Note: I haven't fully edited this story yet, and I know there's a lack of imagery. I'm working on it. But i'm hoping you can still enjoy it, even though it has a few mistakes.
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Early summer was in the air as Lauren and I walked through the busy streets of New York City heading towards school. Ignoring Lauren as she continued to talk about Zach Dylan’s upcoming party, I thought about my summer plans like: hitting the beach, partying, having stress free time, sun tanning, regretting one night stands, and sleeping in late.
“It’s going to be beyond amazing,” she spoke enthusiastically. Oh no, I thought to myself, She’s still trying to convince me to attend that stupid party.
“I highly doubt it’ll be beyond amazing. Those people don’t know how to be spectacular,” I commented.
“It’s just a party, Chelsea. Not a social gala,” she tried to reason. Of course, it was a failed attempt I would never attend anything in Greenwich Village without having a business reason. It’s not a place where a person of high social class, like me, should be.
“I’ll think about it,” I lied. There was nothing to think about. Zach Dylan may be incredibly handsome, but his social status made him revolting.
Lauren sighed. “One day you’ll remember that life isn’t, who you mingle with. It’s about the memories you make with those you do.”
“And I will,” I responded. “Of course, those memories will only be with people of the upper class.”
We walked in silence from there on, until the gates of our school came into view.
“If you don’t go, I’ll tell Luke you cheated on him,” Lauren threaten. Ah. This is why Lauren and I are close acquaintances. We both talk bitch and use blackmail to our advantage. A prefect partnership.
“Go ahead. But if you do, I’ll tell your parents and everyone else you got an abortion last year,” I replied with confidence. I usually won the fights with Lauren.
“Fine,” she muttered as two giggling blondes, Madeline and Caroline, joined us. Both were equally beautiful and stupid.
“Where have you guys been? We’ve been waiting for like twenty minutes,” Caroline questioned us.
I rolled my eyes, irritated with her nosiness already. “Lauren here-” I gestured to the dark, brown haired girl next to me, “-wanted to walk to school today.”
Changing the subject with a smile, Madeline asked: “Did you guys hear what happened to Logan?”
Remember this: every great ruler needs informants. Madeline and Caroline were mine. They provided me with those deep, dark secrets I use to rule my minions in sweet tyranny.
“No,” Lauren replied bored. Recently, gossip was becoming an uninteresting topic to her.
“Courtney is cheating on him,” Caroline revealed before Madeline, who looked rather annoyed, could.
Lauren and I looked at each other, wondering what idiot had decided to mess around with Courtney knowing who her boyfriend was. It would be never-ending hell for him if Logan found out.
“Does he know?” I asked curiously.
Madeline laughed. “Yes. But that's not the best part.”
“He also know who she’s cheating with,” Caroline added.
“Who?” Lauren and I asked.
Before Caroline or Madeline could answer, loud voices coming from inside the school building caught our attention. We, along with everyone else in the quad, hurried inside to figure out who was causing an uproar this early in the day. Thankfully it was easy enough to find, we simply had to follow the mass of other curious students.
There was a huge, forming crowd swarming around the action at the end of a hallway. With fear in their eyes, curious students and teachers stepped aside to let us through. They knew better than to mess with me. As soon as we reached the center of the crowd, we encountered the people causing the pandemonium.
Both boys were tall, muscular, and possessed looks that belonged only to models or Greek Gods. Anticipating a fight, people began to shout words of encouragement: Kick his ass! FIGHT! Punch Miller in the face!
However, with the way Logan Wilson and Noah Miller were glaring at each other, it was doubtful that they even noticed their audience.
“I thought we were friends!” Logan shouted at Noah.
Logan can be so naïve sometimes. He knows no one around here has real friends. It would be irresponsible of us to have friends. They only cause us to lose our guard, and we can’t risk that.
Watching Logan and Noah argue, I thought back to the time when Logan and I used to talk. I was seven when I met him. He had just moved here from London, and our fathers were old friends; since they had gone to Yale together. While our fathers would talk business, Logan and I used to play prince and princess.
We were inseparable, but once high school came around we both went our separate ways.
I became something of a socialite and fought my way towards the top. Logan became a womanizer, partied and never stuck to one girlfriend. Of course, girls didn‘t mind. It was inevitable considering his good looks and charm. Through the years, we both ruled our school, but stayed out of each others’ way. One thing was for sure, I would never mess with Logan. No one did.
“You couldn’t meet her needs like I could,” Noah replied. Ouch. Logan was going to kill him for insulting his manhood.
Full of hate, Logan's eyes searched the crowd, and landed on a tall, blonde with slightly botoxed lips. The hallway was silent as Logan looked from Noah to Courtney. After some time, small smile appeared on his face, before he shrugged and announced his decision.
“Go ahead. Have the slut."
Watching as Noah walk over to Courtney and kissed her, I and everyone else in the room, knew it wasn't over. Subsequently, we watched as Logan’s fists and Noah's face collided multiple times, before someone thought about stopping it.
As Mr. Johnson and Smith struggled to pull them apart, Logan spit into Noah’s bloody face and said: "Don't say I can't keep a woman happy."
With that, he let Mr. Johnson pull him off Noah and escort him to the principal’s office. Of course, Logan wouldn’t get suspended. Our parents had control over the teachers, including the principal.
“Well, that was something,” Lauren muttered to me.
“Sure was,” I agreed.
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After school, Tiffany Williams and I, hung out in the library to discuss our English project, or at least we did before her boyfriend came. Knowing the disruption wasn‘t temporary, I decided to call it a day and head home.
As soon as I stepped outside, I spotted the familiar chauffeur wave from across the street. Walking to school this morning had been Lauren’s idea, not mine. I wasn’t exactly eco-friendly.
While I was slowly descending the short stairway that lead to the school entrance, someone behind me rushed by and bumped into me, causing me to drop my things.
“Watch where you're going asshole!” I shouted at the prick without looking at him.
As I picked my things off the ground, I noticed the same prick that had bumped into me was coming back up the stairs.
“A well-mannered lady would never use such an insult,” I heard a familiar voice say.
Crap.
“What do you want, Logan?” I eyed him suspiciously. Logan Wilson talking to me either meant the apocalypse is rapidly approaching or I was in some serious trouble.
He smirked. “I just wanted to know if you were okay. I didn’t mean to bump into you. I was a bit distracted.”
“I’m okay. A bit pissed, but I'll survive.” Without saying another word, I brushed passed him and continued walking towards my car, where the driver was graciously holding the door open for me. I was just inches away, when Logan stepped in front of me and slid inside, before I had the chance to.
Would I ever be able to get rid of him?
“Look, it was nice catching up and all. But I have to be somewhere right now. So if you don’t mind,” I said, holding the door open for him to leave. To my dismay, he stayed inside the car.
Looking back at me with his signature smile, he said: “I would like to talk to you about something.”
“You're not going to get out are you?” I groaned.
“No.”
I sighed and reluctantly got in, closing the door behind me.
We were about half way to my penthouse, when I deemed it time to talk to my old friend.
“Alright, what do you want?”
He sighed. “You still owe me a favor, Chelsea.” Damn. Logan had a good memory.
I narrowed my eyes at him and through gritted teeth asked: “What kind of favor?”
“I need you to ruin Courtney.”
I thought about it briefly, before continuing.
”What’s your plan?” Knowing Logan, he always had a plan. It wasn’t like him not to.
“Publicly humiliate her at Dylan’s party, get Noah to cheat on her, turn the whole school against her, and get her to leave town.”
He was making me do all the dirty work, and although I enjoyed a few take downs here and there, I didn't see a point. It was just a girl, he always had more than one anyway, so why was this any different? Besides with his looks he could have anyone. Maybe he had a thing for Noah?
I smirked. “What’s in it for me?”
“What part of owe me a favor don’t you understand?" he sneered.
I laughed before answering, “You know, Logan, it’s not like you did me a huge favor. You just took me home when I was too drunk one night. Big deal.”
“I could have left you to rot in that bar,” He growled.
“Fine.” Pondering about few things in my head, I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask and see if Logan would rest a few questions that had been bugging me.
“Why do you want to ruin Courtney’s life anyway?”
“That’s for me to know and for you to wonder,” he snapped.
Before I could respond, we arrived at my penthouse, and I got out hastily before turning back to look at him.
“I’ll see you around.” I said, slamming the door before he could reply.
The usual doorman held the door open, and I walked to the elevator still wondering what Logan’s real motivation was. As the elevator slowly made its way to the top floor, I considered the many possibilities, but in the end, I stuck to the conclusion that he was doing it for the sake of his reputation. If he let Noah and Courtney slide, others would start to question his authority.
With a faint ding, the elevator’s doors slid open and revealed the penthouse I called home. Spotting my older half-brother and his friend sitting on the sofa, I decided to have a chat with them, before heading upstairs to my bedroom.
As soon as they heard my thin heels click against the marbled floor, they both looked in my direction for a moment, before turning back to their previous activity.
“Hello, boys,” I greeted.
Andrew, my half-brother, was six years older than me and was studying law at Columbia University. My father, his mother and step-father had pressured him to attend Yale or Harvard, but he choose to attend the school he loved. I admired him for the strong belief he had in himself; it was something I lacked. Andrew and I were closed, and sometimes I wonder if I was the reason he stayed in New York.
“Someone is in a cheery mood,” Justin commented.
Justin Blake was Andrew's best friend as well as Logan’s cousin and New York City’s infamous womanizer. His voice was like velvet, and his light, blue eyes could hold anyone in a trance for hours.
“Blake, why are you always here? Don’t you have a like a home or something where you're wanted?” I remarked as I took off my Burberry cashmere cardigan.
“Don’t worry sweetie, I’m only here, because your brother is helping me with some party planning,” his replied eyeing me. The lust building in his eyes as he took in my curvy figure caused me to blush.
However, instead of drooling over his amazing abs that could be clearly seen through his fitted shirt, I reminded myself he was a womanizer. Plus, if anyone found out that he had his way with me, the monsters of Manhattan would have my head.
“You’re throwing a party?” I asked, hopeful. Justin was known for throwing the best exclusive parties in Manhattan.
“No. I’m just enhancing one,” he replied, proud of himself like always.
“How kind of you,” I commented sarcastically.
“Well, if I’m going to attend that little gathering in the Village might as well make it worthwhile,” he reasoned.
“Oh that’s right, that shitty little party on Friday.”
“It won’t be shitty once I’m done with it,” he defended.
“What are you guys looking for, anyway?” I asked, looking at the laptop Andrew had on his lap. A webpage with exotic dancers was open.
I laughed. “A stripper?” Really? That was going to ‘enhance’ Dylan’s party?
Justin lust filled eyes eyed me once more, before adding: “Well we’re having a hard time with such short notice. Maybe you’ll like to take one for the team.”
Andrew smacked him on the head.
“That’s my sister!”
Noticing Justin was practically undress me with his eyes, I excused myself and headed upstairs.
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The smell of pancakes woke me up on Friday morning. After putting on my school uniform, I headed downstairs to our dining room. My mom and Andrew were already halfway through their breakfast, when I walked in.
“Good morning,” I greeted them, taking my usual seat.
“You woke up late?” my mom asked, without looking up from her copy of the New York Times.
“Yes,” I replied coldly. Although I admired my mother for the independent woman she was, we weren’t close and we often argued. Actually, Andrew was the only person in my family, besides my grandparents, that I was close too.
My dad was always too busy, and my mom, well, she was too bitchy. Speaking of my father, where is he? I thought to myself as I eyed his vacant seat.
Andrew caught me staring at it.
“He left early. Something about a meeting in Hong Kong,” he answered my unspoken question.
I smiled kindly at him. He returned the gesture with his trademark smile. Although he was my brother, I had to admit Andrew was gorgeous. He had soft, dark brown hair, and the deep, blue eyes we both had inherited from our father.
We ate breakfast together quietly, before we all disappeared to continue on with our respective early morning routines. I was applying a light coat of makeup on, when I called Lauren for the third time that morning, I grumbled when she didn't pick up. Why wasn’t she answering her phone? Doesn’t she know I need her?
Frustrated, but finished with my early morning necessities, I headed downstairs to join Andrew.
“Are you going to Dylan’s party tonight?” he asked as he typed away on his laptop.
“I’m not sure.” Logan wanted me to embarrass Courtney tonight, but I felt like staying in this weekend.
“Don’t,” he warned.
Noticing my confused expression, he explained: “I’m getting a bad feeling about that party.”
“I won’t go then,” I promised.
I should’ve kept that promise.
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I was emptying my locker when Logan showed up.
“Hey Beautiful.” My heart skipped for a second. Logan tends to have that effect on people.
As he leaded against one of the lockers next to mine looking like a Giorgio Armani model, I caught sight of his toned body made completely visible through his white v-neck.
Snapping out of a Logan filled fantasy, I shut my locker.
"What do you want?” I knew he was going to ruin the prefect Friday I was having so far.
“Ouch. I thought you liked me, Chels.” He had a fake hurt expression on his face.
I laughed at his comment. "Yeah right."
He pressed me hard against the lockers, and placed his hands on both sides of my head as if trying to holding me hostage. My back ached from the pressure, but the pain subsided by the mere fact that Logan's face was inches from mine and every toned muscle engraved upon his abs was pressed hard against my stomach.
He was a little too close, and his breath was sending shivers down my spine.
“Remember what you owe me tonight, Chelsea,” he whispered in my ear. "A deal’s a deal.” With fear clear in my eyes, I nodded. This was the side of Logan people were scared of. It was the side everyone knew, and I, thankfully, had never encountered it until now.
Distracted by fear, I didn't feel his lips leave my ear, travel across my jaw, and pause on my mouth. Before I could comprehend what was occurring, he kissed me.
Shocked by his display of affection, I remained frozen. His soft and gentle lips released mine, before I could even think about kissing him back.
He smirked as he backed away from me. After letting my teenage girl hormones calm down, I slapped him.
“What did you do that for?!” I hollered, annoyed with him. If Logan thought I was going to be another one of his victims, he had another thing coming. I knew what he did to girls. He would let them put all their time and effort, while he faked his every move just to get lucky. Logan was the ultimate player.
He shrugged. “I heard you were a good kisser, that’s all.”
“And?” I snapped.
“I wanted to see if it was true,” he answered before biting his lip, distracting me, "but that's not the point. You still owe me."
“Yeah, I’m on it,” I said, all annoyance gone.
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Good.” Without another word exchanged between us, he walked away leaving me confused.
My confusion would cease to exist later that night, because I found out the truth.
There's another reason, besides being economically expensive, why the cost of living in Upper Manhattan is pricey. Deceiving may not take your money, but it does take your soul.
Upper Manhattan changes people into monsters. Regardless of what social class you belong to, it will change you. The real question you have to ask yourself is, when?
My time came that night.
Walking into that party, I knew Andrew had been right. Bad things were going to happen.
That night I became a true monster of Manhattan.
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Picture of Chelsea on the right. Sorry if this chapter was boring. The next will have loads of action, trust me.