Sweet Like Revenge

06 - Attack by Stratagem

"Have you seen her?"

I kicked off my heels to lie back against my bedhead, tucking my phone between my shoulder and ear with a sly smirk. "Hello to you, too. How's the weather over there?"

"Ana!" Ryan scolded comically. I could practically hear his impatience through the phone. "Have you seen Sienna?"

I swallowed my playful smile as though he could see it.

"Yes," I confirmed slowly, lacing one leg over the other. "And Poppy, and Nate—"

"But what did you say to Sienna?" he interrupted, excitement bubbling in his throat.

Ryan was my best friend, one I'd reluctantly had to leave behind when my parents and I made the move back to Irvine Falls. While didn't know everything about my time at the academy in seventh grade, he knew enough to know that I was back with a vengeance.

"I told her she was the human equivalent of a cane toad," I quipped as a text from my mother buzzed against my cheek.

Richie told me you had a good day! We'll chat tomorrow—I'm working late xx

Surprise, surprise.

"Then, I stomped on her feet and made out with Nate right in front of her—"

"Anaaa." Ryan groaned again. "I'm dying over here."

I masked a giggle, removing my jewelry and laying it on my bedside table. "I didn't talk to her much. But when I did she was..." I paused, searching for the right descriptor. Honestly, I didn't know what to say. She'd been nice? Polite? It was almost as if my brain was stopping me from using those or any positive words in reference to Sienna, who it viewed only as the crowned queen of darkness. "She was indifferent," I conceded.

"Right," Ryan drawled sarcastically. He sighed, that same signature impatience still rife in his tone. "Well, I still think that you should get the showdown over with. The longer you wait, the harder it will be..."

"Maybe. Or maybe it'll be better."

Ryan could only sigh in response. "How was Asterisk?"

Astor's face flashed through my mind. His shaggy black hair, wet from the raging storm. His wide and bright smile, far too mischievous. Far too dark. His coal-black eyes, hungry for only one thing.

"Astor," I corrected, my throat suddenly quite coarse.

"If you expect me to make room in my precious brain for such a ridiculously stupid name"—Ryan scoffed—"then your expectations are way too high. But, regardless, please tell me that you kicked him in the balls?"

I faked a laugh, but my skin pricked like it was crawling with tiny spiders. Whilst I'd been eager to see a familiar face all day, I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing Astor Black's. Part of me was relieved that he'd been seemingly absent from school. Another part of me, the logical part, knew that it was only a matter of time before I saw him again, and I just wanted to get the bloody thing over with.

"Ana?" Ryan asked, softer that time.

"I didn't see him, actually." That was all I cared to say.

It did make me wonder, though. If I could barely look Sienna in the eye, how would I act around Astor? Would I flee? Would I fight?

I shook off the thought. I'd had enough anxiety for one day.

"By the way," I redirected with a sly inflection, "you're my boyfriend now."

"I'm your what?"

"My boyfriend. Well, technically my ex-boyfriend."

"Ohmygosh!" Ryan exclaimed. "I've always wanted to be someone's beard! Thank you so much! I'm honored."