Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter One

 January 5, 2006

 They say honesty is the best policy. But if I tell him I have a boyfriend, he’ll stop offering me his seat. And I’m definitely not standing in that crowded bus...

        As was always, going out of the cinemas had a way of making a person feel momentarily disoriented. Like going from one world to another. Of course, if you would think about it in a figurative way, it was. The movie you watched was one world and real life was another. And like what everybody said, real life was a whole lot more complicated. At least the movie world was scripted and you were merely an observer with nothing to do except sit.

      Rachelle Harlow and Nick Cleveland had barely stepped out of the cinemas that Sunday afternoon before they saw someone point a finger toward them and whispered to her friends. If you could still call it a whisper even if you could hear it from eight feet away.

       “Oh my, it’s Rachelle Harlow! Her new swimsuit photos are all over the school’s online forums. It must be really nice being tall and skinny. You get to be a model at such a young age,” the shortest girl among them exclaimed. “Who’s the guy with her? I haven’t heard anything about a new boyfriend.”

      “Isn’t he Nick Cleveland? Her best friend?” the girl who pointed told her three friends. The others all nodded upon recognizing Nick’s sharp, blue eyes, six feet of sheer perfection, rugged features and blond hair that seemed to be highlighted with darker shades depending on the light.

      The girls giggled annoyingly. “Yeah. It could only be him. You know, people say he’s the only guy who can be seen going out with Rachelle Harlow without her kissing him in public,” another girl said, this one taller and a bit thinner than the others.

      “You think he’s actually gay?” the short girl said.

      “Everyone says so.” This statement, accompanied with a shrug, was from the only red-haired girl in the group. “The boys from the football team told the cheerleaders who told everybody that he’s never got a girlfriend. Can you imagine that? He’s hot, he’s Quarter To Five’s new keyboardist and he’s one of our school’s top students. How could he not have had a girlfriend? Not even a fling. Nothing at all.” She waited for her friends to open their mouths in shock before she continued with: “One cheerleader even said that when she tried to corner him into a classroom, he ran away.”

      “Oh my god! Are you sure?” the girls asked their friend in unison, all clearly astonished.

      “Uh-huh,” redhead said, smiling with a glint in her eyes. “Some people even call them The Homo and The Slut. It would make a good movie title, right?” she finished laughing, and the others joined in.

      “You good-for-nothing, wrinkled, old bitches! I’ll ki—ow!” Rachelle yelled in anger. “What the hell are you doing?” Before she could say anything more and start a very ugly scene, Nick had grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the bigmouthed foursome.

      Neither of them spoke while Nick continued to drag Rachelle out of the H&G Mall and across the street towards their favorite hangout. Although, it was obvious that Rachelle had yet to forget what the two of them heard. She was even struggling to get out of Nick’s grasp just so she could go after those girls who ran off the moment she said ‘You good-for-nothing’.

      They arrived at Heartlake City’s Central Park. Nick kept his tight grip until they were seated at one of the benches located near the shore of the man-made lake, away from most people. He raised his right hand in a gesture that told Rachelle to relax and breathe. At this time of day, the park was usually filled with families of different ethnicities who were now considered Heartlake nationals. Her best friend was most likely worried that she would end up making a fool of herself.