Third person pov:
Bella and Fae agreed to meet at Fae's dorm room after school. The moment the last bell rang, Bella made her way there, ditching Hazel and the guys. As soon as she reached the door, Fae pulled it open before Bella could knock.
"The ear-draining clanking of your heels on the tiles can't get out of my head, so I knew you were here," Fae said before Bella could ask how she knew.
Bella ignored her comment and walked into the room. Fae slammed the door shut as Bella stood still, watching Fae make her way to her bed.
"Feel at home."
Those words from Fae's lips sounded surreal. To Bella, Fae was nothing short of evil, and being at home didn't feel right. She remained near the door, her eyes fixed on Fae.
"You know why I'm here, Fae. I need you to tell me what you want. What is it that I took from you that you won't let me have a moment of peace?" Bella's voice trembled slightly, but she quickly composed herself. Fae opened her mouth to speak, but Bella cut her short. "This excludes having Ryder. I am not going to compel him, even if you want me to, and if I did, the twins would come for you, and we both know how messy that would be."
Fae crossed her arms and legs on her bed, her face contorted in frustration.
"Very well then. Since I cannot have him, I want to be head of the Sapphire Belle again. That's one of the two things you took from me, and I want it back."
Bella, expecting this, tried to maintain her composure. "What?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. Fae wrinkled her brows.
"How am I going to do that?" Bella asked, and Fae shrugged. "They all hate you. It would be like passing a camel through the eye of a needle for them to make you queen again," Bella said, and Fae rolled her eyes, getting to her feet.
"Is it very difficult for you to comprehend?" Fae questioned.
Bella looked at her without a word. "You are queen. You can ask that I come back. Say you trust me, and since you are absent, they will agree. Those girls are stupid and gullible. Plus, Rebby has a new boyfriend in college."
Calling them stupid felt wrong for Bella, but she couldn't object. They were all mean girls, and they deserved each other. Although she regretted being part of the group, they had served their purpose. That era was over, and she wanted to focus on her mates.
"Do we have a deal?" Fae asked, raising a brow as Bella hesitated.
"Yes, we do. I will talk to them tomorrow and hope it works."
**
After striking the deal with Fae, Bella headed straight to the triplets' room, opening the door to find Finn lounging on the couch. He sat up at once, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Where are the others?" she asked, dashing to Ryder's room, only to find it empty.
"They left some minutes ago to look for you. What's up with you? You've been distant all day, ditching us at every chance," Finn said, and Bella rubbed the back of her neck, thinking of a lie.
"I had to do something for my mum," she said. The door swung open as Kai and Ryder walked in.
you
"There are!" they exclaimed. Bella walked up to them, kissing them simultaneously. Finn groaned from behind, and she walked back to the couch to kiss him, too.
"Where have you been?" Ryder asked, and she repeated the same lie before rushing to her room to change.
When she got there, she saw Hazel already dressed, reapplying her lipstick.
"Where have you been? And what is going on with you? This is a new semester, Bella, and we have to focus." Bella sighed, sitting on her bed for a moment. "I'm fine. I had to do something for my mum, and I'm here now," she said, and then a knock came at the door.
"That must be Sebastian," Hazel squealed, causing Bella's stomach to knot up unpleasantly. She began to question herself.
"Why is he here?" she got up at once, walking up to Hazel, who was still finishing up in front of the mirror.
"So that I can stop being the fifth wheel. Is there something wrong with that?" Hazel raised a brow, peering at Bella through the mirror.
Bella, regretting her strong and suspicious tone, cleared her throat. "No... not at all," she struggled with her words. "I was just wondering if the triplets know, and if..."
"Yes. It was Kai's idea. I was skeptical about it and how you would feel, but he says it's fine."
Bella nodded, her tongue counting the back of her teeth as she tried to keep her thoughts down.
"Very well then, I'll be done in a moment."
**
Bella bore a grudge against Kai the entire day, showing her anger by sandwiching herself between Ryder and Finn at the cinema. Sebastian sat im after Ryder, and Hazel was on the last seat by the wall, just as she wanted. When the movie started, Bella swore not to leave the room for any reason, not wanting to give Sebastian a chance. But he had other plans.
Halfway into the movie, Sebastian grew bored with Hazel's attention, and he got jealous of Ryder's hands on Bella's bare skin. It pricked him, but he reached his breaking point when he saw Ryder trail his hands under Bella's skirt, causing her to chuckle softly with her head resting on his shoulder.
Sebastian kissed Hazel's lips to divert his attention, but it didn't work. He couldn't shake the thoughts of strangling Ryder.
"How are you enjoying the movie?" Hazel whispered in his ear, and he felt instantly disgusted by her voice. He needed to be with Bella.
What happened in the past was his fault, and she didn't know it yet. He had been selfish, causing her life to spiral into turmoil. But better her than him.
"It's fine, and I-" He raised his hand, knocking Ryder's hand towards Bella, causing his drink to spill on her thighs. "I'm so sorry," he said to Ryder.
"Shit," Bella cursed quietly as the chilling effect of the soda dug deep into her skin despite the warmth of the room. Bella, knowing Sebastian's plan to make her leave the room, beat him to it.
"Can you accompany me to the restroom to get cleaned up, please?" she asked Ryder. He nodded, taking her hand. "We'll be right back," she said to the twins. They both left, causing Sebastian to curse under his breath.
His plan backfired, but he wanted Bella, and he wasn't backing down. What would he do next?