Chapter 5 #2
Blaise Morrison throws his arms around Ash fucking Beaumont's neck, and they grin at each other like they're in love. Harley pops around the corner and joins in on the group hug and then, fuck me, Avery squeals and piles on too.
This school is ruining every aspect of my life.
Why couldn't I keep Blaise? It’s so unfair, and this might actually be the thing that breaks me.
Why?! Ugh.
Suddenly, I remember all the conversations I've been listening to about ‘the Morrison kid’. The teachers had talked about his door being stuffed with panties, and Avery had told Ash she couldn't wait for him to get here. Fuck.
My next class is chemistry. Harley is already in his seat when I eventually? walk in, with Avery at the desk in front of us.
Blaise Morrison isn’t here, and it only takes a quick glance to see that every seat taken, so I doubt he’s about to swan? in and ruin my life by existing in the same place I’m trying to learn.
I'm still sweating and shaking like mad when I sit down, but without Blaise in this class, my brain might kick back in at some point. I can feel Harley’s eyes on me as I empty out my bag with trembling hands.
“What's your problem?” he says in a haughty tone, only the smallest thread of the Bay’s lilt coloring his words.
It’s the first time I’ve noticed it, there’s something different about the question as well, but I’m still far too rattled to give it much thought.
Instead, I shrug because, well, we're not friends and I don't owe him an answer. He grunts at me and then grabs my wrist to turn my hand over. My knuckles are red and a little puffy. I must have hit that dickhead harder than I thought.
“Fighting isn't tolerated on campus,” he drawls.
Glancing up at him sharply, he surprises me by grinning back like we’re both in on this joke together.
It’s a familiar look, one a friend or comrade would give someone, and I’m lanced through the chest with a pang of homesickness that makes no sense.
I shove the feeling aside quickly before it can take hold.
I’m putting up with all of this to get away from the Bay; there’s no use feeling nostalgic, and certainly not for the slums.
When the teacher walks in and starts to take attendance, Harley leans over to whisper in my ear, “I would have paid good money to watch you punch that asshole.”
The corners of my mouth tug up into a grin. Who would have thought the way to civility with Avery's boys was by acts of violence toward Joey’s group?
The positive of sitting next to Harley is that he doesn't speak at all during classes.
He just sits and soaks in information, like the hottest sponge you've ever laid eyes on. Watching him helps distract me from the throbbing pain in my knuckles. Even if I still choose to forgo carrying my knife, I’m going to have to start packing instant ice packs in my school bag.
I watch as Harley writes neatly spaced notes flawlessly. Unlike every other rich boy I've watched in this place, he doesn’t spread out obnoxiously onto my side of the desk. If he wasn't tied to the devil that is Avery Beaumont, I might fall for him.
But I only have to remember the stink of urine on all of my belongings to shudder and swear him off.
When we are dismissed from chemistry, I have to take a minute before I can get up and head to choir. Harley looks at me curiously, and then falls into step with me. I shoot him a look of my own, but I don't say anything. Avery ignores me completely and tucks her arm into Harley's.
I make it three steps out of the room before another random senior I've never seen asks me out.
He words it better than the last guy, but it's still pretty obvious he's after sex.
Avery's giggle is infuriating, but I manage not to hit this guy.
I just tell him I'm not interested. Four more steps, and I see another junior make a beeline toward me.
“Fuck, am I going to have to elbow my way to class?” I mutter, and Harley grins at me.
“Such popularity! Maybe you should try and move up to the senior class instead of slumming it with us, Mounty,” says Avery as she breezes forward, tugging Harley with her.
He grumbles at her, “If she flattens another guy, I want to see it. If she does it to
I blush like he’s sweet-talking me, and then I curse myself for being so stupid.
“If she hits Joey, she'll be dead before the week is out.” Avery's tone is no-nonsense, monotone, and dark. I shiver.
The Beaumonts are not the type of people you fuck with without serious consideration. I need a better plan.
It’s not until I’m sitting in my choir and voice development class that I allow myself a moment of weakness and begin to pray.
Fists clenched in my lap, I keep my chin tucked into my chest as I pour every fiber of my being into pleading with whatever sentient god might be out there watching over the science experiment that is my life.
One small request, one tiny thing, for them to show me mercy for once in my miserable existence by not putting the literal man of my dreams in this class with me.
It’s a fantasy, but I still try. I’m fully aware that the choir curriculum was literally designed for students like him, and he’s always been diligent about developing and refining his talents, I’ve read enough interviews about his processes to know.
Still, I put my all into begging to be given a break, just this once.
I glance up from my clenched hands just as Blaise Morrison walks into the choir room.
Once again, proof that if there is someone out there directing the shitshow that is my life, they’re a fucking sadist.
Avery struts in after him, smiling smugly around the room as she looks down on the rest of us, and I glue my attention to the white board at the front of the classroom.
Thankfully, this is the one class without a seating chart and they sit at the front of the room together.
I’m already in the back row thanks to my plan to just melt into the background as much as I can, so I’ll just avoid him like the plague while I’m at it.
I mean, if he stays attached to Avery it’ll be a piece of cake, because I was already trying to stay as far away from that girl as possible.
The instructor, Miss Umber, is competent and friendly, and utterly obsessed with Blaise Morrison. I can’t blame the woman for that, but it does make it impossible to get through the class without picking up more clues and details about the real him.
Like the fact that he and Avery aren’t fake friends.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were secretly dating.
There’s something incredibly genuine and warm about the way they banter with each other and their casual touches.
He fawns and fusses over her the same way her brother does, the way Harley acts around her when he’s not seething mad at me for out-scoring him in class.
I was planning on speaking to Miss Umber about doing my solo privately, but embarrassingly, as the class goes on around me, I find I can't even speak in Blaise’s presence. It's humiliating and humbling, and I consider leaving the school for the very first time since arriving at this hellhole.
How can he affect me so much?
But I know the answer to that already. The one truly good thing about growing up where I did was the music scene, and I used it to escape from the horrors of my existence. He's every single one of my fantasies come to life, and now he’s here walking the halls of Hannaford with me.
I can't look at him without thinking about all the times I've listened to his crooning on repeat, headphones jammed tightly in my ears, singing along at the top of my lungs without skipping a beat because all I could hear was him.
His lyrics sound like they were written for me, like he can see into my soul and make words from all the twisted and terrible things inside me.
At the group home, when I couldn’t sleep or couldn’t face my own thoughts, I would to listen to Vanth and imagine what my life would be like if I wasn’t the Wolf, if I was brave enough to start a band and run away from all my troubles, or even if I could sing without a grade-A panic attack that would leave me shaking for days.
But I'm not brave… at least, not that type of brave.
After the theory portion of class is finished, we move onto the practical.
We make it through warmups without a hitch, and then Miss Umber breaks us up into groups to work through the vocal exercises.
Thanks to where I’m sitting, I'm paired with Lauren, who smiles at me shyly, and two other girls I don't really know.
It's easy enough to distract the other girls and not actually do any singing myself.
Lauren is good, but not as good as I am, and the other two can harmonize well.
I almost forget how terrible my situation is.
“Oh god, he's about to sing!” Dahlia says. Well, squeals is more accurate.
Holding back a cringe, I glance over to find Avery grinning at Blaise as he starts with his vocal work. I try not to let my face show what his voice is doing to me because, honestly, I've never been so turned on in my life. It's wildly unfair and cruel.
All the other groups have stopped to listen to him as well, and Miss Umber is blushing at Blaise as she watches him over her glasses.
She's looking at him like she'd eat him right up, and I’m absolutely sympathetic to her admiring his talent but, this is—she looks infatuated with him. A student in her junior class.
Are all the teachers at this school predatory, or is that just the intense allure of Avery’s guys?
Speaking of Avery, she’s enjoying being in the thick of it.
Her hand is curled around his arm possessively, and the soft look on her face evaporates the moment she’s looking anywhere but directly at him.
I roll my eyes at her, and Lauren giggles next to me.
She's a sweet girl. If she were a bit braver, I’m sure we could actually be friends.
“Any other songs you’d like, Claire?” Blaise says to Miss Umber, and my gaze snaps back to him just in time to see him send her a flirtatious wink.
I could just die.
If he ever does that in my direction, I will expire.
The woman has zero shame and uses the papers in her hands to fan herself. “O-oh, no, that's quite alright! How was your touring during the break? Did you get to spend some time at home with your family?”
She blushes her way through her questions and sits down with his group. The room stays quiet. He's the focus of everyone's attention, and he grins easily.
“It was great! I did a lot of Europe and a little bit of Asia. We focused on smaller, more intimate venues, so I could look into the crowd and see people rather than just a writhing mass. My parents didn’t have the chance to come out and watch me, but they’re so busy that I’m used to it.
I’d much rather be on the road than sitting around at home while they work. ”
Miss Umber nods along with him, her eyes affectionate. “They must be so proud of all that you’ve accomplished! A world tour at your age—it’s quite a feat.”
He turns the charm up to a twelve as he smiles back at her. “I'm ready to be here, though. I missed my friends and I need a rest.”
“Only you would see school as a rest,” Avery scolds him, smiling like a Cheshire cat.
“Well, I'm expecting to sleep at least ten hours a night, and my liver is going to have a chance to empty out a bit, so yeah, it's a break. You never realize how precious sleeping on a stationary bed is until you're trapped on a bus for months,” he says with another wink at Miss Umber.
I’m starting to worry the poor woman’s heart won’t be able to cope with all the blushing she’s doing.
“Trapped, like you don't love every second of it! Last year you were the worst to be around because you'd been home for too long. I give it a week before you'll be planning your next move.”
He laughs, and his whole face lights up when he looks at Avery. I've never been so jealous in all my life.
“I'd kill for a boy to look at me like that,” whispers Lauren, and I smile at her. Dahlia nods frantically, and Jessie hums in agreement. I should take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only girl feeling this way, but I’m too busy trying not to scream as Blaise Morrison laughs and jokes around with the girl who’s hell-bent on bullying me out of this school.