Fierce
Authors: Clarissa Wild
FIERCE
Clarissa
Wild
Fight for your dreams. Fight for your life. Fight for love.
Nerdy girl Autumn Blakewood is the prime example of a goody
two-shoes. She studies every night, is never late for class, and always follows
the rules. She has never felt the need to step out of her comfort zone. That
is, until she meets Hunter.
Hunter Bane is a cocky, confident bad-boy, who's nothing but
trouble. He’s a dangerous distraction to everyone around him. Sexy and strong,
Hunter enjoys the swooning effect he has on women. Especially those who aren't
used to attention, like Autumn.
Autumn finds it hard not to give into Hunter’s advances, even though
it all seems like a game to him. Trying to understand him is impossible,
because he shrouds himself in mystery.
What she doesn't know is that Hunter has more baggage than anyone
should have to carry. When she discovers he's in an illegal frat club to save
the one person that matters to him, Autumn realizes this could mean the end of
her undeniable connection to him. Even their lives are at risk.
But it's too late to turn back now ...
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© 2014 Clarissa Wild
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents
are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or person, whether
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook
may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share
this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each
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FIERCE Playlist
This
is a list of songs special to me, because they really brought life to FIERCE.
You might enjoy listening to them. Especially the ones by Muse, which have
their own special place in this book. :)
"Iris"
by Goo Goo Dolls
"Skyscraper"
by Demi Lovato
"Wonderwall"
by Oasis
"The
Reason" by Hoobastank
"The
Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder
"Uprising"
by Muse
"Supermassive
Black Hole" by Muse
"Radioactive"
by Imagine Dragons
"Demons"
by Imagine Dragons
"Holding
on and letting go" by Ross Copperman
"Hold
Me Now" by Red
"All
I Ever Wanted" by John Tyree
"Wherever
You Will Go" by The Calling
Embarrassing
Moments
Geeks at new schools are like boats trying
to sail on dry, uncharted land. They never fare well.
I draw in a huge breath and blow it out
before stepping out of the bus. The driver behind me chortles at my reluctance
to leave the comfort and safety of the bus. Of course, he isn’t used to people
actually preferring his bus over the outside world. I’m sort of an exception to
the usual people he deals with, and that’s not a good thing.
On the contrary; I’m chicken-shit, and it’s
even worse that I know I am.
Seeing this gigantic campus and college in
front of me is terrifying. My legs are shaking, my heart is pounding, and I
wish I could just step back into that bus and get as far away from here as
possible.
But that would be sad. So sad, I think I
might cry from laughing at my own cowardice.
It’s really pathetic that these new things
scare me so much. Most girls would love new schools, getting to know new
people, experiencing the boys.
Just the thought of it makes my heart race.
Nope, that’s not for me.
But I have no choice, either. I want to do
this. I always wanted to study. I need it. My family needs it.
I just have to stop whining, stop thinking
about it, and just go for it. Just do it!
Shaking my shoulders a little, I take a
deep sniff to smell the trees surrounding me, and march forward.
Suddenly, a cold jet of air surges toward
me from the left and catches me by surprise. I shriek as the waft of air
tangles my hair in front of my face and blows up my skirt. There’s a loud noise
coming from the thing blasting air at me. Holding down my skirt so my panties
aren’t exposed, I use my other hand to keep my glasses straight and try to see
what’s happening.
“Sorry,” someone yells, and the turbulence
is turned off.
I’m left gasping while catching my breath.
A leaf blower had been pointed straight at me.
“Sorry about that,” he repeats as I pat
down my skirt.
“Thanks,” I mutter.
Great. What an awesome start to the first
day at college.
“You all right?” he says, directing his
leaf blower somewhere else.
“Fine,” I say.
“Uh … You might want to take a look at your
hair,” the guy says, clearing his throat.
“What?” I say, grasping for my head.
Crunchy leaves are coiled up in my hair.
My eyes widen as I start plucking all the
leaves out. I work to unravel the knots, trying to get it to go down again, but
my frizzy hair never gives in.
Oh, why does this always have to happen to
me?
Looking around I can see people staring at
me, hiding laughs behind their hands. I feel like I’m in the center of
attention, the focal point of the show. This is making me sweat like crazy.
My eyes narrow as they catch the gaze of
one person in particular. A long, lean guy wearing a black leather jacket,
who’s standing a few feet away from me with a couple of other guys. His flaring
gray eyes narrow as I catch myself staring right back at him. I blush when his
plump lips slowly curl up into a cheeky smile.
I smash my lips together to prevent a
squeal from escaping. He’s hot, but I look like a mess. No, correction, I am a
mess.
I’m like a fully decorated Christmas tree
in the middle of fall.
Embarrassing. I can’t believe this is his
first impression of me.
Well, it’s not like I have a chance with
guys like him. They don’t go after nerdy types like me.
Straightening my glasses, I try to ignore
everyone looking at me. I put up a horrible smile as I walk toward the dorm
halls, trying to pry the last pieces of leaf from my hair that just won’t come
off. It’s like they’re glued to my head or something. I couldn’t have imagined
a worse time for my hair to turn into its usual giant magnet, attracting and
attaching to all kinds of strange things, because it’s as sticky as spider
legs.
Sometimes I think I’d better just cut it
off and be rid of it. Maybe I could donate it to science, so it can become the
new-and-improved Velcro.
I smirk from my own jokes, which are
terrible, I know. Still, they make this day a little better after that scene.
My dorm’s at the end of the campus, a ten-minute
walk from the bus stop. I’m glad my parents helped me move in my stuff last
night so I wouldn’t have to do it alone today. As I enter the door, a deafening
squeal makes me plug my ears.
“Autumn!” Evie yells.
She throws herself against me and wraps her
arms so tightly around me that I can’t breathe. Wheezing, I wriggle myself free
from her hug so my lungs can expand again.
“I can’t believe we’re going to be roomies,”
she says, squeezing my arms.
She bites her lip and looks at me with big
eyes, like she’s about to explode into her usual happy dance. “Isn’t it
awesome?”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to make myself at home
here,” I say, nodding, trying to make it sound genuine.
“Wow, you sound excited,” she says with a
sarcastic undertone.
“Sorry, I do like that you’re my roommate.
Honestly, I do.” I sit down on my bed and she sits down next to me. “But I
think I just made the worst and most laughable entrance ever.”
“What happened?” she asks.
“Oh … you know … a leaf blower … my hair …
the usual crap.”
She snorts. “Well, that’s just you being
yourself.”
I shake my head and smile. Evie nudges me
with her shoulder and winks. “Oh, c’mon. It’s not like they’ll remember you for
it. Who’d remember girls like us anyway? We’re the nobodies. The ‘invisible.’
Nobody’s going to blink at us.” She makes quotation marks with her fingers.
I laugh. “You got a point there. ‘Not being
anyone’ makes life a lot easier.”
Evie lets her head rest on my shoulder and
I sigh.
“Dork for life and proud of it,” she muses.
And then we both burst out into laughter.
We fall flat down on the bed and Evie puts her arm around me like she usually
does when it’s just the two of us. I don’t remember her any other way. We’ve
always been this close. Ever since I met her in high school she’s been my best
friend. Both teased, we sought comfort in each other’s presence. Dorks have to
stick up for each other. That’s the only way to make it through that thing
called puberty.
I’m so glad we’re both past that now. I
expect college life to be different. A lot better, maybe.
Someone clears his throat, and I
immediately push myself up on my elbows.
“Am I interrupting you guys? I can come
back later, no problem.”
“Brody!” I scream, and jump up from the
bed. He’s standing in the doorway. I run to him and wrap my arms around him.
“I get that you’re happy to see me, but no
need to crush my ribs,” he says, almost choking on a laugh.
“Sorry,” I say, releasing him from my grip.
“So, had a look around campus yet?” he
asks.
“Yeah, I did the tour yesterday. I can’t
believe how huge it is!”
“I know, right?”
We look at each other, and I can’t help but
squash him between my arms again. I haven’t seen him in such a long time. It
feels like it’s been forever since we were at the same school together. I never
liked that he was three years older than me, but when he left to go to college,
I was even more distraught. Suddenly, my best friend was gone, and I had to
fend for myself.
Luckily, I met Evie not long after. She’s
been my only friend since. I think I can safely say I have two best friends.
Although I don’t really know if it’ll be the same now that I’m here. Brody
looks so different now, I can hardly tell it’s him. I hope things will be the
same like always, though.
“Hmm …” he mutters. “Seems ages ago since I
was last a newbie. Wasn’t the greatest experience.”
When he sees my scaredy-cat face, he
chuckles a little. “Relax. You’ve got me to back you up. I didn’t have anyone
to show me around, to help me out when I needed it. But you two have me now.”
Evie rolls her eyes when he looks at her.
“Don’t go thinking you’re a mogul now.” She walks up to him and pinches his
cheeks. “Still little Bro-bro to me.”
He scowls at her, and she laughs.
“And now for the formal introduction:
Autumn Blakewood and Evie Carder, I hereby welcome you to campus.”
“Why thank you, generous lord.” Evie makes
a bow, and I muffle a laugh behind my hand.
“It’s tradition. Well, it’s not like you
understand any of that,” he says, snorting. “Evie Peeved.”
She frowns and nudges him forward. “Okay,
that’s it. Out.”
“What? Can’t take a joke?”
“I hate that name.”
“Exactly. That’s why it suits you
perfectly.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have other
stuff to do besides talking to an annoying dork.” She storms out the door and
walks through the hallway.
“You’re a dork yourself, too!” Brody yells,
laughing out loud.
“I know. That’s why it’s even more
pathetic!” she yells back, laughing too. Then she disappears through a door
with a ‘ladies’ sign above it.
“That’s what you get when you push her
buttons,” I say when Brody directs his attention back to me.
“No,
you
push her buttons.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say, and
I put my hands on my waist.
“You know what I mean … cuddling up on the
bed and all that.”
I blush. “We’re just friends. It’s no big
deal.”
“To her it is.”
I sigh. “I’m not into that kind of thing,
and you know that.”
“I know, but she won’t give up, and I can
already tell this is headed toward disaster. Someone’s going to get hurt, and I
know it won’t be you.”
“Stop making such a huge deal out of a hug.
She’s not … we’re not. It’s nothing. Forget about it.”
Brody holds his hands in the air and closes
his eyes. “Don’t come crying to me later when your friendship is on the line,
because I’ll only say ‘I told you so.’ Don’t mess with chicks, that’s all I’m
saying, and I know plenty about that.”
I grimace. “Yeah … What do you know about
relationships? Last time I saw you trying to hook up with a girl you got a
milkshake in your face instead.”
“Hey, I’m not that guy anymore. It’s been
three years since then, Autumn; I’ve changed.”
I purse my lips. “We’ll see about that.”
Brody squints, a devilish smile creeping
onto his face. “I guess so. See you around!”
He walks through the hallway, and I hear
him go downstairs before I turn around again and go back into my room. Staring
at the clock, I pull up my sleeve so I can fiddle with the bracelet I got from
Evie before summer. The only problem is, it’s not there.
What? I stare at my wrist, but my bracelet
is clearly missing. What happened to it? Did I take it off? I remember
twiddling with it in the bus, so it can’t be at my parents’ place.
I grab my suitcase and rummage inside, but
it’s nowhere to be found. Oh God, I hope I didn’t lose it. What if that leaf
blower blasted it away into the grass? What if someone else picked it up? I’d
never find it again.
Frantically I search my room, but can’t
seem to find it anywhere.
“Looking for this?” someone says.
I turn around only to stare into those
piercing gray eyes again. It’s him: the guy who was staring at me when I left
the bus. The one who turned my cheeks redder than a beet.
That
guy.
He leans against my doorpost, casually
holding up his hand. Pinched between his index finger and thumb is my bracelet.
My bracelet. He’s holding it. Him. The guy
who caught my eye the moment I saw him.
And he’s talking to me.
Oh God, I can’t breathe.
I swallow away the lump in my throat as I
walk toward him, holding my breath.
“This is yours, right?” he says. His voice
is deep and husky, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything sexier.
I nod, still staring at him. I’m only just
close enough to be able to reach for the bracelet, but not nearly far enough away
for my liking.
My heart is beating like crazy as his eyes
scan my face, while I try not to breathe. I feel like if I do, I might start
panting.
He looks so goddamn ridiculously handsome
up close. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy this gorgeous before.
His spiky hair all gelled up, the tan skin
of his hands peeking out from underneath his leather jacket, his broad
pectorals visible through his tight white tee. All of it is making my head
explode.
A hot guy is standing in my doorway,
talking to me, giving me back my stuff. Stupid as it sounds, it feels like a
dream.