After requesting the driver to drop her off to her apartment so that she could changer her clothes and walk the remaining distance to Xavier's University, Cathryn found out real quick when she got there that it was a trip to hell.
At first, she didn't understand why she was getting bumped into so much and assumed it had to be some new trend that she had missed.
It was worse than she'd imagined.
A group of underclassman girls gasped and huddled up to gossip as soon as they saw Cathryn come through the front doors.
A senior boy with a leather fetish leered at her and called her "kinky" just as he was passing by. When she turned to stare back at him in astonishment he mouthed the words "call me" before continuing.
Changing her tactics, she did her best to make an effort and smiled at her school mates as she passed them in the hall. The attempt wasn't pretty—it came off more like a toothy grimace than a grin—but it wasn't well received.
As Cathryn wondered where this ill-treatment had stemmed from, she wondered if she had done something wrong or if she had broken any rules.
Between the lack of sleep and the daily harassment, Cathryn felt ground down to the bone from their private party last night. She couldn't sleep properly since she was too busy tending to drunk Blake and Alexander who was lurching and heaving in every corner of the room they might find.
She became their unpaid personal assistant, making sure they puke on the bathroom toilet and not on the bed or on the carpet just to avoid disaster.
All she had to do was make it through five more hours at school and then she could crawl into bed and sleep in her own place.
Cathryn had gotten fed up and almost began yelling at everyone who bumped into her, whether on purpose or not, to fuck off. It didn't feel like it was a coincidence anymore.
Cathryn started to listen to what everyone was saying when they bumped into her.
People she had never even spoken to were whispering "bitch" and "slut" as they passed her in the hallway. The whole afternoon brought one insult after another as she attended all her remaining classes.
"What the fuck?" Cathryn burst out in frustration. "What is wrong with these people?"
Three separate times Cathryn had to run into the girls' room to hide.
She managed to make it through hiding but in exchange, she had become the bull's-eye on everyone else's target after the school bell rang and classes had already ended.
By the time she was changing for her supplementary class in pottery, she was such a nervous wreck she didn't know if she was going to cry or throw up.
Should Cathryn attend the pottery class for extra points or not?
Cathryn was absent for the first class in the afternoon so she might as well get more points, then.
Once outside, she mustered up her most bitchy face on to intimidate those ugly-ass females who cross paths with her. She was actually ready for a goddamn fight.
The moment they saw her face, the girls gave her a wide berth as she walked to her last class.
She didn't slow down when she saw Edward and Justin already there in the classroom. Their classmates were staring at her funny and she didn't care s she practically jogged towards their designated area.
At least, she had her friends who wouldn't abandon her and bully her for whatever damn reason she wasn't aware of.
If the world would be against her, Edward and Justin will stick together along with her.
"Did someone tape a paper that says 'KICK ME' in my back?" Cathryn asked as she showed her room mates her back and looked over her shoulder to see their reaction. "Is there?"
"No. But you are involved with a nasty rumor baby girl."
"But--"
"You have brought this upon yourself the moment you agreed not to come with us to take you home." Edward continued despite Cathryn's protestation. "You better stay away from trouble, Cat, or you would lose your University Scholarship."
Cathryn nodded submissively. "It was Alexander who answered the call but nevermind, what's done is done."
She knew she was getting good advice, but her life was already miserable enough without cozying up to the band members of Mild Savagery.
Justin sighed and patted her head gently. "Here. Here. Don't cry."
"What did you hear?" Cathryn asked as she tried to hold back her tears, desperate for any explanation.
"There's this rumor about a threesome with Alexander and Blake," Edward said like he hoped the rumor was ridiculous but wasn't entirely sure if it was. "You didn't come home with us so what do you expect us to believe?"
"Threesome? NO!" Cathryn said passionately and paused.
Another thought occurred to her.
"Where did you get all this information?" She exclaimed.
"So, was it true?" Edward asked as he crossed his arms, tapping his left foot impatiently. "I need to get a straight answer from you, Cathryn. Do not lie to us."
It's not true, okay?" Cathryn insisted as she threw her hands in the air from all this ridiculousness. She was do done with this. "Why would you even—Just believe me on this."
"What happened?" Justin asked, stunned and quiet.
Cathryn said timidly. "Nothing. We just played a game."
"Are you sure about that, Cathryn?" Edward asked, his brow arching as if he didn't believe what she told them. He put his arm around her and brought her closer so that other people wouldn't hear their juicy conversations. "And where did you sleep? Of course, it was in their Hotel Room right?"
"Yes, but—"Cathryn said slowly. "It's not what you think. Hear me out first."
Cathryn told them about Blake who dragged her out of the crowd to his Hotel Room. The Drinking Games with them and winning her bets from the card games.
She specifically skipped the part about getting her erotica book back in her hands, Alexander's captivating kiss, and her twenty thousand dollars as she brought the story to its conclusion.
Cathryn stopped herself abruptly. "Now that you know my side of the story, where did you get this threesome thing?"
A terrible truth was starting to sink in and she asked with care. "Have you seen pictures from the paparazzi?"
"They weren't just pictures, Cat." Justin replied honestly as he turned to face her, shaking his head apologetically. "The inside scoop had trended Number One Worldwide on Twitter."