Keep You Forever ✓ | AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE AS A PAPERBACK/EBOOK! [Sample]

04 | confrontation

//thank you so much @ucancallmerose for this beautiful fan art//

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English is over soon and I don't talk to anyone except Riley, who skilfully keeps me occupied by sitting next to me and describing every single person in the class. "That's Sylvia St. Peters, she's into soccer and golf. Won the cross country last year," she goes on in my ear, pointing shamelessly towards a girl sitting three rows ahead of us.

Sylvia: sportsperson.

Okay, another student successfully added to my Class List by Riley Kingston.

When I've finished nodding along to her words and taking notes on chemical combinations, Riley and I walk through the hall and into the cafeteria for lunch. I'm profoundly weary of this, because I'm pretty sure teen socialite Riley has an entourage of awesome friends she'd rather sit with, most of whom are not me.

I miss my round table back at Park High which was always bustling with energy—being surrounded by my two best friends and sharing sizzling gossip with them was one big highlight of my school day. I knew everyone at school back home, and even though I was nowhere near a socialite, a considerable amount of people smiled at me whenever I walked past them in the hallways. Over here, though, everything is different.

I realise to my dismay that I don't know anyone here except Riley— and pathetic as that sounds, I don't want to sit alone on my first day here. Maybe Riley is secretly an angel and she sweetly invites me to sit with her friend group?

But no.

Riley chooses to astound me by taking her plate of bread and juice (weird, I know) to a table that sends nervous shock waves down my spine. As I stare, fixed to my spot, Riley quickly takes her seat next to Katy, a dark haired boy I don't know and--Asher Prince. Wasn't she just telling me to stay away from him? Or was that something I seriously misheard?

Oh, good god. Asher lifts his head from where he's sitting on top of the table with his long legs dangling down, then looks directly at me. This day just gets better, right? Ugh. What am I supposed to do now? Walk up to them and sit there with the boy who humiliated me in front of the whole school, or walk away and watch him smirk at my poor self again? It's death both ways.

I never take the easy route.

"Hi," I say to the cousin I fought with, and my voice comes out so squeaky I want to punch myself. I can tell everyone's surprised the spoiled rich cousin from the big city has enough guts to come up and sit with them. I hate this title already, and also the truckload of paranoia that comes along with it.

If there is one skill in this world I want to learn more than anything, it has to be the skill of shutting out my insecurities.

"Wow. You sure are tough to get rid of," Katy scowls, welcoming me to their table with her usual words of affection. If I thought she disliked me earlier, I've made sure she loathes me now.