*Angry, adorable Max irons gif^*

D A R K O 'S P.O.V

I cannot believe Bella stole my fucking gifts.

Entwined in Taylor's delicate fingers were my porcelain piano and my wax-sealed envelope. My heart fell out of my chest when he read me the letter. That piano figurine was one of a kind - I even engraved my initials to the base of it, so Taylor would always find it special. This gift was meant to be the thing that helped me come out to Taylor, and remove the crushing weight of my undying feelings for him.

And Bella's taken it all and used it for her own gain.

I'm fucking angry! This gift was personal. Bella doesn't even like the piano.

All I could hear was a loud, piercing white noise as I ran to my car, leaving a very confused Taylor behind me. Adrenaline coursed through my entire being as I had fished out my keys and switched on my car's ignition. How did she know I even had a gift in my glove box? Why did she have a knife?

Why does she love screwing with me?!

I had sped off, leaving long skid marks on the asphalt. Pitch black smoke billowed out of my exhaust pipe as I raced out of the school car park, narrowly missing the edge of the school's fence. Other cars beeped as I shot through red lights and took illegal turns.

I don't give a fuck about them. I'm going to Bella's house and demanding answers. I'm sick of her screwing with my life - this shit needs to stop.

"Your destination is on the left," my phone's GPS said. Hastily pulling over, I got out of the car before slamming the door and stormed towards her house, seething.

I've only ever been here once before, and it was to pick up Taylor. He and Bella had spent the afternoon at her house, studying for Biology. God knows if they studied - Bella probably tried to kiss him.

I rapped my knuckles on the grand oak door and folded my arms. Quick footsteps erupted from the house, before the lock on the door clicked. It swung open. I closed my eyes, knitted my brows and growled.

"Alright Bella, what the actual fuck? Why the hell did you decide to break into my car, take my glove box, steal my fucking present and my love letter to Taylor? How fucking dare you-"

I froze. Bella was not at the door.

Instead, there was a little girl, probably only seven years old, clutching the door handle with one hand. Tears welled in her eyes as she dropped a teddy bear she was holding.

"BIG SIS! THERE'S A SCARY MAN AT THE DOOR SWEARING AT ME!" the little girl said, slamming the oak slab. I could hear her sobbing through the door.

Oh, fuck.

I whipped out my phone and checked the address. Everything was correct - I got the right house. Maybe this was her little sister?

Suddenly, the door swung open, nearly making me drop my phone. The little girl was still there, although this time, she was hiding behind a very familiar woman.

"Hannah, go back to our movie. I need to talk to him," Bella said, her eyes not leaving mine. The little girl, who I assumed was Hannah, picked up her stuffed teddy and ran back into the house. Bella swung the flyscreen-door open, before shutting the wooden door behind her. A sardonic smile crept on her lips.

Why was she so evil?

"Okay, one, don't you dare talk to my sister like that again, and two: what the hell are you doing here?" She said, her eyebrows knitting.

"Oh, save your facade for some other gullible fucker. You know exactly why I came to your shitty house. You have five minutes to explain why you stole my gift before I march to the police station to file a burglary report."

"Ah, that isn't a good idea," she said, casually sitting on the couch that was on her porch. "If you do that, then I would have no choice but to out you to the entire school, and to your bible-loving family."

My hands clenched into fists.

"My family wouldn't listen to you! You're bluffing - there is no way you'd be able to spread this around the school-"

"Oh, save your breath. I have you in the palm of my hand, and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm not telling your family directly - I'm telling Lyra. Knowing her huge gossip mouth, she'd tell Stefan, and that boy will believe anything Lyra says. I have connections with the school's newspaper, and I have photos of your love letter that I think would look amazing on Facebook and every other social media in existence. ." She spat.

I stood there, glowering. Bella just smiled, before lying down on the couch. Of course she's blackmailing me - It's her trademark.

"Why?" I asked, my tone unsteady. "Why the fuck do you hate me so much?"

Bella smirked. "That's a simple answer. It's because I love Taylor, and you need to get out of the picture."

I scoffed. "Out of the picture? Why?! Taylor is straight, I'll never have a chance with him. How is my involvement hindering your chances with him?"

Bella stared at me, before bursting out into laughter. "Oh god Darko, you know absolutely nothing."

I lifted a brow. What is she talking about?

"What do you mean? What don't I know?"

Bella tapped her nose, before smirking. "That's for me to know, and for you to never find out."

I folded my arms. Of course she's cryptic.

"Care to at least explain the shitshow regarding you breaking into my car then?"

Bella rolled her eyes. God, if she weren't blackmailing me right now, I would have decked her.

"I will, but let me ask you this - when was the last time you spoke to Nicole?" Bella asked, her gaze blank.

"What has she got to do with any of this-"

"Just answer the damn question!"

I sighed. "Fine! I don't know, a week or two ago? She sent me a pic on Snapchat. I don't care about her in that way."

"Good. Then, you shouldn't find this explanation far-fetched then."

Bella put her phone away, before facing me, her face blank.

"It wasn't me that broke into your car. Nicole did it."

My brow had never creased that fast before. Bella, noticing that, smirked devilishly before continuing.

"After school two weeks ago, the same day Lyra invited you, Tay Tay and I to her party, I went to the school's bathroom, desperately needing to pee. As soon as I walked in, I heard sobbing come from one of the stalls. I knocked, and after some coaxing, Nicole stepped out, her cheeks streaked with her running mascara. She explained to me how much of a dick you had apparently been to her - ignoring her in real life and just being very apathetic towards her - and we bonded over our shared dislike of you. To cut a long story short - I told her to spy on you, she saw you hide the present in the car, I told her to get it, and she did."

"What the fuck," I said, running my hands through my hair. "I could file for attempted assault, or robbery, or vandalism-"

"Oh no, no, no," Bella said, waving a finger. "You can't prove it was Nicole and me without that fight ending with you coming out to your family. Either way, I win."

"She pulled a fucking knife on me, Bella! I could have died that night!"

"Oh no, what an absolute shame, oh my gosh I'm so upset about that!" Bella said, her tone tearing away at my tolerance. She grabbed her collar, her face searching inside her shirt before she looked up to me and said: "Oh gosh, there's nobody in this shirt that cares!"

That's it.

I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shirt, lifting her up and pinning her to a wall. Shocked, she gasped, but then furrowed her brows.

"Strike one, dick face. Drop me before I scream." She growled. I half-dropped, half-threw her on the ground, making her land with a thud on her wooden porch floor. She had scrambled to her feet before she dusted herself off. She snatched her phone out of her pocket and jabbed the screen with her thorny fingers.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said, shaking her head. "You should not have done that."

"What are you doing?" I asked. She scoffed, before shoving her phone into her pocket.

"You'll see soon enough. Consider this a warning. If you ever touch me again, or if you threaten Nicole, or if you tell Taylor any of this - you're going to find yourself thrown completely out of the closet."

She pivoted before entering her house, slamming the door behind me.

Oh God, what did she do?

I pounded the door with my fist. "What the hell? Get back out here; we aren't finished yet!"

Silence.

After a few moments of waiting, I gave up and trudged to my car, sinking into the seat.

Anxiety began to spike through my chest like a harpoon. I ran my fingers through my sweaty hair, before cranking the air conditioner. What did Bella do?!

I threw my phone onto my passenger seat, before turning on the engine. I reversed out of Bella's driveway and raced home, driving a little safer than I did before.

As I pulled into my driveway, my phone buzzed. It was Taylor.

'Dude, what the hell happened? Is everything okay?'

I sighed. I wish I could tell him that Bella was a toxic bitch. I wish I could tell Taylor that she stole those gifts from me and that she's trying to isolate me from him.

I wish I could tell Taylor how I feel. At least before Bella, I had a choice. Now, I don't.

'I'm sorry,' I texted, 'I don't know what happened. I just remembered something and panicked. I'll be okay.'

'Oh, okay.' He texted back. 'Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.'

'You can maybe start by getting rid of Bella and like me instead,' I thought.

Why the hell am I such a huge problem in Bella's love life with Taylor? Bella has him wrapped around her fingers. There's no other explanation for Bella's behaviour unless she sees me as a real threat to her love life with him.

Does Bella think I have a chance to be with Taylor?

That can't be! Taylor is straight. He kissed Bella at Lyra's party, and he loves girls.

Wait.

Bella said that I didn't know everything about him. Maybe the reason why Bella hates me so much is that I actually do have a chance with Taylor.

Taylor must be bisexual. If I were to think that two weeks ago, I would have slapped myself for being so unreasonable, but now, it's the only thing that makes sense.