[ so, after a bit longer than i promised, sorry about that btw, i'm back with another chapter and a clear plot in my head. i've also decided to change the tense to present, because when i was going through the book the other day i realized the tenses were a mess lol. anyways,,, hope you enjoy! ]

Your POV 

It's the morning after, and I'm walking to the local bus stop yet again on the beginning of a school day. My thoughts continued to swirl and buzz from yesterday's events, especially Esme's confession and Jack's secret. 

I furrow my eyebrows as I came to the same conclusion yet again. What could Jack, of all people, be hiding?

But then I decide not to put much more thought on it, because some people have secrets that are worth their life.

"(y/n)!"

I blink out of my thoughts to see Shu Kurenai exiting his hotel and jogging towards me, his scarlet uniform tie rustling from the motion. He slows down before stopping right next to me. "Hey."

"Hey," I reply, feeling a slight awkward tension between us.

We simultaneously decide silently to keep walking to the bus stop to distract us from the awkwardness. 

The memory of yesterday kept on replaying in my head. Hannah and Shu. Together. Arms linked. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised it they had started talking as more than just friends after that. 

I know that I don't get to decide who Shu likes, but I just wished that I could have a chance to be that person.

"So, uh," Shu cleared his throat. "You and Jack. Yesterday, in the bus. Together."

I had been so caught up in Hannah and Shu that I had forgotten about that.

Is it possible...that that memory is replaying in his head?

I don't dare hope.

"Are you dating?" Shu asked, looking directly at me.

We stop walking again and I shake my head furiously. "No. Never in a million years."

"Oh, okay," Shu said simply, not showing any hint of emotion on his face. 

"And um," I chewed my lip. "You and Hannah. Are you dating?"

Shu lets out a chuckle. "No. Never in a million years. Way too clingy."

Before I could feel properly relieved, I catch sight of Chanel walking this way. And she looks terrible.

Her usually flawless skin is blotched with red, her eyes puffy and her usually neat hair has wisps coming out. And her trademark immaculate make-up is nowhere to be found. 

I looked up at Shu. "I'm sorry I have to cut our conversation short, I just need to check up on Chanel."

"No worries," he shrugs and smiles reassuringly. "See you in the bus." 

He walked off, his white hair swaying slightly as he departed for the bus stop. I shake my head, telling myself to stop daydreaming when my best friend is a train wreck. 

"My parents came home just then," Chanel said before I opened my mouth. I raise my eyebrows in surprise, glancing back to Chanel's house. Sure enough, there's a limo parked in front of the house and two well-dressed parents are standing on the porch, too far away to see their faces.

"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked. "It's been five months since you've seen them? Six?"

"It was supposed to be a good thing," Chanel wipes her eyes. "But they came with bad news. Like, really, serious bad news."

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me," I immediately said. "I'm just here to support you."

Chanel smiles faintly. "No, I'll tell you. I need someone to rant to. But let's get onto the bus first. It's already here."

I glanced towards the bus stop, and like Chanel said, it had already arrived. I briefly catch Shu walking in, listening to a kid with glasses talking animatedly. I smiled slightly, glad that not everyone at Amare are such jerks.

But then I stop walking again, processing what else Chanel had said and recalling what Jack had told me yesterday. "Chanel, I don't really think you should tell me the news on the bus."

There are eyes everywhere.

She stops too and cocks her head to the side, confused. "Why not?"

"Anyone can overhear us talking," I explain. "And Jack told me that everyone eavesdrop on this bus."

Chanel looks at me skeptically. "But everyone's so engrossed into their own conversation. Elites are all about themselves. Besides, do you really think you should trust whatever Jack says?"

"You're right," I relent, brushing off a bad feeling that had managed to settle itself into my stomach. 

That bad feeling only increases when we get onto the bus, and everyone is staring curiously at the sight of a distraught Chanel. I can almost see the cogs in Caprice Alderidge's head turning as she stares at us, dark brown eyes unnerving. 

But Chanel doesn't care, or rather notice. She just walks until she reaches an empty seat, her chin high. I almost get tricked into believing that she's popular again. 

Once we're seated next to each other, Chanel sighs. "Where should I begin?"

"The beginning?" I suggest. 

"Right," she says, her bottom lip trembling. Then she bursts into tears. If Chanel wasn't being eavesdropped on before, she sure is now. 

She wails. "My family's going-"

"Keep it down," I whisper. She sniffles before nodding, talking in a hushed tone.

"My family's going b-bankrupt."

My eyes widen. "What?"

I was expecting that Chanel was moving schools, or moving countries or that her parents had decided to get a divorce. But I certainly didn't expect the Darlingtons to go bankrupt.

Her parents let her spend however money she wants on clothes or designer products. Her parents both have highly paid jobs which come with fame. Her parents both travel overseas at least five times a year.

How could they go bankrupt so quickly?

"Mother's dumb, like me," she wiped her eyes again. "She gambled so much on nearly every night she was gone without telling Father. And it turned out Father was in some hot water too. He owed one of his colleagues a massive amount of money, about five years worth of both Mother and Father's salary combined."

"A-And now," Chanel continued. "We don't have enough money to continue to pay for the house so we're getting evicted next month. We don't even have enough money to continue to pay for our maids and butlers. Next month...we'll really be on our own. I don't know what's going to happen then."

"But," my mind was racing for a solution, not having time to let this information sink in. "Can't you sell your designer products? Your cars?"

"(y/n)," Chanel says quietly, and I've never seen her look more vulnerable. "We already have. We have nothing left but a handful of clothes and one Toyota. Don't bother trying to find a solution. I need you to be here for me, but this is my family's problem. Not yours. We want to find a solution by ourselves."

I give her a hug. "Are you sure? My family could always donate you some money."

"You know how my family feels about donations," she gives a small smile. "Don't worry, (y/n), otherwise I'll regret telling you about this."

She laughs, but it sounds forced. I bite my lip. "If that's how you really feel..."

The bus stops and we leave together for Claritate school, numbed from the shock of the Darlingtons possibly losing their house along with everything else they had. We don't speak a word until we arrive at our classroom, in which Chanel pleads for me not to tell anyone.

I nod, just wondering if those Elites will do the same. 

--------------------

"Alright, class. Today we're going to start our new topic. And yes, it will still be focusing on triangles."

Majority of the class groans as Mrs. Norris reveals this information, but brings out their math textbook since we don't have a choice. 

Mrs Norris smirks like the sadist all math teachers are, but it drops as she surveys the room and instead she frowns. I don't blame her. There's something off about the vibe in this classroom. As if something big is about to happen soon, and it's not going to be good.

I know that much from the amount of people missing in the class. Chanel's currently at the nurse's office to get some painkillers for a headache. But Ashley, Layla, Andrea and the rest of their group is are absent. I saw them at the courtyard this morning, I know that they were at school. Probably skipped.

And then I glance at the vacant seat next to mine. Esme's. I haven't seen her or heard from her ever since she had a chat with Georgia last afternoon. I brush the bad feeling off yet again, focusing on Mrs. Norris' teaching.

Half an hour later, when the room is dead quiet from concentration, Esme bursts into the room. All eyes go to her, including mine. And unlike how Chanel looked this morning, Esme looks fantastic. 

She's sporting a wide smile, her hair is brushed back neatly and there's a skip in her step as she walks to seat next to me, telling Mrs. Norris that her bus was late as she did so. 

"Hey," Esme looks over at my textbook before flicking to the page I'm on.

"Hey," I reply back before returning to the math problem. When I notice Esme staring at me after a minute, I raise my eyebrow in curiosity. 

"Don't you want to ask me why I was late?" Esme whispers.

I shrug. "Because you already told Mrs. Norris that your bus was late. And I was more confused as to why you were happy. I assume things went well with Georgia yesterday?"

"Yeah," she beams. "We went shopping and talked through everything while we were at it. Even this morning we skipped morning admin to talk to each other at her house. A-And I finally told her about me being bi!"

"That's awesome!" I grin, Esme's happiness beginning to affect me and I give her a quick one-armed hug. "Does she...did you confess about your crush?"

Esme rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "You might think this is lame, but no. I just can't seem to find to confidence to do so. I don't think I'm ready to confess just yet, not when it might ruin our newly-repaired relationship. So I just told her that there's this guy at Brisbane that my brother knows."

I smile reassuringly. "I don't think it's lame. I understand where you're coming from, just take your time. I'll still support you, no matter how late you tell Georgia!"

"Thanks, (y/n)," Esme returns the smile, her joy beginning to come back. "By the way, where's Chanel?"

I sigh. "She had a headache, so she's just at the nurse's office."

"I feel like there's something you're not telling me," muses Esme, sitting back in the chair.

I glance at her apologetically. "There is, but it's Chanel's business so I don't think it's my place to tell you."

"Alright," Esme nods, but I can tell that it's bothering her slightly. Before I can assure her that it's nothing about Esme, the classroom door bursts open yet again.

This time, a stream of people come in; Ashley's group, the new top Elites of Claritate. With the exception Layla who's most likely nervous about them and their prejudice against practically everyone, the Elites look intimidating, radiating a strong aura. 

However, Layla's not the only exception. Ashley's hair is messy, her mascara is running down her cheeks and her eyes look overhydrated from crying. She looks even worse than Chanel did this morning, and that's saying something.

"Ms. Holdfar, what is the matter?" Mrs. Norris asks promptly, but not unkindly.

Ashley ignores this question. Her eyes move around the room, looking for something, until they lock with mine. And in that moment, I can feel Ashley's anger drowning out whatever sadness and disappointment she had. 

"You," she seethes, walking powerfully towards me. "You ruined everything."

My heart races.

What did I ruin?

"Ashley, calm down," Layla says in a panicked voice, worried that Ashley would ignore her.

But, miraculously, Ashley does listen to her. The sharpness in her eyes lessens and instead she smirks. 

Chills run down my spine.

Somehow, this makes me scared more than her being angry.

She leans down until her mouth is next to my ear and whispers wickedly, "Just wait until you see what we've got in store for you."

And this makes me scared beyond reason. 

It's dumb, really. Ashley is just a high school teenager. What's the worst she can do to me? But then I see the way her gaze lingers on Mikayla, Esme, Layla and Chanel's empty seat, and for a moment, I wonder if the worst she can do to me is to hurt all of the friendships I treasure. 

And this thought is so disturbing that I run out of the classroom, outside of the school. But I don't go to my house. I run to Amare, where my only piece of solace is. Where Shu is.

I run through the hallways until I find his class, barging into the room. His teacher is ready to reprimand me, but he takes one look at my face and lets Shu go. 

I know why. I probably look just as bad as Chanel or even Ashley. And the running didn't help either. My chest is rising and falling and rising and falling tremendously quick that I struggle to breath through the panic attack. 

Shu doesn't say anything. He, like the teacher, probably has started to guess the situations I was in. We make eye-contact in the middle of the unfamiliar hallways, and I'm scared that he will think I'm stupid. I'm weak.

Because that's what everyone thinks, isn't it? I'm a follower. Does that make me weak? Everyone at school seems to think that it does. 

But those doubts vanish as Shu embraces me gently, like a warm breeze that floats around only in summer. We don't say anything. 

And I clasp his hand softly because I don't want to let go. 

I don't want to ever let go from this piece of solace.

[ bit longer chapter than usual ;) 

word count: 2372 ]