Jess
Jess pov
“Jess, come on, we’re gonna be late!”
I grimace. “Jeez, I’m coming!” I yell downstairs.
I check my reflection, my red hair perfectly plaited into two braids on top of my head, courtesy of my big sister, Kim… who’s also responsible for currently yelling at me for running late.
I’m wearing minimal make up, just a slick of mascara and my favourite cherry-flavoured lip gloss.
My uniform is perfectly ironed, and my pleated skirt is rolled precisely three times, just low enough to cover my bum while still showing off my long, tanned legs.
Not that anyone notices.
No one ever notices me.
In fact, I’d be completely invisible if it weren’t for my best friend, Tiani.
Tiani, or T, as everyone knows her, is basically everyone’s best friend. She makes friends so easily… me, not so much.
T is popular. You’d think that, as her actual best friend, I’d be popular too. But it doesn’t work like that.
Everyone wants to be friends with T… because of her family.
T is related to the school’s bad boys. Her cousins, Jaxon Mayweather and Levi Cole, are part of a kind of gang. There’s a whole group of them, every single one attractive, confident, and completely rebellious.
No one messes with them. Not even the teachers.
“Jess… I’m leaving! Are you coming or not?” Kim yells again.
“Yes!” I groan.
My sister Kim is two years older than me, seventeen and in her last year at school. While I’m fifteen, with two more years to go.
Grabbing my handbag, I head down the stairs, jogging when I hear the front door open.
I can hear her talking to someone, and a smile spreads across my face as I spot T waiting to walk with us.
“Morning, chick,” I say to T.
“Jess, we’re gonna be late,” she admonishes.
I smirk at her, knowing she wouldn’t actually care about being late. It’s not like she can get in trouble, like I said, her family pretty much runs the school.
I shout goodbye to my parents as I step outside and pull T into a hug, her hair in plaits matching my own.
T doesn’t wear makeup, honestly, she doesn’t need to. She’s naturally beautiful. Thick brown hair, green eyes, and curves in all the right places.
One of the things I love most about T is her loyalty and how down-to-earth she is. She could be the most popular girl in school if she wanted to… but she’s just not interested.
That makes her even cooler.
We catch up as we walk to school, talking about nothing in particular, when suddenly T turns to me.
“Oh my God, I’ve got gossip.”
“What?” Kim and I reply in unison.
T smirks. “So… Ellie Belly strikes again.”
My stomach drops.
Please not Levi… please not Levi.
I chant it in my head, discreetly crossing my fingers behind my back.
“She’s so gross. Who’s the unlucky victim now?” Kim asks with a shudder.
Ellie Tate is the “IT” girl at school. Her and her three friends, Lauren, Rose, and Kirsty.
Well… “IT” is probably being too kind.
She hangs around with T’s cousins, and by “hangs around,” I wouldn’t exactly say they’re friends. Let’s just say she and her little group put out often… and, well, you know what teenage boys are like.
Wherever the boys are.
Ellie’s never far behind.
Lurking.
Clinging.
Like the cling-on she is.
“Phil,” T says. “I heard Lev on the phone last night, saying what a slut she was. Apparently, she’s trying to get noticed by Toby or Jax, but so far neither of them are interested.”
She giggles.
“I don’t think she understands that shagging all their mates is a turn-off. Or that they take the piss out of her for it. She’s just a hole for them.”
“Ew, gross,” Kim adds. “I don’t see the attraction. Imagine being that much of a slut at fifteen. She must have slept with more of them than she hasn’t by now. Although, to her, I’m sure that’s some sort of accomplishment.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding, trying to keep it discreet.
Okay… I’ll admit it.
I have a massive crush on Levi.
Kim knows.
And I think, deep down, T does too, but she’s never called me out on it.
Not that it matters.
Levi Cole would never look at me.
I’m not surprised about Phil, though. Him and his younger brother, Lee, are definitely the biggest man-whores among the guys… at least, according to the gossip.
See, I guess being invisible does have its advantages after all.
People talk openly in front of me.
I’ve even heard that Phil and Lee sometimes share girls.
The thought makes me want to throw up.
I’ve never even had a boyfriend.
Never been kissed.
But despite being a virgin, I’m not naïve…
Although being spit-roasted by brothers is definitely not on my to-do list.
Kim side-eyes me, knowing full well I’ve just been having an internal freak-out, and I glare back at her for silently calling me out.
“She’s so skanky,” I say. “I don’t know why any of them would want to stick their dicks in her. One day, one of said dicks is gonna fall off… contaminated with God only knows what.”
I giggle.
That sets them both off laughing.
“You know that, Jess. I hope it happens, might teach them a lesson. Man-whores, the lot of them. Hopefully, they’ll grow up soon and eventually find decent girlfriends,” T says earnestly.
We arrive at the school gates, and my eyes are immediately drawn to the group of guys we’ve just been talking about.
My gaze lands on Levi.
And lingers.
God… he’s so hot.
He’s a year above me, tall, already built, muscles defined like he actually lives in the gym. His hair is the same colour as T’s, but curlier, and he’s constantly brushing it off his forehead.
He has the same green eyes as T…
And his smile.
It lights up his whole face.
Those dimples.
The same ones he shares with his cousins, T and Jax.
And for a second.
I just stare.
“I’ll see you both later,” Kim says, already walking ahead toward the boys she’ll have to pass to meet her friends waiting at the entrance.
I watch as she walks past the boys. One of them whistles. I think it’s Nate, and she turns, blowing them all a kiss.
I wish I had her confidence.
Or even just a bit of it.
I’d die if they did that to me.
Luckily, I don’t have to worry.
I’m just T’s shy sidekick.
I don’t get it anyway. I mean, Kim is pretty much a carbon copy of me, slightly taller, but she’s older. Same red hair, same bright blue eyes, same freckles.
I just hope that one day I can be as confident as her.
“Ready?” T asks, knowing full well she’s about to be intercepted by them.
I nod with a sigh, already averting my eyes.
“Great,” T mutters, and I glance at her, catching the way her eyes narrow at something ahead.
I follow her gaze,
Ellie.
And her bimbo crew.
Heading straight toward the boys.
I sigh.
Perfect.
That’s all I need, Ellie and her snarky comments this early in the morning.
For a second, I consider crossing the road, avoiding them altogether.
But I know T would follow me…
And there’s no way they haven’t already clocked her arrival.
“Sorry, chick. Want to try and swerve them?” T asks quietly.
“Do you think that’ll work?” I reply, a flicker of hope in my voice, even though I already know the answer.
“Nope,” she admits.
The thing is, as much as Ellie is a first-class bitch who tries to bully everyone, she wouldn’t dare say a word to T.
The guys would make her life a living nightmare.
Sadly, that courtesy doesn’t extend to me. Like I said, I’m invisible to the guys… but not to Ellie and her sluts.
I take a breath and link my arm through T’s, putting on a false sense of bravado.
“I’ve got this, T.”
She looks at me, one eyebrow raised, instantly calling me out on my bullshit.
“If she starts, I’ll put her in her place,” T offers.
“We both know she won’t say a word to you,” I reply. “I appreciate it, but I don’t want you getting shit because of me.”
“What shit. She wouldn’t dare, anyway it’d be worth it,” T says with a smirk. “I’d love her to say something to me in front of them… watch her fall off her pedestal.”
“She’s a bitch, not stupid, chick.”
T frowns. “True. Come on, let’s just get it over and done with.”
I brace myself. We can’t put it off any longer.
I let out a calming breath.
I’ve got this.
Maybe Ellie won’t notice me today. Maybe she’ll ignore me, like the rest of the school.
Right… eyes down and walk.
