The last semester out of the four years of university was soon to begin and Maxon was a little behind on his reading. There had been no quibbles from his professors as of now, but he was still discontented with the lack of studying on his part, during the winter break.
He wanted to improve his mistake and get behind a book as soon as possible, so there he was rummaging through his college locker for his accounts book whilst a bored Kimberly stood with her back pressed against the lockers, with a lollipop in her mouth and her slender manicured finger scrolling through her phone.
"It's not here." Maxon slammed the door shut, knitting his eyebrows, huffing a deep puff of cold air as he pestered his brain into remembering where he'd last seen his book.
It wasn't like him to lose his stuff but they'd gone ludicrous over the winter break with all the booze, sex, campfires around private beaches, vacation trips, and yacht parties. The day they landed back in New York was the day he realized how much catching up he had to do. He couldn't afford to lack behind in his studies as that would result in an hour-long lecture trapped in the same room with his malcontented father. He'd rather bury his head into books and mug up on his syllabus, day and night than spend a minute - more than required - with his father.
"Let's go check at the lair." Kimberly pushed herself off the lockers, delighted to be out and about, off the university grounds. She began traipsing towards the staircase leading to the basement where Maxon's corvette was parked.
"What if I don't find it?" Maxon probed the possibility of forever losing his book which brought yet another crease to his forehead. It was not a big deal as he could ask anyone in his class for notes- and given his popularity - no one would deny him. But he would rather prefer his own handwritten notes than a xerox copy of someone else's.
"Then you xerox it off some nerd." Kimberly voiced the contradiction to his thoughts, waving her hands nonchalantly as she waited for Maxon to walk over to her.
When he finally reached her, shoulders slumped and the phone pressed to his ears as he dialed Sebastian's number, Kimberly rushed forward just as some nerdy looking girl around their age was climbing up. The girls barrelled into each other, sending the coffee in the nerd's hand flying. The lid popped off in Kimberly's direction, and coffee spilled absolutely everywhere - including Kimberly and the nerdy girl.
Kimberly threw up her hands, completely fed up with the coffee-soaked girl's inattention. "God, watch where you're going, you moron. This is Prada."
The other girl fixed her glasses before taking a once over on her own clothes before glancing back up, eyes knitted determined to stand her ground. Her dress was soaked in the hot liquid and ruined much more in contradiction to the mere damage it did to Kimberly's coat.
"Are you kidding me? You were the one who dashed into me. You're the moron here, you idiot." Kimberly froze for a moment. She had been hoping that the girl was too much of a shy nerd to be so bold and direct, but it seemed like she'd been way off the mark with her.
The way Kimberly's arm twitched was an indication that a punch was forthcoming. Neither Maxon nor Kimberly needed a police arrest for violence at this point considering how ruthless their parents were. Maxon was quick to his feet to catch Kimberly's fist before it could hit the nerdy girl's jaw preventing the hovering chaos.
"I'm sorry on her behalf." Maxon clutched onto his friend as the liquid-soaked girl scoffed, crossing her arms over her coffee drenched sweater.
"Bitch." She muttered before leaving Maxon and Kimberly on their own.
Maxon had to practically cage Kimberly into the shield of his arms to prevent her from lunging at the girl with her exponential force. Kimberly might be skinny but, man, she was freakishly strong.
"Ah, damn it." They heard a voice preceded by footsteps entering from the corner. "I missed it, didn't I?"
Maxon sniggered, letting go of Kimberly as he wiped his hands which were coffee-stained on a clean handkerchief before handing it to his friend.
"Missed what?" Kimberly put the strawberry flavored lollipop back in her mouth. Her luscious lips doing that thing when you seemed to want to press yours against hers. Maxon caught himself staring at her. Yet again. Even with her ruined clothes, disheveled hair, and snarky remarks, she was still gorgeous than any other girl he'd laid his eyes on. Snapping himself back into reality he shook his head a little, almost unrecognizable by his peers as he pushed that thought at the back of his head.
That darn inappropriate thought which never seemed to leave his mind. He could act on it, but Maxon cared too much about Sebastian to let himself be overwhelmed by his emotions.
"Queen bitch getting schooled." Sebastian laughed, his lips thinning into a straight line as he tried his best to control his giggles.
"Fuck you, Sebastian." She rolled her eyes, taking her coffee-stained jacket off which revealed her toned shoulders. She pushed her hair at the back of her neck before tying them into a tight bun.
"At least take me out to dinner first." Sebastian pulled the lollipop from her mouth as he put it in his own before he flashed Kimberly his quintessential boyish smirk - which had girls in his college flat out crushing on him.
"Dude, you're gross." Maxon wrinkled his nose in disgust as he began descending down the stairs.
"That was mine!" Kimberly whined, smacking Sebastian on the head receiving a wince from the lollipop-snatcher.
"You missed yesterday's workshop." Liam from Maxon's marketing class walked up to them. He handed them a stack of papers and a sticky note on the top-which read must be done today.
The whole point of enrolling in extra workshops over the winter break was to learn about entrepreneurship and put their ideas into gear. But the excessive partying and the week-long vacation to the Bahamas had ruined Maxon's plans to study. Not only had he missed out on the important workshops he signed in for but also the studying he'd planned to do over the winter break.
Sometimes he pondered upon the possibility of Kimberly and Sebastian being a bad influence on his career. But he was quick to flush that thought down the drain as Sebastian groaned, clutching his own stack.
Lee Young-Ho or better known as Sebastian Lee was never a huge fan of education. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, just like his other two friends. A high GPA or marvelous recommendation letters didn't stand ground for these heirs who were destined to take over their father's companies under nepotism.
Good old fashioned nepotism.
"Thanks, man." Maxon patted Liam's back to which he nodded curtly, leaving the three students alone near the front gate.
Maxon always pondered why Liam wasn't a huge fan of him. He seemed to aid him when in need but avoided him at all costs. If Maxon tried to extend a hand of friendship, he'd elude. It's not like Maxon wanted Liam's friendship but it bothered him that despite Liam being nice to him, he made sure to stay away.
Far, far away from Maxon's world.
"Do we still have to go to that felicitation?" Maxon groaned, unwilling to go anywhere but home. The last thing he needed was to sit in some stupid auditorium with people he didn't know, didn't care about and didn't bother to know and clap for some guy who was friends with their parents. All he desired to do was to schedule his upcoming remainder of workshops for the next week and focus on how he'd get into the dean's good books for being considered as a viable option for class valedictorian.
"Yeah." Kimberly addressed sharply, leaving no room for discussion.
"I don't even know who Mr. Ridley is." Maxon rummaged in his pocket for the keys of his Chevrolet Corvette all the while hoping for Kimberly to change her mind about going.
"He was our principal at St.Lawrence." She rolled her eyes at Maxon's cluelessness. "Nevertheless, we have to attend that ceremony on behave of our parents."
"Don't worry." Sebastian clapped Maxon's back with a devilish grin. "I have something that might interest you." He whispered with a wink as he slid into the front seat with a smirk that lingered longer than beneficial.
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The moment they entered into the felicitation hall, an immense surge of apathy with ennui overtook Maxon. It was neither the decor nor the sterility of hygiene which managed to overawe him. It was the open bar a few meters away which galvanized him enough to stay for the rest of the ceremony. He spotted a few people strung onto their bar stools already like their lives depended on it. Much to his chagrin, he found himself picturing his bottom glued to those exact bar stools in about thirty minutes.
"Ah, I notice the absence of your mother. Yet again." Jasmine Ridley - the wife of today's honored guest - traipsed over to them with her knock off $12 shoes. Kimberly always hated her guts to the point of contemplating arson or even homicide. Despite being the principle's wife, Jasmine never stopped meddling or verbally torturing them throughout their high school years and looked like her charades continued even after they'd graduated St. Lawrence.
"She's too busy for this little gathering." Kimberly flashed her a tight smile with zilch compassion. If she could, she'd roll her eyes before walking away but Kimberly knew any indecent behavior was bound to get back to her mother. And no one wanted that. Sebastian and Maxon exchanged a sniggering glance, hoping to move forward without any kind of brawl.
"Make sure to forward my gratitude." Jasmine laughed, her annoyingly thin voice echoing through the small room. "Despite her pathetic attempts to block me, I still managed to snag the promotion."
Sebastian was about to put her in her place but Maxon grabbed his hand, retracting him back to where they stood. Kimberley hated when other's fought her battles for her. She was head-strong, independent, and bold. And she ceased no opportunity to exercise her traits in front of her enemies.
"She probably doesn't give a..." With a slight smack on her shoulder from Maxon, Kimberly composed herself - not letting her emotions overwhelm her. "...I mean she probably doesn't care about the stupid promotion." She chuckled, bitterly. "But I'll relay the message."
They moved forward, happy to leave Mrs.Cant- wear-a-dress-her-own-size-Ridley behind until she decided to instigate Kimberly further.
"Is that so?" She synchronized her feet to their pace all the while brewing an insult in her mind which not only would be sour but also punch-worthy. "Figures. Now that your father is in prison, running all the B.H medical centers alone couldn't be easy, could it? I can understand why she skipped my husband's felicitation."
The smirk from Kimberly's face fell faster than light at the mention of her father. An unusual fire brewing in her eyes as she clutched her fists into tight balls, digging her palms with her nails. If let loose, she'd punch Jasmine right through her jaw and onto her nose.
"He's not in prison. He's in rehabilitation." Kimberly vocalized through gritted teeth. Jasmine paid no heed to her correction as she rolled her eyes.
"You should've majored in medicine instead. I don't see how Evelyn would need the help of an interior designer to run those globally spread medical centers." Her laughter intensified into a rather frustrating sound. "Don't mind me, darling, I'm just joking."
"Kim, let's go." Maxon grabbed her arm, practically yanking her from engaging in a battle. There were media reporters everywhere and a rage attack in the middle of the hall against the hostess was the last thing they needed.
"Maxon, is it?" She touched his arm as he awarded her with an icy cold glare and Mrs. Ridley immediately slid her hand off his arm. "Is your dad attending?"
"No, he's a bit of a germaphobe. There's seems to be an outbreak of bitchiness around here. You'll have to pardon him." He scrunched his nose with a bitter smile as Sebastian chortled, not giving a fuck about the stinky glares and the eavesdropping spectators around. They walked up to the last seat supposedly sitting down but Sebastian hauled them further.
Perhaps he had other plans.
"Alright, guys." Sebastian made them sit in the second row before getting up himself. From the looks of it, it looked he was about to take a detour somewhere in the notorious alley before settling back down.
"Remember when I told you that I'd make things interesting?" From his cocky whispers and a mischievous grin, Maxon knew his friend was up to no good.
"Yeah?" Maxon looked at Sebastian in uncertainty.
"You know, indecent exposure is a punishable crime," Kimberly smirked, crossing her legs, one on top of the other. Her demeanor was calmer than before and the playfulness had returned back to its rightful place.
"Shut up, Kim." Sebastian shoved her before hustling his way out the door and to the left.
"What is he up to?" She looked at Maxon, hoping to receive some answers but to her dismay, he dismissed her question with a rather uncertain shrug.
Sebastian was the best prankster amongst the three of them. Out of all the games they played, he won most of them. May it be bets about sleeping with unattractive people for money or slapping a wrestler and then running away. So one thing was for sure, whatever he had planned would spin this ceremony from monotonous to interesting in a minute.
The room fell silent from the sound of static that echoed through the speaker which was attached to the top of the corner wall. The audience seemed to had caught onto the ongoing theatrics as the room wooed one last time before they heard a clearer voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen."
Maxon's head spun faster than an owl to look at Kimberly the moment they heard the voice on the speaker and to his surprise, so did hers.
The voice sounded like Sebastian.
What was this guy up to?
"I'd like to welcome you all to this auspicious felicitation for our beloved Mr. Ridley." Maxon knew that controlling his chortles and chuckles amid the bit was the most difficult thing Sebastian had to do and he was impressed that his friend had managed to remain serene. "Now, people say that behind every successful man, is a woman. In this case Mrs. Jasmine Ridley. A round of applause for her. If you all were unbeknownst to the fact, I'm content on being the one to announce it. Today is Mr. and Mrs. Ridley's marriage anniversary."
The auditorium immediately burst into claps unbeknownst of the crude events to take place. Mrs. Ridley, on the other hand, had a content look on her face as she had already known about this. Like she'd planned this. But Maxon wondered if Sebastian would ever help her considering how she tortures Kimberly.
"Now, Mrs. Ridley has willingly participated in making this video for her husband as a gift for their wonderful years of marriage. But before I play that, I'd like for Jasmine to come upon the stage and say a few words about their victorious marriage and the secret behind her husband's success." The corner speaker went off and all eyes landed on the said, Mrs. Ridley. She blushed and waved like a celebrity to which Kimberly snorted before crossing her arms against her chest. She muttered something incoherently but upon being questioned, she dismissed Maxon.
"Every bitch has her day of glamour." Kimberly finally said it out loud not being able to control her anger anymore. Maxon simply chuckled and focused his attention back onto the stage. Whatever Sebastian had planned was falling into place perfectly. Now all they had to do was wait for the last blow. Because there always was something up Sebastian Lee's sleeve, that'd spice things up.
"A warm welcome to everyone present here." She cleared her throat as she adjusted the microphone up to her height. "It gives me immense pleasure to see my family and friends around me on this auspicious day of my life where I have completed 7 years of my happily married life with Jacob. I am glad that you all care a lot about us as many of you had to fly in here from faraway places and it would be bad on my part if I do not thank you all for coming today."
The audience clapped once again, all cheering and wooing.
"My husband is a very honorable man with a variety of laudable characteristics. And I'm immensely delighted to be by his side. People often ask us the secret to our successful marriage and that is-"
"Infidelity." A Sebastian-like voice shouted from the back of the crowd. But before anyone could spot him, he had run away. Kimberly chuckled and it felt uncannily pleasurable to see a smile on her face. Maxon shook his head in dismissal, shaking these weird moments of weakness which he'd been having frequently since the last few years.
Kimberly looked at him in astonishment mixed with humor. "What's he doing?"
"I have no idea. But I can bet it's going to be entertaining." He whispered back.
"Haha, kids." Mrs. Ridley chuckled, nervously, not knowing how else to respond. "As I was saying, it's love and loyalty. With that, my dear husband I've prepared something for you that took a lot of effort. Now you might be unknown to this quality of mine but I've only just recently learned it, especially for this occasion. I love you, Jacob."
Jasmine stepped down from the stage and her husband engulfed her into a hug. The audience applauded at their portrayal of affection which the trio found gross considering Mrs. Ridley is the most pretentious woman they knew. Her personality was like a chameleon, changing every second. She can neither be loyal nor trustworthy and Kimberly had rather unfortunate anecdotes to prove the same.
The lights dimmed and everybody held their breaths ready to be entertained by Jasmine's said secret talent. A few whispers here and there were enough to portray how exhilarated everyone was.
The curtains rolled down and they saw a projector with a white screen. The computer connected to the projector switched on with its typical windows logo appearing on the same. With a click on my computer and going through a few files, the video was ready to be played.
Someone; evidently Sebastian switched it on and the reverse countdown from ten began.
The moment they reached zero, everybody gasped at the video on the screen. Maxon's eyes went wide and jaw dropped to the floor. He couldn't contemplate when or even how Sebastian found this.
The moans and gasps were too loud for one's own good. The crowd burst into hushed whispers and snarky remarks as the woman in the video flipped around only for her to turn out to be Jasmine Ridley.
But the man - who was kissing Jasmine passionately - wasn't Jacob.
And the video wasn't audience worthy.
It was a bloody sex tape.
The only fortunate thing in that entire scenario was that the actors in the video weren't completely undressed. But it wouldn't be much of a help when Jacob files for divorce and with the way Jasmine was seen enjoying in that video, it was either divorce or homelessness for her. Because she was nothing but a gold digger, who married rich.
Kimberly and Maxon exchanged widened glances as they couldn't control their laughter. This was by far the best prank Sebastian had played. Exposing Jasmine's affair at a public function is what that bitch deserved. Everything she'd done to ridicule Kimberly's family probably deserved something gruesome than some silly sex tape leaking into the media but this would suffice for the time being.
Everybody in the audience started making disgusting noises and the clip was ceased right before things could get interesting. The teenagers present groaned and whined upon the dismissal of the clip. The lights turned back on and Jasmine's face was worth watching.
She had a mixture of emotions. Anger, resentment, humiliation all clogged up into one raging fit of anger. She walked onto the floor, grabbed the trophy to be awarded to her husband, and threw it at the projector, making it come crashing down onto the floor.
Sebastian sneaked into the hall and took a seat beside them, a 440-volt grin plastered on his face. He gestured to the exit and they all sneaked away from the auditorium into the garden behind it, before the drama could engulf them into its wrath.
Maxon postered himself after a fit of laughter. "How did you know that she was having an affair."
"I hooked up with her secretary." He chuckled. "She helped me plant a camera. At first, we thought we'd catch her making shady deals on account of Jacob but what we found was much better than that."
"I can't stop laughing." Kimberly wiped the tears from the corner of the eyes before breathing heavily and composing herself. "How did you get the security to let you handle the speakers."
"There's nothing money can't do, baby." He tugged the corner of his lips with a boyish grin straightening out his leather jacket.
"You made sure that no one saw you, right?" Maxon looked at him with a tad concern although he already anticipated the answer to that. They didn't need people knowing about the games they play or the satisfaction they gain from other people's misery.
Life had fucked them up so they did the same to other people.
There was no place for judgment in their friendship.
"Of course. And rest assured, I took care of everything. I paid them handsomely. The security guards don't know who initiated that fiasco as they were on a bathroom break and a phone call." He air quoted in a mimicked voice.
"Here, you drive." Maxon tossed the keys over to Sebastian and he caught it voluntarily.
"Why was Jasmine your target?" Kimberly wrenched open the car door and slid in the backseat as her friend called shotgun.
"I-I don't know." Sebastian shrugged trying to sound nonchalant. "I arranged names of the people we disliked on a dartboard and the arrow landed on Jasmine."
Maxon could see through Sebastian's lies at any point in their lives. They'd been friends long enough to identify when one of them was lying. He knew Sebastian did it for Kimberly. He'd do anything for her and it looked like she had a hint of it but played dumb nonetheless.
"Did you see the look on her face? Especially with the reporters clicking photographs."Maxon laughed replaying the scene into his head once again before finally bringing his chortles to a halt.
"I did." Kimberly laughed. "Revenge is best served cold." She stood up and sat on the top of the seat, her hair flying all over, ruffled by the wind. Maxon's gaze fell upon her through the rearview mirror just as he spotted Sebastian gazing on her.
A familiar look lingered in Sebastian's eyes.
Maxon knew that look far too well.
After all, he had a similar one every time he looked at Kimberly.
The look of being intensely infatuated or deeply in love with her.
His chest constricted as he realized that there might be a teeny tiny chance that his friend had fallen for Kimberly as well. Although they had never talked about it, and would never talk about it, this unspoken revelation was difficult for Maxon to digest.
"Indeed," Sebastian smirked, hands sliding to the bottom of the steering wheel as he shifted a gear, relaxing into his leather seat.
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"Aren't you coming to the club with us?" Maxon turned around, his eyes falling onto a frantic Kimberly. She shrugged in declination, smothering down the nonexistent creases on her dress and taking out the emergency lipstick from her purse.
As if on cue, another car pulled up right behind them. Sebastian and Maxon walked out of their car to scrutinize the driver. Kimberly flipped her hair flirtatiously, gazing at the car with her perfect poise and stunning figure.
The car door opened and a tall man slid out with a toothy grin plastered across his face. His eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile as he spotted Kimberly. He waved her over with a bouquet of her favorite flowers - hydrangeas, in his other hand.
He wore pressed pants with a milk-colored shirt tucked in and a blazer overcoat. His hair was slicked behind and his eyes were chocolatey brown similar to the color of his suit. He looked older than them, graduated, probably someone with a job.
"You're abandoning us for him?" Sebastian narrowed his eyebrows, his mouth curling into a disdainful frown.
"Why are you still seeing him?" Maxon placed his hands on his hip, almost exasperated with Kimberly's frequent flavors of the months.
She changed men faster than her clothes.
"Have fun." She waved her fingers at them. "Don't do something I would."
"He's trouble," Maxon whispered from behind her as she paid no heed to his words.
With a slight twist of her head, she flashed him a knowing look. "I like trouble."
Sebastian groaned before getting into their car. Nothing they said would change her mind about going out with him and nothing she said would change their mind about her feelings being genuine.
The fact that she'd actually fallen in love with this man is something her friends could never fathom let alone support. She acted oblivious to their feelings for her and they treated her like a prized possession. Something that they needed to have.
All three of them were aware of how toxic their friendship was but they neither addressed it nor put in efforts to change it.
"Don't bother calling me." She winked one last time before pressing her lips on her date's cheek and after a few seconds slipped into the man's car.
"Why is she even dating that prick?" Maxon huffed before sliding into his corvette and slamming the car door shut.
"How do you know if he's a prick?"
"Looks like one."
"So do you," Sebastian smirked before revving the ignition.
"Whose side are you on?"
"Relax, man. He'll be out of her life before the end of this week."
"You're right. This is Kim we're talking about." Pulling the seatbelt across his chest, Maxon leaned back, hauling his cellphone out of his pocket.
"Exactly. Kimberly Hexington can never fall in love."