Chapter 92 The battle lines
Chapter 92: The Battle Lines (Elena’s POV)
The second period bell rang, but I didn't move from my desk in the biology lab. My phone had been buzzing against my thigh for the last ten minutes. When I finally pulled it out under the desk, my stomach dropped.
The Northview Confidential page had posted a video. I didn't even need to press play to know it was bad—the thumbnail was a picture of me and Julian from weeks ago in the library, but the headline said I was conning Liam for his family's money.
"Elena."
I looked up. Liam was standing at the classroom door. He didn't look angry at me, but his face was completely set, his jaw tight. The teacher hadn't walked in yet, and the rest of the students in the room were already whispering, looking between their phones and me.
Liam walked straight to my desk, picked up my bag, and held out his hand. "We’re leaving."
"Liam, the video—" I started, my voice shaking.
"I know it's fake," he said loudly, making sure the entire classroom heard him. "I know how Maya operates. Come on."
I took his hand, and he pulled me out of the room. We didn't head for the exit; we walked straight toward the courtyard. Maya, Chloe, and Jax were already there, sitting around one of the stone benches like they were waiting for a show. A crowd of other students had gathered nearby, watching us approach.
"Look at that," Jax mocked as we walked out into the open air. "The dynamic duo. Liam, did you see the post? Or are you still pretending your girlfriend is a saint?"
Liam stopped a few feet from the bench, keeping me right behind him. "I saw it, Jax. And I know Maya spent her morning editing old audio files from the library tutors' room. It’s a cheap trick."
Maya stood up from the bench, tossing her hair back. She looked furious that Liam wasn't buying it. "It’s not a trick, Liam! She said those words! You’re just too blind to see that she played you from day one. Ask her yourself. Elena, tell him what you told Julian about him being an easy target."
"I never said that about Liam," I said, stepping out from behind his shoulder. My voice was steady now, the fear turning into anger. "Julian was threatening to cut off my mom’s medicine that day. I was trying to make him think he had control over me so he would leave me alone. You took my words and chopped them up to protect your own sick ego."
"Oh, please," Chloe scoffed, sipping from her water bottle. "You’re a scholarship student who was about to get kicked out of her apartment. Suddenly you’re dating the richest guy on the hockey team and your mom's bills vanish. The math adds up, Elena. You're a gold digger."
"I don't have any money, Chloe," Liam cut in, his voice dropping to that dangerous, quiet tone. "My dad cut me off two days ago. I don't have a trust fund anymore, I don't have the Vance name, and I’m not the captain. If she was using me for money, she’d be standing next to Julian right now, not me."
The courtyard went completely silent. The students watching started murmuring. Nobody expected Liam to admit out loud that he was broke and off the team.
Maya looked shocked for a second, then her face twisted with malice. "Then she’s even stupider than I thought. She ruined you for nothing."
"She didn't ruin me," Liam said, stepping closer to Maya. "She saved me from becoming like my father. And she saved me from spending another second pretending to like people like you."
Jax stood up, trying to look tough, but he stayed behind the stone table. "You’re talking a lot of trash for a guy who has nothing left, Vance. You’re nobody in this school now. By tomorrow, everyone is going to be laughing at you."
"Let them laugh," I said, looking at Jax, then Chloe, and finally Maya. "We don't care about your rankings, or your gossip pages, or your parents' money. You can post whatever videos you want. You can tell whatever lies you want. But you can't touch us anymore."
Maya took a step toward me, her fingernails digging into her palms. "You think you’re safe because Liam is holding your hand? Julian isn't done with you, Elena. My family isn't done with you. We run this school."
"You run a bunch of scared kids, Maya," Liam said. He turned his back on them, completely dismissing her. He looked down at me, his expression softening instantly. "Let's go, El. We're done here."
We walked away from the courtyard, leaving the three of them standing there in front of the whole school. Maya was screaming something behind us, but I didn't even try to listen.
We walked out to the parking lot and leaned against his car. The adrenaline was finally leaving my system, and my knee felt stiff, but I felt incredibly light.
"You really told them you were broke," I said, looking up at him.
"It's the truth," Liam said, reaching out to wrap his arms around my waist. He pulled me close against him, his chest warm and solid. "And like you said inside... the truth doesn't bounce. They have nothing left to threaten us with."
"They're going to make our lives miserable until graduation," I reminded him, resting my hands on his shoulders.
"Let them try," Liam murmured. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. This kiss didn't feel like a goodbye or a rescue. It felt like a declaration of war against the rest of the school. We were broke, we were outcasts, but we were together.
When he pulled away, he smiled, his eyes bright. "Come on. Let's go look at our new house."