Blackmail My Love

Chapter Fifteen

A month passed, both swift and uneventful.

Ryan avoided me like I was poisonous. If there was ever a moment where we came faced with the other, he was painfully cold and cruel. Slurs of hate fell from his mouth with ease. The words didn't bother me anymore but the look in his eyes as he spoke; the pain, the anger, the regret and plea for for forgiveness broke me. There were moments where our eyes met in the hallways. In those slow seconds, a drowning wave of silent apologies neither of us would verbalize was shared.

My place with old friends was lost with my connection with Ryan. They stood by Ryan's side, joining him with glares of anger and pitiful stares as we crossed paths. The isolation that I had felt so deeply in my heart was now a physical aspect of my life. The feeling of rejection and abandonment that I spent my entire life running from was now consuming my exsitance.

The pain was surprisingly calmed by Zane and his friends. My place at lunch was by Zane, sitting at the table of "misfits" that everyone seemed to avoid. The brute, tough looking guys were surprisingly friendly -- their look almost a front despite the fact that they would actually follow through with their threats. The girls cloaked in black and bound to silence were unexpectantly talkative and social once you took the time to know them. Jacob, who I mistakenly called Jake for three years, took Ryan's place as my best friend. Not only were we physically similar, no longer leaving me as the only small, female looking man, but we enjoyed a lot of the same things. We bonded over music, shows, our different sexualities. Though, our friendship seemed to have set limitations.

Zane was mostly the same, grabbing and groping me with vile whispers of wants with every chance he got. As the days went by, he got more aggressive, more needy. Everyday a demand for more only to have me reject him, prying his hands off his body on the daily. We spent most days together, going to his house, eating at the cafe with Jackson, or simply walking around town only to fall into dark corners to be ravished by him. While the sexual tension grew between us, the anger between us was at a continuous boil. It seemed that everyday there was a new issue. A new annoyance. Something to fight over.

Now we sat at the lunch table, like everyday, trading stories of past fights.

"You didn't!" I gasped, laughing with the rest of the group.

"I did," Chris said, leaning forward on the table. "Right in the jaw too. The look on his face when he saw his teeth on the floor was priceless!"

Everyone busted out laughing, the table of "misfits" now the vocal center of the lunch room. I leaned forward towards Chris only to be pulled back into Zane, his arm around my shoulder, my body up against his. It was my place during lunch everyday. A place Zane didn't like me leaving.

Despite the weight on my shoulders I attempted to lean forward again only to be pulled back once more. I gave a tense smile, "You know Chris, we should hang out. I'd like to see you in action."

"Ivory," Jacob said quietly, knowing I was only trying to get a rise out of Zane.

I looked over at Zane who gave me a calm, calculated gaze. "You're not amusing anyone." He knew exactly what I was doing.

"I'm having fun," I shrugged, licking my lips. "Who knows, if I hang out with Chris maybe I'll more fun than I do with you." I winked at Chris.

Chris laughed as Zane remained silent. "Could say I'm in need for some fun."

"Go for it," Zane pitched in, a cold voice. Everyone went silent. "Go on, have some fun. Hell, fuck him, I know if you can get him to bend over maybe he'll shut up for once and spread his legs for me."