Hey everyone. I apologize for the really long delay of all my stories. I was and still am going through some rough times. I'm usually always running errands for my mom or taking her and my grandmother to the doctor, and I'm always waiting in the car for hours. Today I finally grew a brain and realized I could write a chapter in my car on my beloved baby (my iPad), since I have no internet and can never do anything else lol. Also today was the first day in a very, very long time that I was inspired to write, so hopefully it stays a little longer.

Anyways, please enjoy the next chapter of Kings.

She suspected him of being up to something. (Well, more so than usual.)

Sam glanced at Tim Scam from the corner of her eye. They were in AP Chemistry, and the teacher was just going over something she already read in the textbook last night. It was safe to let her thoughts wander for a bit.

He confused her. He was in too much of a good mood than he should have been after she denied his offer for helping her two classes ago. Shouldn't he have been... annoyed, at the very least? Sending her more threats about how she needed him and how he could make all her problems go away? Or how he could give her the power to make all her problems disappear? Or something?

After all, that's what he did last year.

Which is why she was sitting here, ignoring him and being confused about his behavior.

He hasn't send her any notes so far. As far as she had known, he didn't send her any text messages with blackmail. He definitely didn't look at her.

What was going on? Wasn't he angry? Annoyed? Something?

For the past year and a half, Tim always left her hints about the... "kingdom" he was running. He would tell her how he could make Arnold drop out of high school if he really wanted to, or how he could make it easier for Alex to get into the girl's high school varsity soccer team.

And then the worst part was that he would tell her that he could give her the same... power. The same unnatural control over people's lives. With the right connections and the proper knowledge, she could have the same control that he did.

And then he would tell her how he didn't want anyone else but her to have this power.

Sam warily glanced at him again from the corner of her eye. He was still staring straight ahead, copying the notes that the teacher was now writing on the board. Realizing she was missing out on notes, Sam picked up her pen and starting copying the notes as well.

She wasn't going to lie to herself. Tim Scam outright terrified her. His power and control terrified her. His status as "King" however, terrified her the most.

She wasn't stupid. She knew what his power could do. She knew what he was capable of. It was right for her to not want any part of it, just as she told him two nights ago at his house.

But what scared her was his... influence. He confirmed her suspicions two nights ago, when he finally stopped with the hints and told her that he wanted her to be his successor in his manipulating games. They both knew she wanted no part in it, but they also both knew that eventually she would have no choice but to accept.

He wouldn't let her do otherwise.

Sam glanced at him again... only to find him looking straight at her. She quickly turned her head back to face the teacher and never looked his way again. Her heart was beating through her chest and it was getting harder to breathe.

She clutched her pen tighter.

They both knew that he wasn't going to let her go.

So she would have to figure out a way to make him want to.

He wouldn't call himself the King of his school if he didn't know what she was thinking about.

Sam had already looked his way six times, three times in AP Chemistry and 3 more times out in the hallway when she didn't think he was looking. It was sort of flattering, because this was the first time that she voluntarily looked his way (six times in a row). Usually he would have to find a way to get her attention because she found some comfort in avoiding him like the plague.

Now if only her thoughts were equally as flattering. He was positive that she was thinking of a plan to make him not want her or something equally as ridiculous. She should know better than to think that he would ever choose anyone but her.

It seemed as though he would have to force her to make her decision. Well, that could easily be arranged.

The second class was over Sam picked up her books, placed them in her bag and walked out without sparing Tim another look. He had already caught her looking at him; if she looked at him again he would probably take it as some kind of confirmation. That she would agree to... be a part of his ruling.

She wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't. The second she gave into him he would eat her alive.

Gulping, Sam reached her locker and starting dialing the combination. Staring at the murky green color, she gulped again and tried to keep the bile down. She was going to be nauseous.

No. She couldn't let him get to her. She ignored him for an entire year and 2 months. She could do it again.

Breathing deeply, Sam opened her locker and started putting the books she needed into her bag.

"Um, Sam?" a nervous voice next to her asked.

Sam looked to her right to find a small blonde girl standing there with a nervous expression on her face. Sam frowned when she saw the girl nervously look over her shoulder, as if she was trying to hide from someone. If it was possible, the girl got ... smaller, as if she was trying to disappear into thin air.

"What's wrong Ashley?" Sam asked, concerned about the freshmen girl's behavior.

"Um... Can you walk with me please? I-I just...", Ashley looked behind her shoulder again. "I would like to talk with you please... If that's okay."

Sam knew something was wrong. "Yea, of course." Closing her locker, Sam followed Ashley through the halls and into one of the bathrooms.

Sam watched as Ashley made sure no one was inside any of the stalls before turning to speak with her.

And then she started crying and Sam's eyes widened. "What's wrong?"

Ashley sniffed, "Someone's been following me home every day."

"What?" Sam said, concerned. "Who?"

Ashley shook her head, "I think he's a-a senior or junior. I'm n-n-not sure. But he keeps following me home and then yesterday he started calling my house phone and saying that I-I looked really pretty yesterday and he just wanted to-to t-t-touch me and Sam I'm scared!" the small girl cried out, and ran into Sam's arms. Sam put her arms around the girl and hugged her, smoothing her hand across her back to comfort the girl.

"Sssh it's okay. Don't worry I'll help you out."

The girl hiccupped, "T-thank you."

"How long has this been going on?" Sam asked in a worried tone.

"T-two weeks... But yesterday was the first time he c-called me. He really s-scared me", Ashley said in a tiny, frightened voice.

"Do you know his name?" Sam asked softly. Ashley pulled a little away from her and Sam bent down to reach the short girl's eye level.

Ashley shook her head, "N-no but he has um, dark red hair and he's really, really tall and he um, wears this blue baseball hat all the time."

Sam's eyes narrowed. She knew exactly who Ashley was talking about.

When she got her hands on that creep she was going to give him a piece of her mind. And her fists. This was going too far, even for him.

"Don't worry sweetie", Sam said, giving Ashley a small smile. "I'll take care of it."

Ashley beamed, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" and then proceeded to give Sam another hug.

"Anytime okay?" Sam said.

Ashley smiled back at her, and then grabbed her bag and was about to leave when a thought occurred to Sam. "Hey Ashley?"

The blonde girl turned around and looked at her with a curious expression. "Yea?"

"I was just wondering... Wouldn't... You know who, be better for this?" Both girls knew she was referring to Tim Scam.

Ashley nodded. "Oh I went to him already. He told me to talk to you."

... What?

She had to stop the anger from seeping through her voice. "Did he now?"

Ashley's little head bobbed up and down, "Uh-huh!" she said with a sniffle. "He said you would know exactly what to do."

Oh that asshole.

Sam forced a smile, "Okay just wondering. Thanks Ashley."

The blonde nodded again and left the bathroom.

Sam's hands curled into fists.

She was beyond angry. She was downright pissed off!

She marched up to him while he was at his locker, and with courage she didn't know she had, Sam grabbed his arm and pulled it, making him turn around to face her.

Tim was talking to a few other guys, people she recognized as his higher officers in his sick reign. She knew they (and Tim) would be very mad at her for interrupting them. NO ONE interrupted Tim Scam when he was talking to someone, and pulling his arm and forcing him to give someone his attention was outright illegal. His royal-fucking-highnessdid not take orders from anyone else.

She could care less right now. She was pissed off.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing huh?" she asked him , almost yelling. One of the guys behind Tim opened his mouth to yell at her, but all Tim had to do was raise his hand up and the guy shut his mouth.

Tim had the gall to smile at her. "Hello Sam, how can I help you?"

Oh no he didn't. He did not SMILE and pretend nothing was wrong.

"What part of NO do you not comprehend? Is it too much for you to understand?" One of the guys behind Tim actually winced. Insulting Tim Scam had severe consequences. Everyone knew that.

Tim kept smiling. It seemed sinister to Sam. "What are you talking about now?"

Sam seethed. All she could see was red. "Well I'll spell it out for you since you seem to be so oblivious", she hissed. "I'm talking about Ashley. You know, Ashley Cardozo. The same Ashley you sent to ME when she was having trouble. What the fuck do you think you're doing huh? Didn't I tell you that I don't want ANY part of your goddamn kingdom?"

Tim just had an innocent look on his face. It made her want to rip his hair out. "Oh I'm sorry, when did I say anything about that?" he continued with a low tone, making sure that only the two of them were privy to this conversation. "She needed a lot of help, as I'm sure you know. I obviously couldn't let my men handle this... So I sent her to the best girl I knew who could help her out. Is that so wrong?" he asked sweetly.

Sam just glared at him. "Yes it's wrong. It's more than wrong; it's ridiculous!" She lowered her voice to a lower volume that still contained all the anger she was feeling. "I am NOT a part of your ... crew and I am most definitely not your successor. You do NOT send people with their problems to ME because I don't want any part of this!"

And then he started to smirk and Sam couldn't stop the feeling of nervousness blooming in her stomach. She knew that smirk. It did not mean good things.

"Why Sam, all I was doing was helping one of my subjects out... I'm sure you'll agree that you were the best person to help her."

She narrowed her eyes and in a rage of fury she grabbed his collar and pulled his face closer to her so that he couldn't use his height of 6'2" to intimidate her. In the background she could hear some light gasps but ignored it.

"You think I don't know what you're doing?" she hissed, "I know your game. You're trying to get me used to the whole "figuring out how to solve problems on my own" thing, so that when I try and take your place, which by the way will never happen, I'll already know what to do. Don't take me for an idiot Tim Scam."

His smirk grew feral. It felt dangerous, but she wasn't going to let that scare her away.

"You catch on quick", he said with a dark chuckle that felt like a lightning bolt shot through her body. "Honestly, I didn't expect any less from you."

And then when his smirk grew even wider, Sam knew she was in trouble.

"Of course you're right. That is exactly what I was doing."

Her glare grew harsher. "Well I'm going to say this for the last time. No means NO. I'm not falling for your traps. Send as many people if you want, see if i care! I'll just avoid it and we'll see what your precious subjects think of YOU when you didn't help them like you said you would!"

His smirk turned into a grin. Sam thought it was a worse sign than the smirk was.

"Oh Sam... You think I don't know you?" Tim took a step closer to her and suddenly Sam realized how little space was in between them. Gulping, she let go of his collar, but he grabbed her wrist quickly and pulled her closer to him, and his voice lowered to a whisper, "I know you better than you know yourself. You wouldn't ignore a cry for help... ever."

Sam's eyes widened, "You bastard."

Tim rolled his eyes, "You wound me."

With a glare she pulled her hand out of his grasp, "I'm not going to be your successor. Get that straight." She took a few steps backwards and glared at him again, before spinning around and walking away. The students in the hallway moved out of the way for her, for they all realized what Sam's encounter with Tim Scam meant.

"Boss, are you really going to let her get away with speaking to you like that?" one of his newer members asked.

Tim's knowing smile just turned into a small smirk. He kept his eyes on Samantha's retreating figure.

By speaking to him outright about his reign, in front of everyone, Sam had unknowingly accepted his status as King. It told everyone that Sam was now part of his rule, and she didn't have the luxury to ignore it any longer. Pretending he didn't exist, that his rule didn't exist and that her status as successordidn't exist, was no longer an option.

And even better, when she touched him, both on the arm and when she grabbed him on the collar, she sent out a bigger message that she wouldn't have wanted anyone to know...

No one touches Tim Scam without his permission. If anyone did, it would definitely have very harsh consequences.

But if he let someone forcibly touch him and get awaywith it, just as he let Sam walk away now, it only meant one thing.

He had chosen his successor.

And now, everyone knew that Samantha Simpson was destined to be Queen of the school next year. Everyone knew that she was part of the kingdom, and everyone knew that her place as Queen was set in stone.

Heh. He had her now.