006

At school, Scarlett could feel Claire's eyes on her the moment she walked into the hallway. The queen bee was leaning against her locker, watching her like a hawk watches its prey.

"Well, well," Claire's voice rang out, sweet like poison. "Someone's looking brighter than usual." She pushed off the locker, taking a few steps closer. Her perfect blonde hair bounced with each step, and her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Did something good happen, Scarlett? Or are you just pretending again?"

Scarlett kept walking, eyes down, counting the tiles on the floor. One, two, three... anything to keep her mind off Claire's voice.

"Oh, so now you're too good to talk to me?" Claire's sweet tone turned sharp. "Bet you're just imagining things getting better. God, you're so pathetic."

The words bounced off Scarlett today. She thought about meeting Liam after school, and somehow, that made Claire's voice sound more like annoying background noise than anything else.

When the final bell rang, Scarlett jumped up so fast her chair scraped against the floor. A few kids turned to look, but she didn't care. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she grabbed her bag.

She pulled it out, her heart doing a little dance when she saw Liam's message:

Hey, I'm waiting by the usual spot.

She couldn't help the stupid grin that spread across her face. She shoved her phone in her pocket and practically ran out of the classroom. The hallways were packed with kids trying to escape school, but for once, she didn't mind squeezing through the crowds.

But someone was watching. Someone was always watching.

Claire stood by the lockers with her little group. Her perfect eyebrows went up as she watched Scarlett rush past, not even noticing them.

"Would you look at that," Claire said, nudging Ava with her elbow. Her lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer. "Little Scarlett looks like she just won the lottery or something."

Ava flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, it's weird. She never looks happy."

"Maybe she aced another test?" Brittany suggested, playing with her charm bracelet. "You know how she is with grades and stuff."

Claire let out a laugh that made a freshman walking by jump. "Oh please, Britt. Nobody gets that excited over a grade." Her eyes narrowed as she watched Scarlett disappear around the corner. "No... I bet she's got herself a boyfriend or something."

"No way," Ava's eyes lit up with gossip-hungry excitement. "Should we follow her? See what's got her all bouncy?"

Claire's smile turned mean. "Obviously. Come on."

She grabbed Lily's arm - quiet Lily who always followed along - and the four of them trailed after Scarlett. They stayed far enough back that she wouldn't notice, but close enough to see where she was going. Scarlett was too wrapped up in her own little world to even look back.

They followed her down the street until she stopped suddenly. That's when they saw him.

"Oh. My. God." Ava whispered.

Liam was there, looking like something out of a teen movie as he leaned against a lamppost. One hand was stuck in his pocket, the other holding his phone. When he spotted Scarlett, his whole face lit up with a smile that made Claire's stomach twist with anger.

Scarlett walked up to him like a shy puppy, all nervous energy. She said something they couldn't hear, and Liam threw his head back laughing.

"What the actual hell?" Claire hissed, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her palm.

Ava peered around Claire's shoulder. "Wait, isn't that Liam? From East Haven?"

"He's so hot," Brittany whispered. "What's he doing with her?"

They watched as Scarlett actually smiled - a real smile that transformed her whole face. She looked... pretty. Claire's blood boiled.

"Oh, this is just too perfect," Claire muttered, stepping forward. Her heels clicked against the sidewalk as she walked.

"Scarlett! Hey buddy!" Claire's voice dripped with fake sweetness. She bounced forward like an excited puppy, all smiles and sparkle. "Oh my gosh, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

The color drained from Scarlett's face. She looked like she might throw up.

"I... uh..." Scarlett's voice came out barely louder than a whisper.

Liam, bless his oblivious heart, smiled that movie-star smile. "Hi there, I'm Liam. Scarlett and I walk together sometimes."

"That is so sweet!" Claire gushed, batting her eyelashes. "I'm Claire - one of Scarlett's best friends."

Scarlett's hands balled into fists. Best friends? The lie made her want to scream.

The others swarmed in like sharks that smelled blood. They giggled and flirted, asking Liam questions and making little jokes. Every now and then they'd say something like "Oh Scarlett, remember when..." followed by some subtle dig that only Scarlett would understand.

Claire worked her magic like always. She laughed at all the right moments, asked all the right questions, and somehow got Liam talking about his life at East Haven. She even made him laugh - really laugh - three times. Scarlett counted.

Scarlett stood there feeling smaller and smaller with each passing minute. Her throat felt too tight to speak. Every time Liam smiled at something Claire said, Scarlett felt like she was fading away, becoming invisible right there on the sidewalk.

When they finally left, Scarlett's good mood was completely destroyed. The happiness from earlier felt like it happened to someone else.

She stormed into her house, ignoring her mom's "How was school?" and her dad's grunt from the couch. She ran upstairs and slammed her door so hard the walls shook.

Her bag hit the floor with a thud as she fell face-first onto her bed. Hot tears burned behind her eyes as the scene played over and over in her head like a bad movie she couldn't turn off. Claire had ruined everything - again. The teasing she could handle. The mean comments, the whispered insults, even the way Claire made sure Scarlett knew she was an outsider - all of that she'd learned to live with. But this? This was different. Liam was the one good thing she had. The one person who actually seemed to see her.

She grabbed her pillow and screamed into it, her whole body shaking with anger. "Not in my dreams," she whispered fiercely. "You can't have that too."

Night fell slowly, but Scarlett's anger didn't fade. If anything, it grew stronger, burning hotter with each passing hour. When sleep finally came, the dream world welcomed her like an old friend.

The familiar mist swirled around her feet as the school grounds formed in her mind. She looked around, half expecting to see him, but the strange man wasn't there. Not yet.

Then he appeared, like a shadow taking shape.

Lucien stepped out of the darkness, his silver hair catching what little light there was. His eyes glowed with something like entertainment as his lips curved into that annoying smirk.

"Well, well," he purred, his voice smooth as silk. "Look who's back. I was starting to think you'd given up on our little game."

Scarlett glared at him, her hands shaking with all the anger she'd been holding in. "Stay out of my way! What do you even want from me?"

He tilted his head like a curious cat. "My, my. Someone's in a mood tonight." His smirk grew wider. "Let me guess - that girl you like to torture in your dreams. What did she do this time?"

Scarlett didn't answer. Instead, she marched right up to him and shoved him as hard as she could. She wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

Lucien stumbled back a step but caught himself easily. He brushed off his clothes like she'd gotten them dirty. "Feisty tonight, aren't we?" He actually sounded impressed. "But you'll need more than that to handle someone like me. Why not let me help you?"

"I don't need your help," Scarlett spat the words at him.

His laugh was deep and dark, sending shivers down her spine. "Oh, Scarlett," he said, already melting back into the shadows. "We'll see about that. Let's make this... interesting."

As he disappeared, something changed in the dream. The ground shook under Scarlett's feet, and the air felt different - charged with some kind of power she didn't understand.

She clenched her fists so tight her nails bit into her palms. Whatever this stranger was up to, whatever game he was playing, she wasn't going to let him win. And she definitely wasn't going to let Claire win either.

Not here. Not in her dreams. Not anymore.