As soon as the loud clanging of the bell signalled the end of the last period and the start of lunch, I lurched out of my seat and bolted out the door. I felt my nerves being sent into a frenzied chaos as I made my way towards the library. I hadn't been able to concentrate all morning; I'd been thinking of all the different ways I could possibly tell Ryan the truth, and yet they all sounded so idiotic in my head.

 I love you, I'm in love with you, please believe that I love you. 

Sounded so much more embarrassing and cringe-worthy than my plan B:

I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, do you already know what I desperately want to say to you?

"WOAH there Roadrunner, slow down!" Kim, with Rose trailing behind.

"Where are you off to in such a rush? It's pizza day and the cafeteria is in the opposite direction. Weren't you saying in the car on the way to school that you'd give anything to get a slice of pepperoni instead of the soggy vegetarian leftovers that we usually get by the time we reach the front of the line?"

I'd give up pizza for forever if it meant that Ryan would somehow forgive me and accept my feelings...

"Yeah I know I said that but something really important came up and I need to get to the library ASAP. You guys should hurry and get in that line, I'll be back soon." I said hurriedly. I didn't want to make Ryan wait any longer...

Kim and Rose exchanged a look that told me they knew something was up. And as I started to walk away, making a beeline for the library I sensed them following me.

Oh what the heck they both knew how stupid I'd been and right now I could use all the extra support I could get.

"Ok fine I'm supposed to meet Ryan now." I gave in as I spun around to face them nervously.

They're my friends. I need to get it in my head that it's ok to let my guard down around them, it's ok for me to be weak in front of them...

"We figured as much. You don't have to go it alone, we're here for you Ava," Rose said understandingly as she enveloped me in that type of hug only a best friend can give.

"And since you hardly ever go to the library you wouldn't know that it's faster if we take a shortcut through the basketball courts." Kim shot me a bright, knowing grin.

They knew more than I gave them credit for.

As we walked on rough, cracked concrete, right through the centre of the basketball courts making a beeline for the library which had come into clear view, adrenalin began to pump through my body.

Am I scared?

...yes.

Scared of what? Ryan? No.

Scared of rejection.

I'm scared that I'm going to be awkward, and flustered and nervous and so uncool. I'm scared that he only likes the tough, bad girl side of me; the side that teases and does not get teased, the side that always has some witty comeback to say, the side that is always supposed to be sexy, not cute.

But I used to be a good girl. And deep, deep down she's still there. She's soft, she gets hurt, she has silly dreams and wishes. She makes me vulnerable. And I've been trying to fight her for forever.

But she's still me.

Someone brought her back to life somehow, but what if that someone doesn't want me because of her?

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't register the group of Barbie dolls that suddenly appeared and were headed our way.

"Hold it right there Skank, I have some business I need to discuss with you."  Said the Queen Bee as she approached me and my friends.

"Whatever you want to talk about it can wait Melissa, I've got more important things to do than stand here and chit chat with you." I said harshly, not wanting yet another obstacle to stand in the way between me and Ryan.

"Compete against me in the 'Society' dance competition." She demanded, her lips pursed contemptuously as she handed me an elegantly designed flyer.

The Elizabeth Weatherly Society for Eligible Young Ladies presents...

It was this year's debutante competition that would allow the girls to compete for the escort of their choice. UGH. I wonder if Brad was going to be on the judging panel, I'm sure he'd give some interesting feedback!

"How about no? I'm not even part of the society and I don't really care because I already know I'm a better dancer than you anyway." I said confidently and clearly as I dropped the flyer at her feet and began to walk away.

I wasn't going to waste my time with this stupid competition and I have no idea why she'd want me to enter it anyway.

"So I guess you won't care if I make Ryan my escort?" She asked provokingly.

I bristled but kept walking. Wasn't I on my way to making sure that no other girl would get to have Ryan's heart but me? She wouldn't be able to do shit.

Hah so much for trying to take me down bitch.

"And I guess you won't care if I take him to Prom?" She continued, with a sharper edge to her words.

I stopped and turned.

"He wouldn't agree to go with you. " I replied nonchalantly. But what if he would??

"Oh but see that's the thing, since like you said, you're NOT a part of the society, then of course it wouldn't matter to you whether or not you won because you don't need him as an escort, so I arranged for the prize to be both escort...and prom date." She explained with an irritatingly derisive enthusiasm.

What the hell? There's no way Peggy would allow that!

"Oh really?" I said sarcastically, "Who did you bribe to make that happen?"

"I made it a charity case. You actually, you're the charity case. And I'm the angel that pleaded for my 'friend' to be given the chance to dance, because she's not very bright and not well-off enough to be a part of an eligible dance institution that gives her the opportunity to perform on a proper stage."

"You're actually insane if you think I'm going to compete against you with that ridiculous backstory you feed those conceited mothers." I retorted, irritated that she was wasting my time.

I turned again and for the last time hoped she would just shut her trap and let me leave and run away to Ryan so we could make out in between the library bookshelves like I'd been daydreaming about all morning.

"Wait!" she said, the cracks appearing in her voice as I detected a hint of desperation.

"For F*ck's sake what do you want from me?" I groaned in frustrated exasperation.

But that smug look on her face returned quickly as she tugged the rope, in our game of verbal tug-of-war, back in her direction.

"Speaking of mothers. Your own one is up for a promotion right now is that right?"

How does she know that?

"And what a coincidence that my father is the chairman of the hospital board, the same hospital that your mom works at and that we donate a truckload of money to every year...wouldn't it be a shame if I said something to my father, who is on the panel that would decide who would and who wouldn't be promoted...and then your mother missed out because of ALL of the horrible complaints she's gotten from patients."

I suddenly felt stone cold as my skin prickled and felt that foreboding sinking sensation in my stomach.

"There are NO complaints against her, she's one of the best doctors in the county." I replied harshly.

"Oh but see I have money, and I can MAKE those complaints suddenly real and appear in the database... the IT intern at the hospital always did have the most adorable crush on me." She continued to explain contentedly.

"Since when do you ever even spend time at the hospital?!" I almost spat.

When I was younger  I used to spend a lot of my time there, hoping that I'd catch a glimpse of my mom , hoping we could spend some time together . But she was never free, I never did get to see her and so I eventually stopped going.  Hospitals are not exactly the happiest of places...at least not in the ICU where my mom worked...

She seemed to stand a little taller, as if she was suddenly inflated with confidence from getting a reaction out of me, and her face contorted into a sneer as she ignored my question.

"I know it was you who rigged the prom king and queen votes and I know you bribed Brian or whatever Ryan's brother's name was to let you go to that fête so that you could make high-class connections because that's the only thing high-class about you! You were trying to ruin my reputation in the society by associating your uncultured self with me."

I was sort of stunned for a moment by how petty and spoilt she was, like I couldn't believe that a person as narrow-minded as her even existed. Yet here she was, still blabbering on causing me to get angrier by the second.

"Unlike a slutty skank like you, I prefer to handle things without getting my hands dirty." She said with utter distaste.

"Please, we both know you spiked my drink at that party and tried to make me embarrass myself," I interjected coldly.

"You're delusional if you think I had to do anything to make you embarrass yourself, you don't need my help with that." She huffed narcissistically as she placed one hand confidently on her hip while flipping her hair over her shoulder with the other.

"Compete against me." She demanded. My blood was boiling but I endured her unsubstantiated words silently.

Don't do it. Don't react. She's not worth the repercussions you would face if you hit her!  

But she continued yapping like an annoying and indignant over-pampered Chihuahua.

"Everyone already knows that behind this 'bad' façade you try to put on, you're actually a talentless, low-class coward, but if you don't go up against me it'll just be another reminder to them  that you– "

"What the F*ck Melissa! What the actual F*ck is your problem?!"

Oh my god,

Rose?

I have known Rose since we were babies, but never in my whole entire life have I heard her swear. Like seriously, the worst curse word in her vocabulary is shut up!

But here we were, she'd just dropped the f-bomb twice in a row and everyone, Melissa, her bumblebees, Kim and especially me, all stared at her in stunned silence.

"I've had enough, I've put up with being a Bumblebee for years but this is the final straw. I quit. And I should never have agreed to be part of this ridiculous petty clique in the first place!" She snapped, with more anger and disdain than I ever thought my sweet, gentle best friend was capable of.

"Ava let's go, she can't hurt you." She said to me, her narrowed eyes softening as she grabbed my arm and gently tried to pull me away.

Rose you perfect, beautiful human being...

"Did you NOT just hear what I said about my father being chairman of the board??" Melissa screeched, drawing the attention back to her.

"I doubt he's going to do everything you say just because his spoilt daughter wants something she can't get." Rose shot back, her face deadpan and unimpressed.

"Well why don't we test that theory out then Rose? There are some staff cuts the hospital needs to make because the costs of maintenance are going up.  And if I'm not mistaken...your mother is a nurse there too. And since there are so many nurses, it shouldn't matter if even just 1 got the cut, right?" Melissa drawled, her tone light and airy which made her threat sound all the more menacing.

Rose stilled. Fear began to cloud her eyes. My best friend was the opposite of me; soft on the outside and strong on the inside. We both couldn't care less if someone had a problem with us, but her weakness was caring too much, about everyone, and most importantly about her family.

Her mom Heather, was an excellent nurse, one of the best at the hospital and one that my mom always wanted on her prep team before surgeries.  She loved her job and loved her children even more. Rose was just like her; kind, beautiful, and the type of person you wished no harm would ever come to.

Regardless of whether or not Melissa had this kind of power (and it was starting to seem like she did), I couldn't take the risk of putting so many people I cared about in danger.

All of the consequences of this would be on me. 

And as much as I loved Ryan, as much as I desperately wanted to be with him, I couldn't be so irresponsible and put not only my mother's career on the line, but Heather's too and that included the major repercussions that would follow and affect Rose's life.

I looked to Kim who was silently seething, her black hair falling slightly in front of her face as her jaw tensed and locked, and her hands clenched into fists; she was all but ready to slug Melissa right in the face.

I turned back to Rose who had clamped her mouth shut and stood rigidly looking down at the ground, probably regretting standing up for me...

Alright, that's it! I've been a hot mess for far too long and it's finally time for me to get my act together.

I clenched my teeth and glared murderously at Melissa.

"Fine. I'll compete." I said, my tone clipped and reluctant. "What are the rules?"

Her obnoxiously bright red lips stretched into a sickeningly satisfied smirk.

"Our little competition will be separate and secret to the rest of the society debutantes; we'll be competing against them too but whoever is eliminated first out of the two of us, will be the loser. There will be 2 stages in the competition for which you need to perform 2 different styles of dance.   And it seems you're skills, or more like lack thereof, are restricted to just hip-hop and grinding.

Oh, and I'm positive that twerking is certainly not a real dance let alone an art form like ballet and ballroom dancing which I've studied my whole life and you would know nothing about."

 Gasping in sarcastic horror she added "OH I'm sorry, does that ruin your whole repertoire?"

This girl really wants to be punched in the face doesn't she? She has no idea I spent almost 10 years of my life dancing ballet in the advanced class with kids that were our age now.

But I wasn't about to tell her that.  And I ignored her last comment.

"Yeah whatever, if you're dancing ballroom does that mean you'll have a partner? Is that even allowed?" I asked carefully. There was something secret I'd always wanted to do ever since I was young and by now I had just dismissed it as a fantasy, but maybe, just maybe, this competition was a chance for me to do it. 

She looked at me warily as she folded her arms and answered my question, "well the competition rules state that you're allowed up to 2 other dancers you can perform with but their performance won't be assessed so don't think you get ahead of me by hiring dancers that are better than you, to get extra points!"

I had to fight as hard as I could not to roll my eyes at how clueless she was.

"Trust me, that's not what I'm thinking at all." I muttered.

...I've always wanted to do a song & dance performance. Isn't that cheesy? Maybe it's because I was obsessed with Broadway and musicals when I was little, but I longed to perform on stage like that.

When would I ever get another opportunity like this?I've got a lot more to lose if I choose NOT to compete...

And by 'a lot more to lose,' I mean Ryan.

I'm sure he would think this whole plan Melissa had concocted was utterly idiotic once I told him about it. So what if I couldn't go to Prom with him? That would mean nothing to me if I was his girlfriend...

That thought alone gave me the confidence boost I needed, and I proceeded to place a hand on my hip and smirk, chuckling to myself as I stepped closer and closer without breaking eye contact.

"I'll compete in this stupid competition, as it seems like I don't have any other choice, but let me give you a warning."

Though she tried to mask the alarm that flickered in her eyes as she registered my hardened expression, I saw her swallow quickly and take a small step backwards as I advanced.

Wow, is she actually intimidated by me? GOOD, she should be.

"See here's the thing Melissa, right from the beginning between spending your time recruiting your Bumblebee cloney- cronies to do your dirty work, and begging your daddy to get you whatever else it is you want," I said as I drew myself up to my full height and looked down at the mass of red curls at least half a head shorter than me.

"Or even between buying people's votes during the Student-Body President elections and trying to butter-up our teachers with expensive gifts to get you better grades,  don't think for a second that nobody notices all of your SHIT." I snarled menacingly, basically spitting out the last part.

"Ava..." I heard Kim speak from behind me, a warning tone in her voice.

Without looking around directly, I could sense that a number of people had stopped and were watching on trying to figure out what was happening.  Kim was trying to prevent me from causing a scene and getting myself in trouble. She had good reason to do so as well; she is one of a small number of people who have seen me turn into Hurricane Ava before.  And it was not pretty.

In freshman year, when I was definitely more reckless and a bigger hothead than I am now, I had punched a girl who had started a rumour that I was sleeping with one of the school teachers, all because her boyfriend had tried to kiss me at a party. They made a nice pair, because I punched him as well for that. Even though she started it, I was the one who ended up severely punished because I gave her a black eye.

I've since learnt it's better to walk away, but every now and again someone comes along to push me almost too far...

"While you might be little miss Queen Bee of the school in the eyes of those who thrive on your sadistic reign," I continued with disgust, "I guess that makes me Queen A, and I represent every misfit, rebel and individual who dares to be themselves despite your empty and unjustified disapproval."

" and the last time I checked," I said, jabbing my finger hard into her bony shoulder causing her to squeak.

"'A', is always in front of 'Bee'"

Her mouth gaped opened indignantly, in an attempt to talk back but all I heard were shocked choking sounds.

I'd rendered her speechless. And DAMN did it feel good!

I spun around sharply, walking away confidently through the crowd of bewildered on-lookers who overheard our conversation and were chattering away loudly as they stared at me and tried to figure out what just happened.

"YEAH AVA YOU OWNED THAT BITCH!" I heard a chorus of voices yell as I glanced up to see my detention buddies, Omar, Rhea, Selena, even Carter Carters,  grinning and giving me thumbs up from where they'd been standing on the sidelines.

"Thanks guys," I smiled briefly at them (though it didn't quite reach my eyes), before I continued walking, wanting to get out of the basketball courts as fast as possible.

 "Until the competition, you better not go anywhere near Ryan and if I find out he knows all about what's going on, you can consider that promotion  your Mom wants, non-existent!!" I heard her screech pathetically after me. "I HAVE EYES AND EARS EVERYWHERE!"

It was a weak final attempt to get the last laugh, but still, the implications of her words hit hard.

I couldn't be with Ryan.

Not for the next few weeks until the competition anyway.

He's going to hate me. Why did this have to happen now, when I was finally going to set things straight?! All I ever seem to do is hurt him.

I couldn't tell him I loved him and I couldn't tell him about this stupid competition. Not even if I asked him to keep it secret, because Melissa would know.  She did have eyes and ears everywhere. She would somehow find out with her Bumblebee spies sent to monitor my every move.

If the stakes were lower, if the consequences of not caring and just deciding to tell Ryan everything didn't involve my mom's career not to mention Rose's mom's job and her family as well, I would sprint to the library right now and confess the moment I saw him.

But my life never seems to be that simple. Ever.

There's only one thing to do; work my ass off so I can beat Melissa ...and hopefully win back Ryan's heart.

Melissa didn't know who she was dealing with.

But she'd find out just what Ava Maxwell was capable of, very soon.

_____________________________________________________

RYAN'S POV

**bzzzz bzzzzzzzzz**

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

1 New message from: Ava (Sweetheart)

Ryan, something came up and I can't meet you right now. Please forgive me :(

I sighed as I turned the screen off.

I knew it.

I figured she'd send me a message after what just happened.

Nobody saw me hiding behind one of the pillars that held up the building they were standing in front of, right near the library where I was supposed to be meeting Ava.

But I was there.

And I heard everything.

*************************************

OMG YOU GUYS!!!! I managed to update! But now there probably won't be a new chapter for a while :( Studying sucks.

Don't forget to COMMENT, VOTE and FOLLOW if you either love me or hate me for this new twist!!

Take care,

Cerise xx :)