Hate Me or Love Me - Ella Miles

Prologue

Victoria

My heart flutters in my chest as Mark leans against the locker next to mine with a grin on his face. I try to focus on putting my books into my locker and packing up my backpack to go home, but I can’t focus. I have a feeling I know what he’s here to ask me and an unsettling feeling pulls at my stomach every second that passes.

“I have a question I’d like to ask you,” Mark says.

I grin as I pile the rest of the books into my locker, not bothering to organize them at all. I turn to give him my full attention. “Ask away.” Please don’t let it be that he wants to invite me over to study for geometry again. I loved spending time with him the last time, but I want to be more than just his tutor.

He glances down as he rubs his neck.

I sigh. Mark is great. He plays soccer, he gets good grades, he’s good looking. He’s not exactly in the popular crowd, but he is definitely high on the social ladder. And every sign points to him being interested in me.

“How did your geometry test go?” I ask, breaking the awkward silence.

“Good, thanks to you.”

“Have any plans for this weekend?” I ask at the same time he asks, “Will you go to prom with me?”

I stop breathing and my cheeks flush. He asked me. He finally asked me.

He smiles at my reaction. “So will you?”

I open my mouth to say yes, when my brother, Logan, walks up between us and his jerk of a friend, Carter, throws his arm over my shoulder.

“You ready to go?” Logan asks, looking from me to Mark.

“Can you give us a minute?” I ask glaring at my brother to leave me alone for five minutes so that I can say yes without having to be teased about it the rest of the night.

“Can’t do that. We have to get home, have a busy afternoon planned,” Carter says, staring at Mark as he pulls me tighter into his chest. I don’t know why he’s acting like this. He loves to tease me and torture me, but he’s not interested in me. I can tell from the way that Mark is looking at him and then to me that he thinks we are together. We aren’t.

“I should go. I have practice. I’ll catch you later Victoria,” Mark says, turning around and jogging quickly in the opposite direction.

“Mark wait,” I shout as I run after him, but Logan steps in front of me blocking my path and Mark doesn’t turn around or hesitate for a second.

“What are you doing?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Mark Wagner really? You want to date Mark Wagner? You do realize that guy has slept with half of the girls in this school and that all he wants to do is get in your pants,” Logan says.

I frown. “So? Maybe I want to sleep with him.”

“No, you don’t,” Carter says from behind me.

I turn and glare at him too. “You guys can’t tell me who I can and can’t date.”

Logan sighs. “Come on, Carter promised his mom he’d be home early today to babysit the new foster kids.”

I grab my backpack off the hook and then slam my locker shut. I’ll argue with Logan later once we drop off Carter. Once we are home and I’m alone I can call Mark to tell him yes.

“Here let me help you,” Carter says grabbing my backpack out of my hands.

He swings my backpack over his shoulder along with his own as all three of us start walking down the hallway toward the parking lot where Logan’s 1994 Buick LeSabre sits.

I raise an eyebrow at Carter not understanding at all why he’s offering to carry my backpack. That is something nice people do or boys do when they are dating someone. It’s not something that Carter does.

“I can carry my own bag, thanks,” I say reaching out to grab my backpack back but Carter grips it tighter.

I exhale deeply and give up. It’s not worth the fight anyway. I’m just glad that he’s going to be at home tonight instead of over at our house like usual. I could use a break from him.

We get to the Buick, Logan climbs into the driver’s seat while Carter opens the back door for me. I climb in giving him an what the hell has gotten into you stare. He hands me my backpack before closing the door and