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Chapter 12: Running Away
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2024-03-25 00:00:08Related chapters
The Bully Games Chapter 13: Behind the Gym
[Lily] Call it a moment of weakness or maybe a chemical reaction that caused a rush of stupid lust, but I met Atticus behind the gym. It was a stupid move, since again, it is a place where nobody can see us. Anything can happen behind the gym, which is why it is such a popular rendezvous for lovers. Atticus and I are not lovers. Not even close. And we never will be as long as Evie is breathing down our necks and I manage to maintain even the smallest amount of self-respect. But Atticus, to his credit, is a perfect gentleman. “Listen,” he begins his apology. “I’m sorry you had to see that thing between Evie and me. That wasn’t my idea.” He shyly rubs the back of his neck, a nervous trait that I have come to realize signifies discomfort at telling an awkward truth. He chose to wear the traditional school uniform today with the jacket and tie and crisply pressed trousers and as he talks he also fiddles with his tie, which is refusing to stay in place. “Stop,” I order him. The tie
Last Updated : 2024-03-26The Bully Games Chapter 14: Project Evie
[Lily]On our way back into the main school, Atticus outlines a plan for how we can be friends while also circumnavigating Evie's wrath. It involves a ridiculous amount of subterfuge and feels more like a spy game than a friendship. He is convinced it will work, while I know it is going to fail. "This is a stupid plan," I scoff under my breath, looking up at him from the corner of my eye trying to maintain some form of dignity as we walk through the halls. Unlike any of the times I have moved through these spaces, today everyone's eyes are on me. I'm not just walking to breakfast, I am walking there with Atticus Preston. "You mean it is a brilliant, ingenious, and wonderful plan," he praises himself. "Why thank you, Liliana, for your confidence in me. I promise I will not let you down," he adjusts his blazer as if he was just given an award. I almost expect him to bow and give a speech for his excellent performance. "Evie is an ass, but she isn't an idiot," I hiss, looking over m
Last Updated : 2024-03-29The Bully Games Chapter 15: Click Click Clique
[Nyx] *Click* I love Lily like a sister. I would do anything to protect her, even from herself. Seeing her standing on the Legacy stairs just behind Atticus makes my stomach clench. He is up to something, I just know it. There isn’t a kind, considerate bone in his body. This is why I don’t trust his sudden sense of guilt over how he has treated Lily these last three years. Atticus is a snake. Once a snake, always a snake. Last night something happened. I don’t know what exactly but whatever it was upset Lily so badly that she spent the night crying. Asking her about it would not only embarrass her but open up an unnecessary wound. I already have an idea of the source of her misfortune--My old friend Ace. Lily is growing close to him at an alarming rate. He went from Public Enemy #1 to Boyfriend material in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, this means her guard is down, her eyes are closed, and she has no idea she is falling head-first into a den of vipers. It won’t be enough
Last Updated : 2024-03-30The Bully Games Chapter 16: Legacy Lessons
[Lily] “Are you sure this is necessary?” “Do you want to be a legacy or not,” Atticus laughs. “Trust me, this is necessary.” “But how often am I going to need to walk in 6” heels across a slippery floor,” I try to turn to face him but I can’t. We have been working on my posture for the last three days and each time he comes back with even higher heels. I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen shorter stilts. “The key is to tighten your core and bend your knees,” Madison coaches. “Step on the front of your feet and think tall thoughts.” I am trying so hard to not roll my eyes at these instructions, but I’m also exhausted. I’ve been a legacy for a week, and already I’ve been given instructions on how to dress, how to talk, how to eat, and how to sit. Now it’s how to walk like a circus performer on a tightrope. Okay, maybe not. But walking in these ridiculous heels sure makes me feel like a clown. Especially since the entire Legacy Seven is here to watch me fall on my face. A few of them ar
Last Updated : 2024-04-03The Bully Games Chapter 17: Tender Care
[Lily] As he holds me tightly to his chest I feel safe, even though my brain says that I shouldn’t. My brain is smart but my heart is an idiot. So to appease the warring parts of me, I keep my eyes open while I take comfort in how it feels to have his arms wrapped around me. I am, after all, only human. And although he is a total bully and a complete jerk, right now he is treating me with so much tenderness and care I don’t know what to think. Could I have possibly misjudged him this entire time? No. Nyx wouldn’t lie about her story. I am sure every word of what she said about her pain and her suffering was absolutely 100% true. Looking up at him, the sunlight from the high windows in school makes his hair glow with bright golden light but casts his face in a dark shadow. Much like his personality--part angel, part devil. This makes his expression hard to read, although, from the set of his jaw, I can see that he is worried. Worried about what? He's a Legacy--he can do whatever he
Last Updated : 2024-04-06The Bully Games Chapter 18: Playing House
“Follow my lead,” Atticus whispers as he pulls away from our awkward kiss. “Trust me, I’ll explain later.” Seeing my angry look of confusion, the doctor laughs. “Oh that’s right, he did tell me you had a bit of a temper. I’m sorry, you prefer to be called Evie, correct?” I scowl at Atticus. He laughs. “Don’t mind my girlfriend, she’s just in a lot of pain.” She chuckles. “Of course, Mr. Preston. It doesn’t bother me.” The doctor is swift and professional, touching my leg only as much as needed to assess the damage without causing me unnecessary pain. When she was done, she turned to me first, which earned her immediate brownie points with me. I was afraid she’d just tell Atticus what I should do instead of confirming with me first. “You need to stay off this leg until the cast is ready to come off. Usually, with a minor ankle injury, I’d ask you to stay off your feet for 2 weeks, but this is a big injury and you are a young, active person,” she gives Atticus a brief look before g
Last Updated : 2024-04-07The Bully Games Chapter 19: Red Flags
[Lily]“Explain this to me.” Nyx points at the bright pink cast. “Oh this,” I look down at the one signature on it so far, a large valentine style heart drawn in black permanent marker with the word “Ace” in big block letters, the arrow in the heart pointing conspicuously upwards. “He just wanted to be the first one to sign it.”Nyx rolls her eyes and keeps them pointed upward for a few minutes while she takes a long, deep breath. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”I sigh. I know she isn’t going to like it. “So you know how they’ve been giving me lessons on how to be a Legacy? Well, this kinda happened during one of those.” I give a very loose explanation of what occurred, hoping she wouldn’t pry. There is so much about today that she’d find worrying, and I just can’t take another lecture from her. Our relationship has been more than a little shaking since I joined the Legacy Seven. As I spend more time with my “friends” I have less time to spend with her. The others warned
Last Updated : 2024-04-08The Bully Games CHAPTER 20: Pillow Talk
[Atticus] Liliana Adare. I can still smell the fresh scent of her hair from carrying her back to her room. It isn’t perfume, it is more like the smell of her, light and sweet. My heart skipped a beat when I watched her trip and I don’t know what came over me, but I felt an urge to take her away from there, to protect her from the rest of them, even though I am the worst of them. I knew something was going to happen. Evie was too happy with herself, Simon was too quiet, and Laz, well he couldn’t look me in the eye. That means alliances have started to form. The true game is going to begin soon. I need to clear my thoughts. It’s time we tallied up and prepared for the next phase of our plan. As I made my way up the stairs and through our private floor, I let every Legacy know that we’d be meeting in the library in about an hour. The only person I couldn’t find was the one person I wanted to find the most--Evie. She’s like a drug. The meaner and crueler she is, the more into
Last Updated : 2024-04-10
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The Bully Games Chapter 80: Taken
[Lily]Spending my evening with Link has been a blessed relief. He is just here for me, as a friend who cares, and he has worked hard all night to keep my mind carefree as we talk about everything from favorite books to movies that we hate.It has been a great distraction from the burning stare I feel along my spine. I can feel that Atticus is watching. But every time I start to look nervous or grow sad, Link has sensed it and taken me somewhere else, out of Atticus' path, or found some new way to distract me, to keep me from falling apart, or worse, into Atticus' arms. He even shields me from the spiteful energy radiating off of Evie as she glares at me right before screaming her relationship woes all over the dance floor, spewing hatred at Atticus. I will need to give Nyx a very big hug later. "So I was thinking," Link smiles as we take time to admire the ridiculously ornate and well-stocked food area, "Actually I was wondering if you have any plans for the upcoming holiday brea
The Bully Games Chapter 79: Counting Your Losses
[Atticus]It was a relief when Evie finally left me alone. Her presence grates on my nerves, and her kisses leave a foul taste in my mouth like wine turned to vinegar. Loving Liliana has taught me how kisses should taste. Sweet like honey candy, not bitter and cold. But how do I tell her how I feel? Will she believe me?I wouldn't if I were her, not with how I've treated her over the years. Even these last two months, with how close we've become, I could understand why she'd take a moment to pause and consider that it might all be one big trick. The sad thing is, she wouldn't be entirely wrong. This whole escapade started as a cruel way to make a brilliant soul dark, corrupting her fully, before tearing her apart like some kind of pagan sacrifice. We wanted to lift her above everyone else before we took her down so fast and so low that when she hit bottom the pain would be more excruciating.And it was all my idea. And I can't say anything about it or I not only risk my spot as a l
The Bully Games Chapter 78: The Equinox Ball (part 2)
[Evie]"Can you believe the nerve of some people," I grumble in Ace's ear as I pull him into the tent? "Bringing the riff-raff to OUR ball as if...""He's hardly the riff-raff, Evie," Atlas cuts me off, "He's your cousin," he pulls away from me. "You know, if all you're going to do tonight is talk about Link, I'll find something else to do with my time."Ace puts his hands in his pockets and stands there, staring at me, his blonde waves flipped over one eye. He looks bored. Or I should say, distracted. All night he's been looking over at her thinking I wouldn't notice. Fine. Two can play that game. "You know what, Ace," I hiss. "If hanging out with me is so boring, maybe we should BOTH do something better with our time," I take a step away from him expecting him to reach forward and apologize like he usually does. But Atticus doesn't move. He stands there, his face as hard as stone. "Go on then," he urges. "Go bother one of your friends. I don't care what you do with yourself, Evie
The Bully Games Chapter 77: The Equinox Ball (part 1)
[Lily] "Link!" I run around the other Legacies, who all give me strange looks as I ruin the perfect line of their precessional. I don't care about their sneers. I only care about my friend, who I haven't seen since that strange weekend in New York. "Lily," he opens his arms. "I am happy to see that you are happy to see me," he gives me a rakish half smile, before looking down at the corsage in his hand. "I wasn't sure if you'd be happy to see me or not." My face falls hearing the note of uncertainty in his voice. He's been nothing but kind to me, but I've been a terrible friend. Link and I have been corresponding via video chat and email, but I stopped calling when Atticus and I began our nightly study sessions. Part of the reason was because I was just too busy to make the time. But the bigger part, the part that makes my heart stop in my chest, is that it felt like I was cheating. Even though Link and I have never been anything other than friends, I know he likes me, and I gue
The Bully Games Chapter 76: First Dates
[Lily]Atticus has been conspicuously absent this week leading up to the ball. I haven't once seen him enter or exit his room, nor is he taking meals with the rest of the legacies. "Does anyone know what happened to Ace?" I asked the crew the second morning he didn't show up. Nobody responded with words, but Evie gave me a whithering look, and Veronica's eyes opened wide with warning. The message was clear enough, even without anyone saying a thing: Don't ask. That afternoon, I responded to his invitation and slid it under his door. By now, I'm sure he's seen that I will not be going with him, but that I am also not going alone. Instead, I'll be tagging along with Nyx and whomever it is she is taking as a date. Nyx has been so secretive about the identity of this date, that I can't help but bubble over with anticipation and curiosity. I can easily say I am more excited about the idea of who she is taking than I am about whatever little surprise she has in store for me. Friday nigh
The Bully Games Chapter 75: Not According to Plan
[Atticus]I am in no mood for this meeting. Especially not with the way Evie is acting, like she's already won something.She has a plan, I know she does. She hasn't set it off yet, but it feels like I'm waiting for something, something big to happen. I promised Liliana that I'd protect her. But how do I protect her while still following the rules of the game? One of the biggest rules is that we do not tell anyone else outside of our tight circle of seven what is happening.This is why we are meeting in Laz's room, the room furthest away from Liliana's, to have this final meeting before the Equinox Ball."Alright, the first order of business," Laz starts. "Does anyone have anything to report?"Evie is the first to raise her hand. "I'd like to give Simon kudos as far as gluttony," Evie points to Simon who grows very red in the face, I'm not sure if it is from embarrassment or some other emotion. He almost looks mad. "His work at the club was a prime example of gluttony. Of course, it w
The Bully Games Chapter 74: Bully for You
[Lily] By now, Atticus knows I received the invitation. There is no way that I didn't not with how everyone else at school is chittering in corners about it. Which is why I'm not surprised to see him waiting for me at the base of the legacy stairs. "Liliana," he stands, reaching for my books. "We need to talk. About the invitation, about everything." "Then talk," I say a bit more gruffly than I had intended as he follows me up the stairs. "Not here," he gives me a meaningful look and I shake my head. There is no way I'm going back into his bedroom. If he gets me in there, I'll end up in his bed, and then he'll find ways to distract me. I need to keep my mind clear and I can't think straight when his hands are on my body. I wish I never knew what it felt like to be kissed by Atticus Preston. "I don't think it is a good idea for us to be alone together," I wait for him to reach me at the landing and then lean in and hiss, "Somebody saw us this morning, Atticus. We weren't care
The Bully Games Chapter 73: Yes or No
[Lily]The poor freshman looked terrified as he handed me the invitation. "Thank you, Ms Adare," he bowed as he backed away as if I were some kind of royalty. People are so terrified of Legacies that even a "not quite" Legacy like me is a person to fear. The envelope is cream and embossed with gold and overly fancy like everything else at this school. He must have planned this because my name is engraved on the invitation. That isn't a last-minute detail. This isn't a reaction to my behavior this morning or a way to apologize for being an ass. He had planned to ask me. He wanted me on his arm at the biggest school event of the season. I pause. Was he telling the truth when he said he does care about me? Could it be..."This changes nothing," Nyx insists. "So what if he planned to ask you out before you dumped his sorry ass if you can even call it dumping him since you weren't really in a relationship," she points out. "So what if he wanted you to be his date? You know it probably
The Bully Games Chapter 72: Confessions
[Lily] It doesn't take us long to get cleaned up. I borrow one of his shirts so I'm not naked in the hall, and he gathers up all of our clothing to be washed by his cleaners. I always feel a bit weird after these sessions. I'm not sure if I should be thanking him, or pretending like it didn't happen. While my body is finally relaxed, getting all the pleasure it craves, my heart is more confused than ever. One moment I feel alive, like my whole body is afire. The next, I feel lost and a little ashamed. I let myself become Atticus' dirty little secret. What would Nyx say if she knew? She'd be disappointed. Never mind Link--we aren't technically dating but we do correspond. What would he think of this little "arrangement." Just because we aren't technically having sex doesn't mean this isn't a betrayal of sorts. What am I doing if this means nothing to him? Atticus stops me as I reach for the doorknob. "Liliana, talk to me." It's a struggle, but I make myself turn and face him. "At
