The Truth ✔

Chapter 1 ~

Kaleb's POV

This is it I think to myself. It is finally my last year at Briarwood High School. As I pull into my parking space, I turn my bike off, my best friend is sitting on his bike waiting for me. "It's about time you showed up, Kaleb." Conner says sounding annoyed that I am running late. You would think by now he would be use to it.

"Come on. Let's get inside and pick our schedules up." I groan. The hallways are already crowded but that's not surprising when you go to a school that has close to 1,500 kids enrolled in it. As we walk in several girls wave to us. You could say our high school is typical with all the cliché groups, but that would be a lie. Sure, you have the popular kids, jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, geek and loners, but they aren't exactly your stereotype.

My best friend and I would be considered the 'bad boys'. Sure, we drink and party. We wear black leather jackets and ride motorcycle. Sometimes we even ditch class and fight when we have too, but neither of us have a juvie record. We aren't in gangs, we don't fight illegally or anything like that. We both straight A students and our ranked in the top ten percent. We are also both on the track team.

As for the most popular girl in the school. She is the caption of the Cheer leading team. Her name is Whitney Howell and she rules the school, but she doesn't act like she's 'Queen Bee'. She rules the school because she is the student body president. She was fairly voted into that position and it wasn't just because she is popular. She's been a member of the student council since freshman year. Everyone seems to love Whitney and the great thing about her is just because she is at the top of the social ladder doesn't mean she ugly or rude to those below her. On the contrary she can't stand the thought of other being bullied and she will stand up for anyone who is in need. She has the highest GPA in the entire school. The cheerleaders all look up to her and respect her.

Wherever Whitney is you will find her two best friends close behind, Summer and Winter Anderson. Again, they aren't your typical minions that you would find in some book you would read online. Yes, they are also both very popular and are cheerleaders, but they are also very sweet girls. They're always dress nice, but it isn't inappropriate. Their cheerleader uniforms are a little tight and slightly short but are still appropriate for school. Our principal Ms. Hoffman wouldn't allow any student at our school wear anything that is too revealing.

Then you have Daniel Whitfield who would be considered a jock. He's the caption of the football team and is dating Whitney. A little cliché, yes, but they are the school's golden couple. He's not a player or anything like that. He's very faithful to Whitney. If he wasn't, I would have to kick his ass. Not because I want to hook up with her or anything like that. That would just be wrong because she's my cousin. Although most people don't know that. We keep that we are related on the down low.

Another one of the jocks is Jake Lopez. He's best friends with Daniel and he's the caption of the soccer team. He's a decent guy, but I haven't really hung out with him. He was new to Briarwood last year but was a great addition to our sport teams.

After all of the popular kids, jocks and cheerleaders you have the nerds/geeks. I don't mean it in bad way. They are just the ones that their time is always consumed with either reading books or figuring out some sort of computer program. When we throw parties, we always invite them. Sometimes they show up, but for most of them it's not really their scene.

Then you have the loners, but I don't know if they really qualify as loners. They're loner in the sense that they don't like to hang out with people outside of their small groups. But they aren't really loners. I would say they are more of emo type. They like to dress in dark colors and listen to music. They have friends and hang out with them, but they prefer to avoid crowds or anything that would draw attention to themselves.

We also have several bullies, but they don't really belong to a particular group. In fact, they are the reason why I and the jocks normally end up fighting. Not with each other, but me and Kaleb have no problem beating someone if they're bullying someone else and jocks seem to be on the same page as us.

Then you have Layla Davis. A true loner. From what I can I tell she doesn't have a single friend. She tries to hide in the crowd, but the truth is everyone has noticed her. She walks with her head down and never makes eye contact with anyone. She's always wearing long sleeves and pants even on the hottest days of the year. She always has a large hoodie on covering her head. It's rare to hear her speak and when she does it's normally in one-word sentences. She has somehow been able to even get out of most group project, and no one has even seen her step foot in the cafeteria. I've been fascinated with her since the day I laid eyes on her. She an enigma to me.

Freshman year we bumped into to each other in the hallway. That was the first time I noticed her. She whispered sorry so softly that had I not been right up against her I wouldn't have heard her. For a few brief seconds she looked me in the eyes. There was a whirlwind of emotions in her eyes and I couldn't decipher them. The only thing I know for sure was that there wasn't an ounce of happiness within her and I want to know why? Since then I've kept my eyes on her.

She has always been a prime target for the bullies in our school. Like I said she tries to stay invisible, but she isn't. I've put several people in the hospital because of her. I can't stand to see anyone mess with her. Conner says I act possessive of her, but I don't think so. Besides saying sorry freshman year, we have never spoken.

As I pass by my cousin as her locker with her friends I lean down and whisper in her ear. "At lunch I need you and your friends to sit at my table. I need your help with something." She gives me a confuse look but nods her head in agreement before continuing her conversation with her friends.

Conner raises his eyebrow at me. "What was that about?"

"I'll tell you at lunch." Putting an end to the subject before he can ask anymore questions. I start looking around the hallway to see the one person that has plagued my mine since she bumped into me freshman year.

Conner gives me a knowing smirk. "You're looking for her, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" I try to play it off like I don't have a clue what he's talking about, but I know I can't fool him. We've been best friends since we were in diapers. He can read me like an open book.

He rolls his eyes. "You're looking for Layla." He chuckles. "I haven't seen her yet, but I'm sure she is somewhere around."

Unfortunately for me it doesn't seem like I have any of my morning classes with her.