side step / charade / clue

Maybe she should have gone last in homeroom, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to steal the spotlight that Elaina had so carelessly turned towards Stella. Unfortunately, her bestie had spun it to her advantage and monologued for far too long. Photos? Please. Cleo had taken better photos in middle school.

The barbs about prom she expected. Poor Stella was jealous of course, and it hadn’t bothered her. It did bother her that Stella seemed to think Elaina could sit at their table. Thus far, she hadn’t seen any signs that Elaina was worthy of their circle, but she supposed time would tell.

However, embarrassing her sister when Clara was already doing a good job of that on her own?
Look, it was fun to mess with Clara’s head. Get under her skin. She knew that. But that was her sister, her twin, and she wasn’t going to stand for it. Stella needed to be taught a lesson. A reminder that having a 4.0 gpa didn’t mean anything if didn’t know how to keep the crowd’s attention.

Goldfish, the lot of them.

Non-substantial title. She’d show Stella non-substantial. Socialites didn’t discuss each other’s grades and while valedictorian looked good on a resume, how many people remembered those boring ass speeches after highschool was over? They remembered the drama, reflected on the escapades of youth. Imagine making valedictorian sound like a big deal, as if their parents didn’t have jobs lined up for each and every one of them after graduation.

She stabbed at the peach floating around in her fruit cup with a plastic fork and then gave up after it slipped off for the third time. They used to have actual silverware before. Before the deaths and a heaping new amount of stupid rules. Oh well, at least she could still torment Cass.

The bell rang, and after staring angrily at the offending fruit for a moment she got up and headed to the library. A free period meant time to plan, to plot and to figure out if there were any clubs worth her time. She’d already made the decision to sign up for yearbook committee. It’d be easy to take control, she mused, most people on yearbook were introverted, shy and unpopular. Bookworms.

Let’s see how many of your quotes make it into posterity, shall we Stella?

She was still miffed at Grady too, and it probably showed on her face. She supposed a relationship built on pretending was bound to start wearing at the seams.  But when Benji sidled up to her she replaced the annoyance with a carefully cultured demure. “Benji,” she said, drawing out the last syllable with a smile. So he had noticed. “So nice of you to keep me company during free period.”

Cleo patted his back gently, letting her hand roam for just a moment before pulling it back. Such a brooding boy. Dark-eyed and dangerous. Is that what had drawn Scarlett to him? Stella? What was it about him that was worth fighting over? He kept pace with her as she headed for one of the little two person cubbies set into the wall for studying.

She blinked innocently, deviously, as she sat down and put her folder on the table, putting her elbows up and resting her chin on her fists. Maybe she had the opportunity to get back at Stella for dragging her sister already. “If you thought that was a good performance, do you want to see what I can do for an encore?” she smirked, letting the tip of her tongue dart out between her teeth. It couldn’t really be that easy could it? Three birds with one stone?

Well, she'd always been an overachiever.

"Straight to business?” she murmured, slightly taken aback. Slightly intoxicated. Slightly aroused. Grady never looked at her the way Benji was. Always in his head, planning his next move. Cleo was used to games of candied words and hidden looks, half-truths and fake smiles. She bit the edge of her fingernail and studied him. So direct. The look in his eyes was flat and cold. Here was a boy who didn’t have time for games. She couldn’t understand how he’d ever gotten wrapped up between Stella and Scarlett.

“How to follow up my move in homeroom?" she wondered aloud, looking up at the ceiling questioningly.

Despite people saying that he and Stella were an item again, she’d seen little sign of it herself. Not that she had any interest in dating him herself. Her interest was purely physical. She’d thought she’d caught him staring at her a few times, and she’d appreciated him more than once herself.

Was this a good idea? No, absolutely not. But what better way to start off the year than by stirring the pot? She’d keep this under wraps for a bit. Spring it on Stella when she least expected it. Maybe let the rumors float around and deny them, but admit to them right before she gave her precious valedictorian speech. But that was only if Clara didn’t take the spot. This was a chance to piss off Stella and Grady as well as satisfy her own curiosity. How could she possibly pass it up?

“Well, Benji.” She said slowly, smiling lustfully and reaching under the table to rub his knee. Small circles before she withdrew her hand and glanced at her watch. “There’s a good forty minutes before this period ends but—” she whispered softly. She looked around for a moment, seeing no one, and then reached forward tentatively, placing a hand on his chest, the corners of her mouth turning up playfully. This was exciting. He was exciting. She could almost feel the adrenaline in her veins. Architecture was it?

Did he have a single minded focus when it came to anything? She wanted to find out.

Cleo leaned over the table and got in his face, feeling heat rise in her own. Was she blushing? She kissed the end of his nose before she could convince herself not to and arched a brow, her eyes hooded with desire. Her heart was hammering in her chest. This was a bad idea. She ran a finger across his lips anyway and exhaled sharply.

What would Grady do if he found out, she wondered? Would he finally get off his ass and put as much work into their little drama as she was? Or would he simply brush it off and return to business as usual?

Would he actually do anything exciting? Make her feel wanted? 

“This is a library. So whatever we do, we need to be quiet.” Cleo laughed quietly. “I’m bored, you’re bored, that’s all it has to be.” It was blunt, but necessary. The last thing she needed was Benji pining after her or something equally annoying.  They were the same weren't they? They only cared about themselves, and used everyone around them.

He understood right?

She just needed some stress relief. Some fun.

Did she really know him, she wondered? She’d never made an effort to get to know him, just appraised him from afar simply because he was off-limits. The forbidden was exciting, so she made eyes at him when no one was looking. Played with her hair, swayed her hips, blew bubblegum bubbles in his direction. And now his face was only inches away and she was in danger of panting like an animal.

His heartbeat was almost as fast as hers, and it thrilled her, that she could feel it under her palm. Had she ever gotten this close to Benji? He pulled her into his lap and she straddled him, shivering in delight as he placed a hand on her back. Stella was a fool, how’d she let Scarlett get her hands on him? Oh, if Grady would only treat her like this. Maybe it was high time that they take their so called relationship to the next level. This—this was what was missing.

Benji was so gentle yet commanding. Scandalous. Maybe he’d been watching her back more than she’d thought. Mhm. She had a surprise for Grady, she was gonna tell him he could look at whoever he wanted and he wasn’t going to understand where she was coming from. Her little secret. Fuckin’ Grady and the show they put on for power. This fire in her chest, in her cheeks, this was power.

She had a quip ready for Benji, a devilish joke about whether or not he had a reason for make her get loud, but then his lips, burning like coal ignited a fire on her collarbone and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. Cleo looked around hurriedly, but the only sound was the quiet drone of the air conditioning unit, and the shuffling of papers a few rows of bookshelves over. The library was practically empty, and whoever else was there was far enough away not to hear them.

“Uh-huh, Just a—“she gasped in spite of herself, a small, quiet intake of breath— “bit of fun. No one needs to k-know.”

She could lie to herself and say she was taking Stella down a peg on behalf of her sister, but the truth was she wanted to do this. Because she could. Cleo returned the kiss with vigor, pressing herself towards him and leaving a trail of kisses from his lips down to his neck. Her heart was racing and she didn’t know if it was because of his touch, the thrill of knowing this was wrong, or perhaps even from the danger of being caught.

Whatever it was, her face felt flushed, her lips felt heavy and the smell of his cologne was intoxicating.

“You’re bad, Benji Rowland.” She murmured into his ear, moving one hand down to his hip. “I’m worse.”