[Revised]

Zara stomped all the way to her locker.

What's wrong, little lady? The voice in her head taunted.

"Nothing. Don't bother me," she said out loud.

Come on. You know I can keep a secret.

Zara almost convulsed with laughter at the declaration.

"Right. But you make up for it by making me pass out every twenty minutes." When Zara reached the row of lockers, she crouched down so she could unlock hers. She absolutely hated the bottom locker—in theory, you were meant to swap with the person above you every term, but Zara was too shy to ask, and they were too selfish to care.

Zara. Stop back-talking me and tell me what's going on.

"Okay, okay." Zara sighed, subservient. "It's Saffron. He has these stupid mood swings—one moment he's all nice and the next he's glued to his phone."

Oh. I know why he's being like this, the little fucker.

Zara was momentarily taken aback by the voice's colorful choice of words. "Why is he?" she asked cautiously, preferring not to address it. She resumed her task, but the lock wouldn't unlock, no matter how many times she turned the dial with the combination. A strange feeling of déjà vu itched the back of her neck.

Laughter echoed inside her skull. He fucked up the other day and is trying to make it up to you. Trying and failing, by the look of it. 

Without thinking, Zara pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and shoved it into the bottom part of the lock. She began to fiddle around with it as if it was second nature to her—Zara surprised herself sometimes.

"Hey."

She yelped, almost jumping out of her skin. Zara had been so concentrated on trying to break the lock that she hadn't heard Max sneak up behind her. The bobby pin flew away and out of sight.

Zara looked up at him above his glasses, then lightly banged her head against the locker door. "You scared me."

"Do you need help?" He asked, crouching down beside her. Before she could even react, he reached up into her hair and extracted another bobby pin. Her curls spilled out of her bun as a result, and she was quick to protest about it.

"What was that for? Do you know how long it took me to get my hair like that? How dare you, have you no respect for other people's personal space? I can't believe—"

Max tinkered with the lock as she complained; he had it unlocked and in his hand in ten seconds flat. 

"Wow." Zara fell silent, embarrassed. "Thanks."

Max shrugged and handed her the lock, his green eyes never leaving her face.

"I think we should meet up at the library for that assignment." He stood up and took a step backwards, allowing Zara to open her locker and pull out her book for the next period.

"When?"

"Thursday?"

Zara stopped her rummaging and looked up at him. "Sorry, but I'm busy on Thursday afternoons. Maybe some other time." She returned to what she was doing, pulling out a binder and a notebook. Her stomach was a bundle of nerves.

Why are you talking to him? Do you have any idea about what he did to you?

No...What did he do? 

Psh, as if I'd tell you. 

You're not doing a very good job of—

"Hey babe," a honeyed voice said, as fake as its owner.

Zara looked up at with wide eyes, her face falling when she saw who it was. Samantha peered at her underneath her unnaturally-thick lashes with a glare. "What are you doing talking to her?" she asked Max, pointing an accusatory claw at Zara.

Zara ducked her head into her locker so she could avoid having to respond. She heard Max sigh. In exasperation, perhaps? "I don't have to explain anything to you," he said.

She gasped in disbelief, "How...what..."

"You heard me, doll. Come on, don't pout like that, I'll tend to you later."

Zara gritted her teeth and lifted her head to glance over at him. She didn't know he had a girlfriend, but the discovery didn't surprise her in the least. It only made her stomach sink.

"Fine." She tucked a strand of her ruler-straight hair behind her ear. "You better," she added, throwing one last disgusted look at Zara—which she, unfortunately, caught—before she pranced away, her blond hair swinging behind her.

"I'm sorry about that—" He began to say, but he was abruptly interrupted by the bell.

Zara closed her locker and stood up, giving him a small smile.

When she placed her hand on his chest, his eyes snapped down to it. "Thanks for helping me. See you."

She turned on her heel and made her way down the corridor, just as the first students began to bleed into it, washing her away before he could add anything else. 

-:-

Aurora released Brad's hand as soon as she turned the corner although her pace didn't falter. She stormed all the way to the end of the science wing, which was usually deserted during the two break periods.

Their solitude would allow her to roast him undisturbed.

"Lunch is over in ten minutes. That's how much time I'm giving you to tell me what you want from me." Aurora stated, tilting her chin up and flipping her hair over a shoulder.

A small smile cracked Brad's stoic face, but only for a split second. Nothing Aurora had said was funny. The eeriness of that smile caused a shiver to run up Aurora's spine; back in the cafeteria, in the spur of the moment, she hadn't noticed that there was something wrong—terribly wrong—with Brad.

His jaw involuntarily clenched and unclenched, and she noticed that he stood stiffly, with his hands trembling by his sides.

She also could've sworn that his pupils were dilated.

Aurora took a step backwards, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in his presence.

He also took a step forward.

"What do you want?" Aurora asked, trying to hide the panic in her voice. She continued to walk backward, her arms wrapped tightly around her bag. He continued to advance, like a predator upon its prey.

"I need to show you something. Don't worry, it won't be too long," he said with mock reassurance, tilting his head to one side.

She opened her mouth as if to scream, but her back made contact with the wall behind her, stunning her into dropping her purse.Brad reached down into his pocket and pulled out a jackknife, flipping it open. The blade glinted under the fluorescent lights of the science department.

"P-please Brad! I'm—I'm sorry!" Aurora stammered, her vision blurring as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. "I'll do anything—but p-please don't kill me—"

Aurora raised her hands in front of her for self-defence, and Brad grabbed her wrist, holding the knife next to her neck. "Don't. Say. A. Word." He spun her around so that her arm was twisted behind her. She sniffled, tears running down her cheeks as he pushed her forwards, indicating that she was to walk in front of him.

A couple of voices were heard in one of the rooms, probably belonging to teachers, and Aurora was almost prompted to call for help. However, as if he sensed her intentions, he tightened his grip around her wrist, and Aurora groaned in pain. He led her to one of the older fire exits, the ones that didn't trigger the alarm when opened. He kicked it open and pushed Aurora outside.

The knife made contact with the skin on the nape of her neck and sliced it. Aurora let out a cry of pain, cursing herself and her stupidity for putting her in that situation. She was helpless—if Zara was there she would've probably disarmed him already and had him pinned against the ground.

It was Karma getting back at her for ditching her friend, she decided.

They reached the back of the school, and it was then that Aurora understood that they had crossed the point of no return. The back of the school consisted of a dark and narrow alleyway, where people would go if they wanted to do inexplicable things. No teacher dared to go there.

The familiar pungent smell of weed and hysterical laughing filled the air. The environment wasn't unfamiliar to her, but she had long since stopped interacting with it. A dark, twisted presence pulled her towards the alley, reminding her that she had never truly been free from it. Brad let go of her arm and shoved her so hard that she fell forwards, her hands making contact with the jagged pavement.

The laughter died down.

"Look who it is," A malicious voice said. Metallic rustling ensued, then a dry slap. She couldn't tell who it was, or who was behind it. All she could see were the outlines of figures sitting on trash cans on the floor, or leaning against the wall. They watched her every move. 

Footsteps. Suddenly, Aurora felt a hand grab a fistful of her hair.

"Get up," the voice ordered. She was tugged upwards, forcing her onto her feet. Aurora knew who it was, but hoped that she was wrong about his identity.

The hand let go of her hair and went to her neck. A finger was dragged across the wound. She whimpered.

"What the fuck is this?" Robert snarled, lifting that same finger. He moved Aurora to one side and grabbed Brad by the collar. "What did I tell you about hurting her?"

Brad began to sputter a response, but Robert shut him up with a fist in his face.

"Stupid dumb-ass," he muttered when the guy stumbled to one side and hit his head against the wall. He slinked to the ground, a tiny stream of blood trickling down his temple.He didn't stand up.

"Is...is he dead?" Aurora asked in a small voice, unable to tear her gaze away from the slumped body.

"Did I give you permission to talk?" Robert growled, grabbing her chin and yanking it so that she was forced to look at him.She blinked and let out a strangled mewl in response.

"You might be asking yourself why you're here," he asked rhetorically, dropping his hand to the side and giving his back to her. When she didn't respond, he continued, "I'll give you a hint. It involves your white knight."

Aurora bit her lip.

"Alright, it looks like you're having a hard time understanding. It's Zara, you dumb bitch." He swivelled around and slapped her so hard, her vision clouded with white spots.

Gleeful snickers ensued; the humiliation was more painful than her stinging cheek.

"I told you I'd get back at you." He grinned manically, flexing the fingers in his hand.

"Why me?" Aurora whispered, her hand trembling as she brought it up to her face. "Why not her?" She was being a coward again, and she knew it.

"Because it has come to my attention that good old Max has his watchful eye on her. Right Seb?"

Sebastian concurred, then laughed. "He thinks we're stupid or something. No, wait, he thinks we are all idiots."

"Yeah, he thinks he's so damn smart." Jeremy added, his statement followed by a renewed round of laughter. It was like being surrounded by madmen.

I have to tell Zara about this.

"Little does he know what's coming for him, the poor fool," Robert said. He turned around and feigned surprise when he looked at Aurora. "Crap, I forgot you were still here. Funny, how that is though right? One moment you're at the top of the ladder, and the next your slithering across the dirt."

She kept her chin high, despite the humiliation she was going through. Aurora wasn't the girl from five years ago, she was much stronger now, surer of herself. She shouldn't be afraid of him.

"Brad brought me here for a reason," Aurora snapped.

Robert's smile briefly contorted into a grimace. "I forgot how loud-mouthed you were." he wrapped one hand around her neck and snapped the fingers of his other. "Sebastian, the thing." Sebastian tossed him a sandwich bag, which Robert caught without looking. "You know what this is?" He held the bag up inches from her face.

"No," she breathed, her hands flying up to his wrist. He was tightening his hold on her neck, crushing her windpipe.

"It's called Butterfly. It's like X, only worse."

"Please! I can't...breathe," Aurora wheezed, her legs growing weak underneath her. Was this really the end? Was she really going to the at the hand of a psychopathic baseball player?

"I gave some to your boyfriend earlier today, to try it out. As you might have been able to tell, he didn't take it very well, the weak bastard."

I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry Dad. I wish I could've been a better daughter...

Robert released her and she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"I wanted to test it out before selling it at the next party and since you owe me, I thought, why not? I'm sure she wouldn't think twice before helping me, considering what would happen to her if she didn't."

Aurora let out a shaky breath at the last part. "What do you want me to do?" She asked, giving in. There was no way out of this.

He opened the bag and pulled out a single pill, holding it in between his fingers. "You know how it gets his name? From the imprint of the butterfly. Duh, right? Anyway," he crouched down and took her hand in his, turning it over so that her palm face upwards. He carefully placed the pill in her hand and curled her fingers shut. "You are going to do two things for me: one, you're going to take this right now, in front of me. Two, you're going to help me get this out."

Aurora nodded, her stomach sinking. She wanted to vomit.

"Good!" He said cheerfully, getting up. "Take your time. Oh and remember, if you were to talk about this to anyone—" he drew a finger across his throat, "Max is old news, he's in the past. He's weak." He continued, waving a fist in the air, "To be in this industry you have to be ruthless, or no one will ever take you seriously. That's why I'm going to take over. I'm gonna be top dog now, and nothing will be able to stop me." 

-:-