Being Bad

Chapter 55: It's A Showdown

Lia James

"Guys, do you really think this plan is gonna work?" I asked the crew.

We were standing in the hallway in front of my locker, going over everything that is about to go down tonight. We are going to expose Dante once and for all.

"It's going to work, Lia. Don't worry." Cole reassures me. I have had doubts just thinking about it for the past couple of days.

"I know. I just don't want anything to screw it up. This has to work. Lina's life practically depends on it."

"Don't worry, Lia." Mason cuts in. "We'll get him. We'll get him good."

"Alright, so now what do we do?" Jace asks the group.

"Well, we need everyone to go to the party tonight." Mason tells us, and we all nod.

"I've got Eli telling some of the underclassmen, we just need the rest of us to tell the rest of them." I informed the gang, and they all shook their heads in unison.

"So, I say we all split up and meet back at cafe for lunch?" I asked the guys if the plan was okay, and they all nodded in unison.

"Sounds good." Mason spoke for the rest of them. "Now, let's go. Operation Let's Bust A Cap In Dante's Ass is a go."

"Woah, woah, woah! We're not gonna shoot this guy." Jace exclaims. "Right?"

"It's a figure of speech you dumb ass." Mason rolled his eyes.

"For you." Cole added, and we all gave him a weird look. Mostly a look of concern, and a bit of fear.

He just shrugged our looks off like it was nothing.

He better not mess this plan up.

We all separate and go our ways, Mason, Ryan, and Ollie going one way, while Cole, Jace, and I go another way.

Approaching the hallways with caution, I look around to make sure I stay clear of Andrew. I don't want him finding out about this party, especially if we have ulterior motives. I don't want him messing anything up.

He can get physical at times, and we don't want anyone to get arrested. Well, anyone other than Dante.

That's why I informed Eli to not, under any circumstances, tell Andrew or Nick about this party. He told me that he understood where I was coming from, and that he was going to keep his mouth shut.

But, I guess we can't promise the whole student body who's going to be talking about it all day.

When I turn the corner, I see Lina and Dante hanging out near one of the classrooms. They're just talking, having a conversation, and Lina seems...okay.

It's a bit weird, but she doesn't seem like she's hurting.

...

It's definitely an act.

I approach them confidently, ready to share my little speech that I spent a total of twenty minutes practicing in the mirror this morning before school. I didn't want them to know that we were up to something, so my acting had to be spotless.

I can't act for my life, so we'll see how this goes.

"Hey guys!" I yell towards them, trotting along a little too happily on my feet. I wince at my suspicious actions, and then take a deep breath.

Quit acting weird, Lia. Don't ruin your only chance of getting this guy.

"Hey, Lia. What's up?" Lina smiled at me, while Dante, who had his back to me, turned around and did the same.