Better Than Revenge (Sweet Secrets #1)

by Taylor Henderson

  As we neared the throng of dancing teens, Blake lifted our intertwined hands up and pressed his lips gently to the back of my hand for a moment before letting go. I watched as Blake and Lena moved farther into the crowd until I lost sight of them.

  The loud music echoed in my head as I walked over to an empty lounge chair and took a seat. Stretching my legs out, I rested my arms under my head and sighed contentedly. The party wasn't as fun as I had expected it to be, but it was nice to be able to say that I have been to one before. My feet hurt a little in the one-size too small pair of boots that I was wearing. They were platform boots that effectively closed the gap in the height difference between Blake and I, and they were all black with spikes on the heel. They were a perfect completion to my “goth-girl” outfit. The only downside was that my mom had worn them when she was my age―apparently she had gone through a phase―and her feet were smaller than mine are now so my feet were a bit squished inside. By the end of the night I knew that they would be aching unbearably, but it’s not like I have a long walk home or anything. If worse came to worst, I could just walk barefoot.

  Sighing, I stretched my arms up above my head and ran my fingers through my hair. It felt silky between my fingers as I used the hair tie on my wrist to pull it up into a high ponytail. Although it was chilly outside, the crowded and brightly lit backyard of the Richardson home seemed to be a few degrees warmer. Relaxing, I crossed my arms under my head and observed my peers.

  In the lawn chair a few down from mine was a boy that I recognized as Liam from my history class and a girl that looked vaguely familiar. Her face was turned so that I was only able to see the side of her head, but the way that her cheekbones were so prominent as she smiled seemed familiar. Her hair was a honey colored brown and two little pink ears sat on top of her head. She spoke animatedly to Liam, slightly bouncing as she talked. She reminded of one of Brianna’s friends that really annoyed me. Not because she was rude and thought that the world revolved around her like most of Brianna’s friends did, but because she was just so peppy and overtly nice. She was the type of person who killed you with kindness. Whenever I was around that girl she would talk nonstop about things that I couldn’t care less about.

  Turning away from the now lip locked pair, my eyes scanned around the rest of the yard. There were people dancing, kissing, drinking, playing games, and laughing like there was no tomorrow. Most of the upperclassmen were here, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I could see Ella dancing around in a Marilyn Monroe styled dress. Her ginger locks were pinned up neatly and paled in comparison to the vibrant red lipstick that decorated her slightly down turned lips. Although she seemed to be having fun, dancing around with some upperclassmen, her face still had a permanent scowl on it. It’s hard to believe that someone as fun-loving and cool like Lena could be related to someone who’s such a brat.

  From the corner of my eye I could see a figure moving toward me. Swiveling my head back to the couple that I had been watching at first, I saw the girl with the pink ears walking over to me with a smile on her face.

  “Violet? Is that you?”

  Still trying to remember who this girl was, I nodded and said, “Yeah, and I bet you twenty bucks that I’m the only Violet here too.”

  Taking a seat in the empty chair next to mine, the girl set her water glass down on the table in between our chairs and smiled brightly. “I wouldn’t have expected to see you here! You just seem like you’d be too cool to ever come to a party like this.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  She shrugged, furrowing her eyebrows thoughtfully. “A Halloween party at the girl you hate’s house just doesn’t seem like something you would be interested in.”

  “I guess.” The condensation on her glass trailed down the cup and onto the plastic table counter. I was more interested in watching the water droplets than talking to this girl with the familiar face and unknown name.

  “So, are you here alone?”

  “Nope,” I said popping the ‘p’. “I’m here with Blake and Lena.”

  “Oh yeah?” she questioned, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “I thought you and Blake broke up?”

  “Who told you that?” Now my interest was piqued. Who told her that Blake and I had broken up? And how did this girl know so much about me when I could hardly remember her name?

  “Ella said that Blake broke up with you.”

  “Well, Ella was wrong. I don’t know why she would say that.”

  She flicked her hair back gently to toss her bangs out of her eyes. “It was probably just some rumor that she heard.”

  “Or started.”

  “I doubt it. Ella doesn’t start rumors. She just spreads them. Brianna usually starts the rumors. That’s why they work so well together. Oh, and because they both dislike you. I honestly don’t see why they hate you so much. You’re such a nice person.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged as if to say, “Whatever, it’s none of my business anyway.”

  “Anya!” screamed a voice that seemed close to us, and yet still far enough away from the pounding music that it could actually be understood.

  Looking up and toward where someone had spoken her name, Anya and I spotted Ella marching toward us. Stopping at the end of Anya’s chair, Ella reached down and grabbed her friend’s bony arm; yanking her up into a standing position next to her. “Brianna specifically told you not to talk to her,” she growled, pointing her finger in my direction. Someone should tell her that it’s rude to point at people.

  “Hi!” I waved obnoxiously at Ella and smiled a wide toothy smile. “I like your costume.” Actually, I found it kind of ironic that she was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, when the costume would have been better suited for Brianna; a curvy blonde with a promiscuous reputation.

  Ella rolled her eyes and parted her lips in what I assumed was supposed to be a smile but looked more like a grimace. “Hey. Are you enjoying the party?” she asked, clearly uninterested in my answer.

  “I was, until you came over here.”

  “Well that’s nice. You can always leave. It’s not like you were actually invited to the party anyway. This is probably your first party that doesn’t have a clown and balloon animals.”

  I nodded. “It is.”

  Not expecting that response, Ella’s eyes widened in surprise before she let out a bark of forced laughter. “That is so pathetic. I don’t know why my sister hangs out with you. You’re such a geek.”

  “I prefer dweeb. It’s unique since most people don’t get called dweebs anymore.”

  “Why am I even wasting my time talking to you?”

  “I was wondering the same thing actually.” I folded my arms over my chest trying to look tough. If anyone could pull of a “leave me the hell alone” glare, then it was me. Especially while I’m dress from head to toe in spikes and black leather.

  Anya shook her head and linked arms with Ella before waving at me and chirping, “Bye, Violet!”

  As the pair walked away I faintly heard her say, “Give her a chance. She’s kind of nice.”

  Chapter 17

  Blake and I were dancing wildly to the music that was playing. Surprisingly enough, I actually knew the song and the band who sang it. It was half past midnight and Lena was already passed out. Her body was sprawled out in the most uncomfortable position across the lounge chair that I had sat on earlier. Her hair was matted down in different places and she looked as if she had just escaped from the circus, but there was still a small smile on her unconscious face.

  When the song came to an end, Blake told me that he had to run to the bathroom. Smiling, I pushed some of my hair back off of my face and nodded. “My legs are getting tired from all this dancing anyway.”

  Blake pulled me into his arms and planted a swift kiss on my cheek. “Then sit down and keep an eye on Lena until I get back. Do you want me to bring you anything to drink?”

  I was about to shake my head no, but then changed my mind. “Sure, I’ll take a Sprite.”


  Blake nodded before walking toward the back door to Brianna’s house. The party was starting to die down, but there were still quite a few party-goers still dancing and hanging out around the yard. The music had been turned down a bit, and the alcohol had been hidden momentarily when my parents had stopped by to check on us and make sure that the party wasn’t getting out of hand. The face my mom made when she saw all of the people grinding and dressed so scantily was absolutely priceless. If I had had a video camera on me I would have recorded it for YouTube.

  When they first knocked on the door, Blake had freaked out thinking that it was the police coming to take all of us underage kids to jail. When he saw that it was my parents, he hid Lena in the bathroom and helped a few other guys hide all of the liquor in one of the kitchen cabinets while Brianna invited my parents into the house. Like usual, my mom embarrassed me as she went around to some girls and asked them if their parents had let them leave the house looking like they were half naked. The only embarrassing thing that my dad did was ask if he was allowed to stay at the party. Despite the fact that he promised to stay out of our way, we managed to get him to leave. He told us that we had to all be home by two o'clock at the latest since we were only next door to the house and to call the house phone if we needed anything.

  Both Brianna and Lena were staying the night at my house again, despite the fact that Brianna had begged to stay at her house. My parents had said no to that, but I didn’t see the problem with it. She was right next door to us. I was just thankful that there was only one more week until her parents got home from their trip and she leave my house. In only one weeks’ time Brianna and I could go back to hating each other without having to put up with and see each other outside of school.

  After the party was over Blake was going to walk home. He had already spoken to his parents, who weren’t keen on him staying out late, but had allowed it this one time since he hardly ever went out. They wanted Blake to stay at my house for the night just to be safe, and my parents had even cleared it as long as he slept in the living room, but he wanted to head home. Personally, I thought that he was crazy for wanting to walk home at such a late time of night, but when I protested, he just countered my argument with the fact that he only lived less than three blocks away.

  A soft snore grabbed my attention, causing me to turn my head in Lena’s direction. She looked so peaceful lying there. With every soft snore, her chest rose and fell lightly. Watching her sleep, I realized just how tired I was and immediately decided that when Blake came back, I would tell him that I was ready to go home.

  After a few minutes of standing around, Blake returned with a Sprite in one hand and the perfectly manicured hand of a sour-faced blonde in the other. Brianna’s mouth was pinched up and she had the expression of a child after they had just sucked on a lemon. Her outfit matched her personality perfectly. She was dressed in a short red dress with matching red pumps and two red, light-up devil horns that sat on the top of her head. Her hair was in ringlet curls framing her face that was surprising au naturale, with the exception of her blood red lipstick. If I was friends with her, I may have told her that she looked pretty, but I wasn't, so I didn't.

  Brianna’s eyes looked me over from head to toe before she stopped and met my eyes, then gave me a forced a smile. “You look very…evil. Not that that’s new.”

  Blake handed me my soda with a smile on his face and dropped Brianna’s hand. “I know right! Her costume looks so real doesn’t it? She’s goth.”

  Ignoring Blake’s oblivious comment, I smiled weakly at Brianna. “I see you chose to dress as a devil. That’s very fitting.”

  “At least my costume fits me.”

  “Barely.”

  Blake’s smile faded a little as a confused expression passed onto his face. It was as if he was just beginning to notice that all though our small exchange was spoken in friendly tones, it was anything but kind. For a smart guy, he was really slow.

  Brianna rolled her eyes. “When something is tight on me, it shows off my curves. If something was tight on you it would just show everyone your underdeveloped body figure.”

  I was silent for a second, not having anything to say to that. I knew that I was a little undersized in the chest area for a soon-to-be eighteen year old, but that didn’t give her any right to point that out to everyone.

  Brianna realized that I didn’t have anything to say in reply to her statement and was about to say more before I jumped in and said, “I see you didn’t wear your mask to the party tonight. Did you think that someone was going to mistake your face for a cake?”

  Blake laughed, but received a glare from Brianna which shut him up.

  “At least my mom allows me to wear makeup.”

  “My mom lets me wear makeup. I just choose not to. I don’t need to cover my face in makeup just so that I’ll feel good about myself.”

  “See, that’s the difference between me and you. I look good in just about anything, and I can go natural or put on makeup and I’m still ten times prettier than you or your little slob of a best friend could ever be.” Brianna gestured at Lena who now had a trail of drool coming from her open mouth and running down her cheek. The fact that she was snoring didn’t help either.

  Feeling the need to defend my friend who was far too out of it to defend herself, I stepped closer to Brianna so that I was right in front of her. I was usually about an inch shorter than Brianna but with her heels on and my platform boots, I was just barely taller than her, but the size difference didn’t go unnoticed. She glared up at me with her red lips pursed.

  “Lena is by far prettier than you or any of your friends could ever hope to be. She’s funny, outgoing and the sweetest person that I’ve met in a long time. She doesn’t judge people by the way they dress or even by who they hang out with. You’d be lucky to have a friend who would stick with you through thick or thin and would be there for you whenever you needed her.

  “But do you know what Brianna? You’re a bitch. That’s the real difference between me and you. I have a friend who will be there for me, despite the short time that we've known each other, and what do you have? A group of girls who just follow what you do because you’re popular. Did you ever think about what would happen if you weren’t around or something happened to you? Do you think that your so called “friends” would be there for you? Well, they wouldn’t be. They’d just replace you and find someone else to follow. So the next time you boss someone around, think about how easily you could be replaced. They don’t need you, you need them. You’d be nothing but a lonely bitch without them.” Sighing, I took in a deep breath and smirked as I regarded Brianna's shocked face in front of me.

  Ever so slowly, Brianna took a deep breath and did something that I never thought she was capable of doing. She clenched her fists together turned around, and began to walk away. She got about two feet from where she had been standing before she turned back around, kicked off her heels and ran full speed toward me.

  Chapter 18

  It was as if my world was playing in slow motion. Brianna’s mouth dropped open, exposing a mouthful of perfectly lined teeth. A battle cry that sounded a lot like a snarl, escaped from her mouth. As her devil horns flashed a bright red, she leapt at me—grabbing me by my shoulders and causing me to stumble backwards until I was lying flat on the ground. Brianna’s hair hung in a canopy around my face for a moment until she sat up, straddling my waist. I cringed automatically as she lifted my head up by my ponytail and smashed my head down into the grass.

  As the pain shot through the back of my skull, I clenched my teeth. I could hear faint yells coming from all around me, but all I could focus on was the fact that Brianna’s hands were still snaked into my hair. Wrapping my fingers around the unopened can of Sprite that was still in my hand, I reached up, and using all of the strength that I could muster up, I slammed the can into Brianna’s temple. Her hands unclenched from my hair and immediately went up to cover the spot where the can had made contact.
As soon as she let go of my hair, my head dropped down onto the grass and her body was lifted off of mine.

  Now that Brianna was no longer sitting on my stomach, I could see that people were gathering around me, staring down into my face with wide eyes. Blake was holding back a struggling Brianna with an unreadable expression on his face. He handed Brianna off to a guy I didn’t recognize before coming back over to me.

  “Back up!” he yelled as he came toward me.

  Everyone took a few steps back except for one red headed girl. Ella squatted down next to me, smiling up at Blake. “Need any help lifting her?” she offered.

  Blake shook his head, looking uncomfortable. “I got it.”

  Ella shrugged, her normal disposition falling back into place. “Whatever,” she said as she stood and walked toward where Brianna was now being taken.

  Blake squatted down next to me, balancing himself on his toes. He brought his hand up to my face and brushed a few strands of hair out of my eyes. “Do you want me to lift you, or call your parents over?”

  My vision was becoming slightly blurred so I let my eyes slip closed as I tried to ignore the pain that was bursting in the back of my skull. “Don’t tell my parents.”

  I heard the rustle of Blake’s clothes as he leaned over me. I could feel his arms slip under my body as he scooped me up off of the hard ground and lifted me into his arms easily. I smiled up at him, keeping my eyes shut tight. “My hero,” I joked weakly.

  “I tried to pull her off of you, Vi. She just wouldn’t let go.”

  “It’s all right,” I whispered up at him. “I should have hit her sooner.”

  He chuckled causing my head to bounce a bit. I felt his arms tighten around my body as he sat down somewhere. “That was quick thinking on your part. Who knew that a Sprite could double as a weapon?”

  “You’re the one who gave it to me.”