Nina was suspended for a week.

A week because of joints that weren't hers.

I walk with a purpose to Courtney's locker, determined to let her know how angry I am. When I get there and see her curly, dark, brown hair and tan skin, I grip her shoulder and make her spin around. At first she has a scowl on her face but as soon as she realizes it's me, it morphs into a sickly sweet smile which only makes me angrier.

"Oh, hi, Sophie. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" She asks. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her.

"Joints? Seriously?" I ask.

She looks at me with a smirk.
"Quite original, huh?" She says, not even denying it.

I glare at her. "When is this going to stop, Courtney?" I sigh. She shuts her locker and turns to me.

"I guess I'm just having a lot of fun."

"Fun?" I ask incredulously. "This is what you call fun?"

She looks at me with amusement. "It's pretty amusing if you ask me."

I shake my head. "Look Courtney, I get that you're mad at me for leaving the Elite and all that other bullshit," I wave a hand dismissively "but that's between you and me. Stop bringing my friends into it."

She smirks. "Where's the fun in that? I love how you squirm," She starts, stepping closer to me. "when the people you care about get hurt."

I clench my jaw. "I'm not the one hurting them, you are." I spit.

She laughs. "But I wouldn't have to if you didn't give me a reason, now would I?"

Her words hit me hard but I scoff anyway.

"Just leave them alone, Courtney. Because whether you like it or not, I'm no longer an Elite."

She scoffs, "You were never an Elite to begin with."

Although her words shouldn't hurt me, they do. I gave up four years of my life to hell just so that she can turn around and say I was never part of them to begin with?

That hurts because at one stage I thought they were my friends.

I was clearly more wrong than I thought.

I narrow my eyes at her, "What do you think life is? A game?" I scowl.

She laughs menacingly and shrugs. "To me, life is like a game of chess. I'm the queen." I shake my head at her in disbelief.

She laughs, her voice holding an underlying layer of dislike before she looks back at me with surprise.

"I must say," She starts, walking around me like she's a lion and I'm her prey. "you're a lot more confident than you used to be. You finally put your big girl panties on."

I narrow my eyes at her as she stops in front of me with a smile.
"I say when this game ends." She says cooly. "Now, if I were you, I would get to class. You've already missed fifteen minutes." She gives me one last sickly sweet smile before she turns around and walks away.

I watch her sashay to class before I groan and head to English. When I push the door open, the class falls silent and Miss Rosely pauses her lesson. She raises an eyebrow at me as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"And why are you so late, Miss Cooper?" She demands. I hitch my bag further up my shoulder.

"I didn't feel well, Miss. I was in the bathroom." I lie smoothly. I catch Alex's eye from across the class and it dances with amusement. His lips twitch up into a smile and mine have the sudden urge to do so as well.

"Take a seat, Sophie. Don't make a habit of this." She answers, turning back to her board to continue with the lesson. I walk to the back of the class and take my seat between Alex and Nina.
When I'm up close I can see blue rings under Alex's eye along with the bruises and cut he got from the fight with Chris. There's no denying that he looks absolutely exhausted and I frown, wondering why that is. However, I can't help but admire how hot he still looks in this state.

Obviously, since Rachel dropped me off this morning- she wanted to discuss the Chris and Nina thing- I didn't get a chance to see Alex. Until now, that is.

I pull my notebook out and eye him carefully.
"What's wrong?" I whisper. He looks at me briefly before turning back to the front and running a hand through his hair.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." He responds quietly.

Liar.

I want to ask him why he won't tell me the truth but then think that maybe now isn't the right time to discuss it.

"Miss Cooper! Will you please stop being so disrespectful? I am trying to teach." Miss Rosely scolds me and I nod in embarrassment.

"Sorry ma'am."

She glares at me before continuing with her lesson and I briefly look at Alex again.

****

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. I decided against pestering Alex for a true explanation as to why he looked so tired and even if I wanted to, I didn't really see him much in any of my other classes and during lunch I was at the library.

As I walk up to Alex who is leaning casually against his car with the boys, I notice how his laugh is a little lighter than it was throughout the whole day which swells my heart.

"Hey guys." I greet them. They look up at me and grin although Martin's is a little strained; mainly because of the whole Nina thing.

"How you doing?" Cole asks me.

I shrug, "I'd be better if the week could hurry the hell up."

Martin nods. "Cheers to that."

I purse my lips, "Uh, how's Nina?" I ask to no one in particular.

Martin runs a hand through his hair. "She's pretty mad about it but her parents are pissed off. Grounded her."

I gape at him, "They dont believe her?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Apparently they're just doing it for safety measures. Whatever the fuck they mean by that."
I nod and look at Alex who is watching me intently before he gets up off the hood of his car and straightens his shirt.

"Alright boys, I got to get going." He says, giving them both a bro hug.

"Cheers, man." Cole says.

They both give me a quick hug before they stalk off and I head towards the passenger door.

Once Alex and I are in the car, on the road to Sunny Smiles, he gives me a curious look.
"What?" I ask. He smirks.

"You going to tell me why you were really late for English?"

I shrug, "I ended up talking to Courtney."

His smile drops immediately and he clenches his jaw. "And?"

I sigh. "Same old, same old."

He purses his lips and nods.
"Did she say anything about Nina?"

I shake my head. We lapse back into silence and I look out the window.

"I'm sorry about Nina," I apologise.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Alex asks me. I look at him blankly and he gives me a brief glance. I look away, the lump in my throat intensifying. I nod but I don't answer because in all honesty? It is my fault.

It's my fault my art project was ruined, my car was keyed, Chloe was humiliated, Alex was beat up and Nina was suspended. And no matter who tells me, no matter how many times they do, I know it's my fault. You can't deny the truth.

I shrug. "I guess." I answer vaguely but we don't have anymore time to discuss it since we pull up outside of Sunny Smiles.

When I climb out of the car, Alex joins my side as we make our way inside. However, I notice how close Alex and I walk next to each other; our arms basically touching.

"Hey, Kat." I greet Kathy as we walk inside the conditioned building. She looks up from her computer and grins at us.

"Hey, guys." She greets. "How are you?" She asks as we walk down the hallway to our classroom.

"Good and you?" I ask over my shoulder and she laughs as Alex walks backwards to talk to her.

When I get inside the classroom, Rachel is already there, the kids watching Thumbelina. When I walk in and say hello to them, they all turn around and yell "Shh!" at me and I hold my hands up in defense as Alex and Rachel chuckle.

"I find it pretty amusing how we suddenly become irrelevant when they're watching TV." I say softly.

"Don't take it personal," Alex smirks at me. I swat him playfully on the chest and he laughs as he gets to work outside.

I watch him leave with a smile playing on my lips until I turn around to a Rachel with a raised eyebrow. I blush, knowing that she caught me staring, "What?" I ask innocently, walking to the tables,

"Don't 'what' me!" She whisper shouts. "You're totally goggling at him."

"Am not!" I argue.

"Are too!" She exclaims back.

"I wasn't!"

"Sure you weren't." She says disbelievingly and I roll my eyes.

"Thank you for finally coming to your senses." I say sarcastically.

"You were totally making goggly eyes at him."

I respond by throwing a pencil at her.

****

"Tina Roofus," I mumble to myself, putting her file in the alphabetical order. Lucy asked me when I was originally planning on leaving to help her with filing since she's a bit backed up on it. Of course I didn't mind, especially since that means more time with Alex.

Oh, and Rachel.

Alex laughs at me, "You're only by T?" He asks incredulously. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Yes." I say curtly. "Got a problem with that?" I ask.

He holds his hands up in defense. "Nope."

"I'm hungry, I'm going to go see what they have in the kitchen." Rachel says, standing up and dusting herself off.

"Okay," I respond as she leaves the room.

I go back to concentrating on the filing moving on to U, V and W. I make sure that it's all neat and in order, wanting Lucy to know she can count on me to help her with her work. I look over at Alex and how he's so preoccupied before looking back at the file in front of me.

My mind slowly drifts back to what I've being wanting to ask him the whole day and I decide that it's now or never. After prolonging it for as long as I can, I finish the the filing and close it.

I turn to Alex, leaning against the table with my arms crossed.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" I ask him, making him look at me.

He looks at me tiredly, "I told you. I just didn't get a good night sleep, okay?"

I nod, "That may be true. But why didn't you get a goodnight sleep?"
He continues fixing the shelf, grunting every now and then.

"It doesn't matter, Sophie."

I scoff. "Clearly it does, Alex. You look exhausted."

He sighs and I stare at him. "You can trust me, Alex." I say softly.
He breathes in deeply before putting the hammer and nails down, turning towards me. He leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest.

"My mom and I had an argument." He starts, and my eyebrows raise in surprise. I wasn't really expecting that answer. I keep quiet and he takes that as his cue to continue.
"My dad wants to give me shares in Rosewood Hotels." He says, finally looking at me.

"Well that's great, isn't it?" I ask, slightly confused as to why he doesn't look happy.

He shake his head. "This way, he'll think he can control me. That he really is my dad." When he looks at me, his eyes hold desperation. Like he doesn't want to be in this situation; he doesn't want to make a choice.

"And your mom is upset that you don't want to sign the papers?" I ask. He nods curtly.

"She said that she doesn't understand why I can't just give him a shot." He says, almost reliving the argument. He gulps, "She said that I'm not only rebelling against him but hurting her." He says softly.

I purse my lips. "I know you don't like him very much, Alex, but maybe you should just give him a chance." I whisper and he looks at me in thought. "I'm not saying that he has to become your dad or anything, but at least a somewhat important person in your life. If you can't do it for yourself, at least do it for your mom." I say sincerely, my voice soft.

He frowns with pursed lips before nodding and getting up from off the wall. He walks towards me and I follow his movements, turning to lean against my back. He puts both hands on either side of the table and I lean against it, gulping at the proximity between us.

He looks down at me, his gaze sliding all over my face.
"How do you always know what's the right thing to do?" His minty breath fans my cheek. My breath hitches in my throat and I shrug.

"That's not true, I don't always." I answer softly, unable to concentrate due to his intoxicating scent.

He leans in closer, our lips brushing before he smiles, "Oh yes you do."

And then, he presses his lips against mine.

At first, I'm frozen, shocked and confused but as soon as I come to my senses, I melt. His one hand cups my cheek while the other wraps around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to me.

His lips are soft on mine and he kisses my gently, making me reel in delight.

It feels like my heart is the sun, having a chemical reaction and about to combust.

I run my hand through his hair, making him smile against my lips as we move, him now pushing me against the wall. We don't break apart as we continue to lock lips and I think about how I was not expecting Alex to kiss so gently. His hands leave goosebumps on my body in its wake as he grips me tightly.

I'm kissing Alex! My mind screams. I'm kissing Alex!

We break apart, breathless and in a daze but we don't pull apart our bodies as we stare at each other. Alex smiles at me, his eyes twinkling.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." I blush at his words just as we start moving in for another kiss.

But of course the door opens. Alex steps to the side, not as close to me, so we can see who it is. Rachel stumbles when she sees us, her eyes looking between mine and Alex's and when realisation dawns on her, her mouth forms an 'o' before twitching at the sides. Her eyes twinkle but she gives us an innocent look, walking backwards to the door.

"Uh, I'm ready when you are, Soph. But, uh, take your time. I'll just be right here," she says, gesturing to outside before closing the door.

When it's just Alex and I again, the electricity in the room builds up again and I look at him once more as he stares down at me with an adorable smile.

"I... I should probably get going." I mumble, playing with my fingers.
He nods as I bite on my cheek nervously. As I make a move to push pass him to grab my stuff, his hand wraps around mine and holds me in place.

"I'll call you alright?" He asks.

I nod. "Okay."

He lets go of my hand, tingles still there, and I grab my stuff before walking out the classroom with a dazed smile on my face.

****

"Oh my goodness!" Rachel all but squeals, turning to me in excitement. I laugh.

"Rachel! Keep your eyes on the road!" I instruct her. "You're going to kill us." I mumble.

She gives me a sheepish smile before squealing again and I roll my eyes although I can't wipe the smile from my face either. I mean, I did just kiss the guy I've being crushing on for a while now so obviously his feelings are reciprocated.

Right? If he kissed me first, he obviously likes me too, right?

"So..." Rachel asks with curiosity, waking me up from my daze. "are you guys officially a couple yet?"

I laugh, "Slow down, Rach. It literally just happened." I roll my eyes "We haven't even discussed it yet." I mumble.

"So when are you guys going to to talk about it, then?" She inquires, turning.

I shrug. "Alex said he'd call me."

She squeals again, shaking my knee and I giggle at her reaction.
"I can't wait for my ship to sail!" She exclaims, letting out a loud whoop in the car, making me cringe.

"That's if it even takes off." I comment and she pauses, her eyebrows scrunching together and she glances at me. "What do you mean 'if'?" I gulp and shrug like it's no big deal when in fact, my heart is hammering in my chest with a whirlwind of emotions. Namely worry, fear and panic.

"What if I'm just another one of his girls, Rachel?" I blurt. I shut my mouth after that and she frowns at me.

"Sophie," she starts, looking for the right words.

"Don't get me wrong," I cut her off. "I'm not saying I am, but I just really need to ask myself whether I want to date the notorious player of Ridgevale High and give him the ability to break my heart if he wants to." I say in a rush, feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest and the car falls silent.

I look to Rachel, seeing her chewing on her lip in thought.
"Have you ever thought," She glances at me, "that you're not the only one trying to move on from the label people have given you? You've given yourself?" She asks me and I purse my lips.
"Maybe Alex also wants to move on, Sophie. You for one should know how it feels to be judged by other people's ideas of you."

I suddenly see Rachel in a new light. I swear this girl is my guardian angel. She always knows what to say. What's right. Maybe Alex is trying to move on. I haven't seen him with any girls and I haven't heard any rumors. Maybe he is trying. Maybe the player is long gone.

I rest my head on the car seat.
"I'm scared," I whisper. She grabs my hand which is resting on my lap and squeezes it while my eyes are shut.

"Of course you are," She laughs as if it's obvious. "but you can't expect what you want to happen if you're too scared to take the leap." She answers and I look at her, a smile stretching across my face as we pull up outside of my house.

"Thank you, Rach. I needed that."

She grins. "Anytime. Now go get your man!" She exclaims and I laugh as she pushes me out the door.

"I'm going, I'm going!" I laugh.

I close the door shut and walk to her side, bending down to look at her. "You sure you not coming in?" I ask. She nods.

"My dad wants to talk to me about something. I'll catch you later." She smiles and I nod.

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you too." She grins before flicking her sunglasses down, blowing me a kiss and driving away, leaving me in my driveway before I chuckle and walk up my porch and into my house.

Immediately, a whole bunch of different aromas hit my nose and I frown. My mom has come home early this whole week- and not that I'm complaining or anything because I love having her home- which is slightly odd.

I walk into the kitchen to see a whole bunch of different dishes on the counter and my mom running between the stove, oven and fridge. I just stand by the doorframe with a raised eyebrow and frown. Eventually she notices me and she jumps slightly out of surprise.

"Oh, Sophie! How are you, honey?" She asks me and I shrug, my insides burning at the thought of today.

"Good and you?" I ask.

"Uh, well thank you." She answers just as she opens the oven and pulls out a casserole.

"Mom?" I ask.

"Yes?" She responds, looking at me before blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Who is all this food for?" I ask and she looks at all the food before realization hits her. "Oh! Natalie is coming over." She responds and I freeze.

"Natalie?" My voice rises an octave higher and my mom eyes me curiously before nodding.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I exclaim.

"It was last minute, Sophie." She says breathlessly.

I run a hand over my face, "Alright. When are they coming?" I ask.

My mom checks her watch.
"In about the next thirty minutes."
My eyes bulge as I start walking out the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm going to go shower." I exclaim, rushing to the stairs before turning around and yelling to the kitchen once more.

"Is Lily and Alex coming too?" I yell.

"Yep!" I hear my mom yell back and then the panic really kicks in. It's not that I'm trying to avoid Alex, if anything I want to kiss him some more, but I just needed some time to think about everything; to process what happened. But now that he's coming here, I'm pretty sure that we'll end up talking about it.

My stomach erupts into butterflies at that thought as I sprint into the shower.

But you can't expect what you want to happen if you're too scared to take the leap.

I repeat Rachel's words to myself over and over.

I'm terrible at writing these sappy, kissing scenes (as much as I'm a sucker for them) but I hope you liked this one. It was short and sweet :) Let me know what you think of that scene.

Lets celebrate that THEY FINALLY KISSED!!!! Bloody hell! 44 Chapters later.

For those of you thinking "Wasn't the book supposed to end at like 45 chapters?" I'd like to inform you that GC has gone a lot longer than I expected. However, I'm nearly done writing it which is why I updated more than 1 chapter! Great, right?

I love you all and thank you for your support!

Quick Q: on a scale of 1-10 how hard did you fangirl when they kissed?
My answer is probably 10000000000

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