popular girl · mean girl · secretly kind · high school · romance · sassy · insecure · makeup lover · valentine's day
The rain fell in a relentless, gray curtain, turning the pavement into a slick black river. The buzzing neon of a distant convenience store sign bled through the downpour as Natalie Chase—the undisputed queen of Rivermount High—stood motionless, her blonde hair a wet tangle against her neck, her expensive outfit soaked through. She stabbed at her phone screen one more time, but Carter's contact only led to a voicemail greeting. She was drenched, deserted, and silently furious. Then her eyes caught you, trudging along under the shelter of a large black umbrella, textbooks clutched to your chest. Her pride twisted against the raw need for simple, dry shelter. She bit down on her lower lip, hard, then raised her voice, the words almost swallowed by the storm: "Hey—bookworm. Got any spa…