High School Royalty

Summary: He was high school royalty while she was his secret girlfriend. She just wasn’t good enough for him and she never would be. But that didn’t give him the right to break her heart in front of everybody. Revenge was the first thing on her mind.

01

“Good morning, Kaitlin,” Brandon said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

I grinned at him and watched as he stalked across the cafeteria to his popular friends. I sat there, grinning like a complete idiot until my best friend Lynn walked over to me, hitting me playfully on the back of the head. “Stop grinning like an idiot,” she told me lovingly as she sat down next to me.

“I’m not,” I protested.

Lynn laughed, “of course you’re not, honey.”

“I’m not!” I said and tore my gaze off of Brandon, who was currently laughing with his friends Will and Leo. I didn’t know they very well since they were the High School Royalty crowd, the only person I did know from the group was actually, Brandon. High School Royalty was the term used for all the popular people in my grade and in the whole school. They were the richest, prettiest, people in our whole school. Brandon, Leo, Will, Reese, Isabelle, etc, were all High School Royalty. This meant that they were off limits to everybody that wasn’t High School Royalty.

I sighed at that thought. “What’re you thinking about?” Lynn questioned as she followed my gaze. “Oh, Brandon, again?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked and Lynn shrugged.

“You’ve been with Brandon for what, five months now? I’m surprised that I’m the only one that knows about you two! You two should totally go public with it, I assure you that you would be much happier, Kate.” I shook my head vigorously; Brandon had told me that we were never to go public.

I respected his decision because it was what he needed to stay popular. I was not popular, I was nowhere near popular. My only friend was Lynn; we had been friends since pre-K. We were pretty much losers and we had no chance with the Royals. “I don’t think you understand what it means to be a Royal, Lynn. It means that they can’t go out with anybody that isn’t a Royal. If I exposed our relationship to everybody else, I would be mocked for life and probably Brandon would lose his position.”

“It’s so stupid,” Lynn remarked. “Royals are so stupid.”

“Don’t say that!” I shouted at her and looked around to see if anybody had heard her—they hadn’t. “If anybody hears you say that, you will be in serious trouble, Lynn.”

“I hate this fucking school,” Lynn cursed. “I can’t wait to get out of this hell-hole and to somewhere that doesn’t think that people with a lot of money are ‘Royals’.” She mocked and chomped on a cookie that she had picked up at the bakery to her way to school.

I nodded. “I know what you mean.”

“Really now?” Lynn asked irritated and I nodded again, she didn’t believe me.

“Hey! Don’t get mad at me, it’s not like I wanted this secret relationship,” I stressed towards her. “It’s just the rules of the school and if you go against it, than the whole school goes against you and I don’t really want that, Lynn.”

“I know,” Lynn sighed.

I shook my head as my phone buzzed. I looked up at Brandon and saw that he was with his phone, I smiled slightly. ‘You’re coming over tonight, aren’t you Kaitlin?’ The text wrote and Lynn glanced over at what I was typing away furiously at before rolling her eyes, sighing about how Brandon was an asshole. I didn’t mind my best friends judgment, I was just glad that I had a friend that actually liked being in my presence in school and being open about instead of a secret private relationship.

‘Yes, at seven.’ I wrote back.

Brandon glanced up casually as he met my eyes and smiled. I grinned back and set my phone back on the table. “When I get a boyfriend,” Lynn muttered. “We’re going to be nothing like you two.”

“Okay,” I said weakly.

“Don’t get me wrong, Kate,” Lynn said, looking worriedly, like she was worried she had upset me. “I support your relationship with him one-hundred percent; I just think it’s kind of stupid that you guys have to be all secret and stuff about you. But you two are meant to be together, so it’s alright. Forgive me if I said something wrong, you know I didn’t mean it.”

Of course I forgave her for what she had said, she was my best friend. “Its fine,” I said with a smile, because I could say no more.

That was the problem with me; I never stood up for what I believed in. I was meek, simple, and quiet. I was the silent person who sat in class and never answered a single question because if I got it wrong, I would be embarrassed beyond words. Everybody would be laughing at me and thinking that I was stupid. Even though most of the people in my school didn’t have a clue who I was, still, it would be embarrassing. I couldn’t stand to be embarrassed, it really did hurt me inside and just made me clamp myself tighter and closer together, never exposing myself to anybody except for Lynn and Brandon.

“I’m really sorry, darling,” Lynn said softly. “Seriously.”

“It’s okay,” I tried saying again and Lynn looked at me like she didn’t believe me. If I was her, I wouldn’t have believed me either.

“Please don’t be mad,” Lynn whispered. “You’re my best friend and I really didn’t mean what I said, sweetie, honestly, I’m just, you know PMS-ing lately and I lashed out at you because of all these emotions I’ve been caging away.”

I nodded. “Its okay, Lynn.”

“I feel terrible,” Lynn muttered and I placed my hand over her own, patting it reassuringly.

Lynn was my best friend, I couldn’t just tell her to go screw off because she didn’t approve of my relationship with Brandon. It was clearly silly to give up your only friendship because of something so little. I expected Lynn to be my best friend for the rest of my life, she was always there for me, but when we talked about Brandon, she was a bit of a bitch. I tried my best to understand where she was coming from, but sometimes it got hard to follow and I stuck with just nodding as she explained to me her reasoning.

The bell sounded.

“What do you have?” Lynn asked as she hooked arms with me. “Hopefully you don’t have a class with the Royals, Kaitlin.”

“When do I not have a class with the Royals, Lynn?”

Lynn sighed. “You’re right, they’re everywhere. It’s like this whole school is infected. It really sucks.” She walked me to my next class, before telling me to keep my phone on, just in case she had a period of time to text me. She promised that she would meet me after school to take me home. We were juniors, old enough to drive each other around and everything. It was fascinating.

I sat down in my regular seat and braced myself; Brandon and Reese were in this class with me. Brandon walked in with a simple smile on his face. “Come at five, the game is at eight tonight and I need to be there by seven-thirty.” Brandon whispered before passing by.

I nodded and tried to focus my attention on the class. Every moment that I shared with Brandon was heaven sent something that made me smile endlessly and made me happy. I just wished that Lynn could share that excitement with me, but she was so against my relationship, it had reduced me to not really wanting to talk about it when she was there. So basically, I really had nobody to talk about my relationship with Brandon with. I would have talked to him about it, but being the afraid, meek, girl that I was, I would never dare.

Sometimes, that’s just the way life is.

Brandon placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and pulled away.

I smiled at him and rested my head against his chest as I stared out at his pool that we were standing by. He brushed a piece of my hair away from my face and smiled… before promptly pushing me into the pool. I squealed as I went under and then laughed, because this was a normal ritual between Brandon and me. “I hate you,” I uttered icily.

“No you don’t,” Brandon teased. “You love me.”

“Sometimes,” I clarified, “I hate you Brandon Jacob Therese.” He jumped into the pool besides me and came up grinning. He wrapped an arm protectively around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

“I hate it when you call me by my full name,” Brandon pouted. “It means I’m in trouble.”

“You are in trouble,” I told him sincerely before pecking his lips lightly and pulling away. Brandon muttered something that sounded like: ‘tease’, but I wasn’t quite sure, I had never ever been called a tease before. “You’re the one that decided to push me in the pool, Brandon Jacob Therese; you are the one at blame here.”

He laughed and pressed a kiss against my cheek. “God I love you, Kaitlin.”

“I love you too,” I said automatically.

I was used to this ritual. Brandon and I had been dating for five months and he had told me that he really, truly, loved me the third month that we were dating. I had smiled endlessly that day and even Lynn was truly happy for me. She said that I deserved to be loved like that; it was then that I knew that I loved Brandon as much as he loved me. I was glad that he had made the first move though; I would have been much too shy to say anything like that.

A car sounded in the driveway.

“Shit,” Brandon cursed as he kissed me firmly on the lips before pulling himself out of the pool. “My parents are home, what time is it?” He asked and I shrugged as I pulled myself out of the pool and grabbed a towel, shielding my body from his eyes. He flipped open his phone.

“Well?”

“It’s six-thirty, damn it,” he cursed again and tugged me closer to him. He couldn’t stand me standing so far away from him when our time was limited. “You’ll be there, tonight, won’t you Kaitlin?”

“I don’t know,” I emitted.

He buried his head in my neck and placed a tender kiss against my collarbone. “Say you will, Kaitlin.”

“Brandon?” His mother, Rachel, called from inside the house. We broke apart and attached at the hands instead. I nodded towards him, signaling to him that I would come to his game, because how could I not? He was my boyfriend—secret boyfriend, but that still counted for something—and I was still allowed to do the normal girlfriend things.

“Yeah mom?” Brandon said as he tugged me into the house.

Rachel smiled as she saw me and I smiled shyly back at her. “Hello Kaitlin, how are you today? I haven’t seen you around that much lately! Where have you been hiding lately?”

“Uh, nowhere, Mrs. Therese.” I answered politely.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me, Rachel, Kaitlin? You’re always so polite and everything, but when you call me Mrs. Therese, it makes me feel extremely old,” she giggled and handed Brandon a bag of groceries to put away. “Are you going to Brandon’s game tonight?”

“Of course she is, mom.” Brandon stressed.

Rachel looked at me. “Well, are you going, Kaitlin? I’m sure that you can answer for yourself. Brandon, stop being so rude.”

“I’m coming,” I stated. “It’ll be fun, are you going to go, Mrs. Therese?”—Rachel shot me a look.

Rachel sighed before giving up on correcting me. “I was thinking about going, but Brandon’s father and I have plans, so we might show up a little bit late. Be sure to tell me all about it, Kaitlin, I’m expecting some good notes from you.”

I laughed, because I didn’t know what else to say. “Of course I will.”

Brandon rolled his eyes at his mother when she turned her back. I smiled at him half-heartedly and grabbed my clothing before excusing myself to use their bathroom. I changed quickly before tying my hair up into a messy bun and walking back downstairs. Rachel was nowhere in site, but Brandon was sitting at his living room table. I smiled at him and sat down next to him, pushing his messy bangs away from his face and kissing his lightly on the mouth.

“Tease,” he muttered again.

I giggled. “I have to go now, but have a good game, okay?” I asked and he nodded kissing me more firmly on the mouth before letting me go.

I walked outside and looked around, making sure that nobody’s eyes were on me. Some of Brandon’s neighbors were people from school, other Royals and they might have been watching. If they saw me leaving Brandon’s house, I would be dead meat. I sighed before slipping into my car and turning up the radio. I drove the familiar streets to my house and finally arrived to my empty house. Brandon did sometimes come over my house, because my parents were never home, but I usually stayed over at his house.

I entered the empty house and sighed again.

“I’m home,” I emitted softly, knowing that there would never be an answer. My parents were never home, they didn’t give a shit about me, they didn’t even know that I existed. My mother had had me when she was nineteen years old and they married when she was twenty. They barely even acknowledged my presence.

Maybe that was why I was so fucked up.

No, that couldn’t possibly be the reason why I was so fucked up. It just couldn’t, I was so fucked up because that was just who I was. It hadn’t been great to be a child who didn’t have a mother and father present at all the time. They didn’t go to any of my school functions, they didn’t even show up to the school play that I actually starred in when I was in sixth grade. All the other parents were there, but my parents didn’t even bother showing up. I sighed deeply as I threw my keys into the dish next to the door.

I hate my parents, to put it nicely. They have never done a good thing for me; they have never even cared when I got straight A’s in high school. They were never home to care about me. I wasn’t even sure if they even loved each other.

“Hey,” I said later when Lynn rang my doorbell and came barging into my house. “What’s going on?”

Lynn laughed slightly and pulled at a lock of my loose hair. “I’m here to get you ready for the game that we’re going too tonight, I was instructed by your darling Brandon to come and get you and make sure that you were actually coming.”

“He doesn’t trust me enough to come by myself?” I asked Lynn and she shrugged, closing the door behind her. “He’s got major trusts issues,” I joked with her and she cracked a smile.

“He just really wants you there, I guess.” Lynn stated clearly.

I nodded. “I know.”

“So…” Lynn trailed off and then smiled before engulfing me in her arms. “Do you want me to help you get ready or not, Kates?” I laughed weakly along with her before agreeing to let her ‘make me over’.

An hour later, I was decked out in what Lynn described as an ‘amazing outfit that looked amazing on me’. I grinned at her and thanked her for everything. My nerves were getting the best of me, seeing that I was anxious for the game because everybody at school would be there and although they wouldn’t notice me, they would probably be thinking a lot about my boyfriend, especially the girls. Yet, he was mine. I felt all giddy inside when I thought about that, I replayed that message over and over again in my head, trying to get in through my thick skull that Brandon Therese was all mine. Lynn was pleasant the whole way, which meant that our friendship was back to normal.

Lynn was not a bitch, she was the farthest thing from a bitch, she just hated the fact that Brandon and I were having a secret relationship, she didn’t understand, I didn’t want her to understand. She parked in the closest spot to the school and grabbed my hand joyfully. “Are you excited or what, Kates?”

“Excited.” I said softly and she smiled brightly at me.

She linked arms with me as we walked out onto the soccer field. I smiled as we slid into the bleachers, unnoticed. Lynn nudged me as Brandon ran out onto the field. “There’s your cutie,” she whispered.

I nudged her in the ribs. “Shut up.”

“Just saying.”

“I know.”

Lynn nodded thoughtfully and poked at my phone that was going off in my pocket. “Aren’t you going to answer it? It could be your parents.”

I scoffed. “Like my parents would ever think of calling me, Lynnie.” I told her and picked up my phone. “Hello?” I spoke into the phone and looked out at the field, Brandon was standing with his back to the audience watching as his teammates practiced, a phone pushed against his ear.

“Hey,” Brandon breathed. “You came.”

“I told you I would,” I told him and looked around to see if anybody else was catching this conversation besides me, Lynn, and Brandon. Nobody else seemed to be paying attention and that was the way I wanted it to be. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he turned slightly and smiled at me. “I might need it. I’m glad you’re here, because you’re my good luck charm and everything.”

“Flatterer,” I said teasingly and looked at the clock that was above the scoreboard. “Hey, don’t you have to get to practicing and all? I don’t want to hold you from a good game go and practice!”

“I’m so good, I don’t need to practice.”

“Idiot, go practice,” I said harshly, but he knew that I was only kidding around with him. “If you guys lose than you will be in so much trouble, that’s why you have to go and practice.”

“Of course, mommy.” Brandon replied before turning back towards me for a moment before turning back around to watch his teammates. “I’ll meet you afterwards so that I can show you where my car is. I’m going to come over tonight, okay Kaitlin?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too! Have a good game.” I stressed before flipping my phone close. “He just does not understand why he has to practice instead of talk to me,” I sighed before turning off my phone. Brandon did not need a distraction right now, he needed to focus, and he needed to be able to play the best that he could for this game. It was going to be a good game, one that would determine where they stood in the rankings of the state.

“Yeah,” Lynn muttered distractedly. “Isn’t Will so hot?”

“What?! Will Wyss? Brandon’s best friend?” I asked in a hushed tone, so that nobody near us could hear what we were talking about.

Reese Falter walked by, giving us a significant look before grinning and walking away from us. I looked at Lynn as we exchanged looks and she shook her head. “She’s such a bitch, I don’t understand why she was looking at us like that, I don’t think I’ve talked to her in my entire life,” Lynn laughed bitterly.

“I know, it’s weird,” I stated and looked towards the field where Brandon was starting to play. I forgot about Reese and the Royals for the entire game.

I snuck towards the locker rooms after the game had ended.

Lynn had left me so that Brandon could drive me home, but I had promised her to keep my phone on so if she wanted to text me, she could. Brandon’s team had won the entire game and they were ranked number one in the state. I smiled as I sauntered up the door of the locker room and hid behind a row of lockers, so that the players that were leaving wouldn’t see me there. I spotted, Brandon, Will, and Leo all filing out of the locker room. Brandon was smiling and pushing his messy bangs out of his face as he walked out into the open of the hallway.

“So glad we won,” Brandon muttered as he slung his gym bag on his left shoulder. “Now I can get down to what I really want to do after the game,” he grinned wolfishly, something that I had never seen before.

“You’re finally going to seal the deal?” Will questioned and Brandon nodded.

Deal? “Finally,” he admitted and punched Leo playfully in the shoulder. “You guys are on, it’s been five months and I’m pretty sure that she’s going to give it up to me tonight.”

“I don’t see how you lasted with her for that long,” Will mumbled as he slouched down to the water fountain. “She’s such a geek, you know? After you dump her and all, you should go for Reese, she’s pretty hot. I would have gone for her myself, but Isabelle is more my type.” What were they talking about?

“You guys are idiots,” Leo inputted.

Brandon rolled his eyes. “I just can’t wait to get rid of her; she’s such a meek and boring person, so not my type at all.”

“She believed you when you said that you loved her?”

“How could she not?” Brandon asked, and started to grin all over again. “I never meant it though, I’ll be glad to get rid of her and go onto Reese, she’s been waiting for this bet to be over for forever. She said that she will gladly go out with me after I’m through with this Kaitlin Peters bet and everything.”

My heart sunk to my feet. Leo rolled his eyes. “I still say you guys are complete idiots, it’s not right to do something like that.”

“Oh well look who’s decided to play hero,” Will teased and pursed his lips. “Why don’t you go out with that freak if you’re so keen on the idea of her and Brandon? I mean seriously, she couldn’t possibly think that her relationship with Brandon was true, could she? I mean what Royal would ever go out with her?!”

Leo remained silent. Brandon shook his head. “She’s been eating out of my palm forever. I’m surprised she doesn’t know, practically everybody knows in this entire school except for her and that freak friend, Lynn.”

I was close to tears. “You’re sealing the deal tonight and then you can get you prize,” Will promised as he looked around the deserted halls. “Now go and get her, tiger.”

I disappeared from their sights, running frantically down the hallway. Everybody in the school knew about our relationship, everybody in the school knew that I was a complete fool. Brandon was only going out with me for a bet, he didn’t really care about me, and he had never cared about me. All his words had meant nothing to me. I was choking on the air as I ran around the back of the school, away from the parking lot where Brandon would be, waiting for me. I was just a screw to him, a fling; he had meant everything to me. He was what I ultimately lived for. I blindly dialed Lynn’s number and started to sob, telling Lynn that she had to come and get me right away. She found me ten minutes later, crying in the back, wondering what the hell had gone wrong.

I didn’t answer her questions, nor did I answer Brandon’s phone calls or text messages. He had humiliated me in front of the whole school; everybody knew what a freak I was. They had all known. I watched as my heart shattered completely in front of me and utter heartbreak washed over me.

Authors Note: So this is a re-write of my first story and I've been working on it with LiME-GREEN-CAPES and it's been a lot of fun to re-write. I did change some of the characters, so I would like to give you some info on that if you had read the other one. Brandon Ethan, Leo Tyler, Gerard Will. I think that Kaitlin, Lynn, Reese, and Isabelle are all the same. So tell me what you think of the re-write please, thanks!