Chapter 242 Chapter Two Hundred And Forty Two

Chapter 242 Chapter Two Hundred And Forty Two


Jace POV

"Look, before you say anything, I wasn't trying to date her behind your back." Marcus held up his hands defensively, his voice strained. "I swear, man. I don't even know how it happened. I guess it started sometime after you and Allison had that fight at the pool over Lena."

The pool incident. Of course. I could still see it perfectly, Allison shoving Lena into the deep end during that party, Lena thrashing in the water because she couldn't swim, everyone laughing like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.

Me diving in fully clothed to pull her out while she coughed up chlorinated water and mascara ran down her face.

The look of betrayal when she realized I'd been the one to set up the "prank" in the first place, even if I'd also been the one to save her.

Dark times. Thank fuck we'd moved past all that.

Marcus continued, his words coming faster now, desperate. "I had to take Allison home because she was wasted and you'd already left with Lena. We were in my car, and she was crying about you, saying all this stuff about how you'd chosen that 'fat nobody' over her. And I guess one thing led to another and we... we had sex."

"Shut up, you idiot!" Allison hissed, her face flushing crimson. "Oh my God! Literally nobody asked you to open your stupid mouth! What is wrong with you?"

"Come on, Allison." Marcus turned to her, and his expression made my chest tighten.

Big bad Marcus, six-foot-three of pure muscle, the guy who'd never backed down from a fight in his life, looked like he was on the verge of tears.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

"I don't want to hide it anymore. I'm tired of pretending like you mean nothing to me."

"I told you from the beginning that I was only using you as a rebound, okay?" Allison's voice rose, shrill and defensive.

"Because I wanted to make Jace jealous. I was going to tell him we were together so he would come crawling back, begging to have me back. Until I changed my mind and came up with a better plan, to just get rid of Lena altogether and remove the problem at its source!"

Marcus flinched like she'd slapped him. "So why did you keep coming back?"

His voice cracked. "You called me at two in the morning last Thursday, begging me to come over because you couldn't sleep. You invited me to that family dinner at your parents' country club. You let me take you to that movie you wanted to see, the romantic one you made me swear not to tell anyone about. Why?"

He took a step toward her, his hands reaching out before he caught himself. "How come you're never like this when it's just the two of us? When we're alone, you laugh at my jokes and hold my hand and look at me like, like I matter. I could've sworn you were happy with me. Don't I make you happy at all?"

Allison sputtered, her composure cracking. "Because, because..." She looked away, her jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping.

"Oh, just shut the hell up! So what if I got a little attached? Who cares? It doesn't change anything. I can never actually be with you, Marcus, because I only ever date the best. The most popular. The guy everyone wants."

She pointed directly at me, and I became suddenly, uncomfortably aware that I'd become a footnote in their lovers' quarrel.

Iwas watching them go back and forth like a train wreck, unable to look away, unable to process what the hell was happening.

"It's Jace I want," Allison continued, stabbing her finger toward my chest. "Not you. It was always Jace. You were just... convenient."

Marcus looked fucking devastated.

Absolutely destroyed. His shoulders slumped, his face went pale, and for a second I thought he might actually cry right there in the middle of the hallway. I almost felt bad for the guy, almost.

Marcus grabbed her wrist gently, holding it between them like it was something precious. He said plainly, voice raw with emotion, "You told me you loved me."

The hallway went silent. Even the distant sounds of lockers slamming and students talking seemed to fade away.

Allison said nothing. Not a single word. And no one in the history of mankind had ever looked more conflicted than she looked in that moment.

Her face was red and all puckered up, her lips pressed into a thin line.

She looked like she equally wanted to kiss Marcus and rip him to shreds with her bare hands. Her eyes were glassy, her breathing shallow.

They were staring at each other now, completely lost in whatever the hell this was between them. Centimeters away from each other's lips, gazing into each other's eyes like they'd forgotten I existed.

"Look, man," I spoke up, breaking the ridiculous romantic tension. "I don't give a shit if, "

"Whatever you need me to do to make up for this, I'll do it." Marcus turned to me, his expression pleading.

"I didn't mean for it to go on this long. It just fucking happened, okay? She was there and she was hurting and I was stupid enough to think I could fix her. So please, just tell me what you want and I'll, "

"That's the thing." I cut him off, my voice flat and cold. "I don't actually give a shit who you're fucking, whether it's Allison or some other girl or whoever. Doesn't have shit to do with me. You're definitely a piece of shit and a coward for sneaking around like this, but that's your problem, not mine."

I shrugged. "I have Lena, and we're doing great. Better than great, actually. What I do want you to do is keep your sneaky link on a leash and make sure she fixes the fucking mess she created. Do you understand me?"

Marcus stared at me for a long minute, like he was trying to figure out if I was serious or setting some kind of trap.

Then he nodded slowly, confusion written all over his face. "You're serious? You don't mind? I mean... I thought you'd be pissed. We've been friends since freshman year and I, "

"Keep your secrets, man." I gestured at both of them dismissively.

"Whatever this twisted thing is between you two, I don't even want to know the details. What I do want, what I need, is for Lena's expulsion to be thrown out immediately. And you're going to convince Allison to do it."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not standing right fucking here!" Allison snapped.

My eyes turned to her, and I let every ounce of hatred I felt show on my face. She actually shrank back, her bravado faltering under the weight of my stare.

"Okay then, I'll talk directly to you," I said, my voice dangerously quiet. "That's what all this is really about, right? You don't actually give a shit about cheerleading or some stupid rivalry.

It's the worship that you like, the attention, the power. And you still have more than enough mindless followers to keep your ego happy, if that crowd earlier was anything to go by. So no, this isn't about Lena taking your spot on the cheer squad."

I took a step closer and Marcus immediately moved to block my path again, his body a wall between us.

God, he looked so fucking punch-able in that moment, standing there protecting her after everything she'd just said to him.

But I kept my focus on Allison, staring past Marcus' shoulder. "What you actually want... what you've always wanted... is me. Isn't that right, Allison?"

Allison's jaw clenched.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defensively over her chest, but I could see the truth flickering in her expression.

"You were mine first," she said, her voice taking on a possessive edge.

"Ever since middle school. Seventh grade, remember? Behind the gym during the fall dance? You were my first kiss, my first everything. We were happy together, Jace. We ruled this school. We were perfect. Until that bitch came along and ruined everything we had."

Marcus looked hurt, genuinely, deeply hurt, but he didn't stop protecting her. Didn't step aside. I wasn't too angry to pity my friend, because he clearly deserved better than this toxic mess.

But I was just angry enough to not say that to him out loud.

Instead, I turned all my attention back to the target.

"Listen to me very carefully, Allison, because I am not going to say this twice." My voice was ice-cold, sharp enough to cut.

"There is no universe, no reality, no timeline, no alternate dimension, where you and I end up together. What we had in middle school? That was years ago. We were kids. I've grown up. I've changed. And the person I am now? That person wants nothing to do with you."

Her lip started to quiver.

"No amount of scheming or manipulating or destroying other people's lives will ever change the fact that I just don't want you," I continued, each word deliberate and cutting.

"Did you really think that if you got Lena kicked out of school, we'd just magically be together? That I'd come running back to you? We'd still be together outside of Westbrook. We'd still be together in the real world, where your daddy's money and your popularity don't mean shit. Did that ever occur to you?"

Allison looked like a broken little girl standing there, her lip quivering, her hands curled into shaking fists at her sides, her shoulders bunched up tight around her ears. For a split second, I almost felt sorry for her.

Almost.

"I'm never going to feel the same way about you that you feel about me," I said, my voice softer now but no less final.

"So for the love of anything you care about in that black, empty heart of yours, let this go. Fix what you did to Lena. Make this right. And then stay the fuck away from both of us."

The hallway was dead silent. A few students who'd stopped to watch scattered when I glanced their way.

Then Allison's expression changed. The vulnerability vanished, replaced by something cold and hard and vicious. She glared at me, her eyes blazing with the fire of a thousand suns, with fury and rejection and pure, undiluted hatred.

"Never," she said, her voice low and venomous. "I will never undo what I did. Lena deserves everything she's getting and more. And if you think you can just walk away from me, from us, and be happy with her?"

She laughed bittely. "I'll destroy her completely. I'll make sure she never sets foot in another decent school. I'll make sure everyone knows she's a cheating fraud. I will ruin her, Jace. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."