I'M FROZEN. A chill goes down my spine as my eyes move to my left, the guy now a bit visible to me from my peripheral vision. I'm debating whether I should bite his hand or not when he quietly opens a door and drags me with him, taking his hands off my face as he closes the door. It's dark in here but I can see the outline of him as he puts a finger on his lips, gesturing to me to keep quiet.

I hear Asher say something outside. I can't figure out what it is but I do hear his footsteps fade away in a minute, my heart hammering against my chest.

I let out a sigh. I can't mess things like these up if I'm going to do it alone. No one is here to save me. I don't even know where this guy came from.

"Can you take your hand off me now?" I say to him, my voice low. His brows scrunch up together before he realises that he's still holding my wrist. He steps back, exhaling.

"No thank you for saving your ass back there?" he asks me, his voice flat.

"I didn't ask for your help." His gaze is so intense that it makes my heart skip a beat. "I could've handled it myself."

"Yeah sure," he mutters in disbelief. "Why were you even listening to them? That's Asher Hale we're talking about. You want him to notice you that bad, huh? That says something about you, doesn't it?"

"Shut up."

"You're a first year, aren't you? If he finds you snooping around him like that, he's going to make your life hell. Literal hell."

I search for his eyes but it's too dark. I can't know what I want to know about him. I've already got multiple questions like—who the fuck is he? Why was he here? Why did he help me?

"What's your name?" he asks me. I'm surprised that he doesn't know who I am but then again, the lighting isn't exactly ideal for him to see me. Plus, not everybody knows what I look like right now.

"Why would I tell you my name?" I deadpan.

"Consider it payback for me saving your ass out there. You're gonna owe me otherwise."

I don't like owing people. "Harley. Happy?"

Even if there is no light in this room, I swear his expression falters in that moment. He is quick to regain his composure, though the damage is done now. I've caught him off guard. Left him to wonder—why is a nerd like me wandering around the hall following the student council president?

I'd underestimated people before. I forget to consider the fact that there are other people around me as well, students I'll have to be careful about. Some of them will be clingy, some will be cold—it's a goddamn gamble here at Redville. You make more rivals than friends.

"You're the first ranker," he says, his words laced in amusement. "Harley Kingsley. Right. You're not how I expected you to be."

"Yeah?" I raise an eyebrow. "And what exactly did you expect?"

He takes a step towards me. I don't back away. Something has changed. "Trust me, you don't want to know." He lets out a scoff. "I'm pretty sure I didn't expect you to be a girl who's following the student council president on her first few hours on the campus."

"I wasn't following him."

"Didn't look like it."

There's something up with him. I just know it in the way his tone changed from the moment he learned my name. I can figure him out later. If he was someone important, I'd think about it more right now. For tonight, he's going to be out of the fields behind the sidelines of my mind. I've got much more important things to wonder about.

I flash a smile. "What's your name?"

"You'll know my name soon enough, Harley."

"You some hotshot or something?"
He laughs, running a hand through his hair. He turns towards the door again, opening it just a little. He looks on both sides and relaxes. "It's clear now. You can leave."

I shrug and reach for the door. The moment I'm about to throw it open, he lets out a chuckle. "Mind your appearance before you go out." He takes a step towards me and my breath hitches. He has me back against the wall, his hand blocking my path. His fingers reach my hair, tucking a strand of it behind my ear. He's too close to me. I can't even say a single word. It's so subtle, this action, but it has my heart screaming. "You don't want to give people the wrong idea of what you were doing here with me."

"You don't want that?" I manage to croak out.

He smirks, shaking his head. He's sensed my nervousness. "Not yet."

I push him away by his chest and he scoffs, shaking his head.

Without any word, I leave the room. I glance in the direction Lily and Asher were and shrug, making my way back to the hall. The music starts to hurt my head almost immediately. I can't spot Jude or Rhea anywhere and this place looks more full than it had been before I'd  left.

I feel someone's gaze burning at me from one of the corners of the room. My eyes snap to the place where a girl stands—hands folded while she leans against the wall. There are girls around her talking to her but looking at her, it seems like all her attention is directed towards me. Her eyes are winged with thick eyeliner, dark eyeshadow over them. She wears a snug black bodycon dress and glossy black healed boots, her long dark hair sprawled across her shoulder like ink. She's so pale and beautiful that she catches my attention and doesn't let it go anywhere.

Finally, she speaks a word, her focus shifting to the girl next to her. It is then that I notice who stands next to her. I recognise her the moment her eyes flick to me.

Her blond hair is curled and arranged neatly. A shimmery silver dress hugs her figure. She's just as tall as me with her silver coloured heels. Her makeup is subtle, her lipgloss complementing her skin tone—she looks so perfect.

Summer Laurent. Year three. Dancer since the age of four. Model since the age of seven. Currently on top of the Redville dance program. Founder of the Red Primas, one of the best dance teams in the country at the moment. She's someone everyone our age knows. She's that it girl everyone wants to be with. She's that girl everything wants to be.

"Harley Kingsley, right?" someone says from behind me. I turn around and a smile breaks onto my face, mirroring the one who's standing before me. His shirt is white afterall. His dark hair is rather messy, his smile assuring me that he has no clue I saw him before. Good for me.

"Yeah. And you are?" Of course I know who he is. Not just because I followed him earlier but also because everybody at Redville knows him. He's the student council president. He's a national level tennis player. Currently the top student of Redville—the face of Redville School of Arts.

Asher Hale. Year three. His parents run one of the most successful fashion business' in the country. Just like Summer, he's grown up on screen and on social media, appearing as a model before he began to lean more towards sports and fashion. Now he's at Redville, being at the top of both the fields amongst his peers. It's incredible.

His lips tug upwards in an amused smirk. "Asher Hale." He extends his hand for a handshake and I comply because that's the only thing I can do. "I heard you topped this year. Record breaking score, huh? That's fucking impressive, you know."

"Thank you," I say to him. I'm pretty sure my voice isn't that audible to him. The music is too loud for that. He steps closer, keeps a hand on my shoulder and begins to walk me out of the building. We don't need to push through people to get there—all Asher does is throw them a look and they step aside themselves, their gazes flicking between the two of us. If people don't know me as the record breaker, they certainly have their attention set on me now. It's not everyday that you see the student council president being friendly with a first year.

Once we're out, he steps aside. Asher's still assessing me, trying to figure me out. Too bad he can't do it—he will only see what I want him to see. This is what I'm here for. To bring Asher Hale down on his knees, to shatter his ego and his confidence and finally—break him.

"Harley Kingsley." I finally hear his voice properly. It's deep and attractive, definitely matching his face and that smirk he wears half the time. "You're quite the talk of the town right now, aren't you?"

I shrug. "I guess I am." I step back, leaning against the wall with my hands behind my back, my eyes on him. He's staring at me too, his hands in his pockets, his expression playful.

"Enjoying the attention a little too much, aren't we?"

"Can't say I'm not." I'm really not. "Why'd you get me out here, Hale?"

"Last name basis?" he chuckles. "If that's what you want, Kingsley. I just wanted to have a little chat with the star of the show."

"That's a bit dramatic. And you're talking to me. So, talk. Get to the point. I'm starving."

"There'd be no fun if I get straight to the point, right?"

"That would just be a waste of time."

He purses his lips. "You're such a spoilsport, Kingsley. Are you the typical nerd? I only study and top and have no fun in my life?"

"Guess we'll have to see."

"Talk like that with anyone else and they'll grit their teeth and plot your death."

I scoff. "I'm just talking like a normal person would, Hale. I don't see any problem here. You wanna get to the point or should I leave?"

He doesn't say anything for a while. Then, he breaks into soft, condescending laughter, shaking his head in disbelief. "I forget how cocky the first years are. Thinking they know it all till someone—" he stops smiling, running a hand through his hair as he steps close to me, "—reminds them of their place."

I tilt my head, smiling. "I think I know my place very well."

His eyes darken. "You should probably keep that attitude down if you want to stick around here, you know. It won't do you any good if you make enemies here."

"Enemies?" I chuckle. "And here I thought we were becoming friends."

Silence surrounds us once again. I can hear the chatter of students who are outside. I can hear the music again. I'm imagining Summer and the other girl inside, still in a conversation. I know for a fact that Summer and Asher are good friends, and I think I've seen the other girl on both their Instagram accounts too—though not much. I can't remember her name.

"Fine. I'll get to the point. You see, I don't believe you. I don't think you broke the record honestly. I don't know how you cheated or how much money you paid to get into the school, but I'm going to figure it out. You're interesting anyways, Kingsley. I might find something you wouldn't want me to find. So, I'll give you a chance to own it. Own it, Kingsley. Tell me how you did it and we'll be good."

My eyebrows scrunch together in disbelief as I scoff. "For someone who's supposed to be one of the smartest students around, you sure are narrowminded as fuck. What, did it hurt you that I'm smarter than you? Can't digest that fact?"

"You think you're better than everyone here, don't you? You're just an arrogant piece of shit who's going to be put back in her place soon enough."

"And who exactly is going to put me back in my place, whatever that is? You?" I let out a laugh. "Please. I've seen people better than you. I know what you're trying to do here. You're trying to keep me in control so that I don't pose any trouble for you, aren't you? You got me here to read me, trying to figure me out so that you can begin to find some dirt about me. Isn't that what this is? You're gonna fail, Hale. Quit playing with me."

He shakes his head. I watch him for a while—watch the way his lips tug upwards and he's trying to stop from smiling. His eyes show the way he's enjoying this moment. "You definitely have me intrigued now. Not that I wasn't already, but you've done the impossible, Harley, and I don't believe you did it all on your own. I'll figure it out no matter what it takes. And if, in the end, I get to know that you cheated your way into this school, you know what happens to you."

I'm not supposed to know what happens to me but I do. She told me about it once. I've read it all in her diary as well. "And if, in the end, you find nothing? Because that's what's going to happen."

"Then I hope we stay on each other's good side this year."

He extends his hand towards me once again just like he did a few minutes ago. I give him a questioning look and he smiles. For the first time tonight, I see why he's so popular amongst the girls here. He has that killer smile, the charming ones that would make anyone fall in love with him.

"What's this for?" I ask him, taking his hand.

"For good luck." He winks, giving my hand a squeeze. "You're gonna need a lot of that if you want to get through the year."

***

I COME back to the dorms earlier than most. From my bag, I take out a thick diary. It's cover is black but barely visible since almost every inch of it is covered with stupid ass stickers but I don't mind it. Taking in a deep breath, I flip open to the first entry. I've read through this journal so many times that I even remember a few entries at this point.

Dear Diary,

I can't believe it. I mean, I technically can since I'm sitting inside my dream school at this very moment but still, when I was giving the entrance exam, I thought I had messed up. Now I know why those people online say that it doesn't matter if you mess this up because it's the kind of exam everyone fucks up. You always have a chance, especially if you're good at what you do, which I am. I'm rank two in dance this year, which is a big thing because that means I'm above the majority of students around me. So, I may not be the top scorer but I think being ranked 24 in the entire year is not half bad, you know?

Well, if it was her giving the exam, she would've aced it without doubt. I'm jealous of her sometimes. The confidence she carries, the skills she's honed to make me think that it's all natural—it's pretty annoying. But, well, what can I do about that? Some people are born to make history and she might be one of them after all. Anyways, it doesn't matter. It's me who's at Redville, not her, so I'm not going to ruin this experience by thinking about her. I'll get pissed if I keep this up and when I'm pissed, it doesn't help anyone.

There's a welcome party tonight and I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't been to a high school party before. It's all those posh business parties my dad took me to. My roommate [REDACTED] seems like the kind of person who's been a wild party animal for the most part. But I've learnt not to judge a book by it's cover so we'll see how this goes. Right now, I don't even know her name.

We'll see how this goes.

I mean, I know how this is all going to go.

And I can't wait for it.

Signing out now.

See ya<3

I read the diary till I'm tired and it's late. Even after being through it multiple times, certain events and feelings still manage to shock me to the core but I've mentally prepared myself for everything.

I won't say that this year is going to be mine but I'm sure that it's definitely not going to be theirs. I can vouch for that.
It's twelve thirty by the time I keep the diary in my bag. I change my clothes and switch off all the lights, dozing into sleep right away.

I'm shaken awake when the door of my room opens and Jude stumbles in. She immediately drops down on the bed and starts to snore. I can't go back to sleep for the next hour despite trying my best. At last, I give in and pick up my phone. I open my instagram, scrolling through my notifications. There's nothing special on most part but the latest one catches my eye. My lips curl up in a small, satisfied smile as I try not to chuckle.

asher.hale has followed you!

Got him.