Chord Garrett didn't like attention.

But it seemed fate had other plans.

When he moved to Colorado at six because his parents preferred getting high than caring for him. At the prestigious school his aunt enrolled him in. He didn't like the names they called him nor the rumors that grew when it was known he was the son of two drug addicts. He surely didn't like how they looked at him with disgust when his weight grew outside of the "norm" despite the fact Chord wasn't at all fat.

They just enjoyed tearing him down until he started believing it himself.

When he went into high school, it continued.

However, Chord grew used to it. He stayed to himself and became invisible as much as he could. Chord kept his head down for three years, though it wasn't without its bad times. He was still surrounded by those with myopic attitudes unwilling to change.

He didn't try to make friends. It was never easy for him. While everyone went to football games and dances, he spent nights playing video games until his aunt yelled at him. When the school was dating and mingling, he didn't so much as talk to girls. He wasn't good at talking with people, let alone girls.

As the years went by, Chord retreated within himself. Socializing was a dying art for him.

His life was at a standstill and he was content with that. At least that's what he told himself.

Until he met the girl with hair as bright as fire and a mouth that could cut down an army, and he began to want more.