CHAPTER TWO

|•| DESIRÉE DOYLE |•|

The shrill sound of my alarm clock jolted me upright and I flinched, whipping my head up from the reading table. The unceasing sound had me groaning and I slammed my palm on the button to shut it down. I whimpered, propping my elbows on the desk but the rattling sound of my keyboard had me retracting them. 

I brought my hand to my face to brush my hair off but the glasses perched on the bridge of my nose obstructed me.

"God, I didn't." I groaned in distaste. 

I had fallen asleep by my reading table again. The dark screen of my laptop stared back at me. I glided my finger on the touchpad and it came on. The blank page on Microsoft Word had its mocking eyes pinned on me, causing me to release a frustrating sigh. 

I knew I should have just gone to bed when I came back from work yesternight but silly me wanted to see if I could come up with anything so that I could meet up with deadlines. 

And just like always, I slept off.

Hissing through my teeth, I slammed the laptop shut. I took a deep breath and powered my phone to check the time. It read 7: 00 am

Fuck, I have a class at eight am. 

I took off my reading glasses, dropped them in their case and rose to my feet. I stripped out of my clothes and threw them into the hamper, then proceeded to the bathroom to take a quick shower. 

I was out in no time, blow-drying my hair and trudging through my messy room to find my bag and other school necessities. I almost tripped on the heap of clothes while rummaging through the clothes in search of it. I retrieved it from my bed and threw the hair dryer on the bed.

I trudged into my closet and let out a sigh because I said I was going to arrange the tiny space that looked like a dump site when I got back from work yesterday but I didn't. I shrugged casually, deciding I could always do it later.

I grabbed the first sweater and Jean shorts that I could find, alongside a pair of sneakers. I slipped on a sports bra and threw the cream sweater over it, pairing it with shorts and sneakers.

While I ransacked my drawers for a hair band, I took a glance at my rose gold nails and realised that they looked a little pale. The loud honk that blared from outside had me rolling my eyes, but it didn't deter me from retrieving my base coat.

I slipped onto the chair and took my time to apply a neat coating. I stretched my fingers forth and mused in satisfaction when I saw how perfect they came out. I plugged my nail dryer and allowed the coating to dry before turning it off.

The honk blared again.

I quickly grabbed my bag and shoved my laptop in it and other necessities before dashing out of the room. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, shut the door to the house and spun around, trailing down the porch slowly.

The tall curly-haired girl, who leaned lazily on the black Porsche had her red manicured fingers hovering on the screen of her phone. The halt in her actions indicated that she had sensed my footsteps. 

Her head snapped up from the screen of her phone and her eyes anchored on me. Her lips, which were coated in a bright red lipstick twitched in a smirk, but the expression on her face was hard for me to discern because of the black LV shades she had on her face.

"Let me guess, you had boring nails and decided to make them appear less bland," Her silky voice had sarcasm dripping off it, eliciting an eye roll from me.

"I didn't…" I trailed off. She took off her shades and arched one of her perfectly carved brows at me. It was a tad bit daring like she was waiting for me to prove her wrong.

"Oh, you didn't apply a shiny base coat to your nails that are shimmering under the morning sun?" Her striking hazel eyes were taunting. 

"Get off my back, Iris." I huffed, stepping forward.

"Get in here, bitch!" She shrieked, stretching her arms forth for a hug. Like a little child, my legs moved breezily and I lunged for her figure, wrapping my arms around her while my shoulders quaked with laughter.

Iris engulfed me in a hug and I found myself sighing in comfort at how much she felt like home. Her seductive flowery perfume cocooned me with its alluring fragrance. I leaned further into her, almost as though I wanted to fuse our bodies.

"God, I missed you." She whined softly, detangling my messy hair with her fingers.

"I missed you too." I answered, breathing out in content. I let her go after a while, taking a step back to soak in the allure of her striking beauty.

Iris was that girl. The gorgeous, sassy and outspoken billionaire heiress—her parents were rich business tycoons. With her rich status, brains and beauty, most girls at Nocturne Ville College struggled to get attention from her, but Iris only ever lets her guard down with me.

She was a bitchy, blunt ice Queen to others and that put them off, causing her to earn the tag as the school's mean bitch. The twenty-one-year-old couldn't be bothered in any way. 

She has always had a knack for leather outfits and she always pulled it off, just like she was doing right now. She had a black mesh top, secured into a pair of mid-thigh length black leather pants that accentuated her wide hips. She paired her outfit with her go-to shoes—a pair of strappy black heels. And just like always, her curly black hair was secured in a neat low bun.

"Girl, you are slaying that outfit." I grinned and she flipped her non-existent hair. She stared at me and let out a huff, reaching for my hair, which was sticking out in different directions.

"There. All perfect." She grinned.

"So, are you ready for your junior year?" She squealed, wrapping her arms around me. I giggled, letting out an eye roll.

Iris and I were both juniors—well, just became juniors—at the Nocturne Ville College. She was a business major while I was an English major.

"I am not looking forward to it, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," I answered her, trying to keep a smile on my face but she saw past it and sighed. 

Iris' eyes, which were so full of life earlier, morphed into an endless abyss of ice. Her gaze suddenly felt too intimidating to hold but it was far from Iris to allow me to look away from her.

She tilted my jaw with her finger, compelling me to look at her.

"You have me, Des. Always and forever, remember?" She inquired as though she wanted me to repeat our vow. We came up with it after we became best friends when we were just six.

"Always and forever," I affirmed with a whisper, getting teary-eyed at how much she had my back. Heaven knows I could lose anything and everything, but not Iris. I would lose my mind if I ever lost her.

I wasn't like most people. I was very reserved and hated anything that had to do with socialising. With how much of a mess I have been, another person would have walked away. But not Iris.

Iris Cortez has been my support system through thick and thin, and I was so terrified of the day anything would get between us. I couldn't afford a fallout with her. It would break me.

"I love you so much, Des." She told me with an alluring smile playing on her lips. The coldness in her eyes had melted away like it was never there. I didn't dwell on it because that was how she was. 

Icy this minute and bubbly the next. That switch was sometimes present with me but with other people, if she weren't my best friend, I would have sworn I didn't know her because of how entirely different she could be—cold and blunt.

"I love you too." I smacked a kiss on her cheek.

"So, get your ass in that Porsche and let's get out of here." She threw me a wink and let me out of her grip. She sashayed toward the door of the driver's seat, getting into the car.

I pulled the door open and slipped onto the seat. Iris' mischief-filled eyes darted towards me and with a smirk, she activated the open roof.

"Ready?" 

"Ready," I grinned and we strapped on our seatbelts. The moment the engine roared to life, she zoomed out of the neighbourhood, eliciting a scream from me due to the high speed at which she was driving.

"Iris!"