¤Chapter Fifteen¤

My phone vibrated in my back pocket.

"At least buy me a drink before trying to reach second base" I muttered to myself as I grabbed the perpetrator and unlocked the screen.

◈Group Chat◈

Angie:

>Madi I thought you weren't gonna skip class anymore! Where are you?

Sam:

>I swear if we don't all make it into the same college because of your shenanigans, I'm kicking your ass

Amy:

>Are you okay? I know you're pissed about Brendon but Mr. Pot saw the video Brittney took and called his parents

That's probably because he needs to go to the doctors, I thought to myself. If I never have to see that guy again I'll count my lucky stars. I'm currently standing in front of the school's entrance not sure if I even want to go in. How can I possibly learn anything after everything that's just transpired? Before I could turn to leave an authoritative voice yelled after me,

"Ms. Fields, my office now!"

I peeked through the glass doors to see a retreating bald head turning towards the administrative office. That glossy globe belongs to no one other than our precious principal, Mr. Pot. After being in his office one too many times I've learned that if I angle my head just right, I can kind of see my own warped reflation staring back at me on his polished scalp.

"Good afternoon, sir" I walked into the large, clustered office and took a seat in front of his desk. It was wider than the average desk and the rustic color was fading to something more grotesque. 

"So you are familiar with the time I see." He leaned forward, interlocking his clammy fingers and placed both elbows on the scattered sheets of paper splayed out before him. "Care to tell me why you got to school early in the morning, injured one of our star athletes, then proceeded to skip two classes only to reappear just in time for lunch?"

I flashed a cheeky grin. "I got hungry."

He was not amused.

"Do not get snarky with me, little girl!" His voice lacked composure while his breath lacked mint. I glanced at the crumpled hamburger wrapper next to the wastebasket. So he's got bad aim and, based on the raging online reviews of that particular burger joint, bad taste. This unfortunately lead to me tilting back slightly while trying to pacify my growing agitation.

I stared at the veins bulging on his temple in awe. "Okay Baldy Locks, you might want to calm down a bit"

His eyes flared. "You see this?" He picked up a half sheet of paper that was beneath his elbow and shook it haphazardly in front of my face. The breeze from his movements gave me a fresh whiff of his lunch causing me to recoil. "It's an expulsion form," Mr. Pot continued. "Brendon's parents arrived and threatened to sue the school if you don't get kicked out immediately."

My brows furrowed. "What the hell? Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Is that why you're so tense?" 

The poor guy must be terrified. All this time he's been putting up with my crap —and forcing others to as well. But suddenly he has to choose between getting rid of me, which would ruin his chances with my mom, or dragging the school through unnecessary public scrutiny, which will destroy our semi-prestigious reputation and quite possibly get him fired. 

Surely Dr. Elizabeth Fields won't be interested in a jobless man, not when she's so hardworking and strong herself. Every queen needs a king after all. The hair loss she could learn to accept, but how can he dare stand next to such radiating beauty if he's only subpar?

I can read him like a book. It's almost too easy.

Now it was his turn to look at me with fascination, his wide eyes trying their best to analyze my reaction. "You're not scared?"

I shook my head and propped my feet on his desk, confidently lounging back in the plush chair. He glanced at them with clear distaste but kept quiet. I need to tell mom how much I love her when I get home —that is if she doesn't get paged and has to rush off last minute as usual. 

Being in love with her really helps the guy restrain himself sometimes. Her and dad could possibly be the busiest people in this town and the most respected too; A doctor who saves lives and a bodyguard who protects them. A match made in heaven —to me and everyone in town except my delusional principal.

"You see it's not really his word against mine Mr. Pot. —I've got proof." I closed my eyes and took in some air to help me finish my sentence then regretted it immediately. "You see, Brendon as you've mentioned, is a 'star athlete'. This means he's being watched by scouters —scouters who wouldn't be pleased to know he almost gave one girl herpes and sexually assaulted another." I rushed the last part of my words, not wanting to stimulate my subdued anger.

His expression turned quizzical and silence bloomed in the stuffy room for a few seconds. "And where's the proof?" He sat back in his chair. By looking at his posture shifting from stiff to relaxed, it's evident what I said has kindled the leverage we both need to get out of this situation unscathed. 

"Simple. Brittney recorded me confronting him, you've seen the video. Confiscate it from her and use it as evidence since he basically admitted he was a sicko." This, I thought to myself, is a win-win for me. Bye-bye Brendon, bye-bye embarrassing video.

"Ms. Fields," The principal finally shoved my feet off his desk, forcing me to sit up straight. Now that he knows Brendon is not his biggest problem, he can focus on my small nuisances. Tactics like these help me evaluate people without much effort; just do something that usually rouse a reaction and see what happens. Either they'll act as they normally do, or overlook the action completely. "He'll just say that you're lying and—"

"If that asshole says he actually did stuff with me," I stood up sharply, gritting the words through my teeth with purpose. "Tell him I'll personally find him and snap his neck even if he tries to get a restraining order."

Mr. Pot laughed. Not because he thinks I'm joking, but because he knows it will work. I'm certain Brendon is terrified of me by now. So is everyone else I bet. I'd like for him to restate this word for word but I'm sure just the mention of my name will do the trick for Brendon. My only wish is getting the chance to see his face change from smug to terrified. He'll hate me but it's very unlikely he'll attempt to push his luck with me after this.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving now —don't want to be late for soggy sandwiches and old salads." I turned on my heels then stopped again, tilting my head to look at the man longing to be my step-father. "Oh and the STD should be fairly easy to verify but if he denies that, be sure to inform him I learned to fight from a guy who says his nickname used to be Cut Throat back in the day and he'd be disappointed if I went easy on him the second time 'round. See ya!"

Mr. Pot's grin disappeared and his face paled. I believe he's just now realizing to get my mom he needs to defeat my dad first and good ol' Cut Throat won't go down without a fight, especially not if that fight is for the love of his life. Truthfully, I can't really picture anyone calling him that, even though him and his friends were young and goofy. In fact, I laughed wholeheartedly when he told me but there's no need for me to reveal that since it won't help my threat stick.

◊◊◊

"I thought you girls had cheer practice today?" I crossed my arms and stared at them standing in front of my locker. They appeared awkward and suspicious with Amy fiddling with the seams on her pleated skirt, Sam pretending to casually scroll through social media when I can plainly see that she's already liked those pictures, and Angie looking way too excited. 

I filled them in on the recent events of my life during lunch and English so now they are trying to come up with any nonsensical excuse to see Jace in person. It's obvious. Based on his description, apparently he sounds 'way too good to be true'.

 Their words, not mine.

I wasn't able to spot Owen today and although I did receive a brief text from him earlier, I decided not to respond. I want to put as much space between me and that guy as possible and this is how you do it. More specifically, it's how I do it.

"We do," Amy admitted after blowing away a loose curl that fell over her eyelid. "But we're going to put our clothes in my car."

"Right." I slammed my locker shut and marched towards the exit with my little baby ducklings tailing closely behind.

I hate this. Usually after they change into their uniforms, they go straight to the practice room after dropping their gym bags in a corner somewhere until they need to change back. That's why I'm certain they just want to get a peak of Jace and make a big deal out of nothing. I told them he said my full name in hopes of getting them to stop asking for more details but it only made matters worse.

It took us around fifteen minutes before we actually got outside. According to Samantha, stopping every two minutes to wave, laugh, gossip, and jest with someone is a large part of their jobs as Cheerleaders because they represent the school and feed off the students interest which boosts showings at games. Therefore, it naturally takes a long time and thus my 'grumpiness' was not needed. 

The first thing I noticed as we eventually neared the finish line was the small group of people gathered near the area I usually park. Picking up the pace I walked ahead and pushed open the glass door. A fresh gust of wind passed by, blowing my hair in every possible direction. As my eyes adjusted to the glare of the sun I realized they were crowding around my bike. I swear if someone hurt—

"Hey Princess!" A masculine voice shouted sweetly. The crowd split into two groups and I was able to see that they weren't just surrounding my bike, they stood around three vehicles in total. A shiny black Ferrari branding some kind of emblem on the side, my precious motorcycle, and Brittney's fancy BMW. 

What makes the situation strange is Owen stood by the passenger side of Brittney's car with his fists clenched, glaring directly at Jace who had one arm up blithely waving at me and the other arm casually resting on my bike. He brandished a soul stealing grin in my direction, completely ignoring Owen's presence.

My friends squealed behind me, finally catching up.

"Damn Madi, you snagged yourself a beach model" Angie whispered so only our group could hear.

"No way, look at his eyes. It's full of bad intensions and dark secrets," Sam argued in a dreamy tone. "Don't let the boyish charm fool you, he's a bad boy one hundred percent"

"Eek!" Amy jumped up and down, clapping like a seal. "He totally wants you Madi! A bad boy and a bad girl is like, the perfect match"

I wanted to focus my attention on them and perhaps try to tape their mouths shut but something about Jace's eyes kept me frozen where I stood. The girls are right, his smile is charming but his eyes seem full of dark intentions and carefully concealed thoughts. A new feeling washed over my entire body like a wave, heightening my senses. I took a step forward but something made me pause.

"Madi" This voice was low and guttural but I still heard it. My eyes finally managed to break away from Jace's steely grasp and land on Owen's. His green-grey orbs were a storm waiting to happen, more grey than green. I could vaguely make out fierce determination but once again everything else was unreadable. So many emotions behind those eyes yet I can't figure anything out. Why? At this point, my curiosity is starting to become an obsession.

I stared at the two guys standing in front of me as the crowd of people began to disperse, getting bored of the endless silence and thick atmosphere between us. I'd like to go to Jace and threaten to break his arm for touching my baby but at the same time, I feel an urge to go to Owen and get under his skin until I can read him like everyone else. I want to get in his head and decode all the mysteries behind me not being able to understand him.

This feels weird. What do I do? Who do I choose,

Owen or Jace?

I closed my eyes and tried to remember my father's advice. Then, I made my decision and headed towards to him, not wanting to waste time.

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