Author's Note:
I know..its been FOREVER. I'm sorry! But this one is a WEE bit longer. So I hope you like it! Also, the A/N at the bottom is PRETTY importante. So read it, por favor!

Chapter Four

Lilah's POV

I stared at him. Standing, surrounded by richly embroidered curtains and cushions and thousands of dollars worth of high tech computers, in shoes that alone cost almost two hundred dollars I stared at the boy who so obviously didn't belong. His trainers were cheap and obviously well worn, his t-shirt faded from a hundred washings and his leather jacket looked soft with wear. He wasn't like us. He was on a different level. He was a Brenton boy. Looking back later I would wince at how stupid I no doubt looked but at the time I was too shocked at how quickly things had happened to notice. So I just stared at him. Some part of me, trained over years of constantly hiding my emotions kept my face still, calm, but I could tell he was wondering about my mental health when I just stood there saying nothing.
Finally after what seemed like ages my brain started up again and I dragged my eyes away from his hate filled ones, turning towards the door I pulled it back open and asked over my shoulder, still not looking at him, "First class?" my voice was cool, distant, and I was grateful. I couldn't show any weakness because the look in his icy grey eyes told me with perfect certainty that he would use anything he could to destroy me.
"AP Gov. With Swanson." I was surprised, and I must have shown it because a moment later he had stormed back into my view. He stood right in front of me and glared so fiercely I stepped back to lean against the wall.
"What? You think just because I'm not rich like you lot I'm stupid? Because I'm not rolling my daddies money I'm an idiot?" he stepped even closer, shoving his face right into mine, "You don't know anything about me. But let me clue you in to one thing. I hate you and all your stuck up friends who have never had to work for a god-damned thing in their entire lives!"

His eyes bore into mine and I'll admit, I was scared. I tried to move to the side, out the door into the now empty hall but he raised his arm, blocking me. His voice dropped to a whisper and he brought his face even closer to mine, his mouth right next to my ear, I could feel his warm breath on my neck as he spoke, "I hate you. And I will do everything I can to make your perfect little world a living hell."

I shivered and as he drew away and slipped out the door my knees almost collapsed beneath me. If I had been scared before, now I was terrified. But not because of his words. Because of the tingling I had felt as his breath lips brushed my ear. At the warmth I could still feel running through my body at how close he had stood. At how for the first time in my life, it wasn't music that made me feel alive.

I shook my head, shoving the thoughts roughly aside and focusing instead on getting through the day. Straightening up I brushed off my clothes and picked my bag up from where it had fallen from my fingers moments before. Stepping out into the hallway I looked around for James, spotting him lounging against a row of lockers on the other side of the hall.

As he saw me a look of disgust crossed his handsome face. I closed my eyes. Then smiled and opened them. I could feel it. I was back. The warm feeling was gone as if it had never existed and his apparent disgust of me had sparked a feeling that told me it wouldn't be coming back. Looking at his face I didn't see the well defined cheekbones and perfect white teeth. I saw a Brenton rat. And I felt nothing, nothing, but contempt.

"Follow me, Brenton boy." I stressed the word 'Brenton' letting my voice fill with distaste and almost pity. As if he was something pathetic who couldn't be helped. Who wasn't worth being helped. I didn't even looked at him as I breezed past. He was beneath me and the sooner he figured that out, the sooner he would leave my world and go back to his own.

We were late for class. Almost ten minutes late but one look was all it took for my teacher to excuse me.

"Try not to do it again, Lilah dear, but go ahead and take your seat." all the warmth left her voice when she turned to James though. Mrs. Hanna Swanson had been born and raised on this side of town, she had attended Cambridge when she was my age and loved it so much that she later came back to teach. She had no room in her heart for the kids of Brenton High.

"You! Late on your first day. How shameful! Detention. After school, today and Wednesday." A cruel smile stretched across her face then, "And I will be notifying the Board. Tut tut! A mark already? How many was it that you could have before you leave...five? Hmm.."

XXXX James' POV

"How was it?"

"Hell. The Bitch-Queen is worse than even we thought, and all the other students hang on her every word, even my teachers hate me! My Gov teacher is a crazy bitch! I swear I thought she was going to try to kill me." I scowled at the memory of Lilah's being excused, "she probably eats babies or something. And she adores the Queen B too."

"Ahh man, that blows. Why don't you just come back?"

"You know I can't!" still scowling I ran my hand through my hair impatiently, "Getting into that school is the only reason I managed to land most of my scholarships. I can't leave or I'll lose them and those are all I have."

"Well..I feel for ya man but..I've gotta go. Jake and Brenna and them are heading down to the Cove and..."

"Yeah, whatever. It's fine. See ya." I sighed when I heard the phone click. Just a few days before I would have been among the group going to hang at the shore, one day at Cambridge and I was already almost a stranger. Even Chase, my best friend since kindergarten had been pulling away since he found out I would be going to the prep school. Life sucked. Big time.

But if my life was going to be a living hell, I was going to make very sure that Lilah Hartland's was too.

Groaning I chucked my phone to the side and flopped back on my bed. It took a conscious effort to finally relax. I had been tense all day, out of anger and hatred and it was exhausting. Even my brain was tired, not that the classes had been particularly rigorous but the entire day I had kept one thing in the center of mind. These people didn't help. They sat in their fancy houses and watched. They are heartless. She is heartless. But even then it had been hard, at first, to hate her. She was so beautiful with her golden hair and heart shaped face.

In a weird way, I was almost grateful when at the contempt in her eyes and the way she acted so smug and superior. It made it easier to remember why I hated her. Laying here now, with only a faint image of her face in my memory I could barely understand how I could have forgotten, even for an instant. But I was still frightened because, in that one instant I had felt nothing like hatred. I had felt warm and light, like the music I was still secretly sure I had heard that day in the woods.

But that could never happen again. I hated her and everyone like her. And tomorrow, I would make sure she knew it and would never forget.

Author's Note:
I know in this chapter I had her ask what class he had and blah blah when Warner told her that he would have all her classes. Well I decided to change that. So just go with it. I thought this way benefited the story better. Also, there IS going to be a reason he hates her SO much. It's just later.

P.S.- Lilah seems like a real B-OTCH in this chapter. I know. But she's not really. She's just been raised to think this and how he acted didn't help any...
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