#HateThatBoy

by Yesenia Vargas

  #HateThatBoy

  Book 2 of the #BestFriendsForever Series

  Yesenia Vargas

  Copyright © 2018 by Yesenia Vargas

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For my family.

  Contents

  Book Description

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  A Sneak Peek of the Next Book!

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Yesenia Vargas

  Book Description

  The most popular girl in school. The new boy from the other side of the tracks. Will opposites attract or will they remain enemies?

  * * *

  Tori Rodriguez leads the perfect life. Or so everyone thinks. Perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect family. But what no one knows is that she’s secretly struggling to keep it together, even as she leads the cheer squad to nationals.

  * * *

  Noah has never had it easy. His clothes come second-hand, not off designer racks, and his home life is far from ideal. With his knowledge about computers, he’s determined to make it to college and beyond, even if everyone else has a free ticket.

  * * *

  The minute Noah meets Tori, he thinks she’s just another entitled queen bee, like the one who made his life impossible at his old school. Meanwhile, Tori can’t wait to get away from Noah and his constant smirk.

  * * *

  Will they realize they’re more alike than they know? Or will they push each other away for good?

  * * *

  Fans of Pretty Little Liars’ Hanna and Caleb will love this next installment of the #BestFriendsForever series. Grab book 2 and continue this popular new YA contemporary romance series today!

  * * *

  This is a clean young adult contemporary romance.

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  One

  “Tori thinks she’s so perfect, just because she has it all. Well, she’s not. I heard she got a nose job over the summer. How’s that for perfect?” Krista scoffed and came sauntering around the corner. “Ugh, I hate cheerleaders.”

  They saw me and made eye contact for a split second. Krista’s friend shushed her as they walked by my locker, but too late.

  I kept my focus on the books in front of me and grabbed my math book before tossing in my science book.

  Claire and Julie came up next to me, their eyes on Krista’s back.

  Claire put her hands on her hips and turned my way. “Are you seriously gonna let her talk about you like that? Who does she think she is?”

  “You know the only reason she acts like that is because she never made the squad and some of the cheerleaders used to give her a hard time over it,” I said.

  Truth to be told, I had been one of those cheerleaders, but that had been a long time ago. Instead of getting over it, Krista was determined to get back at the entire squad.

  Julie shook her head. “She hates us. I barely even know her, but she told everyone in math that I look fat in my cheer uniform and started asking why we have fat cheerleaders.”

  Turning to her, I said, “You heard those words come out of her mouth?”

  She nodded, lips pressed into a thin line.

  I glanced at Krista, but she was already far down the hallway. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

  Julie’s mouth immediately turned up. “Thanks, Tori. We knew we could count on you.”

  Claire linked her arm with Julie’s. “That girl needs a taste of her own medicine. We need to get to class. See you at practice?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. See you guys later.” I had to get going too.

  My hand went to the door of my locker, but I stopped and blinked back at my reflection in the small magnetic mirror.

  Maybe on the outside my life seemed perfect, but Krista had no idea what she was talking about.

  My life was far from ideal.

  I slammed the locker door shut and headed in the opposite direction to my first period class.

  Buzzing came from my back pocket, and I grabbed my phone as I walked.

  My mom’s picture popped up on my screen.

  Mom: Don’t forget about your coaching session this evening after practice!

  Duh, today was Thursday. Every other Thursday, I had a running appointment with my personal stunt trainer. He helped me master new moves and kept me in top shape. According to my mom, he’d helped several other high school girls level up in cheer and reach the college and pro levels.

  But it meant an extra hour of practice and staying up late to finish homework.

  Mom: Oh, and I scheduled you for a spray tan on Saturday morning.

  Mom: Prom will be here before we know it. Let’s schedule some dress shopping time ASAP.

  I rolled my eyes, sent her a thumbs up emoji, and stuck my phone back in my pocket.

  Somehow, my mom didn’t place grades very high on her list of priorities. Not like me securing nominations for prom queen.

  Most of the girls on the cheer team assured me I’d win the eleventh-grade crown. They were practically planning my campaign already.

  The problem was my ex, Gary, would likely win junior prom king. Prom court always danced together after being crowned. It was a tradition I was not looking forward to participating in with my ex-boyfriend. And I couldn’t have cared less about the glittery plastic tiara that would end up on my head.

  Maybe some girls dreamed of winning this popularity contest, but I thought it was completely overrated. To my mom, it was a big deal for me to get it, just like she did when she went to school here.

  I’d rather be like my best friend, Ella, who didn’t care what everyone else thought about her. Most days, she wore faded blue jeans, cute t-shirts, a messy top knot, and black-rimmed glasses. Sometimes, she even wore the most comfortable-looking, way-too-big-for-anyone-her-size black sweatpants. She totally pulled them off.

  Me? My mom would pitch a fit if she saw me leaving the house in an outfit involving sweatpants. Not even when I was sick and on my way to the doctor.

  No
pe. Appearances meant everything in her world.

  I walked into first period government and sat down. Ella and Harper were already waiting for me in their usual seats. Ella sat in the front row because she was Ella and the girl loved school. I sat behind her, and Harper sat to my right. All of the #BFFs were in this class, except Lena, who had English instead.

  We had only become best friends last semester, when Ella had her own fairy tale come true. Our school counselor, Ms. Moreau, had called us into our office and said we were going to be part of a new peer support group, despite most of us not having a clue who the others were, but if anyone was glad it had worked out, it was me. Even though we were all completely different—from sporty Lena and too-nice Harper to quiet and creative Rey and geeky Ella—we had meshed perfectly.

  Harper offered a smile. “Good morning. You look cute as always.”

  I yawned. “I wish cute meant comfortable and out the door in fifteen minutes, not an hour and a half.” I nodded toward Ella in her sweatpants. “Ella’s got the right idea.”

  Harper pulled down at her dress. “Maybe you’re right.”

  Ella turned around, brow furrowed in confusion. “An hour and a half? What do you do the whole time?”

  “Just my hair takes like forty-five minutes, minimum. Not to mention makeup.” I counted off on my fingers. “Hair, primer, foundation, concealer, eye shadow, lip gloss, blush, mascara, eyeliner. I could go on.”

  Ella blinked back at me. “Why? Mascara and eyeliner takes me five minutes. Plus one minute for this.” She pointed her thumb at the sky-high messy bun sitting on top of her head.

  I shrugged. “I guess I’m used to it by now.” But the way she asked me that question struck a chord inside me.

  Maybe the real reason was that makeup was like a mask, and I didn’t dare let the world see my imperfections, inside or out.

  By mid-morning, my head throbbed from my lack of sleep. My body ached from yesterday’s afternoon cheer practice and late-night homework session along with this morning’s 6a.m. practice.

  Somehow, I made it through first and second periods without collapsing into a slumber, but I couldn’t make promises for my next class.

  The doorway into Human A & P with Mrs. Lancaster was two feet away. I swiped at my phone screen and read an incoming message, this time from one of my friends.

  Then my face hit something hard, and my forehead erupted in pain. My butt hit the floor, and suddenly, I cared more about my dignity than my forehead.

  I tried to focus on the person across from me instead of the white spots dancing around my vision. Even though I failed to recognize him, that didn’t stop me from throwing an annoyed look his way. Seeing the corner of his mouth twitch up into a half-grin didn’t help. I reached for my phone. It lay face down a few feet away.

  After making sure it had fared better than my forehead, I got another look at the guy I’d crashed into. He rubbed at a spot on his forehead, and I felt momentarily glad I wasn’t the only one who practically needed a trip to the nurse’s office. I secretly wished he’d be left with a goose egg before feeling guilty for thinking that.

  He stood up and extended his hand down toward me.

  I seriously considered whether I should accept his help or not. But then I remembered my thought from two seconds ago and decided to play nice.

  He helped me up, and we came face to face. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, failing to hide the annoyance in my voice and really looking at him for the first time.

  He was only a couple inches taller than me, and now that I stood only a foot away from him, I noticed how incredibly blue his eyes were, like the ocean on a perfectly sunny day.

  Too bad the smug look on his face totally ruined how nice they were.

  I blinked and looked down at the mess around us. His gray messenger bag lay on the speckled tiled floor, books spilling around it. The corner of a black laptop peeked out from his bag.

  My books were mixed in with his. Several papers from my open binder littered the hallway behind me. Students in a rush to class didn’t bother stepping around them.

  Great.

  We knelt down and picked up our stuff in awkward silence. The corner of his mouth twitched into a tight-lipped smile again, and I rolled my eyes.

  He handed me the rest of my papers, and I tucked them into my binder. “Thanks.”

  But I wasn’t looking at him anymore.

  Instead, I turned toward a familiar voice.

  “Tori? Are you okay?” Rey stood in the doorway, observing both of us kneeling on the floor.

  “Fine,” I said, standing up, my stuff in my arms.

  Blue Eyes did the same.

  Mrs. Lancaster, wearing her usual patterned dress and flats, came up behind Rey, hands on her hips. She was the kind of teacher who had a loud voice and constant enthusiasm etched onto her face. “Tori! I see you’ve met Noah Thomas. He’s a junior as well. Maybe you two will share some classes this semester.”

  Noah turned to me, grinning wide. “Hi.”

  I didn’t smile back. He hadn’t been in any of my classes so far, and I hoped it stayed that way.

  Mrs. Lancaster didn’t seem to notice that I didn’t greet Noah in return. “Tori’s junior captain of the cheer squad. A real leader around here. I’m sure she’d be happy to show you around the school sometime, Noah.”

  I met Noah’s eyes again and smiled like I was daring him to ask me just that. “I sure would.”

  He didn’t break his gaze. “That would be great. Actually, I could really use some help finding my way to Statistics.” He turned back to Mrs. Lancaster.

  Her face lit up. “Tori can walk you there right now, Noah.” She checked her watch. “I’ll write you a note in case you’re late. I’ll be right back.”

  Rey looked back and forth between us, mouth slightly open.

  The gleam in Noah’s eyes and the slight smirk on his face told me he thought this whole thing was pretty amusing.

  I exhaled through my nose, too busy clenching my teeth and staring daggers at him to find any humor in this.

  Mrs. Lancaster reappeared and handed Noah a note.

  I gave Rey my books. She raised a single brow at me, and I shrugged.

  Turning to Mrs. Lancaster with a false smile, I said, “I’ll be right back.”

  I definitely wasn’t sleepy anymore.

  Two

  Noah adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag so it crossed his chest. “Lead the way.”

  I rolled my eyes and walked back in the direction I came, not bothering to go slowly. But he kept up easily, thanks to his long legs. Unlike most of the guys around here, he didn’t follow fashion trends and wear skinny jeans. Instead, his pants were straight, and I had to admit the style suited him.

  “So, Tori, is it?” he asked.

  “That’s right.” I could see him looking my way out of the corner of my eye, but I kept my gaze forward.

  The hallways were mostly empty now except for a student here and there dashing into class or running down the hallway to avoid a tardy.

  “I’m Noah,” he said.

  I kept my response short and curt. “I know.”

  Once again, the twitchy smile formed on his face.

  I stopped and turned my body toward him. “What’s so funny? You know that thing you do is annoying, like you’re laughing at some secret joke.”

  This time, he didn’t bother hiding a full-fledged smile. He raised his hands in defense. “Sorry. You’re just a little…uptight. But then again, you’re a cheerleader. Obviously a popular girl from the looks of it. The popular girl?”

  I rolled my eyes and began walking again.

  “I thought so. You remind me of the head cheerleader at my last school. You guys have the same exact vibe.”

  We reached the staircase, and I made an effort not to stomp up the stairs toward Statistics. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

  “Like the world revolves around you. A little Regina, if you kno
w what I mean.”

  I stopped and turned to him. He was two steps behind me, so I looked down at him. “Wow, in the five minutes since you’ve met me, you’ve sure drawn some hefty conclusions.”

  “Well, in the five minutes since we met, you haven’t exactly been nice to me. Wait, is it because I’m not a star football player?” he asked, another sure grin playing on his lips.

  “I don’t know what you are,” I said, but I knew he definitely wasn’t a football player. He had broad shoulders and a lean chest, but not like the ripped guys who did sports around here. I’d dated several athletes at this school. I knew what they looked like, even if he seemed to have the same cocky attitude. “And you don’t know me.”

  I turned and trudged up the rest of the stairs, not bothering to see if he was keeping up. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of third period.

  We reached the second floor and made our way down the hallway. I enjoyed the fact that he had finally decided not to say anything else.

  From the sound of it, he was just another person who assumed I was a mean girl, the villain people like Noah and Krista loved to hate.

  But that wasn’t me at all. One bad day didn’t define me. Neither did something that happened in ninth grade. Or my popularity. Or the fact that I was co-captain of the cheer squad. I wasn’t a stereotype.