Chapter 10

 I slowly turned around, not wanting his face to ruin my mood so soon. Although I was still afraid of Luke, right now, all I wanted was to head home, and clash on my bed. I kept my head down, as I spoke to him.

"What do you want, Luke?" I asked in a low, tired voice. As I finally looked up at him, I could see him sneering at me.

"I don't know why you're even asking me that question. You know perfectly well what I want," he said, his voice devoid of all emotion.

"Well, you're not gonna get it, so back off," Jayden spat. I cringed a little at his harsh tone. Even though Jayden didn't witness the incidents with him in the morning, he still caught on pretty fast that Luke was trouble.

 Luke raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to reply, when Zach cut him off. "What the hell is it that you want?!" he asked, frustration clear in his voice. "And how the hell does Ellie have it?!" he glared at Luke with dislike.

I felt the color drain from my face. Luke shouldn't say it. Not in front of my friends. Especially Ace. Looking at the way he'd reacted this morning, when Luke was talking to me, I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to take the truth well. 

"Oh, so she hasn't told any of you yet? I'm surprised," he said, smirking evilly. He had a glint in his eyes, and I knew very well what was going to happen next. "Well, I'll make it really easy for you, Elora," he looked back at Zach.

"You want to know what I want? I want-"

He cut off, as I twisted the lid open, and splashed the chocolate milk on his face, and shirt. Gasps of shock echoed around the whole cafeteria, and that's when I realized, that the whole school had been watching.

"You didn't just do that, you bitch!" he hissed in a low voice, and took a step forward. However, I was flung to the side by Jayden, and he shot a glare at Luke.

Luke looked like he was about to hit Jayden, but then he turned around, and started walking away. I sighed in relief. Luke stopped suddenly, and turned around to face me.

"You're going to pay Elora. You better watch out," he seethed, and with that, he walked out of the cafeteria. As soon as he left, the students all tuned into their conversations again, occasionally glancing at me.

Suddenly, I felt faint. I swayed a little, but steadying my balance, I turned around to face the boys. 

My heart jumped in my throat, as I saw Ace stare at me with a stony expression. Why...why was he looking at me like that? What had I done? He started walking towards me, and stopped a few feet away from me.

"What are you not telling me, Elora? What does that kid want from you? And why did you stop him from saying whatever it was that he wanted?" he shot all these questions at me in one sentence.

I closed my eyes, feeling light-headed again. This was the first time Ace had called me by my full name. Not Princess, like he always did.

"Hey, El, are you okay? You look pale," Zach's worried voice floated up to me. I snapped my eyes open, and gave Zach a small smile.

"I'm okay Zach, I just-"

 "Oh, okay then, you can answer him, but not me! Just ignore me like I didn't even say anything!" Ace snapped at me. "You obviously know what that Luke kid wants, and you're still not telling me!" he growled at me in anger.

"And why should I tell you?!" I retorted. "You know, you're being totally inconsiderate right now, Ace! I can't just go around telling anyone who asks me about it! It's my business, not yours!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I instantly regretted it.

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. Instead, he stormed out of the cafeteria as well, cursing under his breath angrily.

I felt my chest tighten as he left, and I felt really guilty. After all, all he'd done was ask me what had happened and why I wasn't telling him anything. It isn't so easy to talk about your past, Ace, I thought sadly.

A heavy arm draped over my shoulder. I looked up, hoping it was Ace, but sighed dejectedly when I saw that it was Angelino. "It's alright, El, he just needs time to cool off. He'll come back, begging to you for forgiveness," he gave me a smile. "I'll make sure of that," he added, grinning.

Instead of smiling back, my eyes started watering, and Angelino noticed, because he hurriedly steered me out of the cafeteria. Zach and Jayden followed us, both looking at me sympathetically. I let the tears flow freely once we were in the parking lot.

"Hey now, everything's going to be fine. Please don't wet my shirt, it's going to shrink, and it won't fit over my well-built body," he said, trying hard to be serious.

A small giggle escaped my lips, despite the tears. Only Angelino would say something like that. "Now that's what I like to see!" he said, smiling at me.

"Angelino, I don't know what to do! It's not so easy to talk about my past so easily! And it's not really a pleasant thing to talk about, you know? I can't just go around and tell someone about it. It's hard for me to talk about!" I said.

"Ellie, you don't have to tell anyone about anything. It's your choice whether you want to share something or not," Zach said seriously. "Plus, it's not really your fault that he gets jealous," he told me, but with a hint of smile on his face.

I looked at him, puzzled. Did he just say jealous? I voiced my thoughts to him. "Did you say jealous? Ace got jealous? Of what?"

Jayden shook his head. "I can't believe you. I actually thought you were smart, since you're a nerd, and what not."

"I'm not a nerd! And, don't change the subject! What did you mean he gets jealous?" I asked him impatiently. What was Ace jealous of?, I wondered.

"Hmmm...you'll find out sooner or later," he winked at me, flashing a grin. "Now, don't even bother asking me again, 'cuz I'm not saying anything! So...let's get going, shall we?" he started walking towards the cars in the parking lot.

I frowned. "Where are you guys going?" I asked the three of them, who were walking towards a blue Porsche.

Without turning back, Angelino replied, "Home, where else?" My frown deepened, and I quickly walked towards them.

"What do you mean home?! We still have classes to attend! You can't just leave half-way through school!"

"Calm down Ellie, they won't even notice. We've done this a lot of times, and they've never caught us, and never will," Jayden replied cockily. "Besides, you're a nerd, so they definitely won't punish you."

I smacked his arm. "I'm not a nerd! And I'm not coming with you guys!" I whined.

"Think about it, Ellie. You always act like a perfect girl, being all nerdy and going to school every single day. But you should let it go for once. Live a little," Zach fell into step beside me.

I realized Zach was right. 'Live a little.' The same thing Beth had said to me. I bit my lip. Zach was looking at me with raised eyebrows. After a few seconds, I finally gave in.

"Fine! I'll come with you guys! But if we get in trouble, you're all going to take the blame!" I said, even though I knew that it would be of no help even if they took the blame.

"You were going to come even if you didn't want do, Ello," Angelino smirked at me. We were standing in front of the Blue Porsche, which I guessed was Zach's, because Jayden and Angelino didn't seem like the type to ride cars.

I scowled at him. "Stop calling me that!" Suddenly, an idea formed into my head. "Hey, I know what I can call you!"

Angelino looked at me warily. "And what is that?"

Now it was my turn to smirk. "Nothing too bad, Angie."

 His mouth formed an 'O' shape, and I laughed evilly. Zach and Jayden chuckled. "You...okay."

"Okay what? You want to be called Angie?" I snickered.

 "NO! I mean, okay, I won't call you Ello anymore!" he quickly amended. I grinned, proud of myself of thinking of this brilliant idea. Everyone started getting into the car, and I walked towards the passenger seat. Well, tried to, anyways. Angelino grabbed my arm, and pulled me backwards, now standing next to the door himself.

"My seat. I always sit in the front," he said, and before I could say anything, he opened the door, and got into the car. I dejectedly got in the seat behind him. 

For the rest of the ride, we were all quiet, each lost in our own thoughts. I was still thinking about what Ace said. Should I tell him? Should I tell him how Luke...I couldn't even think about it. My eyes prickled at the thought of what Luke had almost done. I quickly wiped at my eyes, so no one could see me.

When we reached my house, I quickly thanked each of them, and got inside my house. Locking the door behind me, I walked over to the couch, and slumped down on it.

My thoughts instantly went to Ace. I sighed in frustration. Why couldn't he have just let it go?! Now he's not even talking to me because I wouldn't tell him what Luke wants. 

Sadly, the fact that he wasn't talking to me was even more unbearable than the fact that I was going to have to tell him everything soon. I decided to check where Ace was. Since I didn't have his number, I texted Zach, asking him where Ace is.

His reply came shortly afterward, saying that he was at home. I texted a quick thanks, and jogged to the door. Letting myself out, I hesitated a moment, but then walked to the front of his house.

I can't change my mind now. I have to tell Ace everything. It might be because he made me feel safe, and I knew, although why, I don't know, that I trusted him completely. 

I rang the doorbell, and waited for him to open the door. After a few minutes, Ace opened the door. His expression instantly changed to one of anger, and he stepped back, and swung the door forward, about to close it. "Ace! Listen to me!"

And then, I did the most stupidest thing ever. I shot my hand out, trying to stop him from closing it, but failed miserably. 

I let out a short shriek of pain as the door closed on my hand, which I had stupidly put in between the door.

The door swung back immediately, and Ace appeared, looking at me with wide eyes. I examined my hand. I had a red line across the back of my hand, and it was starting to swell a little bit.

I heard a groan, and I looked up, just in time to see Ace face-palming himself. "You're so stupid, Ellie," he declared. Letting the door open wider, he walked inside, and I happily followed him.

He called me Ellie this time! Not my full name. He didn't call me Princess, but it was still better than Ellie was better than Elora.

He stopped abruptly, and turned to face me. "What do you want now, Ellie? I thought you didn't want to talk to me?" he scowled at me.

I gave him an incredulous look. "I didn't want to talk to you?! You were the one who-" I cut off, because I knew this was going to go nowhere. I sucked in a deep breath.

"I...I've decided to tell you...um..everything."