It distracts her all morning.

A tangible, actual reminder of the funds she no longer had. As much as her mother wanted to claim they were fine, that they were doing better now, compared to before – they were nothing.

Ava could hardly focus in Philosophy, even when Lydia Beaufort argued against Ruby from the seat beside her. None of it mattered in this moment, not when her mother had been wrong. And Heather Sinclair was rarely wrong. Yet here they were, without her sister's tutelage paid. Again.

"Ava?" Ruby called softly and she looked up in time to realise class was over.

For a moment her gaze darted to Mr Sutton, wondering what he would have to say about her disinterest. Not that it mattered, Lydia was already going over paperwork of some sort with him.

"Aves?"

She flinched away from the hand on her shoulder.

"Woah." Ruby raised her hands in surrender, brows furrowing as she stared down at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ava cleared her throat, trying to cover up her hoarse tone. "Nothing. Sorry, I was lost in thought."

It was clear Ruby didn't believe her, but she nodded along anyway. Ava quickly pulled her stack of unopened books closer, forcing them into her overpriced handbag. A gift from a friend that had helped her fit in with Maxton Hall's rich crowds.

"We're going to be late." Ava nodded mutely at Ruby's statement, watching Lydia from the corner of her eye.

The young Beaufort glanced away from their philosophy teacher long enough to catch Ava's gaze. She watched with morbid satisfaction as Lydia's expression dropped. The way her mouth tightened in displeasure before that easy going smile was painted back on her face.

"Ruby," Ava called, to where her friend had already walked out of the classroom. Ruby paused, frowning once again when she saw that Ava wasn't directly behind her. "Go on ahead, I need to talk with Mr Sutton."

Half truths were better than lies.

Ava could still feel Lydia watching her. It was easy to slip out into the hallway and hide in one of the nearby alcoves, sitting in the shadowed side and allowing the widow light to draw the focus away from her. Sometimes it was too easy to blend into the background of this decadent school.

Even with the bright pink blazer she still went unnoticed as the hoards of students moved past her during the classroom change. She waited until Mr Sutton walked out as well, waited until he was down the corridor and turned into the hallway that led to his office before returning to the philosophy classroom.

Lydia was waiting for her as expected.

It was less expected for her to be sitting at the teacher's desk, lounging in his chair with her feet propped up on the desk. She had her compact mirror out, fixing her makeup. Ava stepped forward, glancing down at the various sheets of paperwork before shifting them to one side and perching on the desk corner.

The Beaufort made no move to speak, simply content to make Ava wait for her to be finished.

A power play, a simple one, but a grab for power nonetheless. She often imagined that Lydia had little power. Though even Ava could see that she deserved more.

"What can I help you with Sinclair?" She drawled before pouting her lips and inspecting the glossy shade that coated them. "As I recalled our business was finished."

Ava hummed, "Our deal was the entirety of Lillian's school career."

"We did," The mirror closed with a sharp snap, "So why exactly have you come crawling back for more?"

"A deal is a deal, Miss Beaufort." Ava challenged, brows raised as the young woman reclined back in her chair. "I don't appreciate you going back on your word."

"Your sister's tuition has been paid." Lydia's voice had grown harsh, no longer that sweet calm tone. "I've done my part."

"Firstly," Ava mused, glancing around the room at all the empty desks. "Her tuition has not been paid. Secondly, the payment times have changed, after this year they want yearly instalments - not monthly. I will need you to accommodate that."

When she turned back Lydia had grown pale, clearly catching onto her mean as she too stared out at all those empty desks that housed their peers only minutes prior. She had dropped her feet back onto the floor, sitting up straight with a rigidness that looked painful.

"I'm sure you will of course," Ava carried on lightly, "Neither of us wants to see the messy outcome of your little dalliance being exposed."

"I paid the money." Lydia whispered and for a moment Ava pitied her for the way she had trembled. "It was a set-up payment, it should have gone through automatically."

She fought the urge to frown, keeping her face carefully cold and blank despite not liking the way Lydia had suddenly lost her confidence. Let alone all the implications of a missed payment.

"You should rectify that," Ava pointed out, checking the time and quickly rising to her feet. "And soon."

Lydia's throat bobbed, "I will."

She hesitated.

It was that fear lining Lydia's face that had her gut churning.

"Lydia–" Ava broke off, already stumbling over her words even as Lydia looked at her in surprise. She had never spoken to her with such a soft tone, not since that night. Ava had always kept herself cold and transactional when it came to Lydia, over time they had slowly grown closer. As close as blackmailer and blackmailee could be. An odd sort of comradeship borne of two women surviving the shit the world put them through.

Ava took a calm, steadying breath, smoothing out her words into a neutral tone.

"Lydia, I asked you once when I first discovered–"

"It's not like that." Lydia cut her off quickly.

"If it was," Ava continued on as if she hadn't spoken. "I would help you. Back up your word."

Lydia cut her harsh look, "Why the hell would you do that? You need my money."

Ava shrugged, "I do, but I also couldn't live with myself if I left you would some abusive prick."

They stared at each other. Calm gazes locked and searching for some unknown answer. Ava didn't know what she wanted Lydia to say, only that she needed the girl to know that despite the money and deals she would support her.

Eventually they had stared at each other long enough for Ava to believe their conversation to be over. She nodded to herself, turning to leave the room. She had only made three steps when Lydia called out to her.

"Why."

It was less of a question and more of a demand.

Ava sighed, "Because it would be the right thing to do."

"The right thing to do would be reporting me and him to the school board." Lydia states, voice firm as Ava one again turns to meet her gaze. "We broke the school rules, and the law. You didn't care about that."

"Because you care about him," Ava tilts her head to the side, seeing another woman sitting in Lydia's place. "You wouldn't leave him if I forced you to, it wouldn't be your choice."

"Why offer to help me?"

Ava can't help but rub at the spot between her eyes, feeling a headache begin to build.

"Why does it matter, Lydia?"

"Because it does."

"Can it not simply be because anyone deserves help in that situation?" Ava demands, "That it would be... a waste of your existence to be drowned out by some man?"

"Careful," Lydia taunts, rising to her feet with not a single sign of her previous insecurities showing. "It's starting to sound like you care about me."

Ava scoffs as Lydia steps closer.

"Says the woman who got me a Prada handbag for Christmas."

Lydia's gaze dropped to the bag on her arm, the one currently weighed down by school books and her old laptop.

She shrugs, "What can I say, keep your enemies close."

Ava rolls her eyes.

"Besides," Lydia carries on, stepping around her and reaching for the classroom door. "It suits you well."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･

Ruby keeps her busy for the rest of the day. Endless talk of the student committee and the planning committee that she had been put in charge of this year filling the silence. It had fully consumed Ruby's life, along with Ava as she spent her free period listening to Ruby and Lin discuss the opening ideas for the reception.

They'd barely been at school a week and already there was an event to be planned. A high profile one if Ava remembers correctly. Ruby will no doubt work herself into a tizz over it. But for now they were still arranging the event, phone calls to caterers and DJs taking precedence over their time.

Eventually, when she couldn't take it anymore – truthfully she could hardly stand it at the beginning but they were her friends and she wanted to be supportive – she slipped away. Using the crowd to her advantage.

It was easy to get lost in Maxton Hall, Ava had spent her first week just exploring the grand castle, determined to learn every path, corridor, doorway and stair. She wanted to know the fastest way to get around, the best place to hide away, the most crowded spaces.

Eventually she learned it was the woods she liked best.

They surrounded the whole school, enclosing the castle within its grounds and providing a barrier to the outside world. There were pathways that etched into the forest floors. Some no more than simple footracks, other wide paths that marked the horsetrail that looped from the stables and back.

And yes, the rich kids had a stable son sight. Some of the family preferred their children spend their physical education honing their riding skills. Or their lacrosse skills, or rugby or whatever sport their parents had picked from a young age to be their olympic success.

Which is how Ava found herself walking through the forest in a wide circle at the edge of the grounds. It was easy to get lost in the feeling of the woods, the sounds of the birds when she stood still and that sharp smell that never failed to make her feel safe. It was so different from the city, from the school, from that grand home she had once lived in.

There were no politics or rules out here. Only Ava and her thoughts.

And by god did she need a minute to just sit and breathe.

Truthfully she had no idea how it got this far. Though she's starting to say that a lot about her life. She managed to join Maxton Hall for the last two years, just like Ruby, and within a month she had managed to walk in upon Lydia and Mr Sutton.

Instinctively she had dragged Lydia away, pulling her out into the hallway and into an empty classroom. At first the woman had been frozen, staring at Ava in pure horror. Until Ava started questioning her of course.

God, she could still remember the way her heart had raced with fear. The sickening weight that had sat heavy in her gut at the thought of what Lydia must have endured.

Slowly, Lydia had realised what she was asking. It had taken them a good fucking while to get to such a point. Both of them danced around the topic till Ava had asked her out right if he was forcing her.

No. She still remembers the sharp tone of horror in Lydia's voice. No, god no. I love him.

She'd laughed, disbelieving the naive words. Assuming that the man had tricked her, even now she believed he had done so. Maybe that's why she had set up the money as monthly payments, instead of yearly. More reasons to interact with Lydia. She had spent those first few discussions hinting at the inappropriateness of such an affair.

Lydia of course had assumed she was being cruel.

Not that Ava could blame her for such a conclusion. Not when she had been so careful to craft a cold and commanding persona for their meetings.

But this last discussion was.... Concerning.

Lydia had never hinted at being displeased with their arrangement. Hell, the damn girl had occasionally shared tidbits of her relationship with Ava, clearly eager to talk to someone who wouldn't tell.

There had never been any issue with the money going through. Their meetings were down right unnecessarily, and all but a facade to give them both an excuse to converse. Or perhaps a more accurate description would be a battle of wits.

Either way, this new development was unsettling. And Ava truly hated it when things weren't in her control.

A/N: I'm changing up the timeline a little bit