Lachlan's POV:

  I startle awake, but my mind is foggy. It doesn't catch up to my movements until seconds after I make them, leaving me stumbling and lagging. I stop all movements and begin filling my lungs with a breath so big my lungs almost pop. I chanced upon opening my eyes, blinking over and over as the light seeping in steadily blinds me. Once they've gotten somewhat used to the rays I look around the room, trying to remember actions from the previous night. Scar is asleep in her bed, her small arms still bound by the blood red bed sheets. I roll my eyes as I remember, she always does this... always agrees to my rules in advance. But always — always goes against them. You would think after over a year of hooking up she would listen. Or maybe that I would realize she isn't learning or listening. Maybe she likes it, the consequences for her actions. I roll my eyes again at my revelation, in disgust. Every day is the same day... over and over again. The same small people breaking their own backs to get my attention. Before anything ever started with Scar — I had told her no. Multiple times — I don't think she had ever heard the word before. She became relentless. It was fun for a while, always having her chasing me... but everyone is always chasing me. I can hardly get away. Most days it seems like I can't get away — that I won't ever be able to get away from them. Everyone always wants something from me, no matter how minimal it is. Unfortunately it's always something.
  I look around her completely remodeled bedroom, it's bigger than mine. Could possibly be the master, I'm sure all it took was a flutter of her eyes to daddy; for her to get it. The walls are painted a faint purple... lavender maybe? I feel the carpet between my toes as I walk around picking up my discarded clothing. There's a faint vibrating sound, Scar slightly nudges her head against her silk pillowcase. Finally, I found the source of the vibrations. My phone. I look at the screen and my stomach drops. I have three missed calls from my father. A slight sweat begins forming on the back of my neck, I quickly throw on my pants and shoes before silenting walking out of the room. I don't stop until I'm in my car, I had to decline offers for not only coffee but breakfast as well. Her staff was almost as ruthless as she was.
  I blow out an unsteady breath, watching multiple texts come in. They become angrier with each new one popping up. I take a deep breath as the phone rings, taking my last chance to calm myself before he answers. "Hello?" I try to keep my voice steady, but I'm sure he can sense my unease. It's silent for a few moments, if I couldn't hear him breathing I would be convinced that he didn't answer. "Give me one reason." His voice is low and guttural. "One reason, I shouldn't beat you to a pulp right now." I can tell he's speaking through clenched teeth, and I almost wince. "I was — caught up." My voice comes out sharp, strong. He scoffs. "We had a meeting scheduled." My blood runs cold. How could I have forgotten? He's been talking about this meeting nonstop for over a month. "I'm about to walk into the conference room. It's too late for you to show up now." His voice is cold, but I can tell he has a smile on his face while he says it. The conference room is made up of all glass walls, he's keeping up a front. Not showing his colleagues and soon to be colleagues who he really is. What — he really is. "Send them my condolences." I say in an icy tone. I know I'll have consequences for my actions, but I've learned through the years that if I cower and apologize I'll get beat harder — for longer. For being weak. No son of mine... will be weak. I've heard the phrase so many times by now that it's ingrained into my brain. Written over and over on every wall I have built up. I'm still holding my phone up to my ear, even though I know he's already hung up. I let out the breath I wasn't aware I was holding in. My eyes dart around me, stopping when I make eye contact with myself in the rearview mirror. Apparently I'm a desirable guy. My flowy blonde hair lays over the top of my ears right now it's even fluffy. My green eyes are sharp, almost dark. The bags under them, making the color pop even more. All I see when I look at myself is my father, it disgust me. My eyes fling around. Wanting to land on something else — anything else.
  Before I can stop it my mind travels back to the night before. Standing in front of the library, seeing his eyes lock with mine and him grin at me. It's like I'm outside my body watching from across the street. My blood boils in my veins and before I have a chance to think it through or talk myself out of it... I call Olivia. It rings for an abnormally long time, before she answers in a timid voice. "He — Hello?" "We need to work on the project, I'm not going to fail because you're incompetent." My voice is low and sharp. I hadn't decided what I was actually going to say until I heard her voice. Everything that she's done rolls through my head and I just get more and more angry. "Oh. I see we're being a dick today, no thank you." Is the last thing I hear before she hangs up. She hangs up... on me. I blow out a breath, scanning my brain on what I should do. I mean, I guess it was kind of rude, but honestly that's just how I am with people. I groan to myself and begin to drive out of Scar's driveway. I don't even want to imagine what she'll do when she wakes up and I'm gone. I don't want to be left vulnerable in her driveway. Once I'm a good enough distance away from her house I call out to my phone to call Olivia back.
  As soon as I hear the line pick up I begin talking before she can, "Look. I'm having a rough morning. However we do need to meet up for this stupid fucking project. We only have a couple months until it's due and the majority of our grade depends on it. We haven't even talked about what topics we want to do the acting scene or our essay on." I speed out quickly so she can't interrupt me... but she does anyway. "Yes, I am aware of how little we have done." Her voice rings out soft but firmly. I hear a voice in the background and I go rigid. "If you're busy..." I say in a bored flat tone. She whispers something to someone else before giving her attention to me. "What? Oh, yeah. I'm actually in the middle of planning something right now. I have a lot of details I have to iron out and very little time to do it." She lets out a sigh. We're both quiet for a few moments. I'm unsure if I should tell her I know what she's talking about or not. I decide against it, right as she speaks. "I'm free Friday night or Saturday morning." I scoff to myself. "Trying to invite yourself for an overnight princess?" I say with laughter twisted through my words. "Okay, that's where this ends. B—" Before she can hang up I speak up, "Wait! Friday night works fine. I'll text you and we can work out the details." I finished. "Fine." She says, and swiftly hangs up. She actually hangs up... on me... again. I don't understand why this girl can make my blood boil so fast. She gets under my skin and sets me on fire... it's annoying.

Olivia's POV:

It's been a few hours since Lachlan and I set up plans to work on our English Lit project, and I've been meaning to text him to confirm. I haven't had a spare second to pee let alone pull my phone out for any reason other than calling vendors. It's a little after five before I finally sit down on one of the extra seats in the country club event room. I've been here since six in the morning trying to plan out layouts and all things event planning consists of. I text Lachlan, asking if he's still okay to work on it Friday night... even though it's halloween. A few minutes later he sends a short response.

Yes.

I don't know if that made him mad... or if he realized it was halloween before he agreed to our plans and thinks I'm weird for texting. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter either way. He's very sassy for a guy, I wonder if everyone around him has to walk on eggshells... or if it's just me. My phone dings again and my eyes dart to my phone, I just sat it down on the table in front of me.

Want to hang 2morrow?

It's James this time. Before I can help it a smile spreads across my face, it's so nice to have him back. I've missed him more than I've allowed myself to admit. I respond back, asking if he wants to go with me to pick out decorations for the art exhibit on Wednesday. Within seconds he likes the message, I take that as confirmation.
"What do you think about this color?" James asks while pulling out a mix between sage and olive colored theatrical curtains. I give him a disgusted look in response. I'm not sure exactly what I'm wanting for decor, but I have an idea set up in my head. "Okay then." He says under his breath. "I can't mess this up James. Everything has to be perfect." I sigh. The only response I get back is a nod of his head. We spend the next few hours going from store to store laughing and joking about almost everything. Every topic is light and enjoyable, I'm glad I asked him to come with me. Instead of being stressed the entire time, I have a new core memory with James. He's changed a lot... but also not at all. He's been telling me stories of all his glory college days, in his words giving me tips for college. However, I think my college experience will be completely different. I don't see myself skipping an entire day of classes to go hiking tripping acid. I don't fault James or anything, for most people college is a time to experiment and have fun. I just don't have the time or chances to do so. That's also just not who I am, I don't see the fun in doing drugs. Or having hundreds of one night stands...

***

Lachlan's POV:

He's definitely her boyfriend. A few days ago, I went to the mall to buy my mother a birthday present. Her birthday is on Halloween. I had been to three stores already when I saw them, clinging onto each other with tears in their eyes from laughter. It disgusts me. Why does she get to be happy... when I'm still on lockdown. I always have a big halloween party, every single year. My parents always go out of town the night before my mothers birthday, leaving Libbi and I alone the day of halloween. People will be talking about my halloween parties for the rest of their lives. I can't let her keep fucking up my life. She narked on my party for what? Because she wasn't popular? Because she was a bitter poor girl who wanted to take anything she could from me? Fuck that. I text her asking to change the time of our plans, within minutes she texts back in agreement. Perfect. I text Miles letting him know of my plans, he's down for anything. Especially when Olivia is involved, I really don't understand what his deal is with her. I'm not going to question him about it though. He's just going to ask why I care so much and it'll cause an argument over nothing. I don't have the energy.
After letting all the staff know of my plans for the night and everything is in motion, the doorbell rings. Perfect timing. I take my time making my way to my front door, letting her stand there and wait on me. I slowly walk up to the heavy door and can see only the top of her head through the window in the middle of the door. I let out an angry breath, trying to bring calmness to myself before opening the door. I can't blow this before anything even happens. I pull the door open with a wide smile and look down until our eyes meet.

Olivia's POV:

"Hi?" I say but it comes out as a question. He has a big smile on his face... it's coming off a lot creepier than he probably expects it to. He nods his head at me, dropping the weird smile quickly. I walk through the door and wait, unsure of where he wants to do this. He understands as soon as he turns around and realizes I'm still standing here. "Would you rather sit in the kitchen or out by the pool? We have a nice set of —""Kitchen!" I squawk out quickly. He abruptly stops in the middle of the hallway giving me a weird look in return. He nods his head quickly and continues forward. I blew out a quiet breath, hoping I didn't give myself away. He cannot find out about my fear. He can never find out. I set my books on the large real wood dining room table. The wood is real, but it looks like it's been stained a darker color. It actually is the most homey thing I've seen so far in his house.
"Do you have any ideas on what you want to do the acting scene on? I was thinking about when Elizebeth Bennet rejects Mr. Darcy." I start pausing before trying to continue. He scoffs but says something I never expected. "I was thinking of the scene where Darcy and Elizebeth give in to their desires for each other." "What?" I pause trying to find the right words. "Why would you want to do that scene? It doesn't really have any importance. The rejection scene — Elizebeth stands up for herself. She has the strength to reject Darcy when he's treated her so poorly." I take a quick breath and continue before he can interrupt me. "In that era it was simply unheard of for a woman to stand up to a man. Especially of his wealth class. It was revolutionary." I finished. Feeling proud of myself. He's leaning back in his seat, a blank look on his face.
"What is the book about to you?" He pauses briefly not actually wanting me to answer. "If the book was about the start of feminism, and how revolutionary it was, then fine. We can do that scene." He looks at me the entire time he's speaking. Directly into my eyes. "I, however, thought this book was about love. Bringing together two people who didn't want each other. Who tried not to fall for the other person." He takes a breath but his voice remains strong. "During that time, they weren't allowed to be alone with each other. But more times than not they were. The entire book they're trying to get away from each other." He pauses for longer than a minute but I can tell he isn't finished so I stay quiet. "I want to do this scene because this is when they stop putting on fronts. For each other... for other people. They give in to their desires, for what they want. Not what her mom wants, what Bingley wants. Just them." His words are so soft I almost can't hear them. I didn't expect that from him — any of that. I thought it was a sick way to embarrass me in front of the entire class. His eyes leave mine and I take a second to take him in. He's wearing light grey sweatpants, and a fitted white tshirt. His arms are barely concealed in the sleeves. His golden hair is fluffed around his head, framing his golden skin. His emerald eyes are focused at an imperfection in the middle of the table between us. "Okay." I whisper. I write it down in my notebook to keep my eyes on something else, but I feel his eyes on me.
We decide to base our essay topic off our scene, pulling everything together. We've been sitting here for over an hour, barely talking unless we have to. He doesn't say anything crude, he doesn't tease me. If I didn't know better... I would think this was his version of being... nice.
I open my mouth to ask him a question for my notes when the doorbell rings so loud I can feel it vibrating through my bones. Lachlan is up and out of his seat before the ringing stops, a cruel smile on his face. My entire body goes rigid. I stand slowly and follow behind him. He opens the door and there's over fifty people either standing at the door, walking around his property, or walking through the open gate. I feel my blood rushing through my veins, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of my neck. My tongue is so dry it feels like sandpaper on the back of my throat. Miles has his back leaned on the doorway with an evil smirk pointed directly at me. I abruptly turn back around, trying to keep myself calm. Without thinking my hand goes down to the rubber band on my wrist and I pop it. Over and over, trying not to let myself go into the darkness. These are his friends, he must have thought we would be done by now.
I lean down to pick my bag up off the ground and feel a body press into mine. Everything goes stiff. I stop breathing entirely, trying to make myself as small as I can. Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Please don't touch me. Please don't. Please. I repeat to myself. "Did you think you could get away from me? You can't. Hide. from. Me." Miles' voice rings through my ears. I didn't think I could be any more stiff. Yet I am. I thought it was Lachlan, yeah he's bad but I feel oddly safe around him. Goosebumps form over my arm as he slides his angry fingers across it. My breathing begins to shake, but I'm frozen. Unable to move. No. That's not who I am anymore. I can stop this — stop him. There's at least a hundred people here by now. I stand up straight and dart across the table. I keep my eyes down, shoving all my things into my bag. He laughs at me. It's dark and hollow. My hands and knees are trembling with fear, but I don't falter. I put the last book in my bag and looked directly up at him. Our eyes meet and he grins, there's a glint in his eyes. He's excited. Me being afraid of him — is exciting him. "You're a disgusting piece of trash." My voice wavers. I clear my throat, urging myself to sound strong. "You won't get away with it. If you don't leave me alone I'll tell the cops everything." He looks around briefly, lifting one shoulder, like he doesn't believe me. "Oh — you don't believe I'll do it? How did that work out the last time you thought I wouldn't do something? I called the fucking cops. I did it once." I shrug one shoulder. "I'll do it again." His smile falters briefly. I can tell we are no longer alone. "Get out." I swivel quickly. Lachlan is standing behind me, he must have just walked up. "Wait, it's not what you—" "Get the fuck out." His voice is eerily calm and quiet. I looked from him to Miles wishing I could tell him the truth, but I made a promise. It's not my secret to tell. I turn around and leave without another word