CHAPTER 3
983 Words
AXEL POV
“Sir Axel,” Leo said, his voice calm but tinged with concern. “Why continue letting those kids trample you when you could simply live as a normal student?”
I exhaled, eyes fixed ahead but thoughts miles away. “Leo, I appreciate your concern, but this is the only way. If I keep being the person they expect—the nerd, the pushover—I can avoid drawing attention. I’m not Axel Christopher Russo in that school. I’m a mask. A shield. The real Axel is reckless, arrogant, unrepentant. He’s the kind of person who’d make headlines for the wrong reasons, the kind who doesn’t study and sleeps with anyone who blinks twice at him.”
Leo looked at me with quiet resignation. He’d been my mother’s butler since before I was born. Her death still hovered over both of us.
“I just don’t want to bury you too,” he whispered.
I nodded solemnly. “I promise, Leo. I’ll be careful. This act, this disguise—it’s the only path I see toward revenge. And I’ll keep training. For the family business. For myself.”
A small pause followed. “Uh, sir… aren’t you forgetting something?”
I smirked. “You mean the outfit? Don’t worry. I’m just wearing this for old times’ sake. I’ll change before I reach school.”
He gave a short, respectful bow. “Very well, Master Axel.”
---
As the car approached the school gate, the transformation began.
I slicked my hair back, peeled off my rebellious “F*** YOU” socks, swapped out my Air Jordans for plain oxford shoes. The Gucci belt I had sagging below my waist? I cinched it properly, pulling my trousers up like a model nerd. It was like stepping into a second skin. The act had to be perfect.
I stepped out of the vehicle, sighing softly. Another day behind the curtain.
While adjusting my cufflinks, I collided with someone.
A girl.
She was new. Pretty. Standing beside her were Jessica—yes, that Jessica, the one whose nudes were infamously leaked online—and Joey, the lunatic with a popsicle obsession. I felt a flicker of heat, and instantly smothered the rising thoughts before he made an appearance downstairs.
“My apologies,” I said, keeping my gaze respectfully low. Though, not entirely low. Her chest was...hard to ignore.
“No, I should be the one apologizing,” she replied gently. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
She wasn’t bitchy. That was new.
“Joey, you didn’t tell me the male nerd looked this good,” she whispered, forgetting—or not caring—that I could clearly hear her.
The real Axel stirred inside me.
“So, you think I’m hot?” I said, unable to resist the smirk curling on my lips.
“Don’t tell me Nerdy Axel is actually flirting,” Joey scoffed. “The world’s ending!”
“Oh, shut up, Joey. Stop mocking him,” the new girl snapped back.
“Wait—are you crushing on this Axel?” Joey laughed, pointing at me as though I were a circus animal.
I quickly fell back into character. “Sorry for the inconvenience. I should be going.”
---
“Hey, Axel!”
I looked up. Damien. And his little gang of wannabe warlords. Their gazes bore into me like I was a joke, a pet.
“What do you want?” I said, keeping my head down. They couldn’t see the rage simmering in my eyes.
“I’m hungry,” Damien said smugly. “Go get food. Then come to our room. We’ve got a message for you to deliver.”
I swallowed my pride. “Yes. I’ll get your lunch. I’ll meet you in your room after.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
---
After handing over their meals, the show began.
“Axel, my man,” Damien started, mouth full of food. “I need your help. That new girl—you saw her, right? I want you to write a love letter for me. I’m not giving you my homework this time, so you’ve got plenty of time. She’s playing hard to get, but I always crack the tough ones.”
Idiot.
I gave him a blank stare, but inside, I was already plotting.
“Of course,” I said sweetly. “I’ll write her a letter.”
Just not the one you think.
---
Later, in English class, I spotted the girl—Jade, I think—dozing at the back of the room. Snoring, no less.
She looked… peaceful. Adorable, really. I took a seat near her, even though I never sat in the back. But it felt like the right place for the real me.
I nudged her. Nothing.
The teacher entered. I pretended to read while trying not to grin.
I tore a piece of paper, poked her ear. She dusted it off and kept sleeping.
I bit my tongue to hold in laughter. Only one way left.
I chewed the note, made it soggy with spit, and stuck it gently in her ear.
She jolted awake with a shriek.
“Ms. Harris, are you okay?” the teacher asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” she mumbled.
She shot me a glare. “Why did you do that?”
“Do what?” I replied, feigning confusion.
“The wet paper in my ear—was that you?”
I blinked. “Wet? It may or may not have been my saliva.”
“Ew! Why?!”
“You were snoring in class. What was I supposed to do?”
“You could’ve ignored me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, genuinely this time.
Not for the role. Not for the act. For real.
She was the first person I’d apologized to since my parents and sister.
- Writer
