Erika Felix looked out the broad windows of Starbucks once again, only to groan. She had been waiting for Addie Anderson for two minutes already and she was becoming annoyed with every second that passed.

What on earth was she doing associating herself with a low-life wannabe who had millions of pictures of Erika going about her lavish ways on the walls of her bedroom? Erika was getting revenge or, as Erika liked to call it, moving on to Phase three of ;Fuck-Paisely-Up'.

What had the other phases been? Phase one; Ridicule Paisely until she felt like complete and utter crap. Phase two; Once her self esteem is low, obliterate it by dating the guy of her dreams - that had been the most complicated to do. Then there was Phase three, that was being sped up due to the discovery Erika had made the day before.

After hurrying out of the house - forcing the chauffeur to get up extra early and drive the range rover to Starbucks - Erika had put her last phase into effect with just a simple phone call - and a little lie to the most desperate pink-haired rich girl in the world.

As Erika gazed out the window again, a tacky bright green Ferrari parked on the very curb of the calm coffee shop. Out of of the front passenger seat was Addie, blowing a kiss to her equally tacky mother, Leah, before stepping into the warm, cozy wooden shop.

Erika found herself sneering at the girl's appearance; a rainbow check and stripe Valentino sundress with nerdy sleeves, black Givenchy shark-tooth boots, and homemade jewelry. Not to mention her pink pixie cut was horrendous due to the fact the girl hadn't bothered dying her brown roots.

Addie sat down opposite to Erika happily. "Hey Erika. I-I I,um, I - uh, you look really, um, pretty. So-"

Erika held up a semi-manicured hand - she wasn't sure when she would ever have the money to fix her broken nails. "Do you have what I asked for?"

Addie went bright red but nodded, setting her surprisingly cute grey Stella McCartney tote bag on the wooden table. As she dug through her bag, Erika soaked in the coffee bean smell of the shop, wishing she had some kind of allowance to buy a cappuccino. She always needed some kind of warm beverage to get her through the school day - and get her scheming mind working.

"Uh....uh, here, uh, Erika." Addie stammered, pushing a Hello Kitty baggie over to Erika's side of the table.

Erika had to refrain from scoffing at the girl. She was sixteen and she'd forgotten about things such as Hello Kitty after turning five years old. By then, Erika was learning big words about the business world to impress her father with.

"Hmmm...you certainly delivered, Addie." Erika mused as she opened the baggie and dumped the contents of it out on to the table.

It was almost creepy how well Addie documented the most popular girls of Alabaster Prep but nonetheless, Erika was going to put the girl's odd obsession to good use. Erika slipped the contents into her racy red Marc Jacobs hobo bag.

"So, um, do I-do I get to sit with you guys at-at lunch?" Addie stuttered nervously, a hopeful look on her pale face.

Erika bit her glossed lip wryly - and came up with something quite amusing. "First, you have to buy me a non-fat Caramel Flan latte." She ordered sternly, giving the girl her usual firm evil stare that always had everyone on their knees.

Flustered, Addie actually obeyed, getting up and walking rigidly to the counter and reciting Erika's order to the barista. Once she was back with the most precises latte Erika had ever seen in her life, Erika stood up. "Well, I'm leaving. Thank you for the evidence, Addie, but your service is over."

"But-but-but you said-"

"I said if you give me all I need, I'll let you sit at our table depending on what you wore for our appointment," Erika looked over the girl once again with disgust. "But that dress is the most ugliest thing I've ever laid eyes on, you're slacking on your roots, and you farted when you got up to get my latte."

The girl gasped in horror. "N-no-no I didn't!"

Erika took a sip of the milky drink - and frowned. "Oh and this isn't non-fat," Then she tossed the latte on to the marble floor, not even caring one bit that she had just wasted the girl's money. "What are you trying to do? Kill me with carbs?"

With that, Erika sauntered off to the Felix Range Rover waiting outside, preparing for war.

Alabaster Preparatory School was alive with the scents of designer perfumes and colognes, lavish vehicles with even more lavish teenagers pouring out of them, and the sound of chatter from every group that dotted the school's flawless green lawns and inhabited the English-styled skyscrapers.

Erika barely noticed the words that swirled around her as she strutted down the incredibly long gravel road walkway towards the famous grand steps of the school. 

"I heard Chris dumped her for Paisely Mont Vernon."

"...her Dad cut her off so now she's on a scholarship."

"I hate her."

"Do you think she'd hook me up with Damon if I asked?"

Erika shot a group of gossiping girls standing under the shade of a large oak tree, the most coldest glare she had up her sleeve, quickly silencing them. Then with a haughty hair flip, she continued up the steps of Alabaster and into the North Wing Girls bathroom - a.k.a the battle ground where poor little Paisely's last stand would take place.

With its chandelier lights, gold embellished floors, and large wall-covering mirros lit by dressing room light bulbs, it was the only bathroom Erika used at the school. In fact, it had become known as a home base for the group. If they weren't at the table, they were most likely in the bathroom primping their already perfect reflections.

When she entered, the bathroom was busy although all activity came to a halt when the "queen" entered the room. "All you bitches out except for Jac, Benny, and Paisely!" She screeched, waiting impatiently as every girl who wasn't on the bathroom VIP list skittered for the door.

Once the bathroom was completely empty, Erika examined herself in one of the mirrors for a moment. Content with her Lives The Process black and white geometric crop top and matching jogger pants, all put together with crisp white Lanvin blazer and white Louis Vuitton pumps.  With her envied auburn hair pulled into a firm, neat bun, she looked like a punctual woman.

She was here to conduct business after all.

Jac, Paisely, and Benny didn't pay any mind to her. Jac, tousling her jet black hair with a frown on her face. Benny, texting furiously on her brand new iPhone and Paisely, eating a bag of Ranch Doritos - 'You've got to be kidding me'.

Erika snatched the bag from the girl, pinching it between her fingers so the disgusting odor of the snack wouldn't contaminate her. Then she quickly threw it into the nearest garbage can.  

"Hey!" Paisely cried.

"I need everyone's attention." Erika said firmly, ignoring Paisely.

With a groan, Jac stuffed her endless supply of cosmetics into her Gucci makeup bag before slipping it into her Louis Vuitton handbag. Benny reluctantly slipped her phone back into the pockets of her True Religion bleached jeans.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm going to be sick." Jac rolled her eyes, arms crossed tightly over her chest. 

"What did Damon do this time?" Erika snapped. She had thought that they'd be over all this talk of her brother now that he'd broken up with Jac and ditched her for Veronica. It was already enough she heard about him all day long at home. Her "friends" were supposed to be the safe haven where she could get all the praise she wanted.

"Is it about how Damon and Veronica hung out last night?" Benny asked tentatively, looking ready to comfort the girl if she needed. 'Good,' Erika wasn't up for playing sympathizer again. It was far too out of her comfort zone.

Jac shook her head glumly. "I wish all I had was guy problems."

Paisely didn't say a word, playing with a strand of light blonde beach wavy hair and avoiding Erika's gaze.

Erika was practically bursting with pride at the clever trick she had up her sleeve.When she'd caught Chris and Paisely smacking lips in BCBG, she was too baffled - for the second time in her life -to say anything witty. However, she was about to make up for it with the dirty things Addie had just given her.

"Well, Jac, can you do me a favor and stop being so depressed so I can tell you guys what I have to say?" Erika retorted, too peevish to care about her tone towards the clearly heartbroken girl.

Jac scoffed, looking at her flawless reflection in the mirror.

Satisfied that all the girls' were quiet, Erika whipped out Polaroid pictures from her Marc Jacobs hobo bag, flaunting it around the room so that every girl could get a good look. The room instantly became so quiet that they could probably hear even a hundred dollar bill hit the glossy, tiled floor.

" I knew this was going to happen." Jac groaned.

Benny couldn't get any words, only gaping at each picture Erika waved in their faces.

Paisely gasped, hands flying up to cover her O-shaped mouth. She was shaking her head slowly as if she were trying to will the images away.

Complacent, Erika thrust the pictures into Paisely's hands who caught them shakily. "What you are all looking at," She said loudly, placing her hands on her hips. "are pictures of Paisely being a dirty little slut. The first picture was taken at the Back To School rager in which Paisely flashed her boobs."

Erika still couldn't understand why Addie would have a picture of Paisely flashing her boobs - but she didn't want to know, thats for sure.  "The second picture is also from the back to school rager in which Paisely kissed a disgusting peasant who was probably at the estate to rob us all."

No one said a word, only staring at the pictures in horrified awe.

Pleased that she'd caught everyone off guard, Erika continued. "The third picture is Paisely and Chris making out under the West Wing staircase,"  Then she made sure to shoot the crumbling blonde an icy glare. "Two weeks before I actually caught you."

"Wait, you were...." Benny trailed off, she and Jac looking at the girl with accusing, judgmental eyes now. 'Exactly what I wanted,' Erika thought.

"The last picture is Mr. Mont Vernon's mugshot from when he embezzled money from a major corporation which resulted in him spending two years in prison," Erika informed, nearly grimacing at all the stops she had to pull to even get access to that picture. When the wealthy had dirty secrets, they went through great lengths to hide them. "I'm aware that if this gets out, it could bring questioning to his current position as Chief Executive of Wells Fargo, am I correct?"

Paisely's voice was just a small whimper."Why are you doing this?"

"Just so you can get a heads up," Erika shrugged nonchalantly. "You can keep the pictures. I've made copies." She gave her signature candy sweet smile then, realizing that her crush on Paisely was not stronger than her thirst for misery. 

"No, why are you always picking on me?" Paisely exclaimed, startling all the girls as the ditsy blonde wasn't one to speak her mind.

Erika contemplated this for a moment - and then realized she had no idea. She had thought it was because of the way Paisely was but that couldn't be the case. Even the great queen herself knew something was off but she didn't let the answer stir inside her. It would only downplay her victory.

"Are you really that insecure?" Paisely shrieked, tears spilling over the brims of her gleaming blue eyes. "Why do you feel the need to make everyone else feel like.....like....like shit?"

Jac and Benny stayed silent, watching the two girls closely.

"Its sad because you're so beautiful, Erika," Paisely was a sobbing mess now and Jac put a comforting arm around her. "You're so beautiful yet you have the most ugliest personality ever! I can't believe I tried to keep being friends with you after all you've done to me! I was scared of you and I still kind of am!"

Erika was stunned as the girl threw the Polaroid pictures on the floor, stomping and ripping them with the heel of her Palazzo Suede Knee Sandals. "But no more! I don't care about your stupid pictures!"

Then with a new found rage, the blonde girl broke out of Jac's grasp and stomped over to the trash can, picking up the crumpled Ranch Doritos bag. "And if I want to eat my chips, then I'm going to eat them!" 

"Uh, Paige, no, sweetie, don't eat them." Jac said quickly. "They were in the trash, sweetheart."

Paisely looked at the chips with a somber look and then shrugged and tossed them back in the can. "Well then I'll buy some more later," She gave a steely look of her own towards Erika. "And I'm going to enjoy them."

Erika was so shocked it took her longer than it usually did to find the right words. "Well......have fun getting fat then."

Turning swiftly, she left the girls in the bathroom, shoving past the girls who had been waiting outside to do their business - because it was forbidden to interrupt a meeting between the Palace.  

As Erika strutted her way down the marble stoned outdoor halls, she didn't feel the slightest bit triumphant. In fact, she was starting to think the feeling of wearing a Knockoff ensemble was here to stay.

                                                                        ⓇⒾⒸⒽⓀⒾⒹⓈ

"If I don't see you girls around the track in thirty seconds, I'm starving all of you until the next VMAs!" Every girl in the track team cringed at Coach Reynold's threat and ran faster, Jac nearly tripping over a freshman girl's Nike roshes.

Grimacing, she shot the girl a glare before running past her on the dirt track. Ever since Eve had broken the news of their predicament - a.k.a the fact that they were going broke - Jac hadn't been herself lately. She found that everything irritated her and had a panic attack every time someone mentioned her name.

So far, the school's rumor mill hadn't been flooded by 'Jac's father is gay and poor' statements but Jac didn't doubt that they wouldn't be for long.  The rumor mill had been bombared today with reports of Paisely and Erika's showdown in the bathroom but once everyone got over that, Jac knew her life would be the next big thing.

"Jac, you fast bitch!" She heard Benny gasp as she sped up ahead of the flock of girls wearing nothing but tank tops, sports bras, and booty shorts. Coach Reynolds, who stood at the end of the track, was smiling broadly as Jac ran up just in time to smack her hand, claiming first place.

The rest of the team quickly followed, their faces a blotchy mess. Jac collapsed at the top of the bleachers overlooking the grand Lacrosse field that was currently being used by the Lacrosse team in a very intense practice. Luckily, Damon was nowhere to be seen on the field.

Panting heavily, Jac grabbed her pink Nike sports bag that she had thrown carelessly on the ground at the start of practice and pulled out a Voss water bottle - because she didn't tolerate cheap liquid. Her heart sank at the realization that the designer bottle was empty.

She stood up on the bleachers then, scanning the dirt track for Benny - and locked eyes with Damon coming out of the Boys locker room.. 'Crap,' She crouched down out of view, not caring that she must look like an idiot to everyone else.

Peeking over one of the bleacher benches, she watched as he came towards her, trying not to admire his sea blue eyes, perfect build, and the way his fair skin seemed to glisten in the heat. He was dressed in the Lacrosse team attire, head tilted back as he drunk from a very delicious looking bottle of water.

Standing up, Jac dusted flecks of dirt off her bright red Adidas sneakers, wishing she had time to take out her CoverGirl mirror and make sure she didn't look like a sweaty disaster.

"Jac, can we talk?" Damon asked once he made it to the foot of the bleachers, not making a move to join her.

'Calm, cool, collected, calm, cool, collected,' She chanted to herself. That was the description of her if you asked around but Jac wasn't so sure anymore. "What do you want?"

"Can you come down here first?" Damon called from below.

Jac shook her head firmly. "No, I'm fine up here." If she got a better look at that face of his, she was a done deal.

"The whole cheer leading squad is listening to us right now but have it your way." Damon shrugged, looking back towards the cheerleaders lounging on one of the bleachers nearby, not even trying to hide their stares and whispers.

Scowling, Jac forced herself to come down, reflexively keeping her balance on the shaky bleacher steps. She looked past the gorgeous boy in front of her, pretending to be fully engrossed in the Lacrosse game playing out on the field. "What?"

"Well, can you stop acting like I have the Medusa eyes first?"

Jac begrudgingly looked at him - but not directly in the eyes. "Hurry up, Coach is gonna want us in the gym soon."

"Isn't track practice over?"

Jac only rolled her eyes.

"Wow, you really have been avoiding me." He smirked.

"Damon." She warned.

"Fine, I'm sorry," He gave her a leveled gaze that awakened butterflies in Jac's stomach but she maintained her cool composure. 

"About?" 

"About everything," Damon said and Jac couldn't deny the genuity in his blue eyes. "I don't want us to fight. You're basically the only one who gives a damn about me." 

 "You're going to have to do better than that because saying things like, 'You're nothing' does more damage than you think." She snapped.

He sighed sheepishly. "I was angry, okay? I had just got kicked out of the game and my Dad was right there to see it all."

She couldn't help but regard him with sympathy. Although Damon would never admit to what magnitude, Mr. Felix was vicious. He made her mother look like an angel. "Well, you should have told me instead of spazzing out." She said softly, finally able to look him in the eye.

Damon didn't hide the relief on his face. "I know and I'm sorry," and then he frowned. "and I'm sorry about that night on the balcony too."

"Are you?" She sneered.

"I shouldn't have raised my hand over you," He said solemnly. 

Jac snickered. "You think?"

"I just have this," Then he sighed. "I don't even know how to explain it but it won't happen again. I promise."

"You're not really good with promises." Jac said pointedly. In fact, the last time he had promised her something, he'd screwed up only weeks after by hooking up with both the Vaughan twins of Pacific Vista at a dinner party.

"But I'm going to keep them from now on," He pleaded. "I don't want to spend my last days before Hell having you hate me."

"What do you mean?" She asked, purposely ignoring the 'hate me' comment as some days, she strongly despised him.

"I'm probably on my way to Juvie," He admitted ruefully.. "I got arrested at Brett's party for crashing my Dad's car."

Jac gasped, surprised that the rumor mill had missed this very important detail. "The Corvette?"

Damon just nodded.

"Well, you've been through a lot." She said simply, not letting him psych her into any more empathy.

"And I don't want to go through anything else without you," Damon spoke apologetically. 

She studied the desperate look on his face, pleased that she was the only who could ever make him look that way. Jac decided it was okay to smile. She was ready to forgive him. She was ready to put everything behind them and start fresh. With her family going broke with every day that passed, she was going to need some support - and Damon was her first love and that wasn't something she could let go of so easily/. "I forgive you."

Damon smiled too - but before he could say anything else, there was a loud shout from behind him. "Damon!"

Every ounce of forgiveness Jac had quickly diminished when Veronica Conrad came strutting up to them, looking gorgeous compared to Jac in her sportswear and messy black bun. The beauty came to stand beside Damon, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Hey babe," She chirped happily and then looked at Jac. "Hey, Jac, didn't see you there."

Jac took her distance from them. Damon glowering slightly as he took a step away from Veronica who didn't seem the least bit bothered. "Jac-" He started to say but Jac shook her head furiously.

"Well played, Damon," She blinked back the familiar stinging that indicated tears were coming on. "You almost got me too."

"Jac, I'm not playing you."

"Just to let you know, I have a boyfriend too," She mustered up, hoping her voice was confident and not muffled sobs. "In fact, we have a date tonight. " Then she made her way up the bleachers. "And he's more of a gentleman than you ever were - ahhhh!" She shrieked as she nearly lost her footing, tripping over a step.

"Jac, are you okay?" Veronica called mockingly.

"Perfectly fine," Jac managed to spat, steadying her balance again. 

Gritting her teeth together to keep from crying, Jac grabbed her Nike bag and slowly stepped off the bleachers. Ignoring Damon's fake words, she hurried off the dirt track and when she was out of view of the bleachers, the cheerleaders, and the Lacrosse field, she cried.

The tears spilled over, staining the Mary Kay eyeliner she had spent hours applying that morning. A group of giggling girls in Tumblr wear came out of the Girls locker room and Jac ducked into the school auditorium that could be mistaken for a New York Opera theater due to how large it was - thanks to the continuous donations.

Falling into one of the red cushion chairs, Jac let her tears turn to sobs. Not only did she cry for the betrayal but she cried for everything. From skanky Veronica to her family - and their wealth - slowly deteriorating all because of a secret that hadn't been hers to tell. 

 A door from the back of the stage swung open and Jac quickly shot out of her seat, hurriedly grabbing her things and running back outside - and right into Damon who had apparently come looking for her. That fact made her happy and angry all at the same time.

He blocked her way to the parking lot, determination in those eyes she admired so much. "I'm sorry about that-"

"Its funny how you have so much to apologize for, right?" Jac sniggered, moving to the side only to have Damon block her again. "Move."

 "Not until you let me explain," He said and then his eyes were soft. "Were you crying?"

As if on reflex, Jac found herself wiping her horrendous makeup off with the back of her hand. There was no point in denying it as the running mascara and eyeliner were proof of that. "Happy? You've pissed me off."

"I don't want to piss you off," He sighed. "I just want to make this right."

There was a shrill honk from the nearly empty parking lot that Jac recognized as her father's annoying way of telling her to hurry up. Ever since they lost Steve for a butler, the Lexingtons hadn't bothered getting a new one. Not that they had the money to spare. Every million to their name was now being used for Jac's schooling, her mother's never ending shopping habits, and their father's desperate search for another high position.

Jac looked Damon dead on, taking in his dark hair, his blue eyes, those killer Calvin Klein angles, and the lips she used to - and slightly still wanted to - kiss.  With another honk from her father's Porsche, Jac made her decision. "Well, its too late. I have a date tonight and I have a good feeling about this guy."

"Good feeling?" Damon tsked, not even hiding his offense.

"Yeah, you know the one I used to have about you," Jac said matter-of-factly, relieved to have her confidence back in overwhelming doses. "But then again, I was eight."

"You're kidding."

"Are you kidding with Veronica?"

Damon opened his mouth o say something and then quickly closed it, something he did when he was about to say something very asshole-ish but caught it quickly. Damon had a knack for being a complete jerk when they argued but Jac had a knack for slapping him when they argued too.

"Anyway, have fun with your Russian beauty." Jac gave her a best bland sigh and retreated to her father's car without a glance back. 

She suddenly couldn't wait for her date with Blake Evans. If Damon wanted to play games, why not make things multiplayer?

------------------

A/N: Hating myself for having to make this another TWO PART chapter. Damon always gets the bad end of the stick b/c this is the second time he's getting pushed to a second part :p I got varried away with Erika and Jac. But his part should be up faster than the last time I did a chapter this way b/c I already know whats going to happen with him and his chapter is already partly written.

So what did you guys think of Paisely? Did she do a good job of standing up for herself? Or does she deserve what Erika is going to do? 

And everyone whose read so far seems to be liking Blake so the good news is, he'll be around a long time ;)  

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read & make sure to vote and comment of course ! <3