Chapter 244 Chapter Two Hundred And Forty Four

Chapter 244 Chapter Two Hundred And Forty Four


Lena

I tried to turn back around the corner and hide, but Allison wasn't about to let that happen.

"I can literally see you wearing Coach's ridiculous sunglasses!" she shouted, her voice echoing down the hallway. "What part of 'expelled effective immediately' do you not understand? Are you stupid or just deaf?"

I was forced to come out of hiding, stepping into full view. My first instinct was to scream at her, to let loose all the rage and pain I felt thinking about my four wasted years, all the work I'd put in only to have it destroyed by her in a single morning. But I forced myself to stay calm. Getting into a screaming match with Allison would only make things worse.

I took a breath and composed myself as best I could. "You know I didn't cheat on that test, Allison. Whatever it is you want from me, just talk to me and I'm sure we can reach some kind of—"

Allison threw her head back and laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. "Oh, so now you want to be diplomatic? Huh? You stupid fucking skank!"

"Allison," Marcus warned quietly, glancing around nervously. "You're gathering a crowd. People are watching."

But Allison was beyond reason. She started walking toward me, her eyes blazing with fury, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

Before she could get close, Jace stepped directly into her path, positioning himself between us. He towered over her, his expression dark and threatening as she continued to scream.

"You think you can just waltz around here like you own the place?" Allison shrieked, trying to get around Jace. "You're nothing! You've always been nothing! A fat little nobody who got lucky with a makeover!"

I noticed Jace shoot a look at Marcus—a quick, meaningful glance. Marcus caught it immediately and moved forward, grabbing Allison by the arm.

"For fuck's sake, Allison," Marcus said through gritted teeth, physically pulling her backward. "Behave yourself!"

And just like that, she stopped.

Her nose flared as she glared at Marcus, her whole body going rigid. For a second she looked like she might claw his eyes out. Then something shifted. She yanked her arm free, stomped her foot on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum, and stalked over to grab a plastic chair from against the wall. She dragged it noisily across the floor, planted it a few feet away, and sat down heavily, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared daggers at all three of us.

I stared, completely baffled. This wasn't the first time I'd seen something like this happen. Allison would be in the middle of tearing into someone—absolutely losing her mind—and then Marcus would appear, whisper something to her or ask her to stop, and she'd actually listen. Almost like he had something on her. Some kind of leverage that forced her to be compliant when nothing else would work.

I looked over at Jace, leaning in to whisper. "Did you just see that?"

Jace rubbed his ear, wincing slightly. "Yup. Heard it too. Girl's got a set of lungs on her."

"Are they..." I trailed off, not sure how to phrase it. "I mean, him and her?"

"You mean together?" Jace glanced at Marcus and Allison, who were now having a heated whispered conversation on the other side of the hallway. "Not publicly. But yeah. They've been hooking up for a while now."

"Wow." I scratched my head, trying to wrap my mind around that bizarre combination. Marcus, who was actually a decent guy when Allison wasn't around, and Allison, who was... well, Allison. "That's... unexpected."

Across from us, Allison eventually pointed her face away from Marcus dramatically and crossed her arms again, refusing to look at him. Marcus just looked exhausted, shaking his head and rubbing his temples like he had a massive headache.

After a moment, he approached us, clearly playing the role of peace emissary. "Listen, man," he said to Jace, his voice low and tired. "Obviously this isn't going to work out here. Tensions are way too high, Allison's being difficult as hell, and we're attracting way too much attention. I'm really sorry about this whole mess, but we're just going to have to meet up somewhere later where we can hash this out in private. Somewhere neutral."

"Hash this out?" Jace's voice was sharp with disbelief. "I don't want to hear any more of her screeching. There's zero need for anyone to 'talk' about anything. Just give us the proof that this whole test cheating thing is complete bullshit, and that's it. What more is there to say?"

"Come on, you know how she is," Marcus said, gesturing helplessly toward Allison, who was still sitting in her chair looking like an angry toddler. "Besides, Lena literally just offered to discuss it. We can all sit down like adults and figure this out."

"The longer we wait, the more of a risk we're taking," Jace shot back, his frustration evident. "Allison is not a child, and I'm sick of constantly having to tiptoe around her and what she wants, what her preferences are, what she likes and doesn't like! She's the one who caused this mess. She should be the one fixing it. Right now."

"Give us a time and place," I said suddenly.

Jace turned to me, his eyes wide. "But princess—"

"Don't worry, Jace." I kept my voice steady even though my heart was racing. "Let's just go with it. It's not like we have a better option right now, right?"

The bell rang suddenly, loud and jarring. Students started pouring out of classrooms, filling the hallways with noise and movement.

And that's when I saw her.

Madison stepped out of Mrs. Harper's English class, Allison's designer bag slung over her shoulder. She was too busy watching where she was going to notice the junior in front of her. Madison's foot shot out—whether intentionally or not, I couldn't tell—and the poor girl went sprawling, crashing hard into a locker with a painful bang.

Madison didn't even pause. She just kept catwalking down the hallway like nothing had happened, high-fiving her friend Tracy as they laughed about something.

My eyes locked onto that bag. Everything else faded into background noise.

"School library," Marcus was saying. "During our free period. Fourth hour. We can all sit down, talk this through like reasonable people, and resolve all of this. Then we put it behind us and move on. Sound good?"

"Alright," I said, my eyes never leaving Madison as she disappeared around the corner. "We'll be there."

But as far as I was concerned, that library meeting was just a pipe dream. A distraction. A backup plan at best.

That bag? That bag was plan A.

Jace must have noticed where my attention had gone because he leaned in close. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," I said quietly, "that we might not need that library meeting after all."

His eyes followed mine, spotting Madison in the distance. Understanding dawned on his face. "P
rincess, please tell me you're not about to do what I think you're about to do."