"And just like that, I knew my life wasn't mine anymore."
*******
Outside, Alessia leaned against the brick wall of the alley beside the club, her skin damp with sweat. Her heart was still hammering.
"What the hell did I just do?" she whispered to herself.
Champagne stumbled out a minute later, wide-eyed. "Girl, you just fought with Enrico Rossetti. In public, on camera."
"Champ, I don't know what I was doing. I think I just entered the devil's den. The look on his face was deadly." Alessia groaned, burying her face in her hands.
In the shadows down the block, a sleek black car stood. Inside, Enrico Rossetti watched her with unreadable eyes.
He lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around his face, took a drag and smiled.
"She's got teeth," he murmured. "Get me every detail about her."
"Yes, boss," a young guy in the driver's seat replied and sped away.
******
Alessia groaned as the sharp trill of the alarm dragged her out of sleep. She didn't even remember falling asleep last night. One second she was staring at the ceiling, Enrico's voice echoing in her mind. "I'll remember you, love."
She smacked the snooze button with more force than necessary, silencing the noise. The early morning light slipped in through the window blinds and landed harshly across her face.
Her phone buzzed again. Not the alarm this time. She picked it up, dragging her fingers down her face. "It's still 6:42 AM, too early for a morning call."
"Allie," Champagne's voice came through, breathless and way too awake for 6:42 AM. "You need to check your phone. Now. Go online."
Alessia sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Just go. You're everywhere right now. I swear, you're gonna freak."
She opened her browser and typed in the name of the club.
Then it hit. Her face. Her voice. Everywhere. A video played. Her hand grabbed Enrico's wrist.
The audio was terrible, but her voice still cut through: "You don't get to play king, here."
She felt her throat tighten. Her body went cold. People had edited her voice into remixes.
"This is insane," she whispered, barely hearing herself over her own heartbeat.
Champagne was still on the line. "I told you. This is big. Everyone at school's probably seen it by now. Teachers too. This is not good."
Alessia said sharply, "I'm dead. That's what I am."
Standing up so fast her knees cracked, her feet brushing against the carpet. "I don't know what I was thinking when I did that, but I need to face it. But this guy ruins things. I'm not trying to be a social media star with a target on my back."
Her phone buzzed again, notifications piling in. DMs, mentions, and reposts. A message from a random account popped up:
"You're the girl who touched Enrico. Respect."
Alessia dropped the phone. She stared at the ceiling again, just like the night before.
"I can't even go to school," she whispered, her voice cracking.
The thought of walking through those gates, of everyone staring, people whispering or joking or asking for the full story. It made her stomach burn. She's just a girl who made a mistake in front of a monster.
She ran to the bathroom, splashed cold water on her body, and wiped it off with the towel. Her closet groaned when she opened it. Today, she needed to vanish.
She grabbed her biggest hoodie, slightly oversized. She pulled it over her, then came the glasses, round and tinted black. Heavy enough to cover most of her eyes. She reached into the drawer, pulled out a nose mask and put it around her ears. Tight enough to cover her nose and lips.
She looked in the mirror. Hood up. Eyes' expression unreadable.
She grabbed her backpack and slung it over one shoulder, then took a deep breath and dashed out the door. She ran towards the bus stop, hair tucked under her hoodie, which made people not recognise her.
She just needed to make it to school. Face the music. Face the whispers. Face... him, maybe.
By the time the school gates came into view, her heart felt like it might fall apart. And there, like always, Champagne stood, waiting.
"Damn it! You look like you're about to rob a bank," Champagne said, falling in beside her as they walked in.
"I feel like I already did."
They stepped through the gates together. And then came the stares.
The hallway was loud. Words that stopped when she walked by. Eyes scanning.
"That's her."
"She touched his hand, bro. His hand."
"She really thinks she made it out alive?"
Alessia kept walking. Her eyes were hidden. The classroom was a blur of buzzing noises. Alessia slid into her seat like she wasn't shaking inside.
She unzipped her bag and pulled out her books. She reached to drop them onto her desk when someone suddenly shoved the books off, and they scattered to the floor.
A chair scraped loudly beside her, and a boy dropped into the seat next to hers. He wasn't from her circle, so she silently removed her glasses and nose mask.
His leg swung open and landed right on top of her desk. Alessia's stomach twisted.
But still, she rose slowly, moving towards the floor to gather her books.
Two hands shoved her back into her seat.
"Where are you going?" the one on her left asked.
The boy on her right leaned in, too close. His smell smelled like mint gum and rot. "Thought you were the brave one now. Enrico's girl."
Her fingers dug into the edge of the desk. Her knees were shaking, but she couldn't move.
The foot still rested on her table.
Around the class, no one said a word.
Eyes watching. Waiting to see what she'd do next.
SLAM
The classroom door flew open.
Mr. Brandon marched in, his register smacking the desk so hard. His eyes found her instantly.
His lips curled in disgust. "Alessia. Vice Principal's office. Now."
Her legs barely worked when she stood. The two boys moved away like nothing had happened.
She walked out, her sneakers barely making a sound on the floor.
Alessia's hands were cold when she walked down the hallway.
Every echo of her sneakers in the hallway made her heart beat harder.
She stopped in front of the Vice Principal's office. The nameplate shone in the pale light.
Her fingers stopped just above the door. She didn't want to knock. She didn't want to go in.
But she had to.
Her knuckles hit the wood, quick and soft at first. The sound echoed louder than she expected.
She swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on the door handle, waiting for the voice to call her in.
"Come in," came the voice from inside.
She pushed the door open slowly, stepping inside.
The air was warm, filled with coffee and a mixture of air fresheners.
The Vice Principal looked up from his desk with a smirk on his face.
"Well, well, well. The gangster queen herself. I hear you've been turning clubs into crime scenes."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Was that supposed to be a proverb or what?" Alessia thought to herself.
"Sit. Someone's here to see you."
"Someone?" she echoed.
Vice Principal Charlie's smirk widened. "Oh yeah. Very interested in you. He's been waiting for a while."
He turned slightly and nodded towards the couch by the window.
Alessia turned and her breath stopped.
There he was.
ENRICO ROSSETTI.
Sitting like he owned the place.