Chapter 1

“You have to be kidding me, Jayce.” Shawn exclaimed, grabbing my wrist as I started to walk away from him. His brown eyes were filled with anger as my grey eyes held a cold stare.

“Well, I’m not Shawn. I really don’t think you trust me enough to be my boyfriend. If I can’t hang out with my best friend without having you call me or text me every five minutes, then we’re done.” I replied. I yanked my arm out of his grip and walked down the hall. I turned into my homeroom and walked to the back of the room.

I flipped my brown and red hair over my shoulder and sat down in my seat. My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Stevens, walked in, followed by a tall guy wearing jeans, a tight fitted shirt, and a pair of high-end sneakers. He had dark hair and he had a lot of muscle.

“Good morning class, I would like to introduce you to your newest classmate, Mason Kingston. He’s from Jacksonville, Florida and he just moved here a few weeks ago.” Mrs. Stevens announced. “Why don’t you go sit next to Jayce?” Mrs. Stevens pointed over to me and Mason smiled.

He walked over to me and sat down in the empty desk to my right. “Hey,” Mason smiled at me and winked.

“Hi, I’m Jayce, Jayce Ackerman.” I smiled and swept my hair off to one side and looked into his blue-green eyes.

“I’m Mason, Mason Kingston.”

I looked at what Mason was wearing and tilted my head to the side. He was wearing a tight shirt that showed off his abs,  jeans that almost covered his shoes, and his shoes were bright blue and black.

Then, I noticed he was looking at my outfit. I was wearing a plaid t-shirt that showed off my chest, a pair of ripped shorts, and a pair of riding boots. I shrugged as the first bell rang. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and walked out of the class. Mason followed me down the hall to Mr. Barker’s room. We walked in and as I took my seat in the back of the room, Mason started to take the seat next to me, but Shawn cut him off and sat down.

“Well, sugar girl, can we put the past behind us and still be a couple?” Shawn asked, taking my hand in his.

I laughed. “Oh hell no.” I replied. “I dumped you and that’s the end of that.”

Shawn stood up and walked away from me, fuming. Mason sat down and looked at me.

“Who was that?” He asked.

I sighed. “THAT was my ex-boyfriend, who I broke up with only 20 minutes ago. He is desperate for attention so he’ll try crawling back to me, but don’t worry, I’m over him.” I winked at Mason and he smirked.

“Good, I was hoping that I didn’t have any competition.” Mason laughed and put his hand on my leg. I smiled and turned to face the front of the room as Mr. Barker walked in. He was a stout, grouchy teacher who has the face of a pug.

“Class, you have all met Mason Kingston. He moved here from Jacksonville, Florida and has taken an interest in your classmate Jayce.” Mr. Barker grumbled.

My face turned bright red. I put my head down as Mason rubbed my leg. I smiled and put my hand on top of his. I took my phone out when I felt it vibrate.

The text was from Shawn. ‘If you think you can get away from me so easily, you’re wrong >:) #BlackStallion: 8:10 am’ My heart dropped to the center of the earth.

I looked up and saw Shawn smirking at me. He turned around and I felt my heart slowly rise back up into my chest. I looked away from Mason’s hand to my hip. I lifted up the hem of my shirt to reveal a large black and blue bruise. Suddenly, my phone vibrated again. I took it out to find a text from Shawn. ‘If you show anyone the bruises, you’re done for #BlackStallion: 8:11 am’

I grabbed my agenda pad from my bag, wrote out a pass to the Nurse’s Office, and had Mr. Barker sign it. I walked out of class and quickly ran into the bathroom. I took out my phone and frantically sent a text to Shawn. ‘Fine, we can be a couple as long as Mason doesn’t get hurt #SugarGirl: 8:12 am’

I stood there for a minute and waited for Shawn to reply. Finally, he did. ‘Deal I’ll see you at my place later on then ;) #BlackStallion: 8:13 am’

I ran out of the bathroom and went down to the Nurse’s Office. When I got there, I saw Lucas O’Donnell and Carson Mularkey. I smiled at Carson and walked over to the Nurse’s fridge. I took an ice pack out of the freezer and put it on my hip. Carson shot me a questioning look, but I just shrugged it off, knowing that Lucas would report to Shawn if I said anything.

Carson walked over to me and nudged my shoulder. “What happened?” He asked, looking at my hip.

“Oh, I got hit with my colorguard rifle and then with my flag. Those hurt if you get hit hard enough.” I laughed and so did Carson. I looked over at Lucas to find him smiling at me. I slowly nodded, showing him that I wasn’t going to tell anyone.

I stayed in the Nurse’s Office for another 5 minutes before I decided to go back to class. I put the ice pack back, grabbed my agenda, and walked back to Mr. Barker’s room. On my way up the stairs, I ran into Shawn. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug.

“Hey Sugar Girl, so you know that if you tell anyone about what happened, you’re gonna regret it.” He whispered into my ear.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get it, don’t worry.”

Shawn smiled. “Good, now after school, Lucas’ mom is picking the three of us up and we’re going to his place while his parents are out.”

“What are you planning on doing?” I asked, twirling a piece of hair around my finger nervously.

Shawn smiled and let his arm drop. “Oh, you know, the usual things we used to do when you were at my house.”

"But we aren't a true couple." I protested to him, my voice was starting to shake. I wasn't totally comfortable with being alone with Shawn and Lucas ever since I first got together with Shawn. We spent two hours alone in his bedroom and I still regret going with him to this day.

Shawn let go of me and turned to leave. "You'll regret that." He hissed as he left.

"Wait, Shawn, I didn't mean it." I cried.

I raced after Shawn and grabbed his arm. He whipped around and pressed me up against the wall. "Oh, I know you meant it, Jayce. And you're gonna pay for it. Lucas should have fun ripping you up from the inside out." Shawn walked away, smiling to himself.

I stood in the hallway for a few minutes, while I was waiting for my heart rate to slow down. When I got back to class, a bunch of girls surrounded my desk and Mason. When Mason saw me, he jumped to his feet and ran over to me. He gave me a hug and the room fell silent. The girls started whispering among themselves, pointing and shooting looks at me. Mason let go of me and pulled me back to our table. The girls cleared out, shooting me hateful looks.

Shawn walked back in and shot me a look. My eyes widened and I walked over to him. “Just leave him alone, he doesn’t know about anything, I promise.” I whispered to him.

Shawn nodded. “Fine, just tell him that you and I are still a thing. Wait, scratch that.” Shawn wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into a kiss. It wasn’t anything too serious,  just a peck on the lips. I heard a bunch of gasps and I felt my heart sink. Shawn pulled away and entwined his fingers in mine. We walked to the back of the room and sat at the empty table across from Mason.

I looked over at Mason, to find him staring at me with a heartbroken look in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry’ I mouthed to him. He just looked away from me and I saw him take in a deep breath.

Class was finally over. I picked up my stuff and walked into the hallway. Shawn met up with me and we waited for Lucas so we could all walk to Math together. When we got to Math, Mason was sitting in my seat next Jesse Rogers. Shawn frowned and dragged me over there.

“Mason, do you mind getting out of my girlfriend’s seat?” Shawn asked.

Mason looked at me and Shawn. “Why doesn’t Jayce ask me herself?” Mason protested.

I looked at Shawn, then at Mason. “Fine. Get out of my seat before I kick you out.” I replied. Mason was taken back, and so was Jesse and Shawn. I never used force when I talked. Mason stood up and got out of my seat. I sat down and Shawn sat down behind me, next to Lucas. Jesse looked at me, then to Mason who went and sat across the room.

‘Why do I keep doing this?’ I thought to myself as I looked over to Mason.