ANMELDENSydneyI swear, my breath left me.‘Tyler drives?’ was the first thing that came to mind. Probably to distract myself from the girl who’d just stepped out of the car like she belonged to a different world.“Oh my God, that’s Tyler!” someone screamed from somewhere, and I’m pretty sure she fainted after.What?“That’s Sadie,” Maeve scoffed beside me. “What are they now? Dating?” ‘Dating.’ The word echoed in my head, loud and heavy, my eyes refusing to move from them.Something stuttered in my chest.Tyler…was with another girl.‘What? You thought he’d be with you? Be real, Sydney.’My chest ached as I watched Sadie pull out her phone, already filming. Perfect.The kind of girl people didn’t question. The kind that fits. And I just knew I couldn’t compete.That was Sadie McGuire, daughter of Will McGuire, who owned the largest refinery in the country.She was quiet, rich, untouchable. The kind Maeve called silent wealth.Of course Tyler had gone for someone who was as secretive as he
Sydney Maeve’s room smelled like what I imagined pixie dust would smell like.It was large, soft yellow everywhere—the walls, the ceiling, the rugs, her duvet…even her stationaries.Just not her clothes.The first few times I stopped by her house, it felt like walking into some kind of aesthetic explosion.But today, I didn’t care.I walked into her room to escape—something I kept telling myself.That maybe if I stayed away long enough—if Maeve saw even a fraction of how twisted my stomach felt, maybe she’d let me hide here for one night.I didn’t need to be home to know what it looked like.Mom wasn’t going to be there. She’d left her cards for Brooklyn and me. And Brooklyn? She’d definitely go all out She’d been waiting for this.And then there was me. Trying to avoid own half-sister’s—popular half-sister’s birthday party because she was scared.I stared at my reddened cheeks in the mirror, pulling my arms round myself tighter.I’d chosen to go to the party. It’d be worse if I did
Tyler “Dude, mall, after school.” Micheal’s message read the next morning. I just sighed, dragging a shirt over my head before heading downstairs.I paused halfway, my eyes settling on Mom.She was home by…I checked the time. It was way past when she usually rushed off to one of her big companies.But she was there—relaxed against a couch, a glass of wine in her hand. And across from her was one woman I recognized as one of her rivals.They were speaking in such low tones, it’d take a miracle to hear what they were saying without extremely straining your ear. I just ran a hand through my hair, slung my bag over my shoulder, and moved toward the door.“Tyler,” Mom called without turning.My hand slid off the doorknob as I looked back.“Brooklyn’s birthday.” She said calmly.Of course she remembered She probably had a reminder set for it the second the last one ended.“I have a gift for her.” She turned this time, meeting my gaze. “You’ll give it to her for me.”“Sure.” I turned back
SydneyStaring at him in that aisle, with the sound of Maeve rustling through clothes—gasping and groaning like this was life or death, I realized I hadn’t really noticed Tyler at school today.And I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the speech I’d made about ignoring the basketball team.It was almost like they’d been absent throughout school hours. Yet here they were, looking through outfits.Female outfits.Maeve suddenly gasped, pulling something off the rack. “Oh my God, Sydney! Check this one out.” NoNo, Maeve did not just squeal my name.Tyler turned before I could look away. My breath caught in my throat.Micheal lowered the dress in his hand, slipping his phone into his pocket as he followed Tyler’s gaze.For a moment, I held my breath, my eyes unable to move, my hand tightening against my sweater.Tyler just stared back, his face blank in that way that always made me feel like something bad was about to happen.But Micheal nudged him in the ribs, and Maeve jumped
Sydney Maybe I should have just called in sick and stayed at home. Because after practically yelling at Lakeview’s golden boy in the hallway, it took me a full twenty minutes to completely stop myself from shaking. Actual shaking. The kind that could be passed for a fever if Mom had seen me early enough. But life doesn’t pause for humiliation. I still had to open my eyes the next morning, still listen to my bed groan slightly as I got up, get dressed, and then get into the back seat of the car to get to Lakeview High. “He can’t be nice to girls like…” Those words clung to me like alcohol on a drunk. Because that was the way Tyler Sinclair saw me. An oddity in a perfect city where the elite ruled. Still, I walked through the doors of Lakeview High, keeping my head low. Probably because I was still a bit shaken from yesterday. Ignoring the fact that I’d wet my pillow wishing my dad was still alive, and I didn’t have to move. But somehow, the hallway seemed a lit
Tyler Thud.Thud.Thud.“He can’t be nice to girls like…” Thud.“Girls like me can’t be happy, right?” Thud.“I also don’t like the way I am…but there’s nothing I can do about it.”Thud.“Why do you hate me so much?”THUD.Smash!And there went my reading lamp and my Xbox.Still, I didn’t get off my ass to check the damage because whatever I’d just broken probably didn’t come close to what I felt sitting in my chest.I should have let it go. I knew I should have let it go. But somehow I’d chosen to shove down every common sense I still had and walked up to her in the hallway.And that…that had happened.“Fuck, Tyler,” I sighed, running my hand through my hair. Because this was different. This wasn’t Sydney Walker yelling at me in her kitchen or challenging me in class. This was her standing right in front of me, asking why I hated her.And the worst part?I had the answer.I could’ve stopped her. Could’ve grabbed her wrist, pulled her back, said something—anything.Maybe told he
Sydney So here I was, planning a secret mission to stay in the library until the entire school emptied out so Maeve and I could make a quiet exit. Little did I know that a grey eyed butthole was somewhere waiting for me to show up. I didn’t even notice him at first. Maeve was going on about wh
TylerPractice started the same way it always did.Sneakers squeaking across the gym, balls bouncing from different angles, the guys talking and chuckling when they could, and coach’s whistle shrieking whenever he barked orders.But none of it calmed the storm raging inside me, or kept my mind focu
TylerThe next day should have been easy. Just another day at Lakeview—classes, practice, and the usual trash talks in the hallways.I was mostly over Sydney’s smile yesterday, and I forced myself to laugh at Dean’s jokes throughout the first period.But the thing about lying to yourself is that i
Tyler I noticed it on Monday.But I told myself to focus, take my mind off whatever had Sydney Walker in it, and just walk away.But the next day, though, it became a little more obvious, and there was no way I was going to ignore it.I didn’t even want to think about it before, but the idea of De







