A/N: Ok, second time trying this one out. I put it up here a few months ago but after just the Prologue I couldn't find any direction or theme for it, but I kept it all the same and now after a few months of thinking about it and working on it, I think I know where I'm going with it, so I hope you all like it too, reviews are, as always, appreciated. Thank you.

Prologue.

So I took the first step.

'C'mon…one foot in front of the other, you're through the gates now…you can do it.' I thought to myself.

So I took my second step. Then the third. But as I was about to take my fourth, someone barged into me followed by four more people.

"You might want to move on a bit faster, yeah?" The guy in question said to me, as I barely registered what was happening. I looked at him, slightly bewildered. His eyes were what immediately grabbed me, a bright green shade that were guarded and shut off from the world. His jet black hair also caught my eye and as I took all of him in…well, he was beautiful. I'd never seen any boy quite like him, but I knew I liked what I saw.

"I'm…erm, sorry." I said with a smile, trying not to make enemies, not on my first day.

"Ha, cute accent. I'll see you around, London." And then he had me. I'd been at Blue River High not nearly ten minutes and I had myself lusting after a guy I'd exchanged no more than a few words with.

In fact, I had barely been in Blue River for more than ten minutes. My mother had moved me out of my old school in Hampshire, England after splitting with my father and moved me back with her to the USA. Except this time, to the West Coast. Before my parents sent me away I'd lived in New York with my mother, father and older brother Dougie. There was only a year between us but before I left we were virtually enemies.

Not wanting more hassle than necessary in the family home and wanting a decent education for me, my parents moved me away to a boarding school in England when I was ten years old. For years my mother tried to get me back to New York but my father wouldn't allow it. However when my mother finally caught him red-handed having one of the many affairs she suspected he had, he no longer had any control. My mother and brother moved to the West Coast to a place called Blue River, which had no actual river but instead a fantastic view of the sea. It was a real culture shock at first, getting used to the American way of life, getting used to the accent once again after mine had changed quite obviously in the past six years but I was taking every day as it came, and today was another one of those meant to challenge me.

My first day at Blue River High, the only high school I'd ever been to…and I was alone. Dougie had been here for a term already while I was arranging the move back home so had had time to establish friends.

Whereas I had no friends and was lusting after that boy with the beautiful green eyes. Great.

"Hey, Leesh!" I heard a male voice call, breaking me out of my reverie as I stood outside the school watching the boy as he walked away. Yes, it was disgusting…

I turned around and saw Dougie running at me. This wasn't what I needed.

"Alicia! Why didn't you wait up for me? I was only talking to Calum." He asked me. Dougie Jameson wasn't an understanding kind of guy; if he asked you to wait with him you did it. If he asked you for a lift, you did it. In fact, anything that Dougie wanted, Dougie got. But not today.

"I wanted to see the school. Get a real idea of it." I responded in a dreamy manner as I stared up at the looming red-brick building.

"But I told you to wait." He answered with a hint of attitude in his voice. But it did nothing to change mine.

"Sit on it and swivel, Douglas." I answered as I stuck my middle finger up in his face and marched off. Well, I tried to anyway. It seems I didn't see the foot that was sticking away from the wall; in fact, I didn't even see a wall or a boy leaning against it. The only thing I saw after Dougie was the ground. The only thing I could hear…was hysterical laughter. My impressive exit was not so impressive after all.

As I pushed myself up I saw a hand jut into my face which I gratefully grabbed a hold of and kept a hold on as I realised when I tripped, I had twisted my ankle.

"Thank you." I said as I carefully looked around and saw that no one seemed interested any longer.

"No problem, London. Sorry I didn't move my foot quick enough." At the sound of 'London' I immediately snapped my head around and my hazel eyes met his brilliant green ones. It was him. Again. Only ten or fifteen minutes later, I didn't care! Maybe it was meant to happen, maybe we…

'Think of something to say, Alicia. God why is this so hard?' I thought to myself.

"Erm…my name isn't London." I eventually said also at the speed of light it would seem. He didn't understand a word of it.

"What?" He asked, laughter shining through in his eyes even though his smile was small and barely noticeable.

"Oh, no I said my name isn't London…its Alicia. Alicia Jameson. I'm kinda new." I said with a nervous laugh at the end.

"Jameson? You know Dougie then. Well whatever, we gotta go. Catch you later!" He said as he started off with a small wave. It was only then that I noticed the rest of the group he was with. One of them, a boy with the same jet black hair, pierced holes through me as he stared at me with his icy blue eyes, lined thick with liner. It was quite bizarre to say the least…but I couldn't help myself and was staring back. But as if it never happened they were both gone in an instant. I didn't even get their names.

"Alicia." I heard my brother say from behind me. "Don't talk to them; they're not worth the hassle."

"Dougie quit telling me what to do. Who are they anyway?" I inquired as I looked around for any clue as to where they might hang out.

"Oh they're no one. That guy, who helped you up, calls himself Dart. Don't know why, can't say I care…and neither should you anyway. Come on, we'll get you your timetable." He said starting off towards the school, glancing behind him to check I was following.

- - -

So that was it for the day, and the term. I didn't know but I wouldn't meet Dart or his friends again until November. Although by that time, I'd heard enough about them not to want to know them from my friends, people Dougie had introduced me to. It seemed everyone I knew was a grade higher than me but it was fine. I was mature enough to handle their conversations, but being surrounded by cheerleaders it wasn't exactly challenging.

I had no idea how Dougie had first gotten into a group of that particular stereotype, these were people I'd always imagine he despised but I just assumed he did it to stay top of the food chain. I don't know if I would have coped myself if I hadn't of found Mary and Gerard. Meeting Mary was like a breath of fresh air.

"Hey." A girl said as she sat herself next to me in English. It was the first time anyone had attempted it since I started the school some two weeks ago, so naturally I was a little shocked.

"Hi. Sure you want to sit there?" I asked.

"Yeah, why not?" She asked innocently.

"No it's nothing. I'm Alicia by the way."

"Mary. Mary Whittaker. Nice to meet you." She grinned and held out her hand.

It was simple and not a major deal, but I remembered it fondly because Mary was the first friend I ever made in Blue River, and definitely the best one. It was through Mary that I also became friends with Gerard.

Mary and Gerard were the ones I considered my 'normal' friends after the popular guys that my brother made me hang around with. The popular crowd definitely weren't the ones I would have chosen myself but seeing as how they took me into their group when Dougie found out about the state of my social status, I couldn't really say anything against them. Well, apart from the obvious shallow, self-obsessed and bitchy attitudes.

But they did have some influence over me. Enough influence to make me look down on Dart's group. I knew who the others were now, it was hard not to when all you heard day in, day out was bitching about them. The group of five were notorious for skiving school, drinking under age, driving under the influence and generally being trouble-makers.

Despite the huge crush I had on Dart at the beginning, I was now pretty sure I despised him and his friends. Well, I was sure until I saw those eyes again.

- - -

It was the end of the school day, on a day in November when I was to come across Dart again. I was standing by my locker sorting through what homework was due for the next day and finding my car keys when I felt a hand grasp my ass and squeeze tight. In my state of shock that someone would have the audacity to do such a thing, I hadn't turned instantly but when I did I was greeted by the back view of a guy chuckling as he walked away, threading his hand through his messy, black hair.

As if acting on impulse I stormed over to him and obviously caught him off guard as I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, thus making him stumble into the nearby wall of lockers. When he steadied himself and eventually looked up at my face, I gasped. I had looked right into his eyes, the eyes I spent many a day obsessing about and suddenly all my confidence had gone.

"Dart." I accidentally whispered. I couldn't be seen with him like this, I couldn't be weak around him! What kind of thanks would that be to Dougie? I know we didn't get along at the best of times but he gave me friends, made my ride through high school easy so far. I couldn't throw it in his face now. I soon realised I was staring at him and noticed that he now had a blond streak through his fringe that he never had before.

"Hey London. Long time, no speak." He smirked at me, running his hand through his hair again. From nowhere came the confidence to speak up.

"It's Alicia. You know that. You also know that you have no right to go around groping me as and when you please. Pull a stunt like that again, you stupid waste of space, and you will regret it." I scowled and confidently walked away from him. It was so hard to resist turning back…so hard that I didn't manage it. I turned back and looked at him leaving a large gap between us. As school was kicking out the amount of people between us was getting less and less. But then he started moving closer and closer and closer until he was eventually right in front of me. I remained frozen as he leant down to my ear.

"Yes Alicia. I know your name. I know who you are; I know exactly who I am. I may be a waste of space, but you love it." He whispered, sending shivers all over me distracting me from the fact that his hand was moving around to my ass giving it another squeeze. "Maybe next time we'll make out." He sniggered.

"If that's supposed to be some kind of line, it doesn't work." I whispered shakily, my voice and confidence letting me down at the last minute.

"Oh but babe, it does. You can't resist it." He said as he backed me up against the lockers, running his fingers from the back of my neck, up onto my jaw and eventually under my chin, pulling my head up to look him straight in the eye.

For a second I thought I would give in, but finally my will power didn't go against me. As he came down closer to me, I maintained eye contact while discreetly moving my leg between his. I don't think he could anticipate what I was going to do as his lips touched mine gently but before he could deepen the kiss my leg went crashing up into his crotch as he yelled in pain.

Grabbing his hair and pulling his head down to my level, as he could hardly object given the amount of pain he was in, I whispered into his ear;

"Never touch me again, you piece of scum." And I pushed him away and walked out to my car feeling triumphant and wondering why I had ever crushed on him in the first place.

But what I wasn't to know was that that day was only the start of Dart's interference in my life and really, I should have known better.