Desert consisted of cherry pie- I guessed right- blueberry cheesecake since Alex had told Natalie how much I love blueberries, which he seemed a little embarrassed at when I thanked him, and a chocolate mousse. Needless to say, my tastebuds were having a damn party on my tongue by the time I was finished.

There after I helped gather the dirty dishes from the table which led to me and Emily washing the dishes now while Alex made sure that Lily cleaned up her toys.

My hand grips the plate tightly while the other holds onto the soapy sponge and I move it in a circular motion. Mrs Rosewood and I clean the dishes in a comfortable silence and I can't help but replay what happened at the table in my head.

It was obvious that Alex and Mr Rosewood don't get along but it's also clear that that bothers Mr Rosewood too. When Ryan said that I was "a keeper" Alex seemed so shocked although I don't see why. People assumed we dated countless times when we went to stores and so on so what was so different about this? I had a feeling that Mr Rosewood didn't compliment nor approve much of the things Alex did so maybe the fact that he approved of me- even though we aren't dating- stunned Alex a little.

The fact that Mr Rosewood approves of me just makes me want to be together with Alex ever more badly. Damn. I really am fucked up, aren't I?

"Say, Sophie." Natalie says, distracting me from my thoughts "How are things going between you and Alex?"

I shrug, "Good, I guess."

"So I shouldn't be expecting you to be my daughter-in-law anytime soon?" She smirks.

I choke on my spit and my face goes beetroot red. Mrs Rosewood chuckles as she slaps my back for me, "Goodness Sophie, I was only joking, honey."

When I finally manage to catch my breath, she laughs. "Unless it's true of course." She comments. I shake my head vigorously.

"No, no. We're most certainly just friends." Unfortunately, is what I wanted to add but of course I didn't.

She nods and we continue washing the dishes. "You know, Sophie, Alex has being a lot happier since you've come into the picture." She says. I smile to myself. "Really?"

"Really." She grins "It's like he's so much lighter. He used to complain about Sunny Smiles yet since you started there he hasn't even complained once yet alone left after he finished serving his time."

I freeze at that. I look at her, surprise evident on my face. "What? Alex paid his community service hours?" I ask. She looks at me, slightly confused.

"Why, I thought you knew. He served his time about two weeks ago. He's working there out of his free will now." I frown.

"Why would he do that?" I ask. She shrugs now, giving me a small smile. "I thought you'd know the answer to that." I'm about to ask her what exactly she means by that but she cuts me off. "All I'm saying is that you've made Alex happy," she says giving my shoulder a slight squeeze after drying it on a cloth, "and I'm grateful for that. You're always welcome here, alright?"

I smile at her, "Thank you."
She nods and we fall back into a silence as we finish up the dishes.

Alex is working at Sunny Smiles for fun? Why would he do that? It can't possibly be because of me, right? I shake my head at myself. That's the most conceited thought ever, nevermind a ridiculous one at that. Just then, Alex walks into the kitchen. Natalie looks over at him, "Lily done?"

Alex nods, "Yep, after a long and stressful conversation." Mrs Rosewood chuckles. "I'm going to go get her cleaned up for school tomorrow."

Alex nods as his mother leaves the room. I turn to him and when he looks at me with a smile, my stomach starts to buzz. "C'mon." He says, outstretching his hand to mine. I stare at it before drying my hands and placing it in his. My arm immediately erupts into tingles.

"Where we going?" I ask as he drags me outside.

"I want to show you something." When we reach his yard, I gawk at the beauty. The grass is extremely green, a fountain around a statue of the Greek God- Hercules- is sparkling in the sun, while the eight-shaped pool ripples in the slight breeze. The beautiful arrangement of different colored flowers around the garden gives a summer feel and the jungle gym in the far left corner is nothing I ever had. But that's not what catches my attention; the huge tree in the centre of the yard with a brown treehouse built on it, does.

I gasp, turning to Alex, "You have a treehouse?" I squeal. He laughs at my reaction before pulling me up with him. I climb the ladder and when I reach the wooden platform, he opens the door. For a treehouse it's pretty darn big with two large rooms. The treehouse is a rich brown and gives off a homely feel. He opens the one door and when I look inside, it's a pink and purple room with toys everywhere and a chalkboard covering the whole wall with a large kitchen toy set too. It was clearly a room for a girl.

"This is Lily's part," Alex informs me.

I look at him. "And yours?" He smirks, opening the door next to hers. This one, however, is very, very different. It's slightly smaller with two leather couches set perpendicular to one another, a flat screen TV in-front of them with all types of video games hooked up to it. There's a small fridge in one corner and cupboards line one side of the room. We step inside and he closes the door behind me. I gaze around the room, noticing the chandelier above my head and the small intricate details. "Wow," I breath out. He plops his self down on one of the leather chairs.

"You like it?" He asks. I snap my head to his.

"Like it? I love it! It's amazing, Alex!" I gush.

He chuckles. "I'm glad. I don't bring a lot of people up here."

I smile smugly at him, "Aren't I special?"

He smirks, "Sure are."

I laugh before sitting down next to him, still gazing around. "What'd you do here?" I ask curiously.

He shrugs, "I come up here to clear my head. Think things through." I nod at him, understanding where he's getting at. We lapse into a silence and I lean back in the chair, closing my eyes although I can feel the weight of Alex's gaze on me. The silence is broken when Alex suddenly blurts "Thank you." I peel my eyes open and turn to face him with a frown.

"Thank you? For what?" I ask, not sure what I did to warrant his words.

He looks between my eyes, "For what you did at the table during lunch."

"What exactly did I do again?" I chuckle. He laughs lightly too before looking at me intensely.

"For talking to my dad, making an effort. For... reassuring me." I had known of Alex for four years and although I never really got to know him until now, I had never seen him let his guard down like how he was doing right now, with me. And for some unknown reason, that made my heart swell.

"It's no biggie, Alex. I don't think he's that bad, in all honesty. Just a true businessman." I laugh although Alex doesn't, he just continues to stare at me which makes my heart pound harder.

"He never gives me compliments, y'know that?" He asks but before I can answer, he continues. "But today, for the first time, he did. Thanks to you Sophie. So thank you, Princess. Thank you so much." I stare up at him.

"That wasn't because of me, Alex. You're a good guy."

"Maybe so," he shrugs "but you definitely played a part." He suddenly reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I lean into his touch, closing my eyes briefly. When I open them, he looks at me with an emotion in his eyes I can't quite pinpoint. I move closer to him and rest my head on his shoulder while he wraps an arm around me and rests his chin on my head. My whole body erupts into goosebumps and my heart beats loudly.

"I'd do anything for you, Alex." I whisper sincerely.

I don't know how long we stay like that. How long I stay moulded against his body. It could be seconds, minutes, hours. But all I know is that I'm not getting over Alex anytime soon. If anything, I'm falling harder.

Before I drift off I hear him say softly: "I would do the same for you, Sophie. I would do absolutely anything."

****

Hell.

This place that they call high school is hell.

It's the first day back and I have already received about twenty letters shoved into my locker with the words:

Bitch, Slut, Whore, and Traitor scribbled on them. Of course I try not to let it bother me but it does sting a little. I scrunch the next few together that fall out of my locker and chuck it on the floor. I haven't seen the Elite today and I really wish it could stay that way but since it's lunch I highly doubt that my wishful thinking will come true.

As I grab the books I'll need for my classes after lunch, I feel a presence looming behind me and I would assume its Courtney or one of the other Elite but since it doesn't scream "bow to me" I know it's not. I turn around to come face to face with a short girl. She has blonde hair, cut in a straight bob with green eyes and freckles. Clearly she's a freshman, a sophomore at most, and clearly shy and not socially extroverted by the way she holds her books tightly to her chest, plays with the strap of her bag and tries to shrink into herself. If one thing being in the Elite taught me, it's how to read people in that case; how to see who's an easy target. The shy, insecure and awkward ones were always the easy targets as sickening as it is.

"Hello?" I say, giving her a smile.

"Uh, hi," She squeaks. I frown.

"Sorry, do I know you?" I ask. Although I doubt it; I'd remember a pretty face like that.

"Uh, no!" She says loudly, making me frown. She clears her throat awkwardly. "Uh, I'm Chloe. I just wanted to tell you that I really look up to you for what you did." She says, feigning confidence.

My eyes scrunch together in confusion. "For what I did?"

She laughs nervously, "Yeah. For standing up to the Elite, moving to the Rebels, showing Courtney that she can't control everyone and that she isn't any more special than you. Courtney seems to be quite an attention seeking rich girl." Chloe continues to blabber and I eye the people standing in the corridors, eavesdropping on our conversation although they pretend not to.

"Thank you, Chloe." I say, giving her a bright smile before lowering my voice. "But you should be a little more careful of what you say, okay? Courtney wouldn't be happy if she heard this." Her eyes widen.

"Right. I know. I just really wanted to tell you. Uh, have a nice day Sophie." She says before she walks away.

I frown at her retreating figure. She's the only person to actually compliment me during the past few weeks. Most people give me nervous glances or simply ignore me. When I finish backing my bag, I close my locker to see Alex walking towards me. Instantly my grey mood lightens and a smile makes its way onto my face . The few students lingering in the hallways move out of Alex's way and gawk at his good looks because lets be honest here, the guys in the Elite are attractive but they have nothing on Alex.

He stops in front of me and grins at me. "Why hello there, Sophie Cooper, fancy seeing you here."
I roll my eyes at him with a scoff and he laughs.

"Great to be back in the pits of hell?" He teases.

I burst out laughing "Of course! I missed burning to death." I say sarcastically and he chuckles. His eyes stray and land on the papers on the floor.

"I think you dropped something Soph," he says bending to pick it up. Before I can tell him it's not exactly mine, he opens it and reads it, his jaw locking and a scowl etching its way onto his face.

"What is this?" He asks with an edge to his voice. I wave a hand dismissively.

"Some pathetic letters I've being receiving."

"These are meant for you?" He asks. I nod and he takes in a sharp breath.
"Alex, it's okay. It doesn't matter-"

"No, Sophie!" He exclaims "It does matter! Courtney needs to cut her shit." The students give us a few curious glances and I sigh.

"I'm okay, Alex. Leave it. It'll blow over. What's a few words?" I ask.
A few words? A few words are a lot. They can hurt like an absolute bitch too. But that doesn't matter now. Alex can't afford to do something stupid.

He sighs, "Fine, but if they don't stop by Monday, promise me you'll tell me."

I stick out my pinky to him and give him a devilish smile, " I promise." He eyes my pinky for a moment before he rolls his eyes at me and links his around mine. I break into a full blown grin and laugh as I drag him to the cafeteria.

"I'm starving," I grumble.

"Starving for what? Some di-"

"Do you always have to turn what I say into a sexual innuendo?" I ask, turning around to face him.

He dramatically thinks for a moment before he shrugs, "Pretty much," I roll my eyes at him and he lets out a hoot.

"Just walk, I need food." I say, gripping his forearm again.

"Okay, okay!" He laughs. I push the cafeteria doors open and make a be-line for the lunch line. I can feel the gaze of most of the cafeteria on us but I try to ignore it. After Alex and I grab a packet of fries with two chocolate milkshakes, we turn back to head to the Rebel's table and that's when I see all of them; the Elite sitting in all their glory at the table I once claimed mine too.

In all honesty, it makes me feel quite smug that they couldn't replace me. Maybe I did impact them in some way. Maybe my place in the Elite was a little more special than I had originally taken it for.

My eyes scan the table and I notice how immaculately dressed they all are although it's nothing new. However, it's quite a contrast to my ripped jeans, Adidas shirt and sneakers. Should I care? No. Do I care? Maybe just a little.

A feeling I can only explain as my heart being twisted and stretched like an elastic band, fills my body as my gaze slides over Chris and Kelcy. I miss them, yeah, but I don't know if they were ever truly my friends. But when my gaze looks onto Courtney and a smirk twitches her lips, my heart starts beating a little faster. They're all staring at me. Cold, hostile and blank. Why do they hate me so much? My gaze slips to Logan and when he winks at me I feel Alex tug at my arm. "C'mon, Soph." I break my eyes away from them and walk with Alex to the Rebel's table before I take a seat next to Martin.

"Motherfuckers." Nina mutters, directing it to the Elite. Martin throws an arm around me and pulls me into his side, ruffling ny hair and I laugh.

"Martin! You can stop now!" I protest, pushing his body away from mine.

He pouts, "But why? Don't you want to feel these pecs?"

I give him a disgusted look, "No thanks."

He shrugs, "Your loss babe." I laugh as I munch on a fry. I notice Dylan and Thalia in one corner, making out, and I hold back a gag. Leave it up to Thalia to make me feel invisible. That girl won't even spare me a glance. I sigh but ignore it. They don't matter anyway. They're irrelevant. Shit. When did high school become like this?

"I can not explain how much I fucking hate calculus." Nina grumbles.

Martin chuckles. "Isn't it good to be back at school, where all our happiness is found?"

Christina gives him a deadpan look. "Were you smoking pot, Martin?" I laugh at them.

"Not to mention that Mr Kert is a fucking perv. I swear he stares at Megan all lesson. Shit, it's disgusting." Nina continues. I laugh at this. Within the Elite, Megan was always the... well, airhead. She wasn't dumb, she could score decent grades if she tried, but rather that she left it up to Courtney. She was a puppy and Courtney was her master. She obeyed orders and received whatever treat in return. I never got on with her very well, it frustrated me that she was so dependent on Smith. I mean, we all were, but Megan was to a different level. Courtney was basically her brain.

Before I can continue to rant to myself anymore, a loud shrill voice echoes through the cafeteria, silencing the buzz and grabbing everyone's attention.

When I look to see what's going on, I notice Courtney flailing her arms around while a familiar blonde girl stands frozen in her spot, staring at the scene in front of her. Her eyes are wide as saucers and her face pale as if she saw a ghost.

"You little bitch!" Courtney yells. She wipes at her white shirt, peeling it off of her body. I notice the brown stain on it matches the one on the floor, right in front of her. The cafeteria goes quiet and I sit up rigidly.

"Chloe..." I mutter to myself desperately. I watch what happens already knowing the consequences to Chloe's mistake.

"I-I'm so s-sorry! I d-didn't m-m-mean t-" Chloe stutters out.

"Save it blondie!" Courtney silences her. "Who the hell do you think you are spilling your milkshake on me?" Courtney spits.

"I-I didn't mean to! I s-swear! You c-came out of n-nowhere." Chloe says.

"Oh shut up already!" Courtney yells. Chloe closes her mouth and averts her gaze. Courtney sighs before cocking her head to the side. Her lips quirk into a devious smile and my stomach tightens in knots.

"What's your name?" Courtney asks, feigning kindness.

"C-Chloe." Chloe chokes out.

Courtney nods, "You've upset me quite a bit today, Chloe." She starts.

Chloe looks up from the floor and frowns. "U-upset you?"

Courtney nods. "Yes. Does, ' Courtney seems to be quite an attention seeking rich girl 'sound familiar?" She hisses.

My heart drops.

"And not only did you say those highly offensive words but you said it to someone who I'd rather you not talk to. At least this person has a bit of common sense because she did say that you should be a little more careful about what you say."

Courtney turns in my direction from across the cafeteria and stares right at me, her lips twitching into a smirk. "Isn't that right, Sophie?"

My blood goes cold. It's like it freezes in my veins and becomes heavy.

The students all look at me but I don't remove my gaze from Courtney. She breaks it first by turning back to Chloe. She gives her a fake smile before it drops suddenly. She hits Chloe's lunch tray straight out of her hands, it sent flying to the floor as well as her lunch. The sound of it clattering to the floor makes me flinch and Chloe whimpers.

Courtney glares at her. "Give me your shirt."

"W-what?" Chloe asks.

"Did I fucking stutter sophomore? Give me your shirt." Courtney sneers.

Chloe's eyes widen. "B-but all I h-have underneath it is m-my bra." Courtney pouts, sticking her hand out expectantly.

"Well you better hope that it's a pretty one then."

Chloe stares at her hand before she gulps, dropping her bag to the floor and gripping her shirt at the bottom. It's obvious that Courtney isn't actually going to use Chloe's shirt, its a band tee, she's just doing it to get a very sick and twisted message across.

Chloe's bottom lip quivers and she lifts her shirt up, pulling it over her head. The minute her skin is exposed the whistles and comments begin. Chloe hands the shirt to Courtney, who smiles smugly, before wrapping her arms around herself and covering a polka dot bra.

"Shame," Courtney pouts at her. "You don't seem to be particularly lucky in the rack department."
Some of the boys let out a hoot and tears begin to stream down Chloe's face. "Oh don't cry, Chloe. Thats what you have boob jobs for." Courtney eyes her up and down. "I'm sorry, I forgot you're a little too broke for that." A few horrible people, who enjoy watching people suffer, laugh and Courtney grins. "I like your bra though. Don't you, Ty?" Courtney turns to Tyler.

He smirks, "Love it."

Courtney looks back at a crying Chloe, the shirt still in her hand.
"Next time you want to insult me- remember this day." She spits.
"And remember it well." Courtneys voice drops dangerously low and I shiver.

My heart wrenches and I can feel the guilt twisting in my stomach, my own eyes stinging. I don't want to watch people being humiliated. Mocked.

Courtney turns back around and places the shirt on the Elites table before snatching Jame's smoothie. She walks up to Chloe and takes a sip. She scowls at the bottle afterwards. "This smoothie tastes horrible." She scrunches her face up in disgust before flicking her gaze back to Chloe. "Here, let me know what you think." She throws the bottle at Chloe and the contents go spilling everywhere on her bare chest.

She shrieks in surprise before looking at Courtney again. Courtney smiles. "Welcome to Ridgevale High, Chloe."

Chloe picks up her bag and runs out of the cafeteria, sobbing uncontrollably. The students laugh and continue videoing the event but I just stare at where Chloe ran off to. I switch my gaze to Courtney and she smirks.

"Your move." She mouths. I frown. What is this? A fucking game?

If Courtney has a problem with me she shouldn't be bringing innocent bystanders- like Chloe- into this. She should come to me and sort this shit out. But of course she wouldn't. Courtney Smith knows the right cards to play, and the right buttons push. She knows I don't like being the reason for someone's hurt so she uses me for exactly that; she guilt trips me. And as sad as I am to say it, it works.

I feel horrible.

Without thinking twice, I push my chair back and stand up. I jog after Chloe, leaving the cafeteria with one thought running through my mind:

This is all my fault. This is all my fault. This is all my fault.

When I walk passed Courtney I see her smirk but I ignore it. My main priority is Chloe, not having a bitch fit at Courtney.

When I'm in the hallway, I look down both ways. It would only make sense for Chloe to run to the closest bathrooms so I head to those ones, the guilt inside out.

This is all my fault. Damnit. How did I not think that somebody in the hallway would rat Chloe out? The school is basically Courtney's minions.

When I push the door open, I close it behind me. I listen out for crying and when I bear soft whimpers coming from one of the bathroom stalls, I rush over to it.
"Chloe?" I say softly.

I hear her sniffle, "Go away." She mumbles.

I'm the reason she's crying. I'm the reason she was humiliated. This is my fault.

"Chloe, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't know she would do that." I plead to her. I mean every word, I am sorry. I'm really sorry. She doesn't deserve this. All she did was compliment me and then she gets publicly humiliated.

I hear her sniffle again before the sound of the lock opening can be heard. When the door creaks opens, Chloe is revealed with red, puffy eyes and her arms around her chest that is now sticky with the smoothie. My gaze flickers between both her eyes and my heart drops.

What have I done?

"I'm so sorry," I say softly.

She shakes her head at me. "It's not your fault, Sophie. You're not the one who humiliated me." She reasons.

"But if you hadn't spoken to me, this wouldn't have happened." I run a hand through my hair. She eyes my carefully before I grab her hand and pull her out of the cubicle.

"What are you doing?" She asks me as I grab a bunch of paper towels.

"After everything I've done, the least I can do is help clean you up." I answer.

"You don't have to do that, Sophie." She protests.

"Well, I want to."

I walk towards her with the damp paper towels and hesitantly press them to her chest so that I can wipe the sticky substance off of her skin.

"You're a really nice person, you know that?" Chloe tells me as I wipe her down. Damn but the smoothie is sticky as hell.

I shake my head "I wouldn't say that." I mutter.

She frowns, "You're the only one who came to help me, Sophie. That says a lot about you."

I purse my lips. "I used to be like that." I murmur. Chloe frowns at me."I also used to bully and humiliate girls like you. The ones who were possible threats." I don't know what makes me want to spill my heart out to this girl but I continue anyway. "I never liked it. I always felt so guilty afterwards but when you can make someone scared of you, it gives you this sense of power- like you can do anything. I hated it. But Courtney put me in situations which made me do things I didn't want to do." I explain, dabbing another paper towel on her chest. "I'm just like them." I mumble sadly.

There's a long pause of silence and I see Chloe watching me. "My mom always told me," She swallows "that those who can recognize their mistakes and willingly try to fix them are the ones who are good people. They're the ones who were broken down but try to glue themselves back together. They're the people who are special because they save themselves while fixing everything else they broke around them."
I stare at Chloe, stunned. Her words wash over me like a wave and it makes my eyes sting. How can such words of wisdom flow from the mouth of a girl so young?

I gulp, drying down her damp chest. "You know, Chloe," I swallow hard "you're a really sweet girl. And you're really beautiful. People are going to try to change you but don't, Chloe. It's people like you who I look up to."

She gives me a smile before she throws her arms around me. I freeze for a moment before returning her embrace. When she pulls back, I smile.

"Thank you, Sophie."

I grin at her. "Do you have an extra shirt in your locker?" I ask.
She shakes her head, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"No. I guess I'm going to have to sit in the bathroom for the rest of the day although my mom is going to ki- What are you doing?" She asks me as I pull my shirt off.

I hand it to her and try not to feel too awkward by just standing in my beige bra. She eyes my shirt as I hold it out to her. Her eyes widen in realisation before she shakes her head vigorously. "No, Sophie. I can't possibly take that. What are you going to wear?"

I shrug, "I'm sure one of the Rebels will have an extra one for me."

She chews her lip indecisively and I can see that she's tempted to take it however, her kindness is making her doubt her decisions.
"Just take it," I instruct her and she hesitantly takes it from me.

"You look about the same size as me so I'm sure it'll fit." I observe.
She pulls it over her head and I can see her visibly relax when her torso is covered.

"Here," I say passing her some mascara and lipgloss. "Just to make you feel better." She takes it gratefully and applies it before handing it back to me. The shrill bell above us rings and she gasps. "I have Geography class. If I'm late, Mrs Clover is going to kill me." She rambles, quickly packing up her bag.

I laugh, "Well, you better get going then." When she straightens, ready to leave, she stares at me with pursed lips.

"Go, I'll be fine." I instruct her.

"You sure?" She asks again.

"Yes," I chuckle. "now go." I push her towards the door.

She sighs, "Okay."
Just as she grabs the door handle to exit the bathroom she turns and gives me a grateful smile.
"Oh, uh, Chloe?" I ask her.

"Yeah?" She responds.

I sigh. "Avoid the cafeteria for the next week or so and if you see any of the Elite, avoid eye contact." She purses her lips and nods.

"Alright."

My heart breaks at my next words, "And, uh, I suggest you don't speak to me for a while. They won't leave you alone if you do."

A sad look fills her eyes before she nods again. "Thank you, Sophie. For everything."
I smile at her and she walks out quickly, desperately wanting to get to class on time.

Once she's out of sight, I turn to look at myself in the mirror and I sigh. I sure hope that Nina or Christina have an extra shirt in their locker for me or else I'm screwed.

For some reason, I really enjoyed writing this chapter.

I'm nearly done with exams, guys! Two more and then I'm free! Whoop whoop!

What did you think of this chapter? Let me know!

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