"I was the one who saved you from the room. Aren't you even going to thank me?"

As the hooded figure lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious, the smaller figure threw back her hood.

Dream's jaw dropped. When she heard the girl's voice, she suspected she knew who it was, but now that she could see the girl's face...

"Francesca?" Dream said. "You saved me?"

Francesca sniffed, crossing her arms. "Yeah. I think I deserve some thanks. I mean, I put on this disgustingly hideous outfit that ruined my hair and makeup. Plus, I had to beat up freaking Sinclair!"

"Sinclair? Who--"

"That guy," Francesca said, pointing to the unconscious hooded man on the ground.

"You know him?" Dream demanded. "He kidnapped me and brought me here!"

"Oh, right," Francesca laughed it off.

Dream glared at her. "Why exactly did he do that, and how do you know him? And do you know who wrote the note--did you write the note? Oh my gosh, if you wrote the note, that means you have the ability to waive my detention? What?!"

"Slow down," Francesca said, scowling. "I still haven't gotten my thanks."

"Thanks?" Dream said. "To be fair, you kind of have a reputation as the school bully, so forgive me for being slightly suspicious."

Francesca curled her lip. "I saved your life."

"Why? Don't you hate me? And everyone at Pebblebrook Creek?"

"Yeah," Francesca confessed. "But I hate Mrs. Woods more," she quickly blurted out, before her eyes widened. Both of her hands clamped over her mouth. "Oh my gosh," she whispered. "Forget I said that."

Dream frowned.

Just then, Zac ran over. He saw Dream, then Francesca, then his face twisted into a guilty expression.

Francesca snorted. "Tried to run, did you? The whole property is fenced. Running in any direction would bring you in a big circle back to where you started."

Zac looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry Dream, I just saw the gun and some bad memories came back, and I just ran."

Dream shrugged. "It's okay, if Francesca hadn't been here, you would have come back to see my dead body and I'm sure the trauma will have been worth it all," she said

"Funny," Zac said. "Always imagined Francesca would be the villain, not the hero."

Francesca sent Zac a deadly glare. "I saved her, didn't I?"

Zac shrugged. "Maybe you did. Maybe Dream fought off the guy and you've threatened her to tell me that you saved her."

"No, really," Dream said. "It was Francesca."

"You expect me to believe you? You've known her for what, three months, and I've known her since first grade. She's been nothing but spoiled, entitled, and rude since the day I met her," Zac spat. "I usually don't care, but some things just get under my skin."

"It's not impossible for Francesca to be nice," Dream said quietly. "Just ask Sawyer. Once, we were at a fast food place and Francesca came in. She was a little mean to Sawyer but she was really nice to her sister and brother."

"Look," Francesca snapped, clearly irritated. "Sinclair isn't going to stay unconscious forever, and there are dozens more people just like him all around the building and this property in general. Do you want ten carbon copies of Sinclair to appear? No one--not even me--can save you then." Francesca paused, laughing humorlessly to herself for a moment. "Correction. One person can save you. But I doubt sh--that person--will."

"Where do you suppose we go, then?" Zac said, sounding annoyed. Despite what Dream said, he was still incredibly wary of Francesca.

Francesca fished out her keys from the side pocket of the black pants she was wearing. "Does Pebblebrook Creek High sound good to you?"

---

A/N

Hey everyone! Here's Chapter 16! Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

Did anyone think it was going to be Francesca? And did that surprise you? I hope it did!

Now that you know more about her, why do you think Francesca is so mean? And why do you think she hates Mrs. Woods so much?

Please vote and comment on this chapter! And share if you think your friends might enjoy it...

Next chapter something hugeeee is going to happen so I'm really scared...

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone in the United States! Which, according to Wattpad's demographics, is about 50% of you guys, which is cool!

Speaking of Thanksgiving... I won't do an upload on Wednesday because I'll be busy helping my mom cook and stuff. Sorry!!

Next update is going to be on Friday. Stay tuned for that!

Love you guys so much!!! 🥰

💙, Stella Rose