Page 68 of A Vicious Rumor

I rolled my eyes. "I'm never the one who starts it. Just look at him over there."

"All I see is a man with his girlfriend. You've really got to get over the fact that they're dating," Paper said.

I sort of wanted to punch his smug face now. "They're not dating," I said through clenched teeth.

Paper let out a sarcastic chuckle, which was slightly uncharacteristic of him. "Okay," he said. "Keep living in your fantasy world, but just don't start fights in the real one."

He walked off, and I stayed put. I grabbed a beer from one of the nearby coolers and sat on one of the outdoor benches, basically just watching Scissors and Lily the entire night. For the most part, they stayed in the same spot, around a fire pit with a group of what were considered to be the "popular" kids of the school.

Some of my teammates tried to come up to me throughout the evening, but I just brushed them off. I didn't want to get drunk. I didn't want to dance or party or do any of that shit. I was too hyper focused on Lily and the way she kept stealing small glances my way as soon as she noticed where I was sitting.

An hour went by and finally, she broke away from the douchebag. I thought that she might just hang out with the Zoo girls, as that seemed to be her new crowd, something that still didn't make any sense to me, but that's not what she did. Instead, she looked at me briefly, and then made her way up one of the staircases near the clubroom.

Without a second thought, I jumped up and followed her. It was almost dark outside now, but the hallway lights hadn't been turned on. I put my hand out to the wall to feel my way along, waiting for my eyes to adjust. I hadn't seen which way she'd gone or if she'd gone into one of the bedrooms. Then, about two doors down on the right, I heard a door open and then shut.

Three big steps had me standing in front of the door and I opened it without hesitating. The door was heavy and closed behind me with a big of a bang that I wasn't expecting.

"Who's there?" a timid voice called out from the bathroom.

I paused for a second, not sure if I should just turn back around or answer. I wasn't even sure what I was doing here. Before I had a chance to decide on an answer, the light to the bathroom flipped on, letting me make out my surroundings. I was clearly in a girl's room. By the things that were hung here and there, it was likely Lily's.

There's was a dream catcher above the bed, a few plants next to the windows, and some pictures of her and her mom on the dresser. She was standing just out of arm's reach, her blue eyes wide. I hated all the makeup she had taken to wearing lately. I missed seeing her just as she was.

"Tyson? What are you doing here?" she asked in a timid voice.

I scoffed at the irony of the question. What was I doing here? I still, to this day, could not figure out what she was doing here, at Scissors' house. It all still didn't make sense.

And it made me fucking angry. The fact that she was with Scissors. The fact that she was here, in this room.

Two steps and I was in front of her. A grab of her arm and she gasped. A hand behind her neck and she was melting into me. All of it gave me the answers I needed, but I was still going to ask the question.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" I said, enunciating each word.

"I live here," she said breathlessly, not moving in closer but not making any attempt to pull away.

"How?" I asked. The hand resting behind her neck squeezed slightly. I was so close to her now. I could feel the heat rising off of her body. I could remember just how good her skin felt pressing into mine. How good her breasts felt in my palms. I wanted it all again. I wanted her again, and I wanted to know that no one else was going to fucking touch her but me.

"Scholarship," she said quietly, knowing I was catching her in a lie.

"I wasn't aware there was a scholarship to live at the King's mansion," I whispered into her ear. She shivered, but didn't move. "So, what's the story, Tiger Lily? Hm?" I said, my lips ghosting over the shell of her ear. "You fucking him to get free room and board? Is that it? Like a common whore?"

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. But, I was angry, and I wanted her angry. I wanted her on edge as much as I was on edge. I wanted to see what she would do, if she felt the same emotions that I felt. If she brushed me off, I'd have my answer. It'd mean she didn't care about me or what I said.

But...

But...

If she reacted, then I knew I had her.

And she did. Because when the word "whore" left my lips, she pulled back and slapped me as hard as she could across the face, which wasn't very hard. It stung just the slightest, and I smiled.

Grinned, actually.

She was still in love with me.

I'd been right all along. This thing with Scissors, it was a rouse.

I grabbed her wrist and pushed her back against the wall. My knee came between her legs, spreading them so that she was off balance. I put her wrist up above her head and pushed it to the wall. Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

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