Untouchable
"When I love someone, I love them with all my heart."
–Lillian H
[ 01 | The Beginning of the End for Tristan Harrison ]
The very first time Lily ever mentioned the name Tristan Harrison, one of the first thing I felt was jealousy.
Complete and utter jealously.
Tristan Harrison was the kind of boy that little girls would wish for in their journals and dream of every night. According to Lily, he was a gentleman, very charming with a smile that was "to die for," and the boy knew just what to say or do to make her heartbeat accelerate in an immeasurable velocity. He spoke dear words to her ears, gave her small presents and flowers just because, and treated her like the princess she always wanted to be.
But it was all a lie.
Tristan Harrison, ladies and gentlemen, is going to regret every word, touch, and promises he'd given to Lily.
The moment he decided that Lily Hadley wasn't anything compared to Ellie Mayes was the second he declared war against Penelope Masterson.
Tristan Harrison and his beloved, Ellie Mayes, is the first to burn in Ashcroft Private School, and I, Penelope Masterson, will be the one who'll lead the two lovers to their spiraling downfall.
x
October thirty-first, Halloween morning, was when I decided to pull open the curtains. In the hollow halls and silent rooms of Ashcroft, you can hear the distinct cry of a heartbroken girl, sobbing as if her heart was broken for the very first time. Though, even if it did sound like it, it wasn't the case for Ellie Mayes.
Her heart had been "broken" countless of times that you'd think that was merely crying wolf. But her sobs, soft and trembling, was just as real as the blonde strands that rested in my head— genuine to those who only sees, fake to though who knew. I wasn't stupid enough to waltz into this prestigious school looking like the ghost of Lily Hadley, the girl who committed suicide.
Gone were the dark curls I shared with Lily, replaced by the golden tresses that fell down to my waist. Hidden were the green eyes Lily and I inherited from our mother under dull, brown contacts and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. I sometimes scared myself when I look in the mirror, wondering who the stranger standing in front of me was...until I remember that I was Penelope Masterson and I created this new character in order to get revenge on the ones who drove my twin sister to her death.
Fixing the faux glasses on the bridge of my nose, I walked in the girl's bathroom, almost smiling at the pained cries from Ellie Mayes. As I neared the beautiful blonde at the side of the bathroom, I almost felt bad for what she was about to go through tonight and the coming week—or perhaps, the rest of her life. However, all sympathy was replaced with boiling anger when I looked in the mirror and remembered that the girl staring back wasn't me but a reflection of a scorned woman out for blood.
I didn't say anything when I approached her.
Simply, I pulled out the handkerchief from my blazer and handed it to her, offering her a gentle smile.
You know what they say: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
"Thanks, Penny," she grumbled, taking the piece of clothing as she wiped her eyes off of the tears. She sniffled a little, blew her nose and cleared her throat before she completely stopped bawling.
Didn't I tell you she was faking it?
If she really was heartbroken, then she shouldn't have been able to brush off crying like that in less than minute. Lily cried for months when her heart was shattered into pieces. I noticed the bags in her eyes and the tired, defeated look she hid behind her smiles. She told me it was only because her allergies were acting up and that she was working extremely hard on a few of her harder classes.
I should have known that she was lying.
Lily wasn't allergic to anything.
Lily could ace exams without needing to study.
I had to place my hands behind my back and make a fist to prevent myself from punching her straight in the face. It would probably give her a broken nose and a really bad black eye, but Ellie Mayes deserved more than a few weeks of bruises and a trip to the plastic surgeon.
"I'm sure it's just a colossal misunderstanding," I spoke softly, placing a hand over hers. "Like last time."
I felt my skin prickle from the touch and I had the need to wash my hand in acid and drink poison.
Ellie took a deep breath and beamed a huge grin, her pearly white teeth practically glistering. "You're right!" she agreed, suddenly very chirpy and pleasantly excited. "I should go find him now and sort things out! There's like, positively no way in hell that Tristan would cheat on me."
I smiled at the falseness in that statement.
She frowned, realizing it, too.
"Well, he'll for sure not leave me for some stupid skank. Tristan is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them." As she stated this, Ellie turned to the mirror and reapplied her makeup, the corner of her lips practically reaching her eyes.
I simply nodded, following her as she made her way to our class. To this day, I was still amazed as to how the student body would step out of the way to let her (and the others in her social ranking) through. And as we made our way through the halls of Ashcroft, Ellie smiled at Tristan's wink and I retuned his mischievous grin with a nod of acknowledgement.
Of course, Tristan wasn't stupid. He was a lot of things but.
Tristan Harrison a clever, manipulative, hormone-driven teenage boy.
He wasn't stupid enough to stick with girls who wouldn't forgive him for sleeping with other girls. He wasn't stupid enough to not let in this said girl to all of his sexcapades, thus tricking her that the other girls are nothing but a joke and that she was special.
Tristan was a lot of things but stupid.
Tristan Harrison was the epitome of repulsion.
x
After the episode with Ellie, the school day passed by with a blur. The classes were just as boring as any other classes from public schools, the kids were rowdy in the halls, and the cafeteria food was still expensive and tasteless. The only memorable incident was lunch period when Ellie was frantically wondering where her so-called boyfriend was.
Everyone in the table knew, of course, that our little Tristan was spending a bit of "quality time" with the flavor of the week, but we all just shrugged and the girl just nodded. I was quite certain that Ellie knew as well, but she liked to keep a blind eye on these things. I wasn't even sure why she'd stick with someone like Harrison, but I supposed it wasn't any of my business. The two of them fitted each other perfectly: he lies and she lets him get away.
"You should really keep that boy in a tight leash," Madison Harps stated with a hint of mocking in her tone as she picked on her salad, moving the greens from side-to-side before taking a sip of her bottled water imported from France—very important. She'd give you shít if you forget it. She flipped her long, black hair back before her dark eyes met Ellie's blue ones and they glared at each other, never blinking until the other lost the battle.
We all knew that Tristan slept with Maddy once.
Or twice.
Or was three times?
Well, either way, the tension between the two of them is quite...thick. Though, they remained friends for the sake of their social status, showing their mutual dislike in form of little arguments such as these, but nothing more that would ruin the picture they've painted as "friendship" for their plastic world to see.
"Well, if you asked me," interrupted David Marshall as he sat beside the blonde, doodling on his textbook. The two ignored him and continued to stare hatefully at one another. "I'm sure Tristan's just being Tristan. Watch, in a couple of minutes, he'll walk in with a bouquet of flowers for Ellie."
Still no responses from either girls.
Sitting across David, I lifted my head and met his eyes, raising an eyebrow.
The only reason Tristan bought Ellie flowers was because he'd done something wrong. Or she'd done something wrong and he just wanted a night of fun.
Frowning a little, David groaned and grumbled under his breathe, "Where the fυck is Cole? I can't stand all these girl hormones. There's no one sane to talk to. It's suffocating." And to prove his point, he ran his fingers at the sides of his head and pulled at the dark strands.
This snapped the two from their glaring to turn at David and bitch about his presence.
"Shut up, David," Ellie practically growled, "It's not like you're fantastic company either."
Madison nodded in agreement, making a little gruffly noise before she said her part. "And furthermore, you shouldn't really be the one to talk! You're not even trying to talk to Penny, you ungrateful dimwit."
There was a flash of hurt in David's hazel eyes.
Glancing at Madison, I almost felt bad for David. He was nothing but an overachiever with a ton of cash behind him, which was pretty much his ticket in this group.
David was about to say something to Maddy but he was cut off entirely by the mere appearance of one man. Our table suddenly silenced and all eyes fell on the tall, dark, and dangerous Cole Verdean. Slowly, he took a seat between Ellie and me and smiled lightly, the corner of his lips lifting up slightly as he leaned back against the chair, setting aside all the bad air but not quite making it disappear.
"OMG, Cole, what are you going as for the twin's party?" Ellie suddenly asked, returning to her old, bubbly, slightly obnoxious self. All her hatred towards Madison suddenly vanished as she clasped her hands together and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Me, Maddy, and Penny are going as the Power Puff Girls!" she declared happily, sounding as if we were the kind of friends who made friendship bracelets and braided each other's hair. (We definitely weren't, of course.)
Cole smirked, taking his eyes off of Ellie to look and Maddy for a second, before finally falling to me.
I didn't say anything, but I smiled.
Cole didn't take his eyes off of me as the smirk on his lips grew bigger. "Wouldn't that be interesting?" There was a tone of arrogance and scorn in his voice but they all brushed it off.
Madison smiled her million-dollar smile. "Totally," she responded with as much glee.
x
Paige and Payton Briers were filthy rich. The twins hosted the most extravagant parties that usually end in drunken teenagers, many broken furniture, and the police wouldn't even charge them with anything because they were rich enough to pay the law enforcers to look away from their actions. Even their neighbors don't complain because their property was so big, the next house was too far away to hear the blasting beat of the music.
I didn't understand why they refused to be part of the elite group Cole Verdean obviously controlled, though after a week of spending time in the school, I knew that the two weren't malicious enough to withstand the drama in the clique. Paige and Payton, although slightly ditzy, were nice people. Of course, they could scratch your eyes out with their perfectly manicured nails but with good reason.
They didn't pose as a threat to my plans nor did they hurt Lily.
There was no need to make enemies with those who did no wrong.
As I stood on the second floor, leaning against the railing of the balcony above the dance floor at a quarter passed midnight, I grinned to myself. Here are the students of one of the most prestigious art school getting batshít wasted like it was a cliché. And standing above it all, was I, Penelope Masterson, watching them as my scheme of vengeance makes it opening night.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Tristan Harrison, the boy who shattered Lily's heart, enter a room with a giggling feverously redhead. And last time I checked, red wasn't the colour of his dear, girlfriend's hair.
That drink given to him a little while ago might have been royally screwing with his head.
Then again, it wasn't as if he needed much to do something despicable as this. He did, however, needed a lot for this plan to take action.
Silly Tristan. He wouldn't know what hit him until it was too late.
He brought his demise upon himself.
Thump!
There was a crash on the wall, and I knew that things are settling accordingly to their designated feat. No one noticed the sound, the music was used as a camouflage, and the sweaty bodies underneath me continued to dance as Harrison walked in his inevitable fate.
Taking a sip of my water, I allowed my eyes to roam over the dancing bodies on the first floor.
At the corner of the room was Madison Harps, making out vigorously with a boy I couldn't recognize. He probably didn't go to our school, but decided to crash the party to get some free booze and a lay.
And for all the people Madison had taunted as sluts and whores, here she was acting like the biggest of them all.
Shaking my head, I looked for Ellie, needing to know where she is at all times. It took me a few minutes to find her blonde pigtails and blue skintight dress as she desperately took a nice, long gulp of a bottle of alcohol while David tried to calm her down. She yelled at him and he cringed, backing away slightly as Ellie continued to bark out harsh-looking words at the poor boy.
I eyed the bottle she was drinking.
That was her fifth one of the night.
Rolling my eyes at her predictable behavior, I searched the house again, looking for one person in particular that would set this plan ablaze. I didn't need Ellie right at this moment. Her part of this act doesn't begin until Tristan finishes his first scene.
While searching the crowd, I noticed Cole Verdean dancing with a girl on each arm to the fast beat of the song. His dark hair was dishellved and he looked a little more relaxed than usual. There was something about this boy that made him dangerous, yet approachable. Something about him that made you want to shiver in fear yet, at the same time, be his friend.
There was something about Cole Verdean that intrigued me, but it wasn't enough to excuse him of what he'd done to my sister.
In a setting like this, with him laughing freely and moving so... unreservedly, it was hard to imagine that behind all that, he was the most lethal in the group. It was probably the alcohol that made him act out of character.
Not as stoic as he made himself to be, I thought, smiling gingerly when he lifted his gaze as if sensing that somebody was watching him and, for a brief moment, his eyes met mine.
Cole Verdean smiled widely and I felt my insides melt a little bit.
I haven't seen that smile.
Ever.
Out of the two years I've entered this school, I've never seen the apathetically, reserved Cole Verdean smile so warmly.
But all that giddiness I felt suddenly vanished when a pair of rough hands grabbed me by the waist, pulling my body against its own.
"And who's the lucky guy that got all flustered, sweetheart?" His voice was a little rough, virile, and sexy enough to get a shiver down my spine.
Ah, yes.
With the most innocent smile I could muster up, I turned around and allowed my fingers to play with the buttons of the male's dress shirt.
Finally.
Gavin Reeves, ladies and gentlemen, has made his appearance.
It only meant one thing.
Let the show begin.
-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-
What'd you guys think of Penny?
And Cole and Gavin?
Well, if you dont like either boys, there's another one coming in the later chapters who may or may not be as sexy as the two of them combined.
Thoughts please (:
x's Grace