I stood there, barefoot, clad in loose grey sweatpants, watching her car drive off. I can't explain the numbness or the dull ache I'm suddenly feeling; it feels wrong. Standing there for who knows how long, I finally managed to drag myself back to the room.

Tina was sitting on the windowsill, drinking from a wine glass. She looked at me as I entered the room with a cocky expression.

"Are you done? Chasing after Cinderella, if you are, can we finish what we started?" she says in a flirty tone.

I didn't say anything to her as I just walked straight to the bed and sat down.

What have I done?

Why does it feel so wrong?

I can't figure out why I feel like this; everything feels very sour and bitter. The look on her face seems to be stuck in my head, and I can't get it out.

My chest hurts.

I felt hands on me. I turned back and found Tina behind me. She smiled coyly while her hands kept wandering.

"C'monnn, stop sulking and let's have fun, are we going to let that little minx spoil the day?" she pouts.

My skin crawled where her hands touched so badly that I flung her arms off my body. I stood up, putting some space between us.

"Dress up, we are leaving," I say stiffly.

Tina looked quite offended. "You are not going to leave me hanging just because of her?!"

I sighed, "It's not because of her; I am not just feeling it anymore."

Tina smiled, "I can help put you in the mood. What do you think?"

I watched warily as she got off the bed and walked towards me slowly, her whole body on full display. My eyes were glued to her as she approached me.

"I'll make you forget completely about her," she purrs.

Forget her? Will I be able to?

I stared at Tina's sleeping figure on the bed. She passed out immediately after we were done. The room was a mess, with clothes strewn across the floor. Standing up, I picked up a pair of sweatpants from the mess and put them on.

I found my way through the dark room to the balcony. A lit cigarette in my mouth, I scrolled lazily through my phone until a call came in.

"Jay?"

"Yeah, wassup?" I replied lazily.

"Are you home?"

"No, I'm with Tina," I replied.

"Seriously? I knew you could never settle down, so it was all just a farce."

The noise was causing me a headache; I couldn't help rubbing my temple in annoyance as I let out puffs of smoke.

"Why did you call me?" I asked with irritation in my voice.

"Ah... the guys wanted to know if you would show up at the party."

"No. I'm not feeling it," I said, ending the call.

The questions and noise were getting on my last nerve; my head hurts from everything. My finger hovered over Karina's contact name. Should I call her?

No point.

Even if I do, what am I meant to tell her? I didn't mean to? Even that is a lie. Besides, why do I even feel the need to explain things to her?

Ah, my head hurts.

I can't keep thinking about this; there is no point. It's even better this way, fewer complications and ....

And what?

Ugh!

What's with all these confusing emotions and shit? I can't continue like this.

I need to go to bed.

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ASHELY

I woke up entangled in different sets of limbs, a hand in my mouth, a body half across me. How did we sleep in such a position? Last night's events are a little blurred; all I can remember is Karina crying till her head felt heavy. Dayton also dropped off ice cream for us, but got chased away.

Finally freeing myself from that complicated mess, I got up and got ready for school while the other two slept in. They deserve the extra rest; last night was hectic. Chloe and I spent the whole night trying to cheer Karina up.

Karina, on the other hand, calmed down at some point and then broke down again. Her mom returned from work, confused, and tried calming her down, but Karina lashed out at her. I felt bad, honestly.

Poor Miss Grey.

Jayden is really going to regret messing with my girl. Putting her in such a state, the fact that I have never seen her cry this much since we knew each other makes it all worse.

"Wake up, assholes, we are going to be late," I say, nudging Chloe.

She woke up, her hair looking like it had been through war and back. She seems so lost and confused, it is almost comical; I giggled silently. I just had to take a picture as a keepsake, couldn't help it.

"Is that Karina?" Chloe asks groggily.

I rushed to Karina's side, gently hugging her, "Karina," I call out softly.

She opened her eyes slowly. She stared into space for a good minute before her eyes finally cleared up. She looked at me and Chloe's concerned faces, wondering why we were looking at her like that, as if she wasn't the one who had just literally cried in her sleep.

"Is something wrong?" Karina asks, confused.

Wow.

"You were crying just now in your sleep, and we thought something was wrong," Chloe explained.

"I was?" Karina asks, confused.

She rubbed her cheeks, realizing there were tear stains and wetness on them. She looked at us, more confused than before.

"I didn't know I... never mind, I'm okay now, so let's get ready for school," Karina says.

She got up from the bed, leaving Chloe and me confused and worried. We stared at each other silently, trying to process what had just happened.

Chloe later found Karina in a full mental breakdown with a full-blown panic attack in the bathroom. It took a while for her to calm down and get herself together. Chloe, at some point, ended up crying along with her.

"She's not going to school, she can't," I said firmly.

Chloe and I made our way downstairs. Louisa, Karina's mum, was setting up the breakfast table. She looked up when she heard our footsteps.

"Morning, sit and have breakfast," she says with a smile.

Eggs, toast, and bacon were beautifully arranged on four sets of plates and were set on the table. Tempting. But we're late for school, already eating is going to take more time, and knowing Louisa, she'll want us to finish everything.

Sob.

"Where's Karina?" she asks.

"She is still not okay; she broke down again," Chloe explains.

"She can't go to school in such a state. I fear she might have another breakdown in school," I said.

"I will check on her, you guys won't eat?" Louisa says.

"Thank you, but we are late already. We will get something on the way," I said as we ran out before Louisa held us back.

"She doesn't deserve this," Chloe mutters under her breath.

"I know, and I am going to teach that son of a bitch a lesson and make him regret ever hurting her," I gritted out.

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At Brookville High, it is no secret who calls the shots. A group of popular boys runs the show, and trust me, nothing happens around here without their fingerprints on it. You can already guess the ring leader and the head of the said group.

Chloe and I walked up to a group of girls standing in the corner, giving off mean energy to avoid social interactions. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"Girls!" Cloe squealed as she walked up to them.

Chloe, Valerie, and Jess hugged each other while jumping and squealing like they hadn't seen each other in ages.

"Hey guys, Wassup Ria?" I greeted, making my presence known while hugging Ria.

"Hi, Ashley," the twins say in unison.

"Where is Karina?" Jess asks

"She broke up with Jayden, and she's sick," Chloe explains, looking at Ria.

"When did all this happen? Why wasn't I informed?" Ria asks, confused.

"It happened yesterday. She received an anonymous tip about Jayden. When she got to the address that was given to her, she found him in bed with some girl," I summarized.

"She spent the whole night crying and woke up sick today?" Chloe says.

Ria looked livid, but you could tell the worry overshadowed her anger. Ria and Jayden are cousins; she was so against him and Karina dating, but since Karina was really interested and Ria cares a lot about her, she agreed for Karina's sake.

"Does Karina know the girl?'' Ria asks

"She did not say; she was too distressed to even explain properly, plus she crashed her car," I added.

"I hope she's okay. Let's go see her after school," Valerie says.

"Where is Dayton? I don't see him anywhere; does he know about it?'' Jess asks.

"I doubt he does. He was the one who picked Karina up when she crashed her car and called us. He kept grumbling about how he doesn't know what is going on," Chloe says.

"He is going to have a rampage when he finds out eventually," Valerie says.

"He already hates Jayden's guts. This is going to be the cherry on top," Jess adds.

"Who knows, maybe a fight would happen between them," Chloe says.

"Nah, I doubt they will want to risk their sports career," Valerie says.

"We are literally talking about Dayton here; we all know he is ready to risk anything for us, especially for Karina and Ashley," Jess counters her twin.

"Hey, do not drag me into this, bro," I say.

They just looked at me and continued their conversation. They discussed how it would be when Dayton confronts Jayden, as if it were some sort of game; in fact, they are even betting on it.

Sigh, these girls are mad.

"I bet fifty, Day's going to confront Jayden," Jess says.

"Nah, I am betting Hundred, he is going to pipe Jayden's ass," Valerie adds, feeling quite proud in Dayton.

Lord no.

"I'm betting twenty, he won't," Chloe adds.

I looked at Chloe, not you, too. I am surrounded by fight enthusiasts, to be honest, though I really want to see a showdown between Dayton and Jayden, it is going to be fun and nice too.

I watched as Ria listened silently. It is obvious that she is not happy about this new development, and I know she is trying not to pick sides. I don't blame her, honestly. If I were in her shoes, I would have a difficult time too in such a situation.

But that does not change the fact that her cousin is an absolute dick head who needs to be hanged in public by his balls.

What an asshole, I hope he goes through the worst pain in life.

There was a loud commotion, and all the voices and whispers in the hallway suddenly died down. The place that was bustling just a while ago suddenly became as quiet as a graveyard; you could literally hear a pin drop.

Only one person can pull off such control, Jayden Callisto. I rolled my eyes so hard when he and his group of friends came into my line of sight. He is dressed in his all-black attire as usual, but the difference this time is the fact that a girl is clinging to his arm for dear life.

The actual fuck? Tina?

Flinging the girl of him, he approached us. I noticed how he carefully avoided Ria's eyes, which were throwing poisonous daggers at him. He kept his gaze trained on me, especially. What did I do to piss this asshole off? I have not even done anything yet.

"Angela and Clover, I need to have a word with you right now," He demands.

Demands? The audacity of this walking STDs to actually walk up here and demand in the most disrespectful manner to talk to us.

The fuck are Angela and Clover????

I looked around to make sure I was not the one he spoke to in such a rude manner, because obviously, I am not the one, since my name is not Angela. That little action of mine seems to have pissed him off further.

"I am talking to you," he says through gritted teeth.

"Me? Are you sure you meant me? Because the last time I checked, Angela was not written on my birth certificate, so I doubt I was the one you were referring to," I said firmly, and in the same rude manner he spoke.

I could literally hear his molars grinding together, and to be frank, I don't give two fucks. If he lacks basic courtesy, well, so do I. I stared him down defiantly.

"Jayden, behave," Ria says finally.

He finally acknowledges her presence. Flashing her a toothy grin, he waves at her.

"Hey, Cuz, didn't see you there," he lies through his teeth.

Pathological liar.

Ria glared at him, which he completely ignored as he focused his attention back on me. Man, I really want to punch this fucker in the face.

"How about we do this cordially or..." he says, gesturing to the burly guy behind him.

This asshole.

"You have no right to move me without my permission; it does not matter who you think you are, but let me get this straight, I do not want to talk with you," I said defiantly.

He sighed like he was dealing with the hardest job he had ever come across. Without a warning, I was lifted off the ground, my vision going upside down in an instant.

"Jayden," Ria warned

"Not now, cousin, I have important business to deal with. We can settle this at home, okay? toodleloos," he says

"Are you going to walk or-'' he trailed off his threat, obvious.

"I-I'll walk," Chloe says, glaring at him.

I struggled, hitting and kicking, but that did not faze the guy who had me over his shoulder. Everyone watched as I was abducted by this asshole and his gang of goons. The actual fuck!

This fucker led us to an empty classroom. I was rudely dropped on my butt. Well.... Technically, that was my fault as I kneed the guy carrying me in the balls.

Please don't ask me how my legs got there.

"Fuck!" the guy exclaimed, holding his injured part.

I felt an odd sense of satisfaction watching him grovel in pain. Jayden looked at us with a bored and uninterested look. I would love nothing more than to kick that stupid face of his.

Just as I was about to stand up, another set of strong, muscular arms picked me up. Am I a fucking ragdoll to these assholes? This time around, it was Jayden who picked me up.

The actual fuck!

"Drop me, you fucker!" I yelled, pounding his back.

"Okay'' was the only thing he said before my worldview returned to normal, but the pain in my ass worsened. This asshole dropped me in the most unpleasant way ever.

"You asshole!" I growled while glaring at him.

Owwieeeee.

"She's feisty."

"Definitely"

I slapped the outstretched hand in front of my "Do I look disabled to you?"

I stood up from the ground, glaring daggers at Jayden, hoping it would at least kill him. He is so damn lucky I don't have a gun.

"Hi, I am Clayton," the person who offered to help introduces.

I already knew all their names. The one who had me on his shoulder, his name is Zack. The one who said I was feisty, his name is Don. That is odd. Where are the other two?

"I don't give a fuck" I said plainly.

"I did not call you here for that, so save it," Jayden says.

"Then what do you want?" Chloe snaps.

She is tired of this bullshit going on because normally, she is very calm and controlled. It is quite obvious.

"Where is Karina?" Jayden asks, revealing his true intentions.

I scoffed, "Why do you want to know? You fucked up, remember?"

"I'll ask one more time, where is Karina?" Jayden asks, clearly ignoring what I said.

"And why do you ask? For what reason does her whereabouts concern you?" Chloe asks.

Jayden was stunned for a second before he regained his composure. Putting that fake mask back on. Idiot.

He gestured to Zack. Zack looked like he had seen a ghost, but he unwillingly carried out what he was asked to do. He grabbed my hair, the pain spreading fast like tiny needles on my scalp. I yelped in pain.

"This is too far," Don says, stopping Zack.

Jayden glared at Don but did not say anything. Out of anger and revenge, I kicked Zack in the balls again. I watched as he fell to the floor this time. I turned to face Jayden.

"You, just forget about her, she's better off with Damien," I said, dragging Chloe along with me.

Nemernic prost.