THIS CHAPTER.

[Edited]

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*Mature content at the very beginning of Tristan's POV*

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                         ~Hailey~

The chemical was strong as I coated my nails with varnish.

It had been a few days after I'd been allowed back on campus and strangely, no one had commented on the incident. As far as I knew, the Goth girl was still in hospital and a part of me wanted to go and visit her, if only to ease my conscience.

The idea sometimes kept me up at night.

Before the scent of polish could completely engulf us, Layla trod over to her window and opened it. I revelled in the fresh air just as the girls let out a dramatic sigh of relief.

"You're a life saver," I told her the second I felt able to breathe without gagging.

She flipped her hair as she sat, looking slightly amused. "I try."

It had also been four days since Scott had left me sitting on the bench and since then I'd been dazed, not wanting to believe it had all happened, but of course it had.

"How's it going?" She asked me as she looked over at what I was doing.

I smiled and held up my hands, showing off my nails. "Just fine."

Layla's solution had been to distract me. Since I'd given her a phone call the day I'd walked away from Scott, we'd done something different with the girls each day that passed, at her insistence. The day before, we'd gone out to a restaurant and ordered the most expensive bottles of wine; the day before that we'd gone paintballing, and the day before that we'd had a picnic.

Let me rewind: yes, we'd gone paintballing.

The girls had moaned most of the time (until Layla had told them to shut up), but the two of us had loved it. It had been something different; something that Layla had insisted the 'new' Hailey would've done.

To help me move on, she'd also suggested that the Hailey Scott had left was the 'old' me -- someone I should no longer have associated with. It was a sweet attempt to help me and I'd been playing along so that Layal didn't feel as if her ideas were being shot down.

Oh, and the current (fourth) day was a sleep over.

When I finished coating my nails we heard a knock at the door causing me to pause. "Who could that be?" I asked to no one in particular.

Layla looked sheepish but the rest of the girls didn't look surprised at all; I narrowed my eyes at my best friend. "Layla," I warned her.

She merely brushed me off with the wave of a hand and got up to answer it. "Someone came to apologise," was all she said as the door swung open.

Courtney stood on the other side, wringing her hands and looking everything like a nervous wreck.

There was a heavy anticipation as I put my nail varnish down and walked over to her, before shutting the door behind me. When I was sure no one was listening in, I led us over to a quiet corner far away from the dorm room..

"I'm sorry about what I said," Courtney gushed out the moment we stopped moving, "I was drunk and I didn't mean it, you and Scott are great togeth -"

I cut her off with a smile, to which she looked shocked by. "It's ok," I told her. It was. Scott walking away had taught me one thing: to treat those I cared about with more respect. 

I didn't want my attitude to cost me all my friends, and despite what she'd said about me, Courtney was actually a good friend; sweet too.

Most of the time. 

"B-but..." she faltered. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"I was," I conceded, "But I'm over it. Thanks for coming to apologise." I said right before I opened my arms for a hug. She gladly received it and we stood like that for a while before I Finally admitted to the break-up between Scott and I. If possible, she looked even more shocked but also slightly guilty at the revelation.

"I'm sorry, Hay," her round eyes very nearly watered as they stared up at mine, "I know he meant a lot to you."

A wave of sadness washed over me at her honest words. He'd meant so much more to me than that, but I couldn't dwell on it.

Swallowing it all back, I smiled in response. "It's ok," I told her.
Then we went inside together, arm in arm.

*

"You and Courtney are wearing similar outfits," I remarked as I took a spoonful of my fruit salad. I'd gone and taken Layla's advice and bought some of the 'famous fruit' from the cafeteria before we all sat and ate breakfast.

The hum of other conversations floated around us as Layla shrugged at my comment. "It's because we're fashion geniuses," she winked at Courtney. "Also, 'great minds think alike'."

Courtney giggled.

They were both wearing short shorts with loose cardigans and crop tops -- a nice combination, if I did say so myself. I was wearing a maxi dress with a loose cardigan because I felt like it.

Picking up my plastic fork, I popped a particularly sweet strawberry into my mouth. The taste was so divine that I almost moaned. Layla was right; the sweetness of the fruit did wonders for my brain, waking me up almost instantly. "Mmm, these fruits are like heaven to eat," I said as I held my pot up.

Amanda looked at me wide-eyed; as if she were in awe at the fruits I was displaying to the group. She had a thing for healthy foods. "I want to try some!" She exclaimed.

I held my pot out to her.

Without hesitation she reached out and snatched a grape from the pot, before sucking on her fingers. "I would go and buy some if I could be bothered to move," she groaned out, as if not eating the fruit salad was the worst thing that could've happened to her. We all snickered.

Just then, Jenna walked up to the counter with her bitches in tow. "It's too early for this," I moaned as I ducked my head out of sight. None of them had seen me from across the canteen which was good. I didn't want to hear Jenna gloating about the break-up to my face.

I didn't even want to imagine what she'd say to me.

Layla looked over to where I'd been looking and made a loud noise in her throat. "Ugh! And she's wearing something similar to what Courtney and I are wearing!" She stated before yanking at her cardigan distastefully. "I'm never wearing this outfit again."

I noticed Courtney looking apologetic from where she was sat; as if she felt the whole similarity was somehow her fault and before she could even open her mouth, I cut her off. "Don't apologise."

She clamped her lips shut.

When Jenna walked past without having seen me, I blew out a sigh of relief. "Thank god for small mercies."

Taking me by surprise, Layla slammed her hands against the table, jerking us all awake. I became more alert as I lifted up my head, hiding a smile behind my hand when a few people looked our way.

"You know what we all need?" She asked us as she looked around the table. Her expression was almost manic with enthusiasm. When she got like this it was often difficult to talk her out of whatever she was going to suggest, which explained my wariness.

The girls were thinking the exact same thing judging by their cautious expressions.

I hesitated. "What?"

"A workout session."

Kill me now.

"No, Layla," I told her, making sure to put an emphasis on the 'no'.

When no one else seemed to draw on her enthusiasm she pouted. "Oh, come on! It will be fun! The minute we finish we can eat tons of ice cream, I promise," She seemed to think of something before gesturing to her clothes. "Then I can change out of this damn outfit."

Courtney grimaced.

I rubbed my hands over eyes in an effort to keep myself awake. The girls were probably counting on me to deter her, but I knew there was only one real option so I caved in. "Fine." It was either give in to her crazy urges, or die.

Seriously.

The rest of the girls grumbled at that.

*
~Tristan~

The girl on my lap moaned incoherently as I pumped in and out of her; I groaned in ecstasy as she fisted my hair and pulled.

"Please," she begged as I thumbed her clit. She contracted around my fingers as I kept going, before letting out a small scream and slumping against me. The bulge in my jeans swelled considerably.

As if reading my mind, she began to stroke it.

"You ready for round two, baby?" I panted as she looked up at me with a dazed expression. This time round I would end up inside of her, I thought, determined to see it through. Just as she began to unbuckle my jeans, my phone went off.

I cursed.

Reaching over to grab it, I lit up the home screen, thinking it was Scott.

I need to meet you, it read.

I scowled. The number was unrecognised.

Fuck that, I thought. It was probably some psycho chick I'd slept with trying to trick me into meeting with her for a second time. No way was I replying.

When the girl on my lap slid off and took me into her mouth I almost dropped the phone on the floor, message forgotten.

It was when I was in the midst of my throes of bliss, it pinged yet again. "For fuck's sake," I panted right before I came.

The girl immediately got up and went to clean herself off in the bathroom, giving me privacy to check my screen again. I skimmed over the next message, rereading it when it made no sense the first time.

I have a proposition for you. It's about Hailey.

Who the fuck was I even talking to? I decided to find out.

Who is this? I texted them back. No way was I meeting them without identification.

Not thirty seconds later I received a reply. The name that lit up the screen was enough to make me stop in my tracks. What the hell? I tried to piece it all together in my head as I sent another text.

What kind of proposition?

Their response made me feel uneasy. Something was definitely off.

I want to destroy her.

"Jesus," I muttered as I swiped a hand across my face. My heart was pounding for a reason I didn't understand as I let my fingers fly across the keypad.

Why? It was the obvious question so I had to ask.

Strangely enough, there was no reply.

After a while I caved and sent them a text telling them I would meet them, but only in secret. They replied with a location and told me to be there within the half hour. I wanted to groan. I didn't even have that much time to get there.

"I'm ready," the girl purred. She was leaning on the doorframe wearing nothing but a lacy bra, causing my crotch to stir. I wanted to fuck her but I knew there was something more important that I had to do.

I had to understand why they wanted to destroy Hailey.

And then I had to decide if I wanted to be a part of it or not.

Without trying to think too much about it, I stood. "I've got to meet someone," I told her. When she didn't budge I sent her a pointed look. "I'm sure you can see yourself out."

The look she gave me would have had me dropping like a fly if looks could kill.

"Asshole!" She yelled, right after she'd hurriedly dressed herself and left the room.

I shrugged when I heard the door slam, not feeling too concerned.

Not a moment later I began to collect my things and went to leave the house not long afterwards. My thoughts were a tangle as I drove towards my destination, which was the woodlands, and I had no idea what to think.

Was this all a joke?

The area was small but secluded and wasn't too far away from the field which was stood near campus. The area guaranteed privacy, making it unlikely for anyone to ever find out about our meeting.
It was the perfect place to discuss whatever it was she would end up proposing.

What the hell was she thinking? I wondered as I drove through the country lanes at a slower pace.

It had to be a false alarm or something.

Perhaps she was drunk - or maybe she and Hailey had had a showdown, sparking her rage and then the message. Somehow, I thought not, even though I wanted to.

I may not have liked Hailey ('dislike' being a weak word to describe it) but even I knew this was dangerous stuff.
No one sparked a war against Hailey Cooper and got away with it.
I was sure not even someone in her position could.

In fact, didn't her position make it that much worse?

I shook my head, whistling loudly as goosebumps stretched across my skin. Girls and their antics. It would never be something I fully understood.

Still, I decided I would at least listen to her and see what she had to say. I had nothing to lose, after all.

Parking my car at a safe distance ten minutes later, I swiftly got out and pulled on my sunglasses before making my way through the thick trees. The sky was clear for once and the sun was out, warming my skin; simultaneously igniting the ground with its rays.

I'd guessed the rainfall from the previous night was what caused the lingering smell of wet earth to fill the air, despite the sun, as I walked. When I imagined the scent reaching out with its non-existent tentacles and clinging to my expensive polo shirt, I cringed. I would have to make sure I went home to change.

Upon reaching the clearing she'd mentioned, I walked once around it and ended up leaning against the remainder of a thick tree trunk that came mid-waist. I must've waited for about three minutes before I heard the sound of a throat clearing.

"Tell me everything," I demanded without turning around. I could feel her presence behind me and even her slight hesitation before she finally moved forward.

Twigs snapped underneath her feet and I felt the air shift as she brushed past my arm before standing right in front of me. This was really it, I thought. She was here.

There was a look on her face that I couldn't decipher as I grunted as a way of greeting.

"My eyes are up here," she snapped as I leisurely raised my gaze to meet her piercing stare. Her tan legs were clad in nothing but short shorts and I couldn't help but notice the swell of her breasts which protruded from beneath her cut-off top.

I rose up my hands in mock defence before dropping them. "Tell me why you called me here," I said as I took off my sunglasses. "The real reason. I don't want to play any fucking games."

She laughed. It was a full; radiant laugh that had her head tilting back and the sound reverberating throughout the clearing.

Her smile was dazzling as she tapped her chin in thought. "That's funny, seeing as you so often like to play girls like they're puppets to be thrown away at your disposal," She pouted. "Besides, you're about to play biggest game there is. Why deny yourself of that?"

For a second I truly felt sorry for Hailey and what she would have to face. But then it disappeared as quickly as it came. Hailey wasn't the nicest of people anyway...

I folded my arms across my chest, trying to look disinterested. I always had loved to play games... "Tell me about it."

She stepped forward and trailed her fingers along the bark of the tree trunk. "How much do you hate Hailey Cooper?" The question seemed to contain some sort of significance.

Nevertheless, I merely shrugged. "She's not my favourite person," I thought about it. "But I'm not going to 'destroy' her as you so eloquently put it, without good cause." I may've been a dick, but I wasn't that much of one and at least I wasn't afraid to admit it.

She paused in her movements, eying me quizzically before pursing her lips. "Would you join me if it meant preventing her from getting to Scott?"

Now we were getting somewhere.

I tried and failed to contain my surprise. "How would we do that?" Not that I was against the idea... I waited for her answer, tucking my hands into my pockets.

She sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you," she told me, "I like Scott. A lot. If you do this with me it would guarantee Hailey to never interfere with Scott again.

Although I would have to be successful in coercing Scott into getting with me in the first place," She waved a hand. "Which is where you come in."

I didn't like the sound of her getting with Scott but I could always deal with that after everything else was over and done with. If I chose to get involved with the plans.

So far after mentioning Scott, her proposition had seemed good enough.

I waited. "And?" I needed more information, as well as another motive. Sue me for having a conscience.

I didn't want to completely humiliate Hailey solely for the sake of my best friend, even though it was a tempting idea.

Once again she narrowed her eyes. "And... what if I told you she deserved it?"

That stumped me. "Explain."

Hailey was a bitch and was a pest on a regular basis, but I didn't think she'd deserved whatever this girl had concocted, I was almost sure of that.

Didn't she?

Her tone however, was telling me there was something more to it than I'd been led to believe. "Are you talking about the Goth girl incident?" I asked her.

After some scouring on Facebook, I'd seen the video of the fight that had occurred between the two. The audio had been next to rubbish but the images had been clear enough.

Her piercing eyes met mine as she smiled slightly, holding a strange expression. "Yes and no," she finally admitted. It seemed as if she was taking the time to choose her words carefully.

I watched her closely. "Go on."

Like a predator stalking its prey, she took another slow step forward. "Very few people know this," she told me as she trailed her hand along the bark once more. "But I do. What I'm about to tell you must stay between us, are we clear?" I nodded. "When Hailey was in high school she bullied someone - a girl her age,"

Here we go. I rolled my eyes, quickly becoming impatient. "So?" I asked.

We'd all bullied.

We were the elite, it was in our nature.

The scowl she sent me had me raising my hands in mock surrender. "I won't interrupt again," I swore, fighting a grin. I had to admit it; she looked hot when she was angry.

Once again her eyes became fixated on the tree stump as she spoke. "It wasn't the normal kind of bullying," at this she shot me a pointed look. "Hailey had become relentless after seeing her boyfriend getting involved with the girl. This was four years ago."

"What was the girl's name?" I immediately asked.

She didn't seem to mind the interruption, already too deep in thought. I wondered why she cared so much. "Ophelia."

I frowned.

The name sounded familiar. "Wasn't that the girl the Goth chick in the video had been going on about?" I couldn't have been sure; the audio had been shit on almost all of the videos.

She looked right at me, her stare almost empty. "Yes."

I grinned, unable to help myself. This keeps getting better and better...

In front of me, she began to pace. "Hailey became obsessed - having to destroy her rival in any way she could. It seemed everyone had known she was pushing it too far, but still she continued."

I hopped up onto the tree trunk, listening intently. "So, what happened to the girl?"

At this she paused, turning away from me. The wind whistled around us. "Hailey bullied her to the point of getting anorexia."

Whoa. I jolted, almost falling off from where I was perched.

Fuck me.

I was understandably shocked at the revelation - and trust me when I say I didn't shock easily. Could it really have been true? It took me a while to string together a coherent sentence through my chaotic thoughts.

"Deliberately?" I managed at last.

She didn't turn. "Yes."

I swallowed. What kind of messed up person did that? "That's..." Messed up.

She nodded, eventually facing me. "I know." For a second we looked at each other in understanding, her eyes flashing with something I couldn't identify.

When the moment shifted I asked her, "Is that your only reason for doing this?" As well as for Scott? I wanted to add, but didn't. I was still reeling from the effects of the discovery.

The second she looked away, I knew there was more to it. Nevertheless, she nodded her assent. "Yes."

It wasn't my business to pry, anyway.

"So, what do you propose we do?" Just like that, I'd agreed to take part in whatever malicious scheme she'd been plotting, if only to take Hailey down a peg or two.

Serves her right, I thought, she shouldn't have gotten away with what she'd done. I'd assumed she had, judging by her reaction to it.

She smirked. "That's easy..."

At the end of it I had to grip my temples to keep from myself getting a head ache. It was all so complicated. On hearing the beginning I'd begun to have doubts. Did I really want to do this? It would involve me manipulating Scott too, but I knew that in order to protect him it would have been necessary.

"What do I say if Scott sees me with Hailey?" I asked her. "He knows I hate her and will think something is up."

She tilted her head back slightly, considering it. "Just tell him at first that Hailey's just harassing you about him but you're dealing with it.
The trick will be to make Hailey think she is flaunting you in front of Scott when in reality you'll be trying to ensure Scott doesn't see you with her too many times." I watched as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, "It will be difficult but not impossible."

I nodded, accepting her words. I couldn't let Hailey waste any more of his time, meaning I had to go through with this.

She touched my arm, forcing me back into the present. "Remember, you have to make it seem like Hailey's convincing you."

"How do you know she'll come to me?" I asked her, still rubbing my temples. It was getting late.

She twirled a piece of her hair. "She and I, we're a lot more alike than people would think. Anyway," she shrugged, "She'll either do that or attempt to destroy whoever she thinks the person with Scott is, which will be me."

I thought about it. "But what if she chooses the second option and doesn't come to me?" I had several options to ensure Hailey would, but they'd all involve her manoeuvring Hailey.

Despite the very little risk of getting caught, I knew the girl in front of me was as sly as a fox and wouldn't risk exposure for anything.

I watched as she began to pace. "If I were in the position she'll be in," she said, "I'd use a more definite means of getting my revenge. Seeing as she won't know for sure who the person seeing Scott is, she'll use a safer option of getting what she wants." Her eyes zoned on me, scanning my face for any signs of weakness, "Which will be you."

Still feeling uneasy, I tilted my head up to look at her. "Can you say that for sure?" Hailey was unpredictable, especially when pissed. I knew that much from observing her with Scott. She could've done any number of things - things that we hadn't predicted.

I watched as she brushed off my concern. "Hailey will come to you, I'm sure of it," Her tone was final. "And if she doesn't then you'll have to go to her."

I cringed at that. "Let's hope she comes to me then," I said as I stood. No way was I going to be doing the luring.

We shook hands, sealing the deal.

She beamed, her eyes narrowing infinitesimally. "Let's."

---

Who do you think she is - is it someone we've read about so far?

And why does she really want to take down Hailey? Tristan said it himself; she was concealing something from him.

Don't worry if you have absolutely no idea what they've just been talking about - everything will become very clear. For now, all you have to know is that they've got a plan to destroy Hailey which involves Tristan manipulating both Hailey and Scott.

Final question: What do you think about the revelation?

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