"Good morning, Annie. Slept well?" Alex said cheerfully as I entered the kitchen. Honestly, too cheerfully for eight in the morning. And after last night, I had no more illusions. "Morning Annie!" a dishevelled Luke yawned out, picking at his toast. Not replying either of them, I walked to the fridge, picked a cup of yoghurt before gulping it down. "Annie?" enquired Alex after she heard no response from my side to her greeting. "Im off to school" I announced, ignoring their quizzical looks and ran. I almost crashed into Joseph, who was getting the newspaper. "Byee". And I scampered down the streets, not stopping till I reached the school. After all that I had witnessed last night, it was impossible for me to talk to them without breaking down. It was a long distance and I was drenched in sweat by the time I reached school. Exhausted and having burned out the adrenaline rush in me, I walked off to the walnut tree, my favourite spot, and hid behind its trunk, to contemplate on the plan I had thought of last night. I was going to avenge my parents, that was for sure. But how do I do it? With Luke whoring about,and  breaking my heart, I had lost my trust in him. I did not have any friends as such. I was hated by most of the female population in Sydcot High for some unknown reason and had no friends. All the guys, except the ever nincompoop Lucifer, wanted to get into my pants. So, I was always left alone, as I had stopped being bullied the day I had stood up to the mean girls on my own, so I was generally avoided and I preferred that. It was easier that way to survive, though lonely. Back to the topic, I needed training in martial arts and fitness training. I also, needed a dog. A big one, when am at it. For protection. Also I needed information on all my relatives who are next in line of inheritance and all the rival companies my father had when he was... when he was a free man. I cringed at the thought, I barely knew my parents and they were already snatched from me. I felt rage boiling in me as I clenched my jaw. All of a sudden, I realised that the first bell had rung and that I was late for class. quickly touching up my face, I ran to my class.

"Hey Annie!" Lucifer whispered to me as I slipped into my desk, five minutes late, with Mrs. Hobbs glaring daggers at the back of my head. "Hi" I whispered nonchalantly, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. "Where were you? And why is your mood off?" he asked me as the teacher droned on and on about biomolecules. "What is it to you?" I turned away from him, knowing that I was being a bitch but I was really hurt. After what happened last summer, I thought he would atleast not go about making out with other girls. Sadly, boys are assholes and they never keep their words. When the period ended, I stomped out of class with Luke in tow, him running to keep up with me. "Annie! Annie! Annabelle, wait!" I finally turned around and waited for him to catch up, panting. "What is the god damned problem, Annie?" he growled. "You are! Lucifer Wayland! Since you cant seem to keep your dick in your pants, or remember what happened last summer, I have nothing to do with you. Now if you would kindly let me go!" I myself was astounded at my own audacity and it seemed so was Luke. But, he recovered soon and retorted," You surely dont mean that you thought I was serious,  did you?" I was a little shocked and he continued," Annie, we have been friends since childhood. I thought you were joking with me when you drunkenly admitted your love for me. You cant expect me to think straight then and give you an honest answer." "So, you just lied to shut me up? But that wasnt the only thing, was it. We kissed that night as well. You were my first kiss. You knew how I felt about you for a long time. But you just slept around ignoring how hurt I was. Well, I am done with your shit, Lucifer. You can go and fuck the entire school, and get gonorrhea for all I care.I am worth more than being treated as the dirt on your shoes. Goodbye." I walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Lucifer behind. The next class was English, my favourite, so I payed close attention, even though my heart wasnt into it. I was writing down a ten-page answer for Pride and Prejudice, my chosen book for this semester, when Mr. Jude called me up. Wondering what it was about, I walked upto him, dragging my feet to delay any prospects of detention or punishment. I was a smart student but I preferred sitting at the back of the class and not hogging down notes or ass-licking teachers. "Annabelle, do you have any activities after school?" I duly reminded him that I belonged to the school theatre, music club and the editorial board. Strange eh, that a loner like me belonged to such social groups. Well, I was always the beautiful contradiction that life is all about. Just kidding."Well, since you are an active student of this institution, I would normally not ask you to do this, as it is a personal favour, which is extremely unprofessional, but I feel you are the only person who I can trust to do the job responsibly." Feeling quite curious, I asked him to go on. " You see, my nephew is Jace Winston, son of the owner of Winston industries." My eyes went wide at that as I knew they were the biggest industry chain in America. "His son is an insolent, disobedient boy who is always getting into trouble. Now that ruins his father's image and their family reputation as well. So as a punishment, his father, my brother, is sending him here. To Sydcot high, to remain out of the tabloids, and to learn some discipline. Now my brother and I dont see eye to eye on many things, but this is a decision we both agree upon. So, Jace is coming next week, and I would like you to keep an eye on him. Just to keep him out of trouble." "But...why me? I mean, there are many other girls who can look out for him in this very class itself." I managed to choke out, feeling my throat dry up faster than the sand in Sahara desert. " That is because, you arent  like other girls. Your no-nonsense attitude is what Jace needs, not their worshipping one. Please keep an eye on him, Annabelle." " Then why did you ask about my after school activities?" I asked, feeling bamboozled. " That was because Lucifer was trying to tune into our conversation. Good day, Annabelle. And nice work on the previous answer. It was well constructed. Now off you go." I went off to my seat, utterly confounded at the bizarre turn of events. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, only with Luke and I maintaining a distance from each other. Everybody noticed our staying away from each other and already rumours had started spreading with small ones such as him waking me in the morning with a cold shower to hilarious ones such as I had refused to give him a blow job. I ignored them all, of course, as I had for all these years. Walking out of school, this was the first time I was leaving school without Luke. Hurrying through the parking lot, I caught a bus to the Boulevard and got down, looking for a dog shelter. After an hour of looking around, I finally found what I was looking for. Entering the dog shelter, I found a nice lady who agreed to help me. As we went down the long hallways of the dog cages, I felt my heart twist when I saw the poor conditions the dogs lived in. "Can you show me a tough, lovable dog? One that can be both loving and fierce and can be taught to fight and stuff?" The lady's face brightened up and she led me down the hall to the  very last stall. A lone dog sat there. "She is a Boer Boel puppy of three months. Her master had abandoned her at birth while shifting and since then she changed hands often, growing weaker, till we found her malnourished at a house with an alcoholic master. Since then she has been here." "I want her" I said. After completing all the formalities, I got her vaccinated and took her with me. Standing outside my house I wondered how Alex would react to me bringing home a dog. Taking a deep breath, I stepped in to find Alex waiting for me in the living room. "Where were you, missy. You didnt even inform us about staying out late. Lucifer returned home alone. Do you have any idea how worrie..." And she never finished her line because the dog decided to whimper just then and poked its head out of the basket. "Why have you brought that creature into my house? Take it out right now!" she screamed, enraged. "Please Alex, I got her today from the dog shelter. I really want to keep her. I will learn how to be more responsible. Oh hell, I will even do the laundry." Before Alex could scream more at me, Joseph intervened,"Alex, let her keep the dog. I mean it" Before she could further protest, Luke entered the room and added," I will look after the dog as well in Annie's absence. It will teach me some responsibility as well." "Fine" exclaimed Alex and she left the room after glaring guns at me. Sighing, I carried the dog basket upstairs. with Joseph carrying the supplies and Luke staring after me with a guarded expression. I gave the dog something to eat and turned to Joseph. "Was this the reason behind you running away in the morning?" he asked, looking at me intently. I squirmed, I was never good at lying and Joseph caught me each and every time. Yet I nodded and said," I had planned this for a long. Plus, I really wanted to have a pet of my own. But I have a favour to ask of you." " Go on" he said. "Well, I want to learn martial arts and you would know the best place. So if you would enroll me into one..." "Since when did you have an interest in martial arts?" Joseph inquired with a raised eyebrow."Well, I want to learn to be able to protect myself on my own and not depend on anyone else for it." I said, finally looking him in the eye. He gazed at me for a long time, studying my face, before answering," Okay. I'll see to it. Have your dinner, it has been warmed." With that he stood, as if about to say something more before deciding against it and going out. I sighed again. I knew him well to know that he had deliberately not brought up the topic of Luke and I's fight. Well, that was kind of him. Sitting on my bed, I scratched the ear of my pet and wondered how my life had changed so much in just a day. "Picking my little friend up, I hugged her and named her, 'Maia'.

A/N

Hi guys, am back. Yeah, after two years. Well, loads happened. And long story short, I grew up. So, I decided to continue with this story as I saw potential in it. I will be rewriting the first three chapters as they are not how I want them to be. But for now, just accept the mistakes of those chapters as they are and read this chapter in Annabelle POV ,please . Will be updating soon. Do comment and vote guys. It will motivate me. Thank you!