Damian should have been emotional, not Henry; but this situation? It just brought a tear to his eye. He couldn’t help it! A brand new Elite (and Henry himself, as a consultant) gathered to bring an end to his tyrannical sister, and her bitchy friends. They’d spent damn near the entire day getting the beachhouse, and now Henry (the consultant) had only one step left for preparations. He had nametags to hand out, and he’d made them shirts! What? He was very happy with the safety deposit.

Having gathered all of the Elite V 2.O (the O, Henry decided, stood for Outrageous): Damian, Owen, Soleil, Trevor, and Lawrence, into the kitchen, Henry prepared to give them the speech of the fucking ages. This may have had the Elite’s name all over it, but this party was Henry’s expertise. After all, he was the consultant. “Friends, Owen, girl I’ve met like twice before in my entire life, let me tell you a story. ‘Bout three weeks ago, Damian comes to me and he asks me to be a part of the Elite. He got it in his head that he was gonna turn the school around and become a true king — not a fake one like he’s been for the past year and a half. And yeah, dude, fake one. Ain’t no king I never heard of gone around doin’ jack shit while some crazy hoes go up and be crazy. Anyway, I look you dead in the eyes and what did I say?” Henry leaned forward, pointing at Damian as if he were gonna let him speak, before he quickly began to continue. “I said I don’t wanna be a part of no boy band. So I’m not a member of the Elite. We reached an agreement. Cuz I stumped ol’ Damian over there, I confused him. He stopped, he stepped back, and he tried again. He said ‘...what if you’re just a consultant?’ because apparently he can’t throw a banger like your BOY can. I said ‘you can’t afford me.’ Dude said ‘name your price.’ So, I did. And by god did he deliver, it was the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Henry paused for a moment, seemingly relishing in the limelight and the moment, Damian looked to either side of himself, at the others, shaking his head.

“I told you that if I helped a throw a party, then you have to go out of your way to make sure Hailey and the bitch brigade aren’t invited. And you did just that. Let me tell you something, let me tell you right now that seeing my sister and her friends freak the FUCK OUT and act like their worlds were coming down around them… that was the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my life. It was sugary sweet, it was like someone had taken my tongue and placed on my tongue a sugar cube and I just closed my eyes and felt it melt. Sugary sweet. Just like that.” Henry turned around and reached inside one of the many bags he’d brought, withdrawing a bottle. He sat it down on the table in front of the Elite, and grabbed shot glasses. “Today, lads... This is a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Revelation. Two hundred thousand dollars, I stole it from my mom for you. Today, we toast.” He poured them all a drink and slid one in front of each of them. “Today, we toast to a party… to a celebration of the new year. To a celebration of a year where,” at this point, Henry raised his glass, “the Elite, and the consultant, show the entire world that anyone can stand up the H.O.T. girls, to the Candies, to anyone and say that, quite simply… ya all can’t fuck with us.” With that, Henry tipped his glass back.

Smacking his lips after drinking his glass, Damian stared at his friend — the consultant — and waited for the smooth burn to subside. That was… good alcohol, for damn sure. Finally, he let out a breath, and spoke, “You’re a weird guy, Henry. A weird motherfucker.”

“HEY, motherfucker. I ain’t WEIRD. I’m fucking rich as fuck. That makes me eccentric.”

Soleil Jameson had been a quiet spectator of the events, the corners of her mouth turned up into an amused smirk. A mere week before, she had just made her high school dreams come true by being inducted into the Elite. Not just that, but she’d made clique history by being the first female in the all-boy group. It was a hell of a feeling, and the raven-haired teen would be lying if she said there wasn't a new spring in her step whenever she walked through the halls alongside the boys.

It was party day, and the young woman had been busy all day with preparations. Sol had been in charge of snack duty and making her famous ‘Shady Sun Punch’, and she had done just that. After all the work was finished, El Jefe had called the crew over for a short meeting. However, it was Henry who spoke, giving the group a speech Sol was sure he felt very proud of. She’d shot discreet questioning glances at Owen during most of it, but for the most part she'd kept a straight face. She drank when the others did, but she’d been silent for far too long.

“Eccentric… That's a nice way to put it.” Shady mused at Henry’s comment, giving him a joking once over before turning to the others. “I’ve gotta admit, it feels fucking good to hang around with you guys. Been a hell of a week. I'm pretty sure being the only one that doesn't want Damian’s dick helped a lot with my being here, though.” she said jokingly, shooting the bearded boy a playful wink.

It was true, though. From the moment she'd stepped into Beverly Hills High, it was obvious that Damian O’Connor was the object of desire of everyone and their mother. He is attractive and talented, yes. And yet… Shady never took the bait. She'd always treated him as the rest of the boys: nothing more, nothing less. To her, he was just another one in the crowd. She was almost certain that this was a key factor in her current Elite member status.

“Hey, Henry, can I have a refill?” she asked The Consultant, waving the empty shot glass at the baby-faced boy. “This shit is good.”

Lawrence Townsend, football extrordinaire of BHHS, was once again chillin with his boys (and girl): Damian, Owen, Soleil, and Trevor. At this given moment, Lawrence was sitting in a seat, snacking on a small bag of chips. Big dog always needed to eat, such was the life of Lawrence. Compared to Soleil over there, he didn’t do much. There was too much at stake with him moving around so much.

Listening to his boy talk his talk, he was agreeing with pretty much everything he said. It was practically gospel, as a matter of fact. But, that drink that Damian was in possession of… Lawrence had his eye on it, for sure. It was fucking lit. His boy knew what exactly what Lawrence wanted, and he was very grateful for the fact that they seemed to be on the same page a lot of the time.

Taking the drink and sipping from it, he relished in the burn and sighed. ”Fuck man. This shit is smacks.” It wasn’t the smoothest of drinks, but whatever, it gave him a buzz. That was all he needed in his alcohol. “I need to get myself a bottle of this one of these days…”

“Just pull a me and mooch off of Henry’s bottle. I'm not about to spend my own money when someone else can do it for me.”

Not really a drinker of heavy liquor, Trevor was the last to take his shot among the group of friends. After doing so, he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, and politely avoided making a face. Yeah, he didn’t really like it all that much. Whether or not the bottle was worth the cost of a ranch house in the country, it didn’t taste that great? Perhaps he just did not have a tongue for gin. He was a simple man, who took pleasure in simple things — a shot of irish whiskey, some ice cold brews from a cooler, or draft, if he was feeling fancy — he didn’t need much.

“So, uh, are we ready for people to start showing up?” Trevor asked, flipping his now-empty glass upside down, and setting it on the table. He turned his hungry eyes to Lawrence’s bag of chips. Trevor was a big lad, and a boy’s gotta eat. Not only that, but his dad was providing the grub for this fiesta, and Remy’s cooking was good enough to bring tears to your eye, no joke. “Is the food here?”

Henry looked at his watch, then up at Trevor. “Yeah, it should be here in like two minutes. Ari’s bringin’ it, don’t trip. She just had to babysit the boys for me.” Henry refilled the glasses as requested, and then just sat the bottle down on the table, gesturing for them to have the time of their lives. “I’ll be right back.” With that, the Consultant walked away.

Soleil took her refilled shot glass and immediately drank the liquor as she tilted her head back. The burning sensation in the back of her throat was more than welcome. If things happened to go the way she thought they could, she would need a few more of those to get through the night.

Taking advantage of Henry’s absence, she took an additional two shots. She knew her bros wouldn't judge her.

In a flash, The Consultant was back; this time, he was armed with a cardboard box, which he dumped out in front of them, revealing a bunch of black t-shirts that said ‘Elite’ on the back. “These are for y’all. So you enjoy these shirts, cost me like forty bucks. Of my own money. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah.” Henry took a step back, stepping up onto the coffee table and pointing at the group. “Now, I’m not Lawrence’s sister. What that means is I’m not going to suck your dicks. But I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do! Go on! Ask me! Ask what I’m gonna do!” Henry paused and waited a few seconds, before Damian cautiously raised a hand.

“What are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna make everyone else suck your dicks. Now you put those shirts on. She gonna be here any minute with the munchies. Ari’s not suckin’ any dicks so don’t get no ideas you fuckers. OR EATING PUSSY. DO NOT SEXUALIZE MY — er, I mean THE — ARI.” Henry pumped his fist in the air to signify the end of his speech.

“What if there are no dicks to suck?” Shady called out, pointing at the smooth surface in the front of her shorts. “What happens then?”

“What you mean, dude? Don’t you know? You an Elite now, bruh, that comes with an honorary dick.”

Soleil grinned. “Good to know. I'll have fun trying to explain that to-” she trailed off, suddenly realizing what she had been about to say. “Everyone else.”

Ariana, the best girl that she was, had finally picked up the food for Henry’s shindig. The dearest boy had let her have the keys to the Maserati, which came in quite handy for picking up the food. Benedict and Arnold were back at Ari’s place hanging out in the little fort that she had built for them in her room. The order was quite massive, actually. Thank goodness she was driving, she really didn’t feel like taking her little red wagon and wheeling it up all the way to where Henry asked her to drop it off.

Backing the car into the garage, she was hoping that someone would come and help her out and help her set up this stuff. For the love of god, all this food was too much for the tiny Korean girl to carry. Once the backup camera was screaming at her to stop, she put the car in P and turned off the engine. Pressing a button, the trunk popped open, and then she laid on the horn. Multiple times, as a matter of fact, to get someone to come help.

“WE’RE COMING, FUCK. That’d be the food, yo. Go get it. I’m gonna get high again, since Ari just blew my shit with that honking crap…”

Trevor, ever the gentleman, was the first among the crew to get up when the honking started. Not before pulling on his new shirt, it was too dope not to wear it immediately. “I got it.”

---

Our story begins twenty-seven minutes after the food is retrieved from the Maserati, and laid out for the partygoers, at 7:00 PM sharp. The flyers, text messages, instagram posts, and snapchat stories all said ‘8:00,’ but Henry knows damn well they’re showing up before then. He’s already behind the bar, preparing a few different drinks so that he wasn’t that behind when the going got tough.

Let the games begin.

Savannah sat pensively at her vanity in a silky blue robe, putting the finishing touches on her makeup and judging her reflection in the mirror. Time was ticking, and she was technically supposed to be on her way by now, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up and walk out the door. Her outfit was picked and laid neatly on her white duvet; the sequined café colored romper, the pair of nude strappy heels, and the tassel earrings awaited Sav, but still, she remained frozen in her chair. Tonight was her debut in a sense. The entire BHHS student body would be at the party, and it was her job to try and make the best impression that she could. She already had gotten along well with most of the people at school, but in the back of her mind, she worried it was all too good to be true. All she longed for was for people to accept and like her, and she always feared that the opposite was the case. Her brain felt clouded with thoughts as she coated her lips in red liquid lipstick.

A small knock on her door pulled her briefly out of her thoughts. "Come in!" she yelled, hoping whoever was on the other side of the wood could hear her. In walked her father's fiancé, Deana, carrying two glasses of champagne and a smile brighter than the north star. She and Sav had bonded a lot since her moving in. They went on shopping dates (with her father's credit card of course), had movie nights, and got their nails done together every three weeks. It was nice for Sav to have a motherly figure out here in California.

"I thought we could toast to the new year before you left for your big party, but don't tell your dad. You know how he feels about you drinking alcohol in the house." Sav's soon to be step-mom handed her a flute and sat down on the edge of her bed. "What do you want to toast to?"

"How about..." Sav thought for a second. With all of the amazing things happening in her life right now- her modeling career, her new life in Beverly Hills, great new friends- the girl didn't know what else she could want. What was it that she so desired in the new year? "Let's toast to health, happiness, and to hoping that I somehow pass Calculus." Clinking glasses with a laugh the two sipped their champagne. "Thanks, Dee, that was really thoughtful." Finishing her drink, she set it down on her vanity. "I won't be back too late after midnight, I know dad wanted me to-"

"Oh, forget what he said. Stay out as long as you want and have fun with your friends. High school is some of the best years of your life and you shouldn't be missing out on any of it." Taking Sav's empty champagne flute in her hand, Deana started walking towards the door. Before disappearing into the hallway, she turned back to Sav, shocked to see her still sitting there. "Now, get your ass out of that chair and finish getting ready. You have a party to get to." Sighing, Savvy finally arose for her cushioned chair and moved towards her bed, slipping on her outfit and her shoes. She knew tonight was going to be incredible, but she needed to not get so in her head about it. Sav needed to let her hair down and have a good time, both figuratively and literally, as she pulled her bright red mane out of its ponytail, letting her soft curls cascade over her shoulders.

Deciding she needed to loosen up a bit more, Sav reached under her bed to her alcohol stash, pulling out a bottle of vodka, a double shot glass, and a small thing of cranberry juice. Taking a deep breath as she measured the shot exactly, she tossed it back, letting the liquid burn down her throat, followed by the sweetness of the cranberry. That was the first of many shots she'd be taking that night. Noticing the time, she grabbed her phone and her keys, running out the door and not looking back.

Savannah took an Uber to the party, not wanting to task anyone, especially her dad, with driving her. As they rounded the corner, the beach house came into view, and a small gasp escaped the redhead's lips. Even though she had been in Beverly Hills for months, she would never get used the size of the homes that lined the streets; they made the houses in Hico look like shacks and sheds in comparison."You can just pull over here, thanks." Sav pointed to the curb outside of the house and gave her thanks to the driver before stepping out of the car.

Well, this was it. Savannah took a deep breath before walking up the driveway and towards the entrance, where she could hear the music pounding before she had even stepped foot in the house. Walking up and opening the door, she was stunned as the interior of the house was more ornate and extravagant than the outside. Looking around, students flooded every inch of the house. Some had turned around to acknowledge her entrance and others just continued to dance and have fun with their friends. Friends. The mere thought reminded her, where was Martha? Pulling out her phone and texting her, Savannah wondered when she'd arrive. Until then, the redhead grabbed a drink and roamed around the party, until she found a group of people she somewhat knew and attempted to woo them with her southern charm. Speaking in her slight southern drawl, she tried to start a conversation, "Hey Y'all, how's it going?"

Okay, even if she wasn’t technically invited to the party, Ophelia Brycen wouldn’t be, well, herself if she didn’t go about her business as if she were invited to the party! So, as was the standard for her and her Candyland girls were holed up in her massive room in the upper floor of the mega mansion she called home, doing the fun part: makeup and clothes. At least she could finally relax! It was stressful being her. Candyland was easy to handle; it was her better halves that were a challenge. Hailey and Trixie hadn’t been the same since the ‘Owen experiment’ as Lia dubbed it in her head and her journal and to her fellow conspirators, Brynn and Lauren.

It made being the cream filling of the Hailey and Trixie Oreo a right fucking pain in the ass. Even now, Ophelia was having to nerf her own evening because of Trixie. She had pledged to her mom (not her birth mom, but whatever, she knew Belle better than Noli), and her auntie Jules that she’d stay STONE COLD SOBER and make sure Trixie didn’t get into any trouble.

Wew lad.

“I think I should wear black, to represent how depressed I am that I can’t drink,” Ophelia stated, poking her head out of her closet to check on her friends. “What do you guys think, my lovelies?”

Brynn was perched on the end of Ophelia’s bed, gazing at her reflection in a makeup mirror. She had just finished applying her mascara since the rest of her look took nearly forty-five minutes to put together. She needed to look absolutely perfect for the party. How else did she expect to get a New Years kiss? Looking up to meet Lia’s eyes, she smiled. “Sounds like a brilliant idea, but I’m going to warn you now that everyone else will probably be wearing some variation of black, so it, unfortunately, won’t be too original…” Her words trailed off, remembering that she was also wearing black tonight. “See what I mean? I guess we’re all mourning with you.” Brynn continued, pointing down to her own ensemble.

Lauren was chilling on the other side of Ophelia’s room applying her own makeup. Jabbing at her eyelid with the eyeliner pencil was such a tedious task that required the highest level of concentration that was only achieved by Lauren Townsend. But, the task would pay off in the form of literally the best wing in all of BHHS. Everything else was taken care of except the eyeliner. Eyeliner was the most important part of Lauren’s look. Literally. “Yeah we’ll be doing the mourning since we’re gonna be slaying in these outfits.” Lauren turned around to Ophelia and Brynn and winked. “Slay, queens!

“Yeah…. you’re right!” Lia decided, ducking back into the closet. The door shut behind her, and a few moments later, Ophelia reemerged, now fully dressed in her dress of choice for the night, smoothing out a few creases. “I can’t believe we weren’t invited. Who does Damian think he is, anyway? You can’t not invite US to a party. You should have talked to him, Lauren, he likes you.”

Hearing the notion of Damian liking her, she burst into laughter, almost turning red as she said so. “Damian liking me? Stop, my guts hurt already!” Lauren had to stand up to gather herself, taking a hand and fanning her face to make sure the tears went away, “There’s more of a chance of him being in love with my brother than him liking me. Those two are never without each other’s dick in their mouths.”

Brynn smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder to look over at Lauren. “Yeah, I mean if I hadn’t already had sex with both of them, I totally would’ve thought they were a power couple. But, I have, so there goes that.” She joked, a laugh escaping from her lips. “Still, it doesn’t make sense we weren’t invited to the party. We are the party.”

“That’s what I’m saying! We’re the fun part. ESPECIALLY US. We’re the eye candy! IT’S IN THE NAME. Fuckin’ boys, I swear… Whatever, I’m sure this is Henry’s doing somehow. He’ll do whatever he can to make Hailey unhappy. Little does he know, Hailey’s greatest secret is that she’s always unhappy. Just kidding. Maybe.” Ophelia rolled her eyes and looked around the room, before she finally located what she was searching for: purse. Purse was life. She walked across the room and grabbed the purse, sitting down on the bed. “It’s a real shame Henry hates us. All I want in life is for him to date that cute girl that’s always hanging off of him… Make an honest man out of him.” She was looking down now, digging through the purse and making sure she had the ESSENTIALS.

”Henry? That one guy with all those girls and guy around his finger? Lauren asked curiously, turning around in her chair so that she was on her knees like a child. “Hmph. I wonder how he got all of those fucking girls. Especially that one Korean girl.” The fully dressed girl looked at her bestie Ophelia and was taken aback by just how much she slayed. If she wasn’t a Candy she would’ve died right there on the spot. “Oh my god, Ophelia. You. Look. Amazing.”
“You are an absolute goddess Lia. We are going to knock ‘em dead tonight.” Brynn grinned brightly, pulling out her phone and standing up from her seat. Going on to Snapchat, she turned to her friends. In her world, if it wasn’t on Snapchat, it certainly didn’t happen. “Alright ladies, pile in, this has got to go on my story. BHHS doesn’t know what’s about to hit them.”

Like a trained model, Ophelia’s face immediately curled into the perfect, game winning smile, and then after the picture, she morphed back to normal. “Hopefully we actually get into this party? They can’t be serious about not inviting us. It’s a dare. A bluff. Right?” She shook her head dismissively, brushing her shoulder off as if to get rid of some dirt, then rolled her eyes. “Anyway… I guess we should go hook up with the H and the T in my life, huh? And MarMar! Where is he anyway? It’s bad luck to not have all the girls together…”

As Brynn pulled out her phone, Lauren darted over and busted into a clearly rehearsed, but astonishing smile. After the pic was taken, she stopped smiling and went back to normal much like her best friend Ophelia. “They’re just stupid. Saving the best for last. Clearly.” Lauren winked at Ophelia to reassure her. “You’re gonna fucking slay, Queen.”
“Well, of course, that’s what I do. It’s in my blood! Question. Do we want to drive ourselves, or twiddle our thumbs until Hailey gets here and her Butler can drive us?” Ophelia questioned her friends, peering up from the phone she was already tapping text messages out on. “It doesn’t matter to ME since I gotta be all SOBER anyway…”
“Well, I haven’t started drinking yet, and the longer we have here, the more shots of tequila I can take…” Brynn slipped her hand into her purse, fishing for her flask, which she pulled out with ease. “Besides, we need to make an entrance at this party, and the more of us there are, the more powerful it’ll be.” She concluded, taking a swig of her alcohol like it was water.

Watching Brynn take a swig out of her flask had tempted Lauren. She gave into her vices and took the flask from Brynn. “Don’t mind if I do!” The twin also took a swig out of it, the burn not bothering her at all. “Good shit, Brynn.”

Brynn smirked, “It was the best I found in my liquor cabinet, so I obviously had to bring it for the most important occasion of the year.” Taking the flask back, she took another swig before pulling out her phone and opening up the Candie’s group chat. “I’m going to text Marshall and let him know what the plan is.” With a mischievous glint in her eye, Brynn turned to the other Candies. “Hold on tight, ladies, cause tonight’s going to be a wild ride.”

"Huh? I'm already texting Marshall, no worries." As if on cue, once Ophelia spoke, both of her girls's phones buzzed with a text:

Gumdrop, gumdrop~ We're ready! I'm p sure the plan is for all of us to get a ride from Hailey and arrive as a unit, to protest this exclusion peacefully.
Yeah.
Peacefully.

Ophelia dropped her phone into her purse and sighed softly, running a hand through her hair. Peacefully... Ugh, this is a bad plan. But she would never speak ill of Hailey's decisions. Quickly putting the smile back on her face, Ophelia looked up at her crew and clasped her hands together, "Let's go! Hailey should be here soon."

What is the proper definition? People that share the same blood? Imagine. Together, on the same tree, extended on different branches, but still rooted in the soil as one. Or.... is family defined by where one’s loyalty lies? The meaning of such a simple word wasn’t as clear nowadays for Beatrix Kingsley. When you’ve invested so much time and soul into one person, when you’ve sacrificed and comprised bits and pieces of yourself until you no longer felt your own, when your world had taken the shape of a human being, and everything felt like home. Wasn’t that suppose to be her definition of family?

With a snap of someone’s finger, in this case, her own, everything changed. Her reality changed.

Shattered glass is what her heart had turned to, but perhaps it was self inflicted? She didn’t know anymore. What was right, what was wrong…

All she knew was: everything hurt.

Everything hurt so fucking much and all she could do was put on a false pretense. Be the strong girl her family believed her to be. Be okay. Was she okay? No. No, she wasn’t. Actually, she hated herself. She hated herself so much because she wasn’t good enough. She would never be good enough. All this validation she sought out from other people, and for what? To belong?

He didn’t want her. He got bored of her and it was entirely her fault. She failed him as a girlfriend and then she failed him as a friend, for letting her anger get the best of her and ‘getting back’ at him because it would ‘make her feel better’.

Isn’t that right, Hailey?

Having been dazed, staring out the limousine window, the T in HOT steadily turned her head to look at her cousin, Hailey Green. Someone she would like to believe she understood, someone that was her family, someone she loved unconditionally. A raven beaut with a serpent tongue like her mother, Evelyn, that felt inclined to take after her other mother, an unfathomable creature, Alyssa, that seemed to always need power. Such strong personalities to grow up to and watch. But luckily, to balance it all, she had (and still has) a father as dedicated and loving as an emperor penguin.

Hailey wasn’t a tyrant. She was a control freak and yet, even with that knowledge, Trixie couldn’t come to believe her cousin would hurt her. If anything, she was protecting her, right? Then why did she feel like she would never recover from the heartbreak?

“Yes, Trixie?” Hailey asked, looking across at her cousin. Hailey leaned forward slightly and gave a small gesture with her hand for Trixie to speak up. She only half-believed it would work. Ever since the less than clean and less than simple breakup with that scumbag Owen Lyon — the boy’d had the nerve to demand Hailey be nice to someone, for God’s sake — Trixie hadn’t been herself. In fact, she’d been almost wraith like. It was depressing.

But, Hailey was dedicated, if nothing else. She wouldn’t just abandon Trixie, or throw her aside like some other people in her life had done. Hailey had played a small part in the breakup process, but if Trixie was that brutal, then there had been SOMETHING wrong that Hailey hadn’t even picked up on. She’d done a good thing! Yet, Trixie remained a shell of the woman she once was. It was depressing.

Hailey dismissed Trixie’s silence, and turned her body, reaching toward the center seat, and pulling it down to reveal a small fridge. She opened it and withdrew a plate of fudge. “Here. I made this. Eat one. It’s chocolate. Chocolate will make you happy.” Hailey explained, holding the plate out to Trixie. “From what I understand, he’s going to be there. So you’ll need your strength.”

Waving the sweets away, Trixie gave a half-hearted smile, “I’ll pass. I ate enough at home.” Truth be told, she ate hardly anything today. Maybe some grapes and a granola, but she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in a while and for those who knew her well, it was starting to show. Thinking back, two months ago, when she chose her fate, something came over her that had never happened before. An irrational anger that caused her entire body to react. Blood rage and shaking muscles. She’s heard stories about her mother’s anger but never saw it first hand… looks like she experienced it instead. Turning her ring around her finger, the brunette met her gaze with her cousin’s dark stare and rolled her eyes, “You know, I’m fully aware of that. He IS an Elite.” Folding her hands on her lap, she calmly continued, “I can handle it. Plus, it isn’t like I’ll be alone. You’ll be there.”

Fine. Turn down the candy. More for Hailey. Hailey unwrapped the fudge and put a piece into her mouth, quietly chewing it while listening to Trixie talk. “Yes. An Elite. I don’t like the Elite. An outdated concept, that’s going to cause issues with the way I like things. Unfortunate. And I know you can handle it; I’m more worried about Ophelia and her friends… after all, they feel quite strongly about love and adultery and whatnot.” She put another piece into her mouth, “You’re daft for not eating this, by the way. But, I digress. Unfortunately for us, we’ll have to rely on Lia to talk our way into this. The Elite, love them or hate them, are a unit; they wouldn’t let you in if you were bleeding out. And they hate me. Lia is cute and has a… way with words. I’m fairly sure she, of all people, can talk a group of teenaged boys into letting us into their party. Even if one of said boys is my brother…” Hailey shook her head and swallowed down the chunk of chocolate, putting the plate back into its home and readjusting the sheet.

“We should have a good time. It is the New Year after all. New Year, new me… you know how that goes.” Poorly. The answer was poorly.

“Well, duh. I was planning on it.” False. if Trixie had it her way, nothing Ophelia did would work, everyone would give up, and she could go back home and sleep. Trixie didn’t want to be out right now but being in her position, she was obligated to make an appearance. Lia nearly begged her to not go to a family party because Damian’s party was going to be the biggest bash of the year. The HOT girls absolutely HAD to go.

‘New Year, new me’.

“Oh, we’re almost there.”

Hailey glanced out the window and nodded as they pulled up to the Lyon residence and their driver, Butler, brought the car to a stop. The door slid open automatically, and the Candyland piled in. “Sterlings or Marshall?”

Without looking up from her phone, Ophelia chirped, “Sterlings. Gumdrop is taking forever. Selena is bringing a Sean, whoever that is. Good for her, finally getting a man.”

Greeting Ophelia with a kiss on the cheek, Trixie chuckled in amusement, “Not always a good thing.” Ophelia responded by smiling and biting at her bottom lip slightly. Despite the joy she showed on the outside, Lia was still questioning if any of this was a good idea…

Soft music played through the sound system built into the walls of Selena Sterling’s lavish bedroom. The lavender-hued space was decorated in rich modern style, perfectly tailored to the teen girl’s feminine tastes. Most days, the shining California sun beamed through sheer purple curtains, highlighting the white and silver accents throughout the room in a way that breathed in an aura of purity and peace. This was the princess’s sanctuary, her place of rest. This was where Selena retired every night after the tiresome days that she spent training to be one of the next monarchs of Beverly Hills High.

Dressed in a silky pink robe, and seated on a cushioned chair in front of her vanity, Selena swirled a fluffy brush into a pan of shimmery white powder. This was her latest experimentation. The young entrepreneur had crafted her own blend of highlighter using a mixture of starch, titanium dioxide, silk powder, and an extra few dashes of silver mica — for the signature Sterling Sparkle. Having already blended out her smokey eyes and defined her contour, Selena brushed on a generous amount of shimmering highlight across the tops of her cheekbones, the bridge of her nose, and her cupid’s bow.

The blonde turned her face from side to side slowly, and then tilted her chin up, admiring her artistry from every angle in the flattering glow of the ring light set behind her mirror. Selena decided that her cheeks could use a little more highlight — there was never enough shimmer with a nickname like “Sparkles”. Having completed her face and eyes, Selena leaned in to put on the actual finishing touch — a velvety coating of Christian Dior’s Rouge Dior Couture in shade # 844 trafalgar. Just as she was about to press the cherry red stick to her parted lips, she jumped at the sudden sound of an alarm clock. The screeching noise even cut through the music that she was listening to.

What the hell?! Selena thought before speaking aloud to the AI programmed in her section of the palatial house. “Lucius, pause.” The AI, which was, in fact, named after the Harry Potter character, responded to her command by silencing the music. Selena inherited a love of the magical films from her mother, but she hardly told anyone about that. “Lucius, what is the time?”

"It is precisely 6:40 PM, Miss Sterling." The AI responded in a regal british accent.

Good. She wasn’t losing her mind. Now, the real question was, why was an alarm clock going off at this time of day — or should she say, this time of evening? Selena set down the tube of lipstick, stood up from her chair, and tightened the tie on the front of her robe before marching out of the room. The silky pink fabric swept across her upper thighs as she took long, rapid strides down the hall towards her twin brother’s room. Knock, knock, knock. Selena swiftly and loudly knocked thrice on the door.

“Sean!” She called through the wooden barrier.

The plain room behind the closed door housed Sean, Selena’s twin brother. He was laying face down in the pillow, and though the alarm had been beeping for nearly a minute now, he hadn't moved. He was awake, and his eyes were open, but the will to stand up was yet to come to him. When he heard Selena call his name, though, he knew there would be no stopping it — she’d probably kick the door down if he didn’t respond.

He reached a hand down to his phone, connected to the wireless network of the house, and dismissed the alarm. Then, he placed a hand by his head and pushed up, freeing himself from the pillow. Sean gazed down at the payload of his nap: a huge drool spot on his pillow, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He stood up and walked over to the door, opening it and staring at Selena with a huge yawn as he rubbed one of his eyes with his palm. “What? I’m up. I’m ready. You said we’re leaving at like 7, didn’t you?” Sean wasn’t ready for anything, let alone a party. He was dressed in a pair of black sweatpants, and a white long sleeve t-shirt, with his hair disheveled and dried drool on his lips. Wait, a party? He couldn’t believe he was being dragged to a party… but, whatever. Selena tended to get what she wanted.

The blonde, whose tresses were currently still tied in a messy bun atop her head, deadpanned at her twin. He was SLEEPING?! They had to be ready in just over a half hour. The limo would be arriving to pick them both up, where they would sit alongside the royalty of Beverly Hills High, and Sean Sterling was wearing SWEATPANTS. Selena’s next words were spoken with sharp precision, her blue eyes blown wide in judgement.

“What... are… you… doing?”

“Obviously, I was resting before the party. Since we’re gonna be staying up so late, I wanted to pre-nap. I slept in my party clothes. I’m ready, Sparkles. Look, I got on pants I don’t really like, so if they get ruined it’s not a loss, and a white t-shirt… so… people can… uhm, sign it with sharpies.” Flawless. Normally he was smarter than this, but all the sleeping must have begun catching up with him. Sean shifted his weight slightly, waiting for his sister’s response.

“Ahem…” Selena cleared her throat and pondered what she would say next very, very carefully. The thing is, she really loved her brother. Loved him to pieces. And he has been gone for the majority of the past six years. Now he was back home, rather unexpectedly, and under very mysterious (she assumed untold) circumstances. Selena couldn’t be more pleased to have him back, and to reintroduce him to all of his old friends and classmates, most of whom wouldn’t even recognize him now that he was grown. But… Seany wasn’t the same boy that left the Sterling residence back in 5th grade. Hell, Sean wasn’t the same boy that was home for the holidays. Something awful happened a few days ago, and Selena wanted to help make it better — that’s why she thought bringing him to this party in the first place would cheer him up!

“Seany. You should at least take a shower. I’ll pick out something nice for you and you can just wear that. Easy peasy!” When he didn’t look immediately convinced by her words, her face softened with a hint of sadness. She tried again. “Please? This is the first time I get to show off my brother to the school in years! You don’t want their first-err-second impression of you to be sweatpants, do you?”

Truth was, Sean couldn’t care less if their first, second, or third impressions were of him in sweatpants. However, he would relent, for Selena’s sake. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eye with his palm again. “Okay, I can take a shower. We might be late though.” Sean was addicted to standing in the shower. Years showering in lukewarm — at best — water really made you appreciate when you had hot water with strong water pressure. Ugh.

Sean bent down and kissed his sister on the cheek, before heading down the hallway two more doors and disappearing into the shower. This wouldn’t be too bad, maybe they’d even leave early. If he was lucky, anyway!

Whilst her brother was away, hopefully washing off some of the residual depression that seemed to be clinging to his soul, Selena set about doing what she said that she would. Poking around in his closet, which had very few pieces, she picked out an outfit that she deemed party appropriate and laid it on his bed. It’s not like there were that many options to choose from. After doing that, she rushed back over to her room to continue her own personal coiffing.

Selena pulled out her hair tie and quickly pressed a few loose curls into her locks using a hair straightener. She pulled her tresses back up into a more carefully styled, purposefully messy bun. With a few flicks of her wrist, Selena pulled pieces out of the bun to frame her face — finishing off the perfect beach party hairstyle, in her opinion. She finally got around to putting on that red lipstick she intended to wear as well. The preppy IT girl-in-training was now half-dressed in a black leather mini skirt — she’d gotten the memo from Ophie and the candygirls to wear black — and a strapless bikini top, when she heard an unexpected voice from outside her bedroom door.

“Knock knock, the second token gay has arrived," The voice said through the door, before it was pushed open to reveal Jamie standing in the entryway.

Jamie walked in and took a seat on the edge of Selena’s large bed, taking in her outfit and smiling. “Okay I know I said I wasn’t gonna come buuuuuut, I decided I needed to get out. Plus, I’m still pissed that those meatheads thought they could snub us like that,” Jamie said. “Also, I would’ve done the all black thing except, this shirt is way hotter, and when the gay’s are this few and far between, I’ve gotta put a little extra work to get the closeted ones out and about. Sidenote, you look great!”

Jamie let relief flood his head for a moment. When navigating the social minefield of high school, every conversation that went smoothly was a big win, and he’d consider that as smooth as ever. He’d never been socially awkward, but still, he knew how this school worked. You say the wrong thing and someone holds it against you for the next six months.

“Black is sexy. Plus, I know for sure that one very uncloseted gay is following the impromptu dress code.” Selena smiled teasingly at the sandy-haired boy. She spun around and grabbed her shirt off of the display mannequin that she often put together her outfits on — it was matched perfectly to her measurements. The girl carefully pulled the black blouse over her head, avoiding messing her hair up, and turned her head over her shoulder to speak to Jamie. “And thank you, you look fantastic as well. Could you do me a solid and zip?”

Jamie smirked and rolled his eyes playfully at Selena’s mention of Marshall, his face flushing red. He and Marshall were two of the handful of gays at BHHS, and so it made sense that they gravitated towards each other. They flirted a lot, but that was that. Jamie was much too busy for a relationship. Well, at least that’s what he told people.

He zipped up her blouse and spun around towards the door. “Alright, please tell me you have some food in this palace, I need to eat something to make sure I don’t end up white girl wasted in front of all the Elite” Jamie said, heading out the door and into the hall, taking a second to admire the architecture inside the house. God, I love living around rich people Jamie thought, grinning.

As Jamie stood there in the hallway, one of the many doors clicked and the knob spun slowly, before it swung open, and out stepped Selena’s brother, who stood with only a towel around his waist, water still dripping down from his hair. “Oh, hi. I’m Sean, Selena’s… twin.” The boy stepped closer to Jamie, offering a wave with his left hand, while his right (dominant) hand held his towel. “I’m kind of new here, I guess.”

Jamie would love to say he kept his cool. But that would be a lie. Here he was, standing and waiting for his friend in the hall, when a nearly naked, beautiful, beautiful boy comes out, dripping water like a literal wet dream. Oh God, you are cruel.

Jamie stood there, mouth struggling to formulate all the things his brain was shooting out, as he very clearly looked over this boy, shook to the very core. Why had Selena never mentioned that she had a hot twin brother? Why was he meeting him half naked? Why was he not saying anything? All these thoughts raced through Jamie’s head, and still, he acted like he’d suddenly gone mute.

Either not noticing or not caring that Jamie had gone mute, Sean stuck out his dominant hand for a handshake. In doing so, he let go of the towel wrapped around his waist — and it fell to the ground without a care. Sean, seemingly unfazed by this, waited for his handshake to be accepted.

This wasn’t happening. Nope. Nope. Nope. This boy, Selena’s brother, was naked, in front of him, like, completely nude. When the fuck did my life become a porno! Jamie thought.

Suddenly, a wave of confidence overcame the scrawny boy. Jamie Callaghan, stop stammering like a virgin and shake this guy's fucking hand! Jamie thought, before he earnestly shot his hand out and grabbed Sean’s, giving it a firm, probably too firm, shake and nodding as if he hadn’t totally seen the Sterling Family Jewels on full display. “I’m Jamie, uh, Jamie Callaghan. I’m a, er, friend of, uh, Selena’s” Jamie managed to eek out, his mind definitely not focused on this boys face.

As if on cue, Selena stepped out of her room after Jamie. She had a small clutch with the essentials in it tucked under her arm, and she was looking down to adjust her shoes. When she looked up from her feet, let’s just say she didn’t expect to see what her eyes were about to witness. “O-oh. Oh my god! What are you doing, Sean?”

Her phone vibrated within the clutch. With an exasperated huff, she checked the screen. Ophelia had texted her, saying they were only a few seconds away. “Please put some clothes on, our ride is almost here. Jamie, you’re coming with, right?” She asked, her fingers poised above the screen to respond and say that she had yet another plus one to add to the limo ride.

Jamie silently thanked God for his intervention and nodded at Selena’s question. “Yeah, yep, for suuuuuure,” Jamie said, gulping. He made a mental note to ask Selena about her brother’s preferences at some point tonight because he’d be damned if he was going to miss out on that.

Sean looked at his sister and squinted for a second, before realizing. He reached down and picked the towel up, “Oh, sorry. It doesn’t… I’m not used to that being a big deal,” He mumbled, before hurrying off into his room to put on the outfit chosen for him by his sister.

“So sorry about that.” Selena quickly apologized on behalf of her brother once he was out of earshot. “He’s been a little… different lately. He’s not usually like that, I don’t think.” She explained and then realized that she didn’t even really know if that was the truth. Maybe he was like this? Truth be told, she didn’t know what she knew about her twin brother anymore

“No, it’s fine. Um, quick question, do you know, y’know, if your brother likes, er, boys? Just, y’know, asking for a friend.” Jamie asked, blushing profusely.

Selena raised her brow, the pretty little blonde arch taunting the boy. “Oh, for a friend, huh? He went to an all boys school in Switzerland where they apparently don’t make a big deal of being completely stark naked. So… yes, to answer your question. But not just boys, as far as I know.” Selena’s phone buzzed once more, cutting her off. It was Skittles again.

Skittles: im not usually so short with u but if u dont hurry up hailey might stab me somehow with fudge. time is of the essence baby girl

“Looks like it was time to leave about two minutes ago. C’mon dearie.” Sel hooked her arm into Jamie’s elbow to walk outside together and called for her brother as they walked. “Let’s go, Seany. Meet us out front A.S.A.P.”