The Obsessed by Redhead16 Why Bother? (great books for teens TXT) 📕

Tawny went over the list in her planner one last time.

1. Cheerleader. (Check!)

2. Cool new popular friends. (Check!)

3. Gorgeous new makeover. (Check!)

4. Being wanted by every guy in school. (Getting there!)

5. New purse and tote bag, preferably from Forever 21. (Double Check!)

6. Family is in therapy for sister's death. (Got Dad to go, Mom still refuses. Ugh!)

7. Great body. (Technically I've always had a good body, but working out extra hard has improved it!)

8. Research on Tony. (Definite Check!)

9. Read every book about love and men available. (Getting super close!)

10. Make comparisons between Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet and Ophelia among other Shakespeare couples. (Still doing research!!)

11. Final goal, snag Tony Alvarado! (Will be done by junior year!)

Tawny had made this list at the end of last year, after Lexa Briggs made fun of her hair and dorky clothes. Now that Lexa had moved away, Tony would soon be hers. Tony was finally single! He hadn't been single since the sixth grade, when Hannah Runt asked him out. Since then, girls had been going after him like flies to honey.

Tawny was a beautiful new version of herself, with curlier, shinier hair and thicker lips, thanks to collagen injections. Working part-time in the school office and the beauty parlor had paid off! She now knew all sorts of medical information (oops!) and Tony's address and phone numbers. She also knew his computer password at school, (oops again!), and his past girlfriends' numbers.

That was on purpose. She'd logged every number in her phone, wrote down which of his passwords she could get on an index card, and wrote down the websites he visited most. Her new Michael Kors handbag flopped against her side as she walked to her first class. She'd purposely chosen classes she knew he'd be in. Which, incidentally, were classes she would've chosen otherwise.

She smiled at the very thought of seeing him. She daydreamed so much she almost bumped into Troll, a not-particularly unattractive science nerd. His real name was Colton, and he was also Tawny's ex-boyfriend. She pretended to ignore him, as he gazed at her with surprise and wonder.

Serves him right! she rightfully thought. Indeed, he'd cheated on her with her best friend at the time. Her name was Faun, and she'd really been a user. She liked to use people like beauty junkies use up makeup. (No offense meant here, the author is a beauty junkie too!) 

Fauna was her real name, but really, Fauna? Fauna is a word for animals or animal life! (What were her parents thinking?) Anyways, Faun was your typical Fair Weather Friend. Poor Tawny had thought that she was a real friend, but she'd secretly been plotting to snag whatever hottie came her friend's way for three years! Three years! Faun was too self-absorbed and too much of a wimp to snag a boy without breaking another girl's heart. Though in a way, she'd also had some guts. When girls fight, they don't just slap each other's wrists, they get nasty and vicious.

But fighting over boys also requires art, and Tawny, she's an artist. But this wasn't just to get revenge, it was to snag the boy of her dreams. Which would take careful planning and possibly months, or even years. Years it would be if that's what it took. Tawny was so busy thinking, she almost ran into His Hotness. Tony had his head down, his long blonde hair covering his eyes.

Tawny knew that meant he probably didn't want anyone seeing his emotions. Any celebrity worth her salt knows that if your eyes are covered, so are your feelings or thoughts. Tony had his eyes covered by his platinum locks, and his muscular sports-playing shoulders were hunched.

Tawny wondered what his problem was, until she saw The Queen Bee.

"I thought you moved away!" Tawny said.

"Who the heck are you?" Lexa asked, glaring at Tawny.

"I'm Tawny. If you'd gone to Mitchell Burnett's party earlier this week, you would've known I changed a lot," Tawny snapped back. Lexa jumped back. She had never been spoken to like that before, not by someone lower than her on the popularity scale.

Tawny said nothing else and sauntered past Queen Bee. She was still shorter than her, but that would never change, and she was actually glad for that. Her height made her look sweet, not scary, especially since her tan wasn't fake an her hair was...okay, her hair was dyed and highlighted, but it was pretty and even, and Lexa's hair was uneven and someone messed the dye up.

Lexa was shocked. She'd never thought The Dork would shape up. She thought she'd be uglier this year, not prettier or more muscular. She looked back, then looked forward again. When Tony saw her looking at him, he sped up and didn't look back again. Lexa bit her lip. Truth be told, she only stayed so she could have him back and she wouldn't have to build up another league of followers. The only reason why she missed Mitchell Burnett's party was because he kicked her out early for drinking too much. And smoking a joint in his parents bedroom.

And Antonio couldn't make it, as he was doing errands for his boss, so his stupid assistant Tasha did her hair, and it became a mess. And her tan was orange because the stupid assistant at the tanning salon where she usually went let her stay under the tanning bed for too long, and she insisted on spraying her with some nasty drugstore tanner. Her friends were still kind of mad at her for calling the cops, but that party she'd had got out of control. Not only that, but she'd lost her Prada bag, her biege one, and she needed extra help. Plus something bad had happened that she felt she couldn't talk about because no one would understand.

Nonsense tumbled through Tawny's mind as she stepped into Psychology and Sociology, a combined class. You could take it seperately, but some parents thought students should have the option of combining classes, so the school did that. All it did was add an extra hour to the day and mass confusion at first. Even Lexa was totally zonked when she walked into class, especially when she saw Tawny.

Tony walked into class, searching for a place to sit. One of his old friends was in this class, but he was asleep and spots around him were already taken. He took a spot by Tawny, and butterflies hit him like love had hit Romeo when he saw Juliet. He thought Tawny was gorgeous. He'd always thought she was beautiful, but he could never work up a nerve to say something.

Tawny picked up a pen and started doodling in her notebook to distract herself while she waited for the teacher. Ten minutes passed by, and she'd managed to cover the entire page in flowers and vines. Tony watched her as she drew, and found this rather appealing. He had no idea she was so good.

Lexa felt a familiar feeling of jealousy ripple through her. She took in a deep breath and readjusted her tight, v-neck pink dress. She'd seen it in Glamour. She hoped that Tony would see it and forgive her for breaking up with him, but so far it wasn't working. Not at all.

Maybe it's the awful tan, or the hair, she ignorantly thought. Tony ignored her attempts to get his attention, readjusting her dress so it showed more cleavage, or fluffing her hair. The only people who paid attention to her were a couple of thickheaded jocks or wannabes. She saw Tony reach over and whisper to Tawny, and felt jealousy reach it's peak inside her.

Tony managed to get enough courage to compliment Tawny on her drawing.

"I like the way you draw," was all he said, and Tawny felt tingling all over. Tony felt butterflies in his stomach again. He looked away, and felt himself being stared at. Obviously by his ex-girlfriend. He was happy that she was out of his life, but at the same time, he hated being alone.

 The teacher came down, looking slightly disheveled and stressed. He was quite attractive, with wavy brown hair, blue eyes and porcelain skin. He was obviously new. He placed his bag on his desk, took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips, and faced his class. Everyone kind of stopped talking when they saw him. 

"My name is Mr. Burnett. I work with the police part-time. And yes, I'm the older brother of Mitchell Burnett. Now to work. Read Chapter 1." The class groaned and started to read the textbook. Tawny started on page one.

 _____________________________________________________________________________________

"I'm not sure if he knows," Tawny told her new friend Theresa.

"Of course he knows! He really likes you!" Theresa told her.

"Ya think?" Tawny asked her.

"Totally. Look, here he comes now. Bye!" Theresa sauntered off slowly.

Tony approached Tawny carefully.

"Tawn, I've been wondering...would you like to hang out sometime?" he blurted.

Tawny smiled. "Maybe this weekend?" she said, carefully caressing his a-dorable chin with her index finger.

Tony grinned. "The Cave?" he asked, referring to a hot teenage hangout.

"Where else? As long as I'm with you, I'm down for anywhere!" Tawny told him. Tony's idiotic grin grew even bigger.

Publication Date: 11-21-2013

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To everyone in my old high school. Looks and love are not everything! Be original! Also to my local bookstores and library. Also dedicated to my old best friend and ex-boyfriends. Read some Dr. Phil books.