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After a bit, Jax pulls me into his chest, his arm around me, fingers lightly brushing my exposed skin through the oversized armhole of his tank top. He tickles my ribs, and I’m hugely aware of the amount of side boob that he’s just about skirting. Just. He whispers in my ear how much he loves that I still have his sweats and that I’m wearing them, and I swear there’s nowhere I’d rather be right now. Ace is lightly stroking the arches of my feet, which tickles like crazy but also makes my breathing go all funny. His light little touches are driving me wild. I’m done. I’m a puddle. I can’t even concentrate on the film. I have two smoking hot guys touching me and another two just within arm’s reach.
I’ve been on dates with all of them. I’ve kissed all of them. None of them seem to mind. I have no idea what’s going on. I have no idea where this is going or what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t feel bad for liking all four of them. I guess if they don’t have a problem with it, then I definitely don’t. I’ll just wait and see how it pans out.
Rebel’s fidgeting draws me back to the present, and I watch him and Thorn carefully. They’re both tense. Totally absorbed in the film. The climactic music is reaching its crescendo... I plant a heavy hand on each of their shoulders at just the right moment and shout, “Boo!” It’s lame, but their responses do not disappoint.
Rebel screams, a bloodcurdling sound, and leaps into the air. Thorn squeaks - it’s the sound of genuine fear; when you’re too scared to make a sound or breathe - and throws his arms up in defence. It’s fucking adorable until a shower of Cheetos rain down all over me. I piss myself laughing and Rebel hits on the lights while Jax pauses the film. I laugh even harder when I see Rebel’s face, and the madder he gets, the more I laugh. Tears stream down my face and I clutch my stomach when it hurts to breathe. Jax and Ace watch on with mirth and, once he calms down, even Thorn cracks a smile.
Rebel grabs me and pulls me off the sofa, and I slide to the floor, unable to support myself. He straddles me and begins to tickle me, and suddenly it’s not fun anymore. I really can’t breathe as I squirm and giggle and try to catch enough breath to beg him to stop.
“You’re getting Cheeto dust all over the floor,” Jax gripes but I can hear a smile in his voice. Rebel doesn’t let up, he’s relentless in the way he tickles me. He uses his enormous build to pin me to the floor, and as I wriggle and writhe futilely to get out from under him, I become aware of every single inch where our skin’s touching. It’s burning, zinging with electricity wherever our flesh meets. My top’s ridden right up, and the sweats are low on my hips while his hardness presses into me. Now I can’t breathe for a different reason.
“Stop. Stop!” I cry. “You’re getting Cheeto dust in my eyes!” I’m still giggling helplessly when Rebel brings his face close to mine, so close that our noses are touching. I go silent, and all I can hear is my panting breath and the blood pounding in my ears. Holy crap he’s going to kiss me, right here in front of the others. As much as I want him to kiss me, I’m not sure about that. How would they react? It’s one thing that they’re aware that I’m kissing the other guys, but it’s another thing to have it rubbed in their faces, isn’t it?
I watch him through my lashes with hooded eyes. I’m sure my eyes are begging him to kiss me. Hell, I’m begging for more than just a kiss now. But he doesn’t kiss me.
Instead, he turns my head to the right and licks the entire left side of my face. “Gross!” I shove hard at his chest, and he easily lets me push him away. The spell of the moment’s broken, and he gives me his shit-eating grin as he runs a finger down my other cheek to remove the Cheeto residue, then licks it.
I scramble to my feet and call, “I’m going for more pop. Does anyone want?” but I’m racing towards the kitchen, needing a minute to recover, before anyone can even answer.
Once I’ve suitably calmed down, I go back into the lounge and notice that the lamp has been left on, the Cheetos cleaned up, and the seating arrangements switched up. Rebel and Ace are now sitting in the armchairs, and Thorn has moved onto the sofa in Ace’s spot. Jax pats the seat beside him. “Come on you,” he says, “you better sit back by me so I can keep you out of trouble before you kill someone.” I smile sheepishly, but don’t apologise, and take my seat, sitting more stiffly with my feet down this time. It’s uncomfortable as fuck, but I need the distance from the guys to cool down and keep my head on straight.
A few films later, I make a move to leave, and Thorn asks me again if I want to stay. I do, I really do, but I can’t because I have plans that involve the princesses coming back from the party. I smile apologetically and say, “Not tonight. But there’s a meteor shower in a couple of weeks that falls at the weekend. I’d love to see it, and since you guys don’t have the light pollution, we could maybe make a weekend of it, if you’re interested?”
“Absolutely! Count me in.” Thorn grins.
“Count us all in,” Rebel adds.
I smile, “It’s a date...err, a group date.”
“We can watch it from the hot tub,” Jax decides. “Come on then Trouble, let’s get you home.”
I give each of the guys a quick hug goodbye and try to give Rebel the (his?) tiara back, but he insists I keep it. Secretly I’m glad, although I wouldn’t mind seeing Rebel in a tiara…
***
Once I’m back in my room, having given Jax a quick peck on the cheek, I start to prepare for the arrival of the princesses. It’s about 2 am, and the place is tranquil. I figure the party would be winding down and they’d all be heading home soon. I don’t have long.
I race into the bathroom and wash all the makeup from my face. Once my face is bare, I strip off my clothes and remove the tiara, scraping my hair back into a ponytail. I put on a white ankle-length cotton nightie. My tan has faded a lot by now, but I’m still a bit too dark. Hopefully, no one will notice my hands and feet, but I need to do something about my face. I take out some white stage makeup and apply a thin layer. Much better. The finishing touch is the bum-length white-blonde wig. Once I’m wearing it, I look in the mirror, and I see myself, how I used to be. Only, I’m Lizzie, not me. It’s funny how quickly I got used to the dark hair. For a moment, I just stare at myself and think about how much I miss my sister. I constantly wonder how different things could have been if I had just come here with her. She never asked, knowing how much I hate this school and all that it stands for. I wish I’d just swallowed my pride and sucked it up so that we could’ve been here together. I would never have let anyone, or anything, hurt her. At times like this, I feel like it’s my fault she’s dead. But then I shake myself and focus on who’s really to blame. The princesses.
Am I using Halloween as an excuse to dress as my sister’s ghost and scare these pathetic bitches? Absolutely. Is it immature and petty as fuck? You bet. Do I give a shit? Hell no! Tonight’s going to be a silly bit of fun, but then I’m going to step it up. I’m gunning for them, and I want them to know that someone at West Prep knows what they did and is going to make them pay.
I go into the bedroom and sit on my window seat to watch the return of the partiers. I soon hear doors opening and closing along my corridor, but I haven’t seen the princesses yet. I figure they’ll be the last to leave the party somehow. Once the hall’s quiet, and all activity has died down, I wait about twenty minutes before I slip out of my room to leave a little message on their bedroom doors. Done, I return to the window and soon spy the five rulers of the school cutting across the grass. It’s time.
I slip out of my room once again and into the darkened corridor, racing down the stairs to the first floor. As the front door opens, I slowly begin to walk the length of the first-floor balcony, crossing the double staircase. The moonlight gives me an ethereal glow and Natalia is the first to notice me.
She gasps. “Guys, what is that?” Her voice is tight with panic.
“What’s what, Natalia? I swear you’re such a scaredy-cat!” Lexxi’s response is half exasperated, half teasing.
Careful not to look straight at them, from my peripheral vision, I see as Natalia raises one hand and points at me. The four other girls must follow her line of sight because Lexxi gives a little scream of shock, and I hear their footsteps stop on the wooden floor. I keep walking.
“Hey! You there! Wait!” Tilly calls out, but I ignore her.
As soon as I’m out of sight, I race along the corridor and up the stairs, needing to beat the girls to the top floor before they arrive in the lift. It’s a shame that I can’t hang around as they try to reason over what they’ve just seen.
I hurry back to my bedroom and into the bathroom. I tear the wig and nightdress from me, stuffing them into the bin. I’ll deal with that in the morning. I quickly wash my face and slip into Jax’s sweats, before climbing into bed.
Within three minutes, a bloodcurdling scream ‘wakes’ me. Ah, they got my message then. Or should I say Lizzie’s message? I hear banging all along the corridors and Tilly’s voice screaming at everyone to get up. Stumbling through the door, I do my best half-asleep impression and join the other confused girls in the now brightly lit hallway.
