by LJ Byrne
We’re given another team assignment. Since this time groups need to be at least two people but can be as many as four, Lucas, Mason, and Jasper join me. My only consolation is that they’re not slackers.
“The project seems simple enough. We choose an argument. Split into two teams and argue both sides,” Mason says.
“Are we thinking more of an oral debate or various point-of-views in a paper?” Lucas asks, but he taps his finger at me. “Daydreaming, Elena?”
I let them continue talking for a minute. “We’re not constrained to one medium,” I begin.
“You’re thinking of multimodal composition, aren’t you?” Lucas guesses correctly. “It’ll be different. I’m not sure the other groups will be as creative.”
This isn’t the only time Lucas has followed my train of thought. I consider this for a moment.
“Let’s do a video as one of the modes,” Jasper suggests with relish. “Our instructor seemed to enjoy scenes when we were kissing.”
I groan. “Jasper, I have no intention of kissing you in this project. If you want to do a kissing scene, you’ll have to convince one of them to kiss you.”
Lucas crumples a piece of paper and throws it at Jasper’s head. “Stop being an ass.” He doesn’t raise his voice, but he doesn’t have to. He’s not amused.
“I’m an open-minded guy. I’ll kiss one of them if you promise to watch,” Jasper says wickedly.
“Lucas, any places for me to bury a body where nobody will find it?” I ask sourly.
Jasper raises his hand in surrender. “Spoilsports, all of you. If we choose the right topic, we could do a mix of persuasive speeches followed by footage showing each side of the issue. Make it appropriately dramatic sans kissing.” He pretends to pout.
“Why do you tolerate him again?” Mason grumbles, his dark blue eyes hard with displeasure.
I consider the question, but the answer is simple. Jasper’s been my friend from Day 1. If I’d asked, he would have charged in like a knight in shining armor. In many ways, he reminds me of Lucas – except Lucas wears his grumpiness on his sleeve. Jasper hides behind a layer of charm. While Lucas is dark, he yearns for something sweeter, purer. Whereas Jasper is dark and relishes his darkness. I’ve caught myself often comparing the two. “Because I know where Jasper stands,” I say quietly, noting Lucas tense and glance away as if my words bother him.
“And that is why I’m here, Elena,” Jasper says. “Because you get me. Unlike others.” He crosses his long legs. “Also, she knows my wealth isn’t tied to things like parental approval. I’m the perfect guy for her.”
Lucas snaps his head up and curses Jasper out. Mason gauges the tension between the two and holds his tongue.
“Stop it, both of you. It’s irritating.” I start handing out some notes I’ve taken. “Let’s talk about potential ideas, first,” I say far too sweetly. If looks could kill…
Chastened, all three boys fall in line.
CHAPTER 10
With Ashley gone, Vanessa has pulled in first- and second-year wannabes to attend a party she throws. According to Katrina, that’s unheard of in the general history of the Elites. Fourth-year and second-year Elites reach out to Lucas and Vanessa, but the attempt to reconcile the third-year Elites devolves into a screeching match between Vanessa and the fourth-year Elite girls. It doesn’t help that someone – namely one of Brock’s groupies – provides evidence of Vanessa inviting fourth-year Inner Circle boys to exclusive parties without consulting the fourth-year Elite girls. It’s a twisted web of rights, assumed privilege, and control over the trivial.
My eyes focus immediately on Vanessa and her cronies at the party we’ve invited ourselves to. Kiana Shimura is showing off a diamond tennis bracelet to a few Inner Circle boys. Astrid sits quietly, listening but not commenting. Vanessa is sitting in a second-year student’s lap, talking animatedly while running her hand up and down the student’s chest. I look around. There are enough Inner Circle students from various grades here to ensure it will make it back to the school.
Vanessa stands as I approach, tossing her icy blond hair back. I confess she does it well. “Well, look what the cat dragged in… from the water.” She adds that last bit and her cronies laugh.
The only one who doesn’t laugh is Astrid. I will remember that, and I will remember that she alerted Katrina at the lake. When Astrid dares to look at me, I give her a faint nod. She knows that when the war comes, she’ll be spared the worst of it.
I don’t say a single thing, but I stand calmly as Lucas faces his former counterpart. “You’re continuing to throw parties like an Elite, Vanessa. It just won’t do,” he says in a dangerous voice.
Vanessa laughs. “And what are you going to do about it? You’re pathetic, you know that? Losing everything over her.” Her lips curl.
Brock approaches me. “I have videos and they’ve been sent.”
“What are you talking about?” Vanessa snaps at Brock, but he just gives her an innocent look.
“Let’s go, sweetheart,” Brock says, taking my hand.
Ben Summers comes stumbling into the room, wet and smelling weird. Jasper, Mason, and Bruce saunter in behind him. “Lucas, you were right. Ben’s head doesn’t flush well,” Jasper says in feigned disappointment, landing a swift kick to Ben’s knee, causing the boy to stumble to the ground. Ben screams in agony. “I am glad I wore steel-toed boots, though. Very helpful when you want to do this.” Jasper’s face briefly contorts with focused rage as he lands another vicious kick into Ben. The darkness takes Jasper’s eyes.
“Jasper,” I warn, going over to touch his face. “Enough.”
He looks at me and the fire in his eyes mellows. A sense of calm settles over him. “As my queen wishes.” He kisses my fingertips.
“You were warned,” Lucas says to Vanessa.
As we head out, we see the fancy cars pulling up in front of Vanessa’s house. The Elite girls from the other grades pile out looking thoroughly angry.
“I think Vanessa is going to have a very bad night,” Charles comments to no one in particular. “Let’s go.”
The next morning, we learn that the infighting has spread to the Elites in other grades throughout the school. While I’m unfamiliar with who they are, Lucas assures me that Vanessa has harmed rather than helped the position of the Elites.
Now that my friends are aware of my BSGirl persona, at least one of them shadows me so that I’m not ambushed. I’m surprised Vanessa hasn’t tried before.
“Why do you think I was here so many times?” Lucas remarks as we approach the private music room. He frowns when he sees Jasper waiting for us, leaning lazily against the wall. “Brock and Mason ran interference, too.”
I blink, astonished. I do remember seeing them, sometimes at a distance, frequently. So many puzzle pieces.
“What are you doing here?” Lucas asks Jasper unpleasantly, but I shake my head and gesture for both to join me.
Jasper secures the door as I put up my makeshift window blocker. He leans his lithe body back against the door.
“Why do you like me so much?” I ask, heading over to my bag to pull out my notebooks and scribbles.
Me?” Jasper quirks a smile my way, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “The first time I saw you, your eyes were in another world. You reminded me of my mother. She had that same look in her eyes.” Jasper and I have talked briefly about his parents. His mother died when he was ten and his father is rarely present. “After you were brutalized, when you fainted, there was this deep pain I saw on your face. It spoke to me. Afterward, I grew to like you even more because you don’t look at me like I’m a title or because I’m wealthy. You treat me as a friend and equal. You’re not pretentious even though your brain, I suspect, works faster than mine. I came here thinking you needed me to protect you. I stayed because you don’t need a protector. You needed a friend. Or something more.”
Lucas listens to our exchange with a shadowed expression.
“I’m thinki
ng I want to do a bubbly pop song,” I say with a huge grin, blithely ignoring the sounds of horror coming from them. “I jest. But I’m working on a piece that I do want feedback on. It’s something I plan to release in March.”
“Play away, my queen.”
On Valentine’s Day, I ask the boys to verify that every student in our class gets a rose. We spend the day meeting other third-year students, handing out roses while ignoring Vanessa and her crew with their mountains of flowers. I’m not great at small talk, but Lucas is even worse. Lucas looks like he’s trying to smile through oral surgery. It’s Katrina, Jasper, Charles, Mason, and Brock who save us in most of our interactions, making the girls feel at ease and bringing shy boys out of their shell.
Jasper then announces during lunch hour that we’re hosting a party for everyone at a house he’s rented an hour away. We fully expect Vanessa to show up at the party with her minions.
When she does, it’s quite a sight. Because this is not an Elite party, we’re not constrained by who we’ve invited. After I beat the captain of the Chess Team, the Chess Team become willing helpers. When Vanessa and her entourage arrive, the Chess Team quickly weaves their way isolating several members of her party.
“Tell me, Rhodes,” Jasper begins as he focuses on Ben Summers, “want to help me personally welcome Summers to the party.”
It’s a literal Kodak moment when Lucas smiles coldly and nods. I watch with Katrina and Bruce as Jasper grabs Ben from behind, whispering something calmly into the boy’s ear. Ben pales, seeing Brock behind Lucas, and follows them unwillingly. I see Mason, Bruce, and Charles cornering Thomas Carver, too, but Vanessa misses this because the AV Club members form a wall around Vanessa, distracting her with useless questions.
Katrina makes her way to Astrid’s side and whispers something, glancing at me. Astrid’s lips tighten but she nods. While Vanessa is distracted, she leaves quietly. At some point, Vanessa notices her dwindling supporters because we’ve either separated them from each other or asked them to leave.
“Where is everyone?” she suddenly screeches, her eyes wide as she pounces on Lucas. “What have you done?”
Lucas gives her a brutal, cold smile. “Not as much as I wanted to, Vanessa. But I did warn you not to cross me.” He flips his hand with far more elegance than you’d expect for a near eighteen-year-old. Charles and Bruce drag in a plain wooden coffin set on a hardwood dolly. Vanessa dismisses it with a toss of her head.
“You’re a prick,” Vanessa sneers, “one that lusts after gutter trash. It’s such a shame that the great Lucas is now a pathetic, pen—”
“I’d rather be a prick than a boring, self-absorbed harpy,” Lucas drawls, his voice cutting through her tirade. “This is for you from me. You may wish to open it before next Christmas.”
That’s when Vanessa notices that strange sounds are coming from the coffin. Mason drags the coffin to the door, and with Brock’s assistance, sends it careening down the hill. It’s quite a bumpy ride. Katrina and I run to the window to see Vanessa and Kiana chasing after the dolly with its cargo. Several Inner Circle students run to assist while Vanessa screams at everyone.
Jasper, using binoculars, gives us a running commentary, only pausing once to say, “Well, I do think Ben thought we were going to bury him alive. Doesn’t he know the ground’s too cold for digging? He’s pissed in his pants.”
The students around us stifle giggles as Lucas reaches me. “I’m nowhere near done with Ben Summers and Thomas Carver.” He casually places his hand on the lower part of my back.
“What did you do with Thomas?” I hesitate to ask.
Brock’s green eyes glint at me. “Trussed him like a turkey and stuck him in Vanessa’s trunk. The rag we used to bind his mouth wasn’t exactly clean. He deserves worse, you know, for helping Vanessa at the lake.”
Lucas watches me carefully when I shrug. “As long as he’s neutralized. I have something planned for Vanessa.” I don’t smile as I watch the scene below. Vanessa wobbles to her feet and I think about how easy it is to want revenge.
“Dance with me,” Lucas murmurs, pulling me away from the window. His hands feel warm against my waist as I spin to face him.
My mind flashes back to Christmas Eve and dancing with him while Michael Rhodes watched us with cruel eyes. Lucas dances like he speaks. Smooth, but with purpose. He never stumbles or makes mistakes. I had danced with all the boys on Christmas Eve, but Lucas claimed my hand first. That night, Jasper barely waited until the song was over before butting in. Then Mason, Brock, Charles, and Bruce. Then Katrina and I danced together to the chuckles of the Mavericks. I managed to avoid dancing with Henry Caruso, mainly by hiding, and then by letting Jasper and Lucas monopolize me all night. Mercifully, I was not asked to play next to dear old Henry when he sang a Christmas song.
When I look at our little army, Katrina is gazing winsomely at Bruce, Charles is chatting with Scott Bass (one Inner Circle member down!), Brock seems sad, Mason is resigned, and Jasper is glaring at Lucas. When he sees me looking at him, Jasper attempts to lighten his expression, going so far as giving me a little bow. But his eyes remain moody and dark.
“Score for BSGirl,” Lucas whispers in my ear.
I smile.
CHAPTER 11
Once the mountains are full of snow, the school starts sending students to the ski lodge for a few days. The third-year students head up the last few days of February. Vanessa’s circle is smaller, consisting of about eight third-year students and two fourth-year students. I’m not sure how Vanessa secured those two fourth-year students, but for now, the brouhaha over Inner Circles among various grades has died down.
With Ben Summers licking his wounds – he bails on the ski trip – Vanessa and her posse leave us alone for the time being.
“You’ve never been in a snowball fight?” Bruce repeats in amazement. “How is that possible?”
“I’ve never really seen snow until I came here.” Which is funny considering this lodge used to belong to my biological father.
Katrina twists her head to stare at me. “You didn’t even step outside of the lodge last year,” she says with a frown.
“Clearly, this must be remedied immediately,” Jasper announces, yanking me up by my arms before slinging me over his shoulder.
“Are you--?” I break off shrieking as he carries my not so elegant body to one of the doors.
Charles – the traitor – runs ahead to open the door for Jasper. Jasper unceremoniously deposits me into the snow. I suppose I should be thankful that he didn’t just throw me into a snowbank.
I try to stand, but the snow is nearly two feet where I’m sitting, and I fall over. And then something smacks into my side. My best friend and betrayer, Katrina, grins devilishly as she forms another snowball.
“Oh no, no picking on my queen,” Jasper croons, throwing one swiftly at Katrina.
Bruce and Mason begin defending Katrina, while Charles and Brock side with Jasper. “It’s wrong for twins to be on different sides!” Bruce says before a snowball gets him in the face.
Lucas extends a hand to me. My bottom is damp, and I make a face as he helps me up. “Which side are you choosing?” he asks as it begins to snow softly.
“I’m getting back in! My bottom is wet. Do you know how gross wet jeans are?”
“Now who’s the pampered one?” he teases, but there’s an odd softness in his voice.
I never get to respond because Lucas is pelted from behind. Jasper’s grin is only half-amused. Rage flickers momentarily across Lucas’s face as he takes a step forward. The two do a stare down of near-epic proportions as Jasper’s lips curl in a taunt. The rest of the group freezes as the tension between the two escalates. I nudge Tristan so he stumbles in the snow.
Lucas’s anger fizzles as I bite my lips, trying hard not to smile. “Be careful, I might bite,” he says to me.
I shrug, eyes growing wide as Jasper approaches us. “Well, you two seem to be cozy,” he says to us. He’s smilin
g, but the smile is brittle. The two boys size each other up.
“Stop this, both of you,” I hiss. “My jeans are wet – I feel like I wet my pants – and this territorial, possessive crap is confusing the hell out of me.”
Lucas tenses, his hands clenching. “Choose, Elena,” he says, not even looking at me.
My confused sound goes over Jasper’s head. “Indeed. Choose. Him or me.”
“She doesn’t need to pick either of you assholes!” Mason shouts.
Jasper sneers. “Why would she pick any of you? Brock, the boy who laughed at her every time the girls picked on her, then humiliated her by going all the way with a drug-addicted floozy.” Jasper’s cruel words hit Brock hard. “Or you, Mason. You couldn’t stand the sight of her. Let’s not forget you poured the glue over her.”
“Stop,” I whisper. I feel sick with the flood of memories.
“And you, Lucas. The wannabe king. You practically slept with every girl in the school except Vanessa,” Jasper continues, chest heaving. “After that glorious day when you and your boys tortured her… Did any of you try to find out if she jumped off a bridge?”
“Jasper,” I gasp. Katrina grabs me when my knees buckle.
“Did you know she wanted to die? Did you know she jumped out of her bed in the middle of the night—”
“Shut the fuck up!” I scream at Jasper. I fall, grabbing my head.
Katrina gets Bruce to pick me up. “Whatever this is, fix it! You have put her through hell, and you don’t get to do that again. She doesn’t have to choose. She doesn’t have to do anything.” Katrina brushes a hand against my head. “Come on, let’s get her to the room.”
Katrina has me take a hot shower and then gets me dressed in warm pajamas. Bruce and Charles return with hot cocoa and tea. I feel the warm presence surround me. Love, friendship, acceptance. While Katrina brushes my hair methodically, she talks.
