ENEMIES FIRST, LOVERS LATER! liam dunbar

PROLOGUE

LIAM'S POV

Leora Lahey.

The bane of my existence. A pretty little thorn in my side, who had no right being as beautiful as she was. A girl who was a constant source of irritation for me, a source of trouble, a source of heartache, a source of unfulfilled desires, a source of anger, a source of pain, and a source of joy. Yeah, I said it. Joy. Because I had never met anyone in my life who had made me feel the range of emotions that this one particular woman could make me feel, and that's probably a good thing, considering we were supposed to hate each other. At least, that was the case on the surface. In reality, I knew deep down in my heart that I didn't hate her. I knew that, even after all this time, I was still hopelessly, helplessly in love with her.

Okay, let me explain.

I had first met Leora Lahey back in pre school. Back then, she was a pretty, blonde haired, hazel eyed girl with the sweetest smile and an even sweeter disposition. She was the nicest girl in the class, and the prettiest too. I may have not really knew what love was back then, but I did know that she was someone that I wanted to get to know. Someone that I wanted to become best friends with, and spend as much time with as possible.

We were best friends growing up, believe it or not. We did everything together, and our friendship was pretty solid. We did just about everything that two little kids could do. Played tag, hopscotch, tic tac toe, hide and seek, and all kinds of things. We spent hours at the playground, and the park, and playing together. Our mothers were friends, so it was natural that we would be close, and I couldn't ask for a better friend than her.

Until we got to elementary school and everything changed when we were in fourth grade. That's when the teasing started. Leora had to get glasses because her vision was getting bad, and the other kids teased her and called her four eyes and nerd. They also made fun of her braces which were only temporary and would come off in a few years. My anger issues were slowly getting worse, and I didn't take kindly to them picking on my best friend. I tried to stick up for her and told them to leave her alone, and they left her alone. They didn't tease her again after that.

That is until fifth grade and teasing got even worse. That's when Leora started developing into a young lady. And not just physically. No, her personality started changing. Her grades started slipping, and she was more defiant. She wasn't as friendly anymore, and she wasn't as sweet. She didn't get along with the other girls, and she didn't even get along with me, and we were best friends. She was getting into trouble, and her parents were worried about her. I was worried about her too. I had no idea what was going on with her, and she wouldn't talk to me.

And then the summer between fifth and sixth grade came, and that's when the teasing got a whole lot worse. That's when things escalated and changed between us. That's when she had her first kiss, and it wasn't with me. It was with another boy.

A boy who didn't deserve to even be in her presence. A boy who was an a-hole, and a jerk, and a bully. A boy who didn't care about her, and didn't even like her. She didn't know all that at first. She was too blinded by his good looks and the attention he was giving her. She thought he was just misunderstood and that he just needed some love. I knew better. I saw what he was really like, and I was not gonna let her get hurt by him.

So I told her the truth. She didn't believe me, and I tried to show her proof. But she wouldn't listen to me. She didn't wanna listen to me. And eventually, she started turning her back on me and spending more and more time with him. Until I found myself alone, and abandoned, and brokenhearted.

After that, we weren't as close. Not even close. Our friendship had all but dissolved. It was almost nonexistent. She was too wrapped up in him, and his attention, and the things he did for her, to even notice me, or have time for me. And I hated it. I tried to warn her, tell her that he was bad news, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept on seeing him, and spending more and more time with him. He became her new best friend.