𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐄

─ ❝ act xxxii ❞

⎡ act xxxii - punishment ⎦

┊❝ You just need to learn your place ❞┊

── THAT weekend for (Y/N) was tortuous, in a sense, as not only did her father take away her phone, but he had also kept her house-bound. She was forced to think about what kind of responses her friends would be having to whatever pictures Dylan released, not even able to interact with them since her father kept her under tight surveillance.

The next week at school, her only destination after being grounded severely, everyone was looking at her. No matter where she went, eyes were on her, and she had a dreadful feeling that whatever pictures Dylan had sent out were the kind not to be entirely wanted. Sitting at her desk in her first period, she tried to ignore the obvious whispers, laying her head down and wishing she were anywhere but there.

"Well," a voice commented beside her. "Isn't this something?"

Moving her head until one eye peeked out from over her arm, she immediately shot backward in her chair when meeting Ian's gaze. Unease clawed through her heart like a torrential wave, her hands on her desk tensing in case he tried anything. Already she could feel those eyes on her again, hear the whispers not so greatly hidden behind hands. Ian noticed her apprehension, the corners of his lips tilting upwards ever so slightly in a way that made her want to punch him just as she did to Dylan.

"What do you want?" She demanded, her voice hoarse after having cried alone in the sanctuary of her room.

What more could he possibly want?

"Nothing," he chuckled softly whilst folding his arms over his chest, rolling his tongue along the inside of his cheek. "I just want to watch how everything you worked so hard to build away from me and Dylan crumble before you. After all, it's not every day someone is isolated as fast as you."

Narrowing her eyes, she buried her face back into the crook of her arm, no longer wanting to face him.

So...

He just wants to enjoy this.

"By the way, why were you ignoring us this past weekend?" Ian continued, completely ignoring the fact that she clearly didn't want to talk. "Was your phone confiscated or something?" He obtained nothing from her silence, but that didn't stop him from drawing his own conclusions, humming out, "I guess that makes sense. You weren't even supposed to be at that party in the first place. Dylan overheard you and those assholes talking about it."

She flinched.

Have they just been watching me constantly?

Then that feeling I had when going to the store the other day... was that them as well?

"Listen, (Y/N)..." Ian's voice dropped into a low murmur, (Y/N) feeling his arm brushing against her own, a fact that allowed her to realize he had leaned even closer to her. "We don't want to hurt you more than we have to. You just need to learn your place. And it's right beside us."

Standing up abruptly after his words filtered and burrowed its way into her head, (Y/N) let her expression smoothen out into one of lack of concern before walking out the door. Leaving Ian there, already able to feel his eyes scouring her body, she walked calmly away until she couldn't any longer. Climbing the stairs up to the roof, one of the only places kept hidden from other students, she slammed open the door and greedily inhaled the fresh after feeling as if she were suffocating.

Running her hands through her (H/C) hair, the frantic emotions that she felt stirring inside her reaching their boiling point, she slowly slid down the wall to sit.

I can't do this anymore.

I thought I could maybe... be free of them if I just acted as if I didn't care.

So... why?

Why is this still happening?

"God, you look pathetic," a voice to her right rang out, the girl turning to spot Dylan standing there with his hands tucked into his pockets and a smile on his lips. "It's really fucking cute."

Stumbling upwards, backing away from him and feeling like a deer in headlights from how stiffly she moved, she cursed when realizing that he blocked the only exit, meaning there was nowhere to go like there was on Friday. She had to face him whether she wanted to or not, something that made her want to jump off the roof rather than meet his eyes one more time.

Dylan's smile grew, almost as if he knew exactly what she were thinking.

He didn't say anything more, though, making everything seem to still as if time were frozen. The only thing that negated that was the wind which came in brief breezes to ruffle the tree leaves. (Y/N) kept her gaze fixated on Dylan, the sense of deja vu she had making her feel ill.

Just like on Friday...

"So?" He began, taking a step closer, and then another. "How are you?"

"Seriously?" She gaped at him in astonishment. "After what you've done to me... after what you've done to my friends... the only thing you can ask me is 'how are you?'"

"Why not?" He shrugged.

(Y/N) said nothing to that, watching with a glare as he steadily grew closer to where she stood, her teeth gritting at how helpless she felt. In all honesty, with Dylan or with Ian, whenever she felt their gaze, whenever she heard their voice, whenever she felt their touch, always did she feel as if they were doing so to keep her tightly restrained. With their recent actions, her pondering was only confirmed. What she didn't know was if it were because they wanted a pet, or just someone to beat around.

"Let me ask you something, Dylan," she started lowly, observing how his eyes lit up upon her seemingly curiosity. "If it hadn't been me that day outside of that classroom, would you have done this to that other person, too?"

"Hm?" He raised a brow, having not expected such a question. "If it were someone... that isn't you?"

"Yes," she scowled, her fists tightening.

"No," he answered immediately, his eyes curving with amusement and glimmering with sadistic glee. "Why would I bother with them?" In an instant, the gap between them was shortened when he took two long strides to reach her, his hand gripping her chin in a harsh manner that forced her to look up, uttering softly, "The look on your face when your scared... when you cry... when you express your hatred of me... it's all so fucking addicting. Why the hell would I trade that for some other piece of shit? I want you."

(Y/N) trembled in his hold.

"There's that look," he whispered, his voice husky against her ear, having to bite his lip to restrain himself. "I really like it."

Without hesitation, Dylan smashed his lips onto hers as he backed her up against the wall, pinning her there as one hand tangled itself in her hair while the other grabbed her waist tightly. Watching her through slit eyes, loving how she struggled against him, he pushed his tongue into her mouth to heat up the kiss, both of them breathing heavily by that point until he finally pulled away.

"Like I said, (Y/N)," Dylan murmured, his eyes locking with hers. "You're mine."

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To be continued...