Previously on Secret Life of the Influencers...
"Do not invite freshmen to the bonfire—it's social suicide!"
"I'm Chantelle,"
CF: Are you going to be at the bonfire?
"What's left to do on that list of yours?" He asked, placing his hand on the small of her back.
"How was Hawaii?" She questioned, ecstatic to see her brother again.
"Listen up!" Massie exclaimed with two claps of her hands. Dylan and Alicia's bickering ceased. "Here's the plan."
"Geronimoooo!"
"Here's your student body president, captain of the cheerleading squad, and too many other clubs for me to name right now—Charlie!"
"What's going on?" She asked Pierre,
"A group of girls just came in." He finally answered.
"Are those freshmen?" Charlie heard Tatia's angry voice ask.
Massie nodded, "So we go in as soon as the toast starts."
They were crashing the bonfire.
Armani's Estate
The Bonfire
Saturday September 4th
7:59 PM
Massie Block believed that success would always be the product of opportunity and preparation coming together in harmony. If you were prepared for an opportunity, success was bound to follow.
And she loved success.
"Why can't we just go outside now?" Derrick Harrington asked, annoyed.
They'd been waiting, per Massie's demand, until the time 'was right.'
"Enough!" Massie stated, rolling her eyes as Josh and Cam groaned and agreed.
She knew simply walking in wasn't going to be enough, as she could hear a boy's voice on a speaker. If they were going to cause a commotion, something to draw their attention away from their soon-to-be former alpha, they'd need their entrance to be loud.
Massie was originally pissed that Claire had invited Cam, who, in turn, invited Derrick and Josh. If they all went in together then they would all be representations of each other. If Cam, Derrick, or Josh did anything idiotic, which they probably would, it would taint their image as well as the PC's. But the only thing better than crashing a party is crashing a party with a boy as your accessory.
"Harrington you walk in with me," Massie stuck her elbow out and gestured for him to link his arm with hers. "Josh with Alicia, and Cam with Claire."
"What about me!" Dylan shrieked as the boys rolled their eyes but inevitably link arms with the girls that they were assigned to. Cam gave Claire a small kiss on her cheek as she blushed.
Massie rolled her eyes. "Plovert is late. Blame him, not me."
Dylan huffed and crossed her arms before stealing a peek at Cam. He seemed happy with Claire, though it killed her inside to be all alone. Even Alicia and Josh were playing the part well, and they broke up ages ago. Though Derek seemed happy to be on Massie's arm for the evening.
Massie shushed her friends and leaned towards the wooden patio door. They'd snuck inside of the estate instead of going around the back for this very moment.
"As your student body president, it is my job to make sure that things like this... keep us going."
Massie peered over her shoulder and nodded.
"Finally." Derrick muttered.
Right before Massie pushed the doors open, she paused. "At least your knees aren't as purple as my top this time around." Just as her friends began to laugh, she shoved the doors open. Their laughter provided them with the perfect amount of distraction from Charlie's toast.
They walked through the doors and made their way onto the patio, giving them a perfect look at the scene, and giving everyone a perfect view of them.
Massie's body shivered with pride. She knew they look amazing. Nails, toes, and eyebrows freshly done, boys attached to their hip (minus Dylan) and hair flowing in the wind as they strutted. It was a scene perfect enough for a commercial.
They continued towards the crowd, hearing questions of confusion as they came close.
"Screw you." Dylan whispered to herself as she heard a jock make a comment about her jacket, although she was indeed hot.
"Chantelle!" Massie proclaimed in a song type of tone, waving with just her fingers as she spotted her not to far from the front. She leaned closer to Derrick and straightened her posture so her outfit was perfectly displayed. Alicia whispered something into Josh's ear that made him laugh, earning a wink of approval from Massie. They were selling the look perfectly.
Chantelle frowned in response. Massie assumed she'd only just realized that they were freshman, but that wasn't her concern at the moment.
Just then, the crowd began to disperse into two as a girl made her way through.
Charlie.
She walked towards them with squinted eyes, her friends Tatia and Aubrey following suite. Chantelle rushed towards them in attempt to clear her name.
"Charlie, I'm so sor-"
"And who might you be?" Charlie asked, ignoring her friend's apology. She cocked her head to the side and quickly eyed the group of freshmen before her.
Massie released her arm from Derrick's and fluffed her hair once. "Massie Block." She used her pointer finger to gesture towards each of her friends. "Alicia Rivera, Dylan Marvil, Claire Lyons."
"I'm Derrick." Harrington chimed in, sensing a girl fight in the very near future.
"Josh."
"Cam." He gave a quick wave before stuffing his hand into his back pocket and looking around. "Cool bonfire."
Charlie blinked once. Then twice. She turned back to Massie.
Before she could talk, Tatia beat her to it. "What are freshmen doing an upperclassmen bonfire?" She snapped, taking a step forward. Nolen noticed her body language from behind and rushed to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder in attempt to center her.
"What's wrong babe?" He asked, ignoring the group of freshmen in front of him.
Aubrey exhaled through her nose and rolled her eyes. "Freshmen."
"I invited them!" Chantelle added in quickly before things got out of hand. "I had no idea they were freshmen. Massie-"
"Is clearly overdressed?" Aubrey added, scoffing at her heels. The students around her howled with laughter, churning Massie's blood simultaneously.
Massie stuck her neck out and smiled sinisterly. This girl was no match for the queen of comebacks. "More like overestimated the importance of the occasion." She snapped back, earning chuckles from her fellow freshmen and a few other students.
Charlie thought quickly on her feet. She didn't know this girl, but she somehow managed to worm her way into an invite for the bonfire. There's only one thing she could've come for, and Charlie was not going to give it up to her.
So, she needed to keep her composure.
"Chantelle," Charlie said sweetly, turning her head to look at her friend. "Why didn't you tell me?" She turned back to look at Massie. "I was just about to light the fire. Why don't you guys come watch?"
Derrick and Josh cheered, happy to be free from the estrogen fueled fire in front of them. They made their way to the rest of group, who was partially still watching the show down. Cam went with them.
Charlie took a step forward and grinned. "I'm Charlie," she gestured towards her friends. "This is Aubrey," Massie looked to the tall dark-haired girl with pale skin and eyes so dark they were practically black. She was skinny with mile-long legs and impeccable cheekbones. Massie's heart fluttered slightly, "Tatia," next was a fair-skinned girl with nicely arched eyebrows, pin-straight waist length brown hair and light brown, almost hazel, eyes, her face accentuated with sporadic freckles and a button nose, "and you've already met Chantelle." Massie looked to the wavy-haired girl they'd met at the mall. In the sun, her eyes seemed a lighter green.
Then she looked to their leader, who was much prettier in person than in her photos. Charlie stood around five-foot-eight. Her light brown was pulled up into a messy bun, much like the ones on Pinterest that you could never perfect no matter how many times you tried, and princess cut diamonds decorated the lobes of her ears. Her eyes were blue, darker than most, with splashes of brown around her pupils and were detailed with long dark lashes above them.
Gawd, Massie thought to herself. The four girls in front of her were beautiful. She'd only ever seen pictures of them in yearbooks, and couldn't find any of their accounts on Instagram. Alicia did some digging and revealed that they temporarily disable their accounts during the summer to unplug.
Nonetheless, Massie knew it took more than being beautiful to be an alpha.
"It's so nice to meet you." Massie spoke with squinted eyes and a feigned smile.
Armani's Estate
The Bonfire
Saturday September 4th
9:22 PM
Charlie exhaled slowly as she let Nathan's rough hands massage the space between her neck and shoulders. She inhaled deeply before exhaling again. Suddenly, she felt a weight at the end of her lounge chair and opened her eyes to find Tatia.
"What was that?" She whisper yelled.
Charlie groaned and fixed her posture. "No clue," she muttered.
"Wannabe's." Aubrey scolded with a signature eyeroll. Beside her was her latest fling, Gabrielle Burns, running her fingers through her hair.
Nathan planted a soft kiss on the back of her head, silently telling her not to stress.
But it was too late.
Crashing a party was a statement. A big one. Massie must have known who Chantelle was if she deceived her in order to get an invite to the bonfire. She also must have known that freshmen weren't allowed, so she had to know who Charlie was too.
This was no coincidence.
Chantelle made her way over from the bonfire and sat in one of the chairs placed in the circle. She noticed the atmosphere amongst her friends and automatically knew what they had been talking about.
Aubrey sat up in her chair. She may not have become the alpha like she thought she would, but she wasn't too fond of freshmen storming into an upperclassmen function like they owned the place. It was amateur in her opinion. "Anything to report Ms. Jameson?" Aubrey joked, earning laughs from the group.
Chantelle spent many years of her school life in the SGA and was always elected president of her class. She was in tune with the students, and knew everything about everyone at BOP, hence her confusion when she realized Massie and Claire lied about being sophomores. She hadn't even thought to do research on them. Claire seemed so sincere that she didn't think there'd be any dirt to find. Massie was obviously Claire's friend, so, even though she seemed cold when they'd first met, she assumed the same thing about her as well.
"As a matter of fact, I do." She responded before quickly thanking Emilio for the glass of water she requested. The two had been on and off for ages. Emilio would get bored, explore other girls for some time, then eventually miss Chantelle enough to put his big pants on and apologize, time after time. Chantelle always swore she would stop forgiving him, but always did when push came to shove.
Charlie and Tatia both tuned in attentively. Chantelle may have slipped up and invited freshmen, but her word was always the truth. She could easily swear her life on any piece of information she found.
"They call themselves the Pretty Committee."
Aubrey groaned before letting out a hearty laugh. "Are you serious?" She had heard all about the Pretty Committee.
Chantelle nodded and continued. "Apparently they considered themselves the alpha clique at their middle school, OCD."
Nathan paused his massage and leaned forward, "OCD? Didn't you go there babe?"
"What the hell is a clique?" Emilio asked as he watched a group of girls gyrate to the music blasting through the speakers. As his question went ignored, he silently wished Chantelle was still on vacation so he could dance with them.
Charlie nodded, "Mhm," and gestured for Chantelle to continue before anyone asked more questions about her life as a middle schooler.
"They're freshmen, as we learned today. They had a fifth member of their clique but she moved to California for soccer. The boy that Massie came in with is her ex-boyfriend, Derrick Harrington, a star soccer player. Cam Fisher came in with Claire; he plays soccer, too, and he's Harris Fisher's younger brother."
"Harris?" Emilio chimed in. Chantelle rolled her eye again. "Didn't he get kicked out for selling drugs on school property?"
That was true.
Harris spent his first and last year at BOP selling drugs to fund his own leather jacket clothing line, but was caught by the gym teacher who inevitably ratted him out.
Charlie's eyes looked behind Chantelle for a quick second as she noticed the boy that came in with Claire, Cam, was arguing with the red-headed girl Dylan. She squinted her eyes with curiosity before returning to the conversation.
"And the boy Alicia came in with is Josh Hotz."
Charlie's eyes widened at the mention of Josh's name. "Hotz as in...?"
Chantelle nodded again, "Nick's brother."
Charlie's eyes diverted to glance at Aubrey, who was listening to Chantelle, before looking back at the story teller. Nick Hotz was the one who placed her in the position to become alpha. She spent the first few weeks of her freshman year talking to him about the position, which would be passed on to someone new once he graduated, and made it clear she wanted to be the one at the top.
"It's not totally up to me, freshie." Nick had told her. "It's up to the student body. If they like the way you lead, they'll follow you."
She took his advice and fought hard for her position. In the end, it became a close race between her and Aubrey. Charlie took matters into her own hands and used Nick to get what she wanted. But if his little brother would soon be walking the halls of BOP, how long did she have before people started to ask questions?
"Relax babe." Nathan whispered in her ear as he sat behind her, his legs on either side of her body of the chair they shared. He gripped her shoulders lightly and placed her back to his chest.
She inhaled deeply and exhaled. I have nothing to worry about.
Aubrey removed Gabrielle's hand from her leg and sat up straight. "But that doesn't explain that stunt they pulled today."
Chantelle nodded in agreement. "It's clear what they're here for—they want to be the alpha clique." She paused and looked at each of her friends. "They want our spot."
Armani's Estate
The Bonfire
Saturday September 4th
9:28 PM
Dylan Marvil opened the mini fridge perched atop of the metal table by the steps of the patio. She peered inside before quickly grabbing the aluminum pan labeled "Calamari" in thick sharpie letters before grabbing a glass plate.
"Hey."
Dylan shrieked and wisped around to find Cameron Fisher.
She furrowed her brows and placed the plate on top of the covered pan. "What are you doing here?" Dylan snapped. She neglected to respond to his text asking if she'd be at the bonfire.
Worry pooled in Cam's eyes as he stuffed both hands in his pockets. "I asked if you were coming," he shrugged and removed his hands promptly, "if I knew you were going to be here, I wouldn't have come."
Dylan pursed her lips to prevent a frown from forming. Dylan understood where they stood and she understood why he said what he said, but that didn't mean that it hurt any less.
Cam was so caring and comforting over the summer. Massie and Alicia spent the better part of the summer discussing BOP and Charlie, Claire was in Florida, and she was by herself. She didn't want any parts of her mother's reality show. Dylan wanted to focus on building her confidence, which Cam helped her do.
.
.
.
"Damn it!" Dylan shouted as the sharp pain in her kidney returned. How was she every going to be healthy if every time she tried to run her body fought her.
She located a nearby bench and walked as fast as she could towards it, plopping herself on the old wood and allowing her head to hang.
Just as she was about to open the flood gates, she recognized Cam's worn adidas on the floor in front of her.
"Cam?" She stood to her feet quickly. "What are you doing here?" She questioned. Dylan knew soccer players practice during the summer, but no one else was on the field.
He shrugged his usual shrug and smiled. "I like to run. You run too?"
"Yea," Dylan replied, "straight into the ground." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I can't last more than five minutes without my kidneys hurting—I think I'm gonna get that checked out."
Cam let out a refreshing laugh that lightened Dylan's mood almost immediately.
"Nothing's wrong with you. You're dehydrated." He placed his black bookbag on the bench and open the zipper to retrieve an unopened Evian bottle of water. "Here. Drink lots of water throughout the rest of the day and when you come back tomorrow you should notice a difference."
Dylan frowned. All I needed was water? She thought to herself before thanking Cam and smiling.
He grabbed his bag and bid goodbye before turning to leave.
"Wait!" Dylan called when he was a few feet away. "Will you be running again tomorrow?"
Cam thought about it for a second. He had nothing better to do—why not? "Sure."
.
.
.
Thinking back on it, Cam was a completely different person now. He went out of his way to ensure they were never around each other. When he showed up at the nail shop with smoothies, he handed one to each of the girls except for her—he placed hers on the table next to her and kissed Claire goodbye before leaving. He was there for no more than sixty seconds.
"Sorry." Dylan muttered. "I'll make sure I stay out of your way." She brushed past him, trying to escape from the scene before her tears could.
"Dylan, wait." Cam sighed, "I didn't mean it like that."
Frustrated, Dylan balled up her fist. "Then how did you mean it Cam?" She snapped, her volume increasing by a few octaves. "You cared about me when you were lonely and needed a friend to talk to but the minute Claire comes back, I mean nothing to you."
Cam's eyes widened in shock. He needed to calm her down before she drew any attention to them.
"Dylan what we did was wrong." He whispered, trying to get her to understand his point-of-view. "If Claire found out she'd never forgive us."
Dylan knew he was right. She always knew that she'd betrayed Claire and risked possibly ruining the friendship of the Pretty Committee. But she couldn't help how she felt. "Like I said." Dylan spoke after a few moments of silence. Her face was stone and her eyes were glossy. "I'll stay out of your way."
Cam dropped his head, filled with guilt, and turned towards the table. He placed his hands on the ends and sighed. "Fuck."
"Everything okay?"
The End.
Super long, I know lol. Stay tuned and leave a review or two!