Chapter One

Walking into school is like walking into your own personal hell. Every single one of these people are out to get you one way or another. No matter what you have done, they will still try and eat you alive. The smallest of actions can cause an uprising throughout the cliques and will result in rumours being passed around that will never be forgotten.

Just by looking down the hall you can pick out the people who you don't want to hang around with, the people who don't want you to hang around with them and the people that scare you too much to even consider hanging around with.

You have the typical Jocks who believe that they were sent down by the Gods to be praised and loved by every girl in school. Cheerleaders who think they own the school and everyone in it. Goths who probably have a close friendship with Satan and would kill you if they had the chance. Nerds who just want to do well in school and do something with their lives; and then you have the bad boys. I am aware that many schools have the kids who believe they are above the rules of the school and even higher authority, but our bad boys are on a whole other level. Everyone in the school - even the teachers- cower in fear when they walk through the halls; everyone except most of the female population of the school who is hoping to be another of the boys notches. Basically, they are not people that you want to be mixed with. The worst of them all is Kayden West, notorious bad boy and well known trouble maker.

There are many rumours about this boy floating around school, and most of them I have no trouble believing are real. Many of them are embarrassingly to do with his sexual appetite, but I tend to ignore those rumours (although I don't doubt their credibility). The others, however, say that he has killed people with his bare hands, and that I do not doubt.

It is well known that Kayden West is an underground fighter, he makes sure that everyone knows how dangerous he can be. I have seen him fight - not that he knows that - and I have no doubt that he would be able to kill someone, let alone with his bare hands.

I'm sure you have already figured out which group I belong to. Yep, I'm your typical nerd who has good grades, wears big, round-framed glasses and has one friend. It's not like I chose to be a nerd and hated by 99.9% of the student body, but it happens to be the only thing that I am good at. Ever since I was little I could do the hardest mathematical equations of my age and complete any work that was given to me. I guess I was born to be a nerd. I would love to tell you that I got it from my parents, but to be completely honest, I have no idea what I got from my parents.

Whilst growing up, my parents weren't really there for me, they were always away on business trips or something, so I had to move in with my Aunt and Uncle, but when I turned sixteen, but they left as well. For over 2 years now I have been living in my parent's house on my own. It's not all that bad though; they gave me a credit card that they transfer a ton of money to every week and I can have my friend, Erin, over practically every night, so I'm not that sad about it. I guess it would be nice to see them every once in a while, but I can't complain too much; loads of kids in my school would be dying to be in my position.

It seems we have gotten a little side tracked.

As I was saying, school is hell. I know what you're thinking, 'shouldn't she love school?' Well, sorry to disappoint, but I hate going to school. Don't get me wrong, I love learning, but I hate having to last a day with the teasing and bullying that everyone throws at me.

"Are you even listening to me, Drew?" Erin shouts at me as she smacks me across the back of the head, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Ow! There is no need for violence," I scold her, rubbing the spot where she smacked me.

"What were you thinking about?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at me, knowing that I wasn't paying any attention to whatever she was blabbering on about.

"The usual. How much I hate school and all of the people inside the living version of my own personal burning pits of hell," I explain, sighing dramatically. Erin chuckles at my lack of enthusiasm to be in this place, knowing that I can't stand to be in such a small building with so many people.

The lunch hall goes silent as the doors open wide with such force that it makes a resounding bang echo through the now silent hall. Me and the rest of the school population look toward the doors to see Kayden West and his gang walk into the now silent room. I never quite understood why the girls in my school obsess over them, they are supposed to be feared not fawned over.

Kayden West is leading the group into the hall, his head held high, a smirk firmly in place on his lips. He has to be around 6ft tall, with olive skin that makes him look like he has constantly been on holiday, electric blue eyes that, quite frankly, scare the crap out of me, and dark brown hair which always seems to be styled to perfection. He is wearing his signature leather jacket and has his motorbike helmet tucked under his arm, a dangerous aura coming off of him in waves.

I look around the hall to see all of the girls practically drooling over the group of boys. My friend included. The idea of even looking at the boys has me shaking in fear, so I don't understand how they can look at them so openly. I glance at the boys discreetly from behind my lashes, trying to understand the appeal to the boys, but come to no conclusion.

I guess you could call the boys attractive on some levels, but the niggling thought of how dangerous they can be washes away any attraction I could possibly have for them, especially Kayden.

As if feeling my eyes on him, Kayden turns his gaze onto mine, his intense blue eyes staring into my grey ones. This is new to me, making eye contact with a boy, let alone with one of the most feared boys in my school. I notice that he has stopped walking and is just looking at me with a raised eyebrow, as if he is challenging me to do something, but I can't seem to be able to do anything. I can feel the eyes of everyone in the hall staring at me, snapping me out of the trance and allowing me to look down at the table with flaming cheeks.

"What was that about?" Erin whispers to me, but I can't answer her. I have no idea what that was let alone be able to explain it. I settle with just shrugging my shoulders mutely. The low mumble of people talking rises in the hall as I am assuming the boys sat down at their usual table, but I can still feel eyes on me and I make the stupid mistake of looking back up. Piercing blue eyes are still openly staring at me, ignoring his friends who are trying to get his attention. Why would he be looking at me? Maybe he is confused as to who I am? He cocks his head to the side, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows in confusion and question, but I look back down at my food, ignoring the holes that he is burning into my head.

"Drew, he's still looking at you," Erin whispers, confusion and slight jealousy lacing her words.

"Erin why is he looking at me? I don't want him to notice me," I whine, slamming my head down onto the table.

"It's a bit too late now, Drew," she chuckles looking over at the table, causing her grin to widen. I groan and slam my head down against the table again. I can't believe this is actually happening to me. I'm supposed to be unnoticed and unknown by those kinds of people, not stared at by them. I am so glad that there is only two more lessons left until school is over for the day. I can't wait to just go home and get into my pyjamas, put Netflix on and eat my weight in popcorn and chocolate. I know that doesn't exactly sound like fun to you, but to me that is the most fun thing I could ever be doing. Yeah I know, I'm boring, but I'm a nerd so you shouldn't expect anything different really.

"Is he still looking at me?" I ask quietly, lifting my head off the table to look at Erin.

"No, he's talking to Seth now," she says through a mouthful of food. I cringe at the sight, making her chuckle before returning to her food.

Thankfully, after the incident at lunch, the rest of the day went pretty fast, without a single thing happening. I didn't see Kayden or his group for the rest of the day, which is a good thing by the way, it means that I didn't have to endure another panic attack by having him stare at me, probably plotting my death in his head when he looks at me.

I swear that as soon as that damn bell rang I sprinted out of the classroom faster than the teacher could say homework. Sometimes that bell is the sound of my nightmares, but others it is the sound of my salvation. We have a weird relationship let's just put it that way. The only problem now is that I have to walk home.

"Hey, Drew!" a voice shouts, scaring the hell out of me. I must thank them for cleansing my hell-free being now. I turn around and see Erin running up to me, making me look at her confused.

"I thought you had swim practice?" I say, walking back into the direction of our houses.

"It got cancelled. Are you free tonight?" she asks. I look at her with a 'did-you-just-ask-me-that' look before answering,

"No I actually have plans with my imaginary family, you should come join in all of the imaginary fun,"

"Alright there was no need to get all sarcastic on my ass, it's just that Tom has a fight tonight, and obviously we need you there, we need you to scout the opponent out; Tom hasn't gone up against him yet," Erin explains, walking in step next to me as we make our way home. By Tom, Erin is referring to her annoying yet oddly charming older brother Thomas Daniel Clarke, the bane of my existence sometimes.

When I was younger, I lived with my Aunt Emma and Uncle George, of who were a boxer and a doctor. My Uncle taught me how to fight when I was around six, and brought me along to all of his matches where my Aunt would teach me how to tend to his injuries. When my Aunt and Uncle left me when I was sixteen, I turned to fighting to help contain my emotions; the feelings of abandonment and loneliness filling my ever cell.

I was good at fighting, it was my only passion for awhile. Before and after school I would go to the gym that my Uncle would take me too and train with one of the coaches who knew my Uncle, and it was the only time that I truly felt free,

When I turned seventeen, I was allowed to go into my first match, and I won, and I won every match after that too. However, I stopped fighting when I turned eighteen, and put my efforts into my studies.

When Erin's brother found out about my former fighting career, he asked me to be his trainer as he is an underground fighter. I obviously didn't decline because, well I will admit that I miss fighting, I miss the thrill of being up in the ring, people chanting your name - or in my case, my stage name - and not knowing how the fight is going to turn out, each one ending differently. I miss being apart of a lifestyle that reminded me of my Aunt and Uncle. I miss them more than my own parents.

"Do you know the name of the opponent?" I ask as we make it onto our street.

"No, Tom just told me that he hasn't gone up against him before," she explains, walking up the drive to her house.

"Alright, well pick me up on the way then," I shout as I walk to my house, which happens to be opposite Erin's.

"We'll pick you up at ten, don't be late!" are her last words before she slams the front door.