meant to be - kaitmarco

filler chapter : blackmail

Field day. The one day of the year I dread more than anything. And not because of the stupid races or the team-building activities – no, it's because of the stupid 200m race that I have to run.

Little did I know, today's race would be the least of my worries.

As I head to the locker rooms to change into my gym clothes, I spot Katie. She's standing there, looking all determined and ready to kick some butt on the track. And suddenly, I feel a knot form in my stomach.

I mean, sure, I've never been the fastest runner in the world, but Katie? She's practically a speed demon. And the last thing I want is to embarrass myself in front of her.

But then, an idea pops into my head – a twisted, manipulative idea that I can't seem to shake. I pull up the picture of her and Gianmarco cuddling that Olivia and I took last month, and I turn to Katie with a smirk.

"You see this?" I say, waving the phone in her face. "I've got a whole stash of pictures and audio recordings of you and Gianmarco. And if you don't want me to leak them all over social media, you'll do me a little favor."

Katie's eyes widen in shock, and for a moment, I feel a rush of satisfaction. But then she hesitates, and I can see the fear in her eyes.

"What do you want?" she finally asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I want you to purposely lose the 200m race," I say, trying to sound confident. "Let me win, and I won't leak a single picture."

For a moment, Katie looks like she's considering it, and I can practically taste victory. But then, to my utter disbelief, she shakes her head.

"No deal," she says firmly. "I'll race you fair and square."

And before I can even process what's happening, the race is on. I give it everything I've got, but no matter how hard I try, I can't shake the feeling that Katie is right on my tail.

And then, to add insult to injury, she crosses the finish line a full two seconds before me, leaving me in a cloud of dust and rage.

As I catch my breath, Katie walks up to me, a confident smirk on her face.

"Do you want me to tell everyone about you and Gianmarco?" I sneer, trying to regain some semblance of control.

But before I can even finish my sentence, Katie shoots back with a response that knocks the wind right out of me.

"Do you want me to tell everyone about you and me?" she says, her voice dripping with defiance.

I'm speechless, stunned into silence as Katie walks away, leaving me standing there with nothing but my own regrets and a whole lot of questions.

Alex, signing off with a bruised ego and a lesson learned the hard way.