The school was alive with the usual buzz between classes. Students went in and out of classrooms, as their normal laughter and snippets of conversations filled the atmosphere. Grace walked out of the philosophy class, her books pressed tightly against her chest. Her movements were fluid and composed but her mind was tangled about everything that had happened over the last week.
As she rounded the corner, heading towards the washroom, her gaze casually turned forward, and she froze momentarily. Ms. Harper was standing near the faculty lounge entrance, laughing softly with Professor Callahan, her hand grazing his arm a little too familiarly.
Grace quickly straightened her shoulders, masking her reaction beneath a well practiced blank expression. I don't know anything and I don't care. She tells herself.
The coolness of the marble sinks greeted her as she placed her books on the counter. She stared at herself in the mirror for a beat, exhaling slowly. Her hands moved automatically and she turned on the faucet, letting the cold water run through her fingers before she splashed her face lightly.
After drying her hands, she was about to leave when her phone chimed from her inside pocket.
She wiped her hands once more and pulled it out. The screen glowed with a private number notification, the message preview was simple: Thought you'd like to see this."
Her brows furrowed. A video folder was attached.
Her instincts were telling her that it may have been a scam or someone attempting a cyberattack.
She hesitated. She glanced around the washroom and then she pressed open.
The video played in full HD clarity. She almost choked on her breath.
It was Jax and Ms. Harper. In the empty classroom, doing things Grace never thought she would have witnessed on her phone screen. Their movements were desperate, hungry and the video was graphicly raw.
Jax's low groans filled the tiny speaker and Ms. Harper's fingers clawed into his back and down to Jax's juicy ass. The timestamp blinked in the corner. The same night Jax caught her stealing exam answers, Grace realized, gripping the phone tighter.
A wave of shock flooded her. Her heart beat was in her ears now. She locked her phone quickly, shoving it back into her pocket like it was scalding hot.
Grace walked out stiffly, suddenly hyper aware of everything. Her gaze landed back on Ms. Harper, still with Professor Callahan. Her laugh echoed faintly, but now Grace heard it differently.
A cold edge replaced her earlier indifference.
You're not what you seem, she thought, studying the woman's delicate features and smile. But Grace kept walking slipping past them without a second glance.
When she was back at class, she slipped into her seat quietly. Amber gave her a fleeting look but she didn't say anything.
Jax was back. Slouched in his usual seat, tapping his pen rhythmically on the desk, wearing that familiar look of casual boredom but he wasn't watching her.
Grace stared at him hardly, 'Who are you really?' she wondered.
The anger in her rose first. Then the confusion. But beneath it all, something she didn't want to name cloaked at the edge of her lips.
And her mind raced and she thought. I could use this.
The leverage she didn't have before. A sick kind of balance. They would now be even. No more cheek kisses in public and no more orders, the humiliating demands were going to be over.
But another voice whispered inside her, 'Do you even want that anymore?'
She pushed the thought away sharply as her phone burned in her pocket. And as the lecture dragged on she made her decision. She was not going to show anyone that video but Jax would know she had it and now it was his turn to obey.
---
After class, Grace spotted Jax standing by the courtyard steps, his hands were in his pockets, exchanging a few words with Theo and Rowan. His leather jacket clung perfectly to his broad shoulders, the sun glinting off his bike keys as they twirled around his finger.
Grace crossed the distance with purpose, "Hey, we need to talk now."
Jax raised a brow but his smirk was lazy, like he was disinterested. Like she hadn't been taunting his thoughts all day.
Like they hadn't just spent an hour pretending not to look at each other in class.
"Can't resist me anymore?" He mocked curiously.
Grace didn't smile and she turned and started walking.
He watched her back for a second before he muttered to Rowan and Theo something about, "five minutes," then he followed.
Once they were behind a secluded spot behind the library from curious eyes, Jax leaned against the stone with his hands in his pockets as he waited with his irritating grin.
"What now Monroe? You want another public kiss? A dare? You want me to command you to write your name on my chest this time?"
Grace stepped closer flashing her eyes, she didn't stop until there was barely any space between them, close enough to smell the faint whiskey on his breath, "Delete. The. Video."
"No." said Jax firmly.
His defiance was a slap but she was ready. Grace took a deep breath with a dark smile, then fished out her phone from her pocket.
She didn't unlock it yet, she just held it up casually, "Then I guess we are at an impasse. Because I have something you're going to want deleted too."
Jax frowned subtly but it was the first crack, "What are you talking about? You're bluffing."
Grace unlocked her phone and tapped the screen. She watched his face as she waited for the exact moment the video thumbnail registered in his brain.
Jax stiffened as his eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened.
"You and Ms. Harper. Third floor classroom. Same night you caught me in Callahan's office. Funny coincidence, isn't it?" Grace said softly but with a lethal expression.
Jax didn't move nor did he breathe.
Then suddenly, he pushed himself off the wall, closing the space between them in a heartbeat. His hand snapped out then she grabbed her wrist, but not hard enough to hurt.
"Where did you get that," he asked dangerously.
Grace didn't flinch, for once she was the one holding the power, "It doesn't matter where. What matters is, I have it and unless you want your secret to be the next big scandal, our deal is off."
Jax stared at her. He couldn't believe it, his breathing was shallow, his chest rising and falling faster than it should, but he let go of her wrist and then he stepped back.
"You think you've managed to counter my deal." He said bitterly but with determination.
Grace's throat tightened, but she didn't let herself soften. "This isn't a game anymore Jax. Delete the video or we both go down."
He studied Grace and something shifted in his eyes, then he turned and walked away without an argument or any smart ass remark. Just silence. And it hurt more than he thought it would.
---
Grace walked out of the secluded spot, her breath finally steady, thinking that she was done or she had finally won.
Jax was a distant figure now, already halfway to his bike. Theo and Rowan trailed behind him. Amber and Maya spotted Grace and waved, but Grace was too deep in her head.
Until her phone vibrated, so did everyone else's around her.
A murmur rippled through the students as more students pulled out their phones and their brows were furrowing.
Grace looked at her screen. A new message. From a private number.
She tapped it open and her breath lodged in her throat.
It was the video, her video, stealing the exam papers from Callahan's office.
And then another notification. Another video.
Jax and Ms. Harper. Every sordid second was broadcasted to the entire school.
Grace's hand trembled as she looked up. Across the quad, Jax's phone was in his hand too and their eyes met. And they shared the exact same sense of terror.
The quad exploded in gossip and shocked exclamations as the students stared at their phones, glancing at Grace and Jax.
But all they could do was stare back at each other as they thought about the enemy they no longer understood with the same sick realization of...
Who did this?