Chapter~1

FRIEDA:  

If there was one person I hated more than my father, it would be HIM. 

Eli Rayes.

He was, in all senses, the bane of my existence. A thorn in my flesh that I wished to pluck out and snap in two. Not just snapping but also to throw it into the fire and watch it burn to ashes and be blown by the wind. 

Yes, that was how deep my hate was for him. 

My father had left us with nothing, nothing painful there, but Eli was trying to take away everything I had worked my entire life for. 

And to think that I even tried to make friends with him when he first came!! What was I even thinking? 

I stood afar, watching him and his clique of friends. Rather, click of ass-lickers. 

For some reason, he was the only significant person there. Maybe because he was the only one who wasn't saying anything stupid.

He sat in the middle of the bench, one side of his earpiece fitted in his right ear and the left ear open, probably just to hear the conversations going on around him. Despite the loud noise, he remained calm, his expression unreadable. 

"I see why they call him the SHL's ice machine. Dude never breaks a frown." I scoffed, wondering why I even noticed it. 

I was about to turn on my heels when I heard an annoying voice. It made my skin crawl. 

"If it isn't Rie Frost... I see you're still sulking about losing to Eli during the last maths competition. It hurts being beaten at your own game, doesn't it?" 

Says the self-proclaimed 'girlfriend' to Eli. 

"Oh, please, I think you saw wrongly. It was a tie. But I doubt you could see clearly with all those fake lashes." I fired back with a smirk, her little smile loosening.

Aside from beating them in class, the next thing that gave me joy was when I piss them off. And trust me to have an untamed mouth. A respecter of nobody. 

"It's only a matter of time before you're thrown out of first place. I can't wait for that day." She tried to save her face. I only smiled. 

"Did anyone forbid that the girls in your family shouldn't have good grades? What happened to you throwing me out? Don't you have brains?" 

She clenched her fists, visibly annoyed. She had tried to throw mud at my face but guess who was rolling all over the mud? 

"Or..." I folded my arms, my eyes slowly tearing from her beautifully made-up face to the ice-cold Eli who hadn't looked up since I started talking. Pft, show off.

"How do you intend to stand beside a highly intelligent man if you're daft?" 

Her lips quivered, her perfectly carved brows furrowing in anger. I was supposed to be scared; she could find a situation to hurt me later but at that moment, a deep sense of satisfaction washed over me. 

Her feet moved, as though she wanted to charge toward me. I knew what Hailey was capable of. Her parents were well-to-do and she got away with everything she did. Beautiful as a princess but with a rotten attitude. I wondered how anybody was able to stand her. 

I knew the extent to which Hailey could go if anyone she didn't like crossed her path. But I couldn't help it. It was just like heading towards a wave, aware that it could swallow you whole. 

She was about to walk past Eli to come to me when he stood up abruptly, blocking her way. Knowing him, he didn't do that to save me from her wrath. He probably just wanted to leave. 

He turned to me, his eyes devoid of any emotion. 

Just as on the first day we met. 

I remember that day clearly. 

We had met at a convenience store, where he helped me get my favourite oats from a top counter. I was too short to grab it. 

When I found out we were in the same class, I was elated. I tried everything I could to befriend him. I showed him around the school, helped him with catching up in class (he resumed in the middle of the term), gave him my notes and study guide, and even cheered him on during any game. But he still looked at me with those cold, distant eyes. 

But there was something that made me snap and I stopped talking to him. After winning a major game against our top rival, I presented him with a box of cookies to congratulate him. I made sure to put on my most genuine smile. He accepted it without a word, and by then I had realized that I had never heard him say more than ten words. He only spoke during their hockey practice. 

I returned to the locker room later and found my cookies in the trash. I was so upset that I almost cried. Or maybe I did. I was so hurt that he never looked my way. That same day, someone announced that he was going for the same scholarship as me. That was the day we became sworn enemies. 

Eli's gaze was intently on me. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I rolled my eyes and walked away. I never want to be seen twenty feet near him. I hated him for wanting to take what I've been working so hard for. He was rich, as I found that his father was a wealthy businessman, so why was he pursuing the scholarship when he could afford to go to any school of his choice without breaking a sweat? 

Did he enjoy seeing me struggle? 

The moment I sat down, someone covered my eyes from behind. I recognized the smell of her favourite perfume. 

"Guess who?" I could feel her grinning from ear to ear. 

"My best friend in the whole wide world," I replied. Chloe laughed and sat beside me. That was when I turned to see her. She looked radiant with her lush pink lips. 

My chocolate brown hair could never match her shiny blonde hair. She was perfect in every way, drawing the male folks in with the depths of her ocean blue eyes. 

Unlike Hailey who attached so many artificial products to her body, Chloe was a natural beauty who could rival any model. Sometimes, I wondered why she became friends with me, seeing that I was 'mid' —as classified by Hailey. 

"You walked in so upset. Don't tell me it has to do with your crush." She gave a lopsided smile, folding her arms. 

"Excuse me? What? I would rather drown myself in the ocean than ever look at him that way. I would rather remain single and die alone. Crush, my foot." As I was talking about him, he walked inside and sat at the far end of the class. 

"I hate him." I hissed, wishing I could just snap his head off his neck. 

"You don't even know this guy."

"I know plenty, all right. He's egotistical, manipulative, and highly self-centered. He lets everyone do his dirty work while he walks away unscathed." I avoided looking at him but Chloe's eyes were fixated on him. I could tell without looking. 

She waved at him. I assumed he returned the wave when I saw a small smile on her lips. He never responded when I waved at him. 

Somewhere in my heart pricked. It hurt as much as when I found the cookies I had woken up so early to bake in the trash. 

He saw everyone else. 

But...

He never saw me.