She was trouble. Chaos really. But her smile. Her smile dared him to fall in love with her.
-Atticus.

***

'So what you're saying is you no longer believe that you're cursed.' I asked, just to be sure I hadn't somehow misunderstood him.

Please say no. Please say no.

He must've guessed what I was thinking judging from the flat look he shot me.

'I never did.' He whispered, glancing down the hallway to make sure no one was watching him because it would've looked like he was talking to himself which is something the society frowns upon. In this century it was basically a prerequisite for a one-way ticket to therapy.

Unfortunately for him, I had much bigger problems than the society's opinion on his state of mind.

'So yesterday was what? A lapse in judgement? Someone took over your body and agreed that you were cursed?' I inquired heatedly, placing both hands on my waist in a confrontational stance but what I truly wanted was to tackle him to the ground and repeatedly slam his head on the marbled floor till he agreed with me.

'Can we do this some other time? I'm in school, damn it.' He gritted, nodding at two cheerleaders who walked past.

For a moment, we were both distracted from the conversation as we watched them walk away.

A glance informed that what had captured Gavin's interest was the swishing motion of their short skirts. For me, it was envy and hatred that kept my eyes glued to them.

I followed their progress through the hallway the way an antagonist eyes the protagonist in a movie. Just add a bucketful of hate and disgust to the mix. Or more.

I hated them. I really did. Not for anything they had done in particular but because they had everything and didn't appreciate it. They got to live. And they didn't even realize how lucky they were.

I couldn't even convince playboy extraordinaire here to help break my curse so I could die, without having truly lived I might add.

I forced myself not to mentally crucify the girls. It wouldn't do me any good. What I needed was to focus on convincing Gavin to agree to my plan. I waited three months already. I wasn't interested in waiting a second longer. If he refused to be convinced, I had no problem playing dirty.

Once they disappeared from view, Gavin and I returned to the conversation.

'No. We cannot. We are doing this here and now.' I folded my arms defiantly, daring him to say otherwise which was probably a bad idea because knowing the idiot, he would just to spite me.

'Go away.' He muttered under his breath, glaring at me as two of his closest friends approached us looking both gloomy and annoyed.

I bared my teeth at him, mentally going through all the ways I could kill him to help me calm down.

After having followed Gavin around for three months like a proper psychopath, I knew all his friends and basically everything there was to know about him. Even things I badly wish I didn't know. Like what he looks like naked -I accidentally walked in on him changing- and what sounds he makes during "it" -another accidental walk-in. I felt like scrubbing my ears and eyes with soap. I couldn't look him in the eye for a week! And this was when he couldn't even see me. Well, when I thought he couldn't.

The lying bastard.

I also knew that the two boys approaching us were more or less Gavin's best friends. They were three peas in a pod.

'Do you not understand that this is serious? Am I joke to you?' I threw my hands up in frustration. It was either that or strangle him and I needed him alive for now.

He completely ignored my outburst, choosing instead to focus on his friends.
'Hey guys. What's up?' He asked, giving both of them "bro-hugs", Tom first then Leo.

'You can't ignore me!' I growled, stomping my foot in annoyance. It was childish and I wasn't proud of it but there weren't many other safe ways to express my annoyance.

He shot me a look that more or less said; watch me.

In that moment, I might have as well been as twelve year old requesting for a lollipop instead of a grown woman demanding for the lifting of a 200 years old curse for all he cared.

My anger rose to levels unrecorded in mankind.

'Hey.' Leo, the tallest of the three replied, toying with the strap of his bag.

He was the only one among the trio who had a bit of common sense in my opinion. Just like the other two, he was also on the football team but unlike them, he had a few other things going for him, none of which I cared about but at least he had other stuff going on.

He was the voice of reason to Tom's voice of fun and teen stupidity all in one. Gavin was obviously the voice of arrogance and unchecked male entitlement.

If any of them, by some freak accident of nature, -and by that I mean me, to show Gavin how far I would go to get him to undo my curse- were to sustain an injury that won't let them play ever again, Leo would definitely still have a bunch of other options. Unlike Tom and Mr All-the-girls-love-me-so-I-can't-possibly-be-cursed.

'Dude, coach said  we might not be in the playoffs.' Tom announced gruffly.

'What?' Gavin protested. He then shot me a glare like this was somehow my fault.

Oh I wish it was.

In response, I cocked my head and smiled sweetly while mouthing the words, "you are cursed."

'What are you looking at?' Leo asked, squinting in my general direction.

'Nothing.' He gritted, quickly looking away. Turning his attention back to Tom, he asked; 'Did coach say why?'

Is this how pathetic and unimportant I've become? I'm being put on hold to talk about a game. A bloody game. For grown men but still a game.

'Remember the linebacker for Horton High's Lizards that we beat up for trying to spike our water?'

'Oh, crap.' Gavin cursed under his breath.

'Yeah.' Leo nodded. 'I think we were caught on camera and they just found the footage.'

'Damn it.' He cursed softly, once again shooting me an "are you sure you're not behind this?" look.

'If I was doing this to you, I wouldn't hide it.' I stated. 'I would gloat and rub it in your face every chance I get. So you can stop looking at me. I had nothing to do with this.'

He rolled his eyes and angled away from me, making me roll my eyes.

'This was all in text I sent you yesterday. Did you not read it?' Tom inquired.

Gavin's brows wrinkled in thought as he no doubt recalled the moment he read Tom's text last night. His eyes swung to mine as we both mentally went over the moment he read the text before oh so rudely laughing in my face, refusing to help me with the curse.

Before he could reply, they were interrupted which was unfortunate because I was really enjoying watching Gavin flounder for a good lie.

'Hey Gav.' Two girls in skirts so short if they wore it two hundred years ago, they'd be stoned for committing a sin, greeted Gavin as they walked past. 'Leo. Tom.' They added, waving to each boy as they passed.

I was invisible to them so I didn't take any offense that they didn't extend the same courtesy to me but I did take offense on behalf of his friends. Couldn't they just say hi to everyone. What was so special about Gavin that qualified him for a "hey"? It's not like he was such a prize. Sure he wasn't ugly but he had the attitude of a diseased pig so I couldn't figure out what they found so appealing.

He mostly ignored them and sometimes he was downright rude so what it was that they saw in him that made them keep coming back was definitely beyond me.

The only females I knew of that Gavin even remotely cared about other than his mom and his sister, were Asia and Adriana. Adriana was basically the female version of Gavin; arrogant, pretty, rotten attitude and the occasional uncharacteristic moments of kindness but mostly pretty and arrogant.

Asia on the other hand was his current crush. He has had a crush on her for almost as long as I've known him, almost. I, for one, didn't see them lasting any significant period of time as couple.

Asia was a petite girl with unimpressive shoulder length hair and the bluest eyes. She was surprisingly easy to hate. Not because she was mean but because she was one of those effortlessly pretty people who just make you wish you had better genes. Adriana was pretty much the same thing except the bubbly in-your-face version.

Asia was typical for a twenty first century girl. My worst century so far. I missed the good old eighteen hundreds with the exception of technological advancement.

She was not, in any sense of the word, popular unlike Adriana who basically ruled the social hierarchy. She always stuck with two other girls, Amanda and Macy. Her only actual friends. Not the "I barely know you but we've met a couple times so we're friends" acquaintances that people of this century can't seem to get enough of.

'Ya coming?' Gavin's irritated voice snapped me out of my musings. He had on an annoyed look to match his tone.

I rolled my eyes, flashing him the fakest of smiles. 'You know I liked you better when you were pretending to not be able to see and talk to me.'

He arched an eyebrow. I gritted my teeth.

'Then you were a douche to everyone but me but now you're a douche to everyone including me.'

'Thanks. I try.' He muttered drily.

I faked another smile. 'I thought you didn't like me following you everywhere.'

'I don't.' he replied with a flat look. 'But I'm the first guy to have a stalker ghost. There's got to be some perks even though I haven't found any.'

The word perks was enough to distract me from the fact that he called me a stalker.

'Perks? Really? Perks?'

He shrugged weakly.

'First off,' I began heatedly, 'I am not a stalker. Neither am I a ghost. I never died so I technically do not qualify as a ghost. I'm just a translucent human being that can only be seen by one other person.' I trailed off.

That sounded a lot better in my head.

His look said it all; I was never going to live that down.

I groaned, slapping myself across the head.

'I'm guessing comebacks hadn't been invented in the 1800s?' He countered smugly.

Since I couldn't come up with a sarcastic response, I stuck my tongue out at him then groaned mentally.

What is wrong with me? I'm better than that. Sticking out my tongue? Seriously?

'That just proves that I'm right and you're childish.' He stated, leaning back on the heels of his feet. 'I guess those two hundred years didn't really help you mature.' He added nonchalantly.

'Shut up.' I grumbled.

'Ya coming?' He asked once more.

'Jesus Christ! I'm coming.' I huffed, trailing after him.

I hate my life.