friends | chase atlantic
❝ girl, tell me what you're doing on the other side
and tell, just tell me what you're doing
with the other guy ❞
SHE'S NOT ALONE. All eyes turn to Valé when she enters...and she's with another fucking guy.
I don't know what games she's currently playing, but I'm not a fan of it. Not a single one of her manipulative plots entices me if I'm being honest.
"Vals over here!" Aristotle calls over, and the boy next to her turns as well. He doesn't look anything special if we're being objective. Five foot ten minimum, short dark hair, tanner skin, light eyes, average build. I mean, go on any fast fashion website and I'm sure carbon copies can be found.
Aristotle turns to us when realising Atlas and the other girls eyes are boring into her, "what? She's my best friend. I don't care about most of you guys." Isn't she so kind? Do you think that's another trait that runs in that friend group of theirs?
Valé's eyes fall onto our groups, the boy she's with and then the group again. She doesn't seem reluctant as she approaches, in fact she walks with confidence. I used to like that about her, how unfearful she was. But now, it's different. Now, I feel nothing.
After everything went viral so did, she. Love, hate, backlash, anything you could ever imagine being written was. Her parents hotel chain benefited since exposure is always good. But her? It seemed like she disappeared over winter break. I didn't hear or see her. I wish I did.
"Hey Ari." She greets, and I take a swig from my cup eyeing what she's wearing now that she's so much closer. She catches me staring, but I'm the last person to be shameful and it's not like her gaze stays on me either, she looks away almost instantly.
"Who's your friend?" Xemina asks, now looking at the boy who's with her and I completely agree with Xemina, because who the fuck is this new kid?
"Oh," Valé smiles softly. "Christopher, he was just showing me around."
"That's nice of you Chris." I mock with that voice dad uses around people when warning me I'm three seconds away from fucking up.
He turns to me, nodding. "Yeah, thanks and it's Christopher, only my mother calls me Chris." He laughs trying to ease up the mood. Poor Chris, you have no clue what you just walked into.
"Sorry..." he nods accepting it, "Chris." I finish off.
"Anyways -" Atlas steers off topic, noticing what I'm doing. How I'm about to bait him. "This has been fun, but I think Luca and Rain are calling for us Caleb."
"Rain is here?" Chris asks, a prominent frown forming on his face at the revelation. I subconsciously keep the information at the back of my mind, Chris dislikes Rain. Why?
"Yeah, he's in like the kitchen or something." A random girl's voice rattles as she joins the group and Chris nods at her with familiarity.
"Why'd you wanna know?" Atlas asks, picking up on his obvious disdain.
"No reason." Chris shrugs. Liar.
I turn to Valé bored of his voice already. "Aren't you going to look at me?" I ask. Why can't you look at me? I did nothing to you.
"I was just getting around to that." She lies, looking up at me and meeting my gaze momentarily.
"I'm sure you were." I savor her presence and I hate myself for it. Why do I want to savor her? Out of everyone she is the last person I should want anything to do with.
"I was."
"I just said that."
"I know."
"Well, isn't this the least awkward conversation to ever exist." Christopher says like he's wanted or something. I want to reassure the poor guy, that if you don't want to stick around just fucking leave.
"Don't you have other people's lives to ruin? or expose as you put it." I ask.
Valé looks up at me. "Yes, because that's exactly what I do. I sit at home writing in my journal plotting against every single boy." That's my girl, show me who you really are under that fake innocent act.
"I wouldn't put it below you."
"I thought you liked that?"
"So, you're a comedian now?" I mean, private investigator was my top recommendation, but you know comedian works just as well for her.
"Leave me alone Delvaùx."
"Leave her alone bro." I personally choose to ignore the joke of a Christopher who keeps on talking for God knows what.
"I don't think I will when this is so entertaining. Wouldn't you agree Valé?"
She looks at me, with a look I've yet to see on her. I call it; the calm before the storm. "No. It's not."
"Good thing I'm not trying to entertain you."
"Then what are you trying to do? Rattle me? What are you going to do Caleb?" She asks, presses is the right word for the way she's currently looking at me. "Hit me?"
"Mom. I can't protect you eight hours away. I'm not going." I'll go to St fucking Valentines for all I care, I'm not leaving her and Elisé. Not here, not with him.
"Caleb, you can not protect me here either."
I draw back from her, and I think in this moment, this is so much worse than anything dad has done. "Take that back." She doesn't. "You think he won't touch Elisé Mom? vous êtes délirant." [You're delusional]
"Caleb -"
"I was six sitting behind the door hearing you guys argue and waiting...waiting to hear him hit, I stepped in when I was six! and now, you want to insult me by telling me I can't do anything?"
"You and Elisé are different in his eyes, he...he...."
"Loves her?" I finish off. "He won't hit her because he loves her?"
Valé stares back at me, everyone fucking stares back at me. Look somewhere else, boring excuse of fuck ups.
"Right, because that's something I would do." I finally answer with a blank face. She doesn't know, I remind myself...but if she did...would she even fucking care?
Atlas is the one to break the tense silence. "Let's go to Luca, leave her."
"Hey, that's no way to talk to someone." Christopher adds, again.
"Quick question Do you think if you had the ability to suck yourself off, your mouth would be full enough for you to shut the fuck up?" I ask.
When Christopher is about to answer Atlas cuts in. "Yep, I'm definitely hearing Luca now. Let's go Caleb." He seethes.
Christopher stares at me and I want to laugh in his face. If you think you're anything scary I hate to break it to you, but I've dealt with worse. "You think you're so tough?" He asks, and I feel it, people's eyes slowly turning to us. "Prove it."
I laugh at him. "Are you fucking high to try and threaten me?" He doesn't say anything. "Come near me and I swear your bitch ass will pray you never fucking looked in my direction."
"Caleb -"
I turn to Atlas and leave the scene with him waiting for one of his speeches. Which is weird, because usually it's me giving them out. But, the thing about Atlas McAllister is that he fights in secret. He can't have his clean reputation tainted so he rips it apart when no one's looking. No phones, no drama, no evidence.
"Are you trying to get into a fight Delvaùx?" He asks the second we're away from the crowd that had formed in seconds at the anticipation of a fight to record, post, spread.
"Don't kid yourself, it wouldn't be considered a fight"
Gauging what I'm saying, Atlas rolls his eyes. "It's not about winning, it's about keeping your rep clean."
"Atlas, I don't what rock you've been living under for the past like month, but my reputation is already fucked."
"So, you want assaulter under that title too? And then what? A court date for some custody shit, you lose because of your track record, and you don't get to see her anymore?"
I look at him, but he doesn't back down. He's being serious. "You know Marley." She wouldn't take me to court.
"You've fucking lost yourself Caleb."
"So, everyone's allowed to fuck up but me?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"Well, that's not fair."
"Life isn't fucking fair Caleb! Especially to you, so suck it up."
There's strained silence for a while between us as we navigate our way through the common room. I stop however, when I notice one of the girls that came up to me earlier walking to a group of her friends.
I call out to her, and she turns around, surprise vivid in her features that I've taken notice. She waves to her friends and comes up to me. "Hey!" She greets, her predominant Irish accent rough at her loss of voice.
"Hey. Quick question, who the fuck is Christopher and what did Rain do to him?"
"Oh." Her eyebrows shoot up, so I know it's going to be good. "He got with his girlfriend and sent himself a selfie of the both of them after they were done." Oh, shit.
"So hypothetically if he finds him, he's going to fuck him up?"
"Well, is Rain sober?" she asks.
Atlas swears under his breath, engaging in the conversation. "He was like twenty minutes ago."
The girl looks between the two of us with a look that tells us it's not good. "Is he with anyone?" When we look at each other she continues on. "I'm guessing that's a yes." I nod and she shrugs. "You've got what?two minutes before he has his friends goes for the both of them, she looks down at her watch. "A minute fifty eight now..."
The thing is, I'm not scared of Christopher at all, it's just that I don't know much about his friends to want to take the risk of Rain and Luca getting their shit rocked.
Atlas thanks her and we head straight for the kitchen. Arriving, the bowl that was filled to the brim with some red punch looking drink is nearly empty, and the familiar stench of weed subsides in the air. It doesn't help that Luca and Rain are also laughing...at nothing.
"What happened to the both of you?" Atlas asks the boys.
"You told me to punch him," Rain laughs and Luca joins in, "every time he took another drink and I-" they start laughing again and I feel Atlas tense beside me in confusion.
"He did," Luca finishes off. "He punched me every time." Oh shit, he's nowhere near sober.
"Well how many drinks did you have?" They don't answer the question.
"How many times did you punch him?" I ask Rain - who seems to be the lesser of the two evils right now, but even he seems completely out of it.
"I don't know, seven?"
"Seven!" Atlas repeats.
"Christopher is here by the way, and I'm pretty sure he wants to beat your ass." I add, waiting for Rain's reaction.
When he rolls his eyes, and groans I know there's nothing to be worried about. "He's still onto that? Fucking loser."
"Do you want us to take you back to your room or...?" I ask.
"Call Azriel."
I turn to Atlas, "call Sage and get his number."
Atlas gets out his phone and dials Sage as I look at the concoction of whatever the hell drinks are mixed in the bowl. When I take a whiff, I want to gag. "What the hell is that?"
Rain meets my gaze with pupils so dilated his grey eyes are barely visible, when I turn to Luca it's the same with his brown ones. Something tells me these boys aren't going to be good for each other...at all.
When I turn around to ask Atlas if Azriel is coming, I see something else happening in the corner of the room.
Valé's eyes meet mine as Christopher leans in to tell her something and she looks up at him laughing at what he's just said before taking a drink from a bottle of water in her hands. He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, and she shields her reaction by taking a sip of water.
I look away, sick to my stomach...because of the smell of the drink.
Valé Asters has been playing too many games where I've fallen victim to because of naivety.
She wants to play games? Let's fucking play.
____________________
heyyy everyone, sorry for this update taking longer then a week i just couldn't write caleb and valé being like...rude to each other, i mean it was definitely an experience.
also, trying to think about caleb's reaction if he were to find about about atlas and nai.