(Song of the chapter: 'I Forgot That You Existed' - Taylor Swift)

I swiftly trapped the ball between my feet before it could roll away.

I toed it a little, positioning it right in front of my foot, then agilely maneuvered it over my toes and onto my sneaker. Concentrating, I dribbled the ball on my knee like Brandon showed me, then let it fall back to the grass.

Angling my foot just so, I smacked it with my heel, smartly passing it back to him.

Brandon easily caught it.

"Hey, you're getting good at this," he remarked, brown eyes filled with a smile.

I grinned back, my heart swelling with pride.

His blond hair fell across his face when he looked down, his brow furrowing cutely as he expertly juggled the ball between his feet.

We were practicing soccer drills in P.E. Brandon made a habit of partnering up with me, so I now made a habit of actually participating.

He was the best on the field, no question. It was amazing getting to learn from him. Coach had given him a light pat on the shoulder, and even nodded approvingly at me when he came by to check how we were doing.

Other duos weren't doing as well. Coach was currently chewing out some kid a few feet away from us, who looked like he really wanted to stuff himself inside a cone and then never come out.

That wasn't where Brandon was looking though. Sunlight caressed his cheek as he turned, staring out across the field.

I followed his gaze. Amongst the colorful pom-poms and girls wearing uniform colors, Lilith distinctly stood out.

Not for lack of color though – she was dressed to the nines as usual.

Rhys and Jasper had managed to persuade Lilith not to join the cheerleading squad. They had not, however, managed to talk her out of her main objective.

What looked like the entire cheerleading squad was crowded around her. Some of them were even giggling and hiding blushes as she spoke.

Lilith sported a decidedly smug look. She just knew she had them all eating out of her palm, pecking enthusiastically and leaving no crumbs behind.

I watched her lean forward. Her fans automatically mirrored the movement, jerking forward like puppets on a string.

Lilith didn't look bothered by what could potentially be a dangerous situation. Quite the contrary, really.

Golden eyes full of sunlight and mischief glimmered as she whispered something, a hand cupped coquettishly against her cheek. The girls unanimously tittered with laughter, sounding like a chorus of birds joyfully proclaiming the sunrise.

Some even became emboldened, twirling their hair flirtatiously and fluttering their lashes like wings.

One smirk from Lilith and they melted right into their shoes.

The only cheerleader on the field who wasn't hanging on to Lilith's every word was Alisson. She stood apart from the throng, pom-poms crossed under her chest while glaring at her subordinates. They were so getting a tongue-lashing the minute Lilith left.

None of the It Girls had ever been interested in sucking up to the Four Horsemen, I realized. They kind of just acknowledged their popularity while still maintaining belief in their own. They were like two kingdoms stationed in the same realm, determined to coexist.

For now, at least.

I turned back to Brandon. He still hadn't looked away. He wasn't even blinking, though the sun at this time of day had to be nearly blinding.

I chewed my lip for a second.

"Hey, Brandon?"

He blinked then, returning to himself. His eyes bore a question mark as he looked at me.

I glanced pointedly at the cheerleaders, then back at him. I desperately hoped I wasn't about to cross some line.

"Do you... like Lilith? Like, in a 'more than friends' way?" I clarified.

I'd noticed the way he looked at her, like she was the axis around which his universe spun. I'd thought at first that it was just because of their closeness, though now I wasn't so sure.

Turns out I was right. Brandon blushed red to his roots.

He shyly ducked his head, biting the corner of his lip as he looked down at the ball.

Awwww.

"That obvious, huh?" He murmured self-deprecatingly. He kicked it to me and I halted it with my foot, watching him rub at his neck.

I almost swooned from the cuteness overload. "Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," I reassured him, fighting my grin.

"I only noticed 'cause I'm standing so close, I promise."

I took a second to glance back at the squad.

"Has she ever... given any sign she might return your feelings?" Was there any chance she might be bi like Riley?

Brandon mulled over my question for a long minute. I held my breath.

Slowly, with a delicacy that nearly shattered me, he shook his head.

"She doesn't look at guys like that," He finally responded.

He said it pretty flatly, but I still couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.

"Hey," I said softly. "Don't lose hope. I'm sure there's some girl out there who's your type, who also finds you her type."

And I fully believed this. Whoever that girl was would be really lucky to snag Brandon.

He studied me. "And what's your type?"

Rhys. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know."

"Guys that look like Prince Eric?" He ventured.

My eyes narrowed. "Well, that's oddly specific."

I watched his lip quirk. "Do you like Rhys?" He asked, point-blank.

I recoiled like he'd just shot me. Whatever had put such ideas into his head?

"Excuse me?" I scowled mightily. "Why the hell would I like that... Of course I don't!"

I turned back to the ball I was dribbling, furious. Why did everybody keep asking me that? Surely, I wasn't that obvious about my...fascination.

In fact, I always made sure to regard Rhys with the chastity of a nun. No visible dirty thoughts whatsoever.

Not that there were any, obviously. 

"That was a lie, right?"

I looked up to see Brandon's gaze had never left mine. He looked thoughtful.

"You broke eye contact, which means you're hiding something. And your cheeks flushed slightly, so you're either embarrassed or you feel guilty."

My eyes turned into slits. Everybody wanted to be a wise guy these days.

"SHADDUP!" I snapped. "Not one more word out of you," I warned, pointing a finger in his face.

Brandon looked amused.

"I mean it!"

He looked further amused.

My cheeks were aching from the force of my scowling, not that this dissuaded me from further scowling. I darkly passed the ball back to Brandon, smacking it a little harder this time.

_

"We just hit 3 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!" Lilith crowed at lunch. I looked up from my Throne of Glass novel to stare at her.

Lilith was serving mid-90s housewife vibes today. Her hair was perfectly coiffed, and her lips red as usual, but the rest of her makeup pretty minimal. It was elegantly done – only a light dusting of rouge on her cheeks and nose.

Her face looked paler, like she'd dabbed it with a powderpuff. The perfume she wore smelled like she'd spritzed it on by squeezing a cute little ball. As for her outfit, it was a pink and white sundress, accessorized with a pearl necklace nestled between her collarbones.

Pearls, I shit you not.

Right now, she looked happier than that clam in SpongeBob that got its pearl back. An ironic comparison, given her necklace.

I inwardly snorted.

"More subs means more brand deals, more ads, and more money!" She sang. Her eyes seemed to spin, then glowed with green dollar notes when they came to a stop.

I could even hear a cha-ching.

Not all of the Horsemen shared her enthusiasm. And I knew why, given the reason for their new subscriber boost. He was sitting at the other end of the table, crossly running a hand through his blue-and-black hair.

I'd been trying not to stare at Rhys all morning. Lilith gave him a haircut yesterday, which also included dyeing the tips of his hair a blue that complemented his eyes perfectly.

I don't think it was his idea though.

Rhys hadn't been very grateful for the fabulous change. In fact, he'd been scowling the entire time she worked.

How do I know this particular tidbit, you ask? Well, she'd documented the whole thing in their newest YouTube video.

And I'd... watched it.

*Insert ashamed monkey face here*

Oh, how far I have fallen!

I'd been scrolling through my feed as usual when the video popped up. At the sight of the thumbnail, my jaw clattered onto my computer.

Then, like the shameless simp I was (tell anyone I said that and I'll deny it), I'd clicked on the video and binged the entire thing.

Best 30 minutes ever.

Lilith had recorded everything. I got to see her wet his locks, run a hand through the now curly strands, then gently trim his ends, raining black tears all around.

The first time she dipped in the blue, I actually squealed.

I could have stayed in that position forever, curled up on my bed with my eyes only inches from my screen, watching Lilith paint Rhys's hair.

I have no idea whether anyone else enjoyed that part as much as I did. Most of the comments I read were all about Jasper's cameo.

He'd strutted into the room around the twenty minute mark, and came to an abrupt stop once he saw Rhys.

There was a pause. Then his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"SMURF!"

Rhys gave him a flat look ,which did nothing to deter him. Jasper happily frolicked over and started pinching Rhys's cheeks.

"Who's the cutie Smurf? You are, yes you are," he cooed.

Rhys started to smile. Not in the adorable manner of a child, mind you. More like that of a jaguar right before it attacked.

Jaguars were cool and all, but wolves were still way more awesome.

"You're the prettiest Smurf ever," Jasper told Rhys earnestly, still not letting go of his cheeks.

Rhys's teeth were flashing by now. Lilith kept snipping away heedlessly.

Jasper thoughtfully hummed, studying Rhys's hair.

"Say, you're blue, and I'm red." He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Wanna make purple?"

Rhys's hands promptly closed around Jasper's neck.

Now, one might be tempted to think that this was simply a needless display of violence. However, Jasper's face turned fully purple before Lilith decided to intervene, so it could be argued that Rhys was simply honoring his request.

I read the comments after the video. Incredibly, a lot of people weren't expressing pity for Jasper's plight.

Rather, they wished to trade places with him.

'Jasper is so lucky', RideMeLikeAHorse wrote, followed my multiple watersplash emojis.

'Get yourself someone who loves you as much as Rhys loves Jasper', BarebackRyder advised.

The top comment was more to the point:

'CHOKE ME DADDY!' - Rhys-Can-Get-This.

It was the top comment, collecting about 14K likes. It even garnered a response from the Four Horsemen's official account.

'No❤'

Their comment had 32K likes.

I scrolled further, seeing even more comments and accounts thirsting after Rhys, getting more ridiculous and creative by the second.

I slammed my laptop, nearly breaking the screen, then spent the rest of my evening glaring up at my ceiling.

Anyhoo, this explained why Jasper wore a neck brace to school today, and sat father away from Rhys than usual.

"I think we should celebrate. Go to a club or something, and just party the night away," Lilith proposed.

Brandon swallowed a spoonful of Mac and Cheese. "But we're underage," he said.

"A high-school rager, then," she easily amended.

"It doesn't matter where. I just want to get rat-arsed enough to forget at least half of my life."

Jasper's brace shook with his chuckle.

"Having a mid-life crisis already, Lil?" He asked, amusedly raking an eye over her outfit.

Lilith scoffed at him. "Don't pretend your drinking wouldn't give the Irish a run for their money, Red."

She glanced at me. "No offense."

I rolled my eyes, unbothered.

"You do know that Brits hold the title for the biggest boozers in the world, outranking the Irish," Rhys remarked without looking up from his phone.

Lilith glared at him. "Poppycock!"

Jasper laughed again. "Just own it, Lil." He set down the chicken wing he'd been nibbling and pushed his plate away.

Nearly all the meat was still on its bone. In fact, if you poked it just so, the wing could've still flapped.

Lilith frowned. "You didn't finish that."

Jasper pouted. "But it's so hard to swallow with this thing," he whined, tugging at the collar.

Rhys slowly looked up from his phone, blue eyes aflame.

"You're only wearing that thing for attention and you know it," he growled. "I didn't squeeze that hard."

"Really?" Jasper's brows rose.

"Where you inside me? How would you know how hard you squeezed, you freaky fuck! You almost broke me!"

Without any context, this would've been quite an intriguing conversation.

"ENOUGH EXCUSES!"

Lilith slammed her fist on the table, making us jump. She pointed at Jasper's plate.

"Eat it," she hissed, no nonsense in her tone. Jasper picked up the wing and resumed gnawing on it, grumbling as he did so.

Lilith nodded, satisfied.

"So, back to the party," she stroked her chin. "Do we throw one, or do we go to one?"

She looked at me. "Any idea if anyone's having a party soon, Avalon?"

I shook my head. "If they are, I won't exactly get notified about it. I've only ever been to one party, and it wasn't by anyone who goes here."

And how could I forget that party?

No seriously, though, my memory hadn't yet returned.

It was probably for the best. Here's to hoping it never did.

Just then I heard the chair beside me scraping back.

"Did somebody say party?"

A familiar chill washed over me.

Turning, I found myself face-to-face Mary. She returned my look, one eyebrow quirking up slightly.

"Who's hosting it?" She asked around the lollipop stick in her mouth.

"What?" I intelligently replied.

Mary reached up and daintily tugged out the candy. "The party you were talking about," she said, twirling the stick like a mini-baton.

"Who's is it?"

I fought to keep my eyes from widening in horror. The last thing I needed was that evil video somehow resurfacing... and Mary watching it.

"Ah, I wasn't talking about a party," I hurriedly told her. "Er, heh heh."

I rubbed nervously at my neck. Mary considered me.

After a moment, she looked away, probably having neither the time nor the inclination to deal with me. She faced the Horsemen, who'd been silently watching our back and forth.

"I'm throwing a party this Friday," she announced. Ah, so that's why she was here.

"It'll be after... your game, I believe?" An eyebrow marginally arched at Brandon.

I hadn't even realized he had a game coming up. Stupid, stupid.

Brandon nodded, his gaze on Mary's shoulder.

"What if we lose?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "You wouldn't."

Was that faith in Brandon, or because her bestie was co-captain? I really couldn't tell.

"Win or lose, it's still a party. Consider this my official invitation to you all," she told us.

Rhys raised a brow. "All of us?" His meaning was quite apparent.

Mary slowly looked at me. The way her green eyes scrutinized me made me feel like I was wearing a trash bag over my clothes.

She sighed, a long-suffering sound. "Fine."

I swiveled to give Rhys a look of disbelief once she left.

"And just why did you do that? I don't even want to come to this thing!"

He blinked at me. It was Lilith who spoke.

"You don't want to party with us?"

I vehemently shook my head. No way was I potentially signing myself up for another embarrassing video.

She frowned. "Well, that won't do." She tapped her chin with a pastel-pink fingernail, then brightened.

"Hey, we can have a sleepover instead! Since I seem to keep missing out on all of the fun, I'll plan all of the activities myself!"

Lilith clapped her hands. "You and I need to do some sisterly bonding activities. We could watch sappy romcoms, jam to music, paint nails and braid hair and the like!" She eagerly listed.

"Doesn't that sound absolutely smashing?"

I gaped at her for several moments.

"On second thought, I think the party's a great idea!" I said earnestly.

Jasper snorted, finally finished with his chicken.

Lilith hummed. "Alright then," she shrugged. "I guess we're all in favor of the party," she smiled.

My eyes narrowed. Her smile was innocent enough, but the corner of her lips twitched the slightest bit, making me wonder if she brought up such ghastly alternatives on purpose.

_

There I was, rushing over to the women's washroom, my only worry in the world about not wetting my pants before my next period.

And then I found the room occupied.

The door was only slightly ajar, but I could glimpse more than one It Girl inside, making me come to an abruptly halt.

The other bathroom was way up in a different floor. I bit my lip, but started to turn towards the stairs, dying a little inside my soul.

"Are you planning something?"

That was Kaitlynn's voice. Curiosity piqued, I tentatively headed back over to the door. The hallways were empty, so nobody could see me being a naughty eavesdropper.

"Is that why you're throwing this party?" The last word was uttered snidely.

"'Cause if it is, you're on your own. Lola isn't gonna help, and Rory won't stop sucking Ethan's face off long enough to listen to anyone."

There was a derisive huff. "Why do we even keep this bitch around? Mary, tell Kaitlynn she can't sit with us anymore."

That whiny, bratty tone was purely Alisson.

"Quiet," I heard Mary mutter. Chancing a tentative peek, I saw Mary standing at the sink, once again fiddling with her hair. Alisson and Kaitlynn were behind her, glaring at each other.

"I am not planning anything." She said nothing to Alisson, and Kaitlynn smugly stuck her tongue out at the brunette.

"Well, I have a lot of studying to do this weekend. I won't be able to make it."

"You're coming." Mary's tone brokered no argument.

There was a moment of outraged silence.

Mary glanced back, turning to Kaitlynn. I swiftly ducked out of sight.

"You are a smart girl, Kaitlynn. You won't fail the Pre-SATs if you don't study for one night."

"And how would you know that?" Kaitlynn retorted caustically. "Are you gonna help me study? Have you even caught up with your own classes?"

"I have. And yes, I will. I promise."

Gradually, the tension leaked out of the room. "Fine," Kaitlynn muttered, though she still didn't sound very happy about it.

Alisson snorted. "God, Kait, you're an even bigger nerd than that loser Avalon."

She just put that out there completely unprovoked. I scowled at the wall in front of me.

"Well she has way more brain cells than you do, so comparing me to her really isn't an insult."

My eyes bulged. I slapped a hand over my mouth before any sound escaped.

The room seemed to pulse, with the beat of a heart or an angry drum. Then, 

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Alisson snarled.

"Who is also smarter than you, you heinous little gnome..."

"QUIET!"

And with that, I was scampering away like a mouse chased by a cat. What the hell happened to the days when my life was boring?

_

I was shoving my books into my locker by the end of the day when Brandon came up to me. He wore his soccer jersey, which fit snugly across his muscled torso, and held the ball between his hands. He was likely going to spend the entire afternoon practicing.

"Hey," I smiled. I adjusted my bag strap on my shoulder, then nodded at the ball.

"Getting ready for your game?"

"Yup." He spun it a little absently around his finger, pinning me with a serious stare.

"Do you wanna play tomorrow?"

I blinked at him. I blinked again.

"I'm not on the team," I finally managed.

He shrugged. "I could talk to Coach. We both know you're good, so you could definitely get a spot somewhere."

My heart did contortions at the compliment. And because he was just so nice.

But I shook my head. "Nah, it's alright. You don't need to bother, Brandon."

He angled his head. "Its not a bother."

I sucked on my cheek. "Look it's just..." I started haltingly, "I'm not used to being part of stuff. I'm honestly still getting used to all of you. Everything just feels like it's... shifting, way too fast for me to keep up."

The reality of my new life made my head spin.

Brandon blinked. "You don't like change," he noted.

I guess that was something he could understand. A smile tugged up my lips. He got it. He actually got me.

"Exactly!" I bobbed my head. "I just wanna hit 'pause'. I'll think about joining the team, but really, tomorrow should be all about you."

I gently punched his arm. "You're gonna kill it."

Brandon chuckled. "If you say so."

"You will!" I emphatically assured him. "And I'll be right there in the stands, screaming at the top of my lungs and going all batshit crazy!"

"Don't hurt yourself." Still chuckling, Brandon gently booped me on the head with his ball, then waved goodbye.

I turned back to my locker, seeing my smile lighting up my whole face as I glanced in my mirror.

It abruptly soured when I spotted Jacques standing behind me.

He was leaning against the lockers on the other side, his eyes trained on my back. I caught the exact moment he noticed me watching him.

He smirked, his cold blue eyes glinting. They were as hard as ice shards, strong enough to plunge between my shoulder blades and shatter my mirror.

To dent my defenses, which I'd slowly been lowering over the weeks.

I had my back to Jacques. Brandon had just left, and the others were waiting for me outside. They would come to check if I took too long, but right now, I was alone.

I took in a breath. Another one.

Slowly, deliberately, I turned around.

His gaze threatened to rend me apart, to blast me into a million pieces.

And I calmly held it.

I am not scared of you.

Gently, I closed my locker. Then spun on my heel and walked away.

"Loner," I heard him growl from behind me, his voice dangerously low. The barb landed, as always.

I absorbed it, acknowledged it, then reached into my chest and removed it. It still hurt, but now it could heal.

I could heal.

I kept walking.

"Avalon!"

The first hints of fiery anger coated the word. That tone would have sent my pulse skipping, my heart thundering in my ears.

There wasn't even a stutter in my steps. Not a flicker or a pause.

I. Kept. Walking.

********************************************************************************

So, what do y'all think? 

I honestly laugh hysterically at some of the ideas that come into my mind 😂

Also, if you were a fan of the Four Horsemen, what would your account name be? Get wild, y'all!

I love you more than the moon,

Lulu.