The New Boy- Completed

Twenty Seven

"Hello?" 

"Alright snappy. Thought you were calming down this year." I rolled my eyes at Sterling, staring at him in the camera as I moved through campus. 

"You're just calling when I'm busy. Again." 

"Busy with what now? It's 9am on the first Monday back. You haven't even had your first class yet." The snicker that left his mouth made me giggle. He was right. I wasn't busy busy. I was just reading. 

"Nothing. What's up?" 

"Where's Evan? I thought he was picking you up?" 

"Oh he did. He went to get coffee and I'm meeting him in class." He nodded. "Why do you ask about him so much now. Are you two like besties? Am I being replaced?" I scowled at him holding my book over my heart dramatically before pushing my earphones further into my ears. 

"You're never going to be replaced princess. I just wanted to know you are safe. No. Stop rolling your eyes at me." 

"Never. I'm fine. I was fine before him and I'm fine now." I slowed walking as I started noticing how many eyes were watching and whispering about me today. "Can you see this?" 

"See what?" 

"How people are staring at me? It's not like it was before break. They're not just watching me intriguingly. They're proper staring, whispering." 

"Probably because of Evan Fay. I mean, you didn't speak to anyone all last year and then the new guy shows up and breaks you down. People are bound to be curious about what's going to happen next or how it all happened." 

"I guess." I sighed, walking into the building. "I hate people staring. Makes me feel really on edge."

"Yeah but at least they're thinking about you and him and not anything else. It might stop the bullying too." I rolled my eyes at him. God I wish it would. I doubt it. It would probably be worse. 

"What are you up to today then? Are you home or away or catching another flight to some new far off land?" 

"I am home. For the week. This girl is in school too so she's busy through the week. It's only a weekend trip." 

"Oh that's not bad." I huffed walking up the stairs, stopping at the top. "I am so out of shape it's pathetic." Steel chuckled at me. "Want to see some of my work from last term?" 

"Always. Is it done?" 

"We will see. It depends how the paint dried and everything. Hopefully." I knocked on the little staff room door, grabbing the keys from the tutor and continuing down the corridor. "Tell me about this girl then." He laughed at me. I could see him typing away on his laptop, his phone propped up against the screen.

"I don't know much. Just from my research online and little here and there conversations. She's really pretty, intelligent, I think. I mean she's in Harvard. You have to be smart to get in there right?" 

"Well yeah. Or rich." 

"I hope she's clever. I can't deal with another conversation of having to explain the difference between their, there and they're." 

"Wait. There are 3 different ones?" He rolled his eyes and I smiled, pushing the door open and turning on the light. "If she's in Harvard, I'm sure it's fine. Okay here we go-" I looked up, my face dropping as I saw the totally wrecked piece. 

"Fay? Wh- You've not flipped your camera." 

"Can you pick me up?" I looked down at him. "Like right now? Now, Now?" 

"Fay-" I flipped the camera showing him how someone had scrawled princess all across my work in paint, pictures of me from balls, family portraits taped to it. "I'm coming. I'll meet you by that little book shop on the south end in 10 minutes. Stay on the phone okay? Don't hang up." 

"He told." I stared at the painting, fighting back the tears and pure anger that was taking over. If people knew, I really couldn't let them see me like that. "That's why people were staring. Not because of us, because they knew. I bet everyone knew. I was just an achievement all this time Sterling." 

"Fay." 

"I um- I need a minute. South side book store. Ten minutes." I hung up, taking a picture of it and pushing my phone into my pocket. My hand moved around the necklace he'd given me Christmas eve. I'd worn it at the ball that night. The night I didn't want to end. The night he told me he wanted to be with me until we were old and grey. I unclipped it, squeezing the teardrop diamond in my hand so hard I could feel blood beginning to pool around it. 

"Okay they didn't have the oat milk bu-" I turned to face him as he walked in, staring at the cups then up to me. "You okay?" 

"So when did you tell them?" 

"What?" 

"Who did you tell? Jack right? When was it? Back in Paris? Or did you at least let me have the rest of the week? Did you wait until I was in Sterling's car the day we got back or was it already out there? Or did you tell them after you laid in my bed playing doctor. Did you fucking know as you stood there telling me you wanted me forever that this was going to be fucking waiting for me?" I quickly wiped away the 2 tears that had fallen as I slammed the necklace down on the desk, leaving the blood puddle with it as I just walked out. 

"Fay." 

"Don't fucking talk to me Evan. You never should have fucking said a word." I slammed the door behind me, walking with my head held high back through the campus. No tears. Not until we were out of sight. 

"What's going on Princess." Jack's voice sent shivers down my spine, laced with venom. I had no fucking doubt it was him. "You know. Everything would have been very different if we knew in the first place. We're all really sorry. We didn't know." 

"Save it Jack. I don't care." 

"Still got an attitude? I'll be sure to tell the papers that this afternoon." I pushed past him, clinging hand to my book as it fell by my side. 

By the time I was outside the bookstore. Steel was already there. 

"FAY. WAIT." I didn't even look at him as I opened the door and climbed in, slamming it shut and locking it. 

"Just drive Sterling." He put his hand on my thigh squeezing tight as I covered my face with both hands, pushing my finger nails deep into my scalp. 

"Where do you want to go?" 

"Anywhere he won't be." He nodded and just started driving. The second we were out of sight, my tears began to fall. I wasn't going to stop them. I was madly in love with him. And he just betrayed me like that? Like anything he said or did was a lie? I was just a fucking toy to him. I never meant a single thing.