep, I'm counting down the days! Now give me your iPod - were listening to something other then your whiney emo crap" He said laughing.

"Simple Plan is NOT whiney emo crap!" I shot back before cautiously, I giving him my pride and joy which he immediately began flicking around with, taking a earpiece from me and sticking it into his own ear, soon the drumming and pop-ish sounds of Everybody Loves Me by OneRepublic began playing.

I laughed, "Aaaall I know is everybody LOVES ME" I sung. 

Grinning, he began singing along, horribly off tune.

"Oh god, Alex, Please, for the love of all that is good - STOP, or you will most definitely kill me!" I said teasingly.

"Well I for one wouldn't mind seeing you dead."

I froze before turning around to face Sebastian, his devastatingly handsome forest green eyes staring at me with arrogance. He was dressed to perfection of course, his dark brown hair in a casual disarray, his shirt stylishly untucked, with a grey cashmere sweater hugging his body closely, the top of his own tie just above it. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his blazer slung over his messenger bag. He gave me a cocky smile, "Miss me, Cathy?" as if expecting a response.

Perhaps I should have mentioned this sooner, but despite all that he had done to me, despite all the times that he had hurt me, I was painfully and ever so dangerously in love with Sebastian Walker, the school player and a most importantly a complete and utter jackass.