SNUBBED: A HIGH SCHOOL BULLY ROMANCE (KINGS OF BEXLEY PREP Book 1)

by KC THORNROSE

  I gasped. Then I looked at the time holy fuck it was almost 8 o’clock.

  I’ll be late for school.

  I dashed out of bed and hurried into the bathroom. Then I yelled, “I’ll be out in a second mom.”

  And with that, I got dressed, hurried out to meet Mom and Mario. Mario offered to take me to school.

  Pleased with his offer, mom smiled. She was already late for work.

  She handed me my lunch and walked out the door.

  “Let’s go,” Mario said.

  “Yeah let’s do that,” I said. And with that, Mario held my hand and led me to his beat-up car. I chuckled. He said, “Hey, this is a classic. They don’t make them like this anymore.”

  “I will take your word for it.”

  And with that, I got in his car, and we drove to Bexley.

  * * *

  Then later on that day, something incredible happened. The rich girls walked up to us and offered me a printed invitation to the weekend costume party. Why would they do that now? I wondered. Well apparently, Peter and Ethan had persuaded them to offer an invitation. At first, I declined. Lindsey seemed shocked I would say no to an invitation to the most sought after an event in the school. I told her it was not my thing.

  Vexed, she reached for the invitation. Peter grabbed it from me and told linsey, ‘She doesn’t mean it we will be there promise. I winced and frowned at him. He said to Lindsey, “we will be there.”

  Satisfied by his words, she snapped her fingers, and she walked away with her girls.

  “What were you thinking, Blair? We are going to that party, Miss thing. You will have a fucking good time because we will prove we are just as good as they are. God, I have to get a costume. This party will be so exciting.”

  Cassie shrugged, I guess she had the same impression as me. She didn’t see it as a prize. But then Peter, Sally, and Ethan were all for it. They persuaded Cassie and me. So we agreed to go along with the plan.

  The weekend arrived quickly. I got dressed in Zeus’s daughter’s costume because I felt like her. I felt as though I had stepped out of my favorite classic movie. Just being at Bexley felt like the freaking twilight zone.

  Cassie had on a princess outfit and Ethan, sally and Peter had on 70s themed costume.

  At first, the party went on without a hitch.

  It seemed like fun being at the exclusive event. Lindsay walked up to us and said, “wow, you all look good.” I smile, coming from her I guess we did all right. That’s the moment I looked up and noticed Xander walking towards me in a 1930s gangster suit. He looked perfect. I gasped and stared at him. Then I turned and saw Tyler stoically walking into the room. He looked incredibly handsome in a sci-fi villain’s outfit.

  Not to be outdone, Killian walked in dressed like royalty. Killian walked up to me and said, “looks like you, and I have the same idea.”

  I chuckled and said, “Maybe you think so, but for me, I am a dark queen.”

  He laughed and said, “Well, it’s good to see you here.”

  I blushed and turned away. That’s the moment Xander walked up to me and said, “I don’t recall inviting you.”

  I frowned.

  Just know you’re welcome to stay for now.

  Lindsay turned to Xander and said, “Oh come on Xander him you have to be nice they’re our guest. Besides, I think we can learn some things from them.”

  I shook my head and said underneath my breath, "what are we? some charity case just because we have scholarships?"

  But Ethan and Peter were all for it.

  They said, “well, let’s enjoy the party.”

  And with that they walked to the party Lindsay talked at Xander his arm he asked her to go ahead.

  She did, and then he focused his attention on me. I said, “Look, I didn’t want to be here.”

  “No worries you’re here are you going to have fun right?”

  I shook my head and said, “I think I would if you let me.”

  He leaned in and whispered into my ear, “Remember, you don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to have fun. But then again I guess you’ve never had fun in your life?”

  I swallowed oh my God, could you be any more evil than you already are?"

  And with that, he walked away. I stood alone.

  The party was fun, and everyone had a great time except me.

  Killian walked up to me and asked if everything was okay.

  I thought wow, he’s such a nice guy.

  I smiled and stared into his hazel eyes.

  I couldn’t help staring at this muscular chest pushing up his costume.

  I said, “yes, everything’s fine. it’s just that someone seems to have a chip on his shoulder.” He laughed and said, “Oh, that’s just Xander; I wouldn’t worry about him.”

  I nodded. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder, if Xander hated me this much or was it something that happened once in a while? What’s surprising is he never spoke about our meeting experience from a few years ago.

  He asked me to dance, and I did honestly, it surprised me to see that Xander was a pretty perfect dancer. Oh my God thought to myself I guess I misjudged them all this time. But then things took a turn, Ethan and Sally and Peter were all having a good time, but it seems as though Ethan had a little to drink or something.

  Because he started dancing all over the place and began heating on the rich girls, that's the moment I realized oh my God even though Xander might like me as he claims, he's loyal to the rich crew.

  Xander pushed past me leaving me dancing on the floor and then he hurried to toss Peter out of the party.

  I tried to interject, but he pushed me aside. And that's the moment I noticed my very own cousin Mario at the corner. He had bloodshot eyes, and I thought to myself oh my God is he back on drugs or something or has he been drinking? He noticed the interaction surprisingly, and he walked up to Xander and tossed into the floor.

  Xander got up and swung gaps Mario, but Mary was too big for him. Mario threw him back on the floor again.

  And that's the moment Lindsey walked up and said, "there are rules around here we can have him here take your cousin and get him out of here who invited this guy?"

  And that's when I looked at the corner and noticed the girl invited him; she was friends with Lindsey from another school. But she denied it completely.

  I was so embarrassed. As for Peter, he was about to leave when some go walked up to him and said, "you can't believe you're here with me." And with that, she took him away to some other room. Where are the other members of my crew?

  I stood there, staring at everyone. I left and took Mario with me. I guess he was sent over to make sure I was okay at the party but instead he had a little too much partaken in what they offered. So there I was standing there next to my drunk cousin thinking what should I do?

  Tyler

  I stood at a close distance, watching her. She’s different from any girl in the school. I watched her cousin’s actions and shook my head. She shouldn’t be here. Her mother has it wrong, sending her here. I noticed the mark, Killian knew what that meant. It’s our secret, although the entire school likes to speculate on what it means they have no idea and we're like to keep it that way.

  I was born a royal; I will be king someday, but it’s not something I talk about because no one knows my inner conflict. My parents conditionally loved me. They sent me away at an early age, and rumor has it I might never be king. Not that I cared—No, I didn’t and still don’t care about ruling one of the wealthiest European Principality. It means nothing to me. The pain from my parent’s conditional love still hurts—but it made me strong. Now everyone dares not cross me, the same goes for my friends Xander and Killian. We can deal with the Chars, but sometimes they forget who rules this school. They were happy with me as long as I did what they told me to. They thought Bexley was the best place for me too bad they got it wrong. But they need not know.

  Now back to Chars, what is she going to do about her drunk cousin? I
exchanged glances with Xander and Killian. Then we turned and looked directly at Blair.

  7

  Blair

  Mario’s actions stunned me. He played into their hands. Now they’d ruin me. I grabbed his arm and made my way towards the exit. He was inebriated. He laughed all the way out the door.

  Holy fuck, did that just happen? I wondered how we would get home. He couldn’t drive, and I hadn’t gotten my driver’s license yet. Yeah, I know that’s insane. But it was what it was? I couldn’t drive, and I didn’t have money to call a cab. We stood out there for a few minutes before I ripped into him.

  I said, “You shouldn’t have done that?”

  I know it was crazy talking that way to a drunk guy, but I didn’t care. He barked back.

  “Really? Is that how you thank me for saving you? Wow, cousin who’d have thought my ruffing up some stupid overgrown spoiled baby would upset you? You know what?”

  Anger flashed in his eyes.

  And in that moment I knew Mario would do something else, but I was powerless to stop him. He pushed past me, took out his car keys and keys Xander’s brand new Porsche. Stunned by his actions, I winced and ran my fingers through my hair. Holy, fuck there was no way I’d get out of this now.

  I hurried forward and slid his hand off Xander’s car.

  But Jesus, the damage was done. I was livid.

  I turned around to see if anyone saw us. Luckily the car was in a dark spot, so no one did. But you best believe I grabbed Mario’s hand and ran. I don’t know where I got the strength from, but I ran with him around the corner.

  Mario laughed all the way too. I blurted out:

  “Why are you laughing? I’m in trouble.”

  I took in a deep breath and exhaled then I grabbed his phone off his side.

  “Hey watch it, cousin,” he said between fits of crazy laughter. I thought What’s funny about this evening? I noticed a shared ride app on his phone and immediately got one over. The shared ride arrived we got in and headed home. I should have thought about using his phone to call a shared ride before hurrying out the party. The minute we got back to our place, I held onto Mario and opened the door.

  “Good looking out, cousin,” Mario slurred. I frowned. Good fucking looking out? I prayed Xander wouldn’t find out who did it. But I knew I was a little optimistic; Xander is not stupid; he will discover who keyed his freaking car. I bundled Mario on the couch. Exhausted from the day, I hurried up to my bedroom. I had a shower, and then it dawned on me

  Mario’s car was still parked at the party’s location.

  Well, I cannot worry about that now?

  I know what they’d do to me at school on Monday, but I can’t do anything to stop it. I decided it was pointless worrying about what’d occur on Monday, so I grabbed my comforter, covered my head, and drifted off to sleep. Fuck it, I cursed underneath my breath as I tossed and turned in bed.

  After tossing and turning in bed trying to sleep, my phone pinged repeatedly. I ignored it. And guess what did the trick? I counted sheep and fell asleep, who would have thought that would work? Well, it did.

  * * *

  The next morning I woke up to the sound of my cell buzzing. Freaking hell, doesn’t anyone sleep around here? Who could it be? I glanced at my alarm, which coincidentally started ringing. Angered by both sounds, I flung my comforter back over my head.

  Fucking hell, why is this happening?

  I swung an arm out the comforter and slammed it on the snooze button. Did it help? Hell no, it didn’t. I guessed my alarm was broken or something because it just kept on buzzing like a freaking train.

  I did my best to ignore both sounds, but it was futile. I flung aside the comforter, grabbed the clock and flung it at the door. Guess what? My mom opened the door at the same time. The clock almost hit her in the face. My eyes widened. Oh no—

  Just what I need right now?

  “Oh mom, sorry about that,” I said flushed in the face.

  She nodded. Then she said in a stern voice, “You missed church today.”

  “Church? What time is it?”

  “Noon.”

  I winced how the hell did I sleep that long? How was that even possible?

  “And Mario?” I asked.

  “What about Mario? He took me to church as a good guy. I expected you’d be ready this morning, but I guess your partying last night took precedence over your serving the one who gave you life?” Mom remarked.

  What Mario got up already? How was that even possible? How did he get his car so fast? Was last night a dream?

  I stared at mom for a minute. She looked back at me and asked, “Why are you staring at me. Get out of bed and get the day started. Be downstairs in five minutes.”

  I nodded.

  She walked out of my room and shut the door. I grabbed my cell and noticed I had missed fifty messages from my crew.

  Sally wrote:

  What happened to you last night?

  Ethan wrote:

  Did you make out with Xander because that’s what I heard?

  Then another text from Sally:

  What happened to your cousin? Why aren’t you responding?

  I didn’t have an answer for them — no scratch that. I talked about last night. It was clear the rumors had already begun, and I chose not to add fuel to the fire. I lied instead.

  I sent a text back:

  I have no clue what happened last night I slept in till morning.

  Sally responded:

  Great, glad to know you are alive. But I hope so for your sake. There is a video floating around with you and Xander. I hope it is not real. Maybe it was a doctored video or something because honestly, it looks bad

  Nerves fluttered within me. I didn’t know how I’d handle things on Monday. So I sent Sally and Ethan a text back thanking them for their concern. I let them know I knew nothing about the video, and as they said, it was probably doctored or something. That was enough for them. They asked if I wanted to hang out. I declined. I told them I had to go to church with Mom. I turned off my phone before they responded and hurried into the shower.

  I headed down to the kitchen to find mom standing by the stove next to Mario. Mario turned and smiled. He handed me a plate of omelets. I sat at the kitchen counter still tired as hell wondering how in the world he looked so upbeat after last night.

  “So about last night,” I whispered to Mario.

  He laughed and said, “What about last night.”

  I glanced at mom. She was busy with the dishes.

  “You know what happened.”

  Mario shook his head.

  “No, I don’t. But what I know is you missed a great service today.”

  Aargh, how could he lie like this?

  Mom turned and said, “And she did. Listen, I have to take some food to the lady down the street. Mario, will you take me?”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “What about your car?”

  “It’s at the shop. Mario will take me in his car. Wouldn’t you, Mario?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  I rolled my eyes to my mom’s chagrin.

  “I saw that young lady. Don’t you dare roll your eyes again? Is that understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Mario smirked, grabbed his keys and headed out the door with mom leaving me all alone. I thought I might as well get my things ready for Monday. I stayed in my room all day thinking about my old life and how much I wished I had it back before attending this elitist school. I knew there was no going back, so I had no choice but to accept

  I was in this for the long haul. Even if I planned on changing anything, it wouldn’t happen now. So I busied myself all day. I was prepared to face the consequences.

  I wondered how Mario got his car back.

  And when did this all happen? He must’ve taken something to pick him up so quickly. Well, I couldn’t worry about that right now. Worrying wouldn’t solve anything, so I stopped thinking about what would happen.


  So I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to deal with bullies.

  8

  Blair

  I got to school on Monday, ready to face whatever came my way.

  I knew rumored stories of what happened at the party was already floating around the entire school. But they had videos of me kissing Xander.

  As I walked the hallways, I noticed the other students snickering and smirking at me. I wondered why, but I knew what it happened. There was no getting away from this.

  Lindsey walked up to me and said, “so I hear about the party he made an appearance. What made you think you get away with what you did? You need to keep away from my guy.” I scoffed and looked at the Lindsey. I rolled my eyes at her. I knew that would add fuel to the fire, but I didn’t care. She placed her arms on her waist and frowned.

  She said, “you have a nerve coming over here and acting like you’re the boss is something? You are trash. Why wouldn’t you get that in your head will never be like one of us? It would never happen. You know why she leaned in and touched my hair. I flicked her hands off me. He laughed and said, “you don’t have any sense of style you have nothing. You are just someone they picked up from the gutter.”

  I clenched my fist and held my breath, ready to explode. I wondered why the rich crew had it in for me? She should be worried about her boyfriend, not me I hadn’t even thought about being with Xander, definitely jumping to conclusions here. I took in a deep breath and exhaled ready to explode. I clenched and unclenched my fist. And I got red-faced.

  I wanted to say something terrible to her, but I declined.

  But she wouldn’t stop. So I have no choice but to say something hurtful to her. I said, “if your boyfriend had done what you required him to do, then none of this would have happened.”

  She frowned and reached for me

  I moved past her. She said, “you are nobody. And you know why because your scholarship will get rescinded in an instant.” I shrugged truth is I wished they would rescind it so I can go back to my old life. I said to her, “you need to worry about your guy and not me, okay.” And with that, I walked away. I noticed they were staring daggers at me. Finally, Lindsey yelled out, “No worries; you won’t be at the school very long. You don’t understand who you’re messing with.” I shook my head and just kept on walking. Besides, I was already late for swim practice.