Hi guys. I didn't get many reviews last chapter, so I was just wondering what you were all thinking about this. It's a new story, so I'm really hesitant about it…

Beyond Good and Evil

Chapter Two: Virgins in the Midst

High school has a hierarchy. A pecking order, a chain of command, a social ladder, cliques. Call it what you want, but within the massive stone walls of Oakwood Preparatory School, there was a class system, and it was in every student's best interest to learn it. Oakwood Prep's social scene was similar to a deck of cards. Perched high on their thrones, the James-Scott siblings were the King and Queen of Spades. This had multiple meanings to anyone who cared think about it long enough. A spade itself looked a bit like a heart on a string. The ironic meaning wasn't lost on Lucas Scott, the boy that all the girls secretly longed to tie down. A spade is a shovel. As any person who has ever crossed Haley James knows, the Queen of Spades wouldn't hesitate to bury you alive.

Slightly below them were the King and Queen of Clubs. Tommy McClellan, a tall, dark and handsome senior of black Irish descent with a short temper and a ton of cash to his name. His leading lady was Theresa Miller. Theresa was a beautiful Hispanic girl with thick, glossy black hair, gleaming brown eyes, and a reputation nearly as squeaky clean as Haley's. As a member of Student Council, National Honors Society, French Club, Drama Club, and the Chorus, with her straight-A's and pretty face, the only thing that stopped Theresa from being Oakwood Prep's prized student was a petite blonde named Haley James. 'Friends' since grammar school, Theresa and Haley began their descent into darkness together. The Hispanic girl had always been ambitious, but there are certain things you just don't want to get out… like how you really aced most of your classes. Unfortunately for Theresa, these are exactly the sort of things Haley knows, preventing the girl from making any power plays. The Spades and the Clubs have an alliance of sorts, the shadowy side of the social scene.

Their polar opposites and constant enemies would be the Red Suits. Caleb Post and Riley Carpenter were the resident King and Queen of Diamonds. They were that couple that was "soooooo perfect", soul mates, destined to be married. Insert gag-worthy clichés here. They had been dating since fifth grade, when they first discovered that the opposite sex did not, contrary to popular belief, have cooties. Ever since then, they had been inseparable. Rumors were that they were already engaged, and Riley had been sporting a rather large and attention grabbing diamond for some time now.

"Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting," Haley whispered, venom lacing her melodic voice. The words floated through the air, reaching Lucas's ears, and his only. Just like she planned. Long ago, Haley James first discovered that you could do anything you want as long as you had an immaculate image. That was the image that she kept up at school, that illusion of perfection, the Barbie doll the teachers all so willingly saw. However, she couldn't control her impulses all the time.

Lucas's eyes snapped away from the girl he had been flirting with to where Haley's were gazing intently. Immediately a scowl distorted his handsome face. "Repulsive. Why are they allowed to do things like that in public?"

Haley didn't answer, but both sat silent for a few moments, just watching. Riley and Caleb were sitting at their usual table, surrounded by their mindless drones. Er, friends. As always, they were completely immersed in each other and forgetting the existence of everyone else in the room. They were currently feeding each other tator tots and gazing deeply into each other's eyes. It was almost too much to bear for the stepsiblings.

"We should do something about it," she finally said, her tone decisive. The light glinted off her blonde hair, and her honey brown eyes shown the way they did whenever she had a "brilliant" idea. Lucas took that moment to appreciate how truly beautiful his Haley was.

"Oh should we now? Are you really that bothered by PDAs?" Lucas teased.

"Only when there's actual A involved," Haley countered with a sickly sweet smile. Lucas matched her smirk and opened his mouth to retort when a commotion over in the corner caught his eye. Turning his ice blue gaze to where the action was, a self-satisfied grin light up his face. Seeing his abrupt change in mood, Haley swung about to see what he was looking at. Soon, they were wearing matching gleeful looks, like children unwrapping Christmas presents.

Blonde, bronzed and athletic, Logan Reynolds had been the King of Hearts for a long time now. His best friend, strictly platonic of course had been his Queen. However, in light of recent incidents, she would not only be losing her crown, but leaving Oakwood Prep. A scandal followed her the entire way, a black cloud looming overhead looking suspiciously like a spade, having footage of her 'first time' mysteriously played in place of a video about the wonderful clubs the school offered to its students. Particularly the Abstinence Club, of which she was president. Candace Baker was officially destroyed, much to the public shock and secret delight of Haley James. The stupid little bitch never should've stepped on my toes, the blonde thought with a sadistic smile. But Lukie sure knows how to come through.

The entire school was abuzz. What would happen now? A new Queen would have to step up, surely. The obvious runner-up would've been Julia Hamilton, a Princess in her own right. However, the beautiful redhead had recently forfeited her right to the throne because of a little tryst with a certain Scott in the boiler room that a beautiful blonde happened to walk in on. Haley usually didn't concern herself in the coronation process, but knew that Julia could be dangerous. She had to be taken care of.

The Hearts were all at a total loss as to what to do. This had certainly never happened before was the dismayed thought circulating the Red side of the cafeteria, while the Black Suits looked on with barely suppressed glee.

"Your work?" Theresa mouthed at her best friend from a table over.

"Of course," Haley mouthed confidently, gesturing slightly to Lucas.

Theresa grinned wickedly and gave her a thumbs up. Haley smiled, but it dropped as she turned her head. Must she be surrounded by such morons? Thumbs up? Wincing visibly, Haley tuned back into the conversation at her table, and that's when she learned a very interesting tidbit. Oakwood Preparatory School would soon be receiving a new student.

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Crossing her long legs and sighing, she let her glossy brown hair tumble down her shoulders, removing the clip that had been holding it in place. The hot interior of the limo made her a little uncomfortable, but she wasn't one to complain. She never was.

"Don't worry sweetie, we're almost there," Angela Davis called through the window to her only children. She had been sitting up front with the limo driver discussing where exactly they were going, leaving the backseat to Brooke alone. While most mothers would be a little hesitant to leave their teenager alone with masses of alcohol, Angela wasn't. She had complete faith in her daughter.

Brooke only wished she had as much faith in herself as her mother did. Biting her lip nervously, she shifted and her thoughts turned again to where she was about to go. As of this year, she would be a student at Oakwood Preparatory School. Her father had accepted a big job in North Carolina, and the whole family had to come along. Brooke certainly didn't want to leave all her friends behind, but she knew that this was something her father really wanted, and so she didn't make a fuss. Now she was starting to wish she had. As the scenery grew more and more beautiful, with lush green grass, sky-scraping trees and aqua lakes, she grew more and more anxious. Would they like her? Would she make friends? Would it be anything like home?

Resting herself against the headrest, she realized with a sad gleam in her bright green eyes that of course it wouldn't be anything like home. Ever since she had arrived in North Carolina, nothing had felt like Kansas, and she missed her home more than words could say. However, Brooke tried to look on the positive side. She already had one friend at Oakwood. A girl named Julia Hamilton. Their fathers had been playing golf together for years, whenever they had conferences in the same town, and they had played together at the country club as young girls. Julia grew to be a little bit strange as they got older, talking about being a princess or something like that. When Julia heard that Brooke would be joining her at Oakwood, she squealed and said, "Oh great! You're totally a Heart!"

That caused the pretty brunette to raise her eyebrows, but she didn't pursue the matter further. Brooke figured that she'd find out what Julia meant eventually. At least Oakwood's a good school, she thought to herself. I'm bound to learn something.

Yes, she would. Because even as her limo drew closer to the massive property of Oakwood Preparatory School, a manipulative blonde was plotting just how to teach her a lesson.

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Humm.. I'm not sure how that turned out. It might have totally sucked. Lol anyway, I'm sorry if it did. Thanks for reading!

xo Sam