A Bad Deal?
Lunch with the Devil's Spawn
To say Bella was too shamed and frightened to go to school Monday morning just hit the tip of the iceberg of emotions that floated around inside her. She was mortified, scandalized, angry, sad, betrayed and worst of all, scared. Scared to what Rosalie would do with what she had now on her phone. Pictures and photos of Bella streaking nude through the neighborhood. Bella hadn't wanted to do it of course. But Rosalie had forced her into doing it. It was her payback for Angela lipping off to her.
Letting out a pained whimper, Bella curled in closer on herself, hugging her pillow like it was a life raft. She wanted to disappear in on herself. She wanted to make this all go away. Charlie had checked up on her this morning and Bella had said she had felt too ill to go to school, which wasn't a lie.
Bella felt physically sick and she looked the part. Black bags under her eyes, sweaty and pale pallor and stomach churning too much to eat anything. All she could so was lie in bed and cry. And she had cried a lot.
What did she do in life, what major power had she pissed off, in order to deserve this cruel hand in life that caused her to forever be tormented by those she loved?
Really, it would be awesome if she could know so she could avoid it all.
Bella's phone had buzzed since morning with text messages from Angela, worrying about the girl. Bella had merely told her she was feeling ill. Rosalie had been silent, which somehow made it worse that she wasn't calling to gloat over more stuff that she could hold over Bella's head. There was no telling what she could be doing with those pictures and videos she had. Just thinking about the student body getting word of it made Bella's stomach cramp up even harder and she closed her eyes as a wave of nausea hit her.
"I'm not going to think about. I'm not going to think about it," she reiterated to herself. She had to be strong. She needed to be stronger than this. I need to tell Angela. But no. She would only feel guilty that it was her fault I'm in this mess. I'm on my own. I have to figure this out my own way. I somehow need to sabotage Rosalie's phone. And then it will all better.
That thought gave Bella some relief. She wasn't going to let herself be a doormat again and just let all this happen to her. She was going to fight back, and it was time to do so.
Bella wanted to stay home the next day but she didn't. She needed to go to school to scope out the situation. The whole day she felt paranoid, worried that laughing kids in the halls were laughing at her, that looks thrown her way were done so because they knew. She even caught sight of Rosalie once or twice between classes but made sure to duck out of the way so they other wouldn't sight her. As far as the blonde knew Bella wasn't at school. Luckily Bella didn't see the rest of the popular kids at school and she was grateful for that. As the day went on Bella relaxed a little. Rosalie hadn't done anything with the evidence yet. Bella wondered what it was the girl was keeping it for. Was it to prevent Bella from telling Angela about her?
Bella worried endlessly over this and Angela noticed. "Is it Rosalie?" she asked gently in one of their classes.
Bella bit her lip and nodded her head. "I'm just worried about her."
"We should tell a teacher about what she's doing," Angela suggested.
"Like the teachers can do anything about her," Bella scoffed disdainfully. "All they'll do is give her detention which will piss her off more. No, I need to do this on my own terms. That's the only way she'll leave me alone."
"I don't know Bella..." Angela didn't look happy at this suggestion.
"Just trust me on this," Bella said and then turned to face the board as the teacher began his lesson.
At the end of the day, when Bella went to go put her books back into her locker, she saw that something had been slipped inside through the vents. Picking up the paper she saw there was a picture of her on it, naked as the day she was born, hiding her chest behind her crossed arms and head down, face flushed with embarrassment. A note on it said: There's more where this came from. Piss me off and others will get to see this too.
Bella gulped and crumpled up the paper in her hands. She needed to get that phone away from Rosalie and quick.
And to do that she would need to enter the lion's den.
Steeling her resolve, she went home, mind whirling with plans.
Wednesday came. The day of Bella's planned attack. She was going to show Rosalie that not only could she take it, but she could dish it out as well. And it was all going to go down at lunch time.
How long are you going to stay out for? I need you to buy my lunch. Don't make me get it myself anymore days or you are seriously going to be sorry. The text from Rosalie said and Bella had texted back. I'm coming in today. I just wasn't feeling well these past couple of days.
Worry about the plan not working out nagged at Bella's mind the whole day. Angela noticed the way the brunette sat on the edge of her seat in every one of her classes and tried to offer soothing words but Bella brushed them off and her gentle inquiries on how she was dealing with Rosalie. All Bella had said was that things were going to end sooner or later.
Angela looked concerned at the finality of the statement and was going to ask more questions about it but Bella wouldn't let her. She didn't want Angela's help in this.
Lunch finally arrived and Bella felt like she was battling a wave of coiling snakes in her stomach. She swallowed down the urge to run, instead forcing her legs to move towards the lunch table that she knew the popular kids would be seated at. They sat there laughing and joking around with one another in their designer clothes with their silly hairdos and expensive makeup.
"Ah, looks like someone wants to join us today," Jasper was the first to notice her and he drew the others attention to the brunette who tried to make her face look as angry as possible. Or at least somewhat scary looking. She must have just looked in pain, because the others didn't seem put off by her.
"What do you want loser?" Rosalie drawled, lazily eyeing Bella up and down. "If this is about the pictures, I'm not deleting them. Their mine. But if you continue slacking with the lunches then I might not be the only who has them." Rosalie wrinkled up her nose. "I had to wait on line to buy my own lunch today." She said this as if some great travesty had fallen over her.
"I won't slack on the lunches. But I was hoping to sit with you guys today," Bella said as she lifted up her wrapped lunch. This seemed to genuinely catch the popular kids off guard. And she knew why. There was an unwritten rule that no one. Read: No ONE sat with the cool kids. Ever. Under any condition.
And here Bella was, not choosing to sit at their table due to a mistake, but deliberately telling them she wanted to sit with them. She wasn't even asking them it, just stating it. Bella knew how many social rules this was breaking and prepared herself for the backlash that could occur from doing such an action. It was practically the equivalent to a meteor hitting the school.
"You wanna sit with us?" Emmett looked around the table in disbelief. "She wants to sit with us? Get a load of that shit," he said to his friend's, jerking his thumb nastily at her.
"Well, you did call me your friends last weekend. So I figured friends sit together," Bella said, keeping her voice steady and acting more bravely than she felt, she sat down on the empty spot next to Rosalie who moved away from her like she had a disease. Bella's action garnered more bewildered looks from the teens.
"Friends? Friends? We only called you that as a joke. A mean joke. We're not your friends," Alice clarified. While Bella knew this, the words still hurt.
"Ah, come on guys, friends make jokes like that all the time," Bella tried to play it off, making her voice bright and cheery as she unwrapped her sandwich.
"Bella I didn't order you to sit here," Rosalie's voice was low. "So I suggest you get the fuck up in the next five seconds or I will remove you by force."
"Aw, Rosie. Don't." Alice placed a cautionary hand on the blonde's arm that was tensed in anger. "I think I'm actually finding Bella here to be quite interesting. "
At this Rosalie blinked rapidly, as if to clear her eyes, to see if the Alice in front of her was the same one as two seconds before. "What?"
"She's...interesting. I can see why you wanna keep her by your side. She's brazen enough to sit with us. She's got balls. Bigger balls than most of the guys I know. And I wanna see what makes her tick." Then Alice retreated her hand and turned to Bella, her blue swirling orbs on her with their full intensity. It was like having one's soul stared into. "So tell me about yourself Bella." She tucked her hands under her chin waiting patiently and ignoring the confused looks her friend group was throwing at each other over her head.
Bella took a bite on her sandwich, slowly chewing on it as she thought of something to say. She had never expected to actually get this far. Shit, what did she do? She knew she had to get on their good side. That way she could keep coming to their lunches and get her hands on Rosalie's phone. "I'm not originally from here. I'm from Arizona. But you probably can't tell because I'm white as a ghost." Bella settled for that, cracking a smile at what she hoped would be taken as a joke. She felt like her heart was going to pop out of her chest. That's how nervous she was. Play it cool. Play it cool. And don't let your defenses down, she reminded herself.
At her joke, she actually got Edward and Emmett to crack a smile. "You're right. You are pale as a ghost," Alice said.
"Can't afford to get a tan, that's why. Her broke ass has to spend all her time working for minimum wage at the local McDonald's," Rosalie commented nastily.
"Nah," Bella tried to say casually. "I'm more of a Burger King fan."
"Disgusting garbage either way," was Rosalie's thought on that.
"And hobbies? What do you like to do?" Alice continued to inquire. The whole lunch period passed this way, with Alice asking her questions, Rosalie entering some snide comments of her own, and the boys occasionally adding to it. Gradually the shocked atmosphere surrounding Bella's unplanned arrival faded away.
Bella felt the lunch had been successful. However, she would only see tomorrow. If they let her sit down then it was good. If they didn't then Bella would have to find another way to get the phone. She needed her pictures deleted. The sooner the better.
When Bella headed over to her after lunch class, word had gotten around of what she had done during lunch.
"Dude, you sat with the cool kids. The cool kids!" Mike threw out his hands like Bella had done something world changing like curing all illness.
"Yea. I know." Bella shrugged like it was no big deal.
"No need to get all cocky now bitch just cause you got to sit with them," Jessica snarled, jealousy flaring in her eyes.
"Whoa, chill. Jealously. So not cute on you," Eric chided, coming to Bella's defense.
"What were they like?" Lauren asked, her eyes glowing.
Bella shrugged. "Normal. They talk about normal kid things. Like shows and food. Kinda boring actually."
Lauren seemed disappointed with this apparently hoping for some sort of inside scoop on them, but Bella was in no mood to talk more about this.
"Still, this is so crazy. They never let anyone sit with them. How'd you do it?" Mike continued to hound Bella down the hall as the bell for classes rang. Her other friends went their way, but Mike didn't seem to care about being late to his class.
"I just walked up to them. Real causal. Their just human, Mike." She rolled her eyes at him.
He wasn't happy with that answer, probably hoping to find a way to sit with them but Bella honestly had no more to offer him. It's not like she was sitting with them because she liked them, but because she had to.
For a week and a half, Bella managed to get to sit with the cool kids and in the meantime the talk about it never stopped. Kids in the halls would look and point at Bella in awe. Some even dared to approach her and ask her how she did it but Bella brushed them off, not really caring about this at all. She only had one goal in mind: getting her hands on Rosalie's phone.
Alice was largely the reason behind why the brunette continued to sit with them. Of course there was a ritual that had to be followed. Bella would approach the table. They would all fling insults at her, and given how she handled them, either with witty banter versus tears, they would decide if she could sit with them today. And some insults really hurt. It was like they were going out of their way each and every time to find ones that would bring her down. Some had even caused a tear or two to prick at her eye but she couldn't afford to show weakness.
And Bella so far had managed to secure her seat with them everyday. They'd all talk to her, maybe even dare she say, treat her civilly. Rosalie would just ignore her. Avoiding looking at her, and her body stiff and unyielding, always the furthest away. Bella wondered why her presence bothered the blonde so much but she wasn't going to ask about it. The blonde seemed fine in other contexts.
"So Bella, you ready for another round of toilet papering?" Alice asked as she dipped her fry into ketchup and raised it to her lips.
"Uh, what?" This tripped Bella up. Surely they weren't thinking of doing that again?
"You can't say no. You've already done it once, cause Rosie brought you along. So that means you're in it for life," Emmett said.
"Yes. For life," Alice breathed as she chewed down her fry.
Bella didn't know what to say to this. She certainly didn't want to do it. "Uh, I think that's up to Rosalie to ask me to do." Bella looked hopefully over to Rosalie, praying that the blonde would agree and say no on Bella's behalf. Rosalie just rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"Ooo, this is gonna be fun. We're gonna have to teach you how to throw better!" Alice gleefully said, grabbing Bella's upper forearm and squeezing hard. "You need to put those muscles to work."
"Yea, like my muscles!" Emmett flexed, his shirt straining.
"Stop showing off!" Jasper seemed pissed about this and he swatted Emmett on the side of his head.
"Jealous?" Emmett stuck out his tongue.
"No, just annoyed by your overt masculinity. There is no need to shove down the fact that you have big muscles into our throats every couple of minutes."
"Would you prefer I shoved something else big down?" Emmett winked and Jasper only groaned out loud in annoyance as Edward and Alice laughed. Bella hide her smile, unsure if she could join in on their amusement. It was at times like these that she could almost forget how they could be assholes.
"Isn't Emmett just a riot?" Alice giggled, more for Bella's sake than anyone elses. She leaned in close to Bella's ear to do this, her breath ghosting over Bella's ear shell. Bella had noticed that Alice was very touchy and clingy and it kind of made her uncomfortable sometimes. Especially because she noticed Alice only did this when Rosalie was around. "Don't you think he's funny. Just so hilarious?" she asked, tickling her fingers up and down Bella's side. "Come on, laugh!"
"Alice-haha-Alice stop!" Bella swatted away at Alice's hands, trying to get away but the small girl was strong if not persistent. She had Bella wiggling around so madly she fell off her seat. Only on the ground did she have a chance to regain her breath. Alice stared down at her, her grin a bit shark toothed.
"Ready for round two?" she questioned as Bella pulled herself up right.
"No, no! Mercy! Have mercy!" Bella cried out, not ready for another road. She felt like she was going to pee herself if it continued.
"Alright, but only because you're so adorable when you ask nicely," Alice cooed, running a hand through Bella's brown locks. Bella blushed lightly at this, hoping it would pass off as the blush from when she had been tickled earlier. Alice was a girl. A hot girl and so it was only natural for Bella to feel a bit of happiness at the way her hair was carefully pushed back. And at being called adorable. She thinks I'm cute? Really?
"Alright girls, if you're done fooling around, we gotta focus on setting up the TP event." Edward tried to regain some control over the table.
"Aww, but fooling around with Bella is so much fun," Alice faux pouted and threw an arm over Bella's shoulders using the back of one hand to stroke Bella's cheek delicately. "She just blushes the loveliest shades." As if to prove her point Bella blushed hard.
There was a loud snap and everyone turned their head to see that Rosalie had snapped the plastic fork in her white knuckled grip. "Alice, enough fooling around."
"Oh?" Alice asked innocently. "Does it bother you. Do you not like me touching your little plaything?"
Bella did not like this. Why am I dragged into the argument between these two? It didn't take a genius to know that something had happened between the girls. Whatever it was had caused a tension between the two of them, shimmering just under the surface of their false facade of a friendship. And that Alice was deliberately using Bella to get to Rosalie.
Rosalie's nostrils flared at this. She looked like she was going to spit acid but her features relaxed a moment later. "No. Just looking out for you girl. I know Bella is enjoying the feel of your hands way too much on her body right now. Just thought you should know she's gay in case you're thinking of putting your little hands all over her again."
The world stopped at this, all of Bella's senses going fucking numb. Rosalie had told...she had spilled...oh god. All the popular kids at school now knew that she was gay. It was over. It was all over. All of Bella's suffering and for naught.
Bella was barely aware of anything going on around her right now. All she could feel was crushing despair, her eyes filling with tears. What was the point of me doing all those things for her if she was going to tell people anyways? I don't deserve this. That thought turned all of Bella's despair into hot burning anger that scalded a path through her veins and filled her with the need to do something; to retaliate. Her world was focused on the blonde only. Nothing else mattered right now. It was like having tunnel vision.
She stood up on shaking legs and then marching her way over to Rosalie, who was currently smug and gloating, she slapped her hard across the cheek. Rosalie's head snapped back and there came a chorus of gasps from the table.
Bella felt the sting of the slap. It lingered on her palm like a harsh caress. "You fucking bitch," she growled out, barely recognizing her own voice. She was so angry that it was hard to think. All she knew was that she hurt. That it fucking her to have her deepest secret exposed like this, on whim, and she wanted to share her pain with someone else. "I did all you told me too. Only for you to fail to uphold your end of the bargain. Fuck you."
Rosalie turned her head to face Bella, her cheek red where she had been hit. Her eyes glowed dangerously. "Fuck me? No, it's you whose going to get fucked up."
With those words Bella knew it was time to run. She had provoked the beast and now it was on the attack. Bella span on her heel and ran full force, desperate to get away. If she made it into the school building then Rosalie couldn't hurt her there. Not with so many people around. Bella rounded some bushes, passing by some benches. She really wished more people were around the little campus so that at least she could call out for help. Not that it would do much. They wouldn't stop to help her.
Rosalie was hot on her heels, a predator hunting. Bella knew she should give up hope in trying to outrun the blonde. Bella never exercised, a stitch in her side already growing, whereas the blonde was in her top form. She tackled Bella down hard to the ground just a minute after they had begun to run.
Bella went face first into the gravel. Fingers clawed into the back of her shirt, turning her around so she was facing Rosalie, the taller teen straddling her waist and keeping her pinned under her weight. "You think you can get away with slapping me you little bitch? Who do you think you are?" She shook Bella's shoulder's at this, the brunette fighting to free herself from the vice like hold.
"You fucking told them. You fucking told them about me! About my secret when you promised you wouldn't!"
"I don't have to fulfill any promise I make to you, worm!" Rosalie brought her face closer to Bella's, snarling this in her face. Bella squirmed under her, needing to get free. "And you are going to pay dearly for marring my perfect features."
Bella saw Rosalie cock back the fist, her free hand lifting Bella up by the front of her shirt. She knew what was going to happen and she knew her own hands could never protect her from it. So she did the only thing of attack she knew that would defend her against the blonde.
She kissed her.
It was soft kiss, barely an actual kiss. More like the placement of lips on lips but it was enough.
It froze up the entire length of Rosalie's body, her eyes going wide. They stayed like that for a while, Bella sliding her hands up the girl's denim clad legs. And for a crazy moment, Bella swore she could almost feel Rosalie pressing her lips back against Bella's. But then it was over, the blonde tearing herself away from Bella like the girl was on fire.
"Fuck you. Fuck you for doing that!" Rosalie alternated between spitting and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Bella took this moment to get up and run away, glancing over her shoulder every few moments to check up if Rosalie had decided to follow her. She hadn't.
Sliding into the school building, Bella immediately felt a lot more safe. She let out a choked sigh. She really couldn't believe she had just done that. First the slap and then the kiss.
Her lips are so, so, soft. I can't wrap my mind around the fact she says such nasty words with them. Such a waste. Bella let her fingers trace over her lips where they still felt warm from the kiss.
Then she looked down at the object she held in her hand. Rosalie's phone, snatched during that quick kiss moment when the blonde had been distracted.
"Helloooo," Bella sang at it, wondering what dirty secrets of her own Bella could find on this phone.
A/N: So Bella really lets loose here. Good for her. But boy did it take forever to get to this point of the story. I didn't mean for it to take this long
