Chapter One: Spirit Hope
I was cautious. I had to be. If what Lunette had told me was true, then I needed to be on my guard at all times with these two. These two sick monsters.
"Hello." He had a deep voice. It was surprising with his considerably small structure---for a boy, of course. "My name's Cory. You must be Spirit Hope."
"Just call me Hope," I whispered, barely audible. I preferred to be called Hope after all the year of people making fun of my name. Of course, I always let Lunette call me Spirit, but that was it. No one else has earned my trust like she has.
"There's no need for shyness with me, Hope," he purred my name. It was such a sultry sound when he said it that I shuddered, disgusted. Who did he think I was?
I nodded, though, biting my tongue and letting him wrap his arm around my waist.
Lunette's boyfriend showed up a moment later. He smiled at Lunette and pecked her cheek before walking toward the hostess.
"Table for Sinclair and Smith," Kyle, her boyfriend, said.
Smith. It was such a generic last name. I couldn't believe I was going on a date with a boy whose last name was Smith.
Lunette, my best friend, had begged me to accompany her on this date. Lunette and I typically didn't fall for the same type of boys, and that was my argument when I tried to politely decline the offer. She begged some more, and I had finally caved. Hence why I'm here.
"Hope," Kyle said, smiling at me for show, "thank you for joining us this evening."
I smiled politely. "It's an honor. All I've heard from Lunette is how wonderful you are to her." Lies. Every single word in that sentence.
He beamed, obviously buying it. "Yes, I take great care of Lunette."
Luna, my special nickname for her, looked at me with gratitude.
We were seated at a table quickly, and the boys played the gentleman card by pulling out our chairs for us. We sat down without any shown hesitation beside each other.
"So, Hope, what are some of your hobbies?" Cory asked.
I thought over this question, calculating my answer carefully. "I like cheerleading. Go bears!" I said, plastering on a smile. I did play cheerleading, but that was only because my mother made me. I truly preferred my track. Running was my passion. But Cory didn't need to know that.
Cory nodded in approval. "Anything else?"
"Makeovers," I replied immediately, as if it came second nature to me. "I love transforming Lunette."
Lunette smiled at hearing her name mentioned, politely looking over at us.
"What are some things that you like to do, Cory? What are your hobbies?" I asked casually, desperate to turn the attention away from myself.
"Oh, I like football."
I did, too. "Football's a good sport."
He grinned. "A good sport? It's amazing."
I smiled back politely. "I guess it's because I don't much about it that it makes it harder for me to appreciate it." Total bull. Football was my favorite sport, next to track, and I loved it to bits and pieces.
"Perhaps," he said, obviously intrigued by my answer. "What do you cheer for?"
"Basketball," I said as if this made me sadly. "Apparently, I wasn't good enough to cheer for football."
