What was wrong with her?

A lot, honestly.

Chrissie was suffocating with all these negative emotions, as if they were swallowing her whole. Her willpower betrayed her because no longer did she have it in her to fight what was boiling deep in her system. She didn’t want to fight anymore. She didn't want to play pretend and kill people with kindness like some selfless humanitarian. She didn’t want to smile for others and act like she was happy for them. She didn’t want to seek out the good memories, or why she ever gave a fuck.

There was a part of her blossoming inside that wanted to take the devil’s path, with hate as her drive, throwing everything out the window, including her reputation. Funny, really. How love could turn so quickly into hate. Her once cute, genuine, and lighthearted smile now lit up her features as if she no longer ran on tender love but on cold malice.

As simple as her interaction with Chanel was, it seemed to have made her come to terms with some things about herself. Chrissie was NOT a sob story. And kindness? Kindness costs way too much. It was time to become her father’s daughter, and the only way to get where she needed to go was throw all good intentions out the door and walk the rest of her school days with unrelenting meanness.

There was a reason she fell for an asshole, and that’s because he saw things the way she saw them. If you need to step on someone, then you step on them. If you need to burn everything around you to achieve your goal, then you burn every-fucking-thing. How could she possibly forget? This was how she was raised to be. Not this bubbly, sickly friendly, and sugary sweet theater dweeb that tried to get everyone to love her, even if it was only when they watched her on stage.

Yes, her name was Chrissie McCoy and she wanted to watch the world burn. Caught up in her final decisions, smoldering underneath her forced expression, Chris was coerced back to present time, her current Valentine’s dance reality, losing all balance and falling right on her ass. Before she could register what had just happened, she was pounced on by her best friend.

Oh, that’s right. Chrissie was originally trying to find Ariana. Sadly, she had totally forgotten after she came back into the ballroom, only to see romance in the air. “So I take it... you’re having a great time, just like me?” Pulling her friend close, knowing Ariana may be the only person she was willing to trust right now, Chrissie grumbled, “I bet he did something dumb.”

As much as Ariana wanted to answer Chrissie's questions, the giggle fit she had succumbed to when tumbling down right after her best friend had rendered her temporarily unable to. The giggles had given way to full-blown laughter when the curly-haired girl pulled her closer, causing their bodies to roll around the floor together while leaving Ariana dangerously close to flashing every person in the vicinity.

Chaperone duty was an absolute drag. Jace Russo was here to fill his required hours - or at least that’s what he would tell anyone who asked. The punch had already been spiked, and he didn’t even care. Truth to be told, the dark haired man was already on his third glass himself. Speaking to the history teacher, Mr. Fulton, Jace was mostly not paying attention to the students. The loud and joyful laughter somewhat nearby would catch both his and Fulton's attention, causing both of the men to look towards Chrissie and Ariana.

A quick glance would send Jace into action. As he and his coworker began to walk the girls way, Jace held his hand up as if to say ‘don’t worry about it. I’ve got this one.’ A few quick strides and he had reached his destination, cup still in hand. Placing a gentle hand on Ariana’s shoulder, Jace looked from her to Chrissie and back before speaking.

“Girls. Sorry to kill the moment, but you need to get up off the floor. You’re about to show everyone your asses.” Normally, Jace wouldn’t curse in front of his students or use such lax language in general. However, this was his ex-girlfriend and her best friend. Lines had already been crossed, and there was no use in trying to go back at this point.

Not really caring that their asses were being showcased to the world, or almost so, Chrissie scoffed at the man that was intervening with her time with her best friend, who she didn’t see this whole fucking night until NOW. First, he had the audacity to put Ariana in a mood, causing her Cherry to have a down spiral night. Second, he chose now was the perfect time to show his face to them and play it like he was actually a good, responsible, and mature chaperone. Tightening her hold on her friend, she glared up at her math teacher, who was also at fault for taking one of her friend’s hearts away from her, and said behind gritted teeth, “Who the hell are you?”

Confused and slightly tipsy (yes, Jace was a lightweight himself) the teacher looked at the star drama student as if she had grown a second head. “I’m Jace? Jace Russo? Your math teacher. I gave you a C- one time and you tried to kill me, remember?”

Jace had a good feeling that some of the students here were wasted, but he had no idea that anyone would be so far gone they couldn’t remember their own teacher's name.

“Omigod, boomer. That was sarcasm.” Releasing her friend, Chrissie stood up and pulled her up with her, “I know who you are and I know you’re fucking petty and when Ariana upsets you, you take it out on everyone she’s fucked. Myself included. Blahblahblah.”

"Mmm yeah. No.” Taking a sip of his drink, Jace crossed his arms. "Anyway. Really didn’t come over here to start anything. Just figured you two didn’t want to show everyone your nether regions, but hey. Maybe you do. By all means, go grab the DJ’s mic and start stripping. Liven the party for us a bit.”

The grinning Ariana having watched the exchange between Chrissie and Jace in silence, knowing she should be stepping in to defend one of the parties involved but being far too amused to do so. Truth be told, she was secretly glad her best friend was giving her ex a hard time. It was definitely a fantastic, innovative way to get back at him for all the other times he'd been petty towards her before without having to do the dirty work herself. Plus, it was the first time they had spoken after that heated argument on the first day of school. And, in all honesty, Ariana was simply happy to hear his voice addressing her. She would never admit to it, but she had missed him terribly.

When Jace brought up the suggestion of them stripping, a knowing little smirk lit up the brunette's features. "I bet you would love to see that, wouldn't you?" she teased, scanning the area to make sure nobody was looking before shooting him a playful wink. "I know you fucking miss me. That's the only reason why you came running to us so quickly the second this perky little ass you love so much was showing. You can't even deny it."

To add to her friend’s point, Chrissie grabbed Ariana’s ass, giving it a nice, strong squeeze, “Perky as fuck. It’s too bad…” She let go of Ariana’s cheek and rested her head on her shoulder, “This ass is going home with me.”

"I'll make sure to send you pictures, if you want. Maybe a hot little video to go along with it?" the brunette couldn't help herself to add mischievously.

“You two are absolutely disgostang” Jace said, slurring the last word. Of course this wasn’t true - at all. Ariana and Chrissie had been known to send Jace steamy pictures and videos from time to time. This would be nothing different. Sadly, his days with Ariana were over, and so were the messages. For now, Jace looked at pictures of women his own age.

Rolling her eyes, clearly unimpressed, Chrissie laughed, “I’ve been called worse things by better people.” Times like these, the drama queen had a hard time seeing what Ariana saw. Somehow, this man was everything she wanted and needed and more. Now that was disgusting. Falling stupidly in love where no one else could ever be an option. It was because of HIM Ariana couldn’t enjoy her time with Max and Jasper.

You know what?

God created the middle finger for a reason and it was for people like Mr. Russo who deserved it. Pulling Ariana to her, over the dumb teacher’s bullshit, Chrissie used her free hand to give him the bird, “You’re pathetic, Mr. Russo. Come to us when you’re ready to be a man.” In swift movements, she purposely hit her teacher’s cup to spill all over his shirt, before demanding, “Let’s get out of here, baby. Fuck him. You’re worth more than this shit.”

Trying to wipe the liquid from his shirt, Jace sighed. “Yes. Please leave. You’re drunk out of your mind, Chrissie. Have a great night.”

“No. I just know a good thing when I see it. G’night, sir. Enjoy pornhub.”

“The lesbian section is looking pretty good right now compared to this shit.”

Whatever entertainment Ariana had been getting from this situation had long since faded into regret. She had known that both Chrissie and Jace were prone to petty remarks and suffered from the same illness she did: a need to always get the last word. So, while she had expected the back and forth between them, she hadn't anticipated how far it would go in such a short period of time. First they were taking subtle digs at each other, and then the next moment Chrissie was spilling Jace's drink all over his shirt and dragging her shocked figure away. But before her friend could take her too far, Ariana placed her hands over the one Chrissie was holding her by and gently pried it away.

"Peaches, would you mind being a sweetheart and go wait for me by the door?" the brunette softly asked the blond. "I promise I'll be there soon."

Of course. Back to the start, knowing very well where her position was in all her friends’ lives, second to all their lovers, Chrissie beamed the fakest smile to Ariana, “Yeah! Absolutely. Don’t make me stand out there for too long.” Not waiting for a response, Chrissie left Ariana to talk to Jace. Her state of mind was even worse than earlier. Before she exited the ballroom, she glanced over to the drinking table to see Stella smiling and laughing with Carter.

Tonight was fucking fantastic.

Ariana knew that smile. After three and a half years of friendship, the young woman had become proficient in identifying when Chrissie was being honest and when she was faking it to hide how she truly felt. And seeing her BFF walk away after shooting her that smile stung just as badly as when Max had done it not even twenty minutes previously.

What was up with her disappointing people today?

Letting out a long, deep sigh, the visibly distraught girl turned back to Jace. "Look: I'm sorry about what just happened with Chrissie," she began, looking up at the man with big, apologetic eyes and a trembling lower lip. "She's clearly drunk and bothered by something, so even though you shouldn't have let yourself be baited into the whole back and forth with her, I know I should've stopped it before it went too far."

Jace shrugged his shoulders, sighing as he surveyed the damage to his shirt. ”I really don’t care anymore, Ariana. I’m not your problem - you’re not mine. I was honestly trying to do my job when I first walked over.”

Well, that was certainly not the answer Ariana had been hoping to get. But then again, what else was she expecting from the king of pettiness himself? For him to see that she was being completely honest? That she was admitting fault to the situation? That she had literally put aside her pride to say she was fucking sorry even when not being the one at fault? And this is how he was paying her back?!

Fueled by anger and hurt at just how easily he had dismissed her earnest feelings, Ariana strode forward and slapped the man hard across the face. "How's this for not being your problem anymore, then?" she spat with pure venom in her voice, her eyes flashing with fury. She didn't care about who had seen what she'd just done or what the consequences would be. All the girl wanted was for Jace to feel the same amount of pain he had just caused her.

A maniacal laugh creeping from between his lips, Jace rubbed the side of his face for a brief moment. "Listen. I don’t have to accept anything from you, Ariana. No apology. Nothing. You chose to end things. So go. Live your best life. Fuck Chrissie. Fuck Max. Fuck Jasper. Go fuck whoever you want - however you want. You got what you wanted - you’re free.”

At this moment, Mr. Fulton was beginning to walk over, an alarmed look on his face.

"Fine. I will. Watch me." Ariana declared, shooting Jace one last death glare and storming off to the exit, holding back the wave of hot, heartbroken tears that so desperately wanted to roll down her cheeks.

Once outside, the young woman frantically searched around the area for Chrissie, and thankfully found her without much effort sitting quietly on the hood of Jasper's car. The brunette strolled towards her friend with determination, hoping she'd keep her composure long enough to reach the safety of her house even when her bottom lip was trembling so strongly. But the second she had reached the blonde, it was as if every negative interaction of the evening had come crashing down on her. And before she knew it, Ariana threw her arms around her best friend and started to sob.

Moments before Ariana joined her, Chrissie was sinking deeper and deeper into her own thoughts. Surprisingly, she didn’t go off walking randomly, getting lost in the night. Most likely because the only place she had available to her was Ariana’s. Since she was sobering up, sense did start coming back to her. Chrissie knew the best option was to wait for her impatiently.

When Ariana did show up, embracing her with a river full of tears, Chrissie held her friend close and somehow found herself smiling. She wasn’t happy that Ariana was crying. No, that was tragic. She was happy that her friend needed her and that Jace most likely broke her heart. Trying to keep the smile contained, Chrissie pulled her Cherry away from her, looking at her through teary eyes, “You want chocolate? I want chocolate. Call mommy so we can get out of here.” Mommy as in Ariana’s mother, Audrey Mossos-Huntsberg. Chrissie was not in the mood for an Uber, and honestly, both of them could use a mother right now.

The young woman shook her head. "M-mamma's n-not even in the c-country right n-now…" Ariana wailed in between sobs. "Dad t-took her to Italy f-for the w-weekend. I had t-the house to m-myself and I was g-gonna hook up with J-Jasper but now I d-don't even w-want to."

Goddammit. Uber it is. Grumbling to herself, wishing she could call Stella’s parents at this moment, Chrissie took out her phone and went to the Uber app. After a couple of minutes of requesting Uber XL, she looked at her bestie and tsked, “Two stops. First, we’re going to buy junk food. Think chocolate, ice cream, cake, the whole nine yards. Secondly, we’re going to take a selfie together, showing every motherfucker we ended this night happy. Then and only then will we cuddle tonight and spill our hearts out, got it?”

"Okay." Ariana sniffled, nodding while carefully wiping away her tears. Although this was not the way the girl had expected her night to end, she was happy that at least she would be going home with the one person who would always have her back.

The King's Academy staff had wanted to celebrate friendship above romance, after all. And that's exactly what Ariana and Chrissie were going to do.

Almost there and he felt utterly hopeless. Julie didn’t seem to be irritated yet, even if they already stopped at three places and it wasn’t their final destination. The first stop was probably the most… odd place… to take her. 7-Eleven. Far from classy, but the perfect place for guilty, sweet drinks. There, Ryland had shared with her about an old family tradition. When he was younger, his dad would buy him and his siblings Slurpees, after they competitively did their chores, to see who could clean the fastest, and who could clean their part of the house to their step mother’s liking. As if her life depended on it, Alaina would point out every spot they missed, only causing them to clean again in hopes they would clean to her standards. After a long day of chores, their father felt like they all deserved something to make them feel guilty, and yet have no regrets. To indulge in one of the greatest pleasures known to men! 7-Eleven Slurpees.

7-Eleven wasn’t a place that Julie was that familiar with. Of course, she knew of the place but she hadn’t really frequented the establishment like it seemed that Ryland had done. But she enjoyed his story about his tradition and his father with a smile as they walked through the aisles. The sheer size of Slurpees that Ryland presented shocked Julie as she took one of the icy treats from him.

The second stop was the boardwalk, where he knew a food truck festival was happening. Regardless if he convinced her to come or not at the dance, he was planning on coming here anyway, possibly with his best friends, to check out the food. The experience turned out to be better than he could imagine because she was there. Truth be told, Rye knew hardly anything about Julie. Sol and Sonny told him a couple of things, but it wasn’t enough for him to feel confident in his decisions about where to take her. If anything, this date was to show her little things about him, give her selling points on why she should date him, even if he was flying by the seat of his pants.

All Julie could do was to smile as she listened to Ryland talk. It was so refreshing to her to be with a guy who was one hundred percent himself. Listening to him talk about his family back in Los Angeles made her yearn for her sister more than anything. Sure she loved her father very much but he is so busy they didn’t spend as much time together as she wanted to. And now when her sister was out doing her own thing she was mostly alone aside from Chanel. Who also had been busy with her new cheerleading venture. So having someone pay attention to her again was very welcome.

Food trucks, to Ryland, was an experience everyone should have. Some of the best food was from the smallest of kitchens. More importantly, though? This was an experience best enjoyed with another person, because together, you ate, enjoyed the atmosphere, and the people. Here, he shared with her how his dad, ever since his old man was a teen and presently, would go out of his way to visit local restaurants to see if there were food challenges, in hopes to get a free meal out of it. His old man was a beast when it came to eating and somehow, the only thing causing him to gain weight was beer and not food.

She marveled at the number of different styles of food that the trucks offered. Julie was used to being catered too, never really having to worry about not being able to get what she wanted. And though she loved what Claire, the Macmillan house chef delivered. There was something special about all of these cooks and chefs gathered together in one place. It made it even more special that she was exploring it with someone new.

The further they ventured on their date, the more he started to realize how much he actually admired his father, and that was probably a good sign that he was on the right path. The third stop wasn’t too far from the boardwalk. With a skip and a jump, they were at Froyolicious and he treated her to whatever froyo and toppings she wanted, as well as buy a box of decently priced macarons for them to share. It was a no brainer that dinner was better with dessert.

Here, he tried to poke into her head, hoping by now, she warmed up to him to share something, even if it was an inkling of her feelings or something she was fond of.

She regaled him with stories about all of her family’s travels, about the fashion shows. The adventures she and her sister went on in Paris and Milan as their father was busy at work. But she also talked about her other passions that most of the people at King’s didn’t know about. How she loved classic art and was the one who picked out all of the art that hung in the Macmillan estate or how she had a vast library where she liked to spend lazy Sundays just leisurely reading.

With their proximity getting closer and closer, every step they made, Rye started feeling like Christian from Moulin Rouge, trying to impress his Satine during the Elephant Medley song.

In a blink of an eye, their time together was nearing an end and he had one last stop for her. As he drove down N Quadrille Boulevard, he tapped his fingers on the wheel and asked her a serious question, keeping things completely honest and genuine, “So… how I spoke to Ariel, like a month or so ago, is that water under the bridge? Or…” He trailed off, glancing at her like a puppy dog, seeking forgiveness and hoping whatever he was doing was impressing her and not wasting any of their time.

Julie just stayed quiet dabbing her mouth gingerly with a Froyolicious branded napkin. She slowly turned to face his big brown eyes she let out a slow sigh. “I don’t think that is for me to decide now is it?” she said softly, “I think you need to speak to Ariel about that.”

“I mean… are you done calling girls stupid?” she teased turning her whole body to face him knowing full well what she was showcasing.

“Oh yeah! Of course.” He nervously laughed. If Rye’s aunt had told his stepmother about that, that would’ve bitten him in the ass far more than he could ever imagine. He was fortunate enough Aunt Miley chose to not air his dirty laundry out, and simply gave him advice. She had told him the times his own father used to say things without thinking first, and at the time, it broke their mother’s heart. If anything, she saw a lot of Rhett in Rye every day, especially the reckless side of her brother.

“I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. While this doesn’t excuse my actions, I was… caught up with myself.” He sheepishly smiled, obviously ashamed of how he acted that day. “Dad uprooted my life, because I’m a fuck up, and then one of the first things I see is a good friend of mine, well second thing…” He was rambling but he had just remembered the reason why his day was set off badly. The reason the dominoes started falling. He witnessed his two best friends making out before he even knew they were an item. “...getting back with her ex, who she’s cried about to me. IDK, it was a lot. But I know now, it’s not something I should get involved with.”

“Mmmh…” Julie mused reaching up to pull out the large pin holding her hairstyle up, it had started to give her a bit of a headache but still, she knew what she was doing. As soon as she pulled the pin out her luscious red hair cascaded around her. She shook it out a little with her hands before collecting it all to one side. “I used to be the same… you know inserting myself in other people’s business. I used to be known for it.” she smiled and let out a soft giggle.

Julie reached out and placed her hand on his “And you know what I’ve learned Ryland?” she asked letting her hand travel up his arm until she reached his long hair where she laced her fingers into a lock of it “It’s better to focus on oneself and let people figure out what to do on their own.” she said softly putting the lock behind his ear caressing his cheek as she pulled back her hand.

Wow.

Ryland was speechless. Not because of the advice she was giving, but because of everything she was doing while speaking. His brown gaze observed her as she released her sunset hair, letting it freshly spill and become flames fanned by the breeze. There was a radiant glow when Julie spoke and for someone his age, she had such wisdom behind her soft and kind blueish-gray eyes. She was far from the little girls he’s seen at their school. Nah, man. She was a full-fledged woman and needed to be wooed as such.

He could never compete with her family since there was no doubt in his mind she could be given everything she ever wanted by them and more. Even so… he eyed her as her hand traveled up his arm to play with his hair and then push it behind his ear… Even so, he believed he had something to offer that no one else could. He didn’t know what exactly yet, but if he continued believing in that inkling of hope that he could get her to fall for him hard, then there was still at least a one percent chance he could do this. A losing battle was only guaranteed if you gave up, and Ryland Aspen was not a quitter.

That being said… what the hell should he say now? Rye hoped his face wasn’t turning red. Julie’s seductive prowess was a lot harder to manage in a situation like this where it was just them in a car, alone. Not wanting the silence to go on for too long, he reached his hand to her chin and whispered, “You missed a spot.” He cleaned her skin of Froyo, before bringing his attention back to the road. Welp. That’s how you ruin a moment. Thank GOD they were almost there!

Julie just settled back into her seat smiling to herself. She kept her eyes on the road ahead absentmindedly playing with her own hair now. Twirling a piece in her fingers as she let the silence linger. She shifted her eyes towards Ryland for a second and spotted the look on his face, she had him exactly where she wanted him.

The redhead hiked up her dress so she could show off her pale legs as she recrossed them. “So… new kid. Where are you taking me?”