The Art of Revenge Chapter Four

Ookay, so I'm not going to post my new chapter tomorrow, I'm thinking about posting my new chapter TODAY. That's right, you heard me. TODAY. Ookay, enough talk, here's the chapter!!!

I looked at myself in my mirror and sighed. My red hair was in soft waves down my back and I had on a dress. It is the first day of school and I was really nervous. Why? This means that the charade with Jace gets even harder.

I talked to Cara a lot. She gave me tips on how to act and what to wear. I heard a horn outside my window and saw Jace’s car. I grabbed my bag, said goodbye to Dillon who was always running late, then climbed into his car.

“Hey… babe.” He laughed and I rolled my eyes.

“Let’s get our game faces on.” I said and we both looked at each other with fierce expression. “Good one.”

We drove the ten-minute car ride to our school in silence. We pulled into the parking lot then got out hesitantly.

“Ready?” He whispered as his hand intertwined with mine.

I gulped, “No.”

Jace chuckled quietly, “Too bad.”

We set on foot into the school and it was like everyone’s eyes were on us now. Conversations stopped, everyone froze.

“Holy crap…” I muttered as I looked around hesitantly.

He smirked down at me, “This is what I figured. I mean come on… a girl getting cheated on then going out with her brother’s best friend who’s insanely hot? That doesn’t happen everyday.” He joked.

A locker being shut violently echoed through the quiet hall. I looked up to see Sean glaring at us.

“Oh hey Sean! How’s it going?” I almost laughed when I said this to him. “Have a good day at school!” I continued walking hand-in-hand with my ‘boyfriend’ to my homeroom that I had with the ex.

We took a few steps inside to see Lauren, a couple other friends, and some of Jace’s staring at us.

“Bye Pey,” Jace said and lightly pecked my lips. His friends hooted while mine giggled. I watched him leave to see a furious Sean storm in. No doubt did he see our PDA.

I walked over to my friends with a smile, “Hey.”

“Oh my… it’s actually true!” My friend, Molly said. Her strawberry-blonde hair was in a low ponytail and she has a smile on her face.

“What?” I raised an eyebrow.

“You’re with the oh-so hot, Jace Harley!” Her eyes widened and I laughed.

I pulled a strand of red hair behind my ear and made myself comfortable in the horrible desk chairs. “Oh… yeah. That’s as true as could be.” I felt myself turn a light pink and I averted my gaze. Come on Peyton! Learn how to lie… you’re living one right now!

Lauren raised an eyebrow and pushed her blonde bangs out of her face. “I knew it… you guys are so cute!” She said happily as I noticed Sean take the seat farthest from us. “Oh snap, that’s hilarious.” She was looking at the cheater as well.

I shrugged, “That’s what he gets. I’m happy with Jace.” I said the last part loudly and sure enough, Sean’s head shot up and looked in our direction. I smirked and turned back to my friends.

“Harsh,” Lauren laughed right when the teacher walked in.

I’ve always hated the first day of school. Why? It’s a waste of time. All you do is meet your teachers and go over what crap you’re learning that year. Homeroom was different though; we have the same teacher for all our years in High School so being a junior… we all know each other very well now. Our teacher let us do whatever we wanted after she passed out our schedules.

Our school days had six periods and four of which I have with Lauren. I have two classes with Molly too. All of us had last period Gym… fun, fun, fun. Not.

Once our homeroom ended, we all gathered our stuff and I was one of the last people to leave. I was greeted at the door by Jace and I noticed that Sean was also coming our way along with Jace’s friends and my own. I put both hands on the side of his face and connected my lips to his.

“Excuse me,” A rough voice said. I pulled away from Jace to see Sean with his jaw clenched, not looking at us.

I gave him a fake smile and intertwined my hand with Jace’s. “Oh sorry, Sean.” I sneered as I made my way through the hall with Jace.

“Where’s your next class?” he asked.

“Math with Gallagher.” I said and he smiled.

“Same,” He laughed. “I’ve never been smart in math…”

“Have you even been smart at anything?” I joked and he surprised me by wrapping his arms around my waist then swinging me around in the middle of the hallway.

I started to get dizzy real fast, “Now… what were you saying?” He asked when he finally put me down. His hand grabbed my arm when it looked like I could fall.

“You’re a jerk…” I muttered as I spotted my brother talking to some friends in the hallway. He winked when he saw us and I rolled my eyes.

“A jerk that you have to like.” Jace laughed as we entered the room. We took a seat near the back. Soon Dillon and two others guys came in and took seats next to ours. Then Sean came in.

“Sean!” One of Dillon and Jace’s friends said. “Come sit with us!”

He looked uncomfortable but he had to sit with us since there were no other seats. That’s what you get for being late, jerk.

“So Sean… how was your summer?” Another one of their friends asked.

His eyes flickered to me, “Not good.”

I rolled my eyes and pressed closer to Jace. The friend’s eyes turned to us.

“What about you Jace? How did your summer turn out for you?”

Jace smirked and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, “Amazing.”

I saw Sean’s face pale and I held back laughter. This plan was one hundred percent worth it. It’s basically what I had to go through. Karma’s a bitch, huh Sean?

“So,” Dillon started, leaning back in his chair. “Is my little sister sitting with us at lunch?”

I hadn’t thought about that. I looked at Jace for help and he just smiled. “Of course, we’re going to be sitting with both tables since we would hate to break up friendships.”

“Can’t you let her speak for herself?” Sean snapped. All of our heads went to his direction and he avoided my glare.

“Don’t be a hypocrite, Sean. I don’t think Kayla let you do anything during your affair, did she? She took the lead.”

A course of taunts echoed through the boys. Jace laughed and I put my head in the crook of his neck.

Sean was silent and I took that as a win for now. The teacher walked in and explained what we’re doing this year and blah, blah, blah.

The next class I didn’t have with Jace, Sean, or Dillon but my ‘boyfriend’ still walked me to my class. Some new freshman admired Jace but they stopped that when they noticed me. I sat down next to Lauren and another friend named Jill with a smile. Jill went through the whole ‘you’re going out with Jace?’ thing and I almost laughed.

That English class went by normally and when I explained to Lauren that I wouldn’t be joining her plus our other friends for lunch, her reaction wasn’t what I expected.

“You’re going to be with Jace? That’s cute! Have fun but don’t forget about your girls.” She winked and we walked to our next class together. Jace came with us of course and I wondered how he got to his classes without being late.

We have this one with Molly and another friend named Bethany. It was our elective and we all chose the same, Home Economics. The majority of the class was girls, no surprise there.

Next, we all had lunch. Jace met me at the door again and bowed, sticking his hand out.

“My lady,” he winked and my friends giggled from behind me.

I curtsied and took his hand. We walked to lunch together and went in line. Once we had our food, we went to the table where Dillon, Sean, and the rest of their friends sat.

They asked me and Jace questions about our ‘relationship’, which we mostly made up on the spot. While he was talking, my eyes drifted around until I saw her.

Kayla was wearing what she usually wore: A super short skirt that challenged the dress code, a shirt that when she’d move her arms even the slightest would show her stomach, and really high stilettos. Basically she’s a teenage prostitute.

She was laughing at something some freshman said who looked really nervous. Kayla looked around and found my eyes. A smirk grew on her lips as she strutted over, swinging her lips along with her.

“Oh hello Peyton.” She said with a fake smile. “I’m surprised you’re even here, I guess you’re not embarrassed to show your face in public.”

I rolled my eyes and connected my hand with Jace’s. “Why would I be embarrassed by trash?”

Her eye twitched and her smile faltered the slightest bit. She didn’t expect me to fight back. Guess I changed more than my looks this summer.

“Well, when I was fucking your boyfriend over there,” she pointed to Sean who paled quickly. “He didn’t once mention you.”

Wow, talk about an off-topic conversation. “Jace wouldn’t do something like that to me.”

Her eyes finally found our connected hands and her face automatically shifted. “Already found another easy-fuck? Nice move, Peyton.”

“I actually look for a relationship and not STD’s like you do.” I shot back and the guys sitting at the table shouted a chorus of oh’s. The girls on the other hand looked nervous, they didn’t want Kayla to torture their lives as well.

“Whatever,” She said. Hah! She couldn’t even come up with a good comeback. Kayla’s attention turned to Jace. “Hey Jace, you look good today,” she winked.

“Go away,” he said, making all his friends snickered.

Kayla turned red and turned on her heel, walking away. I laughed and turned back to my lunch.

“Peyton, you shouldn’t bother with Kayla. You’re much better than she is,” Dillon scolded.

I shrugged. “She deserved it,” My eyes flashed to the embarrassed Sean. “So did someone else.”

Everything was silent for a few moments before Jace changed the subject. “Remember, dance tryouts are after school. The team has already been made but they have last minute auditions for people like you and new students.”

“Wait,” A girl said from the end of the table. “You’re trying out for the dance team?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s Alyssa,” Jace said motioning to the brunette girl who just spoke to me. “She’s on the dance team right now and has a high chance of being captain.”

Alyssa smiled at me, “You have to be really good to get in, I’m warning you now.”

“She’s amazing,” Dillon said before sipping his soda.

“Do you have a routine to do for us?” She asked and I froze right there. I didn’t have a routine handy! I guess I have to think of one that I have already performed.

“No, but I will.” I smiled at Alyssa and she did the same to me. I finished the last bite of my food and grabbed Jace’s hand. “We have to go!”

“Why?”

“I need to practice,” I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jace sighed and finished his food as well. We both threw our stuff away and went to the gym that was open during all the lunches.

I plugged my ipod into the stereo and went through my songs. Even though I’m in a dress, I will still be able to dance. I was in the smaller gym that the dance team uses to practice. Mirrors on all the walls so once my music started playing, I went along with it.

“Wow, Dillon was right. You are pretty good.” I turned to the doorway where Alyssa stood with another girl that was dirty blonde.

“Uh, thanks.” I said and unplugged my ipod.

“We’re having practice outside if this good weather persists. Coach hates the inside so there’s a ninety-nine percent chance that that’s going to happen.” The dirty blonde said. “I’m Tessa Martinson.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said awkwardly. “What should I wear?”

“Sports bra and spandex,” Alyssa shrugged. “The normal stuff. But to warn you, we’re going to be by the boy’s soccer team and the cheerleaders.”

I looked at Jace who has a huge smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and threw a shoe at him. He just smiled and made his way over to hug me. It was all a show but the simple things he does make me think that this is real but it’s all in my head.

“So do you think I actually have a chance to make the team?” I asked the pair.

Tessa nodded, “We have three spots available. There can only be sixteen people on the team and we only have a few boys so those will be mandatory to get.”

I smiled and put my shoes back on. Most people like dancing with shoes but to me, I felt gross for some reason. Hopefully I will make the team then continue my revenge on Kayla and Sean.

The Art of Revenge Chapter Three

Ookay, I can't take it anymore (and maybe you can't either) I'm gonna post the next chapter for TAOR. I hope you guys are happy!!!

And here's a shout-out to my good friend zozo2308!!! Thank you SO much for your help!!! <3

~~~~~

I sat in my room as I waited for my brother to stop yelling at Jace in the room next to mine.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this! She’s my little sister who just got hurt by some jerk and you have to come along now! I swear… this girl is going to hate high school because of the mess hormonal guys make!”

It’s too late for that.

I sighed and messed with my fingers as I waited for my brother to give me some sort of lecture on guys.

After a few more minutes, the yelling stopped and I heard my brother’s door open. I sat up on my bed and soon my sibling appeared in front of me.

“You probably know what I’m going to say… but I don’t know anymore.” Dillon ran a hand through his brown hair and took a seat next to me. “After hearing what Jace had to say… I really don’t know.

My heart thumped in my chest. Did he tell him the plan? Oh please no, that would be horrible.

“I approve. He really likes you and I haven’t seen him like this with any other girl, I hope you guys have a good time together. But Peyton, if he ever hurts you in any way…” He smiled and sliced his throat in a warning gestured. “I’m the man to call.”

I couldn’t say anything because I’m still in shock. My brother actually likes this? What is going on with society? I think I’m going to get dizzy from all these surprises.

“Oh, and don’t kiss in front of me. I may be cool with this idea but I don’t want to throw-up every day.” He winked at me then left the room.

I sat on my bed with a million thoughts going through my head. What did Jace say to my brother? How will he react when Jace and I ‘break up?’ I buried my face into my pillows and sighed. What the hell did I get myself into?

“Knock-knock,” someone said from the door. I sat up and saw a smiling Jace leaning against the doorway. “So did you hear? He’s alright with it… girlfriend.” He winked, walking over to my bed to take a seat.

“Better not be making out up there!” I heard Dillon call. “Leave the door open!”

I blushed and looked over at Jace who was smirking now. “I have no idea why he’s okay with this…” I muttered.

“It’s from what I said, I made up some BS story and he believed it.” Jace shrugged then ran a hand through his dark hair. “We should probably do the Facebook stuff now…”

I nodded and grabbed my laptop. I gave it to Jace who went to his email and pulled up some pictures that his sister sent five minutes ago. He saved them to my desktop without looking at them then logged into his account on Facebook. He went to his account settings then changed his relationship status from single to in a relationship. He tagged me as his girlfriend then went to change his profile picture.

“Do you want the kiss or the one of us posing?” He asked.

“I-I don’t care,” I stuttered out, my heart pounding in my chest.

He laughed, “I’ll take the posing one so my friends don’t think that I’m just using you.” He took that picture then soon his profile had Jace Harley, in a relationship with Peyton Brandt and to prove it there was a picture. “You’re next.”

I sighed and logged into my own account. I changed everything like Jace did and we waited for a few minutes until people started blowing up my notifications.

The first one was from one of Dillon’s friends on my photo of Jace and I kissing: He said, Whoa, never thought I would see the day this would happen.

I looked at the picture myself: My arms were around Jace’s neck while his rested on my hips. Our lips were connecting and his had a slight smile on them. The background had a tree as if cast shadows on our bodies. It was a beautiful photo and even though it wasn’t real, I loved it.

I heard Jace chuckle from behind me. On his status, Lindsay commented with a sad face. I liked his status and his picture to prove that this was true as more and more comments came pouring in. A lot of them were surprised while others said how cute we looked together and they ‘knew this would happen eventually.’ Some people said how they liked my hair and that it complimented me.

My phone started ringing and I answered it. The voice of my best friend, Lauren came screaming to me. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re dating Jace freaking Harley?”

Lauren has always had a little crush on Jace. She’s always wanted herself or me to go out with him to see how he’s really like. Right now she probably thinks this is a dream, I know for a fact she’s freaking out right now. But who wouldn’t? Jace is the hottest guy in school who wasn’t a complete douche bag and used girls. In some ways, he was every girl’s perfect guy. Now he’s all mine. Well, that’s what people think.

I laughed quietly and looked at my ‘boyfriend.’ “It just sort of… happened today.” I said after a few seconds.

“Wow, this is crazy! I can’t believe it… Oh gosh, Sean is going to be so jealous! Good job on your rebound guy by the way.”

“He’s not my rebound guy…” I said. “I do like him.” I’ve always hated lying to my best friend. She always knows when it happens because my face becomes red… like my hair now. Thank goodness we’re by phone call.

“And you dyed your hair? It looks great in his picture since I can hardly see it in yours with you two smacking lips.” Lauren laughed and I heard her younger brother yelling in the background.

“Well…” I said with my blush creeping onto my face.

“Ha! You aren’t going to deny it because it’s true.” She said smugly. “Well I’m going, see you before school starts!” The phone call dropped.

“Nice friend you got there,” Jace chuckled and I sighed.

“She’s crazy… I really hate lying to her though.” I sighed and he shrugged.

“This was your idea. I just want to know what women really think.” I laughed and he sat there with a huge smile that made his light blue eyes sparkle. He was hot, very hot. And now he’s technically my boyfriend.

“Okay rule number one: Girls hate it when you flirt with a million girls when you’re dating. It’s not cool at all,” I said.

“I know it’s not cool, that’s exactly what Sean did to you.” Jace nodded and I pursed my lips, willing myself not to cry. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing…” I said quietly. Jace surprised me by pulling my body to his for a bear hug.

“Don’t say it’s nothing.” He muttered into my hair. “He hurt you and now you’re getting revenge by using me.”

I laughed quietly, “Using. That sounds like such a bad word.”

“Whoa, I leave for a few minutes to see you two on the bed?” I pulled back to see Dillon with a sandwich in his hand and a smile on his face. Gosh, does that boy ever stop eating? “Little sister, I think you need to know about the birds and the bees.”

I blushed immediately and Jace pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I can teach her if you want,” he winked and Dillon laughed.

“Do that and you’ll be kicked out of this house,” Dillon said with a fake smile. “Forever.” He turned serious and I laughed.

“Calm down, Dill. Nothing like that will happen.”

“Yet,” Jace wagged his eyebrows and I slapped him on the chest.

“Wow, you two do make a good couple. He’s a narcissistic jerk and you’re a girl who can set him straight.” Dillon said with a laugh. He took a huge bite of his sandwich and moaned happily.

“Love you too,” Jace joked, wrapping his arms around me. Once Dillon left the room, Jace pulled away.

“You can go hang out with Dillon, I know you don’t want to spend your time with me.” I said.

“No, I’ll stay with you.” He insisted and I sighed.

“Go,” I said. “I have things to do anyway.”

He gave me a small smile, “Are you sure?”

I laughed, “Yes! Now leave.” I grabbed his hand and led him out of my room. As soon as he was gone, I shut the door and changed into some spandex shorts and a tank top. My red hair went into a ponytail then I grabbed my ipod and went to the small dance studio my parents built for me in the basement.

You see, my parents let both Dillon and I choose what we wanted for the house since they were always gone. Dill picked a turf field in our huge backyard and I chose my studio. Our parents are movie-directing pair, which explains why they travel around a lot and why we have so much money. Dill and I have actually met our fair share of celebrities and once walked on the red carpet. Our pictures weren’t taken but it’s a pride moment in my life.

I passed my brother and my ‘boyfriend’ playing some video games in the den and opened a door next to it to reveal a room filled with mirrors.

I left the doors open and plugged in my ipod. I brushed through the songs until I rested on one I liked then began to dance. I’m more of a hip hop/jazz dancer. I can’t ballroom dance for the life of me.

I spun around and kicked then heard a chuckling at the doorway. I abruptly stopped and turned to see the guys standing there with their arms crossed.

“Good dancing,” Dillon said. “Ever think about joining the dance team at school?”

I scrunched my nose, “Dancing in front of my peers? I’d be too embarrassed.”

Jace’s eyes widened, “But you’re amazing! You could dance for us during the soccer games.” He winked and I felt my face heat up.

“I-I don’t know…” I stuttered out.

“Dance some more.” Dillon commanded.

“Not with you guys here.”

“We’ll dance with you.” Jace said with a smile playing on his lips. One soon joined mine and I laughed.

I held up my hands in a ‘whatever you say’ motion. “Fine, fine. Any song choice in mind?”

“What’s the one dance that you did at your solo in the beginning of summer?” Dill asked as he shed his shoes.

“Four minutes by Madonna and Justin Timberlake?” I asked. “That wasn’t really my best routine—“

“You did great. Now play the song and do your routine! We’ll dance too.” Dillon laughed and I put on the song cautiously.

I stood there waiting for it to stop but Dillon cleared his throat. I looked over at him with an annoyed expression.

“I do believe you started on the ground.” He said with this arms crossed. My annoying brother stopped the song and looked at me expectantly.

“I also ripped off my shirt and there’s no way in hell I’m doing that!” I yelled.

“That’s something I wouldn’t mind seeing,” Jace winked.

I groaned and got on my back. Dill nodded and started the song again. Once a few seconds passed, I kicked my body up and landed on my feet. I scowled at my brother as I looked at all of us in the mirror. Jace and Dillon were dancing randomly while I went along with my routine.

I flowed my legs back then brought my hand along my body. I spun then whipped my hair back.

“Damn, how are you so confident here but not in public?” Jace asked through the music. He was doing that stupid sprinkler move and I laughed.

“I’m more comfortable.”

I started tutting and they smiled at my dancing. I brought my arm in a circle then my hand landed on my hip at the exact moment the dance ended. The boys however, landed on one knee with a fist out. I laughed and straightened up.

“See? You’re great, you should join the team!” Jace said with a huge smile on his face.

I turned red, “But it’s at school where people are watching!”

Dillon narrowed his eyes at me, “You dance at competitions all the time. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of performing.”

“People who go to competitions actually want to see people dance. At school however… they’re mean.”

Jace laughed, “Come on! Everyone loves the dance team.”

“Whatever,” I muttered and brushed my bangs out of my face. I stopped the next song that was playing and sighed.

“Oh come on, you should! It would look great on a college application.” Jace swung his arm over my shoulders with a cheeky grin.

“I don’t know…””

Jace leaned in and whispered into my ear. “It would make more people believe that I’m going out with you since my previous girlfriends were on some sort of school team. Plus, when you’re out there shaking your goodies it will make Sean jealous.”

I looked at him with a bewildered expression but everything made sense… “I don’t know if I’ll make it.”

“You will, you’re great,” Dillon encouraged. I rolled my eyes then shooed them off.

“I need to practice then!” I laughed and they left the room.

I smiled and turned on a new song, it was a Lady Gaga song. I started dancing along then smiled at what this day came to be.

I’m officially Jace Harley’s girlfriend.

The Art of Revenge Chapter Two

2 hours later when I woke up I was like "What the hey, I'll write the next chapter for TAOR!"
And so here it is. Just like I promised. I hope you enjoy it!!!

~~~

The following day I put on some shorts and walked outside, my hood was up to conceal my identity. Dillon was with some friends but was going to be home any minute so I was careful. I walked down to the end of the street and sure enough, there was Jace in the front seat with a girl laughing to what he was saying.

“There’s my girl,” Jace smirked over at me and I climbed in back. The girl turned around and tsked when she saw me.

“Take off your hood,” She ordered and I did what I was told. She studied me and at the same time, I studied her.

She has the same eyes as Jace but her hair was way darker. I can’t tell if it’s dyed or natural, she has the same facial structure as her brother but nothing else was the same.

“Okay, so I’m thinking getting her hair done and she needs a whole new wardrobe to match the girls that you go out with.” She scowled at her brother. “This might be a lot and I don’t know who’s paying.”

“I am,” After all… this is benefiting me. “What do you mean hair being done? Like a haircut or—“

“We’re dying your hair red, it’ll make you stand out and it will look adorable on you.” Cara laughed and started driving the road to the mall.

My eyes widened, “I don’t want to be a ginger!”

When I was in elementary school, there was this girl who had red hair. Some reds are pretty but this girl had orange like a carrot hair. Everyone made fun of her for it and ever since then I haven’t liked the color.

Cara looked at me from the mirror, “Not ginger honey… Maroon is what I mean.”

I was about to argue more but Jace sent me a look that said no. I sighed and slumped into my seat. This wasn’t going to be fun. The term ‘hothead’ is going to affect me now.

As soon as we got to the mall, we went inside a store that had some revealing clothes.

“I’m not going to be a slut next year,” I huffed out and Cara sighed.

“Peyton is it?” Cara said with hands on her hips. “My brother told me your story and quite frankly, I’m not surprised your boyfriend cheated on you.” My mouth opened in surprise. “You’re gorgeous but from what I’m seeing now, you like to hold it in.” She wiggled the oversized hoodie I wore. “We’re going to get you clothes that will give you confidence and also make you look hot. I won’t force you to wear something that has your boobs hanging out but it will be more showy than what you’re wearing now.”

I nodded in agreement and she smiled. She started going through some racks and threw clothes at Jace and I. She then ordered me to try every last bit of clothing and decided what I should buy.

I admit, some of the clothes looked pretty good but others made me blush when I came out.

“Whoa, I didn’t know you have curves!” Jace said when I walked out in a dress. I rolled my eyes and waited until Cara said yes to try on another article of clothing.

By the time we were done with the shopping part, we each have two bags full of clothes. We then headed to the salon to get my hair done.

This was the part I have been dreading. Red hair? Isn’t that a bit extreme? Regardless, if it doesn’t turn out I can always dye it again. Cara spoke to the person doing my hair and told her what I wanted done. She nodded and we did all the washing then cutting.

Then the hair dye came out.

“Say goodbye to boring brown,” Cara smirked from where she sat with her younger brother.

I looked at myself in the mirror and frowned at what I saw: a girl who had her heart broken. I didn’t want to look like her; I don’t want Sean or Kayla to laugh at what they saw in me. No, I want them to be jealous.

A smirk rose onto my face, “Let’s do this.”

I waited for the dye to sink in then made Cara and Jace leave when my hair was almost done. I wanted them to be surprised.

I didn’t look in the mirror as they blow-dried and flat-ironed it. I took my hoodie off and took a deep breath before walking out where my friends were.

“Holy shit,” Cara said with a huge smile. “I am a genius.”

I smiled and ran a hand through my new hair. I still have yet to see it but by the look on Jace’s face, I’d say I looked good.

“So does she pass your standards?” Cara asked her brother.

“Exceeding,” He laughed and his sister nodded in satisfaction. “You did a great job on her.”

We headed off to the car with our new things. As we walked by a store, I finally saw myself. Deep red hair hung to my mid-back and I looked like a normal teenager rather than some girl who gets stalked by her ex-boyfriend.

Speaking of ex’s…

“Peyton, is that you?” A very familiar voice called from in front of us.

Please don’t do this to me.

A hand appeared on my shoulder and I turned around to see the face of Sean. “Wow… you look great! What are you doing out here?”

I looked at Cara and Jace for help. Jace put his hand in mine and smiled at Sean.

“The young couple is just hanging out,” Cara said as she caught on. I figure she knows who Josh was because him, Jace, and Dillon used to hang out all the time.

“Couple?” Sean glared at our attached hands and I almost burst out laughing.

I walked closer to my ‘boyfriend’ and pressed my body against his. “Yeah, it just happened today.” I rested my hand on Jace’s chest. “Isn’t that great?”

An evil smirk appeared onto my face while I saw Sean’s features get angry. “Just dandy,” He said through clenched teeth.

I smiled up at my ‘boyfriend’ then looked at Sean. “So how’s it going for you? How’s Kayla?” I sneered her name.

He looked down in guilt, making his blonde hair fall in front of his face. “I didn’t mean for that—“

“Save it, I’m actually happy now,” I laughed. “I should’ve left you a long time ago.”

His face darted up and he looked pained now. “Pey Pey—“

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped and took a step toward him. Jace’s hand tightens around mine and I looked up at him. He shook his head and I sighed but retreated.

“We should get going,” Jace smiled down at me. “Bye Sean,” and with that we all turned around to go back to the car.

Once we were inside the small automobile we burst out laughing.

“That was amazing! He bought it completely so this is going to be fun. But next time, don’t get angry. It doesn’t suit your features.” Jace said through his laughter.

“So tonight you guys have to change your status, like everyone says, it’s not official until it’s on Facebook.” Cara snorted and started the car.

I rolled my eyes at the girl. “Why don’t we just wait until school starts again to do that?”

“Because Sean knows now. I should even make you guys take a picture together to be on your profile…” a sly smile played on her lips and she punched her brother in the arm. “That will get you guys a little practice on kissing each other.”

“No!” I yelled and Cara jumped from behind the wheel a little bit. Truth was, I forgot all about having to do physical things with Jace in public to make Sean jealous.

Jace turned around and smirked at me, “Ooh, someone’s blushing at the thought of kissing me. Is it because I’m so sexy or the thought of kissing a older man gives you the shivers?”

I looked down and played with my hands. I saw wisps of my new red hair fly into my line of vision and I smiled. “Shut up, Sean is a year older than me and I kissed him…” I muttered and he laughed.

“Well Sean isn’t as amazing as I am. We have history!”

I snorted, “Yeah… that history being the time when you pushed me down the slide then kissed where I got hurt when I was seven years old. That’s some deep history going on there.”

“So you aren’t afraid to kiss me?” He said with his eyebrow raised. In that one stance he looked pretty hot. I of course won’t tell him that but I’m glad that my thought is to myself.

“Nope,” I said and popped the ‘P.’

“Then kiss me right now.”

My eyes went wide and I felt my face heat up. “Well… I…” His laughter echoed through the car, which made me go even redder.

“Come on Peyton, if you can’t kiss me then this is a waste of time. Holding hands and parading around school isn’t going to make Sean jealous for that long.”

“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. Cara smiled at me from the mirror and pulled into a park.

We got out and walked over to where a tree stood. There were shadows coming off of it and Cara smiled at the scenery. She reached into her purse and pulled out a camera.

“Why are we here?” I asked.

“We’re taking a picture of the lovebirds for your social networking websites. It makes you two get out there and it will make Sean jealous.” Cara shrugged and spun her camera in her hands. “Let’s do this…”

I looked towards Jace, “what’s something that makes us seem like a couple but not whoring on each other?”

Cara shifted her weight so it rested on her right leg. “Give each other a kiss, that’s nothing! No tongue action just a simple kiss.”

She turned on her camera and gestured for us to start. I looked at Jace hesitantly before his hands rested on my waist and mine went around his neck. I gulped before he pressed his lips to mine. My eyes closed and I heard the click of the camera. We pulled back to see Cara with her eyes sparkling.

“This is the best idea in the world,” She smiled. She showed us the picture and it actually turned out pretty good. “You guys need two different pictures, it makes you two seem like you’ve been together forever.”

“Another kiss?” I asked and she shook her head.

“Just smile and stand close,” We did as we were told and the camera flashed this time. “Perfect. I’ll email them to you guys, but it seems that we’re done here. You guys have to post these pictures as soon as possible or else.” Her attention shifted to some person walking down a path. “Is that Cameron? Hey, give me a few minutes to catch up with her.”

Cara ran off which meant Jace and I was alone. We sat down on the grass with the sun blaring down on us.

“Why did you agree to this?” I asked all of a sudden. It’s been on my mind all day and the question slipped out.

He chuckled, “I want to ask a favor of you. I want to know the mind of a woman, like what she likes with a guy and what she doesn’t. I figure, throughout this fake relationship you can tell me those things. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reach into the head of a girl without being told off.” He laughed.

“Really…” I said with a bewildered look on my face. “That’s interesting. Most guys would probably say something along the lines of sex.” I shrugged and his eyes went wide.

“You have to remember that you’re my best friend’s younger sister. I would never do something like that to you, it would be weird.”

I shrugged and soon Cara joined us again. We set back to the car while the oldest Harley kid went on and on about seeing her friend again.

I ignored her as she drove me to my house. Dillon was home and Jace explained that he was going to come in and enlighten my brother about how we were ‘dating.’ I knew my brother was going to blow up but hopefully Jace and him will still be friends in the end.

I walked into my house with Jace in tow, we waved goodbye to his sister and hesitantly walked in.

“Hey Peyton,” He said, his back was facing us and his face was in the fridge.

“Oh how’s it going Dill, I’m having a swell day.” Jace chuckled from next to me and my brother turned around with a sandwich sticking out of his mouth. His eyes went wide when he took in my appearance.

“Peyton… why don’t you have brown hair anymore?” He asked slowly as if he was in a dream and didn’t believe it.

I shrugged and stepped closer to Jace, trying to get that something was up into my idiot brother’s head. “I wanted a change, do you like it?”

“You look great but there are guys out there that will—“

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Jace slung his arm across my shoulders and smiled down at me. “She has me to protect her.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Jace smiled at his best friend, “We’re going out.”

Dillon’s face went red with rage, “What the hell?”

The Art of Revenge Chapter One

High School.

Let’s just say it’s a hellhole for short.

I didn’t use to hate high school so much and I actually loved it. Being a sophomore and dating a junior boosted my self-esteem a lot.

I was going out with a guy named Sean Gray. He was an attractive guy, a soccer player and has a good position at the school. Like I said, I was a grade younger than him and I felt so cool whenever we’d walk hand-in-hand down the hallways. He would let me sit with him during lunch but then we would walk around the beautiful school campus only stopping for brief kisses… I was a lucky tenth grader.

It was the last day of school and Sean and I had made plans to hang out all the time during the summer. I took a pass to go to the restroom and saw Sean making out with a girl named Kayla Matthews.

I had heard rumors about Kayla all the time, she was the kind of girl that slept with one person and moved onto the other. I would’ve put it past Sean when he said that she came onto him and not the other way around but I could tell he was enjoying it by the way he moaned her name when her lips traveled to his neck.

Once I gasped and the two people turned towards me, Sean’s eyes went wide when Kayla had a smirk playing on her face. That little bitch… My goodness, couldn’t she just leave this guy alone? There are other guys out there that are looking for some friction beneath the sheets but no. She had to go for Sean Gray. It’s almost as if she was thinking ‘hey! A sophomore wouldn’t care if I started swapping spit with her boyfriend. Let’s do it!’ Girls like her give us a bad reputation.

Long story short: I broke up with Sean and locked myself in my room for the rest of the summer.

A few close friends would come over but I almost never went out. My older brother was a year older than me and also was friends with Sean. Once he figured out what happened, he banned his friends from dating me and hated him. My brother has always been super protective.

Sean would text me saying he wanted to get back together when I knew he was still messing around with Kayla. I would never answer him and sometimes he would even stop by. Whenever that happens, Dillon answers the door and screams at his ex-friend to go away. But of course the guy will come back and start the cycle again. How many times do I have to tell him that it’s over for good? Obviously it’s a million or so.

My brother, Dillon and his best friend Jace would always try to get me away from this house but I refused to. They would want to hang out with friends who were most likely hanging out with… you know.

I dated Sean for a year and it was the first serious relationship I was in. Obviously when I saw him cheating on me it would hurt! During this long summer, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream became my best friend.

This cheating nonsense wouldn’t probably affect me that much if nothing had happened between us. Sean was the guy who took my virginity; therefore he now has something of me that I will never be able to take back no matter how much I want to. I shouldn’t had gone out with him in the first place… Sure I liked him but Dillon always told me never to go out with anyone a grade older than I am. I really should start taking my brothers advice now.

There was a week left before school started again and I remained in my safe home. Messages from my ex still came everyday and I still ignored them. One day I heard a knock and groaned from where I sat on the couch. I trudged to the door and opened it without seeing who it was first.

“Jace? Dillon’s not here,” I said as I saw my brother’s best friend standing in the doorway.

There’s so much you could say about Jace Andrew Harley, but the most obvious thing was that he’s unnaturally hot. He has this brown hair and light eyes combo going on; he was muscular but not completely ripped. He was on the school’s soccer team and since he’s a senior now, he’s in the running for captain.

“Maybe I came here for you,” He smiled and ruffled my dull brown hair.

I crossed my arms over my chest, “Cut the crap, Jace.”

“I thought we were friends Peyton,” He joked and I sighed at my name.

I’ve always hated the name Peyton. I thought it was too much of a guys name and when I asked my parents for a change, they wouldn’t budge. They said how much they like unisex names but when I asked my brother, he said they thought I was a boy. The funny thing is… I think I’m a mistake. I’m roughly a year and a half younger than Dillon but everyone thinks we’re twins. We have the same brown hair, dimples, and eyes but that’s about it. Our personalities are different too as was our friend choice. Mine were more conservative than the girls he hung out with.

“You’re Dillon’s friend, I’m his sister.” I moved out of the way as Jace took a seat on the couch. He put his feet up on the table as if he owned the place and started eating bits of my pizza.

“When are you going to leave this house?” He asked.

I closed the door and sighed, “When that asshole leaves this planet.” As if on queue, I got a text. I opened it and it revealed another message from my ex saying that it wasn’t his fault.

“Then why don’t you have someone come over?”

I sighed as I thought about my best friend Lauren being on vacation. The rest of my friends were also at various places around the globe while I was stuck in California.

Let me tell you something about Lauren, she’s beautiful and strong. Those are the two words that come out of my mouth whenever someone asks. She has blonde hair and pale blue eyes that she inherited from her dad apparently, I never met him because he ran away when she was young. I’ve been friends with her since third grade when she moved here from Tennessee. She had the cutest accent but people made fun of her so I took the little girl under my wing.

My parents travel a lot for work so we don’t see them all too much. I’m not mad about that but sometimes I wish that Dillon and I would get a home cooked meal made by our mother everyday. But with our parents being gone so much, Dillon has a lot of parties that involve me locking myself in my room because I can’t stand drunks at all.

“Have you ever thought about getting revenge on him?” Jace asked and I snapped my head up.

Truthfully I hadn’t. I know that some girls in my position would be plotting ways to ruin his life but it never crossed my mind. “How…?” I asked hesitantly.

“Well, he wants you back, right?” I nodded. “Easy, go out with another guy. Kiss him in front of Sean, be all romantic and it will crush the boy.”

I rolled my eyes, “No guy would go out with me after what Dillon posted around school.”

He smiled, “I forgot about that… didn’t he say into the intercom that if some guy were ever to talk to you he’d whip their ass?”

I nodded with a smile coming onto my face. “Yeah, now I’m going to stay single for my entire life.” I fell into the same couch that Jace was laying on.

“Don’t you have any guy friends to help you out? It could be a fake relationship but no one would have to know that.”

“I’ve never really gotten along with guys as friends,” I shrugged.

“Well, you’re friends with me, right?” He laughed and a thought crossed my mind.

I looked at him with a huge, pleading smile. He looked confused for a moment before his mouth formed an ‘O’ shape. “Peyton…” He started. “Dill would kill me.”

“Please Jace! It would just fake, no feelings. It wouldn’t last long either! A month or two at the most.”

“But Dillon would—“

“Forget about my brother!” I interrupted. “I never knew you were second in command.”

I almost smirked as Jace’s features turned offended. Guys and their power… “I’m not.”

“Oh and I’m Santa Claus.” I said with sarcasm thick in my voice.

“Fine, but only for a few months at most!”

My large smile came onto my face and I wrapped my arms around Jace’s body. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I felt his hand pat my back. “Okay, but no telling everyone that this is fake. Not your brother or your friends.”

I pulled away and nodded quickly. “Anything else?”

He looked me up and down. “Don’t get mad, but you need to change your look.”

My eyebrows scrunched together in rage, “Are you saying I’m ugly?”

He laughed, “No… you’re too plain. I know the perfect person that can help us out with that problem though.”

He whipped out his phone and did a simple phone call. After a few seconds he smiled. “Hey sister dearest… I need a favor.” Silence. “No, I don’t need money. You’re still in school because you want to become a beautician… right?” he grinned at her response. “I need your help.”

I glared at him and he laughed when he hung up the phone. “What is that glower for?” He asked.

“I’m not plain!” I argued.

“Peyton, if you want everyone to believe that we’re going out then you have to dress with confidence. That’s the best quality in a girl. Right now these baggy sweatpants and flat hair are telling me that you’re self-conscious of your body.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, “I am not.”

“And that motion tells me that you are.” He chuckled, “Come on Pey, just go along with it. My sister’s a genius, she’ll make you look hot.”

The truth was, I was never self-conscious until the cheating thing. Having someone cheat on you makes you feel like a piece of shit. It makes you feel like you aren’t good or pretty enough for that person. Face it, Kayla is beautiful and I’m not. She has the blonde hair and is on the cheer squad. I’m a dull brunette that has taken dance classes since I was five… I don’t stand out and Kayla does.

“Fine,” I said as I thought about what his sister would do to me. “What’s her name?”

“Cara,” He shook his head. “She’s loud and mean sometimes so don’t get offended.”

I nodded but didn’t mean it. “When should we go public?” I exaggerated the last two words so he knew I didn’t believe that this was true.

“After your change,” He laughed, “You’re going to look great once Cara gets done with you. She actually seemed pretty excited about it too. So tomorrow we’ll make the change from plain, ole’ Peyton Brandt that was cheated on to Peyton Brandt, hot junior going out with incredibly sexy Jace Harley.”

I raised an eyebrow at his cockiness, “There’s many problems wrong with this plan.”

“Like what,” Jace challenged me. He put his hands on the back of his head and stared at me.

“One,” I held up my index finger. “What about Lindsay?”

Lindsay Walsh supposedly was going out with Jace. Considering that he hasn’t mentioned her once during this conversation leads me to believe she made it up. But why would she? Lindsay is friends with Kayla and of course on the whore-squad, oh sorry… Cheer Squad. You can only imagine what she’s doing right now to some guy.

“What about her?” He thought about it then a smirk came onto his face. “You saw her Facebook, didn’t you?”

I laughed at her latest status: Lindsay Walsh loves her sweet Jace, come over babe. Then came a winking face and Jace commenting saying ‘wait… me?’

“There’s nothing going on, I feel bad saying this but I made out with her at some party and now she thinks we’re the next big couple.” He rolled his eyes. “So is there anything else that makes this plan not foolproof?”

I held up my middle finger, “Two, how will I get out of the house without Dillon seeing us together?”

He swore, “He’ll probably have the car tomorrow… How about you just walk down to the end of the street and I’ll pick you up there at noon?”

I nodded then held up my ring finger, “And three… How the hell can we convince Dillon to let us ‘date?’”

He laughed, “We can always say how we’ve been hooking up and haven’t wanted a serious relationship until now.”

I scrunched my nose. “Yeah, I really want to have my brother think I’m a whore. Also that would also make him think that I was the one who cheated on Sean in the first place,” I groaned and took a drink of my water bottle.

“Fine…” He thought about it some more. “I can always say after your transformation it made me like you.” He shrugged as if this was a normal conversation.

“I guess that will have to do for now,” I sighed and the door opened to reveal my brother.

“Hey,” Dillon said. “What are you doing here?”

Jace shrugged and got off the couch. “Waiting for you, Peyton and I had a very interesting conversation.”

My brother raised an eyebrow, “About what?”

I almost laughed when Jace answered his question. “Our future together,” he smirked at my brother who laughed.

“Oh yeah,” he said sarcastically. “Just let me be your Best Man at the wedding.”

Jace and Dillon started leaving the room but before they left, my new ‘boyfriend’ winked at me.

Peyton Brandt, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?