Lie is Just a Word

𝓣𝔀𝓸

Song of the chapter: Sad, Beautiful, Tragic (Taylor's Version)- Taylor Swift

11 MONTHS AFTER THE MURDER...

Pierce led Winter to a school courtyard. As they walked together, he looked around and made sure no one saw the two of them together. They sat down on a little stone bench in front of a fountain in the courtyard. "How have you been?" He asked, moving a strand of her hair from her eyes. "I'm okay, I guess... it's kind of hard to feel good at all since..." A few tears formed. "Hey, it's okay," He whispered. She leaned in closer and he wrapped his arms around her.

Would she ever know that the way that he looked at her was no different to how every other boy at the school did? Like a shark smelling blood in the ocean waves, preying on the vulnerability. Her need to be loved fed into his ego. He knew Scarlett never cared for him and so he sought out anyone who'd show him any attention. Truthfully, Winter was the same. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. She never felt loved at home and so she fed off of the attention she received for her looks. If Pierce wasn't the one she ran to, it easily could've been anyone else.

She looked back up at him. "What are we going to do?" He simply shook his head. "I don't know. I don't want to keep this as just a secret anymore but we can't risk the rumours," She nodded. What would people say if they found out she was dating her dead best friend's boyfriend? And what if they realised she was seeing him before Scarlett was even dead? What if Carly became more popular than her? Pierce didn't want to risk doing anything dangerous and making her unhappy, even if he was just using her. If he upset her, she'd move on. She could, but he didn't have that luxury.

He was only able to seep inside of her brain through Scarlett. She trusted him because he was Scarlett's boyfriend. No one else would trust him, especially not after his girlfriend died. So he needed Winter just as much as she needed him.

~~~~~~

He remembered the night they first started their affair. It was a party on a Friday night, not unlike the night that Scarlett had died. He raced through the halls of Carly's parent's house, desperately trying to find Scarlett, but she was nowhere to be seen. Crashing through crowds of people, he finally found her, chattering away in the dimmed corner of the room. The person she was with was none other than Zander Seibert, the same Zander Seibert who was known for the massive crush he had on her. Nothing was suspicious, but still, it angered Pierce. Who did she think she was?!

As he angrily stomped away, she noticed him. "Pi-" She stumbled. "Pierce!! There you are..." Scarlett staggered over, clearly drunk. He shoved her arm off of him. He didn't even say a word, just headed anywhere else. Scarlett stood there confused. What had she done that time? Was she not allowed to talk to her own friend?

As he started up the stairs, he noticed Winter was standing alone, cup in hand. He walked over to her. "Hey, you okay?" She nodded. As Pierce got closer, it became apparent that she was drunk, too. "What're you doing UP here?" She questioned as she almost fell down. Her cup slipped from her and splashed on the carpeted floor. "Let me get you another one. I was planning on getting some myself," "Okay-y, I'll stay here I guess," She shouted. He rushed down the stairs and quickly returned with two cups of beer.

The two spent the rest of the night dancing and drinking together. After a few hours, they were both so drunk they could barely walk. They eventually made their way to the balcony. Staring up at the stars dotting the sky, Pierce moved closer to her. He pulled her in and kissed her, not even thinking of Scarlett once. He took another sip of beer and kissed her again.

~~~~~~

"What if we were to tell someone?" She asked him. Returning to reality, he felt his heart drop. "Don't tell anyone!" He paused, his breath warm in Winter's face. "Do you hear me? We can't let them know what we did!" His words stung like a thousand knife cuts all across Winter's body. Winter backed up. She started shaking. She was about to walk away but he grabbed her hand. Seeing the tears in her eyes, his heart sank. He hadn't meant to hurt her like that.

"I'm sorry, Winter..." He sighed. "We have to figure this out. You know I love you but we can't tell anyone for now." She nodded, blinking back tears. He pulled her closer to him and held her. She cried into his shoulder for a few minutes. Love never felt so difficult until he came along.

He felt tears well up in his own eyes. What was this feeling? Maybe it was the guilt consuming him just as it was doing to her. He cheated on Scarlett with her and still, he was the reason she cried. There was just so much pain in the air.

~~~~~~

When Pierce kissed Winter the first time, she didn't resist. She couldn't bring herself to. Not only was she incredibly drunk but at that point she truly loved him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. They spent a while on that balcony, kissing, talking, and drinking.

At one point Winter blacked out. Pierce decided the best thing to do was to get her home so he called her brother. Scarlett had already left the part as did many others. It was close to 4 AM at that point and not many people planned on staying. As he waited for her brother to arrive, he thought about everything that they did he didn't even regret it. He looked over at her and smiled.

~~~~~~

"Let's meet up after school," Pierce whispered. "Really?" Winter asked, still tearing up. "Yeah, I'll pick you up and we can go for a drive in the mountains," Winter smiled. "That sounds nice." "We can put on your favorite songs if you'd like..." She leaned in and kissed him, grabbing his hand.

The two prepared to leave when they realised something was very wrong. Through the glass they could see someone staring at them, and it was none other than Carly Brager. With glass that thin it was certain she had heard at least part of their conversation. The two of them raced to the door but Carly immediately dashed away, leaving them to figure out what to do next...