A few weeks later, it was finally the day of the election. All the students gathered in the auditorium to hear each candidate's speech before casting their final votes. The last two candidates to give their speech were Chris and Nathaniel. Nathaniel went first:

"Classmates, teachers, cafeteria ladies, and everyone in-between, might I just say, good job. You've all worked very hard to give this school a good name, and based on our glowing reputation, I'd say that effort more than paid off. Go ahead and give yourselves a big round of applause!"

...Wait...

"However, with that being said, we're not finished just yet. There are still many areas in our school system that require some attention. For example, our poor teachers work hard every day to give us the best education they can, but it's not the education we need. These teachers want to bring us new books instead of having us use the same old dingy ones all the time! They want to create new experiments to show us the lessons, rather than just telling us. They want to do more, but they can't. Every single one of their ideas is shut down due to a lack of funding. And what about our school clubs? Don't they deserve attention too? Instead of trying to speak French with all your friends, guessing and failing at what to say, wouldn't you rather speak with a French foreign exchange student? Instead of just talking about all your favorite songs, wouldn't you rather have instruments to try and learn them with?"

My favorite song...?

"Well, again, we have no money. So this is what I propose to you: if you elect me as Student Body President, I will do everything in my power to fix this. I will personally make sure we get what we deserve, and that we come out of this year better than we've ever been! This. Ends. Now."

From the moment that last word came out of his mouth, all I could hear around me was loud, powerful applause. But none of it came from me. That speech Nathaniel just gave us that everyone adored so much...

That was Chris' speech!

I wanted to scream. Chris and I had been practicing that speech every day for the past week! How did Nathaniel steal it so easily? How did he even know about it in the first place?! That's all I wanted to know. My heart sunk as Nathaniel stepped down and Chris took the stage. He looked exactly as I felt – completely dumbfounded.

"U-Um..." He stuttered, trying to gather his thoughts. "W-Well...you see..."

"Boooooo! Get off the stage!" Someone in the crowd yelled out.

How could this get any worse...? I thought to myself as I watch Chris stand there like a deer in headlights.

"Well, you know, " Chris continued, regaining some of his composure. "I actually agree with a lot of what Nathaniel said. All of it, in fact." He gave Nathaniel a menacing glare, to which he responded with an arrogant smirk. "But you know, there's a lot more to the problem than just money. We need better students. We need better staff. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we're just gonna throw you guys out and get new people. What I am saying is that we need to be better people. We need to come to class every day, we need to respect our teachers and our principal, and we need to look our friends right in the eye and say 'thank you,' because being there for each other is half the reason we come here in the first place. Teachers need to recognize their students for all their hard work, and just like we're here for one another, they should be too. Money would help us a lot, yes, and we should definitely have a fundraiser or something to help with that. But before we do, don't you think it's more important to fix what we can right now? If you elect me...I'll do everything I can to make that happen. If you have a problem with someone, come to me – I'll fix it. If you're struggling with school or family, or something and you don't have anyone else to turn to, I'm there. We can make this work, but only if you guys trust me. I can help you, but I can't do it alone. Together, we can make this school better for everyone – a school we can really be proud of! What do you say? Let's make this happen!"

Despite the rough start, Chris quickly got back on his feet. He'd made up that entire speech just now, and he did it so confidently. To my surprise and immense relief, the auditorium soon filled with cheers and applause once again. Now Chris was the one wearing an arrogant smile as he looked over at Nathaniel, who was now scowling at his defeat. Since Chris was the last one to give a speech, the audience dispersed shortly thereafter, placing their votes in the collection box. Once everyone voted, the principal took the box, counted each and every vote, and then walked up to the stage.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for..." She said, holding it up so that everyone could see. "I've counted all the votes, and I've placed the winner's name inside." She reached into the box and pulled out a single vote. "Everyone, please welcome your new Student Body President, with 1,563 votes...Nathaniel Thorne!"

What?! I panicked as Nathaniel joined her on the stage. Chris gave such a heartwarming speech after Nathaniel stole his original one, and Nathaniel still won?! All of our hard work...was it all for nothing...?

"His runner-up with 875 votes is Chris Bliss! According to our standards, that makes you our new Vice President. Congratulations! Our new treasurer, with 428 votes..."

Vice...President? I thought to myself, drowning out everything around me. But that means...!

"NO!" I screamed out, at the top of my lungs. The whole room fell silent.

"...No?" The principal asked me. "What do you mean, 'no'? The votes have already been decided."

"The votes are corrupted!" I argued. "That speech Nathaniel gave us was stolen! I practiced that speech with Chris over and over again endlessly for days! If anything, the votes belong to him!"

"Do you have any proof?" She questioned me. "Can you prove to me that this speech belonged to Chris?"

"Well, I...!" I had nothing. Nothing at all. I looked at Chris in a desperate attempt to see if he had something, but he shook his head, not saying a word. "I can't..." I answered her. "I don't have any proof..."

"Then the votes remain, and you won't interrupt again. Is that understood, young lady?"

"...Yes, ma'am..." I replied sullenly. The election results continued and everyone around me went back to listening to them, but I couldn't let go. Those votes belonged to Chris. They should've been his... And then a thought crossed my mind:

Wait...did she say his last name was Bliss?

After the event was over and everyone left the auditorium, school resumed as normal. I wanted so badly to talk to Chris, but I knew it was too much of a risk. I'd just have to wait and call him when I got home. One thing the stolen speech did remind me of was that I still had to go pick out what club I wanted. All students had to send in their forms by the end of the week, or else they don't get to join a club. Pulling out mine, I looked at the options I was interested in:

– Video Games

– Writing

– Music

– Japanese

The decision was impossible. I loved all of these things; how could I pick just one? But at the same time, I knew that if I picked more than one, I'd die from exhaustion. So... I thought. Which one of these do I like the most? I sat there, staring at it for all four morning classes, and then again at lunch. Even when I finally decided, I wasn't sure. Nevertheless, I had to stop; I stared at that thing for so long, I almost forgot to eat. So, having checked one of the boxes, I flipped the paper over and decided that would have to do. I mean, I couldn't very well join a club if I died of starvation, now could I? After lunch, I turned the paper in to the principal's office, and the secretary told me I could start attending next week. The thought of it made me a little excited. Ooh, a new club~. I wonder what that's going to be like... I knew I would definitely have to check it out as soon as I could; I couldn't let the suspense get the better of me.

The rest of my classes went by as usual, nothing much happened in floral, physics, or choir...

But then I got to P.E.

"Alright kids, listen up! We got a lot to do today, but first, we got a new student. Everyone say hello to your new classmate, Castiel Stone!"

What?

Sure enough, there was Castiel. He had that same sarcastic, unimpressed look as always. What...What is he doing here? Remembering what he said to me just a few weeks ago, this was about the last thing I expected to happen. He didn't say anything as he joined the rest of us, but the look in his eyes told me he was still angry.

"Now," the coach continued. "I want you all to run ten laps, and then we're gonna play dodgeball!"

My eyes widened. D...Dodgeball...?

It was a fun game, but I completely sucked at it. Everyone hit me before I got a chance to hit any of them. I was always the first one out, but even then, I wasn't safe; the games never lasted very long, so as a result, we played a lot – and I mean a LOT – of them. I ended up getting knocked out dozens of times before the coach finally called it quits. I was used to it and all, but now that Castiel was here, I had a bad feeling that things were about to get much more competitive. As usual, the coach split us up into teams, and we all took our spots. To my surprise, I was actually doing pretty well in the first game; for the first time in my life, I wasn't the first one out, and I actually managed to get some people out myself. I was firing the ball left and right, when suddenly–

*BAM*

I got it right in the head. I instantly fell to the ground, and when I looked up, I saw Castiel. He just stood there and stared at me with that cold, unchanging glare of his. That ball was meant for me – he couldn't have made that more clear. Nevertheless, I picked myself up and got ready for the next game.

*BAM*

Aaaaand the next...

*BAM*

…...And again...

*BAM*

…...

Never mind. It seemed as though my bad luck had returned; every game I was in, I was out almost immediately. Every time I got up, I was hit again. It went on like that for about ten more games. Castiel wasn't always the one who got me out, but God knows he tried. So much so, in fact, that my only goal for that entire class was to avoid him. He was clearly taking out his rage on me, and even though I knew I deserved it, I really didn't want it in the form of a rubber ball going a million miles an hour. For the most part it worked; all I had to do was watch him and move out of the way (sometimes behind someone else...sorry). But somehow, during the last game–

*BAM*

He got me, really hard. The ball hit me right in the face, so of course, I fell down once again. This time, I stayed down. It really hurt, so I didn't wanna move. Instead, I just laid there, covering my face, especially my nose. I lifted one hand to find blood on it.

Ugh...god that hurts! Why does P.E. have to be my longest class, of all things?

Finally, the bell rang. "Okay, time's up! Get your stuff and get out!" The coach told everyone to leave, and not a second later, everyone in that gym crowded at the door. Personally, I wasn't in any hurry to leave, so I just sat up and stayed there for a few minutes.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

I looked up at Castiel, who was now standing right in front of me, arms crossed. "What do you care?" I replied. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?" I showed him my bloody hand.

"That's nothing." He said. "I bled so much more for you."

"...I don't know what you want from me, Castiel. I said I was sorry, and I meant that. I still do. Well, you got your revenge, so I hope you're okay now." I got up. "Either way, I can't deal with it anymore. If you can't forgive me, then please just leave me alone." I turned around and started to leave.

"Hey!" Castiel grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him again. "We're not done here. I don't need to throw things at you anymore, but I'm not even close to 'okay.' You said you wanted answers from me? Well I need answers from you." He paused for a moment. "Why did you do it?"

The vagueness of his question confused me. "Do what? What did I do? What exactly are you talking about?"

The look in his eyes turned from anger to sadness. "Why did you turn to them instead of me? Why did you need more than what I could give you? Why did you leave?!"

I was honestly shocked. "I...I thought you were happy that I left...I thought you said you could actually breathe."

"I never said that! I said it got better, that I was glad you left, but I never said I was 'happy!' Things were easier for me once you were gone, sure, but there was no way in hell I was happy. How could I be? You were the love of my life, and you just left. No explanation, no warning. You said goodbye, and that was it – you were gone."

My expression soon matched his. "I know...and I am so, so sorry. I promise. I never meant to fall in love with all of you, I just did! It's hard to explain, but there was something in every one of you that I absolutely adored. And that's exactly why I left. I loved you all so much, I couldn't choose between you, and I didn't wanna pick one of you at random just because I could only have one of you. I hurt all of you so badly – I hurt myself too, and I didn't want to do it anymore. That wouldn't have been fair to any of us, so...I left."

He hesitated a moment before speaking again. "Okay. That's all I needed to know. See you later."

"Yeah, see you..." I trailed off as he walked away. Um...okay...What does that mean? Are we okay now, or...? Based on that conversation, I could only wonder.

The day was over, and it was time to go home. I walked through the halls with only that goal in mind. And yet, somehow, I found a way to ruin it. On my way out, I saw Nathaniel at his locker. I didn't really want to talk to him after what happened today, but I knew I had to. What he did to Chris wasn't right, and I had to let him know that.

"Hey!" I shouted angrily, stomping towards him.

"I thought I told you not to talk to me." He replied, closing his locker before walking away.

"And I thought you weren't the kind of person to do all this!" I persisted, following right behind him.

"You knew exactly what was going to happen, so don't give me that."

"I knew you were going to win – cheaters always do. But I didn't know you were going to STEAL from him!"

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about! Your speech! You stole your speech from Chris!"

Nathaniel stopped walking and turned around to face me. "I did what I had to do."

"But you didn't have to do it. You already had everyone in your hands!"

"Not necessarily. People can betray you, you know. God knows I do. Consider this a form of...insurance. Just to make sure I get what I want."

"Why is this so important to you...?"

"That's none of your business." He stared at me for a moment. "...Are you okay? You got hit pretty hard earlier."

I'd completely forgotten that Nathaniel was in my gym class. He never actually participated in anything though, so that didn't really surprise me. Nonetheless, I covered my nose and looked away. "I'm fine. It's nothing..."

"'Nothing'...that was always your favorite lie, wasn't it? 'It's nothing' …..you really haven't changed, have you?"

"It's not a lie!"

"Yes, it is! You're hiding your face!"

I put my hands down. "Fine! Is this what you wanted to see?! Are you happy now?!" The blood was mostly dry now, but it was still there, and my nose was still a bit swollen.

Nathaniel's expression quickly turned from angry to concerned. "Jesus...does it hurt?" He reached out to touch my face, but I smacked his hand away.

"I don't need your pity, and I don't need your accusations. I didn't wanna talk about it, that's why I said it was nothing! And you're right, I haven't changed, but you sure have. Why are you doing this? What happened to you?"

Instead of answering my questions, Nathaniel changed the subject. "...You know what I think is interesting? You seem to care so much about someone you supposedly hate."

I froze for a moment. "...What?"

"Yeah." He continued. "I saw all those fights you two have been having lately – all the yelling, the name-calling, etc. etc. – yet here you are defending him." Oh... "And...you said something earlier today too. That speech I supposedly 'stole'...you screamed out for everyone to hear that you had been practicing it with him that entire week. Isn't that funny?"

I was speechless. Oh my god, he's absolutely right. I just defended Chris without a second thought when we're supposed to be hating each other! What have I done?!

"Gotcha." An evil smile appeared on Nathaniel's face. "That was quite the performance while you still had it going. Let me guess: it has something to do with Lysander."

"..."

"That's what I thought. This kind of thing has Lysander written all over it. Well don't worry, I didn't see him around today, so your secret is safe – at least from him. But, if you tell anyone else what I did, it might not be a secret much longer."

"Why...why are you doing this?"

"I have my reasons. It's got nothing to do with you, but I won't hesitate to cut you down if you get in my way."

With that, he left. I stood there for a minute, trying to process all of this. Despite his cold demeanor, Nathaniel was still concerned for my well-being, at least a little bit. And, if he wasn't acting this way to spite me, then what were his reasons? What could possibly justify what he'd done...? I just didn't know. I wanted to tell someone – anyone – but he made it perfectly clear what would happen if I did. I couldn't risk Lysander finding out about our secret, so for now, I would just have to do as Nathaniel said.

I wonder if Chris found anything on Lysander yet...

I thought about going to talk to him, but even with everyone knowing the truth, I decided against it. After all, Lysander could be lurking around somewhere; it would be really bad if he saw us together.

"There you are, Darling."

Ah! I knew it! "Hey, Lysander...how are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Are you alright?" He was clearly talking about my injury, but I really just wanted to forget about it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a minor accident, nothing serious."

"Well, okay...if you're sure."

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Of course. I came to walk you home. Is that alright?"

"Oh, um...sure."

He smiled and took my hand. From there, we had a nice, peaceful walk. I told him what happened today, but I made sure to leave Nathaniel's involvement out of it, and I didn't dare mention Castiel's name – that would've made things worse. He explained that he was late today because his bus got caught in a sea of traffic due to an accident. We just talked for a while, nothing serious, when–

"Have you spoken to Chris at all lately?" He asked that completely out of the blue. We stopped walking.

"...No..." I answered him. It was a complete lie, of course, but a very necessary one.

He stared into my eyes for a moment, almost like he already knew that – or at least suspected it. Then he looked away. "...I see."

He said nothing else as he brought me home, but I could swear his grip on my hand got tighter. The whole time, I wanted to say something to brighten the mood again, but...no words came to my head. Instead, I could only wonder: Does he know...?

…...

He didn't even say goodbye when he left...

While I was starting to get really worried about him, …..wait, no that's not right. I can't actually be worried about him, can I...? Well, whatever it was, I still wanted to talk to Chris. I needed to ask him how he was doing and whether or not he'd made any progress in his investigation.

*RIIIIIIIIIING*

I was just going to call him, but it seems I didn't have to. He was already calling me.

"Hello?"

"What the fuck?!"

His anger surprised me a little. "Woah, calm down. What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell me? You just revealed our secret to the entire school!"

"I was trying to defend you!" I snapped back at him. "Nathaniel stole the speech you worked so hard on!"

"I know that!" He yelled. "And I hate his guts for it! But that doesn't mean you can hit self-destruct!"

"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking about it!"

"You never do!"

I had nothing to say to that. 'You never do'...? What does that mean? I couldn't believe he said that to me...

I could hear him sigh on the other end. "...Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, okay? It's just...you can be really naive sometimes, y'know? This wasn't the time for that..."

Now I was angry. "Whatever. Be a jerk if you want, I don't care. Just so you know, Lysander wasn't there. We're still safe."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. We're safe? How can we be safe? Everyone else knows! How long do you expect them to keep it to themselves?"

I had to be honest, I didn't like it either. People in my school did like to gossip, but still...I had to keep my head up. If I gave up now, I might as well just tell Lysander myself! I knew we didn't have much time, but that's exactly why I wanted to ask him: "Well did you find anything about Lysander? This could all be over if you did!"

"No, but I guess I'll have to come up with something now! If you even still want that!"

I stopped for a minute. "What does that mean?"

"It means...! I think you like it! That sickness of his, the way he treats you. You don't even care!"

"What makes you say that?!"

"Every time I see you with him...I dunno...I get the feeling it's more than just 'acting.' At the party, when he kissed you...you seemed really into it. Like it was the only thing that mattered to you."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. It was true that his kiss made me feel something, but overall, I did it for Chris. The calmer Lysander was, the better. I thought Chris understood that...

"You told me he was an old friend." Chris continued, breaking the silence. "...But it was more than that, wasn't it?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, it was. We...uh...'dated,' for a short time."

"...What about Nathaniel?"

"Huh?"

"You said you've known him too. Did you also 'date'?"

"Yeah..."

"Good to know. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for anyone else who wants me dead."

"Nathaniel doesn't want you dead. Lysander doesn't either...I think."

"Uh-huh."

"Chris, I'm gonna tell you something. The reason I came here in the first place was to get away from them. My relationship with them was very complicated, and I needed out. So I did; I got in a cab, and I moved away, leaving everything behind. I had no idea I only went to the next town over!"

"...You met them in Sweet Amoris?"

"Yes!"

"...And you know we're in Sweet Adoreis..."

"Yes, I got that! Now's not the time to make fun of me – this is serious!"

"Yeah, thank you for that."

"I'm sorry. I really am! I didn't think they would follow me here!"

"Well, they're here now, aren't they? I can't believe this..."

"I know. I–"

"No, I honestly can't believe this. You've been here for over a year! How did you not know where you were?"

"I...I don't know. It just...never occurred to me, I guess..."

"Wow. That's incredible, even for you. I'm gonna need some time to process all of this; I'll talk to you later."

"Wait, Chris! Don't hang u–"

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

I couldn't believe he hung up on me. I knew he was upset, but that's why I wanted to talk it out, not avoid each other! I tried calling him back, but no answer. Wow... I thought. He must be really angry with me... And why wouldn't he be? I just kept all of these secrets from him – my best friend – like he was a stranger. And I was still keeping some; I hadn't even told him about Castiel yet. God...I never meant for this to happen. Why do I have to keep hurting everyone?! These thoughts repeated in my head on a torturous loop all through the night until I finally passed out at 3 a.m.

Why...God, WHY do I have to be such a monster?