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Chapter 29: Picture Perfect
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Bully Games Chapter 30: And Then There Were Eight
[Lily] “Liliana,” I correct him, blinking. “Did you know my mother?” He takes a step back, finally seeing me as more than a disruption to his morning. "Yes," his eyes soften. “We were both students here at the same time. I’d see her in passing sometimes. You…” he pauses, “You look exactly like her.” The quiet sound of grasshoppers and the wind rustling through the branches of the walnut tree overhead is interrupted by a loud cough. "Now that we have her status confirmed," Lazarus chimes in, "Could we please take the photo before the light shifts again and we need to do this all over again tomorrow." The whole group groans in response. Professor Devin takes a moment to look at the scene before them. “I have an idea.” Everyone is forced to get up from their seats. Madison, who came to the shoot with a full makeup case, sets to work making me look more presentable. By the time the stools have been rearranged, my hair is pulled back in a simple glossy braid, which rests on one should
The Bully Games Chapter 31: Pizza and Priorities
[Atticus] We all went out to pizza after the photoshoot. Liliana opted out. She was already overwhelmed by the morning’s activities. So our pizza lunch ended up being a status update on the progress of our game. The waiter didn’t bat an eye when I ordered a pint of beer to steady my nerves. Even in our prep school uniforms, the townsfolk know not to question us when we ask for something. Madison, Evie, and Laz are sitting very close together looking at a screen. I don’t know what they have planned, but by the way, they keep giggling and pointing, I can already tell it is going to lead to some kind of spectacular heartbreak for Liliana. Which is the point of all this. I designed the game this way--to drag out her pain slowly over time so that by the end of the year if she makes it that long, the devastation is so complete that she finally breaks. After three years of trying, we will finally show her what it means to be a Legacy--and how she’ll never live up to the challenge. Today
The Bully Games Chapter 32: Wall Space
[Lily] I should have never moved into a room where I share a wall with Atticus Preston. As soon as I woke up, or I should say crawled out of bed because sleep wasn’t a possibility with Atticus and Evie going at it all night, I decided it was time to rearrange my room. Maybe my bed shouldn’t be along the wall I share with him since obviously, the headboard in his room is leaning up against it as well. I also need to cover that vent with something. I don’t care about air circulation. I’d rather suffocate than listen to Evie moan all night. She also tends to telegraph everything that is happening at the moment it is happening. I didn’t need to know the ins and outs, literally, of everything that Atticus was doing to her. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to move solid wood furniture with only two arms and one leg. The bed was impossible to move more than a millimeter on my own, and it made a terrible scratch on the floor as I pulled. “What are you doing?” Atticus asks from just
The Bully Games Chapter 33: Glow Up
[Lily] When the weekend was over, Nyx didn’t return from New York City. At first I thought I had just missed her. I looked for her at breakfast, but she never appeared. I went by the dorm room, but it was locked shut, all of the deadbolts still in place. I then thought maybe she was avoiding me, but she didn’t show up for any of her classes either. After chemistry, our professor came up and asked if I had heard any news about Nyx. When I asked what type of news I should be expecting to hear, she got very quiet and very still. “Don’t worry about it,” she said in parting. “I’m sure she’s doing fine.” But I am worried. Did Nyx leave the school permanently? Did it have something to do with me? I’ve texted her about a dozen times. I don’t even know if she received any of them. I’m still waiting to hear back from her. Atticus and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms either. Atticus keeps trying to talk to me, but I am not ready to speak to him yet. I’m still trying to sort out my feeling
The Bully Games Chapter 34: Atticus on Edge
[Atticus] Evangeline has been suspiciously quiet lately. She’s up to something, I can tell, and knowing Evie the way that I do, it is something she doesn’t want me to know about. But at least she doesn’t seem angry anymore which means she is at least thinking about her actions. Or at least one can hope. I hit the track early this morning and ran an easy three miles. The obstacle course I made for Liliana is still in the corner, a little damp with morning dew but otherwise intact. I chuckle remembering how ridiculous she looked trying to make it up and over the cones. She was in such a good mood afterward but then Evangeline had to ruin everything with the destroyed uniform. I’m starting to wonder if Evie is going out of her way to sabotage my efforts. Is our relationship even about us anymore, or is it about revenge? When I return from my run, a letter from my family is waiting for me just inside the door. It’s from my sister, Janus. Max, I hope the year is going well. I
The Bully Games Chapter 35: Under the Canopy
[Lily]If you were to ask me before today if a man like Atticus Preston could cry, I would have told you it was impossible. Because crying would mean you can feel something profound enough to hurt you. To have the ability to feel so deeply means you have a heart. Atticus Preston the bully has no heart. He is all smiles and flirting and cruel manipulation. He doesn’t have the depth of emotion for true pain. But this person crying in my arms--he is not the bully, he is someone else. I’m not sure when I started singing, but as I pet his hair, a melody that my mother used to sing bubbled forth from the depths of my memory. After several minutes, Atticus’ breathing calmed, his sobs slowly ceasing. Taking a deep breath, he rises to his feet and extends his hand. “Walk with me.”"I'm not very good at walking," I look down at my leg. His smile is fragile, his eyes and cheeks red from crying. "That's okay, you can lean on me."With my arm around his shoulder, we slowly wander into the wood
The Bully Games Chapter 36: Missed Connections
[Lily]I could still feel the burn of Atticus' lips as I watched his car drive away. It wasn't a kiss, it was an assault, a fit of anger and frustration. And yet…"He is grieving," I say, trying to convince myself that it must be true. "He didn't mean it." But even as I say these words I do not believe them entirely. There was pain there, so much pain, but I can’t help but feel there was something else. He feels so much more than he lets on to others. He wants people to see him as confident, cocky, and in control. But he is still just a kid, just like me. 17 years old is so young to feel the weight of an entire family dynasty on his shoulders. He was acting in anger and grief. But that doesn’t mean everything he said or did was wrong. It just feels like lately I cannot speak to Atticus, not with the unpredictable flavor of his feelings. These days I’m not sure if I’m going to get the bitter or the sweet. Looking down at my outfit, I see the changes that Madison made--the torn hem
The Bully Games Chapter 37: Mysteries and Missions
[Liliana] I placed the photo of my mother on the wall next to my mirror. I tried not to think too much of the mystery it presents with a teacher in the photo, but I can’t stop myself. There is more to this story than Professor Devin was letting on. He had said he had seen her around school when they were students. He never mentioned he had photographed her, nor had he ever mentioned that he worked with her in the fashion world. But I also didn’t have much of a conversation with him. Maybe it wasn’t so much that he was hiding anything but a lack of opportunity. I think today would be a good day for me to drop in on one of Madison’s classes. But that can wait until tomorrow. Today, I need rest. If I’m lucky I’ll get to sleep long enough to forget about today and everything else. “Liliana Adare,” there is a knock on the door. So much for my nap. Dean Michaels is standing outside of the door along with a man holding an electronic screwdriver and a bag that rattles with odds and ends
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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
