The Alpha In My Class

Max “What the hell? What makes you think someone like you could ever be with a guy like me?” Felix’s voice cut through the music, sharp and cruel, his smirk twisting my stomach into knots. I froze, my hands trembling, my cheeks already burning. “Baby, what’s going on?” Nathalie — the head cheerleader, with her perfect curls and perfect smile — sauntered over, wrapping her arm around Felix’s neck like she owned him. I stood there, staring at them, wishing the floor would just open and swallow me whole. Felix chuckled darkly, his blue eyes glinting under the party lights. “Can you believe this? This girl — I don’t even know her name — just told me she has a crush on me,” he announced loudly, his voice carrying over the crowd. Laughter rippled through the room. Someone whispered behind me. Someone else snickered. “What the—” Nathalie gasped, then grabbed a half-full glass of champagne from the table. Before I could react, cold liquid splashed across my chest and face, soaking my shirt. Gasps and laughter erupted around me. “Listen up, everyone!” Nathalie’s shrill voice rose above the music. “This lame nobody has a crush on the captain!” Her words struck like knives. The cheerleaders around her burst into laughter, their eyes glittering with mockery. The whispers grew louder now. “Isn’t that the nerd from chemistry?” “She really has no shame… trying to steal someone’s boyfriend.” Their words swirled around me, echoing in my ears. My throat tightened. My eyes blurred. I couldn’t hold it anymore — tears spilled down my cheeks as I turned and ran, pushing past the crowd, desperate to get away from their stares and their laughter. And somewhere behind me, Felix’s cruel smirk stayed burned in my mind. … All of this… was Gabby’s fault. I shouldn’t have listened to her. "Girl, how long are you going to stay indoors?" she’d teased. "Why don’t you try something new for once?" she’d pushed. And like an i***t, I listened. Now here I was — humiliated, drenched in champagne, and crying like a fool. Maybe Felix was right. Maybe someone like me could never be with a gorgeous, perfect guy like him. I used to watch him play basketball every single day, thinking maybe, just maybe, he’d notice me. He said tonight he didn’t even know my name — but I’d known his since kindergarten. I knew his favorite color was navy blue. I knew the date of his first basketball game, the name of his first girlfriend. Even tonight, I didn’t know he was with Nathalie… because just last week, he’d been dating some girl named Caroline. I sniffled and wiped my face as I sat alone in a small, dim bar nearby. My tears blurred everything — the lights, the bottles lined behind the counter, the faint reflection of myself in the mirror. I didn’t even know how I ended up here. My feet just carried me, like they already knew this was where girls like me came to cry. “Miss? Would you like something?” The bartender’s deep voice pulled me back to reality. I looked up at him, my eyes red and puffy. “Do you… do you have anything that can wipe away the last thirty minutes of my life?” I asked, my voice breaking. He raised an eyebrow at me, then gave a small, knowing smile. “Well… I know just the drink for you,” he said. He turned around and started mixing something. A few seconds later, he placed a strange-looking cocktail in front of me — it shimmered faintly, an odd color that didn’t look like anything I’d seen before. I reached out, my fingers curling around the cold glass. “I.D.,” he said flatly. I blinked. “What?” “An I.D.,” he repeated, nodding toward the drink. “To prove you’re over eighteen.” I stared at him, my tears already drying into anger. “I just got my heart broken in front of an entire party,” I said, looking him dead in the eyes. “And you’re asking me for an I.D.?” For a moment, it looked like he might call my bluff. But then he sighed, muttered something under his breath, and slid the drink closer to me. “Fine. Here,” he said. I sniffed and nodded, gripping the glass tighter. “Thanks,” I whispered. Then I lifted the glass to my lips and took a sip. It tasted… strange. Bitter, with a sharp burn that settled in my chest. But I kept drinking anyway. This was my first time in a bar — my first time drinking alcohol — and somehow everything about today felt like a first. All of it, crashing down on me in one single day. No matter how much of the drink I gulped, though, it didn’t erase the memory. The humiliation still clung to me, loud and sharp in my mind, like everyone was still laughing. What could I do to make this memory go away? “Hey,” a low, smooth voice interrupted my thoughts. “You look stressed out. Want some help relieving it?” I glanced up — and froze. Standing there was a guy so good-looking it almost hurt to look at him. Dark hair that fell perfectly over his forehead, warm brown eyes that seemed to see right through me, and a confident smirk that made my cheeks heat up. “No thanks,” I said quickly, ducking my head. “I just… want to be left alone.” “Fair enough,” he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Just so you know… I’ll be right over there in case you change your mind.” He winked, and for some reason my heart skipped a beat. Then he walked away, settling into a corner booth with his drink — but his eyes didn’t leave me. He just… sat there, watching me, calm and sure of himself, like he already knew I’d come to him. I stared down at my empty glass. You know what? How much worse could this day get? I’d already been humiliated in front of the whole school. The only reason I even left my room — my little lair — was because I promised myself I’d try something new. I’m seventeen. Still a virgin. And here was this guy — looking like sin in human form — sitting just a few feet away, waiting. Maybe… maybe I should just let him do all the things I used to dream Felix would do to me. What do I have left to lose? With my heart pounding in my chest, I pushed the glass away… and stood up. His eyes locked on mine, that smirk still playing on his lips. And in that moment, I knew — nothing would ever be the same again.