Fade Into You

Chapter 3

Jonathan's POV

I stared blankly at the can of beer in my hand while the distant sounds of T.J. and Luke shouting at each other over a video game echoed through the basement. My mind, however, was far from the chaos—they could've been yelling into a void for all I cared.

I kept thinking about what happened at the café yesterday afternoon—between me, Jake Castillo, and his delicate little sister.

Jake and I have been enemies for as long as I can remember. I hate his guts just as much as he hates mine. Every time I see his face, all I can think about is how he stabbed me in the back.

Thanks to my mother, who drilled into me the art of masking emotions, I've gotten pretty damn good at hiding the storm behind my smile. It's a handy skill, especially when you're constantly surrounded by snakes.

The Royal siblings. That's what the world calls them. 

Their mafia is known as the Royal Mafia, and because of that, people treat them like royalty—falling over themselves to please them, worship them, practically kiss the ground they walk on.

But not me. Especially not Jake Castillo. 

He's like an irritating splinter under my skin—impossible to ignore and painful as hell. And the reason we hate each other so much? Well... some things are better left unspoken. But don't get me wrong—I remember every detail like it happened yesterday, not three years ago.

As for his sister... she's something else. 

For years, I noticed she can barely look me in the eye. And when she does, it doesn't last longer than a second before she either blushes or looks away. It's... odd. I'm not exactly easy to ignore. I mean, have you seen me? There's not a single ounce of ugly in me.

T.J. and Luke's voices cut through my thoughts. Even with the soundproofing we installed in the basement to make it our personal hangout spot, they were still loud enough to be annoying.

"Nah, bro, that's old news. He's with that brunette now—the one from Saint Christopher," T.J. said, glancing over at me.

"He's got trash taste in girls," Luke muttered. "What does he even see in her?"

I tried to catch up with the conversation, piecing together who they were talking about.

"Dude, have you seen her?" T.J. continued. "She's tall, gorgeous, long brown hair, those brown eyes—and that body? She was seriously flexing it in that tight-ass uniform. I might hate Castillo, but I'd love to tap his girl."

Ah. So that's who they were talking about.

"Dude," Luke said, then both of them turned to glance at me.

I raised an eyebrow and placed the half-empty can on the table beside me.

"Madison. I think that's her name," I finally said, my voice cutting through the room. It was the first time I'd spoken in the past thirty minutes.

They both looked at me like I'd just grown a second head.

"I heard they were fake-dating before it got real," I added. "Just a rumor. But we all know Castillo—he'd stoop that low if it meant getting what he wants."

T.J. laughed and gave Luke a low high-five.

Fake dating...

Suddenly, a wicked idea began forming in the back of my mind.

"What do you guys think about Faye Castillo?" I asked, leaning back in my seat.

They exchanged a look.

"What about her?" T.J. asked. "She's his little sister. Not as annoying as Jake, but close. People do everything for her because she's the Royal Mafia's precious princess. She definitely takes advantage of that."

I nodded and looked at Luke. "You?"

He smirked and crossed his arms. 

"Personally? I think she's pretty hot."

I narrowed my eyes. "How come?"

He stared at me like I'd just asked him what two plus two was.

"Come on, man, are you blind?"

"Humor me."

"Well, aside from the fact she's Mafia royalty, she's gorgeous. Smart too. There was this one time she helped me out with a calculus problem in class—made the whole thing make sense. And remember that lame party at Betty's house? The one we skipped?"

"Yeah?"

"She was there. Someone posted a picture of her on their Instagram story. Dude, she looked fire. I'm telling you, she doesn't stand out at school, but outside of it? Whole different energy."

The idea that had popped into my head was now demanding to be acted on.

"What about you, T.J.?" I asked. "Any thoughts?"

He shrugged. 

"I'll change my opinion when I see her the way Luke's describing her. Why the sudden interest?"

I smirked. "I think... I'm gonna ask her out."

"What?!" they both shouted.

"Yeah. It's about time I got to know her."

Luke shook his head like I'd just suggested jumping into shark-infested waters. 

"No way. No way, man. You're already beefing with her brother. And now you wanna go after her? You're looking for trouble."

"So?" I said casually. "It's not serious. Do you guys even know me? You know how I handle girls."

They nodded slowly.

"Exactly. So why not run the same play on her? I'm not into her. I just want to—"

"Use her?" T.J. cut in.

"Something like that. I could get her to tell me a few secrets about Jake. And at the same time? I'll use her to drive him crazy."

"Ooh," Luke groaned. "Damn. You're cold."

I chuckled darkly.

"I'll ruin him. And then...I'll break her."