The Elites

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

"So why'd you have to rain on my parade?
I'm shaking my head and
locking the gates
This is why we can't have nice things, darling"

"This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" – Taylor Swift

"Hey" I say as I head over to Hope, Wes, and Scarlet. I'm pretty sure Hope is happy for us to tell everyone, but I want to make sure.

"Hey, I heard you two are dating" Scarlet smirks, how did she figure this out? I don't think Hope would have told Scarlet, so maybe Ashton or Wes told her. "Relax, Hope and I keep each other's secrets." We did both agree to tell people, I just didn't think that would include Scarlet. I'm honestly not sure of the relationship between Scarlet and Hope, I have no idea how close they are.

"It's not a secret anymore" I reply casually, I don't care if Scarlet knows, I'm feeling relieved that she isn't bothered or disgusted by it. It's mainly Courtney I'm worried about, I think she'll try to use this against Hope.

"Alright, Scar, let's go" Wes decides and the two head off and start talking to a group of nearby seniors. Hope is friendly with a lot of the seniors, I think it's because Eleanor was a senior. A twinge of sadness pulls through me, Eleanor should have been able to finish high school and gone to college. No one deserves to die so young.

"I'm okay with people knowing, I'm not ashamed of us" I say, we've both discussed telling our parents, but we didn't really discuss how we wanted to act in front of our peers. I think Hope is okay with people knowing since we agreed that we could tell people, and she either told Scarlet or gave someone permission to tell Scarlet. Wes and Ashton wouldn't betray Hope's trust.

"Me too" Hope says, and she grabs my hand. I smile like an idiot as we walk into school, this is all I've wanted for the past few weeks.

People are staring at us which is normal since Hope's a Flynn, but the stares are different today. I stop looking at my peers, I'll find out what people think soon enough. "Something wicked this way comes" Hope murmurs and I look up.

"I heard you two are lesbians" Courtney says, her three minions trailing behind her. I have no idea how Hunter and Chelsy survive cheerleading when they have to deal with Courtney and her equally nasty minions.

"That shouldn't be a problem unless you're homophobic" Hope replies, glancing at Courtney challenging. "The three of you aren't homophobic, are you?" Courtney's minions aren't going to stand up to Hope.

"No" Sierra says quickly, causing Courtney to glare at her. I smirk slightly, it's good to know Courtney can't even get her minions to be mean to Hope. Sierra pales and stares down at the ground. Courtney's two other minions are avoiding eye contact with both Courtney and Hope.

"You're only dating each other because nobody else will" Courtney scoffs. "Nobody would date you, Juliet, you're a freakishly pale orphan, and nobody likes you, Hope." She's aware we've both had boyfriends, isn't she?

"I'm sorry, how many boyfriends have you had during high school? I think you might be the one nobody likes" I snap, glaring at Courtney. It's about time I stand up for myself. "I've still got Eleanor's diary and I have a few secrets I've been dying to spill." I've never borderline blackmailed someone before, but Courtney pisses me off and I'm tired of her.

Courtney glares at me and turns and walks away, her minions trailing at her heels. Hope turns to me and I bite my lip, knowing this is going to cause tension. "I would never read Eleanor's diary." I wouldn't do that to Hope.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure Melissa's devoured it by like" Hope says shortly. I sigh, it was stupid of me to bring this up, I know Hope firmly believes Eleanor's secrets should have died with her. "I know you did it to protect me, so let's not argue."

"Okay" I say, grabbing Hope's hand as we head to our lockers. Hunter looks over at us from where she's standing with a few cheerleaders, a small smile on her face. I'm lucky to have a best friend like Hunter, she's always there for me when I need her.

"Do you want to skip?" Hope asks me. I blink. Skip school? I've never skipped a day of school before. I could skip, my classes today are just working on assessments, most of which I've basically finished. I know it's a terrible idea to skip but spending the day with Hope sounds really nice. It's just one day of school, it's not going to affect my future.

"Alright, but only today" I decide, Hope smiles and nods in agreement. "Melissa will be home." Hope could have guessed that, since Melissa works from home, but I'm making sure we don't run into Melissa while we're skipping school.

"Nobody's at mine, we can hang out there" Hope says as we head to the parking lot. I get my bike and put it in Hope's trunk, then I climb into the passenger seat. I send Hunter a quick text to let her know that I'm ok but I won't be at school.

The drive is filled with comfortable silence. I bite my lip as I realized I shouldn't be skipping junior year, it's important I do well in all aspects of school so that I can get into Princeton. There's nothing wrong with a non ivy league college, but my heart has been set on Princeton for so many years, I'll be really disappointed if I don't get it.

"What the hell?" I say as Hope pulls into her driveway. Why is Melissa's car here? Of course the one day I skip school is the one day Melissa is hanging out at the Flynn household. Is this about the case, or are Susan and Melissa having a catch up?

"Let's go in the back, I want to hear this" Hope decides, she walks off without waiting for me to reply. I roll my eyes and follow Hope, the sensible thing to do would to be hang out somewhere else, but I want to know if Melissa and Susan are talking about the case.

Hope quietly opens the back door and we tiptoe inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. I am so screwed if Melissa sees us, she's already convinced Hope is a bad influence on me, if she finds out we skipped school, I doubt I'll be able to change her mind.

"We'll be able to hear from in here" Hope whispers as we enter the kitchen, I nod, too scared to speak in case we're overheard. "When we think their finishing up, we can run outside and leave." That's a good idea, I can always call Melissa to stall her.

"Are you sure about this? Hope will never forgive you if she finds out" Melissa says in her annoyingly calm, pratical tone. I glance at Hope, who shrugs. What is Susan doing now? I don't understand why Melissa appears to believe Susan is a wonderful mother, she's never there for her children and she seems to treat Hope's mental health issues as an annoyance.

"Hope doesn't need to know her biological mother attempted contact after the abduction, we're her family now" Susan says firmly. I glance at Hope who looks shocked, I know every part of her will want to race in there and confront Susan but we can't, not yet. Who knows what else we'll hear?

I grab Hope's wrist and shake my head when she looks at me. Hope nods slightly, showing me she understands. It makes sense that Hope's birth mom might want to see Hope after hearing about what she went through, but Susan and Andrew are Hope's parents now.

"What happens if she finds out who her birth father is? I've supported all the decisions you made regarding Hope, but things are changing now. Hope is starting to remember what happened the night Eleanor died" Melissa says, causing my eyes to widen. Hope gasps and I tighten my hold on her wrist, I have no idea what is going on, but we need to hear more before we do anything rash. Melissa and Susan aren't monsters, if they had proof of who kidnapped Eleanor and Hope, they would go to the police and make sure the kidnapper spends the rest of his/her life rotting in a jail cell.

"Hope still can't sleep three hours without a nightmare most nights and she's still jumpy. No one wants Hope safe more than me, but I will not risk Hope's mental health, not again" Susan says, is she talking about Hope's borderline personality disorder? Does she think she triggered that or at least has made it worse?

"This isn't just about Hope, we know Juliet is involved in this, too" Melissa says, we should never have skipped school today. I don't want to know this, I don't want to think about how I'm involved in what happened to Hope. How could it involve me?

"Hope, don't!" I hiss as she marches into the living room. I sigh and follow her in, we need to know what is going on. If we're both involved, then this isn't just about protecting Hope, I might have to protect myself.

*Author's Note* What do you think is happening?