A/N: For those of you who got a glimpse at the sneak peek in December, this is the same as what had been posted as the last chapter of HTRYHS...look for new chapters coming soon! :)
Mondays. I've always hated them, but for the first time in my life, I awoke excited. My alarm rang early and I made my way to the disturbingly organized drawer of makeup. An hour of cleansing, primping, buffing, curling, contouring, lining, and glossing myself into A-list perfection, I was ready to take on the world again. The face staring back at me was both familiar and foreign, a girl that had gone missing and had now returned...with a vengeance.
Friday felt like years ago. Seeing Ethan's face glued to Dakota's seemed like it had happened in another lifetime. Vicky had taken me out to the nearby luxury resort spa to get our hair and nails done on Saturday, gushing over how glad she was that I was back. As our fingers and toes soaked in richly perfumed water, she'd mentioned that she had a plan to retaliate against Dakota, but had refused to go into any more detail. Frankly I didn't care what she had planned, so long as it was brutal enough to ruin the bespectacled whore's entire life.
Vicky had also worked her magic on the social media front. Thanks to all of us teenagers being so smartphone friendly, almost the entire school (once again) knew what had happened to Madison Carlisle over the weekend. Surprisingly, instead of being peeved the heck off, I was finding the attention a huge relief.
"Even the misfits missed looking at you," Victoria chuckled, as our heels clicked amidst the adoring stares of the majority of the student body.
"Hell, I missed looking at myself," I joked.
"Well I think I know one person who missed it most," she said, nodding towards the front steps. Just as I looked, Brandon looked away, pretending to be engrossed in conversation with Mel. I said nothing, choosing instead to stare straight ahead.
"Oh come on Maddie, you know he's into you," Vicky persisted, "What's the hangup?"
"He's Brett's best friend!" I said finally, as we neared the tables. Vicky rolled her eyes.
"Your brother's a big boy, he'll get over it," she whispered, before plastering on her biggest smile to greet the group with air kisses and hugs. Just as she sat, Courtney pounced on me from behind.
"Maddie!" she shrieked, seeming close to tears.
"Yes, Courtie?" I asked, barely fighting a smile.
"Ohmigod I'm so happy you're back!" she gushed in one breath, "And guess what!"
"What?" I asked, as she kept my arm in a vice grip.
"Kyle!" she just breathed, her eyes suddenly looking past us, "Ohmigod, excuse me!"
With those as her parting words, she floated up the stairs towards the senior, who snatched her up in a hug.
"God, finally," Vicky snorted. But I was too preoccupied watching Mel's reaction. As Courtney and Kyle locked lips, Mel simply stood up and walked into the school, stone-faced as she passed them. Even though Courtney was my best friend and I knew she'd been chasing Kyle, some part of me wrenched inside at Mel's reaction.
After all, I knew what it felt like when someone you liked decided to be with someone else.
I tried not to look at Tyler as I hoisted my purse onto my shoulder and headed in to school. I lingered at my locker until the bell, closing it to find someone waiting for me.
"You look really great today Maddie," Tyler said simply, watching me with those hazel eyes of his as he leaned on the wall a few lockers down.
"Thanks," I replied, racking my brain for all those things I'd meant to tell him on Saturday. But caught blindsided like this, they'd all slipped right out of my brain.
"Does this mean we can be friends again?" he asked finally, when I was unable to fill the silence between us with an apology. He'd pushed off the wall and nodded for me to follow him towards class.
"I hope so," I said, keeping more space between us than I'd used to. His eye-crinkling smile, however, gave me an invisible tug towards him.
"I've really missed you, you know," he said pulling the chem lab door open for me.
"Tyler, I-" I started, but cut myself off as a lump lodged itself in my throat.
The world had turned red.
As if they'd done absolutely nothing wrong to begin with, Ethan and Dakota walked down the hall hand-in-hand. I felt my hands clenching into fists and I wanted nothing more than to give Dakota a black eye to match Ethan's. Tyler followed my gaze and swore.
"Come on, let's sit down," he said, turning me around by the shoulders as my arms quaked with rage. He tried to move quickly, but my feet planted themselves in place, refusing to move. Something was boiling up inside my stomach and I knew that if someone didn't do something about me really fast that I was three seconds from pulling an Incredible Hulk and assaulting Dakota with my bare hands.
"Mr. Grant, I think Madison needs some water," Tyler's voice sounded far away, drowned out by the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. My vision had blocked out everyone and everything save for the couple coming down the hallway towards me. My feet had started to move towards them, fists ready at my sides, when Tyler grabbed my arm and wheeled me around down the opposite hallway and into the closest girls' bathroom.
As soon as the door had closed behind us, I spontaneously combusted.
"Let me out of here!" I growled, whirling back towards the door and trying to duck around Tyler.
"Maddie relax," he said, physically blocking me from the door as best he could.
"Dammit Tyler!" I shouted, stamping my foot like a 3 year old, "Did you see them? Did you see the way they're walking around like they did nothing wrong?"
"I did, but you're not going back in there until you've gotten yourself under control," Tyler said, resting his hands on my shoulders, "She deserves a good punch, if not more. But if you hit her you'll get suspended and she wins,"
"Oh screw suspension! That pathetic excuse for a human being deserves worse than a punch. I should gouge her damned eyes out!" I screamed. Tyler let the scream echo in the silence of the empty girls' bathroom as I panted, catching my breath. As the roaring pulse in my ears quieted, the world wasn't red anymore. When my fingers had finally uncurled, Tyler let go of my shoulders.
"We good?" Tyler asked, ducking down to check my face. The bell rang and I rubbed a hand along my face, heedless of the damage it would do to my perfectly applied makeup.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I said, blowing my cheeks out, "Let's just get to class,"
We exited the bathroom, Tyler walking unnervingly close to me and once again reaching out to open the classroom door.
"Do you think you can play along? Because I have an idea," he said, hesitating with his hand on the handle.
"Does it involve me strangling her?" I asked. He grinned down at me.
"Nope, but I have a feeling it'll be a gut-wrencher for Ethan," he said. I raised an eyebrow as Tyler slung an arm around my shoulder, nuzzling his nose into my hair as he pulled the door open. I felt myself blush beet red at his actions, too stunned to resist.
"Giggle. Act like you're enjoying it," Tyler whispered into my hair as he pulled me into the classroom. I obeyed, giggling like a schoolgirl as I looked up at him. He gave my shoulder an encouraging squeeze as he steered us towards our lab bench, releasing me only once we we'd reached our seats.
My heart had set to hammering again, this time not from rage but from all those old feelings surging back to the surface. As I struggled to control how flustered Tyler's act had gotten me, I didn't realize I had an audience. Only once I'd gotten out my chemistry notes and settled in for class did I notice that Ethan had turned around, watching us with something unreadable in his grey eyes.
"Green eyed monster looks good on him, doesn't it?" Tyler whispered as he leaned over again, pressing himself up against my shoulder. I grinned over at him and he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
When I looked back at Ethan, his jaw muscle was pulsing before he whipped back around to face the front. I grinned over at Tyler and he shot me an encouraging wink as Mr Grant called the class to attention.
Seeing the pain on Ethan's face had been incredibly satisfying, but it wasn't nearly enough payback for what he'd done. As I watched the back of his head, I wondered what Vicky had planned. Whatever it was, I hoped it would destroy not only Dakota, but Ethan as well.