Fool Me Once by Abigail Livinghouse (book recommendations for teens TXT) 📕

hand whenever someone needed one. I found it pure and genuine that she would do such a thing, which is the main reason why we became friends.

 

And–oh, hold up before I continue with my monologue. Bitchy McBitcherson is coming over here (that’s not really her name, like duh, her name’s Emily, but Bitchy just fits her, and you’ll soon see why). She came up to Lizzie and I, her hands on her small hips, a smirk on her perfect face.

 

Now, I’m not going to lie, Emily is way gorgeous. She had high cheekbones that needed little makeup, and blue eyes that were the color of sapphires. Her sculpted face was framed by her velvety gold hair that fell to her waist, completely straight without any effort on her part. She was very skinny, like so skinny that when she leaned back you could see her hip bones, but to the guys here at our high school, they considered that mad sexy, and any girls who actually had a body with curves and a figure were thought to be fat.

 

I shook my head sadly at this. All girls were beautiful. There should be no designated shape or form a woman should be defined by. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and if the world wasn’t so judging then maybe people would start to see that beauty. But no, that’s just not the way things are.

 

Anyway, back to Emily.  She was standing before us in a skin tight pink tank top, and white Daisy Dukes. As if she needed anything else to pile on to her ensemble, she also wore designer flip flops, bangles, a long diamond heart necklace (positively real, did I mention Emily’s family is also rich?), and her skin was lightly tanned, even though there wasn’t a beach within miles of here.

 

Emily was smirking at Lizzie and I, while we just stared dully back at her.

 

“What do you want Bitchy?” Lizzie asked Emily, not the best way to start a conversation with her but hey, we liked to call her by her natural name, and not the one her parents gave her.

 

Emily’s smirk just widened into a full blown grin. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. She had something going on up in that blonde little head of hers, and she had come over here to tell us.

 

“Nothing much, just wondering when the slut parade came into town?” Emily asked with an annoying little giggle. I rolled my eyes. That was the best she had?

 

“Ha ha, now what do you really want?” I asked her. She shrugged.

 

“Hey, just wanted to let you know that there’s been a dress code violation up in here.” She said, raising her voice at the end so that all heads turned our way.

 

“I am wondering how someone can dress this whorish and not get expelled for it.”  She said, then suddenly leaned down so that she was inches from my face and whispered right in my ear, “A dumb little bitch like you should get back to the corner where you belong.” She said.

 

I watched her with amusement as she straightened up, flipped her hair, and turned around to leave. But Lizzie wasn’t having it.

 

Before Emily or I could contain the small girl, Lizzie grabbed Emily by the hair and yanked her back, causing Emily to yelp.

 

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Emily screeched in Lizzie’s face.

 

Lizzie acted as if she hadn’t heard her. Lizzie’s face was bright red, her nostrils were flaring and she was almost panting with anger.

 

“You can’t fucking talk to my friend like that and expect to get away with it.” Lizzie growled.

 

Emily just rolled her eyes, not looking the least bit worried even though Lizzie still had ahold of her hair.

 

“You must be joking. What’s a dumb little whore like you gonna do about it?” Emily sneered.

 

In response, Lizzie gave a hard yank of Emily’s blonde locks. The girl cried out, but then fell silent, her face burning in outrage.

 

“Let me go!” She shouted.

 

I jumped up, seeing as it was time for me to intervene. I grabbed Lizzie by the waist and pulled her back, away from Emily. At first, she kept hold of Emily’s hair, but then after a moment of my tugging, she finally released the girl.

 

Emily jumped back and yelled in outrage. Even though her hair was messy, she still looked perfect. Pfft, of course.

“She’s not worth it Liz, let her go.” I said softly in my friend’s ear.

Just as Lizzie was about to give up, Emily had to open her big fucking mouth. Goddammit, and just when things were gonna cool down.

“You skanky ass hoes! I’ll get you both expelled for this! You fucking whores!” She shrieked.

I felt the flare of anger burning inside me before I realized what I was doing, and what it could cost me. I released Lizzie, and with a yell, I screamed,

“Enough!” I raised my hands in the air without thinking and suddenly, everything was still.

I looked around me. It was as if I was on a television show and it had been set to freeze frame. No one moved, in fact, no one could move. They were all stuck where they were, Emily standing with ruffled hair and a flushed face, Lizzie standing in anger, her tiny fists balled, and the bystanders, gawking at the little show going down before them.

In the midst of the crowd I spotted the principal, Mrs. Wishek, making her way through the anxious audience, about ready to expel us all, except of course Emily. Oh, yeah I forgot to tell you, Emily’s last name is Wishek, as in she’s the principal’s daughter. Yep, could it get any worse? 

I Usually Don't Take The Easy Way Out

Let me rephrase that. Yes. Yes, it could get much, much worse. Because after I froze everyone a little person I’d like to call Luca showed up at the scene, and let me tell you, he was pissed.

 

Luca was one of my best friends, one of my only long-time friends. He had magic just like me, although I wouldn’t call him a wizard or warlock or any of that corny shit. I’d just call him a sorcerer. He definitely looked the part.

 

He had a Scene haircut died candy apple red, and neon green eyes. You’d think he would have to wear contacts to get them to look that color but nope, he’s just that freaky. He also had vampire bites, small gauges, his eyebrow pierced, and a small diamond stud in his nose.

 

He’s tall and lean but don’t let his thin look fool you, because I’ve seen Luca without his shirt on and boy, does that kid have some abs.

 

Anyway, today appearing in front of me he wore black skinny jeans with chains hanging from his studded belt, a dark T-shirt with a picture of a black rose on it, and converse.

 

You’re probably wondering how he can appear out of nowhere at the wrong time. Well, Luca’s just like me. He does whatever he wants whenever he wants, and I must say, he’s a bit protective over me, as I am of him.

 

Ever since we became friends back in about 1930, he watched over me and protected me from any harm that could come my way. I did the same for him. We were both the social outcasts, so we banded together and watched each other’s backs. He and I were great friends, and no, we never dated because I know some of you out there are asking that question. No, I love Luca but I never looked at him as anything more than just a friend.

 

But as I was saying, in about 1950 Luca began to realize that I wasn’t aging, as I realized the same about him. After a while we figured out what the other was, however that only made our friendship grow stronger.

 

As we moved away from each other, we always kept in touch and saw one another. Luca’s like my protector, he’s always there for me, and always watching over me.

 

At the moment though, he was very angry. He came over to me with his hands in fists and his face contorted in a sneer of rage.

 

“What the hell were you thinking Alexandria?” He shouted. I pursed my lips, hesitating.

 

“Um, well, you know . . .” I trailed off, but before I could pick up where I left off Luca finished for me.

 

“You weren’t thinking, that’s what. You weren’t thinking at all. God, I can’t believe you did this!” He yelled, waving his arm at the still crowd.

 

“They’ll be okay, won’t they?” I asked hesitantly.

 

Luca knew more about magic then I did. He even sometimes cast spells. So if ever I needed a reference, I went to him.

 

Luca sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, shaking his head.

 

“Yes. They’ll be fine. But the real damage here is collateral.” He muttered, groaning as if he was getting a headache. He probably was. I scowled.

 

“Collateral? How so?” I asked.

 

He didn’t respond at first, he just shut his eyes and laughed. After a moment, he spoke.

 

“Look around you, Alexandria. Can you honestly say that no one saw you do this? That no one saw it was you?” He asked, his eyes still closed. I looked around with a grimace.

 

“I don’t know. I could, but I don’t exactly have eyes in the back of my head.” I said wryly.

 

Luca’s eyes snapped open, and they immediately locked on my face, burning angry holes right into my soul.

 

“Alexandria”, he said sternly. “This is serious. You could’ve gotten yourself and all of us in huge trouble. You’re lucky I showed up when I did.” He said in a weary tone.

 

“You’re always there for me.” I said with a small smile. Luca continued to glare at me, but his expression softened a little.

 

“Yeah, I am. And I’m beginning to regret it.” He said jokingly, a grin breaking his hard expression.

 

“Hey!” I punched him lightly on the arm. Luca laughed and placed a hand on my shoulder.

 

“Just remember”, he said, his tone serious once again. “I’ll always be there for you.” He said. I looked up at him, listening intently.

 

“Just don’t fuck up so much and I won’t have to be there for you as often as I am.” He teased. I smirked, the serious moment gone thanks to him.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Now, what am I supposed to do about this?” I gestured to the crowd, still frozen.

 

Luca dropped his arm and shrugged, looking around. “Well, I suppose you should unfreeze them, and if I were you, I’d turn into a field mouse and scurry right on out of here.” He said.

 

I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to leave here and skip this town just yet. I actually have friends here.” I said truthfully. Luca cocked a fiery eyebrow.

 

“Really? You want to stay here?” He asked in surprise. I nodded.

 

“Yes. I actually do.” I said.

 

He sighed. “Then it’s going to be harder to unfreeze them and explain what happened instead of just skipping out on everything. Are you sure you don’t want to leave? Because I’m heading to New Orleans tonight, and you’re more than welcome to come with.” He said.

 

I hesitated for a moment. I wanted to stay because I really didn’t want to leave Lizzie, she was the first true friend