Almost a whole week had passed since Alec started to talk to us, and so far things were going fine. James had come back, but thankfully he was avoiding me.
Cole and Ash kept their distance the rest of the week too, but I decided it was time to put my plan into action on that autumn Friday morning.
"Hey there Ashy boy." I sang, walking along the corridor towards him and Cole.
His gaze snapped from Cole to me and I greeted him with a small yet smug wave.
As his harsh, hazel eyes met mine, his body tensed, causing the smaller, grey-haired male standing beside him to follow his gaze.
Smiling widely, I stopped in front of the pair. "How are you two? I haven't seen you since the party."
They shuffled before answering, clearly on edge as soon as my presence became obvious to them. "Fine, how about you?"
I almost laughed at the formality of Ashs' words, so I covered it with a slight giggle.
"Oh I'm doing just fine," I leant forward and traced my fingertips down the taller boys chest, feeling him tense under the touch. "But I have to go now, I'll see you later."
I smirked slightly as I saw his mouth open and close again, trying to form words before finding he was unable to.
"Yep, bye." Cole spoke hurriedly and once I was satisfied, I turned on the heels of my black cargo boots, a slight squeak noise sounding through the hallway as I did, and began walking towards the exit.
The entire contents of the hallway had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the scene play out, and I made sure to give them all a sickly sweet smile as I strutted towards the exit.
"Hey Skyter." I stopped dead in my tracks at the deep voice, turning around with the fake smile still on my lips.
"What?" I asked with such a bittersweet tone, I saw the people closest to me flinch.
"Watch your back".
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"He told me to watch my back! Can you believe that?" I ranted, voice raised to a shriek-like shout.
Harry, Lila and I were all gathered together in her room, and I was pacing around while screaming about the pure rudeness of Cole.
"They have the audacity to make that picture, and then tell me to watch my back!"
Harry pushes me down onto the bed and handed me a glass of milk, which I took grumpily, and I gulped down a large mouthful, humming in satisfaction after the smooth liquid slid down my throat.
"Don't forget the plan Riv, you've gotta keep your cool around him". Lila spoke sternly and I pouted, making a small 'hmph' noise.
"And hey, I never asked and I probably shouldn't, but what was it like to kiss Ash?"
My eyes went wide and a dark blush covered my cheeks like icing sugar on a cake, and I felt my body stiffen after being reminded of the previous event.
"W-well... yknow. Okay I guess. It was strange... but not bad. Kinda flattering that he actually kissed me to be honest." I played with the baby hairs on the nape of my neck from awkwardness, looking down at my feet and slowly talking another sip of the white liquid.
I missed the two of them giving each other a smug look and only looked up to see them looking at me with dazed expressions.
"W-what! I'm just telling the truth." I mumbled and my lips formed into a larger pout than usual which caused the pair to burst out laughing, and me to follow soon after.
"Just don't fall for him, yeah?" Harry asked, and I was glad it was rhetorical as I wouldn't have been able to make any promises.
What is it with victims finding their bully, murderer, kidnapper or anything of the sort attractive in every single story ever.
Like people say, it's a love-hate relationship.
You love those who hurt you and hurt those who love you.
I, however, didn't plan on letting him get to me. Even if he was a little on the hot side of the spectrum.
"Okay so, I have a plan for tomorrow. I'm going to distract Ash while Harry gets everyone in the class to leave two seats together and no others. That means both of you will have no choice but to sit together, and the plan Revenge may commence." Lila spoke boldly, hands placed on both hips as she stood in a superhero pose.
I chuckled wickedly and fell onto the cushion-covered floor, wincing and sucking in a breath as someones phone pressed into my ribs.
"Oof, sorry bro." Harry quickly helped me sit up before moving all three hunks of encoded metal onto the nightstand, ensuring I wouldn't lean on one again.
"How is your bruise coming along by the way?" Lila asked, curiosity glistening in her eyes.
Following the question, I pulled up the white, oversized sweatshirt to reveal the now yellow-green bruise which took up a small, melon-sized patch of skin.
They both cringed and let out an assortment of oofs and ouches at the sight before them, and I laughed slightly at their reactions.
"At least it's not grey and purple anymore." I shrugged and they both gave me an 'are you serious' look, to which I ignored and fell back onto the cushions.
"I'm tired." I moaned wearily, eyes falling shut as I hugged one of Lilas bunny plushies close to my body. It used to be a fairly vibrant purple colour, but had now faded to a pastel lilac hue. The eyes were two large black buttons that had loosened over time, and the fur was still extremely soft, but stuck out in various places.
One of the first times I went to her house, I saw it sat on a shelf and since then it was something I cuddled whenever I came to her house.
Very manly, I know.
But do I really look like I care?
"I swear that godforsaken thing is your soulmate." Lila rolled her eyes and I smiled, still laying there with darkness being the only thing I could see.
"Me too." I hummed, yawning and reaching my hand out towards where I presumed Harry was sat. Seconds later I felt a blanket being roughly shoved into my palm.
"Thank you." I sang quietly before snuggling into it tightly, the plushie still tucked between my arms.
I heard the other two shuffle around before the light closest to me turned off, and I whispered an inaudible thank you before drifting off into a calm and peaceful sleep.
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"What the fu-" I shot up from the position I was in moments earlier, mouth hanging open with both shock and anger.
I reached up to my face and wiped a blob of the cream off before sticking my finger in my mouth and licking the sweet froth.
"It was only fair we got back at you for the pan thing." Lila shrugged, a wicked smirk pulling at her lips.
Or at least I think, I had a bit of cream in my eyes.
"Yeah but seriously! Now I have to get a shower before food." I whined, standing up and wobbling around as I tried to make my way through the piles of blankets and pillows lining the floor.
I spotted numerous anime related characters on said pillows, and I was about to ignore the fact until I noticed a body pillow with a half-naked, blonde haired guy laying on it.
I blinked a few times before being shoved out of the room and almost down the stairs. "Stop staring at my husband and go wash yourself!"
I chuckled before making my way into the all too familiar bathroom, closing the door behind me and starting the water running.
Ten minutes later, I walked out feeling refreshed in a pair of acid-washed jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt with the words 'It's okay if you disagree, I can't force you to be right' written across the back in dark grey letters.
I shook my head and the remaining water droplets went flying all over the walls and mirror, causing me to cringe.
I'll just tell Mrs Adams that it was Lila.
She'll believe me over her anyway.
I snuck back into her room to retrieve my phone, only to find that the two of them weren't there. Feeling a wave of frustration, I ran down the stairs, almost falling twice, and piled into the kitchen to find them stuffing their faces with pancakes.
"HEY!" I shouted, scrambling forward and feeling my heart drop as Harry stuffed the final Nutella and raspberry covered disk of happiness into his mouth.
I felt sadness take over my body as my stomach let out a soft growl, causing the other two to laugh and tease me.
"You two! Sit down and stop teasing the poor boy. River, here you go. I made sure to save you the ones with the most chocolate!" Mrs Adams beamed as she produced a plate of three pancakes out of nowhere and handed them to me. She gave me a smug look before turning to the other two and staring at them with a hard glare.
"Enjoy those sweetie." She sang as I sat down, scooping up almost a whole delectable treat and popping it into my mouth.
The pair, who were sat across from me, looked at the plate on the table with envy, and I swear I saw them drool a little bit.
"You guys can have one between the two of you on one condition." I tried to speak but it came out as more of a blubber, a few crumbs flying out of my mouth. I felt a slap to the back of my head and winced, swallowing the food and apologised to Lilas mum for my 'rude manners'.
The two looked like eager puppies as they agreed to do whatever I was about to request, and I chuckled evilly.
"Take me to play laser tag."
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Once we were finished washing up and getting dressed, and after I insisted on changing out of the bright jeans I was wearing and into some darker ones, Mrs Adams drove us to the large black building with the words 'Laser Tag' written across the front in a large, neon font.
I shuffled excitedly and jumped out of the car, charging towards the building and squealing as I waited for the automatic doors to recognise me, as I had moved so fast I don't think it did.
"Calm down Riv. I know you love this place but still, wait up!"
Of course I didn't and went running inside as if the building would collapse if I didn't manage to get through the doors at that exact second.
However, I wished I waited.
Because as soon as I got through those doors, I saw three faces that I hoped I would never see again.
Actually, that was pushing it a bit.
That I hoped I wouldn't see outside of school.
"Look who it is." James sang tauntingly, eyes wild with temptation.
I felt a shiver run through my body as the three in identical black outfits made their way over to me. Their hair pulled back with gel to make them look sleek, yet a few strands stuck forward and out over Ashs' eyes and I had never felt quite so intimidated before.
As if on queue, Lila and Harry walked inside, chatting excitedly between themselves. However, they instantly ran to stand by my side as soon as they spotted the three predator-like boys approaching.
Cole clicked his tongue in annoyance once he saw the others, clearly aggravated I hadn't come alone.
But really, who would go alone to a place like this?
Speaking of, we needed an even number...
Oh shit.
"How about we all join together to play a game. Three versus three." Ash smirked, gaze locked entirely on me as he stood at least half a head taller than James and even more compared to Cole.
"Great idea Ash. I'm sure you're okay with that? Good. Then come on you three, let's go."
I felt like a puppet on a string as soon as they said that, I couldn't control my body. I just followed and the others did the same, all the exact same look of fear on our faces.
We were scared they would beat us up once we got inside the pitch black room, but we should have feared something else.
Everything was about to happen within the space of half an hour, and no one was ready for it.
Not even Ash himself.
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And that's chapter six rounded off! I hope you're enjoying this because I know I am (hehe).
What do you think is going to happen?
Please leave a vote if you enjoyed and thank you for reading! It means so much to me.
- Storm ð¹