The girls got up, scoffing at me before leaving. Dane smiled at me before sitting across from me. I quickly tensed, feeling like his eyes were on me.
“Sorry about that. I’m just sick of their bullshit,” he said.
“Yeah, same. But you’re better off not getting close to me,” I admonished.
The last thing I wanted him to deal with was the teasing from these guys because of me. But Dane simply smiled.
“Well, if you want to talk, I have my own reasons for hating these guys,” he said.
His own reasons? I felt tempted, that’s for sure. I wasn’t sure if Dane was friend or foe yet, but there was something almost…magnetizing about him. He was attractive, and he stood up to these assholes. But I still felt the apprehension.
He wouldn’t hurt me, right? But Dane had that look that screamed he had something to tell me, and I felt the growing desire to discover what it was that he was hiding. I followed him out to where the courtyard was. He looked about, and then he spoke.
“The truth is, I have my own dirt against these guys,” he said.
“What though? I mean, you’ve seen how they treated me. I have a target on my back because of this,” I said.
“I know, which is why I should tell you that my sister was a part of the elites when they got in trouble. You might know her as Bailey,” he said.
I didn’t know of a girl named bailey, but I stuck around, listening to what Dane had to say.
“Well, Baily was with the elites, and so was Lucas’s ex-girlfriend Freya the night they got in trouble. You know, the girl who overdosed,” he said.
My eyes widened as I listened to him, realizing that he had his own reasons for hating these guys.
“What…what happened to Bailey?”
“She’s alive but…she suffered massive brain damage from the overdose. She hit her head when she fell, and since then, she hasn’t been able to recognize others. To this day, she can’t live on her own. My parents are faced to take care of her. Because of what those motherfuckers did,” he said.
He clenched his hands, and I nodded, feeling sympathetic for him.
“So you have your own reasons for hating them too,” I said.
“Damn right I do. I want you to speak up against them Jules. You can’t just sit there and take it. That’s not how it works. You need to fight them. They’ll only hurt you more and more,” he said.
I didn’t think that. I felt like…if I did end up speaking up it would do me no good.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll take care of myself,” I said.
“You’re going to regret that Jules. I’m the son of a real estate inventor, and I hate these guys. But I can’t do a dan thing about them either. I hate this. I really, really do,” he muttered.
I understood that, but if I continued down this pathway, it would only hurt me even more.
“Relax, I’ll figure out what I want to do about this Dane. Just…just don’t get yourself involved. It’s better this way,” I said.
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you don’t speak up, it’s going to hurt,” he said.
“Right. I get that,” I said.
“Seriously Jules, you don’t have to fight this alone. I have my own reasons, and I would stop at nothing to see these guys taken down,” he said.
“Yeah well, the feeling is mutual, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to stand up for me. You’re popular, and you play sports too. I think it’s better if we don’t get too close,” I said.
“Sure, if you say so,” he replied. He got up, leaving me alone finally, and as I looked at him when he left, I felt a strange sense of of worry.
However, as he left, I saw Luca and Phoenix giving me smiled.
“Why, look at that, little Jules here is cozying up to that rich bastard,” Phoenix said.
“I’m not doing any such thing. He came up to me. His name is Dane, and I don’t know him other than you guys somehow hurt his sister,” I said.
“We did no such thing,” Luca said.
“Whatever. It’s not like I like him or anything,” I said.
That was a total lie though. I mean, he was attractive, but I knew better than to get involved with any guy at this school. However, I noticed the Elites didn’t believe me.
“Oh come on, it seems like you can’t keep your hands off him. Or maybe that’s what you want,” Phoenix said.
I clenched my hands. These guys were teasing me, but there was also an air of sweetness to their words. I didn’t really know what to make of this, so I simply shook my head.
“You’ve got it wrong. I’m not doing any such thing,” I said.
“Well, you’re certainly cute enough to get any guy in school. Plus, we enjoy the feisty ones,” Phoenix said with a purr.
“Oh yes. Seems like you’re fitting in just fine,” Luca said.
“I have no interest in you guys,” I said. Again, that was a lie, but they simply just laughed, and soon, the trio then walked away.
They left, leaving me alone in the courtyard. I didn’t know what to make of any of this. They seemed to be flirting, and I liked that about them. There was an attraction to them which was growing, but the torment didn’t stop. I continued to be harassed by the Elites, while Luca, Phoenix and Thorne simply just watched. Thorne was the only one of the three not actively flirting, but I could feel their growing attraction to me. I didn’t understand why they cared so much, but it’s not like I could fight this either. If I did, I’d end up getting hurt. I didn’t want that, and I know that they saw this as fun, and it definitely wasn’t something that I could fight.
I just had to figure but my next move. I’d only get
