prologue

Cameron

My life sucks right now.

In the long run, it's probably better than my previous situation but right now, it sucks.

I'm currently in my limo on my way to boarding school.

But not just any boarding school. No. I'm going to Oak League Academy.

The poshest, snottiest boarding school in the country, if not, the world.

I always dreaded the day I'd have to go and luckily, I managed to postpone it by a few years.

I was homeschooled from age eleven, after we left junior prep school, but my mum decided that it's time and I wouldn't dare argue with her.

Most of the time, I'd class myself as a bit of a rebel, but when it came to my mother, I was the swottiest little thing you've ever seen.

It's quite embarrassing.

One of the only good things about this school is I'll get to see my best friend every day. Isabelle has been my best friend since we were 6.

I was incredibly sad when she left to go to Oak League at twelve, she'd only come back during the summer holidays for a few weeks.

The day she left was the day my life started going downhill.

I'll not go into too much detail but I've pretty much been in a bad place ever since. I'm just hoping that this will help me back to where I was before she left.

I stare out of the window, leaning my head against it as field after field goes by. I'm getting quite tired, we've been driving for at least 3 hours already, but the space around me is so packed I can't even stretch my legs.

The boot is full too. Mum insisted on me taking all of my belongings and I wouldn't be surprised if she won't let me back next summer.

Another good thing is we each get our own room, unlike most other boarding schools. I'm quite relieved as I like my privacy.

So many thoughts are running through my head right now, giving me a migraine. I really hope I like it here, I don't think I'd be able to cope much longer in that house under the constant pressure of my mother.

She's very... excessive.

Yeah. That's the word.

I pull myself back into reality just for a moment, lifting my head from the window.

"Damon?" My chauffer instantly looks at me through the rear-view mirror giving me a look as if to say 'yes?'. "How much longer?"

"About an hour, Miss Kingston." He smiles.

"Thank you." I nod and return a small smile.

I wish I didn't have to fake my smiles, it's a very exhausting thing to do, believe it or not.

I relax, leaning against the window, again, and attempt to think... or sleep. Whichever comes first.

The latter took me into a pit of soothing darkness.

...

"Miss? Miss Kingston?" I hear Damon's voice, softer than usual.

I open my eyes and realise we're here.

Great.

Damon smiles at me, holding my door open.

I smile back, stepping out and walking in a few circles to stretch out my long legs.

Yes. I'm actually quite tall. For a girl anyway.

In front of me stands a very tall and very wide building. It looks quite old and seems to be about 3 floors high.

(oak league academy)

In line with the entryway, is a fountain. The sun reflects onto the glistening water, beneath the ripples.

On either side of the vast school, there is a row of trees giving the space in front of the school, and the road leading up to it, privacy.

I'm pulled back into reality by a tap on my shoulder.

"Miss? We can go inside now." Damon says, smiling.

"Okay." I nod... and smile.

So tiring.

We walk silently up to the intimidating school.

Damon is carrying a few of my bags, I feel bad as he'll have to do multiple trips. I wish I could help him but he wouldn't let me.

Suddenly, a woman, in a matching blazer and skirt set and heels, appears.

"Miss Kingston!" She exclaims coming forward to embrace me.

Oh, God.

One thing that you need to know about me:

I fucking hate hugs.

I try my best to seem content as I pat her back slightly but this is getting more awkward as the seconds pass by so I pull away prematurely.

"Welcome to Oak League Academy!" Her smile is large and proud.

...

We're in my dorm now.

Here, the dorms are in blocks of four. The lady, who I'm assuming is the headmistress, says there are two female dorms and two male dorms in each block.

In each block, there's a very large bathroom, a kitchen, a living room and a study room as well as the four bedrooms.

I'm yet to find out who my roommates are, on weekends students are allowed to leave the premises and go into the nearest city so everyone's out at the moment.

Damon brought all of my belongings up and I thanked him multiple times.

We're on the very top floor, we even have a balcony in the living room.

Mrs Bradford, the headmistress, leaves saying there's some paperwork to tend to.

"Damon? Can you look after my mum for me?" I ask breaking the comfortable silence.

"Of course, Miss. Do you need any help with anything?" He replies sweetly.

"No, no. I can manage. Thank you, Damon." I smile.

He nods. "I'll be off then."

"Goodbye, Damon."

"Goodbye, Miss Kingston."

I give him a small wave as he walks out of the door.

I sigh, walking into my new room.

It's quite big.

The walls are all white and the floor is black wood. It's a nice contrast.

A king-size bed sits in the centre of the room, a large flatscreen on the opposite wall. There's a love seat in the corner next to a few grey bean bags. There's also a tall and wide chest of drawers beneath the tv.

On it, is a welcome package. An iPhone 12 pro max, some second-gen AirPods, am iPad Pro and the new MacBook Air. There's also an Apple Watch, apple pen and cases for everything.

Wow. They must really love apple.

There's a door beside the tv on the wall, it's a walk-in wardrobe. There are already so many new clothes in here. Wow.

I continue walking past the rows of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories then turn the corner. I find a dressing room. A tall rack of gowns is by the large window next to a privacy screen.

A long vanity is placed along that wall with a light-up mirror above it. Draws full of makeup line one full wall.

There's a wide floor to ceiling mirror by the entryway.

I could honestly stay in here forever but I should really start unpacking, I make my way back to my bedroom and out of the door.

After I take all of my bags and cases into my new room, I go back to the living room, to get my trunks.

They are huge and I can already tell they'll be heavy.

Ugh. I'm not cut out for this.

I successfully drag it past my door.

One down. Two to go.

I grab the handle on the side of the other and begin to drag it from behind until I hear a door close. I instantly look up and I'm met with painfully familiar eyes.

Grey eyes.

Nathan.

____________

Nathan

She rolls her eyes and I immediately smirk.

Oh. How I've missed her.

"Cameron." I nod.

"Nathaniel." She nods back.

I laugh, shaking my head.

After a minute, I look up, meeting her beautiful green eyes.

"Need any help?" I ask pointing to the trunk.

"No thanks. I can manage." She throws me a sickly sweet smile.

"You sure?"

"Yup" she wheezes, attempting to drag it into her room.

I sigh before taking long strides towards her. Before she can protest, I grab the handle and drag it into her room with no effort.

I smirk down at her as she huffs.

I've missed her so much.

I open my arms and she stares at me, looking confused.

"You haven't seen me in two years and you're not gonna give me a hug?" I ask sticking out my bottom lip and putting on my best puppy eyes.

She leans into me and I smile as she wraps her arms around my back.

I could stay like this forever.

The last time we hugged was when we were 13. She was slightly taller than me then but now, even though she has grown some more, I stand about a head above her.

It's weird but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

She pulls away and I instantly feel like a part of me is missing.

I give her a small smile.

"Well I should probably leave you to unpack but we need to catch up so give me your phone so I can give you my number and I'll text you the time and place."

A look of uncertainty crosses her face for a moment but with a loud sigh, it's gone and replaced with a shrug and a subtle roll of her eyes.

I smile.

She hands over her phone and I type in my number then ring it so I have hers.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you later then." I say and begin walking back to my room.

"Sure... I guess."  She replies.

I chuckle to myself as I close my door.

It's so good to see her.

I had heard the car pull up outside and as always I go to see who it is. Every time, with that small bit of hope that it'll be her and as soon as I saw her step out of that shiny black limo, my heart swelled.

Two years. I hadn't seen her in two years, since my parents decided that we should move away, so they could be closer to the school.

But after around three months, they moved back saying they don't want to see me anymore.

I was all alone then.

The day I left was both the best and worst day of my life.

The day I had my first kiss.

But also the day I had to leave my best friend, my crush.

My feelings never died. In fact, they grew stronger at the distance between us. My longing to be back with her. I needed her. I still do And now that she's back, I feel complete.

Even if she doesn't feel the same way anymore, I can cope so long as she's in my life. Being friend-zoned is painful but losing your best friend, and crush, completely hurts way more.

She looks amazing. Even more beautiful than the last time I saw her.

I love her new style as well. It suits her good looks and wild personality.

(her outfit)

She has an amazing body. Everything about her is perfect, to me.

She doesn't look as happy to see as I am to see her. I need to change that. It's my job to make her happy.

I've finally got her back and I'm not letting her go, ever.

...

Cameron

It's the evening now.

I organised my room and put away all of my belongings. I've decided to wait until tomorrow to set up all of my new devices as it's getting late and I'm quite tired.

I'm currently talking to Millie, the other girl in my block.

Her and Nathan's best friend, Louis, had gone into town to do the weekly shop and just got back an hour ago.

Millie and I are becoming fast friends. She's so sweet.

She's actually the headmistress's daughter.

She's telling me the ins and outs of the school. Who to avoid and all that.

"Okay. Angelica Lexington. She's the popular girl. Her dad owns an aeroplane company. She's got 150K followers on Instagram mainly because of the amazing holiday pics she has. She's always on holiday, sometimes even during term time." She explains.

"Wow."

"She's going out with Brent Montgomery. He's American. He's obviously the popular boy. He has like 100K followers on Instagram. He's lived in England since he was 8. He is the star player of the cricket team. His parents own a few of the Major League Baseball teams in America. He often goes on holiday with Angelica because his parents have pretty much dumped him here. If he wasn't such a dick, I'd feel sorry for him."

"Okay. Brent = dick."

"Massive dick."

I laugh.

"Anyway. Then there's Grace Horne. She's Angelica's ex-best friend but she's still incredibly popular. No one actually knows why they fell out. A bunch of people unfollowed her after the fall out so she only has like 70K followers but she's still verified like Angelica and Brent. She's pretty much the school whore. And... Nathan's ex. She was too clingy so Nathan dumped her after a week." She laughs. "Her mother is a famous fashion designer so she's often seen at London Fashion Week. Never the others though, she isn't allowed to leave the country."

"I'm definitely steering clear of her then." I laugh slightly to cover the pain I'm feeling. I don't know what I expected, for him to not date anyone so he could be with me even though he doesn't know about the feelings I have for him, no.

Had.

I don't have feelings for him anymore.

No.

I snap myself out of my thoughts as Millie begins to speak again.

"They're the only ones you should really stay away from. But I can tell you about the nice ones if you like?"

"Yeah, of course." I smile an almost genuine smile.

"Okay. Angelica and Brent are in block 2F along with a boy called Sebastian Abbot and a girl called Isabelle Rhodes."

"Oh. I know Isabelle. She's my best friend. I haven't seen her in ages." I exclaim with excitement.

"She's really nice. I have a few lessons with her." She smiles.

I return the smile.

"Then there's us, Nathan and Louis in this block. We're in block 1. It's special because my mum gives me special treatment. I try to stop her but she insists. Anyway... Louis is a model, one of the only people in the school who earns his own money, although he doesn't pay for his tuition. His parents are both doctors. And you should know all about Nathan." She giggles.

I swat her arm playfully before she continues.

"Sebastian is very sweet. The only openly gay boy in the school. He's part of the little friendship group we have. His parents are divorced. His mum is an actress. His dad is a music producer who lives in Spain with his new wife. That's pretty much all you need to know about the students here. Now... what about you? What's your backstory?"

"Oh. Nothing too special. My mum was a singer but she retired when my... my er...m-my dad... died."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." She looks at me with that sympathetic look that I fucking hate. It makes me feel pathetic.

"No, no. It's fine. I just don't talk about it often. He was a dickhead anyway."

A colossal dickhead.

"Still."

I smile weakly and luckily she changes the subject.

"So... what do you think of your new room?"

"I love it. It's so fancy. I've got so much makeup now and I don't even know how to use it." I laugh.

"I can teach you if you like?"

"That would be great." I smile.

"Oh. What's your number? We need to add you to the group chat and of course, I need it if we're gonna be friends." She smiles.

I give her my number and she adds me on Instagram, Snapchat etc.

We talk until around 1 am.

She tells me all about her previous years at this school.

It's the first day of 5th year tomorrow and I'm not sure whether I'm excited or nervous. I'm starting in the middle of my senior school life which makes me feel really self-conscious. It's also quite scary.

Millie tries to assure me it's going to be fine but I'm practically dying inside. I'm not used to being surrounded by other people my age. At home, I only really had the staff and my mum. My horrible mum.

I'm glad I'm away from her now.

After Millie leaves, I notice how tired I am. I need to be up in roughly 6 hours so I need to try to sleep although I barely ever sleep well. I hope I don't look like shit in the morning.

I quickly have a shower then go back to my room in a towel.

I grab a pair of pyjamas out of my extensive closet and slip them on to my body.

I get into bed and attempt to drift off but the universe is against me.

I lie wide awake for a few hours before I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

It's 4 am by the time I get to sleep.