FROM WALLFLOWER TO SHOWSTOPPER

CHAPTER ONE 

"Tonight's party is going to be amazing!" someone shouted from the back of the class.

Reyna squeezed her face in irritation; the noise was annoying her. She continued sketching the dress design she was working on, smiling as her masterpiece came together.

"What's making the ugly duckling smile?" a girl asked loudly.

Reyna wished she were a snail, able to hide in her shell whenever she felt threatened or attacked.

The girl walked up to her and peered at what Reyna was drawing. Reyna tried to hide it, but the girl yanked the sketchbook from her hands.

"You draw dresses?" Her tone was mocking, and she let out a fake laugh.

Reyna pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, embarrassed.

"Don’t tell me you want to be a fashion designer?" The girl kept mocking her as she flipped through the sketchbook.

"These are so ugly. No one would want them." She threw the sketchbook across the room.

"Suzy, that was rude," another girl cautioned.

"Rude? She's an ugly thing. I can't stand her face—no one can." Suzy snarled, watching Reyna pick up her sketchbook.

"Don't tell me you're inviting this wallflower to the party?" The blonde, Suzy, glared at her friend.

"I don’t want to, but she's a member of the class. She can choose to come."

"Eww. She's totally going to make the party boring with her presence. I mean, look at her, she’s dull and pathetic." Suzy was still insulting Reyna when someone walked into the class.

It was Roman Knight, the hottest and wealthiest guy in college, he was every girl's dream guy. Athletic build, was the captain of the school's basketball team and had led them to win a lot of trophies and most of all he was rich and handsome. 

Every girl on Campus wanted to be Roman Knights girl. 

"Roman, we are hosting a party tonight," Suzy smiled flirtatiously at him.

"Cool," he nodded, walking right past her. His gaze drifted to Reyna, who was seated in the corner of the classroom.

Reyna felt her cheeks heat up under his stare. She quickly used her thick red hair to cover the sides of her face, hoping no one would notice she was blushing. 

Her heart fluttered feeling his stare on her, she hoped no one would notice. 

Then he looked away, as if she wasn’t even significant enough to hold his attention.

She returned to her seat and tucked her sketchbook back inside her backpack, not wanting to give Suzy another chance to embarrass her.

Classes were over, and Reyna rushed home that evening. The whole school had been buzzing about how amazing the party would be, but she didn’t care. No one would want her there anyway.

Reyna Styles was a nobody. From her thick-lensed glasses to her wild curly red hair, her chubby figure, and her unfortunate fashion sense, she was labeled the ugly duckling, an outcast, a misfit among them all.

"I'm always left out," Reyna sighed sadly as she walked into her apartment.

"Reyna?" someone called her name from the kitchen.

 "Brielle, I’m in the sitting room," she called back, pulling out her sketchbook to continue where she left off.

"Hey, little sis. How was class?" A young woman entered with similar facial features to Reyna, except her hair was brown and her complexion lighter.

"It was okay." She replied half heartedly her emerald green eyes avoided her sister’s.

"They bullied you again?" Brielle’s tone turned sad as she watched her little sister scribbling in her sketchbook.

"They're having a party tonight. Said I would make it boring if I went," the hurt in her voice was evident, though she tried to hide it from her sister.

"Well, prove them wrong by going. Besides, you’ve never been to any party since you came of age," Brielle encouraged her in an enthusiastic voice, patting her head.

"You would let me?" A chirp of excitement popped up in Reyna’s voice as she looked at her older sister.

"Well, I don’t like those guys, they sound like horrible people but if you want to go, then you absolutely can," Brielle told her.

"Thanks, Bri!" she squealed excitedly.

"You can have one of my dresses," Brielle said, laughing as her little sister hugged her.

"I’ll return it after the party, promise!" Reyna called out as she dashed to her bedroom. "I need to get ready!"

When Reyna got to the party venue, she was nervous. The dress she’d borrowed from her sister was pretty, but it wasn’t as glamorous as the others. She wasn’t perfectly shaped, and her huge glasses kept slipping down her nose.

No one noticed her in the large room. They never did. But tonight someone did. 

Roman Knight, the golden boy of the university, walked toward her. He had noticed her.

"Hi," his deep voice was raspy and spellbinding, it made the hairs on her skin stand. He towered over her, smiling down.

"Hey," Reyna replied shyly. Her heart was in a mess, she was turning red and tried to hide it but she couldn't. 

He would realise she was crushing on him. 

"You look pretty tonight," he complimented, his voice smooth and melodious. His hand grazed over her bare arm, and she could smell the strong scent of alcohol on him.

"Thanks," she replied timidly, her face burning bright red.

"What’s your name?" he asked, toying with a strand of her curly red hair. 

They had been in the same class for a long time, and Roman didn't know her name, maybe he never felt it was important to. “Reyna," she replied, looking up at him, through the big lenses of her glasses. 

“It's cute,” he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. 

A wave of electricity passed through Reyna. 

“I can't help but get lost in your eyes, they are so pretty,” Roman slurred, looking into her eyes. 

Then he leaned in, pressing his lips on hers. The kiss felt like a spark of fire. She was burning up and drowning at the same time.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss. Reyna never thought her first kiss would happen at a party with her secret crush, but she couldn't think; she could only feel the same desire and want burning inside him.

“Let's go somewhere,” he whispered seductively into her ear, nipping at her earlobe.

He pulled her into his expensive car, parked outside the club where the party was being held.

When they got to a hotel, Roman paid for a room for them both and took her there. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as they entered the hotel room.

She wasn't thinking, just living in the moment. Her heart believed his words and his love confessions.

“Your smile is more beautiful than a thousand stars in the sky,” he told her when they got inside.

“I don't think we should, Roman,” she tried to stop him, trying to restrain herself even though she could feel the want he wanted her as much as she wanted him. 

 He kissed her again even more deeply than before, whispering sweet things into her ear. At first he was loving and the perfect gentleman but he became rough, like a predator devouring its prey. 

Reyna wished he was gentle, like she had always wished her first time would be. He wasn't sweet and charming, he was intense and passionate. 

He had taken her virginity, deflowering her. She wasn't the innocent virgin anymore, she had lost it to Roman Knight. 

********

“What the f**k!” Roman exclaimed the next morning jumping out of the bed, he quickly put on his clothes. 

Reyna struggled to wake up, groaning silently in pain, her whole body ached from last night's activity. 

“Good morning,” Reyna greeted him with a shy blush. 

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, looking at her with disgust in his eyes. 

Reyna was startled, she hadn't expected him to give that reaction, especially after what happened between them last night. 

Roman's eyes scanned the bed and he noticed the blood stains and that she was completely naked underneath. 

He moved his fingers through his dark hair in frustration. 

“Nothing happened between us, do you understand?” He warned hercoldly. .

Tears brimmed in Reyna's eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. This wasn't how she imagined her first time would be like, none of it. 

“But," She wanted to say something when Roman interrupted, grabbing her chin roughly. 

“Last night was a drunken mistake, I want you to get that through your dumb head and don't you dare speak a word of this or I'll make your life a living hell ” He threatened her before storming out of the hotel room. 

Reyna broke down in tears as she wrapped the bedsheets tighter around her body. He had looked at her with so much hate and disgust, it hurt her.

“I can't let anyone find out,” she promised herself, wiping her tears away.

Life would be unbearable if anyone did. No one would believe her anyway, the school nerd and the hottest guy on campus, a bloody joke.