The school building was deserted.
It was a Friday afternoon, and classes were long over. A few scattered students were still roaming around the campus for their extracurriculars, but they were few and far between; for the most part the student body had left for the weekend. The school year was almost over, and the warm summer weather was not an invitation to stay at school any longer than necessary.
The clacking of heels, normally quiet, rang like an echo through the silent hallways. The girl they belonged to was walking fast, frequently turning, her blue eyes scanning the empty surroundings.
No trace of him, she thought. Good. Maybe, at long last, he had caught the memo and would finally leave her alone.
But just as she was ready to let down her guard, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"You've been avoiding me, Felicia."
She flinched. Biting back a curse, she put on her brightest, most sarcastic smile. "Brandon!" she chimed in mock delight. "I can't believe you're still here, I thought you had a life outside of school."
The boy in front of her ignored the obvious jab. Jewel-green eyes locked with her own, staring intensely. Felicia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Oh, so he was doing that again. She almost laughed. How predictable.
"You should be glad I waited for you," he said, putting on the same smirk that had once drawn her in, but now repulsed her. "Not everybody would do that for you. Especially after all you've done."
"Oh, thank you. Yeah, I know not everyone would stalk me after I've dumped them," Felicia quipped, trying to stride past him, but Brandon blocked her way. "That's kind of the point. Anyway, did you want anything?"
"I'm not stalking you."
Leaning into her space, Brandon placed his hands against the wall on both sides of her, trapping her in one spot. "Don't you get it?" he asked in that low, raspy voice that had once been seductive. "I'm doing all this because I love you. You're mine, Felicia." He was close enough now that she could feel his breath against her face. "I'm not letting you go."
Unimpressed, unafraid, she tilted up her head.
"You know," she said, tapping a finger against his mouth, "this would sound so much more convincing if you hadn't called me a stupid bitch just the other day. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a girl, so you must obviously be right."
Brandon scoffed, but he did back off a little. "Look at you," he said, sneering down at her. "You used to be so interesting. You used to be cool. And what happened then?"
"Oh, I don't know either." Felicia did roll her eyes this time. "I grew a spine? Some confidence? Enough to realize you're actually a manipulative, controlling bitch-baby?"
"You sold out."
There he was again, all up in her face. Felicia squirmed away from him, not bothering to hide her disgust. "You used to be a deep, smart girl who was not like other girls," he said. "And now you're some pink piece of plastic who only cares about clothes and attention."
Felicia couldn't help it; she laughed openly in his face.
"So sorry I'm not the good little follower you fell in love with," she said, making air quotes with her perfectly manicured fingers. "I know I can do better than you now, so that's what I'm doing. Must really hurt your ego, huh?"
Brandon's jaw tensed. This time, she could tell, her comment had succeeded in getting under his skin.
"You bitch," he spat, not bothering to conceal his anger anymore. "Do you hear yourself talking? You think you're so important now that you're hot and popular!"
"It's called a sense of self-worth, honey," Felicia replied with a flippant smile. "I recommend getting one. It's very fun."
"You plastic."
On both sides of her face, Brandon's hands clenched into fists. "Whatever!" he snapped. "Go on! Be a pretty little Barbie clone! Sell your brains for clothes and makeup! You think I care?" His voice was growing louder and louder with every word. "I don't! I'm sick of you! You can live your shallow life and I can find a girl with an actual personality again!"
Felicia's smile disappeared like the flame of a candle that had been snuffed out.
"Don't you dare."
Gone was the charm. Gone was the attitude. Grabbing Brandon by the wrist, she yanked his hand aside, freeing herself while spinning them around, slamming him backwards against the wall. "What you did to me was one thing," she hissed. "But if I ever catch you doing that to someone else, I'll make you regret being alive." She put on a venomous smile, baring her teeth. "Got that?"
Momentarily startled, Brandon blinked down at her before his attitude came back, and he sneered. "You?" he replied. "Like you could ever do a thing."
"Oh, really?"
Before this comment, Felicia had been angry. But now she was furious, and with fury came firm, stone-cold resolve.
"Just you watch," she hissed. "For as long as I live, I will never, ever let you hurt another girl again. And that is a promise."
Before Brandon could respond, she pushed herself off the wall, put on an obviously fake smile, blew him a kiss and strutted off.
~ ~ ~
For the rest of the school year, Felicia stayed vigilant. She remained vigilant over the summer, and in the new school year she was more watchful than ever.
For the longest time Brandon didn't seem to flirt with anyone. Probably nursing his wounds, she thought, or else he hadn't found a suitable target yet.
Not until she walked in.
Alarms went off in Felicia's head as soon as she saw him talking to her. She didn't know this girl, but she checked off all the boxes: cute, shy, and completely, hopelessly gullible.
Something had to be done. And quickly, before this girl made the same mistakes as Felicia and got trapped in Brandon's lies.
It was a good thing, then, that Felicia had a plan.
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