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

sixteen

My alarm bleeps. Thank god Kaidan didn't turn it off again. I pull myself out of bed and begun my routine. Shower. Blow dry hair. Brush teeth. Swipe on mascara.

I stare in the mirror and assess the outcome. I swear I look like a different person when I make effort. I throw a pair of jeans on, then a silk cami with ruffles. I smile at my reflection and wander downstairs. I see Kaidan and Will sitting together eating breakfast, laughing about something.

Wow. Kaidan, laughing? A sight I thought I'd never see. I watch them with a small smile on my face. Kaidan's features are less intense - his eyes are less hard and friendlier, crinkled at the corners. The relaxed expression makes him look younger, somehow. Even more gorgeous.

I push those thoughts out of my head and sit down next to Will, as far away from Kaidan as possible.

"Morning." Will says, fluffing my hair. I smooth it down and see Kaidan pass an irritated look over me. Anger surges through me, and I slam my fist down on the table.

"What have I done wrong now?" I sigh. Those eyes look up at me, emotion free. As our eyes connect, however, I spy an ounce of emotion. He cocks his head to the side and stares me down.

"Your hair looks nicer when you don't blow dry it." He says simply. And then he places his mug down on the table and stands up, the chair screeching against the kitchen floor as he does so.

I sit there with a gob smacked expression. I hear Will chuckle under his breath, so my eyes dart over to him.

"Give him a chance, Grace. He's a good guy." He takes a bite of a pop tart and raises his eyebrows at me. "Just spend some more time with him. Five minutes over breakfast, and he'll loosen right up."

"Will, I've spent a lot more than five minutes with him. We had a full-on movie bonding time yesterday, yet he still looks at me like he wants to kill me." I sigh and run my hands through my hair.

"I don't know. He's a couple years older, maybe he feels uncomfortable. You're only seventeen, after all."

"Nearly eighteen." I mumble grumpily. He laughs and fluffs my hair again.

I pour out a cup of orange juice and sip it quietly. As my eyes wander the room, my eyes meet the mirror, where I see the reflection of the living room, where Kaidan stands, listening to every word of our conversation.

*

As soon as I walk through the school gates Amber bounces up to me like a puppy. I give her a small smile and she links our arms.

"Omigosh Grace, I have the bestest news." She says, speaking loudly into my ear. When she notices my grumpy expression, she frowns. "What's wrong?"

I raise an eyebrow at her, and realization floods through her features.

"Kaidan." We say together, then burst into a fit of giggles.

"He is yumtastic by the way. With a cherry on top. When he came over and spoke to me, I thought I'd won the lottery. But then I realized he was your Kaidan, and the only reason he was speaking to me was to get the juice about you." She picks at a perfectly manicured nail. I give her a flat look.

"He was so not asking about me."

"He so was, Grace. He even referred to you as 'his Gracie' which is totally adorbs." She sighs like it's a sweet gesture, and I admit, butterflies erupt in my stomach. His Gracie.

"Well, what did he ask?" I ask in a bored tone.

"He firstly asked why you're so obsessed with being at the gym-"