Chapter 96 Chapter Ninety-Six

Chapter 96 Chapter Ninety-Six
“So…” Seraphine cleared her throat when the six of us gathered by the pool at Jace’s house. Or the house his parents used when they wanted to keep an eye on him. 

Jace sat alone, keeping a spot between his widespread legs for me. Jackson was leaning forward, both hands on his elbows, gazing starstruck at Sera. Nicholas and Sophie were seated together and he had an arm around her waist. 

The team was back, but at what cost? 

I stood beside Seraphine, shoulder to shoulder, like we were about to make an important announcement. 

She tilted her head at me. “Wanna tell them or should I?”

I sighed. “Go ahead.” We had gone through the variables together already, brainstorming for hours after Regina and Mrs. James left my dorm room, but we were painfully empty on solutions. 

“Is it Regina?” Jace asked. 

I nodded a little, my hands clasped behind my back. He sat straight up immediately, his eyes narrowing in a mixture of concern and an attitude that was waiting to be told what to do. Like “go straighten her out. Because she tried to frame your girlfriend as a thief.”

I knew Jace would blame himself and try to handle it on his own. That’s why I asked for a meeting with everyone else present—instead of meeting up with him at his apartment and spending the night binge-watching a movie he picked out. 

“What did she do?” His tone was direct. 

“Before you jump the gun…” I held a hand out, my tone soft, “…you should hear everything first.”

He didn’t seem to agree with that—judging by his tightened jaw and his rigid posture, but at least he wasn’t racing for the door. I gestured at Seph to continue.

She rubbed her hands together. “Alright then. Here’s what you should have in mind. Regina’s worse.”

Sophie groaned. “Has she started her campaign for Queen of Beacon High already?”

“Queen of Beacon—“ Sera frowned, her lips flattening. “What is that?”

Sophie waved her hand. “Oh, it’s just some silly thing she came up with over the holiday. She added me to a group with a bunch of other girls. She said she wanted to do something new for Beacon…and since she was the most popular person—

Sera snorted loudly beside me, rolling my eyes. “Most popular? For what? Being a bully? Carrying a torch for someone who doesn’t want her?”

Jackson laughed, like she’d said an equivalent to a gold stand-up comedy joke. Sophie spread her hands with an easy shrug. “I don’t know. I left the group before she could assign us “roles”—” she curled her fingers. “Anyway, she said Sharpman approved it already, so I’m sure she’ll announce it to the entire school very soon.”

“She’s about to find out how very unpopular she is, then,” Sera commented dryly. 

I was looking at Jace.  

Or rather, he was looking at me. He raked his fingers several times through his hair, his eyes only briefly darting towards the inner part of the house, before he’d look at me again. He placed his hand on his knee, but his knuckles were white. 
“I’m fine,” I mouthed at him, pushing the corner of my mouth into a smile. “I promise.”

He sighed audibly, but the tension didn’t leave. “Want to kick her ass, then?” I mouthed again. “Because you have my full permission.”

His frown cracked a little at that, and I grinned, winking at him. Even if Sera and I couldn’t think of a place to get me—us—out of this mess, I knew Jace would stop at no lengths to keep me from getting expelled. 

I didn’t want him to get into trouble doing it, that’s all.

The winter holiday told me that he wasn’t on good terms with his parents or Ryan, his brother. And Christopher had done enough for me, already. I had to fight my battles myself. 

..sometimes, at least. 

“Sera?” I nudged her arm, reminding her we were standing in front of them, on an imaginary stage. 

She blinked a few times, before realization flickered in her eyes. “Right,” she snapped her fingers. “We were talking about the fact that Regina Michaels planted a fake diamond bracelet in Grace’s room and now she might get expelled.”

My jaw dropped as the words rushed out of her. 
That wasn’t the way we planned to tell them. 

Everyone was shocked. Sophie almost fell off the edge of her chair, Nicholas’s lips were parted and his brows sharply furrowed. Jackson looked like he was about to square up and Jace…he was furious. 

Quiet, but furious. 
He sat perfectly still, staring at me with his eyes hard and unwavering. “How did she find it in your room?”

I exhaled slowly. “Mrs. James. She showed up after school on a claim from Regina:”

Jace’s brow arched as he tilted his head, studying my face. “And you think Mrs. James planted it?” He asked quietly. 

Seraphine gasped before I could respond, snapping her fingers at him. “How did you figure that out?” She asked. “Oh well,” she shrugged before he could say anything. “I guess it’s not a far-fetched conclusion when you know Regina’s involved. And since Grace would never steal something fake—” she threw an arm over my neck. 

I mock-glared at her. “I wouldn’t steal. At all.”

“Right, right,” she nodded, with a mischievous smirk. “I’m only joking. You’re the only one here with morals. You and maybe good boy Nicholas over there.” She tipped her chin in his direction. “If it were Jackson, I’d buy it a hundred percent.”

“I thought you trusted me.” Jackson placed a hand on his chest, looking hurt. “I meant it when I said I had enough money to take care of you if your parents disowned you because they don’t approve of us.”

What? I squinted. What kind of conversations were they having in private? 

I looked at Jace. He merely shrugged. 
“I trust you, babe,” Sera said, blowing him a kiss. “That’s why I know you’d do it for the fun of it.”

Jackson grinned. I rolled my eyes. “I think Regina has something on Mrs. James,” I filled in the rest of the information Sera left out. “She said something about paying Mrs. James salary. She hinted at something else when she threatened that nobody would hire Mrs. James if she got fired from Beacon High.”

Sera nodded repeatedly, backing me up. “Yup. It looked very fishy. Mrs. James knew it was planted—when we called Regina out, she was going to close the case. Until that happened.” She folded her arms. “So, she’s asked our poor Grace to appear in front of Sharpman in the morning. That means we have—

She glanced at an imaginary watch on her wrist. “A short amount of time,” she said, “—to figure out how to keep Grace from getting expelled. We know she’s the glue holding this group together. And Jace would absolutely lose his mind if she left Beacon.”

He looked like he was close to the point, already. 

“Okay,” Sera clapped her hands. “Let’s take a ten-minute break; guys. I’m thirsty as hell, so I’m going to the kitchen to get something to drink. When we return, we’ll go back to brainstorming.”

Jackson grabbed Sera by the waist, making her squeal as he threw her over his shoulder, striding into the house. Nicholas and Sophie went quietly. 

I stayed behind. 

Jace remained seated. 

Neither of us said anything for a while, even though there was so much to be said between us. Then he exhaled tersely. “You should’ve called me.”

“When Mrs. James found the bracelet or when Seraphine stomped on it, almost giving me a heart attack?” I joked, walking over to him. 

The corner of his mouth twitched. “She knew it was fake before she did that.”

I nodded, settling on his lap. I placed my head on his chest and his arms wrapped around my body, holding me closer. “Yup. She did it because she knew Regina wouldn’t care about a fake. But even with that…” my throat felt tight, with the fear of losing my spot. Not just my spot at Beacon, but my entire future, going down the drain. 

What college would accept a high school student who didn’t finish high school? And worse, when they realize I was expelled from a prestigious place like Beacon High, it’d be a smear on my record. 

“Hey.” Jace tipped my chin, raising my gaze to meet his. He gave me a small smile. “I’m going to fix this.”

“How?” I murmured. “I don’t want you getting into trouble with your parents. And your grandfather,” I shook my head. “I don’t want him thinking I’m freeloading off you.”

“Christopher?” Jace laughed, shaking his head like the idea was absurd. “My grandpa adores you. He’s asked if we’re going to college together, so he can give us one of his houses. He’s also managed to convince your mom to come work for him—because he says she should be putting her degree to good use.”

“My mom?” A light crease appeared between my brows, my lips pursed sideways. “She didn’t tell me anything about a job.”

Jace leaned in, his lips brushing mine. “That’s because he only managed to get her response this morning. He wanted to keep a secret—because he’s worried you might be trying to force you into the family.”

I scoffed lightly. “Force? His Christmas party was amazing. I’m looking forward to another December—without your brother at least,” I added, on a sour note. 

Jace’s hand slid down my back, his lips coaxing mine open. “Ryan’s banned from future parties that my grandpa organizes.”

“Regina too?” I whispered, with a soft moan. 

He stopped, pulling back with a puzzled expression. “She wasn’t at the party.”

It was a slip. 
I bit my lip, contemplating whether to tell him that she’d bragged about the party being a free-for-all for people who had money. People who weren’t living off plus-one invites like. 

“She’s not invited,” Jace said firmly, his eyes sparkling with reassurance without asking questions. “Anybody else you’d like to cross off that list?”

I pretended to think about it, tapping my chin. But he pulled my finger away as his hand slid behind my ear, cradling my head. My eyelids drifted close as he kissed me, my arms circling his neck. I leaned in with a keen whimper, letting my worries drift away and the warmth in my chest, the flutter in my stomach…take over. 

His hand trailed lower as my fingers threaded through his hair, his kisses moving down my neck. “We should take that ten-minute break,” Jace whispered huskily. “How long do we have left?”

“Mm…” I shook my head as my toes curled from the warmth that gathered low in my stomach, not paying attention. 

“She won’t notice us if we slip away,” he murmured, his hands sliding under my shirt. “Really quietly.”

Neither of us was making any attempts to stand up, though. 

A loud throat clearing—demanding attention and definitely from Seraphine—cut through the air. 

Jace groaned. “You have awful timing, Seraphine.”

“I didn’t say it was make-out time,” she corrected. “So you guys have awful timing. Come on,” she clapped her hands sharply. “You’re not glued to each other. You can keep your tongues in your mouths for tonight.”

I rolled my eyes as I pulled away from Jace. “You’re one to talk.”

She smiled, unabashedly. “I am. But at least I’m not the one who’s at risk of losing her spot at her dream college because she won’t have enough credits to graduate high school.”

My mood plunged again. 

But Sera’s smile only grew wider as she glanced over our heads—Jace and me. The others trooped in then, heading to their seats. 

“Because I already knew you guys were not going to be useful,” she announced. “I took it on myself to use my resources. And—” she held up a finger, taking a moment’s pause like she was preparing us for the grand finale. 

When she was satisfied, the finger dropped. 
She held her hands behind her back. 
“I found something on Mrs. James. It’s sizzling enough for us to force her to do the right thing.”