Beautiful Disaster

by Kate Brian

  "True," he said finally.

  "And if we'd won the fund-raiser, we would have won the whole thing," Ariana continued. "So technically, we should be in Privilege House. Should the whole team be punished because one person cheated?"

  Palmer dropped his head forward and pinched the top of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "You may have a point."

  Ariana smiled to herself. She was so good at this. So good for him. Feeling emboldened by her day of successes, she stepped forward and placed her hand on his forearm. He lifted his head and gazed at her fingers.

  "Besides," she said, sliding her fingers down his wrist and into his hand, pulling his arm down straight as she did. "If you report this, we won't get to live in the same dorm."

  They were holding hands now, the two of them alone in the oncoming darkness. And Palmer made no move to change this. He slowly moved his gaze from their entwined fingers, up Ariana's torso and neck and chin and nose, until he was staring into her eyes. The surge of attraction between them was so strong at that moment, Ariana was certain he felt it too.

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  "This goes against everything I believe in," he said softly.

  "Sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself . . . sacrifice your beliefs ... for the greater good," she said. It was a lesson she'd learned time and again over the past few years. The lesson that had gotten her to this place.

  Palmer let out a sigh. "Come on," he said wearily, squeezing her hand. "Let's go party."

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  PERFECT

  "So when do we move into Privilege House?" Ariana asked Landon. She was standing with him and Adam near the snack table, watching as the rest of the student body mingled and danced. Lexa, Maria, and Soomie had gone off to the bathroom together fifteen minutes ago, and Palmer had spent most of the night with a group of guys from the crew team, avoiding both her and Lexa. She hadn't seen Brigit all night and wondered if she was off in the gym, working on the diet plan."Tonight," Landon said, tossing up a piece of popcorn and catching it in his mouth.

  "In the dark?" Ariana asked.

  "Yeah. It's actually kind of fun," Landon replied, looking her up and down.

  "Sounds needlessly difficult to me," Ariana replied, sipping her iced tea.

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  Adam took a bite of a chocolate chip cookie and spoke with his mouth full. "I'll second that." Ariana tried not to cringe at his lack of manners. He was Palmer's friend, after all.

  "So, Ana, did you listen to those songs yet?" Landon asked, grabbing some more popcorn.

  "Not yet," Ariana said. She had seen them sitting in her in-box, but downloading them hadn't exactly been a priority with everything else going on. Landon put his popcorn-filled fists to his heart as if she'd just speared him, and Ariana laughed. "I will, I will. I should have a little more time on my hands now."

  "Now," Landon said dubiously. "Now that classes are gonna start you'll have more time."

  Ariana shrugged. "It's been a busy week."

  "Seriously. And I still can't believe we won today," Adam said. "How is that possible?"

  "Maybe Ana, here, is just good at her job," Landon said, nudging Ariana with his elbow before tossing and catching another kernel. "Dude, I'm so glad Palmer picked you instead of Lexa. Girl's probably never raised her voice in her life."

  "Looks like she's doing that right now," Adam put in, lifting his chin.

  Ariana glanced across the dance floor and saw Lexa and Palmer engaged in a heated conversation on the outskirts of the party. Maria and Soomie stood a few feet off to the side, looking tense and uncomfortable. Ariana's heart skipped ten thousand beats. Apparently, Palmer had intercepted Lexa on her way back from the bathroom, but what was

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  he saying to her? Was he accusing her? Were they breaking up? Why, why, why had Ariana turned down their invite to the bathroom? She should be over there with them right now, overhearing every word.

  "Uh-oh," Landon said, crunching away. "Looks like APH's numero uno couple have uncoupled."

  Sure enough, Lexa was rushing off in tears, Soomie and Maria trailing behind her. Ariana took a step to follow, but stopped the second Palmer turned around. He looked right at her with an expression so full of meaning it made her feel weightless.

  He had done this for her. He had broken up with Lexa to be with her.

  Slowly, Palmer broke eye contact and returned to Robert and Christian. Ariana got it. He couldn't come right over to her after breaking Lexa's heart. That would be too gauche. In fact, for the next few days at least, they would probably need to steer clear of each other. Until Lexa got over him. Until the appropriate mourning period had passed. But as soon as that happened, Palmer would be hers.

  Ariana felt as if she had just been granted her every wish. Kaitlynn was well on her way to Australia, Palmer was single, she had her dream schedule, and she would be living in Privilege House as of tonight. Yes, Lexa was upset, but she would get over it. People broke up all the time. Soon everything would be fine. Perfect, actually.

  "Ana! Hey!" Brigit grabbed Ariana's arm and spun her around.

  "Hey, where have you been?" Ariana asked Brigit. "Everyone's been looking for you."

  "I know. I was at the student affairs office. The headmaster asked

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  me to welcome a new transfer," Brigit said, all excited. "She seems pretty cool, so I thought maybe you guys could bond, since both of you are new and all."

  She looked over her shoulder and Ariana followed her gaze. A tall girl in a pink

  cable-knit sweater and khaki shorts was making her way through the crowd, drawing the interested glances of the students as she passed by. Christian stopped her to introduce himself and her face was in shadow, but Ariana saw that her brown hair was cut short in a preppy do. Ariana was just about to plaster on her best welcoming smile when the girl looked up and caught her eye.

  Ariana's heart completely stopped.

  "Hi! I'm Lillian Oswald," the girl announced, stepping forward. "You must be Ana. Brigit already told me all about you. We are going to have so much fun this year!"

  Then she reached out her arms and, much to Brigit's obvious delight, pulled Ariana toward her. Every inch of Ariana's body wanted to recoil in horror, but she couldn't. Not with Brigit right there and all these people around. All she could do was close her eyes, grit her teeth, and allow herself to be embraced by the girl she hated most in the world.

  Kaitlynn Nottingham.