Prologue

"Melissa Livingston!" she yelled and waved from across the cafeteria.

I smiled and gave her a quick wave back. Who the fuck was she? After thinking for a moment, I finally remembered her. She was the girl who sat across from me in history last semester. I didn't recognize her because of the new boobs. She'd obviously grown them over the summer. I looked down at my paltry offering and sighed. God must really be pissed off at me.

It was amazing I was so popular without what seemed to be the required amount of boobage. Mom said my breasts were just the right size, that they accentuated my body. She wasn't fooling me. Moms are supposed to say that kind of shit. I was pretty though. Sweet too! Guys loved sweet girls. I also had a dancer's body. Everybody loves a dancer, especially guys. There's always the possibility she will dance with a pole sometime. I knew what guys wanted - a girl on a pole. Actually, what they wanted was a girl on their pole. But one gets you closer to the other, I suppose.

I was known for having a good personality. I made friends easily enough. I played well with others. I had the report cards to prove it too!

Did I mention I was a cheerleader last year?

I could be your worst enemy if you crossed me though. I was one of the cool kids. It was a status bestowed upon me by the other cool kids. We could rally to bring damnation on your very soul, if we were so inclined. Mostly, we'd just gossip enough about you to make your life miserable. I tried to stay out of that as much as I could though. Why? Because I'm sweet like that.

Eighth grade was going to suck. I just knew it. It's the second year of middle school. It was the last year of a two year prison sentence. No possibility of early release or parole either. High School was still just out of reach. I was thirteen going on fourteen. I still wouldn’t be able to drive. I was stuck in hell. And yet, I’d survived the first year unscathed. I was a survivor. This year should be a breeze.

The previous year had changed my life in so many ways though. The past summer had been totally insane. I certainly wasn't the same girl anymore, but could anyone outside of my closest friends tell?

First day of school usually blew donkey dick. This one was no different. Lunch on first days was always chaotic too. Picking out just the right table for your friends was a big decision. It reflected status. The table from last year would be too easy. It was like last year’s clothes. You just don’t wear them. So, I had to pick a new one. Decisions, decisions. Choose well, some wise fucker once said.

"Hi, Mel. Is everything going like we thought?” Sarah asked.

Sarah Clark was my best friend. We'd been friends since either of us could remember. Our moms had grown up as best friends. Sarah and I were destined to always be best friends too.

"I haven't seen her since early this morning," I told Sarah.

"Hi, you two," Pam said as she sat down near us.

Pam Rayner was our 'know it all' friend. She was around six months older than me and Sarah, but somehow ended up in our grade. She could be irritating as hell sometimes, but she was a good friend. She'd been a big part of my crazy life over the past year too, especially this past summer.

My friend, Tammy, sat down directly across from me. Tammy Addison was very popular. She was very pretty, but very down-to-earth too. She and I got along great because of that. She wasn't a cheerleader, but was just as popular as one. She liked me in part because I didn't act snobby because I'd been one. All the guys lusted after her. I think some of the girls did too. God I loved her hair.

"So, how does it feel to be a cheerleader again," Tammy asked me, grinning.

Oh, yeah. I was a cheerleader again ... even though I'd quit after last year. Over the past few weeks, I'd been pestered by the cheer coach, Ms. Stanton, into rejoining the squad. She desperately needed another 'base' after a few girls were injured during cheer camp. A base catches a flyer during stunts. If the base doesn't do her job, it could mean a very serious injury. Cheerleading isn't for the faint of heart. The majority of catastrophic injuries to girl athletes happen to cheerleaders.

"I hate you," I wryly replied to Tammy. I didn't really hate her though. Tammy knew I'd quit cheering because I wasn't interested in doing all the gymnastics anymore. But I couldn't let my school down in its hour of need ... according to my coach. Ms. Stanton would've had to eliminate one of the stunt groups if I didn't rejoin. I couldn't turn her down. She was very convincing. I was too easy. Being easy is the biggest reason the past year had been so crazy.

My stunt group is pretty cool though. A stunt group on a cheer team usually has two bases, a back spotter and sometimes a front spotter, and a flyer. Flyers don't ever piss off a base. We're like the Michael Oher of cheerleading. A smart quarterback stays on the good side of his linemen. The same goes with smart flyers. Spotters are probably just as important, but I'm a base. So, that's more important. A stunt group is usually pretty tight though.

"There she is," a girl sitting close to me quietly said, after she spotted my rival approaching.

And there she was, indeed. Jennifer Preston. She was the girl I'd befriended during cheerleader tryouts for last year's squad. She didn't make the team when I did, and I'd felt bad for her. She'd just moved here not long before. She hadn't made any real friends yet. I liked her. I thought she was cool and had a lot going for her. Little did I know back then that she would be the girl everyone was talking about at my expense. Why is that? She'd just recently stolen my boyfriend from me. My first boyfriend ever. We'd only been a couple for a very short time before she'd taken him from me.

Jennifer looked at me, and I looked at her. She had a slight smirk. I smirked back.

My friend Becky Jordan was draped all over her. I half smiled at Jennifer. Becky was her penance for stealing my boyfriend. Jennifer was now one of the queen bees. Becky had to bathe in Jennifer's newfound popularity. Becky was a popularity leach like that.

Why was Jennifer so popular now? Well, besides stealing my cute boyfriend away, she'd also been drafted at the last minute to be a cheerleader like I'd been ... as a base. I was the one who recommended her too! Everyone probably thought I was an idiot, especially since she’d taken my boyfriend too. I decided I could live with it though ... for the time being.

One benefit of being single again was that all the other cute guys were now hitting on me without reservation. Mom had warned me that was going to happen this year. I was enjoying it too.

Speaking of my former boyfriend, he happened to make his appearance just then to give his new squeeze a quick hello. I watched as he talked to her for a moment before he had to go on to his class.

He looked at me. They both did. I looked right back too.

"Aren't you going to claw their eyes out, Mel?" one of my friends nearby asked.

"I promised Ms. Stanton I'd behave ... for the sake of the cheer squad."

"They're rubbing it in though."

They were putting on a good show, but not so much for my benefit. You see, I knew some things no one else did about Jennifer and my ex. For one thing, I'd fucked Jennifer's new boyfriend every day this past week. I was going to fuck him later today. I was going to steal him back in a few months. Maybe sooner.

Why was I so confident that I could win back my ex? Because of a secret. It was one of my many secrets.

I glanced over at my best friend, Sarah. She knowingly smiled at me. Sarah knew almost all of my secrets. She certainly knew this one. She either knew about, or was a part of, many of my secrets. She'd been the one who'd gotten me started on this past year's wild ride of discovering and keeping secrets. Secrets that had definitely changed my life. Secrets that could destroy quite a few people.

It all started a little over a year ago at Sarah's house ...

(continued in chapter 1)