by Eva Hart
Chapter 13
After the whole mess that was gym class, I just wanted to get the hell out of here. I went back to my apartment, using the dorm’s phone to call my dad.
“Hey dad,” I said.
“Hey sweetie. By the way, I wanted to let you know that I’d be a little bit busy. There's a campus emergency. Apparently, someone vandalized the school again,” he said.
“You serious?”
“Yeah. Little bastards. I need to go to where it happened, and of course the meetings that would follow, and after that’s over it’ll probably be too late. Can you go with someone else to go dress shopping?” he asked.
I was a little bit disappointed, but honestly not surprised my dad would bail.
“Sure dad. I can do that,” I said.
“Alright. Be good sweetie.”
‘Right. By dad,” I replied.
The phone clicked off, and I immediately grimaced. Who would I go with now. but then, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it, noticing it was JJ.
“Hey Jules. So uh…do you want to go dress shopping with me? I was thinking we could go tomorrow,” she said.
“Sure. I’d love that.”
“Sure, I also was going to bring a friend. You may know her. Tori Pryce,” she said.
“Oh yeah, that other lady who hangs around you,” I said.
“Yeah well, she doesn’t have a dress yet, so I offered to take her,” she said.
“Fine by me. More the merrier I guess,” I said.
“Right. Anyways, I’ll see you then,” I said.
The day before the formal, I met at where JJ was supposed to meet up. I saw JJ there, and then, there was Tori.
I know that Tori and I weren’t super close, but she seemed to be alright, I guess. Tori looked at me, smiling as I looked back at her.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said to her.
We then went off to have a girl’s day. The plan was simple: we’d go, get our dresses, have a relaxing spa day, and then we’d get some food. The first stop was the dress store, and when we got in there, I saw some pretty dresses that were discounted in the corner.
“I like these,” I told them.
“The color is nice,” JJ said.
“Yeah, looks pretty. You should try it on,” Tori said.
I nodded, grabbing the dress. I then went to the dressing room, and I started to try it on. When I got out, Tori immediately grinned.
“Oh my gosh, that looks so good. Let me take a picture!” she said.
She snapped a pic, and I looked in the mirror. It was alright I guess, but I didn’t really feel like it screamed me. I tried on a few more dresses, each one getting pictures courtesy of Tori, and then, I found he prefect one.
It was a black dress, a little one that showed off my features pretty well. When I tried it on, I felt hot, and I could tell it was nice. This was something similar to what I’ wear when I was escorting. After I finished up, I paid for it. We walked around the mall, and I noticed that there was a beautiful redheaded woman who was about our age with a man probably in his fifties.
“You don’t see that every day,” Tori said.
“You mean the girl?”
“Well yeah, she’s hot as hell, but she’s over there with that crusty ass man. It’s a shame,” she said.
“Right. I mean, you have to do what you have to do,” I said, trying to keep the tensions to a minimum. In truth, it reminded me of my days as an escort, which felt like a different part of my life. Sometimes, I did miss it, since I was getting a lot of money, and in many cases, I didn’t have to do all that much to get what I wanted from it.
After we finished up there, we went to the spa to get our nails done. I noticed Tori taking more and more pictures.
“You really all that interested?” I said.
“Of course! I mean, it’s not like I get to go out every day with people like this,” she told me.
I nodded, believing her when she said that. After we finished there, we then started to go to the restaurant. However, when we got there, I noticed three familiar faces.
“What are they doing here?” I asked out loud.
Sure enough, Luca, Phoenix and Thorn were all there. I was still pretty upset after what they did the other day. But then, Tori smiled.
“Oh, I guess they just found out about our little girl’s day,” she said.
I looked over at her phone, noticing that she had a lot of snapchat pictures on there. I know that she was taking pictures, but I thought it was because I didn’t have a phone. However, I noticed her purposefully going through them, and that’s when I saw all the captions.
She actually thinks this looks good on her.
More like puke green, am I right?
I swear, she’s so boring to hang out with. I’m only doing this for JJ.
Look at those nails! Who doesn’t take care of their fingernails? Bet she’s some primitive too who doesn’t wash her ass.
I read all of those snide remarks, cringing slightly at her words. She was such a bitch, but it’s not like I was able to do anything about it.
However, in the final snap, I noticed her other words.
By the Way, we’ll be here for a bit if you wanna come hang out. Could use some company after this piss-poor day.
I swear, she just sounded so miserable offline. However, I noticed that Phoenix and Luca were looking at her.
“My my, look at little Jules here. Isn’t she cute,” Luca said.
“Yeah, looks like you’re having a cute little girl’s day,” Phoenix said.
“Seems fun,” Thorn said.
“Whatever. Do you guys always have to hang around where I’m at? Don’t you have like girls to flock to?” I said.
“Nope, you’re our number-one target,” Luca said.
“We just wanted to come say hi. Nothing too rude about that, right?” Phoenix said.
Well, I was a little sick of hem already, that’s for sure. I started to sigh, feeling he frustration grow within my body.
“Anyways, what the hell do you all want? Why are you here?” I said.
“Oh, we just wanted to invite you to a private party, if you’re interested,” Luca said.
“Yeah, might be fun,” Phoenix said.
What made them think I wanted to associate with them after how shitty they were towards me? I started to scoff, looking at both of them.
“Go suck a dick. I have to get ready for the formal,” I stated.
I walked back over, looking at Tori and JJ.
“Let’s finish up here and then go back. I’m not in the mood to deal with this shit,” I said.
I wish they would just leave me be, but I don’t think that would be any time soon. They were obsessed with me, and I knew that the only way to get past this would be to just ignore them for now. but that was much easier said than done.
Chapter 14
The night of the formal was an interesting one. I was ready almost immediately, and I heard a knock at the door.
“There you are,” I said, looking at Dane.
He was an attractive man. I couldn’t help but feel slightly lucky as I looked at him. He started to smile back at me, extending his hand.
“Ready to get the hell out of here?” he asked.
“Born ready,” I said to him.
We walked over to the gymnasium, which was where they were having it. I noticed that there was a lot of people there already, but I noticed that The Elites weren’t anywhere to be found.
Why were they no here? I was so confused, I didn’t know what the hell happened to them, and I felt a bit concerned.
“Something the matter?” Dane asked.
“Oh I’m okay. I just noticed that the Elites aren’t around. I noticed that they weren’t in the dance hall, nor were they around the corners. Where the hell were, they? I looked about, but I guess this was just a sign that I could rest easy tonight.
It was so different from what I was used to, esp
ecially with the way things were. I looked over at Dane, smiling at him. Even with how rough things have been, I was happy to at least have him in my life.
“Thanks for sticking around and supporting me Dane. It’s appreciated,” I told him.
“Not a problem you’re a wonderful woman, and I’m glad that you’re here with me too. Besides, it’s nice not having the elites around here either,” he said.
“Yeah, I feel this,” I said.
But, even so, I couldn’t help but shake the nagging feeling that it was not going to be this easy. As we danced, I felt happy, and I felt like I could just be a normal person for a few moments. I wondered how much would happen if I did just leave one day and go about my life. I wondered what might transpire next, and what may happen, and what would become of us.
After we finished dancing, we walked over to the he hallway, sitting down on some of the chairs that were put out.
“You know, you’re a pretty cool guy there Dane. I’m surprised you want to associate with me though,” I sad.
“Why do you think that?”
“I’m bad luck. Everyone’s always out for my ass, and I don’t know, I feel like there’s very few people I can rust at this point. It’s frustrating, you know?” I said.
“I get that. well, I’m here for you, no matter what it is that happens next. I’m going to help you in whatever way I can,” he said.
I nodded. “Thanks Dane. I appreciate it. Anyway, you want to go back in?”
“Yeah. Let’s spend a little bit more time together,” he said.
However, as we walked towards the gm, I sensed something behind us. I whipped my head around, but it was too late. Suddenly, I felt my body get shoved into one of the empty rooms. The door was closed, and the handle was held. I tried to open it, but there was no chance of that happening. As I tried, I heard the sounds of laughter, and then, I heard Dane’s voice.
“N-no please! Let me go!” he said.
I looked at the doorway, realizing someone was out there confronting Dane.
“Dane? Dane” I screamed out. But it was too late.
The sounds of kicking, punching, and groans of pain were the only things that I heard. My eyes filled with tears, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on out there. I tried to get out, but it was like someone was holding the door shut, and as I stood there helplessly, I heard the sounds of the fighting, and the groans of pain from Dane.
It hurt to hear. I wanted to do something, anything in order to help Dane out, but I was at the mercy of the sounds, the mercy of the other people, and at the mercy of this as well. Suddenly, the sounds continued on, and I heard the groans and moan of pain from hm. I started to feel tears fall down my face, my eyes watered and my heart racing.
“Please…please stop,” I told myself.
I wanted this to end, for this hell to finally be over, but it wasn’t going to happen. There was no way this would be over for a bit. As I heard him mercilessly beaten up, I then immediately heard he sounds of silence. The door was then opened up, and I quickly whipped it open, but by the time I got out, everyone was gone.
In the corner was Dane, all bloody and beaten, and I looked over in the distance. I didn’t know who the hell it was, and I looked over at Dane, feeling the tears fall down my face.
“I’m…I’m sorry Dane,” I said.
“It’s okay Jules. Just get some help. I’ll be okay. You should probably go see if anyone is around. It’s a mess. I’ll be okay though,” he said.
He insisted this, but I didn’t really believe it. However, as I ambled over towards the principals’ office, I saw the door open and my dad in there with the principal.
“Dad, principal!” I said.
“There you are Jules. Why are you over here?” he asked.
“You didn’t hear the sounds of someone getting their asses beaten up?” I said.
“No, but do you know who did it?” he said.
“The Elites! They had to have. I didn’t see it myself because they locked me in a room and—”
“Jules, quit making up lies,” the principal said.
I looked at her, realizing she was trying to shut me up. I then scoffed.
“I’m making up lies? But I saw for myself who these guys are! They’re monsters,” I said.
“Jules, do you know anything about the vandalism? You seem to have a knack for trouble dear,” he said.
“I don’t dad. But whomever is attacking this place is definitely trying to do it to create a scene. I know the elites hurt Dane though. I saw them in the distance,” I said.
“Why didn’t you try to stop them?” my dad said.
“Why didn’t you have better security? You know, you did a shit job at this,” I said.
“Watch your mouth Jules!” he sapped.
“Well, what do you have going on right now? you’re here with the principal, and you’re not doing anything about this,” I stated. ,my dad was acting super freaking weird, and I hated that. I looked at him, and then, after a bit, he spoke.
‘that’s none of your business Jules. I was just here meeting with the principal, and I needed some opinions on things,” he said.
“Well, is it so important that you can’t even help your own daughter find the person who beat the shit out of her date? You’re quite a piece of shit, dad,” Jules spat.
Didn’t have time for this shit. My dad looked at me, glaring directly at m.
“What was that? you trying to fight with me again?” he said.
“No, I know you don’t give two shits about your job. Whatever is going on here seems much more important than finding the person who beat the shit out of your daughter’s date for the fall formal. I shouldn’t expect anything less,” I said.
“Watch your tongue Jules!”
I looked at him, realizing that this wasn’t how my dad normally acted.
“Listen, if you’re not going to do anything about this, then I’m out of here. Bye,” I said.
I go up, grimacing at both of them before heading over to the doorway, scoffing at the way they just looked at me with helpless eyes. I didn’t have the time or the desire for this, and I looked at them with a look of betrayal.
They didn’t seem to care. They only cared about themselves, and even that was a bit of a stretch for these bozos.
I looked around as I walked outside. I noticed that my dad wasn’t coming with me. I guess he’s too busy trying to settle affairs in other places in the school. The fact that he didn’t apologize to me and decided to be an interrogating fuck annoyed me too. I just wanted some help, I wanted to see if there was any way around this, but it was no use. After I got to the hallway, I noticed that Dane wasn’t there anymore. I presumed he went over to one of the infirmaries on campus to get some help. At least, that’s what I hoped.
However, I had my own issues to deal with. I wondered what happened to him, and I hoped he would be okay. Those bruises looked bad. However, I started to feel the frustration grow within me as well. I didn’t like that people who seemed to care were getting beaten up by these fuckheads.
That was it. I’m going to go find them.
I walked around the school checking to see if they were there, but they weren’t. I then noticed as I walked to the courtyard a few people up there. I looked around, noticing the stairwell to the roof was unlocked. As I got up there, I noticed three bodies, and the haze of smoke.
They were all smoking joints. I stepped forward, and I then noticed that Luca took one long drag before offering it to me.
“No thanks. I’d like to be sober while I talk about this with you,” I said.
Chapter 15
“What’s there to talk about?” Luca said.
“What’s there to talk about? Well, how about the fact that my date to the fall formal was beaten senseless by Tabitha’s little cronies, or maybe it was the three of you. What the hell is going on?” she said.
“Why do you ask? What do you suppose we can do?” Phoenix said.
“Well, I’d like for you to stop. I don’t want to get anyone else involved. I also don’t…I also don’t want to see more people hurt. I’m tired of this, and if you have something that you’d like to discuss with me, and terms you’d like to set with me, now is the time. I’m tired of this, tired of getting hurt, tired of getting involved, and I don’t want to deal with this bullshit anymore,” I stated.
All three of them looked at one another, and then, Luca smiled.
“How about we offer you something Jules?” he said with a purr.
I looked at him, knowing that whatever it was that he was about to offer would be something that’d either benefit me, or harm me.
“Well what is it?”
He took a long drag of the joint, letting out a long breath. The pool of smoke obfuscated him from me for a second, and then, he grinned, almost catlike in ways.
“How about you have a place with us? Be one of the elites, one of the top people on campus. How about you take your place with us,” he said.
No fucking way. I know exactly what they were doing, and their game.
“Are you guys serious? I can’t say high because you are, but that’s insane,” I said.
“Is it though? I mean, we’ll offer you a place with us. You’ll be on our side, and I’ll make sure that you’re properly taken care of. Trust me on this,” he said.
I looked at him, my eyes lowering, and my breath maintaining the same pace.
“You guys are stupid. There’s no way in hell I’m joining you,” I said.
That’s when Luca got up. But then, Phoenix pulled him back.
“Easy there. Now, why won’t you? As you can tell, we’re offering you the chance of a lifetime Jules. Think about it. Don’t make a mistake,” he said.
“You really think I’m just going to take the side of you guys? I’m not going to mess around with someone who is fucking with the enemy still. I’m not getting involved with that, I’m not stupid,” I told him.
Phoenix looked at me with widened eyes, his composure dropping for but a moment as he looked at me.
