Serena sat there for a while,her mind wrapped in a thick fog of confusion and disbelief. Her heartbeat had finally stabilized but her thoughts were anything but calm.
"Well... that was intense", Theo said quietly, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. His voice was so soft that Serena almost didn't hear it. She turned, blinking. She'd completely forgotten he was still there. Offering him a faint, distracted smile before rising from her seat and gathering her books. " I wish they never come back to class", she said,her voice calmer than she felt. She was disappointed in herself, deeply so. Never in her life had she reacted like that to anyone. She'd never been the type to swoon over a man's looks. Sure they were inhumanly attractive, but still, she prided herself on having control. Being level headed. Now,all that had gone out the window the second those guys walked in. Her brain had turned to mush, leaving her at the mercy of a rush of hormones that she couldn't remember asking for. It wasn't like her.
" They actually might," Theo replied casually as they made their way down the hallway. Serena glanced at him, her brows knotted in confusion. " Why do you say that?"
Asthey walked, she began to notice the stares. Students on different floors, beside walls, in groups were looking at her, some with curiosity, others with thinly veiled hostility. It made her skin crawl. But she told herself not to jump to conclusions. People stare for all sorts of reasons, she reminded herself. Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe they were staring at Theo.
" Simon and his gang don't attend classes often," Theocontinued, pushing his glasses up his nose. " Sometimes only twice in a semester, but somehow they always pass. High grades, zero effort that's one of the perks of being in that circle. And to add to that, they have the entire school glazing them, whata life."
Serena frowned. " The professor didn't even react when they walked in...."
" Exactly," Theo said with a nod. " They're practically untouchable. No one really understands why but no one questions it either. Though I don't think anyone in their right minds would think of setting them off, especially Simon, just his face alone scares me half to death." His voice dropped low, his eyes darting toward a group of girls who kept glaring at them.
" It seems you have made enemies on your first day here Serena, lucky you" he said sarcastically.
" Why? What did I do?" Serena asked very shocked by his words. All day she was barely managing to remember to breathe properly with them by her side, barely able to keep her sanity in check with their every move and now she is told she has enemies. Could this day get any worse. She followed his gaze. Her eyes met a pair of striking,frosty blue ones. A blonde girl stood, a group of girls surrounding her, there eyes sending frightening glares all directed to Serena. The girl didn't look away, her expression sharp, disdainful. Her glossy pink lips twisted into a smirk, like she had already seen Serena's humiliation. It wasn't unfamiliar, the look, the silent warning. Serena had seen it so many times before.
" You should be careful now you were seen with them, some people here are quite insane when it comes to Simon and his gang. That girl in particular?" He added" That's Ashley. You'd do well to steer clear of her. " Serena arched a brow. " Why?Because she's obsessed with one of them?" Theo hesitated, then leaned in slightly. " More like all of them. Especially Simon. She's been fixated on him since her first year. It's....messed up."
Serena's gaze flicked back to Ashley. Her eyes still fixed on Serena so intensely she had to look away. " She looks like she wants to eat me alive" Serena muttered.
Theo nodded grimly. " Yeah, well. She nearly did to someone else."
Serena turned sharply toward him, her eyes wide as saucers. " What do you mean?"
Theo sighed. " There was this girl, Susan, a third- year dance major. Last semester, Nathan being his usual mischievous self began attending dance classes with her and danced with her at some stupid annual charity gala. One dance. And not even a flirtyone."
Serena narrowed her eyes. " And?"
Theo looked genuinely uncomfortable now. " Well two days later, pictures of her showed up on a student gossip forum, intimate ones. Except... they were fake. Her face was edited onto someone else's body. Explicit stuff. But that wasn't the worst of it," Theo continued, his voice low. " Someone trashed her dorm room. Cut up her dance outfit. Her shoes were shredded and she began to receive these sinister anonymous notes. It was sick. Psychological warfare." Theo's eyes darkened behind his glasses.
" But the worst part? She went to a party the next weekend trying to pretend that everything was normal. She collapsed later that night in the bathroom, seizing. Someone had laced her drink. They barely got her to the hospital in time. " He continued " her roommate found out it was done by one of Ashley's friends but there wasn't any proof. Everyone was too afraid to talk. " Serena's chest tightened. A sick feeling settled in her stomach. " Susan dropped out a week after getting discharged. They say she packed up in the middle of the night. She never came back, it was like she'd been erased." Serena looked back once more. Ashley was still staring, her eyes cold, lips slightly curled like she knew exactly what Theo was saying and didn't care. " So... yeah keep your head down. For real." Serena nodded slowly, her face composed but her thoughts racing. She has had her fair share of sick psychotic girls back in highschool. That's not an experience she'd want to go through ever again. " Yeah don't don't have to tell me twice, I don't even want to be seen with them."
They reached the central gates, where a few students lingered under the late afternoon sun. Standing just past the little flower gardens was Elsie, headphones on, bobbing her head slightly to whatever beat she was listening to. Her eyes lit up the moment she spotted Serena.
" Oh that's my friend," Serena said turning to Theo. " I've got to go now. It was nice meeting you, Theo."
" It was nice meeting you too, Serena," he called, waving as he walked off in the opposite direction.
Elsie yanked off her headphones and threw her hands dramatically in the air. " Oh my God! First day here and you're already famous?!"
Serena froze mid-step, dread curling in her stomach. " What, what do you mean?" She asked cautiously. Elsie grinned, walking up to her and looping an arm through hers. " Don't even play dumb. People are talking. You were in class with them, weren't you?"
Serena's blood ran cold.
This is going to be a long day