Social Menace [boyxboy]

Social Menace {23}

                We sat in the Social Action room on Monday, Mallory's note lying on Tyson's desk.

                "He's not bluffing," Tyson said.

                "It was his plan all along. He rallied the victims, he convinced them to ambush us, and he must have told them to attack on Tyson's blindside to confirm it was really him," I said.

                "Money can't buy proof," Connor said. "He's got nothing on us without revealing his relationship to Tyson. Even then, it'd be a thin accusation."

                "But money can bribe cops," Nyssa said.

                "My dad would defend us," Farren said.

                "You of all people know greed buys loyalty," Nyssa said.

                Farren glared and dropped his gaze. "He has a lot of the cops in his pocket. I'm sure that was part of his reason for stealing our idea. He'll offer them funding, and they'll do his dirty work."

                "How would they prove it was us, though?" I said.

                "They don't need to. You're right; they caught me on my blindside. All Mallory has to do is say he had suspicions it was me. He could lie about what you told him and Principal Devin. The kids that ambushed us would confirm that I couldn't see them from that side. It's not solid, but it's a foundation. Mallory will build from there. Even if the case drops, there will always be that suspicion," Tyson said. "He's doing this to discredit everything I've achieved, and ruin my future. College acceptance letters will make great shredding material once I get involved with legal trouble."

                "He's not interested in catching the rest of us. He couldn't care less. He just wants the blame on Tyson. They'll grill Tyson for more names, and if they don't get them, Mallory won't mind," Farren said.

                "This whole thing is just an attack on Tyson," Nyssa said, shaking her head. "You're right; he could lie about what Nolan told him."

                "But I'll just say he's making it up," I said.

                "It won't matter. If he points fingers at the Social Action Club, all of our words will be met with suspicion. We'll all be under investigation," Tyson said. He crumbled the note in his hand. "And he'll team up with Tiffany's mom to slander our families."

                "We have credit and alibis," Talon said, leaning back in his chair.

                "He'll tear down our alibis. No one actually saw us in our rooms those nights. Our families just assumed we were asleep," Tyson said. "Credit won't mean anything against his influence. I never thought he'd have the balls to challenge me."

                "Well he did," Farren snapped. "So congratulations. You pissed off an influential, wealthy man and now he's coming after you and your family."

                "He's always been after me and my family," Tyson snapped right back.

                "We didn't start this as your personal revenge service. But now we're all on the edge, and you've got both feet in the damn grave. You just had to go after Mallory," Farren said.

                Tyson slammed his fist on his desk. "He used my mom!"

                "And you used us!" Farren shot back.

                "You all had free will to say no," Tyson said.

                Farren stood up, gripping the edge of his desk and leaning forwards towards Tyson. "You've been different ever since you found out who he was. And you only got worse once you found out what he did. You let guilt and anger tear you down more than Mallory ever would've. The knowledge of who he was destroyed you more than he ever did. And now he gets what he wants. He gets attention and glory for taking you and your parents down. So congratulations, Tyson. You ignored me and gave Mallory exactly what he wanted, just like your mom."