The Perfect Candy

Chapter 1: When It Rains It Pours

A/N: Hey everyone, I just wanted to thank everyone for your interest in The Perfect Candy. This book is a complete work, and a new chapter will be posted each Friday. Any feedback is very much welcome. Let me know what you think! I will be working on the next book in this series as I post each chapter of this.

***

It was not a good day. Candice stood on the corner of Maple and Elm, staring at the disappearing taillights of her bus as the heavens poured down and the world flashed and boomed around her. She took off her now useless glasses and attempted to wipe them clean, only to place them back on their perch to be covered in rain again. Candice sighed and tugged the strap of her bag more firmly up onto her shoulder. It was a five-mile walk to Adams High, but she didn't even hesitate before beginning the trek. She'd never missed a day of school in her life; today would be no exception.

If her sister, Eleanor, had been just a little less self-absorbed; if the storm that was still raging hadn't knocked the power out in the middle of the night; if her mother would have just allowed her to get that car this past summer...Candice scowled, her lips turned down in a tight frown. There was no point in wallowing in what-ifs; it wouldn't change anything. Her hair clung to her skin and her simple white tennis shoes sloshed through the sidewalk puddles as she walked. A few cars zipped past her. None bothered to slow down. Candice kept her brown eyes focused on the ground in front of her, trying not to worry about how late she'd be to class. She'd never been late before. Not once.

Ten minutes into her journey, she heard the beep of a car coming up behind her and a black Ford Focus slowed to a crawl beside her. Glancing over, she felt her face grow hot and kept walking. The passenger window rolled down and Matt leaned over from behind the wheel to smile at her. "You take school dedication to a new level."

"I missed the bus," she replied, not slowing or allowing herself a second glimpse of the school's blue-eyed Adonis. She'd never considered herself naïve enough to develop any sort of feelings for him, though she'd been around him enough to see why someone might.

"Yeah, I gathered." Matt finally came to a stop with a sigh. "Get in, you're drenched."

Candice cast his car a wistful look. "I'll soak your interior."

"It'll survive. Come on."

Her face still aflame, she turned towards his car, setting her bag in the back and sliding into the passenger seat. He turned on the heated seats as she closed the door and headed off before she'd even pulled her seatbelt on. Matt shot her a look as they drove, her gaze focused on her glasses as she attempted to wipe them clean. "I've got extra clothes in my gym locker you can change into when we get to school."

Surprised, her gaze shot up to him. "Oh, I'm alright. Thanks."

He raised a brow. "You have a spare set of clothes then?"

She didn't, but how would it look if she were walking around in his clothes all day? Her silence seemed to be enough of an answer because Matt smirked a little and nodded. "They'll be a little big, but they'll be a hell of a lot warmer than what you've got on. Not to mention, less see-through." With a gasp, she looked down and pulled her red cardigan closed over her white blouse. Matt broke into laughter and reached into his back seat before tossing her a large Adams High football hoodie. "Relax Candice, you're like my sister."

A rare flare of anger helping her to find her tongue, she pulled the hoodie over her head and shot him a reprimanding glare. "I don't think it's funny."

Seemingly deciding it was best to say nothing, Matt was silent, blasting the heat for the last few minutes to school. Candice blamed her lack of experience with boys for her awkwardness with Matt. He'd been best friends with Jay since they'd been kids, and as Faith, Jay's sister, had been her best friend since preschool, she'd seen him plenty of times in passing. Still, she'd never ridden in his car, and she had definitely never said more than a handful of words to him where required. The moment they parked, she was out like a shot, grabbing her bag and ducking her head so that no one would notice who it was stepping out of his car. She had no interest in the potential drama.