There is always a butterfly or two in your stomach when you know you might be in trouble. Regardless if you are innocent or you know you can get away with it, they are still there. This time, however, there was no such butterflies. The only thing I felt in my stomach was deep irritation.
"Aspen Henderson, Riley Brown, Sophie Garreton, Tessa Johnson, and Ava Jones, please report to the vice principal's office."
I tapped my heel against the floor monotonously as the speakers went off and the class was filled with 'oohs'. I idly blinked my thick lashes, that were covered in brown Armani mascara, when I stood up and sauntered my way out of sight.
I exhaled annoyance as I reached Principal Lockhart's office. My friends sat on a wooden bench, tensely waiting to be called in, while Ava stood alone, further down the corridor.
"Stop biting your nails!" I exclaimed as Sophie anxiously chewed away at her no longer perfect manicure.
"Sorry, I'm just really nervous. I've never gotten in this much trouble before," she slid her hand back down, clenching the pockets of her Free People shorts.
"I told you, you have nothing to worry about," Tessa let us know with all of her self-assuredness, filing her own red claws, "If Lockhart tries to suspend us or even give us detention, I'm calling my lawyer."
"Are you really sure about that, Tess?" Riley angrily took off the scrunchie on her wrist and gathered her thick hair into a high pony, "We don't want to make this out to be a bigger issue than it actually is. Imagine if it spread across town, it could turn into a huge media blowout. And guess who would be in the middle of it? You, because you were the one who laid your hands on her."
Tessa grunted, stuffing her nail file into her mini vintage Chloé shoulder bag. "Well, do you have any better ideas?" Tessa snapped with an inflamed look in her blue eyes.
"Oh gosh, if we get suspended, I'm so not going to Amy's party tonight!" Sophie sighed and rested her arm on the side of the bench as I shook my head. "I can't handle this, I'm getting heartburn."
I twisted my upper body to shoot Ava a look and pouted my full lips. "Give me a minute," I stormed towards the freshman, radiating indignation. "I'm ready to stomp some freshmen guts."
"I wasn't the one who told, if you are going to accuse me of being a tattle tail," Ava quickly said when she noticed I was coming her way.
"I didn't think you were," I stopped in front of her with my signature mean girl pose, hands on hips and narrowed eyes, "You seem like a smart girl. Smart enough to know your place in situations like these."
"And let me guess, your idea of that is me letting you walk all over me with your designer heels when we go in there?" Ava courageously let out a chuckle, "I don't think so."
Surprised by her unwillingness, I scoffed with a tight smile, "That's not a request."
"I don't really think you are in a position to demand anything from me, "she stated with a grin, her stare unwavering.
I took a step back. My stubbornness collapsed with her resistance, creating overwhelming tension. No underclassmen had ever disregarded me before, so the shock caused me to pause for a minute. The silence in the corridor let me know that my friends were aware of her opposition and watching apprehensively.
"Listen to me, you little bitch!" I stuck out my index finger and poked her chest, pushing her against the wall, "You are going to go in there and tell Principal Lockhart that nothing happened."
"And why would I do that?" Ava's eyes locked with mine, attempting to fool me into thinking she wouldn't budge. It was a nice try, but I could smell the fear emitting off of her.
"Because if you don't, I will ruin you, and everything, and everyone you have ever care about. Look at that, do you know what that means?" I pointed towards the alumni wall, that was an unofficial shrine to the Henderson's, "It means that my family practically owns this school. And if you don't do as I say, I will make sure that no one ever talks to you again and you better believe that you'll wave all those honor classes goodbye. So not only will I destroy your social life, but it will be a miracle if you graduate with a 3.0 gpa."
My stiff arms were resting on either side of Ava. I was so close to her that I could feel every hasty breath she took. I watched her mouth twitch but nothing came out of it. I put my arms down as the door to the offices swung open.
"Girls, the vice principal will see you now," his assistant, who was wearing a horrendous off-season sweater may I add, informed us.
"Love that sweater! We'll be in there in a minute," I smiled sweetly, waiting until she disappeared to shoot Ava one last parting death glance before walking in.
It was an intense half hour, rather awkward too. Ava kept her mouth shut, and said that people misunderstood the situation and turned it into something completely different. Her voice was shaky, since she probably thought Tessa's stare would burn through her skin. The principal asked her if she wanted to talk to him alone, but she told him there was nothing to talk about.
Principal Lockhart could clearly see that there was something off about the whole thing, but he completely ignored it. You see, Lockhart kind of owed my family for something he had done to me. Freshman year, a tape had been released of two students having sex in the locker room. I happened to be wearing the same colour shirt as the girl, who also happened to be blonde, so everyone assumed it was me. The tea was so piping hot, it nearly ruined my reputation.
Lockhart ended up expelling me, and let me tell you, Mrs. Henderson was not happy. I think she was more upset about her daughter being expelled from New Hopewell High and no longer able to be the Queen Bee, than she was about me allegedly taking part in a sex tape. She even took my phone away and cut off my credit cards, although it was no use because my friends borrowed me their phones and granted me temporary access to their bank accounts.
Obviously, the girl in the video was not me, and after a week of torture, Principal Lockhart finally figured that out. I returned to school, but ever since that incident, my mother has had a vendetta against Lockhart for wrongly accusing me of being in a sex tape. Since the Henderson's made up half of New Hopewell High's active alumni, Lockhart began to turn a blind eye to everything I did. This proved to be especially useful when I became Queen, since I could pretty much get away with anything.
I was walking back to class when I heard a "Hey, Aspen" from a guy in a letterman jacket, that guy being Matt Sommers. Ignoring him, I continued down the hallway with a stiff grip on my bag.
Before I could say anything, Matt grabbed my arm and dragged me into the supply closet.
"Hey!" I shouted with rancour, pulling away from him, "What the hell?"
"I need to talk to you. Are you mad at me?" Matt turned on the light switch. It was dim, but bright enough for me to make out his blue eyes.
"No, why would you think that?" I lied through gritted teeth.
"I don't know, you've been acting weird," Matt shook his head, sliding his hands into his back pockets, "Bambi told me you were throwing mean looks her away."
"Is that her name? Bambi?" I lifted my eyebrows with a scoff. Bambi? Who in the world would name their daughter something as slutty and ditzy as Bambi?
Matt squinted his eyes at me, "Yeah, a- are you jealous?"
"What? You wish! Don't flatter yourself, Sommers," I pretended to be flabbergasted, slightly pushing his chest, "I just find it strange how you tell me how hot you think I am and that you'd kill to be with me, yet you go around flirting with the rest of New Hopewell High."
He tilted his head and took a step closer to me, "Well, if I actually thought my words would change anything, and that you took me seriously, I'd drop every other girl. It'd just be you and I."
I looked into Matt's eyes and my heart began to race. As we were packed into that tiny closet, I let out an inner squeal. I had just gotten more validation from Matt than any other girl he had dated. They should've crowned me Prom Queen right then and there.
"And I wonder how many girls you've said that to," I played it off with a smirk.
A delectable smile came over his attractive face, "Not very many."
He was a couple inches from me now and I was leaning against the wall, I couldn't physically move without touching him. I tried to examine the stuffy room, afraid he could see my rosy cheeks in the dark, "I don't believe that."
"Then let me prove it to you," he breathed and leaned forward, grabbing hold of my neck with one hand and my waist with the other.
The second his lips touched mine, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist them. An immense rush of desire came over my body and I couldn't stop myself. I tugged on his shirt with urgency, pulling him closer. Feeling his body against mine sent trickles of pleasure through me. I felt his hand go up my thigh, but I didn't stop him. Instead, I ripped off his jacket and threw my arms around his neck.
"Brrrrrring!" the school bell went off, signalling that school had ended.
"Class is over," I jerked my head away, biting my bottom in lip in nervousness.
"Um, yeah. I have practice, so, I should get going," Matt stepped back with a gorgeous half-smile.
"Of course," I exhaled as he pushed open the door, "Will you be at Amy's tonight?"
"I already have plans, but I might swing over afterwards. If not, then I'll see you tomorrow." He walked backwards, sliding his jacket back on.
Already has plans? Might swing over? Matt was playing hard to get. Rule numero uno in a player's handbook.
"Yeah, see you," I stood there frozen and watched him walk away. I almost felt... numb, but in a good way. Never, in my 17 years of life, had I ever let my hormones take me for a ride. For the first time, I wanted to rip off a guy's clothes and jump his bones. And not only did I want to, but I came dangerously close to doing so.
I attempted to shake off all the jitteriness as I entered my car. There was no way I was surrendering my virtue to Matt. The only thing sadder than being cheated on by Matt Sommers, was losing your virginity to him. The problem was that he was just so damn hot. I had to keep my hormones in check or it could ruin my master plan to use him to win Prom Queen. As I pulled up into my driveway, I added my inability to control myself around Matt to my mental checklist of faults in the plan.
I immediately headed to the ballet room after I changed into some cute workout clothes. My favorite place in the house had to be that room. It was quiet, with sound proof walls that were painted a pristine white, had windows that went from the floor to the ceilings, and big mirrors that reflected the golden orange trees outside and let beams of sunshine peek through. But what truly made it was that no one was allowed to enter it, just me.
The ballet room was my safe haven, where I went to get away from everything. I suppose I loved it more than I loved the actual art of dancing. I found ballet a beautiful form of self-expression. I've always been the type of person that rushed too much and could barely find time to breathe, so ballet helped me. It was an aspect of my life where I had total control over. And after that hot make out session with Matt, I needed control.
I threw my hair into a bun and turned on some classical musical. I was only fifteen minutes into my calm workout when someone knocked on the door. I leaned against the barre to see who was rudely interrupting.
"Jackson, you know better than to disturb me when I'm in here," I let out a breath and then lowered down into a plié.
"Sorry, it's just that there is someone at the door," his eyes followed my right arm into first position, "She said her name was Penelope Wellington."
I instantly paused, shooting Jackson a demented glare. A cloud of wrath formed above me as I marched down the stairs. There was no way Penelope would come to my house. What would possess her to so such a thing? But low and behold, there she was in my doorstep, with a stomach-churning smile and a package in hand.
"Penelope, heyyyy." I scanned her from head to toe, false excitement in my voice.
"Hey, Aspen. Sorry to show up unnoticed, but this got sent to my house by accident," she nodded at the box in her hands, "I thought it was mine before I read the label so I opened it. It seemed expensive so I thought I would drop it off by hand."
"It is." I took it from her hands as my eyebrows drew together, "Wait, how did my dress get sent to your house?"
"You live on Maple lane, I live on Maple street. I guess it's an easy mixup," Penelope's glossed lips moved as she clutched her diamond neckline.
"Righhht," I breathed in, leaning against the door with hesitance, "It's just kind of, I don't know, sketchy."
She tilted her head with a suspicious smile, "Are you accusing me of something?"
"I'm not, I just think it's weird," I lifted a shoulder, shrugging off the uncertainty, "But thanks, for dropping it off."
"No problem, see you at school," Penelope cheeks raised into a smile before she took off and I slammed the door shut with a curse.
"Damn, she's hot!" I heard Jackson say upstairs, his arm resting on the railing.
"Shut up!" I blew past him, enroute to my bedroom.
As soon as I got there, I zipped open the garment and pulled the dress out. My eyes searched every inch of fabric, trying to find visible damage. There was none. It was only when I tried to actually put the dress on when I noticed...
"MOMMMM!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
""Aspen, honey, what is wrong?" she ran in, clear urgency in her voice.
"My prom dress! It's too freaking small," I tugged on the zipper with strong and fast motions.
"Let me see. Did you gain any weight?" Mom leaned over to work the zip as I pulled my hair up.
"No, I've barely eaten anything this last week!" I took one last hurried breath and sucked in my stomach like I was a three-hundred pound woman at the beach.
"Are you sure it's not water weight?" She studied it as I felt sweat drip down my forehead.
"No one gains five inches of water weight," I held onto my ribs so I could stand still when she jerked it backwards.
"Maybe the company made a mistake," Mom offered another explanation when I began to fan myself with my right hand.
I bellowed, now holding my chest to keep my C cups from popping out of it, "I doubt it, it's a four thousand dollar dress. It must have been that bitch Penelope. The dress got sent to her house because we live in Maple lane and she lives in Maple wherever the f-."
"-Aspen, language!" my mother drew the fabric together, "Slow down, breathe."
"I can't." I howled and she let go.
"It's too late to send the dress back, I will check with my friends and find a place in town where they can adjust it," Mom gave me a sympathetic kiss on the cheek and left.
I slid out of the dress with a grunt and then put on a bra. I opened my desk drawer and took out a measuring tape. 34-23-34. My exact measurements. I hadn't gained weight, the dress had been altered just as I thought.
"This means war," I huffed, looking deep into the mirror. I stared at my reflection, how the padding hugged my breasts perfectly, how the cut of my panties was just cheeky enough, showing off my butt. I had the perfect body. I knew I would never be this hot again. Yet, it meant nothing. I didn't feel great about myself. And I mean my real self, beyond my body, the one Hunter Elingsworth saw.
My phone beeped with a notification. I snatched it from my desk and a tweet from Matt was on my lock screen. "This reminds me of you." He wrote. I opened the attachment and it was some stupid meme of me being high maintenance. I rolled my eyes and responded with an emoji.
I put the phone back onto the table and looked up at the mirror. To my surprise, I saw the biggest smile plastered on my face. My dewy cheeks radiating happiness. That's when I realized there was another crack in my plan to use Matt...
I was falling for him.
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