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Nico →

"Someone's trying extra hard to impress a crush!" Kari teased our friend Thursday morning.

Mae gave herself away when she blushed, but she rolled her eyes. "What could possibly give you that conclusion?" She tossed her meticulously curled hair over her shoulder. She was wearing a beautiful fall dress, paired with some feathery earrings that matched her blue eyes. She had no necklace, but I was sure it was intentional because her skin was flawlessly clear. Also, it pretty much gave her chest all the attention.

"Did Corbyn get you that dress? Looks expensive."

"No, he didn't. I've always had it, just never wore it."

"So how's life in the inner circle?" I questioned.

"Boring. Gosh, remember when we were freshman? We always wondered how amazing it'd feel to be a part of Corbyn Starr's posse."

"Speak for yourself, sweetcheeks," Kari disagreed. "Look, they might be popular but they're all just shallow individuals at the end of day who bask in material things."

"I think Corbyn has a secret," Mae informed. "I was over his house yesterday, which, b-t-dub, is super huge! Anyway, his mom was talking to him about some guy. I couldn't hear, but whoever this guy is made him really unsettled. Maybe even scared."

"An ex?" I suggested.

"An abusive ex," Kari added, holding up a finger. "Or just someone who abused him in some way."

"Look, you can't tell anyone else. I don't know exactly what he's hiding but... Something tells me Corbyn isn't as awful as he comes across."

"I'm gonna puke," was Kari's response. "Moving on, please. I wanna know who you're trying to impress."

Mae giggled. "Geez, can't a girl dress up for herself every once in a while?"

"Who is it?" Kari deadpanned. I nudged her and laughed.

"Mae! There you are, darling!" Corbyn came out of the blue, and as usual, he had someone following him like a puppy. Except puppies were actually cute. He shoved a stack of envelopes into her arms. "I'm gonna need you to pass those out, sweetie. To important people, please."

"Um, what are these?" she thumbed through them and furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"My party invitations." He looked at the girl behind him. "Hey, Camille. Would you mind taking half?" He grabbed some of the stack and gave it to the girl, sending her off.

"So you want me to do your job for you?"

"Yes. Not just you, my entire clique's handing out invites."

Kari and I stole uncomfortable glances at each other.

"Oh, don't look so floored, Mae Struss. Anything you do for me puts you one step closer to getting a better spot on that cheer team. I'll make sure you get there before the big competition. Play your cards right and you just might one of the most important people in this school, not just the team." He assessed her outfit and smiled. It was probably a fake smile, knowing him thus far. "You look quite decent. I do remember you saying you'll impress Tiana today."

Kari suppressed a laugh and Mae rolled her eyes.

Corbyn took two of the envelopes. "On your way, babe. And for goodness sake, I don't need to remind you that no losers are allowed to my party. You can invite some of the band geeks, nerds and whatnot. I wanna look inclusive. Absolutely no stoners though."

Mae frowned and walked away, glancing back at us ruefully. Corbyn, who had completely ignored our presence, turned to me and Kari, holding out the two envelopes in front of us.

My friend eyed it and scoffed. "I'm pretty sure we're the biggest losers in the entire school."

"That you are, so consider yourselves very lucky. This pool party is gonna be the best one yet. Oh, and Kris Hamilton will be there." He sent me a sinister smile and I fought the oncoming blush. Why was he taunting me? Wasn't it just a couple days ago that he warned me that Kris was his, and to stay away? What was his angle? Turning to Kari, he smirked. "And I think that guy with the olive green eyes and sunkissed hair is going to stop by as well. I made sure Brook invited him."

It was the first time I saw a reaction from her that wasn't amusement or boredom. What guy with olive green eyes and sunkissed hair? Do both of my friends have crushes of their own? Was I too caught up with Kris to even notice?

Kari snatched the invitation without a second thought, so I took the other one hesitantly. "Why are you inviting us?" I questioned with a small voice to match I tiny I felt in this moment.

"Just accept it and show up. It's an event you'll never forget. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to recycle my useless circle of friends." He rolled his eyes, clearly bored of the people he called 'friends.' Wow. Did he value nothing? Did he even care about his boyfriend, or was Kris now just a way for him to sustain his popularity?

Kari and I watched him walk off, a couple of girls joining him at his side because, of course, he just had to have someone following him around.

"I'm going," my friend mumbled.

"Who's sunkissed hair guy?" I asked.

"Some guy in one of my classes. I don't know how Corbyn knows about him, but I-I may or may not want this guy to fuck my brains out."

"I'm disgusted."

Kari bit her lip. "It's all just part of nature. And after finding that new porn site, I have a bunch of positions I want to try with him. His name's Sage and he's transgender. You'd never tell though. He's dreamy and sensitive."

"Sage. Sounds fancy. Well, I hope he likes you back; that'll be interesting to see."

"Yes, it would. So are you going?"

I stared at the invitation in my hands. "I feel like Corbyn's playing a dirty trick on us. I'm not coming with you, I'm sorry."

"But Kris is gonna be there, like he said."

"And why else would he mention the obvious unless as bait? I'm not falling for it. You shouldn't either."

She scoffed. "Please. I'm not scared of that weasel. He dares lay a finger on me, I'm cutting off his balls in his precious sleep. Then I'll wake him up and show him my lopsided boobs and inverted left nipple-trust me, that's not a sight anybody can come back from. He'll never be the same."

I couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "Poor Sage then."

"Sage will love me despite my flaws, mark my words."

I took a deep breath. "I should really head to class. Today is my last day as a normal nobody loser. Because tomorrow... tomorrow I become Kris's love interest in the school's very first gay play. Tomorrow, Corbyn will start making my life hell on earth."

🎻🎻🎻

"That's right. Inhale my sweaty t-shirt like it's the last breath you'll ever take."

I grimaced when Nico held his dirty shirt to my nose in the boys' locker room. "Get... away from me."

He smirked, tossing the shirt into his locker. "Damn, Jaden, you're getting depressed with every day that passes. Can I help you write your suicide note?"

I ignored him, rapidly changing my clothes so I could head to the gym early, as usual. I was hellbent on avoiding Kris yet again because I was admittedly afraid of what Corbyn might do to me. But did it even matter? Once he saw that cast list tomorrow, his hatred of me would be inescapable.

"What's that?" Nico pointed to the blue envelope sticking out of my backpack.

"An invitation. Mister Starr is having a neon-themed pool party on Saturday and he gave it to me."

Nico's eyebrows flew up in genuine surprise. "Seriously? You? So what, I don't get one? No fair, you're a bigger nobody than I am."

"I'm not going, so you can have it. And since when did you care about any social event ever?"

"Hey, I went to Homecoming last year!" He closed his locker. "I admit, I only went there to spike the drinks and pull pranks. But why aren't you going to this most likely boring party?"

"Corbyn is on the verge of hating my guts. I'm sure it's some trick and I rather not put myself in the position to get humiliated." I lowered my voice. "Especially not in front of Kris."

"But if you do get humiliated in front of him, he'll see Corbyn's an awful person and may sympathize with you. I beg you to go, and have someone take a video so I can see it and laugh at you."

"Nico... Corbyn's smarter than to let Kris see him embarrass me. Look, if you wanna take the invite, by all means. I don't need it." I handed him the envelope. He smirked and took it from me, running a finger through his dark hair. "I doubt you'll get in though."

"Oh, I will. I have the power of Lucifer on my side. I'll be back. Maybe."

He left me alone and I continued to put on my gym clothes then proceeded to tie my shoes. I was in the process of doing so when two hands suddenly shielded my eyes.

"Guess who?"

I didn't have to. The shivers wracking my spine was all the information I needed, and I doubted it was really him. He was never this early; I always managed to evade him.

"Um..." I breathed, my heart pumping blood furiously through my veins, causing a blush to rise in my cheeks.

"It's Kris." He removed his hands, sitting on the bench next to me. He didn't just sit on it, he straddled it to face me better. Oh god.

I turned around, meeting those beautiful green eyes and perfect dazzling smile. I couldn't even say hi; my body was doing treacherous things to me and he was the sole cause.

"I can never seem to catch you in the locker room, so I figured I'd come early today."

Oh dear. So he thought about me outside gym class.

"S-sorry," I forced out. He shook his head.

"No, no, don't apologize. I just meant that, I don't know, it's like I never see you. Yesterday, I wanted to ask you to shoot some hoops with me and my guys."

I tried very hard not to read into that offer, but it was impossible. He was asking me to play basketball with him. Maybe?

"But since I couldn't find you... would you like to play with us today?"

I swallowed. "I'm no good."

He was amused by that, it seemed, and he even rolled his eyes as if we were familiars. "It's for fun, I swear."

"Okay, but your friends are gonna tell Corbyn and then he's gonna be mad a-and-"

"Jaden," he stopped me. I had to take a breath when he said my name. He actually remembered it. "My friends are exactly that, mine. They don't answer to Corbyn, and if they did, it wouldn't matter."

I blinked at him. "Why?" was all I could utter. Why was he interested in talking to me? Why did he want to play with him? Why was he still dating Corbyn, whose character was his polar opposite.

"Why what?"

"Nothing, never mind. I'll play with you. But I warned you, I'm not any good at basketball."

He laughed. "I'll help. And one day, I definitely wanna hear you play the violin."

I blushed. "You actually remember that?"

He put on a serious expression. "Are you kidding? As much as you tried to hide it, your eyes lit up when you talked about it. Must be something you really enjoy."

I glanced at the floor. "It is."

"The violin is a beautiful instrument. And you know what I think?"

I lifted my eyes to his, asking, "what?" He leaned closer to me subtly and whispered, "there are lots of beautiful things in the world."

~Corbyn's POV~

"I'm sorry, Liv. Your presence just isn't needed in my inner circle anymore. It's okay though; I'm placing you in my outer clique."

Olivia pouted. "But I'll lose respect. This is so depressing."

"Liv, you're a great dancer, next to me. You and I are going to be front and center during the Homecoming pep rally dance in two weeks."

"Yay, I can't wait!" She rejoiced. "But wait, if I'm leaving your inner circle, who's replacing me?"

I smirked. "Ivy Starr."

"Omg, who's that?"

I rolled my eyes at her pestilential stupidity. "You've met her a million times, Liv! She's a senior and transferring to this school on Monday. She's also my sister and despite our differences, we make the best team. See, I hear that a little nobody snagged a spot in the play, a fact that I forbid to be true. But now that you're on the sidelines, I can't discuss this with you. Don't tell anyone about this. You're on the cheerleading team by my grace, so remember that if you should ever find yourself pressed to spill my secrets. Now prance off."

Her shoulders fell and she walked away with her head bowed. I was about to take a step when somebody whirled in front of me, completely taking me by surprise.

I instantly put my guard up, glaring at my intruder. "And who the hell do you think you are?"

"Nico, the devil's favorite son." He sent me a crooked smile.

I squinted at him, confounded by his audacity. "Could you, I don't know, buzz back to where you came from? You're clearly one of those pathetic stoners, so for you to breathe my air is insulting."

"Oh? Am I insulting you? Good. Now there's something I can jerk off to at night."

I was horrified. I turned around in an effort to escape him, but he just darted in front of me. "Ah-ah-ah. I'm not done here."

I folded my arms, scowling into his hazel green eyes. "What are you? You look as if your mother fucked the ghost of Bob Marley and gave birth to a rat. Now here you are."

I was sure that would anger him, but it only made him smile, which only shocked me more.

"Wow, that was a good one. Could be true, I mean, my last name is Marlay. Close enough. Anyway, is that what you do? Hurt people's feelings, make yourself feel better? You know, it's always the same old thing with malevolent bullies, the insecurity. I mean, I do it for amusement and because I'm just plain evil, but clearly you got some problems. Body issues? Mommy issues? Daddy issues?"

My eyes flitted to the ground before I glared at him. He snapped his fingers, a smirk on his face. "Ah, the good ol' daddy issues. Sorry, can't relate. Lucifer's too good to me. See this?" He flashed a blue envelope, my party invitation, holding it between his first and index finger carelessly. "I'm totally crashing."

"You better not. I swear to god, if I see you anywhere near my house--"

"You'll what?" he challenged. I didn't know what this mouse's deal was, but he made my blood boil. "Tell me, Starr, do I get under your skin?"

"I don't even know you. Please walk away and never approach me again."

"If you never noticed, we have a couple classes together."

"Trust me, I never noticed," I shot.

"I know. But you... you like to write. Even when the teacher's yapping away, when other students are chatting with their friends, you're on the other side of the room, silently writing and keeping to yourself. What is it that you write?"

"I don't imagine it's any of your business."

"It's not, but... Something tells me, you're yourself when you have a pen and notebook."

I swallowed, darting my eyes up to the ceiling. "What're you trying to accomplish here?"

He held his hands up in defense. "Nothing at all. I'll see you Saturday."

"Doubt it." I walked away, and he finally left me alone. I wanted to be as far away from that creep as possible. I didn't like it when people tried to observe me, but he was the first to hit the mark and that was unsettling.

I needed a way to... hide, a way to strengthen the walls I'd built because clearly, they were falling apart. My mask was cracking, melting, fading, and I'd spent too much time painting it on to let a guy that I didn't know damage it. I quickly found Tiana and Brooklyn, making them follow me to the door of my dance class.

There. These girls--and all my friends--were my fortress, at least for the time being. Nobody could get to me here.

🎗🎗🎗🎗🎗

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