Chapter Four
Emmie
I told myself I’d hate it. Hate him. But our brief encounters, mixed with the messages, are forcing me to accept that Kai Banks is actually quite fun.
I roll onto my back and smile as I read the message he just sent.
Kai: What does a guy have to do to get his phone back.
I chew on my lower lip, thinking of a response.
Me: Beg
Kai: I prefer to beg in person. Meet me?
Me: I want to keep the mystery a little longer, gym boy.
Kai: What did you do tonight?
Me: Watched you . . . from afar.
Kai: So you were at my party.
Me: I’m surprised you noticed with Bella hanging off you the entire time.
Kai: Are you jealous?
I think over his words. Am I? I shudder. Absolutely not. Bella is a desperate hoe, and he can do whatever he wants with her. At his own risk.
Kai: Okay, so you’re not jealous?
Me: Not every girl wants to sleep with you, Kai.
Kai: Really? You’re hurting my pride here.
I smile. But let’s face it, if I didn’t have his phone, I wouldn’t even make it onto his radar.
My phone rings, and I accept Ava’s call. There’s a sniffling sound before she speaks and I frown. She’s crying. “Em?”
I sit up. “Yeah, I’m here. Are you okay?”
“Not really.” She sniffles some more. “I let Austin . . .” More sniffles. “I let him kiss me.”
“Was it that bad?”
“He laughed in my face. Said it was the worst kiss he’d ever had.” She bursts into tears, and my chest fills with rage. “And then Henry jumped out from behind a tree, and he was filming the entire thing.”
“I’ll kill them,” I mutter.
“No, I don’t want you to do anything. I just needed to talk about it.” When it comes to confrontation, Ava is very much a ‘back seat’ kind of girl. She hates it. But me, I am raring to go. Especially when it involves my friend.
“There are other ways to make them pay,” I say, staring at Kai’s phone. “But they’re not getting away with this.”
I disconnect and power up Kai’s mobile. It bleeps over and over as numerous messages come through. Most he’s seen from his old phone. One from Bella catches my eye, and I open it.
Bella: I don’t understand what your problem is, Kai. I’m literally begging, you and you’d rather chat with that freak girl. Wtf!
It brings a smile to my face.
Next, I open WhatsApp and notice a lot of messages in their chat, entitled ‘Boys’.
How original. I scroll back to the beginning, and before I’ve even pressed play, I know it’s the video of Ava.
I wince as I watch, and if I didn’t know the truth behind it, I’d almost fall for his charm, too.
Ava certainly does, staring into his eyes like a lovesick puppy as he cups her face. Pig.
The messages that follow are all similar.
Mostly, guys sending high five emoji’s or the laughing faces.
I stop on one from Austin saying TikTok viral, along with a screen shot of his page.
The video has over thirty-thousand views already.
I groan as I open it on the app, noticing it’s jumped to over a hundred thousand now.
I take a breath and open up the school WhatsApp. It’s mainly led by Bella and her crew, but everyone that matters are in it. I don’t have access as myself, but as Kai . . .
I type the message:
Saw the video of a girl getting mocked for a kiss. Just a reminder that humiliating people doesn’t make you cool - it makes you a walking red flag. Do better.
Then, I download the video onto Kai’s phone. It’s way better than mine, and I open the editing app. There, I zoom in on Austin’s face as he kisses Ava. His eyes are open, and his mouth moves like a goldfish. I slow it down for good measure and save the clip.
Next, I open up Kai’s TikTok and upload the video with the caption:
“When you’re 18 and still emotionally stunted .” I hit post with a grin on my face.
I share the two posts all over his socials. Facebook. Instagram. I even Snapchat it to his friends.
Fuck Austin. And fuck Kai .
Kai
I’m halfway through my second bowl of cereal and halfway through ignoring the group chat that’s continually pinging when Austin calls. I decline it. He calls again. And again.
On the fourth try, I answer with a groan. “What?”
“What the fuck, man. Aren’t we friends?”
“Huh?”
“It’s all over your socials. Prick.”
“What are you on about?” I shove my bowl away and grab my phone, thumb hovering over my Instagram. And there it is.
A story posted from my account: white text on a black screen, bold and brutal.
Saw the video of a girl getting mocked for a kiss. Just a reminder that humiliating people doesn’t make you cool - it makes you a walking red flag. Do better.
I blink. Once. Twice. “What the hell?” I mutter.
“It was just a bit of fun, and I didn’t see you jumping in to save her when I took her off. Posting that shaming nonsense like you’re bloody Gandhi. What happened to bros before-”
“You know I didn’t post that, right?”
“I mean, I get it. Good call, you’re getting love from every girl from here to America, but seriously, why did you do me dirty like that, man?”
“You’re not listening,” I snap. “Forget it.” I disconnect and begin to scroll through the rest of my socials.
An hour passes and the doorbell rings, dragging me from my comments section. Austin was right; this is golden. I’m being held a hero by girls I don’t even know. I jog downstairs to find Austin and Henry both on the doorstep, looking like they’ve just been expelled from Hogwarts.
Austin pushes inside first. “Mate, you’ve got to delete that post.”
“I didn’t make it.”
Henry scoffs. “It’s literally from your account.”
“Yeah, I figured that part out,” I snap. “But I didn’t post it. I don’t have my phone, remember. Whoever has it, posted all that.”
Austin paces, pulling at his hair. “Do you know how many people have seen it? Bella sent me a screenshot with, like, six crying laughing emojis . I’m going to be an effing joke.”
“Didn’t she put in on the bet?” I ask, frowning.
“So did you,” Henry reminds me. “Add that to your little speech.”
“Like I said, I didn’t post it. Besides, it’s doing good for me, have you read the comments on TikTok?” I ask, grinning.
“Meanwhile, I’m practically being hung, drawn and quartered.”
“Yeah, you could still remove the post,” adds Henry.
I could. But I have a sneaky suspicion that somewhere, Emmie is probably sipping tea like she just dethroned the entire monarchy. And a part of me feels proud.
“Who are you right now?” snaps Austin, bringing me from my thoughts. “Are you so desperate for attention, you’re gonna leave those posts up?”
I shrug. “I haven’t decided. Anyway, I’ve got stuff to do, so . . .” I nod towards the door.
Austin grabs the door handle, face twisted with betrayal. “Good luck getting back in the group chat.”
“Oh no,” I deadpan. “How will I cope.”
They storm off, and I shut the door, leaning my head against it with a sigh.
Me: Ouch. You’ve gotten me into some trouble.
Stalker: Define trouble, because from what I see, you’re a hero.
Me: My friends disagree.
Stalker: Your friends are dicks. Do better.
Me: You could do my rep some serious damage. I’m not sure how I feel about it.
Stalker: You’re enjoying it. If you weren’t, you’d be angry I still have your phone. And rather than flirt with me over text message, you’d report me to the police or your dad.
Me: So you know my dad’s an officer, and you still don’t care. You’re handling stolen property. Little Rebel.
I smile, changing the name in my contacts.
Little Rebel: How did it make you feel, seeing that girl upset after your friend mocked her?
I think over her words.
Me: I didn’t give it much thought. But, in hindsight, it was wrong. It was a dick move.
I wait a beat before adding.
Me: Now, can I get my phone back before you do any more damage?