Chapter 1

"So... do you think you can help me?" Dailey asked.

She tried not to stare at Eddy's ache as he scratched at a spot on his chin. The kid had probably the worst skin she'd ever seen in her life; a mosaic patchwork of scars, red blotches, and fresh pustules.

His Adam’s apple wobbled as he swallowed a bite of his half-wrapped cheeseburger and wiped his mouth before responding.

"I'm good with computing but I'm not a hacker," Eddy said. A stubborn drop of mayonnaise clung to the fluffy bit of hair around his mouth. Dailey hinted at him, pointing at her own mouth a few times before he finally took the hint and cleaned himself up. 

With the social skills of a jacket potato and genius-level computer skills, Dailey had felt sure this guy could help and would do so without wanting too much in return. 

Still, the poor guy was on a whole other level of gross. The thought of having to date him made her feel so nauseous she was almost relieved he didn't have the talents she required.

"So I need a hacker?" she asked.

"Well... to hack into someone's computer, yes," he said, looking at her like she was the world’s biggest idiot. 

Maybe she was. Only stupid people got themselves into ridiculous situations they couldn't fix without help.

"Do any of your friends know how to hack a computer?" she asked.

Eddy took a nasal breath and sipped on his cola as he looked about the cafeteria. Finally, he pointed, not at the nerd table but what Dailey lovingly referred to as the 'freak table.'

"That guy, the tall one who always looks like he's about to stab someone's nan. I heard he has this YouTube channel where he hacks into other hackers’ computers. You know... online scammers and such. He's probably the only person at this school who could help you."

"Shit," Dailey muttered when she realised he was talking about Drake Parsons. He was the last person who would want to help her, though he might want to get back at her ex-boyfriend.

'The question is, which of us does he hate more?' Dailey thought.

She circled the cafeteria, sticking to the outer wall between the tables and the large windows looking out onto the playing field. As Drake and his band of misfit weirdos began to clear their table she circled back around the bins, watching as he dumped the contents of his tray and left it in the red plastic rack.

As he left the building she sped up, catching him just as he left the main entrance. 

"Drake?" she asked and pulled on his arm when he didn't hear.

He turned and pulled earphones out, frowning down at her like she'd lost her mind.

"I have a favour to ask you," she explained.

He stared at her for a moment before turning away and pulling his phone from his pocket. She watched as he fiddled with his headphones, sliding the little black wires through his fingers to separate them.

"Drake?" she repeated.

This time he turned to her with a heavy sigh. 

"What?" he grunted.

"I need your help with something. Please. I'll pay you," Dailey blurted. Anger and hatred seemed to radiate from him in waves. Maybe it was just his aura—as Eddy mentioned picking up a similar vibe—but Dailey got the feeling this guy would sooner slit her throat than talk to her. He had a 'Jeff the Killer' vibe, with long dark hair covering his pale face. 

"What do you need?" he asked.

"My ex-boyfriend has pictures of me, and he said he's going to post them everywhere if I don't get back with him," Dailey explained, looking down at her feet.

"Sam Brown?" Drake asked and chuckled. "What a douchebag."

Just about everybody in this school knew Sam Brown and Dailey Channing were a couple. They were the school's sweethearts—a power couple without rival. Well... they had been up until the point Sam cheated on her.

"Someone told me you can hack into computers," Dailey explained, eyes still fixed on her stained laces. "Can you hack his computer and get rid of the pictures he took?" 

Drake nodded. "My fee is two hundred."

"Can you do it first thing after school?" Dailey asked. Sam was giving her until tonight to decide whether she wanted to get back together or have her naked butt flaunted all over social media. The nerve of him. Not only was he the one who cheated, but he'd had the audacity to chew her out for searching in his phone for evidence. And now he was forcing her to get back with him because the other girl had moved on to some older college guy.

Drake tutted, looking down at his phone messages with a frown. Presumably, he had something else to do after school.

"Please?" she asked, taking him by the hand. He wore black fingerless gloves, similar to the rest of his crew, though his were leather rather than the soft type with red and black stripes. His style was slightly edgier than the others; not so sweet and innocent. He did, however, have the same black nail polish—the trademark of the weirdo brigade.

His fingers straightened and tensed up as he slid from her grip, looking at her like she was disease-ridden and gross. Seeing him up close as his hair blew about in the wind, she could see he actually had a pleasant face. A cute button-shaped nose, full lips, and deep blue eyes. 

"I get it. You're desperate. Still... there's no need to be overly familiar," he said, lips curled.

"S—sorry," Dailey stuttered. No guy had ever complained about her touching them before. That combined with the realisation he was good looking threw her off guard. She almost forgot why she was talking to him in the first place.

"Okay," he said. "Meet me here after school. I can fit you in before my other meetings."

"Erm, thank you," Dailey said. 

He turned and was gone before she could say goodbye or explain that she would have to pay him later. She didn't have two hundred quid to hand but felt sure she could rustle it up by the end of the week.

'Hopefully he will be okay with it.'