Everything was going perfectly.

Under the soft glow of the stadium lights, the football field had been turned into a cozy, romantic setting. A large, deep green blanket was spread out, paired with a mix of plush cushions in rich, comforting colours. Twinkling fairy lights were draped around the blanket, casting a warm glow.

Next to the blanket, a wicker picnic basket is open, revealing an assortment of delicious treats—sandwiches, cheese, and fresh fruit. A bottle of sparkling cider chilled in a nearby ice bucket, ready to be enjoyed. Nearby, the goalposts had been decorated with strings of lights and fresh ivy, creating a whimsical, magical touch. A small table set for two, with a flickering candle and a handwritten menu, added a special charm to the setup. Plus, the red roses gave off a much more romantic idealistic vibe to the set up.

I had to trick our coach that I was doing this to a friend of mine and she had to convince their coach to postpone the timing of the football practice. That, and Linda's girls had been babbling about how dreamy the popular girl got, how ecstatic she was for the date. It was done by yours truly, James and his money.

It was the end of school and James told me that Atlas usually came by the football field for extra practice, it all added to the appeal of the plan. James and I were hiding behind the chairs in the stadium that gave us a clear showdown.

Linda Hughes, in a tight strapless red dress with stilettos, showed up and the cheesy grin on her face told me how vulnerable she was. She had her hair in a bun and tons of make up on her face. It got me feeling a weird guilt, but it was easily wiped out when I reminisced on how she made a whole scene about me and James.

"Damn, I already feel bad." James whispered behind me.

"Did you forget how she played us?" I retorted, my eyes scanning the giddy girl. She obviously brought with her a change of clothes for the date.

  Pathetic.

Atlas came into the play; he froze on the spot and the annoyance written all over his face made me want to laugh. He thought she planned this, the echo on the field made us hear the conversation much better. It was another part of my organized, sick plan. He was in his football gear and his fingers tightened around the helmet on his side.

"What the fuck is all of this?" He exploded in front of the girl with firmly pressed lips and his nose crinkled slightly at the discomfort.

"You – You tricked me." She stuttered in surprise, the letter thrown to his chest and tumbled down the grass. He clutched the letter and read it, his eyes darkened as he read through each letter and my heart dropped down to my stomach.

"Linda, you know me since we were kids. Why the fuck would I go behind Jake's back to send you silly love letters? Don't you know my handwriting by now?" He sighed out after he spoke stiffly.

Her mascara ran down her face along with her tears. Her lips shattered from the trembles on the corners. She turned into a wreck by the minute, she had this coming for every bad thing she had done.

"Shit. That sucks for her." James breathed out, we were on the front row, which gave us an advantage.

She scratched her other arm, and her shoulders shook in despair.

"We got what we wanted." I replied, I clicked on my phone to get snapshots of them in case they ever wanted to threaten me. I got this down detail by detail.

You're going to regret this, Atlas. I promised over and over in my head.

Atlas's biggest pet peeve was anyone knowing about him. He was very secretive, but with the pictures of the embarrassed date, it would end everything. Jake wouldn't pester me, Linda would back off, and Atlas would go to deep shit with his team.

"I thought –"

"Don't even think. I don't have any fucking feelings for you." His cold stare could kill millions and that made me pity Linda for standing in front of him.

The red-haired girl ran in stilettoes as fast as she could, away from the guy who stood rigidly, his mouth curled into a tight, thin line and the muscles in his face strained. He would know that I was the one behind this and this was the goal. I wanted him to know that I was not the one to be messed with.

He looked around the field before he kicked off the basket and called the cleaners to get the stuff off the field. They complied easily as they cleared everything up for the practice.

"I never thought I would live the day to see Atlas off the rails." James said, followed by a snort and I laughed in a low tone before we escaped the field successfully.

But one thing I heard made my skin prickle.

"Jones, if you are hearing me right now, you are dead meat." He made sure his voice echoed enough for me to hear.

I got the message loud and clear before I closed the door.

"What are you going to do now?" The blonde demanded in a question, he wanted to know everything. He thought it was his job to protect me from the clique.

"I would be hiding in the room." I teased.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Not funny, Calista." His mouth betrayed him as it twitched upward before he went back to being stoic.

"They won't be able to bother you anymore. We have the pictures and unless Atlas wants to make a peace treaty with me, these would be everywhere online." I shook the phone with my hand with a naughty smile painted on my lips.

"What if he finds out and deletes them?"

"How would he know?" I countered back the question.

"Don't underestimate Atlas." He advised, the parking lot only had my car and James's black Challenger Hellcat.

"Nothing wrong could happen." I stubbornly stated and he shrugged at me before he unlocked the car by a press on the keys. Lucky rich boys, I grimaced at my blue Kia Picanto that was repaired earlier before I swiveled my head to James.

"Are you going to the party today? Maybe rub it in their faces." He was wholeheartedly amused at the feud between me and Atlas, I didn't know James, just the fact that he quit football to pursue basketball and that he used to be in Jake's group before he turned into an outcast by his own choice. He did say something about being backstabbed and I was going to have to investigate the story or the motive on why he was helping.

Nobody could be trusted nowadays. 

"We'll see about that." I murmured, my mind running miles.

"Maynard road, Villa 103, Berk Evans. Party starts at eight pm – You're welcome." He winked before he got into his ride and revved the engine, he swerved like an expert and sped off.

I glanced at the motorcycle that belonged to Atlas before I followed suit in my car.

Linda would also be getting to the bottom of this throughout her connections, but she was absolutely chained with the living proof of how she was agonizingly rejected.

I would never have known playing the game would be so good. I felt the electric tingles on both of my arms and the burst of adrenaline in my veins.

The road was cut short when the view of my house was in front of me. I turned off the car after I parked and got in only to watch my sister as she played with her toys. I leaned against the door frame with a serene smile on my face – she was concentrating on how to dress her doll and I felt the loneliness she had to live through when I wasn't around. I felt somewhat helpless in the sense of not being there enough for her.

It was more of a mom guilt since she never had mom around in her life. I was basically a mother and a sister to her. She barely existed in mine, let alone Alina's world.

The clock ticked near seven pm and Darla appeared to take care of my little teddy bear. I hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before going upstairs to get ready for the rave at Berk's house.

"Is it a date? You better wear something modest." Darla warned when she followed me to my room.

"No, lovey, it's a school party." I explained, my hands flipped through the dresses I owned.

"I think you need help, let me pick for you." She came and sorted out the mix of clothes, "You better tell me all about it later." She ordered and I nodded with a chuckle.

We came to a decision when we chose my favourite black sequined dress, it was long sleeved and had a crystal belt in the middle to break off its simplicity.

My hair was gathered into a relaxed, half-updo. A few delicate tendrils were left loose to gently curl around the face. The remaining hair was swept up and secured with a small, pearl hairpin done by Darla. I couldn't thank her enough as she kissed my cheek and went to check on Alina.

I clipped on the crystal pendant necklace and put on my red rhinestones pumps. I added a soft touch of make up that consisted of nude brown lipstick, concealer to cover the heavy bags under my eyes and a light pink blush on my cheekbones. I looked at myself in front of the mirror and saw the person who I was becoming.

A strong soldier. I was internally proud of myself for standing up to me.

My stance was confident, and my clutch was in my hand. I hugged both of my loved ones and drove off to the party in a haste. I couldn't wait to break the news to them.

As fast as I parked my car after a ten-minute drive, the blaring music almost made me deaf. The flashback of the previous party dazed me, I remembered James's eyes when we danced then to Linda behind him with a smirk on her face. It quickly ended and I took a shaky breath.

Something didn't seem right. If Linda was the one who did something to us, she would proudly flaunt it.

The yard was trashed with beer glasses, roll tissue papers, and disgusting slimy stuff. I avoided those things when I weaved my way to the raging party. The party was on full swing, exciting lights flashed around, rockstars chugged down their champagne like it was nothing and jocks bumped chests, girls gave lap dances, and I spotted James talking to a strange guy, then I decided to go to the mini bar for a shot or two to get into the party mode.

Linda wasn't anywhere to be seen, Jake was quite the opposite as he was taken well care of by a girl grinding on his lap, his fully sparkled eyes highlighted his alcoholic toxicity, he was literally downing his life away.

I requested my tequila to a handsome bartender and that was when Linda showed making out with another guy by the beer pong table. Stupid highschoolers and their stupid hormones. At least I knew the people I wanted; they weren't complete assholes. It was more of a thrill I had when I was up on the social ladder. The attention, the problems that came with it and the cheer spirits made have everything I wanted. Linda's jealousy stripped me away of all these things, and now I was going to take my rightful place – it wasn't about the crowd, it was about how fake people could turn out when I was no longer famous for the things I loved to do.

The party was only the start, I would drop the bomb at the end.

But a harsh arm grabbed me back into the darkest corner of another room and bashed me against the wall, that was when I met Atlas's deathly eyes.