A black Mercedes G-Wagon sped down the opulent streets of Beverly Hills, with Post Malone’s ‘Wow’ blasting from the speakers and making the whole vehicle vibrate whenever the bass dropped. A short, dark-haired girlsat behind the wheel, her oversized red sunglasses shielding her eyes from view while she tore down the road. An even shorter girl took up the passenger seat, holding up her chubby-cheeked face against the window with a hand under her chin. While the driver enthusiastically bobbed her hand and sang along to the lyrics of the booming song, the passenger kept her eyes on the city speeding by, her morose expression a reflection of how this whole thing was making her feel.

A mere week previously, Valeria Cross’ life had been nothing but peaches and cream. She’d aced Sister Sylvia’s first brutal World History test of the semester, broken her own personal bench record at the gym and was seemingly making progress with the guy she’d been talking to when the news of her sister’s indiscretion broke out. What had started out as a rumor being whispered in the hallways became fact when both Benjamin Cross and Ariana Pistelli suddenly stormed into the halls of Marymount High School, wearing matching disapproving expressions and looking like a united front for what was possibly the first time in their daughters’ lives. A quick visit to the principal’s office confirmed the news of Stephanie Cross’ immediate expulsion from the catholic all-girls school, a family meeting confirmed Beverly Hills High as her new school... And the consequent transfer of Valeria to make sure Steph was kept in check.

While the older sister’s pristine life seemingly went up in flames at the news, the expulsion from Marymount hadn’t made a dent in the younger sister’s confidence. In fact, it had the opposite effect: raise the ego of the daughter of one of the most egotistical men in LA. She’d be making her arrival at BHHS with her head held high, and the confidence of knowing she could get away with anything. This was just another challenge life was throwing at her, and damned if she didn’t grab that bull by the horns and that dominate the son of a bitch.

“I can’t believe you’ve fucking dragged me into this mess...” Valeria muttered from the passenger seat after the prolonged silence between the sisters, letting out a resigned sigh and sitting upright in the plush leather of the spotless G-Wagon.

“Oh, cheer up, Sugar!” Stephanie replied cheerfully, grabbing her sister’s shoulder and playfully shaking it while keeping one hand on the wheel. “You should be thanking me instead of moping around as if somebody died! You get to breathe the same air as your beloved AJ for a few months. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Sugar’s chubby cheeks flushed scarlet at the mention of AJ Tyler. “Don’t fucking say that out loud! The last thing I need is to scare off the only person I know at that stupid school!” she pleaded with her younger sister, her doe eyes wide with panic.

Alfie James had been Valeria's very first friend in life, having met as toddlers during a play-date set up by their neighboring mothers. They’d been extremely close and practically inseparable ever since, spending as much time together as they could... Until Val's mother had married Danilo Pistelli, and the newly-formed family moved away. The two friends kept in touch on and off throughout the years, and made a point to visit each other at least once a year. The short girl had kept the news of her transfer to his school a secret, hoping to surprise him on her first day. It was the only plus side to this whole unfortunate situation.

Spice let out an amused cackle, driving past the gates of their new school and taking a left in the direction of the student parking lot. “Relax, Val! I’m not saying shit. My lips will be sealed as tight as your legs are," the girl teased, shooting her passenger a cheeky wink.

“Yeah, because it was your open ones that got us into this mess in the first place,” Sugar snapped back without missing a beat. The banter between the sisters was so frequent that the quick comebacks came to them like second nature.

Stephanie’s cackle was even louder this time around. “We didn’t get that far. Ajani had her hand down the front of my skirt when fucking Turpin found us,” she mused, brows furrowing together in an annoyed scowl at reminiscing the incident that messed up her hookup. “And you know what?I bet you anything Turpin’s secretly a lesbian. That’s why she interrupted us that day: because she was fucking jealous of what Ajani and I were doing.” the raven-haired girl added as an angry afterthought. Out of nowhere, Spice made an abrupt right turn, slammed the brakes and brought the vehicle to a screeching halt inside a once-empty parking spot.

Smirking triumphantly, she turned to look at her big sister. “But that means jackshit now, doesn’t it? We’re in the Hills, baby, and we’re going to make this new school our bitch. So let’s go out there and show these people exactly who the Cross sisters are. Got it? There’s no turning back now.”

Sugar, of course, wasn’t the least bit motivated by Spice’s pep talk. She most certainly wasn't the family socialite, and although she could always do enough to get by, the unpredictability of these whole series of events had really messed up with her . “Let’s just get this shit over it. I can’t fucking wait for graduation.”

“Ugh, such a little Grinch!” Stephanie cooed, playfully pinching her sister’s cheeks until her hands were swatted away. With one last laugh, she opened the car door and jumped out. “See ya around, Sugar! I really hope you have an amazing first day,” Stephanie called out to Val, blowing the girl a kiss before slamming the door shut and strutting down to the school’s entrance.

Now alone inside the car, Valeria took the moment of peace, quiet and solitude to compose herself. From the second she'd woken up that morning, Sugar had felt a painful pit inside of her stomach: the tell-tale sign that her anxiety levels were at an all-time high. The last time she'd felt this nervous was when she lied to her mom about sleeping over at a friend's house, went night surfing instead and almost fucking drowned. The prospect of starting all over again at a new school at such short notice frightened Val immensely. All her life, she'd attended schools in which she knew a handful of people- individuals that made these big transitions a whole lot easier on her clinically-diagnosed anxious self. To be thrown into such a different setting- at such a crucial part of her school life, in such a random way- secretly had the young woman in hysterics.

But at the end of the day, Valeria Cross wasn't known for being a pussy. Much like her sister, the girl took on any challenge presented and made it her bitch. Hiking Mount Elbert in Colorado? Check. Benching her own weigh at the gym? Check. Following that cute boy from Brentwood School that she met at Zyla's party on Halloween on Insta? Check. Transferring to Beverly Hills High would be no different. She just needed a quick breather.

After a few minutes of breathing exercises, Val was finally ready to follow her sister's advice and face her new reality head-on. The long haired girl gave herself one last once-over in the rear view mirror, let out a deep sigh, exited the car and set out in the direction of the flashiest cars around the parking lot.

It was easy to pick AJ out from the group of teens huddled in front of their luxury vehicles. Sugar could spot that charming smile from a mile away, and his adorable laugh effectively gave her body temporary relief from her anxiety. The prospect of approaching him while he was surrounded by his friends was slightly nerve-wracking, but it was her best shot at pulling her surprise appearance. She could hear the pounding of her heart clearly in her ears, growing louder and louder with every step she took towards her crush. And when his friends finally became distracted, she hurriedly crept up behind him and gently covered his eyes with her dainty hands.

“Guess who?” Val whispered softly in the boy’s ear, her smile masking the slight nervous tremble in her voice.

“H.O.T. is dead.”

Reading those words through Samara for a loop. Not because she didn’t believe it. The tweets she saw this morning made her a believer but it was the fact that they were, in fact, no more than had brought a surprising smile to her face, almost as though she was happy about it. Maybe happy wasn’t the right word for it. If she had to put her finger on it, she was feeling relieved.

There was always something about the HOT girls that Samara never liked. Or at least the idea that those three were the top gals. Why were they so special? One of them had the name Green, which held a lot of power in this town. Legacy of the three former queens from a previous generation or something, wasn’t it? But then where did Trixie and Ophelia come from? Hailey made sense but the other two always confused Sam. Were they simply the backup show to the self-proclaimed Hailstorm? Or maybe she was their backup and now was the part of the movie where the queen realizes what her worth really is?

All of these theories she kept entertaining got her through most of the ride to school. She didn’t feel like driving, so Sam took a luxury Uber. It was like regular Uber but more high class. As her driver neared school grounds, she was still quite busy as she dove headfirst into the various tweets, posts, and reactions to HOT. It was mostly positive but Sam found that boring. She was curious to know the real reason. She couldn’t help but want to know the full story but it was going to be difficult. Going to Hailey wasn’t a good idea. Going after that one was high school suicide and Samara didn’t know much about the O to know where to find her.

“So that leaves Trixie Kingsley.”

“Did you say something, Miss Hart?”

Sam looked up from her phone as her Driver spoke. “No, it’s nothing. Just some high school drama.” As she spoke, she saw they were nearing the entrance to the parking lot. “You can stop here.”

“Are you sure?”

Samara nodded, knowing he saw her through the mirror.

Soon the petite blonde was out of the car and soon found herself walking through the front door. Being the daughter of not one but two fashionable-as-fuck women who represent what it means to be fabulous, Samara’s style was a mirror of that. She modeled herself after her mother, Adielle, whose bold color choices often were the talk of the boardroom and she sported that as she walked through the halls. A pink top with a yellow skirt that paired nicely with white flats was bound to get anyone talking. And the way she strutted was as though Samara was the new queen, but this was generally how she presented herself. She was the embodiment of a diva and her acting like she was hot stuff was proof of that.

As she walked, Samara’s eavesdropping ears heard murmurs of the elections. She had heard throughout the weeks that they were nearing. Maybe she was so focused on her own stuff at home and preparing for a recording studio session later in the week that she couldn’t concern herself with what high school-level elections were on the horizon. That being said, there was a reason she had made her way into the Morning Room studio.

And that reason was sitting away from where Riley was doing his thing with the election hopefuls. She didn’t want to distract them so she just watched, waiting for her moment to have a moment with Trixie. And after Brian and she had a short conversation about his band performing, now was her chance and she approached the latina girl.

“There must be a lot of buzz going around, huh?” Samara just started speaking, hand on her hip and a smile given to Trixie. “I mean, Riley taking a backseat to anyone is noteworthy on its own, but now there’s the elections, which I’ll admit I don’t care about them but they seem to matter to those running. And now you, of all people, playing messenger for Henry. Talk about strange times.”

One of Nathaniel Blake’s favorite things in this entire world was Mondays. It might sound strange to those who live for the weekend but the thing everybody has to understand about Nate is that he thrives when he’s around people. The social energy coming off of those who either tell him to fuck off or those who indulge in wild antics is what fuels his wacky flame to be the beacon of positive vibes he knows himself to be. And if he’s the only one to breathe in those fumes, then that’s fine. It just means there’s more good energy for him, but he isn’t a vibe hog. He likes to share.

But more on that a little later. Mondays are great because he can share his love of positivity. And specifically, he gets to see his bros. Not that he doesn’t ever get to see them. Weekends are fine but at least when the week rolls around, he can see them whenever he wants. Another good thing is that he knows where his bros like to hang around. Or at least where there’ll be at around this particular time. With everything going on with the elections and that trio of girls ending (Nate doesn’t pay much attention to that sort of thing), he knew exactly where he would be.

“Room 2-13!”

Nate stood outside of the lab. He knocked a few times, but someone as impatient as he, there was no way in hell he could wait for Henry to give the green light or wait for him to open the door; Nate just did that himself. And boy oh boy, was it ever chaotic. He didn’t know exactly what was happening but he knew big things were boppin. “Well damn, shit’s hot in here. What’s the word, Henry?"

In the early hours of the morning, Aleyda Westwood quietly sat in the landing of the stairs that led to the school’s rooftop, unable to stop wondering when exactly things in her life had started to go to shit.

For the last two and a half years, there had been no shortage of men to occupy her time with. It had all started with Damian O’Connor back in freshman year, when they made a promise to always be each other’s back-ups when things went south with whoever they were trying to get with. Then it had been Lucky Cross, with a chance encounter at the Combat Club that had led into a successful friends with benefits arrangement. Her occasional fondness for molly had led her to Hyde, who did with her body as he pleased whenever she was unable to come up with the right kind of payment to cover the cost of her expenses. This form of payment was also accepted by Mitch-- a begrudging but necessary sacrifice done for the sake of her GPA. And of course, there had been the occasional one night stands: Nero Frost and Shawna Flynn among those privileged enough to roll between the sheets with her.

What did most of these individuals have in common, you might ask? They were in relationships or in flirtationships… Just not with her.

To her horror and dismay, Damien and Lucky had become taken men at the beginning of the year, and had consequently ended their respective liaisons with Aleyda. The dreams of retaliation were always present in the back of Ley’s head. They ate at the Latina whenever she saw Joy Darling, Fawn Woods, or even Jasmine Fulton (the girl Ley suspected was behind Hyde’s recent mood improvement lately) strutting around the school with the rosy cheeks and telling smiles of blooming romances. But what would be the point of that? What would it prove, exactly? It’s not like Ley was in love with any of the boys she’d slept with-- God forbid she ever did, for that matter. They’d certainly been fulfilling distractions and fun to be around in her times of need, but that was it.

The stab at her ego, however, was immeasurable.

What did any of those girls had that Aleyda didn’t? It couldn’t be money, because the Westwoods weren’t short on wealth. It wasn’t looks, because she sure as hell had that in the bag. Brains, maybe? She wasn’t a genius by any means, but she definitely was above average in the subjects that mattered. Was she just too bold, too loud, too outspoken? Too ambitious, too confrontational, too arrogant? Or maybe she wasn’t soft enough, sweet enough, complacent enough? Whatever she was or wasn’t had been the only though swirling in her mind for the better part of the last few weeks.

“Fuck this shit!” Ley cursed under her breath, throwing a pebble that she'd grabbed from nearby in frustration and watching it bounce off the wall in front of her. She was tired of overthinking; tired of feeling like she wasn’t enough or worthy of romantic attention. Before she realized it, tears pooled in her brown eyes and ran down her cheeks, which she hurriedly wiped away. She’d be damned before she let any of these people see her cry.

"...Shit's bad?"

The sound of a masculine voice echoing across the landing and the narrow stairway underneath was the last thing Aleyda expected to hear while feeling sorry for herself. It caused the panicked young woman to jump up from her seating position on the floor, her heart thumping wildly against her chest. Dread at who had caught her in such a vulnerable state opened up an endless pit in her stomach, but when she turned in the direction of the voice and realized who it was, the brunette let out an audible sigh of relief.

Benjamin Webb was not known for his friendliness. His teachers had briefed Ley on his learning disabilities and limited social skills, and warned her to not take any detached or guarded behavior towards her personally. After that, she'd come into the tutoring session expecting to be put off by some big brute that she would undoubtedly end up having to put in his place. What she was not expecting was to meet the sweetest, most gentlest teddy bear of a man in all of Beverly Hills High. Their time together was a breeze, and the young woman would be lying if she said she didn't look forward to seeing him around.

“Hey, B,” Ley greeted somewhat awkwardly after her overreaction, praying her makeup hadn’t suffered any damage after her moment of weakness. “Eh, it’s nothing to worry about-- really. Something really fucking stupid happened and I was overreacting to it. To quote a famous little lady from Vine: I’m a bad bitch: you can’t kill me. And it’ll take a whole lot more than what’s happened to bring me down,” she replied confidently, allowing herself a laugh before shifting the conversation away from herself. “What about you, big guy? Anything new going on? How’d that test I helped you with go?”

“I got a C.” Benji genuinely smiled at her, proud of his grade which was a vast improvement from an F.

Aleyda grinned widely and clapped her hands together in delight. “See? I knew you could do it! A little faith in yourself can do wonders.”

He showed a kindness that only he was capable of displaying. A foolhardy, lovable display of affection. Reckless and full of optimism, like he’d follow someone blindly just because he had faith in them and saw more to the person than they did for themselves. There had been times he did see Aleyda snap in the halls but that never changed his perception of her. Her flaws were entirely invisible to his gaze. He was like a harbor in a storm. Most people appreciated that.

Behind his largeness was fluff and it was undeniable that Benjamin was an absolute teddy bear. Once you saw his eyes, you knew he wouldn’t intentionally hurt a fly. They looked too tender for that and fortunately for him, the Viper didn’t view him as a threat or as someone she should pierce her poisonous teeth in. He seemed too kind for that. Still, his size made him big enough to intimidate anyone at this school, if he wanted to. He could put anyone in their place no matter where they stood on the ladder, if he wanted to. But that was the thing, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to be noticed, seen, or even heard. He liked that he went unnoticed. It was safer that way for him and for everyone else.

“Aside from that, my brother’s been coming to the gym more! He’s really challenging himself and it’s great. I like having his company.” He scratched his head, not knowing if there was anything new that he would remember to mention. He wasn’t the brightest and at the moment he could only think about his brother, so that was the best reply he could give. His blue-gray eyes focused in on Ley’s soft-looking face and his train of thought turned back to the tears he had seen earlier.

Changing the subject, abruptly, he took a step closer to her and opened his arms, “Want a hug?” Hugs felt good and it usually made him feel better when his mom did it. She understood his need to express his emotions, his father, on the other hand, not so much. Usually, if Benji showed any signs of distressed his father would toss a comic book at him to make him feel better rather than ask him what’s wrong. The big guy hoped he could make her feel better. What better way than to give a hug? If it doesn’t work, at least he tried.

When he offered her a hug, Aleyda froze on the spot. It wasn't out of disgust or repulsion like you would expect from the snobby, bitchy cheerleader- but more so out of a place of sheer surprise. The fact that the young man trusted her enough to allow any physical contact between them filled Ley with a sense of happiness and excitement she couldn't even begin to put into words.

"A hug? From you? I would be honored," she replied softly, offering Benji a kind smile before jumping straight into his open arms with a loud giggle, wrapping her own around his broad, towering figure. The large size that would usually be cause for intimidation brought upon Aleyda a sense of comfort and security. Whatever sadness she felt evaporated on the spot, replaced by a warmth and softness she hadn't experienced before. Her past contact with men was limited to whatever would lead up to sex- never just for plain comfort. It was definitely a nice change of scenario.

The brunette let their embrace last for the longest time, relishing in the sweet feelings he was gifting her with. To her favor, he didn’t pull away. Taking in her delicate body, so close to his, he found himself being comforted as well - of all anxiety he had moments before, when he felt the urge to run away. His mind focused on her, as he kept his gaze downcast on her dark, well kept hair and her squishy and coconut-scented face, to see any signs of discomfort. Hugs were such a simple gesture and yet it gave the gentle giant appreciative warmth and a moment away from it all. Away from the chaos that was their school.

Eventually, she pulled away just enough to peer at his handsome face. "You're an absolute angel, did you know that?" Ley cooed, pressing her nose to his for a quick eskimo kiss.

He kept silent, continuing to deeply stare at her as they rubbed their noses together. Eyes that seemed completely and utterly focused on her. While she might be the embodiment of fire, he was cold ice on a summer's day, refreshing and cooling. He had a nice calm about him, even if internally he was going through phrases, words, adjectives to say back to her. He didn’t know how to reply to her compliment. It wasn’t something he was used to and made his stomach feel funny. He wanted to sound eloquent and not dumb. Suave and charming. A wordsmith that had a gift of making her smile. What even was the right way to respond?

The right words.

What were the right words?

Absentmindedly, his right hand gently rubbed her arm. He gave a cheesy grin, “I guess we’re both in heaven then because if I’m an angel, you’re a goddess.” Winking at his friend, the brute’s smile went wider. He was being hella’ dorky and now that he was playing back his words, he sounded dumb. Real dumb. (Well, he might as well commit. There was no turning back now).

Aleyda's laugh filled the room, echoing across the concrete walls. "A goddess?" she repeated with fake yet playful surprise. "Well, shit. If we're playing deities, I want us to be Greek. I'll be your Aphrodite if you'll be my Ares," Ley teased, matching Benji's dorkiness with her own and winking right back at him. She wasn't sure that gentle, pacifist Benji and the God of War had anything in common, but the young woman could only assume they were probably the same size. Whatever.

The sound of their shared laughter filled the room again, eventually fading away and leaving the pair in content silence. It was then when Aleyda looked into Benji’s eyes for the first time that day- and suddenly felt her breath get caught up in her throat. There was something about that pair of blue-gray eyes staring straight into the depths of her bare soul that captivated the young woman, taking her heart and thoughts hostage. A strange electricity rippled through the air, while an undeniable magnetism pulled their faces slowly closer together. Before she knew it, Ley could feel her friend’s breath on her lips now: warm and minty and tempting and kissable and inviting as hell-

“That’s some of the gayest shit I’ve heard all morning.”

Aleyda jumped in surprise, her head whipping in the direction of the intruder. Meanwhile Benjamin turned his head to look over his right shoulder, to see what was behind him, locking eyes with one of the ‘witches’: the green-haired one. Their group recently disbanded (sorta) because their fearless leader, Dahlia Rothstein, was forced to move to NYC with her father, while her mother traveled for choreography gigs. A sad turn of events for a strong trio that didn’t care about how the school thought about them.

Now the group was one goth girl (Iris) and a tiny, walking pastel doll (Ana), which wasn’t the same as ‘the power of three’ they had going for them. With the Wiccan witch out of the picture, they were just dark magic and flower power - polar opposites. Hardly balanced. One liked curses and the other spread kindness. At least, the love was still there.

Both girls didn’t like being in the public eye, like the school halls, without Gia. Honestly, without their strong, confidant friend to look up to, they were lost. Ana because she was socially inept, like dear Benji here, and Iris because she had a resting bitch face and seemed to hate the majority of her peers. Unfortunately for Iris, she promised Gia she’d protect the littlest one, and even if things weren’t the same since she left, the black witch would try her best to swerve Anastasia away from the bad influences on campus.

Iris Snyder dully blinked at the awkward couple, blocking the pathway to the roof, as she held onto her cup of soulless coffee. Bitter and dark, like her. She had walked in at a most unfortunate time, hearing that Greek mythology was being used as a flirting tactic, which made her cringe. She had personal feelings for that particular mythos seeing how she and her siblings were named after some of the more memorable beings: Aries, Athena, Iris, and Hercules. Lifting up her blood red travel mug to her lips, she took a deep sip, before adding, “Are you two going to kiss or can I get through?”

After turning beet red, the muscley recluse pulled away from his friend, clearing his throat, “K-kiss? What?” Malfunctioning on the inside, Benji quickly dismissed himself, “I, uh, will see you later, Aleyda…” With that, Benjamin retreated, throwing his hoodie on and letting his feet lead him to homeroom.

Meanwhile, Aleyda was left with the rest of the girls, positively seething. Her hands immediately jumped to the sides of her head, roughly massaging her temples to bite her sharp tongue and keep the reins on that quick temper of hers that was so close to bubbling over. But, as expected, the feeble attempt was cut short before any real effect could take place when Iris spoke again.

“You two looked like you wanted to devour each other. like death devours those cooked by old age. And well, those half-cooked and raw. Death eats everyone.” For a moment, Iris started trailing into her own thoughts, before getting back on track, “As fan-fucking-tastic as that would’ve been to watch, I got fancy toast waiting for me.”

As harmless as the green-haired girl’s words had been, they had the same effect as lighting a match and dropping it on a puddle of gasoline. Her usual impulsive behavior took over, and Aleyda was suddenly reaching for Iris. She forcefully grabbed the girl’s arm, digging her nails into her skin a little while consequently letting the travel mug to fall to the floor with a loud clatter. “Escúchame bien, pinche morra estúpida: the next time you embarrass that boy like that again, you better make sure you buy some good foundation and concealer afterwards. You’ll need it to cover up the gashes I’ll put across your fucking face,” she growled, raising her free hand up to the other girl’s face to give her a quick glance of her razor-sharp acrylic stiletto nails before ultimately letting her go. “We good?”

Whether Iris was indeed good with this or not, Ley would never know, because by the time the shorter girl could speak the Mexican girl had stormed off, and the door to the ceiling’s staircase was being slammed shut.

The short encounter with the self-deemed witches of the school had put Aleyda in an even worse mood than she was before. Sure, the sweet moment with Benjamin had definitely done wonders for her, but the unwelcome guests had sent all the progress down the drain with their ignorant, unwarranted-for comments. Poor Benji, forever awkward, had ran off like a headless chicken, and Ley had been left to deal with the fallout. She’d left the staircase as quickly as she could, all the while hoping and praying that those two girls could keep to themselves what they had seen. The last thing Benji needed was more reasons to be bullied, and the last thing Aleyda needed were more reasons to get into conflicts with people.

Ley had been scanning her surroundings when her scowl soon turned into a smirk as her brown eyes fell onto someone who looked like he was having a worse day than her. Cameron Hyde stood in the middle of the crowded hallway, his face nothing but a mask of burning rage. What had happened to piss him off, Aleyda had no idea. But with Hyde, even looking at him for too long could set him off. The boy was a ticking time bomb, but the young woman knew of a few tricks to cool him down to a reasonable degree.

"Everything okay there, Guapo?" Ley asked Cameron in the pet name she'd assigned to him for the longest time now, cautiously approaching the very angry beast standing a few steps away from her. "You look like they've just spat on your face."

Hyde looked with disdain as Ley emerged from a nearby doorway. He clenched his fists tighter, crumpling the poster in his left hand before shoving both into his pockets. ”What do you want, Ley? I haven’t got any Molly today, you fucking fiend.”

It was true that Cameron could get his bloodied hands on anything. Whatever the rich kids vice of choice, he could generally get it. For most it was a little weed to piss off their parents. Others liked a little coke to go all night long. Some even preferred a little H: those were the dirty kids and his best customers. Ley, a regular customer, liked some molly for her parties (amongst other things), and she liked it a lot.

The Mexican-American girl couldn't help but let out a scoff. "You know better than to talk to me like that, Cammy-bear," she cooed, choosing to stand directly in front of him and flirtatiously fumble with the collar of his shirt. "And FYI: I don't want any molly today. All I wanted was to make sure you don't go ballistic and fucking murder everybody in this school. I know that look in your eyes, Hyde. It's not good news."

Grabbing her by the wrists as she played with his shirt, Hyde dragged her into an adjacent empty classroom. ”You watch that pretty little mouth of yours, Aleyda. You know I have no problem smashing your teeth down your fucking throat.” And it was true. The girl was no stranger to Cameron’s violent moods and brutal physicality. Often if she could not pay for her choice of drugs, she would offer her body in more ways than one to the monstrous teen to satiate his dark hunger. ”I don’t need you holding my leash, Ley. These kids deserve what they get.”

"You think I'm scared of you, gringo? I'll maul that pretty face of yours before you ever lay a hand on me," Aleyda sneered in warning, a defiant eyebrow raised at the young man threatening her. Frankly, she should know better than to play games with Hyde when he was in this state. But then again, he should know better than to think he intimidated her. Just because they fucked occasionally didn't mean she was his bitch. "While I definitely agree that some kids here could use some of your tough love, I'd like to think you're not stupid enough to do it in plain view and risk getting caught. We both know you're smarter than that."

Hyde pushed his head against hers and growled deeply, inhaling her exotic scent. "You got some balls today. You think cos you’re wet for Benji Webb that he can protect you. I’ll eat him alive, Ley. There ain’t no one here who can stop me, and you and me- we aren’t in plain view now...” With his large left hand he grabbed the Latina by the throat and began to squeeze. Watching her pretty tanned skin turn purple, the demon's blue eyes began to widen. He scanned her body, she looked good today. He could change that if he wanted to, that kind of power was addictive.“If not them, it’ll be you”

Aleyda’s smug expression was wiped clean the second Cameron’s hand grabbed and tightened around her throat. She was suddenly frozen on the spot, eyes wide with shock watching Hyde let out his dangerous anger on her in the wrong way. It was true that things occasionally got pretty rough between them when intimate-- to the point that it could look like she'd fist-fought with someone. But in those times, consent from both parties was always clearly expressed.

But this? This was Hyde consciously putting hands on her to assault, hurt and intimidate her.

Yet even when she was internally frightened out of her mind of what was happening, the influence of the unyielding Mexican blood in her was stronger than her fear. While other girls would be squirming and pathetically squealing in fright, Aleyda remained calm, fixing her brown eyes on the blue gaze of her attacker while one of her hands discreetly searched for something to defend herself with. Finally, her fingers closed around the metal handle of the world globe sitting on top of the teacher’s desk right next to where she stood.

Without any further hesitation, Aleyda mustered up all the strength she could and swung the globe straight at Cameron’s head. The hollow ball made a loud sound as it came in contact with the side of Hyde’s skull and later the floor, and she felt the young man releasing his grip on her throat. Instinctively, Ley pushed the male's body away, swung her dominant arm again and smacked her open palm against the side of his face, leaving the bright red imprint of her hand against his pale skin.

Breaking into a fit of laughter, Hyde stumbled back, clutching the side of his blond head. There was no blood; but damn, that hurt. "There’s that Latina fire. It’s about time!” The devil of Dogtown straightened himself up and corrected himself to his full height. "Never let these fuckers see weakness, Ley. Crying in the stairwell? Get a fucking grip! Suck it up, and show them who you are.” he leaned in again and kissed the tip of her nose before lowering his voice to a whisper. "You're lucky I’ve got more important things to deal with today… I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

Chuckling again, Hyde moved away from Aleyda and exited the classroom, leaving a shaken and confused girl behind.