Sweet Revenge [sample - now a published book available on Amazon!]

eleven

Nerves wrack through me as we wait outside the looming school gates. Sure, being fat and bullied made school a hell hole, but this is on a new level.

"Grace, stop worrying, you look gorgeous." Will says encouragingly. I shake my head and a feeling of nausea rushes through me.

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can." He says and pushes me out of the car. I smooth down the peplum top and jeans. You've got this, Grace, the little voice in my head encourages me. I want to yell at it because I definitely have not got this.

I take a small breath in attempt to get rid of any negative thoughts, and then walk over to meet Amber by the gates. She squeals and pulls me in for a hug.

"Grace, you look amazing!"

I mumble a thank you, before we walk through the school gates and into the main building.

To put it plainly, eyes are on me. At first, it arouses memories of when I used to be stared at and mocked for being fat. But now...it's different. The eyes on me; they're approving, not looking at me in disgust. They move up and down my body, and I even hear some mutters of 'who is that chick?'

Amber tugs at my arm, and we steer into our individual home rooms, blowing kisses and she wishes me good luck. I spot Jacob immediately, who wolf whistles as I make my way over to him.

"You look fab, Grace." He winks at me and I give him my best grin in attempt to hide my nerves.

And that's when Lucas comes in. Surrounded by his minions, you would think he was the king of this school. My nerves develop into manic butterflies in my stomach, with my hands growing damp. I keep my head down. I'm not ready to face him yet.

His feet stop, and he places his hand on my desk. Dammit. "Hey." He says confidently. I look up and smile at him, but I don't respond (mainly because my nerves are stopping me from doing so).

"Are you new around here?" He asks, his voice deep and alluring. I peer up at him through my eyelashes and take a deep breath. I spent my entire summer preparing for this moment. This is game on, Lucas Keith. Revenge time.

"No."

His expression is priceless. "Oh really? I've never seen you around. And I wouldn't miss a pretty face like yours." He says. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and sit upright, hoping to allude to confidence.

"Are you sure you don't recognize me, Lucas?" I taunt.

"You obviously know who I am. But what's your name?" He asks.

"Remember that fat girl who you used to bully?" I ask him in innocent voice. He snorts.

"Grace Connely? I was wondering where she'd gone. I don't spot her though, and well, she's hard to miss." He winks, as if we have some sort of inside joke. I keep my face straight.

"She's sitting in this room; don't you see her?" I ask, biting my blue painted nail. His eyes scan the room.

"Nope."

"Surely she's too fat to miss?" I ask. He scans the room again, before his eyes land on me and his face drains.

"No, you can't be..." His expression grows pained and he stumbles backwards. I hold my hand out in satisfaction.

"My name is Grace." I say triumphantly. "I would say it's lovely to meet you, but it seems we already know each other quite well." He looks down at my hand in shock but doesn't take it.

"What happened?" He asks me, running a hand through his hair.

"People change. But personalities don't. It seems like you haven't changed one bit." I say, raking my eyes up and down his body. His face reddens.

"Look, Grace, I never meant any of that stuff, I was just teasing." He says nervously. Bingo.

"No, I'm pretty sure that was all real. I never took it to heart anyway." I wave my hand dismissively.

"Grace, you're overreacting. The only reason I ever did that was because I was jealous of you." He says, his face reddening even more. I snort. Is that really the best he can do?

"Jealous of me? Are you serious? Jealous of what, my ability to make chairs break and manage to get the whole of our grade laughing at me?" I ask, my memory flashing back to that awful day.

"Of your brains. You're so clever." He says and I almost burst into laughter. Not a great excuse, is it?

"I don't care. I'm over it." I say, smirking. He sighs and closes his eyes.

"Please, Grace, forgive me. I can't begin to explain how sorry I am." His eyes are fill of sorrow and embarrassment. Sucks to be you buddy.

"Show me. Show me how sorry you are. Show me that my looks aren't the only reason you changed your mind about me." I'm lying, because there is no way that I will ever forgive him. But he doesn't have to know that, does he?

"How?"

"You'll think of a way. Bye Lucas. Run along to your little friends." I push his stomach and he stumbles backwards. With shock written all over his face, he returns to his friends, all of them sharing the same shocked look as him.

Sweet, sweet revenge.

*

The rest of the day runs pretty smoothly. Lucas smiles at me every time he sees me, but I return with a straight face. He's not getting the easy way out.

It isn't until trig when Lucas approaches me again. Even though I'm sat in the front, he sits next to me. He pivots his seat so he's closer to me. I look over to him with a tired look.

"Hey Grace." He gives a small wave and I roll my eyes.

"Lucas, I'm seriously not interested. Not after~"

"Can we just be friends? Please? I want to show you how sorry I am." He says. I roll my eyes.

"Who wants to be friends with someone who constantly made their life suck?" I ask, twirling a piece of hair around my finger.

"Give me a chance." He pleads. Before I can respond, someone steps in between us and stops.

"Leave her alone, or I'll make you." Says Pete. I look up to see the familiar furrowed eyebrows. His face is a mix of anger and... wait, nope. Just anger.

"Who are you?" Lucas asks, his voice hard as steel. I wince. This isn't going to go down well.

"Does it even matter?" Pete asks, smirking. For someone I barely know, I'm confused to why he's standing up for me (not that I'm complaining).

"Yeah, because you're trying to make me go away from my friend. If I want to sit here, I'll sit here." Lucas folds his arms, his large muscles bulging through his right fitted tee. Pete raises an eyebrow.

"Your friend? You are Lucas Keith, right? I'm pretty sure you bullied Grace for her entire time here at Jistie. But please, correct me if I'm wrong." Pete asks, towering over Lucas.

"I've already explained that I'm sorry for that." Lucas lowers his eyes, looking embarrassed again. Satisfaction seeps through me.

"Just go Lucas. Do yourself a favor and just go." Pete demands. Lucas looks over at me with eyes filled with embarrassment and sadness. I cock my head to one side and smirk at him. That's what you get, asshole.

Pete settles down next to me. I look over to him. As we gain eye contact, I look away, butterflies swarming in my stomach.

"Are you okay?" He asks me sincerely. I look up to him and nod slowly.

"Yeah. Thanks, you really didn't need to do that." I tell him, shocked that someone as attractive as him would be standing up for me. He shrugs his shoulders.

"He's a shallow prick. I hate the guy. Gave me an excuse to put him in his place." He pauses, before biting his lip. "You look really great, by the way."

A small smile makes its way onto my lips and I feel myself blushing. "Thanks. Um. You too."

**