Love to Hate You

Chapter Ten

There’s a moment of excitement, panic even when you’re introduced to something brand new. How will it affect your future? What will you decide what to do with it? Is it something you should love or hate? And an even bigger question in my situation: to do, or not to do?

Those are only a few questions that explode like fireworks in my head, blowing apart to reveal all of the consequences of each decision inside.

“Let’s play dirty.”

Those first three words that Austin says to us Sunday afternoon in Alex’s basement make a wave of shock run through my body. Let’s play dirty.

“Let’s do something that makes Justin eat his own words.”

Ten more words and goosebumps break-out across my arms while my stomach twists in excitement. Make Justin eat his own words.

“Don’t get me wrong, Reese, Sean. I liked your original plot of revenge, but that seems a bit unrealistic, doesn’t it? I’ve got an improved, low-key, yet scandalous, plan for taking Justin down a few pegs.”

I tilt my head from side to side, agreeing with him. Even I knew in the beginning that our plot was unrealistic, but I wasn’t in a state to come up with a new idea. However, it looks like Austin has. Whatever it is, he seems genuinely proud of it. He stands with his shoulders back, chest out, smiling only slightly smugly. Kris and Alex nod along with him, looking directly at Sean and I. They must know about what Austin is talking about.

“Are you ready to hear it?”

I nod quickly, looking out of the corner of my eye at Sean who nods once, his eyes concentrated on the shorter boy in front of him.

Austin smiles to himself and then turns to face Kris, motioning him to stand next to him. Kris beams largely, pulling his laptop from behind his back and holds it out in front of Sean and I.

“We make a Karma website,” Kris says simply with a sly grin and arched eyebrows.

My eyes widen a little and my mouth falls open, closes again, and opens before I can get my brain to put a coherent sentence together.

“Like, the Heartbreaker site Laney made for Justin?” I ask.

“Exactly,” Alex says now as he joins the other two boys in front of us, “and we post videos of us singing.”

“Justin might have Laney, the computer geek,” Austin says wisely, “but we’ve got Kris, the computer genius.”

“And Justin might have Stephanie the stalker,” Kris adds humorously, “but we’ve got Reese, the insider.”

I blink a couple times in pure shock. This really defines going behind someone’s back. This isn’t stabbing a friend in the back (if he could even be considered a friend at this point), this is like leaving tiny scratches here and there until finally his whole back is ripped apart, proving that the little things do really add up.

Oh, what am I even saying? This is amazing, scandalous, and so “bad” I can barely hold in my excitement. However, there’s always this stupid little red flag swishing around in my head. But, what do I care? I don’t want to be with Justin anymore. None of us do. No matter how attractive or charming he can be, it’s not worth the lying and the using. I have to un-attach myself. There are more important things in my life I want to be worrying about. This is just a ton of dumb high school drama. I can relish in it for a while, but eventually I’m going to have to let this all go. For now, I’ll relish.

“It’s perfect,” I hear myself saying with determination that maybe only I can detect.

“I love it,” Sean says only seconds after, and when I turn my head I see he’s got a boyish half-smile on his face.