Chapter 20

Ian couldn't help but smirk as Emily missed the ball, her lips turning into a frown. "I don't even know why Coach signed us, it's ridiculous!" she exclaimed.

Ian raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to be here."

Emily's eyes darted to the ground before looking up with a smile. "Yeah, haha. It's just...I don't like to get sweaty."

Ian tried to smile politely. He failed miserably. "I get it, but shall we continue?" he asked, serving the ball. Emily seemed out of shape, having won only one game out of six. Now she seemed totally exhausted as she threw the racket to the ground. "We can train tomorrow, I'm tired."

"And I thought you were excellent at this game."

"I am," she snapped. "I've just had a long day."

"Right," Ian mumbled, grabbing his water bottle.

Emily played with the nail polish on her fingers for a while before looking up, her eyes hesitant. "You know, you're just like me. We're popular people, and don't even deny it Kabra. You and I have the same status. My dad's a businessman, so's yours."

Ian pursed his lips. This girl knew much about him. Whether it was from inside information or magazines, he couldn't decipher. The mention of his father brought a sour taste to his mouth. He had disappeared off the radar completely.

"I know you and your sister live a life of luxury," Emily said, smirking slightly. "You could join us at the popular's table. Angela seems to like me a lot, she'll let you through."

Ian laughed a humorless laugh, his heart aching. "That's your problem, Emily. You like what you call your popular table. You're a D-list wannabe, stop trying. It's painful to watch. Typical public school. And if you are so rich and perfect, why doesn't your father let you in at a private school?" he retorted.

Emily narrowed her eyes at him, hands fiddling with the hem of her summer dress. "I have my reasons."

"So do I, so stop being a stalker," he snapped. "Don't ever mention my family in front of me, you got it!?"

He grabbed his polo sweater and left the court, a rather hurt look etched across his features.

_L⃗i⃗n⃗e⃗b⃗r⃗e⃗a⃗k⃗_

By the time he got home, Amy was pacing back and forth. "Somethings wrong! She should have been here yesterday!"

"Amy, chill. You know her, she probably got lost somewhere," Dan reassured her, though he was supporting a worried look of his own.

"Dan's right, Ames. Let's wait out the day and see if she comes back," Hamilton suggested. "And if she doesn't, we'll go find her."

Amy nodded, lips pursed as she leaned back on the wall. Ian counted the people in the rom before walking forward. "So Nellie's not back yet?"

"No," Madison replied.

He grabbed an apple, his stomach empty as he turned to look at his cousins. They were all silent, and he waited for one of them to speak.

Dan, the moron, was the one to finally ask. "Where were you, by the way?"

That seemed to snap everyone out of their thoughts and Ian smirked. "I was practicing tennis with Emily. She seems to know a lot about me."

"I don't even understand why you would accept Coach Hedge's offer," Amy mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. Ian washed the apple in the sink. "Because it's the perfect opportunity to get to know her. Once we find out whether she's a Vesper or not, we can kidnap her and use her against them."

Everyone's hope seemed to lift with that.

"We have the upper hand," Ian said reassuringly, taking a bite out of the apple.

"Now if you don't excuse me, I have to take a shower." He left the room, only to be met with a low purr. Ian groaned. "Can't you lock him in a cage!?"

"Saladin's a package deal!" Dan yelled back, laughing.

Ian narrowed his eyes as the cat sauntered over to him, head held high. Mrrrp. It was almost like he was saying, peasant and Ian couldn't help but find that ridiculous. Maybe he was begging for forgiveness for always being horrible to him. Yup, that must be it.

Confident in his cat skills, Ian walked forward, ignoring the cat. They both passed eachother without a second glance. But Ian had only time to think, I MADE IT, before a heavy weight landed on his back, sharp nails digging in his shoulderblades.

"Help me!" he yelled as he once again got attacked by the Egyptian Mau.

_L⃗i⃗n⃗e⃗b⃗r⃗e⃗a⃗k⃗_

Nellie tried his phone again and again. No answer as usual. She pulled her caps down as she walked past security. She tried to make herself invisible by blending into the ground before walking over to the counter.

"Hello, Industrial Labs For Science and Technology, how can I help you?" the lady behind the counter chirped.

Nellie pulled her caps up. "Liquid is free foam, while solid struggles to keep it's contact firm."

"Yes that was our lesson yesterday," the lady said with a frown. "Who are you? Are you the students here for a project?"

"I came on the behalf of MADS project," Nellie said with an eye roll. "I thought you guys knew me by now."

"Oh sorry, it's just with your fizzy hair and that much make-up, I couldn't detect whether I was talking to a clown or not," Nadia said, a smile plastered on her face. "Naomi wasn't it?"

"Nellie," Nellie replied through gritted teeth. She wanted to give her a piece of her mind, but the thought of Fiske and Jonah came to her. "I want to talk on the behalf of Fiske. Hook me up with Staggs."

"Honey, Staggs would never want to hook up with you." Nadia laughed at her own joke as she typed on her computer. "You'll have to wait 5 minutes, he's in a meeting right now. 23rd floor."

"Thanks," Nellie said with a wink. Nadia might hate her, but Nellie Gomez was still connected to the most powerful family branch as well as it's leaders.

And they were in trouble.

HELLO GUYS! I've missed you soooo much. If it wasn't for th recent update comments, I don't know when I would've updated. I'm a horrible person with a horrible schedule!

Please vote if you liked the chapter, and do ask questions if you're confused. I've been on and off and if you need a recap or just general questions about what the heck is going on, feel free to ask!

Fasiha xx