My oval, almost heart-shaped face, accented by just a few makeup tricks and perfect tint, smiled back prettily at me. Not too much makeup, I remember thinking, just a little to highlight the right spots.
I wasn’t a vain girl, but as I turned in front of the mirror, I couldn’t help admiring what I saw. Yes, it had all been worth it. The extra hours I’d had to work at Howard’s IGA to pay for the new clothes, and giving up my ritual diet of excessive chocolate, were sacrifices I’d gladly make again for those kinds of results.
My mother had been supportive of my desire to change my look, but she hadn’t been able to contribute much to paying all the bills. Once she and Dad were no longer together and she was flying solo, things were a bit tight. As you know, the electric company doesn’t care if there’s only one income now. Like all creditors and service providers, they expect to be paid on time.
I told Mom I could start helping by paying my own way. At first, she had reservations about me working two jobs, but I explained it would be temporary, just until school started. I’d worked two jobs diligently the whole summer. I didn’t have much free time to hang out with my friends. However, I didn’t have as much time to snack either, which made sticking to my diet much easier. Subway didn’t sell much chocolate and that helped, too.
The extravagantly priced skinny designer jeans I wore accented my new figure, as did the soft light blue top I wore. I’d even sprung for some short, sassy, black studded boots which completed my outfit for the first day of my senior year.
I was also the owner of three new pairs of upscale jeans, which I’d found on the clearance rack. Several new tops hung in my closet, too. I still wasn’t sure when I’d venture into the two mini-skirts that Tori convinced me I couldn’t live without. She’d said my long legs were now toned from regular exercise, so why not show them off occasionally. I wasn’t sure how occasionally I’d be wearing the short skirts, but they were in the closet in case I got a streak of daring.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to show my butt to attract my potential boyfriend. Well, maybe not show my butt, but almost show it. Anyway, if I weren’t careful, I’d attract one of those creepy guys. You know the kind. They’re the ones that lurk in dark hallways and in the guy’s bathroom doing who-knows-what during class. They’re the ones that watch all the girls during class breaks and give them the creepy eye, like they’re seeing you naked. They make your skin crawl.
The horn sounded in the driveway, shattering any further thoughts of boys, clothes or any such nonsense. I ran through the kitchen. I grabbed a protein bar and a bottle of water, said goodbye to mom and went out to meet Tori. She was waiting in her new Ford Festiva Hatchback. Tori’s parents had gotten her the red beasty for her last birthday. It wasn’t actually new, but it was just a few years old and ran really well. Besides, it was somewhat cute. I’d love to have had it. Actually, I’d love to have had any car at that point, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Even working two jobs, I’d dug into my savings for my new stuff. Even though I’d gotten most of the new designer clothes on sale, they were still expensive. Then there were all the other things I’d needed: makeup, contacts, etc. Anyway, I didn’t have nearly enough money for a car. It would just have to wait. Who knew, maybe I’d be riding in Raven’s car sometime soon.
I got into Tori’s car. Her first words made me feel good about my new look, “Wow, you look great girl. I can’t wait to see the faces of those bitches, Brittany, Nicole, and Janelle. You’re prettier than any of them on their best day.”
“Thanks, I’m not sure that’s totally true, but it sounds nice. I don’t really care what the “sisters” think anyway, Tori. You know that. I’m only interested in one guy’s opinion.”
“Don’t scrunch your face like that. You’ll get wrinkles. You know they’re bitches as well as I do. It doesn’t really matter, this year’s going to be different for both of us. Maybe we’ll have the entire football team wanting a date with us. I know. I know, you’re only interested in Raven.” She laughed, but something in her tone bespoke of her being interested in several guys. Me, I just wanted a hot boyfriend named Raven.
Something about my appearance seemed to have changed Tori’s attitude. She was nice-looking, but she never really tried to conform to the guise expected of her. Her family was something of an icon in St. Paris. Her father had been the mayor for several years and was plant manager at one of the local factories. Mrs. Miller had been the postmaster for years.
Everyone knew Tori’s folks. Tori had just never been thirsty like some of the other students. She wasn’t over eager to fit in with school society or be popular. At least she hadn’t been until she’d started helping me with my metamorphosis. She seemed to be caught up in the whole “new look” thing and tweaked herself a little over the summer, too. Now, it was as if she had to prove a point to the entire student populace, especially the sisters.
She’d made some notable changes. Tori was no longer trying to hide her good looks and petite figure. Her funky looking glasses had been the first thing to go. She, too, was now sporting new contact lenses. The “I don’t care what you think” look was no longer her style. The button-down blouses, out-of-fashion, long broomstick skirts, and baggy jeans that had comprised the bulk of her wardrobe had been donated to the local thrift shop.
Tori’s bright red hair was cut into a short, spikey hairstyle, which she actually hadn't changed much. It was, as she told me, “just her” and she couldn’t totally compromise her style just to get a new boyfriend or be popular. However, her clothes were a complete change. She now wore black skinny jeans, black high heels, and a cream tank top with a lightweight peach shrug. Even with the three-inch heels, Tori only stood about five-feet, six-inches. She was definitely a petit beauty with her new clothes. It was amazing how different she looked without her baggy clothes hiding her figure.
“I know what Brittany, Nicole and Janelle are, Tori. I just don’t want to waste a minute of this school year thinking or talking about them. This is going to be the start of a whole new year for both of us. I’m hoping it will be like a completely new life for me. There will be some exciting things happening to both of us, like you said. We might even get lucky and not have any classes with those girls. Then we’d never have to see them.”
“You know I really don’t care about being popular. I just want the guys who ignored me to drool. I want to watch the sisters’ faces when the guys pay more attention to me than they do to them. I just can’t wait to see their faces when they see us. We’ll be a force to be reckoned with this year. I think I should’ve learned to strut better. Who knows, maybe I’ll run for prom queen this year.”
She giggled and smirked at me as she looked at herself in the rear-view mirror. I hoped I hadn’t created a monster. Normally, she didn’t give a crap about those girls. Nowadays, she talked about them excessively.
I still had some doubts about my new look even though I’d spoken as if I didn’t. I decided to voice them, “You think I’ll be that noticeable? Some of them may not even see that I’ve changed. I hope Raven notices me.”
“They’d have to be blind not to see how great we both look. If Raven doesn’t see how beautiful you are then he’s an idiot that doesn’t deserve you. We look amazing and don’t you forget it.”
“You do look amazing, Tori. Some of them might not even recognize you.”
“It’s not me they won’t recognize. Hell, Emma, you are so hot now, I’m sure Raven will be crazy for you. Anyway, my red hair still almost glows; you know it’s my thing and all. They’ll still know me.”
We were both laughing when we pulled into the high school parking lot a few minutes later. Our thoughts were full of the frivolous trappings of teenage life.
Chapter One
Our laughing came to an immediate halt as an absolutely gorgeous guy got on Tori’s radar. Her vow to watch her language was completely forgotten as the hottie became her main focus.
“Whoa, who the
hell is that? Is he hot or what?”
“I’ve never seen him around here before. He’s nice looking, but a little too obvious for my taste.”
“You’re nuts, girl. He is fucking amazing. You’re right, he must be a newbie. I would’ve remembered him.”
“Mouth, Tori, remember, ladies don’t swear.”
Tori snorted. Well, I had sounded like her mother, even though it was her idea to stop trying to swear so much.
We watched as he got out of his sleek, orange Ford Mustang convertible. The guy was incredible. His overly handsome face matched his ogle-worthy body. He was undoubtedly a new student. All the girls were absolutely ogling him, including Tori. I was looking too, but he was like mesmerizing her. He was almost too handsome. The guy was at least six-feet, four-inches tall, with a face that was nearly perfect. He had a predominate chin, straight nose and full lips that even looked kissable to me. Salvatore Brothers look out! The hunks on Vampire Dairies had nothing on this guy. He wasn’t as handsome as my Raven, but he was definitely a looker.
“Do you see his ass, Emma? That guy is put together mighty fine.”
I couldn’t see his eyes because of the dark glasses he wore. However, I didn’t disagree with Tori. If they were half as good as the rest of him, they’d be fabulous. The guy looked like an ad for your typical, sexy California surfer meets vampire hottie from Hollywood. His skin was golden, his legs were long and sinewy, based on the outline of his tight jeans that hugged his muscular body. Did I mention he had a great butt, too? I guess Tori mentioned that fact and from what I could tell, she was still swooning over the guy’s back end.
I knew a guy like that would never look at the likes of Tori or me. I didn’t really care, anyway. I was interested in Raven and only Raven.
“I’m not sure anyone will notice us with him walking around,” I kidded Tori.
“Who cares, I just hope he’s in some of my classes and he notices me. Damn, did you see his ass? Yeah, stop rolling your eyes, I know I said so before. Not all of us are hooked on Raven, you know,” Tori said as she got out of the car. I got out of the car and walked beside her. Well, I thought, here goes nothing. I hoped she didn’t embarrass me. She was my BFF, but she could be obvious around guys at times.
At first, I didn’t know if the students were staring at the guy in front of us, or at us, but they were definitely looking in our direction. Then we got some catcalls from a few guys that were standing along the wall near the door. I’m sure they couldn’t care less if a new guy was coming to our school. Those were definitely meant for us, I was sure.
Our schedules had been mailed, therefore, we didn’t have to look at the sheets on the wall. We passed the gauntlet of guys holding up the wall rather quickly. Most of the students hadn’t really seen me yet, just what they noticed at Subway or the dairy bar this summer, during what I called my pre-transformation period.
Tori and I parted, agreeing to meet later for lunch. Most of the seniors had lunch at the same time, so we’d be having lunch with the rest of our friends.
I walked upstairs to my homeroom and took a seat as instructed by the teacher, Mr. Bruns. Oh great, I thought, as I looked around at the usual students sitting in the classroom. I recognized most of them from last year. What wasn’t usual was the way they were looking at me. There were a few whispers which I was accustomed to hearing. I ignored them, but I was smiling inside from the few whispered comments I heard as I walked to my seat.
Someone gently nudged the back of my arm with her pencil. I knew who it was before I even turned around. I had a few minutes left to chat before the bell rang. I turned around. It was my friend Sara. She was a member of the group I normally sat with at lunch. I’d missed her out front. She’d probably come upstairs early to get a seat in the back of the room like she usually did.
“It’s true, you do look amazing. The word’s already around about you, Emma. You look even better than when I saw you a couple of weeks ago. I like the new hairstyle, too. It’s nice to see you. I know you had a busy summer, but I missed you. Maybe we can hang out now that school’s started and you won’t be working so much.”
“Thanks, Sara. I missed you and the gang, too. It’s good to see you, too. Are you having lunch with the group? You can tell me what you’ve heard about me.”
“Sure, don’t we always…”
Any further conversation was impossible because Sara’s mouth was now hanging open as if she were trying to catch flies. Before I even turned around, I knew it was him. It had to be the gorgeous new guy that was all the buzz. The students I could see were all looking in his direction. You’d think we’d had a rock star join the class.
“Sara, close your mouth. You act as if you’ve never seen a good-looking guy before. Anyway, he’s probably vain. Anyone that looks that good has to be stuck on himself. He probably won’t want to talk to any of us peons.”
By the mortified look on Sara’s face, I knew he was standing right behind me. Ouch, he was. I turned around and looked into the most dreamy, amber eyes I’d ever seen. He also had the cutest expression on his face. There was no doubt that he’d heard me, as he glanced down at me not in the least bit put out by what he’d heard. I was embarrassed enough for the both of us.
Why couldn’t I keep my smart-ass remarks to myself? I blushed to the roots of my curly new hairstyle. He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me as if to say he found my blushing and my comment humorous. He said in a smug, condescending voice as he looked down at me, “I didn’t mean to disturb your girl talk. I just wondered if this seat was taken.”
“Yes, I mean no, you didn’t disturb us,” oh heck, could this get any worse? Now my tongue was tied in knots as he smiled down at me from all the way up there. Damn, he really was tall. His all-too-knowing chortle deepened as I stumbled over my words.
His amber eyes seemed to glow as he continued watching me. I’d never seen eyes ignite like that. I finally understood what “fire” eyes were as I blurted out, “yes, please sit down.” What I’d wanted to say was, sit down already and stop looking at me.
He looked at me with those eyes, the color of a fine, rich cognac. They were a dreamy shade of golden brownish-amber that were almost glowing. He was confusing my brain as well as my tongue. I just couldn’t concentrate as I looked into those incredible fire eyes.
As soon as he sat down he turned around. I couldn’t believe he wanted to talk after my snide remarks about him. Was there no end to the embarrassment caused by my reaction to him and the “girly” things I was feeling? I didn’t want to even acknowledge the effect those eyes were having on my libido. My mind thought, Raven who?
As if making a point to be friendly and not conceited, like I’d said to Sara, he extended his hand. I hesitantly took it and prayed my hand wasn’t clammy or shaking too much. I had no real choice since he was looking at me with those suggestive eyes, waiting for me to take his outstretched hand. I couldn’t believe that he was extending his hand. Did he have to be polite, too? Please let me talk right this time, I implored my distracted brain.
Before I could say anything, he spoke as he shook my hand that was certainly sweaty by now, “My name is Alexander Sandoval. My friends call me Alex. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
I thought he spoke rather formally for a teenage guy, but it was a nice change from the way most of the males in school normally spoke.
“It’s nice to meet you, Alexan…”
“Please call me Alex.”
I thought at this point that I’d call him anything if he’d just release my hand from his large, comfortable one. My insides were trembling at the mere touch of his warm, golden skin against mine. His grip was just right, not too firm and certainly not wimpy. I wondered if he knew what effect he was having on the girls in the class and especially on me. He gave me a mocking grin as I pulled my hand away from his as soon as possible without being rude. I realized that he knew, without a doubt, how he affected me by the slight lift of one eyebrow.
“My name is Emma.” I decided not to mention my last name or the earlier conversation that he’d heard. If he didn’t mention my snarky remarks, then I wasn’t going to bring up the subject of my intense discomfort. I’m sure he already thought I was a bitch, so I tried turning on the charm and asked most politely, in an attempt to make friendly small talk, “Where are you from, Alex?”
“We just moved here from L.A. My dad was transferred. What’s your last name, Emma? I’m just curious. My father has some friends here. I wonder if you might be some relation to them.”
“I don’t have any relatives in town, but my mother.”
“I’d still like to know your last name, Emma. Don’t you think I might like the name of my biggest critic?”
I blushed again as I mumbled, “About what you overheard… We weren’t talking about, um… you.”
I could tell by the look he gave me that he knew I was prevaricating something. He added to my discomfort, showing no mercy, “Oh, is there another new guy in school that you don’t like?”
“Yes, there is, as a matter of fact.”
“I’m glad to hear that someone as lovely as you doesn’t have a bad opinion of me. Now, what was your last name again?”
“I didn’t mention it. If you must know, it is Stephens.” Great, I thought, now he knows my entire name. I hoped his father and his father’s friends weren’t aware of my mother. It would be unbearable, especially if I had to spend time with Alex outside of school. I tried to focus, “Well, welcome to St. Paris and the hallowed halls of Graham High School. I’m sure this is quite a change from L.A. Nothing exciting happens here and there’s not much to do, but the people are pretty friendly.”
I didn’t mention that everyone in the town seemed to have a secret of some kind. I wondered what he would think if I told him I suspected we might even have a vampire or two in town. “Crazy” came to mind. Yes, he’d definitely think I was not only rude, but irrational. St. Paris did have its secrets, but now was not the time to mention any of them.
Dark Hearts Page 2
