Scarlett White

by Chloe Smith

  When the bell rang, Scarlett gathered her books up and started for the door, but ended up running straight into some hard wall—um…make that a boy.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry," Scarlett said politely as she bent down to get her books up from the floor.

  "Stupid, arrogant bitch," the boy cursed.

  "Um...excuse me? It was an accident. You don't have to be such a dickhead about it." Scarlett's green eyes flared up to the unknown boy. He had shoulder-length dark hair and menacing black eyes that seemed to be a bottomless pit of darkness.

  "Just because you met Chloe and her posse, doesn't mean you have the right to go around acting like you own the place on your first day of school, bitch."

  "You know, if you had just been a gentleman and said you were sorry for running into me, I might have been nice to you, but since you're obviously a jackass, I'm just going to pretend you don't exist. So have a fan-fucking-tastic life." Scarlett flipped her hair over her shoulder and started to walk back out of the door, but her arm was caught by the boy's hand.

  He whirled her back around to face him, and she came face to face with dark, brooding eyes that seemed to light up with angry flames. "Don't ever talk to me like that again, you worthless whore."

  "Hey, let go. You're hurting me," Scarlett whimpered as she tried to get loose from his iron strong grip on her arm.

  "Do you understand me?"

  "Let her go, Austin." A new voice entered the little bicker.

  "Don't tell me what to do, Christian," Austin growled.

  "Do you want me to beat your face into a bloody pulp?" Christian retorted.

  "What's going on here?" Their teacher entered the group.

  "Nothing. The new girl just ran into me, that's all," Austin said and stalked off in the opposite direction.

  The teacher looked from Austin's retreating back to Scarlett's frightened expression to Christian's angered face and drew his own conclusions. He would keep a watchful eye on the three of them in tomorrow's class. "Have a nice day," he said awkwardly to the two students who were left.

  "Thanks," Scarlett replied quietly and started walking away.

  Christian followed her. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, I think so. My arm hurts a little, but I'll survive. Thanks for sticking up for me." Scarlett sneaked a glance up at his face, and her heart pounded hard at the serious similarities between him and Tristan.

  "Well, I'm Christian Cox. You must be Scarlett White."

  "Yeah. That's me. The new girl."

  "Don't worry about Austin. He's all talk and no walk. His bark is worse than his bite. Any more clichés?"

  "You stole the best ones."

  "What class do you have next?"

  "Um…" Scarlett pulled out her schedule, "Foreign Language."

  "Me too. Spanish, French, or Latin?"

  "Spanish IV, AP. Mr. Rodriguez."

  "Same here. I'll walk you to class."

  "Thanks."

  It wasn't until lunch time that Scarlett realized how lucky she was to have made friends with Chloe. Because being friends with Chloe pretty much gave you a one-way ticket to her table. Yes, you heard correctly: her table.

  Chloe, Zoey, and Millie were the three most popular girls who went to Humphrey Day. But what Scarlett was not used to was that all three of them were extremely nice and optimistic. They were nothing like Alice or Kirsten or Libby or any of the popular girls at Watson High. These girls had standards.

  And sitting with them was the entire basketball team, which included Christian Cox. Scarlett kept her head down the entire lunch and tried to ignore Christian because every time she looked into his deep brown eyes... Scarlett shook her head, holding back the tears that were threatening to escape her eyes.

  The only bad thing was that everyone seemed really interested in the new girl. Meaning they shot questions at Scarlett left and right.

  "How was it like in Florida?"

  "Did you get to go to the beach a lot?"

  "Are the guys way hotter down there?"

  "Are the girls way hotter down there?"

  "How was your school in Jacksonville?"

  "I bet it was way more lax than this one. It's so strict here."

  "So you're really Melody Harman's stepsister? That's sick."

  "Okay, okay, give her a break," Chloe cut in, throwing her arm around Scarlett's shoulder in a friendly manner. "She needs time to actually eat the disgusting food this school serves us with."

  "So are you going to try out for the cheerleading squad?" Zoey asked. "I bet those long legs of yours could be of great use with hurkeys and toe-touches. Maybe we could even train you to do a scorpion."

  "I'm not all that coordinated. Believe me, I would drag the team down like that," Scarlett said, snapping her fingers to emphasize her point.

  "Nonsense. With a bit of practice, you'd be as great as even me, if I dare say," Zoey replied with a playful smirk.

  "Thanks, but no thanks. I really need to focus on my studies."

  "So you're smart?" Millie asked.

  Scarlett was hesitant to answer. At her old school, having the least bit of brains was considered to be the lowliest asset one could acquire. Was it the same here? What should she tell them? She was concerned for her grades, but not the best student? But why would she want to start her new life here as a lie. She should just tell them the truth.

  "I have a four point eight GPA," she answered honestly.

  "Damn, girl. You must study your ass off. How do you manage that with those good looks? Where are the bags under your eyes?" Chloe asked.

  "I have no clue. I used to have bags under my eyes all the time, but I guess I've spent so many sleepless nights studying that I've just grown immune to them."

  "Lucky bitch. I wish I could do the same," Millie replied, stabbing her lettuce with a fork.

  "So do you have a boyfriend?" Zoey asked, her blue eyes watching Scarlett intensely.

  "Yeah. I mean, it's new. We just got together a few weeks ago, and then I found out that I was moving here." Scarlett didn't realize until after she said this that more than a few boys at the table hung their heads low and shrugged their shoulders.

  "You think a long distance relationship will work?"

  "Honestly, I don't have any idea. I hope it will."

  With the uncertainty clear in her voice, the boys straightened up, and the gleam was brought back in their eyes. Scarlett glanced toward the boy who was called Christian. He had been one of the boys who had slumped over when she mentioned that she had a boyfriend back in Florida.

  "What's your boyfriend's name, Scar?" Chloe asked.

  Scarlett was amazed at how easily she fit in with the crowd. She had only known them for four and a half hours, and they were already close enough that they could call her Scar, and she didn't mind in the least. Tristan hadn't even called her Scar yet, and her heart hung low just thinking of his name.

  Scarlett gulped, "Tristan."

  Millie's blue eyes snapped up and locked with Scarlett's, remembering what Scarlett had told her during World History. Millie's eyes then traveled over to Christian, who was intensely staring at his food and stabbing at his pizza with his fork. Millie finally had the grand idea of getting Christian to speak up. It wasn't like him to stay this quiet.

  "Did you hear about that beach bash next weekend, Chris? You going?"

  Christian's own brown eyes looked up and gazed at Millie. "I don't know. I was actually planning on going out with the some of the kids from the basketball team for a few beers in Dan's basement."

  "How lame can you get?" Zoey snorted. "Will Danny's parents be home for supervision too?" she asked playfully.

  "Scar, you wanna go?"

  "To the beach? Are you crazy? Do you realize how freezing cold it is outside?"

  Everyone laughed at her joke. But she wasn't joking. "Did I miss something?" Scarlett asked.

  "We are going to the beach for a bonfire at night, not to swim in the water," Chloe explained. "Just imagine swimming in th
at below freezing water; it would be like trying to survive after the sinking of the Titanic," she rambled on.

  "Well, then, yeah, I guess I can go. I mean, if I don't have too much homework. I'll have a lot of catching up to do."

  "Oh, homework is for Sunday night, not Friday night," Zoey giggled and patted Scarlett's head. "Silly, silly girl, you." She winked at her with a light smile.

  "You still going to Danny's house, Chris?" Millie asked with a mischievous smile playing upon her lips.

  "Why are you so intent on me going, Millie? Planning on hitting on me or something?"

  "I wasn't planning on it."

  The comment went right over Scarlett's head.

  Right after school let out, Scarlett was heading to her car when she was stopped by someone. At first, she thought it was Austin, but thankfully it was only Christian.

  "Oh, hey," Scarlett said as she dug through her bag for her keys. She tried to avoid eye contact because his eyes were too similar to Tristan's.

  "Look, I know this is kind of upfront, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in going to the beach bash next weekend with me. I mean, I know you're new and everything, so I thought it might be nice to go as friends," Christian said smoothly.

  "Um…" Scarlett thought quickly about the pros and cons. He was right. She was new, and even though she knew Chloe, Zoey, and Millie would be more than happy to take her, she thought it was nice for Christian to ask. He seemed to be a good guy. But she would have to look into his eyes soon enough… "Yeah, that sounds great."

  Christian's eyes lit up, and Scarlett cursed herself for looking at them at that exact moment.

  "Great," Christian beamed.

  Soon enough a week had passed, and Scarlett fit into the school comfortably. Finally the bell rang, indicating the end of the second Tuesday that Scarlett had been attending Humphrey Day, and Scarlett couldn't wait to get into her mustang and turn her cell phone on. Today was the day Tristan would call...finally. Tristan's calls had come very regularly in the beginning, but decreased over the long, lonely days. He had been caught up in Florida life, so he said. Football, grades, siblings, family matters, a new job, and much more.

  Scarlett had been suspicious at first, but then took a step back from the situation and looked at the big picture. She had no reason to be mistrustful of Tristan. He wasn't going to cheat on her, especially not with Alice. He hated that girl; no, he despised her. And all of the excuses Tristan gave Scarlett for calling her less frequently were all valid.

  And after a few days of miserable chest pains, heavy tears, and extraordinary agony, she had coped with it. She thought that as long as Tristan was happy, she would be too, and she tried to think that even if this long distance relationship didn't work out and he ended up with a different girl, said girl would be good enough for him.

  Scarlett locked the car door and sat still for a minute, looking out at the dark afternoon sky. Rain clouds were overhead, and she was sure it would rain soon.

  Scarlett frantically turned her cell phone on and waited impatiently for it to load.

  A loud thunder made her jump and her heartbeat race. She had felt the vibrations from the car as the thunder shook it. Shaking the frightening feeling she had experienced, she turned her attention back to her phone.

  Loading...84%

  She tapped the screen impatiently, silently willing her slow phone to load faster.

  Loading...89%

  God, could it get anymore slower? Scarlett huffed in frustration. The slowness and quietness was agonizing. Quiet wasn't good, not to Scarlett. Quietness gave her mind a chance to wander back to last month. A month that she would never forget. A month filled with such happiness and joy that it made her eyes water just thinking of it...

  Loading...95%

  Okay, her phone never took this long. It must be low on battery. A silent, gold bolt of lightening slashed across the pure gray sky. And two seconds after, a loud BOOM made Scarlett jump in her seat again.

  Loading...99%

  "Oh, come on!" Scarlett yelled in frustration. Following her outburst was a little ding that alerted Scarlett that her phone had loaded.

  "Finally," Scarlett muttered.

  1 New Voicemail.

  Scarlett's heart beat oddly when she read this. She clicked it and listened to the following message:

  "Heyyyyyy," Melody chimed. "What's up, girly? Welllll, right after school, get your ass to the mall. I'm planning a sweeeeeeet girl's night out, and you're going to enjoy yourself. Sooooo, get your happy face on and meet me at 3:15 on the dot at Forever 21. Love ya, chica." The message ended with a kissing noise.

  Scarlett rolled her eyes; she had forgotten about the shopping trip with Melody. Even, though she liked Melody a lot—and so did about six hundred other students at Humphrey Day—she had only agreed to do this for her mom and Timothy's benefit. She didn't want anyone thinking she was sad or depressed, even though inside, she was utterly homesick.

  She finally had enough waiting and dialed Tristan's number.

  One ring...two rings...three rings... "Hello?"

  "Tristan?" Scarlett asked even though she knew the answer; her heart did backflips in her ribcage.

  "Hey, Scarlett." Tristan's voice was breathless.

  "What's up?" Scarlett asked.

  "Just finished running poles for football. I miss you."

  Scarlett's heart was pounding six hundred miles per hour.

  "I miss you, too, Tris." Her eyes immediately bulged. She had never called him that. The only reason she had accidentally called him that was because she was so used to hearing everyone at Humphrey Day calling Christian 'Chris.' She only hoped he wouldn't react weird by her calling him that.

  Tristan had finally stopped running his fifty poles. He was doing them daily now. He had to keep his mind off anything dealing with the north.

  The north was bad. It was cold, busy, hectic, and Scarlett was there...without him.

  But, today was different. Today he had time—time to talk with her for the first time in what felt like decades, though they had only been separated for a handful of days now.

  He finished a gulp of water and sat on the metal bench in the boys' locker room. He had finally turned his cell phone on and was ready to dial his most favorite number, when his ringtone for that special someone filled the room with the sound of Hinder's "Lips of an Angel."

  It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name.

  It sounds so sweet

  Coming from the lips of an angel

  Hearing those words; it makes me weak

  Tristan quickly slid open his phone and put it to his ear, anticipating the beautiful voice that was about to fill his ear with her angelic voice.

  "Hello?"

  "Tristan?" It was her. His favorite someone. The one who made him happy to be Tristan; he knew that sounded very melodramatic, but he couldn't deny it. He woke up every morning only wishing it was the day he could call her again. But, his time was so packed.

  "Hey, Scarlett." Tristan's voice was breathless.

  "What's up?" Scarlett asked.

  "Just finished running poles for football. I miss you."

  "I miss you, too, Tris."

  Tris. She had called him Tris. That was the first time he had ever heard her call him Tris. It had always been a formal "Tristan." Tristan's heart leapt. He needed to see her soon.

  "Um...uh...never mind," Scarlett stuttered.

  "What?"

  "Oh, it's nothing," Scarlett murmured.

  "Please, you can tell me anything," Tristan pleaded. What wasn't she telling him? What secret was she hiding from him?

  "It's just, well, do you know Christian Cox?"

  "Do you know Christian Cox?" Of course he knew Chris, you idiot, Scarlett's mind yelled at her. This was not what she wanted to talk about with him. Why was she spoiling their precious time together?

  "Yes, my cousin?" Tristan said slowly, his voice lowered.