Fear Games

2. Bitch, Please

EMERALD

News of what happened to aunt Eden's car traveled fast throughout the town of Fairview Falls. Most people seemed to think it was some prank from one of the students at Valley View, but there were a few whispers amongst others that maybe, just maybe, that message meant something more.

Everyone in town new what happened to Eden and my mom. Of course rumors would spread like wildfire. Mom tried to reassure me there was nothing to worry about, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was keeping something from me.

The next day at school went by pretty quickly. When the last bell rang, I made my way down the hall to the classroom where we would be hosting Valley View's LGBTQIA Club. I was part of the club last year as a freshman, but this year I was promoted to club president. My brother Calix started the club his senior year, right before he went off to be part of the writing program in South Carolina. Even though I was dating my boyfriend Colton, I considered myself pansexual. Some people thought I was just copying after my gay brother, but I didn't listen to what the naysayers said.

I found my boyfriend Colton and best friend Cinder in the room already sitting at two of the desks next to each other talking. Colton was part of the school's football team but also part of the yearbook committee as the photographer. He was wearing his red and gold football jacket, the colors of Valley View High, over his school uniform, which consisted of khakis, a black dress shirt, and a black and red tie. It looked so much nicer than the black and red checkered skirts and black dress shirts that girls, including trans girls, were forced to wear.

Twenty years ago, there would have been a huge fuss over whether trans and non-binary people could wear what they want. Valley View was fairly progressive and allowed them to wear what they felt comfortable with—and that felt like real progress.

"Hey guys," I said to my best friend and boyfriend, plopping my backpack at the desk on the other side of Colton. "No one else is here yet, huh?"

"Not yet," Cinder said. "But last year we were the biggest club on campus. People are probably just late."

I hoped that was the case. Calix built this club from the ground up when Valley View first opened and his legacy deserved to continue on through me.

"So how's sophomore year treating you both?" Colton asked. He was a junior and had spent the last three years at Valley View. We'd been dating a little over a year and everything between us was perfect. We barely ever fought or had disagreements. We got along so well and everyone thought of us as the perfect couple. It was nice.

"It's going about as well as you'd expect," Cinder answered before I could reply. "But it's better than being a freshman, though. I feel bad for my brother."

"Kael?" Colton said.

"Yeah," Cinder said. "He's been bullied a lot his whole life. It's his first year of private school and I'm hoping it's better for him. At least there's a zero tolerance for bullying here."

"That sure doesn't stop some people," I said. "I still see kids getting bullied all the time. I try my best to intervene when I can. I mean, we still have to have an LGBTQIA Club for crying out loud. Bullying definitely isn't out of the question."

"Emerald's right," Colton said. "Kael could really be a target this year. Other kids are ruthless, especially freshman."

"You think so?" Cinder asked. "Should I be worried?"

"Worried about what?"

We all turned to look and see Kael standing in the doorway with a girl attached to his arms. The girl's name was Arya. I'd met her a few times over the summer when she and Kael first got together. She was a pretty, petite girl, with long blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, similar to Kael's and Cinder's. Kael wasn't very tall, but standing next to Arya, he looked like a giant.