Kissing Pact With The Bad Boy

Chapter 1 -Light and Dark

Chapter 1 - Light and Dark

(5 years later)

(Skylar)

Tomorrow was the first day of senior year and Sky was excited and also a little bit scared, thinking about her plan. Her room was filled with the soft sound of Maroon 5 and her mind was filled with jumbled, messy thoughts as she stared at her laptop. Her friend Amber's face flickered in the screen.

Wi-Fi connection was very fickle sometimes around these parts, just as fickle as Sky.

Can I do it? Am I strong enough? These questions ran through her head almost incessantly.

Sky was comfortable with her routines. She was so okay with them, she clung to them with enough force to make a dent in them.

Changing something in her life was hard for her. It gave her hives inside her brain. Deep inside.

The first time she had to move here to Vermont, she had cried and cried until Holden came to her and told her he would be her friend.

And then he changed, too, when she didn't want him to change. Now she was afraid, always afraid that someone was going to leave her. Always afraid everything was going to turn upside down, again, and she would be left in the aftermath of that massive destruction. All alone.

"So..." Amber was finally alive on the screen. "How was your vacation? Did you do anything exciting?"

"Exciting. Pssh." Sky gave her friend a blank stare. "Do you know me? Have you seen me?"

"I promise I am gonna break you this year, girl friend." Amber said with an evil look on her eyes.

Sky had never been reckless or wild like Amber.

Sky was always on the safe side of the line, looking at all the amazing things happening around her.

Highschool.

This was supposed to be the time of her life. She was supposed to be a teenager, discovering new things. She was supposed to live, to make her own mistakes, fight her battles with bravery, even if the battle was about something meaningless.

She was not really weak or fragile, per se, she was just... a coward. She was a coward when it came to things that actually mattered. Like admitting your feelings to your best friend. Yes. That kind of important, crazy things.

Sky was not made for crazy things.

She always waited for things to go wrong and that was why she was still... not really at a point where she could look back and said, oh, I have lived.

That was why doing this was important. It was the first step towards breaking the routines. Stop being so afraid.

"I'll see you tomorrow. My mom is screaming at me to eat the damn chicken. If I didn't go, the dead bird might wake up from all that screaming my mom is doing." Amber said and her face blinked off.

Sky stared at the empty screen for a moment with a sigh and stood up and walked to her bed.

Tomorrow... she was going to confess to Hunter even if it killed her. It probably might, but, she was ready.

Oh, she was ready.

***

Sky stood in front of the mirror.

Should she tell Hunter?

Sky didn't know for sure, but from the way her heart was exploding inside her, something was clear. She was scared out of her mind.

Maybe she shouldn't do it. Maybe she was better off leaving this alone. Ugh. She didn't know what the hell she wanted.

Even though she was constantly worrying about her plan to confess to Hunter, she was still excited about seeing him.

I can't wait to see him again, she thought as she brushed her teeth. God, I miss him.

She missed Hunter and his baby blue eyes that twinkled when he laughed at something silly. She missed the way he grumbled when he lost a soccer match. She missed the way he would wrap his arm around her and she would instantly feel comforted.

All through the vacation, Sky had spent every minute thinking about how much she had missed him and she decided—albeit hesitantly, very, very hesitantly—she was going to tell Hunter about these pesky feelings.

Hunter had always been Sky's friend and she had always been one of the guys, but she did not want that anymore. She was tired of constantly being pushed to the side because she didn't look gorgeous.

She didn't want to be one of the guys. She didn't want Hunter to look at her like she was just another guy!

Sometimes she felt like she would simply explode if she kept up with the pretense of being his friend, but she was also coward enough not to go to him and do something stupid like... kiss him smack on his lips or something. If only she had the spine for that.

I am doing it today. I am. s**t. I am not afraid.

Oh, it was such a lie, but maybe saying it again and again would give her the actual courage. Was there a potion for this kind of things? Something that would turn you from an indecisive coward to someone brave and decisive?

She wanted to be brave and not be a freaking coward, but she still didn't have no idea how she was going to be like that, when just thinking about it made her break into cold sweat.

What if he doesn't feel the same way and I lose his friendship, too?

Sky was scared, but she was almost sure this was the right time. Almost.

Hunter had broken up with his girlfriend just before the vacation. And he was single right now. And Sky was sure if she missed this small window of opportunity, he would find another girl to fill the gap left by his previous girlfriend. He was too handsome to be left alone among the preying birds of giggling, blushing teenage girls.

The moment anyone heard that he was single, they would circle him like vultures and then he would be gone, before Sky could blink her eyes. She would be left standing on the sidelines, watching him with someone else. Again. And Sky was sure her heart couldn't take it, not for the hundredth time. Okay, she was exaggerating, but not really much.

Sky grabbed the red blouse her mom had bought her when she was staying with her mom and her brand new family for summer vacation. Sky spent most of the summer vacations with them in their grand house, and she absolutely detest it. There was always this feeling in the pit of her stomach, like somehow she didn't belong in her mom's new family, like she was a stranger in all their mirrors.

Sky just couldn't let go of the feeling of abandonment and betrayal, and also the guilt whenever she looked at her mother. She was sure her mother hated her... for Ben.

Sky did have a new half-sister and a step-brother. They were good people, but they weren't her people. And her mom had become a stranger.

They didn't have much to talk about and so they walked around the house, passing each other with a meaningless words. It was torture for Sky and it would have been torture for her mom, as well.

Sky wore the blouse—it was girlie, unlike the T-shirts she was always used to, but it was cute. She paired it with jeans, and took a look at herself in the mirror. Not much had changed since she had last looked in the mirror. She was still lean, tall and flat-chested.

Flat-chested.

The word was still stuck in her brain, in a loop. Stupid, self-absorbed jerk. She cursed Holden Reed. He was always there at the back of her head, spoiling her mood. He was the devil incarnate. The king of hell. He was every girl's dream and desire, but he was Sky's nightmare.

Sky hissed as she often did when she thought about Holden Reed. He made her lose all the calm, rational feelings she usually had.

I wish he would go back to hell...

Sky grabbed a comb and ran it through her short blonde hair, which was cropped in a pixie cut. The bangs fell softly on one side, and the hair rested just below the nape of her neck, creating a fierce, but soft look.

Sky liked it that way, because it needed less maintenance like that and it also dried faster when she took a shower and she had to shower often, after soccer practice.

Sky heard the car honk and grabbed her backpack and walked out of her room.

Her dad, David Mitchell, called out to her. "Sky, don't forget your breakfast."

"When have I ever?" Sky chuckled as she walked inside the kitchen and grabbed the French toast and bit into it with a sigh. Her dad's French toasts were something of a miracle.

She skipped towards the matte black Audi R8 and stopped short when she saw Holden Reed leaning against the car, his hand inside his pocket, a brooding look on his illegally sexy face. He was made of every one of every woman's dirty dreams and desires. He was hot, attractive and with the lazy drawl and the smug smirk... yes, he is explosive, but his mood is just as explosive, too.

When he saw Sky, his smouldering soft gray eyes turned a shade darker and he gave her an infuriating smirk that rubbed her the wrong way. He was an accident waiting to happen and Sky was not stupid to get caught in that collision.

His eyes glinted in the sunlight and his hair fell to the side, a little longer, as if he hadn't had time to take a scissor to his hair. He looked cool and effortless and gorgeous in his black T-shirt that looked too old and his ratty old jeans. And he still fit in with the ridiculously expensive car. He is insanely attractive, but he is also insanely crazy.

It is such a shame that all this beauty is wasted on this devil. Sky thought.

She gnashed her teeth, before she turned her eyes towards a head that was peaking out from the back seat. Hunter. His soft blue eyes smiled at her, along with his whole face, and she smiled back at him. He was beautiful. There was not other way to describe him.

Hunter and Holden were twins and they were both good-looking, and they almost looked the same, but Hunter was an amazing human being, while Holden was just- just a pesky moron who always made Sky lose her cool. Insensitive jerkwad!

"Hunt... I missed you." Sky said as she walked towards him and bent towards him. He ruffled her hair and she slapped his hand away.

"Don't mess it." She said and he gave her a bright smile that made her heart flutter. He was so handsome, with his soft blue eyes that reminded her of the sea in the sunset and his hair was a soft, chocolate brown that made her always want to run her fingers through them. He wore a soft blue shirt that was so prim, yet so fitting.

He was the light to Holden's dark.

"I missed you too, little Sky," he said as he motioned her to get in front with Holden.

She gave a distasteful look at the devil sitting in the front seat and he rolled his eyes at her with a impertinent smile.

"What are you staring at? Do you want my picture for doing the dirty deed when you are alone? Do you want to kiss my lips?" Holden's voice was wiped clean of amusement as he looked at her, but his eyes, those gray eyes, they were full of devilish intentions and innuendos.

What an arrogant, smug jerk!

"In your dreams, jerkface." Sky grunted as she took a seat next to him. They hadn't had a decent conversation in the past few years, after he had called her a flat-chested, boring girl, but there was just no way Sky could fully avoid him or his frustrating smirk or his eyes that were full of mocking disapproval.

Hunter lived in the same house as him, and since Sky spent half of her time with Hunter, so avoiding Holden was not an option. And so they were stuck in this weird cold war, for five long years, with no way out.

Also, he still gave Sky a ride to school every day, along with Hunter. She knew Holden was doing it only because Hunter begged him to. Also, she supposed the devil must have made some kind of soul-sucking bargain with the innocent angel.

Must be. Holden Reed was not altruistic or generous. He's smug, conceited and so full of himself, sometimes Sky wondered how his neck hadn't broken from the weight of his big head.

"In my dreams, freckles, we do a lot more than just kissing. If I tell that to you, you will never be able to look at me or walk straight," He said in a deep, hoarse voice that made her pulse jump. She didn't exactly know why he affected her like that, but he did.

Her heart thundered violently and she wished she wouldn't have these kind of reactions to him.

She flushed in embarassment.

His eyes were staring straight ahead, but she could still feel the heat of his gaze, even though he wasn't looking at her. She gulped and looked away.

She took a deep, calming breath and refused to let herself get sucked into the insane whirlwind that was Holden.

I hate Holden Reed. He is not good for my health or my heart.

"I don't know why you can't sit next to this vile creature, Hunt." She complained with a frown as she turned back to look at Hunter, and Hunter looked at her with a shake of his head.

"No, don't pull me inside this battle, Sky." Hunter said with a chuckle. "Hold, stop teasing her."

His chuckle was soft and it calmed her agitated nerves. It comforted her. Hunter always, always made her feel like everything would be alright when he smiled. Hunter made her feel like she was at home when she was with him. Unlike his evil twin. Holden always made her feel like she was stuck in the middle of a swirling typhoon, in the eye of a raging storm, with no way out. He made her feel tumultuous emotions, that was unbalanced and weird and Sky didn't like feeling that way. She liked her life chaos free and Holden Reed was chaos in capital letters.

"Because, freckles, he wants to sit next to his girlfriend, not his best friend." Holden said, his voice drenched with arrogance. His eyes glinted victoriously as he looked at Sky and her heart fell down her stomach. There was a big ball of grief stuck in her throat, and it was suffocating. Usually she would have retorted, but she just couldn't, for the life of her, think of a word to speak. Her throat was dry and she gulped as she willed herself not to break down and cry. She wouldn't give Holden that satisfaction!

Hunter has a girlfriend. Once again, Sky was a little too late. Once again, she was left eating the dust of another girl.

"You didn't tell me?" She looked at Hunter and he shook his head. Of course, she was away for two months, but they talked, they e-mailed, they texted, they video called, and he could have told her in any one of those million conversations they had.

She would've stopped being so hopeful. She wouldn't have imagined herself with him every hour of every day, while she was stuck with her mom and her mom's new family.

Her heart felt like crumpled paper. She turned to look at him, her eyes accusing.

"Sorry. I wanted to tell you face-to-face." He said and avoided her eyes. He kinda looked guilty, but why would he look guilty?

"It's alright. Is it anyone I know?" Sky asked, even as she felt like her world was crashing down and collapsing over her, once again.

"It is-"

Holden stopped the car in front of the huge mansion and Sky's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you are dating Melissa Paisley?!" Sky gasped as she looked incredulously at Hunter. What the hell! And from the look in Hunter's eyes, she knew he was dating her. Of course, he was dating Melissa, the mean witch.

"I- Sky- I can explain and-"

No, he couldn't explain. No explanation would stop the betrayal surging through her, not right now.

"H- how could you do this to me?" She breathed the word out as if it hurt her to even talk.

"Because she is sexy as sin and guys are shallow. Even Saint Hunter couldn't resist her. He is also just another guy, who thinks with his pen*s." Holden said in the overwhelming silence. His voice was acerbic and it made Sky's heart burn, but he was right. For the first time, she agreed with Holden. She couldn't have said it better.

"Hold, just shut the f*ck up." Hunter growled. She didn't say anything. She sat there, feeling her heart breaking, once again. It was the curse of liking your best friend. You should, never, never like your best friend, no matter what. If you did, you would most probably be stuck on the sidelines, watching as your heart broke and you wouldn't even be able to do anything about it. You couldn't walk away, you couldn't walk closer.

You will forever be stuck in limbo, swinging never close enough, never far away.

"Why should I? I am not the one dating my best friend's bully!"

___