Matches | √

Prologue

sparks | emit sparks of fire or electricity

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9/7/17

THE MUSIC FILLS the air of the large house as I take a sip of the lukewarm beer in my red solo cup. The party is in full swing to celebrate the new school year. As a freshman it's my first college party, and I can't lie. I feel a little overwhelmed. A mixture of nerves and excitement weave their way through my veins making the buzz from the beer fill my whole body.

People are everywhere talking, dancing, playing drinking games as the smell of stale beer and strong liquor mingle in the air.

"Mae!" I hear Teegan's boisterous voice echo through the party as my head snaps to meet my new roommate.

Her silver hair is easy to spot in a room filled with bottle blondes and dusky brunettes. I met Teegan online through the university when I decided to go with a random roommate. I needed a different change of scenery after graduation and she was the perfect breath of fresh air.

Teegan's flowery perfume greats me just as she stands in front of me with her pierced nose, tattooed arms, and purple lipstick. She's wild and authentically herself, and someone I'm grateful to have been placed with for my first year in college.

"Hey, Tee," I smile as I grab a half empty bag of pretzels on the counter. I scoop a handful and begin to munch away, needing the salty snack food to fill my empty stomach.

"College is going to be the best Mae," she tells me as she sips away on her mixed drink. "These guys are so much hotter than the ones from my dinky ass high school in Idaho," she chuckles.

I shake my head with a smile. "I still can't believe you're from some small town," I comment. When I first met Teegan I had only seen the picture she had on her university profile, which was a simple picture of a petite fair skinned blonde girl.

The day she waltzed into our small dorm room my eyes went wide taking in her colorful appearance. I soon learned that the picture is one her mother made her use, as she isn't too keen on her daughters choices in hair color and body art. But from our first conversation I could see why she made the choices she has, because she was just matching her outside to her inside. She is bubbly and filled with a joy that reminds me of rainbows in the sky after a stormy day.

Teegan runs a hand through her long hair. "The moment I showed up with purple hair at school people looked at me like I was crazy," she tells me.

"Oh, you could so pull that off," I tell her as I picture her bright blue eyes and pale skin with purple hair. She would actually look beautiful with that shade of color framing her delicate face. If she had no piercings, tattoos, and a normal shade of hair color she would look like a pure angel.

But when her eyes narrow, and her painted smirk touches her lips it's easy to see the wildness that tries to escape, because she's no angel. She's a cunning little pixie.

Teegan's arm links through mine. "And this is why I already love you miss Mae," she smiles as her voice sings my name in a slight country twang.

We begin to walk forward through the kitchen when my body stops as well as my heart.

"What?" Teegan questions. "What's up Mae?" she pushes seeing my obvious reaction.

My mouth runs dry and my body rushes with heat as I see him standing across the room from me. His eyes that I've looked at so many times hold mine, his hair that always looked so soft, his hands that had a talent most would kill to possess. Everything runs through my head in these few passing seconds, high school, heartbreak, and our past. Then nothing. My mind goes blank because all I can think is one singular thought, what is he doing here?

In Illinois. At the same party as me. Looking at me in a way that makes me want to melt.

He begins to walk forward as Teegan leans over to whisper at me. Her warm liquor filled breath tickling my ear. "Who is the hottie walking towards us right now?" she asks with a smile coating her tone.

I wet my cracked lips as my pulse begins to beat heavily through my body like a drum. "Someone I used to know," I answer quietly. My eyes still can't believe what they're taking in as he continues to move towards me.

Suddenly he's right in front of me, just a hands length away. So close I can touch him, smell his familiar cologne that wraps around me making me feel immediately at ease.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him as my voice comes out uneven, surprised, and utterly confused.

The bright smile that has always made my heart stop shines across his face almost blinding me.

"I thought it was time I ask you on that date," he responds to me with an easy look of confidence painted across his handsome face.

And with that the pieces of my heart that were once burned, begin to heal.

•

Author's note:

Okay so this is my new novel, and while it does sit within the same universe of the Tangled Fate Novels aka in the fictional town of Easton, it can be read as a stand alone novel. The characters won't really overlap in this story specifically, well only a little (but I got BIG plans for the future).

I have had this idea in my head for FOREVER now and I'm so happy I'm finally sitting down to write it.

Mae is a character that most of you won't like at some point for many reasons, (because I obviously tend to write female MCs that everyone hates) but she is a character that is very similar to everyone in some way I believe. She's realistic in her mistakes and finds her voice through a situation that is a little too close to home honestly.

I hope you enjoy this book and fall in love with these characters and maybe even Mae by the end with her story about love, life, friendship, and the guy who never really loved her but said he did.