he's hell | [zach herron]

1 - Troublemaker

chapter one!
Troublemaker

Karissa's POV

"For God's sake, Karissa, hurry up!" my best friend, Hannah, yelled from downstairs. I rolled my eyes as I pulled my shirt on. Hannah drove me to school everyday, and today I had slept in a little longer than I should have. I grabbed my phone and backpack, then jogged downstairs to see her. 

She raised an eyebrow at me, obviously referring to why I hadn't been down here already when she got here.

"I didn't hear my alarm," I said simply.

"This is our senior year, Riss. This is the one that counts," Hannah told me. I nodded my head as Hannah followed me into the kitchen. I grabbed an apple and a granola bar, something to eat in the car on the way to school.

"Hannah is right, Karissa. You need to start going to bed earlier. What were you up doing last night?" my mom asked me. She was sitting at the kitchen table, her glasses on and reading something on her phone. I was a little shocked she was here and not at work already.

"I was listening to music," I told my mom. It wasn't the full truth, I had been making music. I just didn't want to tell them, not yet. My music was something so sacred to me, and it was just for me.

"Well, your lights should be out way earlier," my mom scolded. I nodded to her and then turned to Hannah.

"We should go," I said. Hannah nodded and then started walking out to her car. I followed after her.

"Have a good day at school, lovely!" my mom yelled after me.

"Thank you!" I yelled back, then closed the front door. Hannah and I both got in her car, Hannah on the driver side and me on the passenger side. 

"You excited to see Damion?" Hannah asked as she started the car and pulled out of my driveway.

"Where did that come from?" I asked.

"That came from all the goo-goo eyes you two have been giving each other recently. Don't tell me he doesn't like you because it's obvious he does. The question is, do you like him?" Hannah asked.

Damion Cross was something else entirely. He was one of the only guys at my shitty high school that wasn't a total douche. He treated, not only me, but all girls with respect. He worked hard in school and already had a full scholarship to Stanford. Damion was fantastic, to say the least. He was so out of my league though, it was insane.

"I think one of the girls from our school would literally shoot me if we got together," I laughed.

"I'll fight off all the girls. You and Damion belong together," Hannah told me. To end up with a guy like Damion, that would be every high school sweetheart fantasy come true. Damion and I's families were already pushing for us to date, it would just be weird if that actually happened.

"I don't know why I'm thinking about this so much! It's not even like we know for sure if he likes me or not," I said.

"Oh, babe, we know that he likes you," Hannah sighed, laughing a little. She reached for the radio and put on a song. We both started jamming out as we finished the ride to school. As we pulled into the parking lot, the first bell rang. That meant we only had about four minutes to get inside and to our first classes before we were tardy. Hannah practically sprinted up to the doors of our school as the car came to a complete stop. School and getting into a good college was everything to her.

I walked up to the doors, not in a big rush. As soon as I opened the door, someone walked out and ran into me. I fell on the ground, utterly humiliated.

I brushed off my hands and then brushed my hair out of my face. In front of me were a dirty worn out pair of black converse. I looked up to see Zach Herron towering over me. He held out one hand to pull me up. I was so shocked that he was actually offering to help me up that I declined his offer and stood up on my own.

"Are you okay?" I asked him since I had run into him too.

"Fine," Zach shrugged, "You should go inside if you don't want to be late."

"Why aren't you going inside?" I asked Zach.

"Fuck school," Zach said. He started to walk away and I turned to watch him. It was amazing how he just strides on out of school, not a care in the world of what could happen to him.

"Where are you going?" I asked Zach.

"Damn, you're so nosy," Zach turned around for a brief second to say. Then he turned back in the direction of the parking lot and kept going.