Release Date: June 26, 2014
Is a star-crossed romance worth sacrificing your own life?
High school senior Sloane Masterson lives a quiet existence. She has awesome friends, gets excellent grades, and writes a column for the Haven Gazette. But her life goes from dullsville to bizarro when she witnesses mysterious loner Hayden Lancaster performing some freaky superhuman feats.
Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, and she’s not above stalking. But one look into Hayden’s remarkable eyes, and she’s crushing hard.
Even at the swoonworthy hunk’s insistence that hanging out with girls like Sloane is “off limits” by his strange family, she can’t resist him or wanting to solve the mystery.
Things get really complicated when a beautiful alien sets her sights on Hayden—and this devious girl’s not looking for a green card!
Now Sloane’s dealing with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and getting a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating. As their diverse worlds collide and the romantic sparks fly, Sloane must decide if Hayden’s secrets are worth risking her life to protect.
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Enjoy a sneak peak of the book below:I don’t usually stalk boys, but if I hadn’t been spying on Hayden Lancaster, I never would’ve seen the mind-blowing fork-bending incident.
My best friend, Viola Saks, shifts in her seat, her nose stuck in the latest Jack Kilborn novel. Totally oblivious to my new stalkery tendencies. She prefers her book boyfriends over real guys, and I gotta admit, she has a point. Fictional hotties fighting paranormals are way more exciting than the real thing.
“Are you scoping out a new story?” Viola asks from behind her book.
“Maybe. Right now, I’m only observing,” I say. “People watching.”
Tiny white lie. I’m secretly kicking off: “Operation Lancaster.”
With a sigh, I scoot back the creaky plastic chair and rest my chin on my fist. Lunch hour is the best time to study my classmates undetected.
Not that I’m a bad person. Honest. I’ve never narced on anyone. I don’t kick puppies. And I normally don’t play at undercover agent. Well...until today.
As two girls pass our table, one squeals and punches her friend in the arm. Ouch!
To me, the lunchroom is more than just a place to chow down on industrial-grade food. It reminds me of a prison scene, with its hostile mingling and violent chaos, like inmates at mealtime. This is where I discover the most newsworthy stories. Haven High’s cafeteria is the perfect spot to catch up on gossip, observe clique wars, and witness any mean girl activity. Saying the cafeteria is only for eating is like saying an underground lair is only for plotting world domination. If you can survive a high school lunchroom, then you can survive anything, well, with the exception of a zombie apocalypse.
My gaze scans over the other students. The yuppie dressed in-crowd clusters in one corner, as if they would rather not socialize with the peasants. Overachievers study instead of eating. Kids-most-likely-to-drop-out take their food and trudge outside. Social rejects are scattered throughout the room. And my group—a mix of geeks, emos, and Goths—are mostly assembled in the back of the room. Some would say that I’m queen of the geekdom, and I wear my invisible crown with honor.
Then there’s Zach and Hayden Lancaster’s table.
The brothers are both gorgeous in a way that should be totally illegal, but look nothing alike. Zach is a cocky, dark-haired, all-round jock. And Hayden is the tall, rockstar-sexy, drummer-type. He’s one of those guys who prefer to function in his own little world.
Not sure which social group they fit into...the misunderstood-brooding-hot-guys crowd?
Flipping open my Hello Kitty spiral-bound notebook, I write that down. Check. After a sip from my juice box, I covertly scrutinize Hayden. He’s six feet tall, lean, yet muscular. The times we’ve passed each other in the halls, his eyes are usually twinkling as if he knows an intriguing secret. Today, Hayden’s wearing a blue short-sleeved, button-up shirt with faded skinny jeans, a studded belt, and scuffed Etnies. On one arm, he has several black rubber bracelets. Nothing too unusual about him.
Except for one very odd feature.
He has two different colored eyes. His light brown fauxhawk falls over his forehead in a messy yet somehow deliberate way, and lands over his one strikingly blue eye. The other one is green. Besides the rare heterochromia iridis, he seems to be just another smokin’ hot brainiac.
I add to my notes: Weird eye color and member of the Amazing Hair Club. Check.
Wait. Why am I thinking about how über hot he is? Seriously not important.
Hayden glances in my direction and his extraordinary eyes lock onto mine. I flush and an unfamiliar thrill shoots through my veins. Even from a distance, the boy looks mouthwatering good. Then his eyes harden into chips of ice.
Although I’m obviously busted, I can’t look away. For a second, his gaze flares into the hottest flame. As though ignited by kerosene, my body temperature rises. Hayden Lancaster is not just looking at me, but it’s as if he’s staring into the very depths of my soul. There’s a wariness lingering in his expression that I don’t understand. Frightened and intrigued all at once, I tear my gaze away and look down at the table.
An odd spark of panic hits hard. Is my hair tangled? My pencil skirt unzipped? Lip-gloss on my teeth? I grip the hem of my black tee under my leather jacket, the silver studded leather cuff on my wrist digging into my stomach, and yank it down. Much better.
Possibly embarrassing situation averted.
Just breathe. Relax.
Swallowing hard, I shift in my seat. The peculiar feeling in my chest gradually shrinks, as if a vacuum is pulling the swirling emotions from my body. I need a minute to calm down and take a sip of my grape juice box.
Viola’s flicks a page of her book and asks, “So what’s this new article on?”
I clear my throat and say, “Actually, I’m investigating Hayden Lancaster.”
“Should be interesting.” One brown eye peeks over the edge of the paperback. “Because of that hacker rumor?”
“Oh, yeah. The gossip this morning was off the hook. Supposedly, Hayden hacked into the school’s computer system over the weekend to change all his grades.”
As a reporter for our online newspaper the Haven Gazette, a hacker scandal is way huge. In fact, I have my own column—Fright Night Babble—where I mainly review scary movies, but since my college resume is in dire need of some padding, this assignment is just too juicy to pass up. And working on the school paper turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. At first, I envisioned a team of extra-credit nerds doing articles on food fights and cheesy school dances, but the students who contribute are actually wicked cool and write about some fairly serious issues, like cyberbullying and teen suicide.
“Sloane?”
“Hmmm…”
“You know, this story is the perfect excuse to get closer to the guy you’ve been crushing on for the last few months,” Viola says.
More like six months, four days, and twenty-two hours. But who’s counting?
“This is just for the paper. Someone has to write it,” I say, although a part of me is secretly thrilled at the prospect of getting closer to Hayden Lancaster.
Viola clucks her tongue disapprovingly. “That boy’s getting a serious rep.”
“True,” I say. “Everyone either wants to be his best friend, or they think he’s a some sort of psycho.”
To me he’s only a news story. Never mind the fact that by a mere glance from the teen Adonis my insides turn into a quivering mass. I just have to remember that I’m a professional. I got this. And like any great journalist, I must note every detail, so I jot down: Hayden, hacker and computer geek. Check.
“But the hacking isn’t the weird part...” I lean closer and lower my voice. “It appears he walked away with only a slap on the wrist. No expulsion or suspension, not even Saturday detention. Who gets away with stuff like that?”
She rolls her eyes. “He does, apparently.”
“But why? How?”
These are things I need to know.
Viola shrugs, and then goes back to reading, and I go back to “Operation Lancaster.”
Even from several tables away, I can tell by Hayden’s jerky head movements that the brothers are engrossed in a heated discussion. Hayden’s angular features and flawless skin redden, and Zach’s square jaw clenches.
Mid-rant, Hayden’s cell phone chimes and he scoots his chair back, the metal legs squeaking on the linoleum floor. He slides it out of his pocket and reads the screen. Then he scratches the stubble on his cheek with a worried frown. Zach tries to grab the phone, but Hayden shoves it back into his pocket. Glancing up, Hayden catches me staring. Again. His nostrils flare and his eyes flash with anger.
The unexpectedness of his glare takes my breath away. I lower my head and doodle in my notebook. A few seconds—that seem like hours—pass before I gather the nerve to look over at Hayden, who’s back to arguing with his younger brother.
Viola lowers her book a fraction. “You’re totally staring at the Lancasters.”
“I’m not staring.”
“Oh, right, you’re observing.” She tilts her head. “Most girls can’t resist guys like them. They have that...”
Incredibly sexy quality?
“Dangerous vibe going,” Viola finishes.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Maybe I should write that down. I scribble: Sexy bad-boys. Check.
“Did you know that Zach and Hayden don’t date any of the girls around here?” Viola sighs. “Like they think they’re too good for us or something.”
I slam my juice box on the table, red liquid shooting out of the straw. “Maybe that’s because everyone’s so damn cliquey at this stupid school. It’s just wrong, the way the other kids treat them,” I say. “Did you hear? Someone jacked up Hayden’s locker again with spray paint.” I’m beyond disgusted by some of my classmates’ Neanderthal moves.
“Then maybe you should investigate who keeps screwing with the Lancasters instead. Seriously, Hayden and Zach can’t help being sexy and brilliant.” Viola is an advocate for social justice in high school, and totally reading my mind. “Besides, if Hayden got away with the alleged hacking incident, there’s no real story.”
“Are you kidding me?” I pull out a bag of celery from my lunchbox. “Of course there is!”
“If you say so.” Viola points at my food. “Your mom on that health kick thing again?”
I pick up a stalk of celery and drop it. “Yup.”
Viola reaches out a slender arm to nab a French fry.
“Seriously? How are you supermodel thin when you eat stuff like that?” I groan and glance at her slim figure clad in a body-hugging black dress with spiked heels, and her heavy Goth makeup. A silver eyebrow ring glints in the dull light. “I could eat only yogurt for the rest of my life and I’d still be your chubby sidekick.”
She scoffs. “You’re not chubby, Sloane. You’re extra curvy.”
Whatevs. Guess that’s just what people say when you’re a foodie like me.
She sticks a bookmark in her novel and leans forward. “Whaddya got on Hayden and Zach so far?”
I push my hair—originally blonde, and now dyed a bright purple—out my eyes and scan my notes. “Oh, well, not much. Just that the Lancasters moved to Winter Haven about six months ago. Hayden’s a senior and antisocial, and Zach’s a junior and on the varsity basketball team. And I heard that Hayden was booted from his last school in Castro Valley and he did a stint in juvie. Not that there’s a whole lot of trouble to get into around here.”
“Agreed. We seem to be short on our quota of cute psychos,” Viola jokes.
My gaze strays to the brothers again. The ropey muscles of Hayden’s stomach beneath his tight shirt flex across his midsection with each movement. I’ll bet my collection of Tim Burton DVDs that boy has rock-hard abs.
“Doing anything fun this weekend?” Viola asks, interrupting my ogling.
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m on babysitting duty.”
“Again? That blows. Your dad still out of town?” She grabs a fry off her plate and sticks it into her mouth.
I sigh. “Yup. Which means I’m stuck looking after the menace they’ve spawned.”
“I think your little brother’s cute.”
“That’s because he doesn’t live with you.”
I chew on the end of my pen and check the Lancaster table. Zach’s eyes narrow to slits and his face darkens. Hayden’s tightly clutching a stainless steel fork in his left hand while quarreling with his brother. He blows out a frustrated breath. A bowl of potato salad sits uneaten on the table in front of him.
I quickly scribble in my notebook: Hayden’s a lefty and brings his lunch to school. Check.
When I look up, my eyes widen. Hayden’s ears have turned bright red and his whole body tenses, as if he wants to punch his smartass sibling. Then the metal fork clenched in his fist folds in half like it’s made out of pliable, soft plastic.
Pause. Rewind. What the hell?
My jaw practically hits the table. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Did that fork really just flop over like a warm Hershey bar? My body twitches with the urge to snatch up the utensil for a closer inspection. I blink and look again. Everything inside me screams to deny it, but really, how can I? The twisted stainless steel proof is right there in front of me. The bent fork still clenched tightly in his hand is like a beacon of unreality.
Hayden—sexy-lone-wolf—suddenly went from boring recluse to interesting hottie.
Frantically, I draw a bent fork in my notebook and write: Hayden can bend metal objects with his mind. Check.
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The book will officially be available on June 26th so don't forget to check it out!
You can also read the first 3 chapters on wattpad, HERE!
Enjoy your week,
Sam :)
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