Chapter Five

s.

"House meeting! It's time for a house FUCKING meeting!" I yell to the very top of my lungs, banging on every door on the bottom floor of the dorm with the help of Kennedi and Elliana. There's no need for us to go to the top, since by the time I make it back to the living room, every girl who lives here is present.

The house mom is out for dinner, giving me the perfect opportunity to confront the demon duo. Nastassia stands there, head and body wrapped in a towel, wearing a sickly expression that matches Peyton's.

"Are you kidding me? Herpes? You're going around telling people that I have HERPES? I DON'T, for anyone here who's concerned" I say, angrily eyeing the wary girls around me. They're all keeping their distance as if they'd get it by breathing the same air.

"It wasn't US, Selah. Someone, and I'm not naming names, gave me that paper this morning and said they thought I'd want to know. All I wanted was to help out an old friend of mine just in case it was true" Nastassia explains.

I scoff, turning to Peyton. "If she's not naming names, then I'll give this paper to my mom and tell her who typed it up".

"It wasn't my mom, I swear! We didn't want to say but we will if we have to. Right, Stassi? TELL her".

The girl prompted sucks her teeth and turns to a third girl- a tiny caramel skinned, curly haired brunette whose face transforms to an expression of betrayal.

"BLAKE McCoy. She's the one who planned the whole thing. She comes from a line of doctors, you know. Her sister lives in London and she told us that she got the paper from her because she's the one who treated you for it while you were there".

The girl jumps up from the ottoman as if fire had been set to it.

"That's not TRUE! You have to believe me, Selah! My sister doesn't even talk to me, because she hates me. Everything that she just said was a lie! And I can't believe the two of you. Did you plan that entire, sick story about me while scrubbing the dirt from your clothes?" Blake asks, the veins in her neck bulging.

"So, what is the story?" I ask, tilting my head to the side in question. "I am very interested".

"Verbatim. I'm going to post a story about it on the blog" Kennedi says, pulling a notebook from her tote bag and sitting down on the ottoman that Blake vacated.

"NO, you're not! No Alpha stories, remember? You know what will happen if you do it" Nastassia threatens.

"You're just saying that because it was you, SNAKE. Alpha's don't betray Alpha's. And now you have CBCG's calling us the Herpes Dorm".

"First of all, Selah is NOT an Alpha. Second of all, if people cared what they said, they'd live here with us. And third of all, sure, it was me. I typed up the stupid paper all by myself, and what about it? Teenagers spread rumors about one another all of the time. I was just having a little bit of fun, Selah. Get over it".

"I'm not an idiot. I know where the paper came from and how it got here. Peyton's mom had her assistant drop it off this morning and I got proof of it from the office. Stupid YOU for leaving it in the envelope because the woman at the desk recognized it. Thanks, Elliana, for your detective work" I say, and she grins proudly at me, ignoring the four eyed glare.

"And she also said three girls came to pick it up from the office. I'm assuming it's the three of you. Which means you, Blake, had a part in it no matter how big or small. I don't care, really. I'm just glad you saw how quickly they betrayed you.

And for the two of you, I'm going to have this paper picked up and locked away for a point in time when I'll need it. Peyton, your mom's career and your lifestyle depends upon it staying locked away. I'd watch it, if I were you".

"And either I write about it, or you stand on your stupid cafeteria stage and tell everyone that you guys made it all up" Kennedi warns.

They both burst out laughing, leaning on each other for support as if it was just that funny. "Oh, so it's like that, Ken? I thought we were friends" Peyton mocks.

"I bet Blake thought that, too" Elliana says and they both roll their eyes.

"It's called self preservation, Ell. Have none of you heard of it?" Nastassia asks.

"Yes, but you're not very good at it. The only one preserving you is me. And if being an Alpha is what I've seen of living here so far, you're right, I'm not one of you. And I don't want to be. My room, the one available only to a Daley heir, is really all I care about. The unity and sisterhood sucks".

"It was fine before YOU got here" Peyton says and I laugh.

"Because I didn't earn it, right? I never would've had to earn it, Peyton. I never would have had to do what you guys had to do to get in here. If I was here from the start, I would've been an Alpha from the start. This school is my legacy. And I fought it for as long as I possibly could, but I ended up here all the same.

So don't say I'm not an Alpha. Everything being a CA is runs in my blood. And that's what you hate so much. Just get over it and move on. I'm not going anywhere. And before you can make me, you'll be shipped off somewhere you don't want to be. This isn't a fight you want".

"You're right. I don't want to be anywhere but here. I worked hard to get the grades and the test score to get into this place, and played maid to get into Alpha".

"Me being here takes none of that away from you. And I have the grades to be here just as well as you do. I aced the placement test, with the highest score ever recorded on it. Don't think I don't deserve to be here, Nastassia. Never underestimate me and throw it all to nepotism. That's the easy way out".

"Right. I'll announce that you're herpes free in the DC tomorrow. If you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours" she says and I laugh.

"I'm in a lane of my own, Nastassia. You don't have to worry about little old me".

"And Armani Hendrix is mine" she stakes claim.

"Whoever that is".