Behind Every Bitch

Chapter 5

Warren, not knowing how else to respond, scratched the back of his neck again and sat down at the desk beside Eve. Everyone in the room was staring at him. Until, that is, the professor walked in.

"Knox, you're trying my patience with that cigarette. Do you want me to tell your mother you're smoking in school?"

It was the woman from the day before, the blonde who had dragged Blair out of the canteen at dinner. Eve leaned over to explain.

"That's Giselle Ward. She's Blair's older sister. You'll be fine as long as you stay on her good side. She keeps out of her sister's problems, for the most part."

Warren sighed. Another of Blair's relatives. This place seemed to be teeming with her family. He wondered how many others would crop up.

Knox smirked at Giselle in his Knox way and reached up to clutch his heart. "You wound me, Ellie."

Giselle rolled her eyes. "Feet off the desk."

Sighing, Knox did as he was told. He couldn't care less if Giselle told his mother anything, but he hated making his cousin look bad in front of her students.

Professor Ward began her lesson for that day—a review of present progressives—forgetting to make introductions to the new student, for which Warren was infinitely grateful.

-X-

Blair was the type of person who believed in new days and new beginnings. Just because the previous night had been a disaster didn't necessarily mean that today would be the same. It could turn out to be the best day of her life.

Of course, the cards didn't seem to be in her favor this week, because a nasty rumor about her and her friends was already circulating by the time she got to her first period history class.

She knew something was up when she entered the classroom and all the court members and B-listers stopped to stare at her as she walked to her seat at the back of the room. A couple of them even turned to whisper to their neighbors.

Wading through a cramped aisle between two rows of desks, Blair caught a couple of words.

"Yeah, the Council is staging a coup. They've already got the new kid on their side," said a B-List girl.

Tired and irritated from the day before, Blair was in no mood to deal with gossipers, much less those without substantive evidence to back them up. She turned on the whispering B-listers.

"What was that?" she asked.

Their faces turned pale as they looked up at Blair, but Blair wasn't about to just let this go. Unfounded rumors were only useful when they were started by her. Otherwise, they had no place at Cooper.

"I asked you a question," Blair said, folding her arms over her chest.

One of the B-listers opened her mouth to reply, when Professor Kent walked into the classroom.

"Blair, what are you doing? Have a seat," he said.

Blair held back from turning her glare on him and did as she was told. If yesterday had taught her anything it was that she needed to stop trying her luck. Even Maxwell wasn't on her side anymore.

-X-

After class, Blair shot out of her seat just in time to catch one of the earlier B-list girls before she could scuttle out of the room with her gossiping friend. She grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the hall into the nearest bathroom.

"Explain," Blair said.

The B-lister cowered near the sinks looking as though she might be on the verge of tears. "M-My friend w-who has Spanish first period text—texted me saying y-your friends, the—the Council members—a-asked the new k-k-kid to sit with them in class this—this morning."

Blair's face turned cold and stoic. "Go."

The girl ran out of the bathroom before Blair could change her mind.

What exactly did they think they were doing? Blair had made it absolutely clear last night where she wanted Warren to go—far away from Cooper. So why were her friends, of all people, helping him?

She pulled out her phone and dialed Eve's number.

-X-

Eve had pretty much expected word to get around about their conversation in Spanish that morning, so when the call came, she wasn't surprised.

Foster stopped at his locker as Eve answered her cell. Warren hung out in the background, fidgeting with his backpack straps. Knox had taken off the minute they got out of class, wanting to call Bianca as soon as possible. Apparently, she hadn't been answering any of his calls.

"Hi, B."

Eve found it amusing that Warren's face changed almost immediately in reaction. She leaned against the locker beside Foster's.

"What the fuck, Eve?"

Eve grimaced and pulled the phone away from her ear. "What is it, Blair?"

There was an impatient groan from the other end of the line. "Stop playing angel and tell me what the hell you guys think you're doing. People are saying you, Knox and Foster have decided to play good cop with Scholarship Boy."

"Since when do you give credence to the rumor mill, B? Who told you that?" Eve asked. Her voice didn't betray her amusement.

Blair faltered for a second. "A—A B-lister in my history class."

"You probably shouldn't put too much stock in gossip."

Warren raised his eyebrow, but Eve didn't have an answer. Even she couldn't figure out why she was bothering to lie. Eventually, Blair would find out the truth and these lies would make her even angrier.

"Okay, but if—"

Eve glanced down at her watch. It was nearly time for their next class.

"I have to go, B," she said, and hung up before Blair could say another word.

"Why did you—" Warren began. He hiked up his backpack and matched her stride as she started down the hall with Foster.

"I don't know. We'll deal with that later. Blair's already found out about this morning. Stay close," Eve said.

Maybe the public declaration hadn't been the best of ideas…

-X-

The rumor followed Blair around for the rest of the day until lunch. Everyone was whispering about her evil friends and their decision to backstab the queen.

Eve's quick dismissal hadn't appeased Blair much. Every time Blair came to her with the latest bit of gossip, her answer was always the same, "You shouldn't put so much faith in the grape vine, B." So, the generic reply that morning had neither confirmed the story nor denied it.

It wasn't until she walked into the cafeteria that Blair found out the truth, and it was sitting in her seat at the Court's lunch table. She nearly walked up to him right then and there to rip him a new one, but a firm hand on her shoulder made her hesitate. She turned to look up at her brother, who had a stern expression on his face.

"Liam."

"It's our lunch day," Liam said. He gestured to a Francesca's Bakery bag in his hands. "I had Remington drop off your favorite red velvet cake this morning."

Taking one last look at Warren sitting with her friends, Blair followed Liam outside.

-X-

Warren watched with interest as Blair bypassed their table and headed back out of the cafeteria with Liam. Seeing the confusion on his face, Foster leaned forward to explain.

"Blair is closer to Liam than she is to her other siblings. They have lunch together alone at least once a week."

Warren's eyes followed them out. "They're half-siblings, right?"

Eve nodded, plucking a sliced tomato out of her sandwich in disgust. She dropped it on Foster's plate before turning to Warren.

"Theirs is a pretty screwed up family history. It's actually weird that B and Liam are as close as they are… Liam was Mrs. Ward's son out of an affair. But I guess they share a mutual hatred of their mother…"

"Eve…" Knox wore a hard expression, as if telling Eve she'd already said too much.

Warren sighed. These people had so much baggage. He had never before met anyone like this.

-X-

"He's my new roommate," Liam said, stealing a sliced cucumber out of her salad.

Blair's fork halted midway to her mouth. She replaced the utensil in the bowl before fixing her brother with a careful stare.

"What did you say?" she asked.

Liam smirked. "Does he piss you off that much?"

"It's because you missed the mess in the caf yesterday. If you'd been there, you'd know why I'm mad."

"I heard about the Jimmy Choo. Knox said you were the one who broke it, though."

"Bastard," Blair mumbled, stabbing at the lettuce in her salad.

Liam's gaze turned away from Blair as he focused his attention on the trees outside.

"Don't terrorize him too much," he said.

For a moment, Blair balked, not knowing how to answer. "Say what?"

Liam fidgeted with the silverware-and-napkin burrito on the table in front of him. He didn't reply, even as Blair waited for an answer, so she took it upon herself to ask again.

"What do you mean 'don't terrorize him too much'?"

Liam sighed and met her blue-eyed glare head-on. His expression told her he was serious and that if she didn't listen, she'd have to deal with him.

"He hasn't done anything that someone shouldn't have done already," Liam said instead. "And you know that as well as anyone."

Blair pouted. "You make me sound like some Big Brother-type or something. I'm not that bad."

"Oh, really?" Liam asked, raising an eyebrow. He stole another cucumber and then grinned. "What about last year when that freshman scuffed your prized Louboutin boots? You got one of your lackeys to post raunchy pictures of her all over campus. She left before the second week of school."

Blair folded her arms over her chest and started to shake her head, protesting, "She totally deserved that. Those boots were limited edition!"

Liam's expression changed to one of ironic disbelief. "Then what about that time in freshman year, when Felicia Hammond won Homecoming Queen? You spread a rumor about her claiming she'd gotten plastic surgery and that she was pregnant after cheating on her boyfriend. Then, a couple of weeks after that, you started telling people she got an abortion after her boyfriend dumped her for cheating."

But Blair was already shaking her head. "You don't know how catty she really was. She acted like an angel in front of everyone else, but Felicia was a bigger bitch than me. She had all that coming to her."

Liam raised an eyebrow again and Blair finally gave in.

"Fine. As long as he doesn't cause any more trouble, I'll leave him alone," she said. After a moment, she pouted. "And I sent out that awesome text message, too..."

-X-

Lunch passed without incident, but Warren wasn't deaf. He'd heard everyone talking about how the "Council" had betrayed their queen. He figured it was high time someone explained the system to him.

Eve looked at Foster and Knox for a moment.

"Go ahead," Knox said, leaning back. He pulled out his cell phone to try calling Bianca again. "I can't stand to look at his confused expressions anymore."

Eve rolled her eyes, but turned to Warren again. "You want to know how things work around here, right?"

Warren nodded. "I want to know why I haven't had pig's blood poured over my head yet if Blair is as high-up as people treat her."

"Blair may act like the autocratic ruler of Cooper Academy, but there's a system. Most decisions are put to a vote. Blair knows that as long as she gets outvoted, she won't be able to get her way. She can only be in control so long as we, her friends, choose to back her," Eve explained. "Pitted against the five of us, even Blair would lose."

"But that doesn't mean she wouldn't cause as much trouble for you as possible in the meantime. Us helping will only go so far," Foster said. "While the school knows it's not just Blair in charge, they will always take her side if she's around to see it. That text message last night makes you a pariah."

Warren's head was starting to spin with all the technicalities, but the point had been made. He managed to clear his brain long enough to be able to ask a few questions.

"Wait, you said 'five of us.' Five? You two, Knox… who else?"

Eve smiled. "Did you forget about Knox's MIA girlfriend? Bianca will be back on Monday. She's number four. Liam is number five, but he doesn't bother voting unless it's a do-or-die situation. He wasn't included when we voted about you because Blair lost in a landslide. He's usually only brought in if the outcome is close. He gets two votes."

Warren nodded. "So… do you kick people out often?"

"No. Hardly ever. Blair enjoys making people suffer, unfortunately. And even when one of us does want someone to be kicked out, the vote rarely goes through," Eve said.

"How bad are things going to get for me? After that text message, I mean," Warren asked.

Eve and Foster shared a glance.

"On a scale of Mean Girls to Carrie… probably somewhere in the middle since we'll try to mediate as much as we can. Each of the five of us runs a particular group in the school. I'm in charge of the Student Council, Foster's got the jocks, Knox the Drama Club, Bianca the dance team and Liam the pre-professionals. Still, as Foster said, the school's against you, for the most part. We're in charge of the minority, while Blair keeps tabs on everyone else. Only limited loyalty to us will prevent you from getting the brunt of the damage. Still, be careful during those times when we're not around to help out. Us taking your side is only going to piss Blair off even more. She expects the kids to run you out of school after the vote failed in doing that for her, but if we make things wishy-washy enough, she'll realize her efforts are in vain."

"So, you're basically going to deteriorate the cohesiveness of the kids' loyalty to her? I feel like I'm a wrench in a well-oiled machine," Warren said faintly.

Eve offered him another reassuring smile. "Not to worry. Blair only thinks she runs the school. We do have some sway, you know. We'll make sure the 'kick him out' group is smaller than the 'don't kick him out' group."

After lunch, things were quiet for the rest of the day. Everyone was still talking about the alleged "coup" by the Council, but Blair seemed to have disappeared altogether.

Warren felt that he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and headed straight to his dorm after classes. He'd finish up some homework and then go to his house for the weekend. The further he was from Cooper, the better off he'd be.

-X-

When Liam got back to his dorm that afternoon, Warren was sitting at his desk doing some work. This would probably be the best time for Liam to do it. He sat down on his bed, loosening his uniform tie, and leaned against the headboard.

Liam stared at Warren's back for a long moment. His new roommate seemed to be completely engrossed in his homework. Even if he wasn't, Liam wasn't the type to care what people thought about him.

Making the decision, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Maxwell's number. It only took two rings before his father answered.

"I was wondering when you'd call," Maxwell said.

Liam turned his gaze to the window beside his bed. He felt disconcertingly isolated from the sunshine outside, but appreciated the warmth of it as it streamed into the room around him.

"Are you busy?" Liam asked.

"Marginally. It can wait."

Liam settled back into the pillows on his bed and blew out a deep sigh. "So, why were you here yesterday? I know it wasn't because of Blair."

Maxwell chuckled, but in a humorless way, as though Liam's perceptiveness was ironic.

"Sometimes, I wish you were more like your mother, and less like your father," he said. "Which brings me to my point. I got a call the other day…"

"I take it the call wasn't from a telemarketer?" Liam asked sarcastically. He pinched a comforter fuzzball between his thumb and forefinger, and then flicked it away to the floor. It floated on the air like a dandelion seed before settling down on the carpet a few feet away.

"No. It was from Malcolm."

This at last caught his attention and Liam sat up. "What?"

"Malcolm Aldridge called looking for you," Maxwell clarified.

Stella Ward's lover Malcolm Aldridge was Liam's biological father. Liam had never spoken to the man before, only ever heard about him from Maxwell. In all honesty, Malcolm had never put forth the effort to contact him, and neither had Liam put forth the effort to want him to.

It took a few moments for Liam to calm his pounding heart. It thrashed in his chest like a tribal drum, in time with a pecking woodpecker outside. He clutched at his bed sheets in an effort to regain control of himself.

"What—What did he want?" he asked finally.

"He didn't say. It was the weirdest thing. He's been all over the news recently, because of his company's research funding crisis, but when I asked him why he called, he told me he wanted to share some good news."

Liam blew out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and scoffed. "Maybe he wants money."

Maxwell started to protest. "He's not—"

"—that kind of guy, I know. You say that every time something like this comes up. I'm not sure why you're the only one who can't say anything against him when it was your wife the guy slept with."

Liam figured he was probably pushing Maxwell's buttons at this point, but he was irritated at the whole situation. Malcolm Aldridge, in all of Liam's eighteen years, had never once made direct contact. Sure, every couple of years or so, he'd go through Maxwell to find out how Liam was doing, but this was the first time he'd asked to speak to his son himself.

"He was my friend at one point, Liam," Maxwell said, sounding tired all of a sudden. "He probably loved your mother more than I did."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

There was a long pause as both men let the dust settle between them. Liam took the time to get his bearings and calm down. There was no point getting mad at Maxwell. He was only being a good friend by telling Liam the truth.

"Maybe you should talk to him," Maxwell said eventually. "He's always kept up with us, you know."

Liam's green eyes traveled over to Warren's Doctor Who poster on the other side of the room. One of the corners had come unstuck, so the poster now read "octor Who." He got up to fix it, at last garnering Warren's attention. His roommate glanced up from his homework for a second, raising a brow when Liam pounded the poster back into place on the wall.

"No. I don't want to," Liam said.

"Liam—"

"No. I can't be as forgiving as you. I'm sorry."

Maxwell took a deep breath. "Alright. Fine."

"Good," Liam said. "Now, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

He hung up before Maxwell could say anything more, and then collapsed back on his bed. This was the last thing he'd expected when he'd decided to make that call.

7/30/11 A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back from an unannounced writing hiatus. I spent the time doing a different kind of writing over at my new blog. Check out the link on my profile. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll leave me a review. :) I think I'm skewing this story more toward "young adult" rather than straight "romance," so the mushy gushy stuff will probably be a bit slow to come. Also, the set up is now finally complete, so no more explanation stuff (at least until everyone's dirty secrets start coming out...). Anyway, thanks for your support and patience. Here are some questions to drive your reviews and to help me out a bit:

1) So, we're five chapters in now. What do you think of the plot so far?

2) Who do you like best? Warren, Liam or Maxwell?

3) Technical stuff: how's the dialogue? The narration? Do I have any glaring grammar issues I need to fix?

Thanks! I'll reply to reviews as soon as I can.