Don't Get Angry. Get Even.
Blake van Buren could hardly wait. It was going to be amazing, this little brainchild idea of his. Really, he wondered why he hadn't done anything like this before.
He'd never felt so smart in his whole entire life. I'm killing two birds with one stone, Blake mused happily, binder in hand. Just what would the teachers think of Jade now?
It had all started with yesterday night. After Arielle had came home, saying that Jade was in an awful mood, Blake had immediately known that it was going be a good rest of his day.
Except for the fact that he still had to finish Mrs. Dupont's ridiculous English essay final.
Four pages minimum, no double space, twelve point font, ready to hand in Wednesday morning. Analyze Raskolnikov's character change in relation to the political, physiological, philosophical, and religious ideals happening in Crime and Punishment's eighteenth century Russia.
Yeah, right. Like Blake had the time to even write a four page crap on that, unlike Jade, who'd already stapled her over-achieving six pages of Crime and Punishment crap and put it into her binder.
But then God had sent him a clear message in the form of Jade Lewallen's unattended computer, in all its six pages of glory. All he'd had to do was sneak in, change the name to his and erase the document permanently from her files.
Now, Blake looked at his clean essay in all of its beautiful glory. Revenge and no Dupont homework for the night. Life was really starting to look up.
Blake trailed his fingers on the unruffled paper. He had tried to read and understand some of what Jade Lewallen was saying about Existentialism and the Ubermensch and Nietsche and all that crap. He wasn't an expert, but did make sure that he knew what all that stuff was about, just in case Dupont wanted to quiz him on it or something.
He shrugged. No matter. Even if he did fail the stupid final essay, there wasn't much it could do to affect his life. He was already set on his plan that he didn't even bother trying to feel guilt and remorse.
Besides, even if Dupont failed him, he'd always wondered if he'd be breaking a record for being the only one to graduate high school with a 0.0 GPA. It was certainly worth a try.
Blake walked into the classroom, late again for the second time since he'd arrived at the school.
"Late," Mrs. Dupont said from the classroom.
"Sorry. It won't happen again," Blake said, mustering up a polite voice and a charming smile. I'm going to ace your class, you old hag, he crowed to himself triumphantly. He could certainly afford a little manners towards the old lady. After all, victory would soon be his.
Then, he made a big show of walking to the back of the classroom, taking his sweet time so that by the time he got there, the rest of the class was already facing forward again. Then, once he was satisfied that everybody else was busy, he quickly found Jade's essay. He stuffed it into his jacket before sliding his essay in the middle of the pile.
Perfect. It was time that Jade got a taste of her own medicine. If she thought that she could try to hurt his sister and get away with it, she would soon be receiving a very nasty wake up call in the form of a big, fat "F".
He sat back in his chair, feeling incredibly smug with himself. He had a feeling that Jade's reaction was going to be priceless.
And he was not disappointed.
"What?" Jade hissed, the next day, when Mrs. Dupont called Jade up to the teacher's private desk to tell her about the disappearance of her essay. Blake tried very hard not to smirk at Jade's expression. She was furiously trying to keep her temper in check. Her face looked like it was trying to decide if it wanted to take the polite, goody-two-shoes image or the threatening I'm-about-to-destroy-you one. Between the two, it looked as if she were constipated.
"Maybe I lost it, or something," Mrs. Dupont said frantically. Out of all the teachers, she was more grandmotherly than strict. The kind of person who believed in student-teacher friendships and couldn't bear to be strict and "uncool" to her students.
Mrs. Dupont rifled through her pile, looking for Jade Lewallen's crisp essay with the trademark expensive, card paper. She looked up with a defeated look, "Sorry. I don't know where it is."
Blake couldn't resist a little chuckle from where he'd been enjoying the entire show.
Jade swiveled her head to glare at him. When her eyes connected with his, they narrowed dangerously. "Blake van Buren stole it." Jade accused, marching over to Blake's desk and pointing at him accusingly. "He must have."
"What are you talking about, Jade?" Blake replied, his eyes twinkling. "I don't need your essay. After all, I spent a lot of time researching Russia and the 1800s, putting a great deal of thought into Existentialism ideas and Friedrich Nietsche."
He winked saucily at Jade when Mrs. Dupont wasn't looking.
It didn't help when Mrs. Dupont nodded affirmatively, "That's true. Blake did write a very compelling essay. He explored all aspects of nineteenth century culture very effectively. I was very impressed," Mrs. Dupont smiled mistily at Blake, who gave her angelic smile back.
"He stole my essay!" Jade screamed, recognizing everything that Blake had said was all taken from Jade's work of genius. Her face was so red with anger that Blake was half-amused, waiting for her to keel over in dead faint.
"Mrs. Dupont, I can assure you I did no such thing." Blake answered in mock seriousness, his piercing eyes looking to the teacher's in sincerity. "I can't believe my sister would say that when she knows how many hours I spent, trying to impress you. You have to excuse her, though" Blake pretended to whisper, even though it was still loud enough for everyone in the vicinity, "I'm pretty sure it's her time of the month, and I know she's been spending so much time on family problems…the poor thing probably couldn't take it anymore."
Blake sat back triumphantly, knowing from the look on Mrs. Dupont's face that she'd bought his concerned brotherly love story hook, line, and sinker. If Jade continued to accuse him now, it would look as if she was the one lying, especially after Blake had just regaled Dupont with a show of his great brotherly care. Jade would have to think of something better.
Jade must've recognized this too, because she backtracked a little and calmed her voice so that she was no longer screaming at every living thing within five feet of her. "He's right, Mrs. Dupont. I have been so depressed lately with peer pressure and everything, that it's been extremely difficult to concentrate. Would it be okay for me to turn it in tomorrow? I can guarantee that it will surpass Blake's essay ten fold." She smiled sweetly, but her eyes promised murder.
Mrs. Dupont frowned temporarily, torn between choosing to be the lenient friend or the rule-abiding teacher. "You know, Beverly Champion High School has very strict rules on late work. However, if you turn it in tomorrow, I will consent to giving you half credit."
Blake could literally see Jade's face scrunch up, as she mentally calculated how badly an "F" could do to her grade. "That would put my grade at a B+," Jade choked out, her face drawn with horror at the prospect of not being the perfect, 5.0 GPA student.
Well, she would just have to get over it.
"I'm sorry Jade, it's the best I can do." Mrs. Dupont said gently. "There's still enough time in school, so I'm sure you can bring it up again."
Jade looked like she was about to fight it, but ended up closing her mouth and nodding sharply. "I understand," Jade swallowed tightly, like she was pushing back tears at not being number one for once. Blake would've been sorry for what he'd done, but then he saw Chase's splotchy face that day in the bathroom, and that tiniest trace of sympathy was gone.
Besides, it was hard to feel sympathetic when he could practically feel her glares radiating onto his upper back.
Just to gall her even further, Blake turned back and whispered to her, "I can help you with that essay if you'd like. I'm pretty sure I did a damn good job on mine." He winked at her red face and turned back again.
He nearly purred in self-satisfaction when he heard her seething behind him. This was way too easy.
After class, he casually picked up his binder, and made his way through the crowded hallways. The rows of lockers gleamed beside him, everything shiny and polished to look like brand new.
Nothing but the best for these filthy rich kids, Blake sniggered to himself. He could've made friends easily enough. After all, he had been added onto the basketball team, and there were quite a few others who had extended their hands to him. He just didn't want to. This isolation was better; he didn't have to pretend with himself. Besides, when he finally got his mom to move back, he wouldn't be attached or anything.
Blake distinctly saw a halo of golden, wavy curls that was Arielle's signature style. He smiled and ambled towards her, leaning against the lockers beside hers. Arielle would be his only friend.
He had originally noticed her because she had been the hottest girl in the vicinity, and he figured that a quick one night thing would make him feel better. And then, of course, he had to go and lose his head in a fit of insanity by telling her about his dad. Blake mentally knocked himself on the head. He still wasn't sure if that'd been a good idea.
But the most pivotal part was when she had gotten angry at him. Instead of letting him take her right there and then at the pool, she'd practically slugged him. And, even though he knew it wasn't normal, he'd felt respect for her instead of angry at being rejected.
There's something wrong with me, Blake shook his head mentally. No normal teenage guy would be happy that he'd gotten snubbed instead of laid.
But he was. And that had marked Arielle was worthy of knowing, in Blake's mind. He didn't want to be in the company of mindless bimbos who would talk his head off and expect commitment. Yeah, they were fun and all, but repetition does get boring.
But if Arielle and he could be friends, then he was fine with taking the time to get to know her.
"Hey," she said to him casually, not looking up from the dial she held in her hands. She gave a frustrated yank that didn't do much of anything. Sighing, she retried it again, twirling the numbers expertly.
Blake smiled when he saw the difficulty she was going through. He took it from her forcefully, and said in a bored voice, "Numbers?"
"05-31-92," she said, watching him carefully, like a fascinated student. Blake cranked the numbers into the dial and pulled the lock open with a satisfying snap. He almost laughed at her disbelieving expression. It had been way too easy. Having actually had to pick countless of harder and more complicated locks before at his old school without even being given the combination, this one was a piece of cake.
Arielle grumbled at his cocky and amused expression and opened her locker, "I would've done it myself anyway."
"Didn't look that way to me," Blake laughed, as Arielle slammed her locker shut after throwing in all her textbooks into the disorganized heap.
She punched him lightly in response and the two of them started off down the empty hallway, as sounds from the cafeteria grew louder and louder. Blake saw Arielle sniff tentatively in the air to see what the cafeteria ladies were serving today, and sigh, "Sushi bar it is," once she realized that the main menu consisted of potato fritters.
Blake laughed and threw an arm around her, "Don't tell me you're one of those girls who starve themselves." He looked pointedly at Arielle's ridiculously straw-thin figure.
Arielle didn't say anything, but turned slightly pale, and Blake briefly wondered if her lack of response was because she really was anorexic. Girls were supposedly quite sensitive with that kind of thing.
"Well, well, well. Fancy this." A cool voice said coldly, and Blake looked up to see Jade Lewallen standing at the end of the hallway, with a sidekick standing right next to her.
Guess Arielle wasn't thinking about anorexia after all.
"Hey Jade," Arielle said casually, although there was a thin tremor beneath her voice. "I was just about to go find you."
Jade's eyes flashed dangerously, and Blake's emerald green ones turned to ice and stone. Jade walked a few steps towards them, and stood a few feet in front of Arielle. "Arielle, and I thought even you had better class than this," Jade sneered, not even throwing Blake a disgusted look.
"Look, Jade, can we please talk about this later?" Arielle said, her voice traveling into a higher pitch.
"No, we can't." Jade said, coming forth and grabbing Arielle's lower arm. "I think we should talk about this right now, in front of this lying, conniving, scumbag dirt."
Despite how angry he was, Blake smiled. So she was still bummed out about the essay. That certainly explained a lot.
Arielle shot Blake a desperate look. It wasn't a plea for rescuing, more like a plea for Blake to understand that Arielle didn't have a choice to correct Jade's rudeness.
"Jade, for someone who thinks so highly of herself, you're a pretty boring person. Try to come up with something better than a dig at my background, will you? After all, we'll all be family soon," Blake said in a sort of teasing, brotherly voice. It was obvious that Jade couldn't stand the thought of Blake being immune to her almighty wrath.
"This someone is a lot more than you will ever be, even if I am thoroughly disgusted right now," Jade hissed in retort, glaring at Arielle all the more fiercely. "And Arielle, next time, try whoring yourself out to someone a little more worthy of it. I think that's something even your ditzy little brain can manage."
Arielle's cheeks colored in response and Blake could see that she was trying to fight off tears of both anger and embarrassment at being demeaned this way by her own sister, never mind the fact that Arielle and Blake hadn't even engaged in anything remotely "whorish".
"That's enough," Blake said in a low voice, all cheerful pretenses now gone. He didn't know if he was more angry at Jade for doing this to her own sister or more sorry for Arielle's inability to stand up for herself.
"That's right, I've had enough of you. Come on, Winter, let's go to lunch." Jade said, failing to include Arielle's name, but all the same, dragging her sister into the cafeteria by the arm.
Blake watched the three of them disappear behind closed doors and then turned slowly and walked in the other direction, his hands fumbling for his lighter and a cigarette, the only real money he spent nowadays.
He frowned as he tossed the empty box into the nearest trash can. He knew it was bad for his health and all that, but he couldn't make himself kick the habit. Lately, with everything going on, he'd been going through them like water. If he had to see Jade more in the future—which he was almost a hundred and ten percent sure he did—then, he had better run down to the drugstore to replenish his supply.
He inhaled and frowned as he thought about Jade. He didn't understand how she had no sisterly regard for Arielle's well being at all. He'd certainly had times when he'd felt like throttling Chase, but he was quite proud to say that he'd never acted on those urges.
Actually, if he got right down to it, he didn't even know why Arielle took the brunt of the blame when it was Blake that Jade should've been yelling at. But then again, Blake thought almost smugly, Jade couldn't quite intimidate him and push his buttons the way she could manipulate the seemingly weak-minded Arielle.
He stood in front of the school's great glass walls. The entire second level was covered in delicate panes, which afforded him a view of the back of the school in all its stately beauty. Blake looked down and could see the tennis courts lined up neatly next to each other. Even further than that, the soccer and football fields dominated the view for as far as the eye could see, and Blake could see stadiums all around the football arena and the baseball pits.
It really was a stunning school; if he had been born into another life and had turned out into one of these rich kids, maybe he would be able to appreciate the school in all its hundreds acres of multi-billion architectural genius and natural grace. As it was, all he could see was that this was his prison.
As he took one last drag on his cigarette and threw it away, suddenly, a figure slammed into him. The person wheeled him around and backed him up against the nearest wall.
Blake blinked at this new development, barely having any time to process it into his brain, when this person kissed him. Her lips were all over his as her tongue found a way into his mouth. Seeing that he was participating as zealously as her, the person bit down on Blake's bottom lip with both passion and anger before the tables turned and she was the one backed against the wall.
Blake pulled away reluctantly, determined to see who his unknown attacker was. When his eyes had cleared and he saw who it was, his jaw dropped.
"Jade?" he asked hoarsely, losing all capacity to formulate a comeback about how Jade was lowering her standards by kissing a filthy street rat like him.
For all that talk she'd just given Arielle about standards, Jade was a pretty filthy hypocrite herself.
She looked up defiantly at him and pushed him into the wall once more.
He glared at her angrily. For someone who'd just kissed him on her own volition, she had no right to push him around like this. "Okay, just exactly what the hell is going on here, Lewallen?"
"I'll tell you what's going on. You," she spat, and Blake's eyebrows rose in confusion. How did she switch moods so fast? "You've come here and ruined everything. You've ruined my home, my grades, but you can't have this! You can't take Arielle away from me!" Jade's eyes had gone wide and her voice was rising even higher.
Blake pulled her into the nearest empty classroom, knowing that at this rate, the whole school would come running in five minutes to see what Jade Lewallen was screaming about. He couldn't help but wonder if she was going insane. After all, normal people didn't kiss someone and then start yelling at them for nothing.
"First of all, I have no idea what the hell you're on. I'm not taking anything from you," Blake snapped irritably. Jade Lewallen had some serious issues. "And second of all, don't you have a boyfriend?"
"This isn't about him," Jade snapped back, "I know what you're doing, and I won't let you take the only family I have."
"Oh yeah?" Blake said coolly, "Last I checked, family didn't mean forsaking each other and embarrassing them shitless."
"I wouldn't have had to do that if she hadn't forsaken me first," Jade snarled, and clenched her tiny fists together.
Blake stared at her for a moment, not realizing how much of a control freak that Jade was until this moment. Then, it dawned on him. Jade was trying to keep Arielle in line by marking Blake in her own way. Had it been some sort of revenge that Jade could kiss Blake if she wanted to, and yet Arielle couldn't do the same, out of fear of Jade's wrath?
This was the most twisted sisterly relationship he'd ever seen. He chuckled in the back of his head at a sudden thought. What would Jade say if she knew that Arielle and Blake were only friends and that she'd kissed a street rat for nothing?
"Arielle and I are just friends," Blake informed her, still grinning, "But now that you mention it, I have been fantasizing about her for quite a while now…"
She punched him in the chest so that Blake nearly doubled up.
"Just out of curiosity," Blake rasped, trying to catch his breath, "Why do you care so much?"
Jade's face was splotchy and red, whether from anger or exhaustion, Blake would never know, "My dad doesn't care about me. My mom's dead. My friends are nothing more than puppets. But Arielle is tied to me. She's the only one who loves me anymore, because she's my sister. And I swear, if you make her turn on me, it will be the last fucking thing you ever do." Jade said all of this coldly, her hands gripping into the front of his shirt threateningly, even though there was almost no emotion at all on her harshly beautiful face.
It was the first time she'd been so expressionless. Normally, Jade was quite open. She scowled when she was angry, sucked up to the teachers when she needed something, and acted superficially nice when it benefitted her. But it was never this mask of unfeeling.
She might have fooled everyone else, but Blake saw right into her. She didn't show expression because she didn't want to feel vulnerable to sentiments like compassion and love. Because it would make her feel weak. Whatever past she'd had had made her feel like she couldn't let the world see who she really was.
He knew all this and more because he was built the exact same way, and for the first time, Blake saw Jade in a different light. Ever since his dad had left, Blake had molded himself into a person that would trust no one, would depend only on himself for survival. Because it would be much easier to just close up and keep it all inside.
Looking at Jade's angry stance in front of him, Blake felt sympathetic and pity towards her. In the end the two of them, they were all fucked up in the same places.
Blake looked away from her grey eyes, not wanting to see anymore. "I won't turn her against you," Blake said quietly, watching as surprise flitted across her face. Not wanting to give her the chance to say anything else, he pulled open the door, and exited out of the room wondering why in the world he was bothering to be nice to someone like Jade.
The irony suddenly struck him that the person they both hated most in the world right now was the person that knew each other the best.
Blake grumbled to himself. Since when had his life become so complicated? He missed the days when he could code everything into black and white and excuse the things he didn't like with his flippant attitude.
He strolled around a corner and stopped. His sister was sitting alone at the bottom of the steps, eating her lunch alone. Blake cleared his throat, and Chase almost jumped up in self defense. When she saw that it was none other than her own brother, she sat back down. "Hey Blake."
"Chase, what are you doing here?" Blake asked, sitting down next to her, and looking at the sandwich that Chase had packed herself this morning. Afraid that the housekeepers wouldn't know about her allergy to nuts, she'd cautiously made herself a ham sandwich instead.
"Connor's with the soccer team, and I thought that it'd be nicer to eat here, in the peace and quiet," Chase shrugged carelessly and took another zealous bite into the bread.
Blake nearly rolled his eyes at his sister. It was just like her to try to tone down her suffering by making everything seem okay. He was almost tempted to ask if the real reason she didn't want to go into the lunchroom was because she was scared of being ostracized and picked on again. Blake knew that even if Chase pretended like she could be strong and handle everything, there was always a breaking point.
But, something stopped him. There was something holding him back, telling him that he shouldn't push Chase any further. She would tell him in her own time and until then, he allowed the two of them to sit together in silence until the bell rang five minutes later.
Later that night, Chase lay alone in her bed, wondering why she couldn't say something about how she was feeling. Today at lunch, she'd almost wanted to speak up and talk to Blake. But somehow, she couldn't bear to do it.
If she did, she would've admitted to him that she was still scared to death of what had happened a few nights ago. She'd told everyone that she was fine so that they wouldn't have to worry, but sometimes, she could still feel herself tensing up at the weirdest times.
Like today, when she'd completely ran the opposite way when she saw Ryder coming. She knew it was irrational, and he'd seem genuine in his confusion about her disappearance, but she couldn't help but connect him with what had happened.
Besides, she figured that she was justified. After all, it wasn't normal to be kidnapped and then be perfectly fine the next day.
And her mom wasn't helping either. After a few questions about if Chase was okay, her mom had pretty much left it at that in favor of spending more time with Mark Lewallen.
Chase punched her pillow angrily. How fine could a person be when they'd been abandoned in the middle of the road? Sure, love was blind (or blinding in Chase's case), but did that mean that her own mother preferred Mark to her daughter?
Sometimes, it would seem like people just choose not to see what's right in front of them.
Chase flipped onto her right side, tugging the sheets up to tuck around her chin. She knew that she was being overly whiny about this, but a part of her was frustrated that Hannah couldn't spare an hour to get to know Chase a little better.
If she did, she would've found out that Chase often lied to make her mother's life more bearable. Like the time when a girl had bit her in elementary school. Like the lunch incident. Or what had happened Monday night.
And if she did, she would know that I can't go to sleep at night anymore, Chase thought miserably. She would never forget that moment in time when she'd thought that it was all going to all be over for her.
Chase gripped the sheets tighter to her chest and tossed a little more, knowing that she couldn't fall asleep because closing her eyes would be like being blindfolded all over again, and helpless to do anything.
Chase was in the middle of playing the counting sheep game with herself when she heard a strange cat noise outside her window. She frowned. In all her days here at the Lewallen grounds, she had never seen so much as a piece of animal fur.
Maybe it's the neighbor's cat, Chase mused to herself before remembering that the Lewallen property extended for acres all around.
Cautiously opening the blinds, Chase looked out of her window and onto the front of the grounds. It was mostly dark outside, so Chase opened up her small, bedside lamp and squinted out into the darkness.
She let her eyes wander onto the empty gazebo and over the swimming pool, when a movement caught her eyes. She immediately directed her gaze at the spot in the bushes and nearly felt her heart stop when she saw a prowling figure instead of the cat she'd thought it was.
It was much too dark to distinguish who it was and Chase quickly turned off her bedroom light, in case it alerted the person to her less-than-sleeping self.
Throwing her sheets off of her, Chase quietly made her way to the door and slipped outside and into the hallway. It's probably just Arielle or Jade, Chase said to herself, making her way down the empty hall while firmly ignoring the voice in her head that was asking Chase why Arielle or Jade would feel the need to sneak around in bushes at one in the morning.
Okay fine, so maybe it wasn't Jade or Arielle. Still, she couldn't bear to wake the rest of the house. That would mean immediate pandemonium, and Chase wanted to find out for herself why there was a person sneaking around. Besides, she figured that she'd have the advantage of stealth and secrecy.
She passed through the other closed doors and the thought of people sleeping behind the doors was both comforting and disturbing. Comforting because she wasn't the living soul. Disturbing because they were all sound asleep, unlike a certain sixteen year old.
Well, maybe this sixteen year old could do something useful for a change. If there was a mysterious prowler on the loose, Chase wanted to make sure he or she never came back. Besides, she doubted that the person would truly want to cause harm. But, just for good measure, she laid her hand on a spare picture frame, just in case she needed to shatter the glass and fight the prowler.
Brave, but foolish. Some people just don't know what's good for them.
Chase slipped downstairs and made her way to the door that would lead to the outdoor pool. She gently slid open the glass door and treaded her way softly onto the newly cut grass.
But when she reached the bushes, nobody was there. Chase gave an inaudible sigh of frustration. There went her element of surprise.
Then, from the bushes, she saw a spot of light flash from the house, and she briefly wondered if someone was awake too. But then, all too soon, it disappeared again.
Suddenly, looking around her, Chase seemed to notice that it was very dark and that she was alone in the silence of the night. Then, a thought struck her. It could very well be that the prowler was the one who had tried to kill her instead of some misguided soul.
Now, feeling sick in her stomach at her stupidity, Chase nearly ran back into the house and shut the door behind her, locking it effectively. From there, she traveled as fast as she could back upstairs and into her room, where she shut the door and locked it.
Chase climbed into bed and closed her eyes, shivering at the now cold sheets. Why had her sleep deprived brain thought that it would be a good idea to go hunting for midnight trespassers? Somewhere in her mind, she was telling herself to relax and to be thankful that she was safe and sound in her bed.
She rolled over and hit a spot. Chase froze and her eyes flew open. Somehow, the spot was hot and warm, unlike the rest of the cold bed. As if a live human body had been sitting on it mere moments before Chase had entered the room.
And somewhere in the distance, a cat's meow could be heard in the darkness, almost as if it too, was warning Chase van Buren to stay away.
AN: Just for everyone's information, I know that the links didn't work last time. This time, they will be on my profile.
Also, just to explain the kissing scene, Jade is angry at Arielle because she thinks that her sister will leave her side and join Blake's. So, in retaliation Jade kisses Blake and also because she feels the need to be number one and control everything around her. It's a bit of weird psychology going on. If anyone has any questions, send me a message or something.
Until then, please read and review! I would love to know what all of you think. Also, I accept flames, just make sure that if you say something like, "It sucked", at least tell me why so I can improve it next time. Otherwise than that, I welcome all feedback and criticism.