Count On Me

Chapter One

Marianne Grace Grayson

"Have a nice day sweetie!" a father cheerfully said to his daughter. His daughter, commonly known as Marianne Grayson, turned back at her father, and gave him a small smile and a small wave. Her father grinned, before speeding off into God-knows-where. Marianne looked back at her school and groaned softly. 'This is gonna be great,' she thought to herself, before making her way inside. 

"Annie!" a voice suddenly called out. 

Marianne turned her head to the source of the voice, and found her two friends, William Colbert and Marjorie Smith walking towards her. Marjorie gave Marianne a big hug."Annie! How are you?" she asked, after letting go of Marianne. Marianne shrugged."I'm fine, I guess. What about you guys?" she asked.

Marjorie sighed."Absolutely bored. I guess I'm not over that wedding rehearsal dinner," she answered. Marjorie Elizabeth Smith. She was a pretty British/American girl. She had blonde wavy hair and a figure that made guys melt. To this day, Marianne wondered why a girl like Marjorie would even bother to befriend her. 

Will's sigh interrupted Marianne's trail of thought."I'm annoyed," he said. Marianne tilted her head slightly to the left in curiosity."Why?" both she and Marjorie asked at the same time. "It's because I'm grounded. Dad got angry because of something Georgia did," he replied, letting out a small groan. William Xander Colbert. He was a full Brit. He had auburn hair, and a voice that made even the boys swoon. His parents divorced two years ago, and he and his younger sister Georgia live with their father every other week, and the other weeks, with their mother. Will was the type of guy you could count on for advice, or if you needed someone to be beaten up. 

Marianne laughed softly."That's so like Georgia," she said, grinning. Will nodded in agreement."You are so right about that," he said, laughing along with her. Will and Marianne notice that Marjorie's expression changed into one of slight worry."How's it been with you and Daniel? Was he bothering you over the weekend?" Marjorie asked, her voice laced with concern. Marianne shook her head in reply."No, he hasn't." Marjorie's worried face softened."That's good. Hey, if he bothers you again, Will can always beat him up. Heck, even you can. With all that Muay Thai you've been doing lately," she said with a small chuckle. 

There was a smile on Marianne's face, before it turned into one of shock as she felt a hand shove her roughly from behind. She turned around, and gulped when she saw that the one and only Daniel Christopher Wilde was there, along with him was his group, composed of his two best friends, Emmanuel James Roberts and Josh Angelo Garcia, Lukas Hyde Bohr, Emman's girlfriend Stacy Hinnings and Lukas's girlfriend Hayley Densen. 

"Grayson! Got my homework?" he said, smirking. Marianne shook her head."N-No...," she replied softly, but in her mind, she was screaming, 'WHY DON'T YOU DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK YOU LAZY JOCK?!'  He grabbed the collar of her blouse, pulling her dangerously close to him.”Why.Didn’t.You.Do.It?” he growled, glaring at her. “Because… You should be the one to do it…,” she answered, which sent her back colliding with the concrete ground. She groaned as Will helped her up.

”WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!” Will yelled out loudly, pulling back his fist and getting ready to punch Daniel. Marianne stopped his fist from colliding with Daniel’s face, looking at him with a look of disapproval. Will glared at Daniel, before shoving his hands in his pockets. “Come on Annie, Marj. We should go or else we’ll be late for first period,” he said through gritted teeth. The three friends walked away, but Marianne looked back at Daniel, who was now chatting with another guy she hated. Namely, Michael Sebastian Connors, who was a much worse person than Daniel. She saw her friends already a few feet in front of her, so she walked faster and caught up with them. ‘It could have been worse…,’ she thought to herself, sighing softly in relief as Will and Marj struck up a conversation with her.