Chapter Four

n.

The only reason I hadn't gone fully insane already was because of the fact that the Dean had given us a week off from classes to prepare for the invasion. They moved second beds into the required amount of rooms yesterday, mine being one of them.

I almost self destructed seeing my space become smaller. And I had to go through my clothes and ship some back to my parents place because we were all forced to halve our closet space.

Peyton, Blake McCoy and I were sitting cross legged on my bed doing detective work on Selah's life before she arrived here. We were SURE that she was targeting us, and if so, it wasn't a fight we'd win fairly. She had already turned Elliana and Kennedi against us, while the boys only cared about who was hotter to them. WHICH MEANT SHE WAS HOTTER TO THEM.

"I can't freaking find anything, you guys. I mean, I want to take her down as much as the both of you, but there's no way we'll figure out what happened. She's a Daley heir. The school and all of the students that ever attended would probably burn to keep anything from getting out about her. And what if it wasn't even bad. Maybe they're just really strict" Blake gives in, dropping her phone onto the bed beside her knee.

"Me either. I mean, we don't even have anything specific to look for. There's not even a ballpark to hone in on" Peyton agrees, turning off her phone with a huff.

"And what's your problem with her, anyway, B. She didn't force a roommate on you or sleep with your ex upon arrival". Gray and Pey had a thing Freshman year, ending with her telling him the L word and then him kissing Briar Hearst the next day.

We blackballed Briar so hard that she dropped out of school in TWO days. I'm pretty sure we set a record or something.

"I ironed Becca Lindon's UNDERWEAR and socks every single day for nine months to become an Alpha. It's insane to me that she just waltzed in here and got the freaking Cordelia room that Ivan designed for her, even though it was never an option for any of us.

And it used to feel like there were so many available guys here less than a week ago and now they don't even look in my direction. I heard Armani freaking Hendrix saying that he was gonna ask her out at lunch tomorrow" she rants.

"What" Pey and I blurt at the same time, my heart dropping down into my stomach. "Exactly! He never even comes to the Dining Commons no matter how many times he's been offered the invitation to sit with us and now he's going just to ask her out.

She didn't even have to attempt to get his attention. Do you know how many times I've bent over and picked up something, hoping against all hope that he'd notice my boobs were about to fall out of my shirt. And yet, the only attention I got was from nerdy Freddy Harvey. Life sucks".

I was barely listening, internally trying to stop my blood from boiling. Armani was the only guy I'd had a crush on since last year, when he'd arrived a couple of months after my breakup with Cason Jett.

We barely even spoke except for a hello here and there. He was always too busy swimming, and when he wasn't, he was off campus attending some nearby college party. Or, much more wholesome, having dinner with his mom and little sister. He was barely seen on campus, but he was always talked about for reasons well known to the entire campus.

For one, he was the hottest guy on campus. Two, he was mysterious and moody and no one ever really got to know HIM. I don't even know what grade he's in. Three, he used to sneak off campus nearly every day to street race in a car he practically built like we were in Grease, or something.

I didn't know nearly enough to have as big of a crush as I did, but I had one anyway. And yet, here's another thing that she's taken away from me. She had to go.

"Maybe we don't need any REAL dirt on her. The bitches record is crystal clean as far as we'll ever be concerned. BUT everyone knows that she was expelled for a reason. If she won't say what that reason IS, we can create one for her" I suggest, opening up the note app on my phone.

They both perk up, Blake tapping the tips of her fingers together like an evil genius. "I know one thing that'll keep the guys away from her like she has an STD?" she says with a sly grin. "That's exactly what we need" I say, poising my fingers to type.

She giggles, shrugging her shoulders. "That IS exactly what we need. The only thing that will keep guys away from her like an STD IS and STD. One that she can't get rid of, like...herpes". "That's optimal" Peyton and I chorus.

"I can have my mom type up the papers! I'll tell her that she's been bullying me and she'll do it. They'll be in our hands by tomorrow morning" Peyton tells us. "Perfect. And the story will be that she spread it around the school like wildfire, and to stop it, they had to kick out the source. THIS is gonna be good" I say excitedly. "Yes, yes it is" Blake agrees.

"Hey, Gray" I say, spotting just who I was looking for, tossing a ball back and forth with Damien. He raises a messy brow at me, tucking the football into his side. "Do you...need something" he asks, taking a step back from me as I approach. Admittedly, I never talk to him willingly, so I understand.

"No, but you do. But it's not something you can get from me". "And...what is that, exactly?". "A test. An STD test in particular. In fact, you should go to the clinic as soon as possible. It seems you slipped into a pot that was hot for all of the wrong reasons" I say, holding out the papers to him.

Peyton's doctor mom sure did come in clutch with them at seven in the morning. "What are you talking about, Nastassia? And why are you so loud about it?" Damien asks, glaring at me. He's hated me for the longest time. I've never had a clue as to why, nor did I care.

Grayson on the other hand looks sick, staring at the paper in confusion. "Hope you haven't shared any drinks lately. Because they'll have it, and so will you". Damien snatches the paper from Gray's sweat slicked fingers, giving it a quick scan.

"And why should we believe that this is real? You just want her gone. Trust me, Nastassia, you wouldn't feel threatened by anyone if you weren't insecure already. Fix whatever it is you hate about yourself and then you wouldn't have to spread rumors about people" he spits at me.

I take a step back from him as if I'd been punched. And it sure felt like I had been. Right in the stomach. My nose gets that tingly feeling like it does whenever I'm about to cry.

"That's not TRUE! And this isn't a rumor, either. I was just curious as to how a Daley heir was kicked out of school and it's because she spread THAT all over the place" I say, pointing to the paper in his hand. "You're a liar. I mean...you have to be a liar because if you're not then my life is over. My mom will kill me, D" he says, turning to the boy who's still glaring at me.

"I don't believe this, and you shouldn't either. Everyone knows that Stas is a liar. And besides, you used a condom and she didn't even let you kiss her. I'm sure you're FINE. What I'm going to do is let Selah know that she's spreading this bullshit around the school. Not that it matters, because she's poisoned the well already.

Everyone around here has already heard what she said and texted it to their friends. THAT was her goal. Scaring you was only a perk. You know, Nastassia, Peyton's mom can get in a lot of trouble for something like this. I'll hand this over to Selah and let her do what she wants with it".

I feel sick to my stomach as soon as he says it. If Selah gives that to her parents, Pey's mom could lose her license. And then she'd be off somewhere in public school, hating her life. I lunge for the paper and he moves out of the way at the last minute. My eyes widen in shock as I realize that there's nothing for me to grab onto as I fall.

Everything goes silent, and I pull my face out of the grass and look around me to see everyone in the quad staring at me. And then the laughing starts. A single laugh piercing the silence around me.

"See, Gray. She made this all up. You should really get some therapy, Nastassia. And I don't think Pey's mom will look good in orange, nor can Peyton pull off grown out highlights and season old clothes. I'll be taking this to Selah now. Have fun pulling the grass out of your hair".

"Fuck you" I yell after him and Gray joins in with Damien's chuckles. You're sick, Stas. That was pretty messed up of you" he says, going along with D to wherever Selah was. That was the absolute worst way things could have possibly went.