CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

The food was rubbish.

Hannah was pretty disappointed – what was the point in organising such a grand affair if the food wasn't the best part? Everything was on toothpicks, itty-bitty slices of fancy cheeses and vegetables that she had never even heard off, alongside the smallest steaks she had seen. It was admittedly really good but she could barely get to savour the taste before it was finished in two bites.

"This is so depressing," Mohammad grumbled, glaring down at the plate in front of him as though it had personally offended him.

Becky snorted, one hand pulling at her box braids and the other holding onto her fork in a rather clumsy way. "I'm pretty sure you've had about four portions, you fat shit."

The English project set at the beginning of the year had clearly cemented some semblance of a friendship between the two, albeit one littered with insults and eye-rolling.   

"I'm a growing boy!"

Hannah slapped him over the head with a serviette, pulling her plate away from where his fingers seemed to be roaming. "And clearly it's all gone to your head, all you've spoken about all day is yourself."

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she groaned, knowing perfectly well that his next words were going to be something about how he would talk about her and Rayne if she preferred. He, along with Becky, had been making quips about the two of them the entire day. She wasn't sure if Rayne was extraordinarily good at pretending he hadn't noticed or extraordinarily dumb but he hadn't commented on it, instead turning to talk to Carter whenever they said anything.

The boy in question was still seated beside her, so close that she could feel his body heat warm her bare shoulders like the embrace of a long-lost lover. Rayne was leaning back in his chair slightly, maple-syrup hair slicked back neatly for a change and an emerald tie around his neck that perfectly matched his eyes.

Before she could allow herself to get flustered at the way Rayne smiled at her – as though he could really see her and not what she projected to the world – she stood up abruptly. The edges of her long dress billowed out around her legs like stormy grey clouds as she ran a hand along the top of her now-empty chair.

"I'm just going to pop to the loo, be back in a bit, alright." The others were all lost in conversation, music woven into it and so, they were barely paying attention. Mohammad offered a brief nod before turning back to what Carter was saying as Rayne responded – the only one who did.

"Okay."

In a way, it was worse that he had responded to her. She was trying to push Rayne out of her mind, trying to tell herself that he was just a guy she barely knew. And it was true, she didn't know anything about him.

Other than the fact that his mother was lovely and smelt like warm pastry and sugar. His father had passed away when he was younger and his two sisters were the light of his life. She knew that he lived close to Becky and Carter, that he wanted to be a surgeon eventually and that his house felt like all the comfort in the world. She knew that he hated English but loved Biology – that he kept his head down in school to keep his grades up in order to maintain his scholarship.

'Oh shit,' Hannah thought to herself, unconsciously biting down on her bottom lip. She was wrong, she did know him. Maybe not everything, but surely everything that was important; the things that made him Rayne. Just as he knew the things that made her herself.

With her stomach twisting and turning tightly at the thought, she made her way through the Hall. How had he managed to get through the walls she had spent so long perfecting? How had he managed to get under her skin? She was so lost in her own mind that she barely noticed the way the crowds paved at her appearance, at the way smiles and muted congratulations were carried until they reached her.

But more than that, she didn't notice the light footsteps shaking in anger as they followed her path.

She didn't realise what had happened until it was too late, claws digging into the bare flesh of her arms as her former best friend dragged her into a dimly lit corridor. The toilets on this side of the Hall had been out of order for a while and so, nobody would hear the commotion about to occur. Hannah opened her mouth to protest, eyes glinting in anger and the crown on her head long forgotten until Ashlyn beat her to it.

"You fucking bitch," she seethed, ice blue nails drawing blood with her viper grip as Hannah tried not to flinch. She wouldn't allow Ash that satisfaction. "Did you really think you could take the one thing that I've always wanted away from me? Did you really think you could be crowned Queen when it belongs to me without any fuckin' consequences for your betrayal?"

Hannah scoffed – whilst she did feel slightly bad that she had been voted for Queen when she didn't even want it, there was no way she would apologise for betraying her ex-best friend when that's what Ashlyn had done first.

"You're seriously talking to me about betrayal?" Hannah replied, forcefully pulling her arm out of Ashlyn's grip. "You? The same girl who was meant to be my best friend and instead decided to get with my boyfriend?"

Ashlyn smiled, a smile so wide and bright that if Hannah didn't know who she was she may have thought it was one of innocence. "Maybe if you'd just had sex with him that day of Jakub's party, I wouldn't have had to do anything drastic."

The memories of that day flooded over her, the reminder of her torn dress and exposed body and the way she hadn't stopped crying the entire night. With a mind that could see nothing but red in that moment, Hannah almost growled at her former friend. "Rape, you mean." She spat the word out, making it sound as dirty as it felt against her lips.

"He was your boyfriend," was the reply, as though that justified it. It didn't make it okay, not at all and Hannah's nails dug deep in her palms as she tried to control herself from lashing out.

"And talking of that night..." a voice rose in the almost darkness, one that slithered like poison against the hallway. "We didn't get to finish what we started, eh babe?"

Hannah felt her heart sink when she saw Gabriel slink out of the shadows, glaring down at her dangerously in the way a predator would look at its prey whilst hunting. His cerulean eyes were icier than she had ever seen them, his body humming with a barely controlled rage. There was no doubt that he was furious about her refusing to dance with him in front of everyone, taking it as a slap to his ego. And in that moment, Hannah realised the enormity of the situation.

She could still recall the way he had ran after her the last time they were alone together, his unwanted touch burning her flesh until she felt she would blister beneath his fury. She remembered her helplessness, the fear that suffocated her and the way she collapsed into a pile of tears when she was finally safe.

She remembered it all; the memories slowly creeping back onto her like wildfire, filling her lungs with smoke until she could barely breathe.

"Don't you dare touch me," she warned, but even she could hear the tremor in her voice as Gabriel crept closer, one arm out as he managed to pin her down before she could run. His body was holding her against the wall, the closeness making her feel nauseous as one hand cupped her cheek tightly, almost leaving a scar behind. He pulled her harshly, her feet slipping out of her shoes, until she was entirely in his hands.

Meanwhile, back at the table, Rayne was squirming in his seat as Becky glared at him. As soon as Hannah had left, she had been trying to catch his gaze in order to interrogate him about her. Somehow, he'd managed to keep up enough conversation with Carter, Mohammad and Cameron in order to avoid looking at her but enough was enough.

"Right," Becky declared as she stood up, smoothening her dress down as she grabbed hold of his suit jacket from the back. "I need a word with you, mate."

Carter only grinned when Rayne shot him a desperate plea for help with his eyes as his best friend dragged him away.

"What's up with you and Hannah then, eh?" she asked, when they were far away enough from the chaos of the Ball. "And don't even try to deny it, you've been making googly eyes at her all day."

Rayne looked horrified, although it was more at himself than anything else. He tugged at the emerald tie around his neck as his ears tinged red, thankfully hidden behind the edges of his hair that had eventually loosened itself from where he had tried to tame it. "Is it that obvious?"

Becky laughed as they reached a deserted hallway, the lights dimmer. "You didn't deny it," she mused, looking him up and down deep in thought. She still didn't quite trust Hannah – there was something about her that was undeniably secretive and Rebecca Price didn't do secrets.

Before she could interrogate him further however, he heard a soft whimper, barely audible against the loud music of the party. Perhaps Becky was right with what she was insinuating, perhaps he did like Hannah a little too much if he managed to recognise her voice without her saying a word.

He hadn't intended to hear, really he hadn't. Becky had only dragged him away to drill him with questions – she was still a little suspicious of the way Premrose's Queen Bee was hanging out them. Surely, Hannah was up to something.

The whimper was so soft that he would have missed it if Becky hadn't paused in her words but there it was, fearful against the slight draft of the hallway. With eyebrows furrowing together in concern, he gestured at his friend to shut up and crept along, dragging her with him.

A chuckle echoed against the vibrating music, a sound so hollow that it sent distrust rushing through him. He recognised Gabriel's taunting immediately; he'd heard enough of it over the years to hand pick it from a crowd.

"Don't be so scared, honeybee," Gabriel spat, amusement lining his faint words. "I'll be gentle for my Queen."

Becky's brows were scrunched together in confusion, lower lip jutting out as the two friends followed the sound, their footsteps silent. "Hey, isn't that-" Becky began to say but Rayne clamped a hand around her mouth, something brewing inside of him. He had been amongst the bottom of the social ladder for far too long not to know what the feeling inside him meant: the fear of a threat unspoken.

Hannah was being held against the wall by Gabriel's arms, her fingers trembling as she tried to push him off her smaller frame to no avail. His large palm covered her mouth, forcing her head back until it looked like she could barely breathe beneath his burning skin. Her eyes were sharp, that much even he could see despite the dim lighting but it was evident she was scared of the position she had been forced into.

"This'll teach you to try to embarrass me, eh? Did you really think you pull that crap on stage without anything happening, especially when wearing that fuckin' dress?" Gabriel growled, his grip clearly tightening and his voice growing more and more threatening. "It's mine, you hear me? It's mine, you're mine!"

Hannah pushed her head forward, strong enough to lift his hands off her face for a second. "Fuck you," she spat, fury burning inside her. "I'm a goddamn person, not a fuckin' trophy. Get the fuck off me, Gabe."

Gabriel smiled, although the way his lip curled up despite his eyes staying flat was sinister to say the least. "Now, why would I do that when I haven't even started?"

His hands swept over her dress, leaving what felt like flames behind everywhere they touched. Hannah felt her throat growing drier as black spots danced in front of her eyes, her bare feet kicking at him but barely making him hesitate. "Get off me, get off, get off," she mumbled, as his hand tightened around her throat whilst he clawed at the straps of her dress.

Rayne watched horrified, until he came to his senses enough to get closer. Becky scrambled away, running back to where they had come from as a glint of silver rose in the dull lighting. Hannah's shoes were on the floor beside him, the jewels on the sharp stilettos gleaming bright. His mind flew back to his little sisters and how much they loved the Disney Princesses and most of all, how much he would murder anyone that tried to hurt them in this way. Without a seconds thought, he bent down and held her left shoe tightly before throwing it as hard as he could until it hit Gabriel square in the face.

"What the-," he roared, blinking furiously as the stiletto narrowly missed his eye but before he could finish the sentence, another came flying his way. His grip on Hannah had loosened and in those few precious seconds, Hannah scrambled backwards out of the way until she could smell Rayne from behind her.

Before Gabriel could get up and charge at him – something Rayne hadn't even thought about before he threw her shoes – footsteps came running around the corner as Cameron burst through the hallway with Becky on his tail. Rayne breathed a sigh in relief that his best friend had more sense than him and had actually gotten help instead of just gawking.

His arm wrapped around Hannah's shoulders as he helped her stand. She flinched hard at the unexpected touch but his voice was soothing in her ear. "You alright?"

Cameron pushed past them, face no longer passive, as he jumped on Gabriel. His fists were thrown calculatingly, blood pouring from Gabriel's nose before he could even realise what was going on. "I've wanted to do this," Cam panted, brows drawn defensively and shoulders shaking with anger. "For so fuckin' long, you fuckin' bastard. If you ever touch her again, I will fuckin' kill you without a doubt, you hear me?"

Gabriel didn't respond, falling to the ground as he tried and failed to fight back; Cameron fuelled with enough love for his cousin to block every hit coming his way.

Rayne had helped Hannah up, holding her hand tight as she shook uncontrollably, bruises lining her throat. Becky had pulled Rayne's suit jacket off him from behind and thrown in around her shoulders, Hannah's small frame almost drowning in the grey fabric.

Once Cameron had finished with Gabriel, he turned towards Ashlyn with a murderous look on his face, his hand clasped around her dress as he dragged her forward. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Ashlyn only smirked, although it was evident that without Gabriel for backup she was now outnumbered. "Now, now," she purred, running one hand across Cameron's face in a flirtatious embrace as he flinched. "What would your boyfriend say if he saw you losing your cool like this, eh Cammie?"

Hannah gasped out loud, her head spinning as she heard Ashlyn's words. With that one sentence the anger radiating from her cousin was gone, Cameron's confidence fading away like smoke. He seemed to have frozen at her words, eyes widened and a mixture of shock and fear playing over his face as he realised what her words meant.

She would without a doubt spread the story of Cam and Ty across their widely homophobic school and community, the threat in her eyes not lost on either of them. With that thought, Hannah felt herself paling even more, guilt mixing in the fear woven through her bones.

Cameron loved Hannah with everything he had, he truly did, but he was terrified. His fingers slipped from where he had been clutching onto the front of Ashlyn's pale blue dress, the fabric now creased. And the girl in front of him only smirked at his discomfort, one golden eyebrow raised high and icy eyes shining with her threat.

"You bitch," Cam finally said, the words low as he stood up straight, looking down at her with his bottom lip curled as he let go of her.

Hannah felt sick, physically sick as she realised what she had done. Her entire life Cameron had loved her, cared for her, looked out for her and helped her with everything. And in return she had somehow managed to unveil the one secret she swore she wouldn't. The guilt crept through her veins, slowly at first, and then rushing like a tsunami until it lit up her entire body.

At the time, she'd had a feeling Mel hadn't quite left that day she had been speaking to Alex in the park about his feelings for Kalila. But she'd still opened her mouth. She had talked about Cameron and Tyler together, talked about their relationship and the news had evidentially been reported to Ashlyn. It was her fault, it was all Hannah's fault.

Cameron turned around, his face eerily blank as he faced his cousin and their friends. Becky and Rayne both had surprise painted on their faces, mouths dropped open at the words but his eyes were so empty he didn't seem to notice.

And in that moment with Hannah's body shaking slightly against his own and Cameron looking at them with all the fear in the world, Rayne realised something important. All this time, he had built them up on a pedestal inside his head. Just because Hannah was beautiful and popular and rich and so goddamn perfect, he had assumed that her life was perfect. He had assumed she was invincible.

But she wasn't.

She was just a regular person, just a girl trying not to let the weight of the world push her down. She wasn't perfect and maybe that's the way it was supposed to be.