Tear (Seaside 1)

“Holy sh— I mean, crap.”

Nobody ever said boys were intelligent, or tactful for that matter.

“Those are the dudes from AD2!” He did a fist pump and turned around to give them both a head nod which apparently in boy world meant, “What’s up, you’re cool, let’s hang.”

Because he got two very cool-looking head nods back. I rolled my eyes, a little disappointed that my fantasy had ended just as fast as it had begun. The day was no longer boring, but now I knew without a doubt that Alec would not be smoldering in my direction, and Demetri was fortunate enough to be the type of guy that had every STD listed and probably some of them that weren’t. The guy was known for his conquests. TMZ followed them everywhere, which begged the question — what the heck were they doing in Seaside?

I scrolled through the pages on my phone trying to find any sort of rumor as to why they were going to school rather than touring or whoring around.

“Miss Murray, your phone.” Mr. Meservy held out his hand. Irritated, I slapped it into his hand, but not before clicking the top of it so he’d have to use a password to get in.

“Anyone else want to tempt fate today?” Mr. Meservy looked around the room challenging more students to pull out their phones.

Someone made a choking noise behind me, and suddenly Alec was at the side of my desk. “Um, actually that’s my phone. She was probably confused which is why it was out on her desk.”

Mr. Meservy rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll play. And how would she have your phone?”

“She tripped.” Alec shrugged giving a cool smile to the teacher. I shivered when his hand gently touched my shoulder. “Her books and phone fell out of her bag and then the bell rang. I helped her grab her stuff, but had to set my phone down on the floor to do so. Simple mistake.”

Even I believed him, and I knew it was a bald-faced lie.

“Besides…” Alec leaned his tanned hands against my desk and smirked. “We all know how many times my phone goes off. It was probably burning up in her hand.”

At this the entire class began chuckling, because really it had to be true. The guy was a celebrity. Grown women wanted to rape him. Naturally, his phone would be blowing up the cellular universe.

“Fine, Alec, you’ll get your phone back at the end of class.”

Alec turned his back to Mr. Meservy making me want to gasp. You didn’t turn your back on teachers. Clearly I was sheltered.

“Here’s your phone, Nat.” His smile disappeared. He handed me the iPhone 5, slipping it into my hand before walking back to his desk. It felt sleek in my hands, and insanely more masculine then my sad little free phone with its pink cover.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

I now had two things he had touched and I was ready to fall out of my seat. Seriously. Must. Stop. Watching. TV!

Chapter Two

By lunchtime, word had spread and it was nearly impossible to see Alec and Demetri without a swarm of people stalking them down the hallways. It made me wonder why they chose Seaside of all places. Granted, we were on the Oregon coast — far away from their homeland of Canada, and nowhere near L.A., but still. We had the Internet. We had phones. They were in no way invisible to our sleepy town. It was only a matter of time before they high-tailed it out of here. I mean, they didn’t even have body guards!

With a sigh, I fished out my lunch money from my back pocket and looked at the choices of the day.

Tacos or a salad.

Or, I gave a mischievous smile, taco salad. I quickly made my little concoction and grinned even brighter.

“I must say…” A deep voice said from behind me. “I’ve never seen a girl get so excited over a taco salad.”

“Well,” I turned to face Demetri, of course it would be Demetri. “I like food. And I think I get a gold star for being creative.”

He laughed and leaned in closer his golden hair falling gracefully across his forehead. “Think you can make me one too?”

I put one hand on my hip. “That depends. Are you asking me so you don’t have to make your own, or are you just wanting an excuse to talk to me?”

“Both.”

I laughed. “Fair enough. But be warned, perfection doesn’t often happen twice in a row.”

He smirked and stood next to me as I made him a similar salad. “So, where are all your admirers?”

“With Alec.” He nodded his head toward the other side of the cafeteria were Alec was holding court with at least fifty people. His face was as handsome and stern as ever.

“Does he smile, like ever?”

Demetri shook his head, a bright grin creased his lips. “He smiled at you, didn’t he?”

“That was a smile?” I handed him his tray. “I thought it was a grimace. Easy to confuse the two on his face.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that. He may just fall in love with you if you tease him.”

“No danger of any guy falling in love, no worries.” I kept my head down so I wouldn’t have to look at his gorgeous face and walked away, but felt his hand touch my arm.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To eat, like normal people. It is lunch time and we only get fifteen minutes.”

“Sit with me.” His blue eyes sparkled, and his dimples seemed even more pronounced as his smile spread even wider across his face. Stupid rock star.

“Um, no thanks,” I said as politely as I could.

His smile faded. I continued walking to my usual table, when I felt a hand on my arm again. “No thanks?”