CHAPTER TWO.

come swim, mitch.

The weekend that followed went far too quickly for Angeline's liking, the short brunette dreading her return to school on Monday. Fair Hill High was one of the best high schools in California, a private school filled with the children of Hollywood stars and future CEOs of worldwide businesses.

Not only that, it was artificial as fuck. 

Angeline stuck to her three best friends for that very reason. Every week there appeared to be a new drama, friends for life switching sides to whichever was going to come out smelling like roses and more often than not parents getting involved.

She didn't expect her senior year to be much different.

This week, Angeline and Levi's dramatic breakup at Paige's party was the biggest scandal. Eyes were on her as soon as the brunette pulled up in the carpark, faint whispers echoing as she kept her chin high and moved towards the main entrance of the large building.

Whatever they were saying, Angeline didn't want to hear it. She had far better things to be focused on, like the fact that senior prom tickets went on sale last night or that it was her birthday in two weeks. Even the freshmen were gossiping, blatantly pointing her out to their friends who might not know who the senior girl was.

"News spreads like wildfire," Angeline grumbled to herself.

"Angel!"

She rolled her eyes when she heard the voice of Jason Brown yelling after her. Angeline didn't bother to glance over as she heard his trainers smack on the concrete ground in an attempt to catch up with her. He reeked of cologne, the smell causing Angeline's nose to scrunch up once he was in a three feet radius.

"I must say," Jason called as he tried to keep up with her. "You're looking extra gorgeous today, Angel."

The brunette raised her brows, adjusting the bag on her shoulder as she walked through the double doors.

"Thanks, Jason," Angeline replied, bored.

"So... now that you and Levi are over—"

"Oh," Angeline paused in her tracks and laughed a little. "No thanks. Have a good day though."

She barely stayed to watch as Jason's face scrunched up in disbelief, listening to the squeak squeak of his trainers as he headed in another direction.

Angeline has been sure to wear a cute slip dress for the first day back of school, the black material patterned by minimalist dragons and extremely thin straps that sat on top of a white tee. She'd added one of her favourite belts to cinch her waist as small as possible. The Doc Martens on her feet were already killing her, but it was worth it to look good.

Angeline's brown eyes drifted around the hallway as she moved. She saw a flash of bleached hair and a smile erupted on her face, speeding up to catch up with Ciara. She linked arms with the slightly taller girl, the pair walking together.

"Hey, girlie," Ciara greeted. "Paige said you went shopping yesterday?"

"Yep," Angeline smiled. "It was okay. I was forced into eating at that fancy vegan place she likes, though."

Ciara's face scrunched up. "Oh God. I'm so sorry."

"I just pigged out when I got home," she shrugged.

Her eyes landed on curls with caramel highlights and an outfit so pink that Regina George would be raging with jealousy if she ever saw it. Grace beamed femininity, never wearing anything but the colour— it was Grace's thing.

"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello," Grace greeted them in an English accent so bad it caused Angeline's face to scrunch up. "Oh, come on. I'm getting better."

Angeline raised her eyebrows. "Who told you that? A deaf person?"

Ciara giggled at Grace's crestfallen expression, the three of them heading to Paige's locker where they knew they'd find the Queen Bee herself.

Sure enough, the blonde beauty stood outside her locker, lips parted as she applied a berry-coloured lipstick in the mini mirror she'd attached inside. Surrounding the mirror were polaroids of the four girls, plus a couple of business cards for salons she went to. 

Paige's eyes landed on her friends and she screwed the cap to her lipstick back up and flung it into her bag, beaming at the three teenage girls.

"I assume you guys have heard." Paige jerked her head towards the shortest of the bunch, making Angeline frown.

"Everybody's talking about you and Levi, Angel," Grace noted somewhat worriedly. "I've only been in school ten minutes and I've heard your name about seven different times."

Angeline shrugged dismissively. "They can say whatever the fuck they want about me. Doesn't make it true."

"But it makes you look bad." Paige rolled her blue eyes. "It makes us all look bad. Trust me, by the end of the day everybody's gonna know who dumped who."

The brunette sighed. "Yeah, whatever. You know what? I think I'm done with teenage boys."

"Teenage girls?" Ciara suggested with a wink, the two of them smirking at each other with little laughs.

"Teenage girls are fine," Angeline replied. "The boys? No. If I get with another male, he sure as hell has to be a grown man this time."

Paige smirked. "Your dad's head of security is hot as fuck."

The brown-eyed girl looked horrified. "Winston's nearly fifty. Not that old. I meant, like, twenty-five maximum."

"Pussy," Paige sang. "Oh, come on. You cannot tell me that if you were just sunbathing one day and he came over and was like 'oh, Angel. You're so hot!' you wouldn't let him hit it."

Angeline appeared appalled by Paige's words, her mouth slightly hung open. "Um... yes, actually. I wouldn't let him 'hit it'. I'd actually call him a pedophile and kick him in the fucking balls."

"Are you sure you're just bi?" Grace interjected. "I think you might be full lesbian, you know. He's so hot. Like, he could be Brad Pitt's twin or something."

"Winston is not fit!" Angeline practically yelled, earning a few strange looks from students that were passing by. "He's grumpy and he's just some old white dude that works for my dad-- and anyone that works for my dad is sick in the head."

"I don't get why you hate your dad so much," Ciara admitted. "He's so cool."

"Or Elliot," Grace added. "He's hot too."

"Oh my God." Angeline covered her face with her hands for a moment. "Yeah, you're totally right. I should just like my brother 'cause he's hot and my dad 'cause he made some shitty app everyone likes."

The bell rang from above them, indicating the start of their first lesson back since spring break. Angeline nearly sighed in relief, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag as she straightened her back and flipped her straight hair over her shoulder.

"I'll catch you at lunch."

...

"Look, look, look."

Angeline frowned as she was yanked quickly by Grace, the dark-skinned girl rushing towards the cafeteria. Pushing the doors open, the two girls were plunged into a large room filled with silent students, all watching Elijah, one of the soccer boys, stand on top of one of the tables with a huge sign in his hand that read 'prom?'

"Say yes!" Someone yelled and Angeline was somewhat disappointed that she had just missed his promposal speech-- since it was Paige he was asking, there had most likely been top effort put into it.

Paige had already rejected two boys today, and one of them had bought her a bouquet of roses and chocolates. She still took the goods, but said it was a hard pass. The blonde herself stood in front of the table, her arms folded across her chest as she stared down Elijah, sizing him up.

"Fine," Paige replied after an agonizingly long time, causing the cafeteria to erupt into applause and cheers.

Angeline smiled a little and clapped along, heading over to Paige once the crowds had all dispersed. "Elijah Wheeler?" She hummed teasingly.

"Just because you're done with teenage boys, doesn't mean I have to be," she grinned, her smile faltering when she looked behind Angeline and saw Levi approaching. "Speaking of teenage boys," Paige grimaced. "What the hell do you want, dickhead?"

Levi stopped beside the two girls and looked at Paige confused. "I came over to talk to Angel, if you don't mind."

"I do mind--"

"I think I said everything that needed to be said on Friday," Angeline cut the blonde off. "You can go back to the junior girl from Paige's party and I'll do my own thing. By myself."

"Oh, come on, Angel-"

"Don't call me that," the short brunette hissed. "Don't talk to me at all, Levi. I know what you think. You think I'll just come crawling back after you mutter some half-assed apology because you think I can't live without you and that I'm so lost without you. Newsflash, Levi!  My life doesn't revolve around you, it never did, and it never will. But thank you, honestly. You really opened my eyes up to how fucking shit teenage boys really are."

Levi stared at her for a few moments, mouth opening and closing like some sort of fish. Before he could say anything again, Angeline lifted a finger to silence him.

"It's honestly just better that you don't say anything and don't embarrass yourself," she whispered, cocking her head to the side before she moved away, leaving the blond soccer captain standing there in shock.

"You told him," Grace whispered happily as they walked away dramatically.

"I know," Angeline giggled quietly, making sure he didn't see her expression change as the four girls waltzed out of the cafeteria.

...

Angeline stood at the edge of the swimming pool in her backyard, a net in her hand as she attempted to claw out some of the leaves that had fallen inside. Her tan skin was clad in a mustard yellow bikini, complimenting her honey eyes and mahogany hair which was sprawled out across her shoulders.

It was far too hot out to be sitting inside studying, so Angeline thought a swim in the pool was due. She hadn't swam for nearly three weeks so she had missed the cool water against her skin as the sun beat down on her. When she was in London, it felt like all she had done was sit at home or go shopping whilst she watched her friends hang out at the beach with ice creams and iced coffees.

"We have a pool boy for that, you know," Elliot's loud voice boomed in Angeline's ears.

The brunette glanced up, nearly losing her balance as she continued to fish about for the leaves. Elliot was in just his swimming trunks, his usual dog tag necklace around his neck and his designer sunglasses on his face. She huffed and rolled her eyes upon realising that he was planning on spending his afternoon outside too.

"He's trimming the hedges out front," Angeline replied. "Besides, I can do it myself."

"Who cares if he's trimming bloody hedges?" Elliot laughed. "If you tell someone to do something, they do it. That's their job, Angeline. Dad doesn't pay them for nothing."

"Maybe I don't like to take advantage of peoples' kindness," Angeline grumbled under her breath so that her older brother couldn't hear.

Elliot was now sprawled out in one of the deck chairs, sunbathing. Her brother really was something special.

They used to get on fine; like normal siblings they were always either hot or cold, trying to tear each other's heads off or watching films together for hours on end. When Elliot left school and started working with their father, he became a lot more distant.

Angeline knew he thought he was so much better than her.

The twenty-one year old was more than eager to work with their father on their tech business. Her father was like the less cooler and far ruder version of Tony Stark-- he invented things and sold them for far more than they were really worth. He also owned lots of popular apps, like NewsFlash and a video sharing website called NowLive, which was quickly becoming as popular as YouTube.

Elliot wanted in on it, but Angeline didn't. Whilst he planned on inheriting daddy's money, Angeline planned on making it herself. She was set to leave for Harvard in summer, which she had worked her ass off for, and afterwards she never wanted to see Elliot or her dad again.

She was eighteen in about two weeks. If she didn't have such high ambitions, she'd leave as soon as her birthday hit, but there was no point when college was right around the corner. Plus, if her father cancelled her credit card, she was fucked and back to London it would be.

"You're gonna fall," Elliot deadpanned.

Angeline glanced up to see that he was perched up, sunglasses pulled down a little. Whenever he wasn't working the family business or working out in the home gym, Elliot was pestering her. He probably only put his trunks on and came down to sunbathe just because he saw her.

"I'm not going to fall," Angeline snapped back as she scooped what seemed to be the last of the leaves out of the pool. "I have impeccable balance. Years of ballet, gymnastics, and karate."

Angeline and Elliot were the kind of kids that were forced to do nearly every extra curricular growing up. She did ballet, karate, archery, swimming, gymnastics, soccer, and took up Spanish and German too, amongst other things. Growing up, she was never not busy.

"Does karate even have anything to do with balance? And I swear you only got a yellow belt."

"Yes," the short girl huffed, chucking the net backwards onto one of the sunbeds. "And no. I was a black belt actually."

Elliot scoffed. "Sure."

Angeline glared. "Why don't you come over here and I'll kick your ass to fucking prove-"

"Sorry to interrupt."

Both siblings' eyes snapped in the direction of their father's latest security recruit, Mitch, stood in the doorway of the Lewis household. His hazel eyes flickered to where Angeline was standing by the pool and then back to Elliot, focusing on the man rather than the teenage girl. Once they started talking business, Angeline just rolled her eyes and jumped into the pool, creating a small splash that got Elliot wet.

"Hey!" The dirty-blond haired boy roared, leaning back and holding his arms out in shock. "I was talking, dipshit!"

Angeline laughed and then began to float on her back. "Aww, poor Elliot got a wittle wet. You're in swimming trunks, dumbarse! You're meant to, y'know, swim in them."

She didn't hear Elliot laugh back, not that she thought he would. Angeline floated back up and swam to the edge of the pool closest to the two men, resting her chin on her hands on the edge and watching them talk whilst she kicked her legs slowly.

Angeline's gaze trailed across Mitch. She'd only seen him walking around the house a couple of times since they'd met last Friday, and he seemed like a pretty serious guy, even if he was only one or two years older than her brother. Angeline automatically didn't like him much-- he worked for her dad, so how good could he really be?

It didn't stop her staring though. Even through his black t-shirt, Angeline could tell that he was probably really muscular underneath and his jawline was even more impressive than Levi's, home to some scruff that had grown since she met him three days ago. Mitch Rapp was good looking- there was no denying it.

Oh, God. Wait until Paige and Grace see him. Ciara's a lesbian and she might even find herself lost for words.

When it looked like they were finishing talking, Angeline spoke up. "Elliot, come swim with me." She started to do small breast strokes around the pool.

When she was blatantly ignored, she smirked, elegantly swimming towards them. "Hey, Mitch," Angeline teased. "You come swim with me instead."

Angeline loved to make grown men feel uncomfortable-- she did it all of the time.

Mitch seemed to barely react, his gaze flickering to her where his lips parted, before he looked back at her brother. Her father had definitely done the whole rundown with him that he did with all of his staff- ignore Angeline, only take commands from himself or Elliot.

"The water's fine!" The brunette laughed, swimming back onto her back and floating. "Come on, Elliot, I won't actually karate chop you."

"Shut it, Angeline," Elliot growled before he looked to Mitch. "Rapp, you can leave."

"Bye, Mitch!" Angeline sang, fluttering her fingers as she watched the man retreat back into the house, leaving just her and Elliot. "God, you're so boring Ellie."

"Don't call me that, and in case you weren't listening, your car's being taken into the garage tomorrow morning for routine checkup," Elliot snapped.

Great. Angeline made a mental note to text Paige or Ciara for a ride in the morning, except of course she ended up forgetting. A decision that might cause a ripple of new feelings.

...

there will be a lot more mitch next chapter, i promise!

i'm actually really happy with how this book is going so far bc i have a detailed plan for up to chapter thirteen and so far everything is (mostly) on track.

also thank you so much for the love on the previous chapter. i really wasn't expecting so much love for a mitch rapp fic since there aren't that many out there, but it means a lot :)

- dyiansobrien.